Current Affairs : 24th To 29th January 2015

Jan 29, 2015

1. Government reconstituted Empowered Committee for setting up of Semiconductor Wafer Fabrication (FAB) manufacturing facilities in the country under NITI Aayog member V K Saraswat.
2. Steve Easterbrook has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Famous Fast Food Chain McDonald’s Corporation.
3. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved proposal of HDFC Bank to raise the foreign holding limit to 74 % (From 73.2 Currently). It will enable inflow of around 10000 crore rupees into the country from overseas investors.CCEA also approved proposal of Drug Maker Lupin's proposal of raising foreign holding up to 49%.
4. As per a recent report by ICC, India will Host the Twenty-20 cricket world cup in 2016 and England will host the ODI world cup in 2019.
5. As per a recent report by Assam's Tocklai Tea Research Institute (TTRI), Assam has the potential to produce Purple Tea which is believed to be health rich and is currently grown in Kenya Only.
6. Sean Abbott of Australia has been named as Bradman Young Cricketer for the Year 2015.
7. Music composer Shekhar sen is appointed as Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA) replacing Leela Samson.
8. Government launched Website, Logo, Vision and Mission of National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL). Site - www.nhidcl.com Logo: Building Infrastructure - Building the Nation.
9. Justice Narayanan Nadar Paul Vasanthakumar is appointed as new Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
10. Indian Nihal Singh Agar has been honored by Order of Australia for his service to the Hindu community in Australia and fostering cross-cultural co-operation with a focus on medical education.
11. World bank released a report named Heights: Social Inclusion and Sustainable Development in Himachal Pradesh to mark significant growth over the past decades for Himachal Pradesh. highlights of the Report are -
    • Per capita income in Himachal Pradesh is second highest in India despite 90 percent of its residents live in rural areas. Education and share of women in the workforce is also appreciable.
    • Himachal Pradesh is first in India to have banned use of plastic bags and has set heights in becoming free of defecation in open.
    • Poverty is one-third the national average. Rural poverty decline four times to 85. % in 2011 from 36.8 % in 1993–94.

Jan 28, 2015

1. S Jaishankar has been appointed as new Foreign Secretary of India replacing Sujata Singh.
2. Hockey Player Jaswant Singh Rajput passed away, he was part of Indian hockey team that won gold medal in 1948 London and 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
3. K Durga Prasad is appointed as the Special Director General of CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force).
4. Indian Badminton Player Saina Nehwal won women’s singles of Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold Badminton Tournament 2015 after defeateing Carolina Marin of Spain in Lucknow (India).
5. Kalyan Singh has been appointed as 20th Governor of Rajasthan.
6. Maharashtra government announced to observe September 17 as ‘Industries Day’.
7. Famous Malayalam Actor Mala Aravindan passed away.
8. USA based Apple Inc recorded profit of 18 billion USD dollar in 2014 which is Highest ever profit earned by any company in the corporate world.
   1. Apple sold 74.5 million iPhones in quarter ending December 2014.
   2. Revenue of the Apple Inc rose to 74.6 billion USD in 2014 from 57.6 billion USD in 2013.
   3. Apple now has a cash pile up of 178 billion USD which is enough to buy IBM or the equivalent to pay 556 US dollar to every American.
   4. The success of Apple may be attributed to -
      1. Apple's partnership in China with China Mobile Limited
      2. Larger screen size of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
      3. Doubling of sales of iPhone in Singapore and Brazil and Significant rise in India as well.
9. Bhagabatpur Crocodile Project in Sunderbans (West Bengal) has been given as fresh start with help of renowned experts in herpetology and best global practices in crocodile conservation to increase the number of saltwater crocodiles.
   1. In past few years, project did not see a significant increase in the number of salt-water crocodiles. The eggs to hatching ratio also declined to 40 per 100 eggs collected.
10. Wing Commander Puja Thakur became first lady officer to lead Inter-Service Guard of Honour with theme - "Nari Shakti".

Jan 27, 2015

1. Divya Prakash Sinha appointed as Security Secretary in the Union Cabinet Secretariat.
2. Poet Arundhathi Subramaniam has been given the first Khushwant Singh Memorial Prize for her work When God is a Traveller at Jaipur Literature Festival.
3. Libby Lane has been named as Church of England’s first female bishop.
4. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Supervisory Cooperation and Exchange of Supervisory Information with Brazil’s Central Bank, Banco Central do Brasil (BCB).
5. Famous Greek Singer Demis Roussos passed away.

Jan 26, 2015

1. 26 Jan, 2015 - India celebrated Its 66th Republic Day. USA President Barack Obama was the chief guest of the ceremony.
2. Famous Cartoonist R K Laxman Passed Away.
3. Paulina Vega of Colombia has been named as winner of Miss Universe 2015 beauty pageant held in Miami (USA).
4. Major Mukund Varadarajan and Naik Neeraj Singh Posthumously Awarded Ashok Chakra during the 66th Republic day celebrations.
5. Alexis Tsipras is appointed as Prime Minister of Greece after his party SYRIZA won the Greek General Election Results.

Jan 25, 2015

1. USA President Barack Obama Arrived in India for attending Celebrations and Parade of India's 66th Republic day.
2. Reserve Bank of India lifted ban on carrying bank notes of Indian Rs 1000 and 500 to Nepal and Bhutan.