Current Affairs - January 17, 2018 Current Affairs

Reliance Industries Ltd. chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani announced a investment of Rs.5,000 crore, in addition to the group's investments about Rs. 15,000 crore made in the State. West Bengal figured among the RIL's largest investments in India, RIL had also emerged as one of West Bengal's largest investors.

Afghanistan residents awarded Donald Trump a bravery medal for rebuking Pakistan over its failure in curbing terrorist havens. As per local media reports, the medal has been forged using funds collected by Afghans from the Logar province worth 45,000 Afghanis ($645) and consists of 15 grams of gold. The US Ambassador in Kabul John R Bass promised that he will soon hand over the medal to the US President. The Syed Farhad Akbari, a community leader in the province, said that more than 300 people at an informal "jirga," or council, of concerned citizens, agreed to award the medal to the US president.

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'.

Indian boxers have claimed 11 gold medals and both the team championship trophies in the Nation's Cup tournament for junior and youth women in Sombor, Serbia. The junior team won 13 medals, nine gold, two silver and two bronze medals, while the youth team clinched four medals 3 gold (60, 64 and 81 kilogram)and one bronze (54 kilogram).

President Ram Nath Kovind will confer the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards for 2016 to an eminent group of musicians, dancers, and theatre artists. The function will be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Four eminent artists will be conferred Fellowships of the Akademi with three lakh cash prize each and 43 artists will receive the Akademis Awards with one lakh cash prize each.

Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldinho formally confirmed his retirement from football, more than two years since his last appearance as professional reports in Brazil. The 37-year-old former Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona star, a key member of the Brazil side which won the World Cup in 2002, last played in 2015 during a brief stint with Fluminense. Ronaldinho's career began with Gremio in Porto Alegre, his hometown, before he emerged as a star with French giants PSG. He then spent five years with Barcelona between 2003 and 2008, helping the Catalans win the Champions League in 2006, after being awarded the Ballon d'Or in 2005.

Bangladesh, India, and Nepal agreed on the text of operating procedures for passenger vehicle movement (Passenger protocol) in sub-region under Bangladesh - Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA). The decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of High-level officials of three decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of High-level officials of three countries held in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It was convened and chaired by India's Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and Fukuoka Prefecture in Japan has recently signed a friendship agreement for cooperation in various fields including environment, cultural exchange, education, tourism and heritage, and air pollution. Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal and Governor of Fukuoka Hiroshi Ogawa represented the two governments. The two cities signed this agreement for three years, with effect from April 2017, till 2020. The first MoU/Friendship Agreement between Delhi and Fukuoka was signed in March 2005 and was done for the second time in March 2012.

China constructed a 330-foot tall air purifying tower dubbed the "world's biggest air purifier". The tower, which is being tested by researchers, has produced more than 10 million cubic meters of clean air since it was launched. The air purification system works through greenhouses covering about half the size of a soccer field around the base of the tower.

The NITI Aayog launched the first course on Sustainable Urban planning using remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) at IIT Kanpur. This is the first course conducted under Global Initiative on Academic Network (GIAN) Program of Union Ministry of Human Resource Development. The course aims to give participants state-of-the-art remote sensing and GIS skills to allow them managing rapidly changing the urban environment of Indian cities. Its prime focus is on issues such as water resource management, water pollution, and water treatment facilities.

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, is leading the Indian delegation to 10th Global Forum for Food & Agriculture (GFFA-2018) from 18-20 January, 2018 which includes the 10th Berlin Agriculture Ministers' Conference. The theme of 2018 event is "Shaping the future of livestock - sustainably, responsibly, efficiently". The discussions will focus on sustainable and productive animal production among other issues. The GFFA is an international conference that focuses on central questions concerning the future of the global agri-food industry.

The NITI Aayog launched the first course on Sustainable Urban planning using remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) at IIT Kanpur. This is the first course conducted under Global Initiative on Academic Network (GIAN) Program of Union Ministry of Human Resource Development. The course aims to give participants state-of-the-art remote sensing and GIS skills to allow them managing rapidly changing the urban environment of Indian cities. Its prime focus is on issues such as water resource management, water pollution, and water treatment facilities.

India's largest IT services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) signed an over GBP 500 million (USD 690 million) deal with M&G Prudential, the UK and European savings and investments business of Prudential plc. Under the contract, TCS will digitally transform M&G Prudential's business and deliver enhanced service for its UK savings and retirement customers. "The value of this agreement exceeds GBP 500 million (USD 690 million) over 10 years and covers the support of over 4 million customer policies.