International Affairs
Union
Tourism Ministry is planning to extend its electronic visa (e-visa) service to 36 more countries including Italy, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
The
proposal has been forwarded to the Home Ministry for approval.
Peru
has
declared Zika outbreak as ahealth emergency across the northern
half of the country after 102 people were infected with the virus.
The
90-day health emergency was declared to prevent the spread of the
disease.
So
far 34 cases of disease (principally transmitted by mosquitos) were detected in
pregnant women.
India's Vice-President
Mohammad Hamid Ansari is on a Two
day visit to Mongolia.
During
this visit, he will lead the
Indian delegation at the 11th ASEM (ASia -Europe Meeting).
The two-day ASEM Summit is being held at UlaanBaatar - the
capital of Mongolia.
Important
Points to Note :
ASEM
was established on 1st March 1996.
India
joined ASEM in January 2007 and has taken part in four earlier summits.
This
year is unique for ASEM as it celebrates 20 years of its establishment.
ASEM
currently has 53 partners : 51
countries and 2 regional organisations (European
Union and the ASEAN Secretariat).
National Affairs
The Union Government has launched 'Operation Sankat Mochan' to evacuate Indian nationals from
violence-hit South Sudan.
The
operation is being carried out by the Indian Air Force and will be led by General VK
Singh.
Note :
Singh had already led Operation Rahat
to evacuate Indians from Yemen last year.
The Union Cabinet today approved various facilities for minority communities of Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, and Pakistan residing in India on Long Term Visa.
The
facilities include opening of bank accounts, permission to take up
self-employment and purchase property for the same, and issuance of driving
licences, PAN cards and Aadhaar numbers.
The Union Cabinet approved the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)with an outlay of 12000 crore rupees to impart
skilling to one crore people over the next four years (2016-2020).
PMKVY
will impart fresh training to 60 lakh youths and certify skills of 40 lakh
persons acquired non-formally under the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).
The
target allocation between fresh trainings and RPL will be flexible and
interchangeable depending on functional and operational requirements.
Science & Technology
Spanish-made Talgo has
became fastest train in India.
In
a trial conducted by Railways on the Mathura-Palwal route, Tago clocked a speed
of 180 kms per hour and covered 84 kms in 38 minutes.
Important
Points to Note :
It
has broken the record of Gatimaan Express at 160 km/hour.
Talgo comprises nine lightweight coaches and aims to connect
Delhi and Mumbai within 12 hours.
Books & Authors
A book on Beijing
Olympics bronze medallist pugilist Vijender Singh was recently released
online.
The
title of the book is 'Ringside With Vijender'.
Penned
by senior journalist Rudraneil Sengupta, the book, published by Juggernaut Books,
deals with the boxer's life post his transition to the brutal world of pro
boxing.
Business & Economy
Switzerland-based
UBS retained its position as the
world’s biggest private bank in 2015, a study by wealth management
researcher Scorpio Partnership has stated.
UBS
had $1,737.5 billion managed assets by the end of 2015, nearly $300 billion
more than the second-placed Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has
approved the disinvestment of 15% paid
up equity of National Buildings
Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC).
Note :
The disinvestment of 15% will done out of Union Government’s 90% shareholding.
New Appointments
Congress leader Nabam
Tuki today took charge as the Chief
Minister of Arunachal Pradesh
at Arunachal Bhavan in New Delhi.
Note :
Earlier on Wednesday, the apex court had reinstated the Tuki-led government in
the state and quashed the Governor's order to impose President’s Rule.
Boris
Johnson, the former London mayor and “Leave” campaign figurehead in Britain’s EU referendum, was appointed
Foreign Secretary in new Prime
Minister Theresa May’s government.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) today selected Punjabi
singer and actor Gurdas Maan as
the icon for the upcoming Punjab
Assembly polls.
Maan
will motivate youngsters to get enrolled in the voters list and inspire them to
vote ethically without getting influenced.
The Union Government has appointed senior IPS officer Ashok Patnaik as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID).
He
is going to replace Raghu Raman, the first CEO of NATGIRD, whose tenure ended
in June 2015.
Awards & Honors
Pokémon
Go
has become the biggest ever mobile game
in the US history by beating Candy Crush with nearly 21 million daily
active users.
Note :
This number is also higher than Twitter's daily active users.
Mumbai’s
civic body has renamed a city square
near Hiranandani Garden in suburban Powai to Jyotirmoy Dey Chowk.
This
is an effort to recognise the contribution of veteran crime reporter Jyotirmoy
Dey.
Important
Points to Note :
Dey
was an famous journalist, crime and investigations editor for MiD DAY (a
tabloid newspaper published in several cities in India) and an expert on the
Mumbai underworld.
He
was shot dead by motorcycle-borne sharpshooters on 11 June 2011.
Deaths
Abu
Omar al-Shishani, who is described as Islamic State's "minister of war" by the US Department
of Defence was killed during combat in Iraq's Shirqat.
Shishani
ranked amongst USA's most wanted
militants with a $5 million bounty on him.
Sports
India's young Grand Master Harika Dronavali has today won her first Fide women’s Grand Prix chess title at Chengdu in China.
The
Chinese Football Association has
struck a deal with FIFA to host
the first'China Cup' in January 2017, a competition that will
involve its national side against three international “first-class”
teams.
The
deal is backed by China's richest man, Wang Jianlin, whose conglomerate is a
FIFA sponsor.
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