23rd January 2020 Current Affairs

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23rd January 2020 Current Affairs
23rd January 2020 Current Affairs

National Affairs

‘SERVICE’ Scheme launched by Union Minister of Steel

The Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan has launched a volunteer scheme ‘SERVICE’ and its portal for the employees of the Indian public sector undertaking, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).

The scheme called, SAIL Employees Rendering Volunteerism & Initiatives for Community Engagement (SERVICE), will be made operational from the foundation day of the company, which is on January 24. Under the SERVICE scheme, the focus will be on areas such as education, health, nutrition for the girl child, etc, the employees are encouraged to voluntarily indulge themselves in activities related to social causes.

Jharkhand’ Jharia is the most polluted Indian city & Lunglei : Greenpeace India report 2018

The Greenpeace India report for 2018 was released based on the National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP), on January 21, 2020. Jharia in Jharkhand which is known for Coal-belching is the most polluted Indian city with 322 µg/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter) of PM10 (Particulate matter) pollutants in 2018, according to the report analysis of 287 cities across the country. Out of 287 cities 231 cities were severely polluted.

Dhanbad in Jharkhand which is  known for its rich coal reserves and industries, is the second-most polluted Indian City with 264 un/m3 of PM10  pollutants.Lunglei in Mizoram is the least polluted followed by Meghalaya’s Dowki.

About Greenpeace India Report:

  • Greenpeace India Headquarters Location: Bengaluru.
  • Greenpeace India Founded: 2001.

“Vyom Mitra”-ISRO’s half Humanoid-An experimental mission of Gaganyaan

ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) is to send a half-humanoid robot called the “Vyom Mitra” as an experimental mission to Gaganyaan. Vyom Mitra” as an experimental mission to Gaganyaan. Vyom Mitra means a friend in Sky. ISRO introduced Vyom Mitra at the “Human Space Flight and Exploration-Present Challenges and Future Trends” seminar that was held in Bengaluru. The robot is to fly in two unmanned mission that are planned in December 2020 and in June 2021.

International Affairs

Shri Mansukh Mandaviya participates in the UNAIDS Programme

The Union Minister of State for Shipping (I/C) and Chemical & Fertilizers Shri Mansukh Mandaviya participated in the High-level roundtable of UNAIDS (The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) on the theme Access for all: Leveraging Innovations, Investments and Partnerships for Health at World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland.

In a one-hour long discussion Shri Mandaviya stated that, “Health needs to be accessible for all and innovative technologies and solutions can play a key role, including in bridging economic inequalities”.  Shri Mandaviya is on a Four-day official visit to Davos to attend World Economic Forum.

PM Sheikh Hasina launches e-passport facility in Bangladesh

Bangladesh launched the e-passport facility for its citizens. The e-passports will have an embedded chip in them which will contain the bio-metric data of the passport holder, photograph and other information contained in the passport. It will also include digital security features in it.

Bangladesh is the first country in South Asia and 119th country in the wold to provide e-passport facility. According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), over 490 million e-Passports are in circulation in the world.

About Bangladesh:

  • Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina
  • Capital: Dhaka
  • Currency: Bangladeshi taka

India opens its first Mahatma Gandhi convention centre in Niger

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou on Tuesday jointly inaugurated the first convention centre established in Africa by India to honour the memory of Mahatma Gandhi. The External Affairs Ministry said in a statement that the establishment of the Mahatma Gandhi International Convention Centre (MGICC) is a landmark for India-Niger friendship, as also a symbol of India’s firm commitment towards Africa.

It is the first centre to be established in Africa by India to honour the memory of Mahatma Gandhi whose 150th Birth Anniversary was observed last year.

Banking & Finance

IMF lowers India’s 2019 growth forecast to 4.8% from 6.1%

International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered India’s growth forecast for 2019 to 4.8 per cent from 6.1 per cent it projected in October on the back of sharp decline in consumer demand, stress in the NBFC sector and sluggish credit growth. In its World Economic Outlook, IMF expected growth to pick up over the course of next two years with the help of monetary and fiscal stimulus as well as subdued oil prices.

About IMF:

  • Managing Director of IMF: Kristalina Georgieva;
  • Chief Economist: Gita Gopinath.
  • Headquarters: Washington DC, USA.

ICICI Lombard gets IRDAI nod to pilot 5 projects under Regulatory Sandbox

ICICI Lombard has received Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) approval to pilot five innovative applications and programs in its health and motor portfolio under the Sandbox Project.

ICICI Lombard has got the approval for APP Monitored Diabetes Mellitus Wellness Program, APP Monitored Dyslipidaemia Management Program under the health insurance portfolio, Pay As You Use (PAYU) policies for Private Car, Pay How You Use (PHYU) policies for Private Car and Single owner multiple vehicle (Motor floater policy).

About ICICI Lombard:

  • Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
  • MD&CEO– Bhargav Dasgupta

Ranks and Reports

Global Talent Competitive Index 2020: India improves eight ranks to 72, Switzerland tops the list

Global Talent Competitive Index (GTCI) 2020 has been released at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on January 22, 2020. INSEAD Business School released the GTCI report with the help of Google and Adecco Group.

This year India climbed eight ranks and secured the 72nd rank in the index. Switzerland is in the first place while the USA and Singapore grabbed the second and third positions respectively. This index shows the ability of countries to make the world progress, retain and attract talent. They are ranked based on their abilities.

India 4th best market for global companies looking for growth abroad: CEO survey

The 23rd edition of the PwC’s Annual Global CEO Survey was launched on the 1st day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. As per the survey based on the confidence of CEOs over worldwide economic growth, India ranked 4th while it was topped by United States(US). China and Germany ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Indian chief executive officers (CEOs) showed 2nd highest level of confidence standing at 40% rate in overall revenue growth prospects on their own company. The country that ranked 1st in highest level of confidence was China with rate 45%.

EIU’s Global Democracy Index: India slips 10 spots to 51st rank, Norway tops the list

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has recently released a global democracy index for the year 2019. India has slipped 10 ranks to 51st position in this index. This index provides an overall view of the status of democracy among 167 countries.

The global democracy index helps business leaders to empower them to work with confidence and to prepare for more opportunities. Norway is on the top of the EIU’s democracy index while Pakistan is on 108th rank.

Awards and Honors

Priya Prakash wins Cisco Youth Leadership Award 2019

Priya Prakash, the founder and CEO of India based HealthSetGo, has won the Global Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award for 2019 for her school health program that aims at providing 360 degree healthcare support to children.

The prestigious award honours an individual aged 18 – 30 who is bringing about a positive change in the world by solving some of its biggest global challenges. The award includes a US $250,000 prize paid to the individual’s organisation to which the individual contributes, to further their mission of accelerating global problem solving.

Gujarat secures top spot the SKOCH State of Governance 2019 ranking

According to the ‘SKOCH State of Governance 2019’ report, Gujarat gained the top spot on the back of better performance in Health, Education, Power and e-Governance segments.

Gujarat, which was ranked 5th in 2018 replaces 2018 leader West Bengal.The projects undertaken by the states, have performed the best in terms of rankings across 22 different parameters have been listed as STARS.

Gujarat is also ranked top in terms of governance category (leaving Tamil Nadu to the 2nd) & other sectors including tourism and culture , e-Governance, Health, Education, Power Infrastructure. It ranked 3rd on municipal governance.

Appointments

Sanjiv Chadha appointed MD, CEO Bank of Baroda, AK Das to head BOI

The Personnel Ministry has approved a new appointment of Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of three public sector banks: Bank of India (BOI), Bank of Baroda (BOB) and Canara bank.

Sanjiv Chadha has been appointed as Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Bank of Baroda. Lingam Venkata Prabhakar, Executive Director in Punjab National Bank, will be MD and CEO in Canara Bank.Atanu Kumar Das has been appointed as the MD and CEO in Bank of India for a three-year term.

SoftBank appoints Manoj Kohli as India head

SoftBank group has appointed Manoj Kohli as its India’s head. He has served as the Chairman of SB(SoftBank) energy, the Japanese telecom and investment renewable energy business.

Manoj Kohli will be responsible for SoftBank Vision Fund, their portfolio companies and look after government relations and public policy efforts. Kohli succeeds Sumer Janeja as the Softbank India head.

About SoftBank:

  • Headquarters- Tokyo, Japan.
  • Founder and CEO- Masayoshi Son.

Acquisitions & Mergers

Adani Capital acquires Essel Finance’s MSME lending business

Adani Capital Pvt. Ltd, the non-banking financial company (NBFC) arm of Adani Group focused on small and micro-entrepreneurs, has acquired Essel Finance’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) loan business. Through the acquisition, Adani Capital has secured a loan book of around ₹145 crore, operating out of 10 cities, comprising approximately 1,100 customers and 40 employees.

About Adani Capital:

  • Chief Executive Officer(CEO)- Gaurav Gupta.
  • Chairman- Gautam Adani.
  • Headquarters- Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

About Essel Group:

  • Chairman- Dr. Subash Chandra.
  • Managing Director (Essel finance)- Amitabh Chaturvedi.
  • Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Sports News

Shooters Divyansh, Apruvi Win Gold At Meyton Cup In Austria

Indian shooters Divyansh Singh Pawar and Apurvi Chandela have clinched a gold medal each in Meyton Cup, a private tournament in Innsbruck, Austria. While Divyansh won the gold in the men’s 10m air rifle event, Auprvi bagged the yellow metal in the 10m air rifle women’s category.

Deepak Kumar and Anjum Moudgil also a bagged bronze medal each in men’s and women’s 10m air rifle events respectively.

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