Daily Current Affairs, 25th January 2020

1) India celebrates National Voters’ Day on 25th January

•25th of January is celebrated every year in India as National Voters’ Day. This is the 10th edition of the National Voters’ Day. The theme for the 10th edition of National Voters’ Day is ‘Electoral Literacy for Stronger Democracy’. The theme aims to renew the citizens’ faith in the electoral process as well as to educate the voters of India.

•The Election Commission of India was established on 25th January 1950 and the “National Voters’ Day” marks the Foundation Day of Election Commission of India. The day was celebrated for the first time in 2011.

2) Election Commission of India to sign MoU with EC of Tunisia and Papua New Guinea

•The Election Commission of India has received the approval from the Union Cabinet to sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission and Independent High Authority for Elections of Tunisia. The MoU aims to enhance the cooperation in the field of electoral management and administration.

•The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also approved the agreements in the field of mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, cooperation in the field of early childhood care, oil and natural gas, and Geology and Mineral Resources between India and Brazil.

3) India hosts International Summit “Visualizing the Future: New Skylines”

•The International Summit on Women in STEM “Visualizing the Future: New Skylines” was held at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The summit was organized by the Department of Biotechnology. The summit aimed to boost the women participation in STEM field for the development of scientific career. The summit included various sessions aiming to empower women through networking, career opportunities and interactive exercises with scientists. Around 350 participants from different STEM field including scientists, socialists, entrepreneurs, researchers, teachers and students across the globe participated in the summit.

4) CEC Sunil Arora becomes Chairman of FEMBoSA for 2020

•Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India, Sunil Arora has taken the charge as the Chairman of Forum of the Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA) for the year 2020. He has replaced KM Nurul Huda who is the present Chief Election Commissioner of Bangladesh. Sunil Arora assumed the charge during the 10th Annual Meeting of FEMBoSA.

•Forum of the Election Management Bodies of South Asia is an active regional association of Election Management Bodies having 8 members and represents a very large part of the democratic world.

5) GoI & Maharashtra signs USD 210 million loan agreement with World Bank

•The Government of India and the Government of Maharashtra has signed a USD 210 million loan agreement with the World Bank. The loan agreement has been signed for Maharashtra Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project. The USD 210 million loan will be funded by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), having a 6-year grace period with a maturity period of 13.5 years.

6) World Archery conditionally lifts suspension on India

•The World Archery has conditionally lifted the suspension on India and hence enabled the Indian Archers to represent India in the upcoming International tournaments. The World Archery has advised the Archery Association of India to comply with the rules set up by the World Archery constitution to ensure the good governance in the sport. The world body has also advised Archery Association of India to report the world body every three months regarding the compliance of the rules and other activities.

•Recently, Arjun Munda was elected the President of the Archery Association of India (AAI) in the election held as per the Delhi High Court order and under the observance of the World Archery.

7) Rowing Federation of India lifts ban over Dattu Bhokanal

•The Rowing Federation of India has lifted the ban over Indian rower Dattu Bhokanal. He was suspended in March, 2019 from the game by the Rowing Federation of India for the period of 2 years. He was suspended against the charges of leaving a single sculls race midway during the 2018 Asian Games. The suspension has been lifted off from the rower with effect from 23 January, 2020 and allowed him to prepare for the Olympic qualification Regatta to be held in April 2020 at South Korea.