1. Vedic scholar Malladi Sastry passes away
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Well-known Vedic scholar and almanac reader Malladi Chandrasekhara Sastry passed away at his residence in Hyderabad on 14th January 2022. He became famous in undivided Andhra Pradesh for his Panchanga Sravanam.
- Sastry studied Vedas, Vyakaranam (grammar), tarkan (logic) and Indian spiritualism at an early age.
- Sastry established himself as an authority in Vedas and Astadasha Purana texts.
- He was known for hosting Dharma Sandehalu on TV
- He was titled ‘Abhinava Vyasa’ for compiling and codifying the Vedas and Puranas texts.
- He was also known as Purana Vachaspati
2. Goan writer Maria Aurora Couto dies at 85
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Padma Shri awardee(2010), writer, and educationist Maria Aurora Couto died on 14th January 2022. She was 85. She wrote in English, Konkani and Portuguese.
- Among her writings, she is best known for her autobiography, ‘Goa: A Daughter’s Story (2004)’, in which her memoirs mingle with Goa’s past.
- Her notable works are ‘Filomena’s Journeys: A Portrait of a Marriage, a Family and a Culture (2013)’,‘Graham Greene: On the Frontier: Politics and Religion in the Novels’ (1988).
3. Anne-Marie Trevelyan visit India
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The United Kingdom(UK) Secretary of State for International Trade ,Anne-Marie Trevelyan visited India on a two day visit . She and Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal launched a Free Trade Agreement discussion on 13 January 2022.
- They agreed to double the bilateral trade by 2030.
- At present the trade between the two countries was $13.11 billion in 2020-21.
- As of 2021, India is the UK's 15th largest trading partner, and the UK is India’s 18th largest trading partner.
4. RBI approves Ittira Davis as the MD and CEO of Ujjivan Bank
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The Reserve Bank of India has approved the appointment of Ittira Davis as the new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ujjivan Small Finance Bank for one year.
The Ujjivan bank board had nominated Ittira Davis for a three years term. However, the RBI approved only a one year term for him.
Under section 35 B of the Banking Regulation Act 1949, Private banks , Foreign banks, Local Area banks, Payment Banks, Small Finance Banks have to seek the prior approval of RBI before appointing MD, CEO or part time Chairperson in the bank.
Headquarters of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank : Bengaluru
5. Eminent Malayalam poet S. Ramesan passed away
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Well-known Malayalam poet and orator S Ramesan, a prominent figure in the socio-political arena of Kerala and a campaigner of progressive movement, passed away at his residence in Ernakulam district on the 13th of January at the age of 69.
- Besides penning and publishing a handful of books later including the famed Shidhila Chitrangal, Enikkarodum Pakayilla, Kalushitha Kalam.
- In his lifetime he received several awards including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and Asan Memorial Poetry Prize.
6. S. Somanath is the new Chairman of ISRO
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Senior rocket scientist S Somanath has been appointed as the tenth chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and secretary, department of space (DoS).
- He will replace K Sivan, who will complete his term on 14th January 2022.
- Since January 2018, Somanthan has been the Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).
- For the next three years he will serve as Secretary of the Department of Space and the Chairman of ISRO.
About S. Somanath
S. Somanath is an expert in a host of disciplines including launch vehicle design and has specialised in launch vehicle systems engineering, structural design, structural dynamics, integration designs and procedures, mechanism designs and pyrotechnics.
- He led the LVM3-X/CARE mission which was the first successful experimental suborbital test flight of LVM3 on December 18, 2014.
- He also was the Director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) and was responsible for the system integration design, development and testing of the stages of PSLV during its development.
7. Boxer Lovlina Borgohain appointed DSP in Assam Police
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Tokyo Olympics Bronze Medalist, 23-year-old-Boxer Lovlina Borgohain was appointed as Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP in Assam Police.
- On 12th January 2022 in Guwahati, Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarna handed over the appointment letter to Lovlina.
- The appointment was made as per the sports policy of Assam government.
8. Former Supreme Court Judge Indu Malhotra to head the inquiry committee on PM’s Security lapse
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The Supreme Court has appointed former SC Judge Indu Malhotra, as the chairperson to head the 5 members inquiry committee.
- The order was passed on 12th January 2022, by a three-judge bench headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana and also comprising Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli.
- The 5-member panel will be headed by the Justice (Retired) Indu Malhotra and the other members of the committee are DG-NIA, DG Security of Punjab and Registrar General of Punjab and Haryana High Court.
For more information about the SC panel refer to the post of 11th January 2022.
9. Urjit Patel appointed as the Vice -President of AIIB
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Reserve Bank of India Former Governor Urjit patel has been appointed as the Vice President of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
- He has replaced Mr D.J.Pandian and he will be responsible for AIIB’s investment operations and all sovereign and non-sovereign lending in South and Southeast Asia.
Sovereign lending means loan given to the governments and non -sovereign lending means loans given to non -government/private sectors.
- Urjit Patel is one of the five Vice Presidents in the AIIB and he has been appointed for a period of three years .
- Urjit Patel was the Governor of RBI from 2016-2018.
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
- It is a multilateral development bank which was set up in 2016.
- It has at present 104 members and its Headquarter is at Beijing ,China.
- China is the majority shareholder of the bank and India is the second largest shareholder of the bank
- The United States and Japan are not the members of the bank
- AIIB has given maximum loans to India
Current President of the Bank : Jin Liqun of China .
10. NEW DGP OF PUNJAB POLICE
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Viresh Kumar Bhawra, a 1987- batch IPS officer, is appointed new Punjab Police Chief (DGP) by Charanjit Singh Channi government on 8th January.
Viresh Kumar Bhawra is the third DGP to take charge in as many months of the Charanjit Singh Channi government tenure.
He has replaced DGP Sidharth Chattopadhyaya, who is facing scrutiny following the security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s Punjab visit on January 5.
