Current Affairs Articles 16 May 2019

1.MoU signed for Rudraksh Plantation

National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), HCL Foundation and Indian National Trust for Art and Culture Heritage (INTACH) signed tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Plantation of Rudraksha Trees in Uttarakhand under the ‘Namami Gange’ Programme. Read more

2. Sanjiv Puri becomes CMD of ITC

ITC Managing Director Sanjiv Puri has been appointed as the chairman by the Board of Directors. His new designation will now be chairman and managing director, the company said in a stock exchange filing. Read more

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3. Global Influence of Asian Civilizations Forum begun in Beijing

The opening ceremony of the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations will be held in the China National Convention Center, Beijing. Read more

4. HDFC partners with IMGC to provide mortgage-guarantee-backed home loan

The partnership would address the needs of a wide range of customers in three defined variants Housing finance major HDFC Limited has partnered with India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (IMGC) to offer a mortgage-guaranteed home loan product. The partnership aims to make it possible for HDFC to further penetrate home loan market and access an enlarged customer base, helping them to own a home of their choice. Read more

5. RBI plans to achieve a highly digital and cash lite society

Reserve Bank of India on May 15released a vision document, 'Payment and Settlement Systems in India: Vision 2019 - 2021', with its core theme of Empowering Exceptional (E) payment Experience that aims to achieve a highly digital and cash-lite society.Read more

6. Navys first full fledged SSB was inaugurated

The Indian Navy’s first full-fledged Services Selection Board (SSB) was inaugurated by Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba at Diamond Harbour near Kolkata. This is thefifth SSB of the Indian Navy and will cater for a selection of both permanent and short service commission (SSC) officers. Read more

7. Mumbai Pilot Becomes World's First Woman to Cross Atlantic Ocean in Light Sports Aircraft

Captain Aarohi Pandit, a 23-year-old pilot from Mumbai became the world's first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean solo in a Light Sports Aircraft (LSA), thrilling her family, friends and aviation circles in Mumbai on Tuesday. Read more

8. Radioactive carbon in marine organisms have been found

Scientists have found traces ofradioactive carbon in marine organisms that inhabit the Mariana Trench, the deepest spot on Earth. The radioactive carbon was released into the atmosphere from 20th-century nuclear bomb tests. Organisms at the ocean surface have incorporated the bomb carbon into the molecules that make up their bodies since the late 1950s. Read more

9. Defence Space Agency to Come up at Bengaluru

India is to set up its military space agency headquartered at Bengaluru with the ace fighter pilot Air Vice Marshal SP Dharkar as its likely head. AVM Dharkar is an ace fighter pilot and is presently looking after the air defence operations of an important command along the borders. The tri-services defence space agency is expected to get operational by June 2019. Read more

10. AIFF Appoints Igor Stimac As Indian Football Team Coach

Croatia's Igor Stimac has been appointed the head coach of the Indian football team for a two-year term, the All India Football Federation announced on Wednesday. The national team has been without a coach since the departure of Stephen Constantine in January. The official announcement was made on the Indian Football Team's official Twitter account. "AIFF appoints Igor Stimac as new men's senior team head coach," the tweet read. The appointment was made by the AIFF's executive committee. The 51-year-old Stimac, who was part of Croatia's 1998 World Cup squad that finished third in France, comes with an experience of over 18 years in coaching, structuring, and developing football and players back home, and internationally. Read more

11. Pakistan to bifurcate Punjab to create new South Punjab province: Shah Mehmood Qureshi

The Pakistan government is going ahead with its plan to create the new South Punjab province by bifurcating Punjab and would move a bill in the National Assembly, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi announced on Wednesday. Read more

12. Sixth Session of Global Platform for DDR will be held in Geneva, Switzerland from 13th May to 17 May, 2019

Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba inaugurated Indian Navy’s first full-fledged Service Selection Board (SSB) at Diamond Harbour, near Kolkata. Read more

13. SIDBI Launched A Pilot Scheme For Fintech NBFCs

To give a fillip to digital lending, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)has put together a pilot scheme to extend financial assistance of up to Rs10 crore to new-age fintech non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) engaged in financing small businesses and other income-generating activities. Read more

14. Alabama Senate passes near-total abortion ban

Alabama sent the most restrictive abortion bill in the country to the governor's desk Tuesday night, with the state's Senate passing legislation that could punish doctors who perform abortions with life in prison. Read more

15. Scientist have unearthed a new species of flying dinosaur

Palaeontologists from Ludwig-Maximilians University (LMU) in Munich and the University of Fribourg have unearthed a new species of flying dinosaur that flapped its wings like a raven and could hold vital clues as to how modern-day birds evolved from their reptilian ancestors. Read more

16. India signed the Christchurch Call to Action in Paris

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