Latest Current Affairs – January 10 & 11 2019
1. Chhattisgarh becomes 3rd state to bar CBI from probing cases
After Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, Chhattisgarh has become the third state to withdraw the General Consent given to CBI to probe cases in the state. The state has informed the Department of Personnel and Training and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs of the decision. The CBI must now seek permission before investigating any fresh cases in Chhattisgarh.
2. Cabinet approves 3 new AIIMS at Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir
The Cabinet approved the establishment of three new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)- two in Jammu and Kashmir and one in Gujarat. The AIIMS will be set under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana scheme. The AIIMS at Gujarat will be set in Rajkot, while those in Jammu and Kashmir will be set in Vijaynagar and Awantipora.
3. Centre launches 5-yr plan to combat pollution in 102 cities
The Environment Ministry launched National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) aimed at reducing toxic particulate matter in 102 Indian cities by 2024. The NCAP will be a mid-term, five-year plan with 2019 as the first year, while 2017 will be the base year for comparison of concentration. An amount of ?300 crore has been sanctioned for this purpose.
4. Mary Kom becomes world number one woman boxer in 48-kg category
Mary Kom, who had become the first ever woman boxer to win six world championship titles in November last year, has been ranked number one by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) in the light fly (45-48kg) category. The 35-year-old tops her weight division with 1700 points. Ukraine’s 22-year-old boxer Hanna Okhota is ranked second, with 1100 points.
5. Maduro sworn in as Venezuela Prez for 2nd term amid economic crisis
Nicolás Maduro was sworn in for a second term as Venezuela’s President amid the economic and humanitarian crisis faced by the Latin American country. Maduro was re-elected last year amid allegation of vote buying and electoral fraud. The US, EU and 13 other countries have said that they would not recognise Maduro’s Presidency.
6. India allows Iran’s Bank Pasargad to open branch in Mumbai
The government has allowed Iran’s Bank Pasargad to open a branch in Mumbai while India’s state-owned UCO Bank will be opening a branch in Iran. The move is expected to facilitate transactions related to India’s oil purchases from Iran amidst US sanctions. The banks will also handle transactions relating to operation at Iran’s Chabahar Port which India is developing.
7. Pranav R Mehta becomes 1st Indian to head Global Solar Council
A visionary in the field of Solar Energy and the chairman of National Solar Energy Federation, Pranav R Mehta 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) was launched on December 6, 2015, following the historic United Nations Climate Change Conference (UN COP 21).
8. Reserve Bank of India forms committee to boost digital payments
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) constituted a High-Level Committee on Deepening of Digital Payments to encourage digitization of payments and enhance financial inclusion. The five-member committee headed by UIDAI’s former Chairman Nandan Nilekani will include RBI’s former Deputy Governor Mr. H.R. Khan and Former Secretary, Ministry of Information Technology, Mrs. Aruna Sharma among others.
9. NASAs TESS found a new planet
Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), NASA’s latest planet-hunting probe, has discovered a new world outside our solar system, orbiting a dwarf star 53 light years away. This is the third new planet confirmed by TESS since its launch in April 2018.
The planet has been named as HD 21749b. The planets orbits a bright, nearby dwarf star about 53 light years away, in the constellation Reticulum, and appears to have the longest orbital period of the three planets so far identified by TESS.
10. USA Cricket becomes ICC’s 105th member
The International Cricket Council (ICC) approved USA Cricket as its 105th member, which is expected to open the door for T20 Internationals to be played in Florida, which has a large base of West Indies supporters.
The USA Cricket Association had previously been an associate member of the ICC, but was suspended over governance issues for a third time in 2015 before being expelled in June 2017.
11. Interim Budget session likely from January 31 to February 13
It is expected to be the last session of the current Lok Sabha as general elections are due in April-May 2019. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present the interim budget for 2019-20 fiscal on February 1, as decided in the meeting by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs. This will be the sixth consecutive budget to be presented by Jaitley.
12. RBI provides USD 400 million to Sri Lanka’s central bank under swap deal
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has agreed to provide $400 million to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) under the SAARC swap facility, to boost the island nation’s reserves.
CBSL has requested a further bilateral swap arrangement of $1 billion from RBI which is “under consideration”.
♦ SAARC Full form – South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.
♦ Sri Lanka Central Bank governor – Indrajit Coomaraswamy
♦ Sri Lanka Finance Minister – Mangala Samaraweera
13. Gangavaram circle police received the Award for the Best Crime Detection for 2018
The Gangavaram circle police of Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh, received the Award for the Best Crime Detection (ABCD) for 2018 from the Chief Secretary Anil Chandra Punetha and Director General of Police R.P. Thakur in Vijayawada.
The award was conferred on the circle personnel for solving the gold theft case that took place under the Bangarupalem station limits on December 8 last. Within a week, special parties formed by Superintendent of Police (SP) Vikrant Patil zeroed in on the Maharashtra gang and nabbed five accused, besides recovering 4.3 kg of gold out of the 5.75 kg gold lifted by the gang from two executives of a Mumbai gold dealer.
14. Malala Yousafzai has written a new book titled We are Displaced
Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and Pakistani activist, has written a new book, titled We are Displaced, charting her experiences travelling the world and visiting refugee camps. Publishers Weidenfeld & Nicolson and Hachette India said that her travels through the refugee camps led her to reconsider her own displacement.
In We are Displaced, Malala not only explores her own story of adjusting to a new life while longing for home, but she also shares the personal stories of some of the incredible girls she has met on her various journeys, girls who have lost their community, relatives and often the only world they’ve ever known.
