Current Affairs Update – 13th January, 2016

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 13th January, 2016. These are Important for the upcoming LIC AAO 2016 Exam.
Current Affairs at a Glance – 13th January, 2016
  1. Govt unveils Rs-8,800
    cr crop insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)
  2. Country’s largest lender SBI has opened a branch in Seoul, South Korea to predominantly
    finance growing trade and investment relations between Korean and Indian
    companies. SBI is second Indian bank after Indian Overseas
    Bank
    to have branch in South Korea. Meanwhile, SBI has signed a Line of
    Credit with The Export-Import Bank of Korea (K-EXIM)
    for $ 500 million (Rs 3,300 crore).
  3. India is the largest
    recipient of loans from the World Bank
    , amounting to $102.1 billion,
    between 1945 and 2015 (as on July 21, 2015), according to the Bank’s lending
    report.
  4. Vice President Hamid Ansari today declared Kerala as the first state in the country to attain ‘Total Primary Education’, and
    described the achievement as ‘historic.’
  5. NHAI has signed Memorandum of Understanding with National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC)
    under Indian Space Research Organization
    (ISRO)
    and North East Centre for
    Technology Application and Research (NECTAR)
    for use of spatial technology for monitoring and managing
    national highways
    .
  6. Bollywood actor
    Amitabh Bachchan
    on 12 January 2016 was bestowed honorary life membership of Kolkata’s soccer outfit Mohammedan Sporting.
  7. The prestigious Yale
    School of Management
    will name its deanship in honour of PepsiCo’s India-born CEO Indra Nooyi as
    she gifted an undisclosed amount to her alma mater, becoming the school’s biggest alumni donor and
    the first woman to endow a deanship at a
    top b-school
    .
  8. Lieutenant General
    J.F.R. Jacob (retired),
    hero of 1971
    Bangladesh Liberation War
    and former
    Governor of Goa and Punjab, died on 13
    January 2016 after prolonged illness.

Finance/Economy/Banking
Govt unveils Rs-8,800
cr crop insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)

  • In order to provide relief to drought-hit farmers, the
    government today announced a new Rs 8,800 crore crop insurance scheme, with
    significantly lower premium, to cover for loss of crop to natural calamities.
  • Farmers will pay only 2% of the premium fixed by insurance
    company for kharif foodgrains/oilseeds crops and 1.5% for rabi
    foodgrains/oilseeds crops under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
  • The remaining sum of premium would be borne by the Centre
    and state governments equally, entailing an outgo of Rs 8,800 crore annually
    for coverage of 50% of the crop area of 194.40 million hectare. The scheme will
    be rolled out from the coming kharif season beginning June.

SBI opens branch in
Seoul, South Korea

  • Country’s largest lender has opened a branch in Seoul, South
    Korea to predominantly finance growing trade and investment relations between
    Korean and Indian companies.
  • SBI is second Indian bank after Indian Overseas Bank to have
    branch in South Korea. SBI already had a representative office in Seoul.
  • Meanwhile, SBI has signed a Line of Credit with The
    Export-Import Bank of Korea (K-EXIM) for $ 500 million (Rs 3,300 crore).
  • While corporate banking – — trade finance, bilateral and
    syndicated loans etc — would be mainstay, SBI branch will also provide current
    and savings and remittance facilities to retail customers.

India largest
recipient of World Bank loans over 70 years

  • India is the largest recipient of loans from the World Bank,
    amounting to $102.1 billion, between 1945 and 2015 (as on July 21, 2015),
    according to the Bank’s lending report.
  • While the International Bank for Reconstruction and
    Development (IBRD), a part of the World Bank group, has lent $52.7 billion, the
    International Development Association (IDA), a multilateral concessional lender
    of World Bank, has loaned $49.4 billion to India over the last 70 years.
  • The Ministry of Finance tabled an updated figure of $103
    billion (IBRD—$53 billion and IDA—$50 billion) in a reply to the Lok Sabha
    (Parliament’s lower house) last month.
  • India’s loans from the World Bank stand at $104 billion
    (IBRD—$54 billion and IDA—$50 billion) as on December 31, 2015. Of this, the
    World Bank has disbursed $73 billion, with India repaying $37 billion.
  • India is followed by Brazil ($58.8 billion), China ($55.6
    billion), Mexico ($54 billion) and Indonesia ($50.5 billion).

Anil Ambani-led
Reliance Group signed MoU to set up naval facility in Vishakhapatnam
  • Reliance Defence Ltd, a unit of Anil Ambani led Reliance
    Infrastructure Ltd led on 10 January 2016 signed a memorandum of understanding
    (MoU) with Andhra Pradesh Government to set up a world class naval facility in
    the state.
  • The announcement regarding the MoU was made at Andhra
    Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam.
  • The proposed facility will be established with an initial
    investment of 5000 crore rupees. And, it will be setup on the East Coast of
    India at Rambilli, which is 70 kilometers south of Visakhapatnam.

India
Kerala Declared First
State to Attain Total Primary Education

  • Vice President Hamid Ansari today declared Kerala as the
    first state in the country to attain ‘Total Primary Education’, and described
    the achievement as ‘historic.’
  • Noting that the achievement was another feather to the
    state’s educational cap, he said the state was marking the successful
    culmination of its ‘Athulyam’ programme aimed at ensuring Total Primary
    Education in Kerala — equivalent to Standard IV of formal education.
  • The declaration marks the culmination of the second phase of
    the ‘Athulyam’ Class 4 equivalency programme -— for people aged between 15 and
    50 —- run by KSLMA.
  • ‘Athulyam’ is a programme launched by the literacy mission
    after the success of the total literacy campaign in the state. Under the programme,
    2,40,804 learners were identified out of which 2,05,913 learners were brought
    to the classes after out-reach programmes.

NHAI signs MoU with
ISRO and NECTAR for use of spatial technology for monitoring national highways

  • NHAI has signed Memorandum of Understanding with National
    Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) under Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)
    and North East Centre for Technology Application and Research (NECTAR) for use
    of spatial technology for monitoring and managing national highways.
  • The use of satellite data and geospatial technology will be
    useful in providing inputs in highway and infrastructure projects for
    preparation of DPR(Detailed Project Report), prefeasibility status in new
    alignment, upgrade/road widening, monitoring of road segments under
    construction and Road Asset Management System.
  • The use and benefits of unmanned aerial vehicle technology
    will be useful in monitoring, construction progress, Road Asset Management,
    feasibility report and DPR preparation, immediate assessment and remedy of
    problematic spots etc.

Union government
announced greenfield petrochemical complex and NIPER in Visakhapatnam
  • Union Minister for Fertilizers and Chemicals Ananth Kumar on
    12 January 2016 announced the sanction of greenfield petrochemical complex and
    National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) in
    Visakhapatnam and a Central Institute of Plastics Engineering & Technology
    (CIPET) in Vijayawada.
  • The announcement was made at Confederation of Indian
    Industry (CII) partnership summit 2016 in Visakhapatnam.
  • The proposed petrochemical complex will be constructed by
    public sector companies Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Gas
    Authority of India Limited (GAIL). This would be an additional Medical Devices
    Park to the prior announced one in Gujarat in December 2015.

20th National Youth
Festival inaugurated in Naya Raipur

  • The 20th National Youth Festival was on 12 January 2016
    inaugurated by Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari at
    Rajyostav Sthal in Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh to mark the National Youth Day.
  • The five day long annual festival is celebrated by the Union
    Government in partnership with a state government on the occasion of the birth
    anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
  • For the 20th National Youth Festival, Chhattisgarh was
    chosen as the partner state with the theme India Youth for Skill, Development
    and Harmony.

Awards
& Honors –
Amitabh Bachchan made
honorary life member of Mohammedan Sporting

  • Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan on 12 January 2016 was
    bestowed honorary life membership of Kolkata’s soccer outfit Mohammedan
    Sporting.
  • Sporting president Sultan Ahmed handed over the club’s life
    membership to Bachchan.
  • Bachchan was also invited to be the chief guest of the
    club’s 125th anniversary gala event to be held later in 2016.

Indra Nooyi becomes
‘most generous graduate’ of Yale School of Management

  • The prestigious Yale School of Management will name its
    deanship in honour of PepsiCo’s India-born CEO Indra Nooyi as she gifted an
    undisclosed amount to her alma mater, becoming the school’s biggest alumni
    donor and the first woman to endow a deanship at a top b-school.
  • Yale did not disclose the amount gifted by Nooyi but said
    her “landmark gift” to endow the deanship of the school and inaugurate an
    innovation fund has made her the “most generous graduate” of Yale School of
    Management in terms of lifetime giving to the school.
  • She is also the first woman to endow the deanship at a top
    business school, the school said in a statement yesterday.
  • In October last year, Nooyi’s sister and Grammy-nominated
    musician Chandrika Tandon and her husband Ranjan had made a 100 million dollar
    gift to the New York University’s School of Engineering, one of the largest
    philanthropic gifts by a member of the Indian-American community.

World
Indian-American
professor developed Galacto-Seismic method to hunt Dark Matter
  • An international team of scientists led by Indian-American
    Sukanya Chakrabarti devised a new method, galactoseismology, to detect dwarf
    galaxies dominated by dark matter. The method also explains ripples on the
    outer disk of the galaxy.
  • Sukanya Chakrabarti, an assistant professor at Rochester
    Institute of Technology, New York, presented her findings at a press conference
    hosted by the American Astronomical Society meeting in Kissimmee on 7 January
    2016. Findings were submitted to The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

US, Jordan signed
Joint Action Plan on cooperation to counter Nuclear Smuggling
  • United States and Jordan on 11 January 2016 signed a Joint
    Action Plan (JAP) to improve efforts against nuclear and radiological
    smuggling. The partnership will help in enhancing the efforts to combat nuclear
    terrorism.
  • The JAP was signed by Secretary of State John Kerry and
    Jordan’s Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh in Washington.
  • The measure strengthens US-Jordanian efforts to work to
    detect and prevent nuclear and radiological smuggling incidents. The US has
    similar agreements with 13 other countries, including Iraq, Ukraine and Lithuania.

Lenovo to launch new
smartphone under Google’s Project Tango

  • The term Project Tango was in news in the second week of
    January 2016 as Lenovo, a Chinese multinational computer technology company,
    announced that it entered into a partnership with Google for the project.
  • As part of the partnership, Lenovo will launch a new
    smartphone that can “see” and map out surroundings without external signals
    like satellite-based global positioning system (GPS).

Appointments
USIBC appointed
Edward Monser, Punit Renjen as Vice Chairs of Council Board
  • The U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) Board of Directors
    on 12 January 2016 selected Council board members Edward Monser, President of
    Emerson, and Punit Renjen, CEO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (Deloitte
    Global), as USIBC Vice Chairs.
  • The announcement came at the heels of former Cisco CEO John
    Chamber’s recent appointment to USIBC Chairman.
  • Renjen and Monser together represent over 60 years of
    experience and expertise in global manufacturing, business strategy, and
    business development, reflecting USIBC’s directive to maintain a diverse leadership.

C Sridhar Assumes
Charge as West Zone IG
  • C Sridhar today assumed charge as the West Zone IG.
  • Headquartered in the city, Sridhar has taken over from K
    Shankar, who has since been transferred to Chennai.
  • Sridhar was joint commissioner (L and O), Chennai before his
    new assignment.
  • M N Manjunath has taken over as police commissioner of
    nearby Tirupur city.

Books
& Authors –
Book titled
Jawaharlal Nehru and The Indian Polity in Perspective released by Hamid Ansari
  • The book titled Jawaharlal Nehru and The Indian Polity in
    Perspective was released by Hamid Ansari on 12 January 2016 by the Vice
    President of India Hamid Ansari at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.
  • The focus of the book is on the role of Jawaharlal Nehru,
    India’s first Prime Minister, on shaping the polity of modern India.
  • The book was edited by Prof Alexander and with contributions
    from eminent persons like Justice K T Thomas, Dr Rajan Kurukkal, Dr B
    Vivekanandan, M G Radhakrishnan and others.

Sports
FIFA dismisses Jerome
Valcke as general secretary

  • Jerome Valcke has been dismissed as secretary general of
    soccer’s scandal-scarred governing body.
  • FIFA says its emergency committee fired Valcke with
    immediate effect and terminated his contract.
  • Valcke, who had served as FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s top
    aide, was provisionally suspended by FIFA on September 17.
  • Last week, FIFA ethics judges formally opened a case against
    Valcke, who had faced a nine-year ban from soccer.
  • FIFA says Markus Kattner will continue to serve as acting
    secretary general.

Obituaries
1971 Bangladesh
Liberation War Hero Lieutenant General J.F.R. Jacob Died

  • Lieutenant General J.F.R. Jacob (retired), hero of 1971
    Bangladesh Liberation War and former Governor of Goa and Punjab, died on 13
    January 2016 after prolonged illness. He was 92.
  • Jacob, who negotiated the surrender of Pakistani troops in
    Dhaka, was best known for his role in India’s victory in the 1971 war. During
    the war, He served as the Chief of Staff of the Indian Army’s Eastern Command
    by being the Major General.

Monte Irvin, Hall of
Fame outfielder, passed away
  • Hall of Famer Monte Irvin, an outfielder who starred for the
    New York Giants in the 1950s, died on 11 January 2016 in Houston, Texas, the
    USA. He was 96.
  • Irvin was the oldest living former Negro Leagues player. He
    lived in a retirement community in Houston prior to his death.
  • Irvin was a left fielder and right fielder in the Negro
    leagues and Major League Baseball (MLB) who played with the Newark Eagles, New
    York Giants and Chicago Cubs.


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This post was last modified on July 20, 2019 10:16 am