Current Affairs January 11, 2019
In this post, GKToday presents Current Affairs of January 11, 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. The World Bank has recently released 2019 Global Economic Prospects report titled “Darkening Skies”, which forecasted that India’s GDP is expected to grow at 7.3% in the fiscal year 2018-19, and 7.5% in the following two years. While, China’s economic growth is projected to slow down to 6.2% each in 2019 and 2020 and 6% in 2021. It said India will continue to be the fastest growing major economy in the world. The World Bank said in its latest report that in India, the growth has accelerated, driven by an upswing in consumption, and investment growth has firmed as the effects of temporary factors wane. Domestic demand has strengthened as the benefits of structural reforms such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) harmonisation and bank recapitalisation take effect.
2. On January 8, the Lok Sabha has passed the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 that seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It will pave way for the religious minorities --the Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis -- from these countries to get Indian citizenship. According to Union Home Ministry, the purpose of the bill is to provide Indian citizenship to those who had been forced to seek shelter in India because of religious persecution or fear of persecution in their home countries. The Bill provides for Indian citizenship to such immigrants after six years of residence in India instead of 12 years currently. The bill will apply to all States and Union Territories of the country and the beneficiaries of Citizenship Amendment Bill will be able to reside in any state of the country. Hence, the Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act of 1955 to make illegal immigrants from these countries eligible for Indian citizenship. The bill will now be tabled in the Rajya Sabha for discussion.
3. Pranav R Mehta has become the first Indian to head the Global Solar Council (GSC) on 01 January 2019. He is a visionary in the field of Solar Energy and the chairman of National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI). The GSC, founded in 2015, is an international non-profit association of the national, regional and international associations in solar energy and the world‘s leading corporations. It is headquartered at Washington D.C., USA. The NSEFI is an umbrella organization of all solar energy stakeholders of India. This apex solar organization works in the area of policy advocacy and is a national platform for addressing all issues connected with solar energy growth in India.
4. The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations will be hosted by Egypt between 15th June and 13th July, after original host nation Cameroon was stripped of due to delays in preparations and concerns over security. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Ahmad Ahmad has recently made the announcement in Senegalese capital Dakar. With this, the North African nation will host the competition for the fifth time and it will be the first time 24 teams will take part. It will use 8 stadiums during the tournament, hosting in five different cities: Alexandria, Ismailia, Port Said, Suez and the capital Cairo.
5. On 9th January, the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) has launched an online campaign, ‘#www : Web- WonderWomen’. The purpose of the campaign is to discover and celebrate the exceptional achievements of women, who have been driving positive agenda of social change via social media. The Ministry in collaboration with Twitter India and Breakthrough India (a human rights organization) has started this campaign. It aims to recognize the fortitude of Indian women stalwarts from across the globe who have used the power of social media to run positive & niche campaigns to steer a change in society. This Campaign will recognize and acknowledge the efforts of these meritorious Women. The Campaign invites entries from across the world till 31st of January 2019. Indian-origin women, working or settled anywhere in the world, are eligible for nomination. The shortlisted entries will be open for public voting on Twitter and the finalists will be selected by a specialized panel of judges.
6. On 9th January 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a series of development projects worth Rs. 2900 Crores for the Agra city and the adjoining areas during his second visit to the city. He launched Gangajal project, which will provide Agra with better and more assured water supply. The aim of the Gangajal project is to bring 140 cusecs of Ganga water to Agra. This will help meet the drinking water demands in the city. He also laid the foundation stone for an Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) for the Agra Smart City project. In this project CCTVs will be installed throughout Agra City for monitoring and surveillance for the purpose of safety and security. The smart city project is meant to develop the tourism destination as a modern world-class city. Besides, the SN Medical College in Agra will be upgraded with a 100-bed maternity wing. During his first visit in November 2016, he had launched a housing project, the PM Awas Yojana (Gramin). Under this scheme, 65 lakh houses have been constructed so far, including 9.2 lakh in Uttar Pradesh.
7. Chief Minister Pema Khandu has recently inaugurated India's longest 300-meter single-lane steel cable suspension bridge over River Siang in Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, which borders China. The suspension bridge - also known as Byorung bridge - was built at a cost of Rs 4,843 crore and funded by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) under Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) scheme. It will reduce the distance from Yingkiong to Tuting town by almost 40 km. The earlier road length was 192 km. The Byorung bridge will benefit about 20,000 people residing on both sides of the bank of Siang river and will also boost military preparedness.
8. The Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) ruled government has recently decided to include UBI in its manifesto ahead of 2019 state assembly polls and aims to implement the scheme by 2022. If everything goes according to the plan, it will be the Indian first state to roll out UBI scheme aimed at providing a fixed monthly income to residents irrespective of their economic, social status. The Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a programme for providing all citizens of a country or other geographic area/state with a given sum of money, regardless of their income, resources or employment status. The main idea behind UBI is to prevent or reduce poverty and promote equality among citizens. As per Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN), the essential principle behind UBI is the idea that all citizens are entitled to a livable income, irrespective of the circumstances they're born in.
9. The first-ever India-Central Asia Dialogue at the level of Foreign Ministers is scheduled to be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on January 12 and 13. will be co-chaired by External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj and the Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan, Abdulaziz Kamilov. The foreign minister of Afghanistan will participate in the dialogue as a special invitee for the session dedicated to connectivity issues in the region. The foreign ministers of Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan and the first deputy foreign minister of Kazakhstan will represent their respective countries. The dialogue is expected to strengthen India’s engagement, including political, economic, development partnership and cultural, with all the Central Asian countries and take it to a new level.
10. India has been ranked at 41st at the 11th edition of EIU Democracy Index 2018, which provides a snapshot of the state of world democracy for 165 independent states and two territories. The report explaining the index titled ‘Democracy 2018: Me too? Political Participation, Protest & Democracy’ was particularly damning of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Despite the criticism, the report pointed that in India, the image of the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi resonates with an aspiring middle class, and he has also maintained the support of business. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)’s index rank nations on five parameters – electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture and civil liberties. Among all these parameters India fared the worst when it came to political culture. The index is topped by Norway, followed by Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand and Denmark.
