Current Affairs May 2019 - National

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1 - Goa celebrates its statehood day

Goa celebrates its statehood day on 30^th May. It was on this day in 1987 Goa became the 25^th state of the Indian Union.2 It was a Union Territory along with Daman and Diu from December 1961 onwards when Goa was liberated from the colonial rule.

Once Goa was liberated there was a controversy regarding merging Goa with the neighbouring state of Maharashtra or Mysore. However, an opinion poll of 1967 suggested that Goa, Daman, and Diu be Union Territory.

2 - JaganMohan Reddy sworn in as Andhra Pradesh CM

YSR Congress party president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has taken oath as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Governor ESL Narasimhan administered him the oath of office and secrecy at Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium in Vijayawada. Mr. Reddy is the second Chief Minister of the bifurcated Andhra Pradesh.

In the presence of a large number of his followers who came there to witness his swearing-in-ceremony, Jagan Mohan Reddy has put his first signature on the file hiking social security pensions from next month.

3 - NSIC signs MOU with Ministry of MSME

The National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC) signed an MoU with Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) for the year 2019-20. The MoU envisages provision of enhanced services by NSIC under its marketing, financial, technology, and other support services schemes for MSMEs in the country.

The Corporation projects to increase Revenue from Operation by 22% from Rs. 2540 crore in the year 2018-19 to 3100 crore in the year 2019-20.

4 - US removes India, Switzerland from its currency monitoring list

The Trump administration removed India from its currency monitoring list of major trading partners, citing certain developments and steps being taken by New Delhi addressing some of its major concerns.

Switzerland is the other nation that has been removed from the list. However, the list includes China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam among others.

5 - India moves up to 43^rd in competitiveness; Singapore tops chart

India has moved up one place to rank 43^rd most competitive economy in the world on the back of its robust economic growth, a large labour force and its huge market size, while Singapore has toppled the US to grab the top position, a global study showed.

Singapore has moved up to the top, from the third position last year, while the US has slipped to the third place in the 2019 edition of the IMD World Competitiveness Rankings. Hong Kong SAR has held onto its second place, helped by a benign tax and business policy environment and access to business finance.

6 - Record 78 women MPs elected to 17^th Lok Sabha

Record 78 women candidates have been elected to the Lok Sabha in the recently held general elections. According to the Election Commission, the number has grown from the previous 62 women who were elected to the 16^th Lok Sabha in 2014.

In the country’s first general elections in 1951, twenty-four women were elected to the Lower House, and since then, the number has been increasing.

7 - India elected to Executive Board of first UN-Habitat Assembly

India has been elected to the Executive Board of the first UN-Habitat Assembly, announced by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. India has been elected to the Executive Board of the first UN-Habitat Assembly at the Plenary Session of the Assembly being held in Nairobi.

The first session of the UN-Habitat Assembly started on May 27^th at the headquarters of UN-Habitat in Nairobi and will go on till May 31^st. The special theme for the UN-Habitat Assembly is “Innovation for Better Quality of Life in Cities and Communities”.

8 - Pema Khandu to take oath as Arunachal Pradesh CM for 2^nd term

Pema Khandu will be sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh for the second time on 29^th May. After having a landslide victory in the Assembly elections with 41 seats in the 60-seat house, the BJP held its Legislature Party Meeting in Itanagar.

Mr. Khandu met Governor Dr. BD Mishra and staked claim to form the government.

9 - Madhya Pradesh to tentatively have new UNESCO heritage site

Orchha town in Madhya Pradesh has a plethora of historical sites with the Bundela dynasty architectural style. The Archaeological Survey of India has included that heritage town of Orchha in a tentative list of UNESCO world heritage sites. It was included in the proposal sent by the ASI to the UN body in April 2019.

UNESCO’s rules state that to be a part of the World Heritage sites, the heritage or historical site must first be on the tentative list. After making it to that list, yet another proposal is sent to the UNESCO. In their initial proposal, the ASI had requested that Orchha be included as a cultural heritage site.

10 - Government invites BIMSTEC leaders for the swearing-in ceremony on May 30

Leaders of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) have been invited for PM Modi’s swearing-in ceremony to be held on 30^th May. However, Bangladesh premier Sheikh Hasina will not attend the event due to her prior commitments. Myanmar State Councillor Aung Saan Suu Kyi’s presence is also uncertain as she is travelling overseas. Kyrgyzstan, the current chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), too, has been invited for the event.

Apart from India, BIMSTEC comprises Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar. Indian-origin Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth, who visited India for Pravasi Bhartiya Divas in January, has also been invited for the May 30 event.

11 - VD Savarkar’s birth anniversary being celebrated

Swatantryaveer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s birth anniversary is being celebrated on 28^th May. Born on 28^th May in 1883 near Nasik in Maharashtra, Savarkar was popularly called Veer Savarkar.

He was a revolutionary who fought against the British Government. On the occasion, a function to pay floral tributes to him will be held in the Central Hall of Parliament House.

12 - India’s first all-women medium-lift chopper crew flies the battle mission

Two women IAF officers from Punjab were part of the country’s first all-women crew to fly a medium-lift helicopter Mi-17 V5.

Flight Lieutenant Parul Bhardwaj (Captain), Flying Officer Aman Nidhi (co-pilot) and Flight Lieutenant Hina Jaiswal (Flight Engineer) flew the chopper, which took off from a forward air base in South Western air command.

13 - Govt sets up tribunal for adjudicating ban on LTTE

The government has constituted the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal to adjudicate whether or not there is sufficient cause for declaring the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as an unlawful association. The Tribunal is comprised of sitting Judge of Delhi High Court Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal.

LTTE was banned in India after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.

14 - New version of Akash missile test-fired successfully

The DRDO successfully test-fired the new version of the Akash surface-to-air defence missile system with a new indigenously-developed seeker in Balasore off the Odisha coast.

The medium range multi-target engagement capable missile was developed as part of the Integrated Guided-Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) other than Nag, Agni, Trishul, and Prithvi missiles. The supersonic missile has a range of around 25km and up to the altitude of 18,000 meters.

15 - Narendra Modi to be sworn in as PM for 2^nd term on May 30

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be administered the oath of office for his second term along with his new council of ministers on 30^th May. President Ram Nath Kovind will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the prime minister and other members of the Union Council of Ministers at a ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Modi is the first BJP leader who has been elected for the second time after completion of his five-year tenure. From BJP, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was also elected as a prime minister for two consecutive terms, but his first stint had lasted only for one year and seven months.

16 - 25 states miss the deadline for plan on plastic disposal

Over 25 state governments may have to pay environment compensation of Rs one crore each for not submitting their respective action plans on systematic disposal of plastic waste to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) as the April 30 deadline set by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has passed by.

The states had to submit action plans by April 30 to the CPCB, failing which they would have to pay the pollution body a compensation at the rate of Rs one crore per month, as per the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order.

17 - PS Golay sworn in as Sikkim Chief Minister

Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) president Prem Singh Tamang, popularly known as PS Golay took oath as the Chief Minister of Sikkim. He was administered the oath by Governor Ganga Prasad at Paljor Stadium in Gangtok. Mr. Golay is not a member of the State Assembly at present as he did not contest the polls. The 51-year-old party chief when he was taking the oath in the Nepali language.

Former Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling and senior Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) leaders were conspicuous by their absence at the swearing-in ceremony. The SKM won a slender majority in the 32-member Sikkim Legislative Assembly by bagging 17 seats against 15 won by the SDF.

18 - High-level committee recommends strategy to reduce crude oil imports

In a report submitted to the oil ministry, a high-level committee (HLC) of companies has recommended strategies to reduce import dependency. The committee was formed to discuss research-related synergies and tax issues for state-run oil companies.

The committee consisted of Anil Kakodkar (scientist) and Sidharth Pradhan, an expert on financial and tax issues. “They also looked into mergers, acquisitions and consolidation of oil and gas public sector undertakings (PSUs) and the joint ventures”. During 2018, India consumed 204.92 MMT petroleum products and 58.64 billion cubic meters (BCM) natural gas, whereas the domestic production of crude oil and natural gas has almost stagnated.

19 - India bans Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh terror outfit

The Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh also called as Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen India or Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Hindustan has been declared as a banned terrorist organization by the government of India.

The home ministry stated the outfit has committed acts of terrorism, promoted acts of terrorism and has been engaged in radicalization and recruitment of youths for terrorist activities in India. Therefore, the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh or Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen India or Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Hindustan and all its manifestations have been inserted in the First Schedule to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

20 - NSA Ajit Doval addresses 17^th Investiture Ceremony of BSF in New Delhi

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has stated that technology will play a pivotal role in guarding the borders in days to come as security challenges are increasing day by day.

Doval was addressing 17^th Investiture Ceremony of Border Security Force, BSF in New Delhi.

 

21 - DRDO test fires guided bomb from Sukhoi combat Jet

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully test-fired an indigenously-developed 500 kg class guided bomb from a Sukhoi combat jet at Pokhran in Rajasthan.

The test firing of the guided bomb came two days after the Indian Air Force successfully test fired the aerial version of the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile from a Sukhoi jet at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The 2.5-tonne air-to-surface missile has a range of around300 km, and it will significantly enhance the IAF’s combat capability.

22 - MoU Signed Between DBT And DAE On Cancer Research

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) under Ministry of Science and Technologyand Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), under Prime Minister of India, has signed an MoU for supporting joint collaborative research programmes in the area of Cancer.

DAE was represented by its Tata Memorial Centre, which also functions as coordinating centre on behalf of The National Cancer Grid of India.

23 - ISRO Successfully Launched Earth Observation Satellite 'RISAT-2B'

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched the 'RISAT-2B'Satellite from the Sriharikota's, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C46) lifted-off from the First Launch Pad and injected RISAT-2B into an orbit of 556 km, about 15 minutes and 25 seconds after lift-off.

24 - 2019 Lok Sabha Polls Record Highest Ever Voter Turnout In History

As per Election Commission of India, the 2019 Lok Sabha elections witnessed a voter turnout of 67.10% (interim), which is the highest ever voter turnout in the history of general elections.

The previous highest voter turnout of 66.44% was recorded in 2014.

25 - Taiwan Expo 2019 Begins In New Delhi

Taiwan Expo 2019 began in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

The representative of Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre Tien Chung-Kwang and Chairman of Taiwan External Trade Development Council, TAITRA James CF Huanginaugurated the three-day event in the presence of Joint Secretary Praveen Bonigala and ITPO Chairman LC Goyal.

26 - Kerala Becomes First Indian State To Tap Into Masala Bond Market

Kerala became the first state to tap into masala bond market by listing the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB)’s masala bond worth of USD 312 million (Rs 2,150 crore) in London Stock Exchange (LSE)’s International Securities Market (ISM).

It has a fixed interest rate of 9.723% per annum. The bond issue builds on the Kerala government’s focus to get multinational corporations to invest in the state.

27 - Meghalaya Government Approves Setting Up Of Farmers' Commission

The Meghalaya government has approved setting up of a commission to look into the problem faced by farmers. The proposal was made by the Agriculture Department to set up the Farmers' Commission in line with the resolution passed at the 'farmers' parliament'.

The 'farmers' parliament', first of its kind in the country, was organised in December 2018 and was attended by scientists, bureaucrats, apart from farmers, to discuss issues related to the agri situation in the state.

28 - India, Singapore Conduct SIMBEX-19 Naval Exercise In The South China Sea

The 26^th Edition of Singapore India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX)-19 has commenced in the South China Sea. In addition to IN Ships Kolkata and Shakti, Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft P8I will also participate in the exercise.

The naval exercise will include various maritime combat drills such as advanced aerial tracking, coordinated targeting tactical exercises and weapon firing on aerial and surface targets.

29 - NSG Commandos Summit Mount Everest In Maiden Attempt

Commandos of the premier counter-terror force National Security Guard (NSG) created history as they scaled the Mount Everest (world's highest peak) in their maiden attempt.

A seven-member team of NSG, led by Lt Col J P Kumar, successfully unfurled the Indian flag at the 8,848-metre tall peak.

30 - India Signs ‘Christchurch Call to Action’

India signed the ‘Christchurch Call to Action’ in Paris. The agreement came in the backdrop of the attacks on mosques in March and is aimed at stopping the abuse of the Internet by extremists.

India was represented by Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

31 - Lokpal Website Launched

The website of the Lokpal www.lokpal.gov.in has been launched. It was inaugurated by Chairperson Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose in presence of all the Members of Lokpal in New Delhi.

It provides basic information about the working and functioning of the anti-corruption ombudsman.

The Lokpal is the first institution of its kind in India established under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 to inquire and investigate into allegations of the corruption against public functionaries.

32 - Captain Aarohi Pandit Becomes 1^st Woman In World To Cross Atlantic Ocean Solo In a LSA

Captain Aarohi Pandit, a 23-year-old pilot from Mumbai became the world's first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean solo in a Light Sports Aircraft (LSA).

She achieved the feat when she landed her tiny aircraft at Iqaluit Airport in Canada, after a gruelling 3,000 km long flight, under adverse and extreme weather conditions.

33 - Nepali Sherpa Kami Rita Scales Mt Everest For 23^rd Time; Creates World Record

Nepalese Sherpa climber Kami Rita has scaled Mount Everest for a 23^rd time, breaking his own record for the most successful ascents of the world's highest peak. He first scaled Everest in 1994.

He reached the 8,850-metre (29,035-feet) summit with other climbers via the Southeast Ridge route.

34 - India To Co-Chair Consultative Group Of Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery

India is unanimously chosen as co-chair of the Consultative Group (CG) of Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) for the fiscal year 2020.

The decision was taken during the CG meeting of GFDRR held in Geneva, Switzerland, on the margins of the 6^th Session of the GPDRR 2019.

The CG Meeting was co-chaired by Africa Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, the European Union (EU) and World Bank. This is the first time that the country has been afforded the opportunity of co-chairing the CG meeting of GFDRR.

35 - Indian Navy's 1^st Full-Fledged SSB Opened At Kolkata

The Indian Navy's first full-fledged Services Selection Board (SSB) was inaugurated by Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba at Diamond Harbour near Kolkata, West Bengal.

The SSB (Kolkata) is located at a place that was previously occupied by a Naval Coastal Battery. This is the fifth SSB of the Indian Navy. The other boards are located in Bhopal, Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam and Coimbatore.

36 - MoU Signed For Rudraksh Plantation In Ganga Basin

A tripartite MoU was signed between National Mission for Clean Ganga, HCL Foundation and INTACH for taking up a project of ‘Plantation of Rudraksh Trees in Uttarakhand’ as a part of CSR initiative under the ‘Namami Gange’ Programme.

The project aims at planting 10,000 Rudraksh trees in the catchment area of river Ganga in Uttarakhand in association with local community and other stakeholders.

37 - DRDO Successfully Conducts Flight Test of ABHYAS

India successfully conducted the flight test of ABHYAS - High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) from a test range in Odisha.

The trial, carried out by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Balasore, was tracked by various radars and electro-optic systems.

38 - Doordarshan Launches Online Souvenir Store In Partnership With Amazon India

Doordarshan has launched an online souvenir store for its viewers on Amazon India so that one can easily access it.

Doordarshan is India's first broadcaster which has started Souvenir store. A. Surya Prakash Chairman, Prasar Bharati launched DD souvenir store on Amazon India.

39 - India-UK Sign Agreement To Boost Indo-Pacific Cooperation

India and the United Kingdom agreed to increase their collaboration in the fields of Indo-Pacific cooperation, climate change, disaster resilience, development in third world countries amongst other areas.

The two countries held Foreign Office consultations, where the Indian side was led by Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and the UK side was represented by Sir Simon McDonald, Permanent Under-Secretary, Foreign and Commonwealth Office of British Government.

40 - Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Ranked Among Top 10 In World-Air Help

Global air passengers’ right expert Airhelp came out with the list of world's best airports and Hyderabad Rajiv Gandhi International airport was ranked the world's eighth best airport.

The survey takes into account on-time performance, service quality and food & shops to determine the ranking.

41 - 1^st Apache Helicopter Formally Handed Over To IAF

First AH-64E (I) - Apache Guardian helicopter was formally handed over to the Indian Air Force at Boeing production facility in Arizona, USA.

IAF had signed a contract with US Government and M/s Boeing Ltd in Sep 2015 for 22 Apache helicopters. The first batch of these helicopters is scheduled to be shipped to India by July 2019.

42 - Konkan Railways Signs Contract Agreement With Nepal To Supply DEMU Train Sets

Konkan Railways Corporation Ltd has signed a contract agreement with Nepal's Department of Railways to supply two 1600 HP DEMU train sets.

These trains will be used to operationalise railway link between Jayanagar in India and Kurtha in Nepal. The train sets will be manufactured by the Integrated Coach Factory, Chennai.

43 - New Heat-Sensing Snake Species Found, Named After Arunachal Pradesh

Pune-based Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) team found a new species of reddish-brown pit viper snake with a unique heat-sensing system, the first in past 70 years in India.

The species is named 'Trimeresurus arunachalensis' after Arunachal Pradesh, where it was discovered. This makes Arunachal Pradesh the only state to have a pit viper named after it.

44 - Indian Army To Commemorate 2019 As ‘Year of next of kin’

The Indian Army is commemorating this year as the ‘Year of Next of Kin’ and plans to reach out to the next of kin of battle casualties, ex-servicemen and serving soldiers to inform them of entitled financial benefits, welfare schemes and help resolve pension-related pro kiblems.

The Directorate of Indian Army Veterans will be the nodal agency.

45 - WTO Ministerial Meeting of Developing Countries To Held New Delhi

A WTO Ministerial meeting of developing countries is being hosted by India in New Delhi.

Sixteen developing countries, Six Least Developed Countries (LDC) (Argentina, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Brazil, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Egypt, Guatemala, Guyana, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Malawi, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, Uganda) and DG, WTO participated in the meeting.

46 - India Re-Elected As Observer To ‘Arctic Council’

India was re-elected as Observer to the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum. The decision was taken during the 11^th Arctic Council ministerial meeting at Rovaniemi, Finland.

The Council also appointed the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) as a new Observer. India successfully got the Observer status in 2013 during the Kiruna Ministerial meeting held in Sweden.

47 - Chhattisgarh Deploys 1^st Anti-Naxal Women Commando Unit

The Chhattisgarh police for the first time has inducted women commandos in the District Reserve Guard (DRG), its frontline anti-Naxal force.

Comprising 30 women led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Dineshwari Nand, have received extensive training in jungle combat.

48 - 158^th Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore Observed

India's first Nobel laureate who reshaped Bengali literature and music, Rabindranath Tagore was also an educationist who started the Vishwa Bharati University in Shantiniketan, and in the process, challenged conventional mores of education.

Rabindranath Tagore's birth anniversary is also known as Pochise Boishakh 2019.

49 - TAFE, Petroleum Conservation Research Association Sign MoU

Tractor-manufacturer Tractors and Farm Equipment (TAFE) Ltd has signed an MoU with Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) to aid conservation of resources.

Under the MoU, the association plans to jointly conduct agricultural workshops by involving TAFE's dealership network.

50 - India and China Sign Protocol For Export of Indian Chilli Meal

Commerce Secretary, Anup Wadhawan and Vice Minister, General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), Li Guo, held a meeting in New Delhi to discuss trade-related issues of pending Indian request for clearance of agricultural products.

Both sides agreed to resolve market access issues expeditiously in order to achieve the vision of the leaders of both India and China by promoting a more balanced trade. At the end of the meeting, a protocol was signed for export of chilli meal from India to China.

51 - 15^th Finance Commission's Meeting With RBI Held In Mumbai

The 15^th Finance Commission headed by Chairman, N.K. Singh held a detailed meeting with the Governor and Deputy Governors of RBI in Mumbai.

Key issues raised by RBI Governor, Shaktikanta Das and Finance Commission Chairman, N.K. Singh were discussed in detail at the meeting.

 

 

52 - Meeting of Regional Heads of Customs Administration of Asia Pacific Region of WCO Held in Kochi

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has organised a 2-Day meeting of the Regional Heads of Customs Administration of Asia Pacific Region of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) in Kochi.

This meeting was chaired by Mr Pranab Kumar Das, Chairman, CBIC.

53 - MNRE Holds ‘Chintan Baithak’ With Stakeholders of Renewable Energy Sector

Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) held a ‘Chintan Baithak’ with the stakeholders of the Renewable Energy sector in New Delhi.

ii. The ‘Baithak’ (meet) was chaired by Secretary, MNRE, Anand Kumar and saw good participation from Renewable Energy (RE) sector including the representatives of major RE developers, equipment manufacturers, financers, regulators, think-tanks, industry bodies and skill developers.

54 - Gujarat Assembly Passes Act to Allow Shops & Businesses Remain Open 24X7

‘Gujarat Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2019’ passed by Gujarat Assembly which came into force from May 1, 2019. The Act will allow the shops and other businesses in the state to operate 24×7.

The Act replaced the Gujarat Shops and Establishments Act, 1948 which prevented shops and other businesses from operating between 12 to 6 a.m.

55 - India To Purchase 10 Kamov-31 Choppers From Russia For INR 3,600 cr

The defence ministry has approved the procurement of 10 Kamov Ka-31 Airborne Early Warning and Control helicopters for the Indian Navy.

The cost of the deal would be around Rs 3,600 crore and the 10 helicopters would be deployed on the aircraft carriers and warships of the Navy including the INS Vikrant and Grigorovich-class frigates.

56 - BSNL Launches 'Bharat Fibre' Broadband Service In Kashmir Valley

State-owned telecom firm BSNL has become the first operator to start optical fibre-based high-speed broadband service in Pulwama with the launch of 'Bharat Fibre'.

This is the first such FTTH (fibre-to-the-home) service deployment in the (Kashmir) Valley. The service has been launched in a business partnership model with the local channel partner of Pulwama area, on a revenue sharing basis.

57 - Mangaluru Police Gets An All-women Patrol Unit “Rani Abbakka Force”

Mangaluru City Police has launched an all-women police patrol unit ‘Rani Abbakka Force’. The force will cover the malls, beaches, educational institutions, places of religious importance, and the public transport system and handle issues related to eve-teasing and chain-snatching, among others.

All-women police patrol force has been named after the 16^th-century warrior of coastal Karnataka, Queen Abbakka of Ullal near Mangaluru, who fought the Portuguese in the 16^th century.

58 - Government and IIT-Delhi To Set up a CoE For Waste to Wealth Technologies

The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India and Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) signed an MoU in New Delhi for setting up a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Waste to Wealth Technologies for implementation of sustainable, scientific and technological solutions for waste management.

The waste to wealth mission project has been approved under the recently constituted Prime Minister’s Science Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC).

59 - CBDT And GSTN Sign Pact To Nab Evaders

To nab tax evaders and reduce black money generation, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) signed an agreement to facilitate the exchange of data between the two.

The I-T department will share key financial information, including the status of I-T return filings, turnover of business, gross total income, and turnover ratio among others with GSTN, the information technology backbone of the two-year-old indirect tax regime.

60 - Green Number Plates Become Mandatory For All-Electric Vehicles

The Central government has asked the state transport departments to make it mandatory for all EVs to use the green number plates, irrespective of the year in which they were bought.

The new mandate is supposed to help provide preferential treatment to the vehicles with no carbon emissions, like parking, free entry in congested areas as well as a concessional toll on highways.

61 - Indian And French Navies Conduct Varuna 19.1 Bilateral Exercise Off Goa Coast

The first part of the Indo-French joint naval exercise, Varuna 19.1 was kicked off the Goa coast. The 17^th edition includes the participation of the French Navy’s aircraft carrier FNS Charles de Gaulle, two destroyers, FNS Forbin and FNS Provence, the frigate FNS Latouche-Treville, the tanker FNS Marne and a nuclear submarine.

The exercise will be conducted in two phases. The second part, Varuna 19.2, is scheduled to be held at the end of May in Djibouti. The bilateral naval exercise initiated in 1983 and christened as ‘Varuna’ in 2001, form a vital part of the Indo-French strategic partnership.

62 - Environment Ministry Constitutes Committee To Implement National Clean Air Programme

The Union Environment Ministry has constituted a committee to implement the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), which aims to reduce particulate matter (PM) pollution by 20%-30% in at least 102 cities by 2024.

The committee will be chaired by the Secretary, Union Environment Ministry. It would be headquartered in New Delhi.