Current Affairs 17 May 2016

Current Affairs 17 May 2016 - Important Points

• Justice Deepak Gupta sworn-in as Chief Justice of - Chhattisgarh High Court
• India, US held first - Maritime Security Dialogue
• 5 Indians posthumously awarded with – UN’s Dag Hammarskjold Medal
• NTPC tied-up with which company to foray into Fertilizer Sector - Coal India Limited
• UNICEF, EU launches which campaign on Education in Crisis Zones - #EmergencyLessons Campaign

Current Affairs 17 May 2016 - Details

Justice Deepak Gupta sworn-in as Chief Justice of - Chhattisgarh High Court

Among Important National Current Affairs, on 16 May 2016 Justice Deepak Gupta sworn-in as the new Chief Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court.

Balram Das Tandon who is a Chhattisgarh Governor administered the oath of office to Justice Gupta at a function at Raj Bhawan in Raipur.

Earlier, Justice Gupta has served as the Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court.

Know About Justice Deepak Gupta – 

• In a family of lawyers, Justice Deepak Gupta was born on 7 May 1955 in Nurpur in Kangra District. 

• In 1978, he received his Law degree from the Delhi University.

• After his law degree he started practicing in the High Court of Himachal Pradesh from 1978 and continued till 2004.

India, US held first - Maritime Security Dialogue

Among International Current Affairs, on 16 May 2016 India and the United States (US) held their first round of discussions under the recently-constituted Maritime Security Dialogue. 

India, US dialogue was held between the officials of Defence and External Affairs ministries and their US counterparts.

By Shambhu Kumaran, Joint Secretary in-charge of Planning and International Cooperation (PIC) and Munu Mahawar, Ministry of External Affairs Joint Secretary, Americas (AMS) represented the Indian side. Whereas, David Shear, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs; Manpreet Anand, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs and Vice Admiral Aucoin, Commander, US Seventh Fleet, were the officials who represented the American side.

Here are few highlights of the Maritime Security Dialogue – 

• India and Unites States discussed various issues including Asia-Pacific maritime challenges, naval cooperation, and multilateral engagement.

• They were also agreed for the white shipping technical arrangement to improve data sharing on commercial shipping traffic.

5 Indians posthumously awarded with – UN’s Dag Hammarskjold Medal

In the third week of May 2016, The United Nations declared that four Indian peacekeepers and a civilian will be honoured along with other 124 personnel with a prestigious U.N. medal.

Lists include the name of Head Constable Shubhkaran Yadav, Rifleman Manish Malik, Havildar Amal Deka, Naik Rakesh Kumar and Gagan Punjabi, who will be honoured with the Dag Hammarskjold Medal awarded posthumously.

On the other hand, the 124 personnel will be honoured on the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. 

Know About Dag Hammarskjold Medal -

• This prestigious medal was established in December 2000, which was named after second UN Secretary General and Swedish diplomat Dag Hammarskjold.

• Under the control and authority of the UN, awarded posthumously to members of peacekeeping operations who lost their lives during service with a peacekeeping operation.

NTPC tied-up with which company to foray into Fertilizer Sector - Coal India Limited

Among Important National Current Affairs, on 16 May 2016 NTPC Limited which is a State-run power producer signed a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) with state-run miner Coal India limited to foray into the Fertilizer Sector and revive plants of the Fertilizer Corporation of India Limited (FCIL).

By NTPC's General Manager (BD) Arun Kumar Gupta and Coal India's General Manager (Coal Videsh) T Bandopadhyay the JVA was signed

Know About NTPC – 

• NTPC Limited earlier it was known as National Thermal Power Corporation Limited. This is an Indian central Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Power, Government of India, which engaged in the business of generation of electricity and allied activities. 

• NTPC is a company incorporated under the Companies Act 1956 and a "Government Company" within the meaning of the act.

UNICEF, EU launches which campaign on Education in Crisis Zones - #EmergencyLessons Campaign

Among Important International Current Affairs, on 16 May 2016 The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the European Union (EU) declared the launch of #EmergencyLessons campaign on education in crisis zones.

This campaign is a social media-driven public awareness campaign. Main aim of this campaign is to make target of reaching 20 million Europeans and highlighting the importance of education for children affected by emergencies.

Know About #EmergencyLessons Campaign – 

• #EmergencyLessons Campaign is aimed to targets people of 25 year old and younger peoples.

• Soon on social media, the stories of the children affected by emergencies will be shared for the next seven months.

• This campaign covers countries like Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, Slovakia and the United Kingdom.