28-29 July 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. IPS officer VK Johri appointed as new BSF DG

IPS officer VK Johri (1984-batch - Madhya Pradesh cadre) has been appointed as the next Director-General (DG) of Border Security Force (BSF).
He will succeed Rajni Kant Misra who retires on 31st of July 2019.
Currently, Mr. Johri is serving as the Special Secretary in RAW, under the Cabinet Secretariat.

Note:

The BSF is the country's largest border guarding force (present strength of about 2.5 lakh personnel) and is tasked to secure two of India's most important and sensitive fronts with Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The two other border guarding forces are ITBP (China) and SSB (Nepal and Bhutan).

2. K'taka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa wins confidence Motion

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has won Confidence Motion in the State Assembly by a voice vote.
Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar declared that the Motion moved by Mr Yediyurappa has won the confidence of the House.
Earlier, as the House assembled, BS Yediyurappa moved a one-line confidence motion seeking to prove the majority of his three-day-old government.
KR Ramesh Kumar (Karnataka Assembly Speaker) has announced his resignation as Karnataka Assembly Speaker soon after BS Yediyurappa government won floor test in the house.

Important Days

3. Global Tiger Day being observed today

Today, the ‘Global Tiger Day’ is being celebrated across the world to create awareness about tiger conservation and protection of the natural habitat of tigers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has released the results of the fourth cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation 2018 in New Delhi.
According to PM Narendra Modi, India is one of the safest habitats in the world with 2967 tigers.
Madhya Pradesh saw the highest number of tigers at 526, closely followed by Karnataka at 524 with Uttarakhand at number 3 with 442 tigers.
The Tiger Estimation exercise is believed to be the world’s largest wildlife survey effort in terms of coverage, the intensity of sampling and quantum of camera trapping.

Note:

Project Tiger was launched in 1973 with the initiative of conserving India's national animal.
Tigers are considered as an “umbrella species” as their conservation also conserves many other species in the same area.
The 2014 country-level tiger assessment had shown a 30% increase of tigers from 1706 in 2010, the tiger population has increased to 2226 in 2014.

Source: AIR News

4. 28^th July: World Hepatitis Day

World Hepatitis Day is being observed on 28th July worldwide to raise global awareness of Hepatitis and encourage prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
The theme of World Hepatitis Day 2019 is “Invest in eliminating Hepatitis”.
The theme focuses on the hepatitis elimination goals by 2030, in the context of universal health coverage.
The date of 28 July was chosen because it is the birthday of Nobel-prize winning scientist Dr Baruch Blumberg, who discovered the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and developed a diagnostic test and vaccine for the virus.
Hepatitis is a group of infectious diseases known as Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E.

Note:

World Hepatitis Day is one of eight official global public health campaigns marked by the WHO.
Hepatitis is an inflammatory condition of the liver.
The liver is present in the right upper area of the abdomen, performs several critical functions that affect metabolism throughout the body.

Obituaries

5. Saudi King Salman's elder brother, Prince Bandar passes away

King Salman’s elder half-brother Prince Bandar (96-years) passed away.
He was the eldest living son of the late King Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Prince Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was not an active political royal within the ruling Al Saud family and had been passed over in the line of succession to the throne.
He was the tenth son of the country’s founding monarch.
Prince Bandar’s sons, however, hold important posts- Prince Faisal bin Bandar is governor of Riyadh; Prince Abdullah bin Bandar heads the National Guard.
Prince Khalid bin Bandar serves as an adviser to King Salman.

Source: The Hindu

6. Meghalaya assembly speaker Donkupar Roy passes away

Meghalaya Assembly Speaker Donkupar Roy (64-years) passed away at Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon following a brief illness.
Mr. Donkupar Roy was elected as the assembly speaker in March 2018.
Donkupar Roy served as Chief Minister of Meghalaya (from 19th March 2008 to 18th March 2009).
He was the head of the United Democratic Party, a political party recognised in Meghalaya.

Source: The Times of India

7. Senior Congress leader Jaipal Reddy passes away

Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister S Jaipal Reddy (77-years) passed away in a hospital in Hyderabad.
Recently, Jaipal Reddy was diagnosed with pneumonia and was admitted to the hospital.
He was a four-term MLA, member of Lok Sabha for five terms and member of Rajya Sabha for two terms.

Source: Live Mint

National Affairs

8. Uttarakhand hosts the first-ever Himalayan states conclave in Mussoorie

Uttarakhand government is hosting the first-ever Himalayan states' conclave in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is attending the conclave as the chief guest.
The prime focus of the meeting will be on sustainable development.
The Conclave would focus on environmental protection, Himalayan culture, and economic development. It will also focus on solving the Himalayan states' problems.
It is expected that this will pave the way for making financial resources available for the Himalayan states in the future.
Vice President of Niti Aayog Rajiv Kumar will also be participating in the conclave.

9. 7th Economic Census begins from Tripura

Today, The Union government has kicked off the 7th Economic Census from the northeastern state of Tripura.
It will be launched in other states and union territories in August and September.
The census conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) will be held this year after a gap of five years.
The data will be collected through the door to door survey of each household and commercial establishment under the provisions of the Collection of Statistics Act 2008.
The fieldwork is expected to be completed by December and the results at the national level is expected to be available by March 2020.
As per the last Economic Census conducted in 2013, there were 58.5 million establishments employing around 131 million workers.

Note:

The economic census gives insights on the economic activities being carried out across the country, their geographical distribution, the number and distribution of workers, types of ownership and sources of finance.

The economic census is the only source of information on the significantly large unorganized sector in the country.

Source: Economics Times

International Affairs

10. President Kovind holds talks with Beninese counterpart Patrice Talon in Cotonou

Today, President Ram Nath Kovind will hold talks with his Beninese counterpart Patrice Talon in Cotonou.
Several agreements will be signed between the two countries following talks.
This is the first-ever state visit by an Indian president to Benin.
The visit is aimed at further deepening India’s relations with the African country.
Later, Mr. Kovind will address the National Assembly in Porto Novo.
He will also meet members of the Indian Community at a reception hosted in his honour in Cotonou.
The President is on a three-nation tour to Benin, Gambia and Guinea.

Source: AIR News

11. Rajnath Singh arrives in Maputo on a three-day visit to Mozambique

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in Maputo on a three-day visit to southern African country, Mozambique.
India is willing to forge a strong bilateral relationship with Mozambique by increasing regular engagement and cooperation in multiple spheres.
Mr Singh will hold talks with President, Defence Minister, Foreign Minister and Interior Minister of Mozambique during his visit.
India and Mozambique will sign bilateral agreements to boost military cooperation.
During the defence minister's visit, India will also hand over two fast interceptor boats and 44 SUVs to Mozambique.

Finance

12. GST Council reduces the rate on Electric Vehicles by 7%

The GST Council has decided to reduce GST Rate on Electrical Vehicles from 12% to 5% in its 36th meeting in New Delhi.
The GST Council also decided to reduce the rate on Electric Vehicle Chargers from 18% to 5%.
The new rates will come into effect from the 1st of next month.
This will play a part in faster adoption of electric mobility.
The Council also approved an exemption from GST on the hiring of Electric Buses by local authorities.
This is the first GST Council meeting after the presentation of Union Budget in Parliament on 5th of this month.

Sports

13. Mary Kom & Simranjit Kaur win gold in President's Cup Boxing Tournament

Six-time world champion Mary Kom (in 51kg category) and Simranjit Kaur (in 60kg category) grabbed a gold each in 23rd President's Cup Boxing Tournament in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia.
The Olympic bronze medallist Mary decimated Australian April Franks 5-0 in finals.
Simranjit Kaur defeated Indonesia's Asian Games bronze medallist Hasanah Huswatun 5-0 in the final bout.
With this, Indian boxers finished their campaign in the Tournament with nine medals.
The rich haul comprised seven gold and two silver.

Source: AIR News

14. Bajrang Punia booked a berth in India's World Championship squad in 65kg category

Bajrang Punia (25 years) booked a berth in India's World Championship squad in the 65kg category defeating Harphul Singh in the trials held in New Delhi.
Ravi Kumar Dahiya (U-23 World Championship silver-medallist) earned his chance by winning the most competitive 57 kg category during the trials.
It featured seven wrestlers, including Sandeep Tomar and Utkarsh Kale.
The World Wrestling Championship is slated to be held in Kazakhstan from September 14th to 22nd.

Note:

Punia was born in Khudan village of Jhajjar district in the state of Haryana, India.
Currently, he works in Indian Railways on the post of TTE (Travelling Ticket Examiner).

Source: The Times of India

15. Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju receives Special Olympics Torch came from Singapore

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has received the Special Olympics Torch “Flame of Hope” from the Chairman of the Special Olympics International Football Championship (SOIFC), Dr. Amar Prasad Reddy in New Delhi.
The Flame of Hope after travelling from Singapore to Delhi, reached New Delhi.
The championship will be held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai from 3rd to 6th August 2019.
According to Mr. Rijiju, the Union government will fully support the Special Olympics and international football championships in Chennai.
He also announced cash prize for winners of Abu Dhabi games.

Note:

The ‘Flame of Hope’ symbolises courage and celebration of diversity uniting communities around the globe.
The SOIFC 2019 is an initiative of Special Olympics, an international organization that serves athletes with intellectual disabilities.

Source: AIR News

16. Max Verstappen clinches German Grand Prix

Red Bull's driver Max Verstappen (21-years) clinched the rain-hit German Grand Prix at Hockenheim in Germany.
Now, Verstappen has the second title of the Formula One season.
Four-time former champion Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel claimed the second spot after starting from the rear of the grind.
Russian Daniil Kvyat achieved the third spot for Toro Rosso followed by Canadian Lance Stroll in fourth for Racing Point.

Note:

The 2019 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race which was held on 28 July 2019 at the Hockenheimring in Germany.
The race was the eleventh race of the 2019 Formula One World Championship.

Source: First Post