Current Affairs - April 23, 2019 Current Affairs

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani announced that Iran and Pakistan to create a joint 'reaction force' on the border between the two countries, for combatting terrorism. The announcement came during a two-day visit to Iran by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, the first of his tenure. Iran and Pakistan share a 959 km land border. Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, is Pakistan's largest and poorest province, rife with ethnic, sectarian and separatist insurgencies.

Indigenously designed 'INS Imphal' a guided missile destroyer was launched by Navy Chief Sunil Lanba at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in Mumbai. This ship is designed by the Indian Navy's Directorate of Naval Designs, New Delhi. It is the third ship under Project 15B. The first ship of this project, a guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam, was launched on in April 2015.

The World Book and Copyright Day was observed across the world on April 23, 2019 to highlight the power of books and to promote UNESCO's vision of knowledge societies that are inclusive, pluralistic, equitable, open and participatory for all citizens. The Day pays tribute to books and authors by encouraging everyone to discover the pleasure of reading.

US researchers have used HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) to develop a gene therapy that cured 8 infants who were treated at St. Jude and at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, San Francisco of a rare combined immunodeficiency disease termed as "bubble boy" disorder. Results of the research were developed at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee hospital and were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

SBI General Insurance launched its new product - cyber defence insurance to protect businesses from financial and reputational losses due to cyber attacks. The main focus on SMEs and mid-market businesses to larger businesses. This offers protection against the growing threat of cyber breaches like hacking attacks, identity theft, disclosure of sensitive information and business interruption. It provides IT forensic investigations, legal advice, reputational and PR management.

Former deputy election commissioner Vinod Zutshi has been appointed as special observer for Tripura. The Election Commission (EC) had postponed polling in the Tripura (East) Lok Sabha seat to the third phase on 23rd April from 18th April, due to law and order situation. He was one of the special observers appointed by the Election Commission (EC) to ascertain when the assembly elections in Jammu and Kasmir can be held.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released the 2019 Index of Cancer Preparedness (ICP) in which India's overall rank is 19th out of 28 countries, with a score of 64.9. Australia tops the ICP, followed by the Netherlands and Germany.

The United States is expected to announce on April 22, 2019 that all importers of Iranian oil will have to end their imports shortly or be subject to US sanctions. As per reports, the administration will terminate the sanction waivers that it had granted to some importers of Iranian oil late last year.

The Union Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on April 22, 2019 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in research and education in areas of traditional systems of medicine and its integration with modern science. The MoU enables collaboration in pursuit of Data mining and analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to facilitate concepts such as "Traditional knowledge inspired drug discovery and development" and "Food as Medicine".

The British Indian novelist Salman Rushdie's new novel "Quichotte" will be released in August 2019. This will be the 14th book of the Booker prize-winning author and will be published at Jonathan Cape in the UK on 29 August 2019. The book Quichotte is inspired by Miguel de Cervantes' classic novel Don Quixote, and tells the story of an ageing travelling salesman who falls in love with a TV star and sets off to drive across America on a quest to prove himself worthy of her hand.

Eminent Bengali folk singer Amar Paul passed away following a cardiac arrest. He was 97. Paul lent his voice in a number of films. He has penned several books on folk songs of Bengal and received accolades from various academies around the world.

The first edition of Naval Commanders' Conference of 2019 is scheduled at New Delhi from 23 to 25 April 2019. The Chief of the Naval Staff will review major activities undertaken during the previous 6 months. The themes of 'Functional Reorganisation of Indian Navy towards improving Operational Efficiency' and 'Optimal Manning' will form the core of discussions.

India's largest IT services company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has partnered with the Department of Posts in a bid to transform it into a multi-service digital hub, modernise the delivery of mail and packages, enhance customer experience, and launch innovative services that will drive new revenues. In 2013, TCS had announced receiving an over Rs 1,100 crore multi-year contract from the Department of Posts (DoP) for an end-to-end IT modernisation programme. Core System Integration (CSI) program designed and implemented by TCS, involved deploying an integrated ERP (enterprise resource planning) solution that caters to mail operations, finance and accounting, and HR functions, and connects its vast network of more than 150,000 post offices, making this the largest distributed ePostal network in the world. TCS is the same company that, along with the Ministry of External Affairs, revamped India's passport services through the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) initiative and 'Student Connect'.

Budget carrier Spicejet announced the signing of an initial pact for code share partnership with Gulf carrier Emirates on 22 April 2019. The partnership will allow the opening of new routes and destinations for passengers of the two airlines. Code-sharing allows an airline to book its passengers on its partner carriers and provide seamless travel to destinations where it has no presence.

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Asia's first and India's largest stock exchange and Network Intelligence, a global cybersecurity services provider & CERT-IN empanelled vendor inks Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide cybersecurity services to its members according to the cybersecurity framework set by SEBI. Last year, SEBI had released its guidelines on cybersecurity titled "Cybersecurity & cyber Resilience Framework for Stock Brokers/Depository Participants".

India Air Force has recommended Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman for the Vir Chakra medal for shooting down an F-16 in an aerial engagement with the Pakistan Air Force on February 27. In the past, during wars, pilots who shot down enemy fighters were all given Vir Chakra medals. The Vir Chakra is the third highest gallantry award in the military during times of war after the Param Vir Chakra and the Mahavir Chakra. This comes even as the IAF fighter pilot was issued transfer orders out of Srinagar to another base in the western sector along the Pakistan border.

Services team won their sixth Santosh Trophy title with a 1-0 victory over Punjab, at Ludhiana. In the semi-finals earlier, eight-time champions Punjab had defeated five-time winners Goa 2-1 to enter their 15th final. Services beat Karnataka 4-3 in the semis via a penalty shootout to book a place in the title clash for the 11th time. The 2018-19 Santosh Trophy was the 73rd edition.

The foundation stone of the first Hindu temple in UAE's capital Abu Dhabi was laid recently. Mahant Swami Maharaj, spiritual head of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar-Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) presided over the four-hour ceremony. The temple embodies the timeless Vedic values of Vasudev Kutumbakam.

He achieved this feat at the Monte Carlo Masters by defeating Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 38 minutes. Fognini will rise to a career-high ranking of 12. Fognini had beaten Rafael Nadal in the semi-final. Fognini earns 1000 ATP Rankings points and receives Euro 958,055 in prize money. Lajovic gains 600 points and Euro 484,950 for his run to the championship match. Last time an Italian player Nicola Pietrangeli won the trophy in 1968. This event held every year at Monte Carlo Country Club. Fognini is the eighth player to win his first Masters 1000 title over the past 17 events at the elite level. In the 92 ATP Masters 1000 events prior to 2017 Rome, only eight players won their first Masters 1000 crown.

Twitter has appointed Manish Maheshwari as new managing director for the India market effective 29 April 2019. Based in Delhi, Maheshwari will report to Maya Hari, vice-president and managing director - Asia Pacific, Twitter. Maheshwari took over from Balaji Krish, who has been leading the Twitter India team in the interim for the past few months.