Daily Current Affairs 10 January 2020: We have collected the latest current affairs for 10 January 2020 that are important for all competitive exams like Bank, SSC, IBPS, SBI exams. The GK current affairs will help you score more in these competitive exams. Improve your general knowledge with our daily online current affairs. You can also read the daily current affairs on our mobile app.
Current Affairs 10 January 2020
India Ranks 84th in Henley Passport Index 2020; Japan Tops
- The Henley Passport Index 2020 was released by Henley & Partners, based on the exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
- The index presents the original ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.
- The Indian passport has dropped 2 places to be ranked at 84th position in the Henley Passport Index 2020.
- India shares its position with Mauritania and Tajikistan, where passport holders can travel visa-free to 58 destinations.
- Japan topped the ranking with visa-free access to 191 countries.
- Afghanistan’s passport has been ranked as the world’s worst passport with visa-free access to just 26 countries.
- Top 5 most powerful passports in the world includes:
- Japan: 191 countries
- Singapore: 190 countries
- Germany & South Korea: 189
- Finland & Italy: 188
- Denmark, Luxembourg & Spain: 187
Indian Railways Installs IP based Video Surveillance System at stations to enhance security
- The Indian Railways is installing Internet Protocol (IP) based Video Surveillance System (VSS) at all railway stations to enhance security at Railway stations which are major hubs of transportation.
- The project includes installing IP-Video Surveillance System at 983 stations over Indian Railways under Nirbhaya funds.
- In the first phase (targeted for this year), VSS is being installed at 200 stations Pan India of which, work has been completed at 81 stations across India.
- A budget of Rs. 250 crore has been allotted to Indian Railways from Nirbhaya fund for installation of video surveillance system.
- RailTel, a Miniratna PSU under Ministry of Railways, has been given the work of providing IP based VSS which includes video analytics and facial recognition system.
Andhra Pradesh Government signs Rs 711 cr MoU with German development bank KfW for `Zero Budget Natural Farming’ (ZBNF)
- The German state-owned development bank, KfW has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh government for Zero-Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF)
- Under the MoU, KfW will provide Rs 711 crore loan to Andhra Pradesh for expanding the climate-resilient Zero-Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) in the state over the next five years.
- Additionally, the state government will spend another Rs 304 crore on the project.
- Around 2.39 lakh farmers in 591 village panchayats of the state will be encouraged to take up ZBNF under the project.
SBI Announces Residential Builder Finance with Buyer Guarantee (RBBG) Scheme to Safeguard Homebuyers
- The State Bank of India (SBI) has announced Residential Builder Finance with Buyer Guarantee (RBBG) scheme to safeguard home buyers financially.
- Under the RBBG scheme, SBI will issue guarantee for completion of residential projects to customers availing SBI Home Loans.
- SBI guarantees the refund of the principal amount if a builder fails to complete the project within the stipulated time.
- To begin with, SBI has signed MoU with Sunteck Realty Limited (SRL) for RBBG scheme, for its three ongoing projects in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
- Basic Features of RBBG Scheme
- The tagline of Residential Builder Finance with Buyer Guarantee scheme is “Sapna Aapka Bharosa SBI Ka”.
- The scheme will focus on affordable housing segment with home price of up to Rs. 2.50 crores in 10 Indian geographies initially.
- The term of the guarantee will be till the time a project receives an occupation certificate (OC).
- Suppose a buyer has booked a flat in a project for Rs 2 crore and has paid Rs 1 crore, and if the project gets stuck then the bank will refund Rs 1 crore.
- The guarantee will be available for RERA registered projects and a project will be considered stuck after it crosses the RERA deadline.
- All reputed builders fulfilling the prescribed criteria, including Star rating and CIBIL score, by the bank can avail loan between Rs. 50 crores to Rs. 400 crores.
World Bank Lowers India’s GDP growth to 5% for FY20; 5.8% for FY21
- World Bank (WB) released its January 2020 Global Economic Prospects report on 08 January 2020.
- The WB report has cuts India’s GDP growth for financial year 2020-21 to 5% from its previous estimate of 6 percent.
- Also, for fiscal 2021-22, GDP projection has come down to 5.8 percent,
- The Global economic growth in 2020-21 is expected to rise to 2.5%.
Census India-2021 to Begin on 01 April 2020
- The Census India-2021 exercise is schedule to start on 1st April 2020 and conclude on 30th September 2020.
- Also, for the first time, the Census India-2021 will be conducted through a mobile phone application, instead of the traditional pen and paper method as used earlier.
Famous Chariot Festival of Suchindram Thanumalayan Temple Begins in Tamil Nadu
- The annual chariot festival of the Suchindram Thanumalayan Temple in Tamil Nadu began on 09 January 2020.
- The ten-day festival involving pulling of the chariot is held every year in the state in the Tamil month falling in December – January.
- Suchindram Temple, also known as Sthanumalayan Temple is located in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu.
- The main deity of the temple is Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma in a single form called Sthanumalayan, where Sthanu means Trimurti – Brahma ,Vishnu and Shiva.
Prof. MS Swaminathan & Dr. G Muniratnam Selected for First Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu National Awards
- Eminent Agricultural Scientist Dr M S Swaminathan and veteran social worker, Dr. Gutta Muniratnam have been chosen as the first recipients of ‘Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu National Award for Excellence’ and ‘Muppavarapu National Award for Social Service’’ respectively.
- The announcement for the awards was made during the 10th Anniversary Celebrations of Muppavarapu Foundation and Sankranthi Sambaralu (festivities) organized in Hyderabad on 09 January 2020.
- The Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu National Award for Excellence is instituted by the Muppavarapu Foundation.
- Muppavarapu National Award for Social Service has been launched by the Swarna Bharat Trust.
- Each award carries a cash prize of Rupees Five Lakh and citation.
- Prof. M.S. Swaminathan has been awarded for his distinguished contributions to the field of agriculture.
- Dr G Muniratnam, Founder Secretary of Tirupati-based Rashtriya Seva Samiti, was awarded for his extraordinary contribution in improving quality of people’s lives through social service.
M Nagaraj Appointed CMD of HUDCO
- M Nagaraj has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of state-owned Housing and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco) on 8th January 2020.
- He has been appointed for a period of three months with immediate effect or until further orders.
- The HUDCO Limited is a public sector undertaking wholly owned by the Union Government and is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation.
Two-day ITTF Executive Committee Meeting Organised Begins in New Delhi
- The two-day Executive Committee meeting of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) began in New Delhi on 10th January 2020.
- This is the second time that India is hosting such a meeting.
- Previously such meeting of the ITTF was held in New Delhi in 1987.
- The EC meeting is being chaired by ITTF President Thomas Weikert to discuss the development of table tennis in India, among other issues.
- The other members in the Executive Committee of the ITTF comprises deputy president Khalil Al-Mohannad, Secretary General Raul Calin, seven executive vice-presidents and CEO Steve Dainton.
- International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) headquarter- Lausanne, Switzerland.
World Hindi Day: January 10
- The World Hindi Day is celebrated every year on 10 January since 2006 to create awareness for the promotion of Hindi in the world, to introduce Hindi as an international language among other things.
- Former Prime Minister of India Shri Manmohan Singh declared World Hindi Day to be observed on 10 January in the year 2006.
- Since then, the day is observed by Ministry of External Affairs and Indian Embassies abroad.
Veteran Odissi Danseuse Minati Mishra Passes Away at 91
- Eminent Odishi dancer and Padma Shri awardee Minati Mishra passed away in Switzerland. She was 91.
- Born in Cuttack, Minati was a recipient of Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi award for 1975, and the Padma award in 2012.