Current Affairs - 2019-20

Notes:
Aleksandar Vucic, the chairman of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), has been sworn-in as the new President of Serbia on May 31, 2017 and succeeded Tomislav Nikolic. He won the 2017 Serbian Presidential election by 55% of votes on April 2017. Prior to this post, Vucic was the Prime Minister of Serbia.

Notes:
Uttar Pradesh has become the first State to endorse the Central government’s draft bill that makes instant triple talaq a cognisable and non-bailable offence. The draft law, which provides for three-year imprisonment and a fine to a man trying to divorce his wife by uttering “talaq” three times, got the State government’s approval at a Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow on December 5, 2017.

Notes:
The International Day of Forests is observed every year on March 21 to celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests and of trees outside forests for the benefit of current and future generations. The 2017 theme is ‘Forests and Energy’. The theme highlights the importance of wood energy in improving people’s lives, powering sustainable development and mitigating climate change.
 

Notes:
Wrestler Bajrang Punia has clinched gold in the 71kg freestyle at the 2018 Yasar Dogu International in Istanbul, Turkey. It was his second consecutive gold medal, after he recently won gold at the 2018 Tbilisi Grand Prix in Georgia. Meanwhile, Sandeep Tomar finished with silver after losing 2-8 in the 61kg final against Iran’s Mohammad bagher Yakhkeshi. In the women’s competition, Pinki was the lone gold medallist in the 55kg category with her 6-3 win over Ukraine’s Olga Shnaider. Beside this, Sangeeta Phogat (59kg) and Geeta (65kg) won bronze medals in their respective categories. Overall, Indian wrestlers returned with 10 medals, including 7 by women in the event.

Notes:
R Seetharaman, a Qatar-based Indian banker has been awarded for his contribution in environment-friendly activities and for promoting green economy for nearly two decades. R Seetharaman, group chief executive officer of Doha Bank, was honoured with the 'Green Economy Visionary award' at the 2016 Union of Arab Banks International Banking Summit held in Rome.

Notes:
India signed the Stockholm Convention and had agreed to phase out the use of Endosulfan by 2017. Stockholm Convention is first ever-concerted global effort to save mankind from the adverse impact of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP). The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants was signed by India on May 14, 2002. It focuses on reducing and eliminating the production / use of 12 highly hazardous substances including eight pesticides (aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, mirex and toxaphene); two industrial chemicals (poly chlorinated biphenyls and hexachlorobenzene) and two unintended by-products (poly chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzo furans, commonly referred to as dioxins and furans).

Notes:
Recently, the Karnataka government approved “Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy 2017”. With this, Karnataka became the first state to roll out an Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy in the country. Important Facts about the Policy

• It aims to bring down pollution levels and push the “Make in Karnataka” initiative.
• This policy would not only help at boosting sales of EVs, but also in setting up charging infra and special manufacturing zones.
• The policy aims to attract investments worth Rs31,000 crore
• Under this policy, the state government has proposed to set up new EV manufacturing zones, charging stations in public and private spaces including airports, railway stations, metro stations and encourage start-ups to develop business models
• The state government estimates that the new policy will help to create employment for 55,000 individuals over the next few years in the state.

Notes:
Catalonia’s separatist government has declared independence from Spain – but at the same time the national government in Madrid imposed direct rule on the region. Catalonia is one of Spain’s wealthiest and most productive regions. The region enjoyed broad autonomy once but that was suppressed under decades of Gen Francisco Franco’s dictatorship from 1939-75. When Franco died, Catalan nationalism was revived and eventually the north-eastern region was granted autonomy again, under the 1978 constitution. Recently, on 27 October 2017, after years of mutual hostility, independence supporters have proclaimed Catalonia a republic in response of which Spain has responded by imposing direct rule on the autonomous region.

Notes:
Joint Lenders’ Forum is a group of lenders bank which is formed when an asset (loan) of more Rs 100 crore or more turns out to be a stressed asset. In other words, it can be said a tool by RBI for fighting the Non-Performing Assets (NPA) in the country. Under new norms, any resolution plan agreed to by 60% of creditors by value and 50% creditors by number in a joint lenders’ forum is binding on everyone in the group and no bank board will have the power to overrule the decision.

Notes:
“White Stork” is an automated cargo spacecraft launched by Japan. It is a “space junk” collector that has been made with the help of a fishnet company. The spacecraft aims at clearing up tonnes of space clutter including cast-off equipment from old satellites and pieces of rocket.