31 JANUARY UPDATES

• Centre for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS), Mumbai was selected for the National Communal Harmony Awards 2013 in the organisation category. In the individual category award,Mohinder Singh of Delhi and N Radhakrishnan of Kerala were selected.
• India launched a Gandhi Portal named Search for Gandhi in London. With this India aims to popularize Mahatma Gandhi among children of British Indians settled in UK. The portal is meant for children aged 6 to 15 and will use audios, videos, creatively integrated facts, games and quizzes.
• India Post announced to install as many as 3000 Automated Teller Machine (ATM) and 1.35 lakh micro-ATMs by September 2015. The facility will be available for savings account holders of post offices across the country.
• Union Government raised the quota of subsidised LPG cylinders to 12 cylinders per household in a year.The hike will be effective from April 2014. Union government had also decided to put on hold linking the Aadhaar platform to the Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG (DBTL) scheme.
• Organisers of Oscars withdrew the song Alone Yet Not Alone from the Best Song Nomination category. The rare and historical move came following the composer Bruce Broughton emailing voting members to highlight his candidacy, which is strictly banned for Academy executives.
• The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2014 was released. As per the Index, India was ranked 155 out of 178 countries with an index score of 31.23 points in its efforts to address environmental challenges.
• The Union Cabinet approved the second phase of Bangalore Metro Rail Project to improve public transport system and provide additional public transport infrastructure in the city. It is named asNamma Metro and will cover a distance of 72 kilometer in the second phase.
• Russia and China will conduct their first ever naval war games in the Mediterranean Sea from 1 February 2014. The joint naval drill, involves Russia’s heavy nuclear missile cruiser Peter the Greatand Chinese frigate Yancheng.
• A team of scientists have created Water-Jet printer. The printer was created by the team of scientists at Jilin University of China. These new water-jet printer use water instead of ink. The used paper fades back to white within a day, which enables it to be reused.
• MS Dhoni became the first captain to be involved in four tied One Day International matches. Indian cricket team captain achieved this feat in Auckland, while playing third ODI match against New Zealand.