National News
Businesses are allowed to remain Open 24 hour in Gujarat
- Gujarat assembly passes the Gujarat Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2019 which allow the shops and other businesses in the state to operate 24×7.
- This Act replaced the Gujarat Shops and Establishments Act, 1948 which prevented shops and other businesses from operating between 12 to 6 a.m.
- According to the provision of the new act, working hours for women employees can only be between 6am to 9pm, which could be relaxed only if a written request is made and authorities have considered the safety issues for women.
India’s Last Captive white Tiger “Bajirao” Dies
- The last Captive of white tiger named “Bajirao” dies at the age of 18 due to chronic ankyloses (fusion of bones leads to abnormal stiffening and immobility of joint) on left shoulder and chronic senile generalised arthritis from past four years at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in Borivali, Mumbai.
- About White Tiger:
- They are not a separate sub-species of tiger. They are basically a pigmentation variant of the Bengal Tiger mainly found in Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar and in Sunderbans region. They are also called Bleached Tiger.
Purple Frog to be state Amphibian of Kerala
- Purple frog could be soon designated as Kerala's state amphibian.
- Kerela's leading Herpetologists (a specialist in study of reptiles and amphibians) has Mooted this proposal
- About Purple Frog:
- Scientific Name: Nasikabatrachus Sahyadrensis (N. Sahyadrensis).
- It is also known as Maveli Frog or Pignose Frog.
Government Introduces FAME II Scheme
- Government of India Introduces FAME II Scheme to boost the adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles.
- The scheme estimates that India as a country can save 64% of anticipated road-based mobility related energy demand and 37% of carbon emissions in 2030 by pursuing a shared, electric and connected mobility future.
- The transport sector in India continues to be the highest oil consuming sector and the use of diesel and petrol grew at 5.9% and 9.9% respectively in the last 10 years.
Re-Polling held in West Tripura
- The Election Commission has ordered re-polling in 168 booths of West Tripura parliamentary constituency on 12th May 2019
Microsoft Launches "ElectionGuard" for secure voting
- A free open-source Software Development Kit (SDK) "ElectionGuard" Launched by Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella to help nations to carry out secure and verifiable voting.
- About ElectionGuard:
- During the process of voting, voters have an optional step which allows them to track their votes from the moment he/she casts it, after the voter has verified the selections are correct to the final step of counting the votes.
- It does not work with vote-by-mail systems and is not designed to work with internet voting schemes as it can be easily hacked.
New species of Reddish-Brown Pit Viper in Arunachal Pradesh
- New species of Reddish-Brown Pit Viper discovered in Arunachal Pradesh by a team of herpetologists (specialized in study of reptiles and amphibians).
- With this, India is now home to the fifth Brown Pit Viper.
International News
India and Bangladesh to Produced Film on Mujibur Rahman
- A film based on the life and works of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and a documentary of Bangladesh Liberation War 1971 will jointly Produce by India and Bangladesh
- The movie will be directed by Shyam Benegal and the scriptwriter of the movie will be Atul Tiwari and the director of the documentary will be from Bangladesh who would be assisted by a co-director from India.
Publication of Fake News criminalized in Singapore
- A law (The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill) which criminalises publication of fake news in the country and allows government to block and order removal of such content , has been Passed by Singapore Government.
- Offenders could face a jail term of up to 10 years and heavy fines.
Climate Emergency Declared Republic of Ireland
- Republic of Ireland declares a climate emergency and with this it becomes second country in the world to declare this.
- Earlier on 1st May 2019, Britain's parliament became the first in the world to declare a climate emergency.
Contract signed Between Konkan Railways and Nepal Railways
- The contract agreement was signed between India's Konkan Railways Corporation Ltd and Nepal's Department of Railways to supply two 1600 HP Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) train sets.
- The trains will be manufactured by Integrated Coach Factory (owned and operated by Indian Railways) in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
- These trains will be used to operationalise the 34 km long railway corridor stretch which links Jayanagar in Bihar, India and Kurtha in Dhanusa district, Nepal.
Banking
RBI decide to enhance Housing loan limits for RRBs and SFBs
- A decision is taken by RBI to enhance the housing loan limits for Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and Small Finance Banks (SFBs) for eligibility under priority sector lending, in a bid to give them a level playing field with other Scheduled Commercial Banks.
- RBI said that the existing family income limit of Rs. 2 lakh per annum, prescribed in the master direction for RRBs and the compendium for SFBs, eligible for loans to housing projects exclusively for the purpose of construction of houses for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and Low-Income Groups (LIG), has been revised to Rs. 3 lakh per annum for EWS and Rs.6 lakh per annum for LIG.
RBI to Launch Mobile App for Visually Impaired
- The RBI has proposed to come out with a mobile application to aid visually impaired persons in identifying Indian currency notes.
- The application should be able to identify the denomination of legal tender banknotes of Mahatma Gandhi Series and Mahatma Gandhi (New) series by capturing the image of the notes placed in front of the mobile camera or scrolled across it.
Awards and Honours
| Awardee | Award |
|---|---|
| Sri Sri Ravi Shankar | 'Order of St. George' Award for the year 2019 |
| GD 'Robert' Govender | V K Krishna Menon Award 2019 |
| Tiger Woods | Presidential Medal of Freedom |
| Esha Singh and Akull Kumar | Silver at International Shooting Competition |
| Chhaya Sharma | McCain Institute Award 2019 |
Appointments
| Name | Appointed as |
|---|---|
| Laurentino Cortizo | New President of Panama |
| Dragan Mihailovic | Volleyball Federation Coach |
| Jagjit Pavadia | Re-elected to International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) |
| Igor Stimac | India’s Football Coach |
| Dia Mirza | One of the 17 New SDG Advocates |
| BMC Ajoy Mehta | Chief Secretary of Maharashtra |
Important days
| Date | Day | Theme |
|---|---|---|
| 11th May 2019. | World Migratory Bird Day | "Protect Birds: Be the Solution to Plastic Pollution!". |
| 12th May 2019 | International Nurses Day | 'Nurses - A Voice to Lead - Health for All'. |
| 11th May 2019 | National Technology Day | -- |
Defence
Indian Navy's 4th Scorpene-class submarine Launched
- Indian Navy's 4th Scorpene-class submarine "INS Vela", was launched at Mazagon Dockyard in Mumbai.
- This is the fourth submarine in the series of six submarines under Project 75 built by Mazagon Dock Ltd., Mumbai.
- The Scorpene-class submarine has been termed as the Kalavari Class.
Sports
Esha Singh and Akull Kumar won Silver in International Shooting
- Silver medal is won by India’s Esha Singh and Akull Kumar in Junior Mixed Air Pistol event in the International Shooting Competition at Hannover, Germany.
- Esha shot 385 out of 400 in qualification, as compared to the 370 by Akull.
Amul to sponsor Afghanistan Team in Cricket World Cup 2019
- Amul is all set to sponsor the Afghanistan cricket team in the upcoming World Cup 2019 which will be held in England and Wales from May 30th, 2019.
- Earlier in only two instances, Amul has sponsored any cricket team in the World Cup tournament. These two countries are New Zealand and Holland.
- About Amul:
- Anand Milk Union Limited or Amul is an Indian dairy company, based at Anand in the state of Gujarat.
- Formed in 1948, it is a cooperative brand managed by a cooperative body, the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd., which today is jointly owned by 3.6 million milk producers in Gujarat.
- It is headquartered in Anand, Gujarat.
First Women's Cricket Magazine 'Criczone' Released in India
- “Criczone” Women’s first cricket magazine releaed in India. It is the world first magazine which features only women cricketers.
- In its first edition launched in India, the magazine features Indian Women's Cricket team vice-captain Smriti Mandhana as cover story.
MI claim the IPL 2019 title
- Mumbai Indian have won the trophy of Indian Premier league 2019 Title.
- MI defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by one run on the last ball.
- Mumbai Indians became the first team to win the IPL title for 4 times.
Sana Mir becomes Highest Wicket-Taking Spinner in Women's ODI
- Sana Mir is a Pakistan off-spinner, becomes the most successful women's ODI spinner in history after she took her 147th wicket, highest ever by any spinner in One-day International (ODI) cricket.
- Currently, Mir is placed on the third position in the ICC's ODI bowling ranking, which is topped by Indian pacer Jhulan Goswami.
Novak Djokovic Won Madrid Open 2019
- Novak Djokovic, the World No. 1 tennis player has won the Madrid Open 2019 title.
- He defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas, the Greek tennis player and secured 6-3, 6-4.
- He equalled Rafael Nadal's record of 33 ATP Masters 1000 titles.
- It is also Djokovic's 200th victory against a Top 10 opponent.
Lewis Hamilton Won Formula One Spanish GP
- Lewis Hamilton won the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix at Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona and Mercedes sealed its fifth consecutive one-two finish.
- About the Spanish Grand Prix:
- The Formula One (or F1) is the highest class of single-seater auto racing in which the word "formula" refers to a set of rules which is to be met by all participants' cars.
Science and Technology
Scientists carry out the genetic study on Lakshadweep Islands Residents
- A genetic study is carried out for the first time by Scientists on people of Lakshadweep Islands which was conducted by a team of researchers at CSIR's (Council of Scientific & Industrial Research) Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB).
India's First indigenous microprocessor "AJIT" developed
- IIT Bombay’s Engineers developed a microprocessor called "AJIT" which could reduce the country's dependence on imports. The project was funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and IIT Bombay.
- About AJIT:
- AJIT is a medium-sized processor. It can be used inside a set-top box, as a control panel for automation systems, in a traffic light controller or even robotic systems.
- The expected price of the processor in the market will be Rs.100.
Highest-Resolution Image Sensor for Smartphones Introduced
- Samsung Electronics Co, unveiled the world's highest-resolution image sensor, with 64 megapixels for smartphones
- Samsung expanded its 0.8-micrometre pixel image sensor (smallest pixel size currently available in the global market) lineup by introducing two new 0.8-micrometre pixel image sensors:
Summits and Conferences
UN to hold Ocean Conference 2020
- United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has decided to hold the Ocean Conference 2020 in Lisbon, Portugal from June 2 to 6, 2020 with a theme of "Scaling up ocean action based on science and innovation for the implementation of Goal 14: stocktaking, partnerships and solutions".
- It will be co-hosted by the Governments of Portugal and Kenya.
