DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: APRIL 21 & 22 , 2019

Dear Aspirants,

Daily Current Affairs (April 22, 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.

Daily Current Affairs – April 2019

NATIONAL

Election Commission launches Voter Turnout app on Google Play Store:

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) has launched a new mobile app “Voter Turnout” for the voters across the country to see the real time availability of voter turnout during the election season in the country.
• The beta version of the ECI’s Voter Turnout app is available for download on the Google Play Store and as of now it has been downloaded over 5,000 times.

20 states join pan-India single emergency helpline number 112:

• Twenty states and Union territories have so far joined a pan-India network of single emergency helpline number ‘112’ on which immediate assistance can be sought by anyone in distress.
• The Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) envisages a single pan-India emergency number ‘112’, which is an internationally recognised number, to target all types of emergencies.
• The ‘112’ helpline is an integration of police (100), fire (101) and women (1090) helpline numbers and the project is being implemented under the central government’s Nirbhaya Fund.
• The 20 states and Union Territories include Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadar and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Jammu and Kashmir and Nagaland.

INTERNATIONAL

A Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Report has been released by the US Department of Justice:

• The Attorney General William Barr of US has released 448 pages redacted version of Robert Mueller’s “Report on the Investigation Into Russian Interference in the 2016 Election” which claims that the special counsel found no evidence of Russian meddling in US election in 2016.
• A special counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to investigate the Russian interference in the 2016 US election.

Asian Tea Alliance launched in China:

• The Asian Tea Alliance (ATA), a union of five tea-growing and consuming countries, was launched in Guizhou in China, according to industry sources.
• This Alliance was formed based on the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Indian tea Association and China tea Marketing Association in December 2018 to promote tea consumption in India, China, U.S., Russia, Europe and West Asia.

Saudi Arabia increases India’s Haj Quota to 2 lakhs:

• Saudi Arabia has issued a formal order increasing the Haj quota of India to two lakhs from one lakh seventy five-thousand. This is the third hike in three consecutive years.
• The decision will ensure that all the Haj applicants from big states like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar can embark pilgrimage this year as their waiting lists have been cleared due to the increase in quota.

BANKING & BUSINESS

Airtel Payments Bank partners with Bharti AXA General Insurance for two-wheeler insurance:

• Airtel Payments Bank announced it has teamed up with Bharti AXA General Insurance for a two-wheeler insurance product offering.
• Airtel Payments Bank said the product is available on MyAirtel App and at over 40,000 Airtel Payments Bank points across India during the first phase of launch.
• The offering entails personal accident cover, protection against third-party liabilities and inspection-free renewal through a fast, paperless process.

CRISIL board gives nod for transfer of ratings business to new subsidiary:

• CRISIL Ltd, a diversified global analytics company, will transfer its ratings business to its proposed new wholly-owned subsidiary. The board of CRISIL gave the nod for the transfer, which is being done to comply with SEBI norms of last year.
• CRISIL proposes to undertake the transfer of its ratings business through a scheme of arrangement in terms of Section 230 to 232 of the Companies Act, 2013, to be approved by the stock exchanges and the National Company Law Tribunal.

Income Tax Department proposes new norms for taxing MNCs in India:

• The income tax department has proposed a change in the methodology for taxing multinational companies (MNCs), including digital firms, having a permanent establishment in India by giving weight to factors like domestic sales, employee strength, assets and user base.
• In ‘Profit Attribution to Permanent Establishment (PE) in India’ report, the CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) Committee stated that MNCs that are suffering global losses or a global profit margin of less than 2% and have their operations in India will be considered to have made a profit of 2% of Indian revenue and will be taxed accordingly.
• The CBDT invited comments from stakeholders on the report within 30 days.

Non-life insurers witness 13% rise in premium:

• Life insurer’s premium income grew 11% in FY19 over 2018 and non-life insurance firms witnessed a 13% rise in their total premium income to Rs 1.70 lakh crore in the financial year ended March 2019.
• The 34 non-life insurers had a gross premium of Rs 1.51 lakh crore in 2017-18. Among these insurers, as many as 25 are categorised as general insurers, seven as standalone private sector insurers while the rest of the two are government-owned specialised insurers.
• For the 25 general insurers, the collective gross premium in 2018-19 stood at Rs 1.50 lakh crore, up by nearly 13 per cent from Rs 1.33 lakh crore a year ago, showed the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).

Reliance retail crosses Rs 1L cr revenue milestone in FY19:

• Reliance retail has become the first Indian retail company to clock more than Rs.1 lakh crore in annual revenues. The retail venture of Reliance Industries reported an income of Rs 1,30,556 crore for 2018-19, 89% more than the previous year’s Rs 69,198 crore.

Indiabulls General gets the preliminary nod to foray into non-life business:

• Indiabulls General Insurance, a subsidiary of Indiabulls Integrated Services, said it has received preliminary approval from regulator IRDAI to foray into non-life business.
• In January, another subsidiary Indiabulls Life Insurance Company had received R1 approval from Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).

REPORTS/ RANKING BY VARIOUS ORGANISATIONS

D&B report cited Business Sentiments down by 7.7% for Q2 in 2019:

• According to Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) report, business sentiments on the country’s financial and macroeconomic conditions continue to decline in the second quarter of 2019 as compared to the second quarter in 2018. D&B Composite Business Optimism Index conclude 78.4 scores during Q2 2019 as compared to 85.0 during Q2 2018, a decline of 7.7%.

India Rises To 17th Spot From 37th in StartupBlink’s Startup Ecosystem Ranking:

• According to data released by StartupBlink, India moved up to 17th position in 2018 from 37th spot last year in the Startup Ecosystem Ranking for 2019.
• The top three spots remained unchanged with the United States, United Kingdom and Canada
• Bangalore, New Delhi and Mumbai were the top cities in the Indian startup ecosystem.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

Ukraine election: Comedian Zelensky wins presidency by landslide victory

• In Ukraine, comedian and political newcomer Volodymyr Zelensky has apparently secured a landslide victory in the Presidential election.
• Exit polls indicated that he is going to take 73 per cent of the votes while incumbent Petro Poroshenko securing 25 per cent.

Dubai based ‘RAKEZ’ appointed Cricket Champion Ravi Shastri as a Corporate Ambassador:

• “Champion of Champions”, Former Cricketer Ravi Shastri appointed as Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) exclusive Corporate Ambassador to the Indian Business Community.
• As brand Ambassador Ravi Shastri may attract more Indian business leaders to set up or expand their operations in UAE through RAKEZ.

Paytm Payments Bank appoints Sairee Chahal to board of directors:

• Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPB) has appointed entrepreneur Sairee Chahal to its board of directors.
• Sairee Chahal is the founder and CEO of Sheroes – a community platform for women.

Ravinder Kumar Passi appointed the chairman of EPCH New Chairman for EPCH:

• Ravinder Kumar Passi has been elevated to the post of Chairman of the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH).

• Passi, who was previously the Vice-Chairman of the council, has taken charge as the chairman from his predecessor OP Prahladka.

Mukesh Kumar elected Judo Union of Asia general secretary:

• Former Judo Federation of India chief Mukesh Kumar was re-elected as general secretary of the Asian governing body at its ordinary congress at Fujairah in the UAE. Mukesh is also the Chairman of the Technical Conduct Committee of the 36th National Games allotted to Goa.
• Incumbent Judo Federation of India President Partap Singh Bajwa was elected as Vice President of Judo Union of Asia as well as president of South Asia Judo Federation.
• A judo training camp of best countries will be conducted in India in 2020. South Asian Judo Championships is also being planned for next year in India.

Nasim Zaidi quits Jet Airways board:

• Jet Airways’ non-executive and non-independent director Nasim Zaidi has quit the board. Mr Zaidi, the former Chief Election Commissioner and ex-civil aviation secretary, joined the Jet Airways board in August last year.

AWARDS & HONOURS

Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi Awards 2019:

• The Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi (CSA) honoured 31 writers during a function at Punjab Kala Bhawan.
• Five writers, Dr Chaman Ahuja (Urdu), Dr Om Prakash Vasishta (Punjabi), Professor Tejwant Singh Gill (English), Dr Prasoon Prasad (Hindi) and Professor Virender Kumar Alankar (Sanskrit) were given the award of recognition for their lifelong contribution in the field of literature.

Malayalam film Bhayanakam wins the best cinematography at Beijing International Film Festival:

• Malayalam film Bhayanakam (Fear) directed by Jayaraj won the best cinematography award at the Beijing International Film Festival, China.
• The cinematography was done by Nikihil S Praveen. The film had also won the best cinematography award at the 65th National Film Awards.

National award for KAU IPR Cell:

• The Intellectual Property Rights Cell (IPR Cell) of Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) has been selected for the National Intellectual Property Award 2019.
• The award constituted by the Indian Intellectual Property Office under the Union Ministry of Industry and Commerce is conferred on persons and organisations working in the field of patents, trademarks and Geographical Indications.

Indian-American Professor Sree Sreenath inducted into Cleveland International Hall of Fame:

• An Indian-American scientist and social activist Prof Sree Sreenath has been inducted into the prestigious Cleveland International Hall of fame for his contribution in applications in systems biology, global issues and sustainable development.
• Along with five other inductees – Dr Akram Boutros, Ingrida Bublys, Paul Burik, Richard Fleischman, and Marilyn Madigan.

Police officer awarded for writing book ‘Samvidhan Kavya’:

• Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) under the Ministry of Home Affairs has conferred Sunil Kumar Gautam, Special Commissioner of Police (Operations) with “Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant Award” for the year 2018-19 for his book “Samvidhan Kavya” (Constitution of India in Poetic form).
• This book was released by Dr Kiran Bedi, Lieutenant Governor, Puducherry on October 5, 2016 in Puducherry.

SPORTS

Asbel Kiprop: Former Olympic 1,500m champion banned for four years for doping

• Former Olympic and three-time world champion Asbel Kiprop of Kenya was banned for four years for testing positive for the blood-boosting drug EPO after his claim that urine samples might have been tampered with by disreputable doping control officers was rejected.
• The 2008 Olympic 1,500m champion failed an out-of-competition test in his home country in November 2017.

IMPORTANT EVENTS OF THE DAY

World Creativity and Innovation Day: 21st April

• World Creativity and Innovation Day was observed on 21st April to encourage people to use creativity in problem-solving for all issues related to achieving the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals.

National Civil Service Day – April 21st

• Every year April 21st is observed as Civil Services Day since it was on this day Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, addressed the first batch of civil servant in Independent India at the Metcalf House where he referred to civil servants as the ‘steel frame of India’.

World Earth Day: 22nd April

• World Earth Day, which is celebrated every year on April 22. For the year 2019, the Earth Day theme is ‘Protect our Species’.

OBITUARY

Renowned folk singer Amar Paul passes away:

• Amar Paul, a legendary folk singer who is renowned in both the Bengals, passed away at the age of 97.
• One of his songs in the Satyajit Ray film Hirak Rajar Deshe – “Kotoi Rongo Dekhi Duniyay” – is still very popular.

‘Amityville Horror’ paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren dies at 92:

• Paranormal investigator and demonologist Lorraine Warren whose profession inspired horror films like ‘The Conjuring’ and the ‘The Amityville Horror’, died at the age of 92.

Former Chief Secretary of Gujarat HK Khan Passes Away:

• The veteran IAS officer and former Chief Secretary of Gujarat, HK K Khan, passed away in New Delhi.
• Mr. Khan served as an IAS officer of 1956 cadre of Gujarat for nearly three decades and was the Chief Secretary of Gujarat from 1990 to 1992.

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