Daily GK Updates - 23rd January, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Agricultural land leasing policy will be implemented in Uttarakhand: Uttarakhand has become the 1st state in the country where the government has made a policy to lease agricultural land. In lieu of giving land on a 30-year lease, the concerned farmer will get the rent for the land. In the hilly areas of the state, the obstacles of leasing land for farming, agriculture, horticulture, herbs, off-season vegetables, milk production, tea plantation, fruit hybridization and solar energy has been removed with this step.

Note: Uttarakhand Chief Minister: Trivendra Singh Rawat; Governor: Baby Rani Maurya; Capital: Dehradun.

2. Jaipur Literature Festival begins: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has inaugurated the five- days Jaipur Literature Festival 2020 (13th) in the royal Diggi Palace in Jaipur, Rajasthan.  It is the world's largest free literary festival. Around 300 speakers of different fields are participating in this festival. Jaipur Literature Festival is the platform where people can share their views without any hesitation.

3. EC to host 1st Sukumar Sen Memorial Lecture: Election Commission will host Sukumar Sen's (1898-1963) Memorial Lecture at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra, New Delhi. Former President Pranab Mukherjee will deliver the first of the Lectures. The EC has decided to institute an Annual Lecture Series as a tribute to the first Chief Election Commissioner of India, Sukumar Sen.

Note: The first Chief Election Commissioner of India Mr. Sen (Indian Civil Services-1922) commendably conducted the first two General Elections to the Lok-Sabha (1952 and 1957) & State Legislative Assemblies, thereby putting India firmly on the map of democracy.

4. ISRO to send robot 'Vyommitra' to space on 'Gaganyaan': The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has unveiled a lady robot named ‘Vyommitra’, which is a prototype of humanoid, to go as a trial to space under ‘Gaganyaan’ mission, before sending astronauts. Vyommitra is a combination of two Sanskrit words Vyoma (Space) and Mitra (Friend), thus meaning ‘friend in the space’. ISRO will send two unmanned missions, before the Ganganyaan mission goes with astronauts, to monitor how the human system will behave in the environment control life support system. The half-humanoid robot ‘Vyom Mitra’ will be placed in the first unmanned mission under ‘Gaganyaan’ and will simulate most of the human body functions like conversing with astronauts, recognising them, and responding to their queries.

Note: Humanoid is a kind of robot, which can move like a human and can also understand human gestures. Humanoids can also answer questions through artificial intelligence programming.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India advances 8 places to 72nd spot on GTC I- 2020: India has moved up 8th places to the 72nd position in the 2020 Global Talent Competitiveness Index. Switzerland topped this year's ranking, followed by the USA, while Singapore is the third most talent-competitive country. The index is based on research done by INSEAD in partnership with The Adecco Group and Google. Global Talent Competitiveness Index measures and ranks countries based on their ability to grow, attract and retain talent.

2. India falls to 51st spot in EIU's Democracy Index: India slipped 10 places to 51st position in the 2019 Democracy Index's global ranking. The overall list was topped by Norway, followed by Iceland & Sweden. Top 8 countries are New Zealand (4th), Finland (5th), Ireland (6th), Denmark (7th) and Canada (8th). The index is based on five categories - electoral process and pluralism; the functioning of government; political participation; political culture and civil liberties.

3. Mansukh Mandaviya participates in the Round-table of UNAIDS in Davos: The Union Minister of State for Shipping (I/C) and Chemical & Fertilizers Shri Mansukh Mandaviya is on four-day official visit to at Davos, Switzerland to attend 50th World Economic Forum annual meeting. Mandaviya participated in the High-level roundtable of UNAIDS (The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) held as a part of the meeting. The theme of the Round-table of UNAIDS was ‘Access for all: Leveraging Innovations, Investments and Partnerships for Health’. UNAIDS is leading the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Note: World AIDS Day: 1 December.

United Nations AIDS Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.

Winnie Byanyima is the Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.

4. Indian Oil Signs MoU with National Petroleum Authority of Ghana: Indian Oil has signed an MoU with Ghana’s National Petroleum Authority for proper execution of the Ghana’s National LPG Promotion Policy. According to the MoU, Indian Oil will provide its technical expertise and assistance to Ghana’s National Petroleum Authority.

Note: President of Ghana: Nana Akufo-Addo; Capital: Accra; Currency: Ghanaian Cedi.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Khelo India Youth Games 2020 Concludes; Maharashtra Crowned Champion: The 3rd Khelo India Youth Games was held from 10 to 22 December 2020 in Guwahati, Assam. Maharashtra finished at the top of the medal table for second consecutive year in the 13-day sporting extravaganza with 256 medals, comprising 78 gold, 77 silver and 101 bronze. Haryana with 200 medals (68-60-72) and Delhi with 122 medals (39-36-47) were second and third respectively. The winner’s received the trophy from Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

2. India’s only women’s polo tournament concludes in Imphal: The 5th edition of Manipur Statehood Day Women’s Polo Tournament was held from 17 to 21 January 2020 at Mapal Kangjeibung in Imphal, which is the oldest living polo ground in the world. The Great Britain women polo team won the coveted title of 2020 by defeating United States of America (USA) 5-2 in the final match. Apart from the Manipur team and the Indian Polo Association’s women team, polo teams from USA, Great Britain, Argentina, and Egypt participated in the tournament.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Challa Sreenivasulu Setty Appointed as Managing Director of SBI: The government has appointed Challa Sreenivasulu Setty as the Managing Director (MD) of the State Bank of India (SBI) for a period of three years, from the date of his taking over the charge of the post or until further orders. Setty is currently serving as the deputy managing director of the SBI. As per the SBI Act, the bank can have four managing directors. The other three MDs of the SBI include: Parveen Kumar Gupta, Dinesh Kumar Khara and Arijit Basu

Note: Rajnish Kumar is the Chairman of the State Bank of India.

2. ICICI Bank introduces cardless cash withdrawal facility through ATMs: ICICI Bank has come out with an innovative method to withdraw cash from ATM machines without debit card. The private lender has introduced 'Cardless Cash Withdrawal' facility which enables customers to withdraw cash through an app. “Cardless Cash Withdrawal” service can be used for cash withdrawal having a per day transaction limit of Rs 20,000. An ICICI customer can withdraw cash from over 15,000 ATMs of the bank by raising a request on 'iMobile'-its mobile banking application. The service can be used for self-withdrawal when customers do not wish to carry the debit card.

Note: MD & CEO of ICICI Bank: Sandeep Bakhshi; Headquarters: Mumbai.

AWARDS AND HONOUR

1. Priya Prakash wins Cisco Youth Leadership Award 2019: The founder and CEO of India based HealthSetGo, Priya Prakash, has won the Global Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award for 2019. The award was given for her school health program that provides healthcare support to children. The prestigious award honours an individual aged 18 – 30 who is bringing about a positive change in the world by solving some of its biggest global challenges. The award includes a USD 250,000 prize paid to the individual’s organisation to which the individual contributes, to further their mission of accelerating global problem-solving.

Note: HealthSetGo is a healthcare organisation that supports the UN’s (United Nation) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to improve the health & lives of children. HealthSetGo in a span of 4 years has become India’s largest healthcare organisation for schools.

2. President Ramnath Kovind Presents 14th Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards: The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, presented the 14th Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards (RNG awards) in New Delhi. RNG awards are one the most prestigious awards in India in the field of journalism, held annually since 2006. The 12th edition was held in 2017. These are awarded to honour journalists across the country from print, broadcast and digital media who have maintained the highest standards of their profession and, despite immense challenges, produced work that sustains public trust in the media and impacts the lives of people.

Note: The award is named after Ramnath Goenka, who was an Indian newspaper publisher and founder of “The Indian Express” and Indian Express Group.

OBITUARIES

1. Former Indian cricketer Man Mohan Sood passes away: Former Test batsman and National selector Man Mohan Sood passed away at the age of 80. Sood played one Test and 39 first-class matches with one century in his cricket career. Sood made his first class debut against Services in 1957 and played his final Ranji Trophy match against Jammu and Kashmir in 1964. His lone Test appearance came against Richie Benaud-led Australia at Madras in 1960 when India lost by an innings and 55 runs.