Current Affairs Capsule – January 2017

Business

• Small Industries Development Bank of (SIDBI) announced a tie up with LIC for augmenting capital support to enterprises in the country • was named the new chairman of , first non-Parsi to head the group • Vedanta Group firm Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) got environment clearance for its Rs 1,200 crore Zawar Mines expansion project in Rajasthan • Reliance Power Ltd appointed Suresh Nagarajan as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) • Wipro Limited announced retirement of executive vice chairman TK Kurien • Bharti AXA General Insurance appointed Sanjeev Srinivasan as CEO and Managing Director • The Delhi International Airport (Private) Limited (DIAL) won the ‘Golden Peacock Award for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the transportation sector under the Aviation category for the year 2016 • National Stock Exchange (NSE) launched its international exchange in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) • Cisco agreed to buy AppDynamics for $3.7 billion, a day before its IPO • Former MRF director and rubber industry doyen KM Philip passed away • Kalyan Krishnamurthy was named the new chief executive officer of Flipkart • Punjab National Bank (PNB) launched a Contactless Credit Card which has been named PNB Wave N Pay • launched ‘Fly for Sure’ scheme which allows passengers can pay ₹2,000 and board any other Air India flight on the same sector • Tata Consultancy Services announced Rajesh Gopinathan as the new CEO and NG Subramaniam as president and COO of the company

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Entertainment

• Dangal won the Best Film Award at the 62nd Filmfare Awards • Moonlight won the Best Picture award at the 74th Golden Globe Awards • Aamir Khan won the Best Actor (Male) Award for his role of wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat in 'Dangal' at the 62nd Filmfare Awards 2017 • La La Land won record seven Golden Globes at the 74th Golden Globe Awards • Amitabh Bachchan was honored by the US Embassy to acknowledge his immense contribution to the India-US ties on tuberculosis • Sonam Kapoor won the Filmfare Critics' Award for Best Actor (Female) for Neerja • Veteran actor Om Puri died at his residence after a massive heart attack • Neerja was awarded the Best Movie Critics' awards at the 62nd Filmfare Awards • Sonam Kapoor was awarded Best Actress Critics' awards at the 62nd Filmfare Awards • Manoj Bajpayee (Aligarh) and Shahid Kapoor (Udta Punjab) were awarded Best Actor Critics' awards at the 62nd Filmfare Awards • Indian-American comedian Aziz Ansari became the host of TV show Saturday Night Live, making history as its first host of South Asian descent

Government/Legal

• Union power minister Piyush Goyal launched the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) Web Portal & Mobile App • The President of India approved the Promulgation of the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Ordinance, 2016 • The Government of India approved the strategic disinvestment of 26% equity shares in Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) • Government launched a toll-free helpline number “14444” to educate people and provide support related to digital payments • India signed 14 agreements with UAE to boost bilateral relations

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• Gujarat government launched India's first student startup and innovation policy • Prof. David R. Syiemlieh took the Oath of Office and Secrecy as Chairman, Union Public Service Commission • Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu launched ‘Arogya Raksha’, a health insurance scheme • Arunachal Pradesh launched 'Dulari Kanya', a special scheme to check infant mortality in the state • Government of India announced Pan-India expansion of Maternity Benefit Programme (MBP) to benefit pregnant and lactating mothers across the country • Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched the “Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PKVY)” during the 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD 2017) celebration • The state government of Madhya Pradesh launched Digital Dakiya Scheme to promote cashless transactions • Cabinet approved signing of MoU between India and Portugal in the field of agriculture and allied sectors • Assam chief minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, launched e-wallet ‘Tokapoisa.in’ and an e- payment portal for enabling cashless economy • The government appointed Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Kumar Verma as Director of CBI • The Government started a survey, Swachh Survekshan to rank 500 cities across the country on cleanliness

India

• Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh declared Dharamsala as the second capital of the state • Google Doodle honored social reformer Savitribai Phule on her 186th birthday anniversary

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• Havildar Hangpan Dada, who laid down his life after single-handedly killing three terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, was posthumously awarded Ashok Chakra • Renowned Urdu poet and lyricist Naqsh Lyallpuri passed away • Government launched MumbaiWifi: India's largest public Wi-Fi initiative • India's first transgender school 'Sahaj International' was opened in Kochi • India successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable strategic ballistic missile Agni-IV from a test range off Odisha coast • The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the 28th Dantan Gramin Mela 2017 at Dantan, Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal • Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the Nobel Prize Series Exhibition in Gandhinagar, Gujarat • The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, attended the 350th birth anniversary celebrations of Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji Maharaj in Patna • In several locations across the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, protest against the Supreme Court's order to ban jallikattu took place • The Vice President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari inaugurated a two-day international conference titled “Yoga for body and beyond” in New Delhi • The 120th birth anniversary of Subhash Chandra Bose was observed in India on the 23rd of January • Minister for Cooperation and Sugar, H S Mahadev Prasad (59) was passed away in Chikkamagaluru • Vijay Bhatkar was appointed as the chancellor of Nalanda University • General Bipin Rawat took over as the 27th Chief of the Army Staff • National Youth Day was observed on 12 January on the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda • The 21st National Youth Festival (NYF) was organized at Rohtak on the theme 'Youth for Digital India' • National girl child day was celebrated on 24th of January as a national observance day for the girl child

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• The Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) made it mandatory for its about 50 lakh pensioners to provide Aadhaar • 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was held during 7-9 January 2017 at Bengaluru • European Union lifted 3-year ban on import of vegetables from India • Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin was elected as the working president of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party • Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched the first solar-powered boat 'Aaditya' at Vaikom • Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 104th Indian Science Congress in Andhra Pradesh • Tamil Nadu Tourism Department launched a mobile app ‘pinakin’ with information on tourism in Tamil Nadu with audio facilities • Lieutenant General Sarath Chand was appointed as the new Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) of the Indian Army • Akhilesh Yadav became the new national president of Samajwadi Party • Army Day was celebrated on 15 January in India, in recognition of Lieutenant General K. M. Cariappa's taking over as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army • The Reserve Bank of India appointed Surekha Marandi as its Executive Director (ED) in place of U S Paliwal • Shri Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar was sworn in as the 44th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India • Meghalaya Governor V. Shanmuganathan resigned following allegations of sexual harassment charges • Three north-eastern States of Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya organized numerous programmes and events to celebrate their Foundation Days

International

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• President Barack Obama ended “wet foot, dry foot” immigration policy that allowed Cubans to stay and become a legal resident in the US • India and Kazakhstan sign Protocol to amend the Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) • Sir Tim Barrow was appointed as Britain's EU ambassador • The former President of Germany, Roman Herzog, who pioneered remembrance of the Holocaust, passed away • Daniel Ortega was re-elected as President of Nicaragua • US President Barack Obama awarded Vice President Joe Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor • US President Barack Obama chose four Indian-American (Pankaj Lal, Kaushik Chowdhury, Manish Arora, Aradhna Tripati) scientists for the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) • Nana Akufo-Addo was sworn in as Ghana's new president after beating John Mahama • Eminent British economist Tony Atkinson passed away • Norway became the first country to cease FM radio broadcasting using analogue frequencies • Celebrated war reporter Clare Hollingworth who was the first to report the outbreak of the second world war passed away • The former president of Portugal, Mario Soares, died at the age of 92 • Sheikh Rafik Mohammed, a Saudi Arabia-based businessman of Indian origin, was appointed a major general by the defence minister of Kyrgyzstan • Bipartisan H1B, L1 visa reform Bill was introduced in the US Congress • Nikki Haley was confirmed as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations • Former Miss Universe and actress Sushmita Sen was on the panel of the 65th edition of Miss Universe pageant • Denmark was declared as the least corrupt country by the Berlin-based Transparency International (TI). India was at rank 79 on the Corruption Perception Index

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• Italian conservative Antonio Tajani was elected as the new president of the European Parliament • The UK became the first country to recognize Parkour as an official sport • World Braille Day was celebrated across the world on 4 January to mark the birth anniversary of Louis Braille, inventor of Braille • Mike Pompeo was sworn in as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency • Pravind Kumar Jugnauth was sworn in as Prime Minister of Mauritius • Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres was sworn in as Secretary-General of the United Nations • Iran's former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani died at the age of 82 • Trump signed executive order to formally withdraw the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal • Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States • The United Nations designated 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development • Adama Barrow, a member of the United Democratic Party (UDP), was sworn-in as the 3rd President of Gambia • Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed to give the Philippines $8.66 billion (1 trillion yen) in aid

Literature

• Kiran Doshi, a retired diplomat and educationist from Gujarat, won The Hindu Prize 2016 for his third major work of fiction, Jinnah Often Came to Our House • The three-day long Brahmaputra Literary festival was held in Guwahati • Jacob Polley won the 2016 TS Eliot Prize for poetry • S M Khan released his debut book titled "People's President: Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam" • Two new Hindi writers Shraddha and Ghyansham Kumar Devansh were chosen for Bharatiya Jnanpith Navlekhan Award

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Science/Technology

• INS Vikramaditya became India’s first warship to have ATM onboard • The 2017 Crafoord Prize was awarded to Shimon Sakaguchi, Fred Ramsdell, and Alexander Rudensky for their fundamental discoveries in immune regulation • Professor C.V. Vishveshwara who did pioneering work on black holes, passed away. • Japan launched Kirameki-2 communications satellite • The guided Pinaka rocket was successfully test-fired for the second time from launch complex-III of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) launch pad at Chandipur • INS Khanderi, second of the Scorpene class submarine, was launched in at the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) • Apollo Astronaut Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the Moon, passed away • China successfully sent three satellites into space in its first commercial mission using an updated version of the low-cost Kuaizhou-1A rocket • Pakistan conducted the first test of the submarine-launched Babur cruise missile • China successfully set its second Tongxin Jishu Shiyan Weixing (TJSW) spacecraft in motion from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center • India became an associate member of the European Organization for Nuclear Research • Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced two initiatives 'Digital Unlocked' and 'My Business Website' for small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India • NASA announced the first African-American space station crew member Jeanette Epps who will be on her first spaceflight in 2018 as a flight engineer • Pakistan successfully tested a new nuclear capable surface-to-surface missile, The Ababeel missile

Sports

• Rohan Bopanna and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan won the doubles final at Chennai Open 2017

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• Chinnaswamy stadium became the first Cricket stadium in the world to install SubAir system • The All India Football Federation President Praful Patel was appointed a member of the FIFA Finance Committee (2017-2021) • Sania Mirza with American Bethanie Mattek-Sands won the Brisbane International women's doubles title • Gujarat beat Mumbai to win their first Ranji Trophy title • Farrukh Amonatov of Tajikistan won the 15th edition of Delhi International Open chess tournament 2017 • Saina Nehwal won the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold badminton title after beating Pornpawee Chochuwong 22-20, 22-20 in the final • Rafael Nadal won the fourth Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi • Punjab Royals edged out Haryana Hammers 5-4 in the final of the second edition of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) • Kedar Jadhav was awarded the Man of the Series award in the India-England ODI series • Both the President and the Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India – Anurag Thakur and Ajay Shirke – were removed from their respective positions by the Supreme Court of India • Kush Bhagat won all three gold medals on offer in the 1st Western Asia Youth Chess Championship in UAE • Usain Bolt lost the title of ‘triple-triple’ Olympic champion when a Jamaican 4 x 100 metres team-mate, Nesta Carter, retrospectively tested positive for a banned substance • Lionel Messi was voted as the best playmaker in the world for 2016 by International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) • The Sports Ministry constituted a nine-member committee to make recommendations for bringing out a comprehensive National Sports Development Code across sports disciplines

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• Veteran Pakistan batsman Younis Khan became the first player in Test cricket to score centuries in 11 countries • Ravaged by injuries, Somdev Devvarman announced his retirement from professional tennis • Roberto Bautista Agut beat Daniil Madvedev to win the men's singles title at Chennai Open 2017 • Cristiano Ronaldo received the FIFA Men's Player 2016 award at the gala ceremony held at the TPC studios in Zurich (Switzerland) • Serena Williams beat Venus Williams to win the Australian Open 2017 • Hashim Amla became the eighth batsman ever to score a hundred in his 100th Test • Former Australian cricketer Arthur Morris was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame • Novak Djokovic beat Andy Murray to win the Qatar Open

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