UK govt now has highest number of Indian-origin ministers

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1 UK govt now has highest number of Indian-origin ministers UK parliament now has a minister of state (Alok Sharma) and three junior ministers (Rishi Sunak, Shailesh Vara and Suella Fernandes). Sunak is the son-in-law of Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy. Till now the only Indian-origin minister to hold a cabinet position was Priti Patel. Sunak was appointed in the ministry of housing, communities and local government, while Vara. He previously held junior posts in the department of justice and works and pensions Sivan K named new chairman of ISRO Dr. Sivan will take over as the new ISRO chief on 14th January. He will replace A.S.Kiran Kumar. He will be the 9th chairman of the organisation. He is a Rocket scientist and is currently Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. SCIENCE AND TECHNOL- OGY Chhattisgarh gets 696-crore assistance for Naxal districts The Union Government sanctioned Rs 696 crores to eight Naxal affected districts of Chhattisgarh. It has been given for 3 years under its Special Central Assistance Scheme. Chief Minister of the state is Raman Singh. Each of these districts will get an assistance of about Rs 29 crores per year. Page 1 of 5

2 In FDI push, Centre allows 49% foreign ownership in AI Indian Govt.allowed overseas airlines to own up to 49% of Air India. The Union Cabinet allowed foreign airlines to invest up to 49% under the approval route in Air India. The changes to the FDI norms would trigger significant interest in the carrier from foreign airlines. Kapil Kaul is the CEO, Indian subcontinent & Middle East, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA). Supreme Court to form SIT to probe 186 anti-sikh riot cases The Supreme Court will appoint a new SIT to probe 241 cases from the 1984 riots. SIT will have a retired high court judge and two IPS officers, one serving and the other retired. These 241 cases were closed by an earlier SIT. Riots took place in 1984 as a response to the killing of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Thousands of Sikhs were killed in the riot. GI tag for Gulbarga Tur Dal in a month The Kalaburagi red gram, Gulbarga Tur Dal, which is known internationally for its superior quality. It will soon be added to the list of Karnataka producers with the Geographical Indication (GI) tag. Dean of Agriculture College Jayaprakash R. Patil and senior agriculture scientist Raju Teggalli, announced it. PSLV all set to ferry 31 satellites tomorrow The PSLV rocket will be launched from Sriharikota on 12th January. Last launch was failed on August 31. The launch will take place at 9.28 a.m. from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh. The main payload is 710-kg Cartosat-2F. DEFENSE Page 2 of 5

3 Maritime focus for India, ASEAN The ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit is going to take place on January 25. It is likely to focus on maritime security for the region. Secretary in-charge of eastern affairs in the MEA is Preeti Saran. This is meeting is called every year to discuss different topics to improve Maritime power of India. PM sets targets for 115 backward districts Prime Minister ordered all ministries to report on the initiatives taken by them for 115 backward districts. Ministries have been asked to come up with an action plan for these districts. In November 2017, Niti Aayog appointed officials as prabhari or in-charge to coordinate these plans. China to fund base in Afghanistan China will fund construction of an Afghan counterterrorism base in Afghanistan. It will be setup in Badakshan. The decision to build the facility was taken during last month s visit to China by Afghan Defence Minister Tariq Shah Bahrami. World Bank projects 7.3% growth in 2018 India's growth rate in 2018 will be 7.3%. It will grow to 7.5% in next two years. World bank announced these predictions. India is estimated to have grown at 6.7 per cent in Page 3 of 5

4 Female lawyer directly recommended as SC judge for 1st time Indu Malhotra is the first woman lawyer who has been directly recommended from the Bar to Supreme Court judgeship. Supreme Court Collegium led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra unanimously recommended the name. If she gets appointed she would be the seventh woman judge in the Supreme Court's history. Sri Lanka lifts ban on liquor sales to women after 60 years Sri Lanka allowed women over the age of 18 to buy alcohol legally. It has happened for the first time in 60 years. The government is amending a 1955 law. Sri Lanka has been criticised for this. US lists Russia among world's most dangerous countries The US State Department has listed Russia as one of the most dangerous countries to visit in The department's latest travel advice, released on 10 January. Nearly 250,000 US citizens travel to Russia each year. Telecom tycoon becomes Zimbabwe's first billionaire A London-based businessman has become Zimbabwe's first billionaire. He is the 14th richest man in Africa. His name is Strive Masiyiwa. He is 56 years old. Page 4 of 5

5 Comic book titled 'The Wall' releases on Dravid's 45th b'day Rahul Dravid is the latest addition to the list of comic heroes. Dindigul-based KS Divakar, 23, has come up with a comic book 'The Wall'. It was launched online on January 11. It was launched at Page 5 of 5