Daily Current Affairs, 02nd January 2019

1) 100% Houses in 25 States Electrified Under Saubhagya Yojana

•The country achieved yet another milestone in the power sector with the completion of electrification in 100% households in 25 states at year end. Now, only about 10.48 lakh households are left to be electrified in 4 states – Assam, Rajasthan, Meghalaya andChhattisgarh.

•These states are also taking all concerted efforts to achieve, at the earliest, saturation of household electrification. Since the launch of Saubhagya, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, 74.4 Lakh willing households have been electrified and state government has declared saturation of all 75 districts.

2) Minister Launches 100 Ujjwala Sanitary Napkin Units in Odisha

•Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan launched ‘Ujjwala Sanitary Napkins’ initiative saying it will go a long way in making Odisha’s 2.25 crore women empowered and self-reliant.

•Under the novel initiative, which will cover 93 blocks in 30 districts of Odisha, oil marketing companies (OMC) will set up 100 manufacturing units at the Common Service Centres (CSC) at an estimated cost of Rs 2.94 crore.

3) Jair Bolsonaro Takes Oath As New President of Brazil

•Jair Bolsonaro was sworn in as Brazil’s President in a ceremony at Brazil’s National Congress Building. Bolsonaro is a former Army captain and admirer of the country’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship. 

•Bolsonaro, 63, was a seven-term fringe congressman who rode a wave of anti-establishment anger to became Brazil’s first far-right president since a military dictatorship gave way to civilian rule three decades ago. 

4) US, Israel Quit UNESCO Citing Bias

•The United States and Israel officially quit the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with the close of 2018. The countries had announced their decisions in 2017 of withdrawing from the agency, accusing it of bias against Israel. 

•America has demanded fundamental reform in UNESCO, which was co-founded by it after World War II to foster peace. Israel joined the agency in 1949. It is best known for its World Heritage program, which designates cultural sites and aims to preserve traditions. 

5) Qatar Withdraws From OPEC

•Qatar has withdrawn its membership from Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The country had sent an official notification to the OPEC expressing its wish to pull out and to focus on its liquefied natural gas production in December.

•Qatar has been in OPEC for 57 years. The decision came amid the ongoing diplomatic and economic blockade imposed on the country by its Persian Gulf neighbours and several Arab states.

6) CII Forecasts India’s Economy To Grow 7.5% In 2019

•In its ‘Growth Outlook for 2019’, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) stated that the GDP growth will be in the range of 7.5% in 2019.

•A settled goods and services tax (GST), improving credit availability and capacity expansion from increasing investment in infrastructure are among seven key drivers that will help Indian economy grow 7.5% 2019, the CII stated.

7) Jasprit Bumrah Becomes Highest International Wicket-Taker in 2018

•The 25-year-old fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah became the highest international wicket-taker across formats in 2018. He took a total of 78 wickets in the calendar year. He led the Indian cricket team to a historic victory in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. 

•Bumrah surpassed South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada’s tally of 77 wickets to reach the milestone. While on the third position is Bumrah’s countryman Kuldeep Yadav who took 76 scalps.