12th January 2015 Important Current Affairs Updates

1) Cristiano Ronaldo won FIFA Ballon d'Or award: Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo won the FIFA Ballon d’Or for the second year in a row and the third time in his career, ahead of Argentinean Lionel Messi and Manuel Neuer of Germany, at an impressive ceremony in Zurich. Joachim Low’s feat in guiding Germany to the 2014 FIFA World Cup earned him the Coach-of-the-Year award. Colombian James Rodriguez won the Puskas Award for the goal of the year. Earlier, the FIFpro team of the year was announced with all the three Ballon d’Or nominees finding a place in the chosen XI.

2) Delhi to go to polls on Feb 7, counting on Feb 10: Assembly polls in Delhi will be held on 7th February and counting of votes will take place on 10th February, the Election Commission (EC) on 12 January 2015 said, announcing the much-awaited election schedule. With the declaration of the poll schedule, the EC said the Model Code of Conduct will come into force with immediate effect. The full Commission, comprising Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath and Election Commissioners H S Brahma and Nasim Zaidi, said the notification for the polls will be issued on 14th January while the last date for filing nominations will be 21st January. The last date of scrutiny will be 22nd January.

3) A.S. Kiran Kumar is the new Space Secretary and ISRO chief: A.S. Kiran Kumar is the new Secretary of the Department of Space as also Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation and the Space Commission. Currently Director of the Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad, Mr. Kiran Kumar will head the organisation for three years from the date he assumes charge, according to the order issued by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, Department of Personnel & Training under the Ministry of Personnel & Public Grievances. He is being re-employed on contract basis, it said.

4) Kerala's Idukki becomes first district to join National Optic Fibre Network: Idukki in Kerala has become India's first district to be linked to the National Optic Fibre Network (NOFN), the ambitious government project to offer high-speed broadband connectivity in all the villages in the country. On 12 January 2015, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad made the formal announcement of linking the hilly district with eight block offices and 53 gram panchayats to the network. The fibre was laid by state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam. Government expects to connect 20,000 villages across the country through optic fibre by the end of March. Kerala is scheduled to become fully digitally connected by end-March.

5) S K Sinha appointed Chief Justice of Bangladesh: Justice S K Sinha was appointed Chief Justice of Bangladesh to become the first Hindu to hold the highest judicial post in the Muslim-majority country on 12 January 2015. President Mohammad Abdul Hamid appointed Sinha, the senior most judge of the apex court, as its Chief Justice who will have a term of a little over three years. He is the first non-Muslim to become the country’s top judge.

6) 72nd Golden Globe Awards presented: Coming of age tale "Boyhood" won the coveted Golden Globe for best drama on 11 January 2015, while the quirky period caper "The Grand Budapest Hotel" was the surprise winner for best comedy or musical, in a big upset to awards season front-runner "Birdman." The first major awards for the Hollywood film industry this year were scattered widely among many films, potentially setting up a complex race towards the industry's top honours, the Oscars on Feb. 22.

7) National Youth Day celebrated: January 12 was celebrated as National Youth Day to mark the birth anniversary of social reformer, philosopher and thinker Swami Vivekananda. Union Government in 1984 had declared and decided to observe the birthday of Swami Vivekananda i.e. 12 January as a National Youth Day every year from 1985 onwards.

8) Anirban Lahiri voted 2014 Asian Tour Players' Player of the year: Anirban Lahiri has been voted the 2014 Players’ Player of the Year for his successful exploits on the Asian Tour, where he won two titles and finished second on the Order of Merit.

9) Raghuram Rajan named Governor of the Year in Central Banking Awards 2015: Global magazine Central Banking has honoured Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan with Governor of the Year award for 2015. The judging panel, comprising editorial staff and former central bank governors, cited Rajan's disciplined and focused approach to tackling macroeconomic instability. The Central Bank of the Year title has gone to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. Former Banque de France head Jacques de Larosière was given the Lifetime Achievement Award for his lengthy struggle for monetary order, the magazine said in a statement on 12 January 2015.

10) Idea, Microsoft Mobiles tied up for billing purchases: Microsoft Mobiles, maker of Lumia smartphones, has tied up with Idea Cellular for enabling the telco's 34 million data users to purchases apps and pay for them through monthly bills or prepaid balances. Idea Cellular's customers will be able to make the purchases from Microsoft's Windows Store, the companies said on 12 January 2015.

11) Ramesh Abhishek gets three-month extension as Forward Markets Commission chairman: The ministry of finance has extended the term of the Ramesh Abhishek, chairman, Forward Markets Commission (FMC), a third time for another three months or until it fills up the post, whichever is earlier.