Daily GK Updates - 25th September, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. National Conclave on Energy Efficiency in MSME sector inaugurated in New Delhi: The Union Minister for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and Road Transport & Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari and Shri RK Singh, Union Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy (IC) and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship jointly inaugurated the 2-day organised National Conclave on Energy Efficiency in MSME sector in New Delhi. The ministers launched Knowledge Management Portal “SIDHIEE” under BEE’s MSME Programme along with Energy Conservation Guidelines for MSMEs. The portal contains information for MSMEs inclusive of 50 video tutorials for energy efficient technologies.

2. Assam launches of 2 public welfare schemes called ‘Aponar Apon Ghar’ & ‘Abhinandan’

The Assam state Government has launched twin schemes for the public welfare called ‘Aponar Apon Ghar Scheme’ (a home loan subsidy scheme) and the ‘Abhinandan’ (an Education Loan Subsidy scheme).

Aponar Apon Ghar: It is an upgraded version of the previous Apon Ghar home loan subsidy scheme, which will provide a subsidy of up to Rs 2.5 lakh on home loans up to Rs 40 lakh to all citizens of the state. Every permanent resident of Assam will be eligible to avail this scheme.

S.No	Loan amount	Subsidy
1	Rs 5.00 lakh – 10.00 lakh	Rs 1.00 lakh
2	Rs 10.00 lakh – 20.00 lakh	Rs 1.50 lakh
3	Rs 20.00 lakh – 30.00 lakh	Rs 2.00 lakh
4	Rs 30.00 lakh – 40.00 lakh	Rs 2.50 lakh

Abhinandan:  It is a Education Loan Subsidy scheme, under this every student in the state of Assam with having active education loan account regardless of the amount for pursuing higher education can get benefitted. The Assam government will provide a onetime subsidy of up to Rs 50,000 to all educational loans

Note: Assam Capital: Dispur; Chief minister: Sarbananda Sonowal; Governor: Jagdish Mukhi

3. Narendra Singh Tomar launches two agriculture-related Mobile Apps: The Union Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has launched two agriculture-related Mobile Applications, CHC Farm Machinery and Krishi Kisan in New Delhi.

CHC Farm Machinery App: The Custom Hiring Service Centers (CHC App) will allow farmers to avail the custom hiring services of CHCs located in the radius of 50 Kilometres. Using this App, small level farmers can avail agriculture Machinery on rental basis to enhance their production.

Krishi Kisan App: Krishi Kisan App will provide farmers with information of the best demonstration of high-yielding crops and seeds at nearby area. •     Farmer with high quality of crops can demonstrate his best practices of cultivation to other farmers so that production of these farmers could increase to a significant level. •  The App will also help in geo-tagging and geo-fencing of crop and give weather forecast message to farmers.

4. 5th Indian International Science Festival to be held in Kolkata: The Union Minister for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences and Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan announced to organise the 5th edition of the Indian International Science Festival (IISF) that is to be held in Kolkata from November 5 to 8. The theme for 2019 is “RISEN India – Research, Innovation, and Science Empowering the Nation”. The event will be held at Biswa Bangla Convention Centre, Science City, Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Bose Institute and Indian Institute of Chemical Biology(IICB) in Kolkata. The aim of this festival is to celebrate India’s scientific and technological advancements with the participation of students, innovators, scientists, craftsmen and farmers.

5. Ponung Doming becomes Arunachal's first woman Lieutenant Colonel: Army officer Ponung Doming has become the first woman officer from Arunachal Pradesh to be elevated to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Army. She was commissioned into the Indian Army as a Lieutenant in 2008. Currently, she is posted in Pune, Maharashtra. Last month, Wing Commander Shaliza Dhami became the first woman officer of the Indian Air Force to be elevated as the Flight Commander of a flying unit.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Mahatma Gandhi Solar Park inaugurated at UN headquarters: Mr Modi along with other world leaders have inaugurated the Gandhi Solar Park (50 kilowatts) at the UN headquarters in New York. They also released a commemorative stamp issued by the UN on Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary. Mr Modi said the platform is a living example that Mahatma Gandhi was from India but did not belong only to India.

2. World Pharmacists day: 25 September: World Pharmacists Day was observed all over the world on September 25. The aim of this day is to promote and spread awareness about the pharmacist’s (health professionals who practice in pharmacy) key role in improving health in every part of the world. The theme for the year 2019 is “Safe and effective medicines for all”.

Note: The day was created by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) Council at the World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Istanbul, Turkey in 2009. Headquarters: The Hague, Netherlands

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Kushagra Rawat wins two golds at the Asian Age Group swimming championship: India’s Kushagra Rawat (19-yeara) has won two golds in the Asian Age Group swimming championship at the Padukone-Dravid Center for Sports Excellence in Bengaluru. Mr Rawat has already achieved the B-mark Olympic Standard Time in 800m freestyle, set a new meet record by clocking 8:10.05s. Elsewhere, Srihari Nataraj (in 25.30s) and Maana Patel (finished in 29.92) claimed golds in the men’s and women’s 50m backstroke events. India’s other two gold medals on the day came in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay (Srihari, Anand Anilkumar, Sajan Prakash and Virdhawal Khade) and through Shoan Ganguly in the Group II boys’ 200m individual medley.

2. Manipur wins 25th Senior Women’s National Football Championship 2019: Defending champion Manipur won the 25th Senior Women’s National Football Championship held at CHF Ground in Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh by defeating Railways. This marks Manipur’s 20th championship title in the game. Bala Devi of Manipur was the highest scorer in the tournament with 20 goals while Railways’ Sanju emerged as the Player of the tournament. Manipur goalkeeper Panthoi Chanu was honoured with best goalkeeper award. Organised by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), this is the first time Arunachal Pradesh hosted National Football Championship.

3. Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma move up in the latest ICC T20I player rankings: The latest International Cricket Council- Twenty twenty International(ICC-T20I) rankings were released. The ranking details are as follows.

Indian cricketer’s position: Indian skipper Virat Kohli moved up by one position to reach the 11th spot in the batting list and is currently in the 19th position in all-rounder rankings, while Shikar Dhawan moved three places up to 13th position in the batting list. Rohit Sharma is ranked at the 8th position tied with England’s Alex Hales.

Rankings:

Rank	T20I Batting rankings	T20I Bowling rankings	T20I all Rounder rankings
1	Babar Azam (Pakistan)	Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)	Glenn Maxwell (Australia)
2	Glenn Maxwell (Australia)	ImadWasim (Pakistan)	Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh)
3	Colin Munroe (New Zealand)	Shadab Khan (Pakistan)	Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan)
8	Rohit Sharma (India)
11	ViratKohli (India)
13	ShikarDhawan (India)

4. Overview of 20th Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship for 2019 held in Tehran, Iran: The 20th Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship for 2019 was held in Tehran, Iran from September 13–21, 2019. The biennial tournament was organised by the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) with Islamic Republic of Iran Volleyball Federation (IRIVF). It was held in 2 venues namely Azadi Indoor Stadium and Azadi Volleyball Hall, both located within the Azadi Sport Complex, Tehran, Iran.

The host nation, Iran emerged as champions by defeating Australia in straight sets (25-14, 25-17, 25-21). It was their third title. Japan & South Korea bagged third and fourth place respectively. Indian team was ranked 8th. Indian team qualified for the 2020 Asian Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournament (debut qualification) scheduled to be held in Jiangmen, China and for the 2021 Asian Men’s Championships.

5. Overview of Maldives International Future Series 2019 held in Male: The Maldives International Future Series 2019, an open international badminton tournament in Maldives was organized by the Badminton Association of Maldives and was sanctioned by the Badminton Asia Confederation and Badminton World Federation. The event was held from September 17-22, 2019 at the Malé sports complex, Male, Maldives. The total prize money of the event was US$15,000. Indian winners

Winners:

Sr. No.	Event	Winner	Runner
1	Women’s singles	Malvika Bansod (India)	ThetHtar Thuzar (Myanmar)
2	Women’s doubles	KuoYu Wen (Chunese Taipei) & Lin Wan Ching (Chinese Taipei)	Thilini Pramodika Hendahwewa (Sri Lanka) & Kavidi Sirimannage (Sri Lanka)
3	Men’s singles	KantawatLeelavaechabutr (Thailand)	Kevin Arokia Walter (India)
4	Men’s doubles	Vaibhaav (India) & Prakash Raj (India)	PakkaponTeeraratsakul (Thailand) & Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul (Thailand)
5	Mixed doubles	Lu Chia Pin (Chinese Taipei) & Lin Wan Ching (chinese Taipei)	Velayutham Roobenraj (Malaysia) & Venosha RadhaKrishnan (Malaysia)

6. Sebastian Coe re-appointed as IAAF chief at the 52nd IAAF Congress in Doha, Qatar: Britain’s Sebastian Coe was re-elected as the chief of the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) for a second term. A former Olympic and world champion, Coe was previously elected as the head of IAAF in 2015. During his first term as the IAAF chief, Coe had set up Athletics Integrity Unit that serves as watchdog in cleaning sport corruptions.

7. Nelly Korda wins LET title at Ladies French Open: Nelly Korda has won the Ladies European Tour Title at Lacoste Ladies French Open. She shot a four-under 67 to win her first Ladies European Tour title. India’s Aditi Ashok was the best Indian at the Lacoste Ladies Open de France as she shot even par 71 in the final round to finish at 26th.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. RBI bans PMC Bank, account holders will not be able to withdraw more than 1000 in a day: The country’s central bank, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has prohibited Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank Limited (PMC) on business transactions of any kind for the next 6 months following detection of alleged irregularities. The RBI has taken this action under section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. Under this decree, no depositor can withdraw more than 1,000 thousand money from his savings account, current account or any other deposit account. Apart from this, the issuance of new loans of the bank has also been banned.

2. SBI Life Insurance & Repco Home Finance signs corporate agency agreement: Repco Home Finance Ltd (RHFL), an Indian banking and financial services company has signed corporate agency agreement with SBI (State Bank of India) Life Insurance, a leading life insurance company in India to provide SBI Life’s range of products to its customers. SBI Life Insurance will now be available in RHFL’s over 148 branches and 27 satellite centres of RHFL spread across the country. Through this partnership, SBI Life Insurance will reach its product offers and enable more new customers across geographies to meet their diverse insurance needs.

Note: SBI Life Insurance Headquarters:  Mumbai; Founded: March 2001; MD & CEO: Mr. Sanjeev Nautiyal

3. Federal Bank and Pine Labs join hands to provide monthly EMIs for offline debit card transactions: Pine Labs, an Indian merchant platform company has joined hands with Federal Bank, a Private Sector, scheduled commercial bank in India to offer EMIs (equated monthly instalments) for offline debit card transactions. Federal Bank’s 57 lakh debit card customers will now be able to instantly avail loans on EMI at the Pine Labs terminals. The tie-up focused on technology and analytics to deliver customer-centric digital services. Pine Labs currently offers credit and debit card EMI services in over 1.20 lakh stores across 85,000 merchants in India. It has created a network of 90 brands and 19 banking and financial institutions.

Note: Federal Bank: Founded: 2 December 1949; Headquarters: Kochi, Kerala; MD & CEO : Shyam Srinivasan

Note Pine Labs: Founded: 1998; Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh; Executive Chairman : Lokvir Kapoor; Chief Executive Officer:  Vicky Bindra

4. SEBI penalises Aurobindo Pharma and promoters for insider trading: Securities and Exchange Board of India has imposed a penalty of over Rs 22 crore on Aurobindo Pharma and its promoters. They have been penalised for violating insider trading norms.         The regulator had conducted an investigation into the trading in the scrip of Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. SEBI found that these entities purchased shares while in possession of the UPSI pertaining to Aurobindo, and made unlawful gains from having purchased its shares at a lower price before the publication of the unpublished price sensitive information (UPSI).

Note: Headquarter of SEBI: Mumbai; Chairperson: Ajay Tyagi.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Wipro ties up with FEBRABAN to develop online business platform:             Wipro, the Bengaluru based software services provider has tied up with Febraban, an industry body representing the Brazil’s financial services industry. Wipro will develop an online platform “Noomis” for the financial services industry in Brazil. Noomis will serve as a meeting point and a discussion platform for the finance professionals in Brazil who will participate in CIAB, an information technology trade show for financial services organized by FEBRABAN.

2. Mukesh Ambani is the richest person in India: IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2019: According to the IIFL (India Infoline Finance Limited) Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2019, Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) emerged as the richest person in India with wealth of Rs 3.8 lakh crore for the eighth straight year. The Reliance Industries chief has topped the list for the eighth consecutive year. Globally, he is the 8th richest man. As per the Hurun report, 25 of the wealthiest names in India hold wealth which is equal to a tenth of India’s GDP.

Top 10 Wealthiest People In India

Rank	Name	Wealth
1	Mukesh Ambani	Rs 3.8 lakh crore
2	London-based SP Hinduja and family	Rs 1.5 lakh crore
3	Wipro founder Azim Premji	Rs 1.2 lakh crore
4	Cyrus Poonawalla	Rs 89,800 crore
5	Lakshmi Mittal	Rs 87,900 crore
6	Uday Kotak	Rs 75,600 crore
7	Gautam Adani	Rs 70,600 crore
8	Dilip Sanghvi	Rs 67,300 crore
9	Cyrus Pallonji Mistry and Shapoor Pallonji Mistry	Rs 67,100 crore

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. A 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg wins 2019 Right Livelihood Award: Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg (16) has been awarded with Sweden’s Alternative Nobel Prize called “Right Livelihood Award 2019” for prompting and amplifying political demands, scientific facts for immediate climate action in Stockholm, Sweden. She has shared the award with Brazilian Indigenous leader Davi Kopenawa of the Yanomami people, and the Hutukara Yanomami Association (Brazil), women’s rights lawyer Guo Jianmei (China) and human rights defender Aminatou Haidar (Western Sahara). Each awardee has received 1 million SEK- Swedish krona (94,000 EUR).

Note: Right Livelihood Award is an international award to “honour and support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us at present. The prize was established in 1980 by German-Swedish philanthropist Jakob von Uexkull, and is presented annually.

2. UK Mathematician Adam Harper Wins SASTRA Ramanujan prize for 2019: Mathematician Adam Harper, Assistant Professor at University of Warwick, England has been selected for the SASTRA Ramanujan prize for the year 2019. He will be awarded on December 22 (Ramanujan’s birth anniversary), by SASTRA University in Tamil Nadu.

The SASTRA (Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy) Ramanujan Prize is awarded every year to a young mathematician who have done outstanding work in mathematics. The age limit to be eligible for award is 32 (the age at which Indian mathematician Ramanujan died). It carries a cash award of USD 10,000 and citation.

3. India’s former athlete PT Usha honoured with Vetran Pin by IAAF: Indian track and field former athlete PT Usha was presented with Veteran Pin by the world athletics governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF), in recognition of her contribution to the growth of sport. The award was given by IAAF chief Sebastian Coe at the 52nd IAAF Congress held in Doha, Qatar. Familiarly known as ‘Payyoli Express’ and ‘queen of track and field’, PT Usha was one among the three persons from Asia to receive the Veteran Pin.

4. Amitabh Bachchan unanimously selected for Dada Saheb Phalke award 2019: The Union minister of information and broadcasting Shri Prakash Javadekar announced that Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan was selected for the 2019 Dada Saheb Phalke award which is the highest award in Indian cinema. It is conferred to a person for his/her lifetime achievement in cinema. He will be presented with a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion, a shawl and a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh during the award presentation.

Previous achievements: Amitabh previously was awarded the Padma Shri in 1984, Padma Bhushan in 2001, and Padma Vibhushan in 2015. He was also conferred the France’s highest civilian honour, ‘the Knight of the Legion of Honour’ by the French govt. in 2007. Mr. Bachchan has won fifteen Filmfare Awards.

5. Pooja Desai from Guajarat crowned as Mrs India 2019: Pooja Desai from Guajarat has been crowned as Mrs India– Pride of the Nation 2019 (a beauty pageant for married women that celebrates and admires the accomplishments and achievements of a wife, daughter and a mother) in grand finale at The Leela Ambience Gurgaon, Haryana. ii. Saloni Bhakri from Maharashtra also crowned Mrs. India – Pride of Nation 2019 in the different category. Presented by Glamour Gurgaon, the third edition aimed towards creating breast cancer awareness. Cini star Padmini Kolhapure and Nayani Dixit, known for her role as Kangana Ranaut’s friend in the movie Queen were the part of the jury panel.

DEFENCE

1. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissioned Indian Coast Guard Ship ICGS Varaha: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissioned the Indian Coast Guard Ship ‘ICGS Varaha’ (98-metre offshore patrol vessel) at a special function held at Chennai Port.  The ship is the fourth in the series of seven offshore patrol vessels of the Coast Guard. It is equipped with 30 milli-metre gun and has an integrated bridge system, platform management systems, automated power management system and high-power external fire-fighting system. It can carry a twin-engine helicopter and four high-speed boats for swift boarding, search and rescue, law enforcement and maritime patrolling operations.

2. 23rd edition of “Malabar 2019” naval joint exercise of India, US and Japan commenced at Sasebo, Japan: The 23rd edition of the trilateral maritime exercise of India, Japan and the United States (US) named “Malabar 2019” exercise begun at Sasebo, Japan.

Indian participation: India fields 6,100-tonne stealth frigate Indian Navy Ship (INS) Sahyadri, anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kiltan along with first time deployment of Poseidon-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft. US & Japan participation: The United States fields Arleigh Burke-class destroyer United States Ship (USS) McCampbell, amphibious warship USS Green Bay and a Los Angeles class nuclear fast attack submarine, while Japan fields 27,000-tonne Izumo-class helicopter carrier JS Kaga, destroyer Samidare and cruiser Chokai.

Note: Malabar exercise: It originally began as a bilateral exercise in 1992 between India and China until Japan joined as a permanent member in 2015. Previous nonmember participants- Australia and Singapore. Previous edition- Malabar 2018 took place in coast of Guam in the Philippine Sea.

OBITUARIES

1. Ex-PTI correspondent B R Vats, who covered 1st LS polls, passes away: Bhagat Ram Vats a former PTI senior correspondent passed away. He travelled extensively with first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and covered the country’s maiden Lok Sabha polls for 14 years, covering his activities in India and abroad, especially his election tours in 1952, 1957 and 1962. He started his career with The Statesman, New Delhi, and later joined the Press Trust of India.

Daily GK Updates - 24th September, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Home Minister Amit Shah announces Digital Census in 2021: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has proposed the idea of a single multipurpose identity card for citizens. Multipurpose identity card would have all utilities such as Aadhaar, driving license, passport and bank accounts merged into one. Amit Shah laid the foundation stone of Janganana Bhawan or Census Building in New Delhi. According to Home Minister Amit Shah, the 2021 census (8th since Indian independence) will be a “digital census” and the data will be collected through a mobile app. The National Population Register is being prepared for the first time in the 2021 census. India would be spending roughly Rs 12,000 crore on its first digital census. Almost 33 lakh enumerators (conduct door-to-door counting) will be encouraged to use their phones to collect the data.

Note: A census is a procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. The population census not only helps keep a count on the population of India, but it also helps in providing the benefit of government schemes to people. India’s last census was carried out in 2011 when the total population of the country was estimated to be 121 crores.

2. 16th Global SME Business Summit 2019 held in New Delhi: The 16th Global SME Business Summit 2019 was inaugurated in New Delhi by Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Road Transport & Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari. This summit is organised by Ministry of MSME and Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) every year. The theme of this year’s summit is: “Making Indian MSMEs Globally Competitive”.

3. President Ramnath Kovind inaugurates the 6th India Water Week-2019: President Ramnath Kovind inaugurates the 6th India Water Week-2019 (IWW-2019) at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi (24 to 28th September 2019. The ‘IWW-2019’ is being organised by the Ministry of Jal-Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India. The theme of Water Week-2019 is "Water Cooperation- Coping with 21st Century Challenges". The objective of IWW-2019’ is to bring new ideas for mutual-cooperation for sustainable water management in the context of changing basin dynamics across administrative boundaries.

4. Family pension for Central govt employee dying within 7 years of service hiked from 30 to 50%: According to an official release, the family of a Government servant, who dies within seven years of joining service, will be eligible for family pension at the enhanced rate of 50% of last pay drawn for a period of 10 years. Earlier, the government servant who had rendered service of less than seven years before his death, the rate of family pension was 30% from the beginning and family pension at the enhanced rate of 50% was not payable to the family. The amendment will be effective from 1st of October 2019.

5. CBDT sets up National e-Assessment Centre for faceless scrutiny of IT returns: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has set up a National e-Assessment Centre (NeAC) for assessing tax returns electronically without any personal contact between officials and taxpayers. The initiative is a part of government efforts to reduce human discretion in assessments and scrutiny, which in turn will eliminate possibilities of corruption, by leveraging new technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, video conferencing, telecommunication application software and mobile applications.

CBDT has also appointed 1984 batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Krishna Mohan Prasad as the first Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax of NeAC. The Centre will have 16 officials and will be headed by a Principal Chief Commissioner of Income-tax (PCCIT) as its chief.

Note: CBDT Established: 1944; Chairman: Pramod Chandra Mody.

6. Govinda will be Madhya Pradesh brand ambassador: Bollywood Actor Govinda (55-years) will be the brand ambassador of Madhya Pradesh and will help promote the state's traditions and tourist places. Govinda is one of the most successful Bollywood stars in the 1990s, had a five-year stint as Congress Lok Sabha MP from Mumbai North constituency (in 2004). The Madhya Pradesh government is planning to set up a film city, as several production units are visiting places like Maheshwar, Mandu and Bhopal to shoot movies.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. UN Climate Action Summit 2019 Held in New York: The 2019 UN Climate Action Summit was held on September 23, 2019 in New York, United States to address the global climate emergency. UN 2019 Climate Summit theme – ‘Climate Action Summit 2019: A Race We Can Win. A Race We Must Win.’ Purpose: Increase the commitments of government, business and civil society to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 45 percent by 2030, and a target of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

2. Godavarthi Venkata Srinivas will be the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Guinea Bissau: According to the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India (GoI), Shri Godavarthi Venkata Srinivas, a 1993 batch IFS (Indian Foreign Service) officer has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Guinea Bissau, with residence in Dakar. He will succeed Partha Satpathy. Srinivas currently served as India’s Ambassador to the Republic of Senegal.

Note: Republic of Guinea Bissau Capital: Bissau; Currency: West African CFA franc; President: José Mário Vaz; Prime Minister: Aristides Gomes

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. PV Sindhu’s Coach Kim Ji Hyun of South Korea resigns: India’s women’s singles badminton coach, Kim Ji Hyun (45) of South Korea, who guided World Championship gold medalist PV Sindhu, has resigned from the post for personal reasons. She had to move to New Zealand with her husband Richie Mer, who had suffered a ‘neuro stroke’ a few days earlier. Kim was signed by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) earlier in 2019. It was under his guidance that Sindhu won the gold medal at the World Championship 2019 in Basel, Switzerland. Kim was India’s third foreign coach who resigned before completing her term.

2. Snooker player Laxman Rawat wins IBSF World 6Reds championships 2019 title: The Mumbai-based snooker player Laxman Rawat won the men’s title after defeating Muhammad Asif of Pakistan at the 150 Up World Billiards Championship and World 6Reds, World Team Snooker championships 2019 held from 9th September- 25th September 2019 at Mandalay, Myanmar. In the women’s tournament, the Three times World Junior champion, Wongharuthai Nutcharat (19) of Thailand defeated India’s Amee Kamani (Madhya Pradesh) with 4-2 scores in the final.

Note: The event was hosted by Myanmar Billiards & Snooker Federation (MBSF). 6Reds Men Championship prize fund was at $ 7200 & Women Championship prize fund was at $ 2400. The Six-red World Championship (also known as the SangSom 6 Red World Championship for sponsorship purposes) is a six-red snooker match, played with the 6 colour balls and six reds.

3. Indian chess player Koneru Hampi wins the Skolkova Fides Grand Prix title 2019: Indian chess grandmaster, Koneru Hampi (32) of Gudivada (Andhra Pradesh) has cliched Fide World Grand Prix 2019 title with 8 points from 11 rounds in Skolkovo, Russia. While other Indian, D Harika secured the sixth place with 5 points. In the final round Hampi just need to play a draw for the title. The advantage she has in the final round is that have to play white pieces against the defending world champion Wenjun Xu of China.

Note: The Fide Grand Prix 2019 is a series of four chess tournaments. The top 2 candidates from this series will qualify for the match which will decide who will be the World Champion Challenger in 2021. It was organized by World Chess, formerly known as Agon. The other 3 Grand Prix will be held in Monaco from December 2-15, 2019 while the second Grand Prix will be held in Lausanne from March 1-14, 2020 while the third Grand Prix in Sardinia will be from May 2-15, 2020.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Max Bupa and Indian Bank ink bancassurance tie-up to offer health insurance solutions: ‘Max Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited’ has announced a bancassurance corporate agency agreement with a state-owned bank ‘Indian Bank’. Under the agreement, Max Bupa will provide comprehensive health insurance solutions and services to over 40 million customers of Indian Bank spread across 2800 branch network, through a slew of digital touchpoints. As part of the tie-up, Max Bupa’s offerings will include both retail and group health insurance products besides Indemnity and Fixed Benefit products.

Note: Max Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between Max India Limited and Bupa Finance plc UK, established for the purpose of carrying on health insurance in business in India.

MD & CEO of Max Bupa: Ashish Mehrotra.

MD & CEO of Indian Bank: Padmaja Chunduru.

2. Bharti Airtel & Bharti AXA Life Insurance tie up to offer pre-paid plan with insurance protection cover: An Indian global telecommunications services company, Bharti Airtel has tied up with Bharti AXA Life Insurance, one of the best insurance companies in India to offer prepaid plan for its users along with insurance protection plan.

Airtel has brought a special prepaid plan of Rs 599, in which customers will get 2GB (gigabyte) data per day, unlimited calling and 100 SMS (Short Message Service) per day on any network, as well as a life insurance cover of Rs 4 lakh from Bharti AXA Life Insurance. There will be a validity of 84 days on this recharge. This plan of insurance cover with Airtel prepaid plans will be available for people between 18 and 54 years of age. For this, no paperwork or medical certificate of any kind is required. Note: Bharti Airtel Chairman:  Sunil Bharti Mittal; MD & CEO:  Gopal Vittal; Headquarters: New Delhi, India

Bharti AXA Life Insurance Managing Director and CEO: Vikas Seth; Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra

3. Nilesh Shah got appointed as Chairman of AMFI: The Managing Director (MD) of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Co Ltd., Nilesh Shah has been appointed as Chairman of the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) at its board meeting held in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He will replace Nimesh Shah, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) Prudential AMC, who was appointed to the position in the year 2018. The AMFI board has also elected Saurabh Nanavati, Chief Executive Officer, Invesco Mutual Fund as its new vice-chairman.

Note: AMFI Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Infosys ranks 3rd in Forbes’ list of ‘The World’s Best Regarded Companies’: Nearly 17 Indian companies were listed in the Forbes World’s best ‘regarded’ companies list 2019. The company which topped among other Indian firms is Infosys which ranked third in the overall list. The first and second places were held by global payments Technology Company Visa and Italian car-maker Ferrari respectively. Infosys which tops among the Indian companies, was ranked at 31st position in 2018. The data was gathered by Statista that surveyed 15,000 respondents from more than 50 countries.

The top firms in the list are as follows:

Rank	Company		Rank	Indian Company
1	Visa		22	TCS
2	Ferrari		31	Tata Motors
3	Infosys		105	Tata Steel
4	Netflix		115	Larsen & Toubro
5	PayPal		117	Mahindra & Mahindra
6	Microsoft		135	HDFC
7	Walt Disney		143	Bajaj Finserv
8	Toyota Motor		149	Piramal Enterprises
9	Mastercard
10	Costco Wholesale

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Best FIFA Football Awards 2019: The Best FIFA Football Awards 2019 was held at the Teatro Alla Scala in Milan, Italy. Argentine footballer Lionel Messi (32-years) won the FIFA's best male player of the year award 2019. Messi beats Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo to win the Best Men's Player award. Earlier, Lionel Messi has won this award for the record sixth time (earlier,2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2015). American footballer Megan Rapinoe has won the Best FIFA Football Women's Player award 2019.

Sr. No.	Award	Winner	Football Club(FC)
1	The Best FIFA Men’s Player	Lionel Messi (Argentina)	Barcelona FC
2	The Best FIFA Women’s Player	Megan Rapinoe (America)	Reign FC
3	The Best FIFA Men’s coach	JurgenKlopp (Germany)	Liverpool FC
4	The Best FIFA Women’s coach	Jill Ellis (America)	–
5	The Best FIFA Men’s goalkeeper	Alisson Becker (Brazil)	Liverpool FC
6	The Best FIFA Women’s goalkeeper	Sari van Veenendaal (Netherlands)	Atlético Madrid Femenino
7	FIFA Puskás Award	Daniel Zsori (Hungary)	Fehérvár FC
8	FIFA fan Award	Silvia Grecco	–
9	FIFA fair play award	Marcelo Bielsa and the Leeds United squad	–

2. Zoya Akhtar’s ‘Gully Boy’ India’s official entry to Oscars 2020: The Film Federation of India (FFI) has chosen ‘Gully Boy’ as India’s official entry to the Oscars. “Gully Boy”, produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar and directed by Zoya Akhtar’, featured Ranveer as an up-and-coming rapper who sets out to achieve his dream by rhyming about his life on the Mumbai streets. Assamese film “Village Rockstars”, directed by Rima Das, was India’s official submission to the Oscars last year.

Note: President of Film Federation of India: T.P. Aggarwal.

3. Ladakhi Shondol dance makes it to Guinness book of records: The royal dance of Ladakh ‘Shondol dance’ has created history by entering into the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest Ladakhi dance. 'Shondol' is a famous dance, which artistes used to perform for the king of Ladakh. As many as 408 women attired in traditional dresses and beautiful headgears performed the dance. It was held on the concluding day of the ongoing Buddhist carnival Naropa festival near the Hemis Monastery.

OBITUARIES

1. Veteran actor and multi-faceted artiste S.K. Padmadevi passes away: Veteran actor and multi-faceted artiste S.K. Padmadevi passed away. She was part of the first Kannada talkie film ‘Bhakta Dhruva’ (1934). She also starred in ‘Samsara Nouke’, first Kannada social film (1936). She was the recipient of R. Nagendra Rao award for lifetime achievement by Karnataka Chalanchitra Academy in 2016.

2. Veteran American Journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Robert S Boyd passes away: Noted American Journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Skinner Boyd passed away. He shared a 1973 Pulitzer Prize with colleague Clark Hoyt for coverage of Democratic vice-presidential candidate Thomas Eagleton’s exit from the campaign due to mental health issues. He worked as the Washington bureau chief of Knight Ridder for 20 years, once the nation’s 2nd -largest newspaper chain with properties like The Philadelphia Inquirer and Miami Herald.