Current Affairs - JAN 21, 2014

Current Affairs

January 21, 2014

International Affairs

1. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Iran's atomic drive "will be stopped," a day after a nuclear deal bringing in sanctions relief for Tehran took effect.

2. The Philippines said Tuesday it has banned imports of poultry and related products from China after it confirmed an outbreak of the HN52 strain of bird flu in the northern province of Hebei.

3. U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon withdrew a last-minute invitation to Iran to attend peace talks on Syria on Monday after the Syrian opposition threatened to boycott this week's conference if President Bashar al-Assad's main sponsor took part.

4. Thailand on Tuesday imposed a 60-day state of emergency in the capital and surrounding areas to quell violent anti-government protests aimed at forcing embattled premier Yingluck Shinawatra from office.

5. India on Tuesday summoned Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Mansoor Ahmed Khan in connection with the suspension of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Rawalakot-Poonch bus services by Pakistan, which has demanded release of its national arrested for smuggling narcotics worth Rs. 100 crore across the LoC.

6. More than 100 Nepalese doctors resigned on Tuesday as part of an ongoing strike to push for reform of medical education, while hospitals and clinics remained closed for a third day.

7. A 125-member strong Indian delegation will attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting at Davos, Switzerland this week, where they will highlight efforts being undertaken to turn around the economy.

National Affairs

8. The Central Government has granted minority status to the Jain Community yesterday, this will enable them to avail of benefits in government schemes and programmes. With this announcement, Jains became the sixth community to have minority status after Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis.

9. Government has appointed senior police officer Aruna Bahuguna as the new chief of the Hyderabad-based National Police Academy, alma mater for IPS officers in the country. She succeeded incumbent IPS Subhas Goswami who was appointed as the Director General of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) last year. She is the 28th chief of the academy and will be at its helm till February 2017. With this, she has also become the first woman to head National Police Academy.

10. Anand Sinha, the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India retired yesterday. Post his retirement, his portfolio has been allocated to other three Deputy Governors, K.C. Chakrabarty, H.R. Khan and Urjit Patel. He was in-charge of eight departments, including Departments of Banking Operations and Development, Risk Management, Information Technology and Expenditure and Budgetary Control.

The committee would also review the regulatory compliance requirements of banks’ boards in India, and judge what could be rationalised and where requirements needed to be enhanced. The panel will also review guidelines on composition of boards that vary immensely between public-sector, private-sector and foreign banks.

11. ULFA-Independent and five other North East militant outfits have jointly called a boycott of Republic Day celebrations and a general strike that day in the entire region.

12. In a major rejig in Congress media team, Union Ministers P Chidambaram, Salman Khurshid, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and AICC general secretary Mukul Wasnik were made senior spokespersons as the party set up new teams of spokespersons and television panelists.

13. Sunanda Pushkar, the wife of minister Shashi Tharoor, died of poisoning, says a report of the SDM probing her death.

14. The Supreme Court on Tuesday laid down 12 guidelines for authorities in dealing with death-row prisoners saying their solitary confinement is "unconstitutional" and rejection of their mercy pleas must be intimated in writing to them and their kin.

15. Odisha's Chilika lagoon, which is a hotspot for biodiversity, has been named 'destination flyways' by United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) following its inclusion in a list of eight such sites worldwide.     

16. Petroleum Minister M. Veerappa Moily Tuesday said the union cabinet will this week consider raising the annual limit of subsidised cooking gas (LPG) cylinders to 12 from nine per household.

17. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attended the national convention of Tamang tribe at Mirik, Darjeeling district today.

18. West Bengal government will set up a national museum in the city to preserve the dying traditional puppetry, an art which had originated from the country.

19. BJP MLA Kailash Meghwal today filed his nomination for the post of Rajasthan Assembly Speaker after resigning from Mines department portfolio in the Vasundhara Raje government.

20. A retired IPS officer Ramchandra Khan was today arrested by CBI in connection with the 30-year-old Bihar Military Police uniform scam after a warrant was issued by a trial court in Ranchi.

21. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Tuesday evening called off his street protest followed an appeal by Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung.

Banking Affairs

22. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) constituted an expert committee to review governance of boards of banks yesterday. P. J. Nayak, former Chairman and CEO of Axis Bank, will head the committee. The expert panel is expected to submit its report within a period three months from the date of its first meeting.

Science and Technology

23. A 'live' demonstration to cultivate as many as 307 varieties of 54 crops including cereal, fibre, fodder, oilseeds, vegetables, pulses, medicinal and aromatic plants, will be a major attraction at the five-day National Agriculture Expo, beginning from February 9.

24. Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) has appointed S N Goel as its chief executive officer and managing director as India’s leading electricity bourse was without a full-time CEO for some time. Before that, Goel was director (marketing & operations) at PTC India Ltd. He has also served as executive director with NTPC, a release said today.

25. India’s economic growth is expected to be 4.6% this financial year and the growth may improve to 5.4% in the next financial year 2014-15, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said today. Also IMF said that the growth rate in 2015—16, at factor prices (excluding taxes), is likely to be 6.4%.

26. Global Internet giant Google acquired Bengaluru based Impermium for USD 9 million. Bengaluru based Impermium is a three year old startup which focused on building security products for websites. Impermium has 300000 clients, including Tumblr, Pinterest, CNN, ESPN, Typepad and Washington Post. The acquisition will help Google improve its abuse monitoring efforts and make internet a safer place.

Awards and Honors

27. The President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented awards for the year 2012-13 to various States and Cities for outstanding performance in different categories under the flagship schemes of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation today.

Day to Remember

28. Three northeastern states - Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya - celebrated their 42nd statehood day on Tuesday.

29. 64th death anniversary of George Orwell, Indian-English journalist and author was observed today.

30. 71st death anniversary of Sindhi revolutionary and freedom fighter Hemu Kalani was observed today.

31. 1st death anniversary of Bengali-Indian politician Kamal Basu is being observed today.

32. The 5th India International Coffee Festival, the flagship event of the coffee sector, to be held in Bangalore from January 21st to 25th.

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