Here is the list of important events and current affairs from May 11 to 20, 2019 for all upcoming competitive exams like SSC, IBPS, IES, LIC, RRB, RBI, SBI, PSUs, etc.

• The Republic of Ireland has declared a climate and biodiversity emergency. A Fianna Fáil amendment to the Oireachtas report on Climate Action was accepted without a vote.

• The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed 17 global figures including Indian actress Dia Mirza and Alibaba chief Jack Ma as the new advocates to drive action and solidify global political will for the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals. 

• A new species of reddish-brown pit viper - a venomous snake with a unique heat-sensing system - was found in a forest in West Kameng district by a team of herpetologists led by Ashok Captain. The species is scientifically known as ‘Trimeresurus arunachalensis’. 

• US aerospace major Boeing has handed over first of the 22 Apache Guardian attack helicopters to the Indian Air Force, nearly three-and-half years after a multi-billion dollar deal for the choppers was sealed. 

• Pakistan on Sunday reached an agreement with the IMF on a bailout package under which the cash-strapped country will receive $ 6 billion over three years, according to a top official. 

• A WTO Ministerial meeting of developing countries was being hosted by India in New Delhi on 13-14 May 2019.  Sixteen developing countries, Six Least Developed Countries (LDC)(Argentina, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Brazil, Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, China, Egypt, Guatemala, Guyana, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Malawi, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, Uganda)and DG, WTO  participated in the meeting.

• Mumbai Indians became IPL champions for the fourth time after defeating Chennai Super Kings by one run in a thrilling final.

• Researchers have found a new rain loving snake species from Mizoram in North-east India. The new species has been named Smithophis Atemporalis. The finding is significant because such a discovery has been made for the first time after almost 150 years. 

• Department of Biotechnology (DBT) working under the ministry of science and technology has recently launched a human tissue mapping project called MANAV: Human Atlas Initiative. It has been launched to improve understanding of human physiology. 

• The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Monday announced a Rs 700-crore venture capital fund for equity investments in agriculture and rural-focused startups.

• Justice (retired) Madan B Lokur has been appointed to the Supreme Court of Fiji as a judge of its non-resident panel.

• Around 180 governments agreed on a new UN accord to regulate the export of plastic waste, some eight million tonnes of which ends up in the oceans each year.

• Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted a successful flight test of ABHYAS - High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) from Interim Test Range, Chandipur in Odisha. The flight test was tracked by various RADARS & Electro Optic Systems and proved its performance in fully autonomous waypoint navigation mode.

• Chhaya Sharma, the erstwhile DCP South Delhi and the woman who cracked the Nirbhaya case, has been awarded the 'Sedona Forum  2019 Award for Courage and Leadership'. Chhaya, who is now an inspector with the National Human Rights Commission, was earlier a decorated officer in the Indian Police Service.

• The inaugural issue of world's first exclusive women's cricket magazine 'Criczone' was released in India with Indian team vice-captain Smriti Mandhana featuring as the cover story.

• Indian Navy introduced the Indian Navy Entrance Test (INET) for direct entry of officers after graduation. 

• Dr. K Sivan, Chairman, ISRO inaugurated the Young Scientist Programme (Yuvika-2019) through video mode from ISRO Headquarters, Bengaluru on May 13, 2019. A total of 110 students representing every State and Union Territory of India participated in this program.

• Paytm, the payments company backed by Alibaba’s Jack Ma, tied up with Wall Street giant Citibank to launch its credit cards business in yet another step towards becoming a full-fledged financial services conglomerate. 

• State-owned Engineers India Ltd(EIL) said it has signed an agreement to provide project management consultancy for a new 1.5 million tonne refinery being set up in Mongolia.

• India has expressed support to Nigeria's Ambassador to the UN Tijjani Muhammad-Bande as the next president of the General Assembly. 

• India is unanimously chosen as co-chair of the Consultative Group (CG) of Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) for the fiscal year 2020. The decision was taken during the CG meeting of GFDRR held in Geneva, Switzerland today, on the margins of the 6th Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) 2019. The CG Meeting was co-chaired by Africa Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, the European Union (EU) and World Bank.

• The National Green Tribunal today directed 18 states and two Union Territories to submit an action plan to ensure utilization of treated waste to reduce pressure on the groundwater resources throughout the country. 

• GS Lakshmi has become the first woman to be part of the ICC's panel of international match referees and is eligible to officiate in international matches with immediate effect.

• A Pakistani company and several from China are among 12 foreign firms that were added to a US list of entities to ensure that sensitive technologies do not fall into the hands of those who would threaten its national security. 

• Businessman Victor Vescovo, 53, just broke the world record for the deepest dive in history. Vescovo took his submersible to 10,927 meters (35,853 feet) below the surface of the Pacific Ocean in the Challenger Deep part of the Mariana Trench, breaking Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard's depth record set in 1960. 

• A species of new vine snake have discovered in the eastern part of Odisha. Researchers named it Ahaetulla laudankia or Laudankia vine snake.

• A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between National Mission for Clean Ganga, HCL Foundation and INTACH for taking up a project of Plantation of Rudraksha Trees in Uttarakhand as a part of CSR initiative under the Namami Gange Programme. 

• The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) has offered India an Observer status and access to the International Monitoring System (IMS) data.

• India joined France, New Zealand, Canada, and several other countries in launching a major initiative in Paris to combat terrorism and extremism online and secure the internet. The initiative 'Christchurch call to action' was named after the New Zealand city where 51 people were killed in an attack on mosques, officials said. 

• The Geological Survey of India, GSI, has revealed that 35 percent of the country's Graphite deposits of the country are found in Arunachal Pradesh.

• Austrian MPs have voted to pass a law banning headscarves in primary schools. The law refers to all head-covering clothes of ideological or religious influence, but it doesn't apply to the Jewish kippa, or to the turban worn by Sikh men.

• U.S. Navy ships conducted joint drills with warships from allies Japan, Australia, and South Korea in their first combined exercise in the Western Pacific.

• The Website of the Lokpal was inaugurated by the Chairperson, Justice Shri Pinaki Chandra Ghose in presence of all the Members of Lokpal. The Website has been developed by NIC and provides basic information with respect to the working and functioning of the Lokpal. The Website can be accessed at http://lokpal.gov.in.

• All language editions of Wikipedia have been blocked in mainland China since April, the Wikimedia Foundation has confirmed.

• United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) conferred Sasakawa Award 2019 for Disaster Risk Reduction to Dr. Pramod Kumar Mishra, Additional Principal Secretary to Prime Minister of India. The award was announced today at the Award Ceremony during the ongoing 6th Session of Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) 2019 at Geneva.

• Sir Andy Murray has received his knighthood at Buckingham Palace. The three-time Grand Slam champion was named in the Queen's New Years Honours in 2016, following his second Wimbledon win and second Olympic gold.

• India's first engineless train, 'Vande Bharat Express', also known as ‘Train 18’, completed 1 lakh running kilometers without missing a single trip on May 16, 2019, in just three months time span. 

• Taiwan's parliament became the first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage on May 17, 2019.

• The Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX-2019) was conducted by the Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy from May 16 to May 22. 

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Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/ 
http://www.newsonair.com/
https://www.deccanherald.com/
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/
https://www.jagranjosh.com/
https://www.businesstoday.in/
https://www.business-standard.com/
https://www.thehindu.com/
http://pib.nic.in/
https://www.timesnownews.com/
https://www.isro.gov.in/
http://www.espncricinfo.com/
https://www.forbes.com/
https://www.euronews.com/