Daily Current Affairs 24th January, 2018

Daily Current Affairs 24 January 2018 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Rapid Reporting System for SAG Launched on National Girl Child Day

Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD), Mr Rakesh Srivastava launched the Phase -1 i.e. the beneficiary module of the Rapid Reporting System (RSS) for the Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG) on the occasion of National Girl Child Day.

• It is a web-based online monitoring for the Scheme for Adolescent Girls in New Delhi. The URL for the portal is ‘sag-rrs.nic.in.‘ Presently, MWCD is implementing the Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG) in selected 508 districts across the country.

AP-Zurich sign sister state agreement

The Andhra Pradesh Government and the Canton of Zurich have signed a letter of intent, to promote mutual prosperity and development. This will bring the State of Andhra Pradesh and Canton of Zurich closer and ensure that a framework is created, which supports the exchange between both the parties.

AYUSH Minister Lays Foundation Stone for Homeopathy Research Institute in Jaipur

The Minister of State (IC), for AYUSH, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik laid the foundation stone for Central Research Institute (CRI) in Jaipur, Rajasthan. This will be the third CRI under the aegis of Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH).

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

WEF launches Global Centre for Cybersecurity

In a bid to safeguard the world from hackers and growing data breaches — especially from nation-states — the World Economic Forum (WEF) announced a new Global Centre for Cybersecurity.

• Headquartered in Geneva, the centre will become operational from March.

World Economic Forum Summit in Switzerland Concludes

Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned India after concluding his visit to Davos, Switzerland for World Economic Forum Summit. During this visit the Prime Minister delivered a keynote address at the plenary session of 48th Annual meeting of world economic forum.

• He became the first Indian Prime Minister in two decades to join the world’s top business leaders in the Swiss report town of Davos.
• Mr Modi outlined climate change, terrorism and protectionism as 3 Global threats.

BANKING & FINANCE

Japan commits Rs 2,587 cr loan to Bengaluru water supply project

The Japanese government has committed to an official development assistance loan of approximately Rs 2,587 crore for Phase 3 (I) of the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Project.

• This project will provide residents of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike area in Karnataka — especially in 110 villages — with safe and stable water supply and sewerage services by carrying out construction of a water treatment plant and sewage treatment plants.

Government to infuse Rs 1 lakh crore into PSBs this fiscal: Jaitley

Seeking to perk up public sector banks that have been hit by huge non-performing assets (NPAs), the government announced plans to infuse over Rs. one lakh crore including Rs 80,000 crore through recap bonds and Rs 8,139 crore as budgetary support during the current fiscal.

• Of the recap amount, among others the government will give Rs 10,610 crore to IDBI, Rs 8,800 crore to State Bank of India, Rs 5,375 crore to Bank fo Baroda, Rs 4,865 crore to Canara Bank and Rs 4,524 crore to Union Bank.

ECONOMY

India Ranks 81st On Global Talent Competitiveness Index

India has moved up on a global index of talent competitiveness to the 81st position, but remains a laggard among the BRICS nations, according to an annual study while warning that the country faces “serious risk of worsening brain drain”.

• While Switzerland continues to top the list released every year on the first day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting here, India has improved its position from 92nd last year. India was at the 89th place in 2016 on the index that measures how countries grow, attract and retain talent.

BUSINESS

ONGC Acquires 51.11% Stake in HPCL

The Public Sector exploration giant Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has got the consent for acquiring controlling stake in fellow PSU Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL). The transaction will be for Rs36,915 crore.

Facebook acquires biometric ID verification startup

Facebook has acquired a biometric ID verification startup named Confirm that specialises in remotely verifying IDs like drivers licenses.

• The startup offers an application programming interface (API) that helps verify government-issued identification cards.

APPOINTMENTS

US Senate confirms Jerome H Powell as next Federal Reserve chairman

The United States Senate confirmed Jerome H Powell as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, a powerful post having an influence on global economy.

• Powell (64) will replace Janett Yellen, whose term ends in February.

AWARDS

Shah Rukh Khan receives Crystal Award in Davos

Global icon Shah Rukh Khan received the 24th Crystal Award at the World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, Switzerland for “his leadership in championing children’s and women’s rights in India”.

• Shah Rukh has also been responsible for creating specialised children’s hospital wards and has supported childcare centres with free boarding for children undergoing cancer treatment.

Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K Palanichamy receives UNESCO Award

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanichamy received UNESCO Award of Merit awarded to the iconic Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple in Tiruchirapalli.

• The award of merit was awarded by UNESCO Asia Pacific region for the reconstruction activities undertaken in the temple without in the least affecting its traditional splendor and Vedic rituals.
• It is considered as one of the most important of the 108 main Vishnu temples (Divyadesams).

OBITUARIES

Hollywood’s oldest working actress Connie Sawyer passes away

Hollywood’s oldest working actress Connie Sawyer passed away at the age of 105. She has more than 140 TV and film credits to her name, began her career in entertainment at the age of 8.

Hugh Masekela, South African Jazz Master And International Chart-Topper, passes away

Hugh Masekela, the legendary South African jazz musician who scored an unlikely No. 1 hit on the Billboard chart with his song “Grazing in the Grass” has passed away.

Veteran South Indian actor Krishna Kumari passes away

Yesteryear actor Krishna Kumari (84), who has acted in over 200 Telugu, Tamil and Kannada films and dominated the south Indian film industry for more than two decades has passed away.

Ceylon Manohar of Surangani fame dies

Pop singer and actor A.E. Manoharan, popularly known as ‘Ceylon Manohar’ has passed away.  He was best known for the song Surangani.

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