Current Affairs Update – 16th February, 2016

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 16th February, 2016. These are important for the upcoming LIC AAO 2016 Exam as well as other exams including Railways.

• The government on Monday unveiled
  a National Capital Goods Policy to give an impetus to the capital goods sector
  and a leg up to the Make in India initiative. This is for the first time that a
  national policy has been framed for the sector.
• The policy envisages increasing
  exports from the current 27 per cent to 40 per cent of production while
  increasing share of domestic production in India’s demand from 60 per cent to
  80 per cent, thus making India a net exporter of capital goods.
• The policy also aims to facilitate
  improvement in technology depth across sub-sectors, increase skill
  availability, ensure mandatory standards and promote growth and capacity
  building of MSMEs.
• Some of the key issues addressed
  include availability of finance, raw material, innovation and technology,
  productivity, quality and environment friendly manufacturing practices,
  promoting exports and creating domestic demand.
• The key policy recommendations
  include strengthening the existing scheme of the DHI (Department of Heavy
  Industry) on enhancement of competitiveness of Capital Goods sector by
  increasing budgetary allocation and increasing its scope to further boost global
  competitiveness in various sub sectors of Capital Goods, enhancing the export
  of Indian made capital goods through a ‘Heavy Industry Export & Market
  Development Assistance Scheme (HIEMDA)’.
• It has also made provision for
  launching a Technology Development Fund, upgrading existing and setting up new
  testing & certification facility, making standards mandatory in order to
  reduce sub-standard machine imports and at the same time providing opportunity
  to local manufacturing units by utilising their installed capacity and
  launching scheme of skill development for Capital Goods sector.

• Bank has taken yet another giant
  leap in this space with the launch of SBI e-Smart SME, a working capital loan
  offering for sellers on e-commerce platforms.  
• The sellers can apply for loan
  online and get immediate sanction – thereby enabling “loans at the click of a
  button”. This innovative product moves away from traditional lending based on
  financial statements like balance sheet and income tax returns; and instead
  uses proprietary platform data and surrogate information from public domain to
  assess the seller’s credit worthiness for loan sanctioning. 
• The product was launched in
  partnership with the well-known e-commerce platform Snapdeal in the presence of
  Bank’s Chairman Smt. Arundhati Bhattacharya & Snapdeal CEO Sri Kunal Bahl,
  on 15.01.2016 at SBI Corporate Centre, Mumbai.

1. Exclusive & easy finance
2. Quick online sanction with KYC
   documents
3. Lowest Interest Rates
4. Collateral free loan upto Rs. 10
   Lacs under MUDRA
5. 0.399% Processing Fee
6. Concession of 0.25% to Women
   Entrepreneurs

• It is Bank’s endeavor to fuel the
  growth of young and digital India, by providing access to quick and low-cost
  finance to millions of SMEs helping them grow big in their business. 
• This new
  product enables millions of small brick-and-mortar merchants who are selling on
  the e-commerce platform to overcome their liquidity crunch and expand their business
  exponentially and digitally.

• mRUPEE, a subsidiary of Tata
  Teleservices, on 15 February 2016 announced that it has tied up with Indian
  Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to provide an additional
  payment gateway.
• Indian Railways carries more than
  23 million passengers a day and the association will allow users one-tap
  payments for rail ticket bookings via mRUPEE wallet for a significant number of
  travellers.
• mRUPEE, a subsidiary of Tata
  Teleservices, is a service that allows the consumers to do various transactions
  through their mobile phone.

• The country’s largest lender
  State Bank of India on February 4 partnered travel firm Thomas Cook to offer a
  recurring deposit to the bank’s customers to save for their future holidays.
• The product is exclusive for
  online customers.
• With the scheme, called Thomas
  Cook Holiday Savings Account (HSA), a bank customer will be able to pre-select
  a holiday from the travel company and save for it through a recurring deposit
  with the bank.
• The customer will have to pay 12
  instalments and at the end of the period the travel firm will pay the 13th
  instalment.

• The tax department has resolved
  180 tax disputes worth Rs 5,000 crore under mutual agreement procedure (MAP)
  since April 2014, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement
  issued on Tuesday.
• The resolved cases pertain to
  various sectors of the economy like software services, IT-enabled services,
  manufacturing, consultancy services, etc. The countries with which cases have
  been resolved are the US, Japan, UK and China.
• MAP is a mechanism under the
  Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs), or tax treaties signed by India
  with various countries, through which international tax disputes are resolved.
• The MAP programme is led by one
  or more Competent Authorities designated by the signatory countries to resolve
  tax disputes under the provisions of each treaty. In the past two years,
  increased focus on MAP has resulted in resolution of large number of disputes
  relating to double taxation.
• According to CBDT, MAP has emerged
  as an effective alternative tax dispute resolution mechanism. Its use to
  resolve disputes has provided comfort to foreign investors and also reduced the
  number of cases under litigation.

• The ministry of railways on
  Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Sweden
  for technical cooperation, in keeping with minister Suresh Prabhu’s promise of
  getting best international technology along with investment.
• The main objective of the MoU,
  signed by Sweden’s ministry of enterprise and innovation, is cooperation
  between the two countries to promote efficiency and sustainability and achieve
  concrete results with regard to bilateral trade, investment, research and technology
  transfer.
• Both countries will also work
  towards benchmarking policy development, regulations, organisation and specific
  characteristics for their respective railways.
• The MoU also includes exchange of
  knowledge, technical expertise, innovation, technology, sustainable solutions
  and research.
• The MoU will remain in force for
  five years from the date of signing. It can be extended for another five years
  with the written consent of both sides.
• It was signed by Girish Pillai,
  adviser, infrastructure, on behalf of railways ministry, and Oscar Stenstrom,
  state secretary on behalf of Sweden.

• South Eastern Coalfields Limited
  (SECL), a subsidiary of the Coal India Limited (CIL), would be setting up
  country’s largest coal washery with a capacity of 25 million tonnes per annum
  (MTPA) in Korba district of Chhattisgarh. The project would be known as
  Kusmunda coal washery.
• It would be an integral part of
  Kusmunda Open Cast coal mine, one of the three mines operated by the SECL in
  Korba coalfields having an estimated reserve of 10,074.77 million tonnes.
• The washery would be built in
  41.23 hectare area in villages Durpa and Jarhajel in Korba—about 250 km from
  Raipur.
• The ministry of environment,
  forest and climate change had granted terms of reference (TOR) for the project.
• The Kusmunda coal washery would
  be the largest in the country. The existing largest coal washery is also
  located in Korba district. The ACB (India) Limited had set up a coal washery at
  Dipka area in 1999. 

• India’s fourth-largest software
  services firm HCL Technologies has bagged the largest outsourcing contract in
  recent times from Swedish auto maker Volvo Group, with the deal valued at over
  $ 2.8 billion spread over five years.
• The deal also involves HCL buying
  the IT technology arm of Volvo for $138 million (Rs 895 crore) that mandates it
  to take over 2,500 employees and 40 customers of Volvo globally on its rolls.
  Around 200 engineers at Volvo’s Bengaluru facility will be rebadged by HCL.
• According to sources, the
  outsourcing deal is valued at $1.8 billion over five years and an additional $1
  billion that HCL would get from committed contracts of $1 billion over the same
  period from the 40 customers of Volvo in Europe. HCL will be the sole global
  vendor for the Swedish auto giant.
• The deal is one of the largest IT
  deals signed by any Indian IT company, and a first in the industry to use
  principles of Vested Sourcing as the basis of the relationship for an IT
  outsourcing engagement of this size and magnitude.
• Earlier the company had agreed to
  buy the external IT business of Sweden’s Volvo group for $138 million (around
  Rs 895 crore) in an all-cash deal.

• Global e-commerce major Amazon
  today said it will acquire online payment service provider Emvantage Payments
  Private Ltd for an undisclosed amount.
• The acquisition will help Amazon
  accelerate the development of convenient and trustworthy payment solutions for
  customers and the e-commerce industry in India, it said in a statement.
• As part of this acquisition,
  Emvantage’s employees would join Amazon’s payments team to develop innovative
  payment products and solutions specifically for the Indian market.
• While not disclosing the deal
  amount, Amazon said the acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter
  of 2016.

• Taxi-hailing app Uber today
  signed an agreement with the Maharashtra government to help create 75,000 jobs
  across the state.
• Through this memorandum of
  understanding (MoU), Uber will focus on training women and people from marginalised
  sectors of society.
• The move would train and provide
  75,000 new job opportunities across Maharashtra over the next 5 years, the
  company added.
• The MoU was formalised by Uber
  through the Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Department (SDED) of the
  Maharashtra government here.

• India today test-fired its
  indigenously developed Prithvi-II missile, which is capable of carrying 500 kg
  to 1000 kg of warheads, as part of a user trial by the army from a test range
  at Chandipur.
• The missile test was carried out
  from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR)
  at about 1000 hrs, defence officials said.
• With a strike range of 350 km,
  the surface-to-surface Prithvi-II is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of
  warheads and is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines.
• It uses advanced inertial
  guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target.
• The trial data of the missile
  trial conducted by the specially formed Strategic Force Command (SFC) were
  being analysed.
• Inducted into India’s armed
  forces in 2003, Prithvi II, the first missile to be developed by DRDO under
  India’s prestigious IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Program) is
  now a proven technology.

• The 58th Grammy Awards —
  presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences — have wrapped
  up in Los Angeles.
• Grammy Award or simply Grammy is
  an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) of
  the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the mainly English–language
  music industry.
• It shares recognition of the
  music industry as that of the other performance awards such as the Emmy Awards
  (television), the Tony Awards (stage performance), and the Academy Awards
  (motion pictures).

• Kendrick Lamar received the most
  nominations with 11. For the latter, he went on to pass Eminem as the rapper
  with the most nominations in a single night, and second overall behind Michael
  Jackson (12 nominations in 1984).
• Producer Max Martin received the
  most nominations for a non–performing artist, with six.
• Indo-British filmmaker Asif
  Kapadia won Grammy Award for Best Music Film for his documentary Amy.

• Record of the Year – “Uptown
  Funk” – Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
• Album of the Year – 1989 – Taylor
  Swift
• Song of the Year – “Thinking
  Out Loud” – Ed Sheeran & Amy Wadge, songwriters (Ed Sheeran)
• Best New Artist – Meghan Trainor
• Best Pop Solo Performance –
  “Thinking Out Loud” – Ed Sheeran
• Best Pop Vocal Album – 1989 –
  Taylor Swift
• Best World Music Album – Sings –
  Angélique Kidjo

• Producer of the Year,
  Non–Classical – Jeff Bhasker

• Best Music Film – Amy – (Asif
  Kapadia)

• U K Sinha will remain Sebi
  Chairman till March 1, 2017 with the government extending his term for the
  second time, a move seen as a vote of confidence for continuity at the top amid
  volatile market conditions.
• The extension by over a year for
  Sinha, approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-headed Appointments Committee
  of the Cabinet, would make him the second-longest serving Chairman of the
  capital markets regulator Sebi in its over 25-year-history.
• Sinha was initially appointed for
  a three-year term during the UPA regime and was later given a two-year
  extension. While his current term was to end on February 17, he was eligible
  for a one-year extension as a person can hold the position of Sebi Chairman
  till the age of 65, which Sinha would reach next March.

• World No. 19 Dominic Thiem on 14
  February 2016 defeated Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-6 (4) to win
  the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Buenos Aires tournament.
• With the win, Theim claimed his
  fourth ATP singles title.
• Thiem reached the final after
  beating former No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals.

• The India women’s team on 15
  February 2016 won gold at the 12th South Asian Games (SAG), beating Nepal 4-0
  in the final at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong.
• India’s Kamala Devi scored twice.
  Bala Devi and Ashalata Devi were the other scorers.
• On the other hand, the match
  brought to an end India’s top women’s footballer Bembem Devi’s international
  career.

• Two prominent sportspersons from
  Odisha, namely Jauna Murmu and archer Ranjit Nayak were included in the Target
  Olympic Podium (TOP) Scheme formulated by the Union Government for the 2016 and
  2020 Olympic Games.
• Jauna Murmu is a sprinter, while
  Ranjit is an archer. The two sports persons were chosen for the scheme by the
  Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
• The TOP Scheme under the National
  Sports Development Fund (NSDF) was formulated with the objective of identifying
  and supporting potential medal prospects for 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games.

• The International Cricket Council
  (ICC) Cricket for Good and United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in
  partnership with BCCI on 15 February 2016 launched the Team Swachh clinics
  during the ICC WT20 Host City Tour. The clinics were launched at the HPCA
  Stadium in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh.
• The step was taken to promote a
  nationwide initiative that aims to build a social movement for sanitation and
  toilet use there by leading to an open-defecation-free India.

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