Current affairs : January 26, 2017 for all competitive exams
The Constituent Assembly
adopted the Constitution on January 26, 1950, a date specially chosen to
coincide with the anniversary of 'Purna Swaraj Diwas' is celebrated as Republic
day.
- This was the day the Indian Independence Act was
consequently repealed and India was established as a democratic republic,
no longer a dominion of the British Crown.
- The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is the chief guest at this year's Republic Day parade.
Padma Awards 2017:
The government announced Padma
awards to citizens of the country in
recognition of their distinguished contribution in various spheres.
- These awards are conferred by the President of India
at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually
around March/ April every year.
- This year the President of India has approved
conferment of Padma Awards to 89
persons as per the list below. The list comprises of 7 Padma Vibhushan, 7 Padma Bhushan and 75 Padma Shri Awardees. 19 of the awardees are women and the
list also includes 5 persons from the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs
and 6 posthumous awardees.
Enhance
withdrawal limit for candidates: EC to RBI
The Election Commission on
January 25 requested the RBI to enhance the cash withdrawal limit for
candidates in the five poll-bound States from Rs. 24,000 to Rs. 2 lakh a week,
till the declaration of results on March 11.
- The entire election process lasts only three to four
weeks and therefore, the total amount that can currently be withdrawn
would be only Rs. 96,000 as against the statutory limit of expenditure of
Rs. 28 lakh in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, and Rs. 20 lakh in
Manipur and Goa, the EC said in its letter to the RBI.
President for
simultaneous Lok Sabha, Assembly polls
President Pranab Mukherjee
said on January 25 that simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the State
assemblies could substantially reduce inconvenience in poll management and
expenditure.
- Speaking at the 7th National Voters’ Day event, the
President said the reform was possible if the Election Commission (EC)
took the initiative and the political parties arrived at a consensus to
make necessary amendments to the Constitution.
- Holding simultaneous polls would require amendments
to the Constitution and additional resources like more electronic voting
machines.
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India-UAE agreements
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi today highlighted strategic
significance of India-UAE relations for both countries. India is hosting Abu
Dhabi’s crown prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as a special guest for the
Republic Day celebrations.
- Government announced a series of pacts with the UAE
ranging from defence, trade, maritime cooperation to energy after a
meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
India to fill
strategic reserve facility at Mangaluru with oil from UAE
India signed a deal with the
United Arab Emirates that allows the Gulf nation to fill half of an underground
crude oil storage facility at Mangaluru that is part of New Delhi’s strategic
reserve system.
- UAE’s Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) will store
about six million barrels of oil at Mangaluru, taking up about half of the
site’s capacity.
- This will help to ensure India’s energy security and
enable us to meet the nation’s growing demand for energy
Inter-faith
dialogue among children held
An inter-faith collaboration
meet organised by the British Deputy High Commission, MS Education Foundation,
and Rubaroo, a NGO, brought together school students and young men and women of
different educational institutions in the city to spread the message of
tolerance and peace.
- The discussions among student participants were on
the topics global citizenship, sustainable development, cultural
diversity, and human rights, among other matters.
Tipu’s armoury
to be relocated to complete rail track work
Tipu Sultan’s historical
armoury at Srirangapatna is all set for relocation to another site, to pave way
for the completion of the Bengaluru-Mysuru rail track doubling work.
- The armoury, a neglected square-shaped structure
about 12 metres wide and ten metres tall, was used to store arms and
ammunition by Tipu during the Anglo-Mysore wars.
President to
authorise construction of wall
President Donald Trump on
January 25 was to order the construction of a Mexican border wall — the first
in a series of actions this week to crack down on immigrants and bolster
national security, including slashing the number of refugees who can resettle in
the United States and blocking Syrians and others from “terror-prone” nations
from entering, at least temporarily.
- Mr. Trump was to sign the executive order for the
wall during an appearance at the Department of Homeland Security.
GSLV’s cryogenic
upper stage tested successfully
The Indian Space Research
Organisation’s Propulsion Research Complex at Mahendragiri, about 60 km from
here, successfully conducted the stage level test of GSLV MK III’s cryogenic
upper stage C-25 on Wednesday night.
- The cryogenic upper stage of the GSLV is the large
C-25, the most difficult component of the launch vehicle to be
developed.
- It will be powered by the indigenously developed
CE-20 engine.
SEBI bars Mallya
from the market
Market regulator SEBI has
barred businessman Vijay Mallya and six others from the securities market in a
case related to alleged diversions of funds from United Spirits Ltd.
- SEBI restrained Mr. Mallya and six others from the
market and from “buying, selling or otherwise dealing in securities in any
manner whatsoever, either directly or indirectly” till further directions.
Wipro to step up
hiring in the U.S., add more centres
Wipro, India’s third-largest
software services exporter, is planning to increase hiring in the U.S. and
invest in innovation centres amid a growing fear of protectionism under the new
U.S. President Donald Trump.
- Last week, President Trump gave a rallying cry of
“buy American, hire American” in his inaugural address to the American
people, spreading anti-outsourcing sentiment among India’s $150 billion
information technology industry.
Transparency
puts India on list for failing to curb corruption
A major international index
of corruption and transparency has placed India on the watch list for its
inability to curb mega corruption scandals and petty bribery.
- The annual index of Transparency International
issued on January 25 for 2016 placed India with Brazil and China in the
79th position with a score of 40.
Haley sworn in
as the new UN Ambassador
Nikki Haley was on January
25 sworn-in as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, becoming the first
Indian American to serve on a Cabinet rank position in any U.S. presidential
administration.
- Ms. Haley, former South Carolina Governor, was sworn
in by Vice-President Mike Pence.
- She is the first woman to be confirmed to Mr. Trump’s Cabinet.
Rahul
Dravid rejects honorary doctorate
The former cricketer Rahul
Dravid has turned down the honorary doctorate offered by Bangalore University.
It was to be conferred on him at the 52nd convocation on January 27.
- He is reported to have said he would like to rather
earn the honour by working on an academic project in sports.
- In 2014, when Gulbarga University decided to confer a doctorate on him , he chose to remain absent from the programme.
Bolt loses relay
gold as Carter tests positive
Usain Bolt lost one of his
nine Olympic gold medals when the IOC stripped Jamaica of its 4x100m relay win
at the 2008 Beijing Games after Nesta Carter tested positive for doping.
- The decision, which follows the retesting of
hundreds of samples from the Beijing event, means that Bolt, as Carter’s
teammate, loses one of the three gold medals he won there.
- This also meant the loss of one of Bolt’s ‘triple triples’ — he won gold in the 100m, 200 and 4x100m at Beijing and went on to repeat the feat in London 2012 and Rio 2016.
