29th January 2017 Important Daily Current Affairs

Daily Current Affairs of 29th January 2017

International Current Affairs

US President Donald Trump today signed an executive order which has a clause that says privacy protections would not be extended past US citizens or permanent residents in America.
- This clause is in contravention of the EU-US Privacy Shield agreement which ensures non-Americans are not treated differently by US organisations with weaker privacy safeguards.
The Colombian government and rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have announced a joint deal to fight cocaine crop cultivation.
- Under the deal, farmers will be offered loans, subsidies and monthly payments of around $350 (around ₹24,000) if they agree to destroy their cocaine crops.
- Earlier, FARC relied on cocaine production to fund its insurgency.

National Current Affairs

On the eve of National Immunization Day,President Pranab Mukherjee today launched nationwide Pulse Polio programme for 2017 by administering polio drops to children at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
- The programme will cover around 17 crore children aged under five years in an effort to maintain the country's polio-free status.
I&B Ministry Secretary Ajay Mittal today inaugurated North East Film Festival 'Fragrances from the North East' at National Film Archive of India in Pune, Maharashtra.
- The objective of the film festival is to sensitise people from other regions to the culture of the North East as envisaged in the Centre's "Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat" programme.
Chennai Police today imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC on the Marina Beach until February 12.
- This comes after thousands of people gathered at the Marina Beach in support of the traditional bull-taming sport, Jallikattu.
- The order prohibits assemblies, demonstrations and meetings, however, it does not apply to families.

MOUs & Agreements

TheNorth Eastern Council (NEC) and the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to harness the hidden potential of Cane and Bamboo of North Eastern Region in Shillong today.
- The MoU was signedby the Secretary, NEC Ram Muivah and Development Commissioner(Handicrafts) Alok Kumar.

Awards & Honors

The Arunachal Pradesh tableau has bagged the 1st position among the 17 state tableaux that took part in this year's Republic Day parade.
- The tableau had depicted the Yak Dance, a popular pantomime of the Mahayana sect of Buddhist Tribes in the state.
- Note : Tripura's tableau got the second place while the Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu tableaux were jointly adjudged third.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has been adjudged the best marching contingent for the 5th time among the different paramilitary forces that took part in the Republic Day parade.
- The force had earlier won the award in 2007, 2008, 2013 and 2015.
- Note : In the services category, Madras Engineer Group of the Indian Army bagged the best marching contingent award.

New Appointments

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been appointed to US President Donald Trump's manufacturing council, led by Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris.
- Other members of the council include Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, Dell CEO and Founder Michael Dell, and Ford CEO Mark Fields.
- Note : Musk is also part of Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum, which advises on economic matters.

Banking & Economic Affairs

The India Post has received payments bank licence from the Reserve Bank of India to start rollout of banking operations commercially.
- Important Points to Note :
- - India Post Payments Bank is the 3rd entity to receive payments bank permit after telecom major Airtel and digital payments startup Paytm.
  - Payments banks can accept deposits up to ₹1 lakh per account from individuals and small businesses.

Sports Current Affairs

Swiss tennis player Roger Federer defeated Spain's Rafael Nadal in five sets in the Australian Open men's singles final today, to win a record 18th Grand Slam title.
- This was the duo's 12th Slam encounter, with Nadal winning nine of the matches.
In Australian Open Tennis, American-Colombian duo of Abigail Spears and Juan Sebastian Cabal defeated Indo-Croatian pair of Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig in Mixed doubles final.
FIFA today unveiled Adidas Praia, the official match ball for the upcoming FIFA Beach Football World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in The Bahamas in April.
- The ball has been coloured blue, an inspiration from the turquoise oceans of The Bahamas, and has been engineered to be low-weight and low-pressure.
Former Formula One driver Michael Schumacher's son Mick Schumacher won Round 3's opening race at the MRF Challenge 2016, held at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida.