Daily GK Updates - 10th January, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Indian Railways installs IP based Video Surveillance System at stations: Indian Railways is in the process of installing Internet Protocol (IP) based Video Surveillance System (VSS) at stations to enhance security. Railway Board of India has approved works for provision of Video Surveillance System covering 983 stations over Indian Railways under Nirbhaya funds. This year a budget of Rs. 250 crore was allotted to Indian Railways from Nirbhaya fund for installation of the video surveillance system. In the first phase of installation, VSS is being installed at 200 stations and as on date work has been completed at 81 stations across India.

Note: Union Railway Minister: Piyush Goyal.

2. India-2021 census exercise to begin on 1st April: Census exercise India-2021 to begin on 1st April 2020 and will end on 30th of September 2020. Census India-2021 will be conducted through a mobile phone application. The enumerators of the census will seek the information of the mobile number of the head of the family, information related to TV, Internet, vehicles owned, toilets, source of drinking water besides asking other questions during the house listing phase of the exercise.

Note: Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India: Vivek Joshi.

3. Works on laying of submarine cables between Chennai-A&N Islands inaugurates: Union Minister for Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad inaugurated the submarine cable works on laying between Chennai – Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The submarine cables will be initially laid from Chennai to Port Blair covering a distance of 1,450 kilometres. He also flagged off the ship to lay the cable at Chennai Port. At the initial stage of commissioning of the project itself, the islands can get a data speed of 400-gigabytes per second.

Note: Andaman and Nicobar Island Lieutenant Governor: D K Joshi.

4. Famous chariot festival of Tamil Nadu Suchindram Thanumalayan Temple begins: The famous chariot festival of the Suchindram Thanumalayan Temple in Tamilnadu begins. This 17th-century temple is famous for its architectural grandeur. The temple is especially significant because it is sacred to both the Shaivite as well as Vashnavite sects. There is an Anjaneya statue, which is 22 feet tall is carved of a single granite block. It is one of the tallest statues of its type in India.

Note: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister: Edappadi K. Palaniswami; Governor: Banwarilal Purohit; Tamil Nadu Capital: Chennai.

5. South Asian Trade and Travel Exchange Expo 2020 held in New Delhi: The 27th edition of South Asian Trade and Travel Exchange Expo (SATTE) 2020 was held in New Delhi. The SATTE expo was supported by Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and sponsored by Jammu & Kashmir Tourism Department. The objective of the expo was to build new business partnerships and hence was an important place for the promotion of tourism. The SATTE witnessed the participation of over 50 countries and 28 Indian states. During the expo, the Tourism Department of Jammu & Kashmir launched publicity campaign to showcase diverse tourism attractions.

6. M Nagaraj appointed as Chairman and MD of Hudco: M Nagaraj has been appointed the company’s Chairman and Managing Director of State-owned Housing and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco). The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has approved his appointment. He has experience in a multitude of sectors such as housing, infrastructure finance, skill development and microfinance in the social sector, and international trading. Hudco provides loans for housing and urban infrastructure projects.

Note: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs:  Hardeep Singh Puri; Headquarters of Hudco: New Delhi; Founded: 25 April 1970.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World Hindi Day: 10th January: World Hindi Day is celebrated globally on 10th January every year. The day is celebrated every year to promote the use of Hindi language worldwide. The World Hindi Day was observed first time in 2006. The day marked the anniversary of first World Hindi Conference held in 1975 in Nagpur.

2. Henley Passport Index 2020: India ranks 84^th: Indian passport, ranked 84th in the world’s most powerful passport index 2020, can get you visa-free entry to 58 destinations worldwide, according to a new report. Based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Henley & Partners has come out with a passport index where countries are ranked according to the number of destinations their passport holder can access without a prior visa.

World’s top most powerful passports:

(1) Japan: 191 countries

(2) Singapore: 190 countries

(3) Germany, South Korea: 189 countries

Note: Headquarters of Henley & Partners: London, United Kingdom; Founded: 1997;Chairman of Henley & Partners: Christian Kälin; Chief Executive Officer(CEO): Juerg Steffen.

3. Travel and Tourism Competitiveness index: India ranked 34^th: India has moved up six places to rank 34th on world travel and tourism competitiveness index, driven by rich natural and cultural resources and strong price competitiveness. India’s ranking improved from 40th to 34th, the greatest improvement over 2017 among the top 25 per cent of all countries ranked in the report.

Rank    Country

1          Spain

2          France

3          Germany

4          Japan

5          United State

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Ladakh wins 7th National Ice Hockey Championship women trophy: Ladakh women team has won the 7th National Ice Hockey Championship women trophy. In the final match, Ladakh scoring 2 goals against Delhi and won the tournament. The tournament was organised by the Ice Hockey Association of India (IHAI) in association with the Ladakh winter sports club. 4 women teams representing Chandigarh, Delhi, Maharashtra, and Ladakh participated in the tournament.

Note: President of Ice Hockey Association of India: K. L. Kumar.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. RBI allows “Video based Customer Identification Process”: The Reserve Bank of India has revised the Know Your Customer (KYC) norms for banks and other lending institutions. New amendments in KYC norms by RBI allows banks and other lending institutions to use “Video based Customer Identification Process (V-CIP)”. The V-CIP is a consent based alternate method of establishing the customer’s identity and for customer onboarding from remote areas while leveraging the digital technology. V-CIP will also provide comfortability to banks and other regulated entities while holding to the RBI’s Know Your Customer (KYC) norms. The video files recorded as V-CIP are required to be stored bearing the date and time stamp while ensuring the safety and security of the video files. RBI has also advised banks to capture clear image of PAN card produced by the customer during the Customer Identification Process (CIP).

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. World Bank projects India’s growth rate at 5% for FY2020: World Bank has released Global Economic Prospects report. In its report, the World Bank has projected India’s growth rate at 5% for fiscal year 2020. It has also projected India’s growth rate at 5.8% for fiscal year 2021. The report stated the weakness in credit from Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) as the root cause for lowering the growth rate from 6% to 5%. While the global economic growth is likely to increase to 2.5% in fiscal year 2020.

Note: President of World Bank: David R. Malpass; Headquarter: Washington DC.

2. SBI’s report ‘Ecowrap’ lowers India’s growth rate to 4.6% for FY 2020: The State Bank of India has released its research report ‘Ecowrap’. In the report ‘Ecowrap’, the economic research department of SBI has lowered India’s growth rate to 4.6% in the fiscal year 2020. The report also stated that agriculture and allied activities are expected to grow at 2.8%, while growth in industry projected to grow at 2.5% in fiscal year 2020. The service sector is also expected to increase to 6.9% in fiscal year 2020.

Note: Chairperson of SBI: Rajnish Kumar; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 July 1955.

DEFENCE

1. Visakhapatnam to host MILAN 2020 naval exercise in March: Visakhapatnam is ready to host another International Naval event ‘MILAN‘in March 2020. The theme of the exercise for the year 2020 is ‘Synergy Across the Seas’. MILAN 2020 is a multilateral naval exercise aimed to enhance professional interaction between foreign-friendly navies and learn from each other’s strengths and best practices in the maritime domain.

Note: Andhra Pradesh Capital: Amaravati; Governor: Biswabhusan Harichandan.

2. India’s 1st indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant to be commissioned by 2021: India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant is currently under phase-3 which involves setting to work of machinery and other equipment and to be commissioned by early 2021 in Indian Navy. It will be fully operated by 2022. Vikrant is being built at the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) Kochi, Kerala.

Note: Indian Navy Chief of the Naval Staff: Admiral Karambir Singh.

OBITUARIES

1. Veteran Odissi Danseuse Minati Mishra passes away: Veteran Odissi Danseuse Minati Mishra passed away. In 2012 she was honoured with the Padma Shri. She was an A-Grade artist at All India Radio (AIR) and a recipient of the Sangeet Prabhakar title for Hindustani vocal music.