Current Affairs 11th May 2018

Current Affairs 11th May 2018 - Important Points

• India, Panama signed two agreements in presence of - Vice President M.Venkaiah Naidu
• President Donald Trump withdraws US from Iran nuclear deal on - 8th May 2018
• NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY DAY 2018 celebrated on - 11th May 2018
• PM Modi ranked 9th in the World's - Most Powerful People list 2018
• Naval Commander’s Conference concluded on - 11th May 2018

Current Affairs 11th May 2018 - Details

India, Panama signed two agreements in presence of - Vice President M.Venkaiah Naidu

India and Panama have inked 2 contracts on exemption of Visas for Diplomatic and Official Passports bearers and in the field of Agriculture. These contracts were inked in the presence of cand President of Panama Juan Carlos Varela Rodrigues in Panama City. It was 2nd leg of Vice President M.Venkaiah Naidu’s his 1st formal foreign visit to 3 nations Guatemala, Panama and Peru to strengthen India’s ties with them.
Key Points

• India and Panama always had pleasant relations. These relations are grounded on our common values and shared promises to democracy, diversity, multi-culturalism, and the rule of law.
• During Vice President M.Venkaiah Naidu’s visit, both nations determined to fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
• India will form 2 centres for Biodiversity and Innovation in Panama worth US $10 million and US $15 million for each.
• Both nations have decided to increase collaboration in important areas by solidifying collaboration in tax information, economic assistance, air facilities, traditional medicines, philosophy and space.

President Donald Trump withdraws US from Iran nuclear deal on - 8th May 2018

US President Donald Trump separately withdrew United States from historic 2015 Iran nuclear deal
inked between Iran and P5+1 nations. It also reimposes authorizations on Iran that were raised by the
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. President Trump management cited that it cannot avert Iran
nuclear bomb and nuclear deal is defective at its essential as it does not target Iran’s ballistic missile
programme, its nuclear actions beyond 2025, and its role in fights in Yemen and Syria. However other
parties to the deal China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, Germany and European Union are still
favouring it, thus evading complete collapse of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action

• It is casually known as ‘Iran nuclear deal’. It is multi-lateral nuclear deal inked between Iran and 5
  permanent members of UN Security Council viz. United States, China, France, Russia, and United
  Kingdom, in addition to Germany and EU, in Vienna in July 2015.
• The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is intended at avoiding Iran from building nuclear weapon,
  complicated lifting of international authorizations in return for Tehran curbing its nuclear programme.
• This strategy made sure that Iran will drastically decrease its uranium enriching capacity and levels,
  enriched supplies and extractors and will permit for stringent inspection and monitoring by international agencies including International Atomic Energy Agency.
• In exchange for Iran compliance to contract, economic approvals that had kept Iran away from
  international banking and the global oil trade were raised.
• It permitted Iran to have business deals and also relaxed billions of dollars Iran had foreign before multilateral permissions were forced on Iran over its nuclear programme.

NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY DAY 2018 celebrated on - 11th May 2018

National Technology Day is celebrated every year on 11th May in India, as a prompt of the anniversary of Shakti. Shakti is the Pokhran nuclear test which was organised on 11 May, 1998. The day lime-lights the significant role of Science in our daily lives and inspires students to embrace Science as a career option. Various programmes are held in different technical institutes and engineering colleges to celebrate the day. Competitions, quizzes, lectures, interactive sessions and presentations of various aspects of Science are held worldwide. The day is vital for engineers, planners, scientists and others who are involved in nation building and governance.
HISTORY OF NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY DAY

• National Technology Day is celebrated to memorialize the nuclear test which was organised in Pokhran on 11th May, 1998. This was a prideful event for all the residents of India.
• The day also admirations the significance of Science in our day to day lives. It was on the 11 as well as the 13th  of May in 1998 when India directed 5 nuclear tests at Pokhran, Rajasthan.
• The initial 5 tests were directed on 11 th  May when 3 nuclear bombs were exploded while recording an earthquake of 5.3 Richter scale in the close seismic stations. Balance of the 2 tests were accomplished on 13 May, since then National Technology Day is observed in India.
• President of India delivers National Technology Award to persons as well as organisations for their immense contribution to science.
• On this day, students of India also plan their visits to various laboratories to grab information about the recent developments in the areas of pharmacy, science and research work.

PM Modi ranked 9th in the World's - Most Powerful People list 2018

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was ranked among the 10 most powerful people in the 2018 World's Most Powerful People list in the world where Chinese President Xi Jinping stood first. As per the World's Most Powerful People list released on 8th May, 2018, Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani is the only Indian businessman to feature in the list of 75 most powerful people across the globe.

Important Highlights

• Mukesh Ambani ranked 32nd on the Forbes's World's Most Powerful People list.
• With the launch of 4G phone service Jio in 2016, Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited gained momentum in India, while PM Modi emerged as a key figure on  international front to tackle climate change.
• Chinese President Xi Jinping is on the top of the list for the first time, replacing Russian President Vladimir Putin, who slipped to 2nd place after being named as  the most powerful person in the world for four consecutive years.
• US President Donald Trump is ranked third.
• British Prime Minister Theresa May took 14th place.

Naval Commander’s Conference concluded on - 11th May 2018

The first biannual Naval Commander’s Conference of 2018 concluded on May 11th, 2018 after four days of intense deliberations. The conference was by Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the conference.

Sitharaman also assured the Naval Commanders that their endeavours to bridge critical capability gaps in fleet support ships, ship-borne helicopters, and submarines would be progressed by the Government. The Minister also extended support to the long-term capability acquisition plans of the navy that
have been precisely formulated with a strategic view of the Indo-Pacific region.

Important Highlights

• There were deliberations upon the imperative need for approval of the second indigenous aircraft carrier for the navy during the conference.
• This project along with the other shipbuilding projects already started or in the pipeline including MCMVs (Mine Counter Measure Vessels),LPD(Landing Platform Dock), Anti-Submarine Shallow Water Craft, Diving Support Vessels and Survey Vessels are expected to boost the ‘Make-in-India’ initiative of the Union Government.
• The major shipbuilding projects in Indian shipyards that include both private and public result in the jobs creation. These also provide encouragement to MSMEs to develop  indigenous technologies and to manufacture units in support of them.
• The next edition of the Naval Commander’s Conference will be taking place at the end of 2018 probably in October or November.