ONE LINER OF THE DAY 31st JANUARY 2018

1.Paytm recently announced the acquisition of Delhi-based hotel booking platform NightStay for an undisclosed amount, with an objective to to expand its portfolio in the crowded hospitality segment.Paytm CEO:Vijay Shekhar Sharma.

2.Kleinman Centre for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania awarded Carnot Prize to Piyush Goyal in acknowledgement of India’s climate conscious, and development driven energy governance fuelling the aspirations of 125 crore people.International Solar Alliance HQ: Gurugram, Haryana, India.

3.PM Modi inaugurated state-of-the-art super speciality Rasilaben Sevantilal Shah Venus hospital in Surat. The hospital will serve the people under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme leading to a healthy vision of India.Gujarat Capital: Gandhinagar; Chief minister: Vijay Rupani.

4.On the eve of Gandhiji’s death anniversary, PM Modi dedicated the National Salt Satyagraha Memorial at Dandi, Gujarat to the nation, unveiling statues of Mahatma Gandhi and 80 Satyagrahis who had marched with him during the historic Dandi Salt March.Dandi March movement took place in 1930.

5.Air India is resuming its services from New Delhi to the holy city of Najaf in Iraq after a disruption of 25 years, from the 14th of February and twice a week.Iraq Capital: Baghdad; Currency: Iraqi dinar.

6.Foreign direct investment (FDI) during the last fiscal year grew by 18% to Rs 28 lakh cr, according to RBI report. Mauritius retains to be the largest source of FDI in India (19.7%) followed by USA.RBI was formed by an act Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

7.On the findings of B.N. Srikrishna panel that Chanda Kocchar indeed violated the bank’s code of conduct, ICICI Bank terminated the contract of former managing director and CEO.ICICI Bank was founded in June 1994 at Vadodara.

8.Cuddalore district police in Tamil Nadu recently introduced the ‘e-Beat’ system aimed at monitoring the real-time location of beat constables. This will enable them to seamlessly update entries about their beat patrols from a smartphoneTamil Nadu Capital: Chennai; Chief minister: E K Palaniswami.

9.Tamil Nadu was awarded the Swasth Bharat Yatra award under ‘The Best Performing State’ category in an event organised by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in commemoration of the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhiji at New Delhi.FSSAI was founded in 2011 at New Delhi.

10.Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank recently decided to launch local currency financing in India and Pakistan among other Asian nations to reduce cross-border investment risks caused by exchange-rate fluctuationsAIIB HQ- Beijing; President: Jin Liqun.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 30th JANUARY 2018

1.Former Defence Minister and Anti-Emergency fighter George Fernandes passed away in New Delhi at the age of 88. He founded the Samata Party and was elected to the Lok Sabha 9 times and once to the Rajya Sabha.He hails from Mangaluru, Karnataka.

2.Former Corporate executive Mukund Rajan & 2 others in partnership with Quantum Advisors will launch a $1 billion ESG Fund in order to invest in Indian companies that value the environment, society & corporate governance to core.All 3 are former Tata Group Executives.

3.Scheme is only for 1st child being provided a kit containing blanket, small mattress, towel, thermometer, baby oil etc & estimated to benefit around 4 lakh women across the state in primary health centres and government hospitals.Maharashtra CM: Devendra Fadnavis, Governor: Vidyasagar Rao.

4.United Arab Emirates Central Bank & the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority launched a common digital currency called "Aber", to will be used in financial settlements between the two countries through Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers technologiesSaudi Arabia Capital: Riyadh; Currency: Saudi riyal.

5.NGMA, Delhi to organize 1st edition of 'Night at the Museum’ which include works of art of Amrita Sher-Gil, Rabindranath Tagore, Raja Ravi Verma, Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy. Visitors would have an opportunity to view special exhibitions titled Roopantar.NGMA is the premier art gallery under Ministry of Culture.

6.India grabbed the Award of Excellence for ‘Best in Show’ at the recently concluded New York Times Travel Show 2019. Indian Show included Consumer Seminars, Indian cultural performances, Indian Culinary Demonstration, Food tasting, etc.Alphons Kannanthanam is Minister of State for Tourism Ministry.

7.Tourism Ministry to inaugurate the 1st Swadesh Darshan project in Sikkim under its objective of developing the North east circuit for Swadesh Darshan at a cost of Rs. 98.05 Crores. 77 projects sanctioned under the Swadesh Darshan till date.Meghalaya’s Swadesh Darshan project were also launched this year.

8.Suman Kumari who hails from Sindh region of Pakistan has recently become the first Hindu woman to be appointed as a civil judge in Pakistan.Pakistan’s 1st Hindu judge was Justice Rana Bhagwandas.

9.RBI decided to conduct purchase of government securities under Open Market Operations (OMOs) for an aggregate amount of Rs 375 billion in the month of February 2019 to increase liquidity.RBI Governor: Shaktikanta Das.

10.India improved its ranking on a global corruption index in 2018 to 78th position with a score of 41, out of a list of 180 countries. Denmark tops the list while Somalia, Syria find themselves at bottom.Denmark Capital: Copenhagen; Currency: Danish Krone

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 29th JANUARY 2018

1.Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal to win his 7th Australian Open Men's Singles title at Melbourne. He surpassed American legend Pete Sampras to elevate himself to outright third on the all-time Grand Slam title leader board.Djokovic belongs to Serbia.

2.Chief of the Army Staff, General Bipin Rawat, was recently awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM), the highest military medal awarded in recognition of peace-time services not relating to gallantry.Param Vir Chakra is highest award for acts during wartime.

3.World Steel Association’s report estimates, India's crude steel production in 2018 stood at 106.5 MT, up by 4.9% from 101.5 MT in 2017, which makes India replace Japan as the world's 2nd largest steel producing nation. Japan produced 104.3 MT in 2018.China is largest producer of steel at 928 MT in 2018.

4.Welcoming over 89 million passengers in 2018 over last year’s 88.2 mn, Dubai remains the Busiest Airport in the world for International Travel category. It has remained in top position since 2014, surpassing London’s Heathrow AirportSheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is ruler of Dubai.

5.IndiaFirst Life Insurance recently bought 9% stake in CSC e-Governance Services India Ltd. with an objective to reach out to the masses and underserved customers with simple, easily accessed risk management solutions.IndiaFirst Owners: Bank of Baroda, Andhra Bank, Legal & General.

6.RBI approved appointment of Dilip Sadarangani as Chairman of Federal Bank, who has been part of Federal Bank’s board since 2013. He is a veteran banker & has been instrumental in ushering in of technology in multiple banks.Federal Bank HQ: Aluva, Kerala, CEO: S Srinivasan.

7.HRD Ministry signed an agreement with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development for India’s Participation in Programme for International Student Assessment-2021, triennial international survey to evaluate the education system.Human Resource Development Minister: Prakash Javadekar.

8.HRD Minister Javadekar to inaugurate the new Campus of the National Museum Institute at Noida to impart higher education leading to Master of Arts and Ph.D in the field of History of Art, Conservation and Museology.Mos Mahesh Sharma is chancellor of NMI.

9.Jaipur Literary festival saw the Tamil translation of the French novel La vie d'un homme inconnu (The Life of an Unknown Man) by Andreï Makine, awarded the prestigious Romain Rolland Prize by the French Embassy. It was translated by S.R. Kichenamorti.Jaipur Literature Festival is organised in January every year.

10.Civil Aviation ministry in association with Goa state government launched the country’s 1st Geographical Indication (GI) store at Dabolim International Airport in Goa with an aim to have one GI store in every airport in the country over next few years.Union minister for Civil aviation: Suresh Prabhu

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 28th JANUARY 2018

1.French composer Michel Legrand has died. He was 86. He won 3 Oscars. His first was in 1969 for the song 'The Windmills of Your Mind' from ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’.

2.Southern Railway bagged the number one position for cleanliness in the country under the category of other than Premium Category trains in the recently conducted IRCTC survey. Southern Railway introduced 54 new trains in past 4 years.Southern Railway headquarters: Chennai.

3.India's Kartik Sharma won the recently held New South Wales men's Amateur Golf Championship in Australia. He pulled off an exotic win over Australia's Nathan Barberie in the scheduled 36-hole final to emerge as championKartik also won western India amateur golf championship 2018.

4.2000 students, parents & teachers to participate in the 2nd edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha to be organised at Delhi. Students from all over India & Indian students residing abroad like Russia, Nigeria, Iran, Nepal, Doha, Kuwait are to be part of the event.PM Modi recently authored Exam Warriors in 2018.

5.Ministry of Defence launched a mobile app 'RDP India 2019' on the Republic Day, with the intent of making available the provision for live streaming of the Parade & the highlights of the Republic Day event to the general public all over the world.Nirmala Sitharaman is India's 2nd female defence minister.

6.Indian Railways has named the indigenously manufactured Train 18, India's first semi-highspeed train as Vande Bharat Express. It is set to run between Delhi and Varanasi at a maximum speed of 160 kmph.Train 18 designed and built by Integral Coach Factory Chennai.

7.Ministry of Textiles to put National Conclave on Technical Textiles as a curtain raiser for TechnoTex 2019 at Mumbai. Major highlights of the conclave is the release of HSN codes by Government of India for technical textiles.India has 4-5% share in the Global technical textile market size.

8.PM Modi laid foundation stone for AIIMS Madurai to give boost to healthcare facilities and advanced healthcare, medical education and research in the region in Madurai, Tamil Nadu & inaugurated several projects.AIIMS Delhi established in 1956.

9.PM Modi dedicated to the nation Integrated Refinery Expansion Project Complex (IREP) at Kochi which would be a modern expansion complex and transform Kochi refinery into the largest PSU Refinery in India with world class standards.BPCL is a Maharatna oil and gas PSU headquartered in Mumbai.

10.Brand TATA was placed at 86th rank in the Brand Finance Global 500 2019 report’s ‘100 most valuable brands’ released at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Total value of brand increased 37% to $19.5 bn in 2019 from $14.2 bn a year ago.Tata Group HQ: Mumbai, CEO: Natarajan Chandrasekaran

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 27th JANUARY 2018

1.Famous Hindi writer and essayist, Krishna Sobti passed away at the age of 94. She had won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1980 and was awarded the Jnanpith award in 2017.Sahitya Akademi Awards are given in 24 Indian languages.

2.Madhya Pradesh govt has unveiled a scheme named ‘Yuva Swabhiman Yojana’ to ensure 100 days of employment every year to the youths from the economically weaker sections in the urban areas. The scheme would provide temporary employment & develop skills.Kamal Nath is the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.

3.India needs a renewable energy policy to achieve 175 GW of solar capacity by 2022. The CSE report urged an increase in the share of dispersed renewable generation besides promoting ‘smart grids’ that use control systems & info tech. for efficient delivery.Centre for Science and Environment is based in New Delhi.

4.BIS has in alliance with IAF to bring out a standard for Aviation Turbine Fuel to use bio-jet fuel on all military & civilian aircraft. An Indian Standard Aviation Turbine Fuel (Kerosene Type, Jet A-1) containing Synthesised Hydrocarbons has formulated.Mrs. SurinaRajan - Director General, Bureau of Indian Standards.

5.According to the World Economic Situation and Prospects report by the UN, Indian economy is expected to accelerate in 2019-20 to expand by 7.6% from 7.4% in the year ending 31 March on the back of robust growth in private consumption.IMF projected India’s growth at 7.5% in 2019-20.

6.Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah was named Malaysia’s new king. A 59-year-old was elected to serve 5-year term by eight other Malay sultans. He is replacing Sultan Muhammad V. Nazrin Shah of Perak state will serve as deputy agong for the 5-year term.Mahathir Bin Mohamad is the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

7.Oxford Dictionaries declared "Nari Shakti" as the Hindi word for the year 2018. The word ‘Nari Shakti’ has been derived from Sanskrit and is used today to symbolize women "taking charge of their lives".Oxford had named 'Aadhaar' as its Hindi word for the year 2017.

8.Japan's Naomi Osaka won her maiden Australian Open Grand Slam Singles title at Melbourne. She defeated Czech Petra Kvitova in the final. She becomes the first Asian player to achieve the world number one ranking.Osaka won the US Open 2018.

9.Telangana government has decided to form a 'State Tiger Protection Force' to save the Big Cat population in the State. The 112-member-armed STPF will be formed to protect the tiger population in Amarabad and Kawal Tiger Reserves.State & Central govt will share the cost of force on 40:60 basis.

10.State Bank of Mauritius to operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary, is targeting to grow its loan book to ₹ 5000 Cr in the next 2 years & double its branches. According to the RBI’s data, the bank has 4 branches now, had advances of ₹ 1016 Cr as of Mar 2018.SBM chairman - Li Kwong Wing.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 26th JANUARY 2018

1.Bharat Fritz Werner Ltd (BFW), a Bengaluru-based machining solution provider, has partnered with Universal Robots, a Danish robot maker and a leader in collaborative robots, to co-create robots for MSME sector.Ravi Raghavan, CEO, Bharat Fritz Werner.

2.India and South Africa sealed three-year strategic programme (2019-21) to further boost cooperation in the number of key areas including defence and security, trade and investment, the blue economy, tourism, IT and agriculture.President of South Africa - Cyril Ramaphosa.

3.Social activist Nanaji Deshmukh, Music maestro Bhupen Hazarika & former President Pranab Mukherjee have been awarded Bharat Ratna. 112 Padma Awards, including 4 Padma Vibhushan, 14 Padma Bhushan & 94 Padma Shri Awards are conferred by President.Bharat Ratna award was established in 1954.

4.According to the Status Paper on Government Debt for 2017-18, the Centre’s total debt as a percentage of GDP reduced to 46.5% in 2017-18. The total debt of the States has been rising over to 24% in 2017-18 and is estimated to be 24.3% in 2018-19.NK Singh headed the FRBM Review committee.

5.Bengaluru-based start-up focused on micro-lending to students has secured a licence from RBI to foray into NBFC services. SlicePay enables students to buy daily goods and services online from various platforms at a maximum credit of Rs 60000.SlicePay founders - Rajan Bajaj and Deepak Malhotra.

6.The fourth edition of Bharat Parv, showcasing the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat will begin at New Delhi. The objective of this festival is to generate a patriotic fervour and promote rich cultural diversity of the country.Union Minister for Tourism - K. J. Alphons.

7.Lakshmi Vilas Bank has reappointed Parthasarathi Mukherjee as its managing director. He will continue for the next two years. The bank is looking to issue up to 15 crore equity shares to mobilize equity capital and to raise capital adequacy ratio.Headquarters of Lakshmi Vilas Bank – Chennai.

8.Indian start-ups will get an opportunity to participate in the international summit, to be held in Dubai in April 2019. It is one of the biggest start-up investment events in the region organized by the UAE’s Ministry of Economy.Dubai's AIM was started in 2017.

9.IIT Ropar has developed an Android App “Roshni” to assist visually impaired people to determine the denomination of currency notes. It utilizes an adaptable deep learning framework, which uses the patterns and features embedded on the notes to differentiate.Seeing AI App by Microsoft is used to recognize currency notes.

10.Scientists in China cloned 5 monkeys successfully to be utilized for human disease research, claiming the monkeys are closer to the human in physiology, making them better models for research on disease pathogenesis & potential treatments.China’s 1st cloned monkeys were born in 2017.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 25th JANUARY 2018

1.Russell Baker, the Pulitzer Prize winning writer who penned thousands of columns for The New York Times, and hosted the PBS television program "Masterpiece Theatre," passed away. He was 93.

2.IRDAI sets up a panel to identity domestically systemically important insurers (SII) and put in place an enhanced regulatory framework for them.The committee will be headed by Pravin Kutumbe & will submit report in six months.Subhash Chandra Khuntia- IRDAI Chairperson.

3.IndiGo owner InterGlobe Aviation appointed Ronojoy Dutta as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company with immediate effect. He will remain as the company CEO for the next five years.He served as the President of Air Sahara from 2005 to 2008.

4.Former South Africa international and Hobart Hurricanes spinner Johan Botha has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket effective immediately. He captained South Africa in 21 matches across ODI and T20I.South Africa Capitals: Cape Town, Pretoria, Bloemfontein.

5.Department of Justice has decided to deliver e-Courts services to public in order to provide efficient and time-bound access through the 2 lakh Common Service Centres in country. Around 17000 district & subordinate courts have become IT-enabled.Union Minister Law & Justice minister: Ravi Shankar Prasad.

6.The 9th National Voters’ Day is celebrated on January 25 across the country for enhanced participation of citizens in the electoral process. No Voter to be Left Behind has been selected as the theme of the Day.Election Commission of India established on 25th January 1950.

7.FSSAI has directed food businesses to comply with new packaging regulations that bar use of recycled plastics and newspapers to wrap food articles by July 1. The new packaging regulations is expected to raise the bar of food safety in India.FSSAI CEO: Pawan Agarwal.

8.Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) took off from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, on a mission that will help India notch up one more first in space technology. It will make use of the final stage of rocket as orbital platform for a satellite.PSLV is a launch vehicle with four stages-PS1, PS2, HPS3, & PS4.

9.SBI Card & Etihad Guest, the loyalty programme of Etihad Airways, joined hands to launch a travel specific Visa credit card for members & Indian travellers. The card will be available in 2 variants, Etihad Guest SBI Card & Etihad Guest SBI Premier Card.This is the 1st international co-brand partnership of SBI Card.

10.YES Bank has appointed Ravneet Singh Gill as its MD and CEO. He will succeed Rana Kapoor. He is the CEO of Deutsche Bank’s India operations & will join the bank on or before March 1, 2019.Yes Bank was founded in the year 2004.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 24th JANUARY 2018

1.Union Cabinet approved creation of National Bench of the Appellate Tribunal for GST .It will be situated at Delhi & will consist of President and 1 Technical Member (Centre) & 1 Technical Member (State) at an expenditure of Rs.92.50 Lakhs.The GST Act came into effect on 1st July 2017.

2.India Africa Field Training Exercise 2019 is scheduled to be conducted at Pune in March, 19. It would see participation from more than 10 African countries & India with an aim to boost the already strong strategic cooperation between the countries.Current Chief of Army Staff: General Bipin Rawat.

3.WCD Ministry will celebrate National Girl Child Day at New Delhi with “Empowering Girls for a Brighter Tomorrow” as theme .The objective will be generating awareness on the issue of declining Child Sex Ratio & a positive environment for girl child.Krishna Raj is Minister of State for WCD Ministry.

4.Online inter-state trade through the e-NAM portal was started with an objective of strengthening the Agri-market in India. The 1st inter-State trade on e-Nam between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana was carried out over Groundnut trade.e-NAM trading platform was created in the year 2016.

5.TN CM E Palaniswamy inaugurated 2-day Global Investors Summit in Chennai. Adani group committed an investment of Rs 12000 cr in Kattuppalli port expansion project & Ford Motors inaugurated it's Global Technology and Business Facility.Chennai coast is bordered by Bay of Bengal.

6.Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba will commission INS Kohasa at Naval Air Station Shibpur in North Andaman Island. It will become the 3rd Naval Air Base in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands after INS Utkrosh at Port Blair & INS Baaz at Campbell Bay.INS Kohasa is named after a White-Bellied Sea Eagle.

7.MoC b/w India & Japan is expected to promote understanding of best practices in food processing in the two countries. It will improve the food processing sector as well as market access by introducing innovative techniques and processes.Japan Capital: Tokyo; PM: Shinzo Abe.

8.According to IRDAI's Annual Report 2017-18, Max Life Insurance has overtaken LIC to the best track record in terms of claims settlement for individual deaths in FY18. Max Life settled 98.26 % of individual death claims while LIC settled 98.04 percent.LIC Chairman-Hemant Bhargava.

9.Cabinet approved MoU between India and Kuwait for cooperation on the Recruitment of Domestic Workers. It will help around 3 lakh Indian domestic workers deployed in Kuwait. A Joint Committee will be set up for the implementation of this MOU.Kuwait Capital: Kuwait City, PM: Sheikh Jaber.

10.ISRO is set to put into space a 130-kg military imaging satellite, Microsat-R in a polar orbit 247 km away from surface of earth. Microsat-R and its payload are assembled from laboratories of the DRDO and is meant for military use.PSLV is a Medium-lift launch vehicle developed by ISRO.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 23rd JANUARY 2018

1.PM Modi will inaugurate the Subhash Chandra Bose museum at Red Fort in the dedication of Netaji and Indian National Army. It would showcase various artefacts related to Netaji and INA including medals, badges, uniforms and other artefacts related to INA.In 1927, Netaji was chosen President of Bengal Congress.

2.Nitin Gadkari inaugurated a 1210-meter Kerrian-Gandyal span-bridge over the river Ravi in Kathua district in J&K. It is expected to benefit over 2 lakh people by reducing the distance between the Katua-Pathankot cities from 45 kms to 8.6 kms.Ravi is an Indus system river originating at Chamba, Himachal

3.Indian Navy commenced SEA VIGIL Defence exercise, along the entire 7516 km coastline and Exclusive Economic Zones, involving all the 13 coastal States & Union Territories along with all maritime stakeholders, including the fishing & coastal communities.President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy.

4.Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, India’s premiere container port ranked 28th amongst the top 30 container ports globally, as per Lloyds Report. A slew of new initiatives undertaken recently led to overall growth of the port business, saving time & cost.Jawaharlal Nehru port also called Nhava Sheva is in Navi Mumbai.

5.An All-Women Squad named as ‘JOYMATI BAHINI’, comprising women sub-inspector and constables of the Railway Protection Force was formally introduced at Kamkhaya Railway Station in Guwahati. Its aim is to strengthen women security around Guwahati region.RPF was founded in 1984 under Ministry of Railways.

6.Indian Overseas Bank recently has raised ₹ 217 crore through its Employee Stock Purchase Scheme. By the ESPS issued last month, employees were offered up to 18.24 crore equity shares at a discounted price of ₹11.90.IOB HQ: Chennai; CEO: R. Subramaniakumar.

7.According to the CRISIL report, in fiscal 2018, Bihar clocking 11.3% & Andhra Pradesh clocking 11.2%, were top-rankers in terms of GSDP growth among the other Indian states. Jharkhand, Kerala, and Punjab were ranked at the bottom.CRISIL HQ: Mumbai; CEO: Ashu Suyash.

8.Cliff Sims, having served as a special assistant to Donald Trump has recently authored a book Team of Vipers: My 500 Extraordinary Days in the Trump White House, on Mr Trump’s dealings with white house officials and his accounts of turbulent dealings.Trump belongs to Republican Party & is the 45th President of USA.

9.RBI recently approved for starting of operations for Svamaan Financial Services promoted by Anushree Jindal which aims to offer financial products to unbanked and under-banked sections of population & an ambitious target to reach 1 lac people by 2021.Svamaan’s authorised cap: ₹15 cr.

10.Raghbir Singh Bhola who was part of Indian Hockey team that won Gold in 1956 & 1960 Olympics passed away recently. He was a former Group Captain IAF & a part of Indian Hockey selector group.Between 1928 to 1980 Indian Hockey team won 8 Olympic Golds.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 22nd JANUARY 2018

1.2019 Edelman Trust Barometer report placed India at the 2nd place in the informed public category and 3rd place in the general population category. China topped the Trust Index. Index is the indication of trust in NGOs, business, government and media.The Global trust report was released as part of WEF meet, Davos.

2.In the recently released ICC Test Rankings, India with 116 points, stayed as the No. 1 ranked Test team while Virat Kohli with 922 points continues to be in top position. Cheteshwar Pujara is ranked 3rd in the batsmen category.ICC HQ: Dubai, UAE; Chairperson: Shashank Manohar.

3.111 years old revered Lingayat seer Shivakumara Swami, the head pontiff of 5-centuries old Siddaganga Mutt in Tumakuru, Karnataka recently passed away. He is known for his innumerable philanthropic works.

4.In the World Economic Outlook report of IMF, Indian economy is estimated to grow unhindered in this as well as next fiscal. The growth for this year is projected as 7.5% while for next year it is estimated to grow at 7.7%.IMF CEO: Christine Lagarde,

5.Vice President Venkaiah Naidu recently released the book ‘Universal Brotherhood through Yoga’ compiled by Bharatiya Sanskrit Pitham at New Delhi, reiterating that yoga promotes physical wellbeing and inspires spiritual and intellectual awakening.Shri Venkaiah Naidu is 13th Vice president of India.

6.3-day India Steel 2019 Exhibition and Conference to be held in Mumbai by the Ministry of Steel. The Expo will see participation from 250 exhibiting companies from 15 countries with over 200 International buyers & delegates.Ministry of Steel head: Chaudhary Birender Singh.

7.Mumbai based Prabhat Dairy recently announced its decision to sell its flagship dairy business to a French firm Groupe Lactalis in a ₹1,700 crore deal. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals from the Competition Commission of India (CCI).CCI was set up in 2003 through Competition Act, 2002.

8.Under a new regulation, Nepal Rastra bank banned use of Indian currency notes of Rs 2,000, Rs 500 and Rs 200 denominations for use in its country. Indian notes of denomination Rs 100 and below are still valid for transactionsNepal currency: Nepalese Rupee.

9.The 2019 Cricket World Cup (officially ICC Cricket World Cup 2019) is the 12th edition of the Cricket World Cup, scheduled to be hosted by England and Wales, from 30 May to 14 July 2019.

10.The 2023 Cricket World Cup (officially ICC Cricket World Cup 2023) will be the 13th edition of the Cricket World Cup, scheduled to be hosted by India, from 9 February to 26 March 2023.This will be the first time the competition is held completely in India (three previous editions were partially hosted there – 1987, 1996, and 2011).

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 21st JANUARY 2018

1.BHEL & Libcoin are in dialogue to form a world class consortium to build 1GWh lithium ion battery plant. Its capacity will be scaled up to 30GWH. With this, India has finally taken steps into its energy security and clean energy commitment to the world.Atul Sobti is the Chief Executive Officer of BHEL.

2.WEF annual meet has begun in Davos, Switzerland with the theme, 'Globalization 4.0: Shaping a Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution'. 30 heads of different nations & 3000 plus eminent people are expected to attend the event.WEF was started in 1971 as a Non-Profit organization.

3.Ankita Raina has won the International Tennis Federation's 25,000-dollar Women's tournament in Singapore. She defeated top seed and world number 122 Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands. She has won her first title of the season and eighth overall.International Tennis Federation headquarter- London, UK.

4.The 15th edition of Pravasi Bhartiya Divas has begun at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The theme is Role of Indian Diaspora in building New India. It is the flagship event of the govt & provides an important platform to engage & connect with the overseas Diaspora.Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards will be given by President.

5.UNESCO has announced that the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro will be the World Capital of Architecture for 2020. It will be the first city to receive the title under a program launched together by UNESCO and the International Union of Architects (UIA).Jair Bolsonaro is the President of Brazil.

6.The second Defence Industrial Corridor connecting Chennai, Hosur, Salem, Coimbatore &Tiruchirappalli was inaugurated. The Corridors aim to bolster defence manufacturing in India. The first Defence Industrial Corridor was thrown open in Uttar Pradesh.India topped the list of arms importers with 13 % of the trade.

7.NSTL organized the Academia Meet at NSTL, Visakhapatnam on the theme “Artificial Intelligence for Naval Systems”. It provided the platform for deliberation & discussion on the topic of Artificial Intelligence & its application to defence systems.NSTL is an R&D lab under DRDO.

8.The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver whose rapturous odes to nature and animal life brought her critical acclaim and popular affection has died. She was 83. She won the National Book award in 1992 for New and Selected Poems.She got the Lannan literary award for lifetime achievement.

9.President Kovind to felicitate the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2019 at Rashtrapati Bhawan to 26 shortlisted awardees & 1 Bal Shakti Puraskar under the category of innovation, scholastic, sports, arts & culture, social service and bravery.Prize is awarded to creative children in age group of 9–16 yr.

10.Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad recently announced the launch of B.Tech in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology from the new academic session. It would be the 1st institute in the country and only the 3rd in global to offer such a course.IIT-H was founded in 2008 as Institute of National importance.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 20th JANUARY 2018

1.State Bank of India raised $1.25 billion through bonds from overseas market. Bonds were listed at India International Exchange IFSC Ltd, a subsidiary of BSE, at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) IFSC.State Bank of India, CFO- Prashant Kumar.

2.The Reserve Bank has approved the appointment of V Vaidyanathan as MD and CEO of IDFC First Bank for a period of three years . Prior to this, he was the founder and chairman of Capital First.IDFC Bank and NBFC Capital First merged to IDFC First bank.

3.PM Modi inaugurated the country’s first National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC) at Films Division of India premises in Mumbai. The government will soon start a single window clearance and a portal for the Indian film industry.Information and Broadcasting Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore.

4.The government has approved setting up of three new naval air squadrons in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu as part of efforts to bolster the Indian Navy's overall strength. A contract for procurement of 12 Dornier aircraft was signed with HAL two years back.Dornier Do 228 is a twin-turboprop STOL utility aircraft.

5.A water-repelling, biodegradable material inspired by lotus leaves has been developed by a joint team of researchers from India, Switzerland and Italy. A technique called soft lithography was used to create micro-pillars of cellulose.Dr. Athanasios Milionis was the lead researcher of the study.

6.India and Uzbekistan signed a deal for long-term supply of uranium from the resource rich Central Asian country to power its domestic atomic reactors. After Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan will become the 2nd Central Asian country to supply uranium to India.Uzbekistan is the 7th largest exporter of uranium in the world.

7.Acc. to Engg. major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) market regulator SEBI has denied permission for its Rs 9,000 crore share buyback offer. L&T proposed to buy back up to 6.1 crore shares from shareholders at a price of Rs 1,475 per equity share.SEBI Chairman-Ajay Tyagi.

8.PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the Armoured Systems Complex (ASC), developed by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) at Hazira near Surat in Gujarat. It is the country’s first private facility where the K9 Vajra self-propelled Howitzer guns will be manufactured.Keshab Panda- CEO & Managing Director of L&T Technology services.

9.WIMF 2019 is to be organized on the theme, ‘Regulation of Homeopathic Medical Products; Advancing global collaboration’ by CCRH under Min of AYUSH in Goa. Regulators & Homeopathic companies & scientific experts worldwide are expected to attend.MoS for Min of AYUSH: Shripad Naik.

10.India is likely to excel in the GDP based economy rankings in 2019, to become the world's fifth largest economy, according to a recent PwC report. World Bank released data had put India as world's 6th largest economy in 2017 and UK in 5th position.US is the world's largest economy with a size of $19.39 trillion.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 19th JANUARY 2018

1.Gandhi Peace Prize for 2018 will be conferred to Yohei Sasakawa in recognition of his work towards the eradication of the disease in India and across the world. He is Goodwill Ambassador of the World Health Organization for Leprosy Elimination.Ekal Abhiyan Trust -chosen for the award for the year 2017.

2.Reliance Retail and Reliance Jio Infocomm jointly are set to launch a new e-commerce platform in the country. Gujarat would be the first state to get it. The new e-commerce project would empower 1.2 million shopkeepers in Gujarat.The company aimed to more than double its revenues by 2025.

3.India’s second defence innovation hub has come up in Nashik, Maharashtra after Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. It will help local industries and entrepreneurs. Ministry of Defence had set a target of making the country among the top five arms exporters by 2025.Chairperson of DRDO – G Satheesh Reddy.

4.Union Minister for Commerce and Industry inaugurated the 10th edition of the India Rubber Expo - 2019 in Mumbai. National Rubber Policy will be unveiled soon to address issues concerning the sector and to boost productivity.HQ of All India Rubber Industries Association – Mumbai.

5.The International Cricket Council appointed media professional Manu Sawhney as its new chief executive officer, replacing incumbent David Richardson, who will step down after the World Cup. He is the former CEO of Singapore Sports Hub.Chairperson of ICC - Shashank Manohar.

6.RBI imposed a ₹ 1 Crore penalty on Bank of Maharashtra for non-compliance of Know Your Customer guidelines and fraud-classification norms. This penalty has been imposed considering the failure of the bank to adhere to directions issued by the RBI.AS Rajeev is the Chief Executive Officer of Bank of Maharashtra.

7.Dr. Rattan Lal awarded 2019 Japan Prize for his work in identifying technological options adapted to various ecosystems through his intensive basic & applied research on processes & factors of soil degradation caused by inappropriate biological productionDr. Yoshio Okamoto is also conferred with Japan Prize 2019.

8.The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs set to organise Shehri Samridhi Utsav focusing on urban livelihood. It aims at extending the outreach of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Urban Livelihoods Mission to the poorest of poor & the most vulnerable.Hardeep Singh Puri - Union Mini. Of Housing and Urban Affairs.

9.25th International conference & exhibition on terrestrial & satellite broadcasting BES EXPO 2019 has begun in New Delhi. Nearly 300 companies are displaying their products in the Expo. It was inaugurated by I&B secretary & TRAI Chairman RS Sharma.Information and Broadcasting Secretary - Amit Khare.

10.A reverse mortgage is a mortgage loan, usually secured over a residential property, that enables the borrower to access the unencumbered value of the property. The loans are typically promoted to older homeowners and typically do not require monthly mortgage payments. Borrowers are still responsible for property taxes and homeowner's insurance. Reverse mortgages allow elders to access the home equity they have built up in their homes now, and defer payment of the loan until they die, sell, or move out of the home. Because there are no required mortgage payments on a reverse mortgage, the interest is added to the loan balance each month.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 18th JANUARY 2018

1.Rajnath Singh approved report of Task Force created by MHA. Island development, Border Security, Communication & Navigation, GIS & Operations Planning System, Border Infrastructure Development areas have been identified for use of space technology.BSF comes under the control of Ministry of Home Affairs.

2.Foundation stone Sitamarhi Sub-station was laid. The Project will complete in 2 yrs, will supply power to Sitamarhi, Darbhanga, Madhubani, East & West Champaran, Sheohar districts & will be interconnected to form one national grid. It will cost ₹ 620 Cr.Bihar Governor: Lalji Tandon.

3.President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the 3-day Gandhian Resurgence Summit at Parmarth Niketan camp at the ongoing Prayagraj Kumbh. About 300 Gandhians from different parts of the country and organisations are participating in the Summit.Ram Nath Kovind is the 14th President of India.

4.UNNATI is a capacity building programme on Nanosatellite development, an initiative by ISRO. The programme provides opportunities to the participating developing countries to strengthen in assembling, integrating and testing of Nanosatellite.ISRO Chairman: Dr K Sivan.

5.PM Modi unveiled a super-speciality Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Institute of Medical Sciences & Research in Ahmedabad. It is Built by Ahmedabad Municipal Corp. The 78 m high, 1500 bed hospital is equipped with all modern amenities, including an air ambulance.

6.The EXIM Bank will be infused with Rs 4,500 crore before March and Rs 1,500 crore in the next fiscal making it a total of Rs 6000 cr capital infusion through recapitalisation bonds to boost the bank's capacity in export financing.EXIM Bank (Mumbai) CEO: David Rasquinha.Gujarat Governor: Om Prakash Kohli.

7.Indian female wrestler Vinesh Phogat becomes the 1st Indian athlete to receive a nomination in the prestigious Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award. She won gold medal at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and Jakarta Asian Games.She was graced with Arjuna award in 2016.

8.India Ratings and Research estimated India’s economy to grow 7.5% in 2019-20 and be more evenly balanced across sectors as well as demand-side growth drivers. Recently CSO forecasted FY19 GDP growth at 7.2% as against 6.7% in FY18.India Ratings is a Fitch Group company from Bengaluru.

9.2nd World Orange Festival is being organised in Nagpur from Jan 18 to 21 to showcase & brand the exquisite fruit in order to boost its export & agricultural experts and scientists from various countries will participate in the workshops and guide farmers.Oranges are high in Vitamin C nutrient.

10.RBI came out with a new policy for overseas borrowings, allowing all eligible entities to raise foreign funding up to $750 million or equivalent per financial year under the automatic route and removing sectoral curbs.Minimum average maturity period has been kept 3 yrs.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 17th JANUARY 2018

1.ISRO is scheduled its first satellite mission of 2019, PSLV C-44 which will lift off from the spaceport Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, carrying a student satellite called Kalamsat and an imaging satellite known as Microsat-R.1st PSLV flight took place in September 1993.

2.After the conquest of Antartica's highest point, Mount Sidley Mountaineer Satyarup Siddhanta , he achieved the feat of becoming the first Indian and youngest man to climb the seven highest peaks and volcanic summits across all continents.Highest volcanic peak in North America: Pico de Orizaba.

3.British PM May won the confidence vote, a day after her government suffered a parliamentary defeat over her Brexit deal with the European Union (EU). Ms May won by 325 votes to 306 - a majority of 19, averting a general election.European Union headquarters: Brussels, Belgium.

4.PM Modi to inaugurate the 'Vibrant Gujarat Global Trade Show' in Gandhinagar, part of the 9th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit. The Trade Show will showcase more than 25 industrial and business sectors under one umbrella.Vibrant Gujarat is a biennial event which started in 2003.

5.Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently dedicated to the nation the 13-km 2-lane Kollam bypass of National Highway 66 in Kerala, a project with a cost of Rs. 352 cr, will now cut the travel time between Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram districts of Kerala.Kerala CM: Pinnarayi Vijayan (CPI-M).

6.The award focuses on the triple bottom-line of people, profit and planet. Mr. Modi was selected for his reinvigorate for the nation in form of digital revolution, linking Unique Identification Number, Aadhaar, for social benefits & financial inclusion.Philip Kotler is a Professor at the Kellogg School of Management.

7.A consortium of banks led by SBI has agreed to provide finance for Nagpur-Mumbai 'Samruddhi Corridor' expressway project to be constructed by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, with an estimated cost of Rs. 50,000 cr.SBI Chairman: Rajnish Kumar.

8.The Cabinet committee chaired by PM Narendra Modi, gave its approval to expenditure sanction of ₹ 4,241.97 crore for Integrated E-filing and Centralised Processing Centre 2.0 Project of the Income Tax Department. It will be implemented by Infosys.Infosys CEO: Salil Parekh

9.Founder of Vanguard Group, the world's biggest mutual fund firm, died on recently at the age of 89 after a prolonged illness. He built his own products around a new economic model in which the funds would be run by their own directors and staff.1st Mutual Fund was launched in India by UTI in 1963.

10.Under DDRS, Grant-in-Aid is provided to about 600 NGOs every year. About 10% of total NGOs and Special School for Children with Intellectual Disabilities are from Western Indian States. Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment is implementing the scheme.DDRS is a government scheme implemented since 1999.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 16th JANUARY 2018

1.Following a similar initiative by Google in 2018, Facebook has decided that it will invest $300 million over three years to support journalism, with an emphasis on promoting hard-hit local news organisations.Facebook CEO – Mark Zuckerberg.

2. At the age of 12 years, seven months and 17 days, D. Gukesh defeated Dinesh Sharma in the ninth round of the Delhi International Open Grandmasters chess tournament for his third and final GM norm to become the youngest Grandmaster in the country.Sergey Karajkin is youngest GM with record of 12 yrs 7 months.

3.Government allocated an additional Rs. 6,084 cr at RE stage to MGNREGA. This brings the total allocation to the scheme to Rs. 61,084 cr in 2018-19, making it the highest ever allocation for the scheme.MNREGA started in 2006 under Min of Rural Development.

4.The Dept of Bio-Tech and ICAR have entered into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for much-needed emphasis on multi-disciplinary R&D activities and nurturing innovations in Agricultural Biotechnology Research and Education.Dept. of Bio-Tech comes under Ministry of Science & Technology.

5.7-Member Group of Ministers constituted for boosting the Real Estate Sector under the GST regime by providing a Composition Scheme for Residential Construction Units. Nitin Patel, Dy Chief Minister, Government of Gujarat is the convener of 7-member group.GST came into effect from July 1, 2017.

6.Union S & T Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, inaugurated two science communication initiatives, DD Science and India Science which is a collaboration between Dept. of S&T and Prasar Bharti.Prasar Bharati is India's largest public broadcasting agency.

7.A cotton seed carried to the Moon by China’s recent Chang’e-4 probe has sprouted, the first for any biological matter to grow on the Moon. The 1.3-tonne lander, carried the seeds of cotton, oilseed rape, potato among others to form a simple mini biosphere.China’s Chang’e 4 reached moon’s surface on 3 Jan 2019.

8.Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath launched the Rs 50,000-crore farm debt-waiver scheme named 'Jai Kisan Rin Mukti Yojana' which is speculated to benefit around 55 lakh small and marginal farmers.Kamal Nath is 18th CM of MP state.

9.Author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni recently launched her new novel, The Forest of Enchantments, rewriting Valmiki’s epic, Ramayana with a feminist slant.Her first novel- The Palace of Illusions.

10.Telangana CM launched Dharani portal, designed to combine land administration and registration services and function as single source for all land parcels and discharge land-related functions in an efficient and effective manner on near-real-time basis.Telangana CM- K Chandrasekhar Rao

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 15th JANUARY 2018

1.Odisha launched the ‘Ama Ghare LED’ scheme, under which about 95 L families in the State will each get 4 LED bulbs free of cost. 9-watt LED bulbs will be distributed to beneficiaries registered under National Food Security Act & State Food Security Scheme.Naveen Patnaik is the Chief Minister of Odisha.

2.Rohit Sharma becomes the first Indian batsman to smash five hundred in ODI cricket in Australia. He achieved this milestone while playing first ODI of the series against Australia in Sydney. He has scored his 22nd century in 194 ODIs.

3.Under its Project Leap programme, Bharti Airtel Ltd. launched 4G services in Andaman and Nicobar starting with Port Blair, and become the first operator to roll out high-speed data services in the island area.Bharti Airtel CEO- Gopal Vittal.

4.Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) and IMD have developed a Mobile App called “DAMINI” to give alerts on impending lightning activity over a certain area. The DAMINI App is available from Google Stores.Union Minister of Science and Technology- Dr Harsh Vardhan.

5.Development of new Spiritual Circuit: Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple-Aranmula-Sabarimala at Kerala is being implemented at a cost of Rs. 92.22 Crores under Swadesh Darshan scheme of Tourism MinistryAlphons Kannanthanam is MoS Tourism Ministry.

6.Shri Jaswantsinh Bhabhor, MoS for Tribal Affairs inaugurated the “1st Ekalavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) Sports Meet 2019” at Gachibowli stadium in Hyderabad yesterday. The National Sports Meet is being held from 14th to 16th January 2019.EMRS scheme is implemented by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

7.Voter Awareness Forum will be set up in Ministries, Government & Non-Government Departments. These are informal Forums to generate awareness around electoral process through activities like discussions, quizzes, competitions and other engaging activities.VAF by ECI was launched on National Voters Day, 25th Jan 2018.

8.Smt. Maneka Gandhi inaugurated the 5thRegional Centre of National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) at Sahibzada Ajith Singh Nagar (Mohali), Punjab.NIPCCD comes under Ministry of Women & Child development.

9.District administration has initiated measures to start kindergarten classes in Anganwadis, including Nagapattinam Municipality, Keezhaiyur Union, Thalaignayiru Union etc. among others to begin admissions for LKG & UKG classes in 29 Anganwadis attached.Anganwadis were started by the Indian government in 1975.

10.In a bid to cut cost of satellite launchers, ISRO is working on reusable launch technology for using the first & second stages of a rocket multiple times. Advanced version of the reusable launch technology (RLV) test will be conducted in June-July.ISRO chairman -K Sivan