CURRENT AFFAIRS 2017

Current Affairs: 7 January 2017

Published on Saturday, January 07, 2017

Virat Kohli named captain of Indian ODI, T20I teams 

• Virat Kohli has been named India's limited-overs captain following a meeting of the selection committee on Friday to announce the squad for the England series beginning January 15. 
• Former skipper MS Dhoni has been included as wicketkeeper-batsman in the squad, which also features Yuvraj Singh. 
• Suresh Raina has been named in the T20I squad but has been excluded from ODIs. 

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Michelle Obama selects Indo-American for education campaign

• US First Lady Michelle Obama has selected a 16-year-old Indian-American to serve in the inaugural Student Advisory Board of the 'Better Make Room' education campaign. 
• Swetha Prabakaran, the only Indian-American on the list, has been chosen in recognition of her efforts to educate the youth in computer sciences. 
• She has previously been honoured as a White House Champion of Change. 

Sir Tim Barrow appointed as Britain's EU ambassador 

• UK's government has appointed career diplomat Sir Tim Barrow as its ambassador to the EU.
• The office of Britain's PM Theresa May said that Barrow is a seasoned and tough negotiator who will bring energy to Brexit talks.
• The former ambassador Sir Ivan Rogers had resigned after accusing the government of "ill-founded arguments and muddled thinking" over the Brexit negotiation.

World Book Fair begins in Delhi from Jan 7 

• The World Book Fair which is being organised in the national capital from January 7-15 at Pragati Maidan, 
• The fair will have 'Manushi' as the theme of the year and will focus on writings on and by women. 
• Prominent writers and scholars such as Kailash Satyarthi and Hemant Singh Katoch 

Norway to become first country to switch off FM radio 

• Norway is set to become the first nation to switch off its FM radio network, with the parliament approving a proposal to shift to Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB). 
• This was opposed by 66% Norwegians over concerns that they may miss emergency warnings broadcasted via radio. 
• The shutdown will begin on January 11 in the northern city of Bodoe. 

30 Indian-origin men, women in Forbes list of super achievers

• Over 30 Indian-origin innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders have been featured in the 2017 edition of Forbes' list of super achievers under the age of 30 who seek to break the status quo and transform the world.
• The Forbes list has 30 game changers in 20 industries including healthcare, manufacturing, sports and finance.
• The 600 in the list are "challenging the conventional wisdom and rewriting the rules for the next generation of entrepreneurs, entertainers, educators and more. They are passionate and formidable bunch, and for good reason. Their goal is nothing short of breaking the status quo and transforming the world." 

Arun Jaitley chairs 16th meeting of Financial Stability and Development Council 

• The government expects its measures on elimination of the shadow economy and tax evasion to have a positive impact on GDP and fiscal consolidation in the long run, finance minister Arun Jaitley said while chairing the Sixteenth Meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC). 
• The Council, which has heads of all financial sector regulators as its members, reviewed the major issues and challenges facing the economy in its 16th meeting held