Current Affairs: 15th Jan 2017

69th Army Day being observed on 15th January 2017

i. 69th Army Day is being observed today (15th January 2017). The day marks the taking over of the Indian Army by the first Indian Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal KM Cariappa, on January 15, 1948. He took over the reins of the Army from Lieutenant General Sir Francis Butcher, the last British Commander-in-Chief and became the first Commander-in-Chief of the independent India.

ii. The day is celebrated to pay homage and salute to the courageous and brave Indian soldiers who have been sacrificing their lives for protecting the country. This day inspires the troops to continue to enrich the glorious traditions of the Indian Army with their dedication and sacrifice. To mark the day, Army Parade will be organised at the Delhi Cantt.

Gujarat wins First Ranji Trophy title beating Mumbai by five wickets

i. Gujarat won their first ever Ranji Trophy title beating Mumbai by five wickets in the final at the Holkar stadium in Indore. Parthiv Patel’s 143 and Munprit Juneja’s 54 runs helped Gujrat to chase down the highest successful chase in the final at the historic Holkar stadium.

ii. With this title, Gujarat have won the domestic titles in T20, one-day and Ranji. They are only the fourth team to achieve this feat.

SpaceX resumes flights; launches Falcon 9 vehicle on California coast

i. The American SpaceX rocket company has resumed flights, launching a Falcon 9 vehicle from the Vandenberg Air Force Base on the California coast. It is the first mission by the company since one of its vehicles exploded on the launch pad in September 2016. The return to operations sees SpaceX start to renew what was the original global handheld satellite phone network, run by Iridium. Lift-off took place at 9:54 AM local time.

Digital Dakiya scheme inaugurated in MP to encourage cashless transactions

i. In Madhya Pradesh Indore district witnessed inauguration of first of its kind scheme of the country. Digital Dakiya, which aims at encouraging cashless transactions. “Digital Dakiya or Digital Postman will visit different places to teach and encourage people about cashless transactions and its benefits.

ii. State Finance Minister Jayant Malliya has inaugurated the scheme at Indore. State government will provide Identity cards to the volunteers deployed in this programme.

Two-day camel festival begins in Bikaner
i. The two-day annual camel festival has began with much fanfare in the presence of foreigners and domestic tourists. District Collector Ved Prakash flagged off a procession from Junagarh which culminated at Karni Singh Stadium here in Bikaner, Rajasthan. It was followed by fun activities including camel safaris.

ii. The festival, dedicated to the ship of the desert, will see camel dance, milking and fur cutting design competitions and camel races.

Rabi crops sowing crosses 616 lakh hactare

i. Rabi crops have been sown in around six crore 16 lakh hectares till date which is about 35 lakh hectares more than last year. Data released by the Agriculture Ministry, wheat has been sown in around three crore nine lakh hectare which is about 20 lakh hectare more than last year.

ii. Over one crore 55 lakh hectare area has been covered under the cultivation of pulses which is around 16 lakh hectare more under the crop last year. The coarse cereals have been sown in over 54 lakh hectare, Oilseeds in 81 lakh hectare.

SEBI cuts broker fees by 25 pc to Rs 15 per transaction

i. Securities and Exchange Board of India, SEBI, has decided to lower broker fees by 25 per cent to 15 rupees per transaction of one crore rupees as part of calibration of various other fees collected by the regulator from different market intermediaries. The move is likely to reduce overall cost of transactions.

ii. It also decided to give an option to all market intermediaries and companies to make their regulatory payments in digital mode. The move would help in reducing failures due to payment gateway issues.

Rajeev Singh to take charge as interim CEO of Prasar Bharti

i. Rajeev Singh, Member (Finance) in Prasar Bharati Board, will take charge as interim CEO of the public broadcaster after S C Panda retires in February.

ii. The previous CEO Jawhar Sircar had quit in October last year, a few months before his tenure was due to end, following which Panda, who is Member (Personnel), was made the acting CEO. However, Panda is also due to retire in February.

NPCI declares Rs. 54.90 cr prize money for NITI Aayog’s lucky draw schemes

i. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the umbrella organisation for all retail payment systems in the country has declared Rs. 54.90 crore worth of prize money to over 3.42 lakh winners of NITI Aayog’s Lucky Draw Schemes for consumers and merchants.

ii. The two schemes are – Lucky Grahak Yojna (LGY) and Digi-Dhan Vyapar Yojna (DVY). They were launched on December 25, 2016 and will remain open till April 14, 2017. The schemes have total outlay of Rs. 340 crore of which – Rs. 300 crores would be spent on consumers and merchants while the remaining Rs. 40 crore on awareness and publicity. Total winners under the scheme are expected to be over 18.75 lakh.

62nd Filmfare Awards 2017: Shatrughan Sinha honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award

i. Shatrughan Sinha, who completed close to five decades in the film industry, was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 62nd Jio Filmfare Awards 2017. Veteran filmmaker Subhash Ghai, who has worked with Sinha in five films, was on stage to raise a toast to him, before the Lifetime Achievement Award was presented.

ii. The award, which is his first Filmfare, was presented to him by daughter and actress Sonakshi Sinha.

Glam, glitter and glory mark 14th Mumbai Marathon

i. Tanzanian athlete Alphonce Felix Simbu (24) and Kenyan runner Bornes Kitur Chepkirui (31), flew past all competition to bag the top spots in the men’s and women’s category respectively in the full marathon at the 14th Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (SCMM) in Mumbai on 15th January 2017.

ii. Indian athletes, army soldier Kheta Ram (31) and Jyoti Shanker Gawte topped the men and women’s category in the full marathon which saw participation of over 6,000 runners.

Former Punjab Chief Minister Surjit Singh Barnala passes away, aged 91

i. Former Punjab Chief Minister Surjit Singh Barnala, who took over reins of the state in the difficult period when militancy was at its peak in the mid-80s, died in Chandigarh on 14th January 2017 at the age of 91.

ii. Mr. Barnala, who served as Chief Minister from 1985 to 1987, was admitted to the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh from 12th January 2017.

Filmfare Awards 2017: Dangal, Aamir Khan, Alia Bhatt Bag Top Honour This Year

i. At the glittering Filmfare awards last night (14th January 2017 night), “Dangal” swept away three of four major awards — Best Film, Aamir Khan won Best Actor and Nitesh Tiwari won Best Director award while Alia Bhatt won the Filmfare Best Actor Award (Female) for her performance in “Udta Punjab”.