January 2018 Current Affairs
January 2018 Latest Current Affairs:
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| January 2018 Current Affairs |
Latest Current Affairs 2018 for competitive exams UPSC, TNPSC, IAS, RRB and Latest Affairs 2018 for banking exams IBPS PO Clerk, SBI, RBI and more. Read daily affairs, this beneficial Affairs 2018 resource yields the facts about the events of International affairs, National, Sports, Business, Banking Current Affairs of 2018 and more which are betterment for the Government & Private Job aspirants.
Latest Current Affairs 2018 for competitive exams UPSC, TNPSC, IAS, RRB and Latest Affairs 2018 for banking exams IBPS PO Clerk, SBI, RBI and more. Read daily affairs, this beneficial Affairs 2018 resource yields the facts about the events of International affairs, National, Sports, Business, Banking Current Affairs of 2018 and more which are betterment for the Government & Private Job aspirants.
January 2018 Current Affairs
National Current Affairs
* Marking the
69th Republic Day celebrations, Khadi & Village Industries Commission
(KVIC) & New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) have launched the first ever 'Khadi
Haat' in the country.
* On the eve of
the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit to celebrate 25 years of India-ASEAN
partnership, PM Narendra Modi had separate bilateral meetings with leaders of
three ASEAN nations - Myanmar, Vietnam & Philippines in New Delhi. PM first
met his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc & held talks with on issues
of mutual interest. Next, he met the Philipino President Rodrigo Duterte &
covered a wide range of subjects. Myanmar's State Councillor Aung San Suu Kyi
also met the PM later in the evening.
* The Country
celebrated its 69th Republic Day on 26th January in Rajpath, New Delhi to be
resplendently displaying the country's pride & glory. Heads of ten ASEAN
countries are chief guests at Republic Day. The family members of Corporal
Jyoti Prakash Nirala (Posthumous) of the Indian Air Force (IAF), who died
fighting militants in Kashmir valley, received India’s highest peacetime
gallantry award, Ashok Chakra.
* Kolkata has
become the first Indian Metro to get a Floating Market. The market will be
located on a water-body with boats doubling up as shops.
* India &
Vietnam released first ever set of commemorative postage stamps to mark the
long-term friendly bilateral relationships between the two countries.
* PM Modi left
for Davos, Switzerland to attend the 48th annual meeting of the World Economic
Forum. He will lead the largest-ever Indian delegation comprising Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley, Commerce & Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu among
others. The theme of the meet is 'Creating a shared future in a fractured
world'.
* The first Post
Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) of Puducherry was inaugurated by Smt.
Sushma Swaraj, Minister for External Affairs at Karaikal. The POPSK at Karaikal
is the 60th POPSK to have become functional since the launch of the scheme in
January 2017. It is the first POPSK to become operational in the UT of
Puducherry.
* India-ASEAN business & investment conference held in New Delhi ahead of the landmark commemorative summit meeting on the 25th of January.
* Andhra Pradesh Govt. & the Canton of Zurich signed a letter of intent, to promote mutual prosperity & development.
* Minister of State (IC), for AYUSH, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik laid the foundation stone for Central Research Institute (CRI) in Jaipur, Rajasthan. This will be the third CRI under the aegis of Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH).
* India & Israel signed nine documents to further the cooperation. It includes cooperation in; Cybersecurity, Petroleum & natural gas, film co-production, homoeopathy medicines, space science, boosting investment, metal-air batteries & solar thermal technology & document for the amendment to the air transport agreement.
* Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore during the launch of the official anthem & mascot of Khelo India School Games announced that, “Now when an athlete wins a medal at Commonwealth Games, Asian Games & Olympics, the coach gets incentive.
* The ‘I4Fund Call for Proposal’ was announced with the joint launch of the website & the unveiling of brochure by the two PMs (Narendra Modi & Benjamin Netanyahu). The "India-Israel Industrial R&D & Technological Innovation Fund (I4F)" was announced in July, 2017. Under this, Department of Science & Technology, India & National Innovation Authority of Israel established a 40 million US dollar Fund.
* Bangladesh, India & Nepal given nod to operating procedures for movement of passenger vehicles in the sub-region under Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) motor vehicles agreement. For seamless flow of passenger & cargo traffic in the region, BBIN motor vehicles agreement (MVA) was signed by BBIN countries in Thimphu, Bhutan (2015).
* Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu visited Mumbai during the final leg of his visit to India. He addressed the India-Israel Business Summit & attended the ‘Shalom Bollywood’. A monthly magazine titled ‘Namaste Shalom’ also launched to mark Israeli PM Netanyahu’s Mumbai visit.
* PM Modi & PM Benjamin Netanyahu inaugurated the 'iCreate Centre' at Deo Dholera in Ahmedabad. iCreate paves way for the two nations to jointly script new stories of success through innovation.
* Election
Commission of India announced dates for elections to the Assemblies of
Meghalaya, Tripura & Nagaland. The CEC announced the polling for
legislative assembly elections in Tripura on 18 February, while Meghalaya &
Nagaland will go to vote on 27 February. All the three states have 60 seats
each in their assembly.
* Maharashtra
become the first state in the country that has come out with a public cloud
policy, virtually mandating its departments to shift their data storage onto
the cloud.
* As per the
Power Minister RK Singh, India will set up a $350-million fund to finance solar
projects as the country steps up efforts to achieve its ambitious target of
adding 175 gigawatts (GW) in renewable energy by 2022.
* India has
joined the Australia Group export control regime & has become the 43rd
Member of that Group. It is an informal forum which seeks to ensure that
exports do not contribute to the development of chemical or biological weapons.
* Unique
Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) introduced a concept of 'Virtual ID'
to further strengthen privacy & security of Aadhaar number holders. The
Aadhaar number holder can use 'Virtual ID' in place of an Aadhaar number
whenever authentication or KYC services are performed.
* Delhi CM
Arvind Kejriwal launched a common card for rides on public buses & the
metro. Delhi is the first city in the country to have a common mobility card.
* Cabinet
approved agreement between India & Myanmar on Land Border Crossing. This
will facilitate movement of people on the basis of valid passports & visas
which will enhance economic & social interaction between the two countries.
* India excluded
Pakistan from the list of SAARC member countries with which it will be
connecting its state-of-the-art National Knowledge Network (NKN) for sharing
scientific databases & remote access to advanced research facilities. NKN
is a multi-gigabit pan-India network which facilitates the development of
India's communications infrastructure, stimulates research & creates
next-generation applications & services.
* PM Modi
inaugurated the project commencement of Rajasthan Refinery at Pachpadra in
Barmer district. This is the first oil refinery in the state. The 43,000 crore
rupee project is a joint venture between HPCL & the Rajasthan Govt..
* West Bengal CM
Mamata Banerjee unveiled the official emblem which highlights the Ashoka emblem
on the top with the theme of "Biswa Bangla" at the centre.
* Arunachal Pradesh
declared open defecation free ahead of the national deadline of October 2,
2019. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, & Haryana were
declared open defecation free states in October 2017.
* As per the
Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Saudi Arabia has given
the green signal for India’s decision to revive the option of sending Haj
pilgrims through sea route also. For the first time, Muslim women from India
will go to Haj without “Mehram” (male companion).
* Minister of
State (I/C) of Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region Jitendra Singh
announced that Arunachal Pradesh would get its first Film & Television
Institute, being set up by the Union Govt.. This would be the second one after
Pune.
International Current Affairs:
* Romania's
left-wing PM Mihai Tudose resigned after losing the backing of his party due to
internal power struggles.
* India & Sri
Lanka signed four agreements for collaboration in the Information &
communication technology (ICT) sector, setting up of an e-office system &
connecting of National Knowledge Network (NKN) for collaboration among
universities & academics. With the move, Sri Lanka become the first country
to be connected to India’s NKN through a Gigabyte optical fibre network.
* India, for the
first time, took part in a two-day meeting of the international military
cooperation departments of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in
Beijing, China.
* Valletta, the
capital of Malta, was officially named European Capital of Culture 2018.
* India signed
an MoU with the United Kingdom to enable the return of illegal Indian migrants
within a month of their detection by authorities abroad.
* China became
Nepal’s second internet service provider, breaking India’s monopoly in
providing internet access to Nepal.
* UN Environment
& the World Health Organization agreed a new, wide-ranging collaboration to
accelerate action to curb environmental health risks that cause an estimated
12.6 million deaths a year.
* World’s
largest Ice Festival 'International Ice & Snow Festival' was held in
Harbin, China. It is the 34th annual Ice Festival in Harbin, north-east China.
* Nepal has
banned solo climbers from scaling its mountains, including Mount Everest, in a
bid to reduce accidents.
* Israel filed
notice to withdraw from the UNESCO alongside the United States. Israel was the
member of UNESCO since 1949. Both Israel & the US have filed its own
withdrawal notice in October 2017.
* Saudi Arabia
& the United Arab Emirates (UAE) introduced value-added tax (VAT). These
are the first two countries in the Gulf which have introduced the VAT system.
The 5% levy is being applied to the majority of goods & services.
* Equatorial
Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kuwait, Peru, Poland & the Netherlands formally joined
the ranks of the non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council
to make a difference. The five permanent seats who have the power to veto
resolutions - Britain, China, France, Russia & the United States.
* The unusual
& very efficient whistle language commonly called "bird language"
used as a means of communication by villagers in remote northern Turkey entered
the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
* Pakistan
allowed Chinese currency Yuan for exports & financing transactions.
* External
Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj co-chaired the fifth meeting of the
India-Indonesia Joint Commission with her Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi.
* Himalayan
Hydro Expo 2018 kicked off at Kathmandu, the capital Nepal. President of Nepal
Bidya Devi Bhandari inaugurated the exhibition.
*
Iceland become the first country in the world to legalise equal pay
between men & women. Under the new rules, companies & Govt. agencies
employing at least 25 people will have to obtain Govt. certification of their
equal-pay policies.
Defence Current Affairs:
* Indian Navy
launched 'INS Karanj', the third of the six indigenous Scorpene-class
submarines. The submarine, equipped with superior stealth features and
precision-guided weapons, has been built at Mumbai's Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders
Limited. The submarine has an overall length of 67.5 meters and a height of
about 12.3 metres.
* Armies of
India & Vietnam have begun a six-day-long military exercise in Jabalpur in
Madhya Pradesh. The exercise named ‘VINBAX’ is the first military exercise
between the two countries.
* India
test-fired its nuclear-capable Agni-V inter-continental ballistic missile
(ICBM), which has a strike range of over 5,000km. It was test fired
successfully from Abdul Kalam island off the coast of the eastern state of
Odisha.
* Indian Naval
Ship Vikramaditya, the Indian Navy's largest ship & its sole aircraft
carrier was formally affiliated to the Indian Army's highly-decorated &
battle-hardened Bihar Regiment & the Indian Air Force's No 6 Squadron.
* American &
Japanese military forces launched joint exercise named Iron Fist. 13th annual
Iron Fist exercises kicked off in the U.S. western state of California.
* Defence
Ministry cleared contracts worth 2,420 crore rupees for Navy & Army which
includes the procurement of P-8I Training Solution & Low-Intensity Conflict
Electronic Warfare System (LICEWS).
* Indian Navy
has inked an MoU with the Cochin Port Trust (CPT), Kerala towards leasing of
228 metres of berths at Mattancherry Wharf for a period of five years. This is
the first time such an agreement has been signed between the Navy & CPT.
Miscellaneous
* Sanjay
Manjrekar launched his autobiography named ‘Imperfect’, in Mumbai. The book
‘Imperfect’ was released by Dilip Vengsarkar, Sanjay Manjrekar’s first
international captain.
* President Ram
Nath Kovind unveiled a book on heartfulness techniques & principles titled
'The Heartfulness Way'. Kamlesh D. Patel is the author of this book. It is the
fourth Global Guide of Heartfulness. Joshua Pollock is the second author of
this book.
* Oxford
Dictionaries has chosen ‘Aadhaar’ as the Hindi word of 2017. The word gained
popularity due to Aadhaar card, which was in news in 2017.
* Research
Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO), the research arm of Ministry of
Railways, has launched “New Online Vendor Registration System”.
New Appointments (National & International)
*
Indian-American Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen has been elected as the Vice
Chairman of the US-India Strategic & Partnership Forum.
* ISRO's Liquid
Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) director S Somanath has taken charge as the
new director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). He has replaced K Sivan
who has joined ISRO as Chairman.
* Usha Ananthasubramanian,
MD & CEO, Allahabad Bank, has been elected the first woman chairman of
Indian Banks’ Association. IBA Chairman’s position fell vacant following the
superannuation of Jatinder Bir Singh. Rajnish Kumar, Chairman, State Bank of
India, was elected Deputy Chairman of IBA for the year 2017-18.
* Industry
Chamber Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) has
appointed Dilip Chenoy as its Director General.
* Election
Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat was appointed as the next chief election
commissioner (CEC) of India. Mr Rawat is the 22nd CEC of India. He succeeded
Achal Kumar Joti. Ashok Lawasa was appointed as an Election Commissioner. Sunil
Arora is the other Election Commissioner.
* Former Gujarat
CM Anandiben Patel has been named as the new governor of Madhya Pradesh. She
will replace Gujarat governor Om Prakash Kohli.
* Senior IPS
officer Sudeep Lakhtakia has been appointed as the new Director General (DG) of
the 'black cats' commando force NSG. He will take over from incumbent S P
Singh.
* Market
regulator SEBI approved the appointment of Vijay Kumar as MD & CEO of
country’s largest agri-commodity bourse NCDEX.
* Vice Admiral
Ajendra Bahadur Singh, took over as Chief of Staff, Western Naval Command from
Vice Admiral Ravneet Singh.
* Facebook
appointed outgoing American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault to its board, making
him the first African-American to be on the board.
* The Govt.
appointed senior IAS officer S Selvakumar as Chairman & Managing Director
(CMD) of Security Printing & Minting Corporation of India Ltd (SPMCIL). He
has replaced Anurag Agarwal.
* Senior sports
administrator Anil Khanna was named Chairman of the Finance Commission of the
Indian Olympic Association.
* Supreme Court
collegium recommended the name of senior advocate Indu Malhotra as the first
woman lawyer to be directly appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of India.
She will be the seventh woman judge since independence to make it to the SC. At
present, Justice R Banumathi is the lone woman judge in the apex court.
* V J Mathew was
appointed Maritime Board Chairman.
* Indian Olympic
Association (IOA) appointed Harjinder Singh as the Chef De Mission for the 23rd
Winter Olympic Games to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea in February 2018.
Harjinder Singh is at present the General Secretary in the Ice Hockey
Association of India.
*
Singapore-based Indian-origin businessman Sunny Verghese has been
appointed as the Chairman of the Geneva-based World Business Council for
Sustainable Development (WBCSD). He succeeded Paul Polman.
* Noted rocket
scientist Sivan K was appointed as the 9th chairman of Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO). He has replaced A.S. Kiran Kumar.
* National
Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has appointed Dilip Asbe as Managing
Director & CEO of the organisation. He had come in place of AP Hota.
* Music composer
A R Rahman became the brand ambassador of Sikkim. The declaration was made by
Sikkim CM Pawan Kumar Chamling.
* Senior
diplomat Vijay Keshav Gokhale has been appointed the foreign secretary of
India. He has succeeded S Jaishankar.
* Pankaj Jain,
Joint Secretary in the Department of Financial Services (DFS), has assumed
charge as the Managing Director of India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd
(IIFCL).
* Rajinder
Khanna was appointed the deputy National Security Adviser (NSA).
* National
vice-president of the BJP, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, who is also the member of Rajya
Sabha has been appointed the President of Indian Council of Cultural Relations.
He will replace Lokesh Chandra.
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