23 January 2020 - Daily Current Affairs
1. Jaipur Literature Festival begins today
- Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has inaugurated the five- days Jaipur Literature Festival 2020 (13th) in the royal Diggi Palace in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
- It is the world's largest free literary festival.
- Around 300 speakers of different fields are participating in this festival.
- Jaipur Literature Festival is the platform where people can share their views without any hesitation.
Summits & Conferences
2. EC to host 1st Sukumar Sen Memorial Lecture
- Election Commission will host Sukumar Sen's (1898-1963) Memorial Lecture at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra, New Delhi.
- The first Chief Election Commissioner of India Mr. Sen (Indian Civil Services-1922) commendably conducted the first two General Elections to the Lok-Sabha (1952 and 1957) & State Legislative Assemblies, thereby putting India firmly on the map of democracy.
- Former President Pranab Mukherjee will deliver the first of the Lectures.
National & International Appointments
3. Challa Sreenivasulu Setty appointed MD,State Bank of India
- The government has approved the proposal of the Department of the Financial Services for the appointment of Challa Sreenivasulu Setty as the Managing Director (MD) of the State Bank of India (SBI) for three years.
- currently, he is serving as the deputy managing director of the SBI.
- As per the SBI Act, the bank can have four managing directors.
- Rajnish Kumar is the Chairman of the State Bank of India.
International Affairs
4. India advances 8 places to 72nd spot on GTC I- 2020
- India has moved up 8th places to the 72nd position in the 2020 Global Talent Competitiveness Index.
- Switzerland topped this year's ranking, followed by the USA, while Singapore is the third most talent-competitive country.
- The index is based on research done by INSEAD in partnership with The Adecco Group and Google.
- Global Talent Competitiveness Index measures and ranks countries based on their ability to grow, attract and retain talent.
International Affairs
5. India falls to 51st spot in EIU's Democracy Index
- India slipped 10 places to 51st position in the 2019 Democracy Index's global ranking.
- The overall list was topped by Norway, followed by Iceland & Sweden.
- Top 8 countries are New Zealand (4th), Finland (5th), Ireland (6th), Denmark (7th) and Canada (8th).
- The index is based on five categories - electoral process and pluralism; the functioning of government; political participation; political culture and civil liberties.
Science & Technology
6. ISRO to send robot 'Vyommitra' to space on 'Gaganyaan'
- The ISRO has released a video of the humanoid 'Vyom Mitra' being sent to the unmanned space mission ‘Gaganyaan’.
- This humanoid would try to behave like a human and report back to us.
- Humanoid is a kind of robot, which can move like a human and can also understand human gestures.
- Humanoids can also answer questions through artificial intelligence programming.
National Affairs
7. Greenpeace report: Jharkhand's Jharia most polluted city
- As per the Greenpeace India Report, Coal-belching Jharia (Jharkhand) continues to be the most polluted city in India.
- Delhi has made marginal improvement in reducing air pollution and Delhi is the 10th-most polluted city in India.
- Lunglei in Mizoram is the least polluted followed by Meghalaya's Dowki, according to the report.
- The report is based on analysis of PM10 data from 287 cities across the country.
National & International Appointments
8. Sanjiv Chadha appointed MD & CEO of Bank of Baroda (BoB)
- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Sanjiv Chadha as the managing director and chief executive of Bank of Baroda.
- He was the deputy managing director at State bank of India in charge of SBI Capital Markets.
- He will replace P. S. Jayakumar.
Honours & Awards
9. Priya Prakash wins Cisco Youth Leadership Award 2019
- Priya Prakash (founder and CEO of India based HealthSetGo) has won the Global Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award for 2019 for her school health programme.
- The objective of the programme to provide 360-degree healthcare support to children.
- The award includes a USD 250,000 prize paid to the individual’s organisation to which the individual contributes, to further their mission of accelerating global problem-solving.
Honours & Awards
10. President Kovind confers Rashtriya Bal Puraskar awards
- President Ram Nath Kovind presented the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, 2020 at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
- The Bal Puraskar is given by the government every year to recognize the exceptional achievements of children in various fields.
- These fields are innovation, scholastic achievements, social service, arts, culture, sports and bravery.
- The 22 children who were selected for National Bravery Awards also received the awards from the President.
