Current Affairs 17th & 18th May 2017


Indian mountaineer creates history by scaling Mt Everest for the - Fourth time

  • Indian mountaineer Anshu Jamsenpa created history by becoming the first Indian woman to scale the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest for the fourth time on 16th May 2017.
  •  Jamsenpa, a native of Bomdila in Arunachal Pradesh, scaled the peak successfully along with Furi Sherpa. Dawa S Lama, the Managing Director at Dream Himalaya Adventure confirmed the same. 
  • Lama further stated that Jampsenpa would be attempting a double ascent to make it a total of five successful climbs.

Mark Twain Prize 2017 for American humour won by - David Letterman

  • David Letterman, who was the longest-running host of late-night TV shows in the United States, was awarded with the Mark Twain Prize 2017 for American humour on 17th May 2017.
  • With this prize Letterman became the 20th humorist to receive the prize.
  •  He is also a recipient of Kennedy Centre Honours for his influence on American culture.

2nd NPDRR meeting in Delhi inaugurated by - Home Minister Rajnath Singh

  • Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the second meeting of National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR) in New Delhi on 15th May 2017. 
  • The meeting saw in attendance over 1000 eminent guests including State Ministers, Union Ministers,Heads of specialized disaster management agencies and representatives from private sector organizations.

Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine against Pneumonia launched by - Union Government

  • Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda launched Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) against Pneumonia under the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) on 13th May 2017.

Rafael Nadal beats Dominic Thiem to win - 5th Madrid Open title

  • Spain’s Rafael Nadal won Madrid Open title of Tennis on 14th May 2017
  • The Spaniard defeated a determined Dominic Thiem of Austria in straight sets 7-6(8), 6-4 in the final match at Madrid.

MoU for cooperation signed between Indian Navy and - Space Application Centre

  • Indian Navy and Ahmedabad-based Space Application Centre signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Data Sharing and Scientific cooperation in the field of Meteorology and Oceanology on 15th May 2017. 
  • Vice Admiral SN Ghormade, AVSM, NM, Director General Naval Operations and Tapan Misra, Director, Space Application Centre (SAC) the MoU was signed at SAC, Ahmedabad. 
  • The signed pact provides the creation of a common platform of mutual cooperation where SAC will be sharing its expertise in a number of areas including satellite data acquisition technology with the Indian Navy. Areas of cooperation includes

2017 Spanish Grand Prix won by - Lewis Hamilton

  • Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton stole a stunning victory in the 2017 Spanish Grand Prix from Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel on 14th May 2017.
  • It was Hamilton’s second win in the season.


Ovais Sarmad has been appointed as Deputy Executive Secretary of UNFCCC

  • Ovais Sarmad, a senior Indian official was appointed as the Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the second week of May 2017. 
  • Sarmad will be succeeding Canada’s Richard Kinley


Separate 24x7 DD Channel for Jharkhand announced by - Venkaiah Naidu

  • Minister for Information & Broadcasting Venkaiah Naidu announced a separate 24x7 DD channel for the state of Jharkhand on 16th May 2017. 
  • This plan was announced at the review meeting of the programmes and initiatives of Ministry of I&B held at Ranchi, Jharkhand. Chief Minister Raghubar Das attended the meeting.
  •  A statement released by I&B ministry said that the DD Ranchi programmes would be telecasted on DD Bihar till the channel is launched.

Dinosaur mummy discovered with all skin intact - in Canada

  • Palaeontologists in Canada have discovered a dinosaur mummy that had been encased in stone for over 110 million years. 
  • The remains of the armour-plated dinosaur, which is a 3000-pound plant-eating horned creature, went on display at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Alberta on 12th May 2017.

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2017 observed on 17th May 2017

  • The 2017 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) was observed on 17th May 2017 with the theme for WTISD-17 is Big Data for Big Impact.

India’s first smart grid to generate power from renewable energy sources created by - IIEST

  • The Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology has successfully created the country's first smart grid project that will generate power from renewable sources of energy. 
  • Ajoy Kumar Roy, the Director of IIEST stated that the grid will be synchronised to generate power from solar, wind and vegetable waste resources, depending on the weather conditions and waste products availability.

Foundation dedicated to wellness of Mother and Child launched by - Suresh Raina

  • Indian cricketer Suresh Raina launched Gracia Raina Foundation (GRF) on 15th May 2017, which is dedicated to create awareness and work closely with mothers and children who require help ranging from physical and mental issues.

State of emergency over cholera outbreak declared by - Yemen

  • Authorities in Sanaa declared a state of emergency in the Yemeni capital over a deadly outbreak of cholera in May 2017.
  • Houthi-run health ministry stated that it was “unable to control this disaster” and appealed for international humanitarian assistance to deal with the crisis. Yemen, the poorest country of Arab, is witnessing a devastating war between the Iranian-backed Houthis and the Saudi-supported government.

NGT orders Rs 5000 fine on over-speeding vehicles in - Kaziranga


  • The National Green Tribunal announced on 17th May 2017 that any vehicle found over-speeding inside the Kaziranga National Park would have to pay an environment compensation of Rs 5000 along with challan under the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act.

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