Delhi Police commissioner Alok Kumar Verma appointed the new CBI director19 January, 2017

Delhi Police commissioner Alok Kumar Verma, a 1979 batch Indian Police Service officer

of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre, was appointed the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

NEW CBI DIRECTOR APPOINTEDAPPOINTMENTS AWARDS & HONOURS

CONFERENCES

DAYS & DATES

DEATHS

General Knowledge TimesUPDATE

Issue 22 : January 2017 www.goyalsgktimes.com info@goyal-books.com

CURRENT AFFAIRS : INDIA AND THE WORLD

44th CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA

NEW UPSC CHAIRMAN APPOINTED

Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar sworn in as 44th Chief Justice of India 04 January, 2017

Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar was sworn in as the 44th Chief Justice of India.

David R Syiemlieh appointed new UPSC chairman02 January, 2017

David R Syiemlieh was appointed as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

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Aamir Khan, Alia Bhatt bagged top honours at Filmfare Awards15 January, 2017

Superstar Aamir Khan bagged the best actor honour, while his movie “Dangal” was adjudged as the best film at the 62nd Jio Filmfare Awards. The

best director award went to Nitesh Tiwari for “Dangal”, which was based on the life of Haryana wrestler Mahavir Phogat and his daughters. The best actress title was won by Alia Bhatt for her performance in “Udta Punjab”.

Two-day 20th National Conference on e-Governance held in Visakhapatnam 10 January, 2017

The two day National Conference on e-Governance was held in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh from 9th January, 2017 to 10th January, 2017.

FILMFARE AWARDS 2017

20TH NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON E-GOVERNANCE

PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS

14th edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held in Bengaluru09 January, 2017

The 14th edition of the three-day Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the largest convergence of Indian diaspora, was held in Bengaluru, Karnataka from 7th

January,2017 to 9th January,2017. The ‘Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas’ was inaugurated as part of the PBD 2017 with an aim to connect with the youth, the new generation of Pravasis growing up all over the world.

68TH REPUBLIC DAY

FILMMAKER DEEPAK ROY PASSED AWAY

International Conference on Yoga for Diabetes held in New Delhi06 January, 2017

International Conference on “Yoga for Diabetes” was held in New Delhi from

4th January, 2017 to 6th January, 2017.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON YOGA FOR DIABETES

India celebrated 68th Republic Day26 January, 2017

India’s 68th Republic Day was celebrated at Rajpath, New Delhi. The chief guest was the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. A

military contingent comprising of 149 members led by a band comprising 35 musicians from UAE also participated in the parade.

National award-winning filmmaker Deepak Roy passed away at 6711 January, 2017

Deepak Roy, known for his movie “Limit to Freedom” which won him a National award in 1996 under

the category of best investigative film, passed away at the age of 67.

Dipa Karmakar,PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik honoured with special stamp cover21 January, 2017

In a rare honour for sporting personalities in the country, Olympian gymnast Dipa Karmakar, shuttler PV Sindhu and wrestler Sakshi Malik were honoured with a special stamp cover titled “ Golden

Girls of India – Pride of Nation “ during a district – level philatelic exhibition held in Agartala, Tripura.

BRAND AMBASSADORS FOR TOKYO OLYMPICS

India’s first Madame Tussauds to be opened in New Delhi12 January, 2017

Madame Tussauds, the world famous wax museum, in London will be opened in New Delhi in

June 2017. This will be India’s first ever branch of the famous brand. The New Delhi branch will be the 23rd branch of Madame Tussauds worldwide.

INDIA’S FIRST MADAME TUSSAUDS

Former MRF director and rubber industry doyen KM Philip passed away11 January, 2017

KM Philip, 104, former whole-time director on the board of MRF, passed

away. He is survived by two sons — Mammen Philip and Peter Philip. He was born on May 2, 1912. He was a founding member of the All India Rubber Industries Association. He was a Padma Shri awardee.

Veteran actor Om Puri passed away at 6606 January, 2017

Veteran actor Om Puri passed away after suffering a massive heart attack. The actor was 66. He was born in Ambala in a Punjabi family. He graduated

from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. He was also an alumnus of the 1973 class of National School of Drama. He made his film debut in the 1976 Marathi film Ghashiram Kotwal. He is survived by his estranged wife Nandita and son Ishsan.

Bengaluru declared most dynamic city in the

world by World Economic Forum (WEF)18 January, 2017

India’s IT capital Bengaluru was declared ‘the most dynamic city in the world’ in the first three weeks of 2017. The rankings were released by real estate

consultancy firm James Lang Laselle at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

KM PHILIP PASSED AWAY

OM PURI PASSED AWAY

MOST DYNAMIC CITY IN THE WORLD

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‘Leap second’ synced Indian time with Earth’s spin

INDIAN TIME SYNCED WITH EARTH’S SPIN

01 January, 2017

A ‘leap second’ was added to the Indian clock at 5:29.59 h o u r s

to synchronise with the Earth’s r o t a t i o n a l clock. As the atomic clock at the National P h y s i c a l L a b o r a t o r y (NPL) struck 23:59:59 last night, it was programmed to add an extra second to 2017 to compensate for a slowdown in the Earth’s rotation.

INDIA & THE WORLD

INTERNATIONAL

Brand ambassadors for Tokyo Olympics unveiled28 January, 2017

Son Goku, a cult anime character from Dragonball Z, Naruto, Shin Chan, Sailor Moon, Pretty Cure,

Luffy and Astroboy were announced as the brand ambassadors for Tokyo Olympics to be held in the year 2020.

LONGEST BULLET TRAIN

05 January, 2017

China launched its longest bullet train “Shangri-la of the World” from Kunming, capital of south-west China’s Yunnan Province to Beijing, expanding its

high speed train network to about 20,000 km connecting almost all provinces.

China launched longest bullet train

NATIONAL“GOLDEN GIRLS OF INDIA - PRIDE OF NATION”

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGYAGNI IV TEST FIREDNuclear capable ballistic missile Agni IV test fired successfully02 January, 2017

Nuclear capable s u r f a c e - t o -surface ballistic

missile was test fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) from Dr Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha. The indigenous missile weighs 17 tonnes and is 20 metre-long. It was developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It has a range of upto 4000 km and is propelled by composite rocket motor technology.

IRCTC RAIL CONNECT APPIRCTC Rail Connect App Launched11 January, 2017

In a bid to promote ease of ticketing through digital transactions the new passenger mobile application named ‘IRCTC Rail Connect app’ was launched with

new security features and improved security.

SPORTS & GAMESNEW BCCI PANEL APPOINTEDNew BCCI panel appointed by Supreme Court30 January, 2017

A f o u r -member panel of

administrators headed by former Comptroller and Auditor General of India Vinod Rai was appointed by the Supreme Court to supervise Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) functioning and implementing the administrative reforms suggested by the Lodha panel.

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AUSTRALIAN OPEN WOMEN’S SINGLES TITLE 2017

Serena Williams won Australian Open women’s singles title 201728 January, 2017

35-year old Serena Williams from United States of America (USA) won the Australian Open women’s singles title 2017. She defeated her sister Venus Williams

6-4, 6-4 at the Rod Laver Arena for her seventh Australian

Open title. This was her 23rd Grand Slam title surpassing Steffi Graf. She now stands just one behind Margaret Court who holds the world record for the most number of Grand Slam titles (24) to her name in women’s tennis.

Virat Kohli named captain of India ODI, T20 international teams06 January, 2017

Virat Kohli was named captain of the India ODI

and T20 international teams, replacing MS Dhoni, who stepped down from the post.

VIRAT KOHLI NAMED CAPTAIN

09 January, 2017

Leicester City’s Claudio Ranieri from Italy won the Best FIFA Men’s Coach of the Year award for the

year 2016. Silvia Neid of Germany won the Best FIFA Women’s Coach of the Year award for the year 2016. This was the third time that Neid won the Best FIFA Women’s Coach of the Year award. She also won the award in 2010 and 2013.

BEST FIFA MEN’S’ AND WOMEN’S COACH OF THE YEAR 2016

Goa became the first state to opt for postal ballots via electronic mode22 January, 2017

Goa became the first state in the country to opt for electronic transmission of postal ballots to service voters

in the upcoming assembly polls “The returning officers will transfer the postal ballots to the service voters by electronic means so that the service voters can download it, fill it and send it via e-mail to the returning officer,” Sending ballot

papers through electronic means will cut down the transmission time of postal ballot to the service voters. Goa also became the first state where all assembly constituencies will be covered by Voter- Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines.

ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION OF POSTAL BALLOT

Gujarat won Ranji Trophy for the first time14 January, 2017

Gujarat defeated 41 time winners Mumbai by five wickets to clinch their maiden Ranji Trophy title at the Holkar Stadium in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

GUJARAT WON RANJI TROPHY

Claudio Ranieri and Silvia Neid won the Best FIFA Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year 2016

TN assembly passed jallikattu bill23 January, 2017

In a bid to defuse the raging protests across the state demanding lifting of the ban on jallikattu ( bull taming sport ), the Tamil Nadu assembly passed an

amendment bill which defined jallikattu as an event involving bulls conducted with a view to follow tradition and culture. The Bill further said, considering the vital

role of jallikattu in preserving and promoting tradition and culture among people and also in view of ensuring the survival and continuance of native breeds of bulls, the “Government of Tamil Nadu has decided to exempt jallikattu from the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act,1960”.

JALLIKATTU BILL PASSED

STATES

29 January, 2017

35-year old Roger Federer from Switzerland won the Australian Open men’s singles title 2017. He defeated Rafael Nadal of Spain 6-4,3-6,6-1,3-6,6-3 in a classic

Australian Open final held in the Rod Laver Arena. This was his 18th Grand slam title and also his first grand slam

title since winning Wimbledon in the year 2012. He also became the first player to win five titles at three different grand slams i.e. Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open. He also became the oldest grand slam winner at the age of 35 after Ken Rosewall who had won the 1972 Australian Open at the age of 37 years.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN MEN’S SINGLES TITLE 2017

FIRST VARSITY WITH MONUMENTAL TRICOLOUR

Hans Raj’s 100ft-tall flag made DU first varsity with monumental tricolor26 January, 2017

Delhi University’s Hans Raj College hoisted a ‘monumental’ flag on its campus on the occasion of its 68th Republic Day celebrations, making

DU the first public university in the country to get a monumental flagpole. The 100ft-tall flag is the second monumental flag by FFOI in Delhi, the first being the 207ft-tall flag in Central Park, CP.

INDIA’S 1ST POST OFFICE PASSPORT KENDRA

Mysuru got India’s 1st Post Office Passport Kendra26 January, 2017

Mysuru got I n d i a ’ s first Post

Office Passport Seva Kendra(POPSK) , which will offer all passport related services on the lines of PSKs,

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9th edition of Jaipur International Film Festival held11 January, 2017

JAIPUR INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The ninth edition of Jaipur International Film Festival (JIFF) was held from January 7, 2017 to January 11, 2017. As many as 134 films from across the globe

were screened during the festival. The festival witnessed participation by 250 filmmakers and artists from the film fraternity. The festival had 17 workshops and seminars on various aspects of cinema.

104th Indian Science Congress held in Tirupati 07 January, 2017

104th Indian Science Congress was held at the Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. The

main venue for the Science Congress was the Srinivasa Auditorium in the university. ‘Science and Technology for

National Development’ was the focal theme of the Indian Science Congress. Six Nobel Prize winners from different countries including the US, Japan, Israel, France and Bangladesh also took part in the event. 14,000 scientists and scholars from across the country also participated in the 104th Indian Science Congress. It was the second time that Tirupati hosted the Indian Science Congress, the first being the 70th Indian Science Congress held in 1983.

INDIAN SCIENCE CONGRESS

Mobile app launched to make Haj application process digital02 January, 2017

A mobile application was launched at the Haj House in South Mumbai to provide information and facilitate

e- payments for Haj piligrimage.

MOBILE APP FOR HAJ PILGRIMAGE

BHIM app topped Google Play Store charts04 January, 2017

Digital payments app BHIM developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) became the top free app on Google Play Store. The digital

payments app BHIM is a singular app for all UPI-based payments.

BHIM APP

Telangana International Kite Festival held17 January, 2017

Telangana International Kite Festival was held in Hyderabad, Telangana from January 12, 2017 to January 17, 2017. Sixteen international kite

flying teams and ten pan Indian clubs participated in the festival. Kohinoor Kite Club participated from Telangana. For the first time in India, “Remote controlled

kites were flown” in Hyderabad during the Telangana International Kite Festival 2017.

TELANGANA INTERNATIONAL KITE FESTIVAL

MISCELLANEOUS

India’s first solar ferry boat launched in Kochi13 January, 2017

The country’s first solar ferry boat ‘Aditya’ was launched in the 2.5-km Vaikom-Tavanakkadavu sector at a function held in Vaikom boat jetty. The

75-seater boat has been built by Kochi-based NavAlt Pvt Ltd. The boat can run at a maximum speed of 7.5 knots.

INDIA’S FIRST SOLAR BOAT

INDIA’S BIGGEST PUBLIC WIFI NETWORK

Mumbai launched India’s biggest public Wi-Fi network09 January, 2017

India’s biggest public Wi-Fi network, and among the world’s largest, went live at 500 dedicated hotspots across Mumbai. Mumbai WiFi is India’s largest public

WiFi service and one of the biggest globally.

INDIA’S FIRST CASHLESS ISLANDManipur’s Karang became India’s first cashless island09 January, 2017

Karang, a small lake island in Manipur,

became the country’s first cashless island. The Karang island is located in the middle of Loktak, the largest freshwater lake in Northeast India.

INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE

UNESCO recognised sitalpati or cool mat from Cooch Behar district as ‘intangible cultural heritage’17 January, 2017

Sitalpati or cool mat from Cooch Behar district was recognised as an “intangible cultural heritage” by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organisation (UNESCO). These mats are used for sitting

or to hang on doors or windows during summer. The mats are made up of weaved green cane slips of murta plants.

Over 3.5 lakh people set new world record by singing the National Anthem21 January, 2017

Over 3.5 lakh people set a new world record by singing the national anthem at an event at Kagvad in Rajkot district of Gujarat.

NEW WORLD RECORD SET BY SINGING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM