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January Current Affairs 2014

National Affairs

1. Air Marshal Arup Raha took over as the Air

Force chief 1st Jan. He succeeded Air Chief

Marshal NAK Browne. Earlier he had held various

command, staff and instructional appointments in his

39-year-old career.

2. Indian government has cancelled a USD 753

million helicopter deal with Italian defence giant

Finmeccanica after allegations of corruption. The

contract was for 12 luxury helicopters to transport

VIPs. The deal was scrapped because an integrity pact

had been breached by the firms Anglo-Italian

helicopter arm Agusta Westland.

3. International Petroleum Conference 2014 held

in New Delhi from 12th 15th January 2014 with

'Vision 2030: Emerging Global Energy Basket -

Challenges and Opportunities' as its theme.

4. People consuming 0 to 200 units and 201 to 400

units electricity a month in Delhi would get 50%

subsidy in power tariff with effect from 1st January

2014.

5. India [3rd Jan] announced that a new rule whereby

all travelers from Pakistan would have to be vaccinated

against polio would be implemented from February 14.

6. PM Manmohan Singh inaugurated 90th anniversary

celebrations of 'Mathrubhumi' daily newspaper at

Kochi. [5-Jan]

7. Gujarat has done a little worse than the national

average when it comes to achieving decline in the

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) and Maternal Mortality Rate

(MMR), according to the Union Health Ministry. [6-

Jan]

8. The Visakhapatnam airport has commenced 24-hour

operations from January 1 this year, Indian Navy

Operates it. [6-Jan]

9. Ghualm Nabi Azad, Union Minister for Health and

Family Welfare launched the Rashtriya Kishor

Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) at delhi today. He also

inaugurated the three-day National Adolescent Health

Consultation. [7-Jan]

10. Dhanu Yatra of Bargarh, considered to be world's

biggest open-air theatre, all set for 11-day festival in

Odisha. [7-Jan]

11. Maharashtra governments ambitious health

programme Jeevan Amrut Yojana or Blood-on-

Call launched across the state today. [7-Jan]

12. The ambitious North Eastern Region Community

Resource Management Project (NERCORMP) was

officially launched for the districts of Tirap, Changlang

and Longding in Arunachal Pradesh today. [7-Jan]

13. Govt launches 'Maulana Azad Taleem-e-

Baligan' scheme to educate Muslim adults. [7-Jan]

14. The population of Kashmir Stag or 'Hangul', a

highly endangered species found only in the valley's

Dachigam National Park, has increased substantially.

15. The union cabinet Thursday approved the National

Youth Policy 2014, which focuses on education, skill

development, employment, entrepreneurship and

health. Union Cabinet approves recommendation to

increase 10,000 MBBS seats. [9-Jan]

16. The government Thursday introduced a

comprehensive regulatory framework for television

rating agencies in India. TAM (Television Audience

Measurement) to be given 30 days to comply with new

guidelines that have been approved by cabinet. [9-

Jan]

17. Delhi government today introduced 1031 - an

easy to remember anti-corruption helpline number

- replacing the eight-digit number launched two days

back which received a whopping 23,500 calls. [10-

Jan]

18. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today inaugurated

the state-of-the-art Terminal 2 or T2 at Chhatrapati

Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai. This 4.4



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4

million square feet project has been inspired by Indias

national bird - the peacock. [10-Jan]

19. India's most wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim is in

Pakistan and joint efforts with the US were being made

to nab him, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde

said. [10-Jan]

21. 18th National Youth Festival to be held in Ludhiana

from 12th to 16th January 2014. [10-Jan]

22. The Supreme Court issued notices to the Centre

and states of Uttrakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,

Jharkhand and West Bangal on a PIL seeking its

direction to prohibit them from throwing waste

material from factories into river Ganga and check

pollution. [10-Jan]

23. Punjab government has hiked the monetary

allowance given to gallantry award winners in the state

by 20 percent. [10-Jan]

24. Nirbheek, Indias first gun for women,

launched

i. Indias first gun for women, Nirbheek was launched

on 9 January 2014. It has been manufactured by the

Indian Ordnance Factory, Kanpur.

ii. It is a 0.32 bore light weight revolver which has

been developed to give more power to women to

defend themselves. It only weighs 500 grams and is

made of titanium alloy. Besides, being the lightest

revolver, Nirbheek is also the smallest revolver made

in India.

25. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the

foundation stone of country's largest 2800 mw nuclear

power plant at Gorakhpur village in Fatehabad district,

Haryana. [13-Jan]

26. India complete three years without any polio case,

a feat that is expected to prompt the World Health

Organisation (WHO) to declare the country polio-free

in March. [13-Jan]

27. South Korea's First women President Park

Geun-hye, who is on a four-day state visit to India

hold talks over global issues for boosting bilateral

relations, received a ceremonial reception at the

Rashtrapati Bhavan, Delhi today. [16-Jan]

28. Union Minister for Commerce & Industry

AnandSharma inaugurated 5th SAARC Business

Leaders Conclave at FICCI, Federation House, New

Delhi. [16-Jan]

29. Union Minister for Oil and Natural Gas Veerappa

Moily has said that the proposal to increase subsidised

LPG cylinder limit from nine to 12 per year, will be

submitted in the cabinet soon. [18-Jan]

30. Lauding the work of National Disaster Response

Force (NDRF) during calamities, including one in

Japan, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar

Shinde on Sunday said the Centre would soon

recommend Disaster Mitigation Medals for the brave

personnel. [19-Jan]

31. The Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs

(IICA) signed MoUs with FICCI. MoUs were signed to

collaborate in the areas of Corporate Social

Responsibility Competition Law, Corporate Laws,

Corporate Governance, Inclusive Growth and

Sustainable Development of the industry and the

economy. [19-Jan]

32. No plastic tri-colour is used during the

Republic Day celebration on January 26 - Odisha

government. [19-Jan]

33. Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare

Gulam Nabi Azad launched the National Urban

Health Mission in Bangalore today. The programme

aims to provide health security to urban poor and it

envisages creation of necessary health check up

infrastructure and the manpower requirement. Central

Government will share 80% of the cost to implement

the programme. All the 779 urban areas with over

50,000 population in the country will be covered under

the programme by March 2015. Around 20 crore

people in urban areas will have access to free health

care, with the launch of this programme. [20-Jan]

34. A 125-member strong Indian delegation will attend

the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting

at Davos, Switzerland this week, where they will




5

highlight efforts being undertaken to turn around the

economy. [21-Jan]

35. The Central Government has granted minority

status to the Jain Community yesterday, this will

enable them to avail of benefits in government

schemes and programmes. With this

announcement, Jains became the sixth community to

have minority status after Muslims, Christians, Sikhs,

Buddhists and Parsis. [21-Jan]

36. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee

attended the national convention of Tamang tribe at

Mirik, Darjeeling district today. [21-Jan]

37. INS Vikramaditya arrives in India from Russia.

[22-Jan]

38. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will pay

an official visit to New Delhi from January 25-27

and will be the chief guest at this years Republic

Day celebrations, as per the Ministry of External

Affairs. During his visit, Abe will also hold discussions

with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. [22-Jan]

39. India would be declared Polio free in march by

World Health Organization as it completes three years

without any polio case. [22-Jan] At the same time,

Peshawar in Pakistan had the largest number of polio

cases in the world in 2013. [18-Jan].

40. The National Innovation Council (NInC) and

the Ministry of Micro, Small

and Medium Enterprises (MSME) come together to set

up 'India Inclusive Innovation Fund' (IIIF). The

fund seeks to leverage the model of Venture Capital to

transform the lives of the underprivileged. Its to add

teeth to the efforts of socio-economical upliftment by

assisting inadequate philanthropy and Government

grants/subsidies provided to the poors. [27-Jan]

41. India remembered Mahatma Gandhi on his

66th death anniversary with President Pranab

Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

leading the country in paying homage to the

Father of the Nation. [30-Jan]

42. Country's first monorail to roll out from

Mumbai on Feb 2nd. The Chief Minister of

Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan will officially launch the

first phase of the monorail project between Chembur

and Wadala on February 1.

Minimum fare will five rupess while, maximum fare will

be twenty rupees. Capacity is 20,000 passengers per

hour. Initially the frequency of train will be after every

15 minutes. [30-Jan]

43. India has 37 per cent of the world's illiterate

adults

i. India has by far the largest population of illiterate

adults -- 287 million or 37 percent of the global total,

said a report released on Wednesday.

ii. The "EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2013-14:

Teaching and Learning: Achieving Quality for All",

commissioned by the UNESCO, said 10 countries

(including India) account for 557 million or 72 per cent

of the global population of illiterate adults.

iii. "India's literacy rate rose from 48 per cent in 1991

to 63 per cent in 2006, (the latest year for which data

was available), but population growth cancelled the

gains. So there was no change in the number of

illiterate adults," the report said.

iv. The report said that without attracting and

adequately training enough teachers, the learning

crisis will "last for several generations and hit the

disadvantaged the hardest".

v. "It leaves one in four young people in poor countries

unable to read a single sentence, affecting one-third of

young women in South and West Asia," it said.

vi. The countries include Bhutan, India, Bangladesh,

Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

vii. At the report launch, Delhi Education Minister

Manish Sisodia said it was essential to change the

content in our textbooks, so that the "future

generation is more aware" about the various issues

prevalent in society. [30-Jan]

44. India became third largest crude oil importer

in the World

i. India overtook Japan to become the third largest

crude oil importer in the World. As per the data

released by Reuters on 30 January 2014, India

imported 3.86 million barrels-per-day of crude oil in

the year 2013.




6

ii. Indias crude oil imports were nearly 6 percent

higher than Japans customs-cleared imports of

3648372 barrels-per-day (211716710 kilolitres). [31-

Jan]

Worlds Top Five Oil-Importing Countries

1. China: China imports 6.30 million barrels per day

2. U.S.A: USA imports 6.24 million barrels per day

3. India: India imports 3.86 million barrels per day

4. Japan: Japan imports 3.64 million barrels per day

5. Germany: Germany imports 2.67 million barrels per

day

45. Sachin & Prof C N R Rao to get Bharat Ratna

on February 4

i. President Pranab Mukherjee will confer cricket

legend Sachin Tendulkar and eminent scientist Prof C

N R Rao with Bharat Ratna on February 4 at

Rashtrapati Bhavan.

ii. A formal ceremony, which is likely to be attended by

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson

Sonia Gandhi, will be held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

iii. The Little Master was given the honour hours after

he played his 200th and last Test against the touring

West Indies in November last year.

iv. Tendulkar (40) and Rao (89), both of whom are

recipients of Padma Vibhushanthe countrys second

highest civilian honour, join the list of 41

eminent personalities to get the award given in

recognition of exceptional service of the highest order.

Note: i. Tendulkar is the first sportsman and the

youngest recipient of the the Bharat Ratna. Besides

Tendulkar, Rao will also be presented with the award.

ii. Prof Rao is a well recognized international authority

on solid state and materials chemistry. The 89-year-

old has published over 1,400 research papers and 45

books. His contributions have been recognized by most

major scientific academies around the world through

conferment of memberships and fellowships, and has

been honoured with several national and international

awards.

iii. Sachin Tendulkar and Prof Rao join the list of 41

eminent personalities to get the Bharat Ratna. [31-

Jan]

International Affairs

46. Chile took its seat at the United Nations Security

Council (UNSC) as a non-permanent member of the

international body till Dec 31, 2015. In addition to

Chile, other non-permanent members joining the

council for the next two years included Chad, Lithuania

and Nigeria. Chile previously sat on the UNSC from

1952-1953, 1961-1962, 1996-1997 and 2003-2004.

[2-Jan]

47. Jan 3rd is the 45th birthday of Michael Schumacher

(a retired German racing driver), who is struggling for

life after accident.

48. Nepal SC gives voters 'None of the Above'

(NOTA) option; becomes 15th country to ensure

negative voting in elections. [6-Jan]

49. Malaysia has introduced visa on arrival (VoA)

facility for Indians travelling to this South Asian

country from a third country, including Singapore and

Thailand. [6-Jan]

50. The euro zones unemployment rate remained

stable at 12.1% in November. With this, the euro

zone jobless rate has now been unchanged at its

current record level for eight consecutive months

now. Greece has the highest unemployment rate of

27.4% followed by Spain at 26.7%. Austria has the

lowest unemployment rate of 4.8% followed by 5.2%

in Germany. [8-Jan]

51. US President Barack Obama today invited German

Chancellor Angela Merkel to Washington in an effort to

mend fences after a diplomatic crisis provoked by

revelations of US eavesdropping on her mobile phone.

[9-Jan]

52. China took its propaganda war with Japan to the

United Nations, questioning Japanese Prime Minister

Shinzo Abes motives for visiting a controversial war

shrine and calling on him to correct his erroneous

outlook on history. [9-Jan]

53. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is heading to

Africa, keeping up a busy overseas travel schedule

designed to boost Japan's global profile in the face of

China's rise. [9-Jan]

54. As Corporate America increasingly looks overseas

to expand its business and remove hurdles in foreign




7

countries, the US Chamber of Commerce has called for

better intellectual property protection in India. [9-Jan]

55. Cuban leader Fidel Castro makes first public

appearance in nine months, coincides with 55th

anniversary of his entry to Havana. [9-Jan]

56. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has conveyed to

Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck

India's "full commitment" and support to the country's

socio-economic welfare, particularly for development of

its hydropower resources. [9-Jan]

57. Iran and world powers met today to discuss how to

implement a landmark deal aimed at containing

Tehran's nuclear drive, less than two weeks before the

agreement is due to take effect. [10-Jan]

58. The latest Chinese moves to restrict fishing in

contested waters of the South China Sea are

"provocative and potentially dangerous acts," the

United States has said. [10-Jan]

59. The US has stepped up assistance to Iraq to

combat al-Qaeda-linked global terrorist groups who

have seized the oil-rich country's two major cities in

the western province of Al-Anbar, the White House has

said. [10-Jan]

60. Germany has agreed to join global efforts to

destroy Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles by

disposing residues of the most toxic materials. [10-

Jan]

61. Pakistan's Attorney General Munir Malik, the

government's top law officer, resigned today. [10-

Jan]

62. India on Friday advised its nationals in Thailand to

take precautions for personal safety as protesters

prepared for a massive rally on Monday aimed at

paralysing the capital to intensify an ongoing bid to

oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. [10-Jan]

63. Iran's nuclear envoy Abbas Araghchi in Geneva

says an initial agreement has been reached on

implementing a nuclear deal with six world powers and

that it's been sent to capitals for approval. [10-Jan]

64. Three international airlines (Fly Dubai, Silk Air

(Singapore) and Air Arabia) are ready to begin flights

from the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) after

the state government decided to slash the VAT on

Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF). [10-Jan]

65. The US unemployment rate dropped to a five

year low of 6.7% in December compared to

unemployment rate of 7% in November as firms

created 74,000 new jobs. The number of jobs

created was the lowest for three years and was well

under half the number expected by analysts mainly

because of the bad weather faced by the USA in

December. This data confirms strong recovery in the

USA job market. [10-Jan]

66. UN leader Ban Ki-moon and the UN Security

Council are urging South Sudan President to release

political detainees at the centre of efforts to start a

ceasefire in the countrys conflict. [11-Jan]

67. Ali Larayedh, the Prime Minister of Tunisia

resigned

i. Ali Larayedh, the Prime Minister of Tunisia resigned

from his office on 9 January 2014.

ii. With his resignation, the country will be led by the

caretaker Government of technocrats led by led by

new Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa.[11-Jan]

68. US President Barack Obama announced to

establish an Af-Pak Strategic Partnership Office

(APSPO) on 18 January 2014.

69. BIS and Ministry of Labour and Employment signed

an MoU to enhance the collaboration within the

framework of UKIERI in New Delhi. [18-Jan]

70. Egypt's new constitution approved by 98.1

percent.

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the Army chief who ousted the

democratically elected Islamist president Mohamed

Morsi in last July, is said to be eyeing the presidential

office.

71. US President Barak Obama has signed a $1.1

trillion spending bill that puts condition on continuation

of America aid to Pakistan. [19-Jan]




8

72. Afghanistan is likely to join the World Trade

Organization (WTO) within the next three

months, as per the Afghan Commerce and

Industries Ministry. [20-Jan]

73. The Philippines said Tuesday it has banned imports

of poultry and related products from China after it

confirmed an outbreak of the HN52 strain of bird flu in

the northern province of Hebei. [21-Jan]

74. Chilika lagoon has been named destination

flyways by United Nations World Tourism

Organization (UNWTO) after its inclusion in a list

of eight such sites worldwide. It is the only site

in Asia to be thus recognized by UNWTO. The

lagoon was so named because it is a sustainable and

resilient destination for migratory water birds, said

official sources. UNWTO is the United Nations agency

responsible for the promotion of universally accessible

tourism. Over the years, Chilika has proved to be the

ideal destination for migratory birds, which is the

reason why it is also a globally-acclaimed tourist

destination. [22-Jan]

Appointments

75. Latvia has formally joined the euro zone with

new year, becoming the 18th member of the

group of EU states which uses the euro as its

currency. Latvia recently emerged from the financial

crisis to become the EUs fastest-growing economy as

well. This step will improve Latvias credit rating and

attract foreign investors. [1-Jan]

76. Ashraf Jehan becomes the first female

judge in National Sharia Court of Pakistan. [1-Jan]

77. Pradeep Kumar Saxena has taken over charge as

full-fledged General Manager of South Western Railway

(SWR). Before taking over as General Manager, SWR,

Saxena was Principal Chief Engineer, Central Railway,

Mumbai. [2-Jan]

78. Nita Chowdhury, 1977 batch IAS officer of Uttar

Pradesh cadre, appointed as Secretary, Dept of Official

Language, Ministry of Home Affairs. [3-Jan]

79. A. K. Jain, a 1977-batch IAS officer of Nagaland

cadre, appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Women

and Child Development. [3-Jan]

80. AAP s M S Dhir becomes Delhi Assembly Speaker.

[3-Jan]

81. B. G. Srinivas and U.B. Pravin Rao have been

appointed as presidents of the Infosys Ltd

Company. B. G. Srinivas will focus on global markets

while U. B. Pravin Rao will focus on global delivery and

service innovation and they will report to CEO Shibulal.

Also Infosys has announced that Executive Council will

cease to exist from 1st April 2014. [4-Jan]

82. Justice B.S. Chauhan appointed as

the Chairman of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. He

will succeed Justice N.P. Singh as such who had

resigned on health grounds way back in April 2012.

[6-Jan]

83. Raman Singh and BJP MLAs took oath as the first

session of the newly-elected Chhattisgarh Assembly

began on Monday, with BJP leader Gaurishankar

Agrawal set to be elected as the Speaker. Agrawal, a

two-time MLA, is the only candidate who had filed

nomination for Speaker's post by Sunday evening, as

the deadline expired. The session will have five sittings

and end on January 10. [6-Jan]

84. US Senate confirms Janet Yellen as head of Federal

Reserve making her first woman to lead world's most

powerful central bank. [7-Jan]

85. Former Additional Judge Sudip Ranjan Sen was

sworn in as judge of the Meghalaya High Court at

shillong today. [7-Jan]

86. The Telenor Group has nominated Morten

Karlsen Sorby as the new Chief Executive Officer

of Uninor with immediate effect. He replaces Sigve

Brekke who has served as interim CEO of Uninor since

early November last year. Morten Karlsen Sooby joined

Telenor in 1993 and has been a member of the Groups

executive management team since 2003. [8-Jan]

87. Bangladesh's newly elected lawmakers were

sworn-in Thursday, four days after Prime Minister




9

Sheikh Hasina's Awami League bagged a three-fourth

majority in the contentious polls, marred by violence

and opposition boycott. [9-Jan]

88. Justice Kuldeep Singh was today sworn in as

additional judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court.

With his elevation, the number of judges in the High

Court rose to 48. [10-Jan]

89. Congress General Secretary Ajay Maken today took

oath as a member of the New Delhi Municipal Council

(NDMC). [10-Jan]

90. Czech President Milos Zeman will appoint Social

Democrat leader Bohuslav Sobotka as prime minister

by next week. [10-Jan]

91. Sheikh Hasina sworn in as Bangladesh's Prime

Minister for a third spell. [11-Jan]

92. Union minister Sachin Pilot appointed as the

Congress chief in Rajasthan. [13-Jan]

93. Rajeev Kher appointed Indias

new commerce secretary: Rajeev Kher, a 1980

batch IAS officer, was on Wednesday appointed

secretary in the department of commerce. The UP

cadre officer is currently special secretary in the

department in the ministry of commerce and industry.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC)

named Kher to replace current secretary S.R. Rao, who

retires on 31 January, according to an official

statement. [16-Jan]

94. Three months after taking over as the CEO of Jet

Airways, Gary Kenneth Toomey has resigned from the

position. Ravishankar Gopalakrishnan, the chief

financial officer of the airline, will officiate as the

"acting chief executive officer" till the board appoints a

new chief. [16-Jan]

95. Jamila Bayaz was appointed as the police chief

of District One of Kabul province on 15 January 2014.

She is the first woman in Afghanistan to be appointed

as police chief of an entire district. [17-Jan]

99. Hery Rajaonarimampianina declared as the new

President of Madagascar following the result of

elections conducted with an aim to restore democracy.

His election as the President came as the result of the

elections conducted on 20 December 2013 with an aim

to restore democracy in the nation. [18-Jan]

100. Government has appointed senior police

officer Aruna Bahuguna as the new chief of the

Hyderabad-based National Police Academy, alma

mater for IPS officers in the country. She

succeeded incumbent IPS Subhas Goswami who was

appointed as the Director General of the Indo-Tibetan

Border Police (ITBP) last year. She is the 28th chief of

the academy and will be at its helm till February 2017.

With this, she has also become the first woman to

head National Police Academy. [21-Jan]

101. Anand Sinha, the Deputy Governor of the

Reserve Bank of India retired yesterday. Post his

retirement, his portfolio has been allocated to

other three Deputy Governors, K.C. Chakrabarty,

H.R. Khan and Urjit Patel. [21-Jan]

102. Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) has appointed

S N Goel as its chief executive officer and

managing director as Indias leading electricity

bourse was without a full-time CEO for some

time. Before that, Goel was director (marketing &

operations) at PTC India Ltd. He has also served as

executive director with NTPC, a release said today.

[21-Jan]

104. Aruna Bahuguna appointed as chief of

National Police Academy: Aruna Bahuguna is the

first woman to be appointed as the chief of Sardar

Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad.

The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) issued

the orders for the appointment on 20 January 2014.

She is the 28th chief of the academy and will be at its

helm till February 2017. [22-Jan]

105. T. Nanda Kumar will be the new Chairman of

the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).

He will replace Amrita Patel who has been

holding the post since 1998. He is currently

Member of the National Disaster Management

Authority, is slated to take over from March 1st. Nanda

Kumar will be the first ever person from the Indian

Administrative Service to hold the position of NDDB




10

Chairman. Both Patel and her illustrious predecessor

Verghese Kurien, who was chairman from 1965 to

1998, have dairy professional backgrounds. [22-Jan]

106. Alok Sinha, Joint Secretary- Ministry of Civil

Aviation, has been appointed as the Chairman of

Airports Authority of India (AAI), who has been

given additional charge of the new post. He

replaced V P Agarwal who was removed from the

Chairman post. The move comes as the Government

has set on fast track the move to involve the private

sector in the modernisation of six airports including

those in Chennai and Kolkata. [24-Jan]

107. DMK suspended Mr. Alagiri, the son of DMK

Chief Mr. M. Karunanidhi from being a member of

the party and also relieved him of the party posts

today. [24-Jan]

108. Aviation ministry removed V.P.Agrawal from

position of AAI chairman. [25-Jan]

i. The Aviation Ministry removed V.P.Agrawal as

chairman of the state-run Airports Authority of India

(AAI) on 24 January 2014.

ii. Alok Sinha has given additional charge as AAI

chairman. Alok Sinha is a joint secretary in the

Aviation Ministry.

iii. V.P. Agrawal took over as chairman on 1 January

2009 for a period of five years. His tenure was ended

on 31 December 2013, but he was allowed to continue

in the post.

109. H C Meena, an Indian Police Service (IPS)

officer of the 1976 batch, has been appointed as

the Secretary Security in the Cabinet Secretariat

last week. She will hold the post till his

superannuation on 30 September 2014. Earlier, she

has served as the director general in Rajasthan. [28-

Jan]

110. Egypts Army Chief Fattah al-Sisi promoted

to Field Marshal: Egypts army chief Gen Fattah al-

Sisi on 27 January 2014 was promoted to the rank

of Field Marshal (the highest in the military). His

promotion came amid speculation that the military

strongman way readying for the Presidential bid.

Fattah al-Sisi is the person who ousted the Islamist

President, Mohammed Morsi. The presidential decree

of promoting the 59-year-old Sisi to the rank of Field

Marshalwas issued by the interim president Adly

Mansour. Egypts army rarely promotes senior officers

to the rank of a field marshal. [28-Jan]

111. Arun Kumar Gupta has assumed charge as

the Chairman and Managing Director of Shipping

Corporation of India (SCI), a navratna public sector

undertaking under the aegis of the Ministry of

Shipping. He joined the company in 1976 and he has

the experience of working at the senior management

level of SCI, which includes serving as Director, Irano-

Hind Shipping Company, at Tehran with additional

charge of safety and quality department for a period of

over three years. [30-Jan]

112. Ajoy Misra has been appointed as the CEO and

Managing Director of Tata Global Beverages Limited

(TGBL) on 29 January 2014. [30-Jan]

114. Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna visited the

Rajbhavan in Dehradun and submitted his resignation

letter to the Governor Aziz Qureshi on Friday.

Union Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat is all set

to become Bahugunas successor in the state.

Awards

115. Chief Scientist & Head of Inorganic and

Physical Chemistry Division, CSIR-Indian

Institute of Chemical Technology, B. Mahipal

Reddy was honoured with the Best Scientist

Award of Science-Tech Foundation

(STF), Bangalore for the year 2013. He has been

selected for his efforts which resulted in the

development of novel catalysts for air pollution control,

bio-mass conversion to value-added products,

synthesis of fine chemicals and solar fuels, and the

conversion of greenhouse gases to useful chemicals.

[1-Jan]

116. Minister of State for Human Resource

Development Shashi Tharoor has been awarded for

working towards animal protection by PETA-India. [1-

Jan]

117. Mahipal Reddy receives the 'Best Scientist

Award' of Science-Tech Foundation (STF), Bangalore

for the year 2013. He is currently a Chief Scientist &




11

Head of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry Division

of CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology. [1-

Jan]

118. Serena Williams honoured with Associated

Press' (AP) female 'Athlete of the year' award 2013 for

the 3rd time after 2002 and 2009. American Basket

ball player 'LeBron James' won the male 'Athlete of

the year' award for this season. [1-Jan]

119. Manipur's M Khayingthei and Mizoram's

Ramdinthara, who lost their lives while trying to save

friends from drowning, are among three persons

selected for 'Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak'. [6-

Jan]

120. Writer-director Jane Campion will succeed Steven

Spielberg as the jury president of the next Festival de

Cannes, slated to take place from May 14 to 24 this

year. [7-Jan]

121. Mahatma Gandhis grand-daughter Ela

Gandhi, Australian senator of Indian origin Lisa

Maria Singh and Ramkrishna Mission in Fiji were

among the 13 recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya

Samman Award conferred in Delhi yesterday.

President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the awards to

the winners at the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas

programme. Ela Gandhi has been awarded

the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman for public service,

enhancing Indias image and promoting ties between

India and South Africa. Riyadh-based social worker

Shihabudeen Kottukad was also awarded with the

prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA)

for community service and promoting ties between

India and Saudi Arabia. [10-Jan]

122. Gorakhpur railway station entered Limca

Book of Records as worlds longest platform

i. Gorakhpur railway stations platform number one of

Uttar Pradesh has entered into the Limca Book of

Records as longest rail platform in the world.

ii. The certificate given by the Limca Book of Records

was unveiled on 10 January 2014 by KK Atal, the

General Manager North Eastern Railways (NER).

iii. The platforms length is 1355.40 meters and was

inaugurated in 6 October 2013.

iv. Before the platform number one of Gorakhpur, the

platform of Kharagpur railway station of West

Bengal had the distinction of being worlds largest

platform with length of 1072.5 meters. [11-Jan]

123. President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday

presented the first 'Sunil Gangopadhyay Memorial

Award' for Excellence in Bengali Literature to eminent

poets and litterateurs Nirendranth Chakravarti for the

year 2012 and Sankha Ghosh for the year 2013

respectively at an award function at the Raj Bhavan.

[11-Jan]

124. Maharashtra Governor K Sankara narayanan

today presented the K Veeramani Award for Social

Justice to Maharashtra Minister for Public Works and

Tourism Chhagan Bhujbal. [11-Jan]

125. Former India captain Kapil Dev was with the C K

Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award by the BCCI at its

seventh annual awards ceremony today. [11-Jan]

126. Golden Globe Awards, 2014 announced. [13-

Jan]

127. Cristiano Ronaldo wins 2013 Ballon d'Or award.

[13-Jan]

128. American Hustle and Gravity lead 2014 Oscar

nominations with 10 nods each, while 12 Years A

Slave earns nine. [16-Jan]

129. In a press meet at Delhi on January 17, Gita

Siddartha, president of the Indian Council for Child

Welfare (ICCW) introduced 23 the brave-hearts, who

will be honored with National Bravery Awards. Of the

23 nine girls and 14 boys two children will be

awarded posthumously. [17-Jan]

130. Yushi, Taiwanese poet awarded

Thiruvalluvar award [17-Jan]

i. Taiwanese poet Yushi was awarded the Thiruvalluvar

award on 15 January 2014 by the Tamil Nadu

government in Chennai. Yushi is the first foreign

scholar to receive Thiruvalluvar award.

ii. The award was given to Yushi on the occasion of

Thiruvalluvar Day. The award was given to him in

recognition of his contribution to the Tamil language.




12

Yushi has translated Tirukkural (one of the collection of

sangam literature), the poems of poet Subramanya

Bharathi and poet Bharathidasan in Mandarin, Chinese

language.

iii. Yushi is the founder president of the Tamil Sangam

in Taiwan. In 2004 he received the highest honour

award by Seoul World Academy of Arts and Culture.

132. Cyrus Mistry bags 'DSC prize for South Asian

literature 2014'. [19-Jan]

133. Kerala-based writer Anees Slim won The Hindu

Prize for Best Fiction 2013 for his novel, Vanity Bagh

for consistent writing and humour and imagination.

The Hindu Prize for Best Fictionrecognises the

contribution of Indian writers to literary culture. [19-

Jan]

134. exchange4media News Broadcasting Awards

(ENBA) Awards 2013 Winners [19-Jan]

Best News Channel of the Year (English) - NDTV

24X7

News Channel of the Year (Hindi) - Aaj Tak

Best Anchor (English) - Shereen Bhan

Best Anchor (Hindi) - Punya Prasun Bajpai

Best Editor-In-Chief (English) - Rajdeep Sardesai.

Best Editor-In-Chief (Hindi) - Shazi Zaman (Group

Editor, ABP News)

Best In-Show graphics (Hindi) - Pradhanmantri (TV

Series) (ABP News-MCCS)

Best In-Show graphics (English) - World view-Race

for White House (CNN-IBN)

Best News Producer (Hindi) - Sweta Singh

135. West Bengal has been selected for Krishi

Karman Award for 2012-13 as the best

performing state in overall agricultural

production in the country. The award would be

presented by the President during the inaugural

ceremony of the World Congress on Agro Forestry

2014 at Delhi on 10th February. Krishi Karman Awards

are the first ever awards being given to states for their

effort and contribution towards raising the countrys

foodgrain production. [20-Jan]

137. The President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee

presented awards for the year 2012-13 to various

States and Cities for outstanding performance in

different categories under the flagship schemes of the

Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation

today. [21-Jan]

138. Danielle Steel receives the Legion of Honor,

Frances highest award. [22-Jan]

139. Coimbatore-born scientist and Stanford

University Emeritus Professor Arogyaswami

Joseph Paulraj has been awarded the prestigious

2014 Marconi Society Prize. Paulraj is the only

India-born scientist to receive both the Marconi Prize

and the Bell Medal, two top global IT technology

awards. He was awarded for his invention and

advancement of MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output)

technology, which is at the heart of WiFi and 4G

technologies that millions worldwide use. [22-Jan]

140. Gujarati poet Chinu Modi was conferred the

Sahitya Akademi Award for the year 2013 for his

poetry book Khara Zaran. [22-Jan]

141. Kerala Tourism has been conferred the United

Nations Award for creating innovative initiatives for

sustainable tourism, the first time India has ever won

the recognition. Kerala won the UNWTO Ulysses Award

for Innovation in Public Policy and Governance, the

highest honour given to the government bodies for

shaping global tourism policies through innovative

initiatives. [23-Jan]

142. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of the countrys

largest biotech research firm, Biocon Ltd, has

been named winner of the 2014 Othmer Gold

Medal, It is a top award of the US-based Chemical

Heritage Foundation. The Philadelphia-based

Foundation is a collections-based non-profit

organisation that preserves the history and heritage of

chemistry, chemical engineering, and related sciences

and technologies. The collections are used to create a

body of original scholarship that illuminates

chemistrys role in shaping society. [24-Jan]

143. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh gave away

National Bravery awards for the year 2013 to children

from various parts of the country in New Delhi today.

25 children from various States, including Uttar

Pradesh, Delhi, Chattisgarh, Manipur, Madhya Pradesh




13

and Jammu and Kashmir won the National Bravery

awards.

The awardees include nine girls. Five children

were awarded posthumously. The award winning

children will be part of Republic Day Parade at Rajpath

on Sunday. [24-Jan]

144. Noted actor-director Kamala Haasan and

classical singer Begum Parveen Sultana have

been selected for the prestigious Padma Bhushan

award this year, while Bollywood actors Vidya

Balan and Paresh Rawal will receive Padma Shri.

Cricketer Yuvraj Singh, ace shuttler Gopichand and

squash player Pallikkal have got Padma Shri

awards. Dr Raghunath A Mashelkar, Director-

General of Indias Council of Scientific and

Industrial Research and B K S Iyengar, founder

of Iyengar Yoga and is considered one of the

foremost yoga teachers in the world,have been

awarded with the Padma Vibhushan, which is the

second highest civilian award after Bharat Ratna. [25-

Jan]

145. Dr. Mohinder Singh, member of the National

Commission for Minority Educational Institutions

and famous academician N Radhakrishnan have

been awarded with the National Communal

Harmony Award. Dr. Singh has been chosen for his

work done in restoring peace after the 1984 anti-Sikh

riots and Radhakrishnan for promotion of Gandhian

values. [25-Jan]

146. Richard Quest won 2013 UNWTO Lifetime

Achievement Award [24-Jan]

i. UNWTO awarded CNNs Richard Quest the 2013

UNWTO Award for Lifetime Achievement on 22 January

2014.

ii. The UNWTO Award for Lifetime Achievement was

presented during the UNWTO Awards Ceremony held

in Madrid, Spain.

iii. The Award recognizes Mr. Quests reporting across

the globe on CNN, which has showcased the challenges

and successes of the tourism industry raising it into

the mainstream of the international agenda.

About UNWTO Lifetime Achievement Award

The UNWTO Award for Lifetime Achievement is

conferred to recognize a lifetime achievement of

individuals with visionary leadership and significant

contribution throughout the nominees career as an

inspirational role model for the development at the

local, national, regional or international level.

147. Dr. Tej Vir Singh won the UNWTO Ulysses

Prize [25-Jan]

i. Dr. Tej Vir Singh from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh won

the 2013 UNWTO Ulysses Prize for Excellence in the

Creation and Dissemination of Knowledge on 22

January 2014.

ii. Dr.Singh is the professor and Founding Director of

the Centre for Tourism Research & Development

(CTRD) in India.

iii. Dr. Singh started the first Himalayan tourism

training course, as the Founding Director of the

Institute of Himalayan Studies and Regional

Development at the University of Garhwal.

About UNWTO Ulysses Prize

The UNWTO Ulysses Prize is given to a distinguished

scholar, whether in academia, government or private

industry, for outstanding contributions to innovation

and knowledge in tourism.

148. The Centre for Study of Society and

Secularism, Mumbai won the award under

organization category for its work to promote

peace, secularism and communal harmony in the

country. The Awards are instituted by the National

Foundation for Communal Harmony to give

appreciation and recognition to the efforts of

individuals and Organizations for promotion of

communal harmony and national integration in a

sustained manner.

149. Padma Awards Announced 2014 [26-Jan]

Padma Vibhushan

Sl No. Name Discipline State/ Domicile

1. Dr. Raghunath A. Mashelkar Science and Engineering Maharashtra




14

2. Shri B.K.S. Iyengar Others-Yoga Maharashtra

Padma Bhushan

Sl. N0 Name Discipline State/ Domicile

1 Prof. Gulam Mohammed Sheikh Art - Painting Gujarat

2 Begum Parveen Sultana Art - Classical Singing Maharashtra

3 Shri T.H. Vinayakram Art - Ghatam Artist Tamil Nadu

4 Shri Kamala Haasan Art-Cinema Tamil Nadu

5 Justice Dalveer Bhandari Public Affairs Delhi

6 Prof. Padmanabhan Balaram Science and Engineering Karnataka

7 Prof. Jyeshtharaj Joshi Science and Engineering Maharashtra

8 Dr. Madappa Mahadevappa Science and Engineering Karnataka

9 Dr. Thirumalachari Ramasami Science and Engineering Delhi

10 Dr. Vinod Prakash Sharma Science and Engineering Delhi

11 Dr. Radhakrishnan Koppillil Science and Engineering Karnataka

12 Dr. Mrityunjay Athreya Literature and Education Delhi

13 Ms. Anita Desai Literature and Education Delhi

14 Dr. Dhirubhai Thaker Literature and Education Gujarat

15 Shri Vairamuthu Ramasamy Thevar Literature and Education Tamil Nadu

16 Shri Ruskin Bond Literature and Education Uttarakhand

17 Shri Pullela Gopichand Sports - Badminton Andhra Pradesh

18 Shri Leander Paes Sports - Tennis Maharashtra

19 Shri Vijayendra Nath Kaul Civil Service Delhi

20 Late Justice Jagdish Sharan Verma Public Affairs Uttar Pradesh#

21 Late Dr. Anumolu Ramakrishna Science and Engineering Andhra Pradesh #

22 Prof. Anisuzzaman Literature and Education Bangladesh*

23 Prof. Lloyd I. Rudolph Literature and Education USA*$

24 Prof. Susanne H. Rudolph Literature and Education USA*$

25 Dr. (Smt.) Neelam Kler Medicine - Neonatology Delhi

Padma Shri

S No Name Discipline State/ Domicile

1 Shri Mohammad Ali Baig Art - Theatre Andhra Pradesh

2 Ms. Nayana Apte Joshi Art - Maharashtra

3 Shri Musafir Ram Bhardwaj Art - Instrumental Music -

Pauna Manjha

Himachal Pradesh

4 Ms. Sabitri Chatterjee Art - Film West Bengal




15

5 Prof. Biman Bihari Das Art - Sculptor Delhi

6 Shri Sunil Das Art - Painting West Bengal

7 Smt. Elam Endira Devi Art - Manipuri Dance Manipur

8 Shri Vijay Ghate Art - Instrumental Music - Tabla Maharashtra

9 Smt Rani Karnaa Art - Kathak West Bengal

10 Shri Bansi Kaul Art - Theatre Jammu & Kashmir

11 Ustad Moinuddin Khan Art - Instrumental Music-

Sarangi Player

Rajasthan

12 Ms. Geeta Mahalik Art - Odishi Dance Delhi

13 Shri Paresh Maity Art - Painting Delhi

14 Shri Ram Mohan Art - Film Animation Maharashtra

15 Shri Sudarsan Pattnaik Art - Sand Artist Orissa

16 Shri Paresh Rawal Art - Cinema and Theatre Maharashtra

17 Shri Wendell Augustine Rodricks Art - Fashion Designing Goa

18 Prof. Kalamandalam Sathyabhama Art Mohini Attam Kerala

19 Shri Anuj (Ramanuj) Sharma Art - Performing Art Chhattisgarh

20 Shri Santosh Sivan Art - Film Tamil Nadu

21 Ms. Supriya Devi Art-Bengali Cinema West Bengal

22 Ms. Sooni Taraporevala Art- Script Writing Maharashtra

23 Ms. Vidya Balan Art-Cinema Maharashtra

24 Smt. Durga Jain Social Work Maharashtra

25 Dr. Rama Rao Anumolu Social Work Andhra Pradesh

26 Dr. Brahm Dutt Social Work Haryana

27 Shri Mukul Chandra Goswami Social Work Assam

28 Shri J.L. Kaul Social Work Delhi

29 Shri Mathurbhai Madhabhai Savani Social Work Gujarat

30 Shri Tashi Tondup Public Affairs Jammu and

Kashmir

31 Dr. Hasmukh Chamanlal Shah Public Affairs Gujarat

32 Shri Sekhar Basu Science and Engineering Maharashtra

33 Shri Madhavan Chandradathan Science and Engineering Kerala

34 Prof. Sushanta Kumar Dattagupta Science and Engineering West Bengal

35 Dr. Ravi Bhushan Grover Science and Engineering Maharashtra

36 Prof. Eluvathingal Devassy Jemmis Science and Engineering Karnataka

37 Shri Ramkrishna V. Hosur Science and Engineering Maharashtra

38 Dr. Ajay Kumar Parida Science and Engineering Tamil Nadu

39 Dr. Malapaka Yajneswara Satyanarayana Prasad Science and Engineering Andhra Pradesh




16

40 Shri Kiran Kumar Alur Seelin Science and Engineering Gujarat

41 Dr. Brahma Singh Science and Engineering Delhi

42 Prof. Vinod Kumar Singh Science and Engineering Madhya Pradesh

43 Dr. Govindan Sundararajan Science and Engineering Andhra Pradesh

44 Ramaswamy R. Iyer Science and Engineering Delhi

45 Dr. Jayanta Kumar Ghosh Science and Engineering West Bengal

46 Shri Ravi Kumar Narra Trade and Industry Andhra Pradesh

47 Shri Rajesh Saraiya Trade and Industry Maharashtra

48 Ms. Mallika Srinivasan Trade and Industry Tamil Nadu

49 Shri Pratap Govindrao Pawar Trade and Industry Maharashtra

50 Dr. Kiritkumar Mansukhlal Acharya Medicine - Dermatology Gujarat

51 Dr. Balram Bhargava Medicine - Cardiology Uttar Pradesh

52 Prof. (Dr.) Indra Chakravarty Medicine - Health & Hygiene West Bengal

53 Dr. Ramakant Krishnaji Deshpande Medicine - Oncology Maharashtra

54 Prof. (Dr.) Pawan Raj Goyal Medicine - Chest Disease Haryana

55 Prof. Amod Gupta Medicine - Opthalmology Haryana

56 Prof. (Dr.) Daya Kishore Hazra Medicine Uttar Pradesh

57 Prof. (Dr.) Thenumgal Poulose Jacob Medicine - Vascular Surgery Tamil Nadu

58 Prof. (Dr.) Shashank R. Joshi Medicine - Endocrinology Maharashtra

59 Prof. Hakim Syed Khaleefathullah Medicine - Unani Medicine Tamil Nadu

60 Dr. Milind Vasant Kirtane Medicine - ENT Surgeory Maharashtra

61 Dr. Lalit Kumar Medicine - oncology Delhi

62 Dr. Mohan Mishra Medicine Bihar

63 Dr. M. Subhadra Nair Medicine - Gyneacology Kerala

64 Dr. Ashok Panagariya Medicine - Neurology Rajasthan

65 Dr. Narendra Kumar Pandey Medicine - Surgery Haryana

66 Dr. Sunil Pradhan Medicine - Neurology Uttar Pradesh

67 Dr. Ashok Rajgopal Medicine - Orthopaedics Delhi

68 Dr. Kamini A. Rao Medicine - Reproductive Karnataka

69 Dr. Sarbeswar Sahariah Medicine - Surgery Andhra Pradesh

70 Prof. Om Prakash Upadhyaya Medicine - Punjab

71 Prof. (Dr.) Mahesh Verma Medicine - Dental Science Delhi

72 Dr. J.S. Titiyal Medicine- Opthalmology Delhi

73 Dr. Nitish Naik Medicine- Cardiology Delhi

74 Dr. Surbrat Kumar Acharya Medicine- Gastroentrology Delhi

75 Dr. Rajesh Kumar Grover Medicine-Oncology Delhi




17

76 Dr. Naheed Abidi Literature and Education Uttar Pradesh

77 Prof. Ashok Chakradhar Literature and Education Delhi

78 Shri Chhakchhuak Chhuanvawra Literature and Education Mizoram

79 Shri Keki N. Daruwalla Literature and Education Delhi

80 Prof. Ganesh Narayandas Devi Literature and Education Gujarat

81 Prof. Kolakaluri Enoch Literature and Education Andhra Pradesh

82 Prof. (Dr.) Ved Kumari Ghai Literature and Education Jammu and

Kashmir

83 Smt. Manorama Jafa Literature and Education Delhi

84 Prof. Rehana Khatoon Literature and Education Delhi

85 Dr. Waikhom Gojen Meeitei Literature and Education Manipur

86 Shri Vishnu Narayanan Namboothiri Literature and Education Kerala

87 Prof. Dinesh Singh Literature and Education Delhi

88 Dr. (Mrs.) P. Kilemsungla Literature and Education Nagaland

89 Ms. Anjum Chopra Sports - Cricket Delhi

90 Ms. Sunil Dabas Sports - Kabbadi Haryana

91 Shri Love Raj Singh Dharmshaktu Sports - Mountaineering Delhi

92 Ms. Dipika Rebecca Pallikal Sports - Squash Tamil Nadu

93 Shri H. Boniface Prabhu Sports - Wheelchair Tennis Karnataka

94 Shri Yuvraj Singh Sports - Cricket Haryana

95 Smt. Mamta Sodha Sports - Mountaineering Haryana

96 Ms Parveen Talha Civil Service Uttar Pradesh

97 Late Dr. Narendra Achyut Dabholkar Social Work Maharashtra#

98 Shri Ashok Kumar Mago Trade and Industry USA*

99 Dr. Siddharth Mukherjee Medicine-Oncology USA*

100 Dr. Vamsi Mootha Medicine - Biomedical Research USA*

101 Dr. Sengaku Mayeda Literature and Education Japan*

150. India ranked 155th in global environment performance list at World Economic Forum: India has been

ranked at a low 155th position out of 178 with an index score of 31.23 points in a global list that places countries on

how well they perform on high-priority environmental issues.

Its rank is also much lower than BRICS peers. Among the BRICS, South Africa was placed at the 72nd rank

with an index score of 53.51, followed by Russia (73rd rank, 53.45 points), Brazil (77th rank, 52.97 points) and China

(118th rank, 43 points).

Besides, India has fared poorly compared to neighbouring countries like Nepal and Pakistan which are

ranked 139th and 148th, respectively. Switzerland secured No 1 rank and Luxembourg, Australia, Singapore

and the Czech Republic secured the other top 5 ranks in the same order in the same index, which ranks

countries on high-priority environmental concerns that include air quality, water management and climate change.

The bottom five performers in the EPI are Somalia, Mali, Haiti, Lesotho, and Afghanistan. [26-Jan]




18

151. 368 Republic Day Gallantry and Other

Defence Decorations Announced: The President has

approved awards of 368 Gallantry and other Defence

decorations to Armed Forces personnel and others on

the eve of the 65th Republic Day Celebrations. This

includes 03 Kirti Chakra, 10 Shaurya Chakra, 1 Bar

Sena Medal (Gallantry), 48 Sena Medal (Gallantry), 02

Nao Sena Medal (Gallantry), 1 Bar to Vayu Sena Medal

(Gallantry), 14 Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry), 28 Param

Vishisht Seva Medal, 05 Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, 07

Bar to Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, 45 Ati Vishisht Seva

Medal, 19 Yudh Seva Medal, 05 Bar to Sena Medal

(Devotion to Duty), 35 Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty),

08 Nao Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty), 15 Vayu Sena

Medal (Devotion to Duty), 10 Bar to Vishisht Seva

Medal and 112 Vishisht Seva Medal. In addition a total

of 25 Mention-In-Despatches have also been

announced for participating in Operation Rakshak.

[26-Jan]

152. 83 Presidential Awards for IAF this Year : 83

IAF Air Warriors have been decorated with Presidential

Awards on the eve of Republic Day, this year.This

includes Param Vishist Seva Medal (PVSM) for six Air

Marshals, Ati Vishist Seva Medal (AVSM) for one Air

Marshal, eight Air Vice Marshals and four Air

Commodores.One Kirti Chakra (Posthumously), one

Shaurya Chakra (Posthumously), two Shaurya Chakra,

three Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry) (Posthumously),

one Bar to Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry), eleven Vayu

Sena Medal (VM) Gallantry, fifteen Vayu Sena Medal

for devotion to duty have been awarded.The Vishist

Seva Medal (VSM) have been awarded to two Air Vice

Marshal, seven Air Commodores, nineteen Group

Captains and two Wing Commanders. [26-Jan]

153. Rapper-turned-actress Queen Latifah will be

honoured by the New York Women in

Communications with its 2014 Matrix Award,

which honours females who change the

world. She will be honoured on April 28 at the Waldorf

Astori along with eight others. Past Matrix winners

include Meryl Streep, Tina Fey, Robin Roberts, Ellen

DeGeneres, Martha Stewart, Whoopi Goldberg and

Meredith Vieira. [28-Jan]

154. Queen Latifah won 2014 Matrix Award [28-

Jan]

i. Rapper-turned-actress Queen Latifah won the 2014

Matrix Award on 25 January 2014.

ii. New York Women in Communications presented the

2014 Matrix Awards to honor seven remarkable women

who have changed the world, through their work in the

communications industry.

About Matrix Award

i. The Matrix Awards is recognized by the

communications and entertainment communities as

one of the most outstanding and prestigious events of

the year.

ii. The Matrix Awards are given by New York Women in

Communications to honour females who change the

world.

About Queen Latifah

Dana Elaine Owens, better known by her stage name

Queen Latifah, is an American singer-songwriter,

rapper, model, comedienne, television producer,

record producer, actress, and talk show hostess. She

has long been considered one of hip-hop's pioneer

feminists.

155. India ranks 16th among the top 20 global

economies receiving the most FDI as per the latest

report by the United Nations. India received USD 28

billion as FDI in 2013 which is 17% more than the

previous year. [30-Jan]

156. India (Goa) emerges overall champions with a

rich haul of 92 medals (37 Gold, 27 Silver and 28

Bronze) in the recently (Jan 2014) concluded 3rd

Lusofonia Games 2014 held in Goa. [30-Jan]

Portugal and Macau (China)

finished 2nd and 3rd respectively in this

edition of the 'Portuguese Commonwealth

Games' that featured 12 Portuguese

Commonwealth countries.

The games were marred by the allegation that

the standard and level of competition was

lower than the previous two as most of the

countries did not send their best athletes.

Brazil and Sri Lanka had also put in bids to

stage the event but lost out to eventual winner

India (Goa).




19

Macau (China) and Lisbon (Portugal) had

hosted the first two editions of this even in

2006 and 2009 respectively.

Mascot of the games was a rooster

named Jojo

Medal Tally

India: 92 (Gold 37, Silver 27 and Bronze 28)

Portugal: 50 (Gold 18, Silver 20 and Bronze

12)

Macau: 38 (Gold 15, Silver 9 and Bronze 14)

Sri Lanka: 31 (Gold 7, Silver 11 and Bronze

13)

Angola: 27 (Gold 5, Silver 8 and Bronze 14)

Mozambique: 13 (Gold 4 Silver 4 and Bronze

5)

Brazil: 6 (Gold 2, Silver 1 and Bronze 3)

Guinea-Bissau: 3 (Gold 2, Silver 1 and

Bronze 0)

Cape Verde: 12 (Gold 1, Silver 6 and Bronze

5)

Sao Tome And Principe: 1 (Gold 0, Silver 1

and Bronze 0)

Timor-Leste: 1 (Gold 0, Silver 0 and Bronze

1)

157. Anand Kumar, the founder of Super30 got

Ramanujan Mathematics award [30-Jan]

i. Anand Kumar, a mathematician and founder of

Super30 classes was conferred with the 2014

Ramanujan Mathematics Award in Rajkot on 27

January 2014.

ii.The award was given to him at the Eighth National

Mathematics Convention organised in Rajkot.

iii. As award, he was presented a cash award of 20000

rupees by the Pitamber Patel, an Atomic scientist and

JJ Rawal, a scientist.

About Ramanujan Mathematics Award

Ramanujan Mathematics Award is an annual award

that is given to a person who has at least three papers

published in international journals and is involved in

teaching mathematics.

Ramanujan Prize was first awarded in 2005 to

Marcelo Viana from Brazil

Other Indian to be awarded with the prize is

Ramdorai Sujatha, India in 2006

158. The US Federal Reserve announced a USD 10

billion reduction in its monthly bond purchases

from USD 75 billion to USD 65 billion in final

meeting for outgoing Fed chairman Ben

Bernanke. This is the second straight month of

reducing stimulus efforts. The Fed left its overnight

interest rate unchanged at 0% the level it has been

at since December 2008. Most of the stock markets

including China, Japan and India were down following

the news bond purchase cut. [30-Jan]

159. Armys Sikh Light Infantry wins best

marching contingent award [31-Jan]

i. Armys Sikh Light Infantry has been awarded the

best marching contingent among the three Services at

the Republic Day parade this year while the CRPF

contingent bagged the honours in the paramilitary and

auxiliary forces category.

ii. In the Services category, Territorial Army (Sikh LI)

has been adjudged the best marching contingent in the

Republic Day Parade 2014.

iii. Out of the 18 tableaux, including five from union

ministries and departments, the West Bengal tableaux,

which depicted the famous Purulia Chhau dance, has

bagged the top award.

iv. Tamil Nadus tableaux on Pongal festival was

adjudged the second best, while the third position has

gone to the Assam tableaux based on the contribution

of legendary folk singer, composer and writer Bhupen

Hazarika to Assams folk culture, the release said.

v. In the competitive category of performances by

school children, the dance presented by Navy Children

School, New Delhi has been adjudged the best while a

consolation prize was awarded to Govt Sarvodaya

Kanya Vidyalaya, Hastsal, New Delhi, for their beautiful

portrayal of traditional folk dance of Chhattisgarh.

Business and Economy

160. Indias largest software services company

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced to

set up the worlds largest corporate learning and

development centre in Thiruvananthapuram,

Kerala. The corporate learning centre will have a total

capacity to train 50,000 professionals every year. [4-

Jan]

161. State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC)

will invest over USD 9 billion in bringing to production




20

an array of oil and gas discoveries in its prolific Krishna

Godavari basin block off the east coast by 2017-18.

[5-Jan]

162. Delhi Government today warned private power

distribution companies that their licenses may be

cancelled if they do not cooperate with the Comptroller

and Auditor General which is scrutinizing their

finances. [6-Jan]

163. Google makes presentation to EC for

controversial tie-up

i. Internet giant Google made a formal presentation to

the Election Commission on Tuesday, proposing a tie-

up with it for voter facilitation services ahead of Lok

Sabha elections, a move questioned by several

quarters citing security concerns.

ii. The Election Commission has said it has not

signed any agreement with the US-based internet

company so far on voter facilitation initiatives ahead of

polls.

iii. In its presentation before the EC, in which Chief

Election Commissioner V S Sampath, Election

Commissioners H S Brahma and S N A Zaidi and other

top officials were present, Google proposed providing

its search engines free of cost to Indian voters during

the 2014 general elections.

iv. Google also proposed free online voter registration

besides making available vital details of Voter EPIC

card numbers and polling station location.

v. Congress and BJP besides some cyberspace experts

have voiced concers over the proposed tie-up of

Election Commission with Google for voter facilitation

services, saying stakeholders should have been

consulted before a decision. [8-Jan]

164. The union cabinet Thursday approved refunding

Rs.11,258.48 crore to MTNL and BSNL which the two

state-run telecom firms had paid for fourth generation

(4G) spectrum in the 2010 auction. [9-Jan]

165. CCEA okays raising import duty on refined edible

oil to 10 per cent from 7.5 per cent : Food Minister

Thomas. [9-Jan]

166. Inflation will moderate in the coming months but

the country would need to bridge the demand- supply

gap of essential food items to keep prices under check

in the long run, said Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind

Mayaram today. [9-Jan]

167. The premier Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) has

been ranked first in the country in economics research,

according to a study by Stanford University. [10-Jan]

168. Infosys Ltd raised its sales growth outlook for the

year after posting a higher-than-expected 21.35 per

cent rise in consolidated net profit for Q3 (October-

December quarter) as improving US and European

economies revived demand for outsourcing services.

[10-Jan]

169. India's exports in December registered a 3.49

percent increase to USD 26.35 billion. [10-Jan]

170. India's trade deficit narrows to USD 10.14 billion

in December from USD 17.59 billion a year earlier.

[10-Jan]

171. India's gold and silver imports at USD 1.77 billion

in December vs USD 5.6 billion a year earlier. [10-

Jan]

172. Environment Minister Veerappa Moily stated that

Posco's (a South Korean steel giant) steel plant in

Odisha has been cleared. [10-Jan]

173. Chinas annual trade surplus jumped by

nearly 13% in 2013 compared to previous year

to USD 260 billion as export growth continued to

outpace import growth. Exports were increased by

7.9% to USD 2.21 trillion and imports jumped by 7.3%

to USD 1.95 trillion in 2013. With this, total trade

value of USD 4.16 trillion overtook total trade volume

of USA for the first time. [10-Jan]

174. China bagged a healthy USD 117.59 billion in

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2013, after

registering negative growth in previous year

2012. FDI in China increased 5.25% year on year in

2013 compared to 3.7% drop in 2012. In December

2013 alone, FDI inflow rose 3.3% from a year earlier

to USD 12.08 billion. FDI in the service sector rose

14.15% in 2013 to reach USD 61.45 billion while FDI

in the manufacturing sector dropped 6.78% to USD

45.56 billion. [16-Jan]




21

175. The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM)

headed by Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram on

Thursday approved the sale of IOCs 10 per cent

government stake to state-run Oil and Natural Gas

Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Limited (OIL) which

likely to garner Rs. 4800 to 5000 crore. [16-Jan]

176. Henrique de Castro, the chief operating

officer of Yahoo, will leave the company on

Thursday, Yahoo announced yesterday in a

report to the US Securities and Exchange

Commission. He was responsible for managing

Yahoos sales, operations, media and business

development worldwide. Mayer recruited him in 2012

shortly after she left Google to take the helm at Yahoo.

No reason was given for his the abrupt departure of de

Castro. [16-Jan]

177. IIFCL signed an agreement with the K-EXIM for

infrastructure finance and covers cooperation and

investment financing related to infrastructure. [18-

Jan]

178. IICA and FICCI signed MoU to Raise Awareness

on Corporate Regulation and Governance and for

promoting the Corporate Affairs Agenda. [18-Jan]

179. The NTPC board on Friday approved an

investment of Rs 12,532 crore for setting up a 1,600-

mw thermal power project at Darlipali n Odisha,

subject to environmental clearance. [18-Jan]

180. Wipros third-quarter earnings show was in line

with expectations and the companys guidance for the

fourth quarter has been better than expectations. [18-

Jan]

181. Air India is doling out free air tickets to its 24,000

employees, even as it expects to incur a loss of Rs

3,900 crore this financial year and has a debt burden

of Rs 35,000 crore. [19-Jan]

182. Google X Lab unveiled a smart contact lens that

can help diabetics to measure their glucose level in

tears. The smart contact lens has been developed in

collaboration with the US Food and Drug

Administration (USFDA) by Brian Otis and Babak

Parviz. [19-Jan]

183. Chinas economy grows 7.7% in 2013

: Chinas economic growth decelerated in the final

quarter of 2013 and appears set to slow further,

adding to pressure on its leaders to shore up an

expansion as they try to implement sweeping reforms.

The worlds second-largest economy grew by 7.7

percent over a year earlier, down from previous

quarters 7.8 percent, data showed Monday. Growth

for the full year was 7.7 percent, tying 2012 for the

weakest annual performance since 1999. [20-Jan]

184. Telecom regulator TRAI has appointed

Sudhir Gupta as its new secretary, ahead of it

releasing the final guidelines of spectrum trading

and auction of CDMA radiowaves. He is a principal

adviser with TRAI now and has been elevated to the

post of Secretary.

In the past 10 years at TRAI, Gupta has played a key

role in almost all the key regulations,

recommendations and directions. This include mobile

number portability regulation, rules to curb pesky calls,

quality of service standards. He has been responsible

for formulating recommendations related to spectrum

auctions, 3G and later BWA spectrum auctions. These

two had helped government garner over Rs 1 lakh

crore. [20-Jan]

185. Indias economic growth is expected to be

4.6% this financial year and the growth may

improve to 5.4% in the next financial year 2014-

15, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said

today. Also IMF said that the growth rate in 201516,

at factor prices (excluding taxes), is likely to be 6.4%.

[21-Jan]

186. Global Internet giant Google acquired

Bengaluru based Impermium for USD 9 million.

Bengaluru based Impermium is a three year old

startup which focused on building security

products for websites. Impermium has 300000

clients, including Tumblr, Pinterest, CNN, ESPN,

Typepad and Washington Post. The acquisition will help

Google improve its abuse monitoring efforts and make

internet a safer place. [21-Jan]




22

187. Social networking site Facebook has bought

Bangalore based Little Eye Labs as its first take over in

India. [22-Jan]

188. Sensex makes new record at 21,374 : The Indian

stock market made another record high today, but

investors and experts seem to be not at all enthused

about the same. The Sensex closed the day up 35.99

points higher at 21,373.66, its fresh lifetime closing

high. The broader NSE index closed up 0.11%, up 6.7

points, at 6,345.65, just short of its record high of

6,363.90 hit on December 9, 2013. [23-Jan]

189. Chinas Lenovo the worlds biggest PC

maker has agreed to acquire IBMs low-end

server business for USD 2.3 billion. About USD 2

billion will be paid in cash with the rest in Lenovo

stock. Whlie IBM is selling its x86 low-end server

business, which includes the System x, BladeCenter

and Flex System products, it is retaining its powerful

mainframe and storage business. Lenovo bought IBMs

PC business in 2005. [24-Jan]

190. Economic growth in India projected at

5.35% in 2014, says UN report

i. Indias economy is projected to grow at a slower-

than-expected rate of 5.3 per cent this year, according

to a United Nations report which said the countrys

slowdown may have bottomed out.

ii. The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects

2014 (WESP) report said a mild recovery in investment

as well as stronger export growth will help in the

gradual GDP pick-up.

iii. Full-year growth decelerated to 4.8 per cent in

2013 from 5.1 per cent in the calendar year 2012.

iv. The report further said that global economic growth

is expected to increase over the next two years with

continuing signs of improvement.

v. The global economy is projected to grow at a pace

of 3 per cent in 2014 and 3.3 per cent in 2015,

compared to an estimated growth of 2.1 per cent in

2013. [24-Jan]

191. Google buys artificial intelligence startup in

UK : Google says that it has purchased the British

startup DeepMind, an artificial intelligence company

founded by a 37-year old former chess prodigy and

computer game designer.Artificial intelligence uses

computers for tasks normally requiring human

intelligence, like speech recognition or language

translation. DeepMind says the company, based in

London, specializes in algorithms and machine

learning.Google, like other tech giants such as

Facebook, are anxious to develop systems that work

like the human brain. [27-Jan]

191. The UK economy grew by 1.9% in 2013, the

highest growth rate since 2007, as per the Office

for National Statistics (ONS). But GDP growth for

the fourth quarter of 2013 slipped to 0.7% compared

to 0.8% growth in the third quarter. [28-Jan]

192. Google purchased DeepMind Technologies of

UK [28-Jan]

i. Google purchased the British start-up DeepMind

Technologies an artificial intelligence company on

27 January 2014.

ii. The American tech giant Google confirmed the deal

in its London office. This deal represents Googles

biggest ever single acquisition in Europe.

iii. The acquisition of DeepMind would prove to be

helpful for Google in further developing its most recent

Hummingbird search update.

iv. The Hummingbird search update was created to

make Google more human and searches which can

now understand context like a human brain.

About DeepMind Technologies:

i. The artificial intelligence company DeepMind

Technologies was founded by Demis Hassabis,

neuroscientist and computer genius together with

Shane Legg and Mustafa Suleyman in London.

ii. Artificial intelligence uses computers for tasks

normally requiring human intelligence, like speech

recognition or language translation.

193. The US economy grew by 3.2% in the final

quarter of 2013 compared to same quarter last

year. US economy is also expected to grow at the

strongest pace since the end of US recession in

2009. Due to this optimism and improvement of job

market scenario, the Fed announced that it would cut

monthly bond purchases by USD 10 billion. [30-Jan]

194. TRAI released Working Guidelines for

Spectrum Trading [30-Jan]




23

i. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)

released working guidelines for trade of spectrum on

28 January 2014. The guidelines need to be approved

by the government before it can be implemented.

Main Working Guidelines are:

Only outright transfers of airwaves have been

permitted from the seller to the buyer.

While no permission will be required from the

government for trading of spectrum, the regulator has

mandated that both the seller and the buyer will have

to inform the licensor six weeks before the trade takes

place.

Only that spectrum will be allowed to put up for trade

for which the companies have paid a market

determined price, and trade of spectrum will be on a

pan-licensed service area basis.

While the transaction will be between two parties

buyer and seller the regulator has provided that the

seller has the flexibility to choose the prospective

buyer of its spectrum through mechanism such as

tender or auction.

195. Bharti Airtel promotes Gopal Vittal as MD &

CEO of its India and South Asia operations. He,

currently the joint MD and CEO (India) of Bharti Airtel,

will join as such in April 2014. [30-Jan]

196. Rail coach factory to be set up at Kolar [30-

Jan]

i. The Ministry of Railways and the Government of

Karnataka will sign a memorandum of understanding

(MoU) for the setting up of a rail coach factory

at Kolar in Karnataka.

ii. The new rail coach factory, on its inception, will

serve to meet the increasing demand for passenger

coaches and will also foster the economic development

of the State.

197. Six PSUs signed MoU to set up Worlds

largest Solar Power Project [30-Jan]

i. Six Public Sector Units (PSUs) have signed a

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 29 January

2014 to set up the Worlds largest 4000 MW ultra solar

power project in Rajasthan.

ii. The joint venture company will develop the project

with equity participation of BHEL (26%), SECI (Solar

Energy Corporation of India) 23%, SSL (Sambhar Salt

Ltd) 16%, Power Grid 16%, SJVNL (Satluj Jal Vidyut

Nigam) 16%, REIL (Rajasthan Electronics &

Instruments Ltd) 3%.

iii. The project will be the largest single location solar

plant spread across 19000 acres at Sambhar in

Rajasthan. The project will be developed in two phases

in 7 to 8 years.

iv. In the first phase of the project 1000 MW will be

made operational within three years and the remaining

3000 MW will be covered in the next subsequent

phases.

v. The First phase will require an investment of 7500

crore rupees. The department of heavy industry will

set up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the

investment.

Note: The plant life is estimated to be 25 years and is

expected to supply 6400 million units of energy per

year. The plant will help to reduce CO2 emissions by

over 4 million tonnes per year.

198. Lenovo Group agreed to acquire Google Incs

Motorola handset division for USD 2.91 billion in

order to expand its business into a heavily

competitive U.S. handset market dominated by

Apple Inc. It is Lenovos second major deal on U.S. soil

after acquiring IBMs low-end server business for USD

2.3 billion announced last week. [30-Jan]

199. Google acquired Motorola Mobility for USD

12.5 billion in 2012 and sold the same division

for USD 2.91 billion only after nearly 2 years. This

is definitely the worst acquisition ever done by the

internet giant. Google will keep majority of Motorolas

mobile patents after this deal. Google Chief Executive

Officer Larry Page said that Google would be best

served by focusing on smartphone software rather

than devices. [30-Jan]

200. India and Fiji sign double taxation

avoidance agreement [31-Jan]

i. India and Fiji have signed a Double Taxation

Avoidance Agreement, DTAA for the avoidance of

double taxation and for the prevention of fiscal evasion

with respect to taxes on income.

ii. The Agreement was signed in Delhi yesterday by

the Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Fijis Minister

of Justice, Public Enterprises, and Industry and

TradeAiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.




24

iii. Speaking on the occasion, the Finance Minister Mr

Chidambaram said that the Agreement will provide tax

stability to the residents of India and Fiji and facilitate

mutual economic cooperation. The move will also

stimulate the flow of investment, technology and

services between both countries.

Science and Technology

201. Two months after the successful launch of

Mangalyaan, the Indian Space Research Organisation

(Isro) is all set to make its first major launch of 2014

on Sunday-- the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch

Vehicle(GSLV-D5)carrying India's latest communication

satellite GSAT 14. [3-Jan]

202. India's rocket GSLV-D5,

with indigenous cryogenic technology, successfully

puts heavy communication satellite GSAT-14 into the

orbit. India, with this successful mission, joins the elite

club of the U.S., Russia, France, Japan and China who

can put satellites weighing over two tonnes in orbit.

India was denied the cryogenic technology for over 20

years by Russia under pressure from the US. [5-Jan]

203. Paving the way for satellite-based flight

navigation over the vast airspace of India, its

neighbours and surrounding high seas, the first phase

of the ambitious navigation system GAGAN has been

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