Current Affairs Daily Updates 13th January 2017
APPOINTMENTS
Ashish Shelar appointed as
MCA president
- BJP Mumbai unit chief Ashish Shelar has been
appointed as Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) president. Sylar takes
over from the former ICC president Sharad Pawar.
- He was elected as Vice President of MCA on 17
June 2015.
- Lieutenant
General Sarath Chand, Army Commander of Jaipur-based South Western
Command, was appointed as the new Vice Chief of Army Staff.
- Lt
Gen Sarath Chand was commissioned into the Garhwal Rifles in June 1979 and
has had an outstanding professional career spanning over 38 years.
- He
has had a very fruitful tenure as the Army Commander of South Western
Command.
Tewari named Senior Fellow
of Atlantic Council
- Former
Union minister Manish Tewari has been appointed as a Distinguished Senior
Fellow at the South Asia Center of the Atlantic Council, a leading US
think-tank on policy matters.
- At
the council, Tewari will focus on developing programmes aimed at
strengthening US-India ties, a statement released by his office said.
TCS elevates Rajesh Gopinathan as new chief executive
- Tata
Consultancy Services has appointed Rajesh Gopinathan, the current chief
financial officer, as CEO of the company.
He replaces N Chandrasekaran, who has been named the chairperson of
Tata Sons.
- TCS
has also named N Ganapathy Subramaniam, currently President of TCS
Financial Solutions, as chief operating officer.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
Bolt, Ronaldo, Murray
nominated for World Sportsman of Year
- The
contest for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award promises to be
one of the most competitive ever with the likes of Usain Bolt, Cristiano
Ronaldo and Andy Murray contesting for top honours.
- The
nominees for the World Sportsman of the Year award also include 5k and 10k
Olympic champion Mo Farah, basketball duo Stephen Curry and LeBron James.
Joe Biden Vice Prez of US
receives "Presidential Medal of Freedom" Award
- Outgoing
US President Barack Obama awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the
country's highest civilian honour, to Vice President Joe Biden during a
surprise event at the White House.
- Mr
Obama said he is bestowing the honour on Biden for faith in Americans, for
his love of country and a lifetime of service that will endure through the
generations. He picked up Biden, his former primary rival, as his running
vice presidential mate in 2008.
Filmfare Short Films
Awards 2017
- People's
Choice Award for Best Film – Khamakha
- Best
Short Film in Fiction – Chutney
- Best
Short Film in Non Fiction - Matitali Kusti
- Best
Actor Female - Tisca Chopra For Chutney
- Best
Actor Male - Manoj Bajpai for Taandav
BANKING AFFAIRS
Airtel Payments Bank
launched
- Bharti
Airtel Ltd has launched its pan India payments bank in presence of finance
minister Arun Jaitley.
- The
Airtel Payments Bank will be operating nationally across 29 states with a
network of 250,000 banking points through Airtel retail stores.
- In
November 2016, Airtel had rolled out its banking services in Rajasthan and
was the first bank to start payment bank services in the country.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Government to sell 51%
stake in Pawan Hans
- Moving ahead with the strategic sale of Pawan
Hans, the government sell its entire 51% stake and transfer the management
control of the helicopter service operator.
- Pawan Hans is a joint venture where state-owned
ONGC holds 49%.
- The government has sought applications from
entities to act as transaction advisor for the proposed disinvestment of
its stake in the company.
- Union
Textiles Minister Zubin Irani on 12 January 2017 announced that
Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) worth Rs 8835 crore were signed in
textile sector.
- The
MoUs were signed during 8th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017 in
Gandhinagar.
- The
MoUs cover different sectors of textiles such as textile parks, textile
processing, equipment, carpet production, etc.
Sachin Tendulkar-inspired
cricket game ‘Sachin Saga Warm Up’ launched
- JetSynthesys,
a digital and technology company, today announced the launch of a game on
cricket, ‘Sachin Saga Warm Up’ under its gaming arm Playizzon.
- The
company is associated with cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, who trains the
players to gain expertise in playing the game.
- Sachin
Saga Warm Up is a batting game, where players across the globe can compete
in real time. This 2 minute powerplay allows users to get assistance from
Sachin himself on shot selection based on where the ball pitches and what
kind of delivery it is.
NTPC inks pact to take over Chhabra thermal power plant
- State-run
NTPC has signed a non-binding agreement with Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut
Utpadan Nigam Ltd and Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd to take over Chhabra
Thermal Power Plant.
- NTPC
Ltd has signed a non-binding MoU with Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam
Ltd and Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd for takeover of Chhabra Thermal
Power Plant Stage-I (4x 250 MW) and Stage-II (2x660 MW) of Rajasthan Urja
Vikas Nigam by NTPC Ltd.
XCMG China to invest $150 m in manufacturing unit in India
- XCMG,
a China-headquartered global construction machinery company, will invest
₹150 million in a new manufacturing unit in India for construction and
material-handling machines.
- For
the proposed venture, the company will partner with Schwing Stetter India,
a ready-mix concrete equipment company, to use the latter’s facilities and
resources to build its business in India.
Minimum monthly pension increased by 9,000 for central govt
employees
- The
Government of India has increased the minimum monthly pension to 9,000 per
person, besides a two-fold hike in exgratia amount for central government
employees.
- Minister
of State in Prime Minister's Office, Dr. Jitendra Singh stated that the
exgratia amount for the employees has been increased from 10 -15 lakh to
25-35 lakh rupees.
- There
are about 50-55 lakh pensioners in the country and almost 88% of their
accounts have been seeded to Aadhaar.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Festival of India to be
Organised in Ghana
- After
Combodia, now a Festival of India is being organised in Ghana
from January 25 to March 16, 2017.
- The
activities of the Festival include amalgamation of Indian classical
dances, Sufi & Folk Music, and Saptarang – confluence of seven
classical dance forms culminating in Vande Matram.
- The
Festival events are being showcased in four cities of Accra, Kumasi,
Cape Coast, Takoradi in Ghana.
Japanese PM Shinzo Abe
signs 1 trillion yen aid package to Philippines
- Japanese
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has signed a 1-trillion yen, about 8.7 billion
dollars, aid package over the next five years to the Philippines, meant to
improve economic and political relations between the two island nations.
- The
package is focused on infrastructure and energy. Abe's two-day visit to
the archipelago makes him the first foreign leader to visit since the
election of the Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte in May 2016.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
1st edition of ABU
International Television Dance Festival to be held in Hyderabad
- The
first edition of Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union International Television
Dance Festival, showcasing traditional and contemporary dance performances
by artistes from over 10 counties across the Asia-Pacific region, is
scheduled to be held in Hyderabad.
- Union
Information & Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu will inaugurate the
festival. The event is also likely to be attended by Telangana Chief
Minister Chandrashekar Rao, state Tourism and Culture Minister Azmeera
Chandulal, Prasar Bharati Chairman Surya Prakash and other senior
officials of I&B Ministry, Prasar Bharati and Telangana government.
- The
dance festival is conceptualized so as to bring the cultural diversities
from across the world into limelight, by breaking cultural barriers. The
countries which have so far confirmed their participation in the event
include Maldives, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, Philippines,
Vietnam, Cambodia, Fiji and Indonesia.
India’s first Madame
Tussauds museum to open in Delhi in June
- The
first wax museum attraction Madame Tussauds will debut in Delhi this June
with its operator Merlin Entertainments foraying into India with an
investment plan of 50 million pounds over the next 10 years.
- Merlin
Entertainments will open its first Madame Tussauds attraction in Delhi in
June with 50 figures. 60 per cent of the figures will be local celebrities
and rest global.
- UK-based
Merlin Enterprises runs 116 attractions in 24 countries and the company
will be foraying into the Indian market with the launch of Madame Tussauds
in the national capital.
World’s first gender literature fest to be held in Patna
- The
world’s first ‘Gender Literature Festival’ is scheduled to be held in
Patna, Bihar in the second week of April 2017 The main aim of the fest to
create a platform, to exchange ideas, and to share and learn experiences
of renowned people in the field of gender literature.
- This
festival will be organized by Gender Resource Centre of Bihar’s Women
Development Corporation. The festival will also act as a platform to
increase visibility for gender equity and advocacy in the State of Bihar.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Citi Bank India unveils
voice biometrics authentication
- Citi Bank India has introduced voice biometrics
authentication system for its phone banking clients. This will replace the
current practice of interactive voice response.
- The technology allows its clients to use their
voiceprints for authentication rather than remember multiple PINs or
respond to questions used for verifying identities.
- Guided
Pinaka, which has been upgraded from Pinaka Rocket, was successfully test
fired from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur.
- The
Pinaka Rocket Mark-II, which evolved from Pinaka Mark-I, is equipped with
a navigation, guidance and control kit and has been transformed to a
Guided Pinaka.
SPORTS
Sarita Devi, will mark her
plunge as India’s first woman boxing professional
- Former
world and Asian champion, L Sarita Devi, will mark her plunge as India’s
first woman boxing professional when she takes on seasoned Hungarian
Zsofia Bedo in her first bout in Imphal, Manipur on January 29, organisers
announced on Thursday.
- After
Vijender Singh put India on the map of professional boxing, the
31-year-old Sarita will follow suit but her initiation in the professional
ranks is expected to be tough as Zsofia has 59 professional bouts to her
credit, with 19 victories.
Indian Football team
reached 129th rank their best FIFA ranking in over a decade
- The
Indian national football team moved up six places to the 129th position in
the latest FIFA rankings, its best ranking since December 2005, when it
was at the 127th position.
- Notably,
the Indian team has won nine of its last 11 matches, which has helped it
jump 42 places in less than two years.
Nadia Petrova retires from
tennis
- Former
world No.3 women's player Nadia Petrova of Russia has ended her tennis
career in the wake of long injury trouble.
- Petrova,
34, had not played since the end of 2013 and several comeback attempts
failed.
- The 1998 French Open junior champion, Petrova won 13 WTA singles titles and reached the No.3 spot in May 2006.
- She
was also successful in doubles with 24 titles. She also won Olympic
doubles bronze in 2012.
