Current Affairs - 2019-20

Notes:
The 2nd annual meeting of the board of governors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will be held in Jeju, South Korea from June 14-15, 2017. The purpose of the AIIB is to promote economic development of the region by supporting major infrastructure projects. From India, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will attend the meeting. AIIB is headed by Jin Liqun, the former Assistant Chinese Finance Minister. D J Pandian from India is the Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of the organization.

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Wipro Chairman Azim Premji will be honoured with the 2017 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy for his efforts to reform India’s public school system. He is among the 9 philanthropists named recipients of the 2017 Medal of Philanthropy, who are selected for their distinguished and longstanding contributions to the public good. The Carnegie institutions will award the medals during a formal ceremony in October 2017. The honorees are recognized as catalysts for good whose philanthropy has had a significant and lasting impact on a particular field, nation, or community of people.

Notes:
Chandrayaan was launched on October 22nd 2008 and successfully reached the lunar surface on November 14, 2008. The ISRO lost communication with Chandrayaan-1 on August 29, 2009, almost a year after it was launched on October 22, 2008. It operated for 312 days.
In 2017 NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have found India’s first lunar probe, Chandrayaan-1 which was considered lost, is still orbiting the moon.

Notes:
100%=360°
∴1%=360°/100
∴10%=360°*10/100=36°

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WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) classifies domestic support or subsidies given by the government to farmers into three different categories viz. Green box, Blue box and Amber box. Among these, the most trade-distorting form of farm subsidies known in WTO parlance is Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS) or “Amber Box”. The AMS means annual level of support (subsidies) expressed in monetary terms.

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Recently, the ministry of earth science (MoES) launched a high performance computer (HPC) system named Mihir. The system is meant to improve India’s weather forecasting. It will be India’s largest in terms of peak capacity and performance and will propel the country’s ranking from the 368th position to the top 30 in list of HPC facilities across the world. India will now also be ranked 4th, after Japan, UK and US for dedicated HPC resources for weather/climate community.

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Bezwada Wilson is one of the founders and National Convenor of the Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA), and an Indian human rights organization that has been campaigning for the eradication of manual scavenging, the construction, operation and employment of manual scavengers has been illegal in India since 1993. On 27 July 2016, he was honoured with the Ramon Magsaysay Award. Thodur Madabusi Krishna is a Carnatic music vocalist. He received the Ramon Magsaysay Award on 27 July 2016. The Ramon Magsaysay Award is an annual award named after the former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay.

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The Indian government announced to adopt ‘Swiss Challenge’ method for development of railway stations and national highways in India. “Swiss Challenge” is a model of auctioning infrastructure projects in India.

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The five countries namely Malaysia, India, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam are known as “Mighty Five” or MITI-V. These five countries were in news because of their high manufacturing index on account of low labour cost, manufacturing capabilities, and favourable demographic profiles, as well as market and economic growth.

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The National Press Day (NPD) is celebrated every year on 16th of November to commemorate the establishment of Press Council of India (PCI) in 1966. This was the day on which the PCI started functioning as a moral watchdog to ensure that not only did the press maintain the high standards expected from this powerful medium but also that it was not fettered by the influence or threats of any extraneous factors. The day is also celebrated as a symbol of a free and responsible press in India.