Daily GK Updates - 31st January, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad to become World’s Largest Cricket Stadium: The Sardar Patel Stadium in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, also known as Motera Stadium, is being redeveloped to emerge as the largest arena for cricket. The new stadium will have a seating capacity of 1,10,000 spectators. It will overtake the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Australia which is the largest cricket stadium in the world at the moment with a total seating capacity of 100,024 fans. The stadium is scheduled to be unveiled in February 2020.

2. Economic Survey 2020: Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman presented Economic Survey 2019-20 in the Parliament on 31 January 2020. This year’s Economic survey is being prepared by the Chief Economic Advisor, Krishnamurthy V Subramanian. The report followed by a press conference where the Chief Economic Advisor and his team discuss the economic roadmap for the next fiscal. It is a review of the developments in the country’s economy over the previous year. It presents a summary of the performance of the government’s major development programmes undertaken during that period. It also details the main policy initiatives of the government.

3. IAHE committee headed by YS Malik submits its reports: Indian Academy of Highway Engineers (IAHE) has submitted its final report to the Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari. The Committee is headed by Yudhvir Singh Malik. The committee in its report says that there is a strong need for enhancement of knowledge, skill and expertise of the engineers to maintain the massive road network of India inefficient, environment-friendly and safe manner at economical costs.

4. Assam tops in budgetary practices: Transparency International: According to the survey conducted by Transparency International, Assam tops in terms of budget formulation followed by Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The states that were ranked lower in terms of the budget formulation are Goa, Maharashtra and Punjab. The survey was conducted by the organization based on four parameters such as budgetary process, public disclosure, post-budget fiscal management and efforts to make budget citizen-friendly.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. President Trump inks USMCA North American trade deal: US President Donald Trump has signed the new ‘United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA)’ North American trade pact with Canada and Mexico into law. The USMCA, crafted over years of negotiation between the three countries, will replace the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that was entered into in 1994 between the three countries. It also makes changes to e-commerce, intellectual property protection and dispute settlement for investors, as well as imposing tougher labour provisions, requiring reforms to Mexico’s laws.

Note: President of United States: Donald Trump; Capital: Washington, D.C.

2. Eimear Noone Oscars’ first female conductor: Irish composer Eimear Noone will be the first woman to conduct an orchestra at the Oscars guest-segment. She will lead the 42-piece orchestra at the Academy Awards as it plays excerpts from five nominated scores on Sunday 9 February. She’s widely hailed as the world’s leading composer of video game music and at 22 became the first woman to conduct at the National Concert Hall. Teen sensation Billie Eilish has been announced as a performer for the 2020 Academy Awards ceremony. The announcement was made by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

3. Gita Sabharwal appointed UN Resident Coordinator in Thailand: Gita Sabharwal of India has been appointed as the Resident Coordinator in Thailand by the United Nations. She was appointed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres with the host Government’s approval. The UN Resident Coordinator is the highest-ranking representative of the UN development system at the country level. The Resident Coordinators are designated representatives of the UN Secretary-General and they report directly to him.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Rani Rampal named 2019 World Games Athlete of the Year: Indian women’s team captain Rani Rampal became the 1st-ever hockey player worldwide to win the prestigious ‘World Games Athlete of the Year’ award 2019. The 25-year-old Rani has been part of the Indian women's hockey team since she was 15 years old and has made 240 appearances for the national team. Rani played an integral role in the team's successful qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She was the player of the tournament in the FIH Women’s Series Finals in Hiroshima, Japan.

2. Bala Devi first woman footballer to bag a professional contract: Bala Devi from Manipur becomes the first Indian women footballer to bag a professional contract from a foreign club. Bala a former India captain who earlier played in the Maldives for New Radiant sports club is among a group of 14 new players signed by the Scottish giants Rangers FC for 18 months. She is the highest international goal-scorer in South Asia. In 2015 and 2016 she was awarded AIFF Woman Player of the Year title

3. Mizoram defeats Sikkim in the North East Dr T Ao Football Trophy 2020: The Northeast Dr. T Ao Football Trophy 2020 was held at Indira Gandhi Stadium in Kohima, Nagaland on 28 January 2020. Two times champion Mizoram defeated Sikkim by 1-0 goal to emerge as the champion. Mizoram midfielder David Lalrinmuana scored the lone goal to secure the title for the team. Nagaland defeated Arunachal Pradesh by 4-2 to claim the third position.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. RBI appoints Janak Raj as member of MPC: The RBI appointed its executive director Janak Raj as member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Raj replaces M D Patra, who has been elevated as Deputy Governor of the RBI recently. The government had in 2016 constituted MPC to set the benchmark interest rate. The MPC is headed by the RBI governor. Of the six members, three are nominated by the government, while the remaining three are from the RBI (including the governor).

2. Two loan products launched by Indian Bank: On 30th January the Indian Bank announced the launch of two products. First one is ‘Surya Shakthi’ for rooftop solar set up for captive consumption and the second one is a Corporate Loan, a finance product in aid of units under stress for working capital. Extension of corporate loan would be after evaluation and on a case by case basis, at a concessional rate, for a longer-term to help the units tide over their liquidity.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Google grants $1 mn to promote news literacy in India: In an effort to counter fake news and misinformation in India Technology giant Google(Google News Initiative (GNI)) has announced USD 1 million grant to promote news literacy among Indians to avoid spreading of misinformation. The money will be given to Internews, a global non-profit organisation, which will select a team of 250 journalists, fact checkers, academics and NGO workers for the project. A curriculum will be developed by a team of global and local experts, who will roll out the project in seven Indian languages. The local leaders will then roll out the training to new internet users in non-metro cities in India, enabling them to better navigate the internet and assess the information they find. The announcement is a part of Google’s USD 10 million commitment worldwide to media literacy.

Google has also launched a new application called “Tangi” focuses on Do It Yourself videos. The name of the application has been inspired by TeAch aNd GIve.

Note: Google CEO: Sundar Pichai; Founded: 4 September 1998.

2. Indian-origin Arvind Krishna elected new CEO of IBM: Indian-origin technology executive Arvind Krishna has been elected Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of American IT giant International Business Machines (IBM). Krishna is currently IBM Senior Vice President for Cloud and Cognitive Software and will succeed Virginia Rometty. Thus, Krishna joins the club that includes Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Dr. Partap chauhan honoured with Ayurveda ratan award 2020: Partap Chauhan has been conferred with Prestigious Ayurveda Ratan Award 2020 in Brussels, Belgium The award was announced during Ayurveda Day Celebration at the European Parliament. The All-Party Parliament Group on Traditional Medicines organized a meeting at in Brussels, Belgium with the aim of formulating a roadmap to legalize Ayurveda in Europe.

DEFENCE

1. SAMPRITI-IX: India-Bangladesh joint exercise to be held in Meghalaya: The 9th edition of joint military training exercise between India-Bangladesh ‘SAMPRITI-IX’ will be conducted at Umroi, Meghalaya from February 3 to February 16. Exercise SAMPRITI is an important bilateral defence cooperation endeavour between India and Bangladesh hosted alternately by both countries. During the joint military exercise, a Command Post Exercise and a Field Training Exercise will be conducted.

Note: Prime Minister of Bangladesh: Sheikh Hasina; Capital: Dhaka; Currency: Taka.

OBITUARIES

1. Padma Shri awardee Tushar Kanjilal passes away: Famous social worker, environmentalist, educationist & writer Tushar Kanjilal passed away. The Government of India awarded Tushar Kanjilal the 4th highest civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1986. He also received the Jamnalal Bajaj Award in 2008.

2. Eminent Assamese litterateur Sashi Sarma Passes Away: Eminent litterateur, writer, academician and intellectual from Assam Shashi Sarma passed away following ailing health conditions. He was 89. As per Sarma’s wish, his body has been donated posthumously at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital for research activities.