27th May 2016 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• Barack Obama became the first incumbent US president to visit Hiroshima memorial, site of the world’s first atomic bombing dropped on August 6, 1945.
• He paid tribute to the 140,000 people killed by the world’s first atomic bomb attack and laid wreath at Hiroshima nuclear memorial.
• A new French law has made it illegal for companies with over 50 employees to send emails to employees after their work hours.
• The 'right to disconnect' amendment also mandates companies to form policies which limit the spillover of work into their employees' private lives.
• Indonesian President Joko Widodo today approved a maximum penalty of death and chemical castration for child sex offenders, after a 14-year-old girl was gangraped and murdered. 
• Under previous laws, the maximum sentence for rape, including of a minor, was 14 years in jail.

MOUs & Agreements in News

• China has signed two agreements with Sudan, its close ally in Africa to build 600-megawatt (MW) atomic reactor. 
• These agreements include nuclear power development and building a 600 MW atomic reactor.  
  
• It was the first of its kind project to be built by China in African country. 
• The two framework agreements in this regard have been signed by state-owned China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) with Sudan. 

National Affairs

• A government-appointed committee headed by T S R Subramanian (former Cabinet Secretary) has submitted its report for the evolution of a New Education Policy.
• The Committee examined a large body of outcome documents, recommendations and suggestions received and also had several meetings with various stakeholders and undertook field visits to educational institutions.
• Apart from Subramanian, former Chief Secretary of Delhi government Shailaja Chandra, former Home Secretary, Delhi government Sevaram Sharma, former Chief Secretary, Gujarat Sudhir Mankad and former Director, NCERT J S Rajput, were members of the panel. 
• The Centre has approved an investment of ₹5,534 crore for 111 Atal Mission (AMRUT) cities in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Odisha, Jharkhand and Meghalaya. 
• The funds will be used for providing household water taps, improving water supply, sewerage networks/septage management, storm water drains, urban transport and provision of open and green spaces in these cities.
• The Maharashtra government is set to plant over two crore saplings across the state on July 1st.
• Note : Only 20% land in Maharashtra is covered by forests, which is causing an adverse impact on the environment.
• Air India and IRCTC have entered into a pact that will allow wait-listed passengers of Rajdhani trains to fly via Air India by paying an extra amount. 
• Further, passengers of AC First Class will not have to pay any additional money for the upgradation. 
• The first bullet train will run in India in 2023, and its work is on track, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu announced today. 
• The train will connect Mumbai and Ahmedabad and is expected to cover 508 km in about two hours, running at a maximum speed of 350 kmph. 
• The high-speed​ rail corridor will have a 21 kilometre-long under-sea tunnel.
• The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has framed policy guidelines for central government advertisements on websites. 
• All online ads from the Centre would now be routed via the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP), which would empanel eligible websites. 
• Further, DAVP will fix the rates of advertisements and would also be responsible for their strategic placement.
• The Union Ministry of Railways has launched Rail Humsafar Saptaah, a week-long initiative to highlight significant achievements made by Indian Railways in all spheres. 
• The Rail Humsafar Saptaah starting on 26th May 2016 will conclude on 1st June 2016. 
• Each day of the Rail Humsafar Saptaah will focus on a particular theme and the days have been named as,
• 26th May - Swachchta Diwas
• 27th May - Satkar Diwas
• 28th May - Sewa Diwas
• 29th May - Satarkata Diwas
• 30th May - Saamanjasya Diwas
• 31st May - Sanyojan Diwas
• 1st June - Sanchaar Diwas

Science & Technology

• The Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully test-fired an advanced version of BrahMos land-attack supersonic cruise missile system today. 
• Test-fired at the Pokhran field firing range in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district, the missile hit and annihilated the designated target, said officials. 
• BrahMos, the first supersonic cruise missile known to be in service, is a joint venture between India and Russia.
• India and Russia have agreed in principle to export BrahMos, the world’s fastest anti-ship cruise missile, to the UAE, Vietnam, South Africa and Chile. 
• Discussions with other countries including Philippines, South Korea and Greece are also underway. 
• The short-range supersonic missile can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land, and can fly as low as 10 metres above ground.

Awards & Honors

• Sunil Bharti Mittal, the founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises, has received the Alumni Achievement Award of Harvard Business School from Dean Nitin Nohria. 
• The award, presented annually since 1968, is the highest honour given to any alumnus of the institute. 
• Note : Mittal had also been felicitated with a Padma Bhushan, the country's third highest civilian honour, in 2007.
• As many as 56 Indian companies have been named in Forbes’ recently released ‘Global 2000’ list of the world's largest public companies. 
• Reliance Industries, ranked 121, emerged as the most valuable Indian company, followed by SBI (149) and ONGC (220). 
• Note : Globally, the top three spots were held by Chinese banks, with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China leading the list.

People in News

• Two Indian-Americans, Nihar Janga (11) and Jairam Hathwar (13), were today declared co-winners of the US Scripps National Spelling Bee 2016 competition. 
• Both the winners have won a trophy and $40,000 in cash and prizes. 
• Note : This is the third consecutive tie at the bee, which is a US institution since 1925.

Deaths

• Noted Marathi critic and litterateur R G Jadhav (83) passed away.

New Appointments

• Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee (61) today took oath as the Chief Minister of West Bengal for the second consecutive term. 
• Important Points to Note : 
• Winning 211 seats out of the total 294, TMC became the first single party to win the seats without alliance in West Bengal's history. 
• In 2011, Banerjee had become the first ever female CM of the state.
• Coach of IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab Sanjay Bangar has been appointed India's head coach for the team's tour to Zimbabwe. 
• Bangar had previously worked as India's assistant coach till the World T20 under team director Ravi Shastri. 
• India will play three T20s and three ODIs in Zimbabwe, starting on June 11.
• West African country Guinea Bissau's President Jose Mario Vaz named Baciro Dja as the country's new prime minister.

Sports

• Indian para-athlete, discus and club thrower, Amit Kumar Saroha has clinched the gold medal in the men’s club throw F-51 event at the 2016 French Open Athletics Championship.
• India's Sonia Lather defeated Kazakhstan's Aizhan Khojabekova in their semi-final bout to reach the final of the 57 kg category of the AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships. 
• Lather will now face Italy’s Alessia Mesiano in the final as the winner will be crowned World Champion.

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