Current Affairs 25 January 2018 1. S Somnath takes charge as Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre’s director ● ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) director S Somnath has taken charge as the new director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). ● The space centre is Indian Space Research Organisation’s lead centre for launch vehicles. Somnath took up the significant role at a function held in ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru. ● He succeeds K. Sivan, who was appointed as ISRO Chairman recently.
2. IOB, NHB tie up for rural housing interest subsidy scheme ● Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has signed a MoU with National Housing Bank (NHB) for the Rural Housing Interest Subsidy Scheme (RHISS) of the Ministry of Rural Development. ● The aim of the RHISS is to provide a subsidy for housing loans taken by those living in rural areas for construction and modifications of their dwelling units. ● The interest subsidy under the scheme is 3 percent for a loan amount of ₹2 lakh for 20 year tenure. ●
IOB will be able to extend the benefit of RHISS to its rural home loan customers of its 923 rural branches spread across India.
Important points: Indian Overseas Bank ➢ Headquarters: Chennai ➢ CEO: R. Subramania Kumar ➢ Founder: M. Ct. M. Chidambaram Chettyar National Housing Bank ➢ Headquarters: New Delhi ➢ CEO: Sriram Kalyanaraman
3. National Voters Day – January 25
National Voters Day which is celebrated on January 25. The significance of this day is to encourage youngsters, who have reached the age of 18, of the country to participate in the electoral process, by enrolling or registering themselves in electoral rolls and to exercise their franchise. National Voters Day (NVD) Important Points- This year Facebook launches ‘take the pledge’ feature on its platform. Facebook and Election Commission of India announced rolling out a new feature on the platform that will send a reminder to users aged 18 years and above to take the pledge to vote. National Voters Day 2018 Theme – “Assessable Elections.”
4. BHARAT PARV celebrations at Red Fort from 26th January ● The “Bharat Parv” event is being organised by the Government of India at the Red Fort, Delhi from 26th to 31st January, as part of the Republic Day Celebrations. ● The prime objective of organising the event is to generate a patriotic mood, promote the rich cultural diversity of the country, to ensure wider participation of the general public and to popularise the idea of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat. ●
Bharat Parv festival will be organised by the Ministry of Tourism to present the cuisine, ethnic heritage and culture of different states of India to the visitors.
5. Government to infuse over Rs. 88,139 cr in PSU banks ● The government announced Rs. 88,139 crore capital infusion in 20 public sector banks (PSBs) during the current fiscal, with IDBI Bank getting the most – Rs. 10,610 crore. ● The unprecedented Rs. 2.1 lakh crore bank recapitalization plan announced in October last year was to be spread over two financial years – 2017-18 and 2018-19.
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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had undertaken a detailed exercise on the amount of capital to be infused into the PSBs.
6. India Ranks 81st On Global Talent Competitiveness Index ● India has moved up on a global talent competitiveness index to the 81st position but remains a laggard among the BRICS nations. ● While Switzerland continues to top the list released every year on the first day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting here, India has improved its position from 92nd last year. ● India’s ranking was the worst among the five BRICS countries in 2017 as well when China was ranked 54th, Russian Federation was placed at 56th, followed by South Africa (67) and Brazil (81).
7. CM Edappadi K Palaniswami receives UNESCO award ● Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami received the UNESCO Award of Merit awarded to the iconic Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam (Tiruchy). ● The Award of Merit, 2017, was given by UNESCO Asia Pacific region for the cultural heritage conservation activities taken up at the temple without altering its original splendour. ● Mr Palaniswami congratulated the temple administration for their yeoman service and in achieving the award from UNESCO.
8. India ranks 177 out of 180 in Environmental Performance Index ● India is among the bottom five countries on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2018, plummeting 36 places from 141 in 2016, according to a biennial report by Yale and Columbia Universities along with the World Economic Forum. ● While India is at the bottom of the list in the environmental health category, it ranks 177 out of 180 as far as air quality is concerned.
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The report was released on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.