Daily GK Updates - 13rd Oct, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. MHoUPA launches “mHariyali” mobile app for ‘Environment Protection: Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has launched a mobile app named “mHariyali” which aims to encourage Public engagement in planting trees and other such Green drives. People can now upload information/photos of any plantation done by them, which is linked to app and will be displayed on the website www.epgc.gov.in. The App provides for automatic geo-tagging of plants.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Singapore set to become the first country to ban ads for unhealthy sugary drinks: The health ministry of Singapore notified that it will ban ads for unhealthy sugary drinks to combat rising diabetes rates. Thus, it will become the first nation in the world to do so. As per the data from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), 13.7% of adults suffer from diabetes in Singapore. IDF has estimated that the number of people suffering from diabetes in the world is expected to rise to 629 million by 2045 from 420 million people at present.

2. UK to issue coin in honour of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary: The United Kingdom’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Mr Sajid Javid (Pakistani-origin British finance minister) notified that the UK government will issue a commemorative coin to mark the 150th birthday anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The announcement was made at the 21st Edition of the annual GG2 Leadership Awards ceremony 2019 in London hosted to celebrate the British Asian success. UK’s Royal Mint will work on the coin.

Note: UK Capital: London; Currency: Pound sterling

3. India becomes a member of G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance on Technology Governance: India became a member of Group of 20 (G20) Global Smart Cities Alliance on Technology Governance which works towards advancing the responsible and ethical use of smart city technologies. The World Economic Forum (WEF), the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation serves as secretariat for the Alliance. It will constitute global regulations and policy standards for the use of connected devices in public spaces.

About G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance: It is a league of 16 (after India joined) of the world’s leading city networks and technology governance organisations. It was established in June 2019, in conjunction with the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan.

4. India ranked 82nd in 2019 Henley Passport Index ranking, Japan and Singapore top the list: Latest 2019 Henley Passport Index ranking was released. In the report, India is currently ranked at 82nd place in 2019, which is one place down from its previous rank of 81 in 2018. Japan and Singapore both hold the most powerful passport by ranking 1st in the list. The study was conducted by Henley & Partners. The index measures the strength of all the passports around the world, based on mobility scores which denotes the number of destinations that could be accessed by the passport-holders of a specific country, without a pre-departure visa. Japanese and Singaporean passport holders can visit a total of 190 countries without a prior visa, thus its mobility score is 190. India’s mobility score is 59. Afghanistan ranks last at 107th position in the list.

Ranks:

Rank	Country
1	Japan and Singapore
2	South Korea, Germany and Finland
3	Denmark, Italy and Luxembourg
4	France, Spain and Sweden
5	Austria, Netherlands and Portugal
82	India

5. International day for disaster reduction: 13 October: The International Day of Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDRR) was observed to promote global culture towards risk awareness and disaster reduction. The theme for the year 2019 is “Reduce disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services”. In 1989, the International Day for Disaster Reduction was started by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). According to the UN, the primary objective is to focus on the target of the Sendai Framework, which highlights “Substantially to reduce disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services, among them health and education facilities, including through developing their resilience by 2030.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. American Olympic swimming champion Conor Dwyer announces retirement: American competition swimmer and 2-time Olympic gold medalist, Conor James Dwyer (30) has announced his retirement after being handed a 20-month doping ban for having testosterone in the form of pellets, surgically inserted into his body. His ban was made effective on December 21, 2019, & he won’t be eligible for Tokyo Games 2020. He had failed a series of anti-doping tests (three times) between November 15 and December 20, 2018.

2. Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge becomes first person to run a marathon in under 2 hours: An Olympic champion and world record holder from Kenya Eliud Kipchoge, aged 34, became the first person to run a marathon in under 2 hours by finishing the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in 1 hour, 59 minutes, 40.2 seconds in Vienna’s Prater Park, Austria. He covered the distance of 26.2miles. The marathon was organised and funded by the British chemical company INEOS. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) will not recognise the run as an official record because it was not in open competition.

3. Valtteri Bottas wins Formula One Japanese Grand Prix 2019: Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes – Finland) has won the F1 Japanese Grand Prix 2019 Title. This is his third title for the season. Sebastian Vettel was second, Lewis Hamilton was third and Alexander Albon remained fourth.

4. Daniil Medvedev wins Shanghai Masters title 2019 (Tennis): Daniil Medvedev (of Russia) has won the Men’s singles title at Shanghai Masters 2019 (Tennis). He defeated Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-4, 6-1. In the men’s double category Mate Pavić and Bruno Soares are the winners.

5. Overview of World Youth Chess Championship 2019 held in Mumbai, India: World Youth Chess Championship 2019 was held in Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel in Mumbai, India from 1st to 13th October 2019. The Championship was organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) or International Chess Federation. India bagged seven medals (highest medals than any other country) in the Championship including 1 gold, 3 silver, and 3 bronze medals. Russia won 5 medals in the Championship and followed by India. Medals won by Indian Players in the World Youth Chess Championship 2019:

Indian Player	Event	Medal
Praggnanandhaa R	Open U18	Gold
Agrawal Vantika	Girls U18	Silver
Srihari L R	Open U14	Silver
Deshmukh Divya	Girls U14	Silver
Ghosh Aronyak	Open U16	Bronze
Sreeshwan Maralakshikari	Open U14	Bronze
Ravi Rakshitta	Girls U14	Bronze

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Reserve Bank imposes a monetary penalty on Balancehero India & Toyota Financial: In exercise of the powers vested under Section 30 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, Country’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 12.88 lakh on Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) issuer Balancehero India Private Limited for non-compliance of regulatory guidelines. Toyota Financial Services India Limited (TFSIN), the Indian subsidiary of Toyota Financial Services Corporation (TFSC) has also faced Rs 5 lakh penalty for non-compliance with directions issued by RBI on ‘Monitoring of Frauds in NBFCs (Non-Banking Financial Companies).

Note: Balancehero India Private Limited Formation: 2014; Headquarters: Gurgaon, Haryana

TFSIN Founded: 2011; Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka

2. ‘Sabse Pehle Life Insurance’ joint mass media campaign to begin: Life Insurance Council has decided to launch the Indian life insurance industry’s first joint mass media campaign with the slogan ‘Sabse Pehle Life Insurance’ (first thing is life insurance) within a month whose total cost will be around Rs 100 crore. For this purpose, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India will provide Rs 40 crore. It will be a joint effort of 24 Indian life insurance companies. The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness about the importance of life insurance. The tagline will also be presented in the major Indian languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bangla among others.

3. ADB signs $190 million worth loan agreement for improving road connectivity in Rajasthan: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India (GoI) have signed the Tranche 2 loan agreement worth $190 million to upgrade 754 kilometers of Rajasthan state highways and major district roads (MDRs) to two-lane or intermediate-lane standards. The project consists of constructing over 200 bus stops, 70 km of the hard shoulder, and 2 km of raised sidewalk on project roads that will benefit commuters and pedestrians, especially women and children. The construction of roads will be based on public-private partnership (PPP) with the participation of Hybrid Annuity Mode and engineering procurement construction (EPC). The loan agreement has been signed in the presence of Shri Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary (Fund Bank and ADB), Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India, and Mr Kenichi Yokoyama, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission, who signed for ADB.

Note: ADB Headquarters: Mandaluyong, Philippines

Rajasthan Capital: Jaipur; Chief minister: Ashok Gehlot; Governor: Kalraj Mishra

4. Mastercard India appoints Vikas Varma as COO: Mastercard India, payment technology major, elevated Mr. Vikas Varma as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the firm. He will take up the responsibility related to new partnerships and development of digital payment solutions and has been serving the firm since 2005.i. Recently, Mastercard had announced an investment of USD 1 billion (around Rs 7,100 crore) in India over the next 5 years.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. India ranked 7th in Brand Finance Nation Brands 2019; USA tops: An annual report on the most valuable and strongest nation brands named Brand Finance Nation Brands 2019 was released by Brand Finance in which India was ranked 7th from 9th rank of 2018 with 18.7% growth in brand value to $2,562 bn. The list was topped by the United States of America (USA) with 7.2% growth in brand value to $27,751 bn. Developing economies grew 31.3 times faster in growth than the developed economies. Singapore emerged as the world’s strongest nation brand with the Brand Strength Index (BSI) score 90.5 out of 100. Only India jumped to the 7th spot whereas no new countries made it to Top 10

Most valuable nation brands:

Rank	Nation	Brand value
1	USA	$27,751 bn
2	China	$19,486 bn
3	Germany	$4,855 bn
4	Japan	$4,533 bn
5	United Kingdom (UK)	$3,851 bn
7	India	$2,562 bn

AWARDS & HONOURS

1. Environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt Felicitated With Indira Gandhi Award: Noted environmentalist and social activist Chandi Prasad Bhatt has been awarded the Indira Gandhi award for national integration for the year 2017-2018, for his services in promoting and preserving national integration in the country. Uttarakhand based 85 year old Bhatt will be presented the 31st Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration on October 31 in New Delhi. It consists of a citation and Rs 10 lakh in cash. The award was instituted by the Indian National Congress in memory of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and is presented on Oct 31, the day she was killed.

DEFENCE

1. 2nd edition of Indo-Japan joint military exercise “Dharma Guardian 2019” to be held in Vairengte, Mizoram: The 2nd joint military exercise ‘Dharma Guardian-2019’ to promote military cooperation between India and Japan will be held in Mizoram. The event is being held from 19 October- 2 November 2019 at Counter Insurgency Warfare School located in Vairengte, Mizoram. Indian Army and Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces (JGSDF) comprising 25 soldiers each will participate in the exercise with the aim to share their views on various aspects related to the work of the army. This joint military exercise will improve mutual relations between the two countries and will help in fighting against terrorism. ‘Dharma Guardian exercise is an annual training event, which is being held in India since 2018.

Note: Japan Capital: Tokyo; Currency: Japanese yen; Prime Minister: Shinzō Abe