Daily Current Affairs, 19th January 2018

1)  Maharashtra Becomes 1st State to Unveil Public Cloud Policy

•Maharashtra has become the first state in the country that has come out with a public cloud policy, virtually mandating its departments to shift their data storage onto the cloud. This move has created a USD 2- billion opportunity for the industry.

•The announcement was made by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the Maharashtra Technology Summit. The policy will result in additional private sector investments as the government is one of the biggest creators and consumers of data.

2)  India to Set up $350 million Fund to Finance Solar Projects

•As per the Power Minister RK Singh, India will set up a $350-million fund to finance solar projects as the country steps up efforts to achieve its ambitious target of adding 175 gigawatts (GW) in renewable energy by 2022.

•The annpouncement was made at an event organised by the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Installed renewable power capacity is currently about 60 GW, and India plans to complete the bidding process by the end of 2019/20 to add a further 115 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2022.

3)  India Ratings Projects Economic Growth at 7.1% Next Fiscal

•India Ratings and Research has projected the country’s economic growth to improve to 7.1 percent in 2018-19 from 6.5 percent in 2017-18, buoyed by robust consumption demand and low commodity prices.

•In its outlook for 2018-19, according to the agency, there will be a gradual pickup in growth momentum owing to structural reforms like GST and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code in place. The projection is a tad lower than 7.4 percent growth estimated by Asian Development Bank and International Monetary Fund for next fiscal.

4)  Facebook Appoints its 1st African-American Member to Board

•Facebook has appointed outgoing American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault to its board, making him the first African-American to be on the board.

•Chenault serves on the Boards of IBM and Procter & Gamble and is also a Harvard Law School graduate.

5)  WhatsApp Unveils Business App for Android

•Facebook-owned instant messaging platform WhatsApp has rolled out a feature that connects small businesses with customers. Currently, only Android users can access the feature and they can avail of it through the latest update of the app.

•The new feature will be available first in Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, UK and the US before being launched globally in the coming weeks.

6)  Virat Kohli Named Captain of ICC’s Test and ODI Teams of the Year

•Virat Kohli was named the captain of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test and One-Day International (ODI) teams of the year that included four other Indians as well. Kohli scored 2,023 runs at 77.80, including eight centuries and three half-centuries in 18 matches during the qualification period.

•He surprisingly pipped Australian skipper Steve Smith for the ICC’s Test team captaincy. The Test team also comprises Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravichandran Ashwin. Kohli, the Winner of the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy and ODI Cricketer of the Year awards, was chosen to lead the ICC ODI team, which includes Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah as the other two Indians.