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www.aspirantszone.com A2Z January 2019 Current Affairs PDF

A2Z Current Affairs PDF

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January 2019

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MOU/Agreement Countries

India and Sri Lanka signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide modern infrastructural facilities to

Swami Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies of Eastern University in Batticaloa district of Sri Lanka.

Nepal and India have agreed to set up an ‘Energy Banking’ mechanism that would help the Himalayan country

export its surplus electricity to neighbour India during the monsoon season and import power during its lean

season in winter.

Celebrating 50-years of formalization of diplomatic ties between India and Bhutan, a two-day international

conference on 8th century Himalayan sage Guru Padmasambhava was held in New Delhi that saw the participation

of distinguished scholars from both countries. The conference, organised by the Centre for Escalation of Peace

(CEP) and titled ‘Life and Legacy of Guru Padmasambhava’, was held on January 29-30.

MOU Industry/States/Others

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Army and PNB on the Defence Salary

Package. A number of additional facilities have been incorporated in the MoU after concerted efforts.

The National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Ltd (NCDEX) and Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA),

the premier training Institute in agri-business and rural management has signed a memorandum of understanding

(MOU) with special emphasis mentoring Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and allied institutions.

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- Programme for

International Student Assessment (PISA) 2021.

Appointments and Resignations

Name Post Extra Info

Dinesh Maheshwari, Sanjiv Khanna sworn in as Supreme Court judges

Ajay Narayan Jha Finance Secretary of India He got one-month extension till Feb-

end

Sanjay Jain Additional Solicitor General in the Supreme

Court of India

M. Nageswara Rao Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

Director

Succeeds Alok Verma

Nitin Wakankar Chief Information Officer and spokesperson

of CBI

Succeeds Abhishek Dayal

Jaideep Govind Secretary General, National Human Rights

Commission

Prabhat Singh Director General (Investigation), National

Human Rights Commission

Rakesh Asthana Director General of the Bureau of Civil

Aviation Security (BCAS)

Amitabh Chaudhry Managing Director & CEO of Axis Bank After Shikha Sharma retired

V Vaidyanathan MD and CEO of IDFC First Bank








Ravneet Gill MD and CEO of Yes Bank Succeeds Rana Kapoor

Ajai Kumar interim MD, CEO of Yes Bank Till Ravneet Gill takes the post

Parthasarathi Mukherjee MD of Lakshmi Vilas Bank Reappointed for another 2 years

Dilip Sadarangani Part Time Chairman of Federal Bank

Chhabilendra Roul Secretary of Department of Fertilizers

Sudhir Bhargava Chief Information Commissioner

VK Yadav Chairman of Railway Board

Hemant Bhargava Life Insurance Corporation of India’s Acting

Chairman

Pramod Kumar Singh Competition Commission of India (CCI)’s

Secretary

Saurabh Kumar Chairman of Ordnance Factory Board

Aqeel Ahmed Chairman of Council for Leather Exports

Deepika Padukone Chairperson of the Mumbai Academy of

Moving Image (MAMI)

Lt Gen Rajeev Chopra Director General of National Cadet Corps

(NCC)

Ajit Kumar P. Western Naval Command (WNC) of the

Indian Navy

G Ashok Kumar Vice Chief of Naval Staff

Poonam Khetrapal Singh

Manu Sawhney International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Chief

Executive Officer

Pranav R Mehta President of Global Solar Council (GSC) First Indian to head GSC. HQ-

Washington D.C., USA

Gita Gopinath Chief Economist of International Monetary

Fund

First woman to occupy the top IMF

post. She is from Mysore, Karnataka.

Sultan Abdullah Ibni

Sultan Ahmad Shah

16th King of Malaysia

Stefan Lofven Prime Minister of Sweden

Su Tseng-chang Prime Minister of Taiwan

Sheikh Hasina Prime Minister of Bangladesh She won 3rd Consecutive Term

Christophe Joseph Marie

Dabire

Prime Minister of Burkina Faso

Nicolas Maduro President of Venezuela

Andry Rajoelina President of Madagascar

RESIGNATIONS:

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim unexpectedly resigned

Malaysia’s King Muhammad V becomes 1st Monarch to resign before completing tenure

CBI director Alok Verma has been removed from his post after a high-powered committee headed by Prime

Minister Narendra Modi met for over two hours to decide his fate, making him the first chief in the history of

the agency to face such action.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Chairman Ashok Chawla stepped down from his position.








The Chief Executive of Flipkart Group’s e-tail portals Myntra and Jabong, Ananth Narayanan, has stepped down

from the post.

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of photo-messaging app Snapchat, Tim Stone, has called it quits after just eight

months of being appointed at the post.

Chanda Kochhar, who had resigned as CEO and MD of ICICI Bank nearly four months back, was terminated and all

her entitlements were revoked by the bank. The action by the bank came six days after the CBI booked her along

with her businessman husband Deepak Kochhar and Videocon MD Dhoot and a few others for criminal conspiracy

in an alleged loan fraud case.

Awards and Recognitions

Award Name Person/Institution Extra Knowledge

First-ever Philip Kotler Presidential

award

PM Narendra Modi Prof. Philip Kotler is a world-renowned

Professor of Marketing at Northwestern

University, Kellogg School of Management.

Sansad Ratna Award

BJP MP Anurag

Thakur

Saraswati Samman 2017 Gujarati poet

Sitanshu

Yashashchandra

For his poetry collection in Gujarati named

“Vakhar”

Sushila Devi Literature Award Writer Namita

Gokhale

For her novel “Things to Leave Behind”

Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja National

Award for Lifetime Achievement in

Literature

Manoj Das He is an eminent English and Odia writer

Lifetime Achievement award by the

Mantralaya and Vidhimandal Vartahar

Sangh

Dinu Randive Veteran journalist

UDCT Alumni Association-Dhirubhai

Ambani Lifetime Achievement Award

Sir Richard J. Roberts

(from UK)

He is 1993 Nobel laureate (Physiology or

Medicine)

ICSIs Lifetime Achievement Award for

‘Translating Excellence in Corporate

Governance into Reality’

Adi Godrej

Lifetime Achievement Award by the

West Bengal Film Journalists

Association (WBFJA)

Buddhadeb Dasgupta

Republic Day Journalism Award 2019

by Assam Government

Dhirendra Nath

Chakraborty

Kerala Sahitya Akademi award for the

best novel of 2017

Nireeswaran (Novel’s

name)

Novel by V J James

1st Sheikh Saud International Prize for

Materials Research

Indian scientist C.N.R.

Rao

Awarded by the Centre for Advanced

Materials of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

2019 Japan Prize Dr. Rattan Lal is being honored for his work in identifying

technological options adapted to various

ecosystems through his intensive basic and








applied research on processes and factors of

soil degradation caused by inappropriate

biological production.

Oscar Wilde Award Glenn Close

(American actress)

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).

The 38-year-old K Dhanya Sanal, a spokesperson for the Union Ministry of Defence, has become the first

woman, who is trekking to Agasthyarkoodam peak, after the Kerala High Court lifted the ban on women’s

trekking on December 9 last year.

Aparna Kumar has become the first woman IPS DIG and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) officer to successfully

complete the South Pole expedition.

Well-known mountaineer Satyarup Siddhanta, 35, conquered Antarctica’s highest point, Mount Sidley, to

become the youngest man in the world to have climbed the seven highest volcanic peaks, besides other

summits.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has been awarded the Carnot Prize for his contribution towards sustainable energy

solutions by the University of Pennsylvania located in ‎Philadelphia, Pennsylvania‎, US. He has donated the prize

money to International Solar Alliance.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation was awarded Best Capital City in the Solid Waste Management in

the Swachh Survekshan 2018 rankings.

Dhruv Manoj, 12 has bagged two gold medals at the World Memory Championships held in Hong Kong.

Three Journalists from Tamil Nadu win, this year, the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award that

includes News18 Tamilnadu’s Chief Editor M Gunasekaran, Freelance Journalist Sandhya Ravishankar for her

contribution to The Wire and Vijay Kumar S from The Hindu for his Investigative reporting on Gutka Scam.

An Indian-American philanthropist and entrepreneur, Gurinder Singh Khalsa, has been presented with the

prestigious Rosa Park Trailblazer award for his campaign that forced US authorities change their policy towards

headgear of the Sikh community.

“No Presents Please”, originally written in Kannada by noted author Jayant Kaikini and translated into English by

Tejaswini Niranjana, was announced as the winner of the prestigious $25,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature

2018 at the Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet in Kolkata.

Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) has been awarded the best miniratna PSU in strategic performance (financial

category) at the Governance Now Sixth PSU awards. HQ – Assam.

The Tamil translation of Andrei Makine’s “La vie d’un homme inconnu” (The Life of an Unknown Man) was awarded

the second Romain Rolland Prize for literary translation in Jaipur at the ongoing Jaipur Literature Festival.

The ICAR tableau in the Republic Day Parade has won the first prize for its Kisan Gandhi theme. The Indian Council

of Agricultural Research tableau with the theme “Mishrit Kheti, Khushiyon Ki Kheti” portrayed Gandhi with goats

and a cow and Kasturba engaged with charkha and caring animals.

Rajiv Nath was conferred with the prestigious ‘Award of Appreciation’ by Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State

for Health & Family Welfare for his contribution to the Global Public Healthcare sector

The government announced winners of the Gandhi Peace Prize for four years beginning 2015 to 2018.

Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari, gets the award for 2015 for their contribution in rural development, education,

development of natural resources.








For 2016, it has been jointly given to Akshaya Patra Foundation for its contribution in providing mid-day meals

children and Sulabh International for its contribution in improving the condition of sanitation and emancipation of

manual scavengers.

Ekal Abhiyan Trust has won the award for 2017 for their contribution in providing education for rural and tribal

children in remote areas, rural empowerment, gender and social equality

Yohei Sasakawa for 2018 for his contribution in leprosy eradication.

2019 Screen Actors Guild Awards

Here is the complete list of winners:

Outstanding performance by a male actor in leading role: Rami Malek, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Outstanding performance by a female actor in leading role: Glenn Close, ‘The Wife’ Outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role: Mahershala Ali, ‘Green Book’ Outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role: Emily Blunt, ‘A Quiet Place’ Outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture: ‘Black Panther’ Outstanding performance by a male actor in a television movie or miniseries: Darren Criss, ‘Assassination of Gianni

Versace’ Outstanding performance by a female actor in a television movie or miniseries: Patricia Arquette, ‘Escape at

Dannemora’ Outstanding performance by a male actor in a drama series: Jason Bateman, ‘Ozark’ Outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series: Sandra Oh, ‘Killing Eve’ Outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series: Tony Shalhoub, ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ Outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series: Rachel Brosnahan, ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ Outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series: ‘This Is Us’ Outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series: ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ Outstanding action performance by a stunt ensemble in a comedy or drama Series: ‘Glow’

Conference and Summits

Summit Place Extra Knowledge

14th session of the Conference

of Parties to United Nations

Convention to Combat

Desertification (UNCCD)

India India to host in 2019

2019 World Book Fair New Delhi UAE’s third largest emirate Sharjah was its

2019 guest of honour.

First ‘National Consultation on

Child Protection’ for 2019

New Delhi

National Youth Parliament

Festival 2019

New Delhi

BES EXPO 2019 New Delhi Theme - Next Gen Broadcasting in the IT

World

Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors

Summit 2019

Mahatma Mandir in

Gandhinagar, Gujarat

This year United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan &

Morocco were the partner countries for 9th

edition of Vibrant Gujarat. President of

Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev attended the

Vibrant Gujarat international investment








summit as a key guest

Global Aviation Summit 2019 Mumbai, Maharashtra Theme: Flying for all-especially the next 6

Billion

25th Partnership Summit 2019 Mumbai, Maharashtra

Regional Conference on

‘Deendayal Disabled

Rehabilitation Scheme’

Mumbai, Maharashtra

India Steel 2019 Exhibition and

Conference

Mumbai, Maharashtra

9th International Conference on

Micro Irrigation

Aurangabad, Maharashtra

2nd World Orange Festival Nagpur, Maharashtra

15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh Prime Minister of Mauritius, Mr. Pravind

Jugnauth was the chief Guest of Convention.

Theme- Role of Indian Diaspora in building

New India

Indus Food 2019 Greater Noida, Uttar

Pradesh

Odisha participated as a partner state.

29th Indian Paint Conference Agra, Uttar Pradesh

Organics and Millets-2019

International Trade Fair

Bengaluru, Karnataka

6th ‘Women of India Organic

Festival’ Leisure Valley, Chandigarh

1st National Level Sports Meet

for the students of Eklavya

Model Residential Schools

(EMRS)

Hyderabad, Telangana

1st National Sports Meet 2019

for Tribals

Hyderabad, Telangana

9th Hyderabad literary festival Hyderabad, Telangana Focus Country – China

Focus Language – Gujarati

UNNATI (Unispace Nanosatellite

Assembly & Training)

programme

Bengaluru, Karnataka Organised by ISRO.

India will train 45 countries in nano-satellite

making through a new capacity building

programme.

South India MSME Summit 2019 Bengaluru, Karnataka

2nd World Integrated Medicine

Forum 2019

Goa

World Economic Forum, WEF,

annual meet

Davos, Switzerland Theme - Globalization 4.0: Shaping a Global

Architecture in the Age of the Fourth

Industrial Revolution

7th Meeting of Tourism

Ministers of ASEAN and India

Ha Long City, Vietnam

Arab Economic And Social

Development Summit

Beirut, Lebanon








International News

Tropical Storm Usman, which entered the Philippines on Christmas Day, emerged as the deadliest weather disaster

for the country this year following Typhoon Mangkhut in September.

Thousands have been left stranded across tourist hotspots in Thailand as tropical storm ‘Pabuk’ made landfall in the

country’s southern gulf coast.

The United States and Israel officially quit the U.N.’s educational, scientific and cultural agency (UNESCO) at the

stroke of midnight, the culmination of a process triggered more than a year ago amid concerns that the

organization fosters anti-Israel bias.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act (ARIA), which passed the U.S.

Senate earlier in December.

France will introduce its own tax on large internet and technology companies from January 1. It 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.

Gautemala to withdraw from UN-backed anti-corruption commission

President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the honorary rank of General of the Indian Army on Purna Chandra Thapa,

the Chief of the Army Staff of Nepalese Army.

The Parliament of Macedonia has passed the resolution to amend the constitution of the country to rename it as

the Republic of Northern Macedonia.

The world’s first human rights TV channel has been launched by the International Observatory of Human Rights

(IOHR).

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 US city of Louisville in Kentucky state is set to rename its airport after hometown hero and boxing legend

Muhammad Ali (name before conversion to Islam – Cassius Clay), who died in 2016.

Palestine took over the chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China from Egypt at the United Nations headquarters

in New York. Palestine is slated to lead the bloc for 2019.

The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco) has named the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro as

the World Capital of Architecture for 2020.

China announced that its economy cooled down in the last quarter of 2018, recording a growth rate of 6.6 per cent,

which is the slowest in the last 28 years.

China is set to overtake the United States as the world’s biggest retail market in 2019, according to Research firm

eMarketer.

The world’s longest 3D-printed concrete pedestrian bridge, which is 26.3 metre-long and 3.6-metre-wide, opened

in China’s Shanghai.

Twenty-six richest billionaires own as many assets as the 3.8 billion people who make up for the poorest half of the

planets population, according to a report by British charity Oxfam.

Nepal’s central bank has announced the ban of Indian currency notes with denominations above Rs 100.

The Pakistan government declared sugarcane juice as the “national drink” of the country.

Pakistan has appointed the country’s first ever Hindu female civil judge after she passed an examination for

induction of judicial officers. Suman Kumari, who hails from Qambar-Shahdadkot in Sindh province, will serve in her

native district.








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.

World Economic Situation and Prospects 2019 report by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs

(UNDESA). HQ – New York.

National News Even though the number of leprosy cases have steadily declined worldwide, an estimated two lakh cases continue

to be reported every year, with India accounting for more than half, said World Health Organization (WHO).

Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg arrived in New Delhi on a three-day state visit to India.

Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth arrived in India for a week-long official state visit.

In a bid to boost people-to-people ties and cultural exchanges, Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen

inaugurated a Danish Cultural Institute in New Delhi.

South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived in Delhi for his first state visit ahead of the Republic Day celebration

parade, where he is the chief guest.

Nashik in Maharashtra will be the site of the country’s second defence innovation hub after Coimbatore in Tamil

Nadu.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor in the Tiruchirapalli

district of Tamil Nadu.

Railways will build the country’s first vertical-lift bridge connecting Rameswaram in Arabian Sea to mainland India

that will allow ships and steamers to pass through without any hinderance, replacing the existing 104-year-old

Pamban bridge. It will be ready in the next four years, and along with the new railway link between Rameswaram

in Pamban Island and Dhanuskodi, which is considered the starting point of Ram Setu, will help ferry thousands of

pilgrims from the Hindu religious site to the mainland.

The 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:

125-year-old Old High Court Building in Nagpur, Maharashtra,

The Group of Temples in Ranipur Jharail in Bolangir district of Odisha,

2 Mughal era monuments in Agra- Haveli of Agha Khan and Hathi Khana,

The Neemrana Baori in Alwar district of Rajasthan,

The Vishnu Temple in Kotali, Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand.

The MSME ministry has established an export promotion cell to create a sustainable ecosystem for micro, small and

medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The government on January 2, 2019 gave out the 6-croreth free cooking gas (LPG) connection as the scheme to

make available cleaner fuel in every household kitchens runs ahead of schedule.

India achieved electrification in 100% households in 25 states at the end of 2018. Now, only about 10.48 lakh

households are left to be electrified in 4 states – Assam, Rajasthan, Meghalaya, and Chhattisgarh.

The Cabinet approved the restructuring of existing National Health Agency as ‘National Health Authority’ (as an

attached office to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) for better implementation of Pradhan Mantri-Jan Arogya

Yojana (PM-JAY).








Prime Minister Narendra Modi added ‘Jai Anusandhan’ to the slogan ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ given by the late Prime

Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, hailing the power of research to propel the nation into the top league.

An ambitious web-based single-window system ‘Parivesh’ (Pro-Active and Responsive facilitation by Interactive,

Virtuous and Environmental Single-window Hub) will be rolled-out at state levels by January 15, bringing an end to

the clearance nightmare for entrepreneurs.

Vijay Mallya became the first tycoon to be charged under a new anti-fraud law, with a court in Mumbai naming him

as an offender under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018.

As part of the enhanced outreach programme of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), a new platform named

Samwad with Students (SwS) was launched in Bengaluru on January 1, 2019.

The government launched Web- Wonder Women Campaign to celebrate the exceptional achievements of women

who have influenced and impacted society through social media.

Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Dr Harsh Vardhan launched the National Clean Air

Programme (NCAP) aiming to reduce toxic particulate matter by 2024, taking 2017 as the base year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has released a commemorative coin of Rs 350 to mark the birth anniversary of Guru

Gobind Singh, the ten preachers of the Sikh religion.

Two commemorative coins in the denomination of Rs 100 and Rs 5 were released to mark the 102nd birth

anniversary of late Tamil Nadu chief minister and ruling AIADMK founder M G Ramachandran which was celebrated

across the state.

Government eMarketplace (GeM) has launched an initiative – Womaniya on GeM – to enable women

entrepreneurs and self-help groups to sell different products at the platform. GeM is an online platform of the

ministry for procurement of goods and services by government departments, public sector units, and other

agencies.

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan flagged off SAKSHAM (Sanrakshan Kshmata

Mahotsav) Vans to promote and create awareness among people on the need of oil and gas conservation for the

future and the methods to do it.

Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF) and the Mayor of Prayagraj jointly launched Mukti Caravan with the

aim of making Kumbh a child-friendly festival.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved Rs 4,241.97crore for integrated e-filing and

centralised processing centre–2.0 Project-of the Income Tax Department.

In partnership with States, the Ministry of Rural Development has completed 1.37 crore Rural Homes since April

2014.

Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY) has crossed the milestone of 1 crore beneficiaries as on January

14, 2019, according to a release by Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is organising a fortnight of events named Shehri Samridhi Utsav from Feb 1 to

15 all over the country focusing on urban livelihoods.

Women to get 20% jobs in Military Police, said Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

India’s first-ever all-women political party the National Women’s Party (NWP) was launched in Mumbai and it will

contest half 283 of the 545 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 elections.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Subhas Chandra Bose museum at the iconic Red Fort in Delhi to

mark the freedom fighter’s 122nd birth anniversary. He also inaugurated the Yaad-e-Jallian Museum dedicated on

the Jallianwala Bagh and Indian soldiers in World War I. He also inaugurated a museum on 1857 India’s first war of

Independence, and the Drishyakala Museum on Indian Art within the Red Fort complex.








The Central government has instituted an annual award titled “Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan

Puraskar”, which is to be announced every year on January 23, on the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra

Bose. The award carries a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 51 lakh.

Indians have emerged as the biggest supporters of international aid, with a global public opinion survey putting

India on the top when it comes to people expecting their nation to help other countries, according to a survey

released by the World Economic Forum

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.

Oxford Dictionaries announced that ‘Nari Shakti’ as its Hindi Word of the Year for 2018.

Public funding in India in the field of research and development for neglected diseases has increased significantly

by Rs 135 crore since 2009, says a new report. The report conducted by G-Finder a project that tracks and reports

on global investments into research and development (R&D) for neglected diseases suggested that funding from

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) increased by Rs 147 crore.

India is on the way to becoming the fifth largest economy in the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said

recently. He was addressing the India-South Africa Business Forum organised jointly by Indian Industry Chambers

CII, FICCI and Assocham in the presence of visiting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar, has developed an 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.

People can watch the highlights of this year’s Republic Day parade at the Rajpath on a mobile application which has

been launched by the Defence Ministry. The ‘RDP INDIA 2019‘ app was launched on the occasion of the 70th

Republic day. This new initiative is in sync with the Digital India campaign of the government.

Highlighting the success of Make in India and contribution of Indian workers, Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal,

renamed India’s first indigenous semi-high speed train ‘Train 18’ as ‘Vande Bharat Express’. Vande Bharat Express

will run from Delhi to Varanasi taking stops at Kanpur and Prayagraj.

GST On Haj Reduced From 18% To 5%

State News

Andaman Nicobar Islands

Veer Savarkar International Airport in Port Blair, Andaman has been declared as an authorized Immigration Check

post for entry into/exit from India with valid travel documents for all classes of passengers.

Andaman To Be First Island To Operate Seaplanes Under UDAN-3

Andhra Pradesh

The Andhra Pradesh government bagged the Central Board of Irrigation and Power (CBIP) award for speedy

execution of Polavaram multipurpose project on the Godavari river.

Marking a golden letter day in the history of Polavaram project-the life line of Andhra Pradesh, the concrete works

of spill channel successfully entered Guinness Book of World Records by completing 32,315.5 Cubic meter of

concrete works in a span of 24 hours.

The three-day annual Flamingo Festival was held at Pulicat lake and Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary in Sullurpet mandal.

Flamingo Festival is held every year to promote tourism in Pulicat and Nellapattu.








Arunachal Pradesh

Chief Minister Pema Khandu inaugurated India’s longest 300-meter single-lane steel cable suspension bridge over

Siang river in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Siang district bordering China. The suspension bridge – also known as

Byorung bridge – was built at a cost of Rs 4,843 crore.

Defence Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the 426.60 metre long Diffo Bridge over Chipu River in

Lower Dibang Valley District in Arunachal Pradesh.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Pema Khandu declared Pakke Paga Hornbill Festival (PPHF) as the “State

Festival”. Pakke Paga Hornbill Festival (PPHF) is only conservation festival of Arunachal Pradesh.

Assam

Railway minister Piyush Goel announced that the Honey Bee plan in Assam that kept elephants away from the

tracks will be expanded to other areas of the country. He said that the initiative was started on experiment basis

last year.

In Assam, Railway Protection Force of Lumding Division has taken a significant step towards enhancing the security

of women in the North East region. A dedicated RPF Women Squad named as ‘JOYMATI BAHINI’, comprising

women sub-inspector and constables of the Railway Protection Force was formally launched today at Kamkhaya

Railway Station in Guwahati.

Delhi

Delhi government inaugurated a round-the-clock Animal Health Care Services in a Government Veterinary Hospital

in Tis Hajari and also a helpline number 011-23967555 for animal health care assistance.

Goa

A 5.1-km long cable-stayed “Atal Setu” on the Mandovi river in Goa, a third such bridge to connect the state capital

with North Goa, was opened to public by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.

Gujarat

Gujarat has become the first state to implement the 10% reservation for economically weaker sections of the

general category. This comes a day after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the bill.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Institute of Medical and Research in

Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar laid the foundation stone of “Haryana Bhawan” at the “Statue of

Unity” complex in Kevadiya, Gujarat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the National Salt Satyagraha Memorial at Dandi in Gujarat

on Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary on 30 January. The memorial has statues of Mahatma Gandhi and 80

Satyagrahis who had marched with him during the historic Dandi Salt March. It also has 24-narrative murals

depicting various events and stories from the historic 1930 Salt March.

Haryana

To revive the ancient Sarasvati river in the state and ensure regular flow of fresh water into it, the Haryana

Saraswati Heritage Development Board (HSHDB) approved 11 major projects, including restoration of various

heritage sites along the course of the mythical river.








Himachal Pradesh

Global Investor Summit to be held in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh on June 10 and 11, 2019

Jammu & Kashmir

The Jammu and Kashmir administration set up a law commission, with Justice (Retd) M K Hanjura as its founding

chairperson, to identity redundant and obsolete laws that can be repealed and suggest measures for quick redress

of public grievances.

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated a 1,210-meter span-bridge over the river Ravi in

Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district to reduce the distance to Punjab’s Pathankot city by 36 km.

Kerala

In a wonderful initiative to support gender equality and renaissance value, around 50 lakh women formed a 620-

km-long ‘Women’s Wall’ in Kerala. The wall was formed across the national highway which stretched from the

northern tip of Kasaragod to the southern end in Thiruvananthapuram.

More than five years after Malayalam was declared a classical language, the Union Government issued its nod for

setting up the Centre for Classical Language at the Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University in Tirur.

Kerala has launched the country’s largest startup hub with a 1,000-seat capacity in Kalamassery, Kochi. Named

‘Integrated Startup Complex,’ the facility is built to provide top quality infrastructure for incubation and

acceleration for the state’s startups.

Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath launched his government’s Rs 50,000-crore farm debt-waiver scheme

named ‘Jai Kisan Rin Mukti Yojana’. The country’s first cremation ground for cows will be prepared in Madhya Pradesh’s capital Bhopal and the city’s

municipal authorities are already on the lookout for a site for the purpose.

On the occasion of Republic Day, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath announced the launch of the ‘Yuva

Swabhiman Yojana’ for youths from the economically weaker sections in urban areas.

Maharashtra

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC) in Mumbai,

Maharashtra. The state-of-the-art Museum has been built at a cost of over 140 crore rupees. The creation of the

museum has been guided by the Museum Advisory Committee headed by noted film maker Shyam Benegal.

Manipur

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh launched ‘School Fagat-Hansi’ mission, an initiative under the Government’s

popular ‘Go to Village’ mission.

Odisha

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launched the ‘Ama Ghare LED’ scheme, under which about 95 lakh families in the state

will each get four LED bulbs free of cost.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Bolangir-Bichhupali railway line in Balangir, Odisha.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced “Jiban Sampark” project in partnership with UNICEF India to

generate awareness about the development and welfare initiatives of state government among the Particularly








Vulnerable Tribal Groups of the state. He inaugurated the annual tribal fair popularly known as “Adivasi Mela” on

Republic Day.

Punjab

In a major fillip to Punjab‘s persistent efforts for securing the waiver of Rs 31,000 crore food account, Chairman of

the 15th Finance Commission N K Singh formed a committee to find ways of settling the matter.

Puducherry

Puducherry government has imposed a ban on the sale and use of plastic products in the Union Territory from

March 1.

Rajasthan

Rajasthan govt decided to reverse Atal Seva Kendra as Rajiv Gandhi Seva Kendra.

Free education will be provided to girls in state-run institutions in Rajasthan from July. Also, the female students in

colleges will be given sanitary napkins free of cost.

Sikkim

Sikkim CM Pawan Kumar Chamling launched the ‘One Family, One Job’ scheme that envisions jobs to a member of

every family which does not have a government job in the state.

K.J. Alphons, Union Minister for Tourism has inaugurated the first project under the Swadesh Darshan Project of

the Union Ministry of Tourism at the Zero Point, Gangtok, Sikkim.

Tamil Nadu

Kallakurichi is 33rd district of Tamil Nadu.

The Chennai Traffic Police inducted a road safety robot into its fold. Named ROADEO, the robot will make the

pedestrians, especially children, feel safe while crossing the roads.

Tamil Nadu government has rolled out the much-expected Startup and Innovation Policy 2018-2023 aimed at

creating at least 5,000 startups, including 10 global high growth companies, by 2023.

Global Investors Summit, being organised by Tamil Nadu government, held in Chennai.

Government launches Technology Mission Centre on Solar Energy & Water Treatment in Chennai

Tamil Nadu was declared the ‘Best State Overall’ for exemplary participation in the Swasth Bharat Yatra, a 100-day

consumer outreach programme of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which was launched to

amplify its Eat Right India initiative.

Telangana

Telangana’s MNJ Institute of Oncology and Regional Cancer Centre in Hyderabad has entered the Guinness Book of

World Records for organising the largest men’s Health Awareness programme on prostate cancer on a single day.

The Telangana government has decided to form a ‘State Tiger Protection Force’ to save the Big Cat population in

the State. The 112-member-armed STPF will be headed by an Assistant Conservator of Forests to protect tiger

population in Amarabad and Kawal Tiger Reserves.

Tripura

The Tripura government has unveiled an official logo for the state’s tea to popularise the beverage and to promote

the potentiality of tourism. The logo features Tripura’s iconic landmark, the “Neermahal” which is the largest and

one-of-its-kind water palace in India.








Uttarakhand

The government of Uttarakhand has obtained the permission to develop the tulip garden over 50 hectares of forest

land in Pithoragarh district at a cost of Rs 50 crore. It will be the second Tulip garden in the country after the one

located in Srinagar of Jammu and Kashmir.

Uttar Pradesh

The North Central Railway, NCR launched a mobile application to help people navigate through Prayagraj city

during Kumbh Mela started from Jan 15. The ‘Rail Kumbh Seva Mobile App‘ also provided information regarding all

the ‘Mela special’ trains that will be run during the period.

The Uttar Pradesh cabinet approved the proposal of renaming the Mughalsarai tehsil as Pandit Deendayal

Upadhyay, the co-founder and president of Bharatiya Jana Sangh.

The new Campus of the National Museum Institute was inaugurated in Noida by Union HRD Minister Prakash

Javadekar. Four new courses that are Archaeology; Palaeography, Epigraphy and Numismatics; Structural

Conservation and Cultural and Heritage Management, are expected to be commenced.

Finance and Banking News ESAF small finance bank which received the first banking license in Kerala since independence has got RBI approval

to operate as scheduled bank. This makes Thrissur-based ESAF small finance bank (SFB) the fifth scheduled bank

from Kerala.

The government has amalgamated three Regional Rural Banks — Punjab Gramin Bank, Malwa Gramin Bank and

Sutlej Gramin Bank — into a single RRB with effect from January 1.

The Union cabinet has approved the merger of public sector lenders Dena Bank, Vijaya Bank with Bank of Baroda

(BoB).

RBI to inject Rs 37,500 crore through Open Market Operation (OMO) in February

Banks have seen a significant improvement in recovery of stressed assets helped by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy

Code (IBC) and amendments in the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of

Security Interests (SARFAESI) Act, during FY18, according to the RBI data. In the fiscal ended March 2018, banks

recovered Rs 40,400 crore worth of bad loans as against Rs 38,500 crore recovered in FY17.

Public sector banks’ provision coverage ratio which measures the provisioning for bad loans has gone up from less

than 50 per cent in 2015 to 66.85 per cent as of September 2018, reflecting improvement in their financial health.

The Reserve Bank of India has extended the relaxation offered to banks for offering liquidity support to NBFCs up to

March 31.

According to RBI Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India, the number of complaints registered at banking

ombudsman offices have seen a 25% increase in the fiscal year 2018, with majority of these complaints coming

from urban centres owing to increased awareness and poor internal redressal mechanisms of banks.

Iran will be opening a branch of its private bank named Pasargad in Mumbai in three months.

Continuing its efforts to improve the safety of card transactions, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended the use

of tokenisation — hiding of actual card details with a unique token — in the wider payments ecosystem.

Sri Lanka’s Central Bank (Central Bank of Sri Lanka) announced that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has agreed to

provide USD 400 million under a swap arrangement to boost the island nation’s reserves.








The Union Cabinet approved a $75 billion currency swap deal between India and Japan to assist each other “in

times of difficulty”.

The Union Cabinet approved capital infusion of Rs 6,000 crore in Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) through

recapitalisation bonds to boost the bank’s capacity in export financing.

A consortium of banks led by StateBank of India has agreed to provide finance for Nagpur-Mumbai

‘SamruddhiCorridor’ expressway project. SBI has agreed to lend the highest amount, 8,500 crorerupees.

HDFC Standard Life Insurance is now HDFC Life Insurance

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 travellers. This is the first international co-brand partnership of SBI Card,

the country’s second largest credit card issuer.

According to Financial Stability Report by Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

The asset quality of banks showed improvement with gross non performing assets’ (GNPAs) ratio declining to 10.8

per cent in September 2018 from 11.5 per cent in March 2018.

The balance sheet size of non-bank financial companies (NBFCs) grew by 17.2 per cent to Rs 26 trillion in

September 2018 from Rs 22.2 trillion in September 2017

Business News Leading private insurer SBI Life Insurance said it has signed a ‘bancassurance’ pact, with state-run Allahabad Bank

to offer a financial planning solution to consumers.

Google has acquired a start-up named Superpod that built an app allowing users to post questions and receive

answers from experts quickly — a move that will help boost Google Assistant’s ability to accurately answer users’ questions.

ICICI Bank and Small Business FinCredit India Pvt Ltd (SBFC) will jointly provide loans worth up to Rs 1 crore to the

small and medium enterprises.

HDFC Mutual Fund has piped ICICI Prudential MF to become the country’s largest asset management company

after a gap of over two years.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed Paytm Payments Bank to restart opening new accounts for its

consumers after almost six months of the ban.

Gruh Finance Ltd. is set to merge with Bandhan Bank Ltd. in a share-swap deal.

NABARD announced that it will provide early-stage capital to agriculture and rural enterprises through its venture

capital entity, ‘NABVENTURES Ltd’. NABVENTURES Ltd has been incorporated by NABARD under the Companies

Act.

The GST Council relaxed the tax exemption limit to Rs 40 lakh from the earlier cap of Rs 20 lakh during its 32nd

meeting. The all-powerful panel also decided to extend the composition scheme to traders from informal sector

rendering services or mixed supplies with a turnover up to Rs 50 lakh. The exemption limit for small states has also

been increased to Rs 20 lakh from Rs 10 lakh.

The Delhi-bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved the merger of financially-stressed Tata

Teleservices with Bharti Airtel.

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH India) said its merger deal with Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL)

has been approved by the fair trade regulator CCI.

In an effort to encourage entrepreneurs and small businesses in India, Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp

announced the “Startup India-WhatsApp Grand Challenge”. The top five start-ups will receive a total grant of

$250,000.








Economy News FDI (Foreign direct investment) grew 18% in FY18 to Rs 28.25 lakh crore: RBI data

India to grow at 7-7.5% over next few years: PM’s Economic Advisory Council

Global economic growth is projected to slow to 2.9 per cent in 2019 from a downwardly revised 3 per cent in 2018

amid rising downside risks, the World Bank has said in its Global Economic Prospects report.

World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects report : India’s growth rate is expected to accelerate to 7.3% during the

current financial year ending March 2019

India to retain status as fastest growing economy in 2019-20: World Bank

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) World Economic Outlook Update released by chief economist Gita

Gopinath recently said that India’s economy is expected to grow by 7.5 per cent in the 2019-20 fiscal year, keeping

an upward trajectory as the rest of the world slumps. The IMF’s flagship report said that India’s growth was

estimated to be 7.3 per cent for the current fiscal year and forecast to rise to 7.7 per cent in 2020-21. India will

continue to be the world’s fastest growing major economy, the report said.

The Indian economy is expected to grow at 7.4 per cent in the current fiscal and its GDP growth will rise to 7.6 per

cent in 2019-20, before tapering down to 7.4 per cent in 2020-21, according to a UN report.

GDP growth likely to be tad higher at 7.5% in FY20: India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra)

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.

Releasing the first advance estimates of National Income for 2018-19, Central Statistics Office (CSO) stated that the

growth in GDP during 2018-19 is estimated at 7.2% as compared to the growth rate of 6.7% in 2017-18

The 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, the first advance estimates of national income released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.

In a measure of relief for the troubled micro and small industries segment, the RBI permitted a one-time

restructuring of existing loans to MSMEs that are in default but ‘standard’ as on January 1, 2019, without an asset

classification downgrade. The restructuring has to be implemented by March 31, 2020.

The direct tax-to-GDP ratio of 5.98 per cent achieved during 2017-18 fiscal is the best in the last 10 years, accoding

to the finance ministry.

The total value of BHIM-UPI transactions crossed 1 Lakh Crore Rupees mark in December 2018.

More than 33 crore accounts were opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) till last December

and over 80 per cent of these are active accounts, the Rajya Sabha was informed.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a new framework for external commercial borrowings (ECBs) and

rupee-denominated bonds in a bid to improve ease of doing business. As per the new framework, all eligible

borrowers can now raise external commercial borrowings up to $750 million or equivalent per financial year under

the automatic route, replacing the existing sector-wise limits.

Revenue collection under Goods and Services Tax (GST) for January crossed Rs 1 lakh crore. Total collection for the

month of January last year was Rs 89,825 crore, the Finance Ministry said.

The Reserve Bank of India has decided to limit the liability of customers in case of unauthorised electronic payment

transactions in Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) issued by non-banks.

Under new norms on customer liability, the regulator said frauds due to third-party breach where neither the

customer nor the PPI issuer is at fault, there cannot be any liability for the customer, in case the incident in

reported within three days.

If the fraud is reported between three and seven days, customer liability will amount to the transaction value

or ₹10,000, whichever is lower.








For over seven days, the liability of the customer will be according to the board-approved policy of the PPI

issuer.

After the customer reports the fraud, the PPI issuer has to credit the amount involved in the unauthorised

transaction to the customer’s PPI within 10 days.

Science & Technology According to a top space official, India is planning to launch 32 space missions in 2019. The missions include the

second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 to land on the moon with lander and rover.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Dr K Sivan said that the Union Government has allocated

10,900 crore rupees for the development of 40 satellite launch vehicles in the next four years.

ISRO chief K Sivan said the Rs 10,000 crore worth Gaganyaan mission is a major turning point for the space agency,

while adding that his team is targeting to send the first manned mission to space in December 2021.

The state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has unveiled a Human Space Flight Centre in Bengaluru.

Microsoft India launched a new e-commerce platform ‘re-weave.in’ under project ReWeave to aid handloom

weavers. The e-commerce platform would connect artisans to the buyers directly enabling them to expand to

newer customers and markets.

India has successfully launched its 46th flight of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C44) carrying Kalamsat, a

communication satellite developed by students and India’s military satellite Microsat-R from Satish Dhawan Space

Centre in Sriharikota.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully test fired Long Range Surface to Air

Missile (LR-SAM) from naval warship INS Chennai. The test was conducted off the coast of Odisha.

Defence News The second India-Myanmar bilateral Army exercise ‘IMBEX 2018-19’ commenced at Chandimandir military station

near Chandigarh.

Over a decade after the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes, the Indian Navy has launched “Sea Vigil”, a first of its kind and

biggest coastal two-day defence exercise off the 7,516-km-long Indian coastline, involving all 13 coastal states,

Union Territories and maritime stakeholders including fisherfolk. The two-day exercise will serve as a build-up to

the major theatre-level tri-service exercise, TROPEX (Theatre-level Readiness Operational Exercise) conducted by

the Indian Navy every two years.

India will engage with 12 African nations in a joint military exercise named ‘Indian Africa Field Training Exercise

(IAFTX)-2019’ in Pune in March this year.

Coast Guards of India and Japan kicked off their disaster control, search and rescue exercises off the coast of

Yokohama in Japan. Indian Coast Guard Ship ICGS Shaunak is the main Indian ship taking part in the drills.

Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba will commission the new Naval Air Base ‘INS Kohassa’ at Diglipur in Andaman and

Nicobar Islands.

Sports News

Tournament Winner Runner Up Premier Badminton League title Bengaluru Raptors

Tata Open Maharashtra ATP 250 tournament

(Men Doubles)

Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan








Senior National Women’s Judo Championship at

Visakhapatnam

Lady head constable Rani of 5th

Indian Reserve Battalion of Himachal

Pradesh Police won Gold

Women’s 10 metre Air Rifle event in Meyton

Cup in Innsbruck (Austria)

Apurvi Chandela

International Tennis Federation’s 25,000-dollar

Women’s tournament

Ankita Raina Held in Singapore

National Ice hockey tournament Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)

Indonesia Masters 2019 Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal After her opponent

Carolina Marin pulled out

of the summit clash due

to an injury

New South Wales men’s Amateur Golf

Championship

India’s Kartik Sharma

2018 Confederation of African Football Player of

the Year

Mohamed Salah

2019 Brisbane International title (men) Japan’s Kei Nishikori

Mubadala World Tennis Championship Serbia’s Novak Djokovic

Hopman Cup 2019 (Men) Switzerland’s Roger Federer

Hopman Cup 2019 (Women) Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic

7th Australian Open title (Men) Serbia’s Novak Djokovic

7th Australian Open title (Women) Japan’s Naomi Osaka

Sports Khelo India Youth Games: Hosts Maharashtra finish top with 228 medals - 85 gold, 62 silver and 81 bronze

Hockey India removed Harendra Singh as the coach of the Indian men’s hockey team following their disappointing

run in the recently-concluded Hockey World Cup.

Former boxer Mohammed Ali Qamar named women’s chief coach

Stephen Constantine (from UK) has decided to step down as the head coach of the Indian football team following

team’s exit from 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

India scripted history after winning their first-ever Test series in Australia as the fourth Test at the Sydney Cricket

Ground (SCG) concluded in a draw.

India have retained their number one spot in the updated ICC Test team rankings, released on 14th January 2019.

India’s Ambati Rayudu has been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect after the

part-timer’s action was reported during the first ODI against Australia earlier this month.

India’s Smriti Mandhana was crowned women’s cricketer of the year by International Cricket Council, sport’s world

governing body. She was also named ODI cricketer of the year for accumulating 669 runs off 12 one-day

internationals.

Pacer Mohammed Shami became the fastest Indian to claim 100 wickets in One-day Internationals

India captain Virat Kohli has become the fastest batsman to reach 19,000 international runs, achieving the feat in

his 399th innings during the fourth Test against Australia.

India skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri received the honorary membership of the Sydney Cricket Ground

(SCG) for their contribution to the sport of cricket.








Virat Kohli has become the first cricketer to win 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

Rohit Danu, Indian Arrows’ 16-year-old footballer, became the youngest goal-scorer in the I-League.

India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has become the highest wicket-taker in international cricket in 2018 after picking

up 9 wickets in the Melbourne Test against Australia.

Indian wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant became the country’s first keeper to complete twenty catches in a Test

series.

Rishabh Pant was named Emerging Player of the Year by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Team India’s Right-hand opener Rohit Sharma becomes the first Indian batsman to smash five hundreds in ODI

cricket in Australia.

M C Mary Kom has attained number one position in the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) latest world

rankings. She became the most successful boxer in world championships’ history when she claimed the 48kg

category top honours in Delhi in November last year.

Budding golfer Kartik Singh has acquired the top position in the under-8 category at the Kids’ Golf World

Championship organised by US kids Golf in Malaysia.

At the Khelo India Youth Games in Pune, ten year old Abhinav Shaw became the youngest gold medallist in

shooting.

Maharashtra topped the medal tally with 37 golds at the Khelo India Youth Games in Pune. It has 111 medals in its

kitty with 37 gold, 31 silver and 43 bronze. Delhi continued to follow second with 30 gold and Haryana too

maintained its third position with 28 gold.

Asian Cup Gold medallist Shakil Amed has added one more feather to his cap when he set up a world record in

indoor rowing by completing 1,00,000 (one lakh) metres in above-40 years category in Kolkata.

12 year old Tamil Nadu boy, D Gukesh became the youngest Grand master in India and second in the world.

Ace Indian female wrestler Vinesh Phogat has become the first Indian athlete to receive a nomination in the

prestigious Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award.

Surpassing master blaster Sachin Tendulkar’s record, Nepal teenage batsman Rohit Paudel has become the

youngest cricketer to score a half-century in international cricket at the age of 16 years and 146 days.

Sports ministry has earmarked Rs. 100 crore for funding the athletes under the (TOPS) Target Olympic Podium

Scheme ahead of 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) welcomed USA Cricket as its 105th Member.

Australian cities Sydney and Brisbane have been announced as the first two host locations for the newest team

event in men’s tennis for the multi-million dollar ATP Cup from 2020.

Egypt will host the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

South African all-rounder Albie Morkel announced retirement from all form of cricket.

South Africa all-rounder Johan Botha announced retirement from all forms of cricket

Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech (from Czech Republic) announced that he would be retiring from professional football

at the end of the current season.

England women’s cricketer Danielle Hazell has announced her retirement from the international cricket.

New Zealand pacer Ewen Chatfield, famously known as the Naenae Express, announced his retirement from cricket

at the age of 68.

Midfielder Ki Sung-yueng announced his retirement from the South Korean national football team.

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has approved the names of 23 athletes, including shuttlers PV Sindhu and

Kidambi Srikanth, from badminton, cycling, para-athletics and para-shooting fields, to be included in the flagship

Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Paralympics and 2024 Olympics.








Committee

Head of Committee Purpose UK Sinha (Former Securities

and Exchange Board of

India chairman)

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) constituted an expert committee, which will review the

‘current institutional framework in place to support MSMEs along with examining the

factors affecting timely and adequate availability of finance to them.’ UK Sinha The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has set up a 11-member working

group ranto go into the concept of ‘Group Insolvency’ and suggest a suitable

framework.

Shiv Das Meena The government has constituted a committee to suggest recommendations to

strengthen the real estate law RERA and to remove difficulties in its implementation.

M.P. Bezbaruah Committee constituted by the Union government to look into the implementation of

Clause 6 of the Assam Accord of 1985 that provides for constitutional guaranttes to

protect the state’s indegenous communities.

Sankar De Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has constituted a “Research Advisory”

committee which will assist in formulating policy to undertake research relevant for

development and regulation of capital markets.

Nandan Nilekani (Infosys

co-founder and Aadhaar

architect)

The committee is being constituted by RBI with a view to encourage digitisation of

payments and enhance financial inclusion through digitisation.

Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi to hear the title suit in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid Ayodhya case

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister

Sushil Kumar Modi

will head the seven-member Group of Ministers (GoM) to look into the revenue

shortfall being faced by states following the roll out of Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma Assam Government set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) to recommend measures for

protection of rights of existing tribal communities as well as to decide on the benefits to

be given to new Scheduled Tribes.

Nitin Patel (Deputy Chief

Minister of Gujarat)

The Centre constituted a seven-member Group of Ministers (GoM) to look into Goods

and Services Tax (GST)-related issues of the real estate sector.

Sudhir Mungantiwar

(Maharashtra Finance

Minister)

The government set up an eight-member ministerial panel to look into GST-related

issues of lottery business.

NITI Aayog The government constituted a standing committee headed by NITI Aayog to oversee

the drug pricing regime, a move which could clip the powers of drug pricing regulator,

National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA).

Pravin Kutumbe Insurance regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) set up a

panel to identity domestically systemically important insurers (SII) and put in place an

enhanced regulatory framework for them. SIIs are perceived as insurers that are ‘too

big to fail’.

Rankings

Index India’s Rank Other Information Henley Passport Index 79th 1st - Japan








Global Democracy Index 42nd 1st - Norway. Index compiled by UK’s

Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)

Global Talent Competitive Index 80th 1st - Switzerland. Index compiled by

World Economic Forum (WEF)

Bloomberg 2019 Innovative

Index

54th (among the world’s most

innovative countries)

1st – South Korea

The 2019 Edelman Trust

Barometer report

India was at the second place in

the informed public category

and third place in the general

population category (among the

most trusted nations globally

when it comes to government,

business, NGOs)

1st - China in both categories

GDPR Readiness Index 6th European Union’s General Data

Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Cisco

Global Corruption Index 78th 1st – Denmark. Index by Transparency

International

‘Future of Consumption in Fast-Growth Consumer Market – India’ report by World Economic Forum said that India

is set to become the world’s third largest consumer market behind only USA and China by 2030.

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.

India 4th most attractive investment market for global CEOs: PwC survey

India has replaced Japan as world’s second largest steel producing country, while China is the largest

producer of crude steel accounting for more than 51 per cent of production, according to World Steel

Association.

Rankings (Persons,Cities,Organisations and Others)

Andhra Pradesh emerged on top of Asia Competitiveness Institute (ACI) (National University of Singapore),

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.

Bengaluru is the world’s most dynamic city among 131 major established and emerging business hubs globally,

followed by Hyderabad, according to the sixth City Momentum Index published by JLL.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), India’s premier container port, has got listed among the top 30 container ports

globally. JNPT notched up five spots to be 28th on the list compared to its previous ranking, according to the latest

Lloyds report.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced that it has been accredited as the fastest growing brand in the IT

services sector over the past decade, according to report released by World Economic Forum (WEF).

India’s Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been ranked third most-valued IT services brand globally in 2018-19,

after Accenture and IBM, according to a report by Brand Finance. Valued at USD 26.3 billion, Accenture took the

title of the world’s most-valued IT services brand.








Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) of the Indian School of Business (ISB) has been ranked at 24

worldwide in the Financial Times Global MBA Rankings 2019. ISB is ranked number one in India and is the only B-

school to figure in the top 25.

Dubai International Airport said it has retained its position as the world’s busiest airport for the fifth consecutive

year in a row in 2018 with Indian travellers emerging as the largest source of traffic for the airport which registered

a record footfall of over 89 million.

Singapore has been rated as the most liveable location for Asian expatriates in 2019 for the 14th consecutive year,

according to a survey by ECA International.

Deadlines/ Important Dates

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said that food businesses need to comply with new packaging

regulations that bar use of recycled plastics and newspapers to wrap food articles by July 1.

The Centre has taken a decision to make all new cars meet Euro 6 standards mandatory for initial launch from April

1, 2020, said Union Minister for Transport Nitin Gadkari addressing Symposium of International Automotive

Technology 2019 in Pune. Notably, the aim of Euro 6 is to reduce levels of exhaust emissions in petrol and diesel

cars, including carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NOx), hydrocarbons (THC and NMHC) and particulate matter

(PM).

Food businesses need to comply with new packaging regulations that bar use of recycled plastics and newspapers

to wrap food articles by July 1. The new regulations prohibit packaging material made of recycled plastics including

carry bags for packaging, storing, carrying or dispensing articles of food.

Food regulator FSSAI issued a notification seeking a ban on the use of pins in tea bags by the food business

operators (FBOs) by June 30. Last year, it had decided to ban the stapler pins in tea bags from January 2019 as it

poses potential hazard to consumers since any loose staple pin consumed inadvertently with tea may cause a

serious health hazard.

Books

Book Author Other Info Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors

and Where We Came From

Tony Joseph

Assalamalaikum Watan Sanjay Khan

A Crusade against corruption Manohar Manoj Manoj has written this book after massive research

and deep observations on the subject during the last

15 years and claimed that this is a kind of

“Encyclopedic Snapshots on Corruption in India”.

We Are Displaced: My Journey and

Stories from Refugee Girls Around the

World

Nobel Peace

Prize winner and

Pakistani activist

Malala Yousafzai

A new anthology of poems titled ‘New Brazilian Poems’, translated and edited by Indian poet-diplomat Abhay Kumar

was launched at the National Association of Writers of Brazil. The event was attended by a large number of poets,

diplomats and intellectual community of Brazil.








Obituaries

Name Profession Other Info Kader Khan Veteran actor-writer

C H Loknath Kannada actor

Lenin Rajendran Malayalam film director

Ramakant Achrekar Cricket coach

Dibyendu Palit Bengali litterateur He was Sahitya Akademi awardee.

Atin Bandyopadhyay Bengali writer Sahitya Akademi awardee

Krishna Sobti Hindi fiction writer and essayist She had won the Sahitya Akademi

award in 1980 for her novel

“Zindaginama“

Mohammed Zulfiqar Former India footballer

Rajesh Ghodge Former Ranji Trophy cricketer of

Goa

Raghbir Singh Bhola Former Indian Hockey Player

Meera Sanyal Politician

Shivajirao Deshmuk Politician

George Fernandes Politician Former Defence Minister

Biraj Sarma Assam Accord signatory

Rajendra Prabhu Journalist

Jagjit Chopra Neurologist Padma Bhushan winning neurologist

Shivakumara Swami Seer and practitioner of the

Lingayat-Veerashaiva faith of

Lingayatism

Larry Roberts Engineer from USA He was the program manager for

The Advanced Research Projects

Agency Network (ARPAnet)

(precursor to the internet)

Norman Gimbel Grammy and Oscar Winning Lyricist

from USA

Sir Michael Atiyah a British mathematician

Mary Oliver American Poet

Tony Mendez American reporter the real CIA spy behind Oscar-

winning film Argo

Russell Baker Writer (American journalist)

Important Days

Date Day Extra Info 1 January Defence Research and

Development Organisation,

DRDO day








4 January World Braille Day

9 January Bharatiya Pravasi Day or Non

Resident Day

10 January World Hindi Day

12 January National Youth Day

14 January Armed Forces Veterans Day

15 January Indian Army Day

24 January National Girl Child Day Theme 2019: Empowering Girls for a Brighter

Tomorrow

24 January International Day of Education

25 January National Voters Day Theme 2019: No voter to be left behind

26 January Republic Day

26 January International Customs Day

27 January International Holocaust

Remembrance Day

Theme 2019: Holocaust Remembrance:

Demand and Defend Your Human Rights

27 January 2019 World Leprosy Day Observed on the last Sunday in January.

28 January Data Privacy Day

30 January National Martyr’s Day or

Sarvodaya Day

Observed to mark the death anniversary of

our father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi.








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