Jan. first week short notesJan. first week short notes

Appointments

1. Vijay Keshav Gokhale who served as an ambassador to China and currently serving as the secretary (economic relations) has been named as India's next foreign secretary.
2. Former RAW chief Rajinder Khanna appointed as the new Deputy National Security Advisor.
3. Abhay has taken charge as the new chief of the NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau).
4. Pankaj Jain Assumes Charge as IIFCL Managing Director.
5. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe Named ICCR Chief.

Honour and Awards

1. MAS Chief Ravi Menon Named Best Central Bank Governor in Asia-Pacific.

MoUs and Partnerships

1. Cabinet approves MoU between India and UK in transport.
2. Cabinet approves Indo-Myanmar agreement on the land border crossing.
3. MoU between India and Israel on Cooperation in Oil and Gas Sector Approved.
4. HDFC Bank Partners with Rajasthan Govt. to Promote Start-up Culture.

National Affairs

1. Metro Cards for Public Buses from 31st March 2018.
2. A Book Tribute to Pratibha Patil on her completed 50 glorious years in politics.
3. The Cabinet of India approved National Medical Commission Bill 2017 which led to doctors' strikes for 12 hours.
4. The Minister of Women and Child Development inaugurated online portal NARI in New Delhi to empower women and provide women citizens with easy access to information on various government schemes and initiatives for women.
5. Govt. Of India announced Customers will not be charged any transaction charges up to Rs 2000 on making payments through debit cards, BHIM app and Aaadhar-enabled payment system.
6. Income Tax Department launches on-line chat service.
7. The Union Finance Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley unveiled the contours of the Electoral Bonds scheme to clean the political funding system by ensuring that there is a flow of clean money to the political parties without revealing the names of the donors.
8. The Union Government has approved the Rs 680 crores strategic Zojila pass tunnel project in Jammu and Kashmir.
9. Namami Gange projects worth Rs 295 crore approved by NMCG (National Mission for Clean Ganga).
10. A new, highly effective vaccine for typhoid (devoloped by India) has been approved by the WHO (World Health Organization) for global use.
11. GAIL commissions India’s second largest rooftop solar plant in UP.
12. Core sectors’ record 6.8% growth in November 2017.
13. Government launches NARI portal and e-Samvad portal.
14. The Ministry of Home Affairs exempts cruise tourists with e-visa from biometric enrolment till 2020.
15. Atal Pension Yojana reaches subscriber base of 80 lakhs.
16. World's Biggest Cleanliness Survey 'Swachh Sarvekshan 2018' Launched.

Business, Science and Technology

1. Humanoid Sophia, who got citizenship from Saudi Arabia is on India’s visit.
2. NASA to launch Parker Solar Probe to explore sun’s outer atmosphere.
3. NASA to launch two missions — GOLD and ICON to explore the ionosphere.
4. India GDP Growth Likely at 6.5% in 2017-18: CSO
5. India's GDP Growth at 6.5% in FY18, will Accelerate to 7.6% in FY20: HSBC.