Daily Current Affairs 16th January, 2020

Daily Current Affairs 16 January 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Govt releases Rare Disease Policy draft, proposes to give Rs 15 lakh help

The government will provide a financial support of up to Rs 15 lakh under its Rashtriya Arogaya Nidhi scheme for one-time treatment of rare diseases, according to the much awaited draft Rare Diseases Policy.

  • Under the draft National Policy for Rare Diseases, beneficiaries would not be limited to Below Poverty Line families, but will also cover 40 per cent of the population eligible as per norms of the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana for their treatment in government tertiary hospitals only.

Mega campaign ‘Saksham’ launched by Petroleum Minister

A mega campaign “Saksham” has been launched by Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan. It is a campaign of Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) which aims to aware the people regarding fuel conservation and greener environment across India.

11-member panel to examine issues on royalty rates for major minerals

The Centre has decided to set up an 11-member panel including mines secretaries from various states, to examine issues pertaining to the revision of rates of royalty for minerals.

  • The 11-member committee under the Chairmanship of K. Rajeswara Rao, Mines Additional Secretary will submit the report to the Ministry of Mines after examining the issues raised by stakeholders.

Postal Ballot facility made available for Super Senior Citizens and Person with Disabilities

Postal Ballot facility has been made available for the Super Senior Citizens (over 80 years of age) and PwDs in the Delhi Assembly Election. Earlier it was only available to armed forces and those assigned in poll duties.

Union Culture Minister inaugurates ‘Indian Heritage in Digital Space’ exhibition

Union Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel launched an exhibition titled “Indian Heritage in Digital Space” at National Museum, New Delhi. This exhibition is first of its kind in the country. The exhibition will stay online until February 15, 2020.

  • The exhibition also consists of a special installation called “VIRAASAT”. Viraasat in Hindi means heritage. It provides mixed reality experience to visitors through 3D printing.

Lucknow hosts the 7th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference 2020

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh hosted the 7th Conference of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) India Region. The conference was held with the theme of ROLE OF LEGISLATORS.

Ladakh hosts the 1st ever Food Processing Summit

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, the UT Administration of Ladakh has organised the 1st-ever Food Processing Summit in the Union Territory Ladakh.

Japanese, Indian Coast Guards hold exercise off Chennai coast

Coast Guards of India and Japan took part in a joint exercise ‘Sahyog-Kaijin’ off the Chennai coast as part of strengthening the bond of the two countries.

  • Led by Commanding Officer Captain Kiyoshi Harada, the ‘Ehigo PLH08’ and the four ships and a Dornier aircraft of Indian Coast Guard participated in the drill in the Bay of Bengal around 50 nautical miles off Chennai.


INTERNATIONAL NEWS

“The Global Risks Report 2020” has been released by World Economic Forum

“The Global Risks Report 2020” has been released by World Economic Forum. It is the 15th edition of the report. The report has been prepared by WEF in partnership with Marsh & McLennan and Zurich Insurance Group. The report defines the major risks, the world is going to face in the coming years. The data used to make the report was collected by Global Risks Perception Survey (GRPS) through survey conducted from 5 September to 22 October 2019.



BANKING & FINANCE

ICICI Bank launches India’s largest API Banking portal with nearly 250 APIs

ICICI Bank has launched its API Banking portal consisting maximum number of virtual APIs (application programming interfaces) put together by any Indian bank. The API interface will enable partner companies to co- create innovative customer solutions in a frictionless manner and in a fraction of time usually taken for such integration, the release said. 

  • The ‘ICICI Bank API Banking portal’, which consists of 250 APIs, enables developers of prospective partner companies across the globe to seamlessly sign up on it, create an application, select the application, test it out and get the sample code.

World Bank and GOI Sign $88 million loan agreement

The Government of India, the Government of Assam and the World Bank signed a loan agreement of $88 million to help modernize Assam’s passenger ferry sector that runs on its rivers including the mighty Brahmaputra.

  • A majority of Assam’s more than 361 ferry routes cross the Brahmaputra or serve its islands, providing a crucial means of transport to thousands of commuters in both the urban and rural areas of the Brahmaputra Valley.


SPORTS

India finish 2019 as number one shooting nation in world

On the back of its sparkling show through 2019, India finished the year as the top shooting nation in the world, leapfrogging Olympic heavyweights China and the USA.

  • In terms of overall medals, the tally stood at 21 gold, six silver and three bronze as India topped all the Rifle-Pistol World Cups and Finals in a unforgettable year.

Magnus Carlsen breaks record for longest unbeaten streak

Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen has stretched his unbeaten run to a record-breaking 111 games after securing a draw in a tournament. The reigning world champion surpassed the 110 classical games undefeated set by Sergei Tiviakov in 2005 after drawing against Jorden van Foreest in the fourth round of the Wijk aan Zee tournament.



APPOINTMENTS

Robert Abela has been elected as Malta’s Prime minister

Robert Abela has won the elections to become the Prime Minister of Malta. He has become the 14th prime minister of Malta after defeating Chris Fearne.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev steps down

The Prime Minister of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev has resigned to lead the Russia’s Security Council.



OBITUARIES

Rocky Johnson, WWE Hall of Famer and Dwayne Johnson’s dad, passes away

Rocky “Soul Man” Johnson, WWE Hall of Famer and the father of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, has passed away.



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