Current Affairs Update – 16th January, 2016

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 16th January, 2016. These are Important for the upcoming LIC AAO 2016, Syndicate Bank Manipal and IRDAI Junior Officer 2016.

• Kick-starting its ambitious Start-Up Mission, the government
  on Saturday promised to prioritise such measures for greater employment
  generation and said it was committed to ensuring start-ups a friendlier
  regulatory regime, easier capital availability as well as quicker exit norms
  through a bankruptcy law. The Start Up India mission envisages technology
  business incubators and research parks.
• The Human Resource Development Ministry and the Department
  of Science and Technology have agreed to partner in an initiative to set up
  over 75 such startup support hubs in the National Institutes of Technology
  (NITs), the Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs), the Indian
  Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) and NIPERs or National
  Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research.
• With 4,200 startups, India ranks 3rd globally.
• Of $18 billion pumped into Indian startups between 2010-15,
  $9 billion came in 2015 alone.
• 9 Indian startups have been valued at more than a billion
  dollars.
• Increase in number of incubators: 80 in 2014, 110 in 2015;
  50% outside Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai.

• 80% reduction in patent registration fee
• New scheme to provide IPR protection to start-ups and new
  firms
• 10,000 crore corpus fund to support start-ups
• No government inspection for three years for newly-formed
  start-ups
• Innovation hub under Atal Innovation Mission will be created
• Tax exemption for start-ups for three years
• Credit guarantee fund for start-ups, tax incentives
• Innovation programme to start 5 lakh schools to target 10
  lakh children

• The World Bank on 14 January 2016 announced that India saved
  1 billion US dollars annually by using Aadhaar. It was revealed in the bank’s
  publication World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends that was released
  in Washington DC, the USA.
• As per the report, transfer of fuel subsidy to bank accounts
  using the Aadhaar-based Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) saved about 1 billion per
  year when applied throughout the country on account of reduced leakage and
  efficient gains.
• The report further estimated that the DBT has the potential
  to save over 11 billion US dollars per year in government expenditure if the
  scheme is expanded to other subsidy programmes.

• China has the largest number of internet users, followed by
  the United States, with India, Japan, and Brazil filling out the top five.
• A digital identification system such as India’s Aadhaar, by
  overcoming complex information problems, helps willing governments to promote
  the inclusion of disadvantaged groups.
• In India, there are an estimated 1.063 billion population
  are offline.
• Nearly 900 million Indians have been issued digital IDs in
  the past fi ve years, which they are using to open bank accounts, monitor
  attendance of civil servants, and identify recipients of government subsidies.

• Cardiac Design Labs, a startup that has come up with an
  innovation to help cardiac patients in rural India access critical care through
  a wearable device, came out triumphant at a live contest hosted by tech firm
  Google at the Startup India event.
• The Bengaluru-based firm combines communications and heart
  monitoring technology and is designed for use in rugged rural conditions.The
  patient can be monitored from home. The cardiologist will be able to remotely
  interact and diagnose the patient using his cell phone.
• The firm has built MIRCaM, comprehensive suite that
  comprises of wearable sensors, doctor’s terminal, patient’s bedside and a
  mobile app.
• The company said the system provides real time analysis and
  generate instant alarms on episode detection or abnormally rapid heart rate
  among the patients. This enhances patient care and safety.

• China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), in
  which India and 56 countries have joined as founding members, was formally
  opened here today by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
• An Indian delegation headed by Dinesh Sharma, additional
  Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, attended the opening ceremony.
• In all 57 countries have joined as founding members, while
  the US and Japan have stayed out.
• The bank was formally established in Beijing on December 25,
  2015. Chinese Finance Minister, Lou Jiwei, was elected as the first Chairman of
  the AIIB council. China’s former Finance Minister, Jin Liqun, was elected the
  first AIIB president.
• With authorised capital of $100 billion and subscribed
  capital of $50 billion, Beijing-based AIIB will invest in sectors including
  energy, transportation, urban construction, and logistics as well as education
  and healthcare.
• China, India and Russia are the three largest shareholders,
  taking a 30.34 per cent, 8.52 per cent, 6.66 per cent stake respectively in the
  newly formed bank.
• Their voting shares are calculated at 26.06 per cent, 7.5
  per cent and 5.92 per cent.
• Based on the shareholding, India is expected to get the
  Vice-President’s post.
• The opening of the AIIB marked a milestone in the reform of
  the global economic governance system, Lou said in an interview earlier.

• Online marketplace Flipkart has tied up with auto major
  Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd to exclusively launch the latter’s newest SUV-
  KUV100. Consumers can book the SUV on Flipkart from January 18th, 2016.
• Flipkart launched Automobiles as a category last month with
  a vision to change the way vehicles are bought in India. The association with
  Mahindra is another step in that direction.
• The two entities have come together to deliver superior
  customer experience with assured in-a-month delivery. Flipkart currently also
  offers a wide range of automotive accessories as part of its endeavour to
  become a destination for all automotive needs.
• Mahindra’s KUV100 (pronounced as KUV ‘1 double Oh’), has
  been conceptualized and developed with the aim of creating an entirely new
  category. It is a compact SUV.

• The World Bank on 14 January 2016 released a report titled
  World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends in Washington DC, the USA.
• The report explored the impact of the internet, mobile
  phones, and related technologies on economic development across the world
  including India.
• Further, it concluded that potential gains from digital
  technologies are high, but often remain unrealized and proposed policies to expand
  connectivity, accelerate complementary reforms in sectors beyond information
  and communication technology (ICT), and address global coordination problems.
• In relation to India, the authors of the report that
  included Kaushik Basu, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of World Bank
  appreciated the Aadhaar scheme as it saved 1 billion US dollars by bringing
  down corruption.

• The Mining, Geological and Metallurgical Institute of India
  (MGMI) has announced that the 6th Asian Mining Congress and Mining Exhibition,
  a biennial event since 2006, would be organised in Kolkata from 23-27 February.
• The theme for the congress is “Resurgence of Mineral
  Industry in Asia”.
• The Congress will provide forum for promotion and support of
  techno-scientific cooperation towards national and international progress in
  mineral production.
• MGMI expected that over 800 delegates from India and countries
  like Australia, Poland, Germany, USA, UK, Russia, Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia
  would participate in the congress.

• India on 15 January 2016 celebrated the 68th Army Day.
  Annually, the day is celebrated to commemorate the day, when Lieutenant General
  (later Field Marshal) K M Cariappa became the first Commander-in-Chief of the
  Indian Army in post independence period.
• He took over the command of Army from General Sir FRR
  Bucher, the last British Commander-in-Chief on 15 January 1949.
• To mark the occasion, General Dalbir Singh, Chief of the
  Army Staff reviewed the Parade at Army Parade Ground, Delhi Cantonment.

• Dr Jancy James, the first woman Vice Chancellor of Kerala,
  was on 15 January 2016 selected for the Prof MV Pylee Award for the
  Distinguished Academician of India.
• The award was instituted by Cochin University of Science and
  Technology in the name of MV Pylee. He is an Indian scholar, educationist and
  management guru and widely regarded as the father of management education in
  Kerala.
• The award is given for excellence in teaching and research
  and contribution to academic community. It carries an amount of 1 lakh rupees
  and a citation.

• Easterine Kire, a poet, novelist and children’s writer from
  Nagaland won The Hindu Prize, 2015. Ms. Kire won for her novel ‘When the River
  Sleeps’, a book about a lone hunter seeking a heart stone in a faraway sleeping
  river and fighting all odds to get it.
• Ms. Kire, had earlier read out an excerpt from her novel,
  describing a scene in which the protagonist and another man escape from a river
  with the spirits of widow women chasing after them with spears and curses. She
  described the book as an exploration of the Naga spirit universe.
• The award was given away by author Alexander McCall Smith on
  Saturday afternoon at the ongoing Lit for Life event organised by The Hindu at
  Sri Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall, Chetpet. The Fest, which began on
  Friday, will conclude on Sunday.

• Ms Tsai, 59, leads the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
  that wants independence from China.
• In her victory speech, she vowed to preserve the status quo
  in relations with China, adding Beijing must respect Taiwan’s democracy and
  both sides must ensure there are no provocations.
• China sees the island as a breakaway province – which it has
  threatened to take back by force if necessary.
• In her speech, Ms Tsai hailed a “new era” in
  Taiwan and pledged to co-operate with other political parties on major issues.
• The will of the Taiwanese people would be the basis for
  relations with China, Ms Tsai said.

Regards

Team ExamPundit

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