Latest Current Affairs January 13 & 14 2018
1. Fourth ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture & Forestry Held in New Delhi
The Fourth ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry (AIMMAF) was held on 12 January 2018 in New Delhi. The Meeting was Co-chaired by Mr. GrisadaBoonrach, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Thailand and RadhaMohan Singh, Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India.
ASEAN
- ASEAN is a regional organisation that aims to promote intergovernmental cooperation and economic integration amongst its members.
- It consists of 10-member countries- Cambodia, Brunei, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
2. India Signs Pact with UK on Illegal Migrants
India has signed an MoU with the United Kingdom to enable the return of illegal Indian migrants within a month of their detection by authorities abroad. The Memorandum of Understanding, which would affect hundreds of Indians, comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed visit to the UK in March.
3. ‘IRON FIST’- The US, Japan Joint Military Drill Begins
The 13th annual Iron Fist exercises kicked off in the U.S. western state of California. More than 500 U.S. Marines and sailors are partnering with about 350 members of the Japanese Ground Self-Defence Force to train in fire support operations and amphibious assaults.
4. Anil Khanna to Head IOA Finance Commission
Senior sports administrator Anil Khanna has been named Chairman of the Finance Commission of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), which also formed a four- member advisory committee. The IOA also formed a Medical Commission and Games Technical Conduct Committee and nominated office bearers of IOA and National Sports Federations (NSFs) to the Committees.
5. Indu Malhotra Becomes 1st Woman Lawyer Directly Appointed for SC Judgeship
The Supreme Court collegium has recommended senior advocate Indu Malhotra as the first woman lawyer to be directly appointed as a judge of the apex court. She will be one of only seven women judges that the top court has had so far since independence. At present, Justice R Banumathi is the lone woman judge in the apex court.
6. India, Top Borrower from China-Sponsored AIIB in 2017
India has emerged as a top borrower from the China-sponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) with USD 1.5 billion worth of loans last year and USD three billion more in the pipeline.
India is the second largest shared holder in the bank which has an authorised capital of USD 100 billion. China is the largest shareholder with 26.06 per cent voting shares in the bank. India is the second largest shareholder with 7.5 per cent followed by Russia 5.93 per cent and Germany with 4.5 per cent.
7. India contributes USD 50,000 to UN Youth Envoy’s Office
India has contributed USD 50,000 to the UN’s youth mission which works to raise awareness and attention to youth issues globally. The office of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ Envoy on Youth works to raise international awareness and attention to youth issues among others.
8. WEF Ranks India 30th on Global Manufacturing Index
The World Economic Forum on Friday ranked India 30th on a global manufacturing index, which measures which countries are best placed to benefit from the changing nature of production due to improvements in technology. Among BRICS countries, India is ranked behind China (which is at fifth place) but ahead of Brazil, Russia and South Africa.
9. IDFC Bank, Capital First to merge in Share Swap Deal
The boards of directors of IDFC Bank and Capital First has approved a merger of Capital First with IDFC Bank. Pursuant to the merger which is subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, IDFC Bank will issue 139 shares for every 10 shares of Capital First. With this move, IDFC Bank has put the failed amalgamation bid with Shriram Group behind it.
10. Johnson & Johnson Partners with Maharashtra Govt. on Health Interventions
Maharashtra’s mine workers who face an increased risk of tuberculosis will be part of awareness programmes on the illness, as part of a partnership that the Maharashtra Government recently formalized with Johnson & Johnson. Other interventions under the ambit of the agreement include hospital acquired infections and maternal and infant mortality.
The collaboration would also look at infection prevention, diabetes, obesity and menstrual hygiene and support healthcare professionals and nurses in the State to develop skills in these areas.
11. Delhi’s Teen Murti Chowk renamed after Israeli city Haifa
The iconic Teen Murti Chowk has been renamed after the Israeli City Haifa, a year after the plan was put on hold by the NDMC. The announcement comes after the scheduled visit of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to India. The idea of renaming Teen Murti road and chowk after Haifa was proposed in the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) council during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel last year.
12. Saudi allows women to attend men’s soccer match for 1st time
Saudi Arabia has allowed women to attend a men’s football match for the first time from a sports stadium. This comes after Saudi women were allowed in a stadium for National Day celebrations in a one-off event in September last year. Saudi women had long been barred from stadiums over rules on gender segregation in public.
13. Microsoft, Accenture partner to help Indian tech startups
Microsoft Accelerator has partnered with Accenture Ventures to help scale B2B (businesses catering to businesses) startups in national and international markets. Microsoft’s accelerator programme focusses on enterprise startups and helps them get access to its tech stack and Azure technologies to make use of its advanced cloud services in areas such as big data, IoT, advanced analytics and cognitive services.
14. Bihar poorest state in India, Delhi richest: National survey
As per the National survey conducted by the National Family and Health Survey (NFHS-4), Poorest state of India is Bihar whereas Delhi tops among the richest states in Country. The survey was conducted on more than 6 lakh households of country. Punjab is the other state that is featured at top in the list in terms of richest states of the country.
NFHS-4 survey was conducted on the basis of consumer goods owned by the households. The goods includes things such as television and bicycles, and household characteristics such as availability of clean drinking water.
15. ISRO to perform ‘bungee jump’ test on Chandrayaan-2
ISRO is set to conduct a “bungee jump” on Chandrayaan-2, India’s second Moon mission, where its 500-kg landing module would be lowered from 100 metres at Mahendragiri hills, Tamil Nadu. In Moon-like low gravity conditions, the module would have to perform vertical and horizontal manoeuvring to find a suitable landing spot. The tests would ensure its soft landing on Moon.
16. Israeli PM Netanyahu arrives in India for 6-day visit
Six months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic visit to Israel, first ever by any Indian prime minister to the Jewish nation, his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu is arriving in India today for a six-day state visit.
The Israeli Prime Minister, who is the second Prime Minister from his country after Ariel Sharon to visit India in the last 25 years of a diplomatic relationship, will be accompanied by a 130-member delegation from various sectors including cyber, agriculture and defence.
17. Haryana records its highest sex ratio at birth in 2017
For the first time, Haryana claimed to have logged the highest ever sex ratio of 914 girls against 1,000 boys in 2017. It was 900 in 2016 and 876 in 2015. As per the date, released by the state government, out of the 5,09,290 children born in the state from January to December 2017, there were 2, 66,064 boys and 2,43,226 girls witnessing the improvement of SRB, which jumped from 871 to 914, an increase of 43 points.
18. India’s Yuki Bhambri qualifies for Australian Open 2018
Continuing his good form from the last season, Yuki Bhambri has qualified for the Australian Open with a come-from-behind win but Ramkumar Ramanathan missed out on his maiden Grand Slam appearance. The 25-year old Bhambri overcame a first set lapse to tame Canadian Peter Polansky 1-6 6-3 6-3 in the third and final qualifying round in one hour and 55 minutes.
