Daily GK Update - 5th February, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. President Kovind inaugurates Annual Rashtrapati Bhavan Udyanotsav 2020: President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the annual ‘Udyanotsav’ at the Mughal Gardens of Rashtrapati Bhavan on 4th February 2020. The 15-acre Mughal Gardens at Rashtrapati Bhavan will be opened for the general public from February 5 to March 8, 2020 between 10 am to 4 pm. The gardens will be closed for visitors on Mondays, on account of maintenance.

2. India’s biggest rural technical festival ‘Antahpragnya 2020’ kicks off: India’s biggest rural technical festival titled ‘Antahpragnya 2020’ held in Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (RGUKT), Basar, Nirmal District, Telangana, from January 31 to February 2, 2020. The theme of the National Level technical fest was ‘Spot and encourage rural tech innovators’. Thousands of students belonging to reputed colleges across the length and breadth of India participated in the three-day Technical Festival, that seeks to spot and encourage rural tech innovators.

Note: Chief Minister of Telangana: K. Chandrashekar Rao; Governor of Telangana: Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan; Capital of Telangana: Hyderabad.

3. GoI unveils new vaccine to control classical swine fever: The government of India unveiled a new indigenously developed vaccine for controlling classical swine fever (CSF). CSF is a highly contagious fatal pig disease. The new vaccine, developed by Uttar Pradesh-based Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), will be much cheaper than the existing one.

Note: ICAR Founded: 16 July 1929; ICAR Director: Dr Trilochan Mohapatra; ICAR Headquarters: New Delhi, India.

4. Karnataka launches Janasevaka scheme for home delivery of govt services: The Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has launched the doorstep delivery scheme named ‘Janasevaka’ on 4th February 2020, to ensure home delivery of various government services like ration cards, senior citizen identity and health cards. The Janasevaka scheme will cover 53 services involving 11 departments. Janasevaka scheme is launched under the Sakala scheme of the state government, which aims to ensure in-time delivery of government services to citizens. The project was launched on a pilot basis in T Dasarahalli Assembly constituency in February 2019 and now it has been further launched in Bommanahalli, Rajajinagar and Mahadevapura constituencies in Phase I. The government plans to extend it to 27 Assembly segments in Bengaluru city in later stage. After successful implementation, the service will be extended to Mysuru, Mangaluru and Hubballi-Dharwad.

5. 4th EAS Conference on Maritime Security Cooperation to be held in Chennai: India is set to host the 4th East Asia Summit (EAS) Conference on Maritime Security Cooperation in Chennai from February 6-7, 2020. The conference will be organised by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in partnership with the governments of Australia and Indonesia. The National Maritime Foundation (NMF) and the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) are the knowledge partners of the Conference. The Conference serves as a platform for free and open dialogue among all the EAS partners on various issues of maritime security cooperation, and to come up with useful suggestions on tackling challenges in the maritime domain in a cooperative manner. The earlier three editions of the EAS Maritime Security Conferences organised by the Indian government were held at New Delhi in November 2015, Goa in November 2016 and Bhubaneswar in June 2018.​

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Somalia declares national emergency over locust surge: Somalia has become the first country in the Horn of Africa to declare a locust infestation sweeping the region as a national emergency. Experts say the locust swarms are the result of extreme weather swings. The emergency declaration was made to focus efforts and raise funds because it was critical to contain the locust swarms before harvests are due in April.

2. Albin Kurti Appointed New Prime Minister of Kosovo: Kosovo’s parliament has approved Albin Kurti (44-years) as the new prime minister of the country on 3rd February 2020. Albin Kurti, leader of the political party Vetëvendosje, will serve as the fourth Prime Minister of Kosovo. He was named PM after his left-wing Vetevendosje party forged a coalition with the centre-right Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK). Kurti’s government was supported by 66 out of 120 votes, while 10 MPs abstained from voting.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Deepa Malik Elected President of Paralympic Committee of India: Indian para-athlete Deepa Malik, has been elected unopposed as President of Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) during the elections held in Bengaluru recently. However, the results of the elections are subject to a pending case in the Delhi High Court. The 49-year-old Deepa is the first Indian woman to win a medal at Paralympic Games. She won a silver in shot put F-53 event in the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. Other members elected for the committee includes:

Gursharan Singh – secretary general

Kavender Chaudhury and Shashi Ranjan Prasad Singh – vice presidents

M Mahadeva – treasurer

Nale Nandkishor Baburao and Kantilal Parmar – joint secretaries.

Note: Headquarters of Paralympic Committee of India: Bengaluru, Karnataka.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Cabinet approves amendments to bring co-operative banks under RBI: The Union Cabinet has approved amendments to the Banking Regulation Act to empower India’s Central Bank (Reserve Bank of India) to have better control over urban co-operative banks and multi-state cooperative banks. These amendments will apply to the urban co-operative banks and multi-state cooperative banks. In present, cooperative banks are governed by dual control of cooperative societies as well as the Reserve Bank of India. While the role of cooperative society includes incorporation, registration, management, recovery, audit, supersession of board of directors and liquidation, the central bank’s role is responsible for regulatory functions.

Note: The Banking Regulation Act, 1949 is legislation in India that regulates all banking firms.

Governor of the Reserve Bank of India: Shaktikanta

OBITUARIES

1. Sahitya Akademi Awardee Jaswant Singh Kanwal passes away: Eminent Punjabi writer, Sahitya Akademi Awardee Jaswant Singh Kanwal passed away. He was bestowed the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship award for his book ‘Pakhi’ (Hand Fan). He received the Sahitya Akademi award (in 1998) for his novel ‘Taushali Di Hanso’ and Sahitya Shiromani Award of the Punjab government (in 2007). Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar conferred on Kanwal the degree of Doctor of Literature (Honoris Causa) for Punjabi literature.

2. Kenya's longest serving President Daniel Arap Moi passes away: Former Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi (95-years), who ruled the country for 24 years has passed away. He was 95. He became the Minister of Home Affairs and President Jomo Kenyatta later named him Vice President in 1967. He became Kenya's second president after independence and went on to rule from 1978 to 2002.