Important Current Affairs 19th May 2016

Modi Crosses 20 mn Followers On Twitter

• Modi has crossed the count of a whopping 20 million followers on Twitter.
• He is right next to US President Barack Obama with 75 million followers becoming the second most followed politician in the world.
• Narendra Modi’s Twitter account has added three million followers since the start of the current year.
• Narendra Modi has moved ahead of Shah Rukh Khan, who has 19.5 million followers.

Hyderabad to Host ICANN First India Meet

• The next global meeting of the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will be hosted in Hyderabad.
• The first time it will take place in India.
• ICANN,which is often called the phone book of the internet, matches domain names with appropriate IP address numbers.
• The body holds public meetings thrice a year, which are attended by academics from over 150 countries.

HDFC Bank Launches SmartUp for Startups

• HDFC Bank has launched SmartUp, a dedicated solution for startups, to fulfil all their banking needs.
• SmartUp has been launched in association with Zone Startups India, a start-up accelerator.
• It is tailored to meet all the requirements of a startup,offering banking & payment solutions,along with advisory & forex services.
• SmartUp for start-ups is a complete banking solution created by HDFC.

China,Germany Top Refugee Welcome Index

• The people of China, Germany & the UK are the most welcoming to refugees in the world.
• Russia, Indonesia & Thailand were placed at the bottom.
• Almost all Germans surveyed & 87 % of Britons said they would allow refugees into their countries.
• This was according to an Amnesty International survey on attitudes towards those fleeing war and persecution.

PNB Reported Largest Loss in Banking

• PNB reported a massive loss of Rs 5,367 crore for the quarter ended March 2016,the largest-ever loss reported by an Indian lender.
• PNB’s loss,stems from having to set aside large sums of capital for bad loans.
• As a percentage of its loan book, PNB’s bad loans are now at 12.9 %.
• To cover for these bad loans, provisions have been increased, which has led to the bank reporting the worst loss ever.

Kohli Score 800Runs in Single Ipl Season

• Virat Kohli has become the only batsman to score more than 800 runs in a single edition of IPL.
• He notched up his 4th century in the ongoing season against Kings XI Punjab
• His tally stands at 865 runs from 13 matches.
• Kohli also becomes the IPL’s highest run-scorer, going past his India team-mate Suresh Raina.
• Kohli went past Raina’s overall IPL runs of 3985 runs and now has 4002 runs.

Odisha to Launch Green Passage Scheme

• The Odisha govt has decided to launch Green Passage scheme for orphan students to ensure that they get free of cost higher education in the state.
• A proposal in this regard, was approved by CM Naveen Patnaik .
• As per the scheme,orphan students pursuing higher education will no longer have to bear the education expenses.
• As many as 16382 orphan students lodged in 272 institutions across the state

IRDAI Issues New Insurer Solvency Rules

• The Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority of India has come up with a new set of norms for companies maintaining a solvency ratio, based on line of business.
• The health,motor & liability segments would be required to maintain a higher ratio.
• It would be less in engineering, aviation & fire.
• Available Solvency Margin is calculated as the excess of value of assets over that of liabilities.

Syamantak Wins Young Scientist Award

• An Indian American teenager from Texas, Syamantak Payra, has won the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award for his work in making a low-cost electronically-aided knee brace.
• Payra won $50,000 award for his effort.
• The device will allow people with weakened legs to be able to walk better.
• The Young Scientist Award is given out by Intel Corporation and the Society for Science & the Public.

UN Launches the World Cities Report

• The UN-Habitat has released a report on sustainable urban development titled World Cities Report 2016,Urbanization & Development:Emerging Futures.
• UN reported that India is planned to add 300 million new urban residents by 2050.
• India is required to build Climate Friendly cities to deal the challenge of accommodating the needs of the Population growth.
• India should plan to build 100 smart cities.

Cook Inaugurates Maps Development Office

• Apple CEO Tim Cook inaugurated a facility in Hyderabad that would focus on development of maps for its products.
• The investment will accelerate Maps development & create up to 4,000 jobs.
• Apple has been continually updating and adding new features to Maps including 3D views, the Flyover feature .
• It will help customers find convenient places to shop, eat and explore nearby areas.