Current Affairs at a Glance May 1 to May 15, 2017
Country's largest lender State Bank of
India has cut its term deposit rates by up to
50 basis points for various maturities. The
rates have been revised for medium and
long term deposits and for amount below
Rs one crore.
The much-awaited Real Estate Act comes
into force on May 1 with a promise of
protecting the right of consumers and
ushering in transparency but only 13 states
and union territories (UTs) have so far
notified rules.
Kerala Tourism inked a pact with Silk Air
on May 1 to jointly promote the
destination to attract more tourists from
Australia, New Zealand, China, Korea,
Japan and Singapore by conducting road
shows and other special marketing
programs in selected cities.
The eight core industries grew by 5% in
March, fastest in three months, on the
back of higher coal and steel production.
The growth rate of eight infrastructure
sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas,
refinery products, fertilisers, steel,
cement and electricity -- was however
lower than 9.3% recorded in March last
year.
To make the state among the top three
start-up destinations in the country, the
Odisha government took a step in this
direction on May 1, by launching a
dedicated portal for start-ups.
The Appointments Committee of the
Cabinet has approved the appointment of
Shri Anant Narayan Nanda as Secretary,
Department of Posts.
Sanjay Pratihar, a scientist at Tezpur
University, has been chosen for the the
prestigious Indian National Science
Academy (INSA) medal for the Young
Scientist Award for the year 2017.
Madhya Pradesh has become the first
state in the country to formally switch to a
January-December financial year format,
with the state Cabinet on May 2 approving
the proposed move.
Anthony Lianzuala on 1 May 2017 took
over as the Controller General of Accounts
(CGA), Department of Expenditure, Union
Ministry of Finance, in New Delhi.
The ICICI Group on May 2 said it has made
100 villages digitally-enabled in 2017
while planning to transform another 500
by the year-end.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) on 2
May 2017 launched 'Tarang Sanchar web
portal, a portal that will allow people to
track radiation emitted from mobile
towers within a locality and check their
compliance with the stipulated norms.
The Union Minister of Labour and
Employment Bandaru Dattatreya on 1 May
2017 launched two schemes- One IP- Two
Dispensaries and Aadhaar based Online
Claim Submission on the occasion of
International Labour Day 2017.
India and Cyprus in April 2017 signed four
agreements to boost the bilateral
relationship between the two countries.
The signed agreements include agreement
on shipping and air services.
International Labour Day 2017 was
celebrated across the world on 1 May
May 18, 2017 1
2017. The day is also known as
International Worker's Day and May Day.
Ganga Swachhta Sankalp Divas was
observed on 2 May 2017 by the National
Mission on Clean Ganga (NMCG) at 12
locations including Allahabad, Varanasi,
Kanpur, Patna, Sahibganj, Bhagalpur, Raj
Ghat (Hardoi), Kolkatta, Srinagar (
Uttarakhand), Bithoor, Devprayag and
Vidhur Kuti.
The United States (US) Military's missile
defence system THAAD on 2 May 2017
became operational in South Korea.
Dubai on 1 may 2017 became the first city
in the world to get its own Microsoft Font.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister (CM)
Chandrababu Naidu was on 2 May 2017
selected for the 'Transformative Chief
Minister Award' of the the US-India
Business Council (USIBC).
Aizawl FC on 30 April 2017 defeated
Shillong Lajong FC to grab the 2016-17 I-
League in Shillong, Meghalaya. With this,
Aizawl FC became the first ever north-
eastern club to win the title.
The Cabinet on May 3 approved a Rs 6,000
crore mega agro-processing scheme to
streamline the ongoing initiatives by the
government in the food processing sector.
Targeted at being completed by 2019-20,
the SAMPADA (Scheme for Agro-Marine
Processing and Development of Agro-
Processing Clusters), to be administered
by the Ministry of Food Processing
Industries will subsume a host of other
schemes under the ministry.
China-sponsored Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank on May 3 approved $160
million loan for a power project in Andhra
Pradesh, the first credit from the bank for
an Indian project.
The National Green Tribunal announced on
3 May 2017 that anyone found dumping
electronic waste (e-waste) on the banks of
Ramganga River in Moradabad, Uttar
Pradesh would be fined a sum of Rs one
lakh as environment compensation.
Reliance Defence and Engineering Limited
(RDEL), controlled by Reliance
Infrastructure (RInfra), on 2 May 2017 said
it has received approval for exiting the
corporate debt restructuring (CDR)
scheme. The approval for exit plan of RDEL
was granted by the consortium of lenders
led by IDBI.
The Union Ministry of Textiles is observing
Swachhta Pakhwada from 1 May to 15
May 2017. It was inaugurated by the Ajay
Tamta, Minister of State, Textiles, in Udyog
Bhawan, New Delhi.
Railways Ministry on 3 may 2017
announced to build the world's highest
railway bridge over the Chenab river in
Jammu and Kashmir in around two years
from now. This railway bridge is expected
to be 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower
of Paris. The massive arch-shaped
structure of bridge is already under
constructed at a cost of around Rs 1100
crore in hostile terrain.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 3 May
2017 inaugurated Patanjali Research
Institute at Haridwar, Uttarakhand.
Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister of
Human Resource Development, on 2 May
2017 launched the Vidya Veerta Abhiyan
in New Delhi.
Dubai has activated its visa-on- arrival
facility for Indian nationals holding a valid
US visa or a green card. The first Indian
national to avail the new facility arrived in
the city on 1 May 2017.
May 18, 2017 2
Indian Army on 2 May 2017 successfully
test fired Block-III version of BrahMos
supersonic cruise missile in the Andaman &
Nicobar Islands.
Indian actress Priyanka Chopra will be
attending a UNICEFs fundraising event in
South Africa on 6 May 2017 to highlight the
challenges faced by children affected by
violence there.
World Press Freedom Day was observed
worldwide on 3 May 2017 with the theme
Critical Minds for Critical Times: Medias
role in advancing peaceful, just and
inclusive societies.
The World Asthma Day 2017 was observed
across the world on 2 May 2017 with the
theme 'Asthma: Better Air, Better
Breathing'.
Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of Congress in
Lok Sabha, on 2 May 2017 was appointed
as the Chairperson of the Public Accounts
Committee (PAC) of the Parliament.
India-Japan economic relationship reached
a new milestone on May 4 with the public
launch of acceptance of JCB cards at NPCI
(National Payments Corporation of India)
network in India.
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of
India (IBBI) on 4 May 2017 constituted a
Technical Committee to lay down
technical standards for performance of
core services in accordance with
Regulation 14 of the IBBI (Information
Utilities) Regulations, 2017. The
committee will be headed by RB Barman,
Chairman of National Statistical
Commission.
The Union Cabinet, presided by the Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, on 3 May 2017
gave its ex-post facto approval to the
signing the Memorandum of Cooperation
(MoC) with Japan on Railway Safety.
The central government on May 4
approved a cooperation agreement
between India and Spain in the civil
aviation sector.
Indore in Madhya Pradesh is Indias
cleanest city while Gonda in Uttar Pradesh
is the dirtiest, according to the Swachh
Survekshan-2017, announced by the
government on May 4.
India on May 4 successfully test fired its
medium-range nuclear-capable ballistic
missile Agni-ll off the Odisha coast.
Union Minister of Road Transport and
Highways, Nitin Gadkari inaugurated two
exhibitions, The Highway Saga: Past
Present & Future and Safe Road & Inter-
State Highways Transforming India
(SRISHTI) on 3 May 2017 at the Vigyan
Bhawan Lawns in New Delhi.
The Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on 3 May 2017 approved
the declaration of Vijayawada Airport as
International Airport, as per the provisions
of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act,
2014.
Odishas Sualgiri and Swalgiri communities
in the first week of May 2017 were notified
as Scheduled Castes following President
Pranab Mukherjees assent to a new law.
NASA Scientists have designed an
inflatable greenhouse that could be used
one day by astronauts to grow fresh food
and produce oxygen on Mars or Moon.
The RBI will embark on its biggest banking
clean-up exercise after President Pranab
Mukherjee promulgated an ordinance
authorising it to issue directions to banks
to initiate insolvency resolution process in
May 18, 2017 3
the case of loan default. The tweak in the
rules will help the Modi government tackle
toxic loans that have crossed the Rs 6 lakh
crore mark.
TCS has opened its first Drones Research
Lab in the US at its Seven Hills Park
Innovation Center located in Cincinnati,
Ohio, to address the rapidly expanding
demand for unmanned aerial vehicles and
business solutions across industries.
Indian Space Research organisation (ISRO)
on 5 May 2017 successfully launched the
South Asia Satellite. The communication
and broadcasting satellite was launched
with Geosynchronous Satellite Launch
Vehicle GSLV F-09 from the second launch
pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at
Sriharikota at 4.57 pm.
Facebook on 4 May 2017 launched Express
WiFi service commercially in India.
The world level weapon prodfuction unit
Punj Lyod Defence System was
inaugurated in Malanpur Industrial Area of
Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh. The unit
was jointly inaugurated on 4 May 2017 by
Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj
Singh Chouhan and Union Rural
Development Minister Narendra Singh
Tomar.
Renowned tea planter from Assam
Prabhat Kamal Bezboruah, who was once
a banker in the US, was on 4 May 2017
appointed as the Chairman of the Tea
Board of India.
The Union government has appointed Braj
Bihari Kumar, editor of quarterly journals
Dialogue and Chintan Srijan, as the new
Chairman of the Indian Council of Social
Science Research (ICSSR).
The Indian football team made it into the
top 100 of the FIFA World Rankings for the
first time in 21 years.
Telecommunications services provider
Bharti Airtel on 8 May 2017 partnered with
taxi app aggregator Ola Cabs to offer a
range of exciting digital services to
customers.
State Bank of India has announced a 25
basis points cut in home loans rate to 8.35
per cent per annum, the lowest in the
market. The new rate is effective from May
9.
Global technology giant Oracle has signed
an agreement with the government of
Jharkhand and will explore partnerships
intended at improving citizen services,
transparency in governance along with
setting up of start-up incubation hubs and
data centres.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 5 May
2017 tightened the rules of Joint Lenders
Forum (JLF) under Framework for
Revitalising Distressed Assets in the
Economy Guidelines on Joint Lenders
Forum (JLF) and Corrective Action Plan
(CAP). The new JLF rules are more
effective and direct banks not to break any
rules and to meet all deadlines. Moreover,
it also directs that any breach of rules
would attract a monetary penalty.
The country's first, and perhaps the
simplest life insurance product that can be
bought at a point of sale (PoS) has finally
been launched. Edelweiss Tokio Life
Insurance has recently launched PoS Saral
Nivesh -- the first product to be approved
by the Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority of India's (IRDAI)
guidelines on point of sale-life insurance
products.
May 18, 2017 4
Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road
Transport and Highways inaugurated
Indias first biorefinery plant that
produces ethanol from a variety of
biomass in Pune on 7 May 2017.
President Pranab Mukherjee on 5 May
2017 gave his assent to an ordinance to
amend the Banking Regulation Act for
resolution of the non-performing asset
(NPA) crisis in banking system.
Two Indian warships INS Mumbai and INS
Aditya arrived in Alexandria, the
Mediterranean port city in Egypt on 5 May
2017.
In Haryana, detailed data will be collected
of every resident and every house would
be allotted a smart house ID under a
special mission.
SS Rajamouli's Baahubali 2: The
Conclusion became the first Indian film to
cross the RS 1000 crore mark with its
worldwide collections. Reports suggest
that trade analysts have reported that the
film has made over Rs 800 crore in India
and more than Rs 200 crore in the
international markets.
Usha Ananthasubramanian has been
appointed as the MD & CEO of Allahabad
Bank. She took charge from May 6.
Pro-European centrist leader Emmanuel
Macron has been elected as President of
France after winning 20.7 million votes on
8 May 2017.
Konkona Sensharma has been named the
best director for her directorial debut "A
Death in the Gunj" and the best actress for
"Lipstick Under My Burkha" at 2017's New
York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF).
Harry Potter fame star, Emma Watson was
conferred the first ever Genderless Acting
Award for Best Actor category on 7 May
2017 at the annual MTV Movie and TV
Awards ceremony held at the Shrine
Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.
Indias growth is expected to rebound to
7.2 per cent in the 2017-18 fiscal and 7.7
per cent in 2018-19 after disruptions
caused by demonetisation, the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on
9 May, while recommending the removal
of long-standing structural bottlenecks to
enhance market efficiency.
Banking on the Government's drive to
promote a cash-less economy, cashback
portal Cashkaro.com has tied up with YES
Bank to launch card-linked offers as part of
its loyalty programme for both offline and
online shoppers.
SAMADHAN, a new doctrine or strategy
against Maoists, was announced by Union
Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The
doctrine was spelt out by Singh on 8 May
2017 during the Review Meeting of Left
Wing Extremism affected State.
A seven-judge Constitution bench of the
Supreme Court (SC), headed by Chief
Justice J S Khehar, on 9 May 2017
sentenced Justice C S Karnan, the Calcutta
High Court judge, to six months of
imprisonment. It is the first time that the
Supreme Court has sent a high court judge
to jail on charges of contempt.
Defence Minister Arun Jaitley during his
visit to Japan informed his Japanese
counterpart, Tomomi Inada that India
hopes to pursue a strategic partnership
with Japan for regional peace and stability.
His visit comes at a time of rising tension in
the region, including territorial rows in the
South China Sea and nuclear and missile
threats from North Korea.
May 18, 2017 5
The 29th edition of the Sunday Times Rich
List 2017 was announced on 7 May 2017.
The List announced the names of Britains
1000 wealthiest people including 40
Indian-born citizens. The Hinduja brothers
Srichand and Gopichand are placed on the
first spot in the Sunday Times Rich List
2017. The Hinduja Brothers have
estimated assets worth 16.2 billion
pounds.
India on 8 May 2017 was unanimously
elected as the President of the UN-Habitat,
an organ of the United Nations
Organisation (UNO).
The largest lender State Bank of India will
introduce new facility that would enable
withdrawal of cash through ATMs using
the bank's mobile wallet. However, the
bank will charge Rs 25 on every cash
withdrawal from the mobile wallet via
ATMs.
National Highways Authority of India's
first Masala Bond was launched on 11 May
at the London Stock Exchange with Union
Minister Nitin Gadkari ringing the opening
bell.
The city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat would
be hosting the biggest ever International
Yoga Day event on 21 June 2017.
India and the US in May 2017 exchanged
views on maritime developments in the
Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region and
considered steps to further strengthen
bilateral maritime security cooperation.
The 29th series of India- Indonesia Co-
Ordinated Patrol (CORPAT) commenced
on 9 May 2017 at Port Blair under the aegis
of Andaman and Nicobar Command.
India has decided to replace its Maitri
research station in Antarctica with a new
one in the next three to four years. The
same was announced by Madhavan Nair
Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth
Sciences on 9 May 2017.
Road Transport and Highways Secretary
Sanjay Mitra was on 10 May 2017
appointed as Defence Secretary in a top-
level bureaucratic reshuffle.
Twitter, the social networking giant
elevated Taranjeet Singh as its Country
Director for India on 10 May 2017.
Liberal politician Moon Jae-in on 10 May
2017 was sworn in as South Korea's
President in a ceremony at the National
Assembly Seoul.
The National Technology Day 2017 was
observed on 11 May 2017 in India with the
theme Technology for inclusive and
sustainable growth. The day is
commemorated to mark the anniversary of
Pokhran nuclear tests of 1998.
The World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD)
2017 was observed across the world on 10
May 2017. The theme for WMBD 2017 is
"Their Future is our Future A Healthy
Planet for Migratory Birds and People."
Australian Senator Larissa Waters, the
deputy co-leader of the Australian Greens
party became the first woman in the
history of Australian Politics to breastfeed
her baby during a Parliamentary session on
9 May 2017.
The International Day of Vesak
celebrations will be held in Colombo from
12 May to 14 May. Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi will be travelling to Sri
Lanka on 11 May to attend the festival.
Indian women's team fast bowler Jhulan
Goswami on 9 May 2017 became the
highest wicket-taker in the history of
Womens One-Day Internationals.
May 18, 2017 6
India on 11 May 2017 test fired a surface-
to-air missile Spyder from a test range in
Odisha as part of missile launch practice of
a series of tests of the short-range quick
reaction.
The Election Commission of India has
launched National Contact Centre with a
toll free number- 1800111950.
The Tamil Nadu government has formed an
expert committee to study the impact of
'Seemai Karuvelam' trees.
The World Health Organisation on 12 May
2017 appointed Amitabh Bachchan as its
goodwill ambassador for hepatitis in
South-East Asia region to boost awareness
and intensify action to arrest the epidemic.
Aruna Sundararajan was on 10 May 2017
appointed as Secretary of Department of
Telecommunications. However, she will
continue to serve as the Secretary for
Union Ministry of Electronics and IT
(Meity).
Justice Mukul Mudgal, retired judge of
Delhi High Court, on 12 May 2017 was
elected as the Chairman of FIFA
Governance Committee.
Brazil on 11 May 2017 declared an end to
public health emergency for the Zika virus
after about 18 months of fight against this
mosquito-borne virus.
Former India batsman V V S Laxman on 11
May 2017 was awarded an honorary life
membership to the Marylebone Cricket
Club (MCC).
The Department of Industrial Policy and
Promotion under Union Ministry of
Commerce and Industry on 12 May 2017
revised the base year of All-India
Wholesale Price Index (WPI) from 2004-
05 to 2011-12.
The Mumbai airport, Chhatrapati Shivaji
International, has become the worlds
busiest single-runway airport with 837
flights a day or one flight in 65 seconds on
an average in the 2016-17 fiscal year. The
airport has even overtaken London's
Gatwick airport that had 757 flights a day.
India & UK have agreed to sign a
memorandum of understanding (MOU) on
bilateral cooperation between the Indian
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
and Britains Transport For London (TFL) in
urban transport policy planning,
technology transfer and institutional
organization of transport on 12 May 2017.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched
the river conservation project Narmada
Seva Mission on 15 May 2017 in Madhya
Pradesh.
Union Minister for Health and Family
Welfare J P Nadda on 13 May 2017
launched Pneumococcal Conjugate
Vaccine (PCV) against Pneumonia under
the Universal Immunization Programme
(UIP).
Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated
the second meeting of National Platform
for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR) on 15
May 2017 in New Delhi.
Tejas, the Light Combat Aircraft on 12 May
2017 successfully fired Derby Air-to-Air
BVR missile in RADAR guided mode,
demonstrating an Air-to-Air Beyond Visual
Range (BVR) missile firing capability.
The Uttar Pradesh government is planning
to declare "no school bag day" on
Saturdays in all the state-run schools.
The International Day of Families was
observed on 15 May 2017 with the theme
Families, education and well-being.
May 18, 2017 7