DAILY CA 3 JAN 2020

DAILY CA 3 JAN 2020

1.    IR integrated helpline number 139

ü The indian Railways launched an integrated helpline number 139 for quick grievance and enquiries by the passengers during journeys.The helpline number will be available in 12 languages and it will be based on an interactive voice response system

2.    world’s 2nd tallest statue of Vallabhbhai Patel

ü Vijay Rupani unveiled the world’s 2nd largest statue of Sardar vallabhbhai Patel at Sardardham campus near Vaishnodevi circle in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. This bronze statue which is 50 feet tall weighing 70,000 kilograms was built at a cost of Rs 3.25 crores.

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DAILY Current Affairs 1 – 2 JAN 2020

DAILY Current Affairs 1 – 2 JAN 2020

1.    5th Swachh Survekshan League 2020

ü  Hardeep Singh Puri,has announced the results of Swachh Survekshan League 2020 (Quarter 1 and Quarter 2). >10lakh population: Among the cities with more than 10 lakh population category, Indore ranked 1st in both quarter 1 and quarter 2.

ü  1-10 lakh population: Among cities with 1-10 lakh population, Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) ranked 1st in both quarter 1 and quarter 2.

2.    2019-2025 National Infrastructure Pipeline report

ü  Nirmala Sitharaman released a report of the task force on National Infrastructure Pipeline for 2019-2025 (NIP 2019-25) inorder to achieve the $5 trillion economy by 2024-25 . Based on the information compiled by the task force headed by Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty, Rs 102 lakh crores has been projected on the capital expenditure in infrastructure sectors in India during the fiscals 2020 to 2025.  The capital expenditure will be shared by the Centre, States and the private sector in the ratio 39:39:22 respectively.

3.    Review crop insurance scheme-PMFBY

ü  The central Government has formed a 7-member group of ministers (GoM) headed by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh to review the crop insurance scheme ,“Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)” & make suggestions to improve it according to the needs of the farmers.

4.    Pragati Maidan metro station renamed as Supreme Court metro station

5.    14^th Global healthcare summit in 2021

ü  The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), a professional association for Indian American physicians, is set to organize a 3-days long 14^th Global Healthcare Summit (GHS) in Visakhapatnam,Andhra Pradesh(AP) from January 3, 2021 for the 1^st time.

6.    Department of military affairs

ü  Government has created a new ‘Department of Military affairs (DMA)’ in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to be headed by Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat. The new department works for the unity of the three forces Army, Navy and Air Force and will also monitor the services .The DMA is the 5th department in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and was created after a change in Government of India (Allocation of Business), Rules 1961.

7.    RBI governor launched MANI app

ü  Shri Shaktikanta Das launched a mobile app named “MANI” (Mobile Aided Note Identifier) that would help visually impaired people to identify denomination of currency notes correctly.

8.    Small savings schemes interest rates unchanged

ü  Union Finance Ministry,  has not made any changes in the interest rates on its small savings schemes (SSS) of the post office for the fourth quarter of the financial year(FY)  2019-20 starting from January 1, 2020- March 31, 2020 due to softening in the bank deposit rate.
Current Interest Rates of Small Savings Schemes:

Small Savings Scheme	Annual Interest Rate
Public Provident Fund (PPF)	7.9%
National Savings Certificate (NSC)	7.9%
Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP)	7.6%  (113 months maturity)
Sukanya Samriddhi Account	8.4%

9.    Piyuus jaiswal wins Global Bihar excellence award 2019

ü  Piyuus Jaiswal has been awarded the Global Bihar Excellence Award 2019 by Rajya Sabha MP and Padma Shri Awardee Dr CP Thakur & Bihar Women Commission president Dilmani Devi in Patna, Bihar for his invaluable and outstanding contribution towards social welfare, women empowerment and introducing new talent in the field of arts and culture.

10. TS Sundar appointed as interim MD&CEO and additional director of Lakshmi Vilas Bank

11. HDFC gets requisite approval to hold a 51.2% stake in Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company

ü  HDFC has received its requisite approvals from Competition Commission of India (CCI), IRDAI to acquire 51.2% stake in Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company from Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited (AHEL) and other shareholders. After the acquisition, Apollo Munich will be merged with and into HDFC Ergo, subject to approval from the Mumbai bench of National Company Law Tribunal. IRDAI granted approval under Section 6A of the Insurance Act, 1938.

12. IAF chief formally inducted Dornier 228 aircraft

ü  Indian Air Force Chief Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria formally inducted the light utility aircraft Flight Inspection System (FIS) Dornier 228 into the No. 41 ‘Otters’ Squadron at a ceremony at the Palam Air Force Station in New Delhi.

ü  About Dornier-228 aircraft:
The Do-228 is a twin-engine, multirole light transport aircraft, capable of transporting up to 19 passengers or various cargoes, jointly designed and developed by Indian aircraft manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and RUAG Aerospace, Germany.

13. UPSRTC launched ‘Damini’ helpline service

ü  UPSRTC (Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation) has launched ‘Damini’ helpline service considering the safety of the women passengers in Uttar Pradesh (UP). As the extension of ‘Nirbhaya Yojana’ the unique number “81142-77777”.

14. Kerala became 1st State to pass resolution against citizenship Amendment Act

ü  Kerala became the 1st state in the country to pass a resolution scrapping the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA). The resolution was moved by Kerala’s Chief Minister Shri Pinarayee Vijayan and was seconded by the Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala.

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DAILY GK 31 DEC 2019

DAILY GK 31 DEC 2019

1)   2nd SDG India Index 2019

ü NITI Aayog has released the 2nd edition of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index and dashboard for the year 2019 in New Delhi. Kerala topped the index with a score of 70.

ü The 2019 index was based on 54 targets spread over 100 indicators out of 306 outlined by the UN, and these 100 indicators are drawn from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s (MoSPI’s) National Indicator Framework (NIF).

ü Kerala was followed by Himachal Pradesh in the 2nd rank with a score of 69. Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu together ranked at the third position with a score of 67.

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DAILY GK 30 DEC 2019

DAILY GK 30 DEC 2019

1.    Netherlands scrapping its nickname ‘Holland’

ü As a part of €200,000 tourism rebranding, the Netherlands has officially announced to drop the nickname ‘Holland’ from January 2020. Even the Netherlands’ Board of Tourism and Conventions is also scrapping its symbol featuring a tulip, the national flower, and the word “Holland” and replacing it with a new logo that has an orange tulip and the initials “NL.”

2.    No MDR charges on payment via RuPay

ü Union Finance Minister(FM) Nirmala Sitharaman launched an online auction platform named “eBkray” in New Delhi inorder to increase transparency in auctioning of assets attached by banks. eBkray is linked with Indian Banks Auctions Mortgaged Properties Information (IBAPI) portal.

ü As on December 27, 2019 over 35,000 properties were uploaded by PSBs. These PSBs have attached assets worth ₹2.3 lakh crore in the last three fiscal years.

ü The Indian Banks Auctions Mortgaged Properties Information (IBAPI) portal is an initiative of Indian Banks Association (IBA) under the Department of Financial Services (DFS) of the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

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DAILY GK 29 DEC 2019

DAILY GK 29 DEC 2019

1.    Aadhaar crosses 125 crore mark

ü Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) announced that the Aadhaar project crossed 125 crore mark of registration. Thus as of now, over 1.25 billion residents of India hold Aadhar card.
Currently UIDAI receives nearly 3 crore authentication requests per day.

2.    1^st  trial run of double stack train conducted

ü An inaugural trial run of double stack freight train was conducted on newly built Rewari (Haryana) – Madar (Rajasthan ) section on the 306 km long Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC).

ü At present , DFCCIL running freight trains at speed of 75 kilometre per hour & it  will be increased to a maximum speed of 100 kilometre per hour.

ü Japan has funding for the Western Corridor of the DFC, which has been installed at a height of 7.4 meters from the track. while, World Bank (WB) has funded for the Eastern Corridor of the DFC.

3.    Global House Price Index Q3 2019 report

ü Knight Frank released a report titled “Global House Price Index Q3 2019”. The report was about housing prices in a particular quarter of the financial year. As per the report, India was ranked at 47th place out of 56 countries, while Hungary topped the list.

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DAILY GK 28 DEC 2019

DAILY GK 28 DEC 2019

1.    Mandatory linkage of Aadhar for PMVVY

ü Union Ministry of Finance has made it mandatory to submit the proof of Aadhaar number of senior citizens who have invested in the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY). PMVVY is a senior citizen pension scheme launched by the govt. on May 4, 2017, as a way of providing additional investment to senior citizens.

ü Investment of upto Rs. 15 lakhs can be made in this scheme.

ü Life Insurance Corporation(LIC) of India is the sole operator of PMVVY.

2.    India to cross 100-GW renewable energy capacity

ü Union Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy (MoP,NRE) Shri Raj Kumar Singh has announced that India is likely to cross its 100 GigaWatt (GW) energy capacity mark in 2020.

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DAILY GK 27 DEC 2019

DAILY GK 27 DEC 2019

1.    Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)

ü Narendra Modi has released the Operational Guidelines for the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

ü Out of 17.87 Crore Indian rural households, there are 14.6 Crore households who do not have household water tap connection facility. They account 81.67%.On financing front, Centre will provide Rs.2.08 lakh Crore while the fund sharing pattern to be 90:10 for Himalayan and North-Eastern States; 50:50 for other States and 100% for UTs.

2.    India’s First CNG Bus travel around 1000 kms

ü Dharmendra Pradhan has unveiled India’s first long distance CNG bus fitted with composite CNG cylinders, which can travel around 1000 kms in a single fill. Developed by Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) in partnership with Mahindra & Mahindra, & Agility Fuel Solutions of USA (United State of America) this newly launched bus has replaced the traditional very heavy Type-I Carbon Steel cylinders with Type IV Composite Cylinders.

ü The Buses would be given to Uttarakhand Transport Corporation (UTC) on lease basis after the launch to ply on Inter-city routes from Delhi to Dehradun and will be the first CNG Buses in Uttarakhand.

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DAILY GK 25 DEC 2019

DAILY GK 25 DEC 2019

1)       Kerala semi-high speed rail project

ü  Ministry of Railways , the Central Government has gave its approval for Rs 56,443 crore  worth of 532 km Thiruvananthapuram – Kasaragod in Kerala semi-high speed rail (SHSR) corridor project, named “Silver Line” project.

ü  After the construction of this corridor, the distance between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod will be reduced from 12 hours to 4 hours. Trains on track will run at 200 km per hour.The state Government of Kerala has set a deadline to complete this corridor by 2024.

2)       Report :Trends in tobacco prevalence 2000-2025 

ü  WHO released its 3rd edition of global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use 2000-2025. As per the report despite decline in tobacco usage, India is off track to achieve 30% reduction in tobacco use by 2025 when compared to its 2010 levels. 163 nations besides India are also not on track in this regard.

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DAILY GK 24 DEC 2019

DAILY GK 24 DEC 2019

1)   Common currency to Eco

ü 8 West African Nations agreed to rename their common currency known as “CFA Franc” to “Eco” to severe the CFA franc’s links to former colonial ruler France. This announcement was made during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Ivory Coast, which is France’s former main colony in West Africa and also the world’s top cocoa producer. The 8 countries are Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo.

     Eco usage will come in to force in 2020.  

2)   US President Trump officially launched space force

ü
The US President Donald Trump has officially launched “US space force (USSF)”, the 1^st new US military service in more than 70 years focusing on warfare in space. Trump has signed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act to make the formation of the space force into reality.
The space force will be the 6^th official force of the US military,which Trump has described as “separate but equal”. Other forces include the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard.

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DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 22nd-23rd DEC 2019

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 22^nd-23^rd DEC 2019

1.      M.GANDHI’S 150TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY

ü  President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind presided the 2nd meeting of National Committee for Commemoration of the 150th Birth anniversary (October 2) of Mahatma Gandhi ‘Gandhi@150’ which was held in New Delhi.

ü  Also the Prime Minister of Portugal, António Luís Santos da Costa, announced the Portuguese govt’s launch of Gandhi Citizenship Education Prize to perpetuate Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals. The announced prize will be given annually.

2.      ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF ASSOCHAM

ü  PM Modi addressed the annual meeting of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) in New Delhi. This is to celebrate the 100 years of ASSOCHAM.

ü  Theme:  New India Aspiring for 5 trillion USD

ü  PM target’s to achieve 5 Trillion Dollar Economy – To achieve 5 Trillion Dollar Economy by 2024 it is required to boost digital transactions of GST. The government would invest 100 Lakh Crore Rupees in the infrastructural sector and another 25 Lakh Crore Rupees in the Rural Sector in order to achieve the target.

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