NEWS 18-09-2019. NEWS FOR 20-SEPT (FRIDAY) 1. Former President Mr Pranab Mukherjee was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award by President Ram Nath Kovind on August 8. The President also conferred the Bharat Ratna posthumously upon late singer Bhupen Hazarika and late RSS leader Nanaji Deshmukh. 2. Wg Cdr Abhinandan Varthaman, of IAF has been chosen to be awarded Vir Chakra for destroying Pakistani F16 aircraft and the facilities of JeM. 3. The Rajasthan Legislative Assembly has passed Protection from Lynching Bill, 2019 against mob lynching and honour killing. According to which the convicts will be punished with a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh and life imprisonment. 4. The Defence Minister of India Rajnath Singh made a statement about a possible review of Vajpayee’s 'no first use' of nuclear weapons policy. According to which, India would never use its nuclear weapons first. But, there is a possibility that this treaty will be changed. 5. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced during his Independence Day speech that the government will launch Jal Jeevan Mission which will bring bring piped water supply to every house. 6. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his speech on 15th Aug 2019 announced the appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). The Chief of Defence Staff will integrate all three services – the Indian Army, the Air Force and the Indian Navy. 7. PM Modi on his visit to Bhutan inaugurated the 720 MW Mangdechhu hydropower plant which will provide electricity to Bhutan as well as the states of Assam, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal. 8. Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Group has placed Pakistan on its Blacklist of Asia Pacific Group for its failure in meeting the required global standards; and combating terrorism and money laundering. The listing will be finalised in October by FATF HQ after reviewing the regional reports. 9. The former finance minister, Mr P. Chidambaram has been arrested in the INX Media case, for allegedly accepting a bribe from Peter and Indrani Mukherjee to sanction their loan for their INX channel, now known as 9XM. 10. Nirmala Sitharaman slashed off the surcharge that she had introduced in her maiden budget, to attract more FDI and also slashed the registration fees for automotive vehicles to promote growth. 11. PM Modi visited France, UAE and Bahrain before the G7 summit. a) He received the ‘Order of Zayed’ award from the Prince of UAE. Also, he launched the RuPay card in UAE like he did in Bhutan. b) He received the ‘Order-First Class’ (King Hamad order of Renaissance) from Bahrain’s King and signed various MOUs which included Bahrain receiving assistance from ISRO to make a satellite for them. 12. The G7: a) Member countries: UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and the United States. b) Was held in Biarritz, France. c) India is not a part but had a special invitation from the French President as they were the host. d) There was a surprise visit from Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad on the invitation of the French President, Emmanuel Macron. e) Highlights of the summit: i. US President Donald Trump pressed the G7 group to reinstate Russia as a permanent member of the group. ii. Donald Trump said that he was open to meet Iran’s President under the right circumstances to end the confrontations over the 2015 nuclear deal. However, he didn’t express his views on the sanctions on Iran. iii. Trump agreed to end the trade war after receiving requests from the member countries. iv. Donald Trump skipped the climate change meeting and said that his economy is based on artificial energy exports and he is not going to give up on that. v. Modi made it clear to the world that the Indo-Pak issues will be resolved between the two nations and no third parties’ interventions is required. vi. The G7 leaders confirmed the existence and importance of the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984 on Hong Kong and called for violence to be avoided. vii. US President Donald Trump vowed to work out a very big trade deal, bigger than ever with the United Kingdom after Brexit. viii. US President Donald Trump announced locking of a new trade agreement with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan to secure market access for several American agricultural goods and Japan has agreed to purchase large sums of corn from the US. 13. P.V. Sindhu won gold at the Badminton World Championship and is the first Indian to do so. 14. Amazon Rain Forest was faced with the biggest and the longest lasting forest fire in the history. The scientists said this fire has resulted in the loss of about 20% of the earth’s Oxygen. This issue was also discussed at the G7 and Brazil said that they will handle this issue on their own. 15. Under the proposed 'Samudrayaan' project, three men will be sent into deep sea in a submersible vehicle to a depth of about 6kms to carry out various deep underwater studies including mining of metallic nodules. The project is expected to be undertaken by 2021-22. 16. More than 3.1 crore people have been included in the final National Register of Citizens, however, over 19 lakh people have been left out. Foreign Tribunals (FT) have been set up to consider the pleas of these 19lakh people. This process will go on for another 120 days starting from 1st September. 17. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Fit India Movement on the occasion of National Sports day at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi. < < Back