Current Affairs: February 13th, 2018

February 13th, 2018

1. The seventh edition of World Radio Day is observed annually on 13 February.

• The theme for World Radio Day 2018 is “Radio and Sports”. The Day is organized globally by the UNESCO.
• Static Part: UNESCO:- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization|Director General -France’s Audrey Azoulay| Headquarters- Paris, France.

2. Maha Shivratri is being celebrated in most parts of the country on February 13th, 2018 with religious fervor and traditional gaiety.

• In Gujarat, special arrangements have been made for puja and darshan at the Somnath Temple – one of the twelve Jyotirlingams of the country.
• In Madhya Pradesh, a large number of devotees are thronging Mahakaleshwar and Omkareshwar temples.
• In Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi is witnessing a huge rush of devotees at famous Kashi Vishwanath temple. Lakhs of devotees took a dip at Sangam the confluence of holy Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati in Allahabad. Mahashivratri is the last bathing festival of month-long Magh Mela.

3. Gevora: The world’s tallest hotel stands 356 meters, or nearly a quarter of a mile, tall opens in Dubai.

• The gleaming gold 75-storey Gevora Hotel in Dubai, developed by the Al Attar Group has now become the “world’s tallest hotel”.
• It is one meter taller than the previous holder of the title, the JW Marriott Marquis, in the same city. The title has been confirmed by Guinness Book of World Records.
• Static Part: United Arab Emirates(UAE):- Currency- dirha|Capital: Abu Dhabi.

4. Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has won the 2017 Mo Ibrahim award.

• Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, designed to improve the quality of African political leadership, after handing over power in her country’s first peaceful democratic transition in seven decades.
• The Ibrahim Prize honors role models on a continent where many leaders have stayed in power for decades has been awarded just four times before since it was established in 2006.
• Johnson Sirleaf, a former World Bank and United Nations official, is only the fifth person to win the 10-year-old award.
• Static Part: Liberia:- President- George Weah|Capital- Monrovia|Currency- Liberian dollar.

5. Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New and Renewable Energy, R.K. Singh Inaugurates three-day International Conference on Operations and Maintenance, “Indian Power Stations 2018” in New Delhi.

• The theme of the conference is “Technological Challenges: Risks and Challenges in Power Generation”.
• This conference is a step towards meeting the challenges of strict environmental norms, cyclic operation of conventional generation, renewable integration in the grid, low load operation, coal mining & extraction, etc.
• The Minister exhorted the NTPC to become India’s power sector multinational by setting up power plants in other Nations and become world’s largest power producer. The Minister stated that neighboring countries like Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, and Bangladesh are viable markets for export of power, where per unit cost of electricity is very high.

6. Kannada litterateur Chandrashekar Kambar has been elected as president of the Sahitya Akademi in the election held for the post. Hindi poet Madhav Koushik has been elected as vice-president.

• Prof. Kambar is the third Kannada writer to head the country’s premier literary institution, after Vinayak Krishna Gokak (1983) and U.R. Ananthamurthy (1993).
• He served as a member of the Akademi executive board for over 10 years and was vice-president for 2013-18.
• This is the second time election was held in the history of Sahitya Akademi, after Ananthamurthy’s election to the post.

7. The number of foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India saw an 8.4 percent growth in one year, the Ministry of Tourism stated.

• Ministry of Tourism compiles monthly estimates of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) & FTAs on e-Tourist Visa on the basis of Nationality-wise, Port-wise data received from Bureau of Immigration (BOI).
• The growth rate in FTAs in January 2018 over January 2017 was 8.4%. During the month of January 2018, a total of 2.40 lakh foreign tourists arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 1.52 lakh during the month of January 2017 registering a growth of 58.5%.
• The percentage share of top 15 source countries availing e- Tourist Visa facilities during January, 2018 was UK (18.6 percent), USA (10.6 percent), France (5.4 percent), Canada (5.3 percent), China (4.8 percent), Oman (3.4 percent), Italy (2.4 percent), Israel (1.4 percent) and South Africa (1.4 percent).
• In terms of airports, the percentage of FTAs on e-Tourist Visa during January 2018 was highest from New Delhi Airport (37.3 percent), Mumbai Airport (19.6 percent), Chennai Airport (7.2 percent), Bengaluru Airport (5.7 percent), Kolkata Airport (2.7 percent) and Ahmadabad Airport (1.6 percent).
• Static Part: Minister of State of Tourism (I/C) -Shri. K.J. Alphons.

8. India to host 8th Edition of Theatre Olympics ‘The Biggest Theatre Celebration of the World’ for the first time, Ministry of Culture in association with National School of Drama (NSD) announced in New Delhi.

• Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (Independent charge) for Culture and Tourism has announced that 8th edition of the greatest carnival of Theatre in the World will take place in India for the first time ever from February 17 – April 08, 2018 simultaneously in various cities across the country.
• Ratan Thiyam, the chairperson of NSD Society, informed that the theme for the upcoming event will be ‘Flag of Friendship’.
• Static Part: 1. Indira Gandhi International Airport is in New Delhi.
  2. Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium is the famous cricket stadium located in New Delhi.

9. World’s first Autonomous Pods Unveiled at the World Government Summit 2018 in Dubai.

• Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) launched the first tests of the world’s first autonomous pods at the World Government Summit. The autonomous pods are launched in cooperation with Next Future Transportation (US-Based).
• They can be coupled together in as little 15 seconds or detached depending on the riders’ destination in five seconds.
• Static Part: Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates known for luxury shopping, ultramodern architecture, and a lively nightlife scene. Burj Khalifa, an 830m-tall tower, dominates the skyscraper-filled skyline.