CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY, 2019

1. B. Radhakrishnan became the 1st Chief Justice of Telengana High Court, the separate High Court of
Telengana came into existence in the 1st Janurary, 2019, the High Court of Telengana is situated in
Vijaywada.
2. Vinod Kumar Yadav was selected as the Chairman of Railway Board (Ministry of Railways). He replaced
Ashwani Lohani, who retired on 31st December, 2018. Prior to that he was the General Manager of South
Central Railway(SCR).
3. The government of India constituted a committee to strengthen the “Real Estate Regulatory Authority”
(RERA) which will be headed by Union Housing & Urban Affairs Joint Secretary, Sri. Shiv Das Meena.
RERA protects the interest of home buyers, empowers states to notify their rules and appoint regulatory
authorities.
4. The Indian medical council (Amendment) bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on 31.12.2018 to run the
same through a panel of eminent professionals. The powers of the council have been vested in a Board of
Governors (BoG).
5. Allahabad Bank signed a bancassurance pact with SBI life on 31.12.2018. Sanjeev Nautiyal is the CEO
and MD of SBI Life Insurance. Bancassurance is an arrangement through which an insurance company
can sell its product through bank.
6. The Government of India infused Rs.10,882 crores in the PSB’s namely UCO Bank, Ban k of
Maharashtra, Syndicate Bank and Central Bank of India, it has been done in the capital infusion
programme of “Half a dozen public sector lenders” initiative.
7. A tropical storm named “Usman” recently struck the Philippines on 25-12-2018, the tropical storm
Usman emerged as the deadliest weather disaster for the Philippines after the “Mangjrut” in September,
2018
8. On 31.12.2018, the Government of India approved the release of 1,146 crores to Tamil Nadu for the
people affected by cyclone “Gaja”
9. DRDO day was observed on 1st Jan, 2019. DRDO was established in the year 1958. Dr. G. Satheesh
Reddy is the Chairman of DRDO. It works under the Dept. of Defence Research and Development of
Ministry of Defence.
10. Indian bowler Jasprit Singh Bumrah became the highest wicket taker of 2018. He took 48 wickets in 9
tests, 22 wickets in 13 ODI’s and 8 wickets in 8 T20’s. South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada is in the 2nd place.
11. The US and Israel had quit the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
(UNESCO) with the close of 2018, accusing of its bias against Israel. UNESCO is best known for its work
to preserve heritage, including maintaining a list of World Heritage sites.
12. From 1st Jan, 2019 Qatar will no longer be a member of OPEC (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries). Qatar is the world’s biggest supplier of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).. OPEC w is an
intergovernmental organisation of 15 nations founded in the year 1960 in Baghdad and headquartered in
Vienne, Austria.
13. Amitabh Chaudhury was appointed as the new MD and CEO of Axis Bank as on 01.01.2019, he replaced
Smt. Sikha Sharma.
14. ISRO launched new platform called SwS “Samwad with Students” in Bengaluru on 01.01.2019. Chairman
of ISRO is Dr. K. Sivan.
15. The government of India appointed Hemant Bhargava as the interim Chairman of LIC, he replaced
V.K.Sharma who retired on 31.12.2018.
16. Allahabad was renamed as Prayagraj, home ministry of India agreed to the proposal of U.P Government.
17. The 44th Global Summit of the International Advertising Association (IAA) will be hled in Kochi from
February, 20 to 22 of 2019. The theme of the summit is “Brand Dharma”. It is for the first time an Indian
City will be hosting the summit. Last 03 summits were held in Washington DC, Moscow, Beijing.
18. On 02.12.2018 the Govt. Of India introduced the Aadhar amendment bill in Lok Sabha.
19. Indian oil corporation will start its 1st LNG (Liquefied natural Gas) import terminal in Ennore, Tamil
Nadu from January, 2019. This is the 1st LNG import terminal IOC has built on its own, Sanjiv Singh id
the Chairman of IOC.
20. Former Army Captain, Jair Bolsonaro was sworn in as the Brazil’s President on 01.01.2019.
21. Justice A.K Sikri has been nominated as the Executive Chairman of NALSA.
22. On 2nd, Jan, 2019 Union Cabinet approves merger of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with bank of Baroda
23. Saurabh Kumar became the Director General of Ordinance Factories and Chairman of Ordinance
Factory Board (OFB) in Kolkata on 01.01.2019
24. Cricket Coach Ramakant Archekar passed away in Mumbai on 02.01.2019, he was Sachin Tendulakr’s
coach.
25. The competition commission of India has appointed Pramod Kumar Singh as its secretary.
26. A MoU was signed for setting up “Centre of Excellence” in Oil, Gas, and Energy between IIT Bombay
and PSU Oil Companies and EIL.
27. HDFC mutual fund has surpassed ICICI Prudential mutual fund to become the country’s largest asset
management company on 03.01.2019.
28. Arunima Sinha has now become the 1st woman amputee to climb Mount Vinson (Highest Peak of
Antarctica). She was the world’s 1st woman to climb Mount Everest in 2013.
29. The Indian Panorama Film Festival was organised from 04th to 13 th January, 2019 at New Delhi.
30. On 03.01.2019, the Parliament passed the right to children’s education (Amendment) Bill, 2018.
31. Pakistan has declared the ancient Hindu religious site of “Panj Tirath” in Peshawar as National Heritage.
32. Rajya Sabha has passed the “National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill” on 03.01.2019.
33. The United Nations has observed the first Official World Braille Day on 04.01.2019.
34. S. Vijay Kumar was presented the “Ram Nath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award” for investigation
Reporting (Print Category) on 04.01.2019. he is the Senior Deputy Editor with “The Hindu”.
35. Andhra Pradesh topped the Asia Competitiveness Institute (ACI) 2017\8 “Ease of Doing Business” Index.
36. Wahengbam Lamnganba Singh from Manipur was selected by the Indian Council for Child Welfare
(ICCW) for receiving National Bravery Award.
37. Vijay Mallya named Fugitive Economic Offender, he becomes the first tycoon to be charged under the
Fugitive Economic Offender’s Act, 2018.
38. Vadodara will host the 8th International Marathon on 06.01.2019. it is called “Swacchta Run”.
39. Indian women’s cricket vice captain Smriti mandana won the “Women’s Cricketer of the year” and the
“Women’s ODI player of the year.”
40. Actors Farooq Sheik and Asha Parekh will be honoured by the Bimal Roy Memorial and Film Society
Award. This award aims to reward unsung heroes of film industry.
41. The North Central Railways (NCR) launched a mobile application to help people of Prayagraj City during
Kumbh Mela 2019 starting from 15.01.2019. its name is Rail Kumbh Seva Mobile App.
42. Rohan Bapanna and Divij Sharan have won the ATP tour tennis at the TATA open Maharashtra in Pune
on 05.01.2019.
43. In Gujarat, the 09 day long International kite festival kicked off on 06.01.2019 at Sabarmati River.
44. Sydney to host the finals of inaugural 24-team ATP cup men’s tennis tournament.
45. Sheik Hasina took oath as PM of Bangladesh for the 4th time.
46. On 7th jan, 2019, the Union Cabinet approved a 10% reservation for “economically backward classes”
upper caste in Government jobs.
47. The Polavaram mutli-purpose irrigation project entered the Guiness Book of World records in terms of
using the highest volume of concrete in a given day.
48. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim retires from his position and Kristalina Georgieva, world bank
CEO will assume the role of Interim President from 01.02.2019
49. Kumar Rajesh Chandra was appointed as the Director General, of Sharastra Seema Bal (SSB).
50. The 86th national billiards and snooker championship will be held in Indore from 18.01.2019
51. Gita Gopinath has joined International Monetary Fund (IMF) as its Chief Economist on 07.01.2019. she
succeeds Maurice Obstfeld.
52. Golden Globe Awards:-
Best motion picture Drama Bohemian Rhapsody
Best actor Drama Rami Malek
Best actress Drama Glenn Close
Best director Alfonso Cuaron
Best motion picture Musical or comedy Green Book
Best foreign P:icture Roma
Best Animated Picture Spider man into the spider verse
Best supporting actor Mahershala Ali
Best supporting actress Regina King
Best Actor Musical or comedy Christian Bale
Best Actor Musical or comedy Olivia Colman
53. Pravan R. Mehta took over as the President of Global Solar Council
54. Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg and Prime Minister Narendra Modi singed bilateral deal in New
Delhi “India-Norway Ocean Dialogue” on 08.01.2019.
55. The 2nd Edition of Khelo India Youth Games was inaugurated in Pune on 09.01.2019
56. On 08th Jan, 2019 an MoU was signed between Indian Army and Punjub national Bank.
57. ICC announced that USA cricket team to be its 105th member.
58. Senior Diplomat Sanjiv Arora was appointed as the Secretary of Consular, Passport, Visa and Overseas
Indian Affairs in the Ministry of External Affairs w.e.f 01.02.2019
59. The confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced that Egypt will host the 2019 Africa Cup of
Nations. Egypt will host the tournament for the 05th time.
60. First swadesh darshan project inaugurated by Cm of Meghalaya Mr. Conard K. Sangma on 09.01.2019
61. Bhopal literature project begum from 12.01.2019
62. The ministry of women and child development has launched an online campaign www.web-
wonderwoman on 09.01.2019
63. N. Ram appointed as president of “Alliance for media freedom” (AFMF). N. Ram is the Chairman of
THE HINDU group.
64. On 8th January, 2019 India allowed Iran’s Pasargad Bank to open a branch in Mumbai.
65. Liverpool’s Mohammed Salah was named 2018 CAF “Player of the year”.
66. The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation approved operations on 13 water aerodomes under Ude Desh ka
Aam Nagrik-3 (UDAN-3), which makes Andaman to be 1st Island to operate seaplanes.
67. Arunachal Pradesh CM, Pema Khandu inaugurated India’s largest single lane steel cable suspension
bridge over River Siang in Upper Siang District, name is Byorung Bridge.
68. World Hindi Day is observed every year on January, 10th.
69. Jammu and Kashmir’s Bavleen Kaur won the Gold Medal in the Women’s Under-17 all-around rhythmic
gymnastics event at the Khelo India Youth Games.
70. A book titled “We are displaced” was released in India by its author namely Malala Yousafzai.
71. Boxer MC Mary Kom attained No.01 position in the International Boxing Association (AIBA) latest
world rankings.
72. The 1st India-Central Asia dialogue will be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on 12 and 13th Jan, 2019.
73. On 10th January, 2019, Birendra Prasad Baishya was named as Chief de mission for the 2020 Tokyo
Olympics. He is the president of the Indian weight lifting federation.
74. Odhisha will host the 02 day international Dam Safety conference starting from 13th Feb, 2019.
75. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has appointed as SU Tseng-Chang as Prime Minister of Taiwan on
10.01.2019
76. PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 15th Pravashi Bharatiya Divas on 21st Jan, 2019 at varanashi, U.P
77. The Union Cabinet gave approval for the establishment of 03 new AIIMS at Samba in Jammu, Pulwama
in Kashmir and Rajkot in Gujarat.
78. Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli and Coach Ravi Shastri received the Honorary membership of the
Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on 11.01.2019
79. 25th Edition of Partnership Summit will be held in Mumbai on 12.01.2019.
80. National Youth Day observed on every year on 12th jan, 2019 in the memory of Swami Vivekananda on
his Birthday.
81. US president Donald Trump appointed Charles Kupperman as Deputy national Security Advisor (NSA)
on 11.01.2019
82. The Govt. Of India appointed Jaideep Govind as secretary general of National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC) on 11.01.2019
83. On 12th jan, 2019 President Ram Nath Kovind coferred the honorary rank of General Of the Indian Army
to General Purna Chandra Thapa, the army Chief of Nepal.
84. Adi Godrej conferred with ICSI life time award.
85. The Indian Navy will commission a new airbase INS-Kohassa, 100 miles north of Port Balir.
86. “Sikkim’s CM Pawan Kumar Chamling launched the “one family one job scheme”” on 12.01.2019
87. Writer Namita Gokhle won the Sushila Devi literature award for her novel “Things to leave behind”
88. Lt General JS Nain took over as the 14th Corps Commander of the strategic rising star corps.
89. The YES Bank appointed Brahm Dutt as Non-Executive part time Chairman on 12.01.2019
90. Bengaluru Raptors won the Premier Badminton league (PBL) title defeating Mumbai Rockets.
91. On 14th Jan, 2019 10 yaesr old Abhinav Shaw became the youngest Gold Medallist in the shooting at the
Khelo Indian Youth Games in Pune.
92. Armed Forces Veteran’s Day observed on 14th Jan, 2019.
93. PM Narendra Modi received the 1st ever Philip Kotler Presidential award, Dr. Kotler was a world
renowned Professor of Marketing at Northwestern University, Kellogg school of management.
94. Akshata Basvani kamati of Karnataka has won a Gold Medal in the U-21 (71 Kg ) category in Weight
lifting.
95. Global Aviation Summit was inaugurated in Mumbai on 15.01.2019
96. S. Rudra Mayan won the gold medal by lifting a total weight of 269 KGs.
 97. Army Day is observed on 15th Jan, 2019, on this day in 1949 Kondadera M Cariappa took over as the 1st
Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army.
98. Mohammaed Ali Qamar has taken over as Chief Coach for the country’s women boxing
99. Asian Cup Gold Medalist Shakil Ahamed created a world record in indoor rowing by completing one lakh
meters in above 40 years category in Kolkata.
100. Manu Sawhney appointed as CEO of International Cricket Council (ICC).
101. The 1st EMRS (Eklavya Model Residential Schools) sports meet 2019 was inaugurated in Hyderabad on
14.01.2019.
102. Chess player D Gukesh became the second youngest Grand Master in the World and the youngest Indian
to achieve the feat at the age of 12 years and 07 months.
103. The second Indian-Mayanmar bilateral Army exercise named IMBEX 2018-19 commenced at
Chandimandir Military station in Haryana on 14.01.2019.
104. Karnatak’s swimmer Srihari Nataraj has emerged as the most prolific gold medal winner, winning 07 gold
medals.
105. Former Union minister CP Joshi was elected as the Speaker of the 15th Rajasthan Legislative Assembly on
16.01.2019.
106. GANDHI PEACE PRIZE WINNERS :-
YEAR AWARDEE
2015 Vivekananda Kendra
2016 Akshay Patra Foundation and
Sulabh International
2017 EkalAbhiyan Trust
2018 Yohei Sasakawa

107. Mountaineer Satyarup Siddhanta scaled the Antartica’s highest point, Mount Sidley atg the age of 35 years
262 days.
108. President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed Senior Advocates Sanjay Jain and K.M. Nataraj as Additional
Solicitor Generals of India for the Supreme Court.
109. Justice Lingappa Narayan Swamy was appointed as the acting CJ of Karnataka High Court on 17.01.2019.
110. Senior IPC officer Prabhat Singh appoinbted as Director General in the NHRC.
111. Wrestler Vinesh Phogat became the 1st Indian to be nominated for the prestigious “Laureus World Sports
Award”.
112. The national Museum for Cinema was inaugurated by PM Modi in Mumbai.
113. 2nd World Orange was inaugurated in Nagpur on 18.01.2019
114. 7th ASEAN-India Tourism Ministers meeting held in Halong City of Vietnam on18.01.2019.
115. BHEL and LIBCOIN will build Lithium Ion Factory.
116. The reserve bank approved the appointment of V. Vaidyanathan as MD & CEO of IDFC First bank for a
period of 03 years.
117. P.R. Aqeel Ahamed was appointed as the Chairman of the Council for Leather Exports (CLE) on 18th Jan,
2019. Sanjay Leekha was appointed as Vice-Chairman of CLE.
118. PM Stefen Lofven was elected for the 2nd term as the PM of Sweden.
119. The India Rubber Expo 2019 was inaugurated in Mumbai on 17.01.2019.
120. India’s Ankita Rana has won the International Tennis Federation ‘s 25,000 dollar Women’s tournament
in Singapore on 20.01.2019 after defeating world No.122 Arantxa Rus of Netherlands.
121. Andry Rajoelina was sworn in as President of Madagascar on 19.01.2019.
122. World’s oldest man Masazo Nonaka dies at the age of 113.
123. The UNESCO has announced that the Brazilian city of Rio de Janerio will be the World Capital of
Architecture for 2020.
124. US-Based Indian Poet Ranjani Murali received the Wome’s Voice award at the Appejay Kolkata Literary
Festival.
125. Aparna Kumar has become the 1st Woman IPS to successfully complete the South Pole Expedition.
126. On 21st Jan, 2019 India-China signed a protocol to export Indian Tobacco to China.
127. Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) Chairman Indu Sekhar Jha joined as a member of the Cebtral
Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).
128. Anurag Thakur, MP, Hamirpur, has been bestowed with the Sansad Ratna Award for distinguished
performance as a Parliamentarian om 19.01.2019.
129. India ranked 2nd in the Edelman Trust Barometer Global Trust Index which was released on 21.01.2019.
China topped the rankings.
130. A grand “Jallikattu” (bull-taming) event held in Tamil Nadu entered into the world record for the
maximum number of bulls released into the sporting arena.
131. The world economic forum 49th (WEF) was held in Davos.
132. IIT Hyderabad launched full fledged course of 4 years in Artificial Intelligence in 2019-20.
133. Bukrina Faso’s President Roch Marc Christian Kabore appointed Christope Dabire as the PM of Bukrina
Faso.
134. Virat Kohli topped the ODI and Test Cricket rankings.
135. North Western Railway (NWR) topped the zonal rankings in the premium category trains.
136. PM Modi inaugurated the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at Redfort in Delhi on 23.01.2019.
137. Gujurati Poet Sitanshu Yashashchandra was awarded “Saraswati Samman 2017” on 22.01.2019
138. Md. Shami became the fastest Indian to claim 100 wickets in one-day internationals.
139. Arunachal Pradesh government has declared “Pakke Paga Hornbill Festival” as a state festival.
140. Indian short film named PERIOD, END OF SENETENCE has earned a nomination in the
documentary category for 91st Academy Award.
141. National Girl Child day was observed on 24th Jan, 2019
142. International day of education is observed on 24th jan, 2019.
143. Lance Naik Nazir Ahamed Wani will be conferred with Ashoka Chakra, he was a militant but later joined
the Indian Army on 2004.
144. YES Bank appointed Ravneet Gill as Chief Executive Officer and MD on 24.01.2019.
145. New Indigo CEO- Ronojoy Dutta.
146. Sultan Abdulla was elected as Malaysia’s new King.
147. National Voter’s day observed on 25th Jan, 2019.
148. The commonwealth of Learning appointed 96 years old Karthyayani Amma as their goodwill ambassador.
149. BHARAT RATNA AWARDS:-
AWARDEE
Pranab Mukherjee
Nanaji Deshmukh @Chandikadas
Amritrao Deshmukh
Bhupen Hazarika
150. Pakistan declared sugarcane juice as the national drink of the country.
151. Numaligarh Refinery Limjited (NRL) was awarded as the best Strategic Performance (Financial Category)
at the 6th edition of “Governance now PSU” award.
152. “Opportunity Rover” has completed 15 years of its touchdown on the surface of Mars.
153. Naomi Osaka won the Women’s Single final of the Australian Open.
154. A 5.1 Km long cable-stayed bridge named Atal Setu on the Mandovi River was inaugurated in Goa.
155. India’s 1st indigenously built engineless semi-high speed train “TRAIN 18” has been renamed “VANDE
BHARAT EXPRESS”.
156. India’s Karthik Sharma won the New South Wales Men’s Amateur Golf Championship in Australia.
157. Saina Nehwal won her 1st Indonesia Masters Title 2019.
158. Novak Djokovic won the Australian open Men’s singles at Melbourne after defeating Rafael Nadal.
159. Poonam Khetrapal Singh was appointed as the South East Asia Reginal Director of WHO for a 2nd five
year term.
160. NARI SHAKTI is the Hindi word of the year.
161. Suman Kumari has become the 1st Hindu Woman in Pakistan to be appointed as a Civil Judge.
162. Ambati rayadu banned from bowling by ICC.
163. India became the world’s largest steel producer by replacing Japan.
164. SAHITYA ACADEMY AWARDS:-
LANGUAGE TOPIC AWARDEE
Bengali Srikrishner Sesh Katha Din Sanjib Chattopadyaa
English The Blind Lady’s Descendants Anees Salim
Hindi Post Box No-203 – Naala Sopara Chitra Mudhgal
Guajarati Vibhajyanni Vyatha Sharifa Vijiwalla
Kashmiri Aakh Mushtaq Ahamed Mushtaq
Konkani Chitralipi Paresh Narendra Kamat
Marathi Sarjanprerna ani Kavitasodh Ma. Su. Patil
Sanskrit Mama Janani Rama Kant Sukla

165. Vice Admiral G. Ashok became the Vice-Chief of Naval Staff. MS Pawar is the Deputy Chief
166. World’s biggest Cyclothon – The Swasth Bharat Yatra.