Latest Current Affairs – January 01 2019
1. Sudhir Bhargava takes oath as Chief Information Commissioner
Sudhir Bhargava took oath as the Chief Information Commissioner in the Central Information Commission (CIC). Bhargava was administered the oath of office by President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Bhargava was working as the Information Commissioner in the Central Information Commission.
2. TB Radhakrishnan sworn-in as 1st Chief Justice of Telangana HC
Justice TB Radhakrishnan sworn in as the first Chief Justice of Telangana High Court, which came into existence on January 1, 2019 after the bifurcation of the High Court at Hyderabad. Justice Praveen Kumar was sworn in as the acting Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh HC, which also came into existence the same day.
3. US scientist names beetles after ‘Game of Thrones’ dragons
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Professor Brett Ratcliffe has named three newly-discovered beetle species after fictional dragons which appear in the HBO show ‘Game of Thrones’. The species were named Drogoni, Rhaegali and Viserioni, which are Latin versions of Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion. Drogoni and Viserioni can be found in Colombia and Ecuador, while Rhaegali is native to the French Guiana.
4. Veteran actor Kader Khan passes away at the age of 81
Veteran actor Kader Khan, who was admitted to a hospital in Canada, has passed away at the age of 81. He was reportedly put on a BiPAP ventilator after he had trouble in breathing. Reports added that Khan suffered from Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a degenerative disease that causes loss of balance, difficulty in walking and dementia.
5. Germany approves USD 8 billion rail and road tunnel link to Denmark
German authorities gave their approval to an US$8 billion (6.30 billion pounds) rail and road tunnel linking Denmark and Germany, despite environmental objections. It is part-funded by the European Union. The 19 km (11.8 mile) Fehmarnbelt link, connecting the Danish island of Lolland to the island of Fehmarn on the German side, was due to be completed in 2024.
6. Government doubles export incentives for onion farmers to 10 percent
Government has doubled the export incentives for onion farmers from existing 5 percent to 10 percent. This is the result of steep drops in recent weeks in the prices for onions, a staple food in India. The export incentive for fresh Onions was zero before July, 2018. During July this year, the incentives were introduced at the rate of five percent. The Ministry said, now, with the current increase, Onions enjoy one of the highest incentives for Agro-exports.
7. PM Modi inaugurated 6th International Rice Research Institute in Varanasi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Varanasi and Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh. He dedicated the 6th International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), South Asia Regional Center (ISARC) to the nation. The Institute is built at the campus of National Seed Research and Training Center (NSRTC) in Varanasi.
During the visit, he laid the foundation stone of medical College in Ghazipur. He also released a commemorative postal stamp on Maharaja Suheldev. Another important announcement is the SAMPANN software which is developed to ease the problems of pensioners. PM Modi also inaugurated 15 projects worth Rs. 80 crore in his constituency Varanasi.
8. Uzbekistan promotes 2019 as year of investment in backdrop of wider business with India
President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced 2019 as the ‘Year of Active Investment and Social Development’ in the backdrop of proposed investments from India to boost the economy of the Central Asian country, in his annual address to the Parliament. The President stated that concrete measures will be taken on creating an open economy, radically improving the business environment and investment climate and reducing the state presence in the economy. He stressed that investment was the driver of the economy, new technologies, advanced experience, and highly qualified specialists come with investments into all sectors and regions.
9. Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate Indian Science Congress-2019 in Punjab on Jan 3
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Indian Science Congress-2019 in Jalandhar, Punjab on the third of next month. This will be the 106th edition of the event based on the theme ‘Future India: Science and Technology’.
Prime Minister will also address about 30,000 delegates, including Nobel laureates, eminent scientists, policymakers, young researchers and school children, from across the country and abroad. During the five-day long Congress, more than 100 conferences and events on science and technology will be held.
10. Vinod Kumar Yadav appointed as Railway Board Chairman
General Manager of South Central Railway, Vinod Kumar Yadav, has been appointed as Chairman of Railway Board and ex-officio Principal Secretary to Government of India. Commencing his career on Indian Railways as Assistant Electrical Engineer in February 1982, he held several important executive and managerial positions in Indian Railways.
Extending his gratitude to the government for his appointment, Vinod Kumar Yadav said that the Railways under his guidance is looking forward to revise the amenities and utilities in the Railways for serving the travellers better.
11. Tamil Nadu’s Virudhunagar tops Aspirational Districts: NITI Aayog
NITI Aayog released the Second Delta Ranking of the Aspirational Districts Programme.
The rankings were released by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant. The rankings detail the incremental progress achieved by the districts during June to October this year across six key development sectors. Virudhunagar district in Tamil Nadu has shown the most improvement overall, followed by Nuapada district in Odisha, Siddarthnagar in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar’s Aurangabad and Koraput in Odisha.
The Aspirational District Programme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January this year with the aim to rapidly transform the districts that have shown relatively lesser progress in key social areas.
12. Veteran actor-writer Kader Khan dies at 81
Kader Khan, best known for penning some of the most powerful dialogues and comic timing as an actor, passed away due to prolonged illness. He was 81. Khan had developed breathing issues and the doctors had reportedly transferred him from regular ventilator to BiPAP ventilator.
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. Before becoming an actor he had written dialogues for Randhir Kapoor-Jaya Bachchan’s “Jawani Diwani”.
His films with Desai include “Dharam Veer”, “Ganga Jamuna Saraswati”, “Coolie”, “Desh Premee”, “Suhaag”, “Parvarish” and “Amar Akbar Anthony” and films with Mehra include “Jwalamukhi”, “Sharaabi”, “Lawaaris”, “Muqaddar Ka Sikandar”.
