Daily GK Updates - 24th September, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Home Minister Amit Shah announces Digital Census in 2021: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has proposed the idea of a single multipurpose identity card for citizens. Multipurpose identity card would have all utilities such as Aadhaar, driving license, passport and bank accounts merged into one. Amit Shah laid the foundation stone of Janganana Bhawan or Census Building in New Delhi. According to Home Minister Amit Shah, the 2021 census (8th since Indian independence) will be a “digital census” and the data will be collected through a mobile app. The National Population Register is being prepared for the first time in the 2021 census. India would be spending roughly Rs 12,000 crore on its first digital census. Almost 33 lakh enumerators (conduct door-to-door counting) will be encouraged to use their phones to collect the data.

Note: A census is a procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. The population census not only helps keep a count on the population of India, but it also helps in providing the benefit of government schemes to people. India’s last census was carried out in 2011 when the total population of the country was estimated to be 121 crores.

2. 16th Global SME Business Summit 2019 held in New Delhi: The 16th Global SME Business Summit 2019 was inaugurated in New Delhi by Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Road Transport & Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari. This summit is organised by Ministry of MSME and Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) every year. The theme of this year’s summit is: “Making Indian MSMEs Globally Competitive”.

3. President Ramnath Kovind inaugurates the 6th India Water Week-2019: President Ramnath Kovind inaugurates the 6th India Water Week-2019 (IWW-2019) at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi (24 to 28th September 2019. The ‘IWW-2019’ is being organised by the Ministry of Jal-Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India. The theme of Water Week-2019 is "Water Cooperation- Coping with 21st Century Challenges". The objective of IWW-2019’ is to bring new ideas for mutual-cooperation for sustainable water management in the context of changing basin dynamics across administrative boundaries.

4. Family pension for Central govt employee dying within 7 years of service hiked from 30 to 50%: According to an official release, the family of a Government servant, who dies within seven years of joining service, will be eligible for family pension at the enhanced rate of 50% of last pay drawn for a period of 10 years. Earlier, the government servant who had rendered service of less than seven years before his death, the rate of family pension was 30% from the beginning and family pension at the enhanced rate of 50% was not payable to the family. The amendment will be effective from 1st of October 2019.

5. CBDT sets up National e-Assessment Centre for faceless scrutiny of IT returns: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has set up a National e-Assessment Centre (NeAC) for assessing tax returns electronically without any personal contact between officials and taxpayers. The initiative is a part of government efforts to reduce human discretion in assessments and scrutiny, which in turn will eliminate possibilities of corruption, by leveraging new technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, video conferencing, telecommunication application software and mobile applications.

CBDT has also appointed 1984 batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Krishna Mohan Prasad as the first Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax of NeAC. The Centre will have 16 officials and will be headed by a Principal Chief Commissioner of Income-tax (PCCIT) as its chief.

Note: CBDT Established: 1944; Chairman: Pramod Chandra Mody.

6. Govinda will be Madhya Pradesh brand ambassador: Bollywood Actor Govinda (55-years) will be the brand ambassador of Madhya Pradesh and will help promote the state's traditions and tourist places. Govinda is one of the most successful Bollywood stars in the 1990s, had a five-year stint as Congress Lok Sabha MP from Mumbai North constituency (in 2004). The Madhya Pradesh government is planning to set up a film city, as several production units are visiting places like Maheshwar, Mandu and Bhopal to shoot movies.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. UN Climate Action Summit 2019 Held in New York: The 2019 UN Climate Action Summit was held on September 23, 2019 in New York, United States to address the global climate emergency. UN 2019 Climate Summit theme – ‘Climate Action Summit 2019: A Race We Can Win. A Race We Must Win.’ Purpose: Increase the commitments of government, business and civil society to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 45 percent by 2030, and a target of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

2. Godavarthi Venkata Srinivas will be the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Guinea Bissau: According to the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India (GoI), Shri Godavarthi Venkata Srinivas, a 1993 batch IFS (Indian Foreign Service) officer has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Guinea Bissau, with residence in Dakar. He will succeed Partha Satpathy. Srinivas currently served as India’s Ambassador to the Republic of Senegal.

Note: Republic of Guinea Bissau Capital: Bissau; Currency: West African CFA franc; President: José Mário Vaz; Prime Minister: Aristides Gomes

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. PV Sindhu’s Coach Kim Ji Hyun of South Korea resigns: India’s women’s singles badminton coach, Kim Ji Hyun (45) of South Korea, who guided World Championship gold medalist PV Sindhu, has resigned from the post for personal reasons. She had to move to New Zealand with her husband Richie Mer, who had suffered a ‘neuro stroke’ a few days earlier. Kim was signed by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) earlier in 2019. It was under his guidance that Sindhu won the gold medal at the World Championship 2019 in Basel, Switzerland. Kim was India’s third foreign coach who resigned before completing her term.

2. Snooker player Laxman Rawat wins IBSF World 6Reds championships 2019 title: The Mumbai-based snooker player Laxman Rawat won the men’s title after defeating Muhammad Asif of Pakistan at the 150 Up World Billiards Championship and World 6Reds, World Team Snooker championships 2019 held from 9th September- 25th September 2019 at Mandalay, Myanmar. In the women’s tournament, the Three times World Junior champion, Wongharuthai Nutcharat (19) of Thailand defeated India’s Amee Kamani (Madhya Pradesh) with 4-2 scores in the final.

Note: The event was hosted by Myanmar Billiards & Snooker Federation (MBSF). 6Reds Men Championship prize fund was at $ 7200 & Women Championship prize fund was at $ 2400. The Six-red World Championship (also known as the SangSom 6 Red World Championship for sponsorship purposes) is a six-red snooker match, played with the 6 colour balls and six reds.

3. Indian chess player Koneru Hampi wins the Skolkova Fides Grand Prix title 2019: Indian chess grandmaster, Koneru Hampi (32) of Gudivada (Andhra Pradesh) has cliched Fide World Grand Prix 2019 title with 8 points from 11 rounds in Skolkovo, Russia. While other Indian, D Harika secured the sixth place with 5 points. In the final round Hampi just need to play a draw for the title. The advantage she has in the final round is that have to play white pieces against the defending world champion Wenjun Xu of China.

Note: The Fide Grand Prix 2019 is a series of four chess tournaments. The top 2 candidates from this series will qualify for the match which will decide who will be the World Champion Challenger in 2021. It was organized by World Chess, formerly known as Agon. The other 3 Grand Prix will be held in Monaco from December 2-15, 2019 while the second Grand Prix will be held in Lausanne from March 1-14, 2020 while the third Grand Prix in Sardinia will be from May 2-15, 2020.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Max Bupa and Indian Bank ink bancassurance tie-up to offer health insurance solutions: ‘Max Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited’ has announced a bancassurance corporate agency agreement with a state-owned bank ‘Indian Bank’. Under the agreement, Max Bupa will provide comprehensive health insurance solutions and services to over 40 million customers of Indian Bank spread across 2800 branch network, through a slew of digital touchpoints. As part of the tie-up, Max Bupa’s offerings will include both retail and group health insurance products besides Indemnity and Fixed Benefit products.

Note: Max Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between Max India Limited and Bupa Finance plc UK, established for the purpose of carrying on health insurance in business in India.

MD & CEO of Max Bupa: Ashish Mehrotra.

MD & CEO of Indian Bank: Padmaja Chunduru.

2. Bharti Airtel & Bharti AXA Life Insurance tie up to offer pre-paid plan with insurance protection cover: An Indian global telecommunications services company, Bharti Airtel has tied up with Bharti AXA Life Insurance, one of the best insurance companies in India to offer prepaid plan for its users along with insurance protection plan.

Airtel has brought a special prepaid plan of Rs 599, in which customers will get 2GB (gigabyte) data per day, unlimited calling and 100 SMS (Short Message Service) per day on any network, as well as a life insurance cover of Rs 4 lakh from Bharti AXA Life Insurance. There will be a validity of 84 days on this recharge. This plan of insurance cover with Airtel prepaid plans will be available for people between 18 and 54 years of age. For this, no paperwork or medical certificate of any kind is required. Note: Bharti Airtel Chairman:  Sunil Bharti Mittal; MD & CEO:  Gopal Vittal; Headquarters: New Delhi, India

Bharti AXA Life Insurance Managing Director and CEO: Vikas Seth; Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra

3. Nilesh Shah got appointed as Chairman of AMFI: The Managing Director (MD) of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Co Ltd., Nilesh Shah has been appointed as Chairman of the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) at its board meeting held in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He will replace Nimesh Shah, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) Prudential AMC, who was appointed to the position in the year 2018. The AMFI board has also elected Saurabh Nanavati, Chief Executive Officer, Invesco Mutual Fund as its new vice-chairman.

Note: AMFI Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Infosys ranks 3rd in Forbes’ list of ‘The World’s Best Regarded Companies’: Nearly 17 Indian companies were listed in the Forbes World’s best ‘regarded’ companies list 2019. The company which topped among other Indian firms is Infosys which ranked third in the overall list. The first and second places were held by global payments Technology Company Visa and Italian car-maker Ferrari respectively. Infosys which tops among the Indian companies, was ranked at 31st position in 2018. The data was gathered by Statista that surveyed 15,000 respondents from more than 50 countries.

The top firms in the list are as follows:

Rank	Company		Rank	Indian Company
1	Visa		22	TCS
2	Ferrari		31	Tata Motors
3	Infosys		105	Tata Steel
4	Netflix		115	Larsen & Toubro
5	PayPal		117	Mahindra & Mahindra
6	Microsoft		135	HDFC
7	Walt Disney		143	Bajaj Finserv
8	Toyota Motor		149	Piramal Enterprises
9	Mastercard
10	Costco Wholesale

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Best FIFA Football Awards 2019: The Best FIFA Football Awards 2019 was held at the Teatro Alla Scala in Milan, Italy. Argentine footballer Lionel Messi (32-years) won the FIFA's best male player of the year award 2019. Messi beats Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo to win the Best Men's Player award. Earlier, Lionel Messi has won this award for the record sixth time (earlier,2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2015). American footballer Megan Rapinoe has won the Best FIFA Football Women's Player award 2019.

Sr. No.	Award	Winner	Football Club(FC)
1	The Best FIFA Men’s Player	Lionel Messi (Argentina)	Barcelona FC
2	The Best FIFA Women’s Player	Megan Rapinoe (America)	Reign FC
3	The Best FIFA Men’s coach	JurgenKlopp (Germany)	Liverpool FC
4	The Best FIFA Women’s coach	Jill Ellis (America)	–
5	The Best FIFA Men’s goalkeeper	Alisson Becker (Brazil)	Liverpool FC
6	The Best FIFA Women’s goalkeeper	Sari van Veenendaal (Netherlands)	Atlético Madrid Femenino
7	FIFA Puskás Award	Daniel Zsori (Hungary)	Fehérvár FC
8	FIFA fan Award	Silvia Grecco	–
9	FIFA fair play award	Marcelo Bielsa and the Leeds United squad	–

2. Zoya Akhtar’s ‘Gully Boy’ India’s official entry to Oscars 2020: The Film Federation of India (FFI) has chosen ‘Gully Boy’ as India’s official entry to the Oscars. “Gully Boy”, produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar and directed by Zoya Akhtar’, featured Ranveer as an up-and-coming rapper who sets out to achieve his dream by rhyming about his life on the Mumbai streets. Assamese film “Village Rockstars”, directed by Rima Das, was India’s official submission to the Oscars last year.

Note: President of Film Federation of India: T.P. Aggarwal.

3. Ladakhi Shondol dance makes it to Guinness book of records: The royal dance of Ladakh ‘Shondol dance’ has created history by entering into the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest Ladakhi dance. 'Shondol' is a famous dance, which artistes used to perform for the king of Ladakh. As many as 408 women attired in traditional dresses and beautiful headgears performed the dance. It was held on the concluding day of the ongoing Buddhist carnival Naropa festival near the Hemis Monastery.

OBITUARIES

1. Veteran actor and multi-faceted artiste S.K. Padmadevi passes away: Veteran actor and multi-faceted artiste S.K. Padmadevi passed away. She was part of the first Kannada talkie film ‘Bhakta Dhruva’ (1934). She also starred in ‘Samsara Nouke’, first Kannada social film (1936). She was the recipient of R. Nagendra Rao award for lifetime achievement by Karnataka Chalanchitra Academy in 2016.

2. Veteran American Journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Robert S Boyd passes away: Noted American Journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Skinner Boyd passed away. He shared a 1973 Pulitzer Prize with colleague Clark Hoyt for coverage of Democratic vice-presidential candidate Thomas Eagleton’s exit from the campaign due to mental health issues. He worked as the Washington bureau chief of Knight Ridder for 20 years, once the nation’s 2nd -largest newspaper chain with properties like The Philadelphia Inquirer and Miami Herald.