Current Affairs April 09, 2019
In this post, GKToday presents Current Affairs of April 09, 2019 in Short Notes form for preparation of IBPS, Banking, CLAT, SSC, Railway, UPSC, IAS/PCS, UPPSC, BPSC, MPPSC, RPSC, TNPSC, MPSC, KPSC and all other competitive examinations of India.
1. Chinese badminton ace Lin Dan clinched the 2019 men’s singles Malaysia Open at Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur on April 7. After an electric performance , he beat countryman Chen Long 9-21, 21-7, 21-11. The title is Lin's first win this year, and also his first major success since taking the Malaysia Open in 2017.
2. Justice Pradeep Nandrajog has recently taken oath as the new Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. He was administered the oath by Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao at the Raj Bhavan. Justice Nandrajog was serving as the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court since March 2017, following his transfer from the Delhi High Court.
3. Indian swimmer Kushagra Rawat made the ‘B’ time standard for the 2019 FINA World Championships and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after clocking 08.07.99 in the 800m freestyle category at the Speedo Thailand Age Group Championships at Bangkok. The B timing for men's 800m freestyle for World Championship 2019 is 08:10.91 and Tokyo Olympics is 08:08.54. Not only in 800m freestyle, Kushagra has made the B standard for the World Championships in the 400m freestyle with a time of 03:56.10. The B standard qualifying time for the World Championships in 400m freestyle is 03.56.14. In the Olympics and World Championships, if the full quota of swimmers to take part in a particular event are not filled by those who crossed the A standard, those who achieved B standard will be called upon to compete.
4. India has recently evacuated its entire contingent of peacekeeping forces comprising 15 CRPF personnel from Tripoli after the situation suddenly worsened in Libya. Indian Ambassador in Tunisia has the concurrent charge of Libya. The military conflict in Libya escalated after the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, recently launched a surprise air strike in an area in Tripoli. On the other hand, UN-backed internationally recognized government headed by Fayez al-Sarraj vowed a major counteroffensive. The move could potentially drag the country back into civil war. The United Nations has called for a two-hour truce to allow evacuations of civilians and the wounded. Libya has been torn by violence and political instability since long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi was deposed and killed in 2011 uprising.
5. The World Health Day (WHD) is observed every year on 7th of April as a global health awareness day under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO). The day also celebrated the establishment of WHO in 1948. The 2019 theme is “Universal Coverage: Everyone, Everywhere”. Here, Universal Health means that all people across the globe have access, without any kind of discrimination, to comprehensive quality services, wherever they need them, without facing financial difficulties.
6. The first-ever global coalition on clean and efficient cooling was launched at the First Global Conference on Synergies between the 2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement, which concluded on April 3, 2019, in Copenhagen, Denmark. The aim of Cool Coalition is to inspire ambition, identify solutions and mobilise action to accelerate progress towards clean and efficient cooling. It is a global effort led by UN Environment, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program, and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL). It also includes government officials from Chile, Rwanda, Denmark as well as leaders from civil society, research and academia. As the world gets warmer, the demand for air conditioners is projected to grow and the greenhouse gas it emits will endanger the planet. Thus, the United Nations-backed ‘Cool Coalition’ comprising 23 members stated that clean, efficient cooling appliances and equipment can save up to $2.9 trillion in energy use by 2050, and help avoid 0.4° Celsius warming of the planet. The Global Cool Coalition is a unified front that links action across the Kigali Amendment, Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
7. Tata Steel has been named as the 'Global Slag Company of the Year' at the 14th Global Slag Conference and Exhibition 2019 in Aachen, Germany. It is one of the largest global annual slag events, attended by major steelmakers, steel mill service providers & associated companies. The award was presented to Tata Steel for its innovative practices in development of new applications for Steel by-products (Slag). The award demonstrates global recognition of Tata Steels commitment towards sustainability & circular economy principles.
8. Olympic silver medallist P.V. Sindhu and star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has been named as female and male sportsperson of the year in the ESPN India Multi-Sport Awards for their achievements in 2018. While Saina Nehwal won the award for the ‘Comeback of the Year’ after bagging the bronze at the 2018 Asian Games. Jaspal Rana, coach of the Indian shooting team, claimed the ‘Coach of the Year’ award after India picked up 16 medals in shooting at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The Indian women’s table tennis team took home the award for ‘Team of the Year’ after it clinched its first-ever gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
9. Indian Navy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to undertake joint research and development of advanced technologies for the Indian Navy. This will be a collaborative arrangement between labs of CSIR, the Indian Navy and Indian industry. The MoU would facilitate joint R&D activities in diverse fields of Mechanical, Electronics, Communication, Computer Science, Propulsion systems, Metallurgy and Nanotechnology.
10. In a setback to the ruling Pinarayi Vijayan government, a 49-page report submitted by an Amicus curiae to the Kerala High Court (KHC) on April 3 recommended a judicial probe into the cause of the worst-ever floods to hit the state in August 2018 after it found that faulty dam management led to the flooding. In a report, amicus curiae Jacob P. Alex said that none of the 79 dams in the State were operated or used for the purpose of flood control and moderation, despite the obligation to utilise them for flood control as per the stipulations under the National Water Policy, National Disaster Management Authority guidelines on flood and RTIO (real-time integrated operation). It seemed that high reservoir storage and sudden release of water had resulted in worsening the floods. Various alerts (blue/orange/red) were issued not in accordance with the EAP (Emergency Action Plan) guidelines. No proper follow-up action and effective precautionary steps, especially for evacuating people and accommodating them in safe locations, were taken after the issue of red alert. Hence, this was a matter to be inquired into.
