Current Affairs Daily Digest – January 12 & 13 2019
1. Australia have won 1,000 int’l cricket matches, England 2nd at 774
The 34-run victory against India in the first ODI was Australia’s 1,000th win in 1,852 international matches across all formats. England are second on the list of most victories, with 774 wins in 1,833 matches. England are followed by India and Pakistan, who have won 711 and 702 out of their 1,597 and 1,464 international matches respectively.
2. IDFC Bank renamed IDFC First Bank post merger with Capital First
Private sector lender IDFC Bank has said its name has been changed to IDFC First Bank following the completion of its merger with non-banking financial company Capital First. The merged entity has a combined loan asset book of ?1.03 lakh crore. Capital First Founder and Chairman V Vaidyanathan has been appointed the Managing Director and CEO of the merged entity.
3. Russia loses control of its only radio telescope satellite
Russia’s space agency Roscosmos has said it’s unable to control its only radio telescope satellite Spektr-R. Specialists are trying to regain control of Spektr-R, which is still transmitting scientific data but not accepting commands from the Earth, officials said. The satellite, used to study radio sources within and outside the Earth’s galaxy, was launched into space in 2011.
4. Sushil Modi to head panel on states’ GST revenue shortfall
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi will head the seven-member committee to analyse the revenue shortfall faced by states after the GST rollout. The shortfall in collection stood between 14-37% in the April-November period for states including Punjab, Bihar and Himachal Pradesh. Only six states including Andhra Pradesh and Mizoram have recorded a revenue increase after GST was implemented.
5. Yes Bank appoints Brahm Dutt as part-time Chairman
Yes Bank announced the appointment of Brahm Dutt as non-executive part-time Chairman. Dutt, a 1973-batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre, has been on the lender’s board as an independent director since July 2013. He is currently also the Chairman of the bank’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee.
6. Prez confers Honorary Rank of General on Nepal Army Chief
Chief of Army Staff of Nepali Army, Purna Chandra Thapa, has been conferred the Honorary Rank of General of Indian Army by President Ram Nath Kovind. He was honoured for his “commendable military prowess” and contribution to fostering “friendly association with India”. It is a practice between the two nations to award the honorary title to each other’s Army Chief.
7. President clears 10% quota for economically weak in general category
President Ram Nath Kovind has approved The Constitution (One Hundred And Third Amendment) Act, 2019, which introduces a 10% reservation for economically weaker sections among general category for jobs and educational institutions. The Centre will decide when the Act will come into force. The bill received the support of 323 lawmakers in Lok Sabha and 165 in Rajya Sabha.
8. Actor Kishore Pradhan passes away at the age of 86
Veteran actor Kishore Pradhan, who is known for his work in both Hindi and Marathi cinema, passed away at the age of 86. The actor featured in Kareena Kapoor starrer ‘Jab We Met’, as well as in ‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai’, starring Sanjay Dutt. Kishore acted in several Marathi films and over 100 plays during the course of his career.
9. Rohit Sharma 1st Indian to slam 5 ODI hundreds in Australia
Opener Rohit Sharma has become the first India batsman to smash five hundreds in ODI cricket in Australia, achieving the feat in the first ODI against Australia in Sydney. Overall, the hundred was the 31-year-old’s 22nd in 194 ODIs. Rohit has now hit four consecutive 50-plus scores against Australia in ODI cricket.
10. MS Dhoni becomes fifth batsman to score 10,000 ODI runs for India
Former captain MS Dhoni has become the fifth batsman to score 10,000 runs in ODI cricket for India, achieving the feat in the first ODI against Australia on Saturday. In July last year, the 37-year-old had become the fastest wicketkeeper-batsman to score 10,000 runs in ODI cricket. Notably, Dhoni scored 174 ODI runs for Asia XI in 2007.
11. Mohamed Salah named African Footballer of the year
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah named as the 2018 Confederation of African Football Player of the Year. For the second consecutive year he has won the award. Egypt forward Salah, 26, beat Liverpool team-mate Sadio Mane of Senegal and Arsenal and Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to the title. He received the award at a ceremony in Senegal.
12. Egypt to host 2019 Africa Cup of Nations
Egypt will host the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations between June 15 and July 13, Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Ahmad Ahmad announced in Dakar. It will be the fifth time Egypt stage the biennial showpiece of African football after 1959, when the country was called the United Arab Republic, 1974, 1986 and 2006. The CAF executive committee preferred Egypt to South Africa as replacements for original hosts Cameroon, who were dropped due to delays in preparations and concerns over security.
13. India’s longest single lane steel cable bridge opened in Arunachal
India’s longest 300-metre single lane steel cable suspension bridge was inaugurated by Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu. The bridge across the Siang river at Yingkiong in Upper Siang district has been named Byorung Bridge. The bridge, built at a cost of ₹48.43-crore provided by the DONER (Department for Development of North Eastern Region) Ministry, will reduce the distance from Yinkiong to Tuting by almost 40 km.
14. Ram of the Hindu Group is new AFMF President
Narasimhan Ram has been appointed President of the Alliance for Media Freedom (AFMF), a cross-media advocacy and action group of media organization, promoters, and journalists. While appointing him as the president of the Alliance, his role in thwarting the efforts of governments and authoritarian elements to impede the independent functioning of the media was commended.
15. IWF President named as Chef de Mission for Tokyo Olympics
President of the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF), Birendra Prasad Baishya, has been named Chef de Mission for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. It is for the first time that the Weightlifting has been accorded with the honor of Chef de Mission for the Olympics.
16. India’s growth rate to touch 7.5 percent in 2019-20: World Bank
The World Bank has said that India’s economy will accelerate to 7.5% in 2019-20 as consumption remains robust and investment growth continues in the country. It also added that India will retain its position as the fastest growing major economy in the world.
World Bank’s report has also projected India’s 2020-21 and 2021-22 fiscal years’ growth rate at 7.5%. In South Asia, Pakistan’s growth rate is forecast to fall drastically from last fiscal year’s 5.8 per cent to 3.7 per cent this fiscal year.
17. India to become world’s third largest consumer market by 2030: WEF
A report by World Economic Forum (WEF) said that India is set to become the world’s third largest consumer market behind only USA and China by 2030. Consumer spending in India is expected to grow from 1.5 trillion US dollar at present to six trillion US dollar by 2030. With the annual GDP growth rate of 7.5 percent, India is currently the world’s sixth largest economy.
