DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS FACTS (JANUARY 21-31 )

1.	NCR Planning Board approves inclusion of Jind & Karnal districts of Haryana in NCR (National Capital Region).
2.	West Bengal bags 3rd Krishi Karman Award for 2012-13 for being the best performing state in overall agricultural production in the country.
3.	Government to Set up electric locomotive factory at Madhepura and Diesel locomotive factory at Marhowra, Bihar.
4.	The government agrees to set up Amritsar Kolkata Industrial Corridor Development Corporation for building 'Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor'. The corridor will be in a band of 150-200 kms on either side of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC).
5.	Petroleum & Natural Gas minister M. Veerappa Moily approves constitution of Multi Organisation Team (MOT) for Re-assessment of Hydrocarbon Resources of India. The committee will complete this resources estimation exercise in all 26 sedimentary basins of the country within 30 months.
6.	Centre approves a grant of Rs. 2727.10 crore to Nalanda University over a period of 12 years from 2010-11 to 2021-22. The assistance is aimed to turn it into an international institution of excellence. The University was established in November, 2010 as a non-state, non-profit, secular and self-governing international institution.
7.	Jains become 'minority' in India. - read more
8.	IMF revises India's growth rate to 4.6 per cent for the financial year 2013-14 at factor prices (excluding taxes).     I.        The country is expected to clock a growth rate of 5.4 per cent in 2014-15 and 6.4 per cent in 2015-16. II.        IMF is considerably more pessimistic than its Bretton Woods twin 'World Bank' who has estimated the growth rate for the same period at 6.2 per cent and 7.1 per cent respectively.
9.	'Rail Tariff Authority' to advise on rail fares approved.   - read more
10.	Aruna Bahuguna becomes the first woman head of National Police Academy (NPA) since its inception in 1948.   I.        It is the nation's premier institute to train IPS officers selected by the Union Public Service Commission.
11.	Veteran Telugu actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao breathes his last at 91.   I.        He, a Padma Vibhushan laureate in 2011, had also won Dada Saheb Phalke and Padma Shri awards. II.        He was the father of famous Telugu actor Nagarjuna.
12.	Google acquires cyber security firm 'Impermium' for $9 million.   I.        This 3-year-old startup was founded by two Indian Vish Ramarao and Naveen Jamal together with Mark Risher (all from Yahoo) in 2010.  II.        It has its offices in Bangalore and California.
13.	Supreme Court commutes death sentence of 15. - read more
14.	S N Goel has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of country's leading electricity bourse 'Indian Energy Exchange' (IEX).
15.	Kapurthala (Punjab) gets world's second and nation's first 'Climate Change Theatre'. The theatre, second such after one in Canada, is meant to educate people on climate change.
16.	Currency notes issued before 2005 to be phased out beginning March 31: RBI    I.        This is a move to curb black money and weed out fake currency in circulation.  II.        The people will require to approach banks to exchange these notes with new ones.
17.	Government launches LPG Connection Portability throughout India from today. The Scheme avails 480 districts in the country entailing all possible markets.
18.	Odisha's Chilika lagoon has been selected by United National World Tourism Organisation(UNWTO) as one of the eight 'destination flyways' in the world.   I.        The site, sole in Asia to be selected, got this recognition for being sustainable and resilient destination for migratory water birds.
19.	Advanced Light Helicopter 'Garuda Vasudha' dedicated to Geological Survey of India to enhance its mineral exploration capability.   - read more
20.	Pandit Haridutt Sharma Award conferred on petrolium minister Veerappa Moily for his literary achievements and public service.    I.               The award, named after the noted Hindi journalist and social worker Pandit Haridutt Sharma, is given to people in the field of journalism, literature and social service.
21.	T. Nanda Kumar to take over as the new Chairman of the National Dairy Development Board(NDDB) from March 1, 2014.   I.               He, first ever IAS to hold this position, will be replacing Amrita Patel as such. II.               She has been holding the office since 1998.
22.	National Bravery Awards to 25 children this year. - read more
23.	South Sudan inks a ceasefire deal with rebels aiming to halt the bloodied civil war that has killed thousands of soldiers and civilians in the world's newest nation.   I.               The deal is supposed to establish a verification and monitoring mechanism for the truce and allow unrestricted access to aid workers.
24.	Viscera test is a must in all death cases where poisoning is suspected: Supreme Court   I.               The ruling came in the wake of rising number of acquittal in death by poisoning cases due to lack of forensic evidence. II.               The test includes thorough checking of the internal organs of the body, specifically those within the chest (as the heart or lungs) or abdomen (as the liver, pancreas or intestines).
25.	Kerala bags the prestigious United Nations World Tourism Organisation’s Ulysses Award for “innovation in public policy and governance”.  I.               The award, a first ever for India, recognizes sustainable and eco-friendly efforts in tourism.
26.	Cumbria University of UK becomes the first public university to accept fees in digital currency 'Bitcoin'.     I.               Bitcoin is an online currency and payment system which enables the international transmission of funds.    II.         Its also called “cryptocurrency” for using cryptography as its security feature.
27.	SJVN`s flagship 1500 MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station has been awarded `Silver Shield` for the year 2012-13 by the Ministry of Power.     I.               It was the 3rd consecutive award for SJVN after `Gold Shield` in 2010-11 and `Bronze Shield` in the year 2011-12. II.               SJVN is a joint venture between Governments of India and Himachal Pradesh in the field of Thermal and Wind Power Generation.
28.	National Science Centre, New Delhi gets ‘Innovation Hub’ which aims to encourage children to imagine and explore through science and technology.   I.               The government is working on a scheme to launch 100 such innovation hubs across the country.
29.	World Economic Forum’s Crystal Award 2014 given. - read more
30.	Indian-origin academician Rakesh Khurana, 46, is the new dean of Harvard College. He succeeds Evelynn Hammonds as such
31.	Kashmiri-origin Neel Kashkari, hero of bank bailout, is to run for California governor's post. I.               Louisiana's Bobby Jindal and South Carolina's Nikki Haley, are other two indian american to be governors.
32.	Catherine Samba-Panza becomes the first woman president of war-torn Central AfricanRepublic.     I.               She is the third interim president this country has seen this month after Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendet (which she replaces) and Michel Djotodia.
33.	Rio Tinto, world’s commercial mining giant, discovers diamond reserves in Bastar (Chhatisgarh).   I.               Bastar region is one of India’s three oldest zones geologically together with the Deccan Plateau and the Bundelkhand region.  II.               Diamonds are said to be available in what are geologically known as Kimberlite pipes that had spewed lava billions of years ago. III.               Though only some of those 'Kimberlite pipes' actually contain extractable reserves of the mineral.
34.	India observed 7th 'National Girl Child Day' on January 24.     I.               The day aims to create awareness in the society about the importance of girls’ promotion II.               The theme of this year is ‘Safety and Development of girl child’. III.               It pays tribute to the swearing in of India's first woman Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for the first time on this very date.
35.	Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw to receive prestigious 'Othmer Gold Medal' for the year 2014.   I.               She will only be the 3rd woman (20th overall) to win this coveted honour given by the US-based Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) II.               The Othmer Gold Medal was established in 1997 to honour outstanding individuals who have made great contributions to chemical and scientific heritage through outstanding activity in fields as innovation, entrepreneurship, research, education, public understanding, legislation, or philanthropy.
36.	The Women and Child Development Minister, Krishna Tirath launched the Multi SectoralNutrition Programme (MSNP) and National Resource Platform (NRP) on the occasion of National Girl Child Day (Jan 24th).
37.	Alok Sinha has been given the additional charge of Chairman of Airports Authority of India after the removal of V P Agarwal as such.
38.	Dr Tej Vir Singh wins UNWTO Ulysses Prize 2013.
39.	Indian-American AJ Paulraj wins Marconi Prize 2014.
40.	Australian Open 2014: The winners - read more
41.	India's second highest civilian honour 'Padma Vibhushan' has been awarded to scientist RA Mashelkar and yoga guru BKS Iyengar for the year 2014.   - read more
42.	National Communal Harmony Award 2013 goes to Mohinder Singh (Delhi) and N Radhakrishnan (Kerala) in individual category while 'Centre for Study of Society and Secularism' (CSSS) bags the same in the organisation category.
43.	4th National Voters Day observed across the country on January 25th with 'Ethical Voting' as its theme.   I.               The day is celebrated to increase awareness among voters for effective participation in the electoral process. II.               This is the same date 'The Election Commission of India' was founded on in the year 1950.
44.	World Leprosy Day was observed across the world on January 26th.   I.               As per the 2011 statistics, India rank’s number one by contributing about 58.1 per cent of new leprosy cases detected worldwide.  II.               India has not succeeded in eliminating this disease despite the introduction of multiple drug therapy (MDT) over three decades ago.
45.	Tata Motors MD Karl Slym dies aged 51.   I.               He succumbed to injury inflicted by falling off the hotel he was staying in.  II.               He was in Thailand to attend a meeting of the board of directors of Tata's subsidiary in the country.
46.	Disappointment for India as Sania Mirza (with her Romanian partner Horia Tecau) lost in the final of Australian Open mixed doubles to the pair of Daniel Nestor and Kristina Mladenovic.   I.               Sania had lifted this title in 2009 with Mahesh Bhupathi.
47.	Life expectancy increases by 5 years over the past decade in India.   I.               Its up from 62.3 years for male and 63.9 years for female in 2001-2005 to 67.3 years for male and 69.6 years for female in 2011-2015. II.               Infant Mortality Rate has declined to 42 in 2012 from 58 per 1000 live births in the year 2005.  III.               Maternal Mortality Ratio has diminished from 301 per 100,000 live births in 2001-03 to 212 in 2007-09.  IV.               Total Fertility Rate is down to 2.4 in 2011 from 2.9 in 2005.
48.	India languishes at 155th place out of 178 countries globally in 'Environment Performance Index2014'.
49.	Saina Nehwal clinches the women's Singles title by comprehensively beating PV Sindhu in the straight sets 21-14, 21-17 at Syed Modi India Grand Prix Gold Badminton Championship held in Lucknow.   I.               Chinese Xue Song wins the Men’s title by overpowering India's Srikanth K 16-21, 21-19, 21-13 in the final.
50.	Civil Aviation Ministry removes restrictions on operations of Airbus A-380 in India.   I.               This large aircraft is allowed to operate from four airports equipped to handle them in India namely Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. II.               They offer more space, comfort and luxury to passengers generating more in revenue.
51.	The National Innovation Council (NInC) and the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME) come together to set up 'India Inclusive Innovation Fund' (IIIF).   I.               The fund seeks to leverage the model of Venture Capital to transform the lives of the underprivileged. II.               Its to add teeth to the efforts of socio-economical upliftment by assisting inadequate  philanthropy and Government grants/subsidies provided to the poors.
52.	Google acquires 'DeepMind Technologies', a London-based artificial intelligence company, for USD 400 million.
53.	India becomes the first country in South Asia to ban the testing of cosmetics and its ingredientson animals. I.               Though it has left an escape route for pharma companies to either sell such cosmetics tested abroad or outsource the testing of their own products.
54.	Olympics, CWG and Asian Games medal winners will get tax exemption on cash or other rewards given by the government.
55.	West Bengal Tableau, which depicted the famous Purulia Chhau Dance, declared the best tableau in the Republic Day parade.  I.               Ones of Tamil Nadu & Assam finished up at 2nd and 3rd place respectively.
56.	70% of Diesel, 99.6 % of Petrol is consumed in the country by the Transport Sector alone as per an all India study conducted by M/s Nielsen (India) for Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of Petroleum Ministry.   I.               Two-wheelers top Petrol consumption with 61.42% followed by cars with 34.33% and 3-wheelers with 2.34%. II.               Diesel consumption: 13.15% by private cars and UVs, 8.94% by commercial cars & UVs and 6.39% by 3-wheelers. III.               Trucks account for 28.25%, Buses 9.55% and Railways about 3.24% of the total diesel consumption in India. IV.               Agriculture Sector uses 13% of Diesel; industry consumes 9.02% including industry gensets with 4.06% and Mobile Towers 1.54%.
57.	American folk singer and activist Pete Seeger dies aged 94.
58.	DRDO presents Dhruva-3, an indigenous High Performance Computing Systems, to the nation. -read more
59.	British era heritage building 'Gorton Castle' in Shimla gutted by fire. The fire reduced at least 2 storeys of this five-storey sprawling building to ashes which houses Himachal Pardesh’s Accountant General.
60.	Tunisia adopts a new constitution. - read more
61.	37 per cent of the global illiterate adults, the most in the world, reside in India: UN     I.               The report, released by 'United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation', estimates the total number of illiterate adults in India around 287 million.
62.	India (Goa) emerges overall champions with a rich haul of 92 medals (37 Gold, 27 Silver and 28 Bronze) in the 3rd Lusofonia Games 2014 held in Goa.   I.               Portugal and Macau (China) finished second and third respectively in this edition of the Portuguese Commonwealth Games that featured 12 countries.
63.	Google is to sell Motorola's smartphone business to Lenovo -the world's largest maker of personal computers- for $2.9 billion. The internet giant Google had acquired Motorola Mobility for $12.4 billion in 2012.
64.	India ranks 16th among the top 20 global economies receiving the most FDI as per the latest report by the United Nations.  I.               India received USD 28 billion as FDI in 2013 which is 17% more than the previous year.
65.	US tops the International Intellectual Property (IP) Index followed by UK and France.   I.               The report is prepared by the Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC) of the US Chamber of Commerce which maps the IP environment of 25 major economies in the world across 30 categories.
66.	1.            Bharti Airtel promotes Gopal Vittal as MD & CEO of its India and South Asia operations. He, currently the joint MD and CEO (India) of Bharti Airtel, will join as such in April 2014.
67.	Indian Rupee to be a legal tender in Zimbabwe alongwith the currencies of China, Japan andAustralia.      I.               The basket of currencies that work as a legal tender in the country has now gone up to 9.                    II.        The list includes US dollar, Euro and South African rand.
68.	The government hikes quota of subsidised LPG cylinders to 12 from earlier 9 cylinders per household annually.    I.               The raise will come into effective from April 1, 2014. II.               Moreover, consumers can also avail of an extra cylinder for February and March over the quota of 9.
69.	Government puts the implementation of 'Aadhaar linked LPG direct benefit transfer scheme' on hold in the wake of rising complaints; sets up a committee to look into the issue.
70.	Anand Kumar, the founder of Super30 classes, has been honoured with the Ramanujan Mathematics Award 2014 at the 8th National Mathematics Convention held at Rajkot in Gujarat.
71.	ULFA leader Paresh Barua sentenced to death with 13 others by a Bangladesh court in a 2004 arms smuggling case.   I.               10 trucks containing 4000 weapons and over 11 million bullets were seized by police in that case.
72.	National Institute of Technology (Odisha) developes a technology to turn common polymer (low-density polyethylene) into a liquid fuel.    I.               This commercially viable innovation may revolutionize the recycling of such polymers significantly reducing the pollution they cause. II.               It will also come handy in addressing growing demands for fuel globally.
73.	Sumit Malik, the 400 meter gold medal winner in the men’s 400 meter race in Lusofonia Games 2014, has been stripped off from his medal for violating anti-doping rules.