CURRENT GK
1.Approval of boundary transit agreement between India and Myanmar :-
The Cabinet has approved the boundary transit agreement between India and Myanmar. These agreements will prove to be helpful in regularizing and protecting the rights of the existing independent citizenship of frontline citizens of both countries. The citizens of these two countries will also be able to come to each other on the basis of passports and visas which will strengthen the economic and social relations between the two countries.
2.Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have resolved to strengthen India and Russia’s mutual strategic ties :-
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have resolved to further strengthen bilateral strategic ties. The two leaders also discussed the telephonic discussions on enhancing mutual cooperation between India and Russia on international forums. According to the release of the Indian Embassy in Moscow, a positive review was received between the two countries in the interaction between the two countries in the year 2017. Prime Minister Modi bestowed on New Year greetings to the President of Russia Mr. Putin
3.North Korea reopened the cross border hotline with South Korea after months of bitter and war threat :-
North Korea has reopened the frontline hotline with South Korea. This has established the medium of direct talks between the two countries. With this step, due to the bitterness of months and fear of war, relations between the two rival countries have been found to be normal. Two days after North Korea’s leader Kim Jong indicated on his behalf to normalize relations with South Korea, the telephone hotline was restored in Ponmangjong village. This village falls in the most protective civilian area of the world. In his New Year speech on Monday, the North Korean ruler Mr. Kim said that he is willing to send his delegation to South Korea’s Winter Olympics next month.
4.The US accused Pakistan of adopting a dual policy in the fight against terrorism :-
The United States has accused Pakistan of adopting a double policy in the fight against terrorism. He has asked Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorist activities to seek American help. The warning from the United States came after the tweet made on the New Year donation by the President Donald Trump, in which he had said that in the last 15 years Pakistan has only cheated for 33 billion dollars in financial aid. On the other hand, Washington State Department spokesman Heather Norte described Pakistan as an important partner, and said that Pakistan needs to take more stringent action to fight terrorism.
5.The government said – 65 percent of the country’s population will soon get facility of FM transmitter :-
The government said today that the facility of FM transmitters will be available soon for 65 percent of the country’s population. Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said in a reply to a question in Lok Sabha that at present, 52 per cent of the people have facility of FM transmitter. In response to the supplementary question, Shri Rathore said that private broadcasters are availing the benefit of the ATS’s 57 towers. All India Radio and Doordarshan towers are also used by Private FM Channels and about 57 such All India Radio Towers are using Private Channels. There are 37 such towers that private FM broadcaster is using and about 40 million Ravenine is also being generated. Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani informed the House that in the year 2016-17, the share of Akashvani and Doordarshan towers got revenue of about 41 crore rupees. Mrs. Irani said that currently BSNL and MTNL are using Prasar Bharti’s infrastructure at 32 locations in 32 locations. In 2015, a committee has been set up in Doordarshan and the Information Broadcasting Ministry and Department of Telecommunication, because Prasar Bharti is also an Autonomous Institution in its own right, therefore the final decision that is to use any of his towers is Prasar Bharati Autonomous institute comes under Tutoring.
6.Launch of Clean Survey at Countrywide Level :-
A clean survey was launched at the countrywide level. This survey will be done in more than four thousand cities and over 40 million population so that the levels of cleanliness in the urban areas can be evaluated. This is the third phase of the survey which will continue till March 10 this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had requested the youth in the talk of his last mind to Akashwani that they should go ahead and cooperate in the survey work so that they do not stay behind in the categorization of their city survey. Shri Modi also said that some of the parameters will be assessed in this survey, including open defecation management, To collect garbage, there are standard such as keeping track of transport facilities and extravagant items and scientific methods of processing of all other things. The autonomous survey was started in 2016 as part of the Swanchak-Bharat Mission. In the second phase last year, survey was conducted in four hundred 34 towns with population of more than one lakh, and under this all state capitals were categorized. Indore emerged as the cleanest city.
7.Cold wave continues in northern and eastern parts of the country, air and rail services affected by dense fog in Delhi :-
Coldwater continues in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Due to heavy fog in Delhi, air and rail services have been affected. Indira Gandhi International. Due to less visibility at the airport, 24 domestic and 12 international flights were delayed. Two domestic flights have been canceled. Due to this, rail services have also been interrupted. Officials said that 21 trains were canceled due to fog, And there was a delay in traffic of 59 trains. Due to dense fog in Rajasthan, rail and road traffic has been interrupted. In winter, cold wave and cold winter have had widespread impact on normal life. Minimum temperature in Fatehpur and Sirohi in Sikar district is continuing below the constellation point. In many areas of these districts, the ice layer is also seen. People in the other north-eastern parts of the state are worried about bouts of bitter cold. The Meteorological Department has expressed the possibility that fog conditions in the state will remain for some days and so on.
8.To help the farmers and workers working in jute sector, the government made it mandatory for packing 90% of the foodgrains and 20% sugar products packaged in jute bags made from bags :-
The Union Cabinet’s Economic Affairs Committee has approved the compulsory packing of foodgrains and sugar products to jute bags made for Jute Year 2017-18. This decision will lead to the livelihood of workers and farmers. The Cabinet Committee has approved the compulsory packing of 90% food items and 20% sugar jute bags in jute bags while extending mandatory packaging rules under the Jute Packaging Material Act 1987.
9.External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj left for a trip to three countries :-
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj left for a five-day trip to the three countries- Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. In the first phase of her visit, Mrs Swaraj will arrive in Thailand and will hold an official meeting with the Foreign Minister Dr. Manmohan Pramudinai
10.Stock market :-
With strong global gains on Thursday, the domestic share market started well. However, after the good start, the market is doing flat business. With weakness in auto and IT stocks, both the Sensex and the Nifty are witnessing moderate growth. The Nifty in the early trading was 10470, while the Sensex reached level of 33917. Heavyweight stocks are getting support from the market in ONGC, TCS, Maruti, HDFC Bank, SBI, IT and Reliance Industries. At the moment, the Sensex has climbed 54 points to 33,847 points and the Nifty is trading 15 points higher at 10,458 points.
