Daily G.K current affairs 17 Jan 2019

This post contains important current affairs (National, International, Business and Sports) of 17 January 2019. Very useful to prepare for the General Knowledge section of various competitive and recruitment exams.

• India got its largest startup ecosystem when Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated a 1.8-lakh-square-feet facility housing incubation set-ups across a string of segments in modern technology. The Integrated Startup Complex under the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) includes the ultra-modern facilities of Maker Village that promote hardware startups, the BioNest that promotes medical technologies, BRINC which is the country's first international accelerator for hardware startups. 
• Government e Marketplace (GeM) has launched "Womaniya on GeM", an initiative to enable women entrepreneurs and women self-help groups (WSHGs) to sell handicrafts and handloom, accessories and many other products. The initiative seeks to develop women entrepreneurship on the margins of society to achieve gender-inclusive economic growth. Government e-Marketplace is a 100% government owned company set up under the aegis of Ministry of Commerce and Industry. 
• Private sector ICICI Bank inducted former SBI Managing Director B Sriram and management consultant Rama Bijapurkar on its board as independent director. Both are appointed for 5 years, subject to the approval of shareholders, ICICI Bank stated in a regulatory filing on stock exchanges. Sriram retired as the managing director of IDBI Bank in September 2018. Prior to IDBI Bank, he was the managing director of SBI.

• The nation celebrated the National Youth Day (also known as Yuva Diwas) to honour the birthday of Swami Vivekananda, one of India's greatest spiritual and social leaders who had strong faith in the power of youth. On this occasion, President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to Swami Vivekananda on his 156th birth anniversary. On National Youth Day 2019, the tallest bronze statue (33 ft.) of Swami Vivekanand built at the cost of Rs 17 crore will be unveiled in Ranchi, Jharkhand by Chief Minister Raghubar Das.  
• Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the 'Ama Ghare LED' scheme, under which about 95 lakh families in the State will each get four LED bulbs free of cost. The scheme in which the LED bulbs (9-watt each) will be distributed to the beneficiaries registered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and the State Food Security Scheme (SFSS) was launched during the 'Ama Gaon, Ama Bikash' programme. Distribution of the bulbs will be started through the PEETHA (Peoples Empowerment - Enabling Transparency and Accountability of Odisha Initiatives) schemes on January 15. The scheme will be implemented by Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited (OPTCL) and the bulbs will be distributed through camps to be held during 15th to 20th of every month and through the PDS outlets across the State. 
• The three-day 6th annual 'Women of India Organic Festival' commenced at Leisure Valley, Sector-10, Chandigarh. This is the first time the event is being held in Chandigarh. It aims to celebrate and promote women farmers and entrepreneurs in the organic sector from the remotest parts of India. It has been organized by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. Shri B.L. Sharma, Secretary, Women and Child Development, UT Chandigarh was the Chief Guest. 
• The Ministry of Home Affairs announced release of Rs 637.98 crore during 2018-19 to 17 states to develop the living standards of people living within 50 kilometres of the International Border. This will be given under the Border Area Development Programme (BADP). Earlier in 2017-18, the ministry had released Rs 1,100 crore for the all-round development of villages along the international borders.
• The Madras High Court has set up an expert committee to find a solution to root out invasive species of plants from the Western Ghats. The committee shall be headed by Cherukuri Raghavendra Babu, the chairman of the expert committee on invasive species in Chennai National Biodiversity Authority. It has also directed the panel to file a report on the ways to weed out such species within two months. A division bench of justices M M Sundaresh and N Sathish recently decided to constitute the committee on a batch of petitions seeking to restrain the state government from cultivating eucalyptus species in Tamil Nadu for commercial purpose.

• Democratic Republic of Congo's opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi won the long delayed Presidential Election by receiving more than 7 million or 38% votes. Following the election results, Current President Joseph Kabila is stepping down after 18 years in office. Mr Tshisekedi will be the first opposition challenger to win since the DR Congo gained independence in 1960. Martin Fayulu stands second and Emmanuel Shadary stands third in the Presidential elections.
• The inaugural round of a 2+2 Inter-Sessional meeting between the United States and India which focused on the progress of defence and foreign policy issues between the two countries took place in New Delhi. Shri Gourangalal Das, Joint Secretary (AMS), Ministry of External Affairs and Shri Shambhu S. Kumaran, Joint Secretary (PIC), Ministry of Defence led the Indian delegation. The U.S. delegation was led jointly by Ambassador Ms. Alice Wells, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Mr. Randall Schriver, Assistant Secretary of Defense. The meeting was a follow up on the decisions taken during the India-U.S. Ministerial 2+2 Dialogue, which was held in New Delhi in September 2018. 
• The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind,awarded the Honorary Rank of General of the Indian Army on Sukirtimaya Rashtradeep General Purna Chandra Thapa, Chief of the Army Staff, Nepal Army, for his immense military skills and immeasurable contribution to bring up Nepal's long and friendly relationship with India, at a special Ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan,New Delhi. Thapa assumed the command of the Nepal Army in September 2018.Nepal army chief is to arrive India on a four day visit.It will be his first official bilateral visit after taking over the command of the Nepal Army. 
• Army Day is observed on January 15 in India. On this day in 1949, Field Marshal Kodandera M Cariappa took over as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from General Sir Francis Butcher, the last British Commander-in-Chief. Army day is dedicated to the soldiers who fought to safeguard the country's honour. This is the 71st celebration of the Indian Army Day.

• The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced that Manu Sawhney has been appointed as the organization's new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Sawhney, the former CEO of Singapore Sports Hub and Managing Director of ESPN Star Sports, will join the organization before formally taking over the reins from David Richardson in July following the ICC World Cup 2019. 
• The 1st National Level Sports Meet for the students of Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) was inaugurated by Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs at G.M.C Balayogi Stadium, Hyderabad. The Minister also launched an app 'EMRS Sports Meet' dedicated on the occasion. The event had participation of 1777 students comprising of 975 boys and 802 girls representing 20 States of the country. 
• Asian Cup gold medallist Shakil Ahmed has set up a world record in indoor rowing by completing 1 lakh meters in above-40 years category in Kolkata. Shakil began his record-setting indoor rowing feat in Salt Lake stadium complex and achieved the milestone of covering 1 lakh meters of simulated distance in 10 hours.

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