Current Affairs Jan 2016 - Miscellaneous


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  • The National Aluminum Company (NALCO) announced to develop and promote Bhubaneswar as a floral hub and make the city green.

  • Madhya Pradesh increased the upper age limit for recruitment in government services.

  • The conference of the Foreign Ministers of the Arab League Foreign Ministers was held in Cairo, Egypt.

  • 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas was inaugurated in New Delhi.

  • 11th World Hindi Day was observed on 10th January 2016

  • Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won the WTA Brisbane Tennis trophy by defeating German Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic in the finals.

  • Stanislas Wawrinka won the Chennai Open title by defeating Borna Coric of Croatia.

  • DRDO successfully test fired the new Penetration-Cum Blast (PCB) and Thermobaric (TB) Ammunition tank, which was specially designed for Arjun Main Battle Tank (MBT).

  • MARU BHARAT SARU BHARAT authored by - Jain Acharya Ratnasundersuriswarji Maharaj released by PM Narendra Modi.

  • Former New Zealand Captain, Stephen Fleming was appointed as the Chief Coach of the new Pune franchise of the Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament 2016.

  • Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on 13th January 2016 laid foundation stones of 342 km-long seven National Highway projects worth 3000 crore rupees in Simga tehsil in Raipur.

  • The Ardh Kumbh mela was formally inaugurated on 13th January 2016 Haridwar

  • President Pranab Mukherjee gave assent to the Sugar Cess (Amendment) Bill, 2015, raising the ceiling of the impost from 25 rupees to 200 rupees per quintal.

  • South Korean President Park Geun-hye called upon the international community to impose harshest possible sanctions on North Korea over its latest nuclear test.

  • To reduce the premium burden on farmers and ensure early settlement of claim for the full sum insured, the Union Cabinet approved the proposal of Crop Insurance Scheme.

  • Activist Subhashini Vasanth honoured with Neerja Bhanot Award.

  • Union Government announced National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) to make Visakhapatnam as a pharmaceutical hub.

  • Edward Monser, President of Emerson, and Punit Renjen, CEO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (Deloitte Global) were appointed as the Vice Chairs of U.S.-India Business Council.

  • Vishakhapatnam hosted the 22nd edition of Confederate of Indian Industry (CII) Partnership Summit-cum-Sunrise Andhra Pradesh Investment Summit.

  • Odisha Government declared to bring Plus II education under the Mass Education department from existing Higher Education department from next academic year.

  • Bihar government decided to impose 13.5% tax on luxury items to garner additional revenue for carrying development work.

  • Border Security Force launched Operation Cold to contain infiltration from Pakistan along the international border in Rajasthan.

  • Kerala was declared as the first state in the country to have achieved 100 percent primary education.

  • Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off a new train service between Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Kazipet named Anandwan Express.

  • The Jharkhand Government on 13th January 2016 decided to set up fast track courts for speedy trial of cases pertaining to witchcraft incidents in five districts: Ranchi, Chaibasa, Khunti, Palamau and Simdega.

  • On 13th January 2016, Telangana government issued a ban order on the sale and use of Chinese manja in order to prevent harm to birds and others on the eve of Makar Sankranti or Pongal.

  • Madhya Pradesh won the Union Government’s prestigious Krishi Karman Award for the 4th Consecutive year on 13th January 2016.

  • According to the scientists in Germany, the next ice age may have been delayed by over 50 thousand years because of the greenhouse gases put in the atmosphere by humans.

  • Union Cabinet approved to have a membership of Ocean Energy Systems so that it can have access to and develop technologies related to energy from ocean renewable resources.

  • Madhya Pradesh signed four MOUs with Singapore on 14th January 2016, which includes a 1000MW wind energy plant.

  • The US Citizenship and Immigration Services increased the H-1B and L-1 petition fee by 4000 and 4500 US dollars respectively.

  • The country which has the largest diaspora in the world in 2015 – India with 16 million.

  • Jharkhand government adds drinking water crisis in local disasters list.

  • Two cricket players Ajit Chandila and Hiken Shah were handed over life-time and 5-year ban, respectively, by the BCCI for their involvement in match-fixing.

  • Guenter Butschek, former Chief Operating Officer of Airbus, was appointed as the CEO & MD of Tata Motors.

  • Goa Legislative Assembly approved reclassification of coconut tree as palm.

  • Kenyan athlete, Gideon Kipketer, won the 2016 Mumbai Marathon in the men’s category.

  • Gopi T and Kheta Ram qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics by finishing second and third, respectively, among the Indian runners in the Mumbai Marathon.

  • The indigenously developed light combat aircraft, Tejas, flew for the first time in the international air space and reached the Sakhir Airbase in Bahrain.

  • Zinnia became the first ever grown flower in the space.

  • General Electric Co. agreed to sell its home-appliances business to China’s Qingdao Haier Co. for 5.4 billion US dollars.

  • Noted Punjabi folk singer, Manpreet Akhtar died on 17th January 2016 due to brain hemorrhage in Patiala.

  • The Mosquito borne Zika Virus was first time recorded in United States of America in the third week of January 2016.

  • Jalgaon’s Vijay Choudhary defeated Vikrant Jadhav of Mumbai to retain Maharashtra Kesri title in the 59th Maharashtra Kesri Wrestling Championship.

  • Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named as the captain of Rising Pune Supergiants for IPL 2016 season.

  • South African Premier League footballer, Mondli Cele, died after the car in which he was travelling, plunged into a river near eastern city of Pietermaritzburg.

  • Yasutaro Koide, the world's oldest man, as per the Guinness World Records, died at an age of 112 on 19 January 2016.

  • Pakistan reported highest stillbirths’ rate among the 186 countries surveyed by medical journal, The Lancet.

  • Mindtree acquired Magnet 360 on 18 January 2016.

  • ReNew Power, a Clean energy firm, commissioned 40 MW wind project in Karnataka.

  • BHEL commissioned a 660 MW supercritical thermal power unit in Uttar Pradesh.

  • According to the World Tourism Barometer, international tourist arrivals grew by 4.4% in 2015 to reach a total of 1.2 billion.

  • According to an Oxfam report, 62 individuals had the same wealth as 3.6 billion people, the bottom half of humanity in 2015.

  • International Renewable Energy Agency published the report titled Renewable Energy Benefits − Measuring the Economics.

  • The 6th assembly session of the International Renewable Energy Agency was held in Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

  • The World Economic Forum published the ‘Future of Jobs’ report.

  • Shimla banned sale of eatable in open places to contain outbreak of jaundice.

  • China's economy grew 6.9% in 2015, the slowest in 25 years.

  • The state that celebrated its 46th statehood day on 25 January 2016 − Himachal Pradesh.

  • India Railways inaugurated India’s first high speed public Wi-Fi service on 22nd January 2016 at - Mumbai Central station.

  • For the Jeevan Raksha Padak Awards, the certificates are signed by the − Union Home Minister.

  • The company that has launched India’s first social mobile wallet Udio is − TranServ.

  • Maharashtra’s first Solar Power operated Mini-Water Supply Plant was commissioned in − Hingna village of Mouda Taluka in Nagpur district.

  • A team of Indo-German geologists and paleontologists may have found fossils of a 135-million-year old herbivorous dinosaur, possibly the oldest such fossil found in this century, in the region of - Kutch, Gujarat.

  • ONGC received environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests for drilling 45 developed wells in − Krishna Godavari Basin.

  • The player from Hong Kong, who won 11Even Sports 2015 ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals in the girls’ category is − Zhu Chengzhu.

  • The player who was declared as the Man of the Series in the five-match ODI series played between Indian and Australia, which concluded on 23 January 2016 in Sydney is − Rohit Sharma.

  • The Brisbane Heat batsman, who was named as the Big Bash League’s player of the tournament is − Chris Lynn.

  • An Indian-origin Muslim cleric, who has been conferred an honorary doctorate by the University of Leicester in recognition of his work for his local community is − Muhammad Shahid Raza.

  • The 42-crore rupees’ project sanctioned under the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Program and funded by World Bank is being implemented in exceedingly vulnerable seaside pockets of − Kendrapara district of Odisha.

  • Facebook will construct its first data center facility at − Ireland's Clonee village.

  • Taking forward the strategic relationship between the two countries to the next level, India will build a satellite tracking and imaging center in − Southern Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City.

  • The 5-day annual summit of World Economic Forum (WEF) came to a close on 23rd January 2016 in − Davos.

  • What refers to tax planning strategies that would exploit the gaps and mismatches in tax rules to artificially shift profits to low or no-tax locations? − Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BESP).

  • The country that became the latest country to lift nuclear sanctions on Iran on 22nd January 2016 − Japan.

  • The purpose for which Union Government notified stricter green norms on Sugar industry − To reduce water pollution.

  • The number of districts in which the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Scheme will be covered in the year 2016 − 61.

  • This Dubai-based radio channel was appointed as the official audio rights partner of the ICC for next eight years − Channel 2 Group.

  • The rank of India in Best Countries Report released at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos − 22.

  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 21stJanuary 2016 permitted banks to sell India Gold Coins (IGC) with Ashok Chakra minted by − Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India (MMTC).

  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 21st January 2016 has asked banks to provide loans of up to 3 lakh rupees at 7% interest rate during 2015-16 to Women Self-Help Group (SHG) under the scheme − Aajeevika Scheme.

  • Senior revenue service officer, Atulesh Jindal on 21st January 2016 was appointed the chairman of − Central Board of Direct Taxes.

  • The hotel that won the award of the world's best hotel at the Travellers' Choice award organized by TripAdvisor is − Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

  • A new bird species named Himalayan Forest Thrush was discovered in North-Eastern India. This species has been given the scientific name of − Zoothera Salimalii.

  • The Chhattisgarh Government signed a share-holding agreement with a few Central Government-run corporations for the second phase of − Jagdalpur-Raoghat Railway Project.

  • As per the NTI 2016 Nuclear Security Index, India’s rank in terms of nuclear safety among the 24 states with one kilogram or more of weapons-usable nuclear materials in the world was − 21.

  • The country which was adjudged as the safest in terms of nuclear safety by the NTI in its Nuclear Security Index 2016 − Australia.

  • The agency with which the National Remote Sensing Centre signed an MoU for monitoring mining activity using satellites − Indian Bureau of Mines.

  • The stock exchange which launched an Algorithm Trading Test Environment in partnership with Symphony Fintech Solutions − Bombay Stock Exchange.

  • The marketing agency with which the Indian Olympic Association signed a 2-year marketing deal − Infinity Optimal Solutions.

  • The National Highway that will be converted into six-lane in Bihar and Jharkhand as per a decision of the CCEA on 20 January 2016 − NH-2.

  • He took over as the Executive Director of Greenpeace India − Ravi Chellam.

  • The Union Government on 20th January 2016 signed the Financing Agreement with a financial institution for− Bihar Kosi Basin Development Project.

  • He was an Italian film director who passed away and was known for his most acclaimed film A Special Day − Ettore Scola.

  • The Central Statistics Office revised GDP growth rate for FY 2014-15 from 7.3 percent to 7.2 percent.

  • The Central Statistics Office revised GDP growth rate for FY 2013-14 from 6.9 percent to 6.6 percent.

  • Ashok K Roopanwal was appointed as the head of a one-man judicial commission by the Union Government to probe Rohith Vemula suicide incident in the University of Hyderabad.

  • Donald Kaberuka was appointed as African Union’s High Representative for the peace fund.

  • Union Government inked an 80 million US dollar loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to continue improving infrastructure in Agartala and Aizwal.

  • Department of Religious Affairs of Eritrea issued a law that makes it mandatory for men to marry at least two wives.

  • The fourth International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) was held in Nusa Dua, Indonesia.

  • Union Cabinet approved a proposal for raising 17 more India reserve battalions in Jammu and Kashmir and Left-wing extremism affected states.

  • The parliament of Denmark voted on a proposal to confiscate asylum seekers’ personal possessions in order to pay their upkeep.

  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permitted banks to sell India Gold Coins (IGC) with Ashok Chakra minted by Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India (MMTC).

  • Senior revenue service officer Atulesh Jindal was appointed the chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes.

  • Mahamana Express was flagged off to run between Varanasi and New Delhi on 21 January 2016.

  • Uttar Pradesh completely banned the use of polythene with effect from 21 January 2016.

  • According to data released by UNCTAD, the Foreign Direct Investment in India doubled in 2015 to reach 59 billion US dollars.

  • The rate of interest proposed by the Provident Fund panel that will be given on Provident Fund account 8.95%.

  • Ratan Tata announced to invest in FirstCry.com, a start-up company related to baby kits.

  • The Sri Lankan wicketkeeper, Kusal Perera, faced a 4-year ban by the International Cricket Council for doping.

  • Delhi Acers won the 2016 Premier Badminton League.

  • Jalgaon’s Vijay Choudhary defeated Vikrant Jadhav of Mumbai to retain Maharashtra Kesri title in 59th Maharashtra Kesri Wrestling Championship.

  • Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named as the captain of Rising Pune Supergiants for IPL 2016 season.

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