Important Top 20 Weekly Current Affairs from 7 Jan to 12 Jan 2019
1. Maduro was sworn in as President of Venezuela for the second time
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro sworn in on Thursday for a controversial second term. The European Union and the neighbouring countries of South America of Venezuela boycotted.
About Venezuela:[toggle]
President: Nicolás Maduro
Capital: Caracas
Currency: sovereign bolivar
Venezuela is a country on the northern coast of South America with diverse natural attractions. Along with its Caribbean coast are tropical resort islands including Isla de Margarita and the Los Roques archipelago.[/toggle]
2. January 12, 2019, celebrated as National Youth Day.
Swami Vivekanand Jayanti was celebrated as National Youth Day in India on January 12, 2019. On this occasion, to encourage Indian youth, lectures and writings related to Swami Vivekananda’s ideas are also done by the students.
The purpose of this day is to present Vivekananda’s teachings and ideals as a role model for the Indian youth. This day is celebrated as National Youth Day so that the youth of the country can get inspiration from the life, work style, consciousness and ideal of Swami Vivekananda.
3. Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg on a three-day visit to India.
Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg reached New Delhi on a three-day state visit to India. The visit of Norway’s PM will provide an opportunity to review progress in bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Norway:[toggle]
Capital: Oslo
Currency: Norwegian krone.[/toggle]
4. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on a two-day visit to Uzbekistan.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj started a two-day trip to Uzbekistan Mrs Swaraj will be in Samarkand for the First India-Central Asia Dialogue, in which she will co-chair with Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov.
Uzbekistan:[toggle]
Capital: Tashkent
Currency: Uzbekistan Som[/toggle]
5. Supreme Court appointed Alok Verma as CBI Chief.
Three months after the government split Alok Verma with its powers and sent them for forced leave, the Supreme Court has been appointed as the CBI chief. Both Alok Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana were sent on leave in the middle of October between the two chiefs of the CBI.
The Supreme Court has said that under the DSPE Act, the high power committee needs to take action within a week to consider the matter of Alok Verma.
6. King Mohammed V of Malaysia became the first King to resign before his term.
King Mohammed V of Malaysia has stepped down after two years of rule on the throne, for the first time an emperor has left his post before completing his five-year tenure.
7. Sheikh Hasina was sworn in as Prime Minister of Bangladesh for the fourth time.
Sheikh Hasina took oath as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh for the fourth time. This is his third consecutive term after winning the 11th parliamentary elections. President Mohamed Abdul Hamid administered the oath of office to Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka.
8. 106th session of Indian Science Congress concluded in Jalandhar.
The 106th session of the Indian Science Congress (ISC), 2019 was completed in Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar, Punjab. The third session was inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi and Union Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Harsh Vardhan attended.
9. The first Global Aviation Conference was organized in Mumbai.
For the first time, the Global Aviation Conference that lasted for 15 days will be organized in 2019 with the theme “Flying for all” in association with FICCI by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) in Mumbai, Maharashtra from 15-16 January 2019.
The aim of the summit is to focus on the festival of ‘flying for everyone’ and to showcase the challenges of the region in the newly developing areas, to provide a platform to the aviation community and to transform the air travel by changing the technology-driven innovation in the future.
10. EIU Democracy Index 2018.
The eighth edition of EIU Democracy Index 2018 was released by the Economist Intelligent Unit, in which the status of democracy was compiled in 167 countries of the world. Norway is at the top in the list and India has reached the 42nd place on the annual Global Democracy Index of Economist Intelligence Unit. The index was started in 2006. Japan, Italy, France, Israel, Singapore, and Hong Kong have also been named among ‘flawed democracies’.
Only top 19 countries have been classified as ‘full democracies’, while the hybrid regimes include Pakistan (110th), Bangladesh (92nd), Nepal (94th) and Bhutan (99th).
The top 3 countries in the democracy index 2018 are:
1. Norway
2. Iceland
3. Sweden
11. Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 passed in Lok Sabha.
The Citizenship Amendment Bill is seeking to provide Indian citizenship to the persecution of minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Indian citizenship is granted to such migrants after the current 6 years of residence in India, instead of 12 years in the bill.
12. Lok Sabha passed Upper Caste 10% Reservation.
The central cabinet has stipulated the decision of upper caste 10% Reservation. This reservation will be given on an economic basis for admission in government jobs and educational institutions. The advantage of reservation is the possibility of getting people whose annual income is less than Rs. 8 lakhs.
13. RBI constitutes committee to promote digital payments.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted a high-level committee to improve digital payments to encourage digitization of payments and increase financial inclusion.
In the five-member committee headed by former Chairman of UIDAI, Nandan Nilekani, the former Deputy Governor of the RBI Mr H.R. Khan and former Information Secretary, Ministry of Information Technology, Smt. Aruna Sharma. RBI has said that the committee will review the present status of digitization of payments and if any, will suggest ways to reduce any gaps in the ecosystem.
14. The interim budget will be presented on February 1, 2019.
The interim budget for 2019 will be presented during the budget session of Parliament on February 1. The budget session of Parliament will last from 31st January to 1st February. This decision has been taken in the meeting of Cabinet Committee of Parliamentary Affairs.
15. World Bank estimates an increase of 7.3% in India’s GDP in 2018-19.
The World Bank has anticipated that India’s GDP is expected to grow 7.3% in FY2018-19 and 7.5% in the next two years, due to which there has been an increase in consumption and investment. According to the World Bank, India will remain the fastest growing major economy in the world.
16. Malala wrote a new book ‘We are Displaced’.
Nobel Peace Prize winner and Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai has written a new book entitled We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World, in which she will travel around the world to travel her experiences and visit refugee camps. Records the tours.
17. Government launches WebWonder Women Campaign.
The government has started a Web-Wonder Women campaign to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of women who have influenced society through social media.
The purpose of this campaign is to identify the status of Indian women from all over the world who have used the power of social media to run positive campaigns to bring about change in society.
18. IRCTC tie-up with Bharti AXA General Insurance.
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a subsidiary of the Railway, will provide insurance free up to Rs 50 lakh for those air travellers who book their tickets through their portal. IRCTC has tied up with Bharti-Axa for the offer. IRCTC’s service fee of 59 is the cheapest compared to travel websites. IRCTC has tied up with the computer reservation system Galileo to power the flight search engine.
19. Polavaram project got admission in Guinness Book Record of World for concrete.
The Polavaram project of Andhra Pradesh entered the Guinness Book of World Record by adding 32,100 cubic meters of concrete within 24 hours. This work was completed by the employees of Navyug Engineering Company, the project and state government officials remained on the site until the goal was completed.
20. Six states signed the agreement for Renuka-bound Multipurpose Dam Project.
In the presence of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Nitin Gadkari, an agreement was signed for Renuka Dham Multipurpose Project in New Delhi between Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand states. On this occasion, Six Chief Ministers were present.
About Renukaji Dam Project:[toggle] Renukaji Dam Project has been conceived as a storage project on Giri river in Sirmour district of Himachal Pradesh. It envisages construction of 148 m high rockfill Dam on river Giri at Dadahu in Sirmaur District and a Dam toe Powerhouse. The project will provide 49800 hac m of live water storage in its reservoir and firm water supply to the tune of 23 cumecs to Delhi. The total cost of the project estimated is Rs 4,596.76 crore While 90 per cent of the project cost will be borne by the Delhi government, Himachal Pradesh will bear 10 per cent of the cost. The project will also generate 40 MW of power during peak flow.[/toggle]