DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 9 JAN 2018

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 9 JAN 2018
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)
SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.      GOVT PROPOSES ROLLING OUT E-SANSAD, E-VIDHAN IN PARLIAMENT & STATE LEGISLATURES
i. 18th All India Whips’ Conference began in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The 2-day conference was inaugurated by Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Chemicals & Fertilizers, Ananth kumar.
ii. Among other things, rolling out of e-Sansad and e-Vidhan in Parliament and State Legislatures will also be considered during the course of the conference. e-Sansad and e-Vidhan are Government of India’s projects under Digital India, aimed at making the functioning of Parliament and State Legislatures paperless.
iii .Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs is the Nodal Ministry for implementation of e-Sansad and e-Vidhan projects. These projects would not only make the functioning of Parliament and State Legislatures participative, transparent, responsive, productive and more accountable but will also promote Government of India’s  ‘Go Green’ initiative.

2.      INDIAN NAVY SIGNS MOU WITH COCHIN PORT TRUST
i. The Indian Navy has inked an MoU with the Cochin Port Trust, Kerala towards leasing of 228 metres of berths at Mattancherry Wharf for a period of five years.
ii. The MoU has been concluded to cater for the futuristic requirements of the Navy with the sizeable increase in its fleet scheduled in the near future. This is the first time such an agreement has been signed between the Navy and CPT.

3.      BSES LAUNCHES ROOFTOP SOLAR SINGLE-POINT FOR APARTMENT COMPLEXES
i. BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd launched “Solar City Initiative”, aimed to maximise rooftop solar power use in south and west Delhi. Under this initiative, rooftop solar installations will be provided at a single point for the entire apartment complex unlike conventional method of having individual installations.
ii. This initiative has been launched in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development PACE-D and Indo-German Collaboration. Around 150 residential societies will be targeted in the first phase.
iii .From cosumers’ perspective, these installation may lead to monthly saving on bills of about Rs 750 for a period of 25 years


4.      PM NARENDRA MODI ATTENDS ANNUAL DGP CONFERENCE AT BSF ACADEMY IN TEKANPUR
i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took part in the Annual Conference of DGPs and IGPs at the BSF Academy in Tekanpur, Madhya Pradesh.
ii. The DGPs Conference is conducted annually. It has participation from top police officials from all over India. They discuss issues related to security matters. This Annual DGP Conference is held outside the national capital in line with Prime Minister’s vision to conduct such conferences all over India, not restricted only to Delhi.

5.      GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS 2018: THE COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS
i. The 75th Golden Globe Award ceremony was held in Los Angeles, the USA. “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” dominated the 2018 Golden Globes, taking home 4 statues, including best drama, best screenplay, and acting awards for Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell in the drama category. Seth Meyers hosted the star-studded show.
ii. Here is the Complete List of Winners of Golden Globe Awards 2018- Best director, motion picture: Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water”, Best performance by an actress in a motion picture, drama: Frances McDormand, Best motion picture, drama: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
iii. Best motion picture, musical or comedy: Lady Bird, Best performance by an actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy: James Franco, Best performance by an actor in a motion picture, drama: Gary Oldman, Best television series, drama: The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu.
iv. Best performance by an actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy: Saoirse Ronan, Best motion picture, animated: Coco, Best motion picture, foreign language: In the Fade. Best performance by an actress in a television series, drama: Elisabeth Moss and Best performance by an actor in a television series, drama: Sterling K. Brown.

6.      WORLD’S LARGEST ICE FESTIVAL CELEBRATED IN CHINA
i. 34th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival, world’s largest ice festival opened in Harbin (north-east China). The festival will continue through late February.
ii. This year’s highlights are the ice sculptures of castles, historic landmarks and famous figures, including Moscow’s Red Square, Bangkok’s Temple of the Emerald Buddha and Beijing’s Temple of Heaven.
iii .In 2017, the ice festival had eighteen million visitors despite -30 degrees temperature. It fetched 28.7 billion yuan tourism revenue for Harbin.

7.      AIIB PLANS TO ISSUE FIRST US DOLLAR BONDS IN JUNE 2018
i. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is planning to issue its first US dollar-denominated bond by June 2018. Soren Elbech, Treasurer of AIIB has stated that the minimum size of the issuance will be one billion dollars.
ii. Maturity of these bonds will be between 3 and 5 years depending on investor demand. On account of its strong capital base and stable outlook, AIIB has received three top-notch ratings from the global credit rating agencies, S&P Global Ratings, Fitch and Moody’s.
iii. China is the largest shareholder in AIIB holding 26.06 per cent voting shares followed by India with 7.5 per share. Energy, power generation, transport and rural infrastructure are AIIB’s priority areas of investment.

8.      GILLES SIMON WINS INAUGURAL TATA OPEN TITLE
i. Gilles Simon of France has lifted the inaugural Tata Open Maharashtra Tennis trophy. In the summit clash in Pune, the unseeded French player defeated second-seeded Kevin Anderson in straight sets.

9.      SPORTS MINISTER RATHORE LAUNCHES 'KHELO INDIA' LOGO
i. The vibrant Khelo India logo, reflecting the freshness, agility and vitality of New India was launched at a ceremony by the Union Minister of  State ( I/C) Youth Affairs and Sports Rajyavardhan Rathore in New Delhi.
ii. The logo also conveys an impression of fitness and competitiveness. The three-stroke Khelo India logo, designed by Ogilvy India, has in-built modularity, allowing plenty of adaptability and flexibility into endless pictorial forms.

10.  ELINA SVITOLINA WINS BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL
i. Elina Svitolina secured her first WTA title in Australia with a straight-sets victory in the Brisbane International final. Svitolina beat Belarusian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
ii. Nick Kyrgios moved a step closer to claiming his first ATP title on home soil with a semifinal win over defending champion, Grigor Dimitrov. He will face American Ryan Harrison in finals.

11.  NASA'S ASTRONAUT JOHN YOUNG PASSES AWAY
i. Legendary astronaut John Young, who walked on the Moon and later commanded the first space shuttle flight, has died at 87.
ii. Young was the only agency astronaut to go into space as part of the Gemini, Apollo and space shuttle programs and the first to fly into space six times. He was the ninth man to walk on the Moon.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1.  WHICH INTERNATIONAL BANK IS PLANNING TO ISSUE ITS FIRST US DOLLAR-DENOMINATED BOND BY JUNE 2018?
a)  Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
b)  Asian Development Bank
c)  International Monetary Fund
d)  World Bank
Q2. INDIAN NAVY HAS SIGNED A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH WHICH PORT TRUST, FOR INCREASING THE BERTHING CAPACITY OF NAVAL SHIPS IN THE PORT?
a)  Vishakapatnam Port Trust
b)  Tuticorin Port Trust
c)  Cochin Port Trust
d)  Kolkata Port Trust
Q3. WHICH INDIAN CITY HOSTED THE 18TH ALL INDIA WHIPS’ CONFERENCE 2018?
a)  Thrissur, Kerala
b)  Chennai, Tamil Nadu
c)  Kolkata, West Bengal
d)  Udaipur, Rajasthan
Q4. IN WHICH COUNTRY, THE 34TH HARBIN INTERNATIONAL ICE AND SNOW FESTIVAL, WORLD’S LARGEST ICE FESTIVAL WAS CELEBRATED?
a)  China
b)  Finland
c)  Norway
d)  Iceland
Q5. WHICH STATE HOSTED THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF DGPS AND IGPS AT THE BSF ACADEMY?
a)  Jharkhand
b)  Assam
c)  Madhya Pradesh
d)  Odisha

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