Current Affairs June 19, 2019
In this post, GKToday presents Current Affairs of June 19, 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. Peter Gilchrist from Singapore has won the 2019 Pacific International Billiards Championship at the Yarraville Club. In the final, he defeated India’s Sourav Kothari.
2. The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (WDCDD) is observed every year on 17th of June to promote public awareness of international efforts to combat desertification. The day is a unique moment to remind everyone that land degradation neutrality is achievable through problem-solving, strong community involvement and co-operation at all levels. The 2019 theme is “Let’s Grow the Future Together”.
3. Suman Rao from Rajasthan has won the Femina Miss India World 2019 beauty pageant during a star-studded ceremony at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadium in Mumbai. While Shivani Jadhav from Chhattisgarh clinched Femina Miss Grand India 2019 title and Shreya Shanker from Bihar won Miss India United Continents 2019 title during the grand finale of the beauty pageant. Now, Suman will represent India at Miss World 2019 in Thailand. The show was hosted by Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar and actor-anchor Maniesh Paul along with Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar.
4. In Pune, Social activist Makarand Tilloo has won the ‘Save Water Hero Award’ by the HridayMitra Foundation for his efforts to raise awareness about water conservation in the city. Tilloo is a Laughter Yoga trainer and motivational speaker by profession. He started a campaign to save water by replacing leaking taps with new ones. The HridayMitra Foundation is an organisation which aims to spread awareness about diseases as well as the surgeries required to remedy them. It also runs a free helpline, offering people financial guidance and other such services.
5. Zuzana Caputova, a liberal environmental activist and a political newcomer, has been sworn-in as the first female President of Slovakia in Bratislava on 15th June 2019. She is also the youngest president in the history of Slovakia, at the of age 45. She first became known by prevailing in a decade-long struggle against the situating of a toxic landfill in her hometown of Pezinok. For this, Caputova was awarded the 2016 Goldman Environmental Prize. Caputova succeeded Slovak President Andrej Kiska.
6. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has recently announced that India's second mission to the moon - Chandrayaan-2 - will be launched on July 15 at 2.15 AM from Sriharikota. This particular mission is an advancement of Chandrayaan-1, which was launched a decade ago. Chandrayaan-2 will scale the lunar surface and gather intel on minerals, rock formations and water. For the first time in the history of ISRO, the Project Director and the Mission Director will be women. Muthayya Vanitha will be the Project Director for the orbiter, the lander and the rover, and Ritu Karidhal will be the Mission Director in charge of the GSLV-Mk III launch vehicle. In fact, 30% of the team in charge of the mission is composed of women. The cost of the entire Chandrayaan-2 mission is about Rs.1,000 crore.
7. Danish economist and environmentalist, Inger Andersen has recently taken charge as the new Executive Director (ED) of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for a four-year term. She succeeded Erik Solheim of Norway. Prior to her appointment at UNEP, Andersen was Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Vice President for Sustainable Development at the World Bank and Head of the CGIAR Fund Council. She has also served as the World Bank vice-president for the Middle East and North Africa and worked at the UN for 15 years on water and environment issues.
8. HCL Technologies will soon roll out “TechBee” programme to hire and train students for IT jobs. The purpose of the HCL’s early career programme is to provide students an opportunity to start early & become financially independent and trendsetters. Under the initiative, the company will conduct an entrance test for those completed Plus 2 or Intermediate course and gives them a year’s training to make them employable. Students who have completed Intermediate in 2018 or 2019 with more than 60% marks are eligible for the programme. However, the students will have to a pay fee of Rs. 2 lakhs to join the programme. The firm would facilitate a bank loan, which can be repaid in EMIs after they are absorbed into the company. While working at HCL, students can enrol in higher education programmes offered by reputed universities such as BITS Pilani and SASTRA University. The students after completion of required training will be recruited with salary range of Rs two lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh depending on what work stream they are taken into.
9. The Feni Bridge, which is also known as Maitree Setu, is developing as a corridor for trade and commerce between India's North-East and Bangladesh over river Feni and will connect Tripura with Chittagong port of Bangladesh. It will provide direct road connectivity between South Tripura and Chittagong allowing India to use Chittagong as a “port of call" and promoting trade, tourism and people-to-people ties. The bridge will facilitate carrying of heavy machines and goods to and from the northeastern states and the rest of India via Bangladesh through Chattogram. The bridge is being constructed by the National Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd of Ministry of Road and Transport highways, govt. of India at a cost of over Rs 82 crores. The project is scheduled to be completed by April 2020.
10. Dr. Virendra Kumar, the 7-time Lok Sabha MP from Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh, has been sworn-in as the pro-tem speaker of Lok Sabha. President Ram Nath Kovind administered oath to Dr Kumar at Rashtrapati Bhavan. As pro-tem speaker, Kumar will preside over the first sitting of the Lok Sabha and administer the oath to the newly elected MPs. He will also oversee the election of the 17th Lok Sabha speaker. The first session of the newly constituted Lok Sabha will be held from June 17 to July 26.
