Daily Current Affairs and GK | 30 January 2021

Topic:  Appointments

1. Government appointed Swaminathan Janakiraman and Aswini Kumar Tewari as MDs of SBI.

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointments of Swaminathan Janakiraman and Ashwini Kumar Tewari as Managing Directors of the State Bank of India.
• Swaminathan Janakiraman and Ashwini Kumar Tewari have been appointed for a period of three years. Their appointment was approved by the Bank Board Bureau in October 2020.
• At present, Swaminathan Janakiraman is working as the deputy managing director (Finance) at SBI and Ashwini Kumar is serving as SBI Card MD and CEO.
• Banks Board Bureau recommends names of directors and non-executive chairpersons of public sector banks.
• State Bank of India (SBI):
  • It is a nationalized public sector bank and the largest lender in India.
  • It is headquartered in Mumbai.
  • Current Chairman of SBI is Dinesh Kumar Khara.
  • C.S. Setty and Ashwani Bhatia are the other managing directors of SBI.

Topic: International News

2. Kaja Kallas becomes first female Prime Minister of Estonia.

• The new government of Estonia will be led by Kaja Kallas. She has become the first female prime minister of Estonia.
• The new government of Estonia has been formed by the coalition of Reform Party and Centre Party. Kaja Kallas belongs to the centre-right Reform Party.
• Riigikogu is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. It comprises 101 members, who are elected for a term of four years through proportional representation.
• In Estonia, the President is the head of state and Prime Minister is the head of government.
• Estonia: It is located in Northern Europe. Tallinn is the capital and Euro is the currency of Estonia. It is bordered by the Gulf of Finland, Baltic sea, Sweden, Latvia and Russia.

Topic: National News

3. India’s first leather park will be set up at Kanpur.

• The Government of Uttar Pradesh will establish India’s first leather park in Kanpur district. It will be built on 268 acres of land in Ramaipur village of Kanpur.
• It will give employment to about 2 lakh people and will attract an investment of Rs. 5850 crores.
• The park will be equipped with an effluent treatment plant of 20 million litres per day capacity.
• The park will have all facilities for the production of world-class leather goods. More than 150 tanneries will work in this park.
• Kanpur:
  • It is located on the bank of the Ganga River.
  • It is famous for the leather industry and textile industries.  It is also known as ‘Leather City’.
  • It is the second-largest city of Uttar Pradesh and is the 12th most populous city of India.
  • It is one of the most polluted cities of India.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

4. UP’s Ram temple tableau won first prize at Republic Day parade.

• Uttar Pradesh’s tableau of Ram Temple got the first prize at the 72nd Republic day parade
• A total of 32 tableaus were displayed at this year’s Republic Day parade.
• The theme of Uttar Pradesh’s tableau was ‘Ayodhya: Cultural Heritage of Uttar Pradesh’.
• Tripura’s tableau got the second position while Uttarakhand’s tableau based on the theme of Dev Bhoomi -- The Land of the Gods’ bagged the third position.
• The tableau of the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) based on the theme of ‘Amar Jawan’ has been awarded a special prize for paying tribute to martyrs of armed forces.
• Ram temple Ayodhya:
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of Ram Temple in Ayodhya on 5 August 2020.
  • It will be constructed in the Nagara style of temple architecture.
  • The architect of the temple is Chandrakant Sompura.
  • It will be the largest temple in India, with a height of about 161 feet.

Topic: Appointments

5. Lt General Chandi Prasad Mohanty will assume charge as Vice Chief of Army Staff on 1 February.

• Lt Gen Chandi Prasad Mohanty will take over charge as new Army Vice-Chief on 1 February.
• He will replace Lieutenant General SK Saini, who will be retiring on 31 January.
• He is currently working as Commander of the Southern Army.
• He has vast experience of working in various command and staff appointments.
• He belongs to Jayabada village of Odisha.
• The Vice Chief of Army Staff is the deputy head and second-highest ranking officer of the Indian Army.

Topic: Reports and Indices

6. India slips to 86^th position in Corruption Perception Index.

• India has been ranked in 86^th position in Corruption Perception Index 2020. India has slipped six positions from the last rank. India has got a score of 40 out of 100 in this year’s ranking.
• India ranked 80^th in the Corruption Perception Index 2019.
• New Zealand and Denmark are in the top position this year’s ranking.
• Somalia and South Sudan are on the last position in the Corruption Perception Index 2020.
• Corruption Perception Index (CPI):
  • It ranks 180 countries on a scale from 100 (very clean) to 0 (highly corrupt).
  • It is released by Transparency International.
  • Transparency International is a German NGO headquartered in Berlin.
• Corruption Perception Index 2020:

Topic: National News

7. PM will address 125^th anniversary celebrations of ‘Prabuddha Bharata’.

• Prime Minister will address the 125^th anniversary event of ‘Prabuddha Bharata’ on 31 January. The event will be organised by Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati.
• The Advaita Ashrama is working towards making the archives of the Journal online.
• Prabuddha Bharata:
  • It is an English-language monthly journal of the Ramakrishna Order.
  • It is being published from 1896. It is India’s longest-running English Journal.
  • Many great personalities of India such as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Sister Nivedita, Sri Aurobindo, etc. have written for this Journal.
  • It is edited by Advaita Ashrama in Uttarakhand.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

8. Education Ministry signed agreement with DEA and World Bank for school education.

• The Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Education, and World Bank have signed an agreement for improving the quality of school education.
• The World Bank will provide the financial assistance of the 500-million US dollar for the implementation of Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) Programme.
• The Government will implement STARS project in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Rajasthan.
• This project will be implemented as a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme under the Department of School Education and Literacy.

• World Bank:
  • It is one of the world’s largest finance providers aiming to end extreme poverty and promote shared growth.
  • It was established in 1944 and is headquartered in Washington, DC, USA.
  • Currently, it has 189 members.
  • Current President of World Bank: David Malpass
  • Chief Financial Officer and MD: Anshula Kant

Topic: Indian Economy

9. Economic survey 2020-2021 has projected India’s real GDP growth for Financial Year 2021-22 at 11%.

• Economic survey 2020-2021 has projected India’s real GDP growth for Financial Year 2021-22 at 11%.
• It has projected nominal GDP growth in Financial Year 2021-22 at 15.4%, which is the highest since independence.
• As per Chief Economic Adviser, V-shaped Economic Recovery is being witnessed due to resurgence in power demand, rail freight, E-way bills, GST collection and steel consumption.
• As per economic survey, India’s GDP will contract by 7.7% in FY 2020-21. Agriculture sector will show 3.4% growth this year. But, the industry and services sector will contract by 9.6% and 8.8% in FY 2020-21.
• While real GDP is the GDP calculated at constant prices, nominal GDP is the GDP calculated at current prices.
• Economic survey:
  • Department of Economic Affairs under Ministry of Finance each year prepares economic survey. It is prepared under Chief Economic Adviser (presently, Krishnamurthy Venkata Subramanian).
  • Finance Minister each year presents economic survey in Parliament. It provides details state of the economy and financial performance of government.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Corporates/Companies

10. Acquisition of Indo Gulf Fertilisers approved by Competition Commission of India.

• Acquisition of Indo-Gulf Fertilisers has been approved by the Competition Commission of India.
• The approval has been given under section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002.
• Gulf Fertilisers, the fertiliser division of Grasim Industries Limited, will be acquired by Indorama India Private Limited (IIPL).
• Competition Commission of India (CCI):
  • CCI was formed on 14 October 2003 under the Competition Commission Act, 2002.
  • It has a chairperson and six members. It is a quasi-judicial and statutory body.
  • Current Chairperson: Ashok Kumar Gupta

Topic: Appointments

11. RS Sharma appointed as CEO of Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB - PMJAY).

• RS Sharma has been appointed as CEO of Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB - PMJAY) and National Health Authority (NHA).
• He will take place of Indu Bhushan. Indu Bhushan is currently serving as CEO of Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB – PMJAY) and National Health Authority (NHA).
• RS Sharma earlier served as Chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
• He is also head of Empowered Group on Technology and Data Management to combat COVID-19.
• He is a member of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration of COVID-19 (NEGVAC). V.K. Paul is chairman of NEGVAC.   
• National Health Authority (NHA):
  • It is the apex body responsible for implementing Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, India’s premier public health insurance scheme.
  • It was established in 2018.