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Important Date
1. The World Braille Day (WBD) is observed on _____ 4th January.
Note:
The Day create importance of braille for those who are blind and to commemorate the birth anniversary of Louis
Braille.
The French educator who invented Braille script or Braille code in 1821.
2. The United Nations has designated the year 2017 as _____The International Year of Sustainable Tourism for
Development.
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New Appointments
1. Who has been appointed as the new chairman of the Union Public Service Commission(UPSC)_____ Prof. David R.
Syiemlieh.
Note:
He will take over from Alka Sirohi (IAS officer) of the Madhya Pradesh cadre.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is India's central agency authorised to conduct the Examination.
2. Who has been sworn-in as the new chief justice of Pakistan_____ Justice Mian Saqib Nisar.
3. Who has been appointed as the Secretary in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs___Anoop Kumar Srivastava.
Note:
Earlier, he was the Officer on Special Duty in the same Ministry.
4. The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has constituted a committee to suggest improvements in the National
Sports Development Code (NSDC) and functioning of Indian Sports Federation______ Injeti Srinivas committee.
Note:
The committee will suggest improvements in the present NSDC on the basis of suggestions and feedback given in
these meetings and submit a report within a month so that Sports Bodies work as per the public expectations for
the promotion of sports in India.
5. Who has been appointed as the Controller General of Accounts_____Archana Nigam.
Note:
She succeeded M.J.Joseph.
Earlier, Nigam was involved in the critical task of setting up of the accounting framework for the GST regime to be
launched by Government in FY 17.
6. Who has been sworn-in as the 44th Chief Justice of India (CJI) _____Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar.
Note:
He will remain on the post till 27th August, 2017.
He is the first Chief Justice from the Sikh community.
7. Who has been appointed as an Adviser (policy & planning) in the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)_____V
Thiruppugazh.
8. Who has been appointed as the Executive Director (ED) of Reserve Bank of India (RBI)____Surekha Marandi.
Note:
She has replaced U S Paliwal who retired on 31st December,2016.
Now, she will look after Consumer Education and Protection Department, Financial Inclusion and Development
Department, and Secretarys Department of the RBI.
9. A member of Haitian Tet Kale Party (HTKP) has won the 2016 Presidential election of Haiti____Jovenel Moise.
Note:
He is expected to take office by 7th February, 2017.
10. DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) has elected party treasurer as its Working President____M K Stalin.
Note:
He has been elevated to the position of 'Acting President,' as his nonagenarian father and President of the party M
Karunanidhi is suffering from geriatric health issues.
11. Who has been appointed as the President of the Rockefeller Foundation____Rajiv J Shah.
12. Who has been sworn-in as the new President of Ghana_____ Nana Akufo-Addo.
Note:
Earlier he served as attorney general and then as foreign minister in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government,
which held power in 2001.
13. The Vice Chief of Army Staff who recently took over as the 27th Army Chief of India is _____ Lieutenant General Bipin
Rawat.
14. The British diplomat appointed as the United Kingdoms ambassador to the European Union is ____Sir Tim Barrow.
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15. The Indian-origin Saudi-based entrepreneur who has been appointed as the Major General of Kyrgyzstan ____ Shaikh
Rafik Mohammed.
16. Who has been appointed as the new Vice Chief of Army Staff ____ Lieutenant General Sarath Chand.
17. The former Prime Minister of Portugal who recently took over as the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations is
_____Antonio Guterres.
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States News
1. The Bargarh Dhanua Jatra festival has started in the state____Odisha.
Note:
The 11-day gala event will set the stage for all mythological places related to Lord Krishna based in the ancient city
itself.
It is considered to be the worlds largest open-air theatrical festival.
2. The state governments have signed MoU to prepare State Resident Data Base (SRDB)____Haryana and Andhra Pradesh.
3. A new health scheme 'NTR Arogya Raksha' has been launched by the state government____Andhra Pradesh.
Note:
It will offer medical insurance to those who were not covered under any of the existing health schemes of the state
government.
The health scheme will provide the medical treatment to the people below Above Poverty Line (APL) at Rs.1200
premium per annum.
Rs.2 lakh worth medical treatment would be provided free of cost in any 432 corporate hospitals in the state.
4. Who has inaugurated 10-day Island Tourism Festival 2017 at Port Blair in Andaman & Nicobar Islands___Lt. Governor
Jagdish Mukhi.
5. The city who hosted the International Conference on Yoga for Diabetes ___ New Delhi.
6. Good Samaritan Policy has been launched by the state / union territory ___Delhi government.
Note:
Rs 2,000 and appreciation certificate will be given to people who help road accident victims in the national capital.
The scheme is intended to encourage people to take accident victims in emergency situation to hospitals so that
someones life could be saved.
7. The Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Kiran Bedi has declared 'null and void' Chief Minister V Narayanasamy's order
banning use of social media for the ______official communication.
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Note:
The novel is about friendship, faith and alienation that tell the tale of Islamist radicalization from the inside.
3. The book Death Under The Deodars: The Adventures of Miss Ripley-Bean has been authored by ___Ruskin Bond.
Note:
The book Death Under The Deodars: The Adventures of Miss Ripley-Bean has been authored by Ruskin Bond
published by Penguin India.
4. The book The Untold Vajpayee: Politician and Paradox has been authored by _____Ullekh NP.
Note:
It is in news because of making controversial statements about Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani.
5. The author of the book The People's President: Dr APJ Abdul Kalam is _____ SM Khan.
Obituaries
1. Tyrus Wong, who passed away was the legendary Disney artist of the country___United States.
Note:
He was best known for his sketches for the Walt Disney animated feature 'Bambi'.
2. Imtiaz Ahmed, who passed away was the former cricketer of _____Pakistan.
Note:
He featured in Pakistan's first Test played in Delhi against India in October 1952 and went on to play 41 matches
as a wicket keeper-batsman.
3. John Berger, who passed away was the renowned author of the country ____United Kingdom.
Note:
His best-known work was Ways of Seeing, a criticism of western cultural aesthetics.
He also won the Booker Prize for his novel G and donated half the prize money to the radical African-American
movement.
4. Karnataka Minister has passed away while he was in Chikkamagaluru to attend the silver jubilee celebrations of the
Transport Cooperative Society at Koppa _______ H S Mahadeva Prasad.
5. Veteran actor who passed away recently was belonged to the state___ Ambala (Haryana).
Note:
The noted actor was known for his versatility from Bollywood to Hollywood and from independent to art films.
He earned international fame in many British films, such as My Son the Fanatic, East Is East, The Parole
Officer and others.
6. Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan, who passed away was the famous musician of musical instrument____ Sitar.
Note:
He was regarded as one of the Sitar Trinity of India along with Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Vilayat Khan.
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Sports News
1. A Spanish professional tennis player has won the 2016 Mubadala World Tennis Championship _____Rafael Nadal.
Note:
He defeated David Goffin in the final by 64 and 76 at the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex in United Arab
Emirates (UAE).
The winner received a purse of $ 250,000.
2. Who has won the gold in the 2016 World Blitz Chess Championship in Doha, Qatar ____ Sergey Karjakin.
Note:
This was Karjakins first world title in blitz chess.
3. The women football team has won the 2016 SAFF Womens Championship _____India.
Note:
The Indian women football team has defeated Bangladesh in the final by 3-1 in Siliguri, West Bengal.
This is Indias 4th consecutive SAFF Womens Championship title.
The SAFF Womens Championship is held in every two years and it is first time that India had hosted the
tournament.
4. The 2017 National Ice Skating Championship has started in the states____Gurugram (Haryana).
Note:
Approx 300 ice skaters across the country will participate in the 2-day event
The winners of the competitions will receive medals and certificates along with cash prizes and for the first time,
girl speed skaters will be conferred with the Vasudha trophy.
5. India's tennis singles player has announced his retirement from professional tennis___Somdev Devvarman.
Note:
He has two runners-up finishes on the ATP World Tour as his best performances on the Tour.
Somdev made the finals of Chennai and Johannesburg ATP events and also won Singles and Doubles medals in
Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.
6. The Australian opening batsman who was recently inducted into ICC Hall of Fame posthumously is ____ Arthur Morris.
Note:
He has become the 82nd player to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
7. The first Pakistani cricketer who has become the first batsman to score test hundreds in 11 countries____ Younis Khan
8. Who has won the 2017 Qatar Open Mens singles tennis tournament ____Novak Djokovic.
Note:
He won the match at Doha by defeating World No. 1 Andy Murray by 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
9. A Frenchman has set a new world record for cycling the furthest distance in one hour for riders aged 105 or older ______
Robert Marchand.
Note:
Robert rode more than 22.5 kilometers at an indoor venue on the outskirts of Paris.
Current men's hour record is held by the UK's Bradley Wiggins (54.526km) which he set in June 2015.
10. Indian cricketer has announced to step down as captain of Team India's limited over cricket matches_____ Mahindra
Singh Dhoni
11. Mumbai prodigy who created history by winning all three gold medals on offer in the 1st Western Asia Youth Chess
Championships ____ Kush Bhagat.
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