Notes:
Prakash Javadekar, the Union Human Resource Development Minister, has launched Students for soldiers- a nationwide “Vidya – Veerta Abhiyan” on May 2, 2017 to encourage Universities to display portraits of Param Veer Chakra (PVC)-decorated soldiers. The aim of this Abhiyan is to instill a sense of patriotism and nationalism among students. The initiative has been launched in the wake of demand by the ex-servicemen that portraits of martyrs and tanks used in wars should be put on display in the campus to instill sense of nationalism and patriotism among the students. The Param Veer Chakra (PVC) is the India’s highest military decoration awarded to officers or enlisted personnel from all branches of the Indian military for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime.

Notes:
The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has released its annual flagship report ‘The Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2017’ on May 1, 2017. As per the report, India is expected to achieve 7.1% GDP growth rate in 2017, as re-monetisation restores consumption, and infrastructure spending increases. The report stated that India’s growth would edge up to 7.5% in 2018. Though, it warned that the country faces heightened risks related to the concentration of bad loans in the public sector banks.

Notes:
Yusra Mardini, a Syrian woman who helped save a boat carrying fellow refugees, has been appointed a new Goodwill Ambassador for United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to work harder for people seeking shelter from war. She is the Syrian refugee & Olympic athlete and has been granted asylum in Germany.

Notes:
Rafael Nadal, a Spanish professional tennis player, has won the 2017 Men’s Singles Barcelona Open Tennis Tournament by defeating Dominic Thiem of Austria in the summit clash by 6-4, 6-1 in Barcelona, Spain. With this, Nadal has won the Barcelona Open singles title a record ten times. The tournament is part of the 500 series on the ATP World Tour and is played on clay courts at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona.

Notes:
Joshna Chinappa has won the 19th edition of Women’s singles Asian Individual Squash Championships (AISC) by defeating compatriot Dipika Pallikal Karthik in the women’s final at the Express Avenue Mall in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on April 29, 2017. With this, she scripted history by becoming the first Indian to clinch the Asian Squash title.

Notes:
Shobana Kamineni, executive vice chairperson of the Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, has been appointed as first Woman President of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). She succeeded Dr Naushad Forbes and will hold the position for the year 2017-18. Apart from her, Rakesh Bharti Mittal takes charge as President Designate and Uday Kotak has become the new CII Vice President. CII is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry-led and industry-managed organisation, playing a proactive role in India’s development process.

Notes:
Dr. Sanjay Pratihar, a scientist at Tezpur University, has been chosen for the prestigious Indian National Science Academy (INSA) medal for the Young Scientist Award for the year 2017 for his excellent contribution to multi-metal complexes, theoretical understanding, selective sensing of Hq2+ions and important applications in agriculture. The award, which consists of a bronze medal, a certificate and cash award of Rs. 25,000, will be given to him during INSA’s anniversary meeting scheduled in December 2017. The award of an Academy medal to a Young Scientist shall be made in recognition of notable contributions to any branch of science or technology, recognised by the Academy, on the basis of work carried out in India.

Notes:
Dubai has become the first city in the world to have its own Microsoft-designed font “Dubai Font”. The type face “Dubai Font” supports both Arabic and Latin script and will be available in 23 languages. It was created in partnership with Microsoft and is now available to Microsoft Office 365 users around the world. The font is available in three styles as ‘Dubai’, ‘Dubai Medium’ and ‘Dubai Light’. The new font was officially launched by the Dubai government on May 1, 2017 to reflect the city’s symbols of tolerance, happiness and respect, enabling people to express, communicate and connect.

Notes:
The Maharashtra government has recently launched the state’s first Automated Weather Stations (AWS) at Dongargaon in Nagpur. With this, the state has become the first Indian state to install first-of-its-kind service for farmers. Around 2,065 such weather stations will also install at the village/mandal level across Maharashtra. The AWS will be helpful in measuring the wind direction, wind speed, air temperature, relative humidity, and record the amount of rainfall. The gathered information will be shared among the farmers by making them available on Mahavedh portal (Maharashtra agriculture weather information network) as well as on the Skymet mobile application.

Notes:
The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee has recently attended the 8th Convocation of the Lovely Professional University (LPU) at Phagwara, Punjab on May 2, 2017. The LPU is a semi-residential university college in North India created under the Punjab State Private University Act 2005 and recognized by UGC under Section 2(f) of UGC Act 1956. LPU offers around 200 programmes and courses at diploma, undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate, and doctoral levels. The university has more than 30,000 students graduating every year.