1. India successfully test-fired indigenously developed MBRL Pinaka II at Pokhran
i. Amament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) in the last week of December 2015 successfully test-fired Pinaka II multi barrel rocket launcher (MBRL) System. The three-day long user assisted trials were conducted at Pokhran in Rajasthan.
ii. Pinaka is an unguided rocket system and capable of neutralising large areas with rapid salvos. Range of Pinaka II is 20 km more than the Pinaka I version, which has a 40 km range and has already been inducted into the forces.
iii. The system acts as a force-multiplier while supplementing the artillery guns of the armed forces. It is capable to incorporate several types of warheads, which make the weapon deadly for the enemy as it can even destroy solid structures and bunkers.
iv. The system proved its mettle during Kargil war while neutralising the mountain peaks off the enemy. They are developed at a very low cost vis-a-vis other such rocket systems in the world bestowed with shoot and scoot capabilities. The Pinaka MBRL System has been indigenously developed by the ARDE, Pune.
2. 15 states have joined UDAY scheme: Piyush Goyal
i. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Bihar have agreed to join the central government’s electricity distribution utility (Discom) financial turnaround scheme to take the total number up to 15.
ii. Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy Minister said on Monday that within two months of getting Cabinet approval, more than half the states have voluntarily agreed to join the scheme called the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY).
iii. Under UDAY, states shall take over 75 per cent of Discom debt as on 30 September 2015 over two years where 50 per cent of Discom debt shall be taken over in 2015-16 and 25 per cent in 2016-17. Discoms will also issue bonds for the remaining 25 per cent of their debt which will be guaranteed by the state governments.
iv. Further, states will issue non-SLR including SDL bonds in the market or directly to the respective banks and financial institutions holding the Discom debt to the appropriate extent.
v. The states which have agreed to join the scheme are Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Maharashtra.
3. Lodha panel proposes drastic reforms for BCCI, IPL CEO given clean chit
i. The Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Committee today recommended sweeping reforms for the controversy-ridden BCCI, suggesting a bar on ministers from occupying positions, putting a cap on the age and tenure of the office-bearers and legalising betting.
ii. In a series of drastic reforms, the three-member panel, headed by Justice (Retd) R M Lodha, also suggested one unit should represent one state, while taking away the voting rights of institutional and city-based units. The committee also suggested the restructuring of the BCCI’s administrative set-up, proposing the position of a CEO accountable to a nine-member apex council.iii. Among the most sensational recommendations by the Lodha panel was the suggestion to legalise betting. The panel felt that the move would help curb corruption in the game and recommended that except for players and officials, people should be allowed to place bets on registered sites.
iv. “Regarding the IPL, the recommendation is that the chief governing body will be known as the Governing Council, which will comprise nine members. The Secretary and the Treasurer of the BCCI will be ex-officio members of this IPL governing council,” Justice Lodha said.
v. “The Governing Council of IPL will be entitled to take all decisions concerning IPL, which includes decisions relating to financial matters. However, the Governing Council will be answerable to the general body of the BCCI. So limited autonomy is proposed for the IPL GC,” he added.
4. Wipro management changes, T K Kurien elevated as Vice Chairman, COO becomes CEO
i. India’s third largest IT services exporter – Wipro has announced major management changes with the elevation of the chief executive officer (CEO) T K Kurien as the executive vice-chairman and chief operating officer Abidali Neemuchwala as the new CEO and member of the board.
ii. In a notice to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday afternoon, Wipro announced that both these changes will be effective February 1, 2016. Kurien who took over the role of CEO in February, 2011 will hold the executive vice chairman position until March 31, 2017.iii. Commenting on the appointment, Wipro Chairman Azim Premji said, “Over the past five years, Wipro has been transforming into a next generation technology and consulting company with defining differentiators in the marketplace. As Executive Chairman TK will enable Abid by leveraging his deep relationships with customers and chart out a new technology roadmap for Wipro.”
iv. Neemuchwala, who was appointed as COO in April, 2015 will be the new CEO for a period of five year. He previously spent 23 years at TCS and is the second outsider to head Wipro’s IT business after Vivek Paul.
v. Kurien on the appointment of Neemuchwala said, “Abid had demonstrated a deep understanding of technology, business vision, sound judgement and innate ability to bring people together. I have no doubt that Abid is the right leader to lead Wipro in its next phase of growth.”
vi. Neemuchwala taking over as the CEO comes at a time when Wipro is struggling to get into double digit growth rate and has fallen behind its peers like TCS, Cognizant and Infosys.
5. Paytm acquires Shifu for $8mn to enrich customer experience
i. Paytm has acquired Shifu for $8 million (about Rs 53.2 crore), a move that will enable the digital payments company to offer more personalised user experience. Shifu, a context-aware personal assistant application, mines the smartphone usage patterns of users and makes personalised and highly relevant recommendations to them.
ii. By predicting user behaviour based on past usage, location and other data points, Paytm’s platform will be able to offer relevant recommendations to our users, he added.iii. Shifu, created by Delhi-based The Signals, is a free task-managing app. Once the app is installed, it analyses the usage patterns of the device owner and give various suggestions based on a predictive algorithm.
iv. While the app will continue to be available in its original form after the acquisition, the technology behind it will be used by Paytm.
Paytm has a user base of more than 100 million people.
v. In November, Paytm acquired home service marketplace Near.in for an undisclosed amount to boost online-to-offline (O2O) play.
6. NABARD, NRSC signed MoU for monitoring Watershed Projects
i. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on 1 January 2016 signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) for web-based monitoring of Indo-German Watershed Development projects.ii. The web-based monitoring of Indo-German Watershed Development projects will happen in three states- Gujarat, Rajasthan and Telangana.
iii. Under the MoU, NRSC will create a separate page for NABARD on Bhuvan web-portal.
iv. NRSC will develop customised software tool and mobile application for real time monitoring, online comparison and visualisation with respect to activities implemented in the projects.
7. Atul Sobti took charge as CMD of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
i. Atul Sobti on 1 January 2016 took charge as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of state-owned power equipment maker Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) for a period of five years.
ii. His appointment as CMD of BHEL was approved by the Union Government in September 2015. Prior to this appointment, Sobti was the Director on the board of BHEL, where he headed two crucial portfolios of Power and Finance.iii. He also held Additional Charge of the post of Director (Engineering, Research and Development).
iv. Before his elevation to the Board of BHEL in December 2013, Sobti was Executive Director (Power) at BHEL and was holding concurrent charge of Industrial Systems Group, a Bengaluru based unit of BHEL.
8. LIC offers longer cover under ‘Jeevan Labh’
i. LIC is offering a ‘New Year gift’ to the public in the form of a limited-premium, non-linked and with-profit endowment assurance plan ‘Jeevan Labh’ from Monday. The highlight of the plan is that premium is payable for a limited period while risk is covered for the whole policy term.
ii. The plan is available from ages 8 to 59 years with a choice of policy term of 16, 21 and 25 years and premium-paying terms of 10,15 and 16 years respectively. The maximum age at maturity is 75 years, said Shaji M Shankar, Senior Divisional Manager, LIC, Thiruvananthapuram Division.iii. The plan is suitable for those who want premium commitment for a short duration while life coverage and benefits are assured for a longer period. Minimum basic sum assured is ₹2 lakh with maximum basic sum assured having no limit, Shankar added.
iv. LIC’s accidental death and disability benefit rider is available as an optional rider by payment of additional premium. New term assurance rider is also available at the inception of the policy on payment of additional premium.
9. Arunima Sinha scaled Mount Aconcagua in Argentina
i. Arunima Sinha, the amputee mountaineer who set a record by climbing the Mount Everest on 25 December 2015, conquered Mount Aconcagua in Argentina. Arunima started her mission on the morning of 12 December 2015 and hoisted the Indian tricolour on 25 December 2015.
ii. With this, Arunima has successfully completed the 5th summit of the Mission 7 Summits and also became the first female amputee to climb 5 Mountains of the World. The four other peaks conquered by her include Everest in Asia, Kilimanjaro in Africa, Elbrus in Europe, and Kosizko, Australia, as the world's four highest peaks.
iii. Aconcagua is the highest mountain outside Asia, at 6960.8 metres and by extension, the highest point in both the Western Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.
iv. Arunima who lost her left leg in a train accident in 2011 surprised the world by climbing Mt. Everest on 21 May 2013. She was awarded the Padmashree for her achievement.
10. India won the 2015 SAFF championships
i. India on 3 January 2016 won of the South Asian Football Federation Cup (SAFF) championships. In the title clash played at Trivandrum International Stadium of Kerala, India defeated defending champions Afghanistan 2-1.
ii. Half time saw both the teams’ goal-less. At the end of a breathless normal second half, both India and Afghanistan were 1-1.
iii. For India, the first goal was scored by Jeje Lalpehlua. In the ongoing extra time, Indian captain Sunil Chhetri scored a goal to help India lead 2-1.
iv. India has been the most successful side in the tournaments history by winning the title in seven of the 11 editions. Afghans won their first title in 2013.
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