Important top 20 current affairs from 14 January to 20 January 2019
1. Vinesh Phogat becomes first Indian athlete to be nominated in Laureus World Comeback of Year Award
Indian star wrestler Vinesh Phogat on January 17, 2019, became the first Indian athlete to be nominated for the prestigious Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award.
2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the ninth edition of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2019.
Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2019 on January 18, 2019, inaugurated by Narendra Modi. The summit is being held at the Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The theme of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2019 was “Youth Connect 2019: Shaping A New India – The Story of Billion Dreams”.
3. ISRO launches UNNATI Programme will launch Kalamata.
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched UNNATI (UNIT SPACE Nano-satellite Assembly and Training by ISRO) program on January 17, 2019, at UR Rao Satellite Center, Bangalore. It is a capacity building programme on nanosatellite development.
4. Gandhi Peace Prize announced for years 2015 to 2018.
The Central Government has announced the Gandhi Peace Prize for the last four years on January 16, 2019. Vivekananda Kendra(for 2015), Akshaya Patra Foundation and Sulabh International(For 2016, Ekai Abhiyan Trust(For 2017), Yohei Sasakawa(for 2018).
5. UK PM Theresa May rejects Brexit Deal and wins the no-confidence vote.
British Prime Minister Theresa May suffered a crushing defeat in the Parliament on January 15, 2019, when over 100 lawmakers of May’s Conservative party – both Brexiteers and Remainders, voted against the Brexit deal.
6. Seven-member GoM was formed to promote the real estate sector under the GST regime.
The Ministry of Finance on January 15, 2019, constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) for boosting the Real Estate Sector under the GST regime. The GoM was constituted in pursuance of the decision of GST Council taken in the 32nd meeting held on January 10, 2019, at New Delhi.
7. world’s largest religious and cultural human congregation, ‘Kumbh 2019’ started at Prayagraj.
The world’s largest religious and cultural human congregation, ‘Kumbh 2019’ began at Prayagraj (erstwhile Allahabad), Uttar Pradesh on January 15, 2019, and will go on till March 4, 2019. According to the UP Government, over 12 crores devotees and tourists are expected to visit Prayagraj during the Kumbh.
Kumbh Mela [toggle]
Kumbh Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred or holy river, Ganga. Traditionally, four fairs are widely recognized as the Kumbh Melas:
1. the Prayagraj Kumbh Mela
2. Haridwar Kumbh Mela
3. Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Simhastha
4. Ujjain Simhastha
These four fairs are held periodically at one of the following places by rotation: Prayagraj (known until 2018 as Allahabad). At any given place, the Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years. There is a difference of around 3 years between the Kumbh Melas at Haridwar and Nashik. The fairs at Nashik and Ujjain are celebrated in the same year or one year apart.[/toggle]
8. Namita Gokhale wins Sushila Devi Sahitya Award.
Writer Namita Gokhale has won the Sushila Devi Literature Award for her novel “Things to Stay Behind”. In the inaugural edition of the Bhopal Literature and Art Festival (BLF), he was awarded ‘Best Book of Fame Written by a Woman’.
9. Shakeel Ahmed made a world record in Indoor Rowing.
Asian Cup gold medalist Shakeel Ahmed has made a world record in Indoor Rowing by completing 1 million meters in a 40-year-old category in Kolkata. Shakeel started his record-setting indoor rowing at the Salt Lake Stadium complex and achieved the untimely distance of 1 million meters in 10 hours.
10. Government launches ‘Womaniya on GEM’ initiative.
Government E-marketplace (GeM) has introduced ‘Womaniya on GEM‘ initiative to help women entrepreneurs and women self-help groups (WSHGs) to help in the sale of handicrafts, handlooms, accessories and many other products. This initiative will help women entrepreneurs to achieve consolidated economic growth. The Government E-marketplace is a 100% government-owned company established under the aegis of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
[toggle ]Government E-marketplace (GeM) was founded in 2016, CEO of GeM is S. Radha Chauhan.[/toggle]
11. Indian Army Day was celebrated on January 15.
Army Day is celebrated in India on January 15. On this day in 1949, Field Marshal Codendera M. Cariappa took over as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from the last British Commander-in-Chief, General Sir Francis Butcher. Army Day is dedicated to soldiers who fought for the defence of the country’s honour. This is the 71st festival of Indian Army Day.
12. Gukesh of Chennai became India’s youngest Grandmaster.
D. Gukesh of Tamil Nadu has become the second youngest Grand Master in the world in 12 years, 7 months and 17 days breaking the record recorded by R Pragyanand, of his state in June 2018. Gukesh has become India’s 59th Grand Master. Sergey Karjakon of Ukraine is the youngest GM, he achieved this achievement in 2002 at the age of 12 years and 7 months in 2002.
13. Malayalam director Lenin Rajendran passes away.
Malayalam director and screenwriter Lenin Rajendran passed away at the age of 67. He was the recipient of the Kerala State Film Award five times and received the International Federation of Film Critics Award for Best Malayalam film for his film ‘Makaramnu’.
14. Palestine has taken over as United Nations G77 group.
Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas has pledged to protect the interests of all the 134 countries in the UN 77 group, Palestine has presided over the group from Egypt for 2019. The G77 group was originally founded by 77 members in 1964, but it expanded into 134 predominantly developing countries. The decision to elect Palestine as the 2019 president of G9 was taken by the Foreign Ministers of the member countries of the group in September 2018.
15. BES EXPO started in 2019 New Delhi.
Information and Broadcasting Secretary Amit Khare and Chairman of TRAI RS Sharma inaugurated the 25th International Conference and Exhibition on the Terrestrial and Satellite Broadcasting, BES Expo 2019 in New Delhi. The subject of this exhibition is Next Gen Broadcasting in the IT World.
16. Reliance Retail, Geo Launches New E-commerce Platform.
Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Limited, announced that the group’s companies Reliance Retail and Reliance Jio Infocom will jointly launch a new e-commerce platform in the country.
Gujarat will be the first state to do this. The announcement was made on the inauguration of the three-day Vibrant Gujarat Summit. The new e-commerce project will empower 1.2 million shopkeepers in Gujarat.
17. India signs a long-term contract with Uzbekistan to supply uranium.
India has signed a long-term contract for supplying uranium ore to broaden its source base for nuclear fuel with Uzbekistan. An exchange of exchange was done in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uzbekistan’s President Shawkat Mirziyev, who was at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in Gandhinagar.
18. Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Mary Oliver dies.
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver has passed away. She was 83 years old. The cause of death was lymphoma. Oliver is the author of more than 15 poems and essay collections – He wrote a brief, direct episode explaining his hatred and disappointment on the path of greed, despair and other human crimes.
19. Prabhat Singh appointed DG in NHRC.
Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India has appointed senior IPS officer Prabhat Singh as DG (Investigation) in the National Human Rights Commission. Singh is an IPS officer of 1985 batch of AGMUT cadre, who is presently a Special Director in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). He has been appointed to this post for the period of 30th April 2020.
20. India will host the 14th session of the Conference of UNCCD Parties.
India will organize the 14th session of the Conference of the UN Nations (UNCCD) parties to combat desertification on the issue of land degradation and desertification, in which more than 100 countries will be participating. It is likely to be held in October 2019.
The UNCCD established in 1994 has 197 teams working towards maintaining and restoring the productivity of land and soil and reducing the effects of drought. The permanent secretariat of the Convention is located in Bonn of Germany from January 1999.
- Current Affairs from 7 Jan to 12 Jan 2019
- Current Affairs from 31 Dec to 5 Jan 2019