GK and Current Affairs Updates

India's second largest domestic stock exchange BSE on Friday said it would hit the market with its initial public offering (IPO) on January 23. 
●    The IPO is expected to be sold in the price band of Rs 800-850 apiece, with existing investors offloading shares worth nearly Rs 1,350 crore through the offer. 
●    BSE has 302 shareholders, including Singapore Exchange and a Citi group unit, who will sell up to 15.4 million shares with a face value of Rs 2 each, the red herring prospectus filed with the market regulator. 
●    The issue will close on January 25. 
●    The Singapore Stock Exchange (4.67 per cent), George Soros-promoted Quantum fund (3.68 lakh shares) and Atticus Mauritius (3.68 per cent) would be among the shareholders who would sell their entire holdings in the exchange. 
●    Deutsche Borse, which holds 4.7 per cent stake in the stock exchange, is not among the selling shareholders. 
●    The Singapore Exchange and Deutsche Borse had acquired 5 per cent stake each in the exchange for a consideration of Rs 200.78 crore each in 2007. 
 

SpaceX launched its first rocket since a big explosion last year, when one of the private spaceflight’s rockets annihilated a $200m satellite in a spectacular and costly setback.
●    Saturday’s launch was SpaceX’s first since September, when a Falcon 9 rocket exploded on its launchpad at Cape Canaveral in southern Florida. 
●    The explosion destroyed the rocket and its payload, an Amos 6 communications satellite that Facebook wanted to use to provide internet to parts of Africa.
●    The accident grounded SpaceX’s fleet of reusable rockets, which had been steadily building a record of landings.
●    On Saturday the Falcon 9 rocket landed successfully on a barge in the Pacific Ocean, the first landing on a new drone ship there, prompting the engineers to burst into cheers.
●    Commissioned by the telecom company Iridium, the rocket carried 10 communications satellites into space, the first of an intended satellite “constellation” the Virginia-based tech giant means to use to replace its current global network of phone and data relays. 
●    Iridium has contracted SpaceX for $468m over seven launches.
 

Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the first Indian batsman to hit 200 sixes in one-day internationals.
●    Dhoni, who relinquished the limited-overs captaincy earlier this month, also slammed his 10th ODI century in the second match of the ongoing series against England in Cuttack.
●    Dhoni was on 93 when he pulled Chris Woakes towards deep square leg on the second ball of the 43rd over. 
●    But the umpire signaled a dead ball as the ball dropped down after hitting the spider cam.
●    However, the 35-year-old wicketkeeper batsman was unfazed as he launched the next ball miles over long on to move to 99 and complete the milestone.
●    Dhoni finally perished on 134, blasting 6 sixes and 10 fours. 
●    Dhoni is now the -fourth leading batsman in the world with most sixes in ODI cricket after Shahid Afridi (351), Sanath Jayasuriya (270), Chris Gayle (238).
 

India has been ranked 60th among 79 developing economies, below neighbouring China and Pakistan, in the inclusive development index, according to a WEF report. 
●    WEF’s ‘Inclusive Growth and Development Report 2017’, released today, said that most countries are missing important opportunities to raise economic growth and reduce inequality at the same time because the growth model and measurement tools that have guided policymakers for decades require significant readjustment.
●    The Inclusive Development Index (IDI) is based on 12 performance indicators. In order to provide a more complete measure of economic development than GDP growth alone, the index has three pillars — Growth and Development, Inclusion and Intergenerational Equity, and Sustainability.
●    Lithuania tops the list of 79 developing economies that also features Azerbaijan and Hungary at second and third positions, respectively. 
●    While India is placed at the 60th spot, many of the neighbouring nations are ahead in the rankings. China is ranked at the 15th position, Nepal (27th), Bangladesh (36th) and Pakistan (52nd).
●    Two BRIC nations, Russia and Brazil, are at 13th and 30th places, respectively. Others in the top ten are Poland (4th), Romania (5th), Uruguay (6th), Latvia (7th), Panama (8th), Costa Rica (9th) and Chile (10th).
 

Placing its largest ever aircraft order, SpiceJet on Friday announced it will buy up to 205 Boeing planes worth $22 billion or Rs 1.5 lakh crore at list price. 
●    The low-cost carrier (LCC) increased its existing order of 55 single aisle B 737-8 by 100 to 155 planes. 
●    An additional 50 planes — mix of wide body and B 737s — have been placed as optional order, taking the total to 205.
●    The 155 planes on firm order will be delivered between 2018 and 2024. The list price of firm order of 100 additional planes placed now is $11billion
●    Asked how the airline will fund this aircraft acquisition, Singh said: "There are several options like sale-and-lease-back and Exim Bank open to us. We will opt for the most economic funding route. There will be no dilution of equity and no debt will be raised in coming years for this order."
●    SpiceJet currently has 32 B-737s and 17 regional jets in its fleet. Singh re-acquired the LCC two years back when it was on the brink of closure.
 

India Meteorological Department (IMD) in the third week of January 2017 announced that 2016 was India’s warmest year ever recorded since the documenting of meteorological records began in 1901.
●    The announcement was made in IMD’s Statement on Climate of India during 2016.
●    During 2016, the average annual mean surface temperature in India was +0.91 degree Celsius above the average recorded between 1961 and 1990.
●    During the year, the weather conditions in India were in line with warmer than normal climate observed globally.
●    Before 2016, the warmest year on record was recorded in 2009 when annual mean temperature was +0.77 degree Celsius above average.
●    2016 was warmer than 2015 by 0.240 Celsius.
●    The 2016 annual rainfall over the country as a whole was 91 per cent of Long Period Average (LPA) value for the period 1951-2000.
●    The annual rainfall deficiency was mainly due to the significantly below average rainfall during the winter and northeast monsoon seasons.
 

Mona Meshram will replace injured Smriti Mandhana in the Indian team for the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers to be played next month in Colombo, the BCCI said on Saturday.
●    Smriti sustained an injury while playing in the Big Bash League in Australia and Mona will replace her in the 14-member Indian squad to be led by Mithali Raj.
●    “BCCI medical team confirms that Smriti Mandhana is ruled out of the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers to be played in Colombo from February 7, 2017. 
●    She sustained an injury during the Big Bash League in Australia,” the BCCI said in a release.
●    “Mona Meshram will replace Smriti in the 14 member squad,” it said.
●    India have been placed in Group A alongside Sri Lanka, Ireland, Zimbabwe and Thailand in the February 3-21 event. Group B comprises South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Scotland and PNG.
●    India will play a warm-up match against South Africa before their opening Qualifier against Sri Lanka on February 7.
 

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on 19 January 2017 declared Dharamsala town of Kangra district as the second Capital of the State.
●    Dharamsala is located at some 250 km from the state capital Shimla. It has its own significance and history to make it the second capital of the state.
●    This announcement is significant as 25 out of 68 assembly seats of the state fall in Kangra, Una and Hamirpur districts and Dharamsala was important for lower areas of Himachal Pradesh including Kangra, Chamba, Hamirpur and Una districts. 
●    The people of these areas will now be benefitted of this special status as now they will no longer travel longer distance to Shimla for their work.
●    Dharamsala is a city in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh and was formerly known as Bhagsu. Kangra is the largest district in the state with 15 of 68 assembly seats.
 

The 10th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) is all set to begin tomorrow with Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, veteran lyricist Gulzar, American poet Anne Waldman and spiritual writer Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, inaugurating the five-day event. 
●    Touted to be world's largest free literary festival, this year JLF has been themed on "The Freedom to Dream: India at 70" and will see over 250 authors, thinkers, politicians and popular culture icons engaging in stimulating discussions and sessions at the historic Diggi Palace here.
●    The opening session will see Sadhguru, Founder of Isha Foundation in conversation with Sanjoy Roy, the festival director, during which he will discuss his latest book "Inner Engineering - a Yogi's Guide to Joy". 
●    The bestselling book offers readers a "sophisticated" guide to self-empowerment and a means to create a framework of inner balance and well being, based on the science of yoga. 
 

The Indian passport in the third week of January 2017 was ranked 78th in a global ranking of the world’s most powerful passports. The visa-free score of India is 46.
●    The list was topped by Germany with a visa-free score of 157. On the other hand, Singapore overtook South Korea and became the highest ranked Asian passport with a visa-free score of 156.
●    Pakistan and China ranked 94 and 66 in the list respectively.
●    The least powerful passport in the ranking was Afghanistan with a visa-free score of only 23.
●    An Indian passport is issued by the President of India to citizens of the Republic of India for travelling abroad.
●    It enables the bearer to travel internationally.
●    It also serves as proof of Indian citizenship as per the Passports Act (1967).
●    The Consular Passport & Visa (CPV), Division of the Ministry of External Affairs, is responsible for issuing Indian passports on demand to all eligible Indian citizens.
●    As of November 2014, around 60 million Indians hold valid passports.