Current Affairs Daily Digest – April 24 2019
1. Bajrang Punia wins Gold in Asian Wrestling C’ship
India clinched one gold, one silver and bronze at the Asian Wrestling Championship in China’s Xian . World number one Bajrang Punia logged 10 points in a row in the gold medal bout to reclaim his Asian Championship crown. He defeated Kazakhstan’s Sayatbek Okassov 12-7 in a nail-biting 65kg men’s freestyle final.
It is Bajrang’s second gold at this championship, having won one in 2017.
2. RBI announces another Rs 25,000 crore OMO in May as liquidity dries up
The Reserve Bank of India announced a Rs 25,000-crore liquidity injection through purchase of government securities in May. The purchase, called as open market operations (OMOs), will be undertaken in two equal tranches with the first one on May 2, the central bank said in a statement.
The RBI said the OMOs are being carried out “based on a review of the evolving liquidity conditions and assessment of the durable liquidity needs going forward”.
3. 41-Year-Old Man From Pune Becomes First Indian to Contest and Win Elections in Japan
A Pune-born man has become the first ethnic Indian to contest and win an election in Japan. Puranik Yogendra, who goes by the nickname “Yogi”, has been elected to Tokyo’s Edogawa Ward assembly.
Puranik Yogendra, a naturalized Japanese, secured 6,477 votes, the fifth highest of the 226,561 valid ballots cast, in the April 21 poll, part of unified local elections held across Japan.
4. SBI General Insurance launches product to protect businesses from cyber atatcks
SBI General Insurance has launched a product to protect businesses from financial and reputational losses due to cyber attacks. In the initial phase, the focus will be on SMEs and mid-market businesses, but later the product can cater to larger business conglomerates as well, the insurer said in a statement.
This offers protection against the growing threat of cyber breaches and is designed to protect against major insurable cyber exposures like hacking attacks, identity theft, disclosure of sensitive information and business interruption.
5. Indonesia releases Ramayana stamp
Indonesia released a special commemorative stamp on the theme of Ramayana to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties with India. The stamp, designed by renowned Indonesian sculptor Padmashri Bapak Nyoman Nuart, features a scene from Hindu epic Ramayana in which Jatayu valiantly fought to save Sita.
“As agreed during Prime Minister’s visit in May 2018, the Department of Posts of the Government of Indonesia released a special commemorative stamp on the theme of Ramayana to mark the event,” a statement of Indian Embassy in Jakarta said.
6. Shri Rajendra Kumar Nayak Took Over as CGDA
Shri Rajendra Kumar Nayak took over as the 52nd Controller General of Defence Accounts . He is from the Indian Defence Accounts Service of 1983 batch.
During the career span of more than 35 years, Shri Nayak has held important assignments in the Defence Accounts Department and on deputation in the Government of India. He has vast and varied experience in handling Finance, Personnel, Pay & Budget matters of Ministry of Defence.
7. HDFC gets RBI approval for holding up to 9.9% stake in Bandhan Bank
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given its in-principle approval to Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Ltd for acquiring 9.9 per cent stake in Bandhan Bank following the Gruh Finance deal. Gruh Finance, the affordable housing finance arm of HDFC Ltd, was taken over by Bandhan Bank in a share-swap deal in January.
After the deal was announced, HDFC made an application to the RBI for holding shares in Bandhan Bank. the central bank gave its approval to HDFC to acquire the shareholding of up to 9.9 per cent of the paid-up capital of Bandhan Bank upon the effective date of the scheme of amalgamation.
8. India ranks 80 in Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2019
India remains the laggard in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) region and was ranked 80 even as Singapore retained its leading position in the Asia-Pacific region for the sixth consecutive year in the Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2019.
This year’s report with the theme of ‘Entrepreneurial Talent and Global Competitiveness’ attempts to identify the ways in which companies, countries, and cities can foster entrepreneurial talent which makes up a critical component of competitiveness and innovation, and will become even more so in a fast-paced world of digitisation and globalisation.
In the 2019 GTCI, six Asia-Pacific countries rank in the top 30: Singapore takes the lead in the region (2nd globally), followed by New Zealand (11th), Australia (12th), Japan (22nd), Malaysia (27th) and South Korea (30th).
9. Veteran Lady Mountaineer of the country Rama Sengupta Paul passed away
Veteran lady mountaineer of the country Rama Sengupta Paul, who led the first successful all-women expedition to Kedarnath Dome in Garhwal Himalaya, died following a cardiac arrest.
A tryst with rock climbing training courses in Sushunia Hill, organized by Pathikrit and thereafter Himalayan Association in 1971 and 1972 led Rama into a world of mountaineering.
After completing basic mountaineering course from HMI Darjeeling and then advance courses from both HMI and NIM Uttar Kashi during the early 1970s, Rama led the all women expedition to Mt. Kedarnath Dome in Garhwal Himalaya which was organized by city-based Himalayan Association to commemorate the convey International Year of Women in 1975.
10. National Panchayati Raj Day : 24 April
National Panchayati Raj Day is the national day of Panchayati Raj System in India celebrated by Ministry of Panchayati Raj on 24 April annually. Then Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh declared the first National Panchayati Raj Day on 24th April 2010.
11. Deposits in Jan Dhan bank accounts set to cross Rs 1 lakh crore
The total deposits in bank accounts opened under the Jan Dhan scheme are set to cross Rs 1 lakh crore soon. Government data claimed that the cumulative balance in 35.29 crore accounts under the flagship programme of the Modi government reached Rs 97,665.66 crore as on April 3.
The total deposits in Jan Dhan accounts stood at Rs 96,107.35 crore on March 27 and Rs 95,382.14 crore in the week before, government data showed. Rupay debit cards have been issued to a total of 27.89 crore Jan Dhan account holders, as per government records.
The Modi government launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) on August 28, 2014, with universal banking access in focus. More than half of the Jan Dhan account holders are women, while nearly 59 per cent accounts are from rural and semi-urban areas.
12. Assocham Secretary General U K Varma resigns
Uday Kumar Varma, a former bureaucrat who took over as the Secretary General of Assocham in August last year, has resigned from the post.
According to sources, Verma resigned from the industry chamber last week and Assocham Deputy Secretary General Saurabh Sanyal is discharging the duties of secretary general at present.
13. Rana Dasgupta bags 2019 Tagore Literary Prize
The second edition of Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize was awarded to author Rana Dasgupta for his 2010 novel “Solo”, a tale of estrangement and the ultimate failure of material existence.
An amount of $10,000, a Tagore statue and a certificate for contribution to literature was given to Dasgupta, as per the organisers of the award ceremony .
The Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize for social achievement was awarded to Yohei Sasakawa, the World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination, for “his incredible efforts to uproot leprosy and great contribution to world peace”.
14. G. Ravinder Reddy’s first sculptural solo in Kolkata
The first-ever solo exhibition of sculptures by India’s eminent artist G. Ravinder Reddy will open in a Kolkata art gallery in June.
Titled ‘RASA’, the exhibition curated by art critic-curator Anupa Mehta, will open at Emami Art, a contemporary art gallery at the Kolkata Centre for Creativity (KCC) .
The exhibition is going to showcase a range of works by Reddy spanning from 1989 to 2019. It will include his latest creations along with his important works from the earlier period to highlight shifts in his oeuvre as a known sculptor, whose works are in the collection of global museums.
15. Sathiyan lone Indian survivor at ITTF World C’ship
G. Sathiyan was the lone Indian survivor at the ITTF World Championships as he edged past Christian Pletea of Romania 11-5, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7, 11-6 in a Tuesday night R64 match. The world No. 28 will meet Hugo Calderano of Brazil, ranked 7, in round of 32 later .
Sathiyan, who beat Belgian Robin Devos in the first round 4-0, had little difficulty against Pletea and defeated him in 35 minutes. Sathiyan, leading 2-0, lost the third game as the Romanian won six consecutive points to cause a minor ripple.
16. India to skip B&R forum, China’s biggest diplomatic event (Curtain Raiser)
A total of 37 countries minus India will gather at China’s second edition of the Belt and Road forum, a three-day grand event on the world’s largest connectivity project.
The Belt and Road Initiative — a trillion-dollar project floated by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 — aims to connect Asia, Africa and Europe through a network of highways, rail lines, ports and sea-lanes.
Under the project, China has poured billions of dollars in over 60 partner countries where it’s building vast infrastructure that range from seaports to railway lines.
17. Jamshedpur FC sign Keegan on one-year deal
Jamshedpur FC have completed the signing of Indian defender Keegan Pereira on a one-year deal.
Keegan, primarily a left back, started his football journey with Mumbai FC in the I-League and is remembered for his famous winning goal against Salgaocar in Cooperage stadium.
He then went on to play for Salgaocar, DSK Shivajians and Bengaluru FC with whom he went on to win the I-League twice in the 2013-14 and 2015-16 seasons and the Federation Cup twice in the 2014-15 and 2016-17 seasons. He started his stint in the Indian Super League (ISL) with Mumbai City FC (2015) and won the coveted trophy with Atletico de Kolkata (ATK) in 2016.
18. Nobel Prize announcements for 2019 to take place in October
Nobel Prize announcements for 2019 will take place in the month of October. The Nobel Prize is issued in the fields of Physiology or Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, Literature, and Peace every year.
The winner of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel will also be announced.
There are 301 candidates for the award in these fields, of which 223 are individuals and 78 are organizations. The Nobel Peace Prize awardee will be named on October 11.
19. World’s first malaria vaccine launched in Africa
The world’s first malaria vaccine has been launched in Malawi after concerted efforts of over 30 years to protect children from the deadly disease that claims over 435,000 lives globally every year. The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomed the Government of Malawi’s landmark pilot programme.
The launch of the first and only malaria vaccine, known as RTS,S, makes Malawi the first of three countries in Africa where it will be made available to children up to 2 years of age.
Ghana and Kenya will introduce the vaccine in the coming weeks, WHO said in a statement.
20. Russia Successfully Tests World’s First Floating Nuclear Power Plant
Russia has successfully tested the world’s first floating nuclear power plant (NPP), Akademik Lomonosov, a subsidiary of Rosatom nuclear corporation stated. Reactors of the floating atomic block were launched in November 2018.
