Current Affairs - January 15, 2018 Current Affairs

Chhattisgarh High Court has issued a directive to all trial courts in the state to mandatorily obtain Aadhaar Cards of accused persons and sureties before issuing release warrant of a prisoner/accused. The order is an attempt to curb the rampant practice of obtaining bail on the basis of forged revenue papers or by impersonating the real surety. Chhattisgarh High Court has also instructed that trial courts should verify the genuineness of Aadhaar card and revenue papers. In case if these documents are found to be forged, a FirstInformation Report (FIR) should be lodged against such person.

India and Israel have signed nine agreements to boost cooperation in the areas of space, cyber security and oil and gas between both countries. The agreements were signed following delegation-level talks headed by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu in New Delhi. Netanyahu is first Israeli Prime Minister to visit India in the span of last 15 years and second one overall. Agreement on Film-co-production. Protocol on Amendments to Air Transport Agreement MoU on Cyber Security Cooperation between India and Israel Memorandum MoU between the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Ministry of Energy on Cooperation inOil and Gas Sector LoI between IOCL and Yeda Research MoU between Central Council for Research in Homeopathy and Ministry of AYUSH and Centre for Integrative Complementary Medicine, Shaare Zedek MoU between Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) and Technion- Israel Institute of Technology for cooperation in the field of space.

India emerged as a top borrower from the China-sponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) with USD 1.5 billion worth of loans last year and USD three billion more in the pipeline. India's Ambassador Gautam Bambawale met AIIB President Jin Liqun in Beijing and held in-depth talks on deepening India's engagements with the bank. Next, to India, Indonesia has emerged as the second largest borrower with about USD 600 million loans.

Anil Khanna, the Senior sports administrator, has been appointed the Chairman of newly formed Finance Commission by Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The IOA also formed a Medical Commission and Games Technical Conduct Committee and nominated office bearers of IOA and National Sports Federations (NSFs) to the Committees. The advisory committee comprises Tarlochan Singh, GS Mander, S Regunathan and BS Landge. The Khanna-led Finance Commission has Sahdev Yadav, Secretary General, Indian Weightlifting Federation and DK Singh, Secretary, Uttarakhand Olympic Association, as members.

DFC Bank and Capital First approved a merger of Capital First with IDFC Bank. Pursuant to the merger which is subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, IDFC Bank will issue 139 shares for every 10 shares of Capital First. The deal values Capital First - owned more than a third by private equity firm Warburg Pincus - at Rs. 938.25 a share based on the two companies' price and giving the company a market value of Rs. 9,278 crore ($1.46 billion), Reuters calculations showed.

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. Iron Fist is an annual, bilateral training exercise where U.S. and Japanese service members train together and share techniques, tactics and procedures to improve their combined operational capabilities.

Saksham (Sanrakshan Kshamta Mahotsav) is an annual flagship event of Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) under the aegis of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Govt. of India. The event focuses on the active involvement of the Oil & Gas PSUs along with other stakeholders like State Governments, for creating focused attention on fuel conservation through people-centric activities. The month-long campaign aims to intensify efforts for making citizens aware of the conservation and effective utilization of petroleum products.

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.

V J Mathew has been appointed as the new Chairman of Kerala Maritime Board (KMB). The decision in this regard was taken by the Kerala cabinet. Mathew is the legal adviser to Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited and co-president of the Indian Maritime Association (IMA).

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. Well-known dancer Jaishree T was bestowed with the Ganga Jamuna award, which is instituted in memory of a popular song written by Sawlaram. Dalvi first came to prominence for portraying Guru Vashishta in Ramanand Sagar's TV series "Ramayan". He also featured in the famous TV show "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" and other Hindi serials.

Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister, Arun Jaitley launched India's First Agri-commodity Options in Guar Seed on National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) platform in New Delhi. 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.

The Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) is an Indian research and teaching institute located in Mysuru, Karnataka.

India obtain 30th on Global Manufacturing Index recently.

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.

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.