Current Affairs 1st January 2015

Current Affairs 1st January 2015 - Important Points

• Planning Commission gets its new name as Neeti Ayog

• Smallest goanna lizard species discovered in Australia

• With inflation at 63 percent Venezuela entered in recession

• NJAC Bill signed by President to change the way judges are appointed

Current Affairs 1st January 2015 - Details

Planning Commission gets its new name as Neeti Ayog

On 1st January 2015, Govt announced the new name of Planning Commission, It will be Neeti Ayog now. Also important to mention here that Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Independence speech that he will be replacing Planning Commission to a new body.

Do You Know : 

Planning Commission was established in 1950.

Smallest goanna lizard species discovered in Australia

On 30th December 2014, Western Australia Museum announced that it has discovered world's smallest goanna lizard species in Kimberley region of Australia.

It we talk about its weight then goanna lizard weighs barely 16 grams. 

With inflation at 63 percent Venezuela entered in recession

Among the important international current affairs, On 30th December 2014, Venezuela entered recession with economic growth shrinking in the first three quarters of 2014. Central bank of Venezuela announced this after economy of Venezuela shrank 2.3 percent in the third quarter after shrinking 4.8 percent in first and 4.9 percent in second quarter respectively.

If we talk about the inflation in Venezuela then it has reached 63 percent which is the highest inflation in the world.

NJAC Bill signed by President to change the way judges are appointed

On 31st December 2014, President President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to the setting up of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), which gives the executive an equal role in the appointment of judges to the highest judiciary, as a constitutional body.

This amendment to make the NJAC a constitutional body for appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and the High Courts was ratified by the legislatures of 15 States recently. 

Do You Know : 

A Constitution Amendment Bill need to be ratified by at least 50 per cent of the Assemblies.