Daily GK Updates - 15th February, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Ghaziabad police launches ‘Operation Nakail’ for auto-rickshaw drivers: The Ghaziabad police authorities have announced to launch an initiative named ‘Operation Nakail’ under which the identity of all auto-rickshaw drivers plying in the district will be verified and a unique four-digit number will be allotted to them. The drivers will be required to get the unique number painted on front, left, right and rear side of the auto-rickshaws. Apart from the unique number, the drivers will also be required to get their names and mobile number of the auto-rickshaw owner painted on the vehicles. This initiative aims to keep check on cases of loot or harassment in auto-rickshaws.

Note: Governor of Uttar Pradesh:  Anandiben Patel; Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh: Yogi Adityanath; Capital of Uttar Pradesh: Lucknow.

2. Maharashtra govt announces five-day working week for its employees: The Maharashtra government has announced a five-day working week for its officers and employees. The Maharashtra state cabinet also extended the current work hours by 45 minutes. The new routine would start from 29th February this year. Currently, Maharashtra government officials work on the first and third Saturdays of the month and get an off on the second and fourth Saturdays.

3. Debasish Panda appointed finance secretary: Senior IAS officer Debasish Panda (1987-batch - Uttar Pradesh cadre) has been appointed as the new finance secretary. Currently, Mr Panda is a special secretary, department of financial services. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment as secretary, department of financial services, in place of Rajiv Kumar, who superannuates this month-end.

4. ISRO G Narayanan to head space PSU NSIL: Veteran space scientist G Narayanan has been named the chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation’s newly formed commercial entity New Space India Ltd (NSIL). He was earlier working as deputy director (systems reliability and quality assurance) at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), a Thiruvananthapuram-based unit of ISRO that designs, develops liquid propulsion stages for launch vehicles.

Note: ISRO Director: K. Sivan, Headquarters: Bengaluru, Established: 1969.

5. National Women’s Day: 13th February: India celebrates Sarojini Naidu's birthday as National Women's Day of India every year on February 13. This year Nation celebrates its 141st Birth Anniversary. Sarojini Naidu was India's first women governor and also famous as ‘Nightingale of India’ or 'Bharat Kokila' because of her poems. Sarojini Naidu was born on February 13, 1879. She actively participated in the Indian National Movement for the independence of the country.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Mobile World Congress cancelled over coronavirus fears: The annual telecoms industry gathering .The Mobile World Congress’ at Barcelona cancelled. The decision comes after dozens of tech companies and wireless carriers dropped out, with the latest cancellations by Nokia, Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom and Britain’s BT. The event was hosted by the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSMA) telecoms association. More than 100,000 people usually attend the annual event, about 6,000 of whom travel from China.

Note: GSMA chief executive: John Hoffman; Headquarters of GSMA: London, UK.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Kiren Rijiju announces Ladakh and J&K will host Khelo India Winter Games 2020: Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has announced Khelo India winter games 2020 which will be held in the Union Territory of Ladakh later this month followed by a similar event in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in March. The Khelo India Ladakh Winter Games will feature an open ice hockey championship, figure skating and speed skating and the competition will be conducted at the block, district and UT levels with the expected participation of about 1700 athletes.

The competitions of the Khelo India J&K Winter Games will be held at Kongdori, Gulmarg in four age categories for both boys and girls. Athletes in the age categories of 19-21 years, 17-18 years, 15-16 years and 13-14 years can compete in alpine skiing, cross country skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. GIC Re gets license from Bank of Russia for reinsurance business: India’s reinsurance company, General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) has received the license from Bank of Russia to commence reinsurance business in Russia. GIC Re has obtained license from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia) for its subsidiary company “GIC Perestrakhovanie LLC”, Moscow for the commencement of reinsurance business. The license enables the subsidiary to commence transacting domestic and international reinsurance business in Russia based on the capital invested by the Corporation.

Note: Chairman and MD of General Insurance Corporation of India: Devesh Srivastava; Headquarters of General Insurance Corporation of India: Mumbai.

President of Russia: Vladimir Putin; Capital: Moscow

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Indian Feminist Scholar Gita Sen Wins prestigious Dan David Prize: India’s pioneering feminist scholar and activist Gita Sen, has won the prestigious Dan David Prize 2020 in present category. She has worked hard in the fields of women’s rights, reproductive and sexual health and poverty eradication. Sen is the director of the Ramalingaswami Centre on Equity and Social Determinants of Health at the Public Health Foundation of India.

Note: The award is given by the Dan David Foundation headquartered at Tel Aviv University, Israel, annually in three categories, which is past, present and future. Each category carries $1 million prizes. The award recognizes individuals or organisations, for their outstanding contributions in the fields of science, technology, culture or social welfare, for expanding the knowledge of the past, enrich society in the present, and promise to improve the future of our world.

2. BioAsia 2020 announces Genome Valley Excellence Award: BioAsia 2020 has announced the Genome Valley Excellence Award. American immunologist and oncologist Dr. Carl H June and Novartis CEO Dr. Vasant Narsimhan will be presented this award for their contributions to life sciences. The function will be organized by the Telangana government annual global biotechnology & life sciences forum.

Note: Chief Minister (CM): Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao; Governor of Telangana: Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan; Capital of Telangana: Hyderabad.

OBITUARIES

1. Indian environmentalist and former Chief of TERI, Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, passed away: Indian environmentalist Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, who was the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of UN, has passed away. He was 79. Pachauri was the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) from 2002 to 2015. IPCC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2017. He was also the former Chairman and Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). He also received Padma Vibhushan in 2008 & Padma Bhushan in 2001 from the Government of India.

2. Baseball legend Katsuya Nomura passes away: Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame catcher and renowned manager Katsuya Nomura (84-years) passed away due to heart failure. Nomura was one of NPB’s greatest slugging catchers, amassing 657 home runs, 1,988 RBIs and 2,901 hits in 3,017 games over 26 seasons spent mostly with the Hawks. In 1965, he became the first NPB batter to win the Triple Crown in the postwar era.