Current Affairs February 22, 2018 World News India, Canada sign bilateral agreement to support startups India and Canada have signed a bilateral agreement to support entrepreneurs and startups from both the countries. Under the agreement, the governments of both the countries have partnered with startup accelerator Zone Startup India, which will identify 40 startups that will receive support. The program will especially focus on women entrepreneurs. India contributes $1 mn for Tonga devastated by Cyclone Gita: UN According to United Nations (UN), India is contributing $1 million for relief efforts in the Pacific Ocean Kingdom of Tonga that was devastated by Cyclone Gita last week. Of that $500,000 would be given as immediate relief to Tonga and another $500,000 would be allocated to it from the India-UN Development Partnership Fund (I-UNDPF).
India ranks 81st in global corruption perception index India has been placed at the 81st spot among 180 nations in the global Corruption Perception Index for 2017, which was recently released by Transparency International. The report has, in fact named India among the worst offenders in terms of graft and press freedom in the Asia Pacific region. National News Cabinet approves creation of National Urban Housing Fund The Union Cabinet approved the creation of Rs. 60,000 crores National Urban Housing Fund (NUHF) to finance Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban). It aims to build 1.2 crore affordable houses in urban areas by 2022. NUHF will be placed under aegis of Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC). NUHF will facilitate raising requisite funds in next fouryears and plug any budgetary shortfalls. Northeast s first regional Centre for Agriculture to come up in Mizoram Northeast India s first regional Centre for Agriculture will be inaugurated in Mizoram in March 2018. The regional centre will be first such centre in North East region of India being established with Israeli collaboration. There are 22 such operational centres setup across India with support of Israel including in states of Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab. The first centre was established in 2008 in Haryana. It will benefit the farmers of the north eastern region in the long run and will also encourage the farmers from other regions. It has been set up in a tripartite collaboration of Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of Israel and Mizoram Government. Process for geo-tagging water sources in Himalayas initiated: Uma Bharti As a special initiative, Union Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Sushri Uma Bharti, launched the Bagori Ganga Gram project, New Swajal Project (drinking water programme) at Bagori and Gangotri Iconic Place at Dunda village in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand.
As a first step to it, the Minister inaugurated solid and liquid waste management scheme of Rs 11.88 lakh at Bagori. Centre has decided to give 27 crore rupees to Uttarakhand for the implementation of this projects. She also initiated the Process for Geo-Tagging water sources in Himalayas. State News Jaipur s Gandhi Nagar becomes country s first all-women railway station The Gandhi Nagar railway station in Jaipur, became the country s first major railway station to be fully-managed by women. In a unique initiative, the North Western railway (NWR) has deployed a female employee on every single post in the station, making it the first such station in the country. Note: Matunga railway station of Mumbai is also managed by women and it is in the suburban category while Gandhi Nagar railway station is first in the main line category. Kamal Haasan launches political party Makkal Needhi Maiam in Tamilnadu Actor Kamal Haasan launched his political party Makkal Needhi Maiam and hoisted a flag carrying the party s symbol in Tamil Nadu s Madurai. Haasan, who has embarked on a statewide tour, visited former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam s residence and addressed three public meetings earlier in the day. Special package of Rs 925 cr for strengthening power transmission in Arunachal Pradesh The Centre has announced a special package of 925 crore rupees for strengthening the power transmission and distribution system in Arunachal Pradesh. Union Minister of State for Power and New and Renewable Energy, RK Singh made the announcement in a review meeting of the power sector with senior officers of the state government in Itanagar. The Union minister said, of the 900 unelectrified villages across the country, about 600 are in Arunachal. He directed the officials to expedite the work to electrify every village in the state by May 1st, this year. Varanasi to hold Swachhagrah Bapu ko Kaaryaanjali To celebrate the creative and cultural industries in Varanasi and to focus attention on the need for Swachhta by using cultural forms, a Sanskriti Mahotsav Swachhagrah
Bapu ko Kaaryaanjali is being organized on the 21st and 22nd February, 2018 at the Man Mandir Ghat and Assi Ghat in Varanasi. The 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. The Swachhta drive will be steered by school-children affiliated to Ministry of Culture, Government of India s Interpretation Centres through exhibitions, songs, puppetry, nukkad nataks and folk dances. The 2-day event would focus on performances on the theme of Swachhagraha presented under the rubric of Swachhagraha: Bapu ko Karyanjali. Banking & Economy British bank RBS hires digital human Cora on probation A life-like avatar called Cora is being put through her paces by Royal Bank of Scotland, helping customers with basic queries and giving its digital banking drive a more human face. RBS, which recently axed a quarter of its branches and has announced thousands of job cuts in the past year alone as it reduces costs, will only deploy Cora to NatWest customers if the bank's female avatar passes her probation period. Cora, which is undergoing advanced testing as part of a pilot programme at RBS, could even be used to train members of staff. Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) lowers interest rate to 8.55% for 2017-18 The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) lowered the interest rate to 8.55% for the financial year 2017-18, compared to 8.65% for 2016-17. This is the second straight year for which the provident fund body manages a corpus of over Rs.11 lakh crore has reduced the interest rate. Notably, the interest rate was 8.80% in 2015-16. Federal Bank acquires 26% stake in Equirus Capital Private sector lender Federal Bank made its foray into investment banking by acquiring a minority 26 per cent stake in Equirus Capital, a boutique investment bank. It would widen the product offerings to a spectrum of wholesale clients by offering comprehensive financial solutions.
NHB has approved the merger of Capital First and IDFC Bank Capital First announced that the regulator National Housing Bank (NHB) has approved the merger of the company along with Capital Home Finance and Capital First Securities Limited with IDFC Bank. The amalgamation is subject to the receipt of approval from the Reserve Bank of India and other statutory and regulatory approvals. The share swap ratio for the merger is fixed at 139:10, meaning IDFC Bank will issue 139 shares for every 10 shares of Capital First. Sports Australia beat New Zealand by 19 Runs in T20 Final Australia clinched the T20 tri-series against New Zealand after cruising to a 19-run victory in the rain-affected final at Auckland. It also means Australia leapfrog Pakistan to become the top-rated T20 team in the world. This will be the first time for Australia to hold the number one spot since rankings were introduced in 2011. Norway s Bjoergen becomes most successful Winter Olympian Norway s Marit Bjoergen (14 Olympic medals) became the most successful athlete in Winter Olympics history as she took bronze in Pyeongchang, South Korea in cross country skiing s women s team sprint free. However, Kikkan Randall and Jessica Diggins won the gold and the first Olympic cross country title for the United States. Norway s Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo won the men s title by 1.71sec ahead of the Olympic Athletes from Russia, with France finishing third. Awards & Honours Avani Chaturvedi creates history becomes first Indian woman to fly fighter aircraft solo Flying officer Avani Chaturvedi scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to fly a fighter aircraft solo. She flew a MiG-21 bison in her first solo flight from Jamnagar base of Indian Air Force (IAF) in Gujarat.
Flying officer Avani Chaturvedi belongs to the first batch of female pilots, besides Flying officer Bhawana Kanth and Flying officer Mohana Singh, who were inducted into the Indian Air Force fighter squadron in 2016. Obituaries Activist and author Panoor passes away Veteran author and civic rights activist K Panoor has passed away owing to age related illness. An author of many articles and books, which also included Ha Naxalbari and Keralathile America, he was honoured by Kerala Sahithya Akademi in 2006, considering his comprehensive contribution to literature. Evangelist Billy Graham dies at 99 The Rev. Billy Graham, one of the world s most famous Christian evangelists, has died at the age of 99. The evangelist brought his Billy Graham Crusades around the world, preaching to more than 210 million people in 185 countries and territories. His largest such gathering drew 1 million people in Seoul, South Korea, in the 1970s. As Graham prepared at age 86 for what he called his final U.S. crusade, a three-day event in New York City the weekend of June 25, 2005, he pondered his own mortality.