Daily GK Updates - 8th February, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Andhra Pradesh CM Inaugurates First Disha Police Station in Rajamahendravaram: The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on inaugurated the first ‘Disha Police Station’ in Rajamahendravaram city on 8 February 2020, which will exclusively handle cases of crime against women and children. In all 18 Disha Police Stations will be set up in all 13 districts of the state, under the Disha Act, enacted by the state government in 2019, to ensure speedy investigation and trial of sexual assault cases. The state government has allocated a budget of Rs 21.10 crore for the setting up of these police stations. Each Disha Police station will be headed by a deputy superintendent of police. Under the Disha law, the state government is also opening 13 special courts (one-stop centre) in each district for expeditious trial of such cases. Each centre will have 19 staffers and will act as the first point of contact to victims. This Act prescribes death penalty where rape or gangrape is established.

Note: Governor of Andhra Pradesh: Biswabhushan Harichandan; Capital: Amaravati

2. Madhya Pradesh to use drones for mapping villages: The Madhya Pradesh (MP) govternment has decided to use drones for mapping villages. The Revenue department of MP has signed an agreement in this regard with the Survey of India. So far, land survey work is being done either manually or with the help of satellite images in MP. Drones will be used for the mapping of 55 thousand villages of the state on a scale of 1: 500.

Note: Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh: Kamal Nath; Governor: Lal Ji Tandon.

3. SC appoints CNR Nair to make inventory of ornaments at Sabarimala temple: The Supreme Court has appointed retired Kerala High Court judge C N Ramachandaran Nair to prepare an inventory and valuation report of ornaments of Lord Ayyappa of Sabarimala temple. The SC has allowed taking assistance of a jeweller for valuation of ornaments and should file its report in a sealed cover. The court granted four more weeks to the state government to prepare draft legislation regarding the administration of the historic Sabarimala temple.

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

4. Ease of Living Index and Municipal Performance Index 2019 Launched: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has launched Ease of living index (EoLI) 2019 and Municipal Performance Index (MPI) 2019. Using MPI, the Ministry will assess the performance of municipalities based on 5 enablers namely Service, Finance, Planning, Technology and Governance. EoLI 2019 will facilitate the assessment of ease of living of citizens across three pillars: Quality of Life, Economic Ability and Sustainability.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World Bank Chief Economist Pinelopi Koujianou Announces Resignation: World Bank Chief Economist Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg has announced to step down from the post with effect from 1st March 2020. She is resigning to return to teaching at Yale University and create opportunities for the poor young talented economists to the bank. The World Bank President David Malpass has announced that the organisation’s research director Aart Kraay would take over as the Chief Economist in place of Goldberg until a new permanent chief economist is hired.

Note: A graduate of University of Freiburg in Germany and Stanford University in the United States, Goldberg was the first editor in chief of the American Economic Review and taught economics at Yale before joining the bank.

President of World Bank: David Robert Malpass; Managing Director(MD) and Chief Financial Officer(CFO): Anshula Kant.

2. Nepal inks financial closure of its largest hydropower project with India: India and Nepal inked financial closure of Nepal's largest hydropower project, the Arun-III being built with India's assistance. India has pledged an investment of NPR 100 Billion for the 900 MW mega hydropower project being built in Arun River in Nepal’s Sankhuwasabha District. India’s Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) and Arun-III Power Development Company has signed the financial closure of the project with 7 banks in Kathmandu, Nepal.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Haryana wins 10th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship: Haryana thrashed Sports Authority of India (SAI) 6-0 to win the 10th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship 2020 (A Division) title at Kollam. Manisha was the first to get on the score sheet for Haryana in the 19th minute. Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy beat Hockey Maharashtra 2-1 in the third-fourth place play-off match.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. PFRDA Doubles Minimum Net Worth for Pension Fund Managers to Rs 50 cr: The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), the regulator of the National Pension System (NPS), has made certain amendments in the pension guidelines. These are as follows:

Minimum Net Worth: The regulator has doubled the minimum net worth requirement for pension fund managers to Rs 50 crore from the Rs 25 crore stipulated earlier.

Validity of License: Provision has also been made for licenses to have indefinite validity. Earlier, the licenses of pension fund managers was granted for a period of five years. But now, the license will remain valid until cancelled by the regulator.

2. WhatsApp gets NPCI nod to expand its UPI services to 10 million users: Facebook-owned instant messaging platform WhatsApp has received the approval from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to expand its United Payment Interface (UPI) services to 10 million users. WhatsApp’s payment feature, named WhatsApp Pay, has developed by the NPCI to run on UPI. It allows users to pay others or do business transactions through their bank accounts. WhatsApp has been running a pilot UPI services for one million users since the rollout of the project in 2018, and has struggled to get a full-fledged licence since then.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Manoj Das received the Mystic Kalinga Literary Award: Noted Odia writer Manoj Das awarded the Mystic Kalinga Literary Award during the Mystic Kalinga Festival (MKF) in Bhubaneswar. The Award is conferred to a person who has made a significant contribution to the literature and culture of Odia. The writer recently received the country’s third-highest civilian award- Padma Bhushan, for his contribution in the field of literature and education. He had also been awarded the Saraswati Samman.

DEFENCE

1. Indian Army Major Anoop Mishra Develops world’s first “bulletproof helmet”: The Indian Army Major Anoop Mishra has developed a bulletproof helmet, which is claimed to be first such in the world, that can stop an AK-47 bullet round from a distance of 10 meters. The “ballistic helmet” has been developed under project Abhedya, by the officer, who is part of the Indian Army’s College of Military Engineering, Pune. In December 2019, Major Anoop Mishra had also developed a bulletproof jacket named ‘Sarvatra’ that could effectively provide full-body protection to troops from lethal sniper rifle bullets. Besides this, the College of Military Engineering jointly with a private firm has developed India’s first and world’s cheapest gunshot locator. The locator can locate the exact location of the bullet from distance of 400 meters which will help to locate and neutralise terrorists faster.

2. HAL received approval to produce light utility helicopter: The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) received initial clearance from DRDO for its light utility helicopter (LUH). The clearance will pave way production of LUH. LUH will replace the ageing Cheetah and Chetak helicopters. The announcement was made on the ongoing Def-Expo in Lucknow. HAL will be manufacturing indigenously designed and developed 200 helicopters that are to meet the operational requirements of the Indian Army and IAF.