31 January 2020 - Daily Current Affairs
1. Indian-origin Arvind Krishna elected new CEO of IBM
- Indian-origin technology executive Arvind Krishna has been elected Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of American IT giant International Business Machines (IBM).
- Krishna is currently IBM Senior Vice President for Cloud and Cognitive Software and will succeed Virginia Rometty.
- Thus, Krishna joins the club that includes Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen.
National & International Appointments
2. RBI appoints Janak Raj as member of MPC
- The RBI appointed its executive director Janak Raj as member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
- Raj replaces M.D. Patra, who was recently elevated as deputy governor of the RBI.
- The government had in 2016 constituted MPC to set the benchmark interest rate.
- The MPC is headed by the RBI governor. Of the six members, three are nominated by the government, while the remaining three are from the RBI (including the governor).
Honours & Awards
3. Rani Rampal won World Games Athlete of the Year award 2019
- India women's hockey captain Rani Rampal on the 2019 World Games Athlete of the Year award.
- The 25-year-old Rani has been part of the Indian women's hockey team since she was 15 years old and has made 240 appearances for the national team.
- Rani played an integral role in the team's successful qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
- She was the player of the tournament in the FIH Women’s Series Finals in Hiroshima, Japan.
International Affairs
4. Google grants $1 mn to promote news literacy in India
- In an effort to counter fake news and misinformation in India, Google News Initiative (GNI) has announced a $1 million grant for Internews, a news literacy organisation.
- The grants will work towards building a strong network of senior reporters and journalists in India.
- Google has also launched a new application called “Tangi” focuses on Do It Yourself videos.
- The name of the application has been inspired by TeAch aNd GIve.
Defense
5. India-Bangladesh joint exercise 'SAMPRITI-IX' from Feb 3
- The ninth edition of joint military training exercise between India-Bangladesh- SAMPRITI-IX will be conducted at Umroi, Meghalaya from February 3 to February 16.
- Exercise SAMPRITI is an important bilateral defence cooperation endeavour between India and Bangladesh hosted alternately by both countries.
- During the joint military exercise, a Command Post Exercise and a Field Training Exercise will be conducted.
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International Affairs
6. Eimear Noone Oscars’ first female conductor
- Irish composer EÃmear Noone will be the first woman to conduct an orchestra at the Oscars.
- She will lead the 42-piece orchestra at the Academy Awards as it plays excerpts from five nominated scores on Sunday 9 February.
- Teen sensation Billie Eilish has been announced as a performer for the 2020 Academy Awards ceremony.
- The announcement was made by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
National Affairs
7. IAHE committee headed by YS Malik submits its reports
Engineers (IAHE) has submitted its final report to the Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari.The Committee is headed by Yudhvir Singh Malik.
The committee in its report says that there is a strong need for enhancement of knowledge, skill and expertise of the engineers to maintain the massive road network of India inefficient, environment-friendly and safe manner at economical costs.
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Honours & Awards
8. Dr. Partap chauhan honoured with Ayurveda ratan award 2020
- Partap Chauhan has been Conferred with Prestigious Ayurveda Ratan Award 2020 in Brussels, Belgium
- The award was announced during Ayurveda Day Celebration at the European Parliament.
- The All-Party Parliament Group on Traditional Medicines organized a meeting at in Brussels, Belgium with the aim of formulating a roadmap to legalize Ayurveda in Europe.
National & International Appointments
9. Gita Sabharwal appointed UN Resident Coordinator in Thailand
- Gita Sabharwal of India has been appointed as the Resident Coordinator in Thailand by the United Nations.
- She was appointed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres with the host Government’s approval.
- The UN Resident Coordinator is the highest-ranking representative of the UN development system at the country level.
- The Resident Coordinators are designated representatives of the UN Secretary-General and they report directly to him.
National Affairs
10. Assam tops in budgetary practices: Transparency International
- According to the survey conducted by Transparency International, Assam tops in terms of budget formulation followed by Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
- The states that were ranked lower in terms of the budget formulation are Goa, Maharashtra and Punjab.
- The survey was conducted by the organization based on four parameters such as budgetary process, public disclosure, post-budget fiscal management and efforts to make budget citizen-friendly.
Banking & Finance
11. Two loan products launched by Indian Bank
- On 30th January the Indian Bank announced the launch of two products.
- First one is ‘Surya Shakthi’ for rooftop solar set up for captive consumption and the second one is a Corporate Loan, a finance product in aid of units under stress for working capital.
- Extension of corporate loan would be after evaluation and on a case by case basis, at a concessional rate, for a longer-term to help the units tide over their liquidity.
Sports
12. Bala Devi first woman footballer to bag a professional contract
- Bala Devi from Manipur becomes the first Indian women footballer to bag a professional contract from a foreign club.
- Bala a former India captain who earlier played in the Maldives for New Radiant sports club is among a group of 14 new players signed by the Scottish giants Rangers FC for 18 months.
- She is the highest international goal-scorer in South Asia.
- In 2015 and 2016 she was awarded AIFF Woman Player of the Year title
