1. Vikram Dev Dutt appointed as new Air India Chief
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Senior bureaucrat Vikram Dev Dutt has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of Air India on 18th January 2022.
- Dutt is a 1993-batch IAS officer of AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territory) cadre.
- He will get the rank and pay of Additional Secretary.
Further, Chanchal Kumar has been appointed as Managing Director, National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.
- Kumar, a 1992-batch IAS officer, is at present posted in his cadre state Bihar.
The appointments were part of a senior level-bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Central Government on 18th January 2022.
2. Narayan Debnath passes away
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A noted comics artist, writer and illustrator, who brought to life cult Bengali cartoon characters like Bantul the Great, Handa Bhonda, and Nonte Phonte passed away at the age of 96 years on 18 January 2022.
- He was the first and the only comics artist from the country to have received the D. Litt. degree.
- He was a Padma Shri awardee,who held the record of running the longest comics series by an individual artiste for Handa Bhonda, which has now completed 53 years.
3. Shri Narendra Goenka takes over as new Chairman of AEPC
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Narendra Kumar Goenka, founder and managing director of Texport Industries Pvt Ltd, today took charge as the new chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC). Goenka succeeds Padma Shri Dr. A Sakthivel as AEPC chairman.
- AEPC is the official body of apparel exporters in India, under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Textiles, that provides invaluable assistance to Indian exporters as well as importers/international buyers.
Figures from the Indian Textile Sector
- The Indian textile industry contributes to about 7% of the industry output (in value terms) and around 15% of India’s export earnings.
- The top global export destination countries for Indian Textiles are USA, UAE, Bangladesh, UK, and Germany.
- About 50% of India’s textiles import is Fibre and Yarn used for the value addition. The maximum textile and apparel imports come from China followed by USA and Bangladesh.
- In FY 2020-21 there was a deceleration in textile exports due to pandemic disrupting the supply chain and demand.
- During April-December, 2021 the total Textiles & Apparel including Handicrafts exports was US$ 29.8 billion as compared to US$ 21.2 billion for the same period last year. This implies robust growth of approximately 41% over last year.
4. Djokovic deported from Australia
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Tennis star Novak Djokovic has lost his chance to defend his Australian Open title after an Australian court upheld a government deportation order.
- The sensational 11-day battle over Djokovic’s COVID-19 vaccination status has ended his dream of winning a record 21st Grand Slam in Australia.
- Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic lashed out at Australian authorities saying that they have humiliated Djokovic with this mistreatment of him for 10 days.
5. Bollywood lyricist-poet Ibrahim Ashk dies
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Lyricist Ibrahim Ashk (70), known for penning songs for films like “Kaho Na Pyaar Hai” and “Koi… Mil Gaya”, died on 16th January 2022, due to COVID-19 pneumonia.
- Born in Madhya Pradesh, Ashk did his post-graduation in Hindi Literature in 1974 from Indore University. Also an Urdu poet, he later went on to work as a journalist.
6. RajKumar Rao is the brand ambassador of RenewBuy
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Online insurance platform RenewBuy has launched its first 360-degree ad campaign with film actor Rajkummar Rao as its first brand ambassador.
Raj Kumar Rao is a Hindi film actor who has won National Film awards for Best actor for his film Shahid in 2013.
7. Vicky Kaushal is the brand ambassador of Pearson India
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Pearson has announced Bollywood actor Vicky Kaushal as its new brand ambassador.
Pearson is a British company which is in the business of publishing books for Schools, University etc.
Vicky Kaushal is a famous Hindi film actor who won the National film award for best actor in 2020 for his film ”Uri:The Surgical Strike."
8. Virat Kohli resigns as Test Captain
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Virat Kohli resigned as the captain of the Indian cricket team on 15 January 2022.This comes after Indian cricket team failed to win a test series in South Africa and lost the current series 1-2 .India has never won a test series in South Africa.
- . The Delhi batsman, who took charge as the Test captain in 2014 after M.S. Dhoni stepped down, has been India’s most successful leader in the longest format with 40 wins in 68 matches.
- Earlier in December 2021, Kohli was replaced as the One Day International (ODI) and T 20 captain of the Indian cricket team.
- He is the 4th Most successful Test captain in the world after South African Greame Smith (53 win), Ricky Ponting of Australia (43 win),and Steve Waugh of Australia (41 wins ).
- Of his 40 wins, 16 came overseas, including series victories in Sri Lanka (2-1) in 2015, West Indies (2-0) in 2016, Sri Lanka (3-0) in 2017, Australia (2-1) in 2018-19 and West Indies (2-0) in 2019.
- He led India into the inaugural World Test Championship final which India lost to New Zealand in 2021.
9. Master Inventor Award for 5G co-developer Dr. Kalyani Bogineni
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Dr. Kalyani Bogineni was conferred the ‘Master Inventor Award’ for 2021 by Verizon for her contributions in developing 5G technology.
- Dr. Kalyani is currently a fellow in the network strategy and planning organisation at Verizon.
- Her expertise in highly parallel computer technology and optical and wireless technologies played a pivotal role in designing a wireless network from 2G to 5G.
Verizon
Verizon is an American wireless network operator company.
Headquarters: New York, United States
10. Padma Shri Awardee Major HPS Ahluwalia Dies At 85
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Padma Shri recipient and founder of the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre Major HPS Ahluwalia passed away at the age of 85 on 14th January 2022.
- HPS Ahluwalia was a retired army officer, a trained mountaineer, author and social worker "who has contributed immensely in various fields including adventure sports, environment, disability, and social work”
- He is one of six Indian men and the twenty first man in the world to climb Mount Everest,on 29 May 1965.
- His autobiography is titled “Higher Than Everest”.
- Major Ahluwalia has also been a former president of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation.
- He was honored with the country's most prestigious awards - Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri, and the Arjuna Award. He also received the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award.
