Daily Current Affairs

Current Affairs Today 26th & 27th January 2020| Current Affairs News

Dear Readers, Daily Current Affairs News Updates about the National and International events were listed here. Read Current Affairs here and stay updated with current news. Candidates those who are preparing for IBPS/SBI/PO/Clerk exam and all other competitive exams can use this and try Current Affairs Quiz to test your knowledge level.

Daily Current Affairs PDF of 26th & 27th January 2020

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS

National Tourism Day

  • National Tourism Day is observed on 25 January to highlight the importance of tourism for the economy of the country.
  • India is a diverse nation and it offers several forms of tourism including cultural, nature, heritage, educational, sports, rural, eco-tourism, etc. This diversity of India makes it a prime attraction for tourists.
  • According to the statistics of the Ministry of Tourism, over 7.7% of Indian employees work in the tourism industry.
  • National Tourism Day was established to promote the tourism industry and recognize its contribution to the growth and sustainability of tourist destinations and local communities.

International Customs Day

  • The International Customs Day (ICD) is held on 26 January every year to recognise the role of customs officials and agencies and focuses on the working conditions and challenges that customs officers face in their jobs.
  • Theme 2020: “Customs fostering Sustainability for People, Prosperity and the Planet”.
  • The day was instituted by the World Customs Organization (WCO) to commemorate the day in 1953 when the inaugural session of the Customs Cooperation Council (CCC) was held in Brussels, Belgium.

79th Foundation Day of ‘Income Tax Appellate Tribunal’ (ITAT)

  • The Chief Justice of India A. Bobde inaugurated the 79th Foundation Day celebrations and All India Members’ Conference of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal on 24th Jan.
  • On the occasion, the CJI stated that imposition of excessive tax is a kind of social injustice on the people.
  • He also underlined the need for AI in the judicial system but added that it should never be allowed to substitute human discretion necessary for decision making.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

‘Bharat Parv 2020’ begins at Red Fort to celebrate spirit of India

  • Bharat Parv 2020, a festival to celebrate the spirit of India has begun at Red Fort ground in New Delhi. It will continue till 31st of this month. The objective of Bharat Parv is to encourage people to visit different tourism places of the country and to inculcate the spirit of ‘Dekho Apna Desh’.
  • Bharat Parv have many attractions for public including display of Tableaux of the Republic Day parade, performance by armed forces bands and cultural Performances from different regions of the country.
  • More than 50 food stalls, 79 handicrafts stalls and 27 theme pavilions have been setup. The theme of this year’s Bharat Parv is ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ and ‘Celebrating 150 Years of Mahatma Gandhi.
  • The festival will remain open  for  public from 12 Noon to 10 PM till 31st of this month. The entry to the event for the public  is free, however, they have to carry identity card for the entry.

Corona Virus: Government launches 24X7 call centre

  • Seven central teams will visit states and designated airports to review the end-to-end preparedness for management and control of Novel Coronavirus in India. These airports are New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi.
  • The team will consist of a public health expert, a clinician and a microbiologist. The decision was taken by the Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan at a review meeting held in New Delhi.
  • The Ministry stated, the team will also visit the tertiary hospitals attached to the airports for reviewing the isolation wards and availability of Personal Protective Equipment and masks. The team will coordinate with the State Health Secretaries to explore all avenues for further supporting and strengthening the states’ preparedness.
  • A 24×7 National Centre for Disease Control Call Centre – 011 -23978046 has been made operational. The Call Centre will monitor the list of contacts furnished by the Ministry of External Affairs, provide details of district and state surveillance officers and in case of any clinical query, direct the concerned to the relevant Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme officer.

Union govt working on Delhi-Mumbai electric highway, says Nitin Gadkari

  • Union Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has stated that his ministry is working towards an electric highway.
  • The highway from Delhi to Mumbai is under work and the target is to complete this highway before January 26, 2024.
  • The minister stated that his ministry is now thinking to make e-highway and discussing with companies who have got the technology in Germany, the US, and Sweden.
  • Strongly pitching for alternative fuels in the country, he stated that vision of the transport sector is to import substitute, cost-effective, pollution-free and indigenous fuels.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL

India and Brazil exchange 15 agreements widening areas of cooperation

  • India and Brazil inked 15 agreements to boost cooperation in a wide range of areas like trade and investment, oil and gas, cyber security and information technology. The agreements were exchanged after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Brazilian President Jair Messias Bolsonaro.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated an action plan has been finalised to further expand ties between the two strategic partners. Mr Bolsonaro’s visit to India has opened a new chapter in bilateral ties between the two countries.
  • Calling Brazil a valuable partner in India’s economic growth, the Prime Minister also stated both the countries are together on various global issues despite geographical distance.
  • The two countries have further consolidated already strong ties by signing 15 agreements providing for cooperation in a range of areas.
  • The visiting dignitary was accorded a ceremonial welcome in the Rashtrapati Bhawan .Mr Bolsonaro will meet President Ram Nath Kovind who will host a banquet in his honour .

About brazil :

  • President: Jair Bolsonaro
  • Capital: Brasilia
  • Currency: Brazilian real

India, Bangladesh sign agreement to upgrade Ashuganj-Akhaura road into 4-lane highway

  • India and Bangladesh signed an agreement to upgrade the 58-kilometre long road between Ashuganj river port and the Akhaura land port in Bangladesh into a 4-lane highway.
  • The deal to upgrade the 39 km long road between Ashuganj river port to Dharhar area was signed between the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) of Bangladesh and an Indian Company Afcons Infrastructure Limited.
  • The RHD and an India-Bangladesh joint venture firm will take up the work of upgrading the remaining part of the road from Dharhar to Akhaura.
  • The project is part of the dollar 2 billion second line of credit extended by India to Bangladesh in 2016. The project will boost connectivity between Bangladesh and North-eastern part of India which will facilitate sub-regional connectivity among South and South-east Asian countries both governments have identified 46 projects in Bangladesh that would improve connectivity within the country and out of the country.
  • Road Transport and Bridges Minister of Bangladesh Obaidul Quader hoped that the work would be completed on time and quality would be maintained.

Recent news related to Bangladesh

  • India-World Bank sign 88 million USD to implement Assam Inland Water Transport Project
  • India erects “steel fence” across Pakistan, Bangladesh border
  • On December 16, 2019, India commemorated its victory over Pakistan in the war of 1971. India fought against Pakistan helping Bangladesh obtain its freedom and won the war
  • India Bangladesh old rail links of 1965 prewar to be reopened
  • India- Bangladesh Navies to participate in maiden bilateral drill at Visakhapatnam
  • India to set up coastal surveillance system in Bangladesh

Nepal wants India to take back demonetised notes worth Rs 7 crore from its Central Bank

  • Nepal’s Central Bank is saddled with Rs 7 crore of demonetised Indian currency but India is not making “adjustments” to take back the notes, hoping the scrapped notes would be accepted by its neighbour.The Indian government on November 8, 2016 announced the ban on old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes to curb black money in the system.
  • Around INR 7 crore (demonetised currency) is deposited in our Central Bank. It went through the banking channel, I don’t know why India is not making adjustment (in the matter)
  • Of the Rs 15.41 lakh crore worth Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in circulation on November 8, 99.3 per cent or notes worth Rs 15.31 lakh crore have returned to the banking system.

About Nepal :

  • Capital: Kathmandu
  • Currency: Nepalese rupee
  • Prime minister: KP Sharma Oli

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

FPIs infuse Rs 1,624 crore in Indian markets in January

  • Foreign portfolio investors have infused a net sum of 1,624 crore rupees into the domestic capital markets in January so far.
  • As per latest depositories data, Foreign portfolio investors put-in a net of 13,304 crore rupees, in equities and withdrew a net 11,680 crore rupees from the debt segment between January 1 and 24. This translates into a total net inflow of 1,624 crore

About FPI:

Foreign portfolio investment (FPI) consists of securities and other financial assets held by investors in another country. It does not provide the investor with direct ownership of a company’s assets and is relatively liquid depending on the volatility of the market. Along with foreign direct investment (FDI), FPI is one of the common ways to invest in an overseas economy. FDI and FPI are both important sources of funding for most economies.

India and World Bank sign loan agreement of 210mn for Rural Transformation Project

  • The Government of India, the Government of Maharashtra and the World Bank signed a loan agreement of USD 210 million to support small holder farmers participate in competitive agriculture value chains, facilitate agri-business investments, increase market access and productivity in focus commodities, and build resilience of crops to recurrent floods or droughts in the Indian state of Maharashtra.
  • The USD 210 million Maharashtra Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project, will help build capacity of the nodal departments and institutions; increase private sector investments in agricultural value chains; remove constraints for producers and entrepreneurs in accessing emerging domestic and export markets; build the capacity of the state to respond to commodity-price fluctuations by providing access to timely information on markets and production trends; and enhance adoption of climate resilient production techniques in the state.
  • The project will be implemented in all 36 districts of Maharashtra. Over one million farming households will directly benefit from the project. At least 43 percent of farmers and farm-workers participating in project activities are expected to be women. Specific focus will be given to women-led enterprises and the participation of women in the decision-making processes of farmer producer organizations.

About world bank :

  • Head quarters: Washington D.C
  • President : david malpass
  • MD and CFO: Anshula kant
  • Chief economist : penny Goldberg

SBI’s new one-use ‘Virtual Cards’ reduce risk of fraud in net banking

  • The Reserve Bank of India has brought out a new set of guidelines to enhance the security provided to debit and credit card customers, banks like the State Bank of India (SBI) have introduced new products and solutions that offer a more secure transacting experience for their customers.
  • For instance, the SBI has recently rolled out a one-use ‘Virtual Card’ for its net banking users, which allows them to make online payments without exposing their real debit and credit card details to the merchant.
  • According to the bank, the virtual card works as a limit debit card and can be created on the bank’s internet banking platform. The card, once generated, is valid for only 48 hours or once the transaction has been completed, and can be used on any e-commerce payment platform that accepts According to the details provided by the bank, the minimum transaction amount to create an SBI virtual card is Rs 100 and the maximum is Rs 50,000.
  • SBI vitual card is a single usage card, i.e., once used successfully, it cannot be reused. The amount is debited only when actual purchase using the virtual card is completed successfully,Visa cards.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

PhonePe extends to insurance, MF, ATM

  • PhonePe, one of the leading digital payments firms in India backed by global retail giant Walmart, has announced its foray into the insurance, mutual fund and instant-cash segments to tap the fast-growing digital payments industry, which is expected to touch $10 trillion by 2027.
  • PhonePe, according to sources, wants to leverage its fast-growing user base, now consisting of 18.5 crore people, to enter the insurance as well as instant-cash markets.
  • The Bengaluru-based fintech firm has announced two major tie-ups — with Aditya Birla SunLife Mutual Fund and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance — to offer its users benefits on mutual funds and travel. PhonePe’s tie-up with Aditya Birla Sun Life Capital (ABSLC) will allow its users invest in ABSLC’s liquid fund. Under its tie-up with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, PhonePe offers its users cover on up to 1 million kilometres internal travel for a starting price of just Rs 216.

About PhonePe :

  • Headquarters location: Bengaluru
  • CEO: Sameer Nigam

Loanwalle.com offers loans in 15 minutes

  • The New Delhi-based fintech start-up com, which offers loans for a period of 7-30 days, to cater to any medical or financial emergencies.
  • The USP of the fintech firm, founded by Sachin Mittal, lies in providing instant loan facility to individuals stuck in a crisis situation, through speedy approval of loans. One can get a loan approved in just 15 minutes, while generally the process including online and physical verification is completed in an hour.
  • The process is less cumbersome and the amount of loan is very short, from Rs 5,000 to Rs 1 lakh. The interest rate is 1 per cent per day and the loan cannot be exceeded beyond 30 days

Airtel Joins Hands with Western Union to Accelerate Real-time Global Payments

  • Bharti Airtel, Country’s leading telecom giant recently associated with the major money transfer brand Western Union to launch real-time payments into bank accounts in India and mobile wallets across
  • We are delighted to contribute to the development of a sound and inclusive payments ecosystem in emerging markets to spur financial inclusion and economic growth
  • In context with the collaboration, The Western Union’s money transaction will be redirected to Airtel Payment Bank customers in India in a couple of months. This would happen into their bank accounts 24/7 through the mobile application.
  • IANS reported that this announcement follows the conclusion of new flagship collaborations of Western Union with two leading subsidiaries of Bharti Airtel, namely Airtel Payments Bank and Airtel Africa, a leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services with a presence in 14 countries in Africa.

About Airtel :

  • CEO: Gopal Vittal
  • Founder: Sunil Bharti Mittal
  • Founded: 7 July 1995, India
  • Headquarters: New Delhi

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES

Arunachal CM dedicates Padi Yubbe stadium to people

  • Chief Minister Pema Khandu dedicated the Padi Yubbe outdoor stadium to the people of Lower Subansiri district.
  • Named after the first cabinet minister from Apatani community, the stadium has a seating capacity of 4000.
  • The chief minister also unveiled the memorial statue of Padi Yubbe.
  • The Padi Yubbe Outdoor Stadium is the third after Pasighat and Daporijo to be completed and ready for use. Other big stadiums, in various stages of completion, are coming up at Chimpu near Itanagar, and Aalo (West Siang) and Tezu (Lohit).

About Arunachal Pradesh

  • Capital- Itanagar
  • Chief Minister- Pema Khandu
  • Governor- BD Mishra

Archaea organism discovered in Sambhar lake

  • Scientists at the NCMR-NCCS in Pune have reported a new archaeon (a kind of microorganism), which they discovered in Sambhar Salt Lake in
  • Archaea are a primitive group of microorganisms that thrive in extreme habitats such as hot springs, cold deserts and hypersaline lakes.
  • They are known for producing antimicrobial molecules, and for anti-oxidant activity with applications in eco-friendly waste-water treatment.
  • The new archaeon has been namedNatrialba swarupiae.

About Sambhar Lake

  • Sambhar Lake has been poorly studied for microbial ecology studies. With a salt production of 0.2 million tonnes per annum, it is also a hypersaline ecosystem which provides an opportunity for microbial ecologists to understand organisms that thrive in such concentrations.

Chhattisgarh government launches ‘Malaria-free Bastar’ campaign

  • Bastar, the Red zone in south Chhattisgarh, is facing a different battle. The region which has so far not received the deserving attention, to fight the malaria menace, has the Annual Parasite Incidence (API) (malaria) of over 10—rated among the highest in the country.
  • API-10 is equivalent to 10 confirmed cases per thousand population and Bastar is among the very few geographical locations endemic to malaria parasites—Plasmodium vivax and P. falciparum.
  • Going by the previous 3 years data, the prevalence of malaria cases recorded were highest during the months of January, July and November. So based on it, a three-phase ‘Malaria Free Bastar’ campaign would be carried out during these months so as to eliminate malarial parasites in its entirety.
  • The state has now meticulously embarked upon a plan to eliminate Malaria from Bastar on mission mode through door-to-door ‘Mass Active Screening and Treatment’ process, which will continue till February 14 under the ‘Malaria-Free Bastar’ campaign.

About chattisgarh :

  • Governor: Anusuiya Uikey
  • Chief minister: Bhupesh Baghel

Capitals: Bilaspur (Judiciary), Raipur

  • Indravati National Park
  • Kanger Ghati National Park

Mumbai gets second all-women post office

  • The city’s second ‘mahila dakghar’ – post offices operated by women staffers was inaugurated by operations member, Department of Posts, Arundhaty Ghosh at Mahim Bazaar.
  • All the official positions at the post office, from postmaster in-charge to counter persons, will be managed by women. They will manage and supervise all types of work including, Savings Bank Counters, Multipurpose registration booking counters, Aadhaar Centre, India Posts Payment Bank and Treasury work.
  • The post office located in West zone of Mumbai. A market place and residential area of Mahim Bazaar in Mahim where all kinds of postal services will be provided by staff.

World’s largest meditation centre coming up in Hyderabad

  • The world’s largest meditation centre and the global headquarters of the Heartfulness Institute will be inaugurated on January 28. To mark the 75th anniversary of the organisation, Kanha Shanti Vanam will be dedicated to the first guide of Heartfulness, fondly called Lalaji by the present global guide Daaji.
  • Baba Ramdev, the popular yoga guru, will be present on the occasion and address about 40,000 abhyasis or practitioners.
  • Kanha Shantivanam, about 40 km on the outskirts of Hyderabad, spread over 30 acres, has one central and eight secondary halls. It can accommodate 100,000 practitioners at one go, making it the largest closed structure meditation centre in the world. When lit up at night, it can match popular structures like the Sydney harbour, the institute claimed.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

JK Police gets max 108 gallantry medals, CRPF 76

  • The Jammu and Kashmir Police has been given the maximum number of gallantry honours with 108 medals, followed by the CRPF 76, on the occasion of the 71st Republic Day.
  • The Union Territory police, thickly involved in counter-terrorism operations in the Kashmir Valley, has also bagged three top President’s Police Medal for Gallantry (PPMG) while one has been accorded to the CRPF (posthumously).
  • A total of 105 Police Medals for Gallantry (PMG) and three PPMG have been given to the JKP followed by 75 PMG to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) that is also deployed in the UT for counter-terror duties.
  • Jharkhand Police has been given 33 PMG.
    Padma Awards 2020: Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj get second-highest civilian honour
  • The government announced the names of this year’s recipients of the Padma awards.
  • Former Union ministers Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and George Fernandes – all of whom died in 2019 – were posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the nation’s second highest civilian honour.
  • The list had 141 awards – seven Padma Vibhushan, 16 Padma Bhushan and 118 Padma Shri. Thirty-four of the recipients were women.
  • Notable recipients of the Padma Vibhushan included boxer MC Mary Kom and classical singer Chhannulal Mishra. Mauritius Prime Minister Anerood Gugnauth has also been awarded the Padma Vibhushan
  • Some of the winners of the Padma Bhushan honour were Jammu and Kashmir politician Muzaffar Hussain Baig, industrialist Anand Mahindra and sportsperson PV Sindhu.
  • Check the Padma Award Winners List https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=197647

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION

CEC Sunil Arora takes over as new chairman of FEMBoSA

  • Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora took over as the new Chair of the Forum of the Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA) for the year 2020 at the annual meeting of the poll management bodies of SAARC countries.
  • Arora took over from outgoing Chair M. Nurul Huda of Bangladesh during the 10th meeting of FEMBoSA.
  • FEMBoSA was established at the 3rd Conference of Heads of Election Management Bodies of Saarc (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries in 2012. The last annual meeting of FEMBoSA was held in Dhaka in September 2018. Besides the ECI, the other 7 members are EMBs from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

About FEMBOSA:

Forum  of Election Management Bodies of South Asia(FEMBoSA) is a regional establishment to increase mutual cooperation in respect to the  common interests of the SAARC’s EMBs. In 2010 for the first time Bangladesh Election Commission organized a regional meeting titled ‘Meeting on Cooperation of Election Commissions in the South Asia Region’, which was later called Forum of Election Management Bodies of South Asia(FEMBoSA) as an institutionalized form.

Debashish Panda nominated to SBI Central Board

  • The State Bank of India (SBI) stated the Central government has nominated Debashish Panda, Special Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Finance Ministry as a director on the Central Board of SBI.
  • He is appointed with immediate effect replacing the earlier nominee Ravi Mittal, according to a bank filing.SBI, the country’s largest bank had posted a 218 per cent jump in standalone net profit for the September quarter to Rs 3,011.73 crore.
  • The lender had posted a profit of Rs 944.87 crore in the same quarter last year. Under exceptional items, the bank reported a net profit of Rs 3,484.30 core on sale of partial investments in subsidiary SBI Life Insurance Company. Fresh slippages had halved to Rs 8,800 crore from Rs 16,000 crore on a quarterly basis.
  • The asset quality of the bank improved with gross non-performing asset (NPA) ratio coming in at 7.19 per cent, down 276 bps yearly and 34 bps sequentially. Net NPA ratio was at 2.79 per cent, down 205 bps YoY and 28 bps QoQ.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE

DRDO to showcase indigenously-developed military systems, technologies at DefExpo 2020

  • The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will display various indigenously-developed military systems and technologies at the 11 edition of DefExpo 2020, the biennial show that will be held in Lucknow from February 5-9.
  • The participation of DRDO at the expo is marked with the live demonstration of Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS), Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun MK IA, Wheeled Armoured Platform (WhAP), Counter Mine Flail, 15m Advanced Composite Modular Bridging System (ACMBS) and modular bridge.
  • The DRDO will exhibit more than 500 products from all technology clusters in the five-day mega expo in line with the theme of the event “Digital Transformation of Defence”
  • It will showcase over 23 products in the India Pavilion, which has been set up to showcase the combined strength of DRDO, public and private sector in defence manufacturing.

About DRDO:

  • Headquarters location: New Delhi
  • Founded: 1958
  • Motto:  “Strength’s Origin is in Science” (Sanskrit)
  • Minister responsible: Rajnath Singh, Minister of Defence
  • Chairman : Dr.G. satheesh reddy

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

French agency CNES to aid ISRO’s space station project

  • The French national space agency National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), which is collaborating with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in the Gaganyaan project, will also partner with the latter in the development of India’s planned space station.
  • The French agency and its industry partners have gained vast experience from the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) and its spin-offs such as rendezvous operations with the International Space Station (ISS).
  • French and European partners can bring the skills they have acquired in developing and operating systems and dedicated infrastructure for long-term six-month flights of European astronauts on the ISS

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS

India’s Federation Cup games moved from virus-hit China to Kazakhstan

  • The Indian Federation Cup team heaved a sigh of relief after the International Tennis Federation (ITF) shifted the Federation Cup matches from the Coronavirus-hit China to
  • Concerned for its players’ health due to a medical emergency in China, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) had written to the ITF, requesting the world governing body to consider either shifting the venue or postponing the tournament. The tournament was originally scheduled to be held in Dongguan from 4th of next month.
  • After rejecting their request twice, the ITF finally intimated AITA, that matches have been shifted out of China. India will compete with China, Indonesia, Korea, Chinese Taipei and Uzbekistan in the Asia/Oceania Group I contest.

Adhiban, Narayanan register impressive wins in Gibraltar chess

  • Grandmasters B Adhiban and S L Narayanan registered impressive wins in the third round of the Masters’ category of the ongoing Gibraltar chess festival.
  • Adhiban and Narayanan scored superb wins over Martin Petrov of Bulgaria and Tingjie Lei of China while young GM Raunak Sadhwani securing 1.5 points shared the point with higher-ranked David Navara.
  • Apart from Adhiban and Narayanan, there are a few other Indians on 2.5 points, including Vaibhav Suri and Karthikeyan Murali. Young Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa beat International Master Padmini Rout to take his tally to 2.
  • He had lost to fellow Indian P V Nandhidhaa in the opening round. D Gukesh, another rising star from India and the second youngest GM ever, was held to a draw by Adrian Gschnitzer. GM Karthikeyan Murali, took a draw against Ori Kobo to take his tally to 2.5.
  • Georgia’s Ivan Cheparinov, Kyrsa Leandro of Argentina, Vasif Durarbayli of Azerbaijan, Pier Luigi Basso of Italy and Maksim Chigaev from Russia are ahead of the field with three points after the third round

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Cabinet Minister Naqvi’s Hindi Novel “Balwa”

  • Minister of Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has penned a Hindi novel titled “Balwa”, which loosely translates to turmoil.
  • The book is published by Diamond Pocket Books.
  • Balwa is a story based on the happenings like communal conflicts, that shook the country in the 90s, and about the kind of people who would be behind those.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY

Former NBA star Kobe Bryant passes away

  • Kobe Bryant, one of the NBA’s all-time greatest players whose international stardom transcended basketball, passed away in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles.
  • Along with his 13-year-old daughter and seven others on board.

DAILY CA – 25th JAN

  • National Voters’ Day
  • Switzerland mints world’s smallest gold coin
  • East Coast Railway commissions waste to energy plant in Bhubaneswar
  • India’s First War Memorial for Animals to Come up in Meerut
  • New India Co-op Bank to convert into SFB
  • Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2020 announced
  • Kerala Tourism’s disabled-friendly project earns UNWTO special mention
  • Prem Chand Verma appointed India’s Deputy Chef de Mission for Tokyo Olympics
  • Ex-ED of Indian Overseas Bank appointed CVC board member on bank frauds
  • Global unemployment to rise by around 2.5 million in 2020
  • India ranked 80th in Corruption Perception Index
  • Australia to host 11th Indoor Cricket WC in October
  • Hagley Oval to host 2021 Women’s Cricket World Cup final

DAILY CA – 26TH and 27th  JAN

  • National Tourism Day-25th January
  • International Customs Day-26th January
  • 79th Foundation Day of ‘Income Tax Appellate Tribunal’ (ITAT)
  • ‘Bharat Parv 2020’ begins at Red Fort to celebrate spirit of India
  • Corona Virus: Government launches 24X7 call centre
  • PhonePe extends to insurance, MF, ATM
  • com offers loans in 15 minutes
  • Union govt working on Delhi-Mumbai electric highway, says Nitin Gadkari
  • India and Brazil exchange 15 agreements widening areas of cooperation
  • India, Bangladesh sign agreement to upgrade Ashuganj-Akhaura road into 4-lane highway
  • Nepal wants India to take back demonetised notes worth Rs 7 crore from its Central Bank
  • FPIs infuse Rs 1,624 crore in Indian markets in January
  • India and World Bank sign loan agreement of 210mn for Rural Transformation Project
  • Airtel Joins Hands with Western Union to Accelerate Real-time Global Payments
  • SBI’s new one-use ‘Virtual Cards’ reduce risk of fraud in net banking
  • Arunachal CM dedicates Padi Yubbe stadium to people
  • Archaea organism discovered in Sambhar lake
  • Chhattisgarh government launches ‘Malaria-free Bastar’ campaign
  • DRDO to showcase indigenously-developed military systems, technologies at DefExpo 2020
  • French agency CNES to aid ISRO’s space station project
  • India’s Federation Cup games moved from virus-hit China to Kazakhstan
  • Adhiban, Narayanan register impressive wins in Gibraltar chess
  • Cabinet Minister Naqvi’s Hindi Novel “Balwa
  • Former NBA star Kobe Bryant passes away

This post was last modified on September 29, 2020 1:39 pm