Daily G.K Current affairs of 22 Jan 2019

This post contains important current affairs (National, International, Business and Sports) of 22 January 2019. Very useful to prepare for the General Knowledge section of various competitive and recruitment exams.

• Former Chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), U.K. Sinha will head an 11-member working group constituted by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy board of India (IBBI) to study the concept of 'Group Insolvency' and suggest a suitable framework. The Working Group have to submit the report within two months recommending a regulatory framework to facilitate insolvency resolutions and liquidation of corporate debtors in a Group. It was noted that Corporate groups falls apart in insolvency and thereby thwart the chances of their restructuring. Group Insolvency will prevent this situation. Group Insolvency will be very beneficial in a situation where two or more applications are pending in the same court against debtors in the same group. Managing Director of State Bank of India, Anshula Kant and Executive Director and CFO of Tata Steel, Koushik Chatterjee are members this working group. 
• Microsoft India launched a new e-commerce platform re-weave.in for handloom weavers under its Project ReWeave. his e-commerce platform will help connect artisans to buyers directly, enabling them to expand to newer customers and markets. Microsoft in association with the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) also curated a special curriculum in 'CAD and Color for Handloom Weaving' to provide digital training in handloom design. The company first entered the Indian market in 1990 and has since worked closely with the Indian government, the IT industry, academia and the local developer community to usher in some of the early successes in the IT market. Microsoft currently offices in the 9 cities of Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, the NCR (New Delhi and Gurgaon) and Pune.
• The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank of Nepal, has recently announced the ban of Indian currency notes with denominations above Rs.100. Under the new rule, Nepali citizens cannot carry these denominations to other countries except India. Similarly, Nepalis are also not allowed to bring such notes from other countries. The central bank has issued a circular prohibiting Nepali traveller, banks and financial institutions from holding or carrying and trading Indian bank notes higher than Rs. 100. The central bank said in its circular that Indian denominations of Rs 2,00, Rs 500 and Rs 2000 cannot be carried and used for trading. The decision to ban these notes has come at a time when the NRB has requested the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to allow Nepal to use currency notes with all denominations. At present, only the notes with a denomination of Rs. 100 and below are freely exchangeable in Nepal. 
• Walmart backed E-Commerce giant Flipkart promoted its Fashion department head Rishi Vasudev to head Myntra - Jabong's Fashion and lifestyle categories as an additional responsibility. Rishi Vasudev will report to Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy after the formal announcement which is expected in next 10 days.

• India and Sri Lanka signed an MoU to provide modern infrastructural facilities to Swami Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies of Eastern University in Batticaloa district of Sri Lanka. The project involves refurbishment of the auditorium and construction of a modern building complex with recording cum editing facilities and supply vehicles to the institute through a grant of over 27 crore Sri Lankan rupees from the Government of India. 
• The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi inaugurated the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas Convention at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. For the first time, the three day long convention is being organized in Varanasi from 21-23 January, 2019. The theme of PBD Convention 2019 is "Role of Indian Diaspora in building New India".
• Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a series of projects as a part of the Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor in Tiruchirppalli.This is considered to be the second corridor succeeding the one launched in Aligarh,Uttar Pradesh. This is considered to be the mega corridor that would link the remaining miltary manufacturing units present in South India,it Is tuned at the cost of 3038cr. The Tamil Nadu corridor has six nodes at Trichy, Salem, Hosur, Kovai, Madurai and Chennai. It is expected to be a specialised facility hub in aero component manufacturing. Sitharaman also launched the "CODISSIA Defence Innovation and Incubation Centre" to support the MSMEs, start-ups and existing industries in their endeavour to expand and contribute significantly for defence indigenisation.  
• Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research announced that the Centre for Advanced Materials of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) chose Eminent Scientist and Bharat Ratna recipient CNR Rao for the first Sheikh Saud International Prize for Materials Research. The Award containing a plaque, a medal and a Cash Prize of USD 100000 will be presented by Sheikh Saud to Professor CNR Rao. CNR Rao was awarded the highest Civilian award, Bharat Ratna in 2014 and presently he is working as the Honorary President of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research. 
• The Tamil Nadu government roll out 'Startup & Innovation policy 2018-2023' with a mission of providing an enabling and innovative ecosystem for startups registered in the State and to make Tamil Nadu a 'Global Innovation hub for startups' by 2023. The mission shall aim for a minimum of 1,00,000 high skilled job creation, direct and indirect, in the Startup ecosystem. For implementing the policy, the State will set up Tamil Nadu Startup Fund with a corpus of Rs 250 crore. The fund will be invested in other SEBI registered Alternative Investment Funds for investment in startups and MSMEs established in Tamil Nadu. 
• India Steel 2019 Exhibition and Conference had begun in Mumbai. The three-day event organized by the Ministry of Steel helped chart out the future growth path of the steel industry. The event provided an opportunity for all the stakeholders to deliberate and identify ways to contribute towards building a robust roadmap for the further growth of the steel sector. More than 10 thousand business visitors both from India and abroad are expected to visit. 
• Himachal Pradesh MP Anurag Thakur has been bestowed with Sansad Ratna Award for his distinguished performance as a parliamentarian under Jury Committee Special Award category. Thakur became the first BJP MP to receive the Jury Committee award. 12 parliamentarians were honored with the Sansad Ratna award, which was set up in 2010 on the suggestion of ex-President APJ Abdul Kalam.
• The 2nd World Integrated Medicine Forum 2019 on the Regulation of Homeopathic Medical Products will be held in Goa from January 23, 2019. 20 countries will participate in the event. This forum will strengthen regulatory framework worldwide, to assure that the users of Homoeopathy could have wider access to quality-assured homeopathic medicines. 
• The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on January 20, 2019 announced that Aadhaar Cards are now valid travel documents for Indians under 15 and over 65 years travelling to Nepal and Bhutan. However, Indians belonging to the age bracket of 15 to 65 years will not be able to use Aadhaar to travel to the two neighbouring countries. 
• Odisha's Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced in a video conference on "Ama Gaon, Ama Bikash" a hike of Rs 200 per month in the social security pension under Madhu Babu Pension Yojana (MBPY). The state government launched Madhu Babu Pension Yojana on January 1, 2008, by merging two pension schemes - Old Age Pension and Odisha Disability Pension schemes. According to the new change,the elderly persons aged over 60 years would get a revised old age pension of Rs 500 per month as against Rs 300 and those who are more than 80 years old, the pension would be Rs 700 per month instead of Rs 500 per month and the enhanced pension will come into effect from February 15, 2019.

• The 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer report, noted that the Global Trust Index witnessed a marginal increase of 3 points to 52. China topped the Trust Index among both the informed public and the general population segments. India is among the most trusted nations globally when it comes to government, business, NGOs and media. India was at the 2nd place in the informed public category and 3rd place in the general population category. In terms of trust in companies headquartered in each market, the most trusted are those from Switzerland, Germany, and Canada. 
• Israel inaugurated a new international airport Monday in its desert south, meant to boost tourism to the nearby Red Sea and serve as an emergency alternative to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport in times of conflict. Initially Ramon Airport will handle only domestic flights, operated by Israeli carriers Arkia and Israir. 
• The annual meet of World Economic Forum (WEF) began on January 22, 2019 in Davos, Switzerland. The theme of the World Economic Forum 2019 would be 'Globalisation 4.0: Shaping a Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution'. Overall, around 3000 participants from 115 economies would be present during the annual meeting. Those expected to attend the meet include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Swiss President Ueli Maurer, Japan's Shinzo Abe, Italy's Giuseppe Conte, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu, among 30 heads of states and governments. The US President Donald Trump will not be attending the meet this year.
• US Based Indian poet Ranjani Murali was awarded the "Woman's Voice Award" at the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival (AKLF). The Objective of the award is to recognize and encourage creative writing by women in India. The Award carried a cash prize of Rs 1 Lakh along with a citation. Ranjani Murali's second book "Clearly you are ESL" won the Great Indian Poetry Collectives (GIPCs) Editor's Choice award. Her first book "Blind Screens" was published in July 2017
• Madagascar president, Andry Rajoelina, has sworn into office after taking the oath in Antananarivo before nine judges of the High Constitutional Court. He won nearly 56% to defeat another former president, Marc Ravalomanana.

• Virat Kohli has become the first player in history to win the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year, the ICC Men's Test Player of the Year and the ICC ODI Player of the Year awards following an extraordinary 2018. The International Cricket Council also announced the men's Test and ODI teams of the year with Virat Kohli named captain of both sides. Kohli's 1,322 runs at an average of 55.08 with five centuries in 13 Tests and 1,202 runs at an astounding average of 133.55 with six hundreds in 14 ODIs saw him selected to both sides by every voting member of the Academy with the majority of them also opting to name him at the helm of each.

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