The Daily Brief – 1st February 2020

Amazon India on 30^th January, 2020 announced to set up a pick-up kiosk at the Sealdah railway station in Kolkata in partnership with Eastern Railways. The station would act as a convenient and easy pickup point for customers. In 2019, the company partnered the Indian Railways to launch pickup kiosks at four railway stations in Mumbai.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled Economic Survey 2019-20 in both the houses of Parliament on 31^st January, 2020. Economic Survey gives a review of the developments in the economy over the previous 12 months and also gives an outlook for the next financial year. The theme of the survey was Wealth Creation, Promotion of pro-business policies, strengthening of trust in the economy. It has projected economic growth at 6 to 6.5 per cent in fiscal year 2020-21. Industrial growth was estimated at 2.5% and Agriculture at 2.8%. Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation has increased from 3.7 per cent in 2018-19 (April to December 2018) to 4.1 per cent in 2019-20 for the corresponding period.

The Google News Initiative has announced to contribute 1 million USD grant to improve news literacy of Indians. The grant is to be used to build a strong network against fake news producers in the country. Google has launched a new application called “Tangi” that focuses on Do It Yourself videos. Google has also launched an AI model in Canada that listens to Killer Whales, identifies the origin of sound and displays its location. As per Centre for Whale Research, only 73 Southern Resident Orcas, a sub species of Killer Whales, are left in the world.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister launched Direct CTO (Consent To Operate) Scheme for Green Industries on 30^th January, 2020 to mark 125^th anniversary of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The scheme aims at relaxing the clearances of Green category industries. The event was organised under the theme CII@125: Business and Beyond. Founded in 1895, CII is India’s premier business association.

Rani Rampal, the captain of Indian women’s hockey team, became the first hockey player in the world to win the prestigious ‘World Games Athlete of the Year 2019’ Award. This award is given for outstanding performance, social concern, and good behavior. People across the world select the winner through voting. Rani Rampal is the recipient of Padma Shri award in 2020. The Indian women’s hockey team won the Asia Cup in the year 2017 in her captaincy.

World Health Organisation declared International Health Emergency over the outbreak and spread of coronavirus outside China. At least 213 people in the China have died from the virus, mostly in Hubei, with almost 10,000 cases nationally. WHO said that there had been 98 cases in 18 other countries, but no deaths. India has so far reported its first case of novel corona virus in Kerala. Declaring a global emergency allows the WHO to support lower- and middle-income countries to strengthen their disease surveillance – and prepare them for cases. It has previously declared five global public health emergencies- Swine flu 2009, Polio 2014, Zika 2016 and Ebola 2014 and 2019.

Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” chaired the Indian Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO (INCCU) on 30^th January, 2020 in New Delhi. After the reconstitution of the commission, it has met for the first time. The meeting stressed on achieving 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. India is a founding member of UNESCO.