Cabinet nod to pact signed with US for co-hosting GES 2017 The Union Cabinet gave its ex-post facto approval for a pact signed between India and the US. This pact is for co-hosting the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) 2017 in India. The GES-2017 was held in Hyderabad. It was held from 28 November 28 2017. It was attended by delegates from 150 countries. Cabinet gives ex-post facto approval to India's stand at WTO The Union Cabinet gave its ex-post facto approval to the stand taken by India at the MC11 of the WTO. It was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina in December 2017. The MC11, took place from December 10 to 13 in 2017. It was chaired by Minister Susana Malcorra of Argentina. INTERNAT- IONAL RELATION- ALSHIP Cabinet approves Indo-Myanmar agreement on land border crossing The Union Cabinet recently approved the MoU between India and Myanmar on Land Border Crossing. The agreement will regulate free movement rights for the people living in the border areas of both the countries. It will also also facilitate the movement of people on the basis of valid passports and visas. It will boost the economy of the North East. It will safeguard the traditional rights of the tribal communities living in border areas. www.toprankers.com Page 1 of 6
Lok Sabha passes bill to hike salaries of Supreme Court, High Court judges A bill was passed in Lok Sabha which will increase the salaries of judges of the Supreme Court and the 24 high courts. The increment will be more than twice. After the bill is passed SC Chief justice will get a monthly salary of Rs. 2.80 lakh. His current salary is Rs. one lakh a month. Judges of the Supreme Court and chief justices of the high courts will get a monthly salary of Rs. 2.50 lakh. Their current salary is Rs. 90,000. The judges of the high courts will get Rs. 80,000 per month. Their current salary is Rs. 2.25 lakh per month. Panneerselvam appointed Leader of the House in Tamil Nadu Assembly Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam has been appointed as leader of the house. It was announced by the assembly secretary K Boopathy on 4th January 2018. He ll replace K A Sengottaiyan. Panneerselvam was the leader of the house during former chief minister J Jayalalithaa regime. 2018 assembly session is set to begin on January 8. Novel sperm-sorting device could improve IVF success A new device has been discovered by scientists. This device can select fast and healthy sperm cells. This technology will help women undergoing IVF procedure. It uses a field of 3D posts which creates an obstacle for the swimming sperm cells. The strongest and healthiest sperm get through this obstacle and then are collected & used in the IVF process. This device is called the SPARTAN device. SCIENCE AND TECNOLO- GY www.toprankers.com Page 2 of 6
Ancient Aztec Map of Universe Found on Mexican Volcano The remains of an ancient stone sanctuary was found In mexico. It is situated in the middle of a pond, on the side of a volcano. The sanctuary is at a height of 13,000 feet below the Iztaccihuatl volcano. The National Institute referred to the sanctuary as a iztacalco. A "super blue blood moon" is coming January 31 On January 31 earth will see third supermoon in a row. It will also be the second full moon of January. It is going to coincide with total lunar eclipse. The last time it happened together 152 years ago. Any full moon which falls within the 90% of the lunar orbit close to Earth is called supermoon. Another such event will happen in 2019. DAYS AND DATES Govt to launch new savings bonds with 7.75% interest The government of India announced the launch of new savings bonds. It will bear an interest of 7.75% and mature in seven years. Eligible investors can buy 7.75% Savings Bonds from 10 January. The minimum issuance amount for these bonds is Rs1,000. The interest of 7.75% per annum will be paid semi-annually. Interest on these bonds will be taxable under the Income Tax Act, 1961. ECONOMY www.toprankers.com Page 3 of 6
Cate Blanchett to head Cannes Festival jury Cate Blanchett became head of the Cannes festival jury. Cate is a two-time Academy award winner. She will succeed Spanish director Pedro Almodovar. Pedro headed the 70th edition of the festival last year. This year's festival will take place from May 8-19. SRL becomes 1st Indian diagnostic firm to hit 1k cr revenue SRL Diagnostics (SRL) announced that the company become first Indian diagnostics company to surpass Rs. 10 billion in revenue in 2017. SRL Diagnostics was established in 1995. Today SRL has a reach of 15 million patients annually. It exists in 600 cities across 30 states in India. The company has also partnered with the government under PPP in Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh. SRL has also been chosen as the lab partner for UNICEF's Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey. ECONOMY Amazon patents mirror that lets users try clothes virtually Amazon has patented a mirror that let the consumer try on clothes virtually. Consumer can do it by placing themselves into a virtual location. The patent describes the mirror as partiallyreflective and partially-transmissive. It uses displays, cameras, and projectors to create the blended image. Amazon acquired Body Labs last year. Body Labs is an AI-software and computer vision company. Amazon has made its place in the fashion industry. www.toprankers.com Page 4 of 6
Chinese globes sold in Canada depict J&K out of India It was the third reported instance since December where chinese globe has shown Kashmir separate from India. These globes were manufactured in China and sold at mainstream Canadian outlets. Before this there was another retailer selling globe, made in China, that removed both J&K and Arunachal Pradesh from India. GLOBAL India signed 2.8 lakh-crore defence deals in last 4 years In last four years India has procured 187 defence deals to procure military platforms and equipment from domestic and foreign firms. Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre gave this data in Lok Sabha. India has signed the total value of the defence deals worth 2.8 lakh crore. 63% of the total deals were signed with Indian vendors. ECONOMY SC directs BCCI to allow Bihar to take part in Ranji Trophy Bihar state cricket team will be playing in Ranji and other national level cricket tournaments in 2018. It will happen after a gap of 17 years. This is directed by the supreme court of India on 4th January 2018. Bihar was banned in 2000 from participating in cricket tournaments at national level when BCCI de-affiliated Bihar Cricket Association. This was because the BCA was released of its value after Separation of Jharkhand from Bihar. The state team had been participating in Ranji trophy from 1935 to 2000. SPORTS www.toprankers.com Page 5 of 6
Power prices go negative in Germany due to overproduction Electricity prices dipped below zero on Christmas in Germany. It means people are being essentially paid to use electricity. This is because Germany's wind and solar plants are very efficient at generating power. But they can t still match the power demand. The negative pricing compensates the consumers' subsequent electricity billing. GLOBAL www.toprankers.com Page 6 of 6