23 July 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

  23 July 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

23 July 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. Delhi's Prithu Gupta becomes India's 64th Grandmaster

  • Delhi’s Prithu Gupta has become India’s 64th Grandmaster, crossing the Elo threshold of 2500 points after beating IM Lev Yankelevich in the fifth round of the Portuguese League 2019.
  • Gupta has achieved the sensational feat at the age of 15 years, 4 months and 10 days.
  • Gupta received his first GM norm at the Gibraltar Masters last year, before achieving the second norm at the Biel Masters the same year.
Note:
  • Grandmaster (GM) is a title awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE.
  • FIDE awards separate Grandmaster titles to composers and solvers of chess problems, International Grandmaster for chess compositions to the former and International Solving Grandmaster to the latter.
  • The International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF) awards the title of International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster (ICCGM).
Source: The Times of India

2. Sanjivani Yadav handed two-year suspension for a doping violation

  • India's long-distance runner Sanjivani Yadav (23-yeara) has been handed a two-year suspension by the IAAF's Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for a doping violation.
  • Sanjivani won the 10,000m bronze at the 2019 Asian Championships and 5000m bronze in the 2017 edition.
  • According to International federation's body for combating doping, the athlete admitted to her first violation resulting in disqualification all past results since June 29, 2018.
  • The suspension period also commenced from June 29, 2018.
  • Sanjivani Yadav had failed a dope test in November 2018 when her sample taken during the National Inter-State Athletics Championships was found to contain Probenecid, a masking agent.
Note:
  • India's National Anti-Doping body NADA has the right to appeal against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.
Source: AIR News

3. Shane Lowry wins British Open

  • Irishman Shane Lowry wins British Open to claim his first major golfing title at Royal Portrush.
  • Lowry became the second player from the Republic of Ireland to win a major after Padraig Harrington.
  • The 2019 Open Championship was the 148th Open Championship, played at Royal Portrush Golf Club in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

4. Shiva Thapa becomes India's first gold medallist in Kazakhstan President's Cup

  • Four-time Asian medallist Shiva Thapa became India's first gold medallist at the President's Cup boxing tournament in Astana, Kazakhstan.
  • Making his international debut in the newly introduced Olympic category of 63kg, Thapa was to fight Kazakhstan's Zakir Safiullin in the summit clash but his opponent had to pull out due to injury.
  • Woman boxer Parveen (60kg) lost her final bout to Rimma Volosenko and claimed a silver medal.

5. Carnatic vocalist S. Sowmya chosen for Sangita Kalanidhi award

  • Noted Vocalist S. Sowmya has been chosen for the Sangita Kalanidhi award of the Music Academy.
  • She will preside over the 93rd annual conference of the Academy to be held between 12 December 2019, and 1st January 2020.
  • She holds a master’s degree in chemistry, and Indian music and obtained a doctorate from the University of Madras.
  • Sangita Kala Acharya awards will go to vocalists Seetha Narayanan and M.S. Sheela.
  • Nagaswaram player Vyasarpadi Kothandaraman and vocalist Rajkumar Bharathi will get the TTK awards
  • All awards will be conferred during the Sadas of the Academy on January 1.
Note:
  • Sangeetha Kalanidhi is the title awarded yearly to a Carnatic Musician by the Madras Music Academy.
Source: The Hindu

6. Adam Peaty breaks 57 seconds barrier & 100m breaststroke world record

  • Britain’s swimmer Adam Peaty (24-years) has broken his own world record in the men’s 100-metre breaststroke at the World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea.
  • He smashed the previous record (57.10 seconds) that was set by him at last year’s European Championships, after winning the semi-finals in 56.88 seconds.
  • Now, Adam Peaty has swum the event 1.4 seconds faster than anyone else in history.

Important days

7. 23rd July: National Broadcasting day

  • India celebrates 23rd July every year as the “National Broadcasting day”.
  • On this day in 1927, the first-ever radio broadcast in the country went on the air from the Bombay Station under the Indian Broadcasting Company.
  • On 8th June 1936, the Indian State Broadcasting Service became All India Radio.
Source: AIR News

National Affairs

8. Maharashtra sports dept seeks Rs one cr funds for shooter Rahi

  • The Maharashtra sports department has sought funds of over Rs one crore for ace shooter Rahi Sarnobat for their training and other expenditure.
  • Sarnobat hails from Kolhapur district in western Maharashtra, has qualified for the next year's Tokyo Olympics.
  • According to a senior Government official, Players who can seek funds need to have resided in Maharashtra for 15 years and should have won at least one medal in junior or senior national competitions.
  • The official added that most of the players are not aware of the schemes and hence he has made a request to them.
Source: AIR News

9. Culture Minister inaugurates architectural illumination of Safdarjung Tomb

  • Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel has inaugurated the architectural illumination of the historic Safdarjung Tomb (17th-century monument) in New Delhi.
  • A total of 213 technologically advanced LED lights have been used to highlight the monument.
  • The consumption of LED lights is approximately 62% less than conventional light fixtures.
  • To highlight the archaeological magnificence of historical monuments, the Archaeological Survey of India has taken up the project to illuminate the important monuments of Delhi.
Note:
  • The Archaeological Survey of India has previously undertaken similar initiatives at the Red Fort, the Humayun's Tomb, and the Purana Qila in Delhi.
  • The tomb will be illuminated from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM daily and it will cost the government Rs 8,880 monthly.
Source: The Pioneer

10. LIC offering Rs 1.25 trillion by 2024 for highway projects

  • According to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Insurance giant LIC (Life Insurance Corporation) has agreed to offer Rs 1.25 trillion lines of credit by 2024, to fund highway projects.
  • The fund will be a part of innovative modes of financing to meet India's huge infrastructure appetite.
  • The Road Transport and Highways Ministry been looking to harness various sources of finances including pension and insurance funds.
  • The fund will be provided for the timely execution of the Rs 8.41 trillion ambitious Bharatmala project that aims to lay a grid of highways pan-India.
Source: DD News

Obituaries

11. IAEA chief Yukiya Amano passes away

  • Former Japanese diplomat and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano (72-years) passed away.
  • Amano, who had wide experience in disarmament, non-proliferation diplomacy and nuclear energy, had been chief of the key U.N. agency that regulates nuclear issues worldwide since 2009. 
  • He was deeply involved in the years-long negotiations that led to the landmark Iran nuclear deal with world powers that restricted the country’s nuclear uranium enrichment.
  • As Head of the IAEA, Amano also dealt with the aftermath of the devastating 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan.
Source: Aljazeera

12. Australian tennis champion Peter McNamara passes away

  • Australia's tennis champion Peter McNamara (64-years) passed away after a quiet battle with cancer in Germany.
  • Peter McNamara won three doubles Grand Slam titles and became a prominent coach after hanging up his racquet.
  • McNamara won five singles titles and 19 in doubles and teamed up with compatriot Paul McNamee to win the Australian Open doubles in 1979 and Wimbledon twice in 1980 and 1982.
  • News of his death plunged Australian tennis into mourning and triggered a slew of tributes on social media for a popular tennis figure renowned for his warmth and generosity.
Source: The Hindu

Books & Authors

13. Book titled ‘Kargil: Untold stories from the War’ released

  • On the 20th anniversary of the Kargil War a new book titled, “Kargil: Untold stories from the War” authored by Rachna Bisht Rawat released in New Delhi.
  • The book is based on Rawat's interviews with war survivors and martyrs' families, take the readers to the treacherous Himalayan mountains.
  • This book is a tribute to their courage and that of their families, who have faced their loss with such dignity.
  • The book has been published by Penguin Random House.
Note:
  • The ‘Kargil war’ lasted for nearly three months, initiated in May of 1999 in an effort to displace Pakistani soldiers from the peaks they had occupied on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC).
  • The publishers wanted to honour the 527 Bravehearts who gave up their lives for the country.
Source: The Week

International Affairs

14. International Police Expo 2019 held in New Delhi

  •  The International Police Expo 2019 (5th edition) on theme ‘Challenges to strengthen peace and security’ has been organised at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.
  • The 2019 event saw the participation of Manufacturers and technology players from more than 25 countries.
  • The expo, which focuses on everything related to police forces, their welfare and fitness, also showcases the latest equipment required for the safety and protection of society.
  • Over 25 countries are showcasing advanced firearms, combat or armoured vehicles a plethora of disruptive technologies in cybersecurity, drones, homeland security, and safety and rescue at International Police Expo at Pragati Maidan, in New Delhi.
Source: Business-Standard

 Banking and Finance

15. FDI inflow registered a growth of 79% during the last 6 years

  • Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow has increased during the last six years from 36.05 billion US Dollars in 2013-14 to 64.38 billion US Dollars in 2018-19, registering a growth of 79 per cent.
  • According to commerce ministry sources, it has been the endeavour of the government to put in place an enabling and investor-friendly FDI policy.
  • The intent is to make the FDI policy more investor-friendly and remove the policy bottlenecks that have been hindering investment inflow into the country.
Note:
  • FDI net inflows are the value of inward direct investment made by non-resident investors in the reporting economy.
  • FDI net outflows are the value of outward direct investment made by the residents of the reporting economy to external economies.
Source: AIR News

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