Daily Current Affairs Updates: 19 May 2015

1) INS Kavaratti launched in Kolkata:

--> Indian Navy's latest anti-submarine warfare class stealth corvette, the INS Kavaratti was launched on 19 May 2015.

--> Kavaratti is the last of the four anti-submarine warfare class stealth corvettes being built for India under Project 28.

--> The vessel has been named after the capital of Union Territory Lakshadweep.

--> INS Kavaratti has been designed by the Directorate of Naval Design and built by the GRSE Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers.

--> INS Kavaratti was launched by Manita Singh, wife of the Union Minister of State for Defence, Rao Inderjit Singh.

2) Driest place on earth found in Atacama Desert, Chile:

--> Researchers have discovered the driest location on Earth in the Atacama Desert in Chile - and they were surprised to find some bacteria living there.

--> The site is reported to be as dry as Mars.

--> The site is called Maria Elena South (MES).

--> The team discovered that MES has a mean atmospheric relative humidity (RH) of 17.3 percent and a soil RH of a constant 14 percent at a depth of one meter.

3) Apple acquired mapping company Coherent Navigation:

--> Apple has reportedly acquired Coherent Navigation, a Bay Area firm working on high-accuracy GPS and navigation technologies.

--> The iPhone maker has confirmed the deal, but has refused to divulge more details about the purpose or its future plans.

4) Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai won Man Booker International Prize 2015:

--> Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai has won the biennial Man Booker International Prize 2015.

--> The award ceremony was held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London on 19 May 2015 and Krasznahorkai was chosen from a list of 10 contenders from around the world.

--> Krasznahorkai, born in 1954, gained considerable recognition with his numerous works, such as "Satantango" and "The Melancholy of Resistance".

5) PM Narendra Modi concluded his three-nation tour to China, Mongolia and South Korea:

--> Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 19 May 2015 returned to India after completing his tour to three nations namely China, Mongolia and South Korea.

6) Joe Root and Charlotte Edwards named England cricketers of the year:

--> Joe Root and Charlotte Edwards on 18 May 2015 were named as England men’s and women’s cricketers of the year 2014-15 respectively.

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18th May 2015 Important Current Affairs Updates

1) Draupadi Murmu sworn in as first Woman Governor of Jharkhand:

--> Draupadi Murmu has been sworn in as the first woman Governor of Jharkhand on 18 May 2015.

--> Ms Murmu succeeds Syed Ahmed, who will take over as the Governor of Manipur.

--> Jharkhand High Court Chief Justice Virendra Singh administered the oath of office to Ms Murmu.

2) India assumed presidency of World Health Assembly:

--> India assumed the presidency of the 68th World Health Assembly (WHA) held in Geneva after a gap of 19 years.

--> The 68th WHA session began on 18 May 2015 and it will conclude on 27 May 2015.

--> The WHA session is presided by Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda who is  also leading the high-level Indian delegation to the Assembly.

3) Aruna Shanbaug the face of "euthanasia" in India died at 66:

--> Aruna Shanbaug, a former nurse who lived in a coma state for the past 42 years after being brutally sexually assaulted at the KEM Hospital in Mumbai and became the face of the debate on euthanasia in India, died on 18 May 2015.

--> In March 2011, the Supreme Court rejected a petition filed by author Pinki Virani seeking euthanasia for Shanbaug.

4) Customers can now call STD mobile numbers without adding '0' or '+91' prefix:

--> A major roadblock to implementing full mobile number portability (MNP) across the country has been removed.

--> Several telecom operators have begun simplifying the process of dialling STD mobile numbers in the country.

--> Until now, calling mobile numbers registered and situated outside one's home network would require adding '0' or '+91' as a prefix.

--> Customers of most telecom operators can now call any mobile number in the country without adding any prefix.

--> This has come after operators implemented simplified dialling pattern.

5) Nelong Valley near China border opened for tourists after 53 years:

-->  Nelong Valley in Uttarakhand state was opened recently for tourists for the first time since the 1962 Indo-China war because of its proximity to the China border.

-->  Before the Indo-China war, the Nelong Valley was an important route for cross-border trade.

--> But the valley was closed for tourists and trade after the war and the aura of this beautiful valley went into oblivion. 

6) Federal Bank, SBI Cards joined hands for co-branded credit card:

--> Federal Bank on 18 May 2015 enetered into credit card segment through the launch of co-branded credit cards in partnership with SBI Cards, a leading credit card issuer.

--> In the first year, Federal Bank aims to issue as many as 1.5 lakh credit cards to its customers, Shyam Srinivasan, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer said.

7) BJP MP S.S. Ahluwalia to head joint panel on Land Acquisition Amendment bill:

--> Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) MP Surendrajeet Singh Ahluwalia has been appointed chairman of a Joint Committee of Parliament that will look into the provisions of the Land Acquisition Amendment Bill, 2015.

--> The joint committee will comprise of 30-members- 20 members from Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha.

--> The Committee will submit its report on the first day of the monsoon session.

8) New website of NITI Aayog launched:

--> Vice chairman of NITI Aayog Arvind Panagariya on 18 May 2015 launched the new website of the Aayog, almost five months after archiving the website of the erstwhile Planning Commission, a statement said.

--> The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog replaced the Planning Commission on January 1, 2015.

-->  The beta version of the website, which can be accessed on http://www.niti.gov.in, provides details of the constitution, functions and current activities of the Aayog.

9) US president Barack Obama joined Twitter, again:

--> US president Barack Obama finally joined Twitter on 18 May 2015 with his official handle @POTUS towards the fag end of his second term.

--> While he used to be quite active on Twitter before being elected as the president in the first term via his personal handle @barackobama, his tweets dried up after his innings at the White House started.

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Current Affairs Quiz: 18 May 2015

1) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9 May 2015 announced three flagship social security schemes in West Bengal. Which among the following is not among them?

(A) Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana (PMJJBY)

(B) Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Kalyan Yojana (PMSKBY)

(C) Atal Pension Yojana (APY)

(D) Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)

2) An advanced version of the BrahMos land-attack cruise missile was successfully test-fired on 9 May 2015 from the Car Nicobar Islands at?

(A) Odisha

(B) Arabian Sea

(C) Andaman and Nicobar Islands

(D) Lakshwadeep

3) Indian Navy commissioned Porbandar base on 9 May 2015 and named it as?

(A) INS Sardar Patel

(B) INS Mahatma Gandhi

(C) INS Madan Malviya

(D) INS Veer Savrakar

4) World Health Organization (WHO) has recently declared which country as free of the Ebola virus, confirming that the country has had no new cases in 42 days?

(A) Sudan

(B) Guinea

(C) Sierra Leone

(D) Liberia

5) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 10 May 2015 inaugurated a revamped and modernized 2.5 million tonne steel plant of IISCO at Burnpur in which state?

(A) Bihar

(B) Chattisgarh

(C) West Bengal

(D) Haryana

6) Who was on 8 May 2015 declared the Sportsperson of the Year' at the Times of India Sports Awards?

(A) Jitu Rai

(B) Vikas Gowda

(C) Virat Kohli

(D) Pankaj Advani

7) Who was on 8 May 2015 appointed as a member of UPSC becoming the first officer from RAW to be appointed as UPSC member?

(A) Arvind Saxena

(B) Tarun Rajpal

(C) Vikas Subramanian

(D) Kiran Kumar

8) Veteran actor-filmmaker Shashi Kapoor was presented the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke award on 10 May 2015 by?

(A) Pranab Mukherjee

(B) Arun Jaitley

(C) Hamid Ansari

(D) Amitabh Bachchan 

9) Who was recently renominated as Public Accounts Committee chairman?

(A) Murali Manohar Joshi

(B) P. C. Chacko

(C) L K Advani

(D) KV Thomas

10) Who won the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix on 10 May 2015?

(A) Nico Rosberg

(B) Lewis Hamilton

(C) Sebastain Vettel

(D) Philp Masa

Answers

1) Ans. (B) Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Kalyan Yojana (PMSKBY)

2) Ans. (C) Andaman and Nicobar Islands

3) Ans. (A) INS Sardar Patel

4) Ans. (D) Liberia

5) Ans. (C) West Bengal

6) Ans. (A) Jitu Rai

7) Ans. (A) Arvind Saxena

8) Ans. (B) Arun Jaitley

9) Ans. (D) KV Thomas

10) Ans. (A) Nico Rosberg

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Daily Current Affairs: 17 May 2015

1) PM Narendra Modi inaugurated ICICI Bank's first Chinese branch in Shanghai:

--> Private sector lender ICICI Bank on 16 May 2015 opened its first branch in China, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

--> Based in Shanghai, China's biggest city and a major global financial hub, the new branch would begin with 17 banking professionals handling different functions including corporate banking, operations, finance and treasury.

--> On the last day of his three-day visit to China, the Prime Minister inaugurated the branch in the presence of ICICI Bank's MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar.

--> ICICI Bank with presence in 17 countries, earlier had a representative office in China, which it had opened over 10 years ago in 2003.

2) Mohamed Morsi sentenced to death by Egyptian court:

--> An Egyptian court has sentenced the ousted president Mohamed Morsi to death for his part in a mass jailbreak in 2011.

--> Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected president, was ousted by the military in July 2013 after days of mass street protests by Egyptians demanding that he be removed because of his divisive policies.

--> In May 2014, Morsi’s successor, the former military chief Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, secured a landslide victory in Egypt’s presidential elections.

3) Government allocated Rs 5000 crore for development of AYUSH:

--> Government has allocated Rs 5,000 crore for the growth of Department of AYUSH and launched an independent National AYUSH Mission aimed at capacity building for the sector.

--> The government has not only created the new portfolio AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) but has also allocated Rs 5,000 crore for the same, Union Minister of State for AYUSH Sripad Naik said.

4) Vikas Gowda won bronze in Shanghai IAAF Diamond League:

--> Indian discus thrower Vikas Gowda won a bronze medal in the second leg of the prestigious IAAF Diamond League series on 17 May 2015.

--> National record holder Gowda, the 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist and Asian Games silver medal winner, will pocket $4000 for the third-place finish, besides earning one Diamond League point.

5) Infosys to open first overseas campus in China:

--> Indian technology major Infosys on 17 May 2015 announced establishing its first overseas centre outside India in China with an investment of about $120 million to tap in the burgeoning Chinese market.

--> An MOU in this regard was signed between Infosys and the local Chinese provincial government at the India-China Business Forum, which was addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

--> The centre, first to be established by Infosys outside India will be ready by next year.

6) Fiscal deficit was 4% of GDP in FY15, says FinMin:

--> The central government's fiscal deficit for 2014-15 was four per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), according to provisional figures released by the finance ministry on 17 May 2015.

--> The revised estimate presented in late February had put it at 4.1 per cent.

7) China won the 2015 Sudirman Cup (for Badminton):

--> China won their sixth consecutive Sudirman Cup on 17 May 2015, defeating Japan, which had reached the badminton tournament's finals for the first time.

--> China swept Japan 3-0 in a series of tightly contested matches during the final day of the event.

8) Novak Djokovic won Rome Masters Tennis title:

--> World no 1 Novak Djokovic from Serbia has won his fourth Rome Masters Tennis Men’s single title.

--> In the final match, he defeated world no 2 Roger Federer from Switzerland with score of 6-4, 6-3.

--> With this win, Djokovic earned 1000 Emirates ATP ranking points.

--> Maria Sharapova wom women's singles event.

9) Narendra Modi becomes first Indian PM to visit Mongolia:

--> Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16 May 2015 landed in Ulan Bator in the Mongolian capital in the first-ever visit by an Indian prime minister.

--> Modi arrived in Ulan Bator from Shanghai in the second leg of his three-nation visit.

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May 2015 Current Affairs Free PDF: Second Week

Do u want this as PDF : Click Here

1) Supreme Court (SC) on 13 May 2015 issued guidelines on regulating government advertisements. According to the new guidelines, only photographs whom can feature in the newspaper advertisement? - President, Prime Minister (PM) and Chief Justice of India (CJI)

2) Who was on 11 May 2015 authorized to act as the interim chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)? - Justice (retd) Cyriac Joseph

3) Who was on 11 May 2015 appointed as the first President of the New Development Bank (NDB) of BRICS nations? - KV Kamath

Note: Currently, Kamath is the Chairman of the India’s largest private sector bank, Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI).

4) Name the three new schemes launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9 May 2015 in Kolkata, West Bengal?

(a) Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)

(b) Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)

(c) Atal Pension Yojana (APY)

5) Who was on 15 May 2015 appointed as the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) in the Union Ministry of Finance? - MJ Joseph

6) State Bank of India (SBI) on 14 May 2015 launched contact-less credit and debit cards called? - sbiINTOUCH

Note: These cards are based upon the latest near-field technology (NFC). With these cards, a customer can transact by just tapping or waving it against the reader of the point-of-sale machine.

7) Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 14 May 2015 allowed Tap And Pay without PIN for transactions up to ____ rupees? - Rs.2000

8) Who was named as the Head Coach of Under-19 football team of India on 12 May 2015? - Lee Alan Johnson of England

9) President of India Pranab Mukherjii on 12 May 2015 appointed four Governors. Name them with state?

(a) V Shanmuganathan - Meghalaya

(b) Draupadi Murmu - Jharkhand

(c) Tathagata Roy - Tripura

(d) JP Rakkhowa - Arunachal Pradesh

10) Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 11 May 2015 advised all public sector banks (PSBs) to appoint ___? -  Chief Customer Service Officer (CCSO) or Internal Ombudsman

11) Who was recently appointed as the Chairman of the National Safety Council (NSC)? - K Satish Reddy

12) National Technology Day was observed in India on? - 11 May 2015

13) Veteran Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor was on 10 May 2015 honoured with the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke award by whom? - Arun Jaitley, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister

14) Who recently won the Spanish Grand Prix Formula 1 Racing? - Nico Rosberg

15) Name the world’s first fully warm-blooded fish species recently discovered by researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)? – Opah

16) Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 13 May 2015 gave its approval for  ___% disinvestment in NTPC and ___% in Indian Oil Corporation respectively? - 5% and 10%

17) Union Cabinet on 13 May 2015 gave its nod for implementation of Namami Gange programme (NGP). The programme will be operational under? - National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA)

18) Who was on 12 May 2015 appointed as Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bharti AXA General Insurance? - Deepak Iyer

19) Name the Indian author who on 12 May 2015 won the 2014 Encore Award for his novel The Lives of Others? - Neel Mukherjee

20) Who was on 7 May 2015 appointed as a Member of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)? - Arvind Saxena

21) Name the Indian-origin who was on 11 May 2015 appointed as Minister of State for Employment in British Government? - Priti Patel

22) Naval establishment of Indian Navy at Porbandar, Gujarat was on 9 May 2015 commissioned as? - INS Sardar Patel

 Prepared by: www.currentaffairs4examz.com

23) India on 9 May 2015 successfully conducted the 48th test firing of the BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile from? - Car Nicobar Islands in Andaman and Nicobar.

24) Who won the men’s singles and women's singles title of Madrid Tennis Open? - Andy Murray and Petra Kvitova

25) Suchitra Bhattacharya passed away on 12 May 2015 was a eminent writer in which language? – Bengali

26) Name the Indian-American who recently won UNC Board of Governors 2015 Award? - Sivanadane Mandjiny

27) Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on 14 May 2015 launched which scheme for Traditional Artisans? - USTAAD (Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development).

28) Who was on 15 May 2015 conferred with the Pt. Haridutt Sharma Award for Journalism, Writing and Social Services? - Anurradha Prasad

Note: She is the Editor-in-Chief of News 24 Channel.

29) Name the Indian-Origin who on 12 May 2015 became the first Asian woman to be elected as mayor in the United Kingdom (UK)? - Harbhajan Kaur Dheer

30) 6th National Conference on Nuclear Energy was recently held at? - New Delhi

31) India Posts on 11 May 2015 launched a dedicated E-Commerce Centre at? - New Delhi

32) Name the Indian discus thrower who on 10 May 2015 won Gold at Jamaican International Invitation meet? - Vikas Gowda

33) Indian Army on 8 May 2015 signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with which bank? - Bank of India (BOI)

34) Which Union Ministry on 15 May 2015 launched kayakalp Award Scheme to improve cleanliness in Public Health Facilities? - Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry

35) Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has recently announced its plans to commission which radar in June 2015? - Multi-Object Tracking Radar (MOTR)

36) Union Government has recently decided to implement NERS for women in distress. Expand NERS? - Nationwide Emergency Response System

37) Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) on 14 May 2015 gave an in-principle approval for setting up first IIIT (Indian Institute of Information Technology) of Maharashtra at? – Nagpur

38) Japanese Scientists on 14 May 2015 discovered a new state of matter called? - Jahn-Teller-metal

39) Union government on 13 May 2015 passed the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2014. Bill seeks to amend which act? - Companies Act, 2013

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Useful Books for SSC CGL 2015 Tier-1 Exam

Friends..As you know Staff Selection Commission has already notified the CGL 2015 Exam. As per schedule Tier-1 exam will be held on 9th and 16th August 2015. In India after Civil Services Exam, SSC CGL is the much awaited exam by many candidates to get a glamour Job under Government of India and hence it is known as mini Civil Service Exam. Dedication and hard work is the way to success in CGL and following are some of the useful books which help you. Start your preparation today..each second count.

1) Ultimate Guide to SSC Combined Graduate Level - CGL (Tier I & Tier II)

Publisher: Disha Publication

Price: Rs. 330/-

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2) Solved Papers (upto 2014) SSC CGL Combined Graduate Level Pre. Examination Tier-I

Publisher: Arihant

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3) SSC CGL Combined Graduate Level Tier - 1 Exam Self Study Guide-Cum Practice Work Book

Publisher: Kiran Prakashan

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4) Master Guide SSC Combined Graduate Level Tier-I Examination

Publisher: Arihant

Price: Rs. 360/-

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Section wise books.

For General Awareness in Tier-1

1) Indian Polity (English) 4th Edition by M Laxmikanth

Publisher: McGraw Hill Education (India) Private Limited

Price: Rs. 424/-

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Note: This book is equally useful for other UPSC or State PSC exams.

2) Lucent's General Knowledge

Publisher: Lucent Publication

Price: Rs. 120

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Best books for Reasoning

3) A Modern Approach To Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning (English)

Author: R. S. Aggarwal

Price: Rs. 650/-

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4) A New Approach to Reasoning : Verbal, Non - Verbal & Analytical (English)

Publisher: Arihant

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Books for English

5)  Objective General English by SP Bakshi

Publisher: Arihant Publication

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We have sorted these books based on popularity in eStore Flipkart. More books are available. Click Here to see all books for SSC CGL 2015 Tier-1.

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