Current Affairs - January 14, 2018 Current Affairs

The 13th edition of joint military drill exercise "Iron Fist 2018" has started between American and Japanese forces at Camp Pendleton in California on January 12 and will continue till February 12. More than 500 U.S. Marines and sailors are partnering with about 350 members of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force to train in fire support operations and amphibious assaults.

South Australia planning to build the worlds largest thermal solar plant.

12th International Film Festival on Art and Artist, which was presented by the JD Centre of Art (JDCA)'s Film Forum, was held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha from January 12 to 14, 2018. This year's festival was focused on Films on Arts & Literature. The 3-day non-competitive festival showcased 35-40 selected films and was attended by eminent artists, art lovers and film makers from across the country. The international award winning films like 'Maya Miriga', 'Ahalyara Bahaghara', 'Mayurbhanj ra Chhau Nrutya', 'Dhauligiri ra Shanti Stupa' and 'Pattachitra' directed by late Nirad Mohapatra, veteran director in Odia cinema, were screened as part of paying tribute to him. The JDCA's Film Festival is possibly the only film festival in India that is dedicated to Art. Each year the festival features a different focus around which films are curated in addition to its annual celebration of the art and culture of Odisha. The JDCA was established by renowned artist and Padma Bhushan awardee Jatin Das in 2006.

Rajnath Singh, the Union Home Minister, has inaugurated a two-day International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (IWDRI) in New Delhi on January 15, 2018. The workshop is organized by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). The workshop will bring together countries from different parts of the world - from Chile to Australia and from Japan to Sri Lanka - with different socio-economic backgrounds and geographical features. This will be a great opportunity to learn from their unique experiences in their efforts towards building disaster resilient infrastructure. The workshop will also see multilateral development banks, the United Nations, the private sector and academics coming together to identify best practices in the infrastructure sector, as well as key issues in existing practices and ways to address them.

With an objective to empower the Kashmiri youth, the Indian Army has established a Skill Training Centre at sector 10 Headquarters of Rashtriya Rifles (RR) in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir. This skill training centre is a public-private venture and has state of the art equipments. Unemployed educated youths of Pattan and its adjoining areas of Baramulla district will be imparted highly skilled training under National Skill Development Centre (NSDC).

The third edition of the geo-political conference - Raisina Dialogue was held in New Delhi. It was inaugurated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The event is jointly organized by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Observer Research Foundation (ORF). The theme of the conference for this year is 'Managing Disruptive Transitions: Ideas, Institutions, and Idioms'

Actor Sudhir Dalvi has been honoured with the Janakavi P Sawlaram award at a function in Mumbai on January 13, 2018. The award is jointly given by the Thane Municipal Corporation and the Janakavi P Savlaram Kala Samiti.

Arun Jaitley, the Union Finance Minister, has launched India's first agri-commodity options contract in guar seeds on the commodity bourse National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX). The purpose of this new initiative is to benefit farmers and ensure better prices in the coming days. The guar seeds options is one of the most liquid contracts on the exchange platform. Around 1.5 million farmers are associated with this commodity. Options are derivatives which give a buyer the right but not the obligation to buy or sell an underlying asset or instrument at a specific price on or before a certain date. NCDEX is the second exchange after MCX to launch options trading in commodities. In October 2017, MCX had launched gold options.

Maharashtra Health department and Johnson and Johnson signed a MoU to train rural midwives and social health activists regarding tuberculosis and maternal and infant mortality. The MoU was signed between Maharashtra state government and Johnson and Johnson in the presence of Deepak Sawant, Maharashtra Health Minister. Nearly 10,000 auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs) and 60,000 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) in Maharashtra will be trained by Johnson and Johnson at the district level. The districts included are Nanded, Beed, Jalgaon, Dhule, Aurangabad, Jalna, Gadchirol, Hingoli and Nadurbar. Maternal and infant mortality rate is higher in these nine districts.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has ranked India at 30th position on a Global Manufacturing Index (GMI).

Former world silver medallist Sarjubala Devi representing Manipur claimed the gold in 48kg category in the 2018 National Women's Boxing Championships in Rohtak on January 13. She was also given the best boxer trophy.

President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the 'Economic Democracy Conclave' at Thane, Maharashtra. This conclave has been organised by Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini. The objective of the conclave is to serve as a platform for young entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals and provide them motivation, mentoring and networking opportunities.

India signed a MoU with the United Kingdom for the return of illegal Indian migrants within a month of their detection by UK authorities. The MoU was signed by Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, and Caroline Nokes, UK Minister of State for Immigration, in Britain. The MoU will enable return of illegal Indian immigrants in UK and also sharing of criminal records. Indian agencies have found nearly 2,000 Indians illegally staying in UK.

The Army Day is celebrated every year by the Indian Army on January 15 to commemorate the day when General (later Field Marshal) K.M Carriappa took over the command of Army from General Sir Francis Butcher , the last British Commander-in-Chief in 1949 and became the first Commander-in-Chief of Indian Army post Independence. The day is also celebrated to remember the sacrifices made by the gallant soldiers and to pay homage to the martyrs. This year, in 2018, the 70th edition of Army Day has celebrated on Jan 15. On this occasion, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Naval Staff Sunil Lanba and Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa paid tributes at Amar Jawan Jyoti in Delhi.