Daily GK Updates - 30th December, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Gen Bipin Rawat named as country’s 1st Chief of Defence Staff: Indian Army General Bipin Rawat has been named as the country’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). The Chief of Defence Staff will be a 4-star General, the principal military advisor to the defence minister, and will head the new Department of Military Affairs. The Chief of Defence Staff will ensure the jointness in training, logistics and procurement of the three services. General Rawat is the first officer to hold the post of the Chief of Defence Staff The Defence Ministry had also amended the army, air force and navy rules by bringing in a new clause that allows the CDS to serve upto a maximum age of 65 years. The CDS will administer all tri-services organisations, but their command will be with the Chief of the service which has a predominant role in their functioning.

2. Port Blair celebrates the 76th Anniversary of First Flag Hoisting: Today, a function has been organized to commemorate the 76th Anniversary of First Flag Hoisting by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at Port Blair. Lt Governor Admiral DK Joshi and Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey hoisted the National Flag at Flag Point, Port Blair. Subhash Mela Committee Swarajdweep organised a bike rally and a cultural programme.

Note: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose visited Port Blair during the last three days of December 1943. He landed at the Lamba Line airport on December 29, 1943, and left in the early hours of January 1, 1944.

Andaman and Nicobar Capital: Port Blair; Governor: Admiral (ret.) Devendra Kumar Joshi

3. BHEL Commissions Country’s First lignite-based 500 MW Power Project in Tamil Nadu: The State-run BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited) has commissioned the first lignite-based 500 MW thermal power plant “Neyveli New Thermal Power Project” in Tamil Nadu. This is India’s first lignite-fired 500 MW power plant as well as highest rating pulverised lignite-fired thermal unit commissioned in the country so far. The project is owned by NLC India Ltd (NLCIL) and located in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu. Neyveli New Thermal Power Project is 2 X 500 MW power plant. The second unit of the project is also in an advanced stage of commissioning.

4. India Improves its 2019 Sustainable Development Goals Index score by three positions: NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant launched the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index 2019-20 on December 30, 2019. This is the second edition of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index, which indicates where the country and its States and UTs currently are on SDG implementation. Key points of the Index:

Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana are top states on the SDGs Index-2019-20. India has improved its composite score from 57 in 2018-19 to 60 in 2019-20 in the index. None of the States scored below 50 out of 100 score. Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim showed maximum improvement. Improvement is credited to major success in water and sanitation, power and industry sector. 14 states have fallen in the overall ranking in the index compared to 2018. The 2019 SDG Index ranked states based on 16 goals across 54 targets spread among 100 indicators drawn from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s National Indicator Framework, comprising 306 indicators.

Note: The 2018 report had 13 goals and 39 indicators. The United Nations SDG has 17 goals spread across 169 targets and 232 indicators

5. Assam Launches Abhinandan education loan subsidy scheme: Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal launched the state government’s Abhinandan education loan subsidy scheme to bolster its education infrastructure and urge more students to pursue higher education. Under the scheme, one-time subsidy of Rs. 50,000 will be provided to students who have availed education loans of a minimum of Rs 1 lakh, provided that loan should have been sanctioned before March 31, 2019. There is no minimum income criterion for students to avail of the benefits of this scheme. Under the phase I of the scheme, 1546 students each received the one-time subsidy of Rs. 50,000.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. UN General Assembly approves $3.07 billion budget for 2020: The UN General Assembly has adopted the regular operating budget of $3.07 billion ($3,073,830,500) for the United Nations for the year 2020 and for the first time includes funding for the investigation of war crimes in Syria and Myanmar. It is also for the first time since 1973 that the UN is adopting an annual operating budget instead of a two-year. Previously the budgets for the Syria and Myanmar investigations were financed by voluntary contributions but now in 2020, the funding has been transferred to the UN secretariat’s budget and will receive compulsory contributions from the 193 member states. The UN’s operating budget is separate from the annual budget for peacekeeping operations.

2. UN gives green light to draft treaty to combat cybercrime: The UN General Assembly approved a resolution that will start the process of drafting a new international treaty tocombat cybercrime over objections from the European Union, the United States and other countries. The Russian-drafted resolution was approved by the 193-member world body by a vote of 79-60 with 33 abstentions. The resolution establishes an expert committee representing all regions of the world “to elaborate a comprehensive international convention on countering the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes”. It says the committee will meet in August 2020 to agree on an outline of its activities.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Five Indian women boxers book their place for Olympic Qualifiers: Five Indian women boxers booked their place for the Olympic Qualifiers at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi. Mary Kom defeated Nikhat Zareen 9-1 in the final bout of the 51kg category while in 57kg Sakshi Chaudhary outclassed her opponent Sonia Lather 9-1. In the 60kg event, Simranjit Kaur won her bout against Sarita Devi in split decision 8-2. In the 69kg and 75kg category, Lovlina Borgohain and Pooja Rani won their respective matches by unanimous decision and registered their spot in the Indian squad. The female boxers competed in six categories. The Olympic Qualifiers Asia-Oceania for the women will take place from February 3 to 14, 2020 in Wuhan, China.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. No MDR charges will be applicable on transactions through RuPay, UPI platforms from 01 January 2020: The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced that no Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) will be applicable on transactions made through RuPay and UPI platforms with effect from 01 January 2020. Also, all companies with a turnover of Rs 50 crore and above will now be mandated to provide the facility of payment through RuPay Debit card and UPI QR code to their customers.

Note: Merchant Discount Rate (MDR): The cost paid by a merchant to a bank for accepting payment from their customers via digital means. It is expressed in percentage of the transaction amount.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Swiggy launches own digital wallet, to credit refunds for now: The Bengaluru-headquartered company has launched its own wallet– Swiggy Money. According to a notification in its FAQ (frequently asked questions) column, the wallet will initially be used to credit amounts for the cancelled orders. Later, however, Swiggy Money will function as a usual digital wallet to store money and for transactions on the platform. The Meituan-backed firm’s wallet is powered by ICICI Bank and is a fully Reserve Bank of India (RBI)-compliant Prepaid Payment Instrument. This essentially means that users have to complete a minimum KYC (know your customer) by entering government-issued identification information to use the service. With minimum KYC, a Swiggy Money user can transact up to Rs 10,000 while a full KYC allows the user to load up to Rs 1 lakh at any given time. The wallet, which is currently available on food orders, will soon be opened up for Swiggy Pop, Swiggy Stores and Swiggy Go.

2. Ashok Leyland, Citicorp Finance ink MoU for commercial vehicles’ financing: Hinduja Group’s flagship firm Ashok Leyland o stated it has partnered with Citicorp Finance India Ltd for financing commercial vehicles. The company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Citicorp Finance to enter into a strategic financing partnership for two years, to offer customised financial solutions to customers across India. Under the MoU, Citicorp Finance will be a preferred financier for providing finance to the customers buying Ashok Leyland vehicles. Citicorp Finance will work in close coordination with the authorised dealers of Ashok Leyland to provide financial solutions to customers, the statement

Note: Ashok Leyland (ALL) Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil Nadu; Parent organization: Hinduja Group; Founder: Raghunandan Saran

YES Bank Formation: 2004; Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; CEO & MD: Ravneet Gill

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. UN Declares Malala Yousafzai as ‘Most Famous Teenager Of Decade’: Malala Yousafzai (also known as Malala) has been named as “the most famous teenager in the world” by the United Nations (UN) in its ‘decade in review’ report. Malala Yousafzai is the Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Peace Prize (2014) laureate. The report covers a decade of major events happened between 2010 and the end of 2013, celebrities and agreements that have become most famous. The report includes big news such as the devastating earthquake in 2010 in Haiti (a Caribbean country), the conflict that began in Syria in 2011 & Malala’s work in favour of girls’ education for the year 2012.

OBITUARIES

1. Nagaland Assembly Speaker Vikho-o Yhoshu Passes Away: Nagaland Legislative Assembly Speaker Vikho-o Yhoshu passed away due to lung cancer. He was 69. Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party leader Vikho-o Yhoshu was elected as the Speaker of the 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly in March 2018.