Weekly Current Affairs (08th July 2019 – 13th July 2019)

National

1. On July 12, 2019, The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
2. Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda launched the Phase-II of the Direct Benefit Transfer of Fertilizer Subsidy (DBT 2.0).
3. The Haryana government announced the launch of ‘Meri Fasal Mera Byora’ portal whereby farmers can avail benefits of several government schemes directly after uploading their crop-related details.
4. On July 8, 2019, Parliament passed Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 which allows voluntary use of Aadhaar as proof of identity for users to open bank accounts and get a mobile phone connection.
5. Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express, one of the most-awaited trains on the route announced in 2016, is set to be the first train to be operated by private players.
6. Eighteen hundred Bangladeshi mid-career civil servants will be trained at the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) in Mussoorie between 2019-2025.
7. RPF launches “Operation Thirst” to curb the menace of unauthorized Packaged Drinking Water
8. On July 10, 2019, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy informed Rajya Sabha that Article 370 is contained as a temporary provision with respect to Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) in Part XXI (Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions) of the Constitution.

International

1. Indian Haj mission in Saudi Arabia has adopted digital technology to reach out to a large number of pilgrims as part of the Government of India’s initiative of Digital India.
2. On July 8, 2019, The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released a report titled Global Study on Homicide 2019.
3. Kyriakos Mitsotakis has been sworn in as Greece’s new PM, after New Democracy party won a landslide over leftist Syriza.
4. Sharjah has granted its first golden visa – to Indian businessman Lalu Samuel.
5. Kuwait has been cleared to compete in the 2020 Olympics after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Friday it was lifting the suspension it imposed on the Kuwait Olympic Committee (KOC) four years ago.
6. The 37-year-old Former Pakistan captain and all-rounder Shoaib Malik had announced his retirement from One Day International Cricket after completed his 2019 World Cup series at the Lord’s in London.
7. On July 10, 2019, Ukraine and its European partners have inaugurated the world’s largest new metal dome encasing the destroyed reactor at the infamous Chernobyl nuclear power station.

Economy and Business

1. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Monday inked a deal with quasi-sovereign wealth fund National Investment Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) to fund large greenfield road projects, which will be executed by the highway authority in the future.
2. Parliament has adopted a statutory resolution for levying 200 per cent duty on all goods originating in or exported from Pakistan.
3. The proposal for setting up the High Altitude Institute of mountain medicine, training and research center, given by the medical director of Six Sigma Healthcare, Dr Pradeep Bhardwaj was accepted by the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Trivendra Singh Rawat.

Sports

1. A 10-year old Karate girl, Arinjeeta Dey (Barasat, West Bengal) has won a silver medal in the under 12 age category in the World Youth Cup 2019 which was held in Umag, Croatia.
2. An Se Young defeated Wang Zhiyi of China to win the Women’s singles title.
3. Ace Indian sprinter Dutee Chand has won the gold medal in women’s 100-metre sprint at the 30th Summer University Games in Napoli, Italy becoming the first Indian to win do so.
4. Indian men’s football team captain Sunil Chhetri & women’s footballer Ashalata Devi bagged the top honours at the AIFF Awards.
5. Para-athlete Toran Yadav from Chhattisgarh has won 3 silver medals at 4th World Wealth Yoga Festival & Championship in Europe.
6. Mexico’s men’s soccer team have won their record eighth Gold Cup by defeating the United States in the final.
7. Former India captain Rahul Dravid was appointed as Head of Cricket at the NCA.
8. Star Indian sprinter Hima Das won her second international gold in women’s 200m with a top finish at the Kutno Athletics Meet in Poland.

Awards

1. The historic walled city of Jaipur, known for its iconic architectural legacy, made its entry into the UNESCO’S world heritage list.
2. Northeast Frontier Railway has won the‘Best Innovation Award’ for unique strategy adopted to keep wild elephants away from train tracks.
3. The Pop singer Taylor Swift topped the Forbes Celebrity 100 list 2019 for the second time after 2016.

Appointments

1. Christine Lagarde (63), the first woman head of the Washington-based body, International Monetary Fund(IMF) nominated to become the first woman to lead the ECB (European Central Bank).
2. The defense secretary of Germany, Ursula von der Leyen (60) has been nominated by the European leaders to lead the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU (European Union) that’s responsible for legislation and governing.
3. Arun Kumar will hold the full-time charge of the head of aviation regulator DGCA.
4. According to BHEL,Nalin Shinghal has been appointed as its CMD.
5. American business and employment-oriented service, LinkedIn appointed Ashutosh Gupta as its new country manager for India effective September 2, 2019.
6. IPS officer from Odisha cadre, M Nageswar Rao, has been removed from his current post of Additional Director of CBI and appointed as the Director General of Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guard by Central Government.
7. Author-diplomat Vikas Swarup, India’s current High Commissioner to Canada, has been appointed as Secretary in the Consular, Passport, Visa and Overseas Indian Affairs division, with effect from August 1.
8. On July 10, 2019, as per the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India Shri Dinesh Bhatia has been concurrently accredited as the next Ambassador of India to the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, with residence in Buenos Aires.
9. Anshula Kant, managing director of the State Bank of India NSE 0.11 %, has been appointed as managing director and chief financial officer of the World Bank.

Science and Tech

1. Indian Army and the National eGovernance Division (NeGD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)to develop a revamped application.
2. Russia successfully launched its Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with a hydro meteorological satellite and 32 small satellites.
3. The Indian Army will buy the Excalibur artillery ammunition from the US (United States) under the emergency procurement procedures.
4. After 18 years of research, Indian and Australian scientists have identified a new gene directly linked to schizophrenia.
5. Japanese scientists have successfully landed an unmanned spacecraft on the distant asteroid Ryugu for the second time as part of an ongoing mission to help explore the origins of the solar system.
6. Indian Scientists from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai have developed a new material called ‘black gold’.
7. The Delhi govt. announced that a solar park — of 5,000 KW capacities — will come up in place of the defunct Rajghat thermal power plant.

Defence

1. To establish India’s credentials as a net security provider in the Indo-Pacific region, Indian Naval Ship Tarkash reached Tangier in Morocco on Monday for a three-day visit. It is part of an ongoing overseas deployment by the Indian Navy to the Mediterranean Sea, Africa and Europe.
2. On July 8, 2019, Boeing, American aerospace company, informed the arrival of 2 new heavy-lift CH-47F (I) Chinooks helicopters for the Indian Air Force (IAF) at the Mundra port in Gujarat.
3. On July 7, 2019, The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully carried out 3 successful test firings of Nag missiles in one day (day & night) in Pokhran, Rajasthan.
Obituaries
1. Joao Gilberto, a Brazilian singer, guitarist, and songwriter &considered one of the fathers of the bossa nova passed away after battling with health issues.

States

1. India’s first cow sanctuary Kamdhenu Gau Abhyaranya in Agar Malwa, Madya Pradesh (MP), set up in September 2017, will be privatised due to financial crises.
2. The Kerala government is working to set up the country’s first elephant rehabilitation centre in Kottoor, an ecotourism village near the state capital Thiruvananthapuram.
3. The Delhi Police Crime Branch has rescued 333 children, who had reported missing since January 2019 from various parts of the country.
4. M C Sampath, minister for industries stated that South Korean multinational automotive manufacturer Hyundai plans to launch its electric car for India and the global market from Chennai facility will help make Tamil Nadu the first state in India to manufacture electric cars.

Miscellaneous

1. A fortnightly bulletin of the National Museum of Indian Cinema, brought out by the Films Division, was launched, with veteran film maker Jahnu Barua hoping that it will become a platform for movie buffs and other stakeholders.
2. The Indian Rupee will now be accepted for transaction at all airports in Dubai.