All in One Current Affairs

Taiwan: Tsai Ing-wen won the second term in Presidential Election

Tsai Ing-wen has won the Taiwan presidential election. She wins the second term as Taiwan president. Tsai Ing-wen’s Democratic Progressive party retained control of the legislature.

Tsai Ing-wen defeated Han Kuo-yu with 57.1% of the vote. She received 8.2m votes, the highest number since Taiwan started direct presidential elections in 1996.

National Youth Day celebrated on 12th January

National Youth Day celebrated every year on 12th January every year. It is celebrated being the birthday of Swami Vivekananda. He was one of the greatest social reformers, thinkers, and philosophers of India.

In 1984 the Government of India declared this day as National Youth Day and since from 1985 the event is celebrated in India every year.

Jasprit Bumrah and Poonam Yadav to get BCCI’s Polly Umrigar Award

Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah; and Poonam Yadav to receive the BCCI’s prestigious Polly Umrigar Award for the best international cricketer male and female.

Jasprit Bumrah will receive the award for his super performance in international cricket in the 2018-19 season. World’s No. 1 ODI bowler made his Test debut during India’s tour of South Africa in January 2018. Poonam Yadav will be awarded the best international cricketer (women).

Gujarat: India’s 1st Cyber Crime Prevention Unit launched by Amit Shah

Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, launched the first Cyber Crime Prevention Unit of India “AASHVAST” in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. He also launched 2 other projects: VISWAS (Video Integration and State Wide Advanced Security) & NETRANG. AASHVAST project will act as a helpline for the cyber crime victims.

All projects are first of their kinds, VISWAS and NETRANG will help AASHVAST to prevent any cyber crime. With the help of these projects government will also try to maintain the law and order management. These projects will also help to prevent traffic issue’s and also control, Crime detection through video analytics.

Goa: Smriti Irani launches 3 welfare schemes for women

Union minister for women and child development and Member of Parliament from Amethi, Smriti Irani has launched 3 welfare schemes for women in Goa. The schemes are Yashaswini Scheme for Women Entrepreneurship, Swasthya Sahayak Project and breast cancer screening initiative handheld device facilitating detection of cancer.

Under the Yashaswini scheme, women self-help groups (SHGs) will be given interest-free loans of up to Rs.5 lakh for business. Also, Adarsha Satari Mahila Mandal Guleli -Sattari, Phoenix Women’s Wing Self-Help Group, Umang Self-Help Group, Salcete, Valpoi -Sattari were also given loans under the scheme. It aims to support women entrepreneurs in the state.

Under the Swasthya Sahayak scheme, primary healthcare workers and Anganwadi workers will be given a diagnostic kit. The diagnostic kit was developed by the Public Health Foundation of India, in association with Procter and Gamble to manufacture and supply the kits using corporate social responsibility (CSR) fund. 

Under the breast cancer screening initiative, the Anganwadi and healthcare workers will screen women for breast cancer using handheld devices. The initiative aims to reach out to the women in rural parts of the state. It is expected that the delivery of health services will become more accessible and affordable. Using this device, 20,000 women will be screened for breast cancer.

Hyderabad: UK-based Big Innovation Centre opens new office

Big Innovation Centre (BIC), headquartered in the United Kingdom, has opened its India office in Hyderabad. It provides research and consulting services for the corporate, public institutes to address economic challenges and innovation capabilities. The India office is headed by Abdul Rehman.

It will offer thought leadership and advisory services on emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Virtual Reality and others for more sustainable way of living and inclusivity. Big Innovation Centre has already launched its innovation hubs in Saudi Arabia and UAE.

LinguaSol Launched the Website Translator for SMEs

Pune-based LanguageTech company ‘LinguaSol’, one of the premier language solution providers across the globe, recently launched a cost-effective website translation solution Website Translator 1.0. for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to localise their websites and applications.

Website Translator 1.0 is a useful translation service for SMEs that intend to expand their business. LinguaSol projects it as a positive initiative towards helping SMEs with the localization part. The LinguaSol software is a unique solution that can localize the UI of any website or any enterprise software in any language without modifying the source code.

PayU to acquire PaySense for $185 mn, merge it with LazyPay

Fintech company PayU is set to acquire a controlling stake in PaySense and all its assets at a valuation of $185 million. It has also announced plans to merge its growing digital credit platforms LazyPay and PaySense to build a full-stack digital lending platform in India.

The company will also inject a total of up to $200 mn in the new enterprise in the form of equity capital, it said in a statement. Out of this, $65 mn will be immediately invested, while the balance corpus will be infused in the next 24 months to grow the loan book.

The merger comes part of PayU’s long term vision of orchestrating a fintech ecosystem in India by partnering with the right companies and offering multiple financial services. PayU’s unified digital credit platform will enable third parties such as banks, NBFCs and alternate lenders to co-lend and grow assets and will also enable borrowers to access credit when and where they need it in a digital and seamless way. 

World Future Energy Summit commences in UAE

The World Future Energy Summit opens at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, UAE on Monday, with around 35,000 people expected to attend from 170 countries. The theme for World Future Energy Summit is “Rethinking Global Consumption, Production, and Investment”. The Summit will conclude on 17th January, 2020.

The four-day event, which is the largest of its kind, will include exhibition and forum programs addressing energy, solar, water, waste and smart cities. There will also be a focus on clean energy generation, water sustainability, and how digital innovation can help to improve the quality of life in an urban environment.

Samiya Naseem appointed as the judge of Chicago

US Attorney General William Barr appointed Indian origin Samiya Nasim as the judge of Chicago. Recently Samia took the oath of justice in the main ceremony in the main building of the Justice Department of Chicago.

Prior to this Samiya has served in many big positions. 37 years old Samiya was born in the US, while her father Khalid Naseem was born and brought up in Gorakhpur’s Gita Press area.

National Book Trust appoints Lt. Col. Yuvraj Malik as director

Lt. Col. Yuvraj Malik has been appointed the Director of the National Book Trust (NBT). Malik, who has taken over from Sahitya Akademi awardee writer Rita Chowdhury, joined the NBT on deputation from the Indian Army on January 8.

The officer has served with the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, Raj Bhawan in Jammu & Kashmir, United Nation Missions in Africa and several operational areas in administrative and operational assignments including Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, Punjab and Rajasthan. He has 15 years of administrative experience in various capacities in government organisations.

Dr. B. Saha elected as Bureau Member of IUPAC

In the recently held election in Paris to elect IUPAC Bureau Members, Hyderabad scientist Dr. Bipulbehari Saha was elected as the Bureau Member of IUPAC for the period 2020-2023. Dr Saha is closely associated with the “International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)”. He has been awarded the Homi Bhabha Gold Medal by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). Earlier, one of the known Indian scientists who was elected at a similar post was Dr C. N. R. Rao.

The factors considered by the voters were a scientific contribution of the candidate in the field of Chemistry, his leadership qualities, thoughts for the future etc. IUPAC is the largest global organization of Chemistry professionals. The IUPAC has the responsibility of naming all new elements and compounds, declare atomic weights and physical constants, update Periodic table and carry out research projects for the benefit of mankind.

Hyderabad: Wings India 2020 to be held at Begumpet Airport

Wings India 2020, an international exhibition and conference on civil aviation sector, will be held at Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad from March 12 to 15. The event focus on new business acquisition, investments, policy formation, and regional connectivity. Privatisation will strengthen the civil aviation sector in the country.

The event is organized by Ministry of Civil Aviation and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry to provide a congenial forum to the rapidly changing dynamics of the sector, focusing on new business acquisition, investments, policy formation and regional connectivity.

Kerala: Global investor meet ASCEND 2020 held in Kochi

A two day organised Global Investors Meet– ASCEND 2020 was held in Kochi, Kerala at Lulu Bolgatty International Convention Centre, Grand Hyatt. The meet was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Kerala Shri Pinarayi Vijayan and was organised by states Department of Industries. Totally Rs 1 lakh crore worth investment proposals were received.

Wage subsidy scheme was unveiled during the meet. As per the scheme Wage subsidy will be provided for the first 5 years for new ventures getting registered on April 1, 2020. The benefit will only be available to those units that provides ESI (Employee State Insurance) and PF (Provident Fund) benefits to workers. This would benefit 37 lakh people.

The proposed mega projects further include a Propylene Oxide manufacturing plant of 2,00,000 MPA capacity in the vicinity of BPCL-Kochi Refinery, a PVC manufacturing facility of capacity 150,000 TPA and a ₹1,864 crore KINFRA-initiated Petrochemical Park of international standards at Ambalamugal in Ernakulam district. The ₹131-crore Defence Park at 60 acres in Ottapalam of Palakkad district will have central government assistance under the Modified Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation scheme.

Abu Dhabi: The World Future Energy Summit begins

The World Future Energy Summit began on 13th January in Abu Dhabi. The theme for this year’s summit is “Rethinking Global Consumption, Production, and Investment.” World Future Energy Summit is the Middle East’s largest future energy and sustainability event.

Held annually at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, the four-day event includes exhibition and forum programs that address energy, solar, water, waste and smart cities. 33,500 participants from 170 countries and 800 specialist exhibitors are expected to attend the event.

The event will showcase 42 of the world’s most disruptive innovations, selected from 1,402 global submissions from 128 countries, related to the future of energy, food, agriculture and sustainability in space.

Naval version of Tejas successfully takes off from INS Vikramaditya

A naval prototype of the homegrown Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas successfully took off from the deck of Indian Navy’s sole aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. Tejas is a Light Combat Aircraft developed by the DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) in coordination with the Aircraft Research and Design Centre of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, among other bodies.

The aircraft made its first landing on the deck of INS Vikramaditya which was also a major milestone. Both the landing and take off by the aircraft put India among a select group of nations having the capability to design such a jet which can operate from an aircraft carrier.