1. Yogi Adityanath govt implements police commissionerate system in Lucknow, Noida.

• The Uttar Pradesh government switched to the commissionerate system of policing for Lucknow and Noida, giving magisterial powers to the top cops in both cities.
• Lucknow and Noida will now have an additional director general level officer as police commissioner.
• The state government announced the names of the state’s first police commissioners senior IPS officers Sujit Pandey for Lucknow and Alok Singh for Noida. The commissioners in both the districts will have magisterial powers.

2. Army Day is observed on 15 January.

• Army Day is observed on 15 January every year. India celebrated 72nd Army Day on 15 January 2020. The special event was organized on this day in the national capital, Delhi. Army Command headquarters in the national capital, as well as in other parts of the country, celebrated the occasion by organizing military parades and other shows of strength.
• The Indian army was officially established on 1 April 1895. But, only in 1949, after independence, the Army got its first chief. On 15 January, command of the Indian Army was handed over from General Sir Francis Butcher to Lieutenant General KM Cariappa. The transfer of power from the British to India signifies an important moment in Indian history.

Foot Notes:

The Indian army has 1.4 million active military personnel. China has the largest army in the world. When it comes to being powerful, India stands fourth behind the US, China, and Russia
Chief of the Army Staff: General Manoj Mukund

3. Michael Patra appointed as RBI Deputy Governor.

• The government has appointed Michael Patra as the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). He will hold the office for a period of three years.
• Patra is a member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). He will replace Viral Acharya, who left the post in July 2019. He will be the fourth Deputy Governor of the central bank. He will be in charge of monetary policy and will remain on the MPC. Patra is currently the executive director (ED) of the Monetary Policy Department.

Foot Notes:
About RBI
The Reserve Bank currently has three deputy governors—
NS Vishwanathan, BP Kanungo and MK Jain.
Patra will be the fourth among the deputy governors.
Governor: Shaktikanta Das
Headquarters: Mumbai
Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata

4. Income Tax Department launched 24×7 control room.

• Income-Tax Department launched 24×7 control room to monitor black money and illegal inducements in poll-bound Delhi. This facility will also host a toll-free number (1800117574).
• People can inform the department about any activity of use of money power, illegal distribution of cash etc.
• Foot Notes:
• Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes: Pramod Chandra

5. Lt General Girish Kumar reappointed as the Surveyor General of India for one year.

• Lt General Girish Kumar was reappointed as the Surveyor General of India for one year. He has been appointed on contract basis for one year.
• Kumar was in September 2017 appointed as the Surveyor General of India under the Survey of India, the national survey and mapping organisation of the country.

6. United States remove ‘currency manipulator’ label imposed on China in 2019.

• The United States removed the currency manipulator label it imposed on China, in a sign of easing tensions between the economic powers after nearly two years of conflict.
• Just two days before President Donald Trump is set to sign a "phase one" trade agreement with China, the US Treasury said in its semi-annual report to Congress that the Yuan has strengthened and Beijing is no longer considered a currency manipulator.

Foot Notes:
About United States
Capital:  Washington, D.C.
President: Donald Trump

About China
Currency: Renminbi
Capital: Beijing
President: Xi Jinping

7. Mizoram to celebrate Chapchar kut on March 6.

• Mizoram will celebrate Chapchar Kut, the biggest and most important festival of the Mizos, on March 6. The meeting of Chapchar Kut organizing committee held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Zoramthanga decided that the festival will be a two-day event.
• While March 5 will be celebrated as pre-festival, which would be graced by Art and Culture Minister R Lalzirliana as "Kut Pa" or the "father of the festival", the grand celebration will take place on March 6, where that place would be taken by Zoramthanga.
• "Promotion of Mizos' culture and moral code" has been chosen as the theme for this year Chapchar Kut.

Foot Notes:
About Mizoram
Capital: Aizawl
Governor: P. S. Sreedharan Pillai
Chief Minister: Zoramthanga

8. Japan Coast Guard Ship ‘Echigo’ arrived in Chennai.

• The Japan Coast Guard Ship ‘Echigo’ has arrived in Chennai on a five-day goodwill visit. It will be participating in the Annual Joint Exercise ‘Sahyog-Kaijin’ with the Indian Coast Guard off Chennai.
• This is the 19th such exercise being conducted between the two Coast Guards since 2000.
• Four Indian Coast Guard ships, their aircraft and a vessel from the Chennai-based National Institute of Ocean Technology - NIOT are participating in the exercise along with the Japanese vessel.

Foot Notes:
About Japan
Emperor: Naruhito
Capital: Tokyo
Currency: Japanese Yen

9. Retail inflation jumps to about 5-yr high of 7.35 pct in Dec 2019.

• Retail inflation rose to about five-and-half year high of 7.35 per cent in December 2019, surpassing the RBI's comfort level, mainly due to rise in prices of vegetables as onions. As per the data released by National Statistical Office (NSO), the spike in inflation in the vegetable segment was 60.5 percent during the month compared to December 2018.
• The overall retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 2.11 per cent in December 2018 and 5.54 per cent in November 2019.The previous high in retail inflation was witnessed at 7.39 per cent in July 2014, the year the Narendra Modi-led Government assumed office for the first term.
• The Central Government has mandated the Reserve Bank of India to keep inflation in the range of four per cent with a margin of two per cent on the either side.

10. Former Flipkart CEO Sachin Bansal acquires DHFL General Insurance.

• Former co-founder and CEO of e-commerce giant Flipkart recently acquired DHFL General Insurance from the Kapil Wadhawan-led Wadhawan Group of companies for 100 crore. The deal is seen as a distress sale for Kapil Wadhawan-led financial services group, which used to run the debt-laden DHFL.
• With this acquisition, Bansal has entered into the insurance business. The investment is also seen as part of his strategy to enter into the financial services industry.

Read More:

Current Affairs 14 January, 2020

Current Affairs 13 January, 2020

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