Current Affairs - January 16, 2018 Current Affairs

Shripad Naik, the Union minister of state for Ayush (independent charge), has inaugurated a Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) wellness centre in Bambolim, Goa on January 16, 2018.

Punjab State Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to set up bio-gas and bio-CNG plants in the state. The MoU with IOC was signed by Punjab Bureau of Industrial Promotion (PBIP) and Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) in presence of Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. This agreement is in line with Punjab State Government's efforts to find sustainable solutions to paddy straw burning, which has emerged as a major cause of air pollution in North India. Initially 42 plants will become operational in 2018. Over the next 3-4 years, total 400 such plants will become operational.

India and the United Kingdom (UK) have recently signed two agreements on return of Indians, who are living in Britain as illegal migrants and sharing criminal records and intelligence.

Federal Bank entered into a strategic partnership with Hedge Equities Ltd for providing Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) services to NRIs. A formal agreement was executed in which Jose K Mathew (EVP & Head Retail Business, Federal Bank) and Alex Babu (MD, Hedge Equities Ltd) exchanged the MoU announcing the tie-up. Federal Bank is authorized by the RBI to issue permission letter to NRIs on behalf of the RBI to transact in the secondary market.

Brazil's securities regulator prohibited local investment funds from buying cryptocurrencies. The prohibition has been imposed, citing the reason that Cryptocurrencies cannot be considered financial assets. Owing to this decision, Brazilian funds cannot directly invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. However, funds considering to indirect investment in cryptocurrencies by acquiring a stake in foreign funds have been advised to await further clarification from the regulator.

Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore made the announcement during the launch of the official anthem and mascot of Khelo India School Games, beginning January 31. Now when an athlete wins a medal at Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Olympics, the coach gets the incentive. The video features India's eminent sports personalities such as Sardar Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Devendra Jhajharia, Baichung Bhutia, Pullela Gopichand, Leander Paes, Mary Kom, Akhil Kumar, Sakshi Malik and Saina Nehwal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the commencement of the work of an oil refinery in Rajasthan's Barmer district. It is being set up by HPCL-Rajasthan Refinery Ltd (HRRL). HRRL is a Joint Venture between Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Rajasthan State Government. The entire project entails an investment worth over Rs 43000 crore.

Odisha State Government announced 'Mukshyamantri Kalakar Sahayata Jojana' (MMKSJ), under which artists from across the state will get a monthly assistance of Rs 1200. This scheme of giving Rs 1200 per month as artist assistance was announced by Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik. Odisha state government has also changed the eligibility criteria as compared to the previous artist assistance scheme, under which only 4000 artists were being given Rs 1000 per month.

India has contributed $50,000 to the UN's youth mission which works to raise awareness and attention to youth issues globally. UN Youth Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake received the cheque from Paulomi Tripathi, a First Secretary in India's UN mission at the UN headquarters in New York on Jan 12, 2018. The contribution is voluntary with no strings attached and is in addition to the regular payments India makes to the UN's general and peacekeeping budgets. The Youth Envoy's mission is to promote the engagement of youth and advocate for them across all the four pillars of the UN's work - sustainable development, human rights, peace and security and humanitarian action.

Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM), under the department of industrial policy and promotion, launched a competition for college and university students to foster a culture of innovation and creativity in the youth. The competition - IPrism - invites students to submit films on piracy and counterfeiting under two categories of 30 and 60 seconds. Another category in the competition is a mobile gaming app on intellectual property (IP). Cash prizes of Rs 4 lakh will be given to the winning teams along with mementos and certificates.

India and USA join hands to enhance effectiveness of information exchange and transparency.

The Indo-US joint military exercise 'Vajra Prahar 2018' will be held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in Seattle, in which a 45-member Special Forces team from Indian Army's Southern Command will train alongside US soldiers in the third week of January. The aim of the exercise is to promote military relations between the two countries by enhancing interoperability and mutual exchange of tactics between Special Forces. The objectives of the joint training is to share the best practices between the two armies and to develop joint strategies by sharing expertise of conducting operations in a counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism environment, while capitalising on the rich repository of experiences of each other armies. The exercise will mainly focus on special operations in urban areas. The last edition was held in Jodhpur in March 2017.

West Bengal, Kerala and Odisha have opted out of the Central Government's Transformation of Aspirational Districts scheme. In context of this scheme, aspirational districts refer to selected 115 backward districts that are lagging on specific development parameters. Central Government has undertaken a major policy initiative for rapid transformation of these districts and senior government officials have been assigned responsibility to coordinate the efforts of the Centre and states in facilitating development in such districts. With the exit of West Bengal, Kerala and Odisha, total number of districts under this scheme has now reduced to 102 from 115.

The Indo-US joint military exercise 'Vajra Prahar 2018' will be held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in Seattle, in which a 45-member Special Forces team from Indian Army's Southern Command will train alongside US soldiers in the third week of January. The aim of the exercise is to promote military relations between the two countries by enhancing interoperability and mutual exchange of tactics between Special Forces.

Shripad Naik, the Union minister of state for Ayush (independent charge), has inaugurated a Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) wellness centre in Bambolim, Goa on January 16, 2018. State health minister Vishwajit Rane was also present at the occasion. It will be attached to Goa Medical College and the state government would provide all assistance to facilitate CGHS operations for beneficiaries in the state. The facility would provide Allelopathy, Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddhi and Homeopathy services. Over 3,000 serving central government employees and around 1,500 pensioners would be benefitted.

Ecuador's Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa announced that the country has granted citizenship to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. In 2012, Assange, an Australian-Ecuadoran, had sought refuge at Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faced an investigation over rape allegations. He was granted asylum, and has been staying at Ecuadorian Embassy in London.