Current Affairs January 27, 2019

In this post, GKToday presents Current Affairs of January 27, 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 National Voters Day (NVD) is celebrated every year in India on January 25 since 2011 to enhance participation of citizens in the electoral process. The day also marked the Foundation day of Election Commission of India (ECI), which was established on 25th January 1950. The main purpose of the celebration is to encourage, facilitate and maximize the enrollment, especially for the new voters. In view of the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections, ‘No Voter to be Left Behind’ has been selected as the theme for the 9th National Voters’ Day. During the 9th NVD 2019, the National Awards for the Best Electoral Practices were conferred on Officers for their outstanding performance in the conduct of elections. President Ram Nath Kovind was the Chief Guest at the main function being organized by Election Commission in New Delhi.

2. On 26th January 2019, President Ramnath Kovind conferred the Bharat Ratna, the nation’s highest civilian honour, on former President Pranab Mukherjee, along with social activist Nanaji Deshmukh (posthumous), and Assamese musician Bhupen Hazarika (posthumous). Nanaji Deshmukh was a senior RSS leader who also worked for rural development and welfare of farmers, and was considered a stalwart of the Sangh Parivar. Mr. Hazarika’s award appears to be a nod to the importance the North East has been accorded by the current government amid huge unrest following the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill being pushed. Mr. Mukherjee is a Congressman for five decades before he became President (2012-2017) spoke at an annual RSS event in Nagpur in 2018. The last time Bharat Ratnas were conferred was in 2015, when educationalist-politician Madan Mohan Malviya and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee were the recipients.

3. On 70th Republic Day parade 2019, women power displayed at Rajpath, with contingents of the Indian Navy, India Army Service Corps and a unit of Corps of Signals (transportable satellite terminal) were all led by women officers and a woman officer exhibiting stunts on bike. In it, Major Khushboo Kanwar led all-women Assam Rifles contingent has created history by participating for the first time in a Republic Day parade. Capt Shikha Surabhi from the Corps of Signals became the first woman to perform bike stunts alongside her male teammates as part of daredevils, a major attraction every Republic Day. For the first time, a lady officer, Lt. Bhavana Kasturi led a contingent of the India Army Service Corps and Capt Bhavna Syal, a third-generation officer in the armed forces, led the transportable satellite terminal’s contingent.

4. Sultan Abdullah of Pahang has been elected as the new King of Malaysia, after Malaysian King Sultan Muhammad V step down from the throne before completing his five-year tenure on 6th January 2019. Sultan Abdullah will be sworn-in as the Nation's 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong (or head of state) in a traditional ceremony on 31st January 2019. Malaysia is the only country in the world to have a rotational monarchy since the country became independent from Britain in 1957. The country has nine royal households, who typically take turns to sit on the throne. King’s constitutional powers include the ability to veto the appointment of key political office holders, including the prime minister. The king also has powers to grant full pardons to citizens convicted in the courts.

5. Atin Bandyopadhyay (85), the renowned Bengali writer, has passed away in Kolkata on 19th January, 2019. Born in 1934 in Dhaka, he had taken up various jobs as a sailor, school teacher, factory manager, journalist to finally became a writer. He won the 2001 Sahitya Akademi award for his compilation of short stories ‘Panchashati Galpo’. His masterpiece is considered to be a four-part tetralogy on the Partition: “Nilkantha Pakhir Khonje”, ”Manusher Gharbari”, “Aloukik Jalajan” and “Ishwarer Bagan”.

6. Russell Baker (93), the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author , has passed away in Virginia, United States on January 21, 2019. He was the genial, but sharp-witted writer for his humorous columns in The New York Times and a moving autobiography of his impoverished Baltimore childhood and later hosted television's 'Masterpiece Theatre’. He won Pulitzers in 1979 for the 'Observer', the Times column he wrote for 35 years, and in 1983 for his autobiography 'Growing Up'. It was the first Pulitzer for commentary awarded to a humorist.

7. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Swedish aerospace and defence company (Saab) to explore Air Traffic Management (ATM) solutions for airports operating under the UDAN regional connectivity scheme. In the sector of ATM solutions, Saab has a portfolio ranging from Advanced-Surface Movement Guidance & Control System (A-SMGCS) and Surface Movement Radar (SR- 3), to Remote Towers which can be deployed at all types of airports. ATM solutions from Saab can support both single and multiple runway airfields, as well as remote operations and deployable systems. Hence, the MoU with Saab will support AAI’s need for ATM solutions and training of its personnel in ATM services. The MoU highlights the efforts of AAI to build infrastructure for the Indian government’s UDAN-RCS regional airport development and regional connectivity plan, helping to make air travel more affordable and widespread.

8. Scientists from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) in South Korea have developed a system that can produce electricity and hydrogen fuel from carbon dioxide. The Hybrid Na-CO2 system can continuously produce electrical energy and hydrogen through efficient carbon dioxide (CO2) conversion with stable operation for over 1,000 hours. The key to this technology is the easy conversion of chemically stable CO2 molecules to other materials. Much of human CO2 emissions are absorbed by the ocean and turned into acidity. The researchers focused on this phenomenon and came up with the idea of melting CO2 into water to induce an electrochemical reaction.If acidity increases, the number of protons increases, which in turn increases the power to attract electrons. If a battery system is created based on this phenomenon, electricity can be produced by removing CO2. In particular, this system has shown stability to the point of operating for more than 1,000 hours without damage to electrodes. The system can be applied to remove CO2 by inducing voluntary chemical reactions.

9. The International Customs Day (ICD) is observed every year on January 26 to recognize the role of custom officials and agencies in maintaining border security. It focuses on the working conditions and challenges that customs officers face in their jobs. The 2019 theme is “SMART borders for seamless Trade, Travel and Transport”. This reflects the fact that the expectations of travellers and businesses around the world are changing.

10. Naomi Osaka from Japan has won the women’s singles 2019 Australian Open Tennis Tournament. She beat Czech Petra Kvitova in a seesaw Australian Open final by 7-6 (7-2) 5-7 6-4 to win back-to-back Grand Slams and become the new World No.1. Osaka is known for her multi-ethnic background and her shy, candid personality. On the court, she has an aggressive playing style with a powerful serve.


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