18th May 2015 Important Current Affairs Updates

1) Draupadi Murmu sworn in as first Woman Governor of Jharkhand:
--> Draupadi Murmu has been sworn in as the first woman Governor of Jharkhand on 18 May 2015.
--> Ms Murmu succeeds Syed Ahmed, who will take over as the Governor of Manipur.
--> Jharkhand High Court Chief Justice Virendra Singh administered the oath of office to Ms Murmu.

2) India assumed presidency of World Health Assembly:
--> India assumed the presidency of the 68th World Health Assembly (WHA) held in Geneva after a gap of 19 years.
--> The 68th WHA session began on 18 May 2015 and it will conclude on 27 May 2015.
--> The WHA session is presided by Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda who is  also leading the high-level Indian delegation to the Assembly.

3) Aruna Shanbaug the face of "euthanasia" in India died at 66:
--> Aruna Shanbaug, a former nurse who lived in a coma state for the past 42 years after being brutally sexually assaulted at the KEM Hospital in Mumbai and became the face of the debate on euthanasia in India, died on 18 May 2015.
--> In March 2011, the Supreme Court rejected a petition filed by author Pinki Virani seeking euthanasia for Shanbaug.

4) Customers can now call STD mobile numbers without adding '0' or '+91' prefix:
--> A major roadblock to implementing full mobile number portability (MNP) across the country has been removed.
--> Several telecom operators have begun simplifying the process of dialling STD mobile numbers in the country.
--> Until now, calling mobile numbers registered and situated outside one's home network would require adding '0' or '+91' as a prefix.
--> Customers of most telecom operators can now call any mobile number in the country without adding any prefix.
--> This has come after operators implemented simplified dialling pattern.

5) Nelong Valley near China border opened for tourists after 53 years:
-->  Nelong Valley in Uttarakhand state was opened recently for tourists for the first time since the 1962 Indo-China war because of its proximity to the China border.
-->  Before the Indo-China war, the Nelong Valley was an important route for cross-border trade.
--> But the valley was closed for tourists and trade after the war and the aura of this beautiful valley went into oblivion. 

6) Federal Bank, SBI Cards joined hands for co-branded credit card:
--> Federal Bank on 18 May 2015 enetered into credit card segment through the launch of co-branded credit cards in partnership with SBI Cards, a leading credit card issuer.
--> In the first year, Federal Bank aims to issue as many as 1.5 lakh credit cards to its customers, Shyam Srinivasan, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer said.

7) BJP MP S.S. Ahluwalia to head joint panel on Land Acquisition Amendment bill:
--> Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) MP Surendrajeet Singh Ahluwalia has been appointed chairman of a Joint Committee of Parliament that will look into the provisions of the Land Acquisition Amendment Bill, 2015.
--> The joint committee will comprise of 30-members- 20 members from Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha.
--> The Committee will submit its report on the first day of the monsoon session.

8) New website of NITI Aayog launched:
--> Vice chairman of NITI Aayog Arvind Panagariya on 18 May 2015 launched the new website of the Aayog, almost five months after archiving the website of the erstwhile Planning Commission, a statement said.
--> The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog replaced the Planning Commission on January 1, 2015.
-->  The beta version of the website, which can be accessed on http://www.niti.gov.in, provides details of the constitution, functions and current activities of the Aayog.

9) US president Barack Obama joined Twitter, again:
--> US president Barack Obama finally joined Twitter on 18 May 2015 with his official handle @POTUS towards the fag end of his second term.

--> While he used to be quite active on Twitter before being elected as the president in the first term via his personal handle @barackobama, his tweets dried up after his innings at the White House started.

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