25th May 2017 - Current Affairs Today

Download : 25th May, 2017 – Current Affairs PDF

Swachh Bharat App Launched in National Museum

The main focus of this “Swachh Bharat App” is to basically involve people actively to become part of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Movement).
At present, this App is available for Android Mobile phones which can be downloaded from Google Play Store.
The App will be monitored by the Ministry of Culture and will play an important role in cultivating the significance of cleanliness to the citizens.

IIT Kharagpur Signs MoU with Madhya Pradesh For Measuring Happiness Index

IIT Kharagpur’sRekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness has signed a MoU with Madhya Pradesh government’s ‘RajyaAnandamSansthan’.
The MoU has been signed to collaborate on the development of a Happiness Index for measuring the well-being of the residents of the state.
The Happiness index would be developed by IIT-KGP and the data collected by the state government.
It would be analysed to assess the happiness levels of people of the state and also suggest recommendations enhance happiness levels in the state.
India has been ranked at 122 out of 155 countries in the 2017 United Nations’ World Happiness Index (WHI).

Integration of e- sanad with CBSE’s Academic Repository

eSanad is aimed at online verification of the documents with an objective to extend contactless, cashless and paperless document attestation/apostille service to applicants in India as well as abroad.
The integration of e-Sanad with Parinam Manjusha will help the applicants avoid long travels and precious resources of time and money for getting their documents attested by the concerned authorities in States.
It also allows filing the application online. eSanad has been designed and developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC).

Nauru has ratified the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Framework Pact.

The highest point on Nauru’s terrain is only 65 metres above sea level. Thus, it is extremely vulnerable to rising sea level due to climate change.
Currently, 30% of the Nauru’s energy needs are met through solar power installations. Its Government has set a target to attain 50% of energy production from renewable sources by 2020.

3rd RCEP Inter-Sessional Ministerial Meeting

Trade Ministers of all 16 RCEP countries participated in this meeting.
As Philippines is currently holding the Presidency of ASEAN, the RCEP Inter-sessional Ministerial Meeting was chaired by Ramon Lopez – Trade Minister and Industry Minister of Philippines.

Start Up India Summit held In UAE

This summit was held by the Consul General of India (CGI) in Dubai and Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi in partnership with iSPIRIT, a non-profit think tank and was supported by TiE Dubai, a non-profit association dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship.
The summit aimed to provide a shared platform for the Startup eco system in both, India and UAE for greater collaboration, exchange of ideas, interaction with academia, investors and industry and for having access to funding from the venture capitalist in the UAE.
17 Startup companies from India in the space of artificial intelligence, financial technology, digi medicine, health care technology, innovative technology and software services took part in the summit.

Dubai Police recruit UAE’s first ‘Robocop’

The Dubai Police has recruited UAE’s First Robocop. It is used to chase down suspects and nab parking fee dodgers.
With this tool, the police can reach the public 24/7.
Robocop’s first job posting will be malls and tourist attractions where people can tap a touchscreen on his chest to report a crime, pay traffic fines or chat in Arabic or English.
Languages such as Russian, Chinese, French and Spanish will be added to Robocop’s vocabulary.

RBI to revamp oversight panel to tackle bad loans

The RBI will now reconstitute the Oversight Committee (OC) under its aegis and the two current members will continue in the revamped panel.
The RBI is now developing a framework for an “objective and consistent” decision-making process.
It is framing the process for resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC).
The RBI will also expand the scope of cases to be referred to the OC beyond those under S4A (Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets) as required currently.
The RBI is modifying the guidelines on restructuring to resolve the large stressed assets in the banking system.
The banking regulator also sought information on the current status of the large stressed assets from the banks.

IFFCO launches debit card for farmers in collaboration with Bank of Baroda

The MOU has signed to launch their first set of co-branded debit cards for the farmers.
This step has been taken to promote more digitalization and cashless
The debit cards has a facility of overdraft of Rs 2,500 in special savings bank account.
Bank of Baroda is engaged in providing various services, such as personal banking, corporate banking, international banking, small and medium enterprise (SME) banking, rural banking, non-resident Indian (NRI) services and treasury services.

WHO Elects Ethiopia’s Tedros as First Director General from Africa

Voting was held in a closed-door session, during which the health ministers of 186 countries cast their ballots in secret.
At the end of three voting rounds, Dr. Tedros received 133 votes and emerged victorious by beating David Nabarro of Britain who received 50 votes.

Shuva Mundal to succeed Bharat Vasani as Group General Counsel of Tata Sons

Shuva Mandal has succeeded Bharat Vasani.
He began his career with legal firm AZB Associates from 2000-15.
During his career, Mandal has been actively involved in deal structuring, advising on securities law and development of legal strategy for corporations.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ Resigns As Nepal Prime Minister

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ announced his resignation while addressing the nation in a live telecast.
It was his second stint as the Prime Minister.

Neil Armstrong’s moon dust bag may fetch $4 mn at auction

An extremely rare bag used by NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong to collect the first dust samples from the Moon may fetch up to USD 4 million at an auction in the US.
During the Apollo 11 mission, Armstrong collected nearly 500 grams of material finer than one centimetre (cm), as well as 12 rock fragments larger than one cm.
He collected from five different locations on the lunar surface in the region known as the Sea of Tranquillity.
Scientific tests revealed the dust in the bag to be moon dust, specifically from the Apollo 11 landing site.

Airlander 10, World’s Largest Aircraft, Completes Test Flight

Airlander 10 is the world’s largest aircraft and has successfully completed a test flight by flying for a total of 180 minutes in Cardington, UK.
Airlander 10 is hybrid ship and it is a partly plane and partly airship filled with helium gas.
It can fly at up to 6,100 metres and reach speeds of 148 kilometres per hour.

Ashwin wins International Cricketer of the Year award

Ashwin has won the award second time as he had won the ICC Cricketer of the Year award in 2016 as well.
With this, he has joined the ranks of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar.
They are the only two other Indian cricketers to have received the honour. He took 99 wickets in the past 12 months.