Ram Nath Kovind Appoints 7 New Governors: All You Need To Know

President Ram Nath Kovind appointed governors for seven states — Bihar, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, Meghalaya, and Tripura. Governor Satya Pal Malik has been transferred from Bihar to Jammu and Kashmir to replace NN Vohra, while senior BJP leader Lalji Tandon has been appointed the Governor of Bihar, replacing Malik. 
Here is the information about the newly appointed governors of all the 7 states: 
1. Satya Pal Malik – Jammu & Kashmir (Replaced NN Vohra)
Malik will be the first career politician to be appointed to the position in the last 51 years, indicating a change in the strategy of the centre which has so far relied on former bureaucrats to run show in the troubled state. Prior to this appointment, he was the Governor of Bihar. 
2. Tathagata Roy – Meghalaya (Replaced Ganga Prasad) 
Known for his pro-Hindutva views and some extremely controversial statements, Roy was BJP’s West Bengal unit president from 2002 to 2006 and had twice unsuccessfully contested Lok Sabha elections on party ticket. Prior to this appointment, he was the Governor of Tripura. 
3. Lalji Tandon – Bihar (Replaced Satya Pal Malik)
A BJP stalwart from Uttar Pradesh and a close aide of late former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. 
4. Ganga Prasad – Sikkim (Replaced Shriniwas Patil)
Prasad was a member of the legislative council in Bihar for 18 years and a former leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly. Prior to this appointment, he was the Governor of Meghalaya. 
5. Kaptan Singh Solanki -Tripura (Replaced Tathagata Roy)
A former Rajya Sabha member, Solanki was appointed the Governor of Haryana in 2014.
6. Satyadev Narayan Arya – Haryana (Replaced Kaptan Singh Solanki)
73-year-old Arya is an eight-term MLA from Bihar. He was a minister in the 2010 BJP-JDU government in the state. 
7. Baby Rani Maurya – Uttarakhand (Replaced K K Paul)
The 61-year-old Maurya is a BJP leader from Agra. Maurya had also previously held the post of Agra mayor. 
Source- The Firstpost

Paytm Partners With Alibaba

Digital payments firm Paytm has partnered with China’s Alibaba to launch AI-based cloud computing platform ‘Paytm AI Cloud’. The platform will offer business-centric apps to developers, startups and enterprises that need cloud-computing solutions including customer engagement and easy-to-integrate payments.
It will process and store all consumer data locally in servers located only in India. The company has committed around Rs 250 crore in this business. 

Source- The Tribune

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • Alibaba’s Cloud computing business, which opened its first India data centre in Mumbai in January. 
  • Vijay Shekhar Sharma is the Founder of Paytm. 
  • Jack Maa is the founder of Alibaba. 

NOTA Option Not Applicable For Rajya Sabha Elections: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court ruled that the ‘None of The Above’ (NOTA) option will not be applicable for voting in the Rajya Sabha elections. The ruling was made by a bench of Justices comprising CJI Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud.  
The bench held that the NOTA option is meant only for universal adult suffrage and direct elections and not for the polls held by the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote as done in the Rajya Sabha. 
Source- The Indian Express

Asian Games 2018: Saurabh Chaudhary Wins 10m Air Pistol Gold

16-Year-Old Saurabh Chaudhary became only the fifth Indian shooter to claim a gold in the Asian Games history, beating a field of multiple world and Olympic champions in the 10m air pistol finals in Indonesia
Another Indian making his international debut, 29-year-old Abhishek Verma, shot 219.3 to secure bronze. 

Source- The Hindu

Novak Djokovic Wins Western and Southern Open 2018

Novak Djokovic (Serbia) beat Roger Federer (Switzerland) in straight sets, high-profile championship match at the 2018 Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati. With this win, Djokovic became the first men’s tennis player in history to win all nine Masters 1,000 tournaments after finishing as the runner-up in Cincinnati five different times.
The win gave Djokovic his second title of the year after capturing Wimbledon, while Federer remained at three titles after winning the Australian Open, Mercedes Cup and ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament. 
Source- Bleacher Report

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • Cincinnati is a city in Ohio, on the Ohio River.

Historic Esala Maha Perehera Festival Begins in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, the ten-day festival of the historic Esala Maha Perehera began in Kandy with a grand procession. The procession set off from the biggest Buddhist temple in Sri Lanka,  Sri Dalada Maligawa at an auspicious time. 
The Esala Perahera is one of the oldest and grandest of all Buddhist festivals in Sri Lanka, featuring dancers, jugglers, musicians, fire-breathers and lavishly decorated elephants. 
Source- News on AIR

Asian Games 2018: Vinesh Phogat, 1st Indian Woman Wrestler To Bag Gold At Asian Games

India got its second Gold medal at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia when Vinesh Phogat defeated Japan’s Yuki Irie in the final of freestyle 50 kg category in Women’s Wrestling. With this victory, Vinesh created history as she is the first Indian woman wrestler to win gold in the Asian Games. 
Vinesh Phogat had entered the final after beating Uzbekistan’s Yakhshimuratova Dauletbike on technical superiority. Bajrang Punia had given India its first Gold of the Games in men’s freestyle 65 Kg category. 
Source- AIR World Service

Static/Current Takeaways Important for RRB PO/Clerk Exam 2018- 

  • The Host cities for Asian Games 2018 are Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia. 
  • Bhin Bhin, Kaka, and Atung are the mascots of the 2018 Asian Games. 

FSSAI Constitutes B Sesikeran Committee To Review Food Labelling Standards

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) constituted a group of experts from the health and nutrition sector to look into the issue of food labelling.
The expert panel will be headed by B Sesikeran. Mr Sesikeran is the former director of National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) and comprises Hemalatha and Dr Nikhil Tandon. The panel will study in detail the concerns of the industry and make recommendations. 

Source- The Livemint

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • FSSAI has been established under Food Safety and Standards, 2006. 

S K Arora Awarded WHO World No Tobacco Day 2017 Award

Delhi government’s additional director of health, SK Arora was awarded prestigious World Health Organization (WHO) World No Tobacco Day 2017 Award for his extraordinary contribution towards tobacco control. He was presented the award by Henk Bekedam, WHO India country head in New Delhi.
It is awarded every year by WHO to individuals or organisations alike in each of six WHO regions for their accomplishments in the area of tobacco control. 
Source- WHO
Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • World No Tobacco Day is observed around the world every year on 31 May. 

Israeli Journalist And Peace Activist Uri Avnery Passes Away

Uri Avnery, a trailblazing Israeli journalist and peace activist and one of the first to openly advocate for a Palestinian state passed away at the age of 94.
A member of Israel’s founding generation, he fought in the pre-state Irgun underground militia. After independence, he became a publisher, member of parliament, author and activist.

Source- The Hindu