News

·         Who has been appointed the new Chief of the IAF ?                                                 > Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria

·         The Centre government on September 19, 2019 appointed Air Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria as the 26th Chief of the Indian Air Force. He succeeds incumbent Air Chief Marshal B. S. Dhanoa as the Chief of IAF. Bhadauria, having more than 4,250 hours of flying experience on 26 types of fighter and transport  aircraft, was a Chief test pilot for ‘Tejas’. He will have a two-year tenure as the IAF Chief.

l       Who has been elected chairman of the ABC for 2019-20 ?                                                        > Madhukar Kamath

l      Madhukar Kamath, Chairman Emeritus of DDB Mudra Pvt. Ltd., was unanimously elected Chairman of the Aubit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) for 2019-20 on September 20, 2019 in the 71st annual meeting of ABC. He has over four decades of experience in advertising and marketing. Devendra V. Darda of Lokmat Media Pvt. Ltd. was elected Deputy Chairman of the ABC. The ABC is a non-profit body that certifies and audits the circulations of major publications, including newspapers and magazines in India.

l  Who has been elected the President of the INS for 2019-20 ?                                                         > Shailesh Gupta

l     Shailesh Gupta of  Mid-Day newspaper was elected the Presidentof the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) for 2019-20 at its 80th annual general meeting in Bengaluru on September 25, 2019. Shailesh Gupta succeeds Jayant Mammen Mathew of Malayala Manorama as the Chief of the INS, an apex body of the print media in India. Founded in 1939,the INS is the central organisation that promotes and safeguards the business interests of its member publications. L. Adimoolam of ‘Health and the Antiseptic’ was elected as the Deputy President of the INS while Anand Bazar Patrika’s DD Purkayastha became Vice-Presidentof the body.

l   India recently successfully flight-tested the ‘Astra’ missile. The Astra is                                       > An air-to-air missile

l      India on September 17, 2019 successfully flight-tested its indigenously developed air-to-air missile ‘Astra’ from Sukhoi-30 MKI off the coast of Odisha as a part of the user trials by the Indian Air Force. Designed by the DRDO, the beyond visual range Astra missile has a strike range of over 70 kms, engaging targets of different ranges and attitudes. It can fly towards the target at a speed of over 5,555 km per hour.

l      Which film won the top honour of ‘Best film’ in the 20th IIFA Awards, 2019 ?                              > Raazi

l  ‘Raazi’, a Hindi movie based on India-Pakistan rivalry won the top honour of the 20th International IndianFilm Academy Awards, 2019 by winning the Best film honour on September 18, 2019 at a glittering ceremony in Mumbai. Raazi directed by Meghna Gulzar is a story of an Indian female spy. Actress Alia Bhatt played the leading role of spy in the film. She won the best actress honour also for her role in Raazi. Ranveer Singh was honoured with the best actor honour for his leading role in ‘Padmaavat’.

Who has been named the new NSA of the US by President Donald Trump ?      > Robert O’ Brien

l     US President Donald Trump on September 18, 2019 named Robert O’ Brien as the ‘National Security Adviser (NSA) of the USA. He succeeds John Bolton on this post as President Trump removed him after sharp differences on many policies and issues. Mr. O’ Brien is the fourth person to hold the post of NSA in the Trump administration. He is an attorney from Los Angeles and a foreign policy expert. He has also served as an alternative representative of the USA to the UN General Assembly in 2005.

l  Who has been selected as the new Managing Director of the IMF ?      > Kristalina Georgieva

l     The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on September 25, 2019 formally selected Bulgarian economist and a former World Bank Chief Executive Officer Kristalina Georgieva as the new Managing Director (MD) of the IMF. Kristalina, the sole candidate for the top post of the IMF succeeds Christine Lagarde on this post. Lagardewas the first woman chief of the IMF and her successor Kristalina is the second female head of the 189-member global financial body. The head of the IMF has traditionally been a European since the IMF was created in 1945. Kristalina is also from Europe.

l     Which film has been selected as India’s official entry in the International Feature Film Category at the 92nd
       Oscar awards ?                                                                      >  Gully Boy

l  ‘Gully Boy’ directed by Zoya Akhtar was selected as India’s official entry in the International Feature Film Category at the 92nd Academy Awards, popularly knownas the Oscar, on September 21, 2019. The film is based on the struggle of an aspiring rapper, the role played by Ranveer Singh. Eminent actor-filmmaker Aparna Sen chaired the jury which decided on India’s official entry to the Oscars, 2020. Gully Boy pipped 26 other movies in contention including ‘Andhadhun’, Article 15, Badhaai Ho, Anandi Gopal, Baba and others.

l  Which environmental activist got Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award ?                                                                                                > Greta Thunberg

l     Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg and ‘The Fridays for Future Youth Movement’ were honoured with the Amnesty International’s Ambassadors of Conscience award on September 16, 2019 at the George Washington University, Washington. Thunberg and the Fridays movement got the honours for their work highlighting the need for urgent action to avert climate change crisis. Thunberg has been working in numerous parts of the world to spread awareness about global warming and climate change as threats to humans and has been asking world leaders to take concrete actions in this direction.

     l     Who has been honoured with the FIFA Men’s Player of the Year award, 2019 ?            > Lionel Messi

l  Barcelona forward Lionel Messi from Argentina was honoured with the prestigious FIFA Men’s Player of the Year award on September 23, 2019 in Milan. He secured 46 ranking points to beat two other finalists—Virgil Van Dijk of the Netherlands and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal to win the honour. It was Messi’s sixth FIFA Player of the Year honour. Megan Rapinoe of the USA won her maiden FIFA Women’s Player of the year honour, beating her teammate Alex Morgan and Lucy Bronze of England. Messi and his arch rival Ronaldo have dominated the top FIFA honour since 2008, with their string of honours only interrupted by Luka Modric in 2018.