Current Affairs 15th & 16th May 2017

Signs of water on a distant Neptune-sized planet detected by - NASA

• NASA scientists have discovered “a strong water signature” in the atmosphere of a distant Neptune-sized planet called HAT-P-26b.
•  NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, the study is conducted to show that the distant planet has a primitive atmosphere composed almost entirely of hydrogen and helium. 
• Although the planet is not a water world, its atmosphere which is relatively clear of clouds has a strong water signature 

Busiest airport with 1 flight every 65 seconds - Mumbai airport

• The Mumbai airport, Chhatrapati Shivaji International, has become the world’s busiest single-runway airport with 837 flights a day or one flight in 65 seconds on an average in 2016-17. 
• The airport has even overtaken London's Gatwick airport that had 757 flights a day. 
• The city also tops in terms of the number of passengers with almost 45.2 million people flying in and out in 2017 as against 44 million at Gatwick airport 

Indian Coir Sector’s export revenue touched all time high in fiscal year -2016-17

• The Indian Coir sector’s revenue from exports touched an all time high of Rs 2282 Cr by value and 9.57 Metric Tonnes in quantity in the financial year 2016-17. 
• Union Minister for Micro Small and Micro Medium Enterprises Giriraj Singh revealed the figures on 13th May 2017 during a press conference in Kochi.

Former Puducherry CM Subrahmanyan Ramaswamy passed away 

• Former Puducherry Chief Minister Subrahmanyan Ramaswamy passed away on 15th May 2017 in Puducherry due to a brief illness.

New Prime Minister of France - Edouard Philippe

• French President Emmanuel Macron named Edouard Philippe as the Prime Minister of the country on 15th May 2017. 
• Edouard is a member of the Les Républicains party and is close to Alain Juppé, the former Prime Minister who endorsed Macron after he won the first round of the presidential election.

VO Chidambaranar Port Trust and TANGEDCO sign MoU to - Upgrade Coal Jetties

• The VO Chidambaranar Port (VOCP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO) for the upgradation of Coal Jetty I and II on 15th May 2017. 
• As per the MoU, VOCP intends to increase the capacity of two of its Coal Jetties I and II from 6.25 MTPA to 24 MTPA. 
• S Anantha Chandra Bose, Chairman of VO Chidambaranar Port Trust and M Sai Kumar, Chairman cum Managing Director of TANGEDCO signed this MoU.

India, Palestine sign five agreements for cooperation in different sectors 

• India and Palestine signed 5 agreements for cooperation in different areas including agriculture, health and Information Technology on 16th May 2017. 
• These Agreements were exchanged after delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas in New Delhi. 
• Both the leaders reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations, regional and international issues.

India imposes anti-dumping duty on - glasses and Chinese radiators

• India has imposed anti-dumping duty on certain type of glasses from Iran and aluminium radiators from China in order to protect the domestic industry from cheap imports. 
• While an anti-dumping duty of about USD 55.59 per tonne has been imposed on clear float glass, USD 22.89 has been slammed on imports of aluminium radiators.a

Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, 2017 passed by - UP Assembly

• The Uttar Pradesh (UP) Assembly passed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, 2017 by a voice vote on 16th May 2017.
•  The Bill was introduced in the state assembly on 15th May 2017. The Bill passage was hailed by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

International Day of Families observed on  15th May

• The International Day of Families was observed on 15th May 2017 with the theme “Families, education and well-being”.
•  The day is observed annually on 15th May to provide an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families and to enhance knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families. 
• The year’s observance focuses on the families role and family oriented policies in promoting the educational and overall well-being of their members.

PM Modi launches Narmada river conservation project in MP

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the river conservation project ‘Narmada Seva Mission’ on 15th May 2017 in Madhya Pradesh.
• The project is a road-map to take necessary steps to conserve Narmada River in the state.