january 2016 current affair capsule

8/18/2019 January 2016 Current affair Capsule

1/17

Reserve Bank has imposed a penalty of Rs

1 crore on an SBI associate bank, State Bank

of Travancore, for violation of some of its

instructions.

Justice RM Lodha Committee submitted its

report to Supreme Court. Recommended

legalisation of betting in IPL.

Wipro names Abidali Neemuchwala as

CEO

Several heavily armed terrorists belonging

to Jaish-e-Mohammed, an Islamist militantgroup, on 2 January 2016 attacked

Pathankot Air Force Station, part of the

Western Air Command of the Indian Air

Force (IAF).

Earthquake 6.7 hits North East India.

Epicenter located 40 km from Imphal.

Government of Telangana on 2 January

2016 launched e-Vahan Bima Scheme to

issue motor insurance policy in digital form.

World Braille Day observed on 4 January.

Jinnah Often Came To Our House Authored

by Kiran Doshi released by Vice President.

India on 3 January 2016 won of the South

Asian Football Federation Cup (SAFF)

championships defeating Afghanistan.

Ian Murdock, best known for founding one

of the world's best known Linux

distributions, passed away on 28 December

2015 in San Francisco.

Andhra Bank has announced it is launching

Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) across

branches to provide interbank electronic

transfer service, capable of processing

person to account remittances.

Internet and Mobile Association of India

(IAMAI) has named Kunal Shah, cofounder

and chief executive officer of FreeCharge as

the new chairman of the association.

Professional networking platform LinkedIn

appointed Akshay Kothari as Country Ma

nager for India, with immediate effect.

Pranav Dhanawade became the first

batsman to score 1000-plus runs in aninnings in any form of cricket

Mary Barra elected as first Woman

Chairman of General Motors Board of

Directors.

Ex-Chief Justice of India Sarosh Homi

Kapadia passed away on 4 January 2016 in

Mumbai.

Department of Posts on 1 January 2016

formed a one-man committee headed by

Kamlesh Chandra to study issues related to

Gramin Dak Sevaks including wage

structure and service conditions.

Current Affairs Bits


2/17

India-Nepal Bus Service on 4 January 2016

resumed after a gap of 27 years. The

service was suspended 27 years ago in the

wake of the Indo-Nepal Trade and Transit

Treaty.

State election commissioner (SEC) Ashok

Kumar Chauhan on 4 January 2016announced that toilets will be mandatory

requirement for eligibility to contest

panchayat elections.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd has

announced it has commissioned the first

600 MW coal-based Kakatiya Thermal

Power Plant in Telangana.

The Union Cabinet has given its approval for

the creation of a Credit Guarantee Fund for

Micro Units Development Refinance

Agency (MUDRA) loans. Approval has also

been given for converting MUDRA Ltd into

MUDRA Small Industries Development

Bank of India (SIDBI) Bank as a wholly

owned subsidiary of SIDBI.

The central government has approved an

assistance of Rs 815 crore for Odisha for

drought relief operations. The state

government had submitted a

memorandum amounting to Rs 2,199.06

crore to the Government of India for

management of Drought-2015.

The Union Cabinet on 6 January 2016

approved the Stand Up India Scheme to

promote entrepreneurship among

Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes and

Women entrepreneurs. It provides for

refinance window through Small Industries

Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with an

initial amount of 10000 crore rupees.

The Union Minister of Water Resources,

River Development and Ganga

Rejuvenation Uma Bharti on 5 January 2016

launched Ganga Gram Yojana at Village

Puth in Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh

(UP).

Sambalpur University conferred theprestigious Gangadhar National Award for

Poetry -2014 on noted Bengali poet

Subodh Sarkar.

Sam Pitroda, former chairman of the

National Knowledge Commission and ex-

adviser to the prime minister, has been

appointed technology advisor of Odisha.

Reserve Bank of India has permitted bank

branches in International Financial

Services Centres (IFSC) to open foreign

currency current accounts for entities

operating in IFSC. Banking regulator also

lifted limit on short term liabilities IBUs

could have from banks. The rules have been

eased to facilitate investment transactions

and give flexibility in operations. These

bank branches are termed as IFSC Banking

Units (IBUs).

India is projected to grow by a robust 7.8

per cent this year and 7.9 per cent in the

next two years, the World Bank forecast

citing strong investor sentiment and thepositive effect on real incomes of the recent

fall in oil prices.

Delhi Government on 6 January 2016

scrapped the management quota and

all other quotas, in private

schools for nursery admissions. T will be

only 25 percent reservation for

economically weaker sections and the rest


3/17

75 percent will be made available to the

general public.

Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra has

bagged the favourite actress in new TV

series honour at the 2016 People Choice

Awards for her performance of an FBI

recruit on American show "Quantico". Withthis she became the first South-Asian

actress to win a People's Choice Award.

INS Kadmatt, anti-submarine warfare

corvette, commissioned

Dr Achyuta Samanta was on 6 January 2016elected as the General President of the

105th Indian Science Congress Association

(ISCA) that is scheduled for 2017-18.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti

Mohammad Sayeed passed away on 7

January 2016 at the AIIMS hospital in New

Delhi. He was 79.

The Reserve Bank of India Governor

Raghuram Rajan on 7 January 2016 was

felicitated with the Central Banker of the

Year Award (Global and Asia Pacific) for

2016. The award was given by the Financial

Times Group's monthly publication The

Banker.

Azim Premji, who donated Rs 27,514 crore

for education is the "Most Generous

Indian" for the third year running followed

by Nandan Nilekani and Narayana Murth y

in the second and third place, respectively

as per the Hurun India Philanthropy List.

The Union Government on 7 January 2016

merged the Ministry of Overseas Indian

Affairs (MOIA) with the Ministry of

External Affairs (MEA) in keeping with its

broad principle of Minimum Government,

Maximum Governance.

Amitabh Kant was on 7 January 2016appointed as the Chief Executive Officer

(CEO) of NITI Aayog.


allowed the conduct of the traditional bull-

taming sports, Jallikattu, in Tamil Nadu.

The Union Ministry of Urban Development

(MoUD) on 7 January 2016 approved the

Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban

Transformation (AMRUT) for Punjab and

Uttarakhand for the year 2015-16.

India and France on 8 January 2016 started

their eight-day counter-terrorism and

counter-insurgency joint exercise Shakti-

2016 in Rajasthan.

GMR Group Chairman G.M. Rao was

honoured with the 'Bulandh Bharath'

Award for his exemplary contributions

towards nation building.

Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Limited

(BAPL) signed two pacts for air services and

bus manufacturing on the last day of Bengal

Global Business Summit . The first MoU

was signed with Bhutan's Druk Air for

operating flights from Andal to Durgapur,

Bagdogra, Bhutan and onwards to

Singapore. The second MoU is for bus

manufacturing at Andal in Burdwan district


4/17

with China's Zhongtong Bus Holding

Company.

The French soldiers will march down the

Rajpath on Republic Day along with Indian

troops in the presence of President

Francois Hollande. Hollande is the Chief

Guest for 26 January 2016 celebrations.This is the first time that a foreign army will

participate in the 26th January Parade,

since 1950.

The government re-appointed Urjit Patel

as the deputy governor of Reserve Bank of

India for a three-year term. Patel is the

fourth deputy governor, the other threebeing HR Khan, R Gandhi and SS Mundra.

Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won 2016

with WTA Brisbane title

Nick Kyrgios and Daria Gavrilova had

singles wins over Ukraine to lead Australia

Green to the Hopman Cup, the country's

first title in the mixed teams event in 17

years.

Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd, the

Visakhapatnam steel plant, has signed an

MoU with the Andhra Pradesh

Government for an investment of around

Rs. 38,500 crore in various projects.

HDFC Life has set up a wholly-owned

subsidiary in the Dubai International

Financial Centre (DIFC) called the 'HDFC

International Life and Re Company Limited'

(HILRCL) with an initial capital outlay of

$12.33 million.

Binny Bansal appointed as new CEO of

Flipart, Sachin Bansal as Executive

Chairman

Ashish Saraf appointed as vice-president

of Airbus India

DRDO successfully test fired New Tank

Ammunition for Arjun Main Battle Tank

Vice-President Hamid Ansari dedicated to

the nation the K R Narayanan Institute of

Visual Sciences and Arts, a first of its kind

imitative of the Kerala government at

nearby Thekkumithala.

73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards

announced in California. The Revenant

won the Best Motion Picture - Drama while

best Actor and best Director Awards were

conferred to Leonardo DiCaprio and

Alejandro Inarritu for the same movie. Brie

Larson won the best actress award for 'The

Martian' Movie.

Nepal on 9 January 2016 was elected to the

UNICEF executive board, representing the

group of Asia-Pacific countries for the term

2016-2018.

The 11th World Hindi Day was celebratedon 10 January 2016.

Maria Teresa de Filippis, the first woman

to compete in a world championship

Formula One grand prix, passed away on 8

January 2016 in Italy.


5/17

National Youth Day was observed across

India on 12 January 2016 to mark the 153rd

birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda

who was India's foremost social reformer,

philosopher and thinker.

The Employees' Provident Fund

Organisation has won the National Awardon e-Governance 2015-16 for launching the

Universal Account Number (UAN).

PwC India has set up a centre of excellence

(CoE) for forensics in Hyderabad. The CoE,

with a trained team of over 100

professionals in India, plans to hire 150

more due diligence and antimoneylaundering professionals in the next one

year. This facility will provide clients with

solutions related to antimoney laundering

compliance, third-party due diligence, e-

mail and document review, and

investigation support.

SBI said it is planning to monetise non-core

assets and list some of its subsidiaries for

meeting capital needs as well as global risk

norms, Basel III, which will kick in from

March 2019.

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi on 11

January 2016 won the Ballon d'Or trophy

for the world's best football player for the

fifth time overall.

Additional Secretary in the Steel Ministry

Bharathi S Sihag has been given the

additional charge of Chairman-cum-

Managing Director (CMD) of state-rum

iron ore miner NMDC, with effect from

January 1, 2016.

Scientists at Central Institute for Research

on Buffaloes (CIRB) in Hisar on 10 January

2016 claimed to have successfully

produced a cloned buffalo offspring Cirb

Gaurav.

The Nati folk dance of Kullu district of

Himachal Pradesh in second week ofJanuary 2016 was listed in the Guinness

Book of World Records as the largest folk

dance in the world.

Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhakar

Prabhu on 11 January 2016 inaugurated

implementation of E-enabled Track

Management System (TMS) and MobileApplication of TMS on Indian Railway at

Rail Bhawan in New Delhi.

Telangana became the first State in India

to introduce compulsory gender education

at the graduate level. In this regard, the

state in second week of January 2016

introduced a bilingual textbook titled,

Towards a World of Equals.

Govt unveils Rs-8,800 cr crop insurance

scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

(PMFBY)

Country's largest lender SBI has opened a

branch in Seoul, South Korea topredominantly finance growing trade and

investment relations between Korean and

Indian companies. SBI is second Indian

bank after Indian Overseas Bank to have

branch in South Korea. Meanwhile, SBI has

signed a Line of Credit with The Export-

Import Bank of Korea (K-EXIM) for $ 500

million (Rs 3,300 crore).


6/17

India is the largest recipient of loans from

the World Bank, amounting to $102.1

billion, between 1945 and 2015 (as on July

21, 2015), according to the Bank's lending

report.

Vice President Hamid Ansari declared

Kerala as the first state in the country toattain 'Total Primary Education', and

described the achievement as 'historic.'

NHAI has signed Memorandum of

Understanding with National Remote

Sensing Centre (NRSC) under Indian Space

Research Organization (ISRO) and North

East Centre for Technology Applicationand Research (NECTAR) for use of spatial

technology for monitoring and managing

national highways.

Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan on 12

January 2016 was bestowed honorary life

membership of Kolkata's soccer outfit

Mohammedan Sporting.

The prestigious Yale School of

Management will name its deanship in

honour of PepsiCo's India-born CEO Indra

Nooyi as she gifted an undisclosed amount

to her alma mater, becoming the school's

biggest alumni donor and the first woman

to endow a deanship at a top b-school.

Lieutenant General J.F.R. Jacob (retired),

hero of 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War

and former Governor of Goa and Punjab,

died on 13 January 2016 after prolonged

illness.

Reserve Bank of India has allowed banks to

offer the whole array of services even at

off-site Automated Teller Machines

(ATMs). Off-site ATMs are the ones that are

set up on a standalone basis and are not on

the premises of a bank branch.

The country's largest public sector bank,

State Bank of India (SBI), has opened its

first branch dedicated to serving startupcompanies in Bengaluru. The

announcement comes ahead of the Prime

Minister's 'Start-up India Stand Up India'

event that will be held on January 16, w the

government will roll out its new startup

policy. The bank envisions that its InCube

branches will be a one-stop shop for the

financial service requirements of startups in

the country.

Sikkim has become India's first fully

organic state by implementing organic

practices on around 75,000 hectares of

agricultural land. It was 12 years ago in

2003 when the Pawan Chamling-led

government decided to make Sikkim an

organic farming state through a declaration

in the legislative assembly.

Bengaluru-based activist Subhashini

Vasanth on 13 January 2016 was honoured

with Neerja Bhanot Award. She was

presented the award for her endeavour to

help people in distress and for empowering

widows of martyrs and their families across

the country.

David Beckham on 12 January 2016 was

presented with the Danny Kaye

Humanitarian Leadership Award at the

sixth biennial UNICEF Ball in Los Angeles.


7/17

Bhaskar Bhat, managing director of Titan,

has taken over as Chairman of Tata SIA

Airlines Ltd (Vistara), succeeding Prasad

Menon who retired from the airline on -

January 13.

India's Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner

Martina Hingis broke a 22-year-old worldrecord by winning their 29th women's

doubles match in a row en route to their

entry into the women's doubles final of the

WTA Sydney International, .

The US Citizenship and Immigration

Services (USCIS) on 12 January 2016

notified revised petition fees for H-1B andL-1 visas. The increase in the fees is in tune

with the Consolidated Appropriations Act,

2016 that was signed into law by Barack

Obama, the President of the USA, on 18

December 2015.

India continued its trend of being the top

country of birth from Asia for immigrant

scientists and engineers in US, with

950,000 out of the continent's total 2.96

million, according to a new report.

Renowned British actor Alan Rickman, best

known for playing Professor Severus Snape

in the Harry Potter series and ruthless

terrorist Hans Gruber in "Die Hard", died

on Thursday, media reports said.

Madhya Pradesh (MP) Government on 14

January 2016 signed four MOUs with

Singapore to collaborate in urban

planning, skill development, clean energy

and food processing. Chief Minister Shivraj

Chouhan was awarded with Lee Kuan Yew

Exchange Fellowship for his contribution in

development and international harmony.

Union Government on 14 January 2016

signed a loan agreement with World Bank

in New Delhi for the Neeranchal National

Watershed Project. The project was

approved by the Union Cabinet in October

2015 with a total budget of 2142 crore

rupees in which India would bear 1071

crore rupees and the rest 50 percent cost

will be borne by the World Bank.

The Union government plans to connect

585 agricultural produce markets under its

National Agriculture Market (NAM)

initiative by March 2018, a senior minister

said on 15 January.

The country's first 'water tourism' will

begin in Madhya Pradesh next month with

the aim of attracting more tourists to the

state. Named as 'Jal Mahotsav', the 10-day

extravaganza will be inaugurated on

February 12 in Hanuwantiya at Indra Sagar

Dam, one of Asia's largest man-made water

reservoir.

Ships and aircraft of the Indian Coast Guard

and the Japan Coast Guard came together

to train for the 15th edition of ‘Sahyog-

Kaijin’ joint exercise in the Bay of Bengal

off the Chennai coast on 15 January.

The total installed capacity of solar power

in India has crossed the milestone of 5,000MW. The cumulative installed capacity has

reached to 5,130 MW with an installed

capacity of 1385 MW in the current FY.

Eminent film personalities Kamal Hassan

and Gautam Ghosh were on 14 January

2016 included in the Shyam Benegal

Committee on functioning of the Central

Board of Film Certification (CBFC).


8/17

Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis' awe-

inspiring run continued unabated as they

lifted their second trophy of the season

with the WTA Apia International title after

clinching their 30th win a row, on 15

January.

Sensitive portrayal of life for young womenfacing the threat of the diktat of khap

panchayats in Haryana has earned Ankita

Anand, a journalist-writer based , the

European Commission's prestigious

Lorenzo Natali Media Prize for 2015 (Asia-

Pacific).

The World Health Organisation declaredan end to the deadliest Ebola outbreak

ever on Thursday after no new cases

emerged in Liberia, though health officials

warn that it will be several more months

before the world is considered free of the

disease that claimed more than 11,300 lives

over two years.

PM Narendra Modi flags off Start-Up India

initiative. With 4,200 startups, India ranks

3rd globally. Of $18 billion pumped into

Indian startups between 2010-15, $9 billion

came in 2015 alone. 9 Indian startups have

been valued at more than a billion dollars.

80% reduction in patent registration fee.

10,000 crore corpus fund to support start-

ups. Tax exemption for start-ups for three

years. Innovation programme to start 5lakh schools to target 10 lakh children.

The World Bank on 14 January 2016

announced that India saved 1 billion US

dollars annually by using Aadhaar. It was

revealed in the bank’s publication World

Development Report 2016: Digital

Dividends that was released in Washington

DC, the USA.

Cardiac Design Labs, a startup that has

come up with an innovation to help cardiac

patients in rural India access critical care

through a wearable device, came out

triumphant at a live contest hosted by tech

firm Google at the Startup India event.

China-backed Asian InfrastructureInvestment Bank (AIIB), in which India and

56 countries have joined as founding

members, was formally opened on 16

January by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Online marketplace Flipkart has tied up

with auto major Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd

to exclusively launch the latter's newestSUV- KUV100. Consumers can book the

SUV on Flipkart from January 18th, 2016.

Tsai Ing-wen elected China's first female

president.

68th Army Day celebrated on 15 January.

Exim Bank of India and the Government of

Andhra Pradesh have entered into a

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

for promotion of exports from the state.

The National Institution for Transforming

India (NITI) Aayog on 17 January 2016announced that it collaborated with the

IDFC Bank Ltd to conduct an enterprise

survey of manufacturing firms.

Mumbai-based Jet Airways on 15 January

2016 entered into a Frequent Flyer

Partnership with Bangkok Airways.


9/17

Technology giant IBM on Monday said it

has bagged a 7-year deal worth $40 million

(about Rs 270.3 crore) from Bank Tech

India (BTI) Payments, a white label ATM

(WLA) operator to transform its IT

Infrastructure.

The Somnath Temple Trust is all set tobecome Gujarat's first temple to deposit

its idle gold in the Gold Monetisation

Scheme as its trustees including Prime

Minister Narendra Modi have given their

nod to invest the yellow metal reserves in

the scheme.

BHEL has commissioned the second 660MW supercritical unit of Lalitpur Super

Thermal Power Project (STPP) in Uttar

Pradesh.

India’s Dinesh Sharma on 17 January 2016

was elected to the 12-member board of

directors of the China-sponsored Asian

Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). A

secret ballot for the post was held on 16

January 2016.

Tata Motors has appointed former top

official of Airbus Guenter Butschek (55) as

its Chief Executive Officer & Managing

Director.

Ola appoints Raghuvesh Sarup as Chief

Marketing Officer

Anuradha Roy won 2016 DSC Prize for

Sleeping on Jupiter

Haryana off-spinner Ajit Chandila was

slapped with a life ban for his involvement

in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal, while

Mumbai batsman Hiken Shah was handed a

five-year suspension for making a corrupt

approach to a fellow player as the BCCI

disciplinary committee sealed their fate

after a meeting on 17 January.

The ‘MUDRA' loan for women

entrepreneurs or Boutique Finance for

Women Entrepreneurs – a special loan

scheme under Prime Minister MUDRA

Yojana – has been launched for catering to

the financial needs of women

entrepreneurs. Under the scheme, State

Bank of India too has come forward toparticipate and provide loans to help

women entrepreneurs in West Bengal who

are engaged in various handicraft activities.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on

19 January kept India’s growth projection

unchanged at 7.3 per cent in the current

fiscal and 7.5 per cent in the next, even as

it cut world economic outlook to 3.4 per

cent for 2016.

Union Ministry of Finance on 18 January

2016 released the draft report of Justice R

V Easwar (Retd) Committee to simplify the

provisions of Income-tax Act, 1961.

India is home to the fourth largest

population of millionaires in the Asia

Pacific region, with 2.36 lakh such high net

worth individuals, while Japan topped the

list with 12.60 lakh people, a report says.

According to the Asia Pacific 2016 Wealth

Report, by New World Wealth, India was

ranked among the top five Asia Pacific

countries in terms of number of High Net

Worth Individuals (HNWIs).


10/17

Reflecting an acute shortage of skilled

labour force and difficult business

conditions, India has slipped 11 places to

rank 89th on a global index of talent

competitiveness, a list which has been

topped by Switzerland.

Indian space agency ISRO is all set to make

its first rocket launch of the year and the

fifth satellite of India Regional Navigation

Satellite System -- IRNSS-1E, on board PSLV-

C31 rocket from Sriharikota on Wednesday.

In a global first, the World Bank in third

week of January 2016 decided to extend anassistance of 20 million US dollar to help

reconstruct the Indira Gandhi Zoological

Park (IGZP), which got devastated during

cyclone Hudhud in October 2014, in

Visakhapatnam.


decided to institute a new award category under the National Film Awards titled The

Most Film Friendly State/UT.

French President Francois Hollande on 18

January 2016 declared a state of economic

and social emergency to redefine country’s

economic and social model.

India has emerged as one of the five most

promising markets for businesses globally

as it offers one of the best opportunities for

both domestic as well as global companies,

says a survey.

The Cabinet on 20 January cleared ex-post

facto the stand taken by India on food

security at the last meeting of the World

Trade Organisation held in Nairobi.


sanctioned 33000 crore rupees for the

development of infrastructure projects inTamilnadu.

The Union Ministry of Shipping on 19

January 2016 started Project Green Ports,

which will help in making the Major Ports

across India cleaner and greener.

The Indian Space Research Organisation

(ISRO) on 20 January 2016 successfully

launched the Indian Regional Navigational

Satellite System (IRNSS) 1-E satellite. The

satellite will provide navigation, tracking

and mapping services to the Indian sub

continent. The satellite is the fifth of the

IRNSS constellation.

Country’s own fighter aircraft light combat

aircraft (LCA), Tejas, will take part in the

three-day Bahrain International Airshow

starting from Thursday (January 21 to 23).

The Maharashtra Government and Tata

Trust on 19 January 2016 signed a

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)for a skill training programme for the

youth in the state.

The Bihar Cabinet on 19 January 2016

formally approved 35 percent reservation

for women in all government jobs in the

state.


11/17

Mamta Binani has been elected President

of the Institute of Company Secretaries of

India (ICSI) for 2016. She took charge on

January 19.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 21 January

allowed banks to sell gold coins

manufactured by MMTC Ltd, through bankbranches as the gold procured for making

the coins are from the domestic market.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India

(SEBI) on 21 January 2016 released the first

report of the Alternative Investment Policy

Advisory Committee (AIPAC) for

comments from the stakeholders. The 21-member committee was constituted by the

SEBI in March 2015 under the chairmanship

of N R Narayan Murthy, co-founder of

Infosys, to suggest measures for

development of the alternative investment

funds (AIFs) and startup eco-system in the

country.

The Government of India and the World

Bank on 21 January signed a $250 million

credit agreement under the Jhelum and

Tawi Flood Recovery Project for

reconstruction and recovery support in

flood-affected areas in which public

infrastructure and livelihoods were

impacted severely.

Japan-based SoftBank has invested an

additional Rs 100 crore in Housing.com to

drive the growth of the realty portal.


approved amendments in Power Tariff

Policy to ensure 24X7 affordable power for

all.


granted Infrastructure Status to the

Shipyard Industry in a bid to ease its

financial stress.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic

Affairs (CCEA) on 21 January 2016 gave its

approval for setting up over 5000 MW ofGrid-Connected Solar PV Power Projects on

build, own and operate basis.

The Indian Space Research Organization

(ISRO) and Kuwait Institute of Scientific

Research (KISR) on 21 January 2016 signed

a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

on cooperation in the exploration and useof outer space for peaceful purposes.

The Girls First initiative was in news in the

third week of January 2016 as the results

showed that it helped in improving

emotional and physical well-being of school

children in Bihar.

Three Mi-25 gunship helicopters supplied

by India are to officially join the Afghan Air

Force on 21 January. The gunships,

delivered at the end of December last year,

have been in the assembly process.

Noted environmentalist Ravi Chellam on 21

January 2016 took charge as the Executive Director of Greenpeace India, a Non-

Government Organisation (NGO).

Former world number one Lleyton Hewitt

bade an emotional farewell from tennis on

21 January.


12/17

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 21

January 2016 released a book titled The Z

Factor: My Journey as the Wrong Man at

the Right Time in New Delhi. The book is

the autobiography of the promoter of

Essel/ Zee Group Subhash Chandra.

Eminent danseuse Mrinalini Sarabhai, wifeof the late Dr Vikram Sarabhai, father of

India’s space programme, passed away on

21 January following age-related health

complications.

India will be the fastest growing major

economy in the world in 2016, says the

United Nations World Economic Situationand Prospects 2016 report launched on 22

January. This report expects the Indian

economy, which accounts for over 70 per

cent of South Asia's GDP, to grow 7.3 per

cent in 2016 and 7.5 per cent in 2017, up

from an estimated 7.2 per cent in 2015.

The government will pay banks a 2.5%

commission to unlock the country’s

massive stash of gold under a new

monetisation scheme, the RBI said, as the

ambitious plan received a poor response

from banks and customers.

Deposits in accounts opened under the

government’s flagship financial inclusion

programme —— Pradhan Mantri Jan DhanYojana (PMJDY) —— have crossed the Rs.

30,000 crore mark.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes on 22

January signed seven more unilateral

Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) with

taxpayers, taking the total number of such

pacts to 39.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on 18

January 2016 launched Algorithm Trading

Test Environment (ATTE) service in

partnership with Symphony Fintech

Solutions Pvt Ltd. It is also known as Algo-

Trading or Black-Box Trading.

The Chhattisgarh Government on 20January 2016 signed a share-holding

agreement with a few central government-

run corporations for the second phase of

Jagdalpur-Raoghat railway project.

Senior revenue service officer Atulesh

Jindal on 21 January 2016 was appointed

chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes(CBDT).

Union Health Minister J P Nadda was on 22

January named by UN chief as a member of

the first high-level UN advisory group of a

'Every Woman Every Child', that will

address the major health challenges faced

by women, children and adolescents.

Senior revenue officer Ashok Kumar Mehta

was on 22 January appointed as Private

Secretary to President Pranab Mukherjee.

The Nai Manzil scheme was on 20 January

2016 launched for the first time in Jammu

and Kashmir. The scheme was launched forgirls in Srinagar in three institutions- Skill

Development Centre, University of Kashmir

and two Madarsas.


13/17

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on 22

January launched a free high-speed public

Wi-Fi service in collaboration with

technology giant Google at Mumbai

Central , the first station in the country to

get such facility.

Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), a US-basedthink-tank, on 14 January 2016 released the

2016 Nuclear Security Index with the

theme Building a Framework for Assurance,

Accountability, and Action. Among the 24

states with one kilogram or more of

weapons-usable nuclear materials in the

world, while Australia was adjudged as the

safest, India was among the least safe with

the 21st rank.

Person of Indian Origin Rahul Thakkar on 8

January 2016 was named as one of winners

of the Scientific and Technical Awards

given by the Academy of Motion Picture

Arts and Sciences, famously called Oscar

Awards.

India and France on 24 January 2016 inked

16 agreements at the India-France

Business Summit in Chandigarh. The

Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs)

covered a wide range of sectors like urban

development, urban transport, water and

waste treatment and solar energy.


launched Sahaj Scheme for online booking

of LPG cylinders. The booking can be done

through the unified web portal

www.mylpg.in which is available in 13

languages.

US News and World Report, WPP’s BAV

Consulting and the Wharton School of the

University of Pennsylvania on 20 January

2016 released the inaugural Best Countries

report, a joint rankings and analysis project

at the World Economic Forum, Davos.

Germany is viewed as the best country in

the world followed by Canada and the

United Kingdom. India is ranked as the22nd best country in the World. India has

the No. 1 upcoming economy.

Superstar Rajinikanth, founder of the

Reliance empire late Dhirubhai Ambani, Art

of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and

media baron Ramoji Rao have been chosen

for Padma Vibhushan, the country’s second highest civilian award, this year.

Maharashtra’s first Solar Power operated

Mini-Water Supply Plant was

commissioned on 24 January 2016 in

Hingna village of Mouda Taluka in Nagpur

district.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on 23

January 2016 hoisted the largest flag of the

country atop the tallest pole at Pahari

Mandir in Ranchi, Jharkhand.

The Andhra Pradesh Government on 22

January 2016 launched Giriputrika Kalyana

Pathakam Scheme to support the tribalwomen in their quest for livelihood.

The “Harry Potter” author J K Rowling is to

receive the PEN/Allen Foundation Literary

Service Award, PEN America told The

Associated Press on Monday.


14/17

India's Ace Shuttler, PV Sindhu on 24

January 2016 won the Malaysia Masters

Grand Prix Gold Badminton title. In the

final clash at Penang, she defeated

Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour 21-15, 21-9.

Nation on 24 January 2016 observed the

9th National Girl Child Day.

6th National Voters’ Day (NVD) was

observed across the country on 25 January

2016 by the Election Commission of India.

Famous Malayalam film actress Kalpana

Ranjani died on 25 January 2016 inHyderabad. She was 51 and famously

known as Kalpana.

Transparency International on 27 January

2016 released the Corruption Perceptions

Index (CPI) 2015. While Denmark, with

rank 1, was adjudged as the most

corruption-free country among the

surveyed countries, India was placed at the

76th place with 38 points. India was at the

85th position among the 175 countries

surveyed in the CPI 2014.

India and France on 25 January 2016 inked

14 Agreements/MoUs in Delhi. The

agreements including MoU on purchase of

36 Rafale Aircrafts were signed during theState Visit of President Francois Hollande of

France to India.

Republic Day 2016 was celebrated on 26

January 2016 across the nation. This was

the 67th Republic Day of India. President of

France Francois Hollande was the Chief

Guest at 67th Republic Day parade.

The Reserve Bank plans to procure an Audit

Management and Risk Monitoring System

(AMRMS) for the central bank from five

"potential shortlisted" solution providers,

including PwC and Quadrant 4 Software

Solutions.

International Customs Day observed on 26January

Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with

the President of France François Hollande,

on 25 January 2016 laid the foundation

stone of the International Solar Alliance

(ISA) headquarters in National Institute of

Solar Energy (NISE) in Gwalpahari,Gurgaon.

Chennupati Jagadish, an eminent professor

at Australian National University (ANU) in

Canberra, Jay Chandra, an eye doctor in

New South Wales, and Sajeev Koshy, a

dentist in Melbourne, received Order of

Australia medal for the year 2016

announced on the Australia Day.

Veteran Bollywood actress Rekha on 25

January 2016 was honoured with the third

Yash Chopra Memorial Award in Mumbai.

President Pranab Mukherjee, on 26

January 2016, awarded India’s highestpeacetime gallantry award Ashoka Chakra,

posthumously to Lance Naik Mohan Nath

Goswami of 9 Para (Special Forces) of the

Rashtriya Rifles.


15/17

Tata Trusts collaborates with

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

(MIT) and Tata Institute of Social Sciences

(TISS) to improve learning at secondary

school level.

President Pranab Mukherjee on 26 January

2016 approved the Union Cabinet’srecommendation for the imposition of

President’s rule on Arunachal Pradesh.

Chhattisgarh government would invest Rs

60,000 on developing infrastructure

projects in the state in next three years

under the 'Sampark Kranti' programme.

India and Armenia on Wednesday signed a

protocol to amend the existing Double

Taxation Avoidance Convention between

the two countries.

Marvin Minsky, the pioneer of artificial

intelligence, died on 24 January 2016 at

Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital

due to cerebral hemorrhage.


approved increase in the Authorized Share

Capital of the National Scheduled Castes

Finance and Development Corporation

(NSFDC). The target of NSFDC for the year

2015-16 is to cover 63000 beneficiaries.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic

Affairs (CCEA) on 27 January 2016 gave its

approval for the Hybrid Annuity Model as

one of the modes of delivery for

implementing the Highway Projects.

Under this model, the government will

provide 40 percent of the project cost to

the developer to start work while the

remaining investment has to be made by

the developer.

Govt. announces list of first 20 smart cities

under 'Smart Cities Mission'. The cities are:

1. Bhubaneshwar, 2. Pune, 3. Jaipur, 4.

Surat, 5. Kochi, 6. NDMC (New Delhi), 7.

Ahmedabad, 8. Jabalpur, 9. Vizag, 10.Solapur, 11. Devangere, 12. Indore, 13.

Coimbatore, 14. Kakinada, 15. Belgaum, 16.

Udaipur, 17. Guwahati, 18. Chennai, 19.

Ludhiana, 20. Bhopal.

The Indian Computer Emergency Response

Team (CERT-In) has signed cooperation

pacts with its counterparts in Malaysia,Singapore and Japan for cyber security.

Aparna Kumar, IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh

cadre, on 17 January 2016 became India's

first civil servant to scale Mount Vinson

Massif, the highest peak in the Antarctica.

IRCTC restricts ticket booking to six per

month.

India gets more voting rights as IMF

implements quota reforms. For the first

time, the four emerging economies -- India

China, Brazil and Russia -- would be among

the 10 largest members of the

International Monetary Fund.

Indian lawyer and human rights defender

Henri Tiphagne on 26 January 2016 was

selected for the 8th Human Rights Award

by Amnesty International Germany.


16/17

Rodney George Laver honoured with the

Companion of the order of Australia on 26

January 2016 on the occasion of the

Australia Day.

Supreme Court appoints Justice Sanjay

Mishra as U.P. Lokayukta.

MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga has been

appointed as a co-chair of American India

Foundation (AIF), a nonprofit organisation

that is devoted to accelerating social and

economic change in India.

International Day of Commemoration inmemory of the victims of the Holocaust

observed.

Australian batsman David Warner on 27

January 2016 defeated captain Steve Smith

for the prestigious Allan Border Medal for

2016.

Ishika Shah won 12th Sub-Junior National

Snooker championship title.

Book Titled "Midnight’s Furies: The Deadly

Legacy of India's Partition" Wins 2016

William E Colby Award.

Government has marginally revised

downward the economic growth for 2014-

15 to 7.2 per cent from the earlier estimate

of 7.3 per cent after factoring in latest data

on agriculture and industrial production.

Besides, the CSO also released second

revised estimates of the years 2011-12 to

2013-14 (with base year 2011-12.

India and the Asian Development Bank

(ADB) on Thursday signed an $80 million

loan agreement for improving the

infrastructure in the two North-Eastern

cities of Agartala and Aizawl, according to

a government statement.

JS Deepak appointed as new TelecomSecretary.

Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina

Hingis on 29 January 2016 won the 2016

Australian Open title of tennis in the

women’s doubles category.

India and Pakistan have extended their

agreement relating to rail communication

by mutual consent through diplomatic

channels for next three years.

Lt Governor of Puducherry AK Singh on 28

January 2016 launched the MITRA mobile

application to ensure safety and security

of women in the Union Territory. The app

was launched in the presence of the Chief

Minister N Rangasamy in Puducherry.

Gurdeep Singh appointed as CMD of NTPC.

The United Nations Children's Fund

(UNICEF) launched a 2.8 billion US dollarappeal to reach 43 million children in

humanitarian emergencies worldwide on

26 January 2016. It included the 54.3 million

US dollar appeal to help conflict-affected

children in eastern Ukraine in 2016.


17/17

India on 28 January 2016 test fired its

indigenously-built surface-to-air Akash

missile from complex-3 of the Integrated

Test Range (ITR).at Chandipuri in Odisha.

The second volume of memoirs of

President Pranab Mukherjee titled The

Turbulent Years – 1980-1996 was released on 28 January 2016 by Vice President

Hamid Ansari in function held at

Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

Iran and Airbus on 28 January 2016 signed

two agreements covering new aircraft

orders and a comprehensive civil aviation

co-operation package. The agreementincludes purchase of 118 new Airbus

aircrafts.

Graham Ford Named Chief Coach of Sri

Lanka Ahead of India Tour.

Angelique Kerber upsets Serena Williams

6-4 3-6 6-4 to win the Australian Open title

on 30 January, ending the six-time

champion's unbeaten streak in finals and

winning a major title for the first time. Now

she's the first German woman to win the

title since Graf in 1994.

Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba, PVSM, AVSM,

will assume charge as Flag OfficerCommanding-in-Chief Western Naval

Command (FOC-in-C, West) on Sunday.

The Dharwad-headquartered Karnataka

Vikas Grameen Bank (KVGB) has set up a

separate cell for monitoring progress

under all the government-sponsored

schemes. Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank

won the ‘ASSOCHAM Social Banking

Excellence Award 2015’ under the

‘regional rural banks’ category in Mumbai

on Friday.

Air conditioning and refrigeration major

Blue Star Ltd said that its Board of Directors

has appointed Vir S Advani as Managing

Director.

Leslie Berland was on 26 January 2016

appointed as the Chief Marketing Officer(CMO) of Twitter Inc.

Indo-Canadian Sikh Amrik Singh Ahluwalia

Elected Head of Canada's Peel Police, the

country's third largest municipal police

force

Prince Mahidol Award 2015 was conferred

upon Professor Morton Mower and Sir

Michael Marmot for outstandingachievements in medicine and public

health worldwide.

Former Army Chief General K V Krishna

Rao, who played a key role in the 1971

Bangladesh Liberation War, died. Rao also

served as the Governor of Jammu and

Kashmir at a time when militancy was at its

peak in the state.

Japan on 28 January 2016 unveiled

country’s first stealth fighter aircraft X-2.

World number one Novak Djokovic

hammered a misfiring Andy Murray in

straight sets to win a record-equalling sixth

Australian Open title and strengthen his

grip on men's tennis.

India on 31 January 2016 won the three-

match T-20 series against Australia, 3-0. Inthe third and final Twenty20 match played

in Sydney, India defeated Australia by seven

wickets.

Anti-Leprosy Day observed on 30 January

2016

Actor Manoj Joshi was conferred with the

'Chhatrapati Shivjai Maharaj Gaurav

Award'.

january 2016 current affair capsule

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