Current Affairs Update – 18th February, 2016

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 18th February, 2016. These are important for the upcoming LIC AAO 2016.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on
  18 February 2016 launched the guidelines for operationalization of the Pradhan
  Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). The guidelines were issued at a farmers’
  convention in Sherpur village of Madhya Pradesh.
• The PMFBY is a path breaking
  scheme for crop insurance and was approved by the Union Cabinet on 13 January
  2016.
• The Yojna will come into force
  from the 2016 Kharif season (from June to October in India).
• It aims at boosting the
  agricultural sector of India and envisages a uniform premium of only 2 percent
  to be paid by farmers for Kharif crops, and 1.5 percent for Rabi crops.
• The premium for annual commercial
  and horticultural crops will be 5 percent.
• On the occasion, the Prime
  Minister Modi also presented a trophy of Krishi Karman Award to Chief Minister
  Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
• On the other hand, Modi was
  conferred with Kisan Mitra and Kisan Hiteshi Samman on behalf of Madhya Pradesh
  government for his historic decisions in the interest of farmers’ community.

• Viacom18, the media house that
  owns and runs channels like Colors and MTV, has tied up with the Department of
  Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP)’s Startup India to launch a year-long
  outreach programme for entrepreneurs called MTV Kickstart.
• The initiative will include
  activities on-ground, digital communication and a television reality show.
• While the Viacom18 brand attached
  to the programme is MTV, the network’s youth brand, all the vehicles under the
  Viacom18 umbrella will be mobilised to rollout the outreach initiative.
• The multi-platform initiative
  will reach out to young aspiring entrepreneurs through multiple touch-points
  across 300 colleges in the country. Around 10 start-up festivals (2 day events)
  across tier 1 & 2 cities will be organised to allow youth to have a
  personal interaction with the top entrepreneurs and investors in the nation.
• MTV Kickstart will work towards
  educating the youth about the ecosystem of start-ups. The program will aim to
  educate through personal and informal interactions with established start-up
  entrepreneurs, investors, advisory and much more.

• Taking the world by surprise with
  the world’s cheapest smartphone, a little known Noida-based start-up on
  Wednesday launched a Rs.251 (less than $4) “Made in India” smartphone
  that – if works well – will be a game changer.
• In what could be termed as a fillip
  to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” and “Digital
  India” initiatives, “Freedom 251” from Ringing Bells Pvt Ltd
  will be available for pre-order on the company website from 6 a.m. on February
  18 till 8 p.m. on February 21.
• The smartphone was unveiled at
  Nehru Park in New Delhi by veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar
  Joshi.

• Apple Inc. in the second week of
  February 2016 announced setting up of a Technology Development Centre (TDC) in
  Hyderabad, Telangana. For Apple, it will be the first TDC outside the USA.
• With this announcement, Apple
  joined other big technology firms like Microsoft, Google and Facebook that
  focused on Hyderabad to expand their operations in Asia.
• The centre will be set up at an
  estimated investment of 25 million US dollars and occupy 250000 square feet in
  Tishman Speyer’s WaveRock facility.
• The proposed TDC is of strategic
  value as, at present, Apple Inc. is the world’s largest mobile technology
  company and India is the world’s fastest-growing smart phone market.

• NTPC Energy Technology Research
  Alliance (NETRA), the research and development arm of the public sector power
  generator, said on Thursday that it is collaborating with two German
  institutions for research in solar thermal and solar photovoltaic technologies.
• With DLR Cologne, the company is
  carrying out research in the field of solar thermal and Institute of Solar
  Energy Fraunhofer, the research is in the field of solar photovoltaic.
• NETRA plans to set up state of
  art evaluation facilities for Solar PV and conduct various programs for
  knowledge sharing, capacity building with German institutions in the area of
  solar energy.

• QuEST Global, a pure-play
  engineering and R&D services provider on Thursday, said that few leading
  global investors including Bain Capital, GIC and Advent International have
  invested around $350 million (close to Rs 2,396 crore) for minority stake in
  the company.
• The deal values the company at
  over $1 billion. As part of this, these investors have bought out QuEST
  Global’s long-time investor Warburg Pincus, and few other shareholders who had
  invested in the company in the angel stage.

• Danish robot manufacturer
  Universal Robots launched its operations in India on Thursday. Its
  collaborative robots (co-bots) range, the company said, had already seen
  application in the Indian auto and auto components sector.
• While Universal Robots has been
  selling its robotic products in the country for the past three years, it had
  set up its sales office in the country in October last year.
• The co-bots range is touted as
  lightweight, flexible, compact and versatile. According to the company, the
  system can be reprogrammed to perform a myriad of tasks and does not require
  extensive safety features while working in close proximity to human workers.

• Thermal Powertech Corporation
  India Ltd (TPCIL), which owns and operates a 1,320-megawatt coal-fired power
  plant at Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, has signed a long-term power purchase
  agreement (PPA) with the Telangana power distribution companies.
• Under the power purchase
  agreement, 570 MW of power will be sold to the southern and northern power
  distribution companies of Telangana for a period of eight years.

• Odisha government on 17 February
  2016 decided to introduce a self-certifying scheme for non-hazardous
  industries.
• This scheme will ease the process
  of doing business in the state by shortening the inspection process at the
  initial levels required for non-hazardous industries to set up units.
• The decision in regard to the
  scheme was taken at a high-level meeting in Bhubaneswar, presided over by Chief
  Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi.

• Union Cabinet on 17 February 2016
  approved Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) of the World Trade Organization
  (WTO). It approved the Notification of Commitments, its ratification and
  acceptance of the Instrument of Acceptance of Protocol of TFA to the WTO Secretariat.
• India is the 71st country to give
  nod to the agreement that seeks to ease customs procedures to boost commerce.
• As per the Trade Facilitation
  Agreement adopted by the WTO on 27 November 2014 in Geneva, Switzerland, the
  TFA shall enter into force for the notified members (107 countries) upon
  acceptance by two-third WTO Members.

• Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma
  Oli’s six-day India visit starts on Friday with the two sides working on at
  least four Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to boost cooperation in economic,
  energy and cultural fields.
• The two MoUs – one on the $1
  billion line of credit that India has already committed to extend to Nepal and
  another on $1 billion that India has pledged for Nepal’s post-earthquake
  reconstruction – will be signed during Oli’s visit, officials here privy to the
  discussions on both sides said.

• The MoUs are considered the
  framework under which modality, projects and other aspects of the Indian aid
  and loan will be finalised during the visit.
• During his visit to Nepal in
  August 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a $1 billion line of
  credit to Nepal for undertaking various infrastructure projects.
• The MoU on Nepal’s
  post-earthquake reconstruction effort envisages various projects to be
  undertaken through Indian assistance. India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma
  Swaraj had announced $1 billion loan and aid to Nepal during the International
  Conference on Nepal’s Reconstruction last June.
• Besides, a MoU is to be signed
  between the Sangeet Natak Akademi of India and the Nepal Sangeet Tatha Natya
  Pragya Pratisthan for exchange of cultural programmes between the two entities.
• Radio Nepal and All India Radio
  will sign another MoU to cooperate in exchange of various programmes.
• Among those MoUs, one relates to
  Nepal’s registration in the ‘SAARC Satellite’ proposed by Prime Minister Modi
  during the 18th summit meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional
  Cooperation (SAARC) in Kathmandu.
• Another MoU is about cooperation
  and exchange of various activities and manpower between Tribhuvan University in
  Kathmandu and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). The ICCR
  provides scholarships to Nepali students in various Indian universities.

• North Central Railway in
  association with the Construction and open line Units of the Railway on 14
  February 2016 commissioned an ultra modern computer-based signaling system at
  the Khurja junction.
• With this commissioning, the
  Khurja Yard this is a part of the Allahabad Railway Division will have a 256
  possible movements leading to immense flexibility and faster clearance of
  trains.
• The system will also lead to
  better reliability, safer shunting operation, better handling of long goods
  train, enhanced line capacity and fully computerized operation.
• Overall, the newly installed
  system will improve traffic movement on important Ghaziabad Kanpur Section and
  lead to an ultra modern centralized traffic centre system.

• Paani Foundation, a
  not-for-profit company, started by Actor Aamir Khan and his wife Kiran Rao was
  in news on 17 February 2016. The foundation came into news after Khan and
  Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that it will work with
  the state government to solve the water crisis in the state.
• Paani Foundation is a
  not-for-profit company whose main objective is to bring about a change in
  outlook about water conservation. It will communicate, impart knowledge and
  bring a change in outlook at the grassroots level about water conservation and
  watershed management.
• Operation of the foundation is
  led by Satyajit Bhatkal who is its CEO, while Khan’s ex-wife Reena Dutta is
  COO.

• Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J
  Jayalalithaa on 18 February 2016 announced a free bus pass scheme for senior
  citizens in Chennai.
• The scheme would come into effect
  from 24 February 2016, the day that coincides with the birthday of Jayalalitha.
• People above 60 years of age can
  avail the free travel facility in non-AC buses being run by the state run
  Metropolitan Transport Corporation in Chennai.

• The abbreviation FICV was in news
  in the second week of February 2016 as Tata Motors, Bharat Forge and the
  USA-based General Dynamics tied up for defense bid under Future Infantry Combat
  Vehicle programme.
• The FICV Programme involves
  development of compact combat vehicles for the Indian Army that will replace
  Russian-designed BMP (Sarath BMP-II) series armed vehicles that are in
  operation since 1980.
• The nearly 10 billion US dollar
  project is touted as India’s largest indigenous defense program.

• Senior IRS officer Jayant Misra
  was today appointed as Director General of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence
  (DRI), ending eight months of vacancy of the post.
• The move comes two days after a
  Special Investigation Team (SIT) asked the DRI to verify if USD 505 billion was
  transacted out of the country between 2004-2013 as part of trade-based money
  laundering.
• With the approval of competent
  authority, Jayant Misra has been transferred to DG DRI, Delhi, a government order
  said.
• Misra is currently DG (Systems)
  at the Directorate General of Systems and Data Management here.

• Senior IPS officer Alok Kumar
  Verma will be the new Police Commissioner of Delhi, succeeding B S Bassi who
  retires on February 29.
• Lt Governor Najeeb Jung today
  issued an order appointing 58-year-old Verma, a 1979-batch Union Territory
  cadre officer, as the top police officer of the national capital. Verma is
  currently serving as DG of Tihar prison.
• An official said that the order
  was issued by the Delhi Home Department in the name of the Lt Governor in
  pursuance of the order of the Union Home Ministry dated February 17.

• K M Mammen, Chairman &
  Managing Director, MRF Ltd has been elected as Chairman of Automotive Tyre
  Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA), national industry body for automotive tyre
  sector in India. Meanwhile, Satish Sharma, President (Asia Pacific, Middle East
  and Africa) Apollo Tyres Ltd has been elected as Vice Chairman of ATMA.
• Mammen is the eldest son of the
  late Founder Chairman of MRF and he has held various executive positions in
  business associations in the country including as President of the Indo
  Australian Chamber of Commerce. He is currently an executive member on the
  board of FICCI and a member on the Board of the Madras Christian College.
• Sharma joined Apollo Tyres in
  1997 and took over as Chief India Operations in 2006 before being re-designated
  as President for Asia Pacific, Middle East& Africa region in early 2014.

• Union Cabinet on 17 February 2016
  approved nomination of the Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog as a part-time
  member of the telecom commission. With this decision, Amitabh Kant will assume
  the role by virtue of his position as the NITI Aayog CEO.
• The new role for the National
  Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog CEO was envisioned as the
  institution replaced the Planning Commission the Secretary of which was a
  part-time member in the telecom commission.
• The NITI Aayog CEO will lend
  value to the deliberations of the commission as the NITI Aayog was mandated to
  serve as a think tank of the government.

• Renowned Indologist Professor
  David Shulman on 14 February 2016 was awarded the prestigious Israel Prize for
  Religious Studies for his breakthrough research into the literature and culture
  of southern India.
• Israel’s Education Minister
  Naftali Bennett approved the recommendation of the prize committee, headed by
  Professor Shaul Shaked.
• David Dean Shulman is an
  Indologist and regarded as one of the world’s foremost authorities on the
  languages of India.

• Sachin Tendulkar continues to
  make records with the his autobiography ‘Playing It My Way’ entering the Limca
  Book of Records for being the best-selling adult hardback across both fiction
  and non-fiction categories.
• The book, published by Hachette
  India, was released on November 6, 2014 and has broken all records for an adult
  hardback across both fiction and non-fiction categories with 1,50,289 copies confirmed
  on order subscriptions.
• The book’s orders, on day one,
  already saw it pulling ahead of both pre-order and lifetime sales of the
  world’s top adult hardbacks Dan Brown’s Inferno, Walter Issacson’s Steve Jobs and
  JK Rowling’s Casual Vacancy.
• Boria Majumdar was the co-author
  of Tendulkar’s autobiography. It also holds the record in retail value terms
  having logged up Rs. 13.51 crore with its cover price being Rs. 899.

• The World Health Organization
  (WHO) said on Wednesday that $56 million were needed to combat the Zika virus
  until June, including for the fast-tracking of vaccines, diagnostics and research
  studies into how it spreads.
• The funds, including $25 million
  for the WHO and its regional office, would also be used to control the
  mosquito-borne virus that has spread to 39 countries, including 34 in the
  Americas.
• The WHO expects the funds to come
  from member states and other donors and said that in the meantime it has tapped
  a new emergency contingency fund for $2 million to finance its initial operations.

• Apple today launched its mobile
  payments service Apple Pay in China, the company said, pitting the US
  technology giant against strong domestic players in an already crowded field.
• The world’s second-largest
  economy is a crucial market for the California-based firm, and Apple Pay is
  available in only a handful of other countries including the United States,
  Britain, Canada and Australia.
• But unlike most other countries,
  mobile payment systems are already well-established in China and Apple does not
  have a first-mover advantage.
• Mobile transactions were valued
  at 9.31 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) last year, one industry estimate showed,
  and according to the state-backed China Internet Network Information Center
  (CNNIC), the country had 359 million online payment users in mid-2015, up
  almost 18% in six months.

• The United Nations (UN) and the
  Government of Colombia on 17 February 2016 announced the launch of a new
  multi-partner trust fund in Bogota to respond to stabilization and
  peacebuilding needs.
• The Fund will be managed by the
  Government and the UN, in close cooperation with interested donors. The Fund
  will especially support conflict areas in the lead-up to and aftermath of
  possible peace agreements with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
  Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP).
• Norway, Sweden and the UN’s own
  Peacebuilding Fund are the first contributors, helping the new fund kick off
  with an initial 8 million US dollars.

• Eminent Hindustani classical
  vocalist Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan passed away at a private hospital here today
  following old-age related ailments, family members said. He was 107.
• A recipient of Padma Bhushan in
  2013 and Sangeet Natak Akademi award, he was a resident guru at the ITC Sangeet
  Research Academy in the city for the past 20 years.

Regards

Team ExamPundit

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