Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2019

Notes:
As per 2nd schedule of the RBI Act of 1934, the ESAF Small Finance Bank (SFB) Ltd has got approval from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a scheduled bank. This makes ESAF the fifth scheduled bank from Kerala after Federal Bank, South Indian Bank, Catholic Syrian Bank, and Dhanlaxmi Bank. Being a scheduled bank, ESAF can step up resource mobilisation through the issue of certificate of deposits and inter-bank borrowings at competitive rates of interest. The bank can also seek funds from trusts, associations, religious institutions and mutual funds. It will also enable the bank to avail higher refinance facility. It will also assume more responsibility for the implementation of government schemes and Aadhaar enrolment services. ESAF has a presence in urban, semi-urban, rural and unbanked rural areas with a network of 432 banking outlets across 13 States. The headquarters of ESAF is located at Thrissur, Kerala.

Notes:
Sudhir Bhargava, a former Secretary to the Ministry of Social Justice, has taken charge as new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) on January 1. Beside him, President Ram Nath Kovind has also appointed four new members as Information Commissioners – ex-IFS officer Yashwardhan Kumar Sinha, former IRS officer Vanaja N Sarna, former IAS Neeraj Kumar Gupta and former Law Secretary Suresh Chandra. Now,the only woman in the CIC will be ex-IRS officer Vanaja N. Sarna. The CIC is the highest appeal body under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The authority deals with grievances related to RTI requests, and has jurisdiction over all central public authorities.

Notes:
Norman Gimbel (91), the Oscar & Grammy-winning American lyricist has passed away in New York on December 17, 2018. His lyrics graced hit songs such as Roberta Flack’s “Killing me softly with his song” and Jim Croce’s “I got a name”. He also wrote the English lyrics to the Brazilian bossa nova melody ‘The Girl From Ipanema’.

Notes:
Recently, the Delhi High Court has ruled that Section 354A of Indian Penal Code (IPC) can be used by transgender persons to register complaints of sexual harassment. The Section 354A of the IPC deals with sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment. The development came after a transgender student’s complaint of sexual harassment was not entertained by the police. The Delhi University student wanted to lodge a complaint against male students who allegedly sexually harassed her on the college campus. According to the police, there was a lack of an appropriate penal section under which they could register such a complaint. In it, the HC bench also allowed the petitioner to maintain anonymity and directed that the cause title would read, Anamika versus Union of India & Ors. The bench also stated that the Supreme Court’s National Legal Services Authority of India (NALSA) judgment of 2014 was gender neutral.

Notes:
President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoye has recently announced 2019 as the ‘Year of Active Investment and Social Development’ in the backdrop of proposed investments from India to boost economy of this Central Asian country, in his annual address to the Parliament. The President stated that concrete measures will be taken on creating an open economy, radically improving the business environment and investment climate, reducing the state presence in the economy. Activities on improving the health of the population will continue at a new level. He further stressed that investment was the driver of economy, new technologies, advanced experience and highly qualified specialists come with investments into all sectors and regions.

Notes:
The United States and Israel officially quit the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with the close of 2018. The countries had announced their decisions in 2017 of withdrawing from the agency, accusing it of bias against Israel. America has demanded fundamental reform in UNESCO, which was co-founded by it after World War II to foster peace UNESCO also works to improve education for girls, promote understanding of the Holocaust’s horrors, and to defend media freedom. The withdrawals will not greatly impact UNESCO financially since it has been dealing with a funding slash ever since 2011 when both Israel and the US stopped paying dues after Palestine was voted in as a member state. . Israel joined the agency in 1949. It is best known for its World Heritage program, which designates cultural sites and aims to preserve traditions.

Notes:
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) hosted third edition of the National Entrepreneurship Awards (NEA) in New Delhi on January 4, 2019. The awards aim to recognize and honor outstanding young first-generation entrepreneurs and those who have contributed immensely in building the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Total of 43 awards will be presented this year. These include 39 awards for Young Entrepreneurs in different sectors and four awards for Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Builders. The winners will receive trophy, certificate and cash prizes ranging from Rs. 5 to 10 lakhs. There are special awards for women, persons with disability, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and entrepreneurs from areas with limited opportunities. The NEA is a platform focused on driving innovation, ushering in a positive change for youth in entrepreneurship across all the industries. The awards will inspire and promote growth of entrepreneurs in India.

Notes:
On 2 January 2019, President Arif Alvi appointed Justice Asif Saeed Khosa as the new Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP). Khosa will succeed Mian Saqib Nisar on 18th January and will remain at seat till December 20, 2019. The Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) is the head of the court system of Pakistan (the judicature branch of government) and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He is responsible for supervising federal judicial policies, and conducting judicial business in the Supreme Court.

Notes:
The 80th National Table Tennis Championship began at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack on January 4, 2019. As many as 35 teams, including 550 players from different parts of the country are participating in the mega championship. Medal winners at Commonwealth Games and Asian Games Manika Batra, Senior players like Sharath Kamal, Madhuriba Patkar, Olympian Ankita Das are some of the key players who will be in the limelight during the event. Odisha State Table Tennis Association (OSTTA) is hosting the championships after a gap of 18 years. The event will conclude on January 9.

Notes:
Former liquor baron Vijay Mallya has become the first Indian businessman to be declared a Fugitive Economic Offender (FEO) under the newly enacted Fugitive Economic Offenders Act of 2018 by the Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai. The tag now allows the government to confiscate and sold his properties in alleged Rs. 9,000 crore loan default case in India. According to the new law, a FEO is a person against whom an arrest warrant has been issued for his or her involvement in economic offences involving at least Rs. 100 crore or more and has left India to avoid prosecution. Mallya has been accused of defaulting on loan repayments and money laundering and had left India in March 2016. Mallya currently facing extradition from the United Kingdom after a Westminster Magistrates Court in London ordered his return to India to face fraud charges resulting from the collapse of his defunct Kingfisher Airlines. However, the ruling has been challenged in the High Court in the UK.