Important Current Affairs of February 15, 2016

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF FEBRUARY 15, 2016

• The first day of the 'Make in India' week, which was launched yesterday, saw the signing of three MoUs betweenMaharashtra government bodies and various companies for total investment worth ₹21,000 crore. 
• Twinstar Display Technologies, Raymond Industries and Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages were among the companies that signed the MoUs for setting up manufacturing plants in India.
• The Jammu and Kashmir government has reportedly increased the cash reward for killing militants. 
• The reward for killing an A++ category militant has been increased from ₹10 lakh to ₹12.5 lakh. 
• For killing an A+ category militant and an A- category militant, the compensation amount has been increased to ₹7.50 lakh and ₹5 lakh respectively.
• Indian Railways is building World's Highest Rail Bridge at Jammu & Kashmir.
• This bridge will be 35 m higher than Eiffel Tower.
• This bridge is being constructed over Chenab River, Jammu and Kashmir.
• Celebratory gunfire has been banned in the Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh. 
• The move came after an eight-year-old travelling in a rickshaw lost his life when he was shot at by Samajwadi Party workers celebrating panchayat poll results in the Kairana town of the district last week. 
• Public sector banks witnessed their highest-ever quarterly loss, aggregating over ₹12,867 crore in the quarter ended December, courtesy mounting bad loans. 
• Note : Bank of Baroda reported a ₹3,342 crore loss, the highest ever quarterly loss posted by any public sector bank, which was followed by a ₹2,184 crore and ₹1,505 crore loss posted by IDBI Bank and Bank of Indiarespectively.
• Apple has On February 14. 2016 confirmed that it is building first technology centre in India at Hyderabad, at a cost of $25 million. 
• Spread across 2,50,000 square feet, the centre will help Apple develop maps and make them available in its iPhones and Mac systems. 
• Expected to create 4500 jobs, the centre will open by June 2016 and start operations by the end of this year.
• Axis Bank has tied up with fitness firm GOQii to collaborate on wearable devices for its customers. 
• This would be the first MasterCard certified wearable device. 
• On this day (14th February) in the year 2005, the video sharing website YouTubewas founded by three former PayPal employees, Steve Chen, Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim. 
• However, the first video on the website was uploaded on April 23, which was an18-second clip of Karim at a zoo. 
• Headquartered in California, United States, YouTube was bought by Google for $1.65 billion in October 2006.
• Indian students Runal Jaju and Shubham Baldava have launched ‘Ticket Jugaad’, an app that enables travelers to book confirmed railway tickets.
• The app automatically calculates the availability of quota seats on the stations before and after the source station, thus giving users all possible permutations and combinations of alternative routes with confirmed seats, and helping them avoid wait lists.
• For the first time since 2014, Google On February 14. 2016 updated its My Maps app, that allows users to create custom maps.
• The service now includes a welcome guide for new users, Street View imagery and the ability to view photos from the web. 
• The custom mapping app, launched in April 2007, lets users add points, lines, and shapes on top of Google Maps.
• Researchers recently announced that the Zika virus has the ability to hide itself in human organs, like eyes, placenta, testes and the brain, that are protected by the immune system. 
• University College London scientists have developed a fibre-optic equipment which can transfer data at 1.125 terabits per second, the fastest data transmission ever. 
• This was achieved by sending 15 pulses of different frequency light at once.
• Bollywood actress Vidya Balan was On February 14. 2016 felicitated with the 'Pride of Kerala' award by the World Malayalee Council and media broadcasting channel Kairali TV. 
• Note : The actress hails from Palakkad in Kerala.
• Indian Ambassador to Tajikistan, Biraja Prasad passed away.
• Conservative US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia passed away.
• India defeated Sri Lanka by 9 wickets to win the T20 international series 2-1 On February 14. 2016. 
• Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took four wickets for eight runs to register India’s best bowling figures in T20 internationals.
• Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won the St Petersburg Ladies Tournament to clinch their fourth title of the season. 
• Important Note : This win was their 40th consecutive victory, four short of the previous longest unbeaten run held by Jana Novotna and Helena Sukova.
• West Indies defeated India by five wickets to win their maiden ICC U-19 World Cup Title.