www.gradeup.co 1 www.gradeup.co Yearly Current Affairs 2019 Dear readers, This compilation is a complete docket of important Current Affairs news and events that occurred in last 4.5 months (1 January 2019 – 12th May 2019). This file is important and relevant for all competitive exams including UPSC, State PCS and other government exams. Rank of India in different Indexes 1. Cancer Preparedness Index 2019 - India Ranks 19th • The index is compiled by Geneva-based • India was ranked 19th out of 28 countries in World Economic Forum (WEF). the Index. 5. World Happiness Report 2019 – India is ranked • Index is released by the Economist 140th out of 156 nations. Intelligence Unit (EIU). • The World Happiness Report was released • Top 3 countries are Australia (1st), by the Sustainable Development Solutions Netherlands (2nd) and Germany (3rd). Network for the United Nations. • Bottom three are Saudi Arabia (28th), • For the second consecutive year, Finland Romania (27th) and Egypt (26th). topped the list. 2. Global Startup Ecosystem – India was ranked 17th • Denmark ranked second followed by position among 100 countries. Norway. • It was released by StartupBlink. • Pakistan ranked 67th, Bhutan 95th, China • The report ranks countries based on the 93rd, Bangladesh 125th, and Sri Lanka 130th strength of its startup ecosystem. while South Sudan ranked last in the World • China was ranked 27th. Happiness Report. • Bangalore, New Delhi, and Mumbai were the 6. India Ranks 11th in Gold Holding: WGC Report – The top cities in the Indian startup ecosystem. World Gold Council its latest report highlights the • Top three countries are: United States, quantum of gold holding by the different countries. United Kingdom and Canada. • India has the 11th largest gold reserve and 3. India Ranks 140th In World Press Freedom Index – the current holding pegged at 607 tonnes. • India ranked 140th out of 180 countries in • The top spot is occupied by US gold reserves the World Press Freedom Index 2019. of 8,133.5 tonnes, followed by Germany with • Index is released by Reporters Without 3,369.7 tonnes. Borders. • International Monetary Fund (IMF) ranks • The index is topped by Norway followed by third on the list with total gold reserves of Finland and Sweden. 2,814 tonnes. 4. WEF Global Energy Transition Index – India rank 76th • The World Gold Council is the market on a global energy transition index. development organisation for the gold • The report stated that India is amongst the industry and it aims to stimulate and sustain countries with high pollution levels and has a demand for gold, provide industry relatively high CO2 intensity in its energy leadership, and be the global authority on the system. gold market. • Sweden remains on the top and is followed • The members of the World Gold Council by Switzerland and Norway in the top three. include gold mining companies. 2 www.gradeup.co 7. India ranks 16th in terms of Highest Number of • India has grabbed the 54th spot among 60 impacted Species in Hotspots – A recent study countries in the Bloomberg Innovation Index published in PLOS Biology found that human impacts on with a score of 47.93 out of 100. species occur across 84% of the earth’s surface and India • South Korea has topped the Bloomberg ranks 16th in such impacts, with 35 species impacted on Innovation Index for the sixth time in a row with an average. a total score of 87.38. • Malaysia ranks 1st among the countries with • Germany ranked second, Finland stood on the the highest number of impacted species third spot. (125). 12. Global Talent Competitive Index 2019: • Southeast Asian tropical forests, including • India ranked at 80th positions on the Global those in India’s Western Ghats, Himalaya, Talent Competitive Index (GTCI) 2019. and north-east, are among the ‘hotspots’ of • The index is released by INSEAD business school threatened species. in partnership with Tata Communications and • However, these very areas are also ‘cool- Adecco Group. spots’ (the world’s last refuges where high • Switzerland topped the index which is followed numbers of threatened species still persist). by Singapore and the US. 8. Inclusive Internet Index 2019 – India has been ranked • Last year in 2018, India was ranked at 81st 47th. position. • Sweden has topped the rankings followed by 13. Democracy Index 2019: The Economist Intelligence Singapore and the US. Unit (EIU) has released the Democracy Index which • The Inclusive Internet Index 2019 was ranks 167 countries by 60 indicators across five broad prepared by the Economist Intelligence Unit categories. (EIU) for Facebook. • Top 3 countries in the list are – Norway, Iceland • The ‘Inclusive Internet’ score was based on and Sweden. the scores of availability, affordability, • Australia and New Zealand are the only “full relevance and readiness categories. democracies” in the entire Asia-Pacific region 9. International IP index 2019 • India was at the 41st place with a score of • India has jumped eight places to 36th position 7.23/10 and was placed in the flawed on the International Intellectual Property (IP) democracies category. Index. 14. India Ranks 79th, Japan Tops List of Most Powerful • The US, the UK, Sweden, France and Germany Passports - According to the Henley Passport Index, remained the top five economies on the India jumped two positions from 81st in 2018 to 79th in intellectual property index in 2019 2019. Japan retained its top spot as the world’s most • In 2018, India was ranked at 44th position. travel-friendly passport. 10. Corruption Perception Index 2018 15. India 6th in GDPR Readiness Index: CISCO - Nearly • India has improved its ranking by 3 points by 65% of Indian organizations are better prepared for the moving onto 78th position in the Corruption European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation Perceptions Index 2018 published by (GDPR), making the country the sixth leading nation Transparency International. globally in the GDPR readiness index, global networking • China and Pakistan, in a list of 180 countries, leader, according to CISCO. lagged far behind than India at 87th and 117th 16. World Bank's ease-of-doing-business 2019: India position respectively. ranked at 77 • Somalia has been ranked last with a score of 10 • India’s jumped 23 places to 77 among 190 behind South Sudan and Syria. countries in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing 11. India ranks 54th in 'Bloomberg Innovation Index’ of Business 2019 index. 60 economies • The World Bank on October 31, 2018 released • For the first time ever, India has been ranked in the Doing Business Report 2019 titled as ‘Doing Bloomberg’s 2019 list of most innovative Business 2019: Training for Reform’, assessing countries in the world. 3 www.gradeup.co and ranking countries on the basis of ease of • The top 3 economies in the ease of doing doing business in the year 2018. business rankings are New Zealand, Singapore, • In its annual 'Doing Business' 2019 report, the and Denmark. World Bank said India has improved on six of the 17. IMD World Talent Ranking: India Ranks 53rd 10 parameters on starting and doing business in • Switzerland has topped the list of the IMD World a country. Talent Ranking 2018 for the fifth year in a row. • The biggest improvements have been in the • Among the BRICS countries, South Africa remains in indicators related "construction permits" and the middle position (50th) performing better than "trading across borders. India (53rd) and Brazil (58th) but lagging behind • Last year, India ranked at 100th position. China (39th) and Russia (46th). The Top 3 countries in the list are: • Switzerland, Denmark, Norway 18. Climate Change Performance Index 2019: • As per the WEF’s Global Gender Gap • India ranked at 11th position. Report 2018, Iceland topped the list having • As per the Index, Sweden has topped the closed more than 85.8% of its overall list while India was on 11th position. gender gap. • Saudi Arabia came last, in 60th place, • The Report was published for total 149 partly due to its obstructive role during countries. international climate negotiations. • Norway and Sweden were on 2nd and 3rd 19. WEF Gender Gap Index 2018: position, respectively. • India has been ranked 108th in World Economic Forum (WEF) gender gap index 2018. Important Committees 1. BP Sharma (retired GOI secretary) - The Union • submitted its report on “Determining the Government has constituted an expert committee to Methodology for Fixation of the National “revisit the criteria” for determining the “creamy layer” Minimum Wage” to the Government. for OBCs which was laid down in 1993. • It recommended the fixation of need-based Note: The committee will “revisit the criteria evolved by National Minimum Wage (NMW) for India at Rs the Prasad committee” and give recommendations for 375 per day or Rs 9,750 per month irrespective “redefining, simplifying and streamlining the concept of of sectors, skills, occupations and rural-urban creamy layer” while keeping in view the SC’s locations for a family comprising of 3.6 observations in Indira Sawhney case. consumption units. 2. Amitabh Kant (Niti Aayog CEO) committee - National • The Present NMW is Rs. 4,576. Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage, 6. Sanjeev Sharma (income tax commissioner) which is being set up to promote clean and sustainable Committee - to look into the matter of taxation related mobility initiatives in the country. pain points and submit its final report and 3. Suresh Mathur committee – to review the regulatory recommendations by mid-March. framework on microinsurance and recommend 7. Jasmine Shah Committee – The Delhi government measures to increase the demand for such products. constituted a committee to “reform higher education” in 4. Bimal Jalan Panel - to suggest how the central bank the capital.