Daily Current Affairs 8th January, 2018

Daily Current Affairs 8 January 2017 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Shri Ananthkumar inaugurates 18th All India Whips’ Conference at Udaipur, Rajasthan

The 18th All India Whips’ Conference was inaugurated by Shri Ananthkumar, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Chemical & Fertilizers at Udaipur, Rajasthan. The two-day conference is hosting around 90 Delegates belonging to 19 States and Centre.

• On this occasion a coffee table book ‘New India – We Resolve to make’ showcasing exhibitions held at 39 destinations across the country on India’s freedom movement from 1857 to 1947 showing the various activities initiated to attain the freedom from British Rule and the five-year period from 2017 to 2022 to provide a unique opportunity of ‘Sankalp se Sidhi’ towards a ‘New India’ was released by Smt. Vasundhara Raje.

Defence innovation centre to come up in Coimbatore

Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled the Centre’s plan to set up a defence manufacturing innovation centre in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu and said she has asked the secretary of defence production to sanction Rs 20 crore for the purpose. This has been a long pending demand from the micro, small and medium entrepreneurs (MSMEs) in the city

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Iran bans English from being taught in primary schools

Iran has banned teaching the English language in primary schools, calling the subject a “cultural invasion”.

• The education ministry “envisages strengthening Persian language skills and Iranian Islamic culture of pupils at the primary school stage”.

BANKING & FINANCE

PNB ties up with NSFDC for assisting SC families

Punjab National Bank (PNB) and National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC) have tied up to provide financial assistance for economic empowerment of persons belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC) families living below Double Poverty Line (DPL). Under this tie-up, PNB would act as a channelising agent for the loan schemes of NSFDC. 

APPOINTMENTS

NPCI appoints Dilip Asbe as new MD and CEO

Payment utility major National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced the appointment of Dilip Asbe as its Managing Director and CEO with immediate effect.

Akshay Kumar roped in by BMC for Swachh Survekshan 2018

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar has been roped in by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation -BMC to promote cleanliness in Mumbai as part of the Swachh Survekshan 2018.

• The Swachh Survekshan this year commenced from January 4 and will run till March 10 by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs ranking urban and rural areas of the country on the basis of cleanliness.

AWARDS

CM Nitish receives Mufti Mohammad Sayeed award in J&K

Bihar Chief minister Nitish Kumar has been given the first Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Award for Probity in Public Life.

• The award was constituted recently by the Jammu and Kashmir government to commemorate the death anniversary of PDP founder and two-time J&K chief minister Sayeed who died on January 7, 2016 after nearly a week-long hospitalization in New Delhi. Sayeed was father of J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti.

India’s first all-women station in Mumbai enters Limca records

The first all-women station in India, Matunga on Central Railway (CR) in Mumbai, manned by a staff of 41 women, has entered the Limca Book of Records. The unique initiative was taken by CR General Manager D.K. Sharma in July 2017 with the aim of empowering women.

• Accordingly, women staffers were posted across all departments, like 17 ladies for operations and commercial, six Railway Protection Force, eight for ticket checking, two announcers and two conservancy staffers, and five point persons, totalling 41.

OBITUARY

Senior sports journalist Shashikant Bhagwat passes away

Senior sports journalist Shashikant Bhagwat has passed away following a heart attack. Bhagwat was associated with `Sakal’, a leading Marathi daily, for several years and retired from the newspaper

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