January 2015 Current Affairs INTERNATIONAL Palestinians To Join International Criminal Court Palestine will join the International Criminal Court on 1 April 2015, announced UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on 6 January .The Palestinians will be able to sue Israel for war crimes, a move the Israeli administration has consistently opposed for decades.Along with the ICC application, the UN chief approved other sets of documents, enabling Palestine to join 16 international agreements, conventions and treaties. Maithripala Sirisena Elected As Sri Lanka President Pallewatte Gamaralalage Maithripala Yapa Sirisena (Maithiripala Sirisena) was elected as new President of Srilanka. Mithripala Sirisena, Health Minister in Rajapaksa government, won the 2015 Presidential Elections of Sri Lanka. The Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya announced the results on 9 January 2015. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa from United People‘s Freedom Alliance got 47.6 percent and Opposition candidate Maithripala Samisen from United National Party got 51.3 percent of the votes polled in the Presidential elections held on 8 January 2015. Alexis Tsipras Elected As New Greece Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, leader of the Syriza anti-austerity party, was elected as the new Prime Minister of Greece. In Greece, anti-austerity Syriza party has won general election.In this election Syriza party has won about half the seats in Parliament.Alexis Tsipras, leader of the Syriza anti-austerity party, was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Greece 26 January 2015. Sergio Mattarella Elected As New President of Italy Italy‘s parliament has elected constitutional court judge Sergio Mattarella as the country‘s President on 31 January.He will Italy‘s 12th president and succeed Giorgio Napolitano who had resigned earlier in January 2015 citing reason of poor health before his 2020 expiry term. INDIA & WORLD India To Host 2nd International Indian Ocean Expedition India will be hosting the 2nd International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE) in December 2015, almost 50 years after it had hosted its first edition, during which the participating nations will also study the changes that have taken place in the Indian Ocean since the 1960s.The second IIOE will have at least 20 counties participating in it. It will start in early December 2015 and will continue for next five years.The IIOE-2 is a developing initiative under UNESCO‘s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), which aims at providing an exciting platform for knowledge transfer and capacity building, besides raising global awareness about the importance of the Indian Ocean. India To Provide USD 60 million Line of Credit To Guyana For Road Projects India will provide 60 million dollars Line of Credit (LoC) to Guyana for its road infrastructure projects and passenger ferry service. The decision of granting the LoC was made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the bilateral talks with Guyana President Donald R. Ramotar on the sidelines of the 13th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on 8 January 2015. European Union Lifts Ban On Import Of Indian Mangoes The European Union (EU) on 20 January decided to lift a ban on the import of mangoes from India after India made improvements in plant health controls and certification systems.The EU had imposed a temporary ban on Indian mangoes that came into effect from 1 May 2014. The ban was to remain effective until December 2015 and was imposed after the authorities had found consignments infested with fruit flies that they feared could damage European salad crops. On 20 January 2015 a European Commission committee voted to lift the ban. India – US to Set Up Task Force To Develop Three Smart Cities India and the US on 27 January decided to set up a task force for jointly developing Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh), Ajmer (Rajasthan) and Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) as Smart Cities with a mandate of preparing the roadmap within three months. The decision was taken at a meeting between Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and visiting Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, two days after the two countries signed pacts under which the three cities will be developed as Smart Cities with the help of United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). NATIONAL Union Govt Established NITI Aayog To Replace Planning Commission The Union Government on 1 January established NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog , as replacement for the Planning Commission. This comes after extensive consultation across the spectrum of stakeholders, including state governments, domain experts and relevant institutions. NITI Aayog will seek to provide a critical directional and strategic input into the development process. NITI Aayog that replaced the 65 year old Planning Commission will be headed by Prime Minister. It will have a governing council comprising Chief Ministers of all the states and Lt. Governors of Union Territories. Apart from this, the NITI Aayog will also have a Vice-Chairperson and a Chief Executive Officer (fixed tenure, in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India), who will be appointed by the Prime Minister. PM Narendra Modi Releases Coin In Honour Of Jamsetji Tata Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 6 January released a commemorative coin in honour of Jamsetji Tata, popularly known as father of modern Indian industry, on his 175th birth anniversary in New Delhi.Jamsetji is the first industrialist felicitated by the Indian government in such a manner.He founded Tata Group, India‘s largest business conglomerate. He was born on March 3, 1839 in Navsari, a small town in south Gujarat.Jamsetji Tata founded the Tata group in 1868. PM Narendra Modi Launched Sukanya Samridhi Yojana Under BBBP campaign Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 22 January launched a small deposit scheme Sukanya Samridhi Yojana for girl child under the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (Save the Daughter, Teach the Daughter) campaign. The scheme was launched at Painpat in Haryana, a state with one of the poorest sex ratio in the country . The scheme will ensure equitable share to a girl child in resources and savings of a family in which she is generally discriminated against a male child. Sukanya Samridhi Yojana will enable parents to open bank accounts of girls who are under 10 years of age.Sukanya Samridhi Account will fetch an interest rate of 9.1 percent and provide income tax rebate. Union Government Released Commemorative Postage Stamps On Swachh Bharat Mission Union Government has released set of three Commemorative Postage Stamps on Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Mission). This set of 3 stamps was released by Union Ministry for Communications & Information Technology and issued by Department of Posts. These stamps were released to in order to achieve the vision of Clean and Healthy India. Department of Posts has selected the design for the stamps through a competition among the children on the theme of Swachh Bharat Mission. Swachh Bharat Mission was launched by the Prime Minister on the 2nd October, 2014 on the occasion of Birth Anniversary of Father of the Nation- Mahatma Gandhi. This mission seeks to achieve Clean India and aims to provide access to toilets to all households in the country. STATES PM Narendra Modi Launched Scheme For LED bulb Distribution In Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 5 January launched a scheme for distribution of LED bulbs under the Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme in Delhi and a National Programme for LED-based Home and Street Lighting. Under the scheme, consumers in Delhi would be able to request for LED bulbs under the Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme through a new Website launched by Narendra Modi. Presidential Rule Imposed In Jammu and Kashmir President‘s rule was imposed on Jammu and Kashmir on 9 January.President Pranab Mukherjee approved the recommendation of the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir N N Vohra. Governor N N Vohra had recommended for President Rule in light of deadlock over the formation of the new government continued in Jammu and Kashmir. Dima Hasao District Of Assam Got Its First Broad Gauge Railway Track Dima Hasao District of Assam got its first broad gauge railway track on 12 January. A goods train with 43 wagons reached the main railway station of the Dima Hasao district using this broad gauge track.The train in its first ever journey covered 98 km from Patharkhula station to New-Haflong station while crossing 9 tunnels, 15 stations, 15 major bridges and 135 minor bridges.The passenger trains will also be commissioned on the route from Pathakhula to New-Haflong on the track that is extended up to Silchar after the approval of Railway Safety Commission. UN Chief Inaugurates Gujarat’s Second Canal-Top 10-MW Solar Power Project United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 11 January inaugurated Gujarat‘s second canal-top 10-MW solar power project.It is located on 5.5 km stretch of Vadodara branch of Sardar Sarovar project canal. The plant is constructed by the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited and is the first of its kind in the country.It is implemented by Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL). CONFERENCES 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Held In Gandhinagar The 13th edition of the ‗Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) was held on 7 – 9 January 2015 at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.The theme of 2015 PBD was Bharat ko jano and Bharat ko mano.The chief guest of the 13th PBD was Guyana President Donald Ramotar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 January inaugurated a state-of- the-art museum Dandi Kutir opposite Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.Narendra Modi also released Commemorative Postage Stamps to mark 100 Years of Mahatma Gandhi‘s Return from South Africa to India. The coins are of denomination of 100 rupees and 10 rupees, while the stamps are of value of 25 rupees and 5 rupees.