Daily Current Affairs 15 January 2020: We have collected the latest current affairs for 15 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 15 January 2020
Government Launches Integrated Road Accident Database (IRAD) Developed by IIT Madras
- The Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated a central accident database management system known as ‘Integrated Road Accident Database (IRAD)’ on 13 January 2020 at the road safety stakeholders’ meet.
- The IT Tool will help in analyzing causes of road crashes as well as devising safety interventions to reduce such accidents in the country.
- IRAD has been developed by the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M).
- It will be implemented by the National Informatics Centre (NIC).
- The Rs 258 crore project is being supported by the World Bank.
- Initially, the system will be implemented in six States on pilot basis which has highest fatalities from road crashes. These are Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
Parshuram Kund Mela of Arunachal Pradesh Begins
- The famous Parshuram Kund Mela began in Arunachal Pradesh on 14 January 2020.
- Parshuram Kund is a Hindu pilgrimage centre situated on the Brahmaputra plateau in the lower reaches of the Lohit River in Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh.
- Devotees from across the country visit the sacred place to take a holy dip in the Kund on the occasion of Makar Sankranti every year.
Tania Shergil becomes first woman parade adjutant in Army Day Parade 2020
- Captain Tania Shergill, an officer with Army’s Corps of Signals, became the first woman parade adjutant in the Army Day Parade 2020 to lead an all-men contingent.
- A parade adjutant is responsible for executing the parade.
- Shergill will also be the first woman parade adjutant for the Republic Day parade to be held on 15 January 2020 to lead an all-men contingent at the Army Day Parade.
- Shergill is an electronics and communications graduate, who was commissioned in the Indian Army in March 2017 from the Officer Training Academy, Chennai.
India and Bangladesh Signs MoU for Co-production of biopic on BangaBandhu
- India and Bangladesh signed some of the key agreements in the field of Information and Broadcasting on 14 January 2020 during the Information and Broadcasting Minister’s meet 2020 held in New Delhi.
- Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Shri Prakash Javadekar and his Bangladeshi counterpart Muhammad H Mahmud signed the agreement.
Key agreements include:
- MoU for the co-production of a film on “BangaBandhu” Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (first President of Bangladesh).
- The film will be directed by Indian director/producer Shri Shyam Benegal.
- It is proposed to be released in March 2021, as part of centenary celebrations of BangaBandhu.
- An airtime content exchange programme was signed between Prasar Bharati and Bangladesh Radio Betar.
- India committed to extend all possible cooperation to Bangladesh in setting up the BongoBandhu film city.
- Bangladesh will celebrate the ‘Mujib Year’ from March 17, 2020 to March 17, 2021 to mark the centenary year of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Indian-Origin Yoga Champion Ishwar Sharma from UK Wins Global Child Prodigy Award 2020
- A 10-year-old Indian-origin schoolboy, Ishwar Sharma from United Kingdom and under-11 yoga champion has won the Global Child Prodigy Award 2020 for achievements in spiritual discipline yoga.
- Ishwar Sharma, originally from Mysore, is currently based in Kent in south-eastern England.
- He was chosen for the awards among 15,000 applicants from across 45 countries and 30 different categories.
- Sharma has participated in over 100 yoga events across the UK and worldwide.
- It must be remembered that 13-year-old Indian-origin girl, Sucheta Satish, from Dubai”s Indian High School, has also won the 100 Global Child Prodigy Award for singing in most languages during one concert and the longest live singing concert by a child.
10 Districts Gets Swachhata Darpan Awards 2020
- The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti, organised the Open Defecation Free (ODF) Sustainability workshop in New Delhi on January 12, 2020.
- As a part of the occasion the Swachhata Darpan Awards 2020 were presented to the top 10 performing districts at national level on key Swachhata parameters.
- The awards were presented by Aamir Khan, Actor and Founder, Paani Foundation.
- Swachhata Darpan Award has been instituted under Swacha Bharat Mission to encourage the states and districts to focus on Open Defecation Free (ODF) sustainability and social and liquid waste management.
- The top 10 winning districts are:
- East Godavari (Andhra Pradesh), West Kameng (Arunachal Pradesh), Bemtara (Chhattisgarh), Diu (Daman and Diu), Panipat (Haryana), Vadodara (Gujarat), Kolhapur (Maharashtra), Moga (Punjab), East Sikkim (Sikkim) and Pedappali (Telangana).
- Apart from this, 4 districts were awarded for innovations and initiatives for Plastic Waste Management. They are:
- Dibrugarh (Assam), Sirmaur (Himachal Pradesh), Indore (Madhya Pradesh) and Puri (Odisha)
Nitin Gadkari presents National Highways Excellence Awards 2019
- The Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and MSMEs Shri Nitin Gadkari presented the ‘National Highways Excellence Awards 2019’ to 12 outstanding performers in NH sector on 14 January 2020 in New Delhi.
- National Highway Excellence Awards were instituted in the year 2018 to recognize the well-performing companies in the field of construction, operations, maintenance, toll collection and road safety on National Highways.
- The award is given in seven categories namely:
- Excellence in Project Management,
- Excellence in Operation and Maintenance
- Excellence in Toll Management,
- Excellence in Highway Safety
- Innovation
- Outstanding Work in Challenging Conditions
- Green Highway
Senior IPS officer AP Maheshwari Takes Charge as Director General of CRPF
- Senior IPS officer Anand Prakash Maheshwari took over as the new Director General (DG) of the Central Reserve Police Force ( CRPF), the country’s largest paramilitary force on 15 January 2020.
- The 1984-batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre took over the charge from ITBP Director General S S Deswal who was given the additional charge to head the CRPF after its serving DG R R Bhatnagar retired on December 31.
-
Maheshwari will retire in February 2021.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos commits USD 1 bn investment in India to digitise small businesses
- Amazon.com Inc chief Jeff Bezos has announced USD 1 billion (over Rs 7,000 crore) investment in India over the next five years, to bring small and medium businesses online.
- The initiative will help to digitise micro and small businesses across India, and help them reach more customers than ever before.
- The company is also committed to exporting USD 10 billion worth of India-made goods by 2025.
Rohit Sharma Named ICC’s 2019 ODI Cricketer Of The Year, Virat Kohli Bags “Spirit of Cricket” Award
- Star Indian opener Rohit Sharma has been named as the ODI Cricketer of the Year by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in the annual ranking on 15 January 2020.
- Rohit Sharma scored a total 7 centuries in 2019, out of which 5 came in the World Cup 2019, thus becoming the top-scoring player in the One-day International (ODI) format in 2019
- India captain Virat Kohli bagged the spirit of cricket award for his gesture towards the crowd to cheer for former Australia captain Steve Smith.
- Complete List of Winners
- ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year (Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy): Ben Stokes (England)
- ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year: Rohit Sharma (India)
- ICC Test Cricketer of the Year: Pat Cummins (Australia)
- ICC Men’s Emerging Cricketer: Marnus Labuschagne (Australia)
- Associate Cricketer of the Year: Kyle Coetzer (Scotland)
- T20I Performance of the Year: Deepak Chahar’s 6/7 against Bangladesh
- Spirit of Cricket Award: Virat Kohli (India)
- Umpire of the year: Richard Illingworth (England)
Indian Army Day: 15 January
- In India, the Army Day is celebrated on 15 January every year to salute the valiant soldiers who sacrificed their lives to protect the country and its citizens.
- 2020 marks the 72nd Indian Army Day.
- The day is also recognised as it was on 15 January 1949 that Field Marshal Kodandera M. Cariappa’s (then a Lieutenant General) took over as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from General Sir Francis Butcher, the last British Commander-in-Chief of India.