International news
- UN President is withdrawing the U.S. signature from the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty, in response to concerns from gun rights activists that it could impinge on Americans' right to bear arms.
- About Arm Trade Treaty(ATT):
- ATT, which has been ratified by more than 100 countries, entered into force in December 2014.
- It regulates the trade in conventional arms such as small arms, battle tanks, combat aircraft, and warships.
- It also aims to prevent and eradicate the illicit trade in conventional arms and prevent their diversion.
- A Declaration is passed by UK Parliament which makes this government be the first national government to pass an exemplary measure, that is, a national declaration of an Environment and Climate Emergency.
- Compared to its 1990 levels, UK (United Kingdom) was later legally committed to an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 and recently featured as 1 of 18 developed economies to decrease CO2(carbon dioxide) emissions in the last 10 years.
- A New law "Sovereign Internet" bill is signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin that will allow Russian authorities to isolate the country's internet to expand the government's control over it.
- The new move requires Internet providers to install equipment for routing Russian web traffic through servers in Russia which will allow the Russian intelligence agencies of state authorities to control public information.
- A $5 billion Action Plan for Healthy Oceans and Sustainable Blue Economies for the Asia and Pacific region has launched by Asian Development Bank (ADB)
- This will support ADB's developing member countries' efforts for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), inclusive of the SDG 14: Life Below Water.
National News
- The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to conduct two-level exams for Class 10th Mathematics and English in which 20 marks internal exam will be conducted by respective schools and 80 marks will be given to theory conducted by the board from 2020 onwards.
- Students will have to clear the school-based exams first in order to be considered for the board exams
- Two geological display boards at two important geological sites, Installed by Geological Survey of India (GSI) North Eastern Region (NER) in Meghalaya.
- These geological display boards with geo-scientific information will help in creating awareness among visiting tourists, students and the general public.
- BSNL Becomes the 1st operator to start optical fibre-based high-speed broadband service in Pulwama by launching 'Bharat Fibre'.
- About 'Bharat Fibre' services:
- These services are reliable and high-speed internet is provided on the optical fibre by FTTH (fibre-to-the-home) service up to the customer premises with a monthly charge of Rs 777-16,999 in around 160 telecom districts with a minimum speed of 2 megabit-per-second (Mbps).
- On the day of 750th birth anniversary of Sri Vedanta Desikan, a postage stamp is Unveiled by President M. Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi.
- About Sri Vedanta Desikan:
- He was Born in 1268 CE and was a Sri Vaishnava philosopher and one of the most brilliant stalwarts of Sri Vaishnavism in the post-Ramanuja period.
- He was an awardee of Vedanta Desika, 'Kavitarkika-Kesari', 'Kavitarkika-Simham' and Ramanuja-Daya-Patram'
- Instructions are given to all states by the central Government to mandate green number plates on all types of electric vehicles, whether brand new or used.
- Why?
- The reason behind this move is to distinguish green vehicles for preferential treatment in parking, free entry in congested zones, and concessional toll.
- Allowing youngsters in the age group of 16-18 years to ride e-scooters, as they are gearless, and easy to use.
- To upscale the 'Unnat Bharat Abhiyan', a Special Purpose Vehicle under the Ministry of Electronics & IT, (Information Technology) called "CSC (Common Services Centre) e-Governance Services India Limited", has partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur.
- IIT-Kanpur has brought together 15 leading higher education institutions from UP (Uttar Pradesh) to work together with CSC, under this policy, for the villages' development and has adopted 5 villages for its holistic development.
Banking
- SEBI has banned NSE, National Stock Exchange from gaining access to the securities market for a period of 6 months.
- And also fined NSE a sum of Rs. 1,000 crore, that is, Rs. 624.89 crore and an additional 12% interest, from 1st April 2014 for NSE's failure to exercise effective due diligence during co-location facility.
- Co-Location Case is a system in trade execution, where a broker's server is kept in the exchange premises to decrease latency or delay in computational terms.
Appointments
| Name of the person | Designation |
|---|---|
| Air Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria | Vice Chief of Indian Air Force |
| Kumar Sangakkara | First Non-British President of MCC |
| Air Marshal SK Ghotia | Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief |
| M Jayshree Vyas | First Independent Woman Director of BSE |
| Dr Krishnamurthy Subramanian | Advisory Council Member Finance Commission |
Awards and Honours
| Award | Awardee |
|---|---|
| Alfred Brownell | Goldman Environmental Prize. |
| Apurvi Chandela | World Number One Spot in 10m Air Rifle |
| A.S. Kiran Kumar | 'Knight of the Legion of Honour' |
| Nileena M. S. | Asian College of Journalism's Award |
| Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty | P.C. Chandra Puraskaar 2019 |
| King Maha Vajiralongkorn | King of Thailand |
Important days
| Date | Day | Theme |
|---|---|---|
| 30th April 2019 | Ayushman Bharat Diwas | |
| 1sy May 2019 | International Worker's Day | Theme: 'Uniting Workers for Social and Economic Advancement'. |
| 1sy May 2019 | Maharashtra Day and Gujarat Day | |
| 3rd May 2019 | World Press Freedom Day 2019 | Theme: "Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation". |
MoU’s Signed
- A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is signed between Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India and Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT-Delhi) for setting up a 'Centre of Excellence for Waste to Wealth Technologies in India' to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on 2nd October 2019.
Science and Technology
- An Announcement has been made by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) that India's second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 is scheduled to be launched between July 9th and 16th 2019.
- About the Chandrayan-2 mission:
- It would be launched using India's most powerful rocket GSLV MK-III from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
- It has three modules (a detachable self-contained unit of a spacecraft) namelyOrbiter, Lander named Vikram and Rover named Pragyan.
- Indian archaeologists recently unearthed a life-sized stucco sculpture from a Buddhist site at Phanigiri in Suryapet, Telangana.
- About the Sculpture:
- The sculpture is about 1.73 metres in height and 35 cm in width.
- It is considered to have been built at the peak of Ikshavaku dynasty.
- ISRO has announced its plans to launch its latest radar imaging reconnaissance satellite 'RISAT 2BR1' towards the end of May 2019.
- The RISAT (radar imaging satellite), will be carried by PSLV-C46.
- It is one of the reusable variants of ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket, which has offered significant progress and technology sophistication in terms of advancement in space technologies.
- The designation 'C-46' is as per ISRO's numbering system.
- An asteroid "99942 Apophis" will fly towards the Earth in ten years. This Statement is predicted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
- Asteroid 99942 Apophis was discovered by US astronomers in 2004 and was named after the Egyptian God of chaos and destruction.
- It is a 370-meter diameter near-Earth asteroid.
Defence
- Our Indian Army is underway of procuring Spike-LR Anti-Tank Missiles from Israel and Igla-S Very Short Range Air Defence Systems (VSHORAD) from Russia through a set of new financial powers for emergency procurements sanctioned by the Defence Ministry.
- Under the emergency route, the Army is looking to procure about 12 launchers and around 250 missiles for each system and armed forces have been given a free hand to procure equipment worth up to Rs.300 crore on a priority basis.
- Indian Navy's frontline missile destroyer INS Ranjit will be decommissioned after 36 years of service.
- It was commissioned on September 15th, 1983, with Captain Vishnu Bhagwat in command.
- Now it will be held at Visakhapatnam's naval dockyard on 6th May 2019.
Sports
- Australia's Claire Polosak to make history as she becomes the first female umpire to officiate in a men's one-day international at the ICC World Cricket League Division 2.
- She is 31-year-old and has overseen 15 women's ODI and stood in the semi-final of the Women's World Twenty20 in 2018.
- A decision has taken by Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) to Bid for World Team Championships 2024.
- About the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI):
- TTFI is the governing body for table tennis in India.
- It was founded in 1926.
- It is headquartered in New Delhi.
- Its President is Dushyant Chautala.
- An Indian Shooting ace named Apurvi Chandela won Gold Medal at the 2019 ISSF World Cup held in New Delhi and attained the world number one position in the women's 10 metres air rifle event.
- The 8th edition of Asian Youth Women Handball Championship 2019 will be held in Jaipur from August 21 to 30.
- Jaipur First time is all set to host this game organised by Asian Handball Federation (AHF).
