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Current Affairs Today – 14th January 2020

NEWS AT A GLANCE

  • Armed Forces Veterans Day is observed each year on 14th January.
  • Makar Sankranti is celebrated on 14 January every year.
  • The Union Government has appointed Michael Debaprata Patra as the Reserve Bank of India’s Deputy Governor.
  • India’s Statue of Unity has become the part of ‘8 Wonders of SCO’ list.
  • Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu to inaugurate a new Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Telugu on January 21 in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh.
  • A high-level committee for investment facilitation and single-window clearances chaired by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami at the Secretariat approved necessary clearances to a total of 15 projects that were at various stages of investment and commencement of business on 13 January 2020. The proposals entail investments worth Rs.6,608 crore.
  • The Treasury Department of United States has removed China from the designation as “currency manipulator“.
  • The 5th edition of the prestigious Raisina Dialogue will begin in Delhi.
  • India - Bangladesh Information and Broadcasting Ministers' Meet 2020 is being held in New Delhi on 14 January 2020.
  • Infosys has inked a deal for 5 years with GEFCO to digitally transform its worldwide operations.
  • The Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT), Bathinda signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 8 different reputed institutes of the region in the states of Punjab and Haryana.
  • Indian Railways has signed MoU with RailTel, a Mini Ratna PSU under Ministry of Railways, for the phase 2 of the National Informatics Centre (NIC) e-office project.
  • World no. 1 ranked Japanese badminton player Kento Momota won the Malaysia Masters 2020 title.
  • India topped the Annual Ranking by Nation (Rifle, Pistol & Shotgun ISSF World Cups for the year 2019 by International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF).
  • Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has developed a special class diesel conforming to NATO grade for use in ships and vessels of Indian Navy.
  • ISRO will launch GSAT-30 satellite onboard Ariane-5 launch vehicle (VA 251) from French Guiana on January 17, 2020.
  • Odia Filmmaker Manmohan Mohapatra passed away on 13 January in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

NEWS IN DETAILS

IMPORTANT DAYS AND THEMES

Armed Forces Veterans Day observed on 14 January

  • Armed Forces Veterans Day is observed each year on 14th January.
  • The day is being celebrated since 2017. The day was initially called Armistice Day.
  • This day is observed to mark the respect and recognition of the services rendered by Field Marshal KM Cariappa OBE – the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces who retired on 14 Jan 1953.
  • The 4th Armed Forces Veterans Day is celebrated at Chandimandir Cantonment located in the Panchkula district, Haryana.
Extra Shots: The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and it is commanded by the Chief of Army Staff, who is a four-star general. Wikipedia
  • Motto: "Service Before Self"
  • Founded: 1 April 1895, India
  • Headquarters: New Delhi
  • Commander-in-Chief: President Ram Nath Kovind
  • Size: 1,237,117 active personnel; 960,000 reserve personnel; 209 manned aircraft
  • Role: Ground warfare
  • Chief of Army Staff: Manoj Mukund Naravane

Makar Sankranti is celebrated on 14 January

  • Makar Sankranti is celebrated on 14 January every year.
  • Makar Sankranti is a Hindu festival. It is observed in the second week of January every year.
  • On this day, people express gratitude to the Sun God Surya and thank the nature for its abundant resources and good produce during the winter harvest festival.
  • The day marks the end of the Winter season and the beginning of a new harvest season.

BANKING AND FINANCE CURRENT AFFAIRS

Michael Patra has been appointed the Deputy Governor of RBI

  • The Union Government has appointed Michael Debaprata Patra as the Reserve Bank of India’s Deputy Governor.
  • He was presently serving as the Executive Director of the Reserve Bank of India.
  • He has been appointed in place of fromer deputy governor Viral Acharya left the position with prematurely resignation 6 months ago.
  • Michael Debaprata Patra will serve as the Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India for 3 years.
Extra Shots: RBI: The Reserve Bank of India is India's central banking institution, which controls the issuance and supply of the Indian rupee.
  • Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata
  • Headquarters: Mumbai
  • Governor: Shaktikanta Das
  • Deputy Governors: B P Kanungo, M K Jain, N S Vishwanathan, Michael Debaprata Patra

NATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS

Statue of Unity included in ‘8 Wonders of SCO’

  • India’s Statue of Unity has become the part of ‘8 Wonders of SCO’ list.
  • The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation has included the Statue of Unity in its ‘8 Wonders of SCO’ list.
  • The Statue of Unity is the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, first Home Minister of the independent India.
  • The 182 metre tall statue is the world’s tallest statue located in Kevadia, Gujarat.
  • The statue was inaugurated on 143rd birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 2018.
Extra Shots: SCO: The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, or Shanghai Pact, is a Eurasian political, economic, and security alliance, the creation of which was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai.
  • Headquarters: Beijing, China
  • Deputy Secretaries General: Sabyr Imandosov; Wang Kaiwen; Aziz Nosirov; Vladimir Potapenko
  • Secretary General: Vladimir Norov
  • Founded: 26 April 1996
  • Official language: Chinese and Russian
  • Founders: China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan

STATE CURRENT AFFAIRS

Vice President of India to inaugurate “Classical Telugu Centre” in Andhra Pradesh

  • Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu to inaugurate a new Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Telugu on January 21 in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh.
  • The centre would facilitate to focus its activities for the development of this rich classical Telugu through Research, seminars, debates and various activities.
  • The Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Telugu (CESCT) came under the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL).
Extra Shots: Andhra Pradesh:
  • Capital: Amravati
  • Chief Minister: Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy
  • Governor: Biswabhusan Harichandan
  • State Formed in: 1 November 1956
  • Literacy Rate: 67.4 %
  • National Park: Sri Venkateswara National Park, Sri Venkateswara National Park, Papikonda National Park

A high-level committee clears Rs.6,608 crore worth project for Tamil Nadu

  • A high-level committee for investment facilitation and single-window clearances chaired by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami at the Secretariat approved necessary clearances to a total of 15 projects that were at various stages of investment and commencement of business on 13 January 2020.
  • The proposals entail investments worth Rs.6,608 crore.
15 New projects: ♦ The projects are expected to generate 6,700 jobs in the State. ♦ The projects will come up in Coimbatore, Kancheepuram, Krishnagiri, Perambalur, Thoothukudi, Tiruchi, Tiruvallur and Vellore districts of the State. ♦ The panel reviewed every project and necessary clearances were granted. Extra Shots: Tamilnadu
  • Capital: Chennai
  • Chief Minister: Edappadi K.Palanisamy
  • Governor: Banwarilal Purohit
  • Chief Justice of Madras High Court: Vijaya Kamlesh Tahilramani
  • National Park: Guindy NP,Gulf of Mannar Marine NP, Indira Gandhi (Annamalai) NP,     Mudumalai NP, Mukurthi NP.

INTERNATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS

US removes China from “currency manipulator” list

  • The Treasury Department of United States has removed China from the designation as “currency manipulator“.
  • The decision was taken just before the commencement of first phase of US-China trade agreement.
  • In August 2019, China was labeled officially as “currency manipulator” by the United States and also accused China of using yuan to gain “unfair competitive advantage” in trade.
  • This was the first time since 1994 that China was labelled as “currency manipulator”.
Extra Shots: USA (Capital/Currency): Washington, D.C./ United States Dollar
  • President: Donald Trump
  • Official languages: English

SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES

5th edition of Raisina Dialogue to begin in Delhi

  • The 5th edition of the prestigious Raisina Dialogue will begin in Delhi.
  • This is India’s flagship global conference on geopolitics and geo-economics Raisina Dialogue.
  • This conference is jointly organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Observer Research Foundation, will bring together 700 international participants from over 100 countries.
  • The 12 foreign ministers, including from Russia, Iran, Australia, Maldives, South Africa, Estonia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Latvia, Uzbekistan and the EU are participate in it.

India-Bangladesh Information and Broadcasting Ministers Meet held in New Delhi

  • India - Bangladesh Information and Broadcasting Ministers' Meet 2020 is being held in New Delhi on 14 January 2020.
  • Bangladesh Information Minister Muhammad H Mahmud is participating in the meeting.
Agenda: ♦ The content sharing programme will be inaugurated by the Bangladesh official broadcaster Bangladesh Betar and All India Radio. ♦ Both the countries are expected to hold talks on the bilaterally planned biopic of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding figure of Bangladesh. Extra Shots: Bangladesh (Capital/Currency): Dhaka/Taka
  • Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina

AGREEMENTS AND MOU SIGNED

Infosys partners GEFCO to strenghthen its Digital Transformation

  • Infosys has inked a deal for 5 years with GEFCO to digitally transform its worldwide operations.
  • Infosys has partnered with the multimodal supply chain solutions provider, GEFCO to strenghthen its Digital Transformation.
  • The digital services and consulting firm Infosys will help GEFCO to transfrom GEFCO’s next-generation business application management services.
  • It will also help GEFCO to emerge as ‘Digital Native’ organization.
  • The prime objective of the partnership is to support GEFCO to create new sustainable sources of competitive advantage and to constantly improve value for its customers.
Extra Shots: Infosys Limited is an Indian multinational corporation that provides business consulting, information technology and outsourcing services. It has its headquarters in Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
  • CEO: Salil Parekh
  • Headquarters: Bengaluru
GEFCO:
  • Headquarters: France
  • Founder: Groupe PSA
  • Founded: 1949, France
  • Parent organization: Russian Railways

IIFPT signs MoU with 8 Institutes in India to help small farmers

  • The Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT), Bathinda signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 8 different reputed institutes of the region in the states of Punjab and Haryana.
  • IIFPT signed and exchanged the MoUs with the VC's and Director's of the 8 Universities, Colleges, and Institutes.
  • The MoU was aimed to increase the income of small farmers.
  • It also aims to open new opportunities for the benefit of farmers.
MoU Provisions: ♦ The MoU will empower the farmers and entrepreneurs to take benefits from the Gram Samridhi Yojana under which the Ministry of Food Processing Industries has got Rs.3000 crores for upgradation of technology. ♦ The MoU will let the Universities, Colleges, and Institutes work in collaboration with each other to achieve the vision of PM Modi to increase the income of small farmers. ♦ It will facilitate a collaborative programme of research, consultancy, skill development, institutional development, information dissemination, and student's in-plant training. The linkage will strengthen the mutual bond and relationship between the partners. Extra Shots: IIFPT: The Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology is a pioneer Educational and R&D Institution under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries. IIFPT has a 15-acre campus.
  • Founded: 1967, Thiruvarur
  • Director: C. Anandharamakrishnan
Punjab:
  • Capital: Chandigarh
  • Chief Minister: Captain Amarinder Singh
  • Governor: V.P. Singh Badnore
  • State Formed on: 1 November 1966
  • Literacy Rate: 75.84%

Indian Railways signs MoU with RailTel for Phase 2 of e-Office Execution

  • Indian Railways has signed MoU with RailTel, a Mini Ratna PSU under Ministry of Railways, for the phase 2 of the National Informatics Centre (NIC) e-office project.
  • This comes after the successful completion of the Phase 1 execution of the NIC e office for 50000 users in 58 units.
Phase 2 of NIC e-office Project: ♦ In phase 2, RailTel will register 39000 users over 34 Railway divisions on the NIC e office platform by 30 June 2020. ♦ NIC e-Office is a cloud-enabled software developed by NIC ♦ It is deployed from RailTel Tier III certified data centres at Secundrabad and Gurgaon. ♦ NIC e-office is based on the Central Secretariat Manual of e-Office Procedure (CSMeOP). ♦ Currently, 4 modules namely File Management System (eFile), Knowledge Management System (KMS), Collaboration & Messaging Services (CAMS) and Personnel Information Management System (PIMS), are part of the e-office system. ♦ E-Office ensures a paper-less culture that saves operational cost and reduces the carbon footprint which is one of the most urgent needs of the world. Extra Shots: Phase 1: The phase 1 of NIC e-office execution began with a deadline in March 2020. It created 50000+ users in 58 units of Indian Railways and trained the executives to handle the platform in a span of a mere 6 months' time. RailTel completed Project 1 way ahead of the deadline.

SPORTS CURRENT AFFAIRS

Kento Momoto wins Malaysia Masters 2020 title

  • World no. 1 ranked Japanese badminton player Kento Momota won the Malaysia Masters 2020 title.
  • He defeated Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen 24-22, 21-11.
  • He won a record 11 titles last year.
  • The victory in Malaysia lends credence to Momota’s drive to win the gold in July’s Tokyo Olympics.

India topped the Annual Ranking by Nation 2019 by ISSF

  • India topped the Annual Ranking by Nation (Rifle, Pistol & Shotgun ISSF World Cups for the year 2019 by International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF).
  • It is followed by China and the United States.
  • India leads the standings with 30 medals overall. The tally stood at 21 gold, 6 silver, and 3 bronze.
  • China stood second with a medal tally of 11 gold, 15 silver, and 18 bronze.
  • The USA stands third with a medal tally of six gold six silver and three bronze.
Extra Shots: ISSF: The International Shooting Sport Federation is the governing body of the Olympic Shooting events in rifle, pistol and shotgun disciplines, and of several non-Olympic Shooting sport events.
  • Headquarters: Munich, Germany
  • President: Vladimir Lisin
  • Founded: 1907
  • Sport: Shooting
  • Membership: 150 regions

DEFENCE CURRENT AFFAIRS

IOC launches special class diesel for Indian Navy

  • Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has developed a special class diesel conforming to NATO grade for use in ships and vessels of Indian Navy.
  • Vice Admiral G S Pabby launched the Upgraded High Flash High-Speed Diesel (HFHSD- IN 512).
  • The fuel possesses the best rheological and detergent characteristics validated against most stringent military specifications.
  • It also has lesser environmental impact due to low Sulphur content and would result in the better performance of engines.
  • This fuel will facilitate the Indian Navy to enhance its global footprint and will allow India to fuel the vessels of friendly foreign countries at places where fuel conforming to NATO grade is supplied.
Extra Shots: IOC: Indian Oil Corporation Limited, commonly known as IndianOil is an Indian government owned oil and gas company headquartered in New Delhi. It is the largest commercial oil company in the country.
  • Headquarters: New Delhi
  • Owner: Government of India (52.1%)
  • Chairperson: Sanjiv Singh

AWARDS

Aashman Taneja sets Guinness world record in Taekwondo

  • Aashman Taneja, a five-year-old boy, from Hyderabad has set the Guinness world record in Taekwondo for the most full contact knee strikes in one-hour non-stop.
  • Aashman is a Taekwondo player and an athlete at a very young age.
  • He won silver in the USA World Open Taekwondo.
  • He attempted the Guinness World Record for the most full contact knee strikes in one- hour non-stop and achieved more than 1200 knee strikes successfully.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

ISRO will launch GSAT-30 satellite on January 17,2020

  • ISRO will launch GSAT-30 satellite onboard Ariane-5 launch vehicle (VA 251) from French Guiana on January 17, 2020.
  • GSAT-30 is a communication satellite of India which is configured on ISRO’s enhanced I-3K Bus structure to provide communication services from Geostationary orbit in C and Ku bands.
  • The satellite derives its heritage from ISRO’s earlier INSAT/GSAT satellite series.
  • The Weighing 3357 kg, GSAT-30 is to serve as a replacement to INSAT-4A spacecraft services with enhanced coverage.
  • The satellite provides Indian mainland and islands coverage in Ku-band and extended coverage in C-band covering Gulf countries, a large number of Asian countries and Australia.
Extra Shots: ISRO: The Indian Space Research Organisation is the space agency of the Government of India and has its headquarters in the city of Bengaluru. Its vision is to "harness space technology for national development while pursuing space science research & planetary exploration".
  • Headquarters: Bengaluru
  • Founder: Vikram Sarabhai
  • Founded: 15 August 1969
  • Director: Kailasavadivoo Sivan
  • Subsidiary: Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre

OBITUARIES

Odia Filmmaker Manmohan Mohapatra passed away

  • Odia Filmmaker Manmohan Mohapatra passed away on 13 January in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
  • He died due to the prolonged illness.
  • He was 69-years-old.
Extra Shots: Odisha:
  • Capital: Bhubaneswar
  • Chief Minister: Naveen Patnaik
  • Governor: Ganeshi Lal
  • State Formed in: 1 April 1936
  • Literacy Rate: 72.87%
  • National Park: Bhitarkanika NP, Simlipal NP

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