January 18 – 23 Events
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INDIA
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Ø 75th anniversary of Netaji
Subhas Chandra Bose’s ‘Mahanishkraman’ (The Great Escape)
Ø The four day long Matdaata
Mahotsav organized by Election Commission of India on the theme, “No Voter to
be left behind” concluded in New Delhi
Ø 25 children (3 girls and 22
boys) – have been selected for the National Bravery Awards 2015. Two of the
Awards have been given posthumously
Ø The Start-up issue of Laghu
Udyog Samachar (January 2016) was released; different schemes and campaigns of
Government of India namely, Start-up India, Stand-up India, Make in India,
Digital India will be focused in Jan edition of Laghu Udyog Samachar
Ø Government has decided to
institute a new award category under the National Film Awards titled “The Most
Film Friendly State/UT”. This award will
be conferred for the first time at the 63rd National Film Awards to be held on 3rd May 2016
Ø Case filed against Union MoS
for Labour, Mr. Bandaru Dattatrya in case related with a suicide of a Dalit
student in the University of Hyderabad; As spontaneous protests over the
suicide of young research scholar Rohith Vemula in the University of Hyderabad
spread across the country, the Human Resource Development Ministry under Ms.
Smriti Irani had to step out and clarify that it had not applied pressure to
expel the five Scheduled Caste students following a written complaint from
Cabinet Minister Mr. Bandaru Dattatreya
Ø Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare released the results from the first phase of the National Family
Health Survey (NFHS-4), 2015-16 [Health care facilities in Andaman and Nicobar
Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Puducherry, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, and
Telangana, providing safer environments for mothers and new-borns]
Ø India continues to be at the
top of the table in the rank for number of stillbirths in 2015, recording
5,92,100, followed by Nigeria, Pakistan, China and Ethiopia. - Medical Jounral
Lancet Reports
Ø Government of India has
approved establishment of two National Centres of Ageing-one each at All India
Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, and Madras Medical College,
Chennai under the tertiary level component of National Programme for Health
Care of the Elderly (NPHCE)
Ø Solar tariffs have fallen to
an unprecedented low of Rs. 4.34 / kWh through reverse auction for one of six
projects of 70 MW each to be put up in Rajasthan under the National Solar
Mission
Ø 19th National Conference on
e-Governance in Nagpur (Jan 21, 2016)
Ø Union Minister for Science
and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the Shillong
Geophysical Research Centre of the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism
Ø Ministry of Shipping has
started ‘Project Green Ports’ which will help in making the Major Ports across
India cleaner and greener. [‘Project Green Ports’ will have two verticals - one
is ‘Green Ports Initiatives’ related to environmental issues and second is
‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan’. ]
Ø 35 seconds compulsory wait
to book tickets in IRCTC
Ø India successfully launched
PSLV - C31; carried its fifth regional navigational satellite system (IRNSS -
1E)
Ø President, Mr. Pranab
Mukherjee host a lunch for 100 women achievers (January 22, 2016) at
Rashtrapati Bhavan on the occasion of first anniversary of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti
Padhao’ scheme. [These 100 women achievers were selected by the Ministry of
Women and Child Development in collaboration with Facebook through a nationwide
contest and public nominations.]
Ø Union HRD Ministry appointed
Prof H R Nagendra as the head of the Committee on Yoga Education in
Universities
Ø Two Groups of Secretaries
presented their ideas and suggestions on (a) Good Governance: Challenges and
Opportunities (b) Farmer-centric issues in agriculture and allied sectors, to
the Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi
Ø NFSA (National Food Security
Act) coverage in all the States by April 2016 : Union Minister of Consumer
Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan
Ø Centre to set up committee
to assess security situation at defence bases after the Pathankot terror attack
Ø Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra
Modi to released the digital copies on 100 files related to Subash Chandra Bose on his birth anniversay
Ø In a nationwide crackdown,
NIA along with various state police arrested 14 alleged ISIS sympathisers from
the States of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh
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BILATERAL ISSUES
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Ø NASEEM AL BAHR: joint
maritime exercise between India and Oman from Jan 22-27, 2016 (at Arabian Sea)
Ø Fiji is in the process of
setting up its first consular officer in Chennai by April 2016; Fiji's third
office in India after Mumbai and Kolkata
Ø Union MoS for Home Affairs,
Mr. Kiren Rijiju participated in the Symposium on ‘Shared Values and Democracy
in Asia’ in Tokyo
Ø 4th India Africa Hydrocarbon
Conference to be held in New Delhi (Jan 21-22, 2016) to explore opportunities,
bridge boundaries and boost bilateral trade
Ø 2nd West Asia Conference at
Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi
Ø India and the UK agreed to
strengthen economic cooperation in various sectors including infrastructure
financing, addressing issues of cross-border tax evasion and avoidance
Ø First Joint Committee
Meeting between India and Mauritius for the cooperation in MSME sector was held
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STATES SCAN
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Ø Andhra Pradesh: Government
reconstituted the Commission for Backward Classes with immediate effect; a two
member commission with Justice KL Manjunath, (Retd.) as its chairman
Ø Assam: Prime Minister, Mr.
Narendra Modi unveiled the plaque for the foundation stone of the campus for
IIIT Guwahati
Ø Bihar: Cabinet approved 35%
reservation for women in government jobs
Ø Goa Legislative Assembly
approved reclassification of coconut tree as palm
Ø Jammu & Kashmir:
"Nai Manzil" scheme launched for first time in the state; an
integrated Education and Livelihood Initiative for the Minority Communities
Ø Maharashtra: 6th National
Science Film Festival at Mumbai from Feb 09-13, 2016
Ø Maharashtra: Mumbai central
Railway Station becomes the first in the country to come under high speed Wi -
Fi; One Gigabit per second for the first hour; [Project Nilgiri]
Ø Maharashtra Government and
Tata Trust signed MoU for skill training of youth
Ø Punjab: SC to hear whether
Sikhs are minority in the state?
Ø Rajasthan: Jodhpur's Umaid
Bhawan Palace named the world's best hotel of 2016
Ø Sikkim: Prime Minister, Mr.
Narendra Modi inaugurated the Sikkim Organic Festival 2016, and addressed the
Plenary Session of the National Conference on Sustainable Agriculture and
Farmers Welfare, at Gangtok [Prime Minister digitally launched the logo of
“Sikkim Organic.” He launched three new Orchid species developed in Sikkim.]
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TAMIL NADU
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Ø Chief Minister, Ms.
Jayalalithaa to inaugurate Amma Call Centre (Jan 19, 2106); dial the toll free
number 1100 and clear the grievances; ‘Amma Call Centre’, would function round
the clock to receive calls from citizens.
Ø Flamingo Festival - 2016
held at Point Calimere (Nagapattinam Dt)
Ø Liquor sale falling in Tamil
Nadu
Ø Aavin has registered an
increase in milk production by 9 lakh litres over the last 4.5 years
Ø Union Minister for Road
Transport, Highways and Shipping Mr. Nitin Gadkari said the Centre had
sanctioned Rs. 33,000 crore for infrastructure projects including construction
of Rail-Over-Bridges (ROB), upgradation of state highways into National
Highways and major bridges in the State
Ø Women exceeds men in the
newly released TN electoral lists; in 162 Assembly Constituencies, women voters
are high; Kancheepuram Dt has the maximum number of electors in the State
Ø Shozhinganallur assembly
constituency in Kancheepuram Dt has the highest number of electors; this
constituency has also the highest electors in the age group of 18 - 19 years
Ø Klilvelur (SC) assembly
constituency in Nagapattinam Dt has the lowest number of electors
Ø Mr. B. Chandra Mohan is
appointed as Commissioner of Chennai Corporation replacing Mr. Vikram Kapur and
some of the District collectors transferred; Newly appointed Collector for
Chennai Dt is Mr. G. Govindraj
Ø No closing of liquour shops
in the State - Minister, Mr. Natham Viswanathan in Assembly
Ø Men Sterilisation
(Vasectomy) is nil in Tamil Nadu as per the NFHS - 4 (National Family Health
Survey)
Ø Delhi High Court Chief
Justice G Rohini has been recommended for a transfer to the Madras High Court
in the same capacity, while the present incumbent in Chennai Justice S K Kaul
has been recommended to be the next Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court
(Uttar Pradesh).
Ø Perhaps for the first time
in the country, the government buses are being used as an early warning system
to reduce elephant - human conflict; launched in Valparai plateau
Ø Chief Minister, Ms.
Jayalalithaa launched loan scheme (Amma Micro Loans Scheme) for small traders
for the flood-hit districts; Government to bear the 11% interest of loan for
small traders
Ø State Horticulture
Department to conduct a mega campaign in Chennai (Jan 23-24) to promote
vegetable cultivation on rooftops; to distribute "Do it Yourself
Kits" at a cost of Rs. 500 each
Ø PMK Chief Ministerial
Candidate, Dr. Anbumani Ramdoss launched "The Chennai We Want"
campaign
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AROUND THE WORLD
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Ø First infected case of
mosquito-borne Zika virus recorded in the US
Ø El Salvador: Government
asked its women to delay pregnancy for two years in light of outbreak of
mosquito borne Zika virus
Ø Afghanistan will hold its
delayed parliamentary elections on Oct 15, 2016
Ø British lawmakers will hold
a debate on a petition signed by more than half a million people calling for US
Republican Presidential Candidate Mr. Donald Trump to be banned from England
Ø France: President Mr.
Francois Hollande declared economic emergency
Ø United Nations has appointed
Argentina football captain Lionel Messi and pop sensation Shakira to promote
world body’s objective of eradication of poverty by 2030
Ø Japanese astronomers’ team
discovered the second largest black hole in Milky Way
Ø The oldest Christian
monastery St Elijah’s monastery in Iraq has been destroyed by the jihadist
group Islamic State (IS)
Ø Sri Lanka: banned kidney transplantations
at all hospitals in the country for foreigners
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ECONOMICS
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Ø India's Dinesh Sharma
elected to Board of Directors of AIIB
Ø NASSCOM (The National
Association of Software and Services Companies) 10K Start-up Program in
partnership with the Telangana government inaugurated the T-Hub NASSCOM
Start-up Warehouse in Hyderabad
Ø Somnath Temple in Gujarat to
invest in Gold Monetisation Scheme
Ø Draft report of R V Easwar
Committee to simplify Income-tax Act, 1961 released
Ø World Bank to fund 20
million US dollar for reconstructing Indira Gandhi Zoological Park,
Visakhapatnam [It is the very first time in the history of the World Bank that
it is directly involved in a zoo.]
Ø NLC has invited bids from
international firms for setting up solar power projects having total capacity
of 260 MW in Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan
Ø Financing Agreement for World
Bank (IDA) assistance of US$ 250 million for Bihar Kosi Basin Development
Project was signed between Government of India and the World Bank
Ø India Signs Financing
Agreement with World Bank for US$ 250 Million for Jhelum and Tawi Flood
Recovery Project (Jammu & Kashmir)
Ø On the basis of
sustainability, adventure, ciltural influence, entrepreneurship and economic
influence, 60 countries are ranked; India stands at 22nd position; top 3 are:
(1) Germany, (2) Canada and (3) UK
Ø RBI permitted banks to sell
India Gold Coins (IGC) with Ashok Chakra through their branches; coins are
avialable indenominations of 5 and 10 grams
Ø SEBI released report of
Narayan Murthy-panel on Alternative Investment Policy
Ø ICICI Bank inaugurated its
first full service branch at Sandton in Johannesburg
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SPORTS
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Ø Ronnie O'Sullivan won his 6th £200,000 Snooker
Masters title after defeating Barry Hawkins by 10-1 in the final of
professional non-ranking snooker tournament, 2016
Ø Rafael Nadal lost to
Fernando Verdasco in the first round of the Australian Open [Nadal won his only
Australian title in 2009 after beating Verdasco in the semifinals. His only
other first—round exit in a major was at Wimbledon in 2013]
Ø G. Rupa Devi (from Dindigul
in Tamil Nadu) becomes the first female refree from Tamil Nadu for FIFA
Ø India's Jehan Daruvala, won
one of New Zealand's most prestigious events, the Lady Wigram Trophy
Ø 2015 ITTF world junior
circuit finals begins at Indore today (Table Tennis)
Ø Australian Open 2016: Roger
Federer registered 300th victory in his Grand Slam career; he defeated Grigor
Dimitrov; becomes the first man to reach the milestone; Only Martina Navratilova
(with 306 wins) stands in front of him
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MISC
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Ø "Marathi Tigers" a
film that portrays the border tussle between Maharashtra and Karnataka is now
opposed by Karnataka; film producers assert that they will release the film
Ø According to the handbook,
published by the Oxford University, the upswing in fruit production makes India
the second largest global producer behind China; China > India > Brazil
> USA and Spain [In India, Maharashtra > Andhra Pradesh > Gujarat >
Tamil Nadu > Uttar Pradesh]
Ø Zinnia became the first
flower that has finally bloomed in outer space. The flower was grown as part of
an experiment astronauts are conducting on how plants grow in microgravity.
Ø Yasutaro Koide of Japan,
world’s oldest man, dies at 112 [world’s oldest person is an American woman,
116-year-old Susannah Mushatt Jones of Brooklyn, New York; world's oldest man
now is Japan's Masamitsu Yoshida, a
111-year-old]
Ø Chinese scientists found the
world's largest canyon in the South Pole; The canyon, more than 1000
kilometres’ long, 1500 metres deep, and 26.5 kilometres wide at the top, is
larger than the Grand Canyon and is the largest canyon discovered on earth
Ø Eminent tabla player, Pandit
Shankar Ghosh passed away
Ø The Bikerni, India’s first
all-women motorcycle association, celebrated its fifth anniversary
Ø Prof M Jagadesh Kumar is
chosen as Vice Chancellor of JNU, Delhi
Ø Ninth planet may exist -
scientists
Ø Rahul Thakar, has won an
Oscar for technical achievement; shares the award with Richard Chuang for
groundbreaking design of the dreamworks animation media review system
Ø 2015 is hottest year since
1880: report
Ø Renowned classical dancer
and Padma Bhushan recipient, Ms. Mrinalini Sarabhai (wife of Dr. Vikram
Sarabhai - father of India's Space Programme) passed away
Ø New largest prime number
with 22 million digits; it has been named as M74207281 [(2^74207281) - 1]
Ø Ravi Chellam took charge as
Executive Director of Greenpeace India
Ø A team of scientists from
India, Sweden, China, the US and Russia discovered a new bird species, dubbed
Himalayan Forest Thrush in northeastern India and adjacent parts of China. [The
bird was biologically named as Zoothera salimalii as an honour to Salim Ali,
who made significant contributions to ornithology in India]
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BOOKS
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Ø Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra
Modi, released a book named "The Z Factor" written by Shri Subhash
Chandra
Vice
President, Mr. M. Hamid Ansari gave ‘Ekadash Shailkar Prabhakar’ award to the
Eminent Journalist, Mr. Vinod Agnihotri
Jan 11 – 13 Jan 14 - 17 Jan 18 – 23
Jan 24 - 26 Jan 27 – 31
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