17th January 2017 Important Daily Current Affairs

sponsored links

Dear Great Ambitionists, here are today's (17th January 2017) Important Current Affairs updates. Happy Reading :)

Daily Current Affairs of 17th January 2017

International Current Affairs

• India has officially became an associate member of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), deemed as the world's largest nuclear and particle physics laboratory. 
• • Important Points to Note : 
  • Indian scientists played a significant role at CERN including the construction of the Large Hadron Collider, which helped confirm the Higgs boson. 
  • The membership would cost India approximately ₹78 crore per year.
• India has been ranked 60th among 79 developing economies, below China (15), Nepal (27) and Pakistan (52), in World Economic Forum's Inclusive Development Index. 
• • Top 10 Countries in the List : 
  • • Lithuania
    • Azerbaijan
    • Hungary
    • Poland
    • Romania
    • Uruguay
    • Latvia
    • Panama
    • Costa Rica
    • Chile
• India has featured among the top 6 most promising markets in terms of overall growth prospects over the next 12 months for global executives, according to consultancy giant PwC.
• South Korea has featured on top of the Innovation Index for 2017 as per media firm Bloomberg, which scores economies using factors including research and development spending and concentration of high-tech public companies. 
• • Sweden has been ranked second on the index due to a rise in manufacturing activity and fresh ideas, followed by Germany.
• The government of Northern Ireland has collapsed, forcing early elections after the ruling party, Sinn Fein refused to name a replacement for Deputy First Minister. 
• • Martin McGuinness had resigned as Deputy First Minister a week ago over a mismanaged renewable energy scheme. 
  • The country will go to the polls on 2nd March 2016.
• Qatar has pledged $12 million (over ₹81 crore) to solve Gaza's electricity crisis.
• • The electricity shortage in Gaza over the last few weeks has left the region with a maximum of four hours of power a day. 
  • Note : Qatar will pay $4 million per month for three months, the first instalment of which was received on Sunday.
• The Indian passport has ranked 78th in a list of the world's strongest passports, as it offers visa-free or visa on arrival facilities to 46 countries, according to financial advisory firm Arton Capital. 
• • The German passport is the strongest in the world, offering visa-free or visa on arrival facilities to 157 countries.
  • The passports of Sweden and Singapore share the second place, with a visa-free score of 156.
  • Afghanistan's passport has been rated the weakest, with a rank of 95, while Pakistan's passport has been placed second lowest, occupying the 94th position.

National Current Affairs

• The Centre, under its Digital India programme, has announced Karang in Manipur as the country's first cashless island. 
• • The Karang island is located in the middle of Loktak lake, the largest freshwater lake in the North Eastern part of India. This comes after campaigns on cashless transactions were held by the island's boat association and other bodies from January 9-12.
• The Bhopal Nagar Nigam (BNG) has announced that a fine of ₹500 per person will be levied for open defecation and if not complied, then the whole family will be fined ₹500 per member.

New Appointments

• Chinese search engine operator Baidu disclosed that it has hired former Executive Vice President of Microsoft, Qi Lu as its Chief Operating Officer (COO). 
• Tata Motors today appointed Natarajan Chandrasekaran as an Additional Director and Chairman of the board with immediate effect. 
• • Note : Chandrasekaran is the first non-Parsi chairman of the 150-year-old Tata Group.

Recent Committees in News

• The sub-committee under chairmanship of professor Timothy Gonsalves has recommended reservation for girl students in IITs to address the issue of slump in number of female students entering the prestigious institutes. 
• • The recommendation of the committee will be taken up in the meeting of the Joint Admission Board (JAB) for a final decision, which will decide whether the reservation will come in effect from 2017 or from 2018.

Deaths

• Eugene Cernan (82), the last man to walk on Moon, passed away.
• • An American astronaut and a retired Naval officer, Cernan landed on Moon in December 1972 during NASA's Apollo 17 mission.

Books & Authors

• Prince Charles has co-authored a Ladybird book on climate change with environmental campaigners Tony Juniper and Emily Shuckburgh. 'The Ladybird Book on Climate Change,' the first in a new series for adults, will be published later in January.

General Knowledge

• The Turkish city of Istanbul is located on two continents, Europe and Asia. 
• • Istanbul's European part is separated from its Asian part by the Bosphorus Strait, which serves as a link between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. 
  • The two parts are connected via suspension bridges that are constructed over the internationally significant waterway.

Sports Current Affairs

• The foundation of the world's largest cricket stadium in terms of seating capacity has been laid in Ahmedabad. 
• • The total cost of the stadium, which will have a seating capacity of around 1.10 lakh, is estimated at ₹700 crores. 
• Mercedes has unveiled Finnish racing driver Valtteri Bottas as the replacement for recently retired Formula One world champion Nico Rosberg.
• Former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has announced his retirement from football citing family reasons. 
• • The 65-year-old former Netherlands coach was sacked by Manchester United in May last year and has not taken up any assignments since then.

sponsored links

Let's block ads! (Why?)

- http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/nTMtk/~3/YpRX0wvclIU/17th-January-2017-daily-current-affairs.html