Current Affairs

May 1 to 15
Current Affairs
2019
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MAY 1 TO 15 CURRENT AFFAIRS - 2019 KALAM VISION ACADEMY
Important days
International Labour Day is observed on May 1
• The theme of International Labour Day 2019 is “Sustainable Pension for all:
The Role of Social Partners”.
World Password Day celebrated on the 1st Thursday of May every year
May 2 observed as a World Tuna Day 2019
• To highlight the importance of tuna fish and to promote more sustainable

fishing practices which will help in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development.
Maharashtra Day is celebrated every year on 1st May
• Maharashtra Day is celebrated every year on 1st May to mark the Maratha
speaking region (Maharashtra) that was founded on 1st May 1960. (as per the
linguistic re-organisation of states)
Gujarat celebrates its foundation day on 1st May
• The state of Gujarat came into existence on 1st May 1960 after the division of
Mumbai state under Bombay Reorganization Act.
May 3 observed as a International Space Day 2019
World Press Freedom Day observed on May 3
• Theme: “Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of

Disinformation”.
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Coal Miners Day observed on May 4
International Firefighters’ Day is observed on May 4
May 5, 2019, observed as a World Laughter Day
May 5th observed as International Day of the Midwife
• The theme for this year’s celebration was “Midwives: Defenders of Women’s
Rights“.
International No Diet Day observed on May 6
World Athletics Day 2019 observed on May 7
May 7th observed as World Asthma Day
• The theme of this year is “STOP for Asthma”. STOP means Symptom
evaluation, Test response, Observe and assess, Proceed to adjust treatment.
Border Roads Organization (BRO) celebrated its 59th Raising Day on May 7th
• The 59th Raising Day of Border Roads Organization (BRO) was celebrated on
May 7, 2019. It is a nodal road construction agency under the Ministry of
Defence. It was formed on 7th May 1960, with the primary role of providing
road connectivity in border areas. It executes road construction and
maintenance works along the Northern and Western frontiers primarily to
meet the strategic requirements of the Army and is responsible for over
53,000 km roads.

• World Red Cross Day or Red Crescent Day celebrated on 8th May
The theme of this year was “#Love”. It is celebrated to commemorate the
birthday of the founder of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent
Movement, Henry Dunant, who was born on 8th May 1828.
May 8 observes as a World Thalassaemia Day 2019
• Theme: “Universal Access to Quality Thalassaemia Healthcare Services:

Building Bridges with and for Patients”.
About Thalassaemia
• It is an autosomal recessive blood disorder, which transferred from parents to

the children through genes. It causes weakening and destruction of the red
blood cells, affects the formation of hemoglobin in the body and causes mild
or severe anemia.
May 8 observed as the Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation and May 9 as 74th
anniversary of Victory in Second World War
• May 8 observed as the Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation for those who
had lost their life during Second World War which ended in 1945. May 9, 2019
observed as the 74th anniversary of victory over Nazism in Europe in Second
World War.
The Indian Army is commemorating ‘2019’ as the ‘Year of Next of Kin’ to reach out
to the next of kin of battle casualties
The 158th birth anniversary of Tagore was celebrated on the 9th of May, 2019

5th United Nations Global Road Safety Week observed from May 6 to 12
• The theme for this year’s weekly event is “Leadership for road safety”.
• It launched an ongoing campaign “Save Lives – #SpeakUp” to achieve global
goals by ensuring the safety of human life
• WHO had released a report named ” The Global status report on road safety
2018″ in December 2018 which stated that the number of annual road traffic
deaths has reached 1.35 million. Road traffic injuries are the leading killer of
people aged 5-29 years.
International Nurses Day 2019 observed on May 12
• The International Nurses Day was celebrated globally to commemorate the

birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale also known as ‘The Lady with the
Lamp’, was famous as manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean
War.
• The theme for the International Nurses Day 2019 is –‘Nurses – A Voice to Lead
–Health for All’.
• In 1860, Nightingale laid the foundation of professional nursing with the
establishment of “Nightingale School of Nursing” at St Thomas’ Hospital in
London.
• The Florence Nightingale Medal is the highest international distinction a
nurse can achieve.
World Migratory Bird Day 2019 celebrated on May 11
• It is celebrated twice in the year, which falls on the second Saturday in May
and October.
• In 2019, it will be celebrated on May 11 and October 10.
• The theme for this year is “Protect Birds: Be the Solution to Plastic Pollution!”.

National Technology Day 2019 observed on May 11 to mark India’s technological

advancements
• Every year on May 11, National Technology Day is observed in India to mark
India’s technological advancements.
• This day marks the remembrance of the successful launch of Shakti-I nuclear
missile at Pokhran Test Range in Rajasthan on May 11, 1998.
• In order to commemorate the technological achievements made by India, the
then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced May 11 as the National
Technology Day.
• This day also marks the launch of Hansa-3, India’s first indigenous aircraft. It
was flown in Bengaluru when the nuclear tests were being conducted in
Pokhran, Rajasthan.
• On the same day, the Defense Research and Development Organization
(DRDO) conducted the last test-fire of the Trishul Missile. This missile was
later inducted into service by the Indian Air Force and Indian Army.

Indian affairs
Mangaluru police gets an all-women patrol unit “Rani Abbakka Force”
• The Force has been named after the 16th-century warrior of coastal
Karnataka, Queen Abbakka of Ullal near Mangaluru, who fought the
Portuguese in the 16th century.
Indian Postal Department released Postage Stamp to commemorate 750th Birth

Anniversary of Sri Vedanta Desika
About Sri Vedanta Desika:
• Born in 1268 CE, he was Sri Vaishnava philosopher and one of the most
brilliant stalwarts of Sri Vaishnavism in the post-Ramanuja period.
• He was an awardee of Vedanta Desika (supreme teacher of the conclusion of
all knowledge).
• He also received titles such as ‘Kavitarkika-kesari’ and ‘Kavitarkika-simham’
(lion amongst poets); and ‘Ramanuja-daya-patram’.
• The most essential feature of his philosophy is the ‘aspect of inclusion’ which
means anyone, irrespective of any caste or creed could join Sri Vaishnava
fold.
Govt has mandated Green Number plates on all electric vehicles in India
• The Central government has instructed all state transport departments to

mandate green number plates on all types of electric vehicles, whether brand
new or used.

• The reason behind this move is to distinguish green vehicles for preferential
treatment in parking, free entry in congested zones, and concessional toll.
Cyclone Fani hits Odisha and West Bengal
• Cyclone Fani with a maximum wind speed of 240-250 kmph, is one of the most
biggest and fiercest cyclonic storm over the east coast in nearly two decades.
• Several villages nearby Puri in Odisha have submerged due to heavy rains and
many people have lost their life.
• The word Fani (pronounced as Foni) means snake was suggested by
Bangladesh.
• Central government has released Rs 1086 crore advanced financial assistance
to four states for undertaking preventive and relief measures to deal with
cyclone ‘Fani’. Out of this sanctioned amount, Odisha will receive Rs 340.87
crore, West Bengal Rs 235.50 crore, Tamil Nadu Rs 309.37 crore and Andhra
Pradesh will get Rs 200.25 crore.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has started helpline number 1938 for
Cyclone Fani.

KVIC distributed 1 lakh bee-boxes under the ‘Honey Mission’ initiative
• For the first time in India, under the ‘Honey Mission’ initiative, (KVIC) Khadi
and Village Industries Commission (in less than 2 years) distributed more
than 1 lakh bee-boxes among farmers and jobless youths across India.
• KVIC has helped in creating more than 10,000 new jobs and 25,000 additional
man-days through the manufacturing of bee boxes and honey extractors. Bee-
keeping would also open many job avenues for aspiring young entrepreneurs.
• In August 2017, the initiative of ‘Honey Mission’ was launched in accordance
with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for ‘Sweet Revolution‘ in 2016 while
introducing Banas Honey project at Deesa, Gujarat.
• Being an agency of Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme
(PMEGP), KVIC would offer loans for setting up honey-processing, packaging
and labelling units.
• After the implementation of this mission, till date, 246 metric tonnes of honey,
amounting over Rs 4 crore, has been extracted through the bee-boxes.
INS Ranjit decommissioned after 36 years in service
• After 36 years of service, Indian Navy’s

frontline missile destroyer, INS Ranjit has
been decommissioned at the naval dockyard
in Visakhapatnam.
• INS Ranjit was commissioned on 15th
September 1983
• INS Ranjit was the 3rd of the 5 Kashin-class destroyers built by the former
USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics).
• INS Ranjit was deployed during IPKF (Indian Peace Keeping Force)
operations and Operation Talwar during Kargil conflict.

• INS Ranjit’s motto was ‘Sada Rane Jayate‘ or ‘Ever Victorious in Battle’.
Chhattisgarh’s first Anti-Naxal Women’s Commando unit deployed
• The Chhattisgarh police have deployed first ever Anti-Naxal women’s

commando unit named ‘Danteshwari Ladake’ or ‘Fighters of Goddess
Danteshwari’.
• The unit comprised of 30 women commandos led by Deputy Superintendent of
Police (DSP) Dineshwari Nand. Out of these 30 women commandos, 10 are
surrendered women Naxals and 10 are assistant constables, part of anti-naxal
movement Salwa Judum.
INS Vela: Indian Navy’s 4th Scorpene-class made in India submarine launched
• INS Vela, Indian Navy’s 4th Scorpene-class

submarine was launched at Mazagon Dockyard in
Mumbai.
• This is the fourth submarine in the series of six
submarines under Project 75 built by Mazagon Dock
Ltd, Mumbai.
• The Scorpene-class submarine has been termed as the Kalavari Class.
• Project 75 is a $3.75 billion contract inked between French Company DCNS
(now Naval Group) and the Mazagon Dock Ltd in 2005 for construction and
transfer of technology for 6 Scorpene-class submarines.
• Before Vela, Mazagon Dock Ltd has launched Kalvari, Khanderi, Karanj
submarines.
• Upcoming submarines, INS Vagir and INS Vagsheer are in the stages of
manufacturing.

Karnataka Government limits the weight of school bags not more than 10% of the
child’s weight
• Karnataka government issued a circular, following the order of the Union

Ministry of Human Resource Development, directing all schools in the state,
including government, aided and unaided institutions, to limit the weight of a
schoolbag which is not more than 10% of the child’s weight.
• The weight of a bag of a student in Class 1 or 2 should not be more than 2 kg
and these students should not be given any homework.
• For the students from Class 3 to 5, it can weigh between 2 and 3 kg.
• The weight increases accordingly, with the students of Class 9 and 10 are
allowed to carry bags of weight 4-5kg.
• The third Saturday of every month should be followed as “No School Bag Day”.
Teachers are required to keep the students busy without any books or
supplementary materials and indulge in activities like field visits, general
knowledge clubs, art classes, indoor and outdoor games, abacus, dance
classes and debates.
• Schools have been asked to make provisions for drinking water facilities so
students don’t have to carry water bottles which eases their daily load. Also,
management have been directed to create awareness about carrying heavy
school bags.
Country’s biggest stucco figurine unearthed in Telangana’s Phanigiri

• Indian archaeologists recently unearthed a life-sized stucco sculpture from a

Buddhist site at Phanigiri in Suryapet,
Telangana. As per heritage department
officials, it represents one of Bhodhisattva
in Jathaka Chakra. This is the largest stucco
sculpture found from India till date.
• The sculpture is about 1.73 metres in height and 35 cm in width.
• It is considered to have been built at at peak of Ikshavaku dynasty.
ISIS has claimed to have established a new ‘province’ in India, termed as “Wilayah
of Hind” in Arabic
• After the occurrence of clashes between militants and security forces in

Kashmir on May 10, 2019, for the very first time ISIS, the Islamic State terror
group has claimed to have established a new ‘province’ in India, termed as
“Wilayah of Hind” (India Province) in Arabic. This has been announced
through its Amaq News Agency.
• ISIS (The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as the Islamic State
of Iraq and Syria. Officially known as the Islamic State) did not speak about the
Indian province’s geographical territory though.
• This is estimated as a part of ISIS’ propaganda to give the impression of

enhancing its global affiliations following the territorial losses (Iraq and Syria)
in the Middle East. In the past, a similar strategy was brought to light by ISIS
chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
• But, a senior Jammu and Kashmir police officer has rejected the announced
claim by the Islamic State terror group. The short ISIS statement was made
via Telegram, the messaging app. The statement notified that the ISIS
militants using machine guns had clashed with the Indian security forces in

the village of Amshipora in Kashmir’s Shopian district and caused casualty to

many of them.
For the first time ISRO launched a 2-week long summer vacation residential
programme termed ‘India Young Scientist Programme’ (Yuvika-2019)
• ISRO launched a maiden 2-week long (13th May 2019 to 26th May 2019)
summer vacation residential programme termed ‘India Young Scientist
Programme’ (Yuvika-2019) or ‘Yuva Vaigyanic Karyakram’ in line with the
central government’s vision of ‘Jai Vigyan, Jai Anusandhan’.
• The selected students from 29 states and 7 Union Territories across India
would be able to avail this novel programme.
• Through the video mode Dr K Sivan told around 110 students across India that
every year the new Yuvika space programme would help to produce a
substantial number of scientists.
• The students are selected based on their performance in the 8th Standard
(CBSE, ICSE and State syllabus) and this includes their performance in
academic as well as extracurricular activities.
• The selected students will be provided with course material that’s already
been pre-loaded on Tablets. The course programme includes topics like
Rocket engine, Environment science, Astronomy, Space applications,
Renewable Energy so on and so forth.
• The selected students are attending the residential training programme at
ISRO’s 4 centres, namely,
• Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

• U R Rao Satellite Centre, Bengaluru
• Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, Gujarat
• North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC), Shillong, Meghalaya.

• As a part of the programme, the selected students will also visit the Satish
Dhawan Space Centre spaceport to understand spaceport operations. This
Space Centre is situated at Shriharikota in Andhra Pradesh (located at about
80km northeast of Chennai).
• During the programme, renowned scientists will also deliver speeches and
share their experiences with the students.
• As a part of the programme, the students will also visit the ISRO labs to get
hands-on experience on how the ISRO-team establishes complex missions.
The Central Government has extended the ban on LTTE for an additional 5 years
with immediate effect
• Under sub-sections (1) and (3) of section 3 of the Unlawful Activities

(Prevention) Act, 1967 (37 of 1967), the Central Government has extended the
ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for an additional 5 years
with immediate effect.
• The notification stated that the LTTE’s perpetual violent activities are
extremely detrimental to the integrity of our nation.
• LTTE has continuously been adopting a anti-nationalist stand and has been
posing as a grave threat to Indian’s safety and security.
• The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (founded in May 1976 by Velupillai
Prabhakaran) was a Tamil militant and political organization that was based
in north-eastern Sri Lanka.
• LTTE’s main objective was to secure an independent state of Tamil Eelam in
the north and east in response to policies of the state of the Sri Lankan
governments towards Tamils, for which they raged in a Civil War.

• Since 1983, more than 1 lakh Tamils were killed in the civil war which lasted
26 years. Most of the people who were killed were Sri Lankan Tamil civilians.
Indian Army, Navy and Air Force hold joint exercise in Andaman and Nicobar
• All three services, Indian Army, Navy and Air Force hold joint exercise Bull
Strike at Teressa Island in Andaman and Nicobar.
• The objective is to enhance their coordination in dealing with major security
challenges which are currently facing the country and also to showcase joint
operation capability of the three forces, Indian Army, Navy and Air Force and
further enhance operation coordination.

International Affairs
Indo-French navies - joint exercise off the Goa-coast from 1st May to 10th May,
2019
• India and France will be holding their bilateral naval exercise, Varuna 19.1
Arabian Sea off the Goa coast from 1st May to 10th May, 2019.
• The 2nd part of the naval exercise, Varuna 19.2, will be held at May-end in
Djibouti.
About ‘Varuna’:
• The bilateral naval exercise started in 1983 and was termed as ‘Varuna’ in
2001.
• It forms a major part of the Indo-French strategic partnership, symbolising the
strong relations between India and France.
• The Joint Strategic Vision of India-French Cooperation in the Indian Ocean
Region was signed in March 2018 by President Emmanuel Macron and Prime
Minister Narendra Modi during president Emmanuel Macron’s State visit to
India.
The 14th edition of Sino-Indian border trade opens at Nathu La in Sikkim
• The 14th edition of the annual Sino-Indian border trade opens at Nathu La,
which is the frontier post at Sino-Indian border in Sikkim.
• Officials and traders of India and China made their presence at the border to
symbolise the beginning of the border trade.
• Every year, between 1st May to 30th November, the bilateral border trade
between 2 nations is held for 4 days a week for 6 months.

• After a long interval of 44 years, cross border trade commenced on July 6,

2006 to promote the benefits of trade, increase tourism in Sikkim, thus
offering employment for people of the region.
• Between India and China there are 3 open trading border posts, namely:
Nathu La in Sikkim, Shipkila in Himachal Pradesh and Lipulekh in Uttarakhand.
Pak named its retaliatory action against India on February 27 as ‘Operation Swift
Retort’
• The Pakistan Air Force announced that they will observe its retaliatory action
against India on February 27 against the Balakot strike of Indian Air Force as
‘Operation Swift Retort’.
• The Indian air strikes at Balakot terror camp on February 26 was response of
Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) attack by a suicide bomber in
Pulwama that killed 40 CRPF jawans.
• In response to Indian attack, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) retaliated and captured
IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman who was released by Pakistan
on March 1.
Article on Coalgate won Asian College of Journalism’s Award for Investigative

Journalism, 2018
• The article titled ‘Coalgate 2.0’ written by Nileena MS has won the Asian
College of Journalism’s (ACJ) Award for Investigative Journalism, 2018.
• Nileena’s article investigated the allotment of captive coal blocks in Parba
East and Kanta Basan regions of Chhattisgarh. It also explored deforestation,
relocation of people, loss of livelihood and denial of forest rights to tribals.

UNSC designated Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Masood Azhar as a global terrorist
• The 1267 Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security

Council (UNSC) designated Pakistan based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad
(JeM) leader Masood Azhar as a ‘global terrorist’ on May 1, 2019.
• This is a huge diplomatic win for India and also a symbolic victory towards the
fight against terrorism.
• This time the proposal was moved by P3 countries (USA, France and United
Kingdom), a permanent member to the United Nations Security Council
(UNSC), on February 27, 2019 to designate Azhar as a global terrorist. This
move was the response of deadly terror attack in Pulwama by Pakistan based
militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) which killed 40 Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF) jawans.
• The reason given by P3 countries to list Masood Azhar a global terrorist as he
was associated with Al-Qaeda for participating in financing, planning,
facilitating, preparing acts in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf
of, or in support of JeM; for supplying, or transferring arms and related
materials; for recruiting for terrorist organisation; and for other acts or
activities indicating association with JeM.
• Masood Azhar is the founder of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror outfit. He
is also a former leader of the terrorist group Harakat al-Mujahadin. He was
the mastermind of many terror attacks in India which includes Pathankot air
base attack in 2016, Pulwama attack in 2019.
Indian Navy undertook group sail exercise with Japan, Philippines and US in South
China Sea
• Guided Missile Destroyer, INS Kolkata and Fleet Support Ship, INS Shakti
participated in ‘Group Sail’ exercise in the disputed South China Sea. +

United Nations to hold Ocean Conference 2020 in Portugal
• United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has decided to hold Ocean

Conference 2020 in Lisbon, Portugal from June 2 to 6, 2020 with a theme of
“Scaling up ocean action based on science and innovation for the
implementation of Goal 14: stocktaking, partnerships and solutions.” It will be
co-hosted by the Governments of Portugal and Kenya.
• The objective of this conference is to support the implementation of
Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14) which stated as to conserve and
sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable
development.
India receives its first Apache Guardian attack helicopter in Boeing’s production
facility in Mesa, Arizona US
• The Indian Air Force legally received its 1st Apache Guardian attack helicopter
AH-64E (I) during a ceremony at the Boeing production facility in Mesa,
Arizona, US (United States).
• In September 2015, India signed a $1.4 billion deal with the US government
and Boeing for 22 attack helicopters (AH- 64 E Apache helicopters), of which
the 1st batch of helicopters will be shipped to India by July.
Apache is a stealthy and versatile machine that has been designed for all kinds
of missions. It consists of:
• laser and infrared systems for day and night operations

• air to surface Hellfire missiles
• 70 mm rockets
• an automatic cannon
• India was operating the Russian origin Mi 35 for a long time and that would be
taken out of service soon.

• The Apaches helicopters are going to substitute the Russian made choppers.
• The chopper will live up to IAF’s requirements and would work exceptionally in
mountainous terrain by carrying out precision attacks at standoff ranges,
operate in hostile airspace with threats from ground, transmit and receive
battlefield pictures.
The rare monkey pox virus, for the first time, reported in Singapore
• Singapore, for the first time, has detected a case with the rare monkey pox
virus which was brought in by a Nigerian man.
• He thought to have got this rare virus by eating bushmeat.
• Monkey pox is a rare disease caused by the virus that is transmitted from
animals, such as rodents and monkeys (through the hunting and consumption
of bush meat), to humans.
• It is usually found in the central and western parts of Africa’s tropical
rainforest.
US government released Global Health Security Strategy
• The US government has released first of its kind “Global Health Security
Strategy”.
• The objective is to prevent, detect and respond to threats from infectious
diseases occurring naturally or accidently and make efforts to help improve
the world’s ability to stop and contain deadly outbreaks before they spread to
other countries.
The “Global Health Security Strategy” focuses mainly on three interrelated goals:
• To strengthen partner country global health security capacities.

• To increase international support for global health security.

• Prepare and resilient against the global health threats.

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Events
The 16th Ministerial Meeting of Asia Cooperation Dialogue held in Doha, Qatar
with the theme ‘Partners in Progress’
• Asia Cooperation Dialogue’s (ACD) 16th Ministerial Meeting was held in

Doha, Qatar. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, H E
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani headed the 2019 dialogue. The
Indian delegation was led by Gen. (Dr) V.K. Singh (Retd), Minister of State for
External Affairs.
Sports
Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara named as first non-British President of

MCC
• Kumar Sangakkara, former Sri Lanka captain has been named as the first
non-British president of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). He succeeds
Anthony Wreford. It was announced at the MCC annual general meeting at
Lord’s on 1 May 2019. He will take up his one-year post in October
• MCC is the guardian of the Laws of the cricket game and it was founded in
1787 and has been based at Lord’s, which it owns, since 1814.
• His responsibilities would involve the launch of The Hundred – the England
and Wales Cricket Board’s new 100-ball cricket format and two England test
matches against West Indies and Pakistan

Apurvi Chandela achieves World No. 1 ISSF Rankings in 10m Air Rifle
• According to the latest rankings released by International Shooting Sport

Federation (ISSF), world cup gold medallist, Apurvi Chandela became the
world number one in women’s 10m Air Rifle category with 1,926 rating points.
• The 26-year old Apurvi Chandela is among the five Indian shooters who have
earned the Olympic quota for the Tokyo 2020.
Liverpool’s Virgil Van Dijk won PFA Players’ Player of the Year Award
• The 27-year old Liverpool defender and captain of the Netherland National
team, Virgil Van Dijk won the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA)
Players’ Player of the Year Award for 2018-19 after a sterling Premier League
campaign.
Bajrang Punia won gold at Ali Aliev Tournament 2019
• 25-year old, Bajrang Punia won a gold medal at Ali Aliev Tournament, held
at Kaspiysk in Dagestan, Russia. He defeated Russian wrestler Viktor
Rassadin in 65-kg category by 13-8. This was his second gold medal in the
last 10 days. Last week, Punia won a gold medal in the 65-kg category at the
Asian Championship in Xi’an, China.
Saurav and Joshna won individual titles in Asian Squash Championship 2019
• Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa won men’s and women’s title respectively
in the Asian Individual Squash Championship held at National Squash Centre
in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from May 1 to 5, 2019.

West Indies record ODI cricket’s first-ever 350+ score opening stand
• West Indies player John Campbell and Shai Hope created the history by
making first-ever 350 plus run opening stand against Ireland. Both players
shared 365 runs for the first wicket and also become the only opening pair to
score 150 runs each in one inning of a 50-over match. The venue of the match
was Clontarf Cricket Club Ground, Dublin, Ireland.
• Previously, the highest first wicket opening stand was 304 runs in ODI cricket
by Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq against Zimbabwe in 2018.
CEAT International Cricket Awards 2019:
Following is the list of Award Winners:

International Test Cricketer of the Year: Cheteshwar Pujara (India)
International ODI Cricketer of the Year: Rohit Sharma (India)
International T20 Player of the Year: Aaron Finch (Australia)
Outstanding Performance of the Year: Kuldeep Yadav (India)
International T20 Bowler of the Year: Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)
Domestic Player of the Year: Ashutosh Aman (India)
Junior Cricketer of the Year: Yashasvi Jaiswal (India)
Cricket Journalists of the Year: Sriram Veera and Snehal Pradhan (India)
Special Tribute: Late Ajit Wadekar (India)
The Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Mohinder Amarnath who is the
former Indian all-rounder and he was the member of the winning team of World
Cup 1983.

Indian Pacer, Jasprit Bumrah was honoured with the International Bowler of the
Year Award.
Sana Mir became highest wicket-taking women spinner in ODI
• A 33-year old, Pakistan’s off-spinner Sana Mir became the highest wicket-
taking women spinner in One Day International (ODI) cricket.
• She had taken her 147th wicket against South Africa in the International
Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s Championship held in South Africa.
F3: Jehan Daruvala Wins 2019 Formula 3 Season Opener In Barcelona
• Mumbai based Indian racing driver JehanDaruvala won his maiden victory in
the 2019 Formula 3 championship in Barcelona-Catalunya.
Lewis Hamilton grabs Spanish Grand Prix
• Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) of United Kingdom has won the Spanish Grand
Prix in Barcelona.
• He celebrated the 76th win of his Formula 1 career,
• This win took him back to the top spot of the world championship ranking with
112 points, ahead of Valtteri Bottas who is on 105 points.
• Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) stood at the second spot while Max Verstappen
(Red Bull) was at third

Mutua Madrid Open Tennis 2019
WINNER RUNNER UP
MEN’S SINGLES Novak Djokovic (Serbia) StefanosTsitsipas (Greece)
HoriaTecau (Romania). Dominic Thiem (Austria),

MEN’S DOUBLES Jean-Julien Rojer Diego Schwartzman(
(Curacao) Argentina)
WOMEN’S Kiki Bertens

SimonaHalep(Romania)
SINGLES (Netherlands)
Hsieh Su-wei (Taiwan),

WOMEN’ Xu Yifan (China),
Barbora Strycova
DOUBLES Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada)
(Czechia)
World’s first women’s cricket magazine “CRICZONE”
• Recently, the world’s first exclusive women’s cricket magazine “CRICZONE”

released with Indian women’s cricket team vice-captain Smriti Mandhana
featured as the cover story. The publisher of the magazine is Yash Lahoti.
• The magazine “CRICZONE” was launched in Jaipur, Rajasthan during an event
which was conducted on the sidelines of the inaugural women’s T20
challenge.
• The objective of this magazine is to empower young aspiring women
cricketers to take the sport as a profession and able to make sustainable
living.
Desert Storm Rally 2019

• The 17th edition of India’s most prestigious international motorsport event,

Desert Storm Rally 2019 held in Rajasthan from May 7 to 11, 2019. The event
saw the participation of 130 candidates with 34 teams in 3 categories namely
Xtreme, Moto and Ndure.
• The category Moto was won by Adrien Metge from TVS Racing. He was
followed by Hero Motorsports CS Santosh and TVS Racing’s Abdul Wahid
Tanveer.
• The Xtreme category title clinched by Aabhishek Mishra (co-driver Srikanth
Gowda) while Ndure Category won by Ankur Chauhan (co-driver Prakash M).
Indian Premier League 2019
The 12th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) was played from March 23 to
May 12, 2019. A total of 8 teams had participated in the event.
Mumbai Indians won their 4th IPL title after defeating Chennai Super Kings by 1
run at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.
Rank Team Prize Money
1 Mumbai Indians Rs. 20 crore
2 Chennai Super Kings Rs. 12.5 crore
3 Delhi Capitals Rs. 8.75 crore
4 Sunrisers Hyderabad Rs. 8.75 crore
Awards
• Orange Cap : David Warner from Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) won the
orange cap by scoring 692 runs in 12 matches. He got Rs 10 lakh cheque as
price money.

• Purple Cap : Imran Tahir from Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have won purple
cap by taking 26 wickets in the tournament. He also got Rs 10 lakh cheque
as prize money.
• Most Valuable Player : Andre Russell from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
won the most valuable player award. He got Rs 10 lakh cheque as prize
money which was collected by Shubham Gill on this behalf.
• Fairplay: Sunrisers Hyderabad has won the Fairplay award 2019. VVS
Laxman had collected the trophy.
• Fastest Fifty of the Season: Hardik Pandey from Mumbai Indians has
scored the fastest fifty of IPL 2019. He hammered the fifty in 17 balls
against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). He got Rs 10 lakh cheque as prize
money.
• Perfect Catch of the Season: Kieron Pollard from Mumbai Indians won the
perfect catch of the match award. He had taken catch of Suresh Raina
(CSK). He also got Rs 10 lakh cheque as prize money.
• Super Striker of the Season: Andre Russell from Kolkata Knight Riders
(KKR) won the Super Striker of the Season award. He scored 510 runs with
52 sixes at strike rate of 204.81. He got Rs 10 lakh cheque as prize money
and a car.
• Stylish Player of the Season: KL Rahul from Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) won
the stylish player of the season award. He scored 593 runs in 14 matches.
He got Rs 10 lakh cheque as prize money.
• Emerging Player of the Season: A 19-year old Shubham Gill from Kolkata
Knight Riders (KKR) won emerging player of the season award. He got Rs
10 lakh cheque as prize money.
• Game Changer of the Season Award: Rahul Chahar from Mumbai Indians
won the game changer of the season award. He had taken 13 wickets in 13
matches at an economy of 6.55. He also got Rs 10 lakh cheque as prize
money

• Player of the Match in the Finals: Jasprit Bumrah from Mumbai Indian won
the player of the match in the final against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He
bowled 4 overs with an economy rate of 3.50 and take 2 wickets. He got Rs
5 lakh cheque as prize money.
Important Highlights
• Prayas Barman became the youngest ever player to play IPL. He was 16
years and 157 days old spinners from Royal Challengers Bangalore. He
played his debut match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
• Imran Tahir from CSK became the oldest player to play in the IPL player.
He also became the second spinner to win purple cap. The first spinner to
do so was Pragyan Ojha.
• Mumbai Indian became the first team in the IPL history to win 4 title in
total 12 editions. Earlier Mumbai Indians won in 2013, 2015 and 2017.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) won 3 titles in total 10 editions they have
played in the IPL.
• Jaydev Unadkat and Varun Chakravarthy were the most expensive player at
Rs.8.4 crore. Sam Curran of England was the most expensive foreign player
at Rs 7.2 crore.

Awards and recognitions
In 2019, Goldman Environmental Prize

The Goldman Environmental Foundation honoured 6 recipients of the 2019 with
the world’s eminent award for grassroots environmental activists, the Goldman
Environmental Prize
This prize is awarded every year to environmental activists from each of the
global 6 inhabited continents.
The Goldman Environmental Prize is also known as Green Nobel Prize and
awards a cash prize of $200,000.
Name of
Country Environmental work
recipient
Bayarjargal Agvaantseren helped to create the

1.8 million-acre Tost Tosonbumba Nature
Reserve (in the South Gobi Desert) which is a
Bayarjargal critical habitat for the vulnerable snow
Mongolia
Agvaantseren leopard. She also persuaded the Mongolian
government to take actions against mining
within
the reserve.
Environmental lawyer Alfred Brownell stopped

the
Alfred Brownell Liberia clear-cutting of Liberia’s tropical forests by
palm oil plantation developers. His effective
campaign helped to save 5,13,500 acres of

primary forest. He was under violent threats

during the entire noble campaign and now, for
his safety, he is living in temporary exile in
the United States.
Ana Colovic Lesoska protected the habitat of

the nearly-extinct Balkan lynx (a wild cat with
yellowish-brown fur found mostly in the
northern latitudes of North America and
Ana Colovic North
Eurasia) by leading a 7-year campaign to chop
Lesoska Macedonia
off international funding for
2 large hydropower plants to be constructed
inside North Macedonia’s Mavrovo
National Park.
Alberto Curamil (jailed in 2018 due to his

environmental activism) led his Mapuche
community to stop the building of 2
hydroelectric projects on the Cautín River in
Alberto Curamil Chile
Chile. The projects would have
diverted hundreds of millions of gallons of
water each day and harmed the ecosystem
drastically by worsening drought conditions.
Jacqueline Evans organized a 5-year campaign

to protect the Cook Islands’ marine
biodiversity. Because of her persistency in
Jacqueline Cook
activism, the Cook Islands passed a new law
Evans Islands
to create ‘Marae Moana’ on 13 July 2017 (a
multiple-use marine protected area created),
to sustainably manage and preserve 763,000

square miles of the nation’s marine territory

by creating marine protected areas around all
15 islands.
Linda Garcia prevented North America’s

largest
oil terminal, Tesoro Savage
United
Linda Garcia oil export terminal, from being constructed in
States
Vancouver, Washington, thus curbing the flow
of 11 million gallons of crude oil
per day from North Dakota to Washington.
IPS Officer Chhaya Sharma, who oversaw Nirbhaya rape case receives McCain
Institute Award 2019 for courage and leadership
Indian –origin journalist G D ‘Robert’ Govender honoured with V K Krishna Menon

Award posthumously for his contribution as a pioneer of decolonised journalism
Former ISRO chief A.S. Kiran Kumar conferred ‘Knight of the Legion of Honour’
Award in France for his invaluable contribution to the development of the India-
France space cooperation
Order of St George Award 2019 presented to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in Kerala
Person in news

India’s GS Lakshmi became the first woman female ICC match referee
• A 51-year old former Indian cricketer GS Lakshmi became the first ever
female match referee to be included into the International Cricket Council
(ICC)’s International Panel of Match Referees.
17 UN advocates for SDGs
• The United Nations Secretary–General Antonio Guterres has appointed 17 new

advocates to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• These include the Indian actress Dia Mirza and the Chief of Alibaba Group,
Jack Ma.
• The newly appointed UN advocates are the 17 influential global figures. It is
the responsibility of these advocates to raise awareness, inspire greater
ambition and strive hard for the faster action on the SDGs, which were
adopted by the world leaders on September 25, 2015.
• The other newly appointed SDG Advocates are Queen Mathilde of the
Belgians, Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Founder, Education Above All
Foundation (State of Qatar), British screenwriter, producer and film director
Richard Curtis, Nobel Laureate Nadia Murad, Director of Center for
Sustainable Development, Columbia University Jeffrey Sachs, Brazilian
footballer and UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and Founder and Chief
Executive Officer, Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative, Forest Whitaker.
• Actress Dia Mirza is also the UN Environment Program Goodwill Ambassador
for India.
➢ Croatia’s Igor Stimac set to be appointed Indian football team coach

➢ Former Indian Supreme Court Justice MB Lokur appointed to Supreme Court

of Fiji for three years
➢ Subhash Chand to be the next Ambassador of India to the State of Eritrea
➢ Nepal’s 18 year old girl, Bandana sets Guinness World Records for Longest
Dancing by dancing continuously for 126 hours
➢ P.M. Narendra Modi second most followed politician globally on social media,
overtakes Trump (Barack Obama ranked first)
➢ Nigerian Professor, Tijjani Bande, appointed as the President of UN General
Assembly
➢ India’s Jagjit Pavadia re-elected to the International Narcotics Control
Board(INCB)
➢ Stevo Pendarovski won North Macedonia’s presidential elections
➢ Laurentino “Nito” Cortizo emerged as the President of the Republic of
Panama
➢ M Jayshree Vyas appointed as first Independent Woman Director to BSE
board (Bombay Stock Exchange)
➢ President Ram Nath Kovind named P.R. Ramachandra Menon as Chief Justice
of Chhattisgarh HC
➢ Abhay Oka was appointed as Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court
➢ Serbia’s Dragan Mihailovic to be designated as new head coach for Indian
Men’s Volleyball team
➢ Tamil novelist and Sahitya Akademi Awardee Thoppil Mohamed Meeran dies
aged 74
• He authored several Tamil and Malayalam novels. His novel “Saaivu
Naarkkali” (The Reclining Chair) won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1997.

Environment
New species of pit Viper found in Itanagar
• A new species of pit viper named “Trimeresurus arunachalensis” was found in

West Kameng district of Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh by a team of
herpetologists from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research based
in Pune, led by Ashok Captain.
• The newly found species has reddish brown colour and a unique heat sensing
system. The discovery was published in Russian Journal of Herpetology.
• Before this discovery, India has been a home of four brown pit vipers –
Malabar, Horseshoe, Hump-nosed and Himalayan.
The UK Parliament becomes the first national government to pass an Environment

and Climate Emergency
• The UK Parliament becomes the first national government to pass an

exemplary measure, that is, a national declaration of an Environment and
Climate Emergency. This move marks a serious emergency in dealing with
climate change.
• 49 million people are currently living under national, city and local
declarations of a climate emergency around the world.
• The decision of emergency in Parliament caters to national reductions and
investment in the reduction of carbon emissions and saving the planet.
• Compared to its 1990 levels, UK (United Kingdom) was later legally
committed to an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 and recently
featured as 1 of 18 developed economies to decrease CO2(carbon dioxide)
emissions in the last 10 years.

Bajirao, the last captive white tiger at Mumbai’s national park, dies at 18
• The last captive white tiger at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in
Borivali, Mumbai named Bajirao died due to old age related problems at the
age of 18. He was born at the SGNP in 2001 to tigress Renuka
and tiger Sidharth.
Australian flight carrier, Qantas operated world’s first zero-waste flight
• Recently, the Australian flight carrier, Qantas has operated world’s first zero
waste commercial flight named QF739 from Sydney to Adelaide which
disposed all waste through compost, reuse or recycle.
• This airline has substituted over 1000 single-use plastic items with more
environment friendly items which has helped airline to achieve zero-waste
during commercial flight.
• The Australian airline Qantas has planned to eliminate 100 million single-use
plastics by the end of 2020 and also to reduce 75% of airline’s waste by the
end of 2021.
Entire genome of Asiatic lion sequenced first time
• Scientists from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-Centre for

Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad have been sequenced the
entire genome of the Asiatic lion for the first time.
• The information obtained from sequencing would help to understand the
evolution of Asiatic Lion.
• Comparative studies of royal Bengal tiger, African Cheetah and Jaguar would
be possible with the complete genome of these big cats.

• The population of the endangered Asiatic lion is very low — only 523 animals
are present in the Gir forests.
• The genome is estimated to be 2.3 Gb (Gigabase) long and is found to have
20,543 protein-coding genes.
World’s 1st parent-wise genome for water buffaloes developed
• National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has developed world’s first

complete parent-wise genome assembly of buffalo named
“NDDB_ABRO_Murrah” of riverine buffaloes.
• This comes on the back of the successful launch of a customized genotyping
chip for indigenous cattle and their crosses, named INDUSCHIP.
• World buffalo population is estimated to be 224.4 million, of which 219 million
(97.58 per cent) are in Asia.
• Of the 13 buffalo breeds in India, the Murrah, native to central Haryana, is the
most sought after and acknowledged as the best ‘breed-improver’ with its
gene pool now stretching across the globe in South Asia, South America,
Mexico and West Asian countries.
Non-venomous species of ‘rain snake’ discovered in Mizoram
• A group of Taxonomists has unearthed a new non-venomous ‘rain loving’

snake species named “Smithophis atemporalis” from Mizoram in North-east
India.
• The locals commonly referred to the snake as ‘ruahlawmrul’, a rain-loving
snake.

India gets its first ever ice cafe in Gaya Village at 14,000 feet
• Border Road Organisation (BRO) officials have created

India’s first ever ice cafe in the mountain village of Gaya
in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, at 14,000 feet
height above sea level, on the famous ManaliLeh
Highway.
• The ice sculpture, resembles a Buddhist meditation place, was created by
natural process.
• The design of the ice cafe has been inspired by the works of famous Indian
engineer and innovator and education reformist, SonamWangchuk.
First brown bear sighting in Portugal in over a century
• Wildlife Experts from Institute for Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF)
have confirmed that the reappearance of brown bear in Portugal after one
bear was spotted in the Montesinho Natural Park and Braganca commune in
northeastern Portugal in more than a century.
• Brown bears have been extinct in Portugal since the 19th century, and the last
reports are between the 18th and the end of the 19th century.
Bengal Tigers May Not Survive Impact of Climate Change : UN Report
• A team of researchers from Bangladesh and Australia have claimed that the
majestic Royal Bengal Tiger, which dominates the marshy mangrove
ecosystem in the Sunderbans forest reserves, is under threat due to climate
change and the unprecedented rise in sea levels.It was published in the
journal named Science of the Total Environment.
• According to the researchers, there may be no tiger habitats left in the
Bangladesh Sundarbans by 2070.

• In 2010, World Wildlife Fund for Nature had reported that even a 11-inch rise
in water levels can wipe out the tiger population in the region by 96%.
• Extreme weather events, heat waves and changing weather patterns could
have an even greater impact on the decline than the rise in sea level.
• Since the beginning of the 20th century, the tiger population has been in
constant decay due to uncontrolled hunting, habitat loss and illegal trade of
animal parts.
Over 300 nests of grizzled giant squirrel spotted near Gingee for the first time
• A team of researchers and wildlife activists from Indigenous Biodiversity

Foundation (IBF) have sighted 363 nests of the grizzled giant squirrel, a large
tree squirrel at Pakkamalai Reserve Forests near Gingee in the Eastern
Ghats,TamilNadu.Its Scientific name is Ratufamacroura.
• The research was headed by K. Raman, a naturalist of IBF.
• This endangered species is listed Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act,
1972.
• It is also categorised as near threatened by the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List and listed under Schedule II of
CITES(the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora) due to habitat loss and poaching.
• It is usually known to nest in the Western Ghats in Southern India ranging
from Chinnar Wildlife sanctuary in Kerala to Anamalai Tiger Reserve and
Palani hills in Tamil Nadu.

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Science and Technology
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new “Sovereign Internet” law that will
allow Russian authorities gain control over the Internet
• Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a “sovereign internet” bill
that will allow Russian authorities to isolate the country’s internet to expand
the Government Control of the Internet. This move is being publicly
denounced by all rights groups in Russia and will lead to censorship over large
parts of the Internet.
• The new move requires Internet providers to install equipment for routing
Russian web traffic through servers in Russia which will allow the Russian
intelligence agencies of state authorities to control public information.
• These laws are part of an ongoing Kremlin prevention on media and internet
freedoms in which the public is imprisoned for sharing petty humorous
memes.
Giant asteroid ‘99942 Apophis’ will fly past Earth in a decade
• The 340m wide asteroid named 99942 Apophis will fly past Earth like a
‘moving star- like point of light’ on April 13, 2029.
• It will fly above the earth’s surface at 30,500 km and first become visible with
a naked eye in the night sky over the Southern Hemisphere from the east
coast to the west coast of Australia.
• In 2004, astronomers at the Kitt Peak National Observatory based in Arizona
discovered Apophis and claims about the chance of 2.7% that asteroid may
impact Earth in 2029. However, further observation ruled out that chance but
Apophis still has a small chance of impacting Earth which is less than 1 in
100,00- many decades from now.

Japan’s first privately developed rocket “Momo-3” reached outer space
• A Japanese aerospace start-up Interstellar Technology Inc. has successfully

launched a first privately developed rocket ‘Momo-3’ into space. The
unmanned rocket launched from its test site in Taiki on the northern Japanese
island of Hokkaido and it reached about 110 km in altitude before falling into
the Pacific Ocean after 10 minutes of flight time.
Microsoft released its own Blockchain–based Service
• Recently, Microsoft has released its own fully managed Azure Blockchain
Service. This will help in simplifying the formation, management and
governance of the businesses so that they can pay attention to workflow logic
and application development. Businesses can develop their applications on
this new cloud-based platform. “Quorum”, an enterprise-focused version of
open-sourced platform Ethereum, will be the first ledger available in Azure
Blockchain Service.
NASA’s first Planetary Defence Technology to collide with small moonlet in 2022
• NASA will hit an asteroid named Didymoon or Didymos B with a spacecraft

called Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) in 2022. This will be the first
mission which demonstrates a planetary defence technique. The asteroid is
150 m tall which orbiting a larger body called Didymos A. This will help in
understanding the state of the asteroid system.
• The spacecraft Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) will carry an optical
navigation system which captures the images. This will help the spacecraft to
reach its target successfully.

• The DART spacecraft will use small hydrazine thrusters which utilise the
electric propulsion system.
• The spacecraft will collide with the asteroid at a speed of approximately 6
kmps (km per second) and this collision will change the speed of the asteroid
in its orbit by fraction of 1%.
“ElectionGuard”, an open source software unveiled by Microsoft for secure voting
• Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella has announced the launch of “ElectionGuard”, a

free open-source Software Development Kit(SDK) to help nations to carry out
secure and verifiable voting.
• Developed by Galois, “ElectionGuard” is a supplement to paper ballots.
• It is verifiable as it allows the voters and third-party organizations to verify
election results.
• “ElectionGuard” provides a voter a unique code. During the process of voting,
voters have an optional step which allows them to track their votes from the
moment he/she casts it, after the voter has verified the selections are correct
to the final step of counting the votes.
Experimental device generates electricity from the coldness of the universe for the
first time
• Scientists from Stanford University, Shanhui Fan along with Masashi Ono have
demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to produce a measurable
amount of electricity in an infrared photodiode from the coldness of the
universe.
• The infrared semiconductor uses the temperature difference between Space
and Earth to produce the electricity.

The study was published in a journal named Applied Physics Letters.

i. The new device has generated about 64 nanowatts per square meter.
ii. According to the theoretical calculations, the device can generate almost 4
watts per square meter, roughly one million times what practically generated.
iii. In the new technology, the negative illumination effect allows electrical
energy to be harvested as heat leaves a surface.
iv. It can power electronics at night.
Water found in samples taken from Asteroid Itokawa
• Maitrayee Bose, Indian-origin cosmochemist along with Ziliang Jin, a

postdoctoral scholar in Arizona State University’s, have found water in
asteroid Itokawa samples collected by the Japanese space probe Hayabusa.
• The research paper detailing the analysis of five of the particles from the
asteroid samples was published in the journal Science Advances on 8th May
2019.
• Itokawa is a peanut-shaped S-type asteroid about 1,800 feet long and 700 to
1,000 feet wide. It circles the Sun every 18 months at an average distance of
1.3 times the Earth-Sun distance.
• The samples were collected from an area on Itokawa known as the Muses
Sea, which is smooth and dusty.
• Each sample is only about half the thickness of a human hair, so a Nanoscale
Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (NanoSIMS) was used to measure the tiny
mineral grains.
• In two of the five particles, Jin and Bose identified pyroxene, a mineral that is
known to contain water.
• Itokawa is a dry asteroid but the study showed that the samples were rich in
water.

A microprocessor named ‘AJIT’ developed by IIT Bombay
• A group of researchers and professor Manav Desai from Indian Institute of

Technology (IIT), Bombay have developed a microprocessor named ‘AJIT’
which was indigenously conceptualised, designed, developed and
manufactured.
• The chip of the microprocessor was developed at Semi-Conductor Laboratory
in Chandigarh.
• This was the first time that academia, industry and government worked
together for the development of new technology.
• The team developed a toolset called AHIR-V2, which can convert an algorithm
to hardware to design the microprocessor circuit.
• It is a medium sized processor which can be used for different purposes like
inside a set-top box, as the control panel for automation systems, in a traffic
light controller or even in robotics systems.
• The microprocessor ‘AJIT’ will cost around Rs 100 if manufacture about 10
lakh unit at a time.
Samsung launched world’s Highest Resolution Image Sensor
• Recently, South Korea based Samsung company has launched the world’s first
highest resolution image sensor of 64 megapixels.
• This image sensor will be used in upcoming smartphones of Samsung and the
objective is to meet the growing demand for smartphones with better image
quality.
• According to Samsung, the market size of image sensor is expected to grow
because of latest advancements in the field of artificial intelligence and 5G
technologies and there is also a scope of developing different types of sensors
due to growing demands for self-driving cars.

ALFA-X, the world’s fastest bullet train.
• Japan has begun testing the ALFA-X version of its fastest-ever Shinkansen
bullet train that could reach 400 km per hour (249 mph).
• The bullet train ALFA-X (Advanced Labs for Frontline Activity in Rail
Experimentation) is scheduled to start its service in 2030, when, it would
operate it at 360 kilometres per hour (224 mph).
• This speed will make it 10 kph faster than China’s Fuxing Hao, which links
Beijing and Shanghai and operates at the same top speed. This would make
ALFA-X, the world’s fastest bullet train.
Few features of ALFA-X:
• In addition to usual brakes, the ALFA-X will have air brakes on the roof and
also use magnetic plates near the rails to decrease speed while slowing down.
• The bullet train will have dampers and air suspension to maintain stability
while travelling through curves.
DRDO successfully conducted the flight test of ABHYAS in Odisha
• DRDO successfully conducted the flight test of ABHYAS. ABHYAS is a High-

speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) drone and it is used for autonomous
flying with the help of an autopilot.
• The flight test was conducted from an Interim Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur,
Odisha.
NASA’s Mission to Moon - ‘Artemis’

• NASA is set for its Mission to Moon “Artemis” which is set to be achieved by
2024.
• Earlier, its goal to achieve this feet was by 2028.
• The Mission is named ‘Artemis’ after the Greek mythological goddess of the
Moon and twin sister to Apollo.
• This Mission has committed to take a female astronaut to the surface of the
moon for the first time.
• After the Mission to Moon “Artemis”, NASA is planning to reach Mars by 2033.
MANAV- Human Atlas Initiative
• Department of Biotechnology (DBT) launched MANAV- Human Atlas Initiative,

to understand the role of tissues and cell in the human body.
• The aim of the program is to understand human body at two stages- normal
stage and disease stage.
100% recyclable plastic - Polydiketoenamine(PDK)
• U.S. Department of Energy in California created a new 100% recyclable plastic

named Polydiketoenamine (PDK).
• This can be broken down and used without the loss of quality.
• It can be formed into a different shape and colour.
• The researchers discovered that the new PDK material has wide range of
thermal and mechanical properties. It can be used in textiles, foams and 3D
printed materials.
World’s Smallest Colour Pixels for large-scale flexible displays

• Scientists from the University of Cambridge, UK created the World’s Smallest

Colour Pixels by trapping the particles of light under the tiny rocks of gold.
• These pixels can be used for new types of large-scale flexible displays and
are big enough to cover entire buildings.
• These are the smallest pixels ever created and are smaller than the typical
smart phone pixels.

Committees and panels
MoEFCC constituted a committee to implement National Clean Air Program
• Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has

constituted a committee to implement the National Clean Air Program
(NCAP).
• The objective is to reduce the PM (particulate matter) 2.5 and PM 10
concentration by 20% to 30% in at least 102 cities by 2024.
• The committee will be headed by the Secretary, Union Environment Ministry.
• The headquarters of the committee will be in New Delhi.
• The 102 cities, across 23 states and Union Territories will be identified by the
Central Pollution Control Board (CBCB). The selection criteria will be based
on their air quality data between 2011 and 2015. The NCAP is envisioned as a
five-year action plan with 2019 as the first year. There would be a review
every five years.

Economy
PayPal India launched One Touch with the help of Google Smart Lock for
seamless transactions
• PayPal India used Google Smart Lock and launched its OneTouch experience
in India.
• The launch of the OneTouch feature permits Indian consumers to register
their Android device with PayPal and stay logged into PayPal for further
PayPal purchases on that device, thus removing the issue of repeated log-ins
and enabling a seamless payments experience.
• The integration with Google Smart Lock will offer a hassle-free payment
procedure as well as maintain security to prevent fraud.
Netherlands emerges as the 3rd largest source of FDI in India
• The Netherlands, became the third largest source of Foreign Direct

Investment (FDI) in India during 2017-18, with an investment of United States
Dollar (USD) 2.67 billion across all sectors.
• Mauritius and Singapore are the top two countries for FDI in India during
2017-18 with an investment of USD 13.41 billion and USD 9.27 billion
respectively.
• After Singapore, the Netherlands was the second largest destination for
foreign investment by Indian companies with an investment of USD 12.8
billion in 2017-18.

Facebook has selected London as the center to develop WhatsApp’s mobile

payment service
• CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg has confirmed that it has selected London
to be the center to launch WhatsApp Pay.
• The reason to choose London than US City is because WhatsApp is widely
used in UK and London is considered as a Hub for Fintech.
• WhatsApp has 1.5 billion users globally, out of which, more than 200 million
users are in India.
NABARD launched Nabventures- its maiden fund to give support to agriculture,

food, rural start-ups
• A subsidiary of NABARD (The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural

Development), Nabventures notified its first time funding termed
‘NABVENTURES Fund I‘ which is a Rs 700-crore venture capital fund for equity
investments to provide support for agriculture, food and rural start-ups (which
would help improve rural livelihoods).
HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company launched ‘Mosquito Disease Protection

Policy’ which will cover people against common mosquito-borne diseases
• India’s 3rd-largest non-life insurance provider in the private sector, HDFC

ERGO General Insurance Company launched a scheme termed ‘Mosquito
Disease Protection Policy’ which will cover a person against common
mosquito-borne diseases, namely, Dengue Fever, Malaria, Chikungunya,
Japanese Encephalitis, Kala-azar, Lymphatic Filariasis and Zika Virus.

• There has been a stark rise of 300% dengue cases in India between 2009-
2017,according to the report published by National Health Profile 2018.
• These mosquito-borne diseases leads to financial burden due to
hospitalisation
• The policy by HDFC ERGO will cover hospitalisation expenses.
• The policy will also pay the beneficiary the sum insured, if in case of the
policyholder dies due to the disease.
• This policy also provides international cover to people and also covers all the
vector-borne diseases listed in the policy document.
• The policy cover will be available for people between the age of 91 days to 65
years.
TCS becomes India’s most valued firm
• On May 9th, Indian IT firm, Tata Consultancy Services(TCS) surpassed the

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), in terms of Market capitalisation and
became the India’s most valued firm by market capitalisation.
• As per BSE data, the market-cap of TCS stood at Rs. 8.13 trillion whereas the
market-cap of RIL was Rs.7.95 trillion.

Reports, ranking, index
WHO reported over 1.35 million deaths caused by road accidents
• According to World Health Organisation (WHO)’s report titled “Global Status

Report on Road Safety”, published during the on-going road safety week
revealed that over 1.35 million people died every year due to road accidents in
the 5-29 age group and around 50 million people sustain injuries during the
road accidents.
• Since 2008, India has reported highest number of deaths due to road accident
worldwide.
• India has signed Brasilia Declaration on Road Safety in 2015 and India has
committed to reduce the number of death due to road accidents to half by
2020. According to Indian government, around 1.5 lakh people lost their life
due to road accidents but WHO estimated that around 2.99 lakh people lost
their life due to road accidents.
Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport ranked among top 10 in the World-
Survey by Air Help
• In a survey conducted by Air Help, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport of

Hyderabad has been ranked as the world’s 8th Best Airport.
• The airports were rated on the basis of time performance, service quality and
food & shopping options.
• According to the ranking, Qatar Airways topped the list

Top 3 Best Airports of 2019:
1. Hamad International Airport, Qatar (DOH)

2. Tokyo International Airport, Japan (HND)
3. Athens International Airport, Greece(ATH)
Top 3 and Worst 3 airlines of 2019(On-time performance):
Top 10 Worst 10
1. Qatar Airways (84%) 1. Adria Airways (67%)
2. American Airlines (75%) 2. Aerolineas Argentinas (80%)
3. Aeromexico (78%) 3. Transavia (62%)

Others
Shahid Afridi’s autobiography - ‘Game Changer’
• Shahid Afridi, former captain of the ‘Pakistan national cricket team‘ has
written his autobiography titled, ‘Game Changer’
• Afridi is popularly known as ‘Boom Boom’ and holds the world record for the
fastest ODI (One Day International) century in 37 deliveries.
• He also holds the distinction of having hit the most number of sixes in the
history of ODI cricket.
• The book has been co-authored by Afridi and journalist Wajahat S Khan.

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May 1 to 15

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International Labour Day is observed on May 1

May 2 observed as a World Tuna Day 2019

• To highlight the importance of tuna fish and to promote more sustainable

Maharashtra Day is celebrated every year on 1st May

Gujarat celebrates its foundation day on 1st May

May 3 observed as a International Space Day 2019

World Press Freedom Day observed on May 3

• Theme: “Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of

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Coal Miners Day observed on May 4

International Firefighters’ Day is observed on May 4

May 5, 2019, observed as a World Laughter Day

May 5th observed as International Day of the Midwife

International No Diet Day observed on May 6

World Athletics Day 2019 observed on May 7

May 7th observed as World Asthma Day

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May 8 observes as a World Thalassaemia Day 2019

• Theme: “Universal Access to Quality Thalassaemia Healthcare Services:

• It is an autosomal recessive blood disorder, which transferred from parents to

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International Nurses Day 2019 observed on May 12

• The International Nurses Day was celebrated globally to commemorate the

World Migratory Bird Day 2019 celebrated on May 11

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National Technology Day 2019 observed on May 11 to mark India’s technological

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Mangaluru police gets an all-women patrol unit “Rani Abbakka Force”

Indian Postal Department released Postage Stamp to commemorate 750th Birth

About Sri Vedanta Desika:

• The Central government has instructed all state transport departments to

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Cyclone Fani hits Odisha and West Bengal

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KVIC distributed 1 lakh bee-boxes under the ‘Honey Mission’ initiative

INS Ranjit decommissioned after 36 years in service

• After 36 years of service, Indian Navy’s

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Chhattisgarh’s first Anti-Naxal Women’s Commando unit deployed

• The Chhattisgarh police have deployed first ever Anti-Naxal women’s

• INS Vela, Indian Navy’s 4th Scorpene-class

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• Karnataka government issued a circular, following the order of the Union

Country’s biggest stucco figurine unearthed in Telangana’s Phanigiri

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• Indian archaeologists recently unearthed a life-sized stucco sculpture from a

• After the occurrence of clashes between militants and security forces in

• This is estimated as a part of ISIS’ propaganda to give the impression of

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the village of Amshipora in Kashmir’s Shopian district and caused casualty to

• Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

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• Under sub-sections (1) and (3) of section 3 of the Unlawful Activities

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The 14th edition of Sino-Indian border trade opens at Nathu La in Sikkim

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• After a long interval of 44 years, cross border trade commenced on July 6,

Article on Coalgate won Asian College of Journalism’s Award for Investigative

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UNSC designated Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Masood Azhar as a global terrorist