May 1st, 2018

1. International Labour Day: 1 May 2018

  • International Labour Day, also known as International Worker’s Day or May Day is observed on this day every year to promote and encourage the international labor associations.
  • The Labour Day annually celebrates the achievements of the workers. In India, Labour Day is referred to as Antarrashtriya Shramik Diwas or Kamgar Din. The first Labour day or May Day was celebrated in the year 1923 in Chennai.
  • The theme of International Labour Day 2018 is “Uniting Workers for Social and Economic Advancement”.

2. World Asthma Day: 1 May 2018

  • World Asthma Day is an annual event organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) to improve asthma awareness and care around the world.
  • World Asthma Day 2018 has “Never too early, never too late. It’s always the right time to address airways disease” as its theme.

3. Hockey India names Harendra Singh as men’s coach.

  • Hockey India named Women’s hockey coach Harendra Singh as chief coach of the Indian men’s team.
  • Incumbent men’s in-charge Sjoerd Marijne was re-appointed as Indian women’s hockey coach.
  • Men’s team under the tutelage of Marijne had returned without a medal in the recently concluded Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast, Australia, for the first time since the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
  • Harendra, who coached the Indian men’s team earlier from 2009 to 2011, was in-charge of the women’s team since November last year. Under his guidance, the Indian women’s team finished an impressive fourth at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
  • Harendra’s most important contribution was leading the women’s team to the ninth women’s Asia Cup title in Japan last year. Harendra had earlier led the Indian junior men’s hockey team to the World Cup title in 2016.

4. Maharastra and Gujarat had celebrated their 58th statehood day.

  • On this day in 1960, Bombay State was dissolved and split on linguistic lines into the two states of Gujarat, with Gujarati speaking population and Maharashtra, with Marathi speaking population.
  • Maharashtra celebrates 58 years of its formation day. Every year May 1 is marked as Maharashtra Diwas, as the state was formed on May 1, 1960.
  • In Maharastra, the celebrations in the state include traditional Lavani performance, folk songs, and narration of poetries of popular Marathi saints.
  • In Gujarat, the state level celebrations will be held at Bharuch.
  • Static Part: 1. Maharastra:- Chief Minister- Devendra Fadnavis |Governor- C.Vidyasagar Rao.
    2. Gujarat:- Chief Minister- Vijay Rupani |Governor- Om Prakash Kohli.

5. Swachh Bharat Mission launches GOBAR-DHAN Scheme.

  • Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation, Sushri Uma Bharti launched the GOBAR (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources – DHAN scheme at the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) Auditorium, Karnal.
  • The scheme aims to positively impact village cleanliness and generate wealth and energy from cattle and organic waste.
  • The scheme also aims at creating new rural livelihood opportunities and enhancing income for farmers and other rural people.
  • The Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) comprises two main components for creating clean villages – creating open defecation free (ODF) villages and managing solid and liquid waste in villages.

6. ACI Projects India as 2nd Fastest Growing Country for Air Passenger Traffic.

  • India has been projected to be the second fastest growing country in the world for air passenger traffic. As per the Airports Council International (ACI), by 2022 passenger traffic in emerging economies like India will surpass advanced economies.
  • The ACI, a global trade body representing airports across the globe, has put Vietnam at the top position with an 8.5% growth rate, followed by India at 7.5% and Iran at 7.3%.

7. India ranked Joint-6th in List of Doping Violations in WADA Report.

  • India is ranked joint-sixth in the list of doping violations with 69 cases, same as that of Russia, according to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report for samples collected in 2016. India improved its position to sixth after being joint-third for three consecutive years from 2013 to 2015.
  • Italy topped the rankings of drug cases in 2016, followed by France (86), United States (76), Australia (75), Belgium (73).

8. Supreme Court expresses concern over the change in color of Taj Mahal.

  • The Supreme Court has expressed concern over the change of color of the iconic Taj Mahal at Agra and said the monument had become yellowish earlier and was now turning brownish and greenish.
  • The top court has been monitoring developments in the area to protect the historic monument, built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal in 1631.
  • The mausoleum is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • Static part: Justice Dipak Misra (born 3 October 1953) is the 45th Chief Justice of India(CJI)

9. Indian shooter Shahzar Rizvi grabs number one spot in ISSF world rankings in 10-meter Air Pistol event.

  • Indian shooter Shahzar Rizvi grabbed the number one spot in International Shooting Sports Federation world rankings, in the 10 meter Air Pistol event.
  • He had won a Silver medal in the recently-concluded World Cup in Changwon, South Korea.
  • Rizvi shot to the number one spot ahead of Russia’s Artem Chernousov and Japanese Tomoyuki Matsuda.
  • The other Indian in the top-10 is Jitu Rai, who is placed sixth on the chart. Om Prakash Mitharval is 12th.

10. Government launches Pilot scheme Procurement of Aggregate Power of 2500 MW for three years.

  • The Indian Government kicks off a Pilot Scheme for Procurement of Aggregate Power of 2500 MW on a competitive basis for 3 (three) years under medium term i.e. from generators with commissioned projects but without Power Purchase Agreement.
  • The main purpose of the scheme is to revive commissioned power plants which are unable to sell electricity in the absence of valid power purchase agreements.
  • Static Part: Raj Kumar Singh is the Minister of State (I/C) of the Ministry of Power.

11. Former IAF Chief Idris Hassan Latif Dies At 94.

  • Latif, who was the IAF chief from September 1978 to August 1981, passed away at a private hospital after a brief illness.
  • After his retirement in 1981, Latif held the posts of Maharashtra Governor and Indian Ambassador to France.
  • He had joined the Royal Indian Air Force(IAF) in 1941 at the age of 18 and was commissioned the next year.
  • During 1943-44, he was one of the few Indian pilots to be seconded to the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom, where he underwent training on more contemporary aircraft like the Hurricane and Spitfire.
  • He returned to India in 1944 and took part in the Burma campaign.

12. Former FIFA Appeals Committee member PP Lakshmanan passes away.

  • Former All India Football Federation (AIFF) Secretary PP Lakshmanan passed away in Kannur after a prolonged illness. He was 83.
  • Lakshmanan served AIFF as the Secretary from 1988 to 1996.
  • He had also served the Kerala Football Association as the vice-president from 1971-88, was also elected as the KFA President from 1980-88.