9th January 2017 Important Daily Current Affairs

Daily Current Affairs of 9th January 2017

International Current Affairs

In an attempt to boost Paris' cycling infrastructure, the mayor Anne Hidalgo, has named 2017 as the "year of the bike".
- The city is going to double its cycling lanes by 2020 and ban cars from outside the Louvre museum, to fight traffic pollution.
China's capital Beijing is setting up an environmental police force to tackle its hazardous air pollution.
- The duties of the law enforcement outfit include patrolling streets for illegal open-air barbeques and unregulated garbage incineration.
The Russian Air Force is going to add 5 new Sukhoi T-50 supersonic fighter jets to its fleet this year as part of plans to modernise its military.
- This comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin called US military the most powerful in the world and said Russia is stronger than any potential aggressor.
US state of Kentucky passed the right-to-work legislation to remove union membership as a condition for securing employment, making it the 27th state to pass the legislation.
- People can now work in union-represented shops and receive union-negotiated benefits without paying dues to the representing body.

National Current Affairs

The Gujarat government has launched a student startup fund under which it will provide ₹200 crore in grants to startups led by students.
- The fund is aimed to support around 1,000 student-led startups and establish a pre-incubation support system at all the universities across the state.
- The government would also help these startups to create prototypes and file for patents.
The 20th Edition of the National Conference for e-Governance 2016-17 was recently held in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
- Theme of this year’s conference : ‘Internet of Things and e-Governance’

Awards & Honors

Actor Amitabh Bachchan was honored with an award by the US Embassy for his contribution to the US-India partnership on tuberculosis.
- Note : Bachchan, who suffered from tuberculosis in 2000, is a brand ambassador for the initiative.
The 74th Golden Globe Awards ceremony was held in California today.
- Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone-starrer 'La La Land' became the most awarded movie in Golden Globe history, after bagging seven awards including the Best Motion Picture for the comedy or musical category.
- - Gosling and Stone won the Best Actor and Actress awards respectively, while Damien Chazelle won the Best Director award for the movie.
- 'Moonlight' today won the Best Motion Picture Award in the drama category.
- Casey Affleck won the Best Actor-drama for 'Manchester by the Sea'.
- Isabelle Huppert won Best Actress in the same category for 'Elle'.
- Check complete list of winners from here

Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (82), passed away.
- Rafsanjani, who served as the country's President from 1989 to 1997, had been heading the Expediency Council, which was trying to resolve disputes between the Iranian parliament and the Guardian Council.
The last heir to the former Ottoman Empire, Prince Bayezid Osman (92), passed away.
- He succeeded Ertuğrul Osman as the 44th head of the House of Osman in 2009.
- Osman, who never married and has no children, was the first head to have been born after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in 1922.

Science & Technology

The Indian Army has successfully conducted ‘user-validation’ trials of indigenous Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) Dhanush in the Himalayas.
- It clears the way for the induction in the Army.
- Earlier, proof firing tests of Dhanush’s armament systems were carried out during technical trials in June and September 2016 and some initial integrated firing tests were successfully carried out in December 2016.

Business & Economic Affairs

Government's digital payments application BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) has crossed over 10 million downloads milestone in a span of 10 days.
- Launched on December 30, the Android app has topped the charts of Google Play Store and will soon be launched for the iOS platform.

General Knowledge

The Vatican City is the smallest country in the world, with a population of 842 and an area of 110 acres.
- A walled enclave within the Italian capital of Rome, the Vatican is governed as an absolute monarchy with the Pope as its head.
- Its economy is supported by contributions from Roman Catholics and the sale of publications and stamps.
Apple Co-founder Steve Jobs unveiled the world's first iPhone 10 years ago on this day (January 9) in the year 2007.

Sports Current Affairs

Rohan Bopanna and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan won the Chennai Open doubles title by defeating compatriots Purav Raja and Divij Sharan.

The results of the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2016 held on December 4 last year were declared by IIM Bangalore today.
- With over two lakh applicants, the registrations for the test to enter Indian Institutes of Management and other leading business schools hit a seven-year high last year.
- The test results are available on the official website of CAT.

This is the end of today's Daily Current Affairs session friends. Good Day :)