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Chief Editor
Dr. Kanchan Deep Chaudhary
________________________________________
Edited, Owned,
Printed & Published By
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CRACK CLAT TUTORIALS
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E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.crackclat.com
JANUARY-2019
CONTENTS
Bharat Ratna Award 2019…….2
Current Affairs Bullets………..3
Latest in General Knowledge…5
Appointments
Awards & Honors
Books & Authors
Constitutional/Law
Defense
Economic Scenario
Ecology & Environment
Places
Report & Index
Software & Telecom
Persons in News………………13
Current Topics – India………..14
Current Topics – World……....17
Static GK Capsules……...........21
Latest in Sports………………..23
Current Affairs MCQs………...25
Answer Key of MCQs………...32
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All disputes subject to Jodhpur jurisdiction only.
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Current Affairs Bullets
Winner of Saraswati Samman for 2017 –
Sitanshu Yashaschandra
The venue of the Arab Economic and Social
Development Summit held recently-Beirut,
Lebanon
The amount of the ‗Standby Swap‘ facility
approved by the govt within the existing overall
$2-bn currency swap arrangement for SAARC
member-countries-$400mn
The third air base set up by the Indian navy in
the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to beef up
surveillance in the Indian Ocean region-INS
Kohassa
Captain of the men‘s Test and ODI teams of the
year (2018) announced by the International
Cricket Council –Virat Kohli
The defence exercise conducted recently along
the Indian coastline by the Indian Navy, Indian
Coast Guard and other stakeholders-Sea Vigil
India‘s position on the Global Talent
Competitive Index 2019 topped by
Switzerland-80th
Winner of Woman‘s Voice Award at the
Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival- Ranjani
Murali
The state which has topped in terms of Gross
State Domestic Product with growth rate of
11.3 per cent in FY 18, according to a report by
Crisil- Bihar
The person who took charge as the Managing
Director and CEO of Axis Bank recently-
Amitabh Chaudhary
The first player in history to win all three top
ICC awards-the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for
ICC Cricketer of the Year, the ICC Men‘s Test
Player of the Year and the ICC ODI Player of
the Year awards for 2018-Virat Kohli
The growth rate of China‘s economy in 2018-
6.6 per cent
The capital infusion approved by the govt in the
Exim Bank of India –Rs 6,000cr
The World capital of
Architecture for 2020 as announced by the
UNESCO-Rio de Janeiro
The country which assumed the chairmanship
of G77 recently –Palestine
The state which has launched a
Rs 1,000 cr Sustainable Catchment Forest
Management (SCATFORM) project –Tripura
Winner of the first Sheikh Saud International
Prize for Materials Research- CNR Rao
The state which topped the medals tally with
228 medals at the khelo India Youth Games
2019 concluded recently in Pune-
Maharashtra
The first private sector firm to cross Rs 10,000
cr quarterly profit-RIL
The person who has becomeIndia‘s youngest
grandmaster – Gukesh Dommaraju
The country with which India recently signed a
long-term contract for supply of uranium-
Uzbekistan
The present Prime Minister of Denmark who
visited India recently – Lars Lokke
Rasmussen
The city which hosted the 10th
edition of the
India Rubber Expo 2019 recently –Mumbai
The four-day-long harvest festival celebrated
recently in Tamil Nadu –Pongal
The city where Prime Minister Narendra Modi
recently inaugurated the National Museum of
Indian Cinema (NMIC) – Mumbai
The India wrestler who has become the first
Indian to be nominated in Laureus World
Comeback of Year Award – Vinesh Phogat
The capital of Kenya where a terrorist attack in
Dusit D2 Hotel and offices complex killed
several people recently – Nairobi
The venue of the annual meeting of the World
Economic Forum (WEF)- Davos
The new Secretary General of National Human
Rights Commission (NHRC) –Jaideep Govind
The bank on which the RBI recently imposed a
monetary penalty of Rs 1-cr for non-
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compliance with norms – Bank of
Maharashtra
The world‘s most dynamic city according to the
sixth City Momentum Index- Bengaluru
The person who resigned recently as the
executive director of Federal Bank – Ganesh
Sankaran
The present Finance Secretary who has been
given a one-month extension in service and
named as a member of the 15th
Finance
Commission – Ajay Narayan Jha
Winner of the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2018-
Yohei Sasakawa
The venue of the 9th
International Micro
Irrigation Conference held recently –
Aurangabad
The head of the seven-member Group of
Ministers (GoM) to examine and suggest ways
to resolve issues related to the real estate sector
– Nitin Patel
The bank which has created a separate vertical
comprising around 1,200 of its existing staffers
to recover its nonperforming assets- Syndicate
Bank
Winner of the 2019 Premier Badminton League
– Bengaluru Raptors
Winner of the Pro Kabaddi Season Six –
Bengaluru Bulls
Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation in
Dec 2018- 3.80 per cent
Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation in
Dec 2018- 2.19 per cent
Index of Industrial Production (IIP) in Nov
2018-0.5 per cent
The Nikkei India Services Purchasing
Managers Index (PMI) in Dec 2018- 53.2
Winner of the first-ever Philip Kotler
Presidential award for his outstanding
leadership for the nation – Narendra Modi
The venue of the 15th
the Pravasi Bharatiya
Divas (PBD) 2019-Varanasi
-The theme of PBD 2019- Role of Indian
Diaspora in Building a New India
The youngest gold medallist at the 2019 Khelo
India Youth Games in Pune- Abhinav Shaw
The person whose appointment as non-
executive part-time Chairman of the board of
YES Bank was approved by the RBI recently
Brahm Dutt
The banker-turned politician who passed away
recently –Meera Sanyal
The state where the National Wildlife Board
recently cleared ONGC‘s Trishna gas project
situated in Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary-Tripura
The state where the ‗Ama Ghare LED‘ scheme
was launched recently- Odisha
The state where Supreme Court recently gave
its nod to govt‘s Chardham development plan-
Uttarakhand
The state which hosted the 25th
edition of the
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII‘s)
Partnership Summit –Maharashtra
The country with which $ 75 bn bilateral
currency swap arrangement was approved by
the Union Cabinet recently-Japan
The country where Tata Steel‘s plant was
declared by the World Economic Forum as
‗Manufacturing Lighthouse- Netherlands
The new tax exemption limit for firms in
annual revenue set by the GST Council- Rs 40
lakh
The present President of the Indian
Weightlifting Federation who has been named
Chef de Mission for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics-
Birendra Prasad Baishya
The state where Chief Minister Pema Khandu
inaugurated India‘s longest (300-metre-long)
single-lane steel cable suspension bridge over
Siang river recently-Arunachal Pradesh
The IIT where scientists have created ‗space
fuel‘ by simulating interstellar conditions in the
lab- IIT Madras
The state which has bagged the Central Board
of Irrigation and Power award for speedy
execution of Polavaram multipurpose project –
Andhra Pradesh
The state where PM Narendra Modi laid
foundation stone of North Koel (Mandal Dam)
project and Kanhar Stone Pipeline irrigation
system recently-Jharkhand
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The new president of the Global Solar Council
(GSC) headquartered in Washington DC-
Pranav R Mehta
The High court which recently set a seven-day
notice period for political parties and
individuals to call for hartal and general strike
in the State –Kerala High Court
The new Director General of the Sashastra
Seema Bal (SSB) –Kumar Rajesh Chandra
The Constitutional Amendment Bill through
which ten per cent reservation in govt jobs and
educational institutions to the economically
backward among upper castes has been given –
124th
The host city of the second edition of Khelo
Indian Youth Games –Pune
The state which recently announced to give
interest-free loans to farmers –Uttarakhand
The first woman to join International Monetary
Fund (IMF) recently as its Chief Economist –
Gita Gopinath
The number of regional rural banks (RRBs) in
the country after recent amalgamation in Bihar
and Punjab – 53
Winner of the women‘s singles title of the 2018
Hopman Cup tennis tournament –Belinda
Bencic
–Winner of the men‘s singles title –Roger
Federer
The estimated growth rate of the Indian
economy in 2018-19 as per the Central
Statistics Office (CSO)-7.2 –per cent
The chairman of the high-level committee that
will work towards deepening digital payments
in India – Nandan Nilekani
The state which has announced interest-free
loans of up to Rs3 lakh for women self-help
groups (WSHGs) in the State - Odisha
Winner of the best motion picture drama award
at the 76th
Annual Golden Globe Awards –
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Iranian private sector bank which has been
allowed to open its branch in Mumbai- Bank
Pasargad
The present Prime Minister of Norway who
visited New Delhi recently –Erna Solberg
The person sworn in as Prime Minister of
Bangladesh for the third consecutive term
recently – Sheikh Hasina
The country against which India won their first
ever Cricket Test series on their soil recently –
Australia
The country which recently cleared the
extradition of Sanjeev Chawla. an accused of
match-fixing in 2000- UK
The private sector bank which will buy
mortgage provider Gruh Finance Ltd- Bandhan
Bank
The Sahitya Akademi awardee Bengali writer
who passed away recently – Dibyendu Palit
Latest In General Knowledge
Anniversaries & Days
January 9 — NRI Day
January 10 — World Laughter Day
January 12 — National Youth Day
January 15 — Army Day
January 26 — Republic Day (India)
January 26 — International Customs Day
January 30 — Martyrs‘ Day (India)
January 30 — World Leprosy Eradication Day
Appointments
Nicolas Maduro sworn in as President of
Venezuela for the second term: Mr. Nicolas
Maduro was, once again, sworn in as the
President of Venezuela for a second term in
Caracas, the capital of Venezuela on January
10, 2019. Mr. Maduro will remain in office till
2025. The swearing-in ceremony took place
inside the Supreme Court of Venezuela under
Article 231 of the Venezuelan Constitution, as
the National Assembly or the Parliament, which
is controlled by the opposition, has been
excluded from participating in the country‘s
politics.
Stefan Lofven elected as the Prime Minster
of Sweden for the second term: The
Parliament of Sweden handed Social Democrat
leader Mr. Stefan Lofven a second term in
office on January 18, 2019, ending more than
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four months of deadlock after an inconclusive
election that had allowed a populist party to
threaten the traditional balance of power.
Sweden had looked set for a snap election when
Mr. Lofven agreed a historic deal with the
Centre, Liberal and Green parties, bringing
together parties from the centre-right and
centre-left to prevent the anti-immigration
Sweden Democrats from having a voice in
policy.
Su Tseng-chang sworn in as Prime Minster
of Taiwan: Taiwan President Ms. Tsai Ing-wen
appointed Mr. Su Tseng-chang as the Prime
minister of the country following the
resignation of the incumbent Mr. Lai Ching-te
over the recent electoral setback suffered by the
ruling Democratic Progressive Party. Mr. Su
Tseng-chang was sworn in as the new PM in
the presidential administration building on
January 14, 2019. Members of the new cabinet,
including ministers, counsellors and department
heads, were also sworn in. Mr. Su had already
served as the Prime Minister of Taiwan
between 2006 and 2007.
Vikram Misri takes charge as India’s new
Ambassador to China: India appointed Mr.
Vikram Misri as the new Ambassador to China.
Mr. Misri took charge on January 8, 2019. A
1989-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS)
officer, Mr. Misri replaced Mr. Gautam
Bambawale who retired in November 2018.
Mr. Misri has taken the charge of the country‘s
envoy at a time when India and China are
trying to deepen their cooperation in various
areas, leaving behind 2017 Doklam stand-off
which was the most serious military face-off in
decades. Before his appointment as India‘s
Ambassador to China, Mr. Misri served as the
Indian envoy in Myanmar.
Rishi Kumar Shukla becomes new CBI
Director: The Prime Minister-led selection
panel appointed 1983-batch IPS officer of
Madhya Pradesh cadre, Mr. Rishi Kumar
Shukla, as the new CBI Director on February 2,
2019. Mr. Shukla had been appointed DGP of
Madhya Pradesh on July 1, 2016. He played a
key role in the extradition of Abu Salem and
Monica Bedi in 2005. He had been Madhya
Pradesh police chief until January 30 when he
was transferred as DG, Police Housing by the
new Congress government in the State.
According to the Union Government, his
selection was made on the basis of criteria
endorsed by CJI Mr. Ranjan Gogoi.
RBI appoints Nandan Nilekani as Chairman
of Digital Payments Panel: The Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) announced the formation of a
high-level panel to assess digitization of
payments in the country on January 8, 2019.
The Committee on Deepening of Digital
Payments will be chaired by Mr. Nandan
Nilekani. The committee, which will have four
other members, will review the existing status
of digitization of payments in the country and
assess the current levels of digital payments in
financial inclusion, according to the RBI.
Infosys co-founder Mr. Nilekani has served as
the Chairman of the Unique Identification
Authority of India (UIDAI), which manages the
biometrics-based personal identification
programme Aadhaar.
Sudhir Bhargava takes oath as Chief
Information Commissioner: Mr. Sudhir
Bhargava took oath as the Chief Information
Commissioner in the Central Information
Commission (CIC) on January 1, 2019. Mr.
Bhargava was administered the oath of office
by Hon‘ble President Mr. Ram Nath Kovind
Prior to this, Mr. Bhargava was working as the
Information Commissioner in the CIC.
Following the swearing in of Mr. Bhargava,
newly-appointed Information Commissioners
Mr. Yashvrdhan Kumar Sinha, Ms. Vanaja N.
Sarna Mr. Neeraj Kumar Gupta and Mr. Suresh
Chandra were administered the oath of office of
the Information Commissioner of CIC by the
Chief Information Commissioner Mr. Sudhir
Bhargava.
Books And Authors
India and the EU: An Insider’s View – By
Bhaswati Mukherjee, ICWA/Vij Books
The Story of the Reserve Bank of India – By
Rahul Bajoria, Rupa
Not Quite Not White; Losing and Finding
Race in America – By Sharmila Sen, Penguin
Reclaim Your Life – By Shelja Sen, West land
Treasures Epistles – By K Natwar Singh,
Rupa
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The Fuzzy and The Techie – By Scott
Hartley, Panguin Random House
Defense
LR-SAM missile successfully test-fired from
coast of Odisha: The Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO)
successfully test-fired Long Range Surface to
Air Missile (LR-SAM) from naval warship INC
Chennai off the coast of Odisha on January 24,
2019. LR-SAM, known as Barak-8, is jointly
developed by Israeli Aerospace Industries and
state-owned DRDO. Barak 8 LR-SAM missile
defence system is designed to defend any
airborne threat including aircraft, helicopters,
anti-ship missiles, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
(UAVs), ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and
combat jets, It is one of the advanced surface-
to-air missiles, having a maximum speed of
Mach 2 and its maximum range is estimated at
around 70 kilometers.
Indian Navy’s largest-ever coastal defence
exercise ‘Sea Vigil’ Held: Indian Navy‘s
largest-ever coastal defence exercise-‗Sea
Vigil‘ which was conducted by the Navy Coast
Guard, in close coordination with State
Governments and Union Territories was held
from January 22 to 23 2019. The exercise, a
first of its kind, was undertaken along the entire
7516.6 km coastline and Exclusive Economic
Zone of India and involved all the 13 coastal
States and Union Territories along with all
maritime stakeholders, including the fishing
and coastal communities, Sea Vigil was the
largest such exercise the country had ever witnessed
in recent times and saw the participation of more
than 100 ships, aircraft and patrol boats manned and
operated by various security agencies.
Defence Minister launches India’s second
defence industrial corridor: Union Defence
Minister Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated
the Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor
from Tiruchirappalli on January 20, 2019,
taking a major step forward to boost indigenous
production of defence equipment. The TN
Defence Industrial Corridor is a mega corridor,
which will link the leading military
manufacturing units in five cities of South
India-Chennai, Hosur, Coimbatore, Salem and
Tiruchirappalli. The project involves an
investment worth Rs. 3,000 crore, The corridor
is the second defence corridor being set up by
the Union Government to support various
defence manufacturing units. The first one is
being established in Uttar Pradesh.
Indian Navy commissions INS Kohassa in
the Andaman and Nicobar Islands: The
Indian Navy commissioned Naval Air Station
Shibpur as INS Kohassa on January 24, 2019
making it the third Navy air facility in the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands to keep an eye
on the important sea lanes of communication
and strategic points. The Indian Navy will now
deploy the INS Kohassa air base for
surveillance of Chinese ships and submarines
entering the Indian Ocean through the nearby
Malacca Straits. The commissioning of INS
Kohassa, situated about 300 km (180 miles)
north of the archipelago‘s capital Port Blair,
will have huge strategic implications, for the
country as Indian Navy can operate
independently in its own air facility which
opens up for more surveillance over Indian
Ocean region from the Bay of Bengal to
Malacca Straits.
Ecology & Environment
International Stock Taking Conference on
Tiger Conservation Held in New Delhi: The
3rd
Stock Taking Conference on Tiger
Conservation was held in New Delhi from
January 28 to 29, 2019. Third in a series of
Stock Taking Conferences, it was the second to
be held in India after 2012. The conference saw
wide-ranging discussions on the status of the
Global Tiger Recovery Program (GTRP) by the
13 tiger range countries besides deliberations
on combating wildlife trafficking Union
Minster for Environment, Forest and Climate
Change Dr. Harsh Vardhan, who is also the
Ghairman of the National Tiger Conservation
Authority, said at the inauguration of the
conference that conservation of tigers is duty
which has to be meticulously pursued and more
innovative ways need to be devised so that the
targets adopted by tiger range countries in 2010
at St. Petersburg, Russia, can be bettered.
Environment Ministry launches National
Clean Air Programme: Union Minister of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change Dr.
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Harsh Vardhan launched the National Clean
Air Programme (NCAP) on January 10, 2019.
It is a time-bound national level strategy for
pan-India implementation to tackle the
increasing air pollution problem across the
county in a comprehensive manner. The main
objective of the programme is comprehensive
mitigation actions for prevention, control and
abatement of air pollution besides augmenting
the air quality monitoring network across the
country and strengthening the awareness and
capacity-building activities. It aims to cut
pollution in the 102 worst affected cities by 20-
30 percent by 2024, taking 2017 as the base
year for the comparison of PM concentration.
Rise in salinity threatens Gangetic River
Dolphin habitats: A five-year study conducted
in the Sundarbans region in Indian has found
that rising water salinity level is threatening the
habitat of Gangetic river dolphins. The survey
was conducted in the lower stretch of river
Hooghly, covering 97 km stretch of the
western, central and eastern Sundarbans,
intermittently between 2013 and 2016 in
different seasons, Simultaneously, researchers
also measured salinity level of the water. Based
on interaction with local fishing communities,
study area was demarcated for boat-based and
land-based surveys. Previous studies had
recorded natural distribution of the Gangetic
dolphin in the Sundarbans regions but no
continuous surveys were done to assess
population and habitat changes.
Economic Scene
India replaces Japan to be to world’s second-
largest steel producer: India has replaced
Japan as the world‘s second largest steel
producing country, only behind China, which is
the largest producer of crude steel accounting
for more than 51% of production, as per the
latest report by the World Steel Association.
The report noted that India‘s crude steel
production in 2018 was at 106.5 MT which is
up by 4.9% from 101.5 MT in 2017. Japan
produced 104.3 MT in 2018, which is down by
0.3% as compared to 2017. On the other hand,
China‘s crude steel output jumped by 6.6% to
928.3 MT in 2018 from 870.9 MT in 2017.
India among the most trusted nations
globally: 2019 Edelman Report: India is
among the most trusted nations globally when it
comes to government, business, NGOs and
media but the country‘s brands are among the
least trusted, as per the 2019 Edelman Trust
Barometer report. The report, which was
released on January 21, 2019, ahead of the
World Economic Forum (WEF) meet, noted
that the Global Trust Index witnessed a
marginal increase of 3 points to 52. It also
revealed that trust has changed profoundly in
the past year with people shifting their trust to
the relationships within their control, most
notably their employers. Globally, 75% of
people trust ―my employer‖ to do what is right,
significantly more than NGOs (57%), business
(56%) and media (47%).
RBI forms Committee to boost digital
payments: The Reserve Bank of India
committee on Deepening of Digital Payments
to encourage digitization of payments and
enhance financial inclusion on January 8, 2019.
The five member committee will be headed by
UIDAI‘s former Chairman Mr. Nandan
Nilekani. The committee will review the
existing status of digitization of payments and
suggest ways to bridge any gaps in the
ecosystem. The committee will submit its
report within a period of 90 days from the date
of its first meeting. It will review the existing
status of digitization of payments in the
country, identify the current gaps in the
ecosystem and suggest ways to bridge them.
Honours & Awards
NATIONAL
Bharat Ratna Awards 2019 The Bharat Ratna
awards were announced on January 25, 2019.
The awards have been bestowed upon former
President Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Nanaji
Deshmukh and singer Bhupen Hazarika were
awarded Bharat Ratna posthumously. Mr.
Pranab Mukherjee served as the 13th
President
of India from 2012 until 2017. Nanaji
Deshmukh was a member of RSS and also
served as general secretary of Bharatiya Jana
Sangh. He took part in Jayaprakash Narayan
movement during the Emergency. Bhupen
Hazarika was a play back singer, lyricist,
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musician, singer, poet and film maker from
Assam. Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian
award. It is given in recognition of exceptional
service/performance of the highest order in any
field by human endeavor.
Padma Awards 2019:The Union Government
announced the Padma Awards on January 25,
2019 on the eve of India‘s 70th
Republic Day
celebrations. One of the highest civilian awards
of the country, Padma Awards are conferred in
three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan,
Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The 112
prominent personalities honoured with the
Padma Awards include 4 Padma Vibhushan, 14
Padma Bhushan and 94 Padma Shri Awards.
Padma Awards are given in various disciplines
or fields of activities: social work, public
affairs, science and engineering, trade and
industry, medicine, literature and education,
sports, civil service, etc. Padma Vibhushan is
awarded for exceptional and distinguished
service. Padma Bhushan is awarded for
distinguished service of high order. Padam Shri
is awarded for distinguished service in any
field. Here is the full list of the awardees:
Padma Vibhushan: Ms. Teejan Bai (Art); Mr.
Ismail Omar Guelleh (Public Affairs-Foreigner-
Djibouti); Mr. Anilkumar Manibhai Naik
(Trade & Industry Infrastructure); Mr. Balwant
Moreshwar Purandare (Art).
Padma Bhushan: Mr. John Chambers (Trade
& Industry Technology-Foreigner - US); Mr.
Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa (Public Affairs); Mr.
Pravin Gordhan (Public Affairs – Foreigner –
South Africa); Mr. Mahashay Dharam Pal
Gulati (Trade & Industry Food Processing); Mr.
Darshan Lal Jain (Social Work); Mr. Ashok
Laxmanrao Kukade (Medicine); Mr. Kariya
Munda (Public) Affairs); Mr. Budhaditya
Mukherjee (Art); Mr. Mohanlal Viswanthan
Nair (Art); S. Nambi Narayan (Science &
Engineering); Mr. Kuldip Nayar (Posthumous)-
Literature & Education; Ms. Bachendri Pal
(Sports); Mr. V.K. Shunglu (Civil Service); Mr.
Hukumdev Narayan Yadav (Public Affairs).
Padma Shri : The prominent winners include
Ms. Rajeshwar Acharya (Art); Mr. Bangaru
Adigalar (Others Spiritualism); Mr. Illias Ali
(Medicine); Mr. Manoj Bajpayee (Art); Uddhab
Kumar Bharali (Science & Engineering); Mr.
Omehs Kumar Bharti (Medicine); Mr. Dilip
Chkravarty (Others-Archaeology); Mr.
Mammen Chandy (Medicine); Mr. Sunil
Chhetri (Sports); Mr. Muktaben Pankaj kumar
Dagli (Social work); Mr. Babulal Dahiya
(Others- Agriculture); Mr. Prbhu Deva (Art);
Ms. Rajkumari Devi (Others-Agriculture); Mr.
Baldev Singh Dhillon (Science &Engineering);
Ms. Harika Dronavalli (Sports); Ms. Godawari
Dutta (Art-Painting); Mr. Gautam Gambhir
(Sports); Ms. Rohini Godbole (Science &
Engineering); Mr. Sandeep Guleria (Medicine);
Mr. Pratap Singh Hardia (Medicine); Mr.
Friederike Irina (Foreigner -Social Work); Mr.
S. Jaishnakar (Civil Service); Mr. Narsingh
Dev Jamawal (Literature & Education); Mr.
Fayaz Ahmad (Art); Mr. Subhash Kak
(Foreigner)- Science & Engineering; Mr.
Sharath Kamal (Sports); Ms. Rajani Kant
(Social Work); Mr. Waman Kendre (Art); Mr.
Kader Khan (Posthumous)- Art; Ms. Bombayal
Devi Laishram (Sports); Mr. Vallabhbhai
Vasrambhai Marvaniya (Others - Agriculture);
Ms. Gita Mehta (Foreigner)- Literature &
Education; Mr. Shadab Mohammad
(Medicine); Mr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
(Medicine); Mr. Daitari Naik (Social Work);
Mr. Shankar Mahadevan Narayan (Art); Mr.
Shantanu Narayen (Foreigner)- Trade &
Industry; Ms. Nartaki Natraj (Art); Mr. Tsering
Norboo (Medicine); Mr. Jagdish Prasad Parikh
(Others- Agriculture); Mr. Ganpatbhai Patel
(Foreigner-Literature &Education); Mr. Tao
Porchon-Lynch (Foreigner-Others-Yoga); Mr.
Bajrang Punia (Sports); Mr. Jagat Ram
(Medicine); Mr. Ajay Thakur (Sports).
Gallantry Awards 2019: The Gallantry
Awards 2019 were presented on January 26,
2019 on the occasion of Republic Day. Under
the three categories of the Gallantry Awards,
the personnel of the Indian Army received one
Ashoka Chakra-the country‘s highest peacetime
military decoration, two Kirti Chakras- the
second highest peacetime military award, and
nine Shaurya Chakra honours-The third highest
peacetime military decoration.These included
three posthumous awards, one each for the
three categories of honours. The list of
awardees is:
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Ashoka Chakra: Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad
Wani (Posthumous)- J&K Light Infantry/34th
Battalion, Rashtriya Rifles
Kirti Chakra : Major Tushar Gauba-20th
Battalion, Jat Regiment; Sowar Vijay Kumar
(Posthumous)- Armoured Corps/22nd
Battallion, Rashtriya Rifles
Shaurya Chakra : Captain Abhay Sharma – 1st
Battalion, Parachute Regiment (Special
Forces); Lieutenant Colonel Vikrant Prasher-
10th
Battalion, Parachute Regiment (Special
Forces); Major Imliakum Keitzar -4th
Battalion,
4th
Gorkha Rifles; Major Amit Kumar Dimri –
Garhwal Rifles/ 14th
Battalion, Rashtriya
Rifles; Major Rohit Lingwal-9th
Battalion,
Parachute Regiment (Special Forces); Sapper
Mahesh HN – Corps of Engineers/ 44th
Battalion, Rashtriya Rifles, Sepoy Ajay Kumar
(Posthumous) – Mechanised Infantry/42nd
Battalion, Rashtriya Rifles; Lance Naik Ayyub
Ali-Rajputana Rifles/9th
Battalion, Rashtriya
Rifles; Captain Abhinav Kumar Choudhary-
Corps of Signals/21st Battalion, Rashtriya
Rifles.
Pravasi Bharatiya Awards 2019: Hon‘ble
President Mr. Ram Nath Kovind conferred the
Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards 2019 on 30
awardees. The awards were conferred during
the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas event held at
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, on January 23, 2019.
The winners of this prestigious award include
Ms. Gita Gopinath, Chief Economist of IMF;
Mr. Nihal Singh Agar, founding President of
VHP in Australia and Mr. Ramesh Chotai
former President of Hindu Mandir and Cultural
Centre in Canada. Pravasi Bharatiya Awards
are the highest honour conferred on overseas
Indians who have made a significant
contribution to India‘s causes abroad.
Chhatra Vishwakarma, Sansad Adarsh
Gram Yojana Awards: Vice- President Mr.
M. Venkaiah Naidu presented the second
Chhatra Vishwakarma Awards to students and
their mentors and Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojan
(SAGY) awards to institutions at an event
organized by the All India Council for
Technical Education (AICTE) in New Delhi on
January 21, 2019. The institutions awarded are :
Army Institute of Technology, Maharashtra
(Rural) Appropriate Technologies category);
Gokaraju Rangaraju Institute of Engineering
and Technology, Telangana (Education, Skill
Initiative & Start-ups); Sri Venkateswara
College of Engineering, Andhra Pradesh (Rural
Craft & Livelihood, Rural Infrastructure,
Tourism); Sri Krishna College of Technology,
Tamil Nadu (Agriculture & Food category);
Aditya Engineering college, Andhra Pradesh
(Water & Irrigation category); and Kalaslingam
Academy of Research and Education, Tamil
Nadu (Sanitation & Solid Liquid Waste
Management category).
National Entrepreneurship Awards 2018:
The Ministry of Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship (MSDE) presented the
National Entrepreneurship Awards 2018 by
honouring 30 outstanding young entrepreneurs
and three entrepreneurship ecosystem builders
for their exceptional contribution in
entrepreneurship development at a ceremony
held in New Delhi on January 5, 2019. Each of
the enterprise/ individual winners receives a
trophy, certificate and a cash prize of Rs. 5
lakh, while each of the winning organisation
receives a trophy, certificate and a cash prize of
Rs10 lakh.
National Nritya Shiromani Award 2019:
Kathak exponent Ms. Anindita Neogy Anaam
has been honored with the prestigious National
Nritya Shiromani Award for her contribution
towards preserving and promoting the dance
form across the world. The award was
conferred during the 10th
Cuttack Mahotsav:
International Dance and Music Festival in
Bhubaneswar, Odisha on January 2, 2019.
Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar
2019: Hon‘ble President Mr. Ram Nath Kovind
conferred the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal
Puraskar 2019 in New Delhi on January 22,
2019. Minister for Women and Child
Development Ms. Maneka Gandhi; Secretary,
WCD, Mr. Rakesh Srivastava and other senior
officers of the Ministry were also present on the
occasion. The awards were presented to 26
shortlisted awardees including one joint award
for National Child Award (now renamed as Bal
Shakti Puraskar) under the category of
innovation, scholastic, sports, art and culture,
social service and bravery. Under National
Child Welfare Awards category (now renamed
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as Bal Kalyan Purashar), two individuals and
three institutions were awarded.
INTERNATIONAL
Sheikh Saud International Prize for
Materials Research: Eminent Indian scientist,
Prof. Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao,
popularly known as C.N.R. Rao, was on
January 18, 2019 chosen for the first Sheikh
Saud International Prize for Materials Research
by the Centre for Advanced Materials of the
United Arab Emirates (UAE). The award will
be presented to Mr. Rao by Sheikh Saud bin
Saqr Al Qasimi, the ruler of one of UAE‘s
seven emirates Ras Al Khaima at the
International Workshop on Advanced
Materials. The Sheikh Saud International Prize
committee unanimously decided to award
Professor Rao of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre
for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR),
Bengaluru. He has been honoured with several
national and international awards which include
honorary fellowship of the ‗Royal Society of
Chemistry‘ , London in 1989 and Chevalier de
la Legion d‘honneur‘ from France in 2005. He
has also been conferred ‗Padma Shri‘ (1974),
‗Padma Vibhushan‘ (1985) and ‗Karnataka
Ratna‘ (2001), Bharat Ratna (2014) among
others.
Philip Kotler Presidential Award: Prime
Minister Mr. Narendra Modi was awarded the
first-ever Philip Kotler Presidential Award in
New Delhi on January 14, 2019. The award
focuses on the triple bottom-line of ‗People,
profit and planet‘. According to the award
citation, Mr. Modi was selected for his
―outstanding leadership for the nation‖. ―His
selfless service towards India, combined with
his tireless energy has resulted in extraordinary
economic, social and technological advances in
the country.‖ The citation also states that under
his leadership, India is now identified as the
center for innovation and value-added
manufacturing (Make in India), as well as a
global hub for professional services such as
information technology, accounting and
finance. Mr. Philip Kotler is a Professor of
Marketing at Northwestern University, Kellogg
School of Management. The Philip Kotler
Presidential Award is constituted to honour
mastery in the field of marketing and
management.
International Gandhi Peace Prize: The Union
Government announced the winners for
International Gandhi Peace Prize on January
16, 2019. The awards were announced for the
years 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. The
government has announced the names of
Vivekananda Kendra in Kanyakumari (2015),
Akshaya Patra Foundation and Sulabh
International (2016), Ekal Abhiyan Trust
(2017) and Mr. Yohei Sasakawa (2018) for the
coveted award. The Vivekananda Kendra in
Kanyakumari was awarded for its contribution
to rural development, education, and
development of natural resources. The Akshaya
Patra Foundation was awarded for its work
towards providing midday meals to children
across India. The Sulabh International was
awarded for its contribution towards the
improvement of sanitation facilities in India
and the emancipation of manual scavengers.
The Ekal Abhiyan Trust was awarded for its
work in the field of education for rural and
tribal children, rural empowerment and gender
and social equality. Mr. Yohei Sasakawa,
Chairperson of Nippon Foundation and World
Health Organisation Goodwill Ambassador was
awarded for his contribution towards
eradicating Leprosy.
2019 Golden Globe Awards: The 76th
Annual
Golden Globe Awards were announced in
California, US on January 7, 2019. These
annual awards honoured the best in Motion
Pictures and Television for the year 2018.
Bohemian Rhapsody won the Best Motion
Picture Drama award while Green Book bagged
the Best Motion Picture Musical/Comedy
award. Best Actress in Motion Picture-Drama
award was bagged by Glen Close for The Wife
while Best Actor in Motion Picture-Drama
award was won by Rami Malek for Bohemian
Rhapsody. Best Actress in Motion Picture
Musical/ Comedy award was given to Olivia
Colman for The Favorite while Christian Bale
received the Best Actor in Motion Picture or
Musical or Comedy award for Vice.
Inventions & Discoveries
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Swedish scientist makes fuel from tree
waste: Chemical engineering scientist Mr.
Christian Hulteberg, from Lund University has
used the black liquor residue from pulp and
paper manufacturing to create a polymer called
lignin. After purification and filtration, it is
turned into a petrol mixture. Mr. Hulteberg said
that they are using the stuff of the wood that is
not used while making paper and pulp, It adds
value to low-value components of the tree. In
environmental terms he says that it gives
advantage over other biofuels such as ethanol.
Mr. Hulteberg has a pilot plant in operation and
hopes that the forest fuel will be available in
service stations by 2021.
Places
Red Fort Complex, Delhi: Prime Minister Mr.
Narendra Modi inaugurated the Subhash Bose
Museum at the iconic Red Fort to mark the
leader‘s 122nd
birth anniversary on January 23,
2019. He also inaugurated the Yaad-e-Jallian
Museum (museum on the Jallianwala Bagh and
World War I), the Museum on 1857-India‘s
First War of Independence, and Drishyakala-
Museum on Indian Art within the Red Fort
complex. The entire complex of museums will
be known as ‗Kranti Mandir‘ (temple of
revolution). The museum on Bose and the
Indian National Army showcases various
artefacts related to Netaji and the INA. The
Yaad-e-Jallian Museum provides an authentic
account of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre that
took place on April 13, 1919. The museum will
further showcase the heroism, valour and
sacrifices made by Indian soldiers during
World War I. The Museum on 1857-India‘s
First War of Independence portrays the
historical narrative of war of independence,
showcasing the valour and sacrifices made by
Indians during the period. The Dirshyakala-
Exhibition on Indian Art showcases art works
from 16th
century till India‘s independence.
Davos, Switzerland: The annual meet of the
World Economic Forum (WEF) was held in
Davos, Switzerland from January 22 to 25,
2019. The world leaders from across the globe
attended the Forum at the Swiss Alps to discuss
the looming global economic crisis, global
cooperation challenges, rapid climate change,
increasing pollution levels, habitat loss, fourth
wave of globalization, among others, The
theme of the World Economic Forum 2019 was
‗Globalization 4.0: Shaping a Global
Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial
Revolution‘. The theme was explored over 350
secessions. Overall, around 3,000 participants
from 115 economies attended the annual
meeting.
Reports & Indexes
India submits Sixth National Report to the
Convention of biological Diversity: India
recently submitted its Sixth National Report
(NR6) to the Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD). The report was submitted
online to the CBD Secretariat by Union
Environment Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan
during the inaugural session of the 13th
National Meeting of the State Biodiversity
Boards (SBBs) which was organized by the
National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) in the
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate
Change (MoEFCC), New Delhi. The NR6
provides an update on the progress in the
achievement of 12 National Biodiversity
Targets (NBTs) developed under the
convention process, in line with the 20 global
Aichi biodiversity targets, The report highlights
that while India has exceeded or over achieved
two of the NBTs, it is on track to achieve eight
NBTs and in respect of the remaining two
NBTs also, India is striving to meet the targets
by the stipulated time of 2020. India is also on
track to achieve the biodiversity targets at the
national level and is also contributing
significantly towards the achievement of the
global biodiversity targets.
Space
NASA solar probe begins second orbit of
Sun: NASA‘s Parker Solar Probe has begun its
second orbit of the Sun and is on track for its
closest approach to out star, as per the US space
agency. Just 161 days after its launch, the
Parker probe completed its firs orbit of the Sun
on January 19, 2019. The spacecraft began the
second of 24 planned orbits, on track for its
second perihelion, or closest approach to the
Sun, on April 4, 2019. Parker Solar Probe
entered full operational status on January 1,
2019 with all systems online and operating as
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designed. The spacecraft has been delivering
data from its instruments to Earth via the Deep
Space Network, and till date more than 17
gigabits of science data has been downloaded.
Software & Telecom
BSNL to offer data connectivity services via
SMS: The state-owned telecom operator Bharat
Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has signed a
partnership agreement with the French
company Be-Bound to offer data connectivity
through SMS in areas where there is no Internet
connectivity or there are signal breaks. The
SMS-based data connectivity will work with
the help of a technology embedded in a mobile
app. The app will detect if the user‘s area has
poor network connectivity. If yes, then the app
will send commands to the Be-Bound server.
These commands would send SMS from the
user‘s account. Be-Bound server will facilitate
SMS-based data connectivity after getting a
command from the user‘s account.
Persons in News
Cyril Ramaphosa Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa,
President of South
Africa, was on a State visit to India from
January 25 to 26, 2019 as a State Guest of
Honour for Republic Day 2019 celebrations.
Mr. Ramaphosa was accompanied by the First
Lady Dr. Tshepo Mostsepe, and a high level
delegation including Ministers, senior officials
and a business delegation. This was the first
business delegation. This was the first visit of
Mr. Ramaphosa to India as Head of State. Mr.
Ramaphosa accompanied by the First Lady
paid his respects to Mahatma Gandhi at
Rajghat. He also addressed the India-
South Africa Business Forum along with PM
Mr. Narendra Modi.
Pravind Jugnauth Prime Minister of Mauritius
Mr. Pravind Jugnauth was on an official visit to
India from January 20 to 28, 2019 as the Chief
Guest at the 15th
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
(PBD) Convention held in Varanasi, Uttar
Pradesh. He was accompanied by his spouse
Mrs. Kobita Jugnauth as well as official
delegation including Ministers and senior
officials. Over 350 other Mauritian delegates
also participated in the PBD 2019. After the
inaugural ceremony, Mr. Jugnauth held
bilateral level talks with PM Mr. Narendra
Modi.
Erna Solberg Prime Minister of Norway Ms.
Erna Solberg paid a State visit to India from
January 7 to 9, 2019. Ms. Solberg was
accompanied by senior officials from her
government and a large business delegation.
During the visit, Ms. Solberg called on Hon‘ble
President Mr. Ram Nath Kovind and Vice-
President Mr. M. Venkaiah Naidu. She also
held talks with PM Mr. Narendra Modi.
External Affairs Minister Ms. Sushma Swaraj
called on Ms. Solberg. Ms. Solberg delivered
the inaugural address at the Raisina Dialogue
and also addressed the India-Norway Business
Summit.
Sushma Swaraj: The First India-Central Asia
Dialogue at the level of Foreign Ministers was
held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan from January
12 to 13, 2019. External Affairs Minister Ms.
Sushma Swaraj co-chaired the Dialogue along
with Mr. Abdulaziz Kamilov, the Foreign
Minister of Uzbekistan. Foreign Ministers of
Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan and Turkmenistan also participated
in the meeting. The parties reaffirmed the
willingness for cooperation, mutual support,
joint solution on relevant issues in order to
ensure security, stability and sustainable
development.
Gita Gopinath India born American Ms. Gita
Gopinath joined International Monetary Fund
(IMF) as its Chief Economist on January 8,
2019, becoming the first woman to occupy the
top IMF post. The John Zwaanstra Professor of
International Studies and Economics at Harvard
University, Ms. Gopinath succeeds Ms.
Maurice Obstfeld as Economic Counsellor and
Director of the IMF‘s Research Department.
IMF Managing Director Ms. Christine Lagarde
has described Ms. Gopinath as one of the
world‘s outstanding economists with
impeccable academic credentials.
Satyarup Sidhhanta 35-year-old Kolkata
software engineer Mr. Satyarup Sidhanta
reached the peak of Antarctica‘s Highest point,
the 4,285-m Mount Sidley, on January 16, 2019
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and became the world‘s youngest mountaineer
to climb the seven highest peaks and the seven
highest volcanic summits across the seven
continents of the world in seven years. He is
also the first person in India to conquer the
seven mountain peaks and seven volcanic
summits. Mr. Daniel Bull of Australia did it
aged 36 years 157 days.
Aparna Kumar Ms. Aparna Kumar has
become the first woman Indian Police Service
(IPS) DIG and Indo-Tibetan Border Police
(ITBP) officer to successfully complete the
expedition to South Pole. She unfurled the
tricolour and the ITBP flag at the South Pole on
January 13, 2019. Ms. Kumar successfully
completed her expedition after walking for 111
kilometres on the snow. As she made her way
to the South Pole, she also carried equipment
weighing 35 kilograms along with her. She has
scaled the top six mountain peaks of the six
continents of the globe.
Virat Kohli Team India Captain Virat Kohli
reigned supreme as he swept all the awards on
offer at the ICC Awards 2018 on January 22,
2019. He became the first player in history to
win the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC
Cricketer of the Year, the ICC Men‘s Test
Player of the Year and the ICC Player of the
Year awards following an extraordinary 2018.
Kohli has also been named the Captain of the
ICC Test and ODI Teams of the Year for a
fabulous run in international cricket.
CURRENT TOPICS: INDIA
Piyush Goyal Presents The Union Interim
Budget 2019-20 Finance Minister Mr. Piyush Goyal, who was
given charge of the Finance Ministry owing to
Mr. Arun Jaitley‘s illness, presented the Interim
Budget 2019-20 in the Lok Sabha on February
1, 2019. The Union Interim Budget 2019-20,
also known as a vote on account, got
Parliament‘s nod for meeting the expenditure
for the first six months of new fiscal 2019-20.
Speaking on the Interim Budget 2019-20, Mr.
Goyal said that the government has laid the
foundation for sustained growth and better
quality of life in more than four years in its
endeavor to make ‗New India‘ by 2022. The
Narendra Modi-led government has provided
stable and clean government over the last five
years andf ―transformational reforms‖ have
been undertaken, said Mr. Goyal amid the
thumping of desks by the ruling benches, led by
the Prime Minister. Talking about the ‗New
India‘, he said it would mean clean country,
housing for all, access to clean toilet and clean
drinking water, doubling the income of farmers,
and an India free from terrorism, casteism and
nepotism.
The FM also spoke about various initiatives to
push growth and said India has become the 6th
largest economy due to the continuous efforts
of the Modi government. Besides achieving
high growth, the government has controlled and
maintained low inflation, ―which was back-
breaking at 10.1% during the period 2009-14
(of UPA rule).‖ He said the inflation stood at
1.19% in December 2018. ―If we had not
controlled inflation, our families would have
been spending 35-40% more,‖ the Finance
Minister said. Talking about the Fiscal Deficit
he said it was brought down from almost 6% to
3.4% in the Revised Estimates of 2018-19
fiscal.
All the decisions have been taken keeping in
mind the downtrodden, the marginalized, the
low-income groups and the farmers.
Some of the major highlights of the Interim
Budget 2019-20 are: increase in the defence
budget to over Rs. 3 lakh crore (additional
funds for defence will be provided if needed),
income tax exemption limit raised up to Rs.
5,00,000 annual income to get full tax rebate,
Current Fiscal Account to be contained to
2.5%, the fiscal deficit has been brought down
to 3.4% in FY19, Rs. 60,000 crore allocated for
MGNREGA under PM Gram Sadak Yojana for
a year, Rs. 19,000 crore allocated for rural
roads under Gram Sadak Yojana, PM Kisaan
Samman Nidhi announced at Rs. 75,000 crore.
India Celebrates 70th
Republic Day India celebrated its 70
th Republic Day on
January 26, 2019, with a grand military parade
and exhibition of its history, cultural diversity
and strategic weaponry at the Rajpath – the
city‘s centerpiece boulevard – in the presence
of thousands of spectators including foreign
dignitaries and the country‘s top political and
military brass. South African President Mr.
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Cyril Ramaphosa was the Chief Guest at the
90-minute celebrations marking the anniversary
of the day when the world‘s biggest democracy
was declared a republic in 1950. A total of 22
tableaux, 16 from States and Union Territories
and six from the Central Government
Ministries and departments, were part of the
cultural parade overall theme of which was life
and ideals of Mahatma Gandhi. This year, India
is celebrating 150th
birth anniversary of the
Father of the Nation. Mr. Ramaphosa‘s
presence at the celebrations was significant as
Gandhi‘s 21-year stay in South Africa played a
pivotal role in moulding him into the apostle of
peace. As per tradition, after unfurling the tri-
colour, the national anthem was played with a
21-gun salute following which Hon‘ble
President Mr. Ram Nath Kovind took the salute
of marching contingents.
A major highlight of the parade was
participation of four Indian National Army
(INA) veterans – Parmanand, Lalti Ram, Hira
Singh and Bhagmal, all aged over 90 years, for
the first time. The other highlights included the
display of American howitzers M777, the Main
Battle Tank (MBT) T-90 and indigenously
developed Akash weapons system. ‗Nari
Shakti‘ (women power) was on full display at
the Rajpath with an all-woman Assam Rifles
contingent creating history by participating for
the first time in the parade, which was led by
Maj Khushboo Kanwar. Contingents of the
Navy, Army Service Corps and a unit of Corps
of Signals (transportable satellite terminal)
were also led by women officers.
Sikkim CM Launches ‘One Family, One
Job’ Scheme Chief Minister of Sikkim Mr. Pawan Kumar
Chamling, on January 12, 2019, launched the
'One Family, One Job' scheme that envisions
jobs to a member of every family which does
not have a government job in the State. The
longest serving Chief Minister in independent
India personally handed out temporary
appointment letters to one person from each of
the 32 Assembly constituencies in the State to
kick-start the scheme during `Rojgar Mela
2019' at the Paljor Stadium. Mr. Chamling's
Sikkim Democratic Front government has
announced that 20,000 youths would
immediately be given temporary jobs under the
scheme. Amid loud cheers and tumultuous
slogan shouting "Pawan Chamling Zindabad',
the Chief Minister declared that the
temporary/ad hoc appointments being given
now would be regularised over the next five
years, and all of them would become permanent
government employees.
Sikkim has become the first State in the country
to carry out such an exclusive programme for
the people who would now be entitled to State
government employee benefits," he said. He
also said that Sikkim was the only State that
earmarks 70% of its revenues towards salaries
for the State government employees. As of
now, the State government has over 1 lakh
regularised employees on its roll from a
population of just 6.4 lakh. Sikkim is also the
only State in the country that gives the highest
salaries to State government employees, the
CM added.
India And Kuwait Sign MoU For
Cooperation In The Recruitment Of
Domestic Workers
The Union Cabinet, on January 23, 2019,
approved signing of an agreement between
India and Kuwait for cooperation in recruitment
of domestic workers, a move that will benefit
over 3 lakh Indians, including 90,000 women
working in the Gulf country. The Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) provides a structured
framework for cooperation in domestic
workers-related matters and provides
strengthened safeguards for Indian domestic
workers including female workers in Kuwait.
The pact is initially valid for a period of five
years and incorporates provision for automatic
renewal.
India Moves Up In 20 9 Global Education
Rankings
Twenty-five Indian institutions figure in the
2019 ranking of top 200 in 43 emerging
economic countries—seven more than the
number that figured in last year's table,
according to the data released by Times Higher
Education (THE) on January 15, 2019. The
Times Higher Education Emerging Economies
University Rankings shows that the Indian
Institute of Science (IISc) retains the highest
spot for India (14th), followed by the Indian
Institute of Technology, Bombay (27th).
However, each slips a place this year, mainly
due to increased competition. The 2019 table
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presents a mixed picture for India, with several
new entrants and high risers, alongside several
institutions that drop back.
The Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee
scales 21 places at 35th, The Indian Institute of
Technology, Indore (61st) and the JSS
Academy of Higher Education and Research
(joint 64th
. The Savitribai Phule Pune
University climbs 87 positions to joint 93rd,
alongside the National Autonomous University
of Mexico. Mainland China with 72 institutions
remains the most represented country in the
annual listing, claiming four of the table's top
five positions. The London-based Times Higher
Education 2019 ranking comprises 450
universities from 43 countries, across four
continents. The rankings use 13 performance
indicators to provide comprehensive and
balanced comparisons to reflect the
characteristics of the emerging economy
universities. These 13 performance indicators
are grouped under 5 categories: Teaching (the
learning environment); Research (volume,
income and reputation); Citations (research
influence); International Outlook (staff,
students and research); and Industry Income
(knowledge transfer).
PMRPY Achieves Milestone Of One Crore
Beneficiaries
Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Protsahan Yojana
(PMRPY), the flagship scheme of the Central
Government for employment generation, has
crossed the milestone of one crore beneficiaries
as on January 14, 2019. PMRPY was
announced on August 7, 2016 and is being
implemented by the Ministry of Labour and
Employment through the Employees' Provident
Fund Organisation (EPFO). Under the scheme,
the Government is paying full employers'
contribution of 12% (towards Employees'
Provident Fund and Employees' Pension
Scheme both), for a period of 3 years in respect
of new employees who have been registered
with the EPFO on or after April 1, 2016, with a
salary up to Rs. 15,000 per month. During
2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 (up to January
15, 201 9) 33,031, 30,27,612 and 69,49,436
beneficiaries respectively, have been enrolled
with EPFO under PMRPY. The number of
establishments who have benefitted during the
implementation of the scheme is 1.24 lakh.
PM Modi Inaugurates 1/13 km, Two-Lane
Kollam Bypass In Kerala
Giving a major boost to the infrastructure of
Kerala, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi,
during his third official visit to Kollam,
inaugurated the 13 km long, 2-lane Kollam
bypass on National Highway-66 (NH 66) on
January 15, 2019. According to the Ministry of
Road Transport and Highways, the Kollam
bypass has been constructed at a cost of Rs. 352
crore. The highway has three major bridges
over Ashtamudi Lake, with a length of 1,540
metres in total. The big infrastructure project
has been developed in order to ease traffic
congestion around the Kollam town as well as
to reduce the travel time between Alappuzha
and Thiruvananthapuram in the State.
According to a press release issued by the
Ministry, till the month of May 2018, the State
of Kerala had National Highways of 1782 km.
However, this length has gone up to more than
2280 km including principal National
Highways.
Country’s Longest Single Lane Steel Cable
Bridge Inaugurated In Arunachal Pradesh
Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Mr. Pema
Khandu inaugurated the country's longest 300-
metre single-lane steel cable suspension bridge
on January 9, 2019. The bridge across the Siang
river at Yingkiong in Upper Siang district has
been named Byorung Bridge. The bridge has
been built at a cost of Rs. 48.43 crore provided
by the Ministry of Development of North
Eastern Region, North East India. It will reduce
the distance from Yinkiong to Tuting by almost
40 km. The road to Tuting, near the China
border in Upper Siang district, was 192 km
before the bridge was built. The bridge is
expected to benefit 20,000 people on either
banks of the river, besides bolstering the
defence preparedness.
The Central Government had sanctioned 268
road projects worth Rs. 3,800 crore under the
Prime Minister's Gram Sadak Yojana
(PMGSY). Upper Siang district has two
PMGSY projects sanctioned and were awaiting
tender by January-end 2019. The two projects
are estimated to cost Rs. 124.65 crore. The
projects sanctioned are-35 km road from Paling
to Zido for Rs. 82.10 crore and 30 km road
from Zido to Bishing worth Rs. 42.46 crore.
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Centre Pumps In Over Rs. 6,000 Crore In
MGNREGS
The Centre has pumped in an additional Rs.
6,084 crore in the flagship rural job
programme, widely seen as a part of its
resource mobilisation to spruce up the rural and
agricultural sector ahead of the election. This
has been done to tide over the next three
months. MGNREGS has exhausted 99% of its
annual allocation three months ahead of time.
The new allocation in the revised estimate takes
the total annual allocation to the scheme to Rs.
61,084 crore in 2018-19, the highest-ever
allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. The
scheme offers alternative jobs for distressed
farmers, labours for rural housing and creation
of individual assets. In the past four years, the
Rural Ministry has focussed on creation of
durable assets under the rural job scheme to
help farmers find alternative means of
livelihood. In the general budget placed before
Parliament in February 2018, MGNREGS got
more than Rs. 55,000 crore—making it the
richest scheme of the government.
PM Modi Inaugurates brant Gujarat Global
Summit 2019
Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi inaugurated
the 9th edition of Vibrant Gujarat Summit at
Mahatma Mandir Exhibition-cum-Convention
Centre in Gandhinagar on January 18, 2019.
The theme of the Vibrant Gujarat Global
Summit 2019 was "Youth Connect 2019:
Shaping A New India—The Story of Billion
Dreams". The Prime Minister invited global
business leaders and companies to come and
invest in India where the business climate is
more investor-friendly now with the required
infrastructure and facilities in place. He said,
"India is now ready for business. In the last four
years, we have jumped 65 places of global
ranking of ease of doing business. I have asked
my team to work harder to ensure India is on
the top 50 next year." Mr. Modi said that
International Institutions like the World Bank,
IMF and Moody's have shown confidence in
India's economy and the reforms taken in recent
times.
First edition of Vibrant Gujarat Summit was
held in 2003 under the guidance of PM Mr.
Narendra Modi, who was then the Chief
Minister of Gujarat, to give a spur to the
investments in Gujarat. Since then it has played
the role of a catalyst leading to several other
such summits annually in the States across the
country.
10% Reservation For Economically Weak In
General Category ,7 Now A Law
The Rajya Sabha on January 9, 2019 passed the
Constitution Amendment Bill to provide 10°/0
reservation in jobs and educational institutions
to economically backward sections in the
general category. A day after Lok Sabha
approved the Constitution (One Hundred and
Twenty Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2019, the
Rajya Sabha passed it with 165 voting in favour
and 7 against.
In the last leg of the legislative process, the Bill
went to the President for approval. Once it got
his assent, it became the law from January 12,
2019 that gives economically weaker sections
in the general category 10% reservation in
education as well as Central and State
government jobs. The Bill was approved after
the House rejected a motion moved by Ms.
Kanimozhi (DMK) and supported by Left
parties for sending it to a parliamentary select
committee for scrutiny. Against 18 members
supporting, 155 opposed it and one member
abstained. The Bill was approved after the
House rejected 5 amendments moved by
Opposition members. The quota will be over
and above the existing 50% reservation to SCs,
STs and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
CURRENT TOPICS: WORLD
Syria And Iran Sign 'Strategic' Economic
Agreement Syria and Iran signed 11 agreements and
memoranda of understanding (MoUs) on
January 28, 2019, including a "long-term
strategic economic cooperation" deal aimed at
strengthening cooperation between Damascus
and one of its key allies in the civil war that has
torn the country apart. The agreements, which
covered a range of fields including economy,
culture, education, infrastructure, investment
and housing, were signed during a visit to
Damascus by First Vice-President of Iran Mr.
Eshaq Jahangiri. Syrian Prime Minister Mr.
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Imad Khamis said it was "a message to the
world on the reality of Syrian-Iranian
cooperation", citing "legal and administrative
facilities" to benefit Iranian companies wishing
to invest in Syria and contribute "effectively to
reconstruction." The agreements included two
memoranda of understanding between the
railway authorities of the two countries as well
as between their respective investment
promotion authorities. In relation to
infrastructure, there was also rehabilitation of
the ports of Tartus and Latakia as well as the
construction of a 540-megawatt energy plant,
according to Mr. Khamis. In addition, there
were "dozens of projects in the oil sector and
agriculture", he added.
The civil war has taken an enormous toll on the
Syrian economy and infrastructure, with the
cost of war-related destruction estimated by the
UN at about $400 billion. Iran will stand
"alongside Syria during the next phase that will
be marked by reconstruction," Mr. Jahangiri
promised.
Venezuela In Chaos After Juan Guaido
Proclaims Himself Interim President Venezuelan opposition leader Mr. Juan Guaido
declared himself interim President in a defiant
speech on January 23, 2019, before masses of
anti-government demonstrators who took to the
streets to demand President Mr. Nicolas
Maduro‘s resignation. The bold challenge to
Mr. Maduro‘s rule immediately drew
recognition from the Trump administration,
which said it would use the ―full weight‖ of the
US economic and diplomatic power to push for
the restoration of the democracy in Venezuela.
Raising his right hand in unison with tens of
thousands of supporters, Mr. Guaido, the fresh-
faced head of the opposition-controlled
congress, took a symbolic oath before God to
assume the executive powers he says are his
right under the Constitution of Venezuela, and
take over the presidency until new elections can
be called.
Trump Backs Down To End Painful Shutdown
Temporarily
US President Mr. Donald Trump yielded to
political pressure on January 26, 2019, to end
the longest Us government shutdown in history.
After 35 days, he backed a deal to fund federal
agencies for three weeks, but it includes none
of the money he has demanded for a US-
Mexico border wall. The Republican President
previously vowed to reject any budget unless it
included $5.7bn (4.3bn) to fund his signature
campaign pledge. But Democrats, who control
the House of Representatives, flatly refused.
Later, on January 25, 2019, the Senate and
House unanimously passed a bill to temporarily
end the shutdown, after which President Mr.
Trump signed the bill into law. Following the
votes in Congress, Mr. Trump tweeted that his
decision had been ―in no way a concession‖,
but was ―taking care of the millions of people
who were getting badly hurt by the shutdown‖.
Speaking in the White House Rose Garden, Mr.
Trump said he was ―very proud to announce‖
the agreement, which will fund the government
until February 15. He said federal workers
affected by the political imbroglio, whom he
called ―incredible patriots‖, would receive full
back-pay. He also said that he would not yet
resort to ―a very powerful alternative‖ – an
apparent reference to declaring a national
emergency. However, the President added; ―We
really have no choice but to build a powerful
wall or steel barrier. If we don‘t get a fair deal
from Congress, the government will either shut
down on February 15 again, or I will use the
powers afforded to me under the laws and the
Constitution of the United States to address this
emergency.‖
US, Taliban Agree In Principle On
Framework For Peace Deal
The United States and Taliban have agreed in
principle to chalk out a framework for a deal
that could eventually end the 17-year old
conflict in Afghanistan, the top US envoy said
on January 28, 2019. According to US Special
Representative for Afghanistan Mr. Zalmay
Khalilzad, the Taliban would guarantee that
Afghanistan will never be used as a base for
terrorism in return for a full American
withdrawal from the country. He further stated
that the Taliban concessions must include a
ceasefire and agreement to hold talks with the
Afghan government, a prospect the terror outfit
has been persistently opposed to previously. To
keep Afghanistan from being used as a base for
operations like the al-Qaeda‘s September 11,
2001 attacks on the US, a major catalyst for the
17-year-old war, has been one of the primary
demands made by the American officials.
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World’s First Television Channel On
Human Rights Launched
The world‘s first television channel decdicated
to human rights was launched in London on
January 15, 2019, with a promise to deliver
hidden stories ignored by mainstream media
into people‘s living rooms. The International
Observatory of Human Rights (IOHR) said that
its web-based channel would bring human
rights issues to audiences in over 20 countries
across Europe, Latin America and the Middle
East. This content will also be displayed on
SoundBox Units, PCs, tablets and mobiles to
give maximum coverage.
IOHR is an independent non-profit and non-
governmental organization. It partners with
local and international human rights groups to
drive and promote positive changes and push
for justice and the respect of human rights
worldwide. It aims to defend the dignity of
people stripped of their rights including
unjustly jailed journalists, human rights
defenders, refugees and victims of oppression.
It plans to advance its advocacy mission
through a unique model of a non-governmental
organization that uses top of the line digital and
multimedia mediums to put the focus on human
rights violations worldwide. ―There are so
many people in the world who cannot speak up,
and it seems to be getting worse and worse,‖
IOHR Director Mr. Valerie Peay told the
Thomson Reuters Foundation at the official
launch at Frontline Club, London, a gathering
place for media.
World’s Longest 3D-Printed Concrete
Bridge Opened In China
3D printing technology is being used in
construction and world‘s largest 3D-printed
concrete bridge was recently opened for public
in Shanghai, on January 25, 2019. The bridge,
designed by Professor Xy Weiguo from
Tsinghua University in China, is 26.3-metre
long and is inspired by another ancient Chinese
bridge called Anji. It is located across a canal
on the Wenzaobang River in Shanghai.
Professor Xu Weiguo‘s team developed a 3D-
printing concrete system. The system is cost-
efficient which uses smart technology and
digital design to print 3D-concrete blocks. A
total of 44 hollowed-out 3D printed concrete
blocks were used to lay the bridge while 68
concrete units made the handrails.
The world‘s first 3D-printed concrete bridge
opened in the Netherlands in October 2017,
measuring a comparatively small 26 feet.
Created by Eindhoven University of
Technology in the town of Gemert, the
structure was designed to carry cyclists and
comprises about 800 layers of concrete.
Pakistan Decides To Shelve Major CPEC
Power Project
The Pakistan government has decided to shelve
a major power project under the China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor (CPEC) that was pushed by
the regime of former Prime Minister Mr.
Nawaz Sharif, the media reported on January
14, 2019. Background discussions with
government officials suggest that Islamabad has
officially conveyed to Beijing that it was no
more interested in the 1,320MW Rahim Yar
Khan power project in view of sufficient
generation capacity already lined up for the
next few years. It has requested China to
formally delete the project from the CPEC list.
Su Tseng-Chang Appointed As New PM Of
Taiwan
Taiwan, on January 11, 2019, appointed the
former Chairman of its ruling pro-independence
party as premier, after the incumbent resigned
along with the entire cabinet, in response to
local election defeats. The election losses in
November 2018 presented a major challenge to
President Ms. Tsai Ing-wen, who faced
mounting criticism at home over her reform
agenda while facing renewed threats from
China, which considers the self-ruled island its
own. Ms. Tsai appointed Mr. Su Tseng-chang,
a two-term former Chairman of her Democratic
Progressive Party (DPP), saying Taiwan faced
challenges amid rising Chinese threats and
trade tension between key backer the United
States and China. ―Taiwan‘s democracy and
development must face certain challenges,‖ Ms.
Tsai said, adding that China was looking to
force its ―one country, two systems‖ structure
on the island. Mr. Su vowed to lead the
administration amid the challenges and learn
from earlier mistakes. ―The situation is difficult
and the task is tough,‖ he said.
UK Parliament Rejects Brexit Deal
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British Prime Minister Ms. Theresa May
suffered a crushing defeat in the Parliament on
January 15, 2019 when over 100 lawmakers of
Ms. May‘s Conservative Party-both Brexiteers
and Remainers, voted against the Brexit deal.
The lawmakers overwhelmingly rejected
Britain‘s withdrawal deal by a vote of 432 to
202, a majority of 230 votes, with just 73 days
to go until Britain is scheduled to leave the
European Union. The withdrawal agreement
had been negotiated between Prime Minister
Ms. Theresa May and the European Union.
Britain is scheduled to leave the EU on March
29, 2019.
US Launches New Innovation Initiative At
Raisina Dialogue 2019
The United States Chamber of Commerce‘s
Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC)
launched a new innovation initiative on January
11, 2019, at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi.
The initiative, entitled ―Fair Value for
Innovation‖, will examine economic
underpinnings that would enable breakthrough
innovation, and explore how policymakers can
harness innovation capital in India and around
the globe through research, advocacy,
partnerships, and programmes. ―The promise of
India‘s innovation ecosystem is real, and the
US industry has a stake in it,‖ said Mr. Patrick
Kilbride, Senior Vice President of GIPC.
―Innovation has revolutionized life in India and
pulled millions out of poverty, but India will
need to go further and become a disruptive
innovator in order to take full advantage of the
innovation revolution. As a recognition of this
promise, India is the very first market where
we‘re launching this important initiative,‖ Mr.
Kilbride added.
The Raisina Dialogue is India‘s most influential
conference on geopolitics and geo-economics,
convened by the Observer Research Foundation
and the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in
New Delhi.
Gita Gopinath Joins IMF As Its First Female
Chief Economist
Mysore-born Ms. Gita Gopinath, on January 8,
2019, joined International Monetary Fund as its
Chief Economist, becoming the first woman to
occupy the top IMF post. She joined at a time,
when she believes that the world is
experiencing a retreat from globalization,
posing challenges to multilateral institutions.
The John Zwaanstra Professor of International
Studies and Economics at Harvard University,
Ms. Gopinath, 47, succeeds Mr. Maurice
(Maury) Obstfeld as Economic Counsellor and
Director of the IMF‘s Research Department.
Mr. Obstfeld retired on December 31, 2018.
Announcing her appointment on October 1,
IMF Managing Director Mr. Christine Lagarde
had described her as one of the world‘s
outstanding economists with impeccable
academic credentials, a proven track record of
intellectual leadership and extensive
international experience. The 11th
Chief
Economist of the IMF, Ms. Gopinath in a
recent interview to The Harvard Gazette
described her appointment at the IMF as a
tremendous honour and said the appointment of
the first-ever woman for this position speaks
highly of IMF‘s Managing Director Mr.
Lagarde.
India And Mongolia Sign An Important
MoU At ICMEI India and Monogolia moved further in their
relationship and will work together in the
promotion of art and culture as the Embassy of
Mongolia and International Chamber of Media
and Entertainment Industry signed an MoU to
enhance the relations on January 19, 2019. The
MoU was signed in the presence of Mr. H.E.
Gonchig Ganbold, Ambassador of Mongolia to
India and Dr. Sandeep Marwah, President
ICMEI. The MoU will enable the two countries
to work together on different segments
including print, radio, television, cinema,
animation, Performing and Fine Arts, tourism,
hospitality, education, environment, solar
energy, skill development, PR events and
advertising, Fashion and Design, and
Journalism. Dr. Sandeep Marwah hand over the
first scholarship of short-term course of Asian
Academy of Film and Television to
Ambassador Mr. Ganbold for the deserving
student from Mongolia, which also includes
boarding and lodging for three months.
Palestine Takes Over Chairmanship Of
Group Of 77 From Egypt Palestine took over the chairmanship of the
Group of 77 and China from Egypt at the
United Nations headquarters in New York on
January 15, 2019. Palestine is slated to lead the
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bloc for 2019. Palestinian President Mr.
Mahmoud Abbas accepted the chairmanship of
the Group of 77 and China, a coalition of 134
mainly developing nations, on behalf of
Palestine, a non-member observer state of the
United Nations. He was handed the gavel by
the Foreign Minister of Egypt Mr. Sameh
Shoukry at the ceremony.
UN Secretary-General Mr. Antonio Guterres
said that the Group of 77 and China
demonstrated strong leadership throughout
2018 and proved once again to be a central
force in demonstrating that ―multilateralism is
the only way to address our shared challenges.‖
The Group of 77 is the largest
intergovernmental organization of developing
countries in the United Nations, which provides
the means for the countries of the South to
articulate and promote their collective
economic interests and enhance their joint
negotiating capacity on all major international
economic issues within the United Nations
system, and promote South-South cooperation
for development.
G-77 was established on 15 June, 1964, by 77
developing countries, and its membership
increased to 134 countries, later.
Rio Named World Capital Of Architecture
For 2020 By UNESCO The Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro has been
named the World Capital of Architecture for
2020 by the UN Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on January
21, 2019. The announcement was made by
UNESCO‘s Assistant Director-General for
Culture Mr. Ernesto Ottone R, Mr. Thomas
Vonier, President of the International Union of
Architects (UIA) and Mr. Verena Vicentini
Andreatta, Municipal Secretary of the City of
Rio for Urbanism, on January 18, 2019. Rio
will be the first city to receive the title under a
programme launched together by UNESCO and
the International Union of Architects (UIA) in
November 2018. Earlier, Paris and Melbourne
had secured the position.
As one of the oldest cities in Brazil, Rio has a
mix of modern and colonial architecture, with
world-renowned sites like the statue of Christ
the Redeemer and contemporary constructions
like the Museum of Tomorrow.
India Signs 11 MoUs Worth $9.5 Million
With Afghanistan Notwithstanding the recent terror attack
targeting Indian nationals in Kabul and US
efforts to cut a deal with Taliban, India signed
11 MoUs worth $9.5 million with the Afghan
government on January 20, 2019. The MoUs
were for infrastructure, public services such as
health clinics and governance-related projects.
These projects include construction of
classrooms, orphanages, health clinics, canal
protection walls and enhancing economic
opportunities for women for seven provinces of
Afghanistan – Balkh, Ghor, Herat, Kabul,
Bamyan, Badghis and Kapisa. The projects will
help local communities in education,
employment and livelihood generation and
capacity-building. These projects are a part of
the 577 development projects funded by India
for 2005-2021 worth $120 million.
The development comes days after US
President Mr. Donald Trump mocked India‘s
development assistance in Afghanistan and
questioned the use of the ―library‖ India built in
the country. Mr. Trump in 2019‘s first cabinet
meet had said, even though he gets ―along very
well with India and Prime Minister Modi‖, PM
Mr. Modi ―is constantly telling me, he built a
library in Afghanistan‖ but he ―does not know
who‘s using it (the library) in Afghanistan‖.
Later during a phone call, Mr. Trump and PM
Mr. Modi discussed the way forward in
Afghanistan as US readies to withdraw its
troops and enter into a deal with Taliban.
India says that its projects in Afghanistan speak
for itself and Delhi will continue to stay on
course in the landlocked country. Since 2001,
India has undertaken projects worth over $2
billion in Afghanistan.
Static GK Capsule
Indian Polity and Constitution
Which article of the Indian Constitution
declares Supreme Court to be a Court of
record?- Article 129
A Bill becomes an Act of the Indian Parliament
only after it received the assent of – The
President
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In India, Public Accounts Committee (PAC)
consists of total -22 members
The sitting of a House of Parliament can be
terminated by – Dissolution, Prorogation or
Adjournment
The procedure for joint session of the
Parliament is not applicable to Bills for –
Amendment of the Constitution
Which bill can be introduced only in the Lok
Sabha and only by a minister?- The Money
Bill
The feature of Joint sitting of the two Houses of
Parliament in the Indian Constitution is inspired
with the – Australian Constitution
Right to Information is a – Legal right
The idea of ‗Preamble‘ has been borrowed in
the Indian Constitution from the Constitution of
– The United States of America
NITI Aayog in India is an – Extra-
Constitutional body
India National Movement
Who formed the ‗Bharat Naujawan Sabha‘ in
1925?- Sardar Bhagat Singh
Who is commonly known as the ‗Liberator of
the Indian Press‘ – Sir Charles Metcalfe
Who was the founder of the ‗Khudai
Khidmatgar‘ movement? – Khan Abdul
Gaffar Khan
Who presided over the 1905 Benaras Session of
the Indian National Congress?- Gopal Krishna
Gokhale
Who was the founder of ‗Indian Independence
League‘ and the government in Kabul?- Raja
Mahendra Pratap
Dadabhai Naoroji became the President of the
Indian National Congress three times in -1886,
1893 and 1906
‗Kanpur Conspiracy Case was against the
leaders of – Communist movement
Which great leader of the Indian national
movement edited ‗The Commonweal‘ paper?‘-
Annie Besant
Two great leaders who led Home Rule
Movement in 1915-16 are – B.G. Tilak and
Annie Besant
Who moved the Non- Cooperation Movement
Resolution in September 1920 in Calcutta
(Now Kolkata)? – Mahatma Gandhi
History and Culture of India
The inscription of Hathigumpha is the major
source of information about – King Kharvela
Rig Veda, Sama Veda and Yajur Veda were
collectively called – Vedatrayi (Trio of
Vedas)
Which Purana is considered as the oldest
Puranic text? – The Matsya Purana
Who is the author of great book ‗ Vikramanka-
devacharita‘?- Bilhana
The term ‗Khalisa‘ in Mughal administration
signified the land- Owned by the emperor
himself
The evil of slavery was abolished during the
period of – Lord Ellenbourough
Rashtrakuta King Amoghvarsha wrote a book
in Kannada language named – Kavirajamarga
Who has the first Sultan of Delhi who separated
religion from politics by proclaiming ‗Kingship
knows no Kinship‘?- Sultan Aluddin Khilji
‗Dasabodha‘ is the compilation of spiritual
writings and sermons of – Saint Ramdas
Which great social reformer was originally
known as ‗Mula Shankar‘? – Swami
Dayanand Saraswati
Geography (India and the World)
Gibson desert is located in – Australia
How much maritime distance between India
and Europe was reduced after the construction
of the Suez Canal?- About 7000 km
New York in the USA is located on the bank of
river –Hudson
Which European city is referred to as the ‗City
of Seven Hills‘? – Rome
‗Kalmuk‘ and ‗Buryak‘ are important tribes of
– Central Asia
To measure the length of a river on a map, we
use – Opisometer
The Narmada and the Tapti rivers flow into the
– Gulf of Khambat
The Indian sub-continent was originally part of
a huge landmass called – Gondwana
Continent
Rohtang pass connects the valleys of – Kullu
and Spiti
Kandla in Gujarat is a – Tidal port
Science & Technology
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Double-helical structure of DNA was
discovered by – James Watson Francis Crick
Graphene is a – Nano structure of carbon
The sound will have highest velocity in – Steel
Albert Einstein was honoured with the Nobel
Prize for his work of – Photo-electric effect
In fibre optics, the signal source is – Light
waves
Polio is caused by – Virus with single
stranded RNA
The metal present in Vitamin B12 is – Cobalt
The growth of bacteria is measured by –
Spectrophotometer
The branch of biology which deals with extinct
organisms is called –Phylogeny
Potassium Carbonate (K2 CO3) is also known as
– Pearl ash
Latest in Sports
CRICKET
Virat Kohli named ICC ODI and Test player of
the Year: Indian captain Virat Kohli dominated the
ICC Awards that were declared on January 22,
2019. He was elected Men‘s Test Cricketer of the
Year, Men‘s ODI Cricketer of the Year and also
won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men‘s
Cricketer of the Year. In addition to these, he was
also named captain of the ICC Test and ODI teams
of the year for 2018.
In the 47 innings that he played across formats
in 2018, Kohli scored 2,735 runs at an average
of 68.37 He also had 11 centuries and nine
fifties to his name in the year and was the
highest run scorer in India‘s tours of South
Africa and England.
Kohli scored 1,322 runs at an average of 55.08
in 13 Tests with five hundreds during the
calendar year while in 14 ODIs he amassed
1202 runs at an astonishing average of 133.55
with six centuries. He also scored 211 runs in
10 T20Is.
Rishabh Pant has been named the Emerging
Player of the Year by the ICC for 2018 Pant
made his international debut in August 2018
during the third Test between India and
England. He famously hit a six off the very first
ball he faced in the match. He went on to score
162 runs in the series and this included a
maiden Test century during the final Indian
inning in the fifth Test.
Virat Kohli, Ravi Shastri receive honorary
membership of Sydney Cricket Ground: Indian
skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri received
honorary membership of the Sydney Cricket
Ground on January 18, 2019. India scored 622 for
the seven wickets in the first innings of the final
Test that was held at the iconic stadium. It was their
second-highest total in the stadium and although it
was washed out the match confirmed India‘s series
win their first ever on Australian soil in Test cricket.
Apart from Kohli and Shastri, the only other
international cricketers to be granted the
honorary membership of the SCG are iconic
Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara of the West
Indies.
Virat Kohli leads India to first ever Test Series
win In Australia: A dominant India won their first-
ever Test series in Australia by a margin of 2-1 after
play in the fourth and final Test in Sydney was
abandoned due to rain on January 7,2019. Australia
were still trailing by 316 runs when the match was
called off as a draw, ending India‘s 71-year wait
after wins in Adelaide and Melbourne. It is the first-
time India managed the feat since they began
touring Australia in 1947-48. Consequently, Virat
Kohli became the first Indian as well as the first
Asian captain to win a Test series in Australia. India
reinforced their status as the world‘s number one
team and retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with
a historic 2-1 series win.
India win historic ODI Series in Australia: MS
Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav‘s unbeaten 121-run
partnership took India past the winning line as India
defeated hosts Australia by 7 wickets to register
their first-ever bilateral ODI series victory in
Australian soil. India won the 3-match ODI series
2-1.Former captain MS Dhoni was back among the
runs as he scored three back-to-back half-centuries
in this series. Dhoni‘s scores read 51 in Sydney, 55
not out in Adelaide and a match-winning knock of
unbeaten 87 in Melbourne. He scored 193 runs in
three-match ODI series.
KABADDI
Bengaluru Bulls win maiden Pro Kabaddi title:
Bengaluru Bulls won their maiden Pro Kabaddi title
on January 5, 2019 as they beat Gujarat Fortune
giants in a thrilling final of the sixth season. The
Bulls made a brilliant comeback to beat Gujarat for
the second consecutive time and lift the trophy.
Bengaluru‘s Pawan Sehrawat was the star of
the night as he collected 22 points from 25
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raids. Gujarat Fortune giants finish runners-up
for the second straight year.
WRESTLING
Vinesh Phogat becomes first Indian to be
nominated for Laureus World Sports Award:
Star wrestler Vinesh Phogat on January 24, 2019
became the first Indian to be nominated for the
prestigious Laureus World Sports Award. Vinesh
has been nominated in ―Laureus World Sporting
Come back‖ category for the year 2019 and will be
competing for the award with golf great Tiger
Woods Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris,
American alpine ski racer Lindsey Vonn, Japanese
figure skater Yuzuru Manyu, and Dutch para
snowboarding star Bibian Mentel-Spee.
Vinesh had a stellar 2018 in which she won
gold at the 2018 Common wealth Games, a
silver in the 2018 Asian Championships in
Bishkek and a gold at the Asian Games in
Jakarta.
Vinesh Phogat scripts another dominating win as
Mumbai cut short Haryana’s winning streak:
Asian Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat scored a
dominating 12-2 win over Seema as Mumbai
Maharathi halted Haryana Hammers‘ winning
streak with a 4-3 win in the Pro Wrestling League
(PWL), in Greater Noida on January 24, 2019.
The 24-year-old wrestler, who has been
nominated for the prestigious Laureaus
Awards, faced some resistance but eventually
won the women‘s 53kg contest by technical
superiority to seal the tie with one bout
remaining.
BOXING
Mary Kom becomes World No.1 in AIBA world
rankings: The celebrated M C Mary Kom‘s
unprecedented sixth world title triumph has
propelled her to the number one position in the
International Boxing Association‘s (AIBA) latest
world rankings.
The diminutive Manipuri became the most
successful boxer in world championships‘
history when she claimed the 48 kg category
top honours in November last year in Delhi.
In the updated rankings put out by AIBA, Mary
Kom is placed top of the charts in the weight
division with 1700 points.
TENNIS
Australian Open 2019
Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal to win
2019 Australian Open Men’s final: Novak
Djokovic won a record seventh Australian
Open on January 27, 2019, as he cruised past
Rafael Nadal in the final 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. The
world No. 1 and top seed, who is now a 15-time
Grand Slam champion, put in a spellbinding
performance, having secured a vice-like grip on
the match from the off.
Djokovic dominated the early exchanges with
some exceptional play on serve, leaving Nadal,
who hadn‘t lost a set in this competition,
looking surprisingly short of ideas. That trend
continued throughout the match, with the Serb
playing to a stunning standard.
Djokovic who has won three Grand Slams in a
row, is the only man to have won this event
seven times, moving clear of six-time winners
Roy Emerson and Roger Federer.
Naomi Osaka beats Petra Kvitova to win.
Australian Open Women’s final: Japan‘s
Naomi Osaka has become the new women‘s
world number one after winning the Australian
Open final against Petra Kvitova in three
gripping sets at Melbourne Park 21-year-old
Japanese star Naomi Osaka has won the
Australian Open women‘s singles title, beating
Czech player Petra Kvitova 7-6 (7/2), 5-7, 6-4
in the final Osaka-who won last year‘s US
Open title- now takes over as the world number
one form Romania‘s Simona Halep Kvitova
was playing her first Grand Slam final since
recovering from a serious hand injury sustained
in a knife attack at her home in 2016.
She becomes the first Japanese player to hold
the number one ranking, moving up to the top
spot from number four.
Men’s Doubles: Pierre-Hugues Herbert &
Nicolas Mahut beat Henri Kontinen & John
Peers, 6-4, 7-6(7-1)
Women’s Doubles: Samantha Stosur & Zhang
Shuai beat Timea Babos & Kristina
Mladenovic, 6-3, 6-4
Mixed Doubles: Barbora Krejcikova & Rajeev
Ram beat Astra Sharma & John-Patrick Smith,
7-6(7-3), 6-1
BADMINTON
Saina Nehwal wins Indonesia Masters title:
Saina Nehwal has been declared the winner of
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Indonesia Masters after Carolina Marin was
forced to retire with a knee injury, The
Spaniard was leading 10-4 in the first game
when she developed an injury in the knee
Marin looked in so much pain that even Saina
walked over to the reigning Olympic and World
Champion out of concern. Not the way the
Commonwealth Games medallist would have
wanted to win the final.
HOCKEY
Harendra Singh removed as head coach of
Indian men’s hockey team: Indian men‘s
hockey coach Harendra Singh was on January
9, 2019 sacked from the position and offered
the task of helming the junior squad by the
national federation. Explaining the sudden
decision, Hockey India said in a statement that
though the year 2018 was very disappointing
for the Indian Men‘s Hockey Team with results
not going as expected, they believe investing in
the junior program will reap long-term benefits.
Singh made his international debut at the 1990
Asian Games in Beijing, where India won
silver.
MISCELLANEOUS
Khelo India Youth Games: Maharashtra
finish top with 228 medals: The Khelo India
Youth Games concluded in Pune on January
20, 2019 with the hosts Maharashtra walking
away with the overall trophy. They amassed
228 medals, comprising 85 gold, 62 silver and
81 bronze. Haryana, were second with 62 gold,
56 silver and 60 bronze for a total of 178
medals, while Delhi were third with 48 gold, 37
silver and 51 bronze for a total of 136 medals.
The glittering Trophy was presented to the
Maharashtra sportspersons and officials by
Union Minister for Human Resource
Development, Prakash Javadekar, and
Maharashtra‘s Minister of Sports and Youth
Welfare, Vinod Tawde, at a closing ceremony
held at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports
Complex.
Current Affairs MCQs
1. Which Kisan Yojana was launched recently
by the Union government in the presentation of
Budget 2019?
(a) Pradhan Mantri Kisan Yojana
(b) Pradhan Mantri Krishi Yojana
(c) Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi
(d) Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichai Yojana
2. Under the Union Government‘s new scheme
for the farmers in budget 2019, how much
direct income support will be provided in a
year?
(a) 5000 (b) 6000
(c) 7000 (d) 8000
3. How many personalities have been awarded
the Bharat Ratna in 2019?
(a) Two (b) Five
(c) Three (d) Four
4. The Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian
award of the Republic of India. In which year
Bharat Ratna has instituted?
(a) 1949 (b) 1950
(c) 1954 (d) 1970
5. Bhupen Hazarika was born in 1926 in the
small town of
(a) Assam (b) Odisha
(c) West Bengal (d) Bihar
6. Pranab Mukherjee is an Indian politician
who served as the …….. President of India
from 2012 until 2017.
(a) 7th (b) 10th
(c) 11th (d) 13th
7. Chandikadas Ameritrao Deshmukh also
known as Nanaji Deshmukh was a …….. from
India.
(a) Political leader
(b) Social activist
(c) Indian barrister
(d) RSS thinker
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8. Which State government has launched the
‗DataCity‘ to foster innovation and solve global
challenges?
(a) Haryana (b) Karnataka
(c) Maharashtra (d) Tamilnadu
9. Which country‘s team has won the 2018
Davis Cup tennis tournament?
(a) Croatia (b) France
(c) Japan (d) Germany
10. Who was popularly known as the ‗Bard of
Brahmaputra‘ for his evergreen songs like ‗Dil
hoom hoom kare‘ and ‗O Ganga behtio ho
kyun‘?
(a) Pranab Mukherjee
(b) Bhupen Hazarika
(c) Nanaji Deshmukh
(d) Atal Bihari Vajpayee
11. Pranab Mukherjee was born in which State?
(a) Assam (b) Odisha
(c) West Bengal (d) Tripura
12. As per the Interim Budget 2019-20, how
much amount has been allocated for the
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Gurantee Act (MGNREGA)?
(a) 24000 crore (b) 48000 crore
(c) 60000 crore (d) 80000 crore
13. The 22nd All India Institute of Medical
Sciences (AIIMS) will be set-up in which State,
as per the Interim Budget 2019-20?
(a) Punjab (b) Telangana
(c) Rajasthan (d) Haryana
14. The Pradhan Mantri Shram-Yogi Maandhan
scheme was announced in the Interim Budget
2019-20. Under the scheme, the workers will
get what amount of pension after attaining the
age of 60 years?
(a) 3000 (b) 4500
(c) 6000 (d) 9000
15. As per the Interim Budget 2019-20,
Individual tax payers with taxable income of up
to what amount will get full tax rebate from
now on?
(a) 3 lakh (b) 5 lakh
(c) 7 lakh (d) 9 lakh
16. Who has been honored with the annual
Carnot Prize for the year 2018?
(a) Piyush Goyal
(b) Narendra Modi
(c) Ram Nath Kovind
(d) Nirmala Sitharaman
17. Which application was launched by the
Defence Ministry on the occasion of 70th
Republic Day?
(a) Bharat Vande 2019
(b) Parade 2019
(c) India 2019
(d) RDP India 2019
18. In which State, a dedicated RPF Women
Squad named as JOYMATI BAHINI was
launched?
(a) Assam (b) Mizoram
(c) Nagaland (d) Meghalaya
19. Which application was developed by IIT
Ropar that would help the Visually Impaired to
recognize currency notes?
(a) Pehchan (b) Jagmag
(c) Roshni (d) Sitara
20. In which State, cable stayed 5.1 km ‗Atal
Setu‘ was inaugurated?
(a) Mizoram (b) Goa
(c) Uttar Pradesh (d) Telangana
21. A.s per the Financial Times Global MBA
Rankings 2019, which institute Post Graduate
Program in Management (PGP) has been
ranked 24 worldwide?
(a) Symbiosis University
(b) SP Jain Institute of Management
(c) IIM Ahmedabad
(d) Indian School of Business
22. Who won Australian Open 2019
(women‘s)?
(a) Simona Halep
(b) Petra Kvitova
(c) Naomi Osaka
(d) Caroline Wozniacki
23. Who won Australian Open 2019 (Men‘s)?
(a) Novak Djokovic
(b) Leander Paes
(c) Rafael Nadal
(d) Roger Federer
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24. Who won the New South Wales men‘s
Amateur Golf Championship in Australia?
(a) Aryan Sharma
(b) Kartik Sharma
(c) Scott Johnson
(d) Nathan Barberie
25. Nanaji Deshmukh was born on Ocrober 11,
1916 in which State?
(a) Maharashtra
(b) Uttar Pradesh
(c) Gujarat
(d) Rajasthan
26. How many personalities have got the
Bharat Ratna till now (2019)?
(a) 43 (b) 45
(c) 47 (d) 48
27. In which year Nelson Mandela (former
President of South Africa) received Bharat
Ratna?
(a) 1975 (b) 1995
(c) 2000 (d) 1990
28. According to the Union government, how
many crore LPG connections have already been
distributed under PM Ujjwala Yojana?
(a) 5 crore (b) 6 crore
(c) 7 crore (d) 8 crore
29. The government has decided to set-up
Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog for the welfare of
which animal in budget 2019?
(a) Cow (b) Tiger
(c) Goat (d) Lion
30. Who has been appointed Regional Director
for WHO South East Asia, for a second five-
year term?
(a) Ajay singh
(b) Christiane Ligarde
(c) Ajay Neelam
(d) Poonam Khetrapal Singh
31. The 2019 Screen Actors Guild Awards was
held in which country?
(a) Canada (b) Russia
(c) The USA (d) India
32. Which State government has conferred the
Republic Day Journalism Award 2019 to
veteran journalist and former editor Dhirendra
Nath Chakraborty?
(a) Uttar Pradesh
(b) West Bengal
(c) Assam
(d) Telangana
33. Which translation of the book ‗La vie d‘ un
homme inconnu‘ was awarded the 2nd Romain
Rolland Prize for literary translation in Jaipur at
the ongoing Jaipur Literature Festival?
(a) Tamil (b) English
(c) Hindi (d) Urdu
34. Teenage batsman Rohit Paudel has become
the youngest cricketer to score a half century in
international cricket at the age of 16 years and
146 days. He hails from which country?
(a) Nepal (b) Pakistan
(c) Sri Lanka (d) Zimbabwe
35. National Ice Hockey Championship was
held in which State?
(a) Himachal Pradesh
(b) Uttarakhand
(c) Jammu and Kashmir
(d) Assam
36. Pacer Ewen Chatfield announced his
retirement. He is former player of which
country?
(a) New Zealand
(b) Australia
(c) England
(d) South Africa
37. who has won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi
Award for the best novel of 2017?
(a) Aymanam John
(b) Veeran Kutty
(c) VJ James
(d) CL Jose
38. Which State launched ‗Yuva Swabhiman
Yojana‘?
(a) Uttar Pradesh
(b) Chhattisgarh
(c) Madhya Pradesh
(d) Rajasthan
39. Which word was listed as Hindi word of the
year 2018 by Oxford Dictionaries?
(a) Stree India (b) Stree Shakti
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(c) Yuva (d) Nari Shakti
40. Recently, ‗Train 18‘, India‘s first
indigenous semi-high speed train was renamed
as which of the following?
(a) Garibrath Express
(b) Bharat Jai Express
(c) Hindustan Express
(d) Vande Bharat Express
41. Which company took the title of world‘s
most valued IT services brand according to
Brand Finance?
(a) TCS (b)
Accenture
(C) IBM (d) HCL
42. SBI Card has joined hands with which
airlines to launch a travel specific Visa credit
card for members and Indian travelers?
(a) Qatar Airways
(b) Etihad Airways
(c) Emirates
(d) British Airways
43. Who will head the panel that has been set-
up by IRDA to identity domestically
Systemically Important Insurers(SII)?
(a) Ajay Barman
(b) Pravin Kutumbe
(c) Subhash Chandra Khuntia
(d) Kartik Sen
44. The National Commodity and derivatives
exchange limited has signed MoU with which
institute to handhold Farmer Producer
Organisations (FPOs) and allied institutions?
(a) ICSI (b) NABARD
(c) IRMA (d) SIDBI
45. Recently, Competition Commission of India
(CCI) gave its approval to Glaxo Smith Kline
Consumer Health Care for merger with which
company?
(a) Cipla
(b) Lupin Limited
(c) Patanjali Ayurveda
(d) Hindustan Unilever Limited
46. The World Economic Forum annual meet
began in which city?
(a) New York (b) Canberra
(c) Davos (d) London
47. Who was crowned champion of the
Indonesia Masters 2019?
(a) PV Sindhu
(b) Saina Nehwal
(c) Carolina Marin
(d) Ankita Raina
48. According to e-marketer‘s latest worldwide
retail and e-commerce forecast, which country
is poised to become the world‘s top retail
market in 2019?
(a) Russia (b) The USA
(c) China (d) India
49. Who was reappointed as MD of Lakshmi
Vilas Bank?
(a) PS Jayakumar
(b) Navneet Singh
(c) Rana Kapoor
(d) Parthasarathi Mukherjee
50. Cyril Ramaphosa arrived in Delhi for his
first State visit ahead of the Republic Day
celebration parade. He is the President of,
which country?
(a) South Africa (b) Australia
(c) Netherlands (d) Ukraine
51. The celebration of 15th Pravasi Bhartiya
Divas was commenced in, which city?
(a) Mumbai (b) Chennai
(c) Varanasi (d) Pune
52. Which country opened the year‘s space
campaign by putting into orbit defence imaging
satellite ‗Microsoft R‘?
(a) India (b) The USA
(c) Russia (d) Australlia
53. The Election Commission of India has
decided to set-up ‗Sangwari‘ polling stations in
which among the following states, to encourage
women voters?
(a) Rajasthan (b) Madhya Pradesh
(c) Chhattisgarh (d) Odisha
54. NASA has recently retired its space mission
called Kepler. What is Kepler?
(a) a mars orbitor
(b) a space telescope
(c) a navigation satellite
(d) a lunar rover
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55. SWAS, SAFAL and STAR, which have
been developed by the Council of Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR), are the names of
(a) Unmanned aerial vehicles
(b) Green firecrackers
(c) Space Telescope
(d) Biofuels
56. The Ministry of Drinking Water and
Sanitation has recently organized a seminar on
Gandhian thoughts and Swachhta to make India
a Swacch Bharat by 2019, at which among the
following places?
(a) Ahmedabad
(b) Pune
(c) Wardha
(d) Porbandar
57. Which organization released the biennial
Living Planet Report 2018?
(a) World Wide Fund (WWF)
(b) UNICEF
(c) Zoological Survey of India (ZSI)
(d) Conservation International
58. The Statue of Unity, world‘s tallest status
which is recently being unveiled, is built on the
river
(a) Tapti (b) Narmada
(c) Sabarmati (d) Mahi
59. Which long Range Surface to Air Missile
was launched by DRDO recently off Odisha
coast?
(a) INS Karwar (b) INS Chennai
(c) INS Vikramaditya (d) INS Chand
60. India and which other country have agreed
to set-up an ‗Energy Banking‘ mechanism that
would help the Himalayan country export its
surplus electricity?
(a) Nepal (b) Bhutan
(c) China (d) Sri Lanka
61. According to WHO, which country
accounts more than half leprosy cases globally?
(a) China (b) Nepal
(c) Pakistan (d) India
62. According to Motilal Oswal Report, weak
corporate earnings pushed the corporate profits
to GDP ratio among the Nifty 500 companies to
a 15 year low of how much percent?
(a) 3.0% (b) 2.5%
(c) 2.8% (d) 2.6%
63. What is the rank of India in the GDPR
Readiness Index released by Cisco?
(a) 4th (b) 6th
(c) 5th (d) 3rd
64. Recently, women‘s cricketer Danielle
Hazell announced her retirement. She is the
former player of which country?
(a) Holland (b) Netherlands
(c) Australia (d) England
65. Who was appointed as new Prime Minister
of Burkina Faso?
(a) Roch Marc Christian Kabore
(b) Marc Dovil Kabure
(c) Christopher Daniel Dabire
(d) Christophe Joseph Marie Dabire
66. Who was announced as the winner of $
25000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature
2018?
(a) Tejaswini Niranjana
(b) Taruna Bhati
(c) Umalakshmi Ravi Shankar
(d) Tanmay Chakraborty
67. Recently, fiction writer and essayist
Krishna Sobti passed away. She is the writer of
which language?
(a) Urdu (b) Hindi
(c) Tamil (d) Marathi
68. Recently, Russell Baker passed away. He
was related to which profession?
(a) Singer (b) Sportsmen
(c) Journalist (d) Writer
69. Recently, writer Atin Bandyopadhyay
passed away. He was the writer of which
language?
(a) Odia (b) Tamil
(c) Urdu (d) Bengali
70. What is the theme of this year‘s National
Voters Day 2019?
(a) Ethical Voting
(b) Empowering young and future events
(c) Authentic Elections
(d) Accessible Elections
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71. Cabinet recently approved the restructuring
on National Health Agency to which name?
(a) National Health Authority
(b) National Health Approval
(c) National Health Administration
(d) National Health Arogya
72. Union Minister for Science & Technology,
Earth Sciences and Environment, Forests &
Climate change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan will be
launching three important centre‘s set-up by
Department of Science and Technology in
which city?
(a) Chennai (b) Mumbai
(c) New Delhi (d) Pune
73. Which state government has decided to
form a ‗State Tiger Protection Force‘ to save
the Big Cat population in the State?
(a) Andhra Pradesh
(b) Telangana
(c) Uttar Pradesh
(d) Haryana
74. The World‘s longest 3D-printed concrete
pedestrian bridge opened in which country?
(a) The UK (b) The USA
(c) Japan (d) China
75. Which country‘s government declared
sugarcane juice as the ‗national drink‘ of the
country?
(a) India (b) Nepal
(c) Pakistan (d) Sri Lanka
76. According to the World Economic Situation
and Prospects 2019, how much percent is
global growth expected to remain in 2019 and
2020?
(a) 4% (b) 3%
(c) 5% (d) 6%
77. According to Prime Minister‘s Economic
Advisory Council, India to grow at how much
percent in the next few years?
(a) 7.3-7.6% (b) 8.0-8.2%
(c) 7.5-7.8% (d) 7.0-7.5%
78. During 2014-16, according to the cabinet,
Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) declined to
how much percent?
(a) 2.5% (b) 2.7%
(c) 2.3% (d) 3.0%
79. PM Narendra Modi added which slogan to
the slogan ‗Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan‘ given by the
late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri?
(a) Jai Arogya (b) Jai Bharat
(c) Jai Anusandhan (d) Jai Awas
80. Which web based single window system
will be rolled out at State levels by January 15,
bringing an end to the clearance nightmare for
entrepreneurs?
(a) Pardesh (b) Arogya
(c) Parman (d) Parivesh
81. Which city got the guest of honour in 27th
edition of the New Delhi World Book Fair
(NDWBF)?
(a) London (b) Sharjah
(c) Astana (d) Dubai
82. Which State approves 11 projects for river
Saraswati revival?
(a) Uttar Pradesh (b) Jharkhand
(c) Bihar (d) Haryana
83. Which airport has been declared as an
authorized Immigration Check Post for entry
into/exit from India?
(a) Chaudhary Charan Singh International
Airport
(b) Veer Savarkar International Airport
(c) Indira Gandhi International Airport
(d) Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International
Airport
84. According to RBI Report on Trend and
Progress of Banking in India, how much
percent increase was seen in number of
complaints registered at banking ombudsman
offices in Fy 2018?
(a) 20% (b) 25%
(c) 10% (d) 32%
85. Which among the following countries
launched the world‘s first sovereign blue bond?
(a) Singapore (b) Seychelles
(c) Chile (d) Japan
86. Name the first engine-less semi-high speed
train released by India that was developed by
Integral Coach Factory, Chennai?
(a) Train 15 (b) Train 24
(c) Train 18 (d) Train 28
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87. Mammals of India (MAOI) is a first of its
kind repository of Mammals in India. It is
developed by
(a) Zoological Survey of India
(b) Bombay Natural History Society
(c) National Center for Biological Sciences
(d) Indian Veterinary Research Institute
88. Who will head the committee that has been
formed to rejuvenate Micro, small and Medium
Enterprises?
(a) Ranjan Das
(b) Praveen Garg
(c) Subhash Chandra Khuntia
(d) Upendra Kumar Sinha
89. Which company became the country‘s
largest asset, Management Company after a gap
of over two year?
(a) IDBI Mutual Funds
(b) Reliance Mutual Fund
(c) ICICI Prudential
(d) HDFC Mutual Fund
90. Who has assume charge as Secretary,
Department of Fertilizers, government of India?
(a) Ravi Shankar Prasad
(b) Suresh Prabhu
(c) Ravindra Koul
(d) Chhabliendra Roul
91. Who has become the first women amputee
to climb Mount Vinson (Highest Peak of
Antarctica)?
(a) Arunima Sinha
(b) Santosh Yadav
(c) Premlata Yadav
(d) Malavath Purna
92. Where did President Ram Nath Kovind
inaugurate the Mahatma Gandhi International
Sanitation Convention?
(a) Chennai (b) New Delhi
(c) Bengaluru (d) Hyderabad
93. PM Narendra Modi has inaugurated
Mahatma Gandhi Museum in
(a) Jamnagar (b) Por Bandar
(c) Vadodara (d) Rajkot
94. Who is the Chairperson of insolvency and
Bankruptcy Board Of India?
(a) MS Sahoo
(b) V. Shantakumaran
(c) Viral Acharya
(d) Urjit Patel
95. Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved
a $ 150 million loan to establish the first multi-
skills park in
(a) Madhya Pradesh
(b) Tamil Nadu
(c) Andhra Pradesh
(d) Himachal Pradesh
96. Supreme Court invalidated which section of
IPC (Indian Penal Code) to declare adultery
cannot be a criminal offence
(a) Section-123 (b) Section-497
(c) Section-435 (d) Section-534
97. RBI increased the ―Facility to Avail
Liquidity for Liquidity Coverage Ratio
(FALLCR)‖ from the existing 11% to _____ %
of their deposits, with effect from 1st October
2018?
(a) 10 (b) 13
(c) 20 (d) 23
98. Name the indigenously developed Beyond
Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM)
that was successfully test fired by Indian Air
Force (IAF) near Chandipur in Odisha
(a) Vastra (b)Vajra
(c) Artha (d) Astra
99. Defence Acquisition Council (DAC)
approved procurement of 1000 engines for
firment in ……… tanks of the Army.
(a) T-55 (b) T-65
(c) T-70 (d) T-72
100. As per RBI‗s latest order, all scheduled
commercial banks having more than ……..
branches are required to appoint an Internal
Ombudsman (IO)
(a) 5 (b) 10
(c) 15 (d) 20
www.crackclat.com CLATFOCUS (January -2019)
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Answer Key CLATFOCUS January - 2019
Q. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Ans. C B C C A D B B A B
Q. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.
Ans. C C D C B A D A C B
Q. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30.
Ans. D C A B A D D B A D
Q. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40.
Ans. C C A A C A C C D D
Q. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50.
Ans. B B B C D C B C D A
Q. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60.
Ans. C A C B B C A B B A
Q. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70.
Ans. D C B D D A B D D D
Q. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80.
Ans. A A B D C B D B C D
Q. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90.
Ans. B D B B B C C D D D
Q. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100.
Ans. A B D A A B B D D B