Current Affairs Daily Digest – January 15 2020
1. Army Day is observed on 15 January
Army Day is observed on 15 January every year. India celebrates 72nd Army Day on 15 January 2020. The special event was organized on this day in the national capital, Delhi. Army Command headquarters in the national capital, as well as in other parts of the country, celebrate the occasion by organizing military parades and other shows of strength.
2. CM Thackeray to launch the first girder for the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link
Maharashtra Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray is expected to launch the first girder for the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL) in January 2020. The estimated cost of the project is Rs.18,000 crore. The project is expected to be completed by 2022. Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link: ♦ The bridge will connect south Mumbai’s eastern coast to Nhava Sheva on the mainland.
3. January 15: IMD Foundation Day
The IMD celebrates its 145th Foundation Day. It was begun in 1875. The day will be celebrated by Ministry of Earth Science under which IMD (Indian Meteorological Department) functions. Around 5 observatories of IMD received recognition from World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
4. Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu National Award to Prof M S Swaminathan
The Agricultural Scientist Prof M S Swaminathan was awarded the “Muppavarapu Venenkaiah Naidu” National award. The award was also presented to Mr Muniratnam. Mr Muniratnam was the first person to receive the award four days back. The professor was made the honours during Pongal celebrations at Raj Bhavan in Chennai. The award carried cash prize of Rs 5 lakhs.
5. MoU between Railways and SBI for door step banking
The South-Central Railways and SBI signed MoU to implement door step banking in 585 railway stations. The MoU will enable direct pick up of cash from all the railway stations included in the MoU. Before the agreement, the earnings generated at the railway stations were manually sent to nearest banks that were authorised to collect the deposit on behalf of the Railways.
6. Odia Filmmaker Manmohan Mohapatra passed away
Odia Filmmaker Manmohan Mohapatra passed away on 13 January in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. He died due to the prolonged illness. He was 69-years-old.
Manmohan Mohapatra: Mohapatra was born in 1951. He studied filmmaking at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune. He made his first short film ‘Anti-Memoirs’ in 1975.
7. China operationalised the world’s largest radio telescope, FAST
China operationalized the world’s largest radio telescope in southwest China’s Guiyang city, the capital of Guizhou province. The FAST telescope is was launched after three years of trial operation. The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) telescope is with a diameter of half-a-kilometer. It is dubbed as China Sky Eye.
8. RBI to impose fines on banks with poor progress
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is to impose heavy penalties on banks, and stipulate higher provisioning for stressed loans. RBI announced it earlier on 7 June 2019. For the first time, RBI has said that the chief executive officers (CEOs) and senior management of banks can also be held liable for lack of progress. The fresh set of guidelines will be in the public domain by the end of March.
9. Captain Tania Shergill to be the first woman parade adjutant for the Republic Day parade
Captain Tania Shergill has been selected to be the first woman parade adjutant for the Republic Day parade. The parade adjutant is responsible for the parade. In the 2019 Republic Day parade. Captain Bhavna Kasturi was the first woman officer to lead an all-men contingent. Captain Tania Shergill is an officer with the Army’s Corps of Signals.
10. Rohit Sharma named ICC’s ‘2019 ODI Cricketer of the Year’; Virat Kohli bags ‘Spirit of Cricket’ award
India’s swashbuckling opener Rohit Sharma has been named the ICC’s ‘2019 ODI Cricketer of the Year’ for his incredible run of form through the year. Indian captain Virat Kohli won the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ award for stopping fans from booing Australia’s Steve Smith during their World Cup match at the Oval.
11. Anand Prakash Maheshwari takes over as the new DG of CRPF
IPS officer Anand Prakash Maheshwari today took over as the new director general of the CRPF.
CRPF spokesperson said the new DG stated it was homecoming for him as he has served in the force for nine years, including as the Inspector General (operations), and also as its IG in Kashmir.
12. Visa to buy fintech startup Plaid in $5.3 billion deal
Visa Inc has agreed to buy privately held financial technology startup Plaid Inc in a $5.3 billion deal, the payments processor said on Monday. The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which said Plaid was valued at nearly $2.65 billion in a 2018 funding round.
13. NATHEALTH and AHPI sign MoU to share knowledge and resources in healthcare sector
NATHEALTH has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Association of Healthcare Providers (India) (AHPI) to boost information sharing, public-private partnership (PPP) and advocacy to collaborate and achieve quality healthcare for all citizens in India.
This brings together a network of over 15,000 hospitals, labs and diagnostics chains, healthcare service providers, equipment manufacturers, investors, knowledge partners, technology providers and innovators into a unified platform.
14. Amway appoints Ajay Khanna as head of marketing operations for India
FMCG company Amway India, has announced the appointment of Ajay Khanna as the chief marketing officer for India. Khanna is a marketing veteran with over 24 years of experience in the FMCG and telecom industry and has taken over the reins from Sundip Shah.
15. Lt General Girish Kumar reappointed Surveyor General of India for one year
Lt General Girish Kumar was reappointed as the Surveyor General of India for one year, a Personnel Ministry order said. He has been appointed on a contract basis for one year, with effect from January 1, 2020, it said. Kumar was in September 2017 appointed as the Surveyor General of India under the Survey of India, the national survey and mapping organization of the country.
