Weekly Current Affairs 8th To 14th January 2020

National News

Centre released Rs 5,908 crore to 7 States

• The amount is given by the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).
• The Central Government has so far released 8,068 crore rupees to 27 states in the current financial year, as Central share from State Disaster Response Fund.

Govt approved VGF of Rs 5,559 crore Gas Pipeline Project

• The North East Gas Grid project is being implemented by Indradhanush Gas Grid Ltd which is a joint venture company of 5 CPSEs (NRL, OIL, ONGC, IOCL and GAIL).
• The sanctioned VGF amount will cover 60% of the total cost of the project that is Rs 9256 crore.

SC Observation on Internet

• The SC on 10th January 2020 asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to review within a week all orders imposing restrictions in the Union Territory.
• The three-judge bench was headed by Justice N V Ramana and comprised justices B R Gavai and R Subhash Reddy.

National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal

• The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (www.cybercrime.gov.in) is a citizen-centric initiative that will enable citizens to report cyber-crimes online through the portal.
• Under this, the concerned law enforcement agencies will access the related cyber-crime complaints in the States and Union Territories.

Industrial Production in November 2019

• The growth in the manufacturing sector was 2.7 % as against a contraction of 0.7% in November 2018.
• The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) had grown by 0.2% in November 2018.

Mission Purvodaya

• As per the government’s data, the eastern belt has the potential to add over 75 % of the country’s incremental steel capacity envisioned by the National Steel Policy.
• The eastern states of India (Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal) and Northern part of Andhra Pradesh collectively hold 80 per cent of the country's iron ore, 100 per cent of coking coal.

National Youth Festival 2020

• The NYF is organised with an objective to provide a platform to the youth of the country and provide them with an opportunity to showcase their talents in various activities.
• It is organised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India in collaboration with one of the State Governments annually.

National Highway Excellence Awards 2019

• The award aims to recognise best-performing companies at various stages of highway development like construction, operations, maintenance, road safety and tolling.
• The award is instituted to create a spirit of healthy competitiveness amongst all stakeholders involved in the development of highway infrastructure in the country.

Country’s First Cyber Crime Prevention Unit Launched

• AASHVAST to pay E Challan online and provide Cyber Crime Prevention which will have a dedicated service helpline for victims of cybercrimes.
• Six different postal memory cards were released by the Minister depicting various folk dances of Gujarat.

Retail Inflation in December

• The data showed that the spike in inflation in the vegetable segment was 60.5% during the month compared to December 2018.
• The overall food inflation rose to 14.12 % on December 19 as against (-) 2.65 % on December 18.

Banking

IBBI (Liquidation Process) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020

• The amendment is done in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Liquidation Process) Regulations, 2016.
• The amendment clarifies that a person, who is not eligible under the Code to submit a resolution plan for insolvency resolution of the corporate debtor, shall not be a party in any manner to a compromise or arrangement of the corporate debtor under section 230 of the Companies Act, 2013.

SBI announced RBBG Scheme

• The 'residential builder finance with buyer guarantee' (RBBG) scheme aims at giving a push to residential sales and improve homebuyers' confidence.
• Under the scheme, the SBI will issue a guarantee for completion of select residential projects to customers who have availed home loans from it.

RBI amended the KYC Norms

• The RBI has amended the KYC norms to use Video-based Customer Identification Process (V-CIP).
• Under the new norm, banks and other lending institutions regulated by RBI are allowed to use a Video-based Customer Identification Process (V-CIP).

Reports

IEA India Report 2020

• The IEA report praised the draft National Energy Policy by NITI Aayog and said to adopt and implement across central and state governments.
• India spent $25 billion in 2018 on subsidies for the consumption of fossil fuels, mostly supporting oil consumption in the form of LPG ($17 billion) and gas ($4 billion).

Index and Ranking

State Energy Efficiency Index 2019

• The State Energy Efficiency Index 2019 tracks the progress of Energy Efficiency Initiatives in 36 States and Union Territories based on 97 significant indicators.
• The index is developed by Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in association with Alliance for an Energy-Efficient Economy (AEEE).

Appointments

Name of the Person	Designation
Ravindra Nath Mahto	Jharkhand Assembly Speaker

Awards and Honours

Awardee	Award
Dr M S Swaminathan	‘Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu National Award for Excellence’
Dr Gutta Muniratnam	‘Muppavarapu National Award for Social Service’
Jasprit Bumrah	Polly Umrigar Award

Important Days

Date	Day	Theme
9th January 2020	Pravasi Bhartiya Divas	To mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community in the development of India.
10th January 2020	World Hindi Day	To promote the use of Hindi language abroad.
14th January 2020	Fourth Armed Forces Veterans Day	To respect and recognise the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces who retired on 14th Jan 1953.

Mou’s Signed

MoU signed Between SCR of Indian Railways and SBI

• The doorstep Banking will provide direct pickup of earnings covering all 585 Railway stations over SCR Zone.
• The direct pick up of cash from all the railway stations on SCR dispenses with the tedious and complex activity of movement of cash earnings through “Cash Safes” by trains.

Government Schemes

Civil Aviation Ministry announced Scheme for Registration of Drones

• The scheme is announced days after top Iranian General Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US drone attack.
• All persons in possession of drones are required to complete the process (of online registration) by January 31, 2020.

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

• The Centre is implementing PMFBY to provide financial support to farmers suffering crop loss or damage arising out of unforeseen events.
• The scheme provides comprehensive insurance coverage against crop loss on account of non-preventable natural risks, thus helping stabilise farmers’ income.

Defence

MILAN 2020

• MILAN 2020 is a multilateral naval exercise hosted by the Indian Navy, aimed to enhance professional interaction between friendly foreign navies and learn from each other’s strengths and best practices in the maritime domain.
• The Exercise will be held with the theme ‘Synergy Across the Seas’.

Naval Version of LCA successfully Landed on INS Vikramaditya

• The Naval LCA is developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization, DRDO.
• With the landing, India has entered into the club of selected nations having the capability to design a fighter jet which can land on an aircraft carrier.

Science and Technology

New Wetland Conservation Rules

• A wetland is a land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, and it takes on the characteristics of a distinct ecosystem.
• As per the new rule, each state and Union Territory will have to set up an authority that will define strategies for conservation of wetlands within their jurisdiction.

Summits and Conferences

Second National GST Conference

• The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Revenue Secretary Dr Ajay Bhushan Pandey.
• The 1st National GST Conference of Commissioners of State Tax and Chief Commissioners/Director Generals of Central Tax was held on 25th November 2019 under the chairmanship of the Union Revenue Secretary Dr Ajay Bhushan Pandey, in New Delhi.

Kochi to Host Global Investors Meet

• The ASCEND meet 2020 will also see organisers showcasing 70-odd other projects classified as large, medium and small in the descending order of their capital investment and capacity to provide jobs.
• KINFRA (Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation) is to set up Rs 400 crore logistics hub (in Palakkad) with warehousing facility.

World Future Energy Summit

• World Future Energy Summit in the Middle East’s largest future energy and sustainability event.
• WFES brings together thousands of decision-makers, policy-makers, investors, experts and media from 175 countries to source cutting-edge technologies, network with solution providers and does business.

Raisina Dialogue

• The Dialogue is being jointly organized by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Observer Research Foundation.
• The Dialogue was initiated in 2016 and involves a variety of global policymakers including heads of state, cabinet ministers and local government officials.