22 June 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

22 June 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. Japan will host the G20 summit for the first time in 2019

• Japan is going to host this year G20 Summit in the city of Osaka. It will be the first-ever G20 summit to be hosted in Japan.
• The G20 Osaka Summit will be held from June 28 to 29, 2019 in Japan.
• The summit under the Japanese presidency is centred around the theme "Human centred future society".
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the G20 summit in Osaka. Apart from participating at the summit, PM will also have bilateral meetings.
• Saudi Arabia will host the annual G20 leaders' summit on November 21-22, 2020, in its capital, Riyadh.
• In 2018, the G20 summit was held in Buenos Aries, Argentina.

About G20

• The G20 is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 19 countries and the European Union.
• The G20 Summit is formally known as the “Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy”.
• In November 2008, the inaugural G20 Summit was held in Washington, D.C.
• The members of G20 are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States of America.
• Collectively, the G20 economies account for nearly 90% of the gross world product, 80% of world trade, two-thirds of the world population, and approximately half of the world land area.

Sports

2. Pankaj Advani clinches men's Asian Snooker Championship

• Pankaj Advani has clinched the 35th men's Asian Snooker Championship in Doha to complete a career grand slam in cue sports.
• He defeated Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon 6-3 in the final to become the only one to win the Asian and World championships in all formats.
• He conquered the ACBS Asian Snooker events - 6-red (short format) and 15-red (long format) - along with the IBSF World Championships in both formats too.

Source: News on air

 State Affairs

3. Telangana CM Chandrashekar Rao inaugurates Kaleshwaram project

• Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao dedicated one of the largest multi-stage and multi-purpose lift irrigation schemes, the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project.
• The Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) worth Rs 80,000 crore, touted as the world's largest multi-stage multi-purpose scheme.
• The Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project envisages irrigation over 37 lakh acres of new and existing ayacut in 21 districts of the State.

Source: The Hindu

4. A water clinic for elephants opens on the banks of the Yamuna

• India has opened its first specialised hydrotherapy treatment for elephants suffering from arthritis, joint pain and foot ailments in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.
• The new hydrotherapy jumbo pool is 11-foot-deep and has 21 high-pressure jet sprays that create water pressure that massage the elephants’ feet and body and help in increasing blood circulation.
• The clinic runs in collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department and the NGO Wildlife SOS.

Note:

• In November 2018, India has opened its first hospital exclusively for elephants in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.
• The hospital, which is in Mathura, was formally inaugurated by Agra Divisional Commissioner Anil Kumar.
• The Uttar Pradesh Forest Department and the NGO Wildlife SOS together helped to build and organise the hospital.

Source: The Hindu

Appointment

5. Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan sworn-in as Chief Justice of Telangana High Court

• Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan was sworn-in as Chief Justice of Telangana High Court in Hyderabad this morning.
• Governor ESL Narasimhan administered the oath of office to Justice Chauhan at Raj Bhavan.
• Justice Chauhan is the second Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court after the bifurcation of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh High Court last year.

Source: News on air

Business & Economy

6. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chairs 35th GST council meeting in Delhi

• The 35th Goods and Service Tax (GST) council meeting was held in New Delhi.
• Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the meeting for the first time after assuming the office.

Key points

• The Council extended the tenure of the anti-profiteering authority by two years till November 2021.
• The Council has decided to use Aadhaar as the identity and address proof required for registration for GST. No other documents will be required, and authentication can be done using a one-time password.
• The Council decided to extend the deadline for the filing of the annual return forms GSTR 9, 9A and 9C to August 30, 2019. The earlier deadline was June 30, 2019.
• The council also approved the rollout of the single-return filing system for all by January 1, 2020.
• The council also approved imposing a penalty of up to 10 per cent of the profiteered amount on entities for not passing on benefits of GST rate cuts to consumers, as against the current norm of levying a maximum fine of Rs 25,000.
• The Council also approved the rollout of an electronic invoicing system on a pilot basis from January 1, 2020, made it mandatory for GST-registered multiplexes to issue e-tickets.
• According to the proposal, entities with a turnover of more than Rs 50 crore will be required to generate electronic invoices on a government portal for B2B sales.
• The proposal to reduce GST rate on electric vehicles to 5 per cent from the current 12 per cent and that on chargers for e-vehicles to 12 per cent from 18 per cent has been referred to the fitment committee for fine-tuning.
• Explaining the rationale behind seeking AG opinion on taxing lotteries, Sitharaman said the principle of taxation under GST is that it should be one rate across the country, whereas in case of lotteries there were two rates being charged.
• Currently, a state-organised lottery attracts 12 per cent GST while a state-authorised lottery attracts 28 per cent tax.

Source: The Economic Times

Defence News

7. ‘Operation Bandar' was IAF's code name for Balakot airstrike

• According to the senior defence sources, in order to maintain secrecy and ensure that the plans don't leak out, the Balakot operations were given the codename Operation Bandar,".
• On February 26, 12 Mirages having taken off from multiple air bases crossed over into the Pakistani air space and carried out missile attacks on Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp in Balakot town of Khyber Pakhtunwa province.
• The attacks carried out by the Indian Air Force, pilots had dropped five Spice 2000 bombs.

Source: The Economic Times

8. Indian Navy launches Operation Sankalp in the Gulf of Oman

• Indian Navy launched Operation Sankalp in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman to reassure Indian flagged vessels transiting through the area following the recent maritime incidents in the region.
• INS Chennai and INS Sunayna have been deployed in the region to undertake maritime security operations. In addition, aerial surveillance in the area is also being done by IN aircraft.
• The operation has been launched in the wake of escalating tension in the Gulf of Oman, where two oil tankers were attacked last week. The incident has since heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington.

Source: Business Standard

 9. NASA's First Astrobee Robot Bumble Starts Flying in Space

• NASA's First Astrobee Robot Bumble Starts Flying in Space.
• NASA has revealed it's first cube-shaped 'Astrobee' robot, called Bumble, flew under its own power in space for the first time on June 14.
• Astrobee is a free-flying robot system designed to help astronauts reduce time spent on routine duties.
• The system comprises two more robots 'Honey' and 'Queen', software and a docking station used for recharging.
• Astrobee robots can move in any direction and turn on any axis in space.

Source: NASA