Current Affairs January – 2017 Current Affairs January 2017 This is a guide to provide you a precise summary and big collection of Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) covering national and international current affairs for the month of January 2017. This guide helps you in preparation for Indian competitive examinations like Bank PO, Banking, Railway, IAS, PCS, UPSC, CAT, GATE, CDS, NDA, MCA, MBA, Engineering, IBPS, Clerical Grade, Officer Grade etc. Audience Aspirants who are preparing for different competitive exams like Bank PO, Banking, Railway, IAS, PCS, UPSC, CAT, GATE, CDS, NDA, MCA, MBA, Engineering, IBPS, Clerical Grade, Officer Grade etc. Even though you are not preparing for any exams but are willing to have news encapsulated in a roll which you can walk through within 30 minutes, then we have put all the major points for the whole month in a precise and interesting way. Copyright and Disclaimer Copyright 2017 by Tutorials Point (I) Pvt. Ltd. All the content and graphics published in this e-book are the property of Tutorials Point (I) Pvt. Ltd. The user of this e-book is prohibited to reuse, retain, copy, distribute or republish any contents or a part of contents of this e-book in any manner without written consent of the publisher. We strive to update the contents of our website and tutorials as timely and as precisely as possible, however, the contents may contain inaccuracies or errors. Tutorials Point (I) Pvt. Ltd. provides no guarantee regarding the accuracy, timeliness or completeness of our website or its contents including this tutorial. If you discover any errors on our website or in this tutorial, please notify us at [email protected] 1 Current Affairs January – 2017 Table of Contents Current Affairs January 2017 ........................................................................................................................... 1 Audience.......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Copyright and Disclaimer ................................................................................................................................. 1 Table of Contents............................................................................................................................................. 2 APPOINTMENTS .......................................................................................................................... 4 AWARDS ..................................................................................................................................... 9 BOOKS & AUTHORS ................................................................................................................... 17 COMMITTEES ............................................................................................................................ 19 DEATHS ..................................................................................................................................... 22 DEFENSE ................................................................................................................................... 29 ECONOMIC ............................................................................................................................... 33 ENVIRONMENT ......................................................................................................................... 41 FINANCE.................................................................................................................................... 45 IMPORTANT DAYS ..................................................................................................................... 57 INTERNATIONAL ........................................................................................................................ 60 MISCELLANEOUS ....................................................................................................................... 75 NATIONAL ................................................................................................................................. 77 PERSONS IN NEWS .................................................................................................................. 106 PLACES IN NEWS ..................................................................................................................... 108 2 Current Affairs January – 2017 REGIONAL ............................................................................................................................... 113 REPORTS ................................................................................................................................. 130 RESIGNATIONS & RETIREMENTS ............................................................................................. 134 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY ........................................................................................................ 137 SPORTS ................................................................................................................................... 141 3 APPOINTMENTSCurrent Affairs January – 2017 1. David R Syiemlieh appointed as the new UPSC chairman Mr. David R Syiemlieh has been appointed as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) with effect from January 4, 2017 till further Order or till completion of his term as member on 21.01.2018, whichever is earlier. Prior to this appointment, he was functioning as a UPSC member from June 25, 2012. He will take over from Alka Sirohi, a former IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre. 2. Justice JS Khehar appointed as the 44th Chief Justice of India Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar was sworn-in as the 44th Chief Justice of India replacing Justice TS Thakur whose tenure ended recently. Justice Khehar's tenure will last till the 27th of August 2017. Justice Khehar had led the five-judge constitution bench in the Supreme Court which struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act for appointment of judges. It will be Chief Justice Khehar’s duty to resolve the differences of opinions about the draft memorandum of procedure for judicial appointments and transfers with the Government. 3. Surekha Marandi appointed as the Executive Director by RBI The Reserve Bank of India appointed Surekha Marandi as its Executive Director (ED) replacing U S Paliwal, who retired recently. Surekha Marandi to take responsibilities of departments such as Consumer Education and Protection Department, Financial Inclusion and Development Department, and Secretary's Department. Prior to this appointment, Surekha worked as Principal Chief General Manager and Chief Vigilance Officer in the Reserve Bank. She has working experience on the Boards of United Bank and Bank of Baroda. 4 Current Affairs January – 2017 4. S Padmanabhan Appointed as the Chairman of Tata Power Tata Power has appointed Mr. S. Padmanabhan as their Additional Director, effective from December 16, 2016. Mr. Padmanabhan is currently the Executive Chairman, Tata Business Excellence Group (TBExG) and was recently given the additional responsibility as Head of Group HR for Tata Sons Limited. he joined Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) in 1982. He was also the Executive Director-Operations of Tata Power from 6th February 2008 to 30th June 2014. 5. Anil Jalali of IBM appointed as the HR Head of Capgemini for India Operations Capgemini has appointed Anil Jalali as their Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) for its India operations, effective January 1st 2017. Prior to joining Capgemini, Anil Jalali was the Executive Director, HR at IBN India. Anil will replace BL Narayan, Vice-President and the former HR Head. BL Narayan joined the Business Services Strategic Business Unit as Head of Solutions & Sales Support. Capgemini is a consulting, technology and outsourcing services company. 6. IBM India appointed Karan Bajwa as their Managing Director IBM has appointed Karan Bajwa as their Managing Director of IBM India Pvt. Ltd, succeeding Vanitha Narayanan who is appointed as the Chairman of IBM India Pvt. Ltd. Karan will be responsible for all strategic and operational matters related to IBM's sales, marketing, services and delivery operations in the India/SA region. Karan joined IBM in 2016 as Executive for Strategy and Transformation in the Asia Pacific region. Prior to this he was the Managing Director, Microsoft India. 5 Current Affairs January – 2017 7. Donald Trump named Dan Coats as the new National Intelligence Director US President-elect Donald Trump has named Dan Coats as his National Intelligence Director. The Indiana ex-senator formerly served on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Mr. Coats will need the Senate to confirm his appointment, replacing James Clapper. The Director of National Intelligence is the President's Principal Adviser on matters of National Intelligence, overseeing the National Intelligence Program. It also oversees the US Intelligence Community. Mr Coats had earlier served in the US Army in the 1960s and joined the Senate in 1998. 8. SBI Pension Funds appointed Kumar Sharadindu as their MD & CEO Mr. Kumar Sharadindu has been appointed as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SBI Pension Funds. Prior to this appointment, Sharadindu was a General Manager at SBI Corporate Centre, Mumbai, heading the private equity business. SBI Pension Funds, a subsidiary of State Bank of India (SBI), is one of the three pension fund managers appointed