Current Affairs July 18, 2019
In this post, GKToday presents Current Affairs of July 18, 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 Maharashtra government has recently increased financial aid to families of jawans martyred in war or war-like situations or conflict related to national security from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 1 crore. Personnel wounded in conflict will get monetary compensation ranging from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 60 lakh each, depending on the severity of their injury. The rule will be applicable retrospectively from January 1, 2019.
2. Palau, an archipelago of over 500 islands in Oceania, has become the 76th signatory country to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Framework Agreement. The ISA is a group of 121 solar resource-rich countries with headquarters in Gurugram, India. The organisation was jointly launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then French President Francois Hollande at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in November 2015. It is a major global initiative for contributing to the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement through rapid and massive deployment of solar energy. Palau will host the 2020 edition of the ‘Our Oceans conference’, which will focus on issues such as climate change, sustainable fisheries and marine pollution.
3. Star Indian sprinter Hima Das clinched gold in the 200m race in 23.25 seconds creditable timing in the Tabor Athletics Meet in Czech Republic. Hima's compatriot VK Vismaya was second with a season of best 23.43 seconds. Hima has a 200m personal best of 23.10 seconds.This was Hima's fourth gold since 2nd July 2019 when she ran her first competitive race in Europe.
4. The Incredible India campaign - Find the Incredible You - has won the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold Award 2019 in the “Marketing - Primary Government Destination” category. The campaign was released globally by the Union Ministry of Tourism during 2018-19. The campaign focuses on digital and social media and the promotion of Niche Tourism products of the country. The campaign strategy was to shift the focus from the external experience of tourist destinations to the internal experience of travellers themselves. This series of transformative experiences was brought alive through unique storytelling in the format of autobiographies of travellers, with the tagline “Find the Incredible You.PATA Gold Awards are given to tourism industry organizations and individuals making an outstanding contribution towards the successful promotion of the travel industry throughout the Asia Pacific Region. The winners of the awards set industry standards for excellence and innovation and serve as examples for others to follow.
5. The book titled "Kargil: Untold stories from the War” has been authored by Rachna Bisht Rawat. The book is based on author’s interviews with war survivors and martyrs' families. It will take the readers to the treacherous Himalayan mountains where some of the Indian Army's bloodiest battles were fought. The war, which lasted for nearly three months, initiated in the May of 1999 in an effort to displace Pakistani soldiers from the peaks they had occupied on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC). India won the war, but lost over 500 soldiers. The book is a tribute to their courage and to that of their families, who have faced their loss with such dignity.
6. SIDBI has introduced web-based application system for contribution from Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS). The applications for contribution from various Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) will now be accepted online and the status of the same shall be accessible to applicants, thereby increasing the transparency in the system. The provision of submission of online application will be on the home page of SIDBI. To begin with the application process, the AIF should create an account, fill in the details and submit the application form online along with the required supporting documents. SIDBI is the implementing agency for FFS with a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore on behalf of the Government of India (GoI).
7. Star Indian cricketer Smriti Mandhana and ace tennis player Rohan Bopanna have been conferred with the 2018 Arjuna Awards by Union Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Kiren Rijeju at a ceremony held in New Delhi. She is currently ranked no. 1 in the ICC ODI Batting rankings. Playing for India, Mandhana has already registered 1951 runs in the format at a splendid average of 42.41. On the other hand, Bopanna won the gold medal in tennis men's double category in Asian Games 2018. The total amount awarded is Rs. 350,000,000.
8. The Union Cabinet has given ex-post facto approval to the Inter-Institutional Agreement (IIA) between India and the USA in the areas of regenerative medicine and 3D bioprinting, new technologies, exchange of scientific ideas/information and technologies, and joint use of scientific infrastructure. The purpose of the Agreement is to contribute towards the development of research and education of both the Institutions through academic collaboration. The joint research projects, training programmes, conferences, seminars etc. under this Agreement will be open to all qualified scientists and technologists, and will be supported on the basis of scientific merit and excellence. Scientific research and technology development in the areas of regenerative medicine and 3D bio-printing will have potential for generation of new Intellectual Property, processes, prototypes or products.
9. The World Day for International Justice (WDIJ) is observed every year on July 17 to promote international criminal justice and as a way of supporting the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC) . The aim of this day is to unite everyone who wants to support justice as well as promote victims’ rights. It is to help prevent serious crimes and those that put the peace, security and well-being of the world at risk. The day is also referred as the International Criminal Justice Day (ICJD) or International Justice Day (IJD).
10. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The outbreak in DR Congo has killed more than 1,600 people. The outbreak, the second largest in history, started in August 2018 and is affecting two provinces in DR Congo - North Kivu and Ituri. This is the fifth such declaration in history. Previous emergencies were declared for the devastating 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa that killed more than 11,000 people, the emergence of Zika in the Americas, the swine flu pandemic and polio. Ebola is a virus that initially causes sudden fever, intense weakness, muscle pain and a sore throat. It progresses to vomiting, diarrhoea and both internal and external bleeding. People are infected when they have direct contact through broken skin, or the mouth and nose, with the blood, vomit, faeces or bodily fluids of someone with Ebola. Patients tend to die from dehydration and multiple organ failure.
