Current Affairs Update – 4th February, 2016

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 4th February, 2016. These are Important for the upcoming LIC AAO 2016.
Current Affairs at a Glance – 4th February, 2016
  1. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on 3 February 2016 announced that
    it has been rated as the World’s Most
    Powerful Brand in IT Services by Brand Finance
    , the world’s leading brand
    valuation firm.
  2. Ontario Province, Canada and Telangana State have today inked a
    slew of MoUs in the areas of education,
    infrastructure, IT and research
    .
  3. India, China Hold Inaugural Dialogue on Maritime Cooperation
  4. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on 3 February
    2016 launched the BGR-34, the country’s
    first anti-diabetic ayurvedic drug for Diabetes
    . BGR is acronym for blood
    glucose regulator.
  5. Indian biotechnology company Bharat Biotech on 3 February 2016 claimed
    that it has achieved a breakthrough in developing
    a vaccine to fight the mosquito-borne Zika virus
    .
  6. The term Cobra Gold was in news on 3 February 2016 as India confirmed its participation in the
    annual amphibious military exercise in 2016
    .
  7. Reliance Defence Ltd, a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd,
    will set up the Dhirubhai Ambani Centre
    for Innovation and Research in Aerospace in Bengaluru
    .
  8. Canadian Provinces of Prince Edward Island (PEI) and Ontario in
    first week of February 2016 inked Memorandum
    of Understandings (MoUs) in
    Chandigarh. The MoUs were inked
    during the India visit of the premiers of PEI and Ontario Wade MacLauchlan and
    Kathleen Wynne respectively.
  9. Aruna Sethi appointed as first women head of Indian Cost Accounting
    Service
  10. Former chief secretary of Gujarat DJ Pandian was appointed vice-president and chief investment officer of the
    newly-created Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
    on 3 February
    2016
  11. Sarangi maestro Pandit Ram Narayan on 3 February 2016 was selected for the prestigious Bharat Ratna
    Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Classical Music Award for 2015-2016
    .
  12. Manipuri documentary film Phum-Shang on 3 February 2016 bagged the prestigious Golden Conch Award
    for the best documentary film at the 14th Mumbai International Film Festival
    for Documentary, Animation and Short Films (MIFF 2016)
    .
  13. Kerala’s all-women taxicab service She-Taxi on 3 February 2016 received the prestigious Chief Minister’s
    Award for Innovation in Public Policy 2014
    in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
  14. World Health Organisation (WHO) on 1 February 2016 recommended all governments to rate movies
    with smoking scenes to protect children and adolescents from tobacco addiction

    in Geneva.
  15. World Cancer Day (WCD) 2016 was observed across the world on 4 February
    2016. The day was observed with year’s theme – We can. I can.



Finance/Economy –
TCS became world’s most powerful IT Services brand

  • Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
    on 3 February 2016 announced that it has been rated as the World’s Most
    Powerful Brand in IT Services by Brand Finance, the world’s leading brand
    valuation firm.
  • Scoring highly on a wide variety
    of measures such as familiarity, loyalty, staff satisfaction and corporate
    reputation, TCS emerged as the IT services industry’s most powerful brand with
    a score of 78.3 points earning it an AA+ rating.
  • TCS is also the fastest growing
    brand within its industry over the last six years.

Key highlights of Brand Finance Global 500 2016 Report
  • Disney is the world’s most
    powerful brand
  • Despite slowing sales, Apple is
    the world’s most valuable brand
  • Volkswagen brand value falls by
    $12 billion US dollars following emissions scandal

Telangana signs several pacts with Ontario
  • Ontario Province, Canada and
    Telangana State have today inked a slew of MoUs in the areas of education, infrastructure,
    IT and research.
  • Kathleen Wynne, Premier of
    Ontario, who spoke at a plenary session attended by Ontario delegates and
    representatives from Indian companies and institutions, said generating trade,
    jobs and economic growth for both regions is the intent.
  • The key pacts inked include the
    new manufacturing unit to be set up by Data Wind, joint venture between Astra
    Microwave Products Ltd and Vaughan, Ontario-based broad based systems. It will
    provide broadcasting services, satellite uplinking and medical imaging products
    to India and other regional markets.
  • Another MoU between the IIT,
    Hyderabad and Hamilton, Ontario-based McMaster University to generate
    opportunities to create intellectual property through innovation and to
    commercialise research outcomes was signed.
  • The Nuclear Fuel Complex and
    Toronto-based Kinectics signed an agreement for one of the most advanced
    partnerships in the Canada – India nuclear energy initiatives while
    Ottawa-based Solantro and their Indian partner, Smarttrack will collaborate on
    the development of power electric solutions for renewable energy and micro
    inverters.

CIPET signed MoU with Karnataka Government to set up Advanced Polymer
Laboratory in Bengaluru
  • Central Institute of Plastic
    Engineering and Technology (CIPET), under the Union Ministry of Chemicals and
    Fertilizers on 3 February 2016 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
    Karnataka Government to set up Advanced Polymer Design and Development Research
    Laboratory cum High Learning Centre at Bengaluru.
  • The State Government share 50
    percent of project cost apart from allotting the required land for the centre.
  • Union Government will bear the
    remaining 50 Percent and act as a multi-functional one-step facility with
    specialization in product development in Polymer sector.

Union Government granted Miniratna Category-I Status to HSCC
  • Union Health and Family Welfare
    Minister JP Nadda on 1 February 2016 awarded the certificate of Miniratna
    Category-I status to Hospital Services Consultancy Corporation (I) Ltd (HSCC).
    The honour was awarded to its CMD Gyanesh Pandey at Nirman Bhawan in New Delhi.
  • It got the status for its
    consistency in excellent performance in top and bottom-line growth along with
    its turnover, particularly for the last five years. These status are granted by
    the Department of Public Enterprises under Union Ministry of Heavy Industries
    and Public Enterprises.
  • HSSC is a Public Sector
    Enterprise under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare since its
    inception it has been a profit making organisation. As a result, it attained
    the Miniratna-II status in 2002.
  • Criteria to award Miniratna
    Status
  • Those CPSEs that have shown
    profits in the last continuous three years and have positive net worth can be
    considered eligible for grant of Miniratna status.

India –
India, China Hold Inaugural Dialogue on Maritime Cooperation

  • Amid enduring tensions over the
    South China Sea, India and China today held inaugural round of talks on
    maritime cooperation.
  • The dialogue here covered a range
    of issues of mutual interest, including exchange of perspectives on maritime
    security and prospects for maritime cooperation between the two countries, the External
    Affairs Ministry said.
  • It said developments in
    international regimes such as UNCLOS (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea) and
    IMO (International Maritime Organisation) also figured in the discussions.
  • The Indian delegation was led by
    Amandeep Singh Gill, Joint Secretary (Disarmament and International Security
    Affairs) in the Ministry of External Affairs, while the Chinese delegation was
    led by Kong Xuanyou, Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
    China.

India’s first Ayurvedic anti-diabetic drug, BGR-34, launched by CSIR

  • Council for Scientific and
    Industrial Research (CSIR) on 3 February 2016 launched the BGR-34, the country’s
    first anti-diabetic ayurvedic drug for Diabetes. BGR is acronym for blood
    glucose regulator.
  • The ayurvedic drug BGR-34 was
    launched at Kozhikode, Kerala by CSIR’s Senior Principal Scientist Dr AKS Rawat
    as part of the Global Ayurveda Festival in the city.
  • BGR-34 is designed for type 2
    Diabetes mellitus, has been scientifically validated for its efficacy and
    safety. Priced at 5 rupees per tablet, the medicine is now available at all major
    chemist counters of Kerala.

Bharat Biotech unveiled first vaccine candidate Zikavac for Zika Virus
  • Indian biotechnology company
    Bharat Biotech on 3 February 2016 claimed that it has achieved a breakthrough
    in developing a vaccine to fight the mosquito-borne Zika virus.
  • Bharat Biotech developed world’s
    first, two promising candidates ZikaVac vaccines for Zika infection.
  • The company is probably the first
    in the world to file for global patent for the two vaccines.
  • One of the possible vaccines is
    recombinant, which means it is created by genetic engineering, while the other
    was inactivated, and will enter pre-clinical trials in animals in two weeks.
India to participate in Cobra Gold 2016 military exercise in Thailand

  • The term Cobra Gold was in news
    on 3 February 2016 as India confirmed its participation in the annual
    amphibious military exercise in 2016.
  • The decision in this regard was
    conveyed to Thailand, the host country, during Vice President Hamid Ansari’s
    visit to the country.
  • It is the largest Asia-Pacific
    military exercise and held in Thailand every year.
  • It is among the largest
    multinational military exercise in which the United States participates.
  • As of 2014, Cobra Gold has three
    distinct activities, namely, the Combined Arms Live Fire Exercise (CALFEX),
    Command Post Exercise (CPX) and activity related to assisting the local Thai
    population.

Reliance Defence to set up Dhirubhai Ambani Centre for Innovation &
Research in Aerospace in
Bengaluru

  • Reliance Defence Ltd, a
    subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, will set up the Dhirubhai Ambani
    Centre for Innovation and Research in Aerospace in Bengaluru.
  • An announcement in this regard
    was made by the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (Reliance ADAG) chairman
    Anil Ambani on 3 February 2016 at the Invest Karnataka 2016 summit in
    Bengaluru.
  • The centre, the first-ever of its
    kind in the private sector in India, will be a world class facility for
    research, development and innovation in aerospace technology. It will generate
    more than 1500 highly skilled jobs.
  • The centre will be a
    knowledge-driven technology venture and will function as a global centre of
    aerospace excellence.

Canadian province of Prince Edward Island & Ontario signed MoUs in
Chandigarh
  • Canadian Provinces of Prince
    Edward Island (PEI) and Ontario in first week of February 2016 inked Memorandum
    of Understandings (MoUs) in Chandigarh. The MoUs were inked during the India
    visit of the premiers of PEI and Ontario Wade MacLauchlan and Kathleen Wynne
    respectively.
  • The meetings were focused on
    cultivating relationships with India in renewable energy, sustainable
    development, food products, and post-secondary education.
  • MoU to facilitate exchanges of
    faculty and students and collaboration on research and programming was signed
    by University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) with Chitkara University and the
    Punjab Agricultural University.
  • MoU to send apples grown in
    eastern Prince Edward Island to markets in India and Asia was signed between
    the province and Canadian Nectar products.

Appointments –
Aruna Sethi appointed as first women head of Indian Cost Accounting
Service
  • Aruna Sethi, the Principal
    Adviser (Cost), on 1 February 2016 took over charge as the head of Indian Cost
    Accounts Service (ICoAS). With this appointment, she became the first woman to
    occupy the post.
  • Prior to the present elevation,
    Aruna, a 1985 batch ICoAS officer, held important portfolios in Government of
    India including Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Corporate Affairs,
    Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Commerce and Industry,
    Ministry of Defence etc.

DJ Pandian appointed Vice President of Asian Infrastructure Investment
Bank

  • Former chief secretary of Gujarat
    DJ Pandian was appointed vice-president and chief investment officer of the
    newly-created Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) on 3 February 2016.
  • His appointment as vice-president
    and chief investment officer was approved by AIIB. The retired 1981-batch IAS
    officer of Gujarat cadre had worked on deputation with the World Bank in
    Washington. He was also the MD of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC).
  • The Beijing-based 100 billion
    dollar multi-lateral lender, AIIB was set up in Beijing on 25 December 2015. It
    was established to boost lending for infrastructure projects such as energy,
    transportation, urban construction and logistics as well as education and
    healthcare.

Awards & Honors –
Sarangi maestro Pandit Ram Narayan selected for Bhimsen Joshi Award

  • Sarangi maestro Pandit Ram
    Narayan on 3 February 2016 was selected for the prestigious Bharat Ratna Pandit
    Bhimsen Joshi Classical Music Award for 2015-2016.
  • Narayan’s selection for the award
    was announced by Maharashtra’s Cultural Affairs Minister Vinod Tawde in Mumbai.
  • Pandit Ram Narayan popularised
    the bowed instrument sarangi as a solo concert instrument in Hindustani
    classical music and became the first internationally successful sarangi player.
  • He was awarded India’s second
    highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2005.

Manipuri documentary Phum-Shang won Golden Conch Award at MIFF 2016

  • Manipuri documentary film
    Phum-Shang on 3 February 2016 bagged the prestigious Golden Conch Award for the
    best documentary film at the 14th Mumbai International Film Festival for
    Documentary, Animation and Short Films (MIFF 2016).
  • The film is directed by Haobam
    Paban Kumar, an alumnus of the Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute,
    Kolkata.
  • The 52-minute film critically
    examines the serious environmental problems faced by the Loktak lake, the
    largest freshwater lake in northeast India. The lake is characterised by its
    unique floating biomass, known as Phumdi, which is the primary source of livelihood
    for fishermen who live on huts built on the Phumdis.
  • Swiss film My Name Is Salt and an
    Indian film Placebo shared the Golden Conch Award for the best feature length
    documentary film.

She-Taxi initiative of Kerala bagged Chief Minister’s Award for
Innovation
  • Kerala’s all-women taxicab
    service She-Taxi on 3 February 2016 received the prestigious Chief Minister’s
    Award for Innovation in Public Policy 2014 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. It
    was selected for the recognition in the developmental interventions category.
  • This initiative was selected for
    the award considering it as a unique model and its possibility to replicate in
    other places.
  • In short span of time, it
    addressed the safety and security concerns of women travellers along with the
    contribution to socio-economic empowerment aspect of women in the state.

World –
Pacific Rim nations signed Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement
  • All twelve Pacific Rim countries
    on 4 February 2016 signed the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement
    in New Zealand. This is one of the biggest trade deals in history.
  • The ceremonial signing event on
    the pact was led by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and US Trade
    Representative Mike Froman at Auckland’s Sky City Convention Centre.
  • The trade deal looks to facilitate
    investment between 12 countries across the Pacific Rim, which together account
    for about 40 percent of the global economy. The agreement was signed by
    Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru,
    Singapore, the United States of America and Vietnam.

WHO recommended to rate movies with smoking scenes to protect children
from tobacco addiction

  • World Health Organisation (WHO)
    on 1 February 2016 recommended all governments to rate movies with smoking
    scenes to protect children and adolescents from tobacco addiction in Geneva.
  • According to the WHO’s third
    edition of Smoke-free movies: from evidence to action report, movies showing
    the use of tobacco products have enticed millions of young people worldwide to
    start smoking.

EU approved 3.3 billion euros funding to Turkey to cope with Syrian
refugee crisis
  • The European Union (EU) on 3
    February 2016 approved 3.3 billion Euros in funding to help Turkey cope with
    the issue of Syrian migrants. At present, Turkey is home to around 3 million
    Syrians who fled the country since the beginning of the civil war in 2011.
  • The funding is aimed at curbing
    flow of asylum seekers into the Europe by tightening its borders with Turkey.
  • Under the deal, the EU’s
    executive is contributing one billion euros to the fund, while the 28 member
    states will contribute the rest.

Days –
World Cancer Day 2016 observed with theme We can. I can.

  • World Cancer Day (WCD) 2016 was
    observed across the world on 4 February 2016. The day was observed with year’s
    theme – We can. I can.
  • World Cancer Day unites the
    world’s population in the fight against cancer. The tagline of the theme
    reflects on what you can do and asks to make a pledge and take action and make
    a difference in fight against cancer.


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This post was last modified on July 20, 2019 10:16 am