Latest Current Affairs – August 18 & 19 2018
1. Wrestler Bajrang wins India’s 1st gold at 2018 Asian Games
Wrestler Bajrang Punia defeated Japan’s Daichi Takatani in the men’s freestyle 65kg final to win India’s first gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games. The medal is Bajrang’s second in Asian Games history, after having clinched silver in the 2014 edition. In April this year, the 24-year-old had clinched gold in the 65kg category at the Commonwealth Games.
2. Rishabh Pant becomes 1st Indian to take 5 catches on Test debut
Twenty-year-old Rishabh Pant has become the first Indian cricketer to take five catches in his Test debut, playing against England on Day 2 of the third Test. He also became the first Indian to open his account in Test cricket with a six the previous day. Pant, who replaced an injured Dinesh Karthik, is the 291st Test player for India.
3. Tamil Nadu bans students from using mobile phones in colleges
The Tamil Nadu government has issued a directive asking all government and private colleges to ban students from using mobile phones on premises. Centre-run institutes like IIT Madras have been exempted from the ban stating ‘their students know how to use mobiles reasonably’. This comes after complaints of boys taking videos of girls and mobiles being used in exams emerged.
4. Afghanistan celebrates its 99th Independence Day
Afghanistan on August 19th celebrated its 99th Independence Day, with President Ashraf Ghani laying a wreath at the Independence Minaret to pay tributes to security forces who lost their lives. Afghanistan gained independence from the British Empire in 1919 under the leadership of Shah Amanullah Khan after signing the Anglo-Afghan Treaty.
5. Shooters Apurvi, Ravi win India its 1st medal at Asiad 2018
Shooters Apurvi Chandela and Ravi Kumar opened India’s medal tally at the 2018 Asian Games by winning bronze in the final of the 10m Air Rifle mixed team event. Apurvi and Ravi, who had clinched bronze medal in women’s and men’s 10m Air Rifle events at 2018 Commonwealth Games respectively, shot a cumulative score of 429.9 to finish third.
6. Fast melting Arctic ice may impact Indian monsoon: Study
A study by Indian researchers has found that the fast-melting rates of Arctic ice can have adverse implications for Indian monsoon rain. The team has reconstructed the warming of the Arctic over the last two centuries in order to study the impact. A scientist added that climate change in polar regions is taking place at twice the global average.
7. North and South Korea march together at Asian Games
North and South Korea marched under a united flag at the opening ceremony of the 18th Asian Games in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. Both the nations will field joint teams in canoeing, rowing and women’s basketball. The Koreas also walked together at the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February.
8. Nobel laureate and former UN chief Kofi Annan passes away
Former UN Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize winner Kofi Annan passed away aged 80 at a hospital in Switzerland. The diplomat from Ghana had worked to combat HIV, especially in Africa, and had advocated the expansion of the UN Security Council. He also served as a UN special representative tasked with resolving the conflict in Syria.
9. Imran Khan sworn in as 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan
Pakistan’s Cricket World Cup-winning captain and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan took oath as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan at the President House in Islamabad. Khan was elected the PM after winning 176 votes in the polling that took place in the National Assembly on Friday. Ex-India cricketer and Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu attended the ceremony. Imran Khan becomes the first international cricketer to be elected as the Prime Minister of a nation
10. World Hindi Conference begins with homage to late Atal Bihari Vajpayee
The 11th World Hindi Conference begins in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius; External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj addresses the inaugural session of the 3-day conference; exhorts world community to contribute in promotion of Hindi language.
In the beginning of the conference a two-minute silence was observed to pay tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Inaugurating the conference Prime Minister of Mauritius Praveen Kumar Jagannath said that with the passing away of Vajpayee ji a great son of India and a dear friend to Mauritius has been lost.
11. SC asked NCMC to find ways to reduce the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam
The Supreme Court suggested the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), the Disaster Management Sub-committee, and the supervisory panel who monitors the Mullaperiyar dam to find ways to reduce the water level in the reservoir to 139 feet as it hit 141.5 feet.
The court directed that Kerala should follow any instructions given by the NCMC on rescue and rehabilitation and Tamil Nadu must comply with any instructions to bring down the level of the dam without disturbing the people nearby. It also recommended the Kerala government to provide it sincere efforts in the rescue mission for the people trapped in floods.
12. India improve to World No 96 in FIFA rankings
India’s improvement in the ranking list is seen after the introduction of a new ranking system called ELO by FIFA. The Top five positions in the latest Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) ranking are occupied by France, Belgium, Brazil, Croatia, and Uruguay respectively.
13. Ministry of Agriculture proposes to UNFAO to declare 2019 as International Year of Millets
The adoption of this proposal by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO)with the support of its Member Nations will enable it to be moved to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for the declaration of an upcoming year as International Year of Millets.
14. India’s First project of Swadesh Darshan launched in Manipur
The Manipur Governor, Dr. Najma A. Heptulla inaugurated the project ‘Development of North East Circuit: Imphal & Khongjom’ implemented under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.
The project which covers two sites – Kangla Fort in Imphal and Khongjom was taken up at an estimated cost of Rs. 72,22,82607 under the Union Ministry of Tourism. ‘Swadesh Darshan’ (tour of country) is a flagship scheme of the Ministry of Tourism for the development of thematic circuits in the country in a planned and prioritised manner.
15. KS Srinivas appointed as Chairman of Marine Products Export Development Authority
He served as Joint Secretary in Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers Welfare in Ministry of Agriculture. It was established in 1972 under Marine Products Export Development Authority Act (MPEDA), 1972.
16. Odisha government launched Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana
On the occasion of 72nd Independence Day, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launched Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) which provides annual cashless health coverage of Rs 5 lakh per beneficiary family per annum.
More than 70 lakh families will be benefited by the scheme. Patnaik also handed over ‘Uttam Jeevan Rakshya Padak’ and ‘Jeevan Rakshya Padak’ to two children – Pankaj Kumar Mahanta and Mamata Dalai, respectively, for their act of bravery.
17. UAE to host Asia Cup 2018
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) declared that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be hosting the Asia Cup 2018. The tournament will be held from September 15 to 28 in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be participating in the tournament. The opening game of the tournament will be played by Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
18. Albany Medical Center Prize 2018 awarded to 3 US Scientists
Three US scientists James Allison, Carl June and Steven Rosenberg were declared winners 2018 Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research. It is the second-highest value prize in medicine and biomedical research, awarded by the Albany Medical Center.
19. Indonesia hosts the 18th Asian Games 2018
Indonesia hosts the 18th Asian Games 2018. The games are to be held from 18th August to 2nd September 2018 in Jakarta and Palembang. The motto of the event is ‘Energy of Asia’. Around 45 countries are participating in the 18th Asian Games.
The opening ceremony was held on 18th August at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta. It is a multi-sport event. It would feature 484 events in 42 sports. India hosted the first Asian Games in 1951.
20. India sent INS sahyadri to Fiji to boost ties
Indian Naval Ship (INS) Sahyadri (F49) is the third and latest ship among the Shivalik Class of indigenously built stealth frigates and forms a part of the Eastern Fleet of Indian Navy.
INS Sahyadri ship celebrated the 72nd Independence Day of India in the Port of Suva, Fiji on August 15. INS Sahyadri draws its name from the beautiful, age-defying Western Ghats (also known as Sahyadri ranges) stretching across 1,600 km along India’s western coast.
21. Vaishali R becomes India’s latest Woman Grandmaster
The sister of R Praggnanandhaa, Vaishali R (17-year-old), became India’s latest Woman Grandmaster (WGM) after earning her third and final WGM norm at Riga Technical University Open at Latvia.
She is the highest ranked chess player in India in her age category. Recently, Praggnanandhaa became the world’s second youngest Grandmaster of all time. Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman was India’s first WGM, a title she achieved in 2001.
22. New Delhi to host shooting World Cup in 2020
New Delhi has been granted hosting rights of the Combined ISSF (International Shooting Sport Federation) World Cup, to be held before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. India is scheduled to host the World Cup next year from February 20 to 28, which will offer Olympic quota places for Tokyo.
23. International Conference on Recent Advances in Food Processing Technology (iCRAFPT) gets held at IIFPT, Thanjavur
The theme of the conference was “Doubling farmers’ income through food processing”. The conference provides a strong platform for knowledge sharing and meaningful delegation among industry, academia, researchers and farmers which will potentially impact the food sector growth to a newer height.
