Krishna Murari as CJ of Punjab and Haryana HC
- The Union Law Ministry has cleared the appointment of Justice Krishna Murari of the Allahabad High Court as the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court.
- Justice Murari will succeed former chief justice S J Vazifdar, who retired on May 3.
- Punjab and Haryana High Court is the common High Court for Haryana, Punjab and Union Territory of Chandigarh.
RIMPAC from June 27, 2018
- As many as 26 countries, including India, would participate in the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) military exercise from June 27 to August 2, in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California.
- RIMPAC is known as the world’s largest international maritime exercise.
- Four countries — Brazil, Israel, Sri Lanka and Vietnam — are participating in RIMPAC for the first time in 2018.
Guidelines for Adventure Tourism launched
- The Government is for the first time issuing guidelines for Adventure Tourism in India.
- The guidelines on Safety and Quality Norms for Adventure Tourism in India have been formulated along with the Adventure Tour Operators Association of India.
- The aim of this initiative is to help adventure tour operators understand and execute safety guidelines in a better manner.
World No Tobacco Day observed on 31 May
- World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) is observed around the world every year on 31 May.
- It is intended to encourage a 24-hour period of abstinence from all forms of tobacco consumption around the globe.
- The World Health Organisation(WHO) has designated 31st May of each year as the World No Tobacco Day.
- The theme for 2018 is “Tobacco and heart disease”.
Panel ‘must’ for reviewing ratings
- Credit rating agencies (CRAs) will have to form a review committee of mostly independent members to decide on any request for a rating review.
- CRAs will have to disclose on their website all ratings that are not accepted by an issuer for at least 12 months.
- SEBI has proposed these measures as part of its attempts to strengthen the governance, accountability and functioning of CRAs.
Andhra Pradesh gets new state bird & flower
- Andhra Pradesh government has decided to notify ‘Rose-ringed parakeet’ popularly known as ‘Rama Chiluka’, as the state bird.
- The neem is the official tree of the Andhra Pradesh.
- The blackbuck is the animal while Jasmine as its state flower.
- Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated to create Telangana in June 2014.
U.S. Pacific Command renamed
- The United States renamed its strategically important Pacific Command (PACOM) to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
- Representatives from Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan, India, New Zealand, Canada, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brunei, and Nepal attended the change-of-command ceremony in Pearl Harbor.
- The renaming recognizes India’s increasing military relevance for the US.
India, Indonesia to set up task force
- India and Indonesia have agreed to set up a special task force to enhance connectivity between the strategic Andaman and Nicobar Islands and provinces in Sumatra Island.
- This will promote trade, tourism and people-to-people contacts.
- The Joint Task Force will undertake projects for port related infrastructure in and around Sabang which is an Indonesian island.
ICAI comes out with accounting standards
- The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has issued accounting standards for local bodies with respect to cash flow statements.
- The Accounting Standards for Local Bodies are aimed at ensuring that the financial reporting by local bodies reflects how efficiently and effectively local bodies have discharged their responsibilities.
- ICAI has issued the ‘Cash Flow Statements’.
India-Nepal joint military exercise begins
- A joint military exercise between India and Nepal began on May 30 in Uttrakhand.
- The military exercise, which is set to conclude of June 12, is called ‘Surya Kiran’ and is conducted alternatively in India and Nepal every six months.
- Surya Kiran with Nepal is India’s largest military exercise in terms of troop participation.
Rare, isolated neutron star discovered
- NASA scientists have discovered a special kind of neutron star for the first time outside of the Milky Way galaxy.
- Neutron stars are the ultra dense cores of massive stars that collapse and undergo a supernova explosion.
- The newly identified neutron star was discovered using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile.
Upgraded Pinaka rocket successfully test-fired
- An upgraded version of Pinaka rocket, with a guidance system and an enhanced range, was successfully test-fired from the Proof & Experiment Establishment at Chandipur in Odisha.
- Pinaka has now been upgraded into a guided version, with a navigation, guidance & control kit developed by the Research Centre, Imarat, Hyderabad.
- The conversion helped in enhancing the range and accuracy of Pinaka.
Sikkim govt approves MSP organic commodities
- Sikkim government has approved Minimum Support Price (MSP) for various organic horticultural commodities, mostly vegetables, being produced in the state in order to protect the interests of the farming community.
- The Sikkimese farmers will get differential MSP for the organic commodities.
- Sikkim government had banned sale of 27 non-organic food products in the state from April 1, 2018.
Microsoft becomes third most valuable firm
- Microsoft has surpassed Alphabet, in the market capitalisation for the first time in 3 years, becoming the 3rd most valuable firm after Apple & Amazon globally.
- On May 29, 2018, Microsoft reportedly had a market cap of $753 billion at the close of trading, almost $14 billion ahead of Alphabet.
- Apple leads with a market cap of $924 billion & Amazon is at second spot with nearly $783 billion.
Yes Bank inks MoU with SIDBI
- Yes Bank has entered into an agreement with SIDBI under which it will act as a preferred financial institution for giving loans to the small and medium enterprising customers.
- This will facilitate smooth flow of credit in a hassle-free manner to MSME customers availing term loan facility from SIDBI.
- Small enterprises will also be entitled to use Yes Bank’s varied banking solutions.
WTO to set up dispute panel
- The World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) dispute settlement body has agreed to set up a panel to examine America’s allegations against certain alleged export subsidy measures in India.
- The WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body agreed to a request from the US for the establishment of a dispute panel.
- India’s exports to the US stood at USD 42.21 billion in 2016-17.
Moody’s cuts India GDP growth forecast
- Moody’s Investors Service has cut India’s 2018 growth forecast to 7.3% from the previous estimate of 7.5%.
- Moody’s said that the economy is in cyclical recovery but higher oil prices & tighter financial conditions will weigh on the pace of acceleration.
- Moody’s, however, maintained its 2019 growth forecast at 7.5%.
- Moody’s said growth should benefit from an acceleration in rural consumption
Discus thrower Vikas Gowda retires
- Top Indian discus thrower Vikas Gowda has retired after competing at the highest level for more than 15 years.
- Gowda, who holds the national record of 66.28m, is one of the most decorated Indian athlete, having won a gold in the 2013 and 2015 Asian Championships.
- Awarded the Padma Shri in 2017, Gowda became the second Indian in 56 years to win an athletics gold at the CWG.
New Northern Army Commander
- Lt Gen Ranbir Singh has been appointed as the new Northern Army commander.
- Lt Gen Singh succeeds Lt Gen Anbu who has been appointed as the Vice-Chief of the Indian Army.
- Lt Gen Ranbir Singh was the Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO) when India carried out surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.
3rd Home Affairs Dialogue between India, UK
- The third Home Affairs’ Dialogue between India and UK was held in New Delhi.
- The dialogue covered a wide range of issues including cyber security, women safety, organized crime and terror financing.
- Detailed exchange of views took place between the two sides on Indian fugitives and economic offenders residing in the U.K.
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