CURRENT AFFAIRS JANUARY 11, 2018

NATIONAL

PM to commence Barmer refinery project

  • Prime Minister would announce construction of a refinery at Barmer in Rajasthan.
  • The project will be started at an estimated cost of Rs. 43,129 crore project.
  • It will be located in Pachpadra, Barmer, Rajasthan.
  • The project will be completed by 2022-23.
  • The equity share of HPCL is 74% and Government of Rajasthan is 26%.

Rajasthan

Capital: Jaipur

Chief Minister: Vasundhara Raje

Governor: Kalyan Singh

President to inaugurate International Dharma Dhamma conference

  • President Ram Nath Kovind to inaugurate 4th International Dharma-Dhamma Conference on the theme”State and Social Order in Dharma-Dhamma Traditions” at Rajgir in Nalanda district, Bihar.
  • The conference has been jointly organised by India Foundation, Nalanda University, Ministry of External Affairs, Asean-India and Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha.
  • It is aimed to facilitate share ideas, values and foster harmony at the global level.
  • The event is being organised as part of the commemorative events to celebrate the Silver Jubilee year of ASEAN-India Dialogue Partnership.

Bihar

Capital: Patna

Chief Minister: Nitish Kumar

Governor: Satya Pal Malik

UIDAI Introduces ‘Virtual ID’ for Aadhaar Data

  • The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has introduced a concept of ‘Virtual ID’
  • It aims to strengthen privacy and security of Aadhaar number.
  • The adhaar holder can generate from UIDAI website and give for various purposes, including SIM verification, instead of sharing the actual 12-digit biometric ID.
  • The Virtual ID will be a temporary 16 digit random number mapped to a person’s Aadhaar number.
  • From June 1, 2018 it will be compulsory for all agencies that undertake authentication to accept the Virtual ID from their users

UIDAI

Headquarters: New Delhi

UIDAI Chief Executive Officer(CEO): Ajay Bhushan Pandey

INTERNATIONAL               

World’s largest solar thermal plant to be built in South Australia

  • The world’s largest solar-thermal power plant has been given development approval by the South Australian government.
  • It is a 150-megawatt Aurora plant and it will be built by utility-scale solar power company SolarReserve.
  • It will be started in 2018 at an estimated cost of $509 million.
  • It would create 650 construction jobs and 50 ongoing positions when completed.
  • South Australia’s acting energy minister: Chris Picton

APPOINTMENTS

K Sivan appointed as new ISRO Chairman

  • K Sivan has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
  • He is at present Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.
  • He would replace current ISRO chief AS Kiran Kumar and  will have a tenure of three years.
  • Sivan’s appointment was approved by Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
  • The Headquarters of ISRO is located at Bengaluru.

     

Harjinder Singh appointed as Chef de Mission for Winter Olympics

  • The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has appointed Harjinder Singh as the Chef De Mission for the 23rd Winter Olympic Games.
  • The 23rd winter olympics will be held in February 2018 in Pyeongchang. Pyeongchang is in Gangwon province a region in South Korea.
  • It was announced IOA President Narinder Dhruv Batra.
  • He currently holds the post of General Secretary in the Ice Hockey Association of India.

Indian Olympic Association

Headquarters: New Delhi, India

Secretary General: Mr. Rajeev Mehta

Indian-origin businessman appointed WBCSD Chairman

  • Singapore-based Indian-origin businessman Sunny Verghese has been appointed as the Chairman of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
  • He is the Co-Founder and the CEO of Singapore’s agri-business group Olam International Limited.
  • He succeeded Paul Polman, the CEO of Unilever and will serve a two-year term.
  • The World Business Council for Sustainable Development is a global advocacy association of some 200 international companies dealing exclusively with business and sustainable development.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos becomes richest person in history

  • According to Bloomberg’s billionaire tracker, Amazon’s Chief Operating officer Jeff Bezos is now the richest person in history with net worth more than Bill Gates.
  • He has net worth of $105.1 billion and surpassed Bill Gates with net worth of $93.3 billion
  • Warren Buffett who has net worth $87.3 billion was third on the list. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg was fourth in the list with a net worth of $77.3 billion.

Paytm Launches new Investment Arm

  • One97 Communications Ltd, that runs Paytm, has set up a new entity called Paytm Money Ltd.
  • The new company will be headed by Pravin Jadhav as senior vice-president.
  • It will offer investment and wealth management products and it will invest nearly $10 million in the new entity.   
  • Paytm Money is the fourth product from One97’s stable after Paytm Mall, Paytm Payments Bank and Paytm wallet.
  • It will be available as a separate mobile application to users.

CEO of One97 Communications Ltd: Vijay Shekar Sharma

SPORTS

Anchal Thakur Bags bronze Medal in Skiing

  • Aanchal Thakur wins bronze medal in Alpine Ejder 3200 Cup in Turkey.
  • She is the first Indian to win a medal at an international skiing event.
  • She won the medal in the slalom race category.
  • The Championship was organized by the Federation Internationale de Ski (skiing’s international governing body) in Erzurum, Turkey.

Aditya Mehta Wins Kolkata Open 2018

  • Aditya Mehta  clinched the Kolkata Open International Invitation Snooker Championship at the Hindustan Club in Kolkata, West Bengal.
  • He defeated Englishman Professional Player Alfie Burden to clinch the title.

CHECK YOUR KNOWLEDGE HERE: DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ : JANUARY 11, 2018

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