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- India has been ranked 79th out of 176 countries in the recently released Corruption Perception Index for the year 2016 by the Berlin-based corruption watchdog Transparency International. The index has been complied by using World Bank data, the World Economic Forum and other institutions.
- President Pranab Mukherjee announced the names of recipients of the 2017 Padma awards, namely the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. He approved the conferment of Padma Awards on 89 persons. The list includes 7 Padma Vibhushan, 7 Padma Bhushan and 75 Padma Shri Awardees. The Padma Awards, the country’s highest civilian awards, are given in various disciplines- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.
- India and France have signed a White Shipping agreement to enable information sharing on maritime traffic and maritime domain awareness in the Indian Ocean Region.
- The former cricketer Rahul Dravid has turned down the honorary doctorate offered by Bangalore University. It was to be conferred on him at the 52nd convocation. He is reported to have said he would like to rather earn the honour by working on an academic project in sports.
- The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea by the Animal Welfare Board of India, Compassion Unlimited Plus Action and animal rights activists to stay the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Bill, 2017 passed by the State Assembly.
- Outdoor caged trials to demonstrate the efficiency of genetically modified mosquitoes to suppress wild female Aedes aegypti mosquito populations that cause dengue, chikungunya and Zika were launched on January 23 in Dawalwadi, Badnapur, in Maharashtra’s Jalna district.
- The Indian Space Research Organisation’s Propulsion Research Complex at Mahendragiri successfully conducted the stage level test of GSLV MK III’s cryogenic upper stage C-25.
- The initial public offer (IPO) of BSE, which closed for subscription on January 25, has been subscribed 51.15 times with all categories of investors showing strong interest in the first such public issue by a stock exchange in India.
- China is hoping to galvanise two regional trade proposals — the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Free-Trade Agreement of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) — following the formal exit of the U.S. from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP).
- President Donald Trump has ordered the construction of a Mexican border wall — the first in a series of actions this week to crack down on immigrants and bolster national security, including slashing the number of refugees who can resettle in the United States and blocking Syrians and others from “terror-prone” nations from entering, at least temporarily. The orders are among an array of national security directives Mr. Trump is considering issuing in the coming days, according to people who have seen the orders. They include reviewing whether to resume the once-secret “black site” detention programme; keep open the prison at Guantanamo Bay; and designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation.
- Nikki Haley was sworn-in as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, becoming the first Indian American to serve on a Cabinet rank position in any U.S. presidential administration. She is the first woman to be confirmed to Mr. Trump’s Cabinet.
- Japan has successfully launched its first military communications satellite Kirameki-2.
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