Focus Merit

Category: National Current Affairs

India-Russia to sign MoUs on AK-203 assault rifles

January 7, 2020

The Indian Army and Russia is to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the procurement of over 7.5 lakh AK-203 assault rifles. The rifles will be manufactured by the Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) at Korwa in Uttar Pradesh.

The facility is being set up between the Ordnance Factories Board (OFB) from the Indian side, and Rosoboron Exports and Kalashnikov on the Russian side. The OFB owns 50.5% equity and Russian side holds the remaining 49.5%. The Army has been looking to replace the indigenous INSAS (Indian National Small Arms System) rifles in use with a modern rifle.

P Magesh Chandran wins 95th Hastings International Chess title

January 7, 2020

India’s P Magesh Chandran wins the title in the 95th edition of the prestigious Hastings International Chess Congress at Hastings in England. France’s Romain Edouard, who was the only player to end the tournament a half-point behind Chandran, took the second spot.

New Delhi: NSE Knowledge Hub inaugurated by Piyush Goyal

January 7, 2020

The Union Minister of Commerce and Industries, Piyush Goyal inaugurated the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Knowledge Hub in New Delhi. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Knowledge Hub is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered learning ecosystem that will assist the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector.

It is also available on mobile and attempts to bring together world-class content and learners through this state- of- the- art and future-ready platform. This industry-driven learning eco-system will help India in building next-generation skills and capabilities in the BFSI sector.

New Delhi: Rajnath Singh inaugurates National Traders Convention

January 7, 2020

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the National Traders Convention at Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi. The aim of this convention will be to discuss the role of the trading community in achieving a 5 trillion dollar economy goal.

The convention has been organised by Confederation of All India Traders and will deliberate upon various issues concerning traders, including “onslaught of e-commerce companies on retail trade by their malpractices and violation of FDI policy”. 

IBSA to organise week-long sports events from Jan 6

January 6, 2020
ibsa

Indian Blind Sports Association (IBSA) is organizing week-long sportsevents for the blind from 6 to 11 January, 2020 in the premises of The Blind Relief Association, Delhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg, near the Oberoi Hotel, NewDelhi. The sports events will kick-start with inauguration of Kabaddi Championships at 10:00 am on, 6th January 2020.

Over 400 participants, including 85 female blind sports persons from 7states, namely, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu and Telangana will be taking part in the following events.

  • 5th IBSA Kabaddi Championships For Men (6-11 January)
  • 2nd IBSA Kabaddi Championships For Women (6-11 January)
  • 8th IBSA Powerlifting Championships (08 January)
  • Coaching Camp and Seminar on Blind Sports (6-11 January)

Braille Version of ‘Exam Warriors’ launched by PM Modi

January 6, 2020
narendra modi exam warriors

On January 4th – World Braille Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that his famous book for children ‘Exam Warriors’ will now be available in Braille.

Exam Warriors is a book by PM Modi for the youth which talks about how children can ace exams through a fun and interactive style, with illustrations, activities and yoga exercises.

India ranks 34th in Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index

January 6, 2020
taj mahal india travel and tourism

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. Government is committed to make policies and programmes for the development and promotion of tourism and the year 2019 witnessed several steps in this direction.

Reducing E-visa fees, decreasing GST rates on hotel room booking and opening 120 new peaks for mountaineering are among the major highlights of Tourism Ministry in 2019. Along with these several steps taken under Swadesh Darshan, PRASHAD Scheme and various other events of Ek Bharat, Shresth Bharat were also undertaken during the year.

An initiative called – ‘Adopt a Heritage: Apni Dharohar, Apni Pehchaan’ has been launched for developing tourist amenities at heritage and tourist sites and making them tourist-friendly. E-visa has been further liberalized and visa fee on e–visa has been substantially reduced to increase tourism competitiveness of the country. The Government has also opened more than 120 mountain peaks for mountaineering and trekking for promoting adventure tourism in the country.

Sucheta Satish wins Global Child Prodigy Award 2020

January 5, 2020
sucheta satish

A 13-year-old Dubai-based Indian girl Sucheta Satish has won the 100 Global Child Prodigy Award in Delhi. She was awarded for singing in most languages during one concert and the longest live singing concert by a child.

Global Child Prodigy Award is a platform to showcase the talent of children in dance, music, art, writing, acting, modelling, science, sports etc. The award is supported by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam International Foundation and Oscar Award-winning music producer AR Rahman among others.

APSEZ to buy 75% stake in Krishnapatnam Port

January 5, 2020
port

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), India’s largest private sector port operator, has agreed to buy a 75% stake in Krishnapatnam Port Co. Ltd (KPCL) at an enterprise value of Rs 13,572 crores. 

The Krishnapatnam Port is located in southern Andhra Pradesh and is a multi-cargo facility. It handled 54 million tonnes (mt) of cargo in the year ended 31 March 2019. The purchase will accelerate Adani Ports’ plan to expand its cargo-handling capacity to 400mt by 2025.

India gives $75 million LoC to Cuba for solar parks

January 5, 2020
solar parks

India has extended a line of credit (LoC) of USD 75 million (over Rs 500 crore) to finance solar parks in Cuba. The line of credit is as per agreement signed between Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) and Banco Exterior De Cuba for installation of 75 MW Photovoltaic Solar Parks in the Republic of Cuba. Banco Exterior De Cuba is a nominated agency of the Government of Cuba.