Current Affairs Daily Updates: 16th February 2017

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Current Affairs Daily Updates: 16th February 2017

APPOINTMENTS
Justice Vikramajit Sen takes charge of Delhi and Districts Cricket Association
  • Justice Vikramajit Sen, former Supreme Court Judge, on 15 February 2017 took charge of the Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA). He officially took the charge from Justice Mukul Mudgal.
  • Just after taking charge of the DDCA, Justice Sen formed various committees. In a three-page instruction, he laid out the ground rules while keeping most of the committees selected by Justice Mudgal.
  • DDCA accounts manager Pritam Panwar and Vikrant will be signing authorities in all financial and bank related matters.
  • The selection committees also remained same. Former Ranji cricketer Siddharth Sahib Singh was named in-charge of all Cricket Operations (International, Domestic and IPL).
Norman Isaac became first Indian to be FIBA’s Technical Delegate
  • Norman Isaac in February 2017 became the first Indian to be promoted by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) as the Technical Delegate (TD).
  • His appointment/promotion was confirmed by the sport’s worldwide governing body. He was promoted to TD along with a select few aspirants, who successfully cleared a series of tests at Doha, Qatar.
  • FIBA in an official letter affirmed his new status and asked Norman to prepare the preliminary rounds of matches in the qualifiers, which will kick off in November 2017 towards the first ever FIBA World Cup in China in 2019.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
Sandeep Singh Indian International Hockey Player Receives Honorary Doctorate
  • Indian professional hockey player Sandeep Singh has been honoured with an Honorary Doctorate Degree by Desh Bhagat University, a private educational institution in Amloh, Fatehgarh Sahib District of Punjab.
  • He is the second Indian hockey player to receive this award. The only first player was Dileep Tirkey, former captain and sitting Member of Parliament, to receive an honorary degree for sporting excellence from Sambalpur University in 2010.
Indian-origin cop Shand Panesar receives bravery awarded from Scotland Yard :
  • Shand Panesar, an Indian-origin constable with Scotland Yard, has been awarded 2017's Outstanding Bravery of the Year Award.
  • Panesar was given the award for risking his life with a colleague to rescue a couple from a burning building in London last September.
  • Panesar and his colleague Craig Nicholson reportedly had no fire safety equipment or protective clothing during the rescue.
BANKING AFFAIRS
IDBI Bank ties up with Consumerfed
  • Kerala State Cooperatives Consumers’ Federation (Consumerfed) has tied up with IDBI Bank to facilitate cashless purchases for its consumers.
  • Consumerfed runs a network of hundreds of Thriveni fair price shops, Neethi fair price medical shops and some beverage outlets throughout the state.
  • Consumers can now swipe their cards at these outlets.
  • More than 300 machines have already been installed.
  • A special IDBI Bank team was deputed to plan and execute the scheme under the guidance of M Ramanunni, Managing Director, Consumerfed, and M Mehaboob, Chairman.
HDFC life launches 'Pragati' plan for low income group
  • HDFC life has launched Pragati, a traditional life insurance plan that has been specifically designed to empower low income families.
  • Pragati makes life insurance easily accessible to every person who wishes to financially secure his family.
  • With Pragati, HDFC Life wants to offer the dual benefit of systematic savings (with guaranteed premium returns) and wholesome life protection.
Government gives green signal to merger of SBI and its five associate banks
  • The Cabinet approved a proposal to merge the five subsidiaries of State Bank of India with the parent, kick-starting consolidation among public sector lenders.
  • Two of the five associate banks —State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Hyderabad — are unlisted. Among the other three, Mumbai-based SBI holds a 75 per cent stake in State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, 90 per cent in State Bank of Mysore and 79 per cent in State Bank of Travancore.
  • A decision on Bharatiya Mahila Bank will be taken later.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Airbus signs MoU for setting up centre of excellence in Hyderabad
  • The multinational Airbus Group division Airbus joined hand with Telangana government, National Skill Development Corporation India and AEROCAMPUS France for establishing a Centre of Excellence at at Begumpet Airport for aerospace skill development in Hyderabad
  • To enhance the employability of young aspirants by imparting the required skills to them.
  • To train candidates ranging from high school graduates to experienced aviation personnel on aircraft manufacturing, logistics, Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO), ground handling and special aviation processes
EPFO launches Employees Enrolment Campaign 2017
  • The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on 15 February 2017 launched Employees Enrolment Campaign 2017.
  • The campaign encourages firms to enrol their employees under its schemes at nominal damages of Rupee one per annum.
  • The declaration scheme is operational between 1 January 2017 and 31 March 2017.
  • The employees’ share of contributions, if declared by the employer as not deducted, shall stand waived.
  • The damages to be paid by the employer in respect of the employer in respect of the employees for whom declaration has been made under this campaign shall be at the rate of Rupee One per annum.
SoftBank to buy Fortress Investment for $3.3 billion
  • Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp has agreed to buy Fortress Investment Group LLC for about $3.3 billion, looking to add investment expertise as it prepares to launch the world’s largest private equity fund.
  • The all-cash deal is SoftBank’s first major investment in an asset manager and represents yet another unpredictable gambit for a group that has to date focussed on telecoms and technology.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Irish government survives no-confidence vote
  • The minority government of Ireland on 15 February 2017 survived Irish Parliament’s vote of no confidence over its handling of a policing scandal.
  • Though the government survived, Prime Minister Enda Kenny faced growing calls from members of his own party to step down from his position.
  • The main reason for the move was the manner in which the government had handled allegations by members of parliament that Noirin O’Sullivan, Commissioner of the Irish police force, had made serious allegations of sexual crimes against high profile Irish whistleblower, Maurice McCabe to journalists in 2013 and 2014.
India to join Moscow meet on Afghanistan
  • India is among six nations participating in a conference on Afghanistan’s future in Moscow two months after Russia hosted a similar conference with only China and Pakistan.
  • After India and particularly Afghanistan objected to being cut out of the discussion, Moscow agreed to expand its ambit, announcing a six-nation conference of Russia, India, Iran, Pakistan, China and Afghanistan.
  • To begin with, India is increasingly uncomfortable with Russia’s overtures to Pakistan on defence issues. Significantly, Russia did not join the U.S., U.K. and France in sponsoring a resolution against Jaish chief Masood Azhar at the U.N. sanctions committee last month, a resolution which China then put a hold on.
  • Russia has been seen as favouring a softer line on the Taliban as a counter to the spread of Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan; Russia and China have also been coordinating to demand the delisting of senior Taliban leaders designated as terrorists by the U.N. sanctions committee.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
IAF inducts indigenous early warning system
  • The IAF has formally inducted the first indigenously built Airborne Early Warning and Control System Netra developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation at the Aero India exhibition.
  • It was handed over by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa, is in the Initial Operational Configuration.
  • It is expected to achieve Final Operational Configuration (FOC) by June.
Union Cabinet approves bill to amend Collection of Statistics Act, 2008
  • The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved introduction of Bill in Parliament to extend the jurisdiction of the Collection of Statistics Act, 2008 to Jammu & Kashmir.
  • The Amendment will be pertained to statistics under Union (List-I) and Concurrent lists (List- III) in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution and Constitution (Application to Jammu & Kashmir) Order, 1954.
  • It will strengthen data collection mechanism in the state of Jammu & Kashmir.
  •  It will extend the jurisdiction of the parent Act to J&K in respect of matters not reserved for the State as per the 1954 Order.
J&K govt launches e-Prison project
  • The Jammu and Kashmir government has launched the e-Prison project to enumerate jail inmates in the State, where numbers of detainees keep swelling during unrest.
  • The information about jail inmates is currently being maintained manually.
  • To avoid delays in processing the information and manage all the jails efficiently, the automation of prison department has been started.”
  • The government has already digitised records of 500 inmates.
  • The project will digitise 25 district jails, two Central jails and one sub-jail in the State.
KVIC to make khadi Gaon in each state
  • Aiming to scale up employment at rural locations and push up the khadi and village industries products from the villages, the khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has initiated a project named khadi Gaon.
  • Under the scheme, Five Khadi Gaon will be established in each state.
  • It will help them to be self dependent and would stop their retrea towards the cities.
CCEA approves contract awards for 44 small oil and gas fields
  • The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved to award contract in 31 contract areas of small oil and gas fields belonging to ONGC and Oil India Limited (OIL)
  • The contract areas include 44 fields, 28 inland and 16 offshore. The will be awarded under Discovered Small Field Policy bid round – 2016.
  • The award of contract is expected to provide faster development of oil and gas fields and facilitate production of oil and gas thereby increasing energy security of the country.
Indian Panorama Film Festival begins in Port Blair
  • The Indian Panorama Film Festival commenced on 15 February 2017 in Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
  • The Festival is organised jointly by Andaman and Nicobar Administration and Directorate of Film Festivals, Government of India.
  • The Festival was inaugurated by Anindo Majumdar, Chief Secretary of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The inauguration event was followed by the screening of Telugu film Bahubali directed by S.S. Rajamauli.
  • The five-day festival will see screening of about 15 films of different languages and genres. The film festival will conclude on 19 February 2017.
Madhya Pradesh government to set up Tourism Board
  • Shivraj Singh Chouhan lead by Madhya Pradesh government has decided to constitute Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board for expansion of facilities at tourist spots and draw investment in the sector.
  • MP Tourism Board would be a non-profit company and will be registered under the Companies Act.
  • The board will take all responsibilities mentioned under Tourism Policy-2016.
  • The board would work to frame, execute and monitor new policies for inviting investors, increase land bank.
AP signs MoUs for 12 textile units
  • During the recent CII partnership summit in AP 12 MoUs were signed by the State Government with different companies for setting up 12 apparel units in the State entailing investment of Rs. 963 crores in all and generating 46,000 jobs. These 12 projects will come up in the next one to one-and-a-half years.
  • Four of the units will come up in the Brandix apparel park , including two by Chinese companies, five units in Anantapur district and the remaining in Chittoor district. 
  • The Andhra Pradesh Government is encouraging the textile sector in a big way and entrepreneurs should make use of the benefits being offered by the State as well as the special package given by the Union Government in the Budget to set up more units, according to K. Srikanth Prabhakar, the Joint Director in the office of the Commissioner of Handlooms and Textiles, AP Government.
Two-day Global Investor Summit 'Momentum Jharkhand' begins in Ranchi
  • A two-day mega event of Global Investor Summit, branded as "Momentum Jharkhand" is going to start at Khelgaon of Ranchi.
  • More than one thousands delegates, including many leading industrialists, both Indian and from other countries, will take part in this.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the summit through video-conferencing.
  • A number of Central Ministers will also be present at the occasion.
Kerala: A group launches helpline number for waste management
  • In Kerala, Thanal, a city-based group in Thiruvananthapuram has launched a helpline for providing technical support in treating organic waste and managing non-biodegradable solid wastes.
  • The helpline 94001 47150 will provide information and guidance for composting kitchen waste, terrace farming, organic farming, and pest/fungi control by organic means.
  • Free demonstration and technical guidance on treating organic waste will be provided. In the case of organic farming, technical demonstration will be organised for groups.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AFFAIRS
First Indian genomics beacon launched in UK
  • Global Gene Corp and Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) launched the first-ever beacon for Indian genomics data, which is expected to help scientists develop more effective drug delivery systems.
  • A beacon is an online web service that allows researchers to determine whether an institution has particular genomic data in its data set.
  • The aim of the Indian beacon is to address the gap in shared Indian genomics data, which helps scientists better understand disease and develop more effective drug delivery systems and therapeutics.