Important Current affairs of January 14, 2016

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JANUARY 14, 2016

1. The United States on January 13, 2016 notified massive increase in fees in certain categories of the popular H-1B and L-1 visaswhich would mainly hit Indian IT companies.
1. The US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) said applicants for certain categories of H-1B visas post December 18, 2015 must submit an additional fee of US $4,000.
2. In addition, for those applying for certain L-1A and L-1B must submit an additional US $4,500.
2. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will visit Israel and Palestine on17th and 18th January 2016 to further build on the goodwill generated by the trip of President Pranab Mukherjee to the two West Asian nations three months back.
1. Palestine will be Ms. Swaraj’s first destination where she will hold talks with leadership of the country with an aim to boost bilateral engagement and deepen mutual understanding at the political level.
2. After completing her engagements in Palestine on January 17, she will go to Israel the same day for a two-day visit during which she will hold discussions with the Israeli leadership and review the entire gamut of India-Israel relations.
3. United States and Jordan have signed a Joint Action Plan (JAP) to improve efforts against nuclear and radiological smuggling. 
1. The partnership will help in enhancing the efforts to combat nuclear terrorism.
2. The JAP was signed by Secretary of State John Kerry and Jordan’s Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh in Washington.
4. The festival of Lohri was being celebrated on January 13, 2016 with traditional fervor and gaiety.
5. Gauhati High Court has issued order staying the Bulbuli fight at Hajo in Kamrup district.
1. The age-old Bulbuli fight is being organized during Bhogali Bihu.
6. The union cabinet on January 13, 2016 approved the crop insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) to boost the farming sector and ensure farmers' welfare.
1. Important Note : Under PMFBY, the farmers are required to pay a uniform premium of two percent for all Kharif crops and 1.5 percent for all Rabi crops while it is five percent for annual commercial and horticultural crops.
7. Union Minister for Fertilizers and Chemicals Ananth Kumar has announced the sanction of Greenfield petrochemical complex and National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) inVisakhapatnam and full-fledged Central Institute of Plastics Engineering & Technology to offer B.Tech and M.Tech courses in Vijayawada [both the cities are in Andhra Pradesh].
8. Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan has been appointed as the new brand ambassador of the Incredible India campaign by Trust Research Advisory (TRA).
1. Bachchan replaces actor Aamir Khan.
9. The board of directors of US-India Business Council has appointed Edward Monser, president of Emerson, and Deloitte Global CEO Punit Renjen asVice Chairs.
1. The two come with experience in global manufacturing, business strategy and business development.
10. Union Government has constituted a committee to fast track the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor, meant for connecting two cities with bullet trains. 
1. The committee is tasked to interact with the Japanese counterpart for taking further steps in implementation of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor.
2. The committee will be headed by : Arvind Panagariya (vice-chairman of the NITI Aayog)
11. Government on January 13, 2016 decided to set up a high-powered panel to process the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission which will have bearing on the remuneration of 47 lakh central government employees and 52 lakh pensioners.  
1. This panel will be headed by : P K Sinha (Cabinet Secretar)
2. Note : The implementation of the new pay scales is estimated to put an additional burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore on the exchequer in 2016-17. 
12. China has allowed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and 5 other international financial institutions to participate in the country’s inter-bank foreign exchange market.
13. Bihar govt has decided to impose 13.5% tax on luxury items to mop up additional revenue for carrying development work.
14. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the Chief Guest, and star attraction, at the Airtel-ET Global Business Summit (GBS) which is going to be held during 29th and 30th January 2016. 
1. Modi will inaugurate the summit on the evening of January 29.
15. Telecom major Vodafone on January 13, 2016 announced the availability of 4G SIMs for customers.
1. These 4G-ready SIMs will be made available at multi-brand outlets in a phased manner, the company said in a release.
2. State-owned BSNL also has started 4G services on non-commercial basis in Chandigarh promising broadband speed of up to 100 megabit per second (Mbps).
16. Vice President Hamid Ansari with Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy released a book Jawaharlal Nehru and Indian Polity in Perspective edited by former DGP P J Alexander, in Thiruvananthapuram.. 
1. The focus of the book is on the role of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister, on shaping the polity of modern India.
17. Kerala becomes the first state in the country to attain complete primary education.
1. This has been achieved through the primary education equivalency drive of the state literacy mission — Athulyam.
18. Vice president Hamid Ansari on January 13, 2016 conferred the Sree Chithira Tirunal National Award on former Ambassador and vice chairman of the Kerala Higher Education Council T.P. Sreenivasan.
1. The award instituted by a private trust is annually bestowed on persons reckoned to have an excellent public service record.
19. Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan was bestowed honorary life membership of the Kolkata’s famed soccer outfit Mohammedan Sportingwhich is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year.
20. The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation has won the National Award on e-Governance 2015-16 for launching the Universal Account Number (UAN).
1. The EPFO won the gold award in the ‘innovative use of technology in e-governance’ category and the retirement body will get a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh.
21. Key architect in India's victory in 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, Lt Gen JFR Jacob (retd) passes away.
1. Born in 1923, Jacob is best known for his role in India's victory in the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971 and the liberation of Bangladesh.
22. Hall of Famer Monte Irvin, an outfielder who starred for the New York Giants in the 1950s, passed away. 
1. Irvin was the oldest living former Negro Leagues player. 
23. World Number one pair of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis equaled theworld record of winning 28 consecutive matches, which was set by Puerto Rican-Belarusian duo  of Gigi-Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva in 1994
1. They achieved this feat after defeating Chen Liang and Shuai Peng in the Apia International quarterfinals in Sydney
24. Danish kayaker Rene Holten Poulsen was named the Denmark’s sportsperson of the year 2015.
25. Lionel Messi has won the 2015 FIFA Ballon d’ Or Award after beating of the challenge from Ronaldo and Neymar. It was Messi’s record breaking 5th Ballon d’Or Award
26. Carli Lloyd of United States has won FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year award.
27. National Youth Day was observed on 12^th January 2016.
1. This day is celebrated every year on 12 th of January, the birth anniversary of social reformer, philosopher and thinker Swami Vivekananda.
2. Since 1985 onwards, National Youth Day is being celebrated all over the country.
28. The Supreme Court has passed a stay order on the Modi government's lifting of four-year-old ban on holding of Jallikattu in poll-bound Tamil Nadu.
29. Telangana has become the first State to introduce compulsory gender education at the graduate level; without repeating gender stereotypes in its bilingual textbook titled, ‘Towards a World of Equals.’
1. The book introduced on a pilot basis in engineering colleges affiliated to the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU-Hyderabad) discusses gender in its composite form without limiting itself to crime against women. 
2. From information on unacknowledged women writers of Telangana to problems of sex selection and women’s work in politics and economics, the book attempts to cover it all.
30. Scientists at Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes (CIRB) in Hisar claimed to have successfully produced a cloned buffalo offspring 'Cirb Gaurav'.
1. With this achievement, CIRB becomes India's second centre to produce a cloned buffalo.
2. CIRB Director : Dr Inderjeet Singh
31. Himachal Pradesh's folk dance Kullu Natti has entered the Guinness Book of World Record as the largest folk dance in the world.
32. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has released a book titled "Maru Bharat Saru Bharat" (My India Noble India) written by Jain Acharya Ratnasundersuriswarji Maharaj through video conference.
1. Note :  This is the 300th book of Ratnasunder suriswarji Maharaj.
33. Asia's oldest stock exchange, Bombay Stock Exchange, will get its own postage stamp.
1. Note : BSE had recently become the world's fastest stock exchangeclocking a median trade speed of six micro seconds.