Current Affairs Update – 10th and 11th January, 2016

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs Update of 10th and 11th January, 2016. These are important for the upcoming LIC AAO 2016 and Syndicate Manipal PO Exams.

• Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd, the Visakhapatnam steel plant,
  has signed an MoU with the Andhra Pradesh Government for an investment of
  around Rs. 38,500 crore in various projects.
• According to a press release, the three-day Partnership
  Summit, which began on Sunday, is being jointly organised by the State
  Government and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
• The State Government and RINL agreed on the importance of
  infrastructure and industrial development in Andhra Pradesh and welcomed mutual
  cooperation for facilitating investments in Andhra Pradesh.
• P C Mohapatra, Director (Projects) of RINL, and Kartikeya
  Misra, Director of Industries, Andhra Pradesh, exchanged the MoU copies for
  establishing the following projects. The MoU envisages investment of around Rs.
  38,500 crore to take up various projects at Visakhapatnam with an employment
  opportunity for 3,000 persons.

• HDFC Life has set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in the Dubai
  International Financial Centre (DIFC) called the ‘HDFC International Life and
  Re Company Limited’ (HILRCL) with an initial capital outlay of $12.33 million.
• In a statement to the stock exchanges, Housing Development
  Finance Corporation (HDFC) said that this subsidiary was incorporated on
  January 10, 2016.
• Further, HILRCL will operate in DIFC, and shall shortly
  commence its business operations, subject to completion of further regulatory
  formalities for obtaining the final license from the Dubai Financial Services
  Authority.

• In a top management rejig, e-commerce firm Flipkart on
  Monday appointed Binny Bansal as the Chief Executive Officer and Sachin Bansal
  as the Executive Chairman.
• In his role as the Executive Chairman, Sachin will provide
  strategic direction and mentor the senior leadership as also look for new
  investment opportunities.
• While, Binny as the CEO will now be responsible for
  operationally driving the company and be accountable for Flipkart’s overall
  performance.
• Sachin, who will continue to be the Chairman of the Board,
  will play an active role in championing the Indian e-commerce sector and
  building the internet ecosystem and represent the company in external forums.
• Mukesh Bansal will continue to be the head of commerce
  platform and will have additional responsibility of the ads business. He will
  also continue as the Chairman of Myntra.

• In order to boost its Make in India intitiative, Airbus
  India has appointed Ashish Saraf as Vice-President – Industry Development, Strategic
  Partnerships and Offsets.
• Saraf will primarily be responsible for the Group’s ‘Make in
  India’ initiatives and conceive new ones for all the businesses of Airbus Group
  India. The move comes close on the heels of Airbus Group uniting its divisions
  in India under a single company.
• The company has been steadily trying to boost its local
  sourcing from the country. In an earlier intwerview with Business Standard,
  Srinivasan Dwarakanath, MD Airbus India, said there has been a 12-fold growth
  in outsourcing in the past nine years. The group also targeted a cumulative
  volume worth $2-billion sourcing in the next five years.

• Economist Paul Kaba Thieba was named as the Prime Minister
  of Burkina Faso on 7 January 2016 by the President Roch Marc Christian Kabore.
• The announcement was made a week after the president was
  sworn in as the country’s first new leader in almost three decades following
  his election in November 2015.
• 56-year-old Thieba has worked for many years with as an
  economist for the West African central bank, BCEAO, in Ivory Coast. Now, he is
  charged with forming President Marc Roch Kabore’s government as the country
  continues with a democratic transition after 27 years under leader Blaise
  Compaore.

• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on 6
  January 2016 successfully test fired the new Penetration-Cum Blast (PCB) and
  Thermobaric (TB) Ammunition tank at Chandipur, Odisha.  This wa specially designed for Arjun Main
  Battle Tank (MBT).
• The trials were conducted jointly with Army and were aimed
  to demonstrate the effectiveness of the ammunitions on derelict tank fitted
  with instrumentation to measure the shocks, blast pressure and temperature at
  various locations and on advanced imaging systems.
• The trials were very effective and the damage was devastated
  with the firing of ammunition successfully destroying the target tank and
  severely damaging its turret, barrel, tracks, ammunition bin, various sights,
  antennas etc.
• The trials were unique as for the first time such evaluation
  was carried out in India which gave a quantum jump in the fire-power of Arjun
  tanks.

• Vice-President Hamid Ansari today dedicated to the nation
  the K R Narayanan Institute of Visual Sciences and Arts, a first of its kind
  imitative of the Kerala government at nearby Thekkumithala.
• Speaking on the occasion, Ansari said there was a need to
  have institutes with international standards to equip future generations of
  visual and video artists not only with the aesthetic creativity and social
  awareness, but also with the technical and logistical aspects of film and video
  making.
• K R Narayanan National Institute of Visual Sciences and Arts
  was set up by the state government with an objective to impart world-class
  knowledge and training in visual-based technologies such as cinema, television,
  and video to Indian artists and technicians.
• The institute offers three-year diploma courses in script
  writing, direction, acting, cinematography, animation, editing and audiography.
• Governor Justice (Rtd) P Sathasivam and Chief Minister
  Ooomen Chandy were among those attended the function.

• Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel on 10 January 2016
  inaugurated the 28th edition of International Kite Festival at Sabarmati River
  front in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
• The Kite festival of Gujarat marks Uttarayan, the day when
  winter begins to turn into summer, according to the Indian calendar.
• The five-day annual event saw participation of about 98
  foreign kite flyers from 28 different nations and 55 participants from 8
  different states and 28 kite flyers from Gujarat.

• The President Pranab Mukherjee on 10 January 2016
  inaugurated the three day long 88th annual conference of Nikhil Bharat Banga
  Sahitya Sammelan in Ranchi, Jharkhand.
• In this conference, delegates from all over the country
  attend to hold thematic discussions, meet Bengali authors, novelists, and
  poets, attend literary sessions, exchange thoughts with scholars of the other
  languages.
• All participants of the conference would also be encouraged
  to contribute towards Indian literature continously.

• State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) today said it has
  commissioned a 520-mw coal-based thermal power unit in Andhra Pradesh.
• “The unit has been commissioned at the 2×520 mw Vizag
  Thermal Power Project of Hinduja National Power Company Limited (HNPCL),
  Visakhapatnam,” the company said in a statement.

• The 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards were announced on 11
  January 2015 at Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, the US.
  These annual awards honour the best in Motion Pictures and Television for the
  year 2015.
• The Revenant won the Best Motion Picture – Drama while best
  Actor and best Director Awards were conferred to Leonardo DiCaprio and
  Alejandro Inarritu for the same movie. Brie Larson won the best actress award
  for ‘The Room’ Movie.

• Veteran hindi poet Balkrishna Garg was on 8 January 2016
  conferred with the 2015 Harikrishna Devsare Baalsahitya Award in New Delhi. He
  received the award for his Baa Geet, which is a collection of poems for
  children.
• The award was presented by Sahitya Akademi President
  Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari and National Book Trust (NBT) Chairman Baldeo Bhai
  Sharma.
• It was the second award to be conferred since its inception
  in 2014 and consists of a cash prize of 75000 rupees, a shawl and a citation.

• A nine-year-old Indian-origin girl in Singapore has won the
  first prize for writing a story in Hindi in a literary competition at the inaugural
  “Hindi Prerna Awards”.
• Saamiya Khan, won the competition in the children group of
  age 8-12, is taking Hindi as a second language, which is compulsory in
  Singapore school curriculum for students of north Indian origins.
• The competition was held for three groups, pupils of
  8-12-year-old in children group, students of 13-16 in youth group and those
  above 16 in the higher learning classes in the open group.
• Saamiya, a primary four pupil, says she was inspired by her
  parents, Mohammed Shariq Khan and Sheba Khan, to learn Hindi and now speaks
  more confidently on telephone with her grandparents in Mumbai.
• India’s High Commissioner Vijay Thakur Singh handed over the
  prize to Saamiya.

• Nepal on 9 January 2016 was elected to the UNICEF executive
  board, representing the group of Asia-Pacific countries for the term 2016-2018.
• Nepal’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN),
  Durga Prasad Bhattarai, was also unanimously elected vice-president to the
  Bureau of the Executive Board of the UNICEF for 2016.
• Nepal recently completed its terms as a member of the UN
  Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for 2013-2015 and as vice-president from
  Asia-Pacific region at the executive board of United Nations Development
  Programme/United Nations Population Fund/United Nations Office for Project
  Services for the year 2015.

• The 11th World Hindi Day was celebrated on 10 January 2016.
  To mark the occasion, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) through its
  missions/posts abroad and the Department of Official Language (Rajbhasha)
  conducted special events to spread the greatness of the language.
• The day was first observed on 10 January 2006. And, it is in
  addition to the National Hindi Divas that is being celebrated annually on 14
  September.
• National Hindi Divas is celebrated to mark the day, 14
  September 1949, on which the Constituent Assembly adopted Hindi written in
  Devanagari script as the Official Language of the Union.

• The 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD) was held on 9 January
  2016 in New Delhi. The event was inaugurated by the External Affairs Minister
  Sushma Swaraj and attended by Priti Patel, MoS for Employment, United Kingdom.
• Apart from the main event in New Delhi, the day was
  celebrated by the MEA, across the world, through its missions/posts abroad.
• On this occasion, Sushma Swaraj announced that the
  government is considering Aadhaar cards to non-resident Indians (NRIs) and
  allowing women workers to Gulf countries only through the government agencies
  to ensure they were not duped by recruiting agents or firms.

• ‘Missionary Day’, anniversary of the arrival of two Welsh
  Christian missionaries, was today observed and celebrated across the
  Christian-dominated north eastern state of Mizoram.
• Government offices and educational institutions were closed
  for the day as the state government declared the day as a public holiday.
• The local churches of the Baptist Church of Mizoram held
  prayer and worship services and also organised community feasts.
• Rev. J.H. Lorrain and Rev.F.W. Savidge had arrived in the
  then Lushai country (Mizoram) by boat from Assam on January 11, 1894 and spread
  Christianity which resulted in conversion of almost all the Mizos to the new
  religion.

• Former New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming was on Monday
  named chief coach of the new Pune franchise of the Indian Premier League
  Twenty20 cricket tournament.
• With this the former Chennai Super Kings coach will renew
  his long and most successful partnership with his former captain Mahendra Singh
  Dhoni who was picked in the December draft.

• Stanislas Wawrinka on 10 January 2016 won his Chennai Open
  title. In the summit clash at the Nungambakkam tennis stadium of Chennai, he
  defeated Croatian Borna Coric 6-3, 7-5.
• This is the fourth Chennai Open title for the Swiss player
  and the third consecutive win, who first won it in 2011.
• With this win, Wawrinka lifted the cup and got the award
  money of 75700 US dollars and got away with 250 ATP ranking points.

• Milos Raonic of Canada on 10 December 2015 won the 2016
  Brisbane International Tennis men’s singles trophy.
• To win the title, the 14th world ranking player defeated
  Roger Federer of Switzerland 6-4 6-4 in the final match held at Brisbane in
  Australia. At present, Roger Federer is at the third position in the world
  singles ranking.
• For Raonic, it was the 8th World ATP tour title in his
  career and the first title in the 2016 season.

• Women’s Singles: Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)
• Men’s Doubles: Henri Kontinen (Finland) & John Peers
  (Australia)
• Women’s Doubles: Sania Mirza (India) & Martina Hingis
  (Switzerland)

• Danish kayaker Rene Holten Poulsen on 9 January 2016 was
  named the Denmark’s sportsperson of the year 2015.
• The Sports Confederation of Denmark and Danish
  Jyllands-Posten newspaper voted to award Poulsen the prize, which is known as
  Sports Name of the Year and is among the country’s top sports prizes.

• The ICC and MoneyGram International, a leading global
  provider of money transfer services, on Monday announced an eight-year deal
  which confirms MoneyGram as an event partner for ICC events from 2016-2023.
• A media release by ICC stated: “The ICC and MoneyGram
  recently completed a successful five-year partnership, which began with the ICC
  World Twenty20 West Indies 2010, concluding with the ICC Cricket World Cup
  2015.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 10 January 2016 released a
  book titled “MARU BHARAT SARU BHARAT “(My India Noble India) written by Jain
  Acharya Ratnasundersuriswarji Maharaj.
• This is the 300th book of Ratnasundersuriswarji Maharaj. The
  book release function was organized by Sahitya Satkar Samiti of Ratnatrayee
  Trust in Mumbai.
• The book, My India, Nobel India, will be available in four
  languages – English, Hindi, Gujarati and Marathi.

• Maria Teresa de Filippis, the first woman to compete in a
  world championship Formula One grand prix, passed away on 8 January 2016 in
  Italy. She was 89.
• De Filippis participated in five World Championship Grands
  Prix; however, she scored no championship points. Although she remained largely
  unsuccessful in her Formula One racing career, she is remembered as a pioneer
  in motor racing, a sport dominated by men.

• Noted Hindi writer and journalist Ravindra Kalia passed away
  on 9 January 2016 in New Delhi. He was 78.
• Kalia had been suffering from liver cirrhosis.
• The writer is known for his works like Nau Saal Chotti Patni
  and Ghalib Chutti Sharab.
• The former Bharatiya Jnanpith director, Kalia was also the
  editor of several literary magazines, including Naya Gyanodaya.

Regards

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