Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 1st and 2nd May, 2016. These are important for the upcoming SBI Clerk and UIIC AO 2016 Exams.
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Regards
Team ExamPundit
Current Affairs at a Glance – 1st– 2nd May, 2016
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1 May 2016 launched the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) at Ballia, Uttar Pradesh. It will benefit the poor, especially the women. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved 8000 crore rupees for the next 3 years starting from financial year 2016-17. PM Ujjwala Yojana will provide 5 crore LPG connections to BPL Families.
- Fast-growing Yes Bank and the old private sector Federal Bankhave been the first ones off the block to hit Gujarat International Finance Tech-City (Gift) and are hoping to make the most of easy regulations, low operational costs and the opportunity to raise dollar-denominated funds
- Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on 1 May 2016 launched Chandranna Bima Yojana in Vijayawada. The Yojna launched on the occasion of May Day is an insurance scheme for the working class people.
- India and Papua New Guinea on 29 April 2016 signed four agreements/MoUs to boost the bilateral relations.
- India and New Zealandon 1 May 2016 signed an Air Services Agreementpaving the way for introduction of direct flights between the two countries.
- Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah inaugurated the underground corridor of Bangalore Metro Rail on 30 April 2016. Bangalore Metro Rail is also known as Namma Metro. This makes the Namma Metro or Bangalore Metro as the first in South India to have an operational underground section of Metro Rail.
- D N Narasimha Raju has taken oath as Karnataka Chief Information Commissioner (CIC).
- Former KPMG Director Dilip Tulion 1 May 2016 was appointed the new Senior Vice President - Strategy & New Business Initiatives of Housing.com, India’s leading online real estate platform.
- Physicist Sriram Ramaswamy, Director of TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Hyderabad, was elected as the Fellow of The Royal Society, as announced on 29 April 2016. His name appeared on the list of 50 new fellows and 10 new Foreign Members announced by the Royal Society.
- An Indian-American journalist, Neela Banerjee, was felicitated with a prestigious with Edgar A. Poe award on 1 May 2016. She was felicitated by US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle during the annual White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington.
- Indian shooters bagged three gold medals and a bronze on the opening day of the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany on 1 May 2016.
- International Labour Day was celebrated on 1 May 2016.
Finance/Industry –
Prime Minister launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana at Ballia
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1 May 2016 launched the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) at Ballia, Uttar Pradesh. It will benefit the poor, especially the women.
- The scheme aims to provide cooking gas connections to five crore below-poverty-line beneficiaries over the next three years.
Salient features of PMUY
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved 8000 crore rupees for the next 3 years starting from financial year 2016-17.
- PM Ujjwala Yojana will provide 5 crore LPG connections to BPL Families.
- FM had announced about the scheme in his 2016-17.Budget Speech with a budgetary provision of 2000 crore rupees.
Need for the PMUY
- LPG spread predominantly in Urban and Semi Urban Areas whereas the rural poor have limited access to Clean fuel (LPG).
- Use of fossil fuels and conventional fuel like cow dung are having serious health implications for women and Children.
- According to WHO, 5 Lakhs die every year due to heart disease, pulmonary diseases etc.
- Indoor air pollution is also responsible for significant number of acute respiratory diseases in young children.
Operational details of PMUY
- 5 crore LPG connections will be provided to BPL families with a support of 1600 rupees.
- Connections will be given in the name of Women beneficiaries.
- Identification of BPL families will be made in consultation with State Governments and Union territories.
- EMI Facility for meeting the cost of Stove and Refill cost.
Yes Bank, Federal first off the block to start business at Gift
- Fast-growing Yes Bank and the old private sector Federal Bank have been the first ones off the block to hit Gujarat International Finance Tech-City (Gift) and are hoping to make the most of easy regulations, low operational costs and the opportunity to raise dollar-denominated funds.
- In the six months to April, Yes Bank has raised and lent $225 million of foreign currency loans to foreign subsidiaries of Indian companies and their joint ventures abroad and expects to more than double it in the full fiscal year ending March 2017, said Jaideep Iyer, group president, financial management, Yes Bank.
- Domestic regulatory require ments such as CRR, SLR & prio rity sector lending requirements also don't apply . A bank is allowed to open one branch each with balance sheet in foreign currency . Further in January , RBI eased regulations and allowed banks in Gift to open foreign currency current accounts for companies and non-resident Indians (NRIs) changing an earlier policy that did not allow for any savings or current accounts in this centre.
Andhra Pradesh CM launched Chandranna Bima Yojana
- Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on 1 May 2016 launched Chandranna Bima Yojana in Vijayawada. The Yojna launched on the occasion of May Day is an insurance scheme for the working class people.
- The state government scheme will cover about 1.5 crore workers of the state.
- Under the scheme any insured worker who meets an accidental death and permanent disability will be paid 5 lakh rupees. That worker who suffers partial disability will be paid a sum of 3 lakh rupees.
India, Papua New Guinea signed four agreements to deepen bilateral relations
- India and Papua New Guinea on 29 April 2016 signed four agreements/MoUs to boost the bilateral relations.
- These MoUs were inked during the two-day visit (28 to 29 April 2016) of President Pranab Mukhrejee to Papua New Guinea. Mukherjee’s visit was the first ever presidential visit from India to this country.
The signed agreements/MoUs are
- MoU in the Field of Health Care and Medical Science: It was inked between the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Health and HIV/AIDS of Papua New Guinea.
- MoU for a USD 100 Million Credit Line: It was inked for development of infrastructure in the island-nation between the Government of Papua New Guinea and the Export Import Bank of India.
- MoU for cooperation in agricultural research: It was inked between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi and PNG University of Technology, Lae, Papua New Guinea.
- MoU for establishing of India-Papua New Guinea Centre for Excellence in IT.
India, New Zealand signed Air Services Agreement
- India and New Zealand on 1 May 2016 signed an Air Services Agreement paving the way for introduction of direct flights between the two countries.
- The agreement was signed in the presence of the President Pranab Mukherjee and the New Zealand Prime Minister John Key. Mukherjee was on an official tour to Papua New Guinea (April 28-29, 2016) and New Zealand (April 30 to May 2, 2016).
- The agreement was signed under the Convention of International Civil Aviation opened for signature at Chicago on 7 December 1944. It was opened with an aim to promote international air services between their respective territories.
India –
First in South India, underground corridor of Namma Metro inaugurated
- Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah inaugurated the underground corridor of Bangalore Metro Rail on 30 April 2016. Bangalore Metro Rail is also known as Namma Metro.
- The newly inaugurated underground section of about 5.12 kilometers long from Cubbon Park to City railway station completes the 18.10 kilometers long east west corridor which is also called Purple Line.
- This makes the Namma Metro or Bangalore Metro as the first in South India to have an operational underground section of Metro Rail.
Maharashtra Government launched Adi Praman, online app for tribal caste validity certificate
- Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao on 29 April 2016 launched Adi Praman, a web-based application. With this, Maharashtra became the first state to provide caste validity certificates online.
- Adi Praman enables Maharashtra’s tribal population to get the caste validity certificates online.
- The portal named etribalvalidity.mahaonline@gov.in was launched at Raj Bhavan.
National Green Tribunal slams Delhi Jal Board for polluting the Yamuna
- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) pulled up the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) today for failure to stop polluting the Yamuna River.
- Last year, the DJB had established 15 MGD waste water treatment plants at a cost of Rs 204 crore at the Delhi Gate Nalla aimed at curbing the problem of highly polluted water from areas of Old Delhi being released into the Yamuna.
- The bench also asked the DJB to submit details of planned expenditure with regard to the water and sewerage sector for the current fiscal year.
- The NGT had earlier taken the DJB to task for spending money errantly without prior permission and had directed the board not to surrender funds allocated to it for rejuvenation of the Yamuna but to use the amounts in the Maili se Nirmal Yamuna Revitalisation Project instead.
Appointments –
Narasimha Raju takes oath as Karnataka CIC
- D N Narasimha Raju has taken oath as Karnataka Chief Information Commissioner (CIC).
- Narasimha Raju, a 1984 batch IAS officer, had retired in April. He had served in the chief minister’s office and at various departments like finance, company affairs, commerce and industry, petroleum and natural gas at the Centre.
- Raju was administered the Oath of Office by the Karnataka Governor, Vajubhai Vala, at Banquet Hall, Rajbhavan.
Dilip Tuli appointed as Senior Vice President of Housing.com
- Former KPMG Director Dilip Tuli on 1 May 2016 was appointed the new Senior Vice President - Strategy & New Business Initiatives of Housing.com, India’s leading online real estate platform.
- Tuli will assist with strategy and oversee new business initiatives, such as transaction facilitation and fulfilment services.
Sterling Holiday appoints Damian G H Niesel as COO Resorts
- Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited has announced the appointment of Damian G H Niesel as Chief Operations Officer, Resorts.
- Prior to joining Sterling Holidays, he has been involved with some of the world's leading hospitality and lifestyle companies including founding Events in the Sky.Asia and holding several senior executive positions with Qatar National Hotels, Sofitel Luxury Hotels, IHG and Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts. Niesel will help bring international best practices to Sterling Holidays.
- Niesel completed his education from Cornell University and has more than 30 years of experience in Hospitality and Management.
Awards & Honors –
IISc professor Sriram Ramaswamy became Royal Society Fellow
- Physicist Sriram Ramaswamy, Director of TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Hyderabad, was elected as the Fellow of The Royal Society, as announced on 29 April 2016. His name appeared on the list of 50 new fellows and 10 new Foreign Members announced by the Royal Society.
- Besides, biochemist Ramanujan Hegde, MRC Laboratory of Microbiology, U.K. and applied mathematician Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan, Harvard University, are the other two Indian names who were also elected as the fellows of the premier scientific academy of the U.K. and the Commonwealth.
Indian-American journalist, Neela Banerjee, received with Edgar A. Poe award
- An Indian-American journalist, Neela Banerjee, was felicitated with a prestigious with Edgar A. Poe award on 1 May 2016. She was felicitated by US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle during the annual White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington.
- A Washington based journalist Neela Banerjee and three of her colleagues from Inside Climate News - John Cushman Jr, David Hasemyer and Lisa Song - were presented with the prestigious Edgar A Poe award.
Sports –
Indian shooters bagged 3 gold, 1 bronze in ISSF Junior World Cup
- Indian shooters bagged three gold medals and a bronze on the opening day of the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany on 1 May 2016.
- The Indians won a gold each in the team events of men's 25m standard pistol and women's 50m rifle prone competitions. India also earned an individual gold medal in the men's 25m standard pistol competition through Rituraj Singh. Gaayathri Nithyanadam bagged a bronze in the women's 50m rifle prone competition.
- The Indian team of Rituraj Singh, Shivam Shukla and Arjun Das walked away with the gold medal in the team event of the men's 25m standard pistol competition, shooting a total of 1661. France won the silver medal with 1659 points while Australia had to settle with the bronze with 1648 points.
Indian team won one silver, two bronze in Archery World Cup
- Indian team on 1 May 2016 bagged one silver and two bronze medals at Archery World Cup at the Yuanshen Stadium in Shanghai.
- The silver medal was secured by Indian women's team who lost to Chinese Taipei in the final. Women's team comprising Deepika Kumari, Bombayla Devi Laishram and Laxmirani Majhi lost to the lower-ranked Chinese Taipei 2-6 in the recurve team final.
- On the other hand, men's trio and mixed pair won their respective bronze playoffs in the first stage of Archery World Cup. The third seeded Indian men's recurve team of Atanu Das, Jayanta Talukdar and Mangal Singh Champia thrashed the ninth seed British team 6-0 to bag the bronze medal.
Nico Rosberg won 2016 Russian Grand Prix
- German Formula 1 Mercedes Driver Nico Rosberg on 1 May 2016 won 2016 Russian Grand Prix. It is his fourth win in a row this season.
- Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of United Kingdom stood second and Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen of Finland secured 3rd place in the tournament.
- The race, contested over fifty-three laps, was held at the Sochi Autodrom in Sochi, Russia. The race was the fourth round of the 2016 season and marked the fifth running of the Russian Grand Prix and the third time as a round of the Formula One World Championship.
Days –
International Labour Day celebrated globally
- International Labour Day was celebrated on 1 May 2016. The theme of the Day of 2016 is Celebrating the international labour movement. This is also known as International Worker's Day and May Day.
- The theme assumes further significance with economic relationships undergoing rapid change in the emerging global economic order.
- Giving due importance to the significance of the day about 80 countries across the world declared it as national holiday.
- Labour is one of the four key factors of production along with Land, Capital and organisation.
Regards
Team ExamPundit