Daily Current Affairs, 20th and 21st January 2019

1) 2-Day Agri Vision 2019 Conference Concludes in Hyderabad

•The 2-day Agri Vision 2019 Conference on envisioning Agro solutions for Smart and Sustainable Agriculture was held in Hyderabad. It was inaugurated by Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu. 

•The conference was jointly organized by Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU), Confederation of Indian Industry(CII) and Cornell University, USA.

2) 15th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Begins At Varanasi

•The 15th edition of Pravasi Bhartiya Divas begins at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. The 3 day event is being organised in Varanasi for the first time. The theme this year is, ‘Role of Indian Diaspora in building New India’. Several world leaders of Indian origin, including the Chief Guest Mr. Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Prime Minister of Mauritius, will take part in the event and share their insights on the theme.

•Youth Pravasi Bhartiya Divas and Uttar Pradesh Pravasi Bhartiya Divas held on the opening day. Information and Broadcasting Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore inaugurated several exhibitions including a digital exhibition on the theme of ‘Ek Bharat Swacch Bharat: Sardar Patel and Gandhi ke Sapno ka Bharat.

3) MP Anurag Thakur Honoured With Sansad Ratna Award

•Himachal Pradesh MP Anurag Thakur has been bestowed with Sansad Ratna Awardfor 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.

4) Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Inaugurated The Diffo Bridge In Arunachal Pradesh

•Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the 426 meters long Diffo Bridgeover Chipu River in Lower Dibang Valley District of Arunachal Pradesh. Border Roads Organization (BRO) has constructed the bridge along Indo-China border.

•The construction of the bridge began in 2011. The total cost to build the bridge was Rs 4,847.83 lakh and was funded by the Union ministry of road transport and highways.

5) Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven Reelected For Second Term

•The Swedish Parliament approved Stefan Lofven as Prime Minister for a second four-year term. A total of 115 MPs voted yes, 153 voted no and 77 abstained. To be elected, Lofven did not need to secure a majority of the vote. As long as fewer than 175 of the 349-member parliament voted against him, he would be elected.

6) Arab Economic And Social Development Summit Held In Beirut

•The Arab Economic and Social Development Summit held in Lebanon’s capital Beirut. The leaders of many Arab countries took part in the summit aimed to make a joint statement on a 29-item agenda that ranges from discussions on an Arab free trade zone and the economic effect of Syrian refugees on host countries. The economic meeting is a prelude to the actual Arab League summit taking place in Tunisia in March.

7) WEF Annual Meet Begins in Switzerland

•The World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meet had begun in Davos, Switzerland. The meeting will continue for 5 days. The theme of the event would be ‘Globalization 4.0: Shaping a Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution’.

•More than 100 CEOs from India expected to be participating in the meet. Those expected to attend include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Swiss President Ueli Maurer, Japan’s Shinzo Abe, Italy’s Giuseppe Conte and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu.

8) Nepal’s Central Bank Announces Ban of Indian Notes Above Rs100

•Nepal’s central bank has banned the use of Indian currency notes of Rs 2,000, Rs 500 and Rs 200 denominations, a move that could affect Indian tourists visiting the Himalayan nation where Indian currency is widely used. Nepal Rastra Bank issued a circular prohibiting Nepali travellers, banks and financial institutions from holding or carrying and trading Indian bank notes higher than Rs 100.

•Under the new regulation, Nepali citizens cannot carry these denominations to countries other than India. Similarly, Nepalis are also not allowed to bring such notes from other countries. Indian notes of Rs 100 or below, however, are allowed for trading and conversion.

9) RBI Approves Appointment of V Vaidyanathan as MD, CEO of IDFC First Bank

•The Reserve Bank of India has approved the appointment of V Vaidyanathan as MD and CEO of IDFC First Bank for a period of three years. In December 2018, IDFC Bank and non-banking financial company Capital First completed their merger, creating a combined loan asset book of Rs 1.03 lakh crore for the merged entity IDFC First Bank. Following the merger, the board of IDFC First Bank approved the appointment of Vaidyanathan as MD and CEO of the new entity.

10) India To Surpass UK in World’s Largest Economy Rankings in 2019: PwC

•India is likely to surpass the United Kingdom in the world’s largest economy rankings in 2019, to become the world’s fifth largest economy, according to a report by global consultancy firm PwC. PwC’s Global Economy Watch report projects real GDP growth of 1.6% for the UK, 1.7% for France and 7.6% for India in 2019.

•According to World Bank data, India became the world’s sixth largest economy in 2017 surpassing France and was likely to go past the UK which stood at the fifth position. The US was the world’s largest economy with a size of 19.39 trillion dollars, followed by China at 12.23 trillion dollars at the second place in 2017.

11) Indian-American Gurinder Singh Khalsa Presented With Rosa Parks Trailblazer Award

•The Indian-American Sikh Gurinder Singh Khalsa, 45, who lives in Fishers of Indiana, US was presented with the prestigious 2019 Rosa Park Trailblazer award after being selected for champions of the diversity by the Indiana Minority Business Magazine.

•The award has been given for his campaign that forced the authorities in the US to change their policy towards turban of the Sikh community and for his continued demonstration of courage and compassion.