DAILY GK BULLETS | JAN 10 | S.W.A.G

1. Sri Lankan parliament begins process to adopt new Constitution

• Sri Lankan parliament began a process to formulate a new constitution with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe presenting a resolution to set up Constitutional Assembly of all members for the purpose.
• In a special session, Wickremesinghe moved the resolution in parliament to set up Constitutional Assembly (CA) of all members and a steering committee of 17 members to draft the new constitution.
• The new constitution will replace the current executive president headed constitution adopted in 1978.

2. Bharat Forge to invest Rs. 1.2k cr. for component hub in Nellore

• Leading forging major Bharat Forge on Sunday announced plans to set up an integrated auto components hub in Nellore in Andhra Pradesh at an investment of about Rs. 1,200 crore.
• Announcing to the plans, Mr. Kalyani said another MoU has been signed with the state to set up a multi-modal facility.

3. Powerball lottery jackpot soars to $1.3 billion in world record

• The U.S. multi-State Powerball lottery on Sunday soared to a whopping $1.3 billion in a new world record, tickling Americans’ dreams further of overnight riches after there were no winners for a record $900 million jackpot.
• The grand prize for the lottery, played in 44 States in US, has been climbing for weeks after repeated drawings produced no big winners.

4. Amalraj champion again, Manika wins maiden TT crown

• Anthony Amalraj emerged the men’s singles champion for the second time, taming G. Sathiyan 4-2 in the final of the 77th Senior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championships at the Kotla Vijay Bhaskara Reddy Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday.
• Just 40 minutes before that, PSPB’s Manika Batra created history winning her maiden women’s title, beating another new entrant in final, Pooja Sahasrabuddhle, also of PSPB.

5. Bengal secured investment of over Rs. 250,000 crore

• West Bengal has secured investments commitments to the tune of at least Rs. 250,104 crore.
• Speaking at the concluding day of the two-day Bengal Global Business Summit, Banerjee, discussions were on for further investments in the State.
• In the summit concluded last year, Bengal had secured investments to the tune of Rs. 243,000 crore, of which proposals worth Rs. 95,000 crore have materialised; and the remaining are under process.
• In 2017, the summit will be held on January 20 and January 21.

6. Government Launches 2 Online Forums to Improve LPG Customer Service

• The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has launched an online initiative to seek suggestions from LPG consumers across the country, which will help in providing efficient and friendly service.
• Two online discussion forums Citizen Friendly Services and Increasing LPG Coverage in the Country – have been launched and are available on myGov.in and mylpg.in.
• The initiative is part of steps being taken to observe 2016 as the ‘Year of LPG Consumers’.

7. Governor’s rule imposed in Jammu and Kashmir

• Jammu and Kashmir came under governor’s rule as process of new government formation following the death of chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed will take some time.
• The President cleared the recommendation of the Union home ministry for imposing governor’s rule on the basis of a recommendation from J-K governor N N Vohra.
• Governor’s rule had to be imposed in view of the reluctance of Mufti’s daughter Mehbooba to take oath during the mourning period though her party has already conveyed to the governor that 28 MLAs of the PDP legislature party backed her for the chief minister’s post.

8. Techies turn 3 villages of Madhya Pradesh into free Wi-Fi zone

• Inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India initiative, four techies from Madhya Pradesh’s Rajgarh district have turned three remote villages into first free Wi-Fi hamlets in the country without government funding.
• “Though official inauguration was done on January 1, the service began on November 17 as we were testing the services for over a month,”

9. 24th New Delhi World Book Fair opens

• Human Resource Minister Smriti Irani inaugurated the 24th edition of the New Delhi World Book Fair which commenced here with China as the guest of honour country and a theme presentation of the cultural heritage of India.
• The nine-day fair, touted as the largest in Asia, is hosting about 30 countries in which a series of programmes including panel discussions, dramas, classical and folk dances, workshops, discussions, authors’ meets, conferences, seminars and cultural programmes will be held.
• China was invited to be the guest country after the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping here last year where he signed a memorandum of understanding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

10. Burkina Faso's president named Paul Kaba Thieba as Prime Minister

• Economist Paul Kaba Thieba was named as the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso on 7 January 2016 by the President Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

11. Hindustan Zinc to invest Rs.8, 000 crore

• Hindustan Zinc Ltd. (HZL) will invest Rs.8, 000 crore in the next 3-5 years as the Vedanta Group firm looks to expand operations and capacity.
• The firm aims to take the existing ore production levels of 9.36 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 14 MTPA and finished metal production to 1.10 MTPA from 0.85 MTPA.

12. Trans India launches online travel agency

• Offline travel agency Trans India Holidays Group announced that it has forayed in the online travel space with the launch of ‘BigBreaks’ with an aim to allow customization of travel plans.
• Besides offering regular flight and hotel bookings, BigBreaks specializes in offering customized package deals to its customers, the statement said.

13. Indian-American professor develops method to hunt dark matter

• Sukanya Chakrabarti, assistant professor at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, uses waves in the galactic disk to map the interior structure and mass of galaxies.
• An international team of scientists led by an Indian-American professor has discovered a new method that may help in detecting dwarf galaxies dominated by dark matter and explain ripples in the outer disk of the galaxy.

14.  Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis pair starts 2016 with Brisbane International title

• The Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis, the No.1-ranked team in the world, won their first title of the new year beating German wildcards Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic 7-5, 6-1 at the Brisbane International.
• Continuing their red-hot form from the last year, the top-seeded Indo-Swiss pair took little more than one hour to win the match in straight sets to capture 2016’s first doubles title.
• Mirza and Hingis have won six titles in this run, at the US Open, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Beijing, the WTA Finals and now Brisbane.

15. Rhythm and blues singer Otis Clay Dies at 73

• Rhythm and blues artist Otis Clay, a Blues Hall of Fame musician who also was a community activist on Chicago’s West Side, has died. He was 73.
• The one-time Grammy nominee, inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2013, died of a heart attack.
• Clay’s daughter Ronda Tankson the Associated Press the one-time Grammy nominee died of a heart attack.