Current affairs : January 18, 2017 for all competitive exams
India has officially become an Associate member of CERN with the Indian
government completing its internal approval procedures in respect of the
agreement it had signed with CERN on November 21, 2016.
- An Agreement was signed in November 2016 to admit
India to CERN as an Associate member. But India had to “notify CERN of its
final approval for the Agreement to enter into force” and become an
Associate member.
- CERN is the world’s largest nuclear and particle physics
laboratory, where scientists and engineers are probing the fundamental
structure of the Universe by using the most sophisticated scientific
instruments and advanced computing systems.
Finance Ministry suspends Dec. 21 tax circular on
indirect transfers
In a move that will provide a respite to foreign portfolio investors
(FPIs), venture capital and private equity investors, the central board of
direct taxes (CBDT) has decided to put on hold its recent circular on taxation
of indirect transfers.
- In December 2016, the tax department issued a
clarification on the scope of indirect transfer provisions that sought to
even apply these provisions to FPIs. This would have taxed any profits
made by funds with underlying assets (including equities) in India.
India & Mauritius Sign MoU
for Cooperation in the field of Cooperatives
India and Mauritius signed a
MoU for cooperation in the field of cooperatives and related areas
- The MoU was signed between Agriculture Minister
Radha Mohan Singh, and the Indian Ocean island country's Business,
Enterprise and Cooperatives Minister Soomilduth Bholah.
- The MoU will enable the two countries to collaborate
in this vital sector and can significantly benefit thousands of
Mauritians. India offered to exchange its expertise and technology with
Mauritius in agro industry, fisheries and dairy sector.
Mission 41k:
It is a mission launched by Indian Railways to save Rs 41,000 crore on the
Indian Railways’ expenditure on energy consumption over the next 10 years.
- This target will be achieved by taking a slew of
measures which include moving 90% of traffic to electric traction over
diesel. Presently, this is at 50 %of the total rail traffic. The Railways
ministry plans to achieve this target by doubling the current pace of
electrification.
- The railways also aim to procure more and more
electricity at cheaper rates through open market instead of sourcing it
through DISCOMs and thereby hopes to save as much as 25% on its energy
expenses.
25 children including 13 girls
selected for National Bravery Awards
Twenty-five children have
been selected for the national bravery awards 2016. These include 13 girls.
Four of the awards have been given posthumously.
- The coveted Bharat award has been conferred on
8-year-old Late Kumari Tarh Peju of Arunachal Pradesh, who sacrificed her
life while saving two of her friends from drowning.
- The prestigious Geeta Chopra award has been
conferred on 18 year old Tejasweeta Pradhan and 17-year-old Shivani Gond
of West Bengal who showed immense courage fearlessly helping police and
NGO in uncovering an international sex racket leading to the arrest of the
mastermind in Delhi.
- The Sanjya Chopra award has been given to 15-year-old
Sumit Mamgain of Uttarakhand who displayed outstanding bravery in fighting
a leopard to save his cousin.
Second Raisina Dialogue held
in New Delhi
The second edition of
Ministry of External Affairs’ annual Raisina Dialogue was held in New Delhi
with the theme “The New Normal: Multilateralism in a multipolar world”.
- The flagship geo-political conference was
inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was attended by delegates
from 65 countries.
- Raisina Dialogue is an annual conference held in New Delhi. It is envisioned to be India’s flagship conference of geopolitics and geo-economics.
58th India International
Garment Fair to begins in New Delhi
The 58th edition of India
International Garment Fair, IIGF begins in New Delhi.
- Organized by Apparel Export Promotion Council India,
the event is one of the largest and most popular platforms in Asia, from
which overseas garment buyers can source products and forge business
relationships with India’s finest players in the apparel and fashion
accessories domain.
- Textiles Minister Smriti Zubin Irani will inaugurate
the three-day long fair.
Timothy Gonsalves Committee
Suggests 20 % Reservation for Girl Students in IITs
A committee formed by the
IIT Joint Admission Board (JAB) has recently given its suggestion to create 20
percent reservation seats for the girl students in IITs out of the total number
of seats available.
- The committee headed by professor Timothy Gonsalves
recommended the supernumerary seats to address the issue falling number of
female students entering the institute.
- However, the recommendation of the committee will
get the final approval after the decision of the Joint Admission Board
(JAB) who will decide whether the reservation will come in effect from
2017 or 2018.
Manipur’s Karang is India’s
first cashless island
Karang, a small lake island
in Manipur, has become the country’s first cashless island
- The Union ministry of electronics and information
technology under its Digital India program announced Karang as the first cashless
island in India.
- The Karang island is located in the middle of
Loktak, the largest freshwater lake in Northeast India.
Kolkata’s Sitalpati Gets place
in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage
The United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has registered
Sitalpati or cool mat from the Cooch Behar district, West Bengal as an
Sitlapati intangible cultural heritage.
World’s lightest watch
unveiled in Geneva
The world’s ultralight
high-performance mechanical watch RM 50-03 was inaugurated on January 16, 2017
at the 27th edition of the Salon International De La Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in
Geneva.
- The watch made up of graphene composite has been developed by the University ofLightest Watch of the World made Using Graphene Launched Manchester, UK in collaboration with the watchmaking brand Richard Mille and McLaren F1.
LIGO India, Meant to Study Gravitational Waves, To Be
Ready By ’24
The LIGO India project is likely to be commissioned in 2024. The LIGO India
centre, which will study cosmic gravitational waves, will only be the third one
in the world. However, this would require Indian universities to churn out
young researchers trained in the science, according to the announcement made by
LIGO Laboratory.
- The LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave
Observatory) is a massive observatory for detecting cosmic gravitational
waves and for carrying out experiments.
- The objective is to use gravitational-wave
observations in astronomical studies.
Silicon identified as ‘missing element’ in Earth’s core
Earth’s core is made up of Iron and nickel, but there is a third element
which has eluded identification till now. However, now scientists have been
able to identify the third and elusive element as silicon. Researchers have
identified silicon as the missing element deep in the core of the planet.
- The core of the Earth is believed to be made of mainly Iron and Nickel. It was known for long that iron –nickel core under the core pressure is denser than the core. This made a possibility of the core having some lighter elements like Silicon Oxygen or Sulfur.
India ranked 78th in global
‘Passport Index’
Indian passport has been
ranked a lowly 78 in a global ranking of the world’s most powerful passports
which was topped by Germany.
- Germany stands at the top with a visa-free score of 157, while Singapore overtakes South Korea and becomes the highest ranked Asian passport with a visa-free score of 156.
BSNL launches mobile TV
service Ditto TV
State-owned Bharat Sanchar
Nigam Ltd (BSNL) announced mobile TV service ‘Ditto TV’ and limited fixed
mobile telephony, an app that virtually turns mobiles into cordless phone
working in sync with landlines within home premises
- BSNL also launched limited fixed mobile telephony,
an app that virtually turns mobiles into cordless phone working in sync
with landline phones.
Yes Bank Launches India’s
First Customisable Savings Account
YES Bank has launched a
first of its kind unique Customizable Savings Account to enable the customers
to design an account as per their convenience.
- Mumbai-based bank has become the first bank in India to launch such type of account that enables the customer to choose various features of a savings accounts that suits one’s own lifestyle.
Antonio Tajani elected
president of European Parliament
Antonio Tajani of the EPP
Christian Democrat group has been elected president of the European Parliament.
- The battle among the two Italians was won by Tajani on a vote of 351-282 in the decisive final round, which only the top two candidates could enter.
N Chandrasekaran appointed as
Tata Motors chairman
Tata Motors which owns
Jaguar LandRover Automotive Plc, Ltd has finally appointed Natarajan
Chandrasekaran, the Tata Sons chairman-designate and outgoing chief executive
of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), as additional director and chairman of the
board with immediate effect.
C.V. Vishveshwara, Pioneer of
Black Hole Discovery Dies at 78
Veteran Indian Scientist CV
Vishveshwara and pioneer in the discovery of black hole in India died of
prolonged illness.He was 78.
- He worked extensively on the theory of black holes and made major contributions to this field of research since its very beginning.
Renowned Actress Gita Sen
Passes Away
Veteran actress Gita Sen who
was the wife of renowned filmmaker Mrinal Sen passed away on January 16, 2017
in Kolkata of cerebral hemorrhage.
- She was 86. He is known for her excellent work in films like Chorus, Calcutta 71, Kharij, Akaler Sandhane, Ekdin Pratidin and Khandahar.
Former Chhatisgarh minister
Tarun Prasad Chatterjee no more
Senior Congress leader and
former state minister of Chhattisgarh, Tarun Prasad Chatterjee passed
away in Raipur.
- He was 68. Tarun was elected as member of Legislative Assembly for the first time from Raipur rural constituency in 1980, 1990, 1993 and 1998.
Eugene Cernan, the Last Human
on the Moon Passed Away at 82
The commander of Apollo 17
and the last man who walk on the moon, Astronaut Eugene Cernan, the Last
Human on the Moon Passed Away at 82Eugene Cernan has passed away in Washington
D.C, USA.
- He was 82.Cernan was flied to space three times and to moon twice.
Tajikistan’s Amonatov Wins
Delhi International Chess Tournament
Farrukh Amonatov of
Tajikistan won the 15th edition of the Delhi International Chess tournament
after settling for a draw with Grandmaster Diptayan Ghosh in the 10th and final
round.
- Amonatov was awarded by Rs. 4 lakh, Diptayan received Rs. 3 lakh and Dzhumaev got Rs. 2 lakh prize money.
