Current Affairs January 2016 PDF – Week Two

In General Knowledge PDF
January 14, 2016

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Don’t Miss to read the Quick Recap of Current Affairs of the second week of January.

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Quick Recap – Week Two

AWARDS AND HONOURS

Which Company has been declared as the winner of Prime Minister’s Trophy for being the ‘Best Performing Integrated Steel Plant’ in the country for the performance year 2013 – 2014 – Tata Steel
Who has emerged as the ‘most generous Indian’ in the Hurun India Philanthropy List 2015, a ranking of the most generous individuals from India – Wipro Chairman Azim Premji
The Reserve Bank of India Governor on 7 January 2016 who was felicitated with the Central Banker of the Year Award (Global and Asia Pacific) for 2016 – Raghuram Rajan
The Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Ananth Kumar presented the first India Pharma awards in – Bengaluru
Which movie won the Best Motion Picture – Drama at the 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards – The Revenant
Who won the best Actor and best Director Awards for the movie “The Revenant” – Leonardo DiCaprio and Alejandro Inarritu
Who won the best actress award for ‘The Martian’ Movie – Brie Larson
Who was conferred with the honourable Cecil B DeMille award, which honors extraordinary contributions to the entertainment world, at the 2016 Golden Globes – Denzel Washington
Veteran poet who was honoured with the second Harikrishna Devsare Baalsahitya Award 2015 for his collection of poems for children, titled ‘BaalGeet’ – Balkrishna Garg
The Award is an American accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign – Golden Globe
Co-founder and CEO of e-commerce giant Snapdealwho bagged the “Entrepreneur of the Year” Award, 2015 – Kunal Bahl
EE British Academy Film Awards(BAFTA) has nominated which documentary on Malala Yousafzai(18) in the upcoming awards Documentary category for 2016 – He Named Me Malala
Who won the 2015 FIFA Puskas Award for his spinning bicycle kick while playing for Goianesia in the Brazilian Goias state championship – Wendell Lira
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation has won the National Award on e-Governance 2015-16 for launching the – Universal Account Number (UAN)
Which state won the Krishi Karman Awards for the 4th consecutive year as per the announcement of Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers – Madhya Pradesh
Which Bollywood icon on 12 January 2016 was bestowed honorary life membership of Kolkata’s soccer outfit Mohammedan Sporting – Amitabh Bachchan

APPOINTMENTS

A former Gujarat cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, was on 07 Jan 2016 appointed as chairman of fair-trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) – Devender Kumar Sikri
Pavan Kapoor, a 1990 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, was on 06 Jan 2016 named as India’s new ambassador to – Israel
The Senior IAS officer who was on January 8 appointed as Registrar General and Census Commissioner – Sailesh
Who was on 7 January 2016 appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog – Amitabh Kant
Who was chosen to be the next Chief Minister of J&K – Mehbooba Mufti
Who has been reappointed as RBI deputy governor for three years – Urjit Patel
Bharti Airtel on 08 Jan 2016 named who as non-executive director in place of Rajan Bharti Mittal – Rakesh Bharti Mittal
Who has been appointed as the as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Wipro- Bhanumurthy BM
Burkina Faso’s president named which economist as prime minister – Paul Kaba Thieba
Which country has been elected a member of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) executive board, representing the Group of Asia-Pacific States for 2016-18 – Nepal
CEO of e-commerce major Flipkart – Binny Bansal
Who is the executive chairman of Flipkart – Sachin Bansal
Smartphone brand, Micromax has appointed who as its new Senior Vice President-Finance – Vikas Thapar
Airbus Group appointed whom as Vice-President – Industry Development, Strategic Partnerships and Offsets – Ashish Saraf
French IT services firm Capgemini has appointed who as the chief executive officer of its India operations – Srinivas Kandula
Global logistics provider DHL Express has named a new Chief Executive Officer for Asia Pacific region that includes India – Ken Lee

NATIONAL ROUND-UP

To avoid duplication of work and to improve efficiency, the government on 07 Jan 2016 merged the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) with the – Ministry of External Affairs
The Central Government on 08 Jan 2016 allowed the conduct of jallikattu in – Tamil Nadu
The Union Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) on 7 January 2016 approved the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) for the year 2015-16 to – Punjab and Uttarakhand
The Andhra Pradesh state Regional Transport Authority, Vijayawada has launched an software tool known as the – e-Tappal Management System
The Union Cabinet on January 6, 2016 has given its ex-post facto approval to the Agreement between which two countries on Cooperation in the field of Combating International Terrorism – India and Bahrain
Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has decided to implement the BS VI motor vehicle emission norms directly from when instead of the earlier decided BS V emission norms from BS-IV norms – April 1, 2020
The Union Government will set up three state-of-the-art centres in which states to provide special training and support to sportsmen who are differently-abled – Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh
Union Ministry of Culture has started the project of Cultural Mapping of India under which data of artists shall be collected and Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT), New Delhi has collected over – 55 lakhs artists data
Government will soon launch new software to enable Agricultural markets in the country as – E-connectivity
Who sought relief from double taxation on software products and provide cushion to the industry in view of protectionist measures being taken in the global market – Indian IT sector
The Operation which was an all-out offensive by India’s paramilitary forces and the state’s forces against the Naxalites came in news on 8 January 2016 – Operation Green Hunt
For the first time in the history of India, a strong contingent of which Army will march down the Rajpath on Republic Day along with Indian troops in the presence of President Francois Hollande who is the chief guest for this year’s celebrations – French
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on 08 Jan 2016 unveiled the logo of the first Make in India Week scheduled to be held in Mumbai between February 13 and 18, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi – “Laman Diva”
The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) has launched an Online Initiative to engage the LPG Consumers and Citizens of India in providing efficient and citizen friendly services in LPG distribution such as – in and mylpg.in
The International Kite Festival at Surat and Rajkot in Gujarat with kite-flyers from 31 countries participated in the week-long event. The festival also known as – Uttarayana
India’s retail payment platform NPCI and CSC eGov have jointly launched Aadhaar enabled payment system that will facilitate government entitlements such as – NREGA and old age pension
An ordinance to amend the 47-year-old Enemy Property Act has been approved by – President Pranab Mukherjee
Human Resource Minister Smriti Irani inaugurated the 24th edition of the New Delhi World Book Fair which commenced in the Capital with who as the guest of honour country – China
Scientists at the University of Leicester have developed viruses that could halt the decline of which caterpillar in India which produces one of the finest silks in the world – ‘Muga’
The 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD) was held in – New Delhi
The Centre is planning to launch a drive to promote entrepreneurship among women, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes – “Stand-up India”
State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has commissioned a 520-mw coal-based thermal power unit in – Andhra Pradesh
Border Security Force (BSF) has launched an operation along the international border in Rajasthan covering Sriganganagar, Bikaner, Barmer and Jaisalmer that will continue till January 30 – ‘Operation Cold’
The Centre’s green panel has given the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance to Reliance Jio Infocom to build the Indian part of the Asia-Africa-Europe One (AAE-1) submarine cable system at – Mumbai
Which corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant inked an MoU with the Government of Andhra Pradesh – RINL(Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited)
Government has approved the set up of 5th Greenfield electronics manufacturing cluster in which city for manufacturing mobile phones, solar LEDs and consumer electronics products – Raipur, Chattisgarh
The other 4 states where the government has approved to set up Greenfield electronics manufacturing cluster are – 2 in Madhya Pradesh, 1 each in Rajasthan and Jharkhand, Brownfield EMC in Mysore, Karnataka
Country’s largest oil marketing company Indian Oil on 11 Jan 2016 announced its partnership with logistics start-up firm – Fortigo
Who inaugurated implementation of E-enabled Track Management System (TMS) and Mobile Application of TMS on Indian Railway at Rail Bhawan in New Delhi – Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu
The 2016 edition of the Constro exhibition will be held in which city from January 14-17 and will focus on the Smart City concept – Pune
Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari said the Centre would spend how much amount in the next five years to fix 726 black spots identified on National Highways –11,000 crore
The Nati folk dance of Kullu district of which state in second week of January 2016 was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest folk dance in the world – Himachal Pradesh
Kerala has become the first state in the country to achieve 100% primary education, achieved through the primary education equivalency drive of the state literacy mission – Athulyam
20th National Youth Festival begins today in Naya Raipur, the new capital city of – Chhattisgarh(Theme: “India Youth for Skill, Development and Harmony”)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set up groups of Secretaries for focussed attention on areas like Good governance, inclusive growth, employment generation, education and health, Swachch Bharat and energy efficiency – eight groups
Visiting Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister of Syria Walid Al Moualem met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in – New Delhi
What was launched by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh at a function in New Delhi on January 11, 2016 in the presence of Shri Nitin Gadkari and Dr. Harsh Vardhan – ‘Road Safety Week’
Union social justice and empowerment minister Thawar Chand Gehlot said a new bill will be introduced adding more empowerment to the handicapped persons in the coming budget session of the parliament considering to use which term instead of Viklang or handicapped – ‘Divyang’
The President of India promulgated the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance, 2016 on January 07, 2016 to make amendments to the – Enemy Property Act, 1968
A bench of the Supreme Court of India on January 11, 2016 asked the union Government to bring enact a law through the Parliament to deal with cases of rape and sexual assault of Children below the age of – 10 years
Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar will visit which two neighbouring countries over the next two days – Maldives and Sri Lanka
The government will launch new crop insurance scheme in – 2016-17
The Union Cabinet has given its approval for India becoming a member country of the which organization by signing the Implementing Agreement (IA) – International Energy Agency – Ocean Energy Systems (IEA-OES)
President Pranab Mukherjee has given his assent to the Sugar Cess (Amendment) Bill, 2015, raising the ceiling of the impost from Rs 25 to – Rs 200 per quintal
Which dept. has changed the languages and also redefined many of its terms to make the interface more audience friendly and fill the communication with civil administration – India Meteorological Department (IMD)
Fast-tracking implementation of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train, the Centre has set up a high-level panel headed by NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya to sort out bilateral issues with a similar committee set up by – Japan
State-owned BSNL has started 4G services on non-commercial basis in Chandigarh promising broadband speed of up to – 100 megabit per second (Mbps)
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved thw Yojana which is a path breaking scheme for farmers’ welfare – Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana
Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar launched two initiatives by Mumbai Railway Police such as – SAMEEP (Safety Alert Messages Exclusively For Passengers) and B-Safe
Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha announced that the capitals of all north-eastern states would be connected by rail by 2020 and Agartala would be brought onto the map of broad gauge network by – March
Kerala becomes first state to achieve 100% primary education
Government of India and World Bank sign a loan agreement for Neeranchal National Watershed Project
Aadhaar ID saving Indian govt about $1 billion per annum: World Bank

INTERNATIONAL ROUND-UP

Iran accused Saudi warplanes of deliberately bombing its embassy in – Yemen
Somalia Foreign Ministry has announced that it is severing diplomatic relations with – Iran
Which Automaker has successfully test-driven its all-electric, driverless car at NASA’s Ames Research Centre in California – Nissan
The country’s Parliament on 8 January 2016 adopted a resolution, denouncing the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s fourth nuclear test, urging the DPRK to dismantle its nuclear programme – South Korea
According to the poll carried out by WIN/Gallup International, which is the third happiest country in the World – Saudi Arabia
The happiest index list is topped by – Fiji and Colombia
Which country recaptured the world’s top drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman in a pre-dawn shootout and chase through drains, returning him to the same prison – Mexico
The county’s new government has presented its plan for a new constitution aimed at devolving power and preventing the sort of ethnic tensions that led to a long and bitter civil war that ended in 2009 – Sri Lanka
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the three day long 88th annual conference of Nikhil Bharat Banga Sahitya Sammelan today (January 10, 2016) at – Ranchi, Jharkhand
Which Chinese city will close 2,500 small polluting firms this year in its latest effort to combat pollution – Beijing
A 11-year-old Indian-origin girl in the UK has achieved the top possible score of 162 on a IQ test of Mensa, becoming one of the youngest brainiest students in the country – Kashmea Wahi
In a major military reform, Chinese President Xi Jinping reorganised how many army headquarters by replacing them with 15 new agencies under the Central Military Commission (CMC) headed by him – four
Talks between Afghanistan and Taliban held in – Pakistan
United States forces in South Korea have been put on their highest level of alert in case of any provocation from – North Korea following Pyongyang’s nuclear test
Arab League Foreign Ministers have expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia during a meeting in Cairo to discuss the recent attacks on its diplomatic missions in – Iran
Based on the recent ‘International World Leader Index’ survey, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in which place as the most popular leader in the world – 7^th
South Korea Yoo Il-ho as it’s New Finance Minister.
Nepal proposes 4-member EPG to review agreements with India
Which country took delivery of its fifth German-built submarine, an advanced Dolphin-class vessel said to be capable of remaining submerged for up to a week – Israel

INDIA AND THE WORLD

India and France on 8 January 2016 started their eight-day counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency joint exercise – Shakti-2016 in Rajasthan
Engineering giant Larsen and Toubro is set to get a major share in a Rs 5,000-crore deal to upgrade and refit Russian-origin Kilo class submarines of – Russia
A joint naval exercise between Indian and Japanese Coast Guards will be held on January 15 to strengthen relationship and refine the joint operating procedures – Sahyog Kaijin
A new social security agreement signed between India and – Australia
The Asian Development Bank will extend how much loan to the proposed $840 million Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor – $625 million
Who met President designate of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Jin Liqun to focus on development of infrastructure like rail, road and ports with a view to promoting connectivity and growth in the Asian region – Prime Minister Narendra Modi
In Pakistan, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has set up a high-profile joint investigation team (JIT) to probe into the links of the Pathankot air base attackers with – Pakistan
The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval for the MoU between India and which country which was signed in January, 2014 on cooperation in the field of Health – Maldives
The Government of India has signed a loan agreement with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for pollution abatement of River Mula-Mutha in – Pune

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

The leading Private sector bank will partner FINO PayTech to foray into the payments bank space – ICICI Bank
The Reserve Bank on 07 Jan 2016 relaxed norms for the units of banks operating from – International Financial Services Centres (IFSC)
The Global Economic Prospect report published by the World Bank (WB) has projected how much growth per cent for the Indian economy in the year 2016 – 8%
The managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of Axis Bank, is the Business Standard Banker of the Year for 2014-15 – Shikha Sharma
The bank has launched an electronic fund management system for direct and faster release of wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme – State Bank of Travancore (SBT)
HDFC Capital Advisors, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Corporation has been appointed as an investment manager for the – HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Fund-1 (HCARE-1)
Reliance Defence Ltd has signed an accord with the Andhra Pradesh government to set up a naval facility along the country’s eastern coast with an initial investment of – Rs 5,000 crore ($748 million)
The RBI in its statement said, the country’s foreign exchange reserves, which were $350.4 billion as on September 2015, were able to support imports for how many months, up from 8.9 months as on end March – 8 months
The capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has lowered the exposure cap for investments by – mutual funds
The government is also considering for providing loan to the people through postal bank under the – PMMY
SBI enters wealth management space; opens branch for start-ups
State Bank of India opens first branch in South Korea
FIPB clears 5 FDI proposals worth Rs 6,050 cr, Cadila gets nod

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Astronomers have detected a massive, sprawling, churning galaxy cluster – about how many times more massive than our Milky Way galaxy – that formed only 3.8 billion years after the Big Bang – 1,000 times
Who developed a new ammunition for India’s main battle tank Arjun – Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
Which Drug firm has received approval from the US health regulator to manufacture and market generic Norethindrone Acetate tablets in the American market – Aurobindo Pharma
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA’s) revamped planet-hunting spacecraft which discovered more than 100 planets orbiting other stars – Kepler
The world’s largest DNA sequencing company that announced the launch of the startup named GRAIL to develop blood-based cancer tests – Illumina
Scientists at the Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes (CIRB) in Hisar, Haryana have successfully produced a cloned buffalo offspring named – ‘Cirb Gaurav’

SPORTS

Which Philippines’ Golfer on 7 January 2016 was voted as the Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of Month for December 2015 – Miguel Tabuena
Which Indian ace shuttler climbed up 11 places to occupy the number one spot in junior men’s singles category in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings – Siril Verma
The 12th South Asian Games will be held in which cities from February 5 to 16 – Guwahati and Shillong
The 14th edition of the Delhi International Chess Tournament will begin from January 9, 2016 at the – Ludlow Castle Sports complex Delhi
Which Former world number one won her first title since 2013 by beating Angelique Kerber in the Brisbane International final – Victoria Azarenka
Which pair carried the dominance of 2015 into the new season, winning their sixth consecutive title by lifting the WTA Brisbane trophy – Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis
Australians Nick Kyrgios and Daria Gavrilova beat Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina and Alexandr Dolgopolov to win the mixed teams – Hopman Cup
World number one Novak Djokovic claimed his first title of the year with an impressive 6-1 6-2 win over Rafael Nadal in the – Qatar Open
Canadian Milos Raonic defeated Roger Federer to win the – Brisbane International
Who won his fourth title at the Chennai Open – Stansilas Wawrinka
The ICC and MoneyGram International, a leading global provider of money transfer services, announced an eight-year deal which confirms MoneyGram as an event partner for ICC events from – 2016-2023
Former skipper Stephen Fleming has been named chief coach of the new Pune franchise of the Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament. He is from – New Zealand
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi on 11 January 2016 has won the Ballon d’Or trophy for the world’s best football player for the – 5^th time
Who defeated India by 5 wickets in the first ODI at Perth, WACA – Australia

OBITUARY

Which state Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, died on January 7 – Jammu and Kashmir
The veteran character actor who is best known for PLAYING the terrifying “Tall Man” in the Phantasm horror franchise passed away recently – Angus Scrimm
Which noted Hindi writer and journalist passed away on 9 January 2016 in New Delhi – Ravindra Kalia
British singer-song writer who died at the age of 69 after battling cancer for 18 months – David Bowie
The first woman to compete in a world championship Formula One grand prix, who passed away on 8 January 2016 in Italy – Maria Teresa de Filippis
India-Pakistan war hero, who played a key role in the 1971 war which broke up Pakistan and created Bangladesh, died in New Delhi – Lt Gen JFR Jacob (retd)
An outfielder who starred for the New York Giants in the 1950s, who died on 11 January 2016 in Houston, Texas, the USA – Monte Irvin

IMPORTANT DAYS

11th World Hindi Day – 10 January
National Youth Day – 12 January (153rd birthday of Swami Vivekananda)

TIT-BITS

BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha’s biography, written by very famous journalist author Bharathi S Pradhan released on 07 Jan 2016 – “Anything But Khamosh”
Online classifieds portal Quikr on 07 Jan 2016 announced the merger of real estate listing company – com
The Bollywood actor has been chosen to be the new brand ambassador of the Incredible India campaign – Amitabh Bachchan
Sampoorna Arogya Keralam’ a health care project launched in – Kerala
Which state government has scrapped management quotas for admissions to private schools – Delhi
Which country’s code domain ‘.cn’ has become the world’s most commonly used in the internet with 16.36 million users, surpassing Germany’s ‘.de’ domain – China
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 10 January 2016 released a book titled “MARU BHARAT SARU BHARAT “(My India Noble India) written by – Jain Acharya Ratnasundersuriswarji Maharaj
Which state became the first State in India to introduce compulsory gender education at the graduate level – Telangana
The Supreme Court on 12 Jan 2016 issued an interim stay on the Centre’s January 2016 notification allowing – Jallikattu and bullock cart races
Which online financial marketplace, has launched a new ‘One Loan Two Homes’program to help the flood-affected citizens of Chennai – com
Which Digital payments firm has tied up with ecommerce platform solutions provider Shopmaticto enable its merchants to expand their sales globally – PayPal
Days after the central government gave a go ahead to Jallikattu, the Supreme Court ruled that the bull-taming festival would not be celebrated in – Tamil Nadu
Who on January 11, 2016 ruled that no temple can bar the entry of women devotees except on the basis of religion – Supreme Court of India
In which state, around four to ten degrees Celsius increase in the average temperatures in minimum and maximum ranges has been recorded in the current winter season which leads to damage to Rabi Crop – Uttar Pradesh
The State Government which sought from the Centre a financial assistance of Rs 500 crore for rehabilitation of earthquake victims and reconstruction of damaged properties – Manipur
Which was formally inaugurated on January 12, 2016 amidst chanting of vedik hymns – Ardh Kumbh mela, Haridwar
The State Government’s decision to remove coconut from the tree list has triggered a controversy in – Goa
Under the campaign launched in Rajasthan where Discoms have distributed around 60 lakh LED bulbs leading to annual saving of 73 crore units – Har Ghar bijli
‘Missionary Day’, anniversary of the arrival of two Welsh Christian missionaries, was on January 11, 2016 observed and celebrated across the Christian-dominated north eastern state of – Mizoram
The State government has signed 32 MoUs with various companies attracting Rs. 1.95 lakh crore of investment in – Andhra Pradesh
State owed telecom service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has launched the high speed 4G (Fourth Generation) telecom services at – Chandigarh in Punjab circle
Which country allowed a second batch of foreign institutions to enter China’s interbank foreign exchange market – China