Current Affairs 24 January 2018 1. FICCI appoints Dilip Chenoy as Director General ● Industry Chamber FICCI has appointed Dilip Chenoy as its Director General. ● Chenoy had been the Managing Director and CEO of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Director General (DG) of SIAM and Deputy DG of CII. ● He had resigned from NSDC in late 2015 amid reports that the government was unhappy with the functioning of the skills development body. He was appointed by the previous Congress-led UPA government. Important points: FICCI – Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry ➢ Founded: 1927 ➢ Headquarters: New Delhi, India ➢ Founders: Ghanshyam Das Birla, Purushottam das Thakurdas
2. Andhra Pradesh-Zurich sign sister state agreement ● The Andhra Pradesh Government and the Canton of Zurich signed a letter of intent, to promote mutual prosperity and development. ● The agreement was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu by Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu and Government Counselor Minister Carmen Walker Spah for sister state relation. ● This will bring the State of Andhra Pradesh and Canton of Zurich closer and ensure that a framework is created, which supports the exchange between both the parties.
3. Shah Rukh Khan honoured with Crystal Award at World Economic Forum ● Superstar Shah Rukh Khan was honoured with 24th Crystal Award at World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
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Shah Rukh Khan received the 24th Crystal Award for “his leadership in championing children’s and women’s rights in India”.
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Shahrukh received the award alongside Elton John and Hollywood actress Cate Blanchett.
4. AYUSH Minister lays foundation stone for Homeopathy Research Institute in Jaipur ● The Minister of State (IC), for AYUSH, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik laid the foundation stone for Central Research Institute (CRI) in Jaipur. ● This will be the third CRI under the aegis of Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH). ● In his address during the stone laying ceremony, Sh. Naik stated that Ministry of AYUSH is determined towards a focused infrastructural push to Homoeopathy and other systems of AYUSH. ●
The institute is also contributing to the Swasthya Rakshan Program at five adopted villages i.e. Chharsa, Kumbhawas, Sakatpura, Khoraladkhani, Hanutpura.
5. Lifter Rakhi Halder creates new national record ● Rakhi Halder of RSPB created a new national record in clean and jerk en route to a gold medal in the 63kg women’s category in the 33rd Women Senior National Weightlifting Championships in Mangalore. ● Rakhi lifted 128 kgs in the clean and jerk for a total of 230 kgs to create a new national record, bettering Karnam Malleswari’s feat (127 kg) created in Athens in 1999. ●
The silver in this category went to S Thasana Chanu of Karnataka (202kg) while the bronze was clinched by AIPSCB’s Amandeep Kaur (191kg).
6. NIIF makes first investment, partners with DP World ● National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) makes its first investment; NIIF has partnered with DP World to create an investment
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platform for ports, terminals, transportation and logistics businesses in India. The first close of the NIIF Master Fund took place on October 2017 with contributions from a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and four Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), viz., HDFC Group, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Life and Axis Bank.
7. India to host 16th International Energy Forum meet ● The 16th International Energy Forum (IEF) Ministerial meeting will be held in New Delhi in April 2018. ● Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan, the meeting will be held on April 2018, which will be hosted by Government of India in New Delhi and co-hosted by the Government of China and South Korea. ● Representatives from 92 countries will be participating in the conference, including 72 member countries of IEF and 20 guest countries.
8. 7th Asia Steel International Conference held in Bhubaneswar ● The 7th Asia Steel International Conference will be held in Bhubaneswar in February 2018. ● This major conference is held every three years and provides a platform for the exchange of knowledge on various aspects of the global steel industry. ● Around 70 keynote speakers, half of them from overseas countries such as China, Korea, Japan, the Netherlands, the UK, the US, Germany, Belgium, Canada, etc. Will address the conference. ●
The last Asia Steel conference was held in 2015 at Yokohama, Japan.