Daily Current affairs - February 26, 2018 for all competitive exams
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the 'Run
for New India' marathon in Surat, Gujarat.
- The
Marathon is aimed at creating awareness about social causes and call upon
all to resolve to build a New India.
- The
Marathon is divided into 4 categories. Around 1.50 lakh runners
participated in the 'Run for New India' marathon which was
organized by the Surat Nagrik Samiti.
UIDAI introduces special blue coloured ‘Baal
Aadhaar’
Aadhaar is increasingly becoming mandatory to
make use of most of the government schemes and other activities such as getting
a new SIM card or opening a new bank account.
- Unique
Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has now introduced a blue
coloured ‘Baal Aadhaar’ card for children below the age of 5 years.
- All
children below the age of 5 don’t need to give biometric details for
getting an Aadhaar card.
The Aadhaar will require a mandatory biometric update when
a child becomes five year old. The Aadhaar will require another mandatory
biometric update when the child attains the age of 15.
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Tele-medicine facility launched for kidney
patients
Former Chief Secretary of combined Andhra Pradesh
Mohan Kanda formally launched tele-medicine facility provided by Uddanam
Foundation in Sompeta for the kidney patients.
- This
facility helps patients to interact with the doctors directly through
video conference and get medical advice.
- This
tele-medicine facility helps patients of Itchapuram, Sompeta, Mandasa and
other places. The patients of other diseases can also take the medical
advices from the specialists. The local doctors of Sompeta will take their
suggestions and guide patients accordingly. The foundation would provide
medicines free of cost for the needy
Reliance inks MoUs with Andhra Pradesh
government for Rs 52,000-crore investment
Reliance Industries Limited inked two agreements
with the state government promising a total investment of Rs 52,000 crore in
oil and gas and electronics sectors.
- The
Reliance will invest about 6 billion USD about Rs (37,000 crores) in an
oil and gas venture in AP.
- It
will invest another Rs 15,000 crore in an electronics manufacturing
plant near Tirupati.
Andhra govt to go fully online by March-end,
says Chandrababu Naidu
Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu
said that the government will go completely go online by March-end.
- Naidu
also said his government was making efforts towards real-time governance
with cutting-edge technology.
- He
said by using technology, the state will be able to monitor every aspect
of governance.
India Gas solutions signs MoU with AP to create
marketing infra for natural gas
India Gas Solutions Pvt. Ltd, the equal joint
venture between Reliance Industries and UK’s BP plc signed an agreement with
Andhra Pradesh government.
- The
joint venture is now actively marketing natural gas produced from the
eastern offshore KG-D6 block.
- It
is also in the early stages of exploring opportunities for participating
in the gas value chain in Andhra Pradesh.
Tamil Nadu, Microsoft tie-up to accelerate
cloud technology adoption
The government of Tamil Nadu announced
signing an agreement with IT Major Microsoft to improve the
integration of technology in teaching and learning in the state.
- The
partnership aims to reform education sector, build tech capacity and
enhance digital literacy across all levels.
Statute Bench to solve conflict in Supreme
Court
Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra formed a
five-judge Constitution Bench, led by him, to resolve the conflict between two
three-judge Benches of the Supreme Court, which has again brought to the fore
the simmering tensions within the court.
- Trouble
started when Justice Kurian Joseph, one of the five senior-most judges,
voiced his concern in open court about fellow judges “tinkering with judicial
discipline” and how the judges should function as “one” rather than in
disparate voices.
Justice Kurian was reacting to a February 8 judgment of a
Bench of Justices Arun Mishra, A.K. Goel and M.M. Shantanagoudar which had
overruled a 2014 judgment of a co-ordinate Bench of the then Chief Justice,
R.M. Lodha, and Justices Madan B. Lokur and Kurian.
Justice Kurian made the remarks while he was sitting along
with Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta on February 21.
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SC on Highway liquor ban
The Supreme
Court has given the State governments the discretion to decide, on facts,
whether areas covered by local self-governing bodies or areas proximate to
municipal pockets should be exempted from the court’s nationwide prohibition on
sale of liquor within 500 metres along the highways.
- In
2016, the Supreme Court passed an order banning the sale of alcohol along
national and state highways, ordering the cancellation of liquor licences
issued to shops by April 1, 2017.
- The
order states that no liquor stores should be even visible from highways,
or located within a distance of 500 metres of the highways, or be directly
accessible from a national or state highway. The order has been
subsequently modified to exempt establishments within 220 metres of the
highways for smaller towns and municipalities with a population of less
than 20,000 people.
The order
reaffirms a policy decision of the union government that goes back more than
10 years. In 2004, the National Road Safety Council (NRSC) unanimously agreed
that licences for liquor shops should not to be given along the national
highways, and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has
“consistently” advised state governments not to issue fresh licences and
remove liquor shops from national highways.
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India congratulates China for becoming vice
chair of FATF
Financial Action Task Force, India congratulated
China for becoming the vice chair of the global body.
- The
FATF placed Pakistan under monitoring in its International Cooperation
Review Group until June 2018 for compliance with Anti-Money Laundering.
- This
came with India’s assurance to China that it will support Beijing’s
leadership role in FATF.
The Financial Action Task Force, is an intergovernmental
organization founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies
to combat money laundering. In 2001 its mandate expanded to include terrorism
financing. It monitors progress in implementing the FATF Recommendations
through "peer reviews" ("mutual evaluations") of member
countries. The FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris.
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UAE hosts trade show of drones
The United Arab Emirates is hosting a stand-alone
trade show featuring military drones, showing the power these weapons have
across the Middle East.
- The
Unmanned Systems Exhibition & Conference is being held in Abu Dhabi,
the capital of the UAE.
UAE
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Capital
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Abu Dhabi
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Currency
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UAE dirham
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President
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Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
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CPC clears the decks for third term for Xi
China cleared the decks for President Xi
Jinping’s third consecutive term in office, ahead of a crucial session of
parliament next month.
- China’s
Xinhua news agency reported that Communist Party of China (CPC) proposed
that the President and the Vice-President will not be constitutionally
restricted to two consecutive terms in office.
- This,
in effect, means that Mr. Xi, who is serving his second consecutive
five-year term, can continue beyond 2023.
Analysts point out that the removal of a two-term
restriction on the Vice-President is also significant. There is speculation
that Wang Qishan, the country’s anti-corruption czar and Mr. Xi’s trusted
ally, who officially retired in November, could be reappointed as
Vice-President.
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Saudi Arabia allows women to join armed forces
Saudi Arabia’s General Security division allowed
women aged between 25 and 35 to apply for the rank of soldier as part of the
Vision 2030 social program launched by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
- However,
Saudi women will have to fulfill 12 conditions including a mandatory
medical checkup and a good weight to height ratio.
Saudi Arabia
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Capital
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Riyadh
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Currency
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Saudi riyal
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King
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Salman
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DRDO successfully completed test of Rustom 2
Defence
Research and Development Organisation has successfully completed the test
flight of its Rustom 2 drone at the Aeronautical Test Range.
- Rustom
2 is part of the Rustom line of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) that
includes Rustom-I, Rustom-H and Rustom-C.
Rustom 2
drone is a medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle, developed
on the lines of predator drones of the United States. The objective of this
drone is to carry out surveillance for the armed forces with an endurance of
24 hours.
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ISRO’s new communication satellites to usher in
the high-speed internet era
Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is
planning to usher in an age of high-speed internet connectivity in the country.
- ISRO
chairman Dr K Sivan said we will launch Gsat-11 in April or
May.
- Around
the same time in May, ISRO will launch Gsat-29 through our GSLV Mk III
rocket from Sriharikota.
CII partnership summit held in Visakhapatnam
The third Partnership Summit of the Confederation
of Indian Industry (CII) begins in Visakhapatnam, with over 2,000 delegates
attending the meet, 40 per cent of them being from abroad.
- Vice-president
M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the three-day event.
- This
summit is being jointly organised by the Andhra Pradesh State Government,
the CII, and the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion under Union
Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
7th Meeting of EPG on Nepal-India Relations
Concludes
The seventh meeting of Eminent Persons Group
(EPG) on Nepal-India relations has concluded in Kathmandu,
Nepal.
- Various
bilateral issues including 1950 Peace and Friendship treaty, trade,
environment, border and hydropower were discussed during the two-day
meeting.
EPG is a joint mechanism consisting experts and
intellectuals from India and Nepal. It was set up in February 2016 to provide
suggestions for updating all existing bilateral treaties and agreements
between both the countries. Next meeting of the group will be held in
New Delhi.
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Andaman & Nicobar hosts Milan 2018
Andaman &
Nicobar Command will host the multinational mega event MILAN 2018.
- Theme: ‘Friendship across the Seas’.
MILAN is a
congregation of littoral navies conducted biennially by Indian Navy at the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, under the aegis of the Andaman and Nicobar
Command.
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20th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers
20th
Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers is being held at Fiji.
- The
Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers is a high-level meeting
that brings together education Ministers from the 52 Commonwealth
countries to discuss key issues on education.
- The
theme for 20CCEM is Sustainability and Resilience: Can Education Deliver?
The
Commonwealth education conference has been taking place every three years since 1959, when the
first meeting was held in Oxford.
It is the second largest meeting organised by the Commonwealth
Secretariat after the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
(CHOGM).
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International Conference on Sustainable Biofuels
A two- day
International Conference on Sustainable Biofuels is jointly being organized by
Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India on behalf of Mission Innovation and
Biofuture Platform at New Delhi.
- The
Sustainable Biofuel is one of the Seven Mission Innovation Challenges and
India Co-leads this along with other countries Brazil, Canada and China.
- The
sustainable biofuel innovation challenge under MI aims to accelerate
research, development and deployment of low cost, high GHG impacting
advanced biofuels.
- The
event will bring together experts from Biofuels sector to take stock of
current knowledge, share information and best practices, and build
consensus on the actions most needed to move forward. Senior Government
Officers, Technical Experts, Academicians, Researchers and Representatives
from various Countries, Industry and Investors will participate in the
event.
The
Biofuture Platform aims to be an action-oriented, country-led,
multistakeholder mechanism for policy dialogue and collaboration among
leading countries, organizations, academia and the private sector conscious
of the need to accelerate development and scale up deployment of modern
sustainable low carbon alternatives to fossil based solutions in transport,
chemicals, plastics and other sectors.
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National Conference on e-Governance in
Hyderabad
The 21st national conference on
e-Governance will be held in Hyderabad.
- The
government of India and Telangana Administrative Reforms department are
jointly organising the conference with the main theme around-
technology for accelerating development.
- The
two-day conference will deliberate on several aspects of the e-governance
including its universalization and replication, governing e-governance,
best practices, emerging technologies and synergising role of national and
state governments.
338 workers conferred with Shram Awards
338 Workers
will be conferred with Prime Minister Shram Awards.
- The
awards are given in recognition of their distinguished performances,
innovative abilities, outstanding contribution in the field of
productivity and exhibition of exceptional courage and presence of mind.
The Prime
Minister’s Shram Awards were instituted in 1985 by the Government of India.
This national award is conferred on workers for outstanding contributions
that improve productivity, innovation, and indigenization, resulting in
saving foreign exchange. The award is also given for long-term exceptional
dedicated work.
There
are four types of awards:
1. Shram
Ratna: Rs. Two lakhs and recognition of their contribution to their field (a
Sanad).
2. Shram
Bhushan: RS. 100000 and a Sanad.
3. Shram
Vir / Shram Veerangana: RS. 60000 and a Sanad.
4. Shram
Devi / Shram Shree: RS. 40000 and a Sanad.
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Michael McCormack named Australia’s new deputy
prime minister
In Australia, Michael McCormack has been elected
new Deputy Prime Minister after being selected as the leader of the country’s
National Party, the junior partner in the country’s coalition government.
- McCormack
replaces former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce who was forced to
resign last week amid public anger over an extramarital affair with his
former press secretary.
Subbarayudu appointed the Ambassador of Bolivia
Subbarayudu has been appointed the next
Ambassador of India to Plurinational State of Bolivia.
- He
is currently the Ambassador of India to Lima.
- He
has been concurrently appointed the next Ambassador of India to Bolivia.
He will soon take up this new assignment.
Former Cabinet Secretary T.S.R. Subramanian
Passes Away
Former Cabinet Secretary T.S.R.
Subramanian passed away. He was 79. Mr Subramanian was a 1961 batch
officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre.
- He
served as Cabinet Secretary from August 1996 to March 1998.
Sameer Verma lifts Swiss Open title
Indian shuttler Sameer Verma dished out
a clinical performance to outwit former world no 2 Jan O Jorgensen.
He won the men’s singles title at the $150,000 Swiss
Open Super 300 tournament.
- Sameer
opened up a 3-0 lead early and capitalised on it to enter the break with
an 11-7 advantage.
