1. Jai Ram Thakur, the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, has launched Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) project to promote organic farming. The purpose of the project is to increase agriculture produce and the income of farmers by the year 2022. The ZBNF is a farming practice that believes in natural growth of crops without adding any fertilizers and pesticides or any other foreign elements. The word "Zero Budget" refers to the zero net cost of production of all crops (inter crops, border crops, multi crops). The inputs used for seed treatments and other inoculations are locally available in the form of cowdung and cow urine. A ZBNF practicisng farmer has lower cost of inputs and thus has better capacity to increase the incomes. At the same time, ZBNF crops helps in retaining soil fertiliting and is climate change resilient.
2. Neelam Kapoor, a 1982 batch officer of the Indian Information Service (IIS), has been appointed as the new director general of the Sports Authority of India (SAI). At present, she is the Principal Director General of the Directorate of Field Publicity. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved her appointment to the post till her superannuation, i.e. July 31, 2019. Kapoor was also the Principal Director General of the Press Information Bureau in the UPA government. As PIB chief, she was in-charge of information officers attached to every central government ministry.
3. The Data Privacy Day (DPD) is observed every year on January 28 to raise awareness and promote privacy and data protection best practices. It is an effort to empower people to protect their privacy, control their digital footprint and escalate the protection of privacy and data as everyone's priority.
4. Dr Harsh Vardhan, the Union Minister of Earth Sciences (MoES) , has launched a 2.8 Peta Flops capacity High Performance Computer (HPC) system 'Mihir' in Noida to improve India's weather forecasting. The new HPC facility is expected to improve weather forecasts at the block level across India, predict extreme weather events, and offer high resolution seasonal and extended range forecasts of active/break spells of the monsoon. The facility will also make possible very high resolution coupled models for prediction of cyclones with more accuracy and lead time. The new system will be India's largest HPC facility in terms of peak capacity and performance and will propel India's ranking from the 368th position to the 30th in the list of top 500 HPC facilities in the world.
5. China has remained the world's largest steel producer in 2017 by producing 831.7 million tonnes (MT), according to a latest report published by World Steel Association (WSA). Japan has acquired 2nd position while India overtook the US to become the world's 3rd largest steel producer. India's crude steel production grew by 6.2% to 101.4 MT in 2017 compared to 95.5 MT in 2016. The Global steel production reached 1,691.2 MT for the year 2017, up by 5.3% compared to 2016 when the output was 1,606.3 MT. The WSA is one of the largest industry associations in the world. Its members represent approximately 85% of the world's steel production, including over 160 steel producers with 9 of the 10 largest steel companies, national and regional steel industry associations, and steel research institutes.
6. The World Leprosy Day (WLD) is observed every year on the last Sunday of January to support those suffering from leprosy and educate those taking care of people suffering from this disease. This year, in 2018, it falls on 28 January and its theme is 'Zero Disabilities in Girls and Boys'. Leprosy is one of the oldest recorded diseases in the world. It is an infectious chronic disease that targets the nervous system, especially the nerves in the cooler parts of the body – the hands, feet, and face.
7. India has been ranked 42nd out of 165 countries at the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)'s annual Global Democracy Index due to rise of conservative religious ideologies and increase in vigilantism and violence against minorities as well as other dissenting voices. This year's report which also measured the state of media freedom around the world noted that in India, media is 'partially free'. Moreover, journalists are at risk from government, military and non-state actors and radical groups, and the threat of violence has a chilling effect on media coverage. The EIU is the research and analysis division of the UK-based media behemoth "The Economist Group". The list is topped by Norway, Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand and Denmark. The index ranks 165 independent states and two territories on the basis of five categories: electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, the functioning of government, political participation and political culture.
8. The 7th edition of India Energy Congress (IEC) 2018 has started in New Delhi with theme "Energy 4.0: Energy Transition Towards 2030" on February 1, 2018. It was organised by World Energy Council (WEC) India and inaugurated byUnion Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh. Under the theme "Energy 4.0", the 7th edition of IEC assumes greater significance in the context of grand transition in the global energy scene. IEC is a unique platform for national and international decision makers, experts across the energy industry to exchange views and share knowledge, expertise and experience.
9. Anu Kumar of Uttarakhand has grabbed the first gold medal of the Khelo India School Games in 1500 metres at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on February 1, 2018. Tamil Nadu athletes won two of the six gold medals on the opening day of the games. The rest were shared between Uttarakhand, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Anu Kumar is a past 800-metres silver medalist for India at the World School Games in France. In the girls category, C Chanthini of Kerala won the gold medal in 1500-metres run. Abhishek Singh of Uttar Pradesh won the Shot Put with an excellent throw of 18.73 metres while Praveen of Tamil Nadu won the triple jump in his sixth attempt with 15.22 metres. Haryana girl Pooja excelled in the Shot Put and won the gold with a best of 13.88 metres.
10. The National Power Training Institute (NPTI) is a national apex body in India for training and human resources development in the power sector with industry specific technical interface. It is an autonomous body under Ministry of Power, Government of India and caters to the training needs of the power industry in India and abroad. Beside this, it is the only institution of its kind in India catering to the core power Sector and allied energy sector apart from University of petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun. The NPTI's headquarters is located at Faridabad, Haryana.
11. In the Union Budget 2018, the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has announced the government's plan to build a tunnel through the Sela Pass located at an elevation of 13,700 ft which will ensure faster movement of troops in Tawang, a strategically- located town in Arunachal Pradesh bordering China. The proposal to build the Sela pass comes amid concerns in the defence establishment over China's growing assertiveness along the nearly 4,000 km-long Sino-India border. The Sela pass is located between the Tawang and West Kameng districts of Arunachal Pradesh and considered crucial from strategic perspective.
12. The 32nd Surajkund International Crafts Mela 2018 has started at Faridabad, Haryana on February 2, 2018. The Mela is organized by the Surajkund Mela Authority and Haryana Tourism in collaboration with Union Ministries of Tourism, Textiles, Culture and External Affairs. This year, Uttar Pradesh is the theme state and Kyrgyzstan is the Partner Nation. The 17-day cultural extravaganza will see a spectacular showcase of regional and international crafts, handlooms, traditions along with some mouth-watering multi-cuisine food for the visitors. Representing the ethos of rural India, the Mela celebrates the unique diversity of Indian traditions and culture. Around 20 countries & all the states of India will participate in the fair. The Surajkund Mela will continue till 18th of this month from 10.30 am-8.30 pm.
13. India has recently joined Ashgabat Agreement on the establishment of an International Transport and Transit Corridor between the Iran, Oman, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The agreement was signed in April 2011, which envisages facilitation of transit and transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. The accession to the Agreement would diversify India's connectivity options with Central Asia and have a positive influence on its trade and commercial ties with the region. India's accession to the agreement will come into force on February 3, 2018. This agreement will complement India's presence in Chabahar Port, INSTC as well as future accession to Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). The Ashgabat agreement is a Multimodal transport agreement between Oman, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and India for creating an international transport and transit corridor facilitating transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.
14. The Odisha government has bagged the Geospatial World Excellence Award- 2018 for successful IT application for tracking of mineral production, dispatch and value accrued on real time basis through its i3MS website based software. The award was given by Y.S. Chowdray, the Union Minister of State Science & Technology, in the Geospatial World Forum Meeting held at Hyderabad. The GPS linked web based software "i3MS" has been designed by the scientists of Odisha Space Application Center (ORSAC), Bhubaneswar. About 3,000 geospatial experts from 90 different countries attended the event.
15. Shesh Anand Madhukar, the eminent Magahi writer & scholar, has been honoured with the 2018 Sahitya Akademi Bhasha Samman award at Sahitya Akademi Auditorium, New Delhi. The award consists of Rs 1 lakh cheque and a memento. Madhukar is the 2nd writer of Magahi language to be given the award. He has been working extensively for the development of the language. In his long and illustrious career, he has a large body of work to his credit in both Magahi and Hindi. Some of his important works in Hindi are "Magahi Kavita Ke Bimb", "Eklavya", and "Bhagwan Birsa". In Magahi, his well-acclaimed works are "Eklavya" and "Magahi Bhulachal Hey". Currently, Sahitya Akademi honours writers from 24 regional languages, but Bhasha Samman identifies those languages which are equally spoken in different parts of the country. The award is an attempt to make the writers of other languages feels equally important.
16. Lt. Gen Anil Chauhan, who has vast experience in counter-insurgency operations, has taken charge as the new Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of the Indian Army. As DGMO, Lt Gen Chouhan will oversee various operations of the Indian Army including along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. He succeeded Lt General A K Bhatt, who has taken charge of the 47th Corps Commander of Srinagar-based 15 Corps (also called the Chinar Corps) of the Indian Army.
17. The 2nd edition of the Nobel Prize Series – India 2018 was inaugurated in Panaji, Goa on February 1, 2018. The theme of Nobel Prize Series – India 2018 is "Science Impacts Lives". The event is jointly organized by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, India along with the Government of Goa and Nobel Media AB. The purpose of the 2-day programme is to stimulate engagement in science, literature and peace through interactions with Nobel laureates. Such interactions include lectures, round table discussions and meetings between Nobel laureates and experts, teachers and students. The 1st edition of Nobel Prize Series-India was held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat in January 2017.
18. In Boxing, five-time world champion Mary Kom has clinched gold in the 48 kilogram category among women at the 2018 India Open boxing Tournament in New Delhi . She won against Filipino Josie Gabuco in the final by 4-1. In 64 kilogram category, Pwilao Basumatary was the first among the women to fetch a gold. The former world and Asian bronze medalist claimed a 3-2 win over Thailand's Sudaporn Seesondee. In the men's draw, Sanjeet picked up India's first gold of the day in 91 kilogram class when he upstaged Uzbekistan's Sanjar Tursunov.
19. B A Chopade has been appointed the new vice-chancellor of Banaras Hindu University (BHU). He is at present the vice-chancellor of Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University. President Ram Nath Kovind, who is the Visitor to the university, approved Chopade's appointment recently. The post was lying vacant after Girish Chandra Tripathi went on leave following the ruckus on campus in September 2017. Chopade will take charge from BHU Registrar Neeraj Tripathi, who had been holding the additional charge of the top post since October 2017.
20. Srihari Natraj of Karnataka has grabbed the gold medal in 100-metre Backstroke category in swimming in the Khelo India School Games at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. In Boys high jump, Delhi's Shahnawaz Khan won the gold medal. Ikram Ali Khan of Madhya Pradesh clinched gold in Boys Discus Throw. In Girls 800-metre running, Maharashtra's Tai Bamhane grabbed the gold medal. In Boys category, Anu Kumar of Uttarakhand came first.
21. Shyam Benegal, the veteran film producer and director, has been bestowed with the prestigious V. Shantaram lifetime achievement Award 2018 for his contribution to the promotion of the documentary movement. The award, carrying a trophy, a citation, shawl and cash prize of Rs 10 lakh, has been conferred on Benegal by Maharashtra Governor C.V. Rao at the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) 2018 valedictory function on February 3, 2018. Benegal has made 28 great films like Ankur, Mandi, Bhumika and Manthan. Besides that, he has made 41 documentary films on various social topics. His work on television consists of several popular series including the 53 part series 'Bharat Ek Khoj' first broadcast on Doordarshan in 1988. He also made the much acclaimed 'Samvidhaan – The Making of the Constitution of India". He is the recipient of the national award in 1982 for the film 'Satyajit Ray'. The Government of India has honored him with Padmashree, Padma-Bhushan and Dada Saheb Phalke award earlier.
22. The 2018 Kala Ghoda Arts festival has started at Cross Maidan in Mumbai, Maharashtra on February 3 and will go on till February 11. It is in news recently because the Bombay High Court has refused permission for cultural events as part of the Kala Ghoda Festival at public properties free of cost and without imposing any conditions, which were granted by the Maharashtra government. The 2018 theme of the fest is "Hara Ghoda" to promote sustainable living, recycling and environment-friendliness. It is an open platform to discuss contemporary issues led by individuals from different disciples.
23. The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has signed a project agreement with the World Bank (WB) for Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) on Ganga to enhance navigation on National Waterway-1 from Varanasi to Haldia. Beside this, the Government of India and the World Bank has also signed a $375 million loan agreement for JMVP. The signing of the pact comes after Union Cabinet approved the implementation of $800 million JMVP for capacity augmentation of navigation on River Ganga. The JMVP, which is expected to be completed by March 2023, is being implemented with the financial and technical support of the World Bank. The development and operations of the National Waterway-1 project will lead to direct employment generation to the tune of 46,000 and indirect employment of 84,000 in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
24. The Assam Government has signed an MoU with the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) Limited to build a Twin Tower Trade Centre in Guwahati at a cost of Rs 1950 crore. The Twin Tower Trade centre has enacted a pro-active Act East Policy to elevate and harness the strengths of North-East India and reduce the isolation of the region by improving all round connectivity and civic infrastructure. This trade centre will generate once established and made operational, by connecting us with South East Nations and being a major trading hub thereby increasing economic interlinkages. The headquarters of NBCC is located in New Delhi.
25. India has won the 12th edition of ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2018 after thrashing Australia in the final by eight wickets at bay oval at Mount Maunganui in New Zealand on February 3. With this win, India has lifted the ICC Under-19 World Cup for the record fourth time. India's star batsman Manjot Kalra led his team to the victory as he made brilliant unbeaten century riding on 8 fours and 3 sixes. He was adjudged Man of the Match and Shubman Gill Man of the Series.
26. Arun Jaitely, the Union Finance Minister, has inaugurated India's first sentiment index "CriSidEx" for micro and small enterprises in New Delhi. CriSidEx, which is developed jointly by SIDBI and CRISIL, is a composite index based on a diffusion index of 8 parameters and measures MSE business sentiment on a negative to positive scale. This index will give the detail breakup of the sentiment sentiments and analysis as the sector sees it for the current quarter and for the next quarter. The current parametric feedback was captured through a survey of one thousand one hundred MSEs in November and December last year.
27. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has launched the world's longest zip Line "Jebel Jais Flight " in Ras al-Khaimah. The 2.83km zip line allows thrill seekers to jump from the peak off the UAE's highest mountain "Jebel Jais". The Jebel Jais Flight zip line launches from 1,680m above sea level, at the peak of the Jebel Jais Mountain. Ras al-Khaimah currently gets 1 million tourist visitors a year and aims to drive 100,000 of them to use the zip line. It was recently awarded the Guinness World Record for world's longest zip line.
28. The Department of Defence Production (DDP) has constituted the multi-stakeholder task force task force to study use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in military. The 17-member task force will be headed by Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran. The task force will study the whole gamut of issues surrounding strategic implications of AI in national security perspective.
29. The book "Exam Warriors" has been authored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inspire youth to face the difficult moments of examinations and life with fresh and new energy. It emphasizes the importance of play, sleep & even travel. It was released by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at a function in New Delhi on February 3, 2018. The book is said to be interactive, with illustrations, activities and yoga exercises, and intended to be a friend to youths not only in acing exams but also in facing life. It is published by Penguin India. Currently, it is available in English and will soon be published in multiple languages.
30. Sudeep Lakhtakia, the 1984-batch IPS officer of the Telangana cadre, has taken charge as the new Director General of the 'black cats commando' force National Security Guard (NSG). DG of National Security Guard (NSG) and will hold the post till July 2019. He succeeded S P Singh, who retires on January 31, 2018. Prior to this post, Lakhtakia was serving as a Special Director General in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) headquarters in New Delhi. The NSG was raised as the federal contingency force to counter terrorists and hijack-like incidents in 1984. It is under the authority of Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA).
31. The first-ever International Kala Mela has been inaugurated by the Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts in New Delhi on February 4, 2018. The aim of the event is to focus on direct interaction between the artist and the connoisseur and also educating and raising awareness about art. The Art Festival, organised by Lalit Kala Akademi, will continue till the 18th of this month wherein artists and groups will showcase their work. More than 800 artists from all over the country are expected to participate in the event. Many Embassies and Cultural Centres will also take part. Some the countries taking part in the event are China, Venezuela, Portugal, Sri Lanka, Poland, Mexico, Bangladesh, France, United Kingdom, Spain and Brazil. There are around 325 stalls for Indian artists and organisations including International representations.
32. The World Cancer Day (WCD) is observed every year on 4th February to raise awareness about cancer, its treatment and to encourage methods of its prevention. The primary goal of the day is to reduce the illness and related deaths by 2020. The 2018 tagline "We can. I can" will explore how everyone – as a collective or as individuals – can do their part to reduce the global burden of cancer.
33. Hukum Singh (79), the BJP MP from Kairana in Uttar Pradesh, has passed away in Noida, Uttar Pradesh on February 3, 2018. He belonged to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was a member of the Panel of Chairpersons of the 16th Lok Sabha and the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Water Resources. He was 7-time MLA from UP and had also served as a Cabinet Minister in Uttar Pradesh governments under both BJP and the Congress.
34. Syed Mahmud Hossain has been sworn-in as the 22nd chief justice Chief Justice of Bangladesh. He succeeded acting chief justice Abdul Wahab Mian. Mian was appointed as the acting chief justice after the Bangladesh's first Hindu chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha resigned in November 2017 amid graft allegations. Juestice Sinha was at the centre stage of the dispute after the apex court delivered a verdict declaring void 16th constitutional amendment, scrapping Parliament's authority in impeaching Supreme Court judges.
35. Dr Harsh Vardhan, the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has launched people-oriented campaign "Green Good Deeds" to sensitize the people and students, in particular, about climate change and global warming. Referring to the crucial role played by "Polio Sainiks" for Pulse Polio campaign, Dr Vardhan has underlined the need for "Green Sainiks" to broad-base the Green Good Deeds movement and to take it down to the grassroots level successfully. The Environment ministry has also appealed to the teaching community to join the campaign to make people aware about the cause of the campaign.
36. The unique, first-of-its-kind, floating market has come up in Patuli in Kolkata, West Bengal. The market is similar to the ones on Dal Lake in Srinagar and in Bangkok. The project is being implemented by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). There are 228 stalls, set up on 114 boats, with zone-wise demarcations for fish, meat, vegetables, grocery, etc. Wooden ramps have been constructed, over which people will walk to reach the boat of their choice. Modern technology is being adopted to ensure proper oxidation of the water and thus maintain ecological balance. The surrounding path beside the water body, a canal, on which the market is being set up, is being decked up with paver blocks. The market will be run through a cooperative. The prices will be similar to those in normal markets.
37. The 9-member committee, headed by former ISRO chief K Kasturirangan, was constituted by the Union HRD Ministry to draft new National Education Policy (NEP) on June 2017. The committee will submit its report by March 31, 2018. After that, the HRD Ministry will deliberate on the report and thereafter suggestions of the committee will be presented to the Union Cabinet for its approval. The committee also includes former IAS officer KJ Alphonse and Ram Shanker Kureel, who has a wide experience in the field of agricultural sciences and management. The committee has been appointed keeping in mind that the members bring expertise related to the diverse areas of education. Significantly, the panel also reflects the diversity of the country as the members belong to different sections as well as regions. The existing NEP was framed in 1986 and revised in 1992.
38. The Central Government has announced a Rs 1.4 lakh-crore KUSUM Scheme to promote decentralised solar power production of up to 28,250 MW to help farmers. The acronym KUSUM stands for "Kisan Urja Suraksha Utthaan Maha Abhiyaan". In the Union Budget 2018-19, the Centre has allocated Rs 48,000 crore on the 10-year KUSUM scheme. The scheme would provide an extra income to farmers by giving them an option to sell additional power to the grid through solar power projects set up on their barren lands. It would help in de-dieselising the sector as also the DISCOMS. Under the scheme, the Central Government will provide subsidy to farmers on setting up of solar power plants on their barren land. The 60% subsidy on the solar pumps provided to farmers will be shared between the Centre and the States while 30% would be provided through bank loans. The balance cost has to be borne by the farmers. As a result, Kusum Scheme will solarize agricultural pump sets to double the income of farmers by 2022.
39. Dr. Dinesh Srivastava, the distinguished nuclear scientist, has taken charge as the new Chief Executive of the Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC). He succeeded G. Kalyanakrishnan. In this capacity Dr. Srivastava will also be Chairman of the NFC Board. Prior to this assignment, he was holding the position of Deputy Chief Executive in NFC. Previously , he had worked for 3 decades in Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai and is a senior Professor in Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), Mumbai.
40. Sudha Karmarkar (83), the veteran theatre artist, director, and pioneer of Children's Theatre in Maharashtra, has passed away in Mumbai on February 5, 2018. Karmarkar founded the children's theatre in Mumbai which is known as 'Bal Rangbhumi- Little Theatre' and directed various plays for children. She not only directed the plays but also acted in the plays. She initiated the movement of Little Theatre in 1959 with Madhu Manjiri the first ever children's drama and since then the children in more than three decades enjoyed the plays which were truly meant for them. Many stars in Marathi film and stage industry emerged through this movement.
41. The Uttar Pradesh has launched massive door to door campaign DASTAK in association with UNICEF to eradicate deadly Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and Japanise Encephalitis (JE) disease in the state. The war cry of DASTAK is Darwaja khatkhatao, AES aur JE ko bhagao. In DASTAK campaign, the whole state machinery with the help of UNICEF will now literally go door to door in 38 JES and AE affected districts which mostly fall in the Tarai region of the state which contributes to about 60% of the total AES cases all over the country. In this massive campaign, many departments of the state especially health, rural development, primary education will work together to spread awareness about the diseases through mass media communication, provide clean drinking water, initiate sanitation drive, ensure vaccination and early treatment so that disease should be nipped in the bud. Children of 600 schools in the affected areas will also be part of this campaign.
42. Zhang Beiwen, a professional badminton player from America, has won the 4th edition of India Open Badminton tournament 2018 in New Delhi on February 4, 2018. In the final, she defeated Olympics and World Championships Silver medalist PV Sindhu by 21–18, 11–21, 22–20 at Siri Fort Indoor Stadium. It was the fifth meeting between Sindhu and Zhang and the head-to-head record now is 3-2 with Sindhu losing this match.
43. The Haryana government has launched the 'Gobardhan Yojana' to provide for the sale of organic manure and cow urine with an aim to benefit farmers. Under this scheme, a provision of Rs 11 crore has been made to provide benefits of various projects. According to official release, the Gobardhan Yojana would help in doubling the income of farmers and next time, the MSP would be given with additional benefit of 50% over the cost of production.
44. Eminent molecular biologist Professor Michael N Hall of the Biozentrum University of Basel, Switzerland, has been chosen for the 2018 Genome Valley Excellence Award for his pioneering work in discovering the nutrient-activated TOR (Target of Rapamycin) proteins and their central role in the metabolic control of cell growth. The award will be presented to him during BioAsia 2018, an annual flagship event of the Telangana government. The award, instituted in 2004, was in recognition of the transformative advances toward biomedical research and facilitating improvement in human life and was chosen by an international advisory board consisting of eminent personalities of the life sciences industry.
45. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has successfully launched the world's smallest rocket with the ability to put a tiny satellite into orbit. The experimental SS-520 sounding rocket lifted off from the Uchinoura Space Center. It carried a microsatellite TRICOM-1R, a three-unit CubeSat weighing about 3 kilograms. The CubeSat will now be used to collect images of the Earth's surface via multiple cameras. This satellite launch was a re-flight of the TRICOM-1 mission, which was lost in SS-520's failure in 2017.
46. The Maharashtra Government has recently approved Ghodazari Wildlife Sanctuary in Chandrapur district as a new wildlife sanctuary in the state. The decision was taken at the 13th meeting of the Maharashtra State Board for Wildlife, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The sanctuary, in the North East of Tadoba, will include 159 sq km of Brahmapuri forest. This will not only save the forest but will also improve tourism in nearly 40 villages in the area.
47. Google has launched new online security campaign #SecurityCheckKiya in India to promote security awareness among general public. The purpose of the campaign is to protect young and first-time web users from account hijacking, safeguard Android devices from malicious apps and secure all their personal data if they lose their device. Under the campaign, Google recommended three simple steps for Internet safety. It includes reviewing security settings and Google account activity. Furthermore, 'Google Play Protect' service scans and checks Android devices for any harmful apps. Find My Device app from Google helps a user to easily long away.
48. Shabnam Asthana, an Indian public relations expert, speaker, and entrepreneur, has been honoured with the 'Times Power Women of the Year 2017'- Pune for Global PR. The Times Group recently celebrated the invaluable contribution of women by introducing The Times Power Woman 2017 (Pune) awards. These awards were initiated to celebrate the victories of women who have been a great source of inspiration. These awards focused on the women of Pune and the prestigious list included 34 select women with power, supremacy, command and control. These awardees have been instrumental in working towards the improvement of the socio-economic, art, health, education, and fashion, scientific and intellectual potential of the society.
49. Jerome Hayden Powell has been sworn-in as the new Chairman of the Federal Reserve for a four-year term on February 5, 2018. The oath was administered by Vice Chairman Randal K. Quarles in the Board Room. He succeeded Janet Yellen, the first woman to lead the US central bank in its 100-year history. He was nominated to the position by President Donald Trump on November 2, 2017, and was later confirmed by the United States Senate. Prior to this appointment, Powell served as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
50. The Gandhi Sagar Dam is built on Chambal river and is located in the Mandsaur & Neemuch district of Madhya Pradesh. It is a masonry gravity dam, standing 62.17 metres (204.0 ft) high, with a gross storage capacity of 7.322 billion cubic metres from a catchment area of 22,584 km2. The dam sports a 115-MW hydroelectric power station at its toe, with five 23-MW generating units each providing a total energy generation of about 564 GWh. The dam's reservoir area is the second-largest in India (after the Hirakud Reservoir), and attracts a large number of migratory and non-migratory birds throughout the year.
51. The Government of Assam has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with cab-hailing company Ola for a pilot project of app-based river taxi services in Guwahati. This MoU was signed during the ongoing Global Investors Summit: Advantage Assam. According to the MOU, bringing water taxis on the online platform will strengthen the transportation ecosystem. The river taxi will be a machine-operated boat, a faster and safer mode of travel than its conventional alternatives. Ola will pilot high-speed taxis on the Lachit Ghat, Machkhowa to North Guwahati route, bringing the commute time down to 2-5 minutes from 45 minutes by road.
52. The first-ever Pelican Bird Festival-2018 was held at the Atapaka Bird Sanctuary on Kolleru lake in Andhra Pradesh on February 4, 2018. Over 5,000 pelican birds from various countries reach Kolleru Lake every year during winter by travelling over 3500 km. The Kolleru lake is located between Krishna and Godavari delta and is one of the largest freshwater lakes in the country. The fest was jointly organised by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority (APTA) and Krishna district administration.
53. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International airport has become the world's busiest single-runway airport, after creating a new world record for single-runway operations by handling 980 arrivals and take-offs in 24 hours, or almost one flight every minute on January 20, 2018.
54. The Ministry of Railways has signed MoU with Ministry of AYUSH in New Delhi on February 6, 2018 to augment Ayush services in Railway hospitals i.e. New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Guwahati. As per MoU, Ministry of Railways will provide logistics and infrastructure in the form of Land & building, Equipments, Furniture, AYUSH medicines and consumables as well as Manpower. It will organize and provide orientation training to newly recruited AYUSH Doctors and AYUSH Paramedicals. Ministry of AYUSH in turn will provide all other technical inputs required for introduction of AYUSH Systems in the five identified Railways Hospitals. The Ministry will also provide technical knowhow regarding the pharmacopoeia, medicine inventory, hospital planning. Presently, Indian Railways is running 126 Homeopathic Clinics and 40 Ayurvedic Clinics through Staff Benefit Fund under Welfare Section of Establishment Directorate.
55. Suresh Prabhu, the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, has launched the Start-up-India ranking framework in New Delhi to help the Startup India initiative to drive economic growth of the country. The tools are: the State and Union Territory Startup Ranking Framework, the Compendium of Good Practices for Promoting Startups in India and the Startup India Kit. These will act as catalysts to help the Startup India initiative to drive India's economic growth. The key objective of the Startup States and Union Territories ranking framework is to encourage States and Union Territories to take pro-active steps towards strengthening the Startup ecosystems at the local level. The Ranking Framework will measure the impact of each step initiated at the local level for building a strong Startup ecosystem. The Ranking Framework will also enable continuous learning through the dissemination of good practices.
56. In the 6th Bi-monthly Monetary policy statement for 2017-18, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kept the key interest rate "repo rate" unchanged at 6% and reverse repo at 5.75%. Also, the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate kept at 6.25%. The decision of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is consistent with the neutral stance of monetary policy in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4% within a band of +/- 2%, while supporting growth.
57. Shubhankar Sharma from Chandigarh has become the highest ranked Indian golfer after grabbing 72nd position in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). He has won the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sharma now also has the rare distinction of leading both the European Tour Race to Dubai and the Asian Tour Order of Merit. Shubhankar's latest success also helped him join the exclusive club of Indians who have achieved two wins in the same European Tour season, the others being Jeev Milkha Singh (2006) and Anirban Lahiri (2015).
58. The 5th edition of the South Asia Region Public Procurement Conference (SARPPC-2018) was inaugurated by Arun Jaitley, the Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, in New Delhi on February 5, 2018. The theme of the conference is "Public Procurement and Service Delivery". The purpose of the 3-day Conference was to enable the Heads of Public Procurement and other key stakeholders in the eight South Asian countries to meet and learn from one another and from experts in the field of public procurement. The conference was hosted by Government of India (GOI), through the Public Procurement Division (PPD) of the Ministry of Finance and All India Management Association (AIMA). It is held under the auspices of the South Asia Region Public Procurement Network (SARPPN), which is sponsored and facilitated by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank.
59. The World Wetlands Day (WWD) is observed every year on February 2 to mark the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands in the city of Ramsar in Iran in 1971. The 2018 theme is "Wetlands for a Sustainable Urban Future". It highlights the value of wetlands in securing local livelihoods through activities as fishing, rice farming, tourism and water provision. The day is observed to promote, create awareness and ensure positive and affirmative action for conservation of wetlands.
60. The Kandeleru Dam is an irrigation project built on the Kandaleru River in Rapur Mandal, Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh. The project is part of the Telugu Ganga project which supplies drinking water to Chennai city from the Srisailam reservoir on Krishna River.
61. Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Defence Minister, has constituted a 13-member advisory committee to monitor and expedite capital acquisition projects for the modernization of the armed forces. The committee will undertake an independent review and check the status of ongoing critical projects worth more than Rs 500 crore. It will also suggest measures to improve the capital acquisition process. The committee, headed by Vinay Sheel Oberoi, will have to present an initial status report on identified projects to the Defence Minister by March 31.
62. Bermuda has become the world's first country to legalise and then repeal same-sex marriage. The governor of the British island territory John Rankin approved a bill reversing the right of gay couples to marry, despite 2017 Supreme Court ruling that authorized same-sex marriage. It is a step towards seeking to balance opposition to same-sex marriage on the socially conservative island while complying with European court rulings that make sure same-sex couples are recognized and protected in the territory.
63. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) is organizing a three-day National Meet on Grassroot Informatics- VIVID 2018 in New Delhi from February 8, 2018. The event has be inaugurated by Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad at India Habitat Centre. The theme for VIVID 2018 is – Cyber Security and Innovation. The aim of the meet is to showcase the various initiatives of NIC in creating and enhancing the security of Digital Infrastructure in the country. VIVID would be an extensive platform for knowledge sharing which would empower 240 NIC district officials from across the country to interact and leverage on each other's experience and best practices.
64. Madavoor Vasudevan Nair (89), the Kathakali maestro, has passed away while performing at Agasthyacodu Mahadeva Temple in Anchal, Kerala on February 6, 2018. A recipient of several awards, including Padma Bhushan, he was the follower of the Kaplingattu School, the particular style of south Kerala. Madvoor had also worked as a faculty in the Thekkan Kalari (Southern school of Kathakali) of Kerala Kalamandalam and was the principal of Kalabharathi performing art institute.
65. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has signed a pact with Google to integrate a course on 'Digital Citizenship and Safety' in information and communication technology curriculum. The integrated course will be implemented in more than 1.4 million schools across the country from next academic session in April 2018. NCERT has curriculum on IT and communication technologies embedded in teachers training programme. The curriculum developed by NCERT in collaboration with Google will be used to train students from class I – class XII across 1.4 million schools in India where they will learn how to become good and responsible digital citizens. The curriculum is spread into four themes – being smart, being safe, being a digital citizen and being future ready.
66. Jhulan Goswami, India's veteran pacer, has become the first female cricketer in the world to take 200 wickets in One-Day Internationals (ODI) cricket. She achieved the feat when she bagged the wicket of South Africa opener Laura Wolvaardt during the 2nd ODI of the 3-match series at the Diamond Oval in Kimberley. Beside her, Australia's Cathryn Fitzpatrick is at 2nd spot with 180 wickets followed by compatriot Lisa Sthalekar on 146. India's Neetu David occupies the fifth spot with 141 wickets. Interestingly, the first male cricketer to pick 200 ODI wickets was also an Indian – the great Kapil Dev.
67. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) is a not-for-profit public interest research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi. It works as a think tank on environment-development issues in India, poor planning, climate shifts devastating India's Sundarbans and advocates for policy changes and better implementation of the already existing policies. It is in news recently because the CSE has been ranked the top environment policy think tanks in India while it has secured the 16th position in global rankings by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) of the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. The TTCSP conducts a research on the role policy institutes play in governments and civil societies around the world.
68. As per Prime Minister's Research Fellows scheme, the Union Government will give fellowships to 1,000 meritorious students of B. Tech and M. Tech every year. The fellowship amount will be Rs. 70 to 80 thousand per month. Apart from this, a research grant of Rs. two lakh will be provided to each of the fellows for a period of five years. Under the scheme, the best students, who have completed or are in the final year of B. Tech or Integrated M.Tech or M.Sc. in Science and Technology streams from IISc/IITs/NITs/IISERs/IIITs, will be offered direct admission in PhD programme in the IITs/IISc.
69. John Mahoney (77), an English-American actor of stage, film and television, has passed away in Chicago, United States on February 4, 2018. He was best known for playing the blue-collar patriarch Martin Crane in the American sitcom Frasier, which aired on NBC from 1993 to 2004. In addition to his film and television work, Mahoney also worked as a voice actor and was particularly passionate about his stage work on Broadway and in Chicago theatre.
70. The 6th edition of World Government Summit (WGS) 2018 will be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from February 11 to 13. The Indian delegation will be led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The summit acts as a knowledge exchangehub between government officials, thought leaders, policy makers and private sector leaders, and as an analysis platform for the future trends, issues and opportunities facing humanity.
71. Justice Antony Dominic has been sworn-in as the new Chief Justice of Kerala on February 9, 2018. Kerala Governor P. Sadasivam administered the Oath of Office in the presence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at Raj Bhavan in Thiruvanthapuram. Chief Secretary Paul Antony read out the Presidential order appointing Justice Dominic as the Chief Justice of the state. Senior High Court judges, judicial officers, cabinet ministers, political leaders and other officials filled the audience.
72. Haryana has topped the overall medal tally at the first-ever Khelo India School Games (KISG-2018) in New Delhi after winning the 102 medals which include 38 gold and 26 silver. Maharashtra has acquired the 2nd position with 111 medals while Delhi with 94 medals came third. The Khelo India School Games was a part of the Khelo India programme which has been introduced by the Union Sports Ministry to revive the sports culture in the country at the grassroots level and make India a sporting nation. The 16 sports disciplines including Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Football, Hockey, Judo, Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Shooting, Weightlifting and Wrestling were the part of the weeklong event. It was organized at multiple venues across Delhi including Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.
73. Kerala has topped the list of larger states on overall health performance in the Health Index report released by Niti Aayog while Uttar Pradesh appeared at the bottom among larger states in terms of overall performance. As per the index "Healthy States, Progressive India' report for large states, Kerala was followed by Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. Besides Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Odisha are among the states that performed poorly in the health index. Among small states, Mizoram ranked first, followed by Manipur and Goa in terms of annual incremental performance. The Health Index will act as a tool to leverage cooperative and competitive federalism, accelerating the pace of achieving health outcomes. It has been evolved through comprehensive study and inputs from World Bank India and Ministry of Health.
74. Indra Nooyi, the PepsiCo Chairman and CEO, has been appointed to the International Cricket Council (ICC) Board as its first independent female director. She will join the Board in June 2018 to align with the term of the ICC Independent Chairman. The Independent Director will be appointed for a two-year term although she may be re-appointed for two further terms with a maximum six-year consecutive period of service.
75. The 2nd edition of Thespis 2 – National Micro Drama Festival (NMDF-2018) will be held at Kamani Auditorium in New Delhi on February 11, 2018. With a total of 30 dramas, each not longer than 10 minutes, will pay tribute to theatre artistes and activists including Tom Alter, Vallabh Vyas, Mangalam Swaminath and Radhakrishnan Wayanad. The participants will also be awarded under 10 different categories including best production, best direction, and best script. The fest is to be organised by Delhi-based theatre group 'Vriksh the Theatre', which will be based on different themes and titles around the current situations witnessed by our society. The festival is named after 'Thespis of Icaria', who lived in the 6th Century BC and was the first Actor ever appeared on stage to perform alone. The plays will take place in different languages which include regional languages like Punjabi, Urdu, Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam etc.
76. B.G. Banakar (91), the former speaker of Karnataka legislative assembly, has passed away in Haveri district, Karnataka on February 7, 2018. He was elected thrice to the Legislative Assembly and was Minister for Animal Husbandry in the Devaraj Urs Cabinet. He served as Speaker of the Assembly for four years from 1985 to 1989.
77. Writer T.D. Ramakrishnan has been chosen for the 2nd edition of Akbar Kakkattil Award 2018 for his novel "Sugandhi Enna Andaldevanayaki". According to a press release by the secretary of the Akbar Kakkattil Trust, filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan will present the award comprising a purse of Rs 50,000, a citation and a memento to Mr. Ramakrishnan at a function to be held in Kozhikode on February 17, 2018.
78. India has been ranked 44th out of 50 countries in the 6th edition of Intellectual Property Index (IPI-2018), which is released by U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC). As per report, India's ranking reflects a relatively strong performance in the new indicators as well as positive reform efforts on patentability of computer-implemented inventions (CIIs) and registration procedures for well-known marks. The United States has topped the list, followed by the U.K and Sweden.
79. The Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) is an Indian institute of national importance, headquartered at the CSIR Campus in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The institute is established for the purpose of granting doctoral and post-doctoral degrees. It is a meta-university with study centres in 37 laboratories and 6 units of CSIR, spread across 23 cities of India.
80. Justice Abhilasha Kumari has been sworn-in as new Chief Justice of the High Court of Manipur on February 9, 2018. Governor Dr. Najma Heptulla administered her the oath of office at Raj Bhavan in Imphal. Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh, former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, Ministers, MLAs and Judges attended the swearing-in ceremony. Earlier, Justice Abhilasha was a judge of the Gujarat High Court.
81. The 4th Nepal Buildcon and Wood International Expo 2018 has started at Kathmandu on February 9, which was inaugurated by Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal Kamal Thapa. Manjeev Singh Puri, who is Indian Ambassador to Nepal, graced the event as guest of honour. The purpose of the 3 day expo is to provide a single platform to architects, engineers, builders, construction material suppliers, interior decorators, furniture, lighting, heavy machine and equipment manufacturers and other stake holders. Over 200 brands and products are being displayed through more than 150 stalls. More than 80 companies from India are also participating in the expo through an Indian Pavilion, which has been set up jointly by Ministry of Commerce, CII and Commerce Wing of Indian Embassy.
82. The 2018 International Conference on Unani Medicine has inaugurated by Dr Jitendra Singh (the Union Minister of Development of North-East Region) with theme "Integration of Unani System of Medicine in Mainstream Healthcare" in New Delhi on November 10, 2018. The purpose of the 2-day conference is to promote integration of Unani Medicine in mainstream healthcare across the globe. This year is special for Unani fraternity as it is the 150th Birth Anniversary of Hakim Ajmal Khan. To mark this day, the Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM), under the Ministry of AYUSH is organizing the conference as part of Unani Day Celebration. Besides national delegates, countries like South Africa, UK, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, China, USA, Portugal, UAE, Slovenia, Israel, Hungary, Bahrain, Tajikistan, etc is also participating in the conference. The conference will cover issues related to globalization, research, standardization, quality control, safety assessment, and industry perspective.
83. Chandrasekhar Rath (89), the doyen of Odia literature, has passed away in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on February 10, 2018. Rath was conferred with several awards, including Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award and Atibadi Jagannath Das Samman for his contribution in the field of literature. The writer was nominated for the prestigious Padma Shri award this year.
84. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been conferred with the 'Grand Collar of the State of Palestine' by President Mahmoud Abbas for his key contribution to promote relations between India and Palestine. President Abbas conferred the Grand Collar of the State of Palestine on Modi after the conclusion of the bilateral meeting between the two leaders. Mr. Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to make an official visit to Palestine. The Grand Collar is highest order given to foreign dignitaries – Kings, Heads of State/Government and persons of similar rank. It has in the past been awarded to King Salman of Saudi Arabia, King Hamad of Bahrain, President Xi Jinping of China, amongst others.
85. R.K Singh, the Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, has launched a web-based monitoring System and a Fly Ash mobile application "ASH TRACK" in New Delhi on February 8, 2018. These platforms will enable better management of the ash produced by thermal power plants by providing an interface between fly ash producers (Thermal Power Plants) and potential ash users such as – road contractors, cement plants etc. The app will show coal based power plants situated within the radius of 100 km and 300 km from the user's location. Therefore, any app user can select power station from where he wants to take fly ash. Ash availability, distance from user's location, details of contact person will be displayed in the app.
86. The South Central Railway (SCR) has become the first railway zone in India to complete 100% LED lighting at all the 733 stations under its jurisdiction. Division wise details of LED stations includes Secunderabad -162, Hyderabad -100,Vijayawada -158, Guntakal -157, Guntur -76and Nanded -80 Stations. This provision of LED lighting is expected to save 32 lakh units of electrical energy worth Rs 2.7 crore per year.
87. Biswamohan Mahapatra has been appointed as non-executive chairman of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for a period of two years, with effect from February 8, 2018. He succeeded B Sambamurthy, who was the interim chairman of the NPCI board. Apart from him, Dilip Asbe is the Managing Director & CEO of the organization.
88. The National Unani Day (NUD) is celebrated every year on 11th February to mark the birth anniversary of great Unani researcher Haqim Ajmal Khan. He was an eminent Indian Unani physician who was versatile genius, freedom fighter, educationist and founder of scientific research in Unani Medicine. This year (2018) is special for Unani fraternity as it is the 150th Birth Anniversary of Hakim Ajmal Khan. To mark this day, the Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM), under the Ministry of AYUSH is organizing the 2018 International Conference on Unani Medicine in New Delhi on February 10 as part of Unani Day Celebration. The theme of the 2-day conference is "Integration of Unani System of Medicine in main stream healthcare".
89. Hardayal Prasad has been appointed as the new Managing Director & CEO of the SBI Card with effect from February 1, 2018. He succeeded Vijay Jasuja, who retired on January 31, 2018. SBI Card has a customer base of over 5.7 million and a market share of 16%.
90. The Almatti Dam is a hydroelectric project on the Krishna River in North Karnataka, which was completed in July 2005. Geographically, it is located in the Bijapur district. The target annual electric output of the dam is 560 MU. The dam holds a gross water storage capacity of 123.08 TMC at 519 meters MSL.
91. The National Productivity Council (NPC) is observing National Productivity Day (NPD) on 12th February 2018, and National Productivity Week till 18th February. It is the 60th Anniversary of the National Productivity Council (NPC) and is being celebrated as Diamond Jubilee Year. The theme for the 2018 National Productivity Week is – Industry 4.0 Leapfrog Opportunity for India. Industry 4.0 would mean the convergence of real and virtual worlds – the next phase in bringing together conventional and modern technologies in manufacturing. This will result in the "Smart Factory", which is characterized by versatility, resource efficiency, ergonomic design and direct integration with business partners.
92. The 4th meeting of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) was held in New Delhi on February 12, 2018 under the chairmanship of Dr Bibek Debroy. During the meeting, the Council discussed the possible modalities of implementing the National Health Scheme announced by the government in the Union Budget-2018-19. Besides, presentations were made on Health Reforms, World Bank Report on Indian Economy and on Indian Fiscal – Monetary Framework.
93. Swayam Prakash Pani (41), a 2000-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Jammu and Kashmir cadre, has taken charge as the new Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Range on February 12, 2018. With this, he became the youngest officer to hold the post. Pani has served in key positions, including deputy IG, south Kashmir range, senior superintendent of police, Kulgam and Kathua. He has also held position in the served in the Intelligence Bureau and National Investigation Agency (NIA). He replaced Munir Ahmad Khan, who has been given the charge of Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) security and home guards.
94. Rohan More, the Pune-based Indian long-distance swimmer, has become the first Asian and the youngest person in the world to swim across the Ocean Seven. Despite sudden drop in water temperature, he covered the distance in 8 hours and 37 minutes. The Ocean's Seven marathon consists of seven long-distance open-water swims, which includes the North Channel, the Cook Strait, the Molokai Channel, the English Channel, the Catalina Channel, the Tsugaru Strait and the Strait of Gibraltar. With this feat, Rohan has also become the 9th person in the world to swim across Ocean Seven.
95. Defending champion Kishan Gangolli from Karnataka has won the 13th edition of the National 'A' Chess Championship for the blind in Mumbai on February 12, 2018. The championship was organised by All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB). With this feat, Gangolli became the champion for the fifth consecutive time with 10.5 points. Gujarat's Ashvin Makwana stood second with 9.5 points, Soundarya Kumar Pradhan of Orissa with 9 points came third, Aryan Joshi of Maharashtra with 8.5 points, came fourth and Odisha's Subhendu Kumar Patra with 7.5 points was at fifth position in the National 'A' Chess Championship for blind. These top five players in the championship will form the Indian team for the forthcoming 'World Team Championship' for the blind to be held in Bulgaria in July 2018.
96. The Railway Sports Promotion Board has lifted the 8th edition of Senior National Women's Hockey Championship 2018, thrashing Madhya Pradesh 4-0 in the final to finish the tournament without losing a game on February 11. Vandana scored two goals while Priyanka Wankhede and Anupa Barla one each. In the bronze medal match, Haryana beat home team Jharkhand 2-0.
97. Rajnath Singh, the Union Home Minister, has launched the Centre for learning Sanskrit language in Gujarat University in Ahmedabad on February 10, 2018. The first-of-its-kind spoken Sanskrit centre centre will offer a six-month course for people on how to speak the language. The classes will be held on Saturday and Sunday. In it, no prior knowledge of Sanskrit is required and the first batch shall begin in 10 days. The fees have been fixed at Rs 500.
98. Asma Jilani Jahangir (66), Pakistan's renowned human rights lawyer, social activist and an outspoken critic of the country's powerful military establishment, has passed away in Lahore on February 11, 2018. She was known for her outspoken nature and unrelenting pursuit for human rights. Asma was the first woman to serve as the President of Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan. She became a champion democracy activist and was subsequently imprisoned in 1983 for participating in the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy against the military rule of Pakistan's longest-serving President Ziaul Haq. In 1986, she moved to Geneva and became the vice-chair of the Defence for Children International. She remained there until 1988 before moving back to Pakistan. In 1987, she co-founded the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and became its Secretary General until 1993 when she was elevated as commission's chairperson. Asma also played an active role in the famous Lawyers' Movement to restore Iftikhar Chaudhry as the chief justice of Pakistan.
99. The Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Nitin Gadkari has released India's first-ever Highway Capacity Manual (Indo-HCM) in New Delhi on February 12, 2018. The manual has been developed by CSIR – CRRI on the basis of an extensive, country-wide study of the traffic characteristics on different categories of roads like single lane, two-lane, multi-lane urban roads, inter-urban highways and expressways and the associated intersections on these roads. The manual lays down guidelines for when and how to expand or manage different types of roads and their intersections and the level of services to be put in place. It is designed to be a useful tool for guiding road engineers and policy makers in the country. It has been developed based on the unique nature and diversity of traffic on Indian roads.
100. The National Sugar Institute (NSI) is located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh and was established in 1936. It is involved in research, training and advisory services to the sugar and allied industry, and functions under the Department of Food and Public Distribution of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. It provides technical education and training in research in all branches of sugar chemistry, sugar technology, sugar engineering and allied fields. The institute provides assistance to central and state governments in matters relating to sugar and allied industries.
101. Krishna Kumari will be the first female Hindu lawmaker in Pakistan since 1947, when Pakistan gained independence from Britain. Nasir Shah, the spokesman in the provincial government of Sindh Province, stated that Kumari is poised to become lawmaker in the 3rd March 2018 elections for the Upper House of Parliament after the country's Opposition party nominated her for the Senate's upcoming elections. Kumari has worked as a social worker and also for a Pakistani charity seeking to create awareness among people about the importance of education and the struggle to achieve basic human rights, guaranteed under Pakistan's constitution but often trampled upon by landowners and tribal chieftains.
102. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former Liberian President, has been honored with the 2018 Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership for excellence in African leadership. The $5 million African Leadership prize is awarded by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation which honors role models on a continent where many leaders have stayed in power for decades. Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Africa's first female president, is also the first female and only the fifth person to receive the Ibrahim leadership award since it was established in 2007.
103. Sharmila Nicollet from Bengaluru has become the first Indian golfer to qualify for the China Ladies PGA Tour. She fought her way back into the tournament in the last two rounds to earn a card for the Tour, which had Women's World rankings points also. Sharmila, who played on the Ladies European Tour before losing her full card, played her three rounds in the CLPGA Tour Qualifying School in 77-73-72 to finish in tied 21st and pick one of the 30 cards available in the 88-player field.
104. Johann Johannsson (48), the acclaimed Icelandic musician, has passed away in Berlin, Germany on February 8, 2018. He was known for giving background scores to films such as "Arrival", "Sicario" and "The Theory of Everything". He won a Golden Globe in 2015 for his score to the Stephen Hawking biopic. His work is stylised by its blending of traditional orchestration with contemporary electronic elements.
105. The World Radio Day (WRD) is observed every year on February 13 to remember the unique power of radio which touches lives and brings people together from every corner of the globe. It is the day, in 1946, United Nations Radio was established. The 2018 theme 'Radio and Sports' will promote the inseparable relationship between sports and gender, as well as how improved gender equality in sports broadcasting can lead to greater freedom of expression for all.
106. India's financial capital Mumbai, with a total wealth of $950 billion, has been named 12th wealthiest city among the top 15 wealthiest cities globally. Mumbai also features among the top 10 cities in terms of billionaire population. The city is home to 28 billionaires, individuals with $1 billion or more in net assets. According to a new report by New World Wealth, the list was topped by New York with a total wealth of $3 trillion. London ranked second in the list with $2.7 trillion, followed by Tokyo ($2.5 trillion), and San Francisco Bay area ($2.3 trillion). Total wealth, refers to the private wealth held by all the individuals living in each city. It includes all their assets (property, cash, equities, business interests) less any liabilities. Government funds are excluded from the figures.
107. K P Ramanunni from Kerala has been conferred with the 2017 Sahitya Akademi Award for Malayalam literature for his novel "Daivathinte Pusthakam", which deals with India's communal situation, at a function in New Delhi on February 12, 2018. He received a casket containing an engraved copper-plaque, a shawl and a cheque of Rs 1 lakh. However, the highlight of the event was that Ramanunni donated his prize money of Rs 1 lakh to the mother of Junaid Khan, the teen stabbed to death on a Mathura-bound train from New Delhi in June 2017. Junaid Khan from Haryana was lynched to death while he was returning home after Eid shopping.
108. Parbati Ghose (85), the first female filmmaker of Odisha, has passed away in Bhubaneswar on February 11, 2018. She was a symbol of women's empowerment when an idea like empowerment was unheard of. Her other important works include short film 'Pitei Nani' on women emancipation, biopic on the noted philanthropist and freedom fighter Malati Choudhury, serial 'Pura Puri Parabarika' for Doordarshan, telefilm 'Paribartan' on tribal health in their local dialect and telefilm 'Pratibha' based on the famous novel by Utkal Kesri Dr. Hare Krushna Mahtab to mark the celebrations of 50 years of Independence.
109. The Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering (CIAE) is located in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.. It is a higher seat of learning, research and development in the field of agriculture. The CIAE is an autonomous body, an Indian Council of Agricultural Research subsidiary, under the Union Ministry of Agriculture.
110. Jayant Madhab Bora has been conferred with the 2017 Sahitya Akademi Award for Assamese literature for his novel "Moriahola". The annual Sahitya Akademi awards for 2017 were presented at a function in New Delhi on February 12, 2018. The awards were given in 24 languages. The awarded works includes Seven novels, five collections each of poetries and short stories, five works of literary criticism, a play and a book of essays. Excerpts are as follows: Afsar Ahmed received the award for his Bengali Novel 'Sei Nikhonj Manusta' and in Bodo language Rita Boro was presented the honours for her Novel 'Thwisam'. While in Dogri, Shiv Mehta received the award for his short stories 'Banna', Urmi Ghanshyam Desai got the award for her literary criticism Gujarati Vyakaranna Baso Varsh. The awardee received a casket containing an engraved copper-plaque, a shawl and a cheque of Rs 1 lakh.
111. India and Russia has celebrated 70 years of bilateral relations in the field of agriculture at Suratgarh in Rajasthan on February 14, 2018. Both Indian and Russian delegations visited the Central State Farm (CSF) to commemorate the 70 years of agriculture relationship between the two countries. The CSF was set up in Suratgarh in 1956 with the assistance from erstwhile USSR. Russian scientists helped in laying the foundation of agriculture in the deserts of Thar, which brought about a change in the agriculture farming in nearby areas including fringe area of Punjab. Minister of State for Agriculture Gajender Singh Shekhawat and his Russian counterpart Sergey Beletskiy has inaugurate Russian Machinery Museum and visit a Cattle Breeding Centre.
112. Dr Bolla Bulli Ramaiah (92), the former Union minister and veteran TDP leader, has passed at Tanuku in Andhra Pradesh on February 14, 2018. He began his career in 1953 as an employee in the Andhra Sugars and rose through the ranks to become its chairman and managing director. Ramaiah, who was known as a genial person, joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) during its inception and became an MP in 1984. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Eluru constituency in 1991, 1996 and 1999 and served as the Union minister of state for commerce during 1996-98 in the United Front government.
113. India will host the 8th edition of Theatre Olympics in New Delhi from February 17 with theme "Flag of friendship", which will continue till 8th of April. The event will inaugurated by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu at Red Fort. It is being organised by National School of Drama, under the aegis of Ministry of Culture. Over 25,000 artistes from 30 countries will participate in the Theatre Olympics. The 51 day long nationwide theatre extravaganza will be held in 17 cities including Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Patna, Kolkata, Mumbai, Guwahati and Jammu. It will see 450 shows including 65 shows by international artistes, 600 ambient performances and 250 youth forum shows. It's first time that the Theatre Olympics will be held in India that will serve to create a dialogue between Indian and global artistes.
114. Muzaffar Hussain (78), the noted writer, thinker and journalist, has passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra on February 14, 2018. Born on March 20, 1940 in Madhya Pradesh, Hussain came to Mumbai in his youth and soon became proficient in many languages. In his illustrious career, he bagged several state and national level awards in literature, besides Padma Shri in 2002. He was conferred with the Lokamanya Tilak Jeevan Gaurav award for journalism by the government of Maharashtra in 2014. He was known as a pro-Hindutva writer and was also praised by the RSS.
115. Prof. Chandrashekhara Kambar, the eminent Kannada writer and Jnanpith winner, has been elected as the new president of Sahitya Akademi in the election held for the post. He is the third Kannada writer to head the country's premier literary institution, after Vinayak Krishna Gokak (1983) and U.R. Ananthamurthy (1993). Hindi poet Madhav Koushik has been elected as vice-president. This is the second time election was held in the history of Sahitya Akademi, after Ananthamurthy's election to the post. Prof. Kambar has served as member of the Akademi executive board for over 10 years and was vice-president for 2013-18.
116. India's first online radio station "Radio Umang" has launched on 2018 World Radio Day themed around peace, humanity and hope. It comes packed with inspirational stories, engaging talk shows and lots of soothing music. Listeners can tune in to this online radio station through web streaming or download the app. With 24 hours programming, it has found listeners in Hindi speaking regions of India and in over 60 countries worldwide.
117. The 12th edition of International Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR-2018) was held in Bengaluru, Karnataka on February 9, 2018. The 2018 theme was " Responsible CSR: a New Agenda Beyond Governance". The 2-day conference was attended by over 400 experts and delegates from all over India and abroad. In the conference, the prestigious Golden Peacock Award 2017 was presented. The leadership award for philanthropy and social change was presented to Vineet Nayar, the chairman of Sampark Foundation.
118. Noted Kannada critic T P Ashoka has bagged the 2017 Sahitya Akademi Award for Kannada language for his literary criticism work "Kathana Bharathi". The annual Sahitya Akademi awards for 2017 were presented at a function in New Delhi on February 12, 2018. The awards were given in 24 languages. Excerpts are as follows: In Santhali, Bhujanga Tudu got the award for his poetry 'Tahena Tangi Re' and Jagdish Lachhani was awarded for his Sindhi essays 'Aachhende Laja Maraan'. In Telugu, Devipriya was awarded for her poetry 'Gaali Rangu' and in Urdu, Baig Ehsas was honoured for her short stories 'Dakhma'. The awardee received a casket containing an engraved copper-plaque, a shawl and a cheque of Rs 1 lakh.
119. The 3-day International Conference on Operations and Maintenance "Indian Power Stations 2018" has inaugurated by R.K. Singh, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New and Renewable Energy, in New Delhi on February 13. The Minister exhorted the NTPC to become India's power sector multinational by setting up power plants in other Nations and become world's largest power producer. He also added that there was huge opportunity to export cheap power to neighbouring countries which will be beneficial for the entire region.
120. The Ban Sagar Dam is a multipurpose river Valley Project built across Son River in Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh. The dam irrigate an area of 2,490 km² in Madhya Pradesh, 1,500 km²; in Uttar Pradesh and 940 km² in Bihar. The water sharing of dam take place among three states: Madhya Pradesh (2.5 km3), Uttar Pradesh (1.2 km3) and Bihar (1.2 km3). It also provides power generation of 425 MW in Madhya Pradesh.
121. India's first-ever radio festival has started at the UNESCO House in New Delhi on February 15, 2018 to mark World Radio Day (WRD-2018). The festival has been organised by International Association of Women in Radio and Television in partnership with UNESCO. The festival includes live performances, an exhibition, and slotted panel discussions. Apart from touching on the theme for World Radio Day 2018 – Radio and Sports – the festival is also examining the potential of the medium as a platform for social change, ways to make it more creative and will trace the journey of music on the radio.
122. Tamil Nadu has lifted their maiden title in the 23rd edition of the Senior Women's National Football Championship 2018 by defeating Manipur in the final by 2-1 at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on February 14. Indumathi has also adjudged the player of the final as well as the tournament for her superlative performances.
123. Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, the chairperson of Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) , has been sworn-in as the 41st Prime Minister of Nepal, after his Left alliance routed the ruling Nepali Congress in the country's historic parliamentary and local polls. President Bidhya Devi Bhandari administered the oath of office and secrecy to the newly-elected Prime Minister on 15 February 2018 under Article 76 of newly adopted Constitution of Nepal. Oli, who is known for his pro-China stance, has served his first stint as Prime Minister of Nepal from 11 October 2015 to 3 August 2016.
124. India has signed the second loan agreement of $100 million with New Development Bank (NDB) for Rajasthan Water Sector Restructuring Project for Desert Areas on 13th February 2018 at New Delhi. This is the first tranche loan approved by the NDB under the Multi Tranche Financing Facility of $345 Million for this project. The project implementation period is six years. Rajasthan government will implement the project primarily through its Water Resources Department. The purpose of this project is to rehabilitate the 678 kilometre long Indira Gandhi Canal system built during 1958 to 1963 to prevent seepage, conserve water, and enhance water use efficiency as mandated by both national and state level policies on water use.
125. The World Sustainable Development Summit – 2018 will be held in New Delhi on February 16. The summit will address a wide variety of issues, including combating land degradation and air pollution, effective waste management and create financial mechanisms to enable effective climate change mitigation. The theme of the 2018 Summit is – Partnerships for a Resilient Planet, which seeks to create action frameworks to resolve some of the most urgent challenges facing developing economies in the backdrop of climate change. The summit is the flagship forum of the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). It seeks to bring together on a common platform, global leaders and thinkers in the fields of sustainable development, energy and environment sectors. Over 2,000 delegates are expected to participate in the summit, including policy makers, researchers, diplomats and corporates from around the world.
126. West Bengal has become the first Indian state to opt out of the National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS) "Modicare", which was unveiled in the Union Budget 2018. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Banerjee has stated that West Bengal already has made hospitalization and medical treatment free of cost for its citizens, so it doesn't see the point of spending on a separate programme that will do the same. Under the provisions of the Modicare, the Centre will contribute Rs 2,000 crore to the scheme, out of a total cost of Rs 5,500 crore to Rs 6,000 crore. State governments are expected to pay the remainder.
127. The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai has launched the test of the world's first autonomous pods at the World Government Summit (WGS) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on February 11, 2018. The autonomous pods are designed and engineered in cooperation with the US-based Next Future Transportation. These are designed to travel short and medium distances in dedicated lanes. They can be coupled together in as little 15 seconds or detached – depending on the riders' destination – in five seconds. Each pod is fitted with cameras and electromechanical technologies to carry out the coupling and detaching, which can be activated while the pod is in motion.
128. The India-Russia Agriculture Business Summit 2018 was held in New Delhi on February 13. The two countries discussed trade relations in the agricultural sector. The summit was organized by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. Additionally, the Russian and Indian delegations visited the Central State Farm (CSF) to commemorate the 70 years of bilateral relations in the field of agriculture in Suratgarh, Rajasthan on February 14, 2018. The CSF was set up in Suratgarh in 1956 with the assistance from erstwhile USSR. Russian scientists helped in laying the foundation of agriculture in the deserts of Thar, which brought about a change in the agriculture farming in nearby areas including fringe area of Punjab.
129. India's Umang App has won the Best M-Government Service award in the Accessible Government category while Aadhaar won the best emerging technology award at the recently concluded 6th edition of the World Government Summit 2018 in Dubai, where India had the status of 'Guest of Honour' country. The summit acknowledged technology pioneers for providing global solutions to global challenges. The mobile application "Umang App" provides users a unified platform that combines government departments and services, facilitating transactions for citizens. The award acknowledged Government of India's efforts to provide convenient services to its citizens. The Aadhaar project was recognized as the world's largest biometric enabled identification programme which provides access to service income tax, passport services, bank accounts, social services benefits aimed at providing 1.2 billion citizens unique identification card with fingerprint, eye-print and other vital data. The award recognized the efforts of the Government of India (GoI)'s invention and innovation in the field of technology and making the country completely digitalized.
130. The Omkareshwar Dam is a gravity dam on the Narmada River just upstream of Mandhata in Khandwa district, Madhya Pradesh. It is named after the Omkareshwar temple located just downstream. An associated hydroelectric power station located at the base of the dam has an installed capacity of 520 MW. The Narmada is the largest river in Madhya Pradesh, flowing towards the west and falling in the Arabian Sea.
131. Vinod Kumar Jain, the former Professor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), has been appointed as the new Vice Chancellor of the Tezpur University. He will serve as the vice-chancellor for a period of five years from the date he takes charge until he attains the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier. Prof Jain was conferred D Phil from the Sussex University, Brighton UK in 1982. He served as a scientist, class I (1983-1985) in the Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) New Delhi before joining JNU's School of Environmental Sciences as an associate professor in 1985. Prof Jain has been actively involved in research activities for the past 36 years.
132. The third-edition of international conference and exhibition on pharmaceuticals industry and medical devices- India Pharma 2018 and India Medical Device 2018 – has started in Bengaluru, Karnataka on February 15, 2018. It was inaugurated by Ananth Kumar, Union Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, with the theme – 'Affordable & Quality Healthcare'. The key highlight of the conference is a workshop by World Health Organization (WHO) on "Regulatory System Strengthening and Prequalification updated by WHO". The 3-day event is being organized by Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, in collaboration with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). More than 20 international drug and device regulators will participate in a meet with Indian regulators.
133. The world's tallest hotel 'Gevora' has opened in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on February 11, 2018. The gleaming gold 75-storey Gevora Hotel stands 356 metres, or nearly a quarter of a mile, tall. The hotel has 528 guest rooms and suites and four restaurants. It has 232 Deluxe Rooms, 265 one-bed room deluxe and 31 two-bedroom suites. It also have a pool, jacuzzi and health club as well as a luxury spa. Dubai is also home to the world's tallest building "Burj Khalifa", which pierces the city skyline at 828 metres (half a mile) high.
134. Haruhiko Kuroda has been reappointed as the governor of Bank of Japan (BOJ) for second five-year term by the Government of Japan. His second term will come into force when the current one ends in April 2018. Kuroda will be first governor to serve two terms since 1954. The Bank of Japan is the central bank of Japan and it is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.
135. The 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO-2018) will be hosted by China in the city of Qingdao in June, 2018. China had taken over the rotating chair of SCO after the17th SCO summit 2017, which was held in Astana, Kazakhstan in June 2017. The SCO is consists of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan. The SCO focuses on security- related issues of the region especially on counter terrorism cooperation.
136. The World Sustainable Development Summit – 2018 has inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on February 16, which has been organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) to discuss frameworks to resolve climate change crises in developing countries. The theme of the 2018 Summit is – Partnerships for a Resilient Planet – which seeks to create action frameworks to resolve some of the most urgent challenges facing developing economies in the backdrop of climate change. The 3-day summit will see participation from over 41 countries, bringing together different stakeholders in the fields of sustainable development, energy and environment sectors. The conference will address a wide variety of issues, including combating land degradation and air pollution, effective waste management and create financial mechanisms to enable effective climate change mitigation.
137. Cyril Ramaphosa, head of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), has been sworn-in as the new President of South Africa on 15 February 2018. He was elected as the fifth president of South Africa by the ruling party politicians after the resignation of Jacob Zuma. Ramaphosa, who is an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader and businessman, served as the Deputy President of South Africa from 2014 to 2018.
138. Sanjiv Bajaj, managing director of Bajaj Finserv, has been named the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 for solutions in lending, life and general insurance and wealth advisory. He will represent India at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award (WEOY) in Monte Carlo from June 13, 2018. Dr. E Sreedharan was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for transforming the face of public transportation in India.
139. Khwaja Haleem (78), the former Uttar Pradesh minister and senior Samajwadi Party leader, has passed away in New Delhi on February 16, 2018. Haleem, who belongs to a family of freedom fighters, completed his masters' degree from the Aligarh Muslim University in 1969. He started his political career with the Youth Congress in the early 1970s.He later joined the Lok Dal and was elected to the Vidhan Sabha from Aligarh Assembly constituency in 1980. He remained a Mulayam Singh loyalist ever since, and was elected twice for the Vidhan Parishad. In 1990, Haleem was appointed as the chairman of Uttar Pradesh Minority Commission and was the member of the Samajwadi Party Central Committee for nearly two decades. In 2014, he was appointed as advisor in tourism department by then chief minister Akhilesh Singh Yadav.
140. The Bheemgarh dam is built across the Wainganga river in Chhapara tehsil of Seoni district of Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The dam is also known as Sanjay Sarovar Bandh and Upper Wainganga dam. It is known as the biggest Mud / Earthen dam of Asia. It is bounded by mountains from all sides.
141. Vikas Sathaye, a Pune-born person has been honoured with the Scientific and Engineering Academy Award at the Oscars Scientific and Technical Awards 2018 at Beverly Hills in Los Angeles, California. Sathaye and his team received the award for his contribution towards conceptualisation, designing, engineering, and the implementation of the 'Shotover K1 Camera System' during his stint at Shotover Camera Systems in Queenstown, New Zealand. The Scientific and Engineering Award is given for scientific achievements that produce a definite influence on the advancement of the motion picture industry.
142. The 6th Conference of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) of India Region was inaugurated by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan in Patna, Bihar on February 16, 2018. The 2-day conference discussed subjects of 'Parliament's role in the development agenda' and 'Legislature and Judiciary'. Over 100 delegates from India and abroad, including Australia, Britain and Uganda, are participating in the conference. Speakers of State Assemblies, Chairpersons of Legislative Councils and delegates from across the country also took part. The theme of the conference is 'Role of Parliament and Parliamentarians in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)'. In the conference, Parliamentarians discuss a number of topics including Parliament's role in the development agenda and the relationship between the legislature and the judiciary.
143. The 54th Munich Security Conference (MSC-2018) was held in Munich, Germany from February 16-18 to discuss pressing security issues, including North Korea's nuclear and missile programs and the Syrian civil war. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono attended the meet. The issue of North Korea's nuclear weapons development program was high on the agenda. The MSC is an annual conference on international security policy that has taken place since 1963.
144. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has inaugurated the 8th edition of the Theatre Olympics at Lal Quila in New Delhi on April 17. The event has been organised by National School of Drama under the aegis of Ministry of Culture. The theme of the festival is – "Flag of Friendship". The 51-day long nationwide theatre extravaganza will feature Indian and international theatre groups, eminent theatre personalities along with their performances. 30 countries are participating from across the globe. It will include 60 'living legends' series conversing with theatre enthusiasts and 50 'master classes' on various art forms. The 51-day long nationwide theatre extravaganza will be held in various cities. The event will continue till 8th of April. There will be exhibitions, seminars, symposia, interactive discussions and workshops with well-known authors, actors, designers and directors.
145. The Maharashtra government will launch cheap sanitary pad scheme "Asmita Yojana" on the International Women's Day for rural women. Under the scheme, girls in Zilla Parishad schools will get a sanitary napkin packet at Rs 5 while rural women can avail it at a subsidised rate of Rs 24 and Rs 29. The scheme, catering to girl students and women in rural areas, will be formally launched on March 8, 2018.
146. The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will soon launch Asia's first large scale CO2-injected project in its Gandhar oil field in Gujarat to recover an extra 20 million barrels of crude oil under the Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) programme which is being undertaken to improve India's energy security. The EOR programme is set to play a crucial role within the country for recovering up to 20% of residual oil from such ageing fields.
147. Legendary singer Asha Bhosle has been conferred with the 5th edition of Yash Chopra Memorial Award 2018 on February 16 in Mumbai for her outstanding contribution to the Hindi film industry. The award has been instituted by MP T Subbarami Reddy in the memory of Chopra, who died in 2012, in association with Anu Ranjan and Shashi Ranjan. The award also carries a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh. The previous recipients of the award were Lata Mangeshkar, Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha and Shah Rukh Khan.
148. India and Iran has recently signed Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income in New Delhi. The Agreement will stimulate flow of investment, technology and personnel from India to Iran & vice versa, and will prevent double taxation. The Agreement will provide for exchange of information between the two Contracting Parties as per latest International Standards. It will improve transparency in tax matters and will help curb tax evasion and tax avoidance. The Agreement also meets treaty related minimum standards under G-20 OECD Base Erosion & Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project, in which India participated on an equal footing.
149. The National Banana Festival (NBF-2018) has started at Kalliyoor, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala from February 17 to 21. The festival is organised by Centre for Innovation in Science and Social action (CISSA) in partnership with Kalliyoor Grama Panchayat and a host of National and State organisations. The two-day event is aimed at helping farmers from across the country get exposure to new technologies and new species in banana cultivation. The Banana Festival exhibition will showcase everything about banana. This will provide first-hand information to the farmers and general public about its multifaceted uses.
150. The Ranganadi Dam is a concrete-gravity diversion dam on the Ranganadi River in Arunachal Pradesh which serves a run-of-the-river scheme. The dam is intended for hydroelectric purposes and is part of Stage I of the Ranganadi Hydro Electric Project and supports the 405-megawatt Dikrong Power House.
151. The prestigious World Congress on Information Technology has started in Hyderabad on February 19, 2018. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the inaugural session of the 3-day IT summit through a video link. The World Information Technology and Services Alliance is organising Congress while the National Alliance of Software and Services Companies and the Telangana state Government are jointly hosting the prestigious event. Over 2000 delegates including heads of IT majors, visionaries, Government leaders and academia from 30 countries will take part in the Congress being held for the first time in India. Over 150 global thought leaders will share their views during the Congress.
152. Gundu Hanumantha Rao (61), the noted Telugu film comedian, has passed away in Hyderabad, Telangana on February 19, 2018. Rao, born in Vijayawada, started his film career with "Aha Na Pellanta" in 1987 and acted in around 400 films such as "Rajendrudu Gajendrudu" and "Yamaleela". He is known for his roles in Pellaniki Premalekha Priyuraliki Subhalekha (1992), Rajendrudu Gajendrudu, Mayalodu, Jodi No.1, Nenu Seetamahalakshmi, Kedi No.1, etc. He acted in over 600 movies in Telugu and is a popular TV artist.
153. The 44th Khajuraho Dance Festival 2018 will be held at the temple town in Chhatarpur district on February 20. The fest is being organised by the culture department of the Madhya Pradesh government. The 6-day fest will showcase classical dances including Kathak, Odissi, Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali and Mohiniattam. This year, the Art Mart (which is part of the festival) would showcase paintings of international artists from Germany, France and China among other countries. During the festival, dances are performed in an open- air auditorium, usually in front of the Chitragupta Temple dedicated to the Sun God and the Vishwanatha Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temples at Khajuraho, built by the Chandela dynasty between 950 AD and 1050 AD, are world-wide known for their erotic.
154. Archaeologist and historian Arvind P. Jamkhedkar will be the new Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). He will replace Prof. K. Sudershan Rao, whose term as ICHR chief was mired in controversy. The post fell vacant after Prof. Rao's retirement. Prof. Jamkhedkar is at present Chancellor of Deccan College, Pune, known in academic circles for its archaeology department. Prof. Jamkhedkar, who taught at Dhule, Nagpur and Mumbai, was vice-president of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai from 2007 to 2013. He is also editor of the Journal of Asiatic Society of Mumbai.
155. PhonePe, the online payment service provider, has partnered with Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) to deploy its own Point of Sale (POS) payment terminals across all IOCL retail outlets nationally. As part of the pilot program, PhonePe PoS devices have already been installed at 30 IOCL outlets. The device will allow IOCL customers to pay using UPI, credit and debit cards, PhonePe wallet, or other external wallets including JIO money and Freecharge.
156. India's first Artificial Intelligence (AI) centre will be set up by the Maharashtra Government in Mumbai. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will launch the plan for the institute during the Magnetic Maharashtra Summit and at the Global Economic Conference in Canada in March 2018. The AI institute will give a fresh impetus to the fourth industrial revolution, and promote Mumbai as an investment destination in innovations and data analysis. The main aim of the centre is to integrate artificial intelligence in the field of social development.
157. Didier Lockwood (62), the noted French jazz violinist, has passed away in Paris on February 18, 2018. He was known for his use of electric amplification and experimentation on different sounds on the electric violin. Lockwood was a disciple of the late Stephane Grappelli.
158. The Botanical Survey of India (BSI) and UK's Natural History Museum (NHM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in New Delhi on February 16, 2018 for cooperation in the field of genetic/taxonomic studies, research and training, conservation in India, including species and habitat conservation assessments, etc. The MoU will pave the way for BSI staff to work in Natural History Museum, London and vice-versa and they will share fairly and equitably the benefits that may arise from the collection, study and conservation of the plant materials such as seeds, herbarium specimens and tissue samples and exchange associated data and images. NHM will help BSI in capacity building in areas of systematic botany and long-term conservation of plant genetic resources in India. The headquarters of BSI is located in Kolkata, West Bengal.
159. The World Day of Social Justice is observed every year on February 20 to recognize the need to promote efforts to tackle issues such as poverty, exclusion and unemployment. It is an opportunity to recognize social and economic injustices in the world — and to find ways to help those affected. The day aims to break down the barriers created by gender, class, race, sexuality and religion to create a world that promotes health, opportunity and justice for all. The 2018 theme is "Workers on the Move: the Quest for Social Justice".
160. The Kallanai dam is an ancient dam, which is built across the Kaveri river in Tiruchirapalli district in Tamil Nadu. It is the 4th-oldest water-diversion or water-regulator structures in the world and the oldest in India which is still in use. Originally, the dam was constructed by the Chola king Karikalan in 2nd century AD.
161. The National conference on "Agriculture 2022- Doubling Farmers' Income" has started at National Agriculture Science Complex (NASC) in New Delhi on February 19, 2018. It is organized by the Union Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW). The 2-day conference is organized with a view to identifying various critical issues relating to agriculture and farmers' welfare and finding appropriate solutions. The main aim of the conference is to build a consensus around appropriate recommendations that will help in shaping the vision of the government. The participants of conference comprising farmers, farmers' associations, scientists, economists, trade industry, NGOs and policymakers. In the Budget 2018, the government has proposed fixing of the minimum support price of Kharif crops at least 1.5 times over the cost of production.
162. The Union Water Resources ministry is holding the regional conference of southern states in Hyderabad on February 20, 2018 to resolve the pending inter-state water issues. During the meeting, issues such as the implementation of the latest orders of the Supreme Court on sharing of Cauvery waters, interlinking of rivers like Godavari-Cauvery, notification of jurisdiction of Krishna and Godavari Water Management Boards, Polavaram Project are among issues scheduled to come up for discussion. Ministers and Principal Secretaries of Water Resources of Six southern states – Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana are scheduled to take part in the meeting which will be chaired by Minister of State for Water Resources Arjun Ram Meghwal.
163. The Union Government has constituted a committee headed by Rajiv Kumar, the Vice Chairman of the NITI Aayog, to study the Brahmaputra and flood control measures in Assam and neighboring states.
164. The UK – India Joint research projects on 'Water Quality Research' and 'Energy Demand Reduction in Built Environment' were launched in New Delhi on February 20, 2018. The projects were jointly launched by NITI Aayog member Dr V K Saraswat, Department of Science and Technology Secretary Ashutosh Sharma and Research Councils UK- India Director Daniel Shah. The Water Quality Research programme has 8 projects and 'Energy Demand Reduction in Built Environment' programme has four projects, with a total joint investment of up to 15 million British Pound. These projects aim to deliver mutual benefits and research solutions not only to the UK and India but also to address shared global sustainable development goals of clean water and clean energy.
165. Noted violinist M.S. Anantharaman (94), an exponent of Parur style of violin playing, has passed away in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on February 19, 2018. The Parur School is known for its violin recital by mixing the basic features of Carnatic and Hindustani styles.
166. Roger Federer, a Swiss professional tennis player, has won the 2018 Rotterdam Open men's singles tennis tournament by defeating Grigor Dimitrov in the final by 6-2-6-2 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was his 97th career title. This was Federer's 3rd title in Rotterdam following successes in 2005 and 2012. In the Open era, only American Jimmy Connors has won more titles than Federer, with 109.
167. Star India, the official broadcaster for the Indian Premier League (IPL), has got the audio-visual production rights of the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL-2018). The 2018 IPL will be held in Mumbai, Maharashtra from April 7 to May 27. The announcement was made on February 19 when the BCCI opened the bids for the audio-visual production rights for the IPL and the 2018-19 domestic cricket season.
168. Milkbasket, India's first and largest micro-delivery platform, has been recognised as 'Startup of the Year' 2017 at the 7th Small Business Awards held in New Delhi. The startup of the year award is dedicated to young SMEs, aged 7 years or less, with great potential to become big in local/international markets.
169. India will be the global host of 2018 World Environment Day (WED), which is scheduled to be held on June 5, 2018. The theme "Beat Plastic Pollution" urges governments, industry, communities, and individuals to come together and explore sustainable alternatives and urgently reduce the production and excessive use of single-use plastic polluting our oceans, damaging marine life and threatening human health. The World Environment Day is a UN Environment-led global event and is the single largest celebration of our environment each year.
170. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri has won the best film award at the 71st British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England on February 18, 2018. The movie was directed by Martin McDonagh. The movie is about a woman seeking justice for her daughter's murder.
171. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has recently constituted a four-member Empowered Expert Committee (EEC), which is being entrusted to conduct the appraisal of applications for short listing 20 Institutions of Eminence. N Gopalaswami, former Chief Election Commissioner of India is the Chairperson of the committee. The government is likely to announce the names of the selected institutions by April 2018. The committee was constituted by the UGC after the approval of the central government, as per the UGC (Institutions of Eminence Deemed to be Universities) Regulation, 2017, and UGC (Declaration of Government Educational Institutions as Institutions of Eminence) Guidelines, 2017.
172. Uma Bharati, the Union minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation, has launched the Bagori Ganga Gram project, New Swajal Project at Bagori and Gangotri Iconic Place at Dunda village in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand on February 20, 2018. Besides creating cleanliness, providing basic amenities to the people of Ganga bank villages, these projects would also generate employment. The Open Defecation Free (ODF) village Bagori is one of the 24 pilot Ganga Villages picked up to be transformed into Ganga Grams this year. Swajal is a community owned drinking water programme for sustained drinking water supply.
173. The Singapore government will impose a 'carbon tax' from 2019 to cut its greenhouse gas emissions and make companies more competitive as global agreements on climate change take effect. According to government, the tax would be levied on all facilities producing 25,000 tonnes or more of greenhouse gas emissions a year. The tax, to be applied to all sectors, will be Sg$5.0 ($3.8) per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions from 2019 to 2023, after which the levy will be reviewed and possibly raised to between Sg$10 and Sg$15 per tonne by 2030.
174. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted a new 5-member expert Committee under the chairmanship of Y H Malegam, a former member of the Central Board of Directors of RBI, to look into the reasons for wide divergence by banks in asset classification and provisioning by banks and measures to prevent frauds. The committee will also look into the issue of huge non-performing asset divergences — between what banks classify and what is detected in RBI inspection — and recommend steps to address the issue. The other members of the committee are Bharat Doshi, S. Raman and Nandkumar Saravade. A.K. Misra, Executive Director of RBI, will be the Member-Secretary of the committee.
175. The Indian team, led by Kiran Nadar, won the 5th Commonwealth bridge championship, held from February 14 to 18 in Gold Coast, Australia. India beat Australia 103-65 in the final, after negotiating 11 rounds of qualification phase, followed by the knock-out stage from the quarterfinals. B. Satyanarayana, Jaggy Shivdasani, Rajeshwar Tewari, Sunit Chokshi and Keyzad Anklesaria were the other members.
176. State-owned telecom firm BSNL and Japan's NTT AT along with their Indian partner Virgo Corps, have signed a MoU (memorandum of understanding) to collaborate in futuristic technologies such as artificial intelligence / IoT and jointly create a 5G test bedan agreement to collaborate in developing futuristic technologies. The agreement is in line with the vision of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to collaborate on the next generation technologies and use the expertise of India in software and Japanese expertise in manufacturing.
177. The 22nd edition of the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT-2018) has been inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through a video conference in Hyderabad on Feb 19, which will continue till Feb 21. The WCIT is held for the first time in India. Beside this, the 26th edition of NASSCOM India Leadership Forum (ILF) was also held in the same venue later on. Since NASSCOM is the host of the WCIT, the 26th edition of India Leadership Forum (ILF) is a limited edition. Telangana is the state partner for both the events. At least 20 CEOs from Fortune 500 companies and 100 other top executives besides over 5,000 delegates are expected to attend the conference.
178. The Sanskriti Mahotsav "Swachhagrah – Bapu ko Kaaryaanjali" has started at the Man Mandir Ghat and Assi Ghat in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh on February 21, 2018 to celebrate the creative and cultural industries in Varanasi and to focus attention on the need for Swachhta by using cultural forms. The 2-day Mahotsav will integrate the tangible and intangible heritage along the river-belt and will see the engagement of the academia, artists, artisans, writers, poets, environmental and cultural forums on the use of cultural expressions for conservation and protection of the river and the ancient city. It will cover a profusion of art forms from classical, folk music, dance and visual arts and would offer the chance to experience the best in established and emerging virtuosity.
179. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval to the construction of 4.531 km long 2-Lane Bi-Directional Silkyara Bend-Barkot Tunnel in Uttarakhand as part of 'Chardham Mahamarg Pariyojana'. The tunnel will have escape passage including approaches on Dharasu -Yamunotri section between Chainage 25.400 Km. and Chainage 51.000 Km. The project will be falling along NH-134 (old NH-94) in the State of Uttarakhand and will be built under Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Mode. This is funded under NH (O) Scheme of Ministry of RT&H and forms part of ambitious Chardham Plan. The construction period of the project is 4 years.
180. The Centre for Policy Research (CPR) is an Indian think tank focused on public policy. It was established in 1973 and located in New Delhi. It is one of 27 national social science research institutes recognized by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), the apex advisory body of the Government of India for the promotion of research in the social sciences. The aims of CPR are to develop substantive policy options on matters relevant to the Indian polity, economy and society; to provide advisory services to governments, public bodies and other institutions; and to disseminate information on policy issues through various channels.
181. India has been ranked 81st out of 180 countries in the global Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2017, released by Transparency International (TI), which named the country among the "worst offenders" in terms of graft and press freedom in the Asia Pacific region. In 2016 India was in the 79th place among 176 countries. The index, which measures perception of corruption in the public sector, uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. India's score remained intact at 40 points in both 2016 and 2017. This year, New Zealand and Denmark scored the highest scores with 89 and 88 out of 100, respectively. Somalia was found to be the most corrupt country in the world. The 2017 index highlights that the majority of countries are making little or no progress in ending corruption, while further analysis shows journalists and activists in corrupt countries risking their lives every day in an effort to speak out.
182. The Haryana government has officially launched the Parivartan scheme, which is designed to address 10 issues including cleanliness and pollution, in 46 developmental blocks of the state. The 10 issues include facilitation of financing, making agriculture profitable and sustainable, improving health services, implementing Swachh Bharat, decongesting market areas, engaging the youth, checking air pollution, ensuring availability of identity-related services, effective policing, and ensuring road order and conduct. Under this scheme, the state government will provide training (practical) to the employees and thus will create strong training workforce in the state. This is a unique scheme in order to ensure that the benefit of all government scheme must reach the people.
183. Flying officer Avani Chaturvedi from Madhya Pradesh has scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to fly a fighter aircraft solo. She flew a MiG-21 bison in her first solo sortie from IAF's Jamnagar base in Gujarat on February 19. She is one of the three in the first batch of female pilots, besides Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh, who were inducted in Indian Air Force fighter squadron in 2016. They were commissioned as flying officers after the government took the decision in 2015 to open the fighter stream for women on an experimental basis in three women pilots had undergone strenuous training programme to fly fighter jets. The IAF has already selected the next batch of three women trainee pilots for the fighter stream.
184. The 6th edition of annual joint military exercise 'Garuda Shakti-2018' has started between Indian and Indonesian Army in Bandung, Indonesia on February 19, 2018. This joint exercise between Indian and Indonesian Special Forces highlights the increasing trust and cooperation between the two armies. The aim of exercise is to build experience sharing in counter-terrorism operations, close quarter combat and other areas of special operations. It is a two-week long joint Military drill.
185. The Union Government will set up the 'NITI Forum for North-East' to identify various constraints on the way of accelerated, inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the North East Region of the country and to recommend suitable interventions for addressing identified constraints. It will also review the development status in the NER. The forum will be co-chaired by the Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog and Minister of State (I/C), Ministry of Development of Northeastern Region (DoNER). The forum will have its Secretariat in the Ministry of DoNER. The Forum may examine and address any other issues which are of importance but not specifically spelt out in its Terms of Reference. It may devise its own procedure to conduct its business/meetings/fields visits or constitution of Sub-Groups etc.
186. Kunhiraman Panoor (84), the renowned author and human rights activist, has passed away in Kannur, Kerala on February 20, 2018. He was known for his work 'Keralathile Africa', in which he portrayed the ill-fated, slavish lives of Kerala tribals. He had won the Kerala Sahithya Akademi award for comprehensive contribution in 2006.
187. R.K. Singh, the Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, has inaugurated the 'International R&D Conclave' in New Delhi. It is a 2-day conference on Emerging Opportunities and Challenges of R&D in Indian Power Sector. It has been organized by Central Electricity Authority (CEA). The conference was stressed upon the need of a dedicated R&D department in CEA to coordinate the research in the power sector. The sessions in the Conference will focus on R&D activities in Thermal Generation, Hydro Generation, Renewable Energy, Transmission, Grid Operation, Distribution, Trading, Marketing and Tariff.
188. The Kerala government has recently made vaccination compulsory for school admissions to Class 1 from the 2018-'19 academic year. Parents will have to show details of immunization shots given to children during enrolment in school. The health minister of Kerala KK Shailaja has released the new health policy draft. The move comes in the wake of stiff opposition from certain communities against the vaccination drive. Other provisions of the new policy include a standard treatment guideline for all hospitals, including private institutions, and transgender clinics at all district hospitals. An antibiotic guidelines committee will also be formed to prepare a policy for antibiotics. The purpose of the new health draft policy is to reduce maternal mortality rate from 66 per lakh to 30 per lakh in the short term, and infant mortality from 12 per lakh to eight. It aims to reduce neonatal mortality from seven per lakh to five. The draft envisages a new Kerala Public Health Act to cover all issues in the health sector.
189. The Raja Lakhamagouda dam is a dam constructed across the Ghataprabha River in the Krishna River basin. It is situated at Hidkal village in Hukkeri Taluk of Belagavi district in North Karnataka. The dam with the height of 62.48 metres and 10 Vertical Crest Gates, impounds a large reservoir with a gross surface area of 63.38 Square kilometres, and storage capacity of 51.16 Tmcft. It is an earthen and masonry dam which caters to the Irrigation needs for over 8,20,000 acres, and Hydel power generation.
190. The Khadi and Village Industries Board of Uttar Pradesh has signed a pact with Amazon India to facilitate online selling of Khadi products. As part of an MoU, Amazon India will educate, train and enable rural khadi artisans to directly sell their products to Amazon.in customers across the country under the brand of UP Khadi. The portfolio online will include products such as khadi shirts, kurtas, dhotis, towels and gourmet food which has a tremendous potential and demand in urban areas.
191. The 3-day India International Textiles Expo (IITExpo) has started in Sri Lankan capital of Colombo on February 21, 2018. It is being organized by Powerloom Development & Export Promotion Council (PDEXCIL) with the support of Union Ministry of Textiles & Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India (GoI). The Chief Guest at the inauguration ceremony was Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Minister of Special Assignments of Sri Lanka. At the event, about 45 exhibitors from various textile clusters of India are displaying variety of fabrics, home textiles, traditional items etc. suitable for apparel, industrial, technical application and general consumers. This would be a unique opportunity to see the products of reputed Indian textile companies under one roof.
192. The Telangana Government has signed a technology partnership agreement with the Taiwanese city of Taoyuan to facilitate learning and knowledge sharing in emerging technologies and their implementation at the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) 2018 in Hyderabad on February 21. Taoyuan is a hub for firms working in new-age technologies such as robotics and IoT (Internet of Things). Therefore, the partnership would promote knowledge sharing between various entities. It would provide insights into implementation of IoT, robotics and other emerging technologies, including VR/AR in governance and for offering government-to-citizen services. The WCIT, which was conducted in India for the first time, was a grand success with about 2,500 delegates attending it.
193. The International Mother Language Day (IMLD) is celebrated every year by UNESCO on February 21 to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversityand promote multilingualism. This year, in 2018, UNESCO commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its bold statement that 'no discrimination can be made on the basis of language', and celebrates its translation into more than 500 languages. The 2018 theme is "Linguistic diversity and multilingualism count for sustainable development".
194. India and France will co-host will co-host the first International Solar Alliance (ISA) summit at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on 11th March 2018, where at least 10 heads of state are expected to be present. The ISA will see representation from over 120 countries and multilateral bodies like the United Nations, World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB). The ISA is a treaty-based international body for promotion of solar energy in alliance with 121 countries, which are lying fully or partially between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. The summit would discuss various projects being prepared by different countries in areas including rural electrification, off grid solar, water supply and irrigation.
195. Suresh Seth (86), the former Madhya Pradesh minister and senior Congress leader, has passed away in Indore on February 21, 2018. He was popularly known as `Sher-e-Indore' for vociferously raising issues of public interest and corruption. Seth had served as the minister for urban administration in then chief minister Arjun Singh's cabinet, and also as the Indore Mayor.
196. The 7th edition of the Youth Festival has started with theme "Let Love Live" at Central Park in New Delhi on February 22, 2018. The 6-day is organised by Sahitya Kala Parishad and the Department of Art, Culture and Languages, Delhi Government. The main purpose of this fest is to promote young performers. This year's festival is focused on "celebration of the freedom to love" and will host performances that drive home this message among the youngsters of Delhi.
197. Billy Graham, one of the most widely heard Christian evangelist in history, has passed away in North Carolina, USA on February 21, 2018. He is credited for transforming American religious life through his preaching and activism. His leadership summits and crusades in more than 185 countries and territories forged powerful global links among conservative Christians, and threw a lifeline to believers in the communist-controlled Eastern bloc. Dubbed America's pastor, Graham was a confidant to US Presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to George W. Bush. In 1983, President Reagan gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honour. Graham's reached millions of people through his pioneering use of prime-time telecasts, network radio, daily newspaper columns, evangelistic feature films and globe-girdling satellite TV.
198. The Government of India (GoI) has contributed $1 million aid for the rehabilitation efforts in kingdom of Tonga after the Tropical Cyclone Gita caused massive destruction in the Pacific island nation. India has allocated $500,000 in the India-UN Development Partnership Fund for the rehabilitation efforts while $500,000 will be provided for immediate relief assistance. The India-UN Development Partnership Fund is supported and led by the Government of India (GoI) and managed by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation. The Fund supports Southern-owned and led, demand-driven, transformational sustainable development projects across the developing world, with a focus on least developed countries and Small Island developing states. The United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that the Category 4 cyclone was the worst on record to hit Tonga.
199. The Chandrapur Super Thermal Power Station (CSTPS) is located in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra. With the total capacity of 3340MW, the plant is largest power plant in the Maharashtra. It accounts for more than 25% of total Maharashtra needs. The plant gets water supply from Erai Dam when in normal conditions.
200. The 23rd edition of the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT-2019) will be held in Yerevan, Armenia. The WCIT is the largest and the most reputable international event among worldwide IT leaders. It brings together high-level officials from different countries, heads of multinational organizations, universities and scientific research centers, non-governmental organizations' representatives and many more. The event includes discussions of legal, political and economic trends affecting IT business processes, presentations of innovative solutions, B2B meetings and so on. The WCIT 2019 will be the first Congress being held in Europe since 2010.
201. The 2018 SAARC Business Leaders' Conclave will be held in Kathmandu, Nepal from March 16 to 18, with an objective to promote investment, innovation and entrepreneurship in the region. The bi-annual event of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SAARC-CCI) is going to be held in Nepal for the second time and the government is going to host the regional event jointly with SAARC-CCI. Former President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, has been invited to deliver a keynote speech in the conclave. Former president of Sri Lanka Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has also been invited to address the meet. Top-notch business people from the region will be addressing the conclave. India has so far conducted this event three times, and Nepal and Sri Lanka have organised it once so far.
202. Reigning Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap has won men's singles title at the 2018 Austrian Open International Challenge badminton tournament. He defeated Malaysia's June Wei Cheam in straight games late last night to clinch his first international title in over three years. Kashyap looked in good touch throughout the tournament as he didn't drop a single game en route to his title win.
203. Aruna Budda Reddy, who hails from Hyderabad, has competed at the 2018 Gymnastics World Cup and created history after becoming the first Indian gymnast to win a medal in an individual event at the Gymnastics World Cup by claiming a bronze medal in the women's individual vault event at Hisense Arena in Melbourne, Australia on February 24, 2018. Aruna scored 13.649 average points to finish third and claim the bronze medal at the Hisense Arena. Tjasa Kysslef of Slovania took home the Gold, while Emily Whitehead of Australia won the Silver.
204. On February 23, the Director General of National Archives of India (NAI) – Pritam Singh launched a Book reading series -"Archives Reads" in New Delhi to showcase importance of archival records. This Book Reading Series commenced with the book titled "Hari Singh Nalwa: Champion of the Khalsaji – 1791-1837" authored by Dr. Vanit Nalwa, a senior consultant Psychologist. This book chronicles the life and times of Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa, one of the great pillars of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's empire. Hari Singh Nalwa was the commander-in-chief of the Sikh army along its border with Afghanistan.
205. The Government of India (GoI) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a $84 million loan for improvement and expansion of water supply in Bhagalpur and Gaya towns in Bihar. This is the second tranche of ADB's $200 million Multi-tranche Financing Facility (MFF) for Bihar Urban Development Investment Programme, which was approved in 2012. The Project 2 will improve access to better quality and sustainable water supply, for the people of Bhagalpur and Gaya towns. It will also promote better water management practices that will result in a citywide coverage with 24-hour uninterrupted supply of treated water of 135 litres per capita per day in both cities. The loan will have a 25-year term, including a grace period of 5 years, an annual interest rate determined in accordance with ADB's lending facility based on the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), and a commitment charge of 0.15% per year.
206. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched Ombudsman Scheme for redressal of complaints against the Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs). The scheme will provide a cost-free and expeditious complaint redressal mechanism relating to deficiency in the services by NBFCs covered under the scheme. The scheme will cover all deposit-taking NBFCs, and based on the experience gained. The scheme will initially cover all deposit-taking NBFCs, and will subsequently include companies with asset size of Rs 100 crore and above with customer interface. Additionally, the mechanism will provide an option to the NBFC in question to appeal against the decision of the Ombudsman before the appellate authority. The NBFC Ombudsman will have offices in four cities – New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata – and will handle complaints of customers in the respective zones.
207. The 4th edition of Economic Times – Global Business Summit (ET-GBS 2018) was held in New Delhi with theme "New Economy – New Rules" on February 23-24. The GBS is a flagship initiative of the Times Group that envisions to bring together visionaries, thought leaders, heads of state, policy makers, academicians and corporate heads cohesively driving a singular agenda for Scripting Economic Change, by connecting the building blocks of Economics for India and the Globe. It is a platform with multitude of policy makers and industry leaders under one roof.
208. The International Conference on Sustainable Biofuels (ICSB-2018) is jointly being organized by Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India on behalf of Mission Innovation and Biofuture Platform in New Delhi from February 26-27, 2018. The 2-day event will bring together experts from Biofuels sector to take stock of current knowledge, share information and best practices, and build consensus on the actions most needed to move forward. Senior Government Officers, Technical Experts, Academicians, Researchers and Representatives from various Countries, Industry and Investors will participate in the event. The Sustainable Biofuel is one of the Seven Mission Innovation Challenges and India Co-leads this along with other countries Brazil, Canada and China. The conference will seek to a clear understanding of the development in bio-economy made by participating countries, increase awareness of policy makers about the challenges faced by the industry-investor for commercial scale up of advanced biofuels.
209. Kunwar Bai (106), the brand ambassador of Swachch Bharat, has passed away at Raipur in Chhattisgarh on February 23, 2018. A resident of Kotabharri village in Dhamtari district, Kunwar Bai was in the national news as a mascot for Swachch Bharat campaign; she sold all her goats to construct a toilet at her home. Not only was she applauded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the PM also touched her feet and felicitated her during a public meeting in Rajnandgaon in February 2016.
210. Neelabh Mishra (57), the Veteran journalist and editor-in-chief of Delhi-based National Herald, has passed away in Chennai Hospital. In 2016, he steered the re-launch of National Herald, the newspaper founded by India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1938, as a digital news website. In 2017, Mishra relaunched the National Herald as Sunday newspaper, and then National Herald's sister publications Navjivan and Qaumi Awaz as news websites.
211. The Indian Navy will host the multi-national MILAN series of exercises under the theme of 'Friendship Across the Seas' at Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar islands from March 6 to March 13, 2018. Besides fostering co-operation through naval exercises and professional interactions, MILAN also provides an excellent opportunity to the participating navies to come together in a spirit of collaboration and mutual understanding to nurture stronger ties. It is a congregation of littoral navies conducted biennially by the Indian Navy under the aegis of the Andaman and Nicobar Command. The purpose of Milan 2018 is to showcase the rich heritage and pristine natural beauty of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the foreign visitors.
212. Michael McCormack has been elected as the new Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, after being selected as the leader of the country's National Party. McCormack succeeded former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce who was forced to resign last week amid public anger over an extramarital affair with his former press secretary. The leader of the National Party automatically becomes deputy prime minister under the terms of the coalition agreement with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's Liberal party.
213. TSR Subramanian (79), the former Cabinet secretary of India, has passed away in New Delhi on February 26, 2018. He served as the cabinet secretary from 1996 to 1998. Subramanian worked hard to protect the bureaucracy from political interference. He was part of a group of bureaucrats that filed a PIL seeking directions from the Supreme Court for insulating bureaucracy from political interference following which the Supreme Court rolled out key civil services reforms in 2013. He was a 1961 batch IAS officer from Uttar Pradesh Cadre. He also wrote several books on India and governance such as "India at Turning Point: The Road to Good Governance", "GovernMint In India: An Inside View" and "Journeys Through Babudom and Netaland: Governance in India".
214. The 21st edition of National conference on e-Governance has started in Hyderabad, Telangana with theme "Technology for Accelerating Development" on February 26, 2018. The conference, which is jointly organised by the Government of India (GoI) and Telangana Administrative Reforms department, will provide a forum for Secretaries of Administrative Reforms and Information Technology of the Centre and the State Governments, IT Managers and software solution providers to exchange views, discuss issues and analyse various solution frameworks. The two-day conference will deliberate on several aspects of the e-governance including its universalization and replication, governing e-governance, best practices, emerging technologies and synergising role of national and state governments.
215. Reigning Asian Champion Gopi Thonakal retained his title at the IDBI Federal Life Insurance New Delhi Marathon in New Delhi on February 26. Gopi, who is also in the Indian Army, had clocked 2 hour, 15 minute and 16 seconds to clinch the gold under ideal running conditions. However, he missed the tough Commonwealth Games qualification mark set by the Athletics Federation of India by three minutes. Nitendra Singh Rawat was second, while Bahadur Singh Dhoni took the bronze. Around 65 elite Indian athletes took part in the full marathon of 42.195km. In the women's event also, Monika Athare retained her title. Monika Athare clocked 2 hours, 43 minutes and 46 seconds, ahead of last edition silver medallist Jyoti Gawte and Monica Raut who finished third.
216. Bhanu Kumar Shastri (93), the founder member of Bharatiya Jana Sangh and former MP, has passed away in Udaipur, Rajasthan on February 24, 2018. He was the member of Lok Sabha from Udaipur in Rajasthan and was also chairman of Khadi Board.
217. The Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Ltd (ABIPBL) has become the 5th entity to begin operations as a payments bank with effect from February 22, 2018. The ABIPBL is a joint venture between Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd (51%) and Ideal Cellular (49%). The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a licence to the bank under Section 22 (1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to carry on the business of payments bank in India. The other payments banks that have started operations include Airtel Payments Bank Ltd, India Post Payments Bank Ltd, Paytm Payments Bank Ltd and Fino Payments Bank Ltd. The other applicants that are yet to set up payments bank include Vodafone m-Pesa Ltd, Reliance Industries Ltd and National Securities Depository Ltd.
218. China has been elected as the vice-president of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) at the plenary meeting in Paris on February 23, 2018. In its plenary meeting, the FATF placed Pakistan under "grey list" to monitoring in its International Cooperation Review Group until June 2018 for compliance of Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Finance of Terrorism regulations. It gave Islamabad time till June 2018 to prepare an action plan against terror groups operating from Pakistan. The FATF was set up in 1989 with the primary goal of setting standards to combat money laundering, but in 2001 its mandate was expanded to include countering terror financing. It can take action such as financial restrictions against any country.
219. The Assam government will observe September 22 as 'Rhino Day' to generate public awareness on protection of the one-horned pachyderm. It was officially declared at the 10th meeting of the State Board for Wildlife, which was chaired by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. The day will be exclusively dedicated to the approximately 2,500 rhino population in the state would be a tribute to the rhinoceros, which are the "pride of Assam". The state government will soon launch the State Rhino Project in line with National Rhino Project in Assam for protecting the pachyderms from threats of poaching.
220. The Jawahar Sagar Dam is a dam across the Chambal River. It is situated about 24 km (15 mi) south-west of Kota, Rajasthan. The dam has a catchment area of 27, 195 km ² and provides relief to the people of the area during times of severe water shortage. It is one of the dams which have been built under the Chambal Valley project of State of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The dam also produces 99 MW (3×33 MW) of hydropower.
221. The high-level committee for Central Assistance Chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has approved financial assistance of Rs 1711 crore for Bihar which was affected by floods in 2017. The committee also approved assistance of Rs 1055 crore for Gujarat which was also affected by floods. Apart from this, Rs 838 crore have been sanctioned for West Bengal and Rs 420 crore each have been sanctioned for Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh which were also affected by floods. Tamil Nadu will receive Rs 133 crore and Kerala will receive Rs 169 crore which were affected by cyclone Ockhi. Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh will get Rs 836 crore and Rs 396 crore. The two states were affected by Kharif drought in 2017.
222. Kanakalata Mohanty (82), the noted Odia author, has passed away in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on February 26, 2018. She has written several novels, including 'Ete Andhara', 'Kete Jwala' and 'Anuradha', and more than 100 short stories. She was also recognized by All India Radio (AIR) as a noted lyricist, particularly for her devotional songs on Lord Jagannath.
223. Sagar Chaya Vanchar, director of Marathi film 'Redu' (Radio), has bagged the prestigious Aravindan Puraskaram for the best debutant director of 2017, instituted in memory of iconic Malayalam filmmaker late G Aravindan. The award, comprising a cash prize of Rs 25,000, a memento and a citation, is instituted by the Chalachitra Film Society. The expert panel observed that Vanchari's film expresses the ripples and changes that resulted in the life of a rural Konkan village during the seventies after the arrival of a radio in the hamlet. The award will be presented on March 15, 2018, on the 27th death anniversary of Aravindan.
224. The 15th Edition of BioAsia conference 2018 was held in Hyderabad with theme "Right Time, Right Now" from February 22-24. It is the annual flagship life sciences and pharmaceuticals conference of the Telangana Government. About 1500 delegates from 55 countries participated in the 3-day conference with focus on strategies to take on the rapid phase of change, ways to develop new models for distribution and healthcare delivery, among others. In it, Ireland, Netherlands and South Africa were the International Partners while Gujarat, Assam and Rajasthan were the partner states for this event.
225. The Tamil Nadu government has tied up with Microsoft to accelerate cloud technology adoption. The partnership aims to reform education sector, build tech capacity and enhance digital literacy across all levels. As a part of the agreement, Microsoft will adopt 7 schools identified by the government and train their teachers and students around building 21st century skills which includes critical thinking, creative coding and gaming, app development, robotics, and entrepreneurship. It will also offer its Microsoft Innovative Educator Program to all educators in primary, secondary, vocational and tertiary education across the state. Additionally, the company will train and provide a digital literacy certification District Education Officers (DEOs) in Tamil Nadu.
226. The 7th meeting of Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on Nepal-India relations was held in Kathmandu, Nepal on February 25, 2018. The various bilateral issues including 1950 Peace and Friendship treaty, trade, environment, border and hydropower were discussed during the two-day meeting. EPG is a joint mechanism consisting experts and intellectuals from India and Nepal. It was set up in February 2016 to provide suggestions for updating all existing bilateral treaties and agreements between both the countries. The 8th meeting of the group will be held in New Delhi.
227. Uma Bharti, the Union Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation, has launched the 2nd project of Swajal Yojana at village Bhikampura, Karauli, Rajasthan with a budget of more than Rs 54.17 lakh. Besides ensuring the availability of clean drinking water to every household round the year, the project would also generate employment. Swajal is a community owned drinking water programme for sustained drinking water supply. Under the scheme, 90% of the project cost will be taken care by the Government and the remaining 10% of the project cost will be contributed by the community. The Operations and management of the project will be taken care by the local villagers.
228. The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) has signed a MoU with the Regional Center for Science and Technology Transfer (RCSTT) of Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) for designating Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow (CSIR-CIMAP) as Coordinating Center on Medicinal Plants. The IORA Center at CSIR-CIMAP will establish a database on the important medicinal plants, their value added products, related experts and industries of the IORA member states and organize meetings and training programmes to promote trade, commerce and scientific exchanges to complement the strength and limitation of the member states. The IORA is an association of 21 countries and 7 dialogue partners which have identified 6 areas of cooperation including medicinal plants.
229. Dr. Satya Pal Singh, the Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development (Higher Education), led the Indian delegation at the 20th Conference of the Commonwealth Education Ministers (20CCEM) in Nadi, Fiji during 19-23 February 2018. The theme of the Conference was "Sustainability and Resilience: Can Education Deliver?" The purpose of the conference is to discuss solutions to some of the Commonwealth's most pressing education challenges, including low enrolment rates in preschool, primary and secondary schools, low adult literacy and persisting gender disparities in education.
230. The Central institute of Psychiatry is one of the premier training centers in India for mental health professionals. It is directly governed by the Government of India and is located in Kanke, Ranchi in Jharkhand.
231. The National Science Day (NSD) is observed every year on February 28 to mark the discovery of Raman effect by Physicist CV Raman on 28th February, 1928. The purpose of the day is to spread the message of importance of science and its application among the people. The theme of NSD-2018 is "Science and Technology for a Sustainable Future", which has been chosen for the purpose of raising public appreciation of the scientific issues involved.
232. Roger Federer, 20-times Grand Slam champion, has won the 2017 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year and Comeback of the Year awards at the 18th edition of the awards ceremony in Monaco. Federer, who returned to the world number one ranking, had clinched the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles in 2017 after the 7-year break of winning any major. He won the 2018 Australian Open also. Beside this, Serena Williams has won the World Sportswoman of the Year award after winning her 23rd grand slam in 2017. Formula 1 constructors' champions Mercedes picked up the Team of the Year trophy, while wheelchair athlete Marcel Hug bagged the Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability. Brazilian football club Chapecoense were given the Best Sporting Moment of the Year for their response in adversity following a plane crash in 2016 in which they lost the majority of their team.
233. Vijayendra Saraswathi has become the 70th Sankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, traditionally referred to as Kamakshi, on 28th February 2018 with the demise of Sri Jayendra Saraswati Swamiji. The Kanchipuram mutt is a Hindu monastic institution, located in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. It is a pilgrimage for Hindus all around the world and particularly in South India. It is known as Shri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, and the head of the matha is referred to as a "Sankaracharya". The mutt was established by Adi Shankaracharya about 2520 years ago.
234. India has been ranked 47th out of 86 countries in the latest Inclusive Internet Index (III-2018) report, which was commissioned by Facebook and conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The index is topped by the Sweden, followed by Singapore and the US. This year's index covered 91% of the world's population and an expanded data set of 86 countries, up from 75 countries in 2017. The index assessed a country's Internet inclusion across four categories: availability, affordability, relevance and readiness. The EIU is a British business within the Economist Group, providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis.
235. Television journalist Rahul Mahajan has been appointed as the new editor-in-chief of the television channel Rajya Sabha TV. He is currently a consulting editor in Prasar Bharati. Mahajan has been a journalist for 26 years, starting off with Hindi daily 'Jansatta'. He later branched out to television news. He worked with leading Hindi television channels such as Aaj Tak, Zee News and Star News.
236. The Karnataka cricket team has won the 2018 Vijay Hazare trophy after defeating Saurashtra in the final by 41 runs at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi on February 27. With this, It has won the Vijay Hazare trophy 3 times. During the tournament, Karnataka's Mayank Agarwal scored 723 runs and won the Player of the match award. Beside this, Mohammed Siraj from Hyderabad took 23 wickets in the tournament.
237. The 2nd India-Korea Business Summit 2018 was held in New Delhi on February 28 to strengthen the economic relationship, boost trade relations and increase investments between India and Republic of Korea. The 2018 theme was "India-Korea: Scaling up the Special Strategic Relationship through Trade and Investments". The summit addressed various issues across industries and was attended by over a 1000 delegates, including 425 South Korean delegates from 90 Korean companies, senior government officials and political leaders. It was organized by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, in partnership with ChosunILbo, KOTRA, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Invest India.
238. Moody's Investors Service has recently estimated India's GDP growth forecast for year 2018 & 2019. In it, it has kept the GDP growth forecast for India in the calendar year 2018 unchanged at 7.6 % and for 2019 at 7.5 %, amid signs of economic recovery from the negative impact of demonetisation and disruption caused by GST roll out. In its global growth forecasts for 2018 and 2019, Moody's said the Budget for fiscal year beginning April 1 (2018-19) includes some measures to stabilize rural economy that was disproportionately hit by scrapping of high denomination 500 and 1000 rupee notes.
239. The 45MW Nimoo Bazgo Power Project (NBPP) is a run-of-the-river power project on the Indus River situated at Leh district of Ladakh region of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). The project is designed to generate 239 MUs of energy. The Power station comprises of a 57m high concrete gravity dam, 3 intake structures on the power dam portion on right bank for diversion of water through 3.3 m diameter steel penstock of about 55.0 m long, a surface power house located at the toe of the dam on right bank and a short tailrace channel. The power house has an installed capacity of 45 MW (3 x 15 MW). It was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 2014.
240. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has raised exposure limit under Exchange Traded Currency Derivatives (ETCD) trading for residents and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to $100 million across all currency pairs involving the Indian rupee. The RBI's decision to raise the limit will help entities engaged in forex transactions to maintain their currency risks in a better manner. The ETCD is a financial instrument that trades on a regulated exchange, and whose value is based on the value of another asset. These are derivatives that are traded in a regulated fashion. These derivatives can be used to hedge exposure or speculate on a wide range of financial assets like commodities, equities, currencies, and even interest rates. Earlier, the RBI had imposed a limit of $15 million for USD-INR and $5 million for other currency pairs of Indian rupee with Euro, Japanese Yen and British Pound.
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