24 August 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

24 August 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. Akshay Kumar takes 4th spot in Forbes highest-paid actors list

• American business magazine,'Forbes' has released the list of the world’s 10 highest-paid actors in 2019.
• Hollywood actor Dwayne ‘Rock’ Johnson (WWE’s Rock) has topped the list with an earning of USD 89.4 million (between1st  June 2018 to 1st June 2019).
• Indian actor Akshay Kumar has made it to the fourth position with USD 65 million.
• Chris Hemsworth is second in the list with USD 76.4 million and Robert Downey Jr. is third in the list with earnings of USD 66 million.

World’s Highest-Paid Actors Of 2019 listed by Forbes:

S. No.	Actors name	Paid Money (in USD)
1.	Dwayne Johnson	89.4 million
2.	Chris Hemsworth	76.4 million
3.	Robert Downey Jr	66 million
4.	Akshay Kumar	65 million
5.	Jackie Chan	58 million

 National Affairs

2. New health warnings on tobacco products pack from 1^st September

• The Union Government has notified new sets of health warnings for all tobacco products by making an amendment in the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labeling) Rules, 2008.
• The new warnings will come into effect from 1st September 2019.
• The text messages that will be printed on the packs are “tobacco causes painful death”.
• A national toll-free number - 1800-11-2356 will also be printed on packs to assist the users to quit.
• This helps in creating awareness among tobacco users and gives them access to counselling services to effect behaviour change.

Source: PTI

3. Smriti Irani distributed the Poshan Abhiyaan Awards for 2018-19

• The Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani has distributed the ‘Poshan Abhiyaan Awards’ for 2018-19 in different categories in New Delhi.
• The objective of the award to motivate the primary stakeholders and encourage large scale citizen participation in creating awareness to combat malnutrition.
• The awards were given to the States, Districts, Blocks and Anganwadi Workers for their contributions in scaling up the Abhiyaan and ensuring that it reaches every household in the country.
• Union government has selected Md Imtiaz (Krishna District Collector) for the prestigious National Poshan Abhiyan Award for 2018-19.
• The Tamil Nadu government won three awards for excellence under Union government’s Poshan Abhiyaan.

Note:

• In 2017, The Narendra Modi government launched Poshan Abiyaan a multi-ministerial convergence mission to attain malnutrition-free India.
• The aim is to reduce stunting in identified districts that have the highest malnutrition by extending Anganwadi services and improving the delivery, ensuring holistic development and adequate nutrition for pregnant women, mothers and children.

4. R K Singh approves proposal to declare ocean energy as Renewable Energy

• R K Singh (Minister of New and Renewable Energy) has approved a proposal to declare ocean energy as Renewable Energy.
• The decision will give a boost to ocean energy in the country.
• The New and Renewable Energy Ministry has also clarified to all stakeholders that energy produced using various forms of ocean energy such as tidal, wave and ocean thermal energy conversion will be considered as Renewable Energy.
• It will be eligible for meeting the non-solar Renewable Purchase Obligations.

Science & Defence

5. Biennial Multilateral Naval Exercise ‘MILAN’ to be held at Visakhapatnam

• The Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Naval Command (ENC), Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain has announced that the Indian Navy will organise the multilateral naval exercise MILAN at Visakhapatnam in March 2020.
• Launched in 1995, the MILAN series of biennial exercises were organised at Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) till 2018.
• However, because of the increased scope and complexity of the exercise, it is being conducted for the first time on the mainland at ENC.

Source: The Hindu

6. Russia sends its first humanoid robot Fedor into space

• Russia has launched an unmanned rocket carrying a life-size humanoid robot named Fedor, (Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research) with identification number Skybot F850.
• It will spend 10 days learning to assist astronauts on the International Space Station.
• Fedor blasted off in a Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
• It is a silvery anthropomorphic robot stands 1.80 metres (5 foot 11 inches) tall and weighs 160 kilogrammes (353 pounds).
• Fedor is described as potentially useful on Earth for working in high radiation environments, de-mining and tricky rescue missions.

Source: ND TV

7. Tawlhlohpuan, Mizo Puanchei & Tirur betel vine gets GI tag

• Tawlhlohpuan & Mizo Puanchei (from Mizoram), and Tirur betel vine (from Kerala) has received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
• GI is an indication used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
• The Geographical Indication comes under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.

Some features of the products:

• Tawlhlohpuan is a medium to heavy, compactly woven, good quality fabric from Mizoram. It is known for warp yarns, warping, weaving & intricate designs that are made by hand.
• Mizo Puanchei is a colourful Mizo shawl/textile, from Mizoram and is considered as the most colourful among the Mizo textiles.
• Tirur betel vine is valued both for its mild stimulant action and medicinal properties. It has many industrial and cultural usages and is considered as a remedy for bad breath and digestive disorders.

8. Iran unveils new missile defence system “Bavar-373”

• Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has inducted a locally built air-defence system “Bavar-373” into the country's missile defence network at an unveiling ceremony in the capital, Tehran.
• This is also Iran’s first domestically produced long-range missile defence system which has been inducted into the country’s missile defence network.
• Bavar-373 is a mobile missile defence system designed to intercept and destroy incoming hostile targets.
• The system employs missiles that have a maximum range of 300 kilometres.

Source: Tehran Times

Appointment

9. Abdalla Hamdok takes charge as Prime Minister of Sudan

• Abdalla Hamdok has taken the oath as the prime minister of Sudan.
• This comes a month after Sudan embarked on a three-year transition to civilian rule.
• Hamdok was sworn in before Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, chairman of the newly- formed Sovereign Council, at the presidential palace in the capital Khartoum in presence of the chief justice.

Honour & Awards

10. JNU Professor Meeta Narain Awarded the Pushkin Medal 2019

• Professor Meeta Narain of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been conferred with the Pushkin Medal 2019 for her contribution to Russian studies abroad.
• Pushkin Medal is the highest International Award given to a scholar of Russian language and literature for outstanding contribution to Russian studies abroad.
• Narain has contributed towards re-writing of Russian studies textbooks for graduate students after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
• Now, her works being used in departments of Russian language studies at various universities of India, in many former Soviet nation institutes, Europe, the US and other countries.

Note:

• Pushkin Medal is named after the famous Russian author and poet Alexander S. Pushkin.

11. Indian - American teen wins 2019 South Asian Spelling Bee competition

• Indian - American teenager Navneeth Murali (13-years) has won the 2019 South Asian Spelling Bee contest worth USD 3,000 by correctly spelling the word ‘flipe’ in the finals.
• New Jersey-based Navneeth Murali won after correctly spelling the word ‘flipe’ and earned the national title and USD 3,000 grand prize.
• He has become the first winner “on an APPEAL”, in the spelling history.
• Flype is defined as “to strip off by or as if by peeling” according to the dictionary.
• Over 600 spellers from these centres participated from which 15 finalists took the stage at the finals.

Note:

• The South Asian Spelling Bee (SASB) is an annual spelling bee platform in United States for children of South Asian descent.
• The bee was open to children up to 14 years of age and was held in five regional centres across the US, including New Jersey, Washington, DC, Dallas, the San Francisco Bay Area and Charlotte.

Source: India Today

Sports

12. Paytm retains title sponsorship of Indian cricket for 5 years

• According to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), mobile payments and e-commerce company “Paytm” has retained the title sponsorship rights for five years.
• Paytm has retained the title sponsorship rights for all cricket matches, domestic and international, played in India for 5 years.
• Paytm has signed the deal for Rs. 326.80 crores which will pay BCCI over a period ranging between 2019 and 2023.
• Earlier, In July 2019 Byju (owned by Think and Learn Private Limited) has replaced Oppo India as the official Team India sponsor.
• The deal period will begin from 5^th September 2019 until 31^st March 2022.

Source: Live Mint