Top 5 Current Affairs: 8 January 2018

18th All India Whips’ Conference: Union Government proposes rolling out e-Sansad and e-Vidhan

The 18th All India Whips’ Conference was inaugurated by Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Chemicals & Fertilizers Ananth Kumar on 8 January 2018 in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The conference will conclude on 9 January 2018.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia was the Chief Guest for the Inaugural Session of the Conference.

During this two-day conference,  Kumar will consider rolling out e-Sansad in Parliament and e-Vidhan in State Legislatures with an aim to digitize and make their functioning paperless.

The Whips’ Conference also aims to deliberate recommendations for smooth and efficient working of Parliament and the State Legislatures in the light of the experience gained by the Whips.

SpaceX launches Secret Zuma Mission for US Government

Private spaceflight company SpaceX on 7 January 2018 launched the secret Zuma Mission for the United States government. SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the secret Zuma spacecraft from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

SpaceX' live webcast did not show video coverage of the Zuma spacecraft after it separated from the first stage of the rocket, but confirmed that the payload was well on its way to low-Earth orbit.

The Zuma mission was originally supposed to be launched in mid-November 2017, but was postponed so that the SpaceX could take a closer look at potential problems with the payload-fairing or the nose cone part of the rocket that protects the payload.

75th Annual Golden Globe Awards announced

The 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards were announced on 7 January 2018, honouring the best Motion Pictures and American Television of 2017. The award ceremony was organized at Beverly Hills, California, United States (US).

This year, 'The Shape of Water' received the most nominations of show with seven, while 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' and 'Big Little Lies' both won the most awards with four each.

Sterling K. Brown became the first African-American actor to win in the best actor in a TV drama category for "This Is Us," and Aziz Ansari was the first Asian actor to win a Golden Globe for best actor in a TV comedy for "Master of None."

Vibrant Khelo India logo launched

Union Minister of  State ( I/C)Youth Affairs and Sports Col Rajyavardhan Rathore launched the vibrant Khelo India logo, reflecting the freshness, agility and vitality of New India at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

The logo also transmits the sense of fitness and competitiveness. The three-stroke Khelo India logo was designed by Ogilvy India. It has in-built modularity, allowing plenty of adaptability and flexibility into endless pictorial forms.

The colour of the Indian flag evokes a sense of National pride and team-work. The logo design is a crowd-sourced idea.

Indian Railways to deploy “Drone” cameras to enhance safety and efficiency in train operations

The Indian Railways has decided to deploy “Drone” cameras (UAV/NETRA) for various railway activities especially maintenance of tracks, project monitoring and other railway infrastructure.

All the zonal Railways have been directed to procure such cameras. This is in-line with Railways’ desire to use technology to enhance safety and efficiency in train operations.

This decision is taken to help railways in various activities especially project monitoring and maintenance of tracks and other railway infrastructure.