Current Affairs Daily Updates 11th January 2017

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Current Affairs Daily Updates 11th January 2017

Appointments
Shalabh Seth appointed CEO of Ola Fleet Technologies
  • Shalabh Seth has appointed as the CEO of Ola Fleet Technologies on January 11, 2017 by Indian online transportation network company Ola
  • Seth will drive supply growth through leasing and other driver focused initiatives to consolidate Ola’s position as the market leader in the Indian ride sharing space.
  • Prior to this, Shalabh was the managing director in SABMiller India and he responsible for business expansion and growth in the country.
  • He has also worked with ITC for over eight years across operations, supply chain and sales.
Daniel Ortega Sworn in Nicaragua’s President for Third Consecutive Term
  • Daniel Ortega was on January 10, 2017 sworn in as the President of Nicaragua for the third consecutive term while his wife, Rosario Murillo was elected as the new vice president.
  • 71-year-old, Ortega, took the oath in Managua in the presence of the presidents of Venezuela, Bolivia and Taiwan. Former Sandinista guerrilla fighter, Ortega has been President of Nicaragua since 2007.
  • Ortega and Murillo were elected in November 2016 with 72.5 percent of the vote, but with a high rate of abstentions. Their party won 71 of the 92 seats in parliament.
Gurgaon admin gets e-governance award for using GIS technology
  • The Gurgaon district administration was conferred with a national e-governance award for its innovative use of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology in solving land disputes.
  • Deputy commissioner TL Satyaprakash received the award in a function held at the 20th National Conference on e-Governance at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
  • The award has been given to the district administration for its G-Triangulation project awarded gold under category 4 for innovative use of GIS. G-Triangulation is a concept in which a minimum of three points on a map are required to identify an area.
Jimmy Adams appointed new West Indies Cricket director
  • West Indies turned to former batsman Jimmy Adams into their new director of cricket Association.
  • Adams played 54 Test matches for the Caribbean side and will be able to draw upon from his vast experience as he turns his attention to overseeing the development of West Indies cricket at all levels.
  • The 49-year-old returned to Jamaica after ending a five-year spell as head coach of English county side Kent last October.He replaces Englishman Richard Pybus who had been in the position since November 2013.
2017 Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award
  • President Pranab Mukherjee conferred 2017 Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) upon 30 prominent non-resident Indians (NRI’s)/ organisations on the concluding day of 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas held in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
  • They were presented with award for their contribution in various fields. The PBSA is the highest honour conferred on overseas Indians as a part of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Conventions organized annually since 2003.
  • Read the complete list of Awardees here
AWARDS AND HONOURS
4 Indian American scientists selected for presidential awards:
  • Outgoing US President Barack Obama has selected four Indian-American scientists among 102 researchers for the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).
  • They are Pankaj Lal from Montclair State University, Kaushik Chowdhury from Northeastern University, Manish Arora from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Aradhna Tripati from University of California, Los Angeles.
8-year-old Manipur boy breaks limbo skating world record
  • Tiluck Keisam, an 8-year-old boy from Manipur, set a new world record in limbo skating in Delhi, for the farthest distance in limbo skating under bars.
  • Tiluck covered 145 metres in 41 seconds with cones under bars, set at a height of 30 cm.
  • Tiluck bettered his previous record of 116 metres in 31.87 seconds, set in 2015.
Obama selects four Indian-Americans for presidential awards
  • US President Barack Obama chose four Indian-American scientists for the highest honour given by the US government to science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. The honour is recognition for keeping the US on the cutting edge with their innovations.
  • The four are part of the list of 102 scientists and researchers who are recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).
  • These scientists are Pankaj Lal from Montclair State University, Kaushik Chowdhury from Northeastern University, Manish Arora from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Aradhna Tripati from University of California, Los Angeles.
BANKING AFFAIRS
HDFC ERGO Launches Credit Insurance Policy to Safeguard Business
  • HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company launched a new policy, Trade Credit Insurance Policy, on January 9, 2017 to which safeguards businesses against the risks of non-payment for the goods or services delivered to the buyers.
  • India’s third largest private sector non-life insurance provider informed that the policy would offer cover against payment defaults and insolvency, apart from providing political risk cover to exporters.
  • Under the new policy, the insurer covers a portfolio of buyers and pays an agreed percentage of the invoice or receivables that remain unpaid as a result of insolvency, bankruptcy or protracted default.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
India sixth largest manufacturing country in the world: PM Narendra Modi
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address at 8th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit announced that India is now sixth largest manufacturing country in the world up from earlier 9th position.
  • He also called that democracy is India’s biggest strength and country’s strength lies in 3Ds — demography, democracy and demand.
  • The 2017 Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit is being attended by global leaders, Nobel Prize winners and top industrialists from India and from other countries.
  • Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit is a biennial business meet launched by PM Narendra Modi in 2003 when he chief minister of the state to attract investment in Gujarat. The last edition of the summit held in 2015, had drawn investment proposals of $366 billion or Rs.25 lakh crores.
IBM becomes first company to get 8,000 US patents in a year
  • American technology company IBM has become the first company to receive more than 8,000 US patents in one year in 2016. With 8,088 patents.
  • IBM received an average of 22 patents per day last year.
  • IBM was followed by Samsung and Canon with 5,518 and 3,665 patents respectively.
  • Technology major Google received the fifth most number of patents at 2,835.
Post demonetisation, World Bank drops India's growth rate to 7 %:
  • The World Bank has decelerated India's growth for 2016-17 fiscal to 7% from its previous estimate of 7.6%.
  • The World Bank stated that immediate withdrawal of a large volume of currency in circulation and subsequent replacement with new notes in India contributed to slowing growth.
  • Also, the country would regain momentum in the following years with 7.6 and 7.8% growth. According to the report, India maintains the distinction of being the fastest growing emerging market economies of the world, bypassing China.
BOOKS AND AUTHORS
Akhada : The Authorized Biography of Mahavir Singh Released
  • Akhada is the authorized biography of Mahavir Singh Phogat, a former wrestler and a coach.
  • The book is written by sports journalist Sourabh Duggal and was released on 21 December 2016 at the Chandigarh Press Club. 
  • This book tells the story of a man of tremendous fortitude, of a father who fought against all odds to give his daughters Olympians Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari.
DEATHS
Jazz musician Buddy Greco dies at 90
  • An American jazz and pop singer and pianist Buddy Greco was dead in Las Vegas, USA on January 10, 2017. He was 90.
  • Greco recorded more than 60 albums and had a hit with a version of “The Lady Is a Tramp” which was released in 1962 and sold over a million copies.
  • He also appeared in TV series and films including “Away We Go” and “The Girl Who Knew Too Much”.
Veteran British war correspondent Clare Hollingworth dies aged 105
  • Veteran British war correspondent Clare Hollingworth, who broke the news of the Nazi invasion of Poland, has died in Hong Kong at the age of 105.
  • Hollingworth, who was born in Leicester in 1911, was the first to report on the invasion that triggered the outbreak of World War Two. She went on to report from Vietnam, Algeria and the Middle East.
  • Hollingworth was a rookie reporter for the Daily Telegraph when she fell upon the scoop of the century.
  • Before becoming a reporter, Hollingworth helped rescue thousands of people from Hitler's forces by arranging British visas.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
The USA calls for India, Pakistan & Afghanistan partnership on counter-terrorism:
  • The United States has called for a partnership between India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan on counter-terrorism operations. 
  • State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner told reporters in Washington that the security of the three countries is linked with one another.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Delhi Airport Adopts World’s First Digital Platform “ARC”
  • The Delhi Airport on January 10, 2017 informed that has adopted a unique performance and benchmarking digital platform, ARC, and claims that it is first in the world to adopt such platform.
  • The dynamic platform, developed at the Airport’s Terminal 3, has been developed by Delhi AirportGreen Business Certification Inc (GBCI) and US Green Building Council (USGBC). These are the global certifying body for all Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) projects.
UAE’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed to be chief guest at 2017 Republic Day celebrations
  • In a first, Arab soldiers will be marching in New Delhi during the parade.
  • Visiting dignitary will bring a marching band from the UAE's defence forces at the parade on Republic Day.
  • It would be the second time when any foreign contingent will be participating in the parade on January 26.
  • Last year, the French marching band had joined the parade in honour of Francois Hollande, who was the chief guest.
  • India has, however, nixed the UAE's proposal to send a military paratrooper team for live display during Republic Day Parade, citing security concern.
India, Kenya sign agreements in the area of agriculture
  • India and Kenya have signed agreements in the area of agriculture which was inked after delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in New Delhi. 
  • India is collaborating with Kenya to raise agricultural productivity and the Line of Credit Agreement of 100 million dollars signed for farm mechanization will open a new dimension of engagement between the two countries.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that expansion of bilateral trade, greater flow of capital between two economies and stronger developmental partnership is a priority.
Telangana to host International Kite Festival from January 12:
  • The 2nd international kite festival would be held for six daysfrom January 12 in Hyderabad and 2 other districts in Telangana.
  • The event expects a footfall of around 50,000 visitors.
  • It will have participation from 17 countries with 70 international and 40 national kite flyers.
PM Narendra Modi inaugurates India’s first international exchange at GIFT city:
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s first international exchange India INX at the International Financial Service Centre (IFSC) of GIFT (Gujarat International Financial Tech) City Gandhinagar, Gujarat. 
  • India INX is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). It will enable Indian firms to compete on equal footing with offshore firms. 
  • India INX will initially trade in equity derivatives, currency derivatives, commodity derivatives including index and Stocks. Subsequently, it will offer depository receipts and bonds once required infrastructure is ready.
DEFENCE / SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AFFAIRS
Research finds Human Appendix to Support Immune System
  • As per a study published in Comptes Rendus Palevol and conducted by the Researchers from Midwestern University, Human Appendix which is regarded as a vestigial organ can actually serve an important biological function.
  • Researchers traced the appearance, disappearance, and reemergence of the appendix in several mammal lineages over the past millions of years, to figure out how many times it was cut and bought back due to evolutionary pressures.
SPORTS AFFAIRS
Rajasthan Cricket Association first to adopt Lodha Committee reforms
  • Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) became the first state cricket governing body in the country to accept all the reforms recommended by Lodha Committee on structural reforms in BCCI. The recommendations were accepted by association’s Emergent General Meeting (EGM).
  • The Lodha committee was constituted by Supreme Court in January 2016 and had accepted its major recommendations in July 2016. The apex court had given six months deadline to BCCI to implement the recommendations.
  • But in January 2017, SC cracked the whip on BCCI President Anurag Thakur and Secretary Ajay Shirke by removing them from their respective posts for their failure to bring transparency and accountability to the Indian cricket board and their non-compliance of court’s July 2016 order.
India’s Shreyas Wins Scottish Junior Open title:
  • Mumbai youngster, Shreyas Mehta, won the Scottish Junior Open Squash championship at Edinburgh on January 9, 2017.  
  • The Indian U-13 top squash player Shreyas Mehta defeated Colombia’s Juan Jose Torres Lara 9/12. Earlier he has won US Junior open.
Yana Kudryavtseva, 13-time gymnastics world champion, retires aged 19:
  • Russian rhythmic gymnast Yana Kudryavtseva has retired from competition aged just 19 following a brief but dazzling career. 
  • Kudryavtseva won 13 world championships from 2013 to 2015, making her the early favorite for the all-around gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, but a foot fracture disrupted her preparations.
  • She had to settle for silver in Rio behind fellow Russian and friend Margarita Mamun following a rare mistake on her club routine.