Current Affairs Update 11 January 2019

Current Affairs is an important part for many exams. Be prepared for this section with ByScoop which brings all the important Current Affairs in one place. 11 January 2019

Cabinet Approvals on January 10, 2019

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the following Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) on January 10, 2019.

MoU on Maritime issues between India and Denmark
Mou between India and Japan on Development of Advanced Model Single Window
Approved the proposal for entering into an Agreement for Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA) between India and Japan and authorizing the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to sign BSA between the RBI and the Bank of Japan for a maximum amount of USD 75 billion
Signing of Terms of Reference (TOR) to provide tax assistance to Swaziland (now known as Eswatini) under the Tax Inspectors Without Borders Programme between India and Eswatini
MoU between India and France on technical bilateral cooperation in the field of new and renewable energy
Creation of the post of Vice Chancellor for India’s first rail and transportation university, National Rail & Transport Institute (NRTI) in Vadodara, Gujarat
Approved establishing three new AIIMS at Vijaynagar, Samba, Jammu at a cost of Rs 1661 Crore; Awantipura,Pulwama, Kashmir at a cost of Rs 1828 Crore and Rajkot, Gujarat at a cost of Rs 1195 Crore.

29 Days Sanskriti Kumbh Begins in Prayagraj

The Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Ram Naik, inaugurated the biggest cultural festival named Sanskriti Kumbh on January 10, 2019 in Kumbh Mela area, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
The 29 days cultural extravaganza will continue till March 4, 2019 with intent to showcase the diverse and rich Cultural Heritage of India all in one place including Performing Arts- Folk, Tribal and Classical art forms, Handicrafts, Cuisines, Exhibitions etc.
Kumbh Mela is one of the oldest and largest gatherings in the world, organized in the city of Prayagraj which is located at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and Mystic river of Saraswati in Uttar Pradesh.
The UNESCO has inscribed Kumbh Mela on the list of Intangible Cultural heritage for humanity in 2017. This time Kumbh is being.

Six States Signs Agreement for Renukaji Multipurpose Dam Project

An agreement for the construction of Renukaji Dam Multipurpose Project was signed in New Delhi on January 11, 2019 among six Indian states namely Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.
The Chief Ministers of the 6 states signed the agreement in the presence of Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Shri Nitin Gadkari.
Under the agreement, three storage projects are proposed to be constructed on the river Yamuna and two of its tributaries – Tons and Giri in the hilly regions of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
These include Lakhwar project on river Yamuna in Uttarakhand, Kishau on river Tons in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and Renukaji on river Giri in Himachal Pradesh.
In addition to this, a concession agreement was also signed for Namami Gange projects for the city of Prayagraj under Hybrid Annuity Mode and One City One Operator Concept.

4th Raisina Dialogue Concludes in New Delhi

The fourth edition of the Raisina Dialogue was held in New Delhi from January 8-10, 2019.
The theme of the three days Dialogue was “A World Reorder: New Geometries; Fluid Partnerships; Uncertain Outcomes”.
The Raisina Dialogue is India’s flagship annual conference organised jointly by India’s leading think tank Observer Research Foundation in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs.
The inaugural address of the conference was delivered by Prime Minister of Norway H E Ms Erna Solberg while the Dialogue concluded with an address by Malaysian leader Anwar Ibrahim.
More than 2000 participants including 600 delegates and speakers from over 92 countries took part in this year’s Raisina Dialogue.

25TH edition of Partnership Summit to be held in Mumbai

The 25^th edition of Partnership Summit 2019 will be held in Mumbai on January 12 and 13, 2019.
It is a global platform for dialogue, debate, deliberation and engagement among Indian and global leaders on economic policy and growth trends in India.
The theme of the summit is: “New India: Rising to Global Occasion”
The event will be inaugurated by Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu.
The Summit is being organized by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry (DIPP), State Government of Maharashtra and Confederation of Indian Industry.

International Dam Safety Conference – 2019 to be held in Odisha in February 2019

The International Dam Safety Conference – 2019 will be held in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha on 13-14 February, 2019.
Chief Minister of Odisha Shri. Naveen Patnaik will be the Chief Guest at the event.
The event will be jointly organised by the state government of Odisha, the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the World Bank.

Govt doubles GST exemption limit for MSMEs to Rs 40 lakhs

Central Government has doubled the annual turnover threshold for exemption of MSMEs from GST registration to Rs 40 lakh from the current Rs 20 lakh.
With this two million additional micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India will become eligible to opt out of the goods and services tax (GST) system from April 01, 2019.
For North-eastern state this threshold limit is Rs 20 lakhs.
The Council permitted Kerala to impose the calamity cess of up to 1 per cent for a maximum period of two years.

Government launches artificial intelligence-enabled platform – SIDCOP

Ministry of Commerce & Industry has launched an AI enabled platform SIDCOP (Sino-Indian Digital Collaboration Plaza) to bring Indian IT companies and Chinese enterprises closer to each other.
This is a partnership by National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) with Municipal Governments of Guiyang and Dalia (China).
SIDCOP, which is a boundary-less marketplace offers this opportunity for Chinese enterprises in order to assist them in operational optimization and adopting industry best practices in business solutions. This platform could be useful to connect with top providers from India and help Chinese enterprises source the right solution providers for their projects.

Odisha Govt launches ‘Ama Ghare LED’ Scheme for LED bulb distribution to 95 lakh beneficiaries

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched a new scheme ‘Ama Ghare LED’ in the state.
Under the scheme, four numbers of nine watt LED bulbs will be distributed to each beneficiary registered under National Food Security Act (NFSA) and the State Food Security Scheme (SFSS), free of cost.
Around 95 lakh beneficiaries will be benefited under this scheme. The state government will procure 3.80 crore LED bulbs for distribution among the beneficiaries.

ADB to scale up its Indian lending to 4.5 bn in 2019; GDP prediction at 7.3% for FY19

Asian Development Bank has announced that it will scale up its India funding to USD 4.5 billion (about Rs 31,500 crore) in 2019.
ADB also projected Indian economy to grow at 7.3 per cent in 2018-19 and at 7.6 per cent in 2019-20.

Adi Godrej conferred ICSI lifetime award

Adi Godrej (Godrej Group Chairman) has been conferred the ICSI’s Lifetime Achievement Award for ‘Translating Excellence in Corporate Governance into Reality.
The awards were instituted by The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) at the 18th ICSI National Awards.

Nageswara Rao takes charge as interim Director of CBI; Alok Verma resigns from service

A day after the removal of Alok Verma, Additional Director M. Nageswara Rao again took charge of the office of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director.
Rao was first given charge as interim Director after the government on October 23 sent Verma on leave divesting him of his powers.
Apart from this, Alok Verma has resigned from service a day after he was shunted out as CBI director and appointed as DG Fire Services.

Nicolas Maduro Sworn In Venezuelan President For 2nd Term

Nicolas Maduro took over his second term as the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on January 10, 2019.
He won the presidential elections in May 2018 with 67.84% of the votes cast.
His second 6 year term in office will end in 2025.

Su Tseng-chang Sworn in as PM of Taiwan

Su Tseng-chang has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of Taiwan by the President Tsai Ing-wen on January 10.
The new appointment follows the resignation of the incumbent Lai Ching-te.

Current Affairs Update – 11 January 2019