DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 18 FEB 2018

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 18 FEB 2018

(DAILY NEWS INDIA)

SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.      WORLD CONGRESS ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BEGINS IN HYDERABAD

i. The prestigious World Congress on Information Technology 2018 has begun in Hyderabad. PM Narendra Modi addressed the inaugural session of the 3-day IT summit through a video link.

ii.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 event.

2.      LS SPEAKER SUMITRA MAHAJAN INAUGURATED 6TH INDIA REGION CPA CONFERENCE

i. Lok Sabha Speaker, Sumitra Mahajan inaugurated the 6^th India region Commonwealth Parliamentary Association conference at Patna in Bihar. The conference focused on the objectives and role of the Parliamentary Association body.

ii. The conference holds discussions mainly on two topics viz. 'Parliament's role in the development agenda' and 'Legislature and Judiciary - Two important Pillars of Democracy'.

3.      INDIA-IRAN SIGN 9 MOUS TO BOOST BILATERAL TIES

i. India and Iran have signed nine agreements in order to further the bilateral cooperation between the two sides. The pacts were signed after delegation-level talks between PM Narendra Modi and visiting Iran President Hassan Rouhani at New Delhi's Hyderabad house.

ii. The two countries inked pacts to enhance cooperation in the areas of taxation, maritime cooperation, health and medicine, trade, agriculture and postal cooperation.

4.      8TH EDITION OF THEATRE OLYMPICS INAUGURATED IN DELHI

i. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the 8th edition of the Theatre Olympics at Lal Quila in New Delhi. The event has been organised by National School of Drama under the aegis of Ministry of Culture.

ii. The theme of the festival is - "Flag of Friendship". 30 countries are participating from across the globe.

5.      INDIA'S 2ND MISSION TO MOON CHANDRAYAAN-2 TO BE LAUNCHED IN APRIL 2018

i. According to the Union Minister of State of the Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, the Indian Space Research Organisation is planning to launch Chandrayan-2 Mission around April 2018. Chandrayaan-2 is the country's second mission to the moon.

ii. Chandraayan-2 is a challenging mission as for the first time we will carry an orbiter, a lander and a rover to the moon. Chairman of ISRO K Sivan stated that the total cost of the Chandrayaan 2 mission will be about Rs 8 billion. The window for launch is open till October 2018.

6.      MUMBAI TO HAVE INDIA’S 1ST ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CENTRE

i. In a first in the country, the Maharashtra government will be setting up an institute for artificial intelligence in Mumbai.

ii. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will unveil the plan for the institute during the Magnetic Maharashtra Summit and at the Global Economic Conference in Canada in March 2018.

7.      NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON “AGRICULTURE 2022- DOUBLING FARMERS’ INCOME”

i. The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has organized a National Conference under the title of “Agriculture 2022 – Doubling Farmers’ Income” in New Delhi.

ii. The main aim of the conference is to build a consensus around appropriate recommendations that will help in shaping and sharpening the vision of the Government on Doubling Farmers’ Income by 2022 into actionable points.

8.      ASSAM WORST IN MMR, SPENT JUST 13.58% OF NHM FUND IN 2017-18

i. Assam is at the bottom of the list with regard to maternal mortality rate with a figure of 300 against the national average of 167, while the fund spending under National Health Mission is just 13.58% for 2017-18.

ii. MMR is the annual number of female deaths per 1,00,000 live births from any cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy or its management. The Centre had allocated Rs 1,056.25 cr for Assam under National Health Mission for 2017-18.

9.      FINANCE MINISTER ARUN JAITLEY ON A TWO-DAY VISIT TO SAUDI ARABIA

i. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley arrived in Riyadh on a 2-day visit to Saudi Arabia. He will co-chair the 12th India-Saudi Arabia Joint Commission Meeting to be held in the Saudi capital Riyadh. Mr Jaitley will also open the Saudi-Indian Business Council.

ii. Finance Minister will also visit India Pavillion at the Saudi National Heritage and Cultural Festival Janadriyah. Mr Jaitley will meet with the Saudi Minister of Trade & Investment Majid Al-Qassabi to discuss the bilateral issues between the two countries.

10.  PHONEPE PARTNERS WITH IOCL FOR DEPLOYMENT OF POS TERMINALS

i. Digital payments entity PhonePe has partnered with Indian Oil Corporation Limited for the adoption of its indigenously-designed Point of Sale device at IOCL retail outlets.

ii. As part of this partnership, customers can pay using UPI, credit and debit cards, PhonePe wallet and other external wallets like Jio Money & Freecharge for their fuel purchases, through the PoS device at 30 IOCL retail outlets in Bengaluru.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. LOK SABHA SPEAKER, SUMITRA MAHAJAN HAS RECENTLY INAUGURATED THE 6TH INDIA REGION COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE IN?

a)  Patna

b)  Mumbai

c)  New Delhi

d)  Lucknow

Q2. FINANCE MINISTER ARUN JAITLEY HAS RECENTLY VISITED WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING COUNTRY TO CO-CHAIR A JOINT COMMISSION MEETING?

a)  Indonesia

b)  Saudi Arabia

c)  Kazakhstan

d)  Azerbaijan

Q3. IN WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING CITY, THE PRESTIGIOUS WORLD CONGRESS ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 2018 HAS BEGUN?

a)  Thiruvananthapuram

b)  Chennai

c)  Hyderabad

d)  Kochi

Q4. VICE PRESIDENT M VENKAIAH NAIDU HAS RECENTLY INAUGURATED THE 8TH EDITION OF THE THEATRE OLYMPICS IN?

a)  Jaipur

b)  Patna

c)  Amritsar

d) New Delhi

Q5. WHICH OF THE FOOLOWING CITY  WILL SET UP INDIA'S FIRST INSTITUTE FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE?

a)  Ahmedabad

b)  Mumbai

c)  Manipal

d)  New Delhi

ANSWERS: 

1 - A    2 - B    3 - C    4 - D    5 - B