Current Affairs Update – 2nd May, 2015

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs for 2nd May, 2015.

• The Madhya Pradesh Cabinet in the last week
  of April 2015 gave its approval to build 750 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic
  (SPV) plant at Gurh tehsil in Rewa district. The plant, to be developed in
  three phases of 250 MW, once completed will become the world’s largest solar
  power plant.
• At present, the largest SPV plant is the
  Topaz Solar Farm (550 MW) in California’s San Luis Obispo county, US, which was
  commissioned in 2014

• The plant will use photovoltaic (PV)
  technology to generate electricity from the sun and is estimated to be
  completed by March 2017 at an estimated cost of 4500 crore rupees.
• The loan for it will be provided by World
  Bank and New and Renewable Energy Department of Madhya Pradesh government will
  provide land for the project. The state government is also on the lookout for
  private land.
• The plant will provide power at a price as
  low as 5.50 rupees per unit as against the 6.86 rupees per unit, which is the
  benchmark for levelised tariff (tariff realised over the span of the
  project)  of SPV for 2015-16 announced by
  Central Electricity Regulatory Commission.

• Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration
  (FDA) on 1 May 2015 ordered to file a FIR against the Snapdeal, its CEO Kunal
  Bahl and Directors for allegedly selling prescription drugs online. Selling of
  drugs without prescription is a crime under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
• The FIR was filed after FDA officer on an
  investigation found that Jasper Infotech Pvt. Ltd. entered into agreements with
  dealers across India to supply medicines offered or exhibited for sale on its
  website, snapdeal.com, and to collect the sale proceeds on their behalf.
• The FDA found that 45 of the displayed
  drugs were with objectionable claims which contravened the provisions of the
  Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.
• The FDA will be investigating other online
  shopping companies such as Flipkart and Amazon.

• The Department of Telecommunications (DoT)
  on 1 May 2015 extended the date of implementation of the full Mobile Number
  Portability (MNP) by two months, that is, till 3 July 2015.
• Earlier, on 3 November 2014, the DoT on the
  basis of recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
  ordered Indian telecom companies to implement full MNP by 3 May 2015.
• The DoT extended the deadline on the basis
  of a request made by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) as
  telecom operators have to make some technical changes to their networks due to
  changes in National Numbering Plan (NNP) which would take about eight weeks.
• The full MNP will allow telecom subscribers
  to retain their mobile number in any part of the country even when they change
  their operator or telecom circle. At present, partial MNP allows subscribers to
  retain their number while changing mobile network only within a telecom circle.

• Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today
  launched a “Jan Samvad” centre to connect with the people over phone
  to resolve their grievances.
• Inaugurating the latest edition to his
  series of initiatives in the last four months, Das spoke to Balmadina Ekka, the
  widow of martyr Albert Ekka, and sought her blessings, an official release
  said.
• When Balmadina asked the chief minister for
  construction of an enclosing wall at her house, Das immediately directed the
  official concerned to resolve the matter, the release said.
• The chief minister, who said his
  government’s priority was to provide a corruption-free and transparent
  governance, spoke to several other persons after the launch of the “Jan
  Samvad” centre at the Suchana Bhavan here.

• Union Road Transport and Highways minister
  Nitin Gadkari on 1 May 2015 dedicated Shillong Bypass Highway Project and four
  lane Jorabat-Barapani Section of NH-40 to the nation in Shillong, Meghalaya.
• The two projects are intended to improve
  connectivity between Guwahati and Shillong and other parts of the North East.
• The 48.76 Km Shillong Bypass was
  constructed by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Build, Operate
  and Transfer (BOT) mode and connects National Highway (NH) 40 and NH 44 (New NH
  6). This will help decongest the traffic in the city of Shillong from trucks
  and heavy vehicles coming from or moving towards North Eastern parts of Assam,
  Mizoram and Tripura.
• Four laning of 61.80 km Jorabat-Barapani
  section is intended to augment connectivity between Guwahati and Shillong. The
  project was constructed by the NHAI on Design Build Finance Operate &
  Transfer (DBFOT) Mode on annuity basis.

• Nagaland has launched ‘Shram Shakti
  Pehchaan’, a workers strength identification campaign, coinciding with the
  International Labour Day.
• The campaign would ensure welfare and
  well-being of workers in the unorganized sector, State Parliamentary Secretary
  for Labour and Employment, S Chuba Longkumer said while launching it in Dimapur
  district yesterday.
• Emphasising on the different schemes
  implemented by the central government for specific groups of unorganised
  workers, he said the state government was also implementing welfare programmes
  for certain categories of workers.
• There was, however, a huge deficit in
  coverage of agriculture workers and construction labourers in matters of labour
  protection and social security measures, he said.
• Longkumer pointed out that though people
  were aware of the programmes implemented by different departments there was no
  defined common platform through which beneficiaries could avail the benefits
  without going through complex formalities.
• Further, Longkumer urged NGOs, trade unions
  and other such organisations to participate and extend their support.

• The capital’s Indira Gandhi International
  Airport (IGIA) has been adjudged the world’s best airport for the year 2014,
  under the category of handling 25 to 40 million passengers per annum, officials
  said on Saturday.
• Airports Council International (ACI)
  presented the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) award to IGIA at a ceremony of the
  ACI Asia-Pacific/World Annual General Assembly on April 28 in Jordan.
• The Delhi airport scored 4.90 on a scale of
  5 points measured by 300 members of the ACI ASQ benchmarking programme.
• IGIA bettered its ranking from second
  position for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 to emerge on top in 2014. Their
  score was 3.02 in 2007.
• ASQ is the key to understanding how to
  increase passenger satisfaction and improve business performance, said Angela
  Gittens, director general of ACI World.
• As many as 40 million passengers used IGIA
  to reach 58 domestic and 62 international destinations in 2014-15.

• Four Indians will be conferred with the Spring
  Imperial Decorations of Japan which were announced on 29 April 2015.
• These Indians are among the 85 foreign
  recipients who will receive the award at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on 8 May
  2015. The awards will be conferred by Emperor of Japan Akihito.

• Thottuvelil
  Krishna Pillai Aiyappankutty Nair (75): He is a
  former Advisor and Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India Manmohan
  Singh.
• He was awarded for the contribution to the
  enhancement of relations and the promotion of friendship between Japan and
  India.
• Chintamani
  Nagesa Ramachandra Rao (80): He is the Honorary
  President of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advance Scientific Research, Bangalore
  and a former Chair of the Japan-India Science Council.  He was awarded with the highest civilian
  award of India Bharat Ratna in 2014.
• He was awarded for contribution to
  promoting academic interchange and mutual understanding in science and
  technology between Japan and India.

• Nikunj
  Parekh (74): He is the President of Indo-Japanese
  Association, Mumbai and Director of Bonsai Study Group of Indo-Japanese
  Association, Mumbai.
• He was awarded for contribution to
  promoting and presenting Japanese Culture in India

• Topgay
  Bhutia (64): Former local employee of the Embassy
  of Japan in India was awarded for his contribution to the activities of the
  Japanese overseas establishment.

• Ace tennis player Rafael Nadal on 1 May
  2015 received the Golden Medal for Merit in Work. Golden Medal is one of the
  top civilian honours of Spain which aims to highlight an exemplary performance
  in any job or profession.
• Nadal received the honour from the Spanish
  Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy Brey at the PM’s official residence Moncloa Palace
  in Madrid.
• Rafael Nadal is 14-time Grand Slam singles
  champion out of which he has won the French Open for a record nine times. He is
  often called The King of Clay and is currently ranked World Number 5.
• Besides, he has won the 2008 Olympic gold
  medal in singles, a record 27 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and 15 ATP World Tour
  500 tournaments.

• Senior IPS officer Surender Singh on 1 May
  2015 took over as Director General (DG) of central paramilitary force Central
  Industrial Security Force (CISF).
• Surender Singh is a 1980-batch police
  officer of West Bengal cadre. Earlier, he served as a Special Director in the
  Intelligence Bureau (IB) before getting the new assignment.
• His appointment was confirmed by the
  Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra
  Modi.
• His tenure will end in August 2016.  He succeeded Arvind Ranjan.

• A Book titled China – Confucius in the
  Shadows was released by the Vice President M. Hamid Ansari on 1 May 2015.
  Confucius was considered as the most efficient author in Chinese history.
• Book has been written by Poonam Surie.
  Poonam Surie is an Adjunct Fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies, New
  Delhi.
• The book highlights that in the evolving
  socio political milieu of China; interpreting Confucian philosophy as being
  non-confrontationist, benevolent and with values such as filial piety and
  harmony could help the current political regime deal with such problems as
  corruption and rising inequalities.

• Prolific crime and mystery writer Ruth
  Rendell, perhaps best known for her Chief Inspector Wexford novels, died
  Saturday, said her publisher, Penguin Random House. She was 85.
• The cause of death was not announced, but
  Rendell had suffered a serious stroke in January.
• She was one of Britain’s most popular crime
  novelists and authored dozens of books, including many written under the pen
  name Barbara Vine.
• Rendell was a member of the House of Lords
  who had received wide recognition and many awards throughout her long career.
  Her Inspector Wexford series was made into a popular TV series, winning her
  many new fans and accolades.

• The Girl Next Door (2014)
• Dark Corners (2015)
• From Doon with Death (1964)
• A New Lease of Death (1967)
• No Man’s Nightingale (2013)
• The Minotaur(2005)

• Award-winning journalist and litterateur
  Amitabha Chowdhury died after a prolonged illness here on Friday. He was 87.
• Mr. Chowdhury died at his residence in
  south Kolkata in the morning. He is survived by his only son, family sources
  said.
• He began his career in 1948 with Jugantar ,
  an influential daily in the city at the time. Later, he worked for Ananda Bazar
  Patrika and Aajkal .
• Mr.Chowdhury received the prestigious Ramon
  Magsaysay Award in 1961 for journalism and literature for his reportage on
  individual rights and community interests in India.
• Later, he became the director of the
  International Press Institute, an umbrella organisation for editors and
  publishers of the world, from 1965-1968.

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