Current Affairs Today 14th February 2020-Download in PDF

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Current Affairs Today – 14th February 2020

NEWS AT A GLANCE

• According to ‘The Banker’s Top 500 Banking Brands 2020’ report, IndusInd Bank has topped the list of ‘Highest increase in brand value’ among global banks.
• The Economist Intelligence Unit has revised downwards its global growth forecast for 2020 to 2.2% from 2.3%.
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced an in-house system to track the movement of client securities that are collected as collateral by brokers.
• The Fifteenth Finance Commission has formed a 5-members panel on defence & internal security.
• The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), under the Ministry of Civil Aviation of India, has issued a circular that Electronic-Cigarettes and all forms of Electronic Nicotine Delivery System (ENDS) will not be allowed in both domestic and international flights as well as at airports.
• Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) is to organize a National Organic Festival with a special focus on women entrepreneurs.
• Indian Railway’s PSU IRCTC has started booking of ticket for the third corporate train Kashi Mahakal Express. This train will run between Varanasi and Indore.
• India has agreed to partially import poultry and dairy markets from the United States.
• Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal inaugurated the first phase of “East-West Metro line” which is Kolkata’s second metro line.
• Odisha State government has announced a hike in 5% for Dearness Allowance (DA) for the state government employees and pensioners.
• Rishi Sunak has been appointed as the Finance Minister of the United Kingdom.
• The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has organised the two days BIMSTEC’s Conference on Combating Drug Trafficking in New Delhi.
• National Workshop on Disaster Risk Financing, Insurance, and Risk Transfer was held at the Insurance Institute of India in Mumbai on 13 February.
• A Cooperation Agreement was signed between India and the Republic of Portugal in the field of Maritime Transport and Ports on 14 February 2020.
• Former Indian Cricket all-rounder Robin Singh was appointed as director of cricket of the United Arab Emirates.
• The second senior-most judge of the Bombay High Court (HC), Justice Satyaraujan Dharmadhikari, has bid his resignation.
• Manpreet Singh won the International Hockey Federation’s (FIH) Men’s Player of the Year award.
• The fifth edition of joint military exercise Ajeya Warrior 2020 began at Salisbury Plains in the United Kingdom.
• INS Jamuna (J16) arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka under a mutual agreement to carry out the Joint Hydrographic Survey off the South West Coast of Sri Lanka.
• “Messages from Messengers” book launch by Priti K Shroff at the prestigious Bombay Stock Exchange, Mumbai.
• The scientists from Rochester Institute of Technology has discovered the nearest-known ‘baby giant planet’ which is named as “2MASS 1155-7919 b”.
• Famous Indian fashion designer Wendell Rodricks passed away.
• Former TERI chief RK Pachauri, 79, passed away on 13 February due to a prolonged battle against heart illness.

NEWS IN DETAILS

BANKING AND FINANCE CURRENT AFFAIRS

IndusInd Bank tops list of ‘Highest increase in brand value’

• According to ‘The Banker’s Top 500 Banking Brands 2020’ report, IndusInd Bank has topped the list of ‘Highest increase in brand value’ among global banks.
• The brand value of Induslnd Bank has increased by 122% over the past 12 months, making it the highest placed for growth in brand value, across the globe.
• The bank reported total assets of Rs 3.1 lakh crore at the end of Q3 FY20.
• As a part of the report, the list “Top 50 By Total Brand Value by Country” has been topped by China, followed by United States (US) at 2nd position while Canada and the United Kingdom (UK) ranked at 3rd and 4th spots.
• Japan has moved up to the fifth spot. India ranked 8th in this list in comparison to 10th place in 2019.
• India’s brand value is 26,516 $m in 2020 showing an increase of 13% in comparison to 23,409 $m in 2019.

Extra Shots:

IndusInd Bank Limited is an Indian new generation bank in Mumbai, established in 1994. The bank offers commercial, transactional and electronic banking products and services. IndusInd Bank was inaugurated in April 1994 by then Union Finance Minister Manmohan Singh.

• CEO: Romesh Sobti
• Headquarters: Pune

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

EIU lowers global growth forecast for 2020

• The Economist Intelligence Unit has revised downwards its global growth forecast for 2020 to 2.2% from 2.3%.
• This impact because of Novel coronavirus outbreak in China and also the virus starts spreading globally.
• The virus originated in Wuhan, a city of around 11.3 million people in central Hubei province, China, and has spread to most provinces in mainland China and overseas.
• EIU also revised China’s growth downwards by lowering the real GDP (Gross Domestic Product) forecast for China in 2020 to 5.4 per cent from 5.9 per cent earlier.
• EIU also estimated the GDP growth for India to 6.1 per cent for 2020 from 4.9 per cent estimated for the year 2019, Low-interest rate in India will increase the demand and Investment in 2020 and also the coronavirus does not spread in India are the reasons for the upward GDP growth.

Extra Shots:

EIU: The Economist Intelligence Unit is a British business within the Economist Group providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, country risk service reports, and industry reports.

• Headquarters location: London, United Kingdom
• Parent organization: Economist Group
• Founded: 1946
• Subsidiaries: Bazian, Clearstate, Canback Consulting

SEBI introduces a system to track client securities

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced an in-house system to track the movement of client securities that are collected as collateral by brokers.

New Tracking system:

♦ SEBI has developed the in-house capabilities to track the movement of client securities collected by the broker as collateral online.

♦ It will raise alerts with exchanges if diversion of clients’ securities is noticed.

♦ So far, three ‘mismatch reports’ has been forwarded to the stock exchanges for reconciliation with members.

Extra Shots:

SEBI: The Securities and Exchange Board of India is the regulator for the securities market in India owned by the Government of India. It was established in 1988 and given Statutory Powers on 30 January 1992 through the SEBI Act, 1992.

• Founded: 12 April 1992
• Sector: Securities market
• Jurisdiction: India
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Type: Statutory corporation
• Chairperson: Ajay Tyagi

NATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS

15th Finance Commission constitutes panel on Defence & Internal security

• The Fifteenth Finance Commission has formed a 5-members panel on defence & internal security.
• The constituted panel aims to study whether a separate mechanism should be organised for the funding of defence and internal security and if yes, then how this mechanism could be operationalised.
• The panel will be headed by the Chairman of the Fifteenth Finance Commission N K Singh, expenditure secretary T V Somanathan, defence secretary Ajay Kumar, finance commission Member AN Jha and home affairs secretary Ajay Bhalla as its members.
• The above announcements were made after the sixth meeting of the Fifteenth Finance Commission.

India bans e-cigarettes in both domestic and international flights

• The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), under the Ministry of Civil Aviation of India, has issued a circular that Electronic-Cigarettes and all forms of Electronic Nicotine Delivery System (ENDS) will not be allowed in both domestic and international flights as well as at airports.
• Under the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act which is passed in December 2019.
• The order issued with the approval of DG (director-general) BCAS, Rakesh Asthana, is valid from the date of issuance.
• The circular also announced that the offenders will be sentenced into prison up to one year and also a fine of Rs. 1 lakh.
• In the case of repeat offenders, the jail term is increased to 3 years with Rs. 5 lakhs fine.

Extra Shots:

BCAS: The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security is an attached office of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. It is the regulatory authority for civil aviation security in India. It is headed by an officer of the rank of Director general of police and is designated as Director general of Security.

• Founded: 1976
• Jurisdiction: India

MoFPI to organize National Organic Festival

• Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) is to organize a National Organic Festival with a special focus on women entrepreneurs.
• The festival will be jointly organized by the MoFPI and Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD).
• The festival will be held from 21-23 February 2020 at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi.
• Aim: The festival aims to empower women and promote organic produce. The information was announced by the Union Minister for Food Processing Industries (FPI) Smt Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
• Theme: The theme of the three-day festival is “Unleashing India’s Organic Market Potential”.
• The festival will witness more than 150 women Entrepreneurs and Self Help Groups (SHGs) from 24 states across the country.

Extra Shots:

National Organic Festival:

♦ During the National Organic Festival, women Entrepreneurs and SHGs will exhibit their organic products in various segments such as fruit & vegetables, ready to eat Products, Spices, and condiments, Honey, cereals, dry fruits, etc.

♦ The exhibition will include, display of organic food quiz, live culinary sessions, Chef speaks, cultural events, nukkad natak, etc.

♦ It facilitates business linkages and empowering women entrepreneurs through pre-arranged B2B and B2G meetings.

♦ The festival will organize Skill development capacity building training programs for women entrepreneurs and SHGs to facilitate post-harvest management.

IRCTC starts booking of ticket for third corporate train Kashi Mahakal Express

• Indian Railway’s PSU IRCTC has started booking of ticket for the third corporate train Kashi Mahakal Express.
• This train will run between Varanasi and Indore.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the train from Varanasi on Monday.
• DRM Northern Railways Sanjay Tripathi stated that routine continuous commercial runs will start from 20th of this month.

Extra Shots:

IRCTC:

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation is a subsidiary of the Indian Railways that handles the catering, tourism and online ticketing operations of the latter, with around 5,50,000 to 6,00,000 bookings everyday. It is the world’s second busiest and highest of 15 to 16 Lakhs tickets every day.

• Parent organization: Indian Railways
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Founder: Ministry of Railways

India to partially import the US poultry and dairy markets

• India has agreed to partially import poultry and dairy markets from the United States.
• The move comes ahead of the US President Donald Trump’s first official visit to India.
• The move by GoI is to trade preferences, in exchange for tariff reductions and other concessions.
• India has earlier restricted dairy imports to protect the livelihoods of 80 million rural households involved in the industry.

Extra Shots:

India-US:

India is the world’s largest milk-producing nation. The US is India’s second-largest trade partner after China. India is the US’s 9th largest trading partner in goods. The bilateral goods and services trade increased to a record of $142.6 billion in 2018. The US had a $23.2 billion goods trade deficit in 2019 with India.

STATE CURRENT AFFAIRS

Piyush Goyal inaugurates Kolkata’s East-West Metro line

• Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal inaugurated the first phase of “East-West Metro line” which is Kolkata’s second metro line.
• The phase 1 of the East-West Metro corridor is a 5.3 kms long stretch with 6 elevated stations and executed by Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL).
• Overall, the East-West Metro corridor of the Kolkata is a 16.5 kms long stretch.
• The East-West Metro corridor connects the Howrah on the West bank of River Hooghly with Salt Lake city on the East bank.

Extra Shots:

East-West Metro corridor:

♦ The East-West corridor up to Howrah Maidan is expected to be completed by December 2021.

♦ Kolkata Metro will be the preferred mode of transport for the people of the city after the completion of the project.

♦ The project is being implemented by Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL).

♦ The Metro connects Salt Lake Sector V and Salt Lake Stadium. He also dedicated various other Railway projects to the Nation.

♦ Currently, the Metro services are available in Kolkata on only one North-South corridor from Noapara to Kavi Subhas stations. The length of the corridor is 27.3 Km. The corridor was inaugurated in 1984.

♦ The estimated cost for Phase- I of the project is Rs.2431 crore. The total project cost is Rs.8574.98 crore.

Odisha govt announced a hike in 5% for Dearness Allowance

• Odisha State government has announced a hike in 5% for Dearness Allowance (DA) for the state government employees and pensioners.
• The announcement was made by the Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik on 14 February.
• The state also announced a hike of 10% arrears of 7th pay commission.

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

INTERNATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS

Rishi Sunak appointed as UK’s new Finance Minister

• Rishi Sunak has been appointed as the Finance Minister of the United Kingdom.
• He will replace Pakistani Chancellor Sajid Javid.
• Now three Indian origin Members of Parliament are a part of Britain’s most diverse cabinet led by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
• Along with Rishi Sunak, Priti Patel has been appointed as the Home Minister and Alok Sharma has been appointed as the Business Secretary in the British Cabinet.

SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES

New Delhi hosts “Conference on Combating Drug Trafficking”

• The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has organised the two days BIMSTEC’s Conference on Combating Drug Trafficking in New Delhi.
• The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) conference was inaugurated by the Union Minister for Home Affairs.
• Participants of the BIMSTEC’s Conference on Combating Drug Trafficking:
• Delegates from BIMSTEC partner nations including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and India participated in the BIMSTEC’s Conference on Combating Drug Trafficking.
• The conference is a platform for all the participating countries to engage with each other to exchange ideas, policies and best practices in order to combat the issue of illicit drug trade which is plaguing every nation

Extra Shots:

NCB: The Narcotics Control Bureau is the nodal drug law enforcement and intelligence agency of India responsible for fighting drug trafficking and the abuse of illegal substances. The Director General of NCB is an officer of the Indian Police Service or the Indian Revenue Service.

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Founded: 17 March 1986
• Motto: Intelligence Enforcement Coordination
• Primary governing body: Government of India
• Agency executives: Rakesh Asthana IPS, Director General; R N Srivastava IRS, Deputy Director General (Ops)
• Minister responsible: Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs

National Workshop on Disaster Risk Financing, Insurance and Risk Transfer was held in Mumbai

• National Workshop on Disaster Risk Financing, Insurance, and Risk Transfer was held at the Insurance Institute of India in Mumbai on 13 February.
• It was inaugurated by NIDM, Major General Manoj Kumar Bindal; Member Secretary, NDMA, Shri. G.V. V. Sarma; Secretary General, Insurance Institute of India, Shri Deepak Godbole; Executive Director, and CMD, GIC Re, Mr. Dervesh Srivastava inaugurated the workshop.
• The one-day workshop was jointly organized by the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) and the Insurance Institute of India (III).

Highlights:

♦ The workshop included discussion on the Prime Minister’s 10-point agenda on Disaster Risk Reduction and Report of 15th Finance Commission.

♦ It was aimed to impart an understanding of disaster risk financing and creation of action plans for implementation by state governments, local authorities and insurance companies.

♦ Three technical sessions namely Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance for the option of Risk Transfer, Challenges in Implementing Insurance for building Disaster Risk Resilience, and State Government

AGREEMENTS AND MOU SIGNED

India, Portugal signs Cooperation Agreement in the field of Maritime Transport and Ports

• A Cooperation Agreement was signed between India and the Republic of Portugal in the field of Maritime Transport and Ports on 14 February 2020.
• The objective of the agreement is to strengthen the coordination of Maritime transport between the two countries.

Agreement Highlights:

♦ The agreement will open avenues for cooperation to promote Maritime Transport between India and Portugal for better operation of their merchant fleets.

♦ It will also enhance cooperation to harmonize and unify their position with International Organization Institution, forums and conferences related to Maritime and Port activities.

♦ It will also help the two countries to coordinate accession to international conventions

Extra Shots:

Portugal (Capital/Currency):Lisbon/Euro

• President: Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa

APPOINTMENT

Robin Singh appointed as UAE’s director of cricket

• Former Indian Cricket all-rounder Robin Singh was appointed as director of cricket of the United Arab Emirates.
• He was appointed by Emirates Cricket Board after the dismissal of head coach Douglas Robert Brown.
• Robin Singh represented India for 1 test and 136 ODIs (One Day International) between 1989 & 2001.

Extra Shots:

UAE (Capital/Currency): Abu Dhabi/Dirham

• President: Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Judge of the Bombay HC Satyaraujan Dharmadhikari resigns

• The second senior-most judge of the Bombay High Court (HC), Justice Satyaraujan Dharmadhikari, has bid his resignation.
• He did not mention the reason. Justice Dharmadhikari was born in 1960.
• He gained his LLB from Bombay University. He enrolled as an Advocate in June 1983.

SPORTS CURRENT AFFAIRS

Manpreet Singh won the FIH Mens Player of the Year award

• Manpreet Singh won the International Hockey Federation’s (FIH) Men’s Player of the Year award.
• He created a record as he became the first Indian hockey team player to win the awards since its inception in 1999.
• He won the award ahead of Arthur van Doren of Belgium and Lucas Vila of Argentina, who finished second and third respectively.
• The Indian hockey team skipper Manpreet Singh made his debut in 2011.
• He has made more than 260 appearances, he has been a huge asset for the team.
• He will lead the hockey team in the FIH Hockey Pro League.
• In 2019, Manpreet Singh led his team to victory in the FIH Olympic Qualifiers and secured a spot at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
• He represented India at London 2012 and Rio 2016.

Extra Shots:

FIH: The Fédération Internationale de Hockey, commonly known by the acronym FIH, is the international governing body of field hockey and indoor field hockey. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and the president is Narinder Batra.

• Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland
• President: Narinder Batra
• Founded: 7 January 1924
• CEO: Thierry Weil
• Abbreviation: FIH
• Membership: 137 national associations

DEFENCE CURRENT AFFAIRS

Exercise Ajeya Warrior 2020 began in Salisbury Plains

• The fifth edition of joint military exercise Ajeya Warrior 2020 began at Salisbury Plains in the United Kingdom.
• The exercise is held between India and the United Kingdom.

Ajeya Warrior 2020:

♦ Ajeya Warrior 2020 focuses on the joint operation by soldiers during the conduct of counter-terrorist operations.

♦ Over 120 soldiers each from the two armies are participating in the exercise.

♦ Both countries will share their experiences gained during various counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations in the past.

♦ It will enhance the defence cooperation and inter-operability while sharing experiences between both the armies.

♦ The exercise includes training on modern weapon systems, equipment and simulator training.

♦ Ajeya Warrior military training with the United Kingdom is an important exercise in terms of the security challenges faced by both nations in the realm of changing facets of global terrorism.

♦ The exercise is conducted alternatively in India and the UK.

♦ The exercise displays a bilateral willingness to work jointly and share operating procedures to deal with a situation in a specified operational setting.

INS Jamuna progresses joint hydrographic operations off Sri Lanka

• INS Jamuna (J16) arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka under a mutual agreement to carry out the Joint Hydrographic Survey off the South West Coast of Sri Lanka.
• It is commanded by Captain HA Hardas. It will be deployed for over 2 months.

Highlights:

♦ The Commanding Officer Captain HA Hardas held talks with the Rear Admiral Sisira Jayakody, Chief Hydrographer of Sri Lanka Navy and Rear Admiral SA Weerasinghe, Commander Western Naval Area.

♦ INS Jamuna will carry out detailed hydrographic surveys.

♦ It will conduct several shore-based survey activities during the conduct of the Joint Survey by the Sri Lankan Navy personnel.

♦ It will also conduct a Harbour Training Program for the SLN sailors.

Extra Shots:

Sri Lanka (Capitals/Currency): Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte/Sri Lankan rupee.

• Prime minister: Ranil Wickremesinghe
• President: Maithripala Sirisena

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Book titled “Messages from Messengers” by Priti K Shroff

• “Messages from Messengers” book launch by Priti K Shroff at the prestigious Bombay Stock Exchange, Mumbai.
• MD and CEO of the Bombay stock exchange, Ashish Chauhan was the chief guest.
• The book deals with Indian culture and tradition and is suitable for everyone in all stages of life, as a tool for self-guidance.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Scientists discovered the nearest known planet “2MASS 1155-7919 b”

• The scientists from Rochester Institute of Technology has discovered the nearest-known ‘baby giant planet’ which is named as “2MASS 1155-7919 b”.
• The scientists has used the data from Gaia space observatory to find the baby giant planet.
• The newly discovered baby giant planet which is named as “2MASS 1155-7919 b” lies about 330 light-years from our solar system.
• The planet is closer to Earth and is located in the Epsilon Chamaeleontis Association.
• This planet orbits a star that is about 5 million years old. The planet has only ten times the mass of Jupiter.

OBITUARIES

Padma Shri awardee Wendell Rodricks passes away

• Famous Indian fashion designer Wendell Rodricks passed away.
• He was awarded Padma Shri in 2014 and also Chevalier de L’ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture in 2015.
• He wrote books namely: The Greenroom, Poskem: Goans in the shadows, Moda Goa- History & Style.

Former TERI chief RK Pachauri passed away

• Former TERI chief RK Pachauri, 79, passed away on 13 February due to a prolonged battle against heart illness.
• RK Pachauri played a pivotal role in growing the New Delhi-based The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and making it a premier global organization in the sustainability space.
• He was the founder-director and former chairman of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

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