Daily Current Affairs, 15th May 2019

1) International Day of Families: 15 May

•In 1993, the General Assembly decided in a resolution that 15 May of every year should be observed as The International Day of Families. The Theme for 2019 International Day of Families is “Families and Climate Action: Focus on SDG 13″. 

•This day provides an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families and to increase the knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families.

2) India To Co-Chair Consultative Group Of Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery

•India is unanimously chosen as co-chair of the Consultative Group (CG) of Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) for the fiscal year 2020. The decision was taken during the CG meeting of GFDRR held in Geneva, Switzerland, on the margins of the 6th Session of the GPDRR 2019.

•The CG Meeting was co-chaired by Africa Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, the European Union (EU) and World Bank. Additionally, GFDRR in cooperation with the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the European Union had also organized the 4th edition of the World Reconstruction Conference (WRC). This is the first time that the country has been afforded the opportunity of co-chairing the CG meeting of GFDRR.

3) UN Imposed Sanctions On Terror Group ISIS Khorasan

•The UN has imposed sanctions on terror group ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) for its links with Al-Qaeda and involvement in several attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is now subject to the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo.

•The group, formed in 2015 by a Pakistani national and a former commander of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, has killed over 150 people. The United Nations Security Council’s 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee sanctioned Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan (ISIL-K).

4) MoU Signed For Rudraksh Plantation In Ganga Basin

•A tripartite MoU was signed between National Mission for Clean Ganga, HCL Foundation and INTACH for taking up a project of ‘Plantation of Rudraksh Trees in Uttarakhand’ as a part of CSR initiative under the ‘Namami Gange’ Programme.

•The project aims at planting 10,000 Rudraksh trees in the catchment area of river Ganga in Uttarakhand in association with local community and other stakeholders. It will also help in generating income for people residing in those areas.

5) RBI Appoints R Gandhi On YES Bank Board

•The Reserve Bank of India has appointed its former Deputy Governor, R Gandhi, on the board of private sector lender YES Bank as an additional director.

•The appointment has been done in exercise of powers conferred under sub-section (1) of Section 36AB of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The RBI has the power to appoint additional directors on the board of a bank if it feels it is in the interest of the banking company or its depositors.

6) Maj Gen A K Dhingra Appointed As 1st Special Operations Division Commander

•Ace Special Forces operative and Sri Lanka war veteran Major General AK Dhingra has been appointed as the first head of country’s first tri-services Special Operations Division comprising commandos from all three services.

•The Armed Forces Special Operations Division has been set up by the government to undertake joint operations by three services and will have elements from the Army’s Parachute Regiments SF, Marine Commandos (MARCOS) of the Navy and the Garud Commandos of the Indian Air Force.

7) Indian Navy’s 1st Full-Fledged SSB Opened At Kolkata

•The Indian Navy’s first full-fledged Services Selection Board (SSB) was inaugurated by Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba at Diamond Harbour near Kolkata, West Bengal. Spread over 27 acres on the banks of Hooghly, the SSB (Kolkata) has the capacity to screen 5,000 officer-candidates annually.

•The SSB (Kolkata) is located at a place that was previously occupied by a Naval Coastal Battery. This is the fifth SSB of the Indian Navy and will cater for a selection of both permanent and short service commission (SSC) officers. The other boards are located in Bhopal, Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam and Coimbatore. 

8) WPI Inflation Slides To 3.07% in April

•Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation for April eased to 3.07%, from 3.62% in April 2018. The latest WPI print was also lower than 3.18% recorded in March this year. Build up inflation for the financial year so far was 0.75%, lower than 0.86% in the corresponding period of the previous year.

•The overall WPI print for April was dragged down by a sharp decline in manufactured products (which accounts for two-third weightage in the WPI basket), which came in at a 30-month low of 1.7% (2.16% in March 2019).