Current Affairs Daily Digest – January 24 2020
1. The 15th Finance Commission held a meeting with the Goa state govt
The 15th Finance Commission headed by Chairman, Shri N.K. Singh along with its Members and senior officials held meeting with the Chief Minister of Goa, Shri Pramod Sawant.
The Goa State Government has been irregular in the constitution of State Finance Commission and not implemented recommendations of any two SFCs so far constituted in spite of having 190 Village Panchayats and 14 ULBs.
2. Maharashtra topped the 2020 Khelo India Youth Games champions
Maharashtra topped the Khelo India Youth Games champions 2020. The total medal tally of 256 medals, including 78 gold. Haryana ranked second and won a medal tally of 200. The 2020 Games is conducted in partnership with the School Games Federation of India (SGFI), Indian Olympic Association (IOA), and Assam STate government.
3. First Mahatma Gandhi International Convention Centre was established in Africa
The first convention centre was established in Africa by India to honour the memory of Mahatma Gandhi. The Centre was jointly inaugurated by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou. Mr.Jaishankar is on his state visit to the West African country, Niger. He is the first Indian Foreign Minister to visit the West African country.
4. National Girl Child Day is celebrated on 24 January
National Girl Child Day is celebrated on 24 January. The day aims to create awareness about the rights of the girl child in India. It aims to improve the condition of girls in society. The day aims to provide support and facilities to the girls of the country in every respect. It also aims to create awareness about the inequalities, discrimination, exploitation faced by the girls in the society.
5. First e-waste clinic to be opened in Bhopal
India’s first e-waste clinic is to be inaugurated in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on 24 January. It was jointly set up by the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The e-waste clinic will be started on the basis of a three-month pilot project.
6. DMMC, Munnan Singh won the 2020 Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar award
Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2020 was announced on the occasion of Subhash Chandra Bose birth anniversary which was celebrated on 23 January 2020.
Disaster Mitigation & Management Centre (DMMC), Uttarakhand under the institution category won the award. DMMC received a certificate and a cash prize of Rs.51 lakhs. The cash prize will be used by the winning institution for Disaster Management related activities only.
7. International Day of Education is observed on 24 January
International Day of Education is observed on 24 January every year. The day aims to celebrate the role of education for peace and development. The day aims to remind that without inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong opportunities for all. The day reminds the countries that it will not succeed in achieving gender equality and breaking the cycle of poverty without education.
Theme – The theme for 2020 International Day is ‘Learning for people, planet, prosperity, and peace’.
8. IOCL signed MoU with Ghana to implement Ghanas National LPG Promotion Policy
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ghana’s National Petroleum Authority (NPA) on 23 January 2020 at Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi. The MoU was signed by Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan witnesses media signing of an MOU on LPG cooperation with National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and Ministry of Energy (Petroleum) Ghana.
9. India ranked 80th in the 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index
India ranked 80th in the global Corruption Perceptions Index 2019 (CPI-2019). In 2018, India ranked 78th in the index. The index was released by Transparency International. The report considered revealed that a majority of countries showed little to no improvement in tackling corruption against the previous report. It considered 13 surveys and expert assessments to measure public sector corruption in 180 countries .
10. Defence Ministry approved procurement of 5,100 crores of hardware
Defence Acquisition Council approved the Procurement of defence equipment that are of worth Rs 5,100 crores. The equipment are to be purchased from indigenous sorces.
The equipment to be purchased include electronic Warfare systems that are manufactured by DRDO. It also includes other equipment that are manufactured by local Indian industries.
11. “Vyom Mitra”-ISRO’s half Humanoid-An experimental mission of Gaganyaan
ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) is to send a half-humanoid robot called the “Vyom Mitra” as an experimental mission to Gaganyaan. Vyom Mitra means a friend in Sky.
ISRO introduced Vyom Mitra at the “Human Space Flight and Exploration-Present Challenges and Future Trends” seminar that was held in Bengaluru. The robot is to fly in two unmanned mission that are planned in December 2020 and in June 2021.
12. Election Commission to host 1st Sukumar Sen Memorial Lecture
Election Commission will host the first Sukumar Sen Memorial Lecture. Former President Pranab Mukherjee will deliver the first of the Lectures. The EC has decided to institute an Annual Lecture Series as a tribute to the first Chief Election Commissioner of India, Sukumar Sen.
He commendably conducted the first two General Elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies, thereby putting India firmly on the map of democracy. AIR correspondent reports that the rationale behind instituting the lecture is to make a positive and constructive intervention in the democratic discourse of the nation within the constitutional mandate of the EC.
13. Nirmaljeet Singh Kalsi is first Punjab PCA chairperson
The Punjab government appointed retired bureaucrat Nirmaljeet singh kalsi as the first chairperson of state police complaints authority. Kalsi, who superannuated from the post of additional chief secretary (home) in June last year, would have a tenure of three years as PCA head from the date of his joining.
