Current Affairs June 21, 2019
In this post, GKToday presents Current Affairs of June 21, 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. NDA nominee Om Birla from Kota has been unanimously elected as the Speaker of 17th Lok Sabha. All major political parties including Congress, DMK, TMC, BJD, YSR Congress, JD(U) and Shiv Sena supported the motion moved by Prime Minister and Leader of the House, Narendra Modi to choose Mr. Birla as the Speaker. Later, Pro-tem speaker Dr. Virendra Kumar declared Mr. Birla as the Speaker. Prime minister along with other leaders of different political parties escorted Om Birla to the Speaker’s chair. An agriculturalist and social worker, Om Birla started his political journey as a student leader. Later, he elected as MLA for three consecutive terms for Rajasthan Assembly in 2003, 2008 and 2013. He won his first Lok Sabha election in 2014 and was again elected from Rajasthan's Kota Lok Sabha seat in 2019.
2. For the first time in Bangladesh, iron ore mine has been discovered at Isabpur village in Dinajpur. According to the Geological Survey of Bangladesh, a 400-foot thick iron layer was found 1,750 feet beneath the surface stretched over an area of 6-10 square kilometre. The percentage of iron in the mine was 65 which indicate the high quality of the ore. In most other countries like Canada, China, Brazil Sweden and Australia the percentage is below 50. Other minerals such as gold, there were copper, nickel and chromium were also found at various levels of the mining. The discovery of the iron mine has opened up economic prospects for the country. The discovery of high-quality iron ore mine in Dinajpur district of Bangladesh is a significant achievement. Since the iron concentration in the magnetite ore is 65%, mining would be economically feasible.
3. Twenty-three Indian Institutions have been ranked among the best global universities in the latest 2020 QS World University ranking. In it, IIT Bombay has become India's best institute & secured 152nd rank globally. IIT Delhi and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore have also been figured in the top 200. Other Indian universities included in the top 500 list are IIT-Madras (271), IIT-Kharagpur (281), IIT- Kanpur (291), IIT-Roorkee (383), University of Delhi (474)and IIT-Guwahati (491). World-class MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) has made a history by topping the QS World University Rankings for the 8th consecutive year. According to QS, no other university has managed such a long run at the top. Stanford University, Harvard University and California Institute of Technology (Caltech) -- all retain their positions at second, third and fourth in the world, respectively.
4. Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is co-hosting 12th international Capacity Building workshop in New Delhi to deepen knowledge on issues related to piracy and armed robbery on June 19-20, 2019. The 2-day workshop is being organized in cooperation with the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP). The ReCAAP is the first regional Government-to-Government agreement to deal with piracy and armed robbery at sea in Asia. Presently, 20 countries are members of the ReCAAP. A total of 31 International delegates from 19 countries are participating in the workshop. In addition, officials from national stakeholders like major ports, state maritime boards, state marine police, Directorate General of Shipping and Indian National Ship-Owners Association are also participating in this workshop.
5. The Maharashtra government has decided to launch the Chief Minister's Employment Generation Programme for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which will create 10 lakh jobs in the next five years. The flagship programme of the Industries Department will have 30% reservation for women entrepreneurs. The scheme will be implemented on the lines of the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) with online applications and other procedures. This scheme is for promoting entrepreneurship and address unemployment issues. It will cover manufacturing, service and agro-based activities, including those in retail. The nodal bank for the programme will be Corporation Bank and beneficiaries will be financed by nationalised and private Sector banks like Yes Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. To supplement this programme, 50 new industrial parks will be developed at taluka level by the government.
6. The researchers from Hiroshima University in Japan have developed a new type of cooling vest for sports athletes that may help them compete safely in sweltering summer conditions. The cooling vest is filled with ice packs and features a collar that can also cool the neck. The aim is to cool the athletes' upper-body skin which can decrease heart rate and temperature of their neck and skin. The research is not just applicable to athletes but to people that exercise in hot conditions. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be held in the hot and muggy Japanese summer where the ambient temperature is expected to be above 33 degrees Celsius. Athletes have to worry about performing under pressure of the high-stakes competition and deal with a very hot and humid climate. To help combat this, the researchers collaborated with a Japanese sportswear company Mizuno to test a new type of cooling vest.
7. The Maharashtra government has decided to launch a pilot project providing smoke-free environment in the kitchen for women. The project, named "Chullah (wood-fired stove)-free and smoke-free Maharashtra", will target the women who have not benefited under the Ujjwala or any other LPG distribution scheme. The pilot project will be implemented in Naxal- affected areas as well as the districts where farmer suicide rate is high.
8. According to the Randstad Employer Brand Research (REBR) 2019, E-commerce giant Amazon India is the most attractive employer brand in India followed by Microsoft India and Sony India. Others in the top 10 most-attractive employer brands in India for 2019 include Mercedes-Benz at 4th position, IBM (5th), Larsen & Toubro (6th), Nestle (7th), Infosys (8th), Samsung (9th) and Dell (10th). As per report, Amazon has scored high on financial health, utilisation of latest technologies and a strong reputation. The survey further noted that a vast majority (55%) of Indians prefer to work for a large multi-national corporation, while a negligible 9% preferred start-ups. The preference for Multi-National Companies (MNCs) can be strongly attributed to job security, financial health and career progression opportunities, which these organisations offer to their employees. The survey also noted that the Indian workforce prefers to work for companies operating in sectors like IT, ITeS and telecom (67%), retail, FMCG and e-commerce (67%), followed by automotive (66%) and BFSI (65%).
9. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up an 8-member expert committee on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to suggest long-term solutions for the economic and financial sustainability of the MSMEs. This committee is set up under the leadership of former SEBI Chairman UK Sinha to review the current framework for the MSME Sector. The committee will examine the factors affecting the timely and adequate availability of finance to the MSME sector. It will review the existing MSME focused policies and their impact and will propose measures for leveraging technology in accelerating the growth of the sector apart from recommending the global best practices.
10. The World Sustainable Gastronomy Day (WSGS) is observed every year on 18th of June to focus the world’s attention on the role that sustainable gastronomy can play. It also reaffirms that all cultures and civilizations are contributors and crucial enablers of sustainable development.
