9 PM Current Affairs Brief – April 9, 2019

Increase random checking of VVPAT slips to five per Assembly segment, SC directs Election Commission The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to increase random matching of VVPAT slips with EVMs to five polling booths per assembly segment of a parliamentary constituency or Assembly consistency, from one at present. Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail… Continue reading Increase random checking of VVPAT slips to five per Assembly segment, SC directs Election Commission

IIT-Madras tops NIRF higher education rankings The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-Madras) has topped overall in the National Institution Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings, 2019. Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, and IIT-Delhi has ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively. In the university category, IISc Bangalore ranked first followed by Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. In the management category,… Continue reading IIT-Madras tops NIRF higher education rankings

U.S. Treasury official David Malpass named World Bank President David Malpass has been unanimously elected as the new President of the World Bank.He will be the 13th President and will start his five year term from April 9,2019.He was nominated by the US president.David Malpass was a US government official and economic analyst.He has served… Continue reading U.S. Treasury official David Malpass named World Bank President

Army gets first batch of Dhanush, home-made Bofors artillery guns, from OFB The Ordnance Factory Board has delivered the first six indigenously built Dhanush artillery guns to the Army.This is the first of the 114 guns ordered by the Indian army. Dhanush is the first indigenously built 155 mm x 45 calibre long-range artillery gun… Continue reading Army gets first batch of Dhanush, home-made Bofors artillery guns, from OFB

High Court orders release of Manipur television journalist in sedition case The Manipur High court has ordered the release of the journalist who was arrested under the National Security Act after he made derogatory remarks against Prime Minister of India and Chief Minister of state. The National Security Act was promulgated in 1980.The objective of… Continue reading High Court orders release of Manipur television journalist in sedition case

Superseded Navy vice admiral moves court Vice Admiral Bimal Verma has moved Armed Forces Tribunal for challenging  his supersession and appointment of Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as the next Navy Chief. The Vice admiral in his petition has asked why he was overlooked as the next Navy chief despite being the senior most in terms… Continue reading Superseded Navy vice admiral moves court

U.S. designates Iran’s elite military unit as a ‘terrorist organisation The United States has designated Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps(IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization.The US administration has accused the group of not only facilitating but perpetrating terrorism. It is the first time that the U.S. has designated an entity of another government as… Continue reading U.S. designates Iran’s elite military unit as a ‘terrorist organisation

WB pegs India’s GDP growth at 7.5% According to World Bank report,India’s GDP growth is expected to accelerate moderately to 7.5% in Fiscal Year 19-20.The growth will be driven by (a)investment strengthening (b)improved export performance and (c)resilient consumption. The report said that on the demand side,domestic consumption has remained the primary growth driver but gross… Continue reading WB pegs India’s GDP growth at 7.5%

Oil at 5-month high on Libya output threat Oil prices have increased up to 2% hitting a five-month high on the expectations that global supplies would tighten due to escalation of the civil war in Libya,OPEC-led cuts and U.S. sanctions against Iran and Venezuela. Earlier,to increase the oil price,the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries… Continue reading Oil at 5-month high on Libya output threat

Sri Lanka seeks enhanced military training from India India and Sri Lanka has agreed to increase cooperation in security and defence spheres in several areas including (a)regional security (b) curbing drug smuggling (c)human trafficking and (d)training of Sri Lankan military personnel. Earlier,training of Sri Lankan defence personnel in India had been opposed by the former… Continue reading Sri Lanka seeks enhanced military training from India

Highway ban: J&K parties approach court The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has issued a notice to the state administration in response to a petition filed by the political parties of J&K.The petition was filed against the ban on civilian traffic along the Udhampur-Baramulla highway. The petitioner has argued that the order announcing the ban… Continue reading Highway ban: J&K parties approach court

Platinum Jubilee Commemoration of Battle of Kangla Tongbi The Platinum Jubilee of the Battle of Kangla Tongbi War was commemorated on 07 Apr 2019 by Army Ordnance Corps at Kangla Tongbi War Memorial near Imphal,Manipur. The Battle of Kangla Tongbi is also known as Battle of Lion Box.It is considered one of the fiercest battles… Continue reading Platinum Jubilee Commemoration of Battle of Kangla Tongbi

Transition to BS-VI fuel on track but infra, lack of awareness At a round-table discussion on the preparedness to roll out BS-VI fuel norms, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has highlighted the key challenges in the India-wide transition to BS-VI norms. The Indian government has decided to skip BS-V and directly move to… Continue reading Transition to BS-VI fuel on track but infra, lack of awareness

Introducing the world’s first gene-edited lizard, an albino Four brown anole lizards (a type of tropical lizard) have been genetically modified using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tool. This is the world’s first successful attempt at producing a genetically modified reptile. The researchers from University of Georgia, USA had used CRISPR-Cas9 to fertilize the immature eggs… Continue reading Introducing the world’s first gene-edited lizard, an albino

Rainwater harvesting: SC stays NGT fine order The Supreme Court has stayed a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order imposing a penalty of Rs 5 lakh each on educational institutions in Delhi for failing to install rainwater harvesting systems. The Supreme Court’s order came in the backdrop of a plea filed by the Delhi government and… Continue reading Rainwater harvesting: SC stays NGT fine order

SC refuses to stay the release of Modi biopic The Supreme Court has refused to put a stay on the release of biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The SC is of the opinion that it is too early to intervene as the Central Board of Film Certification has not yet certified the film. Supreme… Continue reading SC refuses to stay the release of Modi biopic