1) Pragyan
Ojha's action cleared by BCCI:
--> BCCI has cleared suspended left-arm
spinner Pragyan Ojha's action and he is now eligible to play in first-class
games with immediate effect.
--> The 28-year-old spinner was barred
by the BCCI in December last year following investigations into the elbow
extension during bowling which was found to be more than the permissible limits
by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
2) Alibaba
entered India's e-commerce space with 25% stake in Paytm:
--> Alibaba, the world's biggest and
most valuable ecommerce firm, has finally moved to pitch its flag in India.
--> An Alibaba affiliate, Ant Financial
Services Group, said on 5 February 2015 it had signed a deal to buy a 25% stake
in Indian mobile payments and ecommerce platform Paytm owner One97
Communications.
--> Paytm is the largest mobile wallet
service in India with around 23 million users.
--> It started its services in 2010 and
is valued around $2 billion recently.
3) Cyrus
S Poonawalla named EY entrepreneur of the year:
--> Cyrus S Poonawalla, Serum Institute
of India’s chairman and managing director, who pioneered the development of
affordable life-saving vaccines, was on 5 February 2015 named EY Entrepreneur
Of The Year 2014.
--> K Radhakrishnan, the former chairman
of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) who oversaw the breakthrough
Mangalyaan mission, was honoured with the EY Lifetime Achievement Award.
--> The winners were selected by a panel
of nine, led by Kumar Mangalam Birla.
4) HDFC
Bank raised Rs 9,880 crore via share sale:
--> The country’s largest lender by
market value HDFC Bank on 5 February 2015 raised Rs 9,880 crore in the largest
share sale in the secondary market by a private entity to overseas and domestic
investors through a mix of qualified institutional placement and American
Depository Shares.
--> This is the largest share sale by a
private sector entity and the second largest fund-raising by selling shares in
the secondary market after the bumper Rs. 22,500-crore Coal India issue last
week by the government.
5) Agni
5 Project Director RK Gupta moved out:
--> Project director of nuclear-capable
Agni-V missile programme R.K. Gupta has been moved out, following which he has
complained to the Defence Ministry alleging victimisation.
--> While DRDO sources termed the
transfer as “routine”, the officer has alleged that he was singled out by two
senior officials within the organisation, including former chief Avinash Chander,
who demitted his office on January 31.
6) Kolkata
becomes first WiFi-enabled metro city:
--> Kolkata, West Bengal's capital city,
has become India's first fully WiFi-enabled metro city. Reliance JIO is
reportedly providing the services.
--> The WiFi services will be initially
free of charge. The services inaugurated by the West Bengal chief minister,
Mamta Banerjee have been first made available at Park Street.
--> The WiFi services would enable any
WiFi device users to log on to the internet zone using a password provided.
7) M
O Garg is the new Director General of CSIR:
--> M.O. Garg has assumed charge as
director general of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR),
the government’s research agency.
--> Prior to his present posting, he was
director in Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun.
--> Since May, the post was held by P.S.
Ahuja, who was director, CSIR- Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology.
8) LC
Goyal took charge as the Union Home Secretary:
--> LC Goyal has taken charge as the
Union Home Secretary.
--> He replaced Anil Goswami who had
resigned following a controversy over the arrest of former Union Minister
Matang Sinh in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam.
--> Goyal was appointed by the
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi for two year term.
9) Cristiano
Ronaldo voted best Premier League player:
--> Portuguese football team captain
Cristiano Ronaldo has been voted the best player in the English Premier League,
despite spending just six seasons in the division's 23-year history.
--> According to a survey, Ronaldo was
voted above Thierry Henry and Ryan Giggs who finished in second and third place
respectively.
