Current Affairs 24th June 2019

Current Affairs 24th June 2019 - Important Points

• MoU to enter Power Distribution Business signed between NTPC and - PGCIL
• Who has secured the Asian Snooker Championship ? - Pankaj Advani
• Nepalese inhabitants must have visa , notice released by - Nepalese Embassy  in New Delhi
• Indian women’s Rugby team record 1st-ever International win  in - Philippines
• Mauritania holds election for 1st time in 60yrs  in-  Northwest Africa
• Yoga guru Baba Ramdev pens Autobiography namely  - “My Life, My Mission”

Current Affairs 24th June 2019 - Details

MoU to enter Power Distribution Business signed between NTPC and - PGCIL

The Indian Public Sector Undertaking’s National Thermal Power Corporation Limited and Power Grid Corporation of India Limited have inked a pact to develop National Electricity Distribution Company Limited.
Important Highlights

• The forming of a joint venture to develop National Electricity Distribution Company by National Thermal Power Corporation, which is a leading power generator, and Power Grid, which owns India’s largest power transmission network, forms way for 2 to get into consumer electricity supply business.
• According to the pact National Electricity Distribution Company Limited will be a combined venture of National Thermal Power Corporation Limited and Power Grid Corporation of India Limited on 50:50 fair basis.
• To undertake business for supply of electricity in distribution circles in various states and UTs and other related activities.
  Significance
  As the declaration about Joint venture emerges at a time when current reform scheme Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana has been announced as a failure by various agencies, thus this initiative could also hint at another round of power distribution reforms.
  Separation of content and carriage businesses in power supply which means that the infrastructure builder for power supply and supplier to customers would be 2 separate firms. This would make power distribution sector extra competitive as separating content and carriage will bring extra competition with above single power supplier.
  These measures have been recommended in latest amendments to Electricity Act, 2003, which is yet to be tabled in Parliament.

Who has secured the Asian Snooker Championship ? - Pankaj Advani

India’s Pankaj Advani defeated Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon of Thailand with 6-3 points in final to secure the 35th men’s Asian Snooker Championship.
Important Highlights

• India’s ace cueist Pankaj Advani secured men’s Asian Snooker Championship to complete a career grand slam in cue sports.
• With this victory Advani has now become the only player to secure Asian and World championships in all formats and also only one to do it in both billiards and snooker.
• He has now claimed Asian Confederation of Billiard Sports, Asian snooker events: 6-red and 15-red along with the IBSF World (Billiards and Snooker) Championships in all formats.
• Although Pankaj had already finished it in billiards, but he was missing 15-red Asian snooker title from his bulging trophy cabinet.
• Pankaj will now take part in IBSF World Cup 2019 planned to be organise in late June in Doha, Qatar.
  More about ACBS Asian Snooker Championship
  It is the premier non-professional snooker competition in Asia that begun from 1984. The Asian
  Confederation of Billiard Sports, approves the programme series. In most of the seasons winner of
  tournament qualifies for upcoming season of Professional Snooker Tour.

Nepalese inhabitants must have visa , notice released by - Nepalese Embassy  in New Delhi

As pet to a notice released by Nepalese Embassy in New Delhi, Nepalese inhabitants are needed to have visa if they are entering India from Pakistan, China, Hong Kong and Macau. According to the Nepal foreign ministry, there are Four million Nepalese working and studying in India.
Important Highlights

• The Nepalese Embassy also notified that an inhabitant of Nepal who urgs to pass immigration clearance of India while travelling to Gulf nations including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Lebanon, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain are needed to acquire NOC from respective Nepalese Embassies positioned in those nations.
• To get No Objection Certificate, a traveller must have to submit an application to their respective embassy along with appropriate documents, including ticket and visa of the destination nation, employment permit.
• An open boarder permits Nepalese inhabitants an easy path to enter India and few of whom subsequently travel to Gulf nations for work.
• Thus, the decision that a Nepalese citizen now mandatory need No Objection Certificate to enter Gulf nations via India, is taken amid raising security concerns.
• However, in past, no distinct permit was needed to travel any nation through Indian immigration clearance.
  Did you know?
  According to existing rule, a citizen of Nepal entering India by land or air directly from Nepal does not require a passport or Visa, but is needed to possess an identity card that defines his or her identity as a Nepalese national. However, for security reasons a citizen of Nepal is generally asked for Passport when entering India from a place other than Nepal.

Indian women’s Rugby team record 1st-ever International win  in - Philippines

Indian Women’s Rugby team secured their First ever international women’s 15s conquest after beating
Singapore in the Asian Women Rugby Championship Division 1 in Manila, Philippines.
Important Highlights

• Sumitra Nayak kicked a penalty goal in the dying minutes to claim a narrow victory for India against
  Singapore with a 21-19 victory for Indian girls.
• This historic win means India finished 3rd in tournament, therefore securing a Bronze Medal.
  The Championship Division 1 will double up as part of the qualification procedure for the Rugby World Cup 2021.
• India has a big fan following for Rugby game. India, China and United States together form 33 per cent of 800 million followers of game internationally.
• According to Nasser Hussain, former India captain and General Manager, Indian Rugby Union, the game is spread across 24 States within India having around 80000 registered rugby players.
  Asia Rugby Women’s Championship
• In 2006 the first recorded Asian rugby championship for female 15-a-side teams was founded. Earlier to that minimum since 2000, there had been women’s 7-a-side tournaments in Asia.
• It is organised by Asian Rugby Football Union. China was the host and winners of the 1st tournament that occurred in 2006.

Mauritania holds election for 1st time in 60yrs  in-  Northwest Africa

Mauritania, a nation in Northwest Africa went to polls for the 1st time since the African nation gained
independence from France approximately 60 years ago. Following the independence, the nation has mostly been ruled Non-elected military governments.
Important Highlights of Elections

• President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who seized power in a military coup in 2008, decided to step down and  stand by serving period of extreme 2 5-year elected terms.
• Under his supremacy, he has positioned Mauritania, as an ally of West against Islamist militants.
• Bound by term limits, Abdel Aziz threw his support behind 62 years old Mohamed Ould Ghazouani.
  Ghazouani, a former General and defence minister, who was heavily tilted to replace outgoing President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.
• These elections are being organised to select a successor to a democratically nominated president. However, they are being criticized for being organised in absence of international observers and printing of ballot papers by a company with relations to ruling party.
• The counting of ballots in Mauritania on Saturday evening from its presidential election, as the ruling party claimed its candidate was poised to secure a landslide victory.

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev pens Autobiography namely  - “My Life, My Mission”

Indian Yoga guru Baba Ramdev freshly made statement about releasing his autobiography namely “My
Life, My Mission”. The book is co-authored with senior journalist Uday Mahurkar.
More about ‘My Life, My Mission’

• The autobiography of Baba Ramdev will reveal trials, tribulations, and victories of his life and provide insights into his childhood.
• The book addresses major arguments, turning points and triumphs of Baba Ramdev’s life and is believed to be one of its kind personal narrative of life and times of yoga teacher.
• In the book, Yoga Guru Ramdev registers his journey from a small village of Haryana to international stage, & pens about his thirst for yoga and good health, friends and foes, and the Swadeshi campaign directed by him.
• Autobiography also lime-lights the journey of Ramdev’s venture, Patanjali Group of Institutions, with an annual turnover of approximately Rupees 12000 crores.
• It is being published by Penguin Random House & expected to hit stands in August 2019.