Daily Current Affairs 20 January 2018

Daily Current Affairs 20 January 2018: Your guide for daily General Knowledge Preparation

Dear Readers,

This post contains important current affairs of 20 January 2018. It includes all Major National, International, Business and Sports related current affairs of 20 January 2018. A brief explanation of every current affair is provided to further enhance your general knowledge. Once you have gone through these current affairs we would recommend to you to try 20 January 2018 Current affairs test.

National News

1. Govt announces India’s first-ever ‘Livability Index’

Minister of State Hardeep Singh announced the commencement of ‘Livability Index’ to assess the living standard in 116 cities.
The cities will be assessed on 15 core parameters like governance, social infrastructure, education, employment, health, and safety and security.

2. Indian crypto traders get tax notices

The I-T Dept has sent tax notices after a nationwide survey showed over $3.5 bn (Rs 2,235 crore) worth of transactions were conducted over a 17-month period
The dept has asked people dealing in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to pay tax on capital gains.

3. Rahul Gandhi suggests topics for ‘Mann ki Baat’

Congress President Rahul Gandhi suggested 3 topics for PM Modi’s monthly radio address ‘Mann ki Baat’.
The topics are ‘Get our youth JOBS’, ‘Get the Chinese out of DHOKA-LAM’ and ‘Stop the RAPES in Haryana’.

International News

1. 9 refugees found frozen near Syrian-Lebanon border

The bodies of nine Syrian refugees who crossed into Lebanon were found frozen near the country’s border with Syria.
The bodies were discovered on a people-smuggling route in the Suweiri area.

2. Pakistan needs to change mindset on terrorism : India at UNSC

Indian Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin told the UNSC said Pakistan needs to change its mindset on terrorism which differentiates between good and bad terrorists and refuses to see reason in peace.
Pakistan in response accused India of subversion against it referring to the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav.

3. US govt shuts down as Senate fails to pass new Budget

The US govt officially shut down after the Senate failed to agree on a bill to fund the govt until Feb 16, causing the 4th govt shutdown in 25 years.
Many govt services except the national security and disaster assistance will close down until a new budget is agreed.

Business News

1. Apple named the world’s most admired company for 2018

Technology giant Apple has topped Fortune magazine’s list of the ‘World’s Most Admired Companies’ for 2018.
Amazon has retained its 2nd spot followed by Google’s parent Alphabet.

2. FM Jaitley performs ‘halwa’ ceremony ahead of Budget 2018

The ceremony marks the commencement of the printing process for Budget 2018-19.
The Finance Ministry officials are not allowed to leave the printing press until the Budget is presented in February 1.

3. Banks freeze accounts of top Indian crypto exchanges

SBI, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Yes Bank and ICICI Bank have suspended accounts of top Bitcoin exchanges in India over suspicion of fake transactions.
The banks are verifying current accounts held by India’s top 10 cryptocurrency exchanges including Zebpay, Unocoin and BTCXIndia.

Sports News
1. 360 Indians among 578 players to be auctioned for IPL 2018

The original number of 1,122 players was brought down to 578 after the teams submitted their preferences.
Further, the list features 10 players from Afghanistan.

2. India defeats Pakistan to win Blind Cricket World Cup