Current Affairs - April 19, 2019 Current Affairs

India has set up an Indo-Pacific division in Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). This division is the brainchild of current foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale. This new division is intended to give a coherent architecture to the policy, which was articulated by the PM Modi at the Shangri-La Dialogue in 2018. Currently, this division will be headed by join secretary Vikram Doraiswami, for whom it will be an additional charge apart from Bangladesh and Myanmar. The territorial divisions of External Affairs ministry are crucial for policy making, so the creation of an Indo-Pacific division is a mammoth step by the government.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has set up an Indo-Pacific division in the foreign office to integrate the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), ASEAN region and the Quad. The new division is a brainchild of foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale and is intended to give a coherent architecture to the Indo-Pacific policy. It is a big step by the Government and it is expected to give thrust to the Indo-Pacific centred policymaking. The Indo-Pacific Wing is currently headed by joint secretary Vikram Doraiswami.

The World Liver Day (WLD) is observed every year on April 19 to build awareness and understanding importance of liver in human body and how liver ailments are treated. As per World Health Organisation (WHO), liver diseases are 10th most common cause of death in India. The liver, which measures about 1,00 grams in weight and 15 cm in length, is the second largest organ and is key player in our body's digestive system.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued Rs. 50 denomination banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series that bore Shri Shaktikanta Das' (Governor of RBI) signature. i.The design of these notes is exactly similar to the 'Rs 50 banknotes' in Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series. ii.The RBI notified that all bank notes in the denomination of Rs. 50 issued by the Central Bank in the past will continue to be legal tender.The dimension of the Rs. 50 banknote is 66 mm x 135 mm.On the frontal side, the numeral '50' is written in the Devanagari script along with Mahatma Gandhi's portrait in the centre.A small design of the denominational numeral '50' is printed on the front and back sides of the note, in the middle of the vertical band next to the watermark. It has a correct back-to-back registration and, according to the RBI, the design appears as one when seen against the light.

A group of researchers, led by astronomers at San Diego State University, by using data from NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, detected the new Neptune-to-Saturn size planet orbiting between two previously known planets Kepler-47b and Kepler-47c. This new planet named as Kepler-47d. The research was recently published in the Astronomical Journal.According to a new study, Kepler-47d is about seven times larger than Earth and also the largest of the three planets in the Kepler-47 circumbinary system. The Kepler-47 system is approximately 3.5 billion-years-old and it is 3,340 light years away in the direction of the constellation Cygnus.

The Mumbai police have started an investigation into the seizure of campaign material of the BJP from the premises of United Phosphorous Ltd (UPL) in Mumbai. A flying squad of the Election Commission (EC) had raided the premises of UPL at suburban Khar, where electronic cards for the BJP's poll campaign were being allegedly assembled. The returning officer had then issued a show-cause notice to the company. Sanjay More, senior inspector at the Khar Police station said the Khar police had earlier registered a non-cognisable offence in the case. The police have now started an investigation in this case after seeking proper permission from the local court.

Saudi Aramco, a Saudi Arabian national petroleum and natural gas company, is in talks to acquire 25 percent stake in Reliance Industries' refining and petrochemicals businesses. However, both Aramco and Reliance declined to comment on the issue. Saudi Aramco also looks forward to invest in "West Coast Refinery and Petrochemical Project", India's largest oil refinery on the west coast in Maharashtra. The refinery project will be developed by three domestic oil marketing companies - Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum. The project is estimated to cost USD 44 billion.

The US Department of Interior inducted its very first Indian, Delhi-based Sanjay Kumar, CEO of Geospatial Media and Communications and Secretary General of World Geospatial Industry Council (WGIC), to its prestigious National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC).In November, 2018, Sanjay Kumar was honoured with the Global Geospatial Industry Ambassador award by the United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM). Kumar first joined the committee as a representative of the WGIC.

The Indian Navy held the 2nd edition of the bilateral maritime exercise between the Indian Navy and Vietnam Peoples' Navy, (IN - VPN BILAT EX) at Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam during 13th to 16th April, 2019.The exercise was undertaken as a part of the ongoing Overseas Deployment of Eastern Fleet ships to South East Asian countries.INS Kolkata under the command of Captain Aditya Hara and INS Shakti under the command of Captain Sriram Amur participated in the exercise.

In Bangladesh, the historic Mujibnagar has recently celebrated on April 17, 2019. The day marks the oath taking ceremony of Bangladesh's first government in 1971 at Baidyanathtala in Meherpur. On this day in 1971, senior leaders of the liberation movement of Bangladesh had assembled at Baidyanathtala to form the provisional government of independent Bangladesh. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was declared the President in absentia as he was arrested and flown to Pakistan after the Pakistan military crackdown on the then 'East Pakistan' on the night of March 25, 1971. The day is being observed by political parties and social and cultural organisations through various programs across Bangladesh.

NASA has awarded three teams of Indian students in its 25th Annual Human Exploration Rover challenge 2019 at the US Space and Rocket Centre in Huntsville, Alabama.The program invites college students and high school students to develop and test roving vehicles for future missions to the Mars,Moon and beyond. "AIAA Neil Armstrong Best Design Award" won by team from KIET Group of Institutions in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Team from Lovely Professional University in Phagwara, Punjab, received "STEM Engagement Award". The Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management and Engineering, Mumbai, Maharashtra, received the "Frank Joe Sexton Memorial Pit Crew Award" and also won the System Safety Challenge Award at the competition hosted by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.

Saudi Arabia will host the annual G20 leaders' summit on November 21-22, 2020, in its capital Riyadh. This will be the first G20 Summit to be hosted in the Arab world. Japan will host this year's G20 summit in Osaka, which will be held June 28-29, as well as ministerial meetings in eight cities. In 2018, the conference was held in Buenos Aries, Argentina and focused on the global economy, the future of labour markets and gender equality.

The premier Industry body India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) committed to the development of a vibrant Indian Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) ecosystem, has appointed Jitendra Chaddah, Intel India senior director for operations and strategy, as its Chairman. He succeeds Anil Kumar Muniswamy. IESA appointed Satya Gupta,CEO and Cofounder of SezOpt Technologies India as Vice Chairman and Veerappan V, co-founder and Director of Tessolve Semiconductor as Treasurer of the new Executive Concil (EC) for the year 2019-20. Rajesh Ram Mishra, CTO for combined telecom and product engineering division of Wipro, is the president of IESA.

Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani and two Indian women lawyers Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati Katju -- who fought the legal battle for LGBTQ rights and were instrumental in the overturning of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code -- are among the 100 named in TIME magazine's list of most influential people for the year 2019.

Sri Lanka's first satellite Raavana l was launched into space from NASA's Flight Facility on Virginia's east shore. The satellite was designed and developed by two Sri Lankan engineers at the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan. It will be shuttled to the International Space Station. The "Raavana 1" was launched into space with the assistance of the US rocket "Antares". Raavana 1 weights around 1.05 kg and is 1000 cubic centimetres in size. The minimum lifespan of the satellite is around one and a half years and it is expected to be active for five years. Raavana 1 satellite's camera mission is to capture images of Sri Lanka and its neighbouring countries. The Raavana-l is expected to orbit 400 kilometres away from the earth. The satellite will achieve an active attitude stabilization which ensures that the satellite's attitude is stable under the influence of external talks. The launch of Raavana-l marks Sri Lanka's entry into the global space age.

Norway is ranked first in the World Press Freedom Index 2019 for the third year running while Finland (up two places) has taken second place from the Netherlands (down one at 4th). India dropped two places to be ranked 140th out of 180 countries in the global press freedom index analysis. Violence against journalists - including police violence, attacks by Maoist fighters and reprisals by criminal groups or corrupt politicians - is one of the most striking characteristics of the current state of press freedom in India.

The debrief of the Indian Navy exercise termed as 'Sea Vigil' (held from January 22 to 23) was conducted. The meeting was chaired by Vice Admiral MS Pawar, AVSM, VSM, the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS). It was conducted at the Naval headquarters, New Delhi. After the 26/11 Mumbai attack in 2008, Sea Vigil became the very 1st national-level coastal defence exercise conducted by the Indian Navy. In this exercise, it involved naval stakeholders at the centre and all 13 coastal states and union territories.The meeting was conducted for the National Committee for Strengthening Maritime and Coastal Security (NCSMCS).

United Nations honoured 150 Indian peacekeepers serving with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) with medals of honour for their dedicated service and sacrifice. UNMISS is working to deter violence against civilians by providing a safe and secure environment for South Sudanese people who have fled violence and sought sanctuary at Protection of Civilian sites across the country. It aims to provide a safe and supported environment so that these people can return to their former homes and communities to live safely and with dignity. UNMISS peacekeepers are also working to facilitate the safe delivery of humanitarian assistance, such as food, clean water, shelter and healthcare, to the millions of displaced people. It also protects, monitors, investigates, and reports on human rights violations and abuses with a strong focus on the most vulnerable, such as women and children and those who are subjected to sexual and gender-based violence.

Two international financial institutions the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have launched a private blockchain and quasi-crypto currency called as "Learning Coin" for better understanding of blockchain technology and the function of crypto assets. The asset will only be available for use within the IMF and the World Bank. It has no monetary value, means it is not a true cryptocurrency. After the testing period, the IMF and the World Bank may use blockchain technology to create smart contracts, fight money laundering, and improve transparency.

Researchers at the IIT Roorkee have identified a new method to detect two of the worst forms of cancer in women - breast and ovarian cancer. The research published in the journal, 'FASEB Bioadvances' details the use of whole saliva as a body fluid for early detection of breast and ovarian cancers, as opposed to the traditional method of using blood samples. The research team, led by Professor Kiran Ambatipudi from the institute's biotechnology department, identified certain proteins present in the saliva which act as potential biomarkers indicative of breast and ovarian cancer metastasis.