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Current Affairs 18 May 2019

NAARM awarded World Bank-funded national agricultural higher education project worth Rs. 69.41 crore

• The National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM) has received the mandate to implement Rs.69.41 crore national agricultural higher education project (NAHEP).
• It is a three-year project and is funded by the World Bank. It calls for investments in the Indian Council of Agricultural Research Leadership in Agricultural Higher Education.
• It aims at establishing partnerships with globally recognised agricultural higher education institutions. It is also for establishing career development centres at agriculture universities.
• Besides NAARM, Indian Agricultural Statistical Research Institute (IASRI) and National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research of Indian Council of Agricultural Research will take part in the implementation of the project.

Schools to get Rs 5,000 each to set up kitchen gardens

• Union Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) has issued guidelines for setting up nutrition gardens in schools. 
• Under the initiative, each school will get Rs 5000 per year to each school to set up the garden. It will be a part of ‘flexi fund component for innovative interventions’ in the mid-day meal scheme.
• The fund will be used for purchase of seeds and equipment. Teachers will be trained in setting up kitchen gardens and basic garden management by experts of the Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK). Plants can be grown in small containers, cans and discarded earthen pots

Spencer’s Retail to buy out Nature’s Basket in Rs 300-cr deal

• Sanjiv Goenka Group’s Spencer’s Retail will acquire Godrej Industries’ grocery chain Nature’s Basket for Rs 300 crore.
• Natures Basket Limited (NBL) is a 100 percent subsidiary of Godrej Industries and reported turnover of Rs 338.28 crore for the year 2018-19.
• With the acquisition, Spencer’s Retail will increase its presence to 192 stores. Nature’s Basket operates 36 stores in Mumbai, Pune, and Bengaluru.

Indian Navy successfully test-fires MRSAM missile

• The Indian Navy has successfully test-fired a Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM). MRSAM will enhance anti-air warfare capability of the Indian Navy.
• The test-firing of the missile was undertaken on the western seaboard by Indian naval ships Kochi and Chennai.
• The DRDO has jointly developed the missile in collaboration with Israel Aerospace Industries. The MRSAM has been manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited.
• The test-firing of the missile was carried out jointly by the Indian Navy, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Israel Aerospace Industries.

India sets Guinness World Records of ‘largest laundry lesson’ with 400 participants

• India has achieved the Guinness World Records certificate for the largest laundry lesson with 400 young Indian men participating across the country to learn laundry lessons.
• This will help them to share the responsibility of cleaning clothes along with the female members of their homes.
• The function was initiated by Ariel India and hosted by Mandira Bedi. The event was part of the #sharetheload campaign.
• Earlier, the largest laundry lesson involved 318 people, achieved by Lion NANOX Team (Japan) at Lion Hirai Research Laboratory, in Edogawa, Tokyo, Japan

Dr P.K. Mishra awarded prestigious Sasakawa Award 2019 by UNDRR

• United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) has conferred the Sasakawa Award 2019 for Disaster Risk Reduction to Dr. Pramod Kumar Mishra.
• He is an Additional Principal Secretary to Prime Minister of India. The award was announced  at the Award Ceremony during the ongoing 6^th Session of Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) 2019 at Geneva.
• The United Nations Sasakawa Award is the most prestigious international award in the area of Disaster Risk Management. The theme of the 2019 Sasakawa award was “Building Inclusive and Resilient Societies”.
• Dr. P. K. Mishra from India received the 2019 Sasakawa award in recognition of his long-term dedication to improve the resilience of communities most exposed to disasters and his personal commitment to social inclusion as a critical principle to reduce inequality and poverty, enhancing the safety net of the socially and economically marginalized.