Current Affairs Quick Recap – January (Week IV)

In General Knowledge PDF
January 28, 2016

CURRENT AFFAIRS JANUARY WEEK FOUR

Awards and Honours

Who on January 24 presented the National Bravery Awards to 25 children? Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Saina Nehwal, Sania Mirza, Vinod Rai and Anupam Kher will be conferred with Padma Bhushan
Rajinikanth, Shri Shri Ravi Shankar and late Dhirubhai Ambani were selected to be conferred with Padma Vibhushan
Ajay Devgn, Priyanka Chopra, SS Rajamouli, Deepika Kumari and late Saeed Jaffrey will be conferred with Padma Shri
Who has approved the conferment of Jeevan Raksha Padak Series of Awards – 2015 on 50 persons President of India
Veteran Bollywood actress Rekha on 25 January 2016 was honoured with the Third Yash Chopra Memorial Award in Mumbai
A Kerala dentist Sajeev Koshy settled in Melbourne on 26 January 2016 was honoured with the highest civilian honour, The Order of Australia
President Pranab Mukherjee has conferred the country’s highest peacetime gallantry award Ashok Chakra to Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami posthumously
The PEN/Allen Foundation Literary Service Award will honor which novelist for how her work embodies the principles of free expression, and for her support of various causes including Multiple Sclerosis research, eliminating social exclusion and fighting censorship. J.K. Rowling
Australia has awarded its highest civilian honour, the Companion of the Order or Australia (AC) to India-origin scientist and professor Chennupati Jagadish
Who was chosen for Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) for his extraordinary services to Indian Navy – Vice Admiral Ashok Subhedar.
Australia’s highest civilian award conferred on 3 Indian-origin persons – Chennupati Jagadish, Jay Chandra, Sajeev Koshy.
Who has been selected for Amnesty human rights award? Henri Tiphagne

Appointments

The senior revenue service officer who has been appointed as the Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex policy-making body of the income tax department Atulesh Jindal
Who has been appointed Chairman and Managing Director of General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re), the National Reinsurer Alice Vaidyan
Supreme Court of India appointed Justice whom as new Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh recalling its previous decision in this regard – Sanjay Mishra
Who has been named as the brand ambassador of a newly-launched pleasure cruise? Sachin Tendulkar

Banking and Economy

RBI has also allowed banks to sell Ashok Chakra-embossed gold coins manufactured by government-owned MMTC under the scheme ‘India gold coin’
The RBI has asked banks to provide loans of up to Rs 3 lakh at 7 per cent interest rate to Women Self-Help Group (SHG) under the scheme National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) Aajeevika
Government will pay banks how much per cent commission for mobilising gold under the gold monetisation scheme and depositors will be permitted premature withdrawal of the deposited metal 4.5 per cent.
India’s fourth-largest software services firm, which has agreed to acquire UK-based Point to Point Ltd and Point to Point Products Ltd (jointly referred to as Point to Point or P2P) for £8 million (around Rs 78 crore or around $11 million) HCL Technologies Ltd
In order to attract investments in infrastructure sector, the Finance Ministry will organise a two-day India Investment Summit from February 4
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has created a new task force with Bank of England Governor and his counterpart at the Reserve Bank of India, Raghuram Rajan. Who is Bank of England Governor? Mark Carney
The Bank of America Chairman and CEO Brian Moynihan and HSBC Chairman Douglas Flint, met for the first time at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos.
A Protocol to amend the existing Double Taxation Avoidance Convention was signed by the Government of India and the – Government of Armenia
RBI to issue Rs 10 coins on whose 125th birth anniversary? B R Ambedkar
India and ADB Sign $80 Million Loan Agreement to continue improving infrastructure in two North Eastern State Capital cities. – Agartala and Aizwal.

National Round-up

India has been ranked which position on an inaugural list of the world’s best countries, which was released on the sidelines of WEF Annual Meeting 22nd.
Which country topped the world’s best countries, which was released on the sidelines of WEF Annual Meeting? Germany
In the 14th edition of the travel site’s Trip Advisor’s 2016Travelers’ Choice Awards, Jodhpur’s Palace was named the best hotel of 2016. Name the palace. Umaid Bhawan
United Nations (UN) World Economic Situation and Prospects 2016 Report, India will be the fastest growing big economy in the world in 2016
The scheme which was launched for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir Nai Manzil
Google India and ______ has launched free Rail Wire Public Wi-Fi service for railway passengers at the Mumbai Central Station? Indian Railways’ telecom arm RailTel
What is India’s Global Human Development Report (HDR) rank which was released by UN Development Programme (UNDP)? 130
The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development has decided to extend the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme to how many more districts in 2016 to improve the declining child sex ratio 61
The International Development Association (IDA) signed a financing agreement with the GOI for the ‘Jhelum and Tawi flood recovery Project’ worth US$ 250 million in J & K
Which state has topped in the country in implementing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act for the 2014-2015 in category of transparency and accountability? Andhra Pradesh
India’s largest tricolour hoisted atop the tallest pole at Pahari Mandir in Ranchi
Which company will make its debut at the Auto Expo 2016 on February 3, 2016? UM Motorcycles
The Finance Ministry gave in-principle approval for buying nearly how many new electronic voting machines(EVMs)? 14 lakh
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has sought an additional Rs 26,000 crore from the government to be injected into state-run banks by 2018
India is all set to build a satellite tracking and imaging centre in Southern Vietnam
The Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smriti Zubin Irani launched a series of books on Param Veer Chakra awardees in New Delhi namely ‘Veer Gaatha’
State-owned ONGC has got environmental clearance for drilling 45 development wells and other related infrastructure involving a cost of over Rs 53,000 crore in the Krishna-Godavari basin in Andhra Pradesh
To make laws tougher to tackle atrocities against the most vulnerable sections of the population, the Centre has announced that The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015, which came into effect on January 26, 2016
Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan on January 24 launched the online payment facility for consumers at the time of booking their LPG refill cylinder at www.mylpg.in which can be accessed in 13 Indian languages
The Government of India has imposed the President’ Rule in Arunachal Pradesh
The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) launched an initiative to provide an opportunity for the children to experience the border environment and to foster patriotism and nationalism among the students named SEEMA DARSHAN
Who was the Chief Guest at 67th Republic Day parade? President of France Francois Hollande
Which becomes the first centre in Karnataka for conducting the MRCP practical assessment of examination skills (PACES) mock exam in collaboration with UK-based Royal College of Physicians Federation Manipal Hospitals Bangalore
Teabox, the global speciality tea company, is the latest to received funding from Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons and this is the fourth start-up in 2016
Social Justice and Empowerment minister, Thaawarchand Gehlot has launched an exclusive job portal for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs)
The Union Cabinet under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the raising of 17 India Reserve Battalions (IR Bns) by Jammu & Kashmir and Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected States.
Railtel Corporation’s broadband will reach 500,000 households through its Railwire network providing a host of services at the block level in the next Two years
All India Radio has launched a non-conventional audio broadcast channel through Internet and ‘free dish’ with easy accessibility to it for connoisseurs of art, specially classicial music- both Carnatic and Hindustani. The Channel, known as ‘RAAGAM’
The recently released Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2015 shows that India has moved up in rank from 85 position to 76.
The government on 27 Jan 2016 approved which model for building roads to fast-track highway projects, revive the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) mode and attract more investments in the sector Hybrid annuity model
India’s first blind friendly train,from Mysuru to Varanasi
Who has tied up with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to upskill rural secondary school students in four states using digital interactive tools Tata Trusts
A permanent memorial of India’s first aircraft carrier INS Vikrant has been unveiled by Vice Admiral S.P.S. Cheema, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command, and Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta in Mumbai
The Union Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi approved to increase the Authorized Share Capital of the National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC) from Rs. 1000 crore to 1200 crore.

International Round-up

A US-based think-tank, released the 2016 Nuclear Security Index with the theme Building a Framework for Assurance, Accountability, and Action Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI)
Which country has lifted sanctions on Iran, falling in line with major world powers? Japan
Which country has maintained its high ranking in 2015 human development index (HDI) in the South Asia Region which ranked 73rd with an HDI value of 0.757? Sri Lanka
Joint Working Groups on Sub-Regional Cooperation between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) on Water Resources Management, Power, Connectivity and Transit reviewed progress under the BBIN at Dhaka
Who on 24 January 2016 won the Presidential election of Portugal? Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
Microsoft co-founder and one the richest people in human history, who once again comes out on top, with a net worth of $87.4 billion which has been released by Wealth-X, a wealth-tracking website Bill Gates.
On January 27, 2016 United Nations launched an appeal for a humanitarian aid of USD 393 million to Afghanistan
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon criticised Israel’s new plans for Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Which Organization has stated that more than 8 million children living in conflict zones and crisis torn area will receive an access to education in 2016? United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

India and the world

India and France on January 25 signed a Memorandum of Understanding towards an Inter-governmental agreement (IGA) over the purchase of 36 Rafale jets from Dassault Aviation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the President of France Mr François Hollande, has jointly laid the foundation stone of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Headquarters and inaugurated the interim Secretariat of the ISA in National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), Gwalpahari, Gurgaon
India has donated ambulances and eight buses to various hospitals, non-profit charitable organisations and educational institutions in which country to strengthen the education and health services in the Himalayan nation? Nepal
The 1st Ministerial Meeting of Arab-India Cooperation Forum was held in Manama, Bahrain
India and France inked how many Agreements/MoUs in Delhi? 14
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi was apprised about signing of an agreement between related to scientific research with which country in May 2015? Russia
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has apprised of the Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs)signed between Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) with its counterparts in Malaysia, Singapore and Japan
Which country remained at the top of Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index? Denmark
India and Armenia signed Protocol amending the India-Armenia Double Taxation Avoidance Convention in New Delhi. What is the capital of Armenia? Yerevan

Science and Technology

The New tree frog genus which was discovered in NE India andscientists believe they could also be living across a wide swath of Asia from China to Thailand has been named Frankixalus
World’s fifth largest watchmaker Titan Company Ltd, of the Tata Group has unveiled a smartwatch in partnership with global technology giant HP Inc JUXT
Digital payment startup TranServ has entered the mobile wallet segment which is Known as the first Social Mobile Wallet Udio
Who has received US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) approval to manufacture and market Voriconazole tablets (50 mg and 200 mg) that are used to treat fungal infections Aurobindo Pharma
Astronomers discovered the largest known solar system, consisting of a large planet that takes nearly a million years to orbit its star. A team of astronomers in UK, USA and Australia found a lonely planet which was designated as 2MASS J2126
New Shepard rocket of aerospace company who became the first reusable rocket which was reused and landed back successfully on earth – Blue Origin
Which place to get World’s first 5G Network? – Stockholm
Which country has approved Terminal Sedation, Not Euthanasia? – France

Sports

Roger Federer Wins 300th Grand Slam Singles Match at the Australian Open and who stands in front of him Martina Navratilova (306)
After more than two decades and 164 Test matches, one of West Indies’ finest batsmen, who has retired Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Which India’s Ace Shuttler has won the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold Badminton title PV Sindhu
India defeated which country in the first ever championship of Blind T20 Asia Cup Pakistan
Veteran West Indies batsman and the seventh highest Test match run maker in history, who has announced his international retirement, 22 years after his debut Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Kolkata cueist who put up a dominating display on the green baize to outplay Siddharth Parekh 5-2 in the final of the National Billiards Championship Sourav Kothari
Which Indian Cricket player jumped eight spots to claim a career-best fifth position in the ICC batsman ranking? Rohit Sharma
The International Hockey Federation or FIH has named which two persons of Netherlands as the 2015 Players of the Year in the men’s and women’s categories? Robert Van der Horst and Lidewij Welten
India’s top pistol shooter who has secured an Olympic quota for the country? Heena Sidhu
Who continued to hold on to the top spot in the all-rounders’ table and also retained his second position in the bowling list in the latest ICC Test rankings? Ravichandran Ashwin
Which country defeated Australia by 37 runs in the first encounter of the three-match Twenty20 International series India

Important Days

January 24 – 9th‘National Girl Child Day’
January 25 – National Voters Day
January 26 – International Customs Day
January 28 – 150th Birth Anniversary of Lala Lajpat Rai

Obituary

Former Deputy Speaker of Gujarat Assembly and Social Activist who passed away in Rajkot, Gujarat – Nirmala Gajwani
Eminent Tabla player who passed away in Kolkata following a prolonged illness – Pandit Shankar Ghosh
The versatile actress in both Tamil and Malayalam films, passed away on January 25 in Hyderabad hotel – Kalpana
The pioneer of artificial intelligence, who died at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital due to cerebral hemorrhage – Marvin Minsky
Actor who is known for his work in The Godfather and on the television series Barney Miller, passed away on 26 January 2016 in New Jersey following natural causes Abe Vigoda
Arindam Sen Gupta, the managing editor of The Times of India, lost his battle against cancer and passed away.

Tit-bits

Union Government has notified stricter environment norms for sugar industries operating in various states in the country to minimise water pollution by limiting the wastewater discharge to 200 litre per tonne of crushed cane, as against the previous limit of 400 litre per tone
The state Government which launched Giriputrika Kalyana Pathakam Scheme to support the tribal women in their quest for livelihood Andhra Pradesh
Who finally won the Bigg Boss 9? Prince Narula
Beverages major Coca-Cola has announced its foray into value-added dairy drinks segment in the Indian market with Vio brand.
Toyota has kept the title of world’s biggest automaker for the fourth straight year after saying it sold 10.15 million vehicles globally in 2015, driving past Volkswagen and General Motors.
The 46th Statehood Day of Himachal Pradesh was celebrated with great gaiety on 25 Jan 2016
Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav launched a dedicated helpline for journalists with number 1880.
In which state the first Solar Power operated Mini-Water Supply Plant in the state has been commissioned inHingna village of Mouda Taluka in Nagpur district? Maharashtra
An unidentified balloon-like object was shot down by a fighter aircraft of Indian Air Force in Barmer district? Rajasthan

Did You Know??

May babies are on average 200 grams heavier than babies born in other months.
Leonardo da Vinci was dyslexic, and he often wrote backwards.
Children laugh about 400 times a day, while adults laugh on average only 15 times a day.
There is cyanide in apple pips.
The best time for a person to buy shoes is in the afternoon. This is because the foot tends to swell a bit around this time.
The electric chair was invented by a dentist.
The elephant is the only mammal that can’t jump.
The world’s smartest pig, owned by a mathematics teacher in Madison, WI, memorized the multiplication tables up to 12.
Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.
In ancient Greece, children of wealthy families were dipped in olive oil at birth to keep them hairless throughout their lives.

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