Current Affairs January 27, 2015: ====================================================== Vice-President does not salute when National Anthem is played: ====================================================== Vice-President Hamid Ansari’s office put to rest a controversy that had sparked off on the social media as to why he was not seen saluting when the National Anthem was being played during Republic Day celebrations at Rajpath on Monday. His office clarified that in keeping with the protocol, the Vice-President does not offer a salute when he is not the principal dignitary. ====================================================== Facebook appears to be down ====================================================== Facebook appeared to be down on early Tuesday, with the social media site saying it is working on fixing the issue. Sorry, something went wrong. Were working on it and well get it fixed as soon as we can, Facebook said on its website. Users from the United States and India reported that they were unable to log on to the website. ====================================================== RK Laxman, Common Man cartoonist, to be accorded state funeral: ====================================================== A state funeral will be accorded to eminent cartoonist R K Laxman, who died at the age of 94 after suffering multi-organ failure, on Monday, 26 January. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis will attend the last rites of Laxman, who will be accorded the state funeral in Pune on Tuesday, an official from CMO said. ====================================================== Quick Digest: ====================================================== • Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Laxman commomnly Known as RK Laxman. • Born: October 24, 1921, Died : 26 January, 2015. • Laxman had as his older brother, the legendary R.K. Narayan, the creator of Malgudi. • Laxman inspired his brother’s writing instincts early in life. R.K. Narayan’s Dodu, the Money Maker, based on Laxman, won him a literary award. In an essay in Frontline (issue of January 18-31, 1992) Laxman writes: • K Laxman: The Uncommon Man - Collection of works from 1948 to 2008, by Dharmendra Bhandari, 2009 • Name of his autobiography is The Tunnel of Time. ====================================================== Nadal out of Aussie Open after quarterfinal loss against Berdych ====================================================== Rafael Nadal has bowed out of the Australian Open after being beaten 6-2, 6-0, 7-6 (5) in the quarterfinals by seventh-seeded Tomas Berdych on 26 January. ====================================================== Do You Know: ====================================================== • Nadal is a 14-time Grand Slam singles champion. ====================================================== Pakistani cricketer haunted by “supernatural presence” at team hotel ====================================================== Pakistan team management says cricketer Haris Sohail was left “visibly shaken” after a ghostly encounter in a Christchurch hotel room. Sohail fled what he believed was “a supernatural presence” which shook his bed at the Rydges Latimer hotel, taking refuge in the room of a team coach after the encounter earlier this week. ====================================================== Women power to the fore at Rajpath ====================================================== With ‘women’s empowerment’ being the theme of this year’s Republic Day parade, all-woman contingents of the three Services marched down Rajpath for the first time, displaying ‘nari shakti’. The Indian Army showcased a tableau of the first women officers’ team to scale Mount Everest. Two women officers from the Army scaled the highest peak in 2005 with Major Ashwini A.S. Pawar becoming the first woman ‘Everester’ in the Army. The Navy specifically focussed on the theme in its second tableau, titled “Bharatiya Nau Sena aur Nari Shakti”, which represented the four Navy women officers who participated in an ocean voyage from Goa to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil on board ‘Mhadei’. While Captain Divya Ajith led the Army contingent, the Navy contingent was led by Lieutenant Commander Sandhya Chauhan and the Air Force contingent by Squadron Leader Sneha Shekhawat. Each of the contingents had 148 officers and cadets from the three Services. ====================================================== After turmoil, Church of England consecrates first woman bishop ====================================================== The Church of England will consecrate its first woman bishop on Monday, the culmination of years of efforts by Church modernisers to overcome resolute opposition from traditionalists. More than two decades after the Church allowed women to become priests, 48-year-old mother-of-two the Reverend Libby Lane will be consecrated as Bishop of Stockport in a ceremony at York Minster, a Gothic cathedral in northern England. ====================================================== Agni missing as Obama witnesses Republic Day parade ====================================================== Nuclear-capable Agni missiles - a highlight for the past several years - were missing as U.S. President Barack Obama witnessed Indias military might and cultural diversity on what proved to be a rainy and cold 66th Republic Day. In doing so, Mr. Obama became the first U.S. President to be the chief guest at the parade as President Pranab Mukherjee took the salute at the parade. In another departure from practice, Mr. Obama arrived in his own motorcade and not with President Pranab Mukherjee as is the practice. The crowd erupted in cheers as Mr. Obama and First Lady Michelle stepped out of the ‘Beast’ vehicle. The Akash medium-range surface-to-air missile and Weapon Locating Radar developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), INS Kolkata, the most advanced ship in the Navy’s arsenal and BrahMos cruise missile were the indigenous highlights. ====================================================== Gamma-ray mobile Scanners to help push India-US trade 5-fold to $500 billion ====================================================== India and the US want to increase their trade five-fold to $500 billion in the next 10 years but the Americans want 100% examination of cargo that originates from Indian ports to avoid arms and radioactive material going undetected. To meet this condition and also its own domestic security concerns, Indias installed three gamma-ray mobile scanners at Chennai port, Nava Sheva in Mumbai and Tuticorin. ====================================================== Spain: Greek F-16 jet crashes at base, killing 10 people ====================================================== A Greek F-16 fighter jet crashed into other planes on the ground during Nato training in southeastern Spain on Monday, killing at least 10 people. ====================================================== Obama assures Modi on concerns over H-1B visa issue ====================================================== President Barack Obama has assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he will look into Indias concerns on the H-1B visa issue as part of his comprehensive immigration reform, US officials said on Monday, 26 January. Obama told Prime Minister Modi that his administration would be in touch with the Indian government on issues related to H-1B visas, popular among Indian techies. ====================================================== Barack Obama says US and India can be best partners ====================================================== President Barack Obama said the United States could be Indias best partner on Tuesday, 27 January as he wrapped up a three-day visit to New Delhi by highlighting the shared values of the worlds biggest democracies. Speaking to an audience of young people, the US president reiterated that the relationship between Washington and New Delhi can be one of the defining partnerships of this century but warned the battle against climate change would be doomed unless India was fully on board. ====================================================== PMO hawk-eye on progress of mega projects ====================================================== The PMO will monitor big projects involving large investments, Narendra Modi assured investors on Monday, 26 January. He assured them an open environment that would encourage investment and reward enterprise. Modi gave this commitment as he accepted the proposal of an India-US Forum representative to personally track progress of these mega projects. The project monitoring group, set up by the UPA is under the cabinet secretariat and has helped clear several stalled projects. However, investors would prefer the PMO monitoring the larger projects to accelerate decision making. Getting stalled projects off the ground is important to reviving the manufacturing sector and boosting overall growth. After listening to suggestions made by business leaders, the PM said the solutions to most issues mentioned would be found through three things: Proactive, pro-people good governance, a policy-driven state and consistency in policy.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 11:40:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015