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Current Affairs Current Affairs January 2020

RBI ranked 6th in buying gold abroad in World Gold Council report

  According to World Gold Council(WGC) report title “World Gold Outlook 2020”, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been ranked 6th in the largest buyer of sovereign gold abroad. RBI purchased 25.2 tonnes in first 10 months of 2019 to hedge government’s sovereign gold bond issue. RBI (Reserve Bank of India) currently holds 625.2 tonnes of gold, forming 6.6% of its forex reserves. The central banks of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Poland bought more than India in 2019. In 2019, Uzbekistan and Venezuela sold 16.6 tonnes and 30.3 tonnes of gold. The performance of gold in the market in 2019 was best Since 2010. It rises by 18.4% in United States dollar (USD)terms in 2019.
Key points of World Gold Council(WGC) report:
  • i. The data about the gold holdings of various central banks were collected after those central banks shared their data with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
  • ii. The central banks added 27.9 tonnes of gold on a net basis which when considering year-to-date basis brings net purchase to 570.2 tonnes, 11% higher than in 2018 (515.2tonnes).
  • iii. The report highlights the need for tax cuts to increase economic growth. This was due to the fact that higher taxes exacerbated the impact of record-high local consumption on the gold price.
  • iv. The Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) of institutional investors were the second-largest buyers of gold in 2019. The report predicts that they will continue to buy more gold in 2020 as well.
Catgeory: Ranks & Reports

“National Startup Advisory Council” created by Government of India

  The Government of India has created “National Startup Advisory Council“. The council is being set up to advise the central government to create a strong ecosystem to nurture innovation and start-ups in India.
Chairman and the composition of the National Startup Advisory Council? The Commerce Minister will be the chairman of the National Startup Advisory Council. The council will also constitute the non-official members to be nominated by the Government of India. The non-official members will include the founders of successful start-ups, veterans who have grown and expanded their companies in India and the individuals who are capable of representing interests of investors into start-ups. The tenure of the non-official members will be for a period of two years. The nominees of the related ministries, departments and organisations, not below the rank of joint secretary will be ex-officio members of the National Startup Advisory Council.
Objectives of setting up the National Startup Advisory Council:
  • The Council aims to boost the culture of innovation among the students.
  • It will recommend measures to facilitate public organisations to embrace innovation, promote creation, protection and commercialization of intellectual property rights, making it easier to begin, operate, grow and exit businesses by narrowing the regulatory compliances and costs.
  • It will also give its inputs in enhancing the ease of access to capital for start-ups, mobilise global capital for investments, incentivise domestic capital for investments, and keep control of the start-ups with original promoters.
Catgeory: National

Paralympian Deepa Malik and wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt inducted in AlCS

  Paralympian Deepa Malik and wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt are among the new inductees in the government’s All India Council of Sports (AICS). It is an advisory body to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports which was formed in 2015 by the Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. Some other renowned new entrants in the Council are former shooter Anjali Bhagwat, footballer Renedy Singh, and mountaineer Bachendri Pal. Senior India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has also been inducted in the council. The Council is an advisory body for implementation of policies, matters relating to the promotion of inclusiveness in sports with special focus on women, differently-abled, tribals etc.
Catgeory: Sports

India start thermal screening of passengers arriving from China and Hong Kong

 7 airports across India start thermal screening of passengers arriving from China and Hong Kong. These airports are Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Cochin. Ministry of Civil Aviation has directed for all logistics support and arrangements to be made immediately with regard to screening of passengers arriving in India from China including Hong Kong. All passengers and crew who are healthy should be allowed to continue their onward journey. If the ill passenger or crew member is confirmed as a probable case of Wuhan Corona Virus, public health authorities should be notified about the contacts using the Passenger Locator Form.
Catgeory: Miscellaneous

Mukhyamantri Krishak Durghatna Kalyan Yojana launched by UP Govt

  Uttar Pradesh Government has launched Mukhyamantri Krishak Durghatna Kalyan Yojana. This scheme will provide financial assistance to the family of farmers who die or become handicapped while working in fields. UP government has also decided to implement Mukhyamantri Paryatan Samvardhan Yojana to boost tourism in the state. The scheme will also include the Bataidars, who work in the field of other persons and share the crop after it is harvested. The scheme will cover farmers and their family members in the age group of 18-70 years. Mukhyamantri Paryatan Samvardhan Yojana one tourist point will be developed with a fund of 50 lakh rupees in each and every assembly segment of the state.
Catgeory: State

Hyderabad Metro partners redBus to start carpool services

  Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited has partnered with online bus ticketing platform redBus to start carpool service for train passengers. The facility aims to provide end to end connectivity to daily commuters in an affordable manner. The service will be offered through “rPool”. rPool is an in-app ride sharing service provided by redBus. Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited will also provide space inside the station premises to rPool for setting up of kiosks for customer service, apart from parking facilities for ride givers on rPool, for easy pick-up and drop of commuters.
Catgeory: Agreements

Claims against India under Bilateral International Treaty dismissed

 The Bilateral International Treaty organization, an international arbitration tribunal recently dismissed all the claims against India.
  • Highlights
The claims against India was brought the organization by private firms in Cyprus and Russia. The claims were under Agreement between Government of Russian Federation and Cyprus for promotion and protection of investments. The claims have now been dismissed completely.
  • Bilateral Investment Treaty
BIT is an agreement that was established for FDI. It allows countries to set up rules for investments between each other. The treaty is the successor of the 19th century friendship, commerce and navigation treaty. The first BIT was signed between Pakistan and Germany. BIT ensures that foreign investors are treated equally as that of domestic investors. This is because, foreign investments are restricted by governments to promote domestic entrepreneurs. For instance, US restricts foreign investment in only 5 sectors and China restricts foreign investment in 100 sectors.
  • Significance
India entered BIT in the mid-90s. It is important for India to sign BIT to make conditions favourable for foreign investors. While most of the treaties in the world focus on ‘most favored Nation’ treatment, BIT treats foreign countries equally.
  • India and BIT
According to the data of Ministry of Finance, India has so far signed BIT with 75 states. Out of these 66 are already in force and 9 are yet to be entered into force. India has signed 40 BITs with less developed and developing nations. As every other country, India has set its own BITs clauses. BIT clauses of India is not the same for all the countries. The most important feature of India’s BITs is that it does not provide right to make investment in India to the signatories. Every investment has its own rules fixed by India.
Catgeory: International

India wins Diplomat Cup Cricket Championship 2020

 The team of the Indian Consulate has won the Diplomat Cup Cricket Championship of 2020 held in Sharjah. The team of the Indian Consulate defeated the Pakistan Consulate to win the trophy which was organized by Skyline University College in Sharjah. The trophy was organised with an aim of uniting the officials and employees of different Consulates based in UAE. The Consulate team of 8 countries participated in the tournament. The participating Consulates were: India, Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh , Afghanistan, South Africa, Pakistan and the US.
Catgeory: Sports

National Integrated Check-Post (ICP), Biratnagar inaugurated at India-Nepal border

  The Integrated Check-Post (ICP) in Biratnagar has been inaugurated at India-Nepal border. The inauguration of ICP, which is built on 260 acres of land with the cost of Rs. 140 crore, was done by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepal’s Prime Minister K.P.Sharma Oli. The ICP Biratnagar at Jogbani-Biratnagar border of India and Nepal, is furnished with the some modern facilities such as electronic weighbridges, fire safety, warehousing facilities including the refrigerated cargo, 24×7 monitoring through CCTV and public announcement systems. The post has also the capability of handling around 500 trucks per day.
Catgeory: National

12th National Tribal Youth Exchange Programme begins in Puducherry

  12th National Tribal Youth Exchange Programme begins in Puducherry. Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Dr Kiran Bedi inaugurated this Programme. Two hundred youths from Naxal-affected districts of Chattisgarh are taking part in this week-long programme. The programme has been jointly organized by the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) and Puducherry Government with a view to ensuring development and empowerment of the tribal youths. They will be visiting many places to know about the language, customs, culture, arts, dressing patterns, food pattern and other aspects of Puducherry.
Catgeory: National

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