Current Affairs Update – 3rd May, 2016

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the important Current Affairs of 3rd May, 2016. These are important for the upcoming SBI Clerk, SBI PO 2016 and UIIC AO 2016.

• Union Railway Minister Suresh
  Prabhakar Prabhu on 3 May 2016 launched e-enabled application, Project
  Management & Information System (PMIS) at Rail Bhawan in New Delhi. 
• The
  application will used for proper monitoring of all the Railway projects throughout
  the country.

• Indian Railways have over 600
  major projects of network expansion and modernization costing around 4.5 lakh
  crore rupees.
• The need of proper monitoring and
  management of the big projects has become a demand of the Indian Railways.
• Indian Railways needs two things;
  one is money and the second is proper monitoring of projects in which that
  money is to be spent.
• It is believed that the newly
  launched Project Management and Information System (PMIS) system will contain
  all the information about the ongoing projects.

• Aviva Plc has acquired additional
  23 per cent stake in stake in Aviva Life Insurance, from Dabur Invest Corp for
  Rs 940 crore. This was one of the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) proposals
  approved by the government on March 7. Following this acquisition, Aviva Plc’s
  stake in the joint venture has increased to 49 per cent.
• This transaction values Aviva
  Life at approximately Rs 4,087 crore.
• The Insurance Laws (Amendment)
  Act that was passed in 2015 now allows foreign direct investment (FDI) of up to
  49 per cent in insurance companies in India. Earlier, only 26 per cent FDI was
  allowed in the insurance sector.
• The transaction is expected to
  have a neutral impact on Aviva’s IFRS Net Assets. In 2015, Aviva India
  contributed 36 million pounds ($52.96 million) to Aviva’s IFRS net assets and 4
  million pounds to Aviva’s profits, said a press release issued by Aviva Life
  Insurance.

• RS Ventures of Abu Dhabi and
  Andhra Pradesh Government have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which
  entails an investment of Rs. 12,000 crore in healthcare, setting up of a
  university, tourism, hospitality and infrastructure in the new capital city of
  Amaravati.
• Dr. BR Shetty, a businessman from
  Abu Dhabi has committed an investment of $ 1.8 Billion (about Rs. 12,000 crore)
  in Andhra Pradesh. Shetty has business interests in hospitals (NMC Group of
  Hospitals), hospitality, educational institutions, financial services (UAE
  Exchange and Travelex), pharmaceuticals (Neopharma), ports, infrastructure and
  other businesses.
• The MoU was inked by BRS Ventures
  represented promoter Dr. B.R. Shetty, Chairman, BRS Ventures and the Andhra
  Pradesh Government represented by J. Krishna Kishore, IRS, CEO, Economic
  Development Board, Government of Andhra Pradesh.
• State Chief Minister N
  Chandrababu Naidu wanted BRS Ventures to quickly complete the projects assuring
  the land allotment and clearances will be accorded at the earliest.

• The International Monetary Fund
  (IMF) has retained its growth forecast for India this year at 7.5%, largely
  driven by private consumption even as weak exports and sluggish credit growth
  weigh on the economy.
• India’s growth momentum is
  expected to be underpinned by private consumption, which has benefited from
  lower energy prices and higher real incomes, IMF said and called on the
  policymakers to speed up the structural reform implementation.
• In its latest Regional Economic
  Outlook for Asia and the Pacific, IMF said weak exports and sluggish credit
  growth (stemming from weaknesses in corporate sector and public sector banks’
  balance sheets) will weigh on the economy.

• State-run Bharat Heavy
  Electricals Ltd (BHEL) today announced the commissioning of a 600-Mw coal-based
  thermal power plant in Madhya Pradesh.
• “The unit has been
  commissioned at the 1×600 Mw Jhabua Thermal Power Project (TPP) located in
  Seoni district in Madhya Pradesh,” BHEL said in a release.
• The project has been developed by
  Jhabua Power Ltd (JPL), a subsidiary of Avantha Power & Infrastructure
  Limited (APIL).
• This is the second project of
  APIL commissioned by BHEL after the 1×600 Mw Avantha Bhandar TPP at Raigarh in
  Chhattisgarh, it said.

• The Supreme Court of India on 30
  April 2016 decided against extending the deadline for phasing out diesel cabs
  in National Capital Region (NCR). It ordered the diesel cabs to go off the
  roads from 1 May 2016.
• The earlier deadline for phasing
  out diesel cabs was 1 April 2016, but it was extended for a month.
• The earlier extension was given
  so that private cab aggregators could switch to compressed natural gas (CNG)
  vehicles by 1 May 2016.
• However, the Supreme Court
  allowed Delhi Police and Delhi Jal Board to buy and register the new diesel-run
  vehicles of 2000 cc engine capacity and above for transportation of undertrial
  prisoners, arms and ammunition and supply of water.

• The Supreme Court of India on 2
  May 2016 appointed a three-member panel headed by former Chief Justice of India
  (CJI) RM Lodha to oversee the functions of the Medical Council of India. It is
  the regulator of medical profession and education in India.
• Besides Lodha, the panel consists
  of former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Rai and Dr SK Sareen.
• The court appointed the panel as
  the MCI is often been accused of indulging in corrupt practices.

• Future Group’s Chief Executive
  Kishore Biyani has been appointed managing director of Bharti Retail as part of
  the reconstitution of the board following their merger pact announced last
  year.
• Besides, Rakesh Biyani, who is
  also a director at Future Group, has also been appointed as Joint Managing
  Director of Bharti Retail, which will be later renamed as Future Retail Ltd and
  listed on stock exchanges.
• In May last year, Future group
  agreed to merge its retail business with rival Bharti Retail in an all-stock
  deal worth Rs 750 crore to create one of the biggest supermarket chains with Rs
  15,000 crore turnover.

• The United Nations has enlisted
  Oscar-winning Australian actor Cate Blanchett to help raise awareness about the
  plight of refugees, amid a massive global displacement crisis.
• The UN refugee agency said it had
  appointed Blanchett as its newest goodwill ambassador, a role also held by US
  film star Angelina Jolie.
• Last year, a record 60 million
  people worldwide were displaced from their homes, and more than one third of
  them were living as refugees, according to the UNHCR.
• But solidarity has recently
  appeared to be in short supply in Europe for instance, which is facing surging
  xenophobia as it reels from its worst migration crisis since the second world
  war.

• An Indian American Sikh woman
  from California, Harmeet Kaur Dhillon, was elected to an important position in
  the Republican Party at the US national level.
• Chandigarh-born Harmeet Kaur
  Dhillon was elected as the newest national committee woman of the Republican
  National Committee on 1 May 2016.
• Earlier, she was earlier the vice
  chairman of the California GOP. She was the first woman elected to this
  position of vice chair of the California Republican Party.

• Leicester City was crowned as
  champions of English Premier League on 2 May 2016. It was crowned with the
  title without playing, as nearest challenger Tottenham Hotspur had 2-2 draw
  with Chelsea.
• The result meant second placed
  Tottenham will not be able to surpass Leicester City who has a seven point lead
  at the top of the table.
• This is the first time in the
  club’s 132-year history that Leicester is champion of England.
• Leicester City completed their
  contest for the Premier League title after Eden Hazard’s late goal enabled
  Chelsea a draw with second-place Tottenham Hotspur.

• Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar
  today accepted Indian Olympic Association (IOA)’s invitation to become the
  country’s goodwill ambassador for the Rio Olympics alongside ace shooter
  Abhinav Bindra and Bollywood star Salman Khan after the controversial actor’s
  appointment created an uproar.
• With Salman’s appointment drawing
  flak from different quarters, including Olympic bronze medal winning wrestler
  Yogeshwar Dutt and former athlete Milkha Singh, who had said the honour should
  be given to top sportspersons, the IOA had approached Bindra, Tendulkar and
  celebrated music composer AR Rahman.
• Both Bindra and Tendulkar
  accepted the Indian Olympic Association’s invitation.

• Leicester City striker forward
  Jamie Vardy was named 2015-16 Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers
  Association (FWA). He will be honoured with the prestigious FWA accolade, which
  has been running since 1948, at a gala dinner in London on 12 May 2016.
• 19-year-old striker became the
  first Leicester City player to win the prestigious FWA Footballer of the Year
  award with 36 percent of the vote. With this he joined the likes of Bobby
  Moore, George Best, Eric Cantona, Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo among its
  past winners.

• India has secured ninth position
  in the 2016 Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index, a global management
  consulting firm today said, underlining that the country is “finally” embarking
  on a growth path that will see it “unlock its full potential“.
• India jumped two places to rank
  number 9 in this year’s AT Kearney Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Confidence
  Index.
• The Index of a London-based
  consulting firm is a forward looking analysis of how political, economic, and
  regulatory changes will likely affect FDI inflows into countries in the coming
  years.
• The Index is constructed using
  primary data from a proprietary survey administered to senior executives of the
  world’s leading corporations.
• In this year’s survey, 32 per
  cent of the respondents said they were more optimistic about India’s economic
  outlook over the next three years, compared to a year ago.

• World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
  released a report titled ‘Protecting people through nature’ with the subtitle
  ‘Natural world heritage sites as Drivers of sustainable development.’ The
  report was launched in April 2016.
• The report says that nearly half
  of the iconic 229 natural and mixed World Heritage sites in 96 countries around
  the world, including Western Ghats, face significant threats.
• Further, the iconic symbols of
  conservation are facing threats to their unique values, putting the livelihoods
  and well-being of people who depend on them at risk.

• Almost half of all natural World
  Heritage sites, and their outstanding universal value, are threatened by
  harmful industrial activities.
• Eleven million people, equivalent
  to the population of Portugal, depend on these sites, and could be affected
  negatively by the impacts of harmful industrial activities.

• In context of India, the report
  talks about Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area, Kaziranga National
  Park, Keoladeo National Park, Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, Nanda Devi and Valley
  of Flowers National Parks, Sundarbans National Park and Western Ghats.
• It says that three of the seven
  such Indian sites, namely Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, Sundarbans National Park,
  and the serial sites of Western Ghats, are threatened by harmful industrial
  activities such as mining.

• The World Press Freedom Day was
  on 3 May 2016 observed across the world with the theme Access to Information
  and Fundamental Freedoms – This Is Your Right!
• In 2016, World Press Freedom Day
  coincides with three important milestones:
• The 250th anniversary of the
  world’s first freedom of information law, covering both modern-day Sweden and
  Finland.
• The 25th anniversary of the
  adoption of the Windhoek Declaration of press freedom principles.
• The first year of the 15 year
  life-cycle of the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• Astronomers discovered three
  planets which have similar sizes and temperatures those of Venus and Earth.
  They have been found orbiting an ultra-cool dwarf star just 40 light-years from
  Earth using the TRAPPIST telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory.
• The discovery was published in
  the Journal Nature on 2 May 2016.
• Michael Gillon-led team of
  astronomers of the University of Liege in Belgium used the TRAPPIST telescope
  to observe the ultra-cool dwarf star 2MASS J23062928-0502285, now also known as
  TRAPPIST-1.
• They found that the dim and cool
  star faded slightly at regular intervals which indicated that several objects
  were passing between the star and the Earth.

Regards

Team ExamPundit