30 April 2019 - Daily Current Affairs
1. Nirmala Sitharaman attends SCO Defence Ministers' conclave at Bishkek
- Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman attended the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers' conclave (16th) at Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan.
- During the conclave, ways to further boost defence and security cooperation among the member countries in the wake of evolving security challenges in the region were discussed.
- India is keen on deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure, which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.
Note:
- The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
- Along with India, Pakistan was also granted membership of the SCO in 2017.
Source: AIR News
2. South Korea set to hold ASEAN maritime drills
- A two-part maritime exercise by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its partnering countries is slated to start in South Korea's port city of Busan.
- The exercise aims to counter maritime crime, including illicit transactions of weapons and other banned items.
- The drills are scheduled to take place from 29 April to 2 May in South Korea, following which they will be held in Singapore from May 9 to May 13.
- The maritime exercise involves 18 countries of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting plus six other countries are slated to send military personnel.
- Naval forces from India, Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and the United States are scheduled to practice rescuing ships hijacked by armed groups, amongst other maritime security operations.
Source: Business standard
3. Wipro Acquires Philippines’ largest personal care company ‘Splash’
- Wipro Consumer Care has announced to acquire Philippine largest personal care company ‘Splash’, deal value is yet to be disclosed.
- According to Wipro, this is the company’s 11th acquisition in the consumer line business and the 9th acquisition in the personal care segment overall.
- Splash recorded revenues worth USD 80 million in 2018.
Source: Live Mint
4. Microsoft becomes World’s third Company to be Worth USD 1 Trillion
- Microsoft has reached a valuation of one trillion dollars for the first time after posting an increase in profits.
- It makes the software giant only the third publicly-traded company in history to reach the threshold after Apple and Amazon passed it in 2018.
- Microsoft’s current valuation also means that it has again taken over Apple as the world’s most valuable company.
Obituaries
5. Former India footballer Pungam Kannan passes away
- Former India footballer Pungam Kannan (80 years) passed away at a city hospital In Kolkata.
- Kannan born in Vandavasi in Tamil Nadu, Kannan played in Bengaluru, Kolkata and Chennai.
- Kannan (known as the ‘Pele of Asia’) played 14 matches for India & was the former Mohun Bagan & East Bengal forward.
Source: Business Standard
Appointments
6. IRDAI forms a panel to review the microinsurance framework
- The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has set up a 13 members committee under IRDAI Executive Director Suresh Mathur.
- The committee will review the regulatory framework on microinsurance and recommend measures to increase the demand for such products.
- The committee has been formed in the backdrop of a less-than-desired offtake of microinsurance products despite their inherent benefits.
Source: The Hindu
Sports
7. WFI recommends Bajrang, Vinesh for Khel Ratna
- The Wrestling Federation of India recommended Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat for the country's highest sporting honour the Rajeev Gandhi Khel Ratna award.
- Bajrang (World no. 1) stamped his authority at the Asian Championship in Xi'an, China by clinching a gold medal in the men's 65kg freestyle event.
- Last year, the 25-year-old grappler had bagged the yellow metal at the Jakarta Asian Games too.
- Vinesh (24-year-old) won a bronze at the recent Asian Championship but considering that she fought in a new weight category of 53kg, it was seen as a good achievement.
- In 2018, Vinesh became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Asian Games.
- WFI has also recommended names of Rahul Aware, Harpreet Singh, Divya Kakran and Pooja Dhanda for the Arjuna award.
Source: AIR news
8. Liverpool’s Van Dijk wins England’s PFA Player of the Year award
- Liverpool’s centre back 'Van Dijk' (27-years) was named Player of the Year by England’s Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA).
- Van Dijk has helped the title-chasing Merseysiders keep 19 clean sheets in the Premier League and they have conceded the fewest goals in the top flight so far this season.
- Van Dijk is the first defender to win the award since Chelsea centre-back John Terry in 2005.
- Arsenal’s Dutch forward Vivianne Miedema (22-years) claimed the women’s Player of the Year award.
- She helped the London club secure their third Women’s Super League title with her 22nd goal of the season.
- Manchester City’s England forward Sterling won the men’s young player award with the club’s England forward Georgia Stanway taking the equivalent women’s prize.
9. Indian para-athletes clinch medals at Asian Road Para-cycling championships
- Indian para-athletes came up with a brilliant performance to secure a silver and two bronze medals at the Asian Road Para-cycling championships at Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
- Divij Shah clinched silver while Asian Para Games bronze medallist Gurlal Singh and Hand cyclist Sudhakar Marathe claimed bronze.
Source: AIR News
10. Bajrang Punia to become first Indian to compete at Madison Square Garden wrestling event
- Asian champion Bajrang Punia (25-year) will be the first Indian wrestler to fight at New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden.
- Bajrang Punia won the 65kg men’s freestyle gold at the recent Asian championships.
- Punia will be among top wrestlers selected by the American governing body for the May 6 tournament.
- He will take on two-time US national champion Yianni Diakomahlis in the “Grapple at the Garden” Beat the Streets event.
- Punia has eight gold medals from his previous nine international tournaments including last year’s Commonwealth and Asian Games.
Source: AIR News
11. China's Ma Long captures the third world title
- China’s Ma Long (30-year) captured a third ITTF-World table tennis championships completing a dream comeback after six months on the sidelines with a knee injury.
- He defeated Sweden's Mattias Falck 4-1 in the final.
- Ma Long now joins the elite club of male paddlers, who have won the Worlds singles for three consecutive times: Victor Barna and China’s Zhuang Zedong being the others.
- Ma Long won the Worlds crown in 2015 (Suzhou), 2017 (Dusseldorf) and 2019 at Budapest.
Source: The Times of India
12. F1 Racer Valtteri Bottas wins Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2019
- Mercedes’ Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas (29-years) beat Lewis Hamilton by 1.5 seconds to win Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2019.
- With this, Mercedes became the first team to win the opening four races of an F1 season with one-two finishes.
- Bottas is on top of the season’s drivers’ standing with 87 points while Hamilton is second with 86 points.
Note:
- The 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that took place on 28 April 2019 at the Baku City Circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan.
13. New Zealand Open Badminton tournament 2019 begins in Auckland
- The 2019 New Zealand Open Badminton tournament has begun in Auckland (30 April to 5 May 2019).
- Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal will be aiming to win her second title this year.
- She will take on China's Wang Zhiyi in the Women's Singles first round tomorrow.
- Parupalli Kashyap, B Sai Praneeth, HS Prannoy, Subhankar Dey and Laskshya Sen will be seen in action in the Men's section.
Note:
- The 2019 New Zealand Open is a badminton tournament which will take place at Eventfinda Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand
- It has a total purse of USD 150,000.
Source: AIR News
