CURRENT AFFAIRS

APPOINTMENTS    

1. Bharti AXA General appoints Sanjeev Srinivasan as CEO, MD

Bharti AXA General Insurance has said it has appointed Sanjeev Srinivasan as CEO and Managing Director. Srinivasan joined Bharti AXA General Insurance in August 2016 as Chief Commercial and Principal Officer and now takes over the role of CEO and MD.

• His main focus will be to drive Bharti AXA’s go- to-market strategy of creating a balanced portfolio, driving new distribution tie—ups and creating a customer centric brand to drive profitable growth.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

2. Diego Maradona inducted in the Italian football hall of fame

Former Argentine footballer Diego Maradona was inducted in the Italian Federation Hall of Fame in Florence. Maradona, who played for Italian club Napoli from 1984 and 1991, posed for a picture alongside his number 10 Argentina shirt after receiving the award. Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri, who led the team to the Premier League title, was also inducted.

INDIAN AFFAIRS

3. SIBM Pune to host Transcend 2017 on January 20-22

Transcend is SIBM Pune’s annual management and cultural fest. This is India’s one of the biggest B-School Events. The fest not only gives a good break from the rigorous academic schedule but also acts as a platform where people can showcase their creativity, talent and wit in our challenging and engaging events.

A plethora of events make sure that there is something for everyone. During the 3 day jubilation, we also host celebrities who make the whole atmosphere more lively and energetic with their presence and performances.

4. J&K Assembly passes resolution for Kashmiri Pandits’ return

On the 27th anniversary of migration of Pandits, the Jammu and Kashmir government has passed a resolution in the state assembly for the return of Kashmiri migrants to the Valley.

• “A good conducive atmosphere should be created for their safe return to the valley, “J&K Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta, announced in the house, during the ongoing winter session.
• Earlier, former chief minister, the National Conference’s Omar Abdullah asked the government to pass a resolution to support the return of all sections of people who migrated from Kashmir over the past 27 years.

5. AAI receives 45 initial bids under Regional Connectivity Scheme

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has received 45 initial bids from 11 parties to fly routes under the regional connectivity scheme (RCS) launched last year, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement. AAI is the implementing authority for the RCS, which aims to boost air travel in Tier II and Tier III cities by capping fares at Rs 2,500 per one hour flight.

The initial bid proposals submitted before January 16 deadline cover more than 200 routes and as many as 65 airports, 52 of them not served by any airline and 13 under-served airports. The government has now invited counter-bids against these initial proposals by February 1.

6. Cabinet approves MoU between India and Russia on cooperation on Youth matters

Exchange programmes in the field of Youth Affairs between India and Russia will help in promoting exchange of ideas, values and culture amongst Youth through establishment of people-to-people contacts and in consolidating friendly relations between the two countries.

The selections for participation in exchange programmes shall be done in an objective and transparent manner and the outcomes of the programmes under the MoU shall be open for public scrutiny.

7. Cabinet approves five MoUs with UAE

Ahead of the visit of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who will be the chief guest at this year’s Republic Day, the Union Cabinet gave its nod for signing of five MoU with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

• The MoUs covers bilateral cooperations in the areas of road transport, Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), agriculture, institutional cooperation in maritime transport and training.
• The MoU is also expected to improve cooperation in the area of transportation technologies and transport policies and sharing of knowledge on Electronic Toll Collection System.
• The MoU would benefit Indian SMEs and lead to equitables and inclusive development” and provide the SMEs of both countries an opportunity to have a mutually beneficial relation and to explore their markets.

8. Cabinet approves MoU between India and Vietnam In the field of cyber security

The Union Cabinet has given ex-post facto approval to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Vietnam in the field of Cyber Security. It was signed between Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), India and the Cyber Security Department, Ministry of Public Security, Vietnam on 3rd September 2016 at Hanoi.

• The MoU intends to promote closer cooperation for exchange of knowledge and experience in detection, resolution and prevention of cyber security-related incidents between India and Vietnam.

9. Cabinet approves MoU between India and Serbia for cooperation in IT and Electronics

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given ex-post facto approval to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Serbia for promoting cooperation in the field of Information Technology and Electronics.

• The MoU aims to promote cooperation between India and Serbia in the field of IT and Electronics, and to foster active cooperation and exchanges between the private entities, capacity building institutions, the governments and other public and private organizations of the two countries in IT and Electronics.

10. Cabinet approves Trade Agreement negotiations with Peru

The Union Cabinet has approved holding negotiations for Trade Agreement with Peru on trade in goods, services and investment.  A Joint Study Group (JSG) between India and Peru was constituted in order to explore the possibility for entering into trade agreement with Peru on 15th January, 2015. Both sides concluded the Joint Study Group Report on 20th October, 2016 and agreed to carry forward the discussions on trade in goods, trade in services and investment.

11. Cabinet approves to augment CGTMSE for supporting MSEs

The Union Cabinet has given ex-post facto approval to the package for supporting Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) – Augmentation of the Corpus of Credit Guarantee Trust Fund for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE).

The measures would result in the following benefits:

• Lowering the level of leverage;
• Improving sustainability of the Fund;
• Enable the Trust to enhance the quantum of credit guarantee to larger number of MSEs;
• Improving financial management; and
• Limit the unfunded contingent liabilities.

Augmentation of the corpus would facilitate larger flow of credit to MSEs. This in turn, would lead to increased output and employment and thereby promote equity and inclusiveness.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

12. World’s first IBM PC virus was released on January 19, 1986

“Brain”, considered to be the first major personal computer virus, was created on January 19, 1986, by Basit and Amjad Farooq Alvi at their computer shop in Lahore, Pakistan. From there the program spread across the world — one infected floppy disk at a time. At its peak Brain had even reached the offices of a government department in Canada, on the other side of the globe.

13. Indigenous fighter jet Tejas to make debut at Republic Day

Indigenously-made fighter jet Tejas will make its Republic Day debut in this year’s parade, the Indian Air Force. The IAF will use three of the Tejas which has been made by public sector giant Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The IAF has contracted 123 Tejas in various configurations.

It will be after three decades that a locally-made fighter jet will fly during the Republic Day parade. The last time an indigenous fighter jet was part of the Republic Day was in the 1980’s when the Marut, a 1960’s design, was part of the flypast.The flypast will also include a display by the Russian-origin Sukhoi 30MKI.

14. IIT Bombay to build ‘Research Park’ for startups

Students of the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) might no longer need to seek help from outsiders to support their start-up ideas, as work on a ‘Research Park’ will finally start in 2017.

• With Phase 0 being set up in the academic area, the Park aims to establish an innovation hub through industry-academia collaboration, build a strong industrial relationship by starting R&D centres in the institute, and promote entrepreneurship.
• The Research Park has already successfully been set up at the IIT-Madras campus and few other IITs across the country have been selected by MHRD for this venture.

15. Scientists names 3 diseases that could cause next global health emergency

Scientists have named three relatively little-known diseases they think could cause the next global health emergency.

The 3 diseases are Mers, Lassa fever and Nipah virus

• A coalition of governments and charities has committed 460 million dollars to speed up vaccine development . Also they are asking funders at the World Economic Forum Davos for another 500 million dollars.
• The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi) aims to have two new experimental vaccines ready for each disease within five years. New vaccines usually take about a decade to develop and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
• The Ebola outbreak in West Africa, closely followed by the Zika epidemic in Latin America, exposed just how tragically unprepared the world is for new outbreaks.
• NASA Set to Explore Iron-Rich Asteroid 16 Psyche

 INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

16. Obama transfers $500 million to Green Climate Fund

The outgoing Barack Obama administration announced a contribution of half a billion dollars to the UN Green Climate Fund, just three days before Donald Trump takes over the White House.

The $500 million payment, announced by State Department spokesperson John Kirby in a statement, is the second from the United States to support the United Nations Green Climate Fund, which aims to mitigate the effects of climate change in the world’s poorest countries.

17. Asia’s cleanest village Mawlynnong becomes role model for cleanliness

Mawlynnong village in Meghalaya has become a role model for other states in maintaining cleanliness and also tourists’ hotspot. It is also claimed as Asia’s cleanest village. Over 500 tourists from across the country and abroad visit the village daily.

Through cleanliness, the villagers have created opportunities to earn money as the village has become tourists’ prime destination in North East.

BANKING AND FINANCE

18. PNB, India Post Bank team up

Punjab National Bank and India Post Payments Bank have signed a memorandum of understanding, whereby PNB will provide technology platform for pilot launch of IPPB on receipt of regulatory nod from the Reserve Bank of India. IPPB has been incorporated under the Department of Posts with 100 per cent government equity.

SPORTS

19. Manchester United become richest football club in the world

Manchester United have deposed Real Madrid as the world’s richest football club after revenue grew to a record $735 million in 2015-16, according to Deloitte’s annual Money League published.

• The 20-times English champions knocked Madrid off the perch they had occupied for 11 years with a return to the Champions League and increased commercial revenue key to their rise.
• Real dropped to third behind Barcelona with Bayern Munich fourth and Manchester City into the top five for the first time after a run to the Champions League semi-finals.

OBITUARY

20. V. Vishveshwara Pioneer of Black Hole Discovery Dies at 78

Professor C.V. Vishveshwara who did pioneering work on black holes, passed away in the night of January 16, in Bengaluru, after a period of illness. He was nearing 78 years. In the 1970s, while at University of Maryland, he was among the first to study “black holes” even before they had been so named. His calculations succeeded in giving a graphical form to the signal that would be emitted by two merging black holes – this was the waveform detected in 2015 by the LIGO collaboration, and contain the so-called “quasi normal modes” – a ringdown stage that sounds like a bell’s ringing sound that is fading out.