DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 18 JAN 2018

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 18 JAN 2018

(DAILY NEWS INDIA)

SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.      INDIA ATTENDS ITS 1ST SCO MILITARY COOPERATION MEETING IN BEIJING

i. India, for the first time, took part in a two-day meeting of the international military cooperation departments of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Beijing, China. An Indian delegation was led by Major General Ajay Seth.

ii. This is the 1st meeting attended by India in the field of defence cooperation under the SCO framework.

2.      ISRAEL PM ADDRESSES INDIA-ISRAEL BUSINESS SUMMIT IN MUMBAI

i. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu visited Mumbai during the final leg of his visit to India. Mr Netanyahu addressed the India-Israel Business Summit at the iconic Taj Mahal hotel in south Mumbai.

ii. Later in the day, Mr Netanyahu attended the ‘Shalom Bollywood’ event at the Taj hotel. A monthly magazine titled ‘Namaste Shalom’ will also be launched to mark Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Mumbai visit.

3.      ODISHA CM LAUNCHES 'MUKHYAMANTRI KALAKAR SAHAYATA YOJANA'

i. Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik has launched the ‘Mukhyamantri Kalakar Sahayata Jojana’– an assistance scheme for Artists in the state. Around 50,000 artists will be benefited from this. The government has decided to give Rs 1,200 per month as artist assistance.

ii. The CM confirmed that the government has also changed the eligibility criteria for availing MMKSJ. Under the new scheme, a male artist can avail assistance after attaining the age of 50 years instead of the existing 60 years. The age criteria for female artists have been reduced to 40 years from 50 years.

4.      PM MODI, NETANYAHU INAUGURATES 'ICREATE CENTRE' IN AHMEDABAD

i. PM Narendra Modi and PM Benjamin Netanyahu inaugurated the 'iCreate Centre' at Deo Dholera in Ahmedabad. iCreate paves way for the two nations to jointly script new stories of success through innovation.

ii. The two leaders also visited the startup exhibition at the venue and interacted with entrepreneurs and innovators.

5.      MOS RK SINGH ATTENDS ISA FORUM IN ABU DHABI

i. Minister of State (I/C) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Raj Kumar Singh delivered the keynote address at the ministerial plenary session of the International Solar Alliance at Abu Dhabi, UAE.

ii. A key development area for ISA Member Countries is solar capacity building. The International Solar Alliance is a treaty-based international inter-governmental alliance of 121 solar resource-rich countries or the sunshine countries lying fully or partially between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.

6.      ELECTION DATES IN TRIPURA, MEGHALAYA AND NAGALAND DECLARED

i. The Election Commission of India, Achal Kumar Joti announced dates for elections to the Assemblies of Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland. The CEC announced the polling for legislative assembly elections in Tripura on 18 February, while Meghalaya and Nagaland will go to vote on 27 February.

ii. All the three states have 60 seats each in their assembly. The tenure of the Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland Assemblies expire on March 6, March 13 and March 14, 2018, respectively.

7.      INDIA TEST-FIRES NUCLEAR-CAPABLE ICBM AGNI-V

i. India test-fired its nuclear-capable Agni-V inter-continental ballistic missile, which has a strike range of over 5,000km.

ii. It was test fired successfully from Abdul Kalam island off the coast of the eastern state of Odisha. The ICBM can reach the northern-most parts of China.

8.      NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA AGREE TO JOINTLY MARCH UNDER UNIFICATION FLAG IN WINTER OLYMPICS

i. North and South Korea have agreed to march together under a single unified Korea flag at Winter Olympics in the South.

ii. These are the first high-level talks between the two Koreas in more than two years. The Games will take place in February 2018 in Pyeongchang in South Korea. 

9.      BANK OF BARODA PARTNERS WITH INVOICEMART AS A TREDS PARTNER

i. Digital invoice discounting marketplace - Invoicemart has tied up with state-run lender Bank of Baroda to discount invoices for MSMEs. Buyers and sellers registered in the marketplace will now be able to access funding from Bank of Baroda.

ii. Invoicemart is a joint venture between Axis Bank Ltd and junction services ltd. Bank of Baroda had recently announced that it was stepping up its focus on supply chain financing.

10.  VICE ADMIRAL A B SINGH TAKES OVER AS CHIEF OF STAFF WESTERN NAVAL COMMAND

i. Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh, took over as Chief of Staff, Western Naval Command from Vice Admiral Ravneet Singh.

ii. He was Promoted to Flag Rank in 2012. The Flag Officer was awarded Vishisht Seva Medal in 2011 and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2016 for his exemplary service to the nation.

11.  HDFC BANK BECOMES 1ST INDIAN BANK TO CROSS RS 5 TRILLION MARKET CAPITALISATION

i. India’s most-valued lender HDFC Bank Ltd crossed Rs5 trillion market capitalisation for the first time, making it only the third Indian company to achieve this milestone.

ii. In intraday trade, the stock touched a fresh record high of Rs1,53.75 on the BSE, up 3.31% from its previous close. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and Reliance Industries Ltd are the other two companies which crossed market capitalisation of Rs5 trillion.

12.  VIRAT KOHLI NAMED CAPTAIN OF ICC’S TEST AND ODI TEAMS OF THE YEAR

i. Virat Kohli was named the captain of the International Cricket Council Test and One-Day International teams of the year that included four other Indians as well.

ii. He surprisingly pipped Australian skipper Steve Smith for the ICC’s Test team captaincy. The Test team also comprises Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravichandran Ashwin. Kohli was chosen to lead the ICC ODI team, which includes Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah as the other two Indians.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU INAUGURATED THE 3RD EDITION OF THE GEO-POLITICAL CONFERENCE NAMED?

a)  Raisina Dialogue

b)  Po-Geo Conference

c)  Rekhine Conference

d)  Lo-Geo Dialogue

Q2. INDIA, FOR THE 1ST TIME, TOOK PART IN A TWO-DAY MEETING OF THE INTERNATIONAL MILITARY COOPERATION DEPARTMENTS OF THE SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANISATION IN BEIJING, CHINA. THE INDIAN DELEGATION WAS LED BY?

a)  Major General Kripal Shetty

b)  Major General Ajay Seth

c)  Major General Dalbir Singh Dhanoa

d)  Major General Shubham Sharma

Q3. WHO IS THE CHAIRMAN OF BANK OF BARODA?

a)  Malweyn Rego

b)  P.S.Jayakumar

c)  Ravi Venkatesan

d)  Mahesh Kumar Jain

Q4. ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU ADDRESSED THE INDIA-ISRAEL BUSINESS SUMMIT IN?

a)  Chennai

b)  Kochi

c)  New Delhi

d)  Mumbai

Q5. WHO IS THE PRESENT GOVERNOR OF ODISHA?

a)  Kesri Nath Tripathi

b)  SC Jamir

c)  ESL Narsimhan

d)  Banwari Lal Purohit

ANSWERS: 

1 - A    2 - B    3 - C    4 - D    5 - B