current affairs of January 3rd 2017 for all competitive exams

• David Reid Syiemlieh has been appointed as the chairman of the Union Public Service Commission(UPSC) by president Pranab Mukherjee.He is the present member of UPSC and succeeded Alka Sirohi.
• Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar has been accorded with the Basava Krishi award for the year 2017.The award is instituted by the Lingayat Panchamasali Jagadguru Peeth of Kudalasangama(Karnataka).
• Supreme Court sacks BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke for not complying with the court's order in implementing the Lodha panel's recommendations.
• The BHIM(Bharat Interface for Money),a Mobile App developed by the National Payments Corporation of India(NPCI) for cashless transactions in the country has achieved a record of 30 lakh downloads on Android platform.Five lakh transactions took place throgh  this app in a span of three days.since its launch by the PM on December 30th,2016.
• National Mission for Clean Ganga(NMCG) approves new projects under Namami Gange Programme(NGP) in Haridwar and Varanasi.
• The Supreme Court has ruled that 'seeking votes on religious basis is a corrupt act'.The apex court's view has enlarged the scope of the Representation of People Act 1951.
• Agni-4,the Long Range Surface to Surface Ballistic Missile with a range of 4,000 kms was successfully tested from Integated Test Range(ITR) on Abdul Kalam Island(Odisha)
• China launches its first freight train to London.The train will travel an approximate distance of 12,000 kms in 18 days to reach its destination in Britain.
• Shri Sanjiv Ranjan,1993 batch IFS officer has been appointed as the ambassador of India to the Republic of Uruguay.Mr Ranjan is currently serving as Indian envoy to Argentina.