Current Affairs Study PDF - January 2017 by AffairsCloud
Current Affairs Study PDF - January 2017 by AffairsCloud
Current Affairs Study PDF - January 2017 by AffairsCloud
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Current Affairs PDF: January 2017
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Current Affairs PDF: January 2017
INDIAN AFFAIRS
PM Narendra Modis Key Announcements on New Years Evening
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the Nation on December 31, 2016, on the New
Years Eve, thanked people for patiently bearing the pain caused by the Governments decision to
demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes.
Key Points of the Announcements
Urban Housing
PM Modi announced two new housing schemes for the urban poor. As per the decision,
home loan taken by urban poor in 2017 up to Rs. 9 Lakh would get 4 percent subvention
on interest while 3 percent subvention on interest on home loans of up to Rs. 12 Lakh.
Rural Housing
In villages, taking home loans of up to Rs. 2 Lakh for new housing or extension of housing
in 2017 would attract 3 percent subvention on interest.
The number of houses being built for the poor, under the Pradhan MantriAwaas Yojana in
rural areas has also been increased by 33 per cent.
Farmers
PM also announced to convert 3 crore Kisan credit card into RuPay card in the next 3 months.
The problem with Kisan Credit Card is that farmers need to go to bank to withdraw money, but
RuPay Card will enable them to buy/sell directly through the card.
He also announced to waive 60-day interest on farm loans taken in the Rabi
season from District Cooperative Banks and Primary Societies.
NABARD created a fund of Rs 21000 crore to Dstrict central Cooperative Banks in
November 2016 to provide loan to farmers for Rabi season.
Senior Citizens
The Prime Minister said that senior citizens would get a monthly fixed interest of 8% on
their deposits of up to 7.5 lakhs for 10 years.
Women
A sum of Rs 6000 would be deposited in the account of pregnant and lactating women in above
650 rural districts to meet medical expenses. The scheme would initially be implemented in form of
a pilot project in 53 districts, with the amount of Rs 4,000
MSME(Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises)
PM Modi said that the cash credit limit for small businesses would be raised to 25 per
cent from 20 per cent. The Credit guarantee for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises
would be raised to Rs 2 crore from current Rs 1 crore.
Government also announced that earlier the tax on Income of businesses with turnover of
up to Rs 2 crore was calculated at 8 per cent of the turnover. Now, for such businesses
income from digital transactions will be calculated at 6 per cent. This will effectively
reduce their tax liability by 25 per cent.
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Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani dedicated Indias first laser technology-based advanced AVMS
RTO check-post at Shamlaji
i. Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani launched Indias first laser technology-based advanced
AVMS RTO check-post and also laid foundation stones of various developmental works worth Rs
30 crore at Shamlaji of Aravalli district in Gujarat.
ii. This new check-post is equipped with advanced ray technology with a cost of Rs 4.72 crore.
iii. All the check-posts in the state will be made advanced, automatic and transparent with a cost of
Rs. 35 crore during next financial year.
iv. The income from this check posts will be used for welfare of poor, deprived and last-person
of the state.
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Seeking Votes in the name of caste, language or religion is Corrupt and not Permissible:
SC
i. The Supreme Court on January 1, 2017 ruled out that no politician can seek votes in the name
of caste, language or religion and seeking votes in this manner would be considered as a corrupt
practice and not permissible.
ii. A 7-judge constitution bench headed by headed by former Chief Justice of India TS Thakur
in the 20 year old Hindutva case which questions whether a religious leaders appeal to his
followers to vote for a particular political party amount to electoral malpractice under Section 123
of the Representation of People Act.
Centre Approves new Projects for Ganga Cleaning over Rs. 370 Crore
i. The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has approved many new projects at an
estimated cost of over Rs 370 crore for its ongoing Ganga rejuvenation
programme in Haridwar and Varanasi and also decided to include six more cities\towns under
surface cleaning exercise of the river using trash skimmers.
ii. In Haridwar, 68 MLD sewage treatment plant (STP) in Jagjeetpur and 14 MLD STP in
Sarai have been approved at an indicative cost of Rs 110.30 crore and Rs 25 crore respectively
under Hybrid Annuity based PPP mode.
Election Commission of India Announces Assembly polls Dates for Five States
The Chief Election Commissioner, DrNasim Zaidi on January 4, 2017, announced the schedule of
upcoming Assembly elections in five states
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Ministry of Commerce & Industry Launches IPR Enforcement Toolkit for Police and IPR
Awareness Campaign for school Children
The Union Commerce & Industry Minister Smt. NirmalaSitharaman launched an Intellectual
Property Rights (IPR) Enforcement Toolkit for Police along with an IPR Awareness
Campaign for School Children on January 4, 2017 in New Delhi.
The IPR Enforcement Toolkit has been jointly prepared by Cell for IPR Promotion and
Management (CIPAM) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
(FICCI).
This toolkit will enable the police officials across the country in dealing with IP crimes, specifically
Trade Marks counterfeiting and Copyrights piracy. The device would include details of offences
under various laws along with checklists for registering a complaint and conducting search and
seizures.
IPR Awareness Campaign
CIPAM is also launching an IPR Awareness campaign for schoolchildren, in collaboration with
the International Trademark Association (INTA) to spread the message of IPRs in a creative
and engaging manner among the children to inculcate respect for IPRs amongst them from an early
age, so that they become responsible users of IPRs in the future.
Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM)
The Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) under the Ministry of Commerce and
Industry, is working to ensure effective implementation of the National IPR Policy 2016. Two MoU
on IPRs were recently signed with UK and Singapore.
Centre Grants Drought Relief Assistance of Rs. 1782 Crore for Karnataka
i. The Union Government has approved an assistance of Rs. 1782.44 Crore for drought-
affected Karnataka on January 5, 2017. The decision was taken during a meeting of the High
Level Committee chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
ii. The committee approved the grant after examining the proposal based on the reports of
the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) which visited the state. The assistance has been
approved from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF).
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Chandrababu Naidu announces Rs.100 crore reward for Nobel Prize winners from Andhra
Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has announced a reward of Rs 100
crore to anybody who becomes a Nobel Prize winner from the state.
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Ministry of Power Dedicates Worlds Largest Street Light Replacement Programme to the
Nation
i. Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines,
dedicated the Worlds Largest Street Light Replacement Programme in New Delhi to the
nation on January 9, 2017.
ii. The Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation
(SDMC) area is a joint venture between the Ministry of Power, Government of India and the Energy
Efficiency Services Limited (EESL).
iii. Under the SLNP, over 2 lakh street lights have been replaced alone in SDMC area which is
the largest amount till date in the world. This would save about 2.65 crore kWh energy annually
and avoid capacity addition of 6.6 MW besides reducing 22,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases
Rajnath Singh lays the Foundation stone for new (NDRF) campus
i. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone for the construction of a new
campus of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) at Kondapavuluru village of
Gannavaram mandal in Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh on January 9, 2017 in presence of Andhra
Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting
M Venkaiah Naidu.
ii. The government has allocated Rs. 200 Crore for the new campus. The construction works has
been assigned to the Central Public Works Department (CPWD).
Supreme Court Directs Election Commission for Paper Audit Trail in EVMs
i. The Supreme Court is set to re-introduce the Vote Verifier Paper Audit Trail
(VVPAT) in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for 100 % transparency in elections. The VVPAT
in EVM would ensure free and fair polls besides sorting out disputes.
ii. Justice Gogoi has directed the Election Commission to determine and inform the approximate
time within which the entire system of the VVPAT can be introduced, including grant of sanction
and release of funds as and when required.
Policy to provide financial support to enable the students in developing their innovative ideas
ii. The Student Startup and Innovation Policy has been developed under the aegis of Education
Department. The policy will support student-led startups & innovations and create an Innovation
and Pre-incubation Ecosystem Support (IPIES) across all universities of the state.
iii. The Gujarat government would provide Rs 200 crore as State Innovation Fund for the next five
years, of which Rs 100 crore will be allocated by the state government and the remaining amount
will be created by internal sources, like university funds and CSR funds.
Railway Minister announces Non Fare Revenue Policy to boost Additional Revenue
i. Union Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu on January 10, 2017 launched a Non Fare Revenue
Policy to boost up additional revenue and reduce its dependence on traditional revenue system
such as passenger and freight traffic.
ii. The railway expects that the policy would boost the railway non-fare revenues within a year by
nearly six times from Rs. 300 crore to nearly Rs. 18000 crore.
various requirements that should be met by the registered breeders for breeding or housing of
dogs.
Jitendra Singh Announces Rs. 9000 Minimum Pension for Central government Employees
i. The Union Minister of state for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Jitendra Singh while
addressing the 29th meeting of the Standing Committee of Voluntary Agencies (Scova) in
New Delhi on January 12, 2017 informed that the minimum pension for central government
employees has been increased to Rs. 9,000 per person and ex-gratia amount has been increased
from Rs. 10-15 lakh to Rs. 25-35 lakh.
ii. The Scova meeting was organised by the Department of Pensions and Pensioners Welfare
(DoP&PW).
iii. The project will benefit Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in terms of meeting irrigation,
drinking water and electricity needs of people across 6 districts in the two states.
Rabi Crop Sown Across 616 Lakh Hectare of Land Past One Year
i. As per the data released by the Ministry of agriculture, as on January 13, 2017, the total area
under which Rabi crop was sown 2017 was calculated to be 616.21 lakh hectares as compared
to 581.95 lakh hectare in January 2016.
ii. The 616.21 lakh hectare of area sown with Rabi crop includes
Crop Area in 2017 in Lakh Hectare Area in 2016 in Lakh Hectare
Wheat 309.60 289.07
Rice 14.92 19.48
Pulses 155.35 139.93
Coarse cereals 54.87 58.40
Oilseeds 81.47 75.06
Total 616.21 581.95
i. The Election Commission (EC) on January 16, 2017 gave its decision that Chief Minister of
Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav would be the owner of the Samajwadi Party Symbol
Cycle and also acknowledged him as the national President of the party.
ii. The three-member EC committee headed by Nasim Zaidi and comprising of other two
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judges, O.P. Rawat and A.K. Jyoti gave the decision after the founder of the party Mulayam
Singh Yadav approached EC as President of the party and claimed to be entitled for the symbol.
i. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOP & NG) inaugurated one month long oil and
ii. The mass awareness campaign was inaugurated by chief guest Ramongo Lotha, secretary Food
and Civil Supplies. The campaign would be conducted from January 16 to February 15, 2017.
iii. The main aim of such campaign is to spread the awareness on fuel conservation so as
to minimize the wastage of petroleum products as the demand for it remains high.
Cabinet approves Indias Membership in the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), South
Korea
The Union Cabinet has given its approval for India to become the full-fledge member of
the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) Governing Council.
As a part of the membership India will have to contribute an amount of US $ 5,00,00 to
the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), Seoul, South Korea.
International Vaccine Institute (IVI), Seoul, South Korea was established in 1997 on the
initiatives of the UNDP. It is an international organization that deals with developing and
introducing new and improved vaccines to protect the people, especially children, against
deadly infectious diseases.
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Cabinet Gives Approval to the Package for Supporting Micro and Small Enterprises
(MSEs)
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi gave its ex-post facto approval
for the Augmentation of the Corpus of Credit Guarantee Trust Fund for Micro and Small
Enterprises (CGTMSE), a package set up for supporting Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs).
The augmentation of the corpus would facilitate larger flow of credit to MSEs and thus
enable increased output and employment.
J&K Assembly Unanimously Passes Resolution for Return of Kashmiri Migrants to Valley
i. The Jammu & Kashmir Assembly unanimously passed a resolution on January 19, 2017 for the
return of Kashmiri Pandits and other migrants to the Valley.
ii. Hundreds of Kashmiri Pandit families had left the Valley when militancy broke out in 1989.
Indian Railways Unveils Mission 41K to Save Energy Worth Rs 41,000 crore
i. The Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu launched Mission 41K on January 17, 2017 to
revamp the existing railway system.
ii. The mission aims to save the Indian Railways expenditure of Rs 41,000 crore on
energy consumption over the next 10 years.
iii. To achieve this target, the railway has planned a series of measures that includes: switching
over 90 percent of traffic to electric traction from diesel, procure electricity at cheaper
rates through open market instead of sourcing it through DISCOMs. This would save about 25
percent of energy expenses.
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significance and history of its own. It is of special value to the lower areas of the state comprising
Kangra, Chamba, Hamirpur and Una districts.
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4.10%, Rural development and Panchayati Raj-3.84%, Road and building construction-8.06%,
Energy-7.93%
xii.The budget also laid emphasis on development of the scheduled tribes (ST) and scheduled caste
(SC) and has allocated Rs 22,259 crore for special schemes related to their uplift.
xiii.Out of this Rs 18,026 crore has been allotted for development of ST areas while the remaining
Rs 4,233 crore has been set aside for development of SC areas.
xivThe government expects to earn Rs 19,900.50 crore in tax receipts and Rs 11,258.16 crore from
non-tax receipts.
xv.Besides, Rs 13,414.57 crore is expected from central aid while the states share from central
shares taxes is estimated to be worth Rs 21,034.19 crore.
xvi.The state government hopes to earn Rs 10,000 crore from public loans while advance loan
collection is estimated to be worth Rs 66 crore
Cabinet Approves Interest Waiver for Two Months for Farmers Seeking Short Term Loans
The Union Cabinet gave its ex-post facto approval on for interest waiver for the two months of
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November and December, 2016 for farmers accessing short term crop loans from Cooperative
Banks.
Additional financial liability of Rs. 1060.50 will be provided through NABARD for
refinance to the Cooperative Banks on account of interest waiver of two months for
November and December, 2016.
Ministry of Steel proposes Draft National Steel Policy 2017 at an Investment of Rs.10
lakh crore
i. The Union Ministry of Steel, headed by Chaudhary Birendra Singh has come out with
a Draft National Steel Policy 2017 to increase the supply of domestic coking coal and cut the
dependence on imports.
ii. The Ministry has seeked feedback on the policy from all the stakeholders and the public till
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ii. The system would be launched in phased manner. Initially, IMD has planned to set up the
system in 130 districts and gradually increase it to 660 by 2019. The plan will be taken at block
level after successful functioning at district level.
iii. The IMD has also tied up with the Ministry of Agriculture to use the Krishi Vigyan Kendras
(KVKs), under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in the districts, as weather
forecasting observatories.
Karnataka Govt Approves Amending Laws to Lift Ban on Kambala & Bullock Cart Race
i. The Karnataka state cabinet on January 28, 2017 approved amending Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals Bill, 1960 Act to legalize the Kambala and Bullock Cart Race which is a traditional
festival held annually in Karnataka.
ii. The amendment Bill will be introduced by the state cabinet in the legislature session scheduled
to be begin from February 6.
iii. The Karnataka High Court banned the Kambala after animal rights group filed a petition to ban
the sport as it showed cruelty against animals in sports like bull-taming and buffalo-racing.
Railway Ministry Requests Separate Fund for Rashtriya Rail Safety Fund
The Ministry of Railway has proposed the Finance Ministry to create a non-lapsable safety fund
named Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh over five years with initial corpus of Rs. 20000
crore and contribute a portion to fund it in the upcoming Budget 2017 to be presented on February
1.
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The decision to set up the safety fund is based on the recommendation of a high-level
safety review committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Anil Kakodkar, former chairman
of Atomic Energy Commission.
Funding of the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh
Though the Finance Ministry has approved the proposal of the Railway Ministry to set up the safety
fund, but the monetary assistance that would be provided by the Ministry for the upcoming financial
year would limit to Rs. 5000 crore.
Rs. 10000 would be infused from the Central Road Fund (CRF) that is collected by levying
a cess on diesel and petrol for safety-related work.
Besides, the remaining Rs. 5000 crore will have to be raised by the Railway Ministry from
its own resources.
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The Navy contingent comprised 144 young sailors and it was led by Lieutenant Aparna
Nair. The Indian Navys tableau showcased the indigenously built Kolkata Class Destroyer
and the Kalvari Class next generation attack submarines, model of the P-8I Long Range
Maritime Patrol Aircraft.
The paramilitary and other auxiliary civil forces included the Border Security Force Camel
Contingent, Indian Coast Guard, Central Reserve Police Force, Central Industrial Security
Force, Delhi Police, National Cadet Corps and National Service Scheme.
The parade also showcased the heroic motor bike stunts of Dare Devils- the motorcycle
display team of Corps of Military Police.
Tableaux from 17 states and Union Territories and six central ministries and departments
showcased the varied historical, art and cultural heritage of the country.
21 of the 25 children who won the National Bravery Award also participated in the parade.
Four children have received the award posthumously. Besides, students from different
zones also participated in the pararde
The main highlight of the parade was a spectacular fly-past by the Indian Air Forces Mi-
35 helicopters, indigenous combat light aircraft Tejas, Jaguars and Sukhois.
Gallantry Awards to Navy on 26 January 2017
As a part of the Republic Day celebration, President Pranab Mukherjee conferred 3 Gallantry awards
on the Indian Navy. It included one Shaurya Chakra and two Nao Sena medals.
1. Shaurya Chakra: Ashu Singh(posthumously)
2. Nao Sena Medal: Rakesh Kumar(posthumously)
3. Nao Sena Medal: LT CDR NEERAJ KUMAR
Gallantry Awards to Air Force on 26 January 2017
The Indian Air Force received 4 Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry).
President Announced 398 Republic Day Gallantry and other Defence Decorations
On the occasion of Republic Day, the President approved 398 Gallantry awards and other
Defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel and others.
The 398 Gallantry award included 2 Kirti Chakras, 12 Shaurya Chakras, 3 Bar to Sena Medal
(Gallantry), 91 Sena Medal (Gallantry), 2 Nao Sena Medal (Gallantry), 4 Vayu Sena Medal
(Gallantry), 29 Param Vishisht Seva Medal, 5 Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, 2 Bar to Ati
Vishisht Seva Medal, 49 Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, 14 Yudh Seva Medal, 4 Bar to Sena Medal
(Devotion to Duty), 36 Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty), 8 Nao Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty),
14 Vayu Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty), 4Bar to Vishisht Seva Medal and 119 Vishisht Seva
Medal.
Besides these, the President also approved 7 awards to Indian Coast Guard Personnel for
gallantry, meritorious service and distinguished service and 44 Mention-in-Despatches were
awarded to 44 personnel from Army
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Among the special mentions of the awardees are Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen Praveen
Bakshi and Southern Army Commander Lt Gen PM Hariz who were overlooked in the
appointment of Army Chief were given the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM).
Colonel Kapil Yadav, Commanding Officer of 9 Para and Colonel Harpreet Sandhu,
Commanding Officer of Para 4 of the Special Forces (SF), which had carried out the surgical
strikes in September 2016 were honoured with the Yudh Sewa Medal (YSM).
President Honors Havaldar Hangpan Dada with Ashok Chakra Posthumously
President Pranab Mukherjee awarded the Ashok Chakra on January 26, 2017 to Havaldar
Hangpan Dada posthumously for killing four terrorists who had infiltrated into north Kashmir in
May 2016. The award was received by his wife Chasen Lowang at Rajpath.
Ashok Chakra is the countrys highest peacetime military decoration awarded for
courageous action or self sacrifice by an army man from battle field.
Havildar Dada was from Boduria village in Arunachal Pradesh. He had been posted in
north Kashmir since late 2015. He joined the Assam Regiment of the Indian Army in 1997
and was posted with the 35 Rashtriya Rifles.
Dr. Mahesh Sharma Inaugurates Bharat Parv at Red Fort, Delhi
As part of the Republic Day 2017 Celebrations, the Government of India has organized Bharat
Parv at the Red Fort, Delhi from January 26-31, 2017.
Bharat Parv is a National festival to showcase countrys diverse culture, cuisines, and
handicrafts. Minister of State (Independent charge) for Tourism and Culture inaugurated
the event.
Aim: To generate a patriotic mood, promote the rich cultural diversity of the country,
ensure wider participation of the general public and to popularise the idea of Ek Bharat
Shreshta Bharat.
The event would include display of the Republic Day Parade Tableaux, Performances by
the Armed Forces Bands (static and moving), Multi-Cuisine Food Court having about 50
stalls, Crafts Mela, Cultural Performances from different regions of the country and a
Photo Exhibition by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has set up a Photo Exhibition on the theme
Mera Desh Badal Raha Hai, Aage Badh Raha Hai.
Delhi University Becomes Indias First Public University to get Monumental Flag
The Hans Raj College of Delhi University hoisted the monumental flag on January 25, 2017 on
its campus on the occasion of the 68th Republic Day celebrations, making DU the first public
university in the country to get a monumental flagpole.
o The 100ft-tall flag was hoisted by Member of Parliament, Naveen Jindal, a Hans Raj
alumnus and founder of the Flag Foundation of India (FFOI), a non profit firm to promote
national flag.
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o This is the second monumental flag by FFOI in Delhi. The first monumental flag 207ft-tall
was installed in Central Park, Connaught Place.
o The decision to install the monumental flag in DU had come in the light of the controversy
over the alleged shouting of anti-India slogans being raised at an event in JNU.
Background
In February 2016, all Central university vice-chancellors resolved to install the national
flag prominently and proudly on their campuses during a meeting chaired by then HRD Minister
Smriti Irani with an aim of instilling nationalism and pride in students.
The Flag Foundation of India
The Flag Foundation of India was set up as a registered society under the societies registration act
of 1980, a non-profit body on 3rd June 2002.
It was set up after Honble MP Mr. Naveen Jindal won a seven-year long court battle that
enabled all Indians to display the National Flag with honour and pride at homes, offices
and factories on all days of the year.
On 3rd June 2002, after a long and hard legal battle fought by Mr. Naveen Jindal, the
Supreme Court of India ruled that the display of the national flag by every citizen on all
days of the year, a fundamental right. Thereafter, he founded the Flag Foundation of
India, a non-governmental organization.
Burj Khalifa in Dubai Lits up in Tricolor
The worlds tallest building, Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, UAE was lit up on January 25, 2017 in tricolours
saffron, white and green marking the 68th Republic Day of India.
The iconic building is 823 metres high and was named in honour of the ruler of Abu Dhabi
and president of the United Arab Emirates Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The gesture showcases the strong cultural and trade ties between India and UAE
PLACES IN NEWS
11- Days Gala Festival BargarhDhanuaJatra Begins in Odisha
i. The World famous 11-day gala festival BargarhDhanuaJatra began on 2 January 2017 in
western Odisha. All rituals were performed before Goddess Samaleswari, the presiding deity of
the event.
ii. DhanuJatra is an annual drama-based open air theatrical performance celebrated in and
around Bargarh city spanning over an area of 6 km radius. It is considered to be the worlds
largest open air theatrical festival.
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ii. This festival is based on Krishna Leela and Mathura Vijay which are enacted in 14 main places
at Mathura and four places in Gopapura
44th New Delhi World Book Fair to focus on women writing begin
i. The 44th edition of the New Delhi World Book Fair, 9-day-long fair, organised by National
Book Trust (NBT) in association with India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO).
ii. Aim: To show and project the diversity of writings by women writers.
iii. Theme: Manushi, focusing on writings on and by women.
ii. To strengthening of waqf boards and development of waqf properties by the National Waqf
Development Corporation Ltd.
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Asias cleanest village Mawlynnong in Meghalaya becomes role model for cleanliness
i. Mawlynnong village in the East Khasi Hills district of the Meghalaya state has become a role
model for cleanliness said by the Secretary of the village. Mawlynnong was awarded the prestigious
tag of Cleanest Village in Asia in 2003.
ii. Every family in this village have constructed toilets in 1989 and 3 public toilets have been
constructed under Swachh Bharat Mission.
ii. The theme of the 10th edition of JLF is The Freedom to Dream: India at 70. JLF is considered
as the Greatest Literary Show on Earth
Textile Ministry Inaugurates Meghalayas First Ever Apparel and Garment Centre at
Ampati
i. Meghalayas first ever Apparel and Garment Making Centre was inaugurated on January 30,
2017 jointly by Union Textiles Minister Smriti Zubin Irani and Chief Minister of Meghalaya Dr.
Mukul Sangma near Ampati in South West Garo Hills.
ii. The centre would enable to create job opportunity for both men and women of the region and
make them economically empowered.
transmission of postal ballot to service voters in the upcoming assembly polls. This initiative
will make Goa the first state in the country to do so.
ii. The returning officers will transfer the postal ballots to service voters by electronic means so that
the service voters can download it, fill it and send it via e-mail to returning officer.
Kiren Rijiju Lays Foundation stone of Integrated Check Post near Indo-Bangla border
i. The Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju laid the foundation stone for an Integrated Check-
Post (ICP) on January 24, 2017 at the Indo-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya.
ii. The main aim of the ICP is to boost employment opportunity besides boosting bilateral ties with
the neighboring countries.
iii. The project is targeted to be completed by August 2018.The project worth Rs. 92.34
crore spans over an area of 22 acres.
Madhya Pradesh Announces Total Ban on Polythene Bags from May 1, 2017
i. During the Republic Day address on January 26, 2017 in the state, Chief Minister of Madhya
Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced a complete ban on polythene carry bags from
May 1, 2017 in Madhya Pradesh.
ii. The decision aims to conserve environment, promote cleanliness and protect cows that generally
dies of eating plastic bags.
iii. For the proper implementation of the ban, the CM has given three months time to the polythene
manufacturers.
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performance traditions, music, identity, media of the northeastern region of the country including
national and international elements packages.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
China to Ban Ivory Trade and Processing Activities by the end of 2017
i. China on December 30, 2016, announced a plan to ban all ivory trade and processing activities
by the end of 2017, to prevent the mass killing and threat of extinction of African elephants.
ii. The Chinese State Councils plan to end the ivory trade will be carried out over the course of
the year. It will first force a select group of legal ivory processing factories and business to close
by March 31, 2017 and gradually will completely stop the processing and sales of ivories for
commercial purposes by the end of 2017.
BSF to Soon Install Laser Walls and Smart Sensors at Indo-Bangla Border
i. A Laser walls and smart sensors will be soon installed at the Indo-Bangla International
Border in West Bengal especially in the porous riverine and unmanned terrain that do not
have proper fencing to keep a tight vigil to check infiltration and terrorism.
ii. A pilot project would be set up within a few months in the Indo-Bangla riverine border area in
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West Bengal. A team of technical experts will handle a pilot project for deploying technological
solutions in riverine areas and the areas that lack fences.
India and Sri Lanka Agrees to find permanent solution to the fishermen issues
i. A ministerial level talks between Indian Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare of India
Radha Mohan Singh and Minister for Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development of Sri
Lanka MahindaAmaraweera was held in Colombo on January 2, 2016.
ii. Under the agreement reached after a meeting of JWG, both the countries agreed to release all
Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen in each others custody.
iii. The meeting between the ministers was at the joint working group (JWG) level, constituted in a
decision taken in November 6, 2016 in New Delhi. The first meeting of the joint working group on
fisheries was held in December 31, 2016 in New Delhi.
crucial Constitution amendment bill, to accommodate the demands of the agitating Madhesi and
ethnic groups.
ii. A division bench of Chief Justice SushilaKarki and Ishwor Prasad Khatiwada issued the
order that the judiciary could not bar the legislature from using its wisdom in the formulation of
legislation, on the basis of the principle of separation of powers.
Finland become 1st country in world to pay basic income to randomly picked citizens on
national level
i. Finland has become the first country in the world to give some basic income to
unemployed citizens to ensure a universal income offering greater security, especially as
technological advances reduce the need for human labour.
ii. Aim : To tackle unemployment, which stands at 8.1 percent in a nation of 5.5 million.
China Launches the Worlds Longest Bullet Train Shangri-la of the World
i. China on 5 January 2017 launched its longest bullet train named Shangri-la of the World. It
runs between Kunming, capital of southwest Chinas Yunnan Province to Beijing.
ii. The train left Kunming at 11:05 a.m to cover the 2,760-km trip to Beijing and took around 13
hours.
iii. The name of the train reflects the world famous resort in Shangri-la of Yunnan. The cost
of second class seat of the train is about 1,147.5 yuan (USD 166).
iv .This line on which the trainShangri-la of the World will run is the longest east-west high-speed
railway in China. China has already built more than 20,000 km of high-speed rail lines and the
government plans to increase it to 45,000 km by 2030.
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to India
ii. This will address long-standing concerns regarding import of equipment
Russia Plans to Ban Cigarette Sale for Those Born After 2015
i. The Russian health ministry has announced plans to ban the sale of cigarettes to
anyone born after 2015 as a part of its effort to combat smoking from 2017 to 2022.
ii. With this move, Russia will become the first country in the world to completely phase out
tobacco. The decision would go into effect in 2033, when the affected Russian citizens who are
currently now babies, turn 18 years old.
Ukraine Gets its First Baby Girl Born Using New Three-Person IVF Technique
i. A baby girl was born in Ukraine on January 5, 2017 using the new technique of three-person
IVF called pronuclear transfer.
ii. The infant is being considered as the worlds second baby to be developed using three-person
IVF technique. The worlds first baby was born Mexico in September 2016.
iii. Three-person IVF was legalised in the UK in 2015. The objective of three-person IVF is to create
a child free of mitochondrial disease in cases where parents had one such disease.
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Donald Trump Holds First Summit With British Prime Minister Theresa May
i. After being sworn in as the President of United States on January 20, 2017, Donald
Trump held his first summit with a foreign leader, British Prime Minister Theresa May on January
27, 2017 in his Oval Office.
ii. During the conference, Trump reiterated his support for Britains decision to leave the European
Union saying that Brexit is a wonderful thing.
Ireland became the worlds first country to stop investing in fossil fuels
i. Ireland has become the first country in the world to divest coal, oil and gas
investments from Ireland Strategic Investment Fund.
ii. The bill was passed in the Irish parliament by gaining 53 votes out of 90. It was introduced by
Deputy Thomas Pringle.
iii. The law regarding fully divest public money from fossil fuels expected in the upcoming month.If
the bill is enacted, it would force the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund to sell its investment in
fossil fuel industries over the next five years.
FOREIGN VISITS
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Three Day Visit to India
The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan was on a three
day visit to India from January 25-27, 2017 to be the Chief Guest at the 68th Republic Day
Celebration on January 26, 2017 in New Delhi.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE
armed forces was personally received by PM Modi at the Delhi Airport and was given a
ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. He also paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi
at his memorial Rajghat.
He is accompanied by a high-level delegation including ministers, senior officials and
captains of industry. A contingent of the UAE armed forces will also march with the Indian
armed forces at the Republic Day Parade.
The visit also marks a historic and proud moment for the UAE and the Arab World as for
the first time its troops comprising a mix from the army, navy and air force lead the
parade at 68th Republic Day celebration in New Delhi.
India and UAE Signs 14 Agreements to Strengthen Bilateral Cooperation on elevating
bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
In order to further boost strategic ties, India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed 14
agreements on January 25, 2017 after the delegation-level talks between Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan at
the Hyderabad House, New Delhi.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the visiting Crown Prince issued a joint statement on January
26, 2017 to oppose terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, wherever committed and by
whomever, and declared that there could be no justification for terrorism anywhere.
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crops per drop and agri-preneurship development. Business meet and discussions are also being
organised by the Assam government.
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8th Edition of Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit 2017 Concluded in Gandhinagar
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a two day visit to Gujarat from January 9-10, 2017 to
inaugurate the eighth edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit
2017 at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on January 10, 2017.
The theme of the three day Summit is Vibrant Gujarat: Connecting India to the World
The summit was started in 2003 with the aim to attract investment in Gujarat by the then
state Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
PM Modi Inaugurates Several Pre-Summit Events
On the first day of his visit to Gujarat, PM Modi attended several pre-summit events.
PM Modi Lays Foundation Stone for redevelopment of Gandhinagar Railway Station.
On January 9, 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid foundation stone of redevelopment of
Gandhinagar Railway station.
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The Railway station will be developed as a modern hub at the cost of about Rs. 250
crore and will be Indias first railway station with all amenities at par with modern
airports.
Prime Minister Inaugurates Indias First International Exchange, India INX
Narendra Modi inaugurated Indias first international exchange India INX at
the International Financial Service Centre (IFSC) of GIFT City in Gandhinagar.
India INX is a wholly owned subsidiary of BSE, Bombay Stock Exchange. It would operate
for 22 hours a day allowing international investors and NRIs to trade from anywhere across
the globe.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates Vibrant Gujarat Global Trade Show
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also inaugurated Vibrant Gujarat Global Trade Show organised at
helipad ground in Gandhinagar on January 9, 2017.
Vibrant Gujarat Global Trade Show (VGGTS) 2017 has been organised on an area of
nearly 1,50,000 sq.mt. It was the largest exhibition of the country with 14 themed halls
including Exhibit area covering nearly 1,500 stalls by different companies. Modi took a
round of different pavilions at the trade show and interacted with businessmen.
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2017 World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting Held in Davos, Switzerland
i. The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2017 was held in Davos-Klosters,
Switzerland from January 17-20, 2017.The theme of 47th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting
2017 is Responsive and Responsible Leadership.
ii. The inaugural had musical concert by violinist Anne- Sophie Mutter.
iii. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) was launched at World
Economic Forum (WEF) Davos with $460-million funding to develop vaccines against 3 emerging
highly-contagious and fatal diseases namely Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-
coronavirus, Lassa fever, and Nipah virus.
Textiles and the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) of the Government of
India in collaboration with industry associations Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (FICCI) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The two day Summit concluded on
January 30, 2017.
iii .Theme: Exploring Opportunities in North East Region.
iv. Aim: To launch North East Region as a Global destination for investment by exploring
possibilities of attracting the investment especially in textile manufacturing.
5 US, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, Belgium, Ireland, Denmark, Iceland
4 UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain and Japan
3 China
2 India, Brazil and Russia
1 South Africa
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Besides the developing economies, the WEF also released the Inclusive Development
Index of the advanced economies. The list has been topped by Norway among 30
advanced economies.
Top 10 developing economies in IDI Top 10 Advanced Economies in IDI
1 Lithuania 1 Norway
2 Azerbaijan 2 Luxembourg
3 Hungary 3 Switzerland
4 Poland 4 Iceland
5 Romania 5 Denmark
6 Uruguay 6 Sweden
7 Latvia 7 Netherlands
8 Panama 8 Australia
9 Costa Rica 9 New Zealand
10 Chile 10 Austria
India has been placed below to neighboring countries including China as well as Pakistan and even
in BRICS nation though the GDP per capita of the nation is among the top 10.
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India at Sixth Position among Eight Great Powers of 2017 List by American Foreign Policy
Magazine
i. India has been ranked at the sixth position in the latest
annual list of eight great powers for the year 2017 published by List of Eight Great Powers of
2017
leading American foreign policy magazine. The list has been 1 United States
topped by US. 2 China & Japan
4 Russia
ii. The American Interest magazine in its latest annual report of 5 Germany
eight great powers said that India is the worlds largest 6 India
7 Iran
democracy, home to the second-largest English-speaking 8 Israel
population in the world and has one of the most emerging economies of the world.
iii. However, it is often overlooked in the lists of the worlds great powers, but it occupies a rare
and attractive position globally.
Indian Think Tank ORF Ranks Highest in Global Go To Think Tank Index in Asia category
i. According to the latest Global Go To Think Tank Index Report, released globally by the
Lauder Institute, Pennsylvania University, US on January 27, 2017, the Delhi based Observer
Research Foundation (ORF) has been ranked as the top think tank in the China, India, Japan and
the Republic of Korea category.
ii. In the category of Asian region, ORF ranked 5th out of 90 think tanks, improving its position
from 6th (out of 65) last year.
iii. The first position in this category was bagged by Korea Development Institute, Republic of
Korea, Japan Institute of International Affairs came second while Korea Institute for International
Economic Policy came in third.
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31, 2017 while the Non Resident Indian (NRIs) citizens can avail this facility up to June 30,
2017.
iii. The bank informed that there would not be any limit for Indian residents while for the NRIs the
maximum limit would be Rs 25,000 as per the FEMA regulations 2015.
iv. They can avail this facility only once during the period on submission of valid ID documents and
evidence proof of being abroad. The decision also states that third party tender will not be
accepted.
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The reduction in lending rates may lead to an increase in credit taking frequency which
has moderated substantially putting burden on balance sheet of banks. Housing, auto and
corporate loans are all set to become cheaper.
The three state-owned banks, State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National
Bank (PNB) and Union Bank of India on January 1, 2017, reduced the lending rate by a
good 0.9 per cent.
While SBI reduced its marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) by 90 basis points
for all maturities, Union Bank of India reduced its MCLR by 65-90 basis points for loans of
various tenures while PNB cut its MCLRs by 70 basis points for 1, 2 and 3 year tenures.
Following the reduction, lending rate of SBI for a one-year loan, has come down to 8%
from 8.90%.
Following State Bank of India, other lenders including largest private sector lender ICICI
Bank and state-owned Oriental Bank of Commerce and Andhra Bank too announced cut in
marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR).
Home loan rates for ICICI Bank will come down between 0.45% and 0.6%, depending
on quantum and category.
Oriental Bank of Commerce has reduced the one-year MCLR rate by 0.8% to 8.60%,
while Andhra Bank has brought it down by a similar percentage point to 8.65%, effective
January 3, 2017
Kotak Mahindra Bank, too reduced the MCLR rate by up to 0.45%. The bank has reduced
MCLR by 0.20% to 9% from 9.20% for one-year tenor. However, the MCLR for the three-
month period has been reduced by 0.45 percentage points to 8.40%, while the lending
rate for two and three years, has been brought down to 9% from 9.25%.
Bandhan Bank has cut its MCLR by 1.48%, to 10.52%, effective from January 3, 2017.
With this, the bank has cut its loan rate for small borrowers by almost 4 percentage
points, since it started operations in August 2015.
Dena bank has reduced the MCLR by 0.75%, to 8.55%, for 1 year tenor.
RBI Directs Banks to Supply 40 Percent Notes in Rural Areas
The Reserve Bank of India on January 3, 2017, directed all the banks to supply atleast 40
percent of the notes to the rural branches since currency notes in rural areas was not adequate
to meet the requirements of the population.
HDFC Ties with Niki.ai to Launch OnChat to make Payments via Facebooks Messenger
i. HDFC has tied-up with artificial intelligence firm Niki.ai to launch a chatbot
called OnChat on Facebooks Messenger platform, that will allow users to recharge phones, pay
utility bills, book cabs from Ola or Uber etc., through a chat.
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ii. The chatbot is available for non-HDFC bank users as well. The chat opens a payment gateway
through which transactions can be made using any bank account.
Coca-Cola India partners the State Bank of India to enable digital transactions
i. Coca-Cola India and its largest bottling partner Hindustan Coca-Cola beverages have
partnered the SBI to enable over 2.6 million retailers and 5000 distributors in conducting business
transactions digitally.
ii. SBI will educate retailers on digital transactions and will be developed a customized payment
solution for retailers and distributors.
Yes Bank ties-up with Bajaj Electricals for vendor financing using block chain
i. Yes Bank has entered into a tie-up with Bajaj Electricals for vendor financing using blockchain
solution.
ii. There is an over 70 per cent cost reduction because of blockchain and the payback for our
investments is 6-8 months.
Paytm Gets final approval from RBI to Start Operating as Payment Bank
i. Mobile commerce and payments company, Paytm received the final approval from the Reserve
Bank of India on January 3, 2017 to launch Paytm Payment Bank.
ii. Paytm Payments Bank Ltd is expected to start its operation in next 30-60days with its first
branch in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
iii. Paytm Payments Bank is held 51% by Sharma and 49% by One97 Communications Pvt. Ltd. It
has already received investments of Rs 220 crore from One97 Communication and its Vijay Shekhar
Sharma.
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Karnataka Bank launches group Personal Accident Insurance Scheme named KBL
Suraksha
i. Karnataka Bank has launched has launched a group Personal Accident Insurance Scheme for
all its Saving Bank(SB) Account holders. The insurance scheme is named KBL Suraksha and
provides insurance cover for accidental death.
ii. All the SB Account holders within the age group of 18-70 years can register themselves for the
insurance scheme. The KBL Suraskha Scheme comes in two variants.
iii. Plan A provides an accidental insurance of Rs 5 lakh on payment of Annual premium of Rs
50(plus service charge). Plan B provides an accidental insurance of Rs 10 lakh on payment of
Annual premium of Rs 100(plus service charge). The maximum renewal age for the policy will
be 75 years.
iv. Karnataka Bank has launched the insurance scheme in association with Universal Sompo
General Insurance. The bank has launched a month-long campaign to promote its KBL
Suraksha scheme.
16th Financial Stability and Development Council Meeting Held in New Delhi
The 16th edition of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) meeting was
held on January 5, 2017 in New Delhi under the Chairmanship of
the Union Finance Minister ArunJaitley.
Aim: The FSDC meeting was held to discuss about the obstacles faced by the economy and to bring
out the solution to tackle them. Besides, it also aimed at bringing new suggestions and outcomes in
order to benefit the upcoming Budget 2017-18.
Key Discussions Held During the Meeting
i.While chairing the meeting, the Union Finance Minister, ArunJaitley emphasized the significance of
demonetization decision saying that the governments measures to eliminate the shadow
economy and tax evasion are expected to have a positive impact both on GDP and on fiscal
consolidation in the long run.
ii.The Council, which has heads of all financial sector regulators as its members, reviewed the
major issues and challenges facing the economy and noted that India appears to be much better,
placed today on the back of improvement in its macroeconomic fundamentals.
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iii.Financial regulators gave suggestions to promote financial stability and also discussed the
measures and initiatives to establish and promote the financial stability. Also, the regulators offered
their suggestions for the upcoming Budget for 2017-18, which were discussed by the Council.
iv.In the meeting, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian made a presentation on the state of
the economy.
v.FSDC discussed about the various initiatives taken by the government and regulators for
promoting financial inclusion/ financial literacy efforts and discussed further measures for
promoting the same.
Indias GDP growth estimated at 7.1% this year & Per capita net national income rises by
over 10%
i. According to the Central Statistical Office data Indias Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is
estimated at 7.1 per cent in 2016-17 as compared to 7.6 per cent in 2015-16.
ii. The CSOs projection on the per capita net national income during 2016-17 is projected to be 1
lakh three thousand seven rupees displaying an increase of 10.4 per cent as compared to 93
thousand two hundred ninety three during 2015-16 with the growth rate of 7.4 percent.
iii. The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector and manufacturing sector are likely to show a
growth of 4.1 per cent and 7.4 percent respectively during 2016-17, as against the previous years
growth rate of 1.2 per cent and 9.3 percent in 2015-16.
iv. The wholesale price index (WPI), of food articles has risen by 6.9 per cent,and the consumer
price index has shown a rise of 5.0 per cent during April-November, 2016-17.
SEBI eases rules for foreign fund managers & Sebi relaxes rules for angel funds to boost
start-up funding
i.The Market Watchdog SEBI has released rules allowing foreign fund managers to act as Portfolio
Managers under a relaxed regulatory regime.
ii.This new rule will make it easier for foreign fund managers to enter India also provides
significance of taxation incentives for the offshore fund managers willing to relocate to India.
iii. In another development the market regulator also relaxed its rules for investment by angel
funds, including permitting them to invest in up to five-year old entities which will boost startup
funding.
iv.Consequently the lock-in condition has been cut down from 3 years to 1 year for angel funds
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and their minimum investment threshold has been slashed from Rs. 50 lakh to Rs. 25 lakh.
v. Angel funds are permitted to invest in overseas venture capital undertakings up to 25 per
cent of their investible corpus in agreement with other Alternative Investment Funds.
iii. IRA which stands for Intelligent Robotic Assistant aims to provide smoother customer
service, marketing, employee assistance and automate the banking process. Depending on
customer reaction the Bank would install more such robots across its branches in the country.
SBI waives MDR charges for small merchants for one year
i. SBI has waived Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on debit card transactions for all small
merchants with annual turnover of up to Rs 20 lakh for one year.
ii. The bank has decided to waive completely, the MDR charges on debit card transactions for all
small merchants for a period of one year upto December 31, 2017.
Indias GDP Growth Decelerates to 7 percent for fiscal 2016-17: World Bank
i. The World Bank on January 11, 2017 cut the Indias GDP growth for 2016-17 fiscal ending on
March 31, 2017 to 7 percent from its previous estimate of 7.6 percent due to demonetization.
ii. The bank cited the immediate withdrawal of a large volume of currency in circulation and
subsequent replacement with new notes as the main reason behind the deceleration of the GDP
growth rate.
iii. However, the bank also asserted that India is expected to regain its momentum with GDP
growth at 7.6 percent in Fiscal Year (FY) 2018-19 and strengthening to 7.8 per cent in FY
2019-20.
ii. Indias third largest private sector non-life insurance provider informed that the policy would
offer cover against payment defaults and insolvency, apart from providing political risk cover to
exporters.
iii. Under the new policy, the insurer covers a portfolio of buyers and pays an agreed percentage of
the invoice or receivables that remain unpaid as a result of insolvency, bankruptcy or protracted
default.
Airtels Payments Bank Starts Operation with Initial Investment of Rs. 3000
i. Airtel Payments Bank started its nationwide operations on January 12, 2017 with an initial
investment of Rs 3,000 crore and offering an interest rate of 7.25 per cent for savings
accounts. The bank was launched by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
ii. This is the first payments bank which will be opened across 29 states in India to provide
financial services to the millions who are outside the banking system.
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NPCI declares Rs 54.90 crore prize money for NITI Aayogs lucky draw schemes
i. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has declared Rs 54.90 crore prize money to
over 3.42 lakh winners for NITI Aayogs lucky draw schemes Lucky Grahak Yojna (LGY) and Digi-
Dhan Vyapar Yojna (DVY).
ii. There are 15,000 daily winners qualifying for total prize money of Rs. 1.5 crore and
over 14,000 weekly winners qualifying for total prize money of over Rs. 8.3 crore every week.
It will run till April 14, 2017
iii. Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka emerged as the top
five states with maximum number of winners under the age group of 21 to 30 years.
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iii. The state-run telecom has selected Intense Technologies to deliver the CACMS project on a Pan
India basis for all lines of business of BSNL as per the terms and conditions of the tender.
Market Regulator SEBI Tightens Mergers & Acquisitions Norms Among Unlisted Firms
The Capital market regulator of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on
January 14 tightened the norms associated to Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) of Indian
companies.
Aim: The main objective behind the move is to prevent large number of unlisted
company to get listed by merging with a very small company for personal motive and
protect the interest of the Public shareholders in the listed companies and give them a
greater say in the merger with unlisted subsidiaries.
Directives Rolled Out by SEBI
SEBI directed after the unlisted company merge with listed company and gets automatically listed,
the effective total public shareholding of the listed entity plus the qualified institutional
buyers (QIBs) of the newly listed company has to be at least 25%.
The public shareholding of the resultant entity created by the merger of an unlisted and a
listed company has to be more than 25 per cent.
The unlisted entity can only merge with those companies that are listed on exchanges such as
the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and BSE.
The market regulator also directed companies to follow the pricing formula specified under
the Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements (ICDR) regulations. This aims to
prevent companies to issue shares to select group of shareholders instead of all shareholders
during mergers and amalgamations between listed and unlisted entities.
Mysuru Printing Press Breaks Record by Printing Highest No. of Currency Notes in a
Month
i. As per the data released by the President of Note Mudran Limited Employees Union, A Ramdass,
the RBI Note Mudran printing press in Mysuru printing highest number of currency notes in
December breaking all its past record.
ii .It printed 10.9 million currency note in a day that even broke the world record made an
American currency printing press of printing 8.7 million notes in a day.
India Signs Financing Agreement with World Bank for US$ 48 Million for Nagaland
Health Project
The Joint Secretary of Department of Economic Affairs, Mr. Raj Kumar and Acting Country Director
of the World Bank Mrs. Genevieve Connors are signed s financing agreement for IDA credit of US$
48 million for the Nagaland Health Project on January 16, 2017.
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i. As per a report titled An economy for the 99 per cent released by rights group Oxfam on
January 16, 2017, the richest 1 percent of the population in India holds 58 percent of the countrys
ii. The report found that since 2015, the richest 1 percent population in India has continued
iii. Besides, it also discovered that 57 billionaires in India having collective wealth of USD 216
billion was equal to the wealth that lowest 70 percent population held. However, when taken
globally only 8 billionaires have the same amount of wealth as the poorest 50 percent of the world
population.
iv. The study stated that India has 84 billionaires with a collective wealth of USD 248
billion. The total Indian wealth in the country was calculated at USD 3.1 trillion. Top 3 billionaires
comprised of Mukesh Ambani (USD 19.3 billion), Dilip Shanghvi (USD 16.7 billion) and Azim Premji
(USD 15 billion).
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iv. In contrast, the total global wealth in 2016 was USD 255.7 trillion. Of this, the top three global
billionaires held about USD 6.5 trillion which comprised of Bill Gates (USD 75 billion), Amancio
IMF Lowers Indias GDP Growth Rate to 6.6% from 7.6% for FY17
i. According to the World Economic Outlook report, the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) on January 16, 2017 has lowered the Indias GDP growth rate for the current fiscal year
by one point to 6.6 percent from its previous estimate of 7.6 percent due to the effect of
ii. IMF also cut Indias GDP forecast for 2017-18 by 0.4 points to 7.2 percent as against previous
forecast of 7.6 percent. For the year 2018-19, the projected growth rate remained unchanged
at 7.7 percent.
iii. Besides, IMF estimated the growth rate of China at 6.7 percent for 2016-17, 6.5 percent for
iv. The global growth for 2016 was estimated at 3.1 percent that remained unchanged from
previous forecast while for 2017 the global forecast is estimated at 3.4 percent for advanced and
i. Private sector lender YES BANK in collaboration with T-Hub, Anthill and Lets Talk
Payments launched a unique business accelerator program YES FINTECH to provide start-ups
a platform for creating sustainable and market ready products as well as provide innovative
ii. YES FINTECH has invited start-ups applications from across the global community, till February
3, 2017 on its website www.yesfintech.com. It would select top 12 start-ups for 15 week dual
i. YES Bank has launched a first of its kind unique Customizable Savings Account to enable the
ii. Mumbai based bank has become the first bank in India to launch such type of account that
enables the customer to choose various features of a savings accounts that suits ones own
lifestyle.
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RBI Hikes Cash Withdrawal Limit from ATMs to Rs. 10,000 per Day
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from January 16, 2017 has increased the limit of cash
withdrawal from ATMs to Rs 10,000 per day from the current Rs 4,500 with immediate effect
CBDT Clarifies No TDS or Advance Tax Credit for Income under PMGKY
i. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on January 18, 2017 cleared that income declared
under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna (PMGKY) would not be entitled to get any credit by
way of advance tax paid or the tax deducted at source (TDS) or tax collected at source
(TCS)
ii. This is in contrast to the earlier Income Declaration Scheme (IDS) under which these credits
were allowed.
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Lloyds Gets Final Approval from IRDAI to Open First Branch in India
i. Londons insurance giant Lloyd has received the final approval from the Insurance Regulatory
and Development Authority (IRDA) on January 19, 2017 to set up its first branch in India.
ii. The specialist insurance and reinsurance company would open its first branch office in India
before April 2017 and will be located at Mumbai.
Union Cabinet approves Excluding States /Union Terrotries from Investments of National
Small Savings Fund
i. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval
on January 18, 2017 to exclude States/Union-Territories (with Legislature) except Arunachal
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Pradesh, Delhi, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh from National Small Savings Fund
(NSSF) investments effective from April 1, 2016.
ii. Besides, it also approved to provide a one-time loan of Rs. 45,000 crore to Food Corporation
of India (FCI) from NSSF to meet its food subsidy requirements.
Kwality Ltd Signs MoU with Bank of Baroda for Rs 4000 Cr Loan to Farmers
i. Mumbai based dairy firm Kwality Ltd has signed an MoU with Bank of Baroda on January 20,
2017 to provide Rs. 4000 crore loans to one lakh farmers out of the established networks from
whom the company procures milk.
ii. The MoU aims to provide financial assistance to improve socio-economic lives of farmers
and encourage them towards digitisation.
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Cabinet Permits NABARD to Raise Rs. 20,000 crore for on-lending to Co-Op Banks
i. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi gave its post-facto
approval on January 24, 2017 allowing National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development
(NABARD) to raise approx. Rs. 20,000 crore from the market for on-lending to Cooperative
Banks.
ii. It permitted the bank to make the short term borrowing at the prevailing market rate and lend
to Co-op Banks at 4.5 Percent rate of interest. The move will support the famers by providing
them loans to boost agricultural production.
France Issues First Green Bonds With Record Sale of 7 Billion Euro
i. France on January 24, 2017 issued its first Green Bonds with a record sale of worth seven
billion euro (USD 7.5 billion) thus leading a significant way towards establishment of a genuine
market in renewable energy bonds.
ii. The proceeds from the bonds will be used by France to finance projects to address climate
change.
iii. The 22-year bonds coupon has been set at 1.75 percent which is same as the interest rate on
conventional borrowing for the same time frame. This will enable France to finance expenditure on
green projects at the same price as traditional borrowing.
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Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Presented Economic Survey 2016-17 in the
Parliament
The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley presented the Economic Survey 2016-17 in the
Parliament on January 31, 2017 that provides a base for the government to prepare the annual
Budget.
The survey has been authored by Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian.The
Economic Survey depicts the state of the economy and is generally presented in
Parliament a day before the presentation of the annual Budget.
Important Highlights of the Economic Survey 2016-17
GDP Growth
The Economic Survey has estimated that the GDP growth rate for FY18 will be in the range
of 6.75 percent to 7.5 percent.
Demonetization and rising oil prices have been identified as the major risk to the growth
rate. However, remonetization and sufficient circulation of currency notes may return the
growth rate to normal position.
The growth rate for the current fiscal has been estimated at 7.1 percent from the previous
7.6 percent by the Central Statistics Office. This estimate does not take into account the effect
of demonetization.
Fixed investment (gross fixed capital formation) to GDP ratio (at current prices) is estimated
to be 26.6 per cent in 2016-17 as compared to previous 29.3 percent.
Government Revenues
The survey stated that the indirect taxes grew by 26.9 percent during April-November 2016.
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Besides, the revenue expenditure experienced a boost in the same period due to increase
in the salaries of government employees by 23.2 percent with the Seventh Pay
Commission and 39.5 percent increase in the grants for creation of capital assets.
Inflation
As per the Consumer Price Index (CPI), inflation remained under control for the third successive
financial year. The average CPI inflation was 5.9 percent in 2014-15, 4.9 percent in 2015-16
and 4.8 percent during April-December 2016.
Based on Wholesale Price Index (WPI), inflation was 2.0 per cent in 2014-15 and lowered to (-
)2.5 percent in 2015-16. During April-December 2016 it averaged to 2.9 percent. As per the
report pulses contributed major risk to food inflation.
Trade Growth
The survey stated that the growth in export was increased by 0.7 percent during April-December of
2016-17 amounting to USD 198.8 billion.
Similarly, during April-December of 2016-17, imports declined by 7.4 per cent
to USD 275.4 billion.
Besides, trade deficit declined to USD 76.5 billion in 2016-17 (April-December)
compared to USD 100.1 billion in the previous year.
The current account deficit (CAD) too lowered in the first half (H1) of 2016-17 to 0.3
percent of GDP from 1.5 percent in H1 of 2015-16 and 1.1 percent in 2015-16 full year.
In the first half of 2016-17, Indias Foreign Exchange Reserves increased by USD 15.5
billion.
External Debt
Indias external debt declined from March 2016 by USD 0.8 billion to USD 484.3 billion in
September 2016.
The short-term debt that contributed major share in total external debt declined to 16.8
percent at end-September 2016 and foreign exchange reserves provided a cover of 76.8
percent to the total external debt stock.
Agriculture Sector Growth
As per the survey, the agriculture sector is estimated to grow at 4.1 percent in the current fiscal
as compared to 1.2 percent in 2015-16 due to better monsoon.
The total area coverage under Rabi crops was recorded to be 616.2 lakh hectare on
January 13, 2017 which is 5.9 percent higher than previous year.
Similarly the area coverage under wheat as on January 13, 2017 is 7.1 percent higher
while the area coverage under gram is 10.6 percent higher than that in the corresponding
week of last year.
Industrial Growth
The survey estimates a growth rate of the industrial sector to be moderate at 5.2 percent in 2016-
17 from 7.4 percent in 2015-16.
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Services Sector
The Service sector has been estimated to grow at 8.9 percent in 2016-17 which is almost similar
to that in 2015-16.
Social Infrastructure, Employment and Human Development
The survey highlighted that the Parliament has passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act,
2016 to enhance the rights and entitlements of Persons with Disabilities. It envisages increasing
the reservation in vacancies in government establishments from 3 percent to 4 percent for those
persons with disability.
The Survey says Apparel and Leather industry have immense opportunity for job creation for
the weaker sections, especially for women and can lead to social transformation in the
country.
It points out that the capacity of the State to provide essential services such as health and
education to weaker section of the society is weak due to low capacity, with high levels of
corruption, clientelism, rules and red tapism.
India Post Payment Bank Begins Pilot Service in Ranchi & Raipur
i. India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) started its operations on January 30, 2017 with the pilot
services launched in Raipur and Ranchi.
ii .The total paid up capital of the bank is Rs. 800 crore and the government has already
infused Rs. 275 crore.
iii. IPPB will offer an interest rate of 4.5 percent on deposits up to Rs.25,000; 5 percent on deposits
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ICRA Estimates Banks Credit Growth to Remain Subdued at 5-6 percent in FY17
As per the report of the rating agency, ICRA, the bank credit growth rate is likely to float
between 5-6 percent in the current fiscal year.The reason cited includes weak loan demand as
the rate of return offered by debt market is better in comparison to banks.
Besides, the deposit rate was also projected to drop to 12 percent from the current 14.7
percent this fiscal ending March 2017 due to better cash flow in the system and cut in the deposit
rate by the banks.
BUSINESS
Indias Petronet Signs MoU to Set Up $950 Mn LNG Project in Bangladesh
i. Indias largest LNG importer Petronet has signed an MoU with Petrobangla on December 30,
2016, to set up $950 million liquefied natural gas import project of 7.5 million tonnes a year
in Bangladesh.
ii. The MoU was signed between Petronet LNG CEO and Managing Director Prabhat Singh and
Petrobangla secretary Syed Ashfaquzzaman. It also includes laying a 26-Km pipline to connect
the LNG project to the consumption markets.
iii. The project to be set up on Kutubdia Island in Coxs Bazar is targeted to be completed by 2020.
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Amazon Wins Patent for Flying Warehouse to Deliver Parcels via Drones
i. The U.S. e-commerce giant, Amazon has been awarded a patent for launching a giant
flying warehouse that would acts as a launch pad for drones to deliver items within minutes.
ii. The patent reveals plans for setting up an Airborne Fulfillment Center (AFC) such as
an Airship or Blimp, floating at an altitude of around 45,000 and stocked with lots of products
especially in area where the demand for certain items is expected to be high.
Consumers Can Waive Off Service Charge in Restaurants if Dissatisfied with Services:
Government
i. The Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) on January 2, 2017 directed that Service
charges billed by restaurants are optional and it is up to the customers to pay it.
ii. The decision comes after the department cited complaints that hotels and restaurants are
levying an additional 5 to 20% in bills in name of tips, regardless of the kind of service provided
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Google India launches My Business and Digital Unlocked tool for small and medium
businesses in India.
i. Google India on 4 January 2017 has launched two new initiatives named
My Business and Digital Unlocked for the small and medium businesses in India.
ii. Using My Business tool small businesses would be able to set up website from their mobile
devices i.e smart phones. This toll has been first launched in India and from here it will taken to
other countries.
HZL gets green nod for Rs 1,200 cr Zawar Mines expansion project
i. Vedanta Resources subsidiary firm Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) has received environment
clearance for its Rs. 1,200 crore Zawar Mines expansion project in Rajasthan.
ii. The Jaipur based firm which is the worlds second largest zinc producer is mulling to expand
the production capacity of Lead-Zinc and ore beneficiation at its Zawar Group of underground mines
located in Sarada district.
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Lufthansa becomes first carrier to launch commercial operations with Airbus A350 to
India
i. German airline company Lufthansa has become the first carrier to launch commercial operations
with Airbus A350 to India after it announced that the first flight to Delhi from Munich on this
aircraft will be operated on February 11, 2017.
ii. The first flight will be launching Airbus A350 between Delhi and Munich on February 11,
2017.
ii. IBMs 2016 patent output covers a diverse range of inventions in artificial intelligence and
cognitive computing, cognitive health, cloud, cyber security and other strategic growth areas for
the company.
Mahindra Asset Management launches Mahindra Mutual Fund Dhan Sanchay Yojna
scheme
i. Mahindra Asset Management Company Pvt. Ltd (MAMCPL) launched an open ended
scheme Mahindra Mutual Fund Dhan Sanchay Yojna scheme to generate long-term returns
through investment in equity and debt.
ii. The scheme will close on January 24, 2017 and will open again for continuous sale and
repurchase from February 8, 2017
iii. The scheme is for investors who seek to take a calculated exposure in both equity and debt wit
a long term investment outlook
ii. Manufacturing PMI(Purchasing Managers Index) for December 2016 had shown a contraction
for the first time in 2016. The numbers also got a lift from the weak base of November 2015 that
had a 3.4% contraction.
iii. Electricity generation registered the fastest growth at 8.9%
iv. Manufacturing output is increased by 5.5%
v. Mining production is raised by 3.9%
vi. Capital goods grew by a robust 15%
vii. Basic goods increased by 4.7% and
viii. Output of intermediate is raised by 2.7%
in November.
vi. The rate of price rise in sugar was 28.04 percent, for petrol it was 8.52 per cent, and for high
speed diesel it was 20.25 percent.
PSU Oil Companies Signs Pact with Andhra Pradesh Govt to Invest 1.65 Lakh Crore
i. The Public Sector Oil Companies including HPCL, ONGC and the GAIL have signed MoUs on
January 27, 2017 with the Andhra Pradesh Government to invest 1.65 lakh crore in several
projects of the state especially the Krishna-Godavari basin.
ii. The MoU was signed between the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra
Pradhan with the state government during a session on Sunrise Andhra Pradesh at the partnership
summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Andhra Pradesh government.
Vodafone India signs MoU with West Bengal, to invest Rs 3,000 crore in West Bengal
i. UK-headquartered Vodafone India signed an MoU with the West Bengal government to invest
Rs 3,000 crore for capacity augmentation and new business initiatives over next three years.
ii. The MoU signed on the sidelines of Bengal Global Business Summit 2017.
iii. Aim: To improve Vodafones leadership position in the state by offering customers a SuperNet
experience through enhanced network.
New Universal Rail Mill Worth Rs. 1200 crore Inaugurated in Bhilai Steel Plant
i. Moving towards the Make in India initiative, the Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender
Singh inaugurated the new Universal Rail Mill at Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) of Steel Authority
of India Ltd (SAIL) on January 23, 2017 and flagged off the mills first and worlds longest single
rail of 130 meters from the new Universal Rail Mill(URM).
ii. URM established at a cost of about Rs 1200 crore. It will take BSPs total capacity to produce
rails at 2.0 million tons per annum (MTPA).
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provider. The facility was inaugurated by Jack Dangermond, co-founder, president and CEO of Esri
Inc.
HPCL, GAIL sign pact with AP for Rs 40K crore petrochem project
i. Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd(HPCL) and GAIL India Ltd signed a pact with Andhra
Pradesh for setting up a Rs 40,000 crore petrochemical plant in the state.
ii. The 50:50 joint venture will set up a 1.5 million tons Ethylene Derivatives plant.
iii. It will be set up at the Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) sites
identified by the state government at Kakinada.
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Reliance Defence Signs Contract with Ministry of Defence to Construct 14 Fast patrol
Vessels for Indian Coast Guard
i. Reliance Defence and Engineering Ltd (RDEL), a wholly owned arm of Reliance
Infrastructure Ltd (RInfra), has signed a contract worth Rs. 916 crore with the Ministry of
Defence on January 30, 2017 to design and construct 14 Fast Patrol Vessels for the Indian
Coast Guard.
ii. The medium range, high speed vessels would be deployed for patrolling within the exclusive
economic zone, costal surveillance, anti-smuggling, anti-piracy, search and rescue operations. It
will also provide support as front-line warships during emergencies.
iii. RDEL is the first private sector shipyard which has been awarded a contract of designing and
building such ships for Indian Armed Forces.
KSEZ, Subsidiary of GMR group Signs MoUs With Firms to Set Up Manufacturing Units at
Kakinada SEZ
i. Kakinada SEZ Ltd (KSEZ), a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure Limited (GIL), signed several
MoUs with various companies during the CII Partnership Summit 2017 held on January 27-28, 2017
at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
ii. The MoU aimed at setting up World Class manufacturing units at the Kakinada SEZ in Andhra
Pradesh spread over 8,500 acres at a cost of Rs. 47000 crore.
iiii .KSEZ signed an MoU worth Rs. 7000 crore with 5 companies namely Oil Country Tubular,
Kamineni Steel & Power, United Seamless Tubular, Deepak Phenolics and DCM Shriram to set up
manufacturing Units spread over an area of 550 acres at the Kakinada SEZ.
iv. Besides, Oil and Gas PSUs, Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) & Hindustan Petroleum
Corporation Limited (HPCL) signed an MoU with the Government of Andhra
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Pradesh worth Rs 40,000 crore to set up petrochemicals complex over an area spanning 2000
acres in the state.
PSPCL awarded with Best Performing Power Distribution Utility in Power Sector by CBIP
i. The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) was awarded with Best Performing
Power Distribution Utility in Power Sector by Central Board of Irrigation & Power (CBIP).
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ii. Union Minister Sanjeev Kumar Balyan presented this award to Karan Deep Chaudhri,
Chairman-cum-Managing Director, PSPSCL in New Delhi.
30 Indian-Origin Men & Women Inducted into 2017 Forbes Super Achievers List
i. The 2017 edition of the Forbes list of super achievers under the age of 30 features
about 30 Indian-Origin Innovators, Entrepreneurs and Leaders who made
outstanding contribution towards transforming the world.
ii. The 30 people listed belong to 20 different industries including healthcare, manufacturing,
sports and finance.
iii. Forbes List of super achievers under the age of 30 listed 600 people who were passionate to
break the status quo and transform the world.
iv. The list included VivekKopparthi of NeoLight, Prarthna Desai, Shaun Patel, Rohan Suri,
VarunSivram ,Neha Gupta, Aditya Agarwal, Akshay Khanna, AnarghyaVardhana, AkshayGoyal Ajay
Yadav among others.
Shah Rukh Khan Named for 4th Yash Chopra Memorial Award
i. Bollywood actor, Shah Rukh Khan, commonly known as SRK, has been named for the 4th Yash
Chopra Memorial Award. The award would be presented to the actor at a function in Mumbai on
February 25, 2017.
ii. The actor will receive Rs 10 lakh, a gold medal, and a certificate as part of the award.
iii. Shah Rukh Khan was chosen as the recipient by a four-member jury, consisting of Dr T.
Subirami Reddy, Pamela Chopra, PadminiKolhapure and Boney Kapoor.
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President Obama awards Joe Biden with the highest US civilian honour
i. President Barack Obama on January 12, 2017 presented the Presidential Medal
of Freedom (the highest US civilian honour) to the Vice President of US Joe Biden. The vice-
president had no idea that he will be getting the award and the award came as a surprise to him.
ii. The medal was awarded with distinction. This is an additional honour that has been given to
only 4 people, including Pope John Paul II (4 including Biden.)
Fred Ramsdell , Alexander Rudensky from US and Shimon Sakaguchi from Japanese
Scientists Awarded 2017 Crafoord Prize
i. The 2017 Crafoord Prize has been conferred upon two American and one Japenese
scientists for their fundamental discoveries in immune regulation.
ii. The awardees of the scientific prize include Japans Shimon Sakaguchi of Osaka
University, Fred Ramsdell from the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy in San Francisco,
and Alexander Rudensky of the New-York-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center of
America.
Darpan Basak & Ankit Kumar won the Young Travel Photographer Of The Year (TPOTY)
award 2016
i. Darpan Basak(14) and Ankit Kumar(13)won the Young Travel Photographer of the year
(TPOTY) in the Places and Experiences category.
ii. It is an annual award which was founded by photographers Chris and Karen Coe in 2003.
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& Sons
Best Story Shakun Batra, Ayesha Devitre Dhillon for Kapoor
& Sons
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male) Rishi Kapoor for Kapoor & Sons.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female) Shabana Azmi for Neerja.
Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award Shatrughan Sinha.
Best Music Director Pritam for Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.
Best Lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya-Channa Mereya,Ae Dil
Hai Mushkil
Best Male Playback Singer Arijit Singh for the song Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
Best Female Playback Singer Neha Bhasin for Jag Ghoomeya from Sultan
Best Visual Effects Red Chillies for Fan
Best Editing Monisha Baldawa for Neerja
Best Costume Payal Saluja for Udta Punjab
Best Action Shyam Kaushal for Dangal
Best Background Score Sameer Uddin for Kapoor & Sons
Best Choreography Adil Shaikh for Kar Gayi Chull from Kapoor &
Sons
RD Burman Award for New Music Talent Amit Mishra for Bulleya from Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
Best Cinematography Mitesh Mirchandani for Neerja
Filmfare Critics Award
Best Film Neerja
Best Actor (Male) Manoj Bajpayee (Aligarh) and Shahid
Kapoor (Udta Punjab)
Best Actor (Female) Sonam Kapoor for Neerja
Award Winner
Best Film Dangal
Best Director Nitesh Tiwari for Dangal
Best Actor (Male) Aamir Khan for Dangal
Best Actor (Female) Alia Bhatt for Udta Punjab
Kiran Doshi Conferred The Hindu Prize 2016 for Jinnah Often Came to Our House
i .Kiran Doshi won The Hindu Prize 2016 on January 15, 2017 at the 7th edition of The Hindu
Lit for Life festival 2017 held in Chennai from January 14-16, 2017.
ii. The festival was inaugurated by contemporary artist Gulamohammed Sheikh at Sir
Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall in Chennai.
British Poet Jacob Polley wins 2016 TS Eliot Prize for Jackself
i. Jacob Polley, a British Poet was Conferred with the 2016 T.S. Eliot prize for poetry at a
ceremony at the Wallace Collection gallery in London on January 16, 2017 for his poetry
collection Jackself.
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ii. Jackself is his fourth collection that consists of various poems that is inspired from his childhood
in Cumbria, England. Polley is the 23rd winner of the award and received 20,000 ($24,000)
prize money.
iii. The selection panel called the book as a firework of a book. It was chosen from 10
competeting books.
Priyanka Chopra wins her 2nd Peoples Choice Award for TV Series Quantico
i. The Bollywood Actress Priyanka Chopra won her second Peoples Choice
Award for Favourite Dramatic TV Actress at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California on
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Two Scientists from National Geophysical Research Institute Named for 2016 National
Geoscience Award
i. Dr. A Keshav Krishna, a scientist at the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI),
Hyderabad has been selected for the 2016 National Geoscience Award in recognition of his
work in the field of geo-environmental studies in Applied Geosciences.
ii. Besides, Dr. N. Purnachandra Rao, Chief Scientist at the National Geophysical Research
Institute (NGRI), has been selected for 2016 National Geoscience Award for recognition of his work
in the field of Geophysics.
iii. The award is given by the Union Ministry of Mines, Govt. of India
3 Soldiers from Rashtriya Rifles Awarded Sena Medal for Encoutering Hizbul terrorist
Burhan Wani
i. Three personnel of Rashtriya Rifles have been awarded the Sena Medal on the occasion of
Republic Day in New Delhi for gunning down terrorist Burhan Wani in July 2016.
ii. The awardees include Major Sandeep Kumar, Captain Manik Sharma and Naik Arvind
Singh Chauhan. On July 8, 2016, Major Sandeep Kumar discovered that Sartaj Aziz and two other
militants were hiding in a house in Bumdoora village, 18 km southeast of Anantnag in J&K.
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Over 3.5 lakh People Sing National Anthem to Create World Record in Gujarat
i. Over 3.5 lakh people in Gujarat created a world record on January 21, 2017 by
singing the National Anthem at an event of installation of idol of goddess Khodiyar at a
newly-built Khodal Dham temple in Kagvad town in Rajkot district.
ii. During the 5-day installation ceremony which began on January 17, 2017, over 50 lakh devotees
were estimated to have visited the temple. Goddess Khodiyar is particularly revered by the Leuva
Patel community.
Delhi Airport Bags Golden Peacock Award for CSR in Aviation Sector
i. Delhi International Airport Ltd.(DIAL) has bagged the
prestigious GoldenPeacock Award on January 20, 2017 for Corporate Social Responsibility in
the transportation sector under the aviation category for the year 2016.
ii. The award was declared at a special presentation ceremony during the 11th International
Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility held in Bengaluru from January 20-21, 2017
on the theme: Embedding CSR in Corporate Strategy for Responsible Growth.
iii. Earlier, DIAL also won the 6th EPC World Awards for its contribution in the infrastructure and
construction sector.
iv. The GMR Group-led consortium Delhi airport has been declared as the worlds no. 1 airport in
ACI ASQ survey (Airports Council International-Airport Service Quality) in the 25-40 million
passengers per annum category for two consecutive years from 2014.
v. The Golden Peacock Awards were founded by the Institute of Directors (India) in 1991 for
recognizing corporate excellence. The national quality award was instituted to encourage total
quality improvements in both manufacturing and service organizations in India.
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Vladimir Putin Awarded with the First Hugo Chavez Peace Prize by Venezuela
i. Russias President Vladimir Putin was awarded the first ever Hugo Chavez Prize for Peace
and Sovereignty by the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 18, 2017 at the
Presidential Palace in Miraflores, Caracas, Venezuela.
ii. The Peace Prize has been named in honor of late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez who served
as the 64th President of Venezuela from 1999 to 2013.
PADMA BHUSHAN:
No Name Awarded for State
8 Shri Vishwa Mohan Bhatt Art-Music Rajasthan
9 Prof. (Dr.) Devi Prasad Dwivedi Literature & Education Uttar Pradesh
10 Shri Tehemton Udwadia Medicine Maharashtra
11 Shri Ratna Sundar Maharaj Others-Spiritualism Gujarat
12 Swami Niranjana Nanda Saraswati Yoga Bihar
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The Jeevan Raksha Padak includes 5 Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak, 8 Uttam Jeevan Raksha
Padak and 23 Jeevan Raksha Padak to 23 persons. Out of these 7 awards are posthumous.
List of Awardees
Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak
No. Name State
1 Ms. Roluahpuii (Posthumous) Mizoram
2 Shri Shishir Kumar Yadavannavr (Posthumous) Karnataka
3 Shri Vadmitra Choudhary, (Posthumous) Uttar Pradesh
4 Shri Rakesh Kumar CN (Posthumous) Karnataka
5 Shri Suresh NB (Posthumous) Kerala
Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak
No. Name State
1 Shri Mrigesh Narayan Barua Assam
2 Dr. C. Gopakumar (Posthumous) Kerala
3 Shri Govind Laxman Tupe Maharashtra
4 Shri Churchill Mizoram
5 Smt. Roluahpuii Mizoram
6 Shri Bir Bajrangbali Pandey West Bengal
7 Master Maurice Yengkhom Manipur
8 Master Shivansh Singh (Posthumous) Uttar Pradesh
Jeevan Raksha Padak
No. Name State
1 Shri Yashwant Kumar Pisda Chhattisgarh
2 Shri Dara Singh Haryana
3 Shri Dinesh Kumar Himachal Pradesh
4 Shri Ratheeshan Nambolan Kerala
5 Master Anandhakrishnan A Kerala
6 Master Akhil K. Shibu Kerala
7 Shri Tejesh Brijlal Sonawane Maharashtra
8 Shri Manoj Sudhakarrao Barahate Maharashtra
9 Shri Isac Lalrinchhana Mizoram
10 Shri Lalmohan Mohanta Odisha
11 Kum. Nazia Uttar Pradesh
12 Shri Pankaj Kumar Pandey Tamil Nadu
13 Shri Anoop Mishra Uttar Pradesh
14 Shri Kapil Kumar Shishodia Uttar Pradesh
15 Shri Neelkant Ramesh Harikantra Maharashtra
16 Shri Manohar Mahato West Bengal
17 Shri Balen Rajbongshi West Bengal
18 Shri Dharmendra Kumar Yadav West Bengal
19 Master Kamlesh Pradhan Chhattisgarh
20 Kum. Angelica Tynsong Meghalaya
21 Master Sai Krishna Akhil Kilambi Telangana
22 Shri Tshewana Thinlay Lachungpa Sikkim
23 Shri Altaf Ahmed Khan Jammu & Kashmir
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ii. He would be honored at the induction ceremony in Los Angeles on May six at the ASCRS annual
meeting.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh Presents 2016 National Entrepreneurship Awards
The First ever National Entrepreneurship Awards 2016 was presented by the Union Home
Minister Shri Rajnath Singh at Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi on January 30, 2017.
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Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Minister of State (I/C) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship was the
guest of honour on the occasion.
The National Entrepreneurship Awards was instituted by the Ministry of Skill Development
and Entrepreneurship (MoSDE) to recognize and honor the entrepreneurial spirit of Indias
youth and encourage more and more young Indians to become entrepreneur.
The awards were given in 11 different categories divided into two groups: Award
Track and Recognition Track.
Award Track
1. Agri, Food, & Forestry Products Wow Momo Foods Private Ltd
2. Chemicals, Pharma, Bio and other processed material Saral Design Solutions Private
Limited
3. E-commerce, Logistics, Transport & other Services JETSETGO Aviation Services
4. Engineering Services Swadha Energies
5. IT &ITES, Financial Lucideus Tech
6. SC/ST JeevAnksh Eco Products Private Limited
7. Women S V Engineering and Consultancy Services
Recognition Track
appointed Major General of Kyrgyzstan, by the Government of the Country. He was invited for
the prestigious military position in view of his earlier contribution to the country.
ii. Shaikh Rafik Mohammed, who hails from Kerala, was appointed Major General of Kyrgyzstan
by Ali Mirza, Defence Minister of Kyrgyzstan at an official ceremony held in the country.
SC removes BCCI President Anurag for violating the order of implementing Lodha
Committee recommendations
i. The Supreme Court has removed BCCI President Anurag
Thakur and Secretary Ajay Shirke from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on
January 2, 2017, for failing to implement the reforms suggested by the RMLodha panel to
reform BCCI.
ii. Supreme Court Bench comprising of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and
Justice D.Y. Chandrachud has also issued a showcause notice to be replied until January 19 in
regards to perjury charges and violating courts order levied against the duo.
Air Marshal SB Deo takes over as Vice Chief of the Air Staff of Indian Air Force
Air Marshal SB Deo taking over as Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS) at the Air Headquarters
(VayuBhawan) on January 2, 2017.
Other Appointments:
Air Marshal C Harikumar assumed charge as the chief of the Western Air Command (WAC)
and Air Marshal Anil Khosla took over the charge of the Indian Air Forces Shillong-based Eastern
Air Command (EAC).
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ii. JovenelMoise is a businessman from Haiti capital city of Port-au-Prince and is related to
banana export business. Mr. Moise who is from Bald Heads Party (PHTK) has won 55.6% of the
total votes casted. Jude Celestin remained at the second spot in the race of Presidential election
with only 19.5% votes.
iii. Mr. Moise will take over from the interim president JocelermePrivert who took the position in
February 2016 after the former president Michel Martelly left the position without announcing his
successor.
Sir Tim Barrow has been appointed as the Britains ambassador to the EU
i. Sir Tim Barrow has been appointed as the Britains ambassador to the European
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Union(EU) by after Sir Ivan Rogers resigned from the post on 3 January 2017.
ii. Sir Tim Barrow was earlier the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the Moscow.
Kumar Sharadindu appointed as the new MD & CEO of SBI Pension Funds
SBI Pension Funds Pvt Ltd.(SBIPFPL), a subsidiary of State Bank of India, has
appointed Kumar Sharadindu as its Managing Director and Chief Executive. Before this,
Sharadindu was a general manager at SBI Corporate Centre, Mumbai.
Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Kumar Verma Appointed the Director of CBI
i. Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Kumar Verma was appointed as the new Director of
the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on January 19, 2017 by a three member committee
headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chief Justice of India Jagdish Singh
Khehar and Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge as members.
ii. Alok Kumar Verma will replace the interim director Rakesh Asthana who was appointed since
the post was lying vacant after the former director Anil Sinha retired on December 2, 2016.
Ashok Warrier concurrently accredited as the Ambassador of India to the Central African
Republic
i. Ashok Warrier was appointed as the Ambassador of India to the Central African Republic,
with residence in Kinshasa.
ii. Currently he is working as the Ambassador of India to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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Dr. Ausaf Sayeed to be the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Seychelles
i. Former IFS officer Dr. Ausaf Sayeed has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of
India to the Republic of Seychelles on January 10, 2017
ii. Ausaf is currently working as the Consul General,Consulate General of India,Chicago
Jimmy Adams, former captain, appointed new director of West Indies cricket
i. Former West Indies captain Jimmy Adams has taken over as the new director of West Indies
cricket.
ii. He was the manager of the West Indies U-19 team.He has replaced Englishman Richard
Pybusiii. He has played 127 ODIs, 54 tests and 202 first class matches
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Birender Singh Yadav concurrently accredited as the High Commissioner of India to the
Republic of Sierra Leone
i. Former IFS officer Shri Birender Singh Yadav was appointed as the High Commissioner of
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Rajeev Singh to Take Charge as Interim CEO of Prasar Bharati after S C Panda
i. Rajeev Singh, Member of Prasar Bharati Board will take charge as interim CEO of the public
broadcaster Prasar Bharati in February, 2017. He will replace S C Panda.
ii. Rajeev was elected as Interim CEO during the Prasar Bharati Board meeting held in Hyderabad
on January 15, 2017.
Birender Singh Yadav and Ashok Warrier accredited as the Ambassador of India to the
Republic of Burkina Faso & Republic of Congo
Shri Birender Singh Yadav, 1997 batch IFS officer, presently High Commissioner of lndia to
Ghana, has been concurrently accredited as the Ambassador of lndia to the Republic of Burkina
Faso, with residence in Accra.
Senate Committee Confirms Nikki Haley to Become U.S. Ambassador to the United
Nations
i. Senate Committee Confirms Nikki Haley to Become U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
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ii. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee cleared by voice vote Haleys bid to be U.S.
ambassador to the United Nations.
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which owns and operates in-mall entertainment, gaming and food joints and Lettuce Entertain
You Ltd engaged in the business of operating and maintaining restaurants, food and beverage items
would merge with PVR Ltd, their parent company.
BPO firm WNS acquires US-based Denali Services for $40 million
i. Business process management company, WNS Global Services announced acquisition of US-
based Denali Sourcing Services for $40 million.
ii. The New York Stock Exchange-listed WNS has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Denali
and expects to get all the necessary approvals to complete the acquisition by the month-end.
ICICI Pru acquires 8.41% stake in Fino Paytech for Rs 100 crore
i. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has acquired 8.41 per cent stake in Fino Paytech Ltd (FPL) for a
total consideration of Rs 100 crore
ii. FPL provides technology-based solutions and services related to financial inclusion. Earlier this
month, FPL was granted payment bank licence by the RBI.
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Pharmaceutical Firm Johnson & Johnson to Buy Actelion for $30 Billion
i. The U.S. healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson on January 26, 2017 informed about its
intention to buy Switzerland based bio-pharmaceutical firm, Actelion, for $30
billion (27.9 billion euros).
ii. The world's biggest producers of products ranging from baby products to band-aids, Johnson &
Johnson and Actelion, a leader in medicines treating high blood pressure, will create a new Swiss-
listed firm called R&D NewCo. It would focus on research and development of new drugs.
MoUs
India and Pakistan signs agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear
Installations and Facilities
i. India and Pakistan exchanged the list of nuclear installations and facilities covered under
the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations between India
and Pakistan on January 1, 2017.
ii. The bilateral agreement which is signed between the two countries every year on
January 1 prohibits the two countries to carry out any surprise attack and pledged not to assist
foreign powers to attack each others atomic facilities.
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The Union Cabinet under PM Modi approved signing of an agreement between India and
Uruguay for cooperation and mutual assistance in Customs Matters
The Agreement would provide a legal framework for sharing of information and intelligence
between the Customs authorities of the two countries and help in the proper application of
Customs laws, prevention and investigation of Customs offences and the facilitation of
legitimate trade.
Cabinet Approves Signing Agreement with Portugal for Agriculture & Allied Sector
The Union Cabinet also gave its approval for signing of an agreement for cooperation in the
field of Agriculture and allied sectors between India and Portugal.
Under the Agreement a Joint Working Group would be constituted comprising of
representatives from both countries.
Union Government Approves Signing MoU with Kenya for Cooperation in Agriculture &
Allied Sector
Union Cabinet led by PM Modi approved signing of a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) between India and Kenya on bilateral cooperation in the field of Agriculture and
Allied Sectors.
The MoU will cover area including agricultural research, animal husbandry and dairy,
livestock and fisheries horticulture, natural resource management, post-harvest
management and marketing, soil and conservation, water management, irrigation farming
systems development and integrated watershed development integrated pest management,
agricultural plant, machinery and implements, sanitary and phytosanitary issues.
MoU between India and Serbia for Cooperation in the field of Information Technology and
Electronics
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Serbia for promoting
cooperation in the field of Information Technology and Electronics was approved by Prime
Minster Shri Narendra Modi on January 18, 2017.
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Aim: The MoU envisages promoting cooperation and exchanges between the private entities,
capacity building institutions, the Governments and other public and private organizations of
the two countries in IT & Electronics.
MoU between ISRO and JAXA for Cooperation in the Field of Outer Space
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration
Agency (JAXA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on November 11, 2016 at Tokyo,
Japan for cooperation in the field of outer space.
MoU between India and the United Arab Emirates on the Mutual Recognition of
Certificates of Competency
The Union Cabinet also approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and
the United Arab Emirates on the Mutual Recognition of Certificates of Competency.
The proposed MoU will enable recognition of maritime education and training, certificates
of competency, endorsements, training documentary evidence and medical fitness
certificates for seafarers
MoU between India and United Arab Emirates for cooperation in the field of Small and
Medium Enterprises and Innovation
The India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation
in the field of Small and Medium Enterprises and Innovation.
Benefit: MoU would enable Indian SME sector to have a mutually beneficial relation with SME
sector of the United Arab Emirates and explore their markets leading to inclusive
development.
MoU between India and United Arab Emirates in the field of agriculture and allied sectors
India and United Arab Emirates signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field
of agriculture and allied sectors.
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The MoU will promote understanding of best agricultural practices among the two
countries and help in better productivity leading to innovative technique for increasing
production and productivity leading to strengthening of food security.
MoU between India and United Arab Emirates on Institutional Cooperation in Maritime
Transport
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed between India and the United Arab
Emirates for Institutional Cooperation in Maritime Transport for bilateral and multi-lateral
benefit in sustainable trading activities.
Telanagana Government Signs MoU with Civil Aviation Ministry for Regional Connectivity
Scheme
i. The Telangana government has signed a MoU with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airports
Authority of India on January 11, 2017 under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) for air
connectivity by developing small airports and airstrips in the state.
ii. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was between Civil Aviation Minister Ashok
Gajapathi Raju and Telangana Minister for IT and industries K T Rama Rao in New Delhi.
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with the National Yuva Cooperative Society to set up 1,000 Janaushadhi Kendras under the
Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) scheme. This was announced
by Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Ananth Kumar.
ii. Aim : To provide medicines at an affordable price.
India-Sri Lanka Signs MoU for constructing 3,000 Rain Water Harvesting Systems
i. India and Sri Lanka has signed an MoU on January 13, 2017 for the construction of 3000 rain
water harvesting systems in northern Jaffna District of Sri Lanka at a cost of 30 crore Sri
Lankan Rupees.
ii. The MoU was signed by Mr. Arindam Bagchi, Acting High Commissioner of India in the presence
of Hon. A. H. M. Fowzie, State Minister of National Integration and Reconciliation.
Australia, Japan boost defense ties amid Chinas growing military might
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull signed an
upgraded defence agreement to boost cooperation between their militaries on January 14, 2017.
Beside with this they also reaffirmed their support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership
agreement the 12-nation trade pact
Govt. of Jharkhand Signs Joint Venture Agreement with the Ministry of Railways
i. The Indian Railways signed a joint venture agreement with the state government of
Jharkhand on January 20, 2017 for the development of railway infrastructure in the State.
ii. Aim: The JV agreement would enable to provide active representation to States in the Planning
and Implementation of Railway Infrastructure Projects, take up railway project on states priority
basis and generate more financial resources through participation of State & other stakeholders in
the project specific subsidiaries.
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Central Water Signs Pact with IIT Madras and IIS Bengaluru
i. The Central Water Commission (CWC) under the Ministry of Water Resources River
Development and Ganga Rejuvenation signed two separate MoUs with IIT Madras and IIS
Bengaluru on January 27, 2017 in New Delhi.
ii. The MoU aims to help the institutes to procure specified equipment and software for enhancing
their capability to support the World Bank assisted Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement
Project (DRIP) of CWC.
India and France Signs Pact on Maritime Information Sharing in Indian Ocean Region
i. India and France signed White Shipping Agreement on January 19, 2017 in New Delhi to enable
information sharing on maritime traffic and maritime domain awareness in the Indian Ocean
Region (IOR).
ii. The agreement was signed at the second dialogue on maritime cooperation for the Indian Ocean
Region between India and France. The agreement aims to enhance the Indo-French maritime
security cooperation in the region.
Mauritius & six other countries joins global efforts to curb profit shifting by MNEs
i. Mauritius along with Gabon, Hungary, Indonesia, Lithuania, Malta and the Russian
Federation signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement for Country-by- Country
Reporting (CbC MCAA).
ii. Now the total number of signatories increased to 57 while India signed the agreement in May
2016.
SCHEMES
Telangana and Assam Joins UDAY Scheme
i. Assam and Telangana signed a pact with the Power Minister, PiyushGoyal to join the UDAY
scheme on January 4, 2017 in New Delhi in a bid to improve the performance of state run power
distribution companies (DISCOM).
ii. Since the launch of the UDAY Scheme, the Power Ministry has signed Agreements with 18 states
to join the Scheme.
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Civil Aviation Ministry Announces First Flight under UDAN Scheme to Take off in February
2017
i. The Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, on January 19, 2017 announced that
the under UDAN (Ude Desh Ke Aam Naagrik) Scheme is likely to take off in February 2017.
ii. Presently there are 75 operational airport in the country and after the implementation of UDAN
scheme 43 new airports will be added.
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urban and rural areas to train households specially women and elderly people about digitized
transactions
Govt gets 45 initial bids for more than 200 regional routes
i. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has received 45 initial proposals coming in from 11
bidders covering more than 200 regional routes under Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) said
by Civil Aviation Minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju on January 18, 2017.
ii. These proposals will cover 65 airports out of of which 52 are unserved and 13 are underserved
airports.
The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) would be the implementing body of the
scheme during the current financial year.
The scheme aims to provide social security to elderly persons aged 60 years during their
old age.
Under the scheme, an assured pension with guaranteed rate of return of 8% per
annum would be provided for a period of ten years. Besides, the nominee would have
an option for pension on a monthly / quarterly / halfyearly and annual basis.
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COMMITTEE
Ministry of Sports Constitutes Committee to suggest improvements to National Sports
Code
i. The Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs and Sports Mr Vijay Goel constituted a committee
on January 2, 2017, to suggest improvements in the National Sports Development
Code functioning of sports federations.
ii. The move aims to avoid any further disturbances caused by the decisions of any sports
council and maintain good governance, transparency and cleanliness in sports.
iii. The committee, which will be chaired by Sports Secretary, InjetiSrinivas, will submit its
report within one month on the basis of suggestions and feedback given in these meetings so that
sports bodies act according to the public expectations for the promotion of sports in the country.
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Timothy Gonsalves Committee Suggests 20 Percent Reservation for Girl Students in IITs
i. A committee formed by the IIT Joint Admission Board (JAB) has recently given its suggestion
to create 20 percent reservation seats for the girl students in IITs out of the total number of
seats available.
ii. The committee headed by professor Timothy Gonsalves recommended the supernumerary
seats to address the issue falling number of female students entering the institute.
N.K. Singh Committee on Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Presents
its Report to the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley
i. The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Committee under the
chairmanship of Shri N.K. Singh, former Revenue and Expenditure Secretary and former Member
of Parliament presented its Report to the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley on January 23,
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ii. It is for the first time that Haj application process would be digital. The mobile app will be
available on Google Play store from January 2 and the application for the next Haj schedule is
also being registered while the last date for submitting applications is January 24.
Russia Delivers 4 Sukhoi Su-35 Fighter Jets to China after Two-Year Delay
i. Russia finally delivered 4 Sukhoi Su-35 Fighter Jets to China on December 25, 2016, after a
delay of two years. The Su-35 is an advanced version of the Su-30s operated by the Indian
Airforce.
ii. Moscow cited the reason for delay to the fear that its fifth generation jet will lose value in
Chinese Market once Chinese military commissioned its J-20 stealth fighter. However Russia did
not change its stance on the export of the Su-35 until the J-20 fighter was unveiled.
District Administration of Ludhiana develops Mobile App for Election Commission of India
i. The District Administration of Ludhianahas developed a mobile application
named ECI360 for the benefit of voters, candidates, election staff as well as the Election
Commission of India(ECI).
ii. The App has been developed by Harpreet Singh Chandoke on behalf of the district administration
and deputy commissioner Ravi Bhagat.
iii. The ECI360 will help bring transparency and accountability regarding the elections and voting.
Power Minister PiyushGoyal Launches Mobile APP and Web Portal on UDAY
i. Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy and
Mines, PiyushGoyal launched the Web Portal and the Mobile App for Ujwal DISCOM
Assurance Yojana (UDAY) scheme on January 4, 2017.
ii. Aim: The main objective of the Portal and App would be to protect the state power
distribution companies suffering financial losses and to boost their operational revenues.
IRCTC to launch new app IRCTC Rail Connect for booking tickets faster
i. IRCTC Limited will launch a new ticketing App which will have several features added on the
existing one for faster booking of tickets.
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ii. Existing IRCTC Connect will now become IRCTC Rail Connect to facilitate booking of train tickets
in a faster and easier way.
iii. IRCTC, which handles online train ticket bookings, will formally unveil the IRCTC Rail Connect
App .
NASA sending African-American astronaut to space station for the first time
i. US based aeronautics and aerospace research agency the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) is sending African-American astronaut Jeanette Epps to the
International Space Station for the first time.
ii. Epps an aerospace engineer will head to the ISS as a flight engineer in 2018. Her commander
will be Andrew Feustel, a veteran astronaut.
Astronomers discover powerful cosmic double whammy with help of Indias GMRT
i. Astronomers, using data from Indias Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT),
have discovered two of the most powerful phenomena in the universe a supermassive black hole
and the collision of giant galaxy clusters about two billion light years from Earth.
ii. By combining data from NASAs Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Giant Metrewave Radio
Telescope (GMRT) in Pune and other telescopes, researchers found what happens when matter
ejected by a giant black hole is swept up in the merger of two enormous galaxy clusters.
iiii. This cosmic double whammy is found in a pair of colliding galaxy clusters called Abell
3411 and Abell 3412 located about two billion light years from Earth.
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Social Networking Giant Facebook to Rollout Fake News Tools for Germany
i. Worlds largest social networking platform, Facebook on January 15, 2017 announced to
introduce Fake News Tools for Germany Facebook to help the residents in combating
the spread of unrealistic news stories.
ii. Under the fake news tool would pass the story that is believed to be false for testing. It will be
send to a German non-profit body of investigative journalists, Correctiv to check the fact.
iii. If they find the story to be false, it will be marked on Facebook as disputed and will appear
lower in users news feeds.
i. Researchers from Tohoku University in Japan have claimed that they have discovered the
unidentified element that formed the 5 percent of earths core after Iron and Nickel leading to
ii. According to the researchers, earths core is composed of 85 percent Iron, 10 percent
i. Indian state-owned telecommunications company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has
launched mobile TV service Ditto TV and Limited Fixed Mobile Telephony in New Delhi on
ii. Ditto TV is a mobile TV service wherein subscriber can view live TV for 80 plus channels with 7
January 16, 2017 at the 27th edition of the Salon International De La Haute Horlogerie
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(SIHH) in Geneva.
ii. The watch made up of graphene composite has been developed by the University
of Manchester, UK in collaboration with the watchmaking brand Richard Mille and McLaren F1.
The overall weight of the ultralight watch is 40 grams only and is extremely durable.
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Orbiter Mission Mangalyaan on January 19, 2017 since it could not withstand long duration
eclipse.
ii. The need for changing the orbit of Mangalyaan was felt to protect it from the long duration
eclipse otherwise the Mangalyaans battery capacity would have got exhausted due to lack of
sun rays.
ii. The newly developed device is designed to help people who are experiencing heart failure.
The soft, cup-shaped robotic device fits around the heart like a sleeve to give it gentle
squeezes to help pump blood in patients with weakened hearts.
Rubber Soil Information System (RubSIS) launched by the Ministry of Commerce &
Industry for Rubber Growers
i. The Minister of Commerce & Industry, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman launched Rubber Soil
Information System (RubSIS) on January 23, 2017 in New Delhi to provide the detail about the
soil quality to the rubber growers to enhance productivity besides reducing the cost of production.
ii. RubSIS is an online platform developed to recommend application of appropriate mix of
fertilizers to the specific plantations of rubber growers depending upon their soil nature.
Pune Police Launches Beat Marshall Monitoring Mobile App for Mapping Patrolling Teams
i. The Police Department of Pune has launched a Mobile App Beat Marshall Monitoring Mobile
App to trace the location of the patrolling teams from police stations.
ii. The App has been developed by Pune based IT firm Sapience and is being used by Pune City
Police on experimental basis.
iii. The mobile phone based app will record the time, route and number of stoppages during the
course of patrolling
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ii. For this the Food Standards Agencys (FSA) has started a new campaign under the theme Go
for Gold on January 23, 2017 to raise awareness among the people that starchy food when
cooked at high temperature for long time leads to generation of Acrylamide.
ISRO Successfully Tests Cryogenic Engine for Upper Stage of GSLV Mk III
i. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully tested its indigenously developed
Cryogenic engine designated as C25, on January 25, 2017 for 50 seconds at ISRO Propulsion
Complex (IPRC) at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu.
ii. The cryogenic engine has been developed for use in the Upper Stage of GSLV Mk III rocket,
which is scheduled to be launched within the first quarter of 2017. Cryogenic engines are used in
the upper stage of a rocket launch as they provide the maximum thrust to a launcher vehicle.
iii.This was the first test in a series of two tests. The next one has been planned for flight duration
of 640 seconds.
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DEFENCE
Israeli Air Force Receives First Anti-Missile Interceptors for Arrow 3 System
i. The first anti-missile interceptors for the Arrow 3 Missile Defense System was inducted
into the Israel Defense Forces on January 18, 2017 by both Israels Defense Ministry and the US
Missile Defense Agency during a ceremony held on the Palmachim Air Base.
ii. Each Arrow 3 Missile is estimated to cost about $2.2 million. They have been designed to
enable interception of ballistic missiles beyond the earths atmosphere. Interception at that
altitude enables missiles carrying nuclear warheads to be blocked farther from Israel and stops the
enemy missile to harm the territory.
iii. The Arrow-3 interceptor is a part of Israels Arrow weapon system (AWS) and has been jointly
developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), U.S. Department of Defenses Missile
Defense Agency and Boeing.
international border of Rajasthan on January 15, 2017 to check the instances of infilteration due to
the dense fog in the area.
ii. Aim: To keep a hawks eye on the international border, where vigil has been beefed-up and
officers have also been asked to be part of operation to motivate jawans.
iii. The operation will end on January 28, 2017.
Pakistan Navy Receives Two Ships From China to Ensure Security along Gwadar Port
i. China has handed over two ships to Pakistan Navy on January 15, 2017 in order to ensure joint
security along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the Gwadar port.
ii. The two ships were received by the Pakistan Navy Vice Admiral Arifullah Hussaini at a
ceremony held at Gwadar port.
iii. The ships named Hingol and Basol gets its name from nearby rivers in Pakistan. China will
provide two more ships to Pakistan Navy named Dasht and Zhob after two districts in Balochistan.
Chinese Navy Commissions Sophisticated Ship CNS Kaiyangxing into its Fleet
i. The Chinas Navy commissioned a sophisticated electronic reconnaissance ship CNS
Kaiyangxing or Mizar to North Sea Fleet in Qingdao, Shandong province on January 10, 2017.
ii. The new ship with hull code 856 is capable of conducting all-weather, round-the-clock
observation on multiple targets. The ship is so sophisticated that only a few countries, such as the
US and Russia, are capable of developing it.
iii. The Kaiyangxing is a Type 815A electronic reconnaissance ship, with displacement of 6,000
metric tons and a maximum speed of 20 knots or 37 kilometers per hour.
kit. The modified version has considerably enhanced the strike range and accuracy of Pinaka.
iv. The Guided Pinaka is developed jointly by Armament Research & Development
Establishment (ARDE), Research Centre Imarat (RCI) and Defence Research and
Development Laboratory (DRDL).
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Whatsapp helpline Luanched by Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat launches to Address
grievances of Army personnel
i. The Chief of Army staff Gen Bipin Rawat launched a Whatsapp helpline number on January
27, 2017 to receive grievances of army personnel.
ii. Several soldiers posted their grievances on social media about the food that was being served to
them and the conditions that they were put in as a result the army chief took the decision of
launching the watsapp service.
iii. The Whatsapp number where soldiers can post their complaints is +91 9643300008. The
number will be shared with all soldiers and the number will remain at Rawats office.
India Successfully Test Fires Agni IV Ballistic Missile off Odisha Coast
India successfully conducted the test firing of the nuclear-capable strategic ballistic missile, Agni
IV from the Abdul Kalam Island, Balasore, off the Odisha coast on January 2, 2017 at about
11.50 a.m.
i. Agni IV is a two-stage solid-propelled, surface-to-surface ballistic missile which is designed
to carry a payload of 1-tonne up to a distance of 4,000 km.
ii. Designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) the
missile is 20 meters in length and weighs 17 tonnes.
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ii. The missile Babur-3 which was fired from an underwater, mobile platform, hit the target with
precise accuracy. It is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead up to 450km
iii. Babur-3 is a sea-based variant of Ground Launched Cruise Missile (GLCM) Babur-2, which was
successfully tested earlier in December 2016.
Indian Army conducted trials of Indigenous Artillery Gun System Dhanush in the
Himalayas
i. The Indian Army is successfully conducted the user-validation trials of indigenous artillery
gun Dhanush in the Himalayas so that they are ready to be inducted into the Army.
ii. The exercise is being conducted under the aegis of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps and the Leh-
based 14 Corps. The 15 Corps is tasked to face Pakistan while the 14 Corps is tasked to face
Pakistan as well as China.
ENVIRONMENT
India UK Join Hands to Launch Project to Tackle Delhi Air Pollution Risks
i. Indian has partnered with the British experts over a project that aims to study the air
pollution level in Delhi and health problems associated it.
ii. The project ASAP-Delhi: An Integrated Study of Air Pollutant Sources in the Delhi
National Capital Region would be led by University of Birmingham and would also involve
experts from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, the Indian National Physical
Laboratory and the University of Surrey.
iii. The project has been granted a support of 1.4 million pound from the Natural Environment
Research Council (NERC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) Air Pollution and Human Health
programme.
Study Reveals New Fault Forming in Indian Ocean May Trigger Quakes in Future
i. A team of researchers from Singapore, France and Indonesia in a study found the evidence
of the possibility of formation of a new plate boundary on the floor of the Indian Ocean in the
Wharton Basin.
ii. The study published in the journal Science Advances estimated that the new plate may
be forming because of the largest earthquake that shook the Andaman-Sumatra region in
2012 and it may further lead to more earth quakes in future.
Study Finds that India was not Isolated Before Colliding Eurasia
i .As per a study published in the journal PLOS ONE, scientists from University of Bonn in
Germany has found that there must have been a connection between the separated India,
Europe and Asia about 54 million years ago.
ii. The researchers believed that India was largely isolated for at least 30 million years during its
migration before it collided with the Eurasian plate.
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iii .More than 1,600 persons died last year due to extreme weather conditions across the country.
Out of which 700 persons died alone in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Mers, Lassa, Nipah Virus May Cause Next Global Health Emergency
i. Scientists have discovered three new lesser known diseases namely Mers, Lassa fever and
Nipah virus that could cause the next global health emergency.
ii. To overcome this to happen, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has
contributed a sum of $460 million for the development of the vaccine against these would-be
deadly disease. Besides, CEPI has also asked help of $500 million from World Economic Forum
Davos.
iii. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is a group consisting of government
representatives, private sector representatives, civil societies/NGOs and individual members.
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SPORTS
Chennai Open: Bopanna and Jeevan bag doubles title
i. Indian pair of Rohan Bopanna and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan captured mens doubles title
defeating Indias Divij Sharan and Purav Raja in Chennai Open.
ii. They defeated compatriots Purav Raja and Divij Sharan 6-3, 6-4 in the summit clash.
iii. It was the first time in the ATP events 22-year existence that four Indians featured in the
finals.
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Eight-year old Kashmiri boy Abbu Ammaz becomes national boxing champion
i. Abbu Ammaz (8), a class 2 student from Jammu and Kashmir has bagged the gold medal
in Thai Boxing Championship at the national level.
ii. He was felicitated by the civil administration, district authorities and police.
RafalNadal Defeats David Goffin to win 2016 Mubadala World Tennis Championship
i. Spanish professional tennis player, Rafael Nadal successfully clinched 2016 Mubadala World
Tennis Championship title on December 31, 2016 held at the Abu Dhabi International Tennis
Complex at the Zayed Sports City.
ii. Nadal defeated his opponent David Goffin with 6-4, 7-6 in the finals. He reached the Abu
Dhabi Finals by beating Tomas Berdych in the quarter-final and Milos Raonic in the semi-final.
Former Captain Ricky Ponting named Australias assistant coach for Twenty20 Series
i. The former Australian Captain Ricky Ponting will join Australias coaching staff as
an assistant to coach the team for next months home Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka.
ii. Ponting will work alongwith former team-mates Justin Langer and Jason Gillespie for the
series which would begin in Melbourne on February 17 before heading to Geelong (February 20)
and Adelaide (February 22).
Chinas Grand Slam Champion Li Xiaoxia Announces Retirement from Table Tennis
i. Chinas table tennis Grand Slam Champion Li Xiaoxia announced her retirement on January 1,
2017, ending her 22 years career on the court.
ii. She helped China to win gold medal in doubles at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016 besides
finishing runner-up in the singles event and also won 53rd Table Tennis Team Championships 2016.
iii. The 28-year-old holds multiple doubles and Teams World titles in Olympics Games, World
Championships, World Cups, Asian Cups, Asian Championships etc.
Australian Cricketer Arthur Morris Inducted into ICC Cricket Hall of Fame
i. Former Australian cricketer Arthur Morris was inducted into the International Cricket
Councils Hall of Fame on January 3, 2017, by Steve Waugh during the tea break on
the opening day of the third Test between Australia and Pakistan in Sydney.
ii. Morris, who became the 82nd player to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, was
given the honour posthumously. The opening batsman passed away at the age of 93 on August
22 in 2015.
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Indian Skipper Virat Kohli Named Captain for all Three Formats
i. Indian Skipper, Virat Kohli was officially named as the Indian Cricket Teams New
Captain for all the three formats on January 6, 2017 at Mumbai.
ii. Virat takes over from Indias most successful ODI captain MS Dhoni who resigned from his
roleon 5 january 2017. Virat took over the Test team captaincy from Dhoni full-time in January
2015 after the Dhoni retired from Test cricket at Melbourne in December 2014.
iii. The daring batsman, Kohli, who has presided over an 18-match unbeaten run as Test captain,
will first lead India in three one-day internationals starting from January 15 before the sides play
three Twenty20 matches.
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iii. Sarita will become the first ever woman boxer from India to step into the world of professional
boxing.
Indian Women Boxing Team Placed Third Wins Six Medals At Nations Cup In Serbia
i. The Indian Womens boxing team coached by Gurbax Singh Sandhu was placed third at
the 6th Nations Cup held in Vrbas, Serbia on January 15, 2017. India won total six
medals comprising of one gold, four silver and one bronze.
ii. Kazakhstan won the tournament at first spot followed by Russia at second in the elite
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category.
iii .The gold medal was clinched by national champion Neeraj (51 kg) of Haryana by defeating
Jaina Shekerbekova of Kazakhstan.
iv. Similarly, Sarjubala Devi (48 Kg), Priyanka Chowdhary(60kg), Pooja(69 Kg) and Seema Poonia
(+81 kg) won silver. The bronze medal was won by former Asian Games bronze-medallist Kavita
Goyat.
i. Chennai Smashers won the Premier Badminton League season 2 title after defeating Mumbai
Rockets 4-3 in the final match held at Siri Fort Complex in New Delhi.
ii. It consists of 15 league ties, both the teams winning two matches each.
iii. The final match was held between Indias Ajay Jayaram of Mumbai and Thailands Tanongsak
S.
i. Mercedes named the new teammate Valtteri Bottas who replaced Formula One world
ii. Bottas signed one year contract with Mercedes for the 2017 campaign and Rosberg will stay on
iii. Felipe Massa has been persuaded to extend his career by one more season to replace the Finn.
i. Tajikistans chess player Grandmaster (GM) Farrukh Amonatov won the 15th Parsvnath
ii. The player scored 8.5 points out of 10 to win after a draw with the Indian
counterpart GM Diptayan Ghosh in the 10th and final round who scored 8 to be placed at second
position.
Babar Azam Becomes Fastest Pakistani Player to Reach 1000 ODI runs
i. Pakistani batsman Babar Azam became the fastest player in Pakistans One Day
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International (ODI) history to score 1,000 runs in 21 innings during the 3rd ODI against
Australia at WACA Ground in Perth, Australia on January 19, 2017.
ii. He started the series requiring 114 runs in the first two matches to break the record of reaching
1,000 runs in 20 innings. However he could score only 33 and 34. In the third ODI Azam reached
the record by scoring 47 not out against and made 84 runs off 100 balls.
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Womens Jongkolphan Kititharakul & Rawinda Poon Lok Yan & Tse Ying Suet(Hong
Doubles Prajongjai(Thailand) Kong)
Mixed Tan Kian Meng & Lai Pei Jing9 Goh Soon Huat & Shevon Jemie
Doubles Malaysia) Lai(Malaysia)
Bengal Clinches U-19 Cooch Behar Cricket Trophy for 2016-17 season
i. Bengal won the Under-19 Cooch Behar Trophy 2016-17 season against Delhi in the final at
the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi on January 22, 2017.
ii. Bengal was declared winner in the drawn finals on the basis of a first innings lead with 79-run.
iii. Earlier Bengal won the U-19 Cooch Behar Cricket Trophy title in 1997-98 season.
Ronnie OSullivan beats Joe Perry to win record seventh Masters title
i. Ronnie OSullivan won a record seventh Masters title against Joe Perry 10-7 in the final at
Londons Alexandra Palace.
ii. Perry, in his first Triple Crown final at the age of 42, led 4-1 but missed a straightforward red
for a 5-1 lead.
iii. The five men umpires include Anil Chaudhary, Leslie Reifer, Raveendra Wimalasari (all from the
Emirates International Panel of ICC Umpires), Ian Ramage and Mark Hawthorne (both from the ICC
Associate and Affiliate International Umpires).
Indian Ace Cueist Pankaj Advani wins 7th National Billiards Championship
i. Top seeded Ace cue Pankaj Advani won his seventh national title in the finals of Manisha
National Billiards and Snooker Championship on January 24, 2017 at the PYC Hindu
Gymkhana, Pune.
ii. He defeated Rupesh Shah 5-1 in the final. Earlier Adavani beat Brijesh Damani in the
semifinals on January 23, 2017 to enter the finals.
Usain Bolt Loses an Olympic Medal due to Positive Doping of Team-Mate Nesta Carter
i. Jamaican sprinter, Usain Bolt will have to hand back one of his nine Olympic gold medals won
in the 4x100m relay event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics due to his Jamaican team-mate Nesta
Carter who was tested positive for a banned substance.
ii. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) retested the 454 selected doping samples in
2016. The committee on January 25, 2017 informed that Carter was found to have the banned
stimulant methylhexaneamine in his system.
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their performances and chances of higher position in medals tally for the country.
Members of the reconstituted committee
PV Sindhu Clinches Her Maiden Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold Title
i. The 2016 Olympic Silver Medallist PV Sindhu clinched her maiden Syed Modi International
Grand Prix Gold womens singles title on January 29, 2017 at the Babu Banarasi Das Indoor
Stadium in Lucknow.
ii. The Indian ace shuttler defeated Gregoria Mariska of Indonesia 21-13, 21-14 to win her first
medal of the year. Overall India won three titles in the tournament out of five events.
iii. The Mens Single title was won by National Champion Sameer Verma who beat B Sai
Praneeth 21-19, 21-16.
iv. Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy won their maiden Grand Prix Gold title in mixed
doubles beating Ashwini Ponnappa and B Sumeeth Reddy 22-20, 21-10.
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v. The Mens Double title of the tournament was clinched by top seeds Mathias Boe and
Carsten Mogensen outclassing Chinese Taipeis Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han 21-14, 21-15.
vi. Denmarks Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Christinna Pedersen surpassed Indias Ashwini
Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy 21-16, 21-18 to clinch the womens doubles title.
David Boon, Matthew Hayden inducted into Australian Cricket Hall of Fame
i. Two of Australias greatest top-order batsmen, David Boon and Matthew Hayden, and the
brilliant womens all-rounder Betty Wilson will be inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame
(ACHoF) at the 2017 Allan Border Medal ceremony in Sydney
ii. ACHoF chairman Peter King announced that Boon, Hayden and Wilson were the selection
committees choice for induction this year.
Sports Ministry Forms Committee to Prepare Action Plan for next 3 Olympics
i. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports led by Vijay Goel constituted an 8-
membered committee on January 30, 2017 that would work to prepare an action plan for
the next three Olympic Games to be held in 2020, 2024 and 2028.
ii. The committee includes badminton coach Pullela Gopichand, Shooter Abhinav Bindra, Indian
Hockey Captain Viren Raquinha, Hockey Coach S. Baldev Singh, senior journalist Rajesh Kalra, Om
Pathak from the School Sports Promotion foundation, Professor G L Khanna from Manav Rachna
International University and General Sandeep Pradhan, Director of Sports Authority of Gujarat.
iii. The Task Force would be responsible to prepare a comprehensive short-term, medium-
term and long-term action plan for effective participation of Indian athletes in the next
three Olympics
OBITUARY
Former Bengal minister Saral Deb dead
i. Veteran All India Forward Bloc leader and former West Bengal minister Saral Deb passed
away .He was 82. Saral was the state Library Minister from 1977 to 1982 and held the Cooperative
portfolio from 1982 to 1987.
ii. He was a six-time state legislator, winning from Barasat constituency of North 24 Parganas
district.
iii. Later he moved to Australia where he was appointed as the prestigious Sir Hayden Stark
Professor at Law at Monash University.
iv. He was the first Sri Lankan to be appointed to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The
Hague
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Renowned Author and Director of The Exorcist William Peter Blatty dies aged 89
i. American author and filmmaker William Peter Blatty best known for writing The Exorcist,
died on January 12, 2017. He was 89.
ii. Blatty won Oscar for best adapted screenplay for Exorcist and thereafter he wrote and directed
the second sequel The Exorcist III.
iii .Some of his other notable works are the novels: Elsewhere (2009), Dimiter (2010)
and Crazy (2010).
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David Boon, Matthew Hayden inducted into Australian Cricket Hall of Fame
i. Two of Australias greatest top-order batsmen, David Boon and Matthew Hayden, and the
brilliant womens all-rounder Betty Wilson will be inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame
(ACHoF) at the 2017 Allan Border Medal ceremony in Sydney
ii. ACHoF chairman Peter King announced that Boon, Hayden and Wilson were the selection
committees choice for induction this year.
Book on Dr. Kalam titled The Peoples President: Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam released
i. A book on the former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was released on January 4, 2017 in New
Delhi by the Vice President, Shri M. Hamid Ansari in the presence of the Union Minister for
Finance and Corporate, ArunJaitley.
ii. The book titled, The Peoples President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has been written by Shri S.M.
Khan who served as the Press Secretary to President Kalam.
HRD Minister Releases Cyber Vocabulary book Cyber Pathshala authored by Tarun Vijay.
i. Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar released a book on cyber vocabulary named Cyber
Pathshala authored by BJP leader and writer Tarun Vijay on January 10, 2017 at World Book
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IMPORTANT DAYS
Jan 4 2017
Remember Day: World Braille Day(207th birth anniversary of Louis Braille)
Purpose : To recognize the efforts of Louis Braille. Louis Braille is credited with inventing the
Braille language which helps blind people to read as well as write.
Jan 09 2017
Remembered Day: Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (NRI Day)
Organized: India
Purpose: To Mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community to the development of India.
The day commemorates the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa in Bombay on 9 January
1915.
Jan 10 2017
Remember Day: World Hindi Day
Purpose : To mark the day, 14 September 1949, on which the Constituent Assembly adopted Hindi
written in Devanagari script as the Official Language of the Union.
Organization: India
Jan 12 2017
Remember Day: National Youth Day
Purpose : To commemorate the birthday of Swami Vivekananda, maker of the modern India.
Organization: India
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Jan 15 2017
Remember Day: 69th Indian Army Day
Purpose : Recognition of Lieutenant General K. M. Cariappa's taking over as the first Commander-
in-Chief of the Indian Army from General Sir Francis Butcher, the last British Commander-in-
Chief of India, on 16 January 1949.
Organization: India
Jan 16 2017
Remember Day: Religious Freedom Day
Purpose: To stand against religious intolerance
Organization: US
January 23
Remembered Day: 120th Birth Anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose / National Day
of Patriotism / Desh Prem Divas
Organization: India
Jan 24 2017
Remember Day: National girl child day
Purpose : To increase the awareness among people about all the inequalities faced by the girl child
in the society
Organization: India
Jan 25 2017
Remember Day: National Voters Day
Purpose : To encourage more young voters to take part in the political process
Organization: India
Theme : Empowering young and future events
Jan 26 2017
Remember Day: International Customs Day
Purpose : To recognizes the role of custom officials and agencies in maintaining border security.
Organization: World Customs Organization
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Jan 27 2017
Remember Day: International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust
Purpose : To commemorates when the Soviet troops liberated the Nazi concentration and death
camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland on January 27, 1946.
Organization: UN
Theme : From Words to Genocide: Antisemitic Propaganda and the Holocaust.
Jan 29 2017
Remember Day: World Leprosy Day (last Sunday of January)
Purpose : To increase the public awareness of the Leprosy or Hansen's Disease
Organization: NGOs
Jan 30 2017
Remember Day: Martyrs Day
Purpose : To honor of those who lost their lives defending the sovereignty of the nation and death
anniversary of Mahathma Gandhi
Organization: India
Jan 31 2017
Remember Day: 12th Raising Day of National Disaster Response Force
Purpose : To commended the NDRF for its efforts during disaster response
Organization: GOI
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