January 2019 Current Affair - Fundamakers
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January 2019 Current Affair
Important Days
Date Day Extra Info
Defense Research and Development
1 January
Organization, DRDO day Peace day
4 January World Braille Day
9 January Bharatiya Pravasi Day or Non Resident Day
10 January World Hindi Day
12 January National Youth Day
14 January Armed Forces Veterans Day
15 January Indian Army Day
Theme 2019: Empowering Girls for a Brighter
24 January National Girl Child Day
Tomorrow
24 January International Day of Education
25 January National Voters Day Theme 2019: No voter to be left behind
26 January Republic Day
26 January International Customs Day
Theme 2019: Holocaust Remembrance:
27 January International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Demand and Defend Your Human Rights
27 January World Leprosy Day Observed on the last Sunday in January.
28 January Data Privacy Day
Observed to mark the death anniversary of our
30 January National Martyr’s Day or Sarvodaya Day
father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi.
MOU/Agreement Countries
India and Sri Lanka signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide modern infrastructural
facilities to Swami Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies of Eastern University in Batticaloa district of Sri
Lanka.
Nepal and India have agreed to set up an ‘Energy Banking’ mechanism that would help the Himalayan country
export its surplus electricity to neighbour India during the monsoon season and import power during its lean
season in winter.
Celebrating 50-years of formalization of diplomatic ties between India and Bhutan, a two-day international
conference on 8th century Himalayan sage Guru Padmasambhava was held in New Delhi that saw the
participation of distinguished scholars from both countries. The conference, organised by the Centre for
Escalation of Peace (CEP) and titled ‘Life and Legacy of Guru Padmasambhava’, was held on January 29-30.
MOU Industry/States/Others
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Army and PNB on the Defence Salary
Package. A number of additional facilities have been incorporated in the MoU after concerted efforts.
The National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Ltd (NCDEX) and Institute of Rural Management Anand
(IRMA), the premier training Institute in agri-business and rural management has signed a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) with special emphasis mentoring Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and allied
institutions.
Human Resources Development Ministry signed an agreement with Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD) for India’s Participation in Programme for International Student Assessment-
Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2021.
2Appointments and Resignations
Name Post Extra Info
Dinesh Maheshwari, Sanjiv Khanna sworn in as Supreme Court judges
He got one-month extension till Feb-
Ajay Narayan Jha Finance Secretary of India
end
Additional Solicitor General in the Supreme
Sanjay Jain
Court of India
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
M. Nageswara Rao Succeeds Alok Verma
Director
Chief Information Officer and spokesperson
Nitin Wakankar Succeeds Abhishek Dayal
of CBI
Secretary General, National Human Rights
Jaideep Govind
Commission
Director General (Investigation), National
Prabhat Singh
Human Rights Commission
Director General of the Bureau of Civil
Rakesh Asthana
Aviation Security (BCAS)
Amitabh Chaudhry Managing Director & CEO of Axis Bank After Shikha Sharma retired
V Vaidyanathan MD and CEO of IDFC First Bank
Ravneet Gill MD and CEO of Yes Bank Succeeds Rana Kapoor
Ajai Kumar interim MD, CEO of Yes Bank Till Ravneet Gill takes the post
Parthasarathi Mukherjee MD of Lakshmi Vilas Bank Reappointed for another 2 years
Dilip Sadarangani Part Time Chairman of Federal Bank
Chhabilendra Roul Secretary of Department of Fertilizers
Sudhir Bhargava Chief Information Commissioner
VK Yadav Chairman of Railway Board
Life Insurance Corporation of India’s Acting
Hemant Bhargava
Chairman
Competition Commission of India (CCI)’s
Pramod Kumar Singh
Secretary
Saurabh Kumar Chairman of Ordnance Factory Board
Aqeel Ahmed Chairman of Council for Leather Exports
Chairperson of the Mumbai Academy of
Deepika Padukone
Moving Image (MAMI)
Director General of National Cadet Corps
Lt Gen Rajeev Chopra
(NCC)
Western Naval Command (WNC) of the
Ajit Kumar P.
Indian Navy
G Ashok Kumar Vice Chief of Naval Staff
Poonam Khetrapal Singh
International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Chief
Manu Sawhney
Executive Officer
First Indian to head GSC. HQ-
Pranav R Mehta President of Global Solar Council (GSC)
Washington D.C., USA
Chief Economist of International Monetary First woman to occupy the top IMF
Gita Gopinath
Fund post. She is from Mysore, Karnataka.
Sultan Abdullah Ibni
16th King of Malaysia
Sultan Ahmad Shah
Stefan Lofven Prime Minister of Sweden
Su Tseng-chang Prime Minister of Taiwan
Sheikh Hasina Prime Minister of Bangladesh She won 3rd Consecutive Term
Christophe Joseph Marie
Prime Minister of Burkina Faso
Dabire
Nicolas Maduro President of Venezuela
Andry Rajoelina President of Madagascar
3RESIGNATIONS:
World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim unexpectedly resigned
Malaysia’s King Muhammad V becomes 1st Monarch to resign before completing tenure
CBI director Alok Verma has been removed from his post after a high-powered committee headed by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi met for over two hours to decide his fate, making him the first chief in the history of
the agency to face such action.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Chairman Ashok Chawla stepped down from his position.
The Chief Executive of Flipkart Group’s e-tail portals Myntra and Jabong, Ananth Narayanan, has stepped down
from the post.
The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of photo-messaging app Snapchat, Tim Stone, has called it quits after just eight
months of being appointed at the post.
Chanda Kochhar, who had resigned as CEO and MD of ICICI Bank nearly four months back, was terminated and
all her entitlements were revoked by the bank. The action by the bank came six days after the CBI booked her
along with her businessman husband Deepak Kochhar and Videocon MD Dhoot and a few others for criminal
conspiracy in an alleged loan fraud case.
Awards and Recognitions
Award Name Person/Institution Extra Knowledge
First-ever Philip Kotler PM Narendra Modi Prof. Philip Kotler is a world-renowned
Presidential award Professor of Marketing at Northwestern
University, Kellogg School of Management.
Sansad Ratna Award BJP MP Anurag Thakur
Saraswati Samman 2017 Gujarati poet Sitanshu For his poetry collection in Gujarati named
Yashash chandra “Vakhar”
Sushila Devi Literature Award Writer Namita Gokhale For her novel “Things to Leave Behind”
Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja Manoj Das He is an eminent English and Odia writer
National Award for Lifetime
Achievement in Literature
Lifetime Achievement award by Dinu Randive Veteran journalist
the Mantralaya and Vidhimandal
Vartahar Sangh
UDCT Alumni Association- Sir Richard J. Roberts He is 1993 Nobel laureate (Physiology or
Dhirubhai Ambani Lifetime (from UK) Medicine)
Achievement Award
ICSIs Lifetime Achievement Adi Godrej
Award for ‘Translating
Excellence in Corporate
Governance into Reality’
Lifetime Achievement Award by Buddhadeb Dasgupta
the West Bengal Film Journalists
Association (WBFJA)
Republic Day Journalism Award Dhirendra Nath
2019 by Assam Government Chakraborty
Kerala Sahitya Akademi award Nireeswaran (Novel’s Novel by V J James
for the best novel of 2017 name)
1st Sheikh Saud International Indian scientist C.N.R. Awarded by the Centre for Advanced
Prize for Materials Research Rao Materials of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
2019 Japan Prize Dr. Rattan Lal is being honored for his work in identifying
technological options adapted to various
ecosystems through his intensive basic and
applied research on processes and factors of
soil degradation caused by inappropriate
biological production.
Oscar Wilde Award Glenn Close
(American actress)
4Arunima Sinha, the Indian mountaineer who became the world’s first woman amputee to climb Mount Everest
in 2013, has now become the first woman amputee to climb Mount Vinson (highest peak of Antarctica).
The 38-year-old K Dhanya Sanal, a spokesperson for the Union Ministry of Defence, has become the first woman,
who is trekking to Agasthyarkoodam peak, after the Kerala High Court lifted the ban on women’s trekking on
December 9 last year.
Aparna Kumar has become the first woman IPS DIG and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) officer to successfully
complete the South Pole expedition.
Well-known mountaineer Satyarup Siddhanta, 35, conquered Antarctica’s highest point, Mount Sidley, to become
the youngest man in the world to have climbed the seven highest volcanic peaks, besides other summits.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has been awarded the Carnot Prize for his contribution towards sustainable
energy solutions by the University of Pennsylvania located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US. He has donated
the prize money to International Solar Alliance.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation was awarded Best Capital City in the Solid Waste Management
in the Swachh Survekshan 2018 rankings.
Dhruv Manoj, 12 has bagged two gold medals at the World Memory Championships held in Hong Kong.
Three Journalists from Tamil Nadu win, this year, the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award that
includes News18 Tamilnadu’s Chief Editor M Gunasekaran, Freelance Journalist Sandhya Ravishankar for her
contribution to The Wire and Vijay Kumar S from The Hindu for his Investigative reporting on Gutka Scam.
An Indian-American philanthropist and entrepreneur, Gurinder Singh Khalsa, has been presented with the
prestigious Rosa Park Trailblazer award for his campaign that forced US authorities change their policy
towards headgear of the Sikh community.
“No Presents Please”, originally written in Kannada by noted author Jayant Kaikini and translated into English
by Tejaswini Niranjana, was announced as the winner of the prestigious $25,000 DSC Prize for South Asian
Literature 2018 at the Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet in Kolkata.
Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) has been awarded the best miniratna PSU in strategic performance
(financial category) at the Governance Now Sixth PSU awards. HQ – Assam.
The Tamil translation of Andrei Makine’s “La vie d’un homme inconnu” (The Life of an Unknown Man) was
awarded the second Romain Rolland Prize for literary translation in Jaipur at the ongoing Jaipur Literature
Festival.
The ICAR tableau in the Republic Day Parade has won the first prize for its Kisan Gandhi theme. The Indian
Council of Agricultural Research tableau with the theme “Mishrit Kheti, Khushiyon Ki Kheti” portrayed Gandhi
with goats and a cow and Kasturba engaged with charkha and caring animals.
Rajiv Nath was conferred with the prestigious ‘Award of Appreciation’ by Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of
State for Health & Family Welfare for his contribution to the Global Public Healthcare sector
The government announced winners of the Gandhi Peace Prize for four years beginning 2015 to 2018.
Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari, gets the award for 2015 for their contribution in rural development,
education, development of natural resources.
For 2016, it has been jointly given to Akshaya Patra Foundation for its contribution in providing mid-day meals
children and Sulabh International for its contribution in improving the condition of sanitation and
emancipation of manual scavengers.
Ekal Abhiyan Trust has won the award for 2017 for their contribution in providing education for rural and
tribal children in remote areas, rural empowerment, gender and social equality
Yohei Sasakawa for 2018 for his contribution in leprosy eradication.
2019 Screen Actors Guild Awards
Here is the complete list of winners:
Outstanding performance by a male actor in leading role: Rami Malek, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
Outstanding performance by a female actor in leading role: Glenn Close, ‘The Wife’
Outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role: Mahershala Ali, ‘Green Book’
Outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role: Emily Blunt, ‘A Quiet Place’
Outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture: ‘Black Panther’
Outstanding performance by a male actor in a television movie or miniseries: Darren Criss, ‘Assassination of
Gianni Versace’
Outstanding performance by a female actor in a television movie or miniseries: Patricia Arquette, ‘Escape at
Dannemora’
Outstanding performance by a male actor in a drama series: Jason Bateman, ‘Ozark’
5 Outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series: Sandra Oh, ‘Killing Eve’
Outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series: Tony Shalhoub, ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’
Outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series: Rachel Brosnahan, ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’
Outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series: ‘This Is Us’
Outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series: ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’
Outstanding action performance by a stunt ensemble in a comedy or drama Series: ‘Glow’
Conference and Summits
Summit Place Extra Knowledge
14th session of the Conference
of Parties to United Nations
India India to host in 2019
Convention to Combat
Desertification (UNCCD)
UAE’s third largest emirate Sharjah was its
2019 World Book Fair New Delhi
2019 guest of honour.
First ‘National Consultation on
New Delhi
Child Protection’ for 2019
National Youth Parliament
New Delhi
Festival 2019
Theme - Next Gen Broadcasting in the IT
BES EXPO 2019 New Delhi
World
This year United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan &
Morocco were the partner countries for 9th
Vibrant Gujarat Global Mahatma Mandir in edition of Vibrant Gujarat. President of
Investors Summit 2019 Gandhinagar, Gujarat Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev attended the
Vibrant Gujarat international investment
summit as a key guest
Theme: Flying for all-especially the next 6
Global Aviation Summit 2019 Mumbai, Maharashtra
Billion
25th Partnership Summit
Mumbai, Maharashtra
2019
Regional Conference on
‘Deendayal Disabled Mumbai, Maharashtra
Rehabilitation Scheme’
India Steel 2019 Exhibition
and Mumbai, Maharashtra
Conference
9th International Conference
on Aurangabad, Maharashtra
Micro Irrigation
2nd World Orange Festival Nagpur, Maharashtra
Prime Minister of Mauritius, Mr. Pravind
Jugnauth was the chief Guest of Convention.
15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
Theme- Role of Indian Diaspora in building
New India
Greater Noida, Uttar
Indus Food 2019 Odisha participated as a partner state.
Pradesh
29th Indian Paint Conference Agra, Uttar Pradesh
Organics and Millets-2019
Bengaluru, Karnataka
International Trade Fair
6th ‘Women of India Organic
Leisure Valley, Chandigarh
Festival’
1st National Level Sports Meet
for the students of Eklavya
Hyderabad, Telangana
Model Residential Schools
(EMRS)
1st National Sports Meet 2019
Hyderabad, Telangana
for Tribals
6Focus Country – China
9th Hyderabad literary festival Hyderabad, Telangana
Focus Language – Gujarati
Organised by ISRO.
UNNATI (Unispace
India will train 45 countries in nano-satellite
Nanosatellite Assembly & Bengaluru, Karnataka
making through a new capacity building
Training) programme
programme.
South India MSME Summit
Bengaluru, Karnataka
2019
2nd World Integrated
Goa
Medicine Forum 2019
Theme - Globalization 4.0: Shaping a Global
World Economic Forum, WEF,
Davos, Switzerland Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial
annual meet
Revolution
7th Meeting of Tourism
Ha Long City, Vietnam
Ministers of ASEAN and India
Arab Economic And Social
Beirut, Lebanon
Development Summit
International News
Tropical Storm Usman, which entered the Philippines on Christmas Day, emerged as the deadliest weather
disaster for the country this year following Typhoon Mangkhut in September.
Thousands have been left stranded across tourist hotspots in Thailand as tropical storm ‘Pabuk’ made landfall
in the country’s southern gulf coast.
The United States and Israel officially quit the U.N.’s educational, scientific and cultural agency (UNESCO) at the
stroke of midnight, the culmination of a process triggered more than a year ago amid concerns that the
organization fosters anti-Israel bias.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act (ARIA), which passed the
U.S. Senate earlier in December.
France will introduce its own tax on large internet and technology companies from January 1. It has been
pushing hard for a new so-called “GAFA tax” — named after Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon — to ensure
the global giants pay a fair share of taxes on their massive business operations in Europe.
Gautemala to withdraw from UN-backed anti-corruption commission
President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the honorary rank of General of the Indian Army on Purna Chandra
Thapa, the Chief of the Army Staff of Nepalese Army.
The Parliament of Macedonia has passed the resolution to amend the constitution of the country to rename it
as the Republic of Northern Macedonia.
The world’s first human rights TV channel has been launched by the International Observatory of Human
Rights (IOHR).
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has launched Tokyo-based startup Star-ALE’s mini-satellite aimed to
deliver the world’s first artificial meteor shower.
The US city of Louisville in Kentucky state is set to rename its airport after hometown hero and boxing legend
Muhammad Ali (name before conversion to Islam – Cassius Clay), who died in 2016.
Palestine took over the chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China from Egypt at the United Nations
headquarters in New York. Palestine is slated to lead the bloc for 2019.
The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco) has named the Brazilian city of Rio de
Janeiro as the World Capital of Architecture for 2020.
China announced that its economy cooled down in the last quarter of 2018, recording a growth rate of 6.6 per
cent, which is the slowest in the last 28 years.
China is set to overtake the United States as the world’s biggest retail market in 2019, according to Research
firm eMarketer.
The world’s longest 3D-printed concrete pedestrian bridge, which is 26.3 metre-long and 3.6-metre-wide,
opened in China’s Shanghai.
Twenty-six richest billionaires own as many assets as the 3.8 billion people who make up for the poorest half
of the planets population, according to a report by British charity Oxfam.
Nepal’s central bank has announced the ban of Indian currency notes with denominations above Rs 100.
The Pakistan government declared sugarcane juice as the “national drink” of the country.
Pakistan has appointed the country’s first ever Hindu female civil judge after she passed an examination for
induction of judicial officers. Suman Kumari, who hails from Qambar-Shahdadkot in Sindh province, will serve
7in her native district.
The central banks of the UAE and Saudi Arabia have launched a common digital currency called “Aber”, which
will be used in financial settlements between the two countries through Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers
technologies.
World Economic Situation and Prospects 2019 report by United Nations Department of Economic and Social
Affairs (UNDESA). HQ – New York.
National News
Even though the number of leprosy cases have steadily declined worldwide, an estimated two lakh cases
continue to be reported every year, with India accounting for more than half, said World Health Organization
(WHO).
Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg arrived in New Delhi on a three-day state visit to India.
Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth arrived in India for a week-long official state visit.
In a bid to boost people-to-people ties and cultural exchanges, Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen
inaugurated a Danish Cultural Institute in New Delhi.
South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived in Delhi for his first state visit ahead of the Republic Day
celebration parade, where he is the chief guest.
Nashik in Maharashtra will be the site of the country’s second defence innovation hub after Coimbatore in
Tamil Nadu.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor in the
Tiruchirapalli district of Tamil Nadu.
Railways will build the country’s first vertical-lift bridge connecting Rameswaram in Arabian Sea to mainland
India that will allow ships and steamers to pass through without any hinderance, replacing the existing 104-
year-old Pamban bridge. It will be ready in the next four years, and along with the new railway link between
Rameswaram in Pamban Island and Dhanuskodi, which is considered the starting point of Ram Setu, will help
ferry thousands of pilgrims from the Hindu religious site to the mainland.
The Ministry of Culture announced that Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) declared 6 monuments as
‘protected and of national importance’ under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains
Act, 1958, in 2018.These sites are:
125-year-old Old High Court Building in Nagpur, Maharashtra,
The Group of Temples in Ranipur Jharail in Bolangir district of Odisha,
2 Mughal era monuments in Agra- Haveli of Agha Khan and Hathi Khana,
The Neemrana Baori in Alwar district of Rajasthan,
The Vishnu Temple in Kotali, Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand.
The MSME ministry has established an export promotion cell to create a sustainable ecosystem for micro, small
and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The government on January 2, 2019 gave out the 6-croreth free cooking gas (LPG) connection as the scheme to
make available cleaner fuel in every household kitchens runs ahead of schedule.
India achieved electrification in 100% households in 25 states at the end of 2018. Now, only about 10.48 lakh
households are left to be electrified in 4 states – Assam, Rajasthan, Meghalaya, and Chhattisgarh.
The Cabinet approved the restructuring of existing National Health Agency as ‘National Health Authority’ (as
an attached office to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) for better implementation of Pradhan Mantri-Jan
Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi added ‘Jai Anusandhan’ to the slogan ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ given by the late
Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, hailing the power of research to propel the nation into the top league.
An ambitious web-based single-window system ‘Parivesh’ (Pro-Active and Responsive facilitation by
Interactive, Virtuous and Environmental Single-window Hub) will be rolled-out at state levels by January 15,
bringing an end to the clearance nightmare for entrepreneurs.
Vijay Mallya became the first tycoon to be charged under a new anti-fraud law, with a court in Mumbai naming
him as an offender under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018.
As part of the enhanced outreach programme of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), a new platform
named Samwad with Students (SwS) was launched in Bengaluru on January 1, 2019.
The government launched Web- Wonder Women Campaign to celebrate the exceptional achievements of
women who have influenced and impacted society through social media.
Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Dr Harsh Vardhan launched the National Clean Air
Programme (NCAP) aiming to reduce toxic particulate matter by 2024, taking 2017 as the base year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has released a commemorative coin of Rs 350 to mark the birth anniversary of
8Guru Gobind Singh, the ten preachers of the Sikh religion.
Two commemorative coins in the denomination of Rs 100 and Rs 5 were released to mark the 102nd birth
anniversary of late Tamil Nadu chief minister and ruling AIADMK founder M G Ramachandran which was
celebrated across the state.
Government eMarketplace (GeM) has launched an initiative – Womaniya on GeM – to enable women
entrepreneurs and self-help groups to sell different products at the platform. GeM is an online platform of the
ministry for procurement of goods and services by government departments, public sector units, and other
agencies.
Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan flagged off SAKSHAM (Sanrakshan
Kshmata Mahotsav) Vans to promote and create awareness among people on the need of oil and gas
conservation for the future and the methods to do it.
Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF) and the Mayor of Prayagraj jointly launched Mukti Caravan
with the aim of making Kumbh a child-friendly festival.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved Rs 4,241.97crore for integrated e-
filing and centralised processing centre–2.0 Project-of the Income Tax Department.
In partnership with States, the Ministry of Rural Development has completed 1.37 crore Rural Homes since
April 2014.
Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY) has crossed the milestone of 1 crore beneficiaries as on
January 14, 2019, according to a release by Ministry of Labour and Employment.
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is organising a fortnight of events named Shehri Samridhi Utsav from
Feb 1 to 15 all over the country focusing on urban livelihoods.
Women to get 20% jobs in Military Police, said Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
India’s first-ever all-women political party the National Women’s Party (NWP) was launched in Mumbai and it
will contest half 283 of the 545 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Subhas Chandra Bose museum at the iconic Red Fort in Delhi
to mark the freedom fighter’s 122nd birth anniversary. He also inaugurated the Yaad-e-Jallian Museum
dedicated on the Jallianwala Bagh and Indian soldiers in World War I. He also inaugurated a museum on 1857
India’s first war of Independence, and the Drishyakala Museum on Indian Art within the Red Fort complex.
The Central government has instituted an annual award titled “Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan
Puraskar”, which is to be announced every year on January 23, on the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose. The award carries a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 51 lakh.
Indians have emerged as the biggest supporters of international aid, with a global public opinion survey
putting India on the top when it comes to people expecting their nation to help other countries, according to a
survey released by the World Economic Forum
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana under which a group of Indian
diaspora will be taken on a government-sponsored tour of religious places in India twice a year.
Oxford Dictionaries announced that ‘Nari Shakti’ as its Hindi Word of the Year for 2018.
Public funding in India in the field of research and development for neglected diseases has increased
significantly by Rs 135 crore since 2009, says a new report. The report conducted by G-Finder a project that
tracks and reports on global investments into research and development (R&D) for neglected diseases
suggested that funding from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) increased by Rs 147 crore.
India is on the way to becoming the fifth largest economy in the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said
recently. He was addressing the India-South Africa Business Forum organised jointly by Indian Industry
Chambers CII, FICCI and Assocham in the presence of visiting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar, has developed an app Roshni that would help the Visually
Impaired to recognise currency notes. The app can recognise both old and new notes and gives audio
information as to which note you are holding in your hands.
People can watch the highlights of this year’s Republic Day parade at the Rajpath on a mobile application
which has been launched by the Defence Ministry. The ‘RDP INDIA 2019‘ app was launched on the occasion of
the 70th Republic day. This new initiative is in sync with the Digital India campaign of the government.
Highlighting the success of Make in India and contribution of Indian workers, Minister of Railways Piyush
Goyal, renamed India’s first indigenous semi-high speed train ‘Train 18’ as ‘Vande Bharat Express’. Vande
Bharat Express will run from Delhi to Varanasi taking stops at Kanpur and Prayagraj.
GST On Haj Reduced From 18% To 5%.
9State News
Andaman Nicobar Islands
Veer Savarkar International Airport in Port Blair, Andaman has been declared as an authorized Immigration
Check post for entry into/exit from India with valid travel documents for all classes of passengers.
Andaman To Be First Island To Operate Seaplanes Under UDAN-3
Andhra Pradesh
The Andhra Pradesh government bagged the Central Board of Irrigation and Power (CBIP) award for speedy
execution of Polavaram multipurpose project on the Godavari river.
Marking a golden letter day in the history of Polavaram project-the life line of Andhra Pradesh, the concrete
works of spill channel successfully entered Guinness Book of World Records by completing 32,315.5 Cubic
meter of concrete works in a span of 24 hours.
The three-day annual Flamingo Festival was held at Pulicat lake and Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary in Sullurpet
mandal. Flamingo Festival is held every year to promote tourism in Pulicat and Nellapattu.
Arunachal Pradesh
Chief Minister Pema Khandu inaugurated India’s longest 300-meter single-lane steel cable suspension bridge
over Siang river in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Siang district bordering China. The suspension bridge – also
known as Byorung bridge – was built at a cost of Rs 4,843 crore.
Defence Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the 426.60 metre long Diffo Bridge over Chipu River in
Lower Dibang Valley District in Arunachal Pradesh.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Pema Khandu declared Pakke Paga Hornbill Festival (PPHF) as the “State
Festival”. Pakke Paga Hornbill Festival (PPHF) is only conservation festival of Arunachal Pradesh.
Assam
Railway minister Piyush Goel announced that the Honey Bee plan in Assam that kept elephants away from the
tracks will be expanded to other areas of the country. He said that the initiative was started on experiment
basis last year.
In Assam, Railway Protection Force of Lumding Division has taken a significant step towards enhancing the
security of women in the North East region. A dedicated RPF Women Squad named as ‘JOYMATI BAHINI’,
comprising women sub-inspector and constables of the Railway Protection Force was formally launched today
at Kamkhaya Railway Station in Guwahati.
Delhi
Delhi government inaugurated a round-the-clock Animal Health Care Services in a Government Veterinary
Hospital in Tis Hajari and also a helpline number 011-23967555 for animal health care assistance.
Goa
A 5.1-km long cable-stayed “Atal Setu” on the Mandovi river in Goa, a third such bridge to connect the state
capital with North Goa, was opened to public by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.
Gujarat
Gujarat has become the first state to implement the 10% reservation for economically weaker sections of the
general category. This comes a day after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the bill.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Institute of Medical and Research in
Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar laid the foundation stone of “Haryana Bhawan” at the “Statue of
Unity” complex in Kevadiya, Gujarat.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the National Salt Satyagraha Memorial at Dandi in
Gujarat on Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary on 30 January. The memorial has statues of Mahatma Gandhi
and 80 Satyagrahis who had marched with him during the historic Dandi Salt March. It also has 24-narrative
murals depicting various events and stories from the historic 1930 Salt March.
Haryana
To revive the ancient Sarasvati river in the state and ensure regular flow of fresh water into it, the Haryana
Saraswati Heritage Development Board (HSHDB) approved 11 major projects, including restoration of various
heritage sites along the course of the mythical river.
Himachal Pradesh
Global Investor Summit to be held in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh on June 10 and 11, 2019
10Jammu & Kashmir
The Jammu and Kashmir administration set up a law commission, with Justice (Retd) M K Hanjura as its
founding chairperson, to identity redundant and obsolete laws that can be repealed and suggest measures for
quick redress of public grievances.
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated a 1,210-meter span-bridge over the river
Ravi in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district to reduce the distance to Punjab’s Pathankot city by 36 km.
Kerala
In a wonderful initiative to support gender equality and renaissance value, around 50 lakh women formed a
620- km-long ‘Women’s Wall’ in Kerala. The wall was formed across the national highway which stretched
from the northern tip of Kasaragod to the southern end in Thiruvananthapuram.
More than five years after Malayalam was declared a classical language, the Union Government issued its nod
for setting up the Centre for Classical Language at the Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University in Tirur.
Kerala has launched the country’s largest startup hub with a 1,000-seat capacity in Kalamassery, Kochi. Named
‘Integrated Startup Complex,’ the facility is built to provide top quality infrastructure for incubation and
acceleration for the state’s startups.
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath launched his government’s Rs 50,000-crore farm debt-waiver
scheme named ‘Jai Kisan Rin Mukti Yojana’.
The country’s first cremation ground for cows will be prepared in Madhya Pradesh’s capital Bhopal and the
city’s municipal authorities are already on the lookout for a site for the purpose.
On the occasion of Republic Day, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath announced the launch of the
‘Yuva Swabhiman Yojana’ for youths from the economically weaker sections in urban areas.
Maharashtra
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC) in Mumbai,
Maharashtra. The state-of-the-art Museum has been built at a cost of over 140 crore rupees. The creation of the
museum has been guided by the Museum Advisory Committee headed by noted film maker Shyam Benegal.
Manipur
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh launched ‘School Fagat-Hansi’ mission, an initiative under the
Government’s popular ‘Go to Village’ mission.
Odisha
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launched the ‘Ama Ghare LED’ scheme, under which about 95 lakh families in the
state will each get four LED bulbs free of cost.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Bolangir-Bichhupali railway line in Balangir, Odisha.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced “Jiban Sampark” project in partnership with UNICEF India to
generate awareness about the development and welfare initiatives of state government among the Particularly
Vulnerable Tribal Groups of the state. He inaugurated the annual tribal fair popularly known as “Adivasi Mela”
on Republic Day.
Punjab
In a major fillip to Punjab‘s persistent efforts for securing the waiver of Rs 31,000 crore food account,
Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission N K Singh formed a committee to find ways of settling the matter.
Puducherry
Puducherry government has imposed a ban on the sale and use of plastic products in the Union Territory from
March 1.
Rajasthan
Rajasthan govt decided to reverse Atal Seva Kendra as Rajiv Gandhi Seva Kendra.
Free education will be provided to girls in state-run institutions in Rajasthan from July. Also, the female
students in colleges will be given sanitary napkins free of cost.
Sikkim
Sikkim CM Pawan Kumar Chamling launched the ‘One Family, One Job’ scheme that envisions jobs to a member
of every family which does not have a government job in the state.
K.J. Alphons, Union Minister for Tourism has inaugurated the first project under the Swadesh Darshan Project
of the Union Ministry of Tourism at the Zero Point, Gangtok, Sikkim.
11Tamil Nadu
Kallakurichi is 33rd district of Tamil Nadu.
The Chennai Traffic Police inducted a road safety robot into its fold. Named ROADEO, the robot will make the
pedestrians, especially children, feel safe while crossing the roads.
Tamil Nadu government has rolled out the much-expected Startup and Innovation Policy 2018-2023 aimed at
creating at least 5,000 startups, including 10 global high growth companies, by 2023.
Global Investors Summit, being organised by Tamil Nadu government, held in Chennai.
Government launches Technology Mission Centre on Solar Energy & Water Treatment in Chennai
Tamil Nadu was declared the ‘Best State Overall’ for exemplary participation in the Swasth Bharat Yatra, a 100-
day consumer outreach programme of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which was
launched to amplify its Eat Right India initiative.
Telangana
Telangana’s MNJ Institute of Oncology and Regional Cancer Centre in Hyderabad has entered the Guinness
Book of World Records for organising the largest men’s Health Awareness programme on prostate cancer on a
single day.
The Telangana government has decided to form a ‘State Tiger Protection Force’ to save the Big Cat population
in the State. The 112-member-armed STPF will be headed by an Assistant Conservator of Forests to protect
tiger population in Amarabad and Kawal Tiger Reserves.
Tripura
The Tripura government has unveiled an official logo for the state’s tea to popularise the beverage and to
promote the potentiality of tourism. The logo features Tripura’s iconic landmark, the “Neermahal” which is the
largest and one-of-its-kind water palace in India.
Uttarakhand
The government of Uttarakhand has obtained the permission to develop the tulip garden over 50 hectares of
forest land in Pithoragarh district at a cost of Rs 50 crore. It will be the second Tulip garden in the country after
the one located in Srinagar of Jammu and Kashmir.
Uttar Pradesh
The North Central Railway, NCR launched a mobile application to help people navigate through Prayagraj city
during Kumbh Mela started from Jan 15. The ‘Rail Kumbh Seva Mobile App‘ also provided information
regarding all the ‘Mela special’ trains that will be run during the period.
The Uttar Pradesh cabinet approved the proposal of renaming the Mughalsarai tehsil as Pandit Deendayal
Upadhyay, the co-founder and president of Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
The new Campus of the National Museum Institute was inaugurated in Noida by Union HRD Minister Prakash
Javadekar. Four new courses that are Archaeology; Palaeography, Epigraphy and Numismatics; Structural
Conservation and Cultural and Heritage Management, are expected to be commenced.
Finance and Banking News
ESAF small finance bank which received the first banking license in Kerala since independence has got RBI
approval to operate as scheduled bank. This makes Thrissur-based ESAF small finance bank (SFB) the fifth
scheduled bank from Kerala.
The government has amalgamated three Regional Rural Banks — Punjab Gramin Bank, Malwa Gramin Bank
and Sutlej Gramin Bank — into a single RRB with effect from January 1.
The Union cabinet has approved the merger of public sector lenders Dena Bank, Vijaya Bank with Bank of
Baroda (BoB).
RBI to inject Rs 37,500 crore through Open Market Operation (OMO) in February
Banks have seen a significant improvement in recovery of stressed assets helped by the Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and amendments in the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and
Enforcement of Security Interests (SARFAESI) Act, during FY18, according to the RBI data. In the fiscal ended
March 2018, banks recovered Rs 40,400 crore worth of bad loans as against Rs 38,500 crore recovered in
FY17.
Public sector banks’ provision coverage ratio which measures the provisioning for bad loans has gone up from
less than 50 per cent in 2015 to 66.85 per cent as of September 2018, reflecting improvement in their financial
health.
12 The Reserve Bank of India has extended the relaxation offered to banks for offering liquidity support to NBFCs
up to March 31.
According to RBI Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India, the number of complaints registered at
banking ombudsman offices have seen a 25% increase in the fiscal year 2018, with majority of these
complaints coming from urban centres owing to increased awareness and poor internal redressal mechanisms
of banks.
Iran will be opening a branch of its private bank named Pasargad in Mumbai in three months.
Continuing its efforts to improve the safety of card transactions, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended the
use of tokenisation — hiding of actual card details with a unique token — in the wider payments ecosystem.
Sri Lanka’s Central Bank (Central Bank of Sri Lanka) announced that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has
agreed to provide USD 400 million under a swap arrangement to boost the island nation’s reserves.
The Union Cabinet approved a $75 billion currency swap deal between India and Japan to assist each other “in
times of difficulty”.
The Union Cabinet approved capital infusion of Rs 6,000 crore in Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank)
through recapitalisation bonds to boost the bank’s capacity in export financing.
A consortium of banks led by StateBank of India has agreed to provide finance for Nagpur-Mumbai ‘Samruddhi
Corridor’ expressway project. SBI has agreed to lend the highest amount, 8,500 crorerupees.
HDFC Standard Life Insurance is now HDFC Life Insurance
SBI Card and Etihad Guest, the loyalty programme of Etihad Airways, have joined hands to launch a travel
specific Visa credit card for members and Indian travellers. This is the first international co-brand partnership
of SBI Card, the country’s second largest credit card issuer.
According to Financial Stability Report by Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
The asset quality of banks showed improvement with gross non performing assets’ (GNPAs) ratio declining to
10.8 per cent in September 2018 from 11.5 per cent in March 2018.
The balance sheet size of non-bank financial companies (NBFCs) grew by 17.2 per cent to Rs 26 trillion in
September 2018 from Rs 22.2 trillion in September 2017.
Business News
Leading private insurer SBI Life Insurance said it has signed a ‘bancassurance’ pact, with state-run Allahabad
Bank to offer a financial planning solution to consumers.
Google has acquired a start-up named Superpod that built an app allowing users to post questions and receive
answers from experts quickly — a move that will help boost Google Assistant’s ability to accurately answer
users’ questions.
ICICI Bank and Small Business FinCredit India Pvt Ltd (SBFC) will jointly provide loans worth up to Rs 1 crore
to the small and medium enterprises.
HDFC Mutual Fund has piped ICICI Prudential MF to become the country’s largest asset management company
after a gap of over two years.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed Paytm Payments Bank to restart opening new accounts for its
consumers after almost six months of the ban.
Gruh Finance Ltd. is set to merge with Bandhan Bank Ltd. in a share-swap deal.
NABARD announced that it will provide early-stage capital to agriculture and rural enterprises through its
venture capital entity, ‘NABVENTURES Ltd’. NABVENTURES Ltd has been incorporated by NABARD under the
Companies Act.
The GST Council relaxed the tax exemption limit to Rs 40 lakh from the earlier cap of Rs 20 lakh during its
32nd meeting. The all-powerful panel also decided to extend the composition scheme to traders from informal
sector rendering services or mixed supplies with a turnover up to Rs 50 lakh. The exemption limit for small
states has also been increased to Rs 20 lakh from Rs 10 lakh.
The Delhi-bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved the merger of financially-stressed
Tata Teleservices with Bharti Airtel.
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH India) said its merger deal with Hindustan Unilever Limited
(HUL) has been approved by the fair trade regulator CCI.
In an effort to encourage entrepreneurs and small businesses in India, Facebook-owned messaging app
WhatsApp announced the “Startup India-WhatsApp Grand Challenge”. The top five start-ups will receive a total
grant of $250,000.
13Economy News
FDI (Foreign direct investment) grew 18% in FY18 to Rs 28.25 lakh crore: RBI data
India to grow at 7-7.5% over next few years: PM’s Economic Advisory Council
Global economic growth is projected to slow to 2.9 per cent in 2019 from a downwardly revised 3 per cent in
2018 amid rising downside risks, the World Bank has said in its Global Economic Prospects report.
World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects report : India’s growth rate is expected to accelerate to 7.3% during
the current financial year ending March 2019
India to retain status as fastest growing economy in 2019-20: World Bank
The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) World Economic Outlook Update released by chief economist Gita
Gopinath recently said that India’s economy is expected to grow by 7.5 per cent in the 2019-20 fiscal year,
keeping an upward trajectory as the rest of the world slumps. The IMF’s flagship report said that India’s
growth was estimated to be 7.3 per cent for the current fiscal year and forecast to rise to 7.7 per cent in 2020-
21. India will continue to be the world’s fastest growing major economy, the report said.
The Indian economy is expected to grow at 7.4 per cent in the current fiscal and its GDP growth will rise to 7.6
per cent in 2019-20, before tapering down to 7.4 per cent in 2020-21, according to a UN report.
GDP growth likely to be tad higher at 7.5% in FY20: India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra)
In its ‘Growth Outlook for 2019’, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) stated that the GDP growth will be in
the range of 7.5% in 2019.
Releasing the first advance estimates of National Income for 2018-19, Central Statistics Office (CSO) stated that
the growth in GDP during 2018-19 is estimated at 7.2% as compared to the growth rate of 6.7% in 2017-18
The income earned by an average Indian doubled in 7 years, from Rs 63,642 per year in 2011-12 to Rs 1.25
lakh in 2018-19, the first advance estimates of national income released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO)
show.
In a measure of relief for the troubled micro and small industries segment, the RBI permitted a one-time
restructuring of existing loans to MSMEs that are in default but ‘standard’ as on January 1, 2019, without an
asset classification downgrade. The restructuring has to be implemented by March 31, 2020.
The direct tax-to-GDP ratio of 5.98 per cent achieved during 2017-18 fiscal is the best in the last 10 years,
accoding to the finance ministry.
The total value of BHIM-UPI transactions crossed 1 Lakh Crore Rupees mark in December 2018.
More than 33 crore accounts were opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) till last
December and over 80 per cent of these are active accounts, the Rajya Sabha was informed.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a new framework for external commercial borrowings (ECBs) and
rupee-denominated bonds in a bid to improve ease of doing business. As per the new framework, all eligible
borrowers can now raise external commercial borrowings up to $750 million or equivalent per financial year
under the automatic route, replacing the existing sector-wise limits.
Revenue collection under Goods and Services Tax (GST) for January crossed Rs 1 lakh crore. Total collection for
the month of January last year was Rs 89,825 crore, the Finance Ministry said.
The Reserve Bank of India has decided to limit the liability of customers in case of unauthorised electronic
payment transactions in Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) issued by non-banks.
Under new norms on customer liability, the regulator said frauds due to third-party breach where neither the
customer nor the PPI issuer is at fault, there cannot be any liability for the customer, in case the incident in
reported within three days.
If the fraud is reported between three and seven days, customer liability will amount to the transaction value
or ₹10,000, whichever is lower.
For over seven days, the liability of the customer will be according to the board-approved policy of the PPI
issuer.
After the customer reports the fraud, the PPI issuer has to credit the amount involved in the unauthorised
transaction to the customer’s PPI within 10 days.
Science & Technology
According to a top space official, India is planning to launch 32 space missions in 2019. The missions include
the second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 to land on the moon with lander and rover.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Dr K Sivan said that the Union Government has allocated
10,900 crore rupees for the development of 40 satellite launch vehicles in the next four years.
ISRO chief K Sivan said the Rs 10,000 crore worth Gaganyaan mission is a major turning point for the space
agency, while adding that his team is targeting to send the first manned mission to space in December 2021.
The state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has unveiled a Human Space Flight Centre in
Bengaluru.
14 Microsoft India launched a new e-commerce platform ‘re-weave.in’ under project ReWeave to aid handloom
weavers. The e-commerce platform would connect artisans to the buyers directly enabling them to expand to
newer customers and markets.
India has successfully launched its 46th flight of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C44) carrying Kalamsat, a
communication satellite developed by students and India’s military satellite Microsat-R from Satish Dhawan
Space Centre in Sriharikota.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully test fired Long Range Surface to
Air Missile (LR-SAM) from naval warship INS Chennai. The test was conducted off the coast of Odisha.
Defence News
The second India-Myanmar bilateral Army exercise ‘IMBEX 2018-19’ commenced at Chandimandir military
station near Chandigarh.
Over a decade after the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes, the Indian Navy has launched “Sea Vigil”, a first of its
kind and biggest coastal two-day defence exercise off the 7,516-km-long Indian coastline, involving all 13
coastal states, Union Territories and maritime stakeholders including fisherfolk. The two-day exercise will
serve as a build-up to the major theatre-level tri-service exercise, TROPEX (Theatre-level Readiness
Operational Exercise) conducted by the Indian Navy every two years.
India will engage with 12 African nations in a joint military exercise named ‘Indian Africa Field Training
Exercise (IAFTX)-2019’ in Pune in March this year.
Coast Guards of India and Japan kicked off their disaster control, search and rescue exercises off the coast of
Yokohama in Japan. Indian Coast Guard Ship ICGS Shaunak is the main Indian ship taking part in the drills.
Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba will commission the new Naval Air Base ‘INS Kohassa’ at Diglipur in Andaman
and Nicobar Islands.
Sports News
Tournament Winner Runner Up
Premier Badminton League title Bengaluru Raptors
Tata Open Maharashtra ATP 250 Rohan Bopanna and Divij
tournament (Men Doubles) Sharan
Lady head constable Rani of 5th
Senior National Women’s Judo Indian Reserve Battalion of
Championship at Visakhapatnam Himachal Pradesh Police won
Gold
Women’s 10 metre Air Rifle event in
Apurvi Chandela
Meyton Cup in Innsbruck (Austria)
International Tennis Federation’s
Ankita Raina Held in Singapore
25,000-dollar Women’s tournament
Indo-Tibetan Border Police
National Ice hockey tournament
(ITBP)
After her opponent Carolina Marin
Indonesia Masters 2019 Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal pulled out of the summit clash due to
an injury
New South Wales men’s Amateur
India’s Kartik Sharma
Golf Championship
2018 Confederation of African
Mohamed Salah
Football Player of the Year
2019 Brisbane International title
Japan’s Kei Nishikori
(men)
Mubadala World Tennis
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic
Championship
Hopman Cup 2019 (Men) Switzerland’s Roger Federer
Hopman Cup 2019 (Women) Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic
7th Australian Open title (Men) Serbia’s Novak Djokovic
7th Australian Open title (Women) Japan’s Naomi Osaka
15Sports
Khelo India Youth Games: Hosts Maharashtra finish top with 228 medals - 85 gold, 62 silver and 81 bronze
Hockey India removed Harendra Singh as the coach of the Indian men’s hockey team following their
disappointing run in the recently-concluded Hockey World Cup.
Former boxer Mohammed Ali Qamar named women’s chief coach
Stephen Constantine (from UK) has decided to step down as the head coach of the Indian football team
following team’s exit from 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
India scripted history after winning their first-ever Test series in Australia as the fourth Test at the Sydney
Cricket Ground (SCG) concluded in a draw.
India have retained their number one spot in the updated ICC Test team rankings, released on 14th January
2019.
India’s Ambati Rayudu has been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect after
the part-timer’s action was reported during the first ODI against Australia earlier this month.
India’s Smriti Mandhana was crowned women’s cricketer of the year by International Cricket Council, sport’s
world governing body. She was also named ODI cricketer of the year for accumulating 669 runs off 12 one-day
internationals.
Pacer Mohammed Shami became the fastest Indian to claim 100 wickets in One-day Internationals
India captain Virat Kohli has become the fastest batsman to reach 19,000 international runs, achieving the feat
in his 399th innings during the fourth Test against Australia.
India skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri received the honorary membership of the Sydney Cricket
Ground (SCG) for their contribution to the sport of cricket.
Virat Kohli has become the first cricketer to win the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year,
the ICC Men’s Test Player of the Year and the ICC ODI Player of the Year
Rohit Danu, Indian Arrows’ 16-year-old footballer, became the youngest goal-scorer in the I-League.
India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has become the highest wicket-taker in international cricket in 2018 after
picking up 9 wickets in the Melbourne Test against Australia.
Indian wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant became the country’s first keeper to complete twenty catches in a
Test series.
Rishabh Pant was named Emerging Player of the Year by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Team India’s Right-hand opener Rohit Sharma becomes the first Indian batsman to smash five hundreds in ODI
cricket in Australia.
M C Mary Kom has attained number one position in the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) latest world
rankings. She became the most successful boxer in world championships’ history when she claimed the 48kg
category top honours in Delhi in November last year.
Budding golfer Kartik Singh has acquired the top position in the under-8 category at the Kids’ Golf World
Championship organised by US kids Golf in Malaysia.
At the Khelo India Youth Games in Pune, ten year old Abhinav Shaw became the youngest gold medallist in
shooting.
Maharashtra topped the medal tally with 37 golds at the Khelo India Youth Games in Pune. It has 111 medals in
its kitty with 37 gold, 31 silver and 43 bronze. Delhi continued to follow second with 30 gold and Haryana too
maintained its third position with 28 gold.
Asian Cup Gold medallist Shakil Amed has added one more feather to his cap when he set up a world record in
indoor rowing by completing 1,00,000 (one lakh) metres in above-40 years category in Kolkata.
12 year old Tamil Nadu boy, D Gukesh became the youngest Grand master in India and second in the world.
Ace Indian female wrestler Vinesh Phogat has become the first Indian athlete to receive a nomination in the
prestigious Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award.
Surpassing master blaster Sachin Tendulkar’s record, Nepal teenage batsman Rohit Paudel has become the
youngest cricketer to score a half-century in international cricket at the age of 16 years and 146 days.
Sports ministry has earmarked Rs. 100 crore for funding the athletes under the (TOPS) Target Olympic Podium
Scheme ahead of 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) welcomed USA Cricket as its 105th Member.
Australian cities Sydney and Brisbane have been announced as the first two host locations for the newest team
event in men’s tennis for the multi-million dollar ATP Cup from 2020.
Egypt will host the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
South African all-rounder Albie Morkel announced retirement from all form of cricket.
South Africa all-rounder Johan Botha announced retirement from all forms of cricket
Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech (from Czech Republic) announced that he would be retiring from professional
football at the end of the current season.
England women’s cricketer Danielle Hazell has announced her retirement from the international cricket.
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