Current Affairs - January 25, 2018 Current Affairs

Lifter Rakhi Halder of Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) has created a new national record in clean and jerk en route to a gold medal in the 63kg women's category in the 33rd Women Senior National Weightlifting Championships, in Mangaluru, Karnataka on January 24, 2018. She lifted 128kgs in the clean and jerk for a total of 230kgs to create a new national record, bettering Karnam Malleswari's feat (127kg) created in Athens in 1999. The silver in this category went to S Thasana Chanu of Karnataka (202kg) while the bronze was clinched by AIPSCB's Amandeep Kaur (191kg).

The third edition of international spice conference will be held in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Arancha Gonzalvez, the Executive Director of International Trade Centre, Geneva, will inaugurate the conference. The event will be jointly hosted by the All India Spices Exporters' Forum and Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The central theme of the 2018 conference would be 'Managing Disruptions through Transformation and Collaboration'.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy has received UNESCO Award of Merit. It has been awarded to the iconic Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple in Tiruchirapalli. The award of merit was awarded by UNESCO Asia Pacific region for the cultural heritage conservation activities taken up at the temple without altering its original splendour.

The Yogi Adityanath government has decided to celebrate 'UP Diwas' on January 24. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by the chief minister Yogi Adityanath. The United Provinces unit was renamed as Uttar Pradesh on on January 24, 1950.

As per latest PwC 21st CEO Survey 2018, the United States has acquired the top spot for global investment, followed by China, Germany, United Kingdom (UK), India and Japan. The survey reveals surprising faith and optimism among CEOs in the economic and business environment worldwide, at least over the next 12 months As per the survey, 54% of the CEOs plan to increase their headcount in 2018 while only 18% expect to reduce their staff. The sectors having the highest demand for new recruits are health care (71%), technology (70%), business services (67%), communications (60%), hospitality and leisure (59%).

National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) has partnered with DP World to create an investment platform for ports, terminals, transportation and logistics businesses in India. The venture will invest in opportunities in the ports sector as well as river ports and transportation, freight corridors, port-led special economic zones, inland container terminals and logistics infrastructure, including cold storages.

The External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj inaugurated the Bharat-ASEAN Maitri Park in the national capital, a day ahead of the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit. ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh attended the event, held at the Tughlaq Crescent, in the heart of Lutyens' Delhi. The 'Bharat Asean Maitri Park' is developed by the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC).

The government has announced four new schemes to promote young scientists and researchers in the country. The Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan announced the schemes. It includes Teacher Associateship for Research Excellence (TARE) Scheme, Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellowship, Distinguished Investigator Award, Augmenting Writing Skills for Articulating Research (AWSAR). The schemes focus on youth to empower, recognise and motivate them.

Indian Overseas Bank has signed an MoU with National Housing Bank for the Rural Housing Interest Subsidy Scheme (RHISS) of the Ministry of Rural Development. The agreement was signed by R Subramaniakumar, MD and CEO of Indian Overseas Bank, and Sriram Kalyanaraman, MD and CEO of the National Housing Bank. The aim of the RHISS is to provide subsidy for housing loans taken by those living in rural areas for construction and modifications of their dwelling units.

The Union Government announced 88,139 crore rupees capital infusion in 20 public sector banks, PSBs, during the current fiscal ending 31st March to boost lending and revive growth. IDBI Bank will get the most- Rs10,610 crore followed by State Bank of India 8,800 crore rupees. The 20 banks that will receive the capital infusion during this phase include Bank of India, UCO Bank, and Punjab National Bank. In October last year, the government had announced over two lakh crore rupees bank recapitalization plan spread over spread over two financial years 2017-18 and 2018-19.

India has moved up on a global index of talent competitiveness to the 81st position. Switzerland continues to top the list and it is followed by Singapore and the US. It is released every year on the first day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting. India has improved its position from 92nd last year.Among BRICS nations China was ranked 54th, Russian Federation was placed at 56th, followed by South Africa (67) and Brazil (81).

The GOI announced the Prime Minister's Shram Awards for the year 2016. It will be awarded to the 50 workers.The award was given by Ministry of Labour and Employment every year. These awards are given to the workers in the Public Sector Undertakings, Departmental Undertakings of the Central and the State Governments and Private Sector units. Shram Awards are given in four categories namely 'Shram Ratna Award', 'Shram Bhushan Award'( Rs. 1,00,000 cash prize), 'Shram Vir/Shram Virangana' ( Rs. 60,000 cash prize)and 'Shram Shree/Shram Devi Awards' ( Rs. 40,000 cash prize).

The National Girl Child Day (NGCD) is celebrated every year on January 24 with an aim to raise awareness about sex ratio levels and promote the empowerment of girls. The programme was organised by the State Resource Centre for Women in collaboration with the Nagaland State Social Welfare Board (NSSWB) and the Entrepreneur Development and Integrated Training Institute (EDITI). With the rest of the country, national Girl child day was observed and in its commemoration a workshop on skill development under the theme "A skilled generation: An independent generation- BBBP" was held at the Government Primary School, T Khel, Kohima village.

As part of the 2018 Republic Day celebrations, cultural extravaganza Bharat Parv will organize by the Union Ministry of Tourism at the Red Fort in Delhi from January 26 to 31, 2018. The prime objective of the 3-day event is to generate a patriotic mood, promote the rich cultural diversity of the country and to ensure wider participation of the general public. The event includes display of Republic Day Parade Tableaux, Performances by the Armed Forces Bands, a Multi-Cuisine Food Court, Craft Mela, Cultural Performances from different regions of the country and Photo Exhibition by the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP). The Cultural Performances include choreographed Folk and Tribal Dances and Music arranged through the North Zonal Cultural Centre as well as performances by cultural troupes from the different States and Union Territories. Bharat Parv will be open for public from 12 Noon to 10 PM. The event is open for public and entry is free.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi honored 7 girls and 11 boys with the National Bravery Awards. Praising the resolve of the awardees. The children felicitated by him in the past hailed from "rural and simple background". The awardees include a 14-year-old Karnataka girl who died while trying to save two boys from drowning.