Daily GK Updates - 7th January, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Kochi to host Global Investors Meet: ASCEND 2020: Kochi, Kerala will host the Global Investors Meet: ASCEND 2020. ASCEND 2020 will showcase 18 mega projects with over Rs 100 crore investment each and offering direct employment to over 9,000 people. The projects include: Kochi-to-Palakkad integrated manufacturing cluster, an electronic hardware park in Ernakulam district, integrated solid-waste management systems in Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur and Malappuram, a medium density fibreboard plant in Perumbavoor and a defence park at Ottappalam, and many other projects. The meet will be organised by the Industries Department. The Invest Kerala Portal: “invest.kerala.gov.in” will also be showcased at the meet.

Note: Chief Minister of Kerala: Pinarayi Vijayan; Governor: Arif Mohammed Khan.

2. 2nd phase of Mission Indradhanush-2 begins: The 2nd phase of Mission Indradhanush 2.0 rolled out at block level in 35 districts of Uttar Pradesh. The aim of the program launched by the central government in 2017 is to achieve 90% vaccination coverage in children of less than 2 years in the state. Under the program around 66 thousand sessions will be organized for vaccination of more than 5.5 lakh children and around 1.3 lakh pregnant women of the state. The focus of immunization is on urban, underserved population and tribal areas. Intensified Mission Indradhanush will be conducted till March 2020.

Note: UP Present CM: Yogi Adityanath; Governor of UP: Anandiben Patel.

3. Ex-CRPF DG Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar appointed as Advisor to J&K LG: Former Director-General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar has been appointed as Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. With this, the Lieutenant Governor of J&K Union Territory will have three Advisors. The other two Advisors: KK Sharma and Farooq Khan were appointed on November 14, 2019.

Note: Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir: Girish Chandra Murmu.

4. ISRO to set up Human Space Flight Centre in Challakere: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has proposed Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) at Challakere in Chitradurga district of Karnataka. The facility is expected to become operational in 3 years. For this ISRO has proposed 2,700 crores of the infrastructure plan to construct the facility that will become operational in three years. The center aims is to provide training astronauts within the country, which is currently being provided by Russia. Currently, HSP work is split in Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram and the U.R. Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru. Apart from all this work, Challakere will also host work related to crew and service modules of the spacecraft that carries the astronauts and up to mission control. The centre aims at bringing in all the features that are provided by Russia and begin training astronauts within the country.

Note: Gaganyaan is an Indian crewed orbital spacecraft that is intended to send 3 astronauts to space for a minimum of seven days by 2022. If India’s Gaganyaan mission is successful, it will become the fourth country after the US, Russia, and China to send humans to space.

ISRO Chairman: K. Sivan; Headquarters: Bengaluru; Established: 1969.

5. Uttar Pradesh becomes 1st state to shortlist migrants for citizenship: Uttar Pradesh is all set to become the first state in the country to start the exercise of shortlisting migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, eligible for citizenship under the new Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The exercise will also identify those who are living illegally in the state. All 75 district magistrates have been asked to track down migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who have settled here for decades, without citizenship.

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

6. Room ACs to have default temperature setting of 24 degrees Celsius : The Centre has made mandatory the default temperature settings for room air conditioners, of all makes and types, from January 1, which had been formed after consulting with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). The 24-degree Celsius default setting has been made mandatory from January 1, 2020, for all room air conditioners covered under the ambit of BEE star-labelling program vide this notification. Additionally, the Indian Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (ISEER) as per the new standards will range from (3.30 - 5.00) for split and (2.70 - 3.50) for window air conditioners, which will be applicable from 1st January 2021 onwards. This would make it mandatory for all brands and types of star labeled ACs to have 24 degrees Celsius as the default temperature from January 1.

7. 5th Global Drosophila Conference held at Pune: The fifth edition of the Asia Pacific Drosophila Research Conference (APDRC5) was held in Pune. The conference was organized in the country for the first time by the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER). The last four editions of this conference took place in Taipei, Seoul, Beijing, and Osaka. It is a biennial conference and it aims to promote the interaction of Drosophila researchers in the Asia-Pacific region with their peers in the rest of the world. It brings together scientists from all over the world who use the fruit fly, Drosophila, as a model organism to address basic and applied questions.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. United States officially launches “US Space Force”: United States President Donald Trump has signed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. With the signing of the act, US has authorised the establishment of US Space Force. The US Space Force will become the 6th branch of the armed forces. Space Force would become the youngest US military branch, and the first new service since the establishment of the US Air Force back in 1947. The Space Force would be part of the Department of the Air Force. The launch of the Space Force will be funded by an initial $40m for its first year. It will be led by Air Force General Jay Raymond.

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

2. India-Russia to sign MoUs on AK-203 assault rifles: The Indian Army is to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the procurement of over 7.5 lakh AK-203 assault rifles with Russia. The rifles will be manufactured by the Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) at Korwa in Uttar Pradesh. The facility is being set up between the Ordnance Factories Board (OFB) from the Indian side, and Rosoboron Exports and Kalashnikov on the Russian side. The OFB owns 50.5% equity and Russian side holds the remaining 49.5%. The Army has been looking to replace the indigenous INSAS (Indian National Small Arms System) rifles in use with a modern rifle.

Note: President of Russia: Vladimir Putin; Capital: Moscow; Currency: Russian Ruble.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Leo Carter becomes 7th cricketer to hit six 6s in an over: New Zealand‘s batsman Leo Carter has become the seventh batsman in the history of cricket to smash six 6s in an over. He achieved the feat in New Zealand’s domestic T20 tournament Super Smash. Representing Canterbury, he smashed Knight’s bowler Anton Devcich for six 6s in the 16th over of the innings. Other 6 players who have achieved the feat are: Gary Sobers (West Indies), Ravi Shastri (India), Herschelle Gibbs (South Africa), Yuvraj Singh (India), Ross Whiteley (England) and Hazratullah Zazai (Afghanistan). When it comes to T20 cricket, Carter is just the fourth batsman to achieve the feat. Yuvraj is the only batsman to have scored six 6s in an international T20I.

2. India's Magesh Chandran wins Hastings International chess title: Indian Grand Master P Magesh Chandran has won the 95th edition of the prestigious Hastings International Chess Congress in Hastings, England. France's Romain Edouard, who was the only player to end the tournament a half-point behind Chandran, took the second spot. The US-based Chandran posted six wins and secured three draws to take the top spot. The Indian had become a GM in 2006 and moved to the US for higher studies at the University of Texas.

3. Bhubaneswar to host 1st edition of Khelo India University Games: The 1st edition of Khelo India University Games is scheduled to be held at the KIIT University in Bhubaneswar, Odisha from February 22 to March 1, 2020. The launching ceremony of the event was held in Bhubaneswar on January 06, 2020, where the logo and jersey were unveiled by Union Sports Minister, Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nisank’ and along with the Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik. Khelo India University Games will witness over 4,000 athletes from 100 Universities across India vying for top honours in 17 different disciplines namely archery, athletics, boxing, fencing, judo, swimming, weight-lifting, wrestling, badminton, basketball, football, hockey, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, rugby and kabaddi.

Note: Odisha Governor: Ganeshi Lal; Chief Minister: Naveen Patnaik.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. RBI revises supervisory framework for Urban Co-operative Bank: The Reserve Bank of India has revised its supervisory framework for Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs). The revised framework aims to expedite resolution of UCBs experiencing financial stress. The revised framework stipulates the thresholds for various parameters that could trigger a corrective action by the UCBs or a supervisory action by the central bank. A UCB may be placed under supervisory action framework under the following conditions: (1) When its Net Non-Performing Asset (NPA) exceeds 6% of its net advances; (2) When its Capital to Risk (Weighted) Assets Ratio (CRAR) falls below 9%; (3) When it incurs losses for two consecutive financial years or has accumulated losses on its balance sheet.

Note: RBI 25th Governor: Shaktikant Das; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata.

2. Shivalik Mercantile Co-op. Bank Ltd gets RBI’s approval to become SFB: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted “in-principle” approval to Shivalik Mercantile Co-operative Bank Limited for transition into a Small Finance Bank (SFB). The transition into a SFB will be under the “Scheme on voluntary transition of Urban Co-operative Bank into a Small Finance Bank” issued on September 27, 2018. The “in-principle” approval granted will be valid for 18 months to enable the applicant to comply with the requirements under the Scheme, the Guidelines for ‘on tap’ Licensing of Small Finance Banks in the Private Sector and fulfil other conditions as stipulated by the RBI.

3. Indian Bank sings MoU with WEWA to provide credit: Public sector lender, Indian Bank has signed an MoU with the Women Entrepreneurs Welfare Association (WEWA), Tamil Nadu, to offer training and credit linkage to women members/entrepreneurs of the association for establishing the business. The bank, which has dedicated products specially designed for women customers, will provide loans to WEWA members at special discounted rates. Training will be given to the WEWA members in the INDSETIs (Indian Bank Self Employment Training Institutes) WEWA aims at adding 1,000 members by 2023 and requested the bank to provide the skill training to their members as per the interest and choice of the members.

Note: Indian Bank MD and CEO: Padmaja Chunduru; Headquarters: Chennai

4. Health insurance policy in the name ‘Arogya Sanjeevani’ mandatory for insurance companies: IRDAI: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA) has introduced a standard health cover policy that must be offered by all general and standalone health insurers. As per the guidelines issued by the IRDAI, every general and standalone health insurer should offer a standard health product, the Arogya Sanjeevani Policy, with a minimum sum insured of Rs 1 lakh, with the upper limit of Rs 5 lakh. The policy term will be for one year. The Arogya Sanjeevani policy is a first of its kind standard health insurance product that will help easy availability of health insurance. The minimum entry age will be 18 years with lifelong renewability and there is no exit age. The premium under this product will be the same across India, and no geographic location and pricing will be allowed. The insurers will now come up with product filing to the regulator and will have to offer it from April 1, 2020.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Uber ties up with Hyundai to develop electric air taxis: Uber Technologies Inc and automaker Hyundai Motor have teamed up to develop electric air taxis. The partnership aims to make small self-flying cars to ease urban congestion. The team is heading towards a goal of launching Uber Air by 2023 and urban air mobility service in 2028. Hyundai is the first carmaker to join Uber’s air taxi project. Hyundai will produce and deploy the vehicles while Uber will provide aerial ride-share services. Uber has partnered with eight companies for its air taxi project.

DEFENCE

1. CISF to observe 2020 as ‘year of mobility’: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) will observe 2020 as the ‘year of mobility’ that will have a special focus on the creation of more residential units and implementation of various welfare measures for the troops. In the year 2020, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) will aim at creating an infrastructure for their families. It will also aim at focusing on sports and physical fitness leveraging modern gadgetry. It is essential to equip the forces with modern instruments as the force plays a major role in the security system of the country. They guard civil airports, nuclear power stations, mines, thermal power stations in the private domain as well.

Note: Director-General of CISF: Rajesh Ranjan; CISF established: 1969.

2. Naval Exercise 'Naseem-Al-Bahr' will be conducted in Goa: 12th edition of the Indo-Oman bilateral naval exercise ''Naseem-Al-Bahr' will be conducted in Goa. To participate in it Two ships of the Royal Navy of Oman (RNO), RNOV Al Rasikh and RNOV Khassab arrived at Mormugao Port on January 06, 2020. Along with these ships, Indian Naval Ships Shubhadra and Beas will also participate in the exercise.Naseem-Al-Bahr' (or sea breeze) naval exercise between the Indian Navy and the RNO, being conducted since 1993.

Note: India and Oman conduct regular biennial exercises between all three services namely army, navy and air force.

”Al Najah” is the army exercise conducted between the countries.

“Ex Eastern Bridge” is the Air Force exercise that is held between the countries.