1. Kishore Biyani
appointed as MD of Bharti Retail

(i) Future Group CEO Kishore Biyani has been appointed as
the MD of Bharti Retail, which is to be renamed as Future Retail Ltd.

(ii) In May 2015, Future Group decided to merge its retail
business with rival Bharti Retail to create one of the biggest supermarket
chains with Rs.15,000 crore turnover. As part of the merger, Bharti Retail will
also be listed on the NSE and BSE.

(iii) Two companies will branch out from the deal-Future
Retail Ltd (to be renamed as Future Enterprises) will manage the back end
retail infrastructure to operate the retail network and investments across Future
Group companies. Secondly, Bharti Retail will become Future Retail and will manage
for the front-end retail operations of the group.

(iv) Rakesh Biyani has taken the post of JMD of Bharti Retail,
while C P Toshniwal will assume the role of the CFO.

2. Sachin to be India’s
goodwill ambassador for Rio Olympics

(i) Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has accepted the Indian
Olympic Association’s (IOA) proposal to be India’s goodwill ambassador for Rio
Olympics.

(ii) Shooter Abhinav Bindra and Bollywood actor Salman Khan
are other ambassadors roped in by IOA.

(iii) Their job as goodwill ambassadors is to spread word
about the mega sporting event across nook cranny of India.

3. Sameer Chadha to
be CEO & partner of KPMG Global Services

(i) KPMG’s offshore arm in India has appointed Sameer Chadha
as partner and CEO. Prior to this appointment, Chadha was the CEO of Barclays
Shared Services.

(ii) Chadha has over 25 years of experience across financial
services and consumer goods sectors and has held strategic leadership roles in
companies like Bank of America, Lehman Brothers, etc.

4. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti
takes charge of US European Command

(i) Army Gen. Curtis M Scaparrotti has taken charge of the
US European Command (Eucom) at a time when Europe faces multiple challenges, of
terrorism, refugees and an aggressive Russia.

(ii) Scaparrotti, who was in charge of US Forces Korea, will
replace Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, who commanded Eucom for three
years.

5. Scientists discover
3 Earth-like planets

(i) An international team of scientists has discovered three
planets that have close resemblance to the Earth and are potentially habitable.

(ii) The three planets orbit a dwarf star, which is  39 light-years away, and are relatively
similar to Earth and Venus in size and temperature.

(iii) The scientists set up a 60-cm telescope called TRAPPIST
in Chile in order to track several dwarf stars that were neither big nor hot
enough to be visible with optical telescopes.

(iv) One of the most promising dwarf stars, which has been named
TRAPPIST-1 is about 1/8th the of the Sun and much cooler.
The exoplanets-planets revolving around stars outside our solar system- have varying
revolution cycles.

6. Online dashboard
launched for data on foreign trade

(i) The Ministry of Commerce and Trade has launched an
online dashboard called EXIM Analytics in order to provide access to import-export
data.

(ii) Developed by the Directorate General of Commercial
Intelligence and Statistics, the dashboard, through infographics, will reveal
patterns, trends and correlations and analysis by time period, destinations or
countries of origin, and ports.

(iii) Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has stated that
the government has launched two more dashboards- to check progress in the Make
in India campaign and an Ease of Doing Business Dashboard to rank states on this
parameter.

7. RS passes Mines
and Minerals Amendment Bill, 2016

(i) The Rajya Sabha has approved the Mines and Minerals
(Development and Regulation) (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which will ease mergers
and acquisitions of steel and cement companies that took a hit due to collapse
in global commodity prices.

(ii) The Bill will also help assuage NPA-crisis as many
banks have high loan exposure to steel and cement firms.

(iii) Among other stipulations, the Bill provides a new
category of mining license i.e. the prospecting license-cum-mining lease, a
two-stage concession to commence prospecting operations (exploring mineral
deposits) followed by mining operations.

(iv) It changes the lease period for all minerals except coal,
lignite and atomic minerals. As per the Bill, mining leases for minerals shall
be granted for a period of 50 years. On expiry, the leases shall be put up for
auction, instead of being renewed.

(v) It states that the holder of a mining lease or
prospecting license-cum-mining lease may transfer the lease to any eligible
person, with the state government’s approval. 
Only mineral concessions granted through auction will be allowed for
transfer.

8. Mark Selby wins
World Snooker Championship

(i) English snooker player Mark Selby, who holds the World
No. 1 rank, defeated China’s Ding Junhui 18-14 to bag his second World
Championship title.

(ii) Selby won his first World Championship in 2014 by beating
Ronnie O’Sullivan 18-14. In 2015, he also won the German Masters and China
Open. He also won the Masters, an invitation event, in 2008, 2010 and 2013.

9. SC forms panel under
RM Lodha to reform Medical Council of India

(i) Former Chief Justice of India RM Lodha, who was given
the task of suggesting ways to reform the BCCI, has now been given the duty of upgrading
the Medical Council of India.

(ii) The three-member panel which also comprises former CAG Vinod
Rai and Dr SK Sareen, has to monitor the functioning of the medical regulator
besides issuing remedial directions.

(iii) The panel has been constituted because MCI is frequently
accused of corrupt practices and failure of carrying out assigned functions. As
a result, wrongdoings and lack of competence in medical graduates has been on the
rise.

10. Leicester CIty wins English
Premier League for first time in 132-year history

(i) Leicester City F.C. has won the 24th season
of the Premier League for the first time in its 132-year history with a seven-point
lead over Tottenham with two games remaining.

(ii) This is a momentous event in the history of English soccer,
because for the last 20 years the Premier League trophy has not made it out of London
or Manchester, with Arsenal, Chelsea, United and City sharing the trophy
between them.

11. Indian-American
Sikh lawyer elected to key Republican position

 (i) Indian-American
Sikh lawyer Harmeet Kaur Dhillon from California has been elected as a national
committee member of the Republican National Committee by a 1000+ votes.

(ii) She was earlier the vice-president of the California Republican
Party and the first woman to hold the post.

(iii) Born in Chandigarh, the 47-year-old has also served in
the American Civil Liberties Union. Her practice in New York, London, San
Francisco Bay Area centred on federal and state commercial litigation and
arbitration, with a special focus on unfair competition/trade secret
misappropriation, intellectual property, complex contractual disputes, and
First Amendment litigation.

12. World Press Freedom
Day observed on May 3

(i) World Press Freedom Day was observed on May 3 to rejoice
the fundamental principles of press freedom and protect the media from attacks
on their independence.

(ii) This year’s theme is “Access to Information and
Fundamental Freedoms: This is your right”! It focusses on freedom of
information as a fundamental and human right. Other aims are to protect press
freedom from uncontrolled censorship and having systems in place to safeguard journalists
of both online and offline realms.

 (iii) This year’s
Press Freedom Day also coincided with the 250th anniversary of the world’s
first freedom of information law, the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the
Windhoek Declaration of press freedom principles.

13. Bhupendra
Kainthola appointed as FTII Director

(i) Indian Information Service (IIS) officer Bhupendra
Kainthola has taken charge as the new Director of Pune-based Film & Television
Institute of India (FTII). He will have a three-year tenure.

(ii) Last year, scores of students protested against the
appointment of TV actor Gajendra Chauhan as FTII Chairman.

(iii) A 1989-batch IIS officer, Kainthola has replaced
Prashant Pathrabe, who served as interim Director during the 139-day long
strike.

14. Sania Mirza’s
autobiography Ace Against Odds to be
out soon

(i) Ace tennis player Sania Mirza has penned her
autobiography with her father Imran Mirza and the book is set to hit stands by
July 2016.

(i) The book delves into Mirza’s journey to the top as a
player and to become the World No. 1 in the women’s doubles rankings.

(ii) The 29-year-old sportswoman first gained prominence at age
16 after winning the Wimbledon’s Championships Girls’ Doubles title.

(iii) Between August 2015 and March 2016, Mirza along with
her doubles partner Martina Hingis, won 41 titles.

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