Daily GK Updates - 30th October, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Pramod Kumar Tiwari Appointed Director General of Bureau of Indian Standards: Pramod Kumar Tiwari has been appointed as the Director General (DG) of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. Previously, he was the joint secretary, department of food and public distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India-Saudi Arabia Signs 12 MoUs During the Visit of PM Modi: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 29 October 2019 at the invitation of King of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. During the visit, the two nations signed 12 MoUs/Agreements in various fields.

Some of the MoUs/Agreements are: (1) Strategic Partnership Council Agreement; (2) Agreement on Security Cooperation; (3) MoU between Saudi General Authority of Military Industries (GAMI) and Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence concerning collaboration in military acquisition, industries, research, development and technology; (4) MoU for Cooperation in the field of Civil Aviation; (5) MoU between Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL) and Saudi Aramco; (6) MoU for Cooperation between National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul); (7) MoU between National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Saudi Payments

2. European Union Extends Brexit Deadline until January 31, 2020: The European Union (EU) has agreed to delay Brexit until January 31, 2020. The earlier deadline was October 31, 2019. Brexit is the scheduled withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). The decision has been agreed on by ambassadors from the 27 other EU countries. The deal grants a three-month extension to Britain’s EU membership. It allows the U.K. to leave earlier if it and the EU both ratify the withdrawal deal.

Note: EU has a total of 28 countries including the UK.

3. Filipe Nyusi Wins Second 5 years Term as President of Mozambique: Mozambique’s incumbent President Filipe Nyusi has won the Presidential elections 2019 to be elected as the head of the country for the second consecutive term. The 60-year-old secures 73 percent of the votes marking a landslide victory.

Note: Mozambique capital: Maputo; Currency: Mozambican metical

4. Lebanon PM Saad Hariri Resigns amid Nationwide anti-government Protests: Lebanon Prime Minister Saad Hariri has announced his resignation from the post on October 29, 2019. His decision to step down comes after massive anti-government protests against his government over political corruption and economic turmoil.

Note: Lebanon Capital: Beirut; Currency: Lebanese pound

5. Rafael Grossi Named New Chief of IAEA: Rafael Grossi of Argentina has been named as the new director-general of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The 58-year-old will succeed late Yukiya Amano. He will be the sixth head of the Vienna based IAEA since its foundation on 29 July 1957.

6. HBR’s list of 10 best performing CEOs has 3 Indian-origin CEOs: The Best-Performing CEOs in the World, 2019′ list compiled by the Harvard Business Review (HBR) features 100 CEOs. The list has been topped by American technology company NVIDIA’s CEO Jensen Huang. Among the top 10 chief executives on the list, 3 spots have been occupied by the Indian-origin CEOs.

The list features 100 CEOs and has been topped by American technology company NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang. Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen was ranked 6th, followed by MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga was ranked 7th and Microsoft chief Satya Nadella on the 9th spot. The list also features India-born CEO of DBS Bank Piyush Gupta on the 89th spot. Apple CEO Tim Cook was ranked 62nd in the list. The 2019 list has 4 female CEOs in the top 50 of the rankings.

Note: The HBR took into account three metrics for each CEO’s tenure: the total shareholder return (including dividends reinvested) adjusted by country and by industry and change in market capitalisation (adjusted for dividends, share issues, and share repurchases), measured in inflation-adjusted USD.

7. Nirmal Purja climbs world’s 14 highest peaks in record-breaking 189 days: Nirmal Purja (Nims), a former British army soldier from Nepal created history by climbing all the 14 world’s 8,000-metre-high mountains in a record-breaking 189 days (6 months 6 days). Purja finished the task of his 14 climbs with the summit of Shishapangma on October 29, 2019. The various mountains that were scaled by Nims are: Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, Kanchenjunga, Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II, K2, Broad Peak, Cho Oyu and Manaslu.

Note: Italy’s legendary Reinhold Messner was the first person to scale 14 peaks in the year 1986.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Tiger Woods clinched historic 82nd title with Zozo Championship 2019: The Zozo Championship 2019 tournament title was clinched by America’s Tiger Woods, aged 43, which was his 82nd PGA Tour crown. He sealed a historic three-stroke win to draw level with Sam Snead (America) for the most victories on Tour. The Zozo Championship 2019, a professional golf tournament, was held at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club, Chiba, Japan. It was the first event sanctioned tournament by the PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association) Tour in Japan, in a deal that will last until at least 2025.  The prize money of the tournament was US$9.75 million.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. BSE partners with Ebix for Insurance products: The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has formed a joint venture with Ebix (the global leader in insurance exchanges). The JV is named BSE-Ebix Broking Insurance Broking Pvt Ltd. The Joint Venture has received in-principle approval for a certificate of registration to act as a direct insurance broker under the IRDAI (Insurers Brokers) Regulations 2018. BSE-Ebix Broking Insurance Broking Pvt Ltd, will enable distribution outlets, wealth management advisors, point of sales (POSs) to sell life and non-life insurance products.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Gandhi Mandela Award 2019, an initiative to commemorate All-Time World Pioneers: New Delhi based Non-Profit Organisation (NPO), the Gandhi Mandela Foundation has constituted India's first International Award, the Gandhi Mandela Award in 2019. The award was announced on the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on October 2, 2019, and will be organized in India in December 2019. The award will honour exemplary work and achievements of the Heads of State and Government and other distinguished persons/organizations around the world. These awards will be given to personalities who have made significant contribution in the fields of Peace, Social Welfare, Culture, Environment, Education, Healthcare, Sports and Innovation. The Gandhi Mandela Foundation plans to hold the 2nd Edition of Gandhi Mandela Award in London on October 2nd 2020.