Daily Current Affairs, 19th May 2018

1) Karnataka CM Yeddyurappa Resigns

•BS Yeddyurappa resigned 55 hours after taking oath as the Karnataka CM, ahead of the floor test. BJP, with 104 seats, was seven short of the required number of 111.

•The Congress with 78 MLAs, the JD(S) with 36 and three others were also individually not in a position to form the government. But with BJP now exiting the picture, the Congress-JD(S) combine has 114 seats, more than the required number.

2) PM Modi Laid Foundation Stone Of India’s Longest Road Tunnel In J&K

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a day-long visit to Jammu and Kashmir. During his visit, Prime Minister laid down the foundation stone of 'Zojila Tunnel' on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway in Leh. The 14.2-kilometre long Zojila tunnel will be India’s longest road tunnel and Asia’s longest bidirectional tunnel.

•It will provide all-weather connectivity to the whole Ladakh region and Kargil in particular which remains cut off from rest of the world for more than 5 months of the winter. Prime Minister Modi also dedicated to the nation a 330 MW Kishenganga hydroelectric project from Srinagar. There are 7 functional NHPC power projects in J&K. The project has been built at a cost of Rs 5200 cr.

3) Dr Harsh Vardhan’s ‘Green Good Deeds’ Gets Global Recognition

•Green Good Deeds, the societal movement launched by Environment, Forest & Climate Change Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan to protect the environment and promote good living has found acceptance by the global community.

•Dr Harsh Vardan at the ongoing 4th BRICS Environment Ministerial in Durban, South Africa had urged the BRICS nations to jointly help in the development of a social movement to fight for the protection and conservation of the environment. The BRICS Ministerial on Environment has agreed to include “Green Good Deeds” in its official agenda in the next Ministerial in Brazil and another meeting in Russia.

4) NITI Aayog’s 3-Day Venture Capital Symposium 2018 Begins

•NITI Aayog, in association with Vision India Foundation, is organising the Venture Capital Symposium 2018to deepen the economic relationships between France and India. The Venture Capital Symposium 2018 is a three-day event where the French investors will be interacting with 100 early to mid-stage Indian start-ups.

•Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, along with Atul Chaturvedi, Additional Secretary, DIPP addressed the inaugural address of the Symposium, which was attended by Alexandre Ziegler, Ambassador of France to India.

5) Gina Haspel Confirmed As 1st Female Director Of CIA

•The US Senate confirmed Gina Haspel as the first female director of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Gina Haspel's confirmation in a 54-45 vote follows a partisan fight among senators about the CIA's Bush-era use of techniques such as waterboarding.

•The former CIA chief, Mike Pompeo, left to become US Secretary of State. 

6) Netherlands PM Mark Rutte To Be On 2-Day Official Visit To India

•Prime Minister of The Netherlands, Mark Rutte, will be on a two-day official visit to India with an aim to boost the economic and political cooperation between the two countries. Mr Rutte will be accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising of the Deputy Prime Minister and many other Ministers.

•During the visit, the India-Dutch CEOs forum will take place in New Delhi. India and The Netherlands have a bilateral trade of 5.39 billion dollars. The Netherlands is the 5th largest investor in India.

7) Indian Economy Projected To Grow 7.6% In 2018-19: UN Report

•India's economy is projected to grow 7.6% in fiscal year 2018-19, remaining the fastest growing economy in the world, according to a United Nations report. The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP)as of mid-2018 launched recently stated that GDP growth in India is expected to climb to 7.5 and 7.6% in fiscal years 2017-18 and 2018-19 respectively.

•This is a substantial recovery from the 6.7 per cent growth India registered in fiscal year 2017. Amid ongoing structural reforms, growth in the Chinese economy is projected to gradually moderate from 6.9% in 2017 to 6.5% in 2018 and 6.3% in 2019. World economic growth is now forecast to reach 3.2% both in 2018 and 2019, an upward revision by 0.2 and 0.1 percentage points, respectively.

8) NMDC Bags S&P PLATTS Global Metals Award 2018

•NMDC (National Mineral Development Corporation) Limited has bagged the prestigious S&P Global PLATTS Global Metals Award 2018 in corporate social responsibility (CSR) category held at London.

•This is the first time since inception of this award that an Indian Company bagged an award in this category. The S&P Global Platts Global Metals Award recognizes top performers – industry leaders and innovators.