Latest Current Affairs January 19
- Susanta Roy appointed NTPC director projects
Susanta Kumar Roy has been appointed as Director (Projects), NTPC, the state-owned company. Roy was Executive Director (Projects) at the country’s largest electricity producer, NTPC.
Roy joined NTPC in 1981 as Executive Trainee and has more than 36 years of experience in large size coal power stations.
- Lakhtakia appointed new DG of National Security Guard
Senion IPS officer Sudeep Lakhtakia has been appointed as the new Director General (DG) of the ‘black cats’ commando force NSG.
An order appointing the 1984-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Telangana cadre was issued by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The National Security Guard (NSG) was raised as the federal contingency force to counter terrorists and hijack- like incidents in 1984.
- Harish Manwani appointed ISB Executive Board Chairman
Harish Manwani, Non-Executive Chairman of FMCG major Hindustan Unilever, has been appointed the new Chairman of the Executive Board of the Indian School of Business (ISB).
Manwani’s appointment as the ISB Executive Board Chairman will be effective April 2018. He succeeds Adi Godrej, who has been the Chairman of the board since April 2011.
- India to host yoga training sessions at World Economic Forum in Davos
In a first, India will host Yoga training sessions at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos next week. This will be Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first Davos visit and also the first by an Indian Prime Minister since the one by H D Deve Gowda in 1997.
As part of this, Yoga has been included in the main WEF programme for which we will be taking two acharyas to Davos to provide yoga classes during the five-day summit.
- India becomes member of Australia Group
India has gained entry into the Australia Group (AG), an important non-proliferation regime which seeks to ensure that exports do not contribute to the development of chemical or biological weapons.
After the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA), the membership in another of the four major export control regimes is expected to give India a leg-up in its bid to secure a berth in the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group, which has been blocked by China at the behest of Pakistan.
- Tamilnadu Government to introduce Aerospace & defence policy
The Tamil Nadu government is in the process of coming out with an exclusive Aerospace and Defence policy. The policy’s objective is to achieve a 30 per cent share of the defence sector in India and creating high-end employment opportunities for around 100,000 people in the state.
The development of Chennai Aerospace Park at Sriperumbudur is one such initiative to start with. The Chennai Aerospace Park is being set up in 250 acres in the first phase which will be expanded to 500 acres in the next phase.
- Kerala to set up Blockchain academy
The Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management-Kerala (IIITM-K) has planned to set up a Kerala Blockchain Academy, arguably the first of its kind in the country. The academy will be a joint initiative of the IIITM-K and the global Blockchain Education Network (BEN).
This would be done in collaboration with BEN as well as best-in-class blockchain experts and researchers group from across the world.
The technology could also be harvested in capacity building initiatives and for promoting disruptive innovations and entrepreneurship.
8. Telangana inks MoU with ISE Foods, Clean Authority of Tokyo
Telangana has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Clean Authority of Tokyo on Friday for solid waste management. The two sides will exchange expertise and build technical cooperation in waste management.
Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Industries & Commerce (I&C), Telangana and Yoshimi Sato, Vice-President, Clean Authority of Tokyo, signed the MoU.
The Telangana delegation headed by Industries and IT Minister KT Rama Rao also signed a Letter of Intent with ISE Foods Inc. ISE Foods will set up a pilot project for egg production using advanced technologies.
9. AU Small Finance Bank inks MoU with LIC to offer PMJJBY scheme
Banking finance company AU Small Finance Bank has signed an MoU with LIC to offer Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY).
Under the MoU, LIC will give a life cover of ₹2 lakh in case of death to the customer at a nominal premium of ₹330 per annum.
The company will also offer loans under government’s affordable housing and subsidy schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
The product will be targeted for both salaried and self- employed (professional and non-professional) customers in urban, semi-urban and rural areas which is the bank’s core market segment.
10. WhatsApp launches Business App for Android
Facebook-owned instant messaging platform WhatsApp has formally announced the launch of a new ‘Business’ application. Called WhatsApp Business, it’s a free-to-download Android application for business users.
The application, which was available in beta for almost a month, is currently available in Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Britain and the US. The app will roll out for other countries, and in India, in the coming weeks.
11. V. Vishveshwara, Pioneer of Black Hole Discovery Dies at 78
Veteran scientist C.V. Vishveshwara, known as a pioneer in black hole research in India, has died. Popularly called ‘Vishu’, his contribution to black hole physics dates even before the word ‘black hole’ was coined, said US-based India researcher Karan Jani.
Vishveswara made an important calculation that was used in the discovery of gravitational waves by LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory) detectors in 2015, from the merger of black holes.
