Current Affairs January 19-20 , 2019

In this post, GKToday presents Current Affairs of January 19-20 , 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. Ace Indian female wrestler Vinesh Phogat from Haryana has become the first Indian athlete to receive a nomination in the prestigious Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award. Vinesh made a sensational comeback after battling a long injury lay-off to win a gold medal at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and Jakarta Asian Games. She has been nominated alongside US Tour Championship winner Tiger Woods, who won his first tournament in five years. The Awards will be presented in Monaco on the 18th of February 2019. Monaco is a tiny independent city-state on France’s Mediterranean coastline.

2. Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar has announced a ‘Shaurya Award’ to students in the name of 71 martyrs of state police force who laid down their lives in the line of duty while protecting society and maintaining law and order in the state. It was announced by the state government while organizing the first state-level function at the National Police Memorial in New Delhi to honour the families of all 71 policemen who died in various attacks and encounters since the formation of the state in 1966. Under this award, a prize money of Rs 11,000 in memory of a police martyr will be given to a student for courageous deeds every year in a village block where the school is located and where a martyr studied during his childhood.

3. Prabhat Singh, a 1988 batch IPS officer of Jharkhand cadre, has been appointed as new Director General (Investigation) in the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Singh is at present Special Director in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). He has been appointed to the post for a period up to April 30, 2020, the date of his superannuation. The NHRC is an autonomous public body constituted on 12th October 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Ordinance of 28 September 1993. It was given a statutory basis by the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 (TPHRA). Apart from him, S N Pradhan has been appointed Director General of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

4. On 18th January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 9th edition of Vibrant Gujarat global investors’ summit- 2019 at Mahatma Mandir Exhibition cum Convention Centre in Gandhinagar. The main theme of the 3-day summit is "Shaping a new India”. More than 30 thousand international and Indian delegates including the 5 Heads of States from from Uzbekistan, Rwanda, Denmark, Czech Republic and Malta are participating in the summit. Apart from this, 11 international organizations are participating as partner organizations for the Summit. The summit will provide a forum for discussion on Global, National and State-level agendas with a sharp focus on all round economic development for a ‘New India’.

5. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has decided to organize an event named Shehri Samridhi Utsav from 1st -15th February 2019 all over the country focusing on urban livelihoods. The purpose of the event is to extend the outreach of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) to the poorest of poor and the most vulnerable.

6. The Union Ministry of Finance has started 'Know Your Budget' fortnight series on its Twitter handle to educate general public about the budgetary process. The series would explain the importance of Union Budget and its making, and would continue for about a fortnight. In the first series of tweets, the Ministry explained the terms - Union Budget and Vote on Account. These are as follows: The Budget is the most comprehensive report of the government's finances in which revenues from all sources and outlays for all activities are consolidated. The Budget also contains estimates of the government's accounts for the next fiscal year called Budget estimates. The Vote on Account is defined as a grant made in advance by Parliament for expenditure for a part of the next financial year.

7. Mountaineer Satyarup Siddhanta conquered the highest point Antartica ‘Mount Sidley’ on 19th of January 2019. With this feat, he became the first Indian and youngest man to climb the seven highest peaks and volcanic summits across all continents. According to the in-Reach Satellite, Communicator Satyarup was carrying, he summited Mount Sidley at 6. 28 in the morning Indian Standard Time (IST) at a temperature of minus 40-degree Celsius. He achieved the feat at the age of 35 years and 262 days. Australia's Daniel Bull had done it at the age of 36 years 157 days. Last year, Satyarup had scaled the highest volcanic peak in North America, Pico de Orizaba. Satyarup hails from Haridevpur in South Kolkata and is a software engineer by profession.

8. The Japan Prize Foundation has recently announced the laureates of the 2019 Japan Prize, who have pushed the envelope in their respective fields of “Materials and Production” and “Biological Production, Ecology”. Indian-born Dr. Rattan Lal, a soil scientist at The Ohio State University, has been awarded the 2019 Japan Prize for his outstanding contribution to sustainable soil management. Lal is the first Ohio State scientist and the first soil scientist to ever receive the prize. Apart from Lal, Dr. Yoshio Okamoto, Professor Emeritus at Nagoya University in Japan, has also been chosen for the award. To honor Drs. Lal and Okamoto, the Japan Prize Foundation will host an award ceremony on April 8, 2019 in Tokyo. Each laureate will receive a certificate of recognition and a commemorative gold medal. A cash award of 50 million Japanese yen (approximately $450,000 USD) will also be given to each prize field.

9. In Maharashtra, the 2nd World Orange Festival (WOF-2019) has started in Nagpur from 19th January, which will continue till to 21st of this month. The festival, while offering its famed oranges to the world, will also showcase and brand the exquisite fruit in order to boost its export. Agricultural experts and scientists from various countries will participate in the workshops and guide farmers.

10. The world’s first television channel dedicated to human rights has been launched in London with a promise to deliver hidden stories ignored by mainstream media into people’s living rooms. The International Observatory of Human Rights (IOHR) stated that its web-based channel would bring human rights issues to audiences in over 20 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Topics will include refugees, press freedom and the incarceration of journalists, extremism, women’s rights, LGBT+ issues and the plight of the world’s stateless people. Broadcasts can be viewed via the netgem.tv interactive platform and will shortly be available via a mobile app.


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