Current Affairs 13th January 2016

Important Points : 

• Which company has inked MoU to set up naval facility in Vishakhapatnam - Reliance Group 
• Who has commissioned 520 MW Vizag thermal power plant in AP - BHEL
• Where did the 20th National Youth Festival inaugurated - Naya Raipur
• Who has made honorary life member of Mohammedan Sporting - Amitabh Bachchan
• The National Award on e-Governance 2015-16 won by - Employees Provident Fund Organization 
• Who has been appointed as Vice Chairs of Council Board in USIBC - Edward Monser and Punit Renjen
• Which company will launch new smartphone under Google’s Project Tango - Lenovo 
• Book titled Jawaharlal Nehru and The Indian Polity in Perspective released by - Hamid Ansari
• Name the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War Hero who has passed away - Lieutenant General J.F.R. Jacob 

Details : 

Which company has inked MoU to set up naval facility in Vishakhapatnam - Reliance Group 

On 10th January 2016, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was inked between Andhra Pradesh Government and Reliance Defence Ltd, a unit of Anil Ambani led Reliance Infrastructure Ltd to set up a world class naval facility.

An initial investment of 5000 crore rupees will be needed in the establishment of the proposed facility on the East Coast of India at Rambilli.   

Who has commissioned 520 MW Vizag thermal power plant in AP - BHEL

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 11th January 2016, the first unit of the 2x520 MW Vizag thermal power project was commissioned by Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) in Andhra Pradesh.

The project is owned by the Hinduja National Power Company Limited (HNPCL) but is executed by BHEL on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis.

The power plant uses single flow condenser and sea water as main cooling water and is located on the coast of the Bay of Bengal.

Where did the 20th National Youth Festival inaugurated - Naya Raipur

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 12th January 2016, in order to mark to mark the National Youth Day, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugrated the 20th National Youth Festival at Rajyostav Sthal in Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

The theme of the festival is "India Youth for Skill, Development and Harmony".

Features of 20th National Youth Festival

• The mascot of the event is a Wild Buffalo, the state animal of Chhattisgarh, in famous dancing pose and was named as named as Sanghi (friend).
• National Service Scheme, Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangthan and Student from Chhattisgarh Sports and Youth Welfare Department will gather at the festival.
• Competition will be held in 18 different disciplines, including extempore, classical music, classical dance, folk song, folk dance, drama etc.
• Around 6000 youths from across the country will participate in the festival except West Bengal.
• Apart from this, para-trooping along with weapons and explosives used during war would be displayed by the Indian Army for the first time.
• The establsihment  of 40 skill centres was announced by the Tata Group.

Who has made honorary life member of Mohammedan Sporting - Amitabh Bachchan

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 12th January 2016, honorary life membership of Kolkata’s soccer outfit Mohammedan Sporting was given to bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan.

About Mohammedan Sporting Club

• In the year 1981, Mohammedan Sporting Club was established at Kolkata.
• Currently, the club plays in the premier division of Calcutta Football League(CFL) and I-League 2nd Division.
• In the year 1934, it became the first Indian club to win CFL.
• In the year 1940, it also became the first Indian club to win the Durand Cup.

The National Award on e-Governance 2015-16 won by - Employees Provident Fund Organization 

Among the important National Current Affairs, The National Award on e-Governance 2015-16 was won by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization for launching the Universal Account Number (UAN). The award will be presented by the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions in the 19th National Conference on e-governance.

EPFO won the award in the ‘innovative use of technology in e-governance’ category.

Do You Know : 

• UAN was launched in July 2014 and was initiated by EPFO.
• According to this initiative, a universal number will be provided to all active employees which can be linked to various PF account numbers.
• Till November 2015, 5.65 crore employees in 457000 organisations were allocated with UAN.
• It provides the facility to employees to switch their PF deposits automatically just by providing UAN to the new employer in case they change their job.

Who has been appointed as Vice Chairs of Council Board in USIBC - Edward Monser and Punit Renjen

Among the important appointments, On 12th January 2016, President of Emerson, Edward Monser and Punit Renjen, CEO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (Deloitte Global) were appointed as the Vice Chairs of Council Board in USIBC by the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) Board of Directors.

About Punit Renjen

• He is the first Indian-origin person to head a Big-Four audit firm.
• He was one of The Top 25 Consultants ranked by Consulting Magazine in 2007.
• For the last 28 years, he has been working with Deloitte.
• Prior tio this, he served as the chairman and CEO of Deloitte Consulting LLP.

About Edward Monser

• Since 2010, he has been serving as the president of Emerson.
• From 2001-2015, he served as the company’s chief operating officer.
• In the year 1981, he began his career as a senior engineer at Rosemount. 

Do You Know : 

In the year 1975, the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) was formed as a business advocacy organization to notify and boost the private sectors of both United States and India.

Which company will launch new smartphone under Google’s Project Tango - Lenovo 

Among the important Technology Current Affairs, On 8th January 2016, Lenovo, a Chinese multinational computer technology company, entered into a partnership with Google launch a new smartphone that can “see” and map out surroundings without external signals like satellite-based global positioning system (GPS). The project is named as Project Tango.

Characterstics of Google’s Project Tango

• It has the ability to navigate the physical world, like we do as humans.
• It has features like area learning, motion tracking, depth perception that are based on 3D technology.
• It will work on Android device platforms that run C, Java, and Unity.
• By adding special vision sensors, advanced computer vision and image processing, it has brought a new kind of spatial perception to mobiles and tablets.

Book titled Jawaharlal Nehru and The Indian Polity in Perspective released by - Hamid Ansari

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 12th January 2016, Vice President of India Hamid Ansari released the book titled Jawaharlal Nehru and The Indian Polity.

The book describers the role of Jawaharlal Nehru, on shaping the polity of modern India.

Prof Alexander is the editor of this book with contributions from eminent persons like M G Radhakrishnan, Justice K T Thomas, Dr B Vivekanandan, Dr Rajan Kurukkal and others.

T M Varghese Foundation published this book.

Name the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War Hero who has passed away - Lieutenant General J.F.R. Jacob 

On 13th January 2016, former Governor of Goa and Punjab, Lieutenant General J.F.R. Jacob (retired), hero of 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War passed away at the age of 92.

About Lieutenant General J.F.R. Jacob

• In 1971 war, he was best known for his role in India's victory and was the person who negotiated the surrender of Pakistani troops in Dhaka. At that time, he served as the Chief of Staff of the Indian Army's Eastern Command by being the Major General.
• He fought in World War II and the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 and retired from Army in 1978.