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Quick Overview
National
Mergers
Bills
International
Appointments
MOUs
Sports
Economics
Science
Awards
Death
Dates
National – Across the India
1. The Indian postal department released a special stamp cover featuring Olympic medalists PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik, and gymnast Dipa Karmakar, in Agartala.
The special cover is titled “Golden girls of India – Pride of Nation”.
One of the images on the cover also features Dipa’s coach Bishweshwar Nandi, who was awarded the Dronacharya award.
2. The Steel Ministry has released new draft of National Steel Policy of 2017, envisaging to double India’s domestic steel production capacity to 300 million tonnes by 2030-31.
The draft policy anticipates a requirement of Rs.10 lakh crore of fresh investments to meet production goal and expects creation of at least 11 lakh new jobs in the process.
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3. The Union Government has constituted a committee (Working Group) to frame uniform rules for the states to avoid delay in proper implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 across the country.
The Committee will be headed by Secretary from Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD). It will submit its report within three months.
4. Russian Railways is helping India’s national transporter to increase the speed of its passenger trains up to 200 km per hour.
Russian Railways is at present collaborating with Indian Railways on a 575-km stretch between Nagpur and Secunderabad and submitted a preliminary report last week.
5. The Union Government has transferred the advising role of Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) on utilization of the proceeds from disinvestment to the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA).
This announcement comes after the Union Cabinet approved an alternative mechanism to decide the modalities to do with stake sales in PSUs, so as to speed up the process and to streamline the disinvestment process.
6. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has inaugurated the 4 lakh square feet latest IT building, ‘Jyothirmaya’ at the Infopark in Kochi.
80,000 job opportunities will be created when the buildings constructed during second phase of development at Infopark become fully operational.
7. Priya Entertainments Pvt. Ltd. has set up an Ecotourism project at Khairabera, foothills of Baghmundi, in Purulia district of West Bengal.
The adventure camp is located 300 km from the city.
The aim was to promote the rich culture, natural beauty and heritage of the district of Purulia among tourists.
8. Commerce & Industry Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman launched Rubber Soil Information System (RubSIS), an online system for recommending application of appropriate mix of fertilizers to the specific plantations of rubber growers depending upon their soil nature.
9. The Election Commission gave its nod to the Centre to present the Union Budget on 1st February 2017, ahead of the Assembly polls, but said no schemes related to these poll-bound states can be announced and the Finance Minister’s speech should not refer to the government’s achievements in these states.
It also reminded the government of a 2009 advisory which said vote-on-account instead of a full-fledged budget is presented ahead of elections as per convention.
11. The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Committee has submitted its 4-volume report on changes in FRBM Act, 2013 to the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
The 5-member committee was headed by N.K. Singh, former Revenue and Expenditure Secretary and former MP.
Members of the committee included RBI Governor Urjit Patel, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian, former Finance Secretary Sumit Bose, and National Institute of Public Finance and Policy Director Rathin Roy.
12. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its post-facto approval for the launching of Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana 2017 (VPBY 2017).
It is a part of Government’s commitment to financial inclusion and social security.
The scheme will be implemented through Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) during the current financial year to provide social security during old age and protect elderly persons aged 60 years and above against a future fall in their interest income due to uncertain market conditions.
13. The Union Cabinet has given its approval to ratify the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol on containing the emission of Green House Gases (GHGs).
The second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 2012 and is set to expire in 2020. So far, 75 countries have ratified the second commitment period.
14. Election Commission of India (ECI) hosted an International Seminar on ‘Strategies for Empowering Young and Future Voters’ on 24th January 2017, in partnership with UNDP India.
ECI signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the following Election Management Bodies at the Seminar:
Australian Electoral Commission
Central Election Commission of Bosnia-Herzegovina
Fijian Elections Office
Election Commission of Nepal
15. The government cleared swapping of land between Bihar government and Airports Authority of India for the expansion and development of Patna airport, which handles traffic more than three times of its existing capacity.
The proposed land at Patna Airport will be used for expansion of the airport and construction of new terminal building along with other associated infrastructures.
16. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved a new scheme for promotion of Rural Housing in the country.
The Government would provide interest subsidy under the scheme.
Interest subsidy would be available to every rural household who is not covered under the Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana (Grameen), PMAY(G).
17. The Nissan GT-R is on its way into the Limca Book of World Records after it made an outline of India’s map in the ground spanning an area of three sq. km on the dry lake bed of Sambhar Lake in Rajasthan.
In their attempt, Nissan India carved out the largest ever outline of a country map.
18. The Union Ministry of Women & Child Development (WCD) has released National Action Plan for Children (NPAC), 2016 on the occasion of National Girl Child Day (24th January).
It was released by Union Minister of Women & Child Development Maneka Sanjay Gandhi in New Delhi. The NPAC has been developed by the Ministry of WCD.
19. Hyderabad witnessed the 7th edition of the Hyderabad Literary Festival-HLF 2017.
It is being organized by Hyderabad Literary Trust at Hyderabad Public School.
Ambassador of the Republic of Philippines Ma Teresita C Daza will be the guest of honour while poet Ashok Vajpeyi will be the chief guest.
Philippines is the ‘Guest Nation’ at HLF 2017 and will showcase its literature, art and culture.
20. Arunachal Pradesh launched ‘Dulari Kanya’, a special scheme to check infant mortality in the state, on the occasion of the 68th Republic Day.
Governor V. Shanmuganathan launched the scheme, under which the government will deposit Rs. 20,000 in the bank account of a girl child, born in any government hospital.
It would be paid along with the accrued interest after she attains 18 years of her age.
21. India’s indigenous Light Combat Aircraft -Tejas and National Security Guards Commandos made their debut on the country’s 68th Republic Day celebration.
Three Tejas jets flew at a height of 300-metre from the ground at a speed of 780 km/hour in ‘VIC’ formation.
The march-past by the NSG displayed ‘Sherpa’—a specially designed hijack intervention vehicle and two gypsies used for anti-hijack operations. They carried special assault rifle MP-5 with them.
22. India has been ranked 79th out of 176 countries in the recently released Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for the year 2016 by the Berlin-based corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI).
New Zealand and Denmark topped the list with a score of 90.
23. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced a total ban on polythene carry bags from 1st May 2017 in Madhya Pradesh in a bid to conserve environment, protect cows and promote cleanliness.
Chouhan, in his Republic Day address, also praised the MP Police for its swiftness in neutralizing eight SIMI suspects who escaped from local central jail last year, in an encounter.
24. The nation paid homage to Havildar Hangpan Dada, awarded the Ashoka Chakra, the highest award to an army man during peace-time operations, for killing four terrorists who had infiltrated into north Kashmir last year.
The Havildar killed three of the intruders and fatally injured a fourth before he died of bullet wounds at 13,000 feet in the icy Himalayas.
His wife Chasen Lowang received the medal from President Pranab Mukherjee at Rajpath.
25. For the first time, a military contingent of UAE participated in the 68th Republic Day parade on Rajpath in the presence of their country’s Deputy Supreme Commander Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who was the chief guest.
A 149-member UAE contingent led by Lieutenant Colonel Abood Musabeh Abood Musabeh Alghfeli, constituting UAE Presidential Guard, the Air Force, the Navy and the Army contingent led by a UAE band consisting of 35 musicians march-passed at the Rajpath and presented a ceremonial salute to the President Pranab Mukherjee.
26. The Indian Navy’s Annual Theatre Readiness Operational Exercise (TROPEX) 2017 is being conducted off the Western Seaboard.
It will see participation of ships and aircraft of both the Western and Eastern Naval Command and also assets from the Indian Air Force, Indian Army and the Indian Coast Guard.
It seeks to strengthen inter-operability and joint operations in a complex environment.
27. In order to boost the trade, International Cargo Services were launched at Biju Patnaik International Airport.
The launch of cargo services will cater the exporters to reach and tap markets in Middle East, Far East and European countries where the demand for seafood, agriculture, and handloom is more.
28. India is ranked at the 6th spot in a list of Eight Great Powers for the year 2017 by a leading American foreign policy magazine.
The list is topped by the US, whereas China and Japan are at tie for being on the second spot.
29. The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has reconstituted TOP committee with an objective of identifying and supporting potential medal prospects for 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games under Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme.
The 10 -member committee will be headed by Beijing Olympic Gold Medalist Abhinav Bindra.
List of National and International Meets and Summits
International – Across the Globe
1. The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2017 was held in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland from 17th-20th January 2017.
The theme of 47th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2017 is Responsive and Responsible Leadership.
2. The United Arab Emirates’ Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation has announced that they will donate an Elekta Synergy Digital Accelerator worth US$2 million to the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU)’s Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College.
The announcement coincides with the visit to India of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, as the chief guest at the 68th Republic Day celebrations.
3. Nearly 70 percent of the world’s most innovative companies in 2016 were American, according to a new survey of global executives.
Apple, Google, Tesla, Microsoft, Amazon, and Netflix took the top six spots respectively in the annual poll of 50 companies conducted by Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
4. India and UAE have launched a dialogue on the security situation in Afghanistan in the backdrop of recent assassination of five diplomats from the Gulf country by suspected Taliban.
The strategic dialogue led by respective deputy foreign ministers discussed various aspects of strategic and defense partnership.
5. India, along with Brazil, Argentina and some other nations rejected an informal attempt of European Union (EU) and Canada to work towards a global investment agreement at World Trade Organization (WTO)-level.
The EU and Canada proposed agreement incorporates a contentious Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism. They wanted their investment pact to be the template for a similar multilateral agreement.
6. US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to formally pull US out of the negotiating process of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a mega trade deal of 12 Pacific Rim countries.
TPP was one of the major international trade initiatives of his predecessor Barack Obama aimed to set trade rules for the 21st century and bind US allies against growing Chinese economic clout.
7. Dubai International airport expects to receive 89 million passengers in 2017 after last year retaining its status as the world’s busiest airport for international passengers.
About 83.6 million people passed through the airport last year, up by 7.2 per cent on 2015.
8. President Donald Trump has issued an executive order for an “impassable physical barrier” to be built along the US border with Mexico.
He also signed an action to strip funds from US cities that are sanctuaries for undocumented immigrants.
Building a 2,000-mile barrier along the Mexican border was one of Mr. Trump’s key pledges in the election campaign.
Sports & Athletics
1. Saina Nehwal started the new year in the best possible manner after beating Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong 22-20, 22-20 in the women’s singles final of the $120,000 Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold in Sibu.
Saina’s last title win was at the Australian Open in June 2016.
2. Virat Kohli became the fastest to reach 1,000 ODI runs as captain, taking 17 innings to achieve the feat.
Virat reached the milestone during the ODI against England on Sunday and surpassed South Africa’s AB de Villiers, who took 18 innings.
3. Former India opener and the current mentor of Kings XI Punjab, Virender Sehwag has been named as the brand ambassador of the franchise.
Sehwag will also be the team’s head of Cricket Operations and Strategy in the upcoming Indian Premier League season.
4. India won the Irani Trophy for the 15th time.
Wriddhiman Saha of Bengal scored an unbeaten 203 and his 316-run stand with Cheteshwar Pujara (116 not out) helped Rest of India clinch the Irani Trophy against Ranji Trophy champions Gujarat in Mumbai.
Wriddhiman Saha was adjudged the Man of the Match.
5. Usain Bolt has lost one of his nine Olympic gold medals in a doping case involving teammate Nesta Carter.
Carter tested positive for methyl hexane amine, a banned stimulant, in re-analysis of samples from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Olympic rules state that the entire relay team can be disqualified and stripped of medals if one runner fails a doping test.
Awards & Recognition
1. Asia Society inaugurated the Asia Arts Awards, a Gala Celebration honoring the Asia Arts Game Changers.
This special event, now in its fifth year, will be held for the first time in New Delhi in February.
2. David Warner, the Australia cricket team opener, has been named the country’s best cricketer of the year, securing the Allan Border medal for the second year in succession.
Warner was also named the ODI cricketer of the Year.
He joined an exclusive list of Australian cricketers who have won the medal more than once, becoming only the fourth player to do so.
Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and while Shane Watson have also achieved the feat twice or more.
3. President Pranab Mukherjee announced the names of recipients of Padma awards 2017 viz. Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.
He approved conferment of Padma Awards on 89 persons including 7 Padma Vibhushan, 7 Padma Bhushan and 75 Padma Shri Awardees.
Sakshi Malik, Virat Kohli, Deepa Karmarkar, Kailash Kher will be awarded Padma Shri Awards.
K. J. Yesudas will be awarded Padma Vibhushan Award.
4. Three Indian-origin persons have been awarded Australia’s highest civilian honour this year for their contributions in the field of medicine and work towards the community.
Purushottam Sawrikar: Order of Australia medal for the year 2017 in General division category for his service to medicine, and to the Indian community.
Makhan Singh Khangure: Significant service to medicine in the field of neuroradiology, to education.
Vijay Kumar: Significant service to medical research in the disciplines of nuclear medicine and biology, to professional organizations, and to the community.
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Mergers & Acquisitions
1. Ant Financial, e-commerce giant Alibaba’s financial arm, has reached an agreement to acquire American money-transfer major MoneyGram for $880 million.
The transaction will connect MoneyGram’s money transfer network of 2.4 billion bank and mobile accounts and 350,000 physical locations with Ant Financials.
The transaction will help expand Ant Financial’s business following its partnering with Paytm in India and Ascend Money in Thailand.
2. State-owned refiner Hindustan Petroleum and gas utility GAIL India Ltd signed a pact with Andhra Government for setting up a Rs 40,000 crore petrochemical plant in the state.
The 50:50 joint venture will set up a 1.5 million tons Ethylene Derivatives plant, which will produce raw materials for the manufacture of detergents, paints and coatings, cosmetics, textiles and adhesives.
Appointments & Resignations
1. Transportation app Ola has appointed former PepsiCo executive Vishal Kaul as its Chief Operating Officer (COO).
He succeeded Pranay Jivrajka, Ola’s first employee.
Jivrajka has now been appointed as Founding Partner and will continue to work closely with Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola co-founder and CEO.
2. US president, Donald Trump, the newly sworn-in leader and chief made quick work in designating Indian American senior GOP member of the Federal Communications Commission Ajit Pai as the commission chairman.
Pai is one of the two Republican commissioners on a five-member panel that regulates the country’s communications infrastructure, including TV, phone and internet service.
3. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Derk Segaar, a senior Dutch official as head of the World Body Information Centre in New Delhi, covering India and Bhutan.
4. The Senate has confirmed controversial candidate Mike Pompeo to head the CIA in President Donald Trump’s new administration.
His appointment was confirmed despite opposition from some Democrats, who highlighted the Kansas Republican’s varying viewpoints on key issues such as surveillance, torture and Russia’s “influence campaign” in the 2016 Presidential election.
5. Uttam Dhillon, who served as chief oversight counsel for the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, has been appointed as special assistant to the President by US President Donald Trump.
In this position, he would be part of the legal team to serve under White House Counsel Donald F McGahn with respect to compliance and ethics matters.
Prior to joining Financial Services, Dhillon served as chief of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Counter Narcotics Enforcement.
6. Hugo Barra, who previously held a position as a key VP for Android at Google, and led Xiaomi’s international efforts in a VP role at the Chinese company, is now joining Facebook.
Barra will lead all of Facebook’s VR efforts, including Oculus, according to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who shared the news on his FB profile.
7. President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Dr. Vijay Bhatkar, architect of India’s first supercomputer the Param series, as the chancellor of Nalanda University.
He will have a term of three years from the date of his appointment as provided under Section 11(3) of the Nalanda University Act.
He shall succeed George Yeo, former Foreign Minister of Singapore, who resigned after the Board of the University was reconstituted.
8. President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Banwarilal Purohit as the new Governor of Meghalaya.
He will succeed V Shanmuganathan, former Meghalaya Governor.
President Mukherjee also appointed P. B. Acharya, the Governor of Nagaland to discharge functions as the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh.
9. New Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth who assumed office after his father Anerood Jugnauth, 86, stepped down from the post.
Anerood Jugnauth, who has been in his post since 2014, announced that he was resigning in favour of a “younger and more dynamic leader”.
10. Former leader of the Austrian Green Alternative party (the Greens) Alexander Van der Bellen officially took office as the 9th Austrian President.
Former President Heinz Fischer, Chancellor Christian Kern and Vice Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner, diplomats, journalists and representatives of the church were present at the ceremony.
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Economics & Banking GK
1. In another digitalization initiative, Punjab National Bank (PNB) has launched a Contactless Credit Card.
This new credit card, which has been named PNB Wave N Pay Contactless Card, was launched by Usha Anantha Subramanian, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, PNB.
2. BSE has hit the capital market with its much-awaited Initial Public Offer, the first by a domestic stock exchange, to raise up to Rs 1,243 crore.
The IPO opened on 23rd January and closed on 25th January.
3. Kerala Gramin Bank (KGB) is launching a ‘FI@School’ programme to propagate financial literacy among school children.
Financial literacy clubs would be formed at every school identified under the programme, being implemented jointly with NABARD and Child and Youth Finance International (CYFI), Amsterdam.
4. Wholesale reinsurance provider Swiss Re has received approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to open a branch in Mumbai.
With the composite branch license, Swiss Re will be able to operate in India and offer both non-life and life and health reinsurance solutions directly to clients and brokers in the country.
5. In a bid to encourage banks to provide loans for education, the Reserve Bank of India, RBI has declared that rescheduling the period of payment of education loans due to the inability of the borrower because of unemployment will not be treated as restructured accounts for computing NPAs.
Banks can allow three rounds of extension periods, each not more than 6 months, during the entire lifecycle of the education loan, to be applicable only on unemployment/underemployment borrowers.
6. In a move that would help the micro enterprises get access to credit, two Small Finance Banks – Utkarsh Small Finance Bank Limited and Suryoday Small Finance Bank Limited – have commenced its operations from 23rd January 2017.
Utkarsh Micro Finance Private Limited, Varanasi and Suryoday Micro Finance Private Limited, Navi Mumbai were amongst the 10 applicants which were issued in-principle approval for setting up a small finance bank.
7. Reserve Bank of India has prohibited Indian entities from making direct investments in any entity located in non-co-operative countries and territories as identified by the inter-governmental body FATF.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) currently comprises two regional organizations and 35 member jurisdictions, including India, US, UK, China and the European Commission.
8. Demonetization has stymied India’s GDP growth and the October-December quarter show is likely to be around 6 per cent, while for January-March it could climb down to 5.7 per cent, forecasts a Nomura report.
According to the Japanese financial services major, the consumption and services, which were the fastest growing segments pre-demonetization, were the worst-hit.
9. India’s largest online travel portal MakeMyTrip has launched the first ever social luxury travel magazine called ‘Luxury Travel Times’.
The mobile-only magazine is targeted at luxury travelers and is released through innovative ad platforms like Facebook Canvas & Instagram-Stories.
‘Spa-cation’, ‘Heaven on Earth’ & ‘Heritage’ were first few themes of the magazine presenting exotic choices to explore fine living.
10. India’s second largest private sector lender HDFC bank will deploy at least 20 humanoids in its branches in the next two years.
The bank had announced that it will soon introduce a humanoid IRA – intelligent robotic assistant to help its branch staff in servicing customers.
11. The Union Finance Ministry has announced that the General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) will be effective from the 1st April 2017.
GAAR seeks to prevent companies from routing transactions through other countries to avoid taxes.
India will be the 17th nation in the world to have laws that aim to close tax loopholes.
At present, GAAR is in force in nations like Australia, Singapore, China and the UK.
Bills – New & Amendments
1. The Union Cabinet has approved the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bill, 2017, under which the IIMs will be declared as Institutions of National Importance.
It will also enable IIMs to grant degrees rather than diplomas to their students. At present IIMs are not authorized to award degrees as they registered as societies. Hence, they are awarding Post Graduate Diploma and Fellow Programme in Management.
Some salient features of the bill: –
Allow IIMs to grant degrees to their students.
Grant complete autonomy to IIMs, combined with adequate accountability.
Coordination Forum of IIMs as an advisory body will be established.
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