Current Affairs 20th June 2019

Current Affairs 20th June 2019 - Important Points

• Shikhar Dhawan ruled out of World Cup 2019, Rishabh Pant named replacement due to - Thumb Injury
• Indian engineer wins Innovation for Sustainable Development Award in - London
• ‘Ration in kind’ provision to military personals in peace areas restored by - Government
• Extension of Alok Vardhan Chaturvedi as DGFT approved by -  ACC
• Minimum Education requirement for Transport Drivers to be removed by - Centre
• GPS device mandatory for trekkers  made by - Himachal Pradesh 
  
  Current Affairs 20th June 2019 - Details

Shikhar Dhawan ruled out of World Cup 2019, Rishabh Pant named replacement due to - Thumb Injury

Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled-out of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 due to the thumb injury of the player. Rishabh Pant has been counted-in in the Indian Cricket team as a replacement of Shikhar Dhawan. Shikhar Dhawan was injured during match played against Australia at The Oval. He scored splendid 117 runs in that match.

Shikhar Dhawan ached the hairline injury following being hit by a Pat Cummins placed ball. His X-ray didn't show any fracture but CT scan showed details of injury otherwise & Dhawan was further taken to an orthopaedic specialist for further assessment. Dhawan’s place at the top of the batting line-up was filled by K.L.Rahul, who was shifted up from the middle order to open against match with Pakistan at Old Trafford.

Tweet from BCCI

BCCI informed in a tweet that Shikhar Dhawan ruled-out of the World Cup. BCCI wish him a speedy recovery. In an earlier tweet BCCI informed that after several specialist opinions, he will remain in a cast until the middle of July & therefore will not be available for the rest of #CWC19.

Rishabh Pant will be replacing Dhawan

Talented wicketkeeper & batsman Rishabh Pant is already with the team as cover for Dhawan. He reached Manchester & joined the Indian team ahead of the clash against Pakistan. The team management had put Shikhar Dhawan under opinion but called-in Rishabh Pant from India as cover just before India's match against New Zealand.

Indian engineer wins Innovation for Sustainable Development Award in - London

An Indian engineer Nitesh Kumar Jangir secured 2019 Commonwealth Secretary-General’s Innovation for Sustainable Development Award in London, UK. He secured the award in People category, for developing a low-cost breathing support device known as ‘Saans’ for premature babies.

Key Highlights

• The award was given by Prince Harry, Youth Ambassador of Commonwealth, & Patricia Scotland, Commonwealth Secretary-General.
• The opening Commonwealth Innovation Awards was bestowed upon 15 innovators from 53 member-nations of Commonwealth.
• Each of 15 winners got a trophy, certificate & prize money worth 2000 pounds.

More about Nitesh Kumar Jangir

• He is a Bangalore-based electronics engineer & is co-founder of Coeo Labs, which is a medical device organisation which holds a vision of preventing avoidable deaths in field of emergency & critical care.
• Therefore, he developed Saans as a breathing support device to handle avoidable deaths of premature babies from neonatal respiratory distress syndrome due to lack of instant access to complex medical apparatus.
• The award received will benefit in upscaling this device across Commonwealth nations, for use in similar conditions in regions like Africa.

More about ‘Saans’

It is a breathing support device utilised for handling preventable deaths of premature babies from Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

It is world’s 1st neonatal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure device. It can be switched-on in multiple ways via direct source electricity, including with help of vehicle’s electrical supply, rechargeable batteries, compressed gas/manual air pumping.

‘Ration in kind’ provision to military personals in peace areas restored by - Government

The Government of India has sanctioned Union Ministry of Defence proposal for restoration of ‘ration in kind’ to military personals stationed in peace areas. This is one of the 1st major decisions taken by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh following he assumed the fresh portfolio role in Modi government’s 2nd term.

Key Highlights

• On 1st July 2017, government had taken the decision that instead of free ration in kind facility defence personals would be issued certain allowance.
• This decision to remove provision of ration in kind, a practice that was being followed since 1983, based on a sanction of 7th Central Pay Commission. Initially the ration in kind facility was valid only to junior personals but was subsequently stretched to all ranks.
• The MoD decision to cancel free ration for personals in peace postings faced criticism from several quarters within the all 3 Armed Force Services.
• Defence forces had informed Defence Ministry that in case if ration in kind facility was discontinued then a grant of Rupees 205.11 per officer per day without tax exemptions must be paid.
• However, central government finalised that only an amount of Rupees 96 as allowance. Later a cost analysis was done which showed that in case of free ration cost came up to Rupees 100/officer/day.

Importance

Now following restoration of ration in kind facility all personals of armed forces, including those in peace stations, will be receiving ration. This result of restoration is due to various of effort from all levels in Defence Ministry & Indian Armed Forces.

Extension of Alok Vardhan Chaturvedi as DGFT approved by -  ACC

The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has sanctioned the extension of Senior bureaucrat Alok Vardhan Chaturvedi by more than three months, in central deputation as Director General, Directorate General of Foreign Trade.

Key Highlights

1. V. Chaturvedi is a 1986 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre, who was issued extension beyond 18th June 2019 & will now continue up to 30th September 2019, the date of his retirement or until further orders whichever is earlier.

Appointments Committee of Cabinet

The Appointments Committee of Cabinet decides designations to top positions under Government of India. It is formed of the PM of India, Narendra Modi who act as the Chairman of Appointments Committee of Cabinet & Union Minister of Home Affairs, Amit Shah.

Directorate General of Foreign Trade is agency of Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry. It is answerable for directing laws regarding foreign trade & foreign investment in India & for implementation of India’s import & export Policies. It delivers a complete searchable database of all exporters & importers of India.

Minimum Education requirement for Transport Drivers to be removed by - Centre

The Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has finalised to remove condition of minimum educational qualification, class 8th pass, for transport vehicle drivers in nation.

Key Highlights

• This initiative will advantage skilled persons in economically backward areas & will create employment options for a large number of unemployed youths, who may not have a formal education but are otherwise skilled & literate.
• It will also assist meet shortage of nearly 22 lakh drivers in nation’s transport & logistics sector, which is hampering economic growth.
• Although eliminating the minimum educational qualification condition is being welcomed but emphasis must be laid upon training & skill testing of drivers so that road safety is not compromised in any way.

Key Decisions

• Ministry of Road Transport & Highways highlighted that anyone applying for a driving license will have to mandatory pass a stringent skill test.
• It also made a point that training conveyed by a school or establishment as stated in the Motor Vehicles Act 1988, should compulsorily ensure that driver can read signals & perform logistical duty like maintaining driver logs, submitting pre-trip & post-trip records, examining trucks/trailers, determining any kind of discrepancies in paperwork and must have effective communication to report safety hazards.
• Since driving schools are subjected to regulatory control by states therefore, training given should be of high quality, & must cover all aspects of driving a particular type of motor vehicle.

GPS device mandatory for trekkers  made by - Himachal Pradesh

The Himachal Pradesh government has made it essential for trekkers to carry a GPS device to tackle any exigency. This decision was granted at a review meeting on preparedness for the monsoon led by Shrikant Baldi, Additional Chief Secretary cum-Pr.Secretary to Jai Ram Thakur, CM, Himachal Pradesh.

Key Highlights

Being a disaster-prone state, it is important for Himachal Pradesh to pay special heed to broadcasting weather advisories as well as installing early warning systems in state. It is also significant to limit trekking & other yatras undertaken in state during adverse weather.

Significance

Since it would be made compulsory for trekkers to carry a Global Positioning System device with them, they could now be given all possible assistance in case of any emergency.

Early Warning Systems will soon be installed in Kullu district & Dalhousie town of state.

Towns of Rampur & Mandi have been zeroed in for forming relief & rescue base of NDRF. National Disaster Response Force is a specialised force formed under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. It is responsible for purpose of specialist response to a threatening disaster situation or disaster.