Current Affairs Daily Updates: 18th February 2017

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Current Affairs Daily Updates: 18th February 2017

APPOINTMENTS / RESIGNATIONS
Banks Board Bureau Appoints Eight Executive Directors in Various Banks
  • Eight Executive Directors (EDs) have been appointed in various public sector banks on the recommendations of Banks Board Bureau Initially, they have been appointments for a three-year period.
List of Appointed Executive Directors
  • Neelam Damodharan and Atanu Kumar Das have been appointed as EDs in Bank of India. Presently, Damodharan serves as the General Manager in Bank of Baroda and Das is General Manager in Vijaya Bank.
  • K Swaminathan, the General Manager in Indian Overseas Bank, has been appointed as ED in Indian Overseas Bank.
  • Ashok Kumar Pradhan has been appointed as the ED in United Bank of India. Presently he serves as the Chief General Manager with State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur.
  • P Ramana Murthy will be Executive Director of Central Bank of India. He is GM of Allahabad Bank.
  • Fareed Ahmed Khan, General Manager of Corporation Bank, has been appointed as the ED in Punjab and Sind Bank.
  • M K Bhattacharya, Chief General Managers of State Bank of Mysore has been appointed as the EDs of Indian Bank
  • S Harishankar who serves as Chief General Managers of State Bank of Travancore has been appointed EDs of Allahabad Bank.
BCCI General Manager RP Shah quits
  • One of the three General Managers of BCCI, RP Shah, today resigned from his post citing his age as a reason.
  • Shah was finding it hectic to regularly travel to Mumbai as he resided in Mumbai.
  • Shah said, it was purely a personal decision taken four months back.
Ranganathan, Mehta appointed Non-Official Director in IOB, PNB
  • T C A Ranganathan and Sunil Mehta were appointed as Non-Official Directors in Indian Overseas Bank and Punjab National Bank respectively.
  • The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has cleared their appointment as Non-Official Director/Non-Executive Chairman in the respective banks for a period of three years, an order issued by Personnel Ministry said.
  • Mehta's appointment is subject to a condition that he needs to resign from the board of State Bank of India before joining the new post.
Government Cuts SEBI’s Chairman-Designate Ajay Tyagi’s Tenure by Two Years
  • The Union Government on February 17, 2017 reduced the tenure of the next Chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Ajay Tyagi by two years without giving any reason behind the decision.
  • Now the 58-year-old Tyagi will join as the SEBI Chairman for an initial period of three years instead of five years after the tenure of Sinha ends on March 1, 2017.
  • On February 10, 2017 Ajay Tyagi’s name was approved by the government to be appointed as the next Chairman of SEBI with a five-year term to succeed incumbent U K Sinha.
  • Tyagi, a 1984 batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre is presently posted as Additional Secretary (Investment) in the Department of Economic Affairs.
Renu Pall concurrently accredited as Ambassador of India to Montenegro   
  • Former IFS officer Renu Pall has been concurrently accredited as the next Ambassador of lndia to Montenegro, with residence in Vienna (Austria)
  • Currently he is working as the ambassador of lndia to Austria.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar honoured with 'Legendary Award ' 2017
  • Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar has been honored with the 'Legendary Award ' 2017 by Brand Laureate. The Brand Laureate Awards recognize world-class achievement in branding amongst individuals and companies. 
  • Lata expressed her heartfelt thanks to the Brand Laureate on twitter for honouring her. In 2012, actor Shah Rukh Khan was honoured with the Brand Laureate Legendary Award for his unmatched contribution to Indian Cinema.
South Indian Bank bags award for tech security practices
  • South Indian Bank has been awarded with ISO 27001: 2013 certification for its Information Security Management System (ISMS). 
  • V.G. Mathew, MD, and CEO of the bank received the certificate from Venkataram Arabolu, Managing Director, BSI Group India at an official ceremony.
Corporation Bank Bags 2017 National MSME Excellence Award
  • Mangalore-based public sector lender Corporation Bank was awarded the 2017 National MSME Excellence Award at a function in New Delhi. 
  • D V Subramanya Varma, General Manager of Corporation Bank received the award from Union Minister of State for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, Haribhai P Choudhary.
  • The award is instituted by the Federation of Industry, Trade, and Services (FITS).
Veteran Hindi Scholar and Novelist Surendra Verma Selected for 2016 Vyas Samman
  • Renowned Hindi litterateur and playwright Surendra Verma has been selected for 2016 Vyas Samman for his novel Kaatna Shami Ka Vriksha Padma Pankhuri Ki Dhar Se.
  • This novel was published in the year 2010. Mr Verma would be presented a cash prize of Rs. 3.50 lakh a citation and a logo for the prestigious award instituted by K K Birla Foundation.
BANKING AFFAIRS
Canara Bank Inks MoU with HRD Ministry to Start Higher Education Financing Agency
  • Bangalore based Public sector Canara Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry to operationalize the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA). 
  • The establishment of the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) was approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2016.Through this MoU, HRD Ministry and Canara Bank will jointly promote the HEFA with an authorised capital of Rs. 2,000 crore.
SBI ties up with Greenply to offer financial services to its dealers
  • Mumbai based State Bank of India(SBI) has signed Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with India’s largest interior infrastructure company Greenply Industries to grow its channel financing business of Greenply Industries on electronic platformon February 18, 2017.
  • SBI will extend financial services to Greenply dealers to grow further on a very competitive pricing.SBI
  • It has also taken initiative to stop use of paper from its branches for end-to-end digitisation.
Karnataka Bank Launches National Pension System in Mangaluru
  • Mangaluru based private sector lender Karnataka Bank Ltd launched National Pension System (NPS) at its corporate office in Mangaluru. To provide financial security at old age by giving regular income in the form of pension.
  • Under the scheme, one can contribute to NPS while earning and eventually start receiving the pension on his/her attaining the age of 60 years to meet their financial needs.
  • To avail the benefit, any individual between the ages 18-60 years can register their name with the bank branch to contribute and to get pension benefit.
JLL Named to FORTUNE’s 2017 World’s Most Admired Companies List
  • Leading professional services firm JLL has once again been named to FORTUNE magazine’s World’s Most Admired Companies list of 2017 based on their reputation for innovation, top talent and global competitiveness.
  • JLL is an American professional services and investment management company specializing in real estate and investment management and helps real estate owners, occupiers and investors achieve their business ambitions.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Government Increases the Cash Credit Limit For MSMEs To 30 %
  • The Union government has increased the Cash Credit (CC) limit for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to 30% of turnover from the existing 20% to encourage them to conduct businesses digitally.
  • Through digital means of conducting the business, the balance sheet of companies would be clean and this would help MSMEs to get loans from banks and promote Ease of Doing Business.
  • Presently the taxes for MSMes are calculated at 8% for revenue of up to Rs 2 crore. With digital transaction, tax liability will be reduced from 8% to 6%.
NALCO signs MoU with TERI for sustainable rehabilitation
  • Odisha based National Aluminium Company Limited(NALCO) has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in New Delhi on February 16, 2017
  • Scientific, technological and educational activities in the area of mining rehabilitation.
  • The agreement will further strengthen initiatives being undertaken under Sustainable Development Framework (SDF).
  • It will will cover mining rehabilitation methods and technologies, sustainable rehabilitation on red mud areas, capacity building, workshops and preparation knowledge documents on mining rehabilitation.
Mastercard to Provide Payments Processing Solution for Airtel Payment Bank
  • Leading global payments and technology firm, Mastercard is set to provide payments processing solution to Airtel Payments Bank.
  • The payment processing platform will enable the Airtel Payment Bank in providing various payment services like switching, card management along with support for reconciliation and dispute management processes
DEATHS
Former MP Jambuvantrao Dhote passes away
  • Former MP Jambuvantrao Dhote died this morning in Yavatmal of Maharashtra due to heart attack. The 83 year old leader was known for his demands of a separate state for Vidarbha.
  • Mr Dhote won his first election to Lok Sabha in 1971 from Nagpur as a Forward Bloc nominee. Later in 1980, he joined Congress and won the Nagpur seat on the Congress ticket.
Veteran RSS Activist Gangadayal Awasthi Passes Away
  • Eminent social worker and RSS activist Gangadayal Awasthi passed away on February 17, 2017 at his residence in Thane, Mumbai. He died at the age of 100.
  • Awasthi belongs to Uttar Pradesh. He moved to Thane nearly 30 years ago.
  • He was recently honoured by Jagadguru Shankaracharya of the Kashi Sumeru Peeth Swami Narendrananda Saraswati.
  • He was very close to some of the senior RSS leaders including Guru Golwalkar, Shyamaprasad Mukherji, Deendayal Upadyaya and A B Vajpayee.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
China bans coal imports from North Korea
  • China announced that it is suspending all imports of coal from North Korea.
  • Move comes as part of efforts to increase pressure on the country over its latest missile test.
  • Ban would operate until 2017 end.
  • China had rejected shipment of North Korean coal worth $1m.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Sumitra Mahajan to inaugurate 2-day South Asian Speaker’s summit at Indore in Madhya Pradesh
  • Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan will inaugurate the two-day South Asian Speaker’s summit at Indore in Madhya Pradesh.
  • Speakers of six countries will deliberate on ways to achieve sustainable development goals. 
  • Summit is organized by the Indian Parlianment and Inter-Parliamentary Union which is focused on Achieving Sustainable Development Goals in member countries.
  • Representive from Afganistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri lanka are attending the summit. Representatives from Pakistan and Myanmar are not attending the sumit due to their personal reasons. 
SC Introduces Middle Income Group Scheme to Provide Legal Services at Affordable Rate
  • The Supreme Court has introduced the Middle Income Group (MIG) Scheme for the middle income group people whose gross income is not exceeding Rs. 60,000 per month or Rs. 7.5 lakh per annum.
  • The MIG Legal Aid Scheme is a self-supporting scheme which aims to provide legal services to the middle income group who cannot afford the expensive litigation in the Supreme Court.
  • Under the scheme, middle class people who have the desire to avail the benefit of the Scheme shall have to fill up the form prescribed and accept all the terms and conditions contained within and thus can avail the services of the society for a nominal amount.
Aadhaar card to be mandatory for College & University students availing benefits under Central Scholarships scheme
  • Union Human Resource Development Ministry has stated that to avail benefit under the Central Sector Scholarship Scheme for College and University students, applicants will now have to furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar card or undergo Aadhaar authentication.
  • HRD ministry notification issued in New Delhi stated that those who are receiving these scholarships but don't have an Aadhar card will have to apply for enrolment by June 30th,2017. It is, however, not applicable in Jammu and Kashmir
Tarini to be Inducted into Indian Navy on 18 February 2017
  • The Indian Navy’s second ocean going sailboat Tarini will be inducted at a ceremony scheduled to be held at the INS Mandovi Boat Pool on 18 February 2017.
  • Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of Naval Staff will also be present on the occasion. 
  • INSV Tarini is a sloop built by M/s Aquarius Shipyard Pvt Ltd at Divar, Goa. 
  • The sail boat Tarini is being inducted into the Navy and is slated to be the platform for First Indian All Women Circumnavigation of the Globe expedition of the Indian Navy.
UDAN scheme to increase number of airports by 50
  • The implementation of the regional air-connectivity scheme, UDAN, will see the number of operational airports in the country shoot up by over 50, while the cost of travelling will come down to as low as ₹2,500 for up to an hour of air journey.
  • According to Sinha, there are 75 small operational airports in the country, and this number will increase to over 125 with the successful implementation of UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) — the new scheme through which the government hopes to make flying viable to Tier II and III cities.
Aero India copy 5HAL signs MoU with CPWD to build helicopter facility at Tumakuru, Karnataka
  • Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Central Public Works Department (CPWD) for execution of infrastructure development works at HAL’s new Greenfield helicopter facility at Tumakuru.
  • The MoU was signed at Aero India 2017.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Sailboat INSV Tarini Inducted into Indian Navy on 18 February 2017
  • The second ocean going sailboat of Indian Navy “Tarini” was successfully inducted by the Navy on February 18, 2017 at a ceremony held at the INS Mandovi Boat Pool in presence of Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of Naval Staff.
  • It is the second sailboat after INS Mhadei of Indian Navy. INSV Tarini had been conceptualized to promote ocean sailing activities and to encourage women empowerment.
  • Tarini provides a platform for the first Indian circumnavigation of the globe by all women team of the Indian Navy.
  • INSV Tarini has been built by M/s Aquarius Shipyard Pvt Ltd at Divar, Goa.The trials of the newly built INSV Tarini were successfully completed on 30 January 2017.
ISRO Successfully Tests C25 Engine for GSLV Mark III rocket
  • The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully conducted the final ground testing of its indigenously developed Cryogenic Upper Stage engine (C25) for GSLV Mark III rocket at ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion Complex at Mahendragiri in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu on February 17, 2017.
  • The ISRO Chairman AS Kiran Kumar informed that the test was last in the series before going for an actual rocket launch. The engine will be put into use in April 2017.
  • The C25 stage is the most powerful upper stage developed by ISRO and uses Liquid Oxygen and Liquid Hydrogen propellant combination.
  • It will better serve the next generation GSLV rocket to launch 4-tonne class satellite in the Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO).
Air India inducts A320 neo plane, to add 13 more in 2017
  • Air India on 16 February 2017 inducted the first Airbus 320 neo aircraft into its fleet. The plane is first of the 14 aircraft leased from Kuwait headquartered ALAFCO Aviation Lease and Finance Company.
  • The plane was formally inducted by giving the traditional water canon salute at the international airport in New Delhi. With this induction, Air India became the first CFM powered NEO operator in India.
  • Airbus 320 neo aircraft, known for burning less fuel, is configured with 162 seats including 12 in the business class. It joins the national carrier’s existing fleet of 66 A320 family planes. With this induction of Airbus 320 neo aircraft, Air India’s fleet size went up to 138 planes.
SPORTS AFFAIRS
PV Sindhu Attains Career-Best Rank at No. 5 in BWF Rankings, Saina Placed at No. 9
  • Indian ace shuttler PV Sindhu achieved her career best Badminton World Federation (BWF) women’s single ranking by being placed at 5th spot Previously the top seeded player was placed at sixth position. 
  • The only second Indian to be placed among the top 10 spots is Saina Nehwal who has  PV Sindhubeen placed at No. 9. 
  • The BWF women’s single ranking has been topped by Tai Tzu Ying of the Chinese Taipei.
India Bags Silver Medal At The Asian Women’s Rugby Sevens Trophy
  • India won the silver medal at the Women’s Asian Rugby Sevens Trophy on February 18, 2017 held at Vientiane, Laos.
  • South Korea won gold medal by beating India 29-0 in the finals. India won five matches and lost in one.
  • The Indian team participated under the aegis of the Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU) the governing body for the sport of Rugby in India and supported by Societe Generale, the financial partner of Rugby India.
  • Total seven countries from across Asia including South Korea, Philippines, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, India and Laos participated in the Asian Rugby Sevens Trophy.
  • The tournament was played on a Round Robin basis.