1.India and Palestine Inks 5 Agreements :-
India and Palestine has signed five agreements during the 4 day visit of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to India. This is Abbas’s fifth visit to India and the third state visit after his earlier visits in 2008 and 2012.
These 5 MoUs signed were on visa exemption for diplomatic passport holder, agriculture cooperation, cooperation in field of IT & Electronics, health sector and cooperation in the field of youth affairs and sports.
2.Transport strike called off in TN :-
Transport unions withdrew their indefinite strike on Tuesday after holding talks with senior Ministers.
Major trade unions, including the LPF, CITU and AITUC, participated in the meeting with senior Ministers, including Transport Minister M.R. Vijayabhaskar, at the Secretariat on Tuesday night.
Soundararajan, general secretary, CITU, said that based on the government’s assurance that ₹1,250 crore would be released immediately, it was decided to withdraw the strike. He said the amount would be utilised for settling the pension and gratuity dues of all retired employees.
Also, the amount would be used to disburse arrears of dearness allowance and one month leave pay that had not been paid for a long time. Mr. Soundararajan said further talks would be held with the Transport Minister regarding the 13th wage agreement on May 24.
3.PFRDA-CRISIL Report: India Ageing Gradually with Every 5th Person to be in 60s by 2050 :-
As per the PFRDA-CRISIL report titled, Financial security for India’s elderly – The imperatives, India will begin ageing gradually and transform from ‘young’ to a ‘greying’ with every 5th Indian to be in 60s in contrast to every 12th person at present.
By 2050, persons above the age of 60 would increase from the present 8.9% of the population to 19.4 %. Also, by 2050, the population of people above 80 is likely to increase from 0.9% to 2.8%. As of 2015, almost 90% of the population was below the age of 60 years and the proportion of working age population stood at 44% .
4.Ranil Wickremesinghe hails China’s connectivity project :-
Sri Lanka will leverage its strategic location and connectivity to become the hub of the Indian Ocean, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said at the recently-concluded Belt and Road Forum in Beijing.
“The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will provide the much needed hard and soft connectivity in the Indian Ocean required for rapid economic and social development,” he said, days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his visit to the island.
5.MoU Signed between Indian Navy and Space Application Centre :-
Indian Navy and the Space Application Centre has signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Data Sharing and Scientific cooperation in the field of Meteorology and Oceanology.
As per the MoU, the scientific advancements and expertise achieved by SAC would be synergised into the Indian Naval efforts in order to keep the Indian Navy abreast with rapid developments that has taken place in the field of Environment Sciences and Satellite Data acquisition technology.
6.Raids at 22 sites linked to Lalu Prasad in tax probe :-
Acting on information of alleged investments in shell companies and benami deals worth over Rs 1,000 crore, the Income Tax department on Tuesday conducted searches and surveys on at least 22 locations in Delhi and adjoining areas allegedly linked to RJD chief Lalu Prasad.
Searches were carried out at the residential premises of 12 persons linked to the case while surveys were conducted at 10 office premises associated with the companies being investigated by the department, a senior tax official said.
Speaking on the sidelines of an event in the capital, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, “People in high positions acquiring assets through shell companies is not a small matter. The day of reckoning has come for many. They all will be accountable.”
7.West Bengal makes Bengali Mandatory in all Schools :-
West Bengal State government has made Bengali mandatory in all schools, including private English medium schools.
Henceforth, it would be compulsory for all schools including English medium schools affiliated to boards other than West Bengal Board of Secondary Education to teach Bengali as an optional subject from Class I so that students can study it either as a second or third language. At present, teaching of Bengali is not mandatory in the schools.
Apart from Bengali, English and Hindi, students can opt for other languages such as Urdu, Gurumukhi, Nepali and Ol-chiki as the medium of instruction in schools of the State.
8.IPL 2017 Qualifier: Rising Pune Supergiant halt Mumbai Indians charge, enter final :-
There’s almost a sense of trepidation whenever MS Dhoni walks out to bat in the IPL these days. Not so much for the opposition, well not to the extent of dread as it used to be before, but for everyone who’s accustomed to seeing him be MS Dhoni. Which Dhoni will show up?
The Dhoni of old, smashing the ball to all parts or the older Dhoni of now, who just doesn’t seem as menacing as before, or doesn’t hit them as far often enough.
It’s almost unfair on Dhoni, this expectation that he will forever remain the same destructive force with the bat. But it’s a predicament that almost every great sportsperson has to face inevitably. The wane period towards the end, when you just aren’t as good, but nobody is ready to accept it or that they simply don’t want to.
9.India welcome to join BRI: China :-
China on Tuesday said its “doors will always remain open” for India’s participation in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), despite New Delhi’s decision not to participate in a two-day brainstorming forum held in Beijing to advance the transnational connectivity project.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in her daily press briefing: “China has welcomed the participation of India in the Belt and Road project.
Our answer is clear. Doors will always remain open. We will always welcome the participation from the Indian side.”
10.In Tihar jail, Om Prakash Chautala, 82, clears Class 12 with A grade :-
Former Harayana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, who is serving a 10-year jail term after being convicted in the teachers’ recruitment scam, has passed his higher secondary examination (“first division”) at the age of 82 years. He is now planning to pursue an undergraduate course.
Chautala appeared for the Class XII exam conducted by the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) at the centre set up for prisoners at Tihar Jail, where he is lodged.
