Current Affairs 22nd January 2015

Current Affairs 22nd January 2015

Updated : 22-Jan-2015

Current Affairs 22nd January 2015 - Important Points
Current Affairs 22nd January 2015 - Details
Which mobile messaging service made a Web browser version - WhatsApp
On 21st January 2015, Popular mobile messaging app WhatsApp made a new service live for sending messages from a Web browser, this service will require your mobile to stay connected to the internet to work with the web browser. According to WhatsApp this new messaging service currently only works with Google's Chrome browser and will not be available to iPhone users.

Do You Know :
In 2009, WhatsApp was co-founded by Jan Koum and Brian Acton, both were former Yahoo executives and In Feb 2014 WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook for 19 billion dollars.
Snapdeal signed 50:50 Joint Venture for TV Commerce with - DEN
Among the Business Current Affairs, As per announcement on 20th January 2015by noted e-commerce company Snapdeal, It signed a 50:50 Joint Venture with television distribution company DEN to launch TV Commerce channel DEN Snapdeal TV shop.
With this joint venture Snapdeal aims to create a multi-nodal electronic shopping avenue for customers and it aims to take the DEN TV shop to 100 million households across India over the next 12 months particular in Tier I and Tier II cities.
Which Committee on FCI restructuring submitted its report to PM - Shanta Kumar Committee
On 21st January 2015, Shanta Kumar Committee submitted its report on restructuring of Food Corporation of India (FCI) to the PM Narendra Modi. Department of Food and Public Distribution has been asked by PM to give its comments on the report so that recommendations can be implemented in a time-bound manner.
Eight member High Level Committee chaired by Shanta Kumar was set up on FCI restructuring in August 2014.

Following are the Important Recommendations :
- FCI procurement should focus on eastern belt, where farmers do not get minimum support price.
- FCI should hand over procurement of wheat and rice to six States which include Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
- Grain storage needs to be outsourced to private and government agencies like state-owned Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), State Warehousing Corporations (SWCs) and private organisations.
- Proposed uniform tax of minimum 3 percent and maximum 4 percent on wheat and rice and the same to be included in the minimum support price (MSP). In Punjab, this tax rate on wheat and rice as of now is 14.5 percent.
- To strengthen distribution of foodgrains, there needs to be end-to-end computerisation and a vigilance committee needs to be set up. At present, the leakage in Public Distribution System is estimated at 13.7 percent.
- Recommended cash transfer in 52 cities having 1 million or more population in two years and also asked the government to give deficit states the option of either supplying grain or cash transfer.
- Called for encouraging private investment in logistics in next two-three years and suggested bulk handling of foodgrains through grain trains.
What is full form of HRIDAY - Heritage Development and Augmentation Yojana
On 21st January 2015, National Heritage Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) was launched by Union Ministry of Urban Development with an aim to preserve and rejuvenate the rich cultural heritage of the country.
In intial phase of this scheme Union Government will provide 500 crore rupees to these 12 cities to rejuvenate and develop these heritage cities with an aim to attract more tourists. These cities are :
- Varanasi,
- Amritsar,
- Telangana (Telangana),
- Ajmer,
- Gaya,
- Mathura,
- Kanchipuram,
- Vellankini,
- Tamil Nadu,
- Amaravati (AP),
- Badami (Karnataka),
- Dwaraka (Gujarat) and
- Puri.
Author of book titled Neither a Hawk nor a Dove - Pakistan's Ex-Foreign Minister Khurshid M Kasuri
Book titled "Neither a Hawk nor a Dove" authored by Ex-Foreign Minister of Pakistan Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri will be published by Penguin in India at the end of January 2015. This book was in news as it is based upon the Indo-Pak relations.
Do You Know :
Title of book "Neither a hawk, nor a dove" is based on the then President, Pervez Musharraf statement, who asked him pointedly, “Are you a hawk or a dove in India, Kasuri Sahib?”