Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 13th January, 2016. These are Important for the upcoming LIC AAO 2016 Exam.
Current Affairs at a Glance - 13th January, 2016
Govt unveils Rs-8,800 cr crop insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)
Country's largest lender SBI has opened a branch in Seoul, South Korea to predominantly finance growing trade and investment relations between Korean and Indian companies. SBI is second Indian bank after Indian Overseas Bank to have branch in South Korea. Meanwhile, SBI has signed a Line of Credit with The Export-Import Bank of Korea (K-EXIM) for $ 500 million (Rs 3,300 crore).
India is the largest recipient of loans from the World Bank, amounting to $102.1 billion, between 1945 and 2015 (as on July 21, 2015), according to the Bank’s lending report.
Vice President Hamid Ansari today declared Kerala as the first state in the country to attain 'Total Primary Education', and described the achievement as 'historic.'
NHAI has signed Memorandum of Understanding with National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC)under Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and North East Centre for Technology Application and Research (NECTAR) for use of spatial technology for monitoring and managing national highways.
Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan on 12 January 2016 was bestowed honorary life membership of Kolkata’s soccer outfit Mohammedan Sporting.
The prestigious Yale School of Management will name its deanship in honour of PepsiCo’s India-born CEO Indra Nooyi as she gifted an undisclosed amount to her alma mater, becoming the school’s biggest alumni donor and the first woman to endow a deanship at a top b-school.
Lieutenant General J.F.R. Jacob (retired), hero of 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and formerGovernor of Goa and Punjab, died on 13 January 2016 after prolonged illness.
Finance/Economy/Banking –
Govt unveils Rs-8,800 cr crop insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)
In order to provide relief to drought-hit farmers, the government today announced a new Rs 8,800 crore crop insurance scheme, with significantly lower premium, to cover for loss of crop to natural calamities.
Farmers will pay only 2% of the premium fixed by insurance company for kharif foodgrains/oilseeds crops and 1.5% for rabi foodgrains/oilseeds crops under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
The remaining sum of premium would be borne by the Centre and state governments equally, entailing an outgo of Rs 8,800 crore annually for coverage of 50% of the crop area of 194.40 million hectare. The scheme will be rolled out from the coming kharif season beginning June.
SBI opens branch in Seoul, South Korea
Country's largest lender has opened a branch in Seoul, South Korea to predominantly finance growing trade and investment relations between Korean and Indian companies.
SBI is second Indian bank after Indian Overseas Bank to have branch in South Korea. SBI already had a representative office in Seoul.
Meanwhile, SBI has signed a Line of Credit with The Export-Import Bank of Korea (K-EXIM) for $ 500 million (Rs 3,300 crore).
While corporate banking - -- trade finance, bilateral and syndicated loans etc -- would be mainstay, SBI branch will also provide current and savings and remittance facilities to retail customers.
India largest recipient of World Bank loans over 70 years
India is the largest recipient of loans from the World Bank, amounting to $102.1 billion, between 1945 and 2015 (as on July 21, 2015), according to the Bank’s lending report.
While the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), a part of the World Bank group, has lent $52.7 billion, the International Development Association (IDA), a multilateral concessional lender of World Bank, has loaned $49.4 billion to India over the last 70 years.
The Ministry of Finance tabled an updated figure of $103 billion (IBRD—$53 billion and IDA—$50 billion) in a reply to the Lok Sabha (Parliament’s lower house) last month.
India’s loans from the World Bank stand at $104 billion (IBRD—$54 billion and IDA—$50 billion) as on December 31, 2015. Of this, the World Bank has disbursed $73 billion, with India repaying $37 billion.
India is followed by Brazil ($58.8 billion), China ($55.6 billion), Mexico ($54 billion) and Indonesia ($50.5 billion).
Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group signed MoU to set up naval facility in Vishakhapatnam
Reliance Defence Ltd, a unit of Anil Ambani led Reliance Infrastructure Ltd led on 10 January 2016 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Andhra Pradesh Government to set up a world class naval facility in the state.
The announcement regarding the MoU was made at Andhra Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam.
The proposed facility will be established with an initial investment of 5000 crore rupees. And, it will be setup on the East Coast of India at Rambilli, which is 70 kilometers south of Visakhapatnam.
India –
Kerala Declared First State to Attain Total Primary Education
Vice President Hamid Ansari today declared Kerala as the first state in the country to attain 'Total Primary Education', and described the achievement as 'historic.'
Noting that the achievement was another feather to the state's educational cap, he said the state was marking the successful culmination of its 'Athulyam' programme aimed at ensuring Total Primary Education in Kerala -- equivalent to Standard IV of formal education.
The declaration marks the culmination of the second phase of the 'Athulyam' Class 4 equivalency programme -— for people aged between 15 and 50 —- run by KSLMA.
'Athulyam' is a programme launched by the literacy mission after the success of the total literacy campaign in the state. Under the programme, 2,40,804 learners were identified out of which 2,05,913 learners were brought to the classes after out-reach programmes.
NHAI signs MoU with ISRO and NECTAR for use of spatial technology for monitoring national highways
NHAI has signed Memorandum of Understanding with National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) under Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and North East Centre for Technology Application and Research (NECTAR) for use of spatial technology for monitoring and managing national highways.
The use of satellite data and geospatial technology will be useful in providing inputs in highway and infrastructure projects for preparation of DPR(Detailed Project Report), prefeasibility status in new alignment, upgrade/road widening, monitoring of road segments under construction and Road Asset Management System.
The use and benefits of unmanned aerial vehicle technology will be useful in monitoring, construction progress, Road Asset Management, feasibility report and DPR preparation, immediate assessment and remedy of problematic spots etc.
Union government announced greenfield petrochemical complex and NIPER in Visakhapatnam
Union Minister for Fertilizers and Chemicals Ananth Kumar on 12 January 2016 announced the sanction of greenfield petrochemical complex and National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) in Visakhapatnam and a Central Institute of Plastics Engineering & Technology (CIPET) in Vijayawada.
The announcement was made at Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) partnership summit 2016 in Visakhapatnam.
The proposed petrochemical complex will be constructed by public sector companies Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL). This would be an additional Medical Devices Park to the prior announced one in Gujarat in December 2015.
20th National Youth Festival inaugurated in Naya Raipur
The 20th National Youth Festival was on 12 January 2016 inaugurated by Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari at Rajyostav Sthal in Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh to mark the National Youth Day.
The five day long annual festival is celebrated by the Union Government in partnership with a state government on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
For the 20th National Youth Festival, Chhattisgarh was chosen as the partner state with the theme India Youth for Skill, Development and Harmony.
Awards & Honors –
Amitabh Bachchan made honorary life member of Mohammedan Sporting
Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan on 12 January 2016 was bestowed honorary life membership of Kolkata’s soccer outfit Mohammedan Sporting.
Sporting president Sultan Ahmed handed over the club’s life membership to Bachchan.
Bachchan was also invited to be the chief guest of the club’s 125th anniversary gala event to be held later in 2016.
Indra Nooyi becomes ‘most generous graduate’ of Yale School of Management
The prestigious Yale School of Management will name its deanship in honour of PepsiCo’s India-born CEO Indra Nooyi as she gifted an undisclosed amount to her alma mater, becoming the school’s biggest alumni donor and the first woman to endow a deanship at a top b-school.
Yale did not disclose the amount gifted by Nooyi but said her “landmark gift” to endow the deanship of the school and inaugurate an innovation fund has made her the “most generous graduate” of Yale School of Management in terms of lifetime giving to the school.
She is also the first woman to endow the deanship at a top business school, the school said in a statement yesterday.
In October last year, Nooyi’s sister and Grammy-nominated musician Chandrika Tandon and her husband Ranjan had made a 100 million dollar gift to the New York University’s School of Engineering, one of the largest philanthropic gifts by a member of the Indian-American community.
World –
Indian-American professor developed Galacto-Seismic method to hunt Dark Matter
An international team of scientists led by Indian-American Sukanya Chakrabarti devised a new method, galactoseismology, to detect dwarf galaxies dominated by dark matter. The method also explains ripples on the outer disk of the galaxy.
Sukanya Chakrabarti, an assistant professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, presented her findings at a press conference hosted by the American Astronomical Society meeting in Kissimmee on 7 January 2016. Findings were submitted to The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
US, Jordan signed Joint Action Plan on cooperation to counter Nuclear Smuggling
United States and Jordan on 11 January 2016 signed a Joint Action Plan (JAP) to improve efforts against nuclear and radiological smuggling. The partnership will help in enhancing the efforts to combat nuclear terrorism.
The JAP was signed by Secretary of State John Kerry and Jordan’s Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh in Washington.
The measure strengthens US-Jordanian efforts to work to detect and prevent nuclear and radiological smuggling incidents. The US has similar agreements with 13 other countries, including Iraq, Ukraine and Lithuania.
Lenovo to launch new smartphone under Google’s Project Tango
The term Project Tango was in news in the second week of January 2016 as Lenovo, a Chinese multinational computer technology company, announced that it entered into a partnership with Google for the project.
As part of the partnership, Lenovo will launch a new smartphone that can “see” and map out surroundings without external signals like satellite-based global positioning system (GPS).
Appointments –
USIBC appointed Edward Monser, Punit Renjen as Vice Chairs of Council Board
The U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) Board of Directors on 12 January 2016 selected Council board members Edward Monser, President of Emerson, and Punit Renjen, CEO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (Deloitte Global), as USIBC Vice Chairs.
The announcement came at the heels of former Cisco CEO John Chamber’s recent appointment to USIBC Chairman.
Renjen and Monser together represent over 60 years of experience and expertise in global manufacturing, business strategy, and business development, reflecting USIBC’s directive to maintain a diverse leadership.
C Sridhar Assumes Charge as West Zone IG
C Sridhar today assumed charge as the West Zone IG.
Headquartered in the city, Sridhar has taken over from K Shankar, who has since been transferred to Chennai.
Sridhar was joint commissioner (L and O), Chennai before his new assignment.
M N Manjunath has taken over as police commissioner of nearby Tirupur city.
Books & Authors –
Book titled Jawaharlal Nehru and The Indian Polity in Perspective released by Hamid Ansari
The book titled Jawaharlal Nehru and The Indian Polity in Perspective was released by Hamid Ansari on 12 January 2016 by the Vice President of India Hamid Ansari at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.
The focus of the book is on the role of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister, on shaping the polity of modern India.
The book was edited by Prof Alexander and with contributions from eminent persons like Justice K T Thomas, Dr Rajan Kurukkal, Dr B Vivekanandan, M G Radhakrishnan and others.
Sports –
FIFA dismisses Jerome Valcke as general secretary
Jerome Valcke has been dismissed as secretary general of soccer’s scandal-scarred governing body.
FIFA says its emergency committee fired Valcke with immediate effect and terminated his contract.
Valcke, who had served as FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s top aide, was provisionally suspended by FIFA on September 17.
Last week, FIFA ethics judges formally opened a case against Valcke, who had faced a nine-year ban from soccer.
FIFA says Markus Kattner will continue to serve as acting secretary general.
Obituaries –
1971 Bangladesh Liberation War Hero Lieutenant General J.F.R. Jacob Died
Lieutenant General J.F.R. Jacob (retired), hero of 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and former Governor of Goa and Punjab, died on 13 January 2016 after prolonged illness. He was 92.
Jacob, who negotiated the surrender of Pakistani troops in Dhaka, was best known for his role in India's victory in the 1971 war. During the war, He served as the Chief of Staff of the Indian Army's Eastern Command by being the Major General.
Monte Irvin, Hall of Fame outfielder, passed away
Hall of Famer Monte Irvin, an outfielder who starred for the New York Giants in the 1950s, died on 11 January 2016 in Houston, Texas, the USA. He was 96.
Irvin was the oldest living former Negro Leagues player. He lived in a retirement community in Houston prior to his death.
Irvin was a left fielder and right fielder in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball (MLB) who played with the Newark Eagles, New York Giants and Chicago Cubs.
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