1. Indian golfer Shiv Kapur has won the Royal Cup at Pattaya on December 31, 2017, which is his third Asian Tour title of 2017. Kapur, who had just one win in almost 11 years till April this year, has now won three times in last 8 months. This latest win marks Kapur's fourth Asian Tour win and sixth international title as he won twice on European Challenge Tour also.
2. Arunachal Pradesh has been officially declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) and has become the second state in the North East after Sikkim to achieve the status. On 1st January 2018, Upper Subansiri, Siang and Changlang were officially declared ODF. The project undertaken under Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) SBM (G) saw the light of day only after the state government extended an incentive of Rs 8,000 per toilet. This is in addition to the Centres support of Rs 12,000, raising the grant for constructing a toilet to Rs 20,000. The state government also launched Swachh Arunachal Mission on October 2, 2017 at Tawang which envisaged the Swachh Protocol (Cleanliness Protocol) aimed at ensuring sustainability of assets created under SBM (Gramin). The state has achieved the ODF status before the national target, which is October 2019.
3. The mini-ministerial meeting of WTO members from both rich and developing nations is proposed to be hosted by India in February 2018 to revitalize the multi-lateral trade body. The objective of the meeting is to discuss ways to revitalise the WTO, which is the best available multilateral institution to ensure predictable and transparent system of rule-making in the area of international trade. About 40 WTO member countries are expected to participate in the meeting, which is taking place after collapse of the ministerial talks held in Buenos Aires in December 2017. The meeting would be in the backdrop of rich nations forming groupings to prepare ground for pushing new issues such as investment facilitation, preparing rules for e-commerce, promoting gender equality and reducing subsidy on fisheries.
4. US buyout giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) & Co. has become the first foreign investor to fully own an Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC) in India as it received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) at a time when lenders are fighting with a pile of bad loans that have crippled their businesses. KKR is one of the most aggressive investors in financial services. It has plans to deploy a major chunk from its record Asia fund for buying troubled assets in the country, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Its headquarters is located in New York, United States. An ARC is in the business of acquiring Non-Performing Assets (NPAs). The Banks and an ARC get into an agreement in which the ARC take over the NPAs from the Banks Balance Sheet at a certain amount, lower than the Book Value. After this process, the particular ARC tries to recover this amount from the borrowers.
5. China has launched the world's largest human genome research project to document the genetic makeup of one lakh people to help generate the precision medicines for the future. The project would detect the genetic links between health and sickness and involve one person from different ethnic backgrounds and regions. The project will collect the genetic data of Han ethnic majority people from all over the country and 9 other ethnic minority groups with a population of more than 5 million. There are about 25,000 human genes and the project aims to decode the hereditary information contained in each. The project includes four stages – collecting, sequencing gene samples, gathering the data and sharing the findings. As per report, the project will conclude all its gene sequencing and analysis within four years, which will also make it the fastest genome engineering project in the world, the report said. The report did not disclose the budget.
6. Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Defence Minister, has launched a new state-of-the-art incubation centre "Centre for Entrepreneurship Opportunities and Learning (CEOL)" at Mallikatta in Mangaluru, Karnataka on December 29, 2017. The aim of CEOL is to nurture talent, foster the spirit of innovation and to support young engineers to realize their ideas. This is part of the project 'Startup Coast' under which it is proposed to establish innovation centres, incubation set-up, tinkering labs and co-working space for startups on the west coast in Karnataka. The CEOL, which will be managed by the Society headed by Deputy Commissioner, will provide perfect ecosystem for youngsters to work on their ideas. Sitharaman has allocated Rs. 1.5 crore from her MPLAD (Member of Parliament's Local Area Development) scheme for the development of CEOL. She represents Karnataka as an MP in the Rajya Sabha.
7. Star Sports, India's leading sports broadcaster, has bagged the broadcast and production rights of Union Sports Ministry's flagship 'Khelo India School Games (KISG)' for a period of five years from 2018 to 2022. The first-ever Khelo India School Games 2018 will be held from January 31 for under-17 age group (boys and girls) across 16 sports disciplines. The purpose of KISG is to inculcate a nationwide culture of sports through a grassroots sports revolution. The KISG 2018 is the marquee event under revamped Khelo India porgramme. The event is expected to host around 6000 athletes and officials in its first edition. The best talent selected through the competition will be amongst the 1000 (one thousand) budding athletes eligible for a scholarship worth 5 lakhs each per year for a period of eight years. Every year, new athletes will be added under the Khelo India scheme. Thus, over the period of the scheme, the country will have a solid bench-strength for all sports.
8. Vidarbha cricket team has created history by winning the 2017 Ranji Trophy tournament with a thumping 9-wicket win over Delhi at the Holkar stadium in Indore on the 4th and penultimate day of their final on January 1, 2018. It is Vidarbha's first Ranji Trophy title. After conceding a 252-run first innings lead, Delhi were bowled out for 280 in their second innings, setting a target of merely 29 runs for Vidarbha. Vidarbha lost only one wicket and took only five overs to chase down the target which gave them their first Ranji Trophy title. Rajneesh Gurbani's 6 for 59, including a hat-trick and a century from Akshay Wadkar were the key moments in Vidarbha scripting a fairytale run.
9. The Chamera Dam is located near the town of Dalhousie, in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. It impounds the River Ravi and supports the hydroelectricity project in the region. The reservoir of the dam is the Chamera Lake. The catchment of the dam is 472.5 square kilometres. The reservoir has a live storage capacity of 110 MCN and mean annual inflow of 1,273 BCM. The unique feature of the region is the fluctuating day and night temperature. The temperature during the day near the dam rises up to 35 degrees Celsius and drops to a minimum of 18 to 20 °C at night. The water level in the Chamera Lake rises to a maximum of 763 meters while the minimum water level is 747 meters.
10. Uttar Pradesh will be the theme state for the 32nd Surajkund International Crafts fair, which is scheduled to be held from the first week of February at Faridabad in Haryana. Besides participation of all states, about two dozen countries would also take part in the fair. The aim of fair is to preserve Indian folk traditions and cultural heritage. It also provides a world-class platform for craftsmen from around the world to showcase their skills. The fair would be organised by the Haryana Tourism and Surajkund Fair Authority in collaboration with Union Ministries of Tourism, Textiles, Culture and External Affairs. Renowned folk artists and cultural groups of national and international repute would enthrall tourists with various programmes in the 'Choupal' and Open-air theatre located in the fair premises in Surajkund.
11. Maneka Gandhi, the union minister of Women and Child Development (WCD), has inaugurated an online portal NARI in New Delhi for the empowerment of women. The portal – nari.nic.in – will provide easy access to information on government schemes and initiatives for women. The portal, which is developed by the Ministry, summarise over 350 government schemes and other important information. It elaborates how the Government is focussed to economically empower women through schemes under Direct Benefit Transfer. The portal provides links to the Ministries, Departments and autonomous bodies offering these schemes as well as easy access to online applications and grievance redressal. Also, there are tips on nutrition, suggestions for health check-ups, tips for job search, investment and savings advice, information on crimes against women and reporting procedures, contacts of legal aid cells, adoption procedures and much more.
12. Prominent Urdu poet Anwar Jalalpuri (71), who translated Bhagwad Geeta into Urdu, has passed away in Lucknow on January 2, 2018. Jalalpuri wrote 'Rahraw se Rahnuma tak', 'Urdu Shayri Mein Geetanjali' and 'Urdu Shayri mein Geeta'. He was the recipient of Uttar Pradesh's Yash Bharti award. His last rites will be performed on Jan 03 in his hometown Jalalpur in Uttar Pradesh.
13. The 171st Araadhanai Music Festival (AMF) has started in Thiruvaiyaru, Tamil Nadu on January 2, 2018. The fest is one of the Trinities of Carnatic music Saint Thyagaraja, which was inaugurated by Governor Banwarilal Purohit. The main function of the festival – the choral singing of Thyagaraja's five kritis in Ghana ragas – will be held on his Samadhi day which falls on next Saturday. Over 1,000 musicians from all over the world are expected to pay homage to Saint Thygaraja during the course of the five-day festival.
14. Salil S Parekh, an aeronautical engineer from IIT Bombay, has formally taken charge as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) of Infosys on January 2, 2018. Parekh joins Infosys from Capgemini, where he was a member of the Group Executive Board. He has Master of Engineering degrees in Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Technology degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay.
15. The Karnataka government has recently received the approval for purchase of electric vehicles from the Department of Heavy Industries of the Union Government under FAME India subsidised scheme. The state will purchase 40 electric buses, 100 four wheelers and 500 three wheelers at maximum of 60% subsidy under the scheme. The subsidy support is also provided for setting up electricity charging infrastructure across Bengaluru. The electric vehicles to ply in the city as public transport will protect the environment, save fossil fuel and ensure public health. The Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME) India was launched in 2015 under the National Electric Mobility Mission (NEMM) aims at promoting eco-friendly vehicles in the country.
16. Vijay Keshav Gokhale, the 1981-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, has been appointed the new Foreign Secretary of India. He will succeed S Jaishankar, whose term ends on January 28, 2018. Currently, he is Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). He has also held the post of India's ambassador to China during the term of the Narendra Modi government. Before that, he served as India's envoy to Germany and Hong Kong. Above all, he is known for his fluency in the Chinese language, as well as his long experience in dealing with East Asia, and China in particular. He has served as Director (China and East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs, and went on to be Joint Secretary (East Asia). Gokhale is the only IFS to have served as India's Representative both in Taiwan and China.
17. G Sathiyan has become India's highest- ranked player in the latest International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rankings. Sathiyan (ranked 49th) surpassed his compatriot the legendary Sharath Kamal (51st). They are followed by Soumyajit Ghosh ranked 58th, Harmeet Desai ranked 60th, Sanil Shetty ranked 68th and Anthony Amalraj ranked 87th. As for the women, Manika Batra is topping the world chart among Indians at 62, while Mouma Das is ranked 74th and Madhurika Patkar is ranked 81th. The ITTF rankings have undergone a change after the new system was approved in September 2017. The new simplified and comprehensive system provides for a more dynamic world ranking based on paddlers' performance and results during the entire year.
18. R Margabandu (83), an advocate by profession and former Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of Tamil Nadu, has passed away on December 28, 2017. He represented Tamil Nadu in the Upper House from July 1995 to July 2001. He was the leader of the AIADMK party in the House.
19. Rajneesh Gurbani is the India's right-arm fast bowler who plays for Vidarbha cricket team. Recently, Vidarbha cricket team has created history by winning the 2017 Ranji Trophy tournament with a thumping 9-wicket win over Delhi in the final at the Holkar stadium in Indore on January 1, 2018. In the final, Gurbani took 6 wickets for 59 including a hat-trick and has been named as Man of the Match. He finished the season as the second-highest wicket-taker with 39 wickets.
20. The Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) is a leading research institute, which is located in Nainital, Uttarakhand. It is an autonomous body under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India (GoI) and has specialization in Astronomy, Astrophysics and Atmospheric Sciences.
21. The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), which is India's Premier Container Port, has won the 2017 "Samudra Manthan – Caring Organisation of the Year" award.The award instituted by Bhandarkar Shipping aims to fuel healthy competition in the maritime sector. Besides achieving operational excellence, JNPT provides excellent facilities to their staff like medical insurance, residential township with school, transport service, canteens, rest rooms, recreation, sports activities and regular training programs on various key topics.
22. Pankaj Jain, a 1990 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre , has taken charge as the Managing Director (MD) of India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL). He will be holding additional charge of IIFCL along with his present position as Joint Secretary at Department of Financial Services (DFS). IIFCL is a state-owned company focused on infrastructure financing and development.
23. Radha Vishwanathan (83), Carnatic vocalist and former classical dancer, has passed away in Bengaluru, Karnataka on January 2, 2018. She was the daughter of legendary classical singer M S Subbulakshmi. She performed extensively with her mother for nearly five decades on stage.
24. Tufan Ghosh has taken charge as the new Chief Operating Officer (COO) of National Cricket Academy (NCA). Beside him, former India stumper Saba Karim has assumed the office as BCCI's General Manager (GM). Both Karim and Ghosh will report to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and will be based out of Mumbai and Bengaluru respectively. While Karim will assist Johri in meeting the Board's vision and strategy, Ghosh will play a key role in setting up the facility and creating a Centre of Excellence at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.
25. The Telangana government has constituted the SC/ST Commission in the state on January 2, 2018. Errolla Srinivas, a leader of the ruling TRS hailing from Siddipet district, has been named the chairman of the five-member panel. Boyilla Vidyasagar, M Rambal Naik, Sunkapaka Devaiah, Kursam Neeladevi and Chilakamarri Narasimha were appointed members of the commission. The commission is mandated to monitor matters related to the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SCs/STs) and also inquire into complaints pertaining to members of these communities.
26. The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for establishment of new AIIMS in Bilaspur (Himachal Pradesh) under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY). The cost of the project is Rs.1351 crore and will be completed in a period of 48 months. The Institution will consist of a hospital with a capacity of 750 beds and trauma center facilities. It will also have a Medical college with an intake of 100 MBBS students per year and Nursing College with an intake of 60 B.Sc. (Nursing) students per year. Under this scheme, AIIMS have been established in Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal, Raipur, Jodhpur, Rishikesh and Patna while work of AIIMS Rae Bareli is in progress. Also, three AIIMS in Nagpur (Maharashtra), Kalyani (West Bengal) and Mangalagiri in Guntur (Andhra Pradesh) have been sanctioned in 2015, two AIIMS have been sanctioned at Bathinda and Gorakhpur in 2016 and an AIIMS in Kamrup (Assam).
27. On 1st January 2018, the Assamese and Manipuri language versions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Official website (www.pmindia.gov.in) were launched. The website can now be accessed in Assamese and Manipuri in keeping with the requests from the citizens of the two states. With this launch, the PM INDIA website is available in 11 regional languages namely Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu in addition to English and Hindi. The initiative is part of the on-going efforts of the Prime Minister Modi to reach out to the people and communicate with them in their own language.
28. The first draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam has listed 19 million people out of the 32.9 million applicants as legal Indian citizens in a massive exercise aimed at identifying illegal immigrants in the state that borders Bangladesh. The Office of the State Coordinator of NRC Assam has provided five alternatives to check for the names included in the draft. One of them alternative is to check the printed version of the list at the NRC Seva Kendras between 10 AM to 4 PM till January 31 on all working days. One can also call at the 24X7 tollfree helpline number 15107 from Assam and 18003453762 from outside Assam. The NRC was last updated in Assam way back in 1951. Then, it had recorded 80 lakh citizens in the State. India and Bangladesh share 4,096-km-long border, of which 262 km falls in Assam.
29. Former RAW Chief Rajinder Khanna, a 1978-batch Research and Analysis Wing Service (RAS) officer, has been appointed as the new Deputy National Security Adviser (NSA) on January 2, 2018 without a fixed tenure and would remain at the post until further orders. He will assist NSA Ajit Doval, who too is a former RAW chief. It is for the first time when both NSA and Deputy NSA are from intelligence agency background. Khanna has led many counter-terrorism operations in the spy agency and is reportedly an expert on Pakistan and Islamic terrorism. The position has been vacant since Arvind Gupta had stepped down after completion of his contractual term in August 2017.
30. The Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany (BSIP) is an autonomous institute constituted under the Department of Science and Technology, GoI. The institute is located at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh and is a seat of higher learning in the field of plant fossil research. The BSIP, established in 1946, was an outcome of vision of the renowned Indian botanist Prof. Birbal Sahni.
31. Bengaluru will host the first edition of Karnataka International Travel Expo' (KITE) at the Bangalore International Exhibition Center (BIEC) from February 28, 2018. The expo is being touted as the largest B2B travel event in India, which is providing a platform for over 400 registered buyers and media representatives from over 25 countries. The government expects to attract over 1,000 delegates and facilitate 10,000 or so meetings during the 3-day event. The purpose of expo is to project Karnataka globally and attract tourist footfall, with emphasis on promoting the state's adventure and wildlife, business travel, pilgrimage, UNESCO world heritage sites, festivals of Karnataka, etc. The event would provide impetus to inbound travel and tourism and enhance the marketing efforts of Karnataka Tourism to promote destinations in the State.
32. On 3rd January 2018, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has welcomed six new non-permanent members — Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Peru, and Poland. The six new countries, voted on by the 193-member General assembly for two-year terms, will have a strong voice in matters dealing with international peace and security during their time on the U.N.'s most powerful body. The U.N. Security council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 members — five of which (Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States) hold permanent membership and veto power. The six countries who left the UNSC on 31st December 2017 are Egypt, Italy, Japan, Senegal, Ukraine and Uruguay.
33. Turkey's endangered 'bird language' has entered the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. It is an unusual and very efficient whistle language used as a means of communication by villagers in remote northern Turkey. UNESCO has accepted the "bird language" of Black Sea villagers as an endangered part of world heritage in need of urgent protection. Around 10,000 people, mostly in the district of Canakci in Giresun province, still use the highly-developed and high pitch system of whistling to communicate in the rugged terrain where most of the times they cannot see each other. This form of communication which dates to some 500 years ago, during the Ottoman Empire, was widespread across the Black Sea regions, but 50 years ago it suffered the impact of the progression of technology and nowadays the ever rapid growing of cellular mobile systems has put this cultural heritage under serious threat.
34. Recently, the Rajasthan Government and HDFC Bank have signed MoU to promote and nurture startups in the state. As per pact, HDFC Bank will team up with the state government to provide end-to-end solutions including current accounts, credit cards and more under its SmartUp programme. HDFC Bank will also assist startups in showcasing their offerings to the general public.
35. The State Bank of India (SBI) and NABARD have signed an agreement with 5 NGOs in Bengal for the promotion of 2,500 Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) in select districts of the State on January 2, 2018. JLGs are informal groups of 4-10 members engaged in similar economic activities and willing to jointly undertake the responsibility to repay loans taken by the group from a bank. They are typically credit groups of small or marginal tenant farmers who do not have a proper title of their farmland. Through these JLGs, SBI plans to extend assistance to the financially excluded sections of the society, especially landless farmers in the districts of Purulia, Paschim Medinipur, Purba Medinipur, Burdwan and North 24 Parganas. Plans are also afoot to scale up the project in a phased manner to cover the remaining districts. NABARD has fixed a target of credit linking 80,000 JLGs in West Bengal in 2017-18. Till date, NABARD has sanctioned assistance for the promotion of 60,000 JLGs by various NGOs in the State through 339 projects in different districts.
36. The 16th edition of the Sundaram Finance Mylapore Festival (SFMF-2018) has started at Sri Kapaleeswarar Temple and Nageswara Rao Park in Chennai, Tamil Nadu from January 4. The 4 day fest will include about 40 events, such as heritage walks, competitions and cultural performances. It has been organized by city based non banking finance company Sundaram Finance.
37. Abhay, the 1986-batch police officer of Odisha cadre, has taken charge as the new chief of the of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) at the NCB headquarters in Delhi on January 2, 2018. He will hold the post the post till 18th of November 2019. Prior to this appointment, he was Additional DG (Training) in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The post of the NCB DG was lying vacant since April 2017 when the incumbent R R Bhatnagar was appointed as the CRPF DG. Special Secretary in the home ministry Rina Mitra was handling the additional charge of NCB DG since then. The NCB, under the command of the Union Home Ministry, is the apex coordinating and enforcement agency in the country against drug crimes and for countering drugs abuse.
38. B Rajendran, the former Madras High Court judge, has been appointed as the Chairman of the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (REAT) for Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The monthly salary of the chairperson would be Rs 80,000. As per Section 43 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, the State government has to establish the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal for Tamil Nadu. Under Section 45 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, the tribunal should consist of a chairperson and not less than two whole-time members, of which one shall be a judicial member and another has to be a technical or administrative member appointed by the government.
39. The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) to offer relevant training to the employees on issues pertaining payment banking. Under the agreement, IICA has been entrusted with the key responsibility of capacity building of IPPB through training of its officials/employees besides providing research support by instituting Research Chairs in the emerging area of payment banking. This joint venture is expected to enable the massive network of post offices with the ability to effectively deal with Financial Inclusion.
40. The Khadakwasla Dam is 1.6 km long and has been built on the Mutha River, 20 km from Pune in Maharashtra. This dam across the river Mutha created an attractive lake "Khadakwasla Lake", which is the main source of water for Pune and its suburbs.
41. Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, will inaugurate the 2018 ASEAN-India Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) in Singapore on January 6. The theme of the 2-day PBD Convention is "Ancient Route, New Journey: Diaspora in the Dynamic India-ASEAN Partnership". The PBD is celebrated every year to strengthen the engagement of the overseas Indian community with the Government, reconnect them with their roots and celebrate their achievements and contributions.
42. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has initiated Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) against public sector lender Allahabad Bank, owing to its high net Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) and negative Return on Assets (RoA) for two consecutive years. The action would contribute to the overall improvement in risk management, asset quality, profitability, efficiency of the bank. The RBI has initiated similar action against other public sector banks, including IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and UCO Bank. The RBI in April 2017 had issued a new set of enabling provisions under the revised PCA framework with a clause that if the bank does not show improvement then it could be either be merged or taken over by other bank.
43. Political scientist Gopal Guru has been appointed as the Editor of the Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) by the Sameeksha Trust for a period of five years. Urrently, Professor Guru teaches Political Science at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi. Earlier, he taught at the University of Delhi and the University of Pune.
44. Preeti Sudan, the secretary of Union Health and Family Welfare ministry, has launched India's first digital online oncology tutorial series in collaboration with the Tata Memorial Centre on January 4, 2018. The purpose of the tutorial series is to educate doctors in early detection, prevention, palliation, rehabilitation and treatment of various forms of cancers. This is part of a national programme that will be rolled out across the country by Tata Memorial Centre in collaboration with state governments. The overall course, designed for 7 weeks, will equip doctors with the skills and knowledge on the basics of oncology to detect, diagnose and refer cancer cases early. It comprises 14 hours of comprehensive e-learning through more than 40 video lectures, case studies, assessment questionnaires and periodic interactive webinar sessions with the respective consultants of Tata Memorial Hospital.
45. The 3rd edition of the Science Film Festival of India (SCI-FFI) will be held in Goa from January 16-19, 2018. The festival titled "SCI-FFI Goa" is being organized by the state-based Vidnyan Parishad, Goa Department of Science and Technology. The purpose of the fest is to promote science filmmaking culture in Goa. The Science Film Making Competition is an attractive part of the SCI-FFI festival. The competition is in two categories of films up to 5 minutes duration and over 5 minutes. The first prize for the best film is a cash prize of Rs 25,000. The three best films will also receive cash prizes. Other categories include best Direction/Research presentation, and best Cinematography, Editing and Design. The total prize money is Rs 1.00 lakhs and will be given away during the opening ceremony on 16th Jan. The competition aims to boost the culture of science films, all the films submitted should be related to science and technology.
46. Meghalaya has signed the Host City Contract with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for hosting the 39th National Games in 2022 on January 3, 2018. The tripartite contract was signed between the IOA, the Meghalaya State Olympic Association, and the state government. With this, Meghalaya will host the National Games 2022 coinciding with the 50th year of the creation of the state. For these games, the central government will provide 30% of the total budget for the National Games while the remaining 70% funds would have to be raised by the state government on its own. Meghalaya will be the 3rd northeastern state after Manipur and Assam hosted the National Games in 1999 and 2007, respectively. It had co-hosted the 2016 South Asian Games with its neighboring Assam. Approx, 14,450 athletes and officials are expected to visit the state during the 2022 National Games.
47. The Border Security Force (BSF) has launched Operation Alert along the over 200 km long International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) to curb the increasing movement of infiltrating terrorists from across the border.
48. Vasant Shankar Davkhare (67), the senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former Deputy Chairman of the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC), has passed away in Mumbai on January 4, 2018. He was known for his loyalty to NCP chief Sharad Pawar and was also known for having cordial relations across party lines; especially with Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray. His closeness to Thackerays always ensured his easy win in Council polls. However, he tasted defeat last year as the Sena decided to contest against him. His son Niranjan is also an MLC from the NCP.
49. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed the Conference on Transformation of Aspirational Districts at the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi on January 5, 2018. During the conference, which is being organized by NITI Aayog, the Prime Minister will interact with officials in-charge of transformation of over 100 backward districts. This event is in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a New India by 2022. Niti Ayaog has identified 115 such districts. It nominated senior government officials as 'Prabhari' officers for each of these districts in November 2017. They will act as a bridge between the Centre and the district and will coordinate efforts between the Centre and states.
50. The Basava Sagar Dam has been built across the Krishna River at Siddapur Village in Bijapur district of Karnataka. The reservoir that it impounds is known as Basava Sagar, and has a total storage capacity of 37.965 tmcft with 30.5 tmcft live storage. The full reservoir level is 492.25 m MSL and the minimum draw down level is 481.6 m MSL. The dam is 29 meters high and over 10 kilometres long and has 30 gates for water release.
51. The New Delhi World Book Fair has started at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi on January 6, 2018. It is organised by the National Book Trust (NBT) in association with India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO). The main theme of 2018 fair is "Environment and climate change" and European Union is the focus country. More than 40 countries including Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom are participating in the book fair. The annual event will come to an end on 14th of this month.
52. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attended the annual conference of DGPs and IGPs at the BSF Academy at Tekanpur in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh on January 7, 2018. Over 250 top police officers from all over the country are taking part in the three-day conference. The 2-day Director Generals of Police (DGPs) Conference is an annual event in which top police officers from all over the country share and discussed security-related issues. Holding the Annual DGP Conference outside the national capital, is in line with Prime Minister's vision that such conferences should be held across the country, and not just confined to Delhi. Earlier, Prime Minister Modi had addressed the conference in Guwahati in 2014, Dhordo, Rann of Kutch, Gujarat in 2015 and National Police Academy, Hyderabad in 2016.
53. T S Tirumurti, a 1985-batch officers of Indian Foreign Service, has been was appointed the Secretary (Economic Relations) in the External Affairs Ministry on January 5, 2018. According to the order issued by the personnel ministry, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment to the post, in place of Vijay Keshav Gokhale, who was recently named as the Foreign Secretary. Prior to this post, Tirumurti was the India's High Commissioner to Kuala Lumpur.
54. Gilles Simon of France has won the Tata Open Maharashtra Tennis trophy at Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune on January 6, 2018. In the summit clash, the unseeded French player humbled big-serving second seeded Kevin Anderson in straight sets 7-6, 6-2. Simon is ranked 89 in the world, while Anderson is ranked 14th. The tournament is India's only ATP event. For the past 22 years, the tournament had been associated with the big metro cities, New Delhi hosting the inaugural edition in 1996, and Chennai becoming home to it for the next 21 years. This time, the event moved to the tier two city Pune and was rechristened Tata Open Maharashtra.
55. The Himalayan Hydro Expo 2018 has started at Kathmandu in Nepal on January 5, 2018. President of Nepal Bidya Devi Bhandari inaugurated the exhibition. The basic objective of Expo is to unleash massive hydro power potential of Nepal and bring all stakeholders under one roof. According to experts Nepal has approximately 40,000 MW of economically feasible hydro power potential and so far it has developed just around 600 MW. The delegates from various countries including India, China, Austria, Czech Republic and Norway are participating in the expo. Seminars, discussions and competitions for engineering students will also be organised during three day event.
56. Iceland has become the first country in the world to enforce equal pay for women and men. The new law, which came into force on 1st January 2018, stated that companies and government agencies employing at least 25 people will have to obtain government certification of their equal-pay policies. Companies will face fines if they can't prove that men and women are receiving the same salary for the same job. The new legislation was supported by Iceland's centre-right government, as well as the opposition, in a parliament where nearly 50% of all members are women.
57. Ravi Menon, an Indian-origin banker in Singapore has been named as the best central bank governor in Asia-Pacific for 2018 by the leading UK-based magazine 'The Banker' for his contribution in the makeover of Singapore's financial system. He is the managing director of Singapore's central bank Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
58. The 31st International Kite Festival (Uttarayan) has launched at Sabarmati River Front in Ahmedabad, Gujarat from January 7, 2018. The week-long colorful festival has inaugurated by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in the presence of Governor Shri O.P.Kohli. As per reports, 149 foreign kite fliers from 44 countries are participating in this edition of international kite festival. More than 96 kite fliers from 18 states and 290 kite fliers of Gujarat will also take part in this week-long event.
59. The World Sweet Festival (WSF-2018) will be held in Hyderabad from January 13 to showcase the cosmopolitan nature of Hyderabad in a sweet way. The sweets from around 25 states in India and 15 foreign countries, to be prepared locally by members of various associations, will be displayed at the event, being organized by the Telangana government. The 3-day festival would be organised in association with various cultural, language and region-based associations of people, including those from foreign countries living in Hyderabad. The event would be held along with kites festival which the Telangana government organises every year.
60. The Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) is located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is the world's largest leather research institute in terms of research papers and patents. The CLRI was founded on 24 April 1948 as a constituent laboratory under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
61. Saksham Yadav (28), an international-level powerlifter, has passed away in the trauma centre at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi on January 7, 2018. He was admitted in an extremely critical condition. Yadav along with his 5 friends were injured in car accident due to fog conditions near the Singhu Border in outer Delhi's Alipur area. Four other power-lifters – Tikamchand, Saurabh, Yogesh and Harish Roy – died on the spot. Rohit, the lone survivor of the accident, is admitted to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital. Yadav had recently won a gold medal in the 2017 World Championship for Power Lifters in Moscow.
62. According to Union Defence Minister Nirmala Seetharaman, the Defence Innovation Centre (DIC) will be set up in Coimbatore to assist small industries in manufacturing components for the defence sector. The Defence Ministry will release Rs 20 crore as an initial funding to the Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (CODISSIA) to set up the innovation centre. The small and micro units as well as startups that can manufacture components required for the defence production would be identified by the CODISSIA. The Association can design or test their products at the centre.
63. Actor Sterling K Brown has created history by becoming the first African-American to win Golden Globe for best actor in a drama television series for his role as Randall Pearson on NBC's breakout hit "This Is Us". He won the award at the 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards (AGGA-2018) at Beverly Hills in California on January 8, 2018. Elizabeth Moss has won the Golden Globe trophy in Best Drama Actress TV category for her performance in "The Handmaids Tale". Actor Nicole Kidman won the award for the Best Actress in a Limited Series at the event for her work on "Big Little Lies" and took the opportunity to speak out against abuse.
64. Peter Denis Sutherland (71), the former Director General (DG) of World Trade Organization (WTO), has passed away in Dublin, Ireland. Sutherland became the WTO's first chief in 1995, having previously been head of its precursor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). He also served as Ireland's youngest Attorney General and then youngest European Union (EU) commissioner during the 1980s.
65. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been bestowed with the 1st Mufti Mohammed Sayeed Probity in Politics and Public Life Award for his works and contributions in bringing probity in public life as well as his crusade against corruption in Bihar. The award was presented to the Bihar Chief Minister by the Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra at Mufti Mohammed Sayeed Commemoration day function held in Jammu on January 8, 2018.
66. Prof Baldev Raj (71), the director of the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), has passed away in Pune, Maharashtra on January 6, 2018, while attending a conference. A recipient of the Padma Shri award, he took over as director of NIAS Bengaluru in 2014 and presided over the expansion of the institute in terms of faculty strength and research grants. He had also served as director of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) in Kalpakkam. He was a major contributor to the advancement of technologies like the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) and the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR). He contributed to the fields of nuclear materials and mechanics, non-destructive evaluation, nanoscience and technology as well as robotics and automation during the course of his career. He was also an author of around 1,000 academic papers in peer reviewed journals and more than 70 books. Prof Raj won more than 100 awards and assignments in more than 30 countries.
67. The Indian Navy has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Cochin Port Trust (CPT) for utilizing the Port's berthing facility at Mattancherry wharf for Naval ships. As per the MoU, Cochin Port's Q2 and Q3 berths at Mattacherry wharf, totaling 228 metre quay length, would be handed over to the Indian Navy for five years for berthing their ships. The lease, at an approximate cost of Rs10 crore a year, would not only enhance the growing partnership between the Navy and CPT, but will also provide the Navy with larger berthing space, thereby enabling the presence of naval ships in Kochi, both at naval as well as commercial jetties.
68. Switzerland has won the 30th edition of the Hopman Cup tournament 2018 at the Perth Arena in Perth, Australia. It is their 3rd third Hopman Cup title as Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic beat Germany's Alexander Zverev and Angelique Kerber 4-3 (3), 4-2 in the deciding mixed doubles, to secure a 2-1 victory in Perth. It was Federer's second Hopman Cup triumph after victory in 2001 alongside Martina Hingis.
69. Elina Svitolina, a Ukrainian professional tennis player, has won the 2018 women's singles Brisbane International tournament in Brisbane, Australia on January 6, 2018. She beat Belarusian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 6-1 in the final to win her 10th title on the women's elite tour.
70. The Indravati Dam is a gravity dam on the Indravati River, about 90 km from Bhawanipatna in the state of Odisha. It is connected to the main Indravati reservoir via 4.32 km long and 7 m dia head race tunnel designed for a discharge capacity of 210 cumecs and terminating in a surge shaft. It is one of the largest Dam in India as well as Asia. Currently, it is the largest power producing dam in eastern India with a capacity of 600 MW.
71. Dr Harsh Vardhan, the Union Minister of Earth Sciences (MoES), has dedicated India's fastest and first multi-peta-flops supercomputer "Pratyush' to the nation in Pune on January 8, 2018. The supercomputer has been established at Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) and will be a national facility for improving weather and climate forecasts under the umbrella of the MoES. This facility is part of Ministry's continuous endeavor to provide world class forecast services to the citizens of India through upgrading various operational and research activities and the needed infrastructure. Petaflops is a measure of a computer's processing speed.
72. Soumitra Chattopadhyay (82), the legendary film and theatre actor, will be conferred with the France's highest order of merit 'Legion of Honour at the 42nd International Kolkata Book Fair 2018. The honour will be bestowed on the actor who starred in many of Satyajit Ray's iconic films by French culture and communication minister Francoise Nyssen in Kolkata. The book fair will open on January 30 and conclude on February 11. Chattopadhyay acted in several of Ray's films,including Apur Sansar, Abhijan, Charulata, Aranyer Din Ratri and Sonar Kella.
73. Sunny Verghese, the Singapore-based Indian-origin businessman, has been appointed as the Chairman of the Geneva-based World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). He succeeded Paul Polman, the CEO of Unilever, on January 1 and will serve a two-year term. The WBCSD is a global network of more than 200 CEOs who are responsible for a combined revenue of more than $8.5 trillion and 19 million employees.
74. Haryana has become the first Indian state to launch High-Risk Pregnancy (HRP) portal which helps in early identification of high-risk pregnant cases up to the grass-roots level and ensures their timely referral to the civil hospitals for further management and delivery by specialists. The High Risk Pregnancy Policy has been implemented across the State since November 2017, for identifying 100% name-based high-risk pregnancy cases, and ensuring their delivery by specialists at civil hospitals. This initiative will definitely increase the pace of decline in Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Still Birth Incidence as morbidity and mortality is quite high in high risk pregnant cases, if not managed timely.
75. Soon, India's second Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) will be set up by the Union Government in Arunachal Pradesh as part of tapping the potential of the Northeastern region. The first FTII was set up in Pune, an autonomous institute operating under the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B). Film actor Anupam Kher is the current Chairman of this institute.
76. John Watts Young (87), the legendary astronaut who walked on the Moon and later commanded the first space shuttle flight, has passed away at Houston, United States on January 5, 2018. He became the 9th person to walk on the Moon as Commander of the Apollo 16 mission in 1972. Young enjoyed the longest career of any astronaut, becoming the first person to fly six space missions (with seven launches, counting his lunar liftoff) over the course of 42 years of active NASA service. He was the only spaceman to span NASA's Gemini, Apollo and shuttle programs and became the first person to rocket away from Earth six times.
77. According to recently released report by Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Gujarat has topped the Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) index. Among 22 states, Punjab has acquired 2nd position followed by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Among the Union Territories, Daman & Diu occupied the top slot followed by Delhi and Chandigarh. As regards the hilly states, Tripura was on top followed by Mizoram and Meghalaya. The LEADS index is an indicator of the efficiency of logistical services necessary for promoting exports in particular and economic growth in general. It is based on the analysis of perception with regard to eight parameters, including infrastructure, services, regulatory process and safety of cargo. The Report LEADS would help in identifying the right problem areas in the sector and prepare policy responses to deal with them.
78. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the first-ever Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) Parliamentary Conference in the Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra (PBK) in Delhi on January 9, 2018. Approx 124 Members of Parliament (MP) and 17 mayors from 23 countries will participate in this conference. The conference is a way of reaching out to the Indian community overseas by the Central government. The event will have two thematic sessions, the first one will have as special guest senior Congress leader and chairman of the parliamentary committee on external affairs, Shashi Tharoor. The session will be presided over by Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The second session will have Parliamentary Affairs minister Ananth Kumar as a special guest which will be chaired by Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
79. The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is celebrated every year on January 9 to mark the contribution of Overseas Indian community in the development of India. The day was chosen to commemorate the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to India in 1915, which led India's freedom struggle and changed the lives of Indians forever.
80. The Pandoh Dam is an embankment dam on the Beas River in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh. The dam was commissioned in 1977 and its primary purpose is hydroelectric power generation. The power house has an installed capacity of 990 MW. The water is used for power generation at the Dehar Power House before being discharged into the Satluj River, connecting both rivers. Apart from this, the Pandoh Lake is created by Pandoh Dam and is located about 19 km upstream from Mandi on the River Beas.
81. The World Bank (WB) in its latest report "Global Economic Prospects (GEP-2018)" has projected India's GDP growth rate at 7.3% in 2018 and 7.5% for the next two years. As per report, despite initial setbacks from demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax (GST), India's economy is estimated to have grown at 6.7% in 2017. Ayhan Kose, the Director of World Bank(WB)'s Development Prospects Group (DPG), stated that India's growth potential will be around 7% for the next 10 years. For global economy, World Bank's outlook, for the first time in many years, is better than expected with all regions seeing improved growth. However, it has warned that countries must make investments to improve their growth prospects, and the time to do that is before the next crisis hits, as it inevitably will.
82. Aanchal Thakur, a 21-year-old from Himachal Pradesh, has created history by becoming the first Indian to register an international medal in skiing. She clinched bronze in the slalom race category at Alpine Ejder 3200 Cup organised by Skiing's international governing body, Federation International de Ski (FIS) at the Palandoken Ski Centre, in Erzurum in Turkey on January 9, 2018.
83. The Matunga suburban station on the Central Railway (CR) of Mumbai division has figured in the Limca Book of Records 2018 for having an all-woman staff. The achievement comes six months after Matunga became the first railway station in the country to be run by an all-woman staff. A team of 41 women staffers at the station includes personnel from the RPF, commercial and operating departments. These staffers work under the supervision of station manager Mamta Kulkarni. The staff has been handling all operations of the station round-the-clock for the last six months and results are positive and encouraging. The aim of the initiative is to create an environment where women are encouraged to take a decision about their own personal and professional well-being.
84. Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, has launched a common mobility card scheme to aid seamless travel between the city's bus transport and the Metro system on January 8, 2018. With this, Delhi has become the India's first city to have a common mobility card, which can at present be used on 200 DTC and 50 cluster buses plying on different routes, apart from metro trains. The card, which will function like a debit card, will be operational in all DTC and cluster buses from April. The city has around 3,900 DTC and over 1,600 cluster buses.
85. The Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO), the research arm of Union Ministry of Railways, has launched "New Online Vender Registration System" on January 9, 2018. This new system provides major improvements and paradigm changes in the registration system over the earlier system. Public access to the information, expeditious process completion with defined timelines, simplification of procedures, round-the-year services, availability of all related information on RDSO Website, constant monitoring at all levels, reduction in cycle timelines, regular updation of online data, user friendly interface etc. are the hallmarks of the new system. And also, there is no need for vendors to visit RDSO office for any activity related to his case for registration.
86. Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman has become the official brand ambassador of Sikkim. The declaration was made by Sikkim chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling who felicitated the legendary music composer during an inauguration of the 2018 Sikkim Red Panda Winter Carnival at Palzor Stadium in Gangtok on January 8. The winter carnival is aimed at boosting tourism in the state and has music, dance, adventure sports and exhibition of organic food products of the state events lined up for the 11 days of the festival.
87. The 34th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival 2018 and the 3rd China International Ice and Snow Tourism Summit has officially started on January 5 in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. The festival mainly features ice and snow-themed scenic spots such as the world's largest ice and snow park and a snow sculpture art expo as well as diverse ice and snow sports and entertainments. Statistics show that during the 33rd ice and snow festival the number of tourists received by Harbin stood at 18.49 million, up 12.2% year on year.
88. Iran has recently banned teaching of English language in primary schools to fight against western cultural invasion. Usually, the teaching of English starts in middle school in Iran, at the ages of 12 to 14, but some primary schools below that age also have English classes. The head of the state-run High Education Council, Mehdi Navid-Adham stated that teaching English in government and non-government primary schools in the official curriculum are against laws and regulations.
89. The World Hindi Day (WHD) is observed every year on January 10 to mark the first anniversary of World Hindi Conference (WHC) which was held in 1975. The first WHC was inaugurated by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Apart from India, the language is also spoken in Nepal, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Fiji and Mauritius. Apart from this, the National Hindi Divas (NHD) is celebrated every year in India on September 14 to mark the day on which the Constituent Assembly adopted Hindi written in Devanagari script as the Official Language of the Union.
90. The Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA) is located in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. It is an advanced research institute for freshwater aquaculture. It was founded in 1987 by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi. Its genesis lies in the Pond Culture Division of Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI), Cuttack which started the training center at Kausalyaganga, on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar for Developing and Training on Inland Fishery.
91. The 4th edition of International Dharma Dhamma conference (IDDC-2018) has inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind in Rajgir, Bihar on January 11, 2018. This 3-day conference has been jointly organised by India Foundation, Nalanda University, Ministry of External Affairs, ASEAN-India and Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha. The conference is an endeavour of Nalanda University as a bridge between India and other nations. Over one hundred dignatories and experts from 11 countries will hold deliberations and present research papers on various topics related to Buddhism and other religions and global peace. The conference brings together a wide array of dignatories who are responsible for governance, policy making and giving directions to countries. Sages, monks and Swamis will also share their spiritual views in different sessions.
92. The Punjab government has rolled out e-Raktkosh web portal in all the 45 government blood banks. The web portal provides the guidelines and streamlines the workflow of blood blanks and storage centres across the nation and interconnects all blood banks with a single network. Brahm Mahindra, the State Health Minister, has stated that in the next phase all 59 private blood banks of the state will be linked with the e-Raktkosh application software.
93. The Punjab National Bank (PNB) and National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC) have tied up to provide financial assistance for economic empowerment of persons belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC) families living below Double Poverty Line (DPL). Under this tie-up, PNB would act as a channelising agent for the loan schemes of NSFDC. Concessional finance and skill training grants would be provided to unemployed SC persons living below Double Poverty Line.
94. Dilip Asbe has been appointed as the new Managing Director and CEO of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Prior to this, Asbe was CEO-in-charge of NPCI. He succeeded A.P.Hota, who retired in August 2017. Asbe has been in the NPCI since its inception and has played a pivotal role in designing, building, operationalising and managing large-scale payment processing platforms like the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM), Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), India's home-grown card network RuPay, and several other initiatives.
95. Aditya Mehta, an Indian professional snooker player & Asian Games medallist, has won the 2018 Kolkata Open International Invitation Snooker Championship at the Hindustan Club in Kolkata, West Bengal on January 8, 2018. In the thrilling final, he defeated Englishman Professional Player Alfie Burden by 5-4. This is his third Kolkata Open title since it's inception.
96. Dr. K Sivan will be the new Secretary of the Department of Space, and Chairman of the Space Commission and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Sivan is popularly known as the "Rocket Man" for his significant contribution in the development of cryogenic engines for India's space programme. Currently, he is director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). He will succeed A.S. Kiran Kumar, who is going to retire on January 14, 2018. He joined ISRO in 1982 in the then young PSLV project and has been project director of the GSLV rocket.
97. The Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has signed a MoU with South Korea for Business co-operation with a focus on automobile, defence and textiles sectors. The main purpose of the MoU is to help Gujarat-based Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to explore opportunities through joint ventures with South Korean firms, especially in areas of automobile, defence and textiles.
98. The Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) sub-committee on girl child education has decided to recommend free and compulsory education for girls up to post-graduate level across the country. The committee will also recommend establishing of exclusive residential degree colleges for SC and ST women besides provision of health and hygiene kits to girls. All these schemes are already being successfully implemented in Telangana. The committee also wants schools to maintain academic atmosphere besides providing basic amenities like toilets, running water, maintenance, safety measures and power supply and also appoint a counselor for adolescent girls. Apart from this, the committee wants the Union government to establish a university exclusive for women in all States. The sub-committee is likely to submit an interim report to Union Minister for Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar during a meeting on January 15, 2018. Kadiam Srihari, Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister of Telangana, is the head of the sub-committee.
99. In a major digital initiative to help plan the traffic flows and optimize freight operations, Ministry of Railways has launched Smart Freight Operation Optimisation and Real Time Information (SFOORTI) App for freight managers. The app provides features for monitoring and managing freight business using Geographic Information System (GIS) Views and Dashboard. With this application both passenger and freight trains can be tracked over Zones, Divisions and Sections in single GIS View. The app provides a bird's eye view of all freight assets in a single window and end to end rake movement on Geospatial view. Expected traffic at interchange points can be viewed to evaluate daily performance. Position of rakes for specific type of stock can be viewed through this application.
100. The Uri Dam is a 480 MW hydroelectric power station on the Jhelum River near Uri in Baramula district of the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). It is located very near to the Line of Control, the de facto border between India and Pakistan. The station is largely built under a hill with a 10 km tunnel. It is of the run-of-the-river type without a large dam, since the Indus Waters Treaty gives Pakistan the exclusive right to regulate the Jhelum River.
101. The 2018 National Youth Day (NYD) has been celebrated in India on January 12 to mark the 155th birth anniversary of social reformer, philosopher and thinker Swami Vivekananda. He was considered a major force in the revival of Hinduism in India and bringing it to the status of a major world religion in the late 19th century. He became popular in the western world after his famous speech at the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. He was the chief disciple of the 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna and founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission. In 1984, the Government of India (GoI) declared the day as the National Youth Day (NYD) and since 1985 the event is celebrated in India every year.
102. The Election Commission (EC) has constituted a 14-member committee to suggest changes to Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act in view of social media expansion. The Act prohibits poll campaign in the last 48 hours of voting. The Committee chaired by Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha will study the impact of social media during the silence period and suggest modifications to the election law and model code of conduct.
103. Ecuador has granted citizenship to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in an attempt to resolve the political impasse over his continued presence in the United Kingdom (UK). Ecuador Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa informed that Assange, who is an Australian, became an Ecuadoran citizen on December 12, 2017. This news announced on January 12, 2018. Assange has been living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012, when he was faced with extradition to Sweden for allegedly sexually assaulting two women. Ecuador has also sought to give Assange diplomatic status, but Britain has rejected the request. The diplomatic immunity would allow him to leave the embassy without the possibility of being arrested for jumping bail in 2012.
104. French President Emmanuel Macron has been ranked first in the latest Gallup international annual survey "Opinion of Global Leaders", followed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and PM Narendra Modi. The survey was conducted across 50 nations and interviewed 53,769 people. In each country a representative sample of around 1,000 men and women was interviewed either face-to-face, or via phone, or through online mediums. The field work was conducted during October-December 2017. The survey shows that PM Modi is a popular leader in the Indian subcontinent with 69% of respondents in Afghanistan and 51% in Bangladesh holding a favourable view towards him.
105. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has appointed Harjinder Singh as the Chef De Mission for the 23rd Winter Olympic Games (WOG-2018) to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea on February 2018. Currently, Singh holds the post of General Secretary in the Ice Hockey Association of India.
106. The Supreme Court collegium, headed by CJI Dipak Misra, has created history by selecting Indu Malhotra as the first woman lawyer to be directly promoted as a judge of the Supreme Court (SC). She will be the 7th woman judge in the Supreme Court, since it was established 67 years ago, if her appointment goes through. Along with Malhotra, Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph has also been promoted as a Supreme Court judge. At present, Justice R Banumathi is the lone woman judge in the apex court. In 1989, Justice M Fathima Beevi became the first woman to be appointed as a judge of the apex court. Thereafter, Justice Sujata V Manohar, Justice Ruma Pal, Justice Gyan Sudha Misra and Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai made it to the top court as judges.
107. The 22nd National Youth Festival (NYF-2018) has inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Gautam Buddha University in Greater Noida on January 12. The Festival has commenced on the occasion of birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, the youth icon of India.The theme of 5-day festival is 'Sankalp Se Siddhi', to capitalise on the demographic dividend of young India, to capture the vibrancy and fresh perspective of youth and to pledge to accomplish the Goal of New India. The fest is organised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh government. This is the first time that the NYF is being organised in National Capital Region (NCR). The purpose of organising the NYF is to provide a platform to bring the youth of the country together in an attempt to provide them with an opportunity to showcase their talents in various activities.
108. The Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd is planning to launch its own cryptocurrency "JioCoin". It is expected to build a 50-member team of young professionals to work on blockchain technology, which can also be used to develop applications such as smart contracts and supply chain management logistics. The JioCoin project will be headed by Mukesh Ambani's elder son Akash Ambani. The Blockchain is a digital ledger for storing data. In simple terms, blockchain decentralizes information without it being copied. The information is held on blockchain through a shared database which can be accessed on a real-time basis. This database is not stored on physical servers but on the cloud, which makes it easy to store unlimited data.
109. ISRO has successfully launched weather observation satellite Cartosat 2 Series and 29 other spacecraft into the space from its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C-40 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The Cartosat-2 series satellite will provide high-resolution scene specific spot imageries. The images will be used for cartographic applications, urban and rural applications, coastal land use and regulation, road network monitoring, water distribution, creation of land use maps among other things. The co-passengers on the PSLV-C40 comprised one micro and nano satellite each from India and three micro and 25 nanosatellites from six countries — Canada, Finland, France, Korea, UK and US.
110. The Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS) is an anthropology museum to present an integrated story of the evolution of man and culture with special reference to India. It is located in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh and is also known as the National Museum of Humankind. This museum depicts the story of mankind in time and space. Prof. Sarit Kumar Chaudhuri is the current director-in-charge of IGRMS. The museum also has a regional centre for the South India region at Mysore in Karnataka.
111. Former world silver medallist Sarjubala Devi representing Manipur claimed the gold in 48kg category in the 2018 National Women's Boxing Championships in Rohtak on January 13. She was also given the best boxer trophy. Former world and Asian champion L Sarita Devi representing the All India Police, AIP picked up a gold medal in the 60 kg category. The other gold winners were Sonia Lather representing Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) in 57 kg category, Meena Kumari of AIP in 54 kg category and Rajesh Narwal from RSPB in 48 kg category. RSPB emerged as the overall champions.
112. Actor Sudhir Dalvi has been honoured with the Janakavi P Sawlaram award at a function in Mumbai on January 13, 2018. The award is jointly given by the Thane Municipal Corporation and the Janakavi P Savlaram Kala Samiti. Well-known dancer Jaishree T was bestowed with the Ganga Jamuna award, which is instituted in memory of a popular song written by Sawlaram. Dalvi first came to prominence for portraying Guru Vashishta in Ramanand Sagar's TV series "Ramayan". He also featured in the famous TV show "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" and other Hindi serials.
113. V J Mathew has been appointed as the new Chairman of Kerala Maritime Board (KMB). The decision in this regard was taken by the Kerala cabinet. Mathew is the legal adviser to Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited and co-president of the Indian Maritime Association (IMA).
114. The Bhopal railway station has become the India's first railway station to have a sanitary napkin vending machine named as 'Happy Nari'. The machine dispenses two sanitary napkins at the cost of Rs 5 only and accepts Rs 5 coins. The sanitary pads vending machine has been installed at platform No.1 by the Railway Women Welfare Association of Bhopal. The machine has the capacity of holding 75 sanitary pads. A specially trained female staff will refill the machine.
115. The World Economic Forum (WEF) has ranked India at 30th position on a Global Manufacturing Index (GMI). In its first "Readiness for the future of production" report, Japan has been found to have the best structure of production and is followed by South Korea, Germany, Switzerland, China, Czech Republic, the US, Sweden, Austria and Ireland. Among BRICS nations, Russia is ranked 35th, Brazil 41st and South Africa at 45th place. The report has placed India in the Legacy group along with Hungary, Mexico, Philippines, Russia, Thailand and Turkey, among others. China figures among 'leading countries while Brazil and South Africa are in nascent ones. The report which was published ahead of its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland said the 25 leading countries are in the best position to gain as production systems stand on the brink of exponential change. In the India context the report said, the country's manufacturing sector has grown by over 7% per year on average in the past three decades and accounts for 16-20% of India's GDP.
116. Anil Khanna, the Senior sports administrator, has been appointed the Chairman of newly formed Finance Commission by Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The IOA also formed a Medical Commission and Games Technical Conduct Committee and nominated office bearers of IOA and National Sports Federations (NSFs) to the Committees. The advisory committee comprises Tarlochan Singh, GS Mander, S Regunathan and BS Landge. The Khanna-led Finance Commission has Sahdev Yadav, Secretary General, Indian Weightlifting Federation and DK Singh, Secretary, Uttarakhand Olympic Association, as members.
117. The 4th ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry (AIMMAF) was held in New Delhi on January 12, 2018. The topic of discussion was based on food and agricultural future developments. The meeting was co-chaired by Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare Radha Mohan Singh and Thai Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Grisada Boonrach. It was attended by delegates from 10 ASEAN countries. In it, it was announced that the 5th ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry to be held in Brunei Darussalam in 2019.
118. The 13th edition of joint military drill exercise "Iron Fist 2018" has started between American and Japanese forces at Camp Pendleton in California on January 12 and will continue till February 12.. More than 500 U.S. Marines and sailors are partnering with about 350 members of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force to train in fire support operations and amphibious assaults. Iron Fist is an annual, bilateral training exercise where U.S. and Japanese service members train together and share techniques, tactics and procedures to improve their combined operational capabilities.
119. The 7th edition of the Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav (RSM), under the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat matrix, has started in Karnataka on January 14, 2018. The event, organised by the Ministry of Culture, will continue till the 20th of this month. The state paired with Karnataka is Uttarakhand. An official release said the event will cover a profusion of art forms from classical and folk, music and dance, theatre to literature and visual arts. The Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme was launched in 2017 to promote engagement among the people of different states to enhance mutual understanding and bonding. It also took note of the government's 'Make in India' initiative to make the country a global manufacturing hub and of a significant push to improve key enablers and move towards a more connected economy with announcement of a 59 billion dollars investment in infrastructure in 2017.
120. The 44 MW Chutak Hydroelectric Plant is located in Kargil District of Jammu & Kashmir. The barrage site is located about 14 km upstream of Kargil near village Sarzhe. The project is a run-off-river scheme on the river Suru, to generate 216 MU in a 90% dependable year having installed capacity of 44 MW (4 x 11 MW) utlising a rated head of 52m developed by construction of a 15.0 m high barrage and through 4780 m long 5.9M dia horse shoe shaped Head race tunnel.
121. The 3rd edition of the annual Raisina Dialogue 2018 will be held at the Taj Diplomatic Enclave in New Delhi from January 16-18. The theme for the 2018 Conference is "Managing Disruptive Transitions: Ideas, Institutions and Idioms". This theme is designed to explore the shifting dynamics within the global order; where old relationships need new directions, emerging partnerships face unprecedented constraints and the notions of power and sovereignty are challenged. The 2018 Conference will be inaugurated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will also be a part of the inaugural session of the 3-day-long event, which will see a series of high-powered panel discussions on geopolitical issues. Over 150 speakers from 90 countries expected to take part in the event, which is jointly organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and Observer Research Foundation (ORF).
122. Doodhnath Singh (81), the well-known Hindi writer, critic and poet, has passed away in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh on January 12, 2018. In 2014, the government of Uttar Pradesh honoured him with their Bharat Bharti Samman. He is known for his works like "Sapaat Chehre Wala Aadmi", "Aakhri Kalaam", "Nishkaasan", "Bhai Ka Shok Geet", "Dharmakshetra-Kurukshetra" and "Surang se Lautate Huye".
123. 12th International Film Festival on Art and Artist, which was presented by the JD Centre of Art (JDCA)'s Film Forum, was held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha from January 12 to 14, 2018. This year's festival was focused on Films on Arts & Literature. The 3-day non-competitive festival showcased 35-40 selected films and was attended by eminent artists, art lovers and film makers from across the country. The international award winning films like 'Maya Miriga', 'Ahalyara Bahaghara', 'Mayurbhanj ra Chhau Nrutya', 'Dhauligiri ra Shanti Stupa' and 'Pattachitra' directed by late Nirad Mohapatra, veteran director in Odia cinema, were screened as part of paying tribute to him. The JDCA's Film Festival is possibly the only film festival in India that is dedicated to Art. Each year the festival features a different focus around which films are curated in addition to its annual celebration of the art and culture of Odisha. The JDCA was established by renowned artist and Padma Bhushan awardee Jatin Das in 2006.
124. Rajnath Singh, the Union Home Minister, has inaugurated a two-day International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (IWDRI) in New Delhi on January 15, 2018. The workshop is organized by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). The workshop will bring together countries from different parts of the world – from Chile to Australia and from Japan to Sri Lanka – with different socio-economic backgrounds and geographical features. This will be a great opportunity to learn from their unique experiences in their efforts towards building disaster resilient infrastructure. The workshop will also see multilateral development banks, the United Nations, the private sector and academics coming together to identify best practices in the infrastructure sector, as well as key issues in existing practices and ways to address them.
125. The Army Day is celebrated every year by the Indian Army on January 15 to commemorate the day when General (later Field Marshal) K.M Carriappa took over the command of Army from General Sir Francis Butcher , the last British Commander-in-Chief in 1949 and became the first Commander-in-Chief of Indian Army post Independence. The day is also celebrated to remember the sacrifices made by the gallant soldiers and to pay homage to the martyrs. This year, in 2018, the 70th edition of Army Day has celebrated on Jan 15. On this occasion, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Naval Staff Sunil Lanba and Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa paid tributes at Amar Jawan Jyoti in Delhi.
126. Aishwarya Tipnis, the Delhi-based conservation architect, has been conferred France's top cultural award " Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres" for her outstanding commitment to preservation of French heritage in India in Kolkata on January 12, 2018. This prestigious award honours people who have distinguished themselves in the field of art. This year, Tipnis has been associated with the ongoing 'Bonjour India 2017-18' as the curator for the multi- faceted 'Know Your Indo-French Heritage' in Chandannagar, a former French colony in West Bengal. She is also part of the UNESCO expert team on the preparation of a 'Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan' for the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a world heritage, as well as the consultant to the Doon School on the restoration of their historic buildings.
127. NK Trikha (82), the veteran journalist, has passed away at AIIMS in New Delhi on Janauary 15, 2018. Trikha had worked at the Times of India Group's Hindi newspaper 'Navbharat Times' for a long time and was also the editor of its Lucknow edition. He also served as a member of the Press Council of India and he was twice president of the National Union of Journalists (India).
128. Arun Jaitley, the Union Finance Minister, has launched India's first agri-commodity options contract in guar seeds on the commodity bourse National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX). The purpose of this new initiative is to benefit farmers and ensure better prices in the coming days. The guar seeds options is one of the most liquid contracts on the exchange platform. Around 1.5 million farmers are associated with this commodity. Options are derivatives which give a buyer the right but not the obligation to buy or sell an underlying asset or instrument at a specific price on or before a certain date. NCDEX is the second exchange after MCX to launch options trading in commodities. In October 2017, MCX had launched gold options.
129. Kerala MLA K.K. Ramachandran Nair (65) has passed away in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on January 14, 2018. He had been representing Chengannur constituency in the Kerala state legislative assembly from 2016 until his death. He had started his political life as an SFI worker and had risen to the position of CPI(M) Chengannur area secretary. In the 2016 Assembly election, he had defeated P.C. Vishnunath of the Congress by a margin of 7983 votes.
130. The Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) is an Indian research and teaching institute located in Mysuru, Karnataka. It is part of the Language Bureau of the Ministry of Human Resource Development. The aim of the institute is to protect and document minor, minority and tribal languages. It promotes Linguistic harmony by teaching 15 Indian languages to non-native learners. It was founded on 17 July 1969.
131. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has inaugurated the third edition of the geo-political conference – Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi on January 16, 2018. The event is jointly organised by the External Affairs Ministry and Observer Research Foundation (ORF). The theme of the dialogue this year is 'Managing Disruptive Transitions: Ideas, Institutions and Idioms'. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj are also part of the inaugural session of the three-day event, which has an impressive line up of more than 150 speakers and over 550 delegates. Army chief General Bipin Rawat and Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba will also address a session, along with Admiral Harry Harris, Commander, US Pacific Command, General Chris Deverell, Joint Forces Commander, UK, among others. Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, former prime minister of Canada Stephen Harper and former prime minister of Sweden Carl Bildt are among more than 150 speakers and over 550 delegates from around 90 countries who are participating in the dialogue.
132. Prof. Narayana Sadashiv Pharande (78), the senior BJP leader and former Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC), has passed away in Pune, Maharashtra on January 16, 2018. He was popularly known as Na Sa Pharande & was elected thrice as the Member of the Legislative Council. Originally, he hailed from Satara district and was a gold medallist in Marathi and Sanskrit from Shivaji University in Kolhapur.
133. India and the United Kingdom (UK) have recently signed two agreements on return of Indians, who are living in Britain as illegal migrants and sharing criminal records and intelligence. The development comes close on heels of India seeking UK's help in early extradition of liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya from Britain to face the law at home in connection with cases of fraud and money laundering amounting to around Rs. 9,000 crores. The MOUs were signed by UK's Minister of Immigration Caroline Nokes and India's Minister of Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on January 11, 2018. The MoU on criminal records exchange will lead to British and Indian law enforcement bodies sharing criminal records information, fingerprints and intelligence. This will assist the police in protecting the public from known criminals, including sex offenders and also allow the courts in both countries to access more information to support tougher sentencing decisions.
134. Shripad Naik, the Union minister of state for Ayush (independent charge), has inaugurated a Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) wellness centre in Bambolim, Goa on January 16, 2018. State health minister Vishwajit Rane was also present at the occasion. It will be attached to Goa Medical College and the state government would provide all assistance to facilitate CGHS operations for beneficiaries in the state. The facility would provide Allelopathy, Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddhi and Homeopathy services. Over 3,000 serving central government employees and around 1,500 pensioners would be benefitted.
135. W.B. Rao, the veteran Cinematographer has passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra on January 16, 2018. Rao had been a part of the film industry for over four decades. He worked for films like "Hum", "Khuda Gawah", "Rangeela "Raja Hindustani", "Judwaa", "Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega" and "Dhadkan". He worked with a range of actors from the late Sanjeev Kumar, Mala Sinha to Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and Juhi Chawla.
136. Actress Kajol has become an advocacy ambassador for Hindustan Unilever's Swachh Aadat Swachh Bharat 'haath muh bum' initiative. She is an active supporter of eradicating preventable deaths from hygiene-related issues.
137. The Indo-US joint military exercise 'Vajra Prahar 2018' will be held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in Seattle, in which a 45-member Special Forces team from Indian Army's Southern Command will train alongside US soldiers in the third week of January. The aim of the exercise is to promote military relations between the two countries by enhancing interoperability and mutual exchange of tactics between Special Forces. The objectives of the joint training is to share the best practices between the two armies and to develop joint strategies by sharing expertise of conducting operations in a counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism environment, while capitalising on the rich repository of experiences of each other armies. The exercise will mainly focus on special operations in urban areas. The last edition was held in Jodhpur in March 2017.
138. Raghunath Jha (78), the senior Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Union Minister , has passed away in Delhi on January 15, 2018. He was Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise in the UPA government led by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, as a RJD representative. He was elected Member of Parliament (MP) twice from Gopalgunj and Bettiah Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar and was also six-time legislator from Sheohar Assembly constituency of the State.
139. India has contributed $50,000 to the UN's youth mission which works to raise awareness and attention to youth issues globally. UN Youth Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake received the cheque from Paulomi Tripathi, a First Secretary in India's UN mission at the UN headquarters in New York on Jan 12, 2018. The contribution is voluntary with no strings attached and is in addition to the regular payments India makes to the UN's general and peacekeeping budgets. The Youth Envoy's mission is to promote the engagement of youth and advocate for them across all the four pillars of the UN's work – sustainable development, human rights, peace and security and humanitarian action.
140. The Mahi Bajaj Sagar Dam is a dam across the Mahi River and is located 16kms from Banswara town in Banswara district Rajasthan. It is the second largest dam in Rajasthan and is named after Jamnalal Bajaj. The dam has an installed capacity of 140 MW.
141. The newly-constituted 5-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court has been set up to hear a range of crucial cases & its hearings has started on January 17, 2018. The bench is headed by Chief Justice Dipak Mishra and also comprises of Justices AK Sikri, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan. The cases that the bench will hear include challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act and the 2013 apex court judgement re-criminalising gay sex between consenting adults. The bench will also hear the issue of ban on the entry of women between 10 and 50 years of age in Kerala's Sabarimala temple. It will also resume hearing a legal query on whether a Parsi woman would lose her religious identity if she marries a man from a different religion. The other issues to be dealt with by the bench include the pleas, which have raised a question as to when will a lawmaker, facing the criminal trial, stand disqualified. All these matters were earlier referred to larger benches for adjudication by different benches of the apex court.
142. Charu Rohatgi, the Bollywood and TV actor, has passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra on January 15, 2018. She is known for working in Parineeti Chopra – Arjun Kapoor starrer film 'Ishaqzaade'. She was also an integral part of daily soaps like Pratigya and Uttaran. Her filmography includes films like 1920 London, Second Marriage Dot Com and 15 Park Avenue.
143. N. Vembusamy Sankaran (64), popularly known as Gnani, has passed away in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on January 15, 2018. He was the veteran Tamil writer, journalist and theatre personality. Known as a firebrand writer, Gnani led a theatre group known as "Pareeksha," produced television serials on social themes and has been participating in various television debates. He wrote articles under the pseudonyms Vamban, Cynic and Nandan, and is known for frank and uncompromising views on politics and culture, which he has expressed in the media for 30 years. He has also written several novels and for a brief time involved himself in politics too, though unsuccessfully.
144. The Logistics Division of the Union Commerce Ministry has signed an agreement with industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on January 16 to address challenges facing the country's logistics sector and help take measures to bring down costs. As per the MoU, CII will identify logistics challenges facing industry and suggest action solutions to the Logistics Division. It will also interact with state governments and work on promoting the logistics sector, along with capacity building programs. The two sides will cooperate in organising a National Logistics convention each year to bring together stakeholders in the sector. The headquarters of CII is located in New Delhi.
145. The NITI Aayog has launched the first Global Initiative on Academic Network (GIAN) course on Sustainable Urban planning using remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) has been launched at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur's outreach center in Noida on January 15, 2018. The purpose of the course is to give participants state-of-the-art remote sensing and GIS skills which will allow them to rise to the challenge of managing the rapidly changing urban environment of Indian cities. The focus will be on issues such as water resource management, water pollution and strategic emplacements for water treatment facilities. The course is being coordinated by Professor Rajiv Sinha from the Department of Earth Sciences at IIT Kanpur and Dr. Patrice Carbonneau from the Department of Geography, University of Durham, UK.
146. In an attempt to fight air pollution, China has constructed an experimental air purifying tower, touted to be the "world's biggest air purifier" at a height of over 100 meters (328 feet). The tower has been built in Xian in Shaanxi province and is being tested by researchers at the Institute of Earth Environment at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. As per reports, the air purifier has produced more than 10 million cubic meters of clean air since it was launched. The air purification system works through greenhouses covering about half the size of a soccer field around the base of the tower.
147. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and Fukuoka Prefecture in Japan has recently signed a friendship agreement for cooperation in various fields including environment, cultural exchange, education, tourism and heritage, and air pollution. Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal and Governor of Fukuoka Hiroshi Ogawa represented the two governments. The two cities signed this agreement for three years, with effect from April 2017, till 2020. The first MoU/Friendship Agreement between Delhi and Fukuoka was signed in March 2005 and was done for the second time in March 2012.
148. Prime Minister Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu have dedicated the iCREATE facility to the nation, located on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, Gujarat. iCreate is an independent Centre created with the objective of facilitating entrepreneurship through a blend of creativity, innovation, engineering, product design and leveraging emerging technologies to deal with major issues such as food security, water, connectivity, cybersecurity, IT and electronics, energy, bio-medical equipment and devices etc. The purpose of iCreate is to develop an ecosystem in India to generate quality entrepreneurs.
149. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, is leading the Indian delegation to 10th Global Forum for Food & Agriculture (GFFA-2018) from 18-20 January, 2018 which includes the 10th Berlin Agriculture Ministers' Conference. The theme of 2018 event is "Shaping the future of livestock – sustainably, responsibly, efficiently". The discussions will focus on sustainable and productive animal production among other issues. The GFFA is an international conference that focuses on central questions concerning the future of the global agri-food industry. The GFFA is organised by the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMEL) in cooperation with GFFA Berlin e.V., the Senate of Berlin and Messe Berlin GmbH.
150. The Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) is a multidisciplinary research laboratory in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh that employs scientific personnel from various areas of biomedical sciences. CDRI is among the 39 laboratories that are functioning under the aegis of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) of India. The CDRI was formally inaugurated on 17 Feb 1951 by the then Prime Minister Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru with a vision to strengthen and advance the field of drug research and development in the country.
151. Indian captain Virat Kohli has been named the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for Cricketer of the Year 2017. He also bagged the top honour for ODI players in the ICC annual awards at the 2017 ICC annual awards announced in Dubai on January 18, 2018. In the qualification period from September 21, 2016 to the end of 2017, Kohli scored 2,203 Test runs at an average of 77.80, including eight centuries, 1,818 ODI runs, including seven centuries at 82.63, and 299 T20I runs at a strike rate of 153. He has also been named as the captain of both the ICC Men's ODI Team of the Year and ICC Men's Test Team of the Year. This is the second time in succession that an Indian won the overall cricketer of the year award. Off-spinner R Ashwin had claimed the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for year 2016. Australian captain Steve Smith claimed the 2017 Test Player of the Year honour. He had scored 1,875 runs in 16 matches at an average of 78.12, with eight hundreds and five 50s.
152. P.P. Chaudhary, the Union Minister of State for Law and Justice & Corporate Affairs, was conferred the Honorary Fellowship of Institute of Company secretaries of India (ICSI) at the headquarters of the institute at New Delhi on January 18, 2018. Chaudhary has conducted around 11,000 cases, mostly Constitutional Litigations for the last 38 years on matters related to land acquisition, farmers grievances, labour & service, central excise & customs and PILs related to restoration of natural water bodies and dams. The Honorary Fellow Membership is granted to distinguished persons having made significant contribution to the profession of Company Secretaries.
153. The Punjab government has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to set up bio-gas and bio-CNG plants in the state. The purpose of the MoU is to find sustainable solutions to paddy straw burning. The pact is part of the state's concerted efforts to find sustainable solutions to paddy straw burning, which has emerged as a major environmental concern. The plants will be set up at a total investment of Rs 5,000 crore. By converting bio-mass to compressed bio-gas and bio-CNG, the plants will take help curb the menace of stubble burning and create additional income to farmers. The project will also create rural employment and entrepreneurial opportunities, besides providing a green organic source of compost for soil enrichment.
154. The Odisha government has launched Mukhyamantri Kalakar Sahayata Yojana (MMKSY) for literature and cultural artists of the state. Under this scheme, artists will receive a financial assistance of Rs. 1200 per month. In it, male artists with minimum 50 years of age and female artists with minimum 40 years of age can avail the financial assistance. This scheme will benefit around 50,000 artists across the state.
155. Vijay Kumar has been appointed the new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) for three years with effective from January 18, 2018. He succeeded Samir Shah. He has over 25 years of experience in leadership roles in the areas of commodity trading and merchandising along with risk management, logistics and operations. Kumar is an agro-industry veteran who has worked for companies such as National Bulk Handling Corporation, Cargill, Reliance Industries, Arthur Andersen, ITC Ltd, Britannia and Sharp Group. He had worked at NCDEX as Chief Business Officer (CBO) between June 2009 and September 2014.
156. Kashinath (67), the noted Kannada film actor, director and producer, has passed away in Bengaluru, Karnataka on January 18, 2018. The senior actor had carved a niche for himself in the genre of comedy. He has not only acted but also directed and produced several Kannada films. Kashinath was recently seen in Chowka, released last year. The veteran actor has at least 40 films to his credit, spanning over a career of more than three decades. He hailing from Kundapur in Udupi district of Karnataka.
157. Sanjay Manjrekar, the former India batsman-turned-commentator, has launched his autobiography 'Imperfect' in Mumbai, Maharashtra on January 17, 2018. The book was released by Dilip Vengsarkar, Manjrekar's first international captain. He has played 37 Test matches. His first Test match was in the Delhi against the West Indies. In 1996, in his early thirties, he finished his career with an average of 37, with four centuries, in Ahmedabad in 1996. He was clear to accept that after the middle-order pressure increased between Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, they came out of their self-imposed exits.
158. Maharashtra has become the India's first state to launch Public Cloud Policy, which will allow all government departments to access public cloud. . The step will create business opportunities worth $2 billion while helping the state government departments to shift all their data to clouds. This will accelerate e-governance and open up entire new area for investment by the private entrepreneurs to make available newest technologies for all the departments as government not only is the biggest data creator but also consumer.
159. The 10th Global Forum for Food & Agriculture (GFFA-2018) has started in Berlin, Germany on January 18, which includes the 10th Berlin Agriculture Ministers' Conference. The theme of 3-day event is "Shaping the future of livestock – sustainably, responsibly, efficiently". The discussions will focus on sustainable and productive animal production among other issues. The GFFA forum is organised by the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMEL) in cooperation with GFFA Berlin e.V., the Senate of Berlin and Messe Berlin GmbH. The GFFA is an international conference that focuses on central questions concerning the future of the global agri-food industry. It gives representatives from the worlds of politics, business, science and civil society an opportunity to share ideas and enhance understanding on a selected topic of current agricultural policy. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, is leading the Indian delegation at the GFFA-2018.
160. The Somasila Dam is a dam constructed across the Penna River near Somasila in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. The reservoir impounded by the dam has a surface area of 212.28 km2 with live storage capacity of 1.994 km3. It is the biggest storage reservoir in Penna River basin and can store all the inflows from its catchment area in a normal year.
161. The India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has projected the India's economic growth to improve to 7.1% for FY19 (2018-19) from 6.5% this year, buoyed by robust consumption demand and low commodity prices. In its outlook for 2018-19, the India Ratings, a subsidiary of Fitch Ratings, stated that there will be a gradual pick up 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% growth estimated by Asian Development Bank (ADB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) for FY19. The agency has also said that it expects fiscal deficit in 2017–18 to come in at 3.5%, overshooting the budgeted estimate of 3.2%. The agency expects fiscal deficit in 2018–19 to be at 3.2%, higher than 3% stated in the medium-term fiscal policy statement.
162. The Maharashtra Government has approved a Rs 4,000-crore Nanaji Deshmukh Krishi Sanjivani Yojna project to promote climate-resilient agriculture. It will be implemented in 5,142 villages across 15 districts. The purpose of the project is to improve soil quality, develop foodgrain varieties which can sustain climate variations and effect necessary changes in the crop pattern as per the availability of water in a particular region. The scheme would cover small- and medium- scale farmers, who are more vulnerable to the impact of climate change. About 70% of the project's cost will be borne by the World Bank while the state will contribute 30% over six years. The project will roll out in the upcoming financial year.
163. India has become the 43rd member of the Australia Group export control regime on January 19, 2018. The inclusion is expected to raise India's stature in the field of non-proliferation and help in acquiring critical technologies. With this, India has managed entry into Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Wassenaar Arrangement and Australia Group despite not being a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).The Australia Group is an informal forum which seeks to ensure that exports do not contribute to the development of chemical or biological weapons.
164. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has celebrated its 13th Raising Day on January 19, 2018 in New Delhi. The NDRF raised on January 19, 2006, is a specialised force capable of responding to any type of disaster in the country and abroad. It is strategically deployed across the nation as per the vulnerability profile of the country.
165. Thaawarchand Gehlot, the Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, has launched 100 accessible websites for Divyangs on January 19, 2018. These 100 government websites are now divyang friendly. The Accessible Websites are those websites into which Persons with Disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web, and that they can contribute to the Web. The divyang-friendly websites, especially for visually impaired, use features such as screen readers and screen magnifiers, which can relay website content to the user in audio format. Approx, 900 such websites will be launched in a phased manner.
166. The Government of India (GoI) will set up a $350 million Solar Development Fund (SDF) for financing solar projects to achieve its ambitious target of adding 175 Giga Watts (GW) in renewable energy by 2022. This announcement was made by Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power and Renewable Energy, Raj Kumar Singh during the Future World Energy Summit (WFES) 2018. The WFES was organized by the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in Abu Dhabi (UAE). The ISA is an alliance of sunshine-rich countries set up jointly by India and France on the sidelines of the historic Paris meeting on climate change in November 2015. So far, 19 countries have ratified and 48 signed the ISA Framework Agreement.
167. S Selvakumar, the senior IAS officer, has been appointed as new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd (SPMCIL) with effect from January 16, 2018. Selvakumar succeeded Anurag Agarwal. The state-owned SPMCIL produces bank notes, coins, postage stamps, non-judicial stamps and other official documents.
168. Pt Buddhadev Dasgupta (84), the renowned Sarod maestro, has passed away in Kolkata, West Bengal on January 15, 2018. He will be remembered for his scholarly approach to music without getting dourly regimented. The doyen of the Senia Shahjahanpur gharana was born in Bhagalpur in Bihar on 1st February 1933. Dasgupta was one of the artists featured in Nimbus Records' The Raga Guide.
169. The 2018 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) military cooperation meeting was held in Beijing, China on January 15. An Indian delegation led by Major General Ajay Seth participated in the meeting, which discussed issues of practical cooperation among SCO nations. This is the first meeting attended by India in the field of defense cooperation under the SCO framework. India and Pakistan were admitted in 2017 into the grouping in which China plays an influential role. The SCO is comprised of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.
170. The Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT) is located in Pune, Maharashtra. It was established in 1967 on the joint initiative of the Ministry of Shipping & Transport & the Association of State Road Transport Undertakings (ASTRU). It is a nodal agency, known to be only one of its kind, providing a platform for higher research and training on road transportation and assists in testing, guidance and consultancy in the field.
171. The 48th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF-2018) will be held in Davos, Switzerland on January 22, 2018. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the largest-ever Indian delegation. The delegation will comprise of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu among others. The theme of the 2018 summit is "Creating a shared future in a Fractured World", which ams to set an agenda to address political, economic and Social challenges of recent times. This year, over 3,000 global leaders from business, government, politics, academia and social sectors are participating at the Summit which will conclude on 26th of January. The purpose of the WEF is to improve the state of the world. WEF is an international organization for public-private cooperation which brings together global leaders from different sectors including business, politics, academia and journalism to discuss the most pressing issues facing the world.
172. Indian cricket team has won the 5th edition of Blind Cricket World Cup 2018 by defeating Pakistan in the final by two wickets at Sharjah in United Arab Emirates (UAE). With this, India has retained the World Cup for the Blind. In the final, Pakistan batted first and managed to score 308/8 after being put into bat by India. India chased down the target of 309 with 16 balls to spare to clinch the title. Thus, India maintained their unbeaten record in the tournament.
173. Anandiben Patel, the former Gujarat chief minister, has become the new Governor of Madhya Pradesh on January 19, 2018. She succeeded Om Prakash Kohli, who was holding the additional charge of the office of MP Governor along with the office of Gujarat Governor.
174. The Ramayana Festival of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries has started in New Delhi at the Kamani Auditorium from January 20. The 5-day fest is organised by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and is marking 25 years of the Indo-ASEAN ties. Cultural groups from the 10 member-nations of the ASEAN will stage musicals and plays based on the epic at the festival celebrating the India-ASEAN dialogue. Troupes from ASEAN countries will display the shared heritage also at Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Ayodhya and Kolkata. The festival seeks to underline the common cultural heritage and India's friendship with ASEAN nations.
175. The fourth edition of India International Science Festival (IISF) will be held in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The exact dates and other details will be decided later. The 1st IISF was held at IIT New Delhi in December, 2015. The mega S&T expo attracted more than 3 lakh people. India had also set a Guinness Book of World Records, when 2000 school students performed two experiments at the Festival. The 2nd Festival at CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi in December 2016 showcased Indian achievements in various fields of science and technology. The third in the series was held in October 2017 in Chennai.
176. Chandi Lahiri (84), the iconic cartoonist, has passed away in Kolkata, West Bengal. He started his career as a journalist and entertained the readers for more than five decades with his cartoons published in various English and Bengali newspapers and magazines. He is also called the creator of 'pocket cartoons' in Bengal. The famous cartoonist also wrote a few books like "Catoon er itibritto (the history of cartoons)" and "Scene's Freedom: a history in cartoons 1947-1993", that are rich in knowledge and observations about the art form.
177. Joseph Henry (JoJo) White (71), an American professional basketball player, has passed away in Boston, Massachusetts on January 16, 2018. White was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. As a professional, he is best known for his ten-year stint with the Boston Celtics of the NBA, where he led the team towards two NBA championships and set a franchise record of 488 consecutive games played.
178. Arun Jaitley, the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, has launched the National CSR Data Portal & Corporate Data Portal in New Delhi on January 19, 2018. The National CSR Data Portal will capture information on CSR activities carried out by eligible companies, filed on the MCA21 registry in their financial statements. The filed information provides a snap shot of CSR activities carried out by companies. The CSR portal contains all filed information, which can generate pre-defined reports with respect to expenditure across states, districts, development sectors, etc. The Portal also provides for feedback on projects to be given by registered users. The open access to data is expected to help researchers, improve quality of data filed by companies, as well as involve intended beneficiaries in giving valuable feedback to companies. While the Corporate Data Portal aims at making all the financial and non-financial information of the companies available in a user friendly format to the general public. It also has facility to generate pre-defined reports and also customised reports.
179. President Ram Nath Kovind has unveiled a book on heartfulness techniques and principles titled 'The Heartfulness Way'. It was authored by Kamlesh Patel & Joshua Pollock. The books reflects the essence of prayer and yogic transmission aimed at deconstructing and demystifying the act of meditation based on meditation tips. It will enable us to live beyond the filters of our sensory limitations and discover unity within ourselves. To practise heartfulness is to seek the essence beyond the form, the reality behind the ritual. It is to centre oneself at the core of one's heart and find true meaning and contentment there. Heartfulness is an approach to the Raja Yoga system of meditation called Sahaj Marg or the Natural Path, founded at the turn of the twentieth century and formalised into the Shri Ram Chandra Mission in 1945 in India. The book was launched by Commerce and Industries Minister Suresh Prabhu.
180. The Jakham Dam is located in Pratapgarh District in Rajasthan. It is built on the Jakham river, which originates from a small village Jakhamia in Chhoti Sadrisub division. The length of the Dam is 253 meters, out of which spill way is in 90 m in length.
181. The 8th edition of the International Conference on Wild Silk Moths has started in Guwahati, Assam on January 22, 2018. The conference would help in increasing income of the people of the region who are involved with silk industry. India is holding the event for the second time with an aim to explore latest research and development. The conference is being organized by the Central Silk Board and International Society for Wild Silk Moths.
182. India has been ranked at the 62nd place among emerging economies on an Inclusive Development Index (IDI-2018) released by World Economic Forum (WEF). India's position is much below China (26th) and Pakistan (47th). The 2018 index, which measures the progress of 103 economies on three individual pillars – growth and development; inclusion; and inter-generational equity – has been divided into two parts. The first part covers 29 advanced economies and the second 74 emerging economies. Norway remains the world's most inclusive advanced economy, while Lithuania again tops the list of emerging economies. The index takes into account the living standards, environmental sustainability and protection of future generations from further indebtedness.
183. Soloman Deksisa from Ethiopia has won the 15th edition of Tata Mumbai Marathon in men's category on January 22, 2018. It is the richest race in India with a prize money worth 4 lakh 5,000 dollars. Another Ethiopian, Shumit Akalnaw became the first runner-up, while Joshua Kipkorir from Kenya came second. Meanwhile, Indian Olympic athlete T Gopi won the Mumbai Marathon in the Indian Elite category and Sudha Singh of Central Railways won in the Indian Elite Women category. Beside this, Amane Gobena from Ethiopia has won the Mumbai Marathon in women's category.
184. The garbage festival 'Kachra Mahotsav' was organized by the Raipur Municipal Corporation in Chhattisgarh from January 19 to 21, 2018. This unique fest was organized by the Raipur Municipal Corporation. According to the municipal corporation, it was the India's first such festival. The purpose of this Garbage festival was to increase awareness, to guide people on waste management and to showcase multiple techniques for reusing things that are labelled as garbage. During the 3-day festival, talks, competitions and cultural performances were organized. In addition, different types of workshops were held to educate people on how effectively they can start managing their waste. In this fest, there were different stalls of utility items made out of waste.
185. Pema Khandu, the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, has inaugurated the World War II Memorial Museum in Jairampur in Changlang District on January 21, 2018. The war memorial has the collection of the remnants of World War 2, personal belongings of the soldiers and other persons involved. The museum also showcases traditional items from local Tangsa community. The memorial is a cemetery site where about 833 graves including mass graves have been discovered. The museum is built through funding from Union Ministry of Culture for Rs 2.25 crores and executed by state PWD.
186. Sudeep Lakhtakia, the 1984-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, has been appointed as the new DG of National Security Guard (NSG) and will hold the post till July 2019. He will take over from S P Singh, the current chief of the elite counter terror force, who retires on January 31, 2018. Currently, Lakhtakia is serving as a Special Director General in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) headquarters in New Delhi.
187. Om Prakash Rawat, the senior-most Election Commissioner, has been appointed as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). He will succeed A.K. Joti on January 23, 2018 and will have tenure of almost a year till his retirement in December 2018. Mr Rawat will oversee elections in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland scheduled next month. Crucial States like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh will also go to the polls under his watch. Election Commissioners have a fixed term of six years but have to step down if they reach 65 years of age before their term expires.
188. Mauritius was the largest source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India in FY17, according to recent census by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It has 21.8% share at market value. As per RBI's data on Census on Foreign Liabilities and Assets of Indian Direct Investment Companies 2016-17, United States has acquired 2nd position followed by UK, Singapore and Japan. Beside this, Singapore (19.7% was the major FDI destination, followed by the Netherlands, Mauritius, and the USA. According to the data, manufacturing sector accounted for nearly half of the total FDI at market prices. Information and communication services, and financial and insurance activities were the other major sectors that attracted FDI.
189. 'Hindi Medium', directed by Saket Chaudhary, has bagged honours in the categories of Best Film and Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male) for Irrfan Khan's impeccable performance at the 63rd Jio Filmfare Awards 2018. Vidya Balan won her career's 6th Filmfare award for her passionate portrayal of a middle-aged homemaker who turns into a radio jockey in 'Tumhari Sulu' as she claimed the Black Lady for the Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female). Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari has won the Best Director award for 'Bareilly Ki Barfi'. The ceremony was held on 20 January 2018 and hosted by Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar.
190. The All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH) is located at Mysore University Campus in Mysore, Karnataka. It is an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. AIISH provides clinical services for speech, language, and hearing disorders through its clinical service program. The therapy clinic provides assessment and intervention services, for variety of speech, language, and hearing disorders, to individuals of all ages. It also offers public education programs and conducts workshops for speech-language pathologists, audiologists, educators for the hearing impaired, medical, and allied health professionals.
191. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently released its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) update in Davos, Switzerland on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. In it, India's GDP growth forecast has projected to 7.4% in 2018 and 7.8% in 2019. According to WEO update, China is expected to grow at 6.6% and 6.4% for year 2018 and 2019, respectively.
192. The 48th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF-2018) has started in Davos, Switzerland on January 22, 2018. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading the largest-ever Indian delegation. The theme of the 5-day summit is 'Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World', which aims to set an agenda to address political, economic and Social challenges of recent times. More than 3,000 world leaders from business, politics, art, academia and civil society would be participating in the summit and the Indian presence is the largest ever with over 130 participants.
193. The International Conference on dam safety has started in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on January 23, 2018. The two-day conference will be jointly inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Water Resources Arjun Ram Meghwal and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The conference will see the participation of 550 delegates from over 20 countries. The dam safety conferences are organized as an annual event under the Dam Safety Rehabilitation and Improvement Project being run by the Water Resources Ministry. During the conference, dam safety guidelines and manuals developed under DRIP will also be released for implementation. Besides, a software programme – Dam Health and Rehabilitation Monitoring Application – will also be launched during the event. DHARMA is a web tool to digitize all dam related data effectively. It will help document authentic asset and health information pertaining to the large dams in the country, enabling appropriate actions to ensure need based rehabilitation.
194. Young Indian shuttler Siddharth Pratap Singh has won the 2018 Swedish Open Junior International Series by defeating Denmark's Mads Christophersen in the finals by 21-15, 21-11 in Uppsala in Sweden. It is his maiden international title. Siddharth, who has never played outside Asia, will next play in the Iceland International at Reykjavik to be held from January 25 to 28.
195. S Somanath, an Indian aerospace engineer and rocket technologist, has taken charge as the new Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). He succeeded K Sivan, who has become the ISRO Chairman recently. Prior to this post, he was director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) at Valiamala in Thiruvananthapuram, the lead centre responsible for liquid engines and stages for all launch vehicles and satellite programs of ISRO. Somanath is known for his contributions to launch vehicle design, particularly in the areas of launch vehicle systems engineering, structural design, structural dynamics, and pyrotechnics.
196. India will host the Ministerial Meeting of International Energy Forum in New Delhi from April 10 to 12, 2018. More than 60 Energy Ministers will participate in the event and it will be the largest global gathering of Energy Ministers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the event and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will deliver the concluding address. The International Energy Forum (IEF), with a membership of 71 countries (both producers and consumers), is the most representative international organization in the field of oil and gas. India is the member of IEF and currently the Chair of its Executive Board.
197. To mark the silver jubilee of India-ASEAN partnership, the 2018 India-ASEAN Business & Investment Conference was organized by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry in collaboration with Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). It was held in New Delhi on January 22-23 to promote mutual trade and investment for shared prosperity. This initiative was held ahead of the landmark 2018 ASEAN-India commemorative summit on the 25th of January. India & ASEAN partnership began in 1992 completed 25 years in 2017. India adopted the Act East policy in 2014 which has led to ties with South Asian nations reaching new highs. Top leaders of all 10 ASEAN nations would also be guests of honour at the 2018 Republic Day celebrations. It would be the first time that the Republic Day parade would be graced by such a large number of heads of state or govt.
198. The 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 will be hosted by West Indies from 9 to 24 November 2018. The preliminary round matches will be held at the Guyana National Stadium and Daren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia, while Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua and Barbuda will stage the two semi-finals and the final. Hosts Windies will defend the title they won with an eight-wicket victory over Australia in Kolkata in 2016.
199. N Biren Singh, the Chief Minister of Manipur, has launched a pioneering health assurance scheme "Chief Minister-gi Hakshelgi Tengbang (CMHT)" for the poor and disabled people on January 21, 2018. The CMHT will provide cashless treatment to the poor at government hospitals, health centres and other empanelled selected private hospitals. The scheme will provide cover up to Rs 2 lakh per eligible family identified from the Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC) in the treatment of seven critical identified critical ailments – cardiovascular diseases, kidney ailments, neurological conditions, liver ailments, cancer, neo-natal diseases and burns per year. The beneficiaries may get themselves enrolled for the scheme with the help of ASHA workers at the kiosks opened in nearby PHCs, CHCs and District Hospitals.
200. Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (I/C) for Housing and Urban Affairs has launched the 'Protocol for Star Rating of Garbage-Free Cities' in Goa along with the Chief Minister of Goa, Manohar Parrikar in order to fulfill India's biggest dream of being a clean nation by October 2, 2019. . The star-rating initiative has been developed by the Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban. It will rate cities on a 7-star rating system based on multiple cleanliness indicators for solid waste management, which will include Door to Door Collection, bulk generator compliance, source segregation, sweeping, scientific processing of waste, scientific land filling, plastic waste management, construction and demolition management, dump remediation & citizen grievance redressal system etc.
201. Lifter Rakhi Halder of Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) has created a new national record in clean and jerk en route to a gold medal in the 63kg women's category in the 33rd Women Senior National Weightlifting Championships, in Mangaluru, Karnataka on January 24, 2018. She lifted 128kgs in the clean and jerk for a total of 230kgs to create a new national record, bettering Karnam Malleswari's feat (127kg) created in Athens in 1999. The silver in this category went to S Thasana Chanu of Karnataka (202kg) while the bronze was clinched by AIPSCB's Amandeep Kaur (191kg). The day concluded with a gold medal for RV Rahul of RSPB in 85kg men's division of the 70th Men National Weightlifting Championships.
202. As part of the 2018 Republic Day celebrations, cultural extravaganza Bharat Parv will organize by the Union Ministry of Tourism at the Red Fort in Delhi from January 26 to 31, 2018. The prime objective of the 3-day event is to generate a patriotic mood, promote the rich cultural diversity of the country and to ensure wider participation of the general public. The event includes display of Republic Day Parade Tableaux, Performances by the Armed Forces Bands, a Multi-Cuisine Food Court, Craft Mela, Cultural Performances from different regions of the country and Photo Exhibition by the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP). The Cultural Performances include choreographed Folk and Tribal Dances and Music arranged through the North Zonal Cultural Centre as well as performances by cultural troupes from the different States and Union Territories. Bharat Parv will be open for public from 12 Noon to 10 PM. The event is open for public and entry is free. However, identity proof is to be carried for entry to the event.
203. Hugh Masekela (78), the legendary jazz musician and anti-apartheid activist, has passed away in Johannesburg, South Africa on January 23, 2018. He was also known for his jazz compositions and for writing well-known anti-apartheid songs such as "Soweto Blues" and "Bring Him Back Home". He also had a number 1 US pop hit in 1968 with his version of "Grazing in the Grass".
204. The National Girl Child Day (NGCD) is celebrated every year on January 24 with an aim to raise awareness about sex ratio levels and promote the empowerment of girls.
205. Dilip Chenoy has been appointed as the new Director General (DG) of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI). Currently, Chenoy is Chairman of Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology (IILM). Earlier, he was MD & CEO of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Director General of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and Deputy Director General of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
206. Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was honoured with the 24th Crystal Award at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He received the award for his leadership in championing children's and women's rights in India. Shahrukh received the award alongside Elton John and Hollywood actress Cate Blanchett.
207. As per latest PwC 21st CEO Survey 2018, the United States has acquired the top spot for global investment, followed by China, Germany, United Kingdom (UK), India and Japan. The survey reveals surprising faith and optimism among CEOs in the economic and business environment worldwide, at least over the next 12 months As per the survey, 54% of the CEOs plan to increase their headcount in 2018 while only 18% expect to reduce their staff. The sectors having the highest demand for new recruits are health care (71%), technology (70%), business services (67%), communications (60%), hospitality and leisure (59%).
208. The Andhra Pradesh government has signed a sister-state agreement with the Canton of Zurich in a bid to strengthen the friendly ties and promote mutual understanding. The Letter of Intent (LOI) was signed by Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu and Zurich Councillor and Head of the Department for Economic Affairs Carmen Walker Späh in the presence of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. The purpose of LOI is to achieve mutual prosperity and development. The agreement will strengthen economic and scientific relations between the two governments in the areas such as information and communication technology, environmental technology, life sciences and urban and regional Development.
209. Rachel Morrison, an American cinematographer, has been nominated for the 90th Academy Awards 2018 for her work in the film 'Mudbound'. With this, she has become the first female cinematographer to receive an Oscar nomination in the 89-year-old history of the Awards.
210. The Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA) is the nodal agency for catering to the needs of the brackish water aquaculture research in India. The institute is headquartered at Chennai, Tamil Nadu and works under the Ministry of Agriculture. It is one of the research institutes under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) New Delhi.
211. India has been ranked 177th out of 180 countries in the 2018 Environmental Performance Index (EPI). The report was released on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. The Index stated that deaths attributed to ultra-fine PM2.5 pollutants have risen over the past decade and are estimated at 1,640,113 annually in India. Switzerland has topped the index, followed by France, Denmark, Malta and Sweden in the EPI, which found that air quality is the leading environmental threat to public health. The 10th EPI report ranks 180 countries on 24 performance indicators across 10 categories covering environmental health and ecosystem vitality.
212. The National Voters' Day (NVD) is observed every year by India on January 25 with an aim to increase the enrolment of voters, especially of the newly eligible ones. The day is also observed to mark the establishment of the Election Commission on this day in 1950, a day before India became a republic. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has celebrated the 8th National Voters' Day 2018 with theme 'Accessible Elections' across the country, which will be used to spread awareness among voters regarding effective participation in the electoral process.
213. The 2018 India-ASEAN commemorative summit has started in New Delhi on January 25 with theme "Shared Values, Common Destiny". The focus of the Summit, which marks the 25 years of Indo-ASEAN ties, will be counter-terrorism, security, trade and connectivity. All 10 leaders of ASEAN countries will attend the Summit. The 2018 summit will mark the conclusion of a series of events held over the last one year to mark the 25th anniversary of the Dialogue Partnership. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is comprised of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
214. Ursula K. Le Guin (88), the award-winning science fiction and American author, has passed away in Portland, Oregon on January 22, 2018. She explored feminist themes and her best-known works are the 1969 science fiction novel "Left Hand of Darkness", which explore themes of gender by featuring characters with no fixed sex, and the 1968 coming-of-age story "A Wizard of Earthsea".
215. The Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has recently signed a MoU with National Housing Bank (NHB) for implementing the Rural Housing Interest Subsidy Scheme (RHISS) of the Union Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD). The purpose of the RHISS is to provide subsidy for housing loans taken by those living in rural areas for construction and modifications of their dwelling units. The interest subsidy under the scheme is 3% for a loan amount of Rs 2 lakh for 20-year tenure. With this MoU, IOB will be able to extend the benefit of RHISS to its rural home loan customers of its 923 rural branches spread across India.
216. The 7th Asia Steel International Conference (ASIC-2018) will be held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha from February 6 to 9.The announcement was made by Tata Steel, in association with the Indian Institute of Metals. The conference is held every three years and provides a platform for exchange of knowledge on various aspects of the global steel industry. Around 70 keynote speakers, half of them from overseas countries such as China, Korea, Japan, the Netherlands, the UK, the US, Germany, Belgium, Canada, etc. will address the conference. The 2018 conference will address and focus on different challenges faced by the steel industry viz., optimising specific consumption of raw materials, especially coke and iron ore, how to use low-grade raw materials, along with decreasing the energy consumption in various iron-making and steel making operations. The last Asia Steel conference was held in 2015 at Yokohama, Japan.
217. The Government of India (GoI) has signed $120 million loan agreement with World Bank (WB) that will help increase access to improved water supply services in peri-urban areas in Uttarakhand. The Uttarakhand Water Supply Program for Peri-Urban Areas will develop and implement a service-oriented and efficient water supply policy for peri-urban areas, strengthen the current monitoring and evaluation systems, and provide dedicated incentives for preparation and adoption of water supply 'master-plans' in peri-urban areas. The program will focus on increasing coverage, quality and reliability of water supply services in all peri-urban areas of the state. The loan agreement has a grace period of 5-years and a maturity of 17 years.
218. Rakesh Srivastava, Secretary of Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD), has launched the Phase -1 i.e. the beneficiary module of the Rapid Reporting System for the Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG) in New Delhi on January 24, 2018. It is a web based on line monitoring for the SAG. The RRS will facilitate the monitoring of the scheme and taking corrective measures by ensuring faster flow of information, accurate targeting of the beneficiaries and reduction of leakages. This Portal has been developed in collaboration with National Informatics Centre (NIC). The URL for the portal is http://sag-rrs.nic.in. Presently, MoWCD is implementing the Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG) in selected 508 districts across the country.
219. The book 'Staniya Svasasan Mei Addhi Aabadhi' has been authored by Dr. Sadhana Pandey, which is released by the Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu, in New Delhi on January 25, 2018. Naidu stated that the book is an empirical study that captures the voices of the rural women who are occupying positions of authority at the local level. It can help the policy makers to understand the perspectives of women representatives and address the key issues of education, health, nutrition, information sharing, economic independence and empowerment.
220. The Jawai Bandh is a dam built across the Jawai river, a tributary of Luni river near Sumerpur town in Pali District of Rajasthan. The dam has capacity of 7887.5 million cubic feet and covers an area of 102,315 acres of cultivable command area. Its height is about 61.25 feet. Sei dam and Kalibor dam are the feeder dams of the Jawai dam.
221. Corporal Jyoti Prakash Nirala, an Indian Air Force Garud commando, has been posthumously honoured with the India's highest peacetime military decoration "Ashoka Chakra" for service and exhibiting bravery in fighting the militants at the 69th Republic Day 2018. Nirala laid down his life while gunning down two terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)'s Bandipora district in November 2017. He is the first airman to receive the award for ground combat and only the third one to receive it overall after Suhas Biswas and Rakesh Sharma. Corporal Nirala was part of a Garud Special Forces Unit of the IAF, a detachment of which was attached to a Rashtriya Rifles battalion under the aegis of 'Op Rakshak'. Ashok Chakra is the highest peacetime military decoration for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield.
222. On 25 January 2018, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has announced to launch a new Global Centre for Cybersecurity in a bid to safeguard the world from hackers and growing data breaches — especially from nation-states. The centre will be headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and will become operational from March 2018. It will function as an autonomous organisation under the auspices of WEF. The aim of the centre is to establish the first global platform for governments, businesses, experts and law enforcement agencies to collaborate on cybersecurity challenges. The global centre will be an excellent opportunity to safeguard verticals like automotive and health care where wireless connectivity is the key.
223. The Punjab Government has launched Mahatma Gandhi Sarbat Vikas Yojna (MGSVY) on the occasion of 69th Republic Day 2018 for the distressed sections of the society across the state. The purpose of the programme is to give the distressed sections of the society the help they need socially, economically and psychologically. This scheme will be on the line of Antyodaya principles. The aim of the programme is "Wipe every tear from every eye" as envisioned by Mahatma Gandhiji. The main purpose of this scheme is to provide the benefit of welfare schemes for debt stressed farmers, poor families that have a woman as sole bread earner, families of AIDS patients, out-of-school children, martyred soldiers, differently-abled, abandoned old persons, drug addicts among others.
224. Dr V Narayanan, a rocket propulsion expert, has taken charge as new Director of ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC). He succeeded S Somanath, who has been appointed Director of, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). Narayanan played a vital role in the successful launch of GSLV Mk III vehicle in its maiden attempt in 2017 from the spaceport of ISRO "Satish Dhawan Space Centre". He is a Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering (FINAE) and Member of Space Propulsion Committee of International Astronautical Federation (IAF) and member in various national and international professional bodies. The LPSC is the centre for design, development and realisation of liquid propulsion stages for ISRO's Launch Vehicles.
225. India has been ranked 81st out of 119 countries in the 2018 Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI). The list was developed by Yale and Columbia Universities along with the World Economic Forum (WEF). The global index measures how countries grow attract and retain talent. The list is topped by Switzerland, followed by Singapore and United States. The 2018 report investigates the theme of 'diversity for competitiveness and explored the benefits of diversity, such as how it can be leveraged for retention, talent development, innovation and sustainability.
226. Usha Ananthasubramanian, MD and CEO of Allahabad Bank, has been elected the first woman chairman of Indian Banks' Association (IBA) for the year 2017-18. She succeeded Jatinder Bir Singh. Rajnish Kumar, Chairman of State Bank of India, was elected Deputy Chairman of IBA for the year 2017-18. IBA is the banking sector's industry body, whose objective, among others, is to promote and develop sound and progressive banking principles, practices and conventions and to contribute to the developments of creative banking in the country.
227. Kolkata has become the first Indian metro to get a floating market. The market will be located on a water-body with boats doubling up as shops. It was inaugurated by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on January 24, 2018. The purpose of this floating market is to rehabilitate over 200 shopkeepers from a nearby market that was demolished for the widening of the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass — an important road that connects the northern parts of the city to the eastern and southern tips. According to government officials, the market will host at least 114 boats, each one accommodating two shops. Shops will sell regular or daily-use items that include vegetables, fruits, flowers, fish and meat and poultry. Shoppers will approach the boats through wooden walkways.
228. India's first indigenously developed vaccine "Rotavac" has been pre-qualified by the World Health Organisation (WHO). To be "pre-qualified" means that the vaccine can be sold internationally to several countries in Africa and South America. The vaccine was developed by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech Limited (BBL) and was included in India's national immunisation programme. The Rotavac vaccine protects against childhood diarrhea caused by the rotavirus. Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhoea and kills more than 200,000 children every year.
229. The Union Government has allowed Small Finance Banks and Payments Banks to offer Atal Pension Yojana (APY). Recently, 10 Small Finance Banks and 11 Payment Banks have got license from Reserve Bank of India to start banking operations in the country. The Banks include Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, Janalakshmi Small Finance Bank, Suryoday Small Finance Bank, India Post Payment Bank and Paytm Payment Bank. The social security scheme "APY" was launched in 2015 and was the first ever dedicated Guaranteed Pension Product to the people of the country. The scheme is available to the people in the age group of 18 to 40 years. Under the scheme, a subscriber would receive a minimum guaranteed pension of Rs 1,000 to 5,000 per month from the age of 60 years depending upon the contribution. At present, over 84 lacs subscribers are registered under the APY scheme with an asset base of more than 3,194 crore rupees.
230. Supriya Devi, the veteran Bengali film actress and Padmashri awardee, has passed away in Kolkata, West Bengal on January 26, 2018. She was best known for her portrayal of Neeta in Ritwik Ghatak's 'Meghe Dhaka Tara' (The Cloud-Capped Star). During her over five-decade career in the Bengali film industry she delivered hits and classics like Sonar Harin, Chowringhee, Bagh Bandi Khela, Meghe Dhaka Tara, among others. Some of her other contemporaries and co-stars include Soumitra Chatterjee and Sabitri Chattopadhyay.
231. Maharashtra's tableau titled "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj coronation" has won the best tableau award at the 69th Republic Day Parade 2018. Assam's tableau depicting traditional "masks and sastras" bagged the second prize. The third prize went to Chhattisgarh's display of Ramgarh's ancient amphitheatre and artistes performing dance based on Kalidasa's Meghadootam. Among the tableaux by Union Ministries and departments, the first prize went to "Khelo India" of the Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry. The Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave away the awards at Cariappa Parade Ground in Delhi Cantonment on January 28, 2018. Apart from this, the Punjab Regiment has bagged the award for the best marching contingent among the three services and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) among the paramilitary and other auxiliary forces in the 69th Republic Day parade.
232. The documentary titled 'Kailash' has won the US Documentary Grand Jury Award at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival at Park City in Utah on January 28. The documentary, which is directed by Derek Doneen, traces the journey of Indian Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi and his efforts to eliminate child trafficking and child labour. The film has been produced by Davis Guggenheim and Sarah Anthony, and co-produced by Purnima Raghunath.
233. President Ram Nath Kovind has launched the countrywide Pulse Polio programme for 2018 by administering polio drops to children below five years at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. The programme will cover around 17 crore children to maintain the country's polio-free status. The president administered the drops on the eve of 2018 National Immunisation Day (NID), which is observed on January 28.
234. Roger Federer, a Swiss professional tennis player, has won the 2018 men's Singles title in the Australian Open 2018. He successfully defended his title by defeating 6th seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia by 6-2,6-7, 6-3 3-6, 6-1. With this, Federer won his sixth title at the Australian Open equalling the record held by Roy Emerson and Novak Djokovic. The win has brought the Swiss to the elite group of Margaret Court, Serena Williams and Steffi Graf, the only players to have won 20 or more Grand Slam singles titles.
235. The Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry has planned to set up a 'Social Media Communication Hub' that would help it keep a tab on trending news in districts and gather feedback on the Centre's flagship schemes. Under the project, media persons would be employed on contractual basis in each district to be the eyes and ears of the government and provide real-time updates from the ground. They would also take the people's feedback on the government's policies and follow the news trending in their areas. Experts would also be employed at the central level to analyse the feedback. Recently, the Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL), a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the ministry, had floated a tender to supply a software for the project. The tender document stated the platform is expected to provide automated reports, tactical insights and comprehensive work-flows to initiate engagement across digital channels.
236. Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández has been sworn-in for a second term in capital Tegucigalpa with high security after a disputed presidential election 2017. President Hernández, has been in power since 2013, and is the first president in Honduran running for a second term after the country's Supreme Court lifted a ban on re-election. It must be noted that, the country's 1982 constitution bars presidents from seeking a new term and conservative politicians deposed a leftist president in 2009 for allegedly even considering re-election. But, Hernandez won a Supreme Court ruling in 2015 to get around that prohibition.
237. The Economic Survey 2017-18 has tabled by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Parliament on January 29, 2018. The survey has predicted 7 to 7.5% of India's GDP growth in FY 2018-19. It says that a series of major reforms undertaken over the past year will allow real GDP growth to reach 6.75% this fiscal and will rise to 7.0 to 7.5% in 2018-19. It stated that the employment, education and agriculture will be the focus areas in the midterm. The survey underlines that due to the launch of transformational Goods and Services Tax (GST) reform, resolution of the long-festering Twin Balance Sheet problem, implementing a major recapitalization package to strengthen the public sector banks, further liberalization of FDI and the export uplift from the global recovery, the economy began to accelerate in the second half of the year and can clock 6.75% growth this year.
238. Vijay Keshav Gokhale, the 1981-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, has taken charge as the new Foreign Secretary of India on January 29, 2018. Prior to this post, Gokhale was serving as the Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). He succeeded S Jaishankar and will have a two-year tenure. Gokhale had played a key role in negotiations to resolve the Doklam standoff between Indian and Chinese armies in 2017. He also served as India's Ambassador to China, Germany and worked in Indian missions in Hong Kong, Hanoi and in New York. Beside this, he is the only IFS to have served as India's Representative both in Taiwan and China.
239. Dr. Gurcharan Singh Kalkat (91), the former agriculture commissioner of India and Padam Shri and Padam Bhushan awardee, has passed away in Chandigarh, Punjab on January 27, 2018. He was known for his contribution during the Green Revolution era which led to a boom in the production of wheat and rice in the country. He was the one who even ushered a soybean revolution in Punjab. Kalkat was also the former vice-chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University (Ludhiana) from 1998-2001.
240. Asha Bhosle, the legendary playback singer, will be awarded with the 5th edition of Yash Chopra Memorial Award 2018 for her outstanding contribution to the Hindi film industry. The award will be presented to her on February 16. The previous recipients are Lata Mangeshkar, Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha and Shah Rukh Khan. The award has been instituted by the TSR Foundation of T. Subbarami Reddy in memory of producer-director Yash Chopra, who died in 2012. Asha Bhosle has officially acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most recorded artist in music history. In her illustrious music career spanning nearly seven decades she has recorded over 11,000 songs in 20 different languages. The Government of India (GoI) has honoured her with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2000) and the Padma Vibhushan (2008).
241. To mark the 69th Republic Day 2018, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) have launched the India's first-ever 'Khadi Haat' in Connaught Place, New Delhi. It was inaugurated by Union Minister of State Giriraj Singh. In this Khadi Haat, entrepreneurs under Prime Minister Employment Generation Program (PMEGP) will get an opportunity to display and sell their exquisite products. It will also provide a better platform as well as source of earning for the artisans.
242. Caroline Wozniack, a Danish professional tennis player, has won the 2018 women's Singles title in the Australian Open 2018. With this, she became the first Danish player to win a Grand Slam singles title by defeating Simona Halep in the final by 7–6, 3–6, 6–4.
243. Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan has won the 2018 women's singles Indonesia Masters badminton tournament by defeating Saina Nehwal in the final by 9-21, 13-21 in Jakarta. With this win, Tai Tzu has now defeated the former world No.1 nine times in their last 10 meetings.
244. Vikram Singh Sisodia, the joint secretary of Indian Olympic Association (IOA), has been appointed the Chef-de-Mission for the 21st Commonwealth Games 2018, which is scheduled to be held in Gold Coast, Australia from April 4 to 15. Sisodia is also currently the president of Chhattisgarh State Tennis Association.
245. The first-ever India-Vietnam Bilateral Army Exercise, christened as 'VINBAX-2018″, has started in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh on January 29, as part of joint training undertaken with friendly foreign countries by Indian Army. It is the first-ever military exercise between the two countries. The 6-day-long Table Top military exercise has been especially designed to enable and train officers from Vietnam in United Nations Peace Keeping Operations.
246. The 2018 International Bird Festival will be held at the Dudhwa National Park in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh from February 9 to 11 with nearly 200 leading ornithologists expected to attend. The purpose of the bird fest is to promote eco-tourism in Dudhwa and to give it a distinct international identity besides highlighting its traditional Tharu arts, culture, and heritage. Eminent documentary maker Mike Pandey will be the brand ambassador of the festival. During the three-day event, the bird experts would visit various parts of Dudhwa to gather information about the 450 bird species existing there.
247. Sandeep Lamichhane, the leg-spinner, has become the first cricketer from Nepal to sign for an IPL team. He was bought by Delhi Daredevils for his base price of Rs 20 lakh. He made his first impact at the 2016 U-19 World Cup, where he guided Nepal to a creditable 8th place. He came to limelight by becoming the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 14 scalps in six innings at an average of 17 and an economy of 4.67.
248. Jai Ram Thakur, the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, has launched the 'Shakti' app to ensure safety and protection of women in the state. The app was developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) of the Himachal Pradesh government. It would be available in both Hindi and English languages and would not require internet connectivity. The app, once triggered, would automatically send a message to the nearest police control room and start recording audio and video after 20 seconds. The state government has also launched the 'GUDDIYA' helpline number 1515 and the 'Hoshiyar Singh' helpline number 1090. The app and the helpline were part of an initiative to fight crimes against women in the state. The 'Hoshiyar Singh' helpline would be monitored by the CM's office in a 24×7 basis, and the government would use information gathered on this helpline to come down heavily on the drug, forest and mining mafias.
249. The National Handloom Expo (NHE) has been inaugurated by Assam Handloom and Textile Minister Ranjit Dutta at Guwahati, Assam on January 29, 2018. The event is sponsored by Development Commissioner of Handloom, Govt of India and organized by ARTFED. Total 130 stalls have been set up. 12 states are participating in the event, which will continue till 11 February.
250. The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeITY) has launched "Stree Swabhiman" initiative. The aim of the initiative is to create a sustainable model for providing adolescent girls and women an access to affordable sanitary products by leveraging Common Services Centres (CSCs). Under the 'Stree Swabhiman' project, sanitary napkin micro manufacturing units are being set up at CSCs across India, particularly those operated by women entrepreneurs. The initiative is driven by awareness and personalised outreach by women entrepreneurs who produce and market sanitary napkins themselves.
251. Shantanu Narayen, the Indian-American CEO of Adobe, has been elected as the Vice Chairman of the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF). The USISPF is a new organisation that has been set up to enhance business relations between India and the US. The purpose of the organisation is to promote bilateral trade and work on creating meaningful opportunities that have the power to change the lives of citizens. The USISPF now has 31 board members.
252. The Government of India (GoI) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a $250 million loan agreement for the construction of over 6,200 kilometres all-weather rural roads in Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). The program is aimed at improving rural connectivity, facilitating safer and more efficient access to livelihood and socio-economic opportunities for rural communities through improvements to about 12 thousand kilometres Rural Roads across the 5 States.
253. Kalamandalam Geethanandan (58), the acclaimed Ottanthullal artist, has passed away while performing at Avittathur Mahavishnu Temple in Avittathur, Kerala on January 28, 2018. He, who performed on more than 5,000 stages across the country, was also a tutor of Ottanthullal at Kerala Kalamandalam for decades. He had acted in many films, including Mohanlal's Kamaladalam.
254. Dharmasena Pathiraja (74), the renowned Sri Lankan filmmaker, has passed away in Kandy, Sri Lanka on January 28, 2018. He was fondly referred to as "a rebel with a cause' and acclaimed for his compelling portrayals of urban underclasses. He is credited with making a critical intervention in Sinhala cinema, with themes that served as social commentaries on the prevailing socio-economic and political realities. He also taught film studies in various Sri Lankan universities.
255. Achanta Sharath Kamal from Tamil Nadu has won the 79th edition of the 11Even Sports National Senior Table Tennis Championship 2018 by defeating top-seed Anthony Amalraj in the final by 4-1 in Ranchi, Jharkhand. With this, he lifted the National men's singles title for the 8th time and equaled the record of Kamlesh Mehta. The winner received Rs 2 lakh as prize money. Suthirta Mukherjee from West Bengal emerged the new women champion, beating Hyderabad Nationals winner Manika Batra 4-3. Her maiden effort fetched Rs 1.5 lakh, while Manika received 50% less in prize money.
256. Sauli Niinisto, the current President of Finland, has won the 2018 Finnish presidential election on January 28, 2018. He won his second 6-year term with an overwhelming 62.7% of the vote. His closest rival, Pekka Haavisto of the Greens of Finland, secured just 12.4% votes. The term will from 1st March 2018 to 1 March 2024. Mr. Niinisto, who is in office since 2012, is known for cultivating good relations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. During his first term, Mr. Niinisto was instrumental in maintaining relations with Moscow, despite the country backing western economic sanctions against Russia over its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. Finland, which shares 1,340 km border and a difficult history with Russia, has also developed closer ties with NATO but stopped short of full membership in line with a tradition of avoiding confrontation with Russia.
257. Radha Mohan Singh, the Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, has launched the Rapid Detection Kits for adulterants (ammonia and formaldehyde) in fresh fish in New Delhi on January 30, 2018, which has been developed by Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT), Kochi. Ammonia helps in preventing ice from melting and use of formaldehyde increases the shelf life of fish therefore many people in the fisheries sector are using these chemicals. The kit helps in detecting both the chemicals in the fish. Because, the continuous ingestion of ammonia and formaldehyde can lead to many health issues including abdominal pain, vomiting, unconsciousness, and sometimes even cause death.
258. According to a report by New World Wealth, India has been ranked 6th in the list of wealthiest countries with total wealth of $8,230 billion US dollars. As per report, India was the best performing wealth market globally in 2017 as its total wealth swelled from 6,584 billion dollars in 2016 to 8,230 billion dollars in 2017, registering a 25% growth. The report noted that the United States is the wealthiest country in the world as the total wealth held in 2017 amounted to $64,584 billion, followed by China ($24,803 billion) and Japan ($19,522 billion). Total wealth refers to the private wealth held by all the individuals living in each country. It includes all their assets. However, the report excludes government funds from its figures. Others in the list include United Kingdom (4th, $9,919 billion), Germany (5th, $9,660 billion), France (7th, $6,649 billion), Canada (8th, $6,393 billion), Australia (9th, $6,142 billion) and Italy (10th, $4,276 billion).
259. Chintaman Wanaga, the Member of Parliament (MP) of 16th Lok Sabha from Palghar in Maharashtra, has passed away in New Delhi on January 30, 2018. An advocate by profession, he served as the President of BJP's Thane district office from 1990 to 1996. He was elected to the Lok Sabha thrice and once as the member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
260. The Anti-Leprosy Day is observed every year in India on the Martyrdom Day of Mahatma Gandhi on January 30, remembers his selfless efforts and care for the people affected by leprosy. The day aims to make people aware of the real need to fight the infectious disease. On this day, a campaign named 'Sparsh Leprosy Awareness Campaign (SLAC)" has been organised in all the Gram Sabhas throughout the country by the Central Leprosy Division of the Health Ministry. The campaign carries important information about the disease to help affected people. It includes free of cost multidrug therapy that is available at all government dispensaries, health centres and hospitals to provide complete treatment. The facility is given to all the affected people as only timely treatment prevents disability caused due to the disease. Some important symptoms of leprosy are light colour patches, redness, swelling and nodule formation over the skin.
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