January 2019 Current Affairs - The Hindu review
January 2019 Current Affairs - Latest Current Affairs
Latest Current Affairs 2019 for competitive exams UPSC, AFCAT, TNPSC, IAS, RRB and Latest Affairs 2019 for banking exams IBPS PO Clerk, SBI, RBI and more. Read daily affairs, this beneficial Affairs 2018 resource yields the facts about the events of International affairs, National, Sports, Business, Banking Current Affairs of 2019 and more which are betterment for the Government & Private Job aspirants.
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| January 2019 Current Affairs - The Hindu review |
January 2019 Current Affairs:
National Current Affairs:
* In commemoration of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, PM Modi dedicated grand and iconic ‘National Salt Satyagraha Memorial’ constructed by the Central Public Works Department at Dandi, Gujarat to the Nation.
* Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi stated that GST on Haj has been reduced from 18% to 5% and this will significantly lower the airfare thus saving Haj pilgrims’ 113 crore rupees this year.
* PM Modi inaugurated the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas Convention at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. For the first time, it is being organized in Varanasi. The theme of PBD Convention 2019 is “Role of Indian Diaspora in building New India”.
* PM Modi inaugurated the National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC) in Mumbai. The development of the Museum was guided by the Museum Advisory Committee headed by Shyam Benegal. An innovation Committee headed by Prasoon Joshi provided an upgrade to the NMIC.
* India will host the 14th session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to address the issue of land degradation and desertification which will have participation from over 100 countries. It is likely to be held in October 2019.
* PM Modi has dedicated the Kollam Bypass on the National Highway-66 to the nation. It reduces travel time between Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram. This is the first National Highway project in the country taken up on a 50:50 Centre-State partnership.
* India got its largest startup ecosystem when Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated a 1.8-lakh-square-feet facility housing incubation set-ups across a string of segments in modern technology. The Integrated Startup Complex under the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) includes the ultra-modern facilities of Maker Village that promote hardware startups, the BioNest that promotes medical technologies, BRINC which is the country's first international accelerator for hardware startups.
* India’s longest 300-meter single lane steel cable suspension bridge inaugurated by Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu. He also laid the foundation stone for a district secretariat building. The bridge across the Siang river at Yingkiong in Upper Siang district named as Byorung Bridge.
* The 124th Constitution Amendment Bill, 2019 to award 10% reservation to economically weaker sections was passed with a majority in Rajya Sabha. It was already passed in Lok Sabha.
* India has taken over operations of the Chabahar port in the Sistan-Balochistan province of Iran, the first time India will operate a port outside its territory.
* India achieved yet another milestone in the power sector with the completion of electrification in 100% households in 25 states at year end. Now, only about 10.48 lakh households are left to be electrified in 4 states - Assam, Rajasthan, Meghalaya and Chhattisgarh.
* Indian Parliament passed the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2018 that seeks to do away with the no-detention policy in schools. The Bill seeks to amend the Right to Education (RTE) Act to abolish the “no-detention” policy in schools.
* Indian Parliament passed the National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill, 2018. It seeks to amend the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) Act, 1993. The bill aims to grant retrospective recognition to Central and State institutions which had conducted teacher education courses without approval by the Council. This will ensure that the future of about 17 thousand students having degrees from such institutions is secured.
* Union Cabinet approved a 10% reservation for ‘economically backward’ upper castes in government jobs. Govt. announced reservation in jobs for those belonging to the upper castes and earning less than Rs 8 lakh per year. A bill to amend Article 15 and 16 of the constitution will be moved in Parliament to this effect.
* PM of Norway Erna Solberg & PM Modi held bilateral talks in New Delhi. MoU were exchanged on India-Norway Ocean Dialogue.
* Uttar Pradesh state cabinet approved construction of a four-lane Ganga Expressway connecting Prayagraj to Western Utter Pradesh which would cost about 36,000 crore rupees. Ganga Expressway will be 600 kilometres long and can be expanded to six-lane in future.
* Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced "Jiban Sampark" project in partnership with UNICEF India to generate awareness about the development and welfare initiatives of state government among the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups of the state.
* Uttarakhand's first tulip garden will come up over 50 hectares of forest land in Pithoragarh district at a cost of Rs 50 crore.
* A 5.1-km long cable-stayed "Atal Setu" on the Mandovi river in Goa, a third such bridge to connect the state capital with North Goa, was opened to the public by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.
* Telangana government decided to form a 'State Tiger Protection Force' to save the Big Cat population in the State. The State Forest Protection Committee headed by Chief Secretary S K Joshi took the decision to form the STPF.
* Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu declared Pakke Paga Hornbill Festival (PPHF) as the “State Festival” at Seijosa in East Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh. Pakke Paga Hornbill Festival (PPHF) is only conservation festival of Arunachal Pradesh.
* Andhra Pradesh Cabinet decided to cater 5% reservation each for Kapu community and the economically backward classes (EBCs) among the forward castes. It also approved the decision of doubling the welfare pensions given under the NTR Bharosa Scheme. Pensions of Rs 1000 and Rs 1500 are doubled to Rs 2000 and Rs 3000 respectively.
* Nashik in Maharashtra will be the site of the country’s second defence innovation hub after Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.
* MP CM Kamal Nath launched his government's Rs 50,000-crore farm debt-waiver scheme named 'Jai Kisan Rin Mukti Yojana'. It is expected to benefit 55 lakh small and marginal farmers. The eligibility cut-off date extended to December 12, 2018, from March 31, 2018.
* Gujarat become the first state to implement the 10% reservation for economically weaker sections of the general category. This comes a day after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the bill.
* PM Modi launched development projects worth Rs 1,100 cr at Solapur in Maharashtra. Referring to the passage of The Constitution (One Hundred And Twenty-Fourth Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha, PM, Modi described it as a landmark moment in the nation’s history.
* The Polavaram project of Andhra Pradesh entered the Guinness Book of World by pouring 32,100 cubic meters of concrete in a matter of 24 hours.
* Union Home Ministry approved the Uttar Pradesh government’s proposal to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj.
* Odisha CM Patnaik announced interest-free loans of up to Rs. 3 lakh for women self-help groups (WSHGs) in the state. The initiative will benefit about 70 lakh women.
International Current Affairs :
* Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte along with UN representative launched Africa Centre for Climate and Sustainable development. The new center is located near the Food and Agriculture Organization headquarters in Rome. The major objective is boosting the agricultural sectors and promoting rural development in Africa.
* In Britain, lawmakers voted in favor of an amendment in BREXIT plan seeking alternative arrangements to replace the Irish border arrangement known as the Irish backstop. The backstop is aimed at keeping an open border between European Union-member Ireland and British-ruled Northern Ireland after Brexit.
* Central banks of the UAE and Saudi Arabia launched a common digital currency called "Aber", which will be used in financial settlements between the two countries through Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers technologies.
* Pakistan government declared sugarcane juice as the “national drink” of the country.
* Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced that he is breaking off diplomatic ties with the United States after his American counterpart Donald Trump recognized Opposition leader Juan Guaido as the South American country's interim President.
* China's economy grew at 6.6% in 2018, its slowest rate in almost 3 decades.
* Nepal’s central bank banned the use of Indian currency notes of Rs. 2,000, Rs. 500 and Rs. 200 denominations, a move that could affect Indian tourists visiting the Himalayan nation where Indian currency is widely used.
* United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) named the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro as the World Capital of Architecture for 2020.
* The Arab Economic and Social Development Summit held in Lebanon’s capital Beirut.
* World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meet begun in Davos, Switzerland. The theme would be ‘Globalization 4.0: Shaping a Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution’.
* Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pledged to protect the interests of all 134 countries in the UN's Group of 77, as Palestine took the chairmanship of the group from Egypt for 2019.
* Parliament of Macedonia passed the resolution to amend the constitution of the country to rename it as the Republic of Northern Macedonia. The name change will help resolve a decades-long dispute with neighboring Greece opening the way for Skopje to join NATO and the European Union.
* Qatar withdrawn its membership from Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Qatar has been in OPEC for 57 years.
* United States & Israel officially quit the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with the close of 2018.
* Finance minister of France Bruno Le Maire announced that France will introduce its own tax on large internet and technology companies from January 1. The so-called “GAFA tax” -- named after Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon -- to ensure the global giants pay a fair share of taxes.
* U.S. President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act (ARIA). The act establishes a multifaceted U.S. strategy to increase U.S. security, economic interests, and values in the Indo-Pacific region.
* Seven-time champions Egypt won the hosting rights for the 2019 edition of the African Cup of Nations.
Defence Current Affairs:
* The all-women Assam Rifles contingent created history this year by participating for the first time in a Republic Day (26th January) parade. Contingents of the Navy, India Army Service Corps and a unit of Corps of Signals were all led by women officers. Capt Shikha Surabhi from the Corps of Signals became the first woman to perform bike stunts. Lt. Bhavana Kasturi, a lady officer, for the first time led the transportable satellite terminal’s contingent.
* As a new initiative in sync with the Digital India campaign of the Government, Ministry of Defence had launched a mobile app 'RDP India 2019' on the Republic Day, with the intent of making available the highlights of the Republic Day event.
* DRDO successfully test fired Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LR-SAM) from naval warship INS Chennai. The test was conducted off the coast of Odisha. The LR-SAM hit a low flying aerial target during the test.
* The final planning conference to work out the modalities for Indian Africa Field Training Exercise (IAFTX)-2019 was conducted at Pune, Maharashtra. It is being conducted with more than a dozen African countries & India.
* Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba commissioned the new Naval Air Base ‘INS Kohassa’ at Diglipur in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
* Ten years after "26/11", the Indian Navy commenced the largest coastal defence exercise off the Indian coast. Exercise SEA VIGIL, a first of its kind, is being undertaken along the entire 7516.6 km coastline and Exclusive Economic Zone of India and is involving all the 13 coastal States and Union Territories along with all maritime stakeholders.
* Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the 426 meters long Diffo Bridge over Chipu River in Lower Dibang Valley District of Arunachal Pradesh. Border Roads Organization (BRO) has constructed the bridge along Indo-China border.
* The second edition of the India-Myanmar bilateral army exercise, IMBEX 2018-19, commenced at Chandimandir Military Station, that houses the headquarters of the Western Command, Chandigarh.
* An MoU was signed between the Indian Army and Punjab National Bank on the Defence Salary Package. Salient features of the improved and updated MoU are free ‘RAKSHAK PLUS’ Scheme for serving pers and veterans, overdraft facility range from Rs 0.75 to 3.0 lakhs, multicity ‘At Par’ cheques, instant credit of outstation cheques, preferential allotment of lockers at concessional AMC and free SMS alerts.
Science & Technology Current Affairs:
* Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) announced entering into agreements worth $93 million for providing Naval Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) systems to India. The contracts entered with the Indian Navy and the Cochin Shipyard. IAI will provide complementary systems for the air defense system.
* Scientists developed an artificial pancreas smartphone app that will help in regulating blood sugar levels in diabetes patients. A clinical trial showed that the artificial pancreas system (iAPS) app is safe.
* ISRO successfully launched the PSLV C 44 carrying Kalam sat and imaging satellite Microsat R. It was launched from the Sathish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. Kalamsat is a ten cm cube weighing one-kilogram communication satellite with a life span of two months.
* Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H) announced the launch of a full-fledged bachelor's programme in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology from the new academic session, a first for the country and only the third globally.
* Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launched Tokyo-based startup Star-ALE's mini-satellite aimed to deliver the world's first artificial meteor shower.
* Department of Science and Technology (DST) along with Doordarshan (DD), Prasar Bharati launched two science communication initiatives, DD Science and India Science. The initiatives were inaugurated by Union Science & Technology Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan.
* ISRO Chairman Dr. K Sivan announced that the organization is well prepared to meet the targets of launching Gaganyaan manned mission to outer space by December 2021. Under Gaganyaan project, India is planning to send three astronauts to outer space for seven days and bring them back. 332 launches are planned this year.
* ISRO Chairman Dr. K Sivan stated that the Union Government allocated 10,900 crore rupees for the development of 40 satellite launch vehicles in the next 4 years.
Miscellaneous Current Affairs:
* Civil Aviation ministry launched the country’s first Geographical Indication (GI) store at Dabolim International Airport in Goa. The GI stores will promote local products made by the artisans and handicrafts at the airport.
* India’s fastest indigenous train which will run from Delhi to Varanasi has been named as Vande Bharat Express. Its previous name was Train 18.
* Oxford Dictionaries announced ‘Nari Shakti’ as the Hindi Word of the Year.
* ‘Saksham’, an annual high intensity one-month long people-centric mega campaign of Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) was launched by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
* Mountaineer Satyarup Siddhanta conquered Antartica's highest point, Mount Sidley. With this feat, he became the first Indian and youngest man to climb the 7 highest peaks and volcanic summits across all continents.
* As per Ministry of Civil Aviation, islands in Andaman will soon be connected by seaplanes that can land on or take-off from the water. To facilitate the same, the government has approved flight operations on 13 water aerodrome routes under the Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme.
* University Grants Commission (UGC) approved a list of journals, in that the UGC has decided to establish a Consortium for Academic and Research Ethics (CARE). The good quality Research Journals in disciplines under Social Sciences, Humanities, Languages, Arts, Culture, Indian Knowledge Systems etc., will be maintained by CARE and referred to as ‘CARE Reference List of Quality Journals’. UGC has constituted a Committee under the Chairmanship of Prof. P. Balram, to review its quality mandate relating to promotion of Research and to review the existing M.Phil/ Ph.D Regulations.
* Veer Savarkar International Airport in Port Blair declared as an authorized Immigration Check post for entry into/exit from India with valid travel documents for all classes of passengers.
* Arunima Sinha, the first female amputee to have conquered Mt Everest, created yet another record as she became world's first woman amputee to climb Mount Vinson, the highest peak in Antarctica.
* Ministry of Culture announced that Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) declared 6 monuments as ‘protected and of national importance’ under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, in 2018. These sites are: 125-year-old Old High Court Building in Nagpur, Maharashtra, The Group of Temples in Ranipur Jharail in Bolangir district of Odisha, 2 Mughal era monuments in Agra- Haveli of Agha Khan and Hathi Khana,
* The Neemrana Baori in Alwar district of Rajasthan, The Vishnu Temple in Kotali, Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand.
* National Green Tribunal imposed a fine of 100 crore rupees on Meghalaya government for its failure to curb illegal coal mining in the state.
* Vijay Mallya became the first tycoon to be charged under a new anti-fraud law, with a court in Mumbai naming him as an offender under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018.
* The Citizenship Amendment bill seeking to provide Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan passed by Lok Sabha. The Bill provides for Indian citizenship to such immigrants after six years of residence in India instead of 12 years currently. The Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act of 1955 in order to grant citizenship to Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan if they have lived in India for six years.
* To ensure easier availability of FASTags, Indian Highways Management Company Ltd. (IHMCL), a company promoted by NHAI, has signed MoUs with state-run Oil Marketing Companies (IOCL, BPC, and HPC). It will ensure availability of FASTags at petroleum outlets across India.
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