National News

Visit of the Prime Minister of Denmark to India for Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2019

The Prime Minister of Denmark, H.E. Mr Lars Løkke Rasmussen, is visiting India on 18-19 January, 2019 for "Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit-2019” where Denmark is participating as a Partner Country. Prime Minister Rasmussen is accompanied by a business delegation including CEOs of major Danish companies.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Rasmussen held bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in Gandhinagar on 18 January 2019. The two Prime Ministers had earlier met during the first India- Nordic summit in Stockholm in April 2018.

Prayagraj Kumbh Mela becomes effective platform for Information dissemination on Welfare schemes

A number of exhibitions by Bureau of Outreach and Communication [BOC] of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and State Departments have been setup to Inform, Educate & Communicate about various Welfare schemes implemented by the Government.

BOC has set up a very high tech exhibition at Triveni Road in sector 1 at Kumbh's exhibition ground. Most of the panels are on Ek Bharat Shreshta Bharat, Swatchh aur Samridh Bharat, Bapuaur Sardar Ke Sapno Ka Bharat etc. These exhibitions are digital and interactive in nature. Displays on lives of Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi and Iron Man of the country, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel are inspiring the visitors to go into details through digital panels. Some posters depicting achievements of Government are also exhibited with photographs.

India to host the 14th session of the Conference of Parties to United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, India will host the 14th session of the Conference of Parties to United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in 2019 to address the issues of land degradation and desertification. The event will be participated by more than 100 countries and it is likely to be held in the month of October 2019.

Nagpur, the city of Oranges to host the 4-day 2nd World Orange Festival for the first time

 The 4-day 2nd world Orange Festival commenced in Nagpur, the city of oranges, for the first time. The festival will also showcase and brand the exquisite fruit in order to boost its export.

Appoints

Raja Krishnamoorthi is appointed as a new member of HPSCI for the 116th Congress (Appoints)

Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democratic lawmaker, has been appointed as a member of a Congressional committee on intelligence. He is the first South Asian to serve in the powerful body tasked to strengthen U.S.’s national security. Mr.Krishnamoorthi, 45, who represents Illinois’s 8th Congressional District in the House. Along with him Congresswoman Val Demings of Florida, Sean Patrick Maloney of New York and Peter Welch of Vermont has been appointed as new Democratic members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) for the 116th Congress. The HPSCI oversees the activities and budget of the 17 intelligence agencies of the U.S.

International News

India and Mongolia Sign a Powerful MoU at ICMEI 

The Embassy of Mongolia and International Chamber of Media and Entertainment Industry (ICMEI), India have further strengthened the relationship between India and Mongolia by signing a MoU in the field of art and culture. The MoU was signed in the presence of H.E. Gonchig Ganbold Ambassador of Mongolia to India and Dr. Sandeep Marwah, President ICMEI. The MoU will enable the two countries to work together on different segments including print, radio, television, cinema, animation, Performing and Fine Arts, tourism, hospitality, education, environment, solar energy, skill development, PR events and advertising, Fashion and Design, and Journalism. During the event, the deserving students from Mongolia were handed over the first scholarship of a short-term course of Asian Academy of Film and Television which also includes boarding and lodging for three months.
 

Defence 

India-Myanmar Joint Training Exercise Begins In Chandimandir

Second edition of the India-Myanmar bilateral army exercise, IMBEX 2018-19, commenced at Chandimandir Military Station, that houses the headquarters of the Western Command, Chandigarh.  The aim of this joint training programme, spread over six days, is to train the Myanmar delegation for participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations under the UN flag.

Economic news

RBI slaps 1 crore fine on Indian Bank for violating cyber security norms
The contravention is with regard to RBI’s directions on Frauds- Classification and Reporting by Commercial Banks.
This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers
About Indian Bank
Indian Bank is an Indian state-owned financial services company established in 1907 and headquartered in Chennai, India.

Defence news

Indian Navy inducts its first Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle
The Indian Navy on Wednesday inducted its first Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) System at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai.
DSRV is used to rescue crew members stranded in submarines that get disabled. The Indian Navy joins a select group of naval forces in the world that boasts of this niche capability.
The DSRV can be operated at a depth of 650 meters and can hold around 15 people. The Indian Navy in March 2016 had commissioned two DSRVs, the second will deployed at the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam.

Sports news

ITTF award for Manika
India’s star paddler Manika Batra was bestowed with the International Table Tennis Fedreation’s (ITTF) Breakthrough star award 2018. 
In 2018, Manika won 4 medals in commonwealth games. These are women’s singles gold,women’s doubles silver and mixed doubles bronze.
She also begged bronze in mixed doubles in the Asian Games 2018.

National news

Zoramthanga as the new CM of Mizoram
Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan on Wednesday afternoon invited Mizo National Front (MNF) president Zoramthanga to form the government.
Outgoing Congress Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla had submitted his resignation an hour before Mr Zoramthanga had staked the claim. The current term of the Assembly expires on Friday.

Shri Nitin Gadkari flags off first container mainline vessel at Tuticorin
Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Shipping and Road Transport & Highways and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation flagged off the first container mainline vessel from VoC Port (Tuticorin Port).
At present containers from Tuticorin to Far East countries viz Malaysia, Singapore, China and Hong Kong are transited by the feeder vessels to Colombo where they are further connected to the mother vessel .
In the last four years, Tuticorin Port has made investments to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore towards improvement of infrastructure.

SWIFT India
SWIFT India has appointed ex-SBI chief Arundhati Bhattacharya as the new chairman of its board.
SWIFT India is a joint venture of top Indian public and private sector banks and SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication). 

International News

Vice-Chair of the UN Panel of Auditors
Comptroller and Auditor General Rajiv Mehrishi has become the Vice-Chair of the UN Panel of Auditors. The United Nations Panel of Auditors consists of External Auditors of the United Nations and its agencies.
The United Nations General Assembly in 1959 established the Panel of External Auditors. Presently, the panel consists of 11 countries.

Adoption of global compact on migration in Marrakech hailed a victory
UN members states adopted the Global Compact on Migration in Marrakech.
The adoption is a victory for a progressive new framework of how the world views migrants and agrees to protect their basic human rights.
The GCM creates a non-legally binding and co-operative framework that builds on the commitments agreed upon by member states in the New York Declaration for refugees and migrants of December 2016. 

UAE's Federal National Council to be 50 per cent women
President Sheikh Khalifa has called for Emirati women to occupy 50 per cent of the country's Federal National Council after next year's elections.
 Currently, there are eight women members — representing 20 per cent of the 40 available seats. Dr Al Qubaisi was also the first woman elected to the FNC in 2006.

International news

39th GCC summi
•    Gulf leaders and officials met in Riyadh for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit.
•    At the end of the summit, the council issued the ‘Riyadh Declaration’, which included 72 items covering matters related to the Gulf countries, the region and the world.
•    The 39th GCC summit comes amid an ongoing blockade on Qatar imposed in June 2017, by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt.
•    The 40th session of the GCC summit will be held in the UAE, according to a communique issued at the end of the 39th summit in Riyadh.

Heritage Park for Hindus, Buddhists 
•    The Khyber Pakthunkhwa province plans to construct a heritage park in Elum Valley, which carries a historical significance to both the Hindus and the Buddhists, to promote religious tourism.
•    According to Hindu belief, Lord Ram spent time meditating there during his 14 years of exile, while Buddhists believe it to be the site where a previous incarnation of Lord Buddha gave up his life.

Magnitude 7.1 quake hits close to Antarctica
•    A magnitude 7.1 quake struck on Monday in the southern Atlantic Ocean, close to the South Sandwich Islands north of Antarctica, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Defence news

Nuclear-capable Agni-V successfully test-fired off Odisha
•    India successfully test-fired nuclear-capable long-range ballistic missile Agni-V.
•    Agni-V is an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) with a strike range of over 5,000 km and can reach most parts of China. The mission critical avionics were indigenously designed and developed by Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad.

National News

Kerala becomes first Indian state to have four international airports

Kerala has become the first state in the country to have four international airports with the inauguration of the Kannur airport. 

Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode being the other three.

The Kannur airport, built on a public-private partnership (PPP) model, will become a new benchmark of how airports will be constructed in the country. 

Economy news

India in top position in remittances : World Bank 

India is followed by China (USD 67 billion), Mexico and the Philippines (USD 34 billion each) and Egypt (USD 26 billion), according to the global lender.

Global remittances, which include flows to high-income countries, are projected to grow by 10.3 per cent to USD 689 billion.

Defence news

INDRA NAVY 2018

Russian Federation Navy (RuFN) Ships Varyag,  Admiral Panteleyev and Boris Butoma arrived Visakhapatnam to participate in INDRA NAVY, the bilateral maritime exercise between Indian Navy and Russian Federation Navy exercise. 

Initiated in 2003, INDRA NAVY exercise has matured over the years with increase in scope, complexity and level of participation.

The Defence and Research Development Organization (DRDO) yesterday successfully flight tested the Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW), from an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft. 
●    SAAW, an indigenously designed and developed 120 kg. class smart weapon, developed by DRDO, is capable of engaging ground targets with high precision up to a range of 100 kms. 
●    The light weight high precision guided bomb is one of the world class weapons systems.
●    The captive and release trials were tracked by Radar and Telemetry ground stations at ITR during the entire duration of the flight. The performance of all systems were satisfactory with all the mission objectives achieved.
●    Secretary, Department of Defence (R&D) & Chairman, DRDO, Dr S. Christopher, congratulated DRDO and the IAF teams for the successful mission.
●    Scientific Advisor to RM and DG (Missile and Strategic Systems), DRDO, Dr G. Satheesh Reddy, lauded the scientific community of the DRDO for their efforts towards the design and development of this state-of-the-art smart weapon within the set time frame.

India's cruise missile Nirbhay has failed in its test flight today. Three out of four of its test flights have failed, sources said. 
●    The test was carried from India's Integrated Missile Test Range on the coast of Odisha.
●    Nirbhay's previous tests have only been partially successful. The subsonic missile was first tested in March 2013, but its flight had to be aborted midway when it veered off course.
●    The missile, designed and developed by the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation), is expected to strengthen India's air defence capability.
●    A terrain-hugging missile, Nirbhay can fly almost at the level of tree-tops to evade detection by radars. 
●    It was built to identify and strike targets in heavily populated areas with pin-point accuracy and is capable of carrying of carrying a nuclear warhead.
●    With a range of more than 1,000 kilometers, Nirbhay is considered an equal to the Tomahawk missile of the US.

India, Japan and the US are set to focus on "anti-submarine warfare" by deploying "different machines" during the next round of their marine wargames named the Malabar Exercise, amidst increasing presence of Chinese underwater vessels in the strategic Indian Ocean region. 
●    The three countries will come together in the Indian Ocean for the 21st edition of the Malabar exercise - Malabar 2017, aiming for a "bigger" and "more complex" exercise than before.
●    Vice Admiral Aucoin met Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lamba and other senior officers to chalk out the dates and strategy of the exercise, likely to be held after the monsoon. 
●    Vice Admiral Aucoin, who spoke on a number of issues, said he was looking forward to the implementation of the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement between India and the US. 
●    The US commander also spoke out against militarisation of the strategic South China Sea region, through which an annual trade of USD 5 billion flows. 

Navy today formally inducted four types of indigenously developed sonars that will boost its underwater surveillance capability.
●    Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, handed over the sonars to the Navy, praised the force along with DRDO and said he expects more synergy in the coming days.
●    The systems have been designed and developed by NPOL, a Kochi based laboratory of DRDO.
●    With the induction of these four systems, the underwater surveillance capability of the Indian Navy will get a boost.
●    Abhay is an advanced active-cum-passive integrated sonar system designed and developed for the smaller platforms such as shallow water crafts and coastal surveillance/patrol vessels.
●    It is capable of detecting, localizing, classifying and tracking sub-surface and surface targets in both its active and passive modes of operation.
●    Indian Navy has proposed to induct this SONAR on three of the Abhay class ships.
●    Intensifying the command over the high seas is the Humsa -UG that is designed for upgrading the existing Humsa sonar system.
 

Indo-Nepal joint military exercise Surya Kiran-X commenced on 31 October 2016 at Army Battle School, Saljhandi, Nepal. 
●    The exercise will conclude on 13 November 2016.
●    The joint military exercise is the tenth in the series of such exercise between the two nations.
●    The Surya Kiran series of exercises are being conducted annually, alternatively in Nepal and India.
●    In the series of military training exercises undertaken by India with various countries, Surya Kiran series with Nepal is the largest in terms of troop’s participation.           
●    Indian Army is represented by the elite Kumaon Regiment.
●    Jabar Jung Battalion of Nepal Army is participating in the tenth edition of the joint exercise on behalf of Nepal Army.
●    The aim of the exercise is to conduct battalion level joint training with emphasis on Counter Terrorism in mountainous terrain.
 

Vice Admiral SN Ghormade assumed the charge of Director General Naval Operations at the IHQ MoD (N). The Flag Officer was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 01 Jan 1984. 
●    He is a graduate of National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla, Pune, United States Naval Staff College at Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island and the Naval War College, Mumbai. 
●    In addition to a specialisation in Navigation and Direction within the Navy, the Admiral holds a M Phil in Defence and Strategic Studies from University of Mumbai, MSc Defence and Strategic Studies from University of Madras and Master Degree in Personnel Management from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (University of Pune).
●    The officer is the recipient of the Nau Sena Medal in 2007 by the President of India and Commendation by Chief of Naval Staff in 2000.