Current Affairs July 11, 2019

In this post, GKToday presents Current Affairs of July 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. Prasar Bharati has signed MoU with IIT Kanpur for research collaboration in newly emerging technologies and broadcasting-related areas in New Delhi. The move is likely to boost research activities in the broadcasting field. Direct to mobile broadcasting, Convergence of 5G, Artificial Intelligence Incubation Centre by Prasar Bharati and student internship for students of IIT Kanpur at Prasar Bharati are among the main areas in the research collaboration.

2. The World Population Day (WPD) is observed every year on 11th of July to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues. Unlike every year, this year (2019) there is no specific theme but the day aims to draw attention towards maternal health. This year, the day calls for global attention to the unfinished business of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development. The landmark conference was attended by 179 governments who recognized that reproductive health and gender equality are essential for achieving sustainable development.

3. Kyriakos Mitsotakis has been sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Greece. His party - New Democracy - won a landslide victory in the 2019 legislative election with a score of 39.85% of votes and 158 seats in the Hellenic Parliament.

4. The film ‘Gully Boy’, directed by Zoya Akhtar, has won the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) Award for Best Asian Film at the 23rd Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) in South Korea. 'Gully Boy', which features actors Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, is based on the lives of street rappers. It is inspired by the lives of Mumbai street rappers Vivian Fernandes aka Divine and Naved Shaikh aka Naezy. It will also be screened at the 2019 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.

5. On 10th July 2019, the 2nd India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue (IRSED) was held in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog. The meeting was focused on six core areas of cooperation viz. Development of Transport Infrastructure and Technologies; Development of Agriculture and Agro-Processing sector; Small and Medium Business support; Digital Transformation and Frontier Technologies; Cooperation in Trade, Banking, Finance, and Industry; and Tourism & Connectivity. The strategic dialogue was established following a bilateral MoU signed between the NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation during the 19th edition of the Annual India-Russia Bilateral Summit, which was held on 5th October 2018 in New Delhi.

6. The Union Ministry of Home has recently banned a US-based secessionist group - Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) for advocating secessionist and pro-Khalistani activities in India. The group was advocating an online campaign for Khalistan “Sikh Referendum 2020” to establish an independent and sovereign country in Punjab. a separate land for the Sikhs. Its founder Avtar Singh Pannu was seen shouting slogans and wearing a T-shirt that said “Khalistan Zindabad, Referendum 2020” at the India-New Zealand cricket match in the U.K. on 10th July 2019. The group has been banned as an unlawful association under Section 3(1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967.

7. The French government has decided to impose a tax of up to 18 euros ($20) on plane tickets for all flights from airports in France to fund less-polluting transportation projects. The move, which will take effect from 2020, will see a tax of 1.5 euros imposed on economy-class tickets on internal flights and those within Europe. The new measure is expected to bring in some €182 million a year which will be invested in greener transport infrastructures, notably rail. It will only be applied on outgoing flights and not those flying into the country. Earlier, in April 2018, a similar tax was introduced in Sweden that imposed an added charge of up to €40 on every ticket in a bid to lessen the impact of air travel on the climate.

8. Drug-maker Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd has become the first company to launch Romiplostim in India under the brand name Romy for the treatment of chronic Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP). ITP is an autoimmune blood disorder which leads to low platelet counts. The newly-launched drug will cost just one-fifth of the price of the current medication. It is estimated that around 42,000 patients are diagnosed with ITP in India every year. Less than 10% of patients have access to the treatment, which is required to maintain adequate platelet counts for a longer duration.

9. Italy's Prosecco hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene has been named as the UNESCO World Heritage at the 43rd Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Baku, Azerbaijan. It is the site where the grapes that produce the world-famous prosecco sparkling wine are grown. It is an area of hilly terrain in northeast Italy known for its Prosecco production. The landscape is characterized by hogback hills, ciglioni -- small plots of vines on narrow grassy terraces -- forests, small villages and farmland. The prosecco sparkling white, which has the highest classification available to Italian wine, is produced in a territory spread over 9 provinces in Italy's northeast. The region has become the 55th Italian site inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list.

10. TCS iON, a unit of IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has partnered with All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to provide students with a digital learning course to equip them with career skills. TCS iON has curated a free, 20 hour-career skills course that will cover topics like corporate etiquette, effective e-mail writing, impactful presentations and IT awareness that will be available to students throughout the duration of their degree course. The course will be available for students of more than 10,000 AICTE approved institutions. It can be accessed on TCS iON Digital Learning Hub through any device. The unique course provided by TCS iON will help improve placement opportunities for AICTE institutions & will initiate a strong start to the professional careers of the students. AICTE is the national-level apex advisory and regulatory body for technical education.


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