DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: APRIL 15 & 16, 2019

Dear Aspirants,

Daily Current Affairs (April 15 & 16, 2019) like many other sections is inevitable and this also helps to score in the Banking awareness, Static GK and Financial Awareness sections. Remember, Banking Awareness and Static Awareness Questions are asked from the General Awareness section. This will also help you to ride your preparations for the forthcoming exams.

NATIONAL

CMFRI joins hands with ISRO to protect coastal wetlands:

The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have joined hands to map, validate and protect smaller wetlands in the coastal belt of the country.

- And to develop a mobile app and a centralised web portal with a complete database of wetlands smaller than 2.25 hectares in the country.

The collaborative move is part of a national framework for fisheries and wetlands recently developed by the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project of CMFRI.

India successfully test fires subsonic cruise missile ‘Nirbhay’ off Odisha coast:

India successfully tests fired ‘Nirbhay’, the 1,000 km strike range sub-sonic cruise missile, off the coast of Odisha.

Nirbhay cruise missile is the country’s first indigenously designed and developed long-range cruise missile by the India’s Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a lab under Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The missile is nuclear capable, can be equipped with 300kg warhead.

Venkaiah Naidu at 4th Resilient Cities Asia-Pacific Congress 2019:

The 4th Resilient Cities Asia-Pacific Congress 2019 organised by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and co-hosted by South Delhi Municipal Corporation started in New Delhi.

It was launched in 2010. The first three editions conducted in Bangkok, Thailand in February 2015, Malaysia in March 2016 and in Vietnam in December 2017.

INTERNATIONAL

China develops world’s first armed amphibious drone boat: Report

China has successfully tested the World’s First Armed Amphibious Drone Boat named ‘Marine Lizard’ and guided by China’s BeiDou Navigation Satellite System which could be used in land and sea assault operations, has been successfully tested by China.

The drone ship has been built by Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group under China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC).

Abu Dhabi International Book Fair: India nominated as Guest of Honour

The 29th edition of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF) is all set to receive more than 1000 exhibitors from 50 countries. India has been nominated as the “Guest of Honour” country at the Book Fair in Abu Dhabi.

AUSINDEX-19 Concludes:

The Australian and Indian Navy have concluded a two-week long bilateral maritime exercise code-named AUSINDEX 2019 at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
The bilateral exercise was aimed “to strengthen and enhance mutual cooperation and interoperability between the IN and RAN, providing opportunities for interaction and exchange of professional views between the personnel of the two navies”.

BANKING & BUSINESS

RBI gives 12 years to LIC for reducing stake in IDBI Bank:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given 12 years to Life Insurance Corp to reduce its stake in IDBI Bank, accepting the life insurer’s argument that it is a long-term investor in the struggling bank which had nearly 30 per cent of its advances as bad loans in the December quarter.
RBI has given LIC 12 years to cut its stake in the bank by 10 per cent.

Microsoft, Tata Trusts tie up to help develop handloom clusters:

Microsoft India and Tata Trusts have signed an agreement to jointly work for the development of handloom clusters in the Eastern and North-Eastern parts of the country in order to build a digitally-inclusive society.
While Microsoft runs ReWeave initiative to upskill the weavers and help them with issues related to their work, Tata Trusts’ initiative Antaran focusses on reviving ailing handloom clusters.

Bharti Airtel and FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) has launched a safety app “My Circle”:

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel and the FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) has launched a safety app – My Circle – aimed at aiding women in event of distress or an emergency situation, by sending an SOS alert.
The carrier-agnostic app can be installed by both Airtel and non-Airtel customers. My Circle app enables women to send SOS alerts to any five of their family or friends in 13 languages including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, Bangla, Urdu, Assamese, Oriya, and Gujarati.

RANKING/REPORTS BY VARIOUS ORGANISATIONS

WHO raises alarm over 300% increase in case of measles globally:

World Health Organization (WHO) has raised alarm over a 300 percent increase in the case of measles globally in the first quarter of 2019 compared with last year.
So far this year, 170 countries have reported 112,163 measles cases to WHO. It also added that Africa has witnessed the most dramatic rise – up 700% which has weaker vaccination coverage than other regions.
Measles, an airborne infection causing fever, cough and rashes that can be deadly in rare cases had been officially eliminated in many countries with advanced healthcare systems.

APPOINTMENTS

Odisha’s Dr BK Nayak became the first Indian FIH health & safety committee head:

Col (Dr) Bibhu Kalyan Nayak, a native of the temple City, became the first Indian to be appointed Chair of International Hockey Federation (FIH) Health and Safety Committee by the world governing body. He will serve a two-year cycle lasting until 2020.

AWARDS & HONOURS

Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo won 2019 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize:

Journalists Kyaw Soe Oo and Wa Lone (Myanmar) will share this year’s UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize, following the recommendation an international jury of media professionals.

Both laureates are serving seven-year prison sentences. At the time of their arrest in Yangon on 12 December 2017, they were working for the Reuters news agency, reporting on alleged human rights violations in Myanmar’s state of Rakhine.

Mint’s Teena Thacker wins Citi Journalistic Excellence Award:

Mint’s Teena Thacker has been selected by Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism as the winner of the 2019 Citi Journalistic Excellence Awards.

Thacker won this award for her long story in Mint on Johnson and Johnson (J&J’s) faulty hip implants in India. In the article titled How Johnson & Johnson is scooting from the hip, Thacker examined in detail the battle for compensation by Indian patients.

2019 Pulitzer Prize Awards:

The 2019 Pulitzer Prizes were awarded by the Pulitzer Prize Board for work during the 2018 calendar year.
The Washington Post won two prizes, as The New York Times; The Wall Street Journal won one; and the Sun-Sentinel won its second Pulitzer for Public Service.

Here the List of Winners:

JOURNALISM

Public service: Staff of the South Florida Sun Sentinel

Feature writing: Hannah Dreier of ProPublica

Commentary: Tony Messenger of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Criticism: Carlos Lozada of The Washington Post

Editorial writing: Brent Staples of the New York Times

Editorial cartooning: Darrin Bell, a freelance cartoonist

Special citation: Staff of the Capital Gazette

BOOKS, DRAMA AND MUSIC

Fiction: “The Overstory” by Richard Powers

Drama: “Fairview” by Jackie Sibblies Drury

History: “Frederick Douglass” by David W. Blight

Biography or autobiography: “The New Negro” by Jeffrey C. Stewart

Poetry: “Be With” by Forrest Gander

General nonfiction: “Amity and Prosperity” by Eliza Griswold

Music: “p r i s m” by Ellen Reid

Special citation: Aretha Franklin

World Press Photo of the Year winner John Moore:

Crying Girl on the Border has been nominated for World Press Photo of the Year, pulled from the Spot News single image category. Veteran Getty photographer John Moore took the picture in the Rio Grande Valley in June 2018.

Dutch-Swedish photographer Pieter Ten Hoopen won the “World Press Photo Story of the Year Award” for the image of 2018 mass-migrant caravan to the US border.

SPORTS

Mumbai Shuttler Dani clinches Dutch International badminton title 2019:

India’s Harsheel Dani, a former junior national champion, defeated Mads Christophersen of Denmark, World No 149, to clinch the 20th Victor Dutch International Badminton title in Wateringen, Netherlands.

2019 Singapore Open (Badminton):

The 2019 Singapore Open, was a badminton tournament which took place at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.

Here the Winners List

Men’s Singles: Kento Momota (Japan)

Women’s Singles: Tai Tzu-ying (China)

Men’s Doubles: Takeshi Kamura (Japan) & Keigo Sonoda (Japan)

Women’s Doubles: Mayu Matsumoto (Japan) & Wakana Nagahara (Japan)

Mixed Doubles: Dechapol Puavaranukroh (Thailand) & Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Thailand)

Cologne Boxing World Cup: Meena Kumari clinches gold as Indian boxers finish with 5 medals

Meena Kumari Maisnam clinched the gold medal in the 54 kg category at the Boxing World Cup in Cologne, Germany.
Sakshi (57kg) and Pwilao Basumatary (64kg) lost their final bouts and had to settle for silver while Pinki Rani (51kg) and Parveen (60kg) won bronze as India finished with five medals.

Paris Marathon: Ethiopian runners Gelete Burka and Abrha Milaw win 2019 race

Ethiopian athletes Gelete Burka (women’s race) and Abrha Milaw (men’s race) won the 43rd edition of the Paris Marathon.
Milaw won the men’s race with a time of 2 hours:07 minutes :50 seconds. Kenyan Paul Lonyangata, a two-time Paris Marathon winner, was the third-fastest man.
Burka was the fastest woman with 2 hours:22 minutes:48 seconds.
In the wheelchair race, Julien Casoli won for a third time. The fastest disabled racer put up a time of 1 hour:36 minutes:57 seconds.

OBITUARY

Space scientist and Padma-Shri awardee Dr SK Shivakumar passes away:

Renowned space scientist and former Indian Space Research Organisation Satellite Center (ISAC) director Dr SK Shivakumar passed away after suffering from an illness for the past ten days.

Dr Shivakumar was part of the team that developed the telemetry system for Chandrayaan-I – India’s first lunar exploration mission.

Renowned Hindi poet Pradeep Choubey passes away at 70 of cardiac arrest:

Renowned Hindi poet Pradeep Choubey died of a cardiac arrest in his home. Choubey (70) was the younger brother of a celebrated humorist, satirist and poet Shail Chaturvedi.

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: APRIL 13, 2019

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