16th January 2017 Important Daily Current Affairs

Daily Current Affairs of 16th January 2017

International Current Affairs

US President Barack Obama has declared January 16 as Religious Freedom Day in accordance with a yearly tradition.
India was ranked 92nd among 118 countries in the 2017 Global index of talent competitiveness (GTI) list.
- Top 10 Countries in the List :
- - Switzerland
  - Singapore
  - United Kingdom
  - United States
  - Sweden
  - Australia
  - Luxembourg
  - Denmark
  - Finland
  - Norway
France's parliament today voted 28-4 to amend an animal cruelty bill making it mandatory to install CCTV cameras in slaughterhouses across France starting next year in areas where animals are delivered, kept, immobilised, stunned, and slaughtered.
- This comes after animal rights activists released several videos showing cruelty against animals at slaughterhouses.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas along with Pope Francis inaugurated Palestine's embassy in Vatican City.
- Note : The Vatican had recognised Palestine in 2015.

National Current Affairs

The government is going to send examination results to students of Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education through SMS on their mobile phones.
Doordarshan has planned to come out with new set-top boxes which have the MPEG-4 technology and provide 104 channels by March end.
The Election Commission today acknowledged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav as the Samajwadi Party's national president and allotted the party's Cycle symbol to the Akhilesh-led SP faction.
- This ends weeks of infighting within SP between factions led by Akhilesh and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav.

New Appointments

UK citizen Emmanuel Bushayija has been named the new King of the African country Rwanda after the death of his uncle, exiled King Kigeli in October.
- Note : Rwanda's royal family was exiled in 1961 after the country declared itself a republic.
China has appointed Qi Zhala as the new governor of Tibet, one of the country's most politically sensitive regions.

Banking & Economic Affairs

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the withdrawal limit from ATMs to ₹10,000 per day from the existing ₹4,500 per day per card with immediate effect.
- Further, the limit on withdrawal from current accounts has also been enhanced to ₹1 lakh per week from the existing limit of ₹50,000 per week.

Sports Current Affairs

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has made it mandatory for all international cricketers to wear the latest helmets which adhere to the British Safety Standard.
- The new regulations would be enforced from February 1 and the players who do not wear the new helmets will be suspended for a match after getting an official warning for the first two matches.
The Indian women's boxing team secured a historic 3rd place finish in the 6th Nation's Cup in Serbia.
- India finished the tournament with one gold, four silver and a bronze medal.

Question of the Day

How to open an Airtel Payments Bank account ?
- Airtel users having an Aadhaar card, PAN card and carrying a smartphone with Internet can become a member of the recently launched Airtel Payments Bank.
- New users will have to create an account at the Airtel money website while existing members need to update their app to use the facility.
- Further, customers' Airtel mobile numbers will be their account numbers.

Note : Daily Current Affairs of 17th January 2017 will be available soon.