Daily Current Affairs Updates–26th January 2017

Daily Current Affairs Updates–26th January 2017:

Daily Current affairs News Updates about the National and International events were listed here. Candidates those who are preparing for IBPS/SBI/PO/Clerk exam and all other competitive exams can use this.

DAYS TO REMEMBER:

i) 68^th Republic day of India - January 26, 2017

ii) International Customs day- January 26

iii) National day for Australia - January 26

Madhya Pradesh CM announces total ban on polythene bags

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today announced a total ban on polythene carry bags from May 1 across the state. "Use of polythene carry bags and their littering was affecting environment and cleanliness. Besides, cows were dying eating such bags," he said. "Three months are being given to polythene manufacturers before the ban," Chouhan added.

State : Madhya Pradesh

Capital: Bhopal

Chief Minister : Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Governor : Om Prakash Kohli (Additional charge)

PM Modi greets nation on India's 68th Republic Day

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday, extended his greetings to the nation on the occasion of the 68th Republic Day. Vice President Hamid Ansari also conveyed his greetings and said in his message that "we should reaffirm our commitment towards the Constitution and founding principles of our Republic". Congress President Sonia Gandhi also wished the country.

Gujarat govt pardons 439 prisoners on Republic Day eve

The Gujarat government has ordered the release of 439 prisoners, over half of them serving life sentences, on humanitarian grounds, an official press release said on the eve of Republic Day. Among these, 243 convicts, including 21 women, had been awarded life imprisonment and have completed at least 12 years of their sentence, the release added.

State : Gujarat

Capital: Gandhinagar

Chief Minister : Vijay Rupani

Governor : Om Prakash Kohli

World's largest laddu of nearly 30,000 kg was made in India

PVVS Mallikharjuna Rao from Andhra Pradesh has been recognised by the Guinness World Records for the largest individual laddu weighing 29,465 kilograms. The laddu, which established the record in September 2016, was made using a traditional Boondi recipe. The ingredients included ghee, refined oil, cashew nuts, sugar, almonds, cardamom and water.

State : Andhra Pradesh

Capital: Amaravati

Chief Minister :Chandrababu Naidu

Governor : E. S. L. Narasimhan

TN traders not to sell Coca-Cola, Pepsi from March 1

In an attempt to push Indian brands, several Tamil Nadu traders organisations have asked their members to stop selling soft drinks made by multinational companies including Coca-Cola and PepsiCo from March 1, reports said. We cannot ban these products, so we will educate the traders in February regarding the "evils" of these foreign brands, a trade association head said.

State : Tamil Nadu

Capital: Chennai

Chief Minister : O. Paneerselvam

Governor :C.Vidyasagar Rao(additional charge)

INTERNATIONAL:

China is planning world’s brightest light source facility

China is planning to build the world's brightest light source facility in Beijing, the China Daily reported. Expected to start in 2018, the project will effectively be a next-generation synchrotron radiation facility and will create the brightest X-rays worldwide. The facility, dubbed Beijing Light Source, will cost $698 million (Rs4,760 crore) and is estimated to be completed in six years.

Country : China

Capital : Beijing

Currency : Renminbi

President: Xi Jinping

Netherlands sets up abortion fund to counter Trump's cuts

The Netherlands is launching a global fund to help women access abortion services to compensate for US President Donald Trump's ban on US government funding for NGOs performing or providing information about abortions abroad, according to reports. Trump's restrictions are expected to cause a funding shortfall of $600 million (over Rs4,000 crore) over the next four years, reports said.

Country : Netherland

Capital : Amsterdam

Currency : Euro

Prime minister: Mark Rutte

Burj Khalifa lit in tricolour before Republic Day

On the occasion of 68th Indian Republic Day, the Burj Khalifa in United Arab Emirates' Dubai will be lit up in tricolour on Wednesday and Thursday evening. This comes amid an official visit of the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to India. The prince will also be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade.

Country : United Arab Emirates

Capital : Abu Dhabi

Currency : United Arab Emirates dirham

President: Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahya

World's longest moving line of bicycles sets Guinness record

An incredible 1,186 cyclists have set the Guinness World Record for the longest line of moving bicycles after travelling together in a single file line down a highway in Bangladesh

Country : Bangladesh

Capital : Dhaka

Currency : Bangladeshi taka

Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina

President: Abdul Hamid

BANKING NEWS

EC asks RBI to raise withdrawal limit for candidates to Rs2L

The Election Commission on Wednesday asked the Reserve Bank of India to raise the weekly cash withdrawal limit from Rs24,000 to Rs2 lakh for election candidates in the poll-bound states. The RBI had raised the ATM withdrawal limit from Rs4,500 to Rs10,000 earlier and also doubled the weekly withdrawal limit for current accounts to Rs1 lakh from Rs50,000.

Israel defies UN resolution, approves 2,500 West Bank homes

Israel has approved the construction of 2,500 settler homes in the Israeli-occupied West Bank despite a UN resolution demanding that Israel stop its settlement activities in occupied Palestinian territories. This is second such approval since Donald Trump was appointed US President. Former US President Barack Obama was critical of new Israeli settlements and supported the two-state solution.

Country : Israel

Capital : Jerusalem

Currency: Israeli new shekel

President: Reuven Rivlin

Prime minister: Benjamin Netanyahu

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Toyota planning to launch India-specific hybrid car in 5 yrs.

Toyota is planning to launch an India-specific model focusing on hybrid technology in five years, according to a top official. The car will comply with India’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) norms, to ensure that mileage of cars improves by 10% between 2017 and 2021, and 30% from 2022. Further, carbon dioxide emissions shall reduce to 108 grams/litre starting 2022

Company :Toyota Motor Corporation

CEO:Akio Toyoda

Headquarters: Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, Japan

LG Electronics reports first quarterly loss in six years

South Korean tech giant LG Electronics on Wednesday reported its first quarterly operating loss in six years in October-December due to a poor mobile division performance. According to company data, LG's fourth-quarter loss reached nearly $30.06 million, with the mobile business reporting its seventh straight money-losing quarter with around $400 million in operating loss, its largest ever.

Tata Motors launches hybrid, electric buses at Rs2 crore

Tata Motors on Tuesday launched its Starbus brand of fully electric and hybrid buses with prices ranging between Rs1.6 crore and Rs2 crore. The company also unveiled India's first hydrogen-powered fuel cell bus developed in partnership with ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation). The bus produces electricity using hydrogen and oxygen with only water and heat as a byproduct.

Company:Tata Motors Limited

CEO: Guenter Butschek

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:

Public to choose Jupiter picture sites for NASA's Juno probe

US space agency NASA has developed a webpage which allows the public to vote for the best locations in the atmosphere of Jupiter, which would then be imaged by the Juno spacecraft. JunoCam, the camera aboard the spacecraft, will take the selected pictures during its close flyby of the planet, which will be then posted for the voters for processing.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

Havildar Hangpan Dada gets highest peacetime military award

Havildar Hangpan Dada of the Army's Assam Regiment was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra, India's highest peacetime military award on the Republic Day. Dada, in May 2016, had single-handedly killed two terrorists from close quarters. Despite being injured in the ensuing gunfight, he killed another terrorist in hand-to-hand combat, and his action also led to the fourth terrorists' elimination.

Jawans who took part in surgical strike get gallantry awards

Nineteen soldiers of the 4 and 9 Para, the special forces' units which undertook the cross-border surgical strike across LoC, were awarded gallantry medals on the eve of Republic Day. Major Rohit Suri of 4 Para, who led one of the teams across the LoC targeting terrorists' launch pads, was awarded the Kirti Chakra, the second highest peacetime gallantry award.

Man voluntarily fighting fires for 40 years gets Padma Shri

Bipin Ganatra, an electrician from Kolkata who has been voluntarily fighting fires for over 40 years, has been conferred with Padma Shri. Ganatra (60) lost his brother in a fire at the age of 12, after which he took up the cause. He is always on a lookout for fire-related incidents and at times reaches the location before fire brigades.

Man who has planted 1 crore trees gets Padma Shri

Daripalli Ramaiah, who has planted over one crore saplings spanning over the last five decades, has been named in the list of Padma Shri awardees this year. Ramaiah, known as 'Chettla Ramaiah' in his home district Khammam in Telangana, moves around on his cycle with seeds in his pocket and plants them wherever he sees barren land.

Sharad Pawar, Murli Manohar Joshi to get Padma Vibhushan

NCP leader Sharad Pawar and BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi were on Wednesday announced as the awardees for this year's Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award in India. The list of Padma Vibhushan awardees also includes musician KJ Yesudas, author SJ Vasudev, Physics researcher UR Rao, former Madhya Pradesh CM SL Patwa (Posthumous) and former Meghalaya CM PA Sangma (Posthumous).

Two foreigners among Padma 2017 awardees

Princess of Thailand Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and Nepalese social activist Anuradha Koirala have been named among the awardees for India's highest civilian honours, the Padma awards. While Sirindhorn will be receiving the Padma Bhushan for her contribution in the field of literature and education, Koirala will be getting the Padma Shri in the field of social work.

Sakshi Malik, Dipa Karmakar to be awarded Padma Shri

Rio Olympics bronze medal-winning wrestler Sakshi Malik and Olympic gymnast Dipa Karmakar are set to receive the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour. Paralympic Games medalists Deepa Malik and Mariyappan Thangavelu are also among the Padma Shri awardees. The list further includes hockey captain PR Sreejesh, four-time Olympian Vikas Gowda and blind cricket team captain Shekar Naik.

APPOINTMENTS:

Indian-American Nikki Haley sworn in as US Ambassador to UN

Indian-American and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley on Wednesday was sworn in as the US Ambassador to the United Nations. Haley was earlier confirmed for the position with a 96-4 vote in her favour by the Republican-led US Senate. The Democrats had also supported her, with one saying he was reassured by Haley's "moral clarity".

Xiaomi's Hugo Barra joins Facebook to lead its VR efforts

Chinese electronics maker Xiaomi's former Global Vice President Hugo Barra, who quit the company on January 22, is joining Facebook to lead its virtual reality efforts, including the Oculus team. "Hugo shares my belief that virtual and augmented reality will be the next major computing platform," said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Previously, Barra helped in developing Android at Google.

SPORTS NEWS:

Japan gets its first sumo wrestling grand champion in 18 yrs

Sumo wrestler Kisenosato became the first Japanese wrestler to be titled 'yokozuna', the sport's grand champion, in almost 18 years. The 30-year-old, who weighs 178 kilograms, became the sport's 72nd yokozuna and Japan's first after Wakanohana, who won the title in 1998. The sport had seen foreign sumo wrestlers getting crowned grand champions for the past few years.

Country : Japan

Capital : Tokyo

Currency: Japanese yen

Prime minister: Shinzō Abe

Usain Bolt stripped of 2008 Olympic relay gold medal

Jamaican sprinter, Usain Bolt has been stripped of his 4x100m gold medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics after his teammate Nesta Carter tested positive for banned substances on re-analysis. The 30-year-old will have to hand back one of his nine Olympic gold medals, losing the record for the triple-triple gold haul, won across three consecutive Olympic events.

Russian envoy to India passes away due to heart failure

Russian Ambassador to India, Alexander Kadakin passed away due to heart failure this morning. He was 67. He breathed his last at 8:50 am in New Delhi after brief illness.

Mr Kadakin had contributed greatly to strengthen India-Russia relations. He had served as the Russian Ambassador to India since October 2009.

Country : Russia

Capital : Moscow

Currency: Russian ruble

President: Vladimir Putin

Prime minister: Dmitry Medvedev