Current Affairs June 18, 2019
In this post, GKToday presents Current Affairs of June 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 South American Football Confederation (SAFC) has invited Australia and Qatar as guests at 2020 Copa America. Both the nations will join 10 South American nations in the 2020 tournament, which for the first time will be held jointly in two countries -- Colombia and Argentina. Qatar, which is the current champion of 2019 AFC Asian Cup and also host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, is making its debut at the 2019 edition of Copa America.
2. As per a report released by the Australian think tank Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), India’s ranking in 2019 Global Peace Index (GPI) has slipped five places to 141st among 163 countries. In 2018, India ranked at 136th among 163 countries. IEP ranks countries according to their level of peacefulness based on three thematic domains -- the level of societal safety and security, the extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict and the degree of militarization. The report covers 99.7 per cent of the world's population and uses 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources to compile the index. As per index, Iceland remains the most peaceful country and Afghanistan the least peaceful nation. In South Asian countries, Bhutan topped the index with 15th rank, followed by Sri Lanka 72nd, Nepal 76th and Bangladesh 101st. Terror-ridden Pakistan has been ranked 153rd on the index. The GPI was founded by Steve Killelea, an Australian technology entrepreneur and philanthropist.
3. Bengaluru-based NGO Akshaya Patra has been awarded the 2019 BBC World Service Global Champion Award for its school meal project programme at the BBC Food and Farming Awards in Bristol, United Kingdom. The award recognizes a person or project that is changing the way the world produces, processes, consumes or thinks about food for the better. NGO Akshay Patra is a non-profit organisation running one of the world’s largest school meals project in India.
4. The World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) is observed on the 15th of June every year to voice opposition to the abuse and suffering inflicted on elderly people. According to the United Nations (UN), around 1 in 6 older people experience some form of abuse. It is predicted to rise as population’s age worldwide. Elder abuse can lead to serious physical injuries and long-term psychological consequences. It is a global social issue which affects the health and human rights of millions of older persons around the world. It is predicted to increase as many countries are experiencing rapidly ageing populations. The global population of people aged 60 years and older will more than double, from 900 million in 2015 to about 2 billion in 2050.
5. Ahmedabad-based Adani group has recently got final approval for controversy-hit Carmichael coal mine project in Australia, after Queensland State authorities approved its groundwater management plan. The final approval for the Adani group’s long-delayed billion-dollar mega coal mine project came only weeks after a surprise election win of Australia’s pro-coal ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The approval potentially paves the way for half a dozen new thermal coal mines to come on line in Australia by opening up Queensland’s remote Galilee basin with rail infrastructure to the coast 320 km away at Abbot Point. Earlier, the Gautam Adani-led Adani Group got the first approval from the Queensland state government to protect the endangered black-throated finch bird population as part of its crucial environmental plan at the site of its mine project. It is set to become the largest coal mine in Australia, with approval to produce up to 60 million tonnes of coal annually, and 2.3 billion tonnes over the life of the mine.
6. On June 15, the 10th edition of Regional GRIHA Summit 2019 was held in Nagpur, Maharashtra with theme 'Transformation strategies for built environment'. This theme is adapted to focus on the impact of incorporating sustainability initiatives into functioning public buildings. The one day summit served as a platform for knowledge sharing among different domains of the green building industry and facilitates networking opportunities among individuals representing government, academia, civil society organizations, architecture, engineering, and construction management sector. GRIHA is an independent, non-profit society jointly set up by the Ministry of New and renewable energy and the energy and resources institute.
7. The Hyderabad-based defence public sector undertaking, Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) has recently signed a contract worth Rs 1,187.82 crores for supply of heavy weight torpedoes - Varunastra - to the Indian Navy. The execution of the contract will be in the next 42 months. The weapon will be manufactured at BDL Visakhapatnam Unit under collaboration with DRDO. The Heavy Weight Torpedo (or the Varunastra) is a ship launched, electrically propelled underwater weapon equipped with one of the most advanced automatic and remote-controlled guidance systems. The weapon system uses its own intelligence in tracing the target. The BDL is the main producer of the country's range of missiles and missile defence systems.
8. Four Indian movies have been selected to be screened at the prestigious 23rd Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFAN-2019). Out of them, three of them happen to be Bollywood movies namely Gully Boy, Andhadhun and Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi while the fourth is a Tamil movie, Super Deluxe starring Vijay Sethupati and Samantha Akkineni. The festival will take place from June 27 to July 7 in South Korea. The South Korean film festival is known for screening some of the best movies in the world.
9. According to UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2019, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India increased by 6% to $42 billion in 2018 with strong inflows in manufacturing, communication, financial services and cross-border merger and acquisition activities making it the sub-region’s largest recipient. As per report, India has been ranked 10th amongst the top recipients of FDI in 2018. The report added that India has historically accounted for 70 to 80% of inflows to the sub-region. Further, the growth in cross-border Merger & Acquisitions for India to 33 billion dollars in 2018 was primarily due to transactions worth 16 billion dollars in retail trade, which includes e-commerce, and telecommunication.
10. The National Geographic Society has announced the successful installation of the world's highest operating weather stations on Mount Everest to provide researchers, climbers, and the public with near real-time information about mountain conditions. The multi-disciplinary team installed the world's two highest operating automated weather stations at Balcony area (8,430 m) and South Col (7,945 m), as well as three other weather stations on Mount Everest. The other stations were placed at Phortse (3,810 m), Everest Base Camp (5,315 m) and Camp II (6,464 m). Each weather station will record data on temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed, and wind direction.
