Daily GK Updates - 26th January, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India celebrates 70th Republic Day today : India celebrates 70th Republic Day today honouring  the date on which the Constitution of India came into effect on 26 January 1950 replacing the Government of India Act (1935).President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa is the chief guest for this year's Republic Day parade.The Republic Day Parade Ceremony commenced with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the nation in paying homage to the martyrs by laying a wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate.As per the tradition, after unfurling of the National Flag by the President, the national anthem was played with a 21 gun salute.

2. Pranab Mukherjee, Nanaji Deshmukh, Bhupen Hazarika awarded Bharat Ratna : Former president Pranab Mukherjee, Bharatiya Jana Sangh leader Nanaji Deshmukh and singer Bhupen Hazarika were on 25 January 2019 conferred the country's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna.In an official statement, the government said Deshmukh and Hazarika have conferred the award posthumously.Pranab Mukherjee, fondly known as 'Pranab Da', was the president between 2012 and 2017.The Bharat Ratna has been conferred after a gap of four years.

3.  Government announces Padma awards 2019 : This year 112 recipients have been selected for the prestigious awards. This includes 4 Padma Vibhushan, 14 Padma Bhushan and 94 Padma Shri awards.One of the highest civilian Awards of the country, the awards are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.The Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order and Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field.The Awards are announced on the eve of the Republic Day every year.The recipients include veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar (posthumous), cricketer Gautam Gambhir, Indian choreographer Prabhu Deva, actor Kadir Khan (posthumous) among others.Teejan Bai an exponent of Pandavani was among the four Padma Vibhushan awardees, the Bachendri Pal is among the 14 Padma Bhushan recipients.

4. Government institutes Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar : The government has instituted an annual award titled Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar.It will be announced every year on 23rd January, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.The Award carries a certificate and a cash prize of 51 lakh rupees.This year, 8th Battalion of National Disaster Response Force located at Ghaziabad has been selected for the Award for its commendable work in disaster management.

  

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. JNPT becomes India's only port to be ranked among world's top 30 : The government said the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) has become India's only port to get listed among the top 30 global container ports."The JNPT, India's premier container port got listed amongst the top 30 container ports globally, as per the latest Lloyds Report.According to the shipping ministry, JNPT notched up five spots, to be 28th on the list, compared to its previous ranking.

2. India ranks 54th in 'Bloomberg Innovation Index’ of 60 economies : For the first time ever, India has been ranked in Bloomberg’s 2019 list of most innovative countries in the world.India has grabbed the 54th spot among 60 countries in the Bloomberg Innovation Index with a score of 47.93 out of 100.South Korea has topped the Bloomberg Innovation Index for the sixth time in a row with a total score of 87.38. Germany ranked second, Finland stood on the third spot.According to Bloomberg, the countries and sovereigns have been ranked on the basis of their overall ability to innovate considering seven-equal weighted metrics -- research & development intensity, manufacturing value-added, productivity, high-tech density, tertiary efficiency, researcher concentration, patent activity.

3. Malaysia elects new king, Sultan Abdullah : Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, the ruler of the Malaysia state of Pahang, was named the country's new king.The leaders of Malaysia's royal houses, known as the Conference of Rulers, elected the 59-year-old Sultan Abdullah to a five year term under a system of rotationalmonarchy that is unique to Malaysia.Sultan Abdullah will be sworn in as the nation's 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, or head of state, in a ceremony on January 31.The Sultan is heavily involved in sports governance -- he is the current president of the Asian Hockey Federation and a council member of FIFA, the world football body.

5.  Burkina Faso appoints Christophe Joseph as new Prime Minister : Christophe Joseph Marie Dabiré has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of Burkina Faso.Dabiré, a former commissioner representing Burkina Faso at the West African Economic and Monetary Union, served as a minister under former president Blaise Compaoré, with Roch Marc Christian Kaboré as prime minister between 1994 to 1996.He led the country’s Department of Health between 1992-1997 and oversaw the Department of Secondary, Higher Education and Scientific Research between 1997-2000.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1.  BSNL, French firm join hands to offer data services through SMS : State-run telecom firm BSNL has partnered with French company Be-Bound to offer data connectivity through SMS in areas where there is no Internet connectivity or signal breaks. Both the companies signed a business partnership agreement to jointly market the service in India.The technology will be embedded in mobile apps. The app will send a command to Be-Bound server in case it does not get data connectivity for SMS-based connectivity.“Be-Bound server will facilitate SMS connectivity after getting a command from the app.