1. Five State Assembly Election 2016 Results:
i. The 2016 Kerala Assembly Election has won by the CPI (M) led Left Democratic Front (LDF) by the absolute majority by winning 91 seats (44.94% votes) of the total 140 seats. So as result, Pinarayi Vijayan is set to become the next Chief Minister of Kerala.
ii. In Assam Assembly Election 2016, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and its alliance partners have won an absolute majority by winning 87 seats (16.46% votes) in the 126 member House. BJP alone has won 60 seats (29.5% votes) on its own, thus making history by winning an Assam assembly election for the first time. So as result, Union Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal is all set to become the next Chief Minister of Assam.
iii. Ruling All India Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) under the leadership of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has emerged victorious in the 2016 West Bengal Assembly Election.
iv. Ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Party under the leadership of Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha has emerged victorious in the 2016 Tamil Nadu Assembly Election.
v. The Congress, which has been decimated in Assam by the BJP and by the Left front in Kerala have managed to wrest power in the union territory of Puducherry in alliance with the DMK winning 17 of the 30 assembly seats.
2. President inaugurates Intelligent Operations Centre in Rashtrapati Bhavan
i. President Pranab Mukherjee has inaugurated an Intelligent Operations Centre (IOC) in Rashtrapati Bhavan.
ii. He also launched a mobile application ‘Monitor’ for transformation of President’s Estate into a smart township.
iii. During the launching ceremony President announced that President’s Estate will work around the ‘4H’ theme of a humane, Hi-Tech, Heritage and Happy Township.
3. Cyclonic storm ROANU to strike Andhra Pradesh coast: IMD
i. The cyclonic storm ROANU that emerged in the west central Bay of Bengal was in news.
ii. It came into news after India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its prediction said that the Cyclone is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by 20 May 2016 night and will hit Andhra coast.
iii. At present, ROANU is moving northeastwards and lay centred at south-southeast of Machilipatnam, about 290 km south-southwest of Visakhapatnam & 160 km south-southwest of Kakinada. It issued an orange warning message to Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. It issued yellow message for West Bengal as the system would turn into severe cyclonic storm.
4. JP Nadda launches Centre for Environmental Health to assess environmental impact on health
i. The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda has launched the Centre for Environmental Health in New Delhi.
ii. It was launched to assess the impact of environment-related problems like air pollution, climate change, pesticide use and sanitation on health.
iii. It is a joint initiative of the Public Health Foundation of India and the Tata Institute of Social Science. Its also includes capacity-building, advocacy, outreach and remedial issues.
5. Himachal CM launches PEHAL programme
i. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has introduced PEHAL programme in Shimla district.
ii. The programme aim to expediting developmental works and government schemes through effective implementation at grassroots level. With this Shimla has become the 1st district in the state to launch such different programme to work as a team with the people.
iii. The PEHAL will focus on five areas namely- Primary Education, Forest Rights, Health and Sanitation, Campaign against drugs and skill development, and Women Empowerment. The district authorities have already begun works on all these areas with a distinct strategy. The programme also attempt to integrate the various stakeholders in the development story of the district.
6. India lauded for Medicines with the Red Line campaign on antibiotics
i. Medicines with the Red Line: A public awareness campaign launched by the Union Government to curb irrational use of antibiotics.
ii. The term Medicines with the Red Line was in news, as the campaign was appreciated by the Global Review on Antimicrobial Resistance.
iii. The review was commissioned by the UK Prime Minister David Cameron in 2014 and chaired by economist Jim O’Neil. As per the review, India led the way so far with its idea of a ‘Red Line Campaign’ for antibiotics packaging
7. International Buddhist conference begins in Nepal
i. A two day International Buddhist conference has begun in Nepal to celebrate the 2,560th birth anniversary of Lord Buddha. Around 1,200 delegates and observers from 28 countries around the world are attending the conference.
ii. The theme of the conference is “Lumbini, Nepal: the birth place of Lord Buddha and the fountain of Buddhism and world peace”.
iii. The conference is inaugurated by the Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli. The main objective of organizing the event is to highlight Lumbini as birth place of Lord Buddha and the fountain of Buddhism, in the international arena, to establish Lumbini as the centre for interfaith and peace dialogue as well as developing Nepal as the fountain for world peace.
8. India-Slovenia have signed Double Taxation Avoidance Convention
i. India and Slovenia have signed a Protocol to amend the existing bilateral double taxation avoidance agreement, broadening the pact to include exchange of information to curb tax evasion in Ljubljana.
ii. The Protocol was signed by Mr. Sarvajit Chakravarti, Ambassador of India to Slovenia on behalf of India and Mr. Dusan Mramor, the Slovenian Minister of Finance on behalf of Slovenia.
iii. The Protocol will broaden the scope of the existing framework of exchange of tax related information which will help curb tax evasion and tax avoidance between the two countries and will also enable mutual assistance in collection of taxes.
9. Beijing-New Delhi Yoga Conference opens in China
i. Chinese yoga practitioners gathered in large numbers over 1,000 for a group performance in Kunming, China to open the China-India Yoga Conference.
ii. The five day conference is featuring activities including courses from Indian yoga masters and yoga introductions for communities.
iii. The Yoga gathering was organised by the Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese affairs offices and the China-India Yoga College in Kunming.
10. Mukesh Ambani awarded Othmer Gold Medal for Entrepreneurial Leadership
i. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani has been conferred the prestigious Othmer Gold Medal for his entrepreneurial leadership that has resulted in the expansion of India’s petroleum refining industry, creation of the Jamnagar Refinery in Gujarat-the largest grassroots petroleum refinery in the world.
ii. The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) established the Othmer Gold Medal in 1997 to honour outstanding individuals who have made multifaceted contributions to the world’s chemical and scientific heritage through outstanding activity in such areas as innovation, entrepreneurship, research, education, public understanding, legislation, or philanthropy.
11. Tata Power acquires 30 MW wind farm in Maharashtra
i. Tata Power has announced that it has completed the acquisition of 30 MW wind farm in Maharashtra.
ii. Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd (TPREL), a 100% subsidiary of Tata Power and has completed acquisition of 100% shareholding in Indo Rama Renewables Jath Ltd (IRRJL), which is a 100% subsidiary of Indo Rama Renewables Limited (IRRL). IRRJL has a 30 MW operating wind farm in Sangli district of Maharashtra.
iii. The wind farm, which is fully operational since July 2013, has a long-term power purchase agreement with Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Ltd and is registered under the generation-based incentive scheme of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. With this acquisition, Tata Power’s total generation capacity now becomes 9,213 MW and current operating non-fossil based capacity at 1,704 MW.
12. Indian journalist Philip Abraham elected as Deputy Mayor in United Kingdom
i. Indian journalist and Councillor Philip Abraham was elected unanimously as the Deputy Mayor of Loughton town in the United Kingdom.
ii. Councillor Abraham was presented with the Deputy Mayor’s Badge by Carol Davis, the newly-elected mayor.
iii. V K Krishna Menon was the first person from Kerala to become a Councillor in Britain. He was a Labour Councillor for the Borough of St Pancras from 1934 to 1939.
13. Tsai Ing-wen sworn in as first woman president of Taiwan
i. Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has sworn in as the new president of Taiwan and also has become the first female President of the country.
ii. The 59 year old, Tsai has begun her four-year term as president after an inaugural ceremony at the Presidential Office.
iii. The DPP chairwoman and former vice premier scored a convincing victory in the election held in January. She took over from President Ma Ying-jeou, who has served two four-year terms since May 2008.
14. CBS News journalist Morley Safer passes away
i. Veteran CBS newsman Morley Safer, who retired from CBS News just a week ago has passed away after a 61-year career in journalism.
ii. He was 84 year old. He was a intrepid storyteller and interviewer whose name became synonymous with the news magazine “60 Minutes”.
iii. Last week only, CBS News has announced Morley’s retirement. He was a correspondent on the programme 60 Minutes for 46 years, joining in 1970. Safer, a native of Canada, wrote for Canadian newspapers in the 1950s before joining the CBC as a television correspondent.
15. Veteran Gujarati folk singer Diwaliben Bhil passes away
i. Popular Gujarati folk singer Diwaliben Bhil has passed away in Junagadh. She was 80 year old.
ii. She was a born artist and famous for her unique voice. She was a self-taught singer and did not take a formal education in music and singing.
iii. She had sung numerous folk songs and bhajans in Gujarati and also lent her voice to several film songs. Born in a tribal family in the Gir forests, Diwaliben became famous after a team from All India Radio heard her singing and aired a recording of one of her garbas in a programme. She received the Padma Shri award in 1990.
16. India lose to China in semi-final of Uber Cup
i. Indian women’s team settled for a bronze medal after suffering a 0-3 defeat at the hands of defending champions China in the semifinals of the Uber Cup badminton championship, at Kunshan in China.
ii. After top shuttlers Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu went down narrowly against their respective opponents in the two singles match, Jwala Gutta and N Sikki Reddy also bit the dust in the first doubles, ending India’s campaign.
iii. Indian eves had scripted history in the last edition when they won a historic bronze in New Delhi and they repeated the feat this time at Kunshan Sports Center Stadium.
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