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• On 1st January 2019, the Defence Research and Development Organisation celebrated its establishment day, the DRDO day, throughout its laboratories and facilities in the country.


• The DRDO has made the country self-reliant in areas of missiles, radars, sonars and torpedoes and many other systems.


• The Organisation has been working over the years to develop state of the art weapon system for the country’s armed forces.


• On the occasion the DRDO Chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy announced that the indigenously developed fighter aircraft Light Combat Aircraft Tejas and Airborne Early Warning and Control System are now on final induction after going through all the test.

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• Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have introduced Value Added Tax (VAT) for the first time.


• The 5 per cent levy is being applied to the majority of goods and services. Petrol and diesel, food, clothes, utility bills and hotel rooms all now have VAT applied.


• But some outgoings have been made exempt from the tax or given a zero-tax rating, including medical treatment, financial services and public transport.


• Gulf States have long attracted foreign workers with the promise of tax-free living. But governments want to increase revenue in the face of lower oil prices.

Source: Cick Here

• The New Year revelers at Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE were enthralled with two spectacular record making events.


• Dubai’s Burj Khalifa did not just beam the highest searchlight but set a new Guinness World record for the largest eco friendly laser light show on a single building.


• Thousands had assembled to witness the five minutes of spectacular laser display which saw the world’s tallest building bathed in colourful lights.


• The dazzling display of the 2018 Ras Al Khaimah (another Emirate in UAE) New Year’s Eve Fireworks by Al Marjan Island – extending over a duration of 10 minutes – was set to action from 120 sites.


• The aerial shell had a diameter of 1,450 mm (145 cm). The shell packed 390 comet stars of size 100 mm each flowering into white, red and green, to recreate the colours of the National Flag.


• The spectacular firework display clinched the Guinness World Record title for the ‘Largest aerial firework shell.’

• Germany is set to start enforcing a law that demands social media sites move quickly to remove hate speech, fake news and illegal material.


• Sites that do not remove “obviously illegal” posts could face fines of up to 50 million euros.


• The law gives the networks 24 hours to act after they have been told about law-breaking material.


• Social networks and media sites with more than two million members will fall under the law’s provisions.


• Facebook, Twitter and YouTube will be the law’s main focus but it is also likely to be applied to Reddit, Tumblr and Russian social network VK.

Source: Cick Here

• A government appointed panel headed by IIT- Hyderabad chairman B V R Mohan Reddy has suggested to the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to stop setting up new engineering colleges from 2020 and review the creation of new capacity every two years after that.


• In a 41-page report, the panel has also suggested that no additional seats should be approved in traditional engineering areas such as mechanical, electrical, civil and electronics.


• It has also recommended that institutes should be encouraged to convert current capacity in traditional disciplines to emerging new technologies as the current capacity utilisation in traditional disciplines is just 40% as opposed to 60% seat occupancy in branches such as computer science and engineering, aerospace engineering and mechatronics.


• Recommendations by the panel also include introduction of undergraduate engineering programmes exclusively for artificial intelligence, blockchain, robotics, quantum computing, data sciences, cybersecurity and 3D printing and design.


• The committee however is in the favour of allowing concessions for applications of setting up new engineering colleges that are already in the pipeline.


• The committee has suggested that the AICTE should only give approvals based on the capacity utilisation of concerned institute.

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• Andhra Pradesh got a separate high court which will temporarily function from the Chief Minister’s camp office in Amravati, the new capital of the state till a permanent building for the High Court is being set up at the ‘Justice City’ in Amaravati.


• Since the bifurcation of the state on June 2, 2014, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have had a common high court at Hyderabad. With the creation of the new high court, the country now has 25 high courts.


• The present high court building in Hyderabad would be housing the High Court of Telangana and the ten judges, who were part of the common high court, will now be the judges of the Telangana High Court.


• The bifurcation of the courts into the High Court of Telangana and High Court of Andhra Pradesh came after the Supreme Court on 29th October passed an order for the burification and said that it expects a notification by January 01, 2019.


• Justice C Praveen Kumar, the senior-most judge among the judges allotted to Andhra Pradesh, was appointed as acting Chief Justice of AP High Court, that will have 15 other judges with effect from January 1 , 2019.


• Justice Thottathil B Radhakrishnan took over as the first Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court with effect from January 1 , 2019.

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• An amount of Rs 14,500 crore has been raised through its BHARAT 22 Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), which was created to benefit long-term and retail investors by providing an opportunity to purchase equity stocks of government-run companies and earn stable returns.


• The objective of BHARAT 22 ETF is to invest in constituents (22 companies) of S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index and endeavour to provide returns before expenses, which closely correspond to the total returns of the index.


• The fund comprises of 22 stocks of listed Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs), Strategic Holdings of Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) and Public Sector Banks (PSBs).

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• Railways will build the country’s first vertical-lift bridge connecting Rameswaram in Arabian Sea to mainland India that will allow ships and steamers to pass through without any hinderance, replacing the existing 104-year-old Pamban bridge.


• The more than two-kilometre-long bridge, which is likely to cost Rs 250 crore, will have a 63-metre stretch which will lift up while remaining parallel to the deck to allow access to the ships.


• It will be ready in the next four years, and along with the new railway link between Rameswaram in Pamban Island and Dhanuskodi, which is considered the starting point of Ram Setu, will help ferry thousands of pilgrims from the Hindu religious site to the mainland.

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• Railway minister Piyush Goel announced that the Honey Bee plan in Assam that kept elephants away from the tracks will be expanded to other areas of the country. He said that the initiative was started on experiment basis last year.


• The Divisional Railway Manager of Rangia Ravilesh Kumar started the project initially to avoid the death of animals particularly elephants on railway tracks. He said it is a simple device that amplifies the recorded sound of honey bees to keep elephants away from the rail track. Several mishaps had been avoided by using this method.

• The Central bank of India, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released 18th Fiscal Stability Report of India.
  
• This report has been prepared by the Sub-Committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) on the risks to financial stability, the strength of the financial system and the development and regulation of the financial sector.


• This is the first such report that has been published after Mr. Shaktikanta Das became governor in December following Urjit Patel’s departure.

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• Reserve Bank of India granted permission to Paytm Payments Bank to add new customers after it initially barred Paytm from opening bank accounts in June 2018.


• This was due to non-compliance of the KYC norms and because Paytm Payments Bank had failed to maintain Rs 100 crore net worth limit.


• Post the audit, Paytm Payments Bank had removed Renu Satti from the chief executive’s role and replaced her with veteran banker and ex-NPCI senior executive Satish Gupta.

Source: Cick Here

• State-run lender UCO bank, formerly United Commercial Bank, announced that Government of India has infused Rs 3076 crore of capital into it by the way of preferential allotment.


• The UCO Bank has posted a net loss of Rs. 1136.44 Crore in the second quarter of FY19 against a net loss of Rs. 622.56 crore for the same period of previous fiscal.


• Gross NPA (Non-performing assets) of UCO bank fell marginally from Rs. 29786.41 crore to Rs. 29581.49 crore during the September Quarter of FY19.


• Gross NPA of the Bank as a percentage of total loans decreased during September quarter by 0.34 basis points to 25.37 per cent from 25.71 per cent during the June quarter.


• Government of India holds 90.8 per cent stake in UCO bank as on 30th September 2018.

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• France introduced a new “GAFA tax” named after the large internet and technology companies Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon to ensure the global giants pay a fair share of taxes on their massive businesses in Europe.


• According to France’s finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, the new tax would raise 500 million euros (570 million dollars) in 2019.


• The unilateral move from France came after the deal for EU wide tax which required the support of all 28 EU states, crumbled earlier this month, with opposition from countries including Ireland, home to the European headquarters of Google and Apple.


• While other EU member states such as Britain, Spain and Italy are working on national versions of a digital tax, Asian countries such as Singapore and India are also planning their own schemes.

Source: Cick Here

• International Cricket Council announced the women’s ODI and T20I teams of the year with senior New Zealand all-rounder, Suzie Bates named ODI skipper while as Indian batting star, Harmanpreet Kaur nominated as the T20I captain.


• Both Bates and Harmanpreet were exceptional with their leadership skills and performances throughout the year and as a recognition of their success, the duo has been named skippers’ of the One day and Twenty-20 squads, respectively.


• Bates was instrumental in New Zealand’s ODI success through the year while Harman helped India in reaching the semi-finals of ICC Women’s World T20 2018.


• The teams include both experienced and young faces from around the world. In ODI side, the likes of Tammy Beaumont, Sana Mir etc and in T20I squad, Ellyse Perry and Rumana Ahmed find a place. Kiwi star Suzie Bates, Indian duo of Smriti Mandhana and Poonam Yadav and Aussie wicket-keeper batsman, Alyssa Healy complete the team of the year.

Source: Cick Here

• India retained their numero uno spot in the year-end International Cricket Council (ICC) Test team rankings. After their unassailable 2-1 lead in the ongoing four-Test series against Australia, India maintained their 116 points to consolidate their top place followed by the English team, who are placed at the second spot with 108 points.


• Meanwhile, New Zealand team that won fourth consecutive Test series and finished the year on 107 points, have overtaken South Africa by two points to move up to the third position after completing a 1-0 win over Sri Lanka in their concluded two-Test series. The top five teams end with Australian team, who are placed at the fifth position with 102 points.

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• Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, awarded Mr. Siddrameshwar Siddharam Humanabade, Food Delivery Boy, with Rs. Rs. 1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh).


• He was awarded for his heroic effort to save 10 people from the fire at the ESIC hospital at Andheri, Mumbai on 17.12.2018.

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• a Dharwad-based paediatrician, Dr. Rajan Deshpande, received the Shankar Vaidya Shree Award at the 19th anniversary of the Dr. P.S. Shankar Pratishtan in Kalaburagi, Karnataka.


• He was honoured for his exemplary work in children’s healthcare for 40 years.


• He is the 12th recipient of this award after its inception in 2000.


• In this award, he got a cash prize of Rs. 10,000, a medal and a citation.

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• On January 1st, 2019, Justice Thottathil Bhaskaran Nair Radhakrishnan was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court.


• His oath was administered by Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan.


• After that the CJ of Telengana HC administered the oath of office to 12 justices of Telangana High Court.


• He had been serving as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad for both the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

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• On January 1st, 2019, VK Yadavtook charge of the chairmanship of Railway Board. He succeeded Ashwani Lohani.


• Prior to his appointment, the General Manager of South-Central Railway (SCR).


• He is an electrical engineer and belongs to the 1980 batch of the Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers.


• He has also served as additional divisional railway manager of Delhi division, divisional railway manager of Lucknow and chief electrical engineer of planning/ traction distribution in Northern Railway.

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• Private sector lender Axis Bank Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shikha Sharma retired from the services of the bank and Amitabh Chaudhry will be the new MD and CEO of the Axis bank from 1st January 2019.


• In April 2018, Shikha Sharma requested the bank board to reduce her new term which was started from June 2018 to 7 months from a three-year tenure without citing any reasons.


• 54 years old, an Indian Institute of Management -Ahmedabad alumnus, Amitabh Chaudhry who is the former MD and CEO of HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company was appointed the MD & CEO of Axis Bank for the period of 3 years.

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The American space agency NASA‘s New Horizons spacecraft performed the farthest flyby in history as it approached the Kuiper Belt object Ultima Thule.

• At 6.5 billion km from Earth, the encounter is the most distant ever exploration of a Solar System body. The cosmic rendezvous occurred so far from Earth that it took more than 6 hours for a signal from New Horizons to reach Earth.


• Ultima is an object in the Kuiper belt which is a band of frozen material that orbits the Sun more than 2 billion km (1.25bn miles) further out than the Neptune; and 1.5 billion km beyond even the dwarf planet Pluto, which New Horizons visited in 2015.


• NASA launched the $700 million nuclear-powered New Horizons spacecraft in January 2006 on a mission originally aimed at Pluto which was very successful as the spacecraft sent the first-ever detailed photos of the dwarf planet.

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• As per the Research of Stanford and Google, A Machine learning Agent, CycleGAN which works on Artificial Intelligence tasked with transforming Aerial images into map was hiding information in order to cheat later.


• CycleGAN, a neutral network that learns to transform images was working well till it was found that the agent didn’t really learn to make the map out of image but it learned to subtly encode the features from one into the noise patterns of the other.


• This is not a case of machine getting smarter but it is a case in which when a machine is not smart enough to do the difficult job then it learns a way to cheat the humans.

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• On January 1st, 2019, Veteran actor-writer Kader Khan passed away at 81 in Canada.


• Making his acting debut in 1973 with Rajesh Khanna’s “Daag”, he has featured in over 300 films.


• He wrote dialogues for over 250 movies and was also a screen writer.