Current Affairs Today 19th August 2019-Download in PDF

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Current Affairs Today – 19th August 2019

IMPORTANT DAYS AND THEMES

19th August: World Humanitarian Day

  • World Humanitarian Day (WHO) is observed every year on 19 August.
  • AIM: to pay tribute to aid workers who risk their lives in humanitarian crises around the world.
  • THEME: #WomenHumanitarians On World
  • The UN and partners are launching the #WomenHumanitarians global campaign to pay special tribute to and raise support for the work women do to save lives and alleviate human suffering.

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United Nations: It is an International Organization. Its Objective of UN is to not only maintain International Peace and Security but also to develop Friendly relations among nations.

  • Founded – 24th October, 1945
  • Headquarter- New York,United States
  • Secretary General- Antonio Guterres (9th SG OF UN)
  • He is from PORTUGAL
  • Portugal (Capital/Currency) – Lisbon/ Euro
  • United States (Capital/Currency) – Washington, D.C/ US Dollar

19th August: World Photography Day

  • World Photography Day is observed on 19th August worldwide celebration of the art, craft, science, and history of photography.
  • World Photography Day signifies about the photography event in the world.
  • World Photo Day originates from the invention of the Daguerreotype, a photographic process developed by Frenchmen Louis Daguerre and Joseph Nicephore Niepce in 1837.

NATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS

Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurates Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences

  • On the first death anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Union Health Minister of India Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the medical college named after the late Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi on August 16.
  • Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medic al Sciences (ABVIMS) started with 100 MBBS seats this year.

Three new products gets GI Tag

  • The Ministry of Commerce & Industry’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has registered 3 more new Geographical Indication (GI) tags.
  • The material includes Tawlhlohpuan and Mizo Puanchei from the state of Mizoram and Tirur Betel leaf from Kerala has been added.

President inaugurates Presidential Guest House named Jal Kiran at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai

  • President Ram Nath Kovind today inaugurated the Presidential Guest House named Jal Kiran at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai.
  • The Guest House will serve as the accommodation for the President and the Prime Minister during their visits to Mumbai.
  • The President also unveiled a plaque in front of the refurbished and restored British-era twin cannons at Raj Bhavan.

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Maharashtra: Capital City(Mumbai) CM(Devendra Fadnavis) Governor(C. Vidyasagar Rao)

President inaugurates bunker museum at Maharashtra Raj Bhavan

  • President Ram Nath Kovind today inaugurated an underground Bunker Museum at Raj Bhavan Mumbai.
  • On the occasion, the president also laid the foundation stone of reconstruction of Governor’s Office-cum-Residence.
  • The thematic underground bunker museum spread over an area of 15,000 sq.ft. will be opened for the general public through prior online booking later during the year.
  • The Bunker Museum has Virtual Reality Booths in which visitors can time-travel to the 19th century when the bunker was constructed to fire cannons at approaching enemy ships.

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  • Maharashtra: Capital City(Mumbai) CM(Devendra Fadnavis) Governor(C. Vidyasagar Rao)

STATE CURRENT AFFAIRS

Manipur Govt launches School Fagadaba scheme

  • Chief Minister (CM) of Manipur, N Biren Singh launched “School Fagadaba” (Make education better) scheme.
  • The main aim of the scheme is to improve the infrastructure, quality education and overall improvement of government schools.
  • The regular attendance of teachers, biometric devices would be installed in every Government school in the state.
  • The teachers posted in these schools stay at the place of their posting for at least 3 years.

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Manipur: Capital City(Imphal) CM(Nongthombam Biren Singh) Governor(Padmanabha Acharya)

Lucknows iconic Hazratganj Chauraha renamed as Atal Chowk

  • Lucknow’s famous Hazratganj Chauraha renamed as “Atal Chowk”
  • It is named in the memory of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
  • The first death anniversary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Hazratganj Chowk renamed after him as “Atal Chowk” from August 16.
  • He was a five-time Member of Parliament (MP) from Lucknow. A memorial named “Atal Smriti Upvan” be built on his name.
  • Chhattisgarh government announced to rename Naya Raipur as Atal Nagar.
  • Jharkhand government renamed several places and colleges after Vajpayee’s name.

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Uttar Pradesh: Capital City(Lucknow) CM(Yogi Adityanath) Governor(Anandiben Patel)

Assam gets its first ever CNG fuel station in Dibrugarh

  • Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will inaugurate the first ever CNG fuel station of the state in Dibrugarh.
  • The inauguration of this clean and green fuel station will reduce environmental pollution.

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Assam: Capital City(Dispur) CM(Sarbananda Sonowal) Governor(Jagdish Mukhi)

President RamNath Kovind to attend golden jubilee celebration of MGIMS in Maharashtra

  • President Ram Nath Kovind will attend today the golden jubilee celebration of Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Science at Sevagram in Wardha District of Maharashtra.
  • Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Science (MGIMS) is known worldwide for its quality healthcare and community based medical education.
  • Dr Sushila Nauar founded MGIMS in 1969 as a Gandhi centenary project.

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Maharashtra: Capital City(Mumbai) CM(Devendra Fadnavis) Governor(C. Vidyasagar Rao)

Five new fish species discovered in Arunachal Pradesh

  • In Arunachal Pradesh, researchers of the Rajiv Gandhi University have discovered five new fish species in various districts of the state.
  • The scientific names of the newly-discovered fish species are Mystus prabini, found in Sinkin and Dibang rivers in Lower Dibang Valley district and Exostoma kottelati, found in Ranga river in Lower Subansiri district.

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Arunachal Pradesh: Capital City(Itanagar) CM(Pema Khandu) Governor(B. D. Mishra)

INTERNATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS

Bangladesh Cricket Board name Domingo as new national coach

  • The Bangladesh Cricket Board appointed former South African Coach Russel Domingo as the Head Coach for the national cricket team.
  • This was announced in Dhaka today by BCB President Nazmul Hasan.
  • Russel Domingo has served as the Head Coach for South Africa’s T20 side in 2012.
  • He later replaced Gary Kirsten as South Africa Coach in the Tests and ODIs in 2013.
  • Russel will serve as Bangladesh Coach for two years.
  • He succeeds Steve Rhodes.

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Bangladesh (Capital/Currency): Dhaka/Taka

  • Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina
  • President: Abdul Hamid

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to arrive in Dhaka today

  • External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be arriving in Dhaka tonight on a three-day visit to Bangladesh.
  • He will be holding a meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart Dr A K Abdul Momen tomorrow. He is also scheduled to call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday.
  • India and Bangladesh enjoy excellent bilateral relations with a number of important projects in the field of railways, power and infrastructure sector being run in Bangladesh with Indian assistance and co-operation.

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Bangladesh (Capital/Currency): Dhaka/Taka

  • Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina
  • President: Abdul Hamid

SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES

MoHUA to Organize One Day National Workshop Cum Exhibition on Sustainable Sanitation

  • The workshop is being organized as part of the year-long celebration of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary.
  • The main focus of the workshop involved on discuss social and legal issues as well as technological and managerial interventions with regard to human entry into sewers and septic tank.
  • The shop will showcase best practices on Operation and Maintenance (O&M) of sewerage system.

Union HRD Minister inaugurates International Conference on Teacher Education

  • Union Minister of Human Resource Development Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ inaugurated the International Conference titled “Journey of Teacher Education: Local to Global”
  • The event took place in New Delhi.
  • The two-day event is being organized by the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE).
  • It is a part of the silver jubilee celebration of its establishment in 1995.
  • The Ministry of Human Resources Development launched the world’s biggest project for teacher training named NISHTHA (National Initiative on School Teachers Head Holistic Advancement). Around 42 lakh teachers trained.

5th Meeting of India-Nepal Joint Commission to be held in Kathmandu

  • The 5th Meeting of India-Nepal Joint Commission will be held in Kathmandu on 21- 22 August. Minister for External Affairs of Dr S. Jaishankar and Nepal’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali will co-chair the meeting and lead their respective delegations.
  • The Joint Commission Meeting will review the overall state of bilateral relations and various areas of cooperation such as connectivity and economic partnership, trade and transit, power and water resources, culture, education and other matters of mutual interest.
  • India-Nepal Joint Commission was established in June 1987.
  • Its meetings are held alternately in Nepal and India.
  • The last meeting of the Commission was held in New Delhi on October 2016

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Nepal (Capital/Currency):Kathmandu/ Nepalese rupee

  • Prime Minister: KP Sharma Oli
  • President: Bidhya Devi Bhandari

AGREEMENTS AND MOU SIGNED

PM signs 10 MoUs during his second visit to Bhutan

  • During his second visit to Bhutan PM Narendra Modi, he held talks with his Bhutanese counterpart Lotay Tshering to further expand the bilateral partnership across several sectors.
  • The leaders of the two countries signed 10 MoUs in fields like new energy, education, space research, aviation, IT, power and education.
  • The talks also aimed to further improve economic and cultural ties between the two countries.
  • Both the countries are planning for the collaboration of Royal Bhutan University and IITs and other top educational institutions of India for education and technology
  • PM Modi also announced that an additional $100 million will be available to Bhutan under the SAARC currency swap framework.

Power plant inauguration:

  • PM Modi also inaugurated the Mangdechhu hydroelectric power plant which was built on the Mangdechhu River in Trongsa Dzongkhag district of central Bhutan. The cost of the 720MW plant was Rs.4,500 crore. The project represents the relationship between India and Bhutan.
  • PM Modi also launched stamps to commemorate five decades of India-Bhutan hydropower cooperation.

RuPay Card launch:

  • PM Modi launched the RuPay Card in Bhutan to enhance the countries relationship in digital payments, and trade and tourism. He launched it by making a purchase at Simtokha Dzong.

Launch of e-plaque:

  • The leaders unveiled an e-plaque on the interconnection between India’s National Knowledge Network and Bhutan’s Druk Research and Education Network. It marked India as the major partner in the development of Bhutan as India actively cooperates in Bhutan’s five-year plans.
  • Ground Earth Station and SATCOM network launch:
  • Modi and Lotay Tshering jointly inaugurated the SATCOM network and the Ground Earth Station. With this Bhutan can now utilize the South Asia Satellite. It was developed with ISRO’s assistance as India has committed to facilitate Bhutan’s development through the use of space technology.

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Bhutan(Capital/Currency): Thimphu/ Bhutanese ngultrum, Indian rupee

  • Prime Minister: Lotay Tshering

Australian delegation Meets Thaawar chand Gehlot to take forward implementation of MoU signed in disability sector

  • An Australian delegation met Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Thawarchand Gehlot in New Delhi to take forward the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Australia in the areas in the disability sector.
  • The MoU was signed in November last year which focuses on disability policy and delivery of services, community outreach, education and training.
  • The delegation comprising Prof. Craig Jeffrey, Director and CEO of Australia India Institute and others discussed the issues relating to co-curriculum design of a community based inclusive development course and joint leadership development programme.

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Australia (Capital/Currency): Canberra/ Australian dollar

  • Prime Minister: Scott Morrison

SPORTS CURRENT AFFAIRS

India won historic gold at 2019 Junior Track World Cycling Championship

  • Indian men’s cyclist team won a gold medal at the World Junior Track Cycling Championships in Frankfurt, Germany.
  • The team is comprised of Esow Alben, Ronaldo Singh, James Singh, and Rohit Singh.
  • It is India’s 1st-ever gold in a global cycling competition.
  • Indian cyclist team defeated Australia.

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Germany (Capital/Currency): Berlin/Euro

  • President: Frank-Walter Steinmeier

India to host World Youth Chess Championship

  • For the first time ever, India is to host the World Youth Chess Championship 2019.
  • The All India Chess Federation (AICF) won the bid to conduct the World Youth and Junior Chess championships 2019 in the country.
  • The championship will be held from 1 October to 13 October 2019 in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
  • The World Chess Federation (FIDE-Fédération Internationale des) conducts 15 World-Level Tournaments in a year.
  • The Youth Tournament will be held in three age categories in both the open and girls group.

The Tournament will be played in the:

  • U-14 age groups for Boys & Girls
  • U-16 age groups for Boys & Girls
  • U-18 age groups for Boys & Girls
  • The participants include around 700 young Chess masters from over 100 Chess playing countries. Six World Champions will be crowned at this Tournament.

Bombay Gymkhana Youth Snooker 2019 Open title won by Kreishh Gurbaxani

  • Mumbai Kreishh Gurbaxani is currently at the no. 2 spots in the India junior snooker rankings.
  • He won the 2019 Bombay Gymkhana Youth Snooker Open title.
  • He defeated Odisha’s Asutosh Padhy for 5-4 in the 4-hour final contest.
  • He was awarded the champion’s trophy and a cheque of Rs 30,000.
  • The runner up trophy and a cheque of Rs 20,000 were given to Asutosh Padhy.

India clinched gold at Under- 12 Asian Tennis Team Championship 2019 in Kazakhstan

  • India won gold at the Under 12 Asian Tennis Team championship.
  • The event held in Kazakhstan. India defeated Chinese Taipei in the score 2-1 in the summit clash to win the title.
  • The final was a tie of three matches. Indian Team won both the singles matches.

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Kazakhstan (Capital/Currency): Nur-Sultan/Tenge

  • President: Kassym-Jomart Tokayev

Hima Das, Mohammad Anas win gold at Athleticky Mitink Reiter event

  • Top Indian sprinters Hima Das and Mohammad Anas have won a gold each in 300m races at the Athleticky Mitink Reiter event in Czech Republic.
  • While Hima won the gold in women’s event yesterday, Mohammad Anas claimed the yellow metal in men’s category today.
  • This was Hima’s sixth gold in 2019 in European races since last month.
  • Mohammad Anas won the gold clocking 32.41 seconds.

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Czech Republic (Capital/Currency): Prague/Czech koruna

  • President: Miloš Zeman

DEFENCE CURRENT AFFAIRS

Fifth Army International Scout Masters Competition Concludes at Jaisalmer Military Station with Indian Army Emerging as Champions

  • Indian Army team comprehensively won the 5th Army International Scout Masters Competition. It is held at Jaisalmer Military Station from 06 to 14 August 2019 in a fiercely fought competition with teams from Armenia, Belarus, China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Sudan and Uzbekistan.
  • The Indian Army team selected and trained under the aegis of Southern Command.
  • The Closing Ceremony of the Fifth Army International Scout Masters Competition 2019 held in Jaisalmer .
  • Honorable Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh was the Chief Guest.

A 12 member committee to review DPP and DPM

  • The Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh approved the setting up of a Committee under the Chairmanship of Director General (Acquisition).
  • The committee is aimed to review the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016 and Defence Procurement Manual (DPM) 2009.
  • The Committee will study and submit its recommendations in 6 months.
  • The Director General (Acquisition) is the Chairman of the committee. There will be 11 other members in the committee.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • The committee will simplify various policies and procedures to facilitate greater participation of Indian Industry.
  • It will develop robust Defence Industrial base.
  • The Committee will ensure the seamless flow from asset acquisition to life cycle support by revising and aligning the former procedures.
  • It will examine and incorporate new concepts, such as life cycle costing, life cycle support, performance based logistics, ICT, lease contracting, codification & standardization
  • The committee is empowered to include provisions to promote Indian start-ups and research & development
  • It will lend its support to the ‘Make in India’ initiative

SCHEME

Pradhan Mantri Laghu Vyapari Maan Dhan scheme launched

  • The NDA-led government in its second term is to launch Pradhan Mantri Laghu Vyapari Maan-Dhan scheme on 19 August.
  • The pension scheme for small traders functions under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. The proposal for the scheme was approved by the cabinet on May 31, 2019.
  • The scheme was notified by the Ministry on July 22.

Pradhan Mantri Laghu Vyapari Maan-Dhan scheme:

  • The Pradhan Mantri Laghu Vyapari Maan-Dhan scheme aims to target enrolling 25 lakh subscribers in 2019-2020 and 2 crore by 2023-2024.
  • The pension scheme was modelled for unorganized sector workers. In the Union Budget 2019-20, the Centre has reserved Rs.750 crore for the scheme.
  • Under the scheme, traders aged between 18 and 40 who have an annual turnover of less than Rs.1.5 crore are eligible.
  • The subscribers should contribute a monthly amount that will be matched by the government. The amount will vary depending on the age at which they enter the scheme.
  • Upon turning 60, the subscribers will get Rs.3,000 as monthly pension

AWARDS

President awards certificate of honour and Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman for 2019

  • The President is pleased to award the Certificate of Honour to the scholars of Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, Pali, Prakrit, Classical Kannada, Classical Telugu, Classical Malayalam, and Classical Odiya for the year 2019.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

ICMR finalised Indias first NEDL

  • Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) finalised India’s first National Essential Diagnostics List (NEDL).
  • India has now become the first country to compile such a list.
  • The move comes after the challenges faced by ICMR which decided that diagnostics serve a key role in improving health and quality of life.
  • NEDL aims to bridge the current regulatory system’s gap.
  • The current system does not cover all the medical devices and in-vitro diagnostic device (IVD).

President kovind pays tributes to former President of India, Dr Shanker Dayal Sharma on his birth anniversary

  • President Ram Nath Kovind paid floral tributes to former President of India, Dr Shanker Dayal Sharma on his birth anniversary at Rashtrapati Bhavan today.

OBITURIES

Former Bihar CM Jagannath Mishra passes away

  • Veteran Congress leader and three-time Bihar Chief Minister Dr Jagannath Mishra passed away at an age of 82.
  • Dr Mishra became Chief Minister in 1975, 1980 and 1989. He was also Union Minister.
  • The former CM will be cremated with state honours.
  • The state government has declared a three-day state mourning in Bihar.

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