AffairsCloud EXAM PDF

2019

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Hi Aspirants,the Team Affairscloud is happy to help you out in
your Preparation to ace in your exam. Our Current Affairs Team
has Come up with AffairsCloud EXAM PDF 2019 which
Comprises the most Important News that happened from the
month of Jan 1 2019 to May 31 2019.

Exam PDF is only for the Revision Purpose and to score high
Marks we highly recommend you to follow AC monthly Study
PDF and Static GK PDF which cover almost all questions of GA
section of Main Exam.

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 AC EXAM PDF

AC EXAM PDF

CONTENTS
BANKING & FINANCIAL AWARENESS ........................................................................................................... 4
CURRENT RATES ......................................................................................................................................................... 4
INDIA’S GROWTH PREDICTION ................................................................................................................................. 4
RBI IN NEWS ................................................................................................................................................................ 4
APPROVAL BY RBI: ...................................................................................................................................................... 5
SBI IN NEWS ................................................................................................................................................................ 6
OTHER BANK IN NEWS............................................................................................................................................... 6
MOU’S/AGREEMENTS SIGNED BY BANKS ..................................................................................................................... 7
LOANS/FUNDS SANCTIONED BY BANKS .................................................................................................................. 8
APPOINTMENTS RELATED TO BANKING SECTOR: ............................................................................................... 10
INDIAN AFFAIRS ............................................................................................................................................ 12
FIRST IN INDIA .......................................................................................................................................................... 12
LONGEST,LARGEST,HIGHEST: ................................................................................................................................. 13
CABINET APPROVALS ............................................................................................................................................... 13
BILL /Acts PASSED .................................................................................................................................................... 14
STATEWISE NEWS .................................................................................................................................................... 14
SCHEMES .................................................................................................................................................................... 15
LAUNCHES/INAUGURATIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 16
CAMPAIGN .................................................................................................................................................................. 16
FESTIVAL ................................................................................................................................................................... 16
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS............................................................................................................................ 17
FIRST IN THE WORLD ............................................................................................................................................... 17
LONGEST,LARGEST,HIGHEST: ................................................................................................................................. 17
OTHER INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS:............................................................................................................................... 18
VISIT ................................................................................................................................................................ 18
INDIAN VISIT ............................................................................................................................................................. 18
FOREIGN VISIT .......................................................................................................................................................... 20
SUMMITS/CONFERENCE IN NEWS .............................................................................................................. 23
COMMITTEES & MEETING IN NEWS ............................................................................................................ 26
MOU’s & AGREEMENTS ................................................................................................................................. 31
MOU's with Other Country ......................................................................................................................................... 31
MOU’S – States Wise .................................................................................................................................................. 32
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MOU’s Between Organizations ................................................................................................................................... 32

INDEX .............................................................................................................................................................. 34
RANKING ..................................................................................................................................................................... 34
REPORT:....................................................................................................................................................................... 38
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS .......................................................................................................................... 39
Recognitions .............................................................................................................................................................. 56
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS ......................................................................................................................... 57
Resignation ................................................................................................................................................................ 65
BUSINESS ........................................................................................................................................................ 66
ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS ........................................................................................................................................ 67
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY ............................................................................................................................. 68
APP & WEB PORTAL .................................................................................................................................................... 68
SATELLITES ............................................................................................................................................................... 69
INVENTIONS .............................................................................................................................................................. 69
ENVIRONMENT .............................................................................................................................................. 70
DEFENCE ......................................................................................................................................................... 70
MISSILES .................................................................................................................................................................... 70
COMMISSION/DECOMMISSION ............................................................................................................................... 71
EXERCISES ................................................................................................................................................................. 71
SPORTS ............................................................................................................................................................ 73
BOOKS & AUTHORS........................................................................................................................................ 83
OBITUARY ....................................................................................................................................................... 85
IMPORTANT DAYS ......................................................................................................................................... 90

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BANKING & FINANCIAL AWARENESS

CURRENT RATES
Policy rates 6th Bi-Monthly Monetary 1st Bi-Monthly Monetary
Policy(Feb 2019) Policy(Apr 2019)
Repo Rate 6.25% 6.00 %
Reverse Repo Rate 6.00% 5.75 %
Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) 6.50% 6.25 %
Bank Rate 6. % 6.25 %
Reserve Ratio’s
50Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) 4% 4%
Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) 19.5% 19.25%

INDIA’S GROWTH PREDICTION

Organization
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in its
‘Growth Outlook for 2019’
World Bank
India ratings and research
PwC and FICCI in a report titled “The India
Manufacturing Barometer 2019”.
United Nations released the World Economic
Situation and Prospects (WESP) report
Economic Advisory Council of Prime Minister
(EAC-PM)
Central Statistical Office (CSO)
Finance ministry
Moody
Central Statistics Office (CSO)
Fitch rating in its Global Economic Outlook
Asia Development Bank
World Economic Outlook (WEO) released by
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
World Bank
India Ratings and Research
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD)
India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra)
FICCI's (Federation of Indian Chambers of
Commerce and Industry)
United Nations
Predictions
7.5% in FY19(Jan 1,2019)
7.3% in 2018-19 & 7.5% in 2019-20,2020-
21.(Jan 9,2019)
7.5% -2019-20(Jan 17,2019)
7.3 – 7.7 per cent(Jan 10,2019)
7.4 per cent 2018-19 & 7.6 per cent n(Jan)
7 to 7.5 percent(Jan)
7.2% for 2019 from earlier estimate of
6.7%.(Feb)
7.5% for 2019-20(Feb)
7.3 % in 2019 & 2020 (Mar)
Revised to 7% from 7.2%(2018-19) (Mar)
6.8%(2019-20)& 7.1%(2021) (Mar)
7.2%(2019-20)(Apr)
7.3% in 2019 &. 7.5% in 2020(Apr)
7.5 %(2019-20).The real GDP growth is
estimated at 7.2 per cent in FY18/19. (Apr)
7.3 %(2019-20)(Apr)
7.25 in 2019, 7.5 percent in FY20.(May)
6.9% in FY 19(May)
7.1% for FY19 & 7.2% for FY21(May)
7.1% in 2020(May)

RBI IN NEWS
JANUARY
 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a notification for all authorised non-bank Prepaid Payment
Instrument (PPI) Issuers - to limit the liability of Customers in unauthorised electronic
payment transactions in Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) comprising mobile wallets,
prepaid payments cards, and paper vouchers such as Sodexo.
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 RBI-allows-tokenisation-for securing digital payment safety.

 RBI rationalised the overseas borrowing norms allowing a uniform borrowing limit of Rs 750
million a year across tenors.
FEBRUARY
 RBI - announced -to increase the limit on collateral-free agriculture loans to Rs.1.6 lakh from
Rs.1 lakh.
 RBI Doubles the limit of bulk deposits from Rs. 1 crore to Rs 2 Crore.
 RBI -decided to transfer Rs. 28,000 crore as interim dividend to the Government of India.
MARCH
 RBI notifies 2% interest subsidy through “Interest subvention scheme” for short-term crop
loans.
 RBI limits HDFC to hold more than 9.9% stake in Bandhan Bank.
APRIL
 RBI has altered the LCR (Liquidity Coverage Ratio) norms to offer an additional 2% window to
lenders.
 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) - proposed strict rules on opening and running of current accounts
of corporate borrowers - more than Rs 50 crore- in order to tackle fund diversion.
 RBI is going to issue new Rs 20 denomination banknote with greenish-yellow colour- size of 63
X 129 mm.
MAY
 RBI - notified RRBs (Regional Rural Banks) and SFBs (Small Finance Banks) - housing loan
limits to individuals up to Rs 35 lakh in metropolitan centres (which would have a population
of over 10 lakhs) and Rs 25 lakh in other centres, under Priority sector Lending (PSL).
 RBI -published ‘Payment And Settlement Systems In India: Vision 2019 – 2021’ -to promote
Innovation, Cyber-Security, Financial Inclusion.
 RBI has increased the transfer timings of RTGS from 4.30 pm to 6 pm.
 Nandan Nilekani-led panel submitted report to RBI regarding the promotion of digital
payments.

APPROVAL BY RBI:
JANUARY
 IndiaMoneyMart-received- NBFC – P2P Certificate -to expand operations and target loan
disbursals- worth INR 100 Crore - 2018-19.
 Iran’s Pasargad Bank received RBI’s nod to open its branch in Mumbai.
 Svamaan Financial Services- as an RBI Registered Non-Banking Financial Company – Micro
Finance Institution (NBFC – MFI).
FEBRUARY
 Reserve Bank of India cleared Yes Bank of Divergence charges.
 Reserve Bank of India lifted - 20% limit on investment by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) in
corporate bonds of an entity.
 RBI bundles NBFCs into a single type to offer operational flexibility.
 RBI formalised USD 75-billion swap pact with Bank of Japan.
 RBI extends KYC deadline for digital wallets by six months.
MARCH
 A series of visually impaired friendly Re 1, Rs 2, Rs 5, Rs 10, Rs 20 coins unveiled.
 RBI allowed White Label ATM Operators (WLAO) to offer bill payment and deposit services
depending on the technical feasibility of the device.
APRIL
 RBI -asks banks to disclose bad loan divergences in their financial statements on the condition
if divergence exceeds 10% of profit prior to provision and contingencies.
 RBI Sets WMA Limit For Government At Rs 75000 Crore For The First Half Of The FY 2019-20.
 RBI grants 12 years to LIC for reducing stake in IDBI Bank.

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 RBI extends the previous ombudsman scheme to non-deposit taking NBFCs having asset size of
Rs.100 crore or higher.
 Fintech Start-Ups Allowed to Test Regulatory Sandbox: RBI
MAY
 RBI- permitted the modern Currency Chests-to hike service charges on the cash deposited by
non-chest bank branches from Rs.5 per packet of 100 pieces to a higher rate subject to a
maximum of Rs.8 per packet.

SBI IN NEWS
JANUARY
 SBI Life Insurance & Allahabad Bank -signed- to sell the policies.
 SBI Life Insurance & Syndicate Bank -signed- to offer a comprehensive financial planning
solution to its customers.
FEBRUARY
 State Bank of India (SBI) signed with National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)-worth Rs.
5,000 Crore.
MARCH
 SBI named as Systemically Important Banks by RBI.
 SBI and Hitachi Payment Services launched SBIPSPL to establish digital payments platform in
India
 SBI links savings account, short-term loan interest rates to RBI repo rate.
 Doorstep Banking for Senior Citizens, Differently-Abled And Infirm Persons introduced by SBI.
APRIL
 State Bank of India (SBI) & PAISALO Digital Limited signed the first co-origination loan
agreement.
 SBI General Insurance has launched its new product – cyber defence insurance to protect
businesses from financial and reputational losses due to cyber attacks.
 State Bank of India (SBI) launched India’s first ‘Green Car Loan’ (Electric Vehicle) to encourage
customers to buy electric vehicles.
MAY
 Ola Cabs -launched Ola Money SBI Credit Card in partnership with SBI Card to provide a
flexible and convenient payment system to its customers.
 The changes in the rates of the schemes are as follows:
Scheme New interest rate(Jan-march2019) Time
Savings Deposit 4.0% Annually
1 year Time Deposit 7% Quarterly
2 year Time Deposit 7% Quarterly
3 year Time Deposit 7% Quarterly
5 year Time Deposit 7.8% Quarterly
5 year Recurring Deposit 7.3% Quarterly
5 year Senior Citizen Savings Scheme 8.7`% Quarterly and paid
5 year Monthly Income Account 7.7% Monthly and paid
5 year National Savings Certificate 8% Annually
Public Provident Fund Scheme 8% Annually
Kisan Vikas Patra 7.7 (will mature in 112 months) Annually
Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme 8.5% Annually

OTHER BANK IN NEWS

JANUARY
 HDFC MF surpassed ICICI Prudential MF to become largest AMC in India.
 Regional Rural Banks-Punjab Gramin Bank, Malwa Gramin Bank and Sutlej Gramin Bank
amalgamated into a single Bank.
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 IDFC Bank re-named as IDFC First Bank.

 HDFC Standard Life Insurance renamed itself to HDFC Life Insurance.
 UAE, Saudi Central banks launch common digital currency called ‘Aber’
FEBRUARY
 Pallavan Grama Bank and Pandyan Grama Bank merged to form TN Grama Bank
 Asian Development Bank raised $100 million from peso-linked bonds in the international
market.
 ‘Kisan Suvidha loan’ for small and marginal farmers launched by Ujjivan Small Finance Bank.
 J P Morgan became First US Bank with Cryptocurrency.
 Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) launched a new micro insurance plan ‘Micro Bachat’
 Rs 300 crore Women’s Livelihood Bond launched by World Bank, UN and SIDBI
MARCH
 ICICI and HDFC named as Systemically Important Banks by RBI.
 Bank of Baroda- becomes one of the first PSBs to launch creche/day-care facility for
employees’ children.
 Aviva Life Insurance launches special mentorship programme ‘Wings’-to empower empower
the female workforce.
 ICICI Prudential Bharat Consumption Scheme was launched by ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund
APRIL
 HDFC AMC claims first position in terms of Assets.
 A unique proposition to pay electricity bill on EMIs launched by Bajaj Finserv.
 IDBI Bank launches NRI-Insta Online, A paperless account opening facility for NRI.
 Canara Bank: India’s First Public Sector Bank To Meet RBI’s EMV Mandate.
 Kotak Mahindra Bank - first Destination Bank to launch debit card based e-mandates On NPCI’s
E-Mandate API Platform.
 AnyTimeHealth machines –launched by -HDFC Bank and Max Bupa
 ’Webassurance’- launched by - Canara Bank and its life insurance partner Canara HSBC
Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance.
 Bharti AXA General Insurance, the 1st company to sell 2-wheeler policies via WhatsApp, by
partnering with Wishfin.
 Paytm Launches Recurring Payment Options for startups.
MAY
 LIC HFL initiated UDYAM-a skill development centre for marginalized youth in Bangalore
 Asian Development Bank (ADB) launched 5$ billion Action Plan for Healthy Oceans and
Sustainable Blue Economies for the Asia and Pacific region.
 Max Life Insurance Co Ltd dedicated the 6th day of each month as ‘Protection Day’ to raise
awareness on financial protection.
 HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company launched ‘Mosquito Disease Protection Policy’ which
will cover people against common mosquito-borne diseases
 NABARD launched Nabventures- its maiden fund to give support to agriculture, food, rural
start-ups
 Tripura Gramin Bank among top RRB performer in the country
 Karnataka Bank introduced Savings Bank product named "KBL SB Salary" for salaried class
 Corporation Bank launches ‘Corp SME Suvidha’ for GST- registered MSMEs
 Indian Overseas Bank introduced "Bank on Wheels" for door-step banking facility

MOU’S/AGREEMENTS SIGNED BY BANKS

JANUARY
 UBI, Srei Equipment Finance enter pact for MSME sector finance.
 ICICI Bank, Small Business FinCredit joined hands to provide loans worth Rs. 1 crore to MSMEs
for 15-year tenure.

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 IRCTC tied up with Bharti AXA General insurance company to offer free travel insurance for air
travelers.
FEBRUARY
 IIFL Home Finance- Maharashtra government -for building affordable houses through credit-
linked subsidy scheme (CLSS) under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
 Syndicate Bank – signed- Srei Equipment Finance -to provide equipment financing under co-
lending arrangement for various equipment.
MARCH
 IDBI Bank signed MoU with Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to become the preferred
bank for LIC premium payments.
 ICICI Lombard signed MoU with AnyTimeLoan.in (ATL)-to provide insurance cover for its
lenders and borrowers.
 State Bank of India (SBI) tied up with Bank of China (BoC) to boost business opportunities.
 Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI)- tied up-with International Finance
Corporation (IFC) for provides a technical assistance by IFC to IBBI until 30th June 2021.
APRIL
 Canara Bank-tied with-National Thermal Power Corporation(NPTC)- to part finance company’s
capital expenditure
 HDFC Bank-signed MoU with- Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)- to strengthen BSE startup
platform.
 Bank of Maharashtra (BoM)-signed MoU with- M1Xchange TreDSplatform-to assist MSMEs to
get their bills financed at a competitive rate.
 Bajaj Allianz General Insurance tied with- Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance -to launch their 1st
product titled 'Total Health Secure Goal'.
 RBL Bank –signed MoU with- Wirecard-to promote financial inclusion in India.
 Aegon Life Group Term Plus Plan-launched by- Aegon Life Insurance & Mobikwik.
MAY
 Citibank signed agreement with Paytm to launch its 1st credit card called 'Paytm First Card'.
 Housing Development Finance Cooperation (HDFC) Life signed agreement with Bharti Airtel-
to offer life cover for customers at a prepaid recharge of Rs 249 with an insurance cover of the
worth of Rs 4 lakh from HDFC Life.
 State Bank of India (SBI) signed agreement with FMCG arm of The Art of Living, Sri Sri Tattva
for SBI's YONO users can avail a discount of 15% on the entire range of products

LOANS/FUNDS SANCTIONED BY BANKS

Loan issued Received by Amount Points to be noted
JANUARY
Reserve bank of India Sri lanka USD 400 To boost the nation’s
million reserve.RBI has agreed to issue
the fund under the SAARC
SWAP facility system.

FEBRUARY
World Bank Himachal $40 million (4 For bringing clean and reliable
Pradesh,Governmen crore INR) drinking water to the citizens
t of India of Greater Shimla area.
Bank of Baroda Germany’s KfW 113 million USD To refinance solar projects
Development Bank

MARCH
Asian Infrastructure Government of India USD 455 million For financing the Andhra
Investment Bank (AIIB) Pradesh Rural Roads Project,
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which will connect 3,300

habitations with a population
of more than 250, and benefit
around 2 million people in New
Delhi.
Asian Development Bank Government of India USD 926 Million To operationalize two lines for
(ADB) the Mumbai Metro Rail System
and is the Single Largest
Infrastructure Project Loan in
ADB history.
Government of India USD 26 Million The loan provided is additional
financing under the ongoing
loan of USD 51 million under
Assam Urban Infrastructure
Investment Program (AUIIP).
Avaada Energy USD50 million The investment will be done
Private Limited through ADB’s Ordinary Capital
(AEPL) Resources and Leading Asia’s
Private Infrastructure Fund
(LEAP), a funding arm of Japan
International Cooperation
Agency (JICA) administered by
ADB.
World Bank Chhattisgarh state $25.2 Million To provide support to reforms
government for expenditure management.
Government of $96 Million To provide financial support to
Uttarakhand Uttarakhand for adopting post-
disaster recovery plans.
Andhra Pradesh Rs. 2200 crores For implementation of the AP
($328-million) Health Systems Strengthening
Project (APHSSP).
13 states in India $250 million To provide a boost to rural
(Assam, Bihar, income and support to the
Chhattisgarh, National Rural Economic
Jharkhand, Gujarat, Transformation Project
Maharashtra, (NRETP)
Madhya Pradesh,
Orissa, Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh, West
Bengal, Karnataka
and Tamil Nadu)
Government of India $137 million The project involves more than
220 selected large dams in
Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya
Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu
and Uttarakhand.
Government of India Nepal 35.5 million For the construction of an
Nepalese educational campus to boost
rupees the learning environment of
the students. It was made
under the Development
Partnership Programme which
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is administered by the
Development Administration
Partnership division of the
Ministry of External Affairs.
APRIL
Asian Development Bank India USD 3.88 billion It is the highest ever loan
(ADB) amount since sovereign
operations began in the
country in 1986. ADB
committed several projects like
a USD 100-million loan to Ostro
Kutch Wind in Gujarat.
Reserve Bank of Rwanda 266.6$ million The funding for the projects
India (RBI)’s Exim Bank has been done in 3 distinct
tranches.
 For supporting agricultural
projects
 For the development of
Special Economic Zones
(SEZs)
 For financing road projects
in Rwanda.
UNSG India USD 38 million Till now, the total amount
which has to be paid to troops
and police-contributing
countries (TCCs/PCCs) with
respect to active peacekeeping
missions was USD 265 million.
MAY
Asian Development Bank Indian Railway USD 750 million For long-term financing for the
(ADB) Finance Corporation Railways Track Electrification
(IRFC) Project, as part of a broad
modernization program to
reduce the dependence India’s
railway sector on fossil fuels. It
is the largest single non-
sovereign loan ever.

APPOINTMENTS RELATED TO BANKING SECTOR:

National
Name Appointed As Entity/Place Points To Be Noted
JANUARY
Dilip Sadarangani Chairman(Part-Time) Federal Bank
Parthasarathi MD Lakshmi Vilas Bank
Mukherjee
Amitabh Chaudhry MD and CEO Axis bank Axis Bank Managing Director
(MD) and Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) Shikha
Sharma retired from the
services of the bank
V Vaidyanathan MD and CEO IDFC First Bank V Vaidyanathan is the

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founder and chairman

of Capital First.
Ravneet Singh Gill MD and CEO Yes bank Ravneet Singh Gill was the
successor to Rana Kapoor
FEBRUARY
Ajai Kumar CEO (Interim) YES Bank
P V Bharathi Chief Executive Officer Corporation Bank,
(CEO) Mangalore
MARCH
M.R.Kumar Chairman Life Insurance He will be succeeding V. K
Corporation (LIC) Sharma who had retired on
31st December 2018 after
which Managing Director
Hemant Bhargava was acting
as the interim chairman.
KVS Manian and Director(Whole time) Kotak Mahindra For a three-year term
Gaurang Shah Bank effective from the date of
approval from the Reserve
Bank of India.
Ashu Khullar Head Citibank(India) He currently holds the
position of head of Asia-
Pacific capital markets. He
succeeds Pramit Jhaveri.
Rustom Irani Managing Director Hitachi Payment He will succeed Loney
Services Antony
Vijay Chandok MD and CEO ICICI Securities He will succeed Shilpa Naval
Kumar
N S Srinath Non-executive chairman Karur Vysya Bank He will be appointed for a
period of 3 years
APRIL
Sairee Chahal Board of Directors Paytm Payments Sairee Chahal is the founder
Bank (PPB) and CEO of Sheroes which is
a community platform for
women.
Kaushik Shaparia Chief Executive Officer Deutsche Bank He will succeed Ravneet Gill.
Siddhartha Chief Operating Officer LIC Housing He started his career with
Mohanty (COO) Finance LIC of India in 1985.
Rajesh Kumar Executive Director Punjab National Currently PNB has three
Yaduvanshi Bank (PNB) Executive Directors, namely,
Yaduvanshi, L V Prabhakar
and A K Azad.
Vipin Anand Managing Director Life Insurance He will succeed interim
Corporation of chairman, Hemant Bhargava.
India (LIC)
Karnam Sekar MD and CEO Indian Overseas He is currently the CEO and
Bank MD of Dena bank.
MAY
Dinesh Pangtey Chief Executive Officer Life Insurance He succeeds Shri Raj Kumar.
Corporation (LIC)
Mutual Fund
Nitin Chugh Managing Director (MD) Ujjivan Small The current MD and CEO

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and Chief Executive Finance Bank Samit Ghosh’s tenure will

Officer (CEO) end on November 30, 2019.
Currently, Nitin Chugh is
Group Head of Digital
Banking of HDFC Bank.

RESIGNATION:
Name Resigned as Entity/Place
FEBRUARY
Chanda Kochhar Managing Director and CEO ICICI Bank
Pralay Mondal Senior group President Yes Bank
Harshil Mehta CEO Dewan Housing Finance
Corporation Limited (DHFL)
MAY
Bhushan Patil President Paytm

INDIAN AFFAIRS
FIRST IN INDIA
JANUARY:
 Gujarat - 1st state to implement 10% quota to Economically Weaker sections (EWS) of general
category.
 Country’s first Geographical Indication (GI) store - Dabolim International Airport in Goa.
 Narendra Modi - Country’s First National Museum of Indian Cinema in Mumbai,Maharashtra.
 Sikkim - first state - to roll out Universal Basic Income.
 Secunderabad Railway Station- first Railway station to hoist Tricolour National flag on a 100
feet tall pole under Railway’s order.
 Andaman - First Island to operate seaplanes under UDAN-3.
 Train 18 - India’s first indigenously developed engineless semi high speed train - renamed
as Vande Bharat Express.
 First of its Kind-Western Railway provides ‘segway’ to RPF personnel.
 First LNG import terminal of IOC commissioned in Ennore, Tamil Nadu.
 Vijay Mallya - first person to be declared a ‘fugitive economic offender’ under Section 12 of
the Fugitive Economic Offenders’ Act, 2018.
 BHEL and LIBCOIN to build India’s First Lithium Ion Giga Factory with 1GWh.
 First in India-HAL-built light combat helicopter- completes air-to-air weapon trials-Odisha.

FEBRUARY:
 India’s first Humanoid Police Robot - KP-BOT, ranked as Sub-Inspector (SI), in
Thiruvananthapuram,Kerala.
 India’s first hi-tech forensic lab NCFL and CyPAD in Dwarka, New Delhi.
 India’s first district cooling system to be built in Amravati.
 Kerala- first Indian state to set up a price monitoring and research unit (PMRU).

MARCH:
 DotBook: India’s first Braille laptop created by IIT-Delhi Scientists.
 India’s first LGBTQ Clinic and HIV treatment centre inaugurated in Mumbai.
 PM Modi launched ‘One Nation, One Card’ for transport mobility in Ahmedabad. It is first of this
kind scheme in India.
 India’s first policy to protect bank locker launched by IFFCO Tokio General Insurance.

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 Adani Port - first Indian port operator to achieve a new record of handling 200 million tonnes
(MT) cargo movement.
APRIL:
 Phayeng Village of Manipur tagged as India’s first carbon-positive settlement.
 India’s First Foreign Interactive Bird Park launched by EsselWorld in Mumbai.
 Reliance Mutual Fund partnering with Google- the first Indian company to launch voice-based
financial transactions.
 Kotak Mahindra Bank - First Lender To Impose Charges On UPI Transactions, Namely, Paytm,
Google Pay, PhonePe among others.
 India’s first AI-enabled e-motorcycle brand- Revolt Intellicorp Pvt Ltd-launched by Micromax
co-founder Rahul Sharma.
MAY
 Kerala - first state- to tap into masala bond-worth of USD 312 million (Rs 2,150 crore) in
London Stock Exchange (LSE)’s International Securities Market (ISM).
 Harda district of Madhya Pradesh-first state-women handle entire work of counting votes.
 India's first Tree Ambulance initiated in Chennai,TamilNadu by Abdul Ghani.
 First 'Blockchain District' –to be set up in- Hyderabad, Telangana.
 BharatPe launches India’s first UPI Bahi Khata(Digital Ledger) for merchants.
 India gets its first ever ice cafe in Gaya Village at 14,000 feet
 Motila Oswal AMC - first Indian fund house to introduce WhatsApp transaction platform
 Indian Navy’s first full-fledged Service Selection Board (SSB) at Diamond Harbour, near
Kolkata.

LONGEST,LARGEST,HIGHEST:

JANUARY:
 India’s longest single lane steel cable suspension bridge or Byorung Bridge(300-meter)-
Arunachal Pradesh.
 Kochi refinery-largest PSU Refinery-in India.
MARCH:
 GRSE - 1st largest Indian Shipyard to deliver 100 Warships
APRIL:
 Indian Army Constructs The Longest Suspension Bridge ‘Maitri’ Over River Indus In Leh-
Ladakh in just 40 days.

CABINET APPROVALS
JANUARY:
 Cabinet - Continuation of Umbrella scheme - “Family Welfare and Other Health Interventions”
during 2017-18 to 2019-20.
 Cabinet - Amendment to the Trade Unions Act, 1926 to make provisions regarding Recognition
of Trade Unions.
 Cabinet - 10 pc quota for economically weaker sections in general category for this Articles 15
and 16 of the Constitution will have to be amended.
 Cabinet - Created the post of Vice Chancellor for National Rail & Transport Institute & set up in
Vadodara, Gujarat & setting up of 3 new AIIMS-Jammu,Kashmir and Gujarat
 Cabinet - recapitalisation of Export-Import Bank of India.
 Cabinet - creation of the National Bench of the Goods and Services Tax Appellate
Tribunal(GSTAT).
FEBRUARY:
 Establishment of New Viral Vaccine Manufacturing Unit in Tamil Nadu.
 Setting up a new company under Department of Space.
 Implementation of National Rural Economic Transformation Project.

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 Khadi Gramodyog Vikas Yojana-extended-from 2017-18 to 2019-20.

 Approved- launch of Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan.
 Creation -one post of Secretary and one post of Joint Secretary in the newly created
Department of Fisheries.
MARCH:
 Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana approved by Cabinet.
 Cabinet approved Rs.1450 crore for share capital of RBI in NHB.
 “National Policy on Software Products 2019” was approved by Cabinet.
 Cabinet approved National Mineral Policy, 2019.
 Setting up of new AIIMS at Manethi, Haryana received Cabinet Approval
 Cabinet approves Rs.1236cr investment for Arun-3 Hydro project '.
 Teesta Stage-VI HE Project in Sikkim received Cabinet nod.
 Kiru Hydroelectric Project in Jammu and Kashmir got Cabinet approval
 Cabinet approved the proposal for accession of India to Nice, Vienna and Locarno agreements.
APRIL:
 Cabinet approves creation of a single post of Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General in the
office of Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
 Cabinet approves the Continuation of Phase 4 of (GSLV) Geosynchronous Satellite Launch
Vehicle.
 Cabinet approved Rs. 4315.15 crores for implementing 10% EWS Quota.

BILL /Acts PASSED

JANUARY
 Lok Sabha passed - “The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2019”.
 Lok Sabha has passed the Personal Laws (Amendment Bill), 2019.
 Lok Sabha has passed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 -to provide Indian citizenship to
non-Muslims communities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
 One Hundred and third Amendment Act, 2019 - grants 10 per cent reservation in jobs and
educational institutions to the economically weaker sections in the general category.
 Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Act, 2019-implemented.
FEBRUARY
 Introduction of Registration of Marriage of NRI Bill 2019
 Himachal Pradesh Assembly passed - Bill -to make Sanskrit as the second official language.
 Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2019 and the Rajasthan Municipality
(Amendment) Bill, 2019

STATEWISE NEWS
JANUARY
 Andhra Pradesh- got a separate high court(25th high courts) –in-‘Justice City’in Amaravati.
 Assam-Communities-Koch Rajbongshi, Tai Ahom, Chutiya, Matak, Moran and the tea tribes-got-
ST Status.
 Nashik,Maharashtra-the country’s second defence innovation hub.
 Kallakurichi - 33rd district- after bifurcating Villupuram-Tamil Nadu.
 Uttar Pradesh - renamed Allahabad as Prayagraj.
 UP govt - give pension of Rs 500 to destitute persons.
 Veer Savarkar International Airport in Port Blair-declared as an authorized Immigration Check
post.
 Indian Forest Service - renamed as Indian Forest and Tribal Service.
FEBRUARY
 Indus River Dolphin declared as Punjab’s State aquatic animal.
 Tamil Nadu-first State in mainland to get 2 Coast Guard Districts(Thoothukudi, Chennai)

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 Creation of 2 new districts in Telangana– Mulugu and Narayanpet.

 World heritage centre to be set up at Mayapur in West Bengal.
MARCH
 ‘Special Stamp Cover on Ice Stupa’ released by Department of Post, Jammu & Kashmir.
APRIL:
 "Chennai Central" has been renamed as "Puratchi Thalaivar Dr M G Ramachandran Chennai
Central" after Dr. MG Ramachandran
 Justice Pradeep Nandrajog sworn in as Chief justice of Bombay High Court
 Project Kannamma initiated by Rotary Club of Madras North,Tamil Nadu to ensure good
menstrual health.
MAY:
 Chhattisgarh police - deployed first ever Anti-Naxal women’s commando unit named
‘Danteshwari Ladake’ or ‘Fighters of Goddess Danteshwari’ .
 Jammu and Kashmir Government - Healthcare Investment Policy-2019.
 Geological Survey of India (GSI)- installed-Mawmluh cave and Therriaghat cave at Sobhar in
East Khasi Hill District in Meghalaya.

SCHEMES
Central Government Schemes
JANUARY
 Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana- Indian origin with aged between 45 to 65-living in different
nations- will be taken to all religious places in India twice a year.
 Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY –G) +Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) achieved 1.37
crore rural homes ,PMAY-G-66.6 lakh homes.
FEBRUARY
 PM Modi - Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme in Gorakhpur, Uttar
Pradesh.
 Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan Yojana is a pension scheme for the labours-launched
MARCH
 Gram Samridhi Yojana- scheme for unorganised food processing sector.
 Govt launched Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) scheme to boost agri exports.

State Government Schemes

JANUARY
 Madhya Pradesh –launched-“Jai Kisan Rin Mukti Yojana” - farm loan waiver scheme.
 Madhya Pradesh –launched- ‘Yuva Swabhiman Yojana’-to provide employment to the youth
belonging to the weaker section.
 Sikkim - ‘One Family One Job’ scheme -for every family one government job has been allotted,
in Gangtok.
FEBRUARY
 Andhra Pradesh-2nd Phase of Pasupu-Kumkuma (Turmeric-Kumkum) scheme and welfare
pensions-launched.
 Bihar - announced - Universal Old Age Pension scheme, named Mukhya Mantri Vriddha
Pension Yojana (MMVPY), irrespective for all caste, community, religion.
 Odisha -Kalia scholarship scheme- to boost education for farmers children.
MARCH
 Haryana -“Mukhyamantri Parivar Samman Nidhi” scheme-for farmers who cultivate on land
with areas upto five acres-&-families earning upto Rs.15000 per month.
 Karnataka- water conservation scheme ‘Jal Amrutha’ was launched.
 Uttarakhand- Mukhyamantri Anchal Amrit Yojana- free milk scheme for anganwadi children.
 West Bengal –launched- Yuvashree Arpan scheme -financially assisting young entrepreneurs.
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LAUNCHES/INAUGURATIONS
JANUARY
 ISRO- launched-platform“Samwad with Students” (SwS)- to engage youngsters- to capture
their scientific temperament.
 Dr. Harsh Vardhan launched-National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in New Delhi.
 Odisha - Jiban Sampark project - for the welfare of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups.
FEBRUARY
 Ashwini Kumar Choubey launched National Programme to Eliminate Viral Hepatitis.
 Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation launched Shehri Samridhi Utsav
 SWAYATT (Start-ups, Women and Youth Advantage Through eTransactions)-launched –New
Delhi.
 Operation Digital Board launched by HRD Ministry to provide better digital education.
MARCH:
 Maharashtra - launched - ‘Atal Aahar Yojna’ -for construction workers in the state which will
provide good quality food at a highly subsidised rate.
 Odisha - launched - ‘Mukhya Mantri Karigar Sahayata’ for financial assistance to craftsmen.
APRIL:
 Haryana - inaugurated India’s first-of-its-kind ‘Voter Park’ in Vikas Sadan building complex,
Gurugram.
MAY
 Meghalaya –launched- Aroma Mission- to boost medicinal and aromatic plants cultivation.

CAMPAIGN
JANUARY
 Web Campaign ‘SĀNJHI –MUJH MEIN KALĀKĀR’ -to document and promote -Intangible
Cultural Heritage (ICH).
FEBRUARY
 Punjab govt-“Smart Village Campaign” worth Rs 384.40 crore to build village infrastructure.
 "Darwaza Band – Part 2" campaign was launched by Swatch Bharat Mission Grameen.
MARCH
 PM Modi launches ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ campaign.
MAY
 A campaign “Not all animals migrate by choice” - to raise awareness on illegal wildlife trade.

FESTIVAL
JANUARY
 Flamingo Festival-Pulicat Lake in Andhra Pradesh.
 Pakke Paga Hornbill Festival (PPHF)-State Festival-Arunachal Pradesh.
 International Kite Festival-Ahmedabad,Gujarat.
 2nd world Orange Festival – Nagpur,Maharashtra.
 National Youth Parliament Festival 2019-NewDelhi-“Be the Voice of New India” and “Find
solutions and contribute to policy”.
 National Youth Parliament Festival 2019-New Delhi-themed “Be the Voice of New India” and
“Find solutions and contribute to policy”.
 1st one day Turtle Festival in Puri-Odisha.
 Women of India Organic Festival- Chandigarh.
 4th International Kite Festival and 2nd International Sweet Festival - Hyderabad, Telangana.
FEBRUARY
 Boori Boot Yollo festival celebrated Nyishi tribe in Arunachal Pradesh.
 Kala ghoda festival-KAGF, India’s largest multi-cultural street festival - in Mumbai,Maharashtra.
 World Count festival 2019- Pune, Maharashtra.
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APRIL
 Rongali Bihu, also known as ‘Bohaag Bihu’-celeberated in Assam.
 To spread peace and brotherhood - a music and poetry festival titled ‘Jashn-e-Ittihaad’ was
held in New Delhi.
MAY
 Brahmakalashothsava festival 2019- celeberated in Karnataka.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
FIRST IN THE WORLD
JANUARY
 IOHR launched - world’s first television channel - human rights in London.
MARCH
 China’s Shanghai - world’s first district with 5G coverage and a broadband gigabit network.
 Oslo - first city in the world to introduce Wireless Electric Car Charging Stations.
APRIL
 Japan creates world's 1st artificial crater on asteroid.
 World’s first Malaria vaccine RTS,S is also known as Mosquirix launched in Malawi.
 Helium hydride ion (HeH+) : Universe's first molecule, formed 14 billion years ago, detected in
space.
 China develops -world's first armed amphibious drone boat 'Marine Lizard'.
 Russia - tests World’s First Floating Nuclear Power Plant named ‘Akademik Lomonosov’.
 London - first city to implement 24×7 pollution charge zone
 Emirates Islamic, a bank in Dubai, - world’s first Islamic bank to launch banking via WhatsApp.
MAY
 UK Parliament-first national government to pass an Environment and Climate Emergency.
 Senegal’s lawmakers - approves the removal of the prime minister’s position.
 US government - released first of its kind “Global Health Security Strategy”- to prevent, detect
and respond to threats from infectious diseases.
 Australian flight carrier, Qantas- world’s first zero-waste flight .
 Taiwan - first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage
 India - elected to Executive Board of first UN-Habitat Assembly
 World’s first exclusive women’s cricket magazine “CRICZONE” released- Smriti Mandhana
featured as the cover story.

LONGEST,LARGEST,HIGHEST:
FEBRUARY
 Thiruvananthapuram - host Attukal Pongala festival, world’s largest religious congregation of
women.
MARCH
 The Israeli cave explorers discovered the world’s longest cave named Malham near the Dead
sea, beating the record-holder in Iran.
 World’s largest e-waste recycling hub opened at the Dubai Industrial Park, Dubai.
 Tesla has developed its ‘largest power storage system in Asia’ at Osaka train station in Japan.
 Integral Coach Factory of Chennai became the world’s largest rail coach manufacturer
APRIL
 World's largest airplane "Roc" has made its first test flight over California
MAY
 Japan – test’s- ALFA-X version of its fastest-ever Shinkansen bullet train(400 km per hour (249
mph)).
 Russia launched - world's largest nuclear-powered icebreaker 'Ural' at the Baltic Shipyard in St
Petersburg.
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OTHER INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS:

JANUARY
 Macedonia renamed - as the Republic of Northern Macedonia.
 Palestine - took over the Chair of the Group of 77 (G-77) for 2019 from Egypt.
 National drink of Pakistan-Sugarcane juice.
FEBRUARY
 WHO says Measles cases nearly doubled in 2018.
 President Bashir declares year-long state of emergency in Sudan.
MARCH
 Kazakhstan renames its capital Astana as Nursultan after ex-president Nursultan Nazarbayev.
APRIL
 Japan has unveiled its New Imperial Era name called "Reiwa".
 Indonesia released a special stamp on the theme of Ramayana -70th anniversary of -
diplomatic ties between India and Indonesia.
 WHO issued- Children under 5 year should not be allowed more than one hour of “sedentary
screen time” per day.
MAY
 UNSC -designated Jaish-E-Mohammed Leader Masood Azhar As A Global Terrorist.
 UAE launched ‘golden card’ permanent residency scheme
 World Health Organization - declared Algeria and Argentina as malaria-free countries.

VISIT
INDIAN VISIT
JANUARY
Overview Of Norwegian PM H.E.Ms.Erna Solberg Three Day Visit To India
 Norwegian P.M. Erna Solberg inaugurated the Indo-Norwegian Business Summit 2019 in
NewDelhi
 She inaugurates green compound at Royal Norwegian Embassy.
 India and Norway signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of the
Joint Task Force on Blue Economy, in order to promote multi-sectoral cooperation in various
aspects of Blue Economy.
 India and Norway agreed to collaborate closely on the ocean economy and achieve the global
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), while also vowing to step up cooperation in combating
terrorism.
 She addressed 4th edition of the Raisina Dialogue, India’s flagship annual geopolitical and
geostrategic conference in New Delhi themed “A World Reorder: New Geometries; Fluid
Partnerships; Uncertain Outcomes”.

Overview of P.M Narendra Modi’s Day Long Visit To Andaman & Nicobar Island
 PM Modi also inaugurated the Industrial Training Institute at Arong and a Modern Sports
Complex in Car Nicobar.
 He released a commemorative postal stamp, 75 rupees coin, and First Day Cover.
 He renamed three islands of Andaman and Nicobar.
♦ The Ross Island was renamed as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep,
♦ The Neil Island would now be known as Shaheed Dweep and
♦ The Havelock Island as Swaraj Dweep.
Overview of Prime Minister’s a day long visit to Silvassa in Dadra & Nagar Haveli
 PM Modi inaugurated an “Education Hub” built at a cost of Rs 250 cr and a bridge on the river
Daman Ganga River at a cost of 48 cr.
 He laid foundation stone of first ever Medical College in Silvassa.
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 He released IT policy for Dadra and Nagar Haveli - to boost industries and launched M-Aarogya
App.
Overview of P.M’s Visit to TamilNadu & Kerala
 PM Modi lays foundation stone of AIIMS in Madurai,Tamil Nadu.
 He inaugurated Kochi refinery into the largest PSU Refinery in India.

FEBRUARY
Overview of Official Visit Of Monaco’s Prince Albert II To India
 India-Monaco Business Forum held in New Delhi.
 Monaco’s Prince Albert II met President and planted ‘Princess Grace Rose’ in Mughal Gardens
 Prince Albert II and Prime Minister, Narendra Modi hold talks on bilateral cooperation in the
field of environment, climate change and renewable energy.
Overview of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh
• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visited Arunachal Pradesh where he inaugurated and laid
foundation stone for various development projects. The details of his visit are as follows:
 Development projects worth Rs.4000 crores was unveiled for Arunachal Pradesh by Prime
Minister
 Sela tunnel project was inaugurated in Arunachal Pradesh
 Foundation stone was laid for Greenfield airport in Arunachal Pradesh by Narendra Modi
 Foundation stone was laid for 7 extra High Voltage Sub-stations and 24 Low Tension Sub-
stations in Arunachal Pradesh
 DD ArunPrabha Channel was launched in Itanagar by Prime Minister
 100% household electrification was declared in Arunachal Pradesh by PM.Click here to
read the detailed article.
Overview of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Visit To Varanasi
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Varanasi,Uttar Pradesh and unveiled several
development projects worth Rs. 3350.
 PM Narendra Modi flaged off first ever diesel-to-electric converted locomotive in Varanasi.
 Prime Minister,Narendra Modi inaugurated Virtual Experiential Museum (VEM) under
Archeological Survey of India, Man – Mahal,in the bank of the River Ganges.
 PM Narendra Modi inaugurated supercomputer ‘Param Shivay’ at IIT-BHU.The
supercomputer of 833 teraflop capacity built at the cost of Rs 32.5 crore.
 He unveiled statue of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya along with Murals of Varanasi
Ghats.He also dedicated first New Bhabhatron with precision technology.Click here to
read the detailed article.
Overview Of Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri 3-Day Visit To India
 Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri, accompanied by senior government officials and a
business delegation, arrived in New Delhi.
 Argentina became the 72nd country to sign the Framework Agreement of the International
Solar Alliance (ISA).
 India and Argentina Monday agreed to expedite signing of the Bilateral Investment Treaty
(BIT)and the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between the countries to
promote economic ties.
 India-Argentina Business Forum in New Delhi.Click here to read the detailed article
Overview Of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s First Visit to India
• Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence
of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, paid his first visit to India.
 Indian cos, including TCS, Wipro, sign 15 pacts to invest in Saudi Arabia.
 India and Saudi Arabia to hold security talks at NSA level.
 Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman talks of $100b investment, shares India’s concerns on
terrorism.

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 Release of 850 Indian prisoners and increase in the Haj Pilgrims quota.Click here to read
the detailed article.
MARCH
PM Narendra Modi Visited Amethi in UP
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Amethi in Uttar Pradesh to address a public meeting and
lay the foundation stone of an Ordnance factory unit in Amethi. He also inaugurated an Indo-
Russian joint venture (JV) Indo-Russian Rifles Pvt Ltd,that will manufacture the new
Kalashnikov AK-203 rifle in Korwa, near Amethi (UP).
Overview of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Gujarat
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a 2 day visit to Gujarat.
 PM Modi launched ‘One Nation, One Card’ for transport mobility in Ahmedabad. It is first
of this kind scheme in India.
 He launched PM Shram Yogi Maan-dhan Yojana (PM-SYM) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. It is a
pension scheme specially for empowering the workers in unorganized sector.
 He inaugurated the 1st phase of Ahmedabad Metro train service. The train will connect
Vastral to Apparel park area which is 6.5km stretch.
 He launched SWAGAT – the Automatic Fare Collection Gating System by Bharat Electronics
Limited (BEL) as part of the inaugural of Phase I of the Ahmedabad Metro.Click here to
read the entire article.
Overview of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Visit to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kalaburagi in Karnataka and Kancheepuram in Tamil
Nadu where he launched various development projects. He dedicated the Employees State
Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Hospital and Medical College, Bengaluru to the nation, through
the unveiling of the plaque. Click here to read the entire article.
Overview of PM Narendra Modi’s Visit to Uttar Pradesh
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a visit to Kanpur, Ghaziabad and Varanasi in Uttar
Pradesh.
 PM Laid Foundation stone for two thermal power plants . one at Khurja, Uttar Pradesh
and other at Buxar, Bihar.
 Foundation stone of Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor laid by PM
 PM reiterates his government’s commitment to provide house to all homeless persons
by 2022.

FOREIGN VISIT
FEBRUARY
Overview of External Affairs Minister’s Visit To Bulgaria, Morocco And Spain
 External Affairs Minister, Smt. Sushma Swaraj undertook a 4-day visit to Bulgaria, Morocco and
Spain from 16th to 19th February 2019 as part of India’s efforts to strengthen ties with these
countries and expand avenues of cooperation.
2-day visit to Bulgaria
 First ever visit of an Indian External Affairs Minister to Bulgaria.
 She paid floral tribute at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the South Park in Sofia.
Kingdom of Morocco
 First-ever visit to the Kingdom of Morocco.
4 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)s
 Setting up of Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism,
 Cooperation in Housing and Human Settlement,
 Reciprocal facilitation of procedures for issue of Business Visa and
 Cooperation in Youth Matters.

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Spain
 Spanish Government conferred - prestigious Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit for
India’s swift response through Operation Maitri in rescuing 71 Spanish nationals.Click
here to read the detailed article.
Overview Of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Two Day Visit To South Korea
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a 2-day visit to South Korea or Republic of
Korea(ROK) on the invitation of President Moon Jae-in.
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the India-South Korea Business Symposium in
Seoul and he launched the India-Korea Startup Hub.
 ‘Startup Grand Challenge’ was also launched,which focus on the issues related to cyber
threat, analytics & rural healthcare.The State Bank of India(SBI) & Mahindra Rise will
provide mentoring, pilot opportunities & financial support to the winners of this challenge.
 The seminar was organized with respect to the South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s “New
Southern Policy” (NSP) which strengthens the country’s economic and strategic relations
with India and countries of Southeast Asia.
 Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Yonsei
University in Seoul. PM gifts a Bodhi tree sapling to Mayor of Gimhae Heo Seong gon as a
mark of close ties between the South Korea and India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was
conferred with Seoul peace prize in the 14th Edition of Seoul Peace Prize Ceremony.
 6 MoU’s were signed in the area of commercialising ideas, technologies and designs of start-
up companies, to continue operations of Korea Plus organisation that facilitates
investments by Korean companies in India.Click here to read the detailed article.

MARCH
Overview of Vice President’s 2 Nation visit to Paraguay and Costa Rica
Vice President on a 2 day visit to Paraguay:
 This was the first high level visit from India to Paraguay since the establishment of diplomatic
relations in 1961.
 He attended India-Paraguay Business Forum which will form basis for economic growth by
boosting business opportunities between the two countries.
 Vice President unveiled a special commemorative postage stamp on Mahatma Gandhi.
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu’s visit to Costa Rica:
 This was the first ever high level visit from India.
 Vice President also conferred and honorary doctorate by the University of Peace founded by
the United Nations for his contributions “to the Rule of Law, democracy and sustainable
development in India”.
 Vice President addressed India-Costa Rica Business Forum.Click here to read the detailed
article.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj 2-day visit to Maldives

 India and Maldives held bilateral ties.
 Maldives has also reaffirmed its “India-First Policy” to work efficiently with India.
 India to establish Cricket stadium in Maldives.
 India and Maldives signed an agreement and 2 Memorandums of Understanding to collaborate
in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energy.
 Plaque of renovated Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Maldives
 An Agreement was signed between Export Import Bank of India (EXIM) and Maldives Finance
Ministry for line of credit (LOC) of $800 million to finance the infrastructure projects of the
new government in Maldives.Click here to read the detailed article.
An Overview Of President Ram Nath Kovind Visit To Croatia
• President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind visited Croatia as the part of his 3-nation visit along
with a high level delegations from 25-28 March 2018. He became the first President to visit
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Croatia and Bolivia. He visited Bolivia from 28-30 March and his last destination of 3-nation
visit is Chile.
 India and Croatia signed 4 pacts in Culture, Tourism and Sports sectors
 Ram Nath Kovind addressed the Croatian-Indian Economic Forum in Zagreb
 President Ram Nath Kovind, during his official visit to Croatia, was conferred with
Croatia’s highest civilian order, the Grand Order of the King of Tomislav.
President Ram Nath Kovind on his visit to Croatia has announced to gift a sculpture of Mahatma
Gandhi to mark the 150 birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation.Click here to read the detailed
article.

APRIL
Ram Nath Kovind’s 3-Day Visit To Bolivia
• President Ram Nath Kovind was on a visit of Bolivia from 28th to 30th March, 2019.This is the
first visit by an Indian President to Bolivia.
 Ram Nath Kovind adressed the Bolivia-India Business Forum
 India offered US $100 Million to Bolivia for Financial development
 India and Bolivia sign 8 MoUs in Various Fields
 India leverages its way to Bolivian Lithium Reserves
 Bolivia joins International Solar Alliance
 India, Bolivia call for Finalisation of CCIT
 President Ram Nath Kovind conferred with Highest State Honour of Bolivia
 President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the plaque of Mahatma Gandhi Hall
 President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind presented Punjab’s Phulkari embroidery to
President of Bolivia, Evo Morales Ayma during his second leg of visit to Bolivia.
President Ram Nath Kovind Visit To Chile
• President Shri Ram Nath Kovind, reached Santiago, Chile in the evening of 30th March,
2019.This was the final leg of his visit to three nations – Croatia, Bolivia and Chile.
 Bilateral talks between India and Chile.
 Ram Nath Kovind addressed India-Chile Business Forum
 India and Chile signed 3 MoUs
 India and Chile agreed to strengthen global response to defeat terrorism
 Ram Nath Kovind addressed Students at University of Chile On Gandhi’s Life
 Ram Nath Kovind visited Pablo Neruda Museum
 Ram Nath Kovind paid Floral Tribute to Mahatma Gandhi in Chile
 Ram Nath Kovind reviewed Guard of Honour.
MAY
Nirmala Sitharaman reached Kyrgyzstan for Defence Ministers' Meet and held bilateral
meetings
• Nirmala Sitharaman, the current Defence Minister of India was on a 3-day visit to attend the
SCO meet and to hold bilateral meetings with the member-countries on the summit's sidelines.
 The first joint exercise of SCO was conducted by Central Military Commission of Russia at
Chebarkul, Chelyabinsk. It involved logical level operations in an international counter
insurgency or counter terrorism environment under the SCO Charter.
 The SCO, widely regarded as the "alliance of the East" was founded at a summit in
Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan,
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Headquarters of SCO lies in Beijing, China.
M Venkaiah Naidu, India's Vice President conducted a 4-day official visit to Vietnam to enhance
the bilateral ties
• India's Vice President went on a 4-day official visit to the Southeast Asian nation. He was
invited by H.E. Ms. Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh, Vice President of Vietnam.
 M Venkaiah Naidu participated in the 16th United Nations Day of Vesak at Tam Chuc
pagoda in Ha Nam, Vietnam’s northern province.
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 After the Vice-President's arrival in Hanoi, Vietnam’s Capital, he addressed the Indian
Community at a reception hosted by the Ambassador of India.
 The theme of the event was "Buddhist Approach to Global Leadership and Shared
Responsibilities for Sustainable Societies."
 Since the last 3 years, a dedicated team of Archaeological Survey of India has been
working in Vietnam for the preservation and restoration of the UNESCO World Heritage
Site of MySon in Vietnam.
 Naidu also met the Indian community and Vietnamese beneficiaries of the Jaipur Foot
Artificial Limb Fitment Camp which was organized in Vietnam under the initiative termed
'India for Humanity'. It was launched to celebrate the 150th Birth Anniversary of
Mahatma Gandhi.
 Vietnam is India's vital trade partner and in 2018, the bilateral trade amounted to nearly
14$ billion. This value shows doubling from 7.8$ billion before 3 years.

SUMMITS/CONFERENCE IN NEWS
Name of Summit/Conference
9th edition of Vibrant Gujarat
Summit
2nd World Integrated Medicine
Forum 2019
Place Facts about the summit /conference
JANUARY
Gandhinagar, Gujarat Theme:“Shaping a new India”..Click here
to Read more
Goa The theme for the forum is “Regulatory
collaborations, Converging on minimum
regulatory & legal standards, Advancing
safety and quality standards, Regulatory
trend towards standardization and
minimizing complexity, Recognizing
homeopathy as distinct holistic medical
system and Veterinary homeopathy”.

Agri-Vision 2019 Hyderabad, Telangana The conference was jointly organized by

conference on ‘envisioning
Agro-solutions for smart and
Sustainable Agriculture”
Indian Science Congress (ISC)-
2019’
2nd Regional Conference on
“Deendayal Disabled
Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS)”
25th edition of the CII
Partnership Summit 2019
Global Aviation Summit (GAS)
2019
the Professor Jayashankar Telangana
State Agricultural University (PJTSAU),
Confederation of Indian Industry
(CII) and Cornell University, USA.
Lovely Professional The theme of 106th edition of ISC-2019,
University Jalandhar, is: ‘Future India: Science and Technology’.
Punjab
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Mumbai, Maharashtra Theme `New India: Rising to Global
Occasions‘.
Mumbai, Maharashtra It is organised by Ministry of Civil
Aviation in association with Airport
Authority of India (AAI) and Federation
of Indian Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (FICCI) ..Click here to Read more

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25th International conference
and exhibition on terrestrial and
satellite broadcasting, BES EXPO
2019
India-Norway Business
Summit 2019
Global Skill Summit 2019
15th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas
convention
5th International Dam Safety
Conference 2019
World Government Summit
2nd ASEAN – India Youth
Summit
4th Agri Leadership Summit
2019
Fourth edition of International
Spice Conference
16th edition of BioAsia 2019
8th World CSR Congress
13th edition of International Oil
& Gas Conference & Exhibition
‘PETROTECH-2019
World Sustainable Development
Summit (WSDS) 2019
North Korea – United States
Hanoi Summit
National conference on
“Deendayal Disabled
Rehabilitation Scheme” (DDRS)
Second edition of Belt and Road
Forum (BRF)
First Global Conference on
Synergies between the 2030
AC EXAM PDF
New Delhi The theme of the exhibition is “Next Gen
Broadcasting in the IT World”. The
Exhibition was concluded on 19th January
2019.
New Delhi
Ranchi, Jharkhand The theme of the Summit was: ‘Skilling
Youth, Enabling Youth’
Varanasi in Uttar Theme- “Role of Indian Diaspora in building
Pradesh New India”.He released 2 books named
“Kashi: The Universe of Crafts and Textiles”
and “Indian Textiles: History, splendor,
Grandeur”
FEBRUARY
Bhubaneshwar, The conference was a part of the Dam
Odisha Rehabilitation and Improvement Project
(DRIP).
Dubai, United Arab Theme: ‘Technology for development’.
Emirates (UAE)
Guwahati Theme - "Connectivity : Pathway to
Shared Prosperity"
Ganaur, Sonipat Theme -“Entrepreneurship & Agri
district, Haryana Business; Agri Allied – A Promising Sector
and Agri Service- Direct Marketing”
Hyderabad The theme for the conference 2019 is
‘Challenges of Change, Redefining the
Value Chain’.
Hyderabad,Telangana The theme of the conference was “Life
Sciences 4.0 – Disrupt the Disruption”
Mumbai, Maharashtra Theme -"Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs)"
New Delhi The theme of PROTECH-2019 was
“Shaping the New Energy World through
Innovation & Collaboration”.Click here
to read about the conference in detail.
New Delhi Theme-"Attaining the 2030 Agenda:
delivering on our promise".
MARCH
Hanoi, Vietnam The meeting was held between North
Korean Leader Kim Jong-un and US
President Donald Trump.
New Delhi Department of Empowerment of Persons
with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of
Social Justice and Empowerment has
organized the conference.
APRIL
Beijing, China Theme - “Belt and Road Cooperation:
Shaping a Brighter Shared Future”.
Copenhagen, Denmark It is summoned by (UN DESA) the UN
Department of Economic and Social
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Agenda and Paris Agreement
17th edition of World Economic
Forum on the Middle East and
North Africa.
5th Asia Pacific Broadcasting
Union (ABU) Media Summit on
Climate Action and Disaster
Preparedness
Global Water Summit
14th CII-EXIM Bank conclave on
India-Africa Project Partnership
G20 summit 2020
Conference on Dialogue of Asian
Civilizations
2nd Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO) Mass Media
Forum
6th Session of the biennial
Global Platform for (DDR)
Disaster Risk Reduction
(GP2019)
Ocean Conference 2020
Second Urban 20 (U20) Mayors
summit
AC EXAM PDF
Affairs and the (UN FCCC) United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate
Change.
Dead Sea,Jordan
Kathmandu, Nepal Theme - “Media Solutions for Sustainable
Future: Saving Lives, Building Resilient
Communities”
London, US National Mission for Clean Ganga
or Namami Gange which is India's
flagship programme, was presented, with
the 'Public Water Agency of the
Year' award by Global Water Intelligence.
New Delhi India is one of the top trading partners of
Guinea.Prime Minister of Guinea, Dr
Ibrahima Kassory Fofana arrived in New
Delhi for addressing the conclave.
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia This will be the first G20 meeting in the
Arab world and the 15th meeting of the
G20.
MAY
Beijing, China The theme of the event was "Exchanges
and Mutual Learning among Asian
Civilizations and a Community with a
Shared Future.” The theme of the forum
was "Asian Values for the World". The
Forum on Global Influence of Asian
Civilizations is organized by the National
Radio and Television Administration of
the People’s Republic of China.
Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan It is a 4-day forum inaugurated by the
President of Kyrgyz Republic, S. Jeenbeko
held from May 23-26 May, 2019. The
Indian delegation was represented by the
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
which included TVK Reddy, Addl. Director
General and Ankur Lahoty, Asst. Director.
Geneva, Switzerland Theme, 'Resilience Dividend: Towards
Sustainable and Inclusive Societies'.It is
co-chaired by Switzerland and UNISDR.
Lisbon, Portugal Theme - “Scaling up ocean action based on
science and innovation for the
implementation of Goal 14: stocktaking,
partnerships and solutions.” It will be co-
hosted by the Governments of Portugal and
Kenya.
Tokyo, Japan The themes of the summit were Climate
Action, Circular Economy, Social Inclusion
and Integration, Sustainable Economic
Growth and Gender Equality.
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COMMITTEES & MEETING IN NEWS
Name of Meeting/Committee
World Economic Forum Annual
Meeting-2019
4th edition of the Raisina
Dialogue
First ever India-Central Asia
Dialogue
6th meeting of the Mission
Steering Group of the National
Health Mission (NHM)
Indian Ocean Rim Association
meeting
India-US CEO Forum and India-
US Commercial Dialogue
5th Island Development Agency
(IDA) meeting
33rd GST Council meeting
2nd Joint Secretary Level
meeting
7th Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership (RCEP)
Intersessional Ministerial
Meeting
First BRICS (Brazil, Russia,
India, China and South Africa)
AC EXAM PDF
Place Facts about the summit /conference
MEETINGS HELD
JANUARY
Davos-Klosters, Theme of the event was “Globalization
Switzerland 4.0: Shaping a Global Architecture in the
Age of the Fourth Industrial
Revolution”. Click here to Read more.
New Delhi Theme- “A World Reorder: New
Geometries; Fluid Partnerships;
Uncertain Outcomes”.
Samarkand,
Uzbekistan
FEBRUARY
NewDelhi The meeting headed by Ashwini Kumar
Choubey
NewDelhi The meeting held in collaboration of
Ministry of Home Affairs with the
Ministry of External Affairs and National
Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)
solely based on Disaster Risk
Management.
NewDelhi The meeting held in NewDelhi. Four
MoUs were signed during this meeting.
NewDelhi To review the progress made towards the
“Holistic development of islands”
program.
NewDelhi The meet was headed by Arun Jaitley and
attended by the Finance Ministers of
various States and Union Territories.
 GST shall be levied at effective GST
rate of 5% without Input Tax Credit
(ITC) on residential properties
outside affordable segment.
 GST shall be levied at effective GST
of 1% without ITC
Pokhara, Nepal The Meeting will review the India-Nepal
Trade Treaty.
MARCH
Cambodia It was headed by Chutima
Bunyapraphasara, Acting Minister of
Commerce of Thailand and saw
participation of ministers from the 16
RCEP Participating Countries
(RPCs).Union Minister of Commerce &
Industry and Civil Aviation- Suresh
Prabhu attended the meeting.
Curitiba, Brazil Indian delegation was led by Secretary in
the Ministry of External Affairs T S
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Sherpa meeting
First ever High-Level Dialogue
on Indo-Pacific Cooperation
(HLD-IPC)
34th Meeting of the Shanghai
Cooperation Organisations
(SCOs) Regional Anti-Terrorist
Structure (RATS)
9th round of the U.S.-India
Strategic Security Dialogue
21st ASEAN-India Senior
Officials’ Meeting (SOM)
Russian President Vladimir
Putin and North Korean leader
Kim Jong Un holds first-ever
talks
IMF’s International Monetary
and Financial Committee
meeting
Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-
Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas
pipeline meeting
Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership (RCEP)
inter-sessional meeting
The meeting of Council of
Foreign Ministers (CFM) of
Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation (SCO)
11th meeting of the joint
working group on counter-
terrorism between India and
Australia
AC EXAM PDF
Tirumurti. BRICS is a group of five
emerging countries: Brazil, Russia, India,
China and South Africa.
Jakarta,Indonesia The theme of the HLD was “Towards a
Peaceful, Prosperous, and Inclusive
Region”. It was inaugurated by
Indonesia’s Vice President Jusuf Kalla.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan A joint exercise ‘Sary – Arka – Antiterror
2019’ will be held as decided by the RATS
in the session. The meeting was chaired
by Russia.
Washington DC, United Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale led the
States Indian delegation and Under Secretary of
State for Arms Control and International
Security Andrea Thompson led the US
delegation.
APRIL
New Delhi To improve the connectivity and
strengthen the cooperation in the
maritime sector between Indian and the
ASEAN countries. India welcomed
Thailand for its role as Country
Coordinator of the ASEAN-India dialogue
partnership for the period 2018-2021.
Vladivostok, Russia The aim of this meeting is to break the
deadlock over North Korea’s nuclear
weapons programme.
Washington, D.C.,U.S G-20 conducted the joint World Bank-
IMF Development Committee during the
2019 Annual Spring Meeting in
Washington, D.C.,U.S.
MAY
Ashgabat, The TAPI gas pipeline project is expected
Turkmenistan to be completed by 2022 in Pakistan
Bangkok, Thailand The officials from 16 countries which
included the 10-member ASEAN, China,
Japan, South Korea, Australia, New
Zealand, and India participated in this
meeting.
Bishkek, the This was India’s second meeting of
Kyrgyzstan Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) after
becoming a full member of SCO.
Canberra, Australia Mahaveer Singhvi, Joint Secretary
(Counter-Terrorism) led Indian
delegation while Paul Foley, Australia’s
Ambassador for Counter Terrorism led
Australian delegation for the meeting.
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India, Brazil and South Africa
(IBSA) Sherpas meeting
52nd Annual Meeting of ADB’s
Board of Governors, Fiji.
14th meeting of the Conference
of the Parties to the Basel
Convention (BC COP-14), the
9th meeting of the Conference
of the Parties to the Rotterdam
Convention (RC COP-9) and the
9th meeting of the Conference
of the Parties to the Stockholm
Convention (SC COP-9)
72nd session of the World
Health Organisation (WHO)’s
World Health Assembly
India and China Industry
Cooperation Forum
11th Arctic Council Ministerial
Meeting
G7’s (Group of Seven)(Britain,
Canada, France, Germany, Italy,
Japan and the United States)
Name of
Committee/Organization
which formed the committee
Eight-member expert
committee formed by RBI
5-member high-level
committee formed by RBI
11-member working group
constituted by the Insolvency
and Bankruptcy board of India
(IBBI)
Panel formed by Insurance
Regulatory Development
Authority of India (IRDAI)
SEBI has set up
AC EXAM PDF
Cochin, Kerala Before IBSA Sherpas meeting, the 9th
IBSA trilateral Ministerial Meeting was
also concluded at the same venue.
Fiji ADB launched 5$ billion Action Plan for
Healthy Oceans and Sustainable Blue
Economies for the Asia and Pacific region.
Geneva, Switzerland The theme of the meeting was “Clean
Planet, Healthy People: Sound
Management of Chemicals and Waste”.
Geneva, Switzerland The theme of this year is “Universal
Health Coverage: Leaving no one behind”.
Click here to read more.
Guizhou, China The objective was to create a new
chapter in India-China cooperation in the
new era of the digital transition.
Lappi Areena, India was re-elected as an Observer to
Rovaniemi, Finland Arctic Council and India committed to
contribute more to Arctic Council. India
has its Arctic research station, termed as
‘Himadri’ in Svalbard, Norway.
Metz, France To discuss on steps required to handle
deforestation, plastic pollution, depletion
of coral reefs and ways to build pacts
between the countries in order to achieve
the target.
COMMITTEES FORMED
JANUARY
Head Facts about the Committee
Former SEBI To suggest long-term solutions for the
chairman U K Sinha economic and financial sustainability of
the MSME sector.
Nandan Nilekani To suggest measures to strengthen the
safety and security of digital payments.
U.K. Sinha To study the concept of ‘Group
Insolvency’ and suggest a suitable
framework.
Praveen Kutumbe To identify domestically systematically
important insurers (SIIs) and an
augmented regulatory framework is
logically established
Sankar De It will help and analyse the new methods
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a Research advisory
committee(RAC)
Central Board of Direct Taxes
(CBDT) formed a 4-member
committee
Group of Ministers (GoM)
Central Board of Indirect Taxes
and Customs (CBIC)
Constituted 3 Working Groups
An expert committee
Constituted by Reserve Bank of
India
Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority of India
(IRDAI) and National Health
Authority (NHA) have formed a
joint working group (JWG)
Chief Justice of India (CJI)
Ranjan Gogoi, constituted a
three-member mediation panel
Constituted by Government of
India formed Inter-ministerial
panel.
Sub-committee of the Financial
Stability and Development
Council (FSDC)
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has
appointed 5-member
committee
AC EXAM PDF
of policy making for the development of
capital market
FEBRUARY
Sanjeev Sharma To look into the matter of taxation related
pain points and submit its final report and
recommendations by mid-March.
Nitin Patel Favoured 3% on the affordable housing
category, down from 8%, has submitted its
report to the GST Council. GST is currently
levied at 12%on premium housing and 8%
on affordable housing.
The group will consult the stakeholders
extensively, including the Export
Promotion Councils and relevant wings
of the Ministry of Commerce and industry
and submit their report within a period
of 2 months.
Anoop Satpath Committee suggested Rs. 9,750 per
month or Rs. 375 per day as National
Minimum Wage (NMW) for a worker. The
Present NMW is Rs. 4,576
MARCH
Usha Thorat To examine issues related to offshore
rupee markets and recommend policy
measures.
Dinesh Arora, Deputy In order to suggest ways for more
CEO of NHA effective implementation of the Centre’s
Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan
Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
Justice F. M. Kalifullah For the amicable settlement of Ayodhya’s
Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land
dispute case
A. R. Sihag The panel will look into monitoring,
sanctioning and implementation of
projects under the Rs 10,000-crore
Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of
Electric Vehicles in India (FAME-II)
programme
Shaktikanta Das Discuss the key issues facing the
economy.The meeting was discussed by
the Markets regulator Securities and
Exchange Board of India (SEBI),
insurance regulator Insurance Regulatory
and Development Authority (IRDAI), and
pension fund regulator Pension Fund
Regulatory and Development Authority
(PFRDA), along with senior officials of
the finance ministry.
Nandan Nilekani To strengthen digital payments as well as
to boost financial inclusion through
Financial Technology.
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Ministry of Home Affairs
constituted Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Tribunal
National Green Tribunal
established a committee
NGT(National Green Tribunal)
has formed a Central
Monitoring Committee
high-level ‘anti-hijack panel’ is
revamped to Committee of
Secretaries on Aircraft Hijack
(COSAH)
Central Works Public
Department (CPWD) set up an
expert 8-member committee
Ministry of Environment,
Forests and Climate Change
(MOEFCC) formed to
implement the National Clean
Air Programme (NCAP)
Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority of India
(IRDAI) set up a 13-member
committee
Ministry of Environment,
Forest and Climate Change
(MoEFCC) has constituted a
committee to implement the
National Clean Air Program
(NCAP)
Government-appointed high-
level panel has suggested for
issuance of ‘Elephant Bonds’
AC EXAM PDF
APRIL
Chander Shekhar The tribunal has been formed by
Government after exercising its powers
conferred by the sub-section (1) of
section 5 of the Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act, 1967.
Adarsh Kumar Goel To examine the alleged erosion of
Yamuna floodplain due to movement of
heavy vehicles in Sonipat district in
Haryana.
To enforce a national plan to reduce the
river pollution.
P.K.Sinha It will have 15 top officials including pre-
identified nominated members who can
represent regular members during their
absence.
M K Sharma For developing a design scheme to
construct buildings and develop
infrastructure. The report has to be
submitted to Director General Prabhakar
Singh within 30 days.
C K Mishra Launched to handle the major issue of
air-pollution in India
Suresh Mathur In order to review regulatory framework
on micro insurance, and suggest the steps
to be taken to raise demand for such
products in India by recommending
product designs with customer-friendly
underwriting, example, easy premium
payment methods and simple claims
settlement procedures.
MAY
C. K. Mishra The objective is to reduce the PM
(particulate matter) 2.5 and PM 10
concentration by 20% to 30% in at least
102 cities by 2024.
Surjit Bhalla For infrastructure projects and people
who are declaring undisclosed income
will have to mandatorily invest half of
that amount in these securities. The
duration of ‘Elephant Bond’ will be 25-
years
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Securities and Exchange Board
of India (SEBI) constituted
panel suggested significant
changes to Foreign Portfolio
Investors (FPI) Regulations
Reserve Bank of India has
formed 6 member panels to
strengthen the sale of stressed
corporate assets
MOU's with Other Country
MoU between
India and Morocco
India and Denmark
India and Japan
India and France
India and Swaziland
India and Maldives
India and Kuwait
India and SAARC Member
Countries
India and China
India and Nepal
India and Poland
India and Norway
India and Finland
India and Argentina
India and Sri Lanka
India and Saudi Arabia
India and the African Union
AC EXAM PDF
R Khan It has sought the comments from the
public on this regard till June 14,
2019.Click here to read more.
T. N. Manoharan, Another 6 member Panel for housing
Chairman of Canara loan securitization is headed by Bains
Bank and Co. advisor, Harsh Vardhan.
MOU’s & AGREEMENTS
Field
JANUARY
Cooperation in the area of Cyber Security.
Maritime issues
Development of Advanced Model Single Window
In the field of Food Processing Industry
Bilateral Swap Arrangement
Technical bilateral cooperation in the field of new and renewable
energy
Signing of the TOR provide tax assistance
Ex-post facto approval for Agreement on the facilitation of visa
arrangements
For cooperation on the Recruitment of Domestic Workers
To incorporate ‘Standby Swap’ amounting to USD 400 million
operated within the overall size of the facility
For export of Indian tobacco to Chinese market
Agreed to set up energy banking mechanism to make use of the
surplus electricity
FEBRUARY
In the field of coal mining and clean coal technologies
To fight marine pollution
In the field of peaceful uses of outer space
In the field of Tourism
For the establishment of a business centre for ICT incubators
Framework cooperation programme between Invest India and
Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority (SAGIA).
MARCH
To establish an India-Africa health sciences collaborative
platform which is focused on improved diagnostics for diseases
which are regional priorities in India and Africa By training and
strengthening capacity of health professionals, researchers,
regulators and industry staff.
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India and Indonesia Combating illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic

substances and its precursors
India and Maldives For implementing the visa facilitation agreement. The new
agreement provides a very liberal visa regime for Maldivian
nationals to visit India for tourism, business, education and
medical purposes and vice versa.
India and Austria Cooperation in the Road Infrastructure Sector
India and Germany Cooperation in the field of Occupational Safety and Health
India and the UK Cooperation in Weather and Climate Sciences
India and Sweden To increase cooperation on Anti-microbial resistance (AMR)
APRIL
India and Denmark In the field of Renewable energy
India and Republic of Korea To issue jointly Postage Stamp
India and Brazilin In the area of Biotechnology
India and Cambodia In the field of Communications
India and Croatia They signed 4 pacts in Culture, Tourism and Sports sectors
India and Chile They signed 3 MoUs in the fields of mining, culture and
empowerment of persons with disabilities.
MAY
India and United Kingdom To strengthen their ties in the field of Indo-Pacific cooperation,
climate change, disaster resilience
India, Japan signed a Tripartite To develop "East Container Terminal (ECT)" in the Port
Pact with Sri Lanka of Colombo.

India and China For exportation of Indian chilli meal to China

MOU’S – States Wise

State MoU with Field/Purpose
FEBRUARY
Sikkim Microsoft In order to improve the education system
UNICEF in Goa Women and Discussion was held on “Key challenges around child
Maharashtra Child Development protection in Goa” at a training programme on Integrated
Child Protection Scheme(ICPS).
MARCH
Government of Ola To support the government’s initiative to implement
Telangana smart solutions to enhance mobility experience further
strengthening traffic infrastructure in Hyderabad.

MOU’s Between Organizations

Organization MoU with Field/Purpose
JANUARY
International Embassy In the field of art and culture.
Chamber of Media of Mongolia
and
Entertainment
Industry
(ICMEI),India
Swedish Airports Authority To improve air traffic management (ATM) solutions for

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aerospace and of India (AAI) airports operating under the UDAN Regional
defence company Connectivity Scheme.
Society for Airport Authority For joint research programs in the field
Applied of India (AAI) of Communication Navigation and Surveillance (CNS).
Microwave
Electronics
Engineering and
Research
(SAMEER)
FEBRUARY
Indian Navy and Israel Aerospace For providing Naval Medium Range Surface to air
Cochin Shipyard industries missile systems to India
University of Ministry of For research on environment issues
British Columbia Environment,
(UBC), Canada Forest and Climate
Change (MoEFCC)
MARCH
Indian Council of Council of Scientific Collaboration in the field of food and agriculture.
Agricultural and Industrial
Research (ICAR) Research (CSIR)
Indian Space French space To implement the short-term plan for the French-Indian
Research agency CNES programme to develop a space-based maritime
Organisation (Centre national surveillance system.
(ISRO) d’études spatiales)
WhatsApp NASSCOM To tackle the challenge of misinformation. The aim of
Foundation the partnership is to train 100,000 Indians to spot false
information and provide tips and tricks to stay safe on
WhatsApp.
IIT Kharagpur Centre for Under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM),
Development of India’s 1st state-of-the-art 1.3 PetaFlop High-
Advanced Performance Computing facility and data center
Computing (C- ecosystem will set up at IIT Kharagpur.
DAC)
APRIL
CSIR Indian Navy To tackle joint research and development of advanced
technologies for the Indian Navy.
National Bank for India For setting up India-Africa Institute of Agriculture and
Agriculture and Rural Development (IAIARD) in Malawi to enhance
Rural capacity in the areas of agro-financing and
Development entrepreneurship development for African countries.
Consultancy
Service
(NABCONS)
Federation of Prin. L N Welingkar Under the MoU, FIEO has launched a post graduate
Indian Export Institute of programme in foreign trade management (PGP-FTM) at
Organisations Management Mumbai.
(FIEO) Development and
Research
Bombay Stock Network To provide cyber security services to its members
Exchange (BSE) Intelligence according to the cyber security framework set by SEBI
MAY

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Principal Indian Institute of For setting up a Centre of Excellence for Waste to

Scientific Adviser Technology Delhi Wealth Technologies in India.
(PSA) (IIT Delhi)
CSC (Common Indian Institute of To upscale ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’. ‘Unnat Bharat
Services Centre) Technology Abhiyan project’.
e-Governance (IIT)Kanpur
Services India
Limited
Income tax (I-T) Goods and Services To enhance information exchange between the 2 firms
department Tax Network and to arrest tax evaders and decrease generation of
(GSTN) black money.
HCL Foundation National Mission Signed tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
and Indian for Clean Ganga for Plantation of Rudraksh Trees in Uttarakhand under
national Trust for (NMCG) the ‘Namami Gange’ Programme.
Art and Culture
Heritage
(INTACH)
India ISE Foods, Japan The objective is to improve the quality of eggs, disease
diagnosis and waste management in poultry farms
across India. ISE Foods will establish two poultry farms
in India
Konkan Railways Nepal’s According to the agreement, KRCL will supply two 1600
Corporation Ltd Department of HP DEMU train sets to Nepal’s Department of Railways.
(KRCL) Railways The trains were manufactured by the Integrated Coach
Factory in Chennai.
Department of Department of For supporting joint collaborative research programmes
Biotechnology Atomic Energy in the area of Cancer.
(DBT) (DAE)
Indian Air Indian Space For the selection of crew and training for Gaganyaan
Force(IAF) Research Programme
Organization(ISRO
National Small Ministry of Micro, To provide enhanced services.
Industries Small and Medium
Corporation Enterprises (MSME)
Limited (NSIC)
Indian Institute of Indian Space To set up IITG-ISRO Space Technology Cell (STC) within the
Technology (IIT) Research premises of IIT Guwahati
Guwahati Organization (ISRO)

INDEX
RANKING
INDIA’S RANK
Index/Report/Field Position of India Points to be noted
JANUARY
World’s Busiest Airport Dubai International (DXB) airport-
topped the Index.
Most Powerful Passports-by India Ranks 79 th Japan Tops the List for the second
Henley Passport Index consecutive year
11th edition of EIU Democracy India ranks at 41st Norway topped
Index 2018

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2019 Edelman Trust India at 2nd informed

Barometer report public category and 3rd
in the general
population category
Global Talent Competitive India Ranked in 80th
Index 2019 Position
Bloomberg Innovation Index India Ranked
54th Position
Corruption Perception Index India Ranked 78th Denmark topped the chart with a score
(CPI) Position of 88.

General Data Protection India ranked 6th The report released by CISCO on 2019
Regulation (GDPR) readiness position Data Privacy Benchmark Study.
index
FEBRUARY
Passport Index of 2019 UNDP human Top 3 Countries:
development inde 1.United Arab Emirates
2.Germany
3.Denmark.
India -67 in 2019,77 in 2015.
Inclusive Internet Index 2019 Economist Top 3 Countries:
Intelligence Unit 1.Sweden
(EIU) for 2.Singapore
Facebook 47th 3.USA.
India ranked 47th in the Index.
7th International IP Index US Chambers of Top 3 Countries:
Commerce 1.US
2.UK
3.Sweden
4.France
5.Germany
India - 36th in 2019,44th in 2018.
MARCH
Global Consumer Confidence Nielsen Holdings  India - 1st position from 3rd quarter and in
Survey the 4th quarter of 2018 India’s Consumer
Confidence Index (CCI) score is 133.
 South Korea has the most pessimistic
consumer
Prime International Knight Frank Top 3 Cities:
Residential Index (PIRI 100) 1.Manila(Philippines)
2. Edinburgh (Scotland)
3. Berlin(Germany)
Mumbai-16th , Delhi-55th & Bengaluru-56th
World’s most expensive cities Economist 1.Singapore, Paris and Hong Kong topped the
Intelligence Unit Index for the first time in history.
(EIU) survey 4.Zurich in Switzerland
5.Geneva in Switzerland
6. Osaka in Japan
Global energy transition index World Economic Top 3 Countries:
Forum (WEF) 1.Sweden
2.Switzerland
3.Norway
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World Happiness Report United Nations Top 5 Countries:

1. Finland
2. Denmark
3. Norway
4. Islands
5. The Netherlands
India ranked 140th out of 156 nations. India
shows a 7 spot decline along with five other
countries.
APRIL
Migration and Development World Bank World’s top 5 recipient of remittances in
Brief 2018:
1. India: 79$ billion
2. China: 67$ billion
3. Mexico: 36$ billion
4. Philippines: 34$ billion
5. Egypt: 29$ billion.
Most valuable market Bloomberg Top 3 World’s most valuable market
1. US
2. China
3. Hong Kong
World Press Freedom Index Reporters Top 5 countries in World Press Freedom
2019 Without Borders Index 2019:
1. Norway
2. Finland
3. Sweden
4. Netherlands
5. Denmark. India ranked 140.
Startup Ecosystem Ranking for StartupBlink Top three countries:
2019 1.United States
2.United Kingdom
3.Canada. India ranked at 17th position.
2019 Index of Cancer Economist Top 3 nations:.
Preparedness (ICP) Intelligence Unit 1. Australia
(EIU) 2. Netherlands
3. Germany. India ranked 19th position in the
Index.
State of the internet/security Akamai Top 3 most targeted nation by hackers in
Technologies 2018:
1. US
2. India
3. Canada
World’s military expenditure Stockholm World's top 4 military spender in 2018:
International 1. US
Peace Research 2. China
Institute (SIPRI) 3. Saudi Arabia
4. India
MAY
Kids Right Index 2019 Kids Right Index Top 2 countries:
1.Iceland
2. Portugal
India ranked 117th out of 181 countries
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Speedtest Global Index for Ookla Top country in mobile internet speeds:
April 2019 1.Norway
India ranked 121 in mobile Internet speeds.
Top country in fixed broadband:
1. Singapore
India ranked 68 in fixed broadband speeds.
Sand and Sustainability: United Nations India and China top a list of nations where
finding new solutions for Environment illegal sand mining has become a key
environmental governance of Programme environmental issue
global sand resources (UNEP)
World Competitiveness IMD (Institute for Top 5 Countries:
economy Rankings Management 1.Singapore
Development) 2. Hong Kong,
3. US,
4. Switzerland, and
5.UAE.
India ranked in 43rd most competitive
economy in the world.

STATE WISE RANKING

Index/Report/Field State or City Points to be noted
JANUARY
Asia Competitiveness Andhra Pradesh Mahara shtra and Delhi came in second and
Institute’s (ACI), Ease of topped third place
Doing Business (EDB) index
2018
JLL City Momentum: The Bengaluru pipped
World’s Top 20 Most Hyderabad
Dynamic Cities in 6th City
Momentum Index

FEBRUARY
Best practices followed by Transparency Top 3 State:
states in budget formulation International 1. Assam
2. Andhra pradesh
3. Odisha.
Meghalaya, Manipur and Punjab were figured
at lower positions.
MARCH
Aspirational districts for the NITI Aayog Top 3 Districts:
period of December 2018- 1. Chatra,Jharkhand
January 2019 2. Sahibganj, Jharkhand
3. Hazaribagh, Jharkhand
APRIL
'Political Leaders Position Climate Trends List of Top 3 Polluted Cities in the world by
and Action on Air Quality in WHO & Climate Trends:
India 2014-2019 1. Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh
2. Faridabad in Haryana
3. Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh
MAY
The Annual Threat Report Quick Heal Top 5 Cities:
2019- Most vulnerable cities Security Labs 1.Mumbai
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to cyberattacks 2.Delhi
3.Bengaluru
4.Kolkata
5.Pune

REPORT:
Report/Study Title Released by Points to be noted
JANUARY
The Potential Benefits of Air Quality Life Indians could live up to 3 years more if there’s
India’s ‘War Against Index (AQLI) a 25% reduction in air pollution
Pollution’ — Longer Lives
18th Fiscal Stability Report Sub-Committee of To strength of the financial system and the
the Financial development and regulation of the financial
Stability and sector
Development
Council (FSDC)

Report titled “Future of World Economic Top 3 Countries:

Consumption in Fast- Growth Forum 1. USA
Consumer Market- India” 2. China
3. India
World Economic Situation United Nations The report was produced by the UN
and Prospects 2019 (WESP) Department of Economic and Social Affairs
report (UN/DESA), the UN Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) and the UN's five
regional economic commissions((ECA), (ECE),
(ECLAC), (ESCAP) and (ESCWA).
FEBRUARY
World Employment and International The report says unemployment rates will fall
Social Outlook Trends 2019 Labour to 4.9% in 2019 and remains steady in 2020.
Organization
MARCH
2018 World Air Quality IQ Air AirVisual  Gurugram-Most polluted region in the
Report &Greenpeace world in 2018.
 Delhi -Most polluted capital in the world.
Cheapest mobile data in the Price comparison  India has the cheapest mobile data in the
world site cable.co.uk. world.
 The global average was USD 8.53 for 1GB.
Exports to Jobs : Boosting the World Bank and Increasing exports can lead to better Jobs and
Gains from Trade in South International higher wages in India.
Asia Labour
Organization (ILO)
Delta ranking report NITI Aayog Assam’s Hailakandi secured top position.
India and ASEAN: Co-creating Federation of Indian India and 10 member ASEAN are among the
the Future and consulting major Chambers of fastest growing economies in the world.
KPMG Commerce and
Industry (FICCI)

State of the Global Climate in World The report warned that the physical and socio-
2018 Meteorological economic impacts of climate change are
Organization accelerating day by day. It is the 25th annual
(WMO) record of the Global climate.
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APRIL
‘India’s Electric Mobility NITI Aayog and The objective of the FAME II scheme is to
Transformation: Progress to Rocky Mountain enhance the government’s commitment to a
Date and Future Institute (RMI) clean mobility future with a major focus on
Opportunities’ have released a electric automobiles.
report
2019 Global Food Policy International Food Rural areas continue to be in a state of crisis
Report (GFPR) Policy Research and threatening to slow the progress toward
Institute (IFPRI) the Sustainable Development Goals to hunger,
malnutrition, poverty, environmental
degradation.
MAY
Most valued Indian bank Top 3 Banks:
1. HDFC Bank
2. State Bank of India(SBI)
3. Kotak Mahindra Bank
10. YES Bank
World’s Best Airport Air Help Top 3 Airports:
1. Hamad International airport, Qatar
2. Tokyo International airport, Japan
3. Athens International airport, Greece
8. Rajiv Gandhi International airport,
India(Hyderabad)
Forecasting the future need WHO (World India faces critical shortage of healthcare
and gaps in requirements for Health professionals, especially in Bihar, Jharkhand,
public health professionals in Organization) U.P. (Uttar Pradesh) & Rajasthan which have
India up to 2026 the worst hit ratio as compared to Delhi,
Kerala, Punjab and Gujarat which are in a
relatively better position.
Global Status Report on Road World Health Over 1.35 million people died every year due
Safety Organisation to road accidents in the 5-29 age group and
(WHO) around 50 million people sustain injuries
during the road accidents. Since 2008, India
has reported highest number of deaths due to
road accident worldwide.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

JANUARY
Overview Of Padma Awards-2019
 On January 25,2019 President of India Ram Nath Kovind announced Padma Awards,which is
the highest civilian Awards in the country.The Padma Awards are conferred under 3
categorized viz- Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.President Ram Nath
Kovind has approved conferment of 112 Padma Awards including one duo which is considered
to be one award.The Padma Awards consist of 4 Padma Vibhushan award,14 Padma Bhushan
Award and 94 Padma Shri awards……Click here for list of Winners of Padma Awards 2019
An Overview of ICC Awards 2018
Smriti Mandhana(India) ‘Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award for the Women’s
Cricketer of the Year‘ as well as the ‘Women’s
ODI Player of the Year
Alyssa Healy (Australia) ICC Women’s T20I Player of the Year
Sophie Ecclestone (England) ICC Women’s Emerging Player of the Year
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Suzie Bates (New Zealand) Captain ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year

FEBRUARY:
Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards for 2017:
MUSIC
Category Winner
Hindustani Vocal Music Lalith J. Rao
Hindustani Vocal Music Umakant & Ramakant Gundecha (Gundecha
Brothers — Joint Award)
Hindustani Instrumental Music — Tabla Yogesh Samsi
Hindustani Instrumental — Shehnai/Flute Rajendra Prasanna
Carnatic Vocal Music M.S. Sheela
Carnatic Instrumental Music — Veena Suma Sudhindra
Carnatic Instrumental Music — Mridangam Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan
Carnatic Instrumental Music — Flute Shashank Subramanyam
Other Major Traditions Of Music — Sugam Madhurani
Sangeet
Other Major Traditions Of Music -Sugam Sangeet Haimanti Sukla
Other Major Traditions Of Music — Gurbani Gurnam Singh
DANCE
Category Winner
Bharatanatyam Rama Vaidyanathan
Kathak Shobha Koser
Kathakali Madambi Subramanian Namboothiri
Manipuri L.N. Oinam Ongbi Dhoni Devi
Kuchipudi Deepika Reddy
Odissi Sujata Mohapatra
Sattriya Ramkrishna Talukdar
Chhau Janmejoy Sai Babu
Music For Dance Ashit Desai
THEATRE
Category Winner
Playwriting Abhiram Damodar Bhadkamkar
Direction Sunil Ganesh Shanbag
Direction Bapi Bose
Acting Hema Singh
Acting Deepak Virat Tiwari
Acting Anil Tickoo
Allied Theatre Arts — Stagecraft Nuruddin Ahmed
Allied Theatre Arts — Lighting Avtar Sahni
Other Major Traditions Of Theatre — Shumang Shougrakpam Hemanta Singh
Leela
TRADITIONAL / FOLK / TRIBAL MUSIC / DANCE / THEATRE AND PUPPETRY
Category Winner
Folk Music, Rajasthan Anwar Khan Manganiyar
Folk Arts, Maharashtra Prakash Sahadeo Khandge
Traditional Music — Khol, Assam Jagannath Bayan
Folk Music, Bihar Ramchandra Manjhi
Folk Theatre, Chhattisgarh Rakesh Kumar Tiwari
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Folk Music (Baul), West Bengal Parvathy Baul

Folk Music, Punjab Sarvjeet Kaur
Folk Music, Mizoram K.C. Runremsangi
Folk Music, Jharkhand Mukund Nayak
Puppetry, West Bengal Sudip Gupta

OVERALL CONTRIBUTION / SCHOLARSHIP IN THE PERFORMING ARTS

Category Winner
Scholarship Vijay Verma
Overall Contribution — Dance Sandhya Purecha

61st Annual Grammy Awards:

The Award Ceremony held in Royal Albert Hall,London, United Kingdom.
Category Winner
Album of the Year Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves
Record of the Year “This is America”, Childish Gambino
Best New Artist Dua Lipa
Best Rap Album Invasion of Privacy by Cardi B
Best R&B Album Winner H.E.R.
Best Rap Song “God’s Plan” by Drake
Best Country Album Golden Hour by Kacey Musgarves
Song of the Year “This is America”, Childish Gambino
Best Rock Album From the Fires by Greta Van Fleet
Best Rock Song “Masseducation” by St. Vincent
Dance/Electronic Album Woman Worldwide, Justice
Producer of the Year Blanton Alspaugh
Best Music Video “This is America”, Childish Gambino
Best Country Song “Space Cowboy” by Kacey Musgraves
Best Folk Song All Ashore by Punch Brothers
Best Comedy Album Equanimity & the Bird Revelation by Dave
Chappelle

72nd British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards:

The award ceremony held in Royal Albert Hall,London, United Kingdom.
Category Winner
Best Film Roma
Best Director Alfonso Cuaron (Roma)
Best Actress Olivia Colman (The Favourite)
Best Actor Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody)
Best Supporting Actress Rachel Weisz (The Favourite)
Best Supporting Actor Mahershala Ali (Green Book)
Outstanding British Film The Favourite
Best Animated Film Spiderman : into the Spider-verse
Best British Short Animation Roughhouse
Best British Short Film 73 Cows
Best Documentary Free Solo
Outstanding Debut By a British Writer, Director or Beast-Michael Pearce (Writer/Director Category),
Producer Lauren Dark (Producer)
Best Film Not in the English Language Roma
Best Costume Design The Favourite

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Best Makeup and Hair The Favourite

Best Production Design The Favourite
Best Editing Vice
Best Cinematography Roma
Best Special Visual Effects Black Panther
Best Original Screen Play The Favourite – Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
Best Adapted Screenplay BlacKkKlansman – Spike Lee, David Rabinowitz,
Charlie Dachtel, Kevin Willmott
Best Sound Bohemian Rhapsody
Best Original Music A Star is Born
Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Number 9 Films (Elizabeth Karlsen and Stephen
Woolley)
EE Rising Star Award Letitia Wright
BAFTA Fellowship Thelma Schoonmaker

Overview Of The 91st Academy Awards (Oscars 2019)

• The award is presented in Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.
Category Winner
Best picture Green Book
Best actress Olivia Colman – The Favourite
Best actor Rami Malek – Bohemian Rhapsody
Best supporting Regina King – If Beale Street Could Talk
actress
Best supporting actor Mahershala Ali – Green Book
Best director Alfonso Cuaron – Roma
Best original Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie and Peter Farrelly – Roma
screenplay
Best adapted Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott and Spike Lee –
screenplay BlacKkKlansman
Best animated feature Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Best foreign language Roma – Mexico
film
Best documentary Free Solo
feature
Best original song Shallow (A Star Is Born) – Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando
and Andrew Wyatt
Best original score Ludwig Goransson – Black Panther
Best production Hannah Beachler and Jay Hart – Black Panther
design
Best costume design Ruth E Carter – Black Panther
Best cinematography Alfonso Cuaron – Roma
Best visual effects Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and JD Schwalm – First Man

Best make-up and Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia DeHaney – Vice
hairstyling
Best sound editing John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone – Bohemian Rhapsody
Best sound mixing Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin and John Casali – Bohemian Rhapsody

Best film editing John Ottman – Bohemian Rhapsody

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Best animated short Bao
Best documentary Period. End of Sentence.
short
Best live action short Skin
MARCH
Overview Of 64th Film Fare Awards 2019
Category
Best Film
Critics Best Film
Best Actor in a Leading Role
(Male)
Critics Best Actor in Leading Role Ayushmann Khurrana (Andhadhun), Ranveer Singh
(Male)
Best Actor in a Leading Role
(Female)
Critics Best Actor in Leading Role Neena Gupta (Badhaai Ho)
(Female)
Best Director
Best Actor in Supporting Role
(Male)
Best Actor in Supporting Role
(Female)
Best Music Album
Best Lyrics
Best Playback Singer (Male)
Best Playback Singer (Female)
Life Time Achievement Award
Best Debut Female
Best Debut Male
50 Years of Outstanding
Contribution to Cinema
People’s Choice Award for Best
Short Film
Best Short Film in Fiction
Best Short Film in Non-Fiction
Best Actor Female in Short Film
Best Actor Male in Short Film
Best Original Story
Beat Screenplay
Best Dialogue
Best Editing
Best Action
Best Background Score
Best Choreography
Best Cinematography
Best Costume
Best Production Design
Best Sound Design
AC EXAM PDF
Winner
Raazi
Andhadhun
Ranbir Kapoor (Sanju)
(Padmaavat)
Alia Bhatt (Raazi)
Meghna Gulzar (Raazi)
Gajarj Rao (Badhaai Ho), Vicky Kaushal (Sanju)
Surekha Sikhri (Badhaai Ho)
Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Patmaavat)
Gulzar (Raazi)
Arijit Singh (Raazi)
Shreya Ghoshal (Padmaavat)
Sridevi
Sara Ali Khan (Kedar Nath)
Ishaan Khattar (Beyond the Clouds)
Hema Malini
Plus Minus
Rogan Josh
The Soccer City
Kirti Kulhari (Maya)
Hussain Dalal (Shameless)
Abubhav Sinha (Mulk)
Sriram Raghavan, Arijit Biswas, Pooja Ladha Surti, Yogesh
Chandekar, Hemanth Rao (Andhadhun)
Akshat Ghildial (Badhaai Ho)
Pooja Ladha Surti (Andhadhun)
Vikram Dahiya, Sunil Rodriguez (Mukkabaaz)
Daniel B George (Andhadhun)
Kurti Mahesh Midya, Jyothi D Tommar (Patmaavat)
Pankaj Kumar (Tumbbad)
Sheetal Sharma (Manto)
Nitin Zihani Choudhary, Rakesh Yadav (Tumbbad)
Kunal Sharma (Tumbbad)
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Best VFX Red Chillies VFX (Zero)

72nd annual Cannes Film Festival held in Cannes, France:

i. Filmmaker of Mexico, Alejandro González Iñárritu served as jury president of Cannes Film Festival
2019.
ii. The Festival honoured the French filmmaker Agnès Varda, by featuring her on the official poster of
the festival. She died in March 2019.
iii. South Korean film 'Parasite' wins Palme d'Or which is directed by Bong Joon-ho at Cannes Film
Festival. He became the first Korean director to win the award.
iv. The opening film of the festival is “The Dead Don't Die” and the closing film of the festival is “The
Specials”
v.The film festival was hosted by Édouard Baer.
vi. The number of films participated were 21 (In Competition), 18 (Un Certain Regard), 11 (Short
films).
About Indian Participation:
I&B Secretary Amit Khare leads Indian Delegation to Cannes Film Festival.
Indian filmmaker, Achyutanand Dwivedi’s "Seed Mother", won the third prize in the international
section of Nespresso Talents 2019.
Indian and Israeli delegation hold the meeting in the Cannes festival during which, Israel proposes
“India to be the focus country in Jerusalem Film Festival, 2020”.
Awards and their Categories:
i.In Competition:

Name of Award Winner Film

Palme d'Or Bong Joon-ho Parasite(Korean)
Grand Prix Mati Diop(Diop made Atlantics(Senegal)
history by becoming the first
black woman to direct a film
featured In Competition at
the festival)
Jury Prize Kleber Mendonça Filho and Bacurau(Brazil)
Juliano Dornelles
Ladj Ly Les
Misérables(France)
Best Director Jean-Pierre and Luc Young Ahmed
Dardenne (Belgium)
Best Actress Emily Beecham Little Joe(UK-Austria)
Best Actor Antonio Banderas Pain and Glory(Spain)
Best Screenplay Céline Sciamma Portrait of a Lady on
Fire(France)
Special Mention Elia Suleiman It Must Be
Heaven(France –
Canada)
ii.Un Certain Regard:

Name of Award Winner Film

Un Certain Regard Karim Aïnouz The Invisible Life of
Award Eurídice
Gusmão(Brazil)
Un Certain Regard Oliver Laxe Fire Will Come(Spain)
Jury Prize
Un Certain Regard Kantemir Balagov Beanpole(Russia)
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Award for Best

Director
Un Certain Regard Chiara Mastroianni On a Magical
Jury Award for Best Night(France)
Performance
Un Certain Regard Albert Serra Liberté(Spain)
Special Jury Prize Bruno Dumont Joan of Arc(France)
Coup de Cœur Award Monia Chokri A Brother's
Love(Canada)
Michael Angelo Covino The Climb(America)

iii.Golden Camera:
Caméra d'Or: Our Mothers by César Díaz
iv.Short Films:

Name of Award Winner Film

Short Film Palme d'Or Vasilis Kekatos The Distance Between
Us and the Sky
Special Mention Agustina San Martín Monster God
v.Cinéfondation:

Name of Award Winner Film

First Prize Louise Courvoisier Mano a mano
Second Prize Richard Van Hiêu
Third Prize Wisam Al Jafari Ambience
Barbara Rupik The Little Soul
vi.Honorary Palme d'Or:
Honorary Palme d'Or: Alain Delon.
Independent awards
i.FIPRESCI Prizes

Name of Award Winner Film

In Competition Elia Suleiman It Must Be
Heaven(France)
Un Certain Regard Kantemir Balagov Beanpole(Russia)
Parallel section Robert Eggers The
Lighthouse(America)

ii.Ecumenical Prize
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury: A Hidden Life by Terrence Malick

iii.International Critics' Week

Name of Award Winner Film

Nespresso Grand Prize Jérémy Clapin I Lost My
Body(France)
Leitz Cine Discovery Qiu Yang She Runs
Prize for Short Film
Louis Roederer Ingvar E. Sigurðsson A White, White Day
Foundation Rising
Star Award

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Gan Foundation Lorcan Finnegan Vivarium

Award for Distribution
SACD Award César Díaz Our Mothers
Canal+ Award for Andrias Høgenni Ikki Illa Meint
Short Film

iv.Directors' Fortnight:

Name of Award Winner Film

Europa Cinemas Label Nicolas Pariser Alice and the
Award for Best Mayor(France)
European Film
SACD Award for Best Rebecca Zlotowski An Easy Girl(France)
French-language Film
Illy Short Film Award Pham Thien An Stay Awake, Be Ready
Carrosse d'Or John Carpenter

v.L'Œil d'or :

Name of Award Winner Film

L'Œil d'or Waad al-Kateab and Sama
Edward Watts
Patricio Guzmán The Cordillera of
Dreams

vi.Prix François Chalais

François Chalais Prize: A Hidden Life by Terrence Malick

vii.Queer Palm:

Name of Award Winner Film

Queer Palm Award Céline Sciamma Portrait of a Lady on
Fire(France)
Short Film Queer Palm Vasilis Kekatos The Distance Between
Us and the Sky
viii.Cannes Soundtrack Award
Cannes Soundtrack Award: Alberto Iglesias for Pain and Glory
ix.Trophée Chopard:
Chopard Trophy: François Civil and Florence Pugh
x.Pierre Angénieux ExcelLens in Cinematography:
Pierre Angénieux Excellens in Cinematography: Bruno Delbonnel
xi.Vulcan Award of the Technical Artist:

Name of Award Winner Film

Vulcan Award Flora Volpelière Les Misérables
(editing) and Julien
Poupard
(cinematography)
Special Mention Claire Mathon Atlantics and Portrait
of a Lady on Fire
(cinematography)
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Artistic Direction Lee Ha-jun Parasite

Mention

xii.Palm Dog:

Name of Award Winner Film/Awarded for

Palm Dog Award Brandy Once Upon a Time in
Hollywood
Grand Jury Prize Canine cast in Little Joe
Canine cast in Aasha and the Street Dogs
(Marché du Film)
Palm DogManitarian Google For their support of
Award dogs in the workplace
Underdog Award The Unadoptable

Name of Awards Award Winner Field Points to be noted

Awards given to the Sports Personalities
JANUARY
2018 Confederation of Mohamed Salah Footballer He also won the BBC African
African Football Player Footballer of the Year award
of the Year award for the second time in
December 2018.
Sir Garfield Sobers Virat Kohli Cricket He is the first player to bag all
Trophy for ICC Cricketer top three ICC Awards in a
of the Year, the ICC Men’s single year.
Test Player of the
Year and the ICC Men’s
ODI Player of the year
FEBRUARY
Shiv Chhatrapati life- Uday Smriti Mandhana, was
time achievement award Deshpande(Mallakh awarded with "Shiv
amb coach) Chhatrapati award for players
Football Ratna by Sunil Chhetri
Football Delhi
2018 Player of the Year Harmanpreet Singh The award is presented by
award Asian Hockey Federation
Rising Player of The Year Lalremsiami The award is presented by
Asian Hockey Federation
Lifetime Achievement G.R. Karthikeyan He is the father of Narain
award at the Karthikeyan– India’s first
FMSCI(Federation of Formula One racer.
Motor Sports Clubs of
India)
MARCH
Telangana Sports Saina Nehwal as Badminton Association of
Journalist Association sportsperson of the Telangana received
(TSJA) year, Pullella Association of the Year award,
Gopichand as Coach at the Annual Telangana Sports
of the Year and PV Journalist Association Awards
Sindhu as held in Hyderabad.
Outstanding

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Performer in
women’s section.
APRIL
Outstanding Gaganjeet Bhullar Golfer 31 year old Bhullar was
achievement as a player awarded Arjuna Award in
award 2013.
Football Writers' Raheem Sterling Footballer Nikita Parris won the FWA's
Association (FWA) Women's footballer of the year
Footballer of the Year 2019 award.
2019
MAY
Professional Footballers’ Virgil Van Dijk Football Van Dijk had joined Liverpool
Association (PFA) from Southampton in January
Players’ Player of the 2018 for a fee of £75million
Year Award for 2018-19 (Euro 75 million).
CEAT Cricket Rating Virat Kohli and Cricket Virat Kohli has bagged the
(CCR) Awards 2019 Smriti Mandhana International Cricketer of the
Year Award and Smriti
Mandhana has won
International Woman
Cricketer of Year Award.
Awards for Literature/Journalism
JANUARY
Kabi Samrat Upendra Manoj Das English and
Bhanja National Award Odia Litterateur
for Lifetime
Achievement
Lifetime achievement Dinu Randive Journalist For his lifelong contributions
award in journalism, who started his
journalistic career in 1956.
The award was given by
the Mantralaya and
Vidhimandal Vartahar Sangh.
Sushila Devi Literature Namita Gokhale writer For her novel “Things to Leave
Award in the ‘Best Book Behind“.
of Fiction Written by a
Woman Author’
category
Woman’s Voice Award Ranjani Murali Poet Objective of this award
with Apeejay Kolkata function to recognize and
Literary Festival (AKLF) encourage creative writing by
women in India.
Saraswati Samman Sitanshu Poet He was awarded for his poetry
for the year 2017 Yashaschandra collection, ‘Vakhar.
FEBRUARY
Australian literary prize Behrouz Boochani Non-fiction For his book “No Friends But
Literature the Mountains”
MARCH
Vyas Samman 2018 Leeladhar Jagudi Writer For his collection of poems
“Jitne Log Utne Prem”
published in 2013. He also
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authored several poetry

anthologies. The award carries
an amount of Rs. 4 lakhs and it
was started by K K Birla
foundation in 1991.
Abel Prize(Nobel prize Karen Uhlenbeck Mathematician She was recognized for her
of mathematics) work in the field of gauge
theory and geometric analysis.
Global Teacher Prize for Peter Tabichi Kenyan math At a ceremony in Dubai hosted
2019 and physics by Hollywood actor, Hugh
teacher Jackman.
APRIL
Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Dr. Gyanaditya literature He was conferred for his
Samman 2019 Shakya contributing in the field of Pali
language & literature.
Saraswati Samman 2018 K Siva Reddy Poetry For his collection of poetry
titled ‘Pakkaki Ottigilite’
Cano Press Freedom Kyaw Soe Oo and Journalist For recognizing their
Prize 2019 Wa Lone commitment, courage and
resistance to freedom of
expression.
Pulitzer Prize 2019 “The Overstory” by The Pulitzer Prize for
Richard Powers Journalism was awarded to
Staff of the South Florida Sun
Sentinel under Public service
Category.List of Awards.
Pandit Govind Ballabh Sunil Kumar Gautam For writing ‘Samvidhan Kavya’,
Pant Award a poetic verse of the Indian
Constitution
Second edition of Rana Dasgupta For his 2010 novel "Solo".
Rabindranath Tagore
Literary Prize 2019

MAY
Man Booker Jokha Alharthi Novel She is the first Arabic author to
International Prize 2019 win the award.The award was
presented for her novel
“Celestial Bodies”.
2019's Swansea Guy Gunaratne Novel He won for his debut novel
University International ‘Mad and Furious City’ in
Dylan Thomas Prize Wales, United Kingdom.
Nine Dots Prize 2019 Annie Zaidi Essay For her essay “Bread, Cement,
Cactus.” She won the cash
prize of USD 100,000 (Rs 69.83
lakh).
Awards given to Film/Music Industry
JANUARY

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National Nritya Anindita Neogy Dancer To the outstanding Indian

Shiromani award Anaam
FEBRUARY
People for the Ethical Bradley Cooper
Treatment of Animals
(PETA)’s Oscat award
Rabindranath Tagore Shri Rajkumar
Award for Cultural Singhajit Singh(2014),
Harmony for the year Chhayanaut(2015),
2014, 2015 and 2016 Shri Ram Sutar
Vanji(2016)
2019’s META Lifetime Mahesh Elkunchwar
Achievement Award
MARCH
Pritzker Architecture Arata Isozaki
Prize 2019
APRIL
Deenanath Mangeshkar Madhur Bhandarkar
Award 2019
MAY
19th New York Indian Sunny Pawar Acting For his performance in
Film Festival
Awards given to Organizations/Banks/Ministries/State/City
JANUARY
Bharat Ratna Former President
Pranab Mukherjee,
social activist Nanaji
Deshmukh
(posthumously) and
musician Dr Bhupen
Hazarika
(posthumously)
4th annual Carnot Prize Union Finance
Minister Piyush Goyal
National Bravery Award Wahengbam Bravery
Lamnganba Singh
First-ever Philip Kotler Prime Minister, Shri
Presidential award Narendra Modi
classical dance performers.
For casting his own dog, rather
than one supplied by animal
exhibitors, in his movie A Star
is Born
The award will be presented in
14th Mahindra Excellence in
Theatre Awards (META)
festival to be held in New Delhi
He is the 8th Japanese and
46th Pritzker laureate to be
honoured with this award. He
integrated the East and West
in his creative designs.
Salim Khan and dancing diva
Helen was also felicitated.To
encourage legends from the
fields of music, drama, art and
social work.
‘Chippa’
President Ram Nath Kovind
announced the conferment of
the award.
This award rewards the works
done by Piyush Goyal to reform
the electricity sector
He will be honoured because he
had saved his two and half year’s
old cousin from drowning in a
pond
The Award focuses on the
triple P’s of the Nation: People,
Profit and Planet.
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Gandhi Peace Prize for Yohei Sasakawa Goodwill The award will be given
2018 Ambassador to Yohei Sasakawa in
of WHO recognition of his work
towards the eradication of the
disease in India and across the
world.
FEBRUARY
Aegis Graham Bell Yes Bank Innovation in For their industry-first project
Award 2018 Data Science ‘Yes EEE (Engage Enrich
Excel)’
Swachhata Excellence Raigarh (1st prize) Ambikapur (2nd prize) and
Awards 2019 Kumbakonam (3rd prize)
FICCI CSR Award Jindal Steel and Power For Women Empowerment for
Ltd (JSPL) its innovative and high impact
women empowerment
programmes.
Energy and Oil and Natural Gas For sustained efforts in pursuit
Environment Corporation(ONGC) of Swachh Bharat Mission
Foundation Global
Clean Awards-2019
MARCH
Non-Life Insurer of the Bharti AXA General
Year Award 2019 by Insurance
ASSOCHAM
Best Bank Award from Indian Bank For successfully meeting the
Tamil Nadu State needs of women’s self-help
Government groups (SHGs).

Golden Peacock ACKO General For their “Ola Ola Ride Insurance is a first of
Innovative Product Insurance Ride its kind insurance in the Indian
Award – 2019 Insurance“ market where Acko partnered
with the leading ride-sharing
company, Ola.
APRIL
Dr. Babasaheb Sudhanshu Kumar Business While his agency Digital
Ambedkar Nobel Sukoon, named as the Best
Award by International Digital Agency of the Year
Human Rights Council 2019.
Celent Model Bank Fincare Small Finance Organization The award recognizes LAP
2019 Bank (SFB) (Loans against Property)
D.Lite, which is a tab-based
solution designed and
developed.
National Intellectual Kerala Agricultural Organization For its contributions in best
Property Award 2019 University (KAU) facilitation for registration of
Geographical Indications and
promotion of registered GI in
the country.
Swacchta Pakhwada All India Radio, Organization The award was given by Amit
Award 2019 Publication Division Khare, Secretary Ministry of

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and Children’s Film Information and Broadcasting.

Society of India
Intellectual Property Sree Chitra Tirunal The award was given under
Award 2019 Institute for Medical the category of “Top Indian
Sciences and R&D Institution and
Technology (SCTIMST) Organisation for Patents &
Commercialisation”.
MAY
Claims Excellence Bharti AXA Life Customer The award was presented for
Award Insurance service its customer-friendly claims
services, including dedicated
claims handler and one of the
best claim settlement ratios, in
the life insurance sector.

Other Awards Conferred

FEBRUARY
K.Veeramani Award for P.S. Krishnan For Social
Social Justice 2018 Justice 2018
International human Abdul Aziz Muhamat For exposing
rights prize “the very
cruel asylum
seeker policy
of the
Australian
Government”
Gandhi Peace Prize 2015 – Vivekanand
Kendra, Kanyakumari
2016 – Akshaya Patra
Foundation and Sulabh
International (jointly)
2017 – Ekal Abhiyan
Trust
2018 – Yohei Sasakawa.
National Youth 1st position- Shweta 2nd position- Anjanakshi M.S
Parliament Festival Umre from from Karnataka 3rd position-
2019 Awards Maharashtra Mamta Kumari from
Bihar.Award is given during
the festival National Youth
Parliament Festival 2019 with
the theme: “Be the Voice of
New India” and “Find solutions
and contribute to policy”
Yashwantrao Chavan Raghuram Rajan For his
National Award 2018 contribution
towards
economic
development
MARCH
Social Enterprise Sona Yukti For helping It is the only Indian
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Network (SEN) youth to organisation to be selected as

sustainability award develop skills part of the SEN awards for
2018.
Commonwealth Youth Padmanaban Gopalan For his work He was the founder of No Food
Award towards Zero Waste, was named the winner
Hunger of the Commonwealth Youth
Award for the Asian region
worth 3,000 Pounds.
Nari Shakti Puraskar Seema Mehta Women
empowerment
DD Mahila Kisan Swati Shingade The Kisan Channel has
Award 2018-19 provided a platform to the
women farmers and the main
purpose of the channel is to
make aware the people about
the various schemes of the
government.
BusinessLine Arun Jaitley For The 2nd edition of
Changemaker Of The successfully BusinessLine Changemaker
Year award introducing Awards ceremony held at the
the Goods and Leela Palace, New Delhi.
Services Tax
(GST)
Uttam Yudh Seva Anil Kumar Bhatt For successfully organizing the
Medal counter-terrorist operations in
Jammu & Kashmir. The
Gallantry Awards and
Distinguished Service
Decorations were conferred by
President Ram Nath Kovind at
the Defence Investiture
Ceremony,which was held at
Rashtrapati Bhavan, New
Delhi.
2019 National STEM Kavya Kopparapu She has been awarded for her
Education Award significant invention in
enhancing treatments of
glioblastoma– which is the
deadliest form of brain cancer.
The prize money for STEM
amounts to $10,000.
Turing Award Yoshua Bengio, They recognized their work for
2018(Nobel Prize of Geoffrey Hinton, and developing the AI (Artificial
computing) Yann LeCun intelligence) subfield of deep
learning. The troika has
developed a base for the recent
growth of AI technologies,
through their work in the
1990s and 2000.
APRIL
Zayed Medal PM Narendra Modi For boosting This is United Arab Emirates’s
the bilateral highest civilian honour.
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ties between
India & UAE
Lifetime Achievement A K Singh Scientist The conclave was organised by
Award 2019 during 4th the university to note World
APJ Abdul Kalam Creativity and Innovation Day.
Innovation Conclave
World Press Photo of John Moore “For theImage The little girl in this picture
the Year of Crying Girl name Yanela and her mother
on the Sandra Sanchez illegally
Border” crossed the US-Mexican border
last year.
UN Mission in South 150 Indian For serving
Sudan (UNMISS)’s peacekeepers with extreme
Medals of Honour dedication
and sacrifice.
World Press Freedom Cyril Almeida Journalist For his “critical” and
Hero award in 2019 “tenacious coverage” of the
civil-military relations in
Pakistan. And also MadaMasr,
an Egyptian news site
National (IP) Benny Antony He is the inventor of BCM-95,
Intellectual Property the world’s leading patented
Award, 2019 turmeric extract formulation.
‘Compassionate Kid’ Derek C Lalchhanhima Saved the life of a chicken
award 2019 by People
for the Ethical
Treatment of
Animals(PETA) India
Corporate Excellence Prasanna Kumar Rao Enterpreneur The prestigious Asia Pacific
award Entrepreneurship Award
(APEA) from Enterprise Asia is
a regional award recognition
programme that recognizes
entrepreneurial excellence.
MAY
Goldman  Bayarjargal Environmenta The Goldman Environmental
Environmental Prize Agvaantseren from l activists Prize is also known as Green
2019 Mongolia Nobel Prize and awards a cash
 Alfred Brownell from prize of $200,000.
Liberia
 Ana Colovic Lesoska
from North
Macedonia
 Alberto Curamil from
Chile
 Jacqueline Evans from
Cook Islands
 Linda Garcia from
United States
Knight of the Legion of Former ISRO chief A.S. This award is for his invaluable
Honour Kiran contribution to the
Kumar(Karnataka,India development of the India-
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) France space cooperation.

Sasakawa Award 2019 Dr. Pramod Kumar For his constant dedication in
by United Nations Mishra improving the strength of the
Office for Disaster Risk communities which were most
Reduction (UNDRR) exposed to disasters.

‘Award for Honour’ by Antano and Harini For their work to help people
Ministry of Social change the trajectory of their
Justice and lives and create a personal
Empowerment legacy in compressed time.
They were invited to work
with some Government
officers across various levels.

Global Asian of the Hema Divakar For her yeomen services

Year 2018-19' Award and contribution towards
Women's Healthcare
Ecosystem.She was awarded
under the 'In Service of the
Society and the Nation'
category.
UN (United Nations) Jitender Kumar Late Jitender
Dag Hammarskjold Kumar
Medal sacrificed his
life while
serving the
UN
Organisation
Stabilisation
Mission in the
Democratic
Republic of
the Congo
(MONUSCO).
'Lifetime Recognition N Kumar Professor He was awarded for his
Award' by the contributions to the field of
Confederation of horticulture and academic
Horticulture leadership focused on human
Association of India resource development in
agriculture.
27th P.C. Chandra Devi Prasad Shetty Cardiac He is also known as ‘The Man
Puraskaar (Karnataka,India) surgeon and with Divine Hands’. In 2003, he
humanitarian has won Padma Shri and
Padma Bhushan for medicine
in 2013.
V K Krishna Menon G D ‘Robert’ Decolonised Govender is the first person
Award 2019 Govender(Indian origin journalist who has been awarded the V K
in South Africa) Krishna Menon posthumously.
He had died in the UK in 2016.
'Order Of The Rising Shyam Saran It is Japan's second highest
Sun, Gold and Silver national award established by
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Star Award' the Japanese Emperor Meiji in

1875.

Recognitions
Name of the Person Field
JANUARY
Arunima Sinha World’s first female amputee to climb Mount Vinson, the
highest peak of Antarctica.
Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri Honorary membership of the Sydney Cricket Ground
(SCG)
Satyarup Siddhanta First Indian and World’s Youngest man to climb the seven
highest peaks and volcanic summits across all continents
Rio de Janeiro World Capital of Architecture for 2020
Karthiyani Amma Commonwealth Learning Goodwill Ambassador
Southern Railway Number one position for cleanliness in country
FEBRUARY
Dhanya Sanal K. First woman to climb Agasthyarkoodam peak in Kerala
Divya Karnad First Indian Woman to be honoured with the “Global
Future of Nature Award” for her work on marine
conservation
MARCH
Noor Inayat Khan- British Indian World First Indian-origin woman to be honoured with a Blue
War II spy Plaque
Mukesh Ambani First Indian to join top 10 richest list of Hurun Research

Tata Steel 2019 World’s Most Ethical Companies

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos-1st Forbes World’s Billionaires list
Mukesh Ambani-13th
Kane Tanaka World’s oldest living person by Guinness World Records

Tashigang World’s highest polling station

APRIL
Batman First Inductee of Comic-Con Museum’s Character Hall of
Fame
Odisha’s Kandhamal Haldi (turmeric) Geographical Indications (GI) tag

Isaak Hayik World’s oldest person to play in a professional soccer

Guwahati Railway Station First railway station to get an ISO (International

Organisation for Standardisation) certification

Deepa Malik New Zealand Prime Minister’s Sir Edmund Hillary

Fellowship for 2019
Bhayanakam (Fear) Best cinematography award in Beijing International Film
Festival
Reliance Industries India’s first retail company
Gagandeep Kang First Indian Women In 359 Years To Join Royal Society

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Bajrang Punia First Indian wrestler invited by the American governing

Bandana(Nepali teenager)
Jitender Kumar and Shikha Garg
Captain Aarohi Pandit(Mumbai)
Saray Khumalo(Zambia)
Kailash Mansarovar popularly known
as Mount Kailash
Bhawana Kanth
Priyanka Mohite(Mumbai)
Architectural heritage of Orchha town
in Madhya Pradesh
body to take part in the “Grapple at the Garden — Beat the
Streets” fight night
MAY
Guinness World Records on “Longest Dancing Marathon
by an Individual” surpassed Kalamandalam
Hemalatha(India)
Honoured for laying down their lives in UN peace-service
First woman in the world to cross the Atlantic Ocean solo
in a Light Sports Aircraft (LSA). She has set another world
record as the 1st woman pilot to fly solo above the
dangerous Greenland ice-cap in a LSA.
First black African woman to conquer Mt. Everest in her
fourth attempt.
UNESCO incorporated in tentative list of World Heritage
Sites
First female fighter pilot of Indian Air Force
First Indian woman to scale world’s fifth highest
mountain Mount Makalu
Added to the Tentative List of UNESCO's World Heritage
Sites

Flight Lieutenant Parul Bhardwaj India’s first all-woman crew flies Mi-17 V5 medium-lift
(Captain), Flying Officer Aman Nidhi helicopter
(co-pilot) and Flight Lieutenant Hina
Jaiswal (Flight Engineer)
Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport of Gets 'International' Status
Indore, Madhya Pradesh
Chandrani Murmu(Odisha)of Biju Youngest MP in the country
Janata Dal (BJD)

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

National
Name Appointed As Entity/Place Points To Be Noted
JANUARY
VK Yadav Chairman Railway Board He succeeded Ashwani
Lohani.He was
the General Manager of
South-Central Railway
(SCR).
Saurabh Kumar Chairman Ordnance Factory He Succeeds P.K.
Board (OFB) Shrivastava in Kolkata.
M. Nageshwara Rao Chief(Interim) CBI
Mohammed Ali Chief Coach Women’s Boxing He is India’s first
Qamar Commonwealth Games
gold medalist. He
replaced veteran Shiv
Singh.

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Thottathil Bhaskaran Chief Justice Telangana High Court Governor Narasimhan

Nair Radhakrishnan also administered oath
to Justice Praveen
Kumar as the acting
Chief Justice of Andhra
Pradesh High Court in
Vajaywada.
Lingappa Narayana Chief Justice(Acting) Karnataka High Court
Swamy
Jaideep Govind Secretary General National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC)
Vice Admiral G Ashok Vice Chief Naval Staff He holded as a deputy
Kumar Chief of naval Staff from
June 6,2016.
FEBRUARY
Shane Warne Brand ambassador Rajasthan Royals For upcoming 12th
edition of Indian
Premier League (IPL)
Pramod Chandra Chairman Central Board of Direct He will succeed Sushil
Mody Taxes (CBDT) Chandra
Govind Prasad Chairman National Book Trust He will be replacing
Sharma (NBT) Baldeo Sharma
Ashwani Lohani Chairman and Air India
Managing Director
(CMD)
B. P. Sharma Chairman & Pawan Hans
Managing Director
(CMD)
Ajit Kumar P Chief Western Naval Command He is an awardee of
Vishisht Seva Medal in
2006, the Ati Vishisht
Seva Medal in 2014 and
Param Vishist Seva
Medal in 2019 by the
President of India.
SN Gharmade Chief of Staff Eastern Naval Command,
Vishakhapatnam
Depinder Singh Ahuja Chief of Staff Southern Command
Anirban Mukherjee Chief Executive PayU India He will succeed Amrish
Officer (CEO) Rau.
Rishi K Shukla Director Central Bureau of He is the former Madhya
Investigation (CBI) Pradesh DGP , as the
new director of the
Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) for a
fixed tenure of two
years.
A.K. Sharma Director (Finance) Indian Oil Corporation He was appointed
(IOC) Director (Finance) of
IOC in October 2014 and
superannuated on

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January 31, 2019.

Sushil Chandra Election He made this
Commissioner appointment by
exercising the powers
given under clause (2) of
Article 324 of the
Constitution.
Justice D K Jain Ombudsman Board of Control for He is the first
Cricket in India (BCCI) ombudsman for the
Board of Control for
Cricket in India (BCCI).
MARCH
Aamir Khan Brand Ambassador PhonePe
Virender Sehwag Brand Ambassador PolicyX.com He will be the face of its
biggest marketing
campaign of insurance
products covering term
insurance, health
insurance, life insurance,
car insurance and
others.
P K Mishra Chief Justice(Acting) Chhattisgarh Chief Justice of
Chhattisgarh High Court
A K Tripathi resigned
from the post after he
got appointed as the
Member of the Lokpal.
Pramod Sawant Chief Minister(13th) Goa He succeeds Manohar
Parrikar, who died due
to Cancer.
Veselin Matic Coach Indian Men’s basketball He will succeed Zoran
team Visic, who is currently
on the charge of coach of
Indian women's
basketball team.
Ajit Kumar Mohanty Director Bhabha Atomic Research By the Ministry of
Centre (BARC) Personnel for 3 years
MA Hampiholi Director General Navy He will succeed Satish
Naval Operations Namdeo Ghormade.
(DGNO)
Gauri Sawant Election Election Commission of The highest enrolment
ambassador(First India of transgenders (324) is
Transgender) in Mumbai North Lok
Sabha constituency.
Subhash Chandra Finance Secretary India He has succeeded Ajay
Garg Narayan Jha.

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Pinaki Chandra Lokpal or the anti- India Dilip B. Bhosale, Pradip

Ghose corruption Kumar Mohanty, and
ombudsman(First) Abhilasha Kumari and
Ajay Kumar Tripathi
have been appointed as
judicial members under
the Lokpal.
Rustom Irani Managing Director Hitachi Payment Services He will succeed Loney
Antony
DK Jain Ombudsman BCCI (Board of Control for
Cricket in India)
APRIL
Murali Kartik Brand Ambassador Fantasy 11,Gaming He is the’ official Fan
startup Management Partner’
for Premier Badminton
League.
Mahendra Singh Brand Ambassador RedBus RedBus started its
Dhoni operation in 2006,
works with over 2500
bus operator and have
sold more than 180
million bus tickets till
date. It also a part of the
MakeMyTrip group.
Vikas Khanna Brand Ambassador Indo-American Arts
Council (IAAC)
Keshav Murugesh Chairman NASSCOM (National Nasscom also
Association of Software designated Pravin Rao,
and services companies) Infosys COO UB as its
Vice Chairman for 2019-
20.
Jitendra Chaddah Chairman India Electronics and He succeeds Anil Kumar
Semiconductor Muniswamy
Association (IESA)
Ravinder Kumar Chairman Export Promotion Council He will take charge for
Passi for Handicraft (EPCH) the post of Chairman
shortly from his
predecessor O P
Prahladka.
M S Yadav General Secretary All India Federation of PTI
Employees' Unions
(AIFPTIEU)
Mukesh Kumar General Secretary Judo Union, the Asian The present President of
governing body Judo Federation of India,
Partap Singh Bajwa was
elected as Vice President
of Judo Union of Asia and
as president of South
Asia Judo Federation.
Mithali Dorai Raj Goodwill Indian women's cricket This is the first cricket
ambassador team world cup for street-
connected children and
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final will be played at

Lord’s in London on May
7.
Vikramjit Singh President International Chamber of He will succeed Jawahar
Sahney Commerce- India Vadivelu.
Gargi Kaul Secretary Defence Finance The senior bureaucrat,
Kaul is currently serving
as Financial Advisor
(Defence Services),
Ministry of Defence.
MAY
ViratKohli and Brand ambassadors Myntra They were the first ever
Anushka Sharma official brand
ambassadors.
Salman Khan Brand ambassadors BharatPe The new Campaign will
be directed towards
instructing merchants
and users about UPI
payments along with
driving adoption of
BharatPe app for all
their business needs.
Sanjiv Puri Chairman ITC Limited Now Sanjiv Puri became
the Chairman and
Managing Director
(CMD) of ITC. Previous
Manager of ITC Yogesh
Chander Deveshwar has
passed away recently.
Birender Singh Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee Now BS Dhanoa will be
Dhanoa (COSC) the Chairman of COSC
with effect from May 31,
2019 due to the
retirement of Admiral
Sunil Lamba
Arjan Kumar Sikri Chairperson News Broadcasting His predecessor is
Standards Authority Justice (retd) R V
Raveendran
Admiral Karambir Chief of Naval Indian Navy He succeeded Chief
Singh Staff(24th) Admiral Sunil Lanba,
who retired from the
service after completion
of 3 years. Singh was the
Flag Officer
Commanding-in-Chief
(FOC-in-C) of the
Eastern Naval
Command(ENC)
headquartered at
Visakhapatnam, Andhra
Pradesh.
Jagan Mohan Chief Minister Andhra Pradesh Succeeds Chandrababu
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Reddy(YSR Congress) Naidu of Telugu Desam

Party
Prem Singh Chief Minister Sikkim He succeeded Pawan
Tamang(Sikkim Kumar Chamling of SDF,
Krantikari Morcha the longest-serving CM
(SKM)) of the country.
Naveen Patnaik(Biju Chief Minister Odisha He is the longest-serving
Janata Dal) chief minister of the
state.
Pema Chief Minister Arunachal Pradesh Governor Brig(Retd) B D
Khandu(Bharatiya Mishra with 11 Cabinet
Janata Party(BJP)) Ministers administered
the oath
Igor Stimac Coach Indian men’s football He succeeds Stephen
team Constantine
Vice Admiral Atul Flag Indian Navy The Ceremonial parade
Kumar Jain Officer Commanding- was held at the naval
in-Chief (FOC-in- base in Visakhapatnam,
C) of the Eastern Andhra Pradesh.
Naval
Command(ENC).
National Democratic Prime Minister India He sworn in for the
Alliance (NDA) second consecutive
leader Narendra term,Click here to read
Damodardas Modi more.

International
Name Appointed as Entity/place Points to be noted
JANUARY
Sultan Abdullah King Malaysia
Shri Pranav R Mehta President Global Solar He is dubbed as the Solar Man of India.
Council
(GSC),USA
Nicolas Maduro President Venezuela He sworn in as Venezuela’s
President for the 2nd term for a new 6-
year term.
Jair Bolsonaro President(42nd) Brazil
Andry Rajoelina President Madagascar He Succeeds Hery
Rajaonarimampianina.
Felix Tshisekedi President Congo He Succeeds the Outgoing President
Joseph Kabila.
Kristin Scott President France’s Cesar
Thomas Award
Sheikh Hasina Prime Minister Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina Wins Third Term as PM
of Bangladesh.
Su Tseng-chang Prime Minister Taiwan Tseng-chang will replace Lai Ching-te
who resigned from the post following
the defeat in the elections.
Stefan Lofven Prime Minister Sweden He was appointed as Prime Minister of
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Sweden for a second term.

Christophe Joseph Prime Minister Burkina Faso

Marie Dabire
Dr.Poonam Regional World Health She is the first woman to become
Khetrapal Singh Director Organization Regional Director of WHO South-East
South-East Asia Asia Region.
FEBRUARY
Indra Nooyi Board of Amazon With her appointment, Amazon’s 11-
Directors member board now has five women,
including Nooyi,Brewer, Jamie Gorelick,
Judith McGrath & Patricia Stonesifer.
Abdel Fattah El Sisi Chairman African Union He will succeed Rwanda’s President
Paul Kagame.32nd AU Summit held in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Juan Guaido Interim Venezuela
President
Nayib Bukele President El Salvador He will assume the chair of President
on June 1 ,2019.
Muhammadu President Nigeria He defeated Atiku Abubakar
Buhari
Mohamed Tahir Prime Minister Sudan
Ayala
Ajay Singh President AIBA He has been elected to the post for a
(International tenure of four years.
Boxing
Association)
Brij bhushan Sharan President Wrestling He was appointed for a third time for a
Singh Federation of period of 3 years.
India (WFI)
MARCH
Padma Lakshmi Goodwill United Nations She will have the responsibility to
ambassador Development support the agency’s fight against
Programme inequality and discrimination which
(UNDP) can affect people in rich and poor
countries alike.
Macky Sall President Senegal He is reappointed for the second term.
Sheikh Ahmad Al- President Olympic Council He is appointed for five-year term until
Fahad Al-Sabah of Asia 2024
Azali Assoumani President Comoros He was re-elected as the President of
Comoros after defeating his closest
rival, Mohamoudou Ahamada.
Zuzana President Slovakia She will succeed Andrej Kiska. She has
Caputova(45) deafeated high-profile diplomat Maros
Sefcovic by winning 58% votes.
Kaja Kallas Prime Minister Estonia She is the first female Prime Minister of
Estonia, after the liberal Reform Party
declared victory in the elections against
centre-left Prime Minister Juri Ratas’s
party.

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Juha Sipila Prime Minister Finland He resigned along with his cabinet,
after failing to push through parliament
plans to overhaul health services and
social care in the face of an aging
population
Mahmoud Abbas Prime Minister Palestine He succeeds Rami al-Hamdallah who
resigned from this post 6 weeks ago.
APRIL
Manu Sawhney Chief Executive International
Officer (CEO) Cricket Council
(ICC)
Sheikh Salman bin Chief Asian football
Ebrahim Al Khalifa
Lori Lightfoot Mayor Chicago She is the first Black Women Mayor &
also the first lesbian Leader for the City.
She will succeed Rahm Emanue.
Praful Patel Member FIFA Executive He has become the first Indian to enter
Council the elite panel of the game's global
governing body.
Abdelkader President Algeria He has been appointed as the interim
Bensalah (77) President of the country.
Davis Malpass President World bank He will succeed Jim Yong-Kim.
Volodymyr President Ukraine He defeated incumbent Petro
Oleksandrovych Poroshenko of Petro Poroshenko Bloc
Zelensky "Solidarity" party.
Benjamin Prime Minister Israel This is his 5th term
Netanyahu
Jean Michel Lapin Prime Minister Haiti He succeeds Jean-Henry Ceant.
Mohammed Prime Minister Palestine The new 24 member cabinet replaces a
Ishtayeh technocratic government, which was
formed by Rami Hamdallah in 2014.
MAY
Dia Mirza Advocates United Nations She was among 17 new advocates to
achieve Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs).
Tijjani Mohammad President United Nations He is the second Nigerian to be
Bande General appointed to this post, prior being Mr.
Assembly(UNGA) Joseph Nanven Garba(1989-1990).
Prof. Tijjani Bande will succeed María
Fernanda Espinosa Garcés.

Kumar Sangakkara President Marylebone He was the first non-British president

Cricket Club of MCC.He succeeds Anthony Wreford.
(MCC)
Stevo Pendarovski President North Macedonia
Laurentino “Nito” President Panama He Succeeded Juan Carlos Varela
Cortizo
Cyril Ramaphosa President South Africa He was elected after President Jacob
Zuma resigned from the post due to
charges of corruption.
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Joko Widodo President Indonesia He defeated his rival Prabowo Subianto,

a retired general. Joko Widodo belongs
to PDI-P, political party where as his
rival Prabowo Subianto belongs to
Gerindra.
Volodymyr President Ukraine He succeeded Petro Poroshenko. He
Zelenskiy won 73% of the vote cast and became
Ukraine's youngest post-Soviet
President.

Peter Mutharika of President Malawi He won the elections against the

Democratic opposition candidate Lazarus
Progressive Party Chakwera from the Malawi Congress
(DPP) Party (MCP) who secured 35.4% of the
votes.
Muhammadu President Nigeria He belongs to All Progressives
Buhari Congress(APC) Party. He won 56% of
the votes cast. He was in power since
2015.
Scott Morrison Prime Australia Other members include Deputy PM
Minister(30th ) Michael McCormack, Australia’s first
Aboriginal federal cabinet minister, Ken
Wyatt also sworn alongside with Scott
Morrison at a ceremony in the
Canberra. He replaced Malcolm
Turnbull as chief of the ruling Liberal
Party.
James Marape Prime Minister Papua New He succeeded Peter O'Neill of People's
Guinea National Congress party.

Rakesh Sharma Vice President International Decision was taken during the annual
Motorcycle general meeting of (IMMA) at
Manufactures Yogyakarta in Indonesia.
Association
Complete list Of Union Council Of Ministers 2019: Cabinet Ministers with their constituency:
Highlights
 Nirmala Sitharaman has become the first full-time female Finance Minister of India.
 Central government had formed ‘Jal Shakti’ Ministry by Merging Water Resources and Drinking
Water Ministries.
 Subrahmanyam Jaishankar had become first career diplomat to be appointed as External
Affairs Minister of India.
 Smriti Irani is the youngest council of ministers in the second term of Modi government. She is
currently 43 years of age.Click here to read the entire minister list

Resignation
JANUARY
Name Resigned as Entity/Place
JANUARY
Ashok Chawla Chairman National Stock Exchange(NSE)
Sultan Muhammad V Malaysia’s monarch First time in History stepped down
before completion of tenure

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P C Mohanan and J V
Meenakshi
Kummanam Rajasekharan
Nursultan Nazarbayev
Gafur Rahimov
Arjan Kumar Sikri
Abdelaziz Bouteflika
Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga
Uday Kumar Varma
Vinay Dube
Akihito
Juan Carlos I
Venkataraman Janakiraman
B.V.P. Rao
BUSINESS INITIATIVES
JANUARY
 “GAFA tax”( Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon )– introduced-France- to pay a fair share of
taxes on their massive businesses in Europe.
 SoftBank Ventures Korea- renamed - SoftBank Ventures Asia
AC EXAM PDF
FEBRUARY
Non-governmental members National Statistical Commission
MARCH
Governor of Mizoram Governor of Assam, Jagdish
Mukhi has been appointed in his
place temporarily.
President Kazakhstan.He served as the
first and only President of
Kazakhstan. He be succeeded by
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (65).
President of Amateur Rahimov will be replaced by an
International Boxing Federation interim president.
(AIBA)
Supreme Court Judge In this regard, President Ram
Nath Kovind has nominated
Justice S A Bobde of the
Supreme Court as executive
chairman of the National Legal
Services Authority (NALSA) in
place of Justice Sikri.
APRIL
President Algeria
Prime Minister Mali
Secretary General Associated Chambers of
Commerce and Industry
(Assocham)
MAY
Chief Executive Officer Jet Airways .Chief Financial
Officer and deputy CEO Amit
Agarwal, Chief People’s Officer
Rahul Taneja and Company
Secretary and Compliance
Officer Kuldeep Sharma
resigned from their positions
with immediate effect.
Emporer Japan
Former monarch Spain
Independent Director IL&FS Securities Services Ltd
(ISSL)
President Archery Association of India
(AAI)
BUSINESS
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 GST on Haj has been reduced from 18% to 5%.

FEBRUARY
 Government panel headed by Nitin Patel, recommended -reducing GST on under-construction
flats from 12% to 5%.
 Centre has increased Minimum Selling Price of Sugar by Rs 2/kg.
 Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) released a new 41-page
"Draft National e-Commerce Policy-India’s Data for India’s Development".
 Investments by listed companies with a net worth of Rs 100 crore or turnover of Rs 250 crore
will be exempted up to Rs 25 crore.
 Investments of up to Rs 25 crore in eligible startups by Non-Residents, and Alternate
Investment Funds – Category I will also be exempt under Section 56 (2) (viib) of the Income
Tax Act.
MARCH
 Govt increased the income tax exemption for gratuity from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.
 India’s Data Usage forecasted to rise at 73% CAGR by 2022.
 India sets ‘aspirational’ target for engineering exports by 2025.
 Microsoft launched Project ‘Sangam’ to boost India’s Swachh Bharat Mission.
APRIL
 Google opens its 1st African Lab in Ghana.
 Asian Tea Alliance launched in China
 India Post collaborates with TCS to digitalize 1.5 lakh post offices & creating world’s largest
EPostal network by deploying largest SAP implementation.
 First Indian Platform for Wholesale Cryptocurrency Trading has introduced by BuyUcoin.
MAY
 Vodafone Idea collaborates - IBM and signs a multi-million dollar IT deal.
 Facebook registers - secretive cryptocurrency firm ‘Libra Networks LLC’ in Geneva,
Switzerland.
 Wirecard teams up with India to issue PAN cards.
 US Government removed India and Switzerland from its currency monitoring list

ANTI DUMPING DUTY

JANUARY
 Chinese synthetic rubber ‘fluoroelastomers’ –for 18 months.
FEBRUARY
 India boosts Customs Duty to 200% on goods imported from Pakistan.
APRIL
 Anti dumping duty on -solar cell components (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate Sheet for Solar Module)
from China, Malaysia, Saudia Arabia and Thailand for a period of 5 years.
MAY
 Anti-dumping duty of 1,633.17 $ per tonne imposed on saccharin imports from Indonesia
 Trade between India and US in goods and services registers 12.6% growth in 2018
 Facebook has selected London as the center to develop WhatsApp’s mobile payment service

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

JANUARY
 India enter - merger and acquisition (M&A) club –by-1,200 deals worth around $ 110
billion or Rs 71,000 crore in 2018.
FEBRUARY
 Asian Development Bank acquires Annapurna Finance
 Facebook acquired US-based virtual search start-up, GrokStyle
MARCH
 ICICI Bank acquired 9.9% stake in Kisan Finance for cash consideration-for-Rs 17.82 crore.

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 Bandhan Bank acquired of Gruh Finance

 Power Finance Corporation (PFC) acquired REC Ltd -for- Rs 14,500 crore.
APRIL
 PayU acquired Wibmo-for-USD 70 million.
 Quikr has acquired Bengaluru-based secondhand goods marketplace Zefo-for- INR 200 Crore.
MAY
 Bharti Airtel acquired Hughes Communication India for Undisclosed.
 Reliance Brands acquired Hamleys Global Holdings Limited for USD 88.6 million (Rs 620
crore).
 Infosys, technology giant has acquired 75% stake in Stater N.V, a subsidiary of the Netherlands-
based ABN AMRO Bank for $144 million (Rs 999 crore) in cash.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

APP & WEB PORTAL
Mobile apps/portal Launched by Purpose
JANUARY
M-Aarogya App Prime Minister Narendra For better health care facilities in
Modi Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
Roshni Indian Institute of To help Visually Impaired to
Technology (IIT), Ropar recognise currency notes
FEBRUARY
PM-JAY App Indu Bhushan World’s largest cashless health
insurance scheme
e-AUSHADHI Minister of State (IC) for For online licensing of Ayurveda,
AYUSH, Shripad Yesso Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy
Naik drugs and related matters
Nyaya Bandhu Union Minister for Law It is pro bono legal service which is
and Justice and IT Ravi designed to connect practising
Shankar Prasad lawyers and the registered eligible
beneficiaries in a hassle-free manner.
SAFAR Mobile App Suresh Prabhu SAFAR Mobile App was launched to
gauge the actual issues faced by
transporters on the road.
MARCH
Banglar West Bengal Education To provide real-time data on state-
Shiksha“(banglarshiksha.gov.in), Minister, Partha run and aided schools. This portal is
Chatterjee first of its kind in the country.
e-Dharti App Hardeep S Puri, Minister To make all the three modules –
of Housing and Urban Conversion, Substitution and
Affairs Mutation online.
Shiksha Vani Central Board of To publicize crucial information to
Secondary Education students and parents in a timely
(CBSE) manner". As a part of it, the app has
already uploaded the circular
regarding the evaluation procedure
for the 2019 Board Examinations.
Bhonga Linkus Infratech,Mumbai To connect users to their
neighborhood people in the city even
without an Internet connection.

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“Bhonga” is a Marathi word which

means megaphone or loudspeaker.
APRIL
My Circle Bharti Airtel has To assist women in case they face any
launched a mobile app in panic situation or problem.
collaboration with FICCI
Ladies Organisation
(FLO)
Voter Turnout App Election commission of To enable the people of India to
India watch realtime voter turnout.After
collecting all the information from
officers, it will be compiled and
displayed in the app.
Money Loji App Money lending platform Offers loan to salaried professionals
Money Loji within 5 minutes with flexible
repayment options starting from 7
days to a maximum of 90 days. The
eligibility criterion is a minimum in-
hand salary of Rs 20,000 per month
and a minimum age of 23 years.
MAY
BSE StAR MF BSE (Bombay Stock In order to enable more participation
Exchange) and aid mutual fund distributors to
accelerate transactions process. It
helps distributors in purchasing and
redeeming the mutual fund units on
behalf of their clients.

SATELLITES
JANUARY
 SpaceX Falcon 9 launched - Iridium Communications satellite comprises of 10 voice and
data satellites.
 Japan –launched-Epsilon – 4 rocket - carrying 7 satellites including world’s first artificial
meteor shower.
 ISRO-launched PSLV C44 carrying Kalamsat V2 and imaging satellite Microsat R from Sathish
Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
FEBRUARY
 GSAT-31-40th communication satellite- by Arianespace launch vehicle- will replace the InSAT
satellite.
MARCH
 ChinaSat 6C-China-launched from- Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province.
APRIL
 China-launched-Tianhui II-01 Satellite- to perform scientific experiments.
 EMISAT-launched by- India- This was the 71st launch vehicle.
 Raavana-1-First Satellite of Srilanka.
 NepaliSat-1-First Satellite of Nepal.

INVENTIONS
JANUARY
 NASA’s transiting exoplanet survey satellite (TESS) has discovered a planet named HD21749b.
 Scientists – discovered- new planet K2-288Bb-twice the size of Earth.
FEBRUARY
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 Chinese news agency Xinhua unveiled the world’s first female AI news anchor Xin Xiaomeng.
MARCH
 Astronomers from the University of Texas at Austin- discovered -by the Kepler space telescope.
♦ K2-293b – It orbits a star 1,300 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius.
♦ K2-294b – It orbits a star 1,230 light-years away, also located in Aquarius.
APRIL
 Scientists developed Ultrasensitive Quantum Thermometer.
 Third Transiting Planet in the Kepler-47 Circumbinary System ,"Kepler-47d" - discovered.
 First Earth-Size planet: HD 21749b discovered by NASA’s TESS Exoplanet Mission.
 New exoplanet named TOI-197.0 has been discovered by NASA's TESS.
MAY
 U.S. Department of Energy creates a new 100% recyclable plastic named
Polydiketoenamine(PDK).
 Samsung launched world’s Highest Resolution Image Sensor.

ENVIRONMENT
JANUARY
 Cyclonic storm “PABUK” - Andaman Sea and neighbourhood.
FEBRUARY
 A new Snake Species "Hebius lacrima" discovered in Arunachal Pradesh.
 Australian small brown rat becomes World’s first mammal to go extinct due to climate change
 World’s largest bee- Megachile pluto- spotted the first time since 1981
 Himachal Pradesh government declared Monkeys as vermin
MARCH
 Cyclone Idai hit the Mozambique city of Beira
 India’s deepest shaft at Krem Um Ladaw. It has 105 m deep shaft entrance passage.
 A new species of frog known as ‘Starry Dwarf Frog’ / ‘Astrobatrachus kurichiyana’ has been
discovered in Kurichiyarmala, Kerala.
 Indian Sundarbans became ‘Wetland of International Importance’
APRIL
 Callichimaeraperplexa: New 95 million-year-old ‘cartoon-eyed’ crab species found in Columbia.
 UN List Bhopal Gas Tragedy as one of the world’s ‘Major Industrial Accident’ in 20th century.
 A group of jumping spiders named "Habrocestum longispinum" spotted for the first time
in Ernakulam’s Illithodu forests, Kerala.
 India's "Hump-backed mahseer", freshwater fish added in "Critically Endangered" list.
MAY
 Cyclone Fani hits Odisha and West Bengal.
 India’s Smallest Orchids named “Lecanorchis Taiwaniana”- discovered in Assam.
 Vice President of India, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu called to protect and promote Ongole cattle
breed.
 First time- world's rarest Albino Panda-found in- southwestern Sichuan province of China

DEFENCE
MISSILES
JANUARY
 Israel successfully – tested- Arrow 3 missile system from Central Israel.
 Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) - launched Long Range Surface to Air
Missile (LR-SAM) jointly developed by - Israel Aerospace Industries - off the coast of Odisha.
 India – tested - anti-radiation missile(NGRAM)-Odisha.
FEBRUARY
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 Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM)-tested from- Chandipur in Balasore district,

Odisha- will replace the ‘Akash’ missile.
 Nasr - short range surface-to-surface ballistic missile- tested from- Pakistan-Strike range of
about 70-km.
 Helina, a helicopter-launched version of the Nag anti-tank guided missile-Odisha Coast- Hit
range of 7-8 km.

MARCH
 Man-Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM)-tested from- Pokhran ranges of Rajasthan
desert.
 Anti-Satellite (ASAT) missile test “Mission Shakti”-tested from- Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island
(earlier, Wheeler island) in Odisha.
APRIL
 ‘Nirbhay’- Long range sub sonic cruise missile-launched in- Chandipur, Odisha.
MAY
 Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM)-test fired in- Western seaboard, carried out by
Indian naval ships Kochi and Chennai.
 Aerial version of supersonic BrahMos cruise missile(weighed 2.5 tonnes and a target range of
around 300 km.) from Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft – test fired- Andaman and Nicobar
archipelago.
 Shaheen-II missile-test fired- Pakistan.
 Akash-1S surface-to-air defence missile system-test fired – from- Balasore off the Odisha coast.

COMMISSION/DECOMMISSION
JANUARY
 ‘INS KOHASSA’ –Commissioned-at Diglipur, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
APRIL
 Guided Missile Destroyer ‘INS Imphal’-launched.
 Indian Coast Guard Vessel ICGS C-441 -at Vizhinjam Harbour, Thiruvananthapuram.
MAY
 Indian Navy's frontline missile destroyer, INS Ranjit-decommissioned-after 36 years- at the
naval dockyard in Visakhapatnam.
 Indian Coast Guard Ship ‘Vigraha’ decommissioned at Vishakhapatnam

EXERCISES
Name of the Exercise Participating Countries Venue
JANUARY
IMBEX India-Myanmar(Army) Chandimandir , Chandigarh
SEA VIGIL(Largest ever coastal Indian Navy Indian Coast
defence exercise )
India Africa Field Training India-Africa Pune, Maharashtra
Exercise (IAFTX)
FEBRUARY
Exercise Rahat Joint Humanitarian Jaipur, Rajasthan
Assistance and Disaster Relief
Exercise(Indian Army)
Exercise Topchi Indian army demonstrated its Nashik,Maharashtra
artillery firepower, aviation
and surveillance capacity
Exercise ‘AMAN-19’ The 5-day multinational Karachi,Pakistan
maritime exercise in which
46 nations participated from
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CUTCLASS EXPRESS 2019
Exercise ‘Vayu Shakti’
Exercise Velayat 97
Cobra Gold military exercise
Mainamati Maitree Exercise 2019
Sampriti-2019
Red Flag 2019
Exercise Al Nagah III
Africa-India Joint Field Training
Exercise (AFINDEX-19)
Theatre Level Operational
Readiness Exercise (TROPEX 19)
MITRASHAKTI – VI
33rd edition of the India-
Indonesia Coordinated Patrol
(Ind-Indo Corpat)
AUSINDEX 19
Bold Kurukshetra–2019
IN – VPN BILAT EX
Sea Vigil
AC EXAM PDF
all over the world. Motto
“Together for Peace”.
INS Trikand, the frontline Vicinity of Djibouti,
warship of the Indian Navy, Mozambique and Seychelles
participated in a multi-
national training exercise
Indian Air Force conducted Pokhran, Rajasthan
mega exercise. Advanced
Light Helicopter (ALP) and
the Akash surface-to-air
missile were deployed in
military exercise for the first
time.
3-day annual navy drill of It will be held in the waters of
Iran Strait of Hormuz, Makran
coast, Oman Sea and the north
of the Indian ocean and will
cover an area of 2 million
square kilometres.
29 nations took part as
participants or observers
MARCH
India’s BSF and Bangladesh’s Agartala, Tripura
Border Guards
Bangladesh(BGB)
India and Bangladesh(Army) Tangail, Bangladesh
Air forces from United States, United States
the United Arab Emirates,
Belgium, the Netherlands,
Singapore and Saudi Arabia
India and Oman Jabel Al Akhdar Mountains in
Oman
Indian Army and 16 African Pune, Maharashtra
nations
Inter-service military Andaman & Nicobar Islands
exercise
Indian and Sri Lanka Army Diyatalawa in Sri Lanka
India and Indonesia Port Blair, Andaman &
Nicobar Islands
APRIL
India & Australia military Vishakhapatnam, India
exercise
India and Singapore Jhansi’s Babina Cantonment,
Uttar Pradesh,India
Indian Navy and Vietnam Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam
Peoples’ Navy
Indian Navy Exercise Sea Vigil's prime
objective is to safeguard India’s
7516.6 km coastline and its
exclusive economic zone
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ADMM-PLUS (ASEAN Defence Busan, South Korea. Indian

Ministers' Meeting) Navy’s 2 warships, INS
Kolkata and INS Shakti had
gone to Qingdao in China to
participate in the
International Fleet Review
MAY
17th edition of the Indo-French India and France The 2nd part of the naval
naval exercise, Varuna 19.1 exercise, Varuna 19.2, will be
held at May-end in Djibouti.
Bull Strike Indian Army, Indian Navy Teressa Island in Andaman
and Indian Air Force and Nicobar
Group Sail India(INS Kolkata and Fleet South China Sea
Support Ship, INS Shakti),
Japan, Philippines and US
8th Indo-Myanmar Coordinated Myanmar Navy Ship UMS Andaman and Nicobar
Patrol (IMCOR) King TabinShweHtee (773) Command in Port Blair
and UMS Inlay (OPV-54) and
Indian Naval Ship Saryu have
participated
26th edition of Singapore India Singapore & India(INS Singapore
Maritime Bilateral Exercise Kolkata and INS Shakti)
(SIMBEX) -longest uninterrupted
naval exercise
Pacific Vanguard Naval Exercise US, Japan, South Korea and Guam
Australia
OTHER DEFENCE NEWS:
 IAF formally inducted four heavy-lift Chinook helicopters-in- Air Force Station, Chandigarh.
 Indian Army inducted Four Indigenous ‘Dhanush’ Howitzers guns- first long-range artillery
gun-38km
 US has consented the sale of 24 "MH-60R Seahawk" helicopters to India for $2.6 bn.
 Indian Government clears procurement of 464 Russian tanks under the T-90 Project.
 Indian Navy’s –to buy-10 ‘Kamov Ka-31’ Helicopters worth of Rs 3,600 crore from Russia.
 INS Vela, Indian Navy's 4th Scorpene-class submarine was launched at Mazagon Dockyard in
Mumbai.
 India receives its first Apache Guardian attack helicopter in Boeing’s production facility in
Mesa, Arizona US.
 Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) successfully conducted the flight test
of ABHYAS in Odisha.

SPORTS
WINNERS OF TOURNAMENT/CHAMPIONSHIP:

Sports/Tournament/title Venue Winner Points to be noted

Australian F1 Grand Prix Australia Mercedes Formula He was followed by Lewis
2019 One (F1) driver Hamilton of Mercedes and Red
Valtteri Bottas Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Asian Youth Athletes Hong Kong China topped the India secured second position in
Championship championship with the overall medals tally with 26
31 medals medals including 8 gold, 9 silver
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including 12 gold, and 9 bronze medals.

11 silver and 8
bronze.
15th Special Olympics Abu Dhabi, India wins 368 Motto “Meet the Determined”. The
World Summer Games United Arab medals at the next Special Olympic Games are
2019 Emirates Special Olympics set to take place in Sweden in
World Summer 2021.
Games including 85
gold, 154 silver and
129 bronze.
Bahrain Grand Prix 2019 Bahrain Lewis Hamilton of Mercede's Valtteri Bottas of
Mercedes Finland ranked second position.
Chinese Grand Prix China Lewis Hamilton
23rd edition of Asian Khalifa Bahrain (BHR) won India won 17 medals which
Athletics Championship Internation 22 medals include 3 gold, 7 silver and 7
al Stadium bronze. Gomathi Marimuthu wins
in Doha, gold in women’s 800m race.
Qatar Tejinder Pal Singh Toor wins gold
in men’s shot put. PU Chitra wins
gold in women’s 1500m race.
Click here to read the entire
winners.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2019 Baku, Valtteri Viktor Top 5 rank:
Azerbaijan Bottas (Finland) of 1. Valtteri Viktor Bottas
Mercedes 2. Hamilton
3. Sebastian Vettel
4. Max Verstappen
Asian Wrestling Xi’an, China Iran topped the India won 16 medals which
Championship 2019 medal tally by include 1 gold, 3 silver and 4
winning 11 gold bronze by men’s freestyle
and 6 Bronze.It is wrestlers. Bajrang Punia bags gold
followed by China, in 65-kg Category
Japan.
Asian Road Para-Cycling Tashkent, Indian para cyclists Divij Shah has clinched silver
Championships 2019 Uzbekistan won a silver and medal in the C5 category.
two bronze medals GurlalSingh, became the only
Indian cyclist (able-bodied or
otherwise) to win a medal at the
Asian Games level grabbed a
bronze in the C4 section.Sudhakar
Marathe, a Hand cyclist from
Maharashtra has claimed bronze
for India in H5 category.
Asian Weightlifting Ningbo, Overall medal tally India won 5 medals which include 3
Championships 2019 China was clinched by silver and 2 bronze medals, finished
China. tenth place in the tournament.Click
here to read the winners.
Spanish Grand Prix in Lewis He celebrated the This is third victory of 2019 and
Barcelona Hamilton 76th win of his fourth in Spain following victories in
(Mercedes) Formula 1 career, 2014, 2017 and 2018.
of United
Kingdom

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Monaco Grand Prix that Lewis This was his sixth straight win in
was held in Circuit de Hamilton of the year 2019.
Monaco La Condamine and Mercedes
Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Archery World Cup Stage 3 Indian men’s The trio performed against Anton
held in Antalya, Turkey compound team Bulaev, Alexander Dambaev and
of Abhishek Verma, Pavel Krylov of Russia and
Rajat Chauhan and registered a win with 235-230.
Aman Saini won India scored 59, 58, 59, 59 in four
bronze medal rounds.
Ali Aliev Tournament 2019 Bajrang He defeated Russian wrestler
held at Kaspiysk in Punia Viktor Rassadin in 65-kg category
Dagestan, Russia by 13-8.
Badminton
JANUARY
 Premier Badminton League (PBL) 2019- Bengaluru Raptors .
 Indonesia Masters Title 2019:
♦ Women’s single-India’s Saina Nehwal Wins Title After Spain’s Carolina Marin Retires(first
Indian women’s player to win the Indonesia Masters title)
♦ Men’s Single-Danish player Anders Antonsen won his first ever Indonesia Masters after
defeating world number one Kento Momota of Japan
♦ Men’s double-world number one doubles Indonesian pair Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and
Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo defeated Indonesian duo Muhammad Ahsan and Hendra
Setiawan
♦ Women’s Double-Ayaka Takahashi (L) and Misaki Matsutomo of Japan defeated Kim So
Yeong and Kong Hee Yong of South Korea.
♦ Mixed doubles-the first-seeded duo Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong of China defeated the
Indonesia’s favourite team Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir.
MARCH
2019 All England Open Badminton Championships in Arena Birmingham, England
Category Winner Runner
Men’s Single Kento Momota(Japan) Viktor Axelsen(Denmark)
Women’s Single Chen Yufei(China) Tai Tzu-ying(Taiwan)

Men’s Doubles Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi
Setiawan (Indonesia) Yik(Malaysia)
Women’s Double Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan(China) Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana
Nagahara (Japan)
Mixed Double Zheng Siwei and Huang Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino
Yaqiong(China) (Japan)
 Joachim Persson of Denmark was banned for 18 months.
APRIL
Badminton Asia Championship 2019 held in Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium in Wuhan, China
S.No. Event Winner Runner
1. Men’s Single Kento Momota (Japan) Shi Yuqi (China)
2. Women’s Single Akane Yamaguchi (Japan) He Bingjiao (China)
3. Men’s Doubles Hiroyuki Endo (Japan) Marcus Fernaldi Gideon (Indonesia)
Yuta Watanabe (Japan) Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo
(Indonesia)
4. Women’s Doubles Chen Qingchen (China) Mayu Matsumoto (Japan)
Jia Yifan (China) Wakana Nagahara (Japan)
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5. Mixed Doubles Wang Yilu (China) He Jiting (China)

Huang Dongping (China) Du Yue (China)
MAY
 Badminton World Federation (BWF) launched two new formats of Badminton named as
AirBadminton & Triples.
 16th Edition of Sudirman Cup i.e. 2019 Sudirman Cup Badminton title-China won defeating
Japan.

Boxing
70th International Boxing
Tournament Strandja 2019 in Sofia,
Bulgaria
Makran Cup boxing tournament in
Chabahar, Iran
Asian Boxing Championship 2019
held in Huamark Indoor Stadium in
Bangkok, Thailand.
XXXVI Feliks Stamm International
Boxing Tournament 2019 in
Warsaw, Poland
2nd edition of India Open
International Boxing Tournament
2019 was held in at Karmabir Nabin
Chandra Bordoloi Indoor Stadium in
Guwahati, Assam
FEBRUARY
Russia topped the medals
tally with 9 medals (5 Gold
and 4 Bronze)
MARCH
India won 8 medals,
including one gold, five
silver and two bronze
APRIL
India finished with 13
medals that include 2 gold
medals, 4 silver medals and
7 bronze medals.
MAY
India won a total 6 medals
India won a total 57 medals
which include 12 gold, 18
silver, and 27 bronze
medals.
India at 2nd rank with 7
medals (3 Gold, 1 Silver, 3
Bronze) and USA at 3rd with
8 medals (2 Gold, 1 Silver, 5
Bronze).
Gold-Deepak Singh(46-
49kg) light fly category.
Silver -P Lalitha Prasad
(52kg), Manish Kaushik
(60kg), Duryodhan Singh
Negi (69kg), Sanjeet (91kg)
and Satish Kumar (+91kg).
Boxer Amit Panghal won
gold medal in 52-kg
category & Pooja Rani won
gold medal in 81-kg
category.Click here to read
the entire medal winners.
2 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze
medal.Gaurav Solanki in Fly
(52-kg) category and
Manish Kaushik in Light
(60-kg) category.
The event was organized by
the Boxing Federation of
India (BFI).

Cricket
JANUARY
 India 1st team- to win bilateral series in all formats in Australia.
 USA Cricket announced as ICC’s 105th member.
FEBRUARY
 ODI Series between New Zealand and India: India defeated New Zealand by 4-1.
 85th season - Ranji Trophy -Vidarbha won by defeating Saurashtra.
 Irani cup titles- Vidarbha won by defeating Rest of India (RoI).
MARCH
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 WODI series of England Women tour of India 2019-India won- Smriti Mandhana was named
the Player of the Series.
 WT20I series of England Women tour of India 2019- England won- Danielle Wyatt won the
Player of the Series.
 ODI series of Australia Men tour of India 2019-Australia won- Usman Khawaja won the player
of the series.
 T20I series of Australia Men tour of India 2019-Australia won- Glenn Maxwell was declared the
Man of the Series.
 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore-Karnataka won-defeating
Maharashtra.
 T10(Shortest form) cricket League is set to be played in Zayed Cricket Stadium of Abu Dhabi
for the next five years.
MAY
 12th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL)- Mumbai Indians- won-by defeating- Chennai
Super Kings by 1 run at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.Read the detailed
article.
 Amul - sponsor Afghanistan team in - World Cup 2019.

Recognition/Person in News:
JANUARY
 Ishant, Shami, Bumrah breaks 34 year old record with 131 wickets in 2018.
 Rishabh Pant became 1st ever Indian wicket-keeper to take 20 catches in a Test series.
 Virat Kohli fastest to 19000 international runs, breaks Sachin’s record
 Rishabh Pant 1st ever Indian wicketkeeper to slam Test ton in Australia
 Rohit Sharma 1st Indian to slam 5 ODI hundreds in Australia.
 Wasim Jaffer - first Indian and the first Asian batsman -to score two double centuries after
turning 40 in first-class cricket.
FEBRUARY:
 Irfan Ansari(UAE)-coach -banned-for 10 years.
 Sanath Jayasuriya(Srilanka) - banned from all forms of cricket for 2 years.
 Rohit Sharma(India)-First-to score-100 sixes-in-T20I.
 Sana Mir(Pakistan)- First Asian woman to play hundred T20Is.
 Mithali Raj(India)-First female player to play 200 ODIs.
APRIL
 Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mark Boucher: inducted by MCC as honorary life members for
outstanding achievements in cricket.
 Ajinkya Rahane becomes 1st Indian cricketer to join Hampshire
 Australia’s Claire Polosak became first female umpire to stand in men’s ODI
 Papua New Guinea got ODI status after USA and Oman
MAY
 GS Lakshmi- first ever, female match referee-inducted in- International Cricket Council (ICC)’s
International Panel of Match Referees.

Football
FEBRUARY
 17th edition of the AFC Asian Cup -held in UAE-Qatar won by defeating four-time champion
Japan 3-1.
MARCH
 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Women’s Championship 2019-India won-defeated-
Nepal.
 Indian Super League (ISL) title-Bengaluru Football Club (FC)-won-by defeating- FC Goa.
APRIL

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 Stephanie Frappart first woman to referee Ligue 1 match.

 FIFA world football rankings- Belgium stayed on top spot
MAY
 Tai Nicholas, former secretary of Oceania Football Confederation banned from football for next
eight years by FIFA.
 Indian Women’s League Champions in Guru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana, Punjab-Sethu FC-won-
by defeating Manipur Police SC.

Tennis

JANUARY
Australian Open 2019:
Tournament held in Melbourne Park, Australia.
Event Winner Runner
Men’s Singles Novak Djokovik(Serbia) Rafael Nadal(Spain)
Women’s Singles Naomi Osaka(Japan)( first ever Petra Kvitova(Czech Republic)
Asian to become world No.1)

Men’s Doubles Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Henri Kontinen(Finland) &

Nicolas Mahut(France) John Peers(Australia)

Women’s Doubles Samantha Stosur(Australia) & Timea Babos(Hungary) &

Shuai Zhang (China) Kristina Mladenovic(France)

Mixed Doubles Barbora Krejcikova(Czech Astra Sharma and John Patrick

Republic) & Rajeev Ram(United Smith(Australia)
States)

FEBRUARY:

Overview of the 2019 Qatar ExxonMobil Open and 2019 Qatar Total Open:
2019 Qatar ExxonMobil Open
Category Winner Runner-up
Men’s Singles Roberto Bautista Agut Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic)
(Spain)
Men’s Doubles David Goffin Robin Haase(Netherlands) /
(Belgium) / Pierre- MatweMiddelkoop(Netherlands)
Hugues Herbert
(France)

2019 Qatar Total Open

Category Winner Runner-up
Women’s Singles Elise Mertens (Belgium) Simona Halep (Romania)
Women’s Double Chan Hao-ching (Chinese Anna-Lena Gronefeld (Germany)
Taipei)/ Latisha Chan / Demi Schuurs (Netherlands)
(Chinese Taipei)
 Hopman Cup-Roger Federer & Belinda Bencic retain title for Switzerland.
 Maharashtra Open – 2019- Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan defeated – UK’s Luke Bambridge
and Jonny O’Mara.

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MARCH:
Overview of Indian Wells Masters 2019 held in California, United States
Category Winner Runner-up
Men’s Singles Dominic Thiem (Austria) Roger Federer (Switzerland)

Women’s Singles Bianca Andreescu (Canada) Angelique Kerber (German)

Men’s Doubles Nikola Mektic (Croatia) and Horacio Lukasz Kubot (Poland) and
Zeballo (Argentina) Marcelo Melo (Brazil)
Women’s Doubles Elise Mertens (Belgium) and Aryna Barbora Krejcikova (Czech
Sabalenka (Belarus) Republic) and Katerina Siniakova
(Czech Republic)
 India lost hosting rights of -Junior Davis Cup and Fed Cup.

APRIL
2019 Miami Open held in Florida
Category Winner Runner Up
Men’s Single Roger Federer (Switzerland) John Isner (USA)
Women’s Single Ashleigh Barty (Australia) Karolina Pliskova (Czech
Republic)
Men’s Double Bob Bryan (USA) and Mike Bryan (USA) Wasley Koolhof (Netherlands)
and Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece)
Women’s Doubles Elise Mertens (Belgium) and Aryna Samantha Stosur (Australia) and
Sabalenka (Belarus) Zhang Shuai (China)

MAY
Mutua Madrid Open 2019 in Madrid, Spain:
Events WINNER RUNNER UP
Men's Singles Novak Djokovic (Serbia) StefanosTsitsipas (Greece)
Men's Doubles HoriaTecau (Romania). Dominic Thiem (Austria),
Jean-Julien Rojer (Curacao) Diego Schwartzman( Argentina)
Women's Singles Kiki Bertens (Netherlands) SimonaHalep(Romania)
Women' Doubles Hsieh Su-wei (Taiwan), Xu Yifan (China),
Barbora Strycova (Czechia) Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada)
76th edition of Italian Open which is also known as “Rome Masters” or “the Internazionali BNL
d’Italia” held at Foro Italico in Rome, Italy:
Event Winner Runner-up
Men’s Singles Rafael Nadal (Spain) Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
Men’s Doubles Juan Sebastian Cabal (Columbia) Raven Klaasen (South Africa)
Robert Farah (Columbia) Michael Venus (New Zealand)
Women’s Singles Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) Johanna Konta (UK)
Women’s Doubles Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)
Ashleigh Barty (Australia)

Shooting
MARCH:
 International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) in NewDelhi, India-India won 3 gold and
topped.
♦ Manu Bhaker, Saurabh Chaudhary won gold in 10m Air Pistol Mixed Category.
♦ Saurabh Chaudhary won gold in 10m Air Pistol
♦ Apurvi Chandela bags gold in women’s 10m Air Rifle
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APRIL
 12th Asian Airgun Championship 10m, Rifle/Pistol-held in- Taoyuan City, Chinese Taipei-India
topped the medal tally by winning 25 medals viz, 16 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze medals.Click
here to read the winner list.
 ISSF Rifle/Pistol World Cup 2019 held in Beijing, China-India won 4 medals which include 3
gold and 1 silver:
♦ Gold:10m Air Rifle Mixed-Anjum Moudgil Divyansh Singh Panwar, 10m Air Pistol
Mixed-Manu Bhaker Saurabh Chaudhary, 10m Air Pistol-Abhishek Verma,
♦ Silver:10m Air Rifle-Divyansh Singh Panwar.
MAY
 2019 ISSF World Cup 3-Overview held in Munich, Germany- India topped -winning 5 gold
medal and a silver medal totaling 6 medals.
♦ Gold: Saurabh Chaudhary(10 metre air pistol and broke down his own world
record),Apurvi Chandela(10 metre air rifle),Rahi Sarnobat(25 metre pistol),Divyansh
Singh Panwar & Anjum Moudgil(10 metre air rifle(Mixed Team)),Saurabh Chaudhary &
Manu Bhaker(gold in 10 metre air pistol(Mixed Team))
♦ Silver: Apurvi Chandela & Deepak Kumar (10 metre air rifle(Mixed Team))

Retirement:
Name of the Person Country/Sport they belong to Points to be Noted
JANUARY
Albie Morkel Cricket/ South Africa
Johan Botha Cricket/ South Africa
Danielle Hazelle Cricket /England
Ewen Chatfield Cricket /New Zealand
PetrCech Footballer/ Czech
Andy Murray Tennis/ United Kingdom Former World No. 1
FEBRUARY
Chris Gayle Cricket/ West Indies Announced Retirement from
One Day Internationals (ODIs)
Nicol David Squash/ Malaysia She will be retiring at the end
of the 2018-19 Professional
Squash Association (PSA
MARCH
James DeGale Boxing/U.K He is Britain’s first boxer to
win an Olympic gold medal
and become a world champion.
Imran Tahir Cricket/South Africa Will retire from One Day
International (ODI) cricket
after the ICC Men’s Cricket
World Cup 2019. He will
continue to play in the T20
internationals and participate
in the 2020 ICC Men’s T20
World Cup in Australia.
Jean Paul Duminy Cricket/South Africa Will retire from One Day
International (ODI) cricket
after the ICC Men’s Cricket
World Cup 2019.
Lasith Malinga Cricket/Sri lanka Will retire after T20 World Cup
2020.
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Mehtab Hossain Football/India He currently plays for Mohun

Bagan in the Hero I-League.
Tim Cahill Football/Australia
Conor McGregor Mixed Martial Art
(MMA)/Ireland
Stephanie Nicole Garcia- WWE (World Wrestling
Colace aka Nikki Bella Entertainment)/U.S.
Kurt Angle WWE (World Wrestling
Entertainment)/U.S.
APRIL
Shane Watson Cricket/Australia Retires from Big Bash League
Dave Bautista WWE (World Wrestling
Entertainment)/U.S.
MAY
Xavi Hernandez(39) Football/Spain Barcelona Midfielder retires
from football
Yaya Toure(35) Football / Ivory Coast Manchester City and Barcelona
midfielder retired from
football

Other sports
JANUARY
 Khelo India Youth Games:
♦ Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi in Pune
♦ Maharashtra won 85 gold, 62 silver and 81 bronze for a total of 228 medals.
FEBRUARY
 National Games 2022 - held in Meghalaya -Mascot -Smiling Clouded Leopard.
MARCH
 International Olympics Committee (IOC)-included- Breakdancing, Surfing, Skateboarding and
sport climbing-in- Paris Olympics 2024.
 K.T. Irfan- qualified- Tokyo Olympics(2020)-belongs to 20 km Walking.
 All India Carrom Federation (AICF)- included-in National Sport Federation
 Kudo International Federation India (KIFI) –included- in National Sport Federation
APRIL
 Saurav Ghosal- first Indian male squash player to break into the top 10 of the latest PSA
(Professional Squash Association) world ranking.

Upcoming Sports Events

Asian Games :
 Venue of Asian Games 2018 - Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia.
 Venue of Asian Games 2022 – Hangzhou, China.
 Venue of Asian Games 2026 – Nagoya, Japan

Commonwealth Games (CWG)

 Venue of CWG Games 2018 – Gold Coast, Australia.
 Venue of CWG Games 2022 – Birmingham, England.

Olympics Games
Summer Olympic :
 Venue of Summer Olympic Games 2020 – Tokyo, Japan
♦ Miraitowa is the mascot of 2020 Tokyo Olympics

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♦ Someity is the mascot of Tokyo 2020 Paralympics

♦ Torch unveiled, on the concept of "“Share Your Light". The torch is made from the same
recycled aluminum and is modeled after the Japanese cherry blossom or “sakura”. The
color of the torch is “Sakura Pink”.
 Venue of Summer Olympic Games 2024 – Paris, France

Winter Olympic :
 Venue of Winter Olympic Games 2018 – Pyeongchang, South Korea.
 Venue of Winter Olympic Games 2022 – Beijing, China

ICC World Cup Cricket

 Venue of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 – England, Wales.
 Venue of ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 – India.

ICC World Cup T20

 Venue of World Cup T20 2016– India.
 Venue of World Cup 2020 – Australia.

ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup

 Venue of ICC Women Cricket World Cup 2017 – England.
 Venue of ICC Women Cricket World Cup 2021 – New Zealand.

ICC Women’s World Cup T20

 Venue of World Cup 2014 – Bangladesh.
 Venue of World Cup T20 2016– India.
 Venue of World Cup T20 2018– West Indies
 Venue of World Cup 2020 – Australia.

Hockey Men’s World Cup

 Venue of Hockey Men’s World Cup 2014 – The Hague, Netherlands.
 Venue of Hockey Men’s World Cup 2018 – Bhubaneswar, India.

Hockey Women’s World Cup

 Venue of Hockey Men’s World Cup 2018 – London, England.

FIFA (Football) World Cup

 Venue of FIFA World Cup 2018 – Russia.
 Venue of FIFA World Cup 2022 – Qatar.

FIFA Women's World Cup

 Venue of FIFA World Cup 2019 – France.

23rd edition of the World Corporate Games

 23rd edition of the World Corporate Games-Qatar.

♦ Formula 1 race 2020:Hanoi,Vietnam.

♦ 2023 IAAF World Championships- Budapest,Hungary.
♦ Pakistan to host 2020 Asia Cricket Cup.
♦ Khelo India Youth Games 2019-Pune,Maharashtra.
♦ Egypt to host 2019 Africa Cup of Nations(Football).
♦ Beijing, China to host FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019-Son of Dreams was unveiled as official
Mascot.
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♦ 39th National Games in 2022-Meghalaya.
♦ 24 team ATP Cup in 2020- Australian cities Sydney and Brisbane (First 2 host locations).
♦ Egypt-to host-African Cup for the fifth time in 2019.
♦ China-to host-football Asian Cup 2023
Book Name
A Crusade Against
Corruption’
We Are Displaced
Universal Brotherhood
Through Yoga
Law, Justice and Judicial
Power – Justice P N
Bhagwati’s Approach
Undaunted: Saving the
Idea of India
Simplicity & Wisdom
Quality, Accreditation and
Ranking – A Silent
Revolution in the Offing in
Indian Higher Education
Mann Ki Baat – A Social
Revolution on Radio
Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas
Dictionary of Martyrs of
India’s Freedom Struggle
(1857-1947)
AC EXAM PDF
BOOKS & AUTHORS
Author Other Information
JANUARY
Manohar Manoj Vice-Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Harivansh
Narayan Singh launched the book.
Malala yousafzai The book is all about the Journey and Stories
from Refugee Girls Around the World.
The book is compiled Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu launched
by Bharatiya Sanskrit the book
Pitham
FEBRUARY
Mool Chand Sharma The book was launched by the Chief Justice of
India, Shri Justice Ranjan Gogoi.
P Chidambaram Former Vice President Hamid Ansari
launched the book
Dinesh Shahra The Book was launched by the Governor of West
Bengal– Keshari Nath Tripathi and Swami
Chidanand Saraswati, Head of Parmarth Ashram,
this book is dedicated to Late Vedanti Swami
Pragananandji.
EPSI’s Alternate Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu publicized
President, Dr. H the book
Chaturvedi
MARCH
Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley released
a book .The book contains 50 episodes of PM
Modi’s sincere talk with the citizens of India
which is broadcasted by All India Radio.
Union Minister of Finance and Corporate
Affairs Arun Jaitley released a book.It is a
compilation of selected speeches of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi.
It was released by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, at Lok Kalyan Marg, New Delhi. The
project for compilation of “Dictionary of
Martyrs” of India’s Freedom Struggle was
commissioned by the Ministry of Culture, to
the Indian Council of Historical Research
(ICHR) to commemorate the 150th
anniversary of uprising of 1857.
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Every Vote Counts Chief Election It was launched by former Vice President of
Commissioner of India, India, Hamid Ansari in New Delhi. This book
Navin Chawla is about, how the electoral machinery works
in India.
Indian Fiscal Federalism Dr. Y.V. Reddy and G.R. The launch event of the book was addressed
Reddy by the Chairman of the 15th Finance
Commission NK Singh, in New Delhi.

APRIL

“Saffron Swords: Manoshi Sinha Rawal The Indian Publishing company, Garuda
Centuries of Indic Prakashan Private Limited, launched the
Resistance to Invaders” book.
"Kundan: Saigal’s Life & Sharad Dutt Kundanlal Saigal was an Indian singer and
Music" actor who is considered the first superstar of
the Hindi film industry.
'Selected speeches of Dr. It was released by Prasar Bharati Chairman,
Bhimrao Ambedkar in the A Surya Prakash.Ambedkar was architect of
Constituent Assembly’ the Constitution of India and also the
independent India's first law minister.
“Diary of an Awesome Jeff Kinney The book is written from the opinion of
Friendly Kid: Rowley Rowley Jefferson, the best friend of ‘Diary of
Jefferson’s Journal” a Wimpy Kid’ supporter Greg Heffley.
Khooni Vaisakhi Mr. Suri A book containing English translation of the
100 year old classic Punjabi poem about
Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
Indian constitution in Prof Stephen Quadros Has translated the book in Konkani. The
Konkani Permude Mangaluru Bishop Peter Paul Saldanha has
released the book.
Politics of Jugaad: The Journalist Saba Naqvi She examines the possibility of a coalition
Coalition Handbook government after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls
Chequered Brilliance: The Former union minister A biography of Indian nationalist, diplomat,
Many Lives of V K Krishna and writer Jairam and politician V K Krishna Menon.This book
Menon Ramesh will be released in first quarter of 2020.
MAY
Work of Beauty: It was published by Publications Division,
Architecture and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Landscape of Rashtrapati Ambassador Navdeep Suri presented this
Bhawan book to UAE Minister of Tolerance Sheikh
Nahayan Mubarak Al Nahayan
Game Changer Afridi and journalist Shahid Afridi, former captain of the 'Pakistan
Wajahat S Khan national cricket team' has written his
autobiography titled, ‘Game Changer’ which
will unveil answers to the much-
contemplated questions about him.
Coming Round the Ruskin Bond The book is published by Penguin India.
Mountain "Coming Round the Mountain" is third of
Ruskin Bond's award-winning memoir series
for children, prior being "Looking for the
Rainbow" &"Till the Clouds Roll By".
Naxal movement in West Nabaneeta Dev Sen It was first published in Bengali in 1978.It is

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Bengal translated from Bengali to English by

Paulami Sengupta, Tias Basu and the author.
It is published by Niyogi Books' imprint
Thornbird.
'Darkness to light' Lamar Odom The book reveals the dark secrets of his life.
He is the ex-husband of Khloe Kardashian, an
American media personality, socialite, model,
businesswoman, and entrepreneur.
Voyage to Antarctica Dr. Felix Bast It was released by Prof. Ashutosh Sharma,
Secretary of Department of Science and
Technology(DST). Story of Consciousness by
Dr. Govind Bhattacharya.An Autobiography
of Moon by Dr. Ramesh Shishu.Sambhu Nath
De - The Discovery of Cholera Toxin by Dr.
M.S.S Murthy were also released at the same
event.
Digital Dilemma Milt Shelton and Andy The Hindi translation of an Academy
Maltz Publication, Digital Dilemma, has been
launched by Academy of Motion Picture Arts
& Sciences (AMPAS) aka Oscar Academy
President, John Bailey, at New Delhi
JANUARY
 ‘Nari-Shakti’ is the Oxford Dictionaries Hindi Word of the year for 2018
MARCH
 Indian English word ‘chuddies’ recognized as official English word by the Oxford English
Dictionary (OED). The word is one of the new 650 entries.It means underpants or short
trousers or shorts.
MAY
 World’s most mysterious 600-year old manuscript named ‘Voynich Manuscript’ was finally
deciphered by Bristol academician Dr. Gerard Cheshire.

OBITUARY

NATIONAL
Name of the person Place of Demise,Field Points to be noted
who passed away
JANUARY
Dibyendu Palit Bengali Writer, Kolkata Palit was conferred the Sahitya Akademi for his
novel ‘Anubhab’ in 1998.
Atin Bandyopadhyay Bengali Writer, Kolkata Some of other ficition written by him
are ‘Aloukik Jaljaan’, ‘Nil Timi’, ‘Ekti Jaler Rekha’
Ramakant Achrekar Coach, Mumbai He coached Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.He won
Dronacharya award.
Lenin Rajendran Director(Malayalam) He was a five-time recipient of the Kerala State
and screenwriter, Film Awards and also received the International
Chennai Federation of Film Critics Award for the best
Malayalam film for his ‘Makaramanju’ screened
at the 2010 IFFK.
Geroge Fernandes Former defence He served as the Defence Minister in the year
minister, New Delhi 1998.
Mohammed Footballer, Hyderabad Former India and 1956 Olympian footballer. He
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Zulfiqaruddin also represented India in the 1958 Tokyo Asian

Games and the Merdeka Cup in Malaysia.
Jagjit Singh Chopra Neurologist, He won Padma Bhushan award and was the
Chandigarh founder of the department of neurology
at PGIMER, Chandigarh
Bhanu Prakash Singh Politician, Indore He was former ex Goa Governor and head of the
Narsinghgarh royal family
Sri Shivakumara Saint, He was popularly known as “Nadedaduva
Swamiji Tumakuru,Karnataka Devaru” (Walking God) passed away at the age
of 111.
Krishna Sobti Writer and essayist, She was a Jnanpith awardee. She won the
New Delhi Sahitya Akademi Award in 1980 for her novel
Zindaginama
FEBRUARY
Namwar Singh Author,New Delhi He died in New Delhi at the age of 92.
Dara Dotiwalla Cricket Umpire,Chennai He organized the famous tied Test match
between India and Australia.
Priyanath Dey Politician and Freedom Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP, Ladu Kishore Swain
Fighter, Bhubaneswar passed away at the age of 71 due to kidney-
related ailments
Francis D’Souza Politician,Goa He was former Goa Deputy Chief Minister and
BJP Lawmaker
Vishnu Wagh Writer and Speaker, He was eminent writer and former Deputy
Cape Town, South Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly
Africa
MARCH
Haku Shah Artist, Ahmedabad, His memoir Manush received several awards
Gujarat including the Padma Shri in 1989.
Muni Hitruchivijayji Jain monk, Ahmedabad He is the last disciples of Acharya
Gujarat Ramchandrasurishwarji.
Maate Mahadevi Lingayat Basava Dharma Peetha President
pontiff,Bengaluru,
Karnataka
Vinod Kashyap Newsreader ,NewDelhi She worked at the All India Radio for around 30
years.
Manohar Parrikar Politician(CM),Goa He is the India’s 18th and Goa’s second chief
minister to die in office.
Satya Brata Singh Supreme Court His native was Dhanbad,Jharkhand.
judge,New Delhi
Ghulam Nabi Rathar Social activist, Manigam
Kangan, Jammu and
Kashmir
Ashita Writer and poet, She won Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award
Thrissur,Kerala
APRIL
J. Mahendran Director, Screenwriter Mahendran was born on 25th July 1939 in
and actor/Tamil Nadu Ilaiyangudi, Madurai.
Holkhomang Haokip Politician/Manipur He was a leader of the Kuki community (of
North-east India) and being elected to the 13th
Lok Sabha (in 1999). He was a former Member of
Parliament.

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KM Mani Politician/Kerala He was the only politician who has been elected
from the same constituency for 13 consecutive
elections.
Drupad Borgohain Politician/Assam He was a Rajya Sabha member between 1998
and 2004 and served as a legislator from Nazira
constituency from 2006-2011 in the Assam
assembly.
Paripooranand Painuli Politician/ Delhi He was elected to the 5th Lok Sabha in 1971.
SK Shivakumar Scientist/ Bengaluru The Padma shree awardee was a part of team
which had developed telemetry system for
India’s first moon mission Chandrayan – I.
Amar Paul Singer/Kolkata He was awarded by Sangeet Natak Akademi
Award for his contribution to the folk music of
West Bengal.
MAY
Yogesh Chander Business Man/ Born in Lahore, Pakistan. He is the founder of
Deveshwar Gurugram ITC .
Derek Sippy Cue sports Player, He was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra.He served
Coach as Secretary of the Billiards and Snooker
and administrator / Association of Maharashtra (BSAM).
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Naik Narayan Singh Mountaineer/ Mt He was born in Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand. He
Makalu, Mahalangur was one among the 18 member of Indian Army
Himalayas Mountaineering Expedition team to Mt Makalu
(8485m) which found footprints of mythical
creature ‘Yeti’.
Thoppil Mohamed Novelist/ Pettai in He was born in Thaengaaipattinam in
Meeran Tirunelveli,Tamil Nadu Kanniyakumar, Tamil Nadu. His novel “Saaivu
Naarkkali” (The Reclining Chair) won the Sahitya
Akademi Award in 1997.
V Viswanatha Menon Politician /Kochi, He was born in Ernakulam, Kerala. He served as
Kerala the Finance Minister in 1987 during the Left
Democratic Front government led by E.K.
Nayanar.
MB Balakrishnan Swimmer/Chennai, He was born in Tamil Nadu. He won South Asian
Tamil Nadu Games Gold medalist.
The last captive white tiger at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in Borivali, Mumbai named
Bajirao died due to old age related problems at the age of 18.
India's only orangutan, Binny died at Odisha's Nandankanan Zoological Park after a prolonged
illness. It was 41 years old.

INTERNATIONAL
Name of the person who Place of Demise,Field Points to be noted
passed away
JANUARY
Kader Khan Actor-writer, Canada He passed away at 81 in Canada.Making his
acting debut in 1973 with Rajesh Khanna’s
“Daag”, he has featured in over 300 films. He
wrote dialogues for over 250 movies and was
also a screenwriter.
Russell Baker Author, US He won Pulitzer Prize for satirical
commentary and self-critical prose, and
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author of Pulitzer Prize-winning

autobiography Growing Up (1983).
Tony Mendez CIA agent, US He inspired the Oscar-winning film “Argo”.
Sir Michael Atiyah Mathematician He was best known for his contribution to a
branch of mathematics called topological K-
theory and the Atiyah-Singer index theorem.
Michel Legrand Music composer Legrand won Oscar award three times.
Masazo Nonaka Oldest man He belong’s to Japan’s northern most island
of Hokkaido at the age of 113.
Mary Oliver Poet She won Pulitzer Prize
FEBRUARY
Albert Finney Actor,London The veteran actor was best known for his
roles in Tom Jones, Erin Brockovich and
Annie.
Manfred Eigen Chemist, Bochum, He also won Nobel Prize
Germany
Wallace Smith Broker Scientist, New York, He popularly known as ‘Grandfather of
United States Climate Science’
Pedro Morales Wrestler, Puerto Rico He passed away at the age of 76.He was the
first ever WWE Triple Crown Champion.
MARCH
John Richardson Art historian He devoted more than a quarter century in
Manhattan, New York writing four-volume biography of Pablo Picasso.
Andre Previn Composer and Pianist He was a 10-time Grammy Award winner and
,Manhattan, New had won 4 Oscars.
York, USA
Bill Playle Cricketer,New South He was natively from Manawatu, New
Wales, Australia Zealand.
Alan B. Krueger Economist, Princeton, He advised two presidents and helped lead
New Jersey, United economics toward a more scientific approach
States to research and policymaking. He was born
on 17th September 1960 in Livingston, New
Jersey, United States.
Jerry Merryman Electrical He was credited with inventing the world’s
engineer,Dallas, Texas first handheld electronic calculator in 1960s
Charlie Whiting FIA’s director He was the FIA’s director of Formula One. He
Melbourne, Australia was born in Kent, United Kingdom.
Vinjamuri Anasuya Devi Folk artist, radio Hailed from Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, she
commentator, was also awarded ‘Queen of Folk’ award in
Houston, USA Paris and Kala Prapoorna award.
Rafi Eitan Mossad agent and He was born on 23rd November 1926 at Ein
Spymaster, Tel Aviv, Harod, Mandatory Palestine in Israel.
Israel
Zhores Alferov Physicist,St. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000.
Petersburg, Russia He researched in the field of information
technology and his research was the
backbone of computers, CD players, mobile
phones etc.
Bharat Mohan Adhikari Politician He is natively from Mahottari district of
,Kathmandu, Nepal Nepal.
Bruce Yardley Spinner, Coach and He played 33 Tests and 7 ODIs for Australia
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commentator as an off-spinner.
,Kununurra, Western
Australia
Scott Walker aka Noel Scott Songwriter and He was born in Hamilton, Ohio in 1943.
Engel producer, London,
England
Kelly Catlin Stanford He had thrice been the world champion and
University,California had been a member of the U.S. women’s
pursuit team that won silver in 2016 Rio
Olympics
King Kong Bundy real name Wrestler,Atlantic City, WWE legend
was Christopher Pallies New Jersey, U.S.A.
APRIL
Jerrie Cobb Astronaut/ Florida She became the first woman to pass
astronaut testing in 1961. Total 13 women
passed the physical testing and became
known as the Mercury 13. She was born on
5th March 1931, in Norman, Oklahoma.
Elriesa Theunissen-Fourie Cricketer/ South She represented South Africa in four
Africa internationals – three ODIs and one T20I match
of 2013 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup squad.
PatrickRousseau Cricketer/Jamaica He was former president of West Indies
cricket Board (WICB), from 1996 to 2001,and
Jamaican Attorney at law has died in Jamaica.
John Singleton Director/ United He was the youngest-ever film-maker to be
States nominated for the best director Oscar and
know for the film Boyz n the Hood.
Terry Rawlings Editor/ England He was nominated for BAFTA awards for his
work on ‘Alien’ in 1980 & ‘Blade Runner’ in
1983 as well as Oscar nomination for
‘Chariots of Fire’ in 1982.
Lorraine Warren Paranormal She investigated haunted houses and other
investigator/ Monroe, manifestation of paranormal activities
Connecticut throughout her life
Alan Garcia Politician/ Peru He served two terms as Peru’s president,
from 1985 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2011,
shot himself in his bedroom at his home in
Lima
Grand Duke Jean Politician/ In 1963, he became the sixth Grand Duke of
Luxembourg Luxembourg.
Negasso Gidada President/Ethiopia He was the president between 1995 and
2001 and was the first head of state after
Ethiopia adopted a new constitution
transforming country into a federal state.
Mark Medoff Writer/ New Mexico He won Olivier and Tony awards for writing
‘Children of a Lesser God’. The screen
adaptation of "Children of a Lesser God"
earned an Oscar nomination.
MAY
Ieoh Ming Pei Architect/ New York He was born in Guangzhou, Republic of China.
He designed Louvre Pyramid in Paris France.

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Bob Hawke Politician/ Sydney, He was born in Bordertown, South Australia.

Australia He was 23rd Prime Minister of Australia.He
led the Labor Party from 1983 to 1991.
Prem Tinsulanonda Politician/ Bangkok, He was born in Southern Thailand.He served
Thailand as the 16th prime minister of Thailand from
1980 to 1988.
Binyavanga Wainaina Writer, gay right He was born in Nakuru, Kenya. In 2002, he
activist/ Nairobi won Caine Prize for his short story
"Discovering Home".
John Pinto World War II Navajo He was born in Lupton, Arizona, US. Pinto
Code Talker, was the longest-serving senator in the state,
Lawmaker/ Gallup, first elected in 1977 and served until his
New Mexico, USA death on May 24, 2019.

IMPORTANT DAYS
Observed Day Other information
date/week
JANUARY
1st January 2019 Defence Research and DRDO has made the country self-reliant in areas of
Development missiles, radars, sonars and torpedoes and many
Organisation(DRDO) other systems.
4 January 2019 World Braille Day
th It is celebrated in the rememberance of Louis
Braille who was the inventor of Braille for the
people with visual disabilities.
9th January 2019 Non Resident Day or Marks the contribution of overseas Indian
Bharatiya Pravasi Day community in the development of India
10 January
th World Hindi day The main focus of World Hindi Day is “to promote
2019 the language at the global stage”.
10 January
th 26th Army Air Defence Day The Corps of Army Air Defence is the youngest arm
2019 of Indian Army
12 January
th National Youth Day (also To honour the birthday of Swami Vivekananda.
2019 known as Yuva Diwas) Theme of “Be The Voice of New India” and “Find
solutions and contribute to policy”.
14 January
th Armed Forces Veterans This Day is commemorated in the memory of first
2019 Day Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Armed
Forces Field Marshal K M Cariappa becoming a
veteran in 1953.
15 January
th 71st Army Day To commemorate our soldiers for their bravery
2019 and sacrifice
21st January 19 47th statehood day Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura
23 January
rd 122 Birth Anniversary of He was a member of the Indian National Congress
nd

2019 the great Freedom Fighter and later he formed Indian National Army also
Subhas Chandra Bose known as Azad Hind Fauz.
24th January National Girl Child Day The theme for National Girl Child Day 2019
2019 is “Empowering Girls for a Brighter Tomorrow”.
24 January
th 69th foundation day of
2019 Uttar Pradesh
24 January
th International Day of Theme for 2019 as “Empowering Girls for a
2019 Education Brighter Tomorrow”.
25 January,
th 49 full Statehood Day of
th

2019 Himachal Pradesh

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25th January, 9th National Voters Day Theme-‘No voter to be left behind’
2019 (NVD)
26th January 70th Republic Day South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa,was the
2019 Chief Guest of the 70th Republic Day
27th January International Holocaust
2019 Remembrance Day
28th January Data Protection Day also To raise awareness and promote privacy and data
2019 known as Data Privacy Day protection
30th January World Leprosy Eradication Theme for World Leprosy Day is ‘ending
2019 Day discrimination, stigma, and prejudice’.
30th January National Martyr’s Day or The day was observed to mark the death
2019 Sarvodaya Day anniversary of our greatest Hero and father of the
nation, Mahatma Gandhi who was assassinated by
Nathuram Dodse on 30th January 1948.
FEBRUARY
2nd February World Wetlands Day Theme- “Wetlands and Climate Change”.
4th February World Cancer Day Theme- “I Am and I will”.
4th -10th 30th National Road Safety Theme-“Sadak Suraksha-Jeevan Raksha”
February Week, 2019
6th February International Day of Zero The theme for the year 2019 is #EndGFM.
Tolerance for Female
Genital Mutilation (FGM)
8th February National Cleft Day India’s first toll free national cleft helpline named
Smile Train India cleft Helpline launched by Smile
Train India on National Cleft Day.
8th February National Deworming Day National Deworming Day (NDD) is observed bi-
(NDD) annually on 10th February and 10th August every
year in all states.This year is celebrated on 8th Feb
since 10th February is Sunday.
10th February World Pulses Day
11th February International Day of The theme 2019 was “Investment in Women and
Women and Girls in Science Girls in Science for Inclusive Green Growth".
11th February World Day of the Sick It was initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1992 with
an aim to encourage people to pray for those who
suffer from ill and for their caregivers.

12th February Productivity Day NPC also celebrates National Productivity Week
from 12th Feb to 18th Feb, 2019.
12th February International Darwin Day

13th February World Radio Day Theme 2019 -“Dialogue, Tolerance and Peace”.
20th February World Day of Social Justice Theme of 2019 – ‘If you want Peace and
Development, Work for Social Justice’
21st February International Mother Theme for the year 2019- “Indigenous languages
Language day matter for development, peace building and
reconciliation”.
22nd February World Thinking Day The theme 2019 was "Leadership".
24th February Central Excise day
27th February World NGO Day It was officially recognized and declared by the 12
member countries of the IX Baltic Sea NGO Forum
of the Council of the Baltic Sea States
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28th February National Science Day To mark the discovery of the ‘Raman Effect‘ by the
physicist Sir Chandrashekhara Venkata Raman.
28th February Rare Disease Day Theme - “Bridging health and social care”

MARCH
1st March Zero Discrimination Day Theme - "Act to change laws that Discriminate"
1st March Civil Accounts Day It showcased the progress of the flagship project of
the Indian Civil Accounts Organization namely the
Public Financial Management System (PFMS).
1st March World Civil Defence Day Theme - “Children’s safety, our responsibility”
3rd March World Hearing Day Theme - “Check your Hearing”
3rd March World Wildlife Day Theme - ‘Life below water: for people and planet’
4th March National Safety Day (NSC) Theme - “Cultivate and Sustain a safety culture for
building nation”.
4th March National Security Day also To praise the work of security forces such as army
known as Rashtriya officers, para-military, policemen and commandos.
Suraksha Diwas
4th March World Day of Fight against It aims to spread awareness about the prevalent
Sexual Exploitation sexual exploitation, largely among women and
children.
7th March Janaushadhi Divas To create awareness and provide further impetus
to the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi
Pariyojana (PMBJP) scheme. The government plans
to have at least one PMBJP Kendra in each block by
2020.
8th March International Women’s Day Theme –“Think equal, build smart, innovate for
change.”
10th March National Immunisation Day Pulse Polio programme was launched by the
President of India
10th March 50th Raising Day of Central History Book of CISF “CISF: Force of the Future”
Industrial Security Force and Annual Publication “Special Issue of Sentinel”
(CISF) were released by PM Narendra Modi.

11th March 34th inception day of Rajiv Gauba was the chief guest
National Crime Records
Bureau (NCRB)

12th March to India Smart Utility Week It is organized by India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) as
16th March 2019 (ISUW) 2019 an International Conference and Exhibition on
Smart Energy, Gas and Water for Smarter Cities.
12th March 89th anniversary of the The 400 km Dandi March was started from
Dandi Satyagraha or Salt Sabarmati Ashram on from March 12, 1930.
Satyagraha
14th March World Kidney Day Theme for World Kidney Day 2019 is Kidney
Health for Everyone Everywhere.
15th March World Consumer Rights Theme for World Consumer Rights Day “Trusted
Day Smart Products”.
15th March World Sleep Day Theme for World Sleep Day was ‘Healthy Sleep,
Healthy Aging’.
16th March National Vaccination Day On this day in 1995, the first dose of oral vaccine
against polio was given in India.

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18th March Ordnance Factories Day Indian Ordnance Factories are regarded as the
backbone of India’s Defence. On 18th March 1802,
the production of the oldest Ordnance Factory of
India was commenced at Cossipore, Kolkata.
18th March Global Recycling Day The theme for Global Recycling Day 2019 was
“Recycling into the Future”.
20th March World Sparrow Day(WSD) Theme for World Sparrow Day 2019 was “I love
sparrows”.
20th March International Happiness Theme of International Day of Happiness 2019 is
Day ‘Happier Together’.
21st March International Day for the Theme “Mitigating and countering rising
Elimination of Racial nationalist populism and extreme supremacist
Discrimination ideologies”.
21st March World Down Syndrome This year the focus of the day was on “Leave no one
Day behind” by creating opportunities for people with
Down syndrome to live fulfilling lives.
21st March World Poetry Day To encourage the reading, writing, and teaching of
poetry throughout the world.
21st March International Day of Theme for International Day of Forests: “Forests
Forests (IDF) and Education – Learn to Love Forests”.
22nd March World Water Day (WWD) Theme for World Water Day 2019 is “Leaving no
one behind”.
22nd March 107th foundation day To commemorate Bihar’s separation from Bengal
called Bihar Diwas 2019 or Presidency in 1912. It is a public holiday in Bihar.
Bihar Day
23rd March World Meteorological Day The theme 2019 was “The Sun, the Earth and the
Weather”.
23rd March Martyr’s Day (88th) or To commemorate the death anniversary of three of
Shaheed Diwas India’s freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, Shivaram
Hari Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar.
24th March International Day for the To Honor the memory of victims of gross and
Right to the Truth systematic human rights violations and to promote
Concerning Gross Human the importance of justice.
Rights Violations and for
the Dignity of Victims
24th March International Day for To honor the achievers who have shown
Achievers (IDA) determination and confidence on their journey.
24th March World Tuberculosis Day Theme for World Tuberculosis Day 2019 was "Its
time"

25th March International Day of To mark the anniversary of the abduction of Alec
Solidarity with detained Collett, a former journalist who was kidnapped by
and missing staff members armed gunman in 1985. The day aims to prepare
action, demand justice and to protect UN staff and
peacekeepers, the workers in non-governmental
community and the press.
25th March International Day of Theme 2019 was “Remember Slavery: The Power
Remembrance of the of the Arts for Justice”.
Victims of Slavery and the
Transatlantic Slave Trade
26th March Epilepsy Awareness Day In order to encourage the people to wear the colour
also known as World to increase the awareness of Epilepsy. Epilepsy is
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Purple Day eurological disorder in which brain activity

becomes abnormal causing seizures.
27th March World Theatre Day For 2019, famous theatre director, playwright,
academic and faculty member, Carlos CELDRAN
from Cuba was selected as the speaker of World
Theatre Day message 2019.
29th March World Piano Day
30th March World Idli Day
APRIL
1st April Odisha Day is also known The day is celebrated to commemorate the
as “Utkal Divas” sacrifices of people for the formation of Odisha
province in 1936.
2nd April World Autism Awareness The theme for 2019 was “Assistive Technologies,
Day (WAAD) Active Participation”.
4th April International Mine Theme - “United nations promotes SDGs –Safe
Awareness Day Ground –Safe Home” (SDG –Sustainable
Development Goals)
5th April National Maritime day The theme - "Indian Ocean- An Ocean of
Opportunity".
7th April World Health Day Theme - "Universal health Coverage: Everyone,
Everywhere" under the WHO slogan "Health for
All".
1st to 7th April Prevention of Blindness Prevention of Blindness Week was launched by
Week Jawaharlal Nehru and Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur,
under Societies Registration Act of 1860.
7th April to 14th National Handloom week On this occasion, a book named ‘The Indian textile
April Sourcebook’ authored by Avalon Fotheringham and
published by Thames and Hudson will launch on
9th April.
7th April Platinum Jubilee The commemoration day was observed to honour
Commemoration of the the supreme sacrifice made by the courageous
Battle of Kangla Tongbi Ordnance Personnel of 221 Advance Ordnance
Depot in the line of duty during the night of 6/ 7
April 1944 (during World War-II). It was fought
against Japanese forces.
7th April International Day of The day commemorates the slaughter of 800,000
Reflection on the 1994 people (where Tutsis and moderate Hutus were
Rwanda Genocide killed by members of the army, militias,civilians of
the Hutu community) for a period of 100 days
during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda,central Africa.
8th April International Roma Day It brings into limelight the grave fact about the 6
2019 million Romani people (living in the EU, European
Union) and 4 million living in the enlargement
region (Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia,
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
9th April 54th Valour Day of Central To Pay Tribute to Martyrs of police at the National
Reserve Police Force Police Memorial in New Delhi. On this day,
(CRPF) President Ram Nath Kovind launched Veer Parivar
App for assistance to the next of kin of the CRPF
martyrs.
10th April World Homoeopathy Day Theme - "Linking Education and Clinical Practice
2019 with Research: Advancing Scientific
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11th April National Safe Motherhood
Day 2019
12th April International Day of
Human Space Flight
12th April World Aviation and
Cosmonautics Day 2019
10th to 16th April 64th Railway Week 2019
13th April Rajouri Day 2019
7th to 13th April World Allergy Week 2019
13th April 100th anniversary
Jallianwallah Bagh
Massacre also known as the
Amritsar massacre
17th April Bangladesh celebrated
Mujeebnagar Day
17th April World Hemophilia Day
18th April World Heritage Day 2019
19th April World Liver Day 2019
19th April Good Friday also known as
Holy Friday or Black Friday
21st April World Creativity and
Innovation Day 2019
21st April Secretary’s day or Admin
Day
21st April National Civil Service Day
22nd April Global Earth Day 2019
14th to 20th April National Fire Service Week
22nd April International Mother Earth
AC EXAM PDF
Collaborations".
Theme - "Midwives for Mothers"
This day is also celebrated as ‘Cosmonautics Day’ in
Russia since 1963.
On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin
carried out the famous flight in spacecraft Vostok 1
started from Baikonur Cosmodrome.
During this, the Running Efficiency Shield was
presented to Stationery and O&M Branches (joint
winners) which were selected as "Best Maintained
Branch" of the Railway Board
The Year 2019 is being celebrated as the ‘Year of
Next of Kin’ to help families of martyrs.
Theme - "The Global Problem of Food Allergy".
To celebrate the harvest festival of Baisakhi and to
protest against the Rowlatt Act. On that event,
troops of the British Indian Army under the
command of Colonel Dyer opened fire at the
people.
To commemorate the formation of a provisional
government in Baidyanathtala, (later renamed as
Mujibnagar) Meherpur in 1971 of independent
Bangladesh.
Theme- ‘Outreach and Identification’
Theme-"Rural Landscapes".
This day is meant to raise awareness about liver
and following a lifestyle which supports liver
health. As per World Health Organisation (WHO),
liver diseases are 10th most common cause of
death in India.
The day is observed every year in honor and
remembrance of Jesus's Crucifixion and Christians
believe Jesus was crucified on Good Friday and rose
again three days later which is marked as Easter.
The United Nations (UN) recognized 21st April as
an official World Creativity and Innovation Day and
2018 marks the first year the UN was observed
WCID.
To recognize the work of secretaries, receptionists,
administrative assistants, and other administrative
support professionals.
The function was organized by the Department of
Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances and
Pensions during which PM gave “Prime Minister
Award for Excellence in Public Administration”
Theme for 2019 was Protecting Our Species
Theme : "Fire Prevention is better than Fire
Fighting".
United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has
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Day passed a resolution and This year marked the 10th

anniversary of International Mother Earth Day.
23rd April World Book and Copyright Also known as World Book Day. This year Sharjah,
Day UAE has been selected as a World Book Capital for
2019.
24th April National Panchayati Raj The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 that
Day (NPRD) came into force on 24th April 1993 has vested
constitutional status on Panchayati Raj institutions
24th April World Day for Animals in The adjoining week is known as “World Week for
Laboratories also known as Animals in Laboratories” (WWAIL) which is
World Lab Animal Day observed from April 21-28.
24th April International Day of To promote the day, the UN General Assembly
Multilateralism and convened a one-day high-level plenary meeting on
Diplomacy for Peace the same day.
24th -30th April World Immunization Week Theme : “Protected Together: Vaccines Work”
25th April World Malaria Day Theme : “Zero malaria starts with me”
25th April International Girls in ICT A specialized agency of UN i.e. International
(Information and Telecommunication Union (ITU) and 171 countries
Communications celebrate this day worldwide. The aim is to bridge
Technology) Day the gender digital divide.
27th April World Veterinary Day Theme : 'Value of Vaccination'.
28th April World Day for Safety and Theme : “Safety and Health and the Future of
Health at Work Work”.
29th April International Dance Day Theme : "Dance and Spirituality"
30th April International Jazz Day The day was designated in 2011 by UNESCO.
MAY
May 1 International Labour Day The theme of International Labour Day 2019 was
or Workers day “Sustainable Pension for all: The Role of Social
Partners”.
May 2 World Tuna Day Observed to highlight the importance of tuna fish
and to promote more sustainable fishing practices
which will help in achieving the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development
May 2(First World Password Day This day is celebrated to promote better password
Thursday of habits for digital protection for online shopping,
May) dating, banking, social media, private work, and life
communications.
May 3 World Press Freedom Day Theme “Media for Democracy: Journalism and
Elections in Times of Disinformation”.

May 3(First National Space Day To promote Science, Technology, Engineering and
Friday of May) Mathematics (STEM) education in young people
and to inspire them to pursue a carrier in space-
related jobs.
May 4 International Firefighters’ The symbol for International Firefighters Day is a
Day (IFFD) red and blue ribbon. The color red signifies fire and
the blue denotes water.
May 4 Coal Miners Day Several communities raise awareness and funds on
this day for other organizations in the coal mining
area and workers.
May 5(First World Laughter Day The day was first celebrated on May 10, 1998, in

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Sunday of May) Mumbai and arranged by Dr. Madan Kataria,

founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga
Movement. The purpose is to raise awareness
about laughter and its many healing benefits.
May 5 International Midwives Day The theme for this year’s celebration is “Midwives:
Defenders of Women’s Rights“
May 6 International No Diet Day The INDD symbol is a blue ribbon.The INDD was
(INDD) first created in 1992 by Mary Evans Young to help
people appreciate their own bodies.
May 7 World Asthma Day The theme of this year is "STOP for Asthma". STOP
means Symptom evaluation, Test response,
Observe and assess, Proceed to adjust treatment.
May 7 World Athletics Day Observed to promote Athletics as the primary sport
in schools and institutions, to raise awareness
about the sports and to educate youngsters about
the importance of the sports.
May 7 59th Raising Day of Border It is a nodal road construction agency under the
Roads Organization (BRO) Ministry of Defence. It was formed on 7th May
1960, with the primary role of providing road
connectivity in border areas.
May 8 World Thalassaemia Day Theme - “Universal Access to Quality Thalassaemia
2019 Healthcare Services: Building Bridges with and for
Patients”.
May 8 World Red Cross Day Theme - “#Love”.
May 8 Day of Remembrance and On May 9, 74th anniversary of victory over Nazism
Reconciliation in Europe in Second World War was aobserved.
May 9 158th birth anniversary of He is Asia’s first Nobel laureate and composer of
Rabindra Nath Tagore India’s National Anthem. This day is also called
‘Rabindra Jayanti‘ symbolising his birth
anniversary.
May 11 National Technology Day This day marks the remembrance of the successful
launch of Shakti-I nuclear missile at Pokhran Test
Range in Rajasthan on May 11, 1998.
May 11 World Migratory Bird Day Theme –“Protect Birds: Be the Solution to Plastic
2019 Pollution!” .It is celebrated twice in the year, which
falls on the second Saturday in May and October. In
2019, it was celebrated on May 11 and will on
October 10.

May 12 International Nurses Day Theme –‘Nurses – A Voice to Lead –Health for All’.

May 6 to 12 5th United Nations Global
Road Safety Week
May 15 International Day of
Families or IDF
May 16 International Day of Living
Together in Peace
Theme – “Leadership for road safety”. It launched
an ongoing campaign “Save Lives – #SpeakUp” to
achieve global goals by ensuring the safety of
human life. It runs on the philosophy of “Decade of
Action for Road Safety 2011-2020”.
Theme –"Families and Climate Action: Focus on
SDG 13".
This day was declared by the United Nations
General Assembly in its resolution 72/130. This
day is celebrated to promote peace, tolerance,
inclusion, solidarity and understanding across the
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world.
May 16 International Day of Light This the 2nd edition of the International Day of
Light.
May 16 World Hypertension Day Theme - "Know Your Numbers".
(WHD) 2019
May 16 National Dengue Day In India, Directorate of National Vector Borne
Disease Control Programe (NVBDCP) is the nodal
centre for the surveillance and prevention of
dengue. Dengue is caused due to the dengue virus -
DENV, 1-4 serotype, which is transmitted by the
bite of female Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus).
May 17 World Telecommunication Theme - “Bridging the Standardization Gap”
and Information Society
Day
May 18 International Museum Day Theme - “Museums as Cultural Hubs: The future of
2019 tradition”.
May 18 Day of Vesak also known as This day commemorates the birth anniversary of
Buddha Purnima, Buddha Gautama Buddha (or Lord Buddha). This year it
Day or Buddha Jayanti day coincides with May 18, which witnessed the
2,563rd birth anniversary of the Lord Buddha.
May 18 World AIDS Vaccine Day The day is also known as HIV Vaccine Awareness
(WAVD) Day. It is headed by National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Disease (NIAID), Washington DC,
USA.
May 20 World Bee Day Theme - “Save the Bees”. This day marks the
birthday of Anton Janša (1734) who pioneered the
modern beekeeping techniques in his native
Slovenia in the 18th century.
May 20 World Metrology Day Theme - “The International System of Units –
Fundamentally better”.
May 21 World Day for Cultural The objective is to bridge the gap between cultures
Diversity for Dialogue and which is urgent and necessary for peace, stability
Development and development. In 2002, the United Nations
General Assembly (UNGA) in its resolution 57/24
declared May 21 as World day for Cultural
Diversity for Dialogue and Development.
May 21 National Anti-Terrorism This day is celebrated as a Anti-terrorism Day
Day because on the same day in 1991, former Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi was killed by a woman
operative of the separatist Lankan Tamil outfit
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
May 15 to 21 National Vesak week Sri Lanka declared National Vesak week from May
15 to 21, 2019 to mark the celebrations of one of
the most important events of Buddhists all over the
world.
May 23 International Day to End An obstetric fistula is a hole between the vagina
Obstetric Fistula and rectum or bladder that is caused by prolonged
obstructed labor, leaving a woman incontinent of
urine or feces or both. Obstructed labor means,
labor that goes unattended, the labor can last up to
six or seven days.
May 24 International Theme - ‘A Connected Commonwealth’.
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Commonwealth Day
May 23 World Turtle Day Theme - “Adopt, Don’t Shop".
May 28 World Hunger Day Theme - “#SustainabilityIs”.
May 28 Veer Savarkar aka Vinayak To commemorate the sacrifices made by him
Damodar Savarkar during the freedom struggle. He was born on May
28, 1883 in Bhagpur village near Nasik in
Maharashtra. He was a freedom fighter who called
1857 revolt as the first war of independence.

May 29 International Day of United Theme - “Protecting Civilians, Protecting Peace”.

Nations Peacekeepers
May 29 World Digestive Health Day Theme - “Early Diagnosis and Treatment of
Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancer”

May 29 International Everest Day On this day, Nepalese Tenzing Norgay and New
Zealand's Edmund Hillary had climbed the Mt.
Everest for the first time in 1953. Nepal decided to
observe the day as International Everest Day since
2008 when the legendary climber Edmund Hillary
passed away.
May 31 World No-Tobacco Day Theme - "Tobacco and Lung health". In India,
(WNTD) Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), in
partnership with WHO India, organized a 'National
Consultation on Tobacco and Lung Health’ in New
Delhi. The theme of the event was "Don't Let
Tobacco Take Your Breath Away - Choose Health
Not Tobacco".
Other News Related On Important Days
 UNESCO has named the year 2019 as The International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical
Elements in Paris.
 Indian Army is commemorating ‘2019’ as the ‘Year of Next of Kin’.

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