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.
