VINTAGE

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JUNE  19^th, 2019

              IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JUNE 19^th,  2019

1.     Chinese President Xi Jinping is going to visit North Korea tomorrow.

a.      With this, he becomes the 1st Chinese leader to visit the country in 14 years. 

b.     Xi's visit comes amid renewed tensions between the US and North Korea over efforts to persuade the regime to give up its nuclear weapons.

2.     Prime Minister Narendra Modi is holding a meeting in New Delhi with the Presidents of all political parties having representation in Parliament on the issue of 'One Nation One Election'.

a.      Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP Working President J P Nadda, YSR Congress President YS Jaganmohan Reddy, Sitaram Yechuri of CPI(M), CPI's Sudhakar Reddy, NCP's Chief Sharad Pawar, RPI's Ramdas Athawale are among those who are attending the meeting.

b.     Celebrations of 75 years of India's Independence in 2022 and Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary celebrations this year will also be discussed during the meeting.

3.     The Himachal Pradesh (HP) government has made it compulsory for trekkers to carry a GPS (Global Positioning System) device to tackle any exigency. 

4.     Unemployed youth having graduation or equivalent degree will be given unemployment allowance by Rajasthan government under Chief Minister Yuva Sambal Yojana. 

a.      Male applicants will get ₹3,000/month, while the Women and differently-abled will get ₹3,500/month.

b.     Note : The applicants must be natives of Rajasthan and the amount will be given for two years or until they get employed.

5.     Indian Coast Guard is co-hosting an International Workshop in New Delhi to deepen knowledge on issues related to piracy and armed robbery. 

a.      The 2-day workshop is being organised in cooperation with the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP). 

b.     Note : Presently, 20 countries are members of the ReCAAP.

6.     The government is considering selling controlling stakes in some of the smaller state-run banks to raise funds for the rural housing programme. 

a.      If the plan is finalised, the government will need to amend a law to enable it to sell majority control in state-run banks. 

b.     The plan could be included in the upcoming Union Budget 2019-20.

7.     The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a ₹1-crore penalty on HDFC Bank for not complying with its KYC and anti-money laundering norms.

8.     Pakistan and the World Bank have signed a ₹6,400 crore loan agreement to support the economy, reform the tax system and broaden the revenue base. 

a.      Note : Pakistan recently slashed growth forecast for the financial year ending in June 2019 to 3.3%, well below a target of 6.2% set last year.

9.     Policy think tank of the Government of India, NITI Aayog has proposed that only electric vehicles be sold in India after 2030. 

a.      NITI Aayog reportedly moved a cabinet note, asking that responsibilities be assigned to different ministries, proposing that the Road Transport and Highways Ministry prepare a framework to phase out diesel and petrol vehicles' sale by 2030. 

10.                       India has entered into a mutual cooperation agreement with Bangladesh. 

a.      According to this agreement, DD India will be shown in Bangladesh, in return, Bangladesh official channel will also be available in India on DD Free Dish.

b.     India has also entered into an agreement with South Korea where DD India will be shown in that country and South Korea's KBS channel will be available in India.

c.      Information and Broadcasting Minister : Prakash Javadekar

11.                       The RBI on Tuesday said the UK Sinha-led panel, formed to look into the issues of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), has submitted its report. The eight-member panel was formed in January to comprehensively review and propose long-term solutions for revival of the sector. Its members included SBI Managing Director PK Gupta and ICICI Bank Executive Director Anup Bagchi.

12.                       Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay has emerged as the Top Indian institute in the QS World University Ranking 2020. 

a.      Ranked at 152nd position, IIT-Bombay is first to be featured in the list of global top 200 this year.

b.     Other Indian institutes which found a place in the top 200 were IIT-Delhi and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore at 182nd and 184th position respectively. 

c.      Out of top 10 universities in the 16th edition of the QS World Ranking, five were US based.

d.     Note : Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) topped the global list for the eighth year while second spot was taken by Stanford University. 

13.                       BJP MP from Kota, Om Birla, has been elected as the next Lok Sabha speaker. 

a.      Birla is a two-time MP from Kota and a three-time MLA from the Kota South Assembly seat. 

b.     Note : He took the charge from party MP Virendra Kumar, who was appointed as the pro-tem speaker of the lower house on Monday.

14. Indiabulls Housing Finance has named Naveen Uppal as Chief Risk Officer (CRO) to comply with regulator National Housing Bank's direction. 

15. Bollywood Actor Sanjay Dutt will likely become the Brand ambassador for Centre's anti-drug campaign. 

a.      Note : The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has prepared a national action plan for drug demand reduction for 2018-2025.

16.                       England captain Eoin Morgan set the world record for most sixes (17) in an ODI, achieving the feat during his 71-ball 148-run knock against Afghanistan in World Cup today. 

a.      Note : The previous record (16 sixes) was jointly held by Rohit Sharma, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers. 

17. The Board Of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI) has turned down Afghanistan Cricket Board's request to host its T20 league in India. 

18. Archery's world body has de-listed the Archery Association of India (AAI) as a member and given it a month's time to either get its house in order or face suspension.

a.      World Archery (WA) said, it will wait till 31st of next month before deciding on AAI's suspension. 

b.     The WA will wait for the Supreme Court's verdict on the controversial elections of the AAI.

c.      Note : The decision to de-list AAI will not prevent Indian archers from taking part in international events under the national flag in competitions for which entries have already been made.