12 May 2017 Current Affairs
Sanjay Mitra appointed as defence Secretary
Road Transport & Highways secretary Sanjay Mitra was on 10 May 2017 appointed as Defence Secretary in a top level bureaucratic reshuffle. His appointment was approved by Appointments Committee of Cabinet . Mitra will succeed G. Mohan Kumar, who will completes his tenure on 24 May 2017. Till then, Mitra will function as an Officer on Special Duty in the Defence Ministry. This will be his first posting in the Defence Ministry.
Kochi Metro Rail offer job to members from transgender community
Kochi Metro decided to employ 23 members of the transgender community. This is the first time a government owned company has formally appointed members of transgender community. These 23 transgender workers will be a part of 530 kudumbasree workers to be employed at 11 stations in the Kochi Metro Station.
Mark Lowcock to be named as UN Humanitarian Chief
Mark Lowcock, the head of Britain’s International Development Department, has been appointed has United Nation’s new Humanitarian aid Chief by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. Mr. Low Cock will replace Stephen O’ Brien. Low Cock will be the 4th British National to held post of UN Humanitarian Chief since 2007. His candidature for this post was strongly. Backed by British PM Theresa May.
Aruna Sundararajan appointed as secretary of Department of Telecommunications
Aruna Sundararajan was on 10 May, 2017 appointed as secretary of Department of Telecommunications. However, she will continue to serve as the secretary for Union Ministry of Electronics and IT. Aruna succeeds PK Pujari, who was appointed to the post temporarily in March 2017. Sundararajan secretary position will also be temporary. The post of full time secretary JS Deepak was removal from the post in March 2017.
Election Commission of India Launches National Contact Centre
The Election Commission of India has launched National Contact Centre with a toll free number -1800111950. The move would enable any citizen from any port of the country to call on the toll free number and get their query or complaint addressed at any time of the day in Hindi or English. The National contact center is operated on a National Grievance Redressal system software.
Brazil declares end to Zika emergency
Brazil on 11 May, 2017 declared an end to public health emergency for the Zika Virus after about 18 months of fight against this mosquito borne virus. The Zika Virus emergency fell up on Brazil when the country was preparing to host the 2016 Olympics, fueling the concerns that Rio Olympics could spread the Virus. In November 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) lifted its own international health emergency status for Zika.
VVS Laxman awarded honorary life membership of Marylebone Cricket Club
Former Indian cricket player VVS Laxman on 11 May, 2017 was awarded an honorary life membership to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Laxman is the fifth Indian to receive the honour, after Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Zaheer Khan. He was a right handed aggressive bats man, who played mostly in the middle order. In 2011 he was awarded the Padma Shri Award.
Atmosphere Discovered Around “Worm Neptune”
Astronomers have discovered ‘the primitive atmosphere’ surrounding a planet “Warm Neptune” with the help of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope. The study revealed that the exoplanet found around 430 light years from Earth has an atmosphere that composed almost entirely of hydrogen and helium, with a relatively cloudless sky.
Gujarat gets its First Woman Police Chief
Geetha Johri, an IPS officer of the 1982 batch was appointed the new Gujarat DGP, Johri becomes the State’s first woman police chief. Johri was in news of her role in the SIT probing post Godhra riots and as investigating officer in the Sohrabuddin Shaik and Tulsiram Prajapati fake encounter case. She was the supervisory officer of Sohrabuddin encounter case in 2006-07 when the CID investigated the case following the opex court’s direction.
Rajnath Singh launches an app for Central Armed Police Forces
The Union Home Ministry launched a grievance redressal mobile app for the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) on 11 May, 2017. The soldiers serving in the CAPF’s can download the app. If any soldier has a complaint, they can directly log it through the app and it will be taken up by the home Ministry for redressal. The CAPF includes jawans from Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)
Vinay Mohan Kwatra named new ambassador to France
Vinay Mohan Kwatra named as new ambassador to France. Currently he is a joint secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office. Vinay is a 1988 batch Foreign Service Officer. He will succeed Mohan Kumar. He is an experience of dealing with the UN Organisations such as International Labour Organisation (ILO) and World Health Organisation (WHO). He has also served in Indian diplomatic missions in China and the U.S.