Current Affairs - 2019-20

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Miroslav Lajcak, the Slovak foreign minister, has been elected as the new President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at UN Headquarters in New York for the upcoming 72nd session. He will succeed Peter Thomson on September 12, 2017. The UNGA is the powerful body of 193 Member States that provides a forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the UN Charter. It meets in regular session intensively from September to December each year, and thereafter as required. The 72nd session of the UNGA will commence from September 12, 2017.

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India is a USD 2 trillion economy with around 1.3 billion people.

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Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has launched the Blue Flag programme to certify clean beaches in India. The blue flag criteria have been set by Foundation for Environmental Education. It requires the beach should not be affected by industrial, waste-water, or sewage discharge and water must be clean. It also specifies that algae vegetation or natural debris should not be left on the beach, waste disposal bins must be available along the beach in adequate numbers and toilets along the beach should have controlled sewage disposal for beaches to be granted Blue Flag certification.

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Maldives left the Commonwealth in October 2016, claiming that it was "unfairly and unjustly" treated by the global body.

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SAUNI stands for Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran Irrigation. It is an ambitious project of Gujarat State Government. The project envisages providing water in sufficient quantity and of a suitable quality to the arid and semi-arid regions of Saurashtra region. It will lead to fragmentation of water from Sardar Sarovar Dam to 115 major dams of Saurashtra region. Recently, the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, laid the foundation stone of ‘Saurashtra Narmada Avataran Irrigation Yojana’ (SAUNI) Phase-II.

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The Australia’s Men’s Hockey teams is one of the most successful teams. They lifted the 2018 title. They are nicknamed as the Kookaburras. Who is the coach of Australian Men’s Hockey team?

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A total of 134 nations took part in the IAAF World Indoor Championships 2018 which were held at Birmingham, United Kingdom. 554 athletes took part in the event.

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The 2018 Asian Games were officially opened by the Indonesian President Joko Widodo. The opening ceremony was held on 18August 2018.

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Ireland was the runners-up in the 2018 Women’s Hockey World Cup held at London. The final was won by Netherlands for a record 8th time in a match that scored 6-0. It was Ireland’s first World Cup medal.

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Margarita Mamun from Russia had won a Gold medal in the Women’s event in Rhythmic gymnastics in the 2016 Rio Olympics.