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Daily G.K. - Top Stories

02 Mar 2020

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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Malaysia Gets New PM

Malaysia's former Interior Minister Muhyiddun Yassin was sworn in as the Prime Minister after being appointed by the Malaysian King. This came after a week of uncertainty, following Mahathir Mohamad's resignation.
Mahathir said that he would call for an urgent parliamentary sitting to determine who had majority support.
Mahathir boycotted the swearing in ceremony, but held a press conference an hour before, flanked by his supporters.
The Malaysian palace announced that King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah believed Muhyiddin had the support of a majority of lawmakers. But Mahathir insisted that he had the support of at least 114 out of the 222 lawmakers.
Muhyiddin started his political career in the 1970s with the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). He served as deputy prime minister under Najib Razak, who was removed from office due to the 1MDB scandal. He then left UNMO and joined forces with Mahathir under the Pakatan Harapan coalition, which rose to power in 2018.

Luis Lacalle Pou Uruguay's New President

Luis Lacalle Pou was sworn in as Uruguay President to herald a new era in the South American country following 15 years of left-wing rule that brought important social reforms but left a stagnated economy and soaring crime. The 46-year-old leader of the center-right Partido Nacional was elected in November after winning a run-off against the incumbent Broad Front's candidate Daniel Martinez by just 37,000 votes in the country of 3.4 million people.

Slovakia Election: Anti-corruption Party Takes Lead

The opposition Ordinary People party (OLaNO) won a resounding victory in Slovakia's parliamentary election on a wave of anti-corruption sentiment.
With nearly all results counted, the party has secured almost 25% of votes.
The popularity of the Ordinary People party soared in recent weeks, thanks to its anti-corruption agenda.
The election campaign was dominated by public anger over the 2018 murder of an investigative journalist, Jan Kuciak, and his fiancée, Martina Kusnirova.
The result has unseated the centre-left Smer-SD party, which dominated Slovak politics for a decade and garnered just over 18%.
Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini has admitted defeat.
Kuciak had been investigating high-level corruption when he was killed.
The shooting shocked the nation and toppled PM Robert Fico, but his Smer-SD party remained in office.

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BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

ICAR Signs Pact with Patanjali

The country's premier agri-research body ICAR signed an agreement with Hardiwar-based Patanjali Bio Research Institute (PBRI) to undertake research work as well as training and education.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Director General Trilochan Mohapatra and PBRI CEO Acharya Balkrishna in the presence of Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
As per the MoU, the specific plans will be developed to work on collaborative research programmes in areas of national interest related to sustainable agriculture development suitable to different agro-ecologies of the country.
ICAR and PBRI will collaborate in mutually identified areas of training and education where the post graduate students of deemed universities and research institutes of ICAR may undertake internships in various areas of specialisation with PBRI.

Reliance Industries Buys Stake in Alok Industries

Alok Industries Ltd allotted 83.33 crore equity shares of Rs. 1 each at a premium of Rs. 2 per equity share for cash at a total consideration of Rs. 250 crore to Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL). Pursuant to this acquisition, RIL will hold 37.7 per cent equity share capital of the Mumbai-headquartered integrated textile manufacturer.
RIL said that the acquisition is in accordance with the approved Resolution Plan.
In March 2019, RIL had intimated the exchanges regarding approval by the National Company Law Tribunal, Ahmedabad Bench (NCLT) of the Resolution Plan, jointly submitted by RIL and JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (JMFARC) for acquisition of Alok Industries under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016, vide its order dated March 8, 2019.
Alok Industries, incorporated in India on March 12, 1986, has interests in polyester and cotton segments. It has a product suite comprising cotton yarn, apparel fabrics, bed linen, terry towels, embroidery, garments and polyester yarn. It has representative offices for sales promotion in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Axis Bank Looks to Raise its Stake in Max Life Insurance

Axis Bank Ltd is looking to raise its stake in Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd by buying an additional 17.9% stake.
The potential deal will be made in two parts with the private lender taking a 7.9% stake while the rest would be held through its non-banking unit Axis Finance Ltd.
Axis Bank will value Max Life at par with its current embedded value (EV). Embedded value or the sum of net asset value and present value of future profits is a commonly used valuation metric for life insurers.
The development comes amid lack of regulatory clarity on how much banks can hold in domestic insurers.

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SPORTS

Ethiopia's Legese Wins Coronavirus-impacted Tokyo Marathon

Ethiopian Birhanu Legese won the Tokyo Marathon for the second year in a row, racing to victory in 2 hours, 4 minutes and 15 seconds along often empty streets in the Japanese capital.
Locals were strongly discouraged from lining the route because of the coronavirus outbreak, and the race was restricted to a few hundred elite athletes, without the usual retinue of more than 30,000 amateur runners to limit the risk of infection.
Legese hit the front before the 40 kilometre mark, winning by more than half a minute but missing out on Wilson Kipsang's 2017 record of 2:03.58.

Rafael Nadal Wins 3rd Mexican Open Title

Rafael Nadal raced to victory in the Mexican Open, dispatching Taylor Fritz in straight sets in Acapulco.
The 33-year-old Nadal, playing in his first tournament since losing in the quarter-finals at the Australian Open last month, didn't drop a set all week and improved to 19-2 all-time at this event.
This was his third Mexico Open title to go with victories in 2013 and 2005.
In the women's final, Great Britain's Heather Watson defeated 17-year-old qualifier Leylah Annie Fernandez, 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-1.
It was the fourth career title for Watson, 27, but it was not easy. In the second set, Fernandez, of Canada, fought off five championship points to extend the match to a third set.

Khelo India University Games 2020 Concludes

Khelo India University Games Odisha concluded in Bhubaneswar on March 1. The University games concluded with a grand celebration.
Panjab University took home the champions trophy and Savitribai Phule Pune University bagged second position. 113 universities bagged medals at the Games.
Khelo India University Games concluding ceremony was attended by various dignitaries. Speaking on the occasion Union Minister, Kiren Rijiju said, "The first edition of the Khelo India University Games has been truly successful".

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

PM Modi Lays Foundation Stone for Bundelkhand Expressway

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the 296-km-long Bundelkhand Expressway in Chitrakoot, Uttar Ptadesh.
To be built at a cost of Rs. 14,849 crore, the expressway will pass through Chitrakoot, Banda, Hamirpur and Jalaun districts.
The expressway will be supplementing the nodes of the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor announced by the Central government in February 2018.
This expressway will link Bundelkhand to the national capital Delhi through Agra-Lucknow Expressway and Yamuna Expressway as well as play a vital role in the development of the region.

Norwegian Minister Takes Part in Mithi River Clean-up

In an attempt to strengthen the Indo-Norway relations and tackle climate change and environmental pollution, Norway's Minister of International Development and Foreign Affairs, Dag Inge Ulstein, has invited state Minister of Tourism and Environment, Aaditya Thackeray to Norway in May to get a first-hand experience of his country's work in the area of waste management.
Ulstein, who is on a three-day tour in India to focus on Norway's agenda of sustainable development goals, shared his concern on the rising problems due to plastic waste with Thackeray. Ulstein participated in a clean-up drive at the Mithi River along with city-based environmentalists and local residents living at the adjoining areas of the river.
The 17.84 km river, which meets the Arabian Sea at Mahim creek, starts at the Vihar and Powai lakes and passes through several areas of the city's suburbs. However, the river has been reduced to an open drain full of garbage in the last few decades. When the river was not as polluted as it is today, it used to serve as an important stormwater drain for Mumbai.

MoU between Indian Air Force and Savitribai Phule Pune University

As a unique initiative of Indian Air Force, the IAF and Savitribai Phule Pune University entered into an academic collaboration by signing a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a 'Chair of Excellence' at Department of Defence & Strategic Studies.
To pay tribute to the legend and commemorate the centenary birth year of the MIAF, the IAF named it as "Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh Chair of Excellence". The Chair will enable IAF officers to pursue Doctoral Research and higher studies in Defence & Strategic Studies and allied fields.
The chair will facilitate research and higher studies in the area of National Defence and allied fields of Air Force officers. The chair would facilitate inculcating astrategic outlook and building a pool of strategic thinkers.

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DEFENCE

India Bags Defence Deal to Supply 4 Radar Systems to Armenia

In a significant victory for the country's defence sector, India beat Russia and Poland to bag a $40 million defence deal to supply locally-built weapon locating radars to Armenia in Europe. The radar system is developed by the state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation's (DRDO's) Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE) Bengaluru-based laboratory and manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).
The Armenian side zeroed in for the tried and tested Indian radar system after conducting detailed trials of systems offered by Russia and Poland. As part of the deal, New Delhi will supply four such systems to Yerevan. The radar system is deployed by the Indian Army along the Line of Control (LoC) to detect incoming artillery fire from Pakistan. Swathi Weapon Locating Radar is mobile artillery locating phased-array radar designed for spotting and tracking artillery and rocket fire for counter-action by artillery units.

Indian Army Upgrades Vintage Russian Schilka Air Defence System in Partnership with BEL

The Indian Army upgraded its Russian Schilka Air Defence system to a modern weapon platform. The 510 Amry Base Workshop (EME) in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh rolled out the advanced weapon. The 1980s vintage equipment has been upgraded by a joint venture between the Indian Army and the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).
As per the BEL website, the upgraded system is an advanced air defence system against attacking aircraft and helicopters. The upgradation process included replacing the existing Radar, analog computer, engine, GTE with state of the art system and addition of air conditioning system for crew comfort.
Further, as per reports, the newly upgraded system provides drastic improvements in operational performance, accuracies, power consumption and MTBF. It also enables accurate identification, acquisition and tracking of targets while operating in an ECM environment.

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PERSONS IN NEWS

JD(U) MP Baidyanath Prasad Mahto Passes Away

Jata Dal(United)'s Lok Sabha Member Baidyanath Prasad Mahto from Valmiki Nagar Parliamentary Constituency passed away while undergoing treatment at AIIMS in Delhi.
He was 72 and elected to Lok Sabha from Valmiki Nagar in 2009 and 2019 as Janata DaL(United) candidate.
He was deputy leader of the Janata Dal(United) in the current Lok Sabha. Condoling his death, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said Mahto was very popular in his Constituency.

Madhuri Kanitkar India's Third Woman Lt. General

Madhuri Kanitkar was elevated to the rank of Lieutenant General, becoming the third woman officer in the country to hold the rank. Kanitkar has served in the Indian military for 37 years. She has now been posted to Headquarters, Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) under the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).
IDS was set up in 2001 as a single-point organisation for jointmanship, which integrates policy, doctrine, war fighting, and military purchases. It refers to a degree of co-ordination and integration in terms of strategy, capabilities and execution across the three services. IDS now comes under the CDS. Before Kanitkar, Lt. Gen. Punita Arora was the first woman to don the rank of Lieutenant General and Padmavathy Bandopadhyay was the first woman Air Marshal of the Indian Air Force and the second woman in the armed forces to be promoted to the three-star rank.

Legendary Physicist Freeman Dyson Dies

Renowned physicist, scholar and one of the most influential thinkers of our times, Freeman Dyson, passed away at the age of 96.
Dyson is famous for several out-of-the-box concepts that often show up in science fiction, futuristic movies and video games. Some of his concepts are hugely popular, like the "Dyson tree", which is a hypothetical genetically-engineered plant capable of growing in a comet.
He is also known for the "Dyson sphere", a thought experiment that explores how a space-faring civilisation would meet its energy needs with a hypothetical megastructure that encompasses a star and absorbs its power. The concept was used in a television episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

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DAYS AND EVENTS

Two Day Unique Initiative "Nimad Chilli Festival 2020" at Kasrawad in Khargone District, Madhya Pradesh

A 2 day unique initiative "Nimad Chilli Festival 2020" organised by Madhya Pradesh Government was held at Kasrawad in Khargone district, Madhya Pradesh(MP) on 29th February & 1st March 2020. The aim of this festival was to promote Chilli production & Chilli based industries in the state & especially to promote Nimari brand of chillies in India and abroad. This festival is locally called 'Mirch Mahotsav'.
The festival was a big opportunity for traders, investors, exporters and scientists as there were lectures, workshops, Seminars about new development in chilli farming and opportunities in chilli based industries, and agriculture exhibition was also showcased.
The festival will help to fulfill the Central Government's goal of doubling the income of farmers.
One of the largest producers & Chilli Mandi in the country is Khargone(District in Nimar region).Nimar & Malwa regions are the highest chilli producing regions in MP. The red chillies of these regions are exported to China, Pakistan, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.

World Civil Defence Day

World Civil Defence Day is celebrated worldwide on March 1 each year.
World Civil Defense Day was created by the International Civil Defense Organization (ICDO) General Assembly in 1990. It commemorates the day, when the ICDO Constitution came into force as an intergovernmental organization in 1972.
ICDO was created in 1931 in Paris by French Surgeon-General George Saint-Paul. The organization was recognized by the French Parliament in June 1935 and in 1972 it achieved status of intergovernmental organization. Today 50 countries are the members of ICDO.
The ICDO Constitution has two main purposes that are aimed to bring attention of the world public to the vital importance of Civil Protection, raise awareness of the preparedness for self-protection and preventive measures to be taken in the event of accidents or disasters and pay tribute to the efforts and sacrifices of the national services responsible for the fight against disasters.
The countries of International Civil Defense Organization also observe their own national civil defense days, but on other dates. These observances also have to raise awareness of public protection from natural and technogenic disasters and rescue service work.
This year's celebration came under the theme of 'Civil Defence and a first aider in every home' to emphasise the importance of raising awareness of safety and security measures in society, and training civilians on how to deal with disasters and providing them with the necessary skills in this regard.

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AWARDS AND HONOURS

Berlin International Film Festival 2020

The 70th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 20 February to 1 March 2020. It was the first under the leadership of new Berlin Film Festival heads, business administration director Mariette Rissenbeek and artistic director Carlo Chatrian.

The following prizes were awarded:

Golden Bear – There Is No Evil by Mohammad Rasoulof
Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize – Never Rarely Sometimes Always by Eliza Hittman
Silver Bear for Best Director – Hong Sang-soo for The Woman Who Ran
Silver Bear for Best Actress – Paula Beer for Undine
Silver Bear for Best Actor – Elio Germano for Hidden Away
Silver Bear for Best Script – Damiano D'Innocenzo and Fabio D'Innocenzo for Bad Tales
Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution – Jürgen Jürges for cinematography in DAU. Natasha
Silver Bear 70th Berlinale – Delete History by Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern
Golden Bear for Best Short Film – Keisha Rae Witherspoon for T

Jadav Payeng Honoured with 6th Swami Vivekananda Karmayogi Award 2020

Forest Man of India & environmentalist Jadav 'Molai' Payeng was honoured with the 6th annual Swami Vivekananda Karmayogi award 2020 for his consistent efforts in creating a man made forest through afforestation. The award comprises of a trophy, a recitation and a reward of Rs. 1 Lakh. He is also a forest worker from the missing tribe from Jorhat, Assam.
The award ceremony was organised by My Home India in New Delhi and Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Mr. Prakash Javadekar handed over the award.
Karmayogi award is presented to recognise extraneous achievement towards development of the north-east region of India.
He planted & tended trees on a sandbar of the Brahmaputra River & turned it into forest. The forest is called Molai forest after him.
In 2015, he was honoured with Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India.

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GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES

Om Birla Launches Social Campaign to Provide Nutritional Support to Kota Women and Girls

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla launched a social campaign aimed at providing nutritional support to pregnant women and adolescent girls in his parliamentary constituency for the next nine months.
The campaign called "Suposhit Maa Abhiyan" and aided and funded by public participation and various civil societies, was launched in the presence of Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani.
The initiative was aimed at curbing the problem of malnutrition among pregnant women and adolescent girls.
Apart from a 17-kg kit, containing various nutritional food items, the women and girls will also be given medical cards detailing their health conditions and entitling them to the monthly check-up of their health.

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GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION

WHO Raises Novel Coronavirus Threat Assessment to Highest Level

The World Health Organization (WHO) raised its global risk assessment of the novel coronavirus to its highest level at global level after the epidemic spread to sub-Saharan Africa and caused financial markets to plunge.
WHO Director General Dr. Tedros said that most cases can still be traced to known contacts or clusters of cases adding that there is no evidence as yet that the virus is spreading freely in communities.
He also informed that work is also progressing on vaccines and therapeutics. More than 20 vaccines are in development globally, and several therapeutics are in clinical trials. He expected the first results of these trials in a few weeks.
Menawhile, South Korea has reported on Saturday its biggest surge in new COVID-19 cases with 594 new cases confirmed on Friday. The increase brings the total number of infections in South Korea to 2,931, according to the Korea Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).
The virus has rapidly spread across the world over the past week, causing stock markets to sink to their lowest levels since the 2008 global financial crisis over fears that the disease could wreak havoc on the world economy. More than 2,900 people have died and over 85,000 have been infected in more than 45 countries since it emergence in December last year.

INSOFE Ties Up with CASE University

The departments of biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering and civil engineering from CASE Western Reserve University, Cleveland, have tied up with International School of Engineering (INSOFE) in Hyderabad to offer a master's degree with dual specialisation in Core and Data Science/AI.
The programme starts with 15 credits of data science education at INSOFE. The remaining credits will be at Case Western. Upon successful completion, the student gets a fully accredited Master's degree from Case Western. Students, selected through an interview process, become eligible for GRE/TOEFL waiver and $15,000 tuition fee waiver.

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TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS

Indian Railways Launches its First 'Restaurant on Wheels' at Asansol Railway Station

Indian Railways launched its first 'Restaurant on Wheels' at the circulating area of Asansol railway station for the use of passengers as well as the general public.
The Restaurant on Wheels was developed by refurbishing two over-aged MEMU coaches.
Supriyo also inaugurated two new air-conditioned Retiring Rooms and Electronic Reservation Chart Display System and a battery-operated car at Asansol station.

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General Awareness

Daily G.K. - Top Stories

02 Mar 2020

DAILY G.K. TEST

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Malaysia Gets New PM

Luis Lacalle Pou Uruguay's New President

Slovakia Election: Anti-corruption Party Takes Lead

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

ICAR Signs Pact with Patanjali

Reliance Industries Buys Stake in Alok Industries

Axis Bank Looks to Raise its Stake in Max Life Insurance

SPORTS

Ethiopia's Legese Wins Coronavirus-impacted Tokyo Marathon

Rafael Nadal Wins 3rd Mexican Open Title

Khelo India University Games 2020 Concludes

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

PM Modi Lays Foundation Stone for Bundelkhand Expressway

Norwegian Minister Takes Part in Mithi River Clean-up

MoU between Indian Air Force and Savitribai Phule Pune University

DEFENCE

India Bags Defence Deal to Supply 4 Radar Systems to Armenia

Indian Army Upgrades Vintage Russian Schilka Air Defence System in Partnership with BEL

PERSONS IN NEWS

JD(U) MP Baidyanath Prasad Mahto Passes Away

Madhuri Kanitkar India's Third Woman Lt. General

Legendary Physicist Freeman Dyson Dies

DAYS AND EVENTS

Two Day Unique Initiative "Nimad Chilli Festival 2020" at Kasrawad in Khargone District, Madhya Pradesh

World Civil Defence Day

AWARDS AND HONOURS

Berlin International Film Festival 2020

Jadav Payeng Honoured with 6th Swami Vivekananda Karmayogi Award 2020

GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES

Om Birla Launches Social Campaign to Provide Nutritional Support to Kota Women and Girls

GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION

WHO Raises Novel Coronavirus Threat Assessment to Highest Level

INSOFE Ties Up with CASE University

TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS

Indian Railways Launches its First 'Restaurant on Wheels' at Asansol Railway Station

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