Currernt Affairs 16 January 2018

1. List of MoUs signed during the visit of Prime Minister of Israel to India MoU on Cyber Security Cooperation between India and Isr...

1. List of MoUs signed during the visit of Prime Minister of Israel to India

MoU on Cyber Security Cooperation between India and Israel

• MoU between the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Ministry of Energy on Cooperation in oil and Gas Sector
• Protocol between India and Israel on Amendments to the Air Transport Agreement
• Agreement on Film-co-production between India and Israel
• MoU between the Central Council for Research in Homeopathy, Ministry of AYUSH and the Centre for Integrative Complementary Medicine, Shaare Zedek Medical Center on Cooperation in the field of Research in Homeopathic Medicine
• MoU between Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) and the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology for cooperation in the field ofspace
• Memorandum of Intent between Invest India and Invest in Israel
• Letter of Intent between IOCL and Phinergy Ltd for cooperation in the area of metal-air batteries
• Letter of Intent between IOCL and Yeda Research and Development Co Ltd for cooperation in the area of concentrated solar thermal technologies

2. Ravi Shankar Prasad inaugurates Gigabit Connectivity with Sri Lanka

Union Minister for Law and Justice and Electronics and IT Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad is on an official visit to Sri Lanka.

• On the first day of his visit, he inaugurated the gigabit connectivity between the National Knowledge Network of India and LEARN network of Sri Lanka.
• This dedicated high speed internet connectivity will boost the collaboration among the academic institutions of India and Sri Lanka.

3. Union Home Minister inaugurates IWDRI 2018

The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (IWDRI) in New Delhi.

• The two-day workshop is being organised by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).
• Underlining the importance of Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, Shri Rajnath Singh said that it creates opportunities for economic growth and is at the core of sustainable development.

4. UIDAI to add face verification option for Aadhaar authentication

The Unique Identification Authority of India, the Aadhaar-issuing authority, has decided to enable face recognition as another means of authentication from July 1, 2018.

• The decision comes at a time when problems arising due to mismatch of biometrics are being reported about, including those faced by senior citizens with fading fingerprints.

5. Sebi approves Vijay Kumar's appointment as NCDEX MD & CEO

Market regulator Sebi has approved appointment of Vijay Kumar as Managing Director and CEO of the country’s largest agri-commodity bourse NCDEX.

• Kumar, a former chief business officer at NCDEX, is likely to assume the office next week.
• He will replace Samir Shah, whose more than four years tenure comes to end this month.

6. Actor Sudhir Dalvi gets Janakavi P Sawlaram award

Actor Sudhir Dalvi was honoured with the Janakavi P Sawlaram award at a function in Thane, Maharashtra.

• The award is jointly given by the Thane Municipal Corporation and the Janakavi P Savlaram Kala Samiti.
• Well-known dancer Jaishree T was bestowed with the Ganga Jamuna award, which is instituted in memory of a popular song written by Sawlaram.

7. Assam wins 8th Sub-junior National Hockey C'ship

Hosts Assam Hockey rallied back from a 0-2 setback in the first half to beat Hockey Rajasthan 3-2 in the final of the 8th Hockey India Sub Junior Men National Championship 2018 (B Division).

• In the third and fourth placing match, Hockey Himachal beat Hockey Him 1-0 in a closely-fought encounter.

8. Former Union Minister Raghunath Jha passes away in Delhi

Senior Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and former Union Minister Raghunath Jha passed away at Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

• Raghunath Jha, 78, was Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise in the UPA government led by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
• He was elected Member of Parliament twice from Gopalgunj and Bettiah Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar and was also six-time legislator from Sheohar Assembly constituency of the State.

9. Sarod maestro Pt Buddhadev Dasgupta passes away

Sarod maestro Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta was died of cardiac arrest at his residence in south Kolkata. He was 84.

• The Padma Bhushan awardee had been suffering from respiratory problems for the past few days.
• He was conferred Sangeet Mahasamman and Bangabibhusan in 2015.
• The musician, born in 1933 at his maternal home in Bhagalpur, Bihar, learnt sarod under the tutelage of Pt Radhikamohan Moitra.