Current Affairs Update – 26th – 27th January, 2016

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 26th and 27th January, 2016. These are important for the upcoming LIC AAO 2016 Exam.

• The Reserve Bank plans to procure
  an Audit Management and Risk Monitoring System (AMRMS) for the central bank
  from five “potential shortlisted” solution providers, including PwC
  and Quadrant 4 Software Solutions.
• The RBI said it has decided to
  implement AMRMS to carry out various audit and risk monitoring related
  activities efficiently in a seamlessly integrated fashion, thereby replacing
  the existing system which is partially computerised.
• The AMRMS will be a comprehensive
  package to facilitate Internal Audit and Risk Monitoring functions of the
  central bank.
• AMRMS should also enable
  achieving the objective of paperless office environment, it added.
• The five short-listed bidders
  based on Expression of Interest (EOI) evaluation are: Auditime Information Systems
  Pvt Ltd, Mumbai; NCSSoft Solutions Pvt Ltd, Chennai; PWC Pvt Ltd, Mumbai;
  Quadrant 4 Software Solutions Pvt Ltd, Chennai; and Thomson Reuters Pvt Ltd
  Mumbai.
• The envisioned AMRMS, the RFP
  should be capable of providing an end-to-end solution from audit planning to
  final closure of the report.

• India and Armenia on Wednesday
  signed a protocol to amend the existing Double Taxation Avoidance Convention
  between the two countries.
• It will enable the two countries
  to exchange information related to financial and banking transactions under the
  pact and help in preventing tax evasion.
• It is also expected to further
  strengthen the efforts of Government of India in curbing generation of black
  money.
• The original Double Taxation
  Avoidance Convention between India and Armenia has been in existence since
  September, 2004.

• Chhattisgarh government would
  invest Rs 60,000 on developing infrastructure projects in the state in next
  three years under the ‘Sampark Kranti’ programme.
• Under the programme, the state
  would build roads, rail lines besides expansion of electrification and
  communication network in the areas that had not seen much development.
• The investment of Rs 60,000 crore
  on the execution of the programme would be from public and private sectors,
  Singh said, adding that the state would have 10,000 kilometres of roads in next
  three years that would be built with an investment of Rs 35,000 crore.

• Rajasthan has become the third state
  to sign a memorandum of understanding for joining the central government’s
  state electricity distribution utility revival scheme.
• The MoU was signed between the
  central government, Rajasthan government and the three electricity distribution
  utilities in Rajasthan – Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd, Jodhpur Vidyut Vitran
  Nigam Ltd and Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd.
• Under the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance
  Yojana (UDAY) scheme, the Rajasthan government will take over ₹ 60,500 crore of the debt on
  the books of the electricity distribution utilities. The remaining ₹ 20,000 crore will be issued
  as state guaranteed DISCOM bonds at coupon rates of around 3 per cent lower
  than the average existing interest rate.

• US-based Cognizant on Wednesday
  said it has acquired KBACE Technologies, a global consulting and technology
  services company for an undisclosed amount.
• The terms of the deal was also
  not disclosed by the company.
• KBACE Technologies specializes in
  cloud strategy, implementation and integration and is a leading Oracle Cloud
  partner.
• The Nashua, New Hampshire-based
  firm has around 400 KBACE consultants and implementation experts across
  industry and business functions and will become part of Cognizant after the
  completion of the deal.
•  US-based Cognizant has a significant presence
  in India, including majority of its workforce is based in India.

• Around 140 inmates of the central
  prison here were given State Bank of India (SBI) ATM cards today for use inside
  the premises, with plans to extend the service to all 800 prisoners of the
  facility.
• The cards were given to select
  inmates by Maharashtra Additional Director General of Police (Prisons), Bhushan
  Kumar Upadhyaya and the SBI Deputy General Manager, Nagpur Zone, B Shankar in
  the presence of Jail Superintendent Yogesh Desai and Assistant GM, SBI, Nagpur
  Zone, Rakesh Sinha.
• Upadhyaya said over 10,000
  inmates in nine central prisons across Maharashtra will be extended the
  facility.
• Nagpur has been chosen as a pilot
  project, he said.
• Any prisoner can spend up to Rs
  2,500 per month. Their relatives can also deposit in their respective saving
  bank accounts up to Rs 2,500 which is the monthly upper limit for inmates, he
  said.

• Republic Day 2016 was celebrated
  on 26 January 2016 across the nation. This was the 67th Republic Day of India.
  President of France Francois Hollande was the Chief Guest at 67th Republic Day
  parade.
• First Republic Day was celebrated
  on 26 January 1950 when India became a Republic with Constitution of India
  coming into force on this day replacing the Government of India Act (1935) as
  the governing document of India.

• For the first time since 1950, a
  foreign army contingent marched down the Rajpath during the Republic Day
  parade. The 76-member French Army contingent was the participant of the parade.
• The parade witnessed
  participation of some of India’s most highly trained dogs from the army’s
  Veterinary Corps, after 26 years.
• The celebration was curtailed by
  25 minute. The duration was brought down to 90 minutes from 115 minutes, but
  the format will remain the same.
• For the first time, an all-women
  stunt contingent named ‘Women Daredevils CRPF’ comprising of 120 soldiers will
  performed stunts on bikes. Apart from this women officers were also 2nd in
  command to the contingents of Air Force, Coast Guard and Navy.
• For the first time, the tableau
  of ex-servicemen of Army veterans was also showcased in the parade. 
• The VVIP enclosure had a
  motorised glass roof so as to protect them from rain and cold weather, as in
  2015 Chief guest Barack Obama and Michelle Obama held umbrellas to protect
  themselves from the drizzle at the Republic Day parade event.

• The International Customs Day
  2016 was observed across the world on 26 January 2016. The day is organised in
  commemoration of formation of World Customs Organisation (WCO) on 26 January
  1953.
• On 26 January every year, the
  Customs administrations of 179 Member States of the World Customs Organisation
  organize various national events to celebrate the first session of the Customs
  Co-operation Council. On its part, the WCO Secretariat chooses a topic for the
  International Customs Day.
• The WCO is dedicating 2016 to
  promoting the digitalization of Customs process under the slogan Digital
  Customs: Progressive Engagement.
• The World Customs Organization is
  an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

• India and France on 25 January
  2016 inked 14 Agreements/MoUs in Delhi. The agreements including MoU on
  purchase of 36 Rafale Aircrafts were signed during the State Visit of President
  Francois Hollande of France to India.
• Hollande was the Chief Guest at
  the 67th India’s Republic Day (26 January 2016) celebrations. He was the fifth
  French leader to be a chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations, maximum
  number from any country so far.

1. MoU on purchase of 36 Rafale
   Aircrafts
2. Indian Space Research
   Organisation (ISRO) and Centre National D’études Spatiales (CNES)
   Implementation Arrangement on hosting Argos-4 Payload onboard India’s
   Oceansat-3 satellite
3. ISRO and CNES Implementation
   Arrangement on a future joint Thermal Infrared earth observation mission
4. Letter of Intent on CNES, France
   participation in ISRO’s next Mars Mission
5. Shareholding Agreement on JV
   between Alstom and Indian Railways for production of 800 electric locomotives
   in Madhepura Bihar
6. Agreement between Indian Railways
   and SNCF, French Railways for joint feasibility study for the renovation of
   Ludhiana and Ambala railway stations
7. MOU between Food Safety &
   Standards Authority of India and Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de
   l’alimentation (ANSES) in food safety
8. Partnership Agreement on
   Cooperation in Public Administration between Ministry of Personnel & Public
   Grievances and French
9. Declaration of Intent for
   conducting next round of Namaste France (Indian festival) in 2016 and Bonjour
   India (French festival) 2017
10. Cultural Exchange Programme for
    the period 2016-2018
11. Arrangement for establishment of
    an Indo- French Ministerial level Joint Committee on Science & Technology
12. MoU for Industry Sponsored PhD
    Fellowship between IIT Mumbai and Thales Systemes Aeroportes
13. Cooperation Agreement between
    IISER, Pune and ENS de Lyon (France) for joint research, teaching, exchange of
    personnel etc.
14. Agreement of Cooperation between
    CNRS, TB, UBO, UBS, ENSTA Bretagne, ENIB (French Universities) and IIT Mumbai
    in the field of Higher Education & Research.

• President Pranab Mukherjee on 26
  January 2016 approved the Union Cabinet’s recommendation for the imposition of
  President’s rule on Arunachal Pradesh.
• He gave the assent after hosting
  the traditional ‘At Home’ or reception at Rastrapati Bhavan for French
  President Francois Hollande as part of the Republic Day celebrations.
• The Union Cabinet approved the
  imposition of President Rule on the state after expiration of six month
  deadline under which the Assembly was supposed to meet. The six month deadline
  for the meet expired on 21 January 2016.

• Tata Trusts collaborates with
  MassachusettsInstitute of Technology (MIT) and Tata Institute of Social
  Sciences (TISS) to improve learning at secondary school level.
• The collaboration called
  Connected Learning Initiative (CLIx) plans to reach 1,65,000 students across
  1,000 schools in four states: Mizoram, Telangana, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh
  by 2018-19.
• This will offer content in both
  English and in regional languages, starting with Hindi and Telugu.
• It will offer curriculum in
  English, science, mathematics, and professional values.
• An additional major focus will be
  professional development for roughly 4,400 teachers in the four states.

• The Scheduled Castes and the
  Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 came into force
  on 26 January 2016. The act was made to ensure more stringent provisions for
  prevention of Atrocities against Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
• The act came into force after the
  Lok Sabha passed this amendment bill on 4 August 2015 while the upper house
  Rajya Sabha gave its nod on 21 December, 2015. And the final ass ent by the
  President came on 31 December 2015.
• The bill was provided to make
  amendments in the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of
  Atrocities) Act, 1989, the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes
  (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015.

• President Pranab Mukherjee, on 26
  January 2016, awarded India’s highest peacetime gallantry award Ashoka Chakra,
  posthumously to Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami of 9 Para (Special Forces) of the
  Rashtriya Rifles.
• He exhibited the most outstanding
  gallantry in personally killing two terrorists and also assisted in
  neutralizing another two and saved the lives of three of his wounded colleagues
  in a fierce encounter with four terrorists at Kupwara district of Jammu and
  Kashmir.
• Ashok Chakra is the highest Indian
  peacetime gallantry award which was constituted on similar lines of the British
  Awards of the George Cross.

• Veteran Bollywood actress Rekha
  on 25 January 2016 was honoured with the third Yash Chopra Memorial Award in
  Mumbai.
• Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar
  Rao presented the award to the actress in recognition of her talent and
  contribution to the film industry.

• Cottalango Leon, a person of
  Indian origin, was on 22 January 2016 selected for the 2016 Technical
  Achievement Award of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
• Leon won the award under the
  Scientific and Technical Achievements category for the design, engineering and
  continuous development of Sony Pictures Imageworks Itview along with his two
  team members J Robert Ray and Sam Richards. It is a tool used only within Sony
  Imageworks.

• Three Indian-origin persons have
  been awarded Australia’s highest civilian honour for their contribution in the
  fields of physics, engineering and medicine.
• Chennupati Jagadish, an eminent
  professor at Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, Jay Chandra, an
  eye doctor in New South Wales, and Sajeev Koshy, a dentist in Melbourne,
  received Order of Australia medal for the year 2016 announced on the Australia
  Day.
• Jagadish was conferred with the
  award for his eminent service to physics and engineering, particularly in the
  field of nanotechnology, to education as a leading academic, researcher, author
  and mentor, and through executive roles with national and international scientific
  advisory institutions.
• Jagadish was appointed a
  Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for eminent service to physics and
  engineering, particularly in the field of nanotechnology, to education as a
  leading academic, researcher, author and mentor, and through executive roles with
  national and international scientific advisory institutions.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi
  along with the President of France François Hollande, on 25 January 2016 laid
  the foundation stone of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) headquarters in
  National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) in Gwalpahari, Gurgaon.
• They also inaugurated the interim
  Secretariat of the ISA at the same place.
• India dedicated 5 acre land at
  NISE to ISA for hosting its Secretariat and also contributed 175 crore rupees
  for ISA corpus fund for an initial period of five years. Thereafter it is
  expected to generate its own resources and become self-financing.
• It was jointly launched in Paris by
  India and France on 30 November 2015 during the United Nations climate change
  conference (COP21).
• It is the India’s first
  international and inter-governmental organization of 121 Countries to have
  headquarters in India with United Nations as Strategic Partner.

• Danish Parliament, Folketing, on
  26 January 2016 voted on a proposal to confiscate asylum seekers’ personal
  possessions in order to pay their upkeep.
• The minority Liberal Party
  government’s bill was adopted by 81 votes to 27, with the support of the
  opposition Social Democrats and the anti-immigration Danish People’s Party
  (DPP). One politician abstained and 70 others were absent.
• The policy says that the police
  will be able to seize valuables worth more than 1340 euros (10000 kroner or
  1000 Pound) from refugees to cover housing and food costs. MPs also approved
  plans to delay family reunions for asylum seekers.

• Transparency International on 27
  January 2016 released the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2015. The Index
  measured the perceived levels of public sector corruption in 168 countries and
  territories across the world.
• The CPI 2015 showed that although
  corruption is still rife globally, more countries improved their scores in the
  edition than declined. The index further suggested that people working together
  can succeed in the battle against corruption.
• While Denmark, with rank 1, was
  adjudged as the most corruption-free country among the surveyed countries,
  India was placed at the 76th place with 38 points. India was at the 85th
  position among the 175 countries surveyed in the CPI 2014.

• The West Indies batsman
  Shivnarine Chanderpaul on 22 January 2016 announced his retirement from
  international cricket almost 22 years after making his debut.
• Chanderpaul had not played for
  West Indies since May 2015. The West Indies selectors dropped him after a weak
  performance during the three-Test series at home against England.

• The International Hockey
  Federation (FIH) on 26 January 2016 announced the winners of its Hockey Stars
  awards for 2015.
• The Netherlands’ Robert Van der
  Horst and Lidewij Welten won the men’s and women’s FIH Player of the Year
  awards, respectively, for their performances in 2015.

• Marvin Minsky, the pioneer of
  artificial intelligence, died on 24 January 2016 at Boston’s Brigham and
  Women’s Hospital due to cerebral hemorrhage. The mathematician and the computer
  scientist died at the age of 88.
• Minsky, a professor emeritus at
  the MIT Media Lab, helped in work that helped inspired the creation of the
  personal computer and the Internet.

• Actor Abe Vigoda, known for his
  work in The Godfather and on the television series Barney Miller, passed away
  on 26 January 2016 in New Jersey following natural causes. He was 94.
• He was best known for his roles
  as mobster Tessio in the movie The Godfather.

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