International News  Affairs

• Today (5th May) is International Midwives Day.
  • This internationally recognised day is observed by the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) to highlight the work of midwives.
  • ICM established the idea of the ‘International Day of the Midwife’ following suggestions and discussion among Midwives Associations in the late 1980s, then launched the initiative formally in 1992.
  • Theme of International Day of the Midwife 2017 : “Midwives, Mothers and Families: Partners for Life!”
  • Note : Meaning of Midwife = a nurse whose job is to look after women when they are giving birth to a baby
• The US House of Representatives today approved a revised bill to repeal Obamacare and replace it with a Republican healthcare plan, handing President Donald Trump his first major legislative victory.
  • Now  the bill needs to pass the Senate to become a law.
• Donald Trump today signed an executive order on religious liberties designed to ease a ban on political activity by churches and other tax-exempt institutions.
  • The order also gives regulatory relief to religious employers that object to an Obamacare mandate for contraception in healthcare.

MOUs & Agreements

• Russia and Iran which are allies of the Syrian regime as well as the rebel supporter Turkeysigned a Russia-backed plan for creating safe zones in Syria.
  • The pact which was signed in the Kazakh capital Astana was meant to halt fighting in the war-torn Syria.

National News Affairs

• The Centre has launched Tarang Sanchar Web Portal that gives information to the public regarding Electro Magnetic Fields (EMF) signals and eases their misconceptions about EMF emissions from mobile towers.
  • Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha said that it will empower consumers to know about the towers in a particular area and whether they are compliant with the EMF emission norms.
• The Election Commission today announced that it will hold an open hackathon in the last week of May, allowing people to try and hack EVMs.
  • This announcement comes amid various political parties and leaders alleging tampering of EVMs in the elections.
• TheAssam government today changed the names of all the major roads of Guwahati.
  • GS Road has been renamed as Mahapurush Srimanta Sankerdev Path, Beltola-Khanapara Road is renamed as Peer Azan Fakir Road.
• The Supreme Court upholds the conviction and death penalty to four convicts’- Mukesh, Akshay, Pawan and Vinayawarded to them by the High Court in the 16th December, 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case.

New Appointments

• Prabhat Kamal Bezboruah has been appointed as the Chairman of the Tea Board.
  • Note : He will be the first non-IAS to head the Tea Board of India.
• M S Boje Gowda has been appointed as the Chairman of the Coffee Board.

Banking, Business & Economic Affairs

• President Pranab Mukherjee today signed an ordinance giving more power to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)to deal with the growing problem of non performing assets.
  • The ordinance means an amendment to the Banking Regulation Act.
  • The amendment will give RBI the power to issue directions to banks to recover dues from loan defaulters, among others.
• Australia will be selling Kesar variety of Indian mangoes for the first time with the inaugural consignment of nearly 400 trays landing in Sydney.
• The Income Tax department today activated thee-filing facility for all categories of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for the assessment year 2017-18.
  • The new ITRs have been made available for filing on the e-portal of the department.
  • Note : The government had launched all ITRs on March 31 including the one-page simplified ITR-1 (Sahaj) for salaried class.
• India’s first private sector small arms manufacturing plant, Punj Lloyd Raksha Systems has been inaugurated in Madhya Pradesh.
  • This plant is goingto supply world class weapons to the armed forces in line with the India’s defence indigenisation programme.
  • This is a joint venture between India’s Punj Lloyd and Israel Weapon Systems.

Science & Technology 

• TheIndian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) today successfully launched GSAT-9 also known as the “South Asia” satellite from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
  • The satellite, which costs ₹235 crore, will provide communication, disaster management support, and connectivity to South Asian countries during a 12-year mission.
  • Note : 7 of the eight SAARC countries excluding Pakistan are part of the project.
• The first Chinese-built passenger jet, C-919, completed its maiden flight today.
  • The twin-engine 158-174 seat passenger jet, made by state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation, features several imported elements like German landing gear and an Austrian interior.
  • Note : China is expected to overtake the United States as the largest aviation market by 2024.
• Facebook has launched its “Express Wi-Fi” commercially in India.
  • This service is now available via 700 hotspots across four states of Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Rajasthan and