– important news of january month · he is able to resume work. gita gopinath - india born gita...

www.caforexam.com – Important News of January Month

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Appointment and Resignation

Piyush Goyal - Railways and Coal Minister

Piyush Goyal appointed interim Finance

Minister and Minister of Corporate Affairs for

second time in the absence of Arun Jaitley, will

present the upcoming Budget 2019. Mr. Jaitley

would be designated as a Minister without a portfolio till the time

he is able to resume work.

Gita Gopinath - India born Gita Gopinath

joined the International Monetary Fund as

its Chief Economist. She is the first woman

and second Indian after Raghuram rajan to

occupy the top IMF post. Gopinath is the

11th chief economist of the IMF.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra - Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

was on January 23, 2019 appointed AICC

general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East by her

brother and party chief Rahul Gandhi.

Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah - Sultan Abdullah Sultan

Ahmad Shah was elected as Malaysia's new king by the members

of the country's royal families. He replaced Sultan Muhammad V

of Kelantan, who stepped down recently, making it the first

abdication in Malaysia's history.

Jair Bolsonaro - Jair Bolsonaro, was sworn in as president of

Brazil. Contesting from Social liberal party, Mr Bolsonaro, won

the presidential election by a wide margin against Fernando

Haddad of the left-wing Workers Party on 28 October.

Nancy Pelosi - In US, Veteran Democratic leader

Nancy Pelosi, considered an ardent supporter of

India-US ties, has been elected as Speaker of the

House of Representatives for the second time,

thus becoming the most powerful elected woman in America.

Hemant Bhargava - The government has appointed Hemant

Bhargava, Managing Director, Life Insurance Corporation of India,

as the Acting Chairman. The move comes after VK Sharma retired

from the top job at LIC on December 31.

Justice Thottathil Bhaskaran Nair Radhakrishnan - Justice

Thottathil Bhaskaran Nair Radhakrishnan was on January 1, 2018

sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court.

With this, the state of Telangana will have its first independent

high court. Prior to this, Justice Radhakrishnan had been serving

as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad

for both the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Amitabh Chaudhry - Axis Bank announced its

Managing Director and CEO Shikha

Sharma has retired from the post

and Amitabh Chaudhry will be the new

managing director and CEO of the bank with

effect from January 1, 2019.

Ravneet Singh Gill - YES Bank appointed Deutsche Bank’s Ravneet

Singh Gill as its MD and CEO, who will succeed Rana Kapoor. Gill

will join the private lender on or before March 1, 2019.

Vivek Joshi - The Centre has appointed Vivek Joshi, an 1989 batch

IAS officer from Haryana cadre, as the new Registrar General and

Census Commissioner of India.

Rajeev Chopra - Lt Gen Rajeev Chopra assumed the appointment

of Director General of NCC (DGNCC).

Nicolás Maduro - Nicolás Maduro was sworn

in for a second term as Venezuela's

President amid the economic and

humanitarian crisis. Maduro was re-elected

last year. The US, EU and 13 other countries

have stated that they would not recognise Maduro's Presidency.

Juan Guaido - Germany has said, it will recognize Venezuelan

Opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's interim President

unless an election is announced within eight days. The statement

comes after USA, France and Spain made the same

announcements earlier in the day. President Nicolas Maduro was


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sworn-in for a second term earlier this month, after polls marred

by an opposition boycott and allegations of vote-rigging.

Stefan Lofven - In Sweden, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has

been elected for a second term, ending a four-month political

vacuum.

Andry Rajoelina - Andry Rajoelina was sworn in as President of

Madagascar at capital city of Antananarivo.

Su Tseng-chang - Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen appointed Su

Tseng-chang as Prime Minister of the state.

Felix Tshisekedi - Congo's Constitutional Court has declared the

election of Felix Tshisekedi as the President and has rejected the

challenges to the vote by runner-up Martin Fayulu.

Pranav R Mehta - Chairman of National Solar Energy Federation,

Pranav R Mehta, has taken over as the president of Global Solar

Council (GSC). He has become the first Indian to head the

GSC. The Global Solar Council (GSC) has its headquarters in

Washington D.C., USA.

Dilip Sadarangani - Kerala based private sector lender Federal

Bank has appointed Dilip Sadarangani as the part-time chairman.

The appointment of Sadarangani has been cleared by the Reserve

Bank.

Pavan Vaish - Ride hailing platform Uber said it has appointed

Daksh e-services co-founder Pavan Vaish as the head of central

operations in India.

Kumar Rajesh Chandra - Civil Aviation Security head and senior

IPS officer Kumar Rajesh Chandra was appointed as the director

general of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). The SSB guards India's

borders with Nepal and Bhutan.

Sheila Dikshit - Former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was

appointed the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president days

after Ajay Maken resigned from the post citing ill health.

Manu Sawhney - The International Cricket

Council (ICC) announced that Manu

Sawhney has been appointed as

the organization's new Chief Executive Officer

(CEO).

Ronojoy Dutta - IndiGo owner InterGlobe Aviation has

appointed Ronojoy Dutta as the new Chief Executive Officer

(CEO) of the company with immediate effect for the next five

years.

Kamala Harris - Kamala Harris, a U.S. Senator from California of

African and Indian descent, officially launched her 2020

presidential campaign from her hometown of Oakland.

Ambassadors Appointed - Modi

government nominated

ambassadors to some key

countries –

Sanjeev Singla - New ambassador to Israel

Ruchira Kamboj - Next Ambassador to Bhutan

Jaideep Sarkar - New Ambassador to South Africa.

Sunjay Sudhir - New ambassador to Maldives

Pranay Verma - Next ambassador to Vietnam

Muktesh Pardeshi – New ambassador to New Zealand,

Manpreet Vohra – New ambassador to Mexico.

Sanjeev Kohli - New ambassador to Tanzania.

Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul - Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul have

been suspended pending an inquiry into their comments during a

TV show ‘Koffee with Karan’, ruling them out of the ODI series

against Australia starting.

Ashok Chawla - Ashok Chawla Former Finance Secretary Ashok

Chawla has resigned as chairman of The Energy Resources

Institute (TERI). Earlier, Mr. Chawla had stepped down as


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chairman of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) after the Central

Bureau of Investigation (CBI) received the Finance Ministry’s

approval to prosecute him in the Aircel-Maxis bribery scandal.

Alok Verma - The sacked CBI Chief, Alok

Verma announced his resignation from

service, refusing to take charge of the new

role as DG, Fire Services. The move comes a

day after a high-powered selection

committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi removed

him from the post of CBI Director, less than 48 hours after he was

reinstated to the position by the Supreme Court after he was sent

on forced leave by the government. Additional Director M.

Nageswara Rao has again been appointed interim CBI Director.

Jim Yong Kim - World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim has made the

surprise announcement that he is stepping down after six years in

the post. His resignation will take effect from 1 February. Mr. Kim

was not due to leave until 2022 after he was re-elected for a

second five-year term in 2017.

Sultan Muhammad V - Malaysia’s king has

abdicated in a historic first for the country.

Sultan Muhammad V’s decision marks the first

time a king has abdicated in the country since

it gained independence from Britain in 1957.

Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy.

Kevin Sweeney - Kevin Sweeney, the chief of staff of the US

Department of Defence, has announced his resignation from the

post. The move comes a month after the Defence Secretary Jim

Mattis resigned in protest after Trump announced the withdrawal

of U.S. troops from Syria.

Chanda Kochhar - The ICICI Bank has decided

to terminate the contract of former managing

director and CEO, Chanda Kochhar after the

B.N. Srikrishna panel found that she violated

the bank’s code of conduct. In June last year,

the bank formed the one-member panel to look into the

allegations of conflict of interest against Ms. Kochhar in relation

to a loan given to Videocon Industries.

Awards and Honours

Pranab Mukherjee, Nanaji

Deshmukh and Dr. Bhupen

Hazarika - On the eve of

the 70th Republic Day,

former President Pranab

Mukherjee, social activist Nanaji Deshmukh and musician Dr.

Bhupen Hazarika have been awarded the Bharat Ratna. Mr.

Deshmukh and Dr. Hazarika have been bestowed the nation's

highest civilian honour posthumously.

Bharat Ratna - Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award

instituted in 1954, is given in recognition of exceptional service,

performance of the highest order in any field of human

endeavour. Any person without distinction of race, occupation,

position or sex is eligible for this award. The number of annual

awards is restricted to a maximum of three in a particular years.

Gandhi Peace Prize - Gandhi Peace Prize for 2018 will be

conferred on Yohei Sasakawa who is Goodwill Ambassador of the

World Health Organization for eradication of Leprosy disease in

India and across the world. Ekal Abhiyan Trust has been chosen

for the award for the year 2017 while Akshaya Patra Foundation

and Sulabh International will share the award for 2016.

Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari bagged the award for 2015.

Gallantry Awards - The

President approved the

award of 411 gallantry and

distinguished service medals.

These include one Ashoka Chakra, four Kirti Chakra, 11 Shaurya

Chakra. The Kirti Chakras were awarded to Major Tushar Gauba

and posthumously to Sowar Vijay Kumar, Constable Rajendra

Kumar Nain and Constable Pradip Kumar Panda.

Ashoka Chakra - India’s highest peacetime gallantry medal, the

Ashoka Chakra, will be awarded posthumously to Lance Naik


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Nazir Ahmad Wani, who laid down his life during an anti-terror

operation at Batagund village in J&K’s Shopian in November last

year.

Param Vishisht Seva Medal - In a rare gesture, the Chief of the

Army Staff, General Bipin Rawat, has been awarded the Param

Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) for distinguished service on the eve

of the 70th Republic Day.

Jeevan Raksha Padak Series of Awards - The President of India

has approved the conferment of Jeevan Raksha Padak Series of

Awards – 2018 on 48 people, eight of them posthumously. The

Jeevan Raksha Padak series of awards are conferred for the

meritorious act of human nature in saving the life of a person.

They are given under three categories:

# Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak - Given to 8 people

# Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak - Given to 15 people

# Jeevan Raksha Padak - Given to 25 people

Philip Kotler Presidential Award - The Prime

Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with

the first-ever Philip Kotler Presidential Award

for his outstanding leadership for the nation.

The Award focuses on the triple bottom-line

of ‘People, Profit and Planet’. The award will be offered annually

to the leader of a Nation.

Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar - The

government has instituted an annual award titled Subhash

Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar. It will be announced

every year on 23rd January, the birth anniversary of Netaji

Subhash Chandra Bose. The Award carries a certificate and a cash

prize of 51 lakh rupees. This year, 8th Battalion of National

Disaster Response Force located at Ghaziabad has been selected

for the Award for its commendable work in disaster

management.

Saraswati Samman - Noted Gujarati poet Sitanshu

Yashashchandra has been awarded Saraswati Samman - 2017, for

his poetry collection in Gujarati named “Vakhar”. This is the 27th

edition of the prestigious award instituted by K.K.Birla foundation

given every year to an outstanding work of an Indian citizen

published during the last 10 years in any of the languages

mentioned in Schedule 8 of the constitution.

Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award - Three Indian expats from the

UAE are amongst those who won the prestigious Pravasi

Bharatiya Samman Award the highest honour conferred on Indian

diaspora. President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the award on

Girish Pant, Surender Singh Kandhari and Dr Zulekha Daud and

other awardees at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention

in Varanasi.

Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar - The President of India,

Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal

Puraskar 2019. The awards were presented to 26 shortlisted

awardees including one joint award for National Child Award

(now renamed as Bal Shakti Puraskar). Under National Child

Welfare Awards category (now renamed as Bal Kalyan Puraskar),

2 individuals and 3 institutions were awarded.

Sheikh Saud International Prize - Eminent scientist and recipient

of Bharat Ratna C N R Rao has been chosen for the first Sheikh

Saud International Prize for Materials Research by the Centre for

Advanced Materials of the United Arab Emirates.

Golden Globe Awards - The 76th

Annual Golden Globe Awards were

announced in California, USA.

While Green Book finished with

three awards, Bohemian Rhapsody- the Queen biopic and Alfonso

Cuaron’s Roma won two each.

Best Motion Picture Drama - Bohemian Rhapsody

Best Motion Picture Musical/Comedy - Green Book

Best Director in Motion Picture-Drama - Alfonso Cuaron (Roma)

Best Actress in Motion Picture-Drama - Glen Close (The Wife)


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Best Actor in Motion Picture-Drama - Rami Malek (Bohemian

Rhapsody)

Exhibitor of the Year Award - The Defence Research and

Development Organisation (DRDO) pavilion received ‘Exhibitor of

the Year Award’ at 106th Indian Science Congress held at Lovely

Professional University (LPU), Jalandhar, Punjab.

Adi Godrej - Industrialist and Godrej Group

Chairman Adi Godrej was conferred the ICSIs

Lifetime Achievement Award for 'Translating

Excellence in Corporate Governance into

Reality'. The awards were instituted by

The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), which is

celebrating its golden jubilee.

Japan Prize – 2019 - The Japan Prize Foundation announced India

born professor Dr. Rattan Lal as the recipient of the 2019 Japan

Prize for his contributions in the field of “Biological Production,

Ecology”.

Sansad Ratna Award - Himachal Pradesh MP Anurag Thakur has

been bestowed with Sansad Ratna Award for his distinguished

performance as a parliamentarian under Jury Committee Special

Award category. Thakur became the first BJP MP to receive the

Jury Committee award.

Carnot Prize - Union Minister of Railways and Coal Piyush Goyal

was formally conferred with the fourth annual Carnot Prize by the

Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of

Pennsylvania School of Design in New Delhi. The 2018 Carnot

Prize has been conferred in recognition of India’s efforts towards

eliminating energy poverty with sustainable energy

solutions. Piyush Goyal has decided that the award money will be

donated to the International Solar Alliance to institute the

Diwakar Award.

Top Tableau in Republic Day - The Indian Council of Agricultural

Research (ICAR) tableau in the Republic Day Parade has won the

first prize for its Kisan Gandhi theme. The ICRA tableau with the

theme "Mishrit Kheti, Khushiyon Ki Kheti". Tripura bagged the

first prize for the state tableau while tableau from Jammu and

Kashmir was adjudged the second and Punjab won the third

prize. The theme of Tripura's tableau was 'Empowering Rural

Economy the Gandhian Way'.

Aparna Kumar - Aparna Kumar has become the first woman IPS

DIG and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) officer to successfully

complete the South Pole expedition. She has already scaled the

top six mountain peaks of the six continents of the globe.

Gita Mehta - New York-based author and Odisha Chief Minister

Naveen Patnaik’s sister Gita Mehta declined to accept the Padmi

Shri, stating that it could be “misconstrued” in the year of Lok

Sabha polls. On 25 January, the Centre had announced Padma

Shri for Mehta for distinguished contribution to literature and

education.

Jean-Luc Van Den Heede - French sailor Jean-Luc Van Den

Heede has won the round-the-world yacht race after 212

days alone at sea without modern instruments. The 73-year-

old, who completed his sixth circumnavigation of the globe,

became the oldest to complete the 30,000-mile Golden Globe

race.

Special Guest at Republic Day in

Mumbai - In an unprecedented

gesture, India accorded the status

of “special guests” to Mauritius

Prime Minister P.K. Jugnauth and

his wife, Kobita, at the Republic Day celebrations in Mumbai.

Usually India hosted a foreign head of state or government or

royalty as chief guest at the Republic Day function in New Delhi.

Franco German Human Rights Award - A detained Chinese rights

lawyer Yu Wensheng has won a Franco-German human rights

award for his 'exceptional contribution' to the protection and

promotion of human rights. Yu Wensheng, who is in pretrial

detention in China for more than a year.


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Arunima Sinha - Arunima Sinha, the Indian mountaineer who

became the world’s first woman amputee to climb Mount Everest

in 2013, has now become the first woman amputee to climb

Mount Vinson, highest peak of Antarctica. Arunima Sinha planned

to scale six peaks in six continents. A Padmashri awardee, Sinha

had earlier scaled five peaks including Mt Everest, Mt Kilimanjaro,

Mt Ebrus, Mt Kosciuszko and Mt Aconcagua.

Satyarup Siddhanta - Indian

mountaineer Satyarup

Siddhanta became the world’s

youngest mountaineer to climb

the seven highest peaks and

volcanic summits across all continents after conquering

Antartica's highest point Mount Sidley. Satyarup achieved the

unique feat at the age of 35 years and 262 days, setting a new

world record by beating Australia's Daniel Bull who did it at the

age of 36 years and 157 days.

Birendra Prasad Baishya - President of the Indian Weightlifting

Federation (IWF), Birendra Prasad Baishya, has been named Chef

de Mission for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. It is for the first time

that the Weightlifting has been accorded with the honor of Chef

de Mission for the Olympics. Baishya is also one of the Indian

Olympic Association Vice Presidents.

Movie on Modi - Prime Minister Narendra

Modi is set to get a biopic. Produced by

Suresh Oberoi and Sandip Singh, the film

titled PM Narendra Modi will star

Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi. Directed by

Omung Kumar, the film will go on floors in the coming days.

Vijay Mallya - Vijay Mallya became the first person to be declared

a ‘fugitive economic offender’ under the Fugitive Economic

Offenders’ Act, 2018 by a special Prevention of Money

Laundering Act (PMLA) Court in Mumbai.

Fugitive Economic Offender - According to the new law, a fugitive

economic offender is a person against whom an arrest warrant

has been issued for his or her involvement in economic

offenses involving at least Rs. 100 crore or more and has left India

to avoid prosecution.

Person on Visit

Cyril Ramaphosa - President of South Africa

Cyril Ramaphosa is arriving in New Delhi on a

two-day visit to India. He will be the Chief

Guest at the Republic Day Parade. Mr.

Ramaphosa is the second President of South

Africa after President Nelson Mandela to be the Chief Guest at

the Republic Day parade.

Pravind Kumar Jugnauth - Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind

Kumar Jugnauth has reached New Delhi on a week-long visit to

India. He will leave for Varanasi to take part in the Pravasi

Bhartiya Diwas.

Sushma Swaraj Visited Uzbekistan - External Affairs Minister

Sushma Swaraj embarked on a two-day visit to Uzbekistan. Mrs.

Swaraj will be in Samarkand for the First India-Central Asia

Dialogue which she will co-chair with Uzbekistan’s Foreign

Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov. The Foreign Minister of Afghanistan

will participate in the Dialogue as a special invitee for the session

dedicated to connectivity issues in the region.

Erna Solberg - Prime Minister of Norway, Erna Solberg

inaugurated a new green compound at the Royal Norwegian

Embassy in New Delhi. Solberg is on an official visit to India. This

green embassy can serve as an inspiration for the shared efforts

to achieve the green transition and the Sustainable Development

Goals. The two countries also signed a MoU for holding an India-

Norway Ocean Dialogue.

Taro Kono - External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj held a

strategic dialogue with her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono. Both

foreign minister attended 10th India-Japan foreign minister-level

Strategic Dialogue. Swaraj also congratulated Kono for Japan's

hosting of the G-20 Summit in Osaka in June 2019.


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Person Died

George Fernandes - Former Defence

Minister George Fernandes passed away

following a prolonged illness. Fernandes

was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Fernandes held the portfolio of the

Union Defence Minister from 2001 to

2004 under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government.

The Bihar government declared a two-day State mourning.

Shivakumara Swamiji - Prominent Lingayat seer of Tumakuru-

based Siddaganga Math, 111-year old Shivakumara Swamiji, who

was known as the 'Walking God', passed away after a prolonged

illness. He received Padma Bhushan and Karnataka Ratna awards.

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has announced a

government holiday on January 22 and state mourning for three

days.

Kader Khan - Veteran actor-writer Kader

Khan passed away in Canada. Born in Kabul,

Khan made his acting debut in 1973 with

Rajesh Khanna's "Daag" and has featured in

over 300 films. He wrote dialogues for over

250 movies.

Krishna Sobti - Eminent Hindi author and poet Krishna Sobti

passed away in Delhi. She is a recipient of prestigious awards

such as Sahitya Akademi award, Jnanpith and was also offered

Padma Bhushan, which she had declined.

Ramakant Achrekar - Well-known cricket coach Ramakant

Achrekar has died aged 87. Achrekar was born in 1932 and played

a key role in shaping up Tendulkar’s career over the years. In

1990, Achrekar was conferred with the Dronacharya Award for

Outstanding coaches in Sports and Games. He was honoured with

one of the country’s highest civilian award the Padma Shri in

2010.

Michel Legrand - Oscar-winning French composer Michel

Legrand has passed away aged 86. During a career spanning more

than half a century, Legrand won three Oscars. His first was in

1969 for the song ‘The Windmills of Your Mind’ from the film ‘The

Thomas Crown Affair’.

Raghbir Singh Bhola - Former India hockey player Raghbir Singh

Bhola, a two-time Olympic medallist, passed away. Bhola had

represented India in the 1956 Melbourne and 1960 Rome

Olympics, winning a gold and silver medal respectively for the

country.

Vishweshwar Dutt Saklani - Vishweshwar Dutt Saklani, known as

Uttarakhand’s ‘Vriksha Manav’ or ‘Tree Man’ died aged 96, and

his family estimates that he must have planted as many as 50

lakh trees in Tehri Garhwal district in his lifetime. He was

awarded the Indira Priyadarshini Award in 1986 by then prime

minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Meera Sanyal - Meera Sanyal, a former chief executive officer

and the chairperson of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in India

passed away in Mumbai. She twice contested the Mumbai South

Lok Sabha seat unsuccessfully.

Dibyendu Palit - Renowned Bengali writer and Sahitya Akademi

awardee Dibyendu Palit passes away due to age-related ailments.

Palit was conferred the Sahitya Akademi for his novel

‘Anubhab’ in 1998.

Atin Bandyopadhyay - Sahitya Akademi award winning Bengali

writer Atin Bandyopadhyay passed away of brain stroke.

Summit / Conference / Festival / Meeting

World Economic Forum - The

World Economic Forum (WEF)

annual meet will begin in Davos

from 21 January 2019. The theme

of the event would be 'Globalization 4.0: Shaping a Global

Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution'.

Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit - Prime Minister Narendra Modi

will inaugurate the ninth edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global

Summit 2019 on January 18, 2019 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The


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theme Summit is “Youth Connect 2019: Shaping A New India –

The Story of Billion Dreams”. Heads of five countries - Uzbekistan,

Rwanda, Denmark, Czech Republic and Malta would be attending

the summit. Summit will also celebrate Africa Day on Jan 19,

marking the trade ties between India and Africa.

Indian Science Congress - Prime

Minister Narendra Modi

inaugurated the 106th Indian

Science Congress at Lovely

Professional University in

Jalandhar. PM Modi gave away the slogan of New India as “Jai

Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan, Jai Anusandhan”. The theme of this

five-day mega event is ‘Future India: Science and Technology’.

India Will Host UNCCD - India will host the 14th session of the

Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention to

Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to address the issue of land

degradation and desertification which will have participation

from over 100 countries. It is likely to be held in October 2019.

Global Aviation Summit - The Union Minister of Civil Aviation,

Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the Global Aviation Summit 2019 in

Mumbai, Maharashtra. The theme of the Global Aviation Summit

2019 is 'Flying for all-especially the next 6 Billion'.

India-Central Asia Dialogue - India and five Central Asian

countries along with Afghanistan condemned terrorism in all its

forms. This was part of a joint statement issued at the end of the

first ever meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue. External

affairs minister Sushma Swaraj along with the foreign ministers of

Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan,

Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan took part in the meeting.

National Youth Parliament Festival - Minister of Youth Affairs

and Sports, Col Rajyavardhan Rathore launched the National

Youth Parliament Festival 2019 at a function in New Delhi. The

festival will continue till 24th of next month. The theme of the

festival is - Be the Voice of New India and Find solutions and

contributes to policy.

Raisina Dialogue - The fourth edition of the Raisina

Dialogue has begun in New Delhi. Norway Prime Minister Ms.

Erna Solberg delivered inaugural address in presence of PM

Narendra Modi. The theme of the Dialogue this year is “A World

Reorder: New Geometries; Fluid Partnerships; Uncertain

Outcomes”.

Partnership Summit 2019 - The 25th edition of Partnership

Summit 2019, a global platform for dialogue, debate, deliberation

and engagement among Indian and global leaders on economic

policy and growth trends in India was held in Mumbai. The two-

day event was inaugurated by the Vice President of India, M

Venkaiah Naidu.

Arab Economic and Social Development Summit - The Arab

Economic and Social Development Summit kicked off in

Lebanon's capital Beirut. The leaders of 20 countries taking part

in the summit aim to make a joint statement on a 29-item agenda

that ranges from discussions on an Arab free trade zone and the

economic effect of Syrian refugees on host countries.

BES EXPO 2019 - Information and Broadcasting Secretary Amit

Khare and TRAI Chairman RS Sharma inaugurated the 25th

International conference and exhibition on terrestrial and

satellite broadcasting, BES EXPO 2019 in New Delhi. The theme

for this exhibition is Next Gen Broadcasting in the IT World.

Making Elections Inclusive and

Accessible - Election Commission

of India will be hosting an

International Conference on

‘Making Elections Inclusive and Accessible’ on January 24, 2019,

in consonance with the 9th National Voters’ Day which will be

held on January 25, 2019. Chief Election Commissioner Sunil

Arora will be attending the conference along with heads from six

Election Management Bodies (EMBs) namely, Bangladesh,

Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Russia and Sri Lanka.

Global Investor Summit - Tamil Nadu Government organised the

2nd edition of Global Investor summit in Chennai. The state


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government would soon unveil e-vehicle policy to give a boost to

electric vehicles manufacturing in the state. Defence

Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was the chief guest.

Bharat Parv - Fourth edition of Bharat Parv, showcasing the spirit

of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat will begin at Red Fort in Delhi on

26 January. It will continue till 31st January. The five day event is

a part of Republic Day Celebrations and the objective of this

festival is to generate a patriotic fervour and promote rich

cultural diversity of the country.

World Book Fair - The 27th New Delhi World Book Fair has begun

at Pragati Maidan. Human Resources Development Minister

Prakash Javadekar inaugurated the 9-day annual event. Over 20

countries including Canada, China, Sri Lanka, and the US are

participating in the book fair. The theme of this year is 'Readers

with Special Needs'.

Sur Jahan Music Festival - The

three-day music festival Sur Jahan,

previously known as Sufi Sutra, will

be held in Goa from February 6 to 8.

Based on the theme “Music for all, music for peace”, the festival

is likely to draw musical talents from around the world and India.

Pakke Paga Hornbill Festival - Arunachal Pradesh Chief

Minister, Pema Khandu declared Pakke Paga Hornbill Festival

(PPHF) as the State Festival.

World Integrated Medicine Forum - Union Minister of State for

Ayush Shripad Naik inaugurated the 2nd World Integrated

Medicine Forum 2019 in Panaji, Goa. The forum is themed on

‘Regulation of Homeopathic Medical Products; Advancing Global

Collaboration’. Around 150 delegates from 21 countries are

participating in the event.

India Steel Exhibition and Conference 2019 - India Steel 2019

Exhibition and Conference had begun in Mumbai. The three-day

event organized by the Ministry of Steel helped chart out the

future growth path of the steel industry.

Agri Vision 2019 - The 2-day Agri Vision 2019 Conference on

envisioning Agro solutions for Smart and Sustainable

Agriculture was held in Hyderabad. It was inaugurated by Vice-

President M Venkaiah Naidu.

Jallikattu - A grand jallikattu

(bull-taming) event held in

Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu on

January 20, 2019 entered the

world record for the maximum

number of bulls released into the sporting arena which was over

1,300 and almost double than the previous record. The bull

taming sporting event, coordinated by Tamil Nadu Health

Minister C Vijayabaskar at Viralimalai saw the participation of

1,354 bulls and 424 tamers.

Shehri Samridhi Utsav - Hardeep S. Puri, Minister of State for

Housing and Urban Affairs informed that a series of events

named ‘Shehri Samridhi Utsav’ will begin from 1 February to 15

February. The event will focus on urban livelihoods and extending

the outreach of National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM)

to the poorest of the poor and the most vulnerable.

World Orange Festival - The second World Orange Festival began

in Nagpur. The festival, while offering its famed oranges to the

world, will also showcase and brand the exquisite fruit in order to

boost its export.

Trump Has Cancelled WEF Meeting - President Donald Trump has

cancelled the US delegation's trip to the annual meeting of the

World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos, Switzerland, due to the

partial government shutdown. The announcement comes as the

shutdown entered its 27th day on 18 January.

Meeting of Tourism Ministers of ASEAN and India - The Union

Minister for Tourism, Shri. K. J. Alphons attended the Seventh

Meeting of Tourism Ministers of ASEAN and India held in Ha Long

City, Viet Nam. As a follow up to the Summit, the Ministers

launched the ASEAN-India Tourism Cooperation Year 2019.


10

Rubber Expo - Union Minister for Commerce and Industries,

Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the 10th edition of the India Rubber

Expo - 2019 in Mumbai. The India Rubber Expo is Asia's largest

rubber expo. The event offers a unique opportunity for Indian

companies to meet and collaborate with overseas companies.

Micro Irrigation Conference - Ministry of Water resources and

River development has organized 9th International Micro

irrigation conference in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. The

conference focused on the theme of “Micro Irrigation and

Modern Agriculture”.

Act / Ordinance / Judgment

President Approved Reservation Bill

- President Ram Nath Kovind gave his

assent to the Constitution (124th

Amendment) Bill, 2019 that provides

10% reservation for ‘economically

backward’ upper castes in government jobs for those belonging

to the upper castes and earning less than Rs 8 lakh per year and

possess less than 5 acres of land. According to a gazette

notification, the legislation will be known as the Constitution (103

Amendment) Act, 2019.

103rd Constitutional Amendment

Act 2019 - The Act amends

Articles 15 and 16 of the

Constitution — ensuring

Fundamental Rights to a citizen — by adding a clause that allows

the State to make “special provision for the advancement of any

economically weaker sections of citizens”. These provisions

would relate to “their admission to educational institutions,

including private educational institutions, whether aided or

unaided by the State, other than the minority educational

institutions”. The Act makes it clear that reservation would be “in

addition to the existing reservations and subject to a maximum of

10% of the total seats in each category”. Unlike other

Constitutional Bills that require ratification from half of the State

Assemblies, the Law Minister had clarified that this Act would not

require such a process.

Constitution Validity of Reservation - A proposed law may run

into rough weather if challenged in the Supreme Court. A nine-

judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in the Indira

Sawhney case of 1992 specifically held that a backward class

cannot be determined only and exclusively with reference to

economic criterion. The Indira Sawhney judgment declared 50%

quota as the maximum limit unless extraordinary situations

arises.

Gujarat: First State To Implement EWS Reservation - Gujarat

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani announced that Gujarat has become

first state to implement 10 per cent quota for economically

weaker sections in general category. It will be implemented in all

ongoing recruitment process too wherein there is the only

advertisement published.

Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 - Lok Sabha passed the

Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019, which seeks to amend the

Citizenship Act, 1955 to make illegal migrants eligible for

citizenship. The Bill seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-

Muslims from neighbouring countries. The bill will provide Indian

citizenship to the Hindus, Christians, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis and

Buddhists from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh after six

years of residing India rather than ongoing 12 years even when

they do not have any document. Mizoram and Meghalaya

governments have opposed the bill by adopting a resolution

against it in their respective Cabinet meetings.

Protest Against Citizenship Bill - The Chief Ministers of

Meghalaya, Conrad K Sangma and Mizoram, Zoramthanga said

that 11 parties resolved to jointly oppose the Citizenship

Amendment bill. The parties include Asom Gana Parishad,

National Peoples Party, Mizo National Front and others. Nagaland

became the third NDA-ruled state in the region to reject the

Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.


11

Amendment in Aadhar Act - The

government introduced a bill in the

Lok Sabha that will allow

individuals to offer voluntarily

biometric ID Aadhaar as a means of

identity verification for obtaining services like opening a bank

account and getting a mobile phone connection. The bill also

gives a minor an option to opt out of the 12-digit identity scheme

on attaining the age of 18 years. The bill proposes a civil penalty

of up to Rs 1 crore on entities that violate the provisions of the

Aadhaar Act, with an additional fine of up to Rs 10 lakh per day in

case of continuous non-compliance.

Chhattisgarh Withdrew General Consent To CBI - After West

Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, Congress-led Chhattisgarh too has

withdrawn general consent accorded to the CBI to probe cases in

the state. With this, the Central Bureau of Investigation would

now require permission of the state government to conduct raids

and probe in Chhattisgarh. West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh

governments had late last year withdrawn the general consent

accorded to the CBI to conduct probe and raids in the states.

Ordinance On Instant

Triple Talaq - The Union

Cabinet approved a

proposal to re-promulgate

the ordinance making the

practice of instant triple talaq a criminal offence. The earlier

ordinance was to expire on January 22. The Bill to convert the

first ordinance into a law is pending in Rajya Sabha.

Char Dham Project - The Supreme Court allowed the Centre to go

ahead with its ambitious ‘Char Dham’ project to provide all-

weather connectivity of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and

Badrinath and refused to stay ongoing construction work but said

any new project under the scheme must be undertaken after

getting the environment impact assessment (EIA) clearance.

13 Central Universities Within 36 Months - The Union Cabinet

granted approval to an expenditure of over Rs 3,600 crore for

setting up of 13 new central universities within the next 36

months. The new Central universities were established under the

Central Universities Act, 2009 in Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana,

Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka,

Kerala, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. While one

university each is to be set up in 11 of these states, Jammu and

Kashmir will get two new central varsities.

Right to Education Act Amended - Parliament had passed the bill

seeking to further amend the Right to Education Act, 2009 to

abolish the no-detention policy in schools. No student can be

detained up to class 8th under current provisions of the Act. As

per the amendment, it would be left to the States to decide

whether to continue the no-detention policy.

DNA Technology Regulation Bill - 2019 - The Lok Sabha passed

the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2019

by voice vote. The bill seeks to provide regulation for the use and

application of DNA technology for the purpose of establishing the

identity of certain category of persons including the victims,

offenders, suspects, under trials, missing persons and others.

Allahabad is Now Prayagraj

- Days before Kumbh Mela,

the Union Home Ministry

has approved the Uttar

Pradesh government’s

proposal to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj. No Objection

Certificate (NOC) from the MHA will now ensure that names of

other institutes in the district, including railway station, High

Court and university, are also changed.

Cabinet Approved Three AIIMS - The Union Cabinet approved a

proposal for establishing three new AIIMS -- two in Jammu and

Kashmir and one in Gujarat. The AIIMS at Vijaynagar in Samba,

Jammu, will be set up at a cost of Rs 1,661 crore, the one at

Awantipora in Pulwama, Kashmir, at a cost of Rs 1,828 crore and

the AIIMS at Rajkot, Gujarat, will be set up at a cost of Rs 1,195

crore.


12

Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal - Cabinet has

approved the creation of National Bench of the Goods and

Services Tax Appellate Tribunal, GSTAT. The bench will be

situated at New Delhi.

Women Will Be Inducted in

Military Police - The

government has decided to

induct women for the first time

in Personnel Below Officer Rank,

PBOR, role in Corps of Military Police. Defence Minister Nirmala

Sitharaman said, the women will be inducted in graded manner

to eventually comprise 20 per cent of total Corps of Military

Police.

Fixed Dose Combination (FDC) Drugs Banned - The Union health

ministry has banned 80 more fixed-dose combination (FDC)

drugs. With this, the total number of banned FDCs now stand at

405. Another 325 drugs were banned in September last year. A

fixed-dose combination contains two or more drugs combined in

a fixed ratio of doses, available as a single dose.

Cabinet Approved MoU on Mines Safety - Union Cabinet chaired

by Prime Minister Narendra Modi MoU between India and

Australia on the safety in Mines, Testing and Research Station.

Cabinet Approved Visa Arrangements - Union Cabinet approved

the Agreement on the facilitation of visa arrangements signed

between India and Maldives signed in December 2018. The

Agreement provides for 90-day visa free travel for tourism,

medical and limited business purpose and also provides for easy

conversion of such visa free entry to medical visa.

Reservation For EWS in Academic Session 2019 - The HRD

ministry announced that it will implement 10 per cent reservation

for economically weaker section of the general category from the

2019 academic session and increase around 25 per cent seats in

higher educational institutions and universities across the

country.

Single Use Plastic Ban in Puducherry - Puducherry Chief Minister

V Narayanasamy said that the cabinet has decided to ban

production, sale and use of single-use plastic products in the

Union Territory from March 1. Tamil Nadu government had

already announced that it would ban the use of plastic items

including non-biodegradable carry bags from January 1, 2019 to

"gift a plastic-free state to future generations".

One Family One Job - Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar

Chamling launched the ‘One Family One Job’ scheme which

entitles one government job for every family in the state.

Chamling said that Sikkim has become the first state in the

country to carry out such an exclusive programme.

Norms For Food Packaging - Food Safety and Standards Authority

of India (FSSAI) has said that food businesses would need to

comply with new packaging regulations that bar use of recycled

plastics and newspapers to wrap food articles by July 1, 2019.

Bilateral Swap Arrangement - The Union Cabinet has approved

the proposal for entering into an Agreement for Bilateral Swap

Arrangement (BSA) between India and Japan and authorizing the

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to sign the Agreement for Bilateral

Swap Arrangement between the RBI and the Bank of Japan for a

maximum amount of USD 75 billion.

Reservation For Local People -

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister

Kamal Nath amended the

policy for Micro, Small and

Medium Enterprises (MSME) to

make it compulsory to provide 70 per cent jobs to permanent

residents of the state. Accordingly, concessions such as cheap

land and other subsidies will be given to MSMEs only if they

provide 70 per cent of the total jobs to local persons.

Sterlite Copper Smelter Plant - The Supreme Court upheld the

National Green Tribunal (NGT) order allowing the reopening of

the Sterlite Copper smelter plant in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu. In May

2018, the state government had ordered that the smelter be shut


13

after protests over the plant’s alleged pollution led to widespread

violence. After the NGT allowed the plant to reopen in December,

the AIADMK government moved a petition in the Supreme Court.

Manipur People’s Protection Bill - Manipur Chief Minister N.

Biren Singh has assured the people of Manipur that his

government will protect the indigenous people of the state at any

cost, citing the Manipur People’s Protection Bill, 2018. The

Manipur People’s Protection Bill, 2018 which was passed during

the 5th session of the Manipur Legislative Assembly on July 23,

2018, seeks to regulate entry and exit of non-Manipuris from

outside the state.

Single Use Plastic In Airports - The Airports Authority of India

(AAI) imposed a ban on single-use plastic items in its 129 airports

across the country. These steps include banning of single-use

plastic items like straws, plastic cutlery, plastic plates etc.

All India Radio News - Union Minister of

State (IC) for Information &

Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports,

Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore

(Retd) launched the sharing of All India

Radio News with private FM broadcasters. This will be done free

of cost, on trial basis initially till 31st May, 2019.

Constitution Bench For Ram Janmabhoomi Dispute -

The Supreme Court set up a five-judge Constitution Bench to hear

the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land title dispute case. It will

hear the matter on January 10. The Bench, headed by Chief

Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, comprises Justices S.A. Bobde, N.V.

Ramana, U.U. Lalit and D.Y. Chandrachud.

Leprosy No Ground For Divorce - The Lok Sabha passed the

Personal Laws (Amendment Bill), 2018, which seeks to remove

leprosy as a ground for divorce as it is now a curable disease as

against the earlier notion of it being incurable. The Bill seeks to

amend five personal laws- the Hindu Marriage Act 1955,

Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939, Divorce Act (for

Christians) 1869, Special Marriage Act 1954 and the Hindu

Adoptions and Maintenance Act 1956.

CNG From Agriculture Waste - Government owned farm

cooperative Nafed will set up 100 facilities, which will use

agriculture waste such as sugarcane press-mud, the residue of

the filtration of sugarcane juice, and stubble to produce bio-CNG.

The first such plant will come up at Muzaffarnagar in Uttar

Pradesh, which is in the sugarcane belt. Indian Oil Corporation

has agreed to procure the bio-CNG from these plants at Rs 48 per

kg.

6 Monuments Declared As

National Importance - Ministry

of Culture announced

that Archaeological Survey of

India (ASI) declared 6

monuments as ‘protected and of national importance’ under

the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains

Act, 1958, in 2018. These sites are -

Old High Court Building in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

Group of Temples in Ranipur Jharail in Bolangir district of Odisha.

Agra- Haveli of Agha Khan

Hathi Khana

Neemrana Baori in Alwar district of Rajasthan

Vishnu Temple in Kotali, Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand.

Miners Trapped in Meghalaya - National Green Tribunal imposed

a fine of whopping Rs 100 crore on the Meghalaya government

for failing to curb illegal coal mining in the state. At least 15

miners are trapped in the 370 foot-deep illegal coal mine in

Lumthari village of East Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya since

December 13 and all efforts to pump the water out of flooded

mine have been in vain. Supreme Court also had expressed strong

dissatisfaction over the rescue efforts to trace the miners.


14

Event in News

70th Republic Day - India celebrates

70th Republic Day honouring the

date on which the Constitution of

India came into effect on 26 January

1950 replacing the Government of India Act (1935).

# Life of Gandhi - The theme of the 70th Republic Day parade is

'life of Gandhi' which is a tribute to the father of the nation

Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary. Highlights of

Republic Day -

# Highest Number Of Women Officers - The 70th Republic Day

parade will have the highest number of women officers

participating in the celebrations with Lt. Bhavana Kasturi leading

a contingent of 144 male personnel. This is the first time in the

history of Indian Army that a woman will lead the Army services

corps.

# All Women Contingent - An all-women contingent of Assam

Rifles, India's oldest paramilitary force, will be participating for

the first time.

# New Weapons - The weapons which will be showcased for the

first time in a Republic day parade are M777 and K-9 Vajra ultra

light howitzers along with the Medium-Range Surface-to-Air

Missile (MRSAM) missile of the DRDO.

# Bio Fuel Aircraft - For the first time in the Republic Day parade,

An-32 aircraft will be flying using a mix of traditional and biofuel.

# INA Soldiers Participated - Four former Indian National Army

(INA) soldiers will participate for the first time in the parade. INA

was an armed force formed by Indian nationalist Rash Behari

Bose in 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II

# Sankhnaad - Sankhnaad', a martial tune created for the Indian

armed forces, will be played for the first time on the 70th

Republic Day parade. Since Independence, the Indian defence

forces have been playing 'martial tune' created by the Britishers.

`Sankhnaad' is based on Indian classical music.

Beating the Retreat - The four-day long celebrations of the 70th

Republic Day concluded on January 29, 2019 with 'Beating the

Retreat' ceremony, which was held at the historic Vijay Chowk in

New Delhi. The Beating Retreat' marks a centuries-old military

tradition, when the troops ceased fighting, sheathed their arms

and withdrew from the battlefield and returned to the camps at

sunset at the sounding of the Retreat.

Ganga Expressway - Uttar Pradesh State Cabinet approved the

construction of a four-lane Ganga Expressway connecting

Prayagraj to Meerut. Once completed, it would be longest

expressway in the world. The decision was taken during UP State

Cabinet meeting at Prayagraj during the ongoing Kumbh Mela.

For the first time in the history of Kumbh, UP State Cabinet

meeting was held at Prayagraj. The four-lane expressway will be

600 kilometres long. It would cost around Rs 36,000 crore.

Vande Bharat Express - Acknowledging its made-in-India status,

the Indian Railways has named the indigenously manufactured

Train 18 as Vande Bharat Express. The train is set to run between

Delhi and Varanasi at a maximum speed of 160kmph. The 16-

coach train, built in 18 months at a cost of Rs 97 crore by the

Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, is regarded as a successor to the

30-year-old Shatabdi Express. It’s also the first locomotive-less

train in the country.

Cloning of Monkeys -

Scientists in China have cloned

five monkeys for human

disease research. The research

team edited genes of monkeys

to induce several human diseases like Alzheimer's claiming that it

would help in medical research. This experiment may likely to

raise fresh ethical concerns about gene-editing. As per reports,

this is the first time multiple clones had been made from a gene-

edited monkey for biomedical research.

National Salt Satyagraha Memorial - Prime Minister Narendra

Modi dedicated the National Salt Satyagraha Memorial at Dandi

in Navsari district, Gujarat to the nation, on the occasion of


15

Mahatma Gandhi’s 71st death anniversary. The Prime Minister

also unveiled at the memorial site, the statues of Mahatma

Gandhi and 80 Satyagrahis who had marched with him during the

historic Dandi Salt March in 1930 to make salt from sea water

against the British law.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

Museum - Prime Minister

Narendra Modi inaugurated the

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

museum at the iconic Red Fort in

Delhi to mark the leader’s 122nd birth anniversary. The museum

showcases various artefacts related to Subhash Chandra Bose and

Indian National Army.

National Museum of Indian Cinema - Prime Minister Narendra

Modi will inaugurate the National Museum of Indian Cinema

(NMIC) in Mumbai. The development of the Museum was guided

by the Museum Advisory Committee headed by Shyam Benegal.

An innovation Committee headed by Prasoon Joshi provided an

upgrade to the NMIC.

National Museum Institute - Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister

for Human Resource Development will inaugurate the new

Campus of the National Museum Institute at NOIDA. Since its

inception, the Institute has been one of the leading centers in the

country for training and research in the field of art and cultural

heritage.

Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor - Defence Minister

Nirmala Seetharaman will formally launch the Tamil Nadu

Defence Industrial Corridor. This will be the country's second

defence industrial corridor, the first one has already been

launched in Aligarh, UP in last August. The Tamil Nadu corridor is

expected to have six nodes at Trichy, Salem, Hosur, Kovai,

Madurai as well as Chennai.

First Private Howitzer Gun Factory - Prime Minister Narendra

Modi inaugurated the Armoured Systems Complex of Larsen and

Toubro in Gujarat, the first private facility in the country where

the K9 Vajra self-propelled Howitzer guns will be manufactured.

L&T had in 2017 won the Rs 4,500-crore contract from the

Ministry of Defence to supply 100 units of K9 Vajra-T 155 mm/52

calibre tracked self-propelled gun systems to the Indian Army

under the Centre’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.

Centralised Processing Centre 2.0 Project - The government said

IT major Infosys will develop the next-generation income tax filing

system for Rs 4,241.97 crore which will cut down the processing

time for returns to one day from 63 days and expedite refunds.

The Cabinet gave its approval for Integrated E-filing and

Centralised Processing Centre 2.0 Project of the Income Tax

Department. Project is expected to be completed in 18 months.

One nation One Grid - Kargil and

Leh is now connected to national

power grid. In a major push to the

‘One nation One Grid’ project’

Ladakh has been connected to the

National Grid for the first time since 1947. Prime

Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation for the 220 kV Leh-

Kargil-Alusteng Single Circuit transmission line in August 2014.

Defence Innovation Hub - Nasik in Maharashtra will be the site of

the country’s second defence innovation hub after Coimbatore in

Tamil Nadu. Defence innovation hub at Nashik will help local

industries and entrepreneurs and further the Centre’s Make in

India push in the country’s defence sector.

Domestic Council for Gems & Jewellery - The Commerce Ministry

announced the formation of a Domestic Council for Gems &

Jewellery to bring the industry’s domestic business stakeholders

under one umbrella so that they could evolve a unified approach

to promote growth in the sector. The basic objective of the

government is to make this unorganised sector organised and

structured.

System For Predicting Thunderstorms And Lightening Strikes -

Government will set up a complete system for predicting

thunderstorms and lightening strikes in the country in next three


16

months. Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) has

already installed 48 lightening sensors across the country. This

tool is developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology

(IITM), Pune and India Meteorological Department (IMD), New

Delhi. IITM has also developed a mobile app called ‘Damini’ for

giving updated information about lightening activity over a

certain area.

Alliance Between SP and BSP -

In Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi

Party and Bahujan Samaj Party

have entered a alliance for Lok

Sabah Poll 2019. SP and BSP will

fight coming lok Sabha election jointly on seat sharing of 38 each

in Uttar Pradesh. Two seats are left for other parties. Alliance will

not field it's candidate on Amethi and Raebareli seats.

Prime Minister Released Rs 350 Coin -

Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a

commemorative coin of Rs. 350 in the

national capital to mark the birth

anniversary celebrations of Guru Gobind

Singh jee. Rs 350 commemorative Coin with the standard weight

of 35 gram will bears the rupee symbol and denominational value

‘350’ in international numerals below the Lion Capital.

Time Capsule - A laptop, a smartphone, a drone and VR glasses

were among 100 items buried as part of a Time Capsule during

the ongoing 106th Indian Science Congress by three Nobel

Laureates — Avram Hershko, F Duncan M Haldane and Thomas

Christian Sudhof. The Capsule, which will remain buried for 100

years, was developed with an objective to “capture” the current

technological essence for future generations. The capsule was

buried on the campus of Lovely Professional University, in

Jalandhar at a depth of 10 ft. According to university officials, it

will be unearthed and opened on January 3, 2119.

25 States Achieved 100% Electrification - The country achieved

yet another milestone in the power sector with the completion

of electrification in 100% households in 25 states at year end.

Now, only about 10.48 lakh households are left to be electrified

in 4 states - Assam, Rajasthan, Meghalaya and Chhattisgarh. The

central government launched 'Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har

Ghar Yojana' (Saubhagya) in September 2017 to achieve the goal

of universal household electrification in the country by 31 March,

2019.

Samwad with Students - Indian Space Research Organisation

ushered in new year by launching a student outreach programme

called ‘Samwad with Students’ at its facility in Bengaluru. ISRO

will organise guided tours of students thrice in a year, especially

during summer and Christmas holidays. Students will be taken to

ISRO facilities in Thiruvananthapuram and Bengaluru and the

launch centre at Sriharikota. They will also be allowed to make

small satellites.

World’s Largest Cricket Stadium - The construction of the world’s

largest cricket stadium, which will have a seating capacity of over

1 lakh, at Motera in Ahmedabad is underway. Stadium will be

built across 63 acres of land and is being designed by renowned

architect firm M/s. Populous. The cost of the project is estimated

to be Rs 700 crore and the construction tender has been given to

L&T.

Tulip Garden - Uttarakhand's first tulip garden will come up

in Pithoragarh district. The state government has obtained the

Centre's nod for development of the garden. To be developed by

the ONGC, under its corporate social responsibility programme,

the proposed tulip garden will be the country's second after the

one located in Srinagar (J&K).

Reliance E-Commerce - Reliance Industries Ltd Chairman and

managing director Mukesh Ambani announced that group

companies Reliance Retail and Reliance Jio Infocomm would

jointly launch a new e-commerce platform in the country. The

announcement was made at the inauguration of the three-day

Vibrant Gujarat summit.

Atal Setu - Union Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated four-lane

5.1-kilometer long “Atal Setu”, the third Cable Bridge across river


17

Mandovi in Panaji, Goa. Infrastructure works worth Rs 15000

crore have been sanctioned for the state of Goa.

First Geographical Indication Store -

The Civil Aviation ministry launched

the country’s first Geographical

Indication (GI) store at Dabolim

International Airport in Goa. Union Minister for Civil Aviation

Suresh Prabhu stated that the GI stores will promote local

products made by the artisans and handicrafts at the airport.

Rajiv Saxena and Deepak Talwar - Dubai-based businessman

Rajiv Saxena, the co-accused in 3,600-crore rupee Agusta

Westland chopper deal case and corporate lobbyist Deepak

Talwar were extradited to India from United Arab Emirates.

Penalty on Indian Railway - The Central Pollution Control Board

has slapped a fine of Rs 1 crore each on the North Delhi Municipal

Corporation and the Northern Railways over non-compliance of

norms. The board sent the notice to the Northern Railways over

its construction and demolition activities.

Central Assistance From NDRF - The High Level Committee,

chaired by the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, approved the

additional Central assistance from National Disaster Response

Fund (NDRF) of Rs 7214.03 crore to 6 States and one Union

Territory. The funds allocated to these states are - Rs 317.44

crore to Himachal Pradesh, Rs 191.73 crore to Uttar Pradesh, Rs.

900.40 crore to Andhra Pradesh, Rs. 127.60 crore to Gujarat, Rs.

949.49 crore to Karnataka, Rs. 4,714.28 crore to Maharashtra and

Rs. 13.09 crore to UT of Puducherry.

Eco Smart Stations - National Green Tribunal has directed the

Railways to identify and develop at least 36 stations as "eco-

smart stations" within two weeks. ‘Polluter Pays' principle may be

invoked by regulatory authorities, including the Railways, for

compliance of Solid Waste and Plastic Waste Management Rules,

2016.

Tiger Protection Force - Telangana government has decided to

form a 'State Tiger Protection Force' to save the Big Cat

population in the State. The State and Central government will

share the cost of the force on 40:60 basis. Fund amount of 2.25

Cr was also sanctioned to protect the tigers and to prevent forest

fire accidents.

Norms Relaxed For Under Trial Prisoners - Home Minister

Rajnath Singh has said that the Centre has issued an advisory to

release under trial prisoners who have served half of their

maximum punishment provided under the law. There are about

four lakh prisoners in jails and out of them about half are under

trials.

Reservation in Andhra Pradesh - Andhra Pradesh cabinet has

decided to cater 5% reservation each for Kapu community and

the economically backward classes (EBCs) among the forward

castes.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust - The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust

(JNPT), India’s premier container port got listed amongst the top

30 container ports globally, as per the latest Lloyds Report. JNPT

notched up five spots, to be 28th on the list, compared to its

previous ranking.

Bio-Fuel For Military Aircraft -

In a significant move, the use of

indigenously produced bio-fuel

for military aircraft has been

cleared after months of exhaustive ground and flight trials, The

Indian Air Force is expected to use bio fuel for its transport fleet

and helicopters following the clearance given by the Centre for

Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC).

National Women’s Party - The National Women’s Party (NWP),

which has been formed with the motto of women empowerment,

was launched in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The party has been

founded by Dr Swetha Shetty, a medical practitioner-cum -

activist from Hyderabad, who would also serve as its President.

Announcing its formation, Shetty said that apart from ensuring

empowerment of women, issues like getting 50 per cent

reservation for women in the parliament and state assemblies.


18

No Single Use Plastic in Election Campaign - Seeking to meet

India’s voluntary commitment to eliminate single-use plastic in

the country by 2022, the Centre urged states and Union

territories to desist from single-use plastic election material and

requested use of sustainable alternate materials during the

campaign.

Mahatma Gandhi Convention Centres - External affairs minister

Sushma Swaraj mentioned that India will build Mahatma Gandhi

Convention Centres across African nations on grant assistance

basis to mark 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

ROADEO Robot - The Chennai Traffic Police inducted a road

safety robot into service on January 14, 2019 for traffic

management. The robot is named as ‘ROADEO’. The robot will

help police in traffic management and assist pedestrians in

Chennai roads.

Vision 2040 - The Ministry of Civil Aviation unveiled the Vision

2040 document, which highlights the growth potential in

different sub-sectors of Indian aviation. As per the document the

total passenger traffic in India is expected to rise nearly six-fold

from 187 million in FY 2018 to around 1124 million in FY 2040.

This includes around 821 million domestic passengers and around

303 million international passengers.

Multi-Modal Logistics Park - PM Modi dedicated to the nation

the Multi-Modal Logistics Park at Jharsuguda, Odisha. The Park

promotes movement of goods for domestic as well as global

trade. It will establish Jharsuguda as a prime logistics hub and

boost ease of doing business in the state.

DD Science and India Science - The

Department of Science and Technology,

along with Doordarshan, launched two

science communication initiatives - DD

Science and India Science. While DD Science is a one hour slot on

Doordarshan National channel, India Science is an internet based

science channel.

Kumbh 2019 - The world's

largest religious and cultural

human congregation, ‘Kumbh

2019’ began at Prayagraj

(erstwhile Allahabad), Uttar

Pradesh on January 15, 2019 and will go on till March 4,

2019. This 7-week event began with the holy dip at Sangam, the

confluence of three rivers - Ganga, Yamuna and mythical

Saraswati.

Longest Cable Suspension Bridge - India’s longest 300-meter

single lane steel cable suspension bridge was inaugurated by

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu. The bridge

across the Siang river at Yingkiong in Upper Siang district has

been named Byorung Bridge.

Ads Transparency Centre by Twitter - With general election in

India less than five months away, Twitter will soon introduce its

Ads Transparency Centre in the country that will enable users to

see the identity of advertisers funding a political ad on the

platform as part of efforts to be more transparent.

Privatisation of Delhi Metro - The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation

(DMRC) will privatise operations of two of its oldest corridors -

Red (Dilshad Garden-Rithala) and Yellow Lines (Samaypur Badli-

HUDA City Centre) - and outsource arguably the most crucial job:

that of a train operator (driver).

Insurance For Air Passengers - Indian Railway Catering and

Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the Railways’ subsidiary, will offer

insurance of up to Rs 50 lakh for free for air passengers who book

their tickets through its portal. IRCTC has tied up with Bharti-

Axa for the offer. IRCTC’s service charge of Rs 59 is the cheapest

compared with travel websites. IRCTC has tied up with Galileo, a

computer reservation system, for powering the flight search

engine.

Seaplanes For Andaman Islands - According to the Ministry of

Civil Aviation, islands in Andaman will soon be connected

by seaplanes that can land on or take-off from the water. To


19

facilitate the same, the government has approved flight

operations on 13 water aerodrome routes under the Ude Desh ka

Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme.

Airboat Service From Varanasi

To Prayagraj - Minister for

Shipping and Water Resources

Ministry has said the government

will launch an airboat service from Varanasi to Prayagraj for the

Kumbh Mela from January 26. The airboat is a popular means of

waterway transportation propelled by an aircraft-like rotor and

powered by an aircraft or an automation engine.

Integrated Security System For Indian Railways - Indian Railways

is planning to seal railway stations 15-20 minutes before the

scheduled departure of trains, in order to complete the process

of security checks. Passengers will now have to arrive at least 20

minutes before the scheduled departure of their trains. Security

plan with high-end technology has already been implemented at

Allahabad, before the Kumbh Mela 2019 and at Hubli railway

station in Karnataka. These steps are a part of a security plan

under the Integrated Security System (ISS) which was approved in

2016 to strengthen surveillance mechanism at 202 railway

stations.

Asia Pulp & Paper Group - Indonesian pulp and paper giant Asia

Pulp & Paper Group (APP) is setting up India’s largest paper mill

with a capacity of a staggering 5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa)

at Ramayapatnam in coastal Andhra’s Prakasam district. This

could well be the world’s largest such facility at a single site.

Polavaram Project - The Polavaram project in Andhra Pradesh

entered the Guinness Book of World by pouring 32,100 cubic

metres of concrete in 24 hours. The project had recently bagged

the Central Board of Irrigation and Power (CBIP) award for speedy

execution of Polavaram multipurpose project and best

implementation of water resources project for better planning,

implementation and monitoring.

Cyclone Pabuk - A ‘yellow alert’ was issued in the Andaman and

Nicobar Islands as Cyclone Pabuk made its way towards the

archipelago. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has

predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall.

India Will Be Most Populous Country - Prediction of the United

Nations about India to be the world’s most populous country in

the 21st century may soon turn into a reality as the nation is likely

to produce as many as 69,944 babies on New Year’s Day.

Globally, around 18 per cent of total baby births are estimated to

take place in India only. As per the latest data compiled by the

United Nations, over 69,944 children will be born in India on New

Year’s Day followed by China and Nigeria with 44,940 babies and

25,685 babies respectively.

Banking and Economic

CSO Data on GDP - The government

revised the economic growth rate

upwards to 7.2% for 2017-18 from

the 6.7% estimated earlier. Earlier,

the CSO in its advance estimate had pegged the GDP growth rate

for 2018-19 at 7.2%. India’s contribution to global economy has

increased from 2.6 per cent in 2014 to 3.3 per cent in 2017 on the

back of high growth rate during the last four and a half years.

India is Second Largest Producer of Steel - According to World

Steel Association India has replaced Japan as the world's second-

largest steel producing country, only behind China, which is the

largest producer of crude steel accounting for more than 51 per

cent of production. India's crude steel production in 2018 was at

106.5 MT. Japan produced 104.3 MT. While China's crude steel

output was 928.3 MT.

Cabinet Approved Merger Of Three PSB - Union Cabinet

approved the proposal to merge Bank of Baroda (BoB), Vijaya

Bank and Dena Bank with an aim to make it India’s third largest

bank. The merger will become effective from April 1 2019. Of the

three banks, Dena Bank is the weakest bank with highest NPA

ratio of 11.04% and lowest business of merely Rs 1.72 lakh crore


20

as compared to 5.4% NPA and Rs 10.2 lakh crore worth business

of Bank of Baroda and 4.10% NPA and Rs 2 lakh crore worth

business of Vijaya Bank.

Employment Data of NSSO - The

assessment by the National

Sample Survey Office conducted

between July 2017-June 2018,

showed the unemployment rate

stood at 6.1 percent, the highest since 1972-73 (45-year high).

Joblessness stood at 7.8 percent in urban areas compared with

5.3 parts in the countryside. India’s economy has been expanding

by 7 percent plus annually but the uneven growth has meant

there are not enough jobs created for millions of young Indians.

Legal Tender of Indian Notes In Nepal - The Nepal Rastra Bank

(NRB) has written to the Reserve Bank of India, asking it to make

Indian bank bills Rs 200, Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 legal tender in

Nepal. The NRB has asked RBI to issue a notification under the

Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), which will make

Indian bank notes of denomination more than Rs 100 legal tender

in Nepal. The RBI has only allowed the circulation of Indian

currency notes of Rs 100 and less in Nepal.

Before Demonetisation - Before the demonetisation of Rs 500

and Rs 1,000 bank notes in November 2016, the RBI had issued a

FEMA notification allowing Nepali citizens to carry Rs 25,000

worth of such bank notes. After the demonetisation of Rs 500 and

Rs 1,000 Indian currency notes, circulation of new bank notes of

denominations Rs 200, Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 was started by the

Indian government. The RBI did not issue the notification for the

newly circulated bank notes, making their use illegal in Nepal.

Calamity Cess Approved - The ministerial panel under Bihar

Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi approved levy of 1 per cent

‘calamity cess’ by Kerala for a period of two years to fund

rehabilitation work in the state hit by floods. Later GST Council

headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also allowed the state

government of Kerala to impose 1 per cent disaster cess on intra-

state sales for a period of two years.

Paytm Payments Bank

Allowed To Open New

Accounts - The Reserve Bank

of India has allowed Paytm

Payments Bank to restart opening new accounts for its

consumers after almost six months of the ban. Paytm Payments

Bank stopped enrolling new customers in June 2018, following an

audit by the RBI, which made certain observations about the

process the company follows in acquiring new customers and its

adherence to know-your-customer (KYC) norms.

Liability in Prepaid Payment Instruments - Reserve Bank of India

has come up with a framework for customer protection by

limiting the liability in the case of an unauthorised transaction in

any Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs). PPI issuers have been

asked to compulsorily send the SMS and e-mail alert for any

payment transaction. PPI issuer shall have to reverse the

transaction and refund the amount involved in the unauthorised

electronic payment transaction to the customer’s PPI within 10

days. Customer’s liability in case of unauthorised transaction –

Fraud / Negligence / Deficiency on the Part of the PPI issuer -

Liability of Customer is Zero.

Third Party Breach where the deficiency lies neither with the PPI

issuer nor with the customer - Liability of Customer is Zero if

reported within three days.

Negligence by a customer - The customer will bear the entire loss

until he reports the unauthorised transaction to the PPI issuer.

Old ATM Card Banned From 1 January 2019 - Reserve Bank of

India in 2015 had issued a directive to all bank across India

mandating them to get rid of old magnetic stripe cards. This is

because magnetic stripe cards can easily be skimmed and

misused by criminals. As per the RBI directive, all magnetic stripe

cards were to be replaced by EMV (Europay, MasterCard, Visa)

Chip Based cards by December 31, 2018.

Universal Basic Income - With the Congress announcing to

introduce a minimum income guarantee scheme in 2019, if voted


21

to power, talks about Universal Basic Income has again gained

steam. The idea was first mooted by the Economic Survey of

2016-2017. “A Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a periodic cash

payment unconditionally delivered to all on an individual

basis. Many countries like Norway and Finland practice it,

whereas others like Germany, Switzerland and France are

experimenting with it.

Gau Kalyan Cess - The UP

government has introduced a “gau

kalyan” (cow welfare) cess, a 0.5%

additional levy on excise items,

which could include alcohol apart from toll tax, as well as several

public sector infrastructure companies, to fund construction and

maintenance of cow shelters across the state.

Recession Again - U.S. economic growth will slow this year to 2.3

percent from 3.1 percent in 2018, as the stimulative effects of

President Donald Trump’s tax cuts wane and the federal budget

deficit climbs to nearly $900 billion, congressional researchers

said. US and China are considered two main drivers of global

growth because of the size of their economies and a less than

expected GDP growth in both the countries will ring alarm bells in

other emerging economies including India.

PSU Banks Authorised To Issue Lookout Circulars - In a bid to

prevent big economic offenders like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi

from fleeing the country, the government has empowered PSU

banks to request lookout circulars (LOCs) against wilful defaulters

and fraudsters. The Home Ministry has also authorised the

Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), a statutory corporate

fraud investigation agency, to request LOCs if it feels the suspect

may escape from India.

Best Performing States - Bihar and Andhra Pradesh led the pack

among States in terms of GDP growth in financial year 2017-18,

clocking 11.3% and 11.2% growth, respectively, compared with

the national GDP growth of 6.7% for the year, according to a

report by CRISIL. Even as 12 large states grew faster than national

GDP in FY18, the same has not translated into job creation, says

report.

Top Performer - Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat.

Worst Performer - Jharkhand, Kerala, and Punjab.

IDFC First Bank Ltd - Private sector

lender IDFC Bank said its name has

been changed to IDFC First Bank Ltd

with effect from January 12, 2019. IDFC Bank and non-banking

financial company Capital First had announced completion of

their merger on December 18. Following the merger, the board of

IDFC Bank had approved the appointment of V Vaidyanathan,

founder and chairman of Capital First Ltd, as managing director

and chief executive officer of the merged entity.

BHIM-UPI Transactions - Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad

informed via tweet that the total value of BHIM-UPI transactions

crossed 1 Lakh Crore Rupees mark in December 2018. The

Minister said BHIM-UPI, a unique fintech innovation of India, has

become immensely popular among users.

Merger of Rural Regional Bank - The government has

amalgamated three Regional Rural Banks - Punjab Gramin Bank,

Malwa Gramin Bank and Sutlej Gramin Bank - into a single RRB.

Gruh Finance Merged With Bandhan Bank - Gruh Finance board

approved merger of housing financier with Bandhan Bank. The

merger is effective from January 1, 2019. The deal follows the

Reserve Bank of India’s decision to impose strictures on Bandhan

Bank for failing to reduce promoter shareholding as per the

agreed regulatory timeline.

HDFC Mutual Fund - HDFC Mutual Fund has pipped ICICI

Prudential MF to become the country's largest asset

management company As of December-end. HDFC MF manages

assets to the tune of Rs 3.35 lakh crore, while those of ICICI

Prudential MF stood at Rs 3.08 lakh crore, as per the latest data

available with Association of Mutual funds in India (Amfi).


22

Jet Airways Downgraded to

Default Grade - Jet Airways

India Ltd. has missed

payment to lenders,

prompting ratings agency

ICRA to downgrade the rating to ‘D’ or default grade due to the

default and the inability of the airline to mobilise funds to

improve liquidity. The company’s liquidity position is stressed

with operating losses, high debt levels and negative networth.

NHAI Signed MoU with Oil Marketing Companies - To ensure

easier availability of FASTags, Indian Highways Management

Company Ltd. (IHMCL), a company promoted by NHAI, is signing

MoUs with state-run Oil Marketing Companies (IOCL, BPC, and

HPC). It will ensure availability of FASTags at petroleum outlets

across India. In the first phase, the tags will be available across 50

Fuel Station in Delhi NCR. IHMCL has been mandated to

implement the National Electronic Toll Collection Program (NETC)

in the country. IHMCL is also striving for the vision of One Nation

– One Tag.

GST e-way Bill Will Be Integrated With FASTag - The GST e-way

bill system is likely to be integrated with NHAI’s FASTag

mechanism from April to help track movement of goods and

check GST evasion. Integration of e-way bill with FASTag would

help find the location of the vehicle and when and how many

times it has crossed NHAI’s toll plazas. The integrated system on

an all-India basis is planned to be rolled out from April. Karnataka

is implementing an integrated system on a pilot basis.

Roshni Android App - The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT),

Ropar, has developed first Android app Roshni that would help

the Visually Impaired to recognise currency notes. The app can

recognise both old and new notes and gives audio information as

to which note you are holding in your hands.

CBI Filed Case in ICICI Loan Case - Central Bureau of Investigation

registered an FIR regarding the alleged irregularities in the Rs

3,250 crore loan case by ICICI Bank to Videocon. The CBI had in

2018 registered a preliminary enquiry against Videocon promoter

Venugopal Dhoot and Deepak Kochhar. Since then, ICICI Bank has

also initiated an internal enquiry under former Supreme Court

judge BN Srikrishna. Earlier, ICICI bank CEO Chanda Kochhar

resigned from her post in October 2018.

India Fastest Growing Economy - India will continue to remain

the world’s fastest-growing large economy in 2019 as well as in

2020. According to the UN’s World Economic Situation and

Prospects (WESP) 2019, India’s GDP growth is expected to

accelerate to 7.6 per cent in 2019-20 from an estimated 7.4 per

cent in the current fiscal ending March 2019. In the case of China,

the growth is estimated to decelerate to 6.3 per cent in 2019

from 6.6 per cent in 2018.

Digital Currency Aber - The

central banks of the UAE and

Saudi Arabia have launched a

common digital currency called

"Aber", which will be used in

financial settlements between the two countries through

Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers technologies.

India Will Surpass China In Fuel Consumption - India will surpass

China to become the second largest oil demand growth centre

globally in 2019 on back of buoyant auto fuel and LPG

consumption, as per a report by research and consultancy group

Wood Mackenzie. According to the US Energy Information

Administration (EIA), India is currently ranked behind the United

States and China as the world's third-largest oil consumer.

Recapitalisation of Export-Import Bank - The Union Cabinet

approved the recapitalisation of the Export-Import Bank of

India. The Cabinet also approved an increase in the authorized

capital of EXIM Bank from Rs 10,000 crore to Rs. 20,000

crore. The Government will issue the Recapitalization Bonds to

the tune of Rs 6000 crore for capital infusion in the EXIM

Bank. The equity will be infused in two tranches. First tranche will

be of Rs 4,500 crore in FY 2018-19, and then of Rs 1,500 crore in

FY 2019-20.


23

Allahabad Bank and SBI

Life Signed Pact -

Allahabad Bank and SBI

Life Insurance came

together and signed

a bancassurance pact, to offer a holistic financial planning

solution to consumers. This will empower the consumer to

address their complete financial needs under one roof. The tie-

up, one of the largest Bancassurance partnerships in the country.

Capital Infusion in PSB - The government has infused 10,882

crore Rupees in four public sector banks, including UCO Bank and

Syndicate Bank. It is a part of 28,615 crore rupees capital infusion

to be done in about half a dozen public sector lenders. UCO Bank

has received 3,074 crore rupees. Besides, Bank of Maharashtra

got 4,498 crore rupees, Syndicate Bank 1,632 crore rupees and

Central Bank of India 1,678 crore rupees.

Tokenisation For Card Transactions - Reserve Bank of India

released guidelines on tokenisation for various card transactions.

Tokenisation, which aims at improving safety and security of the

payment system, refers to replacement of actual card details with

an unique alternate code called the ‘token’, which shall be unique

for a combination of card, token requestor and identified device.

Instead of using actual card details, this token is used to perform

card transactions in contactless mode at point of sale (POS)

terminals, quick response (QR) code payments. A customer would

not have to pay any charges for availing this service.

HDFC Standard Life Insurance Renamed - HDFC Standard Life

Insurance has changed its name to HDFC Life Insurance following

the receipt of relevant approvals from regulatory authorities.

Record Quarterly Profit - Reliance Industries Ltd became the first

Indian private sector company to report a quarterly profit of

more than Rs 10,000 crore after record earnings from

petrochemical, retail and telecom business. State-owned Indian

Oil Corp (IOC) holds the distinction of posting highest ever

quarterly profit by any Indian firm when it had reported a net

profit of Rs 14,512.81 crore in January-March 2013.

Automatic Exchange Of Information - India will start receiving

from Switzerland this year information relating to financial

accounts held by Indians in Swiss banks on automatic basis.

Switzerland has been long perceived as one of the safest havens

for illicit wealth allegedly stashed abroad by some Indians In

2016, India and Switzerland signed a joint declaration relating to

automatic exchange of information (AEOI) relating to tax.

RBI Reviewed PCA Framework - The Reserve Bank of India has

decided to allow three public sector banks — Bank of India, Bank

of Maharashtra and Oriental Bank of Commerce — to exit the

PCA framework following capital infusion by the government and

a decline in net non-performing asset ratio. The RBI which

conducted a review following a demand made by government to

lift the restrictions in order to boost credit growth.

Kochi Refinery Project Dedicated To Nation - Prime Minister

Narendra Modi dedicated Kochi Refinery project and IOCL LPG

Bottling Plant to the Nation in Kochi, Kerala. Prime Minister also

laid a foundation stone for Petrochemical Complex.

SBI Card and Etihad Signed

Agreement - SBI Card and

Etihad Guest, the loyalty

programme of Etihad

Airways, have joined hands to

launch a travel-specific Visa credit card for members and Indian

travelers. This is the first international co-brand partnership of

SBI Card, the country's second-largest credit card issuer.

Praveen Kutumbe Panel - Insurance Regulatory Development

Authority of India (IRDAI) has set up a panel headed by Praveen

Kutumbe, to identify domestically systematically important

insurers (SIIs) and an augmented regulatory framework is logically

established in this regard.

Highest Allocation for MGNREGA - After exhausting 99% of its

annual allocation three months ahead of time, MGNREGA scheme

has been given an additional allocation of Rs 6,084 crore to tide

over the next three months. This lifts the total allocation to


24

MGNREGA for 2018-19 to Rs 61,084 crore, which is the highest

ever allocation.

SEBI Issued Guidelines For REITs And InvITs - Markets regulator

Sebi amended guidelines for Real state Investment Trusts (REITs)

and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) to ease the process

of public issue of their units. Now, these trusts can accept only

Applications Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA). Among

others, the manager on behalf of the REIT or InvIT will announce

the floor price or price band at least two working days prior to

the opening of the bid in case of an initial public offer.

Inflation Declined - Retail

inflation in December 2018

continued the downward

trend, slipping to an 18-

month low of 2.19 per cent with food prices staying in the

negative zone along with lower vegetable and fuel prices. Earlier

Whole Sale Price Inflation data showed that it fell to 8-month low

in December falling to 3.80 per cent from 4.64 per cent in

November amid decline in fuel and food items.

Hike in Non Performing Assets - Reserve Bank of India has raised

a red flag over spike in non—performing assets (NPAs) under the

government’s flagship scheme to support micro enterprises in the

country — the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana. RBI said that

bad loans under PMMY had risen to Rs 11,000 crore.

Penalty on Citibank - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has slapped

a penalty of Rs. 3 crore on foreign lender Citibank India for not

complying with ‘fit and proper’ criteria for directors. It said the

action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance.

India Will Be Second Largest Economy - India is likely to overtake

the United States and become the world’s second-largest

economy by 2030, a British financial services firm has predicted.

According to Standard Chartered Plc, China will assume the top

spot by dislodging the US, which will fall to third on the list

behind the two Asian giants.

ADB Forecast on GDP Growth - The Asian Development Bank

(ADB) forecast that the Indian economy would grow at 7.3 per

cent in FY19. On the back of strong investment and GST

stabilisation, the growth would improve to 7.6 per cent in FY20.

Earlier World Bank had also said that India’s GDP is expected to

grow at 7.3 per cent in the fiscal year 2018-19. It has forecast the

growth to hit 7.5 per cent in the following two years.

SAARC Swap Facility - Sri Lanka’s Central Bank announced that

the Reserve Bank of India has agreed to provide USD 400 million

under a swap arrangement to boost the island nation’s

reserves. The RBI has agreed to provide the funds under

its SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation)

Swap Facility.

Pasargad Bank - Union Minister Nitin

Gadkari has announced that India has

allowed an Iranian bank, Pasargad Bank,

to open a branch in Mumbai. The move

is aimed at circumventing US trade and

investment sanctions as India builds a

strategic port in the West Asian country.

Alongside, India’s UCO Bank will open a branch in Iran.

Relief For MSMEs - In a major relief to micro, small and medium

enterprises (MSMEs), the GST Council chaired by finance minister

Arun Jaitley doubled the GST exemption limit for companies in

the sector to those with an annual turnover of Rs 40 lakh from

the current Rs 20 lakh. For North East and hilly states, the limit

has been increased to Rs 20 lakh from Rs 10 lakh.

Per Capita Income - According to first advance estimates of

national income released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO),

Per Capita income earned by an average Indian doubled in 7

years, from Rs 63,642 per year in 2011-12 to Rs 1.25 lakh in 2018-

19.

Unemployment Rate Worsen - The estimated unemployment

rate rose to a 27-month high of 7.38% in the month of December

2018 and the total number of people employed fell by about 1.09


25

crore, according to CMIE data. In December 2017, a total of 40.78

crore people were employed, while in the month of December

2018 the number fell to 39.69 crores, the Centre for Monitoring

Indian Economy (CMIE) data showed.

Public Sector Banks Rationalising Foreign Operation - Public

sector banks are in the process of closing or rationalising about

69 overseas operations in the next few months as part of their

capital conservation exercise. Following the review, 35 overseas

operations were closed while 69 are under process or being

considered for rationalisation.

NHAI Plans To Raise Rs 10,000 Cr - The National Highways

Authority of India (NHAI) plans to raise Rs. 10,000 crore through

Bharatmala Taxable Bonds in the current fiscal. Highways

Minister Nitin Gadkari said as per the internal and extra

budgetary resources approved for 2018-19 by the government,

Rs. 62,000 crore is to be raised by NHAI through various sources

including Bharatmala bonds.

ICICI Band Signed MoU

with FinCredit India - ICICI

Bank, in a first-of-its-kind

programme, signed a

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Small Business

FinCredit India Pvt. Ltd. (SBFC), a systemically important Non-

Banking Finance Company for entrepreneurs, to jointly provide

credit worth up to Rs 1 crore to MSMEs for a tenure of 15 years.

Growth Outlook for 2019 - In its ‘Growth Outlook for 2019’,

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) stated that the GDP growth

will be in the range of 7.5% in 2019. A settled goods and services

tax (GST), improving credit availability and capacity expansion

from increasing investment in infrastructure are among seven key

drivers that will help Indian economy grow 7.5% in 2019.

Interest Subsidy Scheme Extended - The government extended

the interest subsidy scheme for middle-income group till 31

March 2020 for first time urban homebuyers who have annual

income between Rs 6 lakh and Rs 18 lakh. This will enable new

home buyers to avail up front financial assistance of about Rs 2.5

lakh from the central government, which they can use for down

payment while booking, construction or re-purchasing the flat.

International News

Shutdown Ended in USA -

Submitting to mounting

pressure, U.S. President Donald

Trump has signed a Bill to reopen

the government for three weeks,

backing down from his demand that Congress give him money for

his border wall before federal agencies go back to work. The deal

he reached with congressional leaders contains no new money

for the wall but ends the longest shutdown in U.S. history. Mr.

Trump’s retreat came on the 35th day of the partial shutdown.

Nicolas Maduro - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro rejected

an international ultimatum to call elections within eight days and

said Opposition leader Juan Guaido had violated the Constitution

by declaring himself the interim leader. Israel joined a growing list

of countries led by the United States that back Mr. Guaido’s claim

to the presidency on the basis that Mr. Maduro’s second-term

election victory was fraudulent.

World Economy Outlook Report - India is projected to grow at

7.5 per cent in 2019 and 7.7 per cent in 2020, an impressive over

one percentage point ahead of China’s estimated growth of 6.2

per cent in these two years, the International Monetary Fund

(IMF) said in its World Economy Outlook report. The IMF trimmed

global growth projections for 2019 and 2020 to 3.5 per cent and

3.6 per cent respectively.

World Capital of Architecture for 2020 - The United Nations

Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has

named the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro as the World Capital of

Architecture for 2020. Rio will be the first city to receive the title

under a programme launched together by UNESCO and the

International Union of Architects (UIA) in November 2018. The

city beat Paris and Melbourne to get the position.


26

Aadhaar Cards is Valid For Traveling Nepal - According to a

Home Ministry Aadhaar cards are now valid travel documents for

Indians under 15 and over 65 travelling to Nepal and Bhutan.

Indian citizens going to Nepal and Bhutan don't need a visa if they

have a valid passport, a photo identity card issued by the

government of India or an election ID card issued by the Election

Commission.

Palestine Took Chairmanship of G 77 - Palestinian President

Mahmoud Abbas has pledged to protect the interests of all 134

countries in the UN's Group of 77, as Palestine took

the chairmanship of the group from Egypt for 2019. The G77

group was originally founded by 77 members in 1964 but has

expanded to 134 mainly developing nations.

British PM Faces Defeat in Parliament -

British Prime Minister Theresa May

suffered a crushing defeat in the

Parliament on January 15, 2019 when

lawmakers overwhelmingly rejected

Britain’s withdrawal deal by a vote of 432

to 202, a majority of 230 votes, with just 73 days to go until

Britain is scheduled to leave the European Union. Britain is

scheduled to leave the EU on March 29, 2019. Following the vote,

Labour tabled a no-confidence motion against May's minority

government but Prime Minister Theresa May survived a no-

confidence vote in Parliament. May won a narrow victory, 325

votes to 306 votes.

US and Israel Quit From UNESCO - The United States and Israel

officially quit the United Nations Educational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with the close of 2018. The

Trump administration filed its notice to withdraw in October 2017

and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu followed suit for

agency’s anti-Israel bias.

Qatar Quits OPEC - Qatar will cease to be a member of the

Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries from 1

January 2019. Now OPEC will focus on its liquefied natural gas

production. The decision came amid the ongoing diplomatic and

economic blockade imposed on the country by its Persian Gulf

neighbours and several Arab states. These countries accuse Doha

of supporting terrorism and interfering in their internal affairs.

Republic of Macedonia Renamed - The parliamentarians of the

Republic of Macedonia voted on January 11, 2019 to change their

country’s name to the “Republic of North Macedonia”. The move

now awaits approval from the Greece Parliament. The change of

name, if cleared by Athens, would pave the way for the small

republic to enter NATO and the European Union.

GAFA Tax - The

finance minister of

France Bruno Le Maire

announced that

France will introduce its own tax on large internet and technology

companies from January 1. France has been pushing hard for a

new so-called “GAFA tax” -- named after Google, Apple,

Facebook and Amazon -- to ensure the global giants pay a fair

share of taxes on their massive business operations in Europe.

New Temporary Members Joined UNSC - Five nations, namely,

Belgium, Dominican Republic, Germany, Indonesia and South

Africa assumed the charge as the Non-Permanent Members of

the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). These five countries

will hold a two-year term in the Council with effect from January

1, 2019. This will be the Dominican Republic’s first time on the

Security Council.

Chinese Telecom Giant Huawei - The U.S.’s Department of

Justice has charged Chinese telecom giant and world’s second

largest smartphone manufacturer Huawei and its CFO Meng

Wanzhou with attempts to steal trade secrets, obstructing a

criminal investigation and evading U.S. sanctions against Iran.

Huawei has denied the charges against itself and Ms. Weng.

Africa Centre for Climate and Sustainable development - Italian

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte along with UN representative has

launched Africa Centre for Climate and Sustainable

development. The new center is located near the Food and


27

Agriculture Organization headquarters in Rome. The major

objective is boosting the agricultural sectors and promoting rural

development in Africa.

Dubai International Airport - Dubai International Airport

(DXB) retained its position as the world's busiest airport for

international customer numbers for the fifth consecutive

year with annual traffic for 2018. It overtook the crown of the

world's busiest hub for international travel from London's

Heathrow in 2014.

America and Taliban Will Sign Peace Agreement - American and

Taliban officials have agreed to the framework of a peace deal in

which the insurgents guarantee to prevent Afghanistan from

being used by terrorists, and that could lead to a full pull-out of

U.S. troops in return for a ceasefire and Taliban talks with the

Afghan government.

India and OECD Signe Agreement - Human Resources

Development Ministry signed an agreement with Organisation for

Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for India’s

Participation in Programme for International Student Assessment

- PISA 2021. PISA is a triennial international survey which aims to

evaluate the education system worldwide by testing the skills and

knowledge of 15-year-old students.

General Data Protection

Regulation - Nearly 65% of

Indian organizations are

better prepared for the

European Union's General

Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), making the country the sixth

leading nation globally in the GDPR readiness index, global

networking leader, according to CISCO. The GDPR, which focused

on increasing protection for EU residents' privacy and personal

data, came into force in May 2018.

India Will Surpass UK in 2019 - India is likely to surpass the

United Kingdom in the world's largest economy rankings in 2019,

to become world's fifth largest economy, according to a report by

global consultancy firm PwC. According to World Bank data, India

became the world's sixth largest economy in 2017 surpassing

France.

Pakistan Received Assistance

From Gulf Nation - Cash-

strapped Pakistan has received

USD 1 billion each from Saudi

Arabia and the United Arab

Emirates (UAE), as part of the bailout package by the two Gulf

nations to help shore up Islamabad’s dwindling foreign currency

reserves. The assistance was the first part of the USD 3 billion

assistance announced by the Gulf nation.

India Signed Agreement With South Africa - Following delegation

level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South

African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the two sides inked an

agreement to further deepen their strategic partnership. India

and South Africa are keen on expansion of cooperation in sectors

including agro-processing, defence, mining and the financial

sector. India will also be setting up Gandhi-Mandela Skills

Institute in Pretoria.

India and Australia Revamped Extradition Treaty - India is all set

to sign a revamped extradition treaty with Australia that would

enable both countries to exchange information on spies,

terrorism and human traffickers. India and Australia signed an

extradition treaty in 2008, but it came into force only in 2011.

Under this treaty, both countries decided to recognise

extraditable offences which are punishable by an imprisonment

of at least one year or severe penalty.

India Donated Ambulance to Nepal - India donated 30

ambulances and six buses to Nepal and extended its support to

the country in achieving prosperity. India’s gesture came as it

marked 70th Republic Day.

India and Maldives Agreed for Cooperation - India and Maldives

have agreed to continue their traditionally close cooperation on

issues of maritime security, counter-terrorism and medical


28

cooperation. This was decided during the meeting between

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her Maldivian

counterpart Mariya Ahmed Didi in New Delhi.

India Signed MoU With Bhutan - On the sidelines of the

international conference, the Election Commission of India will

renew Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for cooperation in

the field of election management with the Election Commission

of Bhutan.

Dispute Between Venezuelan and USA - Venezuelan President

Nicolas Maduro has announced that he is breaking off diplomatic

ties with the United States after his American counterpart Donald

Trump recognized Opposition leader Juan Guaido as the South

American country's interim President.

Institute for Ethics in Artificial intelligence - Social media

giant Facebook announced that it will create an independent

Institute for Ethics in Artificial intelligence (AI) with an initial

investment of $7.5 million over a period of five years. Technical

University of Munich (TUM) in Germany will collaborate with this

project which aims to explore fundamental issues affecting the

use and impact of AI.

India and Japan Signed MoU - The Union Cabinet, chaired by the

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to the

Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between India and Japan in

the field of food processing sector. The MoC will lead to

betterment of the food processing sector in the country by

introducing innovative techniques and processes.

India and Kuwait Signed MoU - The Union Cabinet approved the

signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between

India and Kuwait for cooperation on the recruitment of domestic

workers. The move is likely to benefit around 3 lakh Indian

workers deployed in Kuwait, including about 90,000 female

domestic workers.

Swami Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies - India and Sri

Lanka signed an MoU to provide modern infrastructural

facilities to Swami Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies of

Eastern University in Batticaloa district of Sri Lanka.

Penalty on Google - France’s

data watchdog announced a

fine of 50 million euros (USD

57 million) for US search

giant Google, using the EU’s strict General Data Protection

Regulation (GDPR) for the first time.

India Signed MoU with Uzbekistan - India has signed a long-term

contract with Uzbekistan for supply of uranium ore

concentrates to widen its source base for the nuclear fuel. The

contract was exchanged in the presence of Prime Minister

Narendra Modi and Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev,

who were at the Vibrant Gujarat summit in Gandhinagar. The

Exim Bank also signed an agreement with Uzbekistan to extend a

200-million US dollar line of credit for financing housing and

social infrastructure projects.

Netherland Signed 10 MoU - The Netherlands said it is signing 10

MoUs at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit starting with focus on

sectors like smart city and waste management, healthcare and

agricultural cooperation.

Farm-To-Port Project - The UAE and Saudi Arabia will use India as

a base in addressing their social security concerns. For the first

time, India’s export policy launched farm-to-port project which is

similar to a special economic zone but in the style of a

corporatised farm, where crops would be grown keeping a

specific UAE market in mind.

Facebook Will Invest in Local News

Programs - Facebook says it is

investing $300 million over the next

three years in local news programs,

partnerships and other initiatives. The move comes at a difficult

time for the news industry, which is facing falling profits and print

readership. Facebook, like Google, has also been partly blamed

for the ongoing decline in newspapers’ share of advertising


29

dollars as people and advertisers have moved online. In the U.S.

social media has overtaken print newspapers as a news source for

Americans.

OPEC Will Cut Oil Production -

OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia

announced that it has decided to

slash its oil exports in January by

10 per cent in comparison to

November. OPEC and its allies had decided last month to cut their

overall output by 1.2 million bpd starting in January, to boost

prices hit by a supply glut and fears demand could plummet.

India Will Be Third-Largest Consumer Market - According to

World Economic Forum (WEF) India is poised to become the

third-largest consumer market behind only the US and China; and

consumer spending in India is expected to grow from $1.5 trillion

at present to nearly $6 trillion by 2030.

Chabahar Port - India has taken over operations of the strategic

Chabahar port in the Sistan-Balochistan province of energy-rich

Iran's southern coast. This is the first time India will be operating

a port outside its territory. The heads of Indian, Iranian and

Afghanistan delegation jointly inaugurated the office of the

Indian SPV - India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ) at

Chabahar.

Data Leak in Germany - Personal data and documents on

hundreds of German politicians and others have been posted

online, and the German government said authorities were

examining how the information was obtained. Politicians at all

levels, including the European, German and State parliaments as

well as at municipal level, appeared to have been affected.

iPhone Sale Banned in Germany - US chipmaker Qualcomm Inc

took steps to enforce a court order banning the sale of some

iPhone models in Germany following a patent dispute, a move

that will likely see Apple Inc pull those models from its German

stores. The German case is Qualcomm’s third major effort to

secure a ban on Apple’s lucrative iPhones over patent

infringement allegations after similar moves in the United States

and China.

Asia Reassurance Initiative Act - U.S. President Donald

Trump signed into law the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act

(ARIA), which passed the U.S. Senate earlier in December. Act

establishes a multifaceted U.S. strategy to increase U.S. security,

economic interests, and values in the Indo-Pacific region.

Specifically, the ARIA will authorize $1.5 billion in spending for a

range of U.S. programs in East and Southeast Asia and develop a

long-term strategic vision.

No Immediate Pullout of

US Troops From Syria -

President Donald Trump

appeared to water down

shock plans for an

immediate pullout of U.S. troops from Syria. Mr. Trump had

promised to stay in Syria to finish the job of destroying the Islamic

State (IS) — days after he shocked allies, and his own military

establishment, by saying troops were coming home. Trump has

agreed to give the military about four months to withdraw the

two thousand American troops in Syria.

India and Pakistan Exchanged Nuclear Facilities List - India and

Pakistan exchanged the list of nuclear installations and facilities

covered under the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack

against Nuclear installations between them. Under the 1988

agreement, the two countries inform each other of nuclear

installations and facilities on the first of January every year.

Scheme / Programme / Policy / Mission

Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana - Prime Minister Narendra Modi

launched the Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana under which a group

of Indian diaspora will be taken on a government-sponsored tour

of religious places in India twice a year. The first batch will include

40 Indian-origin people from Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. All people

of Indian-origin, aged between 45 and 65 can apply. The first

preference will be given to people from 'Girmitiya countries' such


30

as Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and

Jamaica.

Sovereign Gold Bonds 2018-19

(Series V) - Sovereign Gold Bonds

2018-19 (Series V) will remain open

from 14th to 18th January, 2019.

The Issue Price of the Gold Bond is fixed at Rs 3,214 per gram.

Government has decided to allow discount of Rs 50 per gram

from the issue price to those investors who apply online and the

payment is made through digital mode. Investors will get a fixed

interest rate of 2.50% per annum on principal amount payable

semi-annually.

UNNATI programme - Minister of State in Department of Space

Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated UNNATI programme of Indian

Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Bengaluru. UNNATI is an

acronym for Unispace Nanosatellite Assembly and Training

programme launched by ISRO as part of initiative by United

Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs that is commemorating the

50th anniversary of the first United Nations Conference on the

Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. India will train

participants from 45 countries in nano-satellite making through a

new capacity building programme. The programme named

Unispace Nanosatellite Assembly and Training by ISRO (UNNATI)

was flagged off by Minister of State in Deparment of Space

Jitendra Singh in Bengaluru yesterday.

Lakhwar Multipurpose Project - More than four months after the

Centre revived the Lakhwar Multipurpose Project, the National

Green Tribunal (NGT) stayed the project, directing the Expert

Appraisal Committee to “appraise the project afresh” by April 15.

In August 2018, Union Water Resources Minister Nitin

Gadkari signed an MoU with chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh,

Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Delhi

and revived work on the dam project in Uttarakhand. The 204-m

concrete dam was slated to come up in the upper Yamuna basin

near Lohari village in the state and is aimed at providing water for

domestic and industrial use in the six basin states.

Renukaji Dam Multipurpose Project - An agreement for Renukaji

Dam Multipurpose Project was signed in New Delhi among the

States of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi,

Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. Under the agreement, three storage

projects are proposed to be constructed on the river Yamuna and

two of its tributaries. These include Lakhwar project on river

Yamuna in Uttarakhand, Kishau on river Tons in Uttarakhand and

Himachal Pradesh and Renukaji on river Giri in Himachal Pradesh.

Swasth Bharat Yatra

- The Swasth Bharat

Yatra, the world’s

biggest cyclothon to

push people to eat right, culminated in New Delhi on 28 January.

The campaign was flagged-off on 16th October last year on the

occasion of World Food Day. The yatra began from six different

locations - Leh, Panaji, Thiruvananthapuram, Puducherry, Kolkata

and Agartala on six different tracks in which more than ten

thousand volunteer cyclists covered over twenty thousand

kilometres spreading the message of ‘Eat Safe, Eat Healthy and

Eat Fortified. This yatra is a part of the Eat Right India movement.

National Clean Air Programme - The Centre has launched 300-

crore rupees programme to reduce particulate matter (PM)

pollution by 20-30% in at least 102 cities by 2024. The National

Clean Air Programme (NCAP) is envisaged as a scheme to provide

the States and the Centre with a framework to combat air

pollution. The NCAP will be five-year action plan with 2019 as the

first year. This is not a pan-India, but a city-specific programme.

Swadesh Darshan Project - K.J. Alphons, Union Minister for

Tourism will inaugurate the first project under the Swadesh

Darshan Project of the Union Ministry of Tourism at the Zero

Point, Gangtok, Sikkim. Under the scheme Government is

focusing on development of quality infrastructure in the

country. The scheme was launched in 2014 -15 when the Ministry

sanctioned 77 projects worth projects.

Jiban Sampark - Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has

announced "Jiban Sampark" project in partnership with UNICEF


31

India to generate awareness about the development and welfare

initiatives of state government among the Particularly Vulnerable

Tribal Groups of the state.

Pravasi Dividend Pension Scheme - Kerala government has

floated a 'Pravasi Dividend Pension Scheme' to provide regular

pension to Non-Resident Keralites on a one-time payment of Rs 5

lakh. A non-resident Keralite can invest an amount ranging

from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, as a whole or as 6

installments paid within 3 years. Each beneficiary will be entitled

to receive pensions ranging from Rs 5,000-50,000 every month, 3

years after the total amount is deposited, at a dividend rate

of 12%.

Yuva Swabhiman Yojana -

Madhya Pradesh Government

announced the Yuva

Swabhiman Yojana to provide

employment for the

unemployed youth from the economically weaker sections of the

society. The scheme aims to provide 100 days of employment to

youngsters from economically weaker sections of the society in

urban areas.

E-passports - E-passports to be issued soon in India. Indian

passport holders will soon travel with e-passports which will be

based on Indian software developed by IIT-Kanpur and National

Informatics Centre (NIC). Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke at

the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas about the new e-passports that will

soon be introduced.

Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratibha Vikas Yojana - The ‘Jai Bhim

Mukhyamantri Pratibha Vikas Yojana’, launched by Delhi Chief

Minister Arvind Kejriwal for ST/ST category. The scheme provides

free coaching for students preparing for civil services, judicial

services, banking, engineering, medicine, and other competitive

examinations through known and established coaching

institutions.

Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Protsahan Yojana - The Pradhan Mantri

Rozgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY) crossed the milestone of one

crore beneficiaries. The scheme is being implemented by the

Union Ministry of Labour and Employment through the

Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO). Under the

scheme, Government is paying full employers’ contribution of 12

percent towards Employees’ Provident Fund and Employees’

Pension Scheme both for a period of 3 years. The new employees

who are registered with the EPFO on or after April 1, 2016, with

salary up to Rs. 15,000 per month are covered under the scheme.

Womaniya on Government e Marketplace - The Union

Government launched the ‘Womaniya on Government e

Marketplace (GeM)’, an initiative to enable women

entrepreneurs and Women Self-Help Groups (WSHGs) to sell

handicrafts, handloom, accessories, and other products directly

to Government departments and institutions.

Jai Kisan Rin Mukti Yojana - Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister

Kamal Nath launched his government’s Rs 50,000-crore farm

debt-waiver scheme named ‘Jai Kisan Rin Mukti Yojana’. Kamal

Nath said it would benefit 55 lakh small and marginal farmers.

National Action Plan for Drug

Demand Reduction - The Union

Ministry of Social Justice and

Empowerment has drafted a

five-year action plan for addressing the problem of drug and

substance abuse in the country. The National Action Plan for Drug

Demand Reduction (NAPDDR), 2018 to 2023, aims to employ a

multi-pronged strategy to address the issue of drug abuse. It

involves education, de-addiction and rehabilitation of affected

individuals and their families.

Global Innovation Policy Center - The Global Innovation Policy

Center (GIPC) of United States Chamber of Commerce launched a

new innovation strategy at Raisina Dialogue, 2019 in New Delhi.

The Initiative is titled as “Fair Value for Innovation”. The Initiative

will examine economic underpinnings in order to enable


32

breakthrough innovation and explore the opportunities to

harness innovation capital in India.

Global Housing Technology Challenge - Union minister Hardeep

Singh Puri launched the Global Housing Technology Challenge

(GHTC) among stakeholders, a move aimed at introducing best

technologies that seek to construct houses in a shorter period of

time with lower cost. Under the initiative launched by the

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U), the government

will hold 'grand expo-cum-conference' in March where

stakeholders will showcase their best technologies to build

houses.

Ayushman Bharat scheme - West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata

Banerjee announced that her government will pull out of the

Centre’s Ayushman Bharat scheme. She said the Narendra Modi-

led BJP government has been taking credit for the scheme, which

is funded by state governments. Now, the Centre will have to

bear the entire cost of the scheme. Till now States bear 40 per

cent of the cost of the scheme.

Free High Speed Wifi - Indian

Railways is now providing free

high-speed WiFi on all railway

stations of Kalka-Shimla section.

RailTel has transformed all railway stations into a digital hub by

providing public WiFi through its RailWire WiFi project.

Interest Free Loans For Women Self Help Group - Odisha Chief

Minister Naveen Patnaik announced interest-free loans of up to

Rs. 3 lakh for women self-help groups (WSHGs) in the State.

Speaking at the ‘Mission Shakti’ convention, Mr. Patnaik said the

initiative would benefit about 70 lakh women.

KYC Norms For Corporate - Corporate Affairs Ministry plans to

collect KYC details of companies, chartered accountants, cost

accountants and company secretaries. Last year, the ministry

carried out the Know Your Customer (KYC) initiative for directors

to ascertain their identities as part of larger efforts to clamp

down on entities that are suspected to be conduits for illicit fund

flows.

Projects Launched in Odisha - Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid

foundation stone of revival of six irrigation projects, including

North Koel (Mandal Dam) project amounting to 2,500 crore

rupees and Kanhar Stone Pipeline irrigation system. Mr Modi will

dedicate to the nation, Balasore-Haldia-Durgapur section of LPG

pipeline project of IOCL and the Balasore multi modal logistic

park, at Baripada in Odisha.

Krishi Krishak Bondhu - West Bengal government announced two

welfare initiatives for farmers. Both initiatives, which are part of

the ‘Krishi Krishak Bondhu’ scheme, will come into effect from 1st

January 2019. The first of the two initiatives will provide Rs 2 lakh

to the family of a deceased farmer. Under the second

initiative, farmers would get Rs 2,500 twice a year for growing a

single crop on one acre of land.

Smart phones Distributed to Student - Punjab Cabinet approved

the modalities for the distribution of smart phones, with

graduating students of government schools, colleges and

technical institutions to be covered in the first phase of the

scheme. The scheme will give a further impetus to the state

government’s digital empowerment agenda.

Defence / Exercise / Space

ISRO Launced Military Satellite - The

Indian Space Research Organisation

(ISRO) launched PSLV C-44 (Polar Satellite

Launch Vehicle) to space which injected a

740kg imaging satellite for military

applications into orbit with precision

before going to demonstrate a new technology that can

eventually reduce space debris. PSLV C-44 lifted off with Microsat

R, a military application satellite, and Kalamsat, a 10cm cubesat

made by students from the first launch pad at Satish Dhawan

Space Centre in Sriharikota.


33

NGARM Missile Tested - India has tested a new indigenous air-

launched missile called NGARM, which is designed to destroy a

variety of surveillance and radar targets on the ground after

being fired from a Sukhoi-30MKI fighter at Balasore, Odisha. This

new-generation anti-radiation missile (NGARM), with a strike

range of around 100-km, is the first indigenous air-to-ground

missile to be developed by the DRDO.

Apache and Chinook

Helicopter - India will start

taking deliveries of the Boeing

AH-64E Apache Longbow attack

Helicopters and Chinook CH

47F (I) helicopters. The delivery of Apache helicopters by the

company will start in July and will be completed by March 2020

and the delivery of the Chinooks which starts in March this year

too is expected to be completed by March 2020. The helicopters

coming through the Foreign Military (FMS) route was inked in

2015 worth $3 billion for 22 Boeing AH-64E Apache Longbow

attack Helicopters and 15 Chinook heavy-lift machines.

Arrow 3 Interceptor System - The Israeli and US defence

ministries announced that they have successfully tested ballistic

missile interceptors deployed at Israeli airbases. The Arrow 3

interceptor system, designed to shoot down missiles above the

atmosphere, was deployed at air force bases across Israel two

years ago.

Chinese Spacecraft Chang'e-4 - ‘Chang'e-4’, a Chinese spacecraft,

has made the first-ever landing on the far side of the moon.

Earlier in 2013, China landed its rover on the moon, joining the

United States and the Soviet Union as the only nations to have

carried out a “soft landing” there, but the Chang’e-4 is the first to

touch down on the far side of the moon that perpetually faces

away from the Earth. The far side of the moon is relatively

unexplored. It is also known as the dark side of the moon.

Yutu-2 Lunar Rover - China has named the lunar rover,

successfully deployed to carry out a string of experiments on the

far side of the moon, as ‘Yutu-2’. Yutu-2 touched the lunar

surface on 3 January. The rover’s touchdown is part of China

Chang’e-4 lunar probe.

Opportunity Rover - NASA's Opportunity rover has completed 15

years of its touchdown on the surface of Mars. The six-wheeler

rover had landed in a region of Mars called Meridiani Planum on

January 24, 2004. The solar-powered rover went silent since a

global dust storm in June last year.

Plant on Moon - A small

green shoot is growing

on the moon in an out-

of-this-world first after a

cotton seed germinated

on board a Chinese lunar

lander. The sprout has emerged from a lattice-like structure

inside a canister since the Chang’e-4 lander set down earlier this

month. The Chang’e-4 probe made the world’s first soft landing

on the moon’s “dark side” on January 3.

China Developed ‘Mother of All Bombs’ - China has developed a

massive bomb, said to be the country’s answer to the US-built

‘Mother of All Bombs’, the most powerful non-nuclear weapon.

China’s defence industry giant NORINCO for the first time

showcased the aerial bomb. The bomb was airdropped by an H-

6K bomber and caused a gigantic explosion.

Israel Aerospace Industries - Israel Aerospace Industries

(IAI) announced entering into agreements worth $93 million this

for providing Naval Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile

(MRSAM) systems to India. The contracts for the air defence

system were entered with the Indian Navy and the Cochin

Shipyard.

Nasr Missile Tested - Pakistan successfully conducted training

launch of the short range surface-to-surface ballistic missile

“Nasr”. The launch was aimed at enhancing the operational

efficiency of Army Strategic Forces Command.

Sea Vigil Exercise - The Indian Navy on January 22, 2019

commenced its largest-ever coastal defence exercise - ‘Sea Vigil’-


34

off the Indian coast, ten years after the "26/11" attack. The

exercise, a first of its kind, is being undertaken along the entire

7516.6 km coastline and Exclusive Economic Zone of India and is

involving all the 13 coastal States and Union Territories.

Indian Africa Field Training Exercise - The final planning

conference to work out the modalities for Indian Africa Field

Training Exercise (IAFTX)-2019 is being conducted at Pune on 23-

24 January 2019. Delegates from Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal,

Sudan, South Africa, Tanzania, Namibia, Mozambique, Uganda,

Niger & Zambia attended the conference.

IMBEX Exercise - The second edition of the India-Myanmar

bilateral army exercise, IMBEX 2018-19, commenced at

Chandimandir Military Station in Chandigarh. The aim of this joint

training programme is to train the Myanmar delegation for

participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations under

the UN flag.

Joint Military Drill Involving Three Forces - Defence Minister

Nirmala Sitharaman will witness a joint military drill involving the

Army, the Air Force, the Navy and the Coast Guard in Andaman

and Nicobar Islands. She will witness three exercises - general

survival exercise, amphibious drill and a joint drill. Andaman and

Nicobar is an Integrated Services Command. The Marine

Commando (MARCO) unit of the Indian Navy and specialist

platoon (GHATAK) of the Indian Army displayed their operational

capabilities by carrying out helocasting and beach assault.

Iran And Russia Will Hold Joint Naval Exercises - Iran and Russia

are preparing to hold joint naval exercises in the Caspian Sea,

including rescue and anti-piracy drills. Iran and Russia have close

ties, including in Syria where they both back President Bashar al-

Assad in the country's civil war.

Underground Steel Great Wall - According to Chinese defence

scientist Qian Qihu, China has built an “Underground Steel Great

Wall” below the mountains to hide its nuclear weapons from the

potential attacks. China’s nuclear strategy follows the principle of

“no first use” and requires the country to have the capability of

withstanding a nuclear attack before it responds with its strategic

weapons.

Manned Space Mission -

ISRO is aiming for a manned

mission to space in

December 2021. This will

be preceded by two

unmanned missions, slated for December 2020 and July 2021.

ISRO got a shot in its arm with the approval of Rs 10,000 crore

budget for the human space mission recently.

Construction of Six Submarines Approved - Defence Ministry

Approved In a major decision, the Defence Ministry approved

indigenous construction of six submarines for the Indian Navy at a

cost of over Rs 40,000 crore. This was decided at a meeting of the

Defence Acquisition Council (DAC). The Defence Acquisition

Council headed by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also

gave approval for the Rs 12,000 crore Milan-2T anti-tank missiles.

INS Kohassa - Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba commissioned the

new Naval Air Base ‘INS Kohassa’ at Diglipur in Andaman and

Nicobar Islands. The Naval Air Base will enhance the maritime

capability along with keeping the northern part of Andaman sea

and the area under surveillance.

Japan Will Launched Mini

Satellite - Japan Aerospace

Exploration Agency has launched

Tokyo-based startup Star-ALE’s

mini-satellite aimed to deliver

the world’s first artificial meteor shower. The satellite carries 400

tiny balls, will be enough for 20-30 events, that will glow as they

rush down the atmosphere on being released. ALE plans to

deliver its first show in Hiroshima in early 2020.

Iran Launched Satellite - Iran launched a satellite, however, it

failed to reach the orbit in the final stage. Payam satellite was

successfully launched with the Basir satellite carrier. Iran still


35

plans to launch another low Earth orbit satellite, Doosti which

mean Friendship in Persian.

40 Satellite In Next 4 Years - Indian Space Research Organisation

(ISRO) Chairman Dr. K Sivan stated that the Union Government

has allocated 10,900 crore rupees for the development of 40

satellite launch vehicles in the next 4 years. Dr. Sivan also stated

that Chandrayan Mission will be launched within three months.

He also said that the human spaceflight Gaganyaan is planned to

be launched by 2022, the 75th anniversary of Independence.

Space Galleries - The ISRO has plans to set up Space Galleries in

various locations in the country. Initially, Space Galleries are

planned to be established at Birla Science Centre at Hyderabad,

Nehru Science Centre at Mumbai and National Science Centre at

Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. In addition to this, ISRO has taken

initiatives to establish space gallery in all the national

museums/science centres (under Ministry of Culture) across the

country in a phased manner.

India’s Space Diplomacy - As part of New Delhi’s space

diplomacy, India will set up five large ground stations and more

than 500 small terminals in five neighbouring countries – Bhutan,

Nepal, Maldives, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. These stations and

terminals will help put in place applications ranging from

television broadcasting to telephony and internet, disaster

management and tele-medicine. ISRO meanwhile can use these

ground stations to communicate with its own satellites. first of

the five ground stations, coming up in Bhutan’s capital Thimphu,

will be ready for commissioning on January 9. A similar project in

Afghanistan is set to come up later.

Committee / Report / Index / Ranking

Committee on GST - Bihar

Deputy Chief Minister Sushil

Modi will head the seven-

member committee to look

into revenue shortfall being faced by the states after the GST roll-

out, and suggest steps for augmenting collections. Several states

including Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Uttarakhand,

Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, Goa, Bihar, Gujarat and Delhi are

facing revenue shortfall in the range of 14-37 per cent in the

April-November period following the implementation of goods

and services tax (GST). Among the union territories, Puducherry is

facing maximum shortfall of 43 per cent. Out of 31 states, only

Andhra Pradesh and five north eastern states — Mizoram,

Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Sikkim and Nagaland — have recorded

revenue increase post the GST roll out.

Committee For EVM

Manipulation - A four-

member committee of

opposition party leaders

has been formed after

reports of EVM manipulation by the BJP, West Bengal Chief

Minister Mamata Banerjee said. The committee, comprising

Abhishek Manu Singhvi (Congress), Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi

Party), Satish Mishra (Bahujan Samaj Party) and Arvind Kejriwal

(Aam Aadmi Party) will submit its recommendations to the EC for

implementation and will press for wider use of VVPAT.

Corruption Perceptions Index - India rose by three points to 78 in

the list of 180 countries in the world, while China ranked 87 and

Pakistan 117 in 2018, the Transparency International said in its

Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2018. The top countries on

the list are Denmark and New Zealand. Somalia, Syria and South

Sudan are at the bottom of the list.

Global Talent Competitive Index - India has moved up one

position to rank 80th on the global talent competitive index, but

remains a laggard among the BRICS nations. Switzerland

continues to top the list, released on the first day of the World

Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting at Davos by INSEAD

business school in partnership with Tata Communications and

Adecco Group.

Top 3 Countries - Switzerland, Singapore, USA.


36

Innovative Index - In Bloomberg 2019 Innovative Index, India has

grabbed the 54th position among 95 countries. South Korea has

retained the top spot, Germany ranked second.

N.K. Singh Committee - While the Centre is moving in the right

direction in terms of meeting the N.K. Singh Committee

recommendations on public debt, the States are moving in the

opposite direction. Centre’s total debt as a percentage of GDP

reduced to 46.5% in 2017-18 from 47.5% as of March 31, 2014.

The total debt of the States, however, has been rising over this

period, to 24% in 2017-18, and is estimated to be 24.3% in 2018-

19.

FRBM Act - The N.K. Singh-headed FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility

and Budget Management) Review Committee report had

recommended the ratio to be 40% for the Centre and 20% for the

States, respectively, by 2023.

Committee For Digital Payment - The Reserve Bank of India has

appointed a five-member panel headed by Nandan Nilekani to

suggest ways to improve digital payments. The committee will

submit its report in 90 days. Other Member are - Former Deputy

Governor of RBI H.R. Khan, former Vijaya Bank MD and CEO

Kishore Sansi, former Secretary of Information and Technology

Aruna Sharma and Sanjay Jain, Chief Innovation Officer, Center

for Innovation, Incubation & Entrepreneurship (CIIE), IIM

Ahmedabad.

Andhra Pradesh

Topped in Ease Doing

Business Index - Andhra

Pradesh emerged on top of Asia Competitiveness Institute

(ACI), Singapore's 2018 Ease of Doing Business (EDB) Index ABC

rankings for economies of 21 states of India, while Maharashtra

and Delhi came in second and third place, respectively. Andhra

Pradesh rose from the 5th rank in 2016 to the top spot in 2018.

Committee For Lokpal Selection - The government informed the

Supreme Court that a eight-member search committee has been

constituted in September 2018 for zeroing in on eligible

candidates for Lokpal and the anti-corruption authority will frame

its own rules of functioning. The panel is led by former Supreme

Court judge, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai.

Swachh Survekshan 2019 - Union Housing and Urban Affairs

Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, launched the ‘Swachh Survekshan

2019’, the fourth edition of the annual nationwide cleanliness

survey of urban India in New Delhi. The survey will cover 40 crore

people across over 4000 towns and cities. Swachh Survekshan

2019, completely digital and paperless survey, will be completed

in a record time of 28 days.

Six districts Selected for Ease of Doing Business - Six districts in

Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and

Himachal Pradesh have been selected towards district-level ease

of doing business, commerce minister Suresh Prabhu said. The

minister added that a baseline is being created for the purpose

and resources and skills available in districts are being identified

so that they could be harnessed.

Bloomberg Innovation Index

- India has been ranked

in Bloomberg’s 2019 list of

most innovative countries in the world - 2019 Bloomberg

Innovation Index - for the first time ever. India has grabbed

the 54th spot with a score of 47.93 out of 100 in the Innovation

Index of 60 economies. South Korea has topped the Index for

the sixth time, followed by Germany and Finland.

UK Sinha Committee - The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of

India (IBBI) has set up an 11-member working group under the

Chairmanship of former SEBI chief UK Sinha to go into the

concept of ‘Group Insolvency’ and suggest a suitable framework.

This Working Group has been tasked to submit a report within

two months.

Committee for MSME - Reserve Bank of India has appointed an

eight-member expert committee headed by former SEBI

chairman U.K. Sinha to comprehensively review and propose


37

long-term solutions for revival of the micro, small and medium

enterprises (MSME) sector.

Economist Intelligent Unit Democracy Index - The 11th edition of

Economist Intelligent Unit Democracy Index 2018 was released by

the Economist Intelligent Unit compiling the state of democracies

in 167 countries in the world. In the list, Norway topped and India

ranked at 41st place. Top 3 performing countries – Norway,

Iceland and Sweden.

Committee on Digital Media -

Committee headed by Umesh

Sinha has submitted its report on

digital media and campaigning

during last 48 hours before polls

to the Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora. Task of

maintaining campaign silence during last 48 hours before the

conclusion of polling is becoming increasingly onerous due to the

influence of digital media. No campaigning is allowed in the last

48 hours so that voters can think independently.

Henley Passport Index - According to the Henley Passport Index

Japan for the second time in a row, has topped a global index for

the world's most powerful passport in 2019, while India ranked at

the 79th position.

Tata Most Trusted Indian Brand - Tata group has been ranked

86th in the list compiled by the London-based consultancy Brand

Finance, up from 104 in 2018. It is the only domestic brand in the

global top-100. The value of the brand Tata has soared 37 percent

to USD 19.5 billion in 2019.

Standing Committee Drug Pricing - The Government constituted

a Standing Committee headed by NITI Aayog to oversee the drug

pricing regime. The constitution of the Committee is seen as a

move that would curb the powers of the National

Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority (NPPA) when it comes to

regulating the prices of medicines in the country.

Edelman Trust Barometer Report - According to Edelman Trust

Barometer report - 2019 India is among the most trusted nations

globally when it comes to government, business, NGOs and

media but the country’s brands are among the least-trusted.

China topped the Trust Index among both the informed public

and the general population segments. India was at the 2nd

place in the informed public category and 3rd place in the general

population category. The findings are based on an online survey

in 27 markets covering over 33,000 respondents.

Group of Ministers on Lottery - The Ministry of Finance

constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) on issues relating to

lottery. The GoM was constituted in pursuance of the decision of

GST Council taken in the 32nd meeting held on January 10, 2019

at New Delhi. Sudhir Mungantiwar is the Convener of GoM.

Group of Ministers on Real Estate - The Ministry of Finance

constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) for boosting the Real

Estate Sector under the GST regime. Deputy Chief Minister of

Gujarat Nitin Patel is the convener of the GoM. The Secretary of

the GoM will be Manish Sinha. Finance Ministers of Maharashtra,

Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh and the Panchayat

Minister of Goa are the members.

SEBI Constituted Research

Advisory Committee - Security

and Exchange Board of India

(SEBI) has constituted a

"Research Advisory" committee

that will assist in formulating policy to undertake research

relevant for development and regulation of capital markets. The

committee, headed by Sankar De, would comprise prominent

financial economists and market practitioners.

Global Economic Prospects Report - According to Global

Economic Prospects report released by the World Bank, India’s

GDP is expected to grow at 7.3% in the fiscal year 2018-19,

and 7.5% in the following two years. India will continue to be the

fastest growing major economy in the world. China’s economic

growth is projected to slow down to 6.2% each in 2019. While

The World Bank has projected moderation of global growth from

three per cent last year to 2.9 per cent this year.


38

Web Wonder Women Campaign - The government launched

Web Wonder Women Campaign to celebrate the exceptional

achievements of women who have influenced and impacted

society through social media. Ministry in collaboration with

Breakthrough and Twitter India has started this campaign. The

Campaign invites entries from across the world till 31st of this

month. Indian-origin women, working or settled anywhere in the

world, are eligible for nomination. The shortlisted entries will be

open for public voting on Twitter and the finalists will be selected

by a specialized panel of judges.

Grading Index For School - The HRD ministry has introduced a 70-

point grading index to assess the quality of school education

offered by states. A state performance grading will be done

wherein the states will be marked out of 1,000 scores on 70

parameters. It will give the correct picture of where every states.

There will be a fair competition to improve each other's

performances.

Task Force For Navodaya Vidyalayas - The Union Human

Resource Development Ministry constituted a task force under

the Chairmanship of Psychiatrist, Dr Jitendra Nagpal, to look into

the issues of suicides of the students in Jawahar Navodaya

Vidyalayas. The task force will look into the circumstances leading

to the suicidal deaths of students residing in the hostels of

Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas residential schools.

Books and Authors

Malala Yousafzai - Nobel Peace Prize

winner and Pakistani activist Malala

Yousafzai pens a new book, titled 'We

Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories

from Refugee Girls Around the World,'

charting her experiences traveling the

world and visiting refugee camps.

Important Days

15th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas - The 15th edition of the Pravasi

Bhartiya Divas (PBD) began at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh on

January 21, 2019, giving a chance to the Indian diaspora to

participate in the ongoing Kumbha Mela. For the first time in the

history of Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas, the event is being held in

Varanasi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will formally inaugurate

the event on January 22, 2019, along with his Mauritian

counterpart Pravind Jugnauth, the Chief Guest of the event. The

theme 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was 'Role of Indian Diaspora

in building New India'. The Youth Pravasi Bhartiya Divas and Uttar

Pradesh Pravasi Bhartiya Divas were held on the opening day

itself that is on January 21, 2019.

National Voters' day - The

9th National Voters' day

was observed across India

on January 25, 2019 with

an aim to increase

enrolment of voters, especially of the newly eligible ones. The

theme of the Day is - No Voter to be Left Behind. 25th January is

the foundation day of the Election Commission of India

(ECI) which came into existence in 1950.

World Leprosy Eradication Day - 30th January 2019, is celebrated

as World Leprosy Eradication Day which stresses the need

of eradicating the disease. This year’s theme for World Leprosy

Day is ‘ending discrimination, stigma, and prejudice’.

Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease is a highly contagious

infection caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae.

Uttar Pradesh Foundation Day - Uttar Pradesh celebrated its

69th foundation day on January 24, 2019. To celebrate the

occasion, the main function was organised at Awadh Shilp Gram

in Lucknow. Uttar Pradesh was earlier known as United Province

but through a Gazette notification, it got its name of Uttar

Pradesh on January 24, 1950.

Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura Statehood Day - Manipur,

Meghalaya and Tripura are celebrating their statehood day on 21

January. On this day in 1972, all the three states became full-

fledged states under the North Eastern Region (Reorganisation)

Act, 1971. President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister


39

Narendra Modi extended his best wishes to the states for a bright

and prosperous future.

Himachal Pradesh Statehood day - Himachal Pradesh is

celebrating its 49th full Statehood day on 25. It was on this day in

1971 when Himachal Pradesh was carved out as the 18th State of

the country.

Hindi Word of The Year - Nari Shakti was chosen as the Hindi

word of the year 2018 by Oxford Dictionary. The March 2018

recorded a large spike in the use of ''Nari Shakti'' as discussion

began around Indian government's Nari Shakti Puraskar given by

the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

National Girl Child Day - National Girl Child Day is being

celebrated on 24 January. The theme this year is “Empowering

Girls for a Brighter Tomorrow”. Women and Child Development

Ministry have organised an event in Delhi to observe the

anniversary of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme.

Army Day - 71st Army

Day was celebrated

across India on January

15, 2019. The Day is

celebrated every year

to commemorate the

day when General (later Field Marshal) KM Carriappa took over

the command of Indian Army from General Sir FRR Bucher, the

last British Commander-in-Chief in 1949 and became the first

Commander-in-Chief of Indian Army.

World Hindi Day - World Hindi Day is celebrated on January

10 every year, marking the anniversary of first World Hindi

Conference which was held in 1975. World Hindi Day

and National Hindi Diwas are completely different. National Hindi

Diwas is celebrated every year on September 14.

DRDO Day - Defence Research and Development Organisation

(DRDO) day was observed on 1 January. The DRDO was

established in 1958 with just 10 laboratories to enhance the

research work in defence sector.

World Braille Day - The world Braille Day is being celebrated on 4

January. The day is marked remembering the birth anniversary of

Louis Braille, the inventor of Braille - for the people with visual

disabilities. United Nations observes the first official World Braille

Day for raising awareness on the importance of Braille.

National Youth Day - The National Youth Day is celebrated across

the country on 12th January. This day is celebrated on the birth

anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.

Data Protection Day - The Council of Europe had launched a Data

Protection Day to be celebrated each year on 28 January, the

date on which the Council of Europe’s data protection

convention, known as “Convention 108”, was opened to the

signature.

Sports News

Novak Djokovic - Novak

Djokovic defeated Rafael

Nadal to win his 7th Australian

Open Men's Singles title at

Melbourne. The resurgent

world No.1 outplayed the

second-ranked Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in a largely one-sided match.

Earlier, In Women's Singles, Japan's Naomi Osaka clinched her

maiden Australian Open Grand Slam Singles title in Melbourne.

Osaka defeated Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic.

Saina Nehwal - Ace shuttler

Saina Nehwal won her first

Indonesia Masters title after

three-time world champion

Carolina Marin limped out of

the final due to a leg injury. The Spaniard was leading 10-4 in the

first game at Jakarta today when she developed an injury in the

knee.

Maharashtra Topped in Khelo India Youth Games - Maharashtra

topped the medal tally with 37 golds at the Khelo India Youth

Games in Pune. It had 111 medals in its kitty with 37 gold, 31


40

silver and 43 bronze. Delhi was at second position with 35 gold

and Haryana too maintains its third position with 29 gold. 10-year

old Abhinav Shaw became the youngest gold medallist in the

shooting.

Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri -

Indian national cricket team's

captain Virat Kohli and coach

Ravi Shastri received the

honorary membership of the

Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) for their contribution to the sport of

cricket. The Indian team defeated Australia 2-1 in the four-match

Test series, ending the country's 71-year-old wait for a rare series

win Down Under.

D Gukesh - Tamil Nadu lad D Gukesh became the 2nd youngest

Grand Master in the world and the youngest Indian to achieve

the feat at 12 years, 7 months and 17 days. Gukesh becomes

India's 59th Grand Master. Ukraine's Sergey Karjakin remains the

youngest-ever GM, having achieved the feat at the age of 12

years and 7 months in 2002.

MC Mary Kom - MC Mary Kom became

the World No 1 Boxer in 45-48 kg

category with 1700 points in the latest

International Boxing Association’s (AIBA)

World Rankings. An Indian Olympic

boxer from Manipur, Mary Kom is the only woman to become

World Amateur Boxing champion for a record six times.

Africa Cup of Nations - Egypt will host the 2019 Africa Cup of

Nations between June 15 and July 13, 2019. Confederation of

African Football executive committee preferred Egypt to South

Africa as replacement for original hosts Cameroon, who were

dropped due to delays in preparations and concerns over

security.

Virat Kohli - Indian skipper Virat Kohli became the first cricketer

to win all the top three ICC individual awards including the Sir

Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year, the ICC

Men's Test Player of the Year and the ICC ODI Player of the Year

for his performances in 2018.

ICC Emerging Player Of The Year - Rishabh Pant was named

the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Emerging Player Of The

Year following an impressive show in India's first-ever Test

series win in Australia. With an unbeaten 159-run knock in the

4th Test in Sydney, Rishabh Pant became the first Indian wicket-

keeper to score a Test century in Australia.

Mohammed Shami - Mohammed

Shami became the fastest Indian bowler to

claim 100 ODI wickets, during the first one-

dayer against New Zealand at Napier.

Shami reached the milestone in his 56th

match. The Indian record was previously

held by Irfan Pathan, who got there in his 59th match. The world

record is currently held by Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan,

who needed only 44 games to reach the mark.

Jasprit Bumrah - The 25-year-old fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah

became the highest international wicket-taker across formats in

2018. He took a total of 78 wickets in the calendar year. Bumrah

surpassed South Africa's Kagiso Rabada's tally of 77 wickets to

reach the milestone.

Rohit Paudel - Nepal batsman Rohit Paudel has become

the youngest male cricketer to score an international fifty at the

age of 16 years and 146 days, breaking Sachin Tendulkar's

previous mark. He is also the youngest man to score a one-day

international half-century, beating Shahid Afridi.

IPL From 23 March - This year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) will

be held in India from March 23. The BCCI confirmed that the IPL

will be staged in India despite the general elections. Panel

decided to advance the IPL dates on account of the ICC World

Cup to be held in England from May 30.

Ambati Rayudu - Part-time bowler Ambati Rayudu was banned

from bowling in international cricket by the International Cricket

Council (ICC) after he failed to submit a test of his bowling


41

action. His action was reported by the match officials during the

first ODI between India and Australia in the recently-concluded

series.

World Para Swimming

Championships - Malaysia was

stripped of the right to host the

2019 World Para Swimming

Championships. The

International Paralympic Committee announced the decision

after the Malaysian authorities failed to provide the necessary

guarantees that Israeli Para swimmers could participate safely in

the Championships, free from discrimination.

Amateur Golf Championship - India's Kartik Sharma won the New

South Wales men's Amateur Golf Championship in Australia.

Kartik notched up a magnificent win over Australia's Nathan

Barberie in the scheduled 36-hole final to emerge as champion.

Johan Botha - Veteran South African all-rounder Johan Botha has

announced his immediate retirement from all forms of cricket.

The former cricketer had played for the South African national

team between 2005 and 2012.

Ankita Raina - India's Ankita Raina has won the International

Tennis Federation's 25,000-dollar Women's tournament in

Singapore. In the final faceoff Ankita defeated Arantxa Rus of the

Netherlands.

India and Australia ODI - India defeated Australia in the third ODI

to clinch the three-match series 2-1. With this, India became the

first visiting side to win a bilateral series (two or more matches) in

all three formats in Australia.

Shakil Ahmed - Asian Cup gold medallist Shakil Ahmed has set up

a world record in indoor rowing by completing 1 lakh

meters in above-40 years category in Kolkata. Shakil began his

record-setting indoor rowing feat in Salt Lake stadium

complex and achieved the milestone of covering 1 lakh meters of

simulated distance in 10 hours.

Vinesh Phogat - Indian star

wrestler Vinesh Phogat

became the first Indian

athlete to be nominated for

the prestigious Laureus

World Comeback of the Year Award. The Awards will be

presented on February 18, 2019 in Monaco, a tiny independent

city-state on France’s Mediterranean coastline.

Mohammed Ali Qamar - Mohammed Ali Qamar, the man who

won India's first Commonwealth Games gold medal in boxing, has

taken over as the chief coach for the country's female boxers. He

has replaced veteran Shiv Singh.

Eklavya Model Residential Schools - The 1st National Level

Sports Meet for the students of Eklavya Model Residential

Schools (EMRS) was inaugurated by Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai

Bhabhor, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs at G.M.C Balayogi

Stadium, Hyderabad.

Stephen Constantine - Stephen Constantine has decided to step

down as the head coach of the Indian football team following

team's exit from 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

African Football Player of the Year - Egypt ‘s Mohamed Salah has

been named as the 2018 Confederation of African Football Player

of the Year. For the second consecutive year he has won the

award.

Harendra Singh - Hockey India officially parted ways with

Harendra Singh as the men’s chief coach and recommended him

for the junior side instead.

Hopman Cup - Switzerland's Roger Federer and Belinda

Bencic secured victory over Germany's Angelique Kerber and

Alexander Zverev to win the Hopman Cup for the second year in a

row.

National Table Tennis Championship - The 80th National Table

Tennis Championship began at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium

in Cuttack

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