Daily Current Affairs 23 January 2020: We have collected the latest current affairs for 23 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 23 January 2020
Mansukh Mandaviya participates in the Round-table of UNAIDS in Davos
- The Union Minister of State for Shipping (I/C) and Chemical & Fertilizers Shri Mansukh Mandaviya is on four-day official visit to at Davos, Switzerland to attend 50th World Economic Forum annual meeting.
- Mandaviya participated in the High-level roundtable of UNAIDS (The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) held as a part of the meeting.
- The theme of the Round-table of UNAIDS was Access for all: Leveraging Innovations, Investments and Partnerships for Health.
- UNAIDS is leading the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Govt sets up 3 High-level Committees to Monitor Disposal of Enemy Properties
- The government has decided to set up three high-level committees to dispose of enemy properties.
1. Group of Ministers (GoM)
- The Group of Ministers (GoM) will be headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, to monitor the disposal of over 9,400 enemy properties, which are likely to fetch about Rs 1 lakh crore to the exchequer.
- Two other high-level committees will also be set up for disposal of immovable enemy properties vested in the Custodian of Enemy Property for India under the Enemy Property Act. It includes:
2. Inter-Ministerial Group
- It will be co-chaired by the Union Home Secretary (Ajay Bhalla) and the secretary of the department of investment and public asset management.
3. Core Group of Secretaries on Asset Monetisation (CGAM)
- It will be constituted under chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba.
ISRO Unveils half humanoid ‘Vyommitra’ to go as trial to space before Gaganyaan mission
- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has unveiled a lady robot named ‘Vyommitra’, which is a prototype of humanoid, to go as a trial to space under ‘Gaganyaan’ mission, before sending astronauts.
- Vyommitra is a combination of two Sanskrit words Vyoma (Space) and Mitra (Friend), thus meaning ‘friend in the space’.
- ISRO will send two unmanned missions, before the Ganganyaan mission goes with astronauts, to monitor how the human system will behave in the environment control life support system.
- The half-humanoid robot ‘Vyom Mitra’ will be placed in the first unmanned mission under ‘Gaganyaan’ and will simulate most of the human body functions like conversing with astronauts, recognising them, and responding to their queries.
- The robot introduced itself as :”Hello everyone. I am Vyom Mitra, the prototype of the half-humanoid, been made for the first unmanned Gaganyaan mission.
IMF Slashes India’s GDP to 4.8% in FY20; Global Growth Predicted at 2.9% in 2019
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released the World Economic Outlook (WEO) update on 20 January 2020.
- In its latest update, IMF has lowered India’s GDP growth rate to 4.8 percent for the current fiscal from 6.1 percent it projected in October World Economic Outlook (WEO).
India GDP as per IMF
- 2019-20: 4.8%
- 2020-21: 5.8%
- 2021-22: 6.5%
Global Growth as per IMF
The Global growth is also slashed by 0.1 percentage point to 2.9 percent in 2019 compared with those in the October World Economic Outlook (WEO).
- 2019- 2.9% (-0.1%)
- 2020- 3.3% (-0.1%)
- 2021- 3.4% (-0.2%)
Russia is Theme Country for International Kolkata Book Fair 2020
- The 44th International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF) will be held from 29th January to 9th February 2020.
- Twenty countries will participate in the 2020 edition of Kolkata International Book Fair.
- Russia is the theme country for IKBF 2020.
- The theme gate will be a replica of the iconic Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
- The book fair will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Central Park Mela Complex in Salt Lake, in presence of Russian ambassador Nikolay Rishatovich Kudashev.
- IKBF is the world’s largest non-trade book fair, Asia’s largest book fair and the most attended book fair in the world in terms of footfall.
Challa Sreenivasulu Setty Appointed as Managing Director of SBI
- The government has appointed Challa Sreenivasulu Setty as the Managing Director (MD) of the State Bank of India (SBI) on 20 January 2020 for a period of three years, from the date of his taking over the charge of the post or until further orders.
- Setty is currently serving as the deputy managing director of the SBI.
- It must be noted that SBI has 4 MDs.
- The other three MDs of the SBI include: Parveen Kumar Gupta, Dinesh Kumar Khara and Arijit Basu
Katerina Sakellaropoulou Elected as First Women President of Greece
- On 22 January 2020, the Parliament of Greece elected Katerina Sakellaropoulou as the country’s first female president.
- The 63-year-old received support of 261 MPs in the 300-seat Parliament, including the support of members of the ruling New Democracy Party.
- Katerina will serve for five years starting on 13 March 2020, when the incumbent president, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, will vacate the post following the end of his term.
2021 ICC Women’s World Cup Final to be held at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, New Zealand
- Hagley Oval, a Cricket club in Christchurch, New Zealand will host the final match of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s World Cup 2021.
- Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton, Tauranga, Dunedin and Christchurch are the six New Zealand cities which will host the 2021 edition of the Women’s World Cup matches.
- The tournament will features 31 matches to be played from February 6 to March 7, 2021.
India’s only women’s polo tournament concludes in Imphal; Great Britain Defeats USA to win the title
- The 5th edition of Manipur Statehood Day Women’s Polo Tournament was held from 17 to 21 January 2020 at Mapal Kangjeibung in Imphal, which is the oldest living polo ground in the world.
- The Great Britain women polo team won the coveted title of 2020 by defeating United States of America (USA) 5-2 in the final match.
- Apart from the Manipur team and the Indian Polo Association’s women team, polo teams from USA, Great Britain, Argentina, and Egypt participated in the tournament.
- Manipur Statehood Day Women’s Polo Tournament is the only women polo tournament in India, started in the late 1980s.
Khelo India Youth Games 2020 Concludes; Maharashtra Crowned Champion with 256 medals
- The 3rd Khelo India Youth Games was held from 10 to 22 December 2020 in Guwahati, Assam.
- Maharashtra finished at the top of the medal table for second consecutive year in the 13-day sporting extravaganza with 256 medals, comprising 78 gold, 77 silver and 101 bronze.
- Haryana with 200 medals (68-60-72) and Delhi with 122 medals (39-36-47) were second and third respectively.
- The winner’s received the trophy from Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.