08 February 2020 - Daily Current Affairs
1. JSW Steel signs Rishabh Pant as brand ambassador
- JSW Steel has signed Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant as its brand ambassador for three years.
- It is a flagship company of the $14 billion JSW Group.
- The company will launch an integrated marketing campaign featuring Pant by mid-February.
- India, currently the second-largest steel producer in the world, has embarked on a journey to enhance its steel manufacturing capacity from 142 MTPA to 300 MTPA by 2030 through the Indian National Steel Policy.
Summits & Conferences
2. India-Central Asia Business Council held in New Delhi
- The FICCI in partnership with 5 of the biggest industry bodies of Central Asian countries launched the India-Central Asia Business Council in New Delhi.
- Those Asian countries include Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
- This is the common platform for the sharing of ideas and the transformation of goodwill into practical outputs and seeks to form an India-Central Asia Development Group.
Defense
3. World's first bulletproof helmet Developed by Indian Army Major
- Indian Army Major Anoop Mishra has developed a helmet that can stop an AK-47 bullet round from a distance of 10 meters.
- The ballistic helmet has been developed under project ‘Abhedya’
- Major Mishra has also developed a bulletproof jacket which can withstand even sniper rifles.
- He is part of Indian Army's College of Military Engineering.
- Besides, the College of Military Engineering has developed India's first and world's cheapest gunshot locator.
National Affairs
4. Ease of Living Index and Municipal Performance Index 2019 Launched
- The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has launched Ease of living index (EoLI) 2019 and Municipal Performance Index (MPI) 2019.
- Using MPI, the Ministry will assess the performance of municipalities based on 5 enablers namely Service, Finance, Planning, Technology and Governance.
- EoLI 2019 will facilitate the assessment of ease of living of citizens across three pillars: Quality of Life, Economic Ability and Sustainability.
Banking & Finance
5. PFRDA increases minimum net worth for pension fund managers
- The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has doubled the minimum net worth criterion for pension fund managers to ₹50 crores from the ₹25 crores.
- Existing pension fund managers must comply with this requirement within such time as the PFRDA stipulates.
- This brings pension funds on par with mutual funds which have to meet a minimum net worth requirement of ₹50 crores, under SEBI rules.
National & International Appointments
6. SC appoints CNR Nair to make inventory of ornaments at Sabarimala temple
- The Supreme Court has appointed retired Kerala High Court judge CNR Nair to prepare an inventory and valuation report of ornaments of Lord Ayyappa of Sabarimala temple.
- The SC has allowed taking assistance of a jeweller for valuation of ornaments and should file its report in a sealed cover.
- The court granted four more weeks to the state government to prepare draft legislation regarding the administration of the historic Sabarimala temple.
State Affairs
7. Madhya Pradesh to use drones for mapping villages
- The Madhya Pradesh (MP) govt. has decided to use drones for mapping villages.
- The Revenue department of MP has signed an agreement in this regard with the Survey of India.
- So far, land survey work is being done either manually or with the help of satellite images in MP.
- 55 thousand villages of the state have been selected for mapping.
- Using the drone technology, the map of the area will be made on a scale of 1 : 500, for a better resolution.
Banking & Finance
8. RBI to create digital payments index by July 2020
- The RBI has announced a Digital Payments Index (DPI) to assess and capture the extent of digitalisation of payments effectively.
- In order to monitor the digital payments, the Central Bank is to release Digital Payment Index. The index will reflect the penetration of digital payments in the country.
- The announcement on the DPI was made along with the RBI’s monetary policy statement released on Feb 06, 2020.
Banking & Finance
9. NPCI Permitted WhatsApp to expand UPI project to 10 million users
- Instant messaging platform WhatsApp has received permission from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to expand its pilot United Payment Interface (UPI) services to 10 million users.
- “WhatsApp Pay”, a payment feature of WhatsApp has been designed to run on Unified Payment Interface (UPI).
- This facility enables users to do business transactions or to pay others directly through their bank accounts.
National & International Appointments
10. World Bank Chief Economist Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg Resigns
- World Bank chief economist Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg announced her resignation.
- World Bank President David Malpass said research director Aart Kraay would take over for Goldberg until a new permanent chief economist is hired.
- A graduate of University of Freiburg in Germany and Stanford University in the United States, Goldberg was the first editor in chief of the American Economic Review and taught economics at Yale before joining the bank.
Agreement
11. Nepal inks financial closure of its largest hydropower project with India
- India and Nepal inked financial closure of Nepal's largest hydropower project, the Arun-III being built with India's assistance.
- India has pledged an investment of NPR 100 Billion for the 900 MW mega hydropower project being built in Arun River in Nepal’s Sankhuwasabha District.
- India’s Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) and Arun-III Power Development Company has signed the financial closure of the project with 7 banks in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Honours & Awards
12. Manoj Das received the Mystic Kalinga Literary Award
- Noted Odia writer Manoj Das awarded the Mystic Kalinga Literary Award during the Mystic Kalinga Festival (MKF) in Bhubaneswar.
- The Award is conferred to a person who has made a significant contribution to the literature and culture of Odia.
- The writer recently received the country’s third-highest civilian award- Padma Bhushan, for his contribution in the field of literature and education.
- He had also been awarded the Saraswati Samman.
Defense
13. HAL received approval to produce light utility helicopter
- The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) received initial clearance from DRDO for its light utility helicopter (LUH).
- The clearance will pave way production of LUH.
- LUH will replace the ageing Cheetah and Chetak helicopters.
- The announcement was made on the ongoing Def-Expo in Lucknow.
- HAL will be manufacturing indigenously designed and developed 200 helicopters that are to meet the operational requirements of the Indian Army and IAF.
