AWARDS AND HONOURS

APPOINTMENTS

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

• To enhance import and export performance, the Centre has entrusted the task of integrated development of the logistics sector to the Department of Commerce.
• Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has announced the Centre would phase out subsidies for the annual Haj pilgrimage, two months after his Ministry had taken the decision.
• The Central government will set up a $350 million fund to finance solar projects as the country steps up efforts to achieve its ambitious target of adding 175 gigawatts (GW) in renewable energy by 2022.
• 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.
• 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.
• The divyang-friendly websites, especially for visually impaired, use features such as screen readers and screen magnifiers, which can relay website content to the user in audio format.
• Arun Jaitley, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs launched the National CSR Data Portal & Corporate Data Portal.
• The Central government will set up a $350 million fund to finance solar projects as the country steps up efforts to achieve its ambitious target of adding 175 gigawatts (GW) in renewable energy by 2022.
• 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.
• 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.
• The divyang-friendly websites, especially for visually impaired, use features such as screen readers and screen magnifiers, which can relay website content to the user in audio format.
• Arun Jaitley, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs launched the National CSR Data Portal & Corporate Data Portal.
• India has emerged as the fifth most attractive market for investments and the optimism over global economic growth is at a record level, a survey of CEOs by global consultancy PwC.
• India is projected to grow at 7.4% of its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018 as against China’s 6.8%, the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

NEWS IN STATES

• DevX, the accelerator will have co-working space of about 15,000-18,000 square feet at single location with seating capacity for over 250 people. This will be Gujarat’s largest accelerator.
• The Haryana government has decided to form a new non-banking financial company (NBFC) Haryana State Financial Services Limited (HSFL) to act as an in-house treasury manager for efficient management of surplus funds of state public enterprises and autonomous bodies.
• The Karnataka Government has decided to use the blockchain technology and is planning to bring out a White Paper on ‘Blockchain Use in Governance’ as a prelude to a separate policy.
• The Maharashtra government announced its State Innovation and Start-up Policy, aiming to generate five lakh jobs in the next five years.
• Maharashtra Government has announced 1% reservation for orphans in government jobs and education.
• The Andhra Pradesh government and Niti Aayog have entered into an MoU for development of monitoring mechanism, including creation of dashboard and collection of data for improving the performance of 115 most aspirational districts in the country.
• Telangana has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Clean Authority of Tokyo on Friday for solid waste management.
• 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 Tamil Nadu government is in the process of coming out with an exclusive Aerospace and Defence policy.
• The Maharashtra government has approved a Rs 4,000-crore project aimed at promoting climate-resilient agriculture, to be partially funded by the World Bank.
• The Telangana government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Clean Authority of Tokyo in connection with municipal solid waste incineration.
• Jammu and Kashmir will host its maiden international martial arts games event in October this year, in which over a dozen countries are expected to participate.
• The state government has launched Odisha e-Hospital Management Information System (OeHMIS) in which paperwork would be reduced and diagnostic reports, prescription details and doctor’s advices would be found at the click of a mouse.
• Aviation services trainer Flight Simulation Technique Centre (FSTC) has set up a simulation services centre in Hyderabad. This comes after its flagship centre in Gurugram.
• Authorities have initiated a ‘cow tourism’ project to promote and popularise bovine rearing in the state. It has been introduced by the Gujarat State Gauseva Ayog.
• The Raipur Municipal Corporation in Chhattisgarh has organised the city’s first garbage festival.
• The Minister of State (IC), for AYUSH, Shripad Yesso Naik laid the foundation stone for Central Research Institute (CRI) in Jaipur on 22nd January 2018.
• The Andhra Pradesh Government and the Canton of Zurich have signed a letter of intent, to promote mutual prosperity and development.

BANKING AND FINANCE

• State Bank of India (SBI), the largest commercial bank in India, has announced tie-up with Transfast Remittance LLC, the USA based payment network.
• India’s most-valued lender HDFC Bank Ltd was crossed Rs5 trillion market capitalisation for the first time, making it only the third Indian company to achieve this milestone.
• Banking finance company AU Small Finance Bank has signed an MoU with LIC to offer Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY).
• Axis Bank is partnering with NGO Srijan through an initiative called Buddha Fellowship Programme to help nurture talent for the development sector.
• Indian Overseas Bank has signed an MoU with National Housing Bank for the Rural Housing Interest Subsidy Scheme (RHISS) of the Ministry of Rural Development.

MERGER AND ACQUISITION

• Public sector exploration giant ONGC has got the consent for acquiring controlling stake in fellow PSU Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL).

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

• A 910 carat gem diamond has been recovered in a Lesotho mine, the size of which makes it the fifth largest gem quality diamond ever found.
• China has constructed an experimental air purifying tower, touted to be the world’s biggest at a height of over 100 meters (328 feet).
• Britain has appointed a minister for loneliness to take forward the work of murdered lawmaker Jo Cox and tackle the isolation felt by more than one in ten people in the UK.
• Russia and the European Union (EU) have signed agreements to finance and implement two new cross-border cooperation programmes for the period until 2020.
• Apple has once again taken the top spot in Fortune’s list of the world’s most admired companies.
• Valletta, the Maltese capital, has been officially inaugurated as the European City of Culture, 2018.
• Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is leading the Indian delegation to 10th Global Forum for Food & Agriculture (GFFA) from 18-20 January, 2018.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

• India and Israel have inked nine pacts in key areas, including cyber security and oil & gas sectors amid PM Narendra Modi’s call to Israel firms to take advantage of the liberalised FDI regime in the defence sector that would boost Make in India initiative.
• A second passenger bus to Kolkata via Dhaka was started from Agartala, Tripura, to give a boost to the trans-border relationship between India and Bangladesh. The second bus service has been named Maitre-2.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Facebook Marketplace has come to India as a pilot rollout limited to Mumbai from November 16 onwards.
• 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.

DEFENCE NEWS

• The 13th annual Iron Fist exercises kicked off in the U.S. western state of California.
• The biennial search and rescue exercise by ships and aircraft from the Indian and Japanese Coast Guards, to be witnessed by observers from 27 maritime Nation.
• Indian Naval Ship Vikramaditya, the Indian Navy’s largest ship and its sole aircraft carrier was formally affiliated to the Indian Army’s highly-decorated.

PERSONS IN NEWS

• Thomson Reuters has published its debut “Top 100 Global Technology Leaders” list with Microsoft in the no. 1 spot followed by chipmaker Intel Corp (INTC.O) and network gear maker Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O).
• P. Chaudhary, Union Minister of State for Law and Justice & Corporate Affairs, was conferred the Honorary Fellowship of Institute of Company secretaries of India (ICSI) at the headquarters of the institute at New Delhi

SPORTS

• The Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldinho has retired from football.
• The 2018 edition of the Women’s World T20 will be hosted by Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana and St Lucia from November 9-24, the ICC has announced.

OBITUARY

IMPORTANT DAYS

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