Daily GK Updates - 15th January, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Captain Tania Shergillbecomes 1st Woman to lead Republic Day contingent:Indian Army Officer Captain Tania Shergill will be the 1st woman parade adjutant for the Republic Day parade 2020. Tania Shergill commissioned in March 2017 from the Officer Training Academy, Chennai. She is electronics and communications graduate.

Note:A parade adjutant is responsible for the parade.

In last year's Republic Day parade, Captain BhavnaKasturi was the first woman officer to lead an all-men contingent.

2. World Bank & ADB Approves Rs 14000 crore to enhance road safety in India: According to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Transport ministry has firmed up a Rs 14,000 crore state support programme for strengthening road safety in India, which will be funded by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).The road transport and highways ministry will fund half of the `14,000-crore programme while the World Bank and the ADB will equally contribute the remaining half.According to the World Road Statistics, India recorded the highest number of road accident deaths across 199 countries in 2018.

3. Center to set up 11-member Committee on royalty rates revision of minerals:  The central government has decided to set up an 11-member committee to look into the issues related to the revision of royalty rates for minerals other than coal, lignite, sand for stowing and minor minerals. The committee will be headed by K. Rajeswara Rao, the additional secretary of the ministry mines. Mines secretaries of Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha will be the members of the committee. The committee will submit its report within 1 month to the ministry of mines.

4. Indian Railways signs MoU with RailTel for Phase 2 of e-office Execution: After the successful completion of the Phase 1 execution of NIC e office for 50000 users in 58 units, Indian Railways has signed MoU with RailTel, a miniratna PSU under Ministry of Railways, for the phase 2 of the project. In phase 2, RailTel will register 39000 users over 34 Railway divisions on NIC e office platform by 30th June 2020. The phase 1 of NIC e-office execution started with a mandate to complete the work by March 2020. But with a lightning speed of execution RailTel completed the work way ahead of time and successfully created 50000+ users in 58 units of Indian Railways and trained the executives to handle the platform in a span of mere 6 months’ time. MoU was signed by Executive Director (ED/TD), Railway Board, Shri Umesh Balonda, and General Manager (GM)/Information Technology (IT) project/RailTel, Smt. Haritima Jaipuriar.

5. 6th Island Development Agency meeting held in New Delhi: 6th meeting of Island Development Agency (IDA) was held New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by Union Minister of Home Affairs (MoHA) Shri Amit Shah. The meeting focused on “Green Development in the Islands to reach new heights”. The Island Development Agency (IDA) has taken up scientifically assessed sustainable development goals in order to improve growth of the Islands. This is the first time such an initiative is being implemented.

6. The Government of India launched the Integrated Road Accident Database (IRAD): The government of India (GoI) has launched an Integrated Road Accident database. It is a central accident database management system that will help in analysing causes of road crashes and in devising safety interventions to reduce such accidents in the country. This IT tool has been developed by the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) and will be implemented by the National Informatics Centre. The project costs ₹258 crore and is being supported by the World Bank. The system will be first piloted in the six States with highest fatalities from road crashes- Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. It was launched during ‘Road Safety Stakeholders’ Meet held in New Delhi.

7. A P Maheshwari appointed as the new DG of CRPF: Senior IPS officer Anand Prakash Maheshwari has been appointed as the director-general of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Maheshwari, a 1984 batch IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been appointed to the post up to February 28, 2021. He took the charge from Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) DG Surjeet Singh Deswal who was given an additional charge as the head of CRPF after the retirement of DG Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar on December 31, 2019.

Note: The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is India's largest Central Armed Police Forces.It functions under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of the Government of India.

8. Lt General Girish Kumar appointed as the Surveyor General of India: The government of India has appointed Lt General Girish Kumar as the Surveyor General of India in Survey of India on contract basis for a period of one year. Appointment Committee of the Cabinet approved the proposal from re-appointment of Kumar on the post for one year with effect from January 1, 2020. It further mentioned that "necessary communication in this regard has been sent to the Department of Science and Technology.”Earlier, Kumar was appointed as Surveyor General of India on September 30, 2017, under the Survey of India, the national survey and mapping organization of the country.

9. Indian Army Day: 15 January: Army Day is celebrated on 15 January every year to salute the valiant soldiers who sacrificed their lives to protect the country and its citizens. This year 72nd Army Day is being celebrated across the country.On Army Day, General Bipin Rawat (Chief of Defence Staff), General Manoj Mukund Naravane(Army chief), Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria (Air Force Chief)and Admiral Karambir Singh (Navy Chief) paid tributes at the National War Memorial Ground in New Delhi.

Note: The day is also recognised as it was on 15 January 1949 that Field Marshal Kodandera M. Cariappa’s (then a Lieutenant General) took over as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from General Sir Francis Butcher, the last British Commander-in-Chief of India.

10. IMD celebrated its 145th foundation Day on 15 January: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is celebrating its 145th Foundation Day on 15 January. It was established in 1875. The day will be celebrated by Ministry of Earth Science under which IMD (Indian Meteorological Department) functions.

Note: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is work under the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India. It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology. IMD is headquartered in Delhi and operates hundreds of observation stations across India and Antarctica. Recent Achievements of India Meteorological Department

Director-General of Meteorology, India Meteorological Department: Mrutyunjay Mohapatra.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India, Bangladesh Information and Broadcasting Ministers’ Meet 2020 held in New Delhi: India and Bangladesh signed some of the key agreements in the field of Information and Broadcasting on 14 January 2020 during the Information and Broadcasting Minister’s meet 2020 held in New Delhi.Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Shri Prakash Javadekar and his Bangladeshi counterpart Muhammad H Mahmud were representing their respective countries in this meet.MoU for the co-production of a film on “Banga Bandhu” Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (first President of Bangladesh) was also signed.The film will be directed by Indian director/producer Shri Shyam Benegal. It is proposed to be released in March 2021, as part of centenary celebrations of Banga Bandhu.

Bangladesh will celebrate the ‘Mujib Year’ from March 17, 2020 to March 17, 2021 to mark the centenary year of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

2. Japan Coast Guard Ship ‘Echigo’ arrives in Chennai: The Japan Coast Guard Ship ‘Echigo’ has arrived in Chennai on a five-day goodwill visit.It will be participating in the Annual Joint Exercise ‘Sahyog-Kaijin’ with the Indian Coast Guard off Chennai. This is the 19th such exercise being conducted between the two Coast Guards since 2000. Four Indian Coast Guard ships, their aircraft and a vessel from the Chennai-based National Institute of Ocean Technology - NIOT are participating in the exercise along with the Japanese vessel.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. India Finish 2019 as No. 1 Shooting Nation in World: ISSF: Based upon the International Shooting Sport Federation’s (ISSF) overall rankings of Nation for 2019, India finished the year as the top shooting nation in the world leaving behind China and USA. In terms of overall medals, India’s tally stood at 30 medals overall consisting 21 gold, six silver and three bronze as India topped all the Rifle-Pistol World Cups and Finals. China was second with 44 medals overall, including 11 gold, 15 silver and 18 bronze.The USA stood third with 15 medals including six gold six silver and three bronze.

National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) President: Raninder Singh.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Retail inflation jumps to about 5-yr high of 7.35 % in Dec 2019: Retail inflation rose to about five-and-half year high of 7.35% in December 2019, mainly due to the rise in prices of vegetables as onions. Now, it is surpassing the RBI's comfort level. As per the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the spike in inflation in the vegetable segment was 60.5% during the month compared to December 2018. The overall retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 2.11% (in December 2018) and 5.54% (in November 2019). The previous high in retail inflation was witnessed at 7.39% (in July 2014).The Central Government has mandated the Reserve Bank of India to keep inflation in the range of 4% with a margin of two per cent on either side.

Note: Retail inflation means the increase in prices of certain products or commodities compared to a base price.In India, retail inflation is linked to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which is managed by the Ministry of Statistics.

AWARDS AND HONOUR

1. M S Swaminathan Honoured with ‘Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu National Award’: Eminent Agricultural Scientist Dr M S Swaminathan was presented the ‘Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu National Award for Excellence’ for his distinguished contribution to the field of agriculture. He becomes the first recipients the award presented by the Vice President of India, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu during the Pongal Celebrations held at Raj Bhavan in Chennai. Swaminathan is known as the “Father of the Green Revolution in India and the Doyen of Agricultural Science”.

Note: The Award instituted by the Muppavarapu Foundation was announced recently during its 10th-anniversary celebrations in Hyderabad.It carries a cash prize of Rs. 5 lakhs and a citation.

2. Nitin Gadkari presents National Highways Excellence Awards 2019: The Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and MSMEs Shri Nitin Gadkari presented the ‘National Highways Excellence Awards 2019’ to 12 outstanding performers in NH sector on 14 January 2020 in New Delhi. National Highway Excellence Awards were instituted in the year 2018 to recognize the well-performing companies in the field of construction, operations, maintenance, toll collection and road safety on National Highways.

The award is given in seven categories namely: (1) Excellence in Project Management; (2) Excellence in Operation and Maintenance; (3) Excellence in Toll Management; (4) Excellence in Highway Safety; (5) Innovation; (6) Outstanding Work in Challenging Conditions; (7) Green Highway

3. Ishwar Sharma wins ‘Global Child Prodigy Award’: Indian yoga boy Ishwar Sharma, a 10-year-old British wins Global Child Prodigy Award. He was chosen from the UK for the awards which honour child prodigies from across 45 countries and 30 different categories such as palaeontology, biking, choreography, fitness and martial arts etc.Ishwar Sharma also has the skill to chant up to 50 shlokas from the Vedas and ‘Bhagavad Gita’ and practices yoga. Sharma, originally from Mysore, has participated in over 100 yoga events across the UK and worldwide.

Note: Global Child Prodigy Awards is A Global Talent Recognition for Child Prodigies. One hundred Global Child Prodigies will be recognized and will be featured in the Global Child Prodigy Award Book 2019.

4. Himachal creates Guinness World Record by preparing the largest quantity of Khichdi: Himachal Pradesh has made the Guinness Book of World Records for preparing the largest-ever quantity of ‘bean and rice’ dish (khichdi) on 14 January 2020 at Tattapani in Mandi district.Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur accepted the certificate on behalf of the state’s Tourism and Civil Aviation department. A team of 25 chefs from Holiday Home hotel in Shimla, cooked 1995 kg of the dish in a vessel weighing 270 kg, with the dimensions of four feet depth and seven feet diameter, that was specially acquired from Jagadhari in Haryana. The chefs’ team took five hours, 4 AM to 9 AM, to prepare the stew. The khichdi container was too heavy to be carried that a crane was used to tilt out the khichdi from the enormous container for serving khichdi to devotees at Tattapani.

Note:Earlier, the record for making the largest amount of khichdi (918.8 kg) was held by celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor when he represented the Indian ministry of food processing industries at an event in New Delhi on November 4, 2017.

OBITURIES

1. Filmmaker Manmohan Mohapatra passed away: Veteran filmmaker Manmohan Mohapatra passed away at the age of 69 in Bhubneshwar. Manmohan Mohapatra was an Odia filmmaker considered as the ‘Father of New Wave Odia Cinema’ and won eight national awards consecutively for ‘Best Feature Odia film’.