January 07 – 10, 2016 News
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INDIA
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Ø Union Cabinet approved the
proposal for taking up Hybrid Annuity based Public Private Partnership (PPP)
model under Namami Gange Programme which aims to reform the wastewater sector
in India
Ø Union Cabinet has approved
the closure of the iconic HMT Watches and offered a voluntary retirement scheme
(VRS) to its employees as per the 2007 pay scales; Two other unviable units of
the public sector company, HMT Chinar Watches and HMT Bearings, are also to be
shut down
Ø Union Government launched
Ganga Gram Yojana in Uttar Pradesh
Ø Government, in a move to
fight pollution, will implement Bharat Standard (BS)-VI emission norms by April
1, 2020.
Ø INS Kadmatt, second ship of
Project 28 (P28) class Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Corvettes, was commissioned
into the Indian Navy at Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam [INS Kadmatt is named
after one of the large islands amongst the Lakshadweep group of Islands off the
west coast of India]
Ø Pune based Automotive
Research Association of India (ARAI) and Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC)
are to collaborate to develop a battery for passenger cars using technology
which is used to make batteries for space vehicles
Ø In order to avoid
duplication of work and to improve efficiency, the government merged the
Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) with the Ministry of External
Affairs; State Government of Kerala opposes this move
Ø Union government is
considering a proposal to name all airports in the country after their
respective cities and not personalities
Ø Union government has decided
to set up laboratories for studying marine biology in coastal states and
islands of Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshdweep, with a major one in the southern
Peninsular region of the country [Department of Biotechnology under the aegis
of Ministry of Science and Technology will start the work of setting up these
laboratories]
Ø French Army to participate
in the Republic Day Parade 2016; this will be the first time ever that foreign
military personnel will take part in the Republic Day parade
Ø Ahead of 2016 State Assembly
elections in the State of Tamil Nadu, the Centre allowed the conduct of
jallikattu in Tamil Nadu by altering a 2011 Ministry of Environment
notification by exempting the sport from performances for which the bulls
should not be used; Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) confirmed that they
will be challenging the order immediately
Ø Operation Green Hunt was
launched, an all-out offensive by India’s paramilitary forces and the state's
forces against the Naxalites
Ø Festival “Destination North
East-2016” will be organised during Feb 2016 at New Delhi
Ø Expert Group on Land Leasing
set up by NITI Aayog under the chairmanship of Dr. T. Haque, held a national
level consultation on the subject
Ø Government will bring in a
new Krishi Bima Yojana in 2016-17 (a new crop damage insurance scheme): Union
Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare Minister, Mr. Radha Mohan Singh
Ø Tamil Nadu is the only
destination from India to have made it to the New York Time's list of 52 places
to go in 2016; Tamil Nadu is placed at 24th position
Ø India's first FRFCP (Fast
Reactor Fuel Cycle Facility) is coming up at Kalpakkam at a cost of Rs. 9600
crore
Ø First limited edition of
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2016 was held in New Delhi
Ø Scientists at the CIRB,
Hisar claimed to have successfully produced a cloned buffalo offspirng
"Cirb Gaurav"; CIRB becomes world's thrid and India's second
institute to produce cloned buffalo
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BILATERAL ISSUES
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Ø SHAKTI – 2016 : India and
France started their eight-day counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency joint
exercise Shakti-2016 in Rajasthan; this is the third edition in the series
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STATES SCAN
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Ø Andhra Pradesh: Business
Summit begins [Andhra Pradesh Partnership Summit]
Ø Andhra Pradesh: Two-day
Flamingo Festival began at the famous brackish water Pulicat Lake town in
Sullurupeta of Nellore district
Ø Andhra Pradesh (to
Telanagana): History Congress asked the Telangana Government to hand over all
documents, manuscripts and important historical books to Andhra to enable it to
preserve the rich history of the state
Ø Bihar: NHRC issued notice to
government over poor condition of prisons
Ø Delhi: 24th edition of New
Delhi World Book Fair began at New Delhi (Jan 9 - 17, 2016)
Ø Gujarat: International Kite
Festival at Surat
Ø Haryana: Chief Minister, Mr.
Manohar Lal Khattar announced that with an effective implementation of the Beti
Bachao Beti Padhao programme, the child sex ratio in the state has reached 889
girls per 1000 boys
Ø Kerala: Government to
implement health care project Sampoorna Arogya Keralam (SAK)
Ø Kerala: Organic Farming
Summit at Angamaly near Kochi
Ø Kerala: The State-level 14th
Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas celebrations began in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
Ø Jammu and Kashmir: Chief
Minister Mr. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed died; his daughter, Ms. Mehbooba Mufti
Sayeed is likely to be the next Chief Minister
Ø Maharashtra: government has
for the first time made it mandatory for a city infrastructure project (16000
crore Dharavi Redevelopment Project) to obtain a National Security Clearance
(NSC) from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), New Delhi
Ø Maharashtra: World’s first
slum museum is set to open in February 2016 at Dharavi, Mumbai
Ø Mizoram: will implement
National Food Security Act from Feb 2016
Ø Odisha: Sam Pitroda
appointed as Government’s Technical Advisor
Ø Telangana: first in the
country to allow issuance of motor insurance policies in digital form by
launching e-Vahan Bima Scheme
Ø Telangana: becomes the first
state to introduce compulsory gender education at the graduate level
Ø West Bengal: Bengal Global
Business Meet begins
Ø "Swaraksha", a
caravan campaign supported by the US Consulate, Hyderabad at raising awareness
on human trafficking; will travel across the States of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha
and Telanagana
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TAMIL NADU
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Ø Chief Minister, Ms.
Jayalalithaa announces Rs 318 crore Pongal 'gift hamper'; will contain one kg
raw rice, one kg sugar, two feet sugarcane pieces and Rs 100 in cash and will
be distributed through the Public Distribution System; launches distribution of
Pongal Gifts
Ø Preparations apace in Tamil
Nadu for the conduct of jallikattu after Central Government gave permission to
hold jallikattu; animal welfare organisations opposes the central government’s
move and said they will file a petition in Supreme Court; Tamil Nadu government
filed a caveat petition in Supreme Court in this issue
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AROUND THE WORLD
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Ø North Korea's claim that it
had tested a hydrogen bomb alarmed its neighboring countries and the rest of
the world
Ø USA: California Governor,
Mr. Jerry Brown declared a Los Angeles-area gas leak (Methane) an emergency and
vowed to protect public health and safety.
Ø Sikh-American (Gurbir
Grewal) attorney has been appointed as the top prosecutor in the most populous
county in New Jersey , becoming the first South Asian to occupy the post in the
state
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ECONOMICS
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Ø Facebook Messenger App
crosses 800 million users
Ø Ms. Mary Barra becomes the
first woman to become chairman of General Motors
Ø ICICI Bank to partner FINO
PayTech for payments bank
Ø Chinese sensex shock the
world
Ø Andhra Bank launched
Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) across all its branches in association with
the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)
Ø Netflix launched operations
in India, with plans starting at Rs 500 per month, as the US-based video
streaming company pushes ahead with its global expansion plans.
Ø Reliance to set up Rs. 5000
crore naval shipbuilding unit near Vizag, Andhra Pradesh
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SPORTS
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Ø Indian shooter Apurvi
Chandela broke the world record on way to winning gold in the women's 10 metre
air rifle event at the Swedish Cup Grand Prix; already won an Olympic quota
place for the Rio Olympics
Ø Australia pulled out of U-19
World Cup in Bangladesh due to safety concerns
Ø Encouraged by the renewed
interest in football generated by the success of the ISL, India will consider
bidding for either the 2019 or the 2021 editions of the under-20 World Cup;
India will host the under-17 World Cup in 2017
Ø Brisbane International 2016
(Tennis):
-
Men’s Singles: Milos Raonic
-
Women’s Singles: Victoria Azarenka
-
Men’s Doubles: Henri Kontinen and John Peers
-
Women’s Doubles: Sania Mira and Martina Hingis
Ø Chennai Open 2016: Stan
Wawarinka clinches his fourth Chennai Open title
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MISC
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Ø FreeCharge co-founder and
CEO Kunal Shah was appointed as the Chairman of Internet and Mobile Association
of India (IAMAI).
Ø Dr Achyuta Samanta was
elected as the General President of the 105th Indian Science Congress
Association (ISCA) that is scheduled for 2017-18; with this he becomes the
second person from Odisha to be elected as President of the ISC
Ø Priyanka Chopra has bagged
the favourite actor in new TV series honour at the 2016 People's Choice Awards
for her performance of an FBI recruit on American show Quantico; She becomes
the first Indian actor to register a win at the People's Choice Awards
Ø Gajendra Chauhan assumed
charge as President of FTII; triggers protest
Ø Devender Kumar Sikri
appointed as Chairman of Competition Commission of India
Ø Filippo Grandi designated as
the UNHCR Chief
Ø 'Mein Kampf' published in
Germany for first time since World War II
Ø Scientists have recently
discovered the presence of several colonies of an invasive species of snowflake
coral off the coast of Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari.
Ø China's country code domain
'dot cn' has become the world’s most commonly used over the Internet with 16.36
million users, surpassing Germany's 'dot de' domain
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BOOKS
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Ø "A God in Ruins",
written by Kate Atkinson
Ø "Bazad Bachpan Ki Or",
written by Nobel peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi
Ø "Anyhting But Khamosh:
The Shatrughan Sinha Biography" written by Bharathi Pradhan
Ø "State, Policy and
Conflicts in Northeast India", written by Dr. K.S. Subramanian
Ø "Maru Bharat Saru
Bharat", written by Jain Acharya Ratnasundersuriswarji Maharaj
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