Current Affairs - January 1, 2018 Current Affairs

Chhattisgarh Government signed a MoU with Central Government for the 2nd phase of Bharat Net project. A four-party agreement was signed by the union telecommunications department, Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL), Chhattisgarh's Information and Technology Department and Chhattisgarh Infotech Promotion Society (ChIPS). 32,466 km of optical fiber cable will be laid in 5987 Gram Panchayats of Chhattisgarh. The estimated cost for this is Rs 1624 crore. Manoj Sinha, Union Minister of State for Telecommunications, said that Chhattisgarh is the first state in India to use ring architecture technology to connect village panchayats by optical fiber.

ISRO announced that it will launch 31 satellites in a single mission on-board its Polar rocket on 10th January 2018. This mission will be the first 'Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle' (PSLV) mission after the failure of IRNSS-1H launch in August 2017. Main payload of this mission is India's Cartosat-2 series earth observation satellite. The launch will be carried out from the spaceport at Sriharikota and PSLV-C40 will be used for the launch. The mission consists of 28 nano satellites from other countries, one micro and one nano satellite, and one Cartosat satellite from India.

Assam Chief Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal launched skill development training centres across the state. Mr. Sonowal launched the centres at a programme organized by Department of Skill, Employment and Entrepreneurship at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati. Assam State Government has already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Singapore for setting up a skill development centre having international standard at Mangaldoi. Over 10000 Assamese youth would undergo training in this centre. Assam State Government would also set up foreign language learning centres across the state which would help the youth in seeking job opportunities abroad.

US buyout giant KKR & Company become the first foreign investor to fully own an asset reconstruction company (ARC) in India as it received approval from the Reserve Bank of India. KKR, one of the most aggressive investors in financial services, plans to deploy a major chunk from its record Asia fund for buying troubled assets in the country, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

The 61st National Shooting Championship at National Games Shooting Range was held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. J itu Rai shot 10.8 on his 24th shot and won gold medal. He also created a new national record score of 233. In the final, Omkar Singh from the Navy and Jai Singh from the Army won silver and bronze medals respectively.

China cuts the ribbon of its first solar highway which will charge the running electric vehicles. The project will serve as a clean energy testbed to evaluate new technologies, with an overarching goal to reduce the amount of land needed for solar farms and transmission wires. The panels, covering 5,875 square meters, can generate 1 million kWh of power in a year, enough to meet the everyday demand of around 800 households. Electricity produced by the test section will be used to power highway lights, signboards, surveillance cameras, tunnel and toll gate facilities. Surplus power will be supplied to the state grid. Future functions to be developed include mobile charging for electric vehicles and providing internet connection.

The Lok Sabha passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2017, which disqualifies wilful defaulters and existing promoters from bidding for stressed assets of companies undergoing insolvency proceedings. The high levels of NPA at present are due to window dressing and due to evergreening of loans. This situation has arisen because loans were restructured and not classified as NPAs. The problems were shoved under the carpet and these came to light because of the asset quality review initiated by RBI in 2015. Importantly, the bill replaces an ordinance that was brought in last month seeking to bar wilful defaulters, defaulters whose dues had been classified as non-performing assets (NPAs) for more than a year and all related entities of these firms from participating in the resolution process.

State-owned natural gas processing and distribution company GAIL Ltd. has placed orders for another 400-km of pipeline under Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganganatural gas pipeline project. 2655 km long Jagdishpur-Haldia & Bokaro-Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL) project is referred to as Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Project. This gas pipeline project originates from Jagdishpur in Uttar Pradesh and extends to Haldia in West Bengal and Dhamra in Odisha while passing through Bihar and Jharkahnd. The JHBDPL project will supply environmentally clean natural gas to fertiliser and power plants, steel plants, refineries and other industries in above mentioned states.

Federal Bank announced a partnership with Abu Dhabi-based LuLu Exchange to leverage blockchain technology for cross-border remittances. In collaboration with Digiledge, a Bengaluru based fintech start-up, Federal Bank and Lulu Exchange have launched and successfully tested the service using blockchain technology. Blockchain technology helps organisations share data in a more trusted, distributed and extensively automated way and is thus rapidly transforming the financial and commercial world. By collaborating with multiple exchange houses abroad, Federal Bank has managed to hold a major share in the inward remittances market of India.

Veteran Business leader Kiran Mazumdar Shaw urged political class to emulate the good governance module for better transparency and accountability. The Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon took to Twitter and shared a snap from the cabinet meeting under the Chairmanship of Chandra Babu Naidu. Recently, President Ram Nath Kovind also took the stock of the war room developed by state administration during his state visit and also hailed the unique initiative. The main aim of RTG tool is to strengthen the course of administration and governance using technological intervention like e-governance, new age technology, and electronic communication.