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for upcoming exams
January 2019
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MOU/Agreement Countries
India and Sri Lanka signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide modern infrastructural facilities to
Swami Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies of Eastern University in Batticaloa district of Sri Lanka.
Nepal and India have agreed to set up an ‘Energy Banking’ mechanism that would help the Himalayan country
export its surplus electricity to neighbour India during the monsoon season and import power during its lean
season in winter.
Celebrating 50-years of formalization of diplomatic ties between India and Bhutan, a two-day international
conference on 8th century Himalayan sage Guru Padmasambhava was held in New Delhi that saw the participation
of distinguished scholars from both countries. The conference, organised by the Centre for Escalation of Peace
(CEP) and titled ‘Life and Legacy of Guru Padmasambhava’, was held on January 29-30.
MOU Industry/States/Others
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Army and PNB on the Defence Salary
Package. A number of additional facilities have been incorporated in the MoU after concerted efforts.
The National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Ltd (NCDEX) and Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA),
the premier training Institute in agri-business and rural management has signed a memorandum of understanding
(MOU) with special emphasis mentoring Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and allied institutions.
Human Resources Development Ministry signed an agreement with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) for India’s Participation in Programme for International Student Assessment- Programme for
International Student Assessment (PISA) 2021.
Appointments and Resignations
Name Post Extra Info
Dinesh Maheshwari, Sanjiv Khanna sworn in as Supreme Court judges
Ajay Narayan Jha Finance Secretary of India He got one-month extension till Feb-
end
Sanjay Jain Additional Solicitor General in the Supreme
Court of India
M. Nageswara Rao Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
Director
Succeeds Alok Verma
Nitin Wakankar Chief Information Officer and spokesperson
of CBI
Succeeds Abhishek Dayal
Jaideep Govind Secretary General, National Human Rights
Commission
Prabhat Singh Director General (Investigation), National
Human Rights Commission
Rakesh Asthana Director General of the Bureau of Civil
Aviation Security (BCAS)
Amitabh Chaudhry Managing Director & CEO of Axis Bank After Shikha Sharma retired
V Vaidyanathan MD and CEO of IDFC First Bank
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Ravneet Gill MD and CEO of Yes Bank Succeeds Rana Kapoor
Ajai Kumar interim MD, CEO of Yes Bank Till Ravneet Gill takes the post
Parthasarathi Mukherjee MD of Lakshmi Vilas Bank Reappointed for another 2 years
Dilip Sadarangani Part Time Chairman of Federal Bank
Chhabilendra Roul Secretary of Department of Fertilizers
Sudhir Bhargava Chief Information Commissioner
VK Yadav Chairman of Railway Board
Hemant Bhargava Life Insurance Corporation of India’s Acting
Chairman
Pramod Kumar Singh Competition Commission of India (CCI)’s
Secretary
Saurabh Kumar Chairman of Ordnance Factory Board
Aqeel Ahmed Chairman of Council for Leather Exports
Deepika Padukone Chairperson of the Mumbai Academy of
Moving Image (MAMI)
Lt Gen Rajeev Chopra Director General of National Cadet Corps
(NCC)
Ajit Kumar P. Western Naval Command (WNC) of the
Indian Navy
G Ashok Kumar Vice Chief of Naval Staff
Poonam Khetrapal Singh
Manu Sawhney International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Chief
Executive Officer
Pranav R Mehta President of Global Solar Council (GSC) First Indian to head GSC. HQ-
Washington D.C., USA
Gita Gopinath Chief Economist of International Monetary
Fund
First woman to occupy the top IMF
post. She is from Mysore, Karnataka.
Sultan Abdullah Ibni
Sultan Ahmad Shah
16th King of Malaysia
Stefan Lofven Prime Minister of Sweden
Su Tseng-chang Prime Minister of Taiwan
Sheikh Hasina Prime Minister of Bangladesh She won 3rd Consecutive Term
Christophe Joseph Marie
Dabire
Prime Minister of Burkina Faso
Nicolas Maduro President of Venezuela
Andry Rajoelina President of Madagascar
RESIGNATIONS:
World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim unexpectedly resigned
Malaysia’s King Muhammad V becomes 1st Monarch to resign before completing tenure
CBI director Alok Verma has been removed from his post after a high-powered committee headed by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi met for over two hours to decide his fate, making him the first chief in the history of
the agency to face such action.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Chairman Ashok Chawla stepped down from his position.
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The Chief Executive of Flipkart Group’s e-tail portals Myntra and Jabong, Ananth Narayanan, has stepped down
from the post.
The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of photo-messaging app Snapchat, Tim Stone, has called it quits after just eight
months of being appointed at the post.
Chanda Kochhar, who had resigned as CEO and MD of ICICI Bank nearly four months back, was terminated and all
her entitlements were revoked by the bank. The action by the bank came six days after the CBI booked her along
with her businessman husband Deepak Kochhar and Videocon MD Dhoot and a few others for criminal conspiracy
in an alleged loan fraud case.
Awards and Recognitions
Award Name Person/Institution Extra Knowledge
First-ever Philip Kotler Presidential
award
PM Narendra Modi Prof. Philip Kotler is a world-renowned
Professor of Marketing at Northwestern
University, Kellogg School of Management.
Sansad Ratna Award
BJP MP Anurag
Thakur
Saraswati Samman 2017 Gujarati poet
Sitanshu
Yashashchandra
For his poetry collection in Gujarati named
“Vakhar”
Sushila Devi Literature Award Writer Namita
Gokhale
For her novel “Things to Leave Behind”
Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja National
Award for Lifetime Achievement in
Literature
Manoj Das He is an eminent English and Odia writer
Lifetime Achievement award by the
Mantralaya and Vidhimandal Vartahar
Sangh
Dinu Randive Veteran journalist
UDCT Alumni Association-Dhirubhai
Ambani Lifetime Achievement Award
Sir Richard J. Roberts
(from UK)
He is 1993 Nobel laureate (Physiology or
Medicine)
ICSIs Lifetime Achievement Award for
‘Translating Excellence in Corporate
Governance into Reality’
Adi Godrej
Lifetime Achievement Award by the
West Bengal Film Journalists
Association (WBFJA)
Buddhadeb Dasgupta
Republic Day Journalism Award 2019
by Assam Government
Dhirendra Nath
Chakraborty
Kerala Sahitya Akademi award for the
best novel of 2017
Nireeswaran (Novel’s
name)
Novel by V J James
1st Sheikh Saud International Prize for
Materials Research
Indian scientist C.N.R.
Rao
Awarded by the Centre for Advanced
Materials of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
2019 Japan Prize Dr. Rattan Lal is being honored for his work in identifying
technological options adapted to various
ecosystems through his intensive basic and
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applied research on processes and factors of
soil degradation caused by inappropriate
biological production.
Oscar Wilde Award Glenn Close
(American actress)
Arunima Sinha, the Indian mountaineer who became the world’s first woman amputee to climb Mount Everest
in 2013, has now become the first woman amputee to climb Mount Vinson (highest peak of Antarctica).
The 38-year-old K Dhanya Sanal, a spokesperson for the Union Ministry of Defence, has become the first
woman, who is trekking to Agasthyarkoodam peak, after the Kerala High Court lifted the ban on women’s
trekking on December 9 last year.
Aparna Kumar has become the first woman IPS DIG and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) officer to successfully
complete the South Pole expedition.
Well-known mountaineer Satyarup Siddhanta, 35, conquered Antarctica’s highest point, Mount Sidley, to
become the youngest man in the world to have climbed the seven highest volcanic peaks, besides other
summits.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has been awarded the Carnot Prize for his contribution towards sustainable energy
solutions by the University of Pennsylvania located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US. He has donated the prize
money to International Solar Alliance.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation was awarded Best Capital City in the Solid Waste Management in
the Swachh Survekshan 2018 rankings.
Dhruv Manoj, 12 has bagged two gold medals at the World Memory Championships held in Hong Kong.
Three Journalists from Tamil Nadu win, this year, the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award that
includes News18 Tamilnadu’s Chief Editor M Gunasekaran, Freelance Journalist Sandhya Ravishankar for her
contribution to The Wire and Vijay Kumar S from The Hindu for his Investigative reporting on Gutka Scam.
An Indian-American philanthropist and entrepreneur, Gurinder Singh Khalsa, has been presented with the
prestigious Rosa Park Trailblazer award for his campaign that forced US authorities change their policy towards
headgear of the Sikh community.
“No Presents Please”, originally written in Kannada by noted author Jayant Kaikini and translated into English by
Tejaswini Niranjana, was announced as the winner of the prestigious $25,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature
2018 at the Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet in Kolkata.
Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) has been awarded the best miniratna PSU in strategic performance (financial
category) at the Governance Now Sixth PSU awards. HQ – Assam.
The Tamil translation of Andrei Makine’s “La vie d’un homme inconnu” (The Life of an Unknown Man) was awarded
the second Romain Rolland Prize for literary translation in Jaipur at the ongoing Jaipur Literature Festival.
The ICAR tableau in the Republic Day Parade has won the first prize for its Kisan Gandhi theme. The Indian Council
of Agricultural Research tableau with the theme “Mishrit Kheti, Khushiyon Ki Kheti” portrayed Gandhi with goats
and a cow and Kasturba engaged with charkha and caring animals.
Rajiv Nath was conferred with the prestigious ‘Award of Appreciation’ by Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State
for Health & Family Welfare for his contribution to the Global Public Healthcare sector
The government announced winners of the Gandhi Peace Prize for four years beginning 2015 to 2018.
Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari, gets the award for 2015 for their contribution in rural development, education,
development of natural resources.
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For 2016, it has been jointly given to Akshaya Patra Foundation for its contribution in providing mid-day meals
children and Sulabh International for its contribution in improving the condition of sanitation and emancipation of
manual scavengers.
Ekal Abhiyan Trust has won the award for 2017 for their contribution in providing education for rural and tribal
children in remote areas, rural empowerment, gender and social equality
Yohei Sasakawa for 2018 for his contribution in leprosy eradication.
2019 Screen Actors Guild Awards
Here is the complete list of winners:
Outstanding performance by a male actor in leading role: Rami Malek, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Outstanding performance by a female actor in leading role: Glenn Close, ‘The Wife’ Outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role: Mahershala Ali, ‘Green Book’ Outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role: Emily Blunt, ‘A Quiet Place’ Outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture: ‘Black Panther’ Outstanding performance by a male actor in a television movie or miniseries: Darren Criss, ‘Assassination of Gianni
Versace’ Outstanding performance by a female actor in a television movie or miniseries: Patricia Arquette, ‘Escape at
Dannemora’ Outstanding performance by a male actor in a drama series: Jason Bateman, ‘Ozark’ Outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series: Sandra Oh, ‘Killing Eve’ Outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series: Tony Shalhoub, ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ Outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series: Rachel Brosnahan, ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ Outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series: ‘This Is Us’ Outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series: ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ Outstanding action performance by a stunt ensemble in a comedy or drama Series: ‘Glow’
Conference and Summits
Summit Place Extra Knowledge
14th session of the Conference
of Parties to United Nations
Convention to Combat
Desertification (UNCCD)
India India to host in 2019
2019 World Book Fair New Delhi UAE’s third largest emirate Sharjah was its
2019 guest of honour.
First ‘National Consultation on
Child Protection’ for 2019
New Delhi
National Youth Parliament
Festival 2019
New Delhi
BES EXPO 2019 New Delhi Theme - Next Gen Broadcasting in the IT
World
Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors
Summit 2019
Mahatma Mandir in
Gandhinagar, Gujarat
This year United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan &
Morocco were the partner countries for 9th
edition of Vibrant Gujarat. President of
Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev attended the
Vibrant Gujarat international investment
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summit as a key guest
Global Aviation Summit 2019 Mumbai, Maharashtra Theme: Flying for all-especially the next 6
Billion
25th Partnership Summit 2019 Mumbai, Maharashtra
Regional Conference on
‘Deendayal Disabled
Rehabilitation Scheme’
Mumbai, Maharashtra
India Steel 2019 Exhibition and
Conference
Mumbai, Maharashtra
9th International Conference on
Micro Irrigation
Aurangabad, Maharashtra
2nd World Orange Festival Nagpur, Maharashtra
15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh Prime Minister of Mauritius, Mr. Pravind
Jugnauth was the chief Guest of Convention.
Theme- Role of Indian Diaspora in building
New India
Indus Food 2019 Greater Noida, Uttar
Pradesh
Odisha participated as a partner state.
29th Indian Paint Conference Agra, Uttar Pradesh
Organics and Millets-2019
International Trade Fair
Bengaluru, Karnataka
6th ‘Women of India Organic
Festival’ Leisure Valley, Chandigarh
1st National Level Sports Meet
for the students of Eklavya
Model Residential Schools
(EMRS)
Hyderabad, Telangana
1st National Sports Meet 2019
for Tribals
Hyderabad, Telangana
9th Hyderabad literary festival Hyderabad, Telangana Focus Country – China
Focus Language – Gujarati
UNNATI (Unispace Nanosatellite
Assembly & Training)
programme
Bengaluru, Karnataka Organised by ISRO.
India will train 45 countries in nano-satellite
making through a new capacity building
programme.
South India MSME Summit 2019 Bengaluru, Karnataka
2nd World Integrated Medicine
Forum 2019
Goa
World Economic Forum, WEF,
annual meet
Davos, Switzerland Theme - Globalization 4.0: Shaping a Global
Architecture in the Age of the Fourth
Industrial Revolution
7th Meeting of Tourism
Ministers of ASEAN and India
Ha Long City, Vietnam
Arab Economic And Social
Development Summit
Beirut, Lebanon
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International News
Tropical Storm Usman, which entered the Philippines on Christmas Day, emerged as the deadliest weather disaster
for the country this year following Typhoon Mangkhut in September.
Thousands have been left stranded across tourist hotspots in Thailand as tropical storm ‘Pabuk’ made landfall in the
country’s southern gulf coast.
The United States and Israel officially quit the U.N.’s educational, scientific and cultural agency (UNESCO) at the
stroke of midnight, the culmination of a process triggered more than a year ago amid concerns that the
organization fosters anti-Israel bias.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act (ARIA), which passed the U.S.
Senate earlier in December.
France will introduce its own tax on large internet and technology companies from January 1. It has been pushing
hard for a new so-called “GAFA tax” — named after Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon — to ensure the global
giants pay a fair share of taxes on their massive business operations in Europe.
Gautemala to withdraw from UN-backed anti-corruption commission
President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the honorary rank of General of the Indian Army on Purna Chandra Thapa,
the Chief of the Army Staff of Nepalese Army.
The Parliament of Macedonia has passed the resolution to amend the constitution of the country to rename it as
the Republic of Northern Macedonia.
The world’s first human rights TV channel has been launched by the International Observatory of Human Rights
(IOHR).
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has launched Tokyo-based startup Star-ALE’s mini-satellite aimed to deliver
the world’s first artificial meteor shower.
The US city of Louisville in Kentucky state is set to rename its airport after hometown hero and boxing legend
Muhammad Ali (name before conversion to Islam – Cassius Clay), who died in 2016.
Palestine took over the chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China from Egypt at the United Nations headquarters
in New York. Palestine is slated to lead the bloc for 2019.
The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco) has named the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro as
the World Capital of Architecture for 2020.
China announced that its economy cooled down in the last quarter of 2018, recording a growth rate of 6.6 per cent,
which is the slowest in the last 28 years.
China is set to overtake the United States as the world’s biggest retail market in 2019, according to Research firm
eMarketer.
The world’s longest 3D-printed concrete pedestrian bridge, which is 26.3 metre-long and 3.6-metre-wide, opened
in China’s Shanghai.
Twenty-six richest billionaires own as many assets as the 3.8 billion people who make up for the poorest half of the
planets population, according to a report by British charity Oxfam.
Nepal’s central bank has announced the ban of Indian currency notes with denominations above Rs 100.
The Pakistan government declared sugarcane juice as the “national drink” of the country.
Pakistan has appointed the country’s first ever Hindu female civil judge after she passed an examination for
induction of judicial officers. Suman Kumari, who hails from Qambar-Shahdadkot in Sindh province, will serve in her
native district.
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The central banks of the UAE and Saudi Arabia have launched a common digital currency called “Aber”, which will
be used in financial settlements between the two countries through Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers
technologies.
World Economic Situation and Prospects 2019 report by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
(UNDESA). HQ – New York.
National News Even though the number of leprosy cases have steadily declined worldwide, an estimated two lakh cases continue
to be reported every year, with India accounting for more than half, said World Health Organization (WHO).
Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg arrived in New Delhi on a three-day state visit to India.
Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth arrived in India for a week-long official state visit.
In a bid to boost people-to-people ties and cultural exchanges, Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen
inaugurated a Danish Cultural Institute in New Delhi.
South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived in Delhi for his first state visit ahead of the Republic Day celebration
parade, where he is the chief guest.
Nashik in Maharashtra will be the site of the country’s second defence innovation hub after Coimbatore in Tamil
Nadu.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor in the Tiruchirapalli
district of Tamil Nadu.
Railways will build the country’s first vertical-lift bridge connecting Rameswaram in Arabian Sea to mainland India
that will allow ships and steamers to pass through without any hinderance, replacing the existing 104-year-old
Pamban bridge. It will be ready in the next four years, and along with the new railway link between Rameswaram
in Pamban Island and Dhanuskodi, which is considered the starting point of Ram Setu, will help ferry thousands of
pilgrims from the Hindu religious site to the mainland.
The Ministry of Culture announced that Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) declared 6 monuments as ‘protected
and of national importance’ under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, in
2018.These sites are:
125-year-old Old High Court Building in Nagpur, Maharashtra,
The Group of Temples in Ranipur Jharail in Bolangir district of Odisha,
2 Mughal era monuments in Agra- Haveli of Agha Khan and Hathi Khana,
The Neemrana Baori in Alwar district of Rajasthan,
The Vishnu Temple in Kotali, Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand.
The MSME ministry has established an export promotion cell to create a sustainable ecosystem for micro, small and
medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The government on January 2, 2019 gave out the 6-croreth free cooking gas (LPG) connection as the scheme to
make available cleaner fuel in every household kitchens runs ahead of schedule.
India achieved electrification in 100% households in 25 states at the end of 2018. Now, only about 10.48 lakh
households are left to be electrified in 4 states – Assam, Rajasthan, Meghalaya, and Chhattisgarh.
The Cabinet approved the restructuring of existing National Health Agency as ‘National Health Authority’ (as an
attached office to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) for better implementation of Pradhan Mantri-Jan Arogya
Yojana (PM-JAY).
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi added ‘Jai Anusandhan’ to the slogan ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ given by the late Prime
Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, hailing the power of research to propel the nation into the top league.
An ambitious web-based single-window system ‘Parivesh’ (Pro-Active and Responsive facilitation by Interactive,
Virtuous and Environmental Single-window Hub) will be rolled-out at state levels by January 15, bringing an end to
the clearance nightmare for entrepreneurs.
Vijay Mallya became the first tycoon to be charged under a new anti-fraud law, with a court in Mumbai naming him
as an offender under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018.
As part of the enhanced outreach programme of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), a new platform named
Samwad with Students (SwS) was launched in Bengaluru on January 1, 2019.
The government launched Web- Wonder Women Campaign to celebrate the exceptional achievements of women
who have influenced and impacted society through social media.
Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Dr Harsh Vardhan launched the National Clean Air
Programme (NCAP) aiming to reduce toxic particulate matter by 2024, taking 2017 as the base year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has released a commemorative coin of Rs 350 to mark the birth anniversary of Guru
Gobind Singh, the ten preachers of the Sikh religion.
Two commemorative coins in the denomination of Rs 100 and Rs 5 were released to mark the 102nd birth
anniversary of late Tamil Nadu chief minister and ruling AIADMK founder M G Ramachandran which was celebrated
across the state.
Government eMarketplace (GeM) has launched an initiative – Womaniya on GeM – to enable women
entrepreneurs and self-help groups to sell different products at the platform. GeM is an online platform of the
ministry for procurement of goods and services by government departments, public sector units, and other
agencies.
Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan flagged off SAKSHAM (Sanrakshan Kshmata
Mahotsav) Vans to promote and create awareness among people on the need of oil and gas conservation for the
future and the methods to do it.
Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF) and the Mayor of Prayagraj jointly launched Mukti Caravan with the
aim of making Kumbh a child-friendly festival.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved Rs 4,241.97crore for integrated e-filing and
centralised processing centre–2.0 Project-of the Income Tax Department.
In partnership with States, the Ministry of Rural Development has completed 1.37 crore Rural Homes since April
2014.
Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY) has crossed the milestone of 1 crore beneficiaries as on January
14, 2019, according to a release by Ministry of Labour and Employment.
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is organising a fortnight of events named Shehri Samridhi Utsav from Feb 1 to
15 all over the country focusing on urban livelihoods.
Women to get 20% jobs in Military Police, said Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
India’s first-ever all-women political party the National Women’s Party (NWP) was launched in Mumbai and it will
contest half 283 of the 545 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Subhas Chandra Bose museum at the iconic Red Fort in Delhi to
mark the freedom fighter’s 122nd birth anniversary. He also inaugurated the Yaad-e-Jallian Museum dedicated on
the Jallianwala Bagh and Indian soldiers in World War I. He also inaugurated a museum on 1857 India’s first war of
Independence, and the Drishyakala Museum on Indian Art within the Red Fort complex.
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The Central government has instituted an annual award titled “Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan
Puraskar”, which is to be announced every year on January 23, on the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra
Bose. The award carries a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 51 lakh.
Indians have emerged as the biggest supporters of international aid, with a global public opinion survey putting
India on the top when it comes to people expecting their nation to help other countries, according to a survey
released by the World Economic Forum
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana under which a group of Indian diaspora
will be taken on a government-sponsored tour of religious places in India twice a year.
Oxford Dictionaries announced that ‘Nari Shakti’ as its Hindi Word of the Year for 2018.
Public funding in India in the field of research and development for neglected diseases has increased significantly
by Rs 135 crore since 2009, says a new report. The report conducted by G-Finder a project that tracks and reports
on global investments into research and development (R&D) for neglected diseases suggested that funding from
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) increased by Rs 147 crore.
India is on the way to becoming the fifth largest economy in the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said
recently. He was addressing the India-South Africa Business Forum organised jointly by Indian Industry Chambers
CII, FICCI and Assocham in the presence of visiting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar, has developed an app Roshni that would help the Visually Impaired
to recognise currency notes. The app can recognise both old and new notes and gives audio information as to
which note you are holding in your hands.
People can watch the highlights of this year’s Republic Day parade at the Rajpath on a mobile application which has
been launched by the Defence Ministry. The ‘RDP INDIA 2019‘ app was launched on the occasion of the 70th
Republic day. This new initiative is in sync with the Digital India campaign of the government.
Highlighting the success of Make in India and contribution of Indian workers, Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal,
renamed India’s first indigenous semi-high speed train ‘Train 18’ as ‘Vande Bharat Express’. Vande Bharat Express
will run from Delhi to Varanasi taking stops at Kanpur and Prayagraj.
GST On Haj Reduced From 18% To 5%
State News
Andaman Nicobar Islands
Veer Savarkar International Airport in Port Blair, Andaman has been declared as an authorized Immigration Check
post for entry into/exit from India with valid travel documents for all classes of passengers.
Andaman To Be First Island To Operate Seaplanes Under UDAN-3
Andhra Pradesh
The Andhra Pradesh government bagged the Central Board of Irrigation and Power (CBIP) award for speedy
execution of Polavaram multipurpose project on the Godavari river.
Marking a golden letter day in the history of Polavaram project-the life line of Andhra Pradesh, the concrete works
of spill channel successfully entered Guinness Book of World Records by completing 32,315.5 Cubic meter of
concrete works in a span of 24 hours.
The three-day annual Flamingo Festival was held at Pulicat lake and Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary in Sullurpet mandal.
Flamingo Festival is held every year to promote tourism in Pulicat and Nellapattu.
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Arunachal Pradesh
Chief Minister Pema Khandu inaugurated India’s longest 300-meter single-lane steel cable suspension bridge over
Siang river in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Siang district bordering China. The suspension bridge – also known as
Byorung bridge – was built at a cost of Rs 4,843 crore.
Defence Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the 426.60 metre long Diffo Bridge over Chipu River in
Lower Dibang Valley District in Arunachal Pradesh.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Pema Khandu declared Pakke Paga Hornbill Festival (PPHF) as the “State
Festival”. Pakke Paga Hornbill Festival (PPHF) is only conservation festival of Arunachal Pradesh.
Assam
Railway minister Piyush Goel announced that the Honey Bee plan in Assam that kept elephants away from the
tracks will be expanded to other areas of the country. He said that the initiative was started on experiment basis
last year.
In Assam, Railway Protection Force of Lumding Division has taken a significant step towards enhancing the security
of women in the North East region. A dedicated RPF Women Squad named as ‘JOYMATI BAHINI’, comprising
women sub-inspector and constables of the Railway Protection Force was formally launched today at Kamkhaya
Railway Station in Guwahati.
Delhi
Delhi government inaugurated a round-the-clock Animal Health Care Services in a Government Veterinary Hospital
in Tis Hajari and also a helpline number 011-23967555 for animal health care assistance.
Goa
A 5.1-km long cable-stayed “Atal Setu” on the Mandovi river in Goa, a third such bridge to connect the state capital
with North Goa, was opened to public by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.
Gujarat
Gujarat has become the first state to implement the 10% reservation for economically weaker sections of the
general category. This comes a day after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the bill.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Institute of Medical and Research in
Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar laid the foundation stone of “Haryana Bhawan” at the “Statue of
Unity” complex in Kevadiya, Gujarat.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the National Salt Satyagraha Memorial at Dandi in Gujarat
on Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary on 30 January. The memorial has statues of Mahatma Gandhi and 80
Satyagrahis who had marched with him during the historic Dandi Salt March. It also has 24-narrative murals
depicting various events and stories from the historic 1930 Salt March.
Haryana
To revive the ancient Sarasvati river in the state and ensure regular flow of fresh water into it, the Haryana
Saraswati Heritage Development Board (HSHDB) approved 11 major projects, including restoration of various
heritage sites along the course of the mythical river.
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Himachal Pradesh
Global Investor Summit to be held in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh on June 10 and 11, 2019
Jammu & Kashmir
The Jammu and Kashmir administration set up a law commission, with Justice (Retd) M K Hanjura as its founding
chairperson, to identity redundant and obsolete laws that can be repealed and suggest measures for quick redress
of public grievances.
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated a 1,210-meter span-bridge over the river Ravi in
Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district to reduce the distance to Punjab’s Pathankot city by 36 km.
Kerala
In a wonderful initiative to support gender equality and renaissance value, around 50 lakh women formed a 620-
km-long ‘Women’s Wall’ in Kerala. The wall was formed across the national highway which stretched from the
northern tip of Kasaragod to the southern end in Thiruvananthapuram.
More than five years after Malayalam was declared a classical language, the Union Government issued its nod for
setting up the Centre for Classical Language at the Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University in Tirur.
Kerala has launched the country’s largest startup hub with a 1,000-seat capacity in Kalamassery, Kochi. Named
‘Integrated Startup Complex,’ the facility is built to provide top quality infrastructure for incubation and
acceleration for the state’s startups.
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath launched his government’s Rs 50,000-crore farm debt-waiver scheme
named ‘Jai Kisan Rin Mukti Yojana’. The country’s first cremation ground for cows will be prepared in Madhya Pradesh’s capital Bhopal and the city’s
municipal authorities are already on the lookout for a site for the purpose.
On the occasion of Republic Day, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath announced the launch of the ‘Yuva
Swabhiman Yojana’ for youths from the economically weaker sections in urban areas.
Maharashtra
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC) in Mumbai,
Maharashtra. The state-of-the-art Museum has been built at a cost of over 140 crore rupees. The creation of the
museum has been guided by the Museum Advisory Committee headed by noted film maker Shyam Benegal.
Manipur
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh launched ‘School Fagat-Hansi’ mission, an initiative under the Government’s
popular ‘Go to Village’ mission.
Odisha
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launched the ‘Ama Ghare LED’ scheme, under which about 95 lakh families in the state
will each get four LED bulbs free of cost.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Bolangir-Bichhupali railway line in Balangir, Odisha.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced “Jiban Sampark” project in partnership with UNICEF India to
generate awareness about the development and welfare initiatives of state government among the Particularly
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Vulnerable Tribal Groups of the state. He inaugurated the annual tribal fair popularly known as “Adivasi Mela” on
Republic Day.
Punjab
In a major fillip to Punjab‘s persistent efforts for securing the waiver of Rs 31,000 crore food account, Chairman of
the 15th Finance Commission N K Singh formed a committee to find ways of settling the matter.
Puducherry
Puducherry government has imposed a ban on the sale and use of plastic products in the Union Territory from
March 1.
Rajasthan
Rajasthan govt decided to reverse Atal Seva Kendra as Rajiv Gandhi Seva Kendra.
Free education will be provided to girls in state-run institutions in Rajasthan from July. Also, the female students in
colleges will be given sanitary napkins free of cost.
Sikkim
Sikkim CM Pawan Kumar Chamling launched the ‘One Family, One Job’ scheme that envisions jobs to a member of
every family which does not have a government job in the state.
K.J. Alphons, Union Minister for Tourism has inaugurated the first project under the Swadesh Darshan Project of
the Union Ministry of Tourism at the Zero Point, Gangtok, Sikkim.
Tamil Nadu
Kallakurichi is 33rd district of Tamil Nadu.
The Chennai Traffic Police inducted a road safety robot into its fold. Named ROADEO, the robot will make the
pedestrians, especially children, feel safe while crossing the roads.
Tamil Nadu government has rolled out the much-expected Startup and Innovation Policy 2018-2023 aimed at
creating at least 5,000 startups, including 10 global high growth companies, by 2023.
Global Investors Summit, being organised by Tamil Nadu government, held in Chennai.
Government launches Technology Mission Centre on Solar Energy & Water Treatment in Chennai
Tamil Nadu was declared the ‘Best State Overall’ for exemplary participation in the Swasth Bharat Yatra, a 100-day
consumer outreach programme of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which was launched to
amplify its Eat Right India initiative.
Telangana
Telangana’s MNJ Institute of Oncology and Regional Cancer Centre in Hyderabad has entered the Guinness Book of
World Records for organising the largest men’s Health Awareness programme on prostate cancer on a single day.
The Telangana government has decided to form a ‘State Tiger Protection Force’ to save the Big Cat population in
the State. The 112-member-armed STPF will be headed by an Assistant Conservator of Forests to protect tiger
population in Amarabad and Kawal Tiger Reserves.
Tripura
The Tripura government has unveiled an official logo for the state’s tea to popularise the beverage and to promote
the potentiality of tourism. The logo features Tripura’s iconic landmark, the “Neermahal” which is the largest and
one-of-its-kind water palace in India.
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Uttarakhand
The government of Uttarakhand has obtained the permission to develop the tulip garden over 50 hectares of forest
land in Pithoragarh district at a cost of Rs 50 crore. It will be the second Tulip garden in the country after the one
located in Srinagar of Jammu and Kashmir.
Uttar Pradesh
The North Central Railway, NCR launched a mobile application to help people navigate through Prayagraj city
during Kumbh Mela started from Jan 15. The ‘Rail Kumbh Seva Mobile App‘ also provided information regarding all
the ‘Mela special’ trains that will be run during the period.
The Uttar Pradesh cabinet approved the proposal of renaming the Mughalsarai tehsil as Pandit Deendayal
Upadhyay, the co-founder and president of Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
The new Campus of the National Museum Institute was inaugurated in Noida by Union HRD Minister Prakash
Javadekar. Four new courses that are Archaeology; Palaeography, Epigraphy and Numismatics; Structural
Conservation and Cultural and Heritage Management, are expected to be commenced.
Finance and Banking News ESAF small finance bank which received the first banking license in Kerala since independence has got RBI approval
to operate as scheduled bank. This makes Thrissur-based ESAF small finance bank (SFB) the fifth scheduled bank
from Kerala.
The government has amalgamated three Regional Rural Banks — Punjab Gramin Bank, Malwa Gramin Bank and
Sutlej Gramin Bank — into a single RRB with effect from January 1.
The Union cabinet has approved the merger of public sector lenders Dena Bank, Vijaya Bank with Bank of Baroda
(BoB).
RBI to inject Rs 37,500 crore through Open Market Operation (OMO) in February
Banks have seen a significant improvement in recovery of stressed assets helped by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy
Code (IBC) and amendments in the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of
Security Interests (SARFAESI) Act, during FY18, according to the RBI data. In the fiscal ended March 2018, banks
recovered Rs 40,400 crore worth of bad loans as against Rs 38,500 crore recovered in FY17.
Public sector banks’ provision coverage ratio which measures the provisioning for bad loans has gone up from less
than 50 per cent in 2015 to 66.85 per cent as of September 2018, reflecting improvement in their financial health.
The Reserve Bank of India has extended the relaxation offered to banks for offering liquidity support to NBFCs up to
March 31.
According to RBI Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India, the number of complaints registered at banking
ombudsman offices have seen a 25% increase in the fiscal year 2018, with majority of these complaints coming
from urban centres owing to increased awareness and poor internal redressal mechanisms of banks.
Iran will be opening a branch of its private bank named Pasargad in Mumbai in three months.
Continuing its efforts to improve the safety of card transactions, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended the use
of tokenisation — hiding of actual card details with a unique token — in the wider payments ecosystem.
Sri Lanka’s Central Bank (Central Bank of Sri Lanka) announced that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has agreed to
provide USD 400 million under a swap arrangement to boost the island nation’s reserves.
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The Union Cabinet approved a $75 billion currency swap deal between India and Japan to assist each other “in
times of difficulty”.
The Union Cabinet approved capital infusion of Rs 6,000 crore in Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) through
recapitalisation bonds to boost the bank’s capacity in export financing.
A consortium of banks led by StateBank of India has agreed to provide finance for Nagpur-Mumbai
‘SamruddhiCorridor’ expressway project. SBI has agreed to lend the highest amount, 8,500 crorerupees.
HDFC Standard Life Insurance is now HDFC Life Insurance
SBI Card and Etihad Guest, the loyalty programme of Etihad Airways, have joined hands to launch a travel specific
Visa credit card for members and Indian travellers. This is the first international co-brand partnership of SBI Card,
the country’s second largest credit card issuer.
According to Financial Stability Report by Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
The asset quality of banks showed improvement with gross non performing assets’ (GNPAs) ratio declining to 10.8
per cent in September 2018 from 11.5 per cent in March 2018.
The balance sheet size of non-bank financial companies (NBFCs) grew by 17.2 per cent to Rs 26 trillion in
September 2018 from Rs 22.2 trillion in September 2017
Business News Leading private insurer SBI Life Insurance said it has signed a ‘bancassurance’ pact, with state-run Allahabad Bank
to offer a financial planning solution to consumers.
Google has acquired a start-up named Superpod that built an app allowing users to post questions and receive
answers from experts quickly — a move that will help boost Google Assistant’s ability to accurately answer users’ questions.
ICICI Bank and Small Business FinCredit India Pvt Ltd (SBFC) will jointly provide loans worth up to Rs 1 crore to the
small and medium enterprises.
HDFC Mutual Fund has piped ICICI Prudential MF to become the country’s largest asset management company
after a gap of over two years.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed Paytm Payments Bank to restart opening new accounts for its
consumers after almost six months of the ban.
Gruh Finance Ltd. is set to merge with Bandhan Bank Ltd. in a share-swap deal.
NABARD announced that it will provide early-stage capital to agriculture and rural enterprises through its venture
capital entity, ‘NABVENTURES Ltd’. NABVENTURES Ltd has been incorporated by NABARD under the Companies
Act.
The GST Council relaxed the tax exemption limit to Rs 40 lakh from the earlier cap of Rs 20 lakh during its 32nd
meeting. The all-powerful panel also decided to extend the composition scheme to traders from informal sector
rendering services or mixed supplies with a turnover up to Rs 50 lakh. The exemption limit for small states has also
been increased to Rs 20 lakh from Rs 10 lakh.
The Delhi-bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved the merger of financially-stressed Tata
Teleservices with Bharti Airtel.
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH India) said its merger deal with Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL)
has been approved by the fair trade regulator CCI.
In an effort to encourage entrepreneurs and small businesses in India, Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp
announced the “Startup India-WhatsApp Grand Challenge”. The top five start-ups will receive a total grant of
$250,000.
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Economy News FDI (Foreign direct investment) grew 18% in FY18 to Rs 28.25 lakh crore: RBI data
India to grow at 7-7.5% over next few years: PM’s Economic Advisory Council
Global economic growth is projected to slow to 2.9 per cent in 2019 from a downwardly revised 3 per cent in 2018
amid rising downside risks, the World Bank has said in its Global Economic Prospects report.
World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects report : India’s growth rate is expected to accelerate to 7.3% during the
current financial year ending March 2019
India to retain status as fastest growing economy in 2019-20: World Bank
The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) World Economic Outlook Update released by chief economist Gita
Gopinath recently said that India’s economy is expected to grow by 7.5 per cent in the 2019-20 fiscal year, keeping
an upward trajectory as the rest of the world slumps. The IMF’s flagship report said that India’s growth was
estimated to be 7.3 per cent for the current fiscal year and forecast to rise to 7.7 per cent in 2020-21. India will
continue to be the world’s fastest growing major economy, the report said.
The Indian economy is expected to grow at 7.4 per cent in the current fiscal and its GDP growth will rise to 7.6 per
cent in 2019-20, before tapering down to 7.4 per cent in 2020-21, according to a UN report.
GDP growth likely to be tad higher at 7.5% in FY20: India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra)
In its ‘Growth Outlook for 2019’, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) stated that the GDP growth will be in the
range of 7.5% in 2019.
Releasing the first advance estimates of National Income for 2018-19, Central Statistics Office (CSO) stated that the
growth in GDP during 2018-19 is estimated at 7.2% as compared to the growth rate of 6.7% in 2017-18
The income earned by an average Indian doubled in 7 years, from Rs 63,642 per year in 2011-12 to Rs 1.25 lakh in
2018-19, the first advance estimates of national income released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.
In a measure of relief for the troubled micro and small industries segment, the RBI permitted a one-time
restructuring of existing loans to MSMEs that are in default but ‘standard’ as on January 1, 2019, without an asset
classification downgrade. The restructuring has to be implemented by March 31, 2020.
The direct tax-to-GDP ratio of 5.98 per cent achieved during 2017-18 fiscal is the best in the last 10 years, accoding
to the finance ministry.
The total value of BHIM-UPI transactions crossed 1 Lakh Crore Rupees mark in December 2018.
More than 33 crore accounts were opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) till last December
and over 80 per cent of these are active accounts, the Rajya Sabha was informed.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a new framework for external commercial borrowings (ECBs) and
rupee-denominated bonds in a bid to improve ease of doing business. As per the new framework, all eligible
borrowers can now raise external commercial borrowings up to $750 million or equivalent per financial year under
the automatic route, replacing the existing sector-wise limits.
Revenue collection under Goods and Services Tax (GST) for January crossed Rs 1 lakh crore. Total collection for the
month of January last year was Rs 89,825 crore, the Finance Ministry said.
The Reserve Bank of India has decided to limit the liability of customers in case of unauthorised electronic payment
transactions in Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) issued by non-banks.
Under new norms on customer liability, the regulator said frauds due to third-party breach where neither the
customer nor the PPI issuer is at fault, there cannot be any liability for the customer, in case the incident in
reported within three days.
If the fraud is reported between three and seven days, customer liability will amount to the transaction value
or ₹10,000, whichever is lower.
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For over seven days, the liability of the customer will be according to the board-approved policy of the PPI
issuer.
After the customer reports the fraud, the PPI issuer has to credit the amount involved in the unauthorised
transaction to the customer’s PPI within 10 days.
Science & Technology According to a top space official, India is planning to launch 32 space missions in 2019. The missions include the
second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 to land on the moon with lander and rover.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Dr K Sivan said that the Union Government has allocated
10,900 crore rupees for the development of 40 satellite launch vehicles in the next four years.
ISRO chief K Sivan said the Rs 10,000 crore worth Gaganyaan mission is a major turning point for the space agency,
while adding that his team is targeting to send the first manned mission to space in December 2021.
The state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has unveiled a Human Space Flight Centre in Bengaluru.
Microsoft India launched a new e-commerce platform ‘re-weave.in’ under project ReWeave to aid handloom
weavers. The e-commerce platform would connect artisans to the buyers directly enabling them to expand to
newer customers and markets.
India has successfully launched its 46th flight of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C44) carrying Kalamsat, a
communication satellite developed by students and India’s military satellite Microsat-R from Satish Dhawan Space
Centre in Sriharikota.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully test fired Long Range Surface to Air
Missile (LR-SAM) from naval warship INS Chennai. The test was conducted off the coast of Odisha.
Defence News The second India-Myanmar bilateral Army exercise ‘IMBEX 2018-19’ commenced at Chandimandir military station
near Chandigarh.
Over a decade after the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes, the Indian Navy has launched “Sea Vigil”, a first of its kind and
biggest coastal two-day defence exercise off the 7,516-km-long Indian coastline, involving all 13 coastal states,
Union Territories and maritime stakeholders including fisherfolk. The two-day exercise will serve as a build-up to
the major theatre-level tri-service exercise, TROPEX (Theatre-level Readiness Operational Exercise) conducted by
the Indian Navy every two years.
India will engage with 12 African nations in a joint military exercise named ‘Indian Africa Field Training Exercise
(IAFTX)-2019’ in Pune in March this year.
Coast Guards of India and Japan kicked off their disaster control, search and rescue exercises off the coast of
Yokohama in Japan. Indian Coast Guard Ship ICGS Shaunak is the main Indian ship taking part in the drills.
Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba will commission the new Naval Air Base ‘INS Kohassa’ at Diglipur in Andaman and
Nicobar Islands.
Sports News
Tournament Winner Runner Up Premier Badminton League title Bengaluru Raptors
Tata Open Maharashtra ATP 250 tournament
(Men Doubles)
Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan
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Senior National Women’s Judo Championship at
Visakhapatnam
Lady head constable Rani of 5th
Indian Reserve Battalion of Himachal
Pradesh Police won Gold
Women’s 10 metre Air Rifle event in Meyton
Cup in Innsbruck (Austria)
Apurvi Chandela
International Tennis Federation’s 25,000-dollar
Women’s tournament
Ankita Raina Held in Singapore
National Ice hockey tournament Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
Indonesia Masters 2019 Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal After her opponent
Carolina Marin pulled out
of the summit clash due
to an injury
New South Wales men’s Amateur Golf
Championship
India’s Kartik Sharma
2018 Confederation of African Football Player of
the Year
Mohamed Salah
2019 Brisbane International title (men) Japan’s Kei Nishikori
Mubadala World Tennis Championship Serbia’s Novak Djokovic
Hopman Cup 2019 (Men) Switzerland’s Roger Federer
Hopman Cup 2019 (Women) Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic
7th Australian Open title (Men) Serbia’s Novak Djokovic
7th Australian Open title (Women) Japan’s Naomi Osaka
Sports Khelo India Youth Games: Hosts Maharashtra finish top with 228 medals - 85 gold, 62 silver and 81 bronze
Hockey India removed Harendra Singh as the coach of the Indian men’s hockey team following their disappointing
run in the recently-concluded Hockey World Cup.
Former boxer Mohammed Ali Qamar named women’s chief coach
Stephen Constantine (from UK) has decided to step down as the head coach of the Indian football team following
team’s exit from 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
India scripted history after winning their first-ever Test series in Australia as the fourth Test at the Sydney Cricket
Ground (SCG) concluded in a draw.
India have retained their number one spot in the updated ICC Test team rankings, released on 14th January 2019.
India’s Ambati Rayudu has been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect after the
part-timer’s action was reported during the first ODI against Australia earlier this month.
India’s Smriti Mandhana was crowned women’s cricketer of the year by International Cricket Council, sport’s world
governing body. She was also named ODI cricketer of the year for accumulating 669 runs off 12 one-day
internationals.
Pacer Mohammed Shami became the fastest Indian to claim 100 wickets in One-day Internationals
India captain Virat Kohli has become the fastest batsman to reach 19,000 international runs, achieving the feat in
his 399th innings during the fourth Test against Australia.
India skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri received the honorary membership of the Sydney Cricket Ground
(SCG) for their contribution to the sport of cricket.
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Virat Kohli has become the first cricketer to win the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year, the ICC
Men’s Test Player of the Year and the ICC ODI Player of the Year
Rohit Danu, Indian Arrows’ 16-year-old footballer, became the youngest goal-scorer in the I-League.
India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has become the highest wicket-taker in international cricket in 2018 after picking
up 9 wickets in the Melbourne Test against Australia.
Indian wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant became the country’s first keeper to complete twenty catches in a Test
series.
Rishabh Pant was named Emerging Player of the Year by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Team India’s Right-hand opener Rohit Sharma becomes the first Indian batsman to smash five hundreds in ODI
cricket in Australia.
M C Mary Kom has attained number one position in the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) latest world
rankings. She became the most successful boxer in world championships’ history when she claimed the 48kg
category top honours in Delhi in November last year.
Budding golfer Kartik Singh has acquired the top position in the under-8 category at the Kids’ Golf World
Championship organised by US kids Golf in Malaysia.
At the Khelo India Youth Games in Pune, ten year old Abhinav Shaw became the youngest gold medallist in
shooting.
Maharashtra topped the medal tally with 37 golds at the Khelo India Youth Games in Pune. It has 111 medals in its
kitty with 37 gold, 31 silver and 43 bronze. Delhi continued to follow second with 30 gold and Haryana too
maintained its third position with 28 gold.
Asian Cup Gold medallist Shakil Amed has added one more feather to his cap when he set up a world record in
indoor rowing by completing 1,00,000 (one lakh) metres in above-40 years category in Kolkata.
12 year old Tamil Nadu boy, D Gukesh became the youngest Grand master in India and second in the world.
Ace Indian female wrestler Vinesh Phogat has become the first Indian athlete to receive a nomination in the
prestigious Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award.
Surpassing master blaster Sachin Tendulkar’s record, Nepal teenage batsman Rohit Paudel has become the
youngest cricketer to score a half-century in international cricket at the age of 16 years and 146 days.
Sports ministry has earmarked Rs. 100 crore for funding the athletes under the (TOPS) Target Olympic Podium
Scheme ahead of 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) welcomed USA Cricket as its 105th Member.
Australian cities Sydney and Brisbane have been announced as the first two host locations for the newest team
event in men’s tennis for the multi-million dollar ATP Cup from 2020.
Egypt will host the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
South African all-rounder Albie Morkel announced retirement from all form of cricket.
South Africa all-rounder Johan Botha announced retirement from all forms of cricket
Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech (from Czech Republic) announced that he would be retiring from professional football
at the end of the current season.
England women’s cricketer Danielle Hazell has announced her retirement from the international cricket.
New Zealand pacer Ewen Chatfield, famously known as the Naenae Express, announced his retirement from cricket
at the age of 68.
Midfielder Ki Sung-yueng announced his retirement from the South Korean national football team.
The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has approved the names of 23 athletes, including shuttlers PV Sindhu and
Kidambi Srikanth, from badminton, cycling, para-athletics and para-shooting fields, to be included in the flagship
Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Paralympics and 2024 Olympics.
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Committee
Head of Committee Purpose UK Sinha (Former Securities
and Exchange Board of
India chairman)
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) constituted an expert committee, which will review the
‘current institutional framework in place to support MSMEs along with examining the
factors affecting timely and adequate availability of finance to them.’ UK Sinha The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has set up a 11-member working
group ranto go into the concept of ‘Group Insolvency’ and suggest a suitable
framework.
Shiv Das Meena The government has constituted a committee to suggest recommendations to
strengthen the real estate law RERA and to remove difficulties in its implementation.
M.P. Bezbaruah Committee constituted by the Union government to look into the implementation of
Clause 6 of the Assam Accord of 1985 that provides for constitutional guaranttes to
protect the state’s indegenous communities.
Sankar De Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has constituted a “Research Advisory”
committee which will assist in formulating policy to undertake research relevant for
development and regulation of capital markets.
Nandan Nilekani (Infosys
co-founder and Aadhaar
architect)
The committee is being constituted by RBI with a view to encourage digitisation of
payments and enhance financial inclusion through digitisation.
Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi to hear the title suit in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid Ayodhya case
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister
Sushil Kumar Modi
will head the seven-member Group of Ministers (GoM) to look into the revenue
shortfall being faced by states following the roll out of Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma Assam Government set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) to recommend measures for
protection of rights of existing tribal communities as well as to decide on the benefits to
be given to new Scheduled Tribes.
Nitin Patel (Deputy Chief
Minister of Gujarat)
The Centre constituted a seven-member Group of Ministers (GoM) to look into Goods
and Services Tax (GST)-related issues of the real estate sector.
Sudhir Mungantiwar
(Maharashtra Finance
Minister)
The government set up an eight-member ministerial panel to look into GST-related
issues of lottery business.
NITI Aayog The government constituted a standing committee headed by NITI Aayog to oversee
the drug pricing regime, a move which could clip the powers of drug pricing regulator,
National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA).
Pravin Kutumbe Insurance regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) set up a
panel to identity domestically systemically important insurers (SII) and put in place an
enhanced regulatory framework for them. SIIs are perceived as insurers that are ‘too
big to fail’.
Rankings
Index India’s Rank Other Information Henley Passport Index 79th 1st - Japan
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Global Democracy Index 42nd 1st - Norway. Index compiled by UK’s
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)
Global Talent Competitive Index 80th 1st - Switzerland. Index compiled by
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Bloomberg 2019 Innovative
Index
54th (among the world’s most
innovative countries)
1st – South Korea
The 2019 Edelman Trust
Barometer report
India was at the second place in
the informed public category
and third place in the general
population category (among the
most trusted nations globally
when it comes to government,
business, NGOs)
1st - China in both categories
GDPR Readiness Index 6th European Union’s General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Cisco
Global Corruption Index 78th 1st – Denmark. Index by Transparency
International
‘Future of Consumption in Fast-Growth Consumer Market – India’ report by World Economic Forum said that India
is set to become the world’s third largest consumer market behind only USA and China by 2030.
India is likely to surpass the United Kingdom in the world’s largest economy rankings in 2019, to become world’s
fifth largest economy, according to a report by global consultancy firm PwC.
India 4th most attractive investment market for global CEOs: PwC survey
India has replaced Japan as world’s second largest steel producing country, while China is the largest
producer of crude steel accounting for more than 51 per cent of production, according to World Steel
Association.
Rankings (Persons,Cities,Organisations and Others)
Andhra Pradesh emerged on top of Asia Competitiveness Institute (ACI) (National University of Singapore),
Singapore’s 2018 Ease of Doing Business (EDB) Index ABC rankings for economies of 21 states of India, while
Maharashtra and Delhi came in second and third place, respectively.
Bengaluru is the world’s most dynamic city among 131 major established and emerging business hubs globally,
followed by Hyderabad, according to the sixth City Momentum Index published by JLL.
Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), India’s premier container port, has got listed among the top 30 container ports
globally. JNPT notched up five spots to be 28th on the list compared to its previous ranking, according to the latest
Lloyds report.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced that it has been accredited as the fastest growing brand in the IT
services sector over the past decade, according to report released by World Economic Forum (WEF).
India’s Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been ranked third most-valued IT services brand globally in 2018-19,
after Accenture and IBM, according to a report by Brand Finance. Valued at USD 26.3 billion, Accenture took the
title of the world’s most-valued IT services brand.
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Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) of the Indian School of Business (ISB) has been ranked at 24
worldwide in the Financial Times Global MBA Rankings 2019. ISB is ranked number one in India and is the only B-
school to figure in the top 25.
Dubai International Airport said it has retained its position as the world’s busiest airport for the fifth consecutive
year in a row in 2018 with Indian travellers emerging as the largest source of traffic for the airport which registered
a record footfall of over 89 million.
Singapore has been rated as the most liveable location for Asian expatriates in 2019 for the 14th consecutive year,
according to a survey by ECA International.
Deadlines/ Important Dates
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said that food businesses need to comply with new packaging
regulations that bar use of recycled plastics and newspapers to wrap food articles by July 1.
The Centre has taken a decision to make all new cars meet Euro 6 standards mandatory for initial launch from April
1, 2020, said Union Minister for Transport Nitin Gadkari addressing Symposium of International Automotive
Technology 2019 in Pune. Notably, the aim of Euro 6 is to reduce levels of exhaust emissions in petrol and diesel
cars, including carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NOx), hydrocarbons (THC and NMHC) and particulate matter
(PM).
Food businesses need to comply with new packaging regulations that bar use of recycled plastics and newspapers
to wrap food articles by July 1. The new regulations prohibit packaging material made of recycled plastics including
carry bags for packaging, storing, carrying or dispensing articles of food.
Food regulator FSSAI issued a notification seeking a ban on the use of pins in tea bags by the food business
operators (FBOs) by June 30. Last year, it had decided to ban the stapler pins in tea bags from January 2019 as it
poses potential hazard to consumers since any loose staple pin consumed inadvertently with tea may cause a
serious health hazard.
Books
Book Author Other Info Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors
and Where We Came From
Tony Joseph
Assalamalaikum Watan Sanjay Khan
A Crusade against corruption Manohar Manoj Manoj has written this book after massive research
and deep observations on the subject during the last
15 years and claimed that this is a kind of
“Encyclopedic Snapshots on Corruption in India”.
We Are Displaced: My Journey and
Stories from Refugee Girls Around the
World
Nobel Peace
Prize winner and
Pakistani activist
Malala Yousafzai
A new anthology of poems titled ‘New Brazilian Poems’, translated and edited by Indian poet-diplomat Abhay Kumar
was launched at the National Association of Writers of Brazil. The event was attended by a large number of poets,
diplomats and intellectual community of Brazil.
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Obituaries
Name Profession Other Info Kader Khan Veteran actor-writer
C H Loknath Kannada actor
Lenin Rajendran Malayalam film director
Ramakant Achrekar Cricket coach
Dibyendu Palit Bengali litterateur He was Sahitya Akademi awardee.
Atin Bandyopadhyay Bengali writer Sahitya Akademi awardee
Krishna Sobti Hindi fiction writer and essayist She had won the Sahitya Akademi
award in 1980 for her novel
“Zindaginama“
Mohammed Zulfiqar Former India footballer
Rajesh Ghodge Former Ranji Trophy cricketer of
Goa
Raghbir Singh Bhola Former Indian Hockey Player
Meera Sanyal Politician
Shivajirao Deshmuk Politician
George Fernandes Politician Former Defence Minister
Biraj Sarma Assam Accord signatory
Rajendra Prabhu Journalist
Jagjit Chopra Neurologist Padma Bhushan winning neurologist
Shivakumara Swami Seer and practitioner of the
Lingayat-Veerashaiva faith of
Lingayatism
Larry Roberts Engineer from USA He was the program manager for
The Advanced Research Projects
Agency Network (ARPAnet)
(precursor to the internet)
Norman Gimbel Grammy and Oscar Winning Lyricist
from USA
Sir Michael Atiyah a British mathematician
Mary Oliver American Poet
Tony Mendez American reporter the real CIA spy behind Oscar-
winning film Argo
Russell Baker Writer (American journalist)
Important Days
Date Day Extra Info 1 January Defence Research and
Development Organisation,
DRDO day
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4 January World Braille Day
9 January Bharatiya Pravasi Day or Non
Resident Day
10 January World Hindi Day
12 January National Youth Day
14 January Armed Forces Veterans Day
15 January Indian Army Day
24 January National Girl Child Day Theme 2019: Empowering Girls for a Brighter
Tomorrow
24 January International Day of Education
25 January National Voters Day Theme 2019: No voter to be left behind
26 January Republic Day
26 January International Customs Day
27 January International Holocaust
Remembrance Day
Theme 2019: Holocaust Remembrance:
Demand and Defend Your Human Rights
27 January 2019 World Leprosy Day Observed on the last Sunday in January.
28 January Data Privacy Day
30 January National Martyr’s Day or
Sarvodaya Day
Observed to mark the death anniversary of
our father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi.
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