May 2017 Current Affairs Highlights (One-Liners)

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Friends, here are the Major Current Affairs Highlights of May 2017. These one-liners cover all important International, National, MOUs, Indexes, Banking, Technology, Books & Authors, Committees and Sports affairs of May month (from 1st to 31st May 2017). We will  provide the pdf version soon, but we advise you to write these on your own so that you wont forget them again. All the Best and Happy Reading :)

Note : You will get the One Liners of July 2017 Current Affairs by tomorrow

May 2017 Current Affairs Highlights (One-Liners) 

• 3rd May 2017 was observed as the World Press Freedom Day with the Theme "Critical Minds for Critical Times: Media's role in advancing peaceful, just and inclusive societies".
• 5th May 2017 was observed as the International Midwives Day with the Theme "Midwives, Mothers and Families: Partners for Life!".
  
• 8th May 2017 was observed as the World Thalassemia Day with the theme ‘Together for Humanity’.
• 10th May 2017 was observed as the World Migratory Bird Day with the Theme "Their Future is our Future"
• 11th May 2017 was observed as the National Technology Day with the Theme ‘Technology for inclusive and sustainable growth’.
• 12th May 2017 was observed as International Nurses Day with the Theme ‘Nursing: A voice to lead – Achieving the sustainable development goals’.
• 13th May 2017 (second Saturday of May) was observed as World Fair Trade Day with the Theme 'Human Chains for Fair Trade and the Planet'.
• 14th May 2017 was observed as Mother's Day wtih the Theme “Every Mother knows”.
• 15th May 2017 was observed as the International Day of Families with the Theme “Families, education and well-being”.
• 17th May 2017 was observed as the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia & Biphobia with the Theme “families".
• 17th May 2017 was observed as the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD 2017) with the Theme Big Data for Big Impact.
• 18th May 2017 was observed as the International Museum Day with the Theme "Museums and contested histories: Saying the unspeakable in museums".
• 21st May 2017 was observed as the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development with the Theme “Local Culture as a Driver for Economic Growth”.
• 22nd May 2017 was observed as the International Day for Biological Diversity with the Theme “Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism”.
• 25th May 2017 was observed as the International Missing Children's Day with the Theme "forget-me-not flower".
• 28th May 2017 was observed as the Menstrual hygiene day with the Theme “Education about Menstruation Changes Everything.”
• 29th May 2017 was observed as the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers with the Theme "Investing in Peace around the world".
• 3 day India Mobile Congress 2017 (IMC 2017) is scheduled to be held from 27th to 29th September 2017 in New Delhi. This is the first time India is hosting its own mobile mega show.
• 3 India-born citizens (Hinduja Brothers, David and Simon Reuben, Lakshmi N Mittal) are among top 5 richest people in Britain, according to the Times Rich List 2017.
• 31st May 2017 was observed as the World No Tobacco Day with the Theme "Tobacco – a threat to development".
• 54th edition of the World Table Tennis Championships recently held at Dusseldorf, Germany.
• 9-time French Open Champion Rafael Nadal continued his unbeaten run on clay this season after winning the Madrid Masters for the 5th time by defeating Austria's Dominic Thiem.
• A law banning excessively thin models has come into effect in France, and 'unhealthily skinny' models will not be allowed to work in the fashion industry unless they provide a doctor's medical certificate.
• A massive ransomware Cyber Attack dubbed WannaCry, targeted computers in 99 countries including India, with more than 57,000 attacks detected so far, cyber security firms Kaspersky and Avast have confirmed.
• African country Botswana is going to use India-manufactured Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with the voter verifiable paper audit trail for its 2019 general elections.
• After PM Narendra Modi pitched for shifting to a January-December financial year, Madhya Pradesh has decided to adopt the January-December financial year format from the present April-March cycle.
• Airlander 10, the largest aircraft in the world, has successfully completed its test flight in the UK.
• American aerospace corporation Rocket Lab has become the first company to successfully launch an orbital-class rocket into space from a private launching facility.
• Anshu Jamsenpa, a native of Bomdila in Arunachal Pradesh has scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to scale Mount Everest for the 4th time.
• Apple has opened its first store in Southeast Asia at Singapore’s upmarket shopping district.
• Apple has touched $800 billion market valuation, making it the world's first ever company to hit the milestone.
• Arjun Maini has become the first Indian to win a GP3 series race, an F1 support race, after registering a win in Barcelona on the sidelines of the F1 Spanish Grand Prix.
• Australia will be selling Kesar variety of Indian mangoes for the first time with the inaugural consignment of nearly 400 trays landing in Sydney.
• Austria has passed a new law which bans women from wearing full-face Islamic veils in public, in the latest restriction on the country's Muslim population.
• Barcelona Open Doubles Title was won by Florin Mergea (Romania) and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi (Pakistan)
• Bengaluru FC lifts Federation Cup by beating defending champions Mohun Bagan.
• Bengaluru has topped the list of most affordable tech cities in the world followed by Cape Town and Santiago, according to the Savills Tech Cities Index.
• Boxer Shiva Thapa won a Silver medal at the Asian Boxing Championships in Uzbekistan.
• Brazil has declared an end to its public health emergency over the Zika virus, 18 months after the outbreak in 2015.
• Cabinet approves setting up of new AIIMS in Kamrup, Assam under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana.
• Cabinet gives its ex-post facto approval to Pan-India implementation of Maternity Benefit Programme. The programme now has been extended to all districts of the country from 1st of January this year.
• Canadian singer and songwriter Justin Bieber performed at his first ever concert in India at Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium.
• Chennai Super Kings announced their comeback to the IPL next year. Gujarat Lions and this year's runners-up Rising Pune Supergiant will not feature in the tournament next season.
• Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi has announced that all future elections in the country will be held using Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines along with the electronic voting machines.
• China is going to launch its own online encyclopaedia next year rivalling Wikipedia and Britain’s Encyclopaedia Britannica.
• Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's Founder Jack Ma has surpassed real estate and entertainment tycoon, Wang Jianlin, to become China's richest person with a $30.9 billion fortune.
• Considering the growth in passenger traffic and demands from airlines, the Centre has approved the conversion of Vijayawada airport into an international airport.
• Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has bought a stake in the new Tamil Nadu franchise of the Pro Kabaddi League.
• Dubai government has announced the launch of "Dubai Font", the world's first typeface developed by Microsoft for a city.
• Dubai police have officially inducted 'robocop', the world's first operational robot police officer into the force.
• During his first overseas trip as US President, Donald Trump has signed arms deals worth almost $110 billion with Saudi Arabia to strengthen the security of the Gulf region in the face of "Iranian threats".
• English professional snooker player Mark Selby won his third World Snooker Championship in four years after registering an 18-15 comeback victory against John Higgins.
• Facebook has launched its “Express Wi-Fi” commercially in India. This service is now available via 700 hotspots across four states of Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Meghalaya.
• Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has launched the 'Operation Clean Money' portal that aims "to create a tax-compliant society".
• Former cricketer VVS Laxman has been awarded honorary life membership of the Marylebone Cricket Club.
• Germany's 20-year-old Alexander Zverev became the 1st player born in the 1990s to earn an ATP Masters title after defeating Serbia's Novak Djokovic in straight sets at the Italian Open in Rome.
• Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani launched Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Gramin Gujarat for 5 districts of the state.
• Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) which markets its product under the brand name ‘Amul’ has signed an MoU with ISRO for fodder acreage assessment using satellite observation and space technology.
• Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar has announced that the state will become stray cattle free by August 15.
• Hello, the social network founded by Orkut creator Orkut Buyukkokten, has been launched in India.
• ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar has drawn ₹7.85 crore as total remuneration in 2016-17, a jump of nearly 64% from a year ago.
• ICICI Bank cuts home loan rate by up to 0.3% for loans up to ₹30 lakh to promote affordable housing.
• IIT Kharagpur’s Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness and Madhya Pradesh government’s ‘Rajya Anandam Sansthan’ (Department of Happiness) has signed an MoU to collaborate on the development of a Happiness Index for measuring the well-being of the residents of the state.
• In a bid to boost sports in the state, Jammu and Kashmir's 1st professional football academy was recentlhy launched in Srinagar.
• In a Global Healthcare Access and Quality Index study, India was ranked 154 among the 195 countries surveyed between 1990-2015.
• In just six months of launching its telecom operations, Reliance Jio has accounted for nearly 40% of India's broadband connections, according to data by telecom regulator TRAI.
• In order to eliminate distractions for drivers and increase safety, the Philippine authorities have banned hanging rosaries and religious icons off car dashboards.
• In order to handle or foil possible chemical, biological or nuclear-based attacks, India will buy Anti-Nuclear and Anti-Chemical Suits from the United States for ₹480 crore.
• In support of the Indian Army, Cricketer Gautam Gambhir has started a campaign titled #SoldierSelfies.
• India and Germany has inked 12 agreements after delegation level talks between Prime Minister Modi and German chancellor Angela Merkel on a range of issues like trade, skill development, cyber security and terrorism.
• India ended the Asian Wrestling Championship with 10 medals (one gold, five silver and four bronze).
• India has been unanimously elected as the President of the UN-Habitat, an organ of the United Nations to promote sustainable human settlements across the globe.
• India has imposed anti-dumping duty on a Chinese chemical used in pharma industry and aluminium foil to protect domestic industry from cheap imports.
• India has overtaken the US to become the second-most attractive country for renewable energy investment after China.
• India is going to commence a ₹10,000-crore deep sea mission by the year end to explore mineral wealth beneath the Indian ocean floor.
• India is set to skip China's two-day Belt and Road Forum starting from Sunday due to sovereignty concerns on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a part of China's One Belt One Road project.
• India moved up to the 26th spot in the Global electricity accessibility rankings of the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business index.
• India now ranks 3rd globally in number of startup incubators and accelerators. China is at the top followed by the US.
• India received the first artillery guns 30 years after the 1980s Bofors scandal, as two of the 145 M777 ultra light artillery guns ordered from the US have recently arrived ahead of schedule.
• India will give Rs. 35 crore rupees to children of freedom fighters in Bangladesh under the new ‘Muktijodha scholarship’ scheme in the next five years.
• India’s first private sector small arms manufacturing plant, Punj Lloyd Raksha Systems has been inaugurated in Madhya Pradesh.
• Indian Army has planned to re-introduce Cordon And Search Operations (CASO) as a part of its counter terrorism operations after a gap of 15 years.
• Indian dairy cooperative Amul will sponsor the New Zealand cricket team for the upcoming Champions Trophy in England.
• Indian Navy and the Space Application Centre have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Data Sharing and Scientific cooperation in the field of Meteorology and Oceanology.
• Indian Railways is going to acquire End of Train Telemetry (EoTT) systems, to do away with the need of guards stationed in the last coach of trains.
• Indian Railways subsidiary IRCTC is introducing Pay-on-Delivery option for buying train e-tickets, allowing users to pay at the time of ticket's delivery to their home.
• Indian squash player Joshna Chinappa defeated compatriot Dipika Pallikal in the women's singles final to become the first Indian to clinch the Asian Squash Championship title.
• Indian state-owned telecommunications company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has inked agreements with Facebook and MobiKwik in order to popularize the internet and its value added services among its customers.
• Indian table tennis player Soumyajit Ghosh became the 3rd Indian to win a men's singles title at an ITTF Challenge Series at the Chile Open.
• Indian women's cricket team pacer Jhulan Goswami became the all-time leading wicket-taker in women's ODI cricket after picking up her 181st wicket against the South African women's team.
• Indian wrestler Harpreet Singh (80kg) has won Bronze medal in Greco- Roman category at Asian Wrestling Championship.
• Indian wrestlers Anil Kumar and Jyoti won Bronze medals in their respective categories on the second day of the Asian Wrestling Championships in New Delhi.
• India's CA Bhavani Devi has won the Gold medal in the Sabre event of the Turnoi Satellite Fencing Championship held at Reykjavik in Iceland.
• India's first full-length feature film 'Raja Harishchandra' was released 104 years ago on 3rd May in the year 1913.
• India's first underwater tunnel, which was built under the Hooghly river for establishing a metro link in Kolkata, has been completed before the deadline.
• India's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas has successfully demonstrated an air-to-air Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missile firing capability.
• India's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has cut its interest rate for home loans up to ₹30 lakh by 0.25% to 8.35%, while those above ₹30 lakh saw a cut of 0.10%.
• India's largest lender the State Bank of India (SBI) has cut its term deposit rates by up to 50 basis points for various maturities.
• India's men's hockey team clinched the Bronze medal at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, after defeating New Zealand.
• India's National Football Team entered the top 100 of the FIFA national team rankings for the first time in 21 years after getting placed at the 100th spot in the latest FIFA rankings.
• India's Nitin Tomar became the costliest player in Pro Kabaddi League history, being bought for ₹93 lakh by the new GMR-owned UP franchise.
• India's premier squash player Harinder Pal Sandhu has won the Makati Open (Squash) title by beating Mohd Syafiq Kamal.
• India's R Vaishali won the women's title with eight points from nine rounds in the Asian Continental Blitz Chess Championship in Chengdu, China.
• ISRO is going to launch its most powerful rocket, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark-III in June this year. Being termed a "game changer", it can carry satellites weighing up to 4.4 tonnes.
• Kazakhstan, the world's biggest uranium producer, will start producing nuclear fuel for Chinese power plants in 2019 through a joint venture set up by the two countries.
• Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has launched a new scheme titled 'She Pad'. Under this scheme, the the government will distribute sanitary pads to girls in all the schools in the state.
• Kochi Metro has employed 23 members from the Transgender community. This is the 1st time a government owned company has formally appointed members of the transgender community.
• Kotak Mahindra Bank presents 811, India’s first downloadable Digital Savings Account. Kotak 811 has a zero-minimum balance requirement and offers users a virtual debit card to shop online and a Scan & Pay feature to make payments at merchant outlets.
• Madhya Pradesh became the 6th state in the country to pass the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill 2017. Uttarakhand, Telangana, Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh had earlier passed the bill.
• Maharashtra became the first state to install first-of-its-kind automated weather stations for farmers in the region.
• Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has inaugurated the state’s first automatic weather station at Dongargaon in Nagpur.
• Marian Ilitch, the owner of Little Caesars pizza chain and Detroit's MotorCity Casino Hotel, has topped the Forbes List of America's Richest Self-Made Women for 2017 with a net worth of $5.1 billion.
• Marking the formation day of Maharashtra, CM Devendra Fadnavis on 2nd May 2017 hoisted India's second tallest national flag in Kolhapur at 303 feet. [India's tallest flag pole, at 360 feet, is installed at the Attari-Wagah border in Punjab.]
• Mercedes' Finnish Formula One driver Valtteri Bottas claimed his first ever Grand Prix victory after winning the Russian Grand Prix.
• Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton has won the Spanish Grand Prix from pole position in the Formula One championship.
• Moody's Investors Service downgraded China's credit ratings for the first time since 1989, saying it expects the economy's financial strength to erode in coming years as growth slows and debt rises.
• Mumbai Indians defeated Rising Pune Supergiant by 1 run to win their third Indian Premier League title.
• Mumbai Indians pacer Lasith Malinga has become the first bowler to complete 150 wickets in the IPL.
• Mumbai MLA Bharati Lavekar has launched India's first digital bank for sanitary pads on the occasion of World Menstrual Hygiene Day.
• Nagpur is set to become India's first city to get a fleet of electric cabs.
• Narendra Modi became the first Indian PM to visit Spain in nearly 30 years.
• NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer successfully completed the 200th spacewalk for the $100-billion International Space Station (ISS).
• Nepal and China signed a framework agreement on Beijing’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, days ahead of a summit in Beijing to showcase President Xi Jinping’s ambitious plan to build a modern day Silk Road.
• Paytm has signed a non-exclusive term sheet to acquire Snapdeal-owned payments platform FreeCharge.
• Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has signed an executive order banning smoking in public across the country.
• PM Narendra Modi has launched the Integrated Case Management Information System (ICMIS) to help the Supreme Court go paperless.
• PM Narendra Modi inaugurated India's longest bridge, the Dhola-Sadiya bridge, in Assam.
• President Pranab Mukherjee signed an ordinance giving more power to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to deal with the growing problem of non performing assets.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attended the Buddhist festival ‘Vesak Day’ (Buddha Jayanti) that commemorates birth, enlighten and death of Buddha at Sri Lanka during 12th to 14th May 2017.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 52nd Annual General Meeting of the African Development Bank in Gandhinagar (22nd to 26th May 2017). This is the first time that India is hosting the annual meetings of the AfDB and its sister institutions, including of finance ministers of member countries, who comprise the AfDB board of governors.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the river conservation project 'Narmada Seva Mission'. This project is a road-map for steps to be taken for the conservation of the Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has released a two-part book series titled – M.S. Swaminathan: The Quest for a world without hunger. These books were written by the eminent agricultural scientist Dr. M.S. Swaminathan who is also known as the Father of the Green Revolution in India.
• Prince Philip, the 95-year-old husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II shall retire from his public duties this autumn.
• Rajasthan has launched mobile patrolling units to prevent molestation, harassment or eve-teasing against women in the state.
• Ramudri Someswara Rao has won a Gold medal in the men's 200-metre T44 event at the 2017 World Para Athletics Grand Prix in China.
• Rifath Sharook, an 18-year-old student from Tamil Nadu, has developed what he claims is the world's smallest and lightest satellite. The satellite, made using reinforced carbon fibre polymer, is named 'KalamSat', after former President APJ Abdul Kalam.
• Russia has blocked access to Chinese social media app WeChat for failing to give its contact details to country's communications watchdog.
• Russia's largest bank Sberbank is going to deliver cash via drones, its Deputy Chairman Stanislav Kuznetsov has recently announced.
• Samsung has received approval from the South Korean government to begin testing self-driving cars on public roads in the country.
• Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have pledged a combined $100 million to a Women Entrepreneurs' Fund proposed by US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump.
• SIMBEX (Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercises), the 24th bilateral exercise involving Indian Navy and Republic of Singapore Navy has recently commenced in South China Sea.
• South African cricket's governing body Cricket South Africa has regained the right to bid for and host major tournaments after their changes met the government's transformation criteria.
• Spain's Rafael Nadal defeated Austria's Dominic Thiem to win his 10th Barcelona Open title.
• Sualgiri and Swalgiri communities of Odisha have been notified as Scheduled Castes after President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Act, 2017.
• Sweden won the Ice hockey world championships for the 10th time with a 2-1 victory over 2016 champions Canada after the final was settled by a penalty shoot-out.
• Taiwan's constitutional court ruled in favour to recognise same-sex marriage on the island.
• Telangana has become the 1st state to introduce a logo for vehicles driven by persons with hearing impairment.
• The “South Asia satellite” for use by countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region was launched on 5th May 2017.
• The 2017 Moscow Victory Day Parade was recently took place in Red Square in Moscow.
• The 29th India–Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) has commenced at Port Blair under the aegis of Andaman and Nicobar Command.
• The Assam government has changed the names of all the major roads of Guwahati. GS Road has been renamed as Mahapurush Srimanta Sankerdev Path, Beltola-Khanapara Road is renamed as Peer Azan Fakir Road.
• The Assam government is going to introduce a 'traditional' dress code — dhoti-kurta for men and mekhela-chador for women — for its employees on first and third Saturdays of every month, on voluntary basis.
• The Centre has allowed emergency vehicles, including those of police, defence and paramilitary forces, to use multicoloured beacons having red, blue and white colours.
• The Centre has exempted NRIs, citizens above 80 years, and residents of Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, and Meghalaya from having to mandatorily quote their Aadhaar numbers to file income tax returns.
• The Centre has launched Tarang Sanchar Web Portal that gives information to the public regarding Electro Magnetic Fields (EMF) signals and eases their misconceptions about EMF emissions from mobile towers.
• The construction of the world's largest optical and infrared telescope has begun in Chile's Atacama Desert. Named Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), it will have a 39-metre-diameter primary mirror housed in an 85-metre rotating dome weighing 5,000 tonnes.
• The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations has decided to make digital copies of the marksheets available to ICSE and ISC candidates along with the traditional hard copies from this year.
• The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has been given back the power to grant licenses for defence manufacturing. Earlier the Home Ministry had this responsibility.
• The Department of Telecommunications has launched a web portal called the ‘Tarang Sanchar’ that will allow tracking of radiation emitted from mobile towers within their locality and check for their compliance with the Electromagnetic field (EMF) emission norms defined by the government.
• The Election Commission has held a demonstration on the working of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) System to prove that the machines are tamper-proof.
• The first Chinese-built passenger jet, C-919, completed its maiden flight.
• The government has recently launched the 'Darwaza Band' campaign supported by the World Bank, to promote the use of toilets and freedom from open defecation across the country.
• The government has renamed the Matritva Sahyog Yojana, a scheme launched in 2010 by the Congress for pregnant and lactating mothers, as 'Pradhan Mantri Matritva Vandana Yojana'.
• The government is going to bring 14 new categories, including acid attack survivors, under the Disability Act, 2016.
• The Income Tax department has activated the e-filing facility for all categories of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for the assessment year 2017-18.
• The Income Tax department has launched a new e-facility to link a person's Aadhaar with the Permanent Account Number (PAN).
• The Indian Army has successfully test-fired an advanced version of the BrahMos land-attack cruise missile in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• The Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) has successfully created India’s first smart grid project, which will generate power from renewable sources of energy.
• The Indian Railways' Mumbai-Goa luxury train Tejas Express, which has features like LCD screens, on-board infotainment, Wi-Fi, CCTV, and tea/coffee vending machine, was flagged off by Union Minister Suresh Prabhu on 22nd May 2017.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched GSAT-9 also known as the “South Asia” satellite from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The satellite, which costs ₹235 crore, will provide communication, disaster management support, and connectivity to South Asian countries during a 12-year mission.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will commence the operation of India's own 'GPS' or positioning system, Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS), in early 2018.
• The Japanese government has approved a one-off bill allowing ageing Emperor Akihito to step down from the Chrysanthemum Throne, in the first such abdication in two centuries.
• The Karnataka government passed an order putting a cap of ₹200, exclusive of taxes, on the price of movie tickets at cinema halls, including multiplexes, across the state.
• The Madhya Pradesh Cabinet has decided to grant the status of "living human entity" to Narmada river.
• The Maharashtra government has banned the sale of 'High in Fat, Salt and Sugar' (HFSS) food in school canteens across the state.
• The Maharashtra government has decided to form 'Good morning' squads to monitor and stop open defecation across the state.
• The Maharashtra government has declared its Bhilar village in the Satara district as India's first 'Pustakanche Gaav' (village of books).
• The New Delhi Municipal Corporation operates an ambulance dedicated for the treatment of trees.
• The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad is set to become south India's first airport to go 100% LED-lit.
• The Real Estate Act which aims to protect the interests of homebuyers by ensuring transparency has come into effect.
• The recently launched GSAT-9 / 'South Asia Satellite' became the 1st Indian spacecraft to use an electric propulsion system (EPS).
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to introduce new batches for settlement of payments through the National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) from July 10.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon put into circulation new notes in One Rupee denomination while existing notes and coins will continue to be legal tender.
• The State Bank of India (SBI) is going to introduce a new facility that would enable withdrawal of cash through ATMs using the bank’s mobile wallet. However, the bank will charge ₹25 on every cash withdrawal transaction from the mobile wallet via ATMs.
• The strategic anti-Naxal operations command headquarters of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has been shifted back from Kolkata to Raipur.
• The Supreme Court asked the state governments to issue a notification to include children affected with HIV in the disadvantaged group for imparting free, compulsory education under the 2009 law.
• The Tanggula Railway Station (Tibet) holds the Guinness World Record for being the highest railway station in the world, as it is 5,068 metres above sea level.
• The tiny island of Nauru (world’s smallest republic) has become the 6th country to ratify the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Framework pact.
• The top-seeded Indo-American pair of Leander Paes and Scott Lipsky defeated Argentine third seeds Leonardo Mayer and Maximo Gonzalez to win the Tallahassee Challenger title of the men’s double.
• The Union Cabinet cleared an ordinance to empower the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to reduce bad debts of public sector banks.
• The Union Cabinet has approved abolition of foreign investment regulator the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). The 25-year-old body responsible for approving foreign investment proposals was constituted under the Prime Minister's Office in the wake of the economic liberalisation of the early 1990s.
• The Union Cabinet has given its approval for allocating 2.5% of the Central Road Fund (CRF) for the development of the National Waterways.
• The Union Cabinet has given its approval for National Steel Policy (NSP) 2017 to give impetus to the steel sector. This policy aims to enhance domestic steel consumption and transform Indian steel industry into a technologically advanced and globally competitive steel industry.
• The United States and 6 Gulf countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE) have joined hands to curb financing of dreaded terror groups such as Islamic State, Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Haqqani network and Taliban.
• The US and China have signed a 10-point trade deal that opens the Chinese market to US credit rating agencies and lifts China's ban on US beef imports and shipments of liquefied natural gas.
• The US is close to completing a series of Arms deals with Saudi Arabia totalling more than $100 billion which could surpass over $300 billion over a decade.
• The Uttar Pradesh government has formed 'Maa' committees to keep an eye on mid-day meals served to students in state-run primary schools.
• The Uttar Pradesh government is going to make Saturdays as 'no school bag day' in the state-run schools.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed India's first three cases of Zika virus infections, all from the same area in Ahmedabad.
• The world's first "ladies special" suburban train, which runs in Mumbai, has completed 25 years.
• To mark the 156th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, India has organised Tagore cultural Festival in Egypt from 8th to 12th May.
• To reduce unnecessary competition and stop education from becoming a trade, Tamil Nadu's Education Department has decided to not announce the first three ranks in the state board exams.
• Two warships of the Indian Navy reached Malaysia on a 6-day visit to step up maritime cooperation, including effectively containing piracy in the Indian Ocean region.
• UJALA (UK Joins Affordable LEDs for All), the world's largest efficient lighting programme, was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, Piyush Goyal in London. This programme aims to increase LED penetration in UK.
• Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has imposed a ban on Russia's social media networks and internet services as part of economic sanctions against Russia.
• Umpire Sundaram Ravi will be the only Indian umpire to officiate in matches during the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.
• Union Health Minister JP Nadda launched new Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) for pneumonia in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh.
• Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated India’s First Integrated Bio‐refinery for Renewable Fuels & Chemicals for producing ethanol from a variety of biomass. The plant is situated at Rahu in Pune district of Maharashtra.
• Union Minister Kiren Rijiju has released a philosophical novel for God titled “Confessions of a dying mind: the blind faith of atheism“. The book was written by IAS officer Haulianlal Guite. This book is touted as “the world’s first philosophical novel for God“.
• Union Minister of State for Aviation Jayanta Sinha has recently announced that the Centre will bring 200 airports under the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) regional air connectivity scheme.
• UnitedNations marked the first World Tuna Day on 2nd May 2017.
• US and Indian space agencies, NASA and ISRO will jointly develop and launch the world's biggest and most expensive earth imaging satellite, costing $1.5 billion. The satellite has been named NISAR - NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar.
• US President Donald J. Trump visited Middle East and Europe. This is his first ever foreign trip after taking over the Presidency in January this year.
• Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has decided to celebrate January 24 as 'UP Diwas' (UP Day).
• Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has flagged off ‘Gauvansh Chikitsa Mobile Vans’, an Ambulance Service that would cater to the needs of the cows.
• Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led digital wallet Paytm has launched its Payments Bank operations in Delhi-NCR, with 4% interest on savings account. The bank will accept deposits of upto ₹1 lakh per customer in a savings or a current account with a zero-balance requirement.
• World number two Serbia's Novak Djokovic has appointed former world number one Andre Agassi as his new coach.
• World’s highest railway bridge which will be 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower is to come up over the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir at a cost of around Rs. 1,100 crore in around two years from now. This bridge will connect Bakkal (Katra) and Kauri (Srinagar).
• World's biggest and most powerful wind turbines have begun generating electricity off the Liverpool coast in the UK.
• Wrestler Bajrang Punia won the Gold medal in the men's 65 kg final at the Asian Wrestling Championships, defeating South Korea's Lee Seung-chul in Delhi.

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