Current Affairs July 23, 2019

In this post, GKToday presents Current Affairs of July 23, 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. Yukiya Amano ( 72), the former Japanese diplomat and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Chief, has passed away on 23rd July 2019. He had been chief of the key U.N. agency that regulates nuclear issues worldwide since 2009. It is not yet clear who will succeed Amano on an interim basis. During his tenure, Amano oversaw the signing of a landmark deal in 2015 between Iran and six major powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- under which the Islamic republic agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. As Head of the IAEA, Amano also dealt with the aftermath of the devastating 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan. Amano had wide experience in disarmament, non-proliferation diplomacy and nuclear energy.

2. India has successfully launched its 2nd lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 onboard its powerful rocket GSLV-MkIII-M1 from Sriharikota to explore the uncharted south pole of the Moon by landing a rover. The Rs 978 crore mission will mark a giant leap in India's space research and make it only the 4th country to have landed a rover on Moon. For the first time in India's space history, an interplanetary expedition is being led by two women - Muthaya Vanitha (the project director) & Ritu Karidhal (the mission director). According to ISRO, the lunar South Pole is an interesting surface area which remains in shadow than North pole. There is a possibility of the presence of water in permanently shadowed areas around it. The lander 'Vikram', named after father of Indian space research programme Dr Vikram A Sarabhai, carrying the rover 'Pragyan', will be landed in a high plain between two craters at a latitude of about 70 degrees South of the moon. Then the 27-kg 'Pragyan' meaning 'wisdom' in Sanskrit and a six-wheeled robotic vehicle, will set out on its job of collecting information on lunar surface. A safe site free of hazards for landing would be decided based on pictures sent back by the camera onboard the lander and after touchdown the rover will carry out experiments for 14 Earth days, equals one Lunar Day.

3. The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has launched a research project for developing an online platform in order to facilitate effective fish marketing systems. The project aims to develop a fish market information system, fish price information and facilitate an e-auctioning system trade platform for commercially important fish species. As many as 1,500 fish markets, including landing centres, wholesale markets, retail markets and aquaculture production markets, across the country will be selected for implementing the programme. The project on fish market and price information system is funded by the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), Hyderabad. The headquarters of CMFRI is located in Kochi, Kerala.

4. In Kerala, the 4-day International shark meet 2019 is being held in Kochi from July 24 to set up a platform for researchers from across the globe working on shark and ray trade to share their experience in the field. It is a first-of-its-kind event in India, which is being jointly organized by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) and the FAO under the collaborative research project of the two entities on sharks and rays non-fin commodities. The purpose of the meet is to bring together scientific community in the spectrum to describe various methodologies being transpired and adopted in research works on sharks and rays, to define their strengths and weaknesses and develop practical but not rigid set of guidance. Representatives from the FAO and experts from various countries such as UK, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Indonesia, Malaysia, Peru, Italy, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Somalia, Myanmar and Namibia will attend the meet to discuss the priorities in monitoring shark and ray fisheries, trade and market chain assessment..

5. The book titled "Indo-Pak Relations: Beyond Pulwama and Balakot" has been authored by Dr. U V Singh. The book deals with the fundamental causes of the Indo-Pak conflict—why it is difficult, if not impossible, to have peace between the two neighbors. Also it explores the short spurt of Pulwama-Balakot stand-off or a game of one-upmanship.

6. Kishen Narsi from India has been appointed as the Chairman of Asian Boxing Confederation's (ASBC) competitions commission. Narsi is a former All-India University champion boxer. He was an international referee and vice-chairman of the executive committee of the International Boxing Association (AIBA). He has officiated in three Olympics. He was also the founding interim president of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI).

7. Noted vocalist Dr. S Sowmya has been chosen for the Sangita Kalanidhi award of the Music Academy and she will preside over 93rd annual conference of the Academy to be held between December 12, 2019, and January 1, 2020. A student of Dr. S. Ramanathan and T. Mukta, Ms. Sowmya equally excelled in her academic pursuit and obtained a doctorate from the Madras University. Beside her, Sangita Kala Acharya awards will go to vocalists Seetha Narayanan and M.S. Sheela. Nagaswaram player Vyasarpadi Kothandaraman and vocalist Rajkumar Bharathi will get the TTK awards while Aarti N. Rao will get the Musicologist Award. All awards will be conferred during the Sadas of the Academy on January 1. The Nritya Kalanidhi award for Dance will be conferred on Priyadarshini Govind at the inauguration of the dance festival on January 3, 2020.

8. Vivek Kohli has been elected as chairman of the Commonwealth Table Tennis Federation (CTTF). He defeated incumbent Alan Ransome of England. The elections were recently held in Bhubaneswar, close to the venue of the 21st Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship 2019 (Cuttack). M.P. Singh, who is secretary general at Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), was unanimously elected as secretary general of CTTF. The CTTF president’s post is already held by TTFI chief Dushyant Chautala. It is for the first time that all the three positions in CTTF are held by Indians.

9. In Table Tennis, hosts India completed a clean sweep & claimed all the 7 gold medals at the 21st Commonwealth Championships, which concluded recently in Cuttack. Harmeet Desai and Ayhika Mukherjee won the men's and women's singles titles, respectively. Harmeet defeated favourite G. Sathiyan 4-3 in a hard-fought final to claim the men's singles title. In women singles, Ayhika won her first gold in the championships after defeating former national champion Madurika Patkar 4-0. Anthony Amalraj and Manav Thakkar claimed the men's doubles gold by stunning top seeds Sathiyan and Sharath Kamal 3-1.While Pooja Sahasrabudhe and Krittwika Sinha Roy defeated compatriots Sreeja Akula and Mousumi Paul 3-1 to claim the women's doubles crown. Indian paddlers topped the medals tally with 7 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze. England won two silver and three bronze medals. Singapore got 6 bronze medals while Malaysia and Nigeria got 1 bronze each.

10. India was represented by Indian envoy to United Nations Syed Akbaruddin at the 2019 Non Aligned Movement (NAM) Ministerial Meeting in Caracas, Venezuela. Here, India has strongly rejected Pakistan’s references to Kashmir & said that the global forum can never be a platform for a self-serving narrative that aims to undermine the territorial integrity of one nation by another state. The NAM needs to be in the vanguard of those addressing the primary issues of our times that cry for global cooperation, rather than become a platform for venting bilateral grievances between members. Akbaruddin did not name Pakistan but his comments were aimed at Islamabad raising the issue of Kashmir at the multi-lateral forum. NAM was established in Belgrade in 1961 and was a joint initiative of former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito.


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