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Current Affairs Today – February 6 2016

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Current Affairs Today 6 February 2016

INDIAN AFFAIRS

PMKVY completes 10 lakh enrolments under Skill India

The front runner programme of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) has completed 10 lakh enrolments.

  • As per the recent announcement, there are 10, 28,671 enrolments under 382 active job roles out of which 70% have already completed their trainings.

The scheme has been implemented by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) in all over Indian covering 596 districts and 531 constituencies. To educate and encourage the youth to avail the scheme, 410 Kaushal Vikas Shivirs were conducted across the country.

Govt approves Rs 17,000-crore highways projects for 9 states

The government of India had approved highway projects worth about Rs 17,000 crore for 9 states. These projects have been built under National Highways Development Project (NHDP).

  • hese projects are built for Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Punjab.
  • Under these 18 projects will be built with about 1,000 kms of highways for 9 states
  • These projects will attract investors in the highway building sector.

Labour Ministry signed agreements with employment & career activities orgs

Labour Ministry signed agreements with employment & career activities orgs

In a bid to exploit the potential of National Career Service (NCS) project, Union Labour Ministry has inked 8 agreements with leading organizations engaged in employment and career related activities.

  • The MoUs has been signed with Uber, Quikr, Monster, Tech Mahindra, Babajobs, India Staffing Federation, Buzzmatic Ventures and GoldFish to expand and enhance the scope of the project.

This partnership will also provide transparent and credible platform for both employers and job seekers from possible fraudulent practices.

Union Government to set up National Organic Farming Research Institute in Sikkim

The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare had decided to set up National Organic Farming Research Institute in Sikkim by upgrading the Regional Centre of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research in Gangtok.

  • The assessment for institute was made by the Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and Sikkim Agriculture Minister Somnath Poudyal in New Delhi.
  • Sikkim will be now the first fully organic state in the country

Prime Minister dedicated Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited to Nation

The Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi had been dedicated to the nation, Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited, a petrochemical complex, at Lepetkata, near Dibrugarh.

  • This is the first ever petro-chemical project in the entire North-East.
  • The project will help in employment generation, and avoid massive cost overruns.
  • The Projects includes MUDRA and Start-up India to create fresh opportunities for the youth.
  • These projects will provide natural raw material for the industrial purposes.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Hamid Ansari visit to Thailand and Brunei – An Overview

Vice-President Hamid Ansari was on 5 days two-nation tour to Thailand and Brunei for enhancing bilateral relations by holding talks with the head of governments, political leaders and Indian diaspora.

Bhel launches Kosti thermal power plant in Sudan

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) in Chhattisgarh

 

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (Bhel) launched a 500 Mw Kosti thermal power plant in Sundan, this plant will be the largest plant in that country also it’s the first crude-oil fired thermal power plant in Africa.

  • The plant was inaugurated by Omer Hassan Ahmed El-Basheer President of Sudan.
  • The Kosti project consist of 4 units of 125 Mw capacit .

Key

  • Capital of Sudan– Khartoum
  • Currency of Sudan– Sudanese pound
  • CMD of Bhel– Atul Sobti

BANKING & FINANCE

Mahindra AMC gets SEBI nod to enter MF business

Mahindra Asset Management Company has received a stamp of approval from SEBI to initiate its mutual fund business. This newly formed MF business will focus on investors in semi-urban and rural markets.

  • With the entry of Mahindra MF, the number of fund houses operating in India will rise to 43.
  • Mahindra AMC also designated Ashutosh Bishnoi as its CEO and MD.

Mahindra AMC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services (MMFS).

RBI survey forecasted FY17 GVA at 7.8%

As per the recent RBI survey, the real Gross Value Added at basic price (GVA) is expected to increase to 7.8% in the next fiscal (2016-17) from 7.4% expected in 2015-16.

  • GVA is an internationally accepted measure to gauge economic activity in a country. Gross value added is the measure of the value of goods and services produced in an area, industry or sector of an economy.

BUSINESS

SEBI forms task force to review risk management norms for commexes

Capital markets regulator SEBI has instigated a task force to review the risk management norms for national-level commodity bourses following the suspension of futures trading for castor seed on NCDEX.

  • The task force has been asked to submit the report within 3 weeks.

The recent development in castor seed contracts and reports of high volatility in other commodities such as turmeric and coriander have forced SEBI to set up a task force to see if risk management norms can be further tightened.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

RBI gets award for innovation in XBRL reporting

The Reserve Bank of India had been awarded with the extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) International Award for Excellence and its efforts to improve regulatory reporting

  • XBRL(extensible Business Reporting Language) is a freely available and global standard for exchanging business information.
  • XBRL allows the expression ofsemantic meaning commonly required in business reporting.
  • The language is XML-based and uses the XML syntax and relatedXML

APPOINTMENTS

Singapore Airlines appointed David Lim as GM India

Singapore Airlines has designated David Lim as the General Manager India w.e.f. April 3, 2016. He will succeed David Lau.

  • He will be responsible for overseeing all India operations of Singapore Airlines.

Graduate from National University of Singapore, Lim began his career at Singapore Airlines in 1988. He worked in various capacities within passenger and cargo service operations.

Ashok Kumar Bhargava re-elected as chairman of Indian Tea Association

Tea Association’s national committee has re-elected Ashok Kumar Bhargava, Azam Monem and Vivek Goenka as chairman, vice-chairman and additional vice-chairman respectively of the association.

  • As chairman of Indian Tea Association Ashok Kumar Bhargava will concurrently hold the chairmanship of Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations (CCPA), the apex body of Tea Plantation Association in India.

Yogeshwar Sangwan appointed as the next Ambassador of lndia to the Republic of Armenia

Yogeshwar Sangwan had been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Armenia.

  • He is currently serving as Deputy Chief of Mission in Tehran in Ministry of Overseas and Indian Affairs in the Ministry of External Affairs
  • He was Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of 1994-batch.
  • Yogeshwar will succeed Dr. T. Suresh Babu in Republic of Armenia

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

CRMNEXT launches India’s first cloud bsaed digital CRM platform

CRMNEXT had launched India’s first cloud based digital CRM platform to provides commutable cloud CRM solutions.

  • This technology will play a larger role in connecting with the customer on a day-to-day basis.
  • The CRM system will now provide a seamless transaction from anywhere at any time and anyhow.
  • In the financial services space like HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and institutions like Max Life Insurance and Bajaj Auto Finance CRMNEXT already have its customers.

Key

  • CEO of CRMNEXT– Nishant Singh

First artificial ‘graphene’ created

The first artificial graphene-like structure had been created by the University of Arkansas. The team of researchers was headed by an Indian-origin researcher.

  • Graphene was discovered in 2004 is a one-atom-thick sheet of graphite.
  • Graphene transistors are expected to be considerably faster and more heat-tolerant.
  • The element created will be placed in the carbon group.
  • The discover atom will be able to create graphene-like structures for many other elements.

ENVIRONMENT

Birds of 11 rare species found in Jharkhand

Birds of 11 rare species have been found in Jharkhand during a survey of the water bodies. These species are deliberately to be extinct in the past.

  • The survey was carried out by the Jharkhand forest department.
  • The birds count around reservoirs and other water bodies which includes 25 dams, in the state is nearly about 71,134 as recorded by the Asian Bird Survey 2015.

SPORTS

Mumbai International Open Chess tournament Title clinched by Swapnil S Dhopade

Mumbai International Open Chess tournament Title clinched by Swapnil S DhopadeRs. 7.5 lakh IIFL Wealth Mumbai International Open Chess tournament title has been clinched by Grandmaster Swapnil S Dhopade of Maharashtra which was held in Mumbai.

  • Swapnil S Dhopade was followed by International Master Stany G A of Karnataka with 7.5 points and Himal Gusain of Chandigarh sat at 3rd place with 7 points.

Dhopade bagged the prize money of Rs 1.5 lakh while Stany pocketed Rs 1.2 lakh and Gusain got the cash reward of Rs 1 lakh.

OBITUARY

Noted cartoonist Sudhir Tailang passes away

Noted cartoonist Sudhir Tailang passes awayPadma Shri awardee, eminent cartoonist Sudhir Tailang passed away due to brain tumour. He was 55.

  • He was suffering from GBM-4 stage brain tumour and had undergone two surgeries and chemotherapy during the course of his treatment over two years.

About Sudhir Tailang: In 1982, he started his career with the Illustrated Weekly of India in Mumbai after that he joined Navbharat Times in New Delhi. Late PM Indira Gandhi was the first prey of Tailang’s pen.

  • He had also worked with Hindustan Times, the Times of India and the Indian Express. His last assignment was with the Asian Age.
  • In 2004 he was conferred with Padma Shri.

NASA Astronaut Edgar Mitchell died

Edgar Mitchell had died in West Palm Beach Florida. He is one of 12 men and sixth man to walk on the Moon. He joined NASA in 1966.

  • He was born on September 17, 1930 in Hereford Texas, US.
  • He had spent more than nine hours collecting rocks, taking measurements and hitting a pair of golf balls on the Moon’s surface.
  • He had created the Institute of Noetic Sciences to research paranormal phenomena and consciousness.
  • He was a part of the support crew for the Apollo 9 and Apollo 10 missions.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day of “Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation”

To raise awareness about the female genital mutilation (FGM) and to promote its eradication, every year February 6 is celebrated as the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation.

  • Theme 2016 – “Achieving the new Global Goals through the elimination of Female Genital Mutilation by 2030”