Current Affairs - August 19, 2019 Current Affairs

The launch of RuPay Card in Bhutan will take in two phases. In Phase one- Indian Banks will issue Rupay Card to Indian Travellers traveling to Bhutan. In Phase two- banks of Bhutan will be empowered to issue RuPay cards to Bhutanese citizens to use in India.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh launching the "School Fagadaba" (Make education better) scheme to improve the infrastructure of government schools in the state. The objective of the scheme was to ensure better infrastructure, quality education and overall improvement of government schools to make them model schools.

It is the highest country award in India. Bajrang Punia is set to be awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2019.

Chief Minister of Odisha Shri Naveen Patnaik launched online revenue payment to provide people with an easier way to make their land revenue payments-online on 73rd Independence Day on August 15, 2019, at Bhubaneswar.

Fifth BRICS Minister of Environment Meeting held in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

A biographical documentary "100 Years of Chrysostum" will receive Guinness Award in the category of longest documentary. The "100 Years of Chrysostum" is based on the life of Philipose Mar Chrysostum, scripted and directed by filmmaker Blessy. The 48-hour and 8 minutes documentary has broken the record of the 21-hour Saudi Arabian documentary "World of Snakes". Former Padma Bhushan awardee Philipose Mar Chrysostum is a Metropolitan Emeritus of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar.

The United Arab Emirates will honour the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the "Order of Zayed", the highest civilian award of the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will recieve the award during his visit to the UAE. The order in the name of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founding father of the UAE, acquires special significance as it is awarded to Prime Minister Modi in the year of the birth centenary of Sheikh Zayed.

The Aadi Mahotsav, a National Tribal Festival, is celebrated at Polo Ground in Leh-Ladakh. It is a 9 day event that starts from 17th August to 25th August.

The Union Minister of Human Resource Development Ramesh Pokhriyal, inaugurated the International Conference titled "Journey of Teacher Education: Local to Global" in New Delhi. The 2-day event is being organized by the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) as part of silver jubilee celebration of its establishment in 1995. NCTE was tasked with achieving planned and coordinated development of teacher education system throughout the country and maintenance of norms and standards.

The NDA-led government in its second term is to launch Pradhan Mantri Laghu Vyapari Maan-Dhan scheme on 19 August. The pension scheme for small traders functions under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. The proposal for the scheme was approved by the cabinet on May 31, 2019. The scheme was notified by the Ministry on July 22. Pradhan Mantri Laghu Vyapari Maan-Dhan scheme: The Pradhan Mantri Laghu Vyapari Maan-Dhan scheme aims to target enrolling 25 lakh subscribers in 2019-2020.

Uttar Pradesh has the largest number of districts in India. Uttar Pradesh has 71 Districts followed by Madhya Pradesh - 50, Bihar-38 Maharashtra - 35 & Rajasthan-33 districts

Fisheries and the aquatic ecology research team from the zoology department of Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU) have discovered 5 species of fish from various districts of the Arunachal pradesh. The 5 newly discovered species of fish are: Mystus prabini (discovered in Sinkin and the Dibang rivers in Lower Dibang Valley district); Exostoma kottelati (discovered in the Ranga river in Lower Subansiri district); Creteuchiloglanis tawangensis (discovered in the Tawangchu river in Tawang district); Garra ranganensis (discovered in the Ranga river); Physoschistura harkishorei (discovered in the Dibang and the Lohit rivers in Lower Dibang Valley district).

India has got its first National Essential Diagnostics List (NEDL) finalized by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The objective of the list is to bridge the current regulatory system's gap that does not cover all the medical devices and in-vitro diagnostic device (IVD). With this, India became the first country to compile such a list.

Under Swachh Bharat Mission, the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) has launched a nationwide Hackathon called "San-Sadhan" for Divyang/ physically challenged people accessible toilets, which will be held from September 14- 15,2019 in New Delhi. It aimed to enhance sensitivity and develop an ecosystem for creating a barrier-free environment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi formed a High Powered Committee (HPC)of chief ministers headed by Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for transforming Indian agriculture and raising farmers' income, under NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog.

Defence Minister of India, Shri Rajnath Singh has approved the formation of 12-member high-level committee, headed by the Director-General (Acquisitions) to revise and align the procedure of Defence procurement with the aim of strengthening the 'Make in India' initiative.Rajnath Singh approves a high-level Committee to review Defence Procurement Procedure to strengthen 'Make in India' initiative. The committee has been tasked to review the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2006 and the Defence Procurement Manual (DPM) 2009.

World Photography Day is an annual, worldwide celebration of the art, craft, science, and history of photography. World Photography Day signifies about the photography event in the world. Early 19th century, photography has become an ever-increasing medium of personal expression and appreciation for countless people around the world.A photograph the ability to capture a place; an experience; an idea; a moment in time.

The 9 day long National tribal festival named "Aadi Mahotsav" commenced at the Polo Ground, Leh-Ladakh. It is a joint initiative of Ministry of tribal affairs and Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED). The theme of this year's festival is "A celebration of the spirit of Tribal Craft,Culture and Commerce".

Indias participation at WorldSkills International Competition as big as the Olympics. The 48-member Indian Team representing the country at World Skills Kazan 2019 given a grand send-off at a ceremony in the capital . This is organized by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) under the aegis of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) Aim : To motivate the participants as they gear up to pit their skills against the best in the world. India is the sixth largest team that will take part in the competition.

Former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra passed away. He was 3-time Chief Minister of Bihar. He was an economics professor at Bihar University and also authored several books.

A new rocket for commercial use named Smart Dragon-1 (SD-1) with 3 satellites, developed by the China Rocket Company affiliated to the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALVT) was launched successfully from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China.3 satellites were developed by 3 separate Beijing-based companies.SD-1 has a total length of 19.5 metres, a diameter of 1.2 metres and a take-off weight of about 23.1 tonnes.

Tawlhlohpuan is a Mizoram made medium to heavy, compactly woven, good quality fabric. It is known for warp yarns, warping, weaving & intricate designs that are made by hand.

I-League champion Chennai City FC has announced a strategic partnership with German sports goods supplier "uhlsport". The partnership aims to to support a sustainable growth of football education in India. It will also work to develop grassroots football in Tamil Nadu and across India.

In Uttar Pradesh, the state government has decided to set up Atal Bihari Vajpayee residential schools for children of labourers in all 18 divisions of state. Beside this, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced many projects in state in remembrance of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee including a memorial in Bateshwar, the former prime minister's native village in Agra. A 'Centre of Excellence' will also establish in DAV College in Kanpur where Atal ji had his education. The state government also announced that the work to set up a medical university in Lucknow is underway and a satellite centre of KGMU is being set up in Balrampur, from where Vajpayee had contested elections in 1957.

TamilNadu Shri Edappadi K Palaniswami made an announcement on trifurcation of Vellore district. Ranipet and Tirupattur will be the new districts carved out of Vellore.

49th Parallel - It is a international boundary line between United States of America and Canada. It is the longest official international border between two countries.

Lucknow's famous Hazratganj Chauraha renamed as "Atal Chowk" It is named in the memory of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The first death anniversary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Hazratganj Chowk renamed after him as "Atal Chowk" from August 16. He was a five-time Member of Parliament (MP) from Lucknow. A memorial named "Atal Smriti Upvan" be built on his name.

Indian men's team won the Team Sprint gold medal at the World Junior Track Cycling Championships in Frankfurt, Germany. A team of 4 members created the history by winning India's first-ever gold in a world level cycling competition.