Daily GK Updates - 25th January, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. International Summit on Women in STEM Held in New Delhi: The Department of Biotechnology, under the Ministry of Science and Technology, organized two-day International Summit on Women in STEM under the theme “Visualizing the Future: New Skylines” in New Delhi. The Summit was held on 23 and 24 January, 2020, with an aim to boost the participation of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) field for development of scientific career. The summit provided a platform for young students and researchers to interact and network with leaders in the field, to develop ideas and generate a future action plan for making career in STEM fields. Around 350 participants from different STEM field across the globe participated in the event including scientists, socialists, entrepreneurs, researchers, teachers and students.

2. CJI Bobde inaugurates All India Members’ Conference: The Chief Justice of India, Justice S.A. Bobde, inaugurated the All India Members’ Conference of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) in New Delhi. The two-day event was held as a part of the 79th Foundation Day Celebrations of ITAT.

Note: India’s Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) was set up on 25 January 1941.

ITAT functions under the Department of Legal Affairs in the Ministry of Law and Justice.

3. Nitin Gadkari Launches Web Portal “GATI” to Monitor Road & Highways Projects: The Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and MSMEs Shri Nitin Gadkari has launched an online Web Portal ‘GATI’ on the pattern of ‘PRAGATI’, the portal used by the Prime Ministers’ Office (PMO) for monitoring Road & Highways projects. The GATI portal has been created by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and can be accessed from NHAI Website. The portal was launched by the minister during the two-days long review meeting of NHAI-Ministry projects in Haryana’s Manesar on 23 & 24 January 2020. A total of 500 projects (including delayed ones) costing around Rs 3 lakh crore were taken up for review during the meeting.

4. India's first e-waste clinic opens in Bhopal: India's first e-waste clinic has been inaugurated by the Union Environment Secretary in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.It would enable segregation, processing and disposal of waste from both household and commercial units. The e-waste clinic is jointly set up by the Central Pollution Control Board-CPCB and Bhopal Municipal Corporation-BMC. The e-waste clinic is being started on the basis of a three-month pilot project.

Note: Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh: Kamal Nath; Governor: Lal Ji Tandon.

5. NITI Aayog to develop User-Centric “National Data and Analytics Platform”: Government think-tank NITI Aayog has announced to develop a National Data and Analytics Platform (NDAP) to make all government data accessible to stakeholders in a user-friendly manner. NDAP is a flagship initiative of NITI Aayog in the space of promoting larger access and better use of data, tailored to the needs of policymakers, bureaucrats, researchers, innovators, data scientists, journalists and citizens alike. The Vision Document for the National Data and Analytics Platform (NDAP) has been released by NITI Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar. The first version of National Data and Analytics Platform is proposed to be released in 2021. The NDAP will provide access to data from multiple sectors in one place. The data will be sourced from different Central and State Ministries and Departments.

6. AV Organics Launches India’s First Alkaline Water “EVOCUS”: The Vadodara-based start-up AV Organicis launched its product ‘Evocus’, natural black alkaline water, in Hyderabad. Evocus is India’s first natural black alkaline water and is enriched with 70+ natural minerals. “EVOCUS” is black because it is alkaline water enriched with 100% organic minerals, sourced from the depths of the earth. The company has already launched its product in 16 cities and has sold over 7,000 cases (one case consists of 24 bottles) since June 2019 and are expecting to sell over 3 million bottles by June 2020. The packaged product has been approved by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and ranges in price between Rs 100 per 500 ml and Rs 60 per 250 ml.

7. National Voters’ Day: 25 January: In India, the National Voters’ Day is celebrated on 25 January every year in a bid to encourage more young voters to take part in the political process. The day is being observed since 2011 to mark the foundation day of Election Commission of India (ECI), formed on 25 January 1950, to overlook the smooth running of elections in India. The theme of National Voters’ Day 2020 is ‘Electoral Literacy for a Stronger Democracy.’

Note: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India: Sunil Arora.

8. National Tourism Day: 25 January: The National Tourism Day is celebrated on 25th January in India every year to raise awareness about the importance of tourism for the country’s economy. The Indian government established the National Tourism Day to cultivate awareness among the global community on the importance of tourism and to demonstrate how it affects social, political, financial, cultural worth and economic values worldwide.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India & Brazil Signs 15 Pacts to Boost Strategic Ties: President of Brazil Jair Messias Bolsonaro arrived in New Delhi on 24 January 2020 on four-day state visit to India. He is also the chief guest at the 2020 Republic Day of India celebrations. Brazilian President Jair Messias Bolsonaro and Prime Minister Narendra Modi inked 15 agreements on 25 January to boost cooperation in a wide range of areas between the two countries.

Some of MoUs Signed Include: (1) MoU on Bio-energy Cooperation; (2) MoU for Cooperation in the field of Oil and Natural Gas; (3) Investment Cooperation and Facilitation Treaty; (4) MoU in the field of Early Childhood; (5) MoU on Cooperation in the field of Health and Medicine; (6) Cultural Exchange Programme for the period 2020-2024; (7) Agreement on Social Security; (8) MoU between Invest India and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex Brazil), etc.

2. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Signs Brexit Withdrawal Deal: The Prime Minister of United Kingdom, Boris Johnson has signed the Brexit withdrawal agreement on 24 January 2020. The signing of the agreement now paves the way for the UK’s exit from the European Union (EU) on 31 January 2020, ending its decades-long membership of EU. The European Parliament will vote on the agreement on 29 January and then finally on 31 January, Britain will spend its last day in the European Union before leaving the bloc. The UK will remain in the EU’s single market and customs union, but none of the decision-making bodies, until the end of 2020.With the exit of UK, the European Union (EU) will remain a political and economic union of 27 member states, from the current 28 members.

3. Sunil Arora assumes Chairmanship of FEMBoSA for 2020: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora has assumed Chairmanship of the Forum of the Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA) for the year 2020. CEC of Bangladesh SA KM Nurul Huda (Outgoing Chair of FEMBo) handed over the Logo of FEMBoSA to Mr Arora at the 10th Annual Meeting in New Delhi. The 10th Annual Meeting of The Forum of the Election Management Bodies (EMBs) of South Asia (FEMBoSA) was held in New Delhi on 24 January 2020. An International Conference was also organised on the theme “Strengthening Institutional Capacity”. Earlier in September 2019, ECI took over as Chair of the 115 member Association of World Election Bodies for 2019-21 term.

Note: FEMBoSA was established at the 3rd Conference of Heads of Election Management Bodies of SAARC Countries held at New Delhi in May 2012.

4. India Ranks 80th among 180 Countries in Corruption Perception Index 2019: India has been ranked at the 80th position among 180 countries in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2019 prepared by Transparency International. The CPI Index, released at the WEF 2020 in Davos, ranks countries and territories on how corrupt their public sectors are perceived by the experts and business people. Denmark and New Zealand jointly scored the top spot with a score of 87.

With a score of 41, India shares the 80th spot with China, Benin, Ghana and Morocco.

The Top 10 countries include

1. Denmark

1. New Zealand

3. Finland

4. Singapore

4. Sweden

4. Switzerland

7. Norway

8. Netherlands

9. Germany

9. Luxembourg

5. Agni Sapkota elected speaker of House of Representatives: Nepal Communist Party's Agni Sapkota has been elected as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the lower house of Parliament in Nepal. His name was proposed by Subhash Chandra Nembang of Nepal Communist Party. The post of Speaker was lying vacant since October last year after Mr Krishna Bahadur Mahara resigned following allegations of attempted rape.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Rowing Federation of India lifts two-year suspension on Rower Dattu Bhokanal: The Rowing Federation of India (RFI) removed the two-year ban imposed on 2018 Asian Games gold medallist rower and Olympian Dattu Baban Bhokanal, after the intervention of the Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Batra. Bhokanal’s ban, which was imposed on April 30, 2019, was set to end on April 30, 2021. Now India’s top rower, Bhokanal will be able to participate in the Olympic Qualification Regatta to be held at Chungju, South Korea from April 27-30, 2020.

Note: Ministers of State (I/C) of Youth Affairs and Sports: Kiren Rijiju.

2. IWF President Tamas Ajan Steps aside for 90 days after doping: The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) president Tamas Ajan has stepped aside to voluntarily cease his duties for 90 days while an independent investigation into allegations of corruption and doping violations are being carried out against him. Ajan has till then delegated the operational responsibilities to IWF Vice-president Ursula Papandrea, who also is the President of USA Weightlifting.

Note: International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) headquarter: Budapest, Hungary

3. Prem Chand Verma appointed India's Deputy Chef de Mission for Tokyo Olympics: Indian Olympic Association (IOA) appointed Prem Chand Verma as the Deputy Chef de Mission of India for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In a letter written to Verma, IOA President Narendra Dhruv Batra has asked him to accept the position and send an acknowledgment of acceptance. Rakesh Sharma will not be accompanying the Indian Contingent to the Olympics due to personal reasons and IOA relieved him of his duties. As a result, Prem Chand Verma has been given responsibility.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. IndusInd Bank Launches Wealth Management Platform ‘PIONEER’ Banking: Private sector lender IndusInd Bank has launched its wealth management platform under the name “Pioneer Banking”. The new offering will cater to the distinct and advanced wealth needs of the high net-worth customers of the bank.

Benefits under Pioneer Banking: (1) No Charges on Non-Maintenance of Minimum Balance; (2) Benefits that Extend to all family and business Accounts; (3) Complimentary access to exclusive PIONEER ‘Lobbies’; (4) Free Doorstep Banking at no additional cost; (5) No Transaction Charges on requests pertaining to cheque books, demand drafts, passbooks, statements, alerts, or TDS certificates; (6) Holistic Wealth Management Services; (7) Lifestyle benefits

2. MSCB submits merger proposal with Rupee Bank to RBI: The Maharashtra State Cooperative (MSC) Bank has submitted a joint proposal to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a merger with the Rupee Cooperative Bank. The mounting bad debt of the Rupee Bank had led RBI to put severe sanctions on the bank while superseding the erstwhile board of directors in 2013. The total deposit in the bank is around Rs 1,290.96 crore. The bank also has 304 employees who will be absorbed within the rolls of the MSC Bank.