National
• The Union Ministry of Women & Child Development has clarified that Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (B3P) Scheme has no provision for individual cash transfer component.
• The Union Cabinet has given its approval for introduction of The Indian Institutes of Information Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2017 in Parliament.
• The Union government has formed a six-member committee to study the ways to improve India’s Haj policy and look into the issue of subsidy to the pilgrimage in light of a 2012 Supreme Court order on gradually reducing and abolishing it by 2022.
• Assam Government has launched Chief Minister Samagra Gramya Unnayan Yojana (CMSGUY) to bring about paradigm shift towards holistic development of villages in the state.
• The Union Ministry of Railways and Italy’s public sector rail company Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane Group (FS Group) has signed MoU for technical cooperation in rail sector especially in the area of safety and modernisation.
• Indian Navy has launched an Integrated Underwater Harbour Defence and Surveillance System (IUHDSS) in Mumbai, Maharashtra to enhance the security of valuable naval assets against asymmetric threats.
• According to new census carried out by the Odisha State Forest and Environment department in 2016, as many as 181 Irrawaddy dolphins have been sighted in the state.
• The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched Measles Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign in the country at Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) under the Department of Revenue, Union Ministry of Finance has entered into four more unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs).
• The Lok Sabha has passed the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill, 2017 to enable employers to pay wages to workers through cheque or directly crediting to their accounts.
• The Union Cabinet has been apprised of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of Cooperation in the field of Science and Technology and innovation.
• The Union Cabinet has been apprised of the Framework Agreement between India and Vietnam on cooperation in the exploration and uses of outer space for peaceful purposes.
• Arunachal Pradesh became the first state in the northeast to implement e-Cabinet solution for the state cabinet members.
• The Union Government has turned down the recommendation of Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee to come up with a new law for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) .
• Karnataka Assembly has passed Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2017 to allow kambala, the traditional buffalo race and bullock-cart racing.
• The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has planned to develop large deposits of uranium found in Meghalaya to tap its potential to generate substantial nuclear fuel for atomic power plants in the country.
• India’s first floating elementary school named Loktak Elementary Floating School was inaugurated at Langolsabi Leikai of Champu Khangpok floating village on Loktak Lake in Manipur.
• The Supreme Court has clarified that there is no need to stand inside a cinema hall when the national anthem is featured as a part of a film, documentary or a newsreel.
• According to a new study of global air pollution India’s rapidly worsening air pollution is now surpassing China’s as the deadliest in the world.
• The Ministry of Mines has launched Transparency, Auction Monitoring and Resource Augmentation (TAMRA) Portal and Mobile Application to ensure transparent award of statutory Clearances for mining operations.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved to award contract in 31 contract areas of small oil and gas fields belonging to ONGC and Oil India Limited (OIL) The contract areas include 44 fields, 28 inland and 16 offshore.
• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved establishment of Food Legumes Research Platform (FLRP) at Amlaha in Sehore, Madhya Pradesh with Satellite Hubs in West Bengal and Rajasthan.
• India has joined Network for Improving Quality of Care for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, a global health network focused on improving the quality of care for new mothers and babies.
• The Indian Airforce (IAG) has formally inducted the first indigenously built Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&C) dubbed as NETRA.
• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has constituted a Panel on Food Fortification and Nutrition to identify critical nutritional gaps in the Indian diet in general and also in specific target groups.
• The Supreme Court has introduced Middle Income Group Scheme, (MIGS) a self-supporting scheme for providing legal services to the middle and relatively lower income groups.
• Maharashtra Government has approved Rs. 250 crore Cloud Seeding Programme during 2017 monsoon season to produce sufficient rain.
• Indian Navy’s second ocean-going sailboat INSV Tarini was inducted at the INS Mandovi Boat Pool on Saturday in Goa. INSV Tarini is a sloop built by Divar-based Aquarius Shipyard.
• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully ground tested India’s largest indigenously developed Cryogenic Upper Stage engine for GSLV Mark III.
• India’s vaccine regulatory body NRAI (National Regulatory Authority of India) was given the maximum ratings by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for vaccine regulations.
• Indian Coast Guard Ship ICGS AYUSH was commissioned at Kochi, Kerala by Vice Admiral AR Karwe, Flag Officer Commanding-in- Chief, Southern Naval Command.
• According to scientists from Goa based National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), India’s only live volcano at Barren Island in the Andaman and Nicobar has become active again.
• The Union Ministry of Textiles and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment have signed MoU to step up interventions for the welfare and economic development of scheduled caste artisans.
• The Union Government has announced the expansion of rotavirus vaccine in five additional states under Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP).
• The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has released the new format for recording and reporting road accident data.
• The Gujarat Assembly has passed Gujarat Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2017.
• The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched SAATHIYA Resource Kit and SAATHIYA SALAH mobile app for adolescents as part of the Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) programme.
• The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has launched Cyber Swachhta Kendra in New Delhi for Botnet cleaning and Malware analysis.
• The National Biodiversity Congress (NBC) 2017 was held in Thiruvananthapuram, capital of Kerala. The event is hosted by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board.
• The first Strategic Dialogue between India and China was held in Beijing, capital of China to shore up bilateral ties.
• Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the signing of Air Services Agreement (ASA) between India and Greece. At present there is no ASA between India and Greece.
• The Union Cabinet has given its approval for signing of an Agreement between India and Poland on cooperation in the field of agriculture and allied sectors.
• The Union Ministry of Urban Development approved development of 6 km long Bet Dwarka Darshan Circuit in Gujarat under Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY).
• Indian Railways has unveiled Antyodaya Express, a new train for the unreserved passengers.
• Sikkim became 22nd state in the country to join Union Government’s Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY).
• The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved a deal to jointly develop a medium range surface-to-air missile (MR-SAM) system for Army with help of Israel.
International
• The two-day meeting of SAARC Programming Committee was held in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal.
• The fourth edition of BIMSTEC Summit-2017 will be held in Nepal. It was announced in the 17th session of BIMSTEC Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) held in Kathmandu, capital Nepal.
• The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), a United Nations agricultural agency has called for International collaboration on wheat rust to curb threat to global supplies.
• The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel has kept the key policy rates unchanged.
• Scientists from Japan have developed terahertz (THz) transmitter technology, a next generation system which can transmit digital data over 10 times faster than 5G mobile networks.
• India and Rwanda have inked three agreements in the fields of innovation, aviation and visa requirements to boost bilateral relations.
Business and Economy
• Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget Speech 2017-18 announced corpus of Rs 500 crore for setting up Mahila Shakti Kendras in the 14 lakh ICDS Anganwadi Centres at village level.
• The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) jointly launched India Innovation Index. Besides country’s first innovation index portal was also launched.
• The Income Tax Department (ITD) launched Operation Clean Money (Swachh Dhan Abhiyan), an e-platform to analyse large cash deposits made during the demonetisation window (9 November to 30 December 2016) .
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to set up an inter-disciplinary Standing Committee on cyber security to examine various threats and suggest measures to deal with it.
• India will make a presentation on the proposed Trade Facilitation in Services (TFS) Agreement to World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director General Roberto Azevedo and India Inc.
• The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry has launched pilot Revenue Insurance Scheme for Plantation Crops (RISPC) for protecting the growers from the risks such as pest attacks, yield loss and income decline caused by fall in prices.
• Anil Ambani group led Reliance Defence and Engineering Limited (RDEL) has signed a Master Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA) with the US Navy to provide repair and alteration services for ships of the Seventh Fleet.
• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has opened a first-of-its-kind South Asia Training and Technical Assistance Centre (SARTTAC) in New Delhi for economic capacity building in South Asia.
• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the merger of State Bank of India (SBI) with five of its associate/subsidiary banks.
• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved introduction of Bill in Parliament to extend the jurisdiction of the Collection of Statistics Act, 2008 to Jammu & Kashmir.
• India was ranked 143rd out of 186 economies in the annual Index of Economic Freedom 2017 that measures the degree of economic freedom in the countries of the world.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has permitted multilateral and regional financial institutions (FIs) to invest in ‘masala bonds’, rupee denominated bonds issued by Indian entities.
• The GST Council has approved a law to compensate states for any loss of revenue from the implementation of the new nationwide indirect taxation regime.
• The Union Government has launched Bharat QR code, a quick response (QR) code to enable digital payments without card swiping machines.
• The Union Defence Ministry has given its nod to the Phase II of coastal surveillance project to expand the coastal radar surveillance network.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the enhancement of capacity from 20,000 MW to 40,000 MW of the Scheme for Development of Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved investment for the generation component of 900-MW Arun 3 hydropower project for an estimated Rs. 5723.72 crore ($854.4 million).
• The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has launched a mobile application for Goods and Services Tax (GST) to inform the taxpayers of the latest updates on GST.
• The Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in Goods of World Trade Organisation (WTO) came into effect with its ratification by two-thirds members of WTO including India. The TFA in Goods was adopted by the WTO Members in 2014.
Sports
• Sourabh Verma has won the men’s singles title in the 81st Senior National Badminton Championships tournament.
Awards
• Dr P Raghu Ram, President of Association of Breast Surgeons of India was awarded prestigious Dr B C Roy national award for outstanding service in the field of socio-medical relief for 2016.
• The 70th British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards ceremony was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London. This year the BAFTA awards were conferred for the outstanding performances in films and documentaries screened at British Cinemas in 2016.
• The 59th Annual Grammy Awards were announced by the Recording Academy announced at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
• Renowned Hindi Scholar, litterateur and playwright Surendra Verma (75) was selected for the prestigious Vyas Samman 2016.
Science and Technology
• NASA’s solar-powered Juno spacecraft completed closest flyby of Jupiter mysterious cloud tops for the fourth time.
• Scientists for the first time have successfully implanted world’s smallest pacemaker dubbed as Micra Transcatheter Pacing System (TPS) in a patient in United States.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has indigenously developed Telemetry & Telecommand Processor (TTCP) and its productionisation will be initiated with the help of Indian industry.
• Scientists for the first time have found high levels of human-made pollutants, including chemicals that were banned in the 1970s, in the tissues of marine creatures dwelling in the deepest oceans of the Earth.
• Scientists have developed novel rubber like material nicknamed ‘thubber’ which has high thermal conductivity and elasticity.
• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) created history by successfully launching a record 104 satellites in single mission.
• Scientists from University of Western Australia have successfully mapped three-dimensional molecular structure of EptA protein that shields superbugs from antibiotics.
• Scientists from Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) have made world’s strongest material graphene commercially more viable by using soybean.
• Geologists have claimed discovery of new geological continent named Zealandia submerged beneath the south-west Pacific Ocean.
• Researchers from US based Michigan State University have developed the first stretchable integrated circuit (IC) made entirely using an inkjet printer. This elastic material is made up of several materials fabricated from nanomaterials and organic compounds.
• Scientists have discovered four new species of miniature night frogs no bigger than a human thumbnail in Western Ghats, a global biodiversity hotspot.
• Astronomers from NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) for the first time have discovered seven new Earth-sized exoplanets that may be able to sustain life.
New Appointments
• Edappadi K Palaniswamy was sworn in as the 13th chief minister of Tamil Nadu.
• Shurhozelie Liezitsu (81) was sworn-in as the 17th Chief Minister of Nagaland. He was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor PB Acharya at a ceremony in the state capital Kohima.
Special Days
• The World Cancer Day (WCD) is observed every year on 4 February across the world to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment.
• The World Day of Social Justice is observed every year on February 20 to recognize the need to promote efforts to tackle issues such as poverty, exclusion and unemployment.
• International Mother Language Day (Bhasha Divas) is being observed across the world on 21 February.
Current Affairs Round Up Bullet Points, November, 2016 Current Affairs Round Up Bullet Points, December, 2016
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