IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF APRIL 29^th, 2019

              IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF APRIL 29^th, 2019

1.      (29th April) is International Dance Day / World Dance Day.

a.       The day was introduced in 1982 by the International Dance Committee of the UNESCO International Theatre Institute.

b.       The date was chosen to commemorate the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre, who was born in 1727, a French dancer and ballet master and a great reformer of dance. 

2.      Today is the "Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare".

a.       This day is officially recognised by the United Nations (UN) and has been celebrated since 2005.

3.      Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is on a 3 day isit to Bishkek (capital of Kyrgyzstan) to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers' Meet.

a.       During this visit, she held a bilateral meeting with her Chinese counterpart  General Wei Fenghe today. 

b.       During this meet, the SCO Defence Ministers will explore ways to further boost defence and security cooperation among the member countries in the wake of evolving security challenges in the region.

c.       India is also keen on deepening its security-related cooperation with SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.

4.      Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has issued an order for a ban on burqa, veil or covering of the face in a manner which prevents anyone from being identified. 

a.       The order coming into effect today said any garment or item which obstructs the identification of a persons face would be barred.

b.       It follows last Sunday attacks in which more than 250 people were killed. 

5.      Voting in 9 states in the 4th phase of 2019 Lok Sabha elections began today. 

a.       Polling is being held at 5 seats in Bihar, 17 in Maharashtra, 13 in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, and 6 in Odisha and Madhya Pradesh. 

b.       8 seats are going for polls in West Bengal, 3 in Jharkhand and 1 in Jammu and Kashmir.

6.      BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay has filed a PIL in Supreme Court seeking direction to the Centre to ascertain the feasibility of linking Aadhaar with social media accounts. 

a.       The petition said that according to social media experts 10% of Facebook and Twitter accounts were fake. 

b.       It also claimed that fake accounts were the root cause of many riots and communal tensions.

7.      Gagandeep Kang becomes 1st Indian woman scientist to be awarded Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS), United Kingdom.

a.       She is a clinician scientist, who is well known for her key role in development of Rotavac. 

b.       She currently appointed as executive director of Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad, which is an autonomous institute of Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology.

c.       In 2016, she was conferred prestigious Infosys Prize in Life Sciences for her contributions in understanding natural history of rotavirus and other infectious diseases.

d.       Note : Kang is also 1st Indian and 1st woman to edit Manson’s Textbook of Tropical Medicine.

8.      Public sector lender Canara Bank and its life insurance partner Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance have announced the launch of 'Webassurance'.

a.       Webassurance will enable bank customers to purchase life insurance from the bank's website.

b.       With this, 4 life insurance products of Canara HSBC OBC Life would be made available to customers of Canara Bank, covering the key needs of child future, savings and investments, retirement planning and protection.

c.       MD & CEO of Canara Bank : R A Sankara Narayanan

9.      India finished top of medal tally at ISSF World Cup Rifle/ Pistol 2019 edition held in Beijing, China. 

a.       India still topped the chart for second consecutive ISSF World Cup, third time in last two years. 

b.       In last edition of Shooting World Cup held in New Delhi, India jointly topped standings with Hungary.

c.       With this win India has now secured a total of five 2020 Tokyo Olympic quotas places.

d.       Top 2 in Medal Tally : 

e.       India (3 Gold, 1 Silver) 

f.        China (2 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze)

10. Mercedes' Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas beat his English teammate Lewis Hamilton to win Azerbaijan Grand Prix. 

a.       With this, Mercedes became the 1st team to win the opening four races of an F1 season with one-two finishes. 

11. Dominic Thiem from Austria defeated Daniil Medvedev (Russia) in the final to win the Barcelona Open 2019.

12. India’s Bajrang Punia is 1st Indian wrestler to be invited by American wrestling body for a special fight at iconic Madison Square Garden in New York, US. 

a.       He will be among other top wrestlers selected by American governing body for 6 May 2019 tournament.

b.       He will take on two-time US national champion Yianni Diakomahlis in “Grapple at the Garden” Beat the Streets fight night event, which has become a major showcase for international wrestling since 2010.

13. India wrapped up their campaign at the Asian Wrestling Championships at Xi'an, China, on a resounding note with 16 medals. 

14. Japan's world number one Kento Momota defeated Shi Yuqi of China and retain his Badminton Asia Championships title.

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF APRIL 28^th, 2019

              IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF APRIL 28^th, 2019

1.     (28th April) is Workers' Memorial Day / World Day for Safety and Health at Work.

a.       This is an international day of remembrance and action for workers killed, disabled, injured or made unwell by their work.

b.      Theme of Workers' Memorial Day 2019 : “Dangerous substances – get them out of the workplace”

2.     The 2nd Belt and Road Forum (BRF) was held in Beijing, China. 

a.       It serves as stocktaking exercise for China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). 

b.      It saw participation of 126 countries and 29 international organisations, increase from 60 countries and international organisations seen in in first edition of BRF 2017. 

c.       Chinese President Xi Jinping’s chaired leaders’ roundtable, high-level meeting and thematic forum in this edition of three day BRF event.

d.      Note : India did not participate in this edition as well as in first edition of BRF.

3.     UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO) announced that Qatar will officially abolish its Exit Visa system for all foreign workers by the end of 2019.

a.       Amnesty International (human rights group) report accused that Qatar, which will be hosting 2022 World Cup was failing to implement reforms and stop widespread labour abuse. 

b.      As a result Qatar revived its pledge to reform labour section, and introduced a minimum monthly minimum of 750 riyals ($206) and also agreed to work closely with ILO.

4.     The Cyclone Fani, formed in south-east Bay of Bengal and adjoining Indian Ocean, is set to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by this afternoon. 

a.       It is expected to further intensify into a very severe cyclonic storm by tomorrow. 

b.      It is currently moving in a north-west direction.

c.       Many places in Kerala are expected to get light to moderate rain on Monday and Tuesday, with heavy rainfall at a few places.

d.      North coastal Tamil Nadu and coastal Andhra Pradesh are set to get light to moderate rain at a few places on Tuesday and Wednesday.

5.     The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has launched ‘MERA (Malaria Elimination Research Alliance) India’ - a conglomeration of partners working on malaria control - in order to prioritise, plan and scale up research to eliminate the disease from India by 2030.

a.       Aim of MERA India : To prioritize, plan and scale up a coordinated research to have impact on population facing malaria risk and to eliminate malaria from India by 2030.

6.     Bengaluru-based healthtech startup Niramai secured the top prize at the Hack Osaka event in Japan. 

a.       Niramai was awarded for its "software to detect breast cancer with radiation-free, non-touch, not painful examination which works for women of all ages". 

b.      The AI startup was founded in 2016 by former Hewlett-Packard and Xerox employees Geetha Manjunath and Nidhi Mathur.

7.     Social networking site Facebook has announced ban on personality quiz apps on its platform. 

a.       The decision is taken after last years Cambridge Analytica Scandal, which helped researcher’s to access personal information of about 87 million facebooks users by using quiz app “thisisyourdigitallife”.

8.     World’s first Malaria Vaccine named RTS,S (trade name Mosquirix) was launched in Malawi (Africa).

9.     IT service management company Financial Software Services (FSS) has launched real time voice banking platform titled FSS voice commerce. 

a.       This platform uses machine-learning language processing techniques and offers meaningful, contextual, and personalized banking interactions to customers.

b.      It also provides secure financial transactions to prevent fraud and maintain integrity of transaction ecosystem it supports out-of-band multi-factor authentication like one-time passcodes (OTP) and biometrics.

10.Britain pledged £4 million to support Global Anti-Slavery Projects, from sexually exploited girls in Ethiopia to migrant workers in Malaysia and Mauritius. 

a.       It also committed about 200 million pounds in aid funding to combat modern-day slavery overseas, and given millions of pounds to nations from Albania to Vietnam.

b.      6 organisations, including Anti-Slavery International ( a UK based international NGO, registered charity and a lobby group) and United Nations University ( a research institution) will share the aid money from The Modern Slavery Innovation Fund.

11.The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) set up a 13 member committee to review regulatory framework on micro insurance, and to recommend measures to increase demand for such products. 

a.       It was formed because of less than desired offtake of micro insurance products despite of their inherent benefits in the country.

b.      Its task is to suggest product designs with customer-friendly underwriting, such as easy premium payment methods and simple claims settlement procedures.

c.       It will suggest about if there is any change in distribution structure, including mobile-based and technology driven solutions and on creating effective awareness programmes. 

d.      Head of the committee : Suresh Mathur (IRDAI's Executive Director)

12.A book titled “Politics of Jugaad: The Coalition Handbook” was recently released. 

a.       This book examines possibility of coalition government after 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

b.      The book has been authored by one of India's renowned journalists Saba Naqvi.

c.       Other books written by Saba Naqvi are :

o    In Good Faith (2012)

o    Capital Conquest (2015)

o    Shades of Saffron (2018)

13.Yes Bank has appointed Shagun Gogia, the daughter of late Co-founder Ashok Kapur, as a Director after she was jointly nominated by Co-founder Rana Kapoor and mother Madhu Kapur. 

14.SpaceX has received approval from the US' Federal Communications Commission for its revised plan to launch over 1,500 Starlink internet-beaming satellites into a lower orbit at an altitude of 550 km. 

a.       The Elon Musk-led venture plans to launch its first batch of satellites in May. 

15.Indian golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar won the 'Outstanding Achievement as a player' awardat the fourth edition of the annual India Golf Industry Association (GIA) awards. 

a.       Bhullar won the 2018 Fiji International, a European Tour event, and also became the youngest golfer on the Asian Tour to achieve 9 career victories on tour.

16.The Table Tennis Federation of India has recommended Madhurika Patkar, Harmeet Desai and Sanil Shetty for the Arjuna Award. 

a.       Earlier, BCCI had nominated Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja and women's team leg-spinner Poonam Yadav for the Arjuna Award. 

b.      The All India Football Federation recommended the names of goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and forward Jeje Lalpekhlua for the Arjuna Award.

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF APRIL 24^th, 2019

              IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF APRIL 24^th, 2019

1.     (24th April) is World Day For Animals In Laboratories (also known as World Lab Animal Day).

a.       This day was established in 1979 by the British National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS).

b.      The date 24th April was chosen to observe this day, as it marked the birthday of former NAVS president Hugh Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding.

2.     Pinhole Photography day.

3.     North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived today in Russia by train for his 1st meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

a.       Kim will meet Putin in Vladivostok, located a few hours from the Russian-North Korean border by rail, tomorrow.

4.     US President Donald Trump has accepted Queen Elizabeth's invitation to make a state visit to the UK from June 3-5. 

a.       Trump will also hold a meeting with UK PM Theresa May. 

b.      Trump's state visit is an "opportunity to strengthen our already close relationship and to discuss how we can build on these ties in the years ahead", May said.

5.     Nepal’s President Bidya Devi Bhandari has left on a 9-day state visit to China. 

a.       During the visit she will attend the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing.

6.     Today (24th April) is National Panchayati Raj Day.

a.       This date marks a defining moment in the history of decentralization of political power to the grassroots level.

b.      Note : The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 that came into force with effect from 24th April, 1993 has institutionalized Panchayati Raj through the village, Intermediate and District level Panchayats.

7.     The Union home ministry, in an attempt to improve investigations into cases of rape and sexual assault, has distributed more than 3,100 special kits for collecting blood and semen samples in addition to other evidence in different states and Union Territories (UT).

a.       These Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kits (SAECK) or Rape investigation kits have been specially designed to conduct instant medico-legal investigation and gather crucial evidence in such cases. 

b.      These specialised kits primarily comprise of essential items that will help collect evidence like blood and semen samples in sexual assault and rape cases, which in turn would help the prosecution build a foolproof case against the accused in terms of concrete evidence.

8.     The Madras High Court today lifted its ban on the downloads of video-sharing app TikTok after the company said there's technology in place to ensure nude/obscene content is not uploaded.

a.       Apple and Google last week removed TikTok from their India app stores following instructions from the government.

9.     As many as 21 Opposition parties have filed a review petition in the Supreme Court asking it to order the Election Commission to verify at least 50% of the EVMs using the VVPAT machines.

10.Government’s Think tank Niti Ayog has agreed to the proposal of the Dental Council of India which had sought to allow Dentists to practice as General Physicians after a bridge course.

a.       The proposal was in the backdrop of the call by the Prime Minister’s office to explore unconventional methods to address the shortage of doctors in the country, particularly in rural areas.

11.The world's 1st-ever malaria vaccine was launched in a pilot project in Africa's Malawi today. 

a.       "30 years in the making, 'RTS,S' is to date the only vaccine that has demonstrated it can significantly reduce malaria in children...Ghana and Kenya will introduce it in coming weeks," WHO stated. 

b.      Note : About 93% of the world's malaria-related deaths in 2017 occurred in Africa.

12.The UK has broken its own record for the longest period without generating electricity from coal, which lasted 90 hours and 45 minutes and is the longest since Industrial Revolution. 

a.       During this period, electricity was generated by 42% Gas and 23% Nuclear Energy among others.

b.      Note : The previous record, set in 2018, stood at over 76 hours.

13.Based on the recommendation of 2nd Narasimham Committee, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has divested its entire stake in National Housing Bank (NHB) and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

14.The government today extended the ban on import of milk and milk products, including chocolate, from China. 

a.       The order follows food regulator FSSAI's recommendation that the ban should be extended till laboratories at ports are "suitably upgraded" for testing presence of toxic chemical melamine. 

b.      The ban was first imposed in September 2008 and extended subsequently from time to time.

15.Puranik Yogendra has become the 1st Indian-origin person to win an election in Japan, having gotten elected to Tokyo's Edogawa Ward assembly. 

a.       The 41-year-old, who's originally from Pune, went to Japan in the 1990s to pursue further studies and also worked there before joining politics. 

16.Indonesia has released a Ramayana-themed commemorative stamp to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of its diplomatic ties with India. 

a.       The stamp features a scene in which Jatayu fought to save Sita. 

b.      India's bilateral ties with Indonesia have been shaped as much by history, culture and geopolitical realities as by the visionary leadership, a text alongside the stamp read.

17.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that he would name a new community in the Golan Heights after US President Donald Trump, who officially recognised the disputed area as Israeli territory last month. "

18.Nobel Prize announcements for 2019 will take place in the month of October.

a.       The Nobel Prize is issued in the fields of Physiology or Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, Literature, and Peace every year.

b.      The winner of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel will also be announced. 

c.       There are 301 candidates for the award in these fields, of which 223 are individuals and 78 are organizations. 

d.      The Nobel Peace Prize awardee will be named on October 11.