Download : 14th February, 2017 – Current Affairs PDF
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National Current Affairs
Bill Passed in Karnataka Assembly to allow ‘Kambala’
- Karnataka assembly unanimously passed the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2017 to legalize the conduct of “Kambala” and bullock cart races in Karnataka.
- The Bill seeks to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, (Central Act 59 of 1960) and exempt the two sports from the ambit of the Act keeping in mind their traditional nature and also to protect native breeds of buffaloes.
- The bill states that the traditional sports events of “Kambala” and “Bulls race or Bullock cart race” plays significant role in preserving and promoting traditions and culture among the people in the state.
- Kambala is a traditional annual buffalo race in marshy fields held in the coastal districts of the state in which buffalo pairs are made to race one after another in paddy fields.
GNFC township becomes India’s first cashless Township
- Nearly 10,000 residents in GNFC have embraced various digital mode of payments instead of cash.
- In the township, residents are making cashless payments at shopping centres, schools, colleges, hospital, stadium, laundry and even at tea stalls.
India’s first floating elementary school inaugurated
- India’s first floating elementary school particularly for drop outs has been inaugurated on Loktak lake at Langolsabi Leikai of Champu Khangpok floating village in Manipur
- The need to establish such a school was felt considering sudden high dropout rate of children living in the Champu Khangpok floating villages.
- Loktak Development Authority had removed more than 700 floating huts as part of clearing the lake after the introduction of Loktak Lake (Protection) Act 2006, about five years ago.
- This resulted in large scale displacement of the fishing community and thus children of these fishing communities were forced to discontinue their education.
National Career Services (NCS) and Jeevan Praman Facility for EPFO Pensioners Launched in Hyderabad Post Office
- The Post Offices will serve as an Employment Registration Centres for Unemployed rural youth on behalf of the “National Career Service” Portal where youths can register themselves for employment in 1,55,000 post offices
- It would build a bridge between the net connected urban areas and non-connected rural areas and help the youth to avail facility to register for employment at their doorstep hassle-free and have access to a rich repository of career content.
- The centre aims to provide employment to five crore people over next five years.
MEA & Gateway House Co-Hosts 2nd Gateway of India Geoeconomic Dialogue
- The theme of the conference is “Where Geopolitics meets Business”.
- This is India’s premier geo-economics conference with the focus on building synergies between business and foreign policy
- The conference will have various several panel discussions on topics like Sovereign Funds, Global Taxation, Digital Economy, Indo-Pacific, India’s Defence-Industrial Base etc.
International Current Affairs
Longest elevated cycle path in the world opens in China
- World’s longest elevated cycle path has been opened in Xiamen, China which can handle about 2,023 cyclists with a speed limit of 15 miles per hour.
- Initially for a month trail, the path will be open to all kinds of bikes, including public and private bikes, from 6:30 am to 10:30 pm in a bid to promote green transport.
Business & Economy
Government to launch Indradhanush 2.0 for Recapitalization of PSBs
- ‘Indradhanush 2.0’for recapitalisation of public sector lenders so that the banks remain solvent and fully comply with the global capital adequacy norms namely Basel-III.
- Indradhanush 2.0 programme will be finalised by Reserve Bank of India (RBI)after completion of Asset Quality Review (AQR) being undertaken and is likely to be completed by end of March 2017.
- Asset Quality Review is being undertaken to recognize the top defaulting accounts as Non-Performing Assets (NPA) and make adequate provisions for them as they have negative impact on banks and their stocks.
Reliance Defence Signs Master Ship Repair Agreement with US Navy
- Reliance Infrastructure Ltd (RInfra) controlled RDEL will perform complex repair and alternation services for the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet vessels operating in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean
- Reliance Shipyard at Pipavav, Gujarat is the first shipyard in India to have received MSRA Certification to undertake servicing and repairing works for the vessels of Seventh Fleet.
- The fleet has about 100 vessels of different types and currently US Navy’s Seventh Fleet visit Singapore or Japan for such works.
L&T and MBDA Missile Systems Forms JV to Develop Missiles in India
- Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T),an Engineering and construction major has entered into a Joint Venture with European defence major MBDA Missile Systems
- The main aim of the JV is development of missiles in India under the Make in India initiative while procuring the missile systems from abroad.
- L&T will own 51 percent stake in the JV named L&T MBDA Missile Systems while the rest 49 percent the European partner.
- L&T is targeting an annual turnover of Rs 10,000 crore from the JV by 2021.
People in News
Frank Walter Steinmeier Elected New President of Germany
- Germany’s former Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been elected as the new President of Germany
- Steinmeier, a member of the Social Democratic party will succeed incumbent President Joachim Gauck who will step down on March 18 at the age of 77.
- Steinmeier previously served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2017.
Sandeep Jajodia Appointed New President of Assocham
- Sandeep Jajodia, the CMD of Monnet Ispat & Energy Ltd. Has been appointed the new presidentof industry chamber Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham)
- Assocham will continue to play a transformational role both nationally and globally and the chamber will empower Indian enterprises by focusing on the most critical and relevant issues in a highly impact-oriented manner
Awards
70th British Academy Film Awards Winner List
- Complete List of Winners
| Award | Winner |
| Best Film | La La Land |
| Best Director | Damien Chazelle (La La Land) |
| Best Actor | Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea) |
| Best Actress | Emma Stone (La La Land) |
59th Annual Grammy Award Winners List
- Complete List of the 2017 Grammy Award
| Award Category | Winner |
| Album Of The Year | Adele for ’25’ |
| Record Of The Year | ‘Hello’ by Adele |
| Song Of The Year | Hello by Adele and Greg Kurstin |
Science & Technology
INS Sarvekshak Becomes India’s First Ship to be Installed with Solar Power System
- The ship has been equipped with 18 sheets of solar panel of 300 Watt which is capable of generating 4 kW power.
- As per the Navy, if the system is used even for 25 days in one year, it can repay its costs in less than 10 years. The estimated profit generated by the system during the ship service life of 25 years is Rs. 2.7 crore.
- It took about six months to install the entire system. The Indian warship is now 100 percent reliable for power source using sunlight that can be used for charging battery, communication equipment and general lightings onboard round the clock with battery outputs during the night.
Environment and Ecology
New bird species Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush found in Nepal
- A Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush has been spotted in the high mountainous region of Nepal by Friends of Nature (FoN) reasearchers.
- Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush is considered an autumn passage migrant bird species in Pakistan and India.
- With this the total number of avian species in the Himalayan country to
Sports Current Affairs
Dutch Women Germaine De Randamie crowned first UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion
- Netherland native Germaine de Randamie defeated Holly Holm (7-3) to claim the UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion at the UFC 208
- The featherweight division was newly introduced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 2016.
- 32-year-old de Randamie became the first women to clinch the victory in the first fight of the newly introduced 145lb division.
Joe Root Becomes New Test Captain of England
- England and Wales Cricket Board named Joe Root as England’s Test captain on February 13, 2017 who will take over Alastair Cook.
- Durham all-rounder Ben Stokes has been named as the vice-captain.
- Alastair Cook resigned on February 6, 2017 after captaining England for four and a half years in 59 Tests.
- Root will become England’s 80th Test skipper with his first game to be held against South Africa at Lord’s