Current Affairs - July 29, 2019 Current Affairs

Union Ministry of Mines organized an interactive workshop called 'Waste to Wealth' in New Delhi. The main aim is discussing productive utilisation of bauxite residue, commonly known as Red Mud. The workshop was presided over by Dr K. Rajeswara Rao, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Mines and was organised in association with Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre (JNARDDC) Nagpur.

Veteran star Meryl Streep will become the first-ever recipient of the TIFF Tribute Actor award at the 44th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF-2019). She will receive the award in person on 9th September for her tremendous contribution to cinema, television and the stage spans five decades. Streep is a 3-time Oscar winner for 'The Iron Lady', 'Sophie's Choice and Kramer vs. Kramer. She previously scored an Emmy win for her leading role in HBO's miniseries adaptation of 'Angels in America'. The actor's next film "The Laundromat", about the Panama Papers scandal, is among the films that will be screened at the famed festival.

Measured by shoreline, Hudson Bay is the largest bay in the world (the largest in area being the Bay of Bengal).

Patanjali is the name of a renowned sage in hinduism who is thought to be the author of a number of Sanskrit works. The greatest of these is the Yoga Sutra, which is the source of modern day yoga.

Egan Bernal became the 1st Colombian to win the Tour de France which finished in Paris, France. He beat the defending champion Geraint Thomas of Britain by 1 minute 11 seconds. The 22 year old Bernal has also become the youngest rider to win the race in 110 years. The Tour de France is an annual men's multiple stage bicycle race.

Kaiga Atomic Energy station (Karnataka) sets a World Record in continuous operation of 962 days by Unit-1 of Kaiga Generating Station (KGS-1) among nuclear power plants of all technologies. KGS-1 (220 MW) in an indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) fuelled by domestic fuel which started commercial operation on November 16, 2000.

In the event India won 9 medals. It comprised of seven gold and two silver medals. 2018 World Championships bronze winner Simranjit Kaur also won a gold in the event. Mary Kom won gold in the 51Kg category at the 23rd President's Cup in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia. She defeated Australian April Franks and secured 5-0.

In a bid to promote electric mobility, the GST Council has decided to reduce GST Rate on Electrical Vehicles from 12% to 5% and on charger or charging stations for Electric vehicles from 18% to 5%. The new rates will come into effect from the 1st of August 2019. The Council also approved an exemption from GST on the hiring of Electric Buses by local authorities. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held the meeting through video conferencing. This is the first GST Council meeting after the presentation of 2019 Union Budget in Parliament on 5th of July.

The 5th international Dharma-Dhamma conference was inaugurated in Rajgir, Bihar by Union Minister of State Kiren Rijiju. The aim of the conference is to address people about the terror, violence and global warming prevalent in the world. The conference will also address the subjects of Sat-Chit-Ananda and Nirvana which are the pivotal topics of Buddhism.

Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani has launched an account aggregator model - Sahamati - via which, individuals and small businesses can share their digital financial data with third-parties in a safe and secure manner. For example, a user seeking a loan will be able to quickly share bank statements and other details required by lending institutions digitally through their choice of preferred Account Aggregator (AA). So far, six AAs have received in-principle approval from the RBI. These include NESL Asset Data, CAMS Finserv Financial Services, Cookiejar Technologies Pvt Ltd, FinSec AA Solutions Pvt Ltd, Yodlee Finsoft Pvt Ltd, and Jio Information Solutions. In order to support the ecosystem, Sahamati has been formed as a Section 8 non-profit. It will be headed by BG Mahesh who founded OneIndia.com. Sahamati will apply for the SRO (self-regulatory organisation) licence with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which will give it a self-governing body status, allowing it to work on a code of conduct and best practices for member organizations.

Zayed medal was the prestigious award UAE has conferred to PM Modi.

World Health Organization observe 28 July every year as "World Hepatitis Day" to step up national and international efforts on hepatitis. The date of 28 July was chosen because it is the birthday of Nobel-prize winning scientist Dr Baruch Blumberg, who discovered hepatitis B virus (HBV) and developed a diagnostic test and vaccine for the virus. The theme for 2019 is "Invest in eliminating hepatitis". The host country for World Hepatitis Day 2019 is Pakistan.

Girish Bapat has been appointed the chairman of the "Estimates Committee" of the parliament. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla made the appointment. Estimates committee is one of the three financial standing committees of the parliament apart from the public accounts committee and committee on public undertakings.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has invited Nepal to be the partner country for this year's 'Gita Jayanti Mahotsav 2019' scheduled to be held at Kurukshetra. He extended the invitation to Ambassador of Nepal to India Nilamber Acharya.

Centre has approved the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences' Deep Ocean Mission (DOM). The project plans to explore the deepest recesses of the ocean. It is a five year project. The cost estimated for the project is Rs.8,000 crore. DOM will commence from October 31, 2019. A blueprint of the programme was unveiled by the Ministry last July. One of the proposals is offshore desalination plant that will work with tidal energy. The projects also proposes to develop a submersible vehicle that can go to a depth of at least 6,000 metres with three people on board.

India to host ISSF World Cup from March 15-26 2020. The dates were finalized after the ISSF's approval Monday. The Combined World Cup involves events in rifle, pistol and shotgun.

Iran test-launched a medium-range ballistic missile inside its borders- Shahab-3. It is derived from a North Korean missile called the Nodong-A and can fly 1,150 to 2,000 kilometers, or up to 1,242 miles, depending on the variant. The test came amid heightened tensions between Iran and the West (US), mainly regarding the safety of commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

The Vice President of India Shri Venkaiah Naidu released book titled 'New-Age Technology and Industrial Revolution 4.0' in New Delhi. It is authored by Rajya Sabha Member, Dr Narendra Jadhav. The launch was co-hosted by The Dialogue, a Delhi based think-tank which works on the intersection of technology, society and public-policy.The book is published by Konark Publishers.It examines various dimensions of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 and analyses the intersection of technology with society and explores the policy response towards enabling a balancing act between the opportunities and challenges posed by the fourth industrial revolution.

Jordan has recently launched its first Underwater Military Museum on the bed of Red Sea off the coast of Aqaba. The dive Site includes several tanks, an ambulance, a military crane, a troop carrier, an anti-aircraft battery, guns and a combat helicopter. The kingdom is hoping the 19 decommissioned pieces of military hardware, submerged at depths up to 28 metres (92 feet), will attract tourists to the already popular diving resort of Aqaba. The aim of the museum is to offer a new and unique museum experience where adventure-loving tourists can experience the interaction between sports, the environment and the display pieces. Coral reefs in the northern Red Sea are a popular destination for divers and other tourists due to its good health despite global reef depletion due to global warming.

Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar has been inducted into the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Hall of Fame alongside South African pace legend Allan Donald.

Uttarakhand will host the first-ever Himalayan states' conclave here on July 28 where the prime focus will be on sustainable development.

Animals adapted to life in air are called arboreal.

Lt Gen Paramjit Singh, who has vast experience in counter-terror operations, will be the next Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of the Indian Army. Lt Gen Singh, currently serving as General Officer Commanding of the Army's Nagrota-based XVI Corps, will take over as the new DGMO on October, succeeding Lt Gen Anil Chauhan.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla appointed Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Congress floor leader in Lok Sabha as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The other members elected to the committee from Lok Sabha are Jayant Sinha, Ajay (Teni) Misra, Satya Pal Singh, Subhash Chandra Baheria, Sudheer Gupta, Darshana Vikram Jardosh, Vishnu Dayal Ram, Jagadambika Pal and Ram Kripal Yadav (all BJP), T R Baalu (DMK), Rahul Ramesh Shewale (Shiv Sena), Rajiv Ranjan Singh (JD-U) and Balashowry Vallabbhaneni (YSR Congress Party) and Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD).

Ajay Kumar Bhalla, the1984-batch Assam Meghalaya cadre IAS officer , has been appointed Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has launched a customised video interface - CISFTube - on the lines of YouTube and an on-line encyclopedia "Securitypedia" on the lines of Wikipedia to update its personnel about security related issues, best practices in forces and latest technologies available across the world. Securitypedia is an on-line encyclopedia which incorporates a wide gamut of security related practices across the globe. It is not just a static website containing data archives but is more of a dynamic platform where a force member can contribute by writing blogs on relevant security related professional issues. CISF Tube is an online video database of all videos relevant to CISF. The videos available on CISF Tube enable CISF personnel to learn on various subjects related to their functioning.

Approval was given by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), in the 45th meeting of the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee to construct 1,40,134 more affordable houses to benefit the urban poor under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) (PMAY-(U)). This makes the number of houses sanctioned under PMAY(U) now to be 85,11,574.

Nikoloz Basilashvili is a Georgian professional tennis player. Nikoloz Basilashvili wins the German Tennis Championships. He defeated Andrey Rublev to successfully defend his title at the German Tennis Championships. With the win, he has become first player to win the event in successive years since Roger Federer in 2004-2005.