Current Affairs May 21, 2015

Infosys became the first Indian Company to Join RE100 Renewable Energy Campaign

India's software giant Infosys became the first Indian Company to Join RE100 Renewable Energy Campaign, The Climate Group announced it.

v RE100 is a global platform for major companies committed to 100% renewable power.

v During FY2015, Infosys met 29 percent of its electricity needs - about 72.08 million units - for its locations across India through green power. Also at the same time Infosys generated over 2911 MW of electricity through its Solar PV installations across India.

v RE100 was launched at Climate Week NYC (New York City) on 22 September 2014.

Man International Booker prize Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai

v The 2015 Man International Booker prize was awarded to the Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai at a ceremony at the V&A in London on May 20.

v The 61-year old writer was among a shortlist of 10 writers that included India-born Amitav Ghosh.

v The literary prize, worth £ 60,000 is awarded to a living author of any nationality who has published fiction either in English or in English translation. Unlike the annual Man Booker Prize for Fiction, the Man Booker International Prize, which is awarded once in two years, is in recognition of a writer’s body of work and overall contribution to fiction rather than to a single novel.

Meghalaya achieves 100% inclusion in Jan Dhan Yojana

v Meghalaya has achieved 100& success in implementing the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna.

v All households in the state have been successfully covered under the scheme. More than 5.53 lakh households have been covered with 1.55 lakh new bank accounts.

SS Ahluwalia appointed chairman of JPC on Land Acquisition Amendment Bill, 2015

v SS Ahluwalia appointed as the chairman of Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) (Amendment) Bill, 2015.

v Committee is constituted of 20 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 members from the Rajya Sabha.

v SS Ahluwalia is a BJP Lok Sabha member representing Darjeeling constituency in West Bengal.

Reliance Jio Infocomm signed an agreement with Huawei

v Reliance Jio Infocomm signed an agreement with Huawei for sourcing 4G devices. Reliance Jio Infocomm is a telecom subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited.

Paragliding World Cup 2015 will be held in Himachal Pradesh

v Paragliding World Cup 2015 will be held in Himachal Pradesh, India during the period from 23rd October to 31st October 2015 at Bir Billing in Kangra city. Almost 50 countries will participate in the event.

International Clinical Trials Day celebrated on May 20th 2015

v International Clinical Trials Day celebrated on May 20th 2015

v Theme for this year ”Patients First”, by the Indian Society of Clinical Research or ISCR.

Scientists have discovered the driest place on Earth

v Scientists have discovered the driest place on Earth in the Atacama Desert in Chile. The name of the discovered site is called as Maria Elena South (MES) by team of researchers at the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science in Seattle, United States.