29th January 2017 Important Daily Current Affairs

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Dear Great Ambitionists, here are today's (29th January 2017) Important Current Affairs updates. Happy Reading :)

Daily Current Affairs of 29th January 2017

International Current Affairs

• US President Donald Trump today signed an executive order which has a clause that says privacy protections would not be extended past US citizens or permanent residents in America. 
• This clause is in contravention of the EU-US Privacy Shield agreement which ensures non-Americans are not treated differently by US organisations with weaker privacy safeguards.
• The Colombian government and rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have announced a joint deal to fight cocaine crop cultivation. 
• Under the deal, farmers will be offered loans, subsidies and monthly payments of around $350 (around ₹24,000) if they agree to destroy their cocaine crops.
• Earlier, FARC relied on cocaine production to fund its insurgency. 
  

National Current Affairs

• On the eve of National Immunization Day, President Pranab Mukherjee today launched nationwide Pulse Polio programme for 2017 by administering polio drops to children at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• The programme will cover around 17 crore children aged under five years in an effort to maintain the country's polio-free status.
• I&B Ministry Secretary Ajay Mittal today inaugurated North East Film Festival 'Fragrances from the North East' at National Film Archive of India in Pune, Maharashtra. 
• The objective of the film festival is to sensitise people from other regions to the culture of the North East as envisaged in the Centre's "Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat" programme.
• Chennai Police today imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC on the Marina Beach until February 12.
• This comes after thousands of people gathered at the Marina Beach in support of the traditional bull-taming sport, Jallikattu.
• The order prohibits assemblies, demonstrations and meetings, however, it does not apply to families.

MOUs & Agreements

• TheNorth Eastern Council (NEC) and the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to harness the hidden potential of Cane and Bamboo of North Eastern Region in Shillong today.
• The MoU was signedby the Secretary, NEC Ram Muivah and Development Commissioner(Handicrafts)  Alok Kumar. 

Awards & Honors

• The Arunachal Pradesh tableau has bagged the 1st position among the 17 state tableaux that took part in this year's Republic Day parade. 
• The tableau had depicted the Yak Dance, a popular pantomime of the Mahayana sect of Buddhist Tribes in the state. 
• Note : Tripura's tableau got the second place while the Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu tableaux were jointly adjudged third.
• The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has been adjudged the best marching contingent for the 5th time among the different paramilitary forces that took part in the Republic Day parade. 
• The force had earlier won the award in 2007, 2008, 2013 and 2015. 
• Note : In the services category, Madras Engineer Group of the Indian Army bagged the best marching contingent award.

New Appointments

• Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been appointed to US President Donald Trump's manufacturing council, led by Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris. 
• Other members of the council include Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, Dell CEO and Founder Michael Dell, and Ford CEO Mark Fields. 
• Note : Musk is also part of Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum, which advises on economic matters.

Banking & Economic Affairs

• The India Post has received payments bank licence from the Reserve Bank of India to start rollout of banking operations commercially. 
• Important Points to Note : 
• India Post Payments Bank is the 3rd entity to receive payments bank permit after telecom major Airtel and digital payments startup Paytm. 
• Payments banks can accept deposits up to ₹1 lakh per account from individuals and small businesses.

Sports Current Affairs

• Swiss tennis player Roger Federer defeated Spain's Rafael Nadal in five sets in the Australian Open men's singles final today, to win a record 18th Grand Slam title. 
• This was the duo's 12th Slam encounter, with Nadal winning nine of the matches.
• In Australian Open Tennis, American-Colombian duo of Abigail Spears and Juan Sebastian Cabal defeated Indo-Croatian pair of Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig in Mixed doubles final.
• FIFA today unveiled Adidas Praia, the official match ball for the upcoming FIFA Beach Football World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in The Bahamas in April.
• The ball has been coloured blue, an inspiration from the turquoise oceans of The Bahamas, and has been engineered to be low-weight and low-pressure.
• Former Formula One driver Michael Schumacher's son Mick Schumacher won Round 3's opening race at the MRF Challenge 2016, held at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida.

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