Test : August 2019 Weekly Current Affair - 8" - Current Affairs MCQ

On August 27, 2019, Kalinga Stadium of Bhubaneswar, Odisha was named as the first venue for the upcoming Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2020 after getting provisional clearance. The U-17(under 17) World Cup will be held in India in 2020.

As per the present FDI policy, 100% FDI under automatic route is allowed for coal & lignite mining for captive consumption by power projects, iron & steel and cement units and other eligible activities permitted under and subject to applicable laws and regulations. Further, 100% FDI under automatic route is also permitted for setting up coal processing plants like washeries subject to the condition that the company shall not do coal mining and shall not sell washed coal or sized coal from its coal processing plants in the open market and shall supply the washed or sized coal to those parties who are supplying raw coal to coal processing plants for washing or sizing. It has been decided to permit 100% FDI under automatic route for sale of coal, for coal mining activities including associated processing infrastructure subject to the provisions of Coal Mines (special provisions) Act, 2015 and the Mines and Minerals (Development and regulation) Act, 1957 as amended from time to time, and other relevant acts on the subject

On August 27, 2019 “Child well-being index” was launched to assess and track children’s well-being. Prepared by NGOs(Non-Governmental Organisation) World Vision India andInstitute for Financial Management and Research-Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD), the index was topped by Kerala (0.76), followed by Tamil Nadu (0.67) and Himachal Pradesh (0.67) bagging the top three slots in the index.

On August 28, 2019, the rating agency India Ratings & Research (Ind-Ra)downgraded India’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth to a six year low of 6.7% FY20 (Fiscal year 2020) compared to its previous estimate of 7.3%. This downgrade is due to weak consumption demand, monsoon and slowdown in manufacturing growth.

On August 27, 2019, The Geographical Indication Registry of India has granted Geographical Indication (GI) tag to the state of Tamil Nadu for Dindigul lock and Karaikudi Kandangi sarees.Dindigul lock: The handmade Dindigul locks were famous for their traditional design, superior quality, and durability. Kandangi Sare: These Sarees are the symbol of entire Karaikudi taluk of Sivaganga district. The hand-woven Kandangi sarees are characterized by brilliant colour large contrast borders. These sarees have a tradition of 150 years.

On August 28, 2019, the Union Minister for Human Resource Development(MHRD) Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched “Shagun” which is one of the world’s largest Integrated Online Junction for school education to improve the school education system. It was launched in New Delhi where a booklet about Shagun was also released in the presence of Minister of State for HRD, Shri Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre.

On August 29, 2019, Prime Minister (PM) Shri Narendra Modi has launched a nation-wide ‘Fit India’ Movement on the occasion of National Sports Day in New Delhi. He urged the people to head the Fit India campaign &stated that this initiative is the need of the hour & will take India towards a healthier future by preventing lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension. He also congratulated all sportspersons on the occasion of National Sports Day.

Deepa Malik won the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.She is the first Paralympian to receive the prestigious honour.

On August 29, 2019, Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Mr. Takehiko Nakao met India’s Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi in New Delhi and committed over $12 billion in lending to India over the next 3 years (2020-22) in support of new flagship initiatives, averaging annually over $3 billion for sovereign operations and $1 billion for non sovereign operations.

On August 29,2019, In a bid to make the city cleaner & greener, the Union Minister of Home Affairs, Amit Shah has flagged off the first fleet of eco-friendly e-buses (electric buses) in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, which will be operated on major junctions in the city. He also inaugurated the India’s 1st automated battery charging & changing station for e-buses there.

On August 29, 2019, According to a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit sponsored by NEC corporation’s (formerly Nippon Electric Company), World’s Safe city index(SCI) for the year 2019. The overall list was topped by Tokyo(Japan) followed by Singapore and Osaka in 2nd and 3rd spots respectively.

On August 28, 2019, the Pakistan army successfully test-fired its 290km range missile name “Ghaznavi” during its night training launch.

On August 26, 2019, The President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo stated that the government has chosen sparsely populated East Kalimantan province on forested Borneo island, known for orangutans for its new capital. The current capital of Jakarta, overcrowded ( home to more than 10 million people), sits on watery land. Parts of the city are sinking by as much as 25cm a year and almost half now sits below sea level.

After merging 10 public sector banks, the number of public sector banks will be 12 as against 27 in the year 2017. PNB(Punjab National bank) merged with Oriental Bank of Commerce(OBC) and United Bank of India to become the 2nd largest bank in India.After merging the Business size of the bank is 17.94Crore.

On August 30, 2019, In a bid to redress the grievances of start-ups and reduce their tax-related issues, The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has constituted a 5-member special cell led by the member (Income Tax and Computerisation) of CBDT, which will towards the issues with relation to angel tax and others in case of Start-up entities with respect to administration of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Member (Income Tax and Computerisation-IT &C)- Shri P.K. Dash (Addl. Charge) is the Chairman of the special cell, ‘Startup Cell’ .

ISRO shared a lunar surface image taken by the Terrain Mapping Camera-2 (TMC-2) of Chandrayaan-2 on August 23. The image showed craters such as Jackson, Mach, Korolev and Mitra. Notably, the Mitra crater on Moon is named after Padma Bhushan awardee late Indian Professor Sisir Kumar Mitra, known for his work in the field of radiophysics among others.

An Indian Army mountaineering team scaled the challenging Mount Kun peak in the Ladakh region and returned to Leh. Flagged off from Leh on July 30 this year, the 22-member team comprised 14 officers including 10 women, one junior commissioned officer and seven other ranks.

On August 28, 2019, Union Minister of Home Affairs, Shri Amit Shah presided over the 49th Foundation Day of Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) as Chief Guest in New Delhi. Minister of State Shri G. Kishan Reddy graced the occasion.

On August 29,2019, The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar has announced the approval for the establishment of new International Standard Zoo and Biopark on 1914 hectares in the forest land at Gorewada in Nagpur, Maharashtra.