Latest Current Affairs – January 20 2019
1. Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurates TN Defence Industrial Corridor
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor in the Tiruchirapalli district of Tamil Nadu, with various private and public sector industries announcing an investment of around Rs 3100 crores. The Defence Minister spoke about various initiatives for the industry to engage with armed forces and co-create the best in defence technologies through the flagship ‘Make in India’ program.
2.World’s oldest man dies in Japan, aged 113
Guinness World Records is saddened to learn of the death of Masazo Nonaka, who held the record title of Oldest person living (male).
Masazo passed away aged 113 years 179 days at his home in Ashoro on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido January. Born on 25 July 1905, he officially became the oldest living man after the death of the previous record holder, Francisco Nuñez Olivera from Spain, who passed away on 29 January 2018 at the age of 113 years 47 days.
3. Bengali writer Atin Bandyopadhyay passes away
Sahitya Akademi award winning Bengali writer Atin Bandyopadhyay died of brain stroke . Bandyopadhyay, who was 85, was born in Dhaka in then undivided Bengal and had taken up various jobs as a sailor, school teacher, factory manager, journalist to finally became a writer.
Winner of 2001 Sahitya Akademi award for his compilation of short stories ‘Panchashati Galpo’, Bandyopadhyay had also penned popular fictions like ‘Nilkantha Pakhir Khonje’, ‘Aloukik Jaljaan’, ‘Nil Timi’, ‘Ekti Jaler Rekha’ in his illustrious career spanning over decades. He had also received the Bankim Puraskar (1998) for ‘Dui Bharatbarsho’.
4. Khelo India Youth Games: Maharashtra with 228 medals win overall trophy
Host Maharashtra topped the medals table with a whopping 85 gold, 62 silver and 81 bronze medals in the Khelo India Youth Games that concluded at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, here on Sunday.Maharashtra not only won the lion’s share of gold medals ahead of Haryana (62), Delhi (48), Karnataka (30), Tamil Nadu (27), Uttar Pradesh (23), Punjab (23), Gujarat (15), West Bengal (13) and Kerala (12) but also topped the silver and bronze tallies. Maharashtra won a total of 228 medals, while Haryana and Delhi followed with 178 and 136 respectively.
5. Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Lofven wins second term
Sweden’s parliament has elected Prime Minister Stefan Lofven to a second four-year term ending more than four months of political deadlock. The Social Democratic leader is set to form a minority government with the Greens. He is expected to formally present his new government and its full programme.
6. 2nd World Integrated Medicine Forum 2019 from 23-25 January, 2019 in Goa
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH Shri Shripad Yesso Naik, will inaugurate the 2nd World Integrated Medicine Forum 2019 on the ‘Regulation of Homeopathic Medical Products; Advancing global collaboration’ being organized from 23-25 January, 2019 in Goa. The organizers of the forum are the Central Council for Research in Homeopathy, under the Ministry of AYUSH.
The themes of the forum are: Regulatory collaborations, Converging on minimum regulatory & legal standards, Advancing safety and quality standards, Regulatory trend towards standardization and minimizing complexity, Recognizing homeopathy as distinct holistic medical system and Veterinary homeopathy.
7. Group insolvency: UK Sinha-headed working group to suggest suitable framework
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has set up a 11-member working group under the Chairmanship of former SEBI chief UK Sinha to go into the concept of ‘Group Insolvency’ and suggest a suitable framework. This Working Group has been tasked to submit a report — within two months — recommending a complete regulatory framework to facilitate insolvency resolution and liquidation of corporate debtors in a Group.
8. Two-day Agri Vision concludes in Hyderabad
Agri-Vision 2019, a two-day conference on ‘Envisioning Agro Solutions for Smart and Sustainable Agriculture’ was held in Hyderabad.A panel discussion on Technology in Agri Entrepreneurship: Success Stories and Experiences from the progressive farmers was held.
The theme of the conference was ‘Envisioning Agro Solutions for Smart and Sustainable Agriculture’.
9. India to surpass UK in world’s largest economy rankings in 2019: PwC
India is likely to surpass the United Kingdom in the world’s largest economy rankings in 2019, to become world’s fifth largest economy, according to a report by global consultancy firm PwC. As per the report, while the UK and France have regularly switched places owing to similar levels of development and roughly equal populations, India’s climb up the rankings is likely to be permanent.
PwC’s Global Economy Watch report projects real GDP growth of 1.6 per cent for the UK, 1.7 per cent for France and 7.6 per cent for India in 2019.The US was the world’s largest economy with a size of 19.39 trillion dollars, followed by China at 12.23 trillion dollars at the second place in 2017.
10. BHEL and LIBCOIN to Build India’s First Lithium Ion Giga Factory
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and Libcoin are in dialogue to form a world class consortium to initially build 1GWh lithium ion battery plant in India. Its capacity will be scaled up to 30GWh in due course. With this, India has finally taken steps into its energy security and clean energy commitment to the world. BHEL will be sending a team of senior officers for study of the facilities, R&D infrastructure and other techno-commercial issues soon. Based upon the evaluation and recommendations of the team, further process towards formation of Joint Venture will be carried forward.
This project will bring energy independence by replacing oil imports with abundant renewable. This project also includes “Made by India, for India”, with focus on core-cost components manufactured domestically. It will also create integrated manufacturing ecosystem resulting in self-reliance and lower cost.
11. Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas begins; Sushma Swaraj says success of each Pravasi brings laurels to India
Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas began at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. The theme for this year Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is “Role of Indian Diaspora in building New India”.
Addressing NRIs, especially youth who have arrived from different parts of the globe, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj invited them for investment in the field of education. She said, nowadays India offers limitless opportunity for those who want to work here.
The External Affairs Minister said, the forefathers of the Pravasis came from this land and shared common identity is our strength. She said, the success of each Pravasi brings laurels to India. Ms Swaraj said, Indians are leading the world as lawmakers and heading big corporations. She said, Pravasi Bhartiya Divas is not only about finding one’s roots but also about being a part of India’s growth story.
12. Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver passes away
Mary Oliver, the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet whose rapturous odes to nature and animal life brought her critical acclaim and popular affection, has died. She was 83. Author of more than 15 poetry and essay collections, Oliver wrote brief, direct pieces that sang of her worship of the outdoors and disdain for greed, despoilment and other human crimes. One of her favorite adjectives was “perfect,” and rarely did she apply it to people. Her muses were owls and butterflies, frogs and geese, the changes of the seasons, the sun and the stars
13. Rio de Janeiro to be World Capital of Architecture for 2020
The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco) has named the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro as the World Capital of Architecture for 2020. Having defeated Paris and Melbourne, Rio will be the first city to receive the title under a programme launched together by Unesco and the International Union of Architects (UIA) in November 2018.
14. Ankita Raina wins title in Singapore
Ankita Raina made light of the challenge of beating the top seed and World No. 122, Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands, as she won 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the $25,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament here on Sunday. It was the first title of the season and eighth singles title of her career. In the final, Ankita faced two break points on her serve and saved both. She converted three of seven breakpoints that she forced, to race to the trophy.
15. Indians over 65 and under 15 can now visit Nepal and Bhutan with Aadhaar
Aadhaar cards are now valid travel documents for Indians under 15 and over 65 years travelling to Nepal and Bhutan, according to a Home Ministry communiqué. Indians other than those in the two age brackets will not be able to use Aadhaar to travel to the two neighbouring countries, for which no visas are needed, said the communiqué issued recently.
Indian citizens going to Nepal and Bhutan don’t need a visa if they have a valid passport, a photo identity card issued by the government of India or an election ID card issued by the Election Commission it added. Earlier, persons over 65 and under 15 could show their PAN card, driving licence, Central Government Health Service (CGHS) card or ration card, but not the Aadhaar, to prove their identity and visit the two countries. The Aadhaar card has now been added to the list, explained a senior Home Ministry official.
