Notes:
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali has recently launched Swadeshi Samriddhi SIM cards in alliance with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL). Initially, only the employees and office bearers of Patanjali will be able to avail the benefits of the SIM card. After its full-fledged launch, customers will get a 10% discount on Patanjali products. The Swadeshi Samriddhi SIM cards can be recharged for Rs 144, for which users can avail unlimited calls throughout the country, a 2 GB data and send a 100 SMSes. The SIM card also comes with medical insurance and life insurance covers. The medical insurance cover is for Rs 2.5 lakh, while life insurance costs Rs 5 lakh. However, the covers can only be avail in the case of road accident.

Notes:
Kerala cartoonist Thomas Antony has won an international award in the best caricature category. He is among the 9 winners at the 13th edition of the World Press Cartoon awards 2018, instituted by an organization based in Lisbon, Portugal. The awards are given to the best works published in 2017 in newspapers and magazines from around the world. According to World Press Cartoon website, the winners are from 8 countries in three continents– Europe, Asia and South America. Antony is the lone cartoonist selected from Asia selected for the prize. The awards will be presented at a function to be held in Portugal on June 2, 2018.

Notes:
India has signed a loan agreement with the World Bank (WB) for USD 21.7 million for strengthening the public financial management in Rajasthan project in New Delhi on May 29, 2018. The objective of the project is to contribute to improved budget execution, enhanced accountability and greater efficiency in revenue administration in Rajasthan. It involves strengthening of the Public Financial Management Framework; strengthening of expenditure and revenue systems; and project management and capacity building among others. The project size is approximately USD 31 million, of which $21.7 million will be financed by the World Bank, and remaining amount will be funded out of the state budget. The project duration is 5 years.

Notes:
The Jammu and Kashmir (J & K) government has submitted a Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the Rs 189 crore Devika river rejuvenation project to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) for approval. The aim of the project is to develop bathing ghats in the premises of the Devika River, removal of encroachments, sewerage treatment, restoration of natural water bodies and development of catchment area. The river holds religious significance as it is revered by Hindus as the sister of river Ganga. Devika river, which is also known as Devika Nagari, originates from the hilly Suddha Mahadev temple in Udhampur district and flows down towards western Punjab (now in Pakistan) where it merges with the Ravi river.

Notes:
Sudha Balakrishnan, the Vice-President of National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL), has been appointed the first-ever Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). She will hold the rank of executive director and will have a 3-year term. The CFO will be responsible for reporting of financial information of the central bank, establishing accounting policies and ensuring compliance with regulations. The CFO will also be entrusted with communicating RBIs expected and actual financial performance and overseeing its budget processes. As CFO, Balakrishnan will also be in charge of the dividend RBI pays to the government, which is crucial in the final budgetary calculations. Under the RBI Act, 1934, the central bank is required to pay the government its surplus after making provisions for bad and doubtful debts, depreciation in assets and, contribution to staff and superannuation fund among others. RBI follows a July to June financial year.

Notes:
Pankaj Saran, the 1982-batch officer of Indian Foreign Service (IFS), has been appointed as the new Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA). He will at post for a period of two years, on deputation basis initially till the date of his superannuation, i.e., November 30, 2018, then on re-employment on contract basis. Currently, he is India’s envoy to Russia. He served twice in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) — first as Deputy Secretary/ Director during 1995 and 1999, and then as the Joint Secretary between 2007 and 2012. Former chief of the Intelligence Bureau, Ajit Doval is the National Security Adviser (NSA). He is assisted by Deputy National Security Advisers. Ex-chief of India’s external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Rajinder Khanna was in January 2018 also appointed as the Deputy NSA.

Notes:
In the North-East, the Gaj Yatra has been rolled out by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) from Tura, the principal town of Garo Hills of Meghalaya on May 28, 2018. It is the part of an 18-month-long national campaign to protect India’s national heritage animal “elephants” and its habitat. The event involves taking an elephant mascot across districts frequented by jumbo herds for generating awareness among the people. The aim of the campaign is to involve people from all walks of life in the conservation of elephants. The WTI is securing 101 elephant corridors through its Right to Passage project, in partnership with the Union government’s Project Elephant, state forest departments and various NGOs. The aim is to rehabilitate people affected “by conflict in corridor areas” while ensuring uninterrupted movement of elephants between key habitats. Earlier, the campaign was launched by the Dr. Harsh Vardhan on the occasion of 2017 World Elephant Day (WED) in New Delhi.

Notes:
The International Day of UN Peacekeepers is observed every year on May 29 to pay tribute to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in United Nations peacekeeping operations for their high level of professionalism, dedication and courage. The day also offers a chance to honor more than 3,700 peacekeepers who have lost their lives serving under the UN flag since 1948. The 2018 theme is “UN Peacekeepers: 70 Years of Service and Sacrifice”.

Notes:
On May 29, the Ministry of Women and Child and Development (MoWCD) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Uttar Pradesh in New Delhi for management of Home of Widows at Sunrakh Bangar, Vrindavan. The MoWCD has constructed this shelter home for widows with a capacity of 1000 inmates. The MoU shall be in force for a period of 2 years which may be renewed for further period on satisfactory running of the Home. As per MoU, the Uttar Pradesh Government shall be responsible for activities including setting up mechanism for identifying beneficiaries, providing residential care to the widows, deploying staff as per norms with prescribed qualification and experience. The MoU further states that senior officials of Government of Uttar Pradesh shall visit and check the security staff periodically and monitor their performance. The MoU also includes provisions for facilitating Aadhaar Cards for all inmates and medical/geriatric care for inmates.

Notes:
Former Supreme Court judge Justice R K Agrawal, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, has been appointed the President of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC). He will take over from Justice D K Jain, who will complete his term on May 31. The NCDRC, which deals with consumer rights and addresses their disputes and grievances, is a quasi-judicial commission set up in 1988 under the Consumer Protection Act of 1986. The commission is headquartered in New Delhi and is headed by sitting or retired judge of Supreme Court of India (SCI).