Daily GK Updates - 27th February, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Government launches MIEWS Portal for Monitoring prices of TOP Crops: Ministry of Food Processing Industries has launched the Market Intelligence and Early Warning System (MIEWS) Web Portal for ‘real time monitoring’ of prices of tomato, onion and potato (TOP) crops. Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister of Food Processing Industries launched the portal. MIEWS system is designed to provide advisories to farmers to avoid cyclical production as well as an early warning in situations of gluts and for simultaneously generating alerts for intervention under the terms of the Operation Greens (OG) scheme.

2. India’s first Artificial Intelligence summit, RAISE 2020 to be held in New Delhi: India’s first Artificial Intelligence summit which is titled RAISE 2020– ‘Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020, will be held from April 11-12 in New Delhi. The theme of the event is: AIforALL. The event will start with a Startup Challenge – Pitchfest followed by the two-day summit, organized by Government of India along with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.  It will witness robust participation from global industry leaders, key opinion makers, Government representatives and academia.

Note: Minister of Science and Technology and Minister of Earth Sciences: Harsh Vardhan.

3. CBSE has launched an Exam center locator app “CBSE ECL”: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has released Exam Centre Locator app-CBSE ECL which is an android based mobile app (available on play store) that can be used by students to locate their examination centre. The app will also measure the distance between current location and examination centre. CBSE has also launched an Online Exam Center Management System-OECMS for the school Principals of the school to get real time information in a single click.

4. Union Cabinet approved the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2020: This will allow any "willing" woman to become a surrogate mother to regulate surrogacy while prohibiting commercial surrogacy allowing altruistic ones. As per the new bill, the insurance cover for a surrogate mother has been increased to 36 months from 16 months earlier.

5. Union FPI Minister launches a portal to monitor prices of TOP Crops: Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister of Food Processing Industries launched Market Intelligence and Early Warning System (MIEWS) Web Portal for real time monitoring of tomato, onion and potato (TOP) prices.

This app will also generate alerts for intervention under the Operation Greens (OG) scheme. Prices and Arrivals, Area, Yield and Production, Imports and Exports, Crop Calendars, Crop Agronomy, etc are the main area that will be focused through this app.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Jawed Ashraf becomes India’s next Ambassador to France: Jawed Ashraf has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to France. He is presently High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Singapore. He will succeed Vinay Mohan Kwatra. Vinay Mohan Kwatra will become the next Ambassador of India to Nepal, he will succeed Manjeev Singh Puri.

Note: President of France: Emmanuel Macron; Capital of France: Paris; Currency of France: Euro, CFP Franc.

2. India ranked 3rd in Hurun Global Rich List 2020: Hurun Report has released the Hurun Global Rich List 2020. The Hurun Global Rich List 2020 is a ranking of the US-Dollar billionaires in the world. The 9th edition of the Hurun Global Rich list ranked 2,816 billionaires from 71 countries and from 2,182 companies across the globe having a net worth of $1 billion or even more. Jeff Bezos has topped the list while Mukesh Ambani ranked 9th came out to be the richest in India. China with 799 Billionaires topped the list followed by the USA.  India stood at the third position.

Here is the list of top ten people in Hurun Global Rich List 2020:

Rank	Name	Wealth (US$bn)	Main Company	Country of Residence
1	Jeff Bezos	140	Amazon	USA
2	Bernard Arnault	107	LVMH	France
3	Bill Gates	106	Microsoft	USA
4	Warren Buffett	102	Berkshire Hathaway	USA
5	Mark Zuckerberg	84	Facebook	USA
6	Armancio Ortega	81	Zara	Spain
7	Carlo Slim Helu & family	72	America Movil	Mexico
8	Sergey Brin	68	Google	USA
9	Larry Page	67	Google	USA
9	Mukesh Ambani	67	Reliance	India
9	Steve Ballmer	67	Microsoft	USA

Here is the list of top ten countries in Hurun Global Rich List 2020:

Rank	Country	Number of Billionaires
1	China	799
2	USA	626
3	India	137
4	Germany	122
5	UK	119
6	Russia	91
7	Switzerland	88
8	Brazil	69
9	Thailand	57
10	France	51

3. Cape Town restaurant wins Guinness world milkshake record: Guinness World Records has named a South African restaurant Gibson’s Gourmet Burgers & Ribsas the official titleholder for ‘Most Varieties of Milkshakes Commercially Available’. With a total of 207 varieties on their menu, Gibson’s Gourmet Burgers and Ribs have a milkshake to satisfy every sugarholic. Fat-free, vegan and adults-only alcoholic options are also available.

Note: President of South Africa: Cyril Ramaphosa; Capitals of South Africa: Cape Town, Pretoria, Bloemfontein; Currency: Rand

4. World NGO Day: 27 February: The World NGO Day is annually observed on February 27. The day aims to raise awareness about the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) sector. The day is observed every year to encourage people worldwide who are involved and dedicatedly working for a good cause. The day highlights the achievements and success of NGOs from all the sectors across the globe. The day makes people understand the role of NGOs in society.

The Day was officially recognised and declared by the 12 member countries (Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Norway and Sweden). It was marked for the first time by UN, EU leaders and international organisations in 2014.

Note: United Nations Development Programme Headquarters: New York, United States; United Nations Development Programme Head: Achim Steiner; United Nations Development Programme Founded: 22 November 1965.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Russian Tennis star Maria Sharapova announces retirement: Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova has announced her retirement from the game of tennis. She is 32. This Russian tennis player won her first Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2004 aged 17. She became world number one in 2005 and won the US Open in 2006 and completed the career slam, all four major titles, by winning the French Open in 2012. She is a five-time Grand Slam champion. She is a five-time Grand Slam champion. She last won a grand slam in 2014.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. RBI allows Bandhan Bank to open new branches: The Reserve bank of India removes the restrictions placed on Bandhan Bank, allowing it to open new branches without prior permission. The RBI came up with some regulatory conditions & directed the bank to order about 25% of the total banking outlets to be opened in rural areas where banking facilities are not available.

Note: Bandhan Bank Non–Executive Chairman:  Anup Kumar Sinha; MD and CEO of Bandhan Bank: Chandra Shekhar Ghosh; Bandhan Bank Founded: 23 August 2015; Bandhan Bank Headquarters: Kolkata, West Bengal

2. FM Nirmala Sitharaman Launches EASE 3.0 reform agenda for tech-enabled banking: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the EASE (Enhanced Access and Service Excellence) 3.0 reform agenda on February 26, 2020 to bring reform in the existence of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) through the use of FinTech, AI & analytics. EASE 3.0 aims at providing smart, tech-enabled public sector banking experience for aspiring India, by establishing paperless and digitally-enabled banking at places where people visit the most such as malls, stations etc. With EASE 3.0, the government is trying to enhance the customer experience with the introduction of features like Dial-a-loan, credit at a click, alternate-data-based lending or other analytics-based credit offers.

3. Michael Miebach appointed as new CEO of Mastercard: Michael Miebach has been appointed as the CEO of Mastercard. He will take charge on March 01, 2020. He will replace Ajay Banga who held the position for 10 years. Michael Miebach was the Chief Product Officer of Mastercard before this.

Note: President of Mastercard South Asia: Porush Singh; Mastercard Founded: 1966; Headquarters: New York, US.

4. Rajesh Kumar appointed as MD, CEO of CIBIL: Rajesh Kumar of HDFC Bank has been appointed as the new managing director and chief executive officer of TransUnion Cibil. CIBIL is the largest credit information bureau in India. Before joining Cibil, Rajesh Kumar was the group head for retail credit and risk at HDFC Bank. He succeeds Satish Pillai.

Note: Headquarters of CIBIL: Mumbai; CIBIL founded: August 2000.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. ADB raises $118 million from rupee-linked bonds: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has raised Rs 850 crore (USD 118 million) from a new issue of offshore Indian rupee-linked 10-year bonds. This represents ADB’s first new maturity raised in Indian rupees since 2017 and contributes to an established yield curve which stretches from 2021 through 2030 with Rs 7,240 crore (USD 1 billion) of outstanding bonds. ADB’s India rupee bonds have been a “game-changer” for local currency operations.

 Note: Formation of ADB: 19 December 1966; Headquarters of ADB: Manila, Philippines; Membership of ADB: 68 countries; President of ADB: Masatsugu Asakawa.

DEFENCE

1. EX Indradhanush – 2020 between Indian Air Force and British Air Force commences at Hindan: Indian Air Force (IAF) with 42 combatants of the GARUD Force and Royal Air Force (RAF) of United Kingdom with 36 specialised combatants of the RAF Regiment jointly participated in the 5th edition of Exercise Indradhanush 2020. The exercise focused on “Base Defence and Force Protection” and is held in Air Force Station Hindan, India. The exercise began on 24 Feb 2020 and would conclude on 29 Feb 2020. Airfield Seizure, Base Defence and anti-terror operations will be the important part of the exercise.

Note: Air Chief Marshal: Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria; Indian Air force founded: 8 October 1932; Indian Air force Headquarters: New Delhi.

2. Offshore Patrol Vessel-6 “VAJRA” launched at Chennai: The 6th Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV-6) ’VAJRA’ was launched in at Chennai on February 27, 2020. Shri Mansukh Mandaviya was the chief guest of the event. Mandaviya is the Minister of State for Shipping (I/C) and Chemicals & Fertilizers. The OPV launched is the sixth in the series of seven OPV projects being built by M/s L&T Shipbuilding under the ‘Make in India’ policy. The ship would be utilized for day and night patrol/surveillance along with anti-terrorist/ anti-smuggling operations in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as well as Coastal Security.