Daily updates 20 September 2019

National

1. Google announces new AI research lab in India

• Google has announced that it will open an artificial intelligence (AI) based research lab "Google Research India".
• The lab will be opened in Bengaluru. The Indian AI lab will be led by Dr. Manish Gupta, a renowned computer scientist in the country.
• Google has various AI research labs across the world, under its Google Artificial Intelligence arm.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB Clerk Mains:

• Chief Executive Officer of Google: Sundar Pichai.

2. India's first central police university to come up in Greater Noida

• The country’s first central police university will be set up by the Union home ministry off the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida.
• The Centre had given in-principle approval for the university and a 100-acre plot has been identified in Sector Techzone.
• The government wants to set up an institution to tackle modern-day policing challenges. The national university for policing will help in improving police personnel training, skills, research and also policymaking with regard to policing in India.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB Main 2019:

• Union Minister of Home Affairs: Amit Shah.
• Uttar Pradesh CM: Yogi Adityanath; Governor: Anandiben Patel.

3. Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank launches WAWE Summit 2019

• Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' has launched Waste Management Accelerator for Aspiring Women Entrepreneurs (WAWE) summit.
• It will be jointly organized by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and Institute of Waste Management (IIWM) at Jaipur.
• This initiative stating that it will empower women and encourage entrepreneurship among youngsters. WAWE Summit 2019 is a great initiative for women who have skills in their hands and it will further empower and motivate them.

4. Telecom body approves Rs 8500 crore for mobile towers & optical fibres

• The Digital Communication Commission, the highest decision making body in the Department of Telecom has approved multiple projects worth over Rs 8,500 crore.
• The projects aims to set up mobile towers and laying of optical fibre, with an aim to provide improved connectivity. The commission also approved a special scheme to cover upto 12,000 uncovered villages in aspirational districts.
• The approved infra projects include laying of BharatNet fibre in Tamil Nadu and Telangana, at an estimated cost of Rs 1,815 crore and Rs 2,065 crore. The projects also includes setting up of 1,917 mobile towers for uncovered villages in the North East.

Appointment

5. RKS Bhadauria is new IAF Chief

• The central Government has appointed Vice Chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF) Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria as the next Chief of Air Staff (CAS). He will take over on 30th September.
• He will have a two-year tenure. Mr. Bhadauria had played a key role in the negotiations for the deal with France for 36 Rafale jets.
• Present IAF Chief and Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa is set to retire on September 30.
• Mr. Bhadauria also served as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Southern Air Command and, prior to the present appointment, he was the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Training Command.

Important Takeaways for IBPS RRB PO/Clerk Mains 2019:

• The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces.
• Indian Air Force was founded on 08th October 1932.
• Headquarters of IAF is in New Delhi.

Agreements

6. Ola drivers to get healthcare benefits under Ayushman Bharat

• Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) has partnered with Ola, a mobility platform, to extend the welfare to its drivers.
• The partnership will provide comprehensive health insurance for secondary and tertiary care to tens of thousands of drivers working with the cab aggregator and their families.
• The first phase will see Ola and AB-PMJAY conducting a pilot project in NCR, which will subsequently be rolled out at scale to other cities. Eligible drivers as well as Ola employees will be able to avail the benefits of the programme and obtain an Ayushman Bharat card at a minimal cost of Rs 30.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB PO Mains:

• Co-Founder and CEO of Ola: Bhavish Aggarwal.

7. Tata Communications partners with Cisco

• Tata Communications has partnered with Cisco to offer enterprises a secure, fully-managed, multi-channel, intelligent and cloud-based Cisco Webex Contact Center solution.
• This joint offering is an end-to-end managed solution and gives contact centre users a seamless user experience across up to 150 countries on the back of Tata Communications’ global network.
• The solution will allow for simplified licensing; pre-deployed hardware and software with integrations to workforce optimisation.

8. Skill India sign agreement with IBM for Train-the-Trainer programme in AI

• The Directorate General of Training (DGT), under the skill development and entrepreneurship ministry, has signed an agreement with IT major IBM to carry out a nationwide Train-the-Trainer programme in basic artificial intelligence.
• As part of the programme, ITI trainers will be trained on basic artificial intelligence (AI) skills towards using technology in their day-to-day training activities.
• This programme aims at enabling the trainers with the basic approach, workflow and application of artificial intelligence that they can apply in their training modules.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/IBPS RRB Mains:

• Founder of IBM: Charles Ranlett Flint; Established: June 16, 1911.
• Union Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship: Mahendra Nath Pandey.

Banking

9. Public Sector Banks to organise 'loan melas' in 400 districts

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced that Public Sector Banks will organise 'loan melas' or "Shamiana meetings" in 400 districts.
• The meetings will be organised to provide loans to NBFCs and retail borrowers, including homebuyers and farmers.
• PSBs will focus on giving loans to the 'RAM' category: retail, agriculture and MSMEs. The open house public meetings will be held in two tranches.
• The first will be held between October 3 and 7 in 200 districts, while the remaining 200 will be covered October 11 onwards.
• She also announced that no MSME stressed loan would be classified as an NPA until March 31, 2020.

10. Airtel Payments Bank launches 'Bharosa' savings account

• Airtel Payments Bank launched "Bharosa savings account" services, designed for deepening the financial inclusion in the country. This service enables customers to withdraw cash, check their balance or access a mini statement of their account at over 6,50,000 Aadhaar-enabled payment system (AePS) enabled outlets across India.
• Bharosa savings account would offer Rs 5 lakh personal accident insurance on maintaining the balance of Rs 500 along with one debit transaction per month. Customers would also be eligible for cashback, if they decided to receive government subsidies in their Bharosa account or if they made cash deposits in it.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/IBPS RRB Mains:

• MD & CEO of Airtel Payments Bank: Anubrata Biswas.
• Headquarters of Airtel Payments Bank: New Delhi.

11. Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting sets up startup venture fund

• Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting has launched "Wipro Consumer Care–Ventures", a startup venture fund to invest in startups in the consumer brands space.
• The venture will focus on companies with a differentiated approach where both parties can learn by leveraging their strengths and add value to each other.
• Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting is a $1 billion plus arm of Wipro Enterprises, and is among the fastest growing fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) businesses in India.

Awards

12. National Geoscience Awards 2018

• Twenty-two scientists across the country were awarded the National Geoscience Awards for the year 2018.
• They were awarded for their outstanding contributions in the field of geosciences, mining and allied areas.
• The award was conferred by the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines, Shri Pralhad Joshi.
• Prof. Syed Wajih Ahmad Naqvi, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), received the Award for Excellence for his significant global contributions in the field of aquatic biogeochemical research.
• Dr Sohini Ganguly, of Goa University, was conferred with the Young Scientist Award-2018 for her significant work in the fields of petrology, volcanology and geochemistry.
• The National Geoscience Awards were given in ten disciplines covering Mineral exploration, Groundwater exploration, Mining technology, Mineral beneficiation, Sustainable mineral development, Basic and applied geosciences, Geo-environmental studies and Natural hazards investigation.

Defence

13. Indian army conducts exercise ‘Chang Thang’ in Eastern Ladakh

• The Indian Army conducted a massive rare exercise ‘Chang Thang’ in Eastern Ladakh bordering China.
• The exercise involved the use of infantry, mechanised forces, T-72 tanks, with force multipliers such as artillery guns and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
• The Indian Air Force was also roped in the exercise. This is the first time such kind of exercise has happened in the region.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB PO Mains:

• Chief of the Army Staff: General Bipin Rawat.

Sports

14. Sri Lankan bowler Akila Dananjaya banned from bowling for 1 year

• The International Cricket Council has banned Sri Lankan off-spinner Akila Dananjaya from bowling in international matches for 1 year.
• The ban was imposed after his bowling action was found to be illegal after. He will be entitled to approach the ICC for a re-assessment of his bowling action after the expiry of this one-year period.
• The umpires questioned his bowling action in the first Test against New Zealand at Galle, held in August 2019.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB Clerk Mains:

• ICC Chairman: Shashank Manohar; Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
• The 13th edition of ICC Cricket World Cup will be held in India from February 9 to March 26, 2023.

15. India Slip to 104th spot in Latest FIFA ranking

• The Indian football team slipped a place to 104th position in the latest FIFA rankings released.
• Indian Football Team in recent times playing under the leadership of new coach Igor Stimac.
• Belgium managed to hold on to the top position, while France has surpassed Brazil to reach the second spot.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB Main 2019:

• President of FIFA: Gianni Infantino; Headquarters of FIFA: Zurich, Switzerland.

Books and Authors

16. The book titled “The Cousins Thackeray: Uddhav, Raj and the Shadow of their Senas” released

• The book titled “The Cousins Thackeray: Uddhav, Raj and the Shadow of their Senas” written by the journalist Dhaval Kulkarni was released. It is published by Penguin Random House.
• The book depicts the political journey of Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray.

Obituaries

17. Tunisia's former President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali passes away

• Tunisia's former President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali passed away. He came to power in 1987, ousting Habib Bourguiba to become Tunisia's second-ever president. Ben Ali led the country for 23 years and was credited with delivering stability and some economic prosperity.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB PO Mains:

• Capital of Tunisia: Tunis; Currency of Tunisia: Tunisian Dinar.

Important Days

18. World Bamboo Day : September 18

• World Bamboo Day is observed every year on the 18th of September by the World Bamboo Organization to generate awareness about conserving and promoting the bamboo industry.
• Bamboo is known as poor man’s timber, bamboo is omnipresent in tribal cultures and community living.
• India is the world’s second-largest cultivator of bamboo after China, with 136 species and 23 genera spread over 13.96 million hectares, according to the State of Environment report 2018.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/IBPS RRB Mains:

• President of World Bamboo Organization: Michel Abadie.
• CEO of World Bamboo Organization: Susanne Lucas.

Miscellaneous

19. First Jammu International Film Festival to be held in Jammu

• The first ever "Jammu International Film Festival" will be held in Jammu.
• 37 short films and documentaries from 11 countries will be screened at the inaugural edition of Jammu International Film Festival.
• The festival will also present an annual 'Inspiring Icon Award', which will be given to a person, who hails from the region and has made it big in the film industry.

20. Telangana to celebrate 2020 as Year of AI

• The Telangana government has decided to declare 2020 as Artificial Intelligence year by organising various activities related to the emerging technology.
• A lot of hackathons and meetings will happen and the government agencies will give challenges and make available data sets on which you (companies) can run algorithms.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/IBPS RRB Main 2019:

• CM of Telangana: K Chandrashekhar Rao; Capital of Telangana: Hyderabad.
• Governor of Telangana: Tamilisai Soundararajan.

21. Thaawarchand Gehlot launches MIS portal under Accessible India Campaign

• Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot launched the (Management Information System) MIS portal in New Delhi.
• The MIS has been developed by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The portal is made fully accessible for Divyangjans.
• The MIS portal will bring all the nodal ministries and States and Union Territories on a single platform for monitoring the progress being made against each target of Accessible India Campaign.
• The portal will be useful in maintaining all the function on the digital platform and capture data on a real-time basis.