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Current Affairs Today – 24th January 2020
NEWS AT A GLANCE
- International Day of Education is celebrated globally on 24th January.
- India celebrates National Girl Child Day every year on 24th January.
- The investment limit for Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) in government and corporate bonds have been raised by the Reserve Bank of India.
- The Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the Certificate of Authorisation (CoA) of Vodafone m-pesa.
- Reliance Jio becomes the 1st telecom operator to facilitate UPI payments feature through its platform.
- NITI Aayog has announced that it is to develop the National Data and Analytics Platform (NDAP) on 23 January.
- The 44th International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF) will be held from 29th January to 9th February 2020.
- ‘Women with wheels’, a unique taxi service has been launched at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi.
- Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2020 was announced on the occasion of Subhash Chandra Bose birth anniversary which was celebrated on 23 January 2020.
- The Election Commission of India (ECI) organized the 1st Sukumar Sen Memorial Lecture on 23 January.
- International Labour Organization (ILO) released the World Employment and Social Outlook Trends 2020 (WESO).
- The government is has partnered with Infosys to improve the performance of the Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN) filing portal on a permanent basis.
- The Parliament of Greece elected Katerina Sakellaropoulou as the country’s first female president.
NEWS IN DETAILS
IMPORTANT DAYS AND THEMES
International Day of Education celebrated globally on 24th January
- International Day of Education is celebrated globally on 24th January.
- The first-ever International Day of Education was celebrated on 24 January 2019 as per the resolution passed by the United Nations General Assembly on December 3rd 2018 to celebrate the role of education in development.
- International Day of Education 2020 theme is ‘Learning for people, planet, prosperity and peace’.
- The theme highlights the integrated nature of education, its humanistic aims, as well as its centrality to our collective development ambitions.
India celebrates National Girl Child Day on 24th January
- India celebrates National Girl Child Day every year on 24th January.
- The day aims to focus on the inequalities faced by girls, to promote the education, health & nutrition of the girl child, and to spread awareness about the rights of a girl child.
- The day was observed for the first time in 2008 as an initiative by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Government of India.
BANKING AND FINANCE CURRENT AFFAIRS
Investment limit for FPIs in government & corporate bonds increased to 30%
- The investment limit for Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) in government and corporate bonds have been raised by the Reserve Bank of India.
- The decision aims to bring in more foreign funds into the market.
- The investment limit for Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have been raised from 20% to 30% in government & corporate bonds.
- Along with increase in the investment limit for Foreign Portfolio Investors, the RBI has also announced relaxations in the voluntary retention route (VRR) for FPI investments in debt. According to the RBI circular, the investment cap through VRR has been increased to Rs 1.5 lakh crore from Rs 0.75 lakh crore.
- The central bank has also permitted the FPIs to invest in exchange-traded funds that invest only in debt instruments.
Extra Shots:
FPI: A foreign portfolio investment is a grouping of assets such as stocks, bonds, and cash equivalents. Portfolio investments are held directly by an investor or managed by financial professionals.
RBI cancelled Certificate of Authorisation of Vodafone m-pesa
- The Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the Certificate of Authorisation (CoA) of Vodafone m-pesa.
- This cancellation is done after its voluntary surrender of authorisation.
- Now Vodafone m-Pesa cannot continue to transact the business of issuance & will no longer have the right to provide payment facility as a prepaid instrument (PPI).
- Vodafone Idea in 2019 has decided to close m-pesa vertical after the closure of Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Limited (ABIPBL), with which it was being merged.
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
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
Reliance Jio becomes 1st Telecom to launch UPI Payments Feature
- Reliance Jio becomes the 1st telecom operator to facilitate UPI payments feature through its platform.
- It has launched the feature on the MyJio app rather than its wallet app, JioMoney.
- This Reliance Jio will now compete with other private UPI payment providers such as Paytm, Google Pay and PhonePe.
- The users cannot use their existing UPI ids to avail this service. Instead, they will have to create a new JIO UPI Id.
Extra Shots:
Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, d/b/a Jio, is an Indian telecommunications company and wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries, headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It operates a national LTE network with coverage across all 22 telecom circles. Wikipedia
- Parent organization: Reliance Industries Limited
- Founder: Mukesh Ambani
- Founded: 2007
- Members: 370 million; (30 November 2019)
- Subsidiary: LYF
NITI Aayog to develop National Data and Analytics Platform
- NITI Aayog has announced that it is to develop the National Data and Analytics Platform (NDAP) on 23 January.
- The platform aims to allow the stakeholders to access publicly available government data in a user-friendly manner.
- NDAP was released by Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog.
NDAP:
♦ NDAP hosts the latest datasets from various government websites.
♦ It provides tools for analytics and visualization.
♦ NDAP uses a user-centric approach to enable data access in a simple and intuitive portal tailored to the needs of a variety of stakeholders.
♦ NDAP will lead the standardization of formats in which data is presented across various sectors
♦ Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) will be developed to keep data update as NADP has been designed to be a reliable platform.
♦ The platform caters to a wide audience of researchers, data scientists, policymakers, innovators, journalists, and citizens.
♦ An inter-ministerial committee will oversee the progress of the development of the platform and a group of leading experts has been inducted into an advisory group to provide technical guidance for the development of the platform. The success of the endeavor is dependent on the cooperation and support of various stakeholders.
♦ It has been decided that the development of NDAP will take place over a period of one year.
♦ The first version of the platform will be launched in 2021.
♦ The process will incorporate feedback received from various users and stakeholders throughout the course of its development.
Extra Shots:
The NITI Aayog is a policy think tank of the Government of India, established with the aim to achieve sustainable development goals with cooperative federalism by fostering the involvement of State Governments of India in the economic policy-making process using a bottom-up approach.
- Website: niti.gov.in
- Formed: 1 January 2015
- Objectives: Foster involvement and participation in the economic policy-making process by the State Governments of India
- Jurisdiction: Government of India
- Headquarters: New Delhi
- Chairperson: Narendra Modi
- CEO: Amitabh Kant
- Vice Chairman: Rajiv Kumar
NATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS
Russia will be focal theme country in IKBF 2020
- The 44th International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF) will be held from 29th January to 9th February 2020.
- Russia will be focal theme country of the 44th edition of the International Kolkata Book Fair.
- The theme gate will be a replica of the iconic Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
- International Kolkata Book Fair is the world’s largest non-trade book fair, Asia’s largest book fair and the most attended book fair in the world.
- 20 countries will participate in the 2020 edition of Kolkata International Book Fair.
Extra Shots:
Russia (Capital/Currency): Moscow/Ruble
- Prime Minister: Dmitry Medvedev
- President: Vladimir Putin
‘Women with Wheels’ service launched at Indira Gandhi International Airport
- ‘Women with wheels’, a unique taxi service has been launched at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi.
- The ‘Women with wheels’ taxi service is an initiative by ‘Sakha cabs’.
- The taxi service will be only available for the female commuters and will be driven by women drivers only.
- The entry of men in the cab will be allowed only if they are accompanied by a woman or women.
- The ‘Women with Wheels’ service can be availed by the female commuters for any part of Delhi.
Extra Shots:
Indira Gandhi International Airport serves as the major international aviation hub of the Indian capital city of New Delhi as well as India. The airport, spread over an area of 5,106 acres, is situated in Palam, 15 km south-west of the New Delhi railway station and 16 km from New Delhi city centre.
DMMC, Munnan Singh won the 2020 Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar award
- Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2020 was announced on the occasion of Subhash Chandra Bose birth anniversary which was celebrated on 23 January 2020.
- Disaster Mitigation & Management Centre (DMMC), Uttarakhand under the institution category won the award.
- DMMC received a certificate and a cash prize of Rs.51 lakhs.
- The cash prize will be used by the winning institution for Disaster Management related activities only.
India’s first e-waste clinic opens in Bhopal
- Country’s first e-waste clinic is being opened in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
- It would enable segregation, processing and disposal of waste from both household and commercial units.
- The e-waste clinic will be inaugurated by the Union Environment Secretary in a short.
- The e-waste clinic is jointly setting up by the Central Pollution Control Board-CPCB and Bhopal Municipal Corporation-BMC.
- “The e-waste clinic is being started on the basis of a three-month pilot project. If this project is successful, e-waste clinics will be established at other places in the country.
Extra Shots:
Madhya Pradesh:
- Capital: Bhopal
- Chief Minister: Kamal Nath
- Governor: Lalji Tandon
- National Park: Bandhavgarh NP, Fossil NP, Kanha NP, Madhav NP, Panna NP, Pench NP, Sanjay NP, Satpura NP
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro arrives in New Delhi on a four-day visit
- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro arrived in New Delhi today on a four-day visit to India. Minister of State for External Affairs V Muralidharan received Mr Bolsonaro at the Air Force Station Palam.
- The Brazilian President will be the chief guest at the Republic Day Parade on Sunday.
- Mr Bolsonaro will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow.
- Several agreements will be signed after the talks.
- The Brazilian President is accompanied by eight ministers, four members of the Brazilian Parliament, senior officials and a large business delegation. during Mr Bolsonaro’s maiden visit.
Extra Shots:
Brazil (Capital/Currency): Brasilia/ Brazilian real
- President: Jair Bolsonaro
SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES
ECI organized 1st Sukumar Sen Memorial Lecture
- The Election Commission of India (ECI) organized the 1st Sukumar Sen Memorial Lecture on 23 January.
- The lecture was organized as a tribute to the first Chief Election Commissioner of India.
- The memorial lecture was hosted to mark the 70th year of inception.
- Former President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee delivered the inaugural lecture on electoral processes of India and the challenges of the electoral systems.
Extra Shots:
Sukumar Sen:
Sukumar Sen was the first Chief Election Commissioner of India. He served from 21 March 1950 to 19 December 1958. Sh Sukumar Sen commendably conducted the first two Lok Sabha elections of India held in 1952 and 1957 simultaneously with the Legislative Assembly Elections. The elections were based on a universal adult franchise under challenging circumstances.
India, China Border Personnel Meet At Ladakh
- A Ceremonial Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) between India and China was conducted on the occasion of Chinese Spring Festival on Thursday at Ladakh.
- The Indian delegation was led by Lt. Col. Amit Kumar Sharma and Chinese Delegation was led by Lt. Col. Lee Ming Ju.
- Both the delegations interacted in a free, congenial and cordial environment.
- The meeting reflected the mutual desire to maintain and improve relations at the functional level in the border areas.
- A cultural programme showcasing Chinese culture and traditions was organized by the Chinese side.
Extra Shots:
China (Capital/Currency): Beijing/Renminbi
- President: Xi Jinping
RANKS AND INDICES
ILO released 2020 World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends
- International Labour Organization (ILO) released the World Employment and Social Outlook Trends 2020 (WESO).
- The report highlighted that more than 470 million people worldwide are unemployed or underemployed.
Report Highlights:
♦ The report forecasted Global unemployment to increase by around 2.5 million in 2020.
♦ It reported that around 188 million people are unemployed in the world.
♦ Also, 165 million people, aged between 15 and 24, lack sufficient paid work
♦ It stated that 120 million people either lack access to the labour market or have given up actively searching for work.
♦ The report stated that unemployment is projected to rise after a long period of stability. It stated that many people are working for fewer paid hours than they would like or lack adequate access to paid work.
Extra Shots:
ILO: The International Labour Organization is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social justice and promote decent work by setting international labour standards. It was the first specialised agency of the UN.
- Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
- Head: Guy Ryder
- Founder: Paris Peace Conference, 1919–1920
- Founded: 1919
- Formation: 29 October 1919; 100 years ago
- Parent organizations: United Nations General Assembly, United Nations Economic and Social Council
The 15th Finance Commission held a meeting with the Goa state govt
- The 15th Finance Commission headed by Chairman, Shri N.K. Singh along with its Members and senior officials held meeting with the Chief Minister of Goa, Shri Pramod Sawant.
- The Goa State Government has been irregular in the constitution of State Finance Commission and not implemented recommendations of any two SFCs so far constituted in spite of having 190 Village Panchayats and 14 ULBs.
- The committee was concerned about the functions mentioned under the 11th and 12th Schedule of the Constitution that have not yet been fully devolved to the local bodies.
- The Commission discussed the natural disaster preparedness of the State.
Extra Shots:
Goa:
- Capital: Panaji
- Chief Minister: Pramod Sawant
- Governor: Satya Pal Malik
- Literacy Rate: 93.21%
AGREEMENTS AND MOU SIGNED
GoI partnered with Infosys to improve the performance of GSTN
- The government is has partnered with Infosys to improve the performance of the Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN) filing portal on a permanent basis.
- Infosys is the managed service provider for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime in the country.
- The measures will be announced by April 2020.
Revised GST for tax filers:
♦ In another move, the government revised the dates for the GSTR-3B returns filling. It was based on the turnover of the companies.
♦ The date remained unchanged for the taxpayers with an annual turnover of Rs.5 crore and above in 2019 to the 20th of every month.
♦ GoI revised the date as 22nd for tax filers from 15 states and union territories with an annual turnover of less than Rs.5 crore.
♦ It set the date as 24th every month for the remaining 46 lakh taxpayers from the 22 states and UTs GoI has worked several technological measures with Infosys.
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
APPOINTMENT
Katerina Sakellaropoulou becomes 1st woman president of Greece
- The Parliament of Greece elected Katerina Sakellaropoulou as the country’s first female president.
- Sakellaropoulou received the support of 261 MPs in the 300-seat Parliament, including the support of members of the ruling New Democracy Party.
Extra Shots:
Greece (Capital/Currency): Athens/Euro
- President: Prokopis Pavlopoulos
SPORTS
Maharashtra topped the 2020 Khelo India Youth Games champions
- Maharashtra topped the Khelo India Youth Games champions 2020.
- The total medal tally of 256 medals, including 78 gold.
- Haryana ranked second and won a medal tally of 200.
- The 2020 Games is conducted in partnership with the School Games Federation of India (SGFI), Indian Olympic Association (IOA), and Assam State government.
Top 5 states that won the games are:
| STATE | GOLD | SILVER | BRONZE | TOTAL |
| Maharashtra | 78 | 77 | 101 | 256 |
| Haryana | 68 | 60 | 72 | 200 |
| Delhi | 39 | 36 | 47 | 122 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 32 | 26 | 22 | 80 |
| Karnataka | 29 | 28 | 30 | 87 |
Extra Shots:
Khelo India Youth Games, formerly Khelo India School Games, meaning Play India Youth Games, held annually in January or February, are the national level multidisciplinary grassroot games in India held for two categories, namely under-17 years school students and under-21 college students.
- First event: 2018
- Last event: 2019
- Occur every: Annual
- Purpose: Grassroot talent hunt
- Abbreviation: KIYG
- Headquarters: New Delhi
