February 6th, 2018
1. 6th February: International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.
- It is a United Nations-sponsored annual awareness day that takes place on February 6 as part of the UN’s efforts to eradicate female genital mutilation. It was first introduced in 2003.
- Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons and is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.
- Static Part: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
2. Jerome H Powell Sworn in as 16th Chairman of Federal Reserve for a four-year term.
- Mr. Powell has succeeded Janet Yellen, the first woman to lead the US central bank in its 100-year history.
- Powell was nominated for the post in November 2017 by President Donald Trump. The oath was administered by Vice Chairman Randal K. Quarles in the Board Room.
3. Dubai named the world’s busiest International Airport for international passengers after seeing some 88.2 million passengers in 2017.
- Dubai International Airport says it has held on to its No 1 ranking as the world’s busiest airport for ‘international travel’.
- Dubai International Airport first surpassed London Heathrow as the world’s busiest airport for international traffic in 2014. It has maintained the title ever since, with some 90 airlines flying into skyscraper-studded Dubai.
4. Mumbai Airport Becomes World’s Busiest Single-Runway Airport.
- Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International airport of Mumbai sets record with 980 flights in 24 hours or almost one flight every minute.
- With this, the Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International airport bettered its own feat of 974 flights in 24 hours, recorded in December 2017. While Gatwick, the U.K.’s second-largest airport, remains the most efficient single-runway airport in the world.
5. Sweden Commits Record $370m of Aid to UN World Food Programme(WFP) for the next four years.
- Sweden and the United Nations World Food Programme signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement committing an unprecedented $370 million dollars to WFP.
- The contribution for the period 2018-2021 is the biggest ever made by a donor within a WFP Strategic Partnership Agreement.
- Static Part: Sweden:-Capital- Stockholm, Currency- Swedish krona.
6. Assam Government, Ola Sign MoU for River Taxi Service in Guwahati.
- A MoU is to pilot an app-based river taxi service. The river taxis will be machine-operated boats and users will be able to book the rides through Ola’s app.
- It’ll bring commute time down to 2-5 minutes from 45 minutes by road. This MoU was signed during the Global Investors Summit: Advantage Assam.
- Static Part: Assam:- Capital- Dispur|CM- Sarbanand Sonowal|Governor- Jagdish Mukhi.
7. External Affairs Minister Mrs. Sushma Swaraj Embarked on 3-day Visit to Saudi Arabia.
- Mrs. Sushma Swaraj has left for her first official visit to Saudi Arabia. During the three-day visit, Mrs. Swaraj will meet with the Saudi leadership to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest.
- She will also participate in the inauguration of the prestigious National Heritage and Culture Festival ‘Janadriyah’. India is the guest of honor country at the fest.
- Static Part: Saudi Arabia:- Capital- Riyadh, Currency- Riyal.
8. Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen has declared a 15-day state of Emergency, his aide Azima Shukoor announced.
- The move gives sweeping powers to security forces to arrest and detain suspects as Yameen refuses to comply with a Supreme Court order to release political prisoners.
- The latest crisis was triggered when the Maldivian Supreme Court ordered the release of some opposition leaders, including former president Mohammed Nasheed, after overturning their “terrorism” convictions.
- Static Part: Maldives:-Capital- Male|Currency- Rufiyaa.
9. India Successfully Test-Fires Nuclear-Capable Agni-I (surface-to-surface single-stage) Missile.
- India successfully test-fired the indigenously developed short-range nuclear capable Agni-I ballistic missile. The missile was fired from the Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast.
- The test was conducted by the Strategic Force Command of the Indian Army. The range of Missile is 700 km. It was 18th version of Agni-I.
- Static Part: Odisha:- Chief Minister- Naveen Patnaik|Governor-Senayangba Chubatoshi Jamir.
10. A.K Prasad Assumes Charge as Financial Commissioner, Railway Board.
- Shri A.K.Prasad has been appointed as new Financial Commissioner (Railways), Railway Board and ex-officio Secretary to Government of India vice Shri B.N.Mohapatra, who superannuated on 31st January 2018.
- Shri A.K.Prasad has since assumed charge as the new Financial Commissioner (Railways), with effect from 1st February 2018.
- Shri Prasad is an officer of Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS) of 1981 batch. He has done his Masters in Economics from Delhi School of Economics in the year 1980.
11. Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant gets an extension till June 30, 2019, according to an official order.
- He was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of the government think tank on February 17, 2016, for a two-year term. Kant is a 1980 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre.
- Static Part: Niti Aayog:- Chairperson- Narendra Modi|Headquarters- New Delhi.
12. Shubhankar Sharma Becomes Best Indian Golfer in the World, rises to 72nd position in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).
- He has won the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- Shubhankar Sharma has enjoyed a golden run over the past few months on the international stage, clinching his first European Tour win at the Joburg Open.
- Dustin Johnson from the USA is currently the World Number 1 in Official World Golf Ranking.
13. Uttar Pradesh State Government in Association with UNICEF Launches DASTAK Campaign.
- UP government in association with UNICEF has launched massive door to door campaign DASTAK to eradicate deadly Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and Japanise Encephalitis (JE) disease in the state.
- The war cry of DASTAK is ‘Darwaja Khatkhatao, AES aur JE ko bhagao’. In DASTAK campaign, whole state machinery with the help of UNICEF will now literally go door to door in 38 JES and AE affected districts which mostly fall in the Tarai region.
- Static Part: UNICEF:- The United Nations International Children’s Education Fund|Headquarters-New York City, the USA|Executive Director of UNICEF-Henrietta H. Fore.
14. Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu Kicks off Consultations on the New Industrial Policy.
- Commerce and Industries Minister Mr. Suresh Prabhu set off a series of nation-wide consultations with the industry on the proposed new Industrial Policy. The first consultation was held at Guwahati in February 2018.
- The event, organized by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in partnership with Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), was attended by more than 120 industrialists from the North East in addition to government officials from the North Eastern States.
15. Rear Admiral Atul Anand takes Over as the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff – Foreign Cooperation and Intelligence {ACNS (FCI)} at IHQ MoD (Navy), New Delhi.
- He was commissioned in 1988, in the Executive Branch of the Indian Navy.
- An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla, the Defence Services Command and Staff College, Mirpur, Bangladesh and the National Defence College, New Delhi, the Admiral is a specialist in Navigation and Direction.
- He has also attended the prestigious Advanced Security Cooperation Course at the Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies, Hawaii, USA.
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