NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
MEA sets up new emerging and strategic technologies (NEST): The
External affairs ministry announced the setting up of new emerging and
strategic technologies (NEST) division. The division will work to increase
investment coordination among the states of the country and also with the
foreign countries. NEST will act as the nodal division within the ministry for
issues pertaining to new and emerging technologies. It will help in
collaboration with foreign partners in the field of 5G and artificial
intelligence. The division will also hold responsibility for matters that
involve negotiations with multilateral fora like the United Nations, G20. This
will help to safeguard India’s interests as such forums govern the rules of
access to such technologies.
Note: Union
Minister of External Affairs: Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
2.
Labour Ministry to launch 'Santusht' portal for the speedy resolution of
grievances: The labour ministry has announced to launch a new
portal 'Santusht' for the speedy redressal of workers as well as employer
grievances and ensuring effective implementation of labour laws at the
grassroots level. Initially, ‘Santusht’ would monitor all services provided by retirement
fund body EPFO and health insurance and services provider ESIC to formal sector
workers. Later, the portal would cover other wings of the ministry as well. It
would also have data on a real-time basis to assess the performance of each and
every official. Workers and employers can lodge their complaints on the portal,
which would be managed by an internal monitoring cell comprising five to six
officers.
3.
Gujarat CM unveils world’s 2nd tallest statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel: Gujarat
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani unveils world’s 2nd tallest statue of Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel in the world at Ahmedabad. 50 feet tall bronze statue with a
weight of 70 thousand kilograms has been unveiled at the Sardardham campus near
Vaishnodevi Circle in Ahmedabad. The statue of Sardar Patel has also been
designed by Padma Bhusan Ram V. Sutar, the same sculptor who had designed the
Statue of Unity.
Note: Gujarat CM:
Vijay Rupani; Governor: Acharya Dev Vrat; Capital: Gandhinagar.
4.
‘Cyber Safe Women’ initiative launched by the Maharashtra Government: Maharashtra
Government has launched a ‘Cyber Safe Women’ initiative to ensure that women
and children do not fall prey to these cyber-criminal activities. Under the
initiative, various awareness camps will be held across all the districts of
the state regarding cyber safety to help in educating women about how the web
is used by anti-social elements and child predators to commit various types of
crimes. The initiative has been launched to mark the 189th birthday of Savitribai
Phule (19th-century social reformer).
Note: Maharashtra
CM: Uddhav Thackeray; Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari; Capital: Mumbai.
5.
Abhinav Kumar gets extension as BSF IG: The Appointments
Committee of the Cabinet approved the proposal of Ministry of Home Affairs for
extending the deputation tenure of IPS Abhinav Kumar, Inspector General, Border
Security Force (BSF), up to June 27, 2021, in relaxation of IPS Tenure Policy.
Note: BSF formed: 1
December 1965; DG BSF: V K Johri.
6.
Indian Railways launches integrated helpline number 139 for passengers: The
Indian Railways has integrated its helpline numbers into a single number 139
for quick grievance redressal and enquiries by passengers during their train
journeys. The new helpline number 139 will take over all the existing helpline
numbers. It will be easy for passengers to remember this number and connect
with Railways for all their needs during train travel. The Helpline 139 will be
available in twelve languages. A call can be made on this number from any
mobile phone and not just smartphones, thus, providing easy access to all
mobile users.
7.
KVIC opens 1st silk processing plant in Gujarat: The Khadi and
Village Industries Commission (KVIC) opened its first “Patola Saree” silk
processing plant at Surendranagar in Gujarat. The aim of the plant is to make
silk readily available to Patola saree manufacturers to boost its production.
Patola is the trademark saree of Gujarat. They are highly expensive and were
once worn only by royal aristocratic families. The Patola silk was founded by
the Salvi caste (Scheduled) in the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. They
moved to Gujarat in the 12th century in order.
Note: Gujarat CM:
Vijay Rupani; Governor: Acharya Dev Vrat; Capital: Gandhinagar.
8.
PM Modi Launches Braille Version of his Book ‘Exam Warriors’: Prime
Minister Narendra Modi launched the Braille version of his book Exam Warriors
on World Braille Day on 04 January 2020. The book is a guide to bust
examination related stress, and has illustrations, activities and yoga
exercises The braille version is in both Hindi as well as English.
9.
India’s Malavath Poorna scales Antarctica’s Highest Peak: Indian
mountaineer Malavath Poorna, the youngest girl to have climbed the world’s
highest mountain Mt. Everest 5 years ago, accomplished another feat by
conquering Mt. Vinson Massif, Antarctica’s highest mountain peak (4,987 mts).
With this, the 18-year-old becomes the first and youngest tribal woman in the
world to set foot on the six tallest mountain peaks across six continents. She
has already scaled Mt Everest (Asia, 2014), Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa, 2016), Mt.
Elbrus (Europe, 2017), Mt. Aconcagua (South America, 2019), Mt. Cartsnez
(Oceania region, 2019), and now Mt. Vinson Massif (Antarctica, 2019).
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Iran names Esmail Qaani as new Commander: Iran’s supreme
leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei named the Deputy Head of the Revolutionary
Guards’ foreign operations arm Esmail Qaani to replace Qasem Soleimani as its
commander. Soleimani was killed in a pre-dawn US strike in Baghdad. Qaani was
one of the most decorated commanders of the Guards during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq
war.
Note: Iran Capital:
Tehran; Currency of Iran: Rial; President of Iran: Hassan Rouhani.
2.
WHO designated 2020 as “Year of Nurse and Midwife”: In the
honour of 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, the World Health
Organization designated the year 2020 as the “Year of Nurse and Midwife”. This
year, WHO is to focus on nursing and midwifery in order to achieve Universal
Health Coverage. The organization is leading the development of “World Nursing
Report” that is to be launched in 2020. The report is first of its kind. The
year is being dedicated to the midwifery as well as WHO is also a partner of The
State of the World’s Midwifery Campaign.
Note: WHO
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland, Director general: Tedros Adhanom.
3.
Hillary Clinton appointed as the new chancellor of Queen's University Belfast
in Ireland: Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been
appointed the new chancellor of Queen's University in Belfast, Ireland for a
five-year term. She became the university's first female chancellor. The
position of chancellor has been vacant since the death in 2018 of Thomas J
Moran, chairman, president, and chief executive of Mutual of America Life
Insurance Company.
4.
World Braille Day: 4 January: The World Braille Day is observed
across the world every year on 4th January to mark the birth anniversary of
Louis Braille. He was the inventor of Braille script or Braille code. It is
celebrated since 2019 to raise awareness of the importance of Braille as a
means of communication in the full realization of the human rights for blind
and partially sighted people. Braille is a tactile writing system used by
people who are visually impaired.
Note: Braille users
can read computer screens and other electronic supports thanks to refreshable
braille displays. People can write braille with the original slate and stylus
or type it on a braille writer, such as a portable braille notetaker (or
computer) that prints with a braille embosser.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
Cristiano Ronaldo Wins Best Men’s Player of the Year at Dubai Globe Soccer
Awards 2019: Cristiano Ronaldo won the Best Men’s Player of the Year
award at the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai. Ronaldo has won the award six
times out of its nine years of its existence. England international Lucy Bronze
was crowned Best Women’s Player of the Year. The 2019 Awards were presented in
16 different categories.
Note: The Globe
Soccer Awards are the annual awards given for excellence in football, organised
by the EFAA (European Association of Player’s Agents) and the ECA (European
Club Association).
2.
Manav Thakkar becomes world no.1 in ITTF rankings: Indian paddler
Manav Thakkar became world no.1 in the latest International Table Tennis
Federation (ITTF) rankings in the Under-21 men’s singles category. With this,
Thakkar became the fourth Indian to achieve the feat after Harmeet Desai, G
Sathiyan and Soumyajit Ghosh. Manav Thakkar achieved the top spot after
clinching the Under-21 men’s singles title at the ITTF Challenge Plus
Benemax-Virgo North American Open in Markham, Canada. He was also worlded no. 1
in the Under-18 category in February 2018. He was part of the Indian men’s team
which won a bronze medal in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.
Note: President of
ITTF: Thomas Weikert; Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland; Founded: 1926.
3.
4th All India Police Judo Cluster Championship 2019: Union
Minister of State for Home Affairs, inaugurating the 4th All India Police Judo
Cluster Championship 2019, in New Delhi. The 4th All India Police Judo Cluster
Championship organized this year by CRPF is being attended by 34 participating
teams consisting of 1207 sportspersons from across the country, with a total of
15 Trophies and 214 Medals, including one Medal for the Best Gymnast, in
contention. Earlier, this cluster has been organized by Sashtra Seema Bal (SSB)
in 2016, West Bengal Police in 2017 and Odisha Police in 2018.
Note: Union
Minister of State for Home Affairs: Nityanand Rai.
DEFENCE
1.
General Bipin Rawat proposes the creation of Air Defence Command: Chief of
the Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat has directed various branch heads
to come up with recommendations for inter-service synergy and jointness in a
time-bound manner. He also directed that a proposal to create Air Defence
Command be prepared by 30th of June this year. Earlier, General Rawat held a
meeting with important functionaries of Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff
on Wednesday. Some of the areas identified for jointness and synergy include
the creation of common logistics support pools in stations where two or more
services have their presence. Emphasizing collegiate system of functioning,
General Rawat directed that all three services and Coast The Chief of the
Defence Staff stressed that all must work towards accomplishing desired results
and coming up with healthy views and ideas.