Current Affairs Daily Digest – April 30 2019
1. Former Ethiopian president Negasso Gidada dead at 75
Former Ethiopian president Negasso Gidada has died in Germany where he was undergoing medical treatment for an unspecified illness, state broadcaster EBC reported on Saturday.
Negasso, who was 75, was president between 1995 and 2001 and was the first head of state after Ethiopia adopted a new constitution transforming the country into a federal state, with increased autonomy given to the different regions.
2. MetLife recognized in Forbes’ Inaugural Blockchain 50 list
MetLife has been named in Forbes’ inaugural Blockchain 50 List, the first-ever ranking of the top 50 organizations that are leading the pack in regard to adapting decentralized ledgers to their business.
MetLife was recognized for its Vitana experiment, which was launched in Singapore last August by LumenLab, MetLife’s Asia innovation center. Vitana is the world’s first, automated insurance solution using blockchain technology to offer pregnant women financial protection in case of gestational diabetes– a condition affecting up to one in five expectant mothers in Singapore.
3. GRSE to build 8 anti-submarine warfare shallow watercraft for Indian Navy
The Defence Ministry has awarded a contract of worth Rs 6,311 crore to Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE) to build eight anti-submarine warfare shallow watercraft (ASWSWC) for the Indian Navy.
“The contract worth Rs 6,311.32 crore was signed today by Joint Secretary and Acquisition Manager (Maritime Systems) Ravi Kant on behalf of Ministry of Defence and S S Dogra, Director (Finance), on behalf of GRSE, in New Delhi,” said a Defence Ministry statement.
As per the agreement, the first ship is to be delivered within 42 months from the date of signing of the contract and subsequently, two ships are required to be delivered per year. The project completion time is 84 months.
4. Harpreet Singh Bags Silver, Bronze For Gyanender As India Finish With 16 Medals At Asian Wrestling Championships
India wrapped up their campaign at the Asian Wrestling Championships on a resounding note with 16 medals after Greco-Roman grapplers added a silver and a bronze on the concluding day in Xi’an, China . Harpreet Singh settled for a silver in 82kg while Gyanender won a bronze in 60kg on the final day of competition. India’s overall tally of 16 medals included eight — one gold, three silver and four bronze — won by men’s freestyle wrestlers, four bronze by women and three silver and a bronze by Greco-Roman wrestlers.
With this performance, India’s Greco-Roman wrestlers have bettered their tally of two bronze from the last edition and is the country’s best ever showing in this discipline so far at the Asian Championships.
5. Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria to take over as IAF Vice Chief
Air Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria will take over as the Vice Chief of Indian Air Force on May 1 succeeding Air Marshal Anil Khosla who is superannuating .
Bhadauria is at present heading IAF’s Bengaluru-based Training Command and in his earlier avatar as the Deputy Chief, he was the chairman of the Indian negotiating team for the 36 Rafale combat aircraft deal with France.
Bhadauria was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Air Force on June 15, 1980 with the Sword of Honour.
6. IGNOU to launch course on GST
The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) will launch an awareness programme on Goods and Services Tax (GST) in collaboration with Bombay Stock Exchange Institute Limited from its July 2019 session, the varsity said Monday.
The programme, which will be launched by IGNOU’s School of Management Studies aims to impart basic knowledge and skills required to fulfil various requirements under the GST Act.
This programme would be beneficial to people who are engaged in maintaining accounts and filing of various indirect tax returns.
7. Raheem Sterling named 2019 FWA footballer of the year
Raheem Sterling has been named the 2019 footballer of the year by the Football Writers’ Association (FWA). The Manchester City and England forward topped the poll of the 400-strong FWA membership as a clear winner, with 62 percent of the votes.
It was more than 100 votes ahead of Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk. Hours earlier, Sterling lost out to Van Dijk in the race for the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) award, but was announced PFA young player of the year.
8. PhonePe introduces new keyboard for seamless transaction
Digital payments platform PhonePe launched a special keyboard on Tuesday that will allow users to transact conveniently and securely with just a click, anytime and anywhere while using their Android phone.
The PhonePe keyboard will allow users to send and request money, check their account balance and invite friends and family to explore the PhonePe platform, across all apps and use cases on any phone where a keyboard is required. The UPI-powered PhonePe keyboard integrates seamless money transfers while offering the full functionality of a keyboard.
Currently, Flipkart-owned PhonePe is the only player in India to introduce this user-friendly feature.
9. Wipro Consumer acquires Filipino personal care firm
Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Splash Corp., Philippines’s largest personal care company. Splash, which clocked $80 million revenue last year, owns brands including SkinWhite, Maxi-peel and Vitress.
The transaction strengthens Wipro’s consumer care portfolio in personal care and strengthens its South-East Asian market footprint. The transaction value was not disclosed.
This is Wipro’s 11th consumer business acquisition, and the ninth in the personal care segment. The company has made five acquisitions in the Indian market in the consumer line business.
10. Dilip Kumar appointed as Officer on Special Duty in office of Lokpal
Senior IAS officer Dilip Kumar was appointed as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the office of Lokpal. It is perhaps the first official appointment of a bureaucrat in Lokpal.
Kumar, a 1995-batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre, is at present joint secretary, National Human Rights Commission. He has been appointed for a period of six months on additional charge basis or till a new incumbent joins the post, an order issued by the Personnel Ministry said.
11. Petra Kvitova Won Maiden Stuttgart Porsche Grand Prix 2019
World number three tennis player Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) beat Anett Kontaveit (Estonia) to win Stuttgart Porsche Grand Prix for her second title of the year.
Kvitova is a two-time Wimbledon champion. The championship was held at Stuttgart, Germany.
12. CBDT designates officials for sharing data with GSTN
The Income Tax (I-T) department will soon start sharing specific assessee related data with the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) to strengthen the system for prevention of tax evasion.
As part of the exercise, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has designated the Principal Director General of Income Tax (systems) or Director General of Income Tax (systems) as the income tax authority for furnishing information of assessees to the government entity managing I-T systems and data for indirect taxes.
13. Government notifies taking over of National Housing Bank from RBI
The government has issued a notification taking over the National Housing Bank (NHB) after buying entire stake for ₹1,450 crore from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The RBI has exited the NHB, thus making it a fully government-owned entity. The central bank was holding 100% stake in the NHB, the housing finance regulator.
The move is part of ending the cross-holding in regulatory institutions and follows the recommendation of Narasimham-II committee report of October 2001 and the RBI’s own discussion paper on the same, titled ‘Harmonising the Role and Operations of Development Financial Institutions and Banks’.
14. Airtel launches video streaming app Wynk Tube to woo Bharat in fight with Jio
After conceding market share to rival Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel is now taking the fight to Jio’s turf – rural India – with the launch of a new audio-video streaming app targeted at the non-English speaking population possessing entry-level smartphones.
Airtel announced the launch of Wynk Tube, an extension of its music streaming service Wynk Music targeted at small-town India that will allow users to stream both audio and video within the same interface, and switch between the two modes for a particular song. Currently available for Android smartphones, the service offers content in vernacular languages like Hindi, Punjabi and Bhojpuri as of now and is looking at Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Marathi soon.
15. ISRO plans to launch radar imaging satellite in May
India is planning to launch its radar imaging satellite RISAT 2BR1 sometime towards the end of May 2019 on one of the variants of its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket. These types of satellites depend on specific applications to keep them staying in the air and functioning. For those who want to learn more about the types of sensors used for this, they can check out Sentech’s post for further information, as well as research it themselves.
The rocket that would carry RISAT 2BR1 is designated as PSLV-C46 as per ISRO’s numbering system and will blast off from the first launch pad at the country’s rocket port in Sriharikota.
Following the launch of RISAT 2BR1, ISRO will send up a cartography satellite Catosat-3.
India will also launch two more defence satellites sometime in July or August with its new rocket Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV).
16. DD-Kashir launches Kashmiri version of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’
DDKisanChannelDD-Kashir launched the Kashmiri version of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ at the Doordarshan Kendra’s Srinagar Studios . The show is named, ‘Kus Bani Koshur Karorpaet’.
17. Raheem Sterling named 2019 FWA footballer of the year
Raheem Sterling has been named the 2019 footballer of the year by the Football Writers’ Association (FWA). The Manchester City and England forward topped the poll of the 400-strong FWA membership as a clear winner, with 62 percent of the votes.
It was more than 100 votes ahead of Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk. Hours earlier, Sterling lost out to Van Dijk in the race for the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) award, but was announced PFA young player of the year.
18. New Zealand Open Badminton tournament begins in Auckland
The New Zealand Open Badminton tournament began in Auckland this morning. Some Qualification matches are being played today along with Mixed Doubles opening round fixtures.
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal will be aiming to win her second title this year. She will take on China’s Wang Zhiyi in the Women’s Singles first round tomorrow. Olympic silver medalist PV Sindhu is not competing in this tournament.
Parupalli Kashyap, B Sai Praneeth, HS Prannoy, Subhankar Dey and Laskshya Sen will be seen in action in the Men’s section. Doubles categories will also witness the Indian participation.
19. India to bid for 2024 World Table Tennis Championships
Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) has decided to bid for the 2024 edition of the biennial World Team Championships. Federation secretary M P Singh said the time has come for India to host a high-profile event and TTFI will bid for the 2024 edition in which 32 teams will take part. The last time India hosted a World Championships was way back in 1987.
The last big ITTF event that was staged in India was in 2012 when Hyderabad hosted the World Junior Championships.
