1. 2019 Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) will be held in Bucheon City (______________________), as 23rd edition of this festival which is known as a Mecca of film culture.
- 4 Indian movies Gully Boy (directed by Zoya Akhtar), Andhadhun (directed by Sriram Raghavan), Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi (directed by Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi (Krish)) and a Tamil movie, Super Deluxe (directed by Thiagarajan Kumararaja) will be screened at the festival.
2. 57 Indian companies Named in Forbes' world’s 2,000 largest public companies List -
- At the top of Indian Companies in List, is Reliance Industries (______________ Overall).
- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) is at top of list for 7th year in a row.
- American Express topped in consumer financial sector.
- 575 companies are from US, most for any nation. US is followed by China and Hong Kong (309) and Japan (223).
3. A Letter of Intent (LoI) exchanged between Ahmedabad and _________________ city of Kobe for a sister city partnership, to pave way for an enhanced economic relationship and cultural exchange between two cities.
4. According 100 Top BrandZ Report 2019 by Kantar, __________________- Based E-Commerce Firm Amazon became world’s most valuable brand, leaving Behind Google. Brand value of Amazon surged by 52 % to $315 billion.
5. According to United Nations report ‘World Population Prospects 2019’, India will surpass China as world’s most populous country by __________________.
- World population is projected to increase by another 2 billion people by 2050, to 9.7 billion. More than 50% increase will be concentrated in 9 countries - India, Pakistan, US, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Egypt, Tanzania, and Indonesia.
- Indian population is expected to increase by 27.3 crores by 2050. In 2019, population of India is 1.37 billion and China is at 1.43 billion.
- Between 2019 and 2050, nearly 55 countries are estimated to face population shrinking by at least 1%.
6. According to report Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2018 by International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) -
- India leads in producing solar power at lowest cost globally. India has lowest total installed cost for new utility-scale solar PV projects that were commissioned in 2018 at $793/Kw(kilowatt), which is 27% lower than in 2017.
- Top 3 with Highes costs - _________________ ($2,427/kW) Russia ($2,302/kW), Japan($2,101/kW).
7. According to report by World Health Organization (WHO), Four countries from Asia (China, Iran, Malaysia and Timor-Leste) and one country from ____________________ (El Salvador) were malaria-free in 2018. The report confirmed that world is on a track to reach malaria elimination by 2020.
- India had 4 % of global maleria cases in 2018. Nigeria had most (25 per cent) followed by Democratic Republic of Congo (11 %).
8. According to report on internet trends by venture capitalist Mary Meeker, India ranks second by witnessing 12% world internet users (close to 455 million). China leads with 21% of global internet users while U.S (United States) placed third with 8%. Total internet users are approx _____________ billion.
9. According to the World Investment Report 2019 released by United Nation Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) -
- Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to India grew by 6 % to USD ____________________ billion in 2018, ranking India among top 20 host economies for FDI inflows in 2017-18.
- Global FDI flows decreased by 13 % in 2018 to USD 1.3 trillion from USD 1.5 trillion in previous year, as 3rd consecutive annual decline.
- FDI inflow to South Asia increased 3.5% to $54 billion dollars.
- FDI flows to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh rose to record level, to $1.6 billion and $3.6 billion respectively, but Pakistan witnessed a 27% decline in investment to $2.4 billion.
10. African Union (AU) suspended __________________________ until establishment of a civilian-led transition to democracy, ending the stretched bloody crisis.
- Since December 2018, _________________ is facing international anger over increasing bread prices and shortages, which then turned into protests against Omar al-Bashir (7th President) and culminated in military removing him after a three-decade rule. Military took control after ouster of Omar in April 2019.
- Widespread violence since then has caused huge amount of casualties.
11. Airports Authority of India (AAI) signed technical assistance agreement with ___________________ Aircraft Maker Boeing to develop and modernise India’s Air Traffic Management, by jointly developing a 10-year roadmap. Roadmap will be undertaken with a grant from United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).
12. _______________________ multinational private equity Firm Blackstone will accquire 100 % Stake in India's Aadhar Housing Finance, by making fresh infusion of 800 crores and buying 17% stake held by World Bank arm IFC for about 400-500 crores.
- The deal values Aadhar HFC at around Rs 2,700 crores, with assets around 10,000 crores, and a network of 316 branches.
- Blackstone’s Total INR 3,500 crore investment comes in as a confidence booster for troubled Indian NBFC space, which has been hit by a liquidity crunch following the IL&FS crisis.
13. As per New Energy Outlook (NEO) report 2019 by Bloomberg NEF -
- Wind and solar power will make up almost half of Global electricity system by ____________________. Electricity demand will increase 62 %, which will attract $13.3 trillion in new investment, of which wind will take $5.3 trillion and solar will take $4.2 trillion.
- Share of coal power will come down from 37 to 12 % by ___________.
14. As per Asian Development Bank (ADB) Report, Bangladesh emerged as fastest growing economy among 45 countries of Asia-Pacific region. In FY year 2018-19, Bangladesh attained growth rate of ___________________________, as its fastest rate since 1974. It is predicted to be 8% in FY 2019-20.
15. As per Ericsson Mobility Repor, India has highest data usage per smartphone in World, with Monthly data usage being _________________ gigabytes (GB) in 2018.
16. As per Mercer’s 25th Annual Cost of Living Survey -
- Mumbai is India’s most expensive city, being included in top 20 most expensive cities in Asia for expatriates. Mumbai is ranked __________ globally.
- Costliest Cities in world - Hong Kong (1), Tokyo (2), Singapore (3) and Seoul (4).
- Least Expensive Cities - Tunis (209), Tashkent (208), and Karachi (207).
17. As per data by US based think-tank Global Financial Integrity (GFI) India lost _______________________ in revenue collections due to trade misinvoicing in 2016, amounting to 5.5% of total revenue collections. Out of this $13 Billion, $4 billion was due to export misinvoicing and nearly $9 billion was due to import misinvoicing.
- GFI urged India to adopt a public registry of beneficial ownership information on all legal entities. It considered using online tools for building the capacity of customs authorities to better detect misinvoicing and take corrective steps in real time.
18. As per study named The BP Statistical Review of World Energy, by United Kingdom (UK) based energy Firm BP, global carbon emissions grew by ___________________ in 2018, highest rate since 2010-2011.
- There is growing mismatch between societal demands for action on climate change and actual pace of progress being made in this domain.
- Although the use of renewable forms of energy globally grew by 14.5% in 2018 but it still accounted for just 33% of total rise in power generation in 2018.
- Study says it It should not be a race to renewables, but a race to reduce carbon emissions across many fronts.
19. ____________________________’s first iron ore mine discovered at Isanpur village in Dinajpur. At depth of 1,750 feet, a 400-foot thick iron layer was discovered and it is extended over an area of 6-10 square kilometers. Percentage of iron is 60, higher in quality that other iron ore mines globally.
20. ________________ Singer Rihanna named world’s richest female musician by Forbes magazine with an estimated wealth of $600 million. Forbes' Magazine also named American Rapper Jay-Z (real name Sean Carter), as World’s 1st Billionaire Rapper.
21. _______________________ Govt. will ban single-use plastics from 2021, amid global efforts to phase out plastic bags, straws and cutlery clogging oceans.
22. Cash-strapped Pakistan secured financial assistance in form of a bailout package of $3 billion from Qatar, during Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad visit to Pakistan. Recently, Pakistan also reached a preliminary agreement with International Monetary Fund (IMF) for __________________ billion bailout package.
23. _______________ Nation El Salvador recognized forests as living entities. Its citizens will now be required to preserve forests and respect them as more than just property.
24. ______________ launched space rocket named Long March 11 from a mobile launch platform in Yellow Sea off Shandong province for first time, becoming 3rd nation after U.S. and Russia to launch satellites into orbit from a floating platform.
25. Estonia, Niger, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia, and Vietnam elected to United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as Non-permanent Members for a 2-year term beginning January 1, 2020.
- UNSC has 15 members - 5 permanent (China, ________________, Russia, UK and US) and 10 non-permanent members who are elected for two-year terms.
26. Europe’s Highest Volcano Mount Etna (southern _____________________) erupted with huge burst. Mount Etna has elevation of 3,326 m (10,912 ft), as highest peak in _______________ and highest active volcano in Europe outside Caucasus. Mount Sinabung (Sumatra Island of western Indonesia) also erupted.
27. ___________________ formally announced its 'Libra' cryptocurrency project, aiming to make moving money around world as easy.
- Libra cryptocurrency will be stored in a digital wallet called ‘Calibra', enabling users to send and receive money through messages.
- Libra will be accessible to anyone with an entry-level smartphone and data connectivity. It will be Managed by secifically formed Libra Association.
- Libra will be backed by a reserve made to keep its value stable.
28. Forbes' Highest Paid Atheletes List -
- Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli only Indian in Forbes 2019 list of world's highest-paid athletes. He is rakned at 100th spot, down from last year’s 83rd rank. He earned total of $25m in last 12 months, including $21m through endorsements and $4m from salary.
- Top 10 Paid Atheletes -
-
Name |
Sport |
Country |
Earnings |
Lionel Messi |
Football |
_______________ |
$127m |
Cristiano Ronaldo |
Football |
Portugal |
$109m |
Neymar |
Football |
Brazil |
$105m |
Canelo Alvarez |
Boxing |
Mexico |
$94m |
Roger Federer |
Tennis |
Switzerland |
$93.4m |
Russell Wilson |
American Football |
United States |
$89.5m |
Aaron Rodgers |
American Football |
United States |
$89.3m |
LeBron James |
Basketball |
United States |
$89m |
Stephen Curry |
Basketball |
United States |
$79.8m |
Kevin Durrant |
Basketball |
United States |
$65.4m |
- American Tennis Player Serena Williams is only woman in list, ranked 63rd with earnings being $29.2m.
29. Global Peace Index (GPI) 2019 Report by Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) -
- India ranked _________________ among 163 countries in 2019 List, compared to 136 in 2018.
- Top 5 - Iceland (1), New Zealand (2), Portugal (3), Austria (4), Denmark (5)
- Bottom 5 - Afghanistan (163), Syria (162), South Sudan (161), South Sudan (160), Iraq (159)
- Neighbours - China (110), Pakistan (153), Bangladesh (101), Nepal (76), Sri Lanka (72), Bhutan (15)
30. Global internet body Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and Indian apex body for IT industry NASSCOM (______________________) collaborated for developing standards and identifier technology that will feed into global consultation for managing Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices and infrastructure using internet.
- Collaboration will provide a structure for both bodies to jointly identify research projects, predominantly in new technologies related to internet’s system of unique identifiers.
31. Imports from Pakistan to India declined by 92% in March 2019 to $2.84 million due to imposition of 200% customs duties on all products after Pulwama terror attack.
- India hiked customs duty to ____________________ on all goods imported from Pakistan, in February 2019 after Pulwama terror attack. It had also revoked MFN (Most Favoured Nation) status which was given to Pakistan in 1996.
32. India abstained from voting on ____________________ (UNGA’s) resolution aimed at examining options to end trade in goods which are used for capital punishment and torture.
- India stated that it is unacceptable to place death penalty on par with torture that it firmly believe that freedom from torture is a human right which must be protected. Resolution was adopted a 81 voted in favour, 20 against, and 44 abstentions.
- India warned that it may start a duplicative parallel process related to goods being used for torture and capital punishment and that it will create ambiguity by conflating different issues.
33. India and ___________________ will cooperate in setting up of a national maritime heritage museum at ancient Indian site of Lothal in Gujarat, to showcase and preserve India’s rich and diverse maritime heritage.
- During ______________'s Defence Minister João Gomes Cravinho visit to India in April 2019, discussions were held for developing maritime museum. A similar museum in Lisbon is administered by __________'s Navy.
34. India cancelled $500 million arms deal with _______________ for purchase of Spike anti-tank missiles from defence contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, after DRDO claimed that it could deliver an alternative with a partnership with VEM technologies Ltd within two years.
35. India designated as Guest of Honour at 33rd Guadalajara International Book Fair (also called Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara), in ____________________. It will be organised in November - December 2019.
36. India extended ____________________
Million financial support to Africann Nation Niger, for organising African Union (AU) summit in July 2019 in Niamey (Capital of Niger). The support extended by India was in response to a specific request by Niger government.
37. India extended aid of 1.6 billion Nepalese Rupees (NPR) to Nepal for rebuilding earthquake-hit houses in two district that were most hit.
- In February ____________________, MoU was signed between India and Nepal for grant worth USD 100 Million to be provided by India, for supporting reconstruction of 50000 private houses in two districts of Himalayan nation namely Nuwakot and Gorkha that were most damaged.
38. India signed agreements with Bangladesh and ________________to broadcast DD (Doordarshan) India channel in two countries and their state channels will be shown on DD Free Dish in India. Bangladesh's BTV World and ___________'s KBS World channels will be available for Indian viewers.
39. Indian Air Force (IAF) signed INR 300 crore deal with _____________________’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, to procure a batch of SPICE 2000 guided bombs.
- IAF used SPICE bombs recently for a non-military, pre-emptive strike on terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed’s (JeM) terrorist training camp in Pakistan’s Balakot region, after JeM carried out suicide attack in pulwama, Killing over 40 CRPF Personnel. The IAF Airstrike killed over 300 terrorists.
40. Indian Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister __________________________________ named in 100 Most Influential in UK-India Relations : Celebrating Women list. List also includes several other priminent names such as Penny Mordaunt (Britain’s Secretary of State for Defence) and Ruchi Ghanashyam (Indian High Commissioner to UK).
41. Indian IT firm ______________________ signed multi-year contract with American Aircraft Manufacturer Airbus for cabin and cargo design engineering. It aims to capitalise on specialised skills and competencies in growing cabin engineering business.
42. Indian Railway Station Development Corporation (IRSDC) partnered with _______________ National Railways (SNCF) & AFD, to support Railway Station Development Program in India. AFD will provide financing up to €700,000 to _______________ Railways (SNCF), to provide technical support to IRSDC, the station development arm of Indian Railways.
43. Ireland Government will ban sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by _____________________, to combat greenhouse gas emissions and protect environment. This is one of 180 measures of Irish government published in its Climate Action Plan. Government would stop granting National Car Test (NCT) certificates to Petrol / Diesel vehicles by 2045.
44. ____________ Updates -
- Agreed to invest an amount of 205.784 billion Yen (approx INR 13000 crores), in several projects in India's North- Eastern States.
- Gifted Manipur state a Museum of Peace built on memories of Battle of Imphal, one of fiercest battles of 2nd World War (WWII ). It has been funded by Nippon Foundation.
- Battle of Imphal took place in region around city of Imphal from March to July 1944. Japanese Army (Along with Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Led Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj)) invaded India, aiming to destroy Brisith Allied forces, but were driven back into Myanmar.
- About 70000 Japanese soldiers, alongside those of Indian National Army (INA) of Subhash Chandra Bose, died in battles with British forces in areas around Imphal and Kohima from March-June 1944. Last of these battles was fought at Red Hill in Imphal.
45. Mahatma Gandhi Information Technology and Biotechnology Park (MGIT-BP) inaugurated at Grand-Bassam in Cote d’Ivoire (________________), built with India’s assistance of $20 Million through Exim Bank. MGIT-BPIt is a dedicated Free Trade Zone (FTZ) for IT and Biotechnology.
46. Mexico became first country to approve replacing 25 year old trade deal __________________________ (NAFTA) , with new trade deal named as United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
- USMCA (NAFTA 2.0) has been modified to include changes for automakers, stricter labor and environmental standards, intellectual property protections, and digital trade provisions.
- US, Canada and Mexico signed the deal in November 2018.
47. _________________________ Named Most congested globally, ranking first in Traffic Index-2018, compiled by location technology specialist TomTom. Mumbai has congestion level of 65 %. New Delhi ranked fourth. The study covered 403 cities in 56 countries.
48. _________________________ (NABCB), India’s national accreditation body, secured international equivalence by Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation, for its accreditation programme based on international standard ISO/IEC 17024.
- With this, NABCB hopes to facilitate export of Indian services and skills into world market by attesting that persons are certified following international standards by certifying bodies.
49. Nepalese Embassy in New Delhi ruled that Nepalese nationals will be required to have visa if they are entering India from Pakistan, China, Hong Kong and ________________.
- An open boarder allows Nepalese nationals an easy entry into India and some of whom subsequently travel to Gulf countries for work. As per rule, Nepal citizens entering India directly from Nepal do not require passport/Visa, but must have an identity card.
- Now it has also been made mandatory to require NOC to enter Gulf countries via India, amid security concerns.
50. PM Narendra Modi accepted invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron to attend outreach session of the 45th G7 Summit to be held in August 2019 in ________________ (France), as a special invitee. G7 group of countries are - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and USA.
51. Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe voted for restoring Russia’s voting rights, 5 years after they were revoked over its illegal annexation of Crimean Peninsula (in ____________________).
- Russia had responded by boycotting assembly and since 2017, Russia also refused to pay its share of 33 million Euros.
52. Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) reported that female labour force declined in India in 2017-18. Bottom 5 Nations with lowest female labour force participation in 2017-18 -
- _____________
(6%), Syria (12 %), Iraq (12.4 %), Jordan (14.1 %), Algeria (14.9 %)
- In India, 3 out of 4 women over age of 15 in India were neither working nor seeking work. Bihar had lowest rate of female workforce participation whereas southern and eastern states did better.
53. Property consultant Knight Frank's Active Capital 2019 Report -
- India was assigned ________________ rank among top capital importing countries. In terms of outbound cross-border investments, it was ranked 30th.
- Cross-border capital flows into commercial real estate in India were $2.6 billion and outbound cross-border investments were $0.7 billion, between first quarter of 2018 and first quarter of 2019.
- Globally, US is top capital importing country with investment of $80.89 billion, followed by Canada ($50.41 billion), Germany ($24.50 billion).
54. QS World University Rankings’ 2020 -
- About India -
- IIT Bombay named best-ranked Indian institute, with 152nd position Globally. It has has improved its rank by 10 moving up places from 2018 ranking. There are 23 educational institutions from India which featured in top 1000.
- OP Jindal Global University based in Sonipat is the only new entrant in this years’ list.
- IIT-Delhi is 2nd-best ranking institute from India (182nd). IISc Bangalore lost 14 places in this year ranking (184th).
- Global Top 5 -
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (____________________), At top for 8th consecutive year.
- Stanford University (USA)
- Harvard University (USA)
- University of Oxford (UK)
- California Institute of Technology (USA)
55. _________________ Updates -
- Extended ban on food products being imported from European Union (EU) until end of 2020, as continuation of P_________’s s retaliation against sanctions over Ukraine.
- In 2014, after international sanctions imposed over ________________for its annexation of Crimea and support of east Ukraine’s separatists, ___________ imposed counter sanctions on most food imports from European Union, US and several other countries.
- Launched first Arctic train service running from St. Petersburg station headed to Norway. Its' Inaugural trial journey will be a 11-day trip with 91 passengers aboard.
- Train is named ‘Zarengold’ (means ‘The Tsar’s gold’ in German). Tourists will get off the train at Murmansk (largest city north of Arctic Circle) and will continue by bus to Kirkenes in Norway before ending their journey with a boat trip to Oslo (Norway’s capital) or by air to island of Spitsbergen.
- _________________’s annual Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) held in St. Petersburg (Former imperial capital). Theme for SPIEF 2019 is Creating a Sustainable Development Agenda.
56. SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) Gender Equality Index 2019, developed by UK-based Equal Measures 2030 -
- India is ranked _____________________________ among 129 countries in this new Index. The gender gap index of World Economic Forum ranked India at 108th rank.
- Top 3 - Denmark (1), Finland (2), Sweden (3). US is ranked 28th.
- Bottom 3 - Chad (129), DR Congo (128), Congo (127).
- Neighbours - China (74), Pakistan (113), Bangladesh (110), Nepal (102).
57. Saudi Arabia became first Arab country to be granted full membership of ___________________________(FATF). FATF now has 39 full members. FATF aims to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
58. Save the Children’s 2019 Global Childhood Report comprises Index named End of Childhood -
- It evaluates about degree of wellbeing of children, on eight indicators.
- India is ranked ______________________________________________ of 176 countries in List.
- Top 5 - Singapore (1), Sweden (2), Finland (3), Norway (4), Slovenia (5)
- Bottom 5 - Central African Republic (176), Niger (175), Chad (174), Mali (173), South Sudan (172)
- Neighbours - Bangladesh (127), Nepal (134), Pakistan (149), Sri Lanka (56)
59. ___________ Updates -
- National Carrier ______________ Airlines has been named ‘World’s Most Punctual Airline’ for 2nd consecutive time, by global flight tracker, ‘Flightstats’. It Achieved punctuality rating of 90.75% in May 2019, despite challenges caused by heightened security after recent terror attacks in nation.
- _____________’s first ever satellite ‘Raavana-1’, successfully placed into orbit from International Space Station (ISS) along with two other BIRDS 3 satellites from Japan and Nepal.
- Raavana-1 was sent to International Space Station in April 17, through assistance of Cygnus-1 spacecraft from US. It was deployed to Oerbit using JAXA (Japanese Aerospace and Exploration Agency) owned Kibo experiment module.
- It was designed and developed by two engineers - Tharindu Dayaratne and Dulani Chamika.
60. Three Indian-origin techies featured in Forbes list of America’s 80 richest self-made women.
- Jayshree Ullal (CEO of computer networking firm Arista Networks) - Ranked _________________ with $1.4 billion worth
- Neerja Sethi (cofounded IT consulting firm Syntel) - ranked 23rd with $1 billion worth.
- Neha Narkhede - Ranked 60th with a net worth of $360 million.
61. Two Indian women featured on IT firm ___________________’s list honouring 40 women in Artificial Intelligence (AI) from 15 different countries. The list includes Harmeen Mehta (Chief Information Officer of Bharti Airtel) and Seema Gaur (IFFCO).
62. _______________ Updates -
- Become first Gulf country to launch 'goAML', a new anti money laundering reporting platform developed by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to curb organised crimes. All financial entities and Designated Non Financial Businesses or Professions have to register on 'goAML'. Platform will help Financial Intelligence Unit to prevent money laundering, financing of terrorism and other illicit financial activities.
- _____________’s Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) issued first Golden Residence Permit in Abu Dhabi, as part of Investors Permanent Residence System aimed to attract investors and qualified individuals.
- The first permit has been issued to investor Yousuf Ali, Board Member of Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Chairman of the Lulu International Group. He is worth 4.7 billion dollars and is ranked richest expat in UAE by Forbes.
- _________ government announced that first batch of 6,800 investors with 100 billion Dirhams worth of investments in country will be granted Golden Card.
- It had approved long-term visa system for expatriates in early 2019, mentioning the criteria needed to be met. The programme is an outreach initiative for investors and business leaders of foreign origin.
- ___________ Cabinet adopted a National Strategy for Wellbeing 2031.
- It has 2 pronged objectives - To make ___________ a world leader in quality of life by undertaking various strategic objectives and initiatives, and To promote an integrated concept of wellbeing, thereby supporting ____________ Vision 2021 and UAE Centennial 2071.
- 90 new projects will be launched that will target more than 40 priority areas and will improve physical, psychological and digital health of future generations.
- An important initiative is development of first National Wellbeing Observatory, which will support policymaking .
63. ________________ Updates -
- Asked all Visa applicants to provide information about their social media use and declare their social media profiles going back five years. It aims to enhance careful examining of foreign nationals seeking Visa and to screen out dangerous individuals seeking entry.
- If visa applicant do not use social media they will have the option to say so but if applicant lies about social media use, they could face serious consequences. Also, in future, visa applicants will be required to turn more extensive information on their travel history.
- ___________ based Tech Firm Oracle introduced a new tool to help small & mid-sized banks to tackle fraud, named Oracle Financial Services “Anti Money Laundering Express Edition(AMLXE)”. It is designed to detect, investigate, and report suspected money laundering and terrorist financing activity.
- Terminated India’s designation as a beneficiary developing nation under GSP (Generalized System of Preference) trade program w.e.f. 5 June 2019. Reasons stated are trade imbalance with India, no access to Indian market for US dairy, medical device industry and issues related to data localisation norms.
- GSP benefits were instituted on 1 January 1976, as unilateral, non-reciprocal and non-discriminatory benefits extended by some developed nations to developing countries.
64. United Nation Security Council (UNSC) extended arms embargo and sanctions on _______________________for a year, Despite resistance from Russia, China and African countries. A US-drafted resolution was adopted by UNSC after a vote of 10 in favour with five abstentions.
- As per rule, in 15-member UNSC, a resolution presented for vote requires a minimum of nine votes for adoption.
65. _____________ government will issue new banknotes due to rising hyperinflation which has eroded Its currency’s value. Central bank of ____________ will release new Banknotes of 10,000, 20,000 and 50,000 bolivar denominations.
- It is aimed at countering hyperinflationary situation that reached more than 1.3 million percent and strengthen payment system and commercial transactions in country.
- Highest bill in circulation was 500 bolivar note before this announcement. Largest denominations banknotes of 50,000 bolivars are worth about Rs.560 ($8) which is more than minimum wage of 40,000 bolivars.
66. World Health Organization Launched a new tool AWaRe (_____________________), to contain rising antimicrobial resistance and make antibiotic use safer and more effective. It antibiotics into three groups -
- Access specifies which antibiotics to use for the most common and serious infections.
- Watch specifies which ones should be available at all times in the healthcare system.
- Reserve are those that must be used sparingly or preserved and used only as a last resort.