Important Days
International Firefighters’ Day: 04 May
The International Firefighters’ Day (IFFD) is observed on May 4 every year since 1999. The day is celebrated to recognise and honour the sacrifices that firefighters make to ensure that their communities and environment are as safe as possible.
The day was instituted, after the deaths of five firefighters in tragic circumstances in a bushfire in Australia on 2 December 1998.
Coal Miners’ Day: 4 May
Coal Miners’ Day is celebrated on May 4 to recognize the hard work of some of the great unsung heroes of the Industrial Revolution.
The day is celebrated to show appreciation for the coal miners and honour their accomplishments.
Coal miners spend most of the days digging, tunnelling and extracting coal from the mines. They dig deep into the Earth to bring out the riches that help to sustain our life. Coal mining is one of the toughest professions.
World Asthma Day 2021: 04 May
World Asthma Day is observed every year on the 1st Tuesday of May. This year, World Asthma Day is observed on May 4, 2021.
The day spread awareness about asthma disease and care around the world. Whilst the primary focus is supporting the person with asthma, support may also extend to family, friends and caregivers.
The theme for 2021 World Asthma Day is “Uncovering Asthma Misconceptions“.
International Day of the Midwife: 05 May
International Day of the Midwife is observed globally on 5 May every year since 1992. This day is celebrated to recognise the work of midwives and raise awareness about the status of midwives for the essential care they provide to mothers and their newborns.
The theme for 2021 International Day of the Midwife is “Follow the Data: Invest in Midwives.”
The idea of having a day to recognize and honour midwives came out of the 1987 International Confederation of Midwives conference in the Netherlands.
International Midwives’ Day was first celebrated May 5, 1991, and has been observed in more than 50 nations around the world.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- International Confederation of Midwives President: Franka Cadee;
- International Confederation of Midwives Headquarters: Hague, Netherlands.
World Hand Hygiene Day: 05 May
Every year, the World Hand Hygiene Day is observed on May 5. The day is organised by the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness among people across the globe about the importance of hand hygiene in warding off many serious infections.
The theme for 2021 is ‘Seconds Save Lives: Clean Your Hands’. The day recognizes hand washing as one of the most effective actions that can be taken to avoid a huge range of infections including the COVID-19 virus.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Director-General of the World Health Organization: Tedros Adhanom.
- Headquarters of WHO: Geneva, Switzerland.
National
Mamata Banerjee takes oath as West Bengal CM for the 3rd consecutive time
Mamata Banerjee was sworn as West Bengal Chief Minister for the third time in the shadow of Covid and post-poll violence in parts of the state. The oath ceremony took place with Covid protocols in place at the “Throne Room” at the Raj Bhavan.
The rest of the cabinet and the council of ministers will be sworn in on May 9, the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.
Mamata Banerjee won a landslide victory in the Bengal election to secure a third straight term. The Trinamool won 213 of 292 seats while its strongest rival, BJP, finished second with 77 seats.
Mamata Banerjee will head to her office Nabanna, where she will be given a guard of honour by the Kolkata Police.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- West Bengal Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Indian Army Launches First Solar Plant in North Sikkim
The Indian Army recently launched the first Green Solar Energy harnessing plant in Sikkim. It was launched to benefit the troops of the Indian army.
The plant uses Vanadium based battery technology. It was built at an altitude of 16,000 feet. The capacity of the plant is 56 KVA. It was completed in collaboration with IIT Mumbai.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Chief Minister of Sikkim: PS Golay.
- Governor of Sikkim: Ganga Prasad.
Banking
RBI imposes ₹3 crore penalty on ICICI Bank
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of ₹3 crores on ICICI Bank for non-compliance with its directions in the matter of shifting of securities from one category to another.
The monetary penalty has been imposed on the Bank for contravention of certain directions contained in its Master Circular on ‘Prudential Norms for Classification, Valuation and Operation of Investment Portfolio by Banks.’
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- ICICI Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.
- ICICI Bank MD & CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi.
- ICICI Bank Tagline: Hum Hai Na, Khayal Apka.
Economy
Barclays Projects India’s GDP Growth Forecast to 10% in FY22
UK-based global brokerage firm Barclays has cut India’s GDP growth estimate for 2021-22 (FY22) to 10 per cent from its earlier estimate of 11 per cent.
Apart from this, Barclays has estimated the economy to contract by 7.6 per cent in FY21.
Goldman Sachs lowers GDP growth forecast for India in FY22 to 11.1%
Wall Street brokerage, Goldman Sachs has cut the GDP growth rate estimate for the Indian economy to 11.1 per cent in fiscal year FY22 (April 01, 2021, to March 31, 2022), due to increasing intensities of lockdowns by states to check the spread of coronavirus infections.
Goldman Sachs has also revised the 2021 Calendar Year growth forecast to 9.7 per cent, from the previous estimate of 10.5 per cent.
Defence
Armed Forces Launches Op “CO-JEET” for Mental Health Of COVID Patients
The armed forces have launched operation “CO-JEET” to aid anti-COVID-19 efforts, like strengthening the medical system in India and oxygen supply chains. Along with these, CO-JEET also take measures to ensure the mental wellbeing of people.
Apart from medical therapy, patients necessitate the assurance that “they will be fine” and at times that is all they need to gain back self-confidence and courage. U
nder the CO-JEET plan, personnel of the three wings of the armed forces have been pressed into service to help restore oxygen supply chains, set up COVID beds and provide help to the civilian administration in its fight to control the outspread of the virus. The operation also attempts to provide additional beds across the country for mixed COVID-19 management.
Awards
Maria Ressa conferred UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize 2021
Maria Ressa has been named as the 2021 laureate of the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.
The $25,000 prize “recognizes outstanding contributions to the defence or promotion of press freedom especially in the face of danger,” according to UNESCO. The prize was named after Guillermo Cano Isaza, the Colombian journalist.
UNESCO cited Ressa’s more than a 3-decade career as a journalist, including her work as CNN’s lead investigative reporter for Asia and as news chief of Philippine broadcast giant ABS-CBN.
Recently, her citation added, Ressa “has been the target of online attacks and judicial processes” for her investigative work and her position as CEO of Rappler.
Appointments
Kotak Mahindra Life appoints Mahesh Balasubramanian as MD
Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company Limited (KLI) on 1st May announced it has appointed Mahesh Balasubramanian as managing director of the company. He has been appointed following the retirement of G Murlidhar.
The company is in receipt of approval from the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India for the appointment of Balasubramanian. The appointment is for a period of three years. Suresh Agarwal has been elevated to MD & CEO of Kotak General Insurance.
Justice Pant appointed NHRC acting chairperson
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) member Justice (retired) Prafulla Chandra Pant had been appointed as the acting chairperson of the Commission with effect from April 25.
A former Supreme Court judge, Justice Pant was appointed member of the NHRC on April 22, 2019. The post of chairperson has been vacant since Justice H.L. Dattu, a former Chief Justice of India, completed his tenure on December 2, 2020.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- National Human Rights CommissionFormed: 12 October 1993;
- National Human Rights Commission Jurisdiction: Government of India;
- National Human Rights CommissionHeadquarters: New Delhi.
Agreements
Yono by SBI Joins Hands with Shivrai Technologies
Shivrai Technologies partnered with leading digital banking platform, Yono SBI to help smallholder, marginal, and large-holder farmers by way of a free application.
This will allow them to focus on their costs incurred, as well as the bookkeeping of total profits that are in line.
The aim to help farmers across the country to manage their accounts efficiently, thus cutting down on losses. Shivrai also owns their own B2B brand, FarmERP.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- SBI Chairperson: Dinesh Kumar Khara.
- SBI Headquarters: Mumbai.
- SBI Founded: 1 July 1955.
Facebook to introduces vaccine finder tool on mobile app in India
Facebook has partnered with the Indian government to roll out a vaccine finder tool on its mobile app in India, which will help people identify places nearby to get inoculated.
The social media giant had, earlier this week, announced a USD 10 million grant for emergency response efforts for the COVID-19 situation in the country.
Partnering with the Government of India, Facebook will begin rolling out its Vaccine Finder tool on the Facebook mobile app in India available in 17 languages to help people identify places nearby to get the vaccine,”.
In this tool, vaccine centre locations and their hours of operation have been provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).
The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 15.22 crore.
Also, more than 2.45 crore people have registered themselves on the Co-WIN digital platform ahead of Phase-3 of the COVID-19 vaccination for those above 18 years that is set to start from May 1.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Chief Executive Officer of Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg.
- Facebook Headquarters: California, US.
PepsiCo Foundation partners with SEEDS to set up COVID care centres
PepsiCo Foundation, the philanthropic arm of PepsiCo, said it has partnered with the not-for-profit organisation, Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society (SEEDS) to launch a community COVID-19 vaccination drive and set up COVID care centres.
To focus on Maharashtra, Punjab, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Telangana. As part of the partnership, SEEDS will drive Covid-19 vaccinations for the community at large, set up Covid care centres equipped with beds and medical facilities, including oxygen cylinders.
Sports
Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera Announces Retirement
Sri Lankan all-rounder and former captain, Thisara Perera has announced his retirement from international cricket, ending his international career which spanned nearly 12 years.
Perera played six Tests, 166 ODIs (2338 runs, 175 wickets), and 84 T20Is (1204 runs, 51 wickets) for Sri Lanka, after making his debut in December 2009. The 32-year-old would continue to play domestic and franchise cricket.
Sindhu, Michelle Li appointed ambassadors for IOC’s ‘Belief in Sport’ campaign
The Badminton World Federation announced that India shuttler PV Sindhu and Canada’s Michelle Li have been nominated as athlete ambassadors for the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) ‘Believe in Sport’ campaign aimed at preventing competition manipulation.
Sindhu and Li will be working alongside other athlete ambassadors from around the world to raise awareness on the topic of competition manipulation amongst athletes and encourage.
The pair have been global ambassadors for BWF’s ‘i am badminton’ campaign since April 2020. The IOC’s ‘Belief in Sport’ campaign was launched in 2018 to raise awareness among athletes, coaches and officials of the threat of competition manipulation.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- International Olympic Committee Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland;
- International Olympic Committee President: Thomas Bach;
- International Olympic Committee Founded: 23 June 1894, Paris, France.
Mark Selby becomes World Snooker Champion
In Snooker, English professional player Mark Selby has become the World Snooker Champion for the fourth time.
He won the Championship title after defeating fellow mate Shaun Murphy by 18-15 victory at a professional snooker tournament, that took place from 17 April to 3 May 2021 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England.
Prior to this, Selby won the Championship title in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2021.
Nuwan Zoysa banned for 6 years for breaching ICC’s anti-corruption code
Former Sri Lanka player and coach, Nuwan Zoysa has been banned from all cricket for six years after an ICC Anti-Corruption Tribunal found him guilty of breaching the ICC anti-corruption code.
The ban for Zoysa is backdated to 31 October 2018, when he was provisionally suspended.
Zoysa guilty of “being party to an agreement or effort to fix or contrive or otherwise influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or another aspect (s) of an International Match.”
The other charge is about “directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating any Participant to breach Code Article 2.1.”
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Chairman of ICC: Greg Barclay.
- CEO of ICC: Manu Sawhney.
- Headquarters of ICC: Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Obituary
Assam’s first female IAS officer Parul Debi Das passes away
Parul Debi Das, the first female IAS officer from Assam, passed away. She was an Assam-Meghalaya cadre IAS officer.
She was the daughter of the former cabinet minister of undivided Assam – Ramnath Das. She was the sister of former Assam Chief Secretary Naba Kumar Das.
‘Shooter Dadi’ Chandro Tomar passed away
Shooter Chandro Tomar, nicknamed ‘Shooter Dadi’, passed away at the age of 89 due to Covid-19.
She was hailing from the Baghpat village in Uttar Pradesh, Tomar was 60-plus when she picked up the gun for the first time but went on to win many national competitions for veterans, her feats ultimately inspiring the award-winning Bollywood movie ‘Saand ki Aankh’.
Aeronautical Scientist Manas Bihari Verma Passes Away
The Indian aeronautical scientist, Manas Bihari Verma, who played an instrumental role in the development of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) – Tejas, has passed away.
He worked as a scientist at the Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) for 35 years in the aeronautical stream. The noted scientist has conferred the Padma Sri civilian honour in 2018.
Former J&K Governor Jagmohan Passes Away
Former Jammu and Kashmir Governor, Jagmohan Malhotra has passed away.
Jagmohan served two terms as Jammu and Kashmir Governor, once from 1984 to 1989, and then from January 1990 to May 1990. He had also served as Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Goa and Daman & Diu.
Jagmohan was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1996 and served as the Union Minister for Urban Development and Tourism in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1998. Apart from this, he was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1971, Padma Bhushan in 1977 and Padma Vibhushan in 2016
Miscellaneous
World’s largest aeroplane by Stratolaunch completes test flight
The world’s largest aeroplane, designed to transport hypersonic vehicles and facilitate easy access to space, soared into clear skies over California’s the Mojave Desert. The company Stratolaunch designed it to transport hypersonic vehicles and facilitate easy access to space.
The aircraft named ‘Roc’ features a twin-fuselage design and the longest wingspan ever flown, at 385 feet (117 m), surpassing the Hughes H-4 Hercules flying boat of 321 feet (98 m).
The Stratolaunch is intended to carry a 550,000-pound payload and will be able to launch rockets from high altitude.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Stratolaunch Headquarters: Mojave, California, USA;
- Stratolaunch CEO & President: Jean Floyd.
- Daily Current Affairs in English 11 Sep 2022 – Useful for all Competitive Exams
- Hindu Editorial with Vocabulary: Sep Month – Day 10
- 11 Sep 2022 Daily Current Affairs in Hindi – सभी प्रतियोगी परीक्षाओं के लिए महत्वपूर्ण
- 10 Sep 2022 Daily Current Affairs in Hindi – सभी प्रतियोगी परीक्षाओं के लिए महत्वपूर्ण
- Hindu Editorial with Vocabulary: Sep Month – Day 9
- Daily Current Affairs in English 10 Sep 2022 – Useful for all Competitive Exams
