National
• Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has signed cyber security agreement with its counterparts in Malaysia, Singapore and Japan.
• The Union Cabinet has approved proposal of raising of 17 Indian Reserve Battalions (IRBs) in Jammu & Kashmir and 4 Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected states.
• Rajasthan Government along with its power distribution companies (DISCOMS) has signed a MoU to join UDAY (Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana) Scheme.
• India has overtaken Thailand as the world’s largest rice exporter in the year 2015 by shipping (exporting) 10.23 million tonnes of rice.
• India has been ranked 76th out of 168 countries in the recently released 2015 Corruption Perception Index (CPI).
• The list of 20 smart cities out of the 98 shortlisted for the 'Smart Cities Mission' was released.These 20 cities will be the first to receive funds, thus kickstarting the process of developing them into 'smart cities'. The next two years will see the inclusion of 40 and 38 cities, respectively.
• Citizens will be granted a fresh passport under the normal category in a week if their applications are accompanied by three documents - copies of Aadhaar card, electoral photo identity card (EPIC) and PAN card - besides an affidavit in the format of Annexure-I (declaration of citizenship, family details and no criminal record).
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its principle approval for the Hybrid Annuity Model for implementing the National Highway Projects.
• The Supreme Court ordered the Centre to set up within four weeks a committee to investigate the living conditions and salary structure of nurses employed in private hospitals and nursing homes.
• Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Ajay Kumar Singh has launched the MITRA application to ensure protection of women, children and the elderly in time of distress.
International
• India’s voting rights increase to 2.6 per cent from the current 2.3 per cent, and China’s, to six per cent from 3.8, as per the new division.
• The Bank of Japan will charge lenders that leave too much cash on idle deposit with it, introducing a negative interest rate policy for the first time as it seeks to shore up a stumbling economic recovery.
Business and Economy
• Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. has topped in global vehicle sales in 2015 by selling 10.151 million vehicles, beating Volkswagen and General Motors.
• United States (US) based software services exporter Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS) has acquired cloud-based computing firm KBACE Technologies.
• India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed an $80 million loan agreement for improving the infrastructure in the two North-Eastern cities of Agartala and Aizawl.
Sports
• Pakistan’s discarded Test opening batsman Imran Farhat announced his retirement from international cricket in a bid to appear in the Masters Champions League (MCL), which commences in Dubai.
• Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis were on crowned the Australian Open women’s doubles champions after they tamed the spirited Czech duo of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka in straight sets for their 36th win in a row.
New Appointments
• The Supreme Court recalled its December 16 order appointing controversial Justice Virendra Singh, a former judge of Allahabad High Court as Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh, and named another retired judge as the new ombudsman.
• Dr. Kamlesh Kumar Pandey has been appointed as the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD) for a period of three years.
• The Indian women’s cricket team scripted history by clinching its maiden Twenty20 series win over three-time world champion Australia with a comprehensive 10-wicket triumph in the rain-truncated second game, in Melbourne.
Awards
• Three persons of Indian-origin (PIO), Chennupati Jagadish, Jay Chandra and Sajeev Koshy have been awarded 2016 Medal of the Order of Australia, Australia’s highest civilian honour.
• The Union government has set up a Technical Expert Group to suggest measures to deal with Zika virus. Decision in this regard was taken by high level meeting chaired by Union Health Minister J P Nadda in New Delhi.
• Indian Author and foreign affairs expert has won the prestigious 2016 William E. Colby Award for his book Midnight’s Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India’s Partition.
• Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been chosen for the prestigious K Veeramani Social Justice Award.
• Morton Mower (US), Sir Michael Marmot (UK) have won the prestigious 2015 Prince Mahidol Award for their outstanding achievements in the international healthcare sector.
Science and Technology
• India test fired its indigenously-developed surface-to-air Akash missile as part of a user trial from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur.
Death
• Marvin Minsky, the pioneer of artificial intelligence passed away on 24 January 2016 in Boston, United States due to cerebral hemorrhage. He was 88.
Current Affairs: 1st February, 2016 Current Affairs Round up December, 2015.
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