• National

South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa to be Chief Guest at 2019 R-Day Parade

• South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa will be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day Parade 2019.
• To grace the celebrations, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa accompanied by first lady Dr Tshepo Motsepe and a high-level delegation including nine ministers, senior officials and a 50-member business contingent will have a two-day India visit.
• It will be Ramaphosa’s first India tour as the head of the state.
• He is the second President of South Africa after Nelson Mandela to be the Chief Guest at the parade.

• National

e-Courts services through CSCs launched

• The Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice, decided to deliver e-Courts services to the litigant public through the 2 lakh Common Service Centres (CSCs).
• No fee will be charged from the customers for e-Courts related services delivered through CSCs.
• The aim of the e-Courts is to provide efficient and time-bound access to the Courts services to the litigant public.

• International

Sultan Abdullah named as King of Malaysia

• Sultan Abdullah was elected as Malaysia’s new King on 24 January 2019, following the abdication of Sultan Muhammad V in January 2019.
• He is the ruler of the Malaysia state of Pahang.
• He will have a five-year term.
• He is the current President of the Asian Hockey Federation and a council member of FIFA, the world football body.

• Sports

Johan Botha retires from all forms of cricket

• Former South Africa all-rounder Johan Botha has announced his immediate retirement from all forms of cricket.
• Botha’s Australian Twenty20 league team, the Hobart Hurricanes, announced the news.
• The 36-year-old Botha, who received his Australian citizenship in 2016, failed to take a wicket during nine-wicket loss to the Sydney Sixers.
• Botha played for South Africa in five Test matches, 78 one-day internationals and 40 T20 Internationals from 2005 to 2012.
• Botha captained the Proteas in 10 ODIs and took the team to the No. 1 ranking after they defeated Australia 4-1 in Australia in 2009.

• Appointments

Parthasarathi Mukherjee to head Lakshmi Vilas Bank for another two years

• Private sector Lakshmi Vilas Bank has reappointed Parthasarathi Mukherjee as its managing director.
• He will hold the position another two years from January 25.
• Reserve Bank of India has approved his reappointment.
• Mukherjee joined the bank on January 25, 2016, for three years and had brought positive changes initially before the piling up bad loans hit profitability.

• Appointments

Karthyani appointed as Goodwill Ambassador

• The Commonwealth of Learning appointed 96-year-old Karthyayani Amma as their goodwill ambassador on 22 January 2019.
• She bagged the first rank in the ‘Aksharalaksham’ literacy exam conducted by the Kerala government in November 2018.
• Commonwealth of Learning is a Canada-based organisation which works for the promotion of education in Commonwealth countries.

• Appointments

Ronojoy Dutta named new Indigo CEO

• InterGlobe Aviation Limited, which owns and operates low-cost airline IndiGo, appointed Ronojoy Dutta as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on 24 January 2019.
• He joined IndiGo airlines in December 2018 as the principal consultant.
• He was the President of United Airlines.
• Indigo airlines also appointed M. Damodaran as an independent Non-Executive Director and the Chairman of the board.

• Important Days

National Voters’ Day celebrated across the country

• Today, India is celebrating National Voters Day across the country.
• This year, India marks the 9th edition of the National Voters Day.
• The National Voters Day is celebrated all over the country on January 25 every year.
• The Indian Election Commission was set up on January 25, 1950. Therefore, since 2011, it has been decided to celebrate National Voters Day on this day.
• The day is celebrated specially to make young voters aware of voting and political response.

• Science and Tech

Technology Mission Centre launched by govt

• Union Minister Harsh Vardhan launched three important centres’ set up by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) at IIT Madras on 25 January 2019.
• The first one is the ‘DST –IITM Solar Energy Harnessing Centre’.
• The second centre is the ‘DST-IITM Water –IC for SUTRAM of EASY WATER’.
• The third centre is the ‘Testbed on Solar thermal desalination solutions.

• Obituaries

Krishna Sobti, a legendary Hindi writer, passes away

• Krishna Sobti, a legendary Hindi writer, passed away early this morning in Delhi. She was 93.
• Born in February 1925 in Gujarat- Punjab, now a province in Pakistan, Sobti began her writings in poetry and then went on to write fiction which won her several awards.
• Sobti was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1980 and the Jnanpith award in 2017 for her contribution to Indian literature.
• Sobti has also received the Shiromani Award in 1981 and Hindi Academy Award in 1982.
• In 2018, she released her autobiographical novel — ‘Gujarat Pakistan se Gujarat Hindustan’.

• Miscellaneous

Government launches new norms for JSS

• The government of India unveiled new guidelines for Jan Shikshan Sansthans (JSS) on 24 January 2019.
• The new norms are expected to help identify and promote traditional skills in a district.
• It will also help in the training of trainers to develop skills through National Skills Training Institutes.
• JSS comes under the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.