January Current Affairs 2010 Part -2

·        Well known journalist Mrinal Pande's is the new chairperson of Prasar Bharati succeeding Arun Bhatnagar.(Go for Part -1)

·        Lt Gen V K Singh, the Eastern Army Commander and senior-most infantry officer, named the next Army chief .

·        The World Bank extended a loan of Rs 3724 crore to the Andhra Pradesh government for three major infrastructure projects in the state. As per the agreements, Rs 1568 crore would be used for the Road Sector Project, Rs 724 crore for the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project and another Rs 1432 crore for the Municipal Development Project.

·        The Punjab Government has decided to set up a Special Security Group (SSG), on the lines of the NSG, to counter terrorism and provide quick response in an emergency situation in the state.

·        Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda announced the extension of popular 'Ladli' scheme by another five years. The scheme provides a financial incentive of Rs 5,000 per year for five years on the birth of second daughter in a family under a group insurance plan.

·        The existing three watershed programmes namely DPAP, DDP and IWDP have been consolidated into a single programme named ‘Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP).

·        India is keen to develop refinery, natural gas and LNG projects in oil-rich Nigeria, which contributes around 10 percent to the country's crude oil requirements.

·        Russia is taking a leaf out of Indian elections and is studying the use of electronic voting machines (EVMS) and electors photo identity cards (EPIC) for implementation in its federal, regional and local polls.

·        India ranks 123rd in 2010 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), while Iceland leads the world in addressing pollution control and natural resource management challenges.

·        Bokaro Steel Plant(Jharkhand) would become the largest steel producer of the country by 2011-12 after the completion of its expansion and modernization programmes.

·        Renowned Carnatic musician and Sangeet Natak Academy winner S Rajam passed away.

·        Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district has been selected for a national award for effectively implementing Centre's flagship scheme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Assurance Scheme (MGNREGA).

·        ITBP Chief Vikram Srivastava was appointed as Director General of CRPF, world's largest para military force, in place of A S Gill. Director General of National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) R L Bhatia will take over from Srivastava as ITBP Chief.

·        According to the latest Akamai report, Kerala -- with an average speed of 1,386 Kbps - has pushed down Haryana (the second quarter's topper) to the second spot (with 1,105 Kbps) and Karnataka to the third position (1,041 kbps), the 'State of the Internet' report by Akamai Technologies.

·        Australia won the ICC Under 19 World cup for a record third time when they beat Pakistan by 25 runs in Lincoln, New Zealand.