Current Affairs January 28, 2017
India ranks sixth on eight great powers in 2017: American foreign policy magazine
India is ranked at the sixth spot, behind China and Japan, in a list of eight great powers for the year 2017 by a leading American foreign policy magazine which is topped by the US.
- The list is topped by the US, whereas China and Japan are at tie for being on the second spot. Russia (fourth) and Germany (fifth) are the other two countries ahead of India.
Indian Navy’s Theatre Level Exercise, TROPEX 17 Begins
The Theatre Readiness Operational Exercise (TROPEX), an annual Indian Navy exercise kicked started off the Western Seaboard.
CWC inks MoUs with IIT, IIS
Central Water Commission (CWC) has joined hands with IIT Madras and IIS Bengaluru to help them procure specified equipment and software for enhancing their capability to support its dam rehabilitation efforts.
HPCL, GAIL ink pact with Andhra Pradesh govt for Rs 40k-crore project
Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) and GAIL India has signed an agreement with the Andhra Pradesh government for setting up a Rs 40,000-crore petrochemical plant in the state.
Telangana signs MoU for aero skill academy
The Telangana government has signed a memorandum of agreement with French firm Aerocampus Aquitaine, known for aircraft maintenance skill training, to create a world-class aero skill academy.
- The academy proposes to offer long duration basic training programmes for young students and vocational training and short duration courses tailor-made to industry requirements for experienced technicians.
First Brahmaputra Literary Festival inaugurated in Guwahati
The first Brahmaputra Literary Festival was inaugurated in Guwahati by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
Hubballi to get country’s largest startup incubator
Indian-American entrepreneur, philanthropist and venture capitalist Gururaj Deshpande is setting up India’s biggest startup incubator in Hubballi, about 400km from Bengaluru.
- The 82,000-sqft facility is expected to open in September.
- It will have the capacity to seat over 1,200 people, which means it can accommodate at least 200 startups.
Founder of Indian supercomputing Dr Bhatkar appointed new VC Nalanda University
Vijay Pandurang Bhatkar, a technocrat who is considered the father of the Indian Supercomputer, has been appointed the new Vice-Chancellor of Nalanda University, Rajgir, in Bihar.
- He will hold the office for a three-year period from the date of his appointment as per the Nalanda University Act, Sec 11(3). Bhatkar, 70, replaced Gopa Sabharwal who resigned on November 24 last year.
IITs fourth largest producer of unicorn startups in the world
In a study that lists universities that have produced the most unicorn founders, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) bagged the fourth spot.
- Sage, a UK-based accounting and payroll company, stated that if you aspire to create a billion-dollar business in India, one of the IITs is your best bet.
- US-based Stanford University claimed the top rank with 51 unicorn founders, followed by Harvard University with 37. The University of California came third with 18 unicorn founders and IIT followed with 12 founders.
Sports Minister Vijay Goel reconstitutes committee to identify athletes under TOP Scheme
The Union Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Vijay Goel has reconstituted TOP committee with the objective of identifying and supporting potential medal prospects for 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games under the “Target Olympic Podium” scheme.
- The committee will be headed by Abhinav Bindra, Olympic Gold Medalist.
Australian Open Winners
The American tennis superstar Serena Williams rewrote history by becoming the first woman tennis player to win a record 23 Grand Slam titles beating elder sister Venus Williams.
Australian John Peers and his Finnish partner Henri Kontinen defeated the American pair of Bob and Mike Bryan to lift the men’s doubles title of the Australian Open
British actor John Hurt, star of ‘The Elephant Man’, dead at 77
Emmy-winning actor Barbara Hale dies at 94
