25 January 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa to be Chief Guest at 2019 R-Day Parade

South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa will be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day Parade 2019.
To grace the celebrations, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa accompanied by first lady Dr Tshepo Motsepe and a high-level delegation including nine ministers, senior officials and a 50-member business contingent will have a two-day India visit.
It will be Ramaphosa’s first India tour as the head of the state.
He is the second President of South Africa after Nelson Mandela to be the Chief Guest at the parade.

Note:

In 2018, leaders from the 10 ASEAN nations – Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Brunei – were the chief guests at Republic Day celebration.

About Republic Day 2019

On 26^th January 2019, India will celebrate its 70th Republic Day. First Republic Day of India was celebrated in 1950.
2019 celebration will be special as this year will mark the 150th birth anniversary of ‘Father of the Nation’.
Around 17 tableaux from states/Union Territories and 6 from various ministries will be displayed in the parade based on the theme ‘Gandhi’.
Republic day in India is celebrated every year with great pride on 26th of January to honour the Constitution of India as it came into force on the same day in the year 1950.

Veterans of Subhas Chandra Bose's Army will take part

For the first time, four veterans from the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauz ) of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose will take part in the Republic Day parade at Rajpath.

Source: DD News

2. India ranks 80th on Global Talent Competitive Index 2019

India ranked at 80^th positions on the Global Talent Competitive Index (GTCI) 2019.
The index is released by INSEAD business school in partnership with Tata Communications and Adecco Group.
China emerged as the best performer among the BRICS countries, with an overall position of 45th.
Switzerland topped the index which is followed by Singapore and the US.
Last year in 2018, India was ranked at 81^st
According to the report, India's biggest challenge is to improve its ability to attract and retain talent.
The report measures levels of Global Talent Competitiveness by looking at 68 variables such as ease of ease of hiring, gender earnings gap, and prevalence of training in firms.

Source: The Hindu Businessline

Economy & Financial Awareness

3. Ravneet Gill is new MD & CEO of Yes Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of Ravneet Gill as the MD & CEO of private sector lender Yes Bank.
Gill must join the bank before March 1, the central bank has said.
Gill is currently the India chief of foreign lender Deutsche Bank.
He will replace present MD & CEO of Yes Bank Rana Kapoor whose term ends on January 31.
Gill, joined Deutsche Bank in 1991 and became its India CEO in July 2012.

Source: The Hindu

4. Indian economy may grow 7.6% in FY20: UN report

According to the UN's World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2019, India's GDP growth is expected to accelerate to 7.6 percent in 2019-20 from an estimated 7.4 percent in the current fiscal ending March 2019.
The growth rate may come down to 7.4 percent a year later.
India will continue to remain the world's fastest-growing large economy in 2019 as well as in 2020, much ahead of China, a UN report said.
In the case of China, the growth is estimated to decelerate to 6.3 percent in 2019 from 6.6 percent in 2018. It may further go down to 6.2 percent in 2020.
The report further said the global economy would continue to grow at a steady pace of around 3 percent in 2019 and 2020 amid signs that global growth has peaked.

Note:

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected India’s growth at 7.5% in 2019-20 amid slower global expansion.

Source: The Economic Times

5. India's GDP growth may improve to 7.3% in FY20: Crisil

According to the Crisil Ratings, India's growth rate is likely to inch up to 7.3 percent in 2019-20.
India is expected to clock a growth rate of 7.2 percent in the current financial year, up from 6.7 percent in 2017-18.
"In fiscal 2020, Crisil expects GDP to grow 7.3 percent on assumptions- normal rains, oil prices lower than 2018, stable political outcome," the rating agency said in its 'India Outlook FY20'.
It said the current account deficit (CAD) would reduce to 2.4 percent of GDP in fiscal 2020 from 2.6 percent in fiscal 2019.

Source: Money Control

6. Parthasarathi Mukherjee to head Lakshmi Vilas Bank for another two years

Private sector Lakshmi Vilas Bank has reappointed Parthasarathi Mukherjee as its managing director.
He will hold the position another two years from January 25.
Reserve Bank of India has approved his reappointment.
Mukherjee joined the bank on January 25, 2016, for three years and had brought positive changes initially before the piling up bad loans hit profitability.

Source: The Economic Times

Important Days

7. National Voters’ Day celebrated across the country

Today, India is celebrating National Voters Day across the country.
This year, India marks the 9th edition of the National Voters Day.
The National Voters Day is celebrated all over the country on January 25 every year.
The Indian Election Commission was set up on January 25, 1950. Therefore, since 2011, it has been decided to celebrate National Voters Day on this day.
The day is celebrated especially to make young voters aware of voting and political response.
In view of the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections, ‘No Voter to be Left Behind’ has been selected as the theme for the National Voters’ Day.
President Ram Nath Kovind will be the Chief Guest at the main function being organized by Election Commission in New Delhi.
A quarterly journal, My Vote Matters, will also be launched in this program.

Source: DD News

8. Himachal Pradesh celebrates 49^th Statehood Day today

Today Himachal Pradesh is celebrating its 49^th Statehood Day.
On 18 December 1970 the State of Himachal Pradesh Act was passed by Parliament and the new state came into being on 25 January 1971 making it the 18th state of India.
S. Parmar became the state’s first chief minister.
While congratulating the people of the state with full State Day, the Chief Minister Jairam Thakur said that unprecedented development has taken place in the state during the last 48 years.
This development has been possible due to the active cooperation and cooperation of the people of the state.

Source: DD News

Scheme

9. PM launches Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ‘Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana’ under which a group of Indian diaspora will be taken on a government-sponsored tour of religious places in India twice a year.
Prime Minister Modi, also inaugurated the Centers of Excellence at Deen Dayal Hastkala Sankul in Varanasi.
He also released two books – 'Kashi: The Universe of Crafts and Textiles' and 'Indian Textiles: History, Splendour, Grandeur'.
He also unveiled a plaque to mark the inauguration of an Integrated Textile Office Complex, at Chowkaghat in Varanasi.

Key points

All people of Indian-origin aged 45 to 65 can apply and a group will be selected out of them with first preference given to people from 'Girmitiya countries' such as Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica.
The group will be taken to the religious places of all major religions in India.
The tour would be completely government sponsored, as the government will bear all the expenses including the airfare from their country of residence.

Source: The Times of India

Obituaries

10. Krishna Sobti, a legendary Hindi writer, passes away

Krishna Sobti, a legendary Hindi writer, passed away early this morning in Delhi. She was 93.
Born in February 1925 in Gujarat- Punjab, now a province in Pakistan, Sobti began her writings in poetry and then went on to write fiction which won her several awards.
Sobti was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1980 and the Jnanpith award in 2017 for her contribution to Indian literature.
Sobti has also received the Shiromani Award in 1981 and Hindi Academy Award in 1982.
In 2018, she released her autobiographical novel — ‘Gujarat Pakistan se Gujarat Hindustan’.
Krishna Sobti won the Sahitya for her novel Zindaginama. Some of her other novels are Dara se bichuri, Mitro Marajani and Surajmukhi andhere ke.

Source: Indian Express

Sports

11. Johan Botha retires from all forms of cricket

Former South Africa all-rounder Johan Botha has announced his immediate retirement from all forms of cricket.
Botha's Australian Twenty20 league team, the Hobart Hurricanes, announced the news.
The 36-year-old Botha, who received his Australian citizenship in 2016, failed to take a wicket during nine-wicket loss to the Sydney Sixers.
Botha played for South Africa in five Test matches, 78 one-day internationals and 40 T20 Internationals from 2005 to 2012.
Botha captained the Proteas in 10 ODIs and took the team to the No. 1 ranking after they defeated Australia 4-1 in Australia in 2009.

Source: The Times of India

Defense

12. India Africa Field Training Exercise (IAFTX)- 2019 to be held in Pune

Indian Africa Field Training Exercise (IAFTX)-2019 is scheduled to be conducted at Aundh Military Station and College of Military Engineering, Pune from 18 March to 27 March 2019.
The joint training exercise is being conducted with more than a dozen African countries & India. It aims at synergizing humanitarian mine action and joint peace operations.
The IAFTX-2019 is a positive step towards growing political and military ties with the member nations of the African continent and will boost the already strong strategic cooperation between the countries.

Source: PIB