Daily GK Updates - 24th January, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India’s First War Memorial for Animals in Meerut: Meerut city in Uttar Pradesh will be host to India’s first war memorial for service animals including dogs, horses and mules. This place will dedicate itself to the contributions and heroics of animals who have helped the army in counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir and in the battlefield during the Kargil War.

Note: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath; Governor: Anandiben Patel; Capital: Lucknow

2. New Delhi Airport Begins ‘Women with wheels’ Cab Service for Female Safety: In an effort to make women feel safe in New Delhi, an exclusive taxi service named ‘Women with wheels’ has been launched from the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the city. The unique all-women cab service is an initiative by ‘Sakha cabs’. It can be availed for any part of Delhi. The cabs are run exclusively for women commuters and are driven only by women drivers.

Note: CEO of Sakha Consulting Wings: Arvind Vadera.

3. Russia is Theme Country for International Kolkata Book Fair 2020: The 44th International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF) will be held from 29th January to 9th February 2020. Twenty countries will participate in the 2020 edition of Kolkata International Book Fair. Russia is the theme country for IKBF 2020. The theme gate will be a replica of the iconic Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. The book fair will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Central Park Mela Complex in Salt Lake, in presence of Russian ambassador Nikolay Rishatovich Kudashev. IKBF is the world’s largest non-trade book fair, Asia’s largest book fair and the most attended book fair in the world in terms of footfall.

Note: West Bengal CM: Mamta Banerjee; Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar

4. National Girl Child Day: 24th January: National Girl Child Day celebrated by India every year on 24th January.  The purpose of the day is to spread awareness among the people about the inequalities girls face in India. It also aims towards promoting awareness about the rights of the girl child and to increase awareness on the importance of girl education, and their health and nutrition.

Note: National Girl Child Day is started by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Government of India in 2008.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Katerina Sakellaropoulou Elected as First Women President of Greece: The Parliament of Greece elected Katerina Sakellaropoulou as the country’s first female president. The 63-year-old received support of 261 MPs in the 300-seat Parliament, including the support of members of the ruling New Democracy Party. Katerina will serve for five years starting on 13 March 2020, when the incumbent president, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, will vacate the post following the end of his term.

Note: Capital of Greece: Athens; Currency of Greece: Euro.

2. Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina Launches E-passport Facility: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina launched the e-passport facility for its citizens, terming it as a gift to the nation in the Mujib centenary year. With this, Bangladesh becomes the first country in South Asia and 119th country in the world to provide e-passport facility. The e-passports will have an embedded chip in them. The chip will contain the bio-metric data of the passport holder, photograph and other information. It will also include digital security features in it.

3. International Day of Education: 24 January: International Day of Education is celebrated globally on 24 January annually to celebrate the role of education in bringing global peace and sustainable development. The theme of 2020 International Day of Education is “Learning for people, planet, prosperity and peace”. On 3rd December 2018, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming January 24 as International Day of Education. The first International Day of Education was held in 2019.

4. India Ranks at 8th Position among Recipients of Foreign Direct Investment in 2019: UNCTAD Report: The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released the Global Investment Trend Monitor report. Global FDI: As per the report, the global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2019 stood at $1.39 trillion, which is one percent decline from $1.41 trillion in 2018. India’s Position: India is among the top 10 recipients of Foreign Direct Investment in 2019, at 8th position, attracting $49 billion FDI inflows, showing a 16 percent increase from the previous year. The United States remained the largest recipient of FDI, attracting $251 billion in inflows.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. World Archery Conditionally Lifts Ban Imposed on Archery Association of India: The World Archery has lifted the suspension on Archery Association of India with effect from 23 January 2020; however, it is subjected to certain conditions. AAI had been suspended since 5 August 2019, allowing Indian Archers to participate only under the World Archery flag until suspension is lifted. With the lifting on the ban, Indian archers are now free to compete under the Indian flag and can now focus on getting ready for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. World Archery has instructed the AAI to change its constitution regarding the membership of sportspersons, resolve operational issues and prepare a strategic plan, as well as submit quarterly reports on these issues.

2. 2021 ICC Women’s World Cup Final to be held at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, New Zealand: Hagley Oval, a Cricket club in Christchurch, New Zealand will host the final match of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s World Cup 2021. Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton, Tauranga, Dunedin and Christchurch are the six New Zealand cities which will host the 2021 edition of the Women’s World Cup matches. The tournament will features 31 matches to be played from February 6 to March 7, 2021.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Vodafone m-pesa’s certificate of authorisation cancelled by RBI: The Reserve Bank of India cancelled the Certificate of Authorisation (CoA) of Vodafone m-pesa after its voluntary surrender of authorisation. The company henceforth cannot transact business of issuance and operation of Prepaid payment Instruments. Customers or merchants having a valid claim on the company as a PSO, can approach the company till September 30, 2022, for settlement of their claims within three years from the date of cancellation. Vodafone Idea closed the m-pesa after getting merged with the Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Limited in 2019.

Note: Vodafone M-pesa Limited Formation: 13 September 2014; Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.

2. RBI Raises FPI Investment Limit in Government and Corporate bonds from 20% to 30%: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has raised the investment limit for Foreign Portfolio Investor (FPI) in government and corporate bonds, in a move to bring in more foreign funds in the country. Under the new norms, the short term investment limit for FPI has now been increased from 20 percent to 30 percent for both, government and corporate bonds. Until now, short-term investments by a foreign portfolio investor (FPI) could not exceed 20 percent of the total investment of that FPI in either central government securities (including treasury bills) or state development loans or even in corporate bonds. Besides this, RBI has also made relaxation in the Voluntary Retention Route (VRR) for FPI investments in debt. The investment cap through VRR has been doubled to Rs 1.5 lakh crore, from 75,000 crore. Additionally, FPIs are now also allowed to invest in exchange-traded funds (ETF) that invest only in debt instruments.

3. Reliance Jio becomes 1st Telecom to launch UPI Payments Feature: Reliance Jio has become the 1st telecom operator to facilitate UPI payments feature through its platform after launching the feature on the MyJio app and will be now competing with other private UPI payment providers such as Paytm, Google Pay and PhonePe.

Note: Reliance Industries Ltd Founder: Dhirubhai Hirachand Ambani; Chief Executive Officer (CEO): Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani; Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. DMMC and IPS Kumar Munnan Singh jointly win Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar: Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2020 was announced on the occasion of Subhash Chandra Bose birth anniversary which was celebrated on 23 January 2020.

Awardees: Disaster Mitigation & Management Centre (DMMC), Uttarakhand under the institution category won the award. DMMC received a certificate and a cash prize of Rs.51 lakhs. The cash prize will be used by the winning institution for Disaster Management related activities only.

Under the Individual category, the former IPS Shri Kumar Munnan Singh received the award. The award recognized their commendable work in Disaster Management. Munnan Singh received a certificate and a cash prize of Rs.5 lakhs.

Note: On 23 January 2019, the government instituted an annual award titled Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar. The award recognizes the efforts of disaster, many organizations and individuals work effectively to help the people. The 8th Battalion of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) located at Ghaziabad won the award for the year 2019.

DEFENCE

1. DAC approves the procurement of about Rs 5100 crore Indigenous Equipments: The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), headed by Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh has approved the procurement of Indigenous Equipments valued at Rs 5100 crore. These indigenous equipments have been manufactured by the Indian industry and designed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian Army.

Note: 28th Chief of Army Staff: General Manoj Mukund Naravane.