Daily GK Updates - 19th January, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 15th Raising Day celebrated by National Disaster Response Force: The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was founded on 19th January 2006. NDRF celebrated its 15th Raising Day on 19th January 2020. The organization plays an important role in Disaster Management and Community awareness for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in the country. NDRF has conducted 3100 operations and saved over one lakh lives, hence playing a crucial role in Disaster Management and Community awareness for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in the country. Workshops on ‘Urban flooding & challenges’ and ‘Biological Emergencies & New Technology in Disaster Management’ were also conducted during the celebrations.

Note: NDRF Formed on: 2006; Headquarters: NDRF HQ, Antyodaya Bhawan, New Delhi; Chairman: Prime Minister Narendra Modi; Minister responsible: Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs; Director-General: SN Pradhan

2. National Immunization Day 2020: January 19: In India, the National Immunization Day was observed on 19 January 2020. As a part of the celebrations, Pulse Polio Immunization programme 2020 was launched where President Ram Nath Kovind administered Polio drops to children below five years at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Under this programme, approximately 17.4 crore children of less than five years of age across the country will be administered polio drops as a part of the immunization drive of the Central Government to sustain polio eradication from the country.

3. Nripendra Misra appointed as chairman of NMML: Former principal secretary to PM, Nripendra Misra has been appointed as chairman of the executive council of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML). Mishra who resigned from the PS to the PM post last year is a UP cadre IAS officer, closely associated with the think tank Vivekananda International Foundation. Dr. A Surya Prakash, chairman of the Prasar Bharati will be the vice-chairman of the executive council of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML).

Note: NMML is an autonomous institution under the Indian Ministry of Culture, to preserve and reconstruct the history of the Indian independence movement. It is the world’s leading resource centre on India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

4. 9th International Children’s Film Festival begins in Kolkata: The 9th edition of Kolkata International Children's Film Festival has begun in Kolkata, West Bengal. The festival will feature the screening of about 250 films from 45 countries. National award-winning 'Hamid' was the inaugural film. The National award winner child actor, Talha Arsad Rishi inaugurated the festival.

5. Tuberculosis control programme renamed: Government of India renamed its National TB Control Programme to National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme. The name change is in line with the goal of India in eliminating the disease by 2025. This is five years ahead of the goal of United Nations Sustainable Development target. Also, the WHO endorsed on technology developed by India to detect the disease called True Nat MTB in terms of accuracy.

6. Gujarat ranked top for water efficiency: The Ministry of Jal Shakti released a report on efficiency targets in the review of state and Central government water departments. As per the report, Gujarat has topped in the list. Rajasthan is the third-best and Delhi is among the worst-performing states. Among the seven Central departs reviewed, the Survey of India has got the top billing followed by the National Institute of Hydrology and Central Water Commission.

7. Vijay Rupani Flags-off State of Art Tejas express between Mumbai-Ahmedabad: Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani flagged off Ahmedabad-Mumbai Tejas express at Ahmedabad Railway Station. The Ahmedabad-Mumbai Tejas express is India’s second premium train operated by private operators, IRCTC, a subsidiary of Indian Railways. The first such train is Lucknow – New Delhi Tejas Express, which started its operations on 4 October 2019. The Tejas express is one of India’s semi-high speed fully air-conditioned Train having several modern features such as sliding doors, personalized reading lights, mobile charging points, attendant call buttons, bio-toilets, automatic entry and exit doors, CCTV cameras, reclining facility, comfortable seats, etc. The Railways has proposed to run 150 such premium trains across the country. IRCTC will compensate passengers for delays by providing Rs 100 to each passenger in case delay is more than one hour and Rs 250 if delay exceeds two hours.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India to set up Maritime Research Coordination Centre: Sri Lanka and India agreed to establish a maritime research coordination center and strengthen military ties. India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and discussed setting up the center to learn maritime activities in the Indian Ocean Region. Mr. Rajapaksa will visit India in late Nov for talks with PM Modi, who offered $450 mn aid to Sri Lanka.

2. New Disease Outbreak: Novel corona virus Grips China’s Wuhan City: The Wuhan City of China is in a grip of a new disease outbreak caused by new respiratory virus called Novel corona virus, codenamed as 2019-nCoV. Corona viruses are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). 2019-nCoV is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans. The outbreak has so far killed two people in China and sickened at least 45 persons including overseas cases with some new cases being detected in the city. It is believed to have contracted through exposure to animals market that sells seafood and meat in Wuhan.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Ratchanok Intanon wins Indonesia Masters 2020 title: Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon won the Indonesia Badminton Masters 2020 women's singles title. She defeated Carolina Marin of Spain by 21-19, 11-21, 21-18 in the final. The clash went into three-games and despite losing the first game, the Spanish shuttler made a comeback in the second game and claimed the game by 21-11.Intanon won the match by claiming the third game by 21-18.

2. India beat Pakistan to lift 4th Diplomat Cup Cricket Championship: The team of the Indian Consulate in Dubai defeated the team of the Pakistan Consulate to lift the Diplomat Cup Cricket Championship 2020. The 4th edition of the was participated by the Consulates of eight countries – India, Pakistan, Afghanistan , Bangladesh , Sri Lanka, South Africa, Australia and the US. This is the third successive year that India won the Diplomat Cup Championship. The first tournament was won by Bangladesh in January 2017.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. India’s GDP Estimated at 5.7% for FY20; World economy likely to grow 2.5% in 2020: UN report: The United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2020 report was released. The WESP is an annual UN flagship publication on the state of the world economy from the point of view of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

GDP estimate for India:

GDP forecast for 2019-20: 5.7 percent (from 7.6 per cent forecast in WESP 2019).

GDP forecast for 2020-21: 6.6 percent (from 7.4 per cent earlier)

GDP forecast for 2021-22: 6.3 percent

World Economic Growth:

2.3 percent – 2019

2.5 percent – 2020

2.7 percent – 2021

2. RBI Ranks 6th among central banks in buying gold abroad in 2019: WGC Report: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was the sixth largest gold buyer abroad in the year 2019, as per the World Gold Council (WGC) report titled, “World Gold Outlook 2020”. The RBI currently holds 625.2 tonnes of gold, which is 6.6 percent of its forex reserves. RBI bought 7.5 tonnes of gold in October 2019, to increase its foreign exchange reserves to $450 billion. The central banks of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Poland bought more than India in 2019 respectively.

AWARDS AND HONOUR

1. ‘Castle of Dreams’ recieves the Best Film Award at DIFF: ‘Castle of Dreams’ has won the Best Film Award in Asian Competition section of the 18th Dhaka International Film Festival (DIFF). Reza Mirakarimi who has directed the Iranian film ‘Castle of Dreams’ won the Best Director Award. Anjan Dutt directed movie ‘Finally Love’ has won the Best Audience Award in Cinema of the World Category while ‘Children of the Sun’ directed by Sri Lankan director Prasanna Vithanage has won the Special Jury Award in the 18th Dhaka International Film Festival.

2. 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards: The winners of the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, which honours the year’s biggest achievements in TV and film were announced at an event held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, USA. Here is the complete list of winners of the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards:

S. No.	Category	Award Winner
1	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries	Sam Rockwell, (Fosse/Verdon)
2	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries	Michelle Williams, (Fosse/Verdon)
3	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series	Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones)
4	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show)
5	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series	Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel)
6	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series	Phoebe Waller-Bridg (Fleabag)
7	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	The Crown
8	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
9	Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series	Game of Thrones
10	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role	Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)
11	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role	Renee Zellweger (Judy)
12	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role	Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood)
13	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role	Laura Dern (Marriage Story)
14	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Parasite
15	Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture	Avengers: Endgame

DEFENCE

1. India successfully test-fired K-4 Ballistic Missile from Andhra Pradesh: India successfully test-fired nuclear capable K-4 ballistic missile off the Vizag coast in Andhra Pradesh. K-4 is a nuclear capable, Intermediate-range, submarine-launched, ballistic missile, which is under development by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian Navy. The missile will be equipped on indigenous INS Arihant class nuclear powered submarines of Navy. The missile has a maximum range of about 3500 km. India is expected to carry out more tests of the missile before it is ready for being equipped on the nuclear submarines.K-4 is one of the two underwater missiles being developed by India for its submarine force .The other one is the over 700 km strike range BO-5.

Note: Only the US, Russia and China have submarine-launched ballistic missiles of 3,500-kilometre range.

2. Indian Army Conducts Biggest Airborne Exercise ‘Winged Raider’ in North Eastern Theatre: The Indian Army carried out its biggest Airborne Exercise code-named ‘Winged Raider’ in the North Eastern Theatre. The multi-dimensional exercise involved more than 500 Special Force troops and all kind of air transport platforms of the Air Force. The exercise saw the soldiers of the Special Forces parachuting from C-130 Hercules, C-17 globemaster transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force, and Dhruv helicopters during the day and night.

OBITUARIES

1. Eminent classical singer Sunanda Patnaik passed away: Eminent Indian classical singer Sunanda Patnaik, who had carved a special identity in Odia music world, passed away following a prolonged illness. She was 85.Popularly known as "Guguma", Patnaik was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Kolkata. Daughter of legendary Odia poet Baikunthanath Patnaik, the veteran singer was born on November 7, 1934, and started her career in singing at the All India Radio, Cuttack in 1948 at the age of 14.