Daily Current affairs - January 26, 2018 for all competitive exams
Republic Day honors the date on which the
Constitution of India came into effect on 26 January 1950 replacing the
Government of India Act (1935) as the governing document of India.
- In
a first, the Republic Day celebrations will have 10 chief guests. The
heads the ASEAN leaders from Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei – will be
hosted in this year’s celebrations.
- The
significance of the ASEAN leaders attending the event is that ASEAN
completes 50 years of formation and that India completes 25 years of its
partnership with the grouping.
The Constitution was adopted by the Indian
Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, and came into effect on 26 January
1950 with a democratic government system, completing the country’s transition
towards becoming an independent republic.
|
January 26 - International Customs Day
International Customs Day, well known as the
ICD, is celebrated by the custom organizations every year on 26th of January.
- Theme:
A secure business environment for economic development
- It
is celebrated to commemorate the very first official conference of the
Customs Co-operation Council means the World Customs Organization, WCO.
- World
Customs Organization, having over 177 custom administration members, is
called as the only intergovernmental organization which solely highlights
on the customs matters.
World Customs Organization was established in
the year 1952 as an autonomous body to enhance the efficacy and effectiveness
of the customs administrations all across the world.
|
10 ASEAN leaders attend R-Day parade as chief guests
Unprecedented in India’s history, leaders of
all 10 ASEAN countries attended the Republic Day parade at the majestic Rajpath
which showcased the country’s military prowess and rich cultural diversity.
- This
is for the first time ten heads of state attended the annual celebrations
as chief guests, and the gathering of the leaders of the powerful grouping
was being seen as reflective of India’s growing stature as a major power
in the region where China has been trying to increase its strategic clout.
The 10 ASEAN leaders
|
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong,
Vietnamese Premier Nguyen Xuan Phuc,
Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi,
Indonesian President Joko Widodo,
Thailand Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha,
Philippines President Rodrigo Roa Duterte,
Lao PDR’s Premier Thongloun Sisoulith,
Malaysian Prime Minister Nazib Razak,
Brunei Darussalam’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and
Cambodian Premier Hun Sen
|
Delhi Declaration adopted in ASEAN-India Commemorative summit
Delhi
declaration was adopted at the recently concluded ASEAN-India Commemorative
Summit. ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit was held to celebrate the 25th
anniversary of the establishment of sectoral dialogue between two sides.
- The
Declaration supports a common approach to counter terrorism and sought a
“comprehensive approach to combat terrorism through close cooperation by
disrupting and countering terrorists, terrorist groups and networks,
including by countering cross border movement of terrorists and foreign
terrorist fighters and misuse of Internet including social media by terror
entities.”
- The
declaration urges countries to strengthen cooperation and collaboration in
combating other transnational crimes, including people smuggling,
trafficking in persons, illicit drug trafficking, cybercrime, and piracy
and armed robbery against ships.
The
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on 8 August
1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok
Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN, namely Indonesia, Malaysia,
Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. At present there are 10 members namely,
Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.
|
JP Nirala 1st IAF commando to get Ashoka Chakra for ground
combat
Martyred Indian Air Force Garud Commando Jyoti
Prakash Nirala has been posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra on the 69th
Republic Day, becoming the first-ever airman to receive the honour for a ground
combat operation.
- He
has been honoured for his role in last year’s counter-terrorist operation
in Jammu and Kashmir, where he killed two Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists
despite being shot thrice.
The Ashoka Chakra is India's highest peacetime military
decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from
the battlefield.
India's highest peacetime military
decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away
from the battlefield is also called Ashoka Chakra.
|
Labour Ministry Plans to Issue UWIN Cards
The labour ministry will begin a drive in
April to register over 47 crore unorganised sector workers and provide them
with Unorganised Worker Index Number or UWIN Card.
- It
aims to bring them under the social security net and it also to provide
the benefits of various social security schemes run by
retirement fund body EPFO and state health insurer ESIC.
- The
UWIN Card would have a unique number which would be seeded
with Aadhaar.
Telangana’s first infertility centre in public health sector
opened
Telangana state Health Minister C. Laxma Reddy
inaugurated the State’s first infertility centre in public sector at Gandhi
Hospital.
- The
centre started functioning by providing intrauterine insemination for
couples where male is infertile either due to low sperm court or poor
sperm motility.
Japan commits Rs 2,587 cr loan to Bengaluru
water supply project
The Central government said
the Japanese government has committed to an official development
assistance loan of approximately Rs 2,587 crore for Phase 3 (I) of the
Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Project.
- According
to an official statement, this project will provide residents of Bruhat
Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike area in Karnataka.
- The
Government of Japan has committed JICA (Japan International
Cooperation Agency) Official Development Assistance loan for an
amount of Yen 45 billion (for the project.
WEF announced Global Centre for Cybersecurity
In a bid to
safeguard the world from hackers and growing data breaches — especially from
nation-states — the World Economic Forum (WEF) has announced a new Global
Centre for Cybersecurity.
- The
Global Centre for Cybersecurity will help build a safe and secure global
cyberspace. The centre will be based in Geneva, Switzerland, and will
function as an autonomous organization under the auspices of the World
Economic Forum.
- The
aim of the centre is to establish the first global platform for
governments, businesses, experts and law enforcement agencies to
collaborate on cybersecurity challenges.
- The
centre will draw on the Forum’s government and industry support to work
towards a more secure cyberspace through its established multistakeholder
approach.
NASA launched Global-Scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD)
NASA’s
Global-Scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) instrument was recently
launched atop an Ariane 5 rocket.
- GOLD
is essentially an imaging spectrograph.
- Spectrographs
are scientific instruments that have been designed to break light down
into its constituent wavelengths and to measure their intensity. By
examining the data from such an instrument, scientists can determine a
wide variety of characteristics, including a target’s composition and
temperature. GOLD will be tasked with collecting far ultraviolet light
data on Earth’s atmosphere.
- GOLD
will focus its attention on a relatively poorly-understood region of the
upper atmosphere, where the charged particles of the ionosphere mingle
with the diffuse neutral gasses that make up the thermosphere.
First India-designed vaccine passes WHO test
For the first
time, the Rotavac, a vaccine conceived and developed from scratch in India, has
been “pre-qualified” by the World Health Organisation.
- To
be “pre-qualified” means that the vaccine can be sold internationally to
several countries in Africa and South America.
- The
Rotavac vaccine is developed by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech
Limited. It has been included in India’s national immunisation programme.
The Rotavac vaccine protects against childhood diarrhoea caused by the
rotavirus.
Uber to launch bike service in Amritsar and Kanpur
Ride-hailing startup Uber is planning to launch
its bike service UberMOTO in Amritsar and Kanpur this weekend with cab services
yet to be introduced in the cities.
- This
comes after Uber dismissed reports of exit from India and assured 100%
commitment.
- Currently
Uber provides cabs, autorickshaws, outstation, and carpooling services in
29 Indian cities while bike services exist in nine.
Priyanka to be an ambassador of Harman Int.
Harman International, a wholly-owned subsidiary
of Samsung Electronics Co., announced that actor Priyanka Chopra will be its
global brand ambassador.
- The
company said that the actor will be the face of the company for JBL and
Harman Kardon audio brands.
- Harman
International deals with connected technologies for automotive, consumer
and enterprise markets.
Usha Ananthasubramanian is first woman IBA chief
Usha Ananthasubramanian, MD and CEO, Allahabad
Bank, has been elected the first woman chairman of Indian Banks’ Association
(IBA).
Usha was elected IBA Chairman for the year
2017-18 by its Managing Committee.
- IBA
Chairman’s position fell vacant following the superannuation of Jatinder
Bir Singh, who was Chairman and Managing Director of Punjab & Sind Bank,
on December 31, 2017.
- Rajnish
Kumar, Chairman, State Bank of India, was elected Deputy Chairman of IBA
for the year 2017-18.
IBA is the banking sector’s industry body,
whose objective, among others, is to promote and develop sound and
progressive banking principles, practices and conventions and to contribute
to the developments of creative banking in the country.
|
Padma Vibhushan for Ilaiyaraaja
President Ram Nath Kovind approved the award of
85 Padma awards. The list of those honoured includes music composer-director
Ilaiyaraaja conferred with a Padma Vibhushan and sports icons M.S. Dhoni and
Pankaj Advani honoured with Padma Bhushan.
- Padma
Vibhushan awards: Ghulam Mustafa Khan and Parameswaran
- Murlikant
Petkar, India’s first para-Olympic gold medalist, who lost his arm in the
1965 Indo-Pak war has also been honoured with a Padma Shri.
- Internationally-acclaimed
Gond artist Bhajju Shyam has also been honoured. Mr. Shyam is famous for
depicting Europe in his Gond paintings.
World Bank chief economist Paul Romer quits
over Chile comments
Paul Romer stepped down as the World Bank's chief
economist after he came under fire for saying that Chile's rankings in a
closely watched Doing Business report may have
been deliberately skewed under socialist President Michelle Bachelet.
- Mr.
Romer's resignation, just 15 months after taking the job, was announced in
an internal note that was posted by World Bank president Jim Yong Kim.
Veteran Bengali film actress Supriya Devi passes away
Veteran Bengali film actress Supriya Devi
passed away in Kolkata, She was 85.
Born in 1933, Supriya Devi was known for her
work over five decades.
- She
received the Padma Shri and West Bengal government’s highest civilian
award Banga Vibhushan, besides the Filmfare East Lifetime Achievement
Award.
Timea Babos, Kristina Mladenovic win women’s doubles title in
Australian Open 2018
Hungarian Timea Babos and France’s Kristina
Mladenovic defeated Russian duo Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina 6-4 6-3 to
win the women’s doubles title at the Australian Open.
- Babos
and Mladenovic claimed their first grand slam title as a partnership,
denying the Olympic champion Russians a sweep of grand slam doubles crowns
at Rod Laver Arena.
- The
win was Mladenovic’s second major women’s doubles title after she won the
2016 French Open crown with compatriot Caroline Garcia.
Padma awards 2018
This year the
President of India has approved conferment of 85 Padma Awards including two duo
cases. The list comprises 3 Padma Vibhushan, 9 Padma Bhushan and 73 Padma Shri
Awards.
- Padma
Awards – one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred
in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma
Shri. They were instituted in the year 1954. The Awards are given in
various disciplines/ fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public
affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature
and education, sports, civil service, etc.
- Fourteen
of the awardees are women and 3 persons have been awarded posthumously.
- Prominent
citizens from each of the 10 ASEAN member countries are among the 16
foreigners named for the Award.
Padma Awards 2018
|
|
Padma Vibhushan Awardees
|
Illaiyaraja – Art-Music
Ghulam Mustafa Khan – Art-Music
P Parameswaran- Literature and Education
|
Padma Bhushan Awardees
|
Pankaj Advani – Sports-Billiards/Snooker
Philipose Mar Chrysostom – Others-Spiritualism
Mahendra Singh Dhoni – Sports-Cricket
Alexander Kadakin (Foreigner/Posthumous) – Public affairs
Ramachandran Nagaswamy – Others-Archaeology
Ved Prakash Nanda (OCI) – Literature and Education
Laxman Pai – Art-Painting
Arvind Parikh – Art-Music
Sharda Sinha – Art-Music
|
Padma Shri Awardees
|
Anwar Jalalpuri (Posthumous) – Literature and Education
(Literature – Urdu)
Sitavva Joddati – Social Work
Manas Bihari Verma – Science & Engineering (Defence)
Abhay Bang (Duo) – Medicine, Rani Bang (Duo) – Medicine
Damodar Ganesh Bapat – Social Work
Prafulla Govinda Baruah – Literature and Education-Journalism
Mohan Swaroop Bhatia – Art-Folk Music
Sudhanshu Biswas – Social Work
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu – Sports-Weightlifting
Pandit Shyamlal Chaturvedi – Literature and
Education-Journalism
Jose Ma Joey Concepcion III (Foreigner) – Trade & Industry
Langpoklakpam Subadani Devi – Art-Weaving
Somdev Devvarman – Sports-Tennis
Yeshi Dhoden – Medicine
Arup Kumar Dutta – Literature and Education
Doddarange Gowda – Art-Lyrics
Arvind Gupta – Literature and Education
Digamber Hansda – Literature and Education
Ramli Bin Ibrahim (Foreigner) – Art-Dance
Piyong Temjen Jamir – Literature and Education
Malti Joshi – Literature and Education
Manoj Joshi – Art-Acting
Rameshwarlal Kabra – Trade & Industry
Pran Kishore Kaul – Art
Bounlap Keokangna (Foreigner) – Others-Architecture
Vijay Kichlu – Art-Music
Tommy Koh (Foreigner) – Public Affairs
Lakshmikutty – Medicine-Traditional
Joyshree Goswami Mahanta – Literature and Education
Narayan Das Maharaj – Others-Spiritualism
Pravakara Maharana – Art-Sculpture
Hun Many (Foreigner) – Public Affairs
Nouf Marwaai (Foreigner) – Others- Yoga
Zaverilal Mehta – Literature and Education-Journalism
Krishna Bihari Mishra – Literature and Education
Sisir Purushottam Mishra – Art-Cinema
Subhasini Mistry – Social Work
Tomio Mizokami (Foreigner) – Literature and Education
Somdet Phra Maha Muniwong (Foreigner) – Others-Spiritualism
Keshav Rao Musalgaonkar – Literature and Education
Thant Myint – U (Foreigner) – Public Affairs
V Nanammal – Others-Yoga
Sulagitti Narasamma – Social Work
Vijayalakshmi Navaneethakrishnan – Art-Folk Music
I Nyoman Nuarta (Foreigner) – Art-Sculpture
Malai Haji Abdullah Bin Malai Haji Othman (Foreigner) – Social
Work
Gobaradhan Panika – Art-Weaving
Bhabani Charan Pattanaik – Public Affairs
Murlikant Petkar – Sports-Swimming
Habibullo Rajabov (Foreigner) – Literature and Education
M R Rajagopal – Medicine-Palliative Care
Sampat Ramteke (Posthumous) – Social Work
Chandra Sekhar Rath – Literature and Education
S S Rathore – Civil Service
Amitava Roy – Science and Engineering
Sanduk Ruit (Foreigner) – Medicine-Ophthalmology
R Sathyanarayana – Art-Music
Pankaj M Shah – Medicine-Oncology
Bhajju Shyam – Art-Painting
Maharao Raghuveer Singh – Literature and Education
Kidambi Srikanth – Sports-Badminton
Ibrahim Sutar – Art-Music
Siddeshwara Swamiji – Others-Spiritualism
Lentina Ao Thakkar – Social Work
Vikram Chandra Thakur – Science and Engineering
Rudrapatnam Narayanaswamy Tharanathan (Duo) – Art-Music,
Rudrapatnam Narayanaswamy Thyagarajan (Duo) – Art-Music
Nguyen Tien Thien (Foreigner) – Others-Spiritualism
Bhagirath Prasad Tripathi – Literature and Education
Rajagopalan Vasudevan – Science and Engineering
Panatawane Gangadhar Vithobaji – Literature and Education
Romulus Whitaker – Others-Wildlife Conservation
Baba Yogendra – Art
A Zakia – Literature and Education
|
