IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JULY  30^th, 2019

              IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JULY 30^th, 2019

1.       (30th July) is World Day against Trafficking in Persons.

a.       This day was established by the UN General Assembly in the year 2013.

b.       Aim of this Day : To raise awareness of the plight of victims of human trafficking and to protect their rights.  

c.       Theme of World Day against Trafficking in Persons 2019 : ‘Call your government to action’

2.      Rajya Sabha today passed The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019. 

a.       This Bill criminalises instant triple talaq and seeks up to three years in jail for guilty. 

3.      The 22nd National Conference on e-Governance 2019 will be held during 8-9th August 2019 at Shillong.

a.       The conference will be jointly organized by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), in association with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India and the State Government of Meghalaya.

b.       It will provide a platform to disseminate knowledge on effective methods of designing and implementing sustainable e-Governance initiatives to provide end-to-end Digital services, exchange experience in solving problems, mitigating risks, resolving issues and planning for success.

c.       This conference is part of the DARPG’s 100 days initiatives in the new Government.

d.       28 States and eight Union Territories will participate in the conference.

e.       Theme of the Conference : “Digital India: Success to Excellence”

4.      Lok Sabha today passed the Consumer Protection Bill, 2019.

a.       This bill aims at protecting the interests of consumers by establishing authorities for timely and effective administration and settlement of consumers’ dispute.

5.      Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee launched a unique initiative called ‘Didi Ke Bolo’ (Tell your sister) campaign to reach out to people of State. 

a.       This campaign for common masses, is devised to entertain voters’ regarding various issues for which phone number (9137091370) and website www.didikaybolo.com are also launched.

6.      The Rajya Sabha today passed the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2019.

a.       This bill seeks to protect small investors from ponzi schemes and prevent unregulated entities from collecting deposits from individuals. 

b.       The bill provides for a jail term ranging from 1 year to 10 years for people running ponzi schemes and fine ranging from ₹2 lakh to ₹50 crore.

7.      Union Culture and Tourism Minister of State (independent charge) Prahlad Patel today announced that 10 centrally protected monuments across India will be open to public from sunrise till 9 p.m.

a.        Currently gates of most monuments are closed for visitors by 5:30-6 pm.

b.       Those 10 monuments are :

                                           i.      Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi

                                         ii.      Safdarjung Tomb in Delhi

                                       iii.      Rajarani Temple in Bhubaneswar

                                       iv.      Dulhadev Temple in Khajuraho

                                         v.      Shekh Chilli Tomb in Kurukshetra

                                       vi.      Group of Monuments at Pattadakal in Karnataka

                                     vii.      Gol Gumbaj in Karnataka

                                   viii.      Group of Temples in Maharashtra (Markanda)

                                        ix.      Man Mahal in Uttar Pradesh (Varanasi)

                                          x.      Rani ki Baav in Paatan, Gujarat.

8.      The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a fine of about 26 lakh rupees on 2 online payment solutions providers for non-compliance of regulatory guidelines.

a.       The central bank said in a release that Mobikwik Systems Private Limited has been slapped a fine of 15 lakh rupees while Hip Bar Pvt Ltd faced a fine of 10.85 lakh rupees.

b.       It stated that these two prepaid payment instrument (PPI) issuers were levied a monetary penalty for non-compliance of regulatory guidelines.

9.      Nearly two years after West Bengal got Geographical Indication (GI) tag for its version of Rasgulla, Odisha today received the GI tag for "Odisha Rasagola". 

a.       Note : The GI tag for Rasgullas to the neighbouring states recognises two distinct varieties of the sweet in taste and texture.

10. India and Mozambique have signed 2 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on sharing white shipping information and co-operation in the field of Hydrography.

a.       These MOUs were signed in the presence of Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Mozambican counterpart Atanasio Salvador M’tumuke in Maputo,.

b.       Note : The defense minister is on a 3 days visit to South African country, Mozambique.

11. The 6th of 8th indigenously built Landing Craft Utility (LCU) MK IV class ships 'LCU L 56' was commissioned into the Indian Navy by Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C), Eastern Naval Command, at Visakhapatnam.

a.       The LCU L56 is an amphibious ship with its primary role being transportation, deployment and recovery of main battle tanks, armoured vehicles, troops and equipment from ship to shore and vice-versa.

12. Jagdeep Dhankar has been sworn in as the new Governor of West Bengal.

a.       The Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court T.B Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office and Secrecy to him at a simple function in Raj Bhavan in Kolkata.

13. The International Cricket Council (ICC) today officially launched the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC).

a.       To be played over two years, the World Test Championship will witness the top 9 Test teams in the world compete in 71 Test matches across 27 series. 

b.       The two top teams will then go head to head in the World Test Championship final to be held in the United Kingdom in 2021.

c.       Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies are the 9 teams that will battle it out for the top honours in the World Test Championship.

d.       The inaugural ICC World Test Championship will be played from 1st of next month to 30th April 30, 2021.

14. US sprinter Dalilah Muhammad broke the world record in women's 400 metre by finishing the race in 52.20 seconds at the US championships. 

a.       The previous record of 52.34 seconds was set by Yuliya Pechonkina (Russia) on August 8, 2003. 

15. Former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra has announced his retirement from football at the age of 38.

a.        Evra, who earned 81 caps with the French national team, played for United between 2006 and 2014 and won five Premier League titles and the Champions League title. 

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JULY  29^th, 2019

              IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JULY 29^th, 2019

1.       (29th July) is International Tiger Day.

a.       The day is held annually on 29th July to raise awareness for tiger conservation.

b.       It was founded in 2010 at the St. Petersburg Tiger Summit, with the aim to double the big cat population by 2022.

c.       The goal of this day is to promote a global system for protecting the natural habitats of tigers and to raise public awareness and support for tiger conservation.

2.      President Ram Nath Kovind has arrived in West African country Benin on the 1st leg of his 3 nations' tour (Benin, Gambia and Guinea).

a.       With this, he became the 1st Indian head of state to visit the country. 

b.       During this visit, Kovind will hold talks with his Beninese counterpart Patrice Talon in Cotonou. 

c.       Several agreements will be signed between the two countries following talks. 

3.      Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has inaugurated the India-Nepal Logistics Summit 2019 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

a.       Government representatives and trade community from India and Nepal participated in the conference.

b.       Theme of  India-Nepal Logistics Summit 2019 : Transforming Logistics Landscape.

4.      On occasion of Global Tiger Day 2019 Prime Minister Narendra Modi today released the results of 4th cycle of All India Tiger Estimation (AITE) in New Delhi. 

a.       The Tiger Estimation exercise is believed to be world’s largest wildlife survey effort in terms of- coverage, quantum of camera trapping and intensity of sampling. 

b.       In India All India Tiger Estimation is conducts in every 4 years.

c.       Important Note :  According to this estimation, the Tiger population in India has increased from 2,226 in 2014 to 2,967 in 2018.

5.      Prime Minister Narendra Modi will feature in an episode of 'Man vs Wild' along with the show's host Bear Grylls.

6.      Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa won the trust vote in the state Assembly today. 

a.       The BJP leader was sworn-in as Chief Minister last week after the Congress-JD(S) coalition government failed the floor test held on July 23. 

7.      India and Myanmar today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Defence co-operation.

a.       The MoU was signed in New Delhi after the talks between Minister of State for Defence, Shripad Yesso Naik and Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services of Myanmar, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. 

8.      The State Bank of India (SBI) has revised interest rate on Fixed Deposits (FDs) across tenors from 45 days to ten years from August 1, 2019.

a.       On FDs below ₹2 crore for one year to less than two years, interest rates reduced by 20 basis points to 6.80%.

b.        A 6.60% interest is applicable for FDs maturing in three years to less than five years.

9.      Parliament has passed the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill 2019 with the Rajya Sabha approving it today. 

a.       The bill seeks to provide for a comprehensive mechanism to ban the unregulated deposit schemes other than deposits taken in the ordinary course of businesses and to protect the interest of depositors.

10. Renowned Indian sand artist and Padma Awardee Sudarsan Pattnaik has won People’s Choice Award at a prestigious sand sculpting festival in United States (US). 

a.       He was among top 15 sand artists selected from all over world to participate in 2019 Revere Beach International Sand Sculpting Festival in Boston.  

11. Former Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel took oath as the new Governor of Uttar Pradesh today. 

a.       High Court Chief Justice Govind Mathur administered her the oath at the Raj Bhawan in Lucknow. 

12. Phagu Chauhan was sworn in as the new Governor of Bihar today. 

a.       He was administered the oath of office by Patna High Court Chief Justice A P Shahi at the Raj Bhawan in Patna.

13. 1984-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre VK Johri has been appointed as the new Director General (DG) of Border Security Force (BSF), country’s largest border guarding force. 

14. Red Bull's Dutch driver Max Verstappen won German Grand Prix 2019.

15. Egan Bernal (22) became the youngest Tour de France winner in 110 years after completing the last stage of the competition today.

a.       He has also became the 1st-ever Colombian to win the Tour de France title. 

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JULY  27^th & 28^th, 2019

              IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JULY 27^th& 28^th, 2019

1.      28th July is observed as World Hepatitis Day.

a.       Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. It can affect any individual of any age including children.

b.       This day aims to raise global awareness of hepatitis (a group of infectious diseases known as Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E)

c.       Theme of World Hepatitis Day 2019 : “Invest in eliminating hepatitis”.

d.       Note : World Hepatitis Day is one of eight official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization (WHO).

i)       Remaining Campaigns are

(1)  World Health Day, 

(2)  World Blood Donor Day, 

(3)  World Immunization Week, 

(4)  World Tuberculosis Day, 

(5)  World No Tobacco Day, 

(6)  World Malaria Day 

(7)  World AIDS Day

2.      President Ram Nath Kovind has reached Benin on the 1st leg of his 3 Nation tour(Benin, The Gambia and Guinea)

a.       The 7-day visit is the 1st high-level tour of any Head of State from India to the three West African countries.

b.       During this visit, Mr Kovind will hold talks with his Beninese counterpart Patrice Talon. 

c.       Later, the President will address the National Assembly in Porto Novo. 

d.       Mr Kovind will also meet members of the Indian Community at a reception hosted in his honour in Cotonou.

e.       During the visit to The Gambia, Mr Kovind will hold delegation-level talks with President Adama Barrow in the capital, Banjul.

f.        On the last leg of his visit, the President will reach Conakry, the capital of Guinea on 1st August.

g.       Mr Kovind will hold delegation-level talks with his counterpart on 2nd August.

3.      The Death Anniversary of 11th President of India, Bharat Ratna Dr Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (A. P. J. Abdul Kalam) was observed on 27th July 2019.

a.       He is known as the 'Missile Man of India' for his work on the development of ballistic missile. 

b.       He passed away on 27th July 2015, while delivering a lecture at IIM Shillong.

4.      The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) paid tributes to those who laid down their lives for the nation, at the National Police Memorial in New Delhi on the occasion of its 81st Raising Day on 27th July 2019.

5.      5th International Dharma-Dhamma conference is being held Rajgir International Convention Centre in Rajgir, Bihar from 27-28 July 2019. 

a.       The conference was inaugurated by the Union Minister of State Kiren Rijiju who is also the Chief Guest of Conference. 

b.       Note : This conference is being hosted by Rajgir for 2nd time.

6.      The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has proposed the renewal of fitness certificates every 6 months for vehicles older than 15 years instead of the current one year. 

a.       Further, it also proposed exemption of registration fees for buyers of vehicles if a scrapping certificate of a vehicle, belonging to the same category of the vehicle being purchased, is produced.

7.      Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar has invited Nepal to be Partner Countryfor International Gita Jayanti Mahotsav scheduled to be held at Kurukshetra from 3-8 December 2019. 

8.      The government is going to begin the fieldwork for the 7th Economic Census (7th EC) from Tripura tomorrow.

a.       The 7th EC is being conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in 2019.

b.       The fieldwork in other States and Union Territories will be launched in August and September.

c.       About Economic Census :

i)       The Economic Census is the complete count of all establishment located within the geographical boundary of the country. 

ii)     It is a periodic exercise conducted by the ministry to provide disaggregated information on various operational and structural aspects of all economic establishments in the country.

iii)   The economic census provides valuable insights into the geographical spread, clusters of economic activities, ownership pattern and persons engaged of all economic establishments in the country.

iv)   6 Economic Censuses have been conducted by the Ministry till date. 

v)     The Sixth edition of Economic Census was conducted in 2013.

9.      The GST Council has decided to reduce GST rate on electric vehicles (EV) from 12% to 5% and 18% to 5% on EV chargers from August 1.

a.       Moreover, the council also approved exemption from GST on hiring of electric buses by local authorities.

b.       This follows government announcing ₹1.5-lakh income tax deduction on loan interest for purchasing EVs.

10. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio has overtaken Vodafone Idea to become India's largest telecom operator by subscribers in the June quarter. 

a.       While Vodafone Idea had 320 million subscribers in the quarter from the previous quarter's 334.1 million, Jio's subscriber base grew to 331.3 million.

b.       Note : Jio had in May surpassed Bharti Airtel to become the country's second-largest operator by users.

11. Vidisha Baliyan, a 21-year-old girl from Uttar Pradesh, has been crowned Miss Deaf World 2019.

a.       With this she became the 1st Indian to bag the title. 

12. Veteran actor Meryl Streep will be honoured with Tribute Actor award at 2019 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). 

a.       Note : She will be 1st-ever recipient of TIFF Tribute Actor Award.

13. A high-level 10-member Committee has been constituted under the Chairmanship of Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju to coordinate and strategise the preparation for the 2020 and 2024 Olympics.

a.       The objective of the committee is to ensure that the performance of the Indian athletes is optimised in the Olympics and other multidisciplinary events. 

14. Appointments Committee of Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has reappointed Badri Narain Sharma as Chairman of National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) for 2 years. 

a.       B N Sharma a 1985-batch IAS officer from Rajasthan was due for retirement on August 2019.

15. Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Jaipal Reddy (77) passed away.

a.       He served as Information and Broadcasting Minister in the IK Gujral government, and was the Urban Development Minister and later served as the Petroleum Minister in Manmohan Singh's government.

16. Meghalaya Assembly Speaker and former Chief Minister Donkupar Roy (64) passed away. 

17. Russi Taylor (75), the voice actress behind the Disney character Minnie Mousepassed away.

a.       She had also voiced Donald Duck's nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie in the 'Ducktales' animated series.

18. Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the book titled ‘Chandra Shekhar – The Last Icon of Ideological Politics‘ at an event held at Balayogi Auditorium, Parliament Library Building. 

a.       The book has been authored by Harivansh, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha along with Ravi Dutt Bajpai.

b.       The book chronicles the political journey of 8th Prime Minister of India Chandra Shekhar. 

c.       He is 1st Indian Prime Minister who has never held any Government office.

19. Union Minister of Sports Kiren Rijiju announced that 3rd edition of Khelo India Youth Games will be held in Guwahati, Assam between 18-30 January 2020. 

a.       Note : Khelo India programme’s inaugural edition was held in New Delhi in 2018, while Pune hosted 2nd edition in 2019.

b.       The 2020 Games will be conducted in partnership with Indian Olympic Association (IOA), School Games Federation of India (SGFI) & Assam as host State. 

c.       The event will see a participation of over 10,000 athletes and officials from all over country and it will be held .

20. 6-time world champion Mary Kom won the Gold medal at the 23rd President's Cup in Indonesia's Labuan Bajo today. 

a.       The Olympic bronze medallist boxer defeated Australian April Franks 5-0 in the final. 

21. Australia Women captain Meg Lanning smashed an unbeaten 133 off 63 balls, including 7 sixes and 17 fours, against England Women in first T20I, breaking the record for the highest individual score in a women's T20I. 

a.       The previous record was jointly held by Lanning and Netherlands Women's Sterre Kalis, who had scored 126 and 126* in 2014 and 2019 respectively.

22. Asian Championships silver-medallist boxer Ashish Kumar won the 1st gold medal of his international career at the Thailand Open in Bangkok on Saturday. 

a.       Ashish won the gold by defeating Korea's Kim Jinjae 5-0 in the 75 kg category.

b.       Note : The Indian contingent ended the tournament with 1 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze.

23. Chandigarh today received affiliation from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after nearly 40 years. 

a.       Union Territory Cricket Association (UTCA) president Sanjay Tandon said that the association was registered in 1982 and since then various attempts were made to get the affiliation from BCCI.

24. Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju today received the Special Olympics Torch came from Singapore. 

a.       He received the Olympics Torch from the Chairman of the Special Olympics International Football Championship, Dr. Amar Prasad Reddy in New Delhi. 

b.       The championship will be held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai from 3rd of August to 6th of August.