Dear Readers, We cover some important news in Current Affairs Today Section, which are not covered in Daily Detailed News, More Current Affairs coverage will help you to Score Good Marks in Competitive Exam.
Click Here to Read Current Affairs January 12 Quiz 2016
INDIAN AFFAIRS
Telangana: First State to make gender education compulsory
With an introduction of bilingual textbook, “Towards a World of Equals” in engineering colleges affiliated to the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU-Hyderabad), Telangana has become the introductory state in the country to make gender education compulsory at the graduate level.
- The book edited by Susie Tharu and Dr.A.Suneetha has prescribed it as the textbook for the newly introduced mandatory course on Gender Sensitization in JNTUH.
100% primary education feat achieved by Kerala
Kerala has become the first state in the country to achieve the status of 100% primary education. It has been declared by Vice-President Hamid Ansari.
- This feat has been achieved on the sidelines of state’s literacy mission “Athulyam Aksharotsavam”.
CIRB Hisar becomes second institute to clone buffalo in India
Scientists at Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes (CIRB) in Hisar have successfully produced a cloned buffalo offspring “Cirb Gaurav”.
- The newborn cloned calf, weighed 40.4 kg at the time of birth has been produced under the project entitled “Cloning for conservation and multiplication of superior buffalo germplasm”.
- With this achievement CIRB becomes world’s third and India’s second institute to produce cloned buffalo.
This cloned buffalo calf is distinct from the earlier clones produced in India. As this is produced from cells of ventral side of tail of superior bull buffalo, this part is least exposed to sunlight and may have less mutation rate and can be good choice for isolation of donor cells to produce healthy clones.
- National Dairy Research Institute in Karnal was the first to produce a cloned calf in India.
20th National Youth Festival begins in Naya Raipur
The 20th National Youth Festival has commenced in capital city of Chhattisgarh, Naya Raipur.
(Chattisgarh CM – Raman Singh)
- Themed – “India Youth for Skill, Development and Harmony”
- It is organised by Chhattisgarh Sports and Youth Welfare Department, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangthan and National Service Scheme.
- The mascot for the event is the state animal of Chhattisgarh – Wild Buffalo, in famous dancing pose of Bastar tribals. It has been named as “Sangi” which means “friend”.
Rajyostav Sthal at Naya Raipur will be the main venue of the five-day event which will see contests in 18 different disciplines, including folk dance, folk song, drama, classical music, classical dance, extempore etc. with a participation of over 6,000 participants from across the country.
- Para-trooping would be displayed by Indian Army while weapons and explosives used during war will also be put on exhibition.
BHEL commissions 520 MW thermal power unit in Andhra Pradesh
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd has commissioned a 520MW coal-based thermal power unit in Andhra Pradesh. Four 500 mw thermal sets supplied and executed by BHEL are in successful operation at Simhadri Super Thermal Power Station of NTPC.
- Commissioned at: 2x520MW Vizag Thermal Power Project of Hinduja National Power Company Limited (HNPCL), Visakhapatnam.
- Affected by the Hudhud cyclone in 2014 while it was under construction.
Currently, BHEL got orders to set up two supercritical thermal power projects
- 1×800 MW Dr Narla Tata Rao Thermal Power Station (Dr NTTPS) Stage-V of Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation Ltd (APGENCO)
- 1×800 MW Sri Damodaram Sanjeevaiah Thermal Power Station (SDSTPS) Stage-II, Krishnapatnam Supercritical Thermal Power Project, of Andhra Pradesh Power Development Company Ltd. (APPDCL).
Keys Andhra Pradesh
- CM: Nara Chandrababu Naidu
- Governor: S. L. Narasimhan
DAC approves major changes in Defence Procurement Procedure
Defence Acquisition Council(DAC) led by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has approved major changes to the Defence Procurement Procedure(DPP).
- New DPP will modernize defence acquisitions and give a big push to indigenisation through the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
Highlights
- New category to promote domestic manufacturing, including government funding for R & D and recognition of the MSME in technology development.
- Funds up to 90 per cent of development costs to private companies to push research and innovation
- Brought down the Acceptance of Necessity validity to six months from earlier one year.
- 10 per cent extra weightage will be given if a system displays better qualities than required.
India-Australia Social Security Agreement comes into operation
Social security agreement signed between India and Australia came into effect enabling people of both nations to avail retirement benefits in each other’s country to boost bilateral business linkages. The Agreement signed in November 2014 came into operation on January 1, 2016.
Benefits:
- Freedom to move between Australia and India, knowing their pension rights will be recognised and protected.
- Australian residents living in India will be able to claim the Australian Age Pension without having to return to Australia, while Indian residents living in Australia will have access to Indian retirement pensions.
Australia now has 30 international social security agreements around the world to support people living and working in more than one country including with countries like Austria, Belgium, Canada, Japan, Korea, Spain, Switzerland and the US.
- Australian Minister for Social Services: Christian Porter
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
India leads the 2016 outsourcing index
According to a study published by London-based global management consulting firm, A T Kearney’s 2016 Global Services Location Index (GSLI), India become the world’s biggest outsourcing destination in terms of financial attractiveness and business environment.
- Other Countries in the list of top 10 following India includes China, Malaysia, Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, The Philippines, Mexico, Chile and Poland
BANKING & FINANCE
Indian Bank to raise Rs 1,100 crore from bonds
Chennai headquarters Indian Bank plans to raise Rs 1,100 crore from bonds to fund business growth.
- The bank plans to raise Basel III compliant Tier II Bonds for Rs 1,100 crore in one or more tranches in the current or subsequent years based on the requirement, Indian Bank said in a regulatory filing.
Keys Indian Bank:
- CEO – Mahesh Kumar Jain
- Tagline – Your Tech-friendly bank
BOB pays Rs 95 cr as interest on Basel-III bonds
Mumbai headquartered Bank of Baroda has timely paid over Rs 95 crore as interest to the beneficiaries of its additional tier-I Basel-III compliant bonds issue of Rs 1,000 crore.
- Interest was paid at 48%, including two days of additional interest.
- The payment was done through RTGS or NEFT to 75 beneficiaries.
Keys Bank of Baroda:
- CEO – P. S. Jayakumar
- Tagline – India’s International Bank
BankBazaar.com launches “One Loan Two Homes” program
An online marketplace BankBazaar.com has launched a new “One Loan Two Homes” programme to help the flood-affected citizens of Chennai.
- Under this scheme, the company will contribute Rs 1000 to Habitat for Humanity India on every home loan disbursed between 1 January to 31 March.
Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization that builds homes and provides housing-related services to low-income, marginalized families across India to build disaster-resilient homes for people affected by the floods.
- Earlier, the BankBazaar team distributed more than 10,000 packets of food and provided other emergency supplies and essentials to the local Chennai public.
- com employees went out of their way to launch a rescue using boats and helped evacuate more than 300 people stranded by the rising waters.
- It also arranged for doctors to visit all its offices in Chennai to provide free medical checkup and reimburse all Outpatient medical bills of flood-affected employees.
With this new programme, BankBazaar.com brings its customers and the flood-affected one step closer to a home of their own.
ADB to fund $840-m corridor between Vizag, Chennai
The Asian Development Bank will extend a $625 million loan to the proposed $840 million Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor.
- Industrial corridor is meant to boost manufacturing activity and help economic growth of the hinterland, will have four nodes: Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Gannavaram-Kankipadu and Yerpedu-Srikalahasti.
Housing and Urban Development Corporation would help build Andhra Pradesh’s capital at Amaravati with an assistance of ₹7,500 crore. A metro rail was under consideration for Visakhapatnam, while tenders would be invited for one in Vijayawada.
BUSINESS
PayPal ties-up with Shopmatic for cross-border transactions
Digital payments firm PayPal tied up with ecommerce platform solutions provider Shopmatic to enable its merchants to expand their sales globally. This is PayPal’s first tie-up with an Indian partner.
- In India, PayPal works only for cross-border transactions, a market that the company is growing fast.
PayPal is also striking deals with banks to help consumers in India use their credit and debit cards to buy internationally. It had partnered with State Bank of India to enable customers to use their SBI debit cards on PayPal to make purchases on overseas websites.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
2016 FIFA Ballon d’Or award bagged by Lionel Messi
Argentina’s professional footballer Lionel Messi has been conferred with the FIFA Ballon d’Or award for the world player of the year beating his greatest rivals Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar.
- He has scooped the prestigious prize for a fifth time (previous wins between 2009 and 2012).
- Messi got 33% of total voting points in a 23-candidate ballot. Ronaldo received 27.76% and third-place Neymar got 7.86%.
ENVIRONMENT
Global warming causes $1.5 trillion loss on middle-class
As per the Swiss financial services major UBS report, titled “Climate change: A risk to the global middle class”, the climate change inflicted a USD 1.5 trillion loss on the middle-class across the globe between 1980 and 2014 and another USD 32 billion in the first six months of 2015 which was the hottest year on record.
- UBS arrived at the loss data after analysing the consumption of the middle-class in 215 cities and comparing consumption patterns to the level of climate change risks.
SPORTS
Sania topped while Bopanna 9th in doubles rankings
In the latest tennis WTA rankings, Sania Mirza continues to top the women’s double chart with 11395 points while her partner Martina Hingis of Switzerland maintained her second spot with 11355 points.
- Sania and Martina, the world number one women’s doubles team, have stitched a 26-match winning streak together, which has brought them six titles in a row at the S. Open, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Beijing, WTA Finals and Beijing International.
Man Double Ranking:
The ranking is being headed by Marcelo Melo of Brazil, followed by Horia Tecau of Romania and Netherlands Jean-Julien Rojer.
- Among the Indian, Rohan Bopanna is the only one to feature in the top 10 of the doubles rankings.
Men’s Singles:
Novak Djokovic of Serbia tops the chart ahead of Andy Murray of Great Britain and Swiss Roger Federer.
- At 95th position, Yuki Bhambri is the highest placed Indian in the men’s singles rankings even though he dropped two places.
- Saketh Myneni is the next best Indian at 168th spot ahead of Somdev Devvarman (173rd).
Stephen Fleming named coach of Pune IPL team
The new IPL franchise, Pune appointed Stephen Fleming as their coach for the upcoming edition.
- MS Dhoni became the team’s first pick in the IPL player draft as Dhoni and Fleming have had been the most successful team management pair having taken Chennai Super Kings to the finals six times in eight years and winning the title twice. Super Kings banned for two years.
Pune roped in the likes of R Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane, Faf du Plessis and Steve Smith as well in the player draft.
- Franchise owner: Sanjiv Goenka
Queen’s Turf wins Queen Elizabeth Commemoration Cup
Queen’s Turf won the Queen Elizabeth Commemoration Cup, the main event of the races.
- Trained by G Suresh and ridden by jockey Md.Hesnain
Suresh saddled four winners, while Hesnain rode three winners.
- Queen’s Turf (Md. Hesnain)
- Queen Of Queens (Rajendra Singh)
- Starlight Heaven (Brisson)
- King Dazzler (Tanveer Alam)
ICC announces MoneyGram as event partner
ICC and MoneyGram International announced an eight-year deal which confirms MoneyGram as an event partner for ICC occasions from 2016-2023.
Recently, ICC and MoneyGram completed five-year partnership(2010-2015). In the current eight-year cycle the ICC will stage 17 tournaments, including six majors — two ICC World Twenty20 tournaments, two editions of the ICC Champions Trophy and two ICC Cricket World Cups.
Keys International Cricket Council
- Chief Executive: David Richardson
- Chairman: Shashank Manohar
- HQ: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
MoneyGram
- Headquarters: Dallas, Texas, United States
- CEO: Pamela Patsley
OBITUARY
Iconic singer David Bowie dies at 69
The iconic singer David Bowie died from liver cancer in New York. Bowie’s passing came just three days after the release of a music video which featured chilling footage of the singer confined to a hospital bed with his eyes covered by a bandage.
About David Browie
- Born in south London
- David Robert Jones known as David Bowie was an English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, arranger, painter and actor.
- “Space Oddity” became his first top five entry on the UK Singles Chart after its release in July 1969.
- Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996
- Named a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2013.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
Book titled MARU BHARAT SARU BHARAT released by PM
Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a book titled “MARU BHARAT SARU BHARAT“(My India Noble India) through a video conference in Mumbai.
- Written by: Jain Acharya Ratnasundersuriswarji Maharaj
- Organised by: Sahitya Satkar Samiti of Ratnatrayee Trust
PM said that Rashtra Dharma is above every Dharma (religion). He urged the people to strive for poverty alleviation, clean India and to harness the energy of millions of youth towards a strong nation on the move.
Keys Narendar Damodardas Modi:
- Born in: Vadnagar, Mehsana district, Bombay State(present-day Gujarat)
- 15th & current PM of India
- Chief Minister of Gujarat (2001–14)
- Forbes Magazine 15th-most-powerful person in the world in 2014 2015.
- Time ’s “30 most influential people on the internet”
2015
- 5th – Fortune magazine’s second annual list of ‘World’s Greatest Leaders’
- 8th – TIME magazine’s Person of the Year
- 9th – Most-powerful person in the world as per Forbes Magazine
IMPORTANT DAYS
National Youth Day
Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, delivered the inaugural address for the National Youth Day at Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh via video-conferencing from Race Course Road.
- National Youth Day (Yuva Diwas or Swami Vivekananda Birthday) is celebrated with the great joy and enthusiasm in India every year on 12th of January to commemorate the birthday of Swami Vivekananda, maker of the modern India.
- First declared: By the Government of India in the year 1984 to celebrate the birthday of Swami Vivekananda as the National Youth Day.
About Swami Vivekananda:
- Swami Vivekananda was chief disciple of the 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna.
- Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission.
- After Ramakrishna’s death, Vivekananda travelled to the United States, representing India at the 1893 Parliament of the World Religions.
- In India, Vivekananda is regarded as a patriotic saint and his birthday is celebrated there as National Youth Day.
