Daily Current affairs for 24th & 25th Feb 2018 ( English)
1. Feb
24- The Central Excise Day is celebrated every year to mark the
enactment of the Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944.
2. An
agreement was signed between the Tamil Nadu State Government and Microsoft to
improve the integration of technology in teaching and learning across the state. As
per the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will adopt seven schools
identified by Tamil Nadu State Government and will train their teachers
and students in inculcating skills such as critical thinking, app development,
creative coding & gaming, robotics and entrepreneurship. All educators in
primary, secondary, vocational and tertiary education across Tamil Nadu will be
offered Microsoft Innovative Educator Program. Besides,
Microsoft will also train and provide a digital literacy certification to District
Education Officers (DEOs) in Tamil Nadu.
3. 15th edition
of Bio-Asia, the annual flagship event of the Government of Telangana, was
held from 22nd – 24th February, 2018 in Hyderabad with the theme
“Right Time, Right Now”. It focuses on strategies to keep up with pace
of change and innovative ways to develop new models for distribution &
healthcare delivery. Ireland, Netherlands and South Africa were the
International Partners while Gujarat, Assam and Rajasthan were the partner
states for this event.More than 1500 delegates from over 55 countries were
attended.
International Affairs:
International Affairs:
4. India has
imposed anti-dumping duty on import
of ceramic tableware and kitchenware from China
in order to protect domestic producers. Ceramic tableware and kitchenware shipped
in from China will attract Anti-dumping duty of USD 1.04 per kg
for a period of five years starting from June 2017. It has been imposed by
Revenue Department in the Union Finance Ministry based on a probe
by Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD),
in response to allegations by All India Pottery Manufacturers
Association (AIPMA) and the Indian Ceramic Society.
5. Heavy
Water Board (HWB), a constituent industrial unit of Department of Atomic Energy
(DAE) signed an collaborative agreement with Clearsynth, Mumbai for sale of 20
tonnes of Heavy Water in year. It will be sold for development of
deuterium labeled compounds,NMR Solvents, d-labeled Active Pharma Ingredients
(APIs). During previous years, Indian industries had imported deuterated
compounds and Heavy Water to tune of 9 Million USD. This collaborative
agreement will initiate import substitution for deuterated compounds and Heavy
Water. Heavy Water is deuterium oxide (D2O) which is used as ‘moderator’ and
‘Coolant’ in nuclear power as well as research reactors.
6. For
the fourth consecutive term. NHRC ( National Human Rights Commission)was
awarded ‘A’ status of accreditation of Global Alliance of National Human Rights
Institutions (GANHRI). ‘A’ status accreditation also grants
participation in the work and decision-making of the GANHRI, as well as the
work of the Human Rights Council and other UN mechanisms. The accreditation is
given to those human rights institutions, which after rigorous process of
review every five years are found fully compliant with UN-mandated Paris
Principles. The Paris Principles were adopted by United Nations General
Assembly (UNGA) in 1993.
7. Saudi
Arabia conducted its first ever jazz festival “Groovz Jazz
Festival” at the Riyadh Intercontinental Hotel, in Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia. The concert was organized by Time Entertainment. A
divided seating arrangement was provided separately for men and women. Family
areas were also provided. Both local and international artistes performed at
the festival. Bands from Riyadh, Beirut and New Orleans performed at the
festival.Apart from musical performances, food trucks, a vintage car display
etc. were also featured in the Groovz Jazz Festival.
8. Turkmenistan,
Afghanistan, Pakistan and India have ceremonially broke ground on Afghanistan
section of ambitious, multi-billion dollar TAPI gas pipeline. The ceremony
was attended by Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and his Turkmenistan
counterpart Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan
Abbasi and India’s Minister of state for external affairs Shri M. J. Akbar.
TAPI gas pipeline project is proposed trans-country natural gas pipeline from
Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan to India through Afghanistan and Pakistan. The pipe
line connects central Asia with south Asia covering 1,840 km. The pipeline has
capacity to carry 90 million standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd). Both India
and Pakistan will get supply of about 38 mmscmd whereas Afghanistan will get 14
mmscmd supply of natural gas. The pipeline will begin pumping natural gas from
Turkmenistan’s giant Galkynysh gas field by the beginning of 2020 and supply
life is expected to last for period of 30 years.
9. The
Andijan Region of Uzbekistan and India have inked agreement for cooperation in
pharmaceutical industry. Under it, both sides will develop cooperation in
implementation of program for production of pharmaceutical, bio-pharmaceutical
products and medical equipment in the Andijan region of Uzbekistan.
10. An
MoU for “Implementation Agreement in Sustainable Urban Development and Smart
Cities in India was signed between Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
(MoHUA) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH,
India on behalf of Government of Germany. The objective of programme is to
develop and apply concepts for sustainable urban development about provision of
urban basic services and housing in selected cities and Smart Cities in India.
11. Scientists
of Botanical Survey of India have discovered a new plant species
named “Drypetes kalamii” in Jaldapara and Buxa National Parks in
West Bengal. It was named after our former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. It
bears pale yellow flowers in clusters and produces bright orange to red fruits.
Scientists have declared this plant species as “Critically Endangered”.
12. Telecom
Major Bharti Airtel and Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei have
successfully conducted India’s first 5G (fifth generation) network trial. It
was conducted at Airtel’s network experience centre in Manesar, Gurugram
(Haryana) and was able to achieve over 3 gigabit per second (Gbps) data speed.
The setup for this 5G trial involved 5G RAN that operated on 3.5GHz network
band, along with 5G Core and 50GE network slicing router. In duration of tests,
a user throughput speed of 3Gbps was achieved, claimed to be highest for 3.5GHz
band. The tests were conducted within a 100MHz bandwidth and resulted in a
1-millisecond end-to-end network latency. 5G is wireless communication technology
based on third-generation partnership project (3GPP). It is next generation
mobile networks technology after 4G LTE networks.
13. The
State –run Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) signed MoU’s
with Andhra Pradesh Government to invest Rs 3730 crore in the state during
the course of CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam between Andhra Pradesh
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and EESL Managing Director Saurabh
Kumar . I) It envisages supply of 10000 electric cars and 4000
chargers to various departments of Andhra Pradesh
through Non-conventional Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh
Limited (NREDCAP). 2) Supply of approximately 17 lakh smart energy
meters to two power distribution companies in Andhra Pradesh 3) establishment
of small solar PV-based power projects in phases.
14. The
Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry has appointed four institutes,
to interact with stakeholders and suggest measures to push up India’s ranking
in ease of doing business index. The four institutes are Indian
Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
(ICAI), National Institute of Construction Management and Research (NICMAR) and
Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). ICAI would ascertain
views on ‘taxes’ parameter. ICSI and IIFT would look into ‘starting a business’
and ‘trading across borders’ parameters respectively, while NICMAR would get
feedback on ‘dealing with construction permits’. it is important to note that
in Budget speech, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced that Government
has identified 372 action points to improve ease of doing business. India’s
Rank in ease of doing business is 100 out of 190 countries.
15. From
April 1, 2018, SBI’s UK operations will operate as SBI’s subsidiary under the
name of State Bank of India UK Limited. This
transformation has been planned in order to comply with specific capital
requirement norms of Bank of England (the Central Bank of UK). SBI
has 12 retail branches in UK, out of which, 7 are located in London.
16. A
loan agreement of $84 million was inked by the union government
with Asian Development Bank (ADB) for improvement and expansion of water supply
in Bhagalpur and Gaya towns in Bihar. The loan has 25-year term,
including grace period of 5 years with annual interest rate determined in
accordance with ADB’s lending facility based on London interbank offered rate
(LIBOR) and commitment charge of 0.15% per year. The program aims to provide
sustainable urban infrastructure and services in four towns in Bihar –Gaya,
Bhagalpur, Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur. The project 2 will improve access to
better quality and sustainable water supply, for people of Bhagalpur and Gaya
towns.
17. The
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched Ombudsman Scheme for non-banking
financial companies (NBFCs) for redressal of complaints against NBFCs
registered with RBI under section 45-IA of the RBI Act, 1934. The
scheme will provide cost-free and expeditious complaint redressal mechanism
relating to deficiency in services by non-banking financial companies covered
under the scheme. The offices of NBFC Ombudsmen will function at four metro
centres —Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and New Delhi. They will handle complaints of
customers in respective zones.
18. The
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed banks to link SWIFT (Society for World
Interbank Financial Telecommunication System platform) with their core banking
solutions (CBS) by April 30, 2018 as a part of RBI’s efforts to
tighten internal controls in banks following Rs 11,400 crore fraud that was
unearthed at Punjab National Bank (PNB). CBS is centralised software used to
support bank’s most common transactions.
19. Aruna
Budda Reddy became the first Indian gymnast to win an individual medal at the
Gymnastics World Cup by bagging a bronze medal in the women’s vault event, in
Melbourne, Australia. She had finished in the third position. She
won the bronze medal in the women’s vault event. Slovania’s Tjasa Kysslef won
gold medal and Australia’s Emily Whitehead won silver medal.
20. India’s
Parupalli Kashyap won the men’s singles title of the Austrian Open
International Challenge (badminton), in Vienna, Austria by defeating Malaysia’s
June Wei Cheam. This is his first international title in more than
three years. He is a former National badminton champion.
21. Bollywood
star Sridevi died due to cardiac arrest in Dubai on 24th Feb 2018. She
was born on 13 August 1963 in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu. She started her career as a
child artiste in a Tamil movie in 1969. Later, she acted in several Tamil
movies. She had also acted in other South Indian languages like Malayalam,
Telugu and Kannada. She made her Bollywood debut in 1978 and had acted in
numerous films afterwards. She was awarded Padma Shri award in 2013.
22. Kunwar
Bai, a 106-year-old woman from Chhattisgarh who was chosen as mascot for
`Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’, passed away after a prolonged illness.She got
nationwide publicity in 2016 when the story of her selling goats ( 8-10 goats)
to build toilet at home reached its fame. She was felicitated by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi at public meeting at Kurrubhat village in Rajnandgaon
district and later made a mascot for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Her efforts had
help to make her village ‘open defecation free as very home in her village has
toilets.
Prepared by
Sarala
Dhavamanoharan
Announcement !
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