Current Affairs : January 17, 2010

Abbreviations:
AICCCA: Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies
APRACA: Asia Pacific Regional Agricultural Credit Association
BCSBI : Banking Codes and Standards Boards of India
CALCS: Capital Adequacy, Asset Quality, Liquidity, Compliance and System
DPSS : Department of Payment and Settlement Systems

Appointments:
Governor of Jharkhand: M O H Farook
M O H Farook who is a Veteran Congress leader and former 3 times Puducherry Chief Minister gets appointed as Governor of Jharkand.

List of India's Governors of States

Resignations:
A K Matoo Resigns from Hockey India President:
A.K. Mattoo has resigned as president of Hockey India and all other administrative positions in various sports bodies , in the wake of ongoing Hockey Controversy.

Events & Happenings:
Songadh Tribal Festival
Thousands of tribal’s from South Gujarat and Maharashtra participate in a two-day cultural festival at Songadh village in Tapi district of Gujarat.

93rd Birth Anniversary of MGR:
Today is the birth anniversary of Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran or MGR a versatile actor , producer and politician, a well known Tamil activist, & Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987. He was born on January 17, 1917.

Heimtextil fair - Frankfurt
India dominates the ongoing four-day Heimtextil fair in Frankfurt - the world's largest fair for home textiles and furnishing products. Maximum number of exhibitors are from India 385, which surpasses 281 exhibitors from Germany. China with 380 exhibitors took the third position.

National Affairs:
Marxist Patriarch : Jyoti Basu

Jyotirindra Basu, popularly known as Jyoti Basu , the Marxist patriarch , one of India's tallest political leaders whose influence extended far beyond his home state of West Bengal that he ruled for a record 23 years, heading five successive Left Front governments passed away on January 17, 2010. Read Here About Milestones of his Life

Our Overcrowded Jails:
India has approximately 1500 jails with a capacity to accommodate 2.5 lakh prisoners. These jails are accommodating 4 lakh prisoners at current. Out of this population, 1.7 lakh are under trials. Most of these under trials making the jails congested because of their involvement in petty crimes and most of them belong to the poor and the weaker section of the society, unable to secure their release on bail due to their inability to provide local sureties.

In this context , Union Law ministers writes a letter to the Chief Justice of India- Justice K G Balakrishnan, Head of the National Legal Aid Committee -Judge Altamas Kabir, and Chief Justices of all High Courts in the country.

What the ministry suggests is to release the undertrials involved in petty crimes and have already served the maximum sentence prescribed for the offence or the major part of it to be released by July 2010.

First Legal E-book: 'Code of Civil Procedures 1908'
Manuputra, which is a legal online research network launches and e-book 'Code of Civil Procedures 1908'. Its available on internet.

World's Largest University : IGNOU
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is now 'Largest University in the World' according to UNESCO.
Nearly three million students across 34 countries study at IGNOU which is also India's National Resource Centre for Open and Distance Learning and a world leader in distance education. Through its 21 schools of study, 59 regional centres, 2,300 learner support centers and some 52 overseas centers, the university offers certificate, diploma, degree and doctoral programmes, comprising around 1,500 courses. -Irina Bokova, Director General UNESCO.

Punjab: Who Was Sham Singh Attarwala?
Sham singh attariwala, 1790's at Attari which is very near to Indo Pak Border was the appointed first a Jatthedar and later Governor of Kashmir by Maharaja Ranjit singh. He had led many campaigns and one of the frontrunner generals of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He had made significant contribution for strengthening the kingdom of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and later he laid down his life while fighting the British Army that had invaded Punjab after the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

On January 17, 2010, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal inaugurates the memorial at Amritsar to the great Sikh warrior Sham Singh Attariwala.

North India's first Doppler radar - Palam
North India's first Doppler radar will be installed at a height of 16 meters on the top of a building in Shahabad Mohammadpur village in Palam area of the Indira Gandhi International Airport. It will provide short range accurate weather prediction in a nearly 500 km radius. The India Meteorological Department has ordered 12 such radars to be deployed across the country in 2010. Currently, India has four German-made Doppler radars set up at Visakhapatnam, Machhlipatnam, Chennai and Kolkata.

India World:
Update on Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS)
India gets second AWACS in March 2010 read here

SM Krishna's Visit to Nepal:
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna's returns from a three-day visit from January 15-17, 2010 to Nepal. For main points and pacts signed Read Here

On Tipaimukh Dam Controversy:
At the end of the three-day India visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last week, a joint communiqué by the two countries stated:
"The prime minister of India reiterated the assurance that India would not take steps on the Tipaimukh project that would adversely impact Bangladesh."

However Government after a meeting of North East Regional Power Committee, Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh says: National Hydroelectric Power Corp (NHPC) and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) -- would build the Rs.8,138-crore (Rs.81.38-billion/$1.7-billion) Tipaimukh project.

Read Past Article About Tipaimukh Dam Controversy

Global Affairs:
What is Beidou Navigation System?
The Beidou Navigation System , China's first-generation satellite navigation and positioning network, made the country the third in the world after the US and Russia to have an independent satellite navigation system. It is a project by China which aims to develop an independent satellite navigation system. First two generations in this series is Beidou-1 . China plans to develop a truly global satellite navigation system consisting of 35 satellites in second generation of this series called as Beidou-2. In this series China on January 16, 2010 launches third member of the second-generation Beidou constellation. First-generation satellites were launched between 2000 and 2007 to test the Beidou concept in space and provide limited services for China. It was launched from Xichang space center.

Beidou system will provide navigation, time signal and short message services in Asian and Pacific region around 2012

Pakistan China Military Agreement:
China's Hu Jintao describes China - Pak relations as "higher than the mountains and deeper than the oceans". sounds something simialr to "Chini Paki Bhai Bhai".

The time to come will reveal the height and depth of this relation but today, they sign an agreement which aims to further strengthening defense production, staging joint military exercises and training military officers. The agreement also aims to ensure the implementation of memorandums of understanding signed in the past on the supply of latest planes and ships and any obstacles in the way would be removed through talks.
Pakistan-China relations began in 1950 when this country was among the first to break ties with Taiwan and recognise the People's Republic of China. (Many countries who derecognized Taiwan would start a bilateral relation with China)

Business & Economy:
Car of the Year : Nano
Minister of State for Road, Transport and Highways R P N Singh presents Car of the Year award for Tata Nano to Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata.

Sports:
Mumbai Marathon Winners: