• National

Cabinet Approves 10% Job Quota For ‘Economically Weaker’ Upper Castes

• The Union Cabinet approved a 10% reservation for ‘economically backward’ upper castes in government jobs.
• Ahead of the General Elections this year, the government has announced reservation in jobs for those belonging to the upper castes and earning less than Rs 8 lakh per year.
• A bill to amend Article 15 and 16 of the constitution will be moved in Parliament to this effect.

• National

Personal Laws (Amendment) Bill passed in LS

• The Personal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018 was passed in Lok Sabha on 7 January 2019.
• It seeks to remove leprosy as a ground for divorce in five personal laws: Hindu Marriage Act, Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, Divorce Act (for Christians), Special Marriage Act and the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act.
• The Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha in August 2018.

• Sports

Bopanna and Sharan won the Tata Open title

• Rohan Bopanna’s and Divij Sharan have won the ATP tour Tennis title at the Tata Open Maharashtra in Pune on 5 January 2019.
• The defeated Britain’s Luke Bambridge and Jonny O’Maara in the final match.
• It was Bopanna’s 18th ATP tour title while Sharan won his fourth tournament.
• Before this, Bopanna won the Vienna event in October 2017 with Pablo Cuevas.

• Sports

Rani won gold medal in National’s Judo C’Ship

• Lady head constable, Rani of 5th Indian Reserve Battalion of Himachal Pradesh Police won a Gold medal in the Senior National Women’s Judo Championship on 5 January 2019.
• The championship was held in Visakhapatnam.
• She won the gold medal in the 78 kg category.
• She was also declared the best Judoka at the Championship.

• Sports

Roger Federer clinched Hopman Cup

• Switzerland’s Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic won the Hopman Cup on 5 January 2019.
• They defeated Germany’s Angelique Kerber and Alexander Zverev in the final match.
• Roger Federer is the first player to win three Hopman Cups – twice with Bencic and once with Martina Hingis, in 2001.
• The Hopman Cup will be replaced by an ATP tournament in 2020.

• Resignation

Pentagon Chief of Staff Kevin Sweeney Resigns

• In the United States, Department of Defence, Chief of Staff, Rear Admiral Kevin Sweeney has resigned, a month after Defence Secretary James Mattis announced his departure.
• He is now the third senior Pentagon official to announce his resignation since President Donald Trump announced US forces would leave Syria.

• Resignation

Jim Yong Kim Resigns as President of The World Bank

• World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim has made the surprise announcement that he is stepping down after six years in the post.
• His resignation will take effect from 1 February.
• Kim, 59, was not due to leave until 2022 after he was re-elected for a second five-year term in 2017.
• The World Bank stated that he will join a firm and focus on increasing infrastructure investments in developing countries.

• States

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Announces Interest Free Loans for Women SHGs

• Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced interest-free loans of up to Rs. 3 lakhs for women self-help groups (WSHGs) in the state.
• There are around six lakh WSHGs in Odisha.
• He stated the initiative will benefit about 70 lakh women.
• The chief minister also distributed financial assistance of Rs. 3,000 each to six lakh WSHGs as part of the state government’s efforts to digitally empower women.
• During the convention, Mr. Patnaik launched a scheme to distribute Rs. 15,000 seed money per group to three lakh new self-help groups.
• The chief minister announced incentives of Rs. 500 per month for Anganwadi workers and Rs. 200 for helpers.

• States

Monkey fever in Karnakata

• At least six people have died due to Kyasanur forest disease (KFD), also known as ‘monkey fever’, in Shivamogga district of Karnakata.
• KFD is a re-emerging zoonotic disease endemic in Karnataka.
• It is caused by Kyasanur Forest disease virus (KFDV), a member of the virus family Flaviviridae.
• The disease can be transmitted to human via contact with a sick or recently dead monkey.

• Miscellaneous

Polavaram project created a World Record

• The Polavaram multi-purpose irrigation project entered the Guinness Book record in terms of using the highest volume of concrete in a given day.
• The project contractor Navayuga Engineering Company poured 32,100 cubic meters of concrete in the spillway channel within 24 hours.
• The project beat the existing record set in Dubai while building a hotel in May 2017.

• Miscellaneous

NCR launches mobile app for Kumbh Mela

• The North Central Railway (NCR) launched a mobile application to help people navigate through Prayagraj city during Kumbh Mela starting from 15 January 2019.
• The name of the app is ‘Rail Kumbh Seva Mobile App’.
• It will also provide information regarding all the ‘Mela special’ trains that will be run during the period.
• The app will provide a link to the user to buy the train tickets.

• Agreements

AAI Signs MoU With SAMEER for Boosting Communication

• Airports Authority of India (AAI) signed MoU with Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research (SAMEER) for joint research programs in the field of Communication Navigation and Surveillance (CNS).
• The MOU, on the one hand, will provide for the transfer of skill by SAMEER experts in the areas of Radio Frequency, Millimetre Wave and Antenna-related solutions to AAI domain experts, while on the other hand, it will pave way for exposure for the SAMEER researchers to the challenging Aviation field.