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INDIAN AFFAIRS
“Laman Diva” is selected as “Make in India Week” logo
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis unveiled “Laman Diva” as the logo of the first Make in India (MII) Week scheduled to be held in Mumbai between February 13 and 18, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- The Laman Diva or Nanda Deep has great relevance in Indian culture as it symbolizes auspicious beginning, peace, prosperity, growth.
- This is also the logo of Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation. The only added elements are the cogs and parts of the Make in India Lion logo to signify the manufacturing potential of Maharashtra.
Govt approves electronics cluster in Raipur
Government has approved the set up of fifth Greenfield electronics manufacturing cluster in Raipur, Chattisgarh worth Rs.89 crore and the central government will provide Rs.43.07 crore, for manufacturing mobile phones, solar LEDs and consumer electronics products.
- Department of Electronics and IT (Deity) has already given nod to 17 Greenfield EMCs and approved four EMCs which include two in Madhya Pradesh, one each in Rajasthan and Jharkhand.
- It has approved only one Brownfield EMC which is located in Mysore while given nod to three other brownfield EMCs.
Keys: Chhattisgarh
- 10th largest state in India
- Source of electricity and steel for India
- Capital: Raipur
- Governor: Balramji Das Tandon
- Chief Minister: Raman Singh
International kite festival begins in Vadodara
International Kite Festival began at Surat and Rajkot in Gujarat. Kite-flyers from 31 countries set to participate, which will travel across the state before concluding at the Sabaramati riverfront in Ahmedabad on January 14.
- Other Name: Uttarayana, marks the advent of summer.
- Location: Vadodara, Bhavnagar, Ahmedabad city, Bhuj, Porbandar, Modhera and Khambhat cities
- Jointly organised by: Vadodara Municipal Corporation and GTCL.
- Participants: 70 kiting experts from China, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Italy, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand and Cambodia.
Keys: Gujarat
- Jewel of the Western part of India
- Capital: Gandhinagar
- Governor: Om Prakash Kohli
- Chief Minister: Anandiben Patel
43rd New Delhi World Book Fair opens
Human Resource Minister Smriti Irani unveiled the 43rd New Delhi World Book Fair. It is nine day fair, publicized as the largest in Asia, is hosting about 30 countries.
- Guest of honour: China
- Programmes including panel discussions, dramas, classical and folk dances, workshops, discussions, authors’ meets, conferences, seminars and cultural programmes will be held.
- A special ‘Navlekhan’ programme which work towards promoting and publishing young authors under the age of 40 writing in Indian languages.
Upcoming event ‘Shodh Yatra’: School children(selected from Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala) from India will visit Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmara and Cambodia in the company of eminent litterateurs and photographers from Assam, Manipur, Odisha, Punjab and Kerala.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry launches an online initiative to engage LPG consumers and citizens
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has launched an Online Initiative to engage the LPG Consumers and Citizens of India. It is one of the many initiatives for observing 2016 as the Year of LPG Consumers.
- Objective: To provide efficient and citizen friendly services in LPG distribution.
- Two online discussion forums have been launched and are available on myGov.in and mylpg.in for
- Citizen-Friendly Services Increasing
- LPG Coverage in the Country
Valuable suggestions/ comments are welcome and will be considered for improving the customer oriented services related to LPG Coverage & Delivery on the respective forums online.
- Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas: Dharmendra Pradhan
Governor’s rule imposed in Jammu and Kashmir
Governor’s rule was imposed in Jammu & Kashmir under Article 92 (1) of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir
- Reason: Because Peoples Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance will reportedly take some time to form the government again following the death of Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
- As per reports Sayeed’s daughter Mehbooba Mufti will take over as the chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir, has refused to take oath before the mourning period ends. 28 MLAs of the party are in support of Mehbooba succeeding her father.
Keys: Jammu & Kashmir
- Special autonomy under Article 370 of the Constitution of India that is no law enacted by the Parliament of India, except for those in the field of defence, communication and foreign policy will be extendable.
- Own official state flag along with national flag and constitution. Indians from other states cannot purchase land or property in the state.
- Governor: NN Vohra
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Nepal designated to UNICEF’s executive board member
Nepal has been elected to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) executive board, representing the group of Asia-Pacific countries for the term 2016-2018.
- Nepal’s ambassador and permanent representative to the UN Durga Prasad Bhattarai has also been elected as vice-president to the bureau of the executive board.
- Nepal recently completed its terms as a member of the UN economic and social council (ECOSOC) for 2013-2015 and as vice-president from Asia-Pacific region at the executive board of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS for the year 2015.
- Nepal had contributed to the UNICEF by remaining in the executive board in different times including 1982 to 1985, 1992 to 1995 and 2002 to 2004.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Entrepreneur of the Year conferred upon Snapdeal’s Kunal Bahl
Co-founder and CEO of e-commerce giant Snapdeal Kunal Bahl has bagged the “Entrepreneur of the Year” Award, 2015 for his splendid business acumen.
- Kunal established Snapdeal in the year 2010 in partnership with his childhood friend Rohit Bansal.
Documentary on Malal Yousafzai nominated for 2016 BAFTAs
EE British Academy Film Awards(BAFTA) has nominated He Named Me Malala, a documentary on Malala Yousafzai(18) in the upcoming awards Documentary category for 2016.
About Film: It is an intimate portrait of Malala Yousafzai who is the passionate Pakistani advocate of girls’ education who who was targeted by the Taliban and severely wounded by a gunshot when returning home on her school bus in Swat Valley in 2012 and shows how Malala, her father Ziauddin, and her family are committed to fighting for education for all girls worldwide.
Directed by: American filmmaker Davis Guggenheim
Other nominations by BAFTAs: Amy, Cartel Land, Listen to Me and Sherpa.
About Malala: Born in Mingora,Pakistan, Residence: Birmingham, United Kingdom
Malala Day: 12 July 2013
Awards
- Nobel Peace Prize(2014)
- Sakharov Prize(2013)
- Simone de Beauvoir Prize(2013)
- Honorary Canadian citizenship(2014)
- National Youth Peace Prize(2011)
Tata Steel bags PM’s trophy
Tata Steel Limited bagged eighth time Prime Minister’s Trophy for being the ‘Best Performing Integrated Steel Plant’ in the country for 2013 2014.
- About Prime Minister’s trophy: It was instituted in 1992-93.
- Suggestion by: Former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao
- Primary objective: To generate a sense of competition among the steel plants so that they continuously benchmark themselves with the best and improve their performances.
Keys: Tata Steel
- Founder: Jamsetji Tata
- HQ: Mumbai
- Chairman: Cyrus Pallonji Mistry
- Managing Director: V. Narendran
- President TQM & Steel Business: Anand Sen
APPOINTMENTS
Bhanumurthy is the new COO of Wipro
After the appointment of Abidali Neemuchwala as CEO of India’s third largest IT services provider, Wipro has appointed Bhanumurthy B. M. as the President and Chief Operating Officer and also appointed another senior leader G. K. Prasanna as the head of a newly formed created unit, Marketing, Innovations and Technology (MIT).
- The announcement was made by newly appointed CEO Abidali Neemuchwala in an internal mail sent to Wipro employees.
- The changes will be effective from February 1, 2016.
Mr. Bhanumurthy will report to CEO Mr. Neemuchuwala and provide leadership to all the service lines (Business Application Services, Global Infrastructure Services, Product Engineering Services, Analytics, Application Management Services and Business Process Services), Service Transformation and Excellence, Global Delivery Enablement and Quality functions.
- Wipro has also formed a new team Marketing, Innovations and Technology, which will focus on non-linear growth engines, products and platform based services.
Urjit Patel reappointed as RBI deputy governor for three more years
Government has re-appointed Urjit Patel as the deputy governor of Reserve Bank of India for a three-year term. Patel is a doctorate from Yale University, also had a stint at IMF.
- Patel, a close confidante of Rajan for shaping and implementing monetary policy was earlier appointed as deputy governor for a period of three years from January 11, 2013.
- Patel is the fourth deputy governor, the other three being HR Khan, R Gandhi and SS Mundra.
The Patel panel report is the basis of the monetary policy committee which takes a lot of powers of the RBI. Under the independent monetary policy committee, which is being set up, the government will set an inflation target to the RBI and the governor will be made answerable to Parliament if he fails to contain inflation at the given target.
Sailesh appointed as The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India
Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Senior IAS officer Sailesh as Registrar General and Census Commissioner (RGCC) of India.
- He has been appointed for a period till July 28, 2017.
- He will succeed C Chandramouli after he completed his tenure.
Sailesh is a 1985 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre. Prior to this appointment he was serving as Additional Secretary in the Union Home Ministry.
About Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India:
The post of the RGCC of India is usually held by a civil servant holding the rank of Joint Secretary to Government of India.
- It is responsible for conducting the decennial Census.
- He heads the Census organisation (mentioned in entry 69 of seventh schedule of Constitution) which functions under the aegis of Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Powerful ammo developed for Arjun Tank by DRDO
Two Pune based research labs of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have developed new ammunition for India’s main battle tank Arjun.
- More destructive than its predecessor, the new ammunition was successfully test fired at Chandipur in Odisha.
- Labs Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) did an extensive research on the new Penetration-Cum Blast (PCB) and Thermobaric (TB) Ammunition which are specially designed for Arjun.
Indian-American professor develops method to hunt dark matter
An international team of scientists led by an Indian-American professor has discovered a new method that may help in detecting dwarf galaxies dominated by dark matter and explain ripples in the outer disk of the galaxy.
- Sukanya Chakrabarti, assistant professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, uses waves in the galactic disk to map the interior structure and mass of galaxies.
- This new method to characterise dark matter marks the first real application of the field of galactoseismology.
Ms. Chakrabarti’s team used spectroscopic observations to calculate the speed of the three Cepheid variables stars used as yardsticks to measure distance in galaxies in the Norma constellation.
- The current study tracks a cluster of Cepheids that are racing away at an average speed of 4,50,000 miles per hour while the radial velocity of stars in the stellar disk of the Milky Way is about 13,000 miles per hour.
Nissan successfully tested driverless car using at NASA Centre
With the help from NASA space technology, automaker Nissan has successfully test-driven its all-electric, driverless car at NASA’s Ames Research Centre in California that will help scientists send self-driving vehicles on deeper space missions.
- The Nissan LEAF vehicle is equipped with cameras, sensors and cellular data networking.
- It uses robotics software originally developed for Ame’s K-10 and K-REX planetary rovers to operate autonomously.
Last year, the US space agency and the automaker Nissan announced a five-year partnership to build self-driving, zero-emission autonomous cars for earth- and eventually space.
- The partnership allows researchers to develop and test autonomy algorithms, concepts and integrated prototypes for a variety of vehicular transport applications.
SPORTS
Qatar Open title bagged by Serbian Novak Djokovic
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic defeated his rival Rafael Nadal by 6-1, 6-2 to win the Qatar Open title.
- He captured his sixth consecutive ATP World Tour title and 60th overall at the tour level.
- He became just the 10th player in the Open Era to reach the 60-title milestone.
Australia won Hopman Cup 2016
Nick Kyrgios secured the Hopman Cup for Australia Green by beating Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3 6-4 to give his team a 2-0 victory over Ukraine in Perth.
- Daria Gavrilova had earlier defeated Elina Svitolina 6-4 7-6 (8-6) in the women’s rubber of the mixed event.
- Kyrgios, ranked 30th in the world, beat Britain’s world number two Andy Murray.
The Hopman Cup 2016 was the 28th edition of the Hopman Cup tournament between nations in men’s and women’s tennis. It took place at the Perth Arena in Perth, Australia.
Victoria Azarenka wins Brisbane International
Former world number one Victoria Azarenka won her first title since 2013 by beating Angelique Kerber in the Brisbane International final.
- The unseeded Belarusian, who has been plagued by injuries in recent years, beat the fourth-seeded German 6-3 6-1.
World number 22 Azarenka (26) is preparing for the Australian Open, which starts on 18 January. She won in Melbourne in both 2012 and 2013.
OBITUARY
Phantasm star Angus Scrimm dies at 89
Angus Scrimm, the character actor who played the Tall Man in the 1979 horror movie “Phantasm” and its four sequels, died at the age of 89.
- Scrimm also had a recurring role on “Alias” and appeared in films including “John Dies at the End,” “I Sell the Dead” and “Chopping Mall”. His last role was in the fifth and final installment in the series, “Phantasm: Ravager” which has not yet been released.
- Born Lawrence Rory Guy in Kansas City, Kansas, he studied theater at USC.
The first “Phantasm” film was recently restored with J.J. Abrams, a longtime fan of the series, overseeing the restoration which will be released later this year.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
Shatrughan’s biography “Anything But Khamosh” releases
“Anything But Khamosh” Shatrughan Sinha’s biography released by BJP veteran LK Advani at New Delhi’s Claridges Hotel. It is one of the most honest biographies said author Bharthi S Pradhan, who has written the book based on personal interviews spread over seven years beginning November 2008.
- Sinha was in the news recently for hailing fellow BJP MP Kirti Azad, who has been suspended from the party for questioning the conduct of Union finance minister Arun Jailey in the affairs of the DDCA, as a hero.
About Sinha:
- He is an Indian film actor turned politician. Born in Patna, Bihar
- Member of Lok Sabha (2009-2014, 2014-2019) and Rajya Sabha twice Union Cabinet Minister of Health and Family Welfare (Jan 2003-May 2004) Shipping (Aug. 2004) in Atal bihari vajpayee government.
- Elected to 15th Lok Sabha in 2009.
Awards:
- 2003: “Pride of the Film Industry” at the Stardust Awards 2003
- 2003: Stardust Award for Lifetime Achievement
- 2007: National Kishore Kumar Samman
- 2014: Outstanding Contribution to Indian cinema at the IIFA Awards
IMPORTANT DAYS
World Hindi Day
World Hindi Day is celebrated on January 10 every year, marking the anniversary of first World Hindi Conference which was held in 1975. The first World Hindi Conference was inaugurated by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
- Government has introduced web tools like audio-typing aid on computers and is working on making available Hindi classic literature digitally to promote use of the language among its employees on World Hindi Day.
- Hosted by: Vishwa Hindi Parishad at the Constitution Club of India.
Here are some lesser known facts about Hindi language:
- Word Hindi has originated from the Persian word Hind(land of Indus River)
- Also spoken in Nepal, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Fiji and Mauritius. Hindi and Nepalese share the same script – Devnagari
- First book published in Hindi was Prem Sagar.
- One of the seven Indian languages that can be used to make web URLs.
Key persons:
- Secretary, Department of Official Language (Rajbhasha): Girish Shankar
- Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting: Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.
