Current Affairs National
India inks $120 mn pact with World Bank for improved water supply in Uttarakhand
- World Bank and India on Monday inked $ 120 million loan agreement which will help increase access to improved water supply services in areas in Uttarakhand.
- The 120 million dollar loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a 5-year grace period, and a maturity of 17 years.
India to host 16th International Energy Forum meet
- The 16th International Energy Forum (IEF) Ministerial meeting will be held in New Delhi from April 10 to 12.
- Representatives from 92 countries will be participating in the conference, including 72 member countries of IEF and 20 guest countries.
- India had last hosted the IEF ministerial conference in 1996.
18 children receives National Bravery Award from PM
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday presented the National Bravery Awards to 18 children.
- Three of these awards were awarded posthumously.
- Bharat Award, Geeta Chopra Award, Sanjay Chopra Award, Bapu Gaidhani Award, and General National Bravery Awards are the 5 categories in which the awards are divided.
Government may increase AMRIT Stores by 4 times in 2018
- The Health Ministry of India is working to increase the number of AMRIT pharmacy stores by four times by this year end, said Health Minister J P Nadda.
- At present there are 111 outlets.
- “We are working very fast on opening more stores. We want one store in every district”, Health Minister J P Nadda said.
- AMRIT is government policy which aims to provide affordable life-saving cancer and cardiac drugs and medical disposables.
Imp Note : AMRIT – Affordable Medicines & Reliable Implants for Treatment
56 new airports, helipads to be connected under UDAN 2
- The Airports Authority of India (AAI), the implementing agency, has awarded 325 routes to 15 airlines and helicopter operators.
- 25 new airports and 31 new helipads will now be connected to the existing network.
- “This is the first time that helicopter [services] are coming under UDAN,” said Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju.
Imp Note : UDAN- Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (Let the common citizen of the country fly.).
UDAN aims at making air travel affordable and widespread, to boost inclusive national economic development, job growth and air transport infrastructure development of all regions and states of India.
Current Affairs Business and Economy
Facebook acquires startup Confirm.io
- Facebook has acquired Confirm.io which is a biometric ID verification startup and specializes in remotely verifying IDs like drivers licenses.
- The startup offers an Application Programming Interface that helps verify identification cards issued by government.
Govt to infuse over Rs 88,100 cr in state-run banks under recapitalisation plan
- The government on Wednesday said it will infuse ₹88,000 crore of capital in ailing public sector banks with a set of performance metrics.
- “We are setting up an institutional mechanism to ensure what has happened in the past is not repeated. It is the government’s responsibility to keep state-run banks in good health and ensure they follow the highest standards of corporate governance,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.
Current Affairs Sports
India beats Belgium in Four Nations Invitational Tournament
- India won the second match of Four Nations Invitational Hockey Tournament by defeating Belgium by 5-4.
- India will take on Japan in their third match on 27 January.
Australian Open
- Switzerland tennis player Roger Federer defeated long-time rival Tomas Berdych to enter into semifinal of the tournament.
- Defending champion Federer will play Korean player Hyeon Chung in Semifinal.
Current Affairs World
First monkeys cloned by process that made Dolly the sheep
- Scientists in China have created the first monkeys cloned by the same process that produced Dolly the sheep more than 20 years ago.
- The monkeys named Hua Hua and Zhong Zhong are cloned by a cloning technique called somatic cell nuclear transfer.
Current Affairs Miscellaneous
Google Doodle celebrates English writer Adeline Virginia Woolf’s 136th birthday
- Virginia Wolf was British writer and holds special recognition among top-feminist writers around the world.
- She was born on 25 January 1882 in London. She is considered one of the foremost modernists of the twentieth century. Her works are widely read all over the world and have been translated into more than fifty languages.
National Voters’ Day
- Every year National Voters’ Day (NVD) is observed on 25th January to encourage young voters to take part in political process.
- “I urge all the eligible voters, particularly youngsters, to register themselves and strengthen our democracy with their participation. The power of a vote is immense,” Modi tweeted.
- The National Voters’ Day is observed to mark the establishment of the Election Commission.
- Also Read : 24 January Current Affairs