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'Make
in India' campaign to get boost with two aircraft components
developed for US manufacturers
India
> Make in India >12 jan
The Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) has given the approval to develop two aircraft
components in India for manufacturers in the US. The two products are
a four-person life raft developed by the Indian arm of UTC Aerospace
Systems (UTAS) and nickel-cadmium batteries developed by
Hyderabad-based HBL Power Systems. The development is a significant
one considering PM Narendra Modi’s push for the ‘Make in India’
campaign and US president Barack Obama's Republic Day visit and it
could lead to more such offers in the future.
Maithiripala
Sirisena sworn-in as seventh president of Sri Lanka
Politics
> World >12 jan
On
9th January 2015, Shri Maithiripala Sirisena, full name Pallewatte
Gamaralalage Maithripala Yapa Sirisena, was sworn-in as the seventh
President of Sri Lanka. The event was preceded by the oath taking
ceremony of the leader of the United National Party (UNP) Ranil
Wickramasinghe as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. Sirisena, Health
Minister in the Rajapaksa government, defeated
Mithripala
Sirisena, Health Minister in Rajapaksa government, defeated incumbent
President Mahinda Rajapaksa from United People’s Freedom Alliance
by 51.28 % of votes.
Islamic
militants kill 12 in deadly attacks on French satirical weekly
Charlie Hebdo, prompt worldwide outcry
World
> Charlie
Hebdo >12 jan
On
7th January, 2015, two masked gunman attacked the office of the
French satirical weekly, Charlie Hebdo in Paris and shot dead 12
people including the editor in the middle of a news conference. The
men shouted Allah-hu-Akbar as they went on with their rampage and
shouted that they were avenging the prophet. Charlie Hebdo had
previously been in the news for its alleged mockery of Prophet
Mohammed and had attracted the ire of the Islamic world. Police
tracked the gunmen, identified as brothers Cherif Kouachi, 32, and
Said Kouachi, 34, to a town, 25 miles northeast of Paris. A
gun-battle ensued in which police killed the two gunmen and succeeded
in freeing a sole hostage.
On
9th January, another gunman, Amedy Coulibaly, held people hostage at
a kosher super-market in eastern Paris and shot dead 4 people. The
gunman seemed to have ties with the two brothers involved in the
Charlie Hebdo attack and had earlier threatened to kill the hostages
if police launched an assault on the cornered brothers. Police
stormed the supermarket and succeeded in killing the gunman and
freeing the hostages. The supermarket was located in a predominantly
Jewish locality of Paris. All the three gunmen had ties with Jihadist
militants and were allegedly trained by the Al-Qaeda in Syria.
France
has the highest number of Jewish population in entire Europe. A sense
of insecurity has engulfed the community following the attacks and
many Jews are permanently moving to Israel from France. On 11 January
2015, 3.7 million people including more than 40 world leaders, met in
Paris for a rally of national unity to honour the 17 victims. This
was the largest public rally in France since World War II. The phrase
Je suis Charlie (French for "I am Charlie") came to be a
common worldwide sign of solidarity against the attacks. The
surviving staff of the magazine announced plans for a print run of
three million copies for the next week's issue rather than its
typical 60,000. The "survivors' issue" of Charlie Hebdo
will also be sold outside France.
Cristiano
Ronaldo wins Balon d'Or for the third time
Sports
> Balon
d’Or >12 jan
Portuguese and Real Madrid
footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was awarded with the Balon d'Or at a
ceremony held by FIFA at Zurich. The Portugal captain had earlier
been bestowed with the honour twice in 2008 and 2013. Ronaldo
garnered a total of 37.66% of the 543 votes cast by 181 national team
coaches, 181 national team captains and 181 media representatives.
The first and second runners-up were Argentinian great Lionel Messi
and German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer respectively.
Others
Country's
first contactless cards launched by ICICI
Corporate
> India > 7 Jan
Country's
first contactless debit and credit cards have been launched by ICICI
Bank. These cards use the near-field communication technology that
enables one to make payments not by swiping the card but by waving
the same near merchant terminals.
Besides
providing improved convenience of speed and security to the
customers, these cards also complete a transaction faster than the
traditional cards and are more secured as they remain with customer.
Mumbai, Hyderabad and Gurgaon are the only cities which are getting
these cards for now along with 1,200 PoS machines capable of
accepting contactless payments. The Coral contactless credit cards
and the Expressions wave debit cards with new technology can be used
as regular cards at all merchant terminals.
Kotak
Mahindra – ING Vyasa merger gets approval
Bank
specific > Kotak
Mahindra – ING Vysya > 8 Jan
The merger of Kotak Mahindra
and ING Vysya banks was approved by the latter's shareholders in a
general meeting held on the 7th of January. It received a 99.3
percent approval from shareholders, which would make Kotak Mahindra
the fourth-largest private sector bank in the country. However, the
merger still needs approvals from the the Reserve Bank of India and
Competition Committee of India amongst others.
All-India
women contingent to march for the first time on Republic Day
India
> Republic
Day > 8 Jan
An all women contingent
will, for the first time, march at the Republic Day parade. The
decision follows PM Narendra Modi's wish to highlight women
empowerment. The contingent will comprise of 150 odd women who will
salute the President of India. The event will host American President
Barack Obama as the chief guest, the first instance of an American
president being invited as the chief guest for the Republic Day.
Sindhushree
Khullar appointed CEO of NITI Aayog
India
> NITI
Aayog > 9 Jan
Sidhushree Khullar, a 1975
batch Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer, was appointed as
the Chief Operating Officer of National Institution for Transforming
India (NITI Aayog) on the 10th of January, 2015. She has earlier
served as member-secretary and secretary of the Planning Commission.
On the 1st of January, 2015
the union government decided to replace the decades old Planning
Commission with a new institution, National Institution for
Transforming India (NITI Aayog). Like the Planning Commission, NITI
Aayog will also be chaired by the Prime Minister.
UGC
mandates grading system across universities for 2015-16
Education
> India > 9 Jan
The
University Grants Commission has mandated the introduction of grading
system replacing numerical marking system from 2015-16.It has also
ordered universities to standardize their examinations and follow a
semester pattern in curriculum. This development is set to benefit
lakhs of students and impact over 400 universities across the
country. It also opens wider options for students to learn and ensure
their seamless mobility across institutions. This initiative was
taken after a meeting between state education ministers and HRD
minister Smriti Irani.
The
regulatory body has directed universities to introduce the
choice-based credit system (CBCS) and credit framework for skill
development (CFSD). Currently, some universities follow the credit
system for courses at different levels.
India
celebrates National Youth Day on 12th January
India > National Youth Day > 12 Jan
12th
January 2015 was celebrated as National Youth Day across India.
National Youth Day is celebrated in India since 1985 to mark the
birth anniversary of social reformer, philosopher and thinker Swami
Vivekananda and this is the 152nd birth anniversary of Swami
Vivekananda.
Swami
Vivekananda's writings have been an inspiration to youth and have
motivated various youth organizations. He derived inspiration from
Indian spiritual tradition and the broad outlook of his Master Sri
Ramakrishna. Swamiji is known for introducing Indian philosophies of
Vedanta and Yoga to the western world. He also played a crucial role
in resurrecting Hinduism in India and contributed to the concept of
nationalism in colonial India.
Vivekananda
founded the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission and died at
an early age of 39 on 4 July 1902 at Belur Math in West Bengal.
Croatia
gets its first women president
Politics
> World > 13 Jan
Kolinda
Grabar-Kitarovic won the presidential elections in Croatia by the
slimmest of margins, defeating incumbent Ivo Josipovic. By winning
the elections, she became the first female president of Croatia by
securing 50.5% votes. The outcome of the elections indicated
Croatia's inclination towards the right after centre-left coalition's
failure to end six years of downturn. The election was a preliminary
test for the main parties before the parliamentary elections to be
held towards the end of 2015.
Apart
from being a politically conservative member of the Croatian
Democratic Union (HDZ), which pushed the country towards independence
from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, Ms Grabar-Kitarovic is also a
former foreign minister and assistant to the NATO secretary-general.
Stanislas
Wawrinka wins Chennai Open
Sports
> Tennis > 13 Jan
Australian tennis champion
Stanislas Wawrinka won the Chennai Open on Sunday, 12th of January
2015 by beating his Slovenian opponent Aljaz Bedene. Wawrinka also
became the first to win the title thrice, the other two being in 2011
and 2014.
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