21-22 July 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

21-22 July 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

21-22 July 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. India's Moon Mission ‘Chandrayaan-2’ launched from Sriharikota

  • Today, India's landmark mission to the moon ‘Chandrayaan-2’ has been launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.
  • Chandrayaan-2 onboard the heavy-lift rocket Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle GSLV-MkIII-M1 (nicknamed Baahubali).
  • In just 16 minutes into the sky, it ed the high-stake lunar probe into the designated highly elliptical orbit.
  • It will be the first soft-landing of a probe by India, that is expected to be on 7th September.
  • India’s second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 is an advanced version of the previous ‘Chandrayaan-1’ mission, which was launched about 10 years ago.
  • The total cost of the mission is worked out to be 978 crore rupees.
  • Chandrayaan-2 carried 13 scientific satellites (weighs about 3.8 tonnes), explore the southern part of the Moon.
  • Originally Chandrayaan-2 was planned to be launched on the 15th of this month.
  • However, a technical snag was detected less than an hour before its scheduled lift-off, forcing the mission to be halted.
  • The flight duration of Chandrayaan-2 from the earth to the moon has been reduced (due to the delay in the launch) from 54 days to 48 days by tweaking the flight path.
Know about ‘Chandrayaan-2’:
  • ‘Chandrayaan-2’ would make India the 4th country to soft-land on the Moon, a feat achieved only by the space agencies of the US, USSR, and China.
  • It will have three modules — Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) & Rover (Pragyan).
National Appointment

2. Sanjeev Kumar Singla appointed as India’s Ambassador to Israel

  • Senior diplomat Sanjeev Kumar Singla has been appointed as the Indian Ambassador to Israel.
  • He will succeed Pavan Kapoor, who assumed charge as the Ambassador to Israel in 2016.
  • Earlier he was serving as Private Secretary (PS) to Prime Minister of India.
  • Upender Singh Rawat (IFS officer) has been appointed as India’s next Ambassador to Panama.
  • He succeeds Ravi Thapar.

3. Rajya Sabha MP D Raja appointed as CPI General Secy

  • Rajya Sabha MP (from Tamil Nadu) D Raja (70-years) has been appointed as the General Secretary of CPI (Communist Party of India).
  • Raja was unanimously chosen as S Sudhakar Reddy’s successor at a three-day meeting of the CPI National Council, the top decision-making body of the party, earlier this week.
Note:
  • The Communist Party of India (CPI) (formed - 26th December 1925) is the oldest communist party in India.
  • The Communist Party of India (Marxist) separated from the CPI in 1964 following an ideological rift between China and the Soviet Union, continues to claim having been founded in 1925.

4. Vivek Kohli elected chairman of Commonwealth TT Federation

  • India’s Vivek Kohli and M.P. Singh have been elected as chairman and secretary-general respectively of the Commonwealth Table Tennis Federation (CTTF).
  • Vivek Kohli defeated incumbent Alan Ransome (England) by securing 16 votes more than him.
  • MP Singh (secretary-general at Table Tennis Federation of India) was unanimously elected as secretary-general of CTTF.
  • The CTTF president’s post is already held by Dushyant Chautala (TTFI chief).
  • It is for the first time that all three positions in CTTF are held by Indians.
Source: Business Standard
National Affairs

5. Rajnath Singh Inaugurates two bridges Ujh and Basantar in J&K

  • Under the Project ‘Sampark’, The Union Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh has inaugurated the two strategically important bridges in Kathua and Samba districts of Jammu & Kashmir for smooth mobility of security forces in the border areas.
  • The Ujh Bridge (1000- meter) was inaugurated in Kathua district and Basantar Bridge (617.40-meter) in samba district.
  • on January 1, 1965, Project Sampark was launched to develop and maintain the operational road infrastructure of Armed Forces in Border Areas of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
Source: Times of India

6. 20 thousand wellness centres to be completed this year under Ayushman Bharat

  • According to Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, 20 thousand wellness centres will be completed by the end of the current year under Ayushman Bharat programme.
  • Addressing scientists and officials of CSIR laboratories Dr Harsh Vardhan termed the Ayushman Bharat programme as a successful model in implementing universal health.
  • Mr Vardhan asked to work in a proactive and out of box manner to reduce sufferings of people, especially those with rare and genetic diseases.
  • He asked the scientists to work in a focused manner so that the results of the research reach people.
  • The Union government has set a target of eradicating Tuberculosis from the country by 2025.

7. A new e-challan system, e-payment gateway launched for use of Delhi Traffic Police

  • Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik has launched the new e-challan system and the e-payment gateway for the use of Delhi Traffic Police.
  • The E-challan devices are enabled with active GPS where the challan officer and the violator, both can be logged and tracked to a particular geo-location.
  • This is an important tool for evidence to establish the credibility of the prosecution.
  • The payment gateway will help the citizens with the flexibility to log in securely at their convenience and settle the pending violation notices with proof of payment.
  • It also ensures that the citizen interface with police improves and becomes more transparent.
  • Ee-challaning system will integrate all these systems into one holistic professionally managed prosecution and traffic management system that will give a critical fillip to the efforts of achieving safe driving conditions in Delhi.
Source: AIR News
Obituaries

8. LJP MP Ram Chandra Paswan passes away

  • Lok Janshakti Party MP Ram Chandra Paswan (56-years) passed away at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi
  • He was the younger brother of Union minister and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan.
  • In May 2019, he was elected to the Lower House of Parliament from Samastipur in Bihar for the fourth time on LJP ticket.
Source: The Hindu

9. Former BJP Delhi President Mange Ram Garg passes away

  • Former BJP Delhi President, MLA and senior Sangh Associate Mange Ram Garg (83-years) passed away at Sri Balaji Action Hospital, North Delhi.
  • He played a pivotal role in strengthening BJP in Delhi.
  • Garg represented the Wazirpur Assembly constituency in the national capital between 2003 and 2008.
Source: The Hindustan Times
Finance

10. India's forex reserves fall by USD 1.113 bn to USD 428.797 bn

  • India's foreign exchange reserves declined by USD 1.113 billion to USD 428.797 billion in the week to July 12 - the first fall after four consecutive weeks of gains - due to a fall in foreign currency assets.
  • According to the latest weekly RBI data, foreign currency assets, which are a major component of the overall reserves, slipped by USD 1.11 billion to USD 399.697 billion.
  • The central bank said that despite an ongoing massive rally in gold prices, the country's gold reserves remained unchanged at USD 24.304 billion.
  • It stated that the Special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund fell by USD 1.2 million to USD 1.450 billion.
  • The country's reserve position with the fund also declined by USD 1.5 million to USD 3.345 billion.
Source: AIR News
Sports

11. Indian bodybuilder Ravinder Malik clinches Mr South Asia title

  • Indian bodybuilder Ravinder Kumar Malik has clinched Mr. South Asia title.
  • He has crowned the overall champion at 12th South Asian Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championship in Kathmandu, Nepal.
  • Malik, the winner of 80 kg category, was adjudged best bodybuilder among the winners of nine senior men's weight categories.
  • Afghanistan (15 medals including six gold, four silver and five bronze) won team championship by securing a top position with 535 points.
  • Host Nepal (three gold, seven silver and six bronze) finished second with 445 points, while India (four gold, five silver and one bronze medal) remained third with 380 points.
Note:
  • A total of 91 bodybuilders participated in the championship organised by South Asian Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Federation under the auspices of Nepal Bodybuilding and Fitness Association.
Source: DD News

12. Indian Men & Women's teams win Commonwealth Table Tennis title

  • Indian men team defended their crown beating England while the women blanked Singapore for their maiden title at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships in Cuttack.
  • India women's team clinched their maiden Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships title, beating England 3-0 in the final.
  • The men's team survived a stiff challenge from England in the final.
  • The Indian women team won the gold for the first time in the history in the commonwealth games.
Source: India Today

13. India's Asian Games silver in mixed relay event to be upgraded to gold

  • India is in line to get the Asian Games gold in 4x400 mixed relay as Kemi Adekoya of Bahrain, who was part of the gold winning team, has been handed a four-year ban for failing a dope test.
  • The silver won by India's mixed relay team of Mohammad Anas, Hima Das, Arokia Rajiv and M R Poovamma at the Asian Games in Jakarta last year is set to be upgraded to gold.
  • Athletics Integrity Unit said that Adekoya's results between August 24, 2018 and November 26, 2018 will be disqualified.
  • This also means that India's Anu Raghavan, who finished fourth in 400m hurdles, is in line for the bronze as Adekoya won the gold in the event.
  • Following the race, India had officially lodged a complaint against Bahrain for obstruction, but it was turned down.
Source: AIR News

14. Hima Das wins gold in 400m race at the Tabor Athletics Meet

  • Indian sprinter Hima Das has won a gold medal in the 400-meter race with a season-best time of 52.09 seconds at Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic.
  • It was Hima's fifth gold medal since July 2 when she ran her first competitive race in Europe.
  • Hima has already won gold in 200 meters race at the Poznan Athletics Grand Prix and Kutno Athletics Meet in Poland earlier this month.
  • She won her third 200 meters gold at the Kladno Athletics Meet and fourth gold at the Tabor Athletics Meet in the Czech Republic.

15. Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi wins Indonesia Open 2019 title

  • Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi has won the Indonesia Open BWF Tour Super 1000 tournament held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
  • She defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu in the title clash by 21-15, 21-16.
  • P.V. Sindhu will next be seen at the Japan Open (in July) and the Thailand Open (in August) in the lead up to the BWF World Championships.
Note:
  • The 2019 Indonesia Open was the fourteenth tournament of the 2019 BWF World Tour and also part of the Indonesia Open championships.
  • This international tournament was held at Istora Gelora Bung Karno in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Source: The Hindu

16. North Korea wins Intercontinental Cup title

  • North Korea has won the 2019 Intercontinental Cup football tournament (2nd Edition) beating Tajikistan by a solitary goal in the final in Ahmedabad, India
  • North Korea (122), Tajikistan (120), India (world no. 101) and Syria (85) participated in the event.
  • The champions got richer by USD 50000 while the runners-up received USD 25000.
Note:
  • The 2019 Intercontinental Cup was the second edition of Hero Intercontinental Cup held at Trans Stadia Arena in Ahmedabad between the 7th and 19th of July 2019.
  • The tournament was organized by the AIFF.

17. Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju launches AIFF Golden Baby Leagues handbook

  • Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has launched the All India Football Federation's Golden Baby Leagues handbook 2019-20 on the sidelines of the Intercontinental Cup in Ahmadabad.
  • The launch marked the renaming of the 'AIFF Baby Leagues' to 'AIFF Golden Baby Leagues', with the emphasis being laid for ages under 6 to under 12 both for girls and boys.
  • According to Mr. Rijiju, Baby League sounds very cute and actual scouting for talent has to start from a very young age.
  • The handbook is a guide to help the stakeholder to organise the Golden Baby League.
Note:
  • The Leagues aim to provide access to football in localities irrespective of gender, religion, economic background, or ethnic origin. 

Post a Comment

0 Comments

Top Post Ad

Below Post Ad