Current Affairs Updates - 17th February 2018

Current Affairs Updates - 17th February 2018

We, the AchieversRule team have brought to you the Daily Current Affairs Updates for 17th February 2018. Here all the important headlines have been marked in bullet points and these are very important for the upcoming examination of Bank, Rail and SSC. We hope our readers will like our articles and keep providing us proper feedback. You may also like Current Affairs Quiz and Static GK Note Down Points.

New Appointments: International

Japan's government reappointed Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda for another term and chose an advocate of bolder monetary easing as one of his deputies, a sign the central bank will be in no rush to dial back its massive stimulus program.

• The selection of the new BOJ leadership comes at a crucial time for Japanese and global markets, which have been rattled in recent weeks on expectations major central banks will whittle down their crisis-mode stimulus.

Cyril Ramaphosa was elected by Parliament as South Africa’s president marking a turning point for the country 

• Zuma resigned under mounting pressure from the party, the African National Congress, leaving both the leadership of the ANC and the continent’s second-biggest economy in the hands of Ramaphosa. 

Banking, Economic & Financial Affairs

• Yes Bank has listed 600 million dollar bond issued under its maiden 1 billion dollar MTN programme, on Global Securities Market (GSM) of India INX.
• India INX is the country’s first international exchange, located at International Financial Services Centre, GIFT City in Gujarat.

National Affairs

Cauvery water dispute verdict LIVE: Tamil Nadu ‘shocked’, Karnataka hails SC judgement

• Spelling out the verdict in the 122-year old Cauvery water dispute case, the Supreme Court cut Tamil Nadu’s quota of water by 14.75 tmcft and increased Karnataka’s share to meet Bengaluru’s drinking water needs. 

PM Modi launches three key projects in Arunachal Pradesh

• He inaugurated the Dorjee Khandu state convention centre at a function in Itanagar. The Centre has an auditorium, conference halls and an exhibition hall.

State owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is planning to introduce carbon dioxide (CO2) injection technology in its Gandhar oil field in Gujarat.

• EOR programme aims at recovering up to 20% of residual oil from ageing oil fields to improve India’s energy security.

Government nod to long-term visas for Afghan minorities seeking refuge

• With The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, stuck in Parliament, the government recently cleared the proposal for granting long-term visa (LTV) to minorities from Afghanistan seeking refuge in India.

Odisha to sponsor Indian hockey teams for next five years

• The announcement was made by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik during a grand function.

International Affairs

Ethiopia's prime minister resigns to smooth path for political reform.

• Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn resigned in what he described as a bid to smooth reforms, following years of violent unrest that threatened the ruling party’s hold on Africa’s second most populous nation.

KP Sharma Oli was sworn in as Nepal’s prime minister for the second time.

• He is the 41st prime minister of Nepal. He was administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Bidya Devi Bhandari. 
• He is known for his pro-China stance and had served as the country’s prime minister from October 2015 to August 2016.

Agreements/ MoUs Signed

Government has signed second Loan Agreement with New Development Bank (NDB) for financing of Rajasthan Water Sector Restructuring Project for the Desert areas.

• This is the first tranche loan of 100 million dollar that was approved by the NDB under Multi Tranche Financing Facility of 345 million dollar for this project.

Summit /Conference / Events

China will host 2018 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit at Qingdao, eastern Shandong Province in June 2018. 

• China had taken over rotating chair of SCO after17th SCO summit concluded in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan in June 2017.

India’s first radio festival to be held in Delhi on Thursday

• The Radio Festival has been organised by the International Association of Women in Radio and Television in partnership with UNESCO.

The 2018 edition of World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS 2018) was held at VigyanBhawan in New Delhi. Theme of WSDS 2018 is ‘Partnerships for a Resilient Planet’.

WSDS is flagship forum of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). It seeks to bring together global leaders and thinkers in the fields of sustainable development, energy and environment sectors on common platform.

Awards & Honours: Miscellaneous

India’s Aadhaar and Umang App have won awards at recently concluded 6th World Government Summit 2018 in Dubai.

• Umang App won in Best m-Government Service Award for Accessible Government Category and Aadhaar won in the Best Government Emerging Technologies Award

The Department of Science and Technology will award Raghbir Singh Khandpur for his contribution to science and his efforts to make the Science City in Punjab’s Kapurthala into an international-level facility.

• The Department of Science and Technology will award Raghbir Singh Khandpur for his contribution to science.