Current Affairs Today 24th January 2020| Current Affairs News

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Daily Current Affairs PDF of 24th January 2020

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS

National Girl Child Day

• On 24 January every year National Girl Child Day is celebrated to highlight the inequalities faced by a majority of the girls in India, importance of education, nutrition, legal rights, medical care and safety of girl children etc.
• National Girl Child Day will be celebrated on 24 January in Madhya Pradesh on the theme of “Aware girl child-able Madhya Pradesh” (Jagruk Balika-Samarth Madhya Pradesh) under the “Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao” scheme.
• Women and Child Development Department will also celebrate National Girl Child Week from January 24 to 30.

International Day of Education

• International Day of Education is an annual international observance day held on January 24 and is dedicated to education. On December 3, 2018, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming January 24 as International Day of Education, in celebration of the role of education for bringing global peace and sustainable development.
• Education is one of the most powerful things in life. It allows us to find the meaning behind everything and helps improve lives in a massive way.

The  event will be celebrated at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris and New York. “International Day of Education 2020 will be celebrated globally around the theme of “Learning for people, planet, prosperity and peace”.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

Niti Aayog to develop National Data Platform

• Government think-tank Niti Aayog will develop a national data and analytics platform to make all government data accessible to stakeholders in a user-friendly manner.
• The platform will be powered by a user friendly search engine, backed by seamless navigation, with a worldclass user interface. Data will be provided in a machine-readable format with customisable analytics.
• Stating that the NDAP will provide access to data from multiple sectors in one place, the document said data will be sourced from different Central and State Ministries and Departments. NDAP will be a reliable platform for up-to-date data. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) will be developed to keep data updated.
• There will be a high powered steering committee under the chairmanship of vice chairman, Niti Aayog to provide direction, oversee progress, guide on data sources, and address various inter-ministerial issues on collating data.
• Besides, there will be a Technical Advisory Group (TAG)consisting of sector and technology experts to provide guidance on the development of the platform, management of data, and aligning the platform for user-needs.

About  Niti  Aayog :

• Formed: 1^st January 2015
• Head quarters: new delhi
• Narendra Modi, (Chairperson)
• Rajiv Kumar, (Vice Chairperson)
• Amitabh Kant, (CEO)

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL

India opens its first Mahatma Gandhi convention centre in Niger

• External Affairs Minister Jaishankar and President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou jointly inaugurated the first convention centre established in Africa by India to honour the memory of Mahatma Gandhi.
• The External Affairs Ministry stated that the establishment of the Mahatma Gandhi International Convention Centre (MGICC) is a landmark for India-Niger friendship, as also a symbol of India’s firm commitment towards Africa.
• It is the first centre to be established in Africa by India to honour the memory of Mahatma Gandhi whose 150th Birth Anniversary was observed last year. The convention centre has been designed as a spacious, modern and eco-friendly facility, including a 2,000 capacity Plenary Hall, to witness high-level and wide-ranging participation from African Union member states and other high-level conventions.

The bilateral relations have expanded significantly in recent years. India has provided Lines of Credit to Niger for projects in transport, electrification, solar energy and potable drinking water.

About Niger:

• Capital- Niamey.
• Prime Minister (PM)- Brigi Rafini.
• Currency- West African CFA (African Financial Community) Franc.

Pakistan conducts training launch of nuclear-capable ‘Ghaznavi’ missile

• Pakistan conducted a successful training launch of nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile ‘Ghaznavi‘, which can strike targets up to 290 kilometres.
• The training launch was part of Field Training Exercise of Army Strategic Forces Command aimed at rehearsing operational readiness procedures during day and night
• The ‘Ghaznavi’ missile is capable of delivering multiple types of warheads upto a range of 290 kilometers.
• The launch was witnessed by Lt Gen Nadeem Zaki Manj, Director General Strategic Plans Division, Commander Army Strategic Forces Command, senior officers from Strategic Plans Division, Army Strategic Forces Command, Scientists and Engineers of the strategic organisations, according to the state-run Radio Pakistan.

About Pakistan :

• Prime minister: Imran Khan
• Capital: Islamabad
• Currency: Pakistani rupee

Palestine takes over chairmanship of G77

• Palestine has taken over the chairmanship of G77 from Palestine will be formally elected chair at the annual G77 ministerial meeting, scheduled to take place in mid-September
• The chairmanship of the G77 is based on the system of geographical rotation. 2019 was Asia’s turn and the Asian group had unanimously endorsed
• Egypt was representing the African Group of countries. Palestine’s chairmanship of G77 which is the biggest UN block assumes great significance time it is being increasingly blacklisted by the Trump administration of US. Even though Palestine is not the member-state of UN, Palestine has been recognised by 136 UN members and has the status of non-member observer state similar to Vatican.

About G77

• G77 is a coalition of 134 developing nations (including China) at the United Nations. Traditionally G77 speaks with a single voice before the 193-3-member General Assembly and also at all UN committee meetings and at international conferences. G77 was formed on 15 June 1964 by the “Joint Declarlaration of the Seventy-Seven Countries” issued at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The group was credited with a common stance against apartheid and for supporting global disarmament.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

RBI buys Rs 10,000 crore of long-term securities in fourth special open market operation

• In the fourth special open market operation (OMO) auctions, the Reserve Bank of India bought Rs 10,000 crore worth of long-term securities and sold Rs 2,950 crore worth of short-term government bonds.
• Last week, the RBI had stated it will simultaneously purchase and sell government securities under open market operations (OMO) of Rs 10,000 crore each.
• In the OMO purchase auction, the RBI received bids worth Rs 26,887 crore for two types of securities — 7.32 per cent-2024 and 6.45 per cent-2029 — but accepted only Rs 10,000 crore of bids.
• For 7.32 per cent-2024, it got 157 bids and accepted 40 bids.
• The RBI offered to sell two government securities — 7.80 per cent-2021 and 7.94 per cent-2021 — through the OMO.
• It received Rs 35,375 crore of bids but accepted Rs 2,950 crore of bids.

About OMO:

• An open market operation (OMO) is an activity by a central bank to give (or take) liquidity in its currency to (or from) a bank or a group of banks.
• The central bank can either buy or sell government bonds in the open market (this is where the name was historically derived from) the central bank gives the money as a deposit for a defined period and synchronously takes an eligible asset as collateral.
• A central bank uses OMO as the primary means of implementing monetary policy. The usual aim of open market operations is—aside from supplying commercial banks with liquidity and sometimes taking surplus liquidity from commercial banks—to manipulate the short-term interest rate and the supply of base money in an economy, and thus indirectly control the total money supply, in effect expanding money or contracting the money supply.

City Union Bank launches all-in-one app with multilingual chat-bot

• City Union Bank (CUB) has introduced its multilingual interactive voice-based all-in-one mobile app.
• The customers can converse with the chat-bot ‘Ask Lakshmi’ of the app in Tamil, English, Hindi or Telugu. Customers can converse for their general banking needs including transactions such as balance enquiry, mini statement, fund transfer over voice/text instructions.
• This new app covers all the financial and non-financial transactions such as fund transfer, bill payments, opening/closing of deposits, opening/closing of loan on deposits, balance enquiry, statement of account, stop payment of cheque, set card limit, handle wallet/UPI and invest (buying and selling) in Mutual Funds through simple guided interaction.

About city union bank:

• Headquarters: Kumbakonam
• CEO:  N. Kamakodi.
• Tagline :Trust and Excellence since 1904

ICICI Lombard gets IRDAI nod to pilot five projects under Sandbox

• ICICI Lombard stated it has received Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India’s (IRDAI) ’s approval to pilot five innovative applications and programs in its health and motor portfolio under the Sandbox Project.
• Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India’s Regulatory Sandbox Project has provided the insurance industry with the flexibility to explore new products and services that suit today’s technology and data driven world.
• This is the highest number given to any company under the IRDAI-introduced project. ICICI Lombard is to pilot the five proposals from February 1, 2020 to July 31, 2020.
• The insurer has secured approval for APP Monitored Diabetes Mellitus Wellness Program, APP Monitored Dyslipidaemia Management Program under the health insurance portfolio, Pay As You Use (PAYU) policies for Private Car, Pay How You Use (PHYU) policies for Private Car and Single owner multiple vehicle (Motor floater policy).
• This methodology allows insurers to launch and test a product with a select group of people for a period of six months, after which, on the basis of the results of the pilot run and the feedback, it will be launched commercially for the public.

About IRDAI:

• Founded– 1999
• Headquarters– Hyderabad
• Chairman– Dr. Subhash C. Khuntia

About ICICI Lombard:

• Founded– 2001
• Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
• MD&CEO– Bhargav Dasgupta
• It is a joint venture between ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) Bank & Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited- a financial services company based in Toronto, Canada.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Google partners with Airtel to offer G Suite to small, medium businesses

• Telecom operator Bharti Airtel and Google Cloud announced a partnership offer G Suite to small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) in India as part of its integrated information and communication technology portfolio.
• G Suite is a set of intelligent apps-Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar and more-designed with real-time collaboration and machine intelligence to bring people together and help them work smarter and safer.
• Global cloud service providers have been tapping into partnerships with Indian enterprises to tap into the fast growing demand for digital services in the country.
• This latest agreement will provide a platform for both companies to tap growth opportunities in India, which ranks amongst the fastest growing economies and has the second highest number of internet users in the world. Airtel serves over 2,500 large businesses and over 500,000 SMBs and technology startups across India.

About Bharti Airtel Ltd:

• Founded– 7 July 1995
• Headquarters– New Delhi
• Chairman– Sunil Bharti Mittal
• MD & CEO (India and South Asia)- Gopal Vittal

About Google Cloud:

• Launched– April 7, 2008
• CEO– Thomas Kurian

Apollo Hospitals launches ‘Health EMI card’

• Apollo Hospitals Group in collaboration with Bajaj Finserv has launched a “Health EMI Card” that offers a credit limit of up to ₹4 lakh and covers nearly 600 procedures for patients.
• The Apollo Hospitals-Bajaj Finserv Health EMI Card, according to Rajeev Jain, managing director of Bajaj Finance Limited, was to enable easy EMI financing for healthcare.
• The cards would be accepted across all Apollo Hospitals in the country. It also features a personal accident insurance cover of ₹ 1 lakh. The cards are digitised and customers can have it available once they download our wallet app. The card would cover the entire family.
• It would enable users to convert their medical expenditure into no cost EMIs that can be repaid over a period of 12 months.

About Apollo munich health insurance:

• Headquarters: Gurugram
• CEO: Antony Jacob

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES

India’s first e-waste clinic opens in Bhopal

• The country’s first e-waste clinic is being opened in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh . It will enable segregation, processing and disposal of waste from both household and commercial units.
• The e-waste clinic is jointly setting up by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC). In the absence of a safe disposal mechanism, electronic waste at present is being disposed along with other waste.
• The e-waste clinic is being started on the basis of a three-month pilot project. If this project is successful, e-waste clinics will be established at other places in the country.
• Electronic waste will be collected door-to-door or could be deposited directly at the e-waste clinic. The CPCB will provide technical support to the clinic. The most interesting aspect of e-waste clinic is that the clinic has been prepared in junk low floor bus. The bus is decorated with e-waste material from outside and inside.
• A TV has been also installed in it, in which documentary films on the subject of environmental damage caused by e-waste will be shown.

Madhya pradesh national parks :

• Bandhavgarh National Park
• Ghughua Fossil Park
• Kanha Tiger Reserve
• Kuno National Park
• Madhav National Park
• Mandla Plant Fossils National Park
• Pench National Park
• Sanjay National Park
• Satpura Tiger Reserve
• Van Vihar National Park

Mumbai malls, shops, eateries can stay open 24X7 from January 27

• Maharashtra cabinet has approved a proposal to allow malls, multiplexes, shops and eateries to remain open round the clock.
• The decision will come into force from 27th January and will be implemented only in non-residential areas like Bandra Kurla Complex and Nariman Point.
• In another decision, cabinet has made the film “Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior” tax-free in the state. The film is based on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s trusted lieutenant Tanaji Malusare who had played a pivotal role in capturing the Sinhagad Fort. The movie that released on 10th January has already grossed over 150 crore rupees.

Recent news related to maharastra :

• Maharashtra topped in LEED-Certified Space in GBCI Report
• Maharashtra Government Sets Up Committee for Tourism in Forest Reserves of the State
• The 5th edition of the Asia Pacific Drosophila Research Conference (APDRC5) is being held in Pune, Maharashtra.
• ‘Cyber Safe Women’ campaign Launched by Maharashtra Government
• Junior National Ice Hockey Championship-2020 begins in Leh

During a two-day regional conference organized by the Government of India’s Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances(DARPG) at Nagpur

Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi Palaniswami lays foundation for DLF DownTown in Chennai

• Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami laid foundation for the construction of DLF DownTown, a joint venture of the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) and DLF, for housing information technology (IT) firms under one roof.
• The IT complex with all modern facilities would come up on 27.04 acres of land in Taramani, at an investment of Rs 5,000 crore. The project is expected to provide direct employment for 70,000 people.
• .Many new projects like Phase II of the Chennai Metro, widening of OMR Road with by-passes at Kelambakkam and Thiruporur and flyovers at key junctions at a total cost of Rs 1,150 crore are being taken up.

About Tamil nadu :

• Chief minister: Edappadi K. Palaniswami
• Capital: Chennai
• Governor: Banwarilal Purohit

Delhi airport gets a new women-only cab service

• At the Indira Gandhi International Airport is an exclusive ‘Women with wheels,’ taxi service that is unique as it is operated by women drivers, for women.
• The service, an initiative by ‘Sakha cabs’ was launched from the international airport from January 10 in a bid to make women feel safer.
• The cabs are driven by women drivers and the services are also provided to only female commuters.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ACQUISITIONS AND MERGERS

Home Credit joins hands with HDFC Ergo, Bajaj Allianz Life

• Home Credit India announced it has acquired a corporate agency license to provide health life insurance.
• While health insurance will provide coverage for medical expenses, life insurance will provide benefits and financial protection to Home Credit India customers.
• Home Credit India has tied up with HDFC Ergo General Insurance Company for health insurance and will provide cover in case of an illness or injury. The expenses covered under the policy include — in-patient hospitalisation, pre- and post-hospitalisation, domiciliary expenses, day-care procedures as well as cover for newborn baby.
• For life insurance, Home Credit India will offer a savings plan of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company which has life cover benefit along with tax-free guaranteed returns.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SUMMITS AND CONFERENCE

13th Weld India expo from February 6

• India’s potential to become a $5 trillion economy will be highlighted at the 13th Weld India Exhibition being organised in association with the International Institute of Welding in Mumbai from February 6 to 9.
• The event with the theme of advanced welding technology and quality systems for developing economies is expected to have participants from as many as 22 countries.
• IIW under the guidance of the Union Ministry of Skill Development, along with the support of National Skill Development Corporation and private industries, was working on closing the gap of the skilled manpower needed in the country to meet the objective of making India a $5 trillion economy.

Shri Mansukh Mandaviya participates in the Round-table of UNAIDS 

• The Union Minister of State for Shipping (I/C) and Chemical & Fertilizers Shri Mansukh Mandaviya participated in the High-level roundtable of UNAIDS (The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) on the themeAccess for all: Leveraging Innovations, Investments and Partnerships for Health at World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland.
• UNAIDS provides the strategic direction, advocacy, coordination and technical support needed to catalyse and connect leadership from governments, the private sector and communities to deliver life-saving HIV services.
• UNAIDS is leading the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.

 ECI To Host the 1st Sukumar Sen Memorial Lecture 

• Election Commission of India has decided to institute an Annual Lecture Series as a tribute to the first Chief Election Commissioner of India, Shri Sukumar Sen. Sh Sen (1898-1963) commendably conducted the first two General Elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies, thereby putting India firmly on the mapof democracy.
• During his service, he held several important posts, including as Chief Secretary of West Bengal (1947-1950). He served as the first Chief Election Commissioner of India from 21st March 1950 till his retirement 19th December, 1958. He conducted the first two Lok Sabha elections of India held in 1952 and 1957 simultaneously with the Legislative Assembly Elections based on universal adult franchise under challenging circumstances and little precedence to guide him.

About election commission of india :

• Formed: 25^th January 1950
• Head quaters : new delhi
• Sunil Arora, IAS, Chief Election Commissioner of India
• Ashok Lavasa, IAS, Election Commissioner of India
• Sushil Chandra, IRS (IT), Election Commissioner of India

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

22 children conferred with National Bravery Award

• Twenty-two children, including 10 girls and 12 boys have been selected for the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW) National Bravery Awards, 2019. One award has been given posthumously.
• The gallant children come from 12 different states of India.
• The coveted Bharat Award has been conferred on 15-year-old Master Adithya K, who is from Keral. Adithya saved more than 40 lives when a bus they were travelling in bus caught fire in Nepal in May 2019.
• Another Kerala resident and award recipient was as brave but not as lucky. The only recipient to recieve the award posthumously is Muhhamed Muhsin EC, who has honoured with the Abhimanyu award.
• The two awardees from J&K Sartaj Mohidin Mughal and Mudasir Ashraf were found with great difficulty. The security forces knocked on their doors to inform them that both had won the bravery award. Mughal saved his family during live shelling from Pakistan. Mughal lives at the Line of Control (LoC) while Mudasir helped IAF and rescue personnel during the IAF chopper crash in Budgam in February 2019.
• A 13-year-old Alaika saved her family after their car met with an accident.
• The ICCW Markandeya Award was conferred on 10-year-old Rakhi from Uttarakhand, who saved her 4-year-old brother from the claws of a leopard. She sustained severe injuries in the incident.
• The ICCW Dhruva Award has been given to Purnima Giri (16) and Sabita Giri (15) from Odisha who saved 12 persons from drowning a river when a boat sank into the water full with wild crocodiles.
• Ten-year-old Srimati Badra has been given the ICCW Prahalada Award for helping her friend who lost her right leg in a train accident. Due to her timely and courageous action, her friend’s life couid be saved.
• The other recipients are Kamal Krishna Das (Assam), Kanti Paikra and Bharneshwari Nirmalkar (both from Chhattisgarh), Aarti Kiran Shet and Venkatesh (both from Karnataka), Zen Sadavarte and Akash Machindra Khillare (both from Maharashtra), Lourembam Yaikhomba Mangang (Manipur), Everbloom K Nongrum (Meghalaya), Lalliansanga, Carolyn Malsawmtluangi and Vanlalhriatrenga (all from Mizoram).

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION

SoftBank appoints Manoj Kohli as India head

• After roping in Google India’s Vikas Agnihotri as an operating partner in India, SoftBank has appointed Manoj Kohli as country head.
• Kohli, who has experience of over 40 years, would be responsible for government relations and public policy efforts.
• Previously, he was the Managing Director and CEO of Bharti Airtel.

About SoftBank

• Founded- 1981
• Headquarters- Tokyo, Japan
• Founder and CEO- Masayoshi Son

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING

Sri Lanka topped the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative list

• Sri Lankatopped on breastfeeding rate according to a new survey conducted by the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi). The survey was taken among 97 countries globally.
• Sri Lanka’s rankis based on its performance on ten indicators of policies and programs.
• WBTi uses color-codeto rank countries. Sri Lanka earned a green color code, which implies the best level of performance.
• Sri Lanka has been making an effort to support and provide supportive measures for breastfeedingsince 2005.
• It has demonstrated a high level of commitment towards the health and nutrition of mothers and babies.

About World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi)

• WBTi was launched in2004. WBTi assists countries to assess the status of the participating countries.
• It will also benchmark the progress in implementation of theGlobal Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding in a standard way.
• The WBTi assists countries to measure strengths and weaknesses on the10 parameters of policy and programmes that protect, promote and support optimal infant and young child feeding (IYCF)  So far, 120 countries have been involved in WBTi and 97 have completed assessments.

India climbs eight places to rank 72 among 132 countries in global talent index

• India has climbed eight places to 72nd rank in the 2020 Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI), which was topped by Switzerland, the US and Singapore.
• Sweden (4th), Denmark (5th), the Netherlands (6th), Finland (7th), Luxembourg (8th), Norway (9th) and Australia (10th) complete the top 10 league table.
• The GTCI report compiled by INSEAD in collaboration with human resource firm Addeco and Google was released in Davos, Switzerland.
• Report noted that the gap between high income, talent-rich nations and the rest of the world is widening. More than half of the population in the developing world lack basic digital skills.
• In the BRICS grouping, China was ranked 42nd, Russia (48th), South Africa (70th) and Brazil at 80th position. This year’s GTCI report explores how the development of artificial intelligence (AI) is not only changing the nature of work but also forcing a re-evaluation of workplace practices, corporate structures and innovation ecosystems.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

POLNET 2.0 armed with robust sat data communication facility launched

• Police communication services in the country are expected to be bolstered as a revamped and upgraded POLNET 2.0 was commissioned  by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai at a national conference.
• The new platform is armed with a robust multi-media facility and is a captive satellite-based network that provides video, audio and data connectivity across the country, especially in times of disasters when regular communication either gets jammed or crashes.
• The Directorate of Coordination Police Wireless (DCPW) that operates POLNET or the police network services in the country has brought out an enhanced communication platform for police and security forces to communicate better during law and order problems and disasters, including linkup from remote border and coastal areas.
• The DCPW was set up in 1946 and it was placed under the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1950 with the primary mandate of coordination between state and central police and security agencies for radio communication and frequency allocation.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS

World Archery lifts suspension on India enabling Indian archers to represent country

• The World Archery conditionally lifted the suspension on India, less than a week after the embattled national federation held its elections.
• A statement from the World Archery stated the federation needs to comply with good governance and activity portions of the World Archery constitution and rules. Must report every three months.
• The Indian archers, who had to compete as neutral athletes at the Asian Championships because of the suspension, can now represent the country under the Tricolour. The next international tournament is Indoor World Series in Las Vegas in three weeks’ time.
• Union Minister Arjun Munda was elected as President of the Archery Association of India (AAI) after the much-delayed elections were held in presence of three observers, including one from the World Archery.
• The elections were held as per the Delhi High Court order and the two bitter rivals clashed for the first time. World Archery had sent an Observer in Kazi Rajib Uddin Ahmed Chapol.

About world archery association :

• Headquarters location: Lausanne, Switzerland
• First Vice-president: Mario Scarzella
• Membership: 156 national and other associations
• President: Uğur Erdener

Khelo India Youth Games: Maharashtra crowned champion

• Maharashtra maintained its supremacy in Khelo India Youth Games by improving upon its last year’s performance and finishing at the top of the table with a massive haul of 256 medals, comprising 78 gold, 77 silver and 101 bronze, as the 13-day sporting extravaganza came to a close
• Maharashtra — which received the winner’s trophy from Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in the presence of Union Minister of State for Food Processing Rameshwar Teli and Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju in a glittering closing ceremony — was followed by Haryana (200, 68 gold) and Delhi (122, 39 gold).

Rank      State              Gold Medal   Silver Medal     Bronze Medal    Medal Tally

1        Maharashtra           78                77                         101                256

2        Haryana                 68                60                       72 200

3         Delhi                     39                36                       47 122

4        Karnataka              32                 26                       22 80

5        Uttar Pradesh         29                 28                         30                87

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHORS

The Story of Yoga: From Ancient India to the Modern West

• Book titled “first definitive history” of Yoga, “The Story of Yoga: From India to the Contemporary World” has been written by Scottish cultural historian Alistair Shearer, published by Penguin Random House.
• Shearer’s revealing history boasts a colourful cast of characters past and present, in an engaging tale of scholars and scandal, science and spirit, wisdom and waywardness. This is the untold story of yoga, warts and all.
• The book is divided into 2 parts,”Today” and “Yesterday”, with 9 chapters, including “The Age of invasions”, “Female fitness” and “Yoga Goes West”.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ORBITUARY

Monty Python Star Terry Jones Passes Away at 77

• Terry Jones, a star of the seminal comedy group “Monty Python” who delivered some of the most famous lines in comedic history, has died, his agent confirmed to the PA Media news agency. He was 77.
• Jones was a major creative force behind the surrealist troupe’s pioneering works, which flitted between styles and tones and cemented the six-man group as one of the most influential acts in the British cultural canon.

DAILY CA – 23rd JAN

• Cabinet approves over Rs 4300 cr to establish permanent campuses for new NITs
• Nation pays homage to Subhas Chandra Bose on his 123rd birth anniversary

• Cabinet gives approval to EC to enter into MoU with Election Commissions of Tunisia and Papua New Guinea
• Cabinet committee approves the closure of Hindustan Fluorocarbons plant in Telangana
• SAIL launches scheme for employee-led philanthropic activities
• UK Parliament ratifies Brexit divorce law
• Aurobindo Ashram School building constructed with India’s assistance inaugurated in Nepal
• WHO meeting underway to decide about declaring corona virus outbreak “An emergency”
• Government approves model pact with foreign countries for seafarers’ competency certificate
• ICICI Bank Introduces Cardless Cash Withdrawal Facility Through ATMs, Per Day Limit at Rs 20K
• Japan’s NTT to invest Rs 11,000 crore in data centres in India
• GDP to grow at 5 per centin FY21: India Ratings
• PhonePe launches digital ATM, users can withdraw cash from merchant shops
• Maharashtra government makes it compulsory for school students to read the Preamble to Constitution
• Uttarakhand becomes first state to implement agricultural land leasing policy
• Jaipur Literature Festival to begin
• Adani Capital acquires Essel Finance’s MSME loan business
• Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou elected first woman president of Greece
• National Bravery Awards: 49 children receive Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2020
• TNAU V-C gets Harit Ratna Award
• Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurates India’s first global Mega Science Exhibition “Vigyan Samagam” in Delhi
• Ravi Shankar Prasad to inaugurate second edition of NIC Tech Conclave-2020
• Bangladesh moves 8 positions up in EIU Democracy Index,Norway tops the list
• Indian Navy signs MoU with GSI for sharing offshore data, products
• ISRO to send robot ‘Vyomamitra’ in unmanned Gaganyaan spacecraft ahead of human spaceflight
• Avadi Ordnance Factory doubles the manufacturing capacity of Battle Tanks for Indian army

DAILY CA – 24^th JAN

• National Girl Child Day-24^th January
• International Day of Education-24^th januray
• Niti Aayog to develop National Data Platform
• India opens its first Mahatma Gandhi convention centre in Niger
• Pakistan conducts training launch of nuclear-capable ‘Ghaznavi’ missile
• Palestine takes over chairmanship of G77
• RBI buys Rs 10,000 crore of long-term securities in fourth special open market operation
• City Union Bank launches all-in-one app with multilingual chat-bot
• ICICI Lombard gets IRDAI nod to pilot five projects under Sandbox
• Google partners with Airtel to offer G Suite to small, medium businesses
• Apollo Hospitals launches ‘Health EMI card’ 

• India’s first e-waste clinic opens in Bhopal
• Mumbai malls, shops, eateries can stay open 24X7 from January 27
• Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi Palaniswami lays foundation for DLF DownTown in Chennai
• Delhi airport gets a new women-only cab service
• Home Credit joins hands with HDFC Ergo, Bajaj Allianz Life 

• 13th Weld India expo from February 6
• Shri Mansukh Mandaviya participates in the Round-table of UNAIDS 

• ECI To Host the 1st Sukumar Sen Memorial Lecture
• 22 children conferred with National Bravery Award 

• SoftBank appoints Manoj Kohli as India head
• Sri Lanka topped the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative list
• India climbs eight places to rank 72 among 132 countries in global talent index
• POLNET 2.0 armed with robust sat data communication facility launched
• World Archery lifts suspension on India enabling Indian archers to represent country
• Khelo India Youth Games: Maharashtra crowned champion
• The Story of Yoga: From Ancient India to the Modern West
• Monty Python Star Terry Jones Passes Away at 77