IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF FEBRUARY 10, 2017

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF FEBRUARY 10, 2017

1. National Women’s Parliament begins in Amaravati

• Today, India’s first a-political three days National Women’s Parliament (NWP) has begun in the new capital of Andhra PradeshAmaravati.
• The theme of the conference is 'Empowering Women - Strengthening Democracy'.
• The conclave will be a common platform for women from diverse backgrounds like politics, arts and culture, sports, education, industry, media, cinema, judiciary and social sector to share their knowledge and research in the area of women's social, economic and political empowerment.

2. Govt. decides to open 56 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras

• The union Government has decided to open 56 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSK) at different locations in many states for delivering passport related services to the public.
• The states include Delhi, Assam, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana and West Bengal.
• Last month the External Affairs Ministry and the Department of Posts has announced their decision to utilize the Head Post Officesin the various States as POPSK.
• The objective of this partnership is to extend passport services on a larger scale and to ensure wider area coverage.
• Earlier, the project was started on a pilot basis at Mysore (Karnataka) and Dahod (Gujarat). 

3. President inaugurates 1st phase of solarization project in President’s Estate

• The savings in electricity bills resulting from this project is expected to be more than 80 lakh rupees per year.
• Under this project, 670 KW of solar power will be generated throughrooftop solar panels installed on seven buildings at the President’s Estate.
• Today, President Pranab Mukherjee has inaugurated the first phase of a solarisation project at the President’s Estate to make more energy efficient.

4. Govt. makes Aadhaar card mandatory for subsidized food grains from PDS

• The Department of Food and Public Distribution has issued a notification, Aadhaar card mandatory for receiving subsidized food grains from all PDS shops. 
• Now, individual beneficiaries having Ration Cards to furnishingAadhaar number or undergo Aadhaar authentication to receivesubsidies under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). 
• Those who do not have Aadhaar number (or not enrolled for Aadhaar) can make application Aadhaar enrolment by 30th of June 2017. 
• The entitlements will be given on production of Ration Card and either Aadhaar Enrollment ID slip or copy of his/her request made to State Govt for Aadhaar Enrollment along with any of the 8 documents including Voter ID Card, PAN, Passport, Driving License.

 5. Dr. Harsh Vardhan releases Braille Atlas for visually impaired persons in New Delhi

• Today, The Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhanhas released Braille Atlas for visually impaired persons in New Delhi.
• The Atlas will be distributed free of cost to various schools across the country for educating the students with visual challenges.
• About 20 maps on different themes of physical, socio-economic and cultural aspects of the country have been incorporated in the Atlas.

6. 640th Parkash Utsav of Sri Guru Ravidas is being celebrated today

• Today, the birth anniversary of Sri Guru Ravidass (640^th- Parkash Utsav) is being celebrated specially in Punjab and Haryana.
• All the Gurudwaras and Guru Ravidas temples have been decorated tastefully, large number of devotees are visiting there.

Note:

• Guru Ravidas (1377-1527 C.E.) was a famous saint of the Bhakti Movement. His devotional songs and verses made a lasting impact upon the Bhakti Movement. Guru Ravidas is also known as Raidas, Rohidas and Ruhidas.

7. Paris to erect wall of bulletproof glass around Eiffel Tower

• The Mayor of Paris (France) has announced the erection of a 5meter wall of bulletproof glass around the Eiffel Tower due to security reason.
• The new security measure is meant to protect France’s mostrecognizable symbol in the event of a terrorist threat.
• Around 6-million people visit the Eiffel Tower every year and it is globally recognized as a symbol of France, and Paris.

Note:

• The Eiffel Tower is a wrought iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France.
• It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.
• The tower is 324 metres (1,063 ft) tall and its base is square, measuring 125 meters (410 ft) on each side.

 8. RBI to set up separate Enforcement Department

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to set up separate Enforcement Department (ED) to effectively monitor banks in case they violate regulations and speed up regulatory compliance.
• The department will be operational from 1^st April, 2017
• It will mainly deal with the penalties imposed on banks for violation of norms.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also decided to set up an inter-disciplinary Standing Committee on cyber security to examine various threats and suggest measure to deal with it.

Note:

• The three important facets (regulation, surveillance and enforcement) of financial sector oversight mechanism.
• Regulations determine the framework in which financial entities function so that prudence, transparency, and comparability are ensured on the one hand and customer interests are protected on the other.
• Surveillance is the process through which adherence to the regulations is monitored.
• Enforcement deals with cases of non-compliance with regulations noticed either through the surveillance process or otherwise.

9. Govt appoints 3 non-official directors on RBI central board

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed three part-time non-official Directors Ashok Gulati, Manish Sabharwal and Rajiv Kumar on the Central Board for a four-year term.
• The ACC has also approved the proposal of Department of Financial Services for the appointment of three Members, Prasanna Kumar Mohanty (Southern Local Board), Vallabh Roopchand Bhanshali(Western Local Board) and Sunil Mitra (Eastern Local Board) of the Local Board of RBI.

 10. MRI pioneer Sir Peter Mansfield passes away

• The Nobel laureate English physicist Sir Peter Mansfield (83-year) has passed away.
• Mansfield was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 2003, along with late American chemist Paul Lauterbur, for discovering Magnetic Resonance Imaging(MRI).
• MRI uses magnetic fields, radio waves, and field gradients to detect damage, such as cancer, in various parts of the body.
• The high-tech scans allow doctors to see detailed images of the internal     organs without the use of X-rays, and more than 60 million investigations using the technique take place each year.

11. Shawna Pandya to become third Indian-origin Woman to fly in Space

• An Indian-origin neurosurgeon currently based in Canada Shawna Pandya (32-year) has been shortlisted by r NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) for its 2018 space mission under the Citizen Science Astronaut (CSA) programme.
• She may join the league of Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams.

Note:

• Dr. Pandya completed her B.Sc in neuroscience at the University of Alberta, followed by MSc in space sciences at International Space University. T
• hereafter, she did her MD in Medicine from University of Alberta.
• She then applied for medical school as well as for the space program at the same time.

 12. Virat Kohli becomes first Test batsman to score four double centuries in four consecutive series

• Indian Skipper Virat Kohli has become the first batsman to score double centuries in four successive Test series surpassing legendary Sir Donald Bradman and Rahul Dravid.
• Kohli's double tons came in the series against the West Indies, New Zealand, England and now Bangladesh.
• Today, He scored 204 runs on the second day of the one-off Testagainst Bangladesh at Hyderabad.
• Sir Bradman and Rahul Dravid achieved the feat in three successive series.