Current Affairs Updates - 9th January 2018

Current Affairs Updates - 9th January 2018

Here, we are once again to help you with all the important current affairs updates of 9th january 2018. We have sorted out some important headlines from national and international affairs along with awards and events. These are very important for the upcoming exams of Bank and SSC. We hope this will be of utmost help to all our readers.

New Appointments: National

India's High Commissioner to Kuala Lumpur T S Tirumurti was appointed the Secretary (Economic Relations) in the External Affairs Ministry on Friday.

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment to the post, in place of Vijay Keshav Gokhale, who was recently named as the Foreign Secretary, the order issued by the personnel ministry said.

National Affairs

Arunachal Pradesh would get its first Film and Television Institute, being set up by the Union Government as part of tapping the potential of the Northeastern region.

• This would be the second such one in the country. The first Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) was set up in Pune, an autonomous institute operating under the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

Tamil Nadu tops to become India’s only state to record highest education enrollment in terms of Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER).

• The All India Survey on Higher Education report (2106-2017), was released by Minister of Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar which saw the State lead with a GER of 46.9%. Among Union Territories, Chandigarh recorded 56.1%.
• Bihar, Assam, West Bengal and Odisha posted low GERs of 14.4%, 17.2%, 18.5% and 21% respectively. Uttar Pradesh fared marginally better at 24.9%, close to the national average.

West Bengal bags first prize for implementation of e-tendering process.

• E-tender rule for a contract for projects worthy of more than 5 lakhs was started in 2012 in the state to make the process more transparent.
• The main aim was to make tendre process more transparent and mainly corruption-free as many times people pointed the finger to the process for various irregularities. From the first day of 2018, e-tendre has become mandatory in every department.

The Union Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (MoPA) has proposed rolling out of e-Sansad in Parliament and e-Vidhan in State Legislatures to digitize. 

It was announced by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar after inaugurating 18th All India Whips’ Conference in Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said the Himachal Pradesh government would adopt the policy of zero tolerance towards crime against women and set up Gudiya helpline for reporting such crimes.

• He said special women cells would be created in all three police ranges in the state to deal with crime against women.
• He said the law and order situation was not bad in the state but some cases such as the rape and killing of a schoolgirl, who was given the nickname Gudiya by locals, had sullied the polices image.

International Affairs

China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), in which India is a second largest shareholder, plans to issue its first US dollar-denominated bond with minimum worth of a USD billion by June this year. 

• The Beijing-based AIIB is a multilateral development bank initiated by China. The bank has an authorised capital of USD 100 billion. 
• The AIIB has received three top-notch ratings from the global credit rating agencies S&P Global Ratings, Moody's and Fitch in recognition of the bank's strong capital base and stable outlook. 

Defence & Railway

Indian Railways to Equip All 8,500 Stations With Free Public Wi-Fi Facility.

• As part of the government's ambitious Digital India initiative, the national transporter has currently commissioned Wi-Fi services at 216 major stations enabling about seven million rail passengers to log on to the free Internet facility.

Indian Coast Guard Ship C-161 was commissioned at Porbandar in Gujarat.

• The induction is a part of ongoing efforts by the Coast Guard to strengthen coastal security.
• The ICGS C-161 shall be based at Vadinar under the administrative and operational control of the Commander Coast Guard Region (North West) Air Marshal RK Dhir PVSM AVSM VM ADC.

Application / Portal 

Haryana has achieved the distinction of becoming the first state in the country to launch High Risk Pregnancy (HRP) Portal.

• This portal not only helps in early identification of high-risk pregnant cases up to the grass-roots level but also ensures their timely referral to the civil hospitals for further management and delivery by specialists.

Schemes / Programme

With an aim to promote skill development in northeast India, the centre and the states have been rolling out various projects.

• In a recent step in this direction, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated various skill development centres across the state.
• Focusing on the need to nurture skilled manpower in the state, Sonowal recently inaugurated around 249 skill centres in the state to impart vocational training to the native youth and help them become financially independent.

Agreements (MoU)

Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has said that Saudi Arabia has given green signal to India’s proposal to revive option of Haj pilgrimage through sea route.

• The practice of ferrying Haj pilgrims between Mumbai and Jeddah by waterways was stopped from 1995. Saudi Arabia Haj Minister Dr. Mohamed Bentin and Mr Naqvi, who is on a Saudi Arabia visit, have signed bilateral annual Haj 2018 agreement in Makkah.

The Indian Navy and Cochin Port Trust (CPT) have entered into an Memorandum of Understanding for utilising the Port's berthing facility at Mattancherry wharf for Naval ships.

• As per the MoU, Cochin Port’s Q2 and Q3 berths at Mattacherry wharf, totaling 228 metre quay length, would be be handed over to the Indian Navy for five years for berthing their ships.

Summit /Conference / Events / Host

The international kite festival which attracts kite flyers from across the country and the world, began in Ahmedabad.

• The international kite festival was inaugurated by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani at Sabarmati Riverfront. The Governor O.P. Kohli was also present on the occasion.

Sports: Awards & Honours

Switzerland won their third Hopman Cup as Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic beat Germany's Alexander Zverev and Angelique Kerbel.

• It was Federer's second Hopman Cup triumph after victory in 2001 alongside then world number one Martina Hingis.

Elina Svitolina secured her first WTA title in Australia with a straight-sets victory in the Brisbane International final.

• Third-seeded Svitolina beat Belarusian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 6-1 in a lopsided night final to win her 10th title on the women's elite tour.

Obituary 

Jerry Van Dyke, Comedian And Actor, Dead At Age 86.

• Jerry Van Dyke, comedian, actor and younger brother of Dick Van Dyke, died Friday afternoon at his Arkansas home at the age of 86.