Daily Current Affairs, 03rd April 2019

1) Government Sets Up Tribunal To Review Ban Imposed On Jamaat-e-Islami, JKLF

•The Centre has set up a tribunal, headed by Justice Chander Shekhar of the Delhi High Court, to adjudicate if there exists sufficient cause to ban the Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir (JeI) and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front-Yasin Malik (JKLF-Y) faction. The decision has been taken by the Home Ministry exercising the powers conferred under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

2) Kandhamal Haldi Gets Geographical Indications Tag

•‘Kandhamal Haldi’, a variety of turmeric indigenous to southern Odisha, has earned the Geographical indication (GI) tag from Intellectual Property India, an organization functioning under the auspices of the Union ministry of commerce & industry.

•The recognition coincided with the state’s Foundation Day (Utkal Divas). Kandhamal in Odisha’s southern hinterland is famed for its turmeric. The agricultural product also stands out for its healing properties and arresting aroma.

3) Japan Unveils Name of Its New Imperial Era ‘Reiwa’

•Japan has announced that the name of its new imperial era, set to begin on 1 May, will be ‘Reiwa’, signifying order and harmony. The country’s current era, Heisei, will end in April. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has addressed the nation to explain its meaning.

•The name ‘Reiwa’ which consists two Chinese characters, the first meaning ‘good’ or ‘beautiful’ as well as ‘order’ or ‘command’ and the second meaning ‘peace’ or ‘harmony’.

4) South Korea Launches World’s First National 5G Networks

•South Korea launches the world’s first fully-fledged 5G mobile networks. The system will bring smartphones near-instantaneous connectivity 20 times faster than the existing 4G allowing users to download entire movies in less than a second.

•It is crucial for the future development of devices ranging from self-driving vehicles that send data traffic to one another in real time, industrial robots, drones and other elements of the Internet of Things.

5) NuGen Mobility Summit To Be Held in November 2019

•The International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) is organizing a NuGen Mobility Summit, 2019, at Manesar, NCR, from 27th to 29th November 2019. The objective of the Summit is to share new ideas, learnings, global experiences, innovations and future technology trends for faster adoption, assimilation and development of advanced automotive technologies for a smarter and greener future.

•The Summit is being organized in association with SAENIS, SAE INDIA, SAE International, NATRiP, DIMTS, Department of Heavy Industry, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, SIAM and ACMA.

6) Garuda Prakashan Launches ‘Saffron Swords’

•The Indian Publishing company, Garuda Prakashan Private Limited, launched its book ‘Saffron Swords- Centuries of Indic Resistance to Invaders’. Written by Manoshi Sinha Rawal, it is a book on 52 unsung warriors of India from the last 1300 years.

7) Indian Army Builds Longest Suspension Bridge Over River Indus In Leh-Ladakh

•The Indian Army has successfully built the longest suspension bridge ‘Matiri Bridge’ over the Indus River in the Leh-Ladakh region. Built in a record time of 40 days ‘Maitri Bridge’ is longest Suspension Bridge over Indus River.

•The 260-feet long suspension bridge was built by the combat engineers belonging to the Sahas aur Yogyata regiment of Indian Army’s Fire & Fury Corps.

8) ADB Cuts India’s Growth Rate To 7.2%

•The Asian Development Bank downgraded economic growth forecasts for India and Southeast Asia for 2019 as global risks from trade tensions to Brexit mount.

•According to the ADB’s latest Asian Development Outlook report, gross domestic product in India will probably increase by 7.2 % in 2019, down from a December forecast of 7.6%. Southeast Asia’s growth estimate was lowered by 0.2 percentage point to 4.9%.