Daily Current Affairs: 25 January 2015

1) LK Advani, Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar among Padma Vibhushan awardees: Former Deputy Prime Minister and BJP veteran L K Advani, film stars Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal are among the nine personalities who have been selected for Padma Vibhushan this year. Twenty personalities including Constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap, lawyer Harish Salve, Microsoft Chief Bill Gates and his wife Melinda, journalists Rajat Sharma and Swapan Dasgupta will be conferred with Padma Bhushan. Film maker Sanjay Leela Bhansali is among the 75 personalities who have been selected for Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines including art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, and sports, every year on the occasion of Republic Day. Check full list: http://goo.gl/h1emql

2) Barack Obama arrived in India for 03 day visit: U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in India on 25 January 2015 on his historic 3-day visit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke with protocol to meet the President as he landed in New Delhi. Obama becomes the first sitting U.S. president to visit India twice. Obama has already made a state visit of India during November 2010. Obama will also become the first American President to become Chief Guest at India’s Republic Day Celebrations.

3) PM Modi congratulated bankers for Jan Dhan Yojana’s success: Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has sent an email to all bankers, congratulating them on the success of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. In the email, the Prime Minister said that the target set for opening bank accounts has surpassed well ahead of the target date of 26th of January this year. He said, by opening 11.5 crore new accounts in a very short span, the country achieved a coverage of 99.74 per cent of all households in the country. The Prime Minister said there is need to redouble efforts on financial literacy and linking of Aadhaar needs to improve further.

4) For the first time, woman officer leads Guard of Honour at Rashtrapati Bhavan: Wing Commander Pooja Thakur became the first woman to lead the ceremonial Guard of Honour which was inspected by the U.S. President Barack Obama at Rashtrapti Bhavan on 25 January 2015. Wing Commander Thakur belongs to the administrative branch of the Indian Air Force and is currently posted at ‘Disha’, the publicity cell under the Directorate of Personnel Officers at the Air Force Headquarters. She hails from Rajasthan and is active in para-jumping and adventure sports.

5) Zambia's new president Edgar Lungu sworn into office: Zambia's new President Edgar Lungu was sworn in on 25 January 2015 to become the country's sixth president after narrowly winning a vote rejected by the opposition. Lungu placed his hand on a bible to pledge allegiance to the people of Zambia in front of thousands of jubilant supporters, regional heads of state and diplomats.

6) Saina Nehwal defeated Carolina Marin to retain Syed Modi Grand Prix: Saina Nehwal staged a scintillating comeback to defeat reigning world champion Carolina Marin of Spain and retain the women's singles title, while Parupalli Kashyap beat K Srikanth in an all-India final to win men's singles crown of the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament on 25 January 2015. India's third seed Parupalli Kashyap defeated top seed and compatriot Kidambi Srikanth to win the men's singles title of the $120,000 Syed Modi International Badminton Championships.

7) National Voters Day observed: Fifth National Voters’ Day (NVD) was observed on 25 January 2015. Theme of this year was Easy Registration, Easy Correction. On this occasion, awards for best electoral practices are given to Chief Electoral Officers and District Election Officers. Media houses and civil society organisations are also given awards for best campaign in Voters’ Education and Awareness.

8) US, India signed pact for developing smart cities in Ajmer, Allahabad & Visakhapatnam: India on 25 January 2015 signed three agreements with the US for developing smart cities in Ajmer, Allahabad and Visakhapatnam, with the government saying that the agreements would make significant contribution to building such cities in the country. The agreements were signed by the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) with state governments of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh in the presence of Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu.

9) World Leprosy Day observed: World Leprosy Day was observed internationally on 25 Jnauary 2015. The day was observed internationally on January 26 or its nearest Sunday.

10) India and US announced nuclear 'breakthrough' after Modi-Obama talks: India and the United States reached an agreement on 25 January 2015 to break a deadlock that has been stalling the implementation of a landmark civilian nuclear deal between the world’s two largest democracies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India was moving towards commercial cooperation on civil nuclear trade with the United States, six years after the two sides signed the deal.