GK Today Daily Current Affairs 22 January 2020

Daily Current Affairs – International

50th Annual Meeting of World Economic Forum begins in Davos

The 50th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, a congregation of rich and powerful from across the world, opens in Davos, Switzerland.

  • Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will lead the Indian delegation to the WEF.
  • Besides, over 100 CEOs, political leaders including Union Ministers and Chief Ministers will take part in the 50th edition of the annual event.
  • The welcome message was followed by the annual crystal awards and this year’s recipients included celebrity film star Deepika Padukone.

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle sign formal deal to exit from royal family

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have signed up to a formal exit deal from the royal family.

  • It will see them forsake their His and Her Royal Highness (HRH) titles and will no longer receive UK taxpayers’ funding for their duties.
  • The deal, which comes into effect by spring in a few weeks’ time, means the couple will no longer be representing the Queen in an official capacity.
  • Queen Elizabeth II said the agreement followed months of discussions and was a constructive and supportive way forward for her grandson and his family.

Daily Current Affairs – National

PM Modi, Nepali PM KP Sharma Oli to inaugurates ICP Biratnagar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepali counterpart K P Sharma Oli inaugurated Integrated Check Post (ICP) Biratnagar.

  • ICP Biratnagar has been built on 260 acres of land at a cost of around 140 crore rupees.
  • It has the facilities for immigration clearance of foreign passengers, export and import cargo handling.
  • It is designed to handle around 500 trucks per day.
  • India and Nepal share over 1,850 kilometre- long border which is characterized by a unique and long tradition of free movement of people.
  • Jogbani-Biratnagar international trade point is one of the important trade points between the two countries.
  • Biratnagar is also the third-largest Revenue Collecting Customs Office of Nepal.
  • Presently, over 65 percent of Nepal’s trade is with India and also over 65 percent of Nepal’s exports are to India.

IAF inducts its first squadron of Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft equipped with BrahMos missiles

The Indian Air Force has inducted its first squadron of Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft carrying the BrahMos missiles in the South at its Thanjavur base in Tamil Nadu.

  • The Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Bhadauria inducted the squadron at an impressive ceremony.
  • The newly reinstated 222-squadron, also known as the Tigersharks, would serve as a lethal weapons platform capable of carrying both aerial and maritime roles in the Indian Ocean Region.
  • Thanjavur is strategically located in the southern peninsula.
  • From there, the Tigersharks can dominate the seas and provide very close and integrated support to the Indian Navy.

Ravi Shankar Prasad inaugurates second edition of NIC Tech Conclave-2020

Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology  Ravi Shankar Prasad inaugurated the second edition of NIC Tech Conclave-2020 in New Delhi.

  • The two-day event is being organized by the National Informatics Centre.
  • This Conclave will contribute immensely to the capacity building of Government officers across the country and help in delivering high-quality citizen-centric services.
  • This year’s theme is Technologies for Next-Gen Governance.

National Girl Child Day to be celebrated on January 24

The National Girl Child Day is celebrated in India every year on January 24.

  • It was started by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Government of India in 2008
  • National Girl Child Day will be celebrated on 24 January in Madhya Pradesh.
  • The theme of the day will be “Aware girl child-able Madhya Pradesh” (Jagruk Balika-Samarth Madhya Pradesh) under the “Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao” scheme.
  • The aim of this celebration is to create awareness in the society about the rights of daughters and to provide new opportunities to the daughters for their social and financial development.
  • Apart from Girl child day, Women and Child Development Department will also celebrate National Girl Child Week from January 24 to 30.

Andhra Pradesh Assembly passes bill to establish three capitals

The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed a bill proposing three capitals, Legislative, Executive and Judicial for the state.

  • The Assembly passed the AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill this regard.
  • Visakhapatnam is proposed to be the Executive capital, Amaravati Legislative capital and Kurnool will be the Judicial capital.
  • The Bill also provides for dividing the State into various zones. It seeks to establish zonal planning and development boards.
  • The Bill will be moved in the Legislative Council where YSR government may face an uphill task to see it through as it has just nine members in the 58-member Upper House.

Haryana Assembly ratifies 126th Constitutional Amendment Bill

The Haryana Assembly ratified the 126th Constitutional Amendment Bill, passed by the Parliament in December last year.

  • Earlier, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra and Bihar Assemblies had ratified the Bill, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Union Minister of Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad on December 9, 2019.
  • The Bill amends provisions related to reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
  • The Constitution provides for reservation of seats for SCs and STs and representation of the Anglo-Indian community by nomination in Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies of states.
  • This has been provided for a period of 70 years since the enactment of the Constitution and will expire on January 25, 2020.
  • The Bill seeks to extend the reservation for SCs and STs by another 10 years till January 25, 2030.

Daily Current Affairs – Appointments

JP Nadda elected as National President of Bharatiya Janata Party

BJP Working President J P Nadda was elected unopposed as the National President of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

  • Party’s election in-charge of organization, Radha Mohan Singh gave him the certificate of his election on the occasion.
  • Earlier, the nomination process for the top party post was held at party headquarters in the national capital.
  • Mr. Nadda, who is from Himachal Pradesh, was appointed as the party’s working president in July last year.
  • He has long been a member of the BJP Parliamentary Board, its highest decision-making body.
  • He was also the Cabinet Minister in the first tenure of the Narendra Modi Government.

Daily Current Affairs – Awards

Iranian Film ‘Castle of Dreams’ gets Best Film Award at Dhaka International Film Festival

The Iranian film ‘Castle of Dreams’ directed by Reza Mirkarimi won the Best Film Award in Asian Competition section of the 18th Dhaka International Film Festival (DIFF).

  • The film also won the Best Director Award.
  • Information Minister of Bangladesh Hasan Mahmud gave away the award carrying prize money of Tk 1 lakh, a citation in the closing ceremony held in Dhaka.
  • Indian film ‘Finally Love’ directed by Anjan Dutt bagged Best Audience Award in Cinema of the World Category.
  • The theme of this year’s festival was ‘better film, better audience, better society’.

Daily Current Affairs – Deaths

Congress leader Shamsher Singh Surjewala passes away

Veteran Congress leader Shamsher Singh Surjewala has passed away following prolonged illness.

  • Surjewala, father of party leader Randeep Surjewala, breathed his last at the AIIMS hospital in Delhi.
  • Shamsher Surjewala remained a five-time MLA and one-time Rajya Sabha MP.
  • He was also the former president of the Haryana Congress and a former minister.
  • He was the president of the Haryana Krishak Samaj and fought for farmers rights.

Leave a Comment