8th January 2015 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has expressed outrage over the “cold-blooded” and “unjustifiable” terrorist attack against French magazine Charlie Hebdo, with the UN Security Council underlining the need to bring perpetrators of terrorism to justice.
• The U.N. Chief and the powerful Security Council were joined by other U.N. bodies and the President of the General Assembly in strongly condemning the attack that killed 12 people, including the top editor, prominent cartoonists and police officers.

National Affairs

• Prime Minister Modi formally inaugurate the 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Gandhinagar.
• In his inaugural address at the 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), Prime Minister announces merger of PIO and OCI schemes to ensure one type of facilities and also grant exemption from weekly police reporting.
• The procedural hurdles faced by overseas Indians are not just an administrative issue, but a matter of self-respect and the Centre has taken several steps to facilitate their travels to India, he said.
• This will help PIOs and NRIs avail the opportunity at a time when his government has initiated several initiatives to boost India's economy.   
• PIOs -  Persons of Indian Origin
• NRIs - Non Resident Indians  
• Marking 100 years of Mahatma Gandhi’s homecoming from South Africa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released Rs 100 & Rs 10 coins and stamps of Rs 25 and Rs 5 denominations.

• These Coins and stamps showing in the same frame pictures of a young Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and another of his transformation into Mahatma Gandhi 
• An ordinance to amend the Motor Vehicles Act 2014,  today got the President  Pranab Mukherjee's assent, paving the way for plying of e-rickshaws on roads of national capital region.

Business & Economy

• Qatar Airways is keen to buy equity in IndiGo if the Indian carrier offers 49 per cent stake to it, a top official has said as he sought the opening up of the Indian aviation market for established airline companies.

Awards & Honors

• The 41st People's Choice Awards were announced. Check complete winners list from here.

New Appointments

• A former IPS officer, Krishna Kant Paul was today sworn in as the sixth Governor of Uttarakhand.
• Paul takes over from Aziz Qureshi who has been appointed the Governor of Mizoram.

Sports

• Karate is making a push to be part of the programme for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
• New reforms by the IOC have given karate officials renewed hope that the martial art could be added to the Tokyo games and the head of the World Karate Federation (Antonio Espinos) is meeting with 2020 organisers to make his case for the sport’s inclusion.
• Squash, roller sports, sports climbing, wakeboard and wushu are also hopeful of joining the Tokyo programme.
• Young Cricketer Lokesh Rahul became the talk of the town after he scored his maiden century, playing only his second Test, on day three of the fourth Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Thursday.
• After a stellar cricketing career which spanned over two decades, iconic Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar is all set to play himself in a film made on his life.
• A Mumbai-based production company 200NotOut is working on the movie to be directed by award-winning British director James Erskine.

Careers

• The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has released the timetables for the board exams for Classes 10 and 12. Check the time table from here

Read more Daily Current Affairs updates from here

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