May 2018 Current Affairs Important Highlights (One-Liners)

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Friends, here are the Major Current Affairs Highlights of May 2018. 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 2018). We will  provide the pdf version by tomorrow. All the Best and Happy Reading :)

May 2018 Current Affairs Highlights (One-Liners) 

• 1st May 2018 was observed as International Workers' Day with the theme “Uniting Workers for Social and Economic Advancement”.
• 1st May 2018 (first Tuesday of May) was observed as World Asthma Day with the theme "Never too early, never too held at dense forests of Sengai Perdik, Hulu Langat, Malaysia.
• 3rd May 2018 was observed as World Press Freedom Day with the theme ‘Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and The Rule of Law’.
  
• 5th May 2018 was observed as International Midwives Day with the theme "Midwives leading the way with quality care".
• 6th May 2018 was observed as International No Diet Day with the symbol light blue ribbon.
• 8th May 2018 was observed as the World Red Cross Day with the theme “Memorable smiles from around the world”.
• 8th May 2018 was observed as the World Thalassemia Day with the theme "Thalassaemia past, present and future: Documenting progress and patients’ needs worldwide".
• 11th May 2018 was observed as National Technology Day with the theme “Science and Technology for a sustainable future.”
• 12th May 2018 was observed as International Nurses Day with the theme “Nurses A Voice to Lead – Health is a Human right”.
• 15th May 2018 was observed as the International Day of Families with the theme “Families and inclusive societies”.
• 17th May 2018 was observed as World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD 2018) with the theme "Enabling the positive use of Artificial Intelligence for All".
• 18th May 2018 was observed as International Museum Day with the theme "Hyperconnected museums: New approaches, new publics".
• 22nd May 2018 was observed as the International Day for Biological Diversity with the theme ‘Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity’.
• 28th May 2018 was observed as Menstrual hygiene day with the theme “#NoMoreLimits”.
• 29th May 2018 was observed as International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers with the theme “UN Peacekeepers: 70 Years of Service and Sacrifice”.
• 31st May 2018 was observed as Wrld No Tobacco Day with the theme ‘Tabacco and heart diseases’.
• 12th informal meeting of SAARC Finance Ministers was held in Manila (Philippines) on the sidelines of the 51st Annual Meeting of Asian Development Bank (ADB).Yuba Raj Khatiwada (Finance Minister of Nepal) chaired the meeting.
• 1st edition of Global Wind Summit will be held in Hamburg, Germany from 25th to 28th September 2018. The summit will see participation of of speakers from about 100 countries, including India, China, the US, Spain and Denmark.
• 26th BASIC Ministerial Meeting of Environment Ministers was held in Durban, South Africa. India was represented by Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan.
• 29th International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) meeting between India and Sri Lanka was held onboard Indian Naval Ship ‘Sumithra’ at the Indo-Sri Lanka Maritime Boundary Line off Kankasanthurai
• 3rd edition of United Nations Peacekeeping Course for African ₹1 lakh for SC/ST candidates who clear the preliminary UPSC Civil Services exam and ₹50,000 for those clearing preliminary Bihar Public Service Commission Civil Services exam.
• 4th International Yoga Day celebrations will be held at Dehradun (Uttrakhand) on 21st June 2018.
• 4th meeting of South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN) was held at Kolkata. It was first meeting of SAWEN to be held in India since its inception in 2011.
• 5th India-CLMV (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam) Business Conclave was held at Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This conclave was jointly organised by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry along with Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia.
• 6th United States-India Aviation Summit was recently held at Mumbai (Maharashtra).
• 71st World Health Assembly held in Geneva, Switzerland and was attended by delegations from all WHO member states. The assembly has adopted resolution on Digital Health, which was initiated by India and was co-sponsored by 20 countries.
• 9 months after assuming office, Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu was on his maiden foreign visit to the South American countries of Guatemala, Panama and Peru.
• 92 year old Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad has became the world's oldest Prime Minister.
• 9th India Japan Energy Dialogue was held in New Delhi. India and Japan issued Joint Statement at conclusion of the meeting, agreeing to work together for energy security, energy access and climate change issues
• A 2-day offshore security exercise, code named 'Exercise Prasthan', conducted by the Eastern Naval Command in the Offshore Development Area (ODA) off the coast of Mumbai.
• A parliamentary panel headed by veteran BJP leader Murali Manohar Joshi is going to study the recovery of black money and performance of public sector banks among a host of subjects.
• A sports initiative 'Star Khel Mahakumbh' was launched at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh in the presence of 1,500 athletes.
• A team of surgeons led by Indian-origin professor Neil Malhotra from the University of Pennsylvania has performed the first-ever robot-assisted spinal surgery.
• A Two-day bilateral meeting of Anti-Narcotics Agencies of India and Sri Lanka was held in New Delhi.
• According to a recent data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Bank deposit growth fell to a five-decade low in the financial year ended March 2018.
• According to a recently released RBI Data, Indian Banks closed nearly 2,500 onsite ATMs between May 2017 and February 2018.
• According to a recently released UN report, Delhi will surpass Tokyo as the most populous city in the world by the year 2028. By then, India is also estimated to replace China and become the world's most populous country, the report added.
• According to Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), India’s installed clean (renewable) energy capacity has already touched 70 Gigawatts (GW) and 38 GW is under implementation.
• Ahmedabad-based e-commerce conglomerate Infibeam has acquired a 100% stake in Dubai-based digital payments firm Vavian International for around ₹8 crore.
• American animated sitcom 'The Simpsons' has become the longest-running scripted TV show ever in the US after airing its 636th episode.
• American multinational technology company Apple and multinational investment bank Goldman Sachs are teaming up for a new Credit card which could be released in 2019. Aim of Apple Pay-branded Card : To expand Apple’s mobile payments and also help Goldman Sachs expand into consumer banking.
• American multinational technology company Google has unveiled its next Android operating system titled 'Android P' in beta version. Android P introduces a single home button instead of three traditional buttons.
• Amid its increased cooperation with India in a range of areas, the United States renamed its Pacific Command to Indo-Pacific Command.
• Army chief General Bipin Rawat was on 4-day visit to Sri Lanka. Aim of this visit : To take forward the military cooperation between the two countries to the "next level".
• Australian Formula One racer Daniel Ricciardo handed Red Bull a victory in their 250th race in the Formula One at Monaco Grand Prix.
• Australian Steve Plain became the fastest climber to scale the highest peaks on seven continents, taking 117 days, after he recently scaled Mount Everest.
• Bangladesh’s first communication satellite Bangabandhu-1 was launched by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A. Bangabandhu - 1 is designed to provide wide range of broadcast and communication services throughout Bangladesh.
• Barcelona forward Lionel Messi was crowned Europe's top-goalscorer for the fifth time after scoring on 34 occasions in the La Liga for the Catalan side.
• Batsman Ed Joyce, the first-ever cricketer to play T20I cricket for two countries (Ireland and England), has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.
• Bhopal Smart City Development Corporation Ltd. (BSCDCL) has launched India’s first cloud-based Common Integrated Data Centre, Disaster Recovery Centre and Integrated Control and Command Centre (ICCC) in Madhya Pradesh.
• Border Road Organisation (BRO) celebrated it's 58th Raising Day on 7th May 2018.
• Brazilian professional footballer Neymar was named as France’s player of the year.
• Breaking decades-old tradition, the State Bank of India (SBI) has decided not to hold its annual accounts meet in Kolkata from this year. Note : Though SBI is headquartered in Mumbai, its central accounts office continues to be in Kolkata.
• British and American scientists have launched a 5-year mission to assess the risk of the Thwaites glacier collapsing, already responsible for a 4% sea-level rise.
• BS Yeddyurappa resigned 55 hours after taking oath as the Karnataka CM, ahead of the floor test.
• BSF Assistant Commandant Loveraj Singh Dharmshaktu has set a national record by scaling Mount Everest for the seventh time.
• Canada has decided to add a Third gender option to its future government surveys including the 2021 census paving the way for an overhauled census.
• Chelsea Football Club defeated Manchester United 1-0 in the 2017/18 FA Cup (also known as the FA Challenge Cup) final to win the title for the eighth time.
• Chennai based Indian grandmaster of chess, Srinath Narayanan has won the Kolkata Open International Grandmasters Chess Tournament.
• Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has won Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 by defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad.
• Chetak corps of South Western Command of Indian Army conducted a military exercise titled Gandiv Vijay in Mahajan field firing ranges of Rajasthan.
• Chhattisgarh will get specialised anti-Naxal combat force called Black Panther on the lines of the Greyhounds unit of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
• Chief of Army Staff General Bipin Rawat released a book titled ‘Across the Bench – Insight into the Indian Military Judicial System’. This book has been authored by Lt Gen Gyan Bhushan, former Army Commander and Member ‘A’, Armed Forces Tribunal, Lucknow Bench.
• China aims to deliver its domestically developed world's largest amphibious aircraft, titled AG600, by the year 2022.
• China announced that it will slash the import duty on passenger cars to 15% starting July 1 from the current 25% which has been in place for over a decade.
• China launched its 1st privately developed rocket titled 'Chongqing Liangjiang Star'. The rocket can place a 100-kilogram load into orbit 800 kilometres from the earth.
• China launched relay satellite named Queqiao (Magpie Bridge) to establish communication link between earth and its planned Chang’e-4 lunar probe (rover) that will explore the dark side of moon.
• China successfully launched “APSTAR-6C”, a new communication satellite into orbit. With is successful launch, the satellite joins fleet of four fully operational satellites belonging to APT Satellite Co. and will replace the in-orbit Apstar-6 satellite.
• China's state-run Islamic Association has declared all mosques in the country should raise the national flag to "promote a spirit of patriotism" among Muslims.
• Coimbatore racer Bala Prasath has won the Formula Junior Racing Series 2018 Championship in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
• Colombia will formally join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). With this the country becomes the only Latin American nation in the alliance.
• Defence Production Secretary Ajay Kumar has announced that India is going to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) in defence forces to improve preparation for "next-generation warfare". A task force led by Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran has been formed to oversee the project.
• Delhi Metro's Magenta Line from Janakpuri West to Noida's Botanical Garden became fully operational.
• Delhi-based I-League second division club, Sudeva Football Club, became the first Indian club to acquire a European football club after it bought Spanish third division league team, CD Olimpic de Xativa.
• Elon Musk-led SpaceX launched GRACE-FO satellites, that would track the Earth's water movement and ice melt.
• England overtakes India for the top spot in the ICC ODI team ranking following the annual update.
• England's cricket board has introduced a new 'Rooney Rule' under which at least one black, Asian or minority ethnic candidate will be interviewed during the recruitment stage for all national coaching positions.
• Facebook has introduced a feature called 'Voice Posts' in India which allows users to share voice messages on its platform.
• For disease monitoring and strengthening tele-medicine services in the government hospitals, the Rajasthan Government has launched new software titled Nidaan.
• For the first time the The Indian Air Force (IAF) has successfully conducted Scheduled Test for Airmen Recruitment (STAR) online, taking forward Digital India Initiative of Government.
• Former Australian cricketer Justin Langer has been appointed as Australian cricket team's Head Coach for all three formats.
• Former Indian cricketer Lalchand Rajput, who was the manager of the winning Indian cricket team for the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa, has been named the interim coach of the Zimbabwe cricket team.
• Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was appointed as the Manager of Scottish football club Rangers.
• Global credit rating agency Moody's has cut India's GDP growth estimate to 7.3% for the calendar year 2018, down from its previous forecast of 7.5%.
• Governments of India, Netherlands and Sweden launched first-of-its-kind collaborative research programme on HIV/AIDS.
• Guatemala opened its embassy in Jerusalem. With this, the country became the second nation after the US to open its diplomatic mission in the Israeli city.
• Hockey India has named women's hockey coach Harendra Singh as Indian men's team head coach while incumbent men's team coach Sjoerd Marijne returned as the women's team coach.
• In Assam, 97.3-meter tall National flag, the tallest in the country - will be installed under Guwahati under Smart City Mission.
• In collaboration with State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Yoga guru Ramdev's Patanjali launched 'Swadeshi Samriddhi' SIM cards.
• In it's 27th meeting chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the GST Council has approved making GST Network (GSTN) a government entity by taking over stakes held by private entities.
• In Shooting, Olympian Gagan Narang and Pooja Ghatkar clinched a Silver medal in the 10-meter Air Rifle Mixed Team event in the Grand Prix of Liberation International competition at Pilsen in the Czech Republic.
• India and Indonesia signed 15 Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) in the fields of defence, scientific and technological cooperation, railways and health, among others during PM Narendra Modi's visit to the nation.
• India and Netherlands launched an initiative titled Clean Air India in New Delhi. Aim of Clean Air India initiative : To curb air pollution in Indian cities by promoting partnerships between Indian start-ups and companies from Netherlands.
• India and United States held the third round of the India-US Maritime Security Dialogue in Goa. Focused areas of this Dialogue : Cooperation and developments in the Indo-Pacific region.
• India emerged as the 3rd largest solar market in the world in 2017 behind China and the US.
• India has finished on top in the South Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Colombo.
• India has released grant of Neplaese Rupees (NRs) 18.07 crore for river training and construction of embankments along Lalbakeya, Bagmati and Kamla rivers in Nepal.
• India has sent Bangladesh its second relief consignment under Operation Insaniyat to help tens of thousands of displaced Rohingya Muslims who fled Myanmar into Bangladesh following military crackdown in violence-hit Rakhine state.
• India has signed a loan agreement with the world bank for 21.7 million dollars for strengthening the public financial management in Rajasthan project.
• India hosted the 15th Asia Media Summit (AMS-2018) in New Delhi from 10th to 12th May 2018. Theme of AMS 2018 : “Telling our Stories- Asia and More”.
• India launched its second IT corridor in China in the southwestern city of Guiyang which will focus on Big Data. Note : India's first IT corridor in China was established in the port city of Dalian last December.
• India successfully conducted the first test of the BrahMos cruise missile aimed at increasing its life from 10 to 15 years. BrahMos is the first Indian missile whose life has been extended from 10 to 15 years.
• India will be the host country for this year's celebrations of World Environment Day (5th June).
• Indian and French navies conducted the final and third phase of Varuna Naval Exercise 2018 near Reunion Island in Indian Ocean region (IOR). Aim of Varuna Naval Exercise 2018 : To enhance the operational coordination.
• Indian Army’s month long Vijay Prahar exercise concluded in Suratgarh, Rajasthan. Aim of Vijay Prahar Exercise : To orchestrate wide spectrum of threats including Nuclear, Chemical or Biological (NCB) attack which are planned to be tackled through high tempo joint air and land operation.
• Indian Customs and Department of India Posts held a 1st ever Joint Conference at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi to deliberate on streamlining of imports and exports by post.
• Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad’s (IIMA’s) Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) has launched $25 million ‘Bharat Inclusion Initiative’ to fund start-ups.
• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kanpur has set up India’s first Centre for Energy Regulation (CER) with the help of Government of United Kingdom.
• Indian Judokas won 3 medals on the opening day of Asian Cadet Judo Championships in Lebanon. Rohini S Mohite (Maharashtra) won a gold medal in the 40kg category while Tababi Devi Thanjam of Manipur emerged as a champion in the 44kg category.
• Indian pugilist Neeraj Goyat has been conferred with the WBC Asia Boxer of the Year Award. Neeraj is the current WBC Asia champion in welter weight category.
• Indian shooter Shahzar Rizvi became the world number one shooter in the 10-metre air pistol category after having won a silver medal at the recently concluded shooting World Cup in South Korea.
• Indian wheelchair cricket team successfully completed its first international tour, winning a three-match series in Bangladesh, after cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar donated nearly ₹4.5 lakh.
• India's largest bank State Bank of India (SBI) is planning to list its general insurance business and cards business by 2019-20.
• India's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has reported a loss of Rs. 7,718 crore in the January-March quarter, hurt by higher provisions for bad loans.
• India's third-largest state-run lender Bank of Baroda (BoB) posted a net loss of ₹3,102 crore for the quarter ended March 31.
• India's total export of finished steel increased by 16 point 7 percent to 9 point 6 million tonnes in 2017-18.
• Indigenously developed Rustom-II Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will be delivered to armed forces by 2020 as per the contract.
• Indonesia has agreed to give India strategic and military access to its Sabang seaport. In turn, India will invest in the port's development and build a hospital on the island.
• Instagram has added an In-app payments feature as a test where users can make purchases after adding a credit or debit card with an additional pin.
• Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs Javad Zarif was on 1 day visit to India.
• Iraq voted in its 1st Parliamentary election since declaring victory over the Islamic State group.
• Ireland has voted in a historic referendum to repeal the ban on abortions in the country. The pro-abortion campaign titled "Yes campaign" had gathered momentum after an Indian-origin woman, Savita Halappanavar died in 2012 after her requests to terminate a 17-week pregnancy were denied.
• Israel announced its withdrawal from the bid for a Non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council (UNSC) for the 2019-2020 term.
• Israel claimed to be the first country to have used the US-made F-35 fighter jets in combat.
• Italy's legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon ended his career at Juventus with a win and his ninth Series A title with the club, after playing 17 years and keeping goal for the Turin club in 656 matches across all competitions.
• Japan has enacted a new law to promote the participation of women in politics. The law urges political parties to field equal number of male and female candidates in national and local elections and set targets for gender parity.
• Kami Rita, a 48-year-old Nepalese Sherpa scaled Mount Everest for the 22nd time, setting a record for the most successful climbs of the world's highest mountain.
• Kerala on high alert as rare and deadly Nipah Virus (NiV) infection which was detected for the first time in the state.
• Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh) became the hottest place in India as the temperature hit 47.5°C.
• Manipur has become the first state in north east and third in India to get Solar Toilets, which were inaugurated at Ibudhou Marjing Hill, Heingang. Earlier the installation had taken place in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
• Markets regulator SEBI has announced that it is going to consider penal action against Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Mehul Choksi's Gitanjali Gems after the completion of its investigation into suspected disclosure and trading related issues.
• Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton won the Spanish Grand Prix.
• Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has issued National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy. Aim of this Policy : To boost renewable power generation by promoting new projects as well as hybridisation of existing ones.
• Ministry of Tourism has decided to expand Buddhist tourism circuit under Swadesh Darshan Scheme to 21 more states to make it India’s first trans-national tourist circuit.
• Modi dedicated the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, India's first green and smart highway, to the nation.
• Neem and black buck have been declared as the state tree and state animal respectively of Andhra Pradesh. Rose-ringed parakeet will be the state bird while Jasmine is the state flower.
• Nepal Government has granted power generation licence to Indian government-owned subsidiary Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVNL) from a 900-megawatt (MW) Arun-3 Hydropower Project located in eastern Nepal.
• Nepal is going to host the 5th BIMSTEC Summit 2018. BIMSTEC - Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
• Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte was on a two-day visit to India on 24-25 May 2018. This was Rutte's second visit to India since June 2015, but the first after being re-elected as prime minister in 2017.
• NITI Aayog and ABB India have signed a Statement of Intent to support the Indian government realize its ambitious vision of ‘Make in India’ through advanced manufacturing technologies that incorporate the latest developments in robotics and artificial intelligence.
• NITI Aayog has signed Statement of Intent (SoI) with IBM to develop Crop Yield Prediction Model using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide real time advisory to farmers in Aspirational Districts.
• North Korea completed dismantling its Punggye-ri nuclear test site in a ceremony attended by journalists. The move comes in line with North Korea's pledge to denuclearise the Korean Peninsula.
• One of India’s best-known sports journalists, Boria Majumdar has written a book titled "Eleven Gods and A Billion Indians". This book chronicles the history of cricket throughout colonial and post-colonial Indian life.
• Pakistan has summoned ex-ISI chief Asad Durrani over a book he co-authored with India's ex-RAW chief AS Dulat, accusing him of 'violating' military code of conduct. The duo wrote the book titled 'The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace', in which , Durrani suggested Pakistan mishandled the Kulbhushan Jadhav case.
• Pakistan hosted its 1st ever Shanghai Cooperation Organisation-Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO-RATS) legal experts meeting in Islamabad.
• Pakistan is going to launch a space programme next year to reduce dependency on foreign satellites for civil and military purposes and to keep an eye on India.
• Pakistan's Parliament has passed the landmark Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act granting fundamental rights to transgenders and outlawing discrimination against them.
• Palestine has become the 193rd nation to join the Chemical Weapons Convention.
• Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes inaugurated his country's Israel embassy in Jerusalem, making it the 3rd nation to make the deeply controversial move after the United States and Guatemala.
• Pension fund regulator PFRDA has announced that the National Pension System (NPS) subscribers will now have the option to partially withdraw funds for setting up new business or pursuing higher education.
• Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered to lift the ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait.
• PM Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for India's longest road tunnel on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway in Jammu and Kashmir. The over 14-km-long Zojila tunnel will shorten the distance between Srinagar and Leh from 3.5 hours to 15 minutes.
• President Ram Nath Kovind has visited the Siachen glacier base camp in J&K to interact with the soldiers posted there. With this he became the second President to visit the camp after former President APJ Abdul Kalam (visited it in 2004).
• President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the 4th edition of Global Exhibition on services in Mumbai.
• President Ram Nath Kovind is going to preside over the 1st meeting of National Committee for Commemoration of 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in 2019.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarks on a 5 day visit to Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Aim of this visit : To consolidate India’s ties with three important strategic partners in the Southeast Asia region with key agreements expected in the areas of defence and space.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Bangladesh Bhavan in West Bengal's Santiniketan in the presence of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of Delhi-Meerut Expressway, India's first 14-lane highway.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi visisted Russia for an informal summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This informal summit focused on pressing global and regional issues, including impact of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.
• Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi was on a 2 day visit to Nepal. During this visit, Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart KP Sharma Oli flagged off Indo-Nepal bus service.
• Professor Stephen Hawking’s final theory on the origin of the universe, which he worked on in collaboration with Professor Thomas Hertog from KU Leuven, has been published in the Journal of High Energy Physics. This theory suggests the universe is "finite" and far simpler than described by other Big Bang theories.
• Punjab government along World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-India are conducting first organised census of Indus Dolphins. The organised census aims at conservation of the species.
• Raider Monu Goyat became the costliest player in Pro Kabaddi League history as Haryana Steelers acquired his services for ₹1.51 crore on Day 1 of PKL 2018 auction.
• Rajya Sabha chairman and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu appointed a 2 member Committee to revise the rules and procedure of conduct of business in the upper House of Parliament. Head of this Committee : V.K. Agnihotri (former Rajya Sabha Secretary General)
• Real Madrid defeated Liverpool 3-1 in Kiev, Ukraine to win the UEFA Champions League for the third straight year.
• Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has been named as the World's Most Famous Athlete for the third straight year in ESPN's annual rankings.
• Retirement fund body Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has launched a new service titled View Pension Passbook for pensioners on Umang App. This service will allow pensioners view their pension passbook on mobile phones with the help of Umang app.
• Russia has launched the world's only floating nuclear power unit into the Baltic Sea.
• Russia unveiled world’s first floating nuclear power station at port city of Murmansk.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have agreed on the need to preserve the Iran nuclear deal. "
• Sangeeta Bahl, a 53-year-old former model, has become the oldest Indian woman to conquer Mount Everest.
• Scientists have discovered world’s second oldest grain of Magmatic Zircon (a mineral that contains traces of radioactive isotopes) from Champua from Singhbhum rock sample in Odisha’s Kendujhar district.
• Singapore Airlines has confirmed it is going to launch the world's longest non-stop commercial flight in October, covering about 16,700 km between Singapore and Newark (New Jersey) in 18 hours 45 minutes.
• South Africa-born former England captain Kevin Pietersen is set to become the first ever foreign player to deliver the annual MAK Pataudi Memorial Lecture on June 12 in Bengaluru.
• South African cricketer AB de Villiers announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket with immediate effect.
• South Western Command of Indian Army conducted ‘Vijay Prahar’ exercise in Mahajan area close to Suratgarh in Rajasthan.
• SP Rajya Sabha MP Jaya Bachchan recently declared assets worth ₹1,000 crore, making her India's richest politician.
• Spanish professional tennis player, Rafael Nadal broke John McEnroe’s 34-year record by winning his 50th consecutive set on clay at the Madrid Open.
• Spanish professional tennis player, Rafael Nadal has won the Italian Open title for a record 8th time by defeating Germany's Alexander Zverev.
• Supreme Court has approved the 'Compensation Scheme for Women Victims, Survivors of Sexual Assault, Other Crimes-2018'. According to this scheme, a victim of gangrape in any part of the country would now get a minimum compensation of Rs five lakh up to a maximum of Rs 10 lakh.
• Surya Kiran-XIII, the 13th edition of India-Nepal joint military exercise will be held at Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand during 30th May to 12th June 2018. Aim of Surya Kiran XIII : To further enhance and strengthen level of defence cooperation between the two neighbouring nations.
• Switzerland-based St Galler Kantonal bank ran a pilot project where it replaced seven of its employees with five robots.
• Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K Palaniswami has laid the foundation stone for a 50,422-square-foot memorial of late CM J Jayalalithaa in Chennai.
• Tata Consultancy Services' (TCS) market capitalisation surged past the ₹7 trillion mark, making it the first Indian company to achieve this milestone.
• Tata Trusts has signed MoU with Indian Government to provide development support in eight worst Naxal-affected districts in Chhattisgarh.
• Telangana government has launched Rythu Bandhu (friend of farmers) Scheme, an investment support scheme to support livelihood of farmers.
• Telecom Commission approved a proposal for allowing phone calls and Internet service in flights within Indian airspace.
• The 15th Finance Commission has constituted High Level Group to explore and give recommendations for a balanced expansion of the health sector. Head of this high level group : Dr. Randeep Guleria, Director, AIIMS, New Delhi.
• The 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be held in holy city if Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) from January 21 to January 23, 2019. Theme of 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas : “Role of Indian Diaspora in building a New India”.
• The 1st commercial flight of Arunachal Pradesh (42-seater ATR aircraft of the Alliance Airlines) under UDAN scheme landed at Pasighat airport or Advance Landing Ground (ALG) in East Siang district. This historic moment puts border state on the aviation map of the country.
• The 1st edition of this year’s bi-annual Naval Commanders’ Conference was recently held in New Delhi. This conference discussed aspects concerning India’s maritime security, analyse mission-based deployments and larger issues of geo-strategic Indian Ocean Region (IOR), a region witnessing increasing Chinese presence.
• The 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held extraordinary summit in Istanbul, Turkey to discuss recent Israeli violence against Palestinian protesters in Gaza Strip.
• The Academy Team Kochi has won the 3rd edition of National Blind Football Tournament by defeating KWAB Bengaluru at the Jogo Football Arena, Kochi (Kerala)
• The Afghan government officially launched the distribution process of “e-tezkera” (Electronic Identity Cards).
• The ASEAN India Film Festival was held in New Delhi. Tagline of ASEAN India Film Festival 2018 : ‘Friendship through Films’.
• The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has decided to implement a strict 'No-Needle' policy at all the national camps and training centres in the country.
• The Bank of India has an exposure of ₹200 crore in the ₹13,900-crore PNB fraud case, the bank's CEO Dinabandhu Mohapatra has announced.
• The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and UN Environment have signed an agreement to promote ‘green' Cricket in India.
• The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has invited Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani for the historic one-off Test between India and Afghanistan.
• The Cabinet has approved promulgation of an ordinance to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). The code proposes to classify home buyers as financial creditors at par with lenders to help them quickly get refunds from defaulting companies.
• The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has commissioned special unit called Bastariya Battalion (numbered 241) to combat Naxals activities in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.
• The Cricket Association for the Blind in India is planning to conduct a T20 League for blind cricketers, similar to the Indian Premier League, between mid-November and mid-December.
• The Defence Acquisition Council headed by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has approved the purchase of military equipment worth ₹6,900 crore.
• The Department of Telecommunications approved the merger of Telenor (India) Communications Pvt Ltd with Bharti Airtel Ltd.
• The Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMO) of India and Pakistan agreed to fully implement the ceasefire understanding of 2003 in letter and in spirit.
• The Finance Ministry clarified that renting or leasing of land by farmers for agriculture, forestry, fishing or animal husbandry is exempt from Goods and Services Tax (GST).
• The Finance Ministry has announced it cleared three Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) proposals worth Rs. 3,250 crore in April 2018. The proposals included that of Hindustan Infralog Pvt. Ltd. which sought approval for foreign investment from DP World Global Investment BV, Netherlands.
• The finance ministry has tied up with 40 entities including Flipkart, Swiggy, Patanjali and Amul, which are big job creators, for extending loans to small entrepreneurs under the Mudra scheme.
• The first all-woman Indian Navy crew took 252 days to sail across the globe and was welcomed in Goa by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The landmark expedition, which was flagged off on 10th September 2017, under the Navika Sagar Parikrama project, has been completed by a six-member crew led by lieutenant commander Vartika Joshi.
• The First Apex Conference for CEOs of Smart Cities was held in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Aim of this Conference : To provide single platform for convergence of all best practices in Smart city missions across country to help city leaders to use collective learning to accelerate progress of work.
• The first-ever meeting between the US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will be held in Singapore on 12th June.
• The government has announced that the Aadhaar is not mandatory for getting a SIM and that a phone number can be issued using alternative identification cards such as voter ID or Driving Licence.
• The government has clarified that Aadhaar has not been made mandatory for getting pension for government employees.
• The government has decided to extend ₹1 lakh to retired Presidents and ₹90,000 to retired Vice Presidents towards actual charges incurred as office expenses annually.
• The government has directed Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) to recognise diplomas and degrees acquired through open and distance learning from UGC-recognised universities for employment purposes.
• The Indian government has approved Green licence plates for Electric Vehicles bearing numbers in white fonts for private cars and yellow font for taxis.
• The Indian Government has signed a loan agreement worth 200 million dollar with the World Bank for the National Nutrition Mission (POSHAN Abhiyaan). This loan will help in achieving the goal of reducing stunting in children upto 6 years of age from 38.4 per cent to 25 per cent by 2022.
• The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) has in its 2018 edition of Indian Pharmacopoeia approved modern, animal-free tests for drug manufacturers. It replaces pyrogen test carried out on rabbits with bacterial endotoxin test or monocyte activation test which can be carried out in test tubes.
• The Indian U-16 football team was crowned champions at the Four-Nation Tournament held in Serbia after they defeated Tajikistan 4-2 in the finals.
• The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), a top state-run Chinese bank has launched China’s first India-dedicated publicly offered investment fund. The fund has been named as Industrial and Commercial Bank Credit Suisse India Market Fund.
• The International Cricket Council (ICC) is planning to scrap the coin toss in Tests for matches contested as a part of the upcoming Test Championship in order to reduce home ground advantage. Instead of the coin toss, the visiting captain will be allowed to decide whether to bat or bowl first.
• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its Asia and Pacific Regional Economic Outlook report has reaffirmed that India will be the fastest growing major economy in 2018, with growth rate of 7.4% and 7.8% in 2019.
• The Maharashtra government is going to increase the height of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Memorial by two metres, making it the tallest statue in the world.
• The Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh became the 1st Indian minister to visit North Korea in two decades.
• The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has decided to expand Van Dhan Vikas Kendras in Tribal Districts across the country. Aim of Van Dhan Vikas Kendras : To provide skill upgradation and capacity building training to increase the incomes of tribal.
• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced that it is going to launch the 1st-ever helicopter to Mars in 2020, a miniature, unmanned drone-like chopper that could boost our understanding of the Red Planet.
• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully launched a $993-million spacecraft called InSight to study quakes on Mars and explore the Mar's interior. The 360-kg InSight aims to be the first NASA spacecraft to land on Mars since the Curiosity rover in 2012.
• The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has set up cloud-enabled National Data Centre at Bhubaneswar, Odisha. This Data Center will offer round-the-clock operations with secure hosting for e-governance applications of ministries and departments.
• The official song for the 2018 FIFA World Cup titled 'Live It Up', sung by American actor-rapper Will Smith, singer Nicky Jam and Albanian pop star Era Istrefi, has been released. The 2018 FIFA World Cup will be held during 14th June to 15th July 2018 at Russia.
• The oldest tennis tournament in the world, Wimbledon announced that it is increasing the total prize amount for 2018's edition to $46.57 million (approximately ₹300 crore), a 7.6% increase from last year.
• The Pakyong Airport (Sikkim) is set to become India's 100th operational airport when it is commissioned in June.
• The Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) run by an all-woman team began its operations Phagwara, Punjab. This kendra was 192nd POPSK in the country and first one to be operated by an all-woman team.
• The RBI imposed a penalty of Rs. 5 crore on South Indian Bank for non-compliance with directions issued by it.
• The researchers of IIT-Kanpur have signed a ₹15-crore MoU with VTOL Aviation India to develop Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) craft prototypes, potentially to be used as flying taxis.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that it would buy Rs. 10,000 crore ($1.50 billion) of government bonds via Open Market Operation (OMO), after failing to sell all the debt it had offered to bidders.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has barred the state run lender Dena Bank from extending fresh credit in view of deteriorating financial health due to mounting Non-Performing Assets (NPAs). In addition, the lender has also been barred from recruiting staff. With this Dena Bank became the first lender to face curbs on lending under PCA framework.
• The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a penalty of Rs. 50,000/- on Universal Co-operative Urban Bank, Mancherial, Telangana.
• The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Tourism Ministers’ conference was held in Wuhan, China. It was 1st meeting of SCO tourism ministers since the organization was established in 2001 in Shanghai.
• The shares of Syndicate Bank fell as much as 12.35% to a 9-year low after the bank posted its biggest quarterly loss of Rs. 2,195.12 crore for March quarter.
• The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and Common Service Centres (CSC) Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) signed MoU for providing financial support village level entrepreneurs in CSCs.
• The Syrian military declared that it has taken full control of the capital, Damascus, and all the areas around it, for the first time in nearly seven years.
• The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has ordered the closure of the Sterlite Copper plant in Tuticorin amid ongoing protests by locals.
• The Task Force constituted on “Establishing a Coalition on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)” has submitted its report to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). This report consists step-by-step implementation plan and analysis to build and operationalize CDRI. Head of this Task Force : Preeti Saran, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
• The Tripura government has decided to introduce 10% reservation for women at all levels in the police department.
• The Union Cabinet approved a plan to set up 20 All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and upgrade 73 medical colleges under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), which has been extended by two years till 2020 with financial outlay of Rs.14,832 crore.
• The Union Cabinet approved doubling the investment limit to ₹15 lakh under the government's flagship senior citizen pension scheme Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY).
• The Union Cabinet has approved an initial corpus of 5000 crore rupees for Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF) with NABARD under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana.
• The Union Cabinet has approved an ordinance to set up India’s first national sports university in in Imphal (west), Manipur.
• The Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of a Central University in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh.
• The Union Environment Ministry launched its full fledged Green Skill Development Programme (GSDP). Aim of GSDP : To train over 5.5 lakh workers in environment and forest sectors in the country through 30 courses by 2021.
• The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) launched Samagra Shiksha scheme to improve quality of school education. Aim of Samagra Shiksha Scheme : To improve the quality of education, enhancing learning outcomes and using technology to empower children and teachers.
• The Union Ministry of Women and Child and Development (WCD) has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Uttar Pradesh Government for management of Home of Widows at Sunrakh Bangar, Vrindavan.
• The Union Power Minister R K Singh has launched a web portal and App titled PRAAPTI to bring transparency in power payments to generators at a function in New Delhi.
• The Union Women and Child Development Ministry has proposed allowing victims of Child Sexual Abuse to file police complaints till the age of 25.
• The United Arab Emirates (UAE) banned the import of fresh fruits and vegetables from Kerala following the outbreak of the Nipah virus.
• The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has approved steps to allow 100% foreign ownership in companies by year-end.
• The United Kingdom has listed Pakistan, along with Nigeria and Russia, as the top three sources of money laundering to the country.
• The United States has "disinvited" China from the 'world's largest international maritime exercise' Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) over China's continued militarisation of the disputed South China Sea, according to the Pentagon.
• The United States has tightened financial sanctions against Venezuela following President Nicolas Maduro's victory in election.
• The US government has cancelled NASA’s Carbon Monitoring System (CMS) programme citing reasons of budget constraints and higher priorities within science budget.
• The Uttar Pradesh cabinet has decided to minimise the use of paper and bring all government offices under the e-Office system by 15th August 2018.
• The World Health Organisation (WHO) has published its 1st 'essential diagnostics list', a catalogue of tests needed to diagnose the most common conditions as well as a number of global priority diseases. The step was taken to address the problem of people's inability to access diagnostic services, thus failing to receive the correct treatment.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a comprehensive plan titled 'REPLACE' to eliminate industrially-produced artificial trans fats from the global food supply by 2023.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated Nepal for having eliminated trachoma, a contagious bacterial infection of the eye. It makes Nepal first country in WHO’s South-East Asia Region to defeat trachoma, world’s leading infectious cause of blindness.
• To match its clocks with those of South Korea, North Korea went forward in time by 30 minutes.
• To monitor government decisions and propose suggestions for better governance, Kerala elected first shadow cabinet. The 17-member cabinet is made up of civilians and has a woman Chief Minister.
• To protect elephants from Tura in Garo Hills of Meghalaya, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) rolled out an awareness campaign titled ‘Gaj Yatra’.
• To strengthen the security of women passengers , the North Eastern Railway (NER) has decided to introduce Panic Buttons in train coaches.
• Yoga guru Ramdev's Patanjali has launched a new messaging application titled 'Kimbho', claiming that it will give "competition" to WhatsApp.
• Top Indian discus thrower Vikas Gowda retired after competing at the highest level for more than 15 years. He is the first and only Indian male to win Commonwealth Games medal in the discipline.
• UK's Prince Harry has been given the title 'Duke of Sussex' by his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, ahead of his wedding to American actress Meghan Markle. Markle became 'Duchess of Sussex' after this wedding.
• UK's Prince William, who is second-in-line to the British throne, will visit Israel and the Palestinian territories in June. With this he will become the 1st British royal to make an official visit to Israel.
• Under the new Consumer Protection Bill introduced by the government, E-commerce websites selling consumer goods will be held liable for false claims.
• UNICEF Australia has launched 'The HopePage', which allows users to make a donation by mining cryptocurrency Monero using the visitor's computer processing power.
• Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation, Uma Bharti, launched the Gobardhan Scheme from Haryana's Karnal district. Aim of Gobardhan Scheme : To positively contribute to cleanliness and generate energy from solid waste.
• US President Donald Trump announced the country's withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. The global benchmark Brent crude rose to a 3.5 year high of $77 per barrel after US President Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal.
• US-based retail giant Walmart has closed the largest e-commerce deal in the world ($15 billion) by acquiring a majority stake (71%) in the Indian e-commerce platform Flipkart.
• Uttar Pradesh government is planning to change the name of Allahabad to 'Prayagraj' before Kumbh Mela in the city next year.
• Venezuela has offered India a 30% discount on crude oil purchases made using the oil-backed Venezuelan cryptocurrency Petro.
• Venezuela's envoy to India Augusto Montiel has announced that the South American country is willing to accept oil payments from India in rupees. Venezuela will use that money to buy medicines and food from India.
• Vice President, M. Venkaiah Naidu released a book titled ‘Straight Talk’. This book has been authored by Abhishek Manu Singhvi (Member of Rajya Sabha)
• Welsh snooker player Mark Williams has won the 2018 World Snooker Championship final by defeating John Higgins.
• With 680 billionaires, the United States has more billionaires than China, Germany and India combined, according to a report by Wealth-X.
• With a record profit of ₹21,346 crore in 2017-18, the Indian Oil Corporation has emerged as India's most profitable state-owned company for the second consecutive year. With the profit of ₹19,945 crore, ONGC became the 2nd most profitable state owned company.

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