Current Affairs Daily Updates: 3rd February 2017

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Current Affairs Daily Updates: 3rd February 2017

APPOINTMENTS
Sanjeev Sanyal appointed as Principal Economic Adviser:
  • Sanjeev Sanyal, former global strategist and MD of Deutshe Bank, was appointed as Principal Economic Adviser.
  • The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has approved Sanyal's appointment for three years.
  • He was Chief Economist and Director of Global Markets Research at Deutsche Bank in Singapore until 2008.

AWARDS AND HONOURS
India’s SpiceJet Honored at Asia One Awards in Singapore:
  • Gurgaon based airline, SpiceJet made record by winning awards in three prime categories at the Asia One Awards held in Singapore.
  • SpiceJetii. The low-cost airline was honoured as the ‘Asia’s Greatest Brands – 2016’ at the function. The selection process was supervised by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
  • Among others, Chairman and Managing Director of SpiceJet, Mr. Ajay Singh, was honored with the title of the ‘Global Asian of the year’, 2016.
  • The Chief Financial Officer Mr. Kiran Koteshwar won the award for‘Asia’s Greatest CFO 2016’.
BANKING AFFAIRS
NABARD Sanctions Rs 157 crore Loan to Haryana for Drinking Water Project:
  • National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) sanctioned a loan amount of Rs. 157 crore to the Government of Haryana to undertake drinking water project.
  • Under the project, the government would undertake drinking water supply scheme in 84 villages of districts Palwal and Faridabad.
  • As per the project, portable drinking water would be supplied in selected villages in blocks Prithla, Palwal and Ballabhgarh from Yamuna flood plain by constructing ranney wells and deep tubewells.
  • The project is likely to benefit 3,06,814 persons.  The loan amount has been sanctioned from the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF).
  • Till date NABARD has provided Rs 5,794 crore assistance to Harayana government under RIDF since its inception in 1995-96.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
India signs $201.50 million Financing Agreement with World Bank for TEQIP:
  • The Union Government has singed Financing Agreement for IDA credit of $201.50 million with World Bank for the ‘Third Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme’ (TEQIP III). 
  • The agreement was signed by Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and Junaid Kamal Ahmad, Country Director, World Bank India. 
  • The aim of the TEQIP III programme is to enhance quality and improve efficiency of the Engineering Education System.
Govt to set up dairy development fund with corpus of Rs 8,000 cr
  • To augment income of farmers budget has proposed setting-up of a Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund with a corpus of Rs 8,000 crores over three years.
  • Dairy is an important source of additional income for the farmers. A Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund would be set-up in NABARD with a corpus of Rs 8,000 crores over 3 years stated Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during his budget speech, 2017.
Apple to start manufacturing in India
  • Tech giant Apple has reached an agreement with the Karnataka government to set up a manufacturing plant in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
  • "Apple’s decision on initial manufacturing in Bengaluru has further enhanced the reputation of Bengaluru as the most preferred destination for foreign investment," the Karnataka government said.
  • Apple is reportedly expected to start production for the Indian market in April.
HSBC Estimates India’s GDP Growth at 7.1% in 2017-18
  • HSBC has estimated the GDP growth rate of India at 7.1 percent for the year 2017-18 which is up from the 6.3 percent in the year 2016-17.
  • The main reason for this increase is cited to sufficient remonetization by April end, thus boosting the consumption level in the country to normal. Besides, the schemes announced in Budget 2017-18 are also seen to play major role in the growth rate.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Right to Information Act comes into force in Sri Lanka:
  • Today, the historic Right to Information (RTI) Act has come into force in Sri Lanka.
  • The act marks the culmination of a movement of over 20 years to ensure transparency in governance and easy availability of information.
  • As per the act, public authorities are liable to share information within the specified timelines, subject to a maximum of 28 days.
  • Earlier, Parliament unanimously passed the Right to Information Act on June 24, 2016.
Scientists confirm existence of lost continent lies under Indian Ocean
  • Scientists have confirmed the existence of a “lost continent” under the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. It is left over by the break-up of the super-continent Gondwana, which started about 200 million years ago.
  • The discovery was based on study of Zircon, a mineral found in rocks spewed up by lava during volcanic eruptions which is too old to belong to Mauritius.
  • The lost continent is just a small piece of island that probably broke of when Africa, India, Australia and Antarctica split up and formed the Indian Ocean. The scientists found zircons on the island of Mauritius that are three billion years old.
India to construct multi-ethnic tri-lingual school in Sri Lanka
  • India and Sri Lanka has signed an MoU on February 2, 2017 for the construction of a multi-ethnic tri-lingual school in a north central district of the island nation.
  • The school would provide an opportunity to Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim students to learn in a multi-cultural environment and thus promote reconciliation and unity in Sri Lanka.
  • The MoU was signed between India’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Secretary to the Ministry of Education Sunil Hettiarachchi.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Cabinet approves Introduction of The Indian Institutes of Information Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2017
  • The Union Cabinet has given its approval for introduction of The Indian Institutes of Information Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2017 in Parliament.
  • The amendment Bill has provision for the inclusion of Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing (IIITDM), Kurnool along with the other IITs in the Principal Act. With this, IIITDM Kurnool will become fifth Member as a Centrally Funded IIIT.
Government of create five special tourism zones to boost tourism: Budget 2017-18
  • The Union Budget 2017-18 has announced that Government will set up five Special Tourism Zones in partnership with States.
  • These five special zones will be anchored as Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) that will be set up in partnership with the States. In this budget, government has allocated Rs. 1,840.77 crore to the Tourism Ministry, Rs. 250 crore more in the 2017-18 fiscal.
India and Italy Sign an MOU in Rail Sector for Technical Cooperation
  • The Union Ministry of Railways has signed an MoU with an Italian Firm Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane Group (FS Group) for technical cooperation in rail sector on February 2, 2017 with focus on safety operations.
  • The MoU was signed between Shri Vinod Kumar, Executive Director/Safet(coordination), Railway Board on behalf of Ministry of Railways and Shri Renato Mazzoncini, CEO of FS Group, Italy.
  • The main aim of the MoU is cooperation in safety audit of Indian Railways, measures required for enhancing safety in train operation, Assessment and certification of advanced technology based safety products and systems to Safety Integrity Level (SIL4), Training and competency development with focus of safety, Modern trends in Maintenance and diagnostic etc.
Venkaiah Naidu Inaugurates Digital Radio Round Table Conference
  • Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting M Venkaiah Naidu was inaugurated the Digital Radio or All Round Table Conference in New Delhi.
  • Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) and Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL)
  • To stimulate the interests of the key Indian stakeholders in the public phase launch of the project to digitise radio in India, following the successful installation of DRM digital radio transmitters by All India Radio (AIR).
India to be Guest Country at St. Petersburg International Economic Forum
  • India is invited as the Guest country for the upcoming 2017 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum which was scheduled to be held from June 1 to 3, 2017.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). India & Russia are working on the “bilateral aspect” during Modi’s visit to Russia.
  • The SPIEF is an international economics and business event held annually with the participation of the President of the Russian Federation.
Sula Fest begins in Maharashtra:
  • The tenth edition of Sula Fest has begun on 03rd February at the Sula Vineyards in Nashik, Maharashtra. 
  • The line-up for the three-day festival, which will also feature professional wine tastings and grape stomping, includes artists Infected Mushroom and Nucleya. 
  • Tickets for Sula Fest, which is offering a camping stay facility, range from RS. 1500 to Rs. 4900.
Arun Jaitley introduces demonetisation bill in Lok Sabha
  • Finance Minister Arun Jaitley moved the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities)Bill,2017 in the House. It seeks to end the liability of RBI and the government on the currency notes demonetised in November last year.
  • The bill states that the government took the demonetisation decision on the recommendations of the RBI's central board to eliminate unaccounted money and fake currency notes from the financial system.
  • Once passed by Parliament, the bill will replace an ordinance promulgated on December 30 last year which provides for a fine of 10 thousand rupees or five times the cash held, whichever is higher, on holding of more than 10 banned notes.
Venkaiah Naidu Inaugurated the 3-day Visakha Utsav in Visakhapatnam
  • The three-day Visakha Utsav was inaugurated by M. Venkaiah Naidu, the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Urban Development, in Visakhapatnam on 3 February 2017.
  • Visakha Utsav is an annual festival that aims to bring out the rich culture and tradition of Andhra Pradesh.Its main objective is to promote the brand image of Visakhapatnam.
  • It includes a cultural event called ‘Utsav Vedika’, which aims to revive the state’s art forms. Officials from various departments had been working as a team since the past three days to celebrate the festival.
  • The festival is expected to witness heavy footfall, not only from within the city but from the entire state and outside as well.
Mahila Shakti Kendra will be set-up at village level: Budget
  • Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget Speech 2017-18 announced corpus of Rs 500 crore for setting up Mahila Shakti Kendras in the 14 lakh ICDS Anganwadi Centres at village level.
  • These kendras will provide one stop convergent support services for empowering rural women with opportunities for skill development, employment, health, nutrition and digital literacy.
  • The budget allocation for the welfare of Women and Children under various schemes across all the Ministries the has been increased from Rs. 1,56,528 crores in 2016-17 to Rs. 1,84,632 crores in 2017-18.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AFFAIRS
China successfully tests DF-5C missile with 10 nuclear warheads:
  • China has successfully tested a new version of a DF-5C missile that can carry up to 10 nuclear warheads. 
  • The flight test of the missile was carried using 10 multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles, (MIRVs), from the Taiyuan Space Launch Centre in Shanxi province and to an impact range in the western Taklamakan desert. 
  • The Dongfeng 5 (DF-5) is a three stage Chinese intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). It has a length of 32.6 m and a diameter of 3.35 m. 
  • It weighs in at 183,000 kilograms with range of 12,000 to 15,000 kilometers. 
SPORTS AFFAIRS
Virat Kohli Tops T20 batsman list in the Latest ICC rankings
  • As per the latest ICC Ranking of the Men’s batting, Virat Kohli is still on the top spot with 799 points. He is followed by Aaron Finch of Australia at second position with 771 points and Glenn Maxwell of Australia is third.
  • Virat is ranked Second in Tests and Third in ODIs. This makes him the only Indian batsman to be raked in top five among all formats.
  • Among the T20 Team Ranking, India stood at second spot with a rating of 124. New Zealand was first and West Indies at third.
  • Imran Tahir from South Africa was placed first in the T20 Bowlers ranking while Jasprit Bumrah was second and Samuel Badree of West Indies third.
Former Chelsea midfielder from England Lampard Retires at 38:
  • English professional footballer Frank Lampard announced his retirement from professional  Frank Lampardsoccer on February 2, 2017 ending his 21-year-old career.
  • The England soccer player has scored a record of 211 goals and made appearances in 649 games from 2001-14.
Lakshya Sen becomes World No.1 Junior Badminton player:
  • India's young shuttler Lakshya Sen (15-year) has become theWorld No 1 Junior Badminton player in the latest rankings of the Badminton World Federation (BWF).He moved Chia-Hao Lee of Chinese Taipei to attain the top spot.
  • Lakshya got 16,903 points in eight tournaments in the season and Chia Hao 16,091 points.
  • He is the first shuttler from Uttarakhand to attain the number one spot at the international level.
  • Earlier, his brother Chirag Sen was ranked number two in the world junior badminton rankings.
  • He won the Senior India International Series Badminton Tournament along with the All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament at Itanagar.
India Defeats Pakistan to win Pool in Asian Junior Squash Championship
  • Indian Squash Team outclassed Rival Pakistan 2-0 in the lost in the second round match of Pool A at the 18th Asian Junior Team Squash Championship 2017 in Hong-Kong on February 2, 2017.
  • Earlier in the Day India beat Iran 3-0 while Pakistan beat Korea 3-0.
  • In the first match Indian Senthilkumar Velaven beat Pakistan’s Mehran Javed 3-1 and I the second round Abhay Singh outclassed Abbas Zeb 3-0 to clinch the tournament.
Pankaj Advani Wins 29th the National Snooker Championship title
  • Indian cueist Pankaj Advani clinched his 29th Indian National Snooker Championship title on February 2, 2017 at the PYC Hindu Gymkhana, Pune.
  • The World Champion defeated Pandurangaiah of Railways 6-0 in a one-sided final.
  • With this win, Advani has become the only Indian player to win all the national titles in both the long and short formats of snooker, 6-red Snooker and 15-red Snooker.