Current Affairs - April 2019

Month All Type All

162 Current Affairs were found in Period - April 21 - 30, 2019 for Type - All

Appointments

1. Former Indian Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag has been appointed as India's High Commissioner to island nation

Seychelles.

2. Misc. Appointments (April 2019) -

1. Satish Magar appointed new national president of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI),

apex body of private real estate developers in India.

2. Lawyer-turned model Sana Dua appointed as brand ambassador for Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir. She was

first runner-up of Femina Miss India 2017 contest. Also, Android application named “Sahulat” was launched to encourage

elder voters for participating in elections in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district.

3. Chicago (US City in Illinois State) elected an African-American woman as its mayor for the first time, named Lori Lightfoot.

4. Asian Football Confederation (AFC) re-elected Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa (Bahrain) Its President for next term.

5. Election Commission removed Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary Anil Chandra Punetha from the post and appointed LV

Subrahmanyam at the same.

6. HRD Ministry appointed vice chancellors to 3 universities -

1. Najma Akhtar has been appointed as the V-C of Jamia Millia Islamia. She is first woman to be appointed to the Vice

Chancellor’s post at Jamia.

2. Sanjiv Sharma has been appointed as V-C of Mahatma Gandhi Central University in Motihari (Bihar).

3. Rajneesh Kumar Shukla has been appointed for top post at Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya in

Wardha (Maharashtra).

7. US Senate confirmed David Bernhardt as secretary of Interior Department.

8. Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been appointed as brand ambassador of Bus ticketing platform redBus.

9. Gursimran Singh appointed as Vice President of Delhi Hockey Association (DHA).

10. India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) appointed Jitendra Chaddah as its Chairman.

11. N. Kashinath appointed as Member (Signal & Telecom) in Railway Board while V.P. Pathak appointed as Member (Materials

Management) in Railway Board.

12. Newly Apppointed Indian Ambassadors -

1. Suhel Ajaz khan - Lebanon.

2. Rakesh Malhotra - Cameroon.

3. Anwar Haleem - Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

4. Jaideep Sarkar - South Africa.

13. Election Commission appointed Ajay V Nayak as Special Observer for West Bengal, during Lok Sabha elections 2019. Also,

Vinod Zutshi is given charge as Observer for Tripura.

14. Ravinder Kumar Passi has been appointed as chairman of Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH).

15. German investment bank and financial services company Deutsche Bank appointed Kaushik Shaparia as chief executive

officer for India.

16. India's Mukesh Kumar has been re-elected as general secretary of Asian Judo governing body Judo Union.

17. Noted Chef Vikas Khanna named as brand ambassador of Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC), cultural organisation which

will organise annual New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF).

18. Head Coach of India Cricket Team, Ravi Shastri appointed as Exclusive Corporate Ambassador to Indian Business

Community of Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) in Dubai.

19. Social Platform Twitter appointed Manish Maheshwari as Managing Director of its India operations.

20. Pune-born Puranik Yogendra become first ethnic Indian to contest and win an election in Japan, after being elected to

Tokyo’s Edogawa Ward assembly.

21. Siddhartha Mohanty appointed as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of LIC Housing Finance.

22. Doru Isac (Romania ) has been appointed as new technical director for Indian football team.

23. Dilip Kumar appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in office of Lokpal.

3. Rajendra Kumar Nayak appointed as 52nd Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA).

4. Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria appointed as Vice Chief of Indian Air Force, after superannuation of Anil Khosla.

5. Ukrainian comedian Volodymyr Zelensky will be new President of Ukraine, after he won presidential elections 2019.

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Awards

1. 2nd edition of Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize awarded to author Rana Dasgupta for his 2010 novel Solo, a tale of

estrangement and the ultimate failure of material existence. The award carries a $10,000, a Tagore statue and a certificate.

1. Also, Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize for social achievement was awarded to Yohei Sasakawa, World Health

Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Lseprosy Elimination, for his incredible efforts to uproot leprosy and great

contribution to world peace.

2. Calcutta Sports Journalists’ club (CSJC) awards 2019 -

1. Jhulan Goswami (Female Cricketer) - Sportsperson of the Year

2. Sukumar Samajpati (Footballer), Sambaran Banerjee (Cricketer) - Lifetime Achievement

3. State awards -

1. Best cricketer – Tanusree Sarkar

2. Best footballer- Pritam Kotal

3. Best athlete - Lily Das

3. Dawn editor and Columnist Cyril Almeida from Pakistan won IPI’s (International Press Institute) World Press Freedom Hero

award 2019, for his “critical” and “tenacious coverage” of civil-military relations in Pakistan. MadaMasr, an Egyptian news site,

also won Free Media Pioneer Award 2019 of IPI and International Media Support (IMS).

4. Former South African Cricketer Jacques Kallis has been honoured with Order of Ikhamanga in Silver Division.

1. This award was instituted in 2003 and is granted by President of South Africa for achievements in arts, culture, literature,

music, journalism, and sports (which were initially recognised by Order of the Baobab).

2. It has three classes : Gold (exceptional achievement), Silver (excellent achievement), Bronze (outstanding achievement).

5. Indian-American scientist and social activist Sree Sreenath inducted into Cleveland International Hall of fame for his

contribution in applications in systems biology, global issues, and sustainable development.

6. Industrial Awards (April 2019) -

1. Hero MotoCorp Chairman Pawan Munjal honoured by Asian Tour with a “Special Achievement Award” for his contributions

to Asian Golf, at Hero Indian Open Golf tournament in Gurugram (Haryana).

2. Tata Steel has been named as ‘Global Slag Company of the Year’ at the 14th Global Slag Conference and Exhibition 2019, in

Aachen (Germany).

3. A K Singh, director at Life Sciences, DRDO has been honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award 2019 during 4th APJ Abdul

Kalam Innovation Conclave at Chandigarh University, Mohali.

4. Digital Sukoon founder, Sudhanshu Kumar honoured with Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Nobel Award by International Human

Rights Council.

5. Mint’s Teena Thacker won Citi Journalistic Excellence Award. for her long story in Mint on Johnson and Johnson (J&J's)

faulty hip implants in India.

6. Fincare Small Finance Bank (SFB) honoured with Celent Model Bank 2019 Award in Financial Inclusion category, for

‘Redesigning Lending to Reach Small Businesses’.

1. The award recognizes LAP (Loans Against Property) D.Lite, a tab-based solution by Fincare SFB for origination and

instant underwriting of loans against property targeted at micro and small enterprises. LAP D.Lite is one of the 22

initiatives from around world to receive the award.

7. Malayalam film Bhayanakam (Fear) directed by Jayaraj won best cinematography award at Beijing International Film Festival. It

had also won best cinematography award at 65th National Film Awards.

8. Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Awards 2019 - -

1. Lifetime Award – Salim Khan.

2. Special Award for the contribution to Indian cinema – Madhur Bhandarkar.

3. Special Award – Helen.

4. Vagvilasini Award – VasantAbaji Dahake.

5. Mohan Wagh Award (Best Drama of the Year 2019) – SoyareSakal.

6. Anandmayee Puraskar– Pandit Suresh Talwalkar.

7. Award for music and art – Classical dancer Sucheta Bhide-Chapekar.

9. Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Awards -

1. Player of the Year - Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool

2. Young Player of the Year - Raheem Sterling, Manchester City

3. Women's Player of the Year - Vivianne Miedema, Arsenal

4. Women's Young Player of the Year - Georgia Stanway, Manchester City

5. PFA Merit Award - Steph Houghton, Manchester City

10. Six grassroots environmental activists received Goldman Environmental Prize 2019 -

1. Linda Garcia (US) - Rallied local communities to prevent construction of North America’s largest oil export terminal in

Vancouver.

2. Ana Colovic Lesoska (North Macedonia) - Led 7 year campaign to cut off international funding for two large hydropower

plants project from being built in Mavrovo National Park (country’s largest national park).

3. Bayarjargal Agvaantseren (Mongolia) - Led fight to create 1.8 million-acre Tost Tosonbumba Nature Reserve (in South Gobi

Desert) which is a critical habitat for vulnerable snow leopard.

4. Alfred Brownell (Liberia) - Stopped destruction of Liberia’s tropical forests by palm oil plantation developers.

5. Jacqueline Evans (Cook Islands) - Led 5 year campaign to protect Islands’ stunning marine biodiversity and for conservation

and sustainable management of all of Cook Islands’ ocean territory and creation of 15 marine protected areas.

6. Alberto Curamil (Chile) - A jailed indigenous activist who organized his Mapuche community to protest construction of

hydroelectric projects on sacred Cautín River in Chile.

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Books

1. Biography of Indian diplomat, and politician V K Krishna Menon, titled “Chequered Brilliance: The Many Lives of V K Krishna

Menon” written by Former union minister and writer Jairam Ramesh has been released.

2. Book “Politics of Jugaad: The Coalition Handbook” authored by journalist Saba Naqvi has been released, examining possibility of

coalition government after 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

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Committees

1. Central Works Public Department (CPWD) constituted committee to formulate a design policy for building construction and

infrastructure development, under chairmanship of M K Sharma.

2. Govt. constituted a steering committee headed by Environment Mnistry Secretary C K Mishra, to implement National Clean Air

Programme (NCAP).

3. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) in Jun 2018, had set up a 13 member panel led by Suresh

Mathur, to review regulatory framework on micro insurance, and to recommend measures to increase demand for such products.

1. It was formed because of less than desired offtake of micro insurance products despite of their inherent benefits in country.

2. Microinsurance policies are a General or Life Insurance policy with a sum assured of Rs 50,000 or less.

4. Supreme Court constituted a three-judge panel headed by Justice SA Bobde, to inquire into sexual harassment complaint by a

former junior court assistant against CJI Ranjan Gogoi.

1. Justice Bobde had inducted Justices Ramana and Banerjee into it. Justice Ramana recuse (remove himself) from the panel,

who was later replaced by Justice Indu Malhotra. This is first an in-house inquiry on a sexual harassment complaint

conducted in SC Court.

2. Another Panel was formed by Supreme Court, headed by retd. Justice A K Patnaik to hold inquiry into claims of lawyer

alleging conspiracy against CJI Ranjan Gogoi. It wont go into sexual harassment allegations against the CJI, as a separate

panel is looking into it.

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Days

1. Apr 21 - World Creativity and Innovation Day (WCID). Apr 21 is also marked as Civil Services Day in India, which was not

observed due to ongoing Lok Sabha elections 2019.

2. Apr 22 - Global Earth Day. 2019 Theme is Protect Our Species. It was first celebrated in US in 1970s, and went global by 1990s.

1. On this occasion, UAE’s flag carrier Etihad Airways became first airline in Gulf region to operate a flight without any single-

use plastics on board, to raise awareness about pollution.

3. Apr 23 - UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day. It is being observed since 1995. For 2019, Sharjah (UAE) is declared as World

Book Capital. It will be preceded by Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2020.

1. Apr 23 is also observed as English Language Day.

4. Apr 25 - World Malaria Day. 2019 theme is “Zero malaria starts with me”.

5. Apr 26 - World Intellectual Property Day. 2019 theme is Reach for Gold: IP and Sports. On this occasion, various persons /

entities were honored wityh Intellectual property Awards 2019 -

1. Intellectual Property Rights cell (IPR cell) of Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) - For its contributions in best facilitation

for registration of Geographical Indications and promotion of registered GI in country.

2. Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) in Trivandrum (Kerala) - Top Indian R&D

Institution and Organisation for Patents & Commercialisation.

3. Dr. Benny Antony - Top Individual for Patents and Commercialization. Dr. Anthony has over 80 international patents to his

credit. He was also honoured Antony with ‘WIPO Medal for Inventors’.

6. Apr 27, 2019 is observed as World Veterinary day 2019. It is observed on Last Saturday of April.

7. Apr 28 - World Day for Safety and Health at Work, observed annually since 2003.

8. Apr 28 - World Day for Safety and Health at Work.

9. Apr 29 - International Dance Day. It marks birth anniversary of Jean-Georges Noverre (born on 29 April 1727), a French dancer,

and creator of modern ballet, and great reformer of dance.

10. Apr 30 - International Jazz Day, designated in 2011 by UNESCO.

11. April 24 is Observed as -

1. International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace. 2019 is First ever observance of this day.

2. World Day for Laboratory Animals.

3. National Panchayati Raj Day in India. It began in 2010. It marks passing of Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 that

came into force with effect from 24 April 1993.

12. World Immunisation Week Observed Between Apr 24 - 30, 2019 with theme ‘Protected Together: Vaccines Work’.

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Defence

1. Coast Guard vessel ICGS C-441 has been commissioned.

2. Goverment signed Contracts for Construction of 16 Anti Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW SWC) with CSL Kochi

and GRSE Kolkata (8 by Each Shipyard). Delivery of ships is to commence from October 2022, with two ships per year

subsequently, by each shipyard.

3. In a first, Indian Army began recruitment process of women as soldiers into military police, under name ‘Soldier General Duty

(Women Military Police)’. Earlier, Government announced that women would be inducted into force in "Personnel Below Officer

Rank" (PBOR) category, to eventually comprise 20 % of total Corps of Military Police.

4. Indian Navy Warships INS Kolkata and INS Shakti arrived South Korean port city of Busan, after participating in International

Fleet Review (IFR), organised to celebrate 70th anniversary of Chinese Navy. 2 ships will now participate in ADMM-Plus Maritime

Security Field Training Exercise (FTX) at Busan.

5. Indian and the US navies conducted joint submarine hunting exercise near Diego Garcia in Indian Ocean.

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Economy

1. According to report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML), excess reserves held by RBI are be up to Rs.3 lakh crore ($43

billion), including excess capital in contingency reserves and revaluation reserves.

1. Bimal Jalan committee on appropriate capital reserves for RBI was likely to identify this excess buffer. The committee was

set up in December-end.

2. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance jointly launched their first product 'Total Health Secure Goal', as

combination of two existing plans - Health Guard policy by Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, and iSecure from Bajaj Allianz Life

Insurance.

3. Bombay Stock Exchnage (BSE) signed MoU with Network Intelligence, to provide cybersecurity services to its members in line

with cybersecurity framework set by SEBI. . Network Intelligence will be using its own developed platform BlueScope to offer 24x7

cybersecurity operations to the members.

4. Canara Bank and its life insurance partner Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance launched ’Web Assurance’

to enable its customers to purchase life insurance in a convenient and hassle-free way.

1. Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance company is jointly owned by Canara Bank (51%) and Oriental Bank

of Commerce (23%) and HSBC Insurance Holdings (26%).

5. Cryptocurrency Exchange BuyUcoin introduced new platform for wholesale cryptocurrency trading, which works on ‘free trading

model’ (means it charges zero fee on any trade). This wholesale platform also known as OTC (Over-the-counter) Desk allows users

to trade on a large scale with low price fluctuations.

6. Finance ministry ratified hike of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) interest rate to 8.65% as approved by retirement fund

manager EPFO (From 8.55 % Earlier).

7. Financial Services Firm Mobikwik collaborated with digital insurer Aegon Life Insurance to launch a Rs 20 smart digital

insurance product in order to protect its wallet users from death and accident related disability cover for up to Rs. 1 lakh, Rs.1.5

lakh and Rs. 2 lakh with premium of Rs 20, Rs 30 and Rs 40 respectively.

8. GDP Growth Forecasts (April 2019) -

1. Asian Development Bank downgraded economic growth forecasts for India and Southeast Asia for 2019 as global risks from

trade tensions to Brexit mount. GDP in India will increase 7.2 percent, down from December forecast of 7.6 percent.

Southeast Asia’s growth estimate was lowered to 4.9 %.

2. India’s GDP growth projection for 2019-20 lowered to 7.3 % by India Ratings and Research, a Fitch Group company. Earlier

projected GDP growth was 7.5 %.

3. As per World Bank, India’s GDP growth will accelerate to 7.5% in FY 19-20. Real GDP growth is estimated at 7.2% in

FY18/19.

9. Germany-based Financial Firm Wirecard partnered with RBL Bank to promote financial inclusion in India. With this, Wirecard’s

customer service representatives will be able to access basic payment and banking services which include cash withdrawals and

deposits as well as balance inquiries.

10. Government increased authorised capital of State-owned Allahabad Bank to 8,000 crores (From 3000 Initially). It will help

enable bank to raise further fund up to a maximum ceiling of Rs 8,000 crores.

11. Government raised import duty on wheat from existing 30% to 40% to support local farmers interests, amid huge domestic

wheat production. It will discourage milers to import wheat and buy local produce and help protect farm prices.

12. Health insurer Max Bupa collaborated with HDFC Bank to launc ‘AnyTime Health (AND) machines, as automated model that

permits customers to avail health assessment through several metrices and buy health policy dynamically.

13. IEPF (Investor Education and Protection Fund) Authority enforced Peerless General Finance and Investment Company Limited

to transfer deposits worth about Rs 1514 Cr to IEPF, which were pending with the company for 15 years. This amount was taken

by the company by issuing about 1.49 Cr Deposit Certificates and include more than 1 Cr individual investors. Majority of investors

belong to West Bengal.

1. IEPF Authority will also soon commission online facility to collect primary information directly from retail investors about

the deposits which have matured and are still pending with various entities for repayment or payment of interests.

14. IT service management Firm Financial Software Services (FSS) launched real time voice banking platform called FSS voice

commerce. It uses machine-learning language processing techniques and offers meaningful, contextual, and personalized banking

interactions to customers.

15. Kotak Mahindra Bank launched first debit card-based authentication solution of NPCI e-Mandate (electronic mandate) API

platform, being first ever Destination Bank to go live with both Net Banking and Debit Card-based e-mandate authentication.

1. It will enable Kotak customers to create electronic mandates (similar to former eNACH with Aadhaar + OTP) (eNACH-

Electronic National Automated Clearing House; OTP- One Time Password) via both debit card and net banking provision.

16. National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved merger of IndusInd Bank with Bharat Financial Inclusion (BFIL), a

microfinance company.

17. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) received RBI approval to implement e-mandates (electronic mandates) for

internet banking and debit cards, which will allow users to automatically deal with their recurring payments. Limit for each

mandate is set at Rs 1 Lakh, and depending on the usage, the organisation will review the limit from time to time.

1. Both e-NACH (National Automated Clearing House) and e-mandates are 2 different services. e-NACH services are controlled

by NPCI and is available at over 40 banks, while e-mandates are provided by individual banks.

18. Quikr acquired Bengaluru-based secondhand goods marketplace Zefo, for INR 200 Crores, to strengthen sales of its pre-owned

goods business.

19. RBI approved HDFC for acquiring 9.9 % stake in Bandhan Bank, following Gruh Finance deal.

1. Gruh Finance is low-cost arm of HDFC Group. After the merger, HDFC Sought to take 14.96 % state in Bandhan Bank. The

same has been limited by RBI hold 9.9%. 9.9 % is maximum a non-banking finance company can own in a private bank.

20. RBI extended coverage of Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) 2018 to eligible Non Deposit

Taking Non Banking Financial Companies (NBFC-NDs)., with asset size of over 100 crores.

1. However, NBFC-Infrastructure Finance Company (NBFC-IFC), Core Investment Company (CIC), Infrastructure Debt Fund-

Non-banking Financial Company (IDF-NBFC) and NBFCs under liquidation are excluded from the ambit of Scheme.

2. Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) 2018 was launched in February 2018 for redressal of

complaints against NBFCs registered with RBI under Section 45-IA of RBI Act, 1934. Initially, it covered all deposit

accepting NBFCs.

21. RBI notified that banking ombudsman saw 25% rise in customer complaints in FY18 over FY17.

22. RBI sold its entire stakes in National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD) and National Housing Bank (NHB)

for Rs 20 crore and Rs 1,450 crores respectively. It was decided on the basis of recommendations of second Narasimham

Committee, which stated that RBI could not own those entities which are regulated by it. Government now holds 100 % stake in

both NHB and NABARD.

23. RBI will shortly issue Rs 20 denomination banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series, with signature of RBI Governor

Shaktikanta Das.

1. New Rs 20 banknote has motif of Ellora Caves on reverse, depicting country's cultural heritage. The base colour is Greenish

Yellow.

2. Its dimensions will be 63 X 129 mm.

24. SBI General Insurance launched cyber defence insurance product, to protect businesses from financial and reputational losses

due to cyber attacks, designed to protect against major insurable cyber exposures.

25. SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) reduced minimum subscription requirement as well as defined trading lots for

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs).

1. SEBI increased leverage limit for InvITs from 49% to 70%.

2. While making an IPO and follow-on offer, minimum subscription shall not be less than Rs 1 lakh for InvITs and Rs 50,000

for REITs.

3. Currently, in case of a REIT issue, minimum subscription from any investor in an initial offer and follow-on public offer is

not less than Rs 2 lakh, while same is Rs 10 lakh for InvIT.

26. State Bank of India (SBI) launched India’s first ‘Green Car Loan’ (Electric Vehicle) to encourage customers to buy electric

vehicles. It will offer the loan at 20 basis points lower than the interest rate on the existing car loan schemes. Its in line with

government’s pledge of ensuring 30% EVs on road by 2030.

27. Syndicate Bank and PSU BEML Limited (Bharat Earth Movers Limited) signed an agreement for financing Earth Moving and

Construction EquipmentS, manufactured by BEML. Under this, customers will be provided loans in range 20 Lakh - 3 crores and

preferential pricing by Syndicate Bank.

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International

1. 2nd Belt and Road Forum (BRF) held in Beijing (China), with participation of 126 countries and 29 international organisations,

up from from 60 countries and international organisations seen in first edition of BRF in 2017.

1. Like first one, India did not participate in this edition as well.

2. Italy and Luxembourg are European Nations that recently joined BRI, Taking number of European member states to 15.

3. As per a report released during 2nd BRI Summit, Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor is no longer

a part of BRI project, which was listed previosuly. Its mainly due to Indian Boycotting BRI project.

4. About BRI -

1. BRI, also called “21st Century Silk Road” or China’s Marshall Plan, was announced in 2013. It is made of “belt” of

overland routes and maritime “road”, with aim to connect Asia, Europe and Africa.

2. Chinese enterprises faces operational problems in overseas port projects linked to BRI. ‘Premature Mentality’ in

evaluating commercial value of investment projects leads to suspension, rethinking over project costs and finally to

debt trap.

3. Examples Include Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port which was forced to lease to China for 99 years; complete suspension

and rethinking of a billion dollar Malysian railway project; Projects costs in Maldives, Ethiopia, Pakistan, are

worrtsome.

4. India has always opposed BRI. Reason is violation of territorial sovereignty as China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

(CPEC) which is one of key BRI project, passes through Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.

2. 3 Indians named in TIME 100 Most Influential People list of 2019 - Menaka Guruswamy, Arundhati Katju and Mukesh Ambani.

1. Mukesh Ambani - Chairman of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).

2. Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati Katju - They are Indian women lawyers who lead legal battle to strike down colonial

era’s Section 377 of Indian Penal Code (IPC), which criminalized gay sex.

3. According to report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) -

1. World’s military expenditure risen by 2.6% to reach 1.82 $ trillion in 2018 (2.1% of global GDP).

2. US and China are 2 biggest spenders, with 649 billion USD and 250 billion USD defence expenditures respectively.

3. India’s military expenditure had hiked by 3.1% to reach 66.5 $ billion and Pakistan’s expenditure grew by 11% to reach 11.4 $

billion.

4. India was 4th highest Defence Spender in 2018. 3rd Place was accquired by Saudi Arabia (67.6 Billion USD).

4. According to whitepaper ‘Current State of Cybercrime-2019’, by USE Based RSA Security (Owned by Dell Technologies), social

media fraud has increased by 43% in 2018. It will continue in 2019 because of ease of using, absence of fees and multiple other

benefits of these platforms.

1. Fraud from mobile apps has increased by 680% between 2015 and 2018, with frauds originating in mobile channels growing

by 70% in 2018.

5. African Nation Malawi will be undertaking large scale pilot tests for the world’s most advanced experimental malaria vaccine in a

bid to prevent the disease. With Trade name Mosquirix, vaccine has been developed by British pharmaceutical giant

GlaxoSmithKline in partnership with PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative. Four successive doses of the vaccines must be administered

on a strict timetable for it to work.

6. After US refusal to extend sanctions waiver for India to import crude from Iran, India has decided to end imports from Iran.

Shortfall will be met through alternate supply sources available in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE and Mexico.

1. India is world’s third-biggest oil consumer and meets more than 80 per cent of its oil needs through imports. In 2017-18,

Iran was India’s third-largest supplier after Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

2. Recently, USA announced that all buyers of Iranian oil will have to end their imports shortly or face sanctions, terminating

sanctions waivers USA granted to some importers of Iranian oil in late 2018.

7. Arab League will pay $100 million to Palestinian National Authority to plug resulting gaps since Israel has blocked tax transfers

earlier in 2019.

1. In February 2019, Israel freezed funds transferred to Palestinian Authority, accusing it of transferring the money provided by

Israel to terrorists. Israel collects taxes on behalf of Palestine Authority, and says that terror salaries are encouraging further

violence.

8. Arunachalam Muruganantham (Tamil Nadu), inventor of a low-cost sanitary pad-making machine and grassroots mechanism

has been featured at 45th rank in Fortune magazine’s 2019 list of world’s 50 greatest leaders. He invented machine in 2004 that

remakes cellulose into low-cost sanitary napkins, costing INR 137000. He marketed over 1300 machines through his company

Jayaashree Industries.

1. Top 3 - Bill and Melinda Gates, Jacinda Ardern (for her response to Christchurch mosque shootings in February), Robert

Mueller (for his findings of Donald Trump campaign’s collusion with Russia).

2. List also features Nepalese Activist Sunita Danuwar.

9. As per 2019 Global Food Policy Report (GFPR) prepared by Washington DC-based International Food Policy Research Institute

(IFPRI) -

1. 82 Crore people globally are facing chronic food deprivation.

2. Rural transformation and revitalization have been pre-eminent goal of India’s development efforts since independence.

3. It also points out Increasing urbanization, income, growing integration of food supply chains and food systems in India

which offer new opportunities for employment in rural areas.

10. As per FITCH report, RBI is first central bank in Asia-Pacific region to begin an explicit interest rate easing cycle buoyed by

benign food inflation and easier global financial condition.

1. In 4 months of 2019, RBI has cut policy interest rates twice by 0.25 % each to one-year low of 6 %. This is first back-to-back

rate cut since MPC was formed in late 2016.

2. Fitch estimates India to grow at 6.8 % (FY 2019-20) in current fiscal and 7.1 % in next (FY 2020-21).

11. As per recently published US-based World Resources Institute (WRI) report, world lost 12 million hectares (30 million acres) of

tropical tree cover in 2018. It is fourth largest annual decline since global satellite data become available in 2001.

1. Most destruction was seen in Brazil (13,500 sq-km), Congo (4,800 sq-km), Indonesia (3,400 sq-km), Colombia (1,800 sq-

km), Bolivia (1,500 sq-km) and Madagascar lost 2% of its entire rainforest in 2018.

2. Only Indonesia showed reduction in loss of its primary forest from past 2 years. It has world’s 3rd largest total area of

tropical forest and is biggest producer of palm oil.

3. Forests act as Carbon sink by absorbing about 30% of man-made GHG emissions (over 11 billion tons of CO2 per year) on

other hand ocean soaks another 23%. So, losing vast tracts of tropical forest not only releases carbon into atmosphere, it also

reduces size of carbon sink.

4. WRI (headquartered in Washington, D.C., USA) was established in 1982.

12. Britain pledged £4 million to support global anti-slavery projects. Six organisations, such as charity Anti-

Slavery International and UN University will share aid money from The Modern Slavery Innovation Fund. The funding will also be

used to run workshops on modern slavery in South Africa, improve support for survivors in India, and develop an online data hub

to boost anti-slavery policies.

13. Central Asian Nation Kazakhstan has set up Coordinating Council for attracting foreign investments inclusive of investments

from India. It aims to increase volume of investment in fixed assets in medium term to 30% of GDP of nation, with FDI as primary

driver.

14. China launched 2 Tianhui II-01 satellites, aimed to perform scientific experiments, land resource and geographic survey, and

mapping. The satellites were launched by a Long March 4B carrier rocket.

15. Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released 2019 Index of Cancer Preparedness (ICP) (28 Nations) -

1. India is Overall ranked 19th

2. Cancer in 2018 caused 9.6 million deaths worldwide making it the 2nd biggest killer.

3. Top 3 nations - Australia (1), The Netherlands (2), Germany (3).

4. Bottom 3 nations - Saudi Arabia, Romania and Egypt.

16. Egyptians are voting for constitutional amendments approved by Egyptian Parliament -

1. Amendments extend presidential terms from 4 - 6 years. It wouls also give “current president” the right to 2 new terms

totalling 12 years.

2. The amendments confer a political role for the army to “protect” the constitution, democracy and the “civilian” nature of the

state.

3. It introduces one or more vice presidents, revive Senate and enshrine a 25 per cent quota for women in parliament.

4. Referendum comes 8 years after a pro-democracy uprising ended Hosni Mubarak’s 30 year autocratic rule, and 6 years after

military overthrow of Egypt’s first freely elected president Mohammed Morsi.

17. European Union and United Nations strengthened partnership on counter-terrorism, by signing a Framework on Counter-

Terrorism sstrengthening EU-UN partnership, on occasion of their second EU-UN high-level political dialogue on Counter-

Terrorism held in New York (USA).

18. For first time in Indonesia's history, president, vice president, members of People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), and members

of local legislative bodies were elected on same day of General Elections, with over 190 million voters. Results will be out by May

22.

19. Forbes' First Blockchain’s Billion Dollar Babies list, featuring top 50 organizations that are leading in adapting decentralized

ledgers to their business -

1. Apart from top players like Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, and Walmart, The List also includes six giants from world of

blockchain technology - Coinbase, Bitfury, Gemini, Ripple, and Circle.

2. US based Insurer MetLife is also Included in List.

20. German-sponsored resolution 2467 (2019), on sexual violence, is adopted by United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

condemning rape as a weapon of war. Russia and China abstain from voting.

21. Government extended ban on import of milk and milk products from China (including chocolates, chocolate products, candies,

confectionary, food preparations with milk or milk solids as an ingredient). It was imposed in September 2008. Food safety

regulator FSSAI recommended bAN extension till labs at ports are modernized to test presence of toxic chemical melamine.

22. IT Firm Tech Mahindra partnered with San Francisco-based i2Chain Inc., to offer a blockchain-based cybersecurity application

to customers which provides information owners with an unprecedented level of control.

23. India is ranked 17th position among 100 countries in Startup Ecosystem Ranking for 2019 released by StartupBlink, Improving

from 37th place last year.

1. Top 5 - USA (1), UK (2), Canada (3), Israel (4), Australia (5).

2. China was ranked 27th.

3. Bangalore, New Delhi, and Mumbai were the top cities in Indian startup ecosystem.

24. Indian IT Firm HCL Technologies has set up a CyberSecurity Fusion Centre (CSFC) in Frisco, Texas, US. It aims to boost

business growth by providing customers with a single point of contact for business security lifecycle – from detection to

repairment.

25. Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIMB) post-graduate programme in Enterprise Management (PGPEM) ranked 12th

in APAC (Asia Pacific) listing and 61st globally in QS Executive MBA Rankings 2019. It became only Indian B-school to secure a

place among top 100 B-Schools globally.

26. Indonesia announced its plans to move its capital away from Jakarta, out of the crowded Java Island to ensure more equitable

development of the country amid environmental concerns and overcrowding issues. New location is yet unknown.

27. Indonesia released a special commemorative stamp on the theme of Ramayana to mark the 70th anniversary of the

establishment of its diplomatic ties with India. It is designed by Indonesian sculptor Padmashri Bapak Nyoman Nuarta, featuring

a scene from Ramayana in which Jatayu valiantly fought to save Sita.

28. Iran and Pakistan will set up a joint border reaction force following to counter increasing number of terror attacks. Iran-Pakistan

border skirts the volatile southeastern Iranian province of Sistan-Balochistan which has been the scene of frequent attacks on

Iran’s security forces.

29. Lebanon’s capital Beirut has set a new Guinness World Record for most number of national flags displayed in one city for 24

hours, By raising 26,852 Lebanese flags for 24 hours. It broke record of New York’s Waterloo of raising 25,599 flags.

30. London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) announced creation of the Amartya Sen Chair in Inequality Studies, in

honour of India-born economist, philosopher and Nobel laureate, who was Professor of Economics at LSE from 1971-82.

1. Holder of Amartya Sen Chair in Inequality Studies will also serve as Director of the International Inequalities Institute (III),

LSE’s flagship initiative focused on studying and challenging one of the most pressing issues of our time.

31. Microsoft reached a valuation of one trillion dollars for first time, becoming 3rd publicly-traded company to reach the threshold

after Apple and Amazon passed it in 2018.

32. Niti Aayog's Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and Unicef India signed Letter of Intent (LoI) to provide an open platform to

promote participation, skilling and empowerment among young children across different communities. Plan will be implemented

through Atal Tinkering Lab initiative to orient burgeoning innovation ecosystem towards achieving Sustainable Development

Goals with a focus on child rights.

33. One of world’s largest diamonds weighing 1,758 carats has been found in Botswana (southern Africa). It weighed nearly 352

grams and measured 83mm x 62mm x 46mm.

34. Russia successfully tested the world's first floating nuclear power plant (NPP), named Akademik Lomonosov, developed by

Rosatom. It is expected to begin operations in July 2019.

35. Spain’s ruling socialist party won General elections, capturing 123 seats in the 350-seat Congress of Deputies. Socialist Party's

Pedro Sanchez will seek backing from smaller parties to maintain power, as it has not got a clear majority.

36. Sri Lanka Govt. announced ban on covering of face with burqa, veil or in any manner that prevents identification of person, after

recent deadly blasts that caused huge casualties.

37. Sri Lankan Government enforced a nationwide state of emergency, after suicide bomb blasts at churches and luxury hotels on

occasion of Easter, which killed over 300 people.

38. Team of Researchers led by biologist Eric Dinerstein suggested a new roadmap titled “A Global Deal for Nature” -

1. It aims at conserving the planet's ecosystem and avert sixth mass extinction on earth.

2. It calls for 30% of the planet to be protected by 2030, with an additional 20% to be maintained or restored to a natural state

and designated as climate stabilization areas. It proposes 100 Billion USD annual investment for the same.

3. If current trends in greenhouse gas emissions, conversion of natural habitats and the poaching of large animals are not

reversed, it will be impossible to keep warming below 1.5°C.

4. Linking the GDN and the Paris Agreement could solve the two major challenges facing the biosphere and all the species

within it and result in a return to safe operating space for humanity.

5. Temparature rise of 1.5°C versus 2°C -

1. Source : World Economic

Forum

39. UAE Cabinet adopted National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031, aimed at positioning UAE as a global leader in artificial

intelligence by 2031 and to develop an integrated system that employs artificial intelligence in vital areas in the country.

40. UAE Space Agency announced 85 percent completion of Its ‘Hope Probe’ Mars project, set to launch in July 2020. If successful,

UAE will become first Arabic and Islamic country to reach Mars.

41. UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO) announced that Qatar will officially abolish its Exit Visa system for all foreign

workers by end of 2019. Amnesty International (human rights group) accused that Qatar is failing to implement reforms and stop

widespread labour abuse.

1. Qatar has revived its pledge to reform labour section, and introduced a minimum monthly minimum of 750 riyals ($206).

2. In September 2018, Qatar approved scrapping “kafala”, which was eliminated for majority of workers by end of 2018. In

2019 it will be extended to all remaining categories of workers.

3. Kafala system is a Sponsorship system which regulates status of migrant workers. It requires unskilled labourers to have an

in-country sponsor (mostly their employer) who is responsible for their visa and legal status. This leads to requiring prior

consent of their employer before changing jobs or leaving, which further leads to their exploitation.

42. US President Donald Trump rejected UN 2013 Arms Trade Treaty aimed at regulating global arms trade, describing it as an

intrusion on US sovereignty. Although it was endorsed by previous US prez Barack Obama.

1. 2013 Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) came into effect in December 2014 after over 65 countries signed it in June 2013. UN General

Assembly endorsed It with a vote of 154 to 3. Only nations opposed to ATT were Iran, North Korea, and Syria.

2. It seeks to regulate flow of weapons into conflicted zones. It requires member countries to keep records of international

transfers of weapons and to prohibit cross-border shipments that can be used in human rights violations or attacks on

civilians. So far, 130 countries have signed it, while only 101 ratified and joined it. USA, China and Russia have not joined the

treaty.

3. Other US withdrawls from international pacts, under President Trump Reign -

1. US pulls out of UN’s migrant and refugee pact (Dec 2017), deeming it ‘inconsistent’ with its immigration policies.

2. US President Donald Trump signs executive order to pull US out of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) (Jan 2017). He felt

it to be harmful to American workers and manufacturing.

3. US withdrawal from Paris Agreement on Climate Change (June 2017) - He stated that it would undermine US

economy, cost US jobs, weaken American national sovereignty and put US at a permanent disadvantage.

4. US and Israel withdraws from UNESCO (October 2017), accusing it of anti-Israel bias.

5. US regulators repeal net neutrality rules (December 2017), to repeal 2015 Open Internet Order which protects net

neutrality in USA.

6. US withdrawal from 2015 Iran nuclear deal (May 2018).

7. United States withdraws from UN Human Rights Council (June 2018).

8. US to end India's preferential trade treatment under Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme (March

2019). GSP programme allows USD 5.6 billion worth of Indian exports to enter USA duty-free.

9. US pulls out of Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty with Russia (February 2019). It was signed with Russia

during Cold War.

43. USA announced that all buyers of Iranian oil will have to end their imports shortly or face sanctions, terminating sanctions

waivers USA granted to some importers of Iranian oil in late 2018.

1. It will trigger about 3 % rise in crude prices.

2. In November 2018, US reimposed sanctions on exports of Iranian oil after President Trump unilaterally pulled out of a 2015

nuclear accord between Iran and six world powers.

3. USA, however, granted Iran’s eight main buyers of oil waivers to sanctions that allowed them limited purchases for six

months. They were China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Italy and Greece.

4. The current move of ending the sanction waivers will cause oil price hike in concerned nations.

44. USA has again placed India on its ‘Priority Watch List’, alleging lack of sufficient measurable improvements to its Intellectual

Property (IP) framework on long-standing and new challenges, which has negatively affected American right holders over past

year.

1. Office of US Trade Representative identified 11 countries, including India, in its ‘Priority Watch List’. List is topped by China.

2. Besides this, US Trade body has placed 25 countries, including Pakistan, Turkey and the UAE, on watchlist.

3. India has taken steps to address intellectual property challenges and promote IP protection and enforcement. However,

many of actions have not yet translated into concrete benefits for innovators and creators and long-standing deficiencies

persist.

45. USA imposed sanctions on Pakistan after the nation refused to take back its citizen deportees and visa over-stayers from

America. US may withhold visas of Pakistanis beginning with its senior officials.

1. With these sanctions, Pakistan is latest to join list of 10 nations imposed with sanctions under US Immigration and

Nationality Act according to which countries refusing to take back deportees and visa over-stayers will be denied American

visas. Ghana and Pakistan have been included in the list in 2019.

46. Wipro Consumer Care Ltd. acquired Philippines based personal care company 'Splash'.

Top

Meetings

1. 29th edition of Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF) began, with India as “Guest of Honour” country. It will be a Week

long event. 30 publishing houses from India are taking part in the fair.

1. Indian Ambassador to UAE Navdeep Suri launched his book, "Inked in Blood and Spirit of Freedom". The book is English

translation of poem ‘Khooni Baisakhi’ on Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

2. Author Preeti Shenoy's New Book "Wake Up, Life Is Calling", was also featured.

2. 5th Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Media Summit on Climate Action and Disaster Preparedness held in Kathmandu

(Nepal) with theme of “Media Solutions for Sustainable Future: Saving Lives, Building Resilient Communities”.

1. It aims to address key issue of utilizing media’s full potential of accelerating climate action and disaster preparedness and

connect different stakeholders to media professionals for collaboration and joint practical projects.

3. Jonai in Assam’s Dhemaji will host 27th convention of National Children’s Science Congress (NCSC) in September 2019.

Top

National

1. According to Fitch Solutions Macro Research report, India willl be able to install 54.7 GW of wind capacity by 2022 against 60

GW target.

1. Its part of India’s ambitious target of installing 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, which includes 100 GW from

solar, 60 GW from wind, 10GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro-power.

2. Airtel launched video streaming app Wynk Tube, as an extension of Wynk Music, allowing users to stream audio and video of

popular tracks within same interface.

3. Commerce and Industry Ministry presented Vision document Startup India Vision 2024, aiming to facilitate setting up of 50,000

new start-ups in India by 2024 and creating 20 lakh employment opportunities.

1. It has been prepared by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under Commerce and

Industry Ministry.

2. It Notifies -

1. Setting up of 500 new incubators and accelerators by 2024.

2. Deployment of entire amount of Rs 10,000 crore Fund of Funds (FOF) expanding CSR (Corporate Social

Responsibility) funding to incubators.

3. Setting up of Rs 1,000 crore ‘India startup fund’ to support high technology start-ups.

4. Providing Rs 1,000 crore of seed funding by 2024

5. Bringing 7 research parks into operation.

6. Set up regulatory sandbox for testing of financial products.

4. General Conferences (Apr 21 - 30, 2019)

1. Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un began their first-ever talks in Vladivostok (Russia).

2. 1st edition of Naval Commanders’ Conference held in New Delhi.

3. Facebook announced ban on personality quiz apps on its platform, after recent Cambridge Analytica Scandal, which helped

researcher’s to access personal information of about 87 million facebooks users by using quiz app “thisisyourdigitallife”.

5. Home Affairs Ministry distributed over 3,100 special kits SAECKs (Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kits ) for collecting blood

and semen samples, besides other evidence, to carry out immediate investigations into sexual assault cases among states and

Union Territories.

6. India Post collaborated with IT Firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for digitizing of 1.5 lakh post offices in India, creating

World’s Biggest EPostal Network and largest SAP implementations worldwide.

7. Indian Army signed MOU with National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), to build four underground tunnels - 3 along

Chinese border and 1 tunnel along Pakistan border.

8. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) issued guidelines for Candida auris, multi-drug resistant yeast that causes fatal

invasive infections. C. auris is an uncommon fungus that can cause serious bloodstream, wound and ear infections. As per ICMR

guidelines, There is no method for entire curability due to variation of vulnerability from patient to patient.

9. Indian Council of Medical Research launched ‘Malaria Elimination Research Alliance (MERA) India, as a conglomeration of

partners working on malaria control in order to eliminate it from India by 2030.

1. It aims to prioritise, plan, conduct, scale up and translate relevant research in a coordinated and combinatorial way in order

to have a tangible impact of this research on the population at risk for malaria.

10. Inter Ministerial Steering Committee of National Mission for Transformative Mobility led by Niti Aayog chief executive officer

Amitabh Kant has decided to incorporate localisation conditions to avail benefits under FAME-II Scheme.

1. It mandated that only companies that meet 50% localisation threshold will be eligible for incentives available under FAME-II

scheme.

11. MOU signed between Ministry of AYUSH and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), for cooperation in research

and education in areas of traditional systems of medicine and its integration with modern science.

1. CSIR jointly with Department of AYUSH (now Ministry) had earlier developed Traditional Knowledge Digital Library

(TKDL), a proprietary database on Indian systems of medicine for preventing bio-piracy and misappropriation of our

traditional knowledge.

2. Under the new MoU, both organizations shall jointly endeavor to pursue : R&D covering fundamental research; AYUSH

specific diagnostic tools; linking microbiome, gene expression and prakriti; multi-ingredient herbal formulations, including

their standardization; exploring modern scientific methods for integration with traditional Indian Systems of Medicine

(ISM); linking disease signatures; etc.

12. Madras high court lifted the ban on Chinese short-video app ‘TikTok’, three weeks after it had asked Government to prohibit

further downloads of this popular application on Google and Apple app stores. However, high court asked owners of the app to

ensure that the platform does not allow pornography.

13. Meghalaya Cabinet approved creation of a new Directorate of Dairy Development to boost milk production.

14. Niti Aayog approved proposal of Dental Council of India to allow dentists to practice as general physicians after a 3 bridge course

post BDS. Syllabus curriculum, scheme of examination etc will be same as recommended for MBBS.

15. Noted Actor Sunny Deol and Former cricketer Gautam Gambhir Joined Bharatiya Janata Party, amid ongoing Lok Sabha

Elections 2019.

16. PepsiCo withdrew lawsuit it filed against 4 Gujarat potato farmers, accuising them of of infringing its patent of FC5 Potato variety

used in Lays' Potato Chips.

17. Supreme Court admitted for consideration a plea by a couple to lift the ban on Muslim women’s entry into mosques across

country, after a plea by Pune-based Muslim couple. SC issued notice to Central Government, Waqf Board and All India Muslim

Personal Law Board (AIMPLB).

1. As per Petition, it violates Articles 14 (Equality), 15 (Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or

place of birth), 21 (Protection of life and personal liberty), 25 (Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and

propagation of religion) and 29 (Protection of interests of minorities) of Constitution.

Top

Persons

1. Obituaries (April 2019) -

1. J Mahendran - Noted Tamil Director.

2. Kartik Chandra Rath - Noted theatre organiser and dramatist.

3. Viharidas Gopaldas Patel - Noted economist, also called Father of Entrepreneurship Movement in India.

4. Silamboli Su. Chellappan - Noted Tamil Scholar and orator.

5. Sydney Brenner - Noted South African Biologist who helped decipher genetic code and jointly won 2002 Nobel Prize in

Physiology or Medicine.

6. Elriesa Theunissen-Fourie - South Africa's Women cricketer.

7. B A Sanadi - Noted Kannada poet.

8. Pradeep Choubey - Noted Hindi poet.

9. Tommy Smith - England Footballer.

10. Colonel Raj Kapoor - Actor-cum-Director. He directed ShahRukh Khan’s television debut, Fauji.

11. Navtej Hundal - Bollywood Actor. He played a role in recent movie ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’.

12. K. M. Mani - Longest-serving legislator in Kerala’s history. He represented Pala Assembly constituency for 52 years, winning

all 13 elections from constituency.

13. SK Shivakumar - Noted Scientist and Former Director of Indian Space Research Organisation Satellite Centre (ISAC). He

was part of the team which had developed telemetry system for India’s first moon mission Chandrayan – I. He also served in

various crucial projects.

14. Jerrie Cobb - USA's 1st female astronaut candidate. She was also part of the "Mercury 13," a group of women selected to

undergo physiological screening tests at the same time as the original Mercury Seven astronauts, as part of a private, non-

NASA program.

15. Con de Lange - Scotland Cricketer.

16. S. Muthiah - Chennai's famed chronicler, cartographer, and journalist.

17. Amar Paul - Noted Bengali folk singer.

18. Rama Sengupta Paul - Noted Female mountaineer.

19. John Singleton - Noted American Director. He earned an Oscar Nomination at age 24, becoming youngest to do so.

20. Poongam Kannan - Former Indian Footballer.

21. Mark Medoff - Noted American Playwright. His notable work includes Tony Award-winning play Children of a Lesser God.

22. Former Ethiopian president Negasso Gidada Passed Away. He was first head of state after Ethiopia adopted a new

constitution transforming it into a federal state.

2. Persons Resigned / Retired (April 2019) -

1. Rajan Anandan - Vice president for Google India and South East Asia.

2. Abdelaziz Bouteflika - Algeria's President. He will step down after over 20 years.

3. National Anti-Doping Agency banned professional Olympic shot putter Manpreet Kaur for 4 years for failing dope tests.

4. Kirstjen Nielsen resigned as US homeland security secretary.

5. Mali's Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga resigned.

6. Merissa Aguilleira - Trinidian Female Cricketer. She used to play for West Indian Cricket Team.

7. Uber Asia pacific head Amit Jain resigned, in restructuring ahead of IPO. Uber appointed Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty to

replace Amit.

8. Uday Kumar Varma resigned from post of Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) Secretary-General.

9. Former Australia Cricketer Shane Watson announced his retirement from Australian Domestic Cricket Tournament Big Bash

League.

Top

Science

1. A new species of East Asian birds ‘Horsfield’s Bronze Cuckoo’ (Chalcites basalis) spotted in Andaman And Nicobar Islands. Its a

native of Australia and New Guinea, measuring roughly 15 cm and weighs 22 g.

2. Alberta University (Canada) paleontologists discovered 95 million-year-old coin-sized ‘cartoon-eyed’ crab species called

Callichimaeraperplexa. Its name is an allusion to a Greek mythological creature & means “perplexing beautiful chimera.

3. An international collaboration of 20 research organizations led by Hyderabad-based International Crops Research Institute for

the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) identified climate resilient genes in chickpea.

1. Study based on complete genome sequencing of 429 chickpea lines from 45 different countries, identified that chickpea has

four important genes for heat tolerance and three important genes for drought tolerance. It will help in developing newer

chickpea varieties which can tolerate temperatures up to 38°C.

2. Identification of other genes with important agronomic traits (high yield, test weight, kernel weight, maturity, plant height,

and lodging resistance) will help in increasing crop yield and providing better resistance to pests and diseases.

3. Chickpea is an annual legume of Fabaceae family and is highly rich in protein. It is also known by name of gram, Bengal

Gram, Garbanzo, Garbanzo bean, and Egyptian pea.

4. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has undertaken an indigenous genetic mapping effort to educate a

generation of students on “usefulness” of genomics. Under this, approx 1,000 rural youth will have their genomes sequenced by

CSIR. Those recruited as part of genome-sample collections are representative of the country’s population diversity and the bulk of

them will be college students.

5. European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)’s Jointly launched Mission BepiColombo has

completed series of tests, and is now ready for its crusie to Mercury.

1. It comprises of two satellites launched together - Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter

(MMO).

2. Launched in October 2018, it is expected to arrive at Mercury in 2025. It will endure temperatures in excess of 350 °C. Later,

BepiColombo will also perform first of its two flybys of Venus — the second planned for August 2021.

6. IIT Madras researcher developed a method for reading documents in Bharati Script by using a multi-lingual optical character

recognition (OCR) scheme. Bharati is a unified script for nine Indian languages which is being proposed as a common script for

India. The integrated script includes Devnagari, Bengali, Gurmukhi, Gujarati, Oriya, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil.

1. Many European languages use Roman script as a common script, which eases communication across all nations using those

languages. Similarly, in India, a common script can bring down many communication barriers here.

7. Jamia Millia Islamia (New Delhi) Researchers have developed an ultrasensitive quantum thermometer by using graphene

quantum dots. It can precisely measure a wide range of temperature from 27 degree C to –196 degree C. It has high sensitivity in

different temperatures and has quick response time of about 300 milliseconds.

8. Japanese scientists successfully created first-ever artificial crater on an asteroid, givinng some clue on how solar system evolved.

1. Hayabusa2 probe shot a projectile at Ryugu asteroid around 340 million kilometers from Earth, as part of the probes

mission to explore origin of life and evolution of the solar system.

2. Mission is scheduled to return to Earth with its samples in 2020.

9. Mars InSight lander of NASA recorded first “marsquake,” quake on mars due to volcanic eruptions or land tides. It equals a 2.5

magnitude earthquake came on earth. It has been detected by lander’s Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS)

instrument.

10. NASA revealed that Mercury, the smallest planet in the solar system has a massive solid inner core, based on data by Spacecraft

MESSENGER that crashed in 2015 . New mission is on its way to Mercury, named ‘BepiColombo‘, as joint mission by European

Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

11. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope ejected measurements validate that Universe is expanding about 9% faster than expected based

on its trajectory seen shortly after big bang. Adam Riess and his SH0ES (Supernova, H0, for the Equation of State) Team

examined light from 70 stars in our neighboring galaxy, Large Magellanic Cloud using DASH method.

12. Scientists in Chile found oldest single Human footprint at paleo-archaeological site Pilauco (Osorno, Chile), dateing back 15600

years. It can reveal new findings about human colonisation of Patagonia.

1. It was originally excavated in 2010, after long research researchers have now ruled out animals and have confirmed that it

belongs to a male adult human.

2. An earlier footprint found at a site south of Osorno was found to be about 1,000 years more recent.

13. Zoologists at Trinity College Dublin discovered 2 new bird species named as Wakatobi white-eye and Wangi-Wangi white-eye in

Wakatobi Archipelago of Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Top

Sports

1. 2019 Asian Wrestling Championships (Xi'an, China) -

1. Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total

1 Iran 11 0 6 17

2 China 5 5 6 16

3 Japan 4 7 6 17

4 Uzbekistan 2 3 5 10

5 Kazakhstan 2 2 12 16

6 Kyrgyzstan 2 1 5 8

7 South Korea 2 1 3 6

8 India 1 6 9 16

9 North Korea 1 3 2 6

10 Mongolia 0 2 5 7

11 Chinese Taipei 0 0 1 1

2. India was ranked 8th, with 16 Medals (1 G, 6 S, 9 B). India's only Gold Medal was won by Bajrang Punia (current World

number one). He defeated Kazakhstan's Sayatbek Okassov in 65kg men's freestyle final.

1. Bajrang Punia is also first Indian wrestler to be invited by American wrestling body for a special fight at iconic Madison

Square Garden in New York, US. He will take on two-time US national champion Yianni Diakomahlis.

3. Silver Medals were won by Amit Kumar Dhankar, Parveen Rana, Vicky Chahar, Gurpreet Singh, Harpreet Singh, Sunil

Kumar.

2. 2019 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell Men's Tennis Title (Spain) -

1. Singles - Dominic Thiem (Austria)

2. Doubles - Colombia's Juan Sebastián Cabal AND Robert Farah

3. 2019 Kunming Open Tennis Title (China) -

1. Men's Singles - Jay Clarke (United Kingdom)

2. Women's Singles - Zheng Saisai (China)

3. Men's Doubles - Australia's Max Purcell AND Luke Saville

4. Women's Doubles - China's Peng Shuai AND Yang Zhaoxuan

4. 2019 Monte-Carlo Masters Men's Tennis Title -

1. Singles - Fabio Fognini (Italy), becoming first Italian to win Monte-Carlo Masters in over 50 years. He defeated Dušan

Lajović (Serbia).

2. Doubles - Croatia's Nikola Mektić AND Croatia Franko Škugor

5. 2019 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Women's Title (Also Called Stuttgart Open) (Germany) -

1. Singles - Petra Kvitová (Czech Republic), Defeated Estonia's Anett Kontaveit.

2. Doubles - Germany's Mona Barthel AND Anna-Lena Friedsam

6. 2019 World Table Tennis Championships were held in Budapest (Hungary) -

1. Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total

1 China 5 1 6 12

2 Japan 0 2 1 3

3 Sweden 0 1 0 1

4 Romania 0 0.5 0 0.5

Spain 0 0.5 0 0.5

6

Germany 0 0 1 1

Portugal 0 0 1 1

South Korea 0 0 1 1

2. Medallists -

1. Event Gold Silver Bronze

Men's Singles

Ma Long (China) Mattias Falck (Sweden) Liang Jingkun (China)

An Jae-hyun (South Korea)

Women's Singles

Liu Shiwen (China) Chen Meng (China) Ding Ning (China)

Wang Manyu (China)

Men's Doubles

Ma Long (China) Wang Chuqin (China)

Ovidiu Ionescu (Romania) Álvaro Robles (Spain)

Tiago Apolónia (Portugal) João Monteiro (Portugal)

Liang Jingkun (China) Lin Gaoyuan (China)

Women's Doubles Sun Yingsha (China)

Wang Manyu (China) Hina Hayata (Japan)

Mima Ito (Japan)

Honoka Hashimoto (Japan) Hitomi Sato (Japan)

Chen Meng (China) Zhu Yuling (China)

Mixed Doubles Xu Xin (China)

Liu Shiwen (China) Maharu Yoshimura (Japan)

Kasumi Ishikawa (Japan)

Fan Zhendong (China) Ding Ning (China)

Patrick Franziska (Germany) Petrissa Solja (Germany)

7. 23rd Asian Athletics Championships held in Doha (Qatar) -

1. 43 nations participated in the events.

2. Medal Table -

1. Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total

1 Bahrain 11 7 4 22

2 China 9 13 7 29

3 Japan 5 4 9 18

4 India 3 7 7 17

5 Uzbekistan 3 0 2 5

6 Qatar 2 1 3 6

7 Thailand 2 0 2 4

8 Kazakhstan 1 4 3 8

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total

9 Kuwait 1 3 0 4

10 Chinese Taipei 1 2 1 4

3. India with 17 medals (3 Gold, 7 silver and 7 bronze) finished fourth in the events -

1. Indian Medalists -

1. S.no Name Event Medal

1. Tejinder Pal Singh Toor Men's shot put Gold

2. Gomathi Marimuthu Women's 800m Gold

3. PU Chitra Women's 1500m race Gold

4. Ajay Kumar Saroj Men's 1500m race Silver

5. Swapna Barman Women’s heptathlon Silver

6. Annu Rani Women’s javelin throw Silver

7. Shivpal Singh Men’s javelin throw Silver

8. Avinash Sable Men’s 3000msteeplechase

Silver

9. Prachi, Poovamma, Saritaben Gayakwadand VK Vismaya

Women's 4x400m relay Silver

10. Muhammed Anas, MP Poovamma, VKVismaya and Arokia Rajiv

4x400m mixed relay Silver

11. Dutee Chand Women’s 200m Bronze

12. M R Poovamma Women’s 400m Bronze

13. Parul Chaudhary Women’s 5000m race Bronze

14. Sanjivani Jadhav Women’s 10,000 m Bronze

15. Gavit Murali Kumar Men’s 10,000m Bronze

16. M P Jabir Men’s 400m hurdles Bronze

17. Saritaben Gayakwad Women’s 400m hurdles Bronze

8. 39th Badminton Asia Championships 2019 (Wuhan, China) -

1. Event Gold Silver Bronze

Men's singles Kento Momota (Japan) Shi Yuqi (China) Nguyen Tien Minh (Vietnam)

Chou Tien-chen (Chinese Taipei)

Women's singles Akane Yamaguchi (Japan) He Bingjiao (China) Chen Yufei (China)

Cai Yanyan (China)

Men's doubles Hiroyuki Endo (Japan)

Yuta Watanabe (Japan) Marcus Fernaldi Gideon (Indonesia)

Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (Indonesia)

Takeshi Kamura (Japan) Keigo Sonoda (Japan)

Kang Min-hyuk (South Korea) Kim Won-ho (South Korea)

Women's doubles Chen Qingchen (China)

Jia Yifan (China) Mayu Matsumoto (Japan)

Wakana Nagahara (Japan)

Yuki Fukushima (Japan) Sayaka Hirota (Japan)

Della Destiara Haris (Indonesia) Rizki Amelia Pradipta (Indonesia)

Mixed doubles Wang Yilü (China)

Huang Dongping (China) He Jiting (China)

Du Yue (China)

Zheng Siwei (China) Huang Yaqiong (China)

Dechapol Puavaranukroh (Thailand) Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Thailand)

2. Medal Table -

1. Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total

1 Japan 3 1 2 6

2 China 2 3 3 8

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total

3 Indonesia 0 1 1 2

4

Chinese Taipei 0 0 1 1

South Korea 0 0 1 1

Thailand 0 0 1 1

Vietnam 0 0 1 1

3. Indian Badminton Players did not any medal at the event.

9. 48th Asian Weightlifting Championships 2019 (Ningbo, China) -

1. 214 athletes from 27 nations participated in. India won 5 medals (3 silver and 2 bronze) medals and finished at 10th place -

2. Medal Table (Big (Total result) and Small (Snatch and Clean & Jerk)) -

1. Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total

1 China 11 6 2 19

2 North Korea 2 4 4 10

3 Iran 2 3 1 6

4 South Korea 2 0 2 4

5 Chinese Taipei 1 1 0 2

Vietnam 1 1 0 2

7 Saudi Arabia 1 0 0 1

8 Philippines 0 1 1 2

Uzbekistan 0 1 1 2

10

India 0 1 0 1

Malaysia 0 1 0 1

Mongolia 0 1 0 1

3. Medals won by Indian Athletes -

1. S.No. Category Event Name Medal

1. Women 49-kg Snatch Jhili Dalabehera Silver

2. Women 49-kg Clean and Jerk Jhili Dalabehera Silver

3. Women 49-kg Total (Snatch + Clean and Jerk) Jhili Dalabehera Silver

4. Men 102-kg Clean and Jerk Pardeep Singh Bronze

5. Women 49-kg Clean and Jerk Mirabai Chanu Bronze

10. Asian Boxing Championships 2019 (Bangkok, Thailand) -

1. India won 13 medals (2 gold, 4 silver, and 7 bronze).

2. Indian Medallists -

1. S. No. Category (kg) Name Medal

1. 52 Amit Panghal Gold

2. 81 Pooja Rani Gold

3. 64 Simranjit Kaur Silver

4. 56 Kavinder Singh Bisht Silver

5. 49 Deepak Singh Silver

6. 75 Ashish Chaudhary Silver

7. 51 Nikhat Zareen Bronze

8. 54 Manisha Moun Bronze

9. 57 Sonia Chahal Bronze

10. 60 Sarita Devi Bronze

11. 60 Shiva Thapa Bronze

12. 69 Ashish Bronze

13. +91 Satish Kumar Bronze

11. Barcelona FC won 20 Teams Spanish La Liga Football title 2019 by defeating Levante FC. This was Barcelona’s 26th La Liga

league title.

12. ISSF World Cup 2019 (2nd Leg - Beijing (China)) (Rifle / Pistol) -

1. India Ranked at top. Indian Medalists -

1. Divyansh Singh Panwar - Silver in 10 metre air rifle

2. Abhishek Verma - Gold in 10 Metre Air Pistol

3. Mixed team (Saurabh Chaudhary/Manu Bhaker) - Gold in 10 metre air pistol

4. Mixed team ( Divyansh Singh Panwar/Anjum Moudgil) - Gold in 10 metre air rifle

5. In 1st Leg of ISSF World Cup in New Delhi, India had won 3 Gold Medals. Now India is at top with total 7 Medals - 3 in

Leg 1 in New Delhi and 4 in Leg 2 in Bejing. India is currently at top of Medal Tally.

6. Indian Medallists also got Olympic Quota for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

7. Upcoming assignments under ISSF World cup 2019 will be in Munich (Germany) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Final is

to be decided.

2. Medal Tally -

1.

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total

1 India 6 1 0 7

2 China 3 8 7 18

3 United States 3 2 0 5

4 Hungary 3 1 1 5

5 Russia 2 4 3 9

13. Mercedes Racer Valtteri Bottas (Finland) won Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2019 -

1. Formula 1 Season 2019 -

Round Grand Prix Winner date

1 Australian Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas (Finland) 17 March

2 Bahrain Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 31 March

3 Chinese Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 14 April

4 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas (Finland) 28 April

5 Spanish Grand Prix 12 May

6 Monaco Grand Prix 26 May

7 Canadian Grand Prix 9 June

8 French Grand Prix 23 June

9 Austrian Grand Prix 30 June

10 British Grand Prix 14 July

11 German Grand Prix 28 July

12 Hungarian Grand Prix 4 August

13 Belgian Grand Prix 1 September

14 Italian Grand Prix 8 September

15 Singapore Grand Prix 22 September

16 Russian Grand Prix 29 September

17 Japanese Grand Prix 13 October

18 Mexican Grand Prix 27 October

19 United States Grand Prix 3 November

20 Brazilian Grand Prix 17 November

21 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 1 December

14. Misc. Sports Events (April 2019) -

1. Saurav Ghosal became first Indian male squash player to enter top 10 in Professional Squash Association (PSA) world

rankings.

2. Kho-Kho Federation of India (KKFI) launched an franchise-based league for sport named Ultimate Kho-Kho, in

collaboration with Dabur India Ltd.

3. 73-year-old Israeli Isaak Hayik set a new world record as world’s oldest person to play in a professional soccer match. He

played a match for FC Ironi Or Yehuda against FC Maccabi Ramat Gan.

4. Indian women Hockey Team won bilateral series against Malaysia by 4-0.

5. Indonesian Eni Nuraeni named by Asian Athletic Association (AAA) as the best athletic coach in Asia for the short-haul run

category in 2019. Eni coaches young sprinter Lalu Muhammad Zohri, to win 100m gold in 10.20 seconds in 2019 Grand Prix

Malaysia Open athletics.

6. American golfer Tiger Woods won Masters at Augusta (US), as his 15th major Title, after 11 years.

7. Former Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) president Jose Maria Marin banned for life from all football activities by

FIFA, after being found guilty of bribery activities.

8. International cricket council (ICC) cricket for good in partnership with UNICEF,launched #OneDay4Children, a

tournament-wide campaign to help construct a better world for all child, at the World Cup 2019. 48 matches will support

#OneDay4Children activity and funds gathered will strengthen UNICEF’s work for children in cricket playing nations across

world.

9. Female Cricketer Mithali Raj named as goodwill ambassador of Indian team for Street Child Cricket World Cup 2019. This is

first cricket world cup for street-connected children and final will be played at Lord’s in London on May 7.

10. Ethiopian athletes Gelete Burka (Time 2:22:48) and Abrha Milaw (Time 2:07:50) won Female and Male Titles respectively,

at 43rd edition of Paris Marathon (France).

11. India’s Bajrang Punia regained world number one spot in the men's 65kg freestyle category, as per the latest rankings issued

by United World Wrestling.

12. International Hockey Federation (FIH) imposed fine of one lakh seventy-six thousand Euros (1.3 Crores INR) on Pakistan

Hockey Federation (PHF) for not honouring Pro League commitments.

1. Indian men’s hockey team would join elite Pro League in early 2020 after International Hockey Federation’s approved

it.

13. 18th Asian Billiards, 20th Under-21 Asian Snooker Championship and 3rd Ladies Asian Snooker Championships hosted in

Chandigarh.

14. International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) banned 2008 Olympic 1,500m champion and 3-time world

champion Asbel Kiprop of Kenya for 4 years for doping until February 2022.

15. India’s 21-time world snooker and billiards champion, Pankaj Advani defeated Ehsan Heydari Nezhad of Iran to win

inaugural Asian Snooker Tour title, in Bengaluru.

16. Indian cricketer Ajinkya Rahane became first Indian player to play for Hampshire County Cricket club in England.

17. Integrated Coach Factory (ICF) Chennai beat South Central Railway to win second Marshal of Indian Air Force Arjan Singh

Memorial International hockey tournament, in Chandigarh.

18. China’s smartphone maker OPPO became first Asian official sponsor of Wimbledon tennis championships in England.

19. Arjuna awardee Indian golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar won outstanding achievement as a player award at 4th edition of annual

India Golf Industry Association (GIA) awards at Delhi Golf Club.

20. Australia’s Claire Polosak became first woman umpire to Officiate in a men’s ODI, in final match of ICC World Cricket

League 2.

21. Asian Road Para-Cycling Championships 2019 held in Tashkent (Uzbekistan). Indian para cyclists won a silver (Divij Shah)

and two bronze medals (Gurlal Singh and Sudhakar Marathe).

22. India’s Table Tennis player Sathiyan Gnanasekaran became first Indian to break into the world’s top 25 of the latest

International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Rankings. Sharath Kamal Achanta is only other Indian beside him in top 50

position, ranked 46th.

23. Raheem Sterling (England) has been named 2019 footballer of year by Football Writers’ Association (FWA). Nikita Parris

won FWA Women’s Footballer of Year award.

24. BCCI recommended Cricketers Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja and Female Cricketer Poonam Yadav

for Arjuna award 2019. Also, All India Football Federation (AIFF) recommended Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Jeje

Lalpekhlua for Arjuna Award 2019.

15. Namibia won ICC World Cricket League Division 2, defeartng Oman in Windhoek (Namibia). During the tournament, USA

United States Cricket Team gained ODI Cricket status for first time. Oman and Papua New Guinea also got ODI Status.

16. Services team won 2019 Santosh Trophy Football Title, defeating Punjab. This is sixth time Services has won Santosh Trophy.

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