Weekly CA Quiz: January 2020 1st week

27th National Children’s Science Congress (NCSC) was held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. It was the first time that the congress was held in Kerala.

Concerned over exit of a few states, dropping out of insurance companies and growing dissent among farmers on the government’s flagship crop insurance scheme, the centre has set up a seven-member group of ministers (GoM) headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh to review the scheme and recommend changes to make it more farmer friendly.

NASA astronaut Christina Koch set a new record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, eclipsing the record of 288 days set by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson in 2016-17. Koch still has six weeks to go before returning to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS). When she arrives back on Earth in February 2020, the Expedition 61 Flight Engineer will have spent more than 300 days in space.

The government has created a Department of Military Affairs, to be headed by newly appointed Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat.

Products made by women self-help groups formed under the DAY-NULM will now be available on e-commerce platforms as the government has signed an MoU with Flipkart in this regard. The government would also rope in Amazon on January 7 to provide a platform for the online sale of SHGs’ products.

The Delhi government announced that Pragati Maidan metro station will be rechristened as the Supreme Court metro station.

 India is expected to become the fourth largest economy by 2026 and the third largest by 2034, according to a report by UK-based Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). The CEBR report states that India would surpass Germany to take on the mantle in 2026 and further topple Japan in 2034 to become the third largest economy.

The government kept the interest rates on small savings schemes, including NSC and PPF, unchanged for the fourth quarter of 2019-20 despite moderating bank deposit rates. Interest rates for small savings schemes are notified on a quarterly basis.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has withdrawn its boycott call for the 2022 Commonwealth Games to be held in Birmingham. The decision was taken during its Annual General Meeting held in New Delhi. The cause of the boycott call was exclusion of shooting. IOA also announced that the country will bid to host either the 2026 or the 2030 edition.

 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das launched a mobile application called ‘Mobile Aided Note Identifier’ (MANI) to aid visually challenged persons in identifying the denomination of currency notes.

Harjeet Kaur Joshi has been appointed as the full-time Chairperson and Managing Director of privatisation-bound Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), becoming the first woman to helm the country’s biggest ocean carrier by fleet size.

India’s current account deficit (CAD) narrowed to 0.9 per cent of GDP, or USD 6.3 billion, in the September 2019 quarter, on account of lower trade deficit.

Amitabh Bachchan, who has been conferred this year’s Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 66th National Awards, has received the award. President of India Ram Nath Kovind presented the award to the actor. Amitabh Bachchan is honoured with the award for his outstanding contribution to the film industry.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the re-employment of Vinod Kumar Yadav as Chairman of Railway Board for a period of one year with effect from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020.

Sanjay Gupta, the editor-in-chief of ‘Jagran’, will be honoured with the ‘Lokmanya Tilak National Journalism Award’ for his contribution to the field of journalism.

 Former Director-General of Doordarshan Shiv Sharma has passed away. He was 85. Mr. Sharma was associated with coverage of Asian games in 1982.

To overcome the inconvenience over multiple helpline numbers for grievances and enquiry during railway travel, Indian Railways has integrated railway helplines into single number 139 for the passengers for quick grievance redressal and enquiry during their journey.

The External affairs ministry announced the setting up of new emerging and strategic technologies (NEST) division. The division will work to increase investment coordination among the states of the country and also with the foreign countries.

Home minister Amit Shah will head a group of ministers to discuss the proposed National Tariff Policy that is being awaited as a major reform by the stressed power sector but being opposed by state governments and discoms due to clauses like penalties for load shedding.

 India has extended a line of credit of USD 75 million (over Rs 500 crore) to Cuba for financing solar parks. An agreement was signed between Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) and Banco Exterior De Cuba.

Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) and Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) of the central government completed five successful years of illuminating the country.

The first edition of Khelo India University Games is scheduled to be held at the KIIT University in Bhubaneswar from February 22nd to March 1st.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) granted in-principle approval to Uttar Pradesh-based Shivalik Mercantile Co-operative Bank Ltd to convert to a small finance bank (SFB), becoming the first urban cooperative bank (UCB) to make the transition since the guidelines came out nearly two years ago.

The CISF will observe 2020 as the ‘year of mobility’ that will have a special focus on creation of more residential units and implementation of various welfare measures for the troops.

Dubai-based Indian girl, Sucheta Satish, who can sing in 120 languages, has won in the ‘Global Child Prodigy Awards 2020’ in New Delhi.

 Shipping Corporation of India has appointed Harjeet Kaur Joshi as the new Chairperson & Managing Director of the company. She will also hold the additional charge of the post of Director (Finance) of the company for a period of 3 months.

Asian Games gold-medallist Saurabh Chaudhary won a gold medal in 10m air pistol/rifle event at the 63rd National Shooting Championship.

About 21.40% of forest cover in India is prone to fires according to a 2019 report by the Forest Survey of India (FSI). FSI carried out a study along forest fire points identified across the country from 2004 to 2017. Forests in the north-eastern region and central India was found to be the most vulnerable.

India’s rank in Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index of World Economic Forum has moved to 34th position from 65th rank in 2013. Foreign Tourist Arrivals also registered a growth of 3.2 percent last year.

The third international symposium on marine ecosystems – challenges and opportunities (MECOS-3) is hosted in Kochi, Kerala. Eminent marine scientists, oceanographers, fisheries researchers and marine biotechnologists from across the globe are expected to participate.

 India’s P Magesh Chandran lifted the title in the 95th edition of the prestigious Hastings International Chess Congress at Hastings in England.

Union Minister for Commerce and Industries Piyush Goyal inaugurated the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Knowledge Hub in New Delhi. He said that Artificial Intelligence and machine learning will contribute one trillion dollars by the year 2035.

Maharashtra Government has launched a ‘Cyber Safe Women’ initiative under which awareness camps will be held across all the districts of the state regarding cyber safety.

In a first cabinet meeting of 2020, Haryana government decided to celebrate this year as “Sushasan Sankalp Varsh”. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said if a person is untraced for more than six months then his family will be provided financial aid.

 Paddler Manav Thakkar has become the number one paddler in the U-21 category, the latest International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rankings revealed.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), announced the results of the first and second quarter of Swachh Survekshan League 2020. Keeping up with its title, Indore grabbed the title of India’s cleanest city for the fourth consecutive year.

Eminent Assamese dramatist, litterateur and social activist Ratna Ojha has passed away due to old age-related ailments. He was 88.

 Umesh Sinha, Deputy Election Commissioner in the Election Commission of India has been given a one-year extension by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the re-employment Mr. Sinha on a contract basis for one year with effect from January 1, 2020, and up to December 31, 2020.

 Foreign direct investment into India grew 15% to $26 billion during the first half of the current financial year, according to government data. Inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) during April-September of 2018-19 stood at $22.66 billion.

State-owned Bank of Baroda has entered into a strategic co-lending agreement with JM Financial Home Loans Limited (JMFHL), the housing finance arm of JM Financial Group, for offering retail loans to home buyers.

The first ever international year of the nurse and midwife will be held in 2020, it has been confirmed, providing a “once in a generation opportunity” to showcase the professions.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched the Kerala Real Estate Regulatory Authority (K-RERA). The main aim to boost the confidence of customers and bring in more transparency in the real estate sector, Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) will be more transparency and credibility.

In a major feat of mountaineering, 18-year-old Malvath Poorna from Telangana scaled Mt Vinson Massif, the highest mountain peak in Antarctica. Mt Vinson Massif is 4,987 metres above sea level.

Indian women’s hockey team defender Sunita Lakra has announced her retirement from international hockey. The 28-year-old defender has been a vital member of the Indian squad since 2008. She represented the country in the last Olympics.

The Pacific nation of Palau has become the first country to ban sun cream which is harmful to corals and sea life. The ban prohibits sun cream containing any of the 10 ingredients which includes oxybenzone and octinoxate, that absorbs ultraviolet light.

India’s largest annual gathering of scientific luminaries from countries across the world, the 107th session of Indian Science Congress, was inaugurated by PM Modi in Bangalore, Karnataka focusing on ‘Science & Technology: Rural Development’.

 Lai Haraoba, a ritualistic festival observed by Manipuri meitei communities since ancient times, has begun in Agartala in Tripura.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) asked all health and general insurers to mandatory offer product to cover the basic health needs of clients by offering them the minimum of Rs 1 lakh and the maximum sum-insured of Rs 5 lakh.

Kamal Bahadur Singh, a member of the country’s first Lok Sabha – constituted in 1952 – and the last maharaja of erstwhile Dumraon Raj (zamindari estate), has passed away. He was 94.

The Union Sports Ministry has given ‘in-principle’ approval to holding the Commonwealth Games shooting and archery events in India.

Former Governor of Karnataka T N Chaturvedi has passed away  recently. He was 90.