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USTAAD
Scheme for Traditional Artisans launched by Union Ministry of
Minority Affairs
Politics
and government >
USTAAD Scheme > May 15
USTAAD (Upgrading the
Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development)
Scheme was launched by the Union Minister of State for Minority
Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on 14 May 2015. The scheme is launched
with an objective to improve the poor conditions of the traditional
artisans and craftsmen. It also aims to provide employment
opportunities and a better future to the youths belonging to the
minority community.
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.
Others
New
series of currency notes to be released by RBI
India
>
Corporate > May 14
With a view to improve
security features of the currency bills, RBI is gearing up to release
new series of currency notes with new security features. Speaking
about the recent reports of counterfeit notes that were being
circulated, the RBI said that the paper, the ink and the security
threads have not been breached. The new series of currency notes are
part of RBI’s constant endeavor to further strengthen security.
India
honoured for contribution to UN peacekeeping
India
> UN
Peacekeeping > May 14
India was honoured for
its contribution to the UN peacekeeping operations for the past six
decades at the event organized by Better World Campaign, The UN
Association of the USA and the US-India Business Council. India is
among the countries with largest deployment of troops with ten UN
Peacekeeping Missions, including the first Female Formed Police Unit
under the UN. India's Ambassador to the US, Arun K Singh, received
the award on the eve of International Day of UN Peacekeepers.
Hyderabad
may become first Indian city to be covered by Google Street View
Science
and Technology >
Google Street
View > May 14
Following a request
made by Telangana government, Google has agreed to make Telangana the
first state which will get Google Street View. Street View lets one
explore places around the world through 360-degree, panoramic and
street-level imagery. Until now, applications of Google Street View
have been limited to tourist sites like Taj Mahal and Qutub Minar in
India. Currently, Google is in talks with the union home ministry to
get their permissions for conducting the Street View exercise at a
city wide level.
ASSOCHAM
organizes 6th
National Conference on Nuclear Energy in New Delhi
India
> Nuclear
Energy > May 15
The Associated Chambers
of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) organized the 6th
National Conference on Nuclear Energy in New Delhi with the theme
'Nuclear Energy: A Clean Energy Option' on 15 May 2015. 2015 is also
the Diamond Jubilee year of BARC (Bhabha Atomic Research Centre),
making this conference a special event. The conference discussed many
issues related to the status of Nuclear Energy in India. At the
moment, it looks like India will double its nuclear power generation
capacity to more than 10,000 megawatts (MW) by 2020. This will be
instrumental in decreasing India's reliance on fossil fuels for
energy generation.
Kayakalp
Award Scheme launched by Union Government
Awards
> Kayakalp
Award Scheme > May 15
The Kayakalp Award
Scheme has been launched by The Union Health and Family Welfare
Minister J P Nadda on 15 May 2015, in order to motivate Public Health
Facilities (PHFs) in the country to maintain hygiene. The award
scheme aims to:
- Recognize PHFs showing exemplary adherence to standard protocols of cleanliness and infection control,
- Install systems and procedures for bio-waste disposal,
- Impart a system of continuing assessment and peer review of performance with regards to sanitation,
- Develop sustainable practices for improving hygiene in PHFs.
Under this scheme, five
awards will be given in all; two to District Hospitals, two to
Community Health Centres, and one to a Primary Health Centre. Cash
awards along with a citation will be received by award winners.
Gagan
Narang wins bronze at Shooting World Cup
Sports
> Shooting > May 15
Gangan Narang of India
won the bronze medal in the 50m Rifle Prone Event of the ISSF World
Cup at Fort Benning in USA. With this win, Narang was assured a quota
place for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Narang is the third Indian shooter
to make it to the Rio Olympics after Jitu Rai and Apurvi Chandela.
ICICI
bank's first Chinese branch inaugurated by PM Modi in Shanghai
Banking
and Insurance >
ICICI Bank > May 16
India's top private
sector lender ICICI bank opened its first branch in China in order to
support India and China's cross-border businesses. The new branch
seeking stronger relations with China was inaugurated by PM Narendra
Modi with expectations of heightened amount of bilateral activity
taking place between the two countries in the near future. The new
branch would begin with 17 banking professionals handling different
functions including corporate banking, operations, finance and
treasury.
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.
HDFC
Bank launches co-branded medical card with Apollo Hospitals
Banking
and Insurance >
HDFC-Apollo
Medical Card > May 18
India’s second
largest private sector lender HDFC Bank has launched a co-branded
medical benefits card with Apollo Hospitals which allows corporates
to pay out medical allowances to their employees and has insurance
cover for accidents. Companies can load the desired allowance onto
the card each month and employees can avail of the allowance at
Visa/MasterCard outlets.
Golfer
Rory McIlroy registers record win in US PGA Tour Wells Fargo
Championship
Sports
> Golf > May 18
World no 1 golfer Rory
McIlroy proved his position as the world’s best golfer with a
record win in the US PGA Tour Wells Fargo Championship. The
26-year-old from Northern Ireland broke the previous 72-hole
tournament record set by Anthony Kim in 2008 by five strokes. He
became the first two-time winner of the event. He had previously won
it in 2010 which was the first of his 11 US PGA Tour titles.
Barcelona
FC wins 5th La Liga title
Sports
> Football > May 18
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.
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.
Arun
Kumar Singh replaces S Jaishankar as India's ambassador in US
India
> Foreign
Relations > May 19
Following S
Jaishankar's elevation to foreign secretary earlier this year, Arun
Kumar Singh assumed his new assignment as India's envoy to the US on
April 30. Singh was the first of the seven new ambassadors to present
his credentials at a traditional ceremony marking the formal
beginning of service in Washington. Singh said that he planned to
work towards making the India-US partnership global, strategic and
transformative. He was warmly welcomed back to Washington by US
President Barack Obama, who wished him success in his new
responsibilities.
Singh
had joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1979. He has previously been
India's ambassador to France and Israel, as well as served in
missions at Washington and Moscow. Singh has served as joint
secretary dealing with the UN policy, as well as with the Pakistan,
Afghanistan and Iran divisions at the external affairs ministry. He
has also served at India's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.
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