Top Current Affairs of the week (13 - 19 Jan 2019)

1. ‘One Family, One Job’ scheme 

• Sikkim CM launched the ‘One Family One Job’ scheme, under which for every family one government job has been allotted, in Gangtok.
• The Scheme was launched during "Rojgar Mela" at the Paljor Stadium in Gangtok.
• Sikkim became the first state in the country to carry out such a programme for the people entitling them to state government employee benefits.

2. Renukaji Multipurpose Dam Project

• The Union Minister for Water Resources, Shipping, and Road Transport & Highways signed a MoU with the Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh for the construction of Renukaji Multi-Purpose Dam project in the Upper Yamuna Basin.

Related Information:

Renukaji Dam Project

• Three storage projects are proposed to be constructed on the river Yamuna and two of its tributaries - Tons and Giri in the hilly regions of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
• These include
  (i) Lakhwar project on river Yamuna in Uttarakhand,
  (ii) Kishau on river Tons in Uttarakhand and  Himachal Pradesh and
  (iii) Renukaji on river Giri in Himachal Pradesh.
• The project is proposed to be executed by Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd. (HPPCL).

Impact of Dam

• Stored water of Renukaji Dam will be used by UP, Haryana & NCT of Delhi from Hathnikund Barrage, by NCT of Delhi from Wazirabad Barrage and by UP, Haryana, and Rajasthan from Okhla Barrage.

3. ISRO starts Human Space Flight center

• Gaganyaan, the great Indian human leap to space by 2022, will soon get cracking under a new Human Space Flight Centre and a dedicated team.
• ISRO named Unnikrishnan Nair, who led its Advanced Space Transportation Programme at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, as the man to steer it - as also the director of the new Human pace Flight Centre.

Related Information:

Gaganyaan Project

• It is India’s first manned space mission which carried out with the collaboration of ISRO and Russia’s federal space agency ROSCOSMOS.
• Under this programme, India is planning to send three humans (Gaganyatris) into space i.e. in low earth orbit (LEO) by 2022 i.e. by 75th Independence Day for a period of five to seven days.
• This mission will make India fourth nation in the world after USA, Russia, and China to launch a human spaceflight mission.

4. Women of India Organic Festival

• The Ministry of Women and Child Development is organizing the three-day 6th ‘Women of India Organic Festival’ in Chandigarh.
• The festival aims to encourage Indian women entrepreneurs and farmers to connect with more buyers and thus, empower them through financial inclusion while promoting organic culture in India.
• It also aims to educate people about its various initiatives and schemes relating to women and children.

Related Information

Ministry of Women and Child Development

• The Ministry has 6 autonomous organizations working under its aegis-
  (i) National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD)
  (ii) National Commission for Women (NCW)
  (iii) National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)
  (iv) Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA)
  (v) Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB)
  (vi) Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK)

5. Democracy Index 2018

• Recently the Democracy Index 2018 is released annually by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
• The index will provide a snapshot of the state of world democracy for 165 independent states and two territories.
• The Economist’s Democracy Index ranks nations on five parameters.
  (i) Electoral process and pluralism
  (ii) Functioning of government
  (iii) Political participation
  (iv) Political culture
  (v) Civil liberties

Related Information

India Position and Performance

• India is ranked at 41 which is notched above last year.
• India achieved a score of 7.23 on the index to maintain its position which is the same it did last year.
• India ranks below the US (ranked 25th in the index) and other so-called ‘flawed democracies’ like Italy, France, Botswana, and South Africa.
• According to the index, this is the lowest ever score attributed to India in the index ever since its publication.

6. IMBEX 2018-19

• It is the second edition of India-Myanmar bilateral army exercise.
• The objectives are:
  (a) It provides opportunities to the army personnel of both the nations to serve effectively in UN missions by providing understanding about each other’s training, tactics, procedures and best practices.
  (b) Train the Myanmar delegation for participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations under the UN

7. Philip Kotler Presidential Award

• Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has been awarded first-ever Philip Kotler Presidential Award by World Marketing Summit India.
• Philip Kotler is a world-renowned Professor of Marketing at Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management, U.S.

8. Odisha takes its first step towards promoting turtle tourism

• Odisha’s beach witnessed its first turtle festival on January 13, 2019, where tourists, researchers, and environmentalists gathered to promote eco-tourism, which in turn could help conserve Olive Ridley turtles.
• It was organized by Cox & Kings Foundation, a philanthropic arm the travel company, in partnership with Humane Society International–India (HIS- India) and few local organizations.
• Odisha has half of the world’s Olive Ridley turtle population, 90 percent of India’s turtle population lives in the state.

Related Information

Olive Ridley Turtle

• The Olive ridley turtles are the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world, inhabiting warm waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
• The species is recognized as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List.

9. Nepal Army Chief conferred honorary ‘General of Indian Army’

• Nepal's Army Chief Purna Chandra Thapa has arrived in New Delhi on a four-day official visit.
• General Thapa conferred honorary ‘General of Indian Army’ by President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

10. India celebrates 71st Army Day

• On 15th Jan, India celebrated its 71st Army Day with an annual parade at the Cariappa Parade Ground in New Delhi.
• Army Day is celebrated on 15th January every year to mark the day when (then) Lieutenant General KM Popularly known as “Kipper”, KM Cariappa was the first Indian commander-in-chief of the Indian Army.
• Three Service Chiefs General Bipin Rawat (Army Chief), Sunil Lanba (Chief of the Naval Staff) and Birender Singh Dhanoa (Air Chief Marshal) paid tribute at Amar Jawan Jyoti (India Gate) in Delhi.

11.Yohei Sasakawa to get Gandhi Peace Prize for 2018

• The Union government has announced the names of the winners of the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2015-2018.
• The Gandhi Peace Prize 2018 will be given to Yohei Sasakawa, Goodwill Ambassador of the World Health Organisation (WHO) for Leprosy Elimination.
• Gandhi Peace Prize carries an award of Rs. 1 crore, a citation a plaque and a handicraft item.

Related Information:

• The award was instituted in 1995 during the commemoration of 125th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and is to be given annually.
• Gandhi Peace Prize is given to individuals and institutions for their contribution towards social, economic and political transformation through non-violence and other Gandhian methods.

The recipient of Gandhi Peace Prizes:

12. Chennai’s Gukesh crowned world’s second youngest grandmaster

• Tamil Nadu lad D Gukesh has become 2nd youngest Grandmaster in the world and the youngest Indian to achieve the feat at 12 years, 7 months and 17 days, erasing the mark set by his state-mate R Praggnanandhaa (in June 2018).
• Now, Gukesh becomes India’s 59th Grand Master.
• Ukraine’s Sergey Karjakin remains the youngest-ever GM, having achieved the feat at the age of 12 years and seven months in 2002.

Related Information:

• Grandmaster (GM) is a title awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE.
• The title of Grandmaster, along with the lesser FIDE titles of International Master (IM) and FIDE Master (FM), is open to both men and women.