15 May
International News Affairs
- Today (15th May) is International Day of Families.
- The Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 and reflects the importance the international community attaches to families.
- This day provides an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families and to increase knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families.
- Theme of International Day of Families 2017 : “Families, education and well-being”
National News Affairs
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched the river conservation project ‘Narmada Seva Mission‘.
- This project is a road-map for steps to be taken for the conservation of the Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh.
- In order to ensure round-the-clock security to passengers including women,Indian Railways will install 19,000 high definition CCTV cameras at over 983 stations across the country under the Nirbhaya Fund at an approved cost of Rs 500 crore.
- The cameras will be installed at platforms and waiting areas.
- The CCTV footages would be monitored by trained RPF personnel and the concerned station master will also be given access to the CCTV camera footage.
Science & Technology
- Cyber security agency Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In)has issued a red alert in the country against ‘WannaCry‘ ransomware that hit 150 countries.
- The malware locks up files, makes them inaccessible on desktops and later demand ransom to unlock them.
New Appointments
- 4 new Delhi High Court judges, including two women, were sworn in today, taking the working strength of the court to 38 (sanctioned capacity is 60).
- They are :
- Rekha Palli
- Prathiba Singh
- Navin Chawla
- C Hari Shankar
- Note : With the elevation of Justices Rekha Palli and Prathiba Singh, there will be 10 women judges in the high court.
- Senior IPS Officer A K Viswanathan today assumed charge as Commissioner of Police, Greater Chennai.
- A 1990 batch IPS officer, Viswanathan replaces Karan Singha.
- They are :
Banking, Business & Economic Affairs
- Kotak Mahindra Bank presents 811, India’s first downloadable Digital Savings Account.
- Customers can open an 811 account in five minutes from their phone with just their Aadhaar and PAN details.
- Kotak 811 has a zero-minimum balance requirement and offers users a virtual debit card to shop online and a Scan & Pay feature to make payments at merchant outlets.
- To avoid ‘WannaCry’ ransomware from spreading, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks to not operate ATMs till their software is updated.
- In this regard, RBI has asked banks to update specific Windows patches on ATMs urgently.
- The advice comes as over 60% of ATMs in India run on an outdated version of Windows and hence, are vulnerable to the attack.
- Job cuts in the IT sector will be up to 2 lakh annually for next three years due to under-preparedness in adapting to newer technologies, Head Hunters India reported.
- However, these won’t take place in major cities like Bengaluru, but in remote areas.
- This comes amid reports suggesting layoffs at firms including Wipro, following US President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies.
- Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s Founder Jack Ma has surpassed real estate and entertainment tycoon, Wang Jianlin, to become China’s richest person with a $30.9 billion fortune.
- Note : Alibaba was established in 1999 by 18 people led by Jack Ma.
- The United States will be selling high-tech Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology (JSLIST) protective clothing worth $75 million to India.
- For the first time, the Pentagon has notified the sale of CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) Support Equipment, the Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology (JSLIST) protective clothing, to the US Congress.
Current Sports Affairs
- Mercedes’sLewis Hamilton has won the Spanish Grand Prix from pole position in the Formula One championship.
- This is Hamilton’s 55th career win and second win of the season.
- Arjun Maini has become the first Indian to win a GP3 series race, an F1 support race, after registering a win in Barcelona today on the sidelines of the F1 Spanish Grand Prix.
- Nine-time French Open Champion Rafael Nadal continued his unbeaten run on clay this season after winning the Madrid Masters for the 5th time by defeating Austria’s Dominic Thiem today.
- India ended the Asian Wrestling Championship with 10 medals after Sumit Malik claimed the silver medal in the men’s 125-kg freestyle event on the final day of the championship today.
- India’s tally of ten medals, which includes one gold, five silver and four bronze, is a medal better than the tally from the previous edition in Bangkok.
