1. Airports Authority of India(AAI) signed MoU with a global aircraft tracking body Aireon (________________), for implementation of Space-Based Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast data (ADS-B) services for oceanic regions of the Indian flight information regions (FIRs).
2. Indian Haj mission in Saudi Arabia adopted digital technology to reach out to a large number of pilgrims as part of Digital India initiative of India. Key Initiatives Include -
- Indian Haj Information System (Haj App), developed to receive feedback from Hajis (Haj pilgrims), to facilitate hassle-free Haj Pilgrim.
- e-MASIHA (_____________________) - An online platform where Health status and medical history of visiting pilgrims is stored.
- Pilgrims are being provided Saudi Arabian mobile SIM card in India itself.
- Air India also allowed pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia after Haj to carry holy water from Zamzam within permissible baggage allowance. Well of Zamzam is located in Masjid al-Haram, Mecca (holiest place in Islam) in Kingdom Saudi Arabia and many Haj pilgrims bring holy water from well for family and friends.
3. 2019 global Multidimensional Poverty Index by UN Development Programme (UNDP) -
- India registered fastest reduction of poverty rate from 55.1% to ___________________ and lifted 27.1 Crore (from 64 to 36.9 Crore) people out of poverty. India’s MPI value reduced from 0.283 in 2005-06 to 0.123 in 2015-16.
- Among states, Jharkhand had greatest improvement, with Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Nagaland slightly behind. However, Bihar is still poorest state in 2015- 16, with over half of its population in poverty.
- Among Districts, poorest is Alirajpur in Madhya Pradesh, where 76.5% of people are poor – the same as Sierra Leone in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- As per report, 1.3 billion people Globally are 'multi-dimensionally poor', mans poor not only on the basis of income, but on other indicators, including poor health, poor quality of work and the threat of violence.
4. A new India-UK bilateral pilot scheme, UKIERI Mobility Programme: Study in India has been launched by Universities UK International (UUKi) and British Council India. It aims to generate up to 200 opportunities for undergraduate students at UK universities to visit India by March 2021. It will be funded by UK and Indian governments as part of Phase 3 of the ________________________ (UKIERI).
5. According to property consultant CBRE, ________________'s Connaught Place (CP) is the 9th most expensive office location in world. Hong Kong's Central district retained the top spot as the world's most expensive market for prime office rents. Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex and Nariman Point CBD ranked at 27th and 40th position.
6. According to study Moving Price Index 2019 by relocation experts from Movinga (German online platform-based moving company), -
- Delhi is among world’s cheapest cities to move to,ranked ________________ in terms of individual relocation & 84th rank in family relocation.
- San Francisco (US) is most expensive city in world to relocate to as an individual and as a Family.
7. Alan Turing, code-breaker during World War II has been chosen by Bank of England to feature on Britain’s new _____________ note. The note will be last of Bank of England collection to switch from paper to polymer and is due to enter circulation by end of 2021.
- Alan Turing is known for his code-cracking work that proved vital to Allies in World War II, also referred as Father of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
- His career was cut short by his conviction in 1952 for gross indecency with a 19-year-old man. He was chemically castrated and died aged 41 due to cyanide poisoning in an apparent suicide in 1954.
- In 2013, he received a posthumous royal pardon from Queen Elizabeth II.
8. Annual Report by Swiss National Bank (SNB) -
- India is ranked ____________________ in terms of money parked by its citizens with Swiss banks (Down from 73rd in previous list). India's holding fell by 6% in 2018 to 955 million Swiss francs (INR 6,757 crores).
- Top 3 - UK (CHF 372 billion), US (CHF 144 billion), West Indies, France, and Hong Kong.
- Total money held in Swiss banks fell to CHF 1.4 trillion (INR 99 lakh crores) in 2018.
- Neighbors - Pakistan (82nd), Bangladesh (89th), Nepal (109th), Sri Lanka (141st), Bhutan (193rd).
9. Apple acquied chip-maker Intel''s smartphone modem business for __________________.
10. Approx 1,000-year-old Shawala Teja Singh Temple located in Sialkot city of ____________, which was sealed for last 72 years, has been re-opened for devotees for the 1st time since partition.
- Shawala Teja Singh temple is an ancient Hindu temple which was built by Sardar Teja Singh. It is dedicated to Hindu deity Shiva, in Sialkot in Punjab province.
- Re-opening of Shawala Teja Singh temple is a major decision in favour of Hindu pilgrims who form biggest minority community in ______________.
11. As First Instance of Indian inland waterways being used for connecting two countries, vessel with Bhutan cargo to ________________ was flagged off. It will traverse via River Brahmaputra ( NW 2) and Indo Bangla Protocol Route. It contained 1000 Metric Ton of crushed stone aggregates
12. As Per London-based global information provider IHS Markit, India will overtake _______________________ to become world’s fifth biggest economy in 2019, and is poised to surpass Japan to be third largest in 2025.
13. As per __________________ report Working on a Warmer Planet: The Impact of Heat Stress on Labour Productivity and Decent Work-
- Considering 1.5 degree Celsius Rise in Global Temparatures, India will lose 5.8% of working hours in 2030 equivalent to 3.4 Crore full-time jobs due to global warming. It will mainly impact agriculture and construction sectors.
- Globally, in 2030, 2.2% of total working hours will be lost to high temperatures. Global financial loss due to heat stress will be $2400, a productivity loss equivalent to 8 crore full-time jobs.
14. As per Report State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2019 Jointy Prepared by UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), UNICEF, World Food Programme and World Health Organisation (WHO) -
- In 2018, over 82 crore people suffered from hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition worldwide, rising for 3rd straight.
- Report is part of tracking progress towards Sustainable Development Goal to Zero Hunger, which aims to end hunger, promote food security and end all forms of malnutrition by ___________________________.
- Number of hungry people Glovbally - Asia (513.9 million), Africa (256.1million), Latin America and Caribbean (42.5 million).
- Malnutrition is widespread in Africa where 20% of the population is affected. In Asia, over 12% people experienced it and in Latin America & the Caribbean, 7% of people were affected.
15. _________________ and India finalized a new veterinary health protocol for export of breeder sheep to India. This will support India’s efforts to develop its fine wool sector and the textiles industry using Australian production expertise and genetic stock.
16. Beijing based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) withdrawn $200 million commitment for Amaravati Capital City project in ______________________, after World Bank had withdrawn its $300 million commitment for the same.
- It was decided after Environmental activists and farmers opposed this project for building the city on Krishna river floodplains.
17. Benjamin Netanyahu became longest serving Prime Minister of __________________ by staying at the post for 4876 days, getting past David Ben-Gurion (______’s founding father and first leader).
18. _____________________ Updates -
- Gifted warship 'P625' to Sri Lanka, to be mainly used for offshore patroling, environment monitoring and anti-piracy combats.
- _____'s Autonomous Region Hong Kong's government approved over $9 million aid rehabilitation work in Fani cyclone-hit Odisha.
- _____'s experimental space lab “Tiangong-2” reportedly destroyed upon its controlled re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere over Pacific Ocean. It was retired from service after it had completed its experiments in space.
- _____'s startup Interstellar Glory Space Technology (known as iSpace) launched china’s first commercial rocket named Hyperbola-1, which reached an altitude of 300 kilometres (186 miles).
19. Commerce & Industry and Railways Minister Piyush Goyal launched Global Innovation Index (GII) in New Delhi, with presence of Francis Gurry (Director General of World Intellectual Property Organization).
- It is 12th edition of GII with 129 countries under observation. GII measures how innovation friendly the environments of global economies are based on 80 detailed metrics.
- GII is published annually by Cornell University, INSEAD (Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires) and United Nations World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and GII Knowledge Partners.
- This year’s theme is “Evaluating the Medical Innovation Scenario of the Next Decade”.
- India’s R&D Expenditure Ecosystem report was also released.
- India is ranked __________________ in 2019, compared to 57th position in 2018. India was was ranked 81st in 2015, 66th in 2016 and 60th in 2017.
- Top 5 - Switzerland, Sweden, USA, Netherlands, United Kingdom
- Bottom 5 - Yemen (129), Togo (128), Niger (127), Burundi (126), Benin (125)
20. Ebola outbreak in __________________declared as a global health emergency by World Health Organization (WHO), after it has killed over 1700 people in ___________. deadly Ebola virus now threatens to affect neighbouring nations and infect millions of people
21. European Union fined based chipmaker Qualcomm ____________________, accusing it of predatory pricing, which is aimed at driving a competitor out of market.
- Qualcomm is accused of selling Baseband chipsets (key components of mobile devices which enables it to connect to internet), at a price below cost to key customers with intention of eliminating a competitor.
22. First model village built with Indian assistance under Model Villages Program has been inaugurated at Ranidugama in Gampaha in ____________.
- India partnered with _______________ to build 100 model villages which will consist of a total of 2400 houses all across nation, in addition to 60000 accommodations built under Indian Housing Project meant for war affected people in north and east ___________ and estate workers.
- Indian grant for project would be INR 120 Crores ($17.5 million).
- India also handed over 250 pre-fabricated houses for use of displaced Muslim minorities, currently residing in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, under India’s ‘Rakhine State Development Programme’ (RSDP) for $25 Million for a period of 5 years.
23. Forbes' Celebrity 100 list -
- ________________ Singer Taylor Swift topped the list with 2019 earnings of over USD 185 million, replacing Kylie Jenner.
- With $65 million income, Akshay Kumar is only Indian to enter Forbes magazine’s Highest-Paid Entertainers List 2019. He is ranked 33rd.
24. Foundation stone of Baba Guru Nanak University (BGNU) laid at Nankana Sahib, in _______________’s Punjab province.
- Nankana Sahib is birth place of founder of Sikhism Baba Guru Nanak Dev. BGNU is spread over 10 acres and would be completed with amount of INR 258 crores.
25. ______________________government will impose up to €18 Green Tax on plane tickets for all outboud flights, to fund less-polluting transportation projects. It will see a tax of €1.5 imposed on economy-class tickets on internal flights and those within Europe. Highest tariff of €18 per ticket will be applied to business-class travellers flying outside EU.
26. __________________ parliament approved a law dubbed as Gafa Tax (an acronym for Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon), to impose a 3% levy on sales generated in __________ by non-tax paying online giants. It will become 1st major economy to impose a tax on internet giants. The tax would be applied only to companies with global revenues in excess of €500 million and revenue of at least €25 million from UK activities.
27. Henley Passport Index 2019, ranking 199 passports and 227 travel destinations -
- India stands at _______________ position, sharing the position with Mauritiana and Sao Tome and Principe.
- Top 5 -
- Japan, Singapore
- Finland, Germany, South Korea
- Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg
- France, Spain, Sweden
- Austria, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland
28. IMF approved a USD _______________ loan over a period of 3 years for cash strapped Pakistan, including immediate disbursement of USD 1 billion to help Pakistan address its balance of payment crisis.
29. ISRO tied up with ____________ Firm Glavkosmos for selection support, medical examination and space training of Indian astronauts for ‘Gaganyaan’ mission. Gaganyaan, The 9023 crores project, aims for December 2021 launch, including a woman astronaut.
30. India Based Networking Firm Vihaan Networks Ltd (VNL) signed pact with ___________________ to develop digital villages, by advancing rural connectivity.
31. India and _______________________ will establish fast-track system for companies and investors of both countries, to identify and solve problems faced in operations in both countries. DPIIT will facilitate participation of other relevant Ministries and authorities on a case by case basis. Invest India will be responsible for pursuing and monitoring individual cases. The Fast-track system will be reviewed twice a year.
32. India and ___________________ launched two-year joint initiative- Innovating for Clean Air (IfCA) in Bengaluru (Karnataka), aimed at providing unique air quality measurement system by integrating satellite and sensor data and support India’s transition to Electric Vehicles (EVs).
33. India pledged to contribute USD _____________ in 2019 to UN Palestine refugee agency. Indian Contribution increased from 1.25 million USD in 2016 to 5 million USD in 2018.
34. India will participate in ___________________ World Expo 2020 to take place for six months between October 2020 - April 2021. Theme of the Expo is Connecting Minds, Creating the Future with three sub themes – Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability – to generate sustainable solutions to global problems, demand and collaboration areas across cultures, countries and regions.
- India Pavilion will be a permanent structure being constructed in the ‘Opportunity’ segment, with NBCC getting INR 400 crores project for the same.
35. India will provide 10,000 scholarships for heirs of liberation war fighters of ______________called 'Muktijodhas' over the next five years under the Nutan India-____________________ Maitree Muktijodha Sontan Scholarship Scheme.
36. India's Exim Bank had signed agreements with Papua New Guinea and Senegal governments for providing USD ____________________ to finance infrastructure and health care projects, effective from June 26, 2019.
37. Indian IT Firm Infosys launched its state-of-the-art Cyber Defence Center in Bucharest (_______________________, as an expansion of services delivered via Infosys Digital Innovation Center which opened in Bucharest in early 2019. It will provide Real-Time Cyber Security monitoring and protection services to support European and global businesses on their digital transformation journey.
38. ndian cab aggregator Ola received approval from London’s transport regulator to start private hire vehicles (PHV) in capital city of _________.
39. International Arbitration Court imposed over __________________ penalty on cash-strapped Pakistan for unlawful denial of a mining lease to a company called Tethyan Copper Company for Reko Diq project in 2011.
- In 2012, Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) had filed claims for international arbitration before World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) after Balochistan government rejected a leasing request from company in 2011.
- TTC a joint venture between Chilean mining company Antofagasta and Canada’s Barrick Gold Corporation. It had claimed 11.43 billion dollars in damages.
- TCC stated that During August 2010 , TCC undertook a feasibility study that established basis for mine development at Reko Diq and submitted a mining lease application in February 2011, along with an environmental and social impact assessment (SIA) report. It was rejected by Balochistan government in November 2011.
- Reko Diq is a small town in Chagai district in Balochistan that lies close to the border with Iran and Afghanistan. Reko Diq mine is famous for its vast gold and copper (Cu) reserves. It is believed to have the world’s 5th largest gold deposit.
40. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) added over 7000 species to its endangered Red List, which now has over ________________ listed as facing extinction. Human behaviour which includes overfishing and deforestation, is biggest driver of declining populations of species.
- More than 500 deep-sea bony fish and molluscs have been added to list for 1st time. This poses something of a conservation conundrum as space these species inhabit is 1,000 metres beneath surface that is often beyond national boundaries.
41. ________________ tested Medium-Range Ballistic Missile Shahab-3, with range approx 1100 km.
- Missile launches are not forbidden under 2015 Iran nuclear deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). However a UN Security Council resolution says that- Iran is called upon not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
42. _____________ resumed commercial whaling, after a ban of 31 years. It will stay within country’s exclusive economic waters. This came after ____________’s 6 month notice to withdraw from International Whaling Commission (IWC) taking effect on 30 June 2019.
43. _______________ unveiled its 1st Underwater Military Museum under Red Sea off the coast of Aqaba, featuring 19 decommissioned pieces of military hardware, submerged at depths up to 28 meters (92 feet).
- Red Sea is a narrow strip of water inlet of Indian Ocean. It extends southeastward from Suez in Egypt, to Bab el-Mandeb Strait (it connects Red Sea to Gulf of Aden).
44. Motihari-Amlekhgunj oil pipeline has been completed and ready for commercial operation, aimed at strengthening India - _____________ relations. This is first transnational petroleum pipeline form India and first South Asian oil pipeline corridor. It is also the first oil pipeline in ____________. This 69 km long pipeline has been constructed by India in 15 months, half of its 30 months deadline.
45. _______________ revised its constitution to Propmote Kim Jong Un as official head of state. Earlier Kim ruled as a chairman of state Affairs Commission.
46. Oceanic nation Palau became ____________________
memberof India led International Solar Alliance (ISA).
- ISA is a group of 121 solar resource-rich nations. It was jointly launched by India and France on November 2015 on side lines of COP21 UN Climate Change Conference held at Paris.
- It is headquartered at campus of National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) in Gurugram, India.
47. akistan agreed to allow year-long visa-free access for Indian pilgrims to holy Gurdwara of Kartarpur Sahib, at 2nd bilateral formal meeting held at Wagah for finalising modalities for Kartarpur Sahib corridor.
- Throughout year, ________________ pilgrims will be allowed to visit Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara per day.
- Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara is located at Kartarpur in Pakistan’s Narowal district, on bank of River Ravi. It is the final resting place of First Sikh Guru Baba Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism. He lived here for 18 years until his death in 1539.
- Kartarpur Sahib Corridor links India’s Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district with Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara in Pakistan’s Punjab province, to be completed by 31 October 2019.
- Pakistan also approved 42 acres of land for Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, up from 3 Acres earlier.
48. QS Best Student Cities Ranking 2019 compiled by global education consultancy Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) -
- London (______________) named as world’s best city for students for the second consecutive year. Tokyo (Japan) and Melbourne (Australia) were ranked second and third positions respectively.
- Indian Cities - Bangalore was ranked 81st and Mumbai stood at 85th position, Delhi was ranked 113th and Chennai stood at 115 out of a total of 120 cities ranked in the list.
- Top 5 -
- London, UK
- Tokyo, Japan
- Melbourne, Australia
- Munich, Germany
- Berlin, Germany
49. Reliance Industries became top-ranked Indian company featured in latest “Fortune Global 500 list 2019”, ranked _____________ (gaining 42 places).
- Reliance overtook Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to gain this recognition. IOC is now ranked 117.
- RIL’s revenue increased to $82.3 billion in 2019 from $62.3 billion in 2018 (32.1% increment).
- Walmart (US) is at top of list,followed by Sinopec Group of China and Royal Dutch Shell (British – Dutch)
- Other Indian companies in list - Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC-160), State Bank of India (SBI- 236), Tata Motors (265), Bharat Petroleum Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL- 275) and Rajesh Exports (495).
50. _________ Updates -
- launched Proton-M rocket carrying Spektr-RG(Spectrum Roentgen Gamma) space telescope from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Spektr-RG is a joint project by space agency Roscosmos and German space agency DLR, aimed at creating a 3D X-ray map of universe and expected to detect 100,000 galaxy clusters, 3 million black holes, tens of thousands neutron stars, and magnetic fields.
- Launched Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with a hydrometeorological satellite and 32 small satellites. The satellite will provide images of clouds, surface of Earth, ice and snow covers in visible, infrared and microwave ranges.
51. Scientists from ___________________Jute Mills Corporation have developed a method to convert Jute fibre into low-cost Bio-Degradable cellulose sheets dubbed as Sonali (means ‘golden’ in bengali). Physical qualities of invented jute fibre and plastic are quite similar. They are not harmful for human health.
52.___________________-based investor CapitaLand completed purchase of Temasek Holdings-owned Ascendas-___________ Pte. Ltd, creating one of Asia’s largest diversified real estate groups with over S$123 billion of assets under management (AUM).
53. _________ Updates -
- ___________ and India's IRCON (Indian Railway Construction Company) International signed $91.26 million agreement for up-gradation of 130 km rail track between Colombo and Jaffna in Tamil -majority northern province.
- Became 5th country in World Health Organisation (WHO) Southeast Asia region to eliminate measles, after Bhutan, Maldives, DPR Korea and Timor-Leste.
- Exempted Indian tourists from Visa Fees for tourism purposes, making India among 48 countries whose citizens have been exempted from visa fees by ________. Visa fees ($20 to $40) will not be charged for grant of 1 month visa for tourism.
54. The Hague (_______________) based International Court of Justice (ICJ) stayed Kulbhushan Jadhav’s execution, as a major win for India. ICJ directed Pakistan to reconsider death sentence awarded to Jadhav by Pakistani military court on espionage and terrorism charges. ICJ also directed Pakistan to provide Jadhav a fair trial and consular access, which he should have been provided as per Vienna Convention.
- ICJ bench headed by President of Court Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf delivered the judgement, in India's favour by 15 to 1 votes.
- India was represented by Renowned Advocate Harish Salve, who charged only INR 1 for taking up this case at ICJ.
55. The Walled City of Jaipur Included into UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Sites list, at 43rd session of UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Baku (Azerbaijan).
- Pink City Jaipur (____________________) was nominated for its value of being an exemplary development in architecture and town planning that demonstrates an amalgamation and important exchange of ideas in late medieval period.
- Chinese city of Fuzhou will host 44th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2020.
- Jaipur City along with 28 Other sites Globally were Included in UNESCO WHS List, at the concerned session. They are -
- Asian Sites -
- Japan's Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group: Mounded Tombs of Ancient Japan
- South Korea's Seowon, Korean Neo-Confucian Academies
- Lao People’s Democratic Republic's Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang — Plain of Jars
- Myanmar's Bagan
- India's Jaipur City
- Indonesia's Ombilin Coal Mining Heritage of Sawahlunto
- China's Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City
- Migratory Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China, Phase I
- Rest of World
- Australia's Budj Bim Cultural Landscape
- Azerbaijan's Historic Centre of Sheki with the Khan’s Palace
- Bahrain's Dilmun Burial Mounds
- Brazil's Paraty and Ilha Grande — Culture and Biodiversity
- Burkina Faso's Ancient ferrous metallurgy sites
- Canada's Writing-on-Stone/Áísínai’pi
- Czech Republic's Landscape for Breeding and Training of Ceremonial Carriage Horses at Kladruby nad Labem
- Czech Republic/Germany - Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří Mining Region
- France's Austral Lands and Seas
- Germany's Management System of Augsburg
- Iceland's Vatnajökull National Park
- Iran's Hyrcanian Forests
- Iraq's Babylon
- Italy's Le Colline del Prosecco di Conegliano a Valdobbiadene
- Poland's Krzemionki Prehistoric Striped Flint Mining Region
- Portugal's Royal Building of Mafra — Palace, Basilica, Convent, Cerco Garden and Hunting Park, Tapada
- Portugal's Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga
- Russian Federation's Churches of the Pskov School of Architecture
- Spain's Risco Caido and the Sacred Mountains of Gran Canaria Cultural Landscape
- United Kingdom's Jodrell Bank Observatory
- USA's The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright
- India now has 38 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, with 1121 Sites Globally.
56. Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings 2019 -
- Top 5 -
- Harvard University (________________)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- Stanford University (US)
- University of Cambridge (UK)
- University of Oxford (UK)
- No Indian University in Top 100 universties in List. IISC Bengaluru, IIT Madras and Manipal Academy of Higher Education are top 3 Ranked Indian Universities in Top 500 universties in List.
57. U.S.'s Federal Trade Commission approved _____________________ penalty on Facebook, to settle a probe into Facebook’s privacy and data protection lapses. It would be the largest penalty ever imposed by the FTC for privacy violations.
58. UK consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie stated that renewable energy cost of India is the lowest in Asia Pacific region, due to the fact that Levelized Cost Of Electricity (LCOE) using solar photovoltaic of India has Fallen to ______________ per Megawatt hour in 2019.
- India is second-largest country in terms of power market in the Asia Pacific having a Power capacity of 421 Gigawatts(GW) and also the Solar capacity its expected to reach 38 GW in 2019.
- India aims to have 175 GW capacity of renewable power installed in the country by 2022.
59. UN atomic watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that Iran has breached 300 kilogramme limit on amount of enriched uranium in its stockpile set out in ___________________ nuclear deal with world powers.
- Iran threatened to increase its enrichment of uranium closer to weapons-grade levels and suspend its other commitments under JCPOA deal unless European powers took steps to implement their new mechanism called INSTEX for facilitating trade.
- INSTEX stands for Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges. It is a special-purpose vehicle established in January 2019 by E3 (France, Germany and United Kingdom) to facilitate non-dollar trade with Iran amid US unilateral withdrawal from JCPOA. This trading system is designed to circumvent sanctions on Iran.
- EU earlier stated that INSTEX has been made operational, but according to Iran, it did not meet its needs.
60. UNESCO Released State of Education Report for India 2019 : Children with Disabilities, as first of its kind published by UNESCO for India in collaboration with Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).
- It highlights accomplishments and challenges with regards to ________________ (RTE) of children with disabilities (CWDs). Report suggests 10 key suggestions to policy makers.
- India is home to over 78 lakh children aged under 19 living with disabilities. At present three-fourths of 5-year old children and one-fourths of kids aged between 5 and 19 with disabilities in India are out of school.
- Challenges Include Inadequate allocations, delays in releasing funds and under-utilisation of allocation remain key challenges in financing education for CWDs.
- Report Recommends
- Amending Right to Education (RTE) Act 2009 to make it align with Right of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016.
- There is a need to strengthen data on children with disabilities which can help in effective planning, implementation and monitoring of their education.
61. ___________ Updates -
- _________ Based IT Firm IBM acquired software company Red Hat Inc in $34 billion, to boost its cloud computing business. This is IBM's biggest acquisition ever.
- _________ House of Representatives passed a Bill titled Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019 (HR 1044), to remove 7% country-cap on green card applicants. This could end wait of skilled professionals from countries like India who have sought permanent residency in _____.
- The HR 1044 Bill, when signed into law (After Senate and Prez Trump Approval), would increase per-country cap on Family-Based Immigrant Visas from 7% of total number of such visas available that year to 15%, and will also eliminate 75 cap for Employment-Based Immigrant Visas.
- President Donald Trump became 1st incumbent ____________ president to enter Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) between North Korea and South Korea.
- Senate (Upper Chamber of Congress) passed a legislative provision called National Defense Authorisation Act (NDAA), that brings India at par with NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) allies and countries like South Korea, Australia, Japan and Israel for increasing defence cooperation.
- Designated Balochistan Liberation Army and Hizballah operative Husain Ali Hazzima as Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
- Has put sanctions against Myanmar’s Military Chief Min Aung Hlaing for gross human rights violations, including killing of Rohingya Muslims. US become 1st government to publicly take action against senior leadership of Burmese military.
62. ____________ inaugurated world's largest movable metal dome encasing destroyed reactor at infamous Chernobyl plant. It is a 108-meter high dome which weighs 36,000 tonnes.
- Branded as world’s largest movable metal structure, the so-called New Safe Confinement seals remains of fourth reactor at the nuclear plant that was the site of the massive Chernobyl disaster in 1986.
- Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at No. 4 nuclear reactor in Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near Pripyat in Ukrainia. It is one of only two nuclear energy disasters rated at seven (maximum severity), on International Nuclear Event Scale. Other is 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan.
63. _____________ introduced first guideline on self-care interventions for health named “Consolidated Guideline on Self-Care Interventions for Health”. Its first volume has focused on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Key Highlights -
- By 2030, there will be shortage of 18 million health workers. Currently, 130 million people are deprived of humanitarian assistance.
- About 400 million people lack access to most essential health services.
64. World Hindu Economic Forum (WHEF) launched its ____________ Chapter , in Capital Kathmandu. WHEF brings together financially successful elements within Hindu society, so that each group can share their business knowledge, expertise and resources with their fellow brethren to trigger creation of surplus wealth and make society prosperous.
65. World's largest burn and plastic surgery institute Inaugurated in Dhaka (___________________), Named Sheikh Hasina National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute. This 500 beds advanced treatment unit has been built at cost of over 500 crores Taka.