Current Affairs Updates - 25th and 26th February 2018

Current Affairs Updates - 25th and 26th February 2018

The AchieversRule team have brought to you the new set of Latest and Updated Current Affairs Updates - 25th and 26th February 2018. Today we have headlines from National, International, Banking, Schemes, Obituary and Sports. We have tried to make these as informative as possible so that its useful for the upcoming examinations of Bank, Railway and SSC. Candidates may also follow the Daily One liner and Static GK Note Down Points. We would advise our readers to practice Current Affairs Quiz regularly.

Banking, Economic & Financial Affairs

Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Ltd (ABIPBL) started operations making it the fifth payments bank to roll out operations after the central bank gave its in-principle approval to 11 applicants

• The roll-out comes at a time when the regulator has issued fresh know your customer norms for payments banks that are likely to increase operational costs for these banks.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed banks to link the SWIFT(Society for World Interbank Financial Telecommunication System platform) — a global financial messaging service which was used by jeweller Nirav Modi at Punjab National bank — with the core banking solutions (CBS) of banks by April 30, 2018.

• Today, the urgency is such that everyone wants this (linkage of Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication to CBS) project to be on fast track

State Bank of India (SBI) is set for a major restructuring of its business in the UK from April, India’s largest state-owned bank 

• SBI's UK operations will transform into a subsidiary named State Bank of India UK Limited from April 1, in compliance with wider ring-fencing of capital requirements by the Bank of England.

National Affairs

Telecom Major Bharti Airtel and Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer Huawei on Friday announced they have successfully conducted India's first-ever 5G trial

• They achieved a data speed of over 3 GB per second. This comes days after state-run BSNL signed a pact with Japan's NTT AT and their Indian partner Virgo Corps to create a "5G test-bed".

Andhra Pradesh gears up for Partnership Summit 2018 to attract investments for innovation

• Andhra Pradesh woke up welcoming over more than 2000 delegates in its Partnership Summit 2018. 3rd edition of Partnership Summit 2018 aims to facilitate investments, foster innovations in creating business models.

The Assam government will be observing September 22 as ‘Rhino Day’ to generate public awareness on protection of the one-horned pachyderm

• A State Rhino Project in line with National Rhino Project will be launched in Assam soon for protecting the pachyderms from threats of poaching, he said.
• The CM also asked the wildlife board to raise a quick response team to rush to the sites where animal deaths have occurred unnaturally.

Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India on Friday ceremonially broke ground on the Afghan section of an ambitious, multi-billion dollar gas pipeline expected to help ease energy deficits in South Asia.

• Dignitaries including diplomats from the foreign missions in Turkmenistan were greeted by Turkmen national songs and traditional nomadic tents serving up food on an overcast day at the border post of Serkhetabat, once the southernmost tip of the Soviet Union.

India has imposed anti-dumping duty on import of ceramic tableware and kitchenware from China in a bid to protect domestic producers.

• Ceramic tableware and kitchenware shipped in from China will attract an anti-dumping duty of USD 1.04 per kg, making the imports expensive.

Government Ropes In Nandan Nilekani For Developing IT Infrastructure For Modicare

• Nandan Nilekani will assist the government in developing IT infrastructure for the mega National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS), which seeks to cover 10-crore families

Commerce and industry ministry has appointed four institutes, including IIFT and ICAI, to interact with stakeholders and suggest measures to push India’s ranking in ease of doing business index

• As per the latest World bank’s Doing Business ranking, India’s position improved by 30 places to 100th. The government wants India to figure within top 50 in the coming years.

Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha launched India's first locally developed 4G/LTE telecom system amid an international buyers-sellers meet of telecom industry.

• The system has been designed and developed by India's leading telecom equipment manufacturer, VNL Ltd., keeping in mind requirement for high speed connectivity, particularly in rural areas.

Children aged less than 5 years to get blue Baal Aadhaar

• UIDAI on Friday tweeted that children below the age of five years will receive a blue-coloured 'Baal Aadhaar' card. While the Baal Aadhaar will not carry biometric details of the child, it will be updated with the information after the child crosses the age of five. Several schools across Delhi have reportedly made children's Aadhaar numbers mandatory for admissions.

International Affairs

ITBP men to learn Chinese to enhance security management skills

• Sanchi University of Buddhist-Indic Studies' registrar Rajesh Gupta, feels the step would be helpful for the ITBP, which has to deal with the Chinese-speaking people along the Sino-India border.

The United States will officially move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in Israel in May.

• The announcement greatly moves up the new embassy's initially scheduled opening in 2019, after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson ended weeks of delays by approving a security plan, The Hill reported.

Defence & Railway News

Indian Navy successfully test fires nuclear-capable ballistic missile 'Dhanush' 

• The Indian armed forces on Friday successfully test fired nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile Dhanush in full operational configuration from a naval warship positioned in the Bay of Bengal.

India's premier defence research institute DRDO carried out "successful" test flight of its Rustom 2 drone, a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), at Chalakere in Karnataka's Chitradurga district. 

• Rustom 2 is being developed on the lines of predator drones of the US to carry out surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) roles for the armed forces with an endurance of 24 hours 

The eighth joint military exercise "Lamitye" between the Indian Army and Seychelles People’s Defence Forces will continue till March 4 at Mahe Island, Seychelles. 

• This exercise is the eighth in the series of bilateral exercises being conducted in the beautiful island nation.
• India and Seychelles have been conducting this joint exercise since 2001 with the aim of enhancing military cooperation and interoperability between the armies of the two countries.

Brand Ambassadors

Priyanka Chopra Quits As Nirav Modi Brand Ambassador After PNB Fraud Case

• Actor Priyanka Chopra has quit as brand ambassador of jeweller Nirav Modi's product line, the actor's spokesperson said. Mr Modi is under investigation over alleged fraud running into Rs. 11,300 crore

Schemes / Programme

Prime Minister Narendra Modi  launched the subsidised scooter scheme for working women on the occasion of the 70th birth anniversary celebrations of late Tamil Nadu leader J Jayalalithaa.

• The scheme, with a subsidy component of 50 per cent up to Rs. 25,000 for working women, was launched by PM Modi, who handed over the keys and registration certificate copies to five women beneficiaries.

Agreements/ MoUs Signed

Heavy Water Board signed an agreement with M/s Clearsynth, Mumbai for sale of 20 tonnes of Heavy Water in a year

• This marks the beginning of an important era in the annals of Indian Nuclear industry leading to societal benefits for the masses. It is worth noting that during the previous years Indian industries have imported deuterated compounds and Heavy Water to the tune of 9 Million USD.

Mahindra Aerospace Private Limited has signed an memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Canada’s Viking Air Ltd. to form a strategic alliance to take advantage of India’s growing regional air connectivity opportunities.

• Under the MoU, Mahindra Aerospace and Viking would support each other’s non-competing aircraft business to boost market expansion in identified territories and provide potential customers with options based on specific operational requirements.

India and Germany sign pact for smart city cooperation

• The MoU signed between Union Ministry for Housing and Urban Affairs and the German development agency GIZ here would develop and apply concepts for sustainable urban development providing urban basic services and housing in select cities as well as smart cities in India

Summit /Conference / Events

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday invited President Maithripala Sirisena to attend the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Founding Conference and Solar Summit scheduled to be held in New Delhi on March 11, 2018. 

• Sri Lanka signed the Framework Agreement on ISA on January 31, 2018, in New Delhi and the ratification process was also completed. Sri Lanka has now become a full-fledged member of ISA which presently has 54 member countries.  

Assam has organised a tribal festival called ‘Aadi Mahotsava’ at Gandhi Mandir Indoor stadium field here to celebrate the ethnic tribal culture of the country.

• The 10-day festival is being conducted by the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India in collaboration with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in an attempt to celebrate the rare art and culture of the tribal communities.

Awards & Honours: Sports

The seasoned duo of MC Mary Kom (48kg) and L Sarita Devi (60kg) entered the semi-finals, along with two male boxers, in the 69th Strandja Memorial Boxing tournament

• The 35-year-old Mary Kom, who came here on the back of gold medals at the Asian Championships and the India Open, defeated old nemesis Steluta Duta of Romania in her quarterfinal contest.

Parupalli Kashyap wins Austrian Open

• Reigning Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap overcame Malaysia's June Wei Cheam in straight games in the men's singles final to clinch the Austrian Open International Challenge, his first international title in over three years.

The US won the gold medal of Women’s Ice Hockey at 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics

• They last won the medal in 1998 Nagano Games. To win the medal, the women team defeated Canada in the final in dramatic shootout. Canada had won four straight Olympic Golds, three times beating the United States in the final including twice in overtime.

Gymnast Aruna Reddy makes history, gives India first World Cup medal.

• The vault, made famous throughout India by Dipa Karmakar, once again proved the launch pad for a woman gymnast from the country.

Other Sports & Award Related News

Canada became the latest to embrace franchise-based T20 cricket with the formation of the Global T20 Canada.

• The announcement of the league - conceptualised, designed, developed and managed by India's Mercuri Group in association with Cricket Canada - was done in New Delhi on Thursday (February 22).

Athlete Jithin Paul is the 1st Indian to be banned by NADA for drug possession

• Athlete Jithin Paul became the first Indian athlete to be banned by the National Anti-Doping Agency for possession of a prohibited substance. NADA has handed Paul a 4-year-ban for possession of a banned substance called 'Meldonium'. The anti-doping authority also said that Paul had no justification for possession of the substance.

Obituary 

Veteran Bollywood actress Sridevi passed away here in Dubai on Saturday night after reportedly suffering a cardiac arrest. 

• Sridevi was in the UAE to attend a wedding function along with her husband and younger daughter.

Former mayor, cabinet minister and senior Congress leader Suresh Seth passed away on Thursday evening after a prolonged illness. 

• He breathed his last during treatment in a private hospital. Seth (87) is survived by a son and three daughters.