786CurrentAffairsCompendiumMay2019 PDF

Current Affairs
Compendium
May 2019
PREFACE
This compendium is an outcome of inputs from your greatest GK mentors at
CP and has been finally put together by Dr. Rohit Singh. Dr. Rohit Singh is an
out and out academician, who has authored several books and GK Magazines
including the ones published by Wiley Publishers. A General Knowledge
enthusiast, he cleared Civil Services Mains examination in 2007, and since
then has been meticulously engaged in not only consuming but also creating
content. With a keen eye on competitive exams, his approach to current
events is both structured and exact.
Clat Possible: All rights reserved. Unauthorized copying, sale, distribution or

circulation of any of the contents of this work is a punishable offence under laws of
India.
CONTENT
National News ……………………………….………………………………………………………………………… 1
● Narendra Modi led NDA sweeps Indian General Election ……………………………….……… 1
● Chandranu Muru, becomes youngest Lok Sabha Member of Parliament ………….……… 1
● Union Cabinet extends Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi to all farmers ……………… 1
● UN designates Jaish chief Masood Azhar as global terrorist ……………………………………… 2
● Cyclone Fani incurs huge loss in Odisha ………………………………………………………………….… 2
● India to not entertain Human Right Council’s Special Rapporteurs on its report on J&K …. 2
● Supreme Court upholds validity of Karnataka law on SC/ST govt staff promotion ….… 3
● Justice Bobde in–house panel gives clean chit to CJI in sexual harassment probe ….… 3
● 15 jawans killed in IED blast at Gadchiroli Maoist attack ……………………….……………….… 3
● Retired judge to probe Civil Judge exam ………………………………………………………………..… 3
● After a gap of 4 years, Mizoram again goes ‘dry’ ……………………………………………………… 4
● Madras High Court limits L–G role in Puducherry administration …………………..………… 4
● Haryana State gender ratio increases by10 points …………………………………………….……… 5
International News ………………………………………………………………………………………….………… 5
● Switzerland votes for tighter gun control laws by huge margin ………………………………… 5
● Trump unveils ‘merit–based’ immigration policy plan ……………………………………………… 5
● Russia, Netherlands Reach Settlement for Greenpeace Ship Seizure ……………………….. 6
● United Arab Emirates launches ‘golden card’ permanent residency scheme for expats …. 6
● ‘Christchurch Call’ adopted by dozen countries and global tech giants ……………………. 6
● China hits back, imposes tariff hike on U.S. goods worth $60 bn ……………………………… 7
● Putin approves ‘Sovereign Internet’ Law, increasing Government Control of Internet …... 7
● SCO foreign ministers meeting held in Kyrgyzstan …………………….…………………………….. 8
● Second Belt and Road Summit held in Beijing …………………….…………………….……………… 8
● Bangladesh bans fishing for 65 days to save fish …………………….……………………………….. 8
● Paris Eiffel Tower Celebrates 130th Birthday …………………….…………………………………….. 9
● San Francisco is first US city to ban facial recognition …………………….……………………….. 9
● Austrian Lawmakers sacks Chancellor Kurz …………………….…………………….…………………. 9
● Akihito Abdicates the Throne as Japan Marks End of Era ………………………………..….….. 10
● US Imposes Sanctions On Iran Metals, Tehran Eases Nuclear Deal Compliance ..….… 10
● Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks sentenced to 50 weeks in prison ..….……………. 10
● Israel to hold fresh polls as Benjamin Netanyahu fails to form coalition govt ..….…… 11
● Pakistan Senate passes bill to fix marriage age as 18 for girls ..….…………………...….….. 11
● Suez Canal: A century and fifty ..….…....….…....….…....….…....….…....….……………………… 11
International Relations of India ………………………………………………………………………………. 12
● India invited BIMSTEC leaders for Modi’s swearing–in …………………………………………… 12
(i)
● India, Mongolia sign pact on new oil refinery ………………………………………………………… 12
● UK joins International Solar Alliance ………………………………………………………………………. 13
● Iran foreign minister visits India amid falling oil revenue ……………………………………….. 13
● India to supply DEMU train sets to Nepal to run between Jayanagar and Kurtha …… 13
Economics & Financial Awareness …………………………………………………………………………… 14
● Pepsi Company withdrew lawsuit against Indian farmers ………………………………………. 14
● Iraq becomes India’s top oil supplier ……………………………………………………………………… 14
● Basmati exports from India touch record high in FY19 …………………………………………… 14
● Singapore becomes India’s top FDI source …………………………………………………………….. 15
● Commerce Ministry unveils a comprehensive draft of the export policy ………………… 15
● SEBI tightens disclosure norms for listed debt securities ………………………………………… 16
● Reserve Bank proposes stringent regulations for struggling NBFCs ………………………… 16
● RBI plans to build a cadre for supervisory and regulatory roles ……………………………… 17
● Reliance emerges the biggest company by revenue ………………………………………………. 17
● India removed from US currency monitoring list ……………………………………………………. 17
● Gold imports rise 54% to $ 3.97 billion in April ………………………………………………………. 17
● Indian economy projected to grow at 7.1% in FY20: UN report ……………………………… 18
● Decline in user base for telcos in India …………………………………………………………………… 18
● GST Collections At Record High Of Rs 1,13,865 Crore In April ………………………………… 18
● India’s Service Sector Growth Hits 7–Month Low: Survey ………………………………………. 19
Defence & Security – National / International …………………………………………………………. 19
● Apache Guardian helicopter formally handed over to India …………………………………… 19
● Varuna 2019: joint navy exercise between India and France concludes …………………. 20
● Fourth Scorpene–class submarine Vela launched ………………………………………………….. 20
● SIMBEX 2019: India–Singapore navies conclude joint maritime exercise ……………….. 20
● India joins US, Japan, and Philippines for naval drills in South China Sea ……………….. 21
● Defence Research Body Test Fires Guided Bomb from Sukhoi Combat Jet …………….. 21
● IAF’s first all–women crew flies Mi–17 V5 helicopter …………………………………………….. 21
● Union Government to create Special Forces division ……………………………………………… 22
Science and Technology ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 22
● India adopts new definition of kilogram …………………………………………………………………. 22
● SpaceX puts up 60 internet satellites ……………………………………………………………………… 23
● First all–electric vertical take–off and landing passenger jet unveiled ……………………. 23
● Japan’s private rocket reaches outer space for first time ……………………………………….. 24
● Virtually energy–free superfast computing invented by scientists using light pulses.. 24
● India Successfully Launches RISAT–2B Earth–Observation Satellite ………………………… 24
● Amazon’s Jeff Bezos unveils moon lander plans …………………………………………………….. 25
● Researchers discover the Achilles’ heel of an aggressive brain cancer ……………………. 25
● Solar Cell with Bacteria at its Core ………………………………………………………………………….. 26
● Google cuts off Huawei phones from future Android updates ……………………………….. 26
(ii)
Ecology and Environment ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 26
● India’s Dutch government issues first green bond, with triple A rating …………………… 26
● Earth’s carbon dioxide has jumped to the highest level in human history ………………. 27
● 180 nations agree UN deal to regulate export of plastic waste ………………………………. 27
● New species of pit–viper found in Itanagar ……………………………………………………………. 28
● New fish species discovered that can detect wavelengths ……………………………………... 28
● Plant with high medicinal value found in Assam …………………………………………………….. 28
Art and Culture ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 29
● UNESCO includes Kailash Mansarovar in tentative list of world heritage sites ……….. 29
● ASI unearths treasure at U.P. site …………………………………………………………………………… 29
● Madhya Pradesh’s Orchha makes it to tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites ….. 30
Appointments/Elected ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 30
● Australia election: Morrison celebrates ‘miracle’ win …………………………………………….. 30
● Thailand’s King Vajiralongkorn crowned …………………………………………………………………. 30
● Cyril Ramaphosa takes oath as South Africa’s President …………………………………………. 31
● Maldives ex–president Nasheed nominated as new Speaker 31
● Volodymyr Zelensky scored a landslide victory in the Ukrainian presidential election …… 31
● Joko Widodo secures second term as Indonesia’s president …………….……………………. 32
● Panama elections: Centrist Laurentino Cortizo declared winner ……………………………. 32
● Pema Khandu sworn in as Arunachal Pradesh CM …………………………………………………. 32
● P.S. Golay sworn in as Sikkim Chief Minister ………………………………………………….………. 33
● Naveen Patnaik takes oath as Odisha Chief Minister ………………………….…………………. 33
● Andhra’s Jaganmohan Reddy takes oath as CM ……………………………………….……………. 33
● Dr O P Chaudhary Has Taken Over Charge as Chairman AWBI …………………………….…. 33
● Justice DN Patel appointed next Chief Justice of Delhi High Court …………………………. 34
● Justice A. K. Sikri Appointed As Chairperson of the News Broadcasting Standards Authority.. 34
● RBI appoints R. Gandhi on board of Yes Bank ………………………………………………………… 34
Honours / Awards …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 35
● Shyam Saran to be conferred with Japan’s ‘Order of the Rising Sun’ award …………… 35
● Indra Nooyi presented with an honorary degree with Yale University …………………… 35
● G D Robert Govender honoured with V K Krishna Menon Award ………………………….. 35
● Jokha Alharthi wins Man Booker International Prize ……………………………………………… 36
● UNDRR confers Dr P.K. Mishra and Mahila Housing Sewa Trust with Sasakawa Award 2019.. 36
● Cannes Film Festival 2019 Awards …………………………………………………………………………. 36
● Emmy awards 2019 winners ………………………………………….………………………………………. 37
● 2019 billboard music awards ………………………………………….……………………………………… 37
Sports …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 38
● 12th edition of Indian Premier League ………………………………………….……………………….. 38
● Women’s T20 Challenge: Supernovas beat Velocity in final …………………………………… 39
● Windies’ Shai Hope, John Campbell Record Highest Opening Partnership …………….. 39
(iii)
● GS Lakshmi becomes the first female ICC match referee ……………………………………….. 39
● Hockey: Indian women’s team clinch series against South Korea …………………………… 40
● Brooks Koepka retains US PGA Championship ……………………………………………………….. 40
● Chelsea beat Arsenal 4–1 to win Europa League final ……………………………………………. 40
● Premier League: Man City claim second successive title ………………………………………… 40
● Lazio Beats Atalanta to Win 7th Coppa Italia Title …………………………………………………. 41
● Manchester City crush Watford 6–0 in FA Cup final ………………………………………………. 41
● Valencia claim Copa del Rey ………………………………………….………………………………………. 41
● Bayern Munich Wins Seventh Straight Bundesliga Title …………………………………………. 42
● Bayern Munich win German Cup ………………………………………….………………………………… 42
● Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic to win Italian Open …………………………………………. 42
● Novak Djokovic beats Stefanos Tsitsipas to win Madrid Open ………………………………… 43
● Lewis Hamilton wins Spanish GP ………………………………………….………………………………… 43
● Lewis Hamilton secures Monaco Grand Prix win in dramatic finish ………………………… 43
● Apurvi Chandela is world number one in 10m air rifle ……………………………………………. 43
● China Win Sudirman Cup ………………………………………….……………………………………………. 44
● Indian boxers win six medals at 36th Feliks Stamm International Boxing ……………….. 44
● Asian Squash championship: Ghosal and Joshna emerged champion …………………….. 44
● Bajrang Punia bags gold in Ali Aliyev wrestling tournament …………………………………… 45
● South Africa’s Caster Semenya ousted …………………………………………………………………… 45
Obituaries ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 45
● Binyavanga wainaina ………………………………………….………………………………………………….. 45
● Bob Hawke ………………………………………….………………………………………………………………… 46
● Doris Day ………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………… 46
● Edmund Morris ………………………………………….…………………………………………………………. 46
● Leoh Ming Pei ………………………………………….……………………………………………………………. 46
● Herman Wouk ………………………………………….……………………………………………………………. 47
● John Singleton ………………………………………….…………………………………………………………… 47
● Judith Kerr ………………………………………….………………………………………………………………… 47
● Murray Gell Mann ………………………………………….…………………………………………………….. 47
● Prem Tinsulanonda ………………………………………….…………………………………………………… 48
● Niki Lauda ………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………. 48
● NR Madhavan Menon ………………………………………….………………………………………………... 48
● Roshan Taneja ………………………………………….…………………………………………………………… 49
● Master Hirannaiah ………………………………………….…………………………………………………….. 49
● Vijaya Mulay ………………………………………….……………………………………………………………… 49
● Sammy Shore ………………………………………….……………………………………………………………. 50
● Thopil Mohamed Meeran ………………………………………….………………………………………….. 50
Important Days ………………………………………….…………………………………………………………… 50
Sources ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 51
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Current Affairs COMPENDIUM May, 2019
May, 2019
NATIONAL NEWS
Narendra Modi led NDA sweeps Indian General Election
● The NDA surpassed its last tally of 336 to achieve a super–sized number of 350 plus seats,
out of the total 542 Lok Sabha seats.
● The BJP–led NDA government became the only non–Congress government to return to
power in the Indian political history.
● BJP itself scored won 303 seats across the country.
● After Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, Narendra Modi also became the third prime
minister of India who retained power for a second term with full majority in Lok Sabha.
Chandranu Muru, becomes youngest Lok Sabha Member of Parliament
● A 25–year–old engineering graduate from Odisha,
Chandranu Muru has become the youngest Member of
Parliament to the 17th Lok Sabha.
● She was elected as Biju Janata Dal candidate from the
tribal–dominated Keonjhar seat.
● Until now, the youngest MP was Dushyant Chautala, former Haryana chief minister O P
Chautala’s son and founder of the Jannayak Janta Party, who became the Hisar Lok
Sabha MP in 2014.
Union Cabinet extends Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi to all farmers
● The Union Cabinet, which held its first meeting, decided
to extend the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM
Kisan) to all farmers in the country irrespective of their
landholdings.
● The ₹75,000–crore PM Kisan scheme, was first
announced in the Interim Budget on February 1, where
it was meant only for small and marginal farmers.
1
● As per the PM Kisan scheme, poor farmers would be given a total of ₹6,000 annually, in
three equal instalments.
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UN designates Jaish chief Masood Azhar as global terrorist
● In a big win for the country’s defence forces, the United
Nations Security Council has designated Jaish–e–
Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.
● Masood Azhar was named a global terrorist by the UNSC
1267 Al–Qaeda Sanctions Committee on after China lifted
its hold on a proposal in this regard by the United States,
United Kingdom and France.
● China had placed a technical hold on the proposal back on March 13.
● This is the first time that a terrorist is being listed by the UN following an attack in the
state of Jammu and Kashmir.
● Pakistan based Jaish–e–Mohammed had taken the responsibility for the attack on a
CRPF convoy in Pulwama which claimed the lives of 40 security personnel in February
this year.
Cyclone Fani incurs huge loss in Odisha
● The Odisha government has devastated by extremely
severe cyclone Fani.
● According to the report, Odisha has incurred a huge
loss of Rs 11,942 crore
● The name of the Cyclone ‘Fani’, pronounced as ‘Foni’
was suggested by Bangladesh. It means ‘Snake’ or
‘hood of snake’.
● India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan and Thailand send
names of tropical cyclones developing in the North Indian Ocean to the regional
committee. Presently, each country has suggested eight names for cyclones occurring in
future. The name ‘Fani’ was decided from a list containing 64 names.
India to not entertain Human Right Council’s Special Rapporteurs on its
report on Jammu & Kashmir
● India has informed the United Nations body that it
will no longer entertain any communication with the
Geneva–based Human Rights Council (HRC)’s Special
Rapporteurs on its report on the alleged violations in
Jammu and Kashmir.
2
● The UN report came at the same time a report from

two NGOs in the State on the alleged cases of torture
was released in Srinagar, which was endorsed by a former UN Special Rapporteur.
● The current Special Rapporteurs on Extrajudicial Executions, Torture, and Right to
Health are Agnes Callamard, Dainius Puras and Nils Melzer.
Supreme Court upholds validity of Karnataka law on SC/ST govt staff
promotion
● The Supreme Court upheld the validity of a law passed by
Karnataka legislature, granting reservation in promotion to
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) employees.
● The Karnataka Extension of Consequential Seniority to
Government Servants Promoted on the Basis of Reservation (To
the Posts in the Civil Services of the State) Act, 2017 received
the President’s assent last year. It was published in the gazette
on June 23, 2018.
● This judgment is significant as Karnataka becomes the first State to gain from a
Constitution (five–judge) Bench order of September 2018 that modified a 2006 order
requiring the States to show quantifiable data to prove the “backwardness” of a SC/ST
community in order to provide quota in promotion in public employment.
Justice Bobde in–house panel gives clean chit to CJI in
sexual harassment probe
● The Justice S.A. Bobde in–house committee has found “no
substance” in the sexual harassment allegations levelled by a
former Supreme Court staff member against Chief Justice of
India Ranjan Gogoi.
15 jawans killed in IED blast at Gadchiroli Maoist attack
● At least 16 people, including 15 security personnel, were
killed in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast
triggered by Naxals in Gadchiroli district, Maharashtra.
● This is the fourth Maoist attack in Gadchiroli, which
borders Chattisgarh, since the national election began in
April.
● The Ministry of Home Affairs, brought down the number
of districts affected with Naxal violence from 106 to 90, spread across 11 states.
Retired judge to probe Civil Judge exam
● The Supreme Court appointed former Supreme Court judge,
Justice A.K. Sikri, to examine the evaluation process of the
3
main exam for the post of Civil Judge (Junior Division) in

Haryana, in which only nine people were shortlisted out of
more than 1,100 candidates.
● A Bench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi highlighted how the exam was meant to fill
up 107 vacancies.
After a gap of 4 years, Mizoram again goes ‘dry’
● North –Eastern state, Mizoram has once again become a
“completely dry state” following a new liquor law that
prohibits the sale and consumption of alcohol.
● The Mizo National Front (MNF) government, which came
to power in 2018 with prohibition as one of its main
promises, had passed the Mizoram Liquor (Prohibition) Bill 2019 in the state assembly
on March 20 this year.
● The new law would prohibit import, export, transport, manufacture, possession, sale
and consumption of alcohol in the state except in the three autonomous district
councils.
● Mizoram has a population of 1.1 million (2011 census). It earns around Rs 70 crore
revenue annually from liquor.
Madras High Court limits L–G role in Puducherry administration
● The Madras High Court recently ruled out that the Lieutenant–
Governor (L–G) of Puducherry could not interfere with the day–
to–day administration of the Union Territory when an elected
government was in place.
● The court said incessant interference from the L–G would
amount to running a “parallel government.”
● The judge made it clear that government secretaries were
bound to take instructions from the Ministers and the Council of Ministers, headed by
the Chief Minister.
Asian Development Bank given in–principle nod to finance Delhi–Meerut rapid rail corridor
● The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has given in–principle
nod for financing four Metro rail projects and Rs 30,274
crore for rapid rail corridor between Delhi and Meerut as
part of its effort to improve urban transport system in
India.
● ADB will co–finance the rapid rail project between Delhi
and Meerut in Uttar Pradesh with other multi–lateral
funding agencies including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
● The 82 km stretch will be covered in less than 60 minutes.
4
● ADB is also involved in financing preparation of the master plan of Vizag–Chennai and
the Chennai–Kanyakumari industrial corridors.
Haryana State gender ratio increases by10 points
● Haryana has witnessed a rise in the sex ratio at birth (SRB) in
the first quarter of the current year with 924 girls born against
1,000 boys.
● Haryana’s sex ratio at birth was 914 in 2018.
● Panchkula has topped the state with the highest SRB of 982,
while Jhajjar has performed dismally and is at the bottom of the tally, followed by Sirsa
and Mahendragarh.
● As per the civil registration system, the SRB is less than 900 in Jhajjar, Sirsa and
Mahendragarh districts.
International News
Switzerland votes for tighter gun control laws by huge margin
● Swiss voters have agreed by a nearly two–to–
one margin to adopt tighter gun controls in line
with changes to European Union rules, heading
off a clash with Brussels.
● The measure passed in the binding referendum
under the Swiss system of direct democracy by
a 64%–36% margin, provisional final results
showed.
● The restrictions, which apply to Switzerland as a non–EU member because it is part of
Europe’s Schengen open–border system, had raised hackles among shooting enthusiasts
before the vote.
● Failure to adopt the rules could have forced Switzerland to leave the passport–free
Schengen zone and the Dublin joint system for handling asylum requests.
Trump unveils ‘merit–based’ immigration policy plan
● US President Donald Trump has outlined
plans for a new US immigration system
designed to favour younger, better
educated, English–speaking workers.
● In an address at the White House, he
proposed moving away from the current
system that favours applicants with family
5
ties to the US. He said border security

would be beefed up and a tougher line taken on asylum seekers. He said immigrants
would be “required to learn English and to pass a civics exam prior to admission”.
● Criticising the current asylum process, he said: “Our nation has a proud history of
affording protection to those fleeing government persecutions.
Russia, Netherlands Reach Settlement for Greenpeace Ship Seizure
● The Netherlands and Russia have reached a settlement
over the 2013 detention of the Dutch–flagged
Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise and 30 members of her
crew.
● The Arctic Sunrise was involved in a protest in September
2013 in which activists attempted to climb onto
Gazprom’s Prirazlomnaya platform in the Pechora Sea,
30 nm off Russia’s Arctic coast.
● The confrontation escalated, and Russian federal security officers boarded the Sunrise,
seized the vessel and arrested 30 members of her crew. The ship was held for eight
months, and Greenpeace said that she was damaged when she was returned from
Russian custody.
● In 2017, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ordered the Russian
government to pay the Netherlands $6 million in damages for seizing a Dutch–flagged
vessel in international waters. The two sides eventually negotiated the amount down to
$2.7 million.
● Greenpeace expects to receive a portion of this award for damages to the ship and for
compensation for the detainees. The organization says that it plans to use remaining
funds to campaign for climate protection.
United Arab Emirates launches ‘golden card’ permanent residency scheme
for expats
● The UAE has launched a permanent residency scheme for
expatriates dubbed the ‘Golden Card, as per announcement of
the country’s Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of
Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
● This step of UAE will see permanent residency granted to investors and exceptional
doctors, engineers, scientists and artists.
‘Christchurch Call’ adopted by dozen countries and global tech giants
● A dozen countries and global tech giants including
Facebook, Google and Twitter pledged to find ways to
keep internet platforms from being used to spread hate,
organise extremist groups and broadcast terror attacks.
6
● US will not sign the “Christchurch Call to Action” against

online extremism.
● The call is a set of guidelines named after the New Zealand city where 51 people were
killed in a March attack on mosques.
● Part of the attack had been broadcast live on Facebook, drawing public outrage and
fuelling the debate on how to better regulate social media.
● The agreement, which was drafted by the French and New Zealand governments, aims
to prevent similar abuses of the internet while insisting that any actions must preserve
“the principles of a free, open and secure internet, without compromising human rights
and fundamental freedoms.”
● The call was adopted by Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, YouTube, along
with France’s Qwant and DailyMotion, and the Wikimedia Foundation.
● The countries backing it were France, New Zealand, Britain, Canada, Ireland, Jordan,
Norway, Senegal, Indonesia and the European Union’s executive body.
China hits back, imposes tariff hike on U.S. goods worth $60 bn
● China said it will raise tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S.
goods from June 1, in retaliation to the latest round of
U.S. tariff hikes and Washington’s plans to target
almost all Chinese imports.
● The announcement came after the latest round of U.S.–
China trade negotiations ended without a deal, and
after Washington increased tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.
● U.S. President Donald Trump had also ordered the start of a process to impose new
duties on another $300 billion worth of Chinese items.
● The new rates will target a number of American imports with tariffs ranging from 5% to
25%, according to a statement by the Tariff Policy Commission of the State Council —
China’s Cabinet. In a previous round of tit–for–tat moves, the U.S. imposed 10% tariffs
on $200 billion of Chinese imports in September.
Putin approves ‘Sovereign Internet’ Law,
increasing Government Control of Internet
● Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed
into law a new measure that aims to expand
government control over the Internet,
government has considered its a defensive
move in case the United States were to cut
Russia off from the global Internet.
7
● Critics have warned that the new law, will lead to censorship over wide parts of the
Internet. It will allow for greater surveillance by Russian intelligence agencies, and the
ability of state authorities to control information.
● If that were to happen, Russia’s media regulator, Roskomnadzor, would essentially seize
control of Russia’s Internet and would then be able to filter all Internet traffic.
● Roskomnadzor’s chief, Aleksandr Zharov, said that the measures would also target
Telegram, a popular messaging app that is widely used by Russians.
SCO foreign ministers meeting held in Kyrgyzstan
● Foreign ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organization
(SCO) member states held a ministerial meeting in
Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek.
● Among the attendees were Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Chingiz
Aidarbekov, Russia’s Sergei Lavrov, Kazakhstan’s Beibut
Atamkulov, Uzbekistan’s Abdulaziz Kamilov, Tajikistan’s
Sirodjidin Aslov, India’s Sushma Swaraj, Pakistan’s Shah
Mehmood Qureshi and Secretary–General of the SCO Vladimir Norov.
● After the meeting, a medium–term roadmap for the development of cooperation
between the SCO secretariat and the observer states and dialogue partner countries was
signed.
● The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and security organization established in 2001,
originally including Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
● External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that India is determined to consistently
strengthen cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, SCO, a
framework for comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security.
Second Belt and Road Summit held in Beijing
● The second BRI was held in context of strong backlash of the projects, as BRI’s
sustainability is called into further question.
● In this summit, China took a conciliatory outlook towards issues of contention and
shown flexible approach to solve them.
● Belt and Road Initiative was unveiled six years back by China.
● Its objectives were focused on exporting surplus industrial capacity, stabilizing western
provinces of China and lastly creating institutions to challenge USA.
Bangladesh bans fishing for 65 days to save fish
● Bangladesh has banned fishing off its coast for 65
days to try and boost depleted fish stocks.
● All types of fishing vessels would be covered by the
ban and coast guards would enforce it. Thousands of
8
fishermen have planned protests – arguing that they

will be left without a source of income.
● The ban – lasting from 20 May until 23 July – is timed to occur with the breeding season.
● The government says that fishing will now be banned between 20 May and 23 July every
year.
● Fish, such as hilsa, forms an important part of local diets and is also processed for export.
● Hilsa, a kind of herring, used to be abundant in the waters along the Bay of Bengal but
stocks have declined in recent decades due to overfishing.
● Bangladesh is responsible for about 60% of the total catch globally and the market for
hilsa is worth more than $2bn.
Paris Eiffel Tower Celebrates 130th Birthday
● The Eiffel Tower has celebrated its 130th birthday in
Paris, with the city marking the anniversary with a
light show at the famed monument.
● Built for the 1889 World’s Fair, the tower –– which
soars to 324 metres in height and weighs 7,300
tonnes –– still attracts nearly seven million visitors every year.
● Despite calls for its demolition in the years after the exhibition, it soon became the most
iconic feature on the Paris skyline and is France’s most visited monument.
● The tower was the tallest structure in the world for 41 years until the construction of
the Chrysler Building in New York in 1930.
San Francisco is first US city to ban facial recognition
● Legislators in San Francisco have voted to ban the use
of facial recognition, the first US city to do so.
● The emerging technology will not be allowed to be used
by local agencies, such as the city’s transport authority,
or law enforcement.
● Additionally, any plans to buy any kind of new surveillance technology must now be
approved by city administrators.
● Opponents however argued the systems are error prone, particularly when dealing with
women or people with darker skin.
Austrian Lawmakers sacks Chancellor Kurz
Austrian conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz suffered the
biggest setback of his meteoric career as parliament voted the
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32–year–old’s government out of office in the wake of a video

sting that blew up his coalition with the far right.
● Kurz became the head of a caretaker government just days ago and hoped to use that
position as a springboard to re–election, depicting himself as more of a victim of the
current crisis than its enabler who brought the FPO into power. But the center–left
opposition said he shared the blame, and the FPO backed it.
Akihito Abdicates the Throne as Japan Marks End of Era
● Japanese head of state Akihito announced his abdication at a
palace ceremony on April 30 in his final address, as the nation
embraced the end of his reign with reminiscence and hope for a
new era.
● Akihito’s reign officially ended at midnight, when his son Crown
Prince Naruhito, who observed Akihito’s abdication ceremony,
succeeds him as nation’s 126th head of state.
● Naruhito’s wife Masako and daughter Aiko are barred from the ceremony because they
are female members of the royal family, a palace tradition that the government upheld
despite criticism that it is out of step with modern values.
● The role of the Japanese head of state is largely symbolic in Japan’s postwar constitution.
US Imposes Sanctions On Iran Metals, Tehran Eases Nuclear Deal Compliance
● An executive order issued by Trump covers Iran’s iron,
steel, aluminium, and copper sectors, the government’s
largest non–petroleum–related sources of export
revenue and 10 percent of its export economy.
● Iran had announced hours earlier that it was relaxing
some restrictions on its nuclear program, steps that
stopped short of violating the deal with world powers for now, but threatening more
action if countries do not shield it from U.S. sanctions.
● The administration says the nuclear deal, negotiated by Trump’s predecessor Barack
Obama, was flawed as it is not permanent, does not address Iran’s ballistic missile
program and does not punish it for waging proxy wars in the Middle East.
● Tensions between the two countries were already high when the Trump administration
said that it was deploying a carrier strike group and bombers to the Middle East in
response to what it said were “troubling indications and warnings” from Iran.
Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks sentenced to 50 weeks in prison
● Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks who took refuge
in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2012 to avoid
being extradited to Sweden over sexual assault charges,
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has been sentenced to 50 weeks in jail – just under the

maximum possible sentence of 12 months – for flouting
bail conditions by a court in London.
● It comes ahead of a hearing due to take place later this week at Westminster Magistrates
Court as part of efforts to extradite him to the U.S.
● The U.S. Justice Department has charged Mr. Assange with conspiring with Chelsea
Manning, the former intelligence analyst, to break into a classified US government
computer by cracking a Department of Defence password.
Israel to hold fresh polls as Benjamin Netanyahu fails to form coalition govt
● In an unprecedented development, Israeli lawmakers have
voted to dissolve Parliament after Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu failed to form a coalition government before a
midnight deadline, triggering a fresh general election to be
held on September 17.
● In little more than six weeks since they were elected, Israeli lawmakers voted 74–45 in
favour of dissolving the 21st Knesset (Israeli Parliament) and hold a second general
election in the same calendar year.
● It is the first time in Israel’s history that a Prime Minister–designate has failed to form a
coalition.
Pakistan Senate passes bill to fix marriage age as 18 for girls
● The Pakistani Senate passed a bill to amend the Child Marriage
Restraint Bill, 1929, to set the minimum age to be able to
marry as 18 years.
● The Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Bill, 2018, aims to
“curb the menace of child marriage prevalent in the country
and save women from exploitation”, underage marriage.
● The bill can lead to imprisonment of up to three years, a fine
of at least Rs100,000 or both.
Suez Canal: A century and fifty
● The Suez Canal, opened in 1869, has turned 150 in 2019.
It took 11 years to construct the canal, which connects
the Red Sea with the eastern Mediterranean Sea and
extends 100 miles (160 km) from Port Said to the Gulf of
Suez.
● The Suez Canal is the lifeline of Egypt. In a year, more
than 25,000 vessels use the canal with the tanker trade, very large crude carriers (VLCC)
and ultra large crude carriers (ULCC), being the most lucrative.
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● In the geography of transport, straits are known as chokepoints because they limit the
capacity of sea passage that cannot be easily bypassed.
● In the global sea routes, the seven important chokepoints through which oil is transited
and traded are Hormuz, Malacca, Bab–el– Mandab, Bosphorus, Gibraltar, Panama and
the Suez.
● While Panama and Suez are human creations, others are natural straits, gifts of nature
to mankind. That is why Panama and Suez are called canals because they were excavated
and engineered.
International Relations of India

India invited BIMSTEC leaders for Modi’s swearing–in
● India invited the leaders of Bangladesh,
Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and
Bhutan to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
inauguration on 30 May, signalling the
primacy of neighbourhood and economic
diplomacy, as well as connectivity, in Modi’s
second term in office.
● In 2014, Modi had invited the leaders of the South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (Saarc)—Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka—
besides the prime minister of Mauritius.
● The President of the Kyrgyz Republic (Sooronbay Jeenbekov), who is the current chair of
the (regional) Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and the Prime Minister of
Mauritius (Pravind Jugnauth) were also been invited. The Indian–origin Jugnauth was
present at Modi’s inauguration in 2014 as well.
India, Mongolia sign pact on new oil refinery
● India has inked a pact with its strategic Central Asian
partner country Mongolia to establish an oil refinery
in Sainshand in the Dornogobi province, Mongolia.
● The refinery there will have a capacity of 1.5 million
metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) and the project
will be funded by the Exim Bank of India under the US$ 1 billion Line of Credit (LoC) from
India.
● There are estimates that this could perhaps be the single largest LoC funded project from
India.
● Mongolia is China’s neighbour but was historically close politically to the erstwhile Soviet
Union which was also its neighbour. Buddhism is culturally a factor that binds both India
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and Mongolia which refers to India as its “third neighbour”.

● The oil refinery project had earlier been approved during the visit of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to Mongolia in 2015.
UK joins International Solar Alliance
● India and the UK discussed enhanced cooperation in a wide
range of areas, including maritime security, counter–
terrorism and the Indo–Pacific, against the backdrop of
Britain’s efforts to exit the European Union by October.
● The issues figured in foreign office consultations here between foreign secretary Vijay
Gokhale and Simon McDonald, permanent under secretary at the UK Foreign and
Commonwealth Office.
● An instrument of ratification of the UK joining the International Solar Alliance (ISA) was
formally handed over during the talks.
● The ISA is India’s flagship climate treaty and has brought more than 60 countries on a
platform for cooperation among solar resource–rich nations.
Iran foreign minister visits India amid falling oil revenue
● Iran’s foreign minister has met with his Indian counterpart in
New Delhi, days after India decided to follow U.S. restrictions
on buying Iranian oil.
● India’s foreign ministry says Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif held discussions with
Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on issues of mutual interest, including
the evolving situation in Afghanistan. It didn’t give any details.
● Iran is the third–largest oil supplier for India after Iraq and Saudi Arabia. India bought
23.6 million tons of Iranian oil in the financial year ending in March 2019.
● India says it will buy crude oil from other major oil producing countries to protect its
interests. Washington has renewed sanctions to eliminate all Iranian oil revenue, which
it says funds destabilizing activity throughout the Middle East and beyond.
India to supply DEMU train sets to Nepal to run between
Jayanagar and Kurtha
● Konkan Railways Corporation Ltd (KRCL) signed an agreement
with Nepal’s Department of Railways under which the former
will supply two 1600 HP DEMU train sets. The agreement was
signed in Kathmandu.
● The said trains will run on the 34 km long stretch between Jayanagar in India and Kurtha
in Nepal.
● Manufactured by the Integrated Coach Factory located in Chennai, each train will consist
of three coaches, including an air–conditioned coach.
● The Jayanagar–Kurtha Railway Link has been built by IRCON with a financial grant from
13
the Government of India (GoI) under the India–Nepal Development Partnership

program. KRCL is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) of GoI, under the Ministry of
Railways.
Economics & Financial Awareness

Pepsi Company withdrew lawsuit against Indian farmers
● The Pepsi Company is withdrawing a lawsuit it filed in
April against four small Indian farmers for growing a
potato variety it had registered for exclusive use in Lays
potato chips.
● PepsiCo maintained that it developed the FC5 variety of
potato, which has a reduced moisture content to make snacks such as potato chips, and
registered the trait in 2016.
● The April lawsuit was filed in Ahmedabad, requesting that the court restrain the four
farmers from growing the FC5 variety.
● PepsiCo had also sought more than 10 million rupees ($143,000) each from the farmers.
● After discussions with the [Indian] government, the company has agreed to withdraw
cases against farmers.
● PepsiCo had offered to settle with the farmers, but found itself under increasing
pressure from agricultural unions and activists to drop the suit.
Iraq becomes India’s top oil supplier
● Iraq has, for the second year in a row, become India’s top
crude oil supplier, meeting more than a fifth of the
country’s oil needs in 2018–19 fiscal year.
● According to data sourced from the Directorate General
of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, Iraq sold 46.61
million tonnes (mt) of crude oil to India during April 2018 and March 2019, 2% more than
45.74 mt it had supplied in 2017–18 fiscal.
● India provisionally imported 207.3 mt of crude oil in 2018–19, down from 220.4 mt in
the previous financial year.
● Saudi Arabia has traditionally been India’s top oil source, but it was for the first time
dethroned by Iraq in 2017–18 fiscal year.
Basmati exports from India touch record high in FY19
● An aggressive buying by Iran has pushed basmati exports
from the country to a record high in 2018–19, benefitting
farmers of Punjab and Haryana, which account for over 70–
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75% of the total volume–wise exports.

● The exporters feel that the record shipment will bring more
area under basmati in the current fiscal in the northern region.
● According to Agricultural and Processed Foods Exports Development Authority (APEDA)
data, the basmati exports in 2018–19 were 44.15 lakh tonnes as compared to 40.57 lakh
tonnes in 2017–18.
● According to exporters, Iran purchased over 1.4 million tonnes during the year against
its annual import market pegged at almost a metric tonne, resulting in hike in exports.
Singapore becomes India’s top FDI source
● USD16.23 billion (SGD22.1 billion) of foreign direct
investment into India came from Singapore in the
financial year that ended on March 31.
● According to the Indian Department for Promotion of
Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Singapore was the
largest source of investments into India in that fiscal year, highlighting the broadening
business ties between the two nations.
● Singapore was followed by Mauritius (USD8.08 billion), the Netherlands (USD3.87
billion), the United States (USD3.14 billion) and Japan (USD2.97 billion) in the list foreign
direct investment source nations, according to the DPIIT.
● The total FDI inflow into India for the 2018–2019 financial year stood at USD44.37 billion,
a steep decline from USD61.96 billion in 2017–18. However, bucking the trend, FDI in
the services sector grew 36.5 per cent to USD9.15 billion in 2018–19 from USD6.7 billion
the previous year, according to the DPIIT.
● One of the reasons for the jump in FDI inflow from Singapore was a big–ticket
investment from Walmart’s Singapore outfit, which acquired a 77 per cent stake in
Indian online retailer Flipkart for USD16 billion in May last year. This is, however, not the
first time Singapore has attained the top spot; it was also the top source for FDI inflows
into India in 2015–2016, accounting for nearly a third of the total inflows.
Commerce Ministry unveils a comprehensive draft of the export policy
● “Based on inputs received from various partner
government agencies, it is proposed to bring out a
comprehensive exports policy for all ITC (HS) tariff
codes (including items which are ‘free’ for export and
do not currently exist in the policy), covering
conditions/restrictions imposed by partner
government agencies on exports,” the Directorate
General of Foreign Trade said.
● The draft policy aims at consolidating the export norms for each product as applicable
15
at different government agencies.

● ITC–HS Codes are Indian Trade Clarification based on Harmonised System of Coding. It
was adopted by India for import–export operations.
● Every product has been accorded eight digit HS codes. The compendium will help an
exporter know all the applicable norms pertaining to a particular product, helping
him/her understand policy conditions for that item.
SEBI tightens disclosure norms for listed debt securities
● To further safeguard the interest of investors in
listed debt securities, the Securities and
Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has tightened
the disclosure norms for entities that have
issued such securities.
● In a circular issued, the capital market
watchdog made it mandatory for such
companies to disclose on their websites the
schedule of interest and redemption obligations for the complete financial year.
● According to the SEBI, the enhanced disclosure norms have been issued to “further
secure the interests of investors in listed debt securities, enhance transparency and to
enable Debenture Trustees (DTs) to perform their duties effectively and promptly.”
● The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is the regulator for the securities
market in India. It was established in 1988 and given statutory powers on 30 January
1992 through the SEBI Act, 1992
Reserve Bank proposes stringent regulations for struggling NBFCs
● In a bid to strengthen and raise the
standard of asset–liability management
(ALM) framework of struggling non–
banking financial companies (NBFCs), the
Reserve Bank of India has proposed
stringent norms, including introduction of
liquidity coverage ratio (LCR), granular
maturity buckets in the liquidity
statements and tolerance limits, liquidity
risk monitoring tool and adoption of the “stock” approach to liquidity.
● The RBI draft proposes to introduce liquidity coverage ratio for all deposit taking NBFCs
and non–deposit taking NBFCs with an asset size of Rs 5,000 crore and above.
● “With a view to ensuring a smooth transition to the LCR regime, the proposal is to
implement it in a calibrated manner through a glide path over a period of four years
commencing from April 2020 and going up to April 2024,” the RBI said in a notification.
16
● There are growing worries over an “imminent crisis” in the NBFC sector due to credit
squeeze, overleveraging, excessive concentration, massive mismatch between assets
and liabilities and misadventures by some large entities like the IL&FS group.
RBI plans to build a cadre for supervisory and regulatory roles
● The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is planning to set up a new institute, to be known as the
College of Supervisors, in Mumbai to train and build up a cadre for supervisory roles in
the financial system.
● The institute will provide a one–year specialised training programme for the RBI officials,
according to a plan discussed in the RBI’s meeting of the central board, chaired by
Governor Shakti-kanta Das, in Chennai.
● The officials undergoing training at the institute will be required to go for re–certification
every five years in a bid to adapt to any change in technology.
● The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is India’s central banking institution, which controls the
issuance and supply of the Indian rupee. It commenced its operations on 1 April 1935 in
accordance with the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. Following India’s independence on
15 August 1947, the RBI was nationalised on 1 January 1949.
Reliance emerges the biggest company by revenue
● Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), headed by India’s richest man
Mukesh Ambani, has emerged the biggest company by
revenue, toppling state–owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
● RIL was already the leader in terms of profits, assets and
market capitalisation for some time now.
● The oil–to–telecom conglomerate recorded a turnover of Rs. 6.23–lakh crore for the
financial year ended March 31, compared with Rs. 6.17–lakh crore posted by IOC.
India removed from US currency monitoring list
● Switzerland is the other nation that has been removed by the
US from its currency monitoring list which among others
include China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Ireland,
Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.
● India maintains ample reserves according to the IMF metrics for reserve adequacy.
● In both Switzerland and India, there was a notable decline in 2018 in the scale and
frequency of foreign exchange purchases.
Gold imports rise 54% to $ 3.97 billion in April
● Gold imports increased 54 per cent to USD 3.97 billion in April,
widening the country’s trade deficit and fuelling worries about the
current account deficit (CAD).
17
● Imports of the precious metal stood at USD 2.58 billion in April 2018,
according to data from the commerce ministry. Increase in gold imports pushed the
country’s trade deficit to a five–month high of USD 15.33 billion in April.
● The country’s current account deficit (CAD) widened to 2.5 per cent of GDP in the third
quarter of the last financial year from 2.1 per cent a year ago, primarily on account of a
higher trade deficit, though the foreign exchange reserves continued to soar.
● CAD is the difference between outflow and inflow of foreign exchange.
Indian economy projected to grow at 7.1% in FY20: UN report
● ‘Strong domestic consumption and investment will continue
to support growth, which is projected at 7.0 per cent in 2019
and 7.1 per cent in 2020,’ the report said.
● The World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2019
Mid–year Update, released, said that the Indian economy,
which generates two–thirds of the regional output in South
Asia, expanded by 7.2 per cent in 2018.
● The estimates for India, however, reflect a downward revision from the projections
made in the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2019 report released in January
this year.
● It must be noted that despite the downward revisions, India remains the fastest growing
major economy in the world, ahead of China.
Decline in user base for telcos in India
● The country’s mobile user base has shown a declining trend
from 1.18 billion at the end of March 2018 to 1.16 billion at
the end of March this year. However, the decline has not
been consistent on a month–on–month (m–o–m) basis.
● Users in March 2019 fell by 21.86 million m–o–m, but there had been a rise of 1.7 million
in the total number of users in February, mainly due to subscriber additions by Reliance
Jio and BSNL, which made up for the decline in Airtel and Vodafone Idea’s customer base
in that month. Vodafone Idea and Airtel count only paying customers.
● Trai counts each SIM as a user and includes inactive subscribers.
GST Collections At Record High Of Rs 1,13,865 Crore In April
● GST revenue in April marked the highest monthly collection
since the implementation of the indirect tax, the Ministry of
Finance said.
● The revenue collected as GST in April 2019 stood 6.84 per cent
higher compared to the previous month, and 10.05 per cent
18
compared to April 2018, official data showed. The GST revenue

had stood at Rs 1,06,577crore in March this year, and Rs
1,03,459 crore in April 2018.
● Out of the total gross GST revenue collection in the month, CGST (central goods and
services tax) collection was at Rs 21,163 crore, SGST (state goods and services tax) at Rs
28,801 crore and IGST (integrated GST) at Rs 54,733 crore, the government noted.
India’s Service Sector Growth Hits 7–Month Low: Survey
● India’s services sector expanded at its slowest pace in
seven months in April as some businesses postponed
decisions and expansion plans until seeing results of the
general election currently underway, a private survey
showed.
● It remained above the 50 mark, the threshold separating
growth from contraction, for an 11th consecutive month.
● Although foreign demand grew at the quickest pace in 10 months, a sub–index tracking
new business slipped to a 7–month low of 51.2 in April from March’s 52.3 as firms raised
prices slightly more sharply – although still modestly.
● With inflation below its medium–term target, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut its main
interest rate twice in the run–up to the election – which was possible because inflation
has remained low compared with previous years.
Defence & Security – National/International

Apache Guardian helicopter formally handed over to India
● Apache Guardian helicopter was formally
handed over to the Indian Air Force (IAF) at
Boeing production facility in Mesa, Arizona,
USA on 10 May 19.
● The IAF will induct 22 Apaches by March
2020 under the Rs 13,952 croredeal inked
with the US in 2015.
● The first batch of these helicopters is
scheduled to be shipped to India by July this
year.
● AH–64E Apache is one of the leading multi–role attack helicopters globally and is flown
by the US Army.
● The Apaches are armed with stinger air–to–air missiles, Hellfire Longbow air–to–ground
missiles, guns and rockets. Its features include joint digital operability, improved
19
survivability and cognitive decision–aiding.

● The addition of AH–64 E (I) helicopter is a significant step towards modernisation of
Indian Air Force’s helicopter fleet.
Varuna 2019: joint navy exercise between India and France concludes
● The 17th edition of the naval exercise between
India and France which began on May 1 and is said
to be the largest ever exercise undertaken by the
two navies.
● The first bilateral naval exercise between India
and France was held in 1983, and it was named
‘Varuna’ in 2001.
● The joint exercises are held either in the Indian
Ocean or the Mediterranean sea aiming to improve coordination of the two navies on
capabilities like cross–deck operations, replenishment–at–sea, minesweeping, anti–
submarine warfare and information sharing.
● The first phase of Varuna 2019 was held off shore of Goa. The second phase of the Indo–
French joint naval exercise was held near Djibouti at end of May.
Fourth Scorpene–class submarine Vela launched
● The Scorpene–class submarine Vela, the fourth of six
underwater warships being built in India with French
collaboration, was launched in Mumbai with an aim to
boost Indian capability to defend and secure the
strategic sea lanes.
● The Vela submarine will undergo a number of tests
conducted by the Navy before it is commissioned in the
defence fleet, an official said.
● Defence production secretary Ajay Kumar’s wife Veena Ajay Kumar launched the
submarine at Mazagon Dockyard in Mumbai.
● The State–owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited has entered into a contract for
construction and transfer of technology for six Scorpene–class submarines with French
collaborator Ms Naval Group (formerly DCNS). INS Vela is the fourth in that series.
● Before Vela, MDL launched Kalvari, Khanderi, Karanj submarines. While Kalvari has been
commissioned, the others are at various levels of trials and tests.
SIMBEX 2019: India–Singapore navies
conclude joint maritime exercise
● The navies of India and Singapore concluded
20
their bilateral naval drill in the strategic South

China Sea, where China is flexing its military
muscles.
● The Singapore–India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX–2019) was conducted by the
Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy from May 16 to May 22.
● One Kolkata Class Destroyer (INS Kolkata), One Fleet Tanker (INS Shakti) and one
Poseidon–8I (P8I) Maritime Patrol Aircraft of the Indian Navy participated in the exercise
conducted mostly in waters off Singapore.
India joins US, Japan, and Philippines for naval drills in South China Sea
● Two Indian naval ships joined their counterparts from
the US, Japan, and the Philippines for a “Group Sail”
exercise through the contested waters of the South
China Sea, underlining India’s commitment to working
with partners to ensure safe and open sea lanes.
● The two ships –INS Kolkata and Shakti participated in
the “Group Sail”.
● The exercise comes at a time when India has been warily looking at increased Chinese
activity in the northern Indian Ocean, traditionally seen as India’s backyard. The
presence of Chinese ships and submarines has been on the rise.
Defence Research Body Test Fires Guided Bomb from Sukhoi Combat Jet
● The Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO) successfully test fired an indigenously–
developed 500 kg class guided bomb from a Sukhoi
combat jet at Pokhran in Rajasthan.
● The defence ministry said the guided bomb achieved the
desired range and hit the target with high precision.
● The guided bomb achieved the desired range and hit the target with high precision.
● The DRDO successfully flight tested a 500 kg class Inertial Guided Bomb today from Su–
30 MKI Aircraft from the Pokhran test range in Rajasthan.
IAF’s first all–women crew flies Mi–17 V5 helicopter
● In a first, an all–woman crew of the Indian Air Force
flew a medium–lift helicopter.
● As part of Battle Inoculation Training mission, the
crew flew a Mi–17 V5 helicopter.
● The crew headed by flight lieutenant Parul Bhardwaj
is the first woman pilot to fly the Mi–17V5.
21
● Co–pilot Flying Officer Aman Nidhi is the first woman Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot from
Jharkhand and the third crew Flight Lieutenant Hina Jaiswal is the first woman flight
engineer of the IAF.
Union Government to create Special Forces division
● India initiated steps to create a Special Forces division,
appointing a Major General rank officer as the chief of the
new Armed Forces Special Operation Division.
● Once it takes shape, the division is expected to be the first
choice for the government to undertake any major counter–
terrorism operation, a person familiar with the development said.
● Accordingly, Major General A.K. Dhingra has been appointed as the first chief of the
Armed Forces Special Operations Division, the clearance for which was given by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi during the Combined Commanders’ Conference last year.
● Dhingra is a Special Forces veteran, from the elite 1 Para Special Forces Regiment.
Science and Technology

India adopts new definition of kilogram
● India adopted a global resolution to redefine four of
the seven base units –– kilogram, kelvin, mole and
ampere, a move expected to have far–reaching
effects, including changes in textbooks.
● A resolution to redefine four of the seven base units
was passed by representatives of 60 countries at the
General Conference on Weights and Measures
(CGPM) of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), Paris on
November 16 last year.
● However, it has been implemented across the world on May 20 –– World Meteorology
Day, Shekhar Mande, Director General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR), said.
● Over 100 countries have adopted the metric system of measurements, also known as
the International System of Units (SI), which has been in practice since 1889.The other
base units are –– second, metre and candela.
● The kilogram has been defined since 1889 by a shiny piece of platinum–iridium held in
Paris. All modern mass measurements are traceable back to it – from micrograms of
pharmaceutical medicines to kilos of apples and pears and tonnes of steel or cement.
● The new SI System will be helpful in bringing in accuracy while dealing with international
trade, biotechnology, high–tech manufacturing and human health and safety.
22
● The new definition of kg involves accurate weighing machines called ‘Kibble balance’,
which uses Planck’s Constant to measure the mass of an object using a precisely
measured electromagnetic force.
● The purpose of system units is to enable worldwide coherence of measurements. The
International System of Units (SI) was formalised in 1960 and has been updated several
times to account for development in measurement technology.
SpaceX puts up 60 internet satellites
● A Falcon–9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral in
Florida, packed with 60 satellites capable of giving
users on the ground high–speed connections to the
internet.
● Entrepreneur Elon Musk’s firm aims eventually to
loft nearly 12,000 spacecraft for its “Starlink”
network.
● SpaceX is one of several commercial outfits with permission to fly an internet mega–
constellation. Others include the UK–based start–up OneWeb, which began its roll–out
in February with six operational spacecraft.
● Online retailer Amazon also has ambitions in this market. It’s working on a 3,200–
satellite proposal known as Project Kuiper. All the concepts envisage flying spacecraft in
a low–Earth orbit less than 2,000km above the planet. This will minimise the delay, or
latency, in the internet connections.
First all–electric vertical take–off and landing passenger jet unveiled
● The world’s first all–electric vertical take–off and landing
passenger jet has been unveiled after completing its first
flight.
● German startup Lilium aims to have a fleet of the five–seat
aircraft –– which can operate with a pilot or in drone mode
–– flying in cities worldwide by 2025, providing a pay–per–
ride service that will be emission–free, five times faster than a car and produce less noise
than a motorbike.
● The plane will have a 300–kilometer (186–mile) range, allowing it link New York and
Boston.
● A short hop between John F Kennedy International Airport and Manhattan will cost
about $70 per passenger, making it cheaper than a helicopter and competitive with top–
end limousine services, Chief Commercial Officer (COO) Remo Gerber said in an
interview.
● The craft is powered by 36 jet engines that swivel after take–off to provide forward flight
in the manner of a standard plane, using only 10 percent of the energy of multi–rotor
23
drones based on helicopter technology.

● That saving in turn allows it to fly for 10 times the distance, overcoming the range issues
regarded as a major obstacle to electric–powered planes.
Japan’s private rocket reaches outer space for first time
● A Japanese aerospace startup funded by a former
internet maverick successfully launched a small
rocket into space, making it the first commercially
developed Japanese rocket to reach orbit.
● Interstellar Technology Inc. said the unmanned
MOMO–3 rocket exceeded 100 kilometers (60 miles)
in altitude before falling into the Pacific Ocean.
● It was launched from the company’s test site in the town of Taiki on Japan’s northern
main island of Hokkaido and flew about 10 minutes.
● The launch is part of a growing international trend in space business, where Japan has
fallen behind global competition, led by U.S. startups such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Virtually energy–free superfast computing invented by scientists using light
pulses
● Scientists have developed a method that can give computers the ability to carry out
superfast data processing using light pulses instead of electricity.
● The research, published in the journal Nature, shows
that magnets can be used to record computer data
which consume virtually zero energy.
● The advance could possibly solve the problem of high
energy costs accompanying data processing, according
to researchers at the Lancaster University in the UK.
● Most data are encoded as binary information (0 or 1 respectively) through the
orientation of tiny magnets, called spins, in magnetic hard–drives.
● The magnetic read/write head is used to set or retrieve information using electrical
currents which dissipate huge amounts of energy.
India Successfully Launches RISAT–2B Earth–Observation Satellite
● India’s space agency successfully launched a
new Earth–observation satellite on May 21,
boosting the nation’s space–based
surveillance capabilities.
● The Indian Space Research Organization
(ISRO) used a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
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designated PSLV–C46 to launch its third radar

imaging satellite, named RISAT–2B, from the
Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
● Equipped with an X–band synthetic aperture radar, RISAT–2B will be able to look
through the clouds to observe Earth’s surface day and night.
● Imagery from RISAT–2B can be useful for civilian purposes like agriculture and disaster
relief management, ISRO officials said in a description of the mission. But it will also be
used for surveillance purposes.
● Realised on a fast track in 15 months at the U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) in Bengaluru,
RISAT–2B is built to work for at least five years.
● This is the third Indian RISAT in ten years, coming up after the Israeli–built RISAT–2 in
2009 and later ISRO–built RISAT–1 in 2012. The older two have reached the end of their
lives.ISRO has planned a series of radar imagers in the coming months to enhance its
space–based observation of Earth and the Indian region.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos unveils moon lander plans
● Amazon founder Jeff Bezos unveiled a moon lander
mockup created by his aerospace company Blue
Origin.
● The lander is a robotic ship roughly the size of a small
house, which can carry up to four rovers.
● A following version of the spacecraft could transport
people to the moon in the near future.
● “Blue Moon can deliver payloads to the lunar surface, host payloads and even deploy
payloads during its journey to the moon,” said Bezos’ Blue Origin Company on its
website. The lander is expected to launch on reusable rockets.
Researchers discover the Achilles’ heel of an aggressive brain cancer
● Researchers have discovered a chink in the armor
of the tumor cells of glioblastoma, a lethal brain
cancer. Alongside the finding, the researchers
also came up with a method for attacking this
vulnerability.
● The results gained in experiments conducted with
cell cultures and a mouse model are promising.
● Glioblastoma is the most prevalent and also the most lethal type of brain tumour in
adults, with no curative treatment currently available.
● Glioblastomas cannot be surgically completely excised, as the tumour cells are adept at
25
invading tissues and spreading around the brain. In addition, glioblastoma cells are
extremely resistant to existing drug therapies. The study was published in the
distinguished EMBO Molecular Medicine journal.
Solar Cell with Bacteria at its Core
● A team led by an Indo–Canadian scientist is giving
Escherichia or E coli bacteria, commonly associated with
stomach ailments, an image makeover: placing them at
the core of a new system for producing solar power.
● Developed by the team of Vikramaditya Yadav at the
chemical and biological engineering department of
University of British Columbia, the biogenic solar cells,
called so as they comprise living organisms, can function in low light conditions.
● A prototype for the cells generated a current stronger than any previously recorded from
such a device, and worked as efficiently in dim light as in bright light.
Google cuts off Huawei phones from future Android updates
● Google has suspended business with Huawei that isn’t covered under open–source
licensing, following the Trump administration’s decision to effectively ban the Chinese
company in the US.
● Huawei is losing Android operating system updates, and Huawei’s upcoming phones
outside China will no longer get access to apps and services like Gmail and Google Play.
Google also will no longer offer technical support to Huawei.
Ecology and Environment

India’s Dutch government issues first green bond, with triple A rating
● The Dutch finance ministry is issuing its first green
state bond, the first green bond issued by a
European country with a triple A credit rating.
● The government wants to use the money raised via
the bond to finance sustainable projects in the
years ahead. The target volume is €4bn to €6bn, but
this will be increased to around €10bn in due time,
the finance ministry said.
● Dutch bank ABN Amro, which claims to be a leader in this market, has arranged the
subscription among investors and is coordinating allocation of the bond, which will
mature in 2040.
● Finance minister Wopke Hoekstra first announced plans to issue the green bond last
October, saying it would ‘represent a solid asset for any green portfolio’.
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● The money raised via the bond will be used for green investments, including wind farms,
large bike parks, strengthening dykes and improving home insulation.
● ‘If Dutch pension funds, insurers and banks want to invest in green bonds, at the
moment they have to go to foreign providers,’ Hoekstra said at presentation. ‘This green
bond will help the further development of the green capital market in the Netherlands.’
Earth’s carbon dioxide has jumped to
the highest level in human history
● The monthly peak amount of carbon
dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere in
2019 jumped by a near–record amount
to reach 414.8 parts per million (ppm) in
May, which is the highest level in human
history and likely the highest level in the
past 3 million years.
● Carbon dioxide is the most important long–lived greenhouse gas, with a single molecule
lasting in the air for hundreds to around 1,000 years.
● The continued buildup of carbon dioxide due to human activities, such as burning fossil
fuels for energy, is driving global temperatures up and instigating harmful impacts
worldwide.
● The fact that carbon dioxide levels increased by a near–record amount of 3.5 ppm in just
one year illustrates that we’re headed in the opposite direction from what climate
scientists have shown is needed to avoid the worst consequences of global warming.the
highest level in human history.
180 nations agree UN deal to regulate export of plastic waste
● Around 180 governments agreed on a
new UN accord to regulate the export
of plastic waste, some eight million
tonnes of which ends up in the oceans
each year, organisers said.
● The 1,400 representatives, meeting in
Geneva reached the agreement after
12 days’ discussion on what Rolph
Payet, Executive Secretary of the UN
Environment Programme (UNEP)
called “one of the world’s most pressing environmental issues”.
● The Geneva meeting amended the 1989 Basel Convention on the control of hazardous
wastes to include plastic waste in a legally–binding framework.
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● Plastic waste pollution has reached “epidemic proportions” with an estimated 100
million tonnes of plastic now found in the oceans.
● The Geneva meeting also undertook to eliminate two toxic chemical groups— Dicofol
and Perfluorooctanoic Acid, plus related compounds. The latter has been used in a wide
variety of industrial and domestic applications including non–stick cookware and food
processing equipment, as well as carpets, paper and paints.
New species of pit–viper found in Itanagar
● A new species of snake has been found in
Arunachal Pradesh’s West Kameng district.
● The new species of reddish–brown pit viper — a
venomous snake with a unique heat–sensing
system — was found in a forest in West Kameng
district by a team of herpetologists led by Ashok
Captain, the forest department official said.
● Captain said India had four brown pit vipers — Malabar, Horseshoe, Hump–nosed, and
Himalayan — before the Arunachal Pradesh discovery.
New fish species discovered that can detect wavelengths
● The deep sea is home to fish species that can
detect various wavelengths in near–total
darkness, discovered researchers. The deep sea is
the largest habitat on Earth and yet one of the
least explored due to its inaccessibility.
● A team of researchers led by Professor Walter
Salzburger from the University of Basel recently
analysed fish living in deep–sea habitat and discovered that certain deep–sea fish have
expanded their rhodopsin genes.
● Researchers found not less than 38 copies of the gene, in addition to two other opsins
of a different type. “This makes the darkness–dwelling silver spiny fin the vertebrate
with the most photopigment genes by far,” explained Salzburger.
Plant with high medicinal value found in Assam
● A new plant that could be an alternative to
Jamun with higher medicinal value has been
discovered in Assam.
● Noted research scholar Jatindra Sarma while
posted in Karbi Anglong as district forest
officer had spotted the new rheophyte
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species, which is restricted to the Kopili

riverbed of West Karbi Anglong district of
Assam.
Art and Culture

UNESCO includes Kailash Mansarovar in tentative list of world heritage sites
● The United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO), specialized agency
of the United Nations (UN) has included Kailash
Mansarovar in its tentative list of world heritage
sites, reported sources at Ministry of Culture on May
19.
● This year in April, the Archaeological Survey of India
(ASI) along with Ministry of Environment and Forests sent a proposal to UNESCO to list
Kailash Mansoravar into its world Heritage sites.
● In the proposal, Kailash Mansarovar was categorized under both as a natural as well as
a cultural heritage.
● Kailash Mansarovar, popularly known as Mount Kailash, is the highest peak in Kailash
range located in Lake Mansarovar in the remote south–western portion of the Tibet
Autonomous Region of China and adjacent districts in the far–western region of Nepal.
● The Kailash Mansorovar is expanded across an area of 6,836 sq km within India, the area
is flanked in the east by Nepal and bordered by China on the north.
● The Indian site is part of the larger landscape of 31,000 sq km. Both China and Nepal
have proposed the landscape as a world heritage site to UNESCO.
ASI unearths treasure at U.P. site
● The Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI)
ongoing excavation of 4,000–year–old burial
sites in Uttar Pradesh’s Sanauli has unearthed
underground “sacred chambers”, decorated
“legged coffins” as well as rice and dal in pots
and animal bones buried with the bodies.
● The excavation in the Baghpat district of U.P. was first started in 2018 and resumed in
January this year, the process of listing and preservation at the site was on at the
moment.
● Three chariots, some coffins, shields, swords and helmets had been unearthed, pointing
towards the existence of a “warrior class in the area around 2,000 BCE”.
● This is different from Harappan culture. It is contemporary to the last phase of the
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mature Harappan culture. These findings are important to understand the culture
pattern of the Upper Ganga–Yamuna doab. Copper swords, helmets, shields and
chariots have been found.
Madhya Pradesh’s Orchha makes it to tentative list of UNESCO World
Heritage Sites
● The architectural heritage of Orchha town in Madhya
Pradesh which depict peculiar style of the Bundela
dynasty have been included in UNESCO’s tentative list
of world heritage sites following a proposal sent by the
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to the U.N. body.
● The ASI had sent a proposal to the UNESCO on April 15,
2019 to include the sites in its list.
● According to the rules, to be a part of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites, the heritage or
any historical site first has to be on the tentative list. After it makes to the tentative list,
another proposal is sent to the UNESCO.
● The ASI in its earlier proposal had requested to include Orchha in the list of cultural
heritage.
● Orchha is situated on the banks of the Betwa River.
● It is located around 80 km away from Tikamgarh district in Madhya Pradesh and 15 km
from Jhansi of Uttar Pradesh.
● Orchha was built by king Rudra Pratap Singh of Bundela dynasty in the 16th century. The
ancient town is famous for its Chaturbhuj Temple, Orchha fort complex, Raja Mahal
among others.
Appointments/Elected
Australia election: Morrison celebrates ‘miracle’ win
● Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has thanked
voters for re–electing his conservative coalition in a shock
result at the federal polls. His Liberal–National Coalition
inched towards a majority.
● Opposition Labor Party leader Bill Shorten has announced he is resigning after accepting
defeat.
● Australia holds elections every three years but, with infighting rife, no prime minister
has succeeded in serving a full term since 2007.
Thailand’s King Vajiralongkorn crowned
● Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has been
30
crowned on the first of three days of coronation rites.

King Vajiralongkorn inherited the throne in 2016 when
his long–reigning father Bhumibol Adulyadej died.
● Days ago in a surprise announcement the palace said the king had married his long–term
partner and royal consort who would now be Queen Suthida.
● Thailand has a constitutional monarchy, but the royal family is highly revered by Thais
and wields considerable power.
● Thailand also has strict laws, called lese majeste, which ban criticism of the monarchy.
The laws have shielded the royal family from public view and scrutiny.
Cyril Ramaphosa takes oath as South Africa’s President
● Cyril Ramaphosa was sworn in for a five–year term as South
Africa’s President.
● His ruling African National Congress party got 57.5% votes in
election.
● It was the party’s weakest election showing since the ANC took power at the end of the
harsh system of racial apartheid in 1994.
● Mr. Ramaphosa first took office last year after former President Jacob Zuma was pressured
to resign amid corruption scandals that badly damaged public faith in the ANC.
● A former protégé of South Africa’s first black president Nelson Mandela, Mr. Ramaphosa
is seen by many as having the potential to clean up both the government and the ruling
party’s reputation.
Maldives ex–president Nasheed nominated as new Speaker
● In Maldives, former President Mohamed Nasheed has been
nominated as speaker of new parliament or Majlis which will
hold its first sitting today.
● Mr. Nasheed, who leads the Maldives Democratic Party (MDP)
was unanimously elected speaker by its newly elected MPs.
● MDP had won a record 65 out of 87 seats in parliamentary elections held last month.
Mr. Nasheed after his nomination said that the 19th parliament proceedings will be
lawful and that the public will see a difference.
● The former President said that he accepted his nomination after considering the difficult
situation within the party and out of respect to the wishes of party MPs.
● Another MDP MP Eva Abdulla has been nominated for the post of deputy speaker.
Volodymyr Zelensky scored a landslide victory in the
Ukrainian presidential election
● With nearly all ballots counted in the run–off vote, Mr
Zelensky had taken more than 73% with incumbent Petro
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Poroshenko trailing far behind on 24%.Mr Zelensky, a

political novice, is best known for starring in a satirical television series Servant of the
People, in which his character accidentally becomes Ukrainian president.
● There are sporadic skirmishes and the situation also remains tense around Crimea,
annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014.
● Russia’s foreign ministry said Ukrainian voters had expressed their desire for political
change.
Joko Widodo secures second term as Indonesia’s president
● Indonesian president Joko Widodo has won a second term as
leader of the world’s third largest democracy, official results
confirmed, beating a former general who has claimed
widespread ballot–rigging.
● Joko –– known as Jokowi –– won 55.5% of the vote in last
month’s general election while his longtime rival Prabowo Subianto took 44.5%,
according to the General Elections Commission. Jokowi, 57, outperformed his 67–year–
old strongman opponent in 21 of the country’s 34 provinces.
● For the first time, it held its presidential and legislative elections on the same day, with
more than 245,000 candidates running for over 20,000 seats.
Panama elections: Centrist Laurentino Cortizo declared winner
● Laurentino ‘Nito’ Cortizo, who promised to combat
inequality, declared president–elect in a close race.
Panamanians elected a new president, but he will face
an uphill battle to address the population’s waning
faith in government amid corruption scandals and
rampant inequality.
● Democratic Revolutionary Change party candidate Laurentino “Nito” Cortizo, a
businessman and former politician, won the presidency with 33 percent of the vote.
● He will take office on July 1. Romulo Roux, the right–wing Democratic Change party
candidate, ended up in a close second place with 31 percent of the vote.
Pema Khandu sworn in as Arunachal Pradesh CM
● Pema Khandu, who pitchforked into politics after the death of his
father in a helicopter crash eight years ago, was sworn in as the
first Chief Minister of an elected Bharatiya Janata Party
government in Arunachal Pradesh.
● Chronologically, he is the 10th. His father, Dorjee Khandu was the
fifth.
32
● There was another first for MrKhandu. His formal installation happened in Itanagar’s
landmark convention centre, named after his father, instead of the Raj Bhavan about 2
km away, where his predecessors were sworn in.
P.S. Golay sworn in as Sikkim Chief Minister
● Prem Singh Tamang a.k.a P.S. Golay was sworn in as the
Chief Minister of Sikkim. Mr. Golay’s party, Sikkim
KrantikariMorcha (SKM), won 17 of the 32 Assembly
seats in the April 11 election.
● The Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), which has ruled the
State for 25 years, won 15 seats.
● He succeeds Pawan Chamling of the SDF, who has the record of being the longest serving
Chief Minister of the country, having won five consecutive terms for a little over 24
years. Governor Ganga Prasad administered the oath of office to Mr. Golay at a grand
ceremony at the Palzor Stadium in Gangtok.
Naveen Patnaik takes oath as Odisha Chief Minister
● Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik was sworn in as
Chief Minister of Odisha for the fifth consecutive term in
Bhubaneswar.
● As many as 20 other members of the new Council of Ministers were also sworn in at the
ceremony held at the Exhibition Ground.
● Mr. Patnaik and his ministerial colleagues were administered the oath of office and
secrecy by Governor Ganeshi Lal.
● Mr. Patnaik became Chief Minister for the first time on March 5, 2000 when the BJD
came to power with the Bharatiya Janata Party as its alliance partner.
Andhra’s Jaganmohan Reddy takes oath as CM
● YSR Congress chief Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy
has taken the oath as the second chief minister of Andhra
Pradesh post its bifurcation.
● The YSR Congress bagged 151 of the 175 seats in the state
Assembly, decimating the TDP headed by N Chandrababu Naidu, who became the first
chief minister of the state after it was bifurcated to carve out Telangana five years ago.
● YSRC also won 22 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats.
Dr O P Chaudhary Has Taken Over Charge as
Chairman AWBI
● Dr O.P. Chaudhary, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of
33
Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has taken over charge as

Chairman of the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) on
23rd May 2019 as per the Gadget of India.
Justice DN Patel appointed next Chief Justice of Delhi High Court
● The Central Government has cleared the appointment of
Justice DN Patel as the next Chief Justice of the Delhi High
Court.
● The appointment was made pursuant to a Collegium resolution
passed earlier this month. The resolution was passed in view
of the impending retirement of current Chief Justice Rajendra Menon in June this year.
● He was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Gujarat High Court in March 2004.
● The collegium system was created by two judgements of the Supreme Court in 1990s in
which a body of senior apex court judges headed by the Chief Justice of India selected
persons and recommended their names for appointment as judges.
● Under the the 22–year–old court–framed collegium system of appointment and transfer
of judges of high courts and the Supreme Court, the chief justice of the respective high
courts and two other senior–most judges of the court comprise a collegium empowered
by virtue of a 1993 judgment of the Supreme Court to identify suitable candidates, do
due diligence and recommend for appointment as judges of the court.
● The shortlisted candidates are scrutinized by a collegium of five senior–most judges of
the apex court headed by Chief Justice of India before being cleared for appointment.
The same collegium of the apex court identifies serving judges and chief justices of high
courts for elevation to the Supreme Court.
Justice A. K. Sikri Appointed As Chairperson of the News Broadcasting
Standards Authority
● Former Supreme Court Judge Justice A. K. Sikri has been appointed
as the Chairperson of the News Broadcasting Standards Authority
(NBSA).
● He will assume office on May 26, 2019. Justice Sikri will succeed
Justice R. V. Raveendran, who completes his term on May 25, 2019.
● In a statement, NBA President Rajat Sharma said that Justice Sikri’s vast experience in
judiciary and an impeccable record as a judge would definitely strengthen self regulation
and NBSA.
RBI appoints R. Gandhi on board of Yes Bank
● R. Gandhi’s appointment comes against the
backdrop of Yes Bank reporting a loss of ₹1,507
34
cr for Mar quarter.

● RBI’s decision to appoint Gandhi to the board of
Yes Bank is seen as a precautionary measure.
Honours / Awards
Shyam Saran to be conferred with Japan’s ‘Order of the Rising Sun’ award
● Former foreign secretary Shyam Saran will be conferred
with Japan’s second highest national award for his
contributions to strengthen the strategic ties and
enhancing mutual understanding between India and
Japan.
● The Government of Japan announced that in its 2019
Spring Imperial Decorations, it will confer 72–year–old Saran, ‘the Order of the Rising
Sun, Gold and Silver Star’.
● Saran’s contributions in strengthening mutual understanding between Japan and India
includes “India Festival”, which was held in Japan in 1988, when he was Deputy Chief of
Mission of Embassy of India in Japan, it said.
Indra Nooyi presented with an honorary degree with Yale University
● Former PepsiCo chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi was
presented with an honorary degree by the prestigious Yale
University, her alma mater, in recognition of her
achievements in business and for being a global role model
who encouraged women and girls to see themselves as top
corporate executives.
● Nooyi, who received a degree in Master of Public and Private Management from the
university’s Yale School of Management in 1980, was presented with the Honorary
Doctor of Humane Letters.
● Nooyi was among 11 individuals to be presented with the honorary degrees for
achieving distinction in their fields.
● Others who received the honorary degrees included author and feminist activist Gloria
Steinem, wildlife researcher Cynthia Moss, entrepreneur and philanthropist Strive
Masiyiwa and Harvard University president Lawrence Bacow.
G D Robert Govender honoured with V K Krishna Menon Award
● Indian –origin journalist G D ‘Robert’ Govender
conferred with V K Krishna Menon Award 2019 in UK for
his contribution as a pioneer of decolonised journalism.
● The award is given to mark the 123rd birth anniversary
35
of V K Krishna Menon, Indian diplomat and politician.

● He is the first person who has been awarded the V K
Krishna Menon posthumously. He died in the UK in 2016.
● Govender had written many books in the field of journalism but his one of the outstanding
work was “The Martyrdom of Patrice Lumumba” which had exposed the role of western
intelligence agencies in the murder of the Congolese independence leader.
Jokha Alharthi wins Man Booker International Prize
● Omani author Jokha Alharthi has become the first Arabic–
language writer to win the prestigious Man Booker
International Prize for Celestial Bodies, a novel that deals with
family connections and history in the coming–of–age account of three sisters.
● Alharthi’s book beat five other shortlisted novels from Europe and South America to take
the prize, which celebrates translated fiction from around the world and included a
$64,000 award divided equally between author and translator.
● Historian Bettany Hughes, who led the five–member judging panel, said that the winning
novel was “a book to win over the head and the heart in equal measure.”
UNDRR confers Dr P.K. Mishra and Mahila Housing Sewa Trust
with Sasakawa Award 2019
● United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) conferred
Sasakawa Award 2019 for Disaster Risk Reduction to Dr. Pramod Kumar
Mishra, Additional Principal Secretary to Prime Minister of India.
● The award was announced at the Award Ceremony during the ongoing 6th Session of
Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) 2019 at Geneva.
● Dr. P. K. Mishra from India received the 2019 Sasakawa award in recognition of his long–
term dedication to improve the resilience of communities most exposed to disasters and
his personal commitment to social inclusion as a critical principle to reduce inequality
and poverty, enhancing the safety net of the socially and economically marginalized.
● The United Nations Sasakawa Award is the most prestigious international award in the
area of Disaster Risk Management. It was instituted more than 30 years ago and is jointly
organized by the UNDRR and the Nippon Foundation. A total grant of USD 50,000 is
distributed among the winners which can be either organizations or individuals.
● The theme of the 2019 Sasakawa award was “Building Inclusive and Resilient Societies”.
UNDRR received more than 61 nominations from 31 countries for the 2019 award.
Cannes Film Festival 2019 Awards
● For the second year in a row, the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film
Festival has gone to an Asian film about a close–knit family of con
artists.
● Alejandro G. Inarritu’s jury gave this year’s top prize to Bong Joon
36
Ho’s “Parasite,” one of the most critically acclaimed films of this

year’s festival.
● Antonio Banderas won the Best Actor prize for his performance as a Pedro Almodovar–
like director in Almodovar’s “Pain and Glory,” while Emily Beecham won the Best Actress
award for her portrayal of a flower breeder in Jessica Hausner’s creepy “Little Joe.”
● In something of a surprise, the jury gave its best–director award to the Dardenne
brothers for “Young Ahmed,” their portrait of the radicalization of a Muslim teen.
● Writer–director Celine Sciamma won the screenplay award for “Portrait of a Lady on
Fire,” a lesbian period romance that was one of the festival’s most acclaimed films.
Emmy awards 2019 winners
● “The Young and the Restless” was named Outstanding Drama Series
at the 46th Daytime Emmy Awards, which were handed out at the
Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
● It was a big night for the actors on ABC’s “General Hospital,” who
won five of the seven awards for their performances, including
Maurice Benard, who won for Lead Actor, Vernee Watson for
Supporting Actress, Max Gail for Supporting Actor, Hayley Erin for
Younger Actress and Patricia Bethune for Guest Performer.
● Jacqueline MacInnes Wood from “The Bold and the Beautiful” took home the trophy for
Lead Actress, her fourth nomination and first win.Valerie Berinelli let out a “holy s—”
when her Food Network show “Valerie’s Home Cooking” won for Outstanding Culinary
Program, and she was in tears when her name was later called for Outstanding Culinary
Host.
● A special tribute was paid to Kathie Lee Gifford, who also took home an Emmy for
Outstanding Informative Talk Show Host for NBC’s “Today,” which she exited last month
after 11 years. Chef Jacques Pepin and Judge Judy Sheindlin were honored with Lifetime
Achievement Awards.
2019 billboard music awards
● The 2019 Billboard Music Awards were handed out
recently.
● Drake was the night’s big winner, taking home the top
artist award among his many honors. Other winners
included Ariana Grande, BTS and Imagine Dragons.
● Mariah Carey received the Icon Award and also performed a medley of her greatest hits.
● Cardi B was the most–nominated artist for the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, receiving a
total of 21 nominations in categories such as top artist, top female artist, top rap artist
and top rap album to name a few. Drake and Post Malone had the second–highest
37
number of noms, with each artist gaining 17.

● The Billboard Music Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions — a division of
Valence Media, the parent company of the Billboard–Hollywood Reporter Media Group.
Sports
12th edition of Indian Premier League
● Mumbai Indians defeated holders
Chennai Super Kings in nail–biting
final and created history by lifting the
Indian Premier League (IPL) title for
the record fourth time on May 12.
● In a game that went down the wire,
Rohit Sharma–led side held their
nerves and remained unconquered
by the Chennai Super Kings in this
season. These two teams faced each
other four times in IPL 2019 and
Mumbai Indians came out victorious on all occasions.
● Jasprit Bumrah was awarded the man of the match for his impressive figures of 2/14. As
the curtains came down on the 12th edition of the homegrown league, individual awards
were given away.
● Previous Champions: 2008 – Rajasthan Royals (RR) 2009 – Deccan Chargers (DC) 2010 –
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) 2011 – CSK 2012 – Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) 2013 – Mumbai
Indians (MI) 2014 – KKR 2015 – MI 2016 – Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) 2017 – MI 2018 –
CSK Runner–up – Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
● Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) opener David Warner of Australia won the Orange Cap for
scoring most runs (692) in the tournament and Chennai Super Kings’ Imran Tahir of
South Africa (26 wickets) won the Purple Cap award for being the leading wicket–taker
in the season.
● Super Striker of the Season: Andre Russell, the KKR all–rounder was awarded a sum of
Rs 10 lac and trophy for winning the super striker of the season award. He hit 52 sixes
and 31 fours in 14 games he played for KKR. He scored at an incredible strike rate of
204.81 in this season. He is West Indies player.
● Most Valuable Player of the Season: Andre Russell, the KKR all–rounder also won the
Most Valuable Player of the season award. He was awarded the TATA Harrier SUV for
winning the award.
● FBB Stylish Player of the Season: KL Rahul Kings XI Punjab opener.
● Perfect Catch of the Season – Kieron Pollard. He is West Indies player.
38
● Emerging player of the season: Shubman Gill of KKR

● Dream 11 Game Changer of the season: Rahul Chahar of MI
Women’s T20 Challenge: Supernovas beat Velocity in final
● Nat Sciver’s Supernovas won the Women’s T20 Challenge
following a thrilling final against Dani Wyatt’s Velocity in
Jaipur.
● Supernovas spinner Radha Yadav, 19, hit a four off the
final ball to seal victory, which seemed unlikely when her
side slipped to 64–5 chasing 122.
● India’s Harmanpreet Kaur hit 51 off 37 balls to turn the
match around. England all–rounder Sciver took 1–27 and scored two for the victorious
Supernovas. Wyatt fell for a five–ball duck as her side posted 121–6 – India wicketkeeper
Sushma Verma top–scoring with 40.
● The Women’s T20 Challenge is seen as a prelude to a possible Women’s Indian Premier
League, with last year’s one–off game expanded to involve three teams.
● Alongside India’s top players, a number of leading overseas players have featured again
– such as England’s Wyatt, Sciver and Sophie Ecclestone (Trailblazers), New Zealand’s
Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine, and West Indies’ Stafanie Taylor and Hayley Matthews.
Windies’ Shai Hope, John Campbell Record Highest Opening Partnership
● Windies openers John Campbell and Shai Hope shattered the
record for the highest first–wicket partnership in one–day
internationals (ODIs) with a stand of 365 against Ireland in Dublin.
● The duo comfortably exceeded the previous best partnership of
304 set by Pakistan’s Imam–ul–Haq and Fakhar Zaman against
Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in July last year.
● In the process, Hope and Campbell also surpassed Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid’s
331–run stand to form the second–highest partnership in ODIs.
● The 331–run stand between Dravid and Tendulkar against New Zealand in 1999 is now
the third highest, followed by a 318–run stand between Dravid and Sourav Ganguly in
1999 against Sri Lanka.
GS Lakshmi becomes the first female ICC match referee
● GS Lakshmi of India has become the first female match referee
after the International Cricket Council (ICC) named the 51–year–
old in its list of elite match officials.
● Earlier this month Australian, Claire Polosak became the first woman to officiate a men’s
One–Day International (ODI) in the World Cricket League Division 2 finals in Windhoek.
39
● Eloise Sheridan of Australia, who was the reserve umpire for two matches in the men’s
Big Bash League 2018–19, has joined Polosak on the ICC Development Panel of Umpires
as its eighth member, the world governing body said.
Hockey: Indian women’s team clinch series against South Korea
● The series already in its pocket, Indian women’s hockey
team lost 0–4 to host South Korea in the
inconsequential third and final match.
● India had earlier registered back–to–back identical 2–1
wins over Korea in the first two games to pocket the
series.
● India women’s hockey team came from a goal down to eke out a close 2–1 win over
South Korea in the second game.
● Indian had earlier defeated Korea by identical margin in the opening game of the series.
Brooks Koepka retains US PGA Championship
● Brooks Koepka held off world number one Dustin
Johnson to retain his US PGA Championship title and
win a fourth major on a dramatic day at Bethpage.
Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson are American
professional golfplayers.
● The 2017 and 2018 US Open champion, who had a seven–shot lead at the start of the
final round, saw that cut to one after four bogeys from the 11th. But Johnson dropped
shots on the 16th and 17th as Koepka, who carded a four–over 74, won by two on eight
under.
● England’s Matt Wallace tied for third, earning his best finish at a major.
Chelsea beat Arsenal 4–1 to win Europa League final
● Chelsea overran London rivals Arsenal in Baku, striking
four times in the second half of the final to hand
Maurizio Sarri his first trophy as a coach.
● Eden Hazard scored two goals and made another to
help Chelsea thump London rivals Arsenal in Baku and
win the Europa League.
● Victory gave Blues boss Maurizio Sarri the first trophy of his managerial career and
ensured the Gunners will miss out on next season’s Champions League.
Premier League: Man City claim second
successive title
40
● The end of another captivating, compelling and at

times cruel Premier League season. Manchester City
are champions for the second season in a row.
● Liverpool are runners–up despite a gargantuan points haul of 97 points.
● Sergio Aguero, Aymeric Laporte, Riyad Mahrez, and Ilkay Gundogan all scored for the
visitors after Glenn Murray had given the home side the lead on 25 minutes.
● It’s the first time a team has won back–to–back titles since Sir Alex Ferguson’s
Manchester United in 2009, and City’s total of 98 points is the second highest haul in
Premier League history –– two shy of the 100 points Pep Guardiola’s men accrued last
year.
Lazio Beats Atalanta to Win 7th Coppa Italia Title
● Sergej Milinkovic–Savic scored moments after coming off
the bench to lead Lazio to a 2–0 win over Atalanta in the
Italian Cup final.
● Milinkovic–Savic, who was making his comeback from an
injury, broke the deadlock in the 82nd minute by heading in a corner.
● Joaquin Correa doubled Lazio’s lead following a counterattack in the final minute as
Atalanta pressed for the equalizer.
● It was Simone Inzaghi’s first Italian Cup victory as coach, having won the competition as
a player with Lazio three times. The win also salvaged a disappointing season for Lazio,
whose hopes of qualifying for the Champions League ended with a recent loss to
Atalanta in the league.
Manchester City crush Watford 6–0 in FA Cup final
● Raheem Sterling has scored a hat–trick as a supreme
Manchester City crushed Watford 6–0 in the FA Cup final to
become the first team to win the English treble of league
title and both domestic cups in the most emphatic way
imaginable.
● The victory matched the competition’s record final win –– set when Bury beat Derby
County 116 years ago –– and was the perfect end to an amazing season for unarguably
one of the finest teams to grace the long history of the English game.
● City’s sixth FA Cup triumph made them the eighth team to win the prized League and FA
Cup double and first since Chelsea in 2010.
Valencia claim Copa del Rey
● Valencia beat Barcelona 2–1 to win the Copa del Rey,
ending the Catalans’ four–year winning streak in the
competition and denying them a domestic double.
● Kevin Gameiro and Rodrigo Moreno struck first–half
41
goals to give Marcelino’s dominant Valencia control of

the final in Seville’s sweltering Estadio Benito
Villamarin.
● Record 30–time Copa del Rey winners Barcelona struggled without injured forwards Luis
Suarez and Ousmane Dembele, but Lionel Messi pulled the Catalans back into the game
with a close–range finish.
Bayern Munich Wins Seventh Straight Bundesliga Title
● Bayern Munich had a subpar season by its own lofty
standards, but it still had enough to win the Bundesliga
title again.
● Bayern Munich clinched the title with an
overwhelming 5–1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt at the
Allianz Arena, winning a seventh straight domestic
league title and a record 29th of all time, giving the club 20 more than the next closest
side (Nurnberg).
Bayern Munich win German Cup
● Bayern Munich beat RB Leipzig 3–0 thanks to
two goals from Robert Lewandowski to win
their 19th German Cup and complete a
domestic league and Cup double.
● The Bundesliga’s top scorer headed the
champions into the lead in the 29th minute,
wrong–footing the Leipzig goalkeeper Peter
Gulacsi, and Kingsley Coman’s superb first
touch and shot in the 78th made it 2–0.
● Their coach, Niko Kovac, who lifted the Cup with Eintracht Frankfurt last year and led
them to the 2017 final, became the first man to win the double with Bayern both as
player and coach.
Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic to win Italian Open
● Rafael Nadal of Spain won his 34th Masters
1000 title – a record – with a 6–0, 4–6, 6–1
victory over Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the
Italian Open.
● The Spaniard, who had shared the record of 33
with the Serb, warmed up for the defence of
his French Open crown by securing his ninth
Rome title.
42
● Johanna Konta’s hopes of victory in Rome were dashed as Karolina Pliskova powered her
way to victory. Czech fourth seed Karolina Pliskova swept past Britain’s Johanna Konta
to win women’s title.
Novak Djokovic beats Stefanos Tsitsipas to win Madrid Open
● Novak Djokovic of Serbia, without a trophy since the
Australian Open and distracted for too long by off–court
politics, ground down the best young contender in the game,
Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, 6–3, 6–4, to win his third
Madrid Open and move closer to making history at Roland
Garros in three weeks’ time.
● This was Djokovic’s 33rd Masters title, elevating him alongside Nadal, five ahead of
Roger Federer.
● In women’s title, Netherland’s Kiki Bertens upset Simona Halep of Romania in straight
sets to clinch title and deny Romanian World No 1 ranking.
Lewis Hamilton wins Spanish GP
● After British Lewis Hamilton’s dominant victory for Mercedes
at the Circuit de Catalunya and Ferrari’s capitulation to the
once more all–conquering silver arrows, it is difficult to
imagine any entreaty from the sport’s most historic marque
that would currently appeal to the British driver.
● Hamilton completed his victory from his teammate, Valtteri Bottas of Finland, in second
having beaten the Finn off the start. Having taken the lead through turn one it was not
to be relinquished. Ferrari’s difficult weekend yielded only fourth and fifth for Sebastian
Vettel of Germany and Charles Leclerc of Monaco.
● It continues Mercedes’ record–breaking run of five–successive one–two finishes this
season and has almost certainly ensured the title is now a two–horse race between
Hamilton, who has retaken the title lead, and Bottas.
Lewis Hamilton secures Monaco Grand Prix win in dramatic finish
● Lewis Hamilton has produced a stunning drive, staving off a rampaging Max Verstappen,
Belgian–Dutch Driver and some destroyed tyres to win his third Monaco Grand Prix in
an emotional tribute to Niki Lauda.
Apurvi Chandela is world number one in 10m air rifle
● Indian shooting ace Apurvi Chandela attained the world
number 1 position in the women’s 10m air rifle event while
compatriot Anjum Moudgil rose to number two after
consistent performances in recent years.
● The rifle ace from Jaipur is among the five Indian shooters to
have already secured 2020 Olympics quotas for the country.
43
● Chandela shot a world record score of 252.9 to clinch gold at the International Shooting
Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in February.
● She is a gold medallist at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Game and a bronze winner
in the next edition at Gold Coast. In the 2018 Asian Games, Chandela had won a bronze
medal in the 10m mixed rifle event.
China Win Sudirman Cup
● Shi Yuqi stunned world champion Kento Momota as hosts
China whitewashed Japan for an 11th Sudirman Cup title.
● Japan have never won the badminton world mixed–team
championship and their search goes on after they were
well beaten 3–0 in the Chinese city of Nanning.
● Roared on by the home crowd, China went 1–0 up through their men’s doubles and then
took a 2–0 lead after a captivating women’s singles match between Chen Yufei and
Akane Yamaguchi.
Indian boxers win six medals at 36th Feliks Stamm International Boxing
● Indian boxers finished with a rich haul of six
medals, including two gold at the 36th Feliks
Stamm International Boxing Tournament in
Warsaw, Poland.
● Gaurav Solanki and Manish Kaushik bagged one
gold each. Indian boxers also clinched a silver
and three bronze.
● The 22–year–old Solanki out–punched England’s William Cawley 5–0 in 52 kilogram on
his way to the coveted yellow metal.
● In 60 kilogram weight category, Kaushik beat Morocco’s Mohamed Hamout 4–1.
● However, there was some disappointment for the Indian contingent on the final day of
the European tournament as Mohammed Hussamuddin had to be content with yet
another second–place finish following a 1–4 defeat to Russia’s Mukhammad Shekhov.
Asian Squash championship: Ghosal and Joshna emerged champion
● Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa emerged champions in the
Asian squash championship held at Kuala Lumpur.
● This is the first time two Indians have finished on top in the
same tournament.
● An unprecedented feat that eluded the Indians in Chennai two
years ago became a reality in Malaysia when Joshna, the second
44
seed, successfully defended her title shocking the top seed

Annie Au of Hong Kong 11–5, 8–11, 11–6, 11–6.
Bajrang Punia bags gold in Ali Aliyev wrestling tournament
● World number one Bajrang Punia won the gold medal as
he defeated Viktor Rassadin in the finals of men’s 65kg
freestyle in the Ali Aliyev wrestling tournament in Kaspiisk,
Russia. Bajrang got the better of the local favourite 13–8
in his final bout after being down 0–5 at one stage.
● The 25–year–old Indian grappler had won a gold medal last week at the Asian
Championships in Xi’an, China.
● Praveen Rana had to settle for silver in the 79kg category after he lost to 3–0 to Bahman
Mohammad Teymouri of Iran.
● Satyavrat Kadian, on the other hand, bagged a bronze medal in the 97kg category.
South Africa’s Caster Semenya ousted
● Caster Semenya was recently barred from competing in
Diamond League meeting in Rabat.
● Semenya, 28, a South African who is believed to have an
intersex condition that causes her body to naturally
produce testosterone at levels much higher than most
women, has been the target of criticism and harassment for years.
● Under new IAAF rules, unless she takes hormone therapy Caster Semenya will no longer
be able to compete in events such as the 800m she won in Doha on 3 May 2019.
● Swiss Federal Supreme Court has rejected the IAAF’s urgent request for permission to
re–impose its eligibility regulations on the two–time 800m world champion.
● The rejection by the Swiss court means Semenya can continue to compete without any
restrictions in the female category.
Obituaries
Binyavanga wainaina
● In a relatively brief time span, the Kenyan writer and activist
for LGBT rights Binyavanga Wainaina, who has died aged 48
following a stroke, made a revolutionary impact on
literature from and about the African continent, promoting
new writers and challenging entrenched stereotypes about identity and gender.
● He is perhaps best known for his scathingly satirical essay How to Write About Africa,
45
which was published in Granta in 2005.

● He had made a major entrance on the international literary stage in 2002 as winner of
the Caine prize for African writing, worth £10,000.
Bob Hawke
● Robert James Lee Hawke was an Australian politician who served as
Prime Minister of Australia and Leader of the Labor Party from 1983 to
1991.
● Hawke served as Member of Parliament for Wills from 1980 to 1992.
● Bob Hawke’s successors as Australian prime minister and the Labor opposition leader
hoping to follow in his footsteps, Bill Shorten, have led tributes to the former leader,
who died, aged 89.
● The death of the longest–serving Australian Labor prime minister just two days before a
general election drew forth praise for his legacy, with even political opponents praising
Hawke’s contribution to the country’s development.
Doris Day
● Actress and singer Doris Day made nearly three dozen films and
more than 600 recordings. At the height of her career, she
topped both the billboard and the box office charts. Day died of
pneumonia at the age of 97.
● Day remains one of the most successful female movie stars of all time. She embodied
the “girl next door” even in her 40s, which is probably why her films with Rock Hudson
were so successful.
● A scene from 1959’s Pillow Talk shows a split screen with Day and Hudson in their
separate bathtubs, only it looks like they’re in the same one — with their feet touching.
Kind of risqué for 1959.
Edmund Morris
● Presidential biographer Edmund Morris, who spent years
defending his memoir on the life of Ronald Reagan, has died.
He was 78.
● Morris was a polished prose stylist whose career took off with the success of his first
book, “The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt,” which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1980. But what
cemented his legacy was “Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan.”
● After the success of his Roosevelt biography, he wrote two additional volumes on the
26th president, “Theodore Rex” in 2001 and “Colonel Roosevelt” in 2010.
Leoh Ming Pei
● I M Pei, the architect behind buildings including the
glass pyramid outside the Louvre in Paris, has died
46
aged 102.Pei’s designs are renowned for their

emphasis on precision geometry, plain surfaces and
natural light.
● He carried on working well into old age, creating one of his most famous masterpieces
– the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar – in his 80s.
● His style was described as modernist with cubist themes, and was influenced by his love
of Islamic architecture.
● His favoured building materials were glass and steel, with a combination of concrete.
Herman Wouk
● Wouk, who has died aged 103, was an award–winning novelist
whose books were made into Hollywood movies, a playwright and
an author of screenplays.
● He wrote books about Judaism and modern belief. Throughout, he voiced a conservative
view of ethics and morality that remained largely unamended in the course of a writing
career of more than six decades.
● The Caine Mutiny (1951), awarded the Pulitzer prize for fiction, was made into a popular
movie by Edward Dmytryk in 1954.
John Singleton
● John Singleton, a versatile director who made a splash with “Boyz n the
Hood” and went on to a variety of projects –– including “2 Fast 2 Furious”
–– has died after suffering a stroke. He was 51.
● In 1992, at the age of 24, Singleton became the youngest person to ever receive an Oscar
nomination for best director for “Boyz n the Hood,” a film based on his experiences
growing up in South Central Los Angeles. He also was the first African American to be
nominated in that category.
Judith Kerr
● The Tiger Who Came To Tea author Judith Kerr has died at the age of
95, her publisher HarperCollins says.
● Charlie Redmayne, head of her publisher HarperCollins, said she was “a wonderful and
inspiring person who was much loved by everyone”.
● Kerr, who published more than 30 books over a 50–year career, dreamed up the tiger to
amuse her two children.
● Kerr’s most popular picture books also included the Mog series, which began with Mog
the Forgetful Cat in 1970. As a child of the pre–war German intelligentsia, Kerr had to
leave her home country with her Jewish parents when Adolf Hitler came to power.
Murray Gell Mann
● Murray Gell–Mann, the Nobel–winning physicist who
47
brought order to the universe by helping discover and

classify subatomic particles, has died. He was 89.
● Gell–Mann transformed physics by devising a method for sorting subatomic particles
into simple groups of eight, based on electric charge, spin and other characteristics.
● He called his method the “eightfold way” after the Buddhist Eightfold Path to
enlightenment.
● Gell–Mann also developed the theory that identified “quarks”, indivisible components
of Earth’s matter that make up protons, neutrons and other particles. Experiments
confirmed the existence of quarks, and these objects now form the basis for our physical
understanding of the universe, Caltech said in a statement.
Prem Tinsulanonda
● Thailand’s former prime minister and royal confidante Prem
Tinsulanonda, one of the most influential figures in modern
Thai politics, has died aged 98.
● The former army general, who served as prime minister from 1980 to 1988, died in a
Bangkok hospital.
● The most trusted advisor of late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Prem helped to cement the
military–monarchy bond. He is widely believed to have been instrumental in the 2006
coup against then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Niki Lauda
● The legendary Austrian, one of the best–known figures in
motor racing, took the title for Ferrari in 1975 and 1977 and
McLaren in 1984.
● For many, he will be remembered for his remarkable recovery and return to racing after
being badly burned in a crash in the 1976 German Grand Prix.
● A new generation of fans was introduced to Lauda in the acclaimed 2013 film Rush,
which detailed his rivalry with British driver James Hunt, the 1976 world champion.
NR Madhavan Menon
● Father of modern legal education in India, Dr. NR Madhava
Menon has passed away. He is known for changing the face
of Indian legal education by pioneering the establishment of
National Law Schools.
● He is credited with the conceptualization of five year integrated LLB course, in place of
the earlier 3–year course.
● He was the founder Director of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) and
the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal and the founder Vice Chancellor of the West
48
Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS).

● Menon was honored by the Government of India, in 2003, with the fourth highest Indian
civilian award of Padma Shri.
Roshan Taneja
● Roshan Taneja, who trained scores of Hindi film actors
including the likes of Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah,
Jaya Bachchan, Anil Kapoor and Shatrughan Sinha, has
died.
● Roshan Taneja, known to many as the ‘pioneer of method
acting’ in India, is held in high regard in the Hindi film industry.
● He had been training talent since the 1960s, first at the Film and Television Institute of
India (FTII) in Pune and later at his private school in Mumbai, the Roshan Taneja School
of Acting.
Master Hirannaiah
● Noted Kannada theatre personality Master Hirannaiah died in the
city on May 2. He was 85 years old and was suffering from a liver
complication.
● Making his debut on the stage as a child, he went by the stage
name Master Hirannaiah, a name that stuck till the end. He took
over the troupe K. Hirannaiah Mitra Mandali after his father’s
death and ran it till date. His son Babu Hirannaiah now runs the
troupe.
● Master Hirannaiah was well known for his caustic barbs on the political class dipped in
humour on stage from late 1960s.
● His mega hit play “Lanchavatara” had a free form where Master Hirannaiah included a
commentary on the day’s politics making the play new with every staging.
Vijaya Mulay
● Renowned filmmaker and film historian Vijaya Mulay
passed away. Born on May 16, 1921, Mulay founded the
Delhi Film Society in 1959, and later on became a joint
secretary of the Federation of Film Societies. Vijaya Mulay
was not only a film historian but a respected educationist
and an influential writer. Her friendship with film
personalities like Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen is said to
have heavily influenced her career.
● Mulay also worked with Central Board of Film Certification in the early 1960s. French
filmmaker Louis Malle and Satyajit Ray helped Mulay in making her first film called The
49
Tidal Bore. The movie was even selected by the government for Manheim Film Festival.
● In 1975, Mulay was asked to head the Center for Educational technology in order to
prepare educational films which were to be broadcast in four languages across 2400 vill
Sammy Shore
● Sammy Shore, the legendary stand–up comedian, passed away
peacefully of natural causes at the age of 92 in his home in Las
Vegas, surrounded by his wife, Suzanne, and family.
● Sammy and his writing partner, Rudy Deluca, founded the world–
famous Comedy Store in Los Angeles on April 7, 1972. It would
become the premier stand–up comedy club in the world.
● He was voted Best Comedy Act in Atlantic City by the Atlantic City
Press, and on July 24, 1990, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors proclaimed that day
“Sammy Shore Day.”
● He also earned the distinction of being the only comedian who worked Harrah’s Casinos
and Hotels more than any other entertainer.
Thopil Mohamed Meeran
● Renowned Tamil writer and novelist Thoppil Mohamed Meeran
passed away on Friday. He was 74.
● Mohamed Meeran was awarded the Sahitya Akademi award for
his novel Saivu Narkali (The Reclining Chair).
● His debut novel was released in the year 1988 titled Oru Kadalora Kiramathin Kathai (The
Story of Sea Side Village), followed by Turaimugam (Harbour) in 1991 and Koonan
Thoppu (The Grove for a Hunchback) in 1993.
Important Days
● 1st May: International Labour Day or May Day–International Labor Day theme 2019 was
“Sustainable Pension for all: The Role of Social Partners”.
● 3rd May – Press Freedom Day– 2019 Theme is Media for Democracy: Journalism and
Elections in Times of Disinformation
● 4th May – Coal Miners Day– 2019 Theme – Highlight the toughest profession and the
people working in coal mines.
● 7th May – World Asthma Day (First Tuesday of May)– 2019 Theme – STOP for Asthma
● 8th May – World Red Cross Day–2019 Theme – #Love
● 8th May – World Thalassaemia Day–2019 Theme – Universal Access to Quality
Thalassaemia Healthcare Services: Building Bridges with and for Patients
● 12th May – International Nurses Day–2019 Theme – Nurses – A Voice to Lead –Health
50
for All
● 15th May – International Day of Families–2019 Theme – Families and Climate Action:
Focus on SDG13
● 17th May – World Telecommunication Day–2019 Theme – Bridging the standardization
gap
● 17th May – World Hypertension Day–2019 Theme – Know Your Numbers
● 18th May – International Museum Day– 2019 Theme – Museums as Cultural Hubs: The
future of tradition
● 18th May – Armed Forces Day (Third Saturday of the May)– The theme for 2019 is “For
the Nation. For the People.”
● 20th May– World Bee Day 2019 Theme – Save the Bees
● 22nd May – International Day for Biological Diversity– The theme for 2019 is “Our
Biodiversity, Our Food, Our Health”.
● 23rd May– World Turtle Day Theme 2019 – Adopt, Don’t Shop
● 31st May– World No Tobacco Day – 2019 Theme – Tobacco and lung health
Sources
● Outlook India
● PIB
● The Hindu
● The Indian Express
● News on Air
● Business standard
● The Economic Times
● BBC
● The Times of India
● The Hindustan Times
● All India Radio News
51

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Current Affairs

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● The UN report came at the same time a report from

main exam for the post of Civil Judge (Junior Division) in

ties to the US. He said border security

● US will not sign the “Christchurch Call to Action” against

fishermen have planned protests – arguing that they

32–year–old’s government out of office in the wake of a video

has been sentenced to 50 weeks in jail – just under the

International Relations of India

and Mongolia which refers to India as its “third neighbour”.

the Government of India (GoI) under the India–Nepal Development Partnership

Economics & Financial Awareness

75% of the total volume–wise exports.

at different government agencies.

compared to April 2018, official data showed. The GST revenue

Defence & Security – National/International

survivability and cognitive decision–aiding.

their bilateral naval drill in the strategic South

Science and Technology

drones based on helicopter technology.

designated PSLV–C46 to launch its third radar

Ecology and Environment

species, which is restricted to the Kopili

Art and Culture

crowned on the first of three days of coronation rites.

Poroshenko trailing far behind on 24%.Mr Zelensky, a

Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has taken over charge as

cr for Mar quarter.

of V K Krishna Menon, Indian diplomat and politician.

Ho’s “Parasite,” one of the most critically acclaimed films of this

number of noms, with each artist gaining 17.

● Emerging player of the season: Shubman Gill of KKR

● The end of another captivating, compelling and at

goals to give Marcelino’s dominant Valencia control of

seed, successfully defended her title shocking the top seed

which was published in Granta in 2005.

aged 102.Pei’s designs are renowned for their

brought order to the universe by helping discover and

Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS).

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