Current Affairs January 24, 2019
In this post, GKToday presents Current Affairs of January 24, 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. India Steel 2019 Exhibition and Conference has started in Mumbai on January 23. The three-day event organised by Ministry of Steel will help chart out the future growth path of the steel industry. The event will provide an opportunity for all the stakeholders to deliberate and identify ways to contribute towards building a robust roadmap for the further growth of the steel sector. Over 250 exhibiting companies from 15 countries, over 200 International buyers and large number of delegates are expected to hold business meetings during this event. More than 10 thousand business visitors both from India and abroad are expected to visit.
2. On 23rd January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Subhash Chandra Bose museum at the iconic Red Fort in New Delhi to mark the leader's 122nd birth anniversary. The Museum on Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and Indian National Army provides a detailed account of Subhash Chandra Bose and the history of Indian National Army (INA). It also showcases various artefacts related to Subhash Chandra Bose and INA. The artefacts include wooden chair and sword used by Netaji, medals, badges, uniforms and other artefacts related to INA. Beside this, Prime Minister also inaugurated the Yaad-e-Jallian Museum on the Jallianwala Bagh and World War I, the Museum on 1857- India's first war of Independence and Drishyakala-Museum on Indian Art within the Red Fort complex.
3. Andry Rajoelina has been sworn-in as the new President of Madagascar after taking the oath of office in Antananarivo before 9 judges of the High Constitutional Court. He won the 2018 Malagasy presidential election with 56% of the vote.
4. US-based Indian poet Ranjani Murali has been bestowed the ''Prabha Khaitan Woman's Voice Award' at the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival (AKLF-2019). The award carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and a citation. The purpose of the award is to recognise and encourage creative writing by women in India, to create a forum for their work and to support the publication of their writing. It is a joint initiative between Oxford Bookstore and Prabha Khaitan Foundation.
5. Team India skipper Virat Kohli has become the first player-ever in history to win all three of top ICC awards after being named captain of the ICC's Test and ODI teams of 2018 for a fabulous run in international cricket. These are: the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year, the ICC Men’s Test Player of the Year and the ICC ODI Player of the Year awards. Kohli scored 1,322 runs at an average of 55.08 in 13 Tests with five hundreds during the calendar year while in 14 ODIs he amassed 1202 runs at an astonishing average of 133.55 with six centuries. He also scored 211 runs in 10 T20Is. He also ended the year at No. 1 in both the rankings for Tests and ODIs. His performance was put into sharper context by the fact that India played most of their cricket in 2018 away from the subcontinent. Among the other major winners were Rishabh Pant, who was named the Emerging Cricketer of the Year. Sri Lanka's Kumar Dharmasena was named the Umpire of the Year, while New Zealand cricketer Kane Williamson won the Spirit of Cricket award.
6. Microsoft India has launched a new e-commerce platform re-weave.in for handloom weavers under its Project ReWeave, as part of its philanthropic initiatives. This e-commerce platform will help connect artisans to buyers directly and enables them to expand to newer customers and markets. The new e-commerce website hosts signature collections created by weaver communities and showcases traditional designs and products created from natural dyes. This e-marketplace will help sell to a broad set of customers, helping weavers to increase their income and earn a sustainable livelihood, while also reviving forgotten Indian art. The Indian handloom industry is the second-largest employment provider for the rural population in India, with almost 43 lakh weavers. Project ReWeave also aims to help weavers with working capital support through non-profit organisations.
7. The Indian Navy, in coordination with the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and other stakeholders, conducted the massive coastal defence exercise codenamed ‘SEA VIGIL-2019’off the Indian coast on January 22-23, 2019. The exercise, a first of its kind, covered the entire 7516.6 km coastline and Exclusive Economic Zone of India and involves all the 13 coastal States and Union Territories along with all maritime stakeholders, including the fishing and coastal communities. The main goal of the large-scale exercise is to comprehensively and holistically validate the efficacy of the measures taken since '26/11'. The exercise also aims to test India's preparedness to thwart any attempt by anti-national elements to carry out an attack on its territory or against its citizens by infiltrating through the sea route.
8. The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) has got listed amongst the top 30 container ports globally, as per the latest Lloyds Report. Hence, JNPT has become the only Indian port to be listed amongst the world’s top 30 container ports. JNPT notched up five spots, to be 28th on the list, compared to its previous ranking. This is a validation of all the efforts and strategic initiatives being implemented at JNPT in order to enhance overall port efficiency. The JNPT also launched their App service to facilitate better tracking of consignment and ease the trade process for their EXIM partners.
9. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently released its biannual World Economic Outlook (WEO) update at the World Economic Forum (WEF-2019) in Davos. In it, IMF estimates India's economic growth at 7.3% in 2018-19, 7.5% in 2019-20 and 7.7% in 2020-21. With the latest outlook, India will remain the fastest-growing economy in the world, at least for the next two years. The IMF report stated that India’s economy is poised to pick up in 2019, benefiting from low oil prices and a slower pace of monetary tightening than previously expected as inflation pressures ease. The latest growth projection by the IMF is a tad higher than the Central Statistics Office’s (CSO) estimate of 7.2%, but lower than the RBI’s estimate of 7.4%. But it is in line with the World Bank’s estimate of 7.3%.
10. The Union Cabinet has approved recently the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Kuwait for cooperation on the recruitment of domestic workers. The MOU provides a structured framework for cooperation on domestic workers related matters and provides strengthened safeguards for Indian domestic workers including female workers deployed in Kuwait. The MOU is initially valid for a period of 5 years and incorporates provision for automatic renewal. Around three lakh Indian domestic workers deployed in Kuwait will benefit from the decision. The MOU will promote bilateral cooperation in domestic workers related matters between the two countries.
