Latest Current Affairs – July 18 & 19 2018
1. Neeraj Chopra wins gold at international meet
Neeraj Chopra, who had become the first Indian to win gold in javelin throw at Commonwealth Games in April this year, won gold at Sotteville Athletics meet in France on Tuesday. The 20-year-old hurled the javelin to a distance of 85.17 to bag the gold medal. Keshorn Walcott, who had bagged gold in 2012 Olympics, finished fifth at the event.
2. Govt approves Rs 11,300 crore capital infusion in 5 banks
The government has approved capital infusion of Rs 11,336 crore in five state-run banks including PNB, Corporation Bank and Andhra Bank to help them meet regulatory capital requirement, according to reports. This is the first ever capital infusion in the current fiscal. The infusion is a part of remaining Rs 65,000 crore out of Rs 2.11 trillion capital infusion over two financial years.
3. LS Speaker accepts no-trust motion against Modi govt for 1st time
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan accepted a no-confidence motion against PM Narendra Modi-led government for the first time. Mahajan said discussions regarding the motion led by the TDP will take place on Friday. TDP filed the motion against Centre’s denial to give Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh as promised to it before 2014 general elections.
4. Hungary to withdraw from UN migration pact
Hungary will withdraw from the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration agreement which will be adopted in December, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said. The Hungarian government which has opposed migration, argued that the UN agreement could aid the flow of migrants to Europe and force countries to shelter them. The US withdrew from the pact last year.
5. Iran to jointly produce defence equipment with Pakistan
Iran is planning to jointly manufacture defence equipment with Pakistan and present them as a joint achievement of Muslim nations, the Iranian state media reported. The announcement followed a meeting between Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri and Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain.
6. 12 new moons discovered around Jupiter; 1 likely to collide
American astronomers have discovered 12 new moons around Jupiter, where one of them is on a collision course which could create a crash large enough to be visible from Earth. This brings the total number of Jovian moons to 79, the most for any planet. Researchers made the discovery while hunting for a ninth planet beyond the orbit of Neptune.
7. China builds unmanned weather station near India border
China has built an unmanned automatic weather observation station in Tibet near its border with India, the Chinese state media reported. The station will provide meteorological support for national defence and further promote border development. Situated in the township of Yumai, the station will also offer support during live-fire conflicts, officials said.
8. India ranks 109th, stands behind Pakistan in 4G speeds
India ranks 109th in overall 4G mobile internet speeds with an average download speed of 9.12 Mbps which is less than Pakistan (14.03 Mbps), according to data speed tester Ookla. Out of the list comprising 124 countries, Qatar ranked first in the list with 63.22 Mbps average download speed. Norway stood second in the list with 62.14 Mbps download speed.
9. First Pondicherry International Film Festival announced
Puducherry Tourism has announced the first Pondicherry International Film Festival (PIFF), which will showcase over 100 films from more than 25 countries. The inaugural edition of PIFF will be held from September 26 to 30. France is the partner country for the festival and there will be a special focus on French cinema, art and culture.
10. Lok Sabha passes Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018
The Lok Sabha passed the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018 after it was supported by majority of the Lower House. It aims to allow authorities to attach and confiscate properties of economic offenders who flee the country. Cases where the total value involved in such offences is ₹100 crore or more, will come under the bill’s purview.
11. Ganga cleanliness situation extraordinarily bad: Green panel
Expressing dissatisfaction over the cleaning of River Ganga, the National Green Tribunal said the situation was extraordinarily bad and hardly anything effective had been done. “It’s the most prestigious river in the country which 100 crore people respect but we’re unable to protect it. Let’s try to make the mechanism as strong and effective as possible,” it said.
12. Padma Bhushan Gopaldas Neeraj passes away aged 93
Noted Hindi poet and lyricist Dr Gopaldas Neeraj passed away at the age of 93 in Delhi’s AIIMS hospital. He was felicitated with the Padma Shri in 1991 and with the Padma Bhushan in 2007 for his contribution to literature. He wrote famous Bollywood songs ‘Ae Bhai Zara Dekh Ke Chalo’ and ‘Likhe Jo Khat Tujhe’.
13. NTPC signs ₹1,500 crore loan agreement with HDFC Bank
India’s biggest power producer NTPC has signed a term loan agreement with HDFC Bank for availing a loan of ₹1,500 crore. The loan is extended at an interest rate linked to 3-months marginal cost-based lending rate (MCLR) of the bank. The loan has a door-to-door tenure of 15 years and will be utilised to partly finance capital expenditure of NTPC.
14. RBI to issue new ₹100 notes in lavender colour soon
The Reserve Bank of India announced it will shortly issue lavender coloured new ₹100 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series. The new denomination has the motif of Gujarat’s archaeological site ‘Rani ki vav’ on the reverse, depicting the country’s cultural heritage, the RBI added. Dimension of the new banknote will be 66 mm × 142 mm.
15. Earth’s latest phase named Meghalayan Age after Indian state
The most recent age in Earth’s 4.54-billion-year history started 4,200 years ago and has been named the Meghalayan Age, after the Indian state. The designation comes after the discovery of a stalagmite rock in Meghalaya’s Mawmluh cave. The rock’s chemical signature indicated a substantial weakening monsoon, making it the first official marker of a geological time period change in India.
16. Lok Sabha passes bill allowing detention for Class 5, 8 kids
The Lok Sabha has passed a bill allowing the detention of school students in Class 5 and 8. Schools will now be allowed to withhold students’ promotion to the next class if they fail in either class. Earlier, it was stipulated that no child will be held back in any class or expelled till the completion of elementary education.
17. Indian youth boxers wins 7 gold medals at Serbian youth boxing tournament
Indian boxers won 7 gold medals in the 36th Golden Glove of Vojvodina youth tournament held at Subotica, Serbia. Four men and three women finished with gold medals at the tournament, which featured 17 countries. India claimed the numero uno position with 17 medals, including six silver and four bronze.
18. Adani signed agreement with NYK Auto to run auto freight trains
Adani Logistics Ltd. (ALL) has signed an agreement with NYK Auto Logistics (India) Private Ltd. (NALI) to form a joint venture (JV) that will specialize in the transportation of finished vehicles using automobile freight trains.
The JV would participate in AFTO (Automobile Freight Train Operator) Policy of the Ministry of Railways and offer its trains for transporting vehicles across India more efficiently. The planning will commence operation with six trains. It is predicted that ALL will have 25 trains in operation in three years based on its market trends.
19. India jump to 5th rank in latest Men’s Hockey World Rankings
In the latest list of Men’s hockey world rankings issued by the International Hockey Federation (FIH), India jumped one place to the fifth position, and Champions Trophy winners Australia (1906 points) remained on top of the chart.
Argentina ranked second with 1883 points, followed by Belgium (1709 points) and Netherlands (1654 points).
The next challenge for India is the Asian Games, in which India have been placed in Pool A alongside Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong China, while Pool B comprises Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Oman, Thailand and hosts Indonesia.
20. Vinesh Phogat won gold at Spanish Grand Prix
24-year-old Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat grabbed a gold in the women’s 50kg freestyle category at the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, by defeating Canada’s Natasha Fox 10-0 in the final match. She had won a gold at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in the 50kg category.
21. ASI has planned to upgrade seven monuments in Tamil Nadu
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has planned to upgrade infrastructural and tourist-friendly facilities at seven sites, which are approved under Adarsh Smarak Scheme for Conservation of Monuments, in Tamil Nadu.
The Adarsh Monuments proposed to be upgraded by the Ministry of Culture include the Shore Temple in Mamallapuram, Vellore Fort, Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur, Kailasanathar Temple in Kancheepuram, Sittannavasal Caves, Gingee Fort and Moovar Koil in Kodumbalur. The work has already begun at the Shore Temple in Mamallapuram.
22. India’s first Defence incubators will come up in Hyderabad
The incubator will be housed at T-Hub and will be India’s missile development centre and fast emerging the hub for aerospace industries.
The incubator will be funded through the Ministry’s Innovation for Defence Exellence (iDEX) scheme. Initially, a corpus of ₹100 crore has been created by two PSUs- HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) and BEL (Bharat Electronics Limited), each contributing ₹50 crore.
23. Marc Marquez won German Grand Prix for 9th time
Honda’s Marc Marquez clinched his ninth consecutive German Grand Prix victory and took a 46-point championship lead over Valentino Rossi into the summer break after dominating what is set to be the final MotoGP race at the Sachsenring.
Seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi finished second with his Yamaha team-mate Maverick Vinales third.
24. UK topped Global Ranking of Nations’ soft power
In 2018 ‘Soft Power 30’ index, published by UK-based strategic communications consultancy firm Portland and the University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy, France placed second and Germany as third followed by the US.
India does not figure on the list, but this year’s report also features a chapter dedicated solely to Asia, listing 10 countries in the region, ranking India’s soft power as eighth.
25. EU and Japan signed major trade deal
Japan and the EU signed a trade deal, as an act against protectionism, as Washington puts up barriers and threatens a trade war. The deal which is signed in Tokyo is the largest ever negotiated by the EU.
It is aimed to create a massive free trade zone, eliminating tariffs for everything from Japanese cars to French cheese. The agreement is expected to enter into force in 2019.
26. Sajan clinches gold in Junior Asian Wrestling Championships
Indian wrestler Sajan clinched India’s first gold on the opening day of the Junior Asian Wrestling Championships.
Sajan outplayed Iranian Shayan Hossein Afifi in the title clash of the 77kg category Greco-Roman bout 3-0. The first point was scored after the opponent was penalized for passivity and Sajan managed to throw Afifi out of the mat for two more in the first round.
27. European Union and Japan signed a ‘landmark’ free trade deal
The deal signed in Tokyo by the EU’s top officials and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is the biggest ever negotiated by the EU and creates a free trade zone covering nearly a third of the world’s GDP.
This deal comes as Washington imposes new tariffs and threatens a trade war with China.
Under this free trade agreement, the EU will open its market to Japan’s auto industry, with Tokyo in return scrapping barriers to EU farming products, especially dairy, cheese and wine.
♦ EU Council President – Donald Tusk
♦ EU Commission head – Jean-Claude Juncker
28. The next senior FIFA World Cup will be held in France
The next senior Football World Cup: the women’s tournament will be held in France, next year. The quadrennial international men’s football championship – 2022 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to take place in Qatar.
29. ISRO signed with 3 partners
The nodal satellites division U.R. Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has signed with three partners, two private and one government-run firm, to help it assemble 27 satellites at a quick pace over the next three years.
The partners are Alpha Design Technologies P Ltd and its six consortium members, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Tata Advanced Systems Ltd, Hyderabad.
A URSC official signed the agreements with the three entities in the presence of URSC Director M. Annadurai.
30. Google fined $5 Billion By EU In Android Antitrust Case
The European Union (EU) regulators slapped Alphabet-owned Google with a record 4.34 billion euro ($5 billion) antitrust fine for abusing the dominance of its Android mobile operating system.
According to the EU, Google’s parent company favoured its own services by forcing smartphone makers to pre-install Google apps Chrome and Search in a bundle with its app store.
31. Cabinet approves Central University for Andhra Pradesh
The Cabinet approved Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2018, to set up Central University in Andhra Pradesh. Minister Prakash Javadekar tweeted that the Central University of Andhra Pradesh will start its academic session on 5th August. Also, this will result in more facilities for Andhra Pradesh in higher education.
32. OMC becomes official partner for Hockey Mens World Cup 2018
Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) is announced to be the official partner for the Hockey Men’s World Cup 2018 which is scheduled to be held from November 28 to December 16 at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. India will be hosting this event for the third time.
The Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2018 will be the 14th edition of the biggest tournament in Men’s Hockey. 16 nations will take part in the tournament which will see each team play three matches during the league stage over twelve days. Later, four cross-over matches will take place on December 10, 11. The knockout matches will take place on December 12, 13, 15 and 16.
33. Seven new members take oath in Rajya Sabha
The newly elected members for Rajya Sabha are:
♦ RSS ideologue Rakesh Sinha,
♦ Classical dancer Sonal Mansingh,
♦ Sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra,
♦ Former BJP lawmaker Ram Shakal,
♦ CITU state general secretary Elamaram Kareem,
♦ CPI’s Binoy Viswam,
♦ Jose K Mani of Kerala Congress (Mani).
The nominees enter the Rajya Sabha to replace Sachin Tendulkar, actor Rekha, former AG of India K Parasaran and businesswoman Anu Agha.
The President of India has the power to nominate 12 members to the Rajya Sabha with special knowledge or experience in fields like literature, art, science and social service.
34. USFDA approved Sun Pharma for cancer treatment injection
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has received approval from the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA), the U.S. health regulator, for its INFUGEM injection which is used for the treatment of cancer.
The approval is for INFUGEM injection (gemcitabine in 0.9% sodium chloride injection) 10 mg/mL, for intravenous use in a ready-to-administer bag.
The technology used to formulate INFUGEM eliminates the risks associated with compounding, an extra step in the administration of cytotoxic infusion products, providing improved safety for healthcare professionals and cancer patients.
35. Tenth Edition Of Delhi Dialogue Begins In New Delhi
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will deliver the keynote address of the two-day event. The theme of which is, ‘Strengthening India-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation’.
Main AIM:-To find a common ground and expanding the scope of cooperation between India and ASEAN nations.
The Delhi Dialogue is a premier annual event to discuss politico-security, the economic and socio-cultural engagement between India and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations).
The event has been held annually since 2009 many political leaders, policy makers, senior officials, diplomats, think tanks and academicians from various countries participate in the discussions pertaining to ASEAN-India relations.
36. Brij Bhushan Saran Singh to be named India’s Chef de Mission at 2018 Asian Games
Brij Bhushan Saran Singh is all set to be named as India’s Chef de Mission at 2018 Asian Games. He is the president of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). The four deputy Chefs de Mission set to be be appointed are
♦ B.S. Kushwaha (former secretary of Indian Kayaking and Canoeing Federation),
♦ R.K. Sacheti (executive director of Boxing Federation of India),
♦ D.K. Singh (Uttarakhand Olympic Association) and
♦ Colonel R.K. Swain (secretary Equestrian Federation of India).
The Host cities for Asian Games 2018 are Jakarta and Palembang in Indonesia.
37. Amazon is the second company To Hit $900 Billion Valuation After Apple
Amazon company crossed $900-billion market cap for the first time in its history becoming only the second company after Apple to achieve this milestone. Amazon sold over 100 million products during its Prime Day sale. Apple is currently the world’s most valuable company with a market cap of $935 billion.
