january 01-02, 2019 - talentsprint...current affairs: january 01-02, 2019 2 grant-in-aid and...

Current Affairs: January 01-02, 2019

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January 01-02, 2019

DRDO day: 1 January

The DRDO was established in 1958 with just 10

laboratories to enhance the research work in

defence sector. Talking to AIR News, DRDO

Chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy said that the

country is self reliant in areas of missiles, radars,

sonars and torpedoes and many other systems. Mr

Reddy said, the Organisation has been working over the years to develop state of the art

weapon system for the country's armed forces.

DRDO HQ: New Delhi

Motto: ; "Strength's Origin is in Science" (Sanskrit)

School students in Gujarat will now say 'Jai Hind', 'Jai Bharat' to mark attendance

Students in Gujarat schools will answer roll calls

with ‘Jai Hind’ or ‘Jai Bharat’ instead of the current

‘yes sir’ and ‘present sir’ from January 1 in order to

‘foster patriotism’, a notification issued on 31st

December 2018 stated. The notification issued by

state says that students of Class 1-12 in government,



grant-in-aid and self-financed schools will have to respond to the attendance call with “Jai

Hind” or “Jai Bharat,” starting January 1.

Kerala: 620-km-long 'Women's Wall' formed to uphold gender equality

Lakhs of women in Kerala took a pledge to

protect the renaissance value as they formed a

620-km “wall” from Thiruvananthapuram to

the northern district of Kasaragod on 1st

January. Marshalled by the Kerala government

and a section of Hindu organisations, the wall

was organised against the backdrop of the Supreme Court verdict on Sabarimala, however, the

content of the women’s pledge has no reference to the shrine.

Madhya Pradesh to get 'spiritual department'

The Congress-led Madhya Pradesh

Government said on December 29 that it is

going to create an Adhyatmik Vibhag

(spiritual department) by merging several

existing departments. The Congress had

promised to form such a department before the

last month's Assembly elections. The 'Anand Vibhag' (Department of Happiness) set up by the

previous BJP government, a first in the country, would be incorporated into the new

department.



Women on wheels: Female cops to now patrol the streets in Hyderabad

In a unique initiative "Women on Wheels"

by the Hyderabad Police, female police

officers will now be patrolling the streets to

prevent crime against women. Elaborating

about the newly launched initiative of city

police, Hyderabad Additional

Commissioner (Crime and SIT) Shika Goel told ANI, "The main purpose of launching 'Women

on Wheels' was to empower women including our women constables.

Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched Ujjwala sanitary napkin

initiative in Odisha

Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan

on 30th December 2018 launched the Ujjwala

Sanitary Napkin initiative in Bhubaneswar, which

will expand women’s access to hygiene products

and provide them with employment opportunities

in every district of the state. The Central scheme

will be a counter to the Odisha government’s Khushi scheme, in which sanitary napkins are

provided free of cost to female students of government and government-aided schools in the

state.



18th edition of India’s Fiscal Stability Report was released by RBI

On 31st December 2018, the central bank of

India, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released

18th Fiscal Stability Report of India.

The following states the important findings of

the report:

India’s financial system remains stable,

Banking sector shows signs of improvement, with the gross non-performing assets

(GNPA) ratio of Scheduled Commercial Banks declining from 11.5 percent in March

2018 to 10.8 percent in September 2018.

GNPA ratio may decline from 10.8 percent in September 2018 to 10.3 percent in March

2019.

Credit growth of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) has improved between March

2018 and September 2018, driven largely by private sector banks (PVBs).

GST collection drops to Rs. 94,726 crore in December 2018

GST collection dropped to Rs. 94,726 crore in

December 2018, lower than Rs. 97,637 crore collected

in the previous month. The total number of sales

returns or GSTR-3B filed till 30 December 2018 is

72.44 lakh, the finance ministry said in a statement.



YES Bank launches ‘YES SCALE’ 2018 accelerator programme with top Agritech

startups

Agritech startups were already seen as a

sunrise sector and a number of startups in the

segment have been getting favourable

responses from venture capitalists for fund

raising as well. And the efforts at sourcing

clean energy need no emphasis. YES Bank

has stepped in and launched a dedicated accelerator programme called YES SCALE. The bank

has selected 14 startups from these sectors screening over 1000 applications received for

participation. These startups will now be put through a 15-month long programme. YES Bank

claims it has looked at technologies and models that can be replicated across the country and

will have long-term benefits to these sectors.

Karnataka Bank launches ‘KBL Mobile Plus’

As part of its digital initiative, Karnataka

Bank has launched an integrated mobile

banking application called “KBL Mobile

Plus” with enhanced features. The App

will be available on Google Play Store and

Apple App Store.



Sudhir Bhargava takes oath as chief information commissioner of CIC

Sudhir Bhargava took oath as the chief information

commissioner of the Central Information

Commission (CIC) 1st January. Four information

commissioners also took the oath of office, officials

said. Bhargava was administered the oath of office by

President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony in

Rashtrapati Bhavan, a statement issued by the

President’s office said.

Vinod Kumar Yadav appointed as Railway Board Chairman

General Manager of South Central Railway, Vinod

Kumar Yadav, has been appointed as Chairman of

Railway Board and ex-officio Principal Secretary to

Government of India.



Justice T B N Radhakrishnan sworn in as Chief Justice of Telangana HC

The Telangana High Court has come into being

with justices taking oath on 1st January. Justice T

B N Radhakrishnan was sworn in as the Chief

Justice of the Telangana High Court this morning.

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Governor E.S.L.

Narasimhan administered oath of office to him.

Justice AK Sikri nominated as Executive Chairman of NALSA

Justice AK Sikri was nominated as the Executive

Chairman of National Legal Services Authority

(NALSA). President Ram Nath Kovind nominated

Justice Sikri as Executive Chairman of NALSA

with effect from December 31, 2018. The post got

vacant after the retirement of Justice Madan B

Lokur.



Hemant Bhargava appointed LIC interim chairman

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on 1st

January gave Hemant Bhargava additional

charge as chairman. The announcement to

appoint Bhargava, who is currently a managing

director, comes after the retirement of VK

Sharma on December 31.

D.V. Prasad appointed CMD of Food Corporation of India

Additional Chief Secretary to the Karnataka

Government D.V. Prasad has been appointed as

Chairman and Managing Director, Food

Corporation of India, on Central deputation.

According to an official communication, Mr.

Prasad has been relieved from the State

government with effect from December 31, 2018, to take up the central assignment.



Axis Bank MD & CEO Shikha Sharma retires, Amitabh Chaudhry takes charge

On 31st December, private sector lender Axis Bank

Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive

Officer (CEO) Shikha Sharma retired from the

services of the bank and Amitabh Chaudhry will be

the new MD and CEO of the Axis bank from 1st

January 2019.

Smriti Mandhana named ICC Women’s Player of the Year 2018

India’s Smriti Mandhana won the prestigious

Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award for the best player

of the year as well as the ODI Player of the Year

at ICC Women’s Awards. New Zealand’s Sophie

Devine and Pakistan bowler Sana Mir came

second and third in the ODI Player of the Year

category. She became the 2nd Indian woman to win an ICC award after fast bowler Jhulan

Goswami, who was named the ICC Women’s Player of the Year in 2007.



Punjab Gets ‘Jaivik India Award’ For Promoting Organic Farming

Punjab honoured as second best state amongst

states of north and north-east India for extensive

promotion and implementation of organic farming

and bagged prestigious 'Jaivik India Award'.The

Union Minister for Commerce and Industries Suresh

Prabhu conferred the coveted 'Jaivik India Award'

upon the state, which was received by Managing Director Punjab Agro Sibin C, IAS in a

function held here at Delhi.

Anindita gets National Nritya Shiromani Award 2019

US-based Kathak exponent Anindita Neogy

Anaam will be honoured with the National

Nritya Shiromani award for promoting the

dance form across the world. The award would

be conferred on her in Cuttack on the opening

day of the 10th Cuttack Mahotsav:

International Dance and Music festival in Cuttack on January 2, according to the organisers.



Federer wins historic clash against Serena in Perth

Roger Federer emerged triumphant from a

historic first meeting with Serena Williams in

the Hopman Cup on 1st January, but tennis was

the true winner as two of the game's greats

treated fans worldwide to an unforgettable

evening. Defending champions Switzerland

sealed a 2-1 victory over six-times winners United States that left them bottom of Group B but

the result mattered little to over 14,000 fans in Perth and millions around the world who had

eagerly awaited the contest.

Kohli, Rabada maintain top spot in year-end ICC Test Player Rankings

It turned out to be a glorious 2018 for India captain

Virat Kohli and South Africa fast bowler Kagiso

Rabada. Kohli enjoys a 34-point lead over nearest

rival Kane Williamson of New Zealand despite

dropping three points. Rabada, who split the top

ranking with England's seasoned fast bowler James

Anderson during the year, is just six points ahead of his adversary.



Bangladesh election: PM Sheikh Hasina wins landslide in disputed vote

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's alliance won

Bangladesh's election with a thumping majority,

the country's Election Commission said on 31st

December 2018, giving her a third straight term

following a vote that the opposition rejected as

rigged.

Brazil's Bolsonaro takes oath as President

Jair Bolsonaro was sworn in as Brazil's

President on 1st January in a ceremony at

Brazil's National Congress Building.

Addressing a joint session of Congress minutes

after taking the oath of office, Bolsonaro, a

former Army captain and admirer of the

country's 1964-1985 military dictatorship, vowed to adhere to democratic norms.

Capital: Brasília

Currency: Brazilian Real



US, Israel quit UNESCO citing bias

The United States and Israel officially quit the

United Nations Educational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with the

close of 2018. The countries had announced

their decisions in 2017 of withdrawing from the

agency, accusing it of bias against Israel.

Qatar will cease to be a member of OPEC from 1st January 2019

Qatar will cease to be a member of the

Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting

Countries today. The country had sent an official

notification to the OPEC expressing its wish to pull

out and to focus on its liquefied natural gas

production in December.

Capital: Doha

Currency: Qatari Riyal



France introduced GAFA tax on global internet, technology firms

From 1st January 2019, France introduced a

new “GAFA tax” named after the large

internet and technology companies Google,

Apple, Facebook and Amazon to ensure the

global giants pay a fair share of taxes on their

massive businesses in Europe.

Veteran actor-writer Kader Khan passes away in Canada

Veteran actor-writer Kader Khan passed away in

Canada yesterday. His son Sarfaraz confirmed the

sad demise of the 81-year old comedian and

character artist. Born in Kabul, Khan made his

acting debut in 1973 with Rajesh Khanna's "Daag"

and has featured in over 300 films. He wrote

dialogues for over 250 movies. Before becoming an actor he had written dialogues for Randhir

Kapoor-Jaya Bachchan's "Jawani Diwani".

january 01-02, 2019 - talentsprint...current affairs: january 01-02, 2019 2 grant-in-aid and...

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