Current Affairs 12 January 2018 1. Ministry of Railway launches SFOORTI Application In a major digital initiative to help plan the traffic flows and optimize freight operations, Ministry of Railways have launched Smart Freight Operation Optimisation & Real Time Information (SFOORTI) Application for Freight Managers which provides features for monitoring and managing freight business using Geographic Information System (GIS) Views and Dashboard. Salient features of SFOORTI Application are as below: 1. With this application, movement of freight trains on Geographic Information System (GIS) view can be tracked. 2. Both passenger and freight trains can be tracked over Zones/Divisions/ Sections in single GIS View. 3. Freight business can be monitored. 4. Comparative Analysis of Zonal/Divisional Traffic. 5. Analysis of new traffic captured and traffic lost. 6. This app provides a Bird’s eye view of all Freight Assets in a single window. 7. Provides end to end Rake movement on Geospatial view 8. Expected Traffic at Interchange points to evaluate daily performance can be viewed. 9. Performance of each zone and divisions with respect to loading and utilization of freight assets can be viewed. 10. Sectional performance monitoring for sections, divisions and zones shall help in traffic routing.
2. National Youth Day – 12 January ● National Youth Day is celebrated in India when there was a Birthday of the Swami Vivekananda. ● The government has declared National Youth Day from the day of Swami Vivekananda's Birthday and the day is Celebrated as National Youth Day. It is celebrated on the 12th January.
● ●
It is celebrated to create a great awareness amongst the people of India to get them every knowledge about the Importance of the Rite in India. The theme of National Youth Day 2018 – ‘Sankalp Se Siddhi’.
Important point: ➢ In 1984 the Government of India declared the day as the National Youth Day and since 1985 the event is celebrated in India every year.
3. Harjinder Singh appointed as the Chef de Mission for Winter Olympics ● The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) appointed Harjinder Singh as the Chef De Mission for the 23rd Winter Olympic Games to be held in Pyeongchang. ● Singh currently holds the post of General Secretary in the Ice Hockey Association of India. ● On behalf of the IOA, I am pleased to inform that Harjinder Singh has been appointed as a Chef de Mission of Indian Contingent participating in the Winter Olympics. Important points: Winter Olympics 2018 ➢ Location: Pyeongchang County, South Korea ➢ Host city: Pyeongchang, South Korea ➢ Dates: 9 Feb 2018 – 25 Feb 2018 ➢ Opening ceremony: 9 February ➢ Closing ceremony: 25 February ➢ Stadium: Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium 4. Indian-origin businessman appointed as the WBCSD Chairman ● Singapore-based Indian-origin businessman Sunny Verghese has been appointed as the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Chairman of the Geneva. ● Verghese, 57, Co-Founder and the CEO of Singapore’s agri-business group Olam
International Limited, is the first World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Chair from the agri-sector. ●
He succeeded Paul Polman, the CEO of Unilever, on January 1 and will serve a two-year term.
5. Jeff Bezos has become the richest man in the history ● Jeff Bezos has become the richest man in the history, overtaking the wealth Bill Gates ever had to his name. ● The Bloomberg Billionaires Index showed that Bezos’ net worth had hit USD 105.1 billion. It is USD 106 billion currently. ● According to Forbes’ tracker, Bezos has accumulated USD 104.4 billion as net worth. ●
Most of Bezos’ wealth comes from his 78.9 million shares of Amazon stock, shares of Amazon had risen by 1.4 percent, adding USD 1.4 billion to his net worth.
Important Points: Amazon ➢ Founder: Jeff Bezos ➢ Founded: 5 July 1994, Seattle, Washington, United States ➢ Headquarters: Seattle, Washington, United States
6. ISRO successfully launches 100th satellite Cartosat-2 into orbit ● The Indian Space and Research Organization (ISRO) launched the 100th satellite Cartosat-2 into orbit. ● The Cartosat-2 series satellite took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. It is a follow-on mission with the prime objective of providing high-resolution scene-specific spot imagery. ●
The 100th mission is the 42nd flight of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C40).
●
It is carrying the 710 kg Cartosat-2 series satellite which consists of special panchromatic and multi-spectral cameras operating in time delay integration mode to deliver high-resolution data.
Important Points: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) ➢ Headquarters: Bengaluru ➢ Founder: Vikram Sarabhai ➢ Founded: 15 August 1969 ➢ Director: A. S. Kiran Kumar
7. SEBI ban to spell trouble for Price Waterhouse business in India ● The Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) two-year ban to spell trouble for Price Waterhouse business in India and is also a signal for the auditing profession to pull its socks up. ● Price Waterhouse, the auditing arm of consultancy firm PwC India, is the auditor for 77 companies listed on National Stock Exchange of India. Important Points: Securities and Exchange Board of India(SEBI) ➢ Chairperson: Ajay Tyagi ➢ Headquarters: Mumbai ➢ Founded: 12 April 1992
8. India tops domestic air passenger traffic demand at 16.4% ● India’s domestic air passenger traffic grew by 16.4 percent in November 2017, topping the growth chart worldwide, global aviation body, the International Air Transport Association. ● Globally, the total revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) increased 8 percent compared
to November 2016, the fastest growth rate in five months.
●
The available seat kilometres (ASKs) or capacity grew by 6.3 percent.
●
The ASK for India was at 10.4 percent, second only to China where capacity grew by 12.9 percent, according to the IATA’s monthly data.
Important points: International Air Transport Association (IATA) ➢ Headquarters: Montreal, Canada ➢ CEO: Alexandre de Juniac ➢ Founded: 19 April 1945, Havana, Cuba