Weekly Current Affairs (29th July 2019 – 03rd August 2019)

National

• As a new initiative that would enhance the security of women, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NRF) zone has introduced pink colored SLRcoach (second Class -cum- Luggage-cum Guard’s Coach) for women.
• Government has designated financial services secretary Rajiv Kumar as finance secretary.
• NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission will launch a new programme for Community Innovation in New Delhi.
• Lok Sabha passed the Consumer Protection Bill that seeks to establish the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to protect and enforce consumer rights.
• On July 30, 2019, Parliament passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2019.

International 

• The World Health Organisation(WHO) and the government of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have come together with a program to control the Ebola outbreak over the next six months by launching surveillance and vaccination training to the citizens of DRC.
• London has been named as the world’s best city for students for the 2nd consecutive year, beating international cities like Tokyo & Melbourne that came 2nd & 3rd respectively.
• On the demand of the local Hindu community, Pakistan opened Shawala Teja Singh Temple in eastern city Sialkot for worship for the first time since partition.
• The tourism minister of Sri Lanka, John Amaratunga announced that Indian tourists are exempted from visa fees which range from $20 to $40 with effect from August 1, 2019.

Economy and Business 

• According to the latest “Women Entrepreneur Cities Index 2019”, sponsored by Dell and conducted by London-based global information provider, IHS Markit, The Singapore tops in Asian city ranked at 21st position.
• Reliance Jio becomes the largest telecom company of India with 331.3 million subscribers overtaking Vodafone Idea whose customer base stood at 320 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2019.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Money Museum at Council House Street in Central Kolkata, which opened earlier this year, has been drawing a lot of attention for its unique initiative.
• RBI has allowed Bank of China to offer regular banking services in the country.

Sports 

• The Indian Federation of Sports Gaming (IFSG) has appointed justice A K Sikri as its ombudsman and ethics officer.

Awards 

• Social entrepreneur philanthropist and eminent fashionista Priya Priyadarshini Jain was conferred with the prestigious “Indian Women of Influence” award at the House of Lords, The United Kingdom Parliament, London.
• 21 year old VidishaBaliyan from Muzaffarnagar,Uttar Pradesh became the firstIndian, crowned Miss Deaf World 2019 which was held in Mbombela, South Africa.
• DD News (Doordarshan), a 24*7 terrestrial cum satellite News Channel of India has awarded “Champions of Empathy Award” for spreading awareness about hepatitis.
• Ruhan Rajput was awarded the prestigious Entrepreneur Award 2019 in the category of ‘Entrepreneur of the Year in Service Business – BPO/KPO’.
• President Ram Nath Kovind has been awarded the National order of Merit by the President of Guinea for his exceptional contribution to the advancement of overall relations and development of mutual cooperation between India and Guinea and for promoting friendship and partnership between the people of both the countries.

Appointments 

• Bandhan Bank announced the appointment of Siddhartha Sanyal as chief economist and head of research who will spearhead the bank’s research and business strategy.
• On July 29, 2019, Fagu Chauhan, a six-time member of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, was sworn in as the 29th Governor of Bihar replacing Lal Ji Tandon who has taken charge as the Governor of Madhya Pradesh.
• On July 29,2019, Anandiben Patel took oath as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh(UP).
• Jagdeep Dhankhar, a former Lok Sabha MP from Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, sworn in as the 28th governor of West Bengal.
• On August 1, 2019, RN Ravi(A 1976-batch Indian Police Service officer of the Kerala cadre,), a former Intelligence Bureau(IB) officer was sworn in as the 20th governor of Nagaland.

Important Days 

• World Hepatitis Day (WHD) was observed on July 28, 2019.
• World Nature Conservation Day was observed on July 28, 2019.
• With around 3,000 tigers, India has become “one of the safest habitats” for the big cats in the world.

Science and Tech 

• The UAE has announced that it will launch the Hope Probe, the Arab world’s first spacecraft to Mars, in July 2020.
• Cabinet has given nod to the setting up of ISRO Technical Liaison Unit (ITLU) at Moscow in Russia.

Defence 

• Boosting its capabilities in beyond visual range warfare, India has signed a deal worth around Rs 1,500 crore to acquire R-27 air-to-air missiles from Russia to be equipped on the Su-30MKI combat aircraft.

Obituaries 

• Dr.Subir Vithal Gokarn passed away at 60.
• The body of Cafe Coffee Day founder V G Siddhartha, who had gone missing from a river bridge near Mangaluru on Monday night, has been found by local fishermen in the Nethravathi river.
• Bihar lost a famous Mithila and Sujani Artist Karpuri Devi who breathe till today’s morning and passed away at the age of 94. Karpuri’s Daughter provides this info to the media.

States 

• The fifth international Dharma-Dhamma conference was inaugurated here on Saturday by Union Minister of State Kiren Rijiju in the presence of Sri Lanka’s Home Minister Gamini Jaiwickrama Perera, Bhutan’s Home and Culture Minister Lyonpo Sherub Gyeltshen, senior BJP leader Ram Madhav and Juna Akhada’s Awadheshananda Giri Ji Maharaj.
• India’s seventh Economic Census began from Tripura and a similar task would be launched in other States and Union Territories across the country next month.
• Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced that the Sachivalaya or Secretariat building in Bhubaneswar will now be called ‘Lok Seva Bhavan’.
• On July 29, 2019, Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lalji Tandon was sworn in as the 28th Governor of Madhya Pradesh.
• On July 29, 2019, A seven-time Member of Parliament (MP) from Chhattisgarh’s Raipur and former Union minister, Ramesh Bais, aged 71, was sworn in as the 18th Governor of Tripura in the presence of Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and senior officials of the administration.

Miscellaneous

• Osama bin Laden’s son Hamza, chosen heir to the leadership of al Qaeda, has been killed, US media reported on July 31, citing American officials.

Agreements 

• India & Mozambique have signed two Memoranda of Understanding on sharing white shipping information & co-operation in the field of Hydrography.