Daily Current Affairs 21 January 2020: We have collected the latest current affairs for 21 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 21 January 2020

PM Modi Inaugurates Integrated Check Post at Jogbani-Biratnagar

• On 21st January 2020, Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi and his Nepali counterpart KP Sharma Oli jointly inaugurated, through video conferencing, the second Integrated Check Post (ICP) built with Indian assistance at Jogbani-Biratnagar, to facilitate trade and people’s movement.
• The first ICP was built in Raxaul-Birgunj in 2018.
• ICP Biratnagar has been built at a cost of around Rs 140 crore on 260 acres of land.

50th Annual Meeting of World Economic Forum begins in Davos

• The 50th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum kicked-off in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland to be held on 21-24 January 2020.
• WEF annual meetings aim to engage world leaders in collaborative activities to shape the global, regional, and industry agendas at the beginning of each year.
• The meeting is being presided over by the WEF founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab.
• Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is leading the Indian delegation to the WEF.

26th Annual Crystal Award Ceremony

The inaugural day included the Annual Crystal Award Ceremony. For 2020 award, four exceptional cultural leaders have been selected, who are improving the state of the world through their contributions to inclusive and sustainable change.

Brazil President Jair Messias Bolsonaro Will be Chief Guest at 71st Republic Day of India

• President of Brazil Jair Messias Bolsonaro will be on a four-day state visit to India from January 24 to 27, 2020.
• President Bolsonaro will also be the chief guest at the 2020 Republic Day celebrations to be held at Raj Path in New Delhi on January 26.
• 2020 marks India’s 71st Republic Day.
• He will be accompanied by a high level delegation comprising of seven Ministers, Chairman of Brazil-India Friendship Group in the Brazilian Parliament, senior officials and a large business delegation.

France will train Indian flight surgeons for Gaganyaan mission

• France will provide training to the Indian flight surgeons, selected for the ambitious human space mission Gaganyaan, to enable them monitor the health of astronauts.
• The shortlisted flight surgeons will undergo two weeks training in France.
• These flight surgeons will be Indian Air Force doctors specialising in aviation medicines and responsible for the health of astronauts before, during and after flight.
• Under the Gaganyaan project three Indian astronauts will be send to space by 2022. The four shortlisted astronauts (all test pilots from the Indian Air Force) are currently in Russia for an 11-month training programme.

Jharkhand’s Jharia most polluted city in India: Greenpeace India

• Coal-belching Jharia in Jharkhand has been ranked as the most polluted city in India according to a Greenpeace India report released on 21 January 2020.
• Lunglei in Mizoram is the least polluted city in the country.
• The report is based on analysis of PM10 data from 287 cities across the country.
• Jharkhand’s Dhanbad, known for its rich coal reserves and industries, is the second-most polluted city in India.
• As per the report, 6 of the top-10 polluted cities are in Uttar Pradesh comprising of Noida, Ghaziabad, Bareilly, Allahabad, Moradabad and Firozabad.
• Delhi is the 10th-most polluted city in India, which was at the eighth spot last year.

India Ranks 76 among 82 Nations in WEF’s Global Social Mobility Index

• The World Economic Forum released its inaugural Global Social Mobility Index 2020 at the ongoing annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland on 20 January 2020.
• The index ranks 82 countries on their citizens’ ability to fulfill their potential regardless of their socio-economic background.
• To better understand what is the ranking about: Individuals in top ranking countries, who are born into poorer families, have a better chance of owning a home, getting a good education and experiencing a better life than their parents, as compared to individuals (born in poor families) in low ranking countries.
• The index ranks economies based on five parameters: Health, Education, Technology access, Work (in terms of opportunities, conditions and fair wages), and Protection and Institutions.
• India has been ranked very low at 76th place, stating that it would take about 7 generations for those born in a low-income family to reach median income.
• Denmark has topped the index. It would take only 2 generations for those born in a low-income family to reach median income.
• Denmark is followed by Norway, Finland, Sweden and Iceland as top 5 countries.

India Fourth Attractive Growth Prospect market for global companies: PwC Global CEO survey

• The annual 23rd Pwc CEO Survey report was released on the first day of the World Economic Forum annual meeting on 21 January 2020, which surveyed more than 1,580 CEOs in 83 countries.
• India has been ranked as fourth-most attractive market by the global CEOs, with 9 percent of them favouring India for their companies’ growth prospects.
• United States, China and Germany are the top three countries with maximum growth prospects, according to the global CEOs.
• Also, as many as 53 percent of global CEOs believe international economic growth would decline in the next 12 months.
• In 2019, only 29 percent of CEOs expressed pessimism in the global economy while in 2018, only 5 percent of CEOs believed growth would dip.

President Ramnath Kovind Presents 14th Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards

• The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, presented the 14th Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards (RNG awards) in New Delhi on January 20, 2020.
• RNG awards are one the most prestigious awards in India in the field of journalism, held annually since 2006. The 12th edition was held in 2017.
• These are awarded to honour journalists across the country from print, broadcast and digital media who have maintained the highest standards of their profession and, despite immense challenges, produced work that sustains public trust in the media and impacts the lives of people.
• The award is named after Ramnath Goenka, who was an Indian newspaper publisher and founder of “The Indian Express” and Indian Express Group.

ICICI Bank introduces cardless cash withdrawal facility through ATMs with per day limit of Rs 20000

• Private lender ICICI Bank has launched cardless cash withdrawal facility from its ATMs on 21 January 2020.
• The daily transaction limit as well as per transaction limit is set at Rs 20,000 under the new facility.
• It is a simple and convenient way to withdraw cash for daily usage without the requirement to carry and use debit card or ATM PIN.
• Users can avail service using the bank’s mobile banking application named iMobile.
• By simply raising a request on iMobile, customers will be able to withdraw cash from over 15,000 ATMs of the bank.

Apollo Hospitals unveils Health EMI Card in Partnership with Bajaj Finserv

• Healthcare major Apollo Hospitals has unveiled co-branded health EMI card in partnership with Bajaj Finance Ltd on 21 January 2020 to ensure patients undergo hassle-free payment during hospitalisation.
• The “Apollo Hospitals-Bajaj Finserv Health EMI” (Easy Monthly Instalment) card will enable users of this co-branded healthcare card to convert their medical expenditure into no cost EMIs that can be repaid over a period of 12 months.
• The card offers financing and quick loan processing with minimal paperwork avoiding documentation

New Appointments of MD and CEO in BoI, BoB & Canara Bank

The Personnel Ministry has approved new appointment of Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in the following three state-run banks for a period of three years on 21 January 2020.

• Atanu Kumar Das –  Bank of India
• Sanjiv Chadha – Bank of Baroda
• Lingam Venkata Prabhakar – Canara Bank

Elyes Fakhfakh named PM-designate of Tunisia

• In Tunisia, former finance minister Elyes Fakhfakh has been named as Prime Minister-designate by President Kais Saied on 20, January 2020.
• Mr Elyes Fakhfakh will now face the difficult task of forming a cabinet within a month by gaining the approval of a divided parliament.
• If Fakhfakh fails to form a government, the next step would be dissolution of the assembly and there will be another election.
• Elyes Fakhfakh-led Ennahdha party won more seats than any other party in October’s legislative election, but was still far short of a majority.
• Tunisia is currently run by an outgoing government led by Prime Minister Youssef Chahed.

Virat Kohli Top Batsman While Jasprit Bumrah lead Bowlers in latest ICC Men’s ODI Rankings

Indian Captain Virat Kohli and opener Rohit Sharma continue to retain the top two positions respectively in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) ODI Men’s Rankings issued in Dubai on 20 January 2020.

ICC Men’s ODI Batting Rankings

• Kohli achieved the top spot with 886 points.
• Rohit took 868 points to be placed at number 2 position.
• Pakistan’s Babar Azam is in third position with 829 points.

ICC Men’s ODI Bowling Rankings

• Among the ICC ODI Bowlers Ranking, Jasprit Bumrah continued to lead the bowling chart with 764 points.
• Trent Boult of New Zealand with 737 points is at second position.

ICC Men’s ODI Team Rankings

• World champions England continue to lead the chart at top position in the ICC Men’s ODI Team Rankings.
• India retained the second position

Shooters Divyansh Singh Pawar and Apurvi Chandela Wins Gold in 2020 Meyton Cup Austria

• Indian shooters Divyansh Singh Pawar and Apurvi Chandela have clinched a gold medal each in 2020 Meyton Cup, a private tournament held in Innsbruck, Austria.
• Divyansh won the gold in the men’s 10m air rifle event, while Auprvi bagged the yellow metal in the 10m air rifle women’s category.
• Apart from them, Deepak Kumar and Anjum Moudgil also a bagged bronze medal each in men’s and women’s 10m air rifle events respectively.
• The Meyton Cup is a private tournament where shooters go on their own to participate to gain experience before international events.
• The four Indian shooters have already secured Olympic quotas for 2020 Tokyo Games.

Indian boxers claim Six medals at Nation’s Cup in Serbia

• The 9th Nation’s Cup boxing tournament for women was held in Sombor, Serbia from 13 to 21 January 2020.
• The tournament was organised by European Boxing Confederation (EUBC).
• India won 6 medals in the tournament including 4 silver and 2 bronze.
• M Meena Kumari (54kg), Monika (48kg), Ritu Grewal (51kg) and Bhagyabati Kachari (75kg) won silver medal for India.
• Indian pugilists Pavitra (60kg) and Pwilao Basumatary (64kg) settled for bronze.

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