Current Affairs February 27, 2018

Transcription

1 Current Affairs February 27, 2018 World News China may overtake US as biggest producer of nuclear power in 20 Years The International Energy Agency has said that China may overtake the US as the world s biggest producer of nuclear power as it is expected to triple its nuclear capacity in the next 20 years. It added that lesser investment in nuclear energy and no lifetime extension of the existing plants threatened the US position as the global leader in nuclear power. China Plans to build military observatory in Maldives China is planning to build an ocean observatory in the Maldives for military purposes, located in Makunudhoo. The observatory will also give China access to an important shipping route in the Indian Ocean. Both China and the Maldives had finalised an official agreement called the Protocol on Establishment of Joint Ocean Observation Station last year.

2 US to overtake Russia as top oil producer According to International Energy Agency, U.S. will overtake Russia as the world s biggest oil producer by 2019 at the latest. U.S. crude oil output rose above 10 million barrels per day late last year for the first time since 1970s, overtaking top oil exporter Saudi Arabia. US oil is also increasingly being exported, including to the world s biggest and fastest growing markets in Asia. National News Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein arrives in India King of Jordan Abdullah-II bin Al-Hussein has arrived in India on a 3 day visit. This will be his second visit to India after his visit along with Queen Rania in The two sides are expected to sign a number of memorandums of understanding and agreements in diverse areas of bilateral cooperation. India is Jordan s fourth largest trading partner with bilateral trade worth $1.35 billion. India-Korea Business Summit in New Delhi PM Narendra Modi addressed the 2nd India-Korea Business Summit in New Delhi. The theme of the Summit this year is India-Korea: Scaling up the Special Strategic Relationship through Trade and Investments. The Summit aims to create the framework for an open and action-oriented dialogue between top business leaders and Government officials from both countries. India and Korea are the third and fourth largest economies in Asia. The two way trade between India and South Korea currently stands at nearly 17 billion dollar. Intermodal Stations to come up in 15 cities The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has conducted detailed pre-feasibility studies for setting up Intermodal Stations at Nagpur and Varanasi, and the development of DPRs for this is in final stages of completion. Fifteen cities across the country have been prioritized for development of IMS of which Nagpur and Varanasi have been selected as pilot projects. Intermodal Stations are terminal infrastructure which integrate various transportation modes like rail, road, mass rapid transit system, bus rapid transit, inland waterways, auto-

3 rickshaws, taxis and private vehicles etc, so that people can move from one mode to another seamlessly, with minimum use of automobiles. SRIJAN (Station Rejuvenation through Joint Action) has been launched at MyGov portal Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Limited (IRSDC) is taking up redevelopment of around 600 major Railway stations across the country. In this mega exercise, assistance and involvement of all stakeholders i.e. railway passengers, urban planners, architects, engineers is important. Towards this objective of stakeholders consultation, an idea competition for development of 635 stations on Indian Railways, SRIJAN (Station Rejuvenation Initiative through Joint ActioN) has been launched at MyGov portal since The last date for submission of entries in this competition is The winners will get certificates and worthy ideas will be incorporated in the designs. State News Railways to start all-weather glass-roof train in Kashmir The Northern Railways has decided to introduce an all-weather, glass-roof AC train with 40 seats in Kashmir in order to enhance tourism in the valley. The train will have Vista dome coaches, which will have rotatable-pushback seats, GPSbased information system, LED lights, and automatic sliding compartment doors. The frequency of operating the train is yet to be determined, an official said. Uma Bharti launches 2nd project of Swajal Yojana in Rajasthan Union Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Uma Bharti, launched the Swajal pilot project at Village Bhikampura, in Rajasthan. Swajal is a community owned drinking water programme for sustained drinking water supply. 90% of the project cost will be provided by Central Government while remaining 10% of the project cost will be contributed by the local community. Budget of Rs lakh has been allocated for Swajal Project at Bhikampura. Bhikhampura village faces scarcity of drinking water and villagers have to walk at least 3 km to collect it. Under the Swajal Project, four reservoirs will be constructed in the village and common tap connection will be given to all the households. This project will not only ensure round the year availability of clean drinking water to every household in Bhikampura, but will also generate employment.

4 Telangana CM announces five lakh rupees health-cum-life insurance scheme for farmers Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has announced five lakh rupees healthcum-life insurance scheme for farmers in the state. Addressing the regional conference of Farmers Coordination Committees held in Karimnagar, Mr Rao said the state government will pay the entire premium behalf of the farmer and allocate 500 crore rupees in the coming budget for implementation of the scheme. He said the insurance scheme will benefit 70 lakh farmers in the state. The families of farmers will be paid the amount in case of farmer s death, in the accident or naturally. Tamil Nadu and Microsoft Tie-Up to accelerate cloud technology adoption The government of Tamil Nadu announced signing an agreement with IT Major Microsoft to improve the integration of technology in teaching and learning in the state. 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 seven schools identified by the government and train their teachers and students around building 21st-century skills. Banking & Economy Centre names 9,500 high risk Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) The government has categorised about 9,500 non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) in the country as high risk prone as they had not complied with a stipulated provision of the anti-money laundering law. A list of 9,491 high risk financial institutions has been published by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) that functions under the Union Finance Ministry. Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) Introduces UAN- Aadhar Linking New Facility Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has introduced UAN-Aadhaar linking facility for the convenience of members using EPFO Link in UMANG Mobile App. This is in addition to the existing web facility already available at EPFO s website >> Online Services >> e-kyc Portal>> LINK UAN AADHAAR. The facility on e-kyc Portal has further added a new feature to link UAN with Aadhaar online using biometric credentials.

5 Sports Gopi Thonakal retains his title at New Delhi Marathon Reigning Asian Champion Gopi Thonakal retained his title at the IDBI Federal Life Insurance New Delhi Marathon in New Delhi. In the women s event also, Monika Athare retained her title. Gopi clocked 2 hour, 15 minute and 16 seconds to clinch the gold under ideal running conditions. Nitendra Singh Rawat was second, while Bahadur Singh Dhoni took the bronze. MC Mary Kom and Seema Poonia Bag Silver Medals in Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament Indian stars Seema Poonia and MC Mary Kom have settled for Silver medals after losing in the final of 69th Strandja Memorial Boxing tournament at Sofia in Bulgaria. While Mary Kom lost to Bulgarian Sevda Asenova in the 48-kilogram title bout, Seema went down to Russian Anna Ivanova in the 81 kg final. Overall Indian women ended up with two silver and four bronze medals in one of the oldest boxing tournaments in Europe. Simona Halep reclaims world No 1 ranking Romanian tennis ace Simona Halep has returned to world number one in women rankings. She replaced Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki, who held the top spot for four consecutive weeks. Wozniacki, 27, did not compete in the Dubai Tennis Championships last week, leaving the way open for the Romanian to return to World No.1. Appointments & Resignations K S Dwivedi appointed as DGP of Bihar KS Dwivedi has been named the new Director General of Police (DGP) of Bihar. KS Dwivedi will take charge as Director General of Police (DGP) of Bihar on 1st March He will replace PK Thakur. PK Thakur will retire from his post on 28th February KS Dwivedi is an Indian Police Service (IPS) Officer of 1984 batch. His current position is Director General (training) in Bihar. His appointment as DGP of Bihar was made by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

6 Mountaineer Samina Baig appointed as UNDP National Goodwill Ambassador for Pakistan Mountaineer Samina Baig was appointed the National Goodwill Ambassador for Pakistan by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The first Pakistani woman to have climbed Mount Everest, Ms Baig will lead efforts to build national awareness and partnerships around the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those related to climate change, environmental protection, youth and women s empowerment. Ambassador of Austria, Her Excellency Dr Brigitta Blaha, United Nations Resident Coordinator, Neil Buhne, and UNDP Pakistan Country Director, Ignacio Artaza attended the signing ceremony. South Africa s Ramaphosa appoints Nene as finance minister in cabinet reshuffle New South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced his cabinet, making substantial changes to ministerial positions. He reappointed Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister, reversing his sacking by the former President Jacob Zuma. Mr Zuma, who is facing charges of corruption, was forced to stand down earlier this month by his own party. Obituaries CPI leader Prabodh Panda passes away Prabodh Panda, former MP and State Secretary of West Bengal for Communist Party of India (CPI), died at 72. Panda was a three-time CPI MP from Midnapore Lok Sabha constituency since 2001 till Eminent Odia writer Kanakalata Mohanty passes away Odia writer Kanakalata Mohanty passed away after suffering from old age related ailments at a private hospital in Odisha at the age of 82. She has authored 12 novels and over 100 short stories. Her important novels are Ete Andhara, Kete Jwala and Anuradha. She was associated with the All India Radio as a lyricist. She sang devotional songs and was also a popular speaker on Odia language.

7 Important Days World NGO Day World NGO Day is an international calendar day, annually observed on the 27th February. Officially recognised and declared by the 12 member countries of the IX Baltic Sea NGO Forum of the Council of the Baltic Sea States in 2010 and first time marked by the UN, EU leaders and international organisations in 2014 hosted by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.