DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 7 FEB 2018

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 7 FEB 2018

(DAILY NEWS INDIA)

SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.      PRESIDENT RAM NATH KOVIND INAUGURATES MAHAMASTAKABHISHEKA UTSAV

i. The President of India Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the 88th Mahamastakabhisheka Utsav of Lord Gomateshwara in Hassan district of Karnataka.

ii. Mahamastakabhisheka of Gommateshwara, who is also known as Bahubali takes place once in 12 years. It is an important Jain pilgrimage centre and lakhs of tourists visit Shravanbelagola to see 57 feet tall monolithic stone statue.

2.      FIRST-EVER PELICAN FESTIVAL HELD AT ATAPAKA BIRD SANCTUARY IN ANDHRA PRADESH

i. The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to hold the first-of-its-kind, one-day Pelican Festival at the Atapaka Bird Sanctuary on Kolleru.

ii. Kolleru is one of the largest freshwater lakes in the country. Atapaka village is located on the borders of the Krishna and the West Godavari districts.

3.      NUCLEAR-CAPABLE PRITHVI-II MISSILE SUCCESSFULLY TEST-FIRED

i. India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile as part of a user trial by the Army from Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, in Odisha.

ii. Prithvi-II is capable of carrying 500-1,000 kilogram of warheads and is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines. It is a surface-to-surface missile and has a strike range of 350 km.

4.      GOOGLE AND NCERT JOIN HANDS TO TEACH STUDENTS DIGITAL SAFETY

i. Google and National Council of Educational Research and Training signed a pact to integrate a course on 'Digital Citizenship and Safety' in information and communication technology curriculum. It was signed on the occasion of Safer Internet Day (06th February).

ii. 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. The curriculum is spread into four themes - being smart, being safe, being a digital citizen and being future ready.

5.      CSE RANKED TOP ENVIRONMENT POLICY THINK TANKS IN INDIA

i. The Centre for Science and Environment has been ranked the top environment policy think tanks in India while it has secured the 16th position in global rankings, climbing up two positions from the last year.

ii. The rank was given by The Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program of the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania.

6.      SUSHMA SWARAJ VISIT TO SAUDI ARABIA: ATTENDS OPENING CEREMONY OF AL-JANADRIYAH FEST

i. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended the opening ceremony of the 32^nd Al Jana-driyah festival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. India has been invited as the Guest of Honour country for the festival.

ii. Mrs Swaraj in her first engagement addressed Indian community members at a reception in Riyadh and spoke about the relations between the two countries.

7.      6TH BI-MONTHLY MONETARY POLICY STATEMENT RELEASED BY RBI

i. The Monetary Policy Committee decided to keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility unchanged at 6.0%.

ii. Consequently, the Reverse Repo Rate under the LAF remains at 5.75%, and the Marginal Standing Facility rate and the Bank Rate at 6.25%.

iii. GVA growth for 2017-18 is projected at 6.6%. GVA growth for 2018-19 is projected at 7.2% overall with risks evenly balanced.

8.      SPACEX LAUNCHES ITS MOST POWERFUL ROCKET TOWARDS MARS

i. The US-based SpaceX has successfully launched the world's most powerful operational rocket Falcon Heavy towards Mars. The rocket, carrying a Tesla Roadster car, will revolve around the Sun in a way that will repeatedly bring it close to the Earth and Mars.

ii. Falcon Heavy's thrust and capacity are the highest since NASA's Saturn V, which carried astronauts to the Moon. Falcon Heavy successfully lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

9.      JHULAN GOSWAMI 1ST WOMAN IN THE WORLD TO TAKE 200 ODI WICKETS

i. Indian women's cricket team pacer Jhulan Goswami has become the first woman in the world to take 200 wickets in ODI cricket.

ii. Goswami achieved the feat playing in her 166th ODI against South Africa. Goswami had become the leading wicket-taker in women's ODI in May 2017, overtaking former Australian pacer Cathryn Fitzpatrick's record of 180 wickets.

10.  KATHAKALI MAESTRO MADAVOOR VASUDEVAN NAIR PASSES AWAY

i. Kathakali maestro Madavoor Vasudevan Nair collapsed on stage and died while performing at Agasthyacodu Mahadeva Temple, Kerala. He was 89.

ii. He was the Padma Bhushan award recipient.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. IN THE 6TH BI-MONTHLY MONETARY POLICY, IT HAS BEEN DECIDED TO KEEP THE POLICY REPO RATE UNDER THE LIQUIDITY ADJUSTMENT FACILITY UNCHANGED AT 6.0%. GVA GROWTH FOR 2017-18 IS PROJECTED AT?

a)  6.6%

b)  6.8%

c)  6.9%

d)  6.7%

Q2. WITH WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING TECH GIANT NATIONAL COUNCIL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING HAS SIGNED A PACT TO INTEGRATE A COURSE ON 'DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP AND SAFETY' IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY CURRICULUM?

a)  Infosys

b)  Google

c)  Microsoft

d)  WIPRO

Q3. IN WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING STATE THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA RAM NATH KOVIND INAUGURATED THE 88TH MAHAMASTAKABHISHEKA UTSAV OF LORD GOMATESHWARA?

a)  Maharashtra

b)  Uttar Pradesh

c)  Karnataka

d)  Tamil Nadu

Q4. WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WOMEN'S CRICKET TEAM PACER HAS BECOME THE FIRST WOMAN IN THE WORLD TO TAKE 200 WICKETS IN ODI CRICKET?

a)  Jhulan Goswami

b)  Sana Mir

c)  Cathryn Fitzpatrick

d)  D. van Niekerk

Q5. CSE HAS BEEN RANKED THE TOP ENVIRONMENT POLICY THINK TANKS IN INDIA WHILE IT HAS SECURED THE 16TH POSITION IN GLOBAL RANKINGS. CSE STANDS FOR?

a)  Centre for Society and Environment

b)  Centre for Space Enrichment

c)  Centre for Space and Environment

d)  Centre for Science and Environment

ANSWERS: 

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