Current Affairs Daily Updates: 1st March 2017

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Current Affairs Daily Updates: 1st March 2017

APPOINTMENTS
D R Doley Barman appointed as Director of SVP National Police Academy
  • D R Doley Barman on 28 February 2017 was appointed as the Director of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA), Hyderabad.
  • At present, Barman is working as the Director of the North East Police Academy (NEPA), Shillong, Meghalaya.
  • Barman is a senior Indian Police Service officer. A 1986 batch Jammu and Kashmir cadre, she replaces Aruna M Bahuguna, who is an Andhra Pradesh cadre of 1979 batch.
  • However, Barman’s appointment has been done by temporarily downgrading the post to ADG level for a period of two years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
Nand Kumar Sai assumes charge as Chairman of NCST
  • Senior tribal leader from Chhattisgarh and ex parliamentarian Nand Kuamr Sai assumed charge as the chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) today in New Delhi.
  • NCST was established by amending Article 338 and inserting a new Article 338A in the Constitution through the Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003.
  • The term of office of Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and each member is three years from the date of assumption of charge.
IAS officer Sumit Mullick appointed as Chief Secretary of Maharashtra:
  • Sumit Mullick, a 1982 batch IAS officer, appointed as the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra. 
  • Mullick will succeed Swadheen Kshatriya, who was due for retirement on 31st of January,2017 but was given a month's extension. 
  • At present, Mullick is the senior most bureaucrat of the state and will retire in April 2018.
  • He had earlier served as the Divisional Commissioner of Amravati and worked as Secretary of School Education. He was also Secretary to the Governor.
Amina J Mohammed sworn in as UN Deputy Secretary-General
  • Amina J Mohammed on 28 February 2017 was appointed as the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN).
  • Mohammed, a former Environment Minister of Nigeria, was appointed by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to the second highest job at the UN promoting resource mobilization required for meeting the urban infrastructure demand.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
Rangaswamy First Woman to Be Honored BCCI Lifetime Achievement Award
  • The Indian cricket board i.e. BCCI has nominated Shanta Rangaswamy for lifetime achievement award for her contribution to the women's cricket.
  • She will be the first women to get this award.
  • The award will be presented at the BCCI Annual Awards in Bengaluru on March 8.
  • Rangaswamy ended up playing 12 Tests and 19 ODIs.
BANKING AFFAIRS
RBI sets up inter-disciplinary standing committee to review cyber threats
  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up of an inter-disciplinary standing committee on cyber security to review the threats inherent in the existing and emerging technology.
  • The 11-member committee will be headed by Meena Hemchandra, RBI Executive Director. It can co-opt more experts and also operate through a framework of sub-committees to examine specific issues.
  • The committee will study adoption of various security standards and protocols, interface with stakeholders. Based on study, it will suggest appropriate policy interventions to strengthen cyber security and resilience.
SIDBI expert panel sanctions Rs 300 cr for startups
  • An expert committee set up by SIDBI has sanctioned Rs 300 crore to fund managers who would invest in startups, taking the total sanctions so far this fiscal to over Rs 1,100 crore.
  • During fiscal year 2014-15 and 2015-16 sanctions were made to 11 funds (Rs 314 crores) and 16 funds (Rs 607 crores) respectively while the number during the current financial year has already crossed Rs 1,112 crores to 30 funds.
  • To promote startups, the Cabinet had last year approved the setting up of a 'Fund of Funds for Startups' with a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore at SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank).
Canara, HSBC and OBC Banks launched iSelect Term Plan
  • Canara, HSBC and Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance launched iSelect term plan to expand its online product suit with the meant for family protection.
  • iSelect term plan provides enhanced protection cover for the family at an affordable premium.
  • It is a pure protection online term plan that provides life insurance cover along with the option to cover against accidental death/ disability.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
India signs Financing Agreement with World Bank for Tejaswini
  • India signed a Financing Agreement with the World Bank for IDA credit of USD 63 million for the 'Tejaswini', a Socio-Economic Empowerment of Adolescent Girls and Young Women Project.
  • The Financing Agreement was signed by Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, Union Ministry of Finance and Junaid Kamal Ahmad, Country Director of World Bank (India).
  • Highlights of the Socio-Economic Empowerment of Adolescent Girls and Young Women Project 'Tejaswini'
    • The project seeks to empower the adolescent girls with basic life skills.
    • It aims to provide further opportunities to acquire market driven skill training or completion of secondary education, depending on the inclination of the beneficiary.
    • The project will support adolescent girls and young women between the ages of 14 and 24 to complete their secondary level education.
    • It will also help girls in acquiring relevant skills for the job market. 
    • The project has three main components- (i) Expanding social, educational and economic opportunities (ii) Intensive service delivery (iii) State capacity-building and implementation support.
    • About 680000 adolescent girls and young women are expected to benefit from the program.
    • The closing date of the project is 30 June 2021.
Google launches 'Meet by Google Hangouts':
  • Google has today launched another communication app called "Meet by Google Hangouts".
  • It's made for high-definition video calls between as many as 30 people.
  • Meet by Google Hangouts seems to be aimed at enterprise customers.
Cisco and Reliance Jio to build world’s largest All-IP Digital Services Platform:
  • Reliance Jio has announced collaboration with networking giant Cisco to build world’s largest All-IP Digital Services Platform. 
  • It will further expand Jios existing multi-terabit network capacity to offer a combination of high-speed data, VoLTE, mobile video, digital commerce, media, cloud and payment services. 
  • Jio’s netwrok is the first of its kind globally to reach fastest growth to 100 million broadband and VoLTE customers milestone within six months of launch. 
  • Jio’s All-IP digital platform is built on Cisco’s Open Network Architecture and Cloud Scale Networking technologies featuring IP/MPLS, spanning areas, including Wi-Fi, data centre, security and contact centre solutions.
DEATHS
Popular Gujarati Writer Tarak Mehta Passes Away at 87
  • Popular Gujarati writer and noted play writer Tarak Mehta passed away. He was 87 and suffering from age related illness since long.
  • The famous humorist was best known for his column 'Duniya Ne Undha Chasma' in Mumbai based Gujarati news weekly 'Chitralekha'.
  • He was awarded Padma Shri in 2015.The popular comic television serial ‘Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah' is a television adaptation of Padma Shri Taarak Mehta's column 'Duniya Ne Undha Chasma'.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
UK-India Year of Culture 2017 launched
  • The UK-India Year of Culture 2017 was launched on 27 February 2017 at Buckingham Palace to mark a year-long celebration of the strong relationship shared between the UK and India.
  • Queen Elizabeth II hosted a gala event to mark the launch.Top Indian celebrities arrived at the event such as Anoushka Shankar, Gurinder Chadha and Shiamak Davar.
  • Additionally, The Big Bang Theory‘s Kunal Nayyar, Ayesha Dharker and Nina Wadia were also in attendance. Anil Kapoor also attended the event as a special guest.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
India, Israel celebrated 25 years of diplomatic ties
  • India and Israel hold a series of events to celebrate 25 years of establishment of their diplomatic ties.
  • India had established full diplomatic relationship with Israel in 1992 though it had recognised the country in 1950.
  • India is the largest buyer of Israel’s military hardware and the latter has been supplying various weapon systems, missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Delhi: India’s first heliport inaugurated in Rohini
  • Built by Pawan Hans Limited, a Public Sector Undertaking of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, India’s first heliport has been inaugurated in north Delhi’s Rohini. Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju inaugurated the heliport.
  • Pawan Hans Ltd Chairman and Managing Director B P Sharma stated that the heliport has come up at an investment of Rs 100 crore.
  • The heliport has a terminal building having capacity of 150 passengers, four hangars with parking capacity of 16 helicopters and nine parking bays.
MEITY to promote digital transactions in place of NITI Aayog:
  • The Union Government has shifted the responsibility of promoting digital transactions in the country to the Union Ministry of IT and Electronics (MEITY) from NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog. 
  • In this regard, Government already has changed the business transaction rules to enable MEITY to promote digital transactions, including digital payments. 
  • This decision was taken in view of the core competence of MEITY to promote digital means for various transactions.
Assam government to appoint teacher in all high schools to monitor cleanliness
  • The government of Assam has decided to appoint a specific teacher to monitor cleanliness in all of the state’s high schools in accordance with the union government’s Swachh Bharat Mission.
  • The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting, held in Guwahati on 28 February 2017. The meeting was chaired by the state’s Chief Minister, Sarbanand Sonowal.
National Consultation Workshop on Urban Development held in New Delhi
  • National Consultation Workshop on Urban Development was held on 28 February 2017 at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
  • The workshop was held with the theme – Transforming Cities Transforming Lives.
  • During the workshop, participating States and Union Territories (UTs) endorsed the following five transformational urban reforms.
    • Moving to a trust and verify approach
    • Formulating land titling laws
    • Credit rating of urban local bodies
    • Value capture financing
    • Improving professionalism of ULBs
CBDT signs 10 unilateral APAs with taxpayers
  • The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) signed ten Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) with taxpayers.
  • The APAs were signed in various sectors of the economy like Telecom, Pharmaceutical, Banking & Finance, Steel, Retail and Information Technology, etc.
  • In the current financial year, a total of 76 APAs (7 Bilateral APAs and 61 Unilateral APAs) have already been signed by CBDT.
  • With this, the total number of APAs entered into by the CBDT reached 140 in number.
  • This includes 10 Bilateral APAs and 130 Unilateral APAs. The CBDT expects more APAs to be signed before the end of the current fiscal.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AFFAIRS
India successfully test-fired Prithvi Supersonic Interceptor Missile
  • India on 1 March 2017 successfully test-fired the Prithvi supersonic interceptor missile.
  • The missile was test-fired by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from the Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast.
  • With Prithvi in its armour, India has become the fourth country in the world to have a ballistic missile defence program.
  • The other three countries which have developed a similar ballistic missile defence system include the US, Russia and Israel.
SPORTS AFFAIRS
Jitu Rai wins gold at ISSF World Cup in 50m free pistol, Amanpreet Singh silver
  • Jitu Rai won the gold medal in men’s 50 meter free pistol event of the ISSF World Cup, with a world record score of 230.1.
  • India’s Amanpreet Singh wins silver with a score of 226.9.
Indian Badminton Duo Tarun Kona and Alwin Francis Wins Uganda International Series Doubles Title
  • Top seeded Indian shuttler duo Tarun Kona and Alwin Francis won the Men’s Double title at the 2017 Uganda International Series by defeating Aatish Lubah and Georges Julien Paul of Mauritius, 21-8, 21-14 at MTN Arena Lugogo, Kampala.
  • The Uganda International Badminton Tournament 2017, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation, was held from 23rd to 26th of February 2017.