06 April 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. Shah Rukh Khan felicitated with an Honorary Doctorate by London’s University of Law

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has received an honorary doctorate in Philanthropy by The University of Law, London.
The actor received the merit during a graduation ceremony for more than 350 students.
Over the years, he has established himself as a successful actor, film producer, television host, philanthropist and an entrepreneur.
He has lent support to the Indian government's campaigns, including Pulse Polio and National Aids Control Organization.
He has worked closely with several charitable foundations, including the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Source: The Hindustan Times

2. Dr Gyanaditya Shakya honoured with Presidential Award

Vice-President M Vainkaiya Naidu gave the ‘Presidential Award of Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman’ to Dr. Gyanaditya Shakya in New Delhi.
He has conferred the award for his outstanding contribution in the field of Pali language and literature.
Currently, Dr Shakya is working as an Assistant Professor in Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida.
Dr Shakya was honoured with Rs 1,00,000 Award and a certificate.

Source: The Hindustan Times

Important Dates

3. Traditional new year festivities being held inthe several parts of the country today

Traditional new year festivities (Chaitra Sukladi, Ugadi, Gudi Padava, Cheti Chand, Navreh and Sajibu Cheiraoba) are being celebrated in several parts of the country today.
In Telangana, people are celebrating Ugaadi across two Telugu states, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to mark the beginning of the Hindu Lunar calendar.
In Maharashtra, Gudi Padwa signifies the welcoming of spring.
The day marks the beginning of Chaitra Navratri, that lead up to Ram Navami.

Source: AIR news

4. 6th April: United Nations’ (UN) International Day of Sport for Development and Peace

The United Nations’ (UN) International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) is observed across the world on 6th April every year to recognize the power of sport in promoting peace and erasing cultural barriers worldwide.
The day has been celebrated each year since 2014.
The date commemorates the inauguration of the first Olympic games of the modern era, in Athens (Greece) in 1896.

Source: UN Org

Appointments

5. Senior US Treasury official David Malpass selected as President of World Bank

Senior US Treasury official David Malpass (63-year) has been selected as President (13^th) of the World Bank for a five-year term.
He replaced Jim Yong Kim.
Malpass has served on the boards of the Council of the Americas, Economic Club of New York, and the National Committee on US-China Relations.

Note:

The President of the World Bank Group is responsible for chairing the meeting of the Boards of Directors and for overall management of the World Bank Group.

Source: The Hindustan Times

6. CS Rajan appointed MD of IL&FS

CS Rajan has been appointed as the Managing Director (MD) while Vineet Nayyar named as Executive Vice-Chairman of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS).
Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS) is an Indian infrastructure development and finance company.
It operates through more than 250 subsidiaries including IL & FS Investment managers, IL & FS financial services and IL & FS Transportation networks India Limited (ITNL).
IL&FS’s projects include some of the largest infrastructure projects in India including India's longest tunnel, Chennai-Nashri Tunnel, which was opened for traffic in April 2017.

Source: The Hindu

International Affairs

7. Sri Lanka to hold largest ever military exercise “Exercise — Western Shield” in July

The Army of Sri Lanka will conduct “Exercise – Western Shield” starting from 1^st July 2019 with the participation of over 5,000 soldiers.
‘Exercise-Western Shield’ is the biggest ever infantry training module.
The exercise will provide an opportunity for army trainees to march through those areas that are inaccessible to others, except forest conservation authorities.
Exercise Western Shield will extend from Mannar to Puttalam, including Kalpitiya, Wilpattu National Park, Mavillu and Thabbowa Forest Reserves and the Western coastal belt.

Source: AIR news

8. South Korea declares national disaster after massive blaze engulfs 5 cities

The South Korean government declared a state of national disaster over the massive blaze that engulfed five cities and counties along the northeastern coast.
Thousands of residents were ordered to evacuate overnight.
The fire likely started on Thursday night from a transformer spark near a resort in the town of Goseong and spread to the nearby mountains. including the Inje county and the cities of Sokcho, Donghae and Gangneung in Gangwon province.

Source: Business-Standard

Banking and Finance

9. NPCI reduces UPI usage charges to Rs 0.10 from Rs 0.25

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has reduced the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) usage fees for small transactions less than Rs 1,000 to 10 paise from 25 paise.
For transactions above Rs 1,000, the charge has been retained at 50 paise.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India.
The NPCI (Founded in 2008) is a not-for-profit organisation registered under section 8 of the Companies Act 2013.

Source: AIR news

National Affairs

10. 3rd Goa Anti-Tobacco Film Festival on 31^st May

The Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) in association with the Goa Department of Public Health-Dentistry, and the Goa Dental College and Hospital is set to hold the 3rd Goa Anti-Tobacco Film Festival on 31^st May.
The festival will select ad films to spread the message of the harmful effects of tobacco use and decrease the occurrence of oral cancer and heart disease and to promote film art through non-profit screening of these films.
This festival, whose ultimate objective is to make Goa smoke-free, will have two separate categories — one for Goa and another for national films.
For the national films section, Hindi or English language films produced by an Indian production house, individuals, students and educational or social institutions from across the country will be considered.
The ad films for both categories should be no longer than two minutes.

Source: The Hindu

11. Bureau of Indian Standards inks an MoU with IIT Delhi

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Delhi to collaborate in the field of standardisation and conformity assessment.
The MoU was signed by IIT Delhi Director Professor V Ramgopal Rao and Director General of BIS Surina Rajan.
BIS and IIT Delhi have also agreed to set up a Centre of Excellence in the field of standardization, testing and conformity assessment.

Source: The Hindustan Times

12. Indian flights will have WiFi soon

Airlines flying through the Indian airspace will be able to offer their passengers Wi-Fi connectivity in the air.
India has got a new “in-flight and maritime connectivity” (IFMC) license.
State-owned telecom service provider Bharatiya Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has received a licence from the Department of Telecommunications to provide Internet and mobile services on flights.
BSNL and its satellite partner, Inmarsat (British telecommunications satellite company) will be able to offer in-flight connectivity to airlines.

Note:

According to the rules, passengers can make phone calls or use the Internet when a flight is at a minimum height of 3,000m in Indian airspace to avoid interference with terrestrial mobile networks.

Sports

13. Indian football team rises two places to 101 in FIFA rankings

The Indian football team gained two places to rise to 101 in the new FIFA rankings.
With 1219 total ranking points, the Indian team lies 18th among the Asian countries.
Iran continued to top the Asian rankings at 21, followed by Japan (26), South Korea (37), Australia (41) and Qatar (55).
Overall, Belgium remained on top with 1737 points, ahead of France (1734), Brazil (1676), England (1647) and Croatia (1621).

Source: AIR news