10 January 2017 - Daily Current Affairs

10 January 2017 - Daily Current Affairs

Sports

Aanchal Thakur wins India's First-ever International Medal in Skiing

• Aanchal Thakur (21-year) has won India's first ever international medal in skiing (in the slalom race category).
• She clinched bronze in the coveted Alpine Ejder 3200 Cup organized by the Federation Internationale de Ski at the Palandoken Ski Centre in Erzurum, Turkey.

Note:

• Skiing is a competitive winter sport in which the participant uses skis to glide on snow.
• Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International Ski Federation (FIS).

National & International Appointments

AR Rahman named brand ambassador of Sikkim

• According to the CM of Sikkim Pawan Chamling, Music maestro ‘A R Rahman’ has been named the official brand ambassador of the state.
• Recently Mr. Chamling has inaugurated the annual tourism event Sikkim Red Panda Winter Carnival 2017-18 at Paljor Stadium, Gangtok.
• AR Rahman’s role as brand ambassador will be conducting campaigns for Sikkim to draw tourists and businesses.

Note: A Brand Ambassador is a person who is hired by an organization or company to represent a brand in a positive light and by doing so help to increase brand awareness and sales.

NPCI appoints Dilip Asbe as new MD and CEO

• The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has appointed ‘Dilip Asbe’ as Managing Director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of the organization.
• National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is the umbrella organization for all retail payment systems in India, which aims to allow all Indian citizens to have unrestricted access to e-payment services.
• Its recent work of developing Unified Payments Interface aims to move India to a cashless society with only digital transactions.
• It also runs the popular Bharat interface for money (BHIM) app which has been downloaded more than 21.65 million times on the Android platform and around 1.03 million on the iOS platform.

Indian-origin businessman appointed WBCSD Chairman

• Singapore-based Indian-origin businessman Sunny Verghese (57-years) has been appointed as the Chairman of the Geneva-based World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
• He is the Co-Founder and the CEO of Singapore's agri-business group Olam International Limited.
• WBCSD is a global network of more than 200 CEOs, responsible for a combined revenue of more than 8.5 trillion US Dollars and 19 million employees.

National Affairs

Governors panel submits report to President Ram Nath Kovind

• The committee of Governors to examine the role of Governors in taking forward the developmental process has submitted its report to President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• The committee has described an action-outcome framework that can be adopted by Raj Bhavan in their role as change agents and lists of potential priorities.
• It has suggested that the Governors play a mentoring role in the overall implementation of developmental schemes in their states.

Matunga Rly station enters Limca Book of Records for having all-women staff

• The Matunga suburban station (Central Railway of Mumbai division) has figured in the ‘Limca Book of Records 2018’ for having an all-woman staff.
• The achievement comes six months after ‘Matunga’ became the first railway station in the country to be run by an all-woman staff.
• A team of 41 women staffers at the station includes personnel from the RPF, commercial and operating departments, under the supervision of station manager Mamta Kulkarni.
• The staff has been handling all operations of the station round-the-clock for the last six months and results are positive and encouraging.

Delhi govt issues advisory over prevention of Swine Flu

• The Delhi govt has issued advisory to the prevention of seasonal influenza ‘H1N1’ or Swine Flu.
• In its advisory, H1N1 is also a type of Seasonal Influenza and is a self- limiting viral disease.
• In case of mild fever with a sore throat with or without body ache, headache, diarrhoea and vomiting, the patient neither requires Oseltamivir nor testing.
• In case of high-grade fever and severe sore throat or patients showing with one or more high-risk conditions then Oseltamivir medicine is required but testing is not required.
• If the patient has symptoms of breathlessness, chest pain, drowsiness, fall in blood pressure, sputum mixed with blood then they should be admitted to the hospital.

International Affairs

World Bank projects India's growth rate at 7.3% in 2018

• In its 2018 Global Economics Prospect released in Washington, the World Bank has projected India's growth rate at 7.3% in 2018 and 7.5% for the next two years.
• India has enormous growth potential compared to other emerging economies as an ambitious government undertakes comprehensive reforms.
• Due to demonetization and Goods and Services Tax (GST), India's economy is estimated to have grown at 6.7% in 2017.

Bahrain to host first-ever 'Baby Olympics'

• The Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) has announced to host the ‘First Bahrain Baby Games to practice sports exercises and promote the Olympic principles and values at a young age.
• This event will feature five different sports (athletics, gymnastics, football, basketball, and weightlifting) and targets 2 to 4 years children.
• The athletics programme includes a medley relay (4 years), hurdles toddle (3 years) and 15m freestyle race (2 years).

North Korea to participate in upcoming Winter Olympics in South Korea

• North Korea has announced to send a delegation to the Winter Olympics to be held in South Korea next month.
• South Korea has unilaterally banned several North Korean officials from entering the country in response to Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile tests.

Note:

• The 2018 Winter Olympics is a major international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 9th to 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Korea.