Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2019

Notes:
The first-ever Global Aviation Summit (GAS-2019) with the theme “Flying for all” is scheduled to be held in Mumbai from January 15-16, 2019. Organised by the Ministry of Civil Aviation along with FICCI, the GAS-2019 will discuss how to ride this strong tailwind of growth and pave the way forward for the aviation sector. It will provide a platform to the aviation fraternity to showcase the challenges in newly developing growth spots and understand how technology-driver innovations will change air travel in future.The summit is supported by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Federal Aviation Administration of US (FAA), International Air Transport Association (IATA), CiviI Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), Airports Council International (ACl) and Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).

Notes:
Kumar Rajesh Chandra, A 1985 batch IPS officer, has been appointed the new Director-General of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and will hold the post till 31st December 2021 i.e. date of his retirement on superannuation or until further orders. He succeeded S.S. Deswal. Prior to this post, Chandra was DG at Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). The SSB is one of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India and is currently under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Its headquarters is located at New Delhi and its motto is’Service, Security and Brotherhood’.

Notes:
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has recently released the First advance estimates of National Income for the current fiscal FY 19, under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. In it, Indian economy is expected to grow at 7.2% in FY19, against 6.7% in FY18, due to improvement in the performance of agriculture and manufacturing sectors. However, the CSO estimate is a bit lower than 7.4% growth projected by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the current fiscal. According to the estimates, farm sector is set to grow at 3.8% against 3.4% last year, at constant or inflation-adjusted prices. At current prices, the sector expected to grow at an identical 3.8%, which could be emblematic of an agri-commodity price crash across wholesale mandis.

Notes:
The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations will be hosted by Egypt between 15th June and 13th July, after original host nation Cameroon was stripped of due to delays in preparations and concerns over security. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Ahmad Ahmad has recently made the announcement in Senegalese capital Dakar. With this, the North African nation will host the competition for the fifth time and it will be the first time 24 teams will take part. It will use 8 stadiums during the tournament, hosting in five different cities: Alexandria, Ismailia, Port Said, Suez and the capital Cairo.

Notes:
Ace Indian pugilist Mary Kom from Manipur has been ranked No.1 in the Light Fly (45-48kg) category by the International Boxing Association (AIBA), after scoring 1700 points. Earlier, Kom won the historic sixth gold medal at the 2018 Women’s World Boxing Championship by defeating Hanna Okhota of Ukraine in the 48kg category in New Delhi. She also won gold medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the Silesian Open Boxing Tournament in Poland.

Notes:
The book titled ‘We are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World’ has been authored by Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and Pakistani activist. In it, the author is charting her experiences travelling the world and visiting refugee camps. Here, Malala not only explores her own story of adjusting to a new life while longing for home, but she also shares the personal stories of some of the incredible girls she has met on her various journeys – girls who have lost their community, relatives and often the only world they’ve ever known.

Notes:
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has recently released its latest report titled ‘Future of Consumption in Fast-Growth Consumer Market – India’. The report stated that India is set to become the world’s third largest consumer market behind only USA and China by 2030. As per the report, consumer spending in India is expected to grow from $1.5 trillion at present to $6 trillion by 2030. With the annual GDP growth rate of 7.5%, India is currently the world’s sixth largest economy. The report noted that growth of the middle class will lift nearly 25 million households out of poverty. As per the report, growth in income will transform India from a “bottom of the pyramid economy” to a middle class-led one. The report produced in collaboration with Bain & Company builds on consumer surveys conducted across 5,100 households in 30 cities and towns in India, and draws from more than 40 interviews with private and public-sector leaders.

Notes:
Industrialist and Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej for ‘Translating Excellence in Corporate Governance into Reality’. The awards were instituted by The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), which is celebrating its golden jubilee. The 18th ICSI National Awards for Excellence in Corporate Governance were bagged jointly by Cipla Ltd and Dabur India Ltd and five others: ACC Ltd, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Indian Oil Corp, Tata Metaliks Ltd and Indian Hotels Co Ltd. The 3rd CSR Excellence Awards went to GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd, Tata Power Co Ltd and Ambuja Cements Ltd in Emerging, Medium and Large categories respectively.

Notes:
Nicolas Maduro has been sworn-in for a second term as Venezuela’s president on 10th January 2019, despite international criticism that his re-election was illegitimate. The result was denounced as fraudulent by many neighbouring countries, including Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Canada and the United States, as well as organizations such as the European Union, and the Organization of American States. This resulted in widespread condemnation, the National Assembly invoking a State of emergency, and nations removing their embassies from Venezuela. With their belief that his election was illegitimate, they claimed that by retaking power, Maduro was converting Venezuela into an illegal de facto dictatorship. At present, Venezuela is enduring a historic crisis following two decades of socialist rule, with residents struggling to afford basic goods as inflation soars, driving mass migration.

Notes:
On the occasion of National Youth Day (NYD- 2019), Union minister Col Rajyavardhan Rathore (Retd) launched the National Youth Parliament Festival 2019. It is organised on the theme of “Be The Voice of New India” and “Find solutions and contribute to policy”. Youth in the age bracket of 18-25 years are invited to participate in the District Youth Parliaments. This is done in order to hear the voice of youth in this age bracket who are allowed to vote but cannot contest in elections. The fest will be conducted at three levels: District, State and National. The best three speakers at the National Youth Parliament will be awarded Rs. 2 Lakhs, Rs. 1.50 Lakhs and Rs. 1 Lakh respectively by the Prime Minister. The festival will also encourage the youth to engage with public issues, understand the common man’s point of view, form their opinion and express these in an articulate manner. Relevant and effective voices on Vision of New India in 2022 would be captured and documented to make these available to policy makers and implementers to take it forward.