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India
signs 24 agreements with China
India
> Sino-India
Foreign Relations > May 15
During
the recent visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to China,
India signed 24 agreements with the Chinese government for
cooperation and to help restore bonding between the two countries.
Some of the prominent agreements and MoU (Memorandum of
Understanding) are as follows: establishment of consulates-general,
development of entrepreneurship, cooperation in trade negotiations,
cooperation in foreign relations, improving and enhancing the
railways of India, education exchange programme, cooperation in
mining and minerals sector, space cooperation and health and safety.
MoU was also signed in terms of broadcasting, tourism, establishing
India-China think-tank, earth sciences, ocean sciences, geo-sciences,
establishing Gandhi studies and Indian culture and establishment of
Yoga College.
India
demands social security cover for Indians working in the US
Economy
> US
Social Security > May 19
The Indian government raised
the issue of providing social security cover to Indian professionals
working in the US. The issue was raised five years ago, but a
consensus could not be reached then. Renewed talks about the issue
signals improved ties between the two countries in recent times. The
demand comes in the light of Indians contributing more than $1
billion annually to the social security fund via federal taxes, but
receiving no benefits in return. The United States has in return
sought to check India's social security programmes in order to start
the bilateral scheme.
Hungarian
writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai wins Man Booker International Prize
Awards
> Man
Booker International Prize > May 20
"Visionary"
Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai has been announced as the
winner of the sixth Man Booker International Prize. Krasznahorkai was
chosen out of 10 contenders from around the world due to
"extraordinary intensity and vocal range" of his work. The
prize is given every two years for "an achievement in fiction on
the world stage".
Others
More
than 2400 villages in Andhra Pradesh adopted by Indian-Americans
India
> Adoption > May 15
As
part of 'Smart Village-Smart Ward' programme which aims at
comprehensive development, Indian-Americans have decided to adopt
more than 2400 villages in Andhra Pradesh. During a visit to the US,
Nara Lokesh, Telugu Desam Party leader and son of Andhra Pradesh (AP)
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, met several Indian-Americans and
asked them to invest in villages under the ward.
Electronic
tourist visas extended to Chinese nations: PM Modi
India
> Chinese
e-visas > May 15
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi has announced sanction of e-visas to Chinese
tourists at an event in Beijing. The decision to grant e-visas was
left to Modi ahead of his China visit and hours before this
declaration, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar had said "no
decision has been taken yet". India this year has announced
'Visit India Year' in China to attract more tourists in order to
boost tourism revenues. The announcement came in spite of strong
oppositions from the Home Ministry and security agencies over
security concerns of its misuse.
Union
Home Ministry decides to implement NERS for women
India
> Nationwide
Emergency Response System > May 16
The
Union Home Ministry has invited proposals from IT service providers
in order to implement NERS (Nationwide Emergency Response System) to
rescue women in distress. The Police Response Systems in current
existence are restricted to a particular city. The NERS will have at
least one Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) in each state, from
where the location of the caller as well as an evaluation of the
emergency situation will be used to dispatch Police Personnel to the
site. NERS was originally the inspiration of the UPA Govt following
the Nirbhaya case in 2012. It is hoped that the NERS will help the
issue of women's safety in India.
India
to assume presidency of World Health Assembly in Geneva after 19
years
India
>
World Health
Assembly > May 16
The
top decision-making body of the World Health Organisation, World
Health Assembly (WHA), is set to have an Indian president after a gap
of 19 years. Union Health Minister J P Nadda will preside over the
WHA session to be held in Geneva, Switzerland. The Union health
minister is expected to hold separate bilateral meetings with a host
of countries including China, the Netherlands, the US, the UK,
Russia, South Africa, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Brazil and others.
Barcelona
FC wins 5th La Liga title
Sports
> Football > May 17
Spanish
football club Barcelona FC won the La Liga title defeating Atletico
Madrid 1-0 at the Vicente Calderon stadium in Madrid. This is
Barcelona’s fifth La Liga title in seven years and their 23rd
overall. Barcelona’s forward Argentine Lionel Messi shone as he
scored the only goal to take his team to victory.
Aruna
Shanbaug's death provides a strong case for legalising euthanasia
India
> Aruna
Shanbaug Case > May 18
The
recent death of Aruna Shanbaug, who was a nurse at the KEM hospital
in Mumbai, has sparked alive the debate on euthanasia. The nurse was
assaulted and sexually harassed by a ward boy on the night of 27th
November, 1973. After the attack she went into a permanent state of
coma for a period of 42 years and finally died on 18th May, 2015.
When Shanbaug’s case was taken up in the Supreme Court in 2011, it
gave a landmark judgement by legalising passive euthanasia, but did
not sanction active euthanasia which remains a crime. Even after
passive euthanasia was allowed, Shanbaug went on to live for four
more years due to the consistent care given to her by KEM nurses. In
such a situation, passive euthanasia is clearly not the solution as
the KEM nurses refused to part with her because of the love and care
they had for her.
Passive
euthanasia entails the withholding of common treatments, such as
antibiotics, necessary for the continuance of life. Active euthanasia
entails the use of lethal substances or forces, such as administering
a lethal
injection, to kill. A number of authors consider these terms to
be misleading and unhelpful.
ISIS
captures Ramadi in Iraq
World
> Iraq > May 18
Islamic
State's militants drove out Iraqi government forces out of the city
of Rabadi, as the city was captured by the ISIS. According to reports
approximately 500 civilians and Iraqi soldiers have died. The
militants have captured key government buildings including the army
bases and have complete control of the city of Rabadi.
Britain's
most wanted female terrorist – 'the white widow' suspected to have
carried out Kenya university bombings
World
> Terrorism > May 18
Britain's
most wanted female terrorist, Samantha Lewthwaite, commonly known as
the 'White Widow' is believed to have killed 400 people and has
directed terror raids, suicide attacks and car bombings in Somalia
and Kenya. She is an integral part of the Somalia-based terror group
Al Shabaab, and is suspected to have masterminded last month's attack
in the Kenyan University. Lewthwaite is the widow of Germaine Lindsay
- one of the 2005 London attack suicide bombers. She has also been
accused of being one of the masterminds behind the Westgate mall
attack in Nairobi where 67 people died
Jan
Kranti Adhikar Morcha: a third alternative to Bihar people
Politics
and Government >
Bihar > May 18
In
an initiative that would provide a "strong third alternative"
to people of Bihar in the next assembly election, Lok Sabha member
from Madhepura Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav formed Jan Kranti
Adhikar Morcha (JKAM). This new found party claims to fight all
wrongs in the society, including the anti- people system. Whether the
party would go alone or merge with any or enter into an alliance with
any political party is yet to be decided.
South
Korea-India sign agreements on defence and trade cooperation, India
to get $10bn for infrastructure development
India
> Foreign
Relations > May 18
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi visited South Korea, the final destination of
his 3-nation tour. South Korea decided to provide $10 billion to
India for infrastructure, development of smart cities, railways,
power generation and other diversified areas. PM Modi and the South
Korean President also held talks on a wide range of issues to develop
and expedite defence, trade and investment, and regional cooperation.
The two sides signed seven agreements and Memorandum of Understanding
including one on Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of
Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income. The two countries
also agreed to expand cooperation between the two armed forces and
further strengthen regular consultations between the National
Security Council structures of the two countries.
Djokovic
and Sharapova win men’s singles and women’s singles titles in
Italian Open
Sports
> Tennis > May 18
Novak
Djokovic, current world no. 1, clinched his fifth title of the season
with a major victory over World no. 2-ranked Roger Federer at Rome.
This is the fourth time that Djokovic has won the Italian Open. He
has managed to move ahead of Federer with his 24th ATP World Tour
Masters 1000 crown. Not only has he won four of the five ATP World
Tour Masters 1000 tournaments in 2015, but he is also on a 22-match
winning streak.
Meanwhile,
Russia's Maria Sharapova secured her third Italian Open crown with a
creditable win over Spain's Carla Suarez. This is Sharapova's second
title of the year after her Brisbane win, and she openly admits that
she is slowly returning to her winning form.
Service
tax with a rate of 14% to come into effect from 1st of June, 2015
Economy
> Service
Tax > May 20
The
new service tax rate of 14% will come into effect from the 1st of
June this year. The hike is set to make some common services like
dining, cinema, utility bills etc. more expensive. The current rate
of the tax is 12.36% and will be increased to 14% as per the
announcement made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, while he
presented the union budget earlier this year.
Twitter
signs deal with Google to show tweets in search results
Corporate
>
Twitter-Google > May 20
Micro-blogging
website Twitter signed a deal with search engine giant – Google,
which will display tweets in Google search results. The deal is a
renewal of a tie-up that ended in 2011 and wasn't renewed since,
which also led to a sluggish growth of Twitter and decreased its
share price. However, the deal will at present only be implemented on
the mobile and application platform and a desktop version will be
followed later.
Maggi
faces ban in UP over high content of mono-sodium glutamate
India
> Maggi
Ban > May 20
Nestle product 'Maggi 2
minute instant noodles', which is immensely popular all over the
world, has come under the scanner. Regulators in the state of Uttar
Pradesh have found high concentrations of a harmful chemical
mono-sodium glutamate in the samples collected in the area. The
Lucknow Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) has found that
Maggi contains 17 parts per million (ppm) lead, while the permissible
limit is only 0.01 ppm. The regulatory body initiated an inquiry into
the matter and has written to the Food Safety and Standards Authority
of India (FSSAI) in New Delhi to cancel the licence of Maggi.
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