DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS FACTS 11th January-20th January 2014

1.	Gorakhpur railway station's platform number one becomes theworld’s longest platform by Limca Book of Records.     I.                    The platform with a length of 1355.40 meters had been inaugurated in October 2013.  II.                    This distinction earlier rested with 1072.5 meters long platform of Kharagpur railway station (West Bengal).
2.	India's first gun for women, 'Nirbheek', rolls out of Indian Ordnance Factory, Kanpur.   I.                    The 'smallest revolver made in India' is a .32 bore firearm weighing mere 500 grams.  II.                    It is also the first IOF handgun made of titanium alloy.
3.	World Hindi Day observed on January 10.   I.                    Hindi as a language is spoken in over 20 countries around the world and is being taught in almost 150 Universities of the world.  II.                    National Hindi Diwas is celebrated annually on September 14 as Hindi was granted the Raajbhasha (official language) status on this very date in 1949.
4.	Mahatma Gandhi's grand-daughter Ela Gandhi, Australian senator of Indian origin Lisa Maria Singh and Ramkrishna Mission in Fiji are among the 13 recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award2014.
5.	Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) clinches both Women and Men titles at recently (Jan 2014) concluded 75th Senior National Table Tennis Championship.   I.                    The PSPB men retained the Barna Ballack cup defeating West Bengal 3-0 in the final. II.                    PSPB Women regained the Jayalakshmi Cup beating North Bengal by the same margin.
6.	Posco steel project gets green clearance.
7.	Ariel Sharon, former Prime Minister of Israel, passes away aged 85.
8.	Inaugural Sunil Gangopadhayay Memorial Award for excellence in Bengali Literature goes to poets Nirendranth Chakravarthi (for 2012) and Sankha Ghosh (for 2013).   I.                    The award was instituted by a cultural organization 'The Bengal' in 2012 in a tribute to its deceased president Sunil Gangopadhyay.
9.	Sanil Shetty and Ankita Das clinched their maiden men's and women's singles titlesrespectively at the 75th Senior National Table Tennis Championships held at Patna.
10.	'World's most admired people poll' by YouGov for The Times : 1) Bill Gates 2) Barack Obama 3) Vladimir Putin. 7 Indians overall in a list of 30 people with 4 in top 10. Indians Iin The List : 5th) Sachin Tendulkar 7th) Narendra Modi 9th) Amitabh Bachchan 10th) Abdul Kalam 4th) Anna Hazare 18th) Arvind Kejriwal 30th) Ratan Tata. Survey done in 13 countries, including India, on over 14,000 people.
11.	The 3-day International Kite Festival (IKF) 2014 kicks off at the Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.   I.                    The festival, that attracts people from across the globe, provides a major opportunity to boost tourism.     II.            The kite market today has crossed Rs.500 crore and is a source of livelihood for poorest of the poor.
12.	PM lays the foundation for 2800 MWe (4x700) Nuclear Power Project in Fatehabad (Gorakhpur village), Haryana. India targets increasing its nuclear power capacity to 27,000 MWe by 2024 (currently 4800 MWe). Project "Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana' will comprise of 4 Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) of 700 MWe each. First phase of 2x700 Mwe reactors is to be completed by 2020-21. PHWRs : also at Kakrapar (Gujarat) and Rawatbhata (Rajasthan) ; Fuel is natural uranium while heavy water is used as moderator and coolant.
13.	Health Ministry launches indigenous and cheap/affordable Diabetes Testing Kit- "Suchek" (Glucometer/ screening meter) and QuickcheQ (strip).
14.	India declared "Polio Free" by WHO (World Health Organisation) as it meets the criteria of "no new reported polio cases in last three years".
15.	Delhi Government revokes permission to allow Multi Brand Retail in the state. As per the current FDI norms in Multi Brand Retail (supermarket chains), those state having more than 1million population have the option to allow or refuse 51% FDI. Status : Only 12 states and UTs (mainly Congress-ruled states). Not much investment decision have come due to limited region and policy uncertainity. In December 2013 Tesco (UK's biggest supermarkets group) became the first company to announce investment in the sector.
16.	India ranks 120th out of 178 countries (25th out of 43 in Asia Pacific) with a score of 55.7 in the2014 Index of Economic Freedom published by Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal.
17.	Nigeria passes anti-homosexuality bill which criminalises gay marriage, public displays of same-sex relationships, and belonging to gay groups. Recently Uganda has also passed similar law which prescribes life sentence for the offence.
18.	Cristiano Ronaldo (From Portugal, plays for Spanish Real Madrid club) wins 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or/ World Player of the Year ending 4 year reign of Argentina's Lionel Messi (Spanish Club- Barcelona). Besides these two, France's Franck Ribery( German club-Bayern Munich) was also in contention. He has also won this award in 2008.
19.	Long jumper Anju Booby George awarded gold medal nine years after her second place finish at the 2005 Monaco World Athletics Final.    I.                    The winner Tatyana Kotova (Russia) was stripped off her gold medal having been found guilty of doping in addition her result now stands deleted from the record books.  II.                    Anju thus becomes the first ever Indian athlete to clinch a gold medal in a major world track and field event. III.                    The event was competed by top eight athletes of that time.
20.	Google buys out Nest Labs, smart thermostat and smoke alarm-maker, in a $3.2-billion deal.   I.                    Its seen as a push into a new market of smart household appliances which can be regulated from mobile applications. II.                    Its Google second largest acquisition after the $12.5-billion purchase of mobile phone maker Motorola in 2012.
21.	India and Canada inks Letter of Intent for co-operation in Iron and Steel Sector.
22.	Vijay Zol is to captain India in ICC Under-19 World Cup to be held in UAE in February 2014 .   -He, who recently led India to junior Asia Cup victory, will lead the defending champion with hope to secure the trophy for the 4th time after 2000, 2008 and 2012.
23.	Namdeo Dhasal, Dalit writer, poet and activist dies aged 64. The Padma Shri and Sahitya Akadami awardee had founded militant 'Dalit Panthers Party' to fight for Dalits rights in 1972.
24.	Nation observes 66th Army Day on January 15.     I.                    It marks the anniversary of succession of K. M. Cariappa as the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Army taking over from Sir Francis Butcher - the last British commander- in 1948.  II.                    The day pay homage to valiant soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country.
25.	Arunachal Pradesh is all set to get its first rail service as the 20-km trial run fromHarmutty (Lakhimpur, Assam) to the state capital Itanagar successfully conducted.
26.	Karnataka becomes the first state in India to give its entire population of 6.11 crore some kind of health cover with the newly launched Rajiv Arogya Bhagya.    I.                    This new health assurance scheme cover Above Poverty Line (APL) families and as there already are some state and central health schemes in place for BPL families, this makes the state cover the entire population with some sort of health assurance scheme.
27.	Anees Salim bags The Hindu Prize for Best Fiction 2013 for his second novel 'Vanity Bagh'.    I.                    The prize, comprising cheque of Rs. 5 lakh and a plaque, recognized him for consistent writing, humour and imagination. II.                    Manu Joseph was the inaugural winner in this category in 2010 for his debut novel Serious Men.
28.	American golfer Jimmy Walker wins 'Sony Open golf tournament' held in Hawaii (US). This was his 2nd PGA Tour title after winning the Frys.com Open in October 2013.
29.	The World Bank forecast Indian economy to grow over 6 percent in 2014-15 and 7% for 2016-17 riding on hike in global demand and rising domestic investment.
30.	Renowned veteran actress Suchitra Sen breathes her last at 82.     I.                    She was best known for her Bengali films like Deep Jwele Jaai and Uttar Falguni and Hindi movies as Devdas, Bambai Ka Babu and Mamta. II.                    She was the first ever Indian actress to win an international award - receiving the Silver Prize for Best Actress at the Moscow Film Festival for 'Saptapadi'.
31.	Hong Kong and Macau, the 2 Special Administrative Regions of China, includeded in thesensitive list of countries by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).   I.                    Such regions require prior approval of RBI for setting up business or related activities in India. II.                    Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iran and China are already a part of this list.
32.	The Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) ‘Abhinav’, the 3rd in the series of 20 Fast Patrol Vessels(FPVs), has been commissioned into Indian Navy.   I.                    The ship, designed and built by M/s Cochin Shipyard Limited, will has its base at Kochi.  II.                    It is equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry and advanced communication and navigational equipment.
33.	India to send only 3 sportspersons to participate in 'Sochi Winter Olympics' commencing from 7th February 2014 in Russia. They are Shiva Keshavan for Luge event while Himanshu Thakurand Nadeem Iqbal for Alpine Skiing.
34.	Department of Disability Affairs organizes “SAMARTH 2014: Celebrating Diversity” together with the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.   I.                    The event is aimed to create inclusive & enabling environment for people with disability. II.                    Government is looking to pass a new Disability Act in sync with the the norms of 'UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities' in the next session.
35.	Akhilesh Das Gupta is going to be re-elected as president of Badminton Association of India(BAI) unopposed.
36.	India occupies a disappointing 97th spot in the recently (Jan 2014) published 'Global Food Index 2014' that listed 125 countries with adequate available data.
37.	Egypt votes in the new constitution by 98.1 percent approval.   I.                    Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the Army chief who ousted the democratically elected Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in last July, is said to be eyeing the presidential office.
38.	Goa is hosting the 3rd Lusofonia Games (Portuguese Commonwealth Games) from January 18 to 29.   I.                    The Athletes from 12 Portuguese Commonwealth nations are participating in the event.  II.                    Macau (China) and Lisbon (Portugal) had hosted the first two editions of this even in 2006 and 2009 respectively.
39.	Pakistani city Peshawar declared the nerve centre of Polio in the world for 2013 by World Health Organisation.   I.                    Pakistan, with largest number of polio cases worlwide, is the sole polio-endemic country to register year-on-year growth in polio cases.
40.	Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin, the spiritual leader of Dawoodi Bohra community, laid to rest.   I.                    At least 18 people had died in a stampede in Mumbai when a huge crowd of mourners gathered to pay their last tribute went out of control.
41.	Taiwanese poet Yushi conferred on the Thiruvalluvar award for his contribution to Tamil language.   I.                    He is the first foreigner to receive this award.  II.                    It is given by the state of Tamil Nadu annually on Thiruvalluvar day (Jan 15).
42.	The Netherlands crowned champion of inaugural Hockey World League
43.	Cyrus Mistry bags 'DSC prize for South Asian literature 2014'
44.	Centre issues directive for 150 days (50 more than stipulated 100 days) work under MGNREGAfor STs in Forest Areas. It will apply exclusively to those with pattas under Forest Rights Act, FRA(2006).
45.	India and South Korea move to strenghten bilateral ties with signing of nine pacts.
46.	India and UAE ink MoU for co-operation on renewable energy with special emphasis on solar and wind power.
47.	Thiruvanathapuram based 'Technopark' is now the largest IT park in the country.   I.                    The park achieved this distinction with the addition of third phase of the project. II.                    It houses around 285 companies in a gigantic 333-acre campus. III.                    It is set for further expansion as and when the phase four gets complete.
48.	Mithun Chakraborty to fight Rajya Sabha elections on TMC ticket. The Polls, to fill up 5 Rajya Sabha vacancies from Bengal, will be held on February 7th.
49.	Google develops contact lens glucose monitor :  -Google unveiled a contact lens that monitors glucose levels in tears, a potential reprieve for millions of diabetics who have to jab their fingers to draw their own blood as many as 10 times a day. - Thee contact lenses were developed during the past 18 months in the clandestine Google X lab that also came up with a driverless car, Google’s Web-surfing eyeglasses and Project Loon, a network of large balloons designed to beam the Internet to unwired places.
50.	Dhoni becomes first Indian keeper to cross 300 dismissals :  -Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today became the first Indian wicketkeeper and the fourth overall to effect 300 dismissals in One Day Internationals when he caught a Ross Taylor nick in the opening ODI against New Zealand.Dhoni had 299 dismissals (220 caught and 79 stumpings).