Current Affairs Daily Updates (17 - 18th) January 2017
APPOINTMENTS
Baidu
names former Microsoft exec as COO
- China's Baidu Inc said it has appointed a former
Microsoft Corp executive as chief operating officer.
- Qi Lu will take charge of products,
technology, sales and marketing, and spearhead a push into AI.
- Baidu has been refocusing its business strategy
after the introduction of new advertising regulations.
N Chandrasekaran appointed Tata Motors
chairman
- Tata Motors has appointed Tata Group Chief
designate N Chandrasekaran (54) as its Chairman and additional director
with immediate effect. The appointment comes after unceremonious sacking
of Cyrus Mistry.
- Chandrasekaran will take charge at the helm of
$103-billion Tata Sons, the main holding company of the salt-to-software
conglomerate from February 2011. He will be the first non-Parsi chairman
of the 150-year old Tata Group.
Antonio Tajani elected as President of
European Parliament
- Italian conservative Antonio Tajani was elected the
new President of the European Parliament (EP). In the elector contest of
four rounds, he defeated another Italian socialist Gianni Pitella by
securing 351 votes against 282.
- Antonio Tajani will succeed Germany’s Martin Schulz
and head the parliament for the next two-and-a-half years. Tajani is a
former spokesman for Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi and an ex-European
commissioner.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
Kolkata’s
Sitalpati Gets place in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage
- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has registered Sitalpati or cool mat from
the Cooch Behar district, West Bengal as an Sitlapati“intangible cultural
heritage”.
- The Sitalpati are the mats that are used for siting
or hanging on the doors or windows during summer season. They are made up
of weaved green cane slips of murta plants widely found in the region.
25
children including 13 girls selected for National Bravery Awards:
- Twenty-five children, including 13 girls have
been selected for the national bravery awards 2016.
- The coveted Bharat award has been conferred on
8-year-old Late Kumari Tarh Peju of Arunachal Pradesh, who sacrificed her
life while saving two of her friends from drowning.
- The prestigious Geeta Chopra award has been
conferred on 18 year old Tejasweeta Pradhan and 17-year-old Shivani Gond
of West Bengal who showed immense courage fearlessly helping police and
NGO in uncovering an international sex racket leading to the arrest of the
mastermind in Delhi.
- The Sanjya Chopra award has been given to
15-year-old Sumit Mamgain of Uttarakhand who displayed outstanding bravery
in fighting a leopard to save his cousin.
British
Poet Jacob Polley wins 2016 TS Eliot Prize for Jackself
- Jacob Polley, a British Poet was Conferred with the
2016 T.S. Eliot prize for poetry at a ceremony at the Wallace Collection
gallery in London on January 16, 2017 for his poetry collection
“Jackself”.
- Jackself is his fourth collection that consists of
various poems that is inspired from his childhood in Cumbria, England.
Polley is the 23rd winner of the award and received £20,000 ($24,000)
prize money.
- The selection panel called the book as a “firework
of a book”. It was chosen from 10 competeting books.
Kapil
Dev inducted into Legends Club Hall of Fame:
- Former Indian cricketer, Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj
(Kapil Dev) has been inducted into Legends Club "Hall of
Fame" in presence of former India captains Ajit Wadekar,
Sunil Gavaskar and Nari Contractor at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai.
- Country's greatest all-rounder Kapil Dev led India
to the emphatic World Cup victory in 1983.
BANKING AFFAIRS
Yes
Bank Launches Business Accelerator Program Yes Fintech
- Private sector lender YES BANK in collaboration
with T-Hub, Anthill and Lets Talk Payments launched a unique business
accelerator program “YES FINTECH” to provide start-ups a platform for
creating sustainable and market ready products as well as provide innovative
banking solutions to the customers.
- YES FINTECH has invited start-ups applications from
across the global community, till FintechFebruary 3, 2017 on its website
www.yesfintech.com. It would select top 12 start-ups for 15 week dual
destination program to be held in Mumbai and Hyderabad.
- The 15-week programme would be conducted in four
phases with three weeks of on-site interventions and 11 weeks off-site
interventions. Each stage will be focussed on creating a market-ready
product and a sustainable business model.
Yes
Bank Launches India’s First Customisable Savings Account
- YES Bank has launched a first of its kind unique
Customizable Savings Account to enable the customers to design an account
as per their convenience.
- Mumbai based bank has become the first bank in
India to launch such type of account that enables the customer to choose
various features of a savings accounts that suits one’s own lifestyle.
- The Customizable Savings Account will also protect
the customer from unwarranted charges by eliminating unnecessary account
features.
Sebi
cuts brokers’ turnover fee by 25%
- To bring down the overall cost of transaction in
the stock market, markets regulator Sebi reduced its turnover fees by 25%
to Rs 15 per Rs 1 crore worth of turnover from Rs 20 earlier.
- The Sebi decision could lead to lower trading costs
for large institutional investors like insurance companies, foreign
investors and mutual funds, and also high networth investors.
- Sebi's turnover fees is part of the fee that
investors pay to the exchanges through their brokers for trading on their
platforms and the exchanges in turn pass it on to the regulator.
- It also charges a Rs 50,000 annual fee from the
brokers.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
India
Signs Financing Agreement of $48 million with World Bank for Nagaland Health
Project:
- India has signed a financing agreement with World
Bank for 48 million dollars for Nagaland Health Project.
- About six lakh people will directly benefit from
the Health Project with improvements in higher-level facilities as well as
system-wide investments.
- The objective of the project is to improve health
services in Nagaland. Communities in targeted locations will benefit from
project activities at the community and health facility levels.
IMF
cuts India’s FY17 growth rate to 6.6% from 7.6%:
- The World Economic Outlook (WEO) update released by
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut India’s growth rate for the
fiscal year 2016–17 to 6.6% from its previous estimate of7.6%.
- India’s growth rate was cut due to the temporary
negative consumption shock of demonetisation. It has dampen India’s growth
by 1% point in the FY2017 and 0.4% point in FY2017, compared with IMF’s
earlier projections.
- Global economic activity will pick up pace in FY17
and FY18, especially in emerging markets and developing economies. Global
growth is forecast at 3.4% in FY17 against 3.1% in FY16.
DEATHS
'Black
hole man of India' C.V. Vishveshwara passed away:
- Professor CV Vishveshwara passed away in Bengaluru
following a bout of illness.
- He was among the first to study 'black
holes' even before the word was coined.
- Vishveswara made an important calculation that was
used in the discovery of gravitational waves by LIGO detectors in 2015.
Eugene
Cernan, last man on the moon, dies at 82:
- US astronaut Eugene Cernan, the last man to set
foot on the moon, died Monday at age 82.
- Cernan was the spacecraft commander of Apollo 17 in
December 1972.
- He died following ongoing health issues.
National
award-winning filmmaker Deepak Roy dead at 67:
- Deepak Roy, known for his movie "Limit to
Freedom" which won him a National award in 1996 under the category of
best investigative film, has passed away at the age of 67 after suffering
a cardiac arrest.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
India
ranks 60th in Inclusive Development Index:
- India ranked 60th among the 79
developing countries in 2017 Inclusive Development Index (IDI) released
in World Economic Forum’s (WEF) ‘Inclusive Growth and Development
Report’.
- The index is based on 12 performance indicators and
countries are ranked on IDI scores based on a scale of 1-7.
- It has three pillars Growth and Development,
Inclusion and Intergenerational Equity, and Sustainability in order to
provide a more complete measure of economic development than GDP growth
alone.
- Top 5 developing economies are Lithuania
(1st), Azerbaijan (2nd), Hungary (3rd), Poland (4th), Romania
(5th).
Asia’s
cleanest village Mawlynnong becomes role model for cleanliness
- Mawlynnong village in Meghalaya has become a role
model for other states in maintaining cleanliness and also tourists’
hotspot. It is also claimed as Asia’s cleanest village.
- Over 500 tourists from across the country and
abroad visit the village daily.
- Through cleanliness, the villagers have created
opportunities to earn money as the village has become tourists’ prime
destination in North East.
- Several other states have expressed their
willingness to adopt Mawlynnong village as role model in maintaining cleanliness.
Germany
tops global passport index, India ranks 78th
- The Passport Index 2017, ranks countries based on
the number of nations their citizens can visit without a visa or on
arrival. India ranks a low 78th position.
- Germany stands at the top with a visa-free score of
157 while Singapore (topped in Asia) and Sweden are on second and third
place respectively.
- India stands at 78th position with a visa-free
score of 46, ahead of China and Pakistan which are ranked 58th and 94th on
the list respectively.
- Afghanistan’s is the least powerful passport with a
visa-free score of just 23.
India
& Mauritius Sign MoU for Cooperation in the field of Cooperatives:
- India and Mauritius signed a MoU for cooperation in
the field of cooperatives and related areas.
- The MoU was signed between Agriculture Minister
Radha Mohan Singh, and the Indian Ocean island country's Business, Enterprise
and Cooperatives Minister Soomilduth Bholah.
- The MoU will enable the two countries to
collaborate in this vital sector and can significantly benefit thousands
of Mauritians.
- India offered to exchange its expertise and
technology with Mauritius in agro industry, fisheries and dairy sector.
South
Korea ranked world’s most innovative economy
- South Korea is the word’s most innovative economy,
followed by Germany, Sweden, Japan and Switzerland, according to the
latest Bloomberg Innovation Index.
- South Korea notched top scores worldwide for
manufacturing value-added as well as for tertiary efficiency, and was in
the second place in R&D intensity, high-tech density and patent
activity.
- The Asian tech powerhouse was ranked sixth in terms
of researcher concentration.
- Rounding out the top 10 under the Innovation Index
were Singapore, Finland, the United States, Denmark and France.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Cabinet
approves Trade Agreement negotiations with Peru
- The Union Cabinet has approved holding negotiations
for Trade Agreement with Peru on trade in goods, services and investment.
- The trade agreement will be an important landmark
in India-Peru relations and consolidate the traditional fraternal
relations that have existed between India and LAC countries.
- The trade agreement will enhance the trade and
economic relations between the two countries.
AIIMS
signs three MoU
- All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS),
New Delhi signed MoUs with NBCC (India) Limited, HSCC (India) Limited and
with HITES HLL Life Care Ltd to expand infrastructure and other
facilities.
- The signing ceremony was presided over by Shri J P
Nadda, Hon’ble Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Shri
Venkaiah Naidu, Hon’ble Union Minister for Urban Development, Urban
Poverty Alleviation, and Information & Broadcasting.
- AIIMS signed an MOU worth Rs. 4441 crores with NBCC
(India) Limited, Rs.2500 crores with HSCC (India) Limited and Rs. 729
crores with HITES HLL Life Care Ltd, a cumulative net worth of Rs. 7670.
India
becomes associate member of CERN
- India formally became an associate member of CERN
(European Organization for Nuclear Research) with the government
completing the internal approval procedures for the agreement it signed in
November 2016.
- Prior to it, in September 2016, CERN Council had adopted
a resolution upgrading India’s position as associate member from earlier
‘observer’ status (since 2004).
Minister
of Railways Unveils Mission 41k
- Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu
unveiled Mission 41k during the Roundtable Discussion with External
Stakeholders on Energy Initiatives of Indian Railways.
- Shri Suresh Prabhu said that Ministry of Railways
has come up with Mission 41k to save Rs. 41000 crore in the next decade in
Railways’ energy costs.
- To implement this comprehensive strategy with the
participation of various stakeholders, we shall take advantage of
regulatory frameworks, look at new technologies.
- He said that this is an opportunity to relook at everything
and determine an ideal baseline.
- All electrification works done in the last decade
would be doubled and this would change the energy mix of Indian Railways.
Indian Railways has set a target of 1000 MW of solar power and 200 MW of
wind energy.
Madhya
Pradesh Government launches Aanandam Scheme to help poor
- Madhya Pradesh became the first State of the
country to launch Aanandam programme to help the needy persons. Under it,
government through volunteers will provide help to the needy and
economically sound citizens can donate items for the needy persons.
- This initiative is of MP Government’s Happiness
department, first of its kind in India.
Textiles
Minister inaugurated 58th IIGF 2017
- The Union Textiles Minister, Smt. Smriti Zubin
Irani has inaugurated the 58th IIGF and unveiled the Fair Guide as well in
New Delhi which is to be held from January 18 - 20, 2017.
- The 58th IIGF caters primarily to Autumn-Winter
2017/18.
- Organized by Apparel Export Promotion Council
(AEPC) India, the IIGF is one of the largest and most popular platforms in
Asia, from which overseas garment buyers can source products and forge
business relationships with India’s finest players in the apparel and
fashion accessories domain.
Petroleum
Conservation Campaign ‘Saksham 2017’ Inaugurated in Nagaland
- The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOP
& NG) inaugurated one month long oil and gas conservation campaign
“Saksham-2017” at a function in Unity College, Dimapur in Nagaland on
January 16, 2017.
- The mass awareness campaign was inaugurated by
chief guest Ramongo Lotha, secretary Food and Civil Supplies. The campaign
would be conducted from January 16 to February 15, 2017.
- The main aim of such campaign is to spread the awareness on fuel
conservation so as to minimize the wastage of petroleum products as
the demand for it remains high.
India & Mauritius Sign MoU for Cooperation
in the field of Cooperatives
- The agreement was signed between Agriculture
Minister Radha Mohan Singh, and the Indian Ocean island country’s
Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives Minister Soomilduth Bholah.
- To enable the two countries to collaborate in this
vital sector and can significantly benefit thousands of Mauritians.India
& Mauritius
- To exchange its expertise and technology in agro
industry, fisheries and dairy sector.
BHEL
Commissions 500 MW Thermal Unit In West Bengal:
- Government owned Bharat Heavy Electricals
Limited(BHEL) has commissioned new 500 MW Thermal Unit in West Bengal.
- This was the second 500 MW at Sagardighi Thermal
Power Station (TPS) Phase II project in Murshidabad district of West Bengal.
Tamil
Nadu: 170th Sadguru Sri Thyagaraja Aaradhana festival ends on 17 January 2017:
- The 170th Sadguru Sri Thyagaraja Aaradhana
festival has concluded at Tiruvaiyaru, Tamil Nadu.
- The Aaradhana festival which was inaugurated on
13th of this month was a treat to carnatic music lovers. Sadguru
Thyagaraja is one of the great musical trinity alongwith Muthusamy
Dikshithar and Shyama Sastrigal.
Government
to provide free Wifi to more than 1000 gram panchayats
- In a bid to provide last mile connectivity in far-flung
areas -the biggest impediment towards a digital and cashless economy, the
government is embarking on an ambitious project to provide free WiFi
hotspots at more than 1,000 gram panchayats.
- Apart from providing internet connectivity for mass
use, the programme seeks to enable delivery of services like health and
education.
- Called Digital Village, the pilot project will
initially be rolled out in as many as 1,050 gram panchayats.
3-day
Pratibha-Parva being observed in Madhya Pradesh:
- Three-day Pratibha-Parva is being
observed in all thegovernment middle schools in Madhya Pradesh.
- The evaluation of academic achievements of 78 lakh
students pursuing studies in class I to VIII is being made during the
Parv.
- Subject-based evaluation will be made of students
in one lakh 14 thousand government schools in the first two days.
- The progress in basic capabilities and subject
based capabilities will be evaluated with cooperation of UNICEF.
Manipur’s
Karang is India’s first cashless island:
- Karang, a small lake island in Manipur, has
become the India’s first cashless island.
- The Union ministry of electronics and information
technology under its Digital India program announced Karang as the first
cashless island in India.
- The Karang island is located in the middle of
Loktak, the largest freshwater lake in Northeast India.
Karnataka
allows sale of white kerosene in open market:
- The Karnataka government allowed to the sale of white
kerosenein open market.
- State Food and Civil Supplies Minister UT Khader
stated that the government has issued an order this effect.
- Those interested in selling white kerosene in open
market can approach the office of the Food and Civil Supplies in their
districts.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY / DEFENCE AFFAIRS
NASA
approves mission to explore iron-rich asteroid 16 Psyche:
- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) has approved a mission to explore 16 Psyche, an iron-rich
asteroid.
- As part of the mission, NASA craft will be launched
in 2023, and will arrive at Psyche in 2030.
- The mineral contents on the asteroids are worth
over 100-thousand times the value of the entire world economy.
- Psyche asteroid has diameter in excess of 125 miles
and is almost entirely composed of iron and nickel.
World’s
lightest watch unveiled in Geneva:
- The world’s ultralight high-performance mechanical
watch RM 50-03 was inaugurated on January 16, 2017 at the
27th edition of the Salon International De La Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in Geneva.
- The watch made up of graphene composite has been
developed by the University ofLightest Watch of the World made Using
Graphene Launched Manchester, UK in collaboration with the watchmaking
brand Richard Mille and McLaren F1.
- The overall weight of the ultralight watch is 40
grams only and is extremely durable.
SPORTS AFFAIRS
Farrukh
Amonatov wins Delhi International Chess meet
- Top seeded Grandmaster
Farrukh Amonatov of Tajikistan
won the 15th edition of the Delhi International Chess tournament. In the
10th and final round, Farrukh settled for a draw with Grandmaster Diptayan
Ghosh of India.
- He scored 8.5 points out of a possible ten, half
point ahead of Ghosh and Dzhumaev Marat of Uzbekistan. Ghosh and Marat
both tied for the second spot on eight points. But Ghosh was declared the
runners-up based on his better tiebreak.
Valtteri
Bottas replaces Nico Rosberg at Mercedes and joins Lewis Hamilton:
- Valtteri Bottas has been confirmed as Lewis
Hamilton's new team-mate for the forthcoming Formula One season after he
was finally unveiled by Mercedes at their headquarters.
- Bottas, who replaces world champion Nico Rosberg
following his shock decision to retire from the sport, had long been
favorite for the vacant seat.
2017 Vodafone Premier Badminton League won by
chennai smashers
- Chennai Smashers won the Premier Badminton League season
2 title after defeating Mumbai Rockets 4-3 in the final match held at Siri
Fort Complex in New Delhi.
- It consists of 15 league ties, both the teams
winning two matches each.
- The final match was held between India’s Ajay
Jayaram of Mumbai and Thailand’s Tanongsak S.
