13 August 2019 - Daily Current Affairs
1. Alejandro Giammattei elected as Guatemala’s new president
- Right-wing candidate Alejandro Giammattei (63-years) has been elected as the new President of Guatemala.
- He defeated former First Lady Sandra Torres from the centrist National Unity of Hope party.
- Giammattei will succeed corruption-tainted outgoing President Jimmy Morales.
- Alejandro Giammattei will assume office on 14th January 2020.
- The President of Guatemala is the head of state and head of government of Guatemala, elected to a single four-year term.
National Affairs
2. PM Modi to visit Bhutan on 17th August
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Bhutan on 17th of this month.
- During the two-day visit, Prime Minister Mr Modi will hold talks with his Bhutanese counterpart Lotay Tshering.
- According to Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, MoUs (Memorandum of understanding) in various fields will be signed between the two countries.
- Besides, the Prime Minister will also inaugurate a hydropower project and will roll out RuPay Cards.
3. Punjab govt to provide 28000 agro-machines to farmers to prevent stubble burning
- With a view to making Punjab a ‘zero stubble burning state’, the Punjab Agriculture Department has initiated a massive drive to provide more than 28000 agro-machines/farm equipment to farmers.
- Subsidy component of 278 crore rupees will be provided for the scheme during the current fiscal year under the first phase for in-situ management of paddy residue.
- Subsidy ranging from 50 per cent to 80 per cent is being provided to the farmers under the scheme with 80 per cent subsidy to cooperative societies and farmers groups while 50 per cent for individuals.
- The Agriculture Department has fully geared up to complete the task of distribution of this equipment before 15th September this year.
4. Doordarshan produced a patriotic song 'Watan'
- Ahead of Independence Day, The Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javdekar released a nearly five-minute-long patriotic music video "Watan".
- The song is sung by singer Javed Ali, penned by lyricist Alok Shrivastav and musically composed by Dushyant.
- The patriotic song is produced by Doordarshan.
- The song highlights several paths breaking initiatives of the government including the determination and vision behind the recent successful launch of “Chandrayaan 2”.
- The song also pays tribute to the bravery and valour of our armed forces and the martyrs of the country.
- It also shows PM Modi flagged off India's fastest train - the Vande Bharat Express as well as Yoga Day celebrations.
5. India cancels Samjhauta Express train after Pakistan suspends operations on its side
- Indian Railways has cancelled ‘Samjhauta Express’ train after Pakistan suspended operations on its side.
- According to Northern Railway, Pakistan has cancelled the Samjhauta Express running between Lahore and Attari.
- The railways run the train on Sundays from Delhi to Attari and back, while Pakistan used to run the train between Lahore and Attari.
- The train (Samjhauta Express) was started on 22 July 1976 following the Shimla Agreement and ran between Amritsar and Lahore, a distance of about 52 km.
- Following disturbances in Punjab in the late eighties, due to security reasons, Indian Railways decided to terminate the service at Attari, where customs and immigration clearances take place.
- On 14 April 2000, in an agreement between Indian Railways and Pakistan Railways (PR), the distance was revised to cover just under three km.
Banking & Finance
6. RBL Bank launches India's first health-focused credit card
- RBL Bank and digital healthcare platform ‘Practo’ have partnered to launch an industry-first co-branded health credit card.
- This credit card is powered by Mastercard and is available on both Practo & RBL mobile apps and websites.
- It offers benefits like unlimited and round-the-clock online consultations with experienced and qualified doctors, one free full body health check-up, while users can use the card to earn points that can be redeemed for availing Practo services like ordering medicine, tests and online consultations.
- Currently, Practo is the only platform in the country that lets patients manage their healthcare needs end-to-end.
Obituaries
7. Freedom fighter Dayanidhi Nayak passes away
- Noted freedom fighter ‘Dayanidhi Nayak’ (95-years), who struggled against the British Government during the Quit India movement passed away.
- One of the 32 freedom fighters from Panimora, he joined the Quit India movement against the British government and was a devout follower of Mahatma Gandhi.
- During the Quit India movement, he was jailed for nine months.
- He was a pure Gandhian and he even used to weave his own clothes like him.
8. Music star DJ Arafat passes away
- Ivorian musician Houon Ange Didier (popularly known DJ Arafat) passed away after getting involved in an ugly road accident.
- DJ Arafat(33-year) issued 11 albums, mainly of “coupe-decale”, a dance music form combining rapid percussion, choppy rhythms with hip hop-style vocals.
- He was also named “Best Artist of the Year” at the Ivorian “Coupe-decale” Awards in 2016 and 2017.
Books & Author
9. ‘Sridevi: Girl Woman Superstar’ a book on the life of Sridevi
- The book, titled ‘Sridevi: Girl Woman Superstar’ will be launched on cinema legend Sridevi’s 56th birth anniversary (13th August).
- The book is written by author-screenwriter Satyarth Nayak and approved by the actor's producer husband Boney Kapoor.
- The book recounts the life and times of the iconic actor who changed how women stars were perceived in the male-dominated film industry.
- The book will be published under the Ebury Press imprint of Penguin Random House in October 2019.
- Sridevi passed away at the age of 54 in February 2018 in Dubai.
Sports
10. Aishwarya Pissay becomes first Indian to claim a world title in motorsports
- Aishwarya Pissay became the first Indian to claim a world title in motorsports, annexing the FIM World Cup in the women's category after the final round of the championship at Varpalota in Hungary.
- Earlier, Aishwarya has won the first round in Dubai.
- Aishwarya, who won the first round in Dubai and was placed third (Portugal), fifth (Spain) and fourth (Hungary) in the subsequent outings, finished with a tally of 65 points, just four ahead of Portugal’s Rita Vieira in the final overall standings for women.
11. Chennai Lions beat Dabang Delhi to lift Ultimate Table Tennis league 2019
- Chennai Lions beat Dabang Delhi 8-1 to claim the 2019 Ultimate Table Tennis league title at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.
- The Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) is a professional level table tennis league in India launched in 2017.
| Titles | Winner /Runner |
| Men’s Singles | Tiago Apolonia bt Sathiyan G. |
| Women’s Singles | Petrissa Solja bt Bernadette Szocs |
| Mixed Doubles | Sharath Kamal & Petrissa Solja bt Sathiyan G. & Bernadette Szocs |
12. Virat Kohli becomes second-highest run-getter for India in ODIs
- India’s Skipper Virat Kohli (30-years) has become the second-highest run-getter for India in ODIs as he played a knock of 120 runs against Windies in the second ODI at the Queen's Park Oval.
- Kohli surpassed Ganguly's record in his 238th game while Ganguly took 311 ODIs to score 11,363 runs
- Tendulkar has 18,426 runs, most in the ODI cricket by any batsman in the world.
- Kohli also became the highest run-scorer against West Indies in the ODIs.
- Sachin Tendulkar - 18,426 runs
- Virat Kohli - 11,406 runs
- Sourav Ganguly - 11,363 runs
- Rahul Dravid 10,889 runs
- MS Dhoni - 10,773 runs
13. Rafael Nadal, Bianca Andreescu wins Rogers Open
- Spanish professional tennis player Rafael Nadal has won the Men’s single Rogers Open
- Canadian Bianca Andreescu (19-years) has won the Women’s Singles title at the Canadian Open (Tennis) 2019.
- The 2019 Rogers Cup (Canadian Open) presented by National Bank is a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts.
- It is the 139th edition (for the men) and the 128th (for the women) of the Canadian Open.
- The women's event is taking place at the Aviva Centre in Toronto and the men's event is being held at the IGA Stadium in Montreal.
| Events | Winners |
| Men’s Single | Rafael Nadal |
| Women’s Single | Bianca Andreescu |
| Men’s doubles | Marcel Granollers & Horacio Zeballos |
| Women’s doubles | Barbora Krejcikova & Kateřina Siniakova |
