Current Affairs - 2019-20

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Ram Shankar Katheria, a BJP MP from Agra, has been appointed as the new chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) for a period of three years. The post has been lying vacant since the retirement of the previous chairman PL Poonia in 2016. Beside this, L. Murugan has appointed as Vice-Chairman of the NCSC and K. Ramulu, Dr. Yogendra Paswan and Dr. Swaraj Vidwan as its Members. The commission is a constitutional body to safeguard interests of the dalits.

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S Ganesh Kumar has been appointed the new Executive Director (ED) of Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He succeeded Chandan Sinha, who has taken voluntary retirement on May 31, 2017. As Executive Director (ED), Kumar will look after the departments of Information Technology, Payment and Settlement Systems and External Investments and Operations. Prior to being promoted as ED, he was Chief General Manager-in-Charge, Department of Information Technology. Currently, the central bank has 11 Executive Directors.

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Currently (June, 2018), Apollo Global Management LLC tops the list of the world’s top 10 private equity firms, with just under $150 billion in total private equity assets under management(AUM) for 2015. Blackstone is the world’s second biggest private equity firm. 

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The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has recently signed an institutional agreement with Punjab State Council of Science and Technology to set up India’s first Technology and Innovation Support Centre (TISC) in Punjab. This initiative has been taken under the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO) TISC programme. It aims to stimulate a dynamic, vibrant, and balanced Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) system in the country to foster creativity and innovation and promote entrepreneurship.

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Recently, the scientists discovered that the skin mucus secreted by a colourful frog species Hydrophylax bahuvistara could be used as an anti-microbial drug to destroy kill bacteria and viruses responsible for the flu. The peptide or chain of amino acids, found in a frog species (Hydrophylax bahuvistara) can destroy many strains of human flu and protect mice against flu infection. The researchers named the newly identified peptide “urumin” after the urumi, a sword with a flexible blade that snaps and bends like a whip.

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A Divya Desam is one of the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the works of the Alvars (saints). Divya means “premium” and Desam indicates “place” (temple). Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple is considered the first, foremost and the most important of the 108 main Vishnu temples (Divyadesams). The temple received the 2017 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. Out of 43 applications that competed for the award from 10 countries, the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple is the only religious centre in the whole of South India to bag the award in 2017.

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The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) publishes an annual Global Liveability Ranking. It ranks 140 cities for their urban quality of life based on assessments of stability, healthcare, culture & environment, education and infrastructure. Recently, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in India has also decided to bring out a liveability index of 116 cities, including the 99 smart cities already identified, state capitals, and cities with 1 million-plus population. The ministry aims to involve the Economist Intelligence Unit, for successful implementation of the project.

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The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has approved India’s proposal to observe 2023 as the International Year of Millets. This decision was taken at the 160th session of FAO Council, currently underway in Rome. The move will enhance global awareness to bring back these nutri-cereals to the plate. In addition, the FAO Council has also approved India’s membership to the Executive Board of the United Nations World Food Program for 2020 and 2021. Millets consists of Jowar, Bajra, Ragi and minor millets together termed as nutri-cereals.

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The 2018 ISSF Junior World Cup was held at Sydney, Australia from March 19th to March 29th.

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The Telstar 18 was presented in Moscow in November 2017 by Lionel Messi the winner of the Golden Ball at 2014 FIFA World Cup. It was an official presentation attended by winners of the World Cup in different years.