Current affairs : January 10, 2017 for all competitive exams
The Hindi language is not only spoken by Indians across the
globe but it celebrated by people internationally. And, today (10th January
2017), we are observing World Hindi Day honor this Indo-Aryan language.
- The number of Hindi literates across the globe is
reportedly rising at a high pace. Keeping in mind this rapid growth it is
likely to showcase its strongest ever global presence soon.
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, on the sidelines of the 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention,
has announced a scheme to skill Indian youth seeking jobs abroad- Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PKVY).
- The
Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PKVY) is aimed at skilling Indians seeking
employment abroad.
- The
programme is also aimed at boosting the confidence of the Indian youth so
that they don’t feel like strangers when they land in a country of their
choice for vocation.
Union Minister
of Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, Shri Piyush Goyal
recently dedicated the LED based Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP),
currently running in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) area, to the
Nation.
- It is
the World’s Largest Street Light Replacement Programme, which is being
implemented by the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint
venture under the Ministry of Power, Government of India.
Modi inaugurated revamp of Gandhinagar station; to have
five star hotel on top. He had laid the
foundation stone for a Rs. 250-crore redevelopment plan for the Gandhinagar
railway station, which includes building a 300-room five star hotel atop the
station.
- Under
the project, Gandhinagar railway station will be redeveloped through a
special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed between the Gujarat government and
the Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Ltd (IRSDC). The
proposed name of the SPV is Gandhinagar Railway & Development
Corporation Ltd.
- Railway
Minister Suresh Prabhu said his ministry was planning to replicate such
redevelopment at 23 railway stations across the country.
Waheeda Rehman on Padma panel
Actor Waheeda Rehman and political and economic commentator
S. Gurumurthy are on the 19-member panel to select the Padma award winners this
year.
- The
civilian awards of Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri are
announced on the eve of Republic Day.
- This is
the first time the Home Ministry has invited nominations online.
Centre allows PF contribution
via private banks
Companies can soon make statutory
provident fund contributions to the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation via
private sector banks.
- A
Labour Ministry notification dated January 4 allows employers to make such
payments “through scheduled banks in India, including private sector
banks.”
- At
present, contribution can be made only through nationalised banks and
payment portal paygov.
SC backs Madras HC order
quashing T.N. appointments
Asking what will be the fate of a State where a Public
Service Commission of Class 10-pass persons interview Class 1
officer-candidates, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay a Madras High
Court decision to quash the appointment of 11 members, including a “prematurely
retired” district judge, of the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) by
the earlier Jayalalithaa government.
- The
Bench noted how the entire appointment process of the 11 members was
completed in a “single shot, in one day.”
- The
High Court, on December 22, 2016, concluded that the appointment of the 11
commenced on January 30, 2016 and ended the next day, meaning there was no
application of mind by the State government.
No extra charge for card use at petrol
pumps
Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters on Monday that
neither the customers nor the dealers will bear the additional charge on
digital transactions made at petrol pumps.
- This
statement comes a day after petrol pump associations threatened to stop
accepting card transactions due to the extra charge levied on them by
banks.
- The oil
marketing companies will now meet the banks to decide on who will bear the
brunt of these additional charges.
First student startup fund has Rs 200
crore
Gujarat government has come up with India's first student
startup and innovation policy, which aims to provide Rs 200 crore in the form
of grants to ideas developed by them.
- The policy aims to support over 1,000 innovation per year and create pre-incubation support in all universities of the state.
Blind Challenge Car Rally held in Bhopal
The 11th annual Blind Challenge Car Rally was organised in
Bhopal,to raise awareness about the issues concerning the visually-impaired.
- As part
of the rally, drivers are navigated by blind persons tasked with reading
the route given to them in Braille.
- The
organisers awarded cash prizes to the first three winners and certificates
to all the participants.Blind Challenge Car Rally held in Bhopal
VLSI-Design international
conference held in
Hyderabad:
VLSI-Design international conference
that was held in the city on Monday. The
conference was attended by Embedded Systems experts, academicians and students.
- The
inaugural keynote address was delivered by member NITI Ayog VK Saraswat
who underlined the need for manufacturing electronic components in the
country.
Lokayukta selection: Ball in Governor’s
court
The State government will recommend
Karnataka High Court judge P. Vishwanatha Shetty (retd) for the post of
Lokayukta, which has remained headless since the ignominious exit of the former
Lokayukta justice Y. Bhaskar Rao in December 2015.
- It now
remains to be seen if the Governor will give his consent to the
recommendation of Mr. Vishwanatha Shetty’s name.
Telangana plea
against Krishna tribunal award dismissed
The Supreme
Court has dismissed a Telangana government petition against a decision of the
Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal-II to limit the re-allocation of the river water
only to the two successor States of Andhra and Telangana, and not dabble with
the share of water enjoyed by the other two riparian States — Maharashtra and
Karnataka.
- The
court has refused to intervene in the decision of the Water Dispute
Tribunal-II to confine the question of re-allocation of river water, post
bifurcation of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, to the two successor States of
Telangana and Andhra and not all the four riparian States.
Second Scorpene
submarine ready
Khanderi, the
second Scorpene submarine under Project-75 being built at Mazgaon Docks Limited
(MDL) in Mumbai is all set to be launched.
- Khanderi
is named after the Island fort of Maratha forces, which played a vital
role in ensuring their supremacy at sea in the late 17th century.
- The
submarine is designed to operate in all theatres, including the tropics.
All means and communications are provided to ensure interoperability with
other components of a Naval Task Force
Pakistan
Successfully Test-Fires Submarine-Launched Babur-3 Missile:
Pakistan has
successfully test-fired its first Submarine-Launched Cruise Missile capable of
carrying a nuclear warhead up to 450km. This has given Pakistan a “credible”
second-strike capability.
- The
missile, Babur-3, was fired from an underwater, mobile platform and hit
its target with precise accuracy.
- Babur-3
is a sea-based variant of Ground Launched Cruise Missile (GLCM) Babur-2,
which was successfully tested earlier in December, last year.
Venezuela raises minimum wage
by 50%
Embattled President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday raised the
minimum wage by 50 per cent in Venezuela, a country with astronomical inflation.
- Mr.
Maduro said he was raising the minimum wage to 40,000 bolivars, about $60
dollars at the highest official exchange rate or $12 on the black market.
The wage comes with an additional food bonus of about $93, which did not
change.
- Venezuela grapples with the world’s highest inflation rate — set to hit 475 per cent this year, according to estimates by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Narendra Modi
inaugurates India International Exchange
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi inaugurated the India International Exchange (INX) located at the
International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), Gujarat
International Finance Tech(GIFT)
City, Gandhi nagar, terming it as momentous occasion for the country's
financial sector.
- The India INX is a wholly owned subsidiary of BSE Ltd is
expected to start trading middle of this month.
- The new exchange will start trading from January 16 and
in the first phase, it will be trading in derivative products in equity,
currency and commodities and subsequently, it will allow trading in other
financial products as well.
The national carrier will launch a
‘Fly For Sure’ scheme under which passengers can pay ₹2,000 and board any other
Air India flight on the same sector on the same day on missing their booked
flight. As per the scheme, to be launched tentatively on January 11.
- The
scheme would help passengers to ensure they reach their destination the
same day.
- The
voucher will be non-refundable and can be availed on all domestic routes
offered by AI. Low-cost airline spicejet had launched a similar scheme
last year.
Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awads 2017:
The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award
(PBSA) is the highest honour conferred on overseas Indians.
PBSA is conferred by the Hon’ble
President of India as a part of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Conventions
organized annually since 2003 on Non-Resident Indians, Persons of Indian Origin
or an organization or institution established and run by the Non-Resident
Indians or Persons of Indian Origin in recognition of their outstanding
achievements both in India and abroad.
- Portugal PM
H.E. Mr. Antonio Luis Santos da Costa has received Pravasi Bharatiya
samman award along with along with 29 others.
SBI Pension Funds appoints Kumar
Sharadindu as MD & CEO
SBI Pension Funds Pvt Ltd (SBIPFPL), a subsidiary of SBI, has
recently appointed Kumar Sharadindu as the MD & CEO of the company.
- Prior to this assignment,Kumar was General Manager at SBI Corporate Centre, Mumbai, heading the private equity business of the bank.
Rajasthan University Vice-Chancellor
J.P. Singhal has resigned from his post following the strictures passed by the
High Court against his appointment in August 2015.
- His
appointment, recommended by a selection committee of the State government,
had become controversial as it was found that he did not possess the
necessary qualifications.
Flipkart appoints Kalyan
Krishnamurthy as new CEO
Flipkart has promoted former Tiger
Global Management executive Kalyan Krishnamurthy as the new chief executive to
run the operations of India's largest online retailer.
- Mr.Krishnamurthy is replacing co-founder Binny Bansal, who has been elevated to the position of Group CEO.
Golden Globe Awards
"La La Land" swept
Sunday's 74th Golden Globe Awards and set a record.
- The
musical film -- starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling -- won all seven of
the awards for which it received nominations including best motion picture
- musical or comedy, best director, best screenplay, best score and acting
awards for its stars.
Best actor- Ryan Gosling
Best Actress- Emma Stone
Best director - Damien Chazelle
Cristiano Ronaldo wins FIFA
best player award for 4th time
Cristiano Ronaldo received FIFA’s
best player award for the fourth time on Monday, after Portugal and Real Madrid
won both major European titles in 2016.
Ronaldo’s fourth FIFA award closed
the gap on five-time winner Messi, the runner-up to each Ronaldo victory.
- Ronaldo got 34.54 per cent of total voting points in a 23-candidate ballot. Messi received 26.42 per cent, and third-place Griezmann got 7.53 per cent.
BAI to sack Vijay Sinha
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has decided to expel
its hon. General secretary Vijay Sinha, a decision taken at the BAI Executive
Committee meeting held here on Monday.
- Anup
Narang has been named as Sinha’s replacement.
- “Sinha is facing a judicial inquiry with regard to the charges of embezzlement, misappropriation, fraud, nepotism, favouritism, misconduct, harassment of players.
Irrigation expert T. Hanumantha Rao
passes away
Noted irrigation expert T. Hanumantha
Rao passed away. Retired as irrigation engineer-in-chief of the unified Andhra
Pradesh, Hanumantha Rao was an expert with the World Bank and served as
consultant to the United Nations relating to projects in Africa.
- A
proponent of four water concept, Hanumantha Rao contributed for
improvement of water systems in Rajasthan, a state where water supply was
augmented even in the drought affected areas.
- The concept focussed on rainwater, soil moisture, ground water and surface water and it encompassed techniques for optimising storage, recharge and utilisation.
