Daily GK Updates - 18th November, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Yogi Adityanath inaugurates North India’s 1st sugar mill which will produce ethanol: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has inaugurated North India’s first sugar mill which will produce ethanol direct from sugarcane. The mill was inaugurated in Pipraich area of Gorakhpur, which is a unit of Uttar Pradesh Sugar and Sugarcane Development Corporation Limited. The mills, which previously produced around 8,000 quintals of sugar, will now produce more than 50,000 quintals of sugar every day.

Note: Governor of Uttar Pradesh: Anandiben Patel.

2. Defence Minister inaugurates Sisseri Bridge built by BRO: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated Sisseri Bridge, built by the Border Road Organisation (BRO) on Pasighat-Bomjir Highway, Arunachal Pradesh. The 200-metre long bridge between Jonai-Pasighat-Ranaghat-Roing road will provide connectivity between Dibang Valley and Siang to meet the long-pending demand of the people of Arunachal Pradesh.

Note: Director-General of BRO: Lt. Gen.Harpal Singh; Headquarters: New Delhi; Founder of BRO: Jawaharlal Nehru.

3. Mumbai tops Water Quality Report for State Capitals by BIS: The Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Shri Ram Vilas Paswan has released the Water Quality Report for State Capitals & Delhi as analysed by Bureau of India Standards (BIS).  Bureau of India Standards (BIS), on the basis of quality of piped drinking water being supplied in the country has ranked the States, Smart Cities and even Districts. Mumbai has topped the ranking, Hyderabad and Bhubaneshwar share the joint second spot while Ranchi is on the third. Delhi is ranked at 15th.

4. Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan takes oath as Chief Justice of Jharkhand HC: Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan took oath as the Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court. Justice Ranjan has been appointed as the 13th Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court. The post was lying vacant since May this year after the former Chief Justice, Anirudh Bose was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court. Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan was a judge in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He was elevated to Additional Judge of the Patna High Court on July 14, 2008. Later, he was appointed as a permanent judge on January 16, 2010. He also served as the Acting Chief Justice of the Patna High Court for a brief period last year.

Note: Governor of Jharkhand: Draupadi Murmi; Chief Minister: Raghuwar Das.

5. Justice Akil Abdulhamid Kureshi sworn in as Chief Justice of Tripura High Court: Justice Akil Abdulhamid Kureshi was sworn in as the new Chief Justice of the High Court of Tripura. Justice Kureshi was serving as a judge of the Bombay High Court before his transfer to Tripura. The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi had recommended Justice Kureshi’s elevation as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, but the recommendation was not approved by the Department of Justice.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Gotabaya Rajapaksa wins Sri Lanka Presidential election: Sri Lanka’s former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa has won the Presidential election. He is the brother of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Gotabaya got 52.25 per cent of the total valid votes. According to the final vote count released by the country’s Election commission, he received around 6.9 million votes against his main rival, Sajith Premadasa who got around 5.56 million votes. Gotabaya served as the Defence Secretary during the end of the LTTE War. He will succeed Maithripala Sirisena. The 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election was the 8th presidential election and this was the first Presidential election in Sri Lanka where no sitting president, prime minister or opposition leader was contesting.

Note: Sri Lanka Capitals: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte; Currency: Sri Lankan rupee; Prime minister: Ranil Wickremesinghe.

2. Pakistan first country to introduce new typhoid vaccine into routine immunization programme: Pakistan became the first country in the world to introduce the World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) into its routine immunization programme. It is the first typhoid vaccine that can be given to children as young as 6 months of age and confers longer term protection against typhoid. The government of Pakistan is launching the vaccine introduction with a campaign in Sindh Province, which is the centre of an ongoing extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid outbreak that began in November 2016.

In 2017, 63% of typhoid cases and 70% of typhoid deaths in Pakistan were among children younger than 15 years of age. With funding support from the Global Alliance for Vaccine Initiative (Gavi), the Vaccine Alliance, the vaccine introduction will begin with a two-week vaccination campaign targeting 10 million children 9 months to 15 years old in urban areas of Sindh Province. It will be followed by a transition to routine immunization of 9-month-old infants in all parts of the province once the campaign ends. The vaccine will be introduced in neighbouring Punjab Province and Islamabad next year and then nationally in 2021.

Note: Typhoid, a serious illness caused by Salmonella Typhi, is spread through contaminated food and water and disproportionally impacts children and low-resource communities in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The Global Burden of Disease study estimates that, in 2017, there were nearly 11 million typhoid cases and more than 116 000 typhoid deaths worldwide.

After Pakistan, Liberia and Zimbabwe are also preparing to introduce TCV next year with support from GAVI.

In January 2018, Typbar TCV became the world’s first conjugate vaccine prequalified by the WHO. That enabled the procurement and supply to UNICEF, GAVI, and Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO). The company announced a price of $1.50 per dose for procurement by GAVI-supported countries.

3. US$500 million to reduce Mumbai’s congestion: The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has lent US$575 million for projects to ease congestion in Mumbai, India, and boost private capital investment in renewable energy, power transmission and water infrastructure.

A loan of US$500 million granted to the government of India is expected to fast-track work on Mumbai’s suburban railway network, improving the safety and daily commute of millions of passengers across the city. The funds will contribute to a quadrupling of Virar-Dahanu Road corridor (64km) to provide an extension of the suburban railway service to connect peripheral areas with Mumbai. The project will also see the construction of a new suburban railway corridor of 28km between Panvel and Karjat to cater to commuters in the area which is experiencing rapid urbanisation and population growth. Rail is the primary means of transport in Mumbai, where the suburban network totals almost 400km and carries more than 7.5 million passengers a day.

As part of its firm commitment to financing sustainable infrastructure, the Bank also approved a loan of US$75 million to Tata Cleantech Capital Limite, a financier of renewable energy in India.

The total value of AIIB investment in India is now reported to be US$2.9 billion since the AIIB began operations in January 2016.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Korea’s Kim Joo Hyung wins Panasonic Open: South Korea’s Kim Joo Hyung has won the Panasonic Open held at the Classic Golf and Country Club in Gurugram, India. India’s Shiv Kapur finished tied runner-up with S. Chikkarangappa. The victory has made Hyung the second-youngest winner behind Thailand’s Chinnarat Phadugsil on the Tour at 17 years and 149 days.

2. IAAF officially changes its name to “World Athletics”: The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has officially changed its name and will now be known as “World Athletics”. The name has been changed in a bid to make the sport more accessible. The IAAF was founded in 1912 as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and changed its name to the “International Association of Athletics Federations” in 2001.

3. Spain’s striker David Villa retires from football: Spain’s striker David Villa has announced his retirement from football. He represented Spain in three World Cups and was also a member of the Spanish side that lifted the trophy in 2010, and won the European Championships in 2008. He netted 59 times for Spain which is a national record. His achievements also includes a Champions League title with Barcelona, as well as two La Liga wins and a World Club Cup medal.

4. Harmeet Desai claims Indonesia Open TT Championship: Indian paddler Harmeet Desai wins men’s singles title at International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Challenge Indonesia Open 2019 Table Tennis tournament held at Batam, Indonesia. Harmeet had defeated compatriot Amalraj Anthony by 11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9 score.

5. Sarita Devi elected as member of AIBA athletes commission: Laishram Sarita Devi (Manipur) is among the 6 boxers from 5 continents who were elected as members of AIBA Athletes Commission. She was inspired by Muhammad Ali’s achievements and turned professional in boxing in the year 2000. She is DSP in Manipur Police. The election of the Athletes Commission members was organized during AIBA Men and Women World Boxing Championships 2019 in Russia. Boxers from all over the world voted for new members – one per continent, except Europe which has two representatives.

Note: International Boxing Association Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. New rules framed under IBC for rescue of non-bank lenders: The Government of India has issued fresh rules under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to govern the rescue of non-bank lenders. The new rules are likely to help out distressed shadow banks and housing financiers, which have been battling a liquidity crunch for a year. These entities will be covered by a special window under the bankruptcy code, which will be notified from time to time. Reserve Bank of India has been given the authority to decide which companies will be taken up to a bankruptcy tribunal under these rules. The bankruptcy tribunal will appoint an administrator who will be nominated by the regulator, will try to stitch together a turnaround plan. In case a turnaround of the financial institution is not possible, the tribunal will gather the views of the regulator before deciding to liquidate it.

2. ICICI Bank launches ‘Maha Loan Dhamaka’ to provide on-the-spot loan approvals: ICICI Bank has announced the launch of its own loan mela- ‘Maha Loan Dhamaka’ - to provide on-the-spot loan approvals. ICICI bank plans to organise 2,000 such ‘Maha Loan’ camps across the country in rural and semi-urban locations and on the company premises in the current fiscal. The first camp was inaugurated at Deesa in Banaskantha district, Gujarat. Recently, public sector banks held loan melas in over 400 districts in two phases in October to boost sagging credit growth due to the economic downturn.

AWARDS AND HONOUR

1. Veteran actors Sridevi and Rekha conferred with ANR National Award: The veteran actors Sridevi and Rekha were conferred with the Akkineni Nageswara Rao National Award for 2018 and 2019 respectively. The award was presented by renowned Telugu actor Chiranjeevi. The award is instituted by the Akkineni International Foundation and honours those who have made a lasting impact on Indian cinema.

2. Rezwana Choudhury Bannya gets ICCR Alumni award in Dhaka: Renowned Rabindra Sangeet exponent from Bangladesh Rezwana Choudhury Bannya has conferred the ICCR distinguished alumni award in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The award was given away by the High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das in a musical function organised by the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC). Rezwana Choudhury Bannya is widely recognised as a great exponent of Rabindra Sangeet. She is known for her distinctive style of singing. She has established a musical school ‘Shurer Dhara’ in Bangladesh to carry forward the Guru-Shishya tradition as practised in Shantiniketan. Distinguished Alumni Award was instituted in 2015 to recognise foreign students who have studied in various Indian Universities under the ICCR sponsored scholarship schemes and made an exemplary contribution in varied fields.

DEFENCE

1. India successfully conducts first night trial of surface-to-surface medium-range missile Agni-II: India on November 16 successfully conducted the first night trial of surface-to-surface medium-range nuclear-capable missile Agni-II from Dr Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast. The Agni-II is an intermediate-range two-stage ballistic missile (IRBM) which can carry a payload of 1000 kg over a distance of 2000 km. This is the first time that the sophisticated missile was test-fired at night. The test was carried out by the specially formed Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of the Army with logistic support from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The entire trajectory of the trial was tracked by a battery of sophisticated radars, telemetry observation stations, electro-optic instruments and two naval ships located near the impact point in the down-range area of Bay of Bengal.