Daily Current Affairs and GK | 15 January 2020

1. ‘Mann Ki Baat’ program to be held on All India Radio on January 26, 2020

• Mann Ki Baat program will be addressed by the Prime Minister on All India Radio on January 26, 2020.
• This will be the 61^st episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’.
• On 3 October 2014, the first Mann Ki Baat programme was broadcasted.

2. Raisina Dialogue organized in New Delhi

• The 5^th edition of Raisina Dialogue was held in New Delhi.
• The theme of the Raisina Dialogue 2020 is "Navigating the Alpha Century".
• The conference will see the participation of 12 Foreign Ministers from countries like Russia, Iran, Australia, etc.
• Raisina Dialogue:
• It is a multilateral conference organized to discuss international issues.
• It is organized by the Ministry of External Affairs and Observer Research Foundation.

3. 72^nd Army Day celebrated across the country

• 72^nd Army Day being celebrated across the country.
• The Army Day is celebrated annually to commemorate the day when General KM Carriappa (later took over as Field Marshal) took over the Army command from General Sir F R R Bucher.
• K.M Carriappa:
  • He was the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian army.
  • He was one of the two army officers to hold 5 star rank of Field Marshal. The other was Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw.

4. National Highway Excellence Awards 2019 presented by Road Transport and Highway Minister

• National Highway Excellence Awards 2019 were presented by Union Road Transport and Highway Minister Nitin Gadkari.
• It recognizes the well-performing companies in the field of construction, operations, maintenance, toll collection and road safety on National Highways.
• The award was instituted in 2018.

5. Veterans Day being celebrated

• Veterans Day was being celebrated on January 14, 2020.
• It is celebrated annually to commemorate the sacrifice and devotion being shown by Indian armed forces’ veterans.
• On 14 January 1953, KM Carriappa became a veteran after his superannuation.

6. Former news Reel producer of AIR passes away

• Upen Tarafder, the former news reel producer of AIR, died at the age of 84.
• He joined AIR in 1954. He started Sangbad Bichitra, a fortnightly Bengali newspaper during the Indo- Bangladesh war of 1971.
• He wrote the book ‘Freedom Struggle of Bangladesh’ which got acclamation.

7. Japan Coast Guard ship ‘Echigo’ arrived in Chennai on the goodwill visit

• Japan Coast Guard ship ‘Echigo’ arrived in Chennai on the goodwill visit.
• The coast guard ship will participate in the 19^th Annual joint exercise ‘Sahyog- Kaijin’ with the Indian Coast Guard in Chennai.
• The exercise was started in the year 2000.
• 4 Indian Coast Guard ships, their aircraft, and a vessel from Chennai based National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) will also participate.

8. GSAT-30 communication satellite to be launched from French Guiana

• GSAT-30, a communication satellite of India, will be launched onboard Arian-5 launch vehicle (VA-251) from French Guiana.
• The satellite will replace INSAT-4A.
• The weight of the satellite is 3357Kg, and the mission life is over 15 years.
• The satellite provides Ku- band coverage to the Indian mainland and the islands.
• It provides C band coverage to India, Gulf countries, some Asian countries, and Australia.

9. MoUs signed between India and Bangladesh

• India and Bangladesh signed MoU for a content exchange program between All India Radio and Bangladesh Betar.
• An MoU between National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), India and Film development corporation Bangladesh was also signed.
• Both countries are also producing Biopic on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

10. Michael Debabatra Patra appointed as the Deputy Governor of RBI

•  Michael Debabatra Patra has been appointed as the Deputy Governor of RBI for a period of 3 years.
• He took the place of Viral.V Acharya and will be the fourth Deputy Governor of RBI.
• The head of the RBI is Governor Shaktikanta Das and there are 4 Deputy Governors i.e N S Vishwanathan, B.P Kanungo, M K Jain and  Michael Debabatra Patra.

11. World Future Energy Summit being held in Abu Dhabi

• World Future Energy Summit is being held in the National Exhibition Center in Abu Dhabi, UAE, from 13-16 January 2020.
• The theme of the event is "Rethinking Global Consumption, Production, and Investment".
• The five pillars along which the programs are being held are energy, solar, water, waste and smart cities
• It is an annual event dedicated to advancing future energy, energy efficiency, and clean technologies.
• 170 countries are part of this event.
• Along with this Climate Innovations Exchange, ‘CLIX’ and Future Sustainability Summit is also being held.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

1. Which edition of the Raisina Dialogue is being organized in New Delhi?

A. First

B. Second

C. Third

D. Fifth

2. K M Cariappa was the Field Marshall Officer of which rank?

A. 5 Star

B. 4 Star

C. 3 Star

D. None of the above

3. National Highway Excellence Awards were instituted in the year-

A. 2017

B. 2018

C. 2019

D. 2020

4. Armed Forces Veterans Day is celebrated on-

A. 16 January

B. 14 January

C. 13 January

D. 18 January

5. Recently Upen Tarafdar passed away. He belonged to which of the following field?

A. Medical

B. Sculptural Art

C. Journalist

D. Cookery

6. Sahyog Kaijin is an annual joint exercise between which of the following two countries?

A. India-Japan

B. India- Germany

C. India-USA

D. India-China

7. GSAT-30, an Indian communication satellite, will be launched from French Guiana. This satellite will replace which of the following?

A. INSAT-4A

B. INSAT-4B

C. INSAT-3A

D. INSAT-3B

8. Recently India has signed an MoU with which of the following countries for a content exchange programme?

A. Sri Lanka

B. Bangladesh

C. Nepal

D. Maldives

9. Recently who has been appointed as the deputy governor of RBI?

A. Kishore Upadhyaya

B. Visheshwar Kumar Rao

C. Michael Debabatra Patra

D. None

10. World Future Energy Summit is being held in-

A. New Delhi

B. New York

C. Beijing

D. Abu Dhabi

Correct Answer:

1. D

2. A

3. B

4. B

5. C

6. A

7. A

8. B

9. C

10. D