17th January Current Affairs 2018 1. Indian Oil in tie-ups with Israeli firms ● Indian Oil Corporation has signed letters of intent (LoI) with Phinergy, an Israeli start-up, and YEDA, a technology spin-off from Israel’s Weizmann Research Institute. ● The agreement with Phinergy allows Indian Oil to work on adoption of advanced energy systems for the domestic market for both mobility and stationary industrial applications. ●
The LoI signed with YEDA will allow research collaboration between both the organisations for developing solar to green fuel technologies through concentrated solar thermal route.
Important Points: Israeli ➢ Capital: Jerusalem ➢ Currency: Israeli new shekel ➢ Prime minister: Benjamin Netanyahu ➢ President: Reuven Rivlin
2. Narendra Modi inaugurates project commencement of Rajasthan Refinery ● Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates project commencement of Rajasthan Refinery at Pachpadra in Barmer district. ● This is the first oil refinery in the state. The 43,000 crore rupee project is a joint venture between HPCL and the Rajasthan government. ● The refinery is expected to be operational in 4 years and the state will have an additional income of 34,000 crore rupees from it. The project is expected to generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
Important Points: Rajasthan ➢ Capital: Jaipur ➢ Chief Minister: Vasundhara Raje ➢ Governor: Kalyan Singh
3. TCS Bags Over USD 690 Million Deal From M&G Prudential ● India’s largest IT services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has signed an over GBP 500 million (USD 690 million) deal with M&G Prudential, the UK and European savings and investments business of Prudential plc. ● Under the contract, TCS will digitally transform M&G Prudential’s business and deliver enhanced service for its UK savings and retirement customers. ● The value of this agreement exceeds GBP 500 million (USD 690 million) over 10 years and covers the support of over 4 million customer policies. Important Points: Tata Consultancy Services ➢ Founded: 1968 ➢ Headquarters: Mumbai ➢ Founders: F. C. Kohli, J. R. D. Tata
4. Ronaldinho retires from football ● Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldinho has formally confirmed his retirement from football, more than two years since his last appearance as a professional, reports in Brazil. ● The 37-year-old former Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona star, a key member of the Brazil side which won the World Cup in 2002, last played in 2015 during a brief stint with Fluminense. ●
Ronaldinho’s career began with Gremio in Porto Alegre, his hometown, before he emerged as a star with French giants PSG. He then spent five years with Barcelona between 2003 and 2008, helping the Catalans win the Champions League in 2006, after being awarded the Ballon D’Or in 2005.
5. DIPP arm launches competition for college students ● Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM), under the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP), has launched a competition for college and university students to foster a culture of innovation and creativity in the youth. ● The competition – IPrism – invites students to submit films on piracy and counterfeiting under two categories of 30 and 60 seconds. ●
Another category in the competition is a mobile gaming app on intellectual property (IP).
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Cash prizes of Rs 4 lakh will be given to the winning teams along with mementoes and certificates.
6. Exports rise more than 12% riding on engineering goods and petroleum products ● The Country’s exports grew by 12 points 36 percent in December 2017 to 27 point 03 billion US dollars on account of the strong performance by sectors like engineering goods and petroleum products. ● According to data released by Ministry of Commerce and Industry, exports have been on a positive trajectory since August 2016 to December 2017 with a dip of 1.1 percent in the month of October last year. ●
Exports of engineering goods as well as petroleum products showed an increase of over 25 percent in December.
7. Centre sanctions projects over Rs. 10,000 cr in North East for better network connectivity ● The Centre has sanctioned projects over 10,000 crore rupees in the North East for better network connectivity.
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2 MoUs have been signed to cover the uncovered areas in the North East including Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
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The Minister has been given to upgrade the network connection in border areas.
8. IWDRI-2018 concludes successfully; Shri Kiren Rijiju addresses participants ● The two-day International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (IWDRI) successfully concluded, setting the stage for taking the dialogue on resilient infrastructure forward at the global level. ● The Workshop was organised by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) jointly with United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). MoS (Home) Shri Kiren Rijiju delivered the Valedictory Address. ●
The workshop was inaugurated by the Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh.