Current Affairs Update – 2nd May, 2015

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

India
World’s
largest solar photovoltaic plant of 750 MW to be built in Rewa district of
Madhya Pradesh

  • 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

Characteristic
Feature of SPV plant
  • 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
FDA ordered to file a FIR against Snapdeal and its CEO Kunal Behl

  • 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.

DoT
extended deadline of full implementation of Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
till 3 July 2015
  • 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
CM Launches Jan Samvad Centre to Resolve Grievances
  • 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.

Nitin
Gadkari dedicated two Major Highway Projects in the North East to the Nation

  • 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
Govt Launches Workers Identification Campaign
  • 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.

Awards
& Honors –
Indira
Gandhi International adjudged world’s best airport

  • 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 to be conferred with 2015 Spring Imperial Decorations of Japan
  • 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.

The
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star
  • 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.

The
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays
  • 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

The
Orders of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Rays
  • 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.

Tennis
player Rafael Nadal received Golden Medal for Merit in Work of Spain
  • 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.

Appointments
Surender
Singh took over as Director General of CISF

  • 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.

Books
& Authors –
A
Book titled China – Confucius in the Shadows written by Poonam Surie released

  • 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.

Obituaries
Crime
and mystery writer Ruth Rendell dies at 85

  • 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.

Some
of her work includes:
  • 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)

Eminent
scribe Amitabha Chowdhury passes away
  • 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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This post was last modified on July 20, 2019 10:24 am