Current Affairs: January 25th, 2018

January 25th, 2018

1. 8th National Voters’ Day is being observed on 25th January. 

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) celebrated the 8th National Voters’ Day across the country for enhanced participation of citizens in the electoral process in NewDelhi.
• President Ram Nath Kovind has given awards for best electoral practices to District Collectors, Superintendents of Police and other functionaries involved in election management.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has greeted the people on the occasion of National Voters Day. He urged all eligible voters, particularly youngsters, to register themselves and strengthen democracy with their participation. Mr. Modi also congratulated the Election Commission of India which was founded on this day.
• Static part: 1. First Chief Election Commissioner of India- Sukumar Sen.
  2. 21st Chief Election Commissioner of India- Achal Kumar Joti.
  3. Om Prakash Rawat has been appointed as the next (22nd) chief election commissioner (CEC) of India.

2. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry(FICCI) appoints Dilip Chenoy as Director General(DG).

• Earlier, Chenoy had been the Managing Director and CEO of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Director General (DG) of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and Deputy DG of Confederation of Indian Industry(CII).
• He was awarded the Game Changer Award in 2015 and the Rashtriya Media Ratan Award.
• Static part: FICCI:- President – Rashesh Shah|Director General – Dilip Chenoy| Secretary General – Sanjaya Baru.

3. Himachal Pradesh celebrates 48th Statehood Day on 25th January every year.

• In 1971, on this day Himachal Pradesh was declared as an 18th state of the Indian Union.
• The State Level Function has been organized at Anni in Kullu District, The Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has unfurled the tricolor and take the salute from police, home-guards, NCC cadets, students at a state-level function in Aani Sub Division of Kullu district.
• Static Part: Himachal Pradesh:- Governor-Acharya Dev Vrat| The Great Himalayan National Park, Pin Valley National Park, Inderkilla National Park, Khirganga National Park, Simbalbara National Park are at Himachal Pradesh.

 

4. Jaipur Literature Festival, popularly known as Kumbh of literature, begins in the pink city Jaipur, Rajasthan.

• The five-day Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), was inaugurated in the presence of Rajasthan’s former Governor Margaret Alva.
• The ‘Kumbh of literature’ will feature over 200 sessions which includes 15 Indian and 20 foreign languages on a multitude of topics, trends, ideas and genres, ranging from fiction, poetry, nonfiction, gender equality, environmental protection, science, history, liberal arts, journalism, economics, travel, and cinema.
• The renowned personalities of literature, cinema, music, art, and culture will be attending the festival.
• Static Part: Rajasthan:- CM-Vasundhara Raje | Governor- Kalyan Singh.

5. Maharashtra bans the sale of tobacco at shops selling fast-moving consumer goods(FMCG) items like chocolates, chips and other edible items.

• The Maharashtra state govt has become the first state to enforce the ban on the sale of tobacco the move is aimed at ensuring youngsters do not get addicted to tobacco products. Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) include packaged food and other consumables, toiletries etc.
• FDA has also extended the ban on scented supari (areca nut) by six months until July 2018.
• Static Part: Maharashtra:- Chief minister-Devendra Fadnavis|Governor-Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao|Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Pune International Airport (PNQ),  D. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport (NAG), Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji Airport (NDC) are some of the Airports in Maharashtra.

6. Australian Open: Croatia’s Marin Cilic enters men’s singles final.

• In the Australian Open Tennis in Melbourne, Marin Cilic defeated British hope Kyle Edmund in straight sets to become the first Croatian to reach the final the men’s singles.
• Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki and Simon Halep of Romania will clash for the women’s singles title. Wozniacki beat unseeded Belgian Elise Mertens to reach her first Australian Open final.Top Seed Simon Haleap defeated 2016 winner Angelique Kerber of Germany.
• The pair of India’s Rohan Bopanna and Timea Babos (Hungary) has entered the semi-finals in the mixed doubles of the Australian Open Tennis tournament in Melbourne.

7. The Union Govt announces 4 new schemes to promote young scientists and researchers in the country.

• The schemes include Teacher Associateship for Research Excellence(TARE), Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellowship, Distinguished Investigator Award(DIA) and Augmenting Writing Skills for Articulating Research(AWSAR).
• The Teacher Associateship for Research Excellence (TARE) Scheme will connect the educators to leading public funded institutions like IIT, IISc or national institutions like CSIR to pursue research.
• The Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellowship offers support to 100 Ph.D. scholars for training in universities/laboratories abroad up to 12 months during their doctoral research.
• The Distinguished Investigator Award (DIA)offers a maximum of 100 fellowships to principal investigators of Science and Engineering Research Board and Department of Science and Technology projects.
• The Augmenting Writing Skills for Articulating Research(AWSAR) aims to encourage science writing.
• Static Part: Union Minister for Science & Technology- Dr. Harsh Vardhan.

8. Centre has announced PM’s Shram Awards for 2016 which will be conferred on 50 workers including three women.

• Shram Awards are given in four categories namely Shram Ratna Award, Shram Bhushan Award, Shram Vir/Shram Virangana and Shram Shree/Shram Devi Awards. 34 workers from Public Sector and 16 workers from Private Sectors have won the Awards.
• The Shram Bhushan award carries a cash award of one lakh rupees, while the Shram Vir carries a cash prize of 60 thousand rupees. The Shram Shree award carries a cash prize of 40 thousand rupees.
• Labour Ministry said, no nomination was found suitable for the prestigious Shram Ratna Award this year.
• Static Part: Minister of State for Labour and Employment (independent charge)- Santosh Gangwar.

9. Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address a plenary session of the India-ASEAN commemorative summit in New Delhi.

• The focus of the Summit is counter-terrorism, security, trade, and connectivity. All the 10 leaders of ASEAN countries will attend the Summit. The theme of the summit is “Shared Values, Common Destiny”.
• Ahead of the summit, the Prime Minister held bilateral meetings with Sultan of Brunei, His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassan-al Bolkiah, Thailand counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong and President of Indonesia JokoWidodo.
• The meet can be an opportunity for India to present itself as a powerful ally to these countries in the strategic areas of trade and connectivity.

 

10. The Government of India, Uttarakhand, and World Bank Signed a $120 million Loan Agreement for Water Supply in Uttarakhand.

• The Agreement will help to increase access to improved water supply services in peri-urban areas in the State of Uttarakhand.
• The $120 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and has a 5-year grace period.
• Static Part: 1. World Bank:- Headquarters-Washington DC, USA|Jim Yong Kim is the 12th President of the World Bank Group.
  2.Uttarakhand: CM-Trivendra Singh Rawat, Governor-Krishna Kant Paul.

11. 7th Asia Steel International Conference to be Held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha in February 2018.

• It was announced at a press conference held at Tata Centre, Kolkata, by Anand Sen, President, TQM & Steel Business, Tata Steel, & Chairman – Asia Steel 2018, in association with the Indian Institute of Metals.
• The last Asia Steel conference was held in 2015 at Yokohama, Japan. This major conference is held every three years and provides a platform for the exchange of knowledge on various aspects of the global steel industry.

12. Indian Overseas Bank has signed a MoU with National Housing Bank for the Rural Housing Interest Subsidy Scheme (RHISS) of the Ministry of Rural Development.

• The aim of the RHISS is to provide a subsidy for housing loans taken by those living in rural areas for construction and modifications of their dwelling units.
• The interest subsidy under the scheme is 3% for a loan amount of Rs2 lakh for a 20-year tenure. Indian Overseas Bank has become one of the first public sector banks to implement the scheme.
• Static Part: 1. Indian Overseas Bank:- MD/CEO – R Subramania kumar|Headquarters- Chennai.
  2. National Housing Bank:- MD/CEO – Sriram Kalyanaraman|Headquarters- New Delhi.

13. Veteran South Indian actor Krishna Kumari passes away.

• Krishna Kumari was considered a superstar in her own right, most famous for her work in Telugu cinema. She has collaborated with several of the big names in not just Telugu but in Tamil and Kannada film industry as well.
• She was seen in some of her most memorable films to date — Bandipotu, Vagdhanam, Bharya Bhartalu, Chikkadu Dorakadu and Pelli Kanuka to name a few.

14. Ursula K. Le Guin, Best-Selling Science Fiction author Passes Away.

• Ursula K. Le Guin, the award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer who explored feminist themes and was best known for her Earthsea books, has passed away at the age of 88.
• Le Guin won an honorary National Book Award in 2014. Le Guin’s first novel was Roncannon’s World in 1966. Her book, ‘The Left Hand of Darkness’ won the Hugo and Nebula awards top science fiction prizes.

15. Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K. Palaniswami receives UNESCO Award.

• Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami received UNESCO Award of Merit awarded to the iconic Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple in Tiruchirapalli.
• The award of merit was awarded by UNESCO AsiaPacific region for the reconstruction activities undertaken in the temple without in the least affecting its traditional splendor and Vedic rituals.
• Static Part: UNESCO:- Headquarters- Paris, France|Heads- Irina Bokova, Audrey Azoulay.