1. 7.3% economic growth – Jaitley says economy on recovery mode
(i) Finance Ministry Arun Jaitley said that the Indian Economy was on recovery mode after data showed that the economy grew at 7.3 per cent in 2014-15.
(ii) The country recorded 7.5 per cent growth in the January to March fiscal quarter, outpacing the Chinese GDP’s growth rate of 7 per cent in that quarter.
(iii)Growth Figures: Gross value added at basic prices: 7.2% in 2014-15, up from 6.6% in 2013-14; Farm sector: FVA growth estimated at 0.2% in 2014-15 versus 3.7% in 2013-14. Manufacturing Growth – 7.1 % in 2014-15 versus 5.3% in 2013-14.
2) DRDO gets two new men at the helm of affairs
(i) The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had been without a head for over three months. In a first, the government has split the two posts, DRDO Chief and Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister. So far, the two posts were held by the same person.
(ii) S Christopher has been appointed as the new DRDO chief and will be in charge of the day-to-day functioning of DRDO, technology development and co-ordination with the ministry.
(iii) G Satheesh Reddy has been appointed as the Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister. He would provide critical advice to the defence minister on technology and scientific and technological aspects of new acquisitions and would assist in decision making.
3) 2012 Manesar protest becomes the subject of a documentary film
(i) A 132-minute documentary by film-maker Rahul Roy titled, ‘The Factory’ is set to show the aftermath of the 2012 factory workers’ protest at Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar plant.
(ii) The documentary will be screened for the first time on May 30th at the India International centre.
(iii)The skirmish at the Manesar factory between one of the factory workers and a member of the management had resulted in rioting and violent protest by factory workers which resulted in the death of Avinash Kumar Dev, the HR General Manager of the Manesar Plant. Subsequently, an FIR filed by the Maruti Suzuki management named 147 workers and charged them with murder under the IPC. Furthermore, 500 workers were suspended without any notice.
4) 90% of global chemical weapons stockpile destroyed
(i) The Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has stated that 90 per cent of the world’s chemical armaments stockpile has been destroyed.
(ii) The Director General, Ahmet Uzumcu, announced that it goes to show that the world is on its way to get rid of chemical weapons.
(iii) Some 63,000 tons of declared chemical weapons, mostly from U.S. and Russian arsenals, have been destroyed in a safe manner since the global ban on producing and storing chemical weapons came into force in 1997.
5) NASSCOM launches cyber security task force
(i) The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) has launched a cyber security task force with the aim of transforming India into a cyber security research and training hub.
(ii) This development comes within three months of Prime Minister Modi exhorting youth in the IT industry to join the Government efforts to achieve the goal of digital India and to address global cyber security challenges.
(iii) Cyber security is a multi dimensional concept and nations all over the world have to take appropriate steps to make and implement cyber laws, manage information sharing and educate internet users as well as corporates about current challenges and related threats.
6) Nirbhay Sharma sworn in as Governor of Mizoram
(i) Retired Lt. General Nirbhay Sharma was sworn in as the Eighth Governor of Mizoram on May 26th 2015, Tuesday.
(ii) He is a former Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. He was transferred and appointed Governor of Mizoram by President Pranab Mukherjee on May 12th.
(iii) He replaced Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi who took additional charge of Mizoram.
7) World Cups 2018 and 2022 to be hosted in Russia and Qatar
(i) FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke confirmed that Russia and Qatar will host the Football World Cups in 2018 and 2022 respectively.
(ii) The news came amid the ongoing corruption scandal affecting football’s governing body.
(iii)The Swiss police had carried out raids in Zurich last Wednesday when FIFA officials were arrested on charges of receiving bribes to the tune of $ 150 million. A separate criminal investigation into the allocation of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups has been started.
8) Finance MInister Arun Jaitley announces setting up of NIIF
(i) Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has announced the creation of a National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) in the Union Budget.
(ii) The North block has issued a draft cabinet note on its formation and the note is likely to be taken up by the cabinet in the next few months.
(iii) The initial corpus of the National Investment Infrastructure Fund is likely to be between Rs. 5,000 crore to Rs. 10,000 crore.
9) CEAT Cricket Awards 2014 -15
(i) Ajinkya Rahane, the middle order Indian batsman, won the CEAT Indian Cricketer of the Year award while the Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakara bagged the International Cricketer of the Year honour.
(ii) The former Indian cricket captain, Kapil Dev, was conferred the International Lifetime Achievement Award.
(iii) The list of other award winners in the 19th edition of CEAT Awards is as follows:
* International Lifetime Achievement Award: Kapil Dev
* International Cricketer of the Year: Kumar Sangakkara
* Indian Cricketer of the Year: Ajinkya Rahane
* International Batsman of the Year: Hashim Amla
* International Bowler of the Year: Rangana Herath
* T20 Player of the Year: Dwayne Bravo
* Popular Choice Award: Kieron Pollard
* Special Performance of the Year Award: Rohit Sharma
* Domestic Cricketer of the Year: R Vinay Kumar
* Young Player of the Year: Deepak Hooda.
To get fresh updates about different exams on your Facebook & Twitter timelines, subscribe to our pages created specifically for them. We will post only exam specific links on these pages:
Bank PO:
FB:https://www.facebook.com/pagalguybankpo
Twitter:https://twitter.com/PaGaLGuYBankPO
SSC – CGL:
FB:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pagalguy-SSC-CGL-Others/879667042056262
Twitter:https://twitter.com/pagalguyssc
UPSC:
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pagalguy-UPSC/951926044840262
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PaGaLGuYUPSC