Important Current Affairs 31st January 2019

National News

Govt embarks on ambitious programme to ensure 100% electrification of Railways grid in next 5 years 
•    Government has embarked on an ambitious programme to ensure 100 per cent electrification of Railways grid in the next five years.
•    The step will help reduce carbon emissions and supplement the efforts to fight climate change. Mr Goyal was speaking in New Delhi today after he was conferred with Carnot Prize by a US-based Centre for Energy Policy.
•    The award recognizes role of exceptional leaders in advancing mission of cultivating energy policy innovation.

PM Modi dedicates National Salt Satyagraha Memorial to the nation
•    Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated National Salt Satyagraha Memorial to the nation at Dandi village, situated in South Gujarat on Arabian sea coast.
•    At the memorial site, he also unveiled statues of Mahatma Gandhi and 80 Satyagrahis who had marched with him during the historic Dandi Salt March in 1930.
•    A dedication ceremony on Bapu’s death anniversary has acquired special significance as Dandi village is to receive a big push from the government to be developed as a place of national importance and tourist interest like Statue of Unity.

India's 1st Geographical Indication Store opened in Goa
•    Union Civil Aviation minister Suresh Prabhu on Monday inaugurated India's 1st Geographical Indication store at Goa International Airport in Dabolim.
•    The store is located on the first floor on Departure Terminal, and jointly set up by Airports Authority of India and The Cashew Export Promotional Council of India.
•    Union Minister informed that currently there are 270 GI registered products in the country and the store will be a boon for the global tourists.

CBI books Chanda Kochhar, Venugopal Dhoot 
•    The CBI has booked former ICICI Bank CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar and Videocon group MD Venugopal Dhoot in connection with alleged cheating and irregularities in loans sanctioned by the bank to the group in 2012.
•    It is alleged that Videocon promoter Venugopal Dhoot allegedly invested crores of rupees in Nupower months after the Videocon group got Rs 3,250 crore as loan from the ICICI Bank in 2012.
 

International News

US, China begin trade talks in Washington 
•    Top trade officials from the US and China have begun talks in Washington for defusing the escalating tariff war. 
•    The Chinese delegation is headed by Chinese Vice Premier Lie, while the American side is led by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
•    The White House said, US welcomes the Chinese delegation and US President Donald Trump will meet them at the end of the two-days talks.
•    US and China have just a month remaining in a 90-day truce declared in December. Should the talks fail, US import duties on 200 billion dollars in Chinese imports are due to more than double on 2nd March.

South Korea bans single-use plastic bags in supermarkets 
•    The South Korean government ban on the use of disposable plastic bags at big supermarkets came into effect on January 1 in a bid to protect the environment and encourage recycling.
•    The revised law affects about 2,000 supermarkets over 165 square metres in size, all of which used to provide disposable plastic bags for free.