Current
Affairs Daily Updates: 19 and 20 January 2018
1. HDFC Bank Becomes 1st Indian Bank to Cross Rs5
trillion Market Capitalisation
- India’s most-valued lender HDFC
Bank Limited crossed Rs5 trillion capitalization action for the first
time, making it only the third Indian company to achieve this milestone.
- In intraday trade, the stock
touched a fresh record high of Rs1,53.75 on the BSE, up 3.31% from its
previous close.
- Tata Consultancy Services Ltd
(TCS) and Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) are the other two companies which
crossed market capitalisation of Rs5 trillion.
2. Virat Kohli named as Captain of ICCs Test and
ODI Teams of the Year
- Virat Kohli was named the
captain of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test and One-Day
International (ODI) teams of the year that included four other Indians as
well.
- Kohli scored 2,023 runs at
77.80, including eight centuries and three half-centuries in 18 matches
during the qualification period.
- He surprisingly pipped
Australian skipper Steve Smith for the ICC’s Test team captaincy.
3. Israel PM Addresses India-Israel Business Summit
in Mumbai
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu visited Mumbai during the final leg of his visit to India.
- Mr. Netanyahu addressed the
India-Israel Business Summit at the iconic Taj Mahal hotel in south
Mumbai.
- Later in the day, Mr. Netanyahu
will attend the ‘Shalom Bollywood’ event at the Taj hotel. A monthly
magazine titled ‘Namaste Shalom’ will also be launched to mark Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Mumbai visit. The magazine is planned
to carry forward the great initiative of Mr. Modi and Mr. Netanyahu to
strengthen India-Israel relations.
4. Union Government planning to set up of Cyber
Warrior Police Force to tackle internet-related crimes
- The Ministry of Home Affairs
(MHA) decided to set up Cyber Warrior Police Force (CWPF) and Indian Cyber
Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) to tackle internet-related crimes such as
cyber threats, child pornography, and online stalking.
- The CWPF is likely to operate
under National Information Security Policy and Guidelines wing of MHA’s
CIS division.
- The State cybersecurity cells
will form the foundation of centralized CWPF.
5. Maharashtra becomes first state to unveil
Public Cloud Policy
- Maharashtra became the first
state in the country to unveil Public Cloud Policy that virtually mandates
state government departments to shift their data storage.
- The State Government had formed
a four-member committee to draft policy framework on cloud usage.
- The policy will result in
additional private sector investments worth the US $2 billion for cloud
industry as the government is one of biggest creators.
6. NPPA fixes retail price of 30 drug formulations
- Drug price regulator National
Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) fixed retail price for 30 drug
formulations, including those used for the treatment of Diabetics,
bacterial infections, and high blood pressure.
- NPPA is an independent body
under Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and
Fertilizers. It was set up in 1997.
- Its mandate is to fix/review.
- Essential medicines are those
that satisfy the priority health care needs of the country’s population.
7. India Ratings Projects Economic Growth at 7.1
Next Fiscal
- India Ratings and Research have
projected the country’s economic growth to improve to 7.1 percent in
2018-19 from 6.5 percent in 2017-18, buoyed by robust consumer demand and
low commodity prices.
- In its outlook for 2018-19,
according to the agency, there will be a gradual pickup in growth momentum
owing to structural reforms like GST and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code in
place.
- The projection is a tad lower
than 7.4 percent growth estimated by Asian Development Bank and
International Monetary Fund for next fiscal.
8. Elections Dates in Tripura, Meghalaya and
Nagaland Declared
- The Election Commission of
India, Achal Kumar Joti announced dates for elections to the Assemblies of
Meghalaya, Tripura, and Nagaland.
- The CEC announced the polling
for legislative assembly elections in Tripura on 18 February, while
Meghalaya and Nagaland will go to vote on 27 February.
- All the three states have 60
seats each in their assembly.
- The tenure of the Meghalaya,
Tripura and Nagaland Assemblies expire on March 6, March 13 and March 14,
2018, respectively.
- The State elections to
Karnataka, Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are also
due this year.
9. Central Government and CII Ink MoU for
Development of Logistics Sector
- A Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) was signed between Government of India and Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) in the presence of Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh
Prabhu to enhance import and export performance.
- The Centre has entrusted the
task of integrated development of the logistics sector to the Department
of Commerce.
10. Tenth Global Forum for Food and Agriculture
held at Berlin
- The 10th edition of Global Forum
for Food & Agriculture was held in Berlin, Germany from 18th -20th
January 2018.
- The theme of this year’s event
is “Shaping the future of livestock – sustainably, responsibly,
efficiently”.
- The Indian delegation to the
event is led by Union Minister of State (MoS) for Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
- The event was organized by
Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMEL) in
cooperation with GFFA Berlin e.V., Senate of Berlin.
11. Facebook appoints its 1st African-American
Member to Board
- Facebook appointed outgoing
American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault to its board, making him the first
African-American to be on the board.
- Chenault serves on the Boards of
IBM and Procter & Gamble and is also a Harvard Law School graduate.
12. Yes Bank Ties up with Amplus Energy Solutions
- Amplus Energy Solutions
announced entering into a pact with private sector lender Yes Bank for a
strategic tie-up to co-finance projects in the solar energy space in
India.
- The memorandum of understanding
(MoU) was signed at International Solar Alliance pavilion at the World
Future Energy Summit, Abu Dhabi.
13. India to Set up $350 million Fund to Finance
Solar Projects
- As per the Power Minister RK
Singh, India will set up a $350-million fund to finance solar projects as
the country steps up efforts to achieve its ambitious target of adding 175
gigawatts (GW) in renewable energy by 2022.
- The announcement was made at an
event organized by the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in Abu Dhabi,
UAE.
- Installed renewable power
capacity is currently about 60 GW, and India plans to complete the bidding
process by the end of 2019/20 to add a further 115 GW of installed
renewable energy capacity by 2022.
14. WhatsApp Unveils Business App for Android
- Facebook-owned instant messaging
platform WhatsApp rolled out a feature that connects small businesses with
customers.
- Currently, only Android users
can access the feature and they can avail of it through the latest update
of the app.
- The new feature will be
available first in Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, UK and the US before being
launched globally in the coming weeks.
15. Union Government Announces List of 9 New Smart
Cities
- Union Housing and Urban Affairs
Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced the list of nine new Smart Cities,
which have emerged winners in Round 4.
- These nine cities are, Silvassa
in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Erode in Tamil Nadu, Diu in Daman and Diu,
Bihar Sharif in Bihar, Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, Itanagar in Arunachal
Pradesh, Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh and
Kavaratti in Lakshadweep.
16. India became 43rd Member of Australia Group
- India joined the Australia Group
export control regime and has become the 43rd Member of that Group.
- It is an informal forum which
seeks to ensure that exports do not contribute to the development of
chemical or biological weapons.
- The inclusion will raise India’s
stature in the field of non-proliferation and help in acquiring critical
technologies.
- India managed entry into Missile
Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Wassenaar Arrangement and Australia
Group despite not being a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
17. President Ram Nath Kovind Unveils Book on
Self-Development in Delhi
- President Ram Nath Kovind
unveiled a book on heartfulness techniques and principles titled 'The
Heartfulness Way'. Kamlesh D. Patel is the author of this book.
- It is the fourth Global Guide of
Heartfulness.
- Joshua Pollock is the second
author of this book. It was launched by Commerce and Industries Minister
Suresh Prabhu.
18. S Selvakumar appointed as CMD Of SPMCIL
- The Union Government appointed
senior IAS officer S Selvakumar as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of
Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd (SPMCIL).
- He replaced Anurag Agarwal.
- The state-owned SPMCIL produces
banknotes, coins, postage stamps, non-judicial stamps and other official
documents.
19. India to offer Yoga classes at World Economic
Forum
- India will offer Yoga training
sessions at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, in a
move aimed at promoting Indian traditions abroad.
- More than 70 heads of states are
expected to attend the summit next week. PM Narendra Modi will be the
first Indian Prime Minister to attend the summit in 21 years.
- Two yoga teachers from India
will hold daily classes next week at the summit, which has attracted 70
heads of state and government, including U.S. President Donald Trump as
well as celebrities, chief executives and top bankers.
- Modi will be the first Indian
prime minister to attend the WEF in 21 years, since when the economy has
more than doubled to $2.3 trillion and become the world’s seventh largest.
20. INS Vikramaditya Formally Affiliated to Bihar
Regiment
- Indian Naval Ship Vikramaditya,
the Indian Navy's largest ship, and its sole aircraft carrier were
formally affiliated to the Indian Army's highly-decorated and
battle-hardened Bihar Regiment and the Indian Air Force's No 6 Squadron.
- It is tasked with maritime
strike operations with its Jaguar fighter aircraft. A glittering ceremony
was held onboard INS Vikramaditya at the Karwar Naval Base, Karnataka.
21. Iconic Cartoonist Chandi Lahiri Passes Away
- Famous Cartoonist Chandi Lahiri
passed away after a brief period of illness, marking the end of a chapter
in Bengal's history of the cartoon.
- Lahiri was 86.
- Marked by simplicity and ease,
Lahiri left generations of Bengalis enthralled with his brand of humor
that was non-acerbic for the past five decades.
22. AU Small Finance Bank Inks MoU with LIC to
Offer PMJJBY Scheme
- Banking finance company AU Small
Finance Bank signed a MoU with LIC to offer Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti
Bima Yojana (PMJJBY).
- Under the MoU, LIC will give a
life cover of Rs2 lakh in case of death to the customer at a nominal
premium of Rs330 per annum.
- The company has re-entered the
housing finance segment.
- The company will also offer
loans under government’s affordable housing and subsidy schemes such as
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
- The product will be targeted for
both salaried and self- employed (professional and non-professional)
customers.
