Cabinet of Modi 2.0
- 57 ministers took the oath of secrecy in the mega oath ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
- 24 Cabinet Ministers, 9 State Ministers with independent charge, and 24 Minister of States
- Leaders of BIMSTEC nations were invited as guests for the ceremony,
- Kyrgyzstan President Sooronbay Jeenbekov was also among invited guests. Next SCO Summit is scheduled to be organized in Kyrgyzstan capital Bishkek.
- A brand new JAL SHAKTI ministry has been introduced in this cabinet, much information about it is still awaited.
- In the new cabinet, 30 ministers from the previous cabinet are found missing (which amounts to 40%).
- Rajnath Singh – Defence, Amit Shah – Home Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman – Finance, S. Jaishankar – External Affairs full list of minister
World No Tobaco Day
- Every year, on 31 May, the World Health Organization (WHO) and global partners celebrate World No Tobacco Day (WNTD).
- The focus of World No Tobacco Day 2019 is on “tobacco and lung health.”
- The campaign creates awareness on the negative impact that tobacco has on people’s lung health, from cancer to chronic respiratory disease, the fundamental role lungs play for the health and well-being of all people.
Trump announced 5% tariff on Mexican import
- Trump administration has imposed 5 percent tariff on all imports from its neighbor Mexico effective from 10th June.
- The aim of this move is to build pressure on Mexico to curb the inflow of illegal migration through the US-Mexico border.
- Illegal migrants from central American countries e.g. El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala are entering the US through via Mexico.
- The tariff rate may increase in the future if enough steps not taken by the Mexico government.
Harsh Vardhan Committee on Housing Finance Securitisation
- RBI has constituted a six-member committee under Harsh Vardhan to review the existing state of mortgage-backed securitization in India and also suggest measures to deepen the housing finance securitization market.
- Harsh Vardhan is a Senior Advisor at Bain & Co. consulting firm.
- The committee will submit its report by August 2019.
- There is an urgent need for a robust and transparent framework and bring mortgage securitization market out of the clutches of limited dominant participants.
2nd Term of Narendra Modi
After a great victory of The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 17th Lok Sabha elections 2019. Narendra Modi is ready to take oath as Prime Minister of India for his second term. The swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set. On the evening of May 30 around 7 pm, The honorable President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind will administer the Oath of Office and Secrecy to Modi and his new Union Council of Ministers in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.
US removes India, Switzerland from its currency monitoring list
On Tuesday 28 may, the Trump administration removed India and Switzerland from its currency monitoring list of major trading partners for currency manipulation. However, the list includes China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam among others.
Russia launched nuclear-powered icebreaker ‘Ural’
On Saturday, 25 May 2019, Russia launched the world’s largest nuclear-powered icebreaker named ‘Ural’ at the Baltic Shipyard in St Petersburg in order to ensure the dominance of Russia in the Artic region. The Ural is the part of an ambitious program to renew and expand its fleet of the vessels in order to improve its ability to tap the Arctic’s commercial potential.
Scott Morrison a new Australian Prime Minister
Scott Morrison has been sworn in at Government House in Canberra as Australia’s Prime Minister. Along with Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack and his new Ministry are being sworn-in, Morrison was sworn in by Queen Elizabeth’s official representative in Australia, Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove.
Pema Khandu to swear-in as the CM of Arunachal Pradesh
Khandu to swear-in as the CM of Arunachal Pradesh on May 29. BJP had won 41 seats out 60 seats in Arunachal Pradesh Assembly in the elections held along with the Lok Sabha elections. whereas, the Janata Dal-United (JDU) won seven seats, while Congress and National People’s Party (NPP) could manage to win only four seats each.
DRDO successfully tested the improved version of the Akash
The Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) 2nd time successfully test-fired the Akash missile in Balasore of the Odisha coast on 27 May. It is a surface-to-air defence missile system. This Akash missile developed as part of the Integrated Guided-Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).