Important Current Affairs of February 24, 2016
IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF FEBRUARY 24, 2016
- World Rotary Day was observed on February 23, 2016 .
- Pakistan's parliament On February23, 2016 became the first in the world to fully operate on solar electricity.
- Note : The $55 million
venture, which can generate 80 MW power, was funded by the Chinese government
as an act of friendship.
- Nepal has officially stopped rationing fuel in the country, which was
owing to supply being blocked for months due to the protests against the newly
adopted Constitution.
- Indian supplies to Nepal
resumed after the Madhesi protestors lifted the unofficial blockade.
- The International Civil
Aviation Organisation (ICAO), UN's aviation agency, has banned the shipment of Lithium-ion
batteries on all passenger flights starting 1st April 2016.
- This move came after
plane makers and pilots raised concerns that existing safety standards are not
enough to manage lithium battery fires.
- The ban is mandatory for
member countries of the ICAO.
- According to a report by
Greenpeace, Air pollution in India is higher than that of China.
- Madhya Pradesh's Katni
district is all set to get India's longest railway bridge, 14
kilometres on the up line.
- The project has received
clearance and it will be completed in five years, costing ₹600 crore.
- Important Note : It will be three and a
half times longer than the current longest Vembanad rail bridge in Kerala which
is 4.62 kilometres long.
- Madhya Pradesh Chief
Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan On February23, 2016 announced free education for Scheduled Caste students in government
colleges including, engineering and medical institutions.
- After passing all
necessary tests, India's first nuclear armed submarine, INS Arihant, is ready to fully operate as part of the naval fleet post a
formal induction.
- Built under the Advanced
Technology Vessel (ATV) project, the 6,000 tonne vessel underwent several deep
sea diving drills and weapons launch trial runs over five months.
- The submarine was first
revealed in 2009.
- President Pranab
Mukherjee On February23, 2016 announced that the government is goinginduct
women in all fighter streams of the armed forces.
- Note : Earlier in October,
women in the Indian Air Force were deemed eligible to fly warplanes.
- According to SocialCops
analysis of data from the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the tiger population (over 1.5 years of age) in India has increased
since 2006.
- The tiger population went
from 1,411
tigers in 2006 to 2,226 tigers in 2014.
- Overall, the number of
tigers over 1.5 years old grew 57.8% between 2006 and 2014.
- The Uttar Pradesh State
Transport Corporation has decided to install CCTV cameras in public places to capture people openly peeing and put their video to shame on
a YouTube channel.
- The move is undertaken by
the department as part of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
- Note : Recently, the Hyderabad
police decided to felicitate such offenders with flower garlands to 'teach them
a lesson'.
- President Pranab
Mukherjee will inaugurate India's first "Gender Park" during a visit to Kerala
at the end of this week.
- He will inaugurate the
24-acre park in Kozhikode on February 27.
- The main aim of the park
will be to promote research and other initiatives to facilitate complete gender
equality.
- Haryana is set become the first state in the
country to complete aquifer mapping for its groundwater resources by May 2016.
- Note : Aquifer is an
underground layer of water-bearing rock from which groundwater can be
extracted.
- Bihar became the 6th state to join Union
Government’s UDAY Scheme for financial restructuring of debt of power distribution
companies.
- In this regard, tripartite
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Bihar government, State
Power Distribution companies (DISCOMs) and Union Power ministry.
- Note : Bihar is the 6th state
after Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat to become
part of the scheme.
- UDAY - Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana
- The Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dubai Exports to boost trade and
explore business opportunities.
- CII is a non-government
organisation of Indian businesses which works to create an environment
conducive to the growth of industry in the country.
- Dubai Exports works with
other Dubai Government Departments to simplify the export process by developing
long-term growth strategies to expand businesses and maximise
opportunities
- An Indian-origin art
lover and playwright Ismail Mahomed from South Africa has been knighted by the French government for his lifelong devotion
to the promotion of arts.
- He was bestowed with
Knight of the Order of Arts and Literature (The Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts
et Lettres) by French Ambassador Elisabet Barbier in Johannesburg.
- The Minister of State for
Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation Mahesh SharmaOn February23, 2016 launched the 'Swachh Parayatan' mobile
app, as part of the Swachh
Bharat Mission,.
- Currently available on
Android, the app aims to ease the process of registering complaints from the
general public about unclean areas and garbage piles in and around tourist
destinations for "immediate action".
- The Budget session began On February23, 2016
with President Pranab Mukherjee addressing the joint session of the
Parliament.
- The bills to be brought
for consideration include the Goods and Services Tax Bill and Real Estate
Regulatory Bill among others.
- As per media reports,
recent issues like the JNU row and Jat protests are also expected to be
discussed during the session.
- Andhra Pradesh government On February23,
2016 announced that it has saved 421 million unit power using LED bulbs.
- This was achieved by
using over 57 lakh LED bulbs in four districts of Srikakulam, West Godavari,
Guntur and Anantapur.
- Tata Motors On February23, 2016
announced that it has renamed its upcoming hatchback Zica asTiago.
- Note : The carmaker had
earlier said that it will have a new name for the car, following the recent
outbreak of the Zika virus in Latin America.
- The car, which was
showcased at the Auto Expo 2016 earlier, may be launched by March-end, the
company said.
- The government's 5% stake
sale in power producer NTPC has commenced On February23, 2016 on the stock exchanges.
- Note : Currently, the
government holds 74.96% stake in the firm, and the last stake sale in NTPC was
held in February 2013.
- Supporting the
celebration of a decade of the annual festival, 'Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi
Gras', Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has transformed one of
its branches into an LGBT-themed bank called 'GAYNZ'.
- Earlier, the bank, over the
years of the festival, continued to support LGBT rights with initiatives
including the 'GAYTM', where rainbow coloured ATMs were installed.
- India continues to remain the world's largest arms
importer, accounting for 14% of
the global imports in the 2011-2015 timeframe, in yet another indicator of the
country's enduring failure to build a strong domestic defence-industrial base
(DIB).
- The latest data on
international arms transfers released by a global think-tank, Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), also shows India's arms imports
remain three times greater than those of its rivals China and Pakistan. Its
biggest suppliers are Russia, the US, Israel and France.
- Former Chief Justice of
India Justice
Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu (H L Dattu) was On February23, 2016
selected as the next Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission.
- The post had been lying
vacant since May 11 last year, when Mr. K.G. Balakrishnan demitted office after
his five-year term.
- Justice Cyriac Joseph had
been functioning as the acting chairperson since then.
- Indian-origin Sikh Amar Singh has been appointed as the Police Commissioner ofMalaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur.
- This is reportedly the
highest police rank achieved by a member of the Sikh community in the
Muslim-majority country.
- Singh, a third-generation
policeman, was previously a Deputy Commissioner in Kuala Lumpur and headed the
Criminal Investigation Department in Malaysia's Klang.
- Metropolitan Stock
Exchange of India (formerly MCX Stock Exchange) has appointed its interim Managing
Director & CEO Udai Kumar as MD & CEO after receiving necessary approvals from securities regulator
SEBI.
- Distinguished scientist KN Vyas has been appointed as Director of Bhabha Atomic
Research Centre (BARC) for a term of three years.
- Italy’s Sara Errani defeated Czech Republic’s
Barbora Strycova to clinch the WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships women’s singles title.
- Ukraine’s Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
Football Club (FC) has won the 2016 Sait Nagjee International Club Football
Tournament.
- With this victory, Dnipro
Dnipropetrovsk became first European team to win this prestigious Football tournament held in India.
- India’s Kumaravel Prem Kumar has won a silver medal in
long jump event on the final day of Asian Indoor Athletics Championships held in Doha.
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