1. RBI appoints Surekha Marandi
as Executive Director
i.The Reserve Bank of India has appointed Surekha
Marandi as its Executive Director (ED) in place of U S Paliwal, who retired on
December 31, 2016.
ii.Marandi will look after Consumer Education
and Protection Department, Financial Inclusion and Development Department, and
Secretary's Department.
2. United
Nation Recognises 2017 as Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development
i.The United Nations 70th General Assembly
has recognised the year 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable
Tourism for Development.
ii.This recognizes the importance of international
tourism and particularly of the designation of an international year of
sustainable tourism for development, in fostering better understanding among
peoples everywhere, in leading to a greater awareness of the rich heritage of
various civilizations and in bringing about a better appreciation of the
inherent values of different cultures, thereby contributing to the
strengthening of peace in the world.
3. EC limits cash expense per
candidate at Rs 20-28 lakh for Assembly polls
i.The Election Commission of India has issued a
limitation for campaign expense per candidate.
ii. In Goa and Manipur, the limit on election
expenses per candidate is Rs 20 lakh.
iii.In Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand the
election expenses limit per candidate is Rs 28 lakh.
4. Rs. 5 discount for online
payment of LPG cylinder
i.State-owned fuel retailers, Indian Oil
Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum
Corp Ltd (HPCL) will offer an upfront discount of Rs 5 on every LPG refill to
all LPG customers who will book and pay for it online.
ii.To provide cashless transactions, the government
had asked oil companies to pay consumers 0.75 per cent discount on cashless
fuelling of petrol and diesel at petrol pumps.
iii. This has now been extended to cooking gas
(LPG).
5. PM Narendra Modi Releases
special commemorative postage in 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh
in Patna
i.Prime Minister Modi released special
commemorative stamps on Prakash Parv in 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind
Singh in Patna on 5 January 2017.
ii. Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind, Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar, Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, Union Minsters Ravi
Shankar Prasad Ram Vilas Paswan and Harsimrat Kaur were present on this
occasion.
6. Telangana, Assam join Uday
Discom debt scheme
i.Telangana and Assam signed memoranda of
understanding (MoUs) to join the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojna (UDAY) taking
the total number of states covered under the scheme to 20.
ii.An overall net benefit of approximately ₹6,116 crore to Telangana and ₹1,663 crore to Assam will come from
joining the scheme.
7. Supreme Court Removes Anurag
Thakur as BCCI President
i.The Supreme Court of India has stripped Anurag
Thakur of his powers as BCCI President for not complying with the orders of the
apex court with regard to implementation of the Lodha committee reforms.
ii. He was elected as the BCCI president in May
2016 after Shashank Manohar was elevated to International Cricket Council's
chairman post.
iii.In 2011, he became BCCI joint secretary after
spending little over a decade as president of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket
Association (HPCA).
8. Two-day Assam Biotech
Conclave to begins in Guwahati
i.The two day Assam Biotech Conclave began today in
Guwahati.
ii.Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal
inaugurated the conclave in presence of
Science and Technology minister Keshab Mahanta.
iii.Chief Minister hoped that this conclave
would help Assam in biotechnology sector.
iv.This is organized by Guwahati Biotech Park
in association with industry body FINER. The conclave will create business and
partnering opportunities for its stakeholders and to showcase the facilities
and opportunities offered by Guwahati Biotech Park.
8. Ludhiana district
administration develops mobile app for Election Commission of India
i.For the benefit of voters, candidates, election
staff as well as the Election Commission of India (ECI), the district
administration of Ludhiana has developed a mobile application named ECI360.
ii. Developed by Harpreet Singh Chandoke from a
company named 01 Synergy on behalf of the district administration and a
brainchild of deputy commissioner Ravi Bhagat, this mobile app would prove
beneficial for all the stakeholders of upcoming assembly elections.
9. Yes Bank ties-up with Bajaj
Electricals for vendor financing using blockchain
i.Private lender Yes Bank has entered into a tie-up
with Bajaj Electricals for vendor financing using blockchain solution, and
announced to use the technology more aggressively as it saves over 70 per cent
in cost.
ii. As part of the tie-up, the bank has completely
digitalised its processes and blockchain solutions can be implemented.
10. Paytm gets final approval
for payments bank
i.Mobile commerce and payments company Paytm has
got the final permission to open a payments bank by RBI.
ii.Reserve Bank of India gave permission to
formally launch Paytm Payments Bank.
iii. Paytm and 11 other players, including
Vodafone, Airtel and Fino PayTech, had applied for a payments bank licence in
2015.
11. Munich Re to open
reinsurance branch office in Mumbai
i.Munich Re is opening a composite branch office in
Mumbai to service the property-casualty, life, health reinsurance markets
across the country.
ii. Munich Re Group or Munich Reinsurance Company
is a reinsurance company based in Munich, Germany.
iii.It is one of the world’s leading reinsurers.
12. Azure Power Commissions
Largest Solar Power Project (150MW)
i.Solar power producer Azure Power commissioned 150
MW solar power project in Punjab, which is its largest in North India.
ii.For this project, Azure Power had signed a solar
power implementation agreement with Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA)
under its Solar Policy Phase III.
iii. The 150MW solar power plant represents a portfolio
of three projects of 50MW each.
13. Indian Americans Takes Oath
as Members of US Congress
i.Five Indian Americans Takes Oath as Members of US
Congress.
i.They are Kamala Harris, Ami Bera, Ro Khanna, Raja
Krishnamoorthi and Pramila Jayapal.
ii.The United States Congress is the
bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States
consisting of two chambers the Senate and the House of Representatives.
14. Jovenel Moise elected as the
President of Haiti
i.Jovenel Moise has been elected as the President
of Haiti.
ii. The electoral tribunal officially declared the
winner on 3 January 2017.
iii.Jovenel Moise has been declared the winner of
Haiti's November 20 presidential election, ending a protracted electoral
process that has paralysed the Caribbean country's politics for more than a
year.
15. Mahindra Singh Dhoni steps
down as captain of T-20 & ODI format of cricket
i.MS Dhoni has stepped down as the captain of
India's limited-overs sides.
ii.He will, however, be available for the selection
for the upcoming England ODI and T20I series starting 15 January 2017.
iii. Dhoni had given up the Test captaincy in
December 2014.
16. India win record 4th
straight SAFF Women's Championship title
i.India's women's football team defeated Bangladesh
3-1 in Siliguri to win the 2016 South Asian Football Federation Women's
Championship for the fourth consecutive time.
ii.Dangmei Grace opened the scoring for India, with
Sasmita Malik and Indumathi Kathiresan scoring second-half goals for the hosts.
iii.India have won all editions of the eight-nation
tournament, which started in 2010.
17. Arthur Morris inducted into
the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame
i.Arthur Morris, who became the 82nd player to be
inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, was given the honour posthumously.
ii.Arthur Robert Morris was an Australian cricketer
who played 46 Test matches between 1946 and 1955. An opener, Morris is regarded
as one of Australia's greatest left-handed batsmen.
18. Ashirbad Behera, Ranjib
Biswal quit posts from Odisha Cricket Association
On the direction of the Apex court, Odisha Cricket
Association (OCA) secretary Ashirbad Behera, president Ranjib Biswal and all
OCA office-bearers quit from their posts.