January 15th, 2018

1. The 70th Army Day is being celebrated on January 15th. The day commemorates the brave soldiers for their sacrifice to the nation.

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  • Chief of Army staff General Bipin Rawat will review the parade at Cariappa Parde Ground in Delhi Cantonment on this occasion.
  • President Ram Nath Kovind has greeted to all soldiers, veterans and their families on the Army Day.
  • Static part: 1.Army Chief General- Bipin Rawat.
    2.Chief of the Naval Staff- Sunil Lamba.
    3.Air Chief Marshal- Birender Singh Dhanoa.

2. The seventh edition of the Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav, under the Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat Mahotsav, has begun in Karnataka.

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  • Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Chemicals and Fertilisers, Dr. Ananth Kumar and Minister of State for Culture and environment, Dr. Mahesh Sharma inaugurated the event in Bengaluru.
  • The Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme was launched last year to promote engagement among the people of different states to enhance mutual understanding and bonding.
  • Static Part: Karnataka:- CM- Siddaramaiah| Governor-Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala.

3. The Australian Open, the year’s first grand slam tournament begins in Melbourne today.

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  • From the Indian side, Yuki Bhambri is a lone qualifier in the Men’s Singles event. It will be third Australian Open men’s singles main draw for Bhambri who had lost in the first round in 2015 and 2016. Men’s doubles, starting from 17 January, features pairs of Leander Paes and Purav Raja and Rohan Bopanna along with his French partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

4. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)’s India International Exchange listed Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC)’s first green bond on its Global Securities Market.

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  • (IRFC) green bonds have become the first debt security to be listed on an exchange at International Financial Sevices Centre in Gujarat’s Gift City. These bonds have an annual yield of 3.835%.
  • Listing the bond on India INX at an event organized by the BSE, railway minister Piyush Goyal said, “India is the fastest-growing economy in the world and our need to raise funds is a continuous process.”
  • Static Part: Gujarat:- CM-Vijay Rupani|Governor-Om Prakash Kohli.

5. Veteran journalist and writer Gnani Sankaran passes away.

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  • Journalist, playwright and literary critic Gnani passed away in Chennai.
  • Gnani, whose original name was V. Sankaran, began his career at the Indian Express. Later, he edited a number of journals in Tamil. He ran a theatre group, Pareeksha. His column O Pakkangal in popular Tamil weeklies was a big hit. 

6. Former Union Minister Raghunath Jha passes away in New Delhi in Ram Manohar Lohia hospital.

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  • Jha was Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise during former prime minister Manmohan Singh’s government.
  • He was a member of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and represented Bihar’s constituency.

7. Johnson & Johnson partners with Maharashtra government on health interventions.

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  • Deepak Sawant, the State’s Public Health and Family Welfare Minister, said that nine districts in Maharashtra faced the maximum rate of infant mortality. In these districts, J&J India will organize skill development programmes for nurses, along with activities including training to provide care to infants.
  • Maharashtra’s mine workers who face an increased risk of tuberculosis will be part of awareness programmes on the illness, as part of a partnership that the Maharashtra Government recently formalized with Johnson & Johnson.
  • Static Part: Maharashtra:-Chief minister-Devendra Fadnavis| Governor- Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao.

8. Turkmenistan’s president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, Banned Women From Driving.

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  • Static Part: Turkmenistan:-Capital: Ashgabat|Currency: Turkmenistan manat.

9. Indian boxers have claimed 11 gold medals and both the team championship trophies in the Nation’s Cup tournament for junior and youth women in Sombor, Serbia.

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  • The junior team won 13 medals, nine gold, two silver and two bronze medals, while the youth team clinched four medals 3 gold and one bronze.
  • Static Part: Serbia :- Capital: Belgrade|Currency: Serbian dinar.

 

10.India, Israel ink nine pacts on cybersecurity, oil & gas and other sectors. 

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  • The agreements were signed after extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu will strengthen ties in the areas such as defense and counter-terrorism, agriculture, technology, and security.
  • On his part, Netanyahu described Modi as a “revolutionary” leader.