Current Affair of January 2019

National

1. The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has released the final estimates for 2017-18 and the first estimates for 2018-19 of area and production of horticulture crops.

2. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has been renamed as the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.

3. The Union Minister of Railways and Coal, Piyush Goyal has been awarded the Carnot Prize 2018 for the transformational changes brought by him during his tenure as Union Minister of Power.

4. In the backdrop of the meeting of the P5 (UK, US, France, Russia and People’s Republic of China) to discuss issues related to nuclear disarmament, China has again reiterated its previous stand that India’s accession to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is pre-requisite for its membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) or else there should be a common guidelines for the membership of the non-NPT states.

5. The State of Talent Acquisition Report by the Mercer-Mettl’s highlights the following important facts:

6. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the National Salt Satyagraha Memorial at Dandi in Navsari district, Gujarat. The memorial is conceived as an experiential journey recreating the spirit and the energy of the 1930 Dandi March led by Mahatma Gandhi and 80 of his fellow Satyagrahis.

7. January 30 is celebrated as Martyrs Day to honour the brave martyrs of India who have sacrificed their lives for the country.

8. UNESCO has declared 2019 as the International Year of the Period Table of Chemical Elements to commemorate the 150th birthday of the periodic table of chemical elements. The Periodic table of the Chemical elements was first published by Russian scientist Dmitry Mendeleev in the year 1869.

9. occurs every two-to-seven years with very strong El Niño’s occurring about every 15 years results in droughts, floods, wildfires, dust and snow storms, fish kill, and even elevated risks of civil conflicts.

10. National Statistical Commission was established in 2005 based on the recommendations of the Rangarajan Commission. The commission was established through an executive order and it works under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

11. The central banks of the UAE and Saudi Arabia will launch a common digital currency called Aber. Aber will be used for financial settlements between the two countries through Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers technologies.

12. The Beating Retreat Ceremony marks the conclusion of Republic Day celebrations. Through this ceremony, the defence forces which had come to the national capital to be a part of Republic Day celebrations are sent back to their barracks by the President.

13. The Africa Centre for Climate and Sustainable Development was inaugurated by the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte at Rome. The centre has been opened by the Italian government in association with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).

14. The Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index make the following observations:

15. Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt a country’s public sector and judiciary are perceived to be by experts and business executives.

16. The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has submitted the affidavit with the findings of the first Survey of Elephants in Captivity to the Supreme Court.

17. The Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM JAY)  proposes three models through which the states can implement the scheme.

18. The Lokpal Search Committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai held its first meeting and discussed modalities related to the appointments of the chief and members of Lokpal.

19. January 30 is celebrated as Martyrs Day to honour the brave martyrs of India who have sacrificed their lives for the country.

20. UNESCO has declared 2019 as the International Year of the Period Table of Chemical Elements to commemorate the 150th birthday of the periodic table of chemical elements. The Periodic table of the Chemical elements was first published by Russian scientist Dmitry Mendeleev in the year 1869.

21. UNESCO has declared 2019 as the International Year of the Period Table of Chemical Elements to commemorate the 150th birthday of the periodic table of chemical elements. The Periodic table of the Chemical elements was first published by Russian scientist Dmitry Mendeleev in the year 1869.

22. The Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC India) has elected Punit Goenka MD and CEO of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) as the Chairman. Punit Goenka as a founder Chairman of BARC had played a key role in institutionalizing BARC.

23. National Statistical Commission was established in 2005 based on the recommendations of the Rangarajan Commission. The commission was established through an executive order and it works under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

24. The central banks of the UAE and Saudi Arabia will launch a common digital currency called Aber. Aber will be used for financial settlements between the two countries through Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers technologies.

25. The Beating Retreat Ceremony marks the conclusion of Republic Day celebrations. Through this ceremony, the defence forces which had come to the national capital to be a part of Republic Day celebrations are sent back to their barracks by the President.

26. The Africa Centre for Climate and Sustainable Development was inaugurated by the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte at Rome. The centre has been opened by the Italian government in association with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).

27. The Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index make the following observations:

28. Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt a country’s public sector and judiciary are perceived to be by experts and business executives.

29. The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has submitted the affidavit with the findings of the first Survey of Elephants in Captivity to the Supreme Court.

30. The Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM JAY) proposes three models through which the states can implement the scheme.

31. The Lokpal Search Committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai held its first meeting and discussed modalities related to the appointments of the chief and members of Lokpal.

32. has asked for a performance guarantee of Rs 10 crore each from the governments of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh expressing dissatisfaction over the cleaning of river Yamuna.

33. The government of Uttar Pradesh has approved the construction of the Ganga Expressway. The government has said that it would be the longest expressway in the world. The expressway will provide for better connectivity of the Prayagraj (Allahabad) to Western Pradesh.

34. The Election Commission of India has sought an amendment to the Representation of People Act 1951 to prevent print media, social media and other digital platforms from carrying political advertisements in the last 48 hours before the polling begins.

35. The second edition Pariksha Pe Charcha 2.0 was held on January 29. On this occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with several students, parents and teachers from across the country and shared his personal experiences with the young audience.

36. The International Holocaust Remembrance Day is celebrated every year on January 27. January 27 marks the anniversary of the Allied liberation of the Auschwitz death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland, where an estimated 1.1 million people died, including 1 million Jews.

37. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had launched Swasth Bharat Yatra to amplify its Eat Right India initiative.

38. The third Stock Taking Conference on Tiger Conservation is being held at New Delhi. In the conference, wide-ranging discussions shall be held on the status of the Global Tiger Recovery Program (GTRP) by all tiger range countries besides deliberations on combating wildlife trafficking.

39. Fast Bowler Mohammed Shami has become the fastest Indian to claim 100 wickets in One-day Internationals. Mohammed Shami achieved this feat in his 56th ODI game. Mohammed Shami’s wicket number 100 was New Zealand opener, Martin Guptill.

40. India will preside and host the G20, or Group of 20 nations meeting in 2022. G20 provides a unique opportunity for India to transform from rule-taker to rule-maker. Being a host India would set an annual agenda, wielding vast direct and indirect influence on the G20 nations’ economies.

41. The Delhi government has decided to introduce the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for farmers based on the recommendations of the National Commission on Farmers (NCF) headed by MS Swaminathan.

42. The National Commission on Farmers (NCF) was constituted on November 18, 2004 under the chairmanship of Professor M.S. Swaminathan. The committee made some key recommendations on land reforms, irrigation, credit and insurance, food security, employment, the productivity of agriculture and farmer competitiveness.

43. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a triennial international survey which aims to evaluate education systems worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students. India would be participating in the PISA assessment in 2021.

44. China is the largest producer of crude steel and it accounts for more than 51 per cent of global production. China’s share has been increased from 50.3 per cent in 2017 to 51.3 per cent in 2018.

45. Three European Powers U.K., France and Germany are set to announce a plan to help companies trading to Iran to defy the sanctions on Iran.

46. Australia celebrates 26th January as Australia Day which marks the landing of the First Fleet, a convoy of 11 ships carrying convicts, at Port Jackson in 1788. It also marks the founding of the colony New South Wales.

47. Russian marked the 75th anniversary of the end of the devastating World War II siege by Nazi forces with a large military parade at ST. Petersburg which was then called as Leningrad.

48. The Indonesian Masters Badminton Tournament 2019 is organized by the Badminton Association of Indonesia. It was the third tournament of the 2019 BWF World Tour. The winners under the various categories are listed below:

49. The Indonesian Masters Badminton Tournament 2019 is organized by the Badminton Association of Indonesia. It was the third tournament of the 2019 BWF World Tour. The winners under the various categories are listed below:

50. India’s fastest indigenous train, Train 18 named as Vande Bharat Express will ply between Delhi and Varanasi. Train 18 is an indigenously developed world-class train under Make in India. The 16-coach train has been built completely in India by Indian engineers in a span of 18 months at the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai.

51. The Chief Minister of Odisha announced the Jiban Sampark project of Odisha for the welfare of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups at the annual Adivasi Mela-2019.

52. The government of Uttarakhand has obtained the permission to develop the tulip garden over 50 hectares of forest land in Pithoragarh district at a cost of Rs 50 crore. It will be the second Tulip garden in the country after the one located in Srinagar of Jammu and Kashmir.

53. Chief Minister of Goa Manohar Parrikar inaugurated the “Atal Setu” on the Mandovi river in Goa.

54. The study of Technical University of Denmark (DTU) Space Lab published in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on changes to Greenland’s ice sheet lists the following findings.

55. The India Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Report 2018 has been released Kochi based Institute of Small Enterprises and Development at the South India MSME Summit 2019 in Bengaluru.

56. The Supreme Court has refused to stay the amendments to Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2018. These amendments were brought in to nullify the safeguards instituted by the Supreme Court to prevent its misuse.

57. The British government has announced a research project, South Asian Nitrogen Hub to study nitrogen pollution in India and South Asia. The project led by UK’s Centre for Ecology and Hydrology will partner with 50 organisations from the UK and South Asia.

58. The government of Madhya Pradesh has announced the Yuva Swabhiman Yojana to provide employment for the unemployed youth from the economically weaker sections of the society.

59. The word Nari Shakti is chosen as the word of the Year 2018 by the Oxford dictionaries. The announcement regarding this was made in the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF).

60. Australian Open which is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis event concluded at Melbourne in Australia. Nicknamed as the happy slam, the Australian Open has grown to become the largest annual sporting event in the Southern Hemisphere.

61. Bharat Parv is a five day event hosted as part of Republic Day celebrations. Bharat Parv organised at Red Fort, Delhi aims to generate a patriotic fervour and promote the rich cultural diversity of the country.

62. The Union Minister for Science and Technology inaugurated the three Department of Science and Technology (DST) mission centres at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) at the collective cost of Rs 50 crore.

63. No Presents Please is an English Novel translated from Kannada Work of Jayant Kaikini. The novel was translated to English by Tejaswini Niranjana. The award was announced during the Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet.

64. Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela wanted to see the elimination of poverty and a world where nations respect one another and multilateralism was upheld and respected and there was tolerance for each other’s religion, race, caste and regional affiliation.

65. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will launch a new train Samantha Express on February 14 from Nagpur. The Samantha Express will cover prominent places associated with Gautam Buddha and chief architect of the Constitution Dr B R Ambedkar.

66. The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional validity of the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code.

67. The government of Kerala has launched ‘Pravasi Dividend Pension Scheme. The governor of Kerala P. Sathasivam made this announcement in the address to the state assembly.

68. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has issued new guidelines for Jan Shikshan Sansthans (JSS). The new guidelines are issued as part of an attempt by the MSDE to re-energize and reinvigorate the Jan Shikshan Sansthans.

69. India has successfully flight tested Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM) from a warship off Odisha coast. The LRSAM successfully destroyed a low flying aerial target. This paves way for its deployment in the armed forces.

70. Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Satya Pal Malik has given his assent to the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2014, providing reservation in government jobs for Pahari community.

71. Naval Air Station (NAS) Shibpur has been commissioned as INS Kohassa. It is a step forward in enhancing the operational capability of Andaman and Nicobar Command. NAS Shibpur was commissioned as INS Kohassa by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba.

72. India’s highest peacetime gallantry honour, Ashoka Chakra was awarded to Lance Naik Nazir Wani posthumously. The award was presented by President Ram Nath Kovind was received by Wani’s wife and mother at the Republic Day celebrations held at Rajpath. Lance Naik Nazir Wani also holds the distinction of being the first Kashmiri to be conferred the Ashoka Chakra.

73. India’s highest peacetime gallantry honour, Ashoka Chakra was awarded to Lance Naik Nazir Wani posthumously. The award was presented by President Ram Nath Kovind was received by Wani’s wife and mother at the Republic Day celebrations held at Rajpath. Lance Naik Nazir Wani also holds the distinction of being the first Kashmiri to be conferred the Ashoka Chakra.

74. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Museum, Yaad-e-Jallian Museum (museum on the Jallianwala Bagh and World War I), the Museum on 1857- India’s first war of Independence, and Drishyakala-Museum on Indian Art within the Red Fort complex.

75. The 2019 Bharat Ratna award has been bestowed upon former President Pranab Mukherjee, Nanaji Deshmukh and singer Bhupen Hazarika. Nanaji Deshmukh and singer Bhupen Hazarika were awarded Bharat Ratna posthumously.

76. The government of India has announced the Padma Awards 2019. The 112 prominent personalities honoured with the Padma Awards include comprises 4 Padma Vibhushan, 14 Padma Bhushan and 94 Padma Shri Awards.

75. The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Kuwait for cooperation on the recruitment of domestic workers.

76. The Swedish aerospace and defence company (Saab) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore air traffic management (ATM) solutions for airports operating under the regional connectivity scheme, UDAN.

77. Indian Africa Field Training Exercise (IAFTX) will be held at Aundh Military Station and College of Military Engineering, Pune from 18 March to 27 March 2019.

78. The coast guards of India and Japan undertook disaster control, search and rescue exercises off the coast of Yokohama in Japan. India had hosted the Japanese ships for the exercise last year and this time Japan is hosting the exercise. ICGS Shaunak is the main Indian ship taking part in the drills.

79. The Bloomberg Innovation Index analyses each country in a range of areas including education, research and development, and manufacturing before coming up with a list of the 60 most innovative countries.

80. BSNL has signed a partnership agreement with the French company Be-Bound to offer data connectivity through SMS in areas where there is no Internet connectivity or signal breaks.

81. The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the amendments to the framework on currency swap arrangement for SAARC member countries.

82. President Ram Nath Kovind conferred Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards 2019 to 30 awardees. The awards were conferred during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas being held at Varanasi.

83. The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the constitutional amendment which seeks to increase the powers of the autonomous councils in the Sixth Schedule areas of the Northeast.

84. The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the setting up of National Bench of Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal.

85. The Doctors from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) have published a paper ‘Neonatal Sepsis in South Asia: Huge burden and spiralling antimicrobial resistance’, in the British Medical Journal.

86. The Supreme Court has decided to examine the constitutional validity of 103rd constitutional amendment act which provides for 10 per cent quota for economically weaker sections.

87. Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has launched the Kalamsat-V2 from Sriharikota space centre.

88. Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Aparna Kumar who is on deputation to Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) become the first woman Indian Police Service (IPS) and ITBP officer to successfully conquer the South Pole.

89. Indian Navy undertook a first of its kind multi-agency drill, covering the entire 7,516 km-long Indian coastline and exclusive economic zone and involving 13 coastal states and Union Territories to check the efficacy of maritime security and surveillance- Sea Vigil.

90. The Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Limited (GCMMF) has launched Amul Camel Milk in selected markets of Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad and Kutch in Gujarat.

91. India is celebrating 9th National Voters Day on 25th January 2019 for enhanced participation of citizens in the electoral process. The main purpose of celebrating National Voters Day is to encourage, facilitate and maximize the enrollment, especially for the new voters.

91. The ICC awards recognise and honour the best international cricket players of the previous 12 months.

92. The World Economic Situation and Prospects 2019 discusses various challenges before the global economy.

93. India’s GDP growth is expected to accelerate to 7.6 per cent in 2019-20 from an estimated 7.4 per cent in the current fiscal ending March 2019 and growth rate may come down to 7.4 per cent a year later.

94. The United Nations report World Economic Situation and Prospects 2019 discusses various challenges in attaining the sustainable development goals.

95. National Girl Child Day (NGCD) is celebrated in India on January 24th with an aim to raise awareness about Child Sex Ratio (CSR) levels and promote the empowerment of girls.

96. The report estimates that Global growth is expected to remain steady at 3% in 2019 and 2020, after an expansion of 3.1% in 2018.

97. Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping Shri Nitin Gadkari inaugurated a 1210-meter span-bridge over the river Ravi in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir.

98. The rashtrita Bal Puraskar was presented by President Ram Nath Kovind. President conferred awards to 26 awardees including one joint award for National Child Award (now renamed as Bal Shakti Puraskar) under the category of innovation, scholastic, sports, arts & culture, social service and bravery. 2 individuals and 3 institutions will also be awarded under National Child Welfare Awards category (now renamed as BalKalyanPuraskar).

99. India’s premier container port Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) has become India’s only port to get listed among the top 30 global container ports in Top 100 Container Ports in Top 100 Container Ports report. JNPT has notched up five spots, to be 28th on the list, compared to its previous ranking.

100. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana.

101. The SBI Ecowrap report recommends the government to opt for the unconditional cash transfer to farmers to alleviate agrarian distress rather than Universal Basic Income (UBI) scheme.

102. A new study has revealed that contrary to popular belief, not only obese and overweight but also non-obese and lean persons may be prone to type 2 diabetes. The study indicates that nearly 20 to 30 per cent suffering from diabetes are non-obese and even some are lean.

103. The findings from the World Economic Forum’s public opinion survey register regional variations on the various issues.

104. The World Economic Forum (WEF) has released its findings from the public opinion survey. The survey covered a sample size of over 10,000 people from every region of the world.

105. A Fitch Group company, India Ratings has released its report on states finances.

106. The Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Nitin Gadkari announced that the Centre would soon take up a major project to Link Rivers Godavari and Cauvery.

107. An Indian Research team comprising of T V Ramachandra and S Bharath (Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore); S Vinay and A. Shashishankar (Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum, India) undertook a study to examine the possible impact of unplanned development on Ecology of Central Western Ghats.

108. The Supreme Court has announced that it would take ‘in-chamber’ decision on listing of plea challenging Article 35-A.

109. The Global Talent Competitive Index prepared by the INSEAD business school in partnership with Tata Communications and Adecco Group was released on the first day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2019.

110. IMF has retained its growth projection for the country at 7.5 per cent for 2019-20 and said it is likely to accelerate to 7.7 per cent in 2020-21. This brings cheers for India as the world growth rates have been revised downwards.

111. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has initiated two surveys namely, Industrial Outlook Survey (IOS), and Services and Infrastructure Outlook Survey (SIOS). The two quarterly surveys aim to examine the current situation including the job scenario in India’s manufacturing, services and infrastructure sectors.

112. The International Monetary Fund in its World Economic Outlook has suggested various policy measures to arrest the downward growth trend.

113. The International Monetary Fund has released the global wealth forecasts for 2019 in its World Economic Outlook report.

114. The Annual Wealth Check report 2019 of Oxfam has been released. The release of the report marked the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

115. The World Health Organisation (WHO) list of 10 global health threats lists 10 issues which demand immediate attention from WHO and health partners in 2019 has been released.

116. The Edelman Trust Barometer report is an international study based on the opinions of elites that focuses on the principles of trust in business, government, media and NGOs. Based on the findings the report calculates the Global Trust Index.

117. US-based Indian poet Ranjani Murali received the ‘Woman’s Voice Award’ at the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival (AKLF). The award carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh apart from a citation.

118. The states of Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya celebrated their 47th Statehood Day on 21st January. The states of Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya became full-fledged states on January 21, 1972.

119. Facebook grants $7.5 million to set up an Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in collaboration with the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in Germany.

120. The leaders from the Arab World met in Beirut, Lebanon to discuss economic and social development. The leaders of the Arab World agreed on a 29-item economic agenda in addition to encouraging the safe return of Syrian refugees to their homeland at the conclusion.

121. The ruling coalition led by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Awami League has registered a landslide victory in Parliamentary elections. The ruling coalition led by Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party won 288 out of 300 seats which are about 96 per cent of the seats.

122. The Global Economy Watch Report of PwC monitors trends and issues affecting the global economy and details its latest projections for the leading nations.

123. The Delhi High Court has allowed the release of the movie ‘72 Hours – Martyr who never died’. The film was based on the life of the 1962 war hero Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat. Jaswant Singh Rawat was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra for gallantry during the 1962 war.

124.The Union Minister for Railways Piyush Goyal has instructed the caterers at Varanasi and Rae Bareli stations to use terracotta-made kulhads, glasses and plates. The Kulhads are all set to make a comeback after they were first introduced during UPA 1, later to be brushed aside by plastic and paper cups.

125.Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH Shri Shripad Yesso Naik, will inaugurate the 2nd World Integrated Medicine Forum 2019 on the ‘Regulation of Homeopathic Medical Products; Advancing global collaboration’ organised on 23-25 January 2019 at Goa.

126. The Chief Minister of Tripura Biplab Kumar Deb unveiled the official logo of Tripura Tea. The Tripura Tea logo features Neermahal, the iconic landmark of Tripura.

127. The Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor. During the inauguration, investments worth over Rs 3,038 crore in this defence corridor were announced. Lockheed Martin, a global security giant, also announced its intention to invest in the corridor.

128. National Conference on Self Reliance in Defence Manufacturing is organised at Hyderabad. The National Conference is being held by Forum for Integrated National Security in association with Indigenous Defence Entrepreneurs Association.

129. The Union Home Ministry has tweaked the travel document norms for visiting Nepal and Bhutan. As per new norms, Indian can travel to Nepal and Bhutan by producing Aadhaar as Identity proof but this is only for those Indians aged under 15 and over 65 years.

130. Rio de Janeiro has been recognised as ‘World Capital of Architecture’ for 2020 by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

131. Microsoft India launched a new e-commerce platform ‘re-weave.in’ under project ReWeave to aid handloom weavers.

132. The first Sheikh Saud International Prize for Materials Research has been awarded to C N R Rao. The award will be presented to Rao by Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi ruler of Ras Al Khaimah emirate during the International Workshop on Advanced Materials at Ras Al Khaimah on February 25.

133. The Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri has said that the loan subsidy for the middle-income group under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, (PMAY) has been extended till 31st March 2020.

134. The Governor of Tamil Nadu Banwarilal Purohit presented the Sansad Ratna Awards in Chennai.

135. The government of Odisha announced a hike of Rs 200 per month in the social security pension under Madhu Babu Pension Yojana (MBPY).

136. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Armoured Systems Complex (ASC), developed by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) at Hazira near Surat in Gujarat. This Armoured Systems Complex (ASC) is the country’s first private facility where the K9 Vajra self-propelled Howitzer guns will be manufactured.

137. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the Foundation Stone for several development projects at Silvassa in Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

138. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC) at Films Division of India premises in Mumbai.

139. Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) will launch a satellite exclusively for the Union Home Ministry to help it in strengthening its frontiers with Pakistan and Bangladesh among others.

140. The Central government has asked the states to step-up the spending under District Mineral Fund as just 24 per cent of the Rs 23,606-crore mopped up under the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) was actually spent. The central government has also issued directions to ensure that there is no fund diversion or leakage.

141. Biofuels are being considered an alternative to reduce the country’s crude oil imports worth Rs7 lakh crore. They can also be a potential weapon to fight increasing pollution. The findings of the research by the Pune-based Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) have substantiated the potential reduction in the emissions of the carbon-di-oxide by the adoption of methanol blending.

142. The government of Tamil Nadu has released Startup and Innovation policy 2018-2023 with a mission of providing an enabling and innovative ecosystem for startups registered in the State and to make Tamil Nadu a ‘Global Innovation hub for startups’ by 2023.

143. The Outbreak Readiness and Business Impact white paper has been released by the World Economic Forum. The white paper was released by the WEF in collaboration with the Harvard Global Health Institute.

144. The Competition Commission of India has approved the deal wherein Samara Capital-backed Witzig Advisory Services and Amazon will acquire Aditya Birla Retail Ltd, which operates a supermarket store chain ‘more’.

145. The total number of mobile phone subscribers in India by the end of November was 117.18 crore with a net addition of 17.39 lakh customers during the month.

146. The Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced the decision to induct women in Personnel Below Officer Rank, PBOR, role in Corps of Military Police.

147. The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is organising a fortnight of events named Shehri Samridhi Utsav all over the country with an aim to extend the outreach of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) to the poorest of poor and the most vulnerable.

148. Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has announced Young Scientist Programme to inculcate and nurture space research fervour in young minds. Young Scientist programme is part of Isro’s efforts to reach out to the student community. On the New Year day, Isro had organised

149. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2019.

150. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 9th edition of Vibrant Gujarat Summit. On the occasion, the Prime Minister also set the target for breaching into top 50 rankings of the ease of doing business.

151. The Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the 426.60 m long Pre Stressed Concrete Box Girder type Diffo bridge over Diffo river on Roing – Koronu- Paya road in Arunachal Pradesh.

152. The indigenously designed and developed Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) of India has successfully carried out air-to-air missile firing. It was for the first time in India that a helicopter had carried out air to air missile engagement.

153. For the first time, Antonov-32 AN-32 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out a successful landing at Sikkim’s Pakyong, one of the highest airfields in the country.

154. IIT Hyderabad has announced the launch of a full-fledged bachelor’s programme in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. IIT Hyderabad has become the first institute in the country to launch full-fledged Bachelor’s programme in AI technology. IIT Hyderabad will be the third institute to globally to offer the B.Tech course in AI.

155. A volcano has erupted on Kuchinoerabu Island of Japan. The eruption occurred on Mount Shindake. Mount Shindake had experienced explosive eruption in 2015. Japan’s Meteorological Agency has alerted people for volcanic rocks and pyroclastic flows.

156. The High Court of Kerala had disqualified an independent MLA Karat Razack from the Koduvally Assembly constituency for his defamatory campaign against the rival candidate during the 2016 Assembly polls.

157. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami released two commemorative coins in the denominations of Rs 100 and Rs 5 to mark the 102nd birth anniversary of DR M G Ramachandran. The first sets of coins were received by Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam at an event organised at the Tamil Nadu MGR Medical University.

158. Palestine has taken over the chairmanship of G77 from Egypt. Palestine will be formally elected chair at the annual G77 ministerial meeting, scheduled to take place in mid-September.

159. The British Parliament has rejected the Brexit deal proposed by the Prime Minister Theresa May. The British House of Commons voted 432 -202 against the deal struck between Britain’s government and the EU in November.

160. Satyarup Siddhanta, 35-year-old Kolkata mountaineer has set the world record of youngest to climb 7 highest volcanoes, 7 highest mountains in 7 continents in 7 years. He is also the first Indian to conquer the seven mountain peaks and seven volcanic summits.

161. On the plea by Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) against the order given by the National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA), the Delhi High Court has stayed the fine imposed on HUL.

162. Sanrakshan Kshmata Mahotsav (SAKSHAM) Vans was flagged off by Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan to promote and create awareness among people on the need of oil and gas conservation for the future and the methods to do it.

163. The Union government has approved Integrated E-filing and Centralised Processing Center 2.0 Project of the Income Tax Department to enhance the efficiency of income tax administration system in the country.

164. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for the capacity expansion project of Numaligarh Refinery from 3 MMTPA (Million Metric Tonne Per Annum) to 9 MMTRA.

165. Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb launched the Sustainable Catchment Forest Management (SCATFORM) project which is undertaken with the assistance of JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency).

166. The Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar has announced the Shaurya awards for students in the name of 71 state police martyrs.

167. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has released a bulletin highlighting the important features about the climatic conditions of 2018.

168. The Union government has announced the winners for International Gandhi Peace Prize. The awards were announced for the years 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 after the gap of four years.

169. President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed senior advocates Sanjay Jain and K M Nataraj as Additional Solicitor Generals of India. The appointments were made by the President as per the recommendations of the Appointments Committee of the cabinet.

170. The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved a capital infusion of Rs 6,000 crore in state-owned Export-Import Bank of India (Exim) to expand its business.

171. The Union Finance Ministry has started the Know Your Budget series on Twitter to educate the general public about the budgetary process. It is a fortnight series which explains the importance of Union Budget and its making.

172. The Global Risks Report 2019 of the World Economic Forum (WEF) describes changes occurring in the global risks landscape from year to year and identifies global catastrophic risks. The report also examines the interconnectedness of risks and considers how the strategies for the mitigation of global risks might be structured.

173. The Supreme Court Collegium is the panel of judges vested with the responsibility of appointments and elevations of Chief Justices and judges of the Supreme Court and high courts of the country.

174. The Supreme Court Collegium is the panel of judges vested with the responsibility of appointments and elevations of Chief Justices and judges of the Supreme Court and high courts of the country.

175. Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) is a support scheme of Odisha whose primary targets are small farmers, cultivators and landless agricultural labourers. The scheme involves payments to encourage cultivation and associated activities.

176. The Supreme Court has dismissed the pleas of the states of Punjab, Kerala, West Bengal, Haryana and Bihar which sought implementation of their local laws regarding the selection and appointment of DGPs.

177.The world’s first television channel dedicated to human rights was launched in London by the International Observatory of Human Rights (IOHR).

178. The London-based Times Higher Education (THE), a global organisation that produces data, analysis and expertise on higher education has released the Emerging Economies University Rankings 2019. The 2019 ranking comprises of 450 universities from 43 countries, across four continents.

179. The Minister of Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan launched the initiatives DD Science and India Science to popularise science in India. The initiatives aim to develop the scientific temper in Indian society.

180. The City Momentum Index of JLL which identifies World Dynamic Cities has been released by the property consultant JLL.

181. The Union government has set up a seven-member Group of Ministers (GoM) to examine and suggest ways to resolve the issues plaguing the real estate sector after the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

182. The Union Minister for Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu released the Vision 2040 document in the Global Aviation Summit 2019. The Global Aviation Summit 2019 is organized in Mumbai with the theme ‘Flying for All’.

183. The Committee headed Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha has submitted the report on revisiting the section 126 of the Representation of the People Act. The committee had nine officers from the Election Commission and one nominated member each from I&B Ministry, Law Ministry, IT Ministry, National Broadcasters Association and Press Council of India.

184. The Annual Status of Education, ASER report by the NGO Pratham which measures the learning outcomes has been released. The report was based on an annual household survey which covered 5.46 lakh children in 596 rural districts across the country.

185. PM Modi inaugurated the various developmental works in Kerala.

6. The Finance Ministry has asked the public sector banks to gradually reduce the government’s equity to 52 per cent. Currently, some of the public sector banks have government’s holding beyond 75 per cent.

186. The SpaceX cargo craft departed from the International Space Station after its successful mission to deliver scientific equipment and other supplies.

187. It is said that the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India are working on providing some relaxation on the prompt corrective action (PCA) framework for stressed banks.

188. The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Central government on PIL which questioned the notification authorising 10 central agencies to intercept, monitor and decrypt any computer system.

189. India-Myanmar bilateral army exercise, IMBEX 2018-19, has begun at Chandimandir Military Station which houses the headquarters of the Western Command.

190. The Union Minister of Housing and Urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri launched the Global Housing Technology Challenge. The challenge is undertaken under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban (PMAY-U).

191. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has drafted National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (2018-2023) for addressing the problem of drug and substance abuse in the country, dumping a long-pending draft policy on the matter.

192. The Hindu Literary Prize 2018 was awarded during The Hindu Lit for Life 2019.

193. The Traffic Police Department of Pune is looking at a futuristic model to maintain traffic flow and spread awareness about the traffic rules.

194. The protestors are referred to as Yellow Vests because they don the “Gilets Jaunes” (yellow vests), which the French drivers are required to carry in their cars. It is a leaderless movement which no reported structure or leadership to the movement.

195. The Quality Council of India undertook a survey on the status of sanitation across cities and towns on the bank of River Ganga for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. There are 39 towns on the banks of river in West Bengal, 20 in Uttar Pradesh, 17 in Bihar and 14 and two towns respectively in Uttarakhand and Jharkhand.

196. The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has given its approval for the Sita Rama Lift Irrigation Project of Telangana. The project would be completed in three years and would lead to submergence of about 1,930-hectare area and 157 villages.

197. A study by the scientists from National Chemical Laboratory, Pune indicates levels of free albumin and albumin attached to glucose molecules in the blood can be a better diagnostic test for diabetes.

198. A study by the scientists from National Chemical Laboratory, Pune indicates levels of free albumin and albumin attached to glucose molecules in the blood can be a better diagnostic test for diabetes.

199. A not for profit organisation Youth for Equality has questioned the constitutional validity of the 103 rd constitutional amendment act which provides for 10 per cent quota for economically weaker sections.

200. President Ramnath Kovind has given the assent to the 124th constitutional Amendment Bill (which is now Constitution 103rd amendment Act) providing 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections.

201. India celebrates Army India on January 15. Army Day is celebrated to salute the valiant soldiers who sacrificed their lives to protect the country and its citizens.

202. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was awarded first ever Philip Kotler Presidential Award. Philip Kotler Presidential Award aims to spread examples of individuals and companies who create an innovative culture for the economic, social and technological advancements of an industry or a country.

203. The government of Puducherry has decided to ban the production, sale and use of single-use plastic products from March 1. To ensure the ban is effective on the ground both in letter and spirit, the government of Puducherry would be conducting a massive drive to create awareness among the merchants and the public on the necessity of the ban.

204. Renowned writer Namita Gokhale was awarded Sushila Devi Literature Award for her work “Things to Leave Behind”. She was honoured in the ‘Best Book of Fiction Written by a Woman Author’ category at the inaugural edition of Bhopal Literature and Art Festival.

205. Sakhi centre or One Stop Centre (OSC) is a fully sponsored scheme of Central Government. These centres are set up through the Nirbhaya Fund under the National Mission for Empowerment of women by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

206. Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley and Union Minority Affairs Minister Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi inaugurated Hunar Haat exhibitions in New Delhi. Hunar Haat plays an important role in national and international branding of the heritage of master artisans in India. Hunar Haat is aimed at “Development with Dignity” of the artisans and craftsmen from the minority communities.

207. The Women of India Organic Festival has been organised by the Ministry of Women and Child Development at Leisure Valley, Sector-10, Chandigarh, to celebrate and promote women farmers and entrepreneurs in the organic sector from the remotest parts of India.

208. The GST Council has decided to set up a seven-member committee to look into revenue shortfall being faced by the states after the GST roll-out, and suggest steps for augmenting collections.

209. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has voiced concern on the spike in non-performing assets (NPAs) under the government’s flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana to support micro-enterprises in the country.

210. A private members bill, Right to Disconnect Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha by MP Supriya Sule.

211. The government has re-promulgated the Companies (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019 to amend the Companies Act 2013. Even though the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2018 for this effect was passed in, it was pending before Rajya Sabha. The ordinance was first issued in November and would have ceased to be operational from January 21. Hence the government has decided to re-promulgate the ordinance.

212. The government has decided to issue new series of sovereign gold bonds between January 14 and January 18 at Rs 3,214 per gram and those who subscribe to the bonds online will get a discount of Rs 50 per gram.

213. The Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs and Sports Col Rajyavardhan Rathore (Retd) launched the National Youth Parliament Festival 2019 as part of the National Youth Day celebrations.

214. The Parliament of Macedonia has passed the resolution to amend the constitution of the country to rename it as the Republic of Northern Macedonia. The opposition parties had boycotted the vote and the proposal narrowly got the two-thirds majority vote required for the constitutional amendment.

215. The Chief Minister of Sikkim Pawan Kumar Chamling has announced the One family one job scheme to provide employment to the youth of Sikkim.

216. India celebrates National Youth Day on January 12 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.

217. The Atal Tinkering Lab Handbook Nayee Dishayen, Naye Nirman, Naya Bharat was released by the NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission.

218. The Central Government is actively considering the proposal to revive the National Register of Indian Citizens project as part of its efforts to identify and deport the illegal immigrants from the Country.

219. The political parties have opposed the directive of the Election Commission that a candidate should bear the bill to publicise his criminal record since it eats up the share of the election expenditure limit. Political Parties have written to the Election Commission expressing concerns over the Election Commissions directive.

220. The National Wildlife Board has given its approval for the Trishna Gas project of ONGC which falls in the Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary in the Gomati district of Tripura.

221. Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a commemorative coin and stamp on Guru Gobind Singh to mark the 350

222. The Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) will be held at Varanasi on January 21 and would be formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22. The theme of the PBD 2019 is “Role of Indian Diaspora in building a New India.”

223. The government of Odisha has launched the scheme Ama Ghare LED to provide LED bulbs at free of cost to about 95 lakh families in the state.

224. The data from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has revealed the following facts about the implementation status of AMRUT Yojana:

225. The Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has recommended appointing Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Sanjiv Khanna as judges of the Supreme Court.

226. The Governor of Tamil Nadu inaugurated the Kavi Sammelan, a National Symposium of Poets in Chennai. The poems were recited in the original language by the poets themselves and then they were translated to Hindi and Tamil.

227. The Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) of the United States Chamber of Commerce has launched a new innovation initiative Fair Value for Innovation at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi.

228. The government of Delhi has decided to open six World-Class Skill centres (WCSCs) in the national capital to prepare students to acquire different professional skills.

229. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has released the draft amendment bill to amend the Indian Cinematograph Act, 1952. The amendments are brought in counter the film piracy.

230. The Supreme Court has given its nod to Chardham Development Plan which connects the holy places of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath by all-weather roads.

231. The Index of Industrial Production for the month of November has been released by the Central Statistical Office, under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

232. The Sino-Indian Digital Collaboration Plaza (SIDCOP) has been launched by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) in association with Municipal Governments of Guiyang and Dalian.

233. The Partnership Summit provides for a global platform to dialogue, debate, deliberate and engage Indian and global leaders on economic policy and growth trends in India. The 25th edition of the Partnership Summit would be inaugurated by Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu in Mumbai.

234. The Uttar Pradesh Governor Shri Ram Naik inaugurated the Sanskriti Kumbh at Prayagraj. The Sanskriti Kumbh celebrates the conglomeration of Spiritual Consciousness and Cultural Heritage of India in the main premises of Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj. It is being organised by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India under the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat initiative.

235. On the basis of recommendation the government of Karnataka, it has been proposed to amend Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 relating to Karnataka. The amendment aims to grant Scheduled Tribe status to the communities, namely Parivara and Talawara which are Synonyms of Nayaka and Siddi community of Dharwad and Belagavi districts along with existing ‘Siddi’ community of Uttar Kannada district.

236. The Agreement for the construction of Renukaji Dam Multi-Purpose Project was signed by six states, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh in the presence of Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari.

237. The India Manufacturing Barometer 2019 Report has been prepared by Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in association with PwC.

238. The Union Cabinet has approved India’s Currency Swap Agreement with Japan. The $75-billion bilateral currency swap arrangement is a milestone in mutual economic cooperation and special strategic and global partnership between two countries.

239. The World Economic Forum has recognised Tata Steel’s plant at IJmuiden in the Netherlands as Manufacturing Lighthouse with state-of-the-art production facilities which successfully adopt and integrate the cutting-edge technologies of the future and drive financial and operational impact.

240. The exemption limit for Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration has been increased to Rs 40 lakh from the current Rs 20 lakh to ease the cost of compliance for small taxpayers or micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

241. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made changes with the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) to allow charitable institutions, central government entities and state government entities to deposit gold under GMS.

242. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made changes with the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) to allow charitable institutions, central government entities and state government entities to deposit gold under GMS.

243. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made changes with the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) to allow charitable institutions, central government entities and state government entities to deposit gold under GMS.

244. The Minister for Electronics and IT (MeitY) Ravi Shankar Prasad inaugurated the National Informatics Centre (NIC)’s Command and Control Centre (CCC) and its Centre for Excellence in Artificial Intelligence.

245. The Supreme Court has suggested setting up of a three-member panel comprising of Nandan Nilekani, a co-founder of Infosys, and renowned computer scientist Vijay P Bhatkar to suggest reforms for conducting of competitive examinations fairly by government bodies.

246. The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the setting up of three new AIIMS institutions. The three new institutions would come up at Vijaynagar at Samba of Jammu Region, Awantipora in Pulwama of Kashmir Region and Rajkot in Gujarat under the pradhan mantri swasthya suraksha yojana.

247. The government of Chhattisgarh has withdrawn the general consent accorded to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the cases in the state. The general consent was withdrawn under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.

248. The World Bank has released the Global Economic Prospects report 2019 titled “Darkening Skies”.

249. The World Economic Forum has released the report ‘Future of Consumption in Fast-Growth Consumer Market – India’. The report was produced based on consumer surveys conducted by Bain & Company across 5,100 households in 30 cities and towns in India and draws from more than 40 interviews with private and public-sector leaders.

250. Guatemala is a Central American Country bordered by Mexico to the north and west, Belize and the Caribbean to the northeast, Honduras to the east, El Salvador to the southeast and the Pacific Ocean to the south.

251. The Henley Passport Index measures the access each country’s travel document affords. The Index is based on the data provided by the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) and covers 199 passports and 227 travel destinations.

252. The first India-Central Asia Dialogue will be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on January 12 and 13. The Dialogue will be co-chaired by External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj and the Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan, Abdulaziz Kamilov.

253. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released the Democracy Index which ranks 167 countries by 60 indicators across five broad categories.

254. The Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India has launched an online campaign Web- Wonder Women to discover and celebrate the exceptional achievements of women, who have been driving positive agenda of social change via social media.

255. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Gangajal Project. The project aims to improve water supply to the city of Agra.

256. The Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Khandu inaugurated India’s longest single-lane steel cable suspension bridge over Siang River in Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh.

257. Every year 10th January is celebrated as World Hindi Day to create awareness about the language of Hindi across the World and to present Hindi as an international language.

257. The researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) have recreated space fuel by simulating interstellar conditions in the laboratory. It is a big breakthrough for India in the exploration of cleaner and sustainable alternatives to fossil fuel.

258. The ruling party of Sikkim, Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) has assured the implementation of the universal basic income in Sikkim by 2022. If things go as per plan, Sikkim would become the first state in the country to implement the Universal Basic Income (UBI).

259. Pranav R Mehta, President of the National Solar Energy Federation of India has become the president of the Global Solar Council. He has become the first Indian to head the Global Solar Council.

260. The High Court of Kerala has set a seven-day notice period for political parties and individuals to call for hartal and general strike in the State.

261. Khelo India Youth games 2019 are being held at Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune. Previously called as Khelo India School Games, it has been now renamed as Khelo India Youth Games.

262. The Supreme Court has formed a 5-Judge Constitution Bench to hear Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid Case. The bench would be headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and comprise of justices SA Bobde, NV Ramana, UU Lalit and DY Chandrachud.

263. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed in Lok Sabha. The protests have erupted in Assam against the passage of the bill. The people of Assam fear that the amendment bill undermines the Assam Accord of 1985.

264. The Lok Sabha has passed the 124th constitutional amendment bill to provide reservations to the economically weaker sections. The central government is planning to introduce a ten per cent reservation for those belonging to economically weaker sections of society.

265. The appointment of Kumar Rajesh Chandra as the Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) has been approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. As per the notification, he would continue in the post up to 31.12.2021 i.e. date of his retirement on superannuation or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

266. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has released the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2018. The report draws information from 142 countries, examining trafficking trends and patterns.

267. The CAG report on Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management has been tabled in the parliament.

268. The operational guidelines of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) prescribe the timeline of two months of completion of Crop Cutting Experiments/harvesting period for settlement of claims by insurance companies. This timeline is subjected to conditions like timely release of subsidy and yield data to the insurance companies.

269. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted a high-level committee under Nandan Nilekani to suggest measures to strengthen the safety and security of digital payments in the country.

270. Gita Gopinath has joined International Monetary Fund as its chief economist. She is the first woman to occupy the post of chief economist of IMF. She is the 11th chief economist of the IMF.

271. Standard Chartered Plc, a multinational company has made long term forecasts about the shake-up of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) rankings. The key elements of the forecast are:

272. The Defence India Startup Challenge has been launched by the Defence Innovation Organisation to boost innovations under the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) scheme. The initiative has been launched with support from the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence, Atal Innovation Mission and NITI Aayog.

273. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has approved the list of journals for the “CARE Reference List of Quality Journals”. The Consortium for Academic and Research Ethics (CARE) is tasked to scrutinise and then compile a list of journals for social sciences, humanities, language, arts, culture, Indian Knowledge system etc.

274. The government has granted an exemption to Battery Operated Transport Vehicles and Transport Vehicles running on Ethanol and Methanol fuels from the requirement of a permit.

275. The Union Minister of Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar has announced an increase of around 5,000 seats at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas across the country. This is the biggest-ever expansion and the number of seats has increased from 46,600 to 51,000 at the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs).

276. The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2018 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan.

277. The Supreme Court of India has reinstated CBI director Alok Kumar Verma, setting aside the Centre’s order to divest him of his powers. The Supreme Court has restrained him from taking any major policy decision till the CVC probe into corruption charges against him is over.

278. The Airports Authority of India has banned the single-use plastic items at its 129 airports across the country. The Airports Authority of India has initiated numerous steps like banning of single-use plastic items like straws, plastic cutlery, plastic plates etc.

279. The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions has initiated an inter-ministerial consultation note to rename the Indian Forest Service as Indian Forest and Tribal Service. The consultation note also contains the proposal to train the cadre to be more receptive towards tribals and forest dwellers.

280. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of USA has discovered a new planet. It is the third new planet discovered by the NASA mission, Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).

281. In the World Bank’s Doing Business (DB) rankings for 2019, India has climbed 23 spots to rank 77th globally. India has witnessed a substantial jump in the rankings for the second consecutive year. In the year 2018 India had jumped 30 places. The various digital interventions have been a great contributing factor for India in making this significant improvement.

281.The Ministry of Industries and Commerce had initiated the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) to assist the organic producers to tap the market which is growing steadily in the both in domestic and export segments.

282. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IMHCL) and leading Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) like BPCL, HPCL and IOCL for sale of FASTags through their petrol pumps.

283. The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment has notified the draft National Policy on Domestic Workers. The policy aims to provide social security benefits to an estimated 39 lakh people employed as domestic workers by private households, of which 26 lakhs are female domestic workers.

284. The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare is implementing the scheme of Rashtriya Gokul Mission to conserve and develop indigenous breeds in a focused and scientific manner.

285.The Lok Sabha has passed the Personal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018. The bill moved by Minister of State for Law PP Chaudhary seeks to remove leprosy as a ground for divorce in five personal laws – Hindu Marriage Act, Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, Divorce Act (for Christians), Special Marriage Act and the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act.

286. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has released the first advance estimates of National Income for 2018-19.

287. The RBI has released a paper titled ‘The Impact of Crude Price Shock on CAD, Inflation and Fiscal Deficit’. The paper outlines how the crude price shock will have an adverse impact on current account deficit (CAD), Inflation and Fiscal Deficit.

288. A five-year study by researchers Sangita Mitra (National Biodiversity Authority, Chennai) and Mahua Roy Chowdhury, (a marine biologist from the University of Calcutta, West Bengal) has been published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa.

289. The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has released a Facebook post titled ‘Benefits of the Aadhaar – where it stands today’ highlighting how the efficient use of the Aadhaar based identification has aided in improving the governance and in efficient delivery of services.

290. The government has announced a decision to provide ten per cent reservation in jobs and higher education for those belonging to the economically backward sections of the general category. The government aims to provide the aid of reservation to economically backward poor people who are not availing the benefit of reservation as of now.

291. The Peoples Republic of China has passed a new law to regulate Islam and make it more compatible with socialism by “Sinicizing Islam”.

292. Rail Kumbh Seva Mobile App has been launched by the North Central Railway (NCR) to help the devotees arriving in Allahabad for the Kumbh Mela.

293. As per the announcement made to set up a high-level committee to review the implementation of clause 6 of the Assam Accord, the government has set up a committee headed by former Union tourism secretary M.P. Bezbaruah.

294. The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (Nafed) has sold over 5 lakh tonnes (lt) pulses to 10 States and a Union Territory at discounted rates under the scheme of central government.

295. The Ministry of Human Resource Development has launched 70-Point Grading Index to assess the quality of school education in the states.

296. The Ministry of Textiles, Government of India had launched a Yarn Bank Scheme as one of the components of PowerTex India scheme with an aim to avoid fluctuation in yarn price.

297. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone for the Mandal Dam Project on the North Koel River. The Mandal Dam Project would be boon for the states of Jharkhand and Bihar.

298. The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has written a Facebook post titled ‘Two years of insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC)”. In the post, he explains how things have been changed after the IBC was passed by the Parliament.

299. The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Modi has approved the restructuring of existing National Health Agency as National Health Authority. The existing society, “National Health Agency” has been dissolved and it is now restructured as an Authority to effectively the implement Pradhan Mantri – Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).

300. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has stated that cyclone Pabuk will move northwestwards and cross the Andaman Islands late on 6th Jan as a cyclonic storm with wind speed up to 90 kmph. IMD has sounded a orange alert for the cyclone Pabuk. The Pabuk cyclone would cause heavy rain over the Andaman Islands.

301. The Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) court in Mumbai has declared Vijay Mallya as a Fugitive Economic Offender. Vijay Mallya is the first businessman to be charged under the new fugitive economic offender’s act 2018.

302. The fourth edition of the Swachh Survekshan Survey has been launched in New Delhi. The Swachh Survekshan 2019 will be conducted by an independent third party across 4,237 towns and cities between January 4 and 28.

303. The Indian Railways has decided to replace conventional coaches with modern LHB (Linke Hofmann Busch) design coaches in all long distance trains.

304. The United Nations observed the first official World Braille Day on 4 th January to create awareness about the importance of Braille for approximately 1.3 billion people living with some form of distance or near vision impairment.

305. The Asia competitiveness institute (ACI) has released the Ease of Doing Business Rankings for Indian states.

306. The has passed the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Bill to set up a revamped International Arbitration Centre at New Delhi with an aim to make India the hub of arbitration.

307. Andhra Pradesh was conferred with CBIP’s “Best Implementation of Water Resources Project” for better planning, implementation, monitoring and speedy execution of Polavaram multipurpose project on the Godavari River.

308. PM Modi inaugurated a slew of developmental works and laid the foundation stone for four projects during his visit to the North-Eastern state of Manipur.

309. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) presented the National Entrepreneurship Awards 2018 by honouring 30 outstanding young entrepreneurs and three entrepreneurship ecosystem builders for their exceptional contribution in entrepreneurship development at a ceremony held in New Delhi.

310. Developing metro rail networks and housing development has been the top priority of the Central Government’s urban development strategy.

311. The government of Maharashtra has decided to give two LED bulbs, a DC fan and a mobile charging socket as freebies to farmers enrolling under the Atal Solar Krishi Pump Yojana.

312. The has passed the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2018. The bill aims to amend the Companies Act, 2013. The bill would replace the ordinance promulgated on November 2018.

313. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has formed an expert committee to look into the various challenges being faced by MSMEs and suggest ways and measures to rejuvenate them.

314. Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power and Renewable Energy, R K Singh has stated in Lok Sabha that the targets set under the Street Lighting National Programme are most likely to be missed.

315. Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) will most likely launch Chandrayaan-2, the country’s second mission to the Moon in the month of February.

316. China’s Chang’e 4 probe spacecraft has become the first spacecraft to land on the far side of the moon.

317. The New Horizon Spacecraft has flown past Ultima Thule, a trans-Neptunian object located in the Kuiper belt. This marks a new beginning in the era of exploration from the enigmatic Kuiper Belt region.

318. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincial government of Pakistan has declared the ancient Hindu religious site of Panj Tirath in Peshawar of North Western Pakistan as national heritage.

319. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) under the Ministry of Commerce has clarified that the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules for e-commerce have not allowed foreign investment in the inventory-based model or multi-brand retailing.

320. Prime Minister, Narendra Modi delivered the inaugural address at the 106th session of the Indian Science Congress. The 106th Indian Science Congress is being held at Jalandhar. The theme of the 106th science congress is ‘Future India: Science and Technology’.

321. The New Delhi World Book Fair will be held at the Pragati Maidan. The theme of the 27th edition of the New Delhi World Book Fair is “Readers with special needs”. The UAE’s third largest emirate Sharjah is the guest of honour for the New Delhi World Book Fair.

322. Kathak exponent Anindita Neogy Anaam has been honoured with the prestigious National Nritya Shiromani award for her contribution towards preserving and promoting the dance form across the world. The award was conferred during the 10th Cuttack Mahotsav: International Dance and Music festival.

323. Pakistan has decided to withdraw the facility of on-arrival visas for Afghan nationals. Pakistan has cited security risks and the spike in terror attacks as the reasons for the withdrawal. Now the Afghan Nationals are required to apply for a visa from Pakistani missions in Afghanistan.

324. The Parliament has given its approval for the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2018.

325. The Parliament has given its approval to the National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill, 2018. The bill aims to protect the interest of the students who had completed courses from unrecognized institutes.

326. The Metro rail Policy 2017 was released by the central government to issue clear directives for undertaking Metro rail projects in various urban centres. The policy was a welcome change from the meandering development in the Metro rail sphere happening all over the country.

327. Ministry of Railways has planned to set up 1000 Mega Watt (MW) solar power by 2020-21. This would help Railways to source about 10% of its electrical energy from renewable source.

328. The Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the amendment to the Trade Union Act, 1926.

329. Stubble burning in states such as Haryana and Punjab is a major cause of air pollution in north India in October and November. The stubble burning is one of the main reasons for the higher level of pollutants in the air in the National Capital Region. The Central government has initiated to reduce and eradicate the stubble burning in the neighbouring states of NCR.

330. The Union cabinet has approved the setting up of a high-level committee for the implementation of clause 6 of the Assam Accord. The committee is formed to address the sense of feeling that clause 6 has not been fully implemented even almost 35 years after the accord was signed.

331. The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has established an Export Promotion Cell. The cell aims to create to create a sustainable ecosystem for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

332. The Government has launched the “Green – Ag: Transforming Indian Agriculture for global environmental benefits and the conservation of critical biodiversity and forest landscapes” in association with Global Environment Facility (GEF).

333. The Union cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the bill to amend the ST list of Arunachal Pradesh. The bill Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2018 will now be introduced in the parliament for seeking the approval.

334. The government is likely to introduce the Commercial Space Activities Bill in the budget session. The government has said in Lok Sabha that “Steps are being taken so that the Bill could be possibly introduced during the Budget session 2019”.

335. Recognising the need to cut down on carbon emissions to tackle climate change, the government of India has take steps to reduce the emissions from the farm sector.

336. The Sabarimala shrine has been opened for the annual 21-day annual Makaravilakku festival season.

337. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has declared 6 monuments as Monuments of national importance in 2018.

338. The Western Ghats has an exceptionally high level of biological diversity and endemism and is recognized as one of the world’s eight ‘hottest hotspots’ of biological diversity. The Western Ghats represents geomorphic features of immense importance with unique biophysical and ecological processes.

339. The Ministry of Railways has initiated several steps to promote heritage conservation. The conservation measures undertaken by railways include a revival of Steam Locomotives, up-keeping Hill Railways, a special delegation of powers to Divisions for promoting Hill and Steam tourism, strengthening Railway museums, conservation of built heritage, digitization of Railway Heritage and bringing it online for universal access etc.

340. The Ujjwala Yojana was first of its kind welfare scheme initiated by the Ministry of Petroleum. But the viability of the scheme was questioned citing that there would not be refills from the beneficiaries of the scheme. The current data from the Ministry of Petroleum has put the refill rate at 80%.

341. The government has introduced the Aadhaar amendment bill in Loksabha. The bill aims to provide legal backing for voluntary seeding of biometric Aadhaar ID for mobile SIM card and bank account authentication purposes.

342. Odisha is highly endemic for malaria and bears almost a quarter of the country’s disease burden. Through its innovative methods involving non-health workers in malaria control, Odisha was able to reduce the number of cases by 80 per cent.

343. US president has signed the ‘Asia Reassurance Initiative Act’. The law aims at countering the encroaching influence and growing threat from China, and to reinvigorate U.S. leadership in Asia.

344. Scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, have developed a paper kit to test the freshness of milk and determine how well the milk has been pasteurized. The kit can also aid in ensuring that milk is consumed before it turns too sour with the help of a smartphone app.

345. An ambitious web-based single-window system Parivesh (Pro-Active and Responsive facilitation by Interactive, Virtuous and Environmental Single-window Hub) for environmental clearances will be rolled-out at state levels by January 15. Parivesh provides for an automated system for submission, clearance and monitoring. Parivesh is expected to bring an end to the clearance nightmare for entrepreneurs. Parivesh has already been implemented at the Central level.

346. The government of West Bengal has announced the Krishak Bandhu scheme to address the farm distress in the state.

347. Saurabh Kumar has been appointed as the Director General of Ordnance Factories (DGOF) and chairman of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) in Kolkata.

348. Both India and Pakistan have exchanged their list of nuclear installations. The exchange was in accordance with the Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities between Pakistan and India.

349. The government has relaxed norms for the manufacturing of the defence items. As per new norms, manufacturing of items of defence aerospace and warships will now be covered by Industries (Development and Regulation) Act and will not require any licence from the Commerce and Industry Ministry.

350. The RBI has proposed a one-time loan restructuring scheme for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The loan restructuring would be a big relief for troubled small businesses hit by demonetisation in late 2016 and the implementation of goods and services tax (GST) in July 2017.

351. President Ram Nath Kovind has nominated Justice AK Sikri as Executive Chairman of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA). He will be replacing Justice Madan B Lokur.

352. The Union Home Ministry has approved the proposal of the Uttar Pradesh Government to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj.

353. On 1st January, around 30 lakh women stood shoulder to shoulder to form Vanitha Mathil, “women’s wall” that ran across the length of Kerala. The wall stretched from Kasaragod in the north to Thiruvananthapuram in the south for about 620 Kms.

354. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched Survey on Retail Payment Habits of Individuals (SRPHi). The Survey will capture payment habits of individuals in cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Guwahati.

355. Japan has announced its decision to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The withdrawal would enable Japan to resume commercial whaling activities.

356. Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has launched an outreach programme called Samwad with Students. During Samwad with Students on 1st January Isro chairman K Sivan interacted with 40 students and 10 teachers from select schools.

357. The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has inventoried 1,72,517 bridges/structures under Indian Bridge Management System (IBMS). It comprises of 1,34,229 culverts, 32,806 minor bridges, 3,647 major and 1,835 extra-long bridges.

358. The government of Pakistan has decided to launch Panda Bonds to raise loans from Chinese capital markets. Launching of Panda Bonds is part of Pakistan’s plans to move towards giving the Chinese currency, a status at par with that enjoyed by the US dollar. The interest rates and the size of the bonds would be decided at a later stage.

359. India is likely to achieve 100 per cent household electrification before 2019 Republic Day. India has already provided electricity access to 2.39 crore out of the targeted 2.49 crore households under the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana, Saubhagya scheme.

360. The RTI act has been amended to make it mandatory for all untrained in-service teachers working in Government, Government aided, and Private un-aided schools to acquire minimum qualification as laid down by an academic authority.

361. Together with showcasing success stories and providing a platform for all stakeholders to learn from each other, and instill a positive competitive spirit among all the States and UTs, ShaGun also measures state-level performance and progress against key educational indicators. This enables the Government of India and the State and UT Departments of education to conduct real-time assessments which normal paper-based monitoring mechanisms did not allow.

362. Diksha Portal has been launched to provide a digital platform for teachers to learn and train themselves and connect with teacher community.

363. The Panel headed by IIT-Hyderabad chairman B V R Mohan Reddy has suggested All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) not to allow setting up of new Engineering colleges from 2020.

364. Separate High Courts will start functioning for the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh from 1st January 2019. The High Court for Telangana is the 25th High Court in the country.

365. The data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industries has shown that the growth in the eight core sectors of the economy fell to a 16-month low of 3.5 per cent in November. The eight core sectors are coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizer, steel, cement and electricity.

366. The bi-annual Fiscal Stability Report discussing issues relating to the development and regulation of the financial sector has been released by the RBI. The Fiscal Stability Report reflects the collective assessment of the Sub-Committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) on risks to the financial stability of the country, as also the resilience of the financial system.

International

1. In the backdrop of the meeting of the P5 (UK, US, France, Russia and People’s Republic of China) to discuss issues related to nuclear disarmament, China has again reiterated its previous stand that India’s accession to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is pre-requisite for its membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) or else there should be a common guidelines for the membership of the non-NPT states.

2. The central banks of the UAE and Saudi Arabia will launch a common digital currency called Aber. Aber will be used for financial settlements between the two countries through Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers technologies.

3. The Africa Centre for Climate and Sustainable Development was inaugurated by the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte at Rome. The centre has been opened by the Italian government in association with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).

4. The International Holocaust Remembrance Day is celebrated every year on January 27. January 27 marks the anniversary of the Allied liberation of the Auschwitz death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland, where an estimated 1.1 million people died, including 1 million Jews.

5. China is the largest producer of crude steel and it accounts for more than 51 per cent of global production. China’s share has been increased from 50.3 per cent in 2017 to 51.3 per cent in 2018.

6. US President Trump had unilaterally walked out of the Joint comprehensive plan of action (JCPOA) agreement and reimposed the sanctions on Iran. Under the JCPOA agreement, Iran had agreed to curb its nuclear activities in return for the lifting of sanctions that had been imposed by the UN, US and EU.

7. Australia celebrates 26th January as Australia Day which marks the landing of the First Fleet, a convoy of 11 ships carrying convicts, at Port Jackson in 1788. It also marks the founding of the colony New South Wales.

8. Russian marked the 75th anniversary of the end of the devastating World War II siege by Nazi forces with a large military parade at ST. Petersburg which was then called as Leningrad.

9. The first-ever International Day of Education was celebrated on 24 January 2019 as per the resolution passed by the United Nations General Assembly on December 3rd 2018 to celebrate the role of education in development.

10. Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela wanted to see the elimination of poverty and a world where nations respect one another and multilateralism was upheld and respected and there was tolerance for each other’s religion, race, caste and regional affiliation.

11. The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Kuwait for cooperation on the recruitment of domestic workers.

12. The Bloomberg Innovation Index analyses each country in a range of areas including education, research and development, and manufacturing before coming up with a list of the 60 most innovative countries.

13. The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the amendments to the framework on currency swap arrangement for SAARC member countries.

14. The findings from the World Economic Forum’s public opinion survey register regional variations on the various issues.

15. The World Economic Forum (WEF) has released its findings from the public opinion survey. The survey covered a sample size of over 10,000 people from every region of the world.

16. The Global Talent Competitive Index prepared by the INSEAD business school in partnership with Tata Communications and Adecco Group was released on the first day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2019.

17. The Annual Wealth Check report 2019 of Oxfam has been released. The release of the report marked the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

18. The World Health Organisation (WHO) list of 10 global health threats lists 10 issues which demand immediate attention from WHO and health partners in 2019 has been released.

19. The 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer report by the Edelman Intelligence has been released.

20. The leaders from the Arab World met in Beirut, Lebanon to discuss economic and social development. The leaders of the Arab World agreed on a 29-item economic agenda in addition to encouraging the safe return of Syrian refugees to their homeland at the conclusion.

21. The Union Home Ministry has tweaked the travel document norms for visiting Nepal and Bhutan. As per new norms, Indian can travel to Nepal and Bhutan by producing Aadhaar as Identity proof but this is only for those Indians aged under 15 and over 65 years.

22. Rio de Janeiro has been recognised as ‘World Capital of Architecture’ for 2020 by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

23. The Outbreak Readiness and Business Impact white paper has been released by the World Economic Forum. The white paper was released by the WEF in collaboration with the Harvard Global Health Institute.

24. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2019.

25. A volcano has erupted on Kuchinoerabu Island of Japan. The eruption occurred on Mount Shindake. Mount Shindake had experienced explosive eruption in 2015. Japan’s Meteorological Agency has alerted people for volcanic rocks and pyroclastic flows.

26. Palestine has taken over the chairmanship of G77 from Egypt. Palestine will be formally elected chair at the annual G77 ministerial meeting, scheduled to take place in mid-September.

27. The British Parliament has rejected the Brexit deal proposed by the Prime Minister Theresa May. The British House of Commons voted 432 -202 against the deal struck between Britain’s government and the EU in November.

28. The British Parliament has rejected the Brexit deal proposed by the Prime Minister Theresa May. The British House of Commons voted 432 -202 against the deal struck between Britain’s government and the EU in November.

29. The world’s first television channel dedicated to human rights was launched in London by the International Observatory of Human Rights (IOHR).

30. The world’s first television channel dedicated to human rights was launched in London by the International Observatory of Human Rights (IOHR).

31. The protestors are referred to as Yellow Vests because they don the “Gilets Jaunes” (yellow vests), which the French drivers are required to carry in their cars. It is a leaderless movement which no reported structure or leadership to the movement.

32. The Parliament of Macedonia has passed the resolution to amend the constitution of the country to rename it as the Republic of Northern Macedonia. The opposition parties had boycotted the vote and the proposal narrowly got the two-thirds majority vote required for the constitutional amendment.

33. The Sino-Indian Digital Collaboration Plaza (SIDCOP) has been launched by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) in association with Municipal Governments of Guiyang and Dalian.

34. The World Economic Forum has recognised Tata Steel’s plant at IJmuiden in the Netherlands as Manufacturing Lighthouse with state-of-the-art production facilities which successfully adopt and integrate the cutting-edge technologies of the future and drive financial and operational impact.

35. The Foreign Minister of Guatemala Sandra Jovel had notified the UN secretary-general of the Government’s decision to terminate the agreement which established the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). The International Commission had mandate till 3rd September this year.

36. The Henley Passport Index measures the access each country’s travel document affords. The Index is based on the data provided by the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) and covers 199 passports and 227 travel destinations.

37. The first India-Central Asia Dialogue will be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on January 12 and 13. The Dialogue will be co-chaired by External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj and the Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan, Abdulaziz Kamilov.

38. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released the Democracy Index which ranks 167 countries by 60 indicators across five broad categories.

39. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released the Democracy Index which ranks 167 countries by 60 indicators across five broad categories.

40. Pranav R Mehta, President of the National Solar Energy Federation of India has become the president of the Global Solar Council. He has become the first Indian to head the Global Solar Council.

41. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has released the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2018. The report draws information from 142 countries, examining trafficking trends and patterns.

42. The Peoples Republic of China has passed a new law to regulate Islam and make it more compatible with socialism by “Sinicizing Islam”.

43. The United Nations observed the first official World Braille Day on 4th January to create awareness about the importance of Braille for approximately 1.3 billion people living with some form of distance or near vision impairment.

44. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincial government of Pakistan has declared the ancient Hindu religious site of Panj Tirath in Peshawar of North Western Pakistan as national heritage.

45. Pakistan has decided to withdraw the facility of on-arrival visas for Afghan nationals. Pakistan has cited security risks and the spike in terror attacks as the reasons for the withdrawal. Now the Afghan Nationals are required to apply for a visa from Pakistani missions in Afghanistan.

46. US president has signed the ‘Asia Reassurance Initiative Act’. The law aims at countering the encroaching influence and growing threat from China, and to reinvigorate U.S. leadership in Asia.

47. Both India and Pakistan have exchanged their list of nuclear installations. The exchange was in accordance with the Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities between Pakistan and India.

48. The Agreement was signed between India and Pakistan on 31 December 1988 at Islamabad and came into force on 27th January 1991.

49. Japan has announced its decision to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The withdrawal would enable Japan to resume commercial whaling activities.

50. The government of Pakistan has decided to launch Panda Bonds to raise loans from Chinese capital markets. Launching of Panda Bonds is part of Pakistan’s plans to move towards giving the Chinese currency, a status at par with that enjoyed by the US dollar. The interest rates and the size of the bonds would be decided at a later stage.

51. The ruling coalition led by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Awami League has registered a landslide victory in Parliamentary elections. The ruling coalition led by Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party won 288 out of 300 seats which are about 96 per cent of the seats.

Economics & Banking

1. The India Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Report 2018 has been released Kochi based Institute of Small Enterprises and Development at the South India MSME Summit 2019 in Bengaluru.

2. The World Economic Situation and Prospects 2019 discusses various challenges before the global economy.

3. India’s GDP growth is expected to accelerate to 7.6 per cent in 2019-20 from an estimated 7.4 per cent in the current fiscal ending March 2019 and growth rate may come down to 7.4 per cent a year later.

4. The United Nations report World Economic Situation and Prospects 2019 discusses various challenges in attaining the sustainable development goals.

5. The United Nations report World Economic Situation and Prospects 2019 has been released.

6. The SBI Ecowrap report recommends the government to opt for the unconditional cash transfer to farmers to alleviate agrarian distress rather than Universal Basic Income (UBI) scheme.

7. A Fitch Group company, India Ratings has released its report on states finances.

8. IMF has retained its growth projection for the country at 7.5 per cent for 2019-20 and said it is likely to accelerate to 7.7 per cent in 2020-21. This brings cheers for India as the world growth rates have been revised downwards.

9. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has initiated two surveys namely, Industrial Outlook Survey (IOS), and Services and Infrastructure Outlook Survey (SIOS). The two quarterly surveys aim to examine the current situation including the job scenario in India’s manufacturing, services and infrastructure sectors.

10. The International Monetary Fund in its World Economic Outlook has suggested various policy measures to arrest the downward growth trend.

11. The International Monetary Fund has released the global wealth forecasts for 2019 in its World Economic Outlook report.

12. The Global Economy Watch Report of PwC monitors trends and issues affecting the global economy and details its latest projections for the leading nations.

13. The Competition Commission of India has approved the deal wherein Samara Capital-backed Witzig Advisory Services and Amazon will acquire Aditya Birla Retail Ltd, which operates a supermarket store chain ‘more’.

14. On the plea by Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) against the order given by the National Ani-Profiteering Authorty (NAA), the Delhi High Court has stayed the fine imposed on HUL.

15. The Union government has approved Integrated E-filing and Centralised Processing Center 2.0 Project of the Income Tax Department to enhance the efficiency of income tax administration system in the country.

16. The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved a capital infusion of Rs 6,000 crore in state-owned Export-Import Bank of India (Exim) to expand its business.

17. The Central government has constituted GST ministerial panel on lotteries. The ministerial panel will study the current GST provisions related to lotteries.

18. The Finance Ministry has asked the public sector banks to gradually reduce the government’s equity to 52 per cent. Currently, some of the public sector banks have government’s holding beyond 75 per cent.

19. It is said that the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India are working on providing some relaxation on the prompt corrective action (PCA) framework for stressed banks.

20. The GST Council has decided to set up a seven-member committee to look into revenue shortfall being faced by the states after the GST roll-out, and suggest steps for augmenting collections.

21. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has voiced concern on the spike in non-performing assets (NPAs) under the government’s flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana to support micro-enterprises in the country.

22. The government has decided to issue new series of sovereign gold bonds between January 14 and January 18 at Rs 3,214 per gram and those who subscribe to the bonds online will get a discount of Rs 50 per gram.

23. The Index of Industrial Production for the month of November has been released by the Central Statistical Office, under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

24. The Partnership Summit provides for a global platform to dialogue, debate, deliberate and engage Indian and global leaders on economic policy and growth trends in India. The 25th edition of the Partnership Summit would be inaugurated by Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu in Mumbai.

25. The India Manufacturing Barometer 2019 Report has been prepared by Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in association with PwC.

26. The Union Cabinet has approved India’s Currency Swap Agreement with Japan. The $75-billion bilateral currency swap arrangement is a milestone in mutual economic cooperation and special strategic and global partnership between two countries.

27. The exemption limit for Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration has been increased to Rs 40 lakh from the current Rs 20 lakh to ease the cost of compliance for small taxpayers or micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

28. The World Bank has released the Global Economic Prospects report 2019 titled “Darkening Skies”.

29. The World Economic Forum has released the report ‘Future of Consumption in Fast-Growth Consumer Market – India’. The report was produced based on consumer surveys conducted by Bain & Company across 5,100 households in 30 cities and towns in India and draws from more than 40 interviews with private and public-sector leaders.

30. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted a high-level committee under Nandan Nilekani to suggest measures to strengthen the safety and security of digital payments in the country.

31. Standard Chartered Plc, a multinational company has made long term forecasts about the shake-up of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) rankings.

32. In the World Bank’s Doing Business (DB) rankings for 2019, India has climbed 23 spots to rank 77th globally. India has witnessed a substantial jump in the rankings for the second consecutive year. In the year 2018 India had jumped 30 places. The various digital interventions have been a great contributing factor for India in making this significant improvement.

33. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has released the first advance estimates of National Income for 2018-19.

34. The RBI has released a paper titled ‘The Impact of Crude Price Shock on CAD, Inflation and Fiscal Deficit’. The paper outlines how the crude price shock will have an adverse impact on current account deficit (CAD), Inflation and Fiscal Deficit.

35. The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has written a Facebook post titled ‘Two years of insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC)”. In the post, he explains how things have been changed after the IBC was passed by the Parliament.

36. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has formed an expert committee to look into the various challenges being faced by MSMEs and suggest ways and measures to rejuvenate them.

37. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) under the Ministry of Commerce has clarified that the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules for e-commerce have not allowed foreign investment in the inventory-based model or multi-brand retailing.

38. The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has established an Export Promotion Cell. The cell aims to create to create a sustainable ecosystem for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

39. The RBI has proposed a one-time loan restructuring scheme for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The loan restructuring would be a big relief for troubled small businesses hit by demonetisation in late 2016 and the implementation of goods and services tax (GST) in July 2017.

40. The data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industries has shown that the growth in the eight core sectors of the economy fell to a 16-month low of 3.5 per cent in November. The eight core sectors are coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizer, steel, cement and electricity.

41. The bi-annual Fiscal Stability Report discussing issues relating to the development and regulation of the financial sector has been released by the RBI. The Fiscal Stability Report reflects the collective assessment of the Sub-Committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) on risks to the financial stability of the country, as also the resilience of the financial system.

Award

1. The Union Minister of Railways and Coal, Piyush Goyal has been awarded the Carnot Prize 2018 for the transformational changes brought by him during his tenure as Union Minister of Power.

2. No Presents Please is an English Novel translated from Kannada Work of Jayant Kaikini. The novel was translated to English by Tejaswini Niranjana. The award was announced during the Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet.

3. India’s highest peacetime gallantry honour, Ashoka Chakra was awarded to Lance Naik Nazir Wani posthumously. The award was presented by President Ram Nath Kovind was received by Wani’s wife and mother at the Republic Day celebrations held at Rajpath. Lance Naik Nazir Wani also holds the distinction of being the first Kashmiri to be conferred the Ashoka Chakra.

4. The 2019 Bharat Ratna award has been bestowed upon former President Pranab Mukherjee, Nanaji Deshmukh and singer Bhupen Hazarika. Nanaji Deshmukh and singer Bhupen Hazarika were awarded Bharat Ratna posthumously.

5. The government of India has announced the Padma Awards 2019. The 112 prominent personalities honoured with the Padma Awards include comprises 4 Padma Vibhushan, 14 Padma Bhushan and 94 Padma Shri Awards.

6. President Ram Nath Kovind conferred Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards 2019 to 30 awardees. The awards were conferred during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas being held at Varanasi.

7. The Rashtriya Bal Puraskar was presented by President Ram Nath Kovind. President conferred awards to 26 awardees including one joint award for National Child Award (now renamed as Bal Shakti Puraskar) under the category of innovation, scholastic, sports, arts & culture, social service and bravery. 2 individuals and 3 institutions will also be awarded under National Child Welfare Awards category (now renamed as BalKalyanPuraskar).

8. US-based Indian poet Ranjani Murali received the ‘Woman’s Voice Award’ at the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival (AKLF). The award carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh apart from a citation.

9. Indian-American Entrepreneur Gurinder Singh Khalsa has been honoured with Rosa Park Trailblazer award for his campaign to persuade US authorities to change policy towards Sikh headgear.

10. The first Sheikh Saud International Prize for Materials Research has been awarded to C N R Rao. The award will be presented to Rao by Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi ruler of Ras Al Khaimah emirate during the International Workshop on Advanced Materials at Ras Al Khaimah on February 25.

11. The Governor of Tamil Nadu Banwarilal Purohit presented the Sansad Ratna Awards in Chennai.

12. The Union government has announced the winners for International Gandhi Peace Prize. The awards were announced for the years 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 after the gap of four years.

13. The Hindu Literary Prize 2018 was awarded during The Hindu Lit for Life 2019.

14. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was awarded first ever Philip Kotler Presidential Award. Philip Kotler Presidential Award aims to spread examples of individuals and companies who create an innovative culture for the economic, social and technological advancements of an industry or a country.

15. Renowned writer Namita Gokhale was awarded Sushila Devi Literature Award for her work “Things to Leave Behind”. She was honoured in the ‘Best Book of Fiction Written by a Woman Author’ category at the inaugural edition of Bhopal Literature and Art Festival.

16. Andhra Pradesh was conferred with CBIP’s “Best Implementation of Water Resources Project” for better planning, implementation, monitoring and speedy execution of Polavaram multipurpose project on the Godavari River.

17. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) presented the National Entrepreneurship Awards 2018 by honouring 30 outstanding young entrepreneurs and three entrepreneurship ecosystem builders for their exceptional contribution in entrepreneurship development at a ceremony held in New Delhi.

18. Kathak exponent Anindita Neogy Anaam has been honoured with the prestigious National Nritya Shiromani award for her contribution towards preserving and promoting the dance form across the world. The award was conferred during the 10th Cuttack Mahotsav: International Dance and Music festival.

Sports

1. Fast Bowler Mohammed Shami has become the fastest Indian to claim 100 wickets in One-day Internationals. Mohammed Shami achieved this feat in his 56th ODI game. Mohammed Shami’s wicket number 100 was New Zealand opener, Martin Guptill.

2. The Indonesian Masters Badminton Tournament 2019 is organized by the Badminton Association of Indonesia. It was the third tournament of the 2019 BWF World Tour.

3. The ICC awards recognise and honour the best international cricket players of the previous 12 months.

4. Khelo India Youth games are held annually in January or February as the national level multidisciplinary grassroot games. The games are held in two categories- under-17 years school students and under-21 college students. Khelo India Youth games 2019 are being held at Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune. Previously called as Khelo India School Games, it has been now renamed as Khelo India Youth Games.

Download Current Affairs January 2019 PDF

References:
gktoday.in