Current Affairs Today – May 23 2016

Dear Readers, We cover some important news in Current Affairs Today Section, which are not covered in Daily Detailed News, More Current Affairs coverage will help you to Score Good Marks in Competitive Exam.

• Try our Current Affairs Quiz 2016
• Try Our Current Affairs May 2016 Quiz
• Read our Current Affairs Today
• Read Our Current Affairs 2016

Click Here to Try Current Affairs Quiz May 23 2016

INDIAN AFFAIRS

Dr Jitendra Singh lays foundation stone of Ujh bridge in J&K
i. Union Minister of State in PMO with IC of North Eastern States and Youth Services and Sports, Dr Jitendra Singh has laid the foundation stone of bridge at Ujh Bridge in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir.
ii. For the construction off the bridge Rs 44 crore has been earmarked that will
have 1020 metre length to be constructed over river Ujh
iii. The bridge will be completed in two years by Border Roads Organization that would benefit over three lakh people in this border belt.
Jammu & Kashmir
♦ Capital:Jammu (October–March) Srinagar (March–October)
♦ Governor: Narinder Nath Vohra 
♦ Chief Minister: Mehbooba Mufti

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar Visits Oman
i. The Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar set to visit to the Sultanate of Oman from 20 to 22 May 2016 at the invitation of Oman Defense Affairs Minister Bader Bin Saud Bin Harib Al Busaidi.
ii. During his itinerary he visited the Military Technology College and the Sultan’s Armed Forces Museum in Muscat.
iii. Parrikar also attended a reception at Sultan Qaboos Port to mark the goodwill visit to Oman of INS Delhi, INS Deepak and INS Tarkash.
MoUs Signed:

Oman
♦ Capital: Muscat
♦ Currency: Omani rial

‘E-municpal council’ building to come up in Bundi, Rajasthan
i. Rajasthan’s Bundi is all set get an e-municipal council to provide files at a click, and detailed digital mapping with a database of its demographical and geographical information.
ii. The council would come up in Bundi in next six to eight months, also the municipal data files will soon be digitised and can be accessed from anywhere on phones and computers.
iii. The council office would make its revenue by selling accurate data and documents to the other government and non-government departments.
iv. The proposed office comes with solar panels and biometric entry and exit, that allows anyone would be able to view data on screen with a click through an ‘e-processor’.
Rajasthan:
♦ Governor: Kalyan Singh
♦ Chief Minister: Vasundhara Raje

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Prime Minister Modi Visit to Iran Overview
Prime Minister first visit to Iran and , the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 15 years
i.PM Modi  had discussion with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran President Hassan Rouhani
ii. India and Iran sign 12 bilateral agreements including Chabahar port development
iii. India, Iran, Afghanistan ink historic trilateral transit pact
iv. The Persian service of All India Radio has launched a multimedia website and mobile app by PM Narendra Modi

Pune tops Indias value 5 star hotel destinations in 2015
i. Maharashtra’s cultural capital Pune has emerged as the best five star hotels destination where Indian travellers paid in 2015.
ii. The Maharashtra city also the second largest city in the state, made way as a new entrant that offered Indian travellers the best deal on five star accommodations with an average price of Rs 7,602 per night in 2015, according to the latest Hotel Price Index (HPI) report by Hotels.com.
iii. Eight Indian cities featured as prominent destinations that offer best value five star accommodations, including cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata.

Top 5 cities where Indian travellers paid the most for a 5-star stay:

India, Thailand, Myanmar to be connected with a 1400-km road
i. In a bid to give fillip to trade and cultural exchanges between the three countries India, Thailand and Myanmar are working on a 1,400-kilometre highway which will link India with Southeast Asia by land for the first time in decades.
ii. There are 73 bridges totally in Myanmar, built more than seven decades ago were being repaired with funding from India for highway safe movement.
iii. The repair work will take about 18 months from the commencement of the work. The planned highway starts in the eastern region of India from Moreh to Myanmar’s Tamu city.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

Sikkim CM Chamling honoured with Nepal’s literary award
Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling was  honoured with‘Yug Kavi Siddhicharan Award’
♦ The award is given by the Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma.
Purpose:
i. His contributions towards promoting Nepali literature in India
ii. 105th birth anniversary of the late poet Shrestha
iii. An event is organised by Siddhicharan Shrestha Academy

Ken Loach’s film I, Daniel Blake wins Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival
i. British director Ken Loach has won his second Palme D’Or at the 69th Cannes film festival for best picture at the festival after his earlier award for the Wind That Shakes the Barley.
ii. The movie I, Daniel Blake, that stars stand-up joker Dave Johns in the title role, was penned by long-time Loach collaborator Paul Laverty.
iii. He is one of the nine directors to have won the top prize at Cannes twice. Earlier Loach had won in 2006 with The Wind That Shakes the Barley.
The Winners List

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa sworn-in as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister on the row of Continuous Second Time.
AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa was sworn in as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister for a record of Sixth Time by Governor K. Rosaiah with Twenty Eight ministers
i. ADMK won 134 seats out of 232 seats
ii. Venue: Madras University’s Centenary Hall, Chennai
iii. Assembly Election: 15^th

Lt General Saini new commandant of Indian Military Academy
i. Lieutenant General S K Saini assumed the office of commandant of the prestigious Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun.
ii. Prior to his new appointment Saini was earlier a senior directing staff in National Defence College in New Delhi.
iii. He is an alumni of National Defence Academy and IMA. In 1981, he was commissioned to the seventh battalion of the Jat regiment.
Indian Military Academy:
♦ IMA was established at Dehradun in 1932 is the officer training Academy of the Indian Army.

Renowned Scientist S K Sharma Appointed NPCIL’s CMD
i. Well Known scientist S K Sharma was appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, responsible for design, construction, commissioning and operation of nuclear power reactors.
ii. He will fill the shoes of incumbent K.C. Purohit.
iii. He is presently working as Distinguished Scientist and Director (Operations) in NPCIL. Sharma has been appointed to the new post for a period of five years.
Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited:
♦ Founded: 1987
♦ Headquarters: Mumbai.

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

Bayer offers to acquire Monsanto for $ 62 billion
i. German pharmaceutical and chemical giant Bayer AG has offered to buy U.S. seeds company Monsanto for $62 billion in all cash deal.
ii. The Leverkusen-based company has acquired the shares of common stock of Monsanto Company for USD 122 per share or cumulative value of USD 62 billion.
iii. Upon this both the sides would benefit from Monsanto’s leadership in seeds and traits and Bayer’s broad crop protection product line across a wide-ranging indications and crops.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Indigenous technology demonstrator of reusable launch vehicle tested successfully
i. Name of the Rocket: RLV-TD
ii. Launching Staion: Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh
iii. Necessity: Capable of launching satellites into orbit around earth and reentering the atmosphere
iv. Departed Time and Date: 7 a.m., 23rd of May 2016.
Capabilities:
i. It re-entered to earth’s atmosphere at a hypersonic speed of more than 5 Mach.
ii. It touched down the Bay of Bengal between Chennai and the Andaman archipelago.

INS Tarmugli Joins the Indian Navy
i. The Indian Navy commissioned indigenously built Fast Attack Craft INS Tarmugli for deployment of coastal patrol and surveillance operations along the East Coast of India. This is the first Follow-on Water Jet Fast Attack Craft.
ii. It was commissioned by the Vice Admiral HCS Bisht AVSM, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam. It was named after a pretty island in the Andaman Islands group.
iii. Tarmugli is conceived, designed and built indigenously that measures 48 meters in length, can achieve speeds in excess of 30 knots also weighing 320-tonne.

New method can generate electricity from seawater
Photo-Catalytic Method:
i. Japan based Osaka University Scientists have used sunlight to powerfully convert seawater into hydrogen peroxide that may be used in fuel cells to generate electricity.
ii. This method of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production produces a high enough efficiency that can be used in a fuel cell.
iii. Once sunlight illuminates the photocatalyst, it absorbs photons and uses the energy to initiate chemical reactions seawater oxidation and the reduction of O2 in a way that mainly produces H2O2.
iv. Researchers observed that the negatively charged chlorine particles present in seawater is responsible for increasing the photo-catalytic activity and producing the higher concentration.

ENVIRONMENT

Cyclone Roanu hits Bangladesh
i. Codenamed Cyclone Roanu has battered the coast of southern Bangladesh that kills 23 people in floods and rain-triggered landslides.
ii. With a wind speed of up to 88 kilometres per hour while heading east-northeastward, the cyclone hit the Barisal- Chittagong region, producing impacts across the nation.
iii. Earlier the country was hit by the cyclone Aila in 2009 killed 300 people while in 2007 Cyclone Sidra claimed 4,000 lives.
iv. Across the country road networks have been disrupted after strong winds uprooted trees blocking highways.  The cyclone makes Shah Amanat International Airport, Chittagong to suspend all of its flight operations.

SPORTS

Pankaj Advani creates history by winning Asian 6-Red Snooker title
i. Prominent cueist Pankaj Advani made history by clinching the Asian 6-Red Snooker title in Abu Dhabi.
ii. Pankaj has become the first in the world to hold both world and continental titles at the same time in 6-red snooker as he had earlier won the IBSF World 6 Red Championship.
iii. In the high octane game he defeated top seeded Malaysian Keen Hoh Moh by 7-5 in a match that see-sawed from start to finish.
iv. He was Padma Shri back in 2009 and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2005-06.

Denmark wins first Thomas Cup badminton tournament
i. Denmark has bagged the 2016 Thomas Cup badminton tournament. In the final match played at Kunshan, China, the Danish team defeated Indonesia 3-2.
ii. In the fifth and final set, Danish Hans-Kristian Vittinghus defeated Indonesian Ihsan Maulana Mustofa in two straight games 21-16 and 21-7.
iii. Denmark team has won the trophy after a 67-year jinx also makes first ever win in the
international tournament.
iv. Thomas Cup is hosted every three years, was the BWF’s first major international tournament. The Thomas Cup known as Men’s World Team Championships is an international badminton competition. It was first conducted in 1948-49.
Women’s World Team Championships (Uber Trophy):
Meanwhile Uber Cup was won by China. In the title clash, China defeated South Korea 3-1. This was China’s 14th Uber title. Indian women’s team won bronze title at the Championship.

OBITUARY

Veteran CPI(M) leader K Anirudhan passes away
i. Former Communist party leader and Member of Parliament K Anirudhan has died due to old age related ailments, He was 92 at his residence in Thiruvananthapuram.
ii. Anirudhan, also an active trade union leader, and in 1967 Lok Sabha elections he represented from Attingal constituency
iii. He was also part of the CPM’s state committee earlier was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly three times.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International day to end obstetric fistula 2016
i. International Day to End Obstetric Fistula was observed worldwide on 23 May 2016 to raise awareness about obstetric fistula. The Day was observed for the first time in 2013.
ii. This year with the theme of End fistula within a generation.
iii. UNFPA launched a global Campaign in 2003 along with its members, to End Fistula in line with international targets to improve maternal health and with the goal of scale down the number of obstetric fistula patients, especially across the world.
Obstetric Fistula:
♦ Obstetric fistula is one of the most serious childbirth injuries developed to girls who become pregnant while physically immature.