IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JANUARY 7th & 8th, 2020

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JANUARY 7th & 8th, 2020

UAE Cabinet approves issuance of 5-Year multi-entry tourist visa
The UAE Cabinet has approved the issuance of a five-year multi-entry tourist visa for all nationalities visiting the country.

1)     The decision was made during the Cabinet's first meeting of 2020. 

2)     The move comes in a bid to support the UAE's tourism economy, and affirm the country's position as a global tourist destination.

3)     The country receives 21 million tourists annually and their aim is to establish the country as a major global tourist destination.

2nd round of Intensified Mission Indradhanush- 2 begins
The second phase of Intensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0 rolled out at block level in 35 districts of Uttar Pradesh.

1)     The aim of the program launched by the central government in 2017 is to achieve 90 percent vaccination coverage in children of less than 2 years in state.

2)     First round was completed in December last year.

3)     Next round will be in February and March months and will cover 425 blocks of 73 districts of state.

4)     In Bihar Mission Indradhanush 2.0 has been launched for covering low immunization pocket of state.

5)     The extensive immunization will cover children up to 2 years of age and all pregnant women.

Rajnath Singh inaugurates 3-day National Traders Convention in Delhi
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the three-day National Traders Convention at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi.

1)     The convention has been organised by the Confederation of All India Traders and will deliberate upon various issues concerning traders.

2)     The aim of this convention will be to discuss the role of trading community in achieving 5 trillion dollar economy goal.

Centre approves Rs 5,908 crore to seven states for calamity damage relief
The Centre approved the release of Rs 5,908.56 crore to seven states, including Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Assam, as assistance for the damage caused due to various calamities last year.

1)     The decision was taken at a meeting of a high-level committee (HLC), chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

2)     Rs 616.63 crore will be given to Assam, Rs 284.93 crore to Himachal Pradesh, Rs 1869.85 crore to Karnataka, Rs 1749.73 crore to Madhya Pradesh, Rs 956.93 crore to Maharashtra, Rs 63.32 to Tripura and Rs 367.17 crore to Uttar Pradesh for floods or landslides or cloudburst during the 2019 southwest monsoon.

3)     During 2019-20, the government has released Rs 8,068.33 crore to 27 states as central share from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).

Uttar Pradesh first state to kickstart implementation of CAA
Uttar Pradesh is all set to become the first state in the country to start the exercise of shortlisting migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, eligible for citizenship under the new Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

1)     The exercise will also identify those who are living illegally in the state.

2)     All 75 district magistrates have been asked to track down migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who have settled here for decades, without citizenship.

Bhubaneswar to host 1st edition of Khelo India University Games
The first edition of Khelo India University Games is scheduled to be held at the KIIT University in Bhubaneswar from February 22nd to March 1st. 

1)     Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik unveiled the logo and jersey of Khelo India University Games.

2)     Bhubaneswar has gained the reputation of being the Sports Capital of India.

Piyush Goyal inaugurates National Stock Exchange knowledge hub
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal inaugurated National Stock Exchange (NSE) Knowledge Hub in New Delhi.

1)     India has come up as the second-largest fintech hub in the world but a lot of work still needs to be done in the BFSI sector.

2)     He hoped that the knowledge hub created by NSE in the national capital will fill in these gaps and help the financial sector to move into the future.

3)     The minister said AI and machine learning will contribute USD 1 trillion by 2035 and it was a good beginning by NSE to tap the potential of AI and use it as a tool to create a workforce in the BFSI sector in India.

Two Indian banks to cease operations in Sri Lanka
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has permitted Indian private sector lenders Axis Bank and ICICI Bank to close their operations in Sri Lanka.

1)     The licenses issued to them will be cancelled once the winding-up operations are complete.

2)     The two banks are no longer permitted to carry on banking operations, including accepting deposits from the public.

Karur Vysya Bank CEO & MD PR Seshadri resigns
Karur Vysya Bank Ltd said that its Managing Director & CEO P R Seshadri has submitted his resignation citing personal reasons.

1)     Board of Directors of the Bank in their meeting has accepted the resignation of P R Seshadri.

2)     He will be relieved from the services of the Bank at the close of working hours on 31st March 2020 as per his request.

P Magesh Chandran lifts 95th Hastings International Chess title
India's P Magesh Chandran lifted the title in the 95th edition of the prestigious Hastings International Chess Congress at  Hastings in England.

1)     He remained unbeaten in all the nine rounds.

2)     The 36-year old Grand Master with a FIDE rating of 2479, finished in clear first place with 7.5 points from nine games.

3)     France's Romain Edouard, who was the only player to end the tournament a half-point behind Chandran, took the second spot.

4)     Four players shared third to sixth places with 6.5 points. 

START QUIZ

Iran designate US armed forces and Pentagon as ‘terrorist entities’
The Iranian parliament approved a triple-urgency bill which designates the US army and the Pentagon as a terrorist entity.

1)     The Bill further requires the government to allocate 200 million euro to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force to take revenge for the US killing of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.

2)     Iran's IRGC's Quds Force Commander General Soleimani and Iraq's Popular Forces Commander Abu Mahdi al-Modandis, as well as eight other military men, were killed by the US Army. 

President Kovind lays foundation stone to Lakshadweep's first Super Specialty Hospital at Kavaratti
President Ram Nath Kovind laid foundation stone to Lakshadweep's first Super Specialty Hospital at Kavaratti.

1)     President who is on two days visit to the union territory assured special focus for the development of Lakshadweep and directed Lakshadweep Administrator to give special attention for the completion of Super Specialty Hospital.

2)     Lakshadweep Administrator Dineshwar Sharma received the President at Agatti Airport.

3)     President received guard of honour from a joint group of 160 different forces.

India's GDP growth rate for 2019-20 estimated at 5%, says NSO
The Indian economy is estimated to grow at 5 per cent in 2019-20 as against 6.8 per cent in the previous fiscal.

1)     According to the first advance estimates of national income released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the decline has been mainly on account of deceleration in manufacturing sector growth, which is expected to come down to 2 per cent in 2019-20 from 6.2 per cent in the year-ago fiscal.

2)     The deceleration was also witnessed in sectors like agriculture, construction and electricity, gas and water supply.

3)     Whereas, some sectors, including mining, public administration, and defence, showed minor improvement.

Gujarat to set up Vikram Sarabhai Children Innovation Center in state
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has announced the setting up of the Vikram Sarabhai Children Innovation Center (VSCIC).

1)     The aim is to identify, nurture and promote children’s innovation in the state.

2)     As part of it a letter of intent was exchanged between Gujarat University and UNICEF.

3)     Rupani was speaking during the felicitation ceremony of Children’s Innovation Festival (CIF) held at Swarnim Sankul in Gandhinagar.

4)     Children’s Innovation Festival - CIF has been organized by Gujarat University Start-ups and Entrepreneurship Council (GUSEC) - an incubation centre set up by Gujarat University in partnership with UNICEF.

31st International Kite Festival launched in Ahmedabad
The 31st International Kite Festival has been launched at Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad.

1)     It will continue till 14th January- Makar Sankranti- the festival of Kites in different parts of the state.

2)     Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has inaugurated the colourful kite festival, which is also attracting large number of foreign tourists in the state.

3)     More than 140 kite flying experts from 40 countries are participating in this event.

4)     International Kite Festival is being organized at nine other places across the state simultaneously including Statue of Unity- Kevadiya, Surat and Vadodara.

Delhi goes to poll on February 8
Voting for 70 members Delhi Assembly will be held on the 8th of next month and counting on 11th February.

1)     The notification will be issued on the 14th of this month and last date of nomination will be the 21st of January. 

2)     Over 13 thousand polling stations will be set up for more than 1.46 crore voters in the national capital.

3)     The term of current assembly will expire on 22nd of February.

4)     In the 2015 Assembly elections, AAP had won 67 seats with 54.34 per cent vote share, while BJP grabbed 3 seats with 32.19 percent vote share.

J&K registers highest Inpatient Department care in country
Jammu and Kashmir has registered the highest Inpatient Department, IPD care in the country.

1)     According to the state-wise fact sheets released by National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC), New Delhi, overall all women in J&K are availing Antenatal Care (ANC) services.

2)     As per the report, the 96 percent IPD care in rural areas of J&K is provided by Public Health Facilities which is highest against the country’s average of 85 percent.

Uber teams up with Hyundai on electric air taxi
US ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc and South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor have teamed up to develop electric air taxis.

1)     Uber and Hyundai, for instance, gave widely different timelines for commercialisation, underlying these challenges.

2)     Hyundai is the first carmaker to join Uber's air taxi project, which also counts Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences among its partner firms.

3)     Hyundai will produce and deploy the vehicles while Uber will provide aerial ride-share services.

Ravindra Nath Mahto elected as Jharkhand Assembly Speaker
In Jharkhand, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) legislator Ravindra Nath Mahto from Nala constituency was unanimously elected as the new Assembly Speaker.

1)     Protem Speaker Stephen Marandi administered the oath to the newly elected Speaker of the State Assembly.

2)     Chief Minister Hemant Soren wished the newly elected Speaker on taking up the new position.

First-ever Antar-rashtriya Yoga Diwas Media awards presented to 30 media houses for promoting Yoga
Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar conferred the first Antarrashtriya Yoga Diwas Media Samman to 30 media houses in New Delhi.

1)     The Ministry had instituted the award in June last year to mark the contribution of media in spreading the message of Yoga.

2)     Eleven awards were conferred under the category of Best Media Coverage of Yoga in Newspapers.

3)     Eight awards under the category Best Media Coverage of Yoga in Television and 11 awards were conferred under the category Best Media Coverage of Yoga in Radio.