26th May CURRENT AFFAIRS IN ENGLISH

1. Nepal first country in south-east Asia to eliminate trachoma

Nepal has become the first country in south-east Asia to eliminate trachoma, world's leading cause of preventable blindness of infectious origin, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.

• Trachoma was the second leading cause of preventable blindness in the Himalayan nation in the 1980s.
• In 2002, the Government of Nepal had stepped up the efforts to eliminate trachoma with the establishment of a national trachoma programme.

2. PM Modi, Sheikh Hasina inaugurate Bangladesh Bhavan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina arrived at Santiniketan to attend the convocation of Visva Bharati University.

• Hasina, who is on a two-day visit on the invitation of Prime Minister Modi to India, was received by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
• The two leaders inaugurated the Bangladesh Bhavan within the campus here, as a symbol of the cultural ties between the two countries.

3. Yogi govt to change name of Allahabad to Prayag

Allahabad is set to be rechristened as ‘Prayag’, a long pending demand of sadhus and saints of the Sangam City. 

• The new name is likely to be approved by the state cabinet soon, sources in the government said in Lucknow.
• During his recent visit to Allahabad to release dates of Shahi Snan (royal bathing), Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad has urged Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to rename Allahabad as Prayag before the coming Kumbh Mela in 2019.

4. Kalyan, Kurla, and Thane feature in list of dirtiest railway stations in country

Three most busy stations of Mumbai’s suburban railways, Kalyan, Kurla, and Thane are among the ten dirtiest stations in the country. Kanpur Central station tops this list.

• Indian Railways conducted a survey between May 11 and May 17, assessing railway stations of the country, according to which, Mumbai is the only city with three stations in the list—Kalyan at 3, Kurla's Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) at 5 and Thane at 8.
• Passenger feedback is taken via Indian Railways' Interactive Voice Response System.  

5. TCS becomes first company to achieve Rs 7 lakh crore m-cap milestone

IT bellwether Tata Consultancy Services' market valuation briefly crossed the Rs 7-lakh crore mark, making it the first company to achieve this milestone.

• The market valuation of TCS jumped to Rs 7,03,309 crore during the intra-day session on the BSE.
• The Mumbai-headquartered TCS had last month become the first Indian company to close the trading session with over USD 100 billion market valuation.

6. New governors appointed for Odisha, Mizoram

Ganeshi Lal and Kummanam Rajasekharan have been appointed as Governors of Odisha and Mizoram respectively.

• Prof. Ganeshi Lal will take over from veteran Naga leader S C Jamir, who has completed his tenure.
• Kummanam Rajasekharan will replace Lt. General (Retd.) Nirbhay Sharma.

7. Justice C K Prasad appointed PCI chief for second term

 

Former Supreme Court judge C K Prasad has been appointed the chairman of the Press Council of India (PCI) for a second term.

• Prasad headed the media watchdog for three years from November 2014. He had succeeded Justice Markanday Katju.

8. CBDT Chairman Sushil Chandra gets one-year extension

Sushil Chandra will continue to be Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) for one more year as he gets one-year extension.

• CBDT is the top policy-making body for personal income tax and corporate tax and is part of the Finance Ministry.

9. Julia Louis-Dreyfus to Be Awarded Mark Twain Prize for Humor

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is this year’s recipient of the annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

• Ms. Louis-Dreyfus will receive the award on Oct. 21 in a ceremony in Washington.
• Past winners of the award include Richard Pryor, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Lily Tomlin and Eddie Murphy.