We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 9 January 2020, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2020 events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.
Our Current Affairs January 2020 events will help you to get more marks in Banking, Insurance, SSC, Railways, UPSC, CLAT and all State Government Exams. Also try our Latest Current Affairs Quiz and Monthly Current Affairs PDF which will be a pedestrian to crack your exams.
Date-Wise Current Affairs January 2020 PDF for Paid Users – Click Here to Know More
Click here for Current Affairs January 8 2020
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Visakhapatnam to host naval exercise ‘MILAN’ in March 2020
The Vishakapatnam city of Andhra Pradesh will host International naval exercise ‘MILAN’ in March 2020. The theme of the exercise for the year 2020 is ‘Synergy Across the Seas’. Milan exercise which will be hosted by Eastern Naval Command (ENC) aims to enhance professional interaction between foreign navies and also make use of the best practices in the maritime domain.
Key Points:
i.41 navies of different countries were invited so far, of which 30 navies have confirmed their participation in MILAN 2020.
ii.Visakhapatnam previously hosted International Fleet Review (IFR) in February 2016.
About Andhra Pradesh:
Capital- Amaravati (de facto).
Governor- Biswabhusan Harichandan.
Largest city- Visakhapatnam.
Dams- Nagarjuna sagar dam, Srisailam Dam.
National Parks(NP)- Papikonda NP, Sri Venkateswara NP.
Eight North-Eastern states to celebrate Madhavpur Mela in Gujarat on 2nd April 2020
On January 8, 2020 in New Delhi Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) chaired a high- level meeting for the preparation of the annual festival Madhavpur Mela of Gujarat which will be held at Madhavpur Ghed in Porbandar district of Gujarat on 2nd April 2020.
i.The seven days festival celebrates the immortal journey of Lord Krishna and Rukmini from Arunachal Pradesh to Gujarat.
ii.The eight North-Eastern states namely Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura will participate in this festival.
iii.The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts and Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya conducts a Visual Art EXhibition on Lord Krishna and Rukmini during the festival under the Ministry of Culture.
iv.The sale of art and crafts of Gujarat and handloom and handicrafts products from North-Eastern states will also be the part of Madhavpur Mela….Click here to Read More
Home ministry issues revised guidelines for mutual legal assistance treaties
On 8th January 2020, The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued revised guidelines to expedite the delivery of mutual legal assistance and justice in criminal matters with other countries under the government’s policy of zero tolerance for crime at all.
In this regard, India has signed Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with 42 countries in November 2019 for cooperation in criminal matters & the MHA is also designated ‘Central Authority of India’ for it.
- The guidelines, issued in December 2019,are steps to speed up the delivery of justice. The revised guidelines will provide investigative agencies with step-by-step guidelines on drafting and moving request letters ,mutual legal aid requests or Letters Rogatory (LR) and summon requests, notices and other judicial documents….Click here to Read More
EC of India and Mauritius renewed MoU on cooperation in electoral management
On January 08, 2020 the Election Commission of India(ECI) has renewed its Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) on cooperation in the field of electoral management with the electoral commission of Mauritius. The renewal was done at Port Louis of Mauritius and was signed by India’s Chief Election Commissioner(CEC) Sunil Arora and Mohammed Irfan Abdool Rahman, Electoral Commissioner of Mauritius.
Key Points:
The MoU was previously in existence from April 2013-April 2018.
About Mauritius:
Capital- Port Louis.
Currency- Mauritian rupee.
Prime minister- Pravind Jugnauth.
CCI report: ‘Market Study on E-commerce in India:Key Findings and Observations’ released
On January 08, 2020 the Competition Commission of India (CCI) released a report titled “Market Study on E-commerce in India:Key Findings and Observations” after it was initiated by CCI in April 2019 for better understanding a functioning of e-commerce in India. The study was also launched to identify impediments (obstructions) to competition.
Study findings:
- Revenue sector: Revenue from the e-commerce sector is expected to increase from $39 billion in 2017 to $120 billion in 2020, growing at an annual rate of 51%, the highest in the world.
- Internet sector: The no.of internet users have increased from 445.96 million in 2017 to 665.31 million in 2019 and is also expected to increase to 829 million in 2021.
- Goods sector: E-commerce in the goods category in India has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 57% in the last 7 years, and is expected to grow by 18.6% till 2022
- Food sector: The food tech industry in India is estimated to grow at a CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) of more than 12% between 2016 and 2021….Click here to Read More
Indian Railways to installs IP based Video Surveillance System and AI based Face recognition systems in stations
On January 8, 2020 Face recognition technology developed using Artificial Intelligence (IP) has been installed in Bengaluru, Manmad and Bhusawal stations as test cases. The objective of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) is to link the facial recognition system with existing databases and identify the criminals. Indian Railways is also in the process of installing Internet Protocol (IP) based Video Surveillance System (VSS) at railway stations.
Key Points:
i.In the last budget Rs 250 crore was allocated to Indian Railways from Nirbhaya funds for installation of VSS in 983 railway stations.
ii.RailTel, a miniratna PSU under Ministry of Railways are working for install Internet Protocol (IP)-based VSS and facial recognition system in the railway stations.
iii.In the first phase of installation VSS is being installed at 200 stations and as on date work has been completed at 81 stations across India.
iv.Under VSS, four types of full HD cameras namely Dome type, Bullet type, Pan Tilt zoom type and Ultra 4k-HD cameras will be installed. Each HD camera at the station consumes approximately 1TB of data and 4k camera consumes 4 TB data per month.
v.South Western Railway (SWR) has recently installed Video Surveillance system at 6 major stations namely Ballari, Belagavi, Vasco-Da Gama , Bengaluru, Bangarpet and Hassan. Thus SWR completes the work at the end of the year 2020 in 20 stations.
vi.Western Railways has installed in 10 stations namely Bhavnagar Terminus, Udhna, Valsad, Veraval, Nagda, Navsari, Vapi, Viragam, Rajkot and Gandhidham,
About Indian Railways:
Founded- April 16, 1853
Headquarters- New Delhi
Ministry of Railway- Piyush Goyal
Chairman of Railway Board- Vinod Kumar Yadav
NCRB 2018: 50 lac crimes registered & is 1.3% more than 2017; UP tops in economic offence
On January 09, 2020 National Crime Record Bureau’s (NCRB) report on Crime in India for the year 2018 was released. The report finds that over 50 lakh crimes have been registered in 2018 which is 1.3% more than that of 2017. The report findings in detail are as follows:
- The report stated that Uttar Pradesh (UP) accounted for the maximum number of economic offences in 2018 with 22,822 cases recorded. It was followed by Rajasthan (21,309 cases), Maharashtra (14,854 cases), Telangana (10,390 cases) and Bihar (9,209 cases) in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th rank respectively.
- Crimes in 2018: Totally 50,74,634 cognizable crimes were committed in 2018. It included 31,32,954 Indian Penal Code (IPC) crimes and 19,41,680 Special and Local Laws (SLL) crimes.
- IPC crimes: crimes under IPC have increased by 2.3% and stood at 61.7% in 2018.
- SLL crimes: Crimes under SLL have declined by 0.1% compared to 2017 and stood at 38.3% in 2018….Click here to Read More
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
EIU survey 2015-20: 3 of world’s 10 fastest-growing cities in Kerala; Malappuram tops list
On January 08,2020 latest ranking based on fastest growing urban regions/ fastest growing cities in the world was released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). as per the report 3 of the cities in Kerala were ranked in the top 10 places. Malappuram city of Kerala was ranked 1st in the list, while Kerala’s Kozhikode and Kollam cities were ranked in the 4th and 10th place respectively.
- List preparation: The list was compiled on the basis of the data provided by the United Nations Population Division (UNPD).
- Top rankers: Malappuram was followed by Can Tho region in Vietnam at 2nd spot and Suqian in China in the 3rd spot.
- Other indian cities: Thrissur city of Kerala was ranked at the 13th spot with a growth rate of 30.2%. Surat (Gujarat) was ranked at 27th spot and Tiruppur (Tamil Nadu) at the 30th spot….Click here to Read More
Henley Passport Index 2020: India ranks 84th in worlds most powerful passport list;Japan tops
On January 08, 2020 the Henley passport Index 2020 was released by Henley & Partners. As per the index based on the data obtained from International Air Transport Association (IATA), Indian passport ranked at the 84th spot among the world’s most powerful passports list, which is a drop by 2 places as it ranked 82nd in 2019. The list was topped by Japan.
- India ranks at 84th place which is tagged along with Mauritania and Tajikistan.
- India provides visa free access to 58 countries.
- visa free visits: Some of the countries where Indian passport holders can visit without a prior visa include Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Macao, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Kenya, Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Iran and Qatar etc.
- Singapore ranks 2nd (190); Germany and South Korea at 3rd(189).
- Afghanistan’s passport is the world’s worst passport and is followed by Iraq (mobility score-28) and Syria (mobility score- 29) in the 2nd and 3rd place respectively….Click here to Read More
BANKING & FINANCE
SBI announces new ‘RBBG’ scheme; SBI & Sunteck Realty Limited signed MoU on RBBG scheme
On January 08, 2020 the State Bank of India (SBI) has announced a new scheme named Residential Builder Finance with Buyer Guarantee (RBBG). This new scheme’s purpose is to safeguard home buyers financially by issuing guarantee for completion of projects to customers availing SBI Home Loans. The ongoing home projects of SBI customers will be financed by the bank itself.
Home price range: Housing segment with home price of up to Rs. 2.50 crores in 10 cities will be focussed in the RBBG scheme initially.
- Builders loan availability: Under the scheme, all reputed builders fulfilling the bank criteria can avail loan ranging between Rs 50 crores and Rs 400 crores.
- On January 08,2020 SBI and real estate development company Sunteck Realty Limited (SRL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to boost the residential housing sector under the public sector lender’s RBBG scheme with tagine “Sapna Aapka – Bharosa SBI Ka” to the home buyers….Click here to Read More
Andhra Pradesh govt and Kfw inks a loan agreement for Rs.711 crore under ZBNF
On January 8, 2020 Andhra Pradesh government signs a loan pact for Rs.711 crore with Kfw, Germany Development bank for expanding the climate-resilient Zero-Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) in the state for the next five years.
i.To take up the insurance scheme Andhra Pradesh government will spend Rs 304 crore in addition to encourage 2.39 lakh farmers in 591 village panchayats.
ii.ZBNF already covers about 1.28 lakh hectares in 3,011 villages of Andhra Pradesh and the financial assistance from German bank helps to cover about 2 lakh hectares in the addition.
iii.The state government under takes ZBNF along with the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana’s (PKVY) of the Centre government and technical supported by Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives….Click here to Read More
Paytm launches all-in-one QR for merchants to make unlimited payment, along with ‘Paytm Business Khata’
On January 8, 2020, Paytm, India’s leading digital payments company,has launched an all-in-one QR (Quick Response) for merchants across India.
Key Points:
i.With the help of this, businessmen will be able to get unlimited payments across the country at zero percent fees through Paytm wallet, Rupay Cards & all UPI (Unified Payments Interface ) based apps directly.
ii.Paytm also also unveiled a new service ‘Paytm Business Khata’ ,which further promotes the Paytm merchant partners to maintain digital ledgers of all their customer transactions including cash and credit.
iii.Along with this, the company has also launched QR codes in to calculator, power bank, watch, pen stand and radio for the convenience of businessmen, which businesses can use in their everyday needs.
About Paytm:
Founded– August 2010
Headquarters– Noida, Uttar Pradesh (UP) India
Founder & CEO- Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Owned by- One97 Communications Limited.
In a 1st, HDFC Bank launches customised ‘myApps’ for large institutions
On January 9, 2020,In a bid to make the business more convenient for customers, HDFC (Housing Development Finance Corporation) Bank,an Indian banking and financial services company, for the 1st time has launched ‘myApps’, which is a suite of white-label apps to benefit urban local bodies, housing societies, local clubs and gymkhanas and religious institutions.
Key Points:
i.The myApps was launched at an event in Mumbai,Maharashtra by Smita Bhagat, Country Head, Government & Institutional Business, Start-ups and E-Commerce, HDFC Bank and Sunali Rohra, Executive Vice President, Government and Institutional Business, HDFC Bank.
ii.Utilities of Myapp:
Customised in over 20 languages including Hindi and English, it will help above said organisations to entirely digitise their ecosystem by allowing customise their brand and content.
Tapping into the Business to business to consumer (B2B2C), myApps will be provided free of cost to all members of each institution and there will be no monthly subscription charges per user & also no restrictions on the number of users as well.
The institution’s server will host the data of the user, which the bank will facilitate to ensure complete data privacy and security.
iii.So far, HDFC Bank provides 4 types of applications namely, mySociety, myClub, myPrayer and myCity.
About HDFC Bank:
Headquarters– Mumbai , Maharashtra
Founded– August 1994
Managing Director– Aditya Puri
Tag line– We Understand Your World
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
World Bank slashes India’s GDP forecast for FY 20 to 5% from 6%
On January 08, 2020, World Bank (WB),an international financial institution, in its report, “January 2020 Global Economic Prospects: Slow growth, policy challenges” ,has Slashed India’s GDP(Gross domestic product) growth for financial year –FY 2020 to 5% from 6% estimated earlier in October 2019.The bank cuts the forecast due to the weakness in credit distribution of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) in India.
- Global growth: It also slightly cuts the global growth by 0.2 % points to 2.4% for 2019 & 5% for 2020 due to a slower-than-expected recovery in trade and investment despite cooler trade war between the United States (US) and China.
- Regional growth: In comparison, Bangladesh will be ahead compared to India. Its GDP growth rate is estimated to be 7.2%, while in Pakistan it is expected to be at 3 % & Sri Lanka’s growth rates at 3.3% for FY-20….Click here to Read More
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
India-born author Jasbinder Bilan bags UK Costa Children’s award,2019
Key Points:
i.Bilan will receive 5,000 pounds for the award, which is open to the authors resident in the UK and Ireland.
ii.The award will be presented annually across 5 categories of “First Novel,Novel,Biography,Poetry and Children’s Book”.
iii.The story is about eleven-years-old Asha, who is empowered with spiritual connections to her grandmother as she journeys through the wild and dangerous Himalayas with her best friend Jeevan.
iv.Bilan’s book was shortlisted form 144 entries alongside ‘Crossfire’ by Malorie Blackman,’In the shadow of Heroes’ by Nicholas Bowling and ‘Furious Thing’ by Jenny Downham.
v.In 2017,Bilan’s novel ‘Asha and the Spirit Bird’ then called ‘Song of the mountain’ entered into the Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition for unpublished writers where she won a publishing deal with chicken house published in 7th Feb 2019.
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATION
Hudco appoints M Nagaraj as CMD
M.Ravi kanth was the former Chairman and Managing Director of HUDCO.
Key Points:
i.Nagaraj is also Director(Corporate Planning) of the company.
ii.The shares of Hudco were trading at Rs.37.40 a piece on BSE(Bombay Stock Exchange).
iii.HUDCO provides loans for housing and urban infrastructure projects.
Static about HUDCO:
Headquarters- New Delhi.
Founded- 25 April 1970.
Lokpal Member and the Former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, Justice Dilip B Bhosale resigns
On January 9, 2020 Lokpal Member and the Former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale has resigned from his post due to some personal reasons. He was appointed by Lokpal Chairman Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose on March 27, 2019. 63-years-old Bhosale was the acting Chief Justice of the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad for the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana from 2015-2016 .He also served as a judge of the high courts of Bombay and Karnataka.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
China successfully launches new communication experiment satellite’ TJSW-5’ on a Long March-3B rocket
On January 7, 2020, China has successfully launched a new communication technology experiment satellite, Tongxin Jishu Shiyan Weixing -5 (TJSW-5) by its Long March-3B (also known as CZ [Chang Zheng]-3B) carrier rocket.
The mission lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province, a southwestern Chinese province.
It was the 324th mission for the Long March series of carrier rockets.
Key Points:
i.The satellite ,entered into space, will be used in communication, radio, television and data transmission, as well as high throughput technology test.
ii.Earlier in December 2019, China launched its heaviest and most advanced communications satellite, Shijian-20 with its largest new carrier rocket Long March-5 (also known as CZ-5) from Wenchang Space Launch Center (WSLC) in south China’s Hainan Province.
About TJSW (Tongxin Jishu Shiyan Weixing):
It is a series of satellites are officially Communications Engineering Test Satellites, built by Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology(SAST) and the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
About Long March-3B carrier:
It has the capacity to launch 11,200 kg satellite to a low Earth orbit or a 5,100 kg cargo to a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO).
India’s 1st indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant to be commissioned by early 2021
On January 8,2020 The manufacturing of the country’s first indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant is likely to be commissioned by early 2021. Vikrant is currently under phase three of construction which involves setting to work of machinery and other equipment like power generation, propulsion and machinery.
Key Points:
i.This carrier is being built at the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) Kochi, Kerala.
ii.The third phase of construction will go till acceptance of harbour, sea trials and aviation trial will also take a year and it will be fully operated by 2022.
iii.The first indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant complemented with Mikoyan MiG-29k aircraft will be showcased as part of the Navy’s tableau during the ceremonial parade on Rajpath, New Delhi on the Republic day.
About Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL):
Founded- 1972.
Headquarters- Kochi, Kerala
Chairman and Managing Director(MD)– Shri Madhu S Nair.
About Indian Navy :
Chief of the Naval Staff- General Admiral Karambir Singh.
Founded- 5th September 1612.
Navy Day- December 4.
OBITUARY
Sangeet-Natak Akademi awardee Dhadi folk singer Idu Sharif passed away at 80
Key Points:
i.Idu Sharif received an award from Sangeet Natak Akademi,New Delhi and Tamra Patra award in 2006 by Former President of India Dr.A.P.J Abdul Kalam.
ii.He also received Punjab Sangeet Natak Akademi award, Professor Mohan Singh award,Shiromani Dhadi Puraskar award in 2008.
iii.Dhadi folk singer Idu Sharif sings ballads and uses folk instrument ‘Dhadd’.
Veteran screenwriter Henry Zuckerman passes away at 89
Key Points:
i.He was the screenwriter for ‘The Graduate’ which scored seven Oscar nominations.
ii.In 1967 he won an Emmy award for writing ‘Get Smart’ along with co-creator Mel Brooks.
iii.In 1978 he directed the film ‘Heaven Can Wait’ with Warren Beatty which was also nominated for an Oscar.
IMPORTANT DAYS
16th NRI Day (Pravasi Bharatiya Divas) is observed on January 9,2020
Key Points:
i.AIM:The purpose of the day is to recognize the overseas Indian who have contributed to the development of India and to promote unity of people overseas with government of India.
ii.On this occasion Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) are conferred by the President of India to NRIs or PIOs(Person of India Origin) or an organization established by PIOs or NRIs for outstanding contributions in supporting,promoting and building India’s links overseas.
iii.Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was celebrated for the first time in 2003 and is observed by Ministry of External Affairs.
iv.In 2019 it was celebrated in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh and 2018 in Singapore.
AC BYTES
Ladakh lifts 7th National Ice Hockey Championship Women trophy
Ladakh lifted the 7th National Ice Hockey Championship Women trophy held at the Karzoo Ice Hockey Rink in Ladakh,which was organised by the Ice Hockey Association of India (IHAI) in association with the Ladakh winter sports club.
******Current Affairs 9 January 2020 Headlines******
- Visakhapatnam to host naval exercise ‘MILAN’ in March 2020
- Gujarat and Eight North-Eastern states to celebrate Madhavpur Mela of Gujarat on 2nd April 2020
- Home ministry issues revised guidelines for mutual legal assistance treaties
- EC of India and Mauritius renewed MoU on cooperation in electoral management
- CCI report: ‘Market Study on E-commerce in India:Key Findings and Observations’ released
- Indian Railways installs IP based Video Surveillance System in railway stations to enhance the security
- NCRB 2018: 50lac crimes registered & is 1.3% more than 2017; UP tops in economic offence
- EIU survey 2015-20: 3 of world’s 10 fastest-growing cities in Kerala; Malappuram tops list
- Henley Passport Index 2020: India ranks 84th with most powerful passport list;Japan tops
- SBI announces new ‘RBBG’ scheme; SBI & Sunteck Realty Limited signed MoU on RBBG scheme
- Andhra Pradesh govt and Kfw inks a loan agreement for Rs.711 crore under ZBNF
- Paytm launches all-in-one QR for merchants to make unlimited payment for free
- In a 1st, HDFC Bank launches customised ‘myApps’ for large institutions
- World Bank slashes India’s GDP forecast for FY 20 to 5% from 6%
- India-born author Jasbinder Bilan bags UK Costa Children’s award,2019
- Hudco appoints M Nagaraj as CMD
- Lokpal Member and the Former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, Justice Dilip B Bhosale resigns
- China successfully launches new communication experiment satellite’ TJSW-5’ on a Long March-3B rocket
- India’s 1st indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant to be commissioned by early 2021
- Sangeet-Natak Akademi awardee Dhadi folk singer Idu Sharif passed away at 80
- Veteran screenwriter Henry Zuckerman passes away at 89
- NRI Day (Pravasi Bharatiya Divas) is observed on January 9,2020
- Ladakh lifts 7th National Ice Hockey Championship Women trophy
[su_button url=”https://affairscloud.com/current-affairs/january-2020/” target=”self” style=”default” background=”#2D89EF” color=”#FFFFFF” size=”5″ wide=”no” center=”no” radius=”auto” icon=”” icon_color=”#FFFFFF” text_shadow=”none” desc=”” download=”” onclick=”” rel=”” title=”” id=”” class=””]Click Here to Read Current Affairs January 2020[/su_button]
