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MumbaiWiFi launched with 500 WiFi Hotspots across city

Maharashtra government on 9 January 2017 launched India’s largest public WiFi service called 'MumbaiWifi'.  
●    The facility was inaugurated by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai.
●    The facility will initially provide 500 wifi hotspots across different locations like Vidhan Bhawan, Bombay High Court, Kalanagar in Bandra and Mumbai Police Commissioner’s office.
●    Fadnavis described the service as an important step towards digital empowerment. 
●    During the trial period in last week of December 2016, about 23000 users across the city signed up and downloaded more than 2 TB of data.
●    He also reiterated the government’s commitment to providing 1200 WiFi hotspots by 1 May 2017.

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Cristiano Ronaldo wins FIFA Best Player Award

Ace Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo on 9 January 2017 was honoured with the Best FIFA Men’s Player 2016 award in Zurich, Switzerland.
●    Also, the votes from over 45000 players around the world selected the FIFA FIFPro World11 as the dream team of 2016.
●    The Best FIFA Women’s Player 2016: Carli Lloyd
●    The Best FIFA Men’s Coach 2016: Claudio Ranieri
●    The Best FIFA Women’s Coach 2016: Silvia Neid
●    The FIFA Puskas Award 2016: Mohd Faiz Subri
●    FIFA Fan Award 2016: Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool supporters
●    FIFA Fair Play Award 2016: Atletico Nacional
●    FIFA Award for an Outstanding Career: Alessandro Rosa Vieira
●    Cristiano Ronaldo is a Portuguese professional footballer.
●    He plays for Spanish club Real Madrid and the Portugal national team.
●    He is a forward and captains the national team.

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PM Modi and Abe sign MoU in the field of outer space

India and Japan on Friday signed 10 agreements, including the landmark civil nuclear accord, following the annual bilateral summit headed by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe in Tokyo.
●    The new agreement provides for bilateral cooperation in the field of nuclear energy.
●    A memorandum of cooperation (MoC) was signed between India's Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on the manufacturing skill transfer promotion programme.
●    A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between ISRO and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on cooperation in the field of outer space.
●    Another MoC was signed between India's Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, and Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
●    An MoU signed between National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation.
●    Another MoU between India's Ministry of Textiles and the Japan Textiles Products Quality and Technology Centre (QTEC).

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India & Portugal to work out a co-production agreement in Films Sector 

India and Portugal have agreed to work out modalities for a co-production agreement in the Film Sector.  The agreement would be framed in a time-bound manner keeping in mind the legal aspects of such an agreement.  
●    A possibility of an MoU between the Public Broadcasters of both the Countries to share best practices and seek cooperation in Technical and Content related matters was also discussed. The discussions took place during a meeting between Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore and Portugal Minister of Culture, Mr. Luis Filipe Castro Mendes today in New Delhi.
●    During the deliberations, Col. Rathore apprised the Portuguese Minister on the initiatives taken by Ministry of I&B to provide Single Window clearances for Foreign Film Producers in the country through the Film Facilitation Office.  He also highlighted the prestigious National Film Heritage Mission of the Government to Digitise, Restore, Preserve the rich filmic heritage of the Country.
●    Speaking on the occasion, the Minister also apprised the Portuguese Minister about the IIMC and FTII as the premier educational institutes in the field of Journalism and Film Production respectively in the country. The Ministers also discussed the possibility of Student Exchange programmes between educational institutions of both the countries. Ministers also expressed interest for possible co-operation in the areas of Renewable energy, information and communication technology and Start-ups.
●    The scheduled meeting of Prime Minister of Portugal with the film fraternity at Goa on 12th January 2017, organized by FICCI was also discussed where in many Indian Producers have also been invited.
●    The Ministers also expressed interest in sharing of experiences and best practices in Social Media to enhance the outreach.

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Two-day 20th National Conference on e-Governance concludes in Visakhapatnam 

The two day National Conference on e-Governance concluded in Visakhapatnam today. The Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology and Law & Justice Shri P.P. Chaudhary chaired the valedictory session of the 20th National Conference on e-Governance. Addressing on the occasion, Shri P.P. Chaudhary said that there is a need for bridging the digital divide between the urban and rural areas. He said the Union government promotes research and development and innovative eco-system of Information Technology and also encourages acquisition of the Intellectual Property Rights by Indians.
●    The Minister further said that Cyber Security is the need of the hour and artificial intelligence will provide solutions to the problem of cyber security. There is also need for development of Nano technology and Nano electronics which helps for imparting value based education based on Mission mode Nano Electronics. India will be in a position to manufacture electronics devices and products in the country very soon, he added.
●    Shri P.P. Chaudhary also said that Andhra Pradesh is a pioneer in providing 725 e-governance services in rural areas. Government is committed for inclusive development through e- governance and providing several services to the citizens namely ration cards in public distribution system, passports, driving licenses and Voter IDs on the click of a button through mobile phones. 
●    The Prime Minister’s vision of Digital India can be achieved through e- governance, he added. The Minister said there is a need for use of technology into making a 3D animation form in various languages and its application in medical, Higher and professional education that would enhance the learning capabilities of the students. Shri P.P. Chaudhary said the linking of the AADHAAR Cards has helped the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and the beneficiaries get their financial benefits directly to their bank accounts.
●    On the occasion Shri P.P. Chaudhary gave away the awards to the winners. National Awards for e-Governance 2016-17 were presented in two types of awards for each category. 

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IIT Kharagpur alumnus Parag Havaldar wins Technical Oscar Award

IIT Kharagpur alumnus Parag Havaldar on 9 January 2017 won the prestigious Technical Achievement Award, popularly called the Technical Oscar which is awarded by the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences.
●    He was awarded for the development of expression-based facial performance-capture technology at Sony Pictures Imageworks.
●    He will be awarded a certificate from the Academy at Beverly Hills on 11 February 2017.
●    Parag Havaldar graduated from IIT-Kharagpur in 1991 with a degree in computer science and engineering. 
●    Presently, he is a software supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks leading the team in the area of performance capture. 
●    The technology developed by him and his team is being used to create stylized character animations.
 

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French agency to help Team Indus on its lunar project


The national space agency of France will ink a pact with the Bengaluru-based Team Indus on Monday, to mount cameras on the rover that the aerospace start-up plans to send to the moon this December.
●    The Centre National d’études Spatiales (CNES) of France will ink a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Team Indus, which is the lone participant from India in the Google Lunar XPRIZE competition to develop low-cost methods of robotic space exploration. 
●    The MoU will be signed during the visit of French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault to Bengaluru.
●    The CNES will also strike a new partnership deal with the Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) for cooperation in satellite launch technology, during Ayrault’s visit to Bengaluru. 
●    ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar and CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall will sign the document. 
●    Ayrault, who also holds the portfolio for international development in the French government, will visit India from January 8 to 11. 


 

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SEBI to allow MF buying through wallets

Capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is set to allow purchase of mutual fund (MF) units through digital wallets and electronic payment applications.
●    Although most transactions in the Rs 16.5-lakh-crore MF industry don’t involve cash, the move to allow payments through digital wallets could give a fillip to distribution and reach for these investment vehicles. 
●    According to sources, allowing MF investments through digital wallets is part of Sebi’s next board meeting agenda. 
●    The board meeting will take place on January 14 in Jaipur.
●    Sebi has had extensive discussions with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other industry players such as fund houses and electronic wallet operators such as Paytm, Freecharge and Mobikwik on the proposal.
●    The default limit on e-wallet, also known as semi-closed prepaid payment instrument, was recently doubled to Rs 20,000 a month by the RBI.
●    The limit is higher at Rs 1 lakh for KYC-compliant users.
●    Sebi is looking to allow investors to buy MFs units worth up to Rs 50,000 through electronic wallets.
 

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Golden Globes 2017 awards given

Damien Chazelle’s daring, magical musical “La La Land” swept its way through the Golden Globes on Sunday night, winning all seven of its nominated categories: best picture comedy/musical, lead actor honors for Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, and awards for director, screenplay, song and score.
●    In doing so, it broke the record shared by two 1970s movies: “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Midnight Express,” both of which won six Globes, including one category — acting debut — that no longer exists.
●    Now, naysayers could grouse and note that “La La Land” was off by its lonesome in the comedy/musical categories, separated from the other two awards season front-runners, 
●    With Oscar ballots out now with voters, the Globes ceremony offered plenty of evidence — beyond the record-breaking number of trophies — that “La La Land,” a film sporting two romantic, struggling artists at its core, has become the movie of the moment in a way that usually translates into academy gold.
 

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Banks asked to obtain PAN from account holders

The Union Finance Ministry on 8 January 2017 amended the Income-tax Rules, 1962 to allow banks to obtain and link PAN or Form No 60 in all existing bank accounts by 28 February 2017.
●    The amended rules are referred as Income-tax (33rd Amendment) Rules, 2016.
●    Earlier in December 2016, RBI mandated that no withdrawal will be allowed from the accounts having significant deposits, if PAN or Form No 60 is not provided in respect of such accounts. 
●    This means that the banks will be required to provide details of cash deposits of Rs 2.5 lakh or more in individual accounts. 
●    In case of current accounts, banks and post offices will have to furnish details of accounts where deposits are 12.5 lakh and above.
●    It has also been provided that people, who are required to obtain PAN or Form No 60, should record the PAN in all the documents and reports submitted to the Income-tax Department.


 

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