15th May CURRENT AFFAIRS IN ENGLISH

1. Nepal to hold BIMSTEC 2018

Nepal's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli announced to host the 2018 Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit.

• During his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Nepali Prime Minister said Nepal will hold the BIMSTEC summit, while expressing commitment towards building the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal initiative.

2. Indian Army Women Officers’ Mountaineering Expedition to Mt. Bhagirathi-II

Indian Army Women Officers’ Mountaineering Expedition to Mt. Bhagirathi-II (6512 metres) consisting of nine women officers, was flagged off by Director General of Military Training on 14 May 2018.

• The expedition will be conducted from 14 May to 11 Jun 18.
• The team also plans to set a new world record of practicing Yoga at 21000 ft on the occasion of Yoga Day 2018.
• The expedition aims at encouraging women in the field of adventure where dauntless courage, will-power and determination is put to test.

 3. Regional Conference on “Physical and Social Infrastructure for Regional Development”

 

The Governor of Assam, Prof. Jagdish Mukhi inaugurated the two day Seminar being organized by the Ministry of Finance on the theme of “Physical and Social Infrastructure for Regional Development” in Guwahati, Assam.

• The Seminar is organized by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India in collaboration with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) and the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI).

4. Central assistance to Assam, HP, Sikkim and Raj and UT of Lakshadweep

The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh chaired a meeting of the High Level Committee (HLC) for Central Assistance to the States/ UT of Assam (affected by floods during 2017-18), Himachal Pradesh (affected by floods/ landslides during 2017-18), Sikkim (affected by floods/ landslides during 2017-18), Lakshadweep (affected by cyclone Ockhi during 2017) and Rajasthan (affected by kharif drought during 2017).

• The HLC approved assistance of Rs 480.87 crore in respect of state of Assam.
• The HLC also approved assistance from NDRF amounting to Rs 84.60 crore for the state of Himachal Pradesh, Rs 67.40 crore for the state of Sikkim, Rs 2.16 crore for the UT of Lakshadweep and Rs 526.14 crore for the state of Rajasthan.
• The total assistance approved was Rs 1,161.17 crores.

5. UNDP to set up skill development centre in Hyderabad

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will soon set up a skill development centre at 'Bharosa,' an integrated support centre for distressed women and children in Hyderabad.

• Last year, the Hyderabad Police had signed an agreement with UNDP under the 'Disha' project to build capacities and skills of women affected by violence to help make them economically self-sufficient.
• 'Bharosa,' an initiative of Hyderabad City Police, is a state-of-the-art centre to support women and children who are victims of violence.

6. DoT approves Bharti Airtel and Telenor India merger

 

The telecom department has approved the merger of Norwegian telecom major's India arm - Telenor India - with India's leading carrier Bharti Airtel.

• The telecom department has transferred all licenses belonging to Telenor India, and its liabilities to Bharti Airtel as well.
• The Competition Commission of India, Securities & Exchange Board of India, the stock exchanges and National Company Law Tribunal have already approved the acquisition.

7. RBI puts deposit, lending restrictions on Allahabad Bank

State-run Allahabad Bank said that the Reserve Bank has imposed restrictions on its lending to risky assets and raising high-cost deposits in vie w of deteriorating financial health.

• The directive has come within days of the RBI imposing similar restrictions on another state-run lender Dena Bank, which is under the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) of the central bank.
• The central bank asked Allahabad Bank, which is already under the PCA mechanism, to restrict expansion of risk weighted average and reduce exposure to un-rated and high-risk advances, the filing said.
• As many as 11 of 21 state-owned banks are under the PCA of the Reserve Bank due to their weak financials.

8. Smriti Irani removed from I&B ministry

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has temporarily assigned charge of the ministries of finance and corporate affairs to railway minister Piyush Goyal till Arun Jaitley recovers from a kidney transplant, while removing the controversy-scarred Smriti Irani from the high-profile I&B ministry.

• The Olympic medalist sports minister Rajyavardhan Rathore will now hold full scale charge of I&B ministry.
• SS Ahluwalia would be the junior minister for electronics and information technology instead of KJ Alphons, the MoS (independent charge) for tourism.

9. Odia actress Anita Das passes away

Popular Odia film and TV actress Anita Das passed away at her residence due to a cardiac stroke. She was 62.

• Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed grief over the untimely death of the veteran actress.
• In a career spanning over three decades, Anita Das won the hearts of many with her powerful roles in films like Suna Chadhei and Naga Phasa to name a few.