1.    U S President flight’s to
New Delhi to attend Republic Day 

i. U S President Barack Obama  departure
to New Delhi to attend the Republic Day Parade. His visit to Taj Mahal is
cancelled.

ii. The White House said that
Obama will be accompanied by the First Lady Michelle Obama and a delegation
that will include several top officials.
iii. On
his arrival, the US President will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the
Rashtrapati Bhawan by President Pranab Mukherjee and will also meet Prime
Minister Narendra Modi.

2.   National
Girl Child day observed today

i. National
girl child day is celebrated every year on 24th of January as a
national observance day for the girl child.

ii. National
Girl Child Day celebration was started by the Women and Child Development
Ministry since 2008 to celebrate as the national observance.

iii. The
purpose of this day is to focus attention on the depleting female to male ratio
and take a stand on issues of female foeticide, domestic violence and
malnutrition in children

iv. It is
celebrated to increase the awareness among people about all the inequalities
faced by the girl child in the society, which includes many areas like
inequality in education, nutrition, legal rights, medical care, protection,
honour, child marriage and so many.

3.   Former Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra impeach

i. Former Thailand Premier Yingluck Shinawatra was impeached by an
army-backed parliament.

ii. The
impeachment was followed by the ban of the Yingluck Shinawatra from politics
for five years.

iii. Yingluck
is the first Prime Minister to be impeached by parliament in Thailand’s
history. The impeachment was a result of an allegation for failing to stop
corruption in rice-pledging scheme.

Note: i. Yingluck Shinawatra is a Thai businesswoman and politician. She is a
member of the Pheu Thai Party, and the 28th Prime Minister of Thailand
following the 2011 general election.

ii. Yingluck
was Thailand’s first female Prime Minister at the time and its youngest Prime
Minister in over 60 years.

4.  Book
authoured by late Dr K Anji Reddy released

i. An Unfinished Agenda: My Life in the
Pharmaceutical Industry’, a book written by Late Dr K Anji Reddy (1941-2013),
founder-Chairman of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd, was released here on Friday.

ii. “The book is not just about himself but
about all those who is known to him. We were very glad that we could give a
draft of his book to him one week before his demise. He was very glad,” he
said.

5.  India’s foreign exchange reserves hit
all-time high at $322.14 billion

i. India’s
foreign exchange reserves reached high to 322.135 billion US Dollars for the
week ended January 16.

ii. RBI data shows that the reserves jumped by
2.66 billion US Dollars to reach 322.135 billion dollars during the week.

iii. Strong FII inflows and reduction in import
burden due to a record fall in oil prices have led to accumulation of the
record forex reserves. 

6.   National Awards for Bravery to 24 children

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented the
National Awards for Bravery to 24 children in New Delhi.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister
said that the brave deeds done by these children are proof that God has kept in
everyone an element that inspires to live for others.

Note:  The
Bravery Award Scheme was started by the Indian Council for Child Welfare to
give due recognition to the children who distinguish themselves by performing
outstanding deeds of bravery and meritorious service and to inspire other
children to emulate their examples.

7.   Mumbai’s dabbawalas honoured today

i. A three day
philately exhibition MUMBAIPEX 2015 has begun at the Mumbai GPO on Friday,
showcasing various aspects of shared heritage and culture.

ii. Mumbai Dabawalas deliver nearly 2 lakh
lunch boxes to offices every day. 

iii. Complementing the Dabbawalas for rendering
a valuable service to the society Zagade said that the logistics management
adopted by Mumbai Dabbawala’s is so sophisticated that it has become part of
Management Studies in reputed institutions.

iv. The accurate delivery system of Mumbai
Dabbawalas was a case study at the Indian Institute of Management as well as
the Harvard Business School.

8.   India declares national mourning as tribute
to Saudi King Abdullah

i. India has declared national mourning today
as a mark of respect to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia who died yesterday. 
ii. An official release said, the national flag will be flown at half mast
throughout the country and there will be no official entertainment during the
day.