Current Affairs: February 26-27th, 2018

February 26-27th, 2018

1. Jordan’s King Abdullah-II bin Al-Hussein arrives on a three-day visit to India.

• The King of Jordan Abdullah-II bin Al-Hussein will be accompanied by a business delegation in New Delhi. During the visit, India and Jordan will discuss on bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest.
• The King will visit IIT Delhi to explore collaboration with Jordan technical institutes. During the day, he will also participate in a CEO Round-table followed by India-Jordan Business Forum.
• During his stay, the King will also deliver a special address on ‘Promoting Understanding and Moderation’, organized by India Islamic Center.
• Static Part: Jordan:- King: Abdullah II of Jordan|Capital: Amman|Currency: Jordanian dinar.

2. Young Indian shuttler, Sameer Verma lifts Swiss Open title.

• Indian shuttler World No. 46, Sameer Verma defeated former world no 2, Jan O Jorgensen and clinch the men’s singles title at the $150,000 Swiss Open Super 300 tournament.
• Sameer showed great anticipation and technique to bamboozle Jorgensen 21-15, 21-13 in a lop-sided contest.
• Static Part: Sameer Verma is 23-year-old from Madhya Pradesh. His Coach – Pullela Gopichand.

3. Information and Broadcasting Minister Mrs. Smriti Irani releases reference annual India 2018 and Bharat 2018.

• The books have been published by Publications Division in English and Hindi. Mrs. Irani said these books are authentic and comprehensive volumes about government’s plans and achievements in various sectors.She said the basic information about states and UT is also available in these volumes.
• Mrs. Irani appreciated the effort that the e-version of the books has also been made available along with traditional hard copies. She said the books will help people especially researchers and students.

4. Shahbaz Sharif becomes interim President of ruling PML-N (The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz).

• In Pakistan, Shahbaz Sharif, Punjab Province Chief Minister, elected as interim President of the PML-N while his elder brother and ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was made the ruling party’s top leader, ‘Quaid’ for a lifetime.
• Shahbaz, 66, has been elected as the party’s president for 45 days by its Central Working Committee (CWC) in a meeting held in Sharif’s Model Town Lahore residence.
• Static Part: Pakistan:- Capital: Islamabad|Prime minister: Shahid Khaqan Abbasi|Currency: Pakistani rupee|President: Mamnoon Hussain.

5. The 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics concluded with a spectacular closing ceremony.

• The grand event ran through 17 days and saw 2,920 athletes competing from 92 nations.
• Norway won a record 39 medals overall to finish on top while Germany finishes second with 31 medals.
• Static Part: Tokyo will host the 2020 Summer Olympics, while Beijing will welcome the countries for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

6. 21st National Conference on e-Governance to begin in Hyderabad, Telangana.

• The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Government of India, along with the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India in association with Government of Telangana is organizing the 21stNational Conference on e-Governance on February 26- 27, 2018 in Hyderabad, Telangana.
• Union Minister of State for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Shri Y.S. Chowdary will preside over the inaugural session of the conference.
• The theme of the Conference this year is, ‘Technology for accelerating Development’.
• The Inaugural Session will be followed by 3 Plenary Sessions on Day1 based on themes: Building User Experience, Universalization and Replication and Governing e-Governance while on Day2 the two Plenary Sessions will be based on e-Governance Good/ Best Practices, Emerging Technologies.

7. Hyderabad hosted the 15th edition of BioAsia 2018 at Hyderabad International Convention Center (HICC).

• The 15th edition of BioAsia, the annual flagship programme of Government of Telangana was held from 22-24th February 2018 in Hyderabad.
• The theme of BioAsia 2018 was “RIGHT TIME, RIGHT NOW”.
• For this year’s event, Ireland, Netherlands and South Africa were international partners whereas the States of Gujarat, Assam, and Rajasthan were the state partners.
• Static Part: Telangana:- CM- Chandrasekhar Rao, Governor- ESL Narasimhan.

8. Telangana CM Mr. K Chandrasekhar Rao announces five lakh rupees health-cum-life insurance scheme for farmers.

• Mr. K C Rao said the proposed scheme will be implemented soon. Addressing the regional conference of Farmers’ Coordination Committees held in Karimnagar.
• Mr. Rao said the state government will pay the entire premium behalf of the farmer and allocate 500 crore rupees in the coming budget for implementation of the scheme.
• He said the insurance scheme will benefit 70 lakh farmers in the state. The families of farmers will be paid the amount in case of farmer’s death, in the accident or naturally.

9. Civil Aviation Minister Dr.P Ashok Gajapathi Raju inaugurates Aviation Multi Skill Development Centre in Chandigarh.

• The minister inaugurated a first of its kind, Aviation Multi Skill Development Centre at the Chandigarh Old Airport Terminal building. The centre is a Corporate Social Responsibility initiative of the Airports Authority of India.
• It is set up in collaboration with the National Skill Development Corporation and supported by the Aerospace and Aviation Sector Skill Council of India.
• Speaking on the occasion Mr. Raju said, the center will train about youth in 8 Aviation job roles over the next three years.
• Static Part:  Chandigarh:- 1. It is a city and a union territory in India that serves as the capital of the two neighboring states of Haryana and Punjab.
  2. Punjab:- Chief Minister: Captain Amarinder Singh|Governor: V.P. Singh Badnore.
  3. Haryana:- Chief minister: Manohar Lal Khattar|Governor: Kaptan Singh Solanki.

10. India clinches 11 medals (two gold, three silver, and six bronze medals) at Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament in Bulgaria.

• India has rounded off their engagements with their best ever performance at the 69th Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament in Bulgaria.
• Vikas Krishan, who claimed a gold medal in 75 kg category, was also adjudged the best boxer of the event, a first for an Indian. Another Gold medal was clinched by Amit Panchal. In the 49 kg division final, defeating Morocco’s Said Mordaji.
• MC Mary Kom, Seema Poonia, and Gaurav Solanki won the Silver medal in their respective categories.
• Meena Kumari Devi, L Sarita Devi, Saweety Boora and Bhagyabati Kachari clinched the Bronze in their categories.

11. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 2nd India-Korea Business Summit 2018 in New Delhi.

• Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad, top officials of Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) also attended the summit.
• The theme of the Summit this year is “India-Korea: Scaling up the Special Strategic Relationship through Trade and Investments”.
• Mr. Modi said the Scope for India-Korea cooperation in sectors like housing, smart cities, railways, transportation, seaports, energy including renewables, IT infrastructure and services is immense. Our partnership has great potential to promote regional growth, stability, and prosperity in Asia.

12. Parupalli Kashyap wins the men’s singles final to clinch the Austrian Open International Challenge title in over three years in Austria.

• Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap clinched his first international title in over three years as he overcame Malaysia’s June Wei Cheam to emerge men’s singles champion at the Austrian Open International Challenge.
• Kashyap, a former National champion, and his last title came at the Syed Modi International Badminton Championships in 2015.
• Static Part: Austria:- Capital: Vienna|Currency: Euro.

13. Chilika lake largest habitat of Irrawaddy dolphins globally.

• Chilika lake in Odisha emerges as the largest habitat of Irrawaddy dolphins globally with the spotting of 155 such animals, a Chilika Development Authority (CDA) said.
• Chilika Lake is a brackish water lagoon, spread over the Puri, Khurda, and Ganjam districts of Odisha state on the east coast of India.
• Static Part: Odisha:- CM-Naveen Patnaik|Governor-S. C. Jamir.

14. Senior journalist Rahul Mahajan is appointed as Rajya Sabha TV Editor-in-Chief.

• Rahul Mahajan has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of Rajya Sabha TV, owned and operated by the Upper House of Parliament.
• A five-member selection panel, chaired by Prasar Bharti Chairman A. Surya Prakash, recommended Mahajan’s appointment and Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu approved it.
• Mahajan, who hails from Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, has 26 years of media experience, including 23 years in various news channels.

15. Former Cabinet Secretary TSR Subramanian Dies At 79.

• Mr. Subramanian was the cabinet secretary from August 1, 1996, to March 31, 1998.
• Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State (MoS) for Personnel Jitendra Singh and other senior IAS officers have condoled his death.

16. Andaman & Nicobar Command to Host Milan 2018 at Port Blair.

• The second week of March will witness Andaman & Nicobar Command hosting a multinational mega event MILAN 2018.
• 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.
• Besides fostering co-operation through naval exercises and professional interactions, MILAN also provides an excellent opportunity to the participating navies to come together in a spirit of collaboration and mutual understanding to nurture stronger ties.
• Static Part: Andaman and Nicobar:- Capital- Port Blair|Lieutenant Governor-Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi.

17. DRDO Successfully flew its Test Flight Rustom 2 at its Aeronautical Test Range(ATR) at Chalker at Chitradurga, Karnataka.

• This flight assumes significance due to the fact that this is the first flight in user configuration with higher power engine.
• Secretary Dept. of Defence (R&D) & Chairman DRDO Dr. S. Christopher along with senior scientists witnessed the flight and congratulated Rustom team.
• Static Part: DRDO:- Chairman- S Christopher|Headquarters- New Delhi.

18. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has now introduced a blue colored ‘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.
• 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.
• Static Part: Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique identity number issued to all Indian residents based on their biometric and demographic data.

19. International Conference on Sustainable Biofuels Begins in New Delhi.

• A two-day International Conference on Sustainable Biofuels organized by Department of Biotechnology has begun in New Delhi.
• Union Minister for Science and technology Dr. Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the Conference and the delegates from 19 countries together in Sustainable Biofuels sector were present in the event to share information and best practices, take stock of current knowledge.
• This event aims to provide a common platform to Government policy makers, industry, investors, and research community to exchange experiences and challenges related to development and scaling of advanced biofuels.