Thursday, January 29, 2015

Daily Current Affairs: 18 January 2015



1) South Africa's AB de Villiers hits fastest-ever century in ODI: South Africa captain AB de Villiers smashed the fastest hundred in One Day Internationals - off just 31 balls - during the second match against West Indies at Johannesburg on 18 January 2015. De Villiers hit a record-equalling 16 sixes and nine fours during his thunderous knock, breaking New Zealander Corey Anderson's record of a 36-ball ton in 2014. The veteran wicket-keeper-batsman had earlier scored the fastest half-century off 16 balls. 

2) HDFC Bank & SBI among world's 50 most valued banks in 2014: Two Indian banks, HDFC Bank and State Bank of India (SBI), now figure in a list of the top 50 global banks in terms of market capitalisation. HDFC Bank, India’s second-largest private lender in terms of asset size, ranks 45th, with a market capitalisation of $39 billion, Bloomberg data show. With a market capitalisation of $38 billion, SBI is ranked 46th. ICICI Bank, ranked 53rd, is the only other Indian entity to figure in the list of the 100 most valued global banks.

3) Government launched scheme to support entrepreneurs from Scheduled Caste community:  In a bid to encourage budding and existing entrepreneurs from Scheduled Castes, the government on 16 January 2015 launched a scheme under which members of the reserved community will be offered concessional finance to start new business ventures. The scheme 'Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes' was launched by Union Social Justice Minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot.

4) Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Chairman R K Tyagi conferred JGBS excellence award: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Chairman R K Tyagi has been conferred with 'JGBS-Top Rankers' Excellence Award for CEO of the year'. HAL was rated as 'Excellent' with a score of 1.08 for the year 2013-14 which is the best among all Defence Public Sector Undertakings.

5) Ministry of Water Resources to celebrate 2015-16 as Jal Kranti Varsh: The Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ms Uma Bharati on 17 January 2015 said that the Year 2015-16 will be celebrated as 'Jal Kranti Varsh (Year)' across the country. Delivering the valedictory address at the 3rd India Water Week, she said the programme will be celebrated in each district of the country and all efforts will be made to conserve and save water.

6) Egyptian iconic actress Faten Hamama passed away: Iconic Egyptian actress Faten Hamama died on 17 January 2015 after suffering a medical crisis. She was 83. She was one of Egypt's most prominent actresses from the 1950s to the early 70s.


7) Andhra Pradesh government inks pact with ICRISAT to boost sustainable farming: The Andhra Pradesh government has signed a pact with International Crop Research Institute for Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT) to provide assistance in making agriculture sustainable and profitable. The Memorandum of Agreement was signed in the presence of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu by Special Chief Secretary (Planning) S P Tucker and ICRISAT Director-General David Bergvinson

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