Daily Current affairs - January 23, 2018 for all competitive exams
According to the International Monetary Fund
(IMF), India is projected to grow at 7.4% in 2018 as against China’s
6.8%, making it the fastest growing country among the emerging economies.
- In
2017, India’s growth rate dropped to 6.7%.
- In
its latest World Economic Outlook update released in Davos, Switzerland on
the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, the IMF has projected a
7.8% growth rate for India in 2019.
International
Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization headquartered
in Washington, D.C., of "189 countries working to foster
global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate
international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth,
and reduce poverty around the world
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AYUSH Minister Lays Foundation Stone for
Homeopathy Research Institute in Jaipur
The Minister of State (IC), for AYUSH, Shri
Shripad Yesso Naik laid the foundation stone for Central Research
Institute (CRI) in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
- This
will be the third CRI under the aegis of Central Council for Research in
Homoeopathy (CCRH).
Central Research Institute (CRI) is pioneer in the field of vaccines
not only in India but in the world. Founded on 3rd of May 1905, the institute
was originally established with a mandate of research work in the field of
medical and public health, manufacture of vaccines and antisera, human
resource development and to act as a national referral centre for public
health problems.
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First investment platform from NIIF
The National
Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), India’s first sovereign wealth fund,
and Dubai-based ports operator DP World Pvt. Ltd, have announced the creation
of an investment platform to invest up to $3 billion in ports, terminals,
transportation and logistics businesses in India.
- This
is the first investment platform from NIIF and will see investment up
to $3 billion of equity to acquire assets and develop projects in these
sectors.
NIIF was set
up in 2015 as an investment vehicle for funding commercially viable
greenfield, brownfield and stalled projects in the infrastructure sector.
NIIF will invest in areas such as energy, transportation, housing, water,
waste management and other infrastructure-related sectors in India.
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Now, an app to report roadkill in wildlife
habitats
A mobile-based application, ‘Roadkills’, launched
on January 21 by the Wildlife Conservation Trust, will help citizens report
such wildlife deaths by uploading geotagged photographs to a public forum.
- The
data generated can be used to identify crucial road or rail stretches that
urgently require mitigation measures.
- ‘Roadkills’,
an easy-to-use android app, accesses location information from phones and
permits users to upload photographs of a dead wild animal on a road or a
railway line.
- The
information from all records reported from across India with this citizen
science initiative will be compiled as a database, which can soon be
viewed on a map on the campaign’s website (www.roadkills.in).
The Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT), an NGO which
developed the app, will also share detailed data free of cost and under a
Creative Commons licence to students, wildlife researchers or infrastructure
agencies who may need it to study patterns of wildlife deaths on roads and
railway lines.
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Andhra Pradesh-Zurich Sign Sister State
Agreement
The Andhra Pradesh Government and
the Canton of Zurich signed a letter of intent, to promote mutual
prosperity and development.
- This
will bring the State of Andhra Pradesh and Canton of Zurich closer and
ensure that a framework is created, which supports the exchange between
both the parties.
M.P. govt. to launch social equality movement
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh
Chouhan said a “social equality” movement will be launched by his government
through a “cultural integration” trust to be formed in the name of Adi
Shankaracharya.
- The remarks are viewed as a bid to cobble up ‘social
engineering’ in the State which is going to polls later this year.
- The BJP has been in power in Madhya Pradesh since 2003.
- The State government will also work for cultural, moral
and spiritual renaissance through the Shankaracharya Cultural Integration
Trust
Jerusalem Embassy to open in 2019
U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence told Israel’s
Parliament that the U.S. Embassy will be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem by
the end of 2019, ahead of schedule.
- The
move, in the first ever address of a sitting American vice-president to
the Israeli Knesset, marked the highlight of Mr. Pence’s three-day visit
to Israel.
Canadian
PM Justin Trudeau to visit India from February 17 to 23
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will
visit India from February 17-23 with the aim to strengthen bilateral strategic
partnerships.
- Trudeau
will visit on the invitation of his Indian counterpart, Narendra
Modi, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
- The
visit is aimed at further strengthening bilateral relations between the
two countries in key areas of mutual interest, including trade and
investment and energy.
UAE launches an app for Indians seeking work
visas
The United Arab Emirates has launched a
smartphone app for Indians seeking work visas that are aimed at streamlining
the process and completing most of the procedures in India.
- With
the app, the applicants can make a hassle-free entry into the workforce.
- Currently
available in Hindi and English for Android platforms, the app will soon be
rolled out in Malayalam in view of a large number of people from Kerala
who apply for work visas.
- The
UAE currently has three visa centres in India — Delhi, Mumbai, and Thiruvananthapuram
Chinese Navy gets new electronic warfare
aircraft
China has built a new type of electronic warfare
aircraft which can cover bigger combat areas such as the South and East China
seas.
- The People’s
Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s South China Sea Fleet deployed the H-6G
bomber in its recent combat manoeuvres.
- The
aircraft developed for 10 years in service is equipped with the Electronic
Countermeasures (ECM) pods underneath its wings.
World first fully-private company launch satellites into orbit
Rocker Lab, a
U.S. space startup, has become the first ever private company to successfully
send satellites into orbit without the help of a government agency, paving the
way for a “new era” of commercial access to space.
- Rocket
Lab, which is headquartered in Los Angeles, deployed three satellites on
only the second test launch of its Electron orbital launch vehicle, Still
Testing.
Apple
joins Malala Fund to strengthen girl’s education in India, and globally
Technology giant Apple has teamed up with
the Malala Fund, led by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai,
to double the number of grants awarded to the children.
- Apple’s
support is expected to double the number of grants awarded by funding
programmes to India and Latin America.
- Apple
will become the fund’s first Laureate partner, enabling a significant
expansion of Yousafzai’s effort to support girls’ education.
NASA begun testing Parker Solar Probe
NASA has begun
testing its new probe- Parker solar probe- that will ‘touch the sun’, when it
launches into space this summer.
- ‘Parker
Solar Probe will travel through the sun’s atmosphere, closer to the
surface than any spacecraft before it, facing brutal heat and radiation
conditions and ultimately providing humanity with the closest-ever
observations of a star.’
- It
will study the outer atmosphere of the sun, known as the corona. To measure
the corona, the probe will reach an orbit within four million miles (6.5
million km) of the sun.
- The
Parker Solar Probe (PSP) is also aimed at collecting vital information
about the life of stars and their weather events. This will help
scientists improve how we predict dangerous solar flares, which can
disrupt satellites and power supplies here on Earth.
RIL becomes India’s first firm to cross Rs.
6-lakh crore in market cap
Reliance Industries (RIL) become the first Indian
company to cross the Rs. 6-lakh crore mark in market capitalisation as its
shares touched a 52-week high of Rs. 974.5 following the announcement of robust
Q3 profits
- According
to Bloomberg’s billionaire index, chairman Mukesh Ambani, making him the
richest Indian with personal wealth of $40.7 billion and the 20th richest
globally
- India’s
largest software exporter, Tata Consultancy Services follows RIL with
market capitalisation of Rs. 5,95,946 crore.
Amazon to introduce voice commands on Alexa for
Android
Amazon announced that it will be introducing
voice commands for the Android version of Alexa, its voice assistant.
- The
implementation of voice integration into its Android app for Alexa implies
that users can speak directly to their handset to perform a number of
functions.
- Earlier,
Amazon introduced select voice functionality to its mobile shopping app,
while forgoing the functionality for the Alexa app until now.
NHFDC national conference recently held
A National
Conference of the State channelizing Agencies, Public Sector Banks and Regional
Rural Banks of National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC)
was recently held.
- During
the conference, the participating agencies were asked to better coordinate
with NHFDC and Channelising agencies for the smooth and better
implementation of NHFDC Schemes for the benefit of larger number of
Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan).
- In
the Conference, incentive cheques were also given to the best performing
SCAs/PSBs/RRBs of NHFDC.
The National
Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC) has been set up by
the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India on 24th
January 1997. The company is registered under Section 25 of the Companies
Act, 1956 as a Company not for profit.
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India among most trusted nations, sees dip over
last year; China tops list
India is among the most trusted nations globally
when it comes to government, business, NGOs and media but has recorded
"extreme trust losses" compared to last year, Edelman Trust Barometer
survey
- India
was at the third place in both the categories with scores of 77 in case of
informed public and 68 in general population.
- China
topped the Trust Index among both the informed public and the general
population segments, with scores of 83 and 74 respectively.Indonesia was
at the second place.
India, 5th Most Attractive Market for
Investments: PwC Survey
India has emerged as the fifth most attractive
market for investments and the optimism over global economic growth is at
a record level, as per the survey of CEOs by global consultancy PwC.
- The
US remains the top spot for global investment. Around 46% of global
CEOs consider the US as one of the three most important countries for
growth, followed by China (33%) and Germany (20%) at second and third
places, respectively.
India-ASEAN Business & Investment Conference
Held in New Delhi
India-ASEAN business and investment conference
held in New Delhi ahead of the landmark commemorative summit meeting on
the 25th of January.
- In
the conference, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu stresses enhanced
connectivity via land to strengthen trade ties.
- Silver
jubilee of India-ASEAN partnership is being celebrated in New Delhi
on the 25th January with an unprecedented summit meet.
India, China to co-host energy meet in Delhi
India and China, along with South Korea, will
co-host a meeting of energy ministers from 60 countries in New
Delhi in April.
- The
meeting, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will
see ministers discuss about global energy security.
- The
event assumes significance as most meetings of the forum is held in
oil-producing countries, with the next meeting slated to be in China.
Agriculture Ministers’ Conference held in Berlin
Berlin
Agriculture Ministers’ Conference was recently held under the auspices of the
10th Global Forum for Food and Agriculture in Germany.
- The conference affirmed to the role of ICT technologies
as an important tool to agriculture, for example in improving water-use
efficiency.
- The meeting was attended by agriculture ministers of 83
nations, as well as high-level representatives of international
organisations such as the European Commission and the FAO. Together they
adopted an ambitious communiqué and committed to a sustainable stewardship
of water.
- The theme of the meeting was “Agriculture and Water –
Key to Feeding the World”.
International Dam Safety Conference 2018 held at Thiruvananthapuram
India will be
hosting the International Dam Safety Conference – 2018 at Thiruvananthapuram.
- Central Water Commission is organizing the event in
association with Kerala Water Resources Department (KWRD), Kerala State
Electricity Board, National Institute of Technology Calicut and College of
Engineering, Trivandrum.
- Dam safety conferences are organized as an annual event
under the Dam Safety Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP)
project.
- A software programme – Dam Health and Rehabilitation
Monitoring Application (DHARMA)- will also be launched during the
conference.
DHARMA is a
web tool to digitize all dam related data effectively. It will help to
document authentic asset and health information pertaining to the large dams
in the country, enabling appropriate actions to ensure need based
rehabilitation. It is a new stride in asset management aspect by India.
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FICCI Appoints Dilip Chenoy as Director General
Industry Chamber Federation of Indian Chambers of
Commerce & Industry (FICCI) has appointed Dilip Chenoy as its
Director General.
- He was awarded the Game Changer Award in 2015 and the
Rashtriya Media Ratan Award in 2013.
Shah Rukh Khan Honoured with Crystal Award at
World Economic Forum
Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan was honoured
with the 24th Crystal Award at the World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland.
- According to the WEF, Shah Rukh Khan received Award for
"his leadership in championing children's and women's rights in
India". Shahrukh received the award alongside Elton John and
Hollywood actress Cate Blanchett.
Hugh Masekela, 'Father of South African Jazz'
Passes Away
Trumpeter, composer and singer Hugh
Masekela, affectionately known as the 'father of South African
jazz', has died after a long battle with prostate cancer
- He opened the 2010 FIFA World Cup Kick-Off Concert and
performed at the event's opening ceremony in Johannesburg's Soccer City
stadium.
Shuttler Siddharth Singh Wins Swedish Open
Junior Badminton Title
Young Indian shuttler Siddharth Pratap
Singh secured his maiden international title, bagging the Swedish
Open Junior International Series with a straight-game victory
over Denmark’s Mads Christophersen in the finals in Uppsala in
Sweden.
- Playing his first career final, Siddharth defeated
Christophersen in a 33-minute match to claim the men’s singles title.
West Indies to Host 2018 Women’s World T20
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has
announced, the 2018 edition of the Women’s World T20 will be hosted
by West Indies in November 2018.
- The three venues were selected by Cricket West Indies
through a bidding process and have been ratified by the ICC.
IPL 2018 to begin on April 7 in Mumbai
The 11th edition of the Indian Premier
League (IPL) will take place from April 7 to May 27.
- Accepting broadcaster Star Sports’ request, the IPL GC
has also allowed a shift in timings of the matches.
- A total of 578 players including 360 Indians will go
under the hammer at the IPL auction in Bangalore on January 27 and 28.
