Daily GK Updates - 14th February, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Government renames two prominent institutes after Sushma Swaraj: The Government of India has renamed two institutions after Sushma Swaraj in an honour of the late External Affairs Minister. The two institutions are: the Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra and the Foreign Service Institute.

The Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra has been renamed as Sushma Swaraj Bhavan as the late External Affairs Minister was known for her empathy in reaching out to distressed Indians worldwide. The Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra is a cultural centre which reflects India’s connection with its diaspora around the world.

The Foreign Service Institute has been renamed as Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service. The Foreign Service Institute is an institution where the training of the diplomats takes place.

Note: Late External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was the youngest Cabinet Minister in the Haryana government, served as the first woman Chief Minister of Delhi and was also the first woman spokesperson for a national political party in the country. She had also served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha between 2009-14.

2. India bans e-cigarettes in both domestic and international flights: The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), under the Ministry of Civil Aviation of India, has issued a circular that Electronic-Cigarettes and all forms of Electronic Nicotine Delivery System(ENDS) will not be allowed in both domestic and international flights as well as at airports. Under the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act which is passed in December 2019.

 The order issued with the approval of DG (director-general) BCAS, Rakesh Asthana, is valid from the date of issuance. The circular also announced that the offenders will be sentenced into prison up to one year and also a fine of Rs. 1 lakh. In the case of repeat offenders, the jail term is increased to 3 years with Rs. 5 lakhs fine.

Note: Bureau of Civil Aviation Security headquarters: New Delhi; Bureau of Civil Aviation Security founded: 1976.

3. New Delhi to host “National Organic Food Festival”: The National Organic Food Festival is going to be held for women entrepreneurs in New Delhi. The festival will be jointly organised by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) and Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI). The festival will be held with the theme of “Unleashing India’s Organic Market Potential”. The National Organic Food Festival will strengthen the branding of Indian organic sector by increasing processing potential and making India export competitive. The festival aims to boost the organic products and to promote the women entrepreneurship in the area of production and processing. It will also focus on encouraging Indian women entrepreneurs and farmers to link with the buyers and empower them along with the promotion of organic food produce in India.

Note: Union Minister for Food Processing Industries: Harsimrat Kaur Badal.

4. 15th Finance Commission constitutes panel on Defence & Internal security: The Fifteenth Finance Commission has formed a 5-members panel on defence & internal security. The constituted panel aims to study whether a separate mechanism should be organised for the funding of defence and internal security and if yes, then how this mechanism could be operationalised. The panel will be headed by the Chairman of the Fifteenth Finance Commission N K Singh, expenditure secretary T V Somanathan, defence secretary Ajay Kumar, finance commission Member AN Jha and home affairs secretary Ajay Bhalla as its members.

5. Rajiv Bansal appointed as Air India CMD: Senior IAS officer (Nagaland cadre) Rajiv Bansal has been appointed as the Chairman and managing director (CMD) of Air India. Rajiv Bansal will take over from Ashwani Lohan. Rajiv Bansal is currently the additional secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. He is the 1988-batch IAS officer of the Nagaland cadre. Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, owned by Air India Limited and operates a fleet of Airbus & Boeing aircraft serving 90 domestic and international destinations.

Other Appointments:

Rajiv Ranjan has been made Secretary of Fisheries in place of Rajni Sekhri Sibal, who is retiring this month.

Pawan Kumar Agarwal, CEO of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, has been named Secretary, Consumer Affairs.

Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Usha Sharma has been moved to the Department of Youth Affairs as Secretary.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Rishi Sunak appointed as UK’s new Finance Minister: Rishi Sunak has been appointed as the Finance Minister of the United Kingdom. He will replace Pakistani Chancellor Sajid Javid. Now three Indian origin Members of Parliament are a part of Britain’s most diverse cabinet led by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Along with Rishi Sunak, Priti Patel has been appointed as the Home Minister and Alok Sharma has been appointed as the Business Secretary in the British Cabinet. Rishi Sunak is the Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy's son-in-law

Note: Capital of the United Kingdom: London; The currency of the United Kingdom: UK Pound.

2. Scientists discovered the nearest known planet “2MASS 1155-7919 b”: The scientists from Rochester Institute of Technology has discovered the nearest-known ‘baby giant planet’ which is named as “2MASS 1155-7919 b”. The scientists has used the data from Gaia space observatory to find the baby giant planet. The newly discovered baby giant planet which is named as “2MASS 1155-7919 b” lies about 330 light-years from our solar system. The planet is closer to Earth and is located in the Epsilon Chamaeleontis Association. This planet orbits a star that is about 5 million years old. The planet has only ten times the mass of Jupiter.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Indian hockey captain Manpreet Singh named Player of the Year 2019 by FHI: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has awarded Indian men’s hockey team captain & midfielder Manpreet Singh with “Player of the Year for 2019” award. Manpreet became the first Indian to win the accolade since the awards were introduced in 1999. He beat competition from Belgium's Arthur van Dorren and Lucas Villa of Argentina, who came second and third.

Note: Chief executive Officer of International Hockey Federation (FIH): Thierry Weil; President of Hockey India: Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad

2. Amit Panghal is World No.1 in IOC's Boxing Task Force rankings for Olympic: World silver-medallist Amit Panghal has been ranked number one in the 52 kilogram category for Olympic Qualifiers. The list was released by the International Olympic Committee's Boxing Task Force ahead of next month's Olympic Qualifiers. Last year, he became the first Indian to claim a silver medal at the world championships after notching up a gold at the Asian meet.

3. Robin Singh appointed as UAE’s director of cricket: Former Indian Cricket all-rounder Robin Singh was appointed as director of cricket of the United Arab Emirates. He was appointed by Emirates Cricket Board after the dismissal of head coach Douglas Robert Brown. Robin Singh represented India for 1 test and 136 ODIs (One Day International) between 1989 & 2001. He was associated with the Indian Premier League's Mumbai Indians franchise, Caribbean Premier League's Barbados Tridents since 2013 and T10 franchises in the T10 league here.

Note: President of UAE: Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Capital of UAE: Abu Dhabi; Currency of UAE: UAE dirham.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. IndusInd Bank tops list of ‘Highest increase in brand value’: According to ‘The Banker’s Top 500 Banking Brands 2020’ report, IndusInd Bank has topped the list of ‘Highest increase in brand value’ among global banks. The brand value of Induslnd Bank has increased by 122% over the past 12 months, making it the highest placed for growth in brand value, across the globe.

As a part of the report, the list “Top 50 by Total Brand Value by Country” has been topped by China, followed by United States (US) at 2nd position while Canada and the United Kingdom (UK) ranked at 3rd and 4th spots. Japan has moved up to the fifth spot. India ranked 8th in this list in comparison to 10th place in 2019.

Note: Managing Director & CEO of IndusInd Bank: Romesh Sobti; Headquarter of IndusInd Bank: Mumbai, Maharashtra.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. EIU lowers global growth forecast for 2020 to 2.2%: The Economist Intelligence Unit has revised downwards its global growth forecast for 2020 to 2.2%. (Earlier, 2.3%). It has lowered the forecast due to the new risks that have emerged following the novel coronavirus outbreak in China. The Economist Intelligence Unit's baseline scenario is that the public health emergency in China will be brought under control by end-March.

Note: Economist Intelligence Unit Managing Director (MD): Robin Bew; Economist Intelligence Unit headquarters: London, England; Economist Intelligence Unit founded: 1946.

OBITUARIES

1. Padma Shri awardee Wendell Rodricks passes away: Famous Indian fashion designer Wendell Rodricks passed away. He was awarded Padma Shri in 2014 and also Chevalier de L’ordre des Arts et Lettres (Knight of the order of arts and letters) by the French Ministry of Culture in 2015. He wrote books namely: The Greenroom, Poskem: Goans in the shadows, Moda Goa- History & Style.