VINTAGE

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JUNE  18^th, 2019

              IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JUNE 18^th,  2019

1.     India is going to overtake China to become the world's most populated country in 8 years and will remain so through the end of the current century, a United Nations report stated. 

a.      India is expected to add nearly 27.3 crore people between now and 2050, it added. 

b.     In China, the population is projected to decrease by 3.14 crore between 2019 and 2050.

2.     India for the first time will host the 14th session of the Conference of Parties (COP-14) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)in September.

a.      It will see participation from at least 5,000 delegates from nearly 197 countries.

b.     The COP-14 is scheduled to be held during 2nd to 14th September 2019 in Delhi.

3.     Government has decided to remove the requirement of minimum educational qualification for transport vehicle drivers. 

a.      According to the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, a transport vehicle driver needs to have passed class eight.

b.     Road Transport and Highways Ministry in a release said, the move will benefit skilled persons in economically backward areas.

c.      The decision will also help meet the shortage of nearly 22 lakh drivers in the transport and logistics sector, which is hindering its growth.

4.     In a bid to promote Sanskrit, the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government will now issue press releases in Sanskrit along with Hindi, English and Urdu. 

a.      The government will take help of Lucknow-based Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan for translating CM's speeches for public release.

5.     In Jammu and Kashmir, apart from performing its primary duty of providing security, the CRPF will launch a 'save environment' campaign during the up-coming Shri Amarnathji Yatra in the South Kashmir Himalayas which is starting from Jammu on June 30.

a.      CRPF has made an appeal to the visiting pilgrims as well as the public in general to play their vital role in preserving the fragile environment especially along the yatra area in Kashmir. 

6.     Maharashtra government will soon launch the Chief Minister's Employment Generation Programme for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which will create 10 lakh jobs in the next 5 years. 

a.      The flagship programme of the Industries Department will have 30 per cent reservation for women entrepreneurs.

b.     The scheme, approved by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, envisages setting up one lakh units in five years, 40 per cent of them in rural areas.

c.      The nodal bank for the programme will be Corporation Bank and beneficiaries will be financed by nationalised and private Sector banks like Yes Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. 

7.     Former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi (67) died today after collapsing in a court while on trial for espionage charges. 

a.      Morsi, the 1st democratically elected head of state in Egypt's modern history, had been in jail since being toppled by military in 2013 after barely a year in power. 

b.     He was a top figure in the now-banned Islamist movement Muslim Brotherhood.

8.     Social media giant Facebook today announced its own digital currency 'Libra', powered by blockchain technology, for users around the world. 

a.      Facebook's 'Calibra' digital wallet will let users save, send and spend Libra with a smartphone. 

9.     Iran today announced that it will breach the limit on its stockpile of enriched uranium set under the 2015 nuclear deal on June 27. 

a.      The deal limited Iran's stock of low-enriched uranium to 300 kilograms. 

b.     Iran said other parties to the deal had the option to save it by finding a way to protect the country from US sanctions.

10. Chinese lenders have demanded around ₹15,000 crore from Anil Ambani's Reliance Communications (RCom), that entered bankruptcy earlier this year.

a.      State-owned China Development Bank, with loans worth ₹9,863 crore, was the biggest creditor to the telecom. 

11. One of the "Big Three credit rating agencies", Fitch today lowered India's economic growth forecast to 6.6% for the current fiscal from 6.8% projected earlier. 

a.      This comes as the country's manufacturing and agriculture sectors showed signs of slowing down over the past year. 

b.     Note : The global rating agency retained its GDP growth forecast for the next financial year at 7.1% and for FY22 at 7.0%.

12. India has extended 15 million dollars grant assistance to Niger in support of organizing of the African Union summit scheduled from 7th of next month in capital Niamey.

13.                       Pakistan has appointed Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed as the new Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). 

a.      He has replaced Lieutenant Gen Asim Munir, who was appointed to head the ISI only eight months ago.

14.                       The 33rd Federation Cup Basketball Championship 2019 was recently held at Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida.

15. Punjab Police and Eastern Railway won the men’s and women’s titles respectively.

16. Punjab Police won the Men's title by defeating Indian Army.

17. Eastern Railway won the Women’s title by beating Tamil Nadu.

18. Awards of 33rd Federation Cup Basketball Championship 2019

a.      Most Valuable Players (Men) : Harshpreet Singh Bhullar, Punjab Police (Men)

b.     Most Valuable Players (Women) : M.J. Libina, Eastern Railway (Women) 

19. Naomi Osaka (Japan) and Novak Djokovic (Serbia) continue as World Number ones in the latest WTA and ATP rankings announced today. 

a.      The rankings were announced ahead of Wimbledon which is just two weeks away.