Daily Current Affairs 30 January 2020: We have collected the latest current affairs for 30 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 30 January 2020
Himachal Theme State, Uzbekistan Partner Nation for 34th Surajkund International Crafts Mela 2020
- The 34th edition of the annual Surajkund International Crafts Mela, the largest crafts fair in the world will be held from 1st February to 16th February 2020 at Surajkund, District Faridabad, Haryana.
- The fair aims to showcase the unique richness and diversity of the handicrafts, handlooms and cultural fabric of India.
- Theme State for the Year 2020: Himachal Pradesh
- Partner Nation for the Year 2020: Uzbekistan
- The Mela is organized by the Surajkund Mela Authority & Haryana Tourism in collaboration with Union Ministries of Tourism, Textiles, Culture and External Affairs.
- About 20 countries & all the states of India will be participating in the Mela.
World Sustainable Development Summit 2020 Begins in New Delhi: TERI
- The World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) 2020 is being held in New Delhi from 29 to 31 January 2020.
- The theme of the 2020 edition of the Summit is ‘Towards 2030 Goals: Making the Decade Count’.
- WSDS is the annual flagship event of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), being organized since 2001 to provide an international platform to facilitate the exchange of knowledge on all aspects of sustainable development.
World’s largest meditation centre inaugurated in Hyderabad
- The Heartfulness Institute has unveiled world’s largest meditation centre of its kind at its global headquarter, Kanha Shanti Vanam in Hyderabad, Telangana on 28 January 2020.
- The centre has been unveiled to mark the 75th anniversary of the formation of Shri Ram Chandra Mission (SRCM).
- The meditation centre is spread across 30 acres and can accommodate 1 lakh practitioners at a time, making it the largest closed structure meditation centre in the world.
Assam Rifles Builds War Memorial in Nagaland to Honor 357 Martyrs
- The Assam Rifles has constructed a combined war memorial in Nagaland for the 357 Army and Assam Rifles personnel killed while fighting insurgency in the northeastern state of Nagaland.
- The memorial named as “Veer Samriti”, is spread over 13,500 sq ft and was built by 44 Assam Rifles at Mokokchung, the Assam Rifles Battalion location in Nagaland.
- Since 1955 Nagaland has seen in-numerous insurgency, taking lives of 357 personnel from the Army and Assam Rifles.
- The names of all the 357 martyrs have been carved on a single granite stone each.
UK Launches 4 mn Pound Innovation Challenge Fund in India
- The United Kingdom government has launched 4 million pound (about Rs 37 crore) Innovation Challenge Fund in India to support collaborative research into emerging technologies.
- Innovation Challenge Fund will encourage industry and academia to collaborate and develop tech solutions for social, economic and environmental challenges in India.
- The initiative is focused on two major tech clusters: Artificial Intelligence/ Data in Karnataka and Future Mobility in Maharashtra.
RBI Appoints Janak Raj as ex officio Member of MPC
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed its Executive Director Janak Raj as ex officio member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
- Raj replaces M D Patra, who has been elevated as Deputy Governor of the RBI recently.
- The Monetary Policy Committee is the highest interest rate setting body, that takes decision based on majority vote. Each member has one vote but the RBI Governor get a casting vote in case of a tie.
ICC appoints India’s Anurag Dahiya as Chief Commercial Officer
- The International Cricket Council (ICC) has appointed seasoned media professional Anurag Dahiya as its Chief Commercial Officer (COO). He is slated to take charge in early March this year.
- Anurag is credited to launch India’s first international cricket-only channel Star Cricket.
- He also oversaw the launch of ESPN STAR Sports’ first 24×7 sports news channel ESPNEWS and OTT platform ESPN Play.
Indian Think Tank ORF ranks 27th on ‘2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index’
- Indian think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF) has been placed at 27th position among 176 global think tanks in the 2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.
- The report is released by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) of the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania
- ORF moved up from the 118th position in the 2018 to be ranked among top 30 think tanks globally in 2019.
- The list has been topped by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace of US, followed by Belgium’s Bruegel at second and French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) at third position.
- The index ranks these organizations based on their ability to generate policy-oriented research, analysis, and advice on domestic and international issues, thereby enabling policymakers and the public to make informed decisions about public policy.
- Other Indian think tanks in list include:
- Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) – 41
- Indian Council for Research on International Economic Research (ICRIER) – 110
- Centre for Civil Society (CCS) – 83
- The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) – 111
- Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) – 149
India’s Pavan Sukhdev wins Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement 2020
- Esteemed environmental economist and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Goodwill Ambassador Pavan Sukhdev has been awarded 2020 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, often called the “Nobel prize for environment”.
- The 59-year-old has been awarded for his work on bringing the economic consequences of environmental degradation and loss to the attention of corporate and political decision-makers.
- Sukhdev shares the prestigious award with Gretchen Daily, a conservation biologist from the United States.
- The prize is administered by the University of Southern California.
India set to host Barca Academy Cup, Asia Pacific for second Year in row
- The second edition of the Barca Academy Cup – Asia Pacific (APAC) Region has been organised at Barça Academy Delhi NCR at the Heritage School in Gurgaon, Haryana from January 30 to February 2, 2020.
- This is the second time India is hosting the FC Barcelona’s football tournament.
- The tournament is organized by FC Barcelona for all its soccer schools in the Asia Pacific zone.
- The tournament is held in four different categories (U9, U11, U13 and U15) for participants aged 7 to 14 years.
- The 2020 edition will feature more than 700 boys and girls representing India, Australia, Turkey, China, Singapore, Japan and Spain.
Veteran Congress leader and Former Kerala Minister M Kamalam Passes Away
- Veteran Congress leader and former Kerala minister M Kamalam passed. She was 94.
- Kamalam was elected to the state assembly from Kalpetta in 1980 and 1982.
- She had served as Cooperation Minister in the K Karunakaran cabinet from 1982-1987.
Former MP Minister & BJP MLA Manohar Untwal Passes Away
Former Madhya Pradesh minister and sitting BJP MLA from Agar Malwa assembly constituency, Manohar Untwal, passed away of a brain-related ailment. He was 54.