Today’s Current Affairs : 12 January 2018

Today’s 12 January Current affairs important Current Affairs for all Competitive Exams

Current Affairs National

Launch of Satellite Cartosat-2

• ISRO’s PSLV-C40 successfully launched cartosat-2 series satellite along with 30 co-passenger satellite.
• It is launched today at 09:29 am from the First Launch Pad (FLP) of Satish Dhawan Space Centre from Sri-Harikota.
• PSLV or Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle carried total 31 satellites (3 from India and 28 International customer satellites).
• The overall weight of all the 31 satellites carried by launch vehicle is about 1323 kg.
• The primary satellite carried by PSLV-C40 is Cartosat-2 Series Satellite which is a remote sensing satellite and will augment data services to the users.
• Narendra Modi congratulated ISRO scientists on successful launch of Cartosat-2.

National Youth Festival 2018

• National Youth Festival 2018 will be held at Gautam Buddha University in Greater Noida from 12 to 16 January.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the NYF via video conferencing.
• The inaugural Function of festival was presided by UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.
• Mahesh Sharma, Union Minister for culture(Independent Charge) was the guest of honour for the festival.
• NYF is held every year on birth anniversary of youth icon Swami Vivekananda.

Disputes in Supreme Court judges 

• Four senior judges of Supreme Court complained about Chief Justice of India Deepak Mishra.
• In a recent Media Addressing senior judges complained about ‘selective assignment of cases’ by Chief Justice of India.

New Passports can’t be used as Address Proof

• The External Affairs Ministry has announced that new issued Indian passports will no longer be used as address proofs.
• The last page which carries the holder’s address will no longer be printed which makes it a invalid address proof.
• However, no timeline has been announced by the authorities for the implementation of new rules.

Women BSF- Daredevil biker team to make debut on Republic Day

• A newly raised women all biker team by Border Security Force to make debut on 26th Jan.
• It would be the first time Indian Women bikers will be part of Republic Day parade.

Restrictions on use of Plastic Flag

• Government urged citizens to not use plastic flag.
• It also directed states and union territories to take necessary steps in this direction.

Black money seized in Delhi 

• The Income Tax department had seized black money worth 61 crore against illegal private vaults in Delhi.

Current Affairs Economic and Business

Inflation and Industrial Growth before budget

• The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) published the industrial growth of India to be 8.4%.
• Whereas the rate of retail inflation increased to 5.21% in December from its previous value of 4.88%.

Rise in shares of Cryptocurrencies

• In past 2 years the shares of cryptocurrencies have risen by 218,000%.
• Cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency which uses cryptography for security.
• Learn more about cryptocurrency : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency

Rise in Infosys net profit

• Infosys, the IT giant had reported a 38.8% year-on-year increase in its net profit.
• The revenue of the company has also increased by 3%.

Appointments

Chhattisgarh gets new chief secretary

• Senior IAS officer Ajay Singh will be the New Chief Secretary of Chhattisgarh.
• He will be succeeding Vivek Dhand.

India’s “Chef de Mission” for Winter Olympics

• IOA, Indian Olympic Association appointed Harjinder Singh as the Chef de Mission for Winter Olympic Games
• 23rd Winter Olympic Games will held in South Korea in February.

Sports

Karun Nair hits 48 ball century

• In the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Karnataka’s batsman Karun Nair scored 100 runs in just 48 ball.
• His century helped Karnataka to win the match by 78 runs against Tamil Nadu.
• Score of Karnataka -179/9
• Score of Tamil Nadu-101 all out

Youngest Top-Test ranked bowler

• South Africa’s 22 year old bowler Kagiso Rabada becomes the youngest top-ranked test bowler.

Top Seeds named for Australian Open 2018

• World’s Top ranked tennis player Rafael Nadal and Australian Open 2017 winner Roger Federer have been named as the first and second seeds for Australian Open 18.
• Australian Open 2018 will be commencing from 15th January.

Current Affairs Important Days

National Youth Day

• Every year 12th Jan celebrated as National Youth Day to mark the birth anniversary of social reformer Swami Vivekananda.
• In 1984 the Government of India declared this day as National Youth Day.
• Swami Vivekananda was a social reformer, thinker and a patriotic saint who made youth aware about nationalism pre-independence.
• Source: http:/

Other Important Current Affairs (Science, International, visits, etc.)

Gallup Survey

• In a recent Gallup International Survey Indian PM Modi ranked Third.
• He is ahead of both US President Trump and Russian President Putin.
• The list is topped by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

India’s help to Sri Lanka

• India granted financial help of Rs. 288 crore to Sri Lanka for developing its Kankesanthurai Harbor into a commercial port.
• This will help the our neighboring country to become a regional maritime hub said Indian High Commission.

Visit of Israel’s Prime Minister to India

• On the invitation of PM Modi Prime Minister of Israel, Mr.Benjamin Netanyahu will visit India from 14 to 19 January.
• Both sides are expected to conclude MoUs in areas of film production and energy.

International Dharma-Dhamma Conference

• On Thursday the fourth international conference on “State and social Order in Dhamma-Dharma Tradition” was inaugurated by Indian President at Rajgir in Nalanda district of Bihar.
• It will be held from 11 to 13 January.