Test : July 2019 Weekly Current Affair - 2" - Current Affairs MCQ

On July 4, 2019, Reserve Bank of India has appointed AK Misra as an additional director on Board of Directors (BOD) of Jammu and Kashmir Bank. He was the former executive director of RBI. His appointment shall be for a period of two years with effect from July 3, 2019, to July 2, 2021, or till further orders.

Indian sprint runner Hima Das, nicknamed ‘Dhing Express’ won the gold medal in women’s 200m with a timing of 23.65 seconds in Poznań Athletics Grand Prix 2019 held in Golecin Stadium, Poznań, Poland. Tajinder Pal Singh Toor belongs to shotput, he was in news recently bcs he won bronze medal in men’s Shotput with a best effort of 19.62 metre. His national record while winning Asian Games gold last year stands at 20.75 metre in Poznań Athletics Grand Prix 2019 held in Golecin Stadium, Poznań, Poland.Hima won gold other Indian Athletes won bronze medal.V.K. Vismaya won bronze medal in the women’s 200m with a timing of 23.75 seconds in which Hima won gold medal.In men’s 200m, Muhammed Anas won bronze medal with a timing of 20.75 seconds.In men’s 400-metre, KS Jeevan won bronze medal with a timing of 47.25 seconds.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the proposal for leasing out 3 airports namely Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Mangaluru of Airports Authority of India (AAI) through Public Private Partnership (PPP) to the highest bidder M/s. Adani Enterprises Ltd. It quoted the highest bid for operation, management and development under PPP for a lease period of 50 years as per the terms and conditions of the bid documents.

NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog released its “Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index” (AMFFRI) for the year 2019 to rank states and union territories based on the implementation of seven provisions proposed under the model Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act.Ranking: Maharashtra was ranked first for implementing most of the marketing reforms. Gujarat secured the second rank with a score of 71.5 out of 100, followed by Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.Scores: The Index had scores ranged from 0-100. Minimum value “0” implies no reforms and maximum value “100” implies complete reforms in the selected areas.

As per the recently released Henley Passport Index 2019, which ranks 199 countries in the world based on their Visa-Free Scores showed that Indian passport ranked at 86th position with a mobility score of 58. Japan and Singapore secured the joint top spot as the most powerful passports in the world with a score of 189.South Korea now holds second place on the index along with Finland and Germany and it is followed by Denmark, Italy, and Luxembourg (3rd ).The index includes 199 passports and 227 travel destinations including micro-states and territories.

Dr.Nalin Shinghal was appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) for a period of 5 years. He succeeded D. Bandyopadhyay who was given Additional Charge of Chairman & Managing Director after the retirement of Atul Sobti. Earlier he worked as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Central Electronics Limited(CEL).Before joining Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Central Electronics Limited (CEL) he worked as ED-Marketing in Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).

South Central Railways (SCR) of Indian Railways commissioned the longest electrified tunnel in India. It is situated between Cherlopalli and Rapuru stations in Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh which is a part of 113 km railway line between Obulavaripalli – Venkatachalam – Krishnapatnam Port. It is constructed in the shape of a Horse Shoe. The length of the tunnel is 6.6 kilometers, height (rail level to roof) is 6.5 metres and Minimum height of contact wire is maintained at 5.2 metres.It was built in 43 months at the cost of Rs 460 crore.New Australian Tunnelling Method (NATM) was used in construction.

B Harideesh Kumar has been appointed as director of Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) for a period of three years. He hails from Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. Earlier he served as the Executive Director of Canara Bank. He succeeded Anup Sankar Bhattacharya, who has retired from his services.

On July 3, 2019, The first 2019 report of “State of the Education Report for India 2019: Children with Disabilities” has released by the UNESCO(United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) at an event in New Delhi. The Report, which will be an annual publication, highlights accomplishments and challenges with regards to the right to education of children with disabilities (CWDs). India is home to eight million children with disabilities and there are more than 78 lakh children aged under 19 lived 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.Fail to attain literacy: Only 61% of CWDs were attending an educational institution, about 12% had dropped out, while 27% had never been to school at all.

On July 5, 2019, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that India’s central bank, Reserve Bank of India(RBI)will now given power to takes over as the regulator of Housing Finance Firms(HFFs) instead of NHB(National Housing Bank). The government will also provide a one-time six-month partial guarantee to state-run banks for the acquisition of up to 1 trillion rupees ($14.6 billion) of highly-rated assets from NBFCs(Non-Banking Financial Company ).The financial crisis emerged from Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFC) and Reliance Capital Ltd led to this decision for giving fresh fund. The cash crunch at such firms could weaken the financial system and economy given their large lending role and ties with banks, mutual funds, and insurers.

Elavenil Valarivan is associated with Shooting. On July 4, 2019, Elavenil Valarivan(19), a three-time junior World Cup medallist strikes her silver medal in 10m Air Rifle event in the 30th World University Summer Games 2019 held in Napoli, Italy. She will be next participating in ISSF(International Shooting Sport Federation) Junior World Cup 2019, Suhl which is scheduled to start from July 12, 2019.

On July 6, 2019, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi visited Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (UP). The following programs were undertaken by him: Unveil of Statue: PM unveiled the statue of former Prime Minister Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri at the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi, UP. He was greeted by Shastri’s sons Anil and Sunil Shastri, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Working President JP Nadda and state unit chief Mahendra Nath Pandey at the International Airport.Tree Plantation Drive: PM launched a tree plantation drive at Harahua primary school in Anand Kanan forest on the Panch Kosi Marg by planting a sapling. UP government has planned to reconstruct this route at a cost of Rs 97 crore and Rs 4 crore was spent on developing basic infrastructure. Visit to Museum: He also visited the Virtual Experiential Museum at Man Mahal, situated on the banks of the Ganges near the iconic Dashashwamedh Ghat, Varanasi. It was established by the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), under the Union Ministry of Culture and was inaugurated by PM in February 2019. It describes the various aspects of cultural heritage.

At the 43rd Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee which is underway from June 30 to July 10, 2019 in Baku, Azerbaijan.United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) added the ‘Pink City’ Jaipur/Walled City of Jaipur of Rajasthan, known for its iconic architectural legacy, into the list of the World Heritage Sites. The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) had inspected the city in 2018 after the nomination. The World Heritage Committee (WHC) acknowledged the “city’s outstanding value as a cultural property”.

Christine Lagarde (63), the first woman head of the Washington-based body, International Monetary Fund(IMF) nominated to become the first woman to lead the ECB (European Central Bank). EU (European Union) leaders nominated France’s Christine Lagarde as president of the ECB in a meeting in Brussels, Belgium.She would succeed current ECB president Mario Draghi (Italy), whose term ends on October 31.Lagarde was born on 1 January 1956 in Paris, France. She has served eight years as head of the IMF since 2011 and four as French finance minister- the first woman to hold the role in any G7 country.

The defense secretary of Germany, Ursula von der Leyen (60) has been nominated by the European leaders to lead the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU (European Union) that’s responsible for legislation and governing. She will be replacing Jean-Claude Juncker. She was backed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel but there was resistance to her nomination &then made up by leaders of the EU’s 28 member states.She was born in Brussels in 1958, is the only minister who has been in Merkel’s government since the German leader took office in 2005. she served as family minister, labor minister and under Merkel’s government.