Current Affairs Update 15 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. 15 January 2019
7-Member GoM constituted Under Nitin Patel to Boost the Real Estate Sector under the GST regime
- The GST Council has constituted 7-Member Group of Ministers (GoM) for boosting the Real Estate Sector under the GST regime.
- The GoM will be Chaired by Deputy Chief Minister, Government of Gujarat, Shri Nitin Patel.
- The GoM will examine:
- legality of inclusion and exclusion of land or any other ingredient, in composition and suggest valuation mechanism
- suggest ways for composition scheme or any other scheme, to boost the sector
- various aspects of levy of GST on Transfer of Development Rights and Development Rights in a Joint Development Agreement.
- Members of the GoM includes:
- Shri Nitin Patel: Deputy Chief Minister, Government of Gujarat (Convener)
- Shri Sudhir Mungantiwar: Finance Minister, Government of Maharashtra
- Shri Krishna Byre Gowda: Finance Minister, Government of Karnataka
- Dr. T.M. Thomas Isaac: Finance Minister, Government of Kerala
- Shri Manpreet Singh Badal: Finance Minister, Government of Punjab
- Shri Rajesh Agarwal: Finance Minister, Government of Uttar Pradesh
- Shri Mauvin Godinho: Minister of Panchayat, Government of Goa
Government Allocates All Time High Rs. 61,084 Crores for MGNREGA for 2018-19
- The Government of India has allocated an additional Rs. 6,084 crore at RE stage to MGNREGA, which brings the total allocation to the scheme to Rs. 61,084 crore in 2018-19.
- This is the highest ever allocation made to the scheme till date.
- MGNREGA is a flagship programme of the Ministry of Rural Development which addresses poverty in a holistic manner by overcoming social inequalities and creating a base for sustainable & long term development.
Govt launches “Womaniya on GeM” initiative to enable women entrepreneurs to sell items on GeM
- Government e Marketplace [GeM] has launched “Womaniya on GeM”, an initiative to enable women entrepreneurs and women self-help groups [WSHGs] to sell handicrafts and handloom, accessories directly to various Government ministries, departments and institutions.
- Government e Marketplace[GeM] is a 100 percent government owned company setup under the aegis of Ministry of Commerce and Industry for procurement of common use goods and services by Government ministries, departments and CPSEs.
Global Aviation Summit 2019 Inaugurated in Mumbai
- The Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the Global Aviation Summit 2019 in Mumbai on January 15, 2019.
- The theme of the two day Summit is ‘Flying for all-especially the next 6 Billion’.
- It is being organised by Ministry of Civil Aviation in association with AAI and FICCI.
PM Modi Launches Development Projects Over Rs 1550 crore in Balangir, Odisha
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Balangir in Odisha on January 15, 2019 to launch several development projects worth over Rs.1500 crores. This was his third visit to the state in a period of last one month.
- Some of the important projects launched by PM are:
- Dedicated Multi-Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) Jharsuguda to the Nation.
- Dedicated a bridge between Theruvali and Singapur Road station built over Nagavali river.
- Inaugurated the Balangir-Bichhupali railway line built at an estimated cost of Rs. 115 crore.
- Doubling of Railway Lines between Barpali-Dungaripali and Balangir-Deogaon and Electrification of 813 km of Jharsuguda-Vizinagaram and Sambalpur-Angul lines
- Flagged off a new train on Balangir-Bichhupali route connecting Bichhupali to Jharsuguda and Vizianagaram main line through Balangir.
- Laid foundation stone of Kendriya Vidyalaya in Odisha’s Sonepur at an estimated cost of Rs.15.81 crore.
- Inaugurated 6 Passport Sewa Kendras at Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Puri, Phulbani, Bargarh and Balangir.
- Inaugurated restoration and renovation work of Ranipur Jharial group of monuments in Balangir; Asurgarh Fort in Kalahandi; Nilamadhav and Siddheswar Temple at Gandhaharadi in Boudh and Paschim Somnath group of temples in Boudh.
Madhya Pradesh launches Rs 50,000 crore farm loan waiver scheme ‘Jai Kisan Rin Mukti Yojana’
- The Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath launched a farm debt-waiver scheme of Rs 50,000-crore named ‘Jai Kisan Rin Mukti Yojana’.
- The scheme would benefit 55 lakh small and marginal farmers in the state.
Chennai Inducts ROADEO Robot to Manage Traffic
- The Chennai Traffic Police has inducted a road safety robot named ROADEO to help police in traffic management and assist pedestrians in Chennai roads.
- These robots can be integrated with the traffic signals, as well as can be operated manually, through a Bluetooth app, thereby easing the work of traffic police..
- The robot has two hands to interact with the people and show traffic signs and highly expressive eyes to show important messages.
- The robot has been developed by school children of a private robotics lab in Chennai.
- With the induction of ROADEO, Chennai is the second city after Mumbai to deply robots in traffic management.
Syndicate Bank creates vertical- SAM to recover Rs 27,000cr NPAs
- The Syndicate Bank has created a separate vertical comprising around 1,200 of its existing staffers to recover its non-performing assets (NPAs) amounting to around Rs 27,000 crore.
- The ‘Stressed Asset Management (SAM)’ vertical would comprise legal as well as credit experts who would help branch managers to device plans to recover dues from NPAs.
1st Ekalavya Model Residential Schools Sports Meet 2019 Inaugurated at Hyderabad
- The first Ekalavya Model Residential Schools Sports Meet 2019 was inaugurated at Gachibowli stadium in Hyderabad on January 14, 2019.
- The three days National Sports Meet (January 14-16, 2019) was inaugurated by Shri Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs.
- The event has been organised by Telangana Tribal Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society.
- The government of India is planning to establish EMRS in every block with more than 50% or more tribal population and 20,000 or more tribal persons. It plans to establish around 462 EMRSs by the year 2022 in addition to the 288 EMRSs already sanctioned.
Manu Sawhney unveiled as new ICC CEO
- The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the appointment of Manu Sawhney as its new Chief Executive Officer.
- He will replace David Richardson as the CEO in July after the ICC men’s World Cup (to be held in England).
Macedonia Parliament Renames Country As “The Republic Of Northern Macedonia”
- The Parliament of Macedonian has amended its constitution in order to rename the country as the ‘Republic of Northern Macedonia’.
- The decision is a part of the Prespa agreement signed on 12 June 2018 between Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras and his Macedonian counterpart Zoran Zaev to rename the Republic of Macedonia as “Republic of North Macedonia.
- The agreement ends a 27-year-long dispute between Athens and Skopje over the name Macedonia.
- The change of name would pave the way for the Macedonia to enter NATO and the European Union.
Fields Medal-Winning Mathematician Sir Michael Atiyah passed away
- Sir Michael Atiyah, a British mathematician who received the 1966 Fields Medal, also known as the ‘Nobel for Mathematics,’ passed away at the age of 89 on January 11.
- He had worked with several Indian mathematicians during his career.
- His research divides into four main periods, to some extent overlapping – in the 1950s, algebraic geometry; in the 60s and early 70s, K-theory; the 60s to 80s, index theory; and the late 70s to mid-80s, gauge theory, where his ideas became extremely influential in quantum physics.
Veteran film director Lenin Rajendran passed away
- Veteran Malyalam filmmaker and chairman of Kerala State Film Development Corporation Lenin Rajendran passed away. He was 67.
- He has also been a part of political party CPI-M.
Congress Leader Shivajirao Deshmukh Passes Away
- Senior Congress leader and former chairman of Maharashtra Legislative Council Shivajirao Deshmukh passed away in Mumbai following brief illness. He was 84.
- Deshmukh had served as revenue minister in the Vasantsada Patil government in 1976-85.
- He hailed from Shirala tehsil in Sangli district of western Maharashtra.
71st Army Day Observed Across India on January 15
- The Army Day in India is celebrated on 15 January every year.
- The day is marked to commemorate the day when General (later Field Marshal) KM Carriappa took over the command of Army from General Sir FRR Bucher, the last British Commander-in-Chief in 1949 and became the first Commander-in-Chief of Indian Army post Independence.