Current Affairs 19th April 2019

Dear Aspirants,

The General Awareness Section plays an important role in scoring well above cut off marks in any competitive exam. The Banking Awareness and Static Awareness questions asked in the General Awareness Section are based on Current Affairs mainly. So you need to prepare well this section to score good marks. Here is the Daily GK Update to get you acquainted with the top events that made the headlines today!

National News

1. Gagandeep Kang Becomes First Indian Female FRS

Current Affairs 19th April 2019 | Daily GK Update |_3.1

i. Professor Gagandeep Kang has become the first Indian female scientist to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in the UK fellowship’s 358-year-history.

ii. The 56-year-old is the Executive Director of Translational Health Science and Technology Institute at Faridabad. Other notable FRS inducted in 2019 include Fields Medal-winning mathematicians Akshay Venkatesh and Manjul Bhargava.

International News

2. Sri Lanka’s 1st Satellite ‘Raavana-1’ Launched Into Space

Current Affairs 19th April 2019 | Daily GK Update |_4.1

i. Sri Lanka’s first satellite ‘Raavana-1’ was launched into space from NASA’s Flight Facility on Virginia’s east shore. ‘Raavana 1’ weights around 1.05 kg and the lifespan of the satellite is around one and a half years.

ii. The satellite was designed and built at the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan by two Sri Lankan research engineers. Its camera mission is to capture images of Sri Lanka and its neighbouring countries.

Appointments

3. Deutsche Bank Appoints Kaushik Shaparia As CEO For India

i. Deutsche Bank appointed Kaushik Shaparia as the chief executive officer for India to succeed Ravneet Gill. Gill left the bank to head private lender YES Bank. Shaparia’s appointment will be effective from May 2019.

ii. Shaparia served as Asia Pacific Head of Corporate Banking Coverage within Institutional and Treasury Coverage, as well as Global Head of Subsidiary Coverage and has a 30-year experience at the bank.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for LIC AAO Exam:

Deutsche Bank Headquarters: Frankfurt, Germany.

4. Mali’s PM Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga Resigns

Current Affairs 19th April 2019 | Daily GK Update |_6.1

i. Mali’s Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga has resigned along with his whole government, following a motion of no confidence over its failure to handle violence in the West African country.

ii. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s office stated that the President accepts the resignation of the prime minister and that of the members of the government.

Awards

5. Indian Peacekeepers Awarded UN Medal of Honour

i. A total of 150 Indian peacekeepers serving with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) have received medals of honour for their dedicated service and sacrifice.

ii. Under the UNMISS, the Indian Horizontal Mobility Engineering Company had completed the renovation of 145 km of roadway connecting Bentiu and Leer in South Sudan, easing the way for the delivery humanitarian aid, trade, and inter-communal dialogue.

Ranks and Reports

6. India Ranks 140th In World Press Freedom Index 2019, Norway Topped

Current Affairs 19th April 2019 | Daily GK Update |_8.1

i. India ranked 140th out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index 2019, released by Reporters Without Borders. The index is topped by Norway.

ii. Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), or Reporters Without Borders, is a non-profit organisation that works to document and combat attacks on journalists around the world.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for LIC AAO Exam:

1st: Norway
2nd: Finland
179th: North Korea
180th: Turkmenistan.

Sports

7. Bajrang Regains Top Spot In World Wrestling Rankings

Current Affairs 19th April 2019 | Daily GK Update |_9.1

i. India’s Bajrang Punia has regained the world number one spot in the men’s 65-kilogram freestyle category rankings. The rankings were released by United World Wrestling.

ii. Punia, who won Gold in the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games as well as a silver in the World Championships in 2018, secured 58 points ahead of Akhmed Chakaev of Russia

Miscellaneous

8. Christina Koch To Set Record For Longest Spaceflight By A Woman

Current Affairs 19th April 2019 | Daily GK Update |_10.1

i. NASA astronaut Christina Koch is going to have her mission on the International Space Station (ISS) extended to 328 days, which would set a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman.

ii. Koch, who arrived at the space station on March 14 is scheduled to remain in orbit until February 2020, will eclipse the record of 288 days set by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson in 2016-17.