January 24 – 26 Events
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INDIA
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Ø 6th National Voters Day
(NVD) observed today (Jan 25); Theme: ‘Inclusive
and Qualitative Participation’;
Chief Election Commissioner Dr. Nasim Zaidi released the book titled, ‘Belief in the Ballot’ [25th January is
the foundation day of the Commission, which came into being on this day in
1950]
Ø Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra
Modi and France President, Mr. Francois Hollande laid the foundation stone of
the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Headquarters and inaugurated the interim
Secretariat of the ISA in National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE),
Gwalpahari, Gurgaon; [121 countries are members of ISA]
Ø Ministry of HRD to launch
books (in English and Hindi) for children under Veergatha Series; Veergatha
series seeks to introduce the great acts of bravery of the Param Veer Chakra
awardees to instil a sense of inspiration and patriotism in children at an
early age
Ø Ministry of HRD in
association with the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Home affairs is
organizing the "Seema Darshan" programme; an initiative to provide an
opportunity for the children to experience the border environment and to
encourage patriotism and nationalism among the students
Ø Government organised "Bharat Parv" event from Jan 26-29, 2016 in New Delhi; objective of
this is to generate a patriotic mood, promote the rich cultural diversity of
the country and to ensure the wider participation of the general public
Ø Union Cabinet recommended
the imposition of President's Rule in the Congress - ruled Arunachal Pradesh
after it felt that the State was heading for a constitutional breakdown [Chief
Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Mr. Nabam Tuki, said, that the recommendation
for President's rule by the Union Cabinet in a sensitive border state was unprecedented
and unacceptable]; President, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee implemented the Centre on
imposing the President's Rule in Arunachal Pradesh; SC asked the Governor of
Arunachal Pradesh and Centre Government on why Centre implemented the
President’s Rule?
Ø India submitted its first
Biennial Update Report (BUR) to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC)
Ø Union Government has decided
to extend the Scheme Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao to 61 more districts in 2016 to
improve the declining girl child sex ratio.
Ø India's first
Braille-embedded train was inaugurated in Mysuru – Varanasi Express train [Though
the Delhi - Puri Purushottam Express was the first train in the country to have
a Braille - embedded coach, the Mysuru - Varanasi Express will be the first in
the country where all reserved coaches have embedded Braille signage]
Ø President, Mr. Pranab
Mukherjee has approved the award of one Ashok Chakra, two Kirti Chakras and
eight Shaurya Chakras to the Indian Army personnel
Ø 112 persons selected for
Padma Awards (19 of the awardees are women; 10 are from NRIs; 4 Posthumous)
- 10 Padma Vibhushan,
- 19 Padma Bhushan and
- 83 Padma Shri Awardees
Ø India celebrated its 67th
Republic Day
- For the first time in
history, 76 member French Army contingent marched at the Parade
- Highest Peace time
gallantary award Ashok Chakra conferred on Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami
(posthumously)
- For the first time, an
all-women stunt contingent named ‘Women Daredevils CRPF’ comprising of 120
soldiers will performed stunts on bikes
Ø Republic Day 2016 Parade
Awards
- Services Category
(1) Assam Regiment
- Para-Military Forces
Category
(1) Border Security Force
- Tableau Category
(1) West Bengal (2) Tripura
(3) Assam
- Special Prize
(1) Ministry of
Communication and IT on the theme "Digital India"
Ø India’s first mission to
study the Sun, Aditya - L1, expected to be launched during 2019-20: ISRO
Ø The Scheduled Castes and the
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 comes into
force
Ø "Xpert MTB/RIF": a
molecular test for diagonising TB; developed by India; priced in the range of
Rs. 2000 - Rs. 5200
Ø Mr. Syed Akbaruddin takes
charge as India's permanent representative at the UN; 21st Permanent
Representative at the UN
Ø Alarming rise in obesity in
5 - 19 age group in India: World Health Organisation
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BILATERAL ISSUES
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Ø India and Armenia signed a
protocol to amend the existing Double Taxation Avoidance Convention
Ø Indian and Russian
researchers have been signing an agreement for a period of six months in the
areas of basic and Exploratory Sciences.
Ø India - France Business
Summit in Chandigarh; 16 agreements signed [Cities of Chandigarh, Nagpur and Puducherry
to be developed as 'Smart Cities' with the help of French Government]
Ø India and Arab League vow to
check terror, funding sources; Arab League consists of 22 countries mostly
includes West Asian countries
Ø India and France signed 14
agreements
Ø India to install satellite
tracker in Vietnam
Ø India gifts 40 ambulances
and 8 buses to different organisations in Nepal
Ø India is our closest partner
and no change in the policy: Maldives
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STATES SCAN
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Ø Andhra Pradesh: Government
launched Giriputrika Kalyana Pathakam Scheme to support the tribal women in
their quest for livelihood.
Ø Karnataka: Dharwa based
private research centre has come out with a chilli variety which can be
harvested without stalk/stem from the plant
Ø Kerala Tourism wins best
pavilion award in Madrid
Ø Punjab: France will help
modernise Ludhiana and Ambala railway stations
Ø Rajasthan is the third State
to sign the MOU under UDAY, after Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.
Ø Tripura: Centre sanctioned
funds of "Beating Retreat" ceremony in Tripura; under the Swadesh
Darshan scheme, Union Tourism Ministry to create infrastructure for “Beating
Retreat” ceremony at Agartala-Akhaura border with Bangladesh, similar to that
at Wagah in Punjab
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TAMIL NADU
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Ø Chief Electoral Officer of
Tamil Nadu, Mr. Rajesh Lakhoni received an award during the 6th National
Voters' Day in New Delhi; award for excellence to States was "for series
of innovative measures in use of technology for election management and voter
facilitation"
Ø Padma Awards from Tamil Nadu
- 2 Padma Vibhushan (Dr. V.
Shanta and Mr. Rajinikanth)
- 4 Padma Shri (Dr.
Mayilswamy Annadurai, Dr. T. S. Chandrasekar, Mr. K. Srinivasan and Mr.
Arunachalam Muruganantham)
Ø 2 IPS Officers from Tamil
Nadu (M. Ravi and G. Sambandam) selected for Presdient's Police Medal for
Distinguished Service
Ø 20 IPS officers from Tamil
Nadu selected for Police Medal for Meritorious Service
Ø 10,000 EWS (Economically
Weaker Sections) houses in Tamil Nadu to be fitted with solar energy panels at
a cost of Rs.253 cr under PMAY (Prime Minister's Awas Yojana) - a first under
Urban Housing Mission [To be come up in
the cities of Chennai, Pudukkottai, Namakkal, Madurai, Ranipet, Tiruchirapalli,
Vellore, Erode, Coimbatore, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Hosur and Virudhunagar]
Ø State Election Commission to
launch an app called as "Election Audit" for accessible to those with
disabilities
Ø Anna University to receive
Rs. 50 crore - Rs. 75 crore from UGC to develop its research capabilities; UGC
picks 3 TN universities with 'potential to excel' (Anna University, Univ of
Madras and Kamaraj Univ)
Ø Republic Day Medals by Government of Tamil
Nadu
- Anna Medals for Gallantary
(1) M. S. Baskar (Inspector
of Police, K K Nagar, Chennai - who rescued more than 1500 people in the recent
flood)
(2) S Mohammad Yunus (who
helped many flood - affected people)
- Gallantary Medals
(1) K Rishi (who saved two
boys from drowning)
(2) G Srinivasan (who
rescued two people who were dragged into the sea)
- Kottai Ameer Award for
Communal Harmony
(1) M. B. Abubacker from
Thanjavur (for maintaining communal and social harmony in Adhirampattinam and surrounding
areas)
- GandhiA digal Police
Medals
(1) K. Rajendran, Thanjavur
(2) M. Raju, Dharmapuri
(3) S. Ramamurhty, Nagapattinam
- Special Award for Farmer
(1) Ms. P. Prasana for
highest yield of rice in the State
Ø Tamil Nadu grows as
"textile tourism hub"
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AROUND THE WORLD
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Ø Denmark crowned as “World’s
Best Country for Women”
Ø Russia: AIDS epidemic
crossed 1 million mark in the country
Ø USA: heavy snowfall
(blizzard) in the cities; at least 19 people dead due to this; 4400 flights
cancelled; 56 cm of snow deposited in Washington alone
Ø Zika Virus spreads in
American Countries (Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia, Panama,
Venezuela, Brazil, Paraguay, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana)
Ø China and Iran agreed to
increase trade to $600 billion
Ø UN to monitor peace deal
between Colombian government and the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia) rebels
Ø Denmark and Switzerland
joined in Zika virus infected countries
Ø Denmark parliament has
approved a controversial law allowing authorities to seize refugee’s cash and
valuables and delay them being reunited with their families; UN criticized this
move
Ø USA Presidential Election on
Nov 08, 2016
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ECONOMICS
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Ø Alice G Vaidyan has been
appointed as the CMD of General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC); becomes
the first woman to head this
Ø India - 3rd largest steel
production now; (1) China (2) Japan (3) India
Ø India Investment Summit will
be held in New Delhi (Feb 04 - 05, 2016)
Ø Coca Cola has launched
milk-based beverages under the brand name “Vio”.
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SPORTS
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Ø Malaysia Masters GrandPrix (Badminton):
India's P V Sindhu won the title by defeating Scotland's Kristy Gilmour
Ø Netherlands' Robert Van der
Horst and Lidewij Welten won the men's and women's FIH Player of the Year
awards, respectively, for their performances in 2015.
Ø India lifted the T20 Asia
Cup for Blind by defeating Pakistan in the finals
Ø India's Heena Sidhu
(Shooting) gets an Olympic Quota
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MISC
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Ø In accordance with the Asia
Pacific 2016 Wealth Report, by New World Wealth, India’s National capital New
Delhi and Financial capital Mumbai have been listed among the top Asia Pacific
cities for HNIs (high net worth individuals) [The list has been topped by Tokyo
for the ultra-rich with 2, 64,000 millionaires while Mumbai has been ranked at
12th position with 41,200 millionaires and Delhi was positioned at 20th with
20,600 millionaires]
Ø Ashes of Subash Chandra Bose
is in Renkoji Temple, Japan
Ø Ms. J. K. Rowling to receive
the PEN/Allen Foundation Literary Service Award
Ø Google celebrated R-Day with
BSF’s camel contingent doodle
Ø AIR launches an app called
as RAAGAM
Ø Actress Rekha conferred with
Yash Chopra Memorial award in Mumbai
Ø Artificial Intelligence
pioneer, Marvin Minsky dead
Ø Denmark is the least corrupt
country as per the latest corruption index; India at 76th position; 168
countries surveyed [In 2014, India was ranked at 85th position]
Jan 24 - 26 Jan 27 – 31
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