DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: JANUARY 25, 2019

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: JANUARY 25, 2019

Dear Aspirants,

Daily Current Affairs (January 25, 2019) like many other sections is inevitable and this also helps to score in the Banking awareness , Static GK and Financial Awareness sections. Remember, Banking Awareness and Static Awareness Questions are asked from the General Awareness section. This will also help you to ride your preparations for the forthcoming exams.

NATIONAL

PSLV-C44 successfully launches Microsat-R and Kalamsat-V2:

• India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C44) has successfully injected Microsat-R (Imaging Satellite) and Kalamsat-V2 satellites into their designated orbits.

• It is lifted off at from the First Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota. It is the 46th flight of PSLV and first flight of PSLV-DL variant. Microsat-R was successfully injected into intended orbit of 274 km.

Nitin Gadkari to Inaugurate Cable Stay Bridge over River Mandovi in Goa:

• Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Nitin Gadkari will inaugurate the newly built, 5.1 km long, four-lane, cable stayed bridge over river Mandovi in Goa.

• It will facilitate routing of Mumbai bound traffic coming in from Bangalore via Ponda route and Old Goa towards NH-17, bypassing the main Panjim City.

Prime Minister launches Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana under which a group of Indian diaspora will be taken on a government-sponsored tour of religious places in India twice a year.

• All people of Indian-origin aged 45 to 65 can apply and a group will be selected out of them with first preference given to people from ‘Girmitiya countries’ such as Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica.

• He also released two books – ‘Kashi: The Universe of Crafts and Textiles’ & ‘Indian Textiles: History, Splendour, Grandeur’.

• He also unveiled a plaque to mark the inauguration of an Integrated Textile Office Complex, at Chowkaghat.

Cabinet decides to strengthen NE autonomous councils:

• Cabinet has approved the landmark amendment to Article 280 of the Constitution to increase powers of Autonomous Councils in Sixth Schedule areas of North East.

• The proposed amendment will give more powers to Autonomous District Councils of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura Karbi Anglong Autonomous Territorial Council and Dima Hasao Autonomous Territorial Council.

• The State Election Commissions will hold elections to Autonomous Councils, village and municipal councils in the scheduled areas of Assam, Mizoram and Tripura. One-third of seats will be reserved for women in the village and municipal councils. At least two nominated members in all autonomous councils will be women.

SC to take ‘in-chamber’ decision on pleas against Article 35A:

• The Supreme Court said it will be taking an “in-chamber” decision on the listing of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Article 35-A, which provides special rights and privileges to permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

• The oral observation came from a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi in response to an oral mentioning for early hearing of the petitions.

Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore Inaugurates National Declamation Contest on Patriotism and Nation Building:

• Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports (Independent Charge) Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore inaugurated the National Declamation Contest (24th& 25th January) organized by Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) with the support of Department of Youth Affairs.

• The aim of the National Declamation Contest is to further strengthen the spirit of Nationalism and Patriotic feeling amongst youth and masses for wholehearted participation in nation building.

Tripura unveils official logo for its tea:

• The Tripura government has unveiled an official logo for the state’s tea to popularise the beverage and to promote the potentiality of tourism.

• The logo features Tripura’s iconic landmark, the “Neermahal” which is the largest and one-of-its-kind water palace in India.

• The palace located around 53 km west of Agartala, was built by then Tripura King Bir Bikram Kishore Debbarman Manikya (1908-1947) in the middle of Rudrasagar Lake.

INTERNATIONAL

India signs MoU with Sri Lanka to modernize facilities at Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies in Batticaloa:

• India and Sri Lanka has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide modern infrastructural facilities to Swami Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies of Eastern University in Batticaloa district of Sri Lanka.

• The project involves refurbishment of the auditorium and construction of a modern building complex with recording cum editing facilities and supply vehicles to the institute through a grant of over 27 crore Sri Lankan rupees from the Government of India.

• The MoU was signed by High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu, and M.M.P.K. Mayadunne, Secretary, Minister of City Planning, Water Supply and Higher Education.

Shanghai opens world’s longest 3D-printed concrete bridge:

• Shanghai is now home to the world’s longest 3D-printed concrete bridge, produced by a team from the Tsinghua University School of Architecture in Beijing.

• The pedestrian crossing was modeled on the famed Zhaozhou Bridge, which was built between 589 and 618 in Hebei province, northern China, and is the country’s oldest standing bridge.

BANKING & BUSINESS

Reliance Industries gets CCI nod to acquire Hathway, DEN:

• Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries has received a go ahead from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to acquire majority stakes in two of India’s largest cable operators – DEN Networks and Hathway Cable & Datacom for high speed broadband network under JioGigaFiber.

• RIL said it will acquire 66% in DEN and 51.3% in Hathway for a total consideration of Rs 5,230 crore.

Unconditional cash transfer to farmer better option: SBI Report

• As per the ‘SBI Ecowrap’ report, the government should opt for the unconditional cash transfer to farmers to alleviate agrarian distress rather than Universal Basic Income (UBI) scheme.

• It will need to provide cash support in the range of Rs 10,000-12,000 per annum to make it completely cash neutral and the annual cost of such a scheme is Rs.1.2 lakh crore per annum.

Indian economy may grow 7.4% in FY19, 7.6% in FY20: UN report

• India’s economy is expected to grow at 7.4 per cent during 2018-19 and improve to 7.6 per cent in the next fiscal, said a UN report.

• The United Nations’ World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2019 report also expects India’s gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 7.4 per cent in 2020-21.

World Economic Situation and Prospects 2019:

• The World Economic Situation and Prospects 2019 offers timely warnings about a range of macroeconomic challenges facing policymakers as they aim to deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

• It is the Joint report of UN-DESA, UNCTAD) and the five UN regional commissions.

• Global growth is expected to remain at 3.0 per cent in 2019 and 2020, however, the steady pace of expansion in the global economy masks an increase in downside risks that could potentially exacerbate development challenges in many parts of the world, according to the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2019.

APPOINTMENTS

Kerala’s Oldest Student, 96 YO Karthyayani Amma Becomes Commonwealth Learning Goodwill Ambassador:

• 96-year-old Karthyayani Amma from Kerala who made headlines after she became the oldest ever candidate to appear for the Kerala Literacy Mission’s Akshara Laksham (Million Letters) literacy exam has been selected as the Commonwealth of Learning Goodwill Ambassador.
• The story of the grandmother from Neyyattinkara in Alappuzha District who cleared the exam scoring 98 marks out of 100 will now inspire others in the Commonwealth countries.

Burkina Faso: Christophe Joseph Marie Dabiré is new PM

• Burkinabe President Marc Christian Kaboré has appointed Christophe Joseph Marie Dabiré as the new Prime Minister. It follows the resignation of Paul Kaba Thieba and his cabinet last week.
• Dabiré, a former commissioner representing Burkina Faso at the West African Economic and Monetary Union, served as minister under former president Blaise Compaoré, with Roch Marc Christian Kaboré as prime minister between 1994 to 1996.

AWARDS & HONOURS

Government institutes Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar:

• The government has instituted an annual award titled Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar. It will be announced every year on 23rd January, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
• This year, 8th Battalion of National Disaster Response Force located at Ghaziabad has been selected for the Award for its commendable work in disaster management.

IMPORTANT EVENTS OF THE DAY

Uttar Pradesh celebrates it’s 69th foundation day:

• Uttar Pradesh is celebrating it’s 69th foundation day on Jan 24^th, 2019. To celebrate the occasion the main function was organised at Awadh Shilp Gram in Lucknow.

• Uttar Pradesh was earlier known as United Province but through a Gazette notification, it got its name of Uttar Pradesh on January 24, 1950.

9th National Voters’ Day to be celebrated across country:

• The 9th National Voters’ Day will be celebrated across the country for enhanced participation of citizens in the electoral process.

• The National Voters’ Day is celebrated all over the country on January 25 every year since 2011 to mark the Foundation day of Election Commission of India, which was established on 25th January 1950.

OBITUARY

Bengali Writer Atin Bandyopadhyay Passes Away:

• Sahitya Akademi award winning Bengali writer Atin Bandyopadhyay died of brain stroke at Kolkata, West Bengal. Bandyopadhyay won the 2001 Sahitya Akademi award for his compilation of short stories ‘Panchashati Galpo’. He had also received the Bankim Puraskar (1998) for Dui Bharatbarsho.

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Columnist Russell Baker Dies At 93:

• Russell Baker, the Pulitzer Prize winning writer who penned thousands of columns for The New York Times, and hosted the PBS television program “Masterpiece Theatre,” died at his home in Leesburg, Va. He was 93.

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: JANUARY 24, 2019