8th April 2019 Daily Current Affairs - PDF Download

Daily Current Affairs of 8th April 2019

International Current Affairs

The 6th edition of the joint military training exercise between the Indian Army and the Sri Lankan Army, Exercise Mitra Shakti concluded today in Sri Lanka.
- The 2-week long training that commenced on 26th March, came to an end with a grand smart and scintillating joint parade by the two continents.
- During the past 14 days, both the contingents jointly planned and executed a series of tactical operations based on scenarios that are likely to be encountered in the rural & urban environment.
- The two army contingents also shared the best practices of each other to further enhance their learning experiences.
- Started in 2013, exercise Mitra Shakti is in continuation of a series of joint exercises that is conducted annually as part of military diplomacy to enhance cooperation between the armies of India & Sri Lanka.
India and Sri Lanka have agreed to increase cooperation in security and defence spheres in several areas, including regional security, curbing drug smuggling and human trafficking.
- The issues came up for discussion when Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra called on Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirsena in Colombo during his official visit.

National Current Affairs

The biannual Army Commanders’ Conference began in New Delhi today.
- Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will delivered her opening address at the conference.
- During the conference, important issues that are likely to be discussed are the management of the extant security dynamics, mitigation of future security threats and enhancement of combat edge over potential adversaries.
- The Conference, chaired by the Chief of the Army Staff is held biannually for formulating important policy decisions.
- It is an important event for the planning and execution process of the Indian Army.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to increase Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) verification from 1 EVM per constituency to 5 randomly selected EVMs.
- The court said the practice will ensure the "greatest degree of accuracy, satisfaction" in the election process. EC said it will implement the SC directions with immediate effect.
The Goa government has extended the retirement age for doctors working in its institutions from 60 to 62.
A National Seminar on “Greenery and Landscaping” was organized by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD).
- The seminar focused on Green Urban Areas.
The 75th anniversary of the Battle of Kohima was recently observed by the Nagaland government with representatives from the UK and Japan.
- Theme : 'Remembrance, Reconciliation and Rebirth'.

Science & Technology

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has revealed 4 of its spacecraft have broken own world record for navigating with a GPS signal farther than ever before at around 1.87 lakh kilometres from Earth.
NASA has also announced that its rocket engine test reached the milestone required to carry astronauts to the Moon.
- NASA revealed the engine was tested around 32 times since its first test on Jan 9, 2015.
- Note : NASA's Space Shuttle Program had ended in 2011, following which it started paying Russia around $80 million per astronaut to ferry them to the ISS.

Banking, Business & Economic Affairs

India's imports from China totalled $60 billion during April-January period of 2018-19, a 5% fall from the year-ago period, according to the PHD Chamber of Commerce.
- India's trade deficit with China eased to $46 billion during the period from $53 billion a year ago, it added.
- India's export to China totalled nearly $14 billion during April-January 2018-19.

Recent Committees in News

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) today formed a committee to look into the alleged erosion of Yamuna floodplain due to movement of heavy vehicles in Haryana's Sonipat district.
- The committee comprises the principal secretary of the Haryana Irrigation and Water Resources Department, member secretary of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board and the director of the Mines and Geology Department.
- The committee would submit a joint report within one month by e-mail so that matter can be taken up before the monsoon. The next hearing in the matter is due on May 24.

Deaths

Biologist Sydney Brenner (92) who helped decipher the genetic code and jointly won the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, passed away.
- He had jointly won the Nobel Prize for "discoveries concerning genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death".

Sports Current Affairs

Chinese badminton ace Lin Dan clinched the Malaysia Open in Kuala Lumpur today. Here is the complete winners list.
- 2019 Malaysian Open Badminton
- - Men’s Singles : Lin Dan (China)
  - Women’s Singles : Tai Tzu-ying (Taiwan)
  - Men’s Doubles : Li Junhui & Liu Yuchen (China)
  - Women’s Doubles : Chen Qingchen & Jia Yifan (China)
  - Mixed Doubles : Zheng Siwei & Huang Yaqiong (China)

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