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Current Affairs 18 January 2020

Ravi Shankar Prasad Inaugurates ‘Centre of Excellence in Blockchain Technology’ in Bengaluru set up by National Informatics Centre (NIC)

The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has set up the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Blockchain Technology in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
The CoE was inaugurated by the Union Minister for Law & Justice, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad on 18 January 2020.
The Centre of Excellence will facilitate the Government Departments in building proof of concepts for use of Blockchain technology in different dimensions of governance to enhance transparency, traceability and trust in e-governance systems.
CoE will also provide Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) for efficient hosting of Blockchain network.

Fertiliser Minister DV Sadananda Gowda launches logo & brand ‘APNA UREA – Sona Ugle’ of HURL

The Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, DV Sadananda Gowda unveiled the logo and brand ‘Apna Urea Sona Ugle’ of Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Limited (HURL) on 17 January 2020.
HURL is a joint venture company promoted by the three Maharatna companies namely Coal India (CIL), National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) as the lead promoters and Fertilizer Corporation of India (FCIL) and Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation (HFCL) as other two partners.
In 2016, Government had directed for the revival of five major sick fertiliser plants of which, the task of the revival of three units has been undertaken by HURL.
The sick urea units are located at Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Barauni (Bihar) and Sindri (Jharkhand).
The other two plants at Ramagundam and Talcher will also commence production soon.
India imports 70-80 LMT fertiliser every year. After the commissioning of these five units, the total production of urea will increase by 63.5 Lakh Metric Tonne Per Annum (LMTPA) and will reduce dependence on imports.

Union Territory of Ladakh Signs MoU with NITI Aayog for Development of Infrastructure Projects

NITI Aayog has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Union Territory of Ladakh on 17 January 2020 to promote the development of key infrastructure sectors in the region.
NITI Aayog is providing support to UT’s administration under its key initiative ‘Development Support Services to States for Infrastructure Projects (D3S-i)’.
The MoU will help towards identification of high-impact priority projects, expedited project implementation, addressing structural-level issues and creating unique models of development for the Union Territory of Ladakh, especially in tourism, solar energy and basic infrastructure.

Indian Army Conducts Biggest Airborne Exercise ‘Winged Raider’ in North Eastern Theatre

The Indian Army carried out its biggest Airborne Exercise code-named ‘Winged Raider’ in the North Eastern Theatre from 6 to 10 January 2020.
The multi-dimensional exercise involved more than 500 Special Force’s troops and all kind of air transport platforms of the Air Force.
The exercise saw the soldiers of the Special Forces parachuting from C-130 Hercules, C-17 globemaster transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force, and Dhruv helicopters during the day and night.
Exercise Winged Raider demonstrated the operational readiness of our Paratroopers and Air Warriors to undertake airborne missions.

India to Receive Five S-400 air defence systems from Russia by 2025

Russia has said that it will deliver all five units of S-400 long-range surface-to-air missile systems to India by 2025.
The S-400 air defence systems, an upgraded version of the S-300, was previously only been available to the Russian defence forces.
India signed USD 5.43-billion deal with Russia for the purchase of 5 units of S-400 systems on October 5, 2018, during the 19th India-Russia Annual Bilateral Summit in New Delhi, for long-term security needs.

India’s GDP Estimated at 5.7% for FY20; World economy likely to grow 2.5% in 2020: UN report

The United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2020 report was released on 16 January 2020.
The WESP is an annual UN flagship publication on the state of the world economy from the point of view of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

GDP estimate for India

GDP forecast for 2019-20: 5.7 percent (from 7.6 per cent forecast in WESP 2019).
GDP forecast for 2020-21: 6.6 percent (from 7.4 per cent earlier)
GDP forecast for 2021-22: 6.3 percent

World Economic Growth

2.3 percent – 2019
2.5 percent – 2020
2.7 percent – 2021

Oleksiy Honcharuk Resigns as Prime Minister of Ukraine

The incumbent Prime Minister of Ukraine, Oleksiy Honcharuk submitted his resignation to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on 17 January, after less than six months in the role.
The resignation is however still to be confirmed by the President.
Oleksiy Honcharuk has been the Prime Minister of Ukraine since 29 August 2019 becoming the youngest-ever head of government at the age of 35.
Ukraine capital – Kyiv; Currency – Ukrainian hryvnia

Sania Mirza wins women’s doubles title of WTA International trophy at Hobart

In Tennis, India’s Sania Mirza and her Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok won the women’s doubles title at WTA Hobart International tennis tournament in Australia on 18 January 2020.
They beat Shaui Peng and Shuai Zhang of China 6-4,6-4.
This is Sania’s 42nd WTA doubles title.

Vinesh Phogat wins gold medal in UWW Rome Ranking Series 2020

The 2020 season’s first UWW Ranking Series was held from January 15 to 18 in the Italian Capital, Rome.
India’s wrestling champion Vinesh Phogat defeated Ecuador’s Luisa Elizabeth Melendres 4-0 in the final (53 kg) to win her first gold medal of the season at the UWW Rome Ranking Series.
Earlier, Anshu Malik settled for a silver in 57kg competition.
Till now, India’s medal tally in Rome Series has reached 5 including 2 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze.

Legendary India all-rounder Bapu Nadkarni Passes Away at 86

Rameshchandra Gangaram ‘Bapu’ Nadkarni, former Indian cricketer, mainly known for being an economical bowler, has passed away due to old-age related problems. He was 86.
The legendary India all-rounder was best known for bowling a record 21 successive maiden overs in a Test match.
Nadkarni was a left-handed batsman and slow-left arm orthodox bowler who had played 41 Tests and 191 first-class matches.

World’s shortest man, Khagendra Thapa Magar, passes away at 27

Guinness World Records holder, world’s shortest man, Khagendra Thapa Magar, passed away in Nepal on 18 January 2020. He was 27.
Magar was just 67.08 cm tall and was declared the shortest man alive by Guinness World Records (GWR) in 2010 after turning 18.
Now after passing away of Magar, the world’s shortest man record is held by Edward “Nino” Hernandez, a DJ from Colombia, who is 70.21 cm.

Daily Current Affairs – 18 January 2020