PM Modi releases Rs 100 commemorative coin in honour of ex-PM Vajpayee

• Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s 94th birth anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a ₹100 commemorative coin in the memory of the former premier.
• The front of the Rs 100 coin features the National Emblem of India along with ‘Satyamev Jayate’ in Devanagari script inscribed below.
• The reverse side of the Rs 100 coin features a portrait of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The former PM’s name is written in both Hindi and English.
  The new Rs 100 coin is an alloy of silver, copper, nickel and zinc.

P.V. Bharathi Appointed MD and CEO of Corporation Bank

•  P V Bharathi has been appointed as managing director and chief executive officer of the Corporation Bank. Bharathi is at present Executive Director, Canara Bank. She will replace Jai Kumar Garg.
• She will take over the charge on or after February 1, 2019. Birupaksha Mishra and Balakrishna Alse S have been appointed as executive director in the Corporation Bank and the Oriental Bank of Commerce, respectively.

Bogibeel Bridge, India’s longest railroad bridge, inaugurated in Assam by PM Narendra Modi

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Bogibeel bridge, India’s longest railroad bridge in Assam. Till now Vembanad rail bridge in Kerala was dubbed as the longest railway-bridge in India at 4.62km of length.
• The 4.94 km structure was built at a cost of Rs. 5900 crores by Indian Railways.
• It is India’s only fully welded bridge for which European codes and welding standards were adhered to for the first time in the country.
• It is also Asia’s 2nd longest rail-and-road connector having a life span of 120 years.
• It will reduce travel time from Assam to Arunachal Pradesh to four hours and will cut out the detour of over 170 km via Tinsukia. It will also cut down train travel between Delhi and Dibrugarh by three hours.

Rafi Award Conferred To Laxmikant And Usha Timothy

• The Mohammed Rafi Award has been bestowed upon late music composer Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar and playback singer Usha Timothy.
• Kudalkar, of the Laxmikant-Pyarelal duo, was given the Mohammed Rafi Lifetime Achievement Award consisting of 1 lakh rupees and a trophy. Timothy was honoured with the award and 51,000 rupees at a programme held in suburban Bandra.

DIPP Swachch Bharat Grand Challenge Awards Presented

• As part of the Swachhta Pakhwada held from, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) organized a Swachch Bharat Grand Challenge. Four areas of sanitation, waste management, water and wastewater management and air management were selected for the grand challenge.
• The 1st Prize money for the Swachch Bharat Grand Challenge was Rs. 2 lakh. The awards were given away by Secretary DIPP, Ramesh Abhishek in New Delhi.
• Sector – Air
  1st Prize
  Maclec technical project laboratory pvt. Ltd, Delhi.
• Sector – Sanitation
  1st Prize
  Altersoft Innovations India Private Limited, Kerala (Cochin).
• Sector – Waste
  1st Prize
  Sanshodhan An E-Waste Exchange Private Limited, Telangana.
• Sector – Water
  1st Prize
  REVY Environmental Solutions Pvt Ltd, Gujarat.

RBI To Soon Release New Rs 20 Note

• The Reserve Bank of India will soon introduce Rs 20 notes with additional features. The reserve bank has already issued new-look currency notes in the denominations of Rs 10, Rs 50, Rs 100, and Rs 500, besides introducing Rs 200 and Rs 2000 notes after demonetisation.
• The new notes are being introduced under the Mahatma Gandhi series. The new currency notes are different in size and design compared to issued previously.