DAILY CURRENT
AFFAIRS: 16 FEB 2018
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)
1. INDIA’S BIGGEST GLOBAL PHARMA CONFERENCE BEGINS IN BENGALURU
i. India’s biggest Global Conference on
Pharma Industry and Medical Devices began in Bengaluru With the theme, ‘Driving
NextGen Pharmaceuticals. Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilisers Ananth
Kumar inaugurated the three-day event.
ii. The event is being organised by the
Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, along
with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry.
2. NITI AAYOG, KPIT TECHNOLOGIES TIE-UP TO PROMOTE INNOVATION IN
SCHOOLS
i. KPIT technologies has made a
two-year statement of intent with National Institution for Transforming India
Aayog to promote innovative skills of students.
ii. This tie up between NITI Aayog and
KPIT aims to improve the innovative skills of senior secondary students as part
of the Atal Innovation Mission. Through AIM, the Central government would
conduct open-ended workshops at Atal Tinkering Laboratories to enable students
learn through ‘do-it-yourself’ mode. Through this the students would acquire
important skills.
iii. This tie up will help students
learn concepts of science, technology, engineering and mathematics through
robotics, Internet of Things and 3D printing.
iv. KPIT will also provide two volumes
of ‘Chhote scientists’ booklets to nearly 2500 schools to develop curriculum
and teaching aids. Training programs for teachers will also be organized for
Atal Tinkering Laboratories.
3. INDIA’S AADHAAR AND UMANG APP WIN AWARD IN DUBAI
i. India’s Umang App was named winner
of the Best M-Government Service award in the Accessible Government category
while Aadhar won the best emerging technology award at the recently concluded
World Government Summit 2018 in Dubai, where India had the status of ‘Guest of
Honour’ country.
ii. 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.
4. TRI-SERVICE MARITIME EXERCISE ‘PASCHIM LEHAR’ BEGINS
i. ‘Paschim Lehar’, a tri-service
maritime exercise was held off India’s Western Coast from February 12, 2018.
Objective behind conducting this exercise was to build interoperability among
Indian Navy, Air Force and Army.
ii. Around 40 ships, submarines and
fighter aircrafts from the Western Naval Command of the Indian Navy
participated in ‘Paschim Lehar’. During the course of this exercise, number of
weapons including missiles, guns and torpedo were fired.
iii. Besides, the exercise helped in
validating and refining the operational plans of the Western Naval Command.
5. YES BANK LISTS COUNTRY’S FIRST $600M MTN BOND ON INDIAINX
i. Private sector lender, Yes Bank has
announced the listing of the Bank’s debut US $600 million bond issue under its
maiden US $1 billion medium-term note bond on country’s first international
exchange BSE’s IndiaINX at the International Financial Services Centre at GIFT
City in Gandhinagar.
ii. The Yes Bank’s MTN programme— a
debt note that matures or has a payback period of 5 years on Global Securities
Market became the country’s first capital raising platform for international
investors in any currency.
6. PRESIDENT HOSTS LPG PANCHAYAT AT RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN
i. President Ram Nath Kovind hosted the LPG Panchayat at Rashtrapati
Bhavan, New Delhi. LPG Panchayat was organised by the Ministry of Petroleum and
Natural Gas.
ii. LPG Panchayat serves as a platform
for LPG consumers to interact with each other, share experiences and thereby
promote mutual learning. Each LPG Panchayat is attended by about 100 LPG
customers residing in area near to the venue.
iii. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural
Gas will be conducting at least 1 lakh LPG Panchayats across India before March
31, 2019.
7. ETHIOPIA'S PRIME MINISTER RESIGNS TO SMOOTH PATH FOR POLITICAL
REFORM
i. Ethiopia's PM Hailemariam Desalegn
suddenly resigned in what he described as a bid to smooth reforms, following years
of violent unrest that threatened the ruling party's hold on Africa's second
most populous nation.
ii. The resignation has unprecedented
in Ethiopia's history - followed a wave of strikes this week in towns near the
capital and demonstrations successfully demanding the release of more
opposition leaders.
8. PRESIDENT KOVIND INAUGURATES INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ‘AGRICON
2018’ IN KANPUR
i. President of India, Ram Nath Kovind,
inaugurated the international conference ‘Agricon
2018’ and ‘Agriexpo 2018’ at Chandrashekhar
Azad University of Agriculture & Technology, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
ii. Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik and
Uttar Pradesh Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi were also present at the
inauguration ceremony.
iii. The conference has been organised
under the joint auspices of The Society of Agricultural Professionals, Kanpur
and Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture & Technology, Kanpur.
iv. Organisations like National
Institute of Agricultural Sciences (referred to as NAAS) and Indian Council of
Agricultural Research are partnering in this conference. During this four-day
event, discussions will be held on various themes including Sustainable Farming
Systems, Conservation and Utilisation of Genetic Resources and Managing Change
in Agriculture.
9.
CYRIL RAMAPHOSA SWORN IN
AS NEW PRESIDENT OF SOUTH AFRICA
i. Cyril Ramaphosa, head of the ruling
African National Congress has been sworn in as South Africa's new President. He
was elected as the new president of South Africa by the ruling party politicians
after the resignation of Jacob Zuma.
ii. The country's 400-member
parliament, dominated by the ruling African National Congress Party, elected
Ramaphosa to finish his predecessor's term, which ends with elections in 2019.
The ANC has finished first in every national vote since the end of
white-minority rule in 1994.
10. HARUHIKO KURODA REAPPOINTED AS BANK OF JAPAN CHIEF
i. Japan's government has reappointed
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda for another term and chose an advocate
of bolder monetary easing as one of his deputies, a sign the central bank will
be in no rush to dial back its massive stimulus program.
ii. The government also submitted to
parliament its nomination of Masazumi Wakatabe, a professor at Waseda
University and an advocate of aggressive monetary easing, as deputy governor.
OBJECTIVE
QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS
Q1.
Q2.
Q3.
Q4.
Q5.
Ans: 1 - C 2
- D 3 - C 4 - A 5 - B
