Dear Friends,
Welcome to the Quick Gyan (QG) Section of D2G. QG is just a glimpse of what happened today all over the world.
Only For Serious Candidates : We strongly recommend you to read the Current Affairs in detail. For your convenience, we have provided quick links under the updates. Make use of it.
Always Keep Yourself Updated!!!
AWARDS AND HONOURS
Rekha conferred with Yash Chopra Memorial award
Veteran Bollywood actress Rekha has been honoured with the third Yash Chopra Memorial Award. Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao presented the award to the actress in recognition of her talent and contribution to the film industry. The 61-year-old actress, who worked with Chopra in 1981 romance Silsila, said the filmmaker taught her the meaning of love through his work.
Quick Link – Yash Chopra award for Rekha
BANKING AND FINANCE
HCL acquires UK-based Point to Point for around $11M
HCL Technologies Ltd, India’s fourth-largest software services firm, 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). The deal amount also includes contingent payments subject to certain financial milestones. With over a decade of experience in the desktop and application virtualisation space, Point to Point provides enterprise workplace transformation services and end-user cloud engineering solutions, including managed serviced desktop services and support for virtualised workplace environment.
Quick Link – HCL acquires UK Project
Finance Ministry to hold India Investment Summit on Feb 4-5
In order to attract investments in infrastructure sector, the Finance Ministry will organise a two-day India Investment Summit from February 4, which would see the participation of various global investors. India has been trying to attract foreign investment for Make in India campaign with a view to boost economic growth and generating employment. Other economic ministries, Roads, Highways, Oil and Gas and Railways are expected to participate in the summit. Various global private equity funds and sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are likely to participate in the event, which is being organised by the Finance Ministry.
Quick Link – India Investment Summit on Feb 4-5
RBI Governor included in WEF task force to study global financial system
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has created a new task force with Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and his counterpart at the Reserve Bank of India, Raghuram Rajan, to study the future of the global financial system. The group, which also includes Bank of America Chairman and CEO Brian Moynihan and HSBC Chairman Douglas Flint, met for the first time at the forum’s annual meeting in Davos last week.
India and Armenia sign Double Taxation Avoidance Convention Amendment
A Protocol to amend the existing Double Taxation Avoidance Convention was signed by the Government of India and the Government of Armenia. The Protocol amends the Double Taxation Avoidance Convention between India and Armenia that has been in existence since 9th September, 2004. The Protocol amends the Article on Exchange of Information for tax purposes to bring it in line with the updated provisions in the OECD Model.
Quick Link – India & Armenia in DTACA
INDIAN AFFAIRS
Ratan Tata backs start-up Teabox
Teabox, the global speciality tea company, is the latest to received funding from Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons. This is the fourth start-up in 2016 to receive the attention of Tata. As with Tata’s investments, this too is an undisclosed amount. The additional capital will be used to fuel Teabox’s growth as it expands to other major markets around the world. Teabox is backed by Singapore-based JAFCO Asia, Accel Partners, Keystone Group LP and Dragoneer Investment Group.
Quick Link – Tata backs Teabox
GOI launches National Job Portal for persons with disabilities
Social Justice and Empowerment minister, Thaawarchand Gehlot has launched an exclusive job portal for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs). The PwDs can avail the different facilities such as self employment loan, education loan, skill training, link to scholarships and information about jobs in a single window platform through this National Job Portal. The minister has said the Government has given very high priority to skill training programme for Persons with Disabilities and has a target for skilling five lakh persons in next 3 years. The skill training will be provided by a network of 200 clusters of “Training Partners’ with financial assistance of government.
Quick Link – NJP for disabilities
Cabinet gives nod to Reserve Battalions
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. It includes five IR Bns in the state of J&K, four IR Bns in Chhattisgarh, three IR Bns in Jharkhand, three IR Bns in Odisha and two IR Bns in Maharashtra.
Quick Link – Nod to Reserve battalions
Indian Railways broadband to touch 500,000 homes
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. The Broadband Highway will involve a three-layer network – state capitals to district headquarters, district to sub-divisional and then to gram panchayats which will be joined to the National Optic Fibre Network (NOFN).
Quick Link – IRB touched 500,000 homes
AIR launches 24×7 classical music channel ‘Raagam’
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’, is in public domain round the clock with Mobile App i.e. All India Radio Live available in Android I OS and Windows from 6 PM from January 26.
Quick Link – Raagam
Corruption Perceptions Index : India reflects no Change
The recently released Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2015 shows that India has moved up in rank from 85 position to 76 (however the number of countries ranked in 2015 was 168 against 174 nations in 2014). Based on expert opinion from around the world, CPI measures the perceived levels of public sector corruption worldwide.
Quick Link – CPI-India no change
Coco-Cola to launch dairy drinks in India
Beverages major Coca-Cola has announced its foray into value-added dairy drinks segment in the Indian market with Vio brand, which will make its debut across the country next month. The company, which will introduce two flavours under Vio, has tied up with Reliance Retail as part of pilot launch to make the brand available exclusively across the latter’s 500 stores.
Quick Link – Cola launch dairy drinks
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Toyota keeps top global automaker crown
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. Dented by a pollution-cheating scandal, Volkswagen earlier logged sales of 9.93 million vehicles worldwide, while Chevrolet and Cadillac maker GM moved 9.8 million last year. Toyota shares jumped 3.80 percent to end at 6,881 yen ($58) in Tokyo, boosted by reports it is in talks with Suzuki over a partnership to build compact cars for emerging markets, including India. Strong North American demand drove Toyota’s figures as total sales slipped 0.8 percent from 2014, largely owing to a slowdown in Japan where a weak economy hit demand.
Quick Link – Toyato keeps top
FOREIGN RELATIONS
India and Russia sign agreement on scientific research
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi was apprised about signing of an agreement between India and Russia in May 2015. The Agreement provides for competitive research grants to Indian and Russian researchers for joint implementation of research projects in areas of Basic and Exploratory Sciences. The Agreement is valid for a period of six years and could be extended through mutual consent between Department of Science & Technology (DST) and Russian Science Federation (RSF).
Quick Link – India & Russia in scienctific research
Cabinet approved MoUs related to Cyber Security
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. The MoUs related to Cyber Security will promote closer cooperation for exchange of knowledge and experience in detection, resolution and prevention of security related incidents between India and respective country.
Quick Link – MoUs to Cyber Security
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Aurobindo Pharma gets USFDA nod for Fungal infection drug
Aurobindo Pharma 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. The company is expected to launch the product by March. The approved Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) is bio-equivalent and therapeutically equivalent to the reference listed drug product VFEND tablets of PF Prism C.V. For the 12 months ending November 2015, the product had an estimated market size of $103 million. This is the 59th ANDA to be approved out of Aurobindo Pharma’s Unit VII formulation facility in Hyderabad for manufacturing oral non-antibiotic products. The company now has a total of 233 ANDA approvals from USFDA.
Quick Link – USFDA for Fungal infection drug
SPORTS
Heena Sidhu wins Olympic quota
India’s top pistol shooter Heena Sidhu has secured an Olympic quota for the country after she led from start to finish and claimed the gold medal in women’s 10-m air pistol on day one of competition at the Asia Olympic Qualifiers for Shooting. This was India’s ninth quota from shooting for the upcoming Olympic Games. The current world record holder and former world number one, Heena shot 199.4 in the eight-women finals to finish ahead of Chinese Taipei’s Tien Chia Chen (198.1) and Gim Yun Mi (177.9) of Korea at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range. Prior to this tournament, the 26-year-old Patiala-born girl clinched a gold medal each in the Asian Air Gun Championships and Asian Shooting Championships in Kuwait last September and November, respectively.
Quick Link – Heena Sidhu wins Olympic
OBITUARY
Abe Vigoda, Sunken-Eyed Character Actor, Dead at 94
Character Abe Vigoda, whose leathery, sunken-eyed face made him ideal for playing the over-the-hill detective Phil Fish in the 1970s TV series “Barney Miller” and the doomed Mafia soldier in “The Godfather,” has died at age 94. The great success of the film and “The Godfather Part II” made his face and voice, if not his name, recognizable to the general public and led to numerous roles, often as hoodlums. But it was his comic turn in “Barney Miller,” which starred Hal Linden and ran from 1975 to 1982, that brought Vigoda’s greatest recognition.
Quick Link – Abe Vigoda passes away
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