GK Today Daily Current Affairs 13 January 2020

Daily Current Affairs – International

Iranian armed forces accepts responsibility for accidental shoot-down of Ukrainian passenger plane

An Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander has said his unit accepts full responsibility for the accidental shoot-down of a Ukrainian passenger plane.

  • General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said that when he learned about the downing of the plane, which killed all 176 passengers on board, he wished that he should have died.
  • Iran’s armed forces said they mistook the passenger plane for a hostile target in the tense aftermath of Iran’s ballistic missile attack on two military bases in Iraq housing US troops.
  • A Ukrainian airliner carrying 176 passengers crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran.

Daily Current Affairs – National News

National Youth Day: 12 January

The nation is celebrating the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda as National Youth Day on 12 January.

  • One of the greatest spiritual leaders of India, Swami Vivekananda introduced the world to the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga.
  • He became popular in the western world after his famous speech at the World’s Parliament of Religions held in Chicago in 1893.
  • Vivekananda was the chief disciple of the 19th-century mystic Ramakrishna Paramhansa.
  • He was the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission.

National Youth Festival 2020 begins at Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh

On the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, 23rd National Youth Festival 2020 started with a grand inauguration ceremony in Lucknow.

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to the youth of the country to try only to purchase local products By 2020 which will help our countrymen.
  • The National Youth festival will increase the EK BHARAT SHRESTH BHARAT bonding and it will prove as a learning platform for everyone.
  • The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the State Government of Uttar Pradesh are jointly organising the national youth festival.

Government issues notification to bring Citizenship Amendment Act into effect

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act has come into effect from 10 January.

  • The Centre has issued a gazette notification in this regard.
  • The notification said, the Central Government appoints the 10th day of January, 2020 as the date on which provisions of the Act will come into force.
  • According to the Act, members of six minority communities who have come to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants.
  • They will be given Indian citizenship.
  • These communities are of the Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians.

Home Minister Amit Shah launches country’s first Cyber Crime Prevention Unit AASHVAST in Gandhinagar

Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurates the country’s first Cyber Crime Prevention Unit AASHVAST in Gandhinagar.

  • He also launched Video Integration and StateWide Advance Security-VISWAS project.
  • The Cyber Crime Prevention Unit-AASHVAST which will have a dedicated service helpline for victims of cyber crimes.

Smriti Irani launches Yashaswini Scheme for Women entrepreneurship in Goa

Union Minister for Women and Child Development and Textiles, Smriti Irani launched Yashaswini Scheme for Women entrepreneurship in Goa.

  • The event was held at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium at Taleigao near Panaji.
  • The Minister said that the development of women is the base for the development of the nation.
  • Under Yashaswini scheme, women self-help groups will be given interest free loans of upto Rs Five lakh for business.
  • Swasthya Sakhi Project and breast cancer screening initiative were also inaugurated on the occasion.

Haryana, Karnataka and Kerala top State Energy Efficiency Index 2019

Haryana, Karnataka and Kerala have topped the State Energy Efficiency Index 2019.

  • This index tracks the progress of Energy Efficiency (EE) initiatives in 36 states and union territories based on 97 significant indicators.
  • The State Energy Efficiency Index categorises states as ‘Front Runner’, ‘Achiever’, ‘Contender’ and ‘Aspirant’ based on their efforts and achievements towards energy efficiency implementation.
  • The top performing states in the State EE Index 2019 – Haryana, Kerala and Karnataka – are in the ‘Achiever’ category.
  • There isn’t any ‘frontrunner’ state, it can be inferred that a lot more can be done at the state level to realise energy savings from energy efficiency.
  • This index is developed by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in association with the Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE).

Daily Current Affairs Business News

Haitham bin Tariq al-Said takes over as Sultan of Oma

MohdHaitham bin Tariq al-Said took over as Sultan of Oman after the death of long-time ruler Qaboos.

  • The new ruler is the cousin of late Sultan Qaboos.
  • Sultan Qaboos died at the age of 79 following a prolonged illness.
  • Qaboos had ruled Oman since 1970 and was the eighth sultan of the House of Al Said.
  • He was the longest-serving monarch among the recent Arab rulers.

Daily Current Affairs – Business News

RBI extends recurring payments feature to UPI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will now allow consumers to give an e-mandate for recurring payments made through Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

  • This functionality will allow UPI users to bypass additional factor authentication (AFA) every time a payment is made to a regular merchant by giving a one time instruction to the UPI service provider.
  • This facility was earlier available for card and wallet based payments.
  • The limit on such recurring transactions has been set at Rs 2000.

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