Daily Current Affairs, 24th May 2018

1) Nari Shakti Puraskar 2017 Presented To INSV Tarini Team

•Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi presented the prestigious Nari Shakti Puraskar 2017 to the members of the INSV Tarini team in New Delhi. The Six-member all-women team led by Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi have received the Puraskar from the Minister.

•The crew of the Indian Navy Sailing Vessel 'Tarini' is a part of the Indian Navy’s unique project 'Navika SagarParikrama', an all-women team circumnavigating the globe, promoting ocean sailing activities in the Navy and depicting Government of India'scommitment towards women empowerment. 

2) India Stands 44th In Competitive Rankings, USA Tops: Report

•India rose one place to 44th this year in the global competitive rankings out of 63 countries that were ranked by the IMD World Competitiveness Center. India started from the 40th position in 2013 and dropped to the 44th rank in 2014.

•India’s rank remained at 44 in 2015 and jumped four places to 41 in 2016, dropping to 45 in 2017, and rising to 44 in 2018. In contrast, China bagged the 13th rank in 2018 as compared to the 18th rank in 2016.

•The top 5 most competitive economies in the world are:
1.The USA,
2.Hong Kong, 
3.Singapore, 
4.The Netherlands and 
5.Switzerland.

3) Prime Minister Modi Chairs 26th Pragati Interaction

•Prime Minister had chaired twenty-sixth interaction through PRAGATI. He Reviewed progress of handling and grievance redressal related to post offices and railways. He also reviewed nine infrastructure projects in Railways, Road, Petroleum and Power sectors.

•The Cabinet under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi also discussed a number of other issues besides financial matters.

4) NITI Aayog, ABB India Sign Pact To Benefit India From AI, Robotics

•NITI Aayog and ABB India have signed a pact to help the country derive the benefits of latest technologies including robotics and artificial intelligence. The Statement of Intent to work together to realise the ambitious make in India vision of the government was signed in the presence of NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant.

•NITI Aayog and ABB will work with government ministries, solicit feedback for areas critical to them and discuss solutions using industrial automation, and digitalization technologies. The initiative also covers the fast-growing segment of electric mobility.

5) Sushant Singh Rajput To Promote 2 Major Initiatives Of NITI Aayog

•NITI Aayog and Sushant Singh Rajput have decided to collaborate towards promoting two major initiatives of NITI Aayog, promotion of BHIM and the Women Entrepreneurship Platform. 

•Mr Rajput had entered into an agreement with NITI Aayog. The agreement would be signed by Shri Rajput with Ms Anna Roy, Adviser, NITI Aayog in the presence of Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog.

6) Netherlands PM Mark Rutte Arrives In India

•Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Netherlands Mark Rutte has arrived in India for a two-day official visit. Rutte is scheduled to meet a Business Delegation at Hotel Taj Diplomatic and then participate in the Clean Ganga Event.

•Prime Minister Narendra Nodi will meet with Mark Rutte at Hyderabad House. Rutte will also attend a CEO roundtable conference at the Hyderabad House.