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CURRENT EVENTS
WORD OF THE NEWS : “ JALLIKATTU ”
Meaning : A traditional sport played in rural parts of Tamil Nadu as a part of harvest festivals . Bulls are often reared especially for the game . It is a competition of strength between man and bull . If the bull loses , it is used for tilling the soil in the fields . If it wins , it is sent for breeding to ensure continuity of the species .
WHY WAS IT IN NEWS ?
The Supreme Court of India , on the plea of Animal Welfare organizations put a ban on the sport , citing animal cruelty as a reason . Supporters of Jallikattu , led a protest stating that it was a part of a tradition that goes back to over 2000 years . They also argued that there was no question of animal cruelty as the livestock involved in the game are reared , fed and nurtured by a farmer ’ s family and is an essential part of their life .
PERSONS
• The Reserve Bank of India ( RBI ) has appointed Surekha Marandi as its Executive Director ( ED ). She was appointed in place of U S Paliwal who retired on December 31 , 2016 . In her new role , she will look after Consumer Education and Protection Department , Financial Inclusion and Development Department , and Secretary ’ s Department of the RBI .
• President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Prof David R Syiemlieh as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission ( UPSC ) as per Article 316 of Constitution . He will take over from Alka Sirohi and shall remain the head of the organisation till his retirement on January 21 , 2018 or till further orders .
• Delhi Police Commissioner and Senior IPS officer Alok Kumar Verma was appointed as new Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation .
• Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa took charge as the 22nd Chief of the Air Staff ( CoAS ) of the Indian Air Force ( IAF ). He succeeded Arup Raha who retires from the service .
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
• According to the annual 50 Most Innovative Companies survey report published by the management consulting firm BCG ( Boston Consulting Group ), , Apple Inc . has been named as the World ’ s Most Innovative Company in 2016 .
• India was ranked 92nd among 118 countries in the 2017 Global index of talent competitiveness ( GTI ) list . The index measures ability of countries to compete for talent i . e . how countries grow , attract and retain talent . The index is produced by global business school INSEAD in
WINSPIRE : Empowering youth | February , 2017
partnership with Adecco Group and Human Capital Leadership Institute ( HCLI ) of Singapore .
• According to study conducted by rights group Oxfam , India ’ s richest 1 % now hold a huge 58 % of the country ’ s total wealth , indicating the rise of income inequality . It is higher than the global figure of about 50 %. It shows that 57 billionaires in India now have same wealth ($ 216 billion ) as that of the bottom 70 % population of the country . Globally , just 8 billionaires have the wealth as the poorest 50 % of the world population .