- Vijay Keshav Gokhale Appointed Foreign Secretary
Seasoned diplomat Vijay Keshav Gokhale, considered an expert on China, was named the next foreign secretary succeeding S Jaishankar, who completes his extended tenure later this month.
Gokhale, a 1981-batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), had played a key role in India-China negotiations last year to resolve the 73-day standoff between Indian Army and Chinese People’s Liberation Army at Doklam Plateau, a tri-junction between Sino-India and Bhutanese border near Sikkim.
- Telangana starts free, 24-hour power supply to farmers
The Telangana government on January 01, 2018 launched a round-the-clock power supply to the state’s 2.3 million farmers free of cost.
Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao described the 24X7 agriculture power supply as a New Year’s gift for the farmers of the state. The free power supply will now be available for 23 lakh agricultural pump sets.
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Telangana |
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| Capital | Hyderabad |
| Chief Minister | K Chandrasekhar Rao |
| Governor | E. S. L. Narasimhan |
| Transmission Corporation of Telangana Ltd’s chairperson and managing director | D Prabhakar Rao
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National Parks In Telangana |
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| Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary | |
| Pakhal Wildlife Sanctuary | |
| SanctuaryPocharam Forest & Wildlife Sanctuary | |
| Kinnerasani Wildlife Sanctuary | |
- Haryana approves service bye-laws for contractual employees
The Haryana government has approved service bye-laws for contractual employees working under the National Health Mission (NHM) in the state.
Under these rules, the employees have been divided into three categories. In category-I, apart from experts, maximum honorarium of the present or the entry level would be given to employees who have completed satisfactory service till five years.
These employees would get maximum pay of present or entry level and medical allowance of Rs 500 per month or ESI benefit, besides, an increment of three per cent in basic pay.
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Haryana |
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| Capital | Chandigarh |
| Chief Minister | Manohar Lal Khattar |
| Governor | Kaptan Singh Solanki |
- Karnataka govt to obtain electric vehicles under FAME-India scheme
Karnataka government would be obtaining electric vehicles under the Centre’s FAME-India scheme.
Karnataka is set to procure and ply 40 electric buses, 100 four wheelers and 500 three wheelers along with setting up of charging infrastructure across the city of Bengaluru
Under the scheme, subsidy is provided to an extent of 60 per cent of purchase cost for electric buses, Rs 1.24 lakh for every Electric four wheeler and Rs 61,000 for every electric three wheeler by the central government.
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Karnataka |
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| Capital | Bengaluru |
| Chief Minister | Siddaramaiah |
| Governor | Vajubhai Vala |
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National Parks In Karnataka |
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| Bandipur National Park | |
| Nagarahole National Park | |
| Kudremukh National Park | |
| Bannerghatta National Park | |
| Anshi National Park | |
- UP theme state for 2018 Surajkund crafts fair
Uttar Pradesh would be the theme state for the 32nd Surajkund International Crafts fair, beginning from the first week of February at Faridabad in Haryana.
It also provides a world-class platform for craftsmen from around the world to showcase their skills
The fair would be organised by the Haryana Tourism and Surajkund Fair Authority in collaboration with Union Ministries of Tourism, Textiles, Culture and External Affairs.
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Uttar Pradesh |
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| Capital | Lucknow |
| Chief Minister | Yogi Adityanath |
| Governor | Ram Naik |
- Noida, Yamuna E-way declared electronics manufacturing zone
The Yogi Adityanath government has released its ‘Uttar Pradesh Electronics Manufacturing Policy’ under which Noida, Greater Noida and the Yamuna Expressway region has been declared as an electronics manufacturing zone.
To develop the state as the hub of electronics manufacturing, a new policy has been released under which the units set up in this zone will be eligible for claiming necessary benefits.
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National Parks In Uttar Pradesh |
| Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary |
| Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary |
| Dudhwa National Park |
- Jammu frontier BSF celebrates 38th raising day
Jammu frontier of the Border Security Force (BSF) was celebrated its 38th raising day, reaffirming its commitment to uphold peace and tranquillity along the border besides extending all help and cooperation to the local people for their well being.
The frontier was raised on January 1, 1981 after bi- bifurcating the erstwhile North Western frontier under the command of the then Inspector General, Jammu, W G J Mudaliar.
Awtar remembered all the “Praharis” who made the supreme sacrifice of their lives while defending the borders along the Jammu Frontier.
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Jammu And Kashmir |
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| Capital | Srinagar (Summer), Jammu (Winter) |
| Chief Minister | Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed |
| Governor | Narinder Nath Vohra |
- Nagaland declared as ‘disturbed area’ for 6 more months
The entire Nagaland has been declared as “disturbed area” for six more months, till June- end, under the controversial AFSPA, which empowers security forces to conduct operations anywhere and arrest anyone without any prior notice.
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Nagaland |
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| Capital | Kohima |
| Chief Minister | T. R. Zeliang |
| Governor | Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya |
| Official bird | Blyth’s tragopan |
- Govt to set up Kerala Madrasa Teachers Welfare Fund Board
The CPI-M-led LDF government in Kerala has decided to set up a Kerala Madrasa Teachers Welfare Fund Board to make available pension and other benefits for Madrasa teachers.
The main objective is to provide pension and other benefits for madrasa teachers. The cabinet decided to recommend to the governor P Sathasivam on convening the assembly session from January 22.
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Kerala |
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| Capital | Thiruvananthapuram |
| Chief Minister | Pinarayi Vijayan |
| Governor | P.Sathasivam |
- GAIL Awards Major Contracts for Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga
Gail India has placed orders for ~400-km for pipeline connectivity from Dobhi (Bihar) to Durgapur (West Bengal). With these awards, pipe supply orders for 2,100 km and pipeline laying orders for 1,700 km have been finalized for the ‘Jagdishpur-Haldia & Boakro-Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline’ (JHBPL) also known as ‘Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga’ project.
GAIL till date has committed Rs6,500cr for the project. According to the company, the project will usher industrial development in East India by supplying environmentally clean natural gas to fertilizer & power plant, refineries, steel plants and other industries. It will also provide direct and indirect employment to the thousands of people.
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GAIL (India) |
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| GAIL (India) Ltd is Indias flagship Natural Gas Company, integrating all aspects of the Natural Gas value chain (including Exploration & Production, Processing, Transmission, Distribution and Marketing) and its related services. | |
| Head Office | New Delhi |
| Chairman & Managing Director | B C Tripathi |
- SEBI levies Rs 10-lakh fine on Prime Capital,Warner Multimedia
Markets regulator SEBI has imposed a total penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Prime Capital Market and Warner Multimedia for disclosure lapses in the matter of Blue Circle Services.
The order has come following an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) into the trading activities of certain entities in the scrip of Blue Circle Services Ltd (BCSL) during the period from October 21, 2011 to March 31, 2013.
Prime Capital was promoter of BCSL and Warner Multimedia was part of its promoter group during the investigation period.
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Securities and Exchange Board of India |
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| The Securities and Exchange Board of India is the regulator for the securities market in India. It was established in the year 1988 and given statutory powers on 30 January 1992 through the SEBI Act, 1992. | |
| Headquarters | Mumbai |
| Chairman | Ajay Tyagi |
- Nepal Bans Solo Climbing on Mount Everest
Nepal has banned solo climbers from scaling its mountains, including Mount Everest, in a bid to reduce accidents.
The new safety regulations also prohibit double amputee and blind climbers from attempting to reach the summit of the world’s highest peak without a valid medical certificate.
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Nepal |
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| Capital | Kathmandu |
| Currency | Nepalese rupee |
| Prime minister | Sher Bahadur Deuba |
| President | Bidhya Devi Bhandari |
- January 01 2018: Global Family day
Global Family Day is celebrated each year on 1st January. In November 1997 the UN General Assembly made a declaration that the first year of the new millennium should see the launch of an International Decade for the Culture of Peace and non-violence for the Children of the World and that the decade should be ushered in by “One Day of Peace”.
Although not universally adopted, this first “Day of Peace” was felt to be so significant that in 2001 the United Nations established this Observance as an annual event. The event has now become known as Global Family Day and is recognised by more than two thirds of the world’s population.
- Saudi, UAE introduce VAT in first for Gulf
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates introduced value-added tax from January 01, 2018 a first for the Gulf which has long prided itself on its tax-free, cradle-to-grave welfare system.
Saudi Arabia has deposited billions of dollars in special accounts to help needy citizens face the resulting rise in retail prices.
The other four Gulf states — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar — are also committed to introducing VAT but have decided to delay the move until early in 2019.
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Saudi Arabia |
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| Capital | Riyadh |
| Currency | Saudi riyal |
| King | Salman of Saudi Arabia |
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United Arab Emirates |
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| Capital | Abu Dhabi |
| Currency | United Arab Emirates dirham |
| Prime minister | Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum |
| President | Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan |
- Germany to start enforcing hate speech law
Germany is set to start enforcing a law that demands social media sites move quickly to remove hate speech, fake news and illegal material.
The law gives the networks 24 hours to act after they have been told about law-breaking material.
Social networks and media sites with more than two million members will fall under the law’s provisions.
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Germany |
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| Capital | Capital |
| Currency | Euro |
| Chancellor of Germany | Angela Merkel |
| President | Frank-Walter Steinmeier |
- Vidarbha Defeats Delhi to win Ranji Trophy for the First Time
Vidarbha have created history by winning the Ranji Trophy for the first time in history with a thumping nine-wicket win over Delhi at the Holkar stadium in Indore.
Rajneesh Gurbani’s 6/59, including a hat-trick and a century from Akshay Wadkar were the key moments in Vidarbha scripting a fairytale run.
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Ranji Trophy |
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| The Ranji Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between teams representing regional and state cricket associations. | |
| Number of teams | 28 |
| Most runs | Wasim Jaffer (10143); 1996–present |
| Most wickets | Rajinder Goel (640); 1958–1985 |
| Most successful | Mumbai (41 titles) |
- Haryana dominates National Shooting C’ship
Haryana dominated the 61st National Shooting Championship Competitions (NSCC) for Rifle/Pistol that drew to a close, and the state’s young woman pistol shooter Manu Bhaker emerged as the best shooter in Pistol events, bagging a total of 15 medals including 11 Gold, three Silvers and one Bronze medal.
Mehuli Ghosh of West Bengal emerged as the best Rifle shooter winning eight Gold and 3 Bronze medals.
- Olympian Ashwini Ponnappa is ‘Coorg Person of the year 2017’
Star Indian badminton player and Olympian Ashwini Ponnappa has been named ‘Coorg Person of the year, 2017’ in a poll conducted by a news portal dedicated to Kodagu.
Ashwini, who won a gold medal in the women’s double event of the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, was selected for the honour by www.coorgtourisminfo.com, Kodagu’s first news portal, promoted by senior journalist P T Bopanna.
