National
•The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India issued the 'Prohibition of Discriminatory Tariffs for Data Services Regulations, 2016' that bars service providers from offerring or charging discriminatory tariffs for data services on the basis of content.
•The Indian Coast Guard has proposed to induct 38 more aircraft and helicopters into its fleet by 2020.
•Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories’ U.S. subsidiary Promius Pharma LLC has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for Sernivo (betamethasone dipropionate) spray (0.05%), a product used in the treatment of psoriasis.
•The Union Health Ministry has cleared an amendment to a law, which, if cleared by Parliament, will allow the Medical Council of India to conduct a single, common entrance test for admissions for undergraduate and post-graduate medical courses across the country.
•Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas (MoPNG) has released the Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for north-east India.
•Bihar Government has passed a proposal for Patna Metro, the cost of which is estimated to be Rs 16,960 Crore.
•In the U.S. Chamber of Commerce-International Intellectual Property Index, India ranked 37 out of 38 countries, with only Venezuela scoring lower.
•As per recently released Index of Internet Readiness of Indian States (IIRIS) report, Maharashtra has topped in terms of the overall Internet readiness index.
•The Union Ministry of Railways has launched 3 IT (Information Technology) enabled apps to bring transparency in Indian Railways on the sidelines of Digital India initiative. These are Hand Held Terminals for TTEs, Paperless unreserved ticketing mobile application and E-booking of disposable linen on trains.
•India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed 9 bilateral agreements covering cooperation in the various sectors.
•The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has declared Wild Pig (sus scrofa) as vermin in Uttarakhand for a year.
•Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda has released the National Framework for Malaria Elimination (NFME) 2016-2030 at New Delhi.
•A new study has claimed that a natural extract derived from the Neem tree can potentially be used to treat pancreatic cancer without harming normal, healthy cells.
International
•Iran awarded medals of honour to its nuclear negotiators who helped clinch a landmark deal with world powers last year.
•The 9th edition of India-Nepal Combined Military Exercise Surya Kiran IX has commenced at Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand.
•A UN panel has proposed long-sought greenhouse gas emissions standards for airliners and cargo planes.
•The Hindu minority community in Pakistan will soon have a marriage law as a parliamentary panel has unanimously approved the Hindu Marriage Bill.
•United States President Barack Obama has unveiled a cyber-security national action plan to boost security awareness amid of growing risks from new technologies.
•The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and European Union (EU) have signed an agreement to improve Cooperation in Cyber Defence to counter modern forms of hybrid warfare.
•The UAE’s national oil company Abu Dhabi National Oil (ADNOC) Company has agreed to store crude oil in India’s maiden Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs) storage.
Business and Economy
•The Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the certificate of registration of four non-banking financial companies.
•Flipkart's head of commerce and advertising business Mukesh Bansal has quit.
•India’s third largest IT exporter Wipro Limited has acquired US based healthcare technology firm HealthPlan Services for US 460 million dollars.
•Facebook India Managing Director Kirthiga Reddy today stepped down from her current role and will relocate to the US.
•Bank of Baroda &ndash the country’s second largest lender &ndash reported a Rs.3,342 crore loss during the Oct-Dec quarter.This is the highest-ever quarter loss posted by an Indian lender.
Awards
•Karnataka’s flagship mobile-one governance application has won gold medal at the fourth World Government Summit in Dubai, UAE in the m-governance awards category.
•Vinita Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, and Nilesh Gupta, Managing Director, Lupin Ltd. have been chosen the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2015.
Sports
•Joshna Chinappa clinched the gold in women’s individual squash after beating Maria Toorpaki Wazir of Pakistan.
•India, the overall champion over all the 11 previous editions of the South Asian Games, crossed a historic milestone of winning its 1,000th gold in the Games.
•Cricket to introduce Red and Yellow cards, In a development which could have far-reaching consequences, misbehaving cricketers will be sent off or immediately penalised five runs under new rules being trialled by the MCC.
New Appointments
•TERI Chief R K Pachauri was appointed Executive Vice Chairman of the green body after new Director General Ajay Mathur took over the charge from him.
•Indian-origin Harinder Sidhu has been appointed as Australian High Commissioner to India. She replaces outgoing High Commissioner Patrick Suckling.
•Indian-origin lawyer Davinder Singh (58) has been named as Vice-Chairman of International Chamber of Commerce Commission (ICC) on Corporate Responsibility and Anti-corruption.
•Tamar Hahn from Israel has been appointed as the Director of United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
•The government has appointed 1982 batch Bihar cadre IAS officer Ramesh Abhishek as the next Secretary to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in the Commerce and Industry Ministry that spearheads the Make In India and Startup India programmes.
Death
•Renowned Urdu and Hindi poet Nida Fazli, 78, died in Mumbai. Fazli is famous for his collaboration with the late ghazal singer Jagjit Singh.
•Former Prime Minister of Nepal and Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala passed away due to Pneumonia. He was 79.
•Uttar Pradesh Panchayati Raj Minister Kailash Yadav passed away in Gurgaon after reportedly suffering a brain stroke. He was 65.
•Pulitzer winning composer Leslie Bassett passed away on 4 February 2016 in Oakwood, Georgia. He was 93.
•Soviet football legend Anatoly Ilyin passed away in Moscow, Russia. He was 84.
•Biraja Prasad, who was posted recently as Ambassador to Tajikistan, passed away.
Day of the Week
•10 February is observed as National Deworming Day to combat parasitic worm infections among preschool and school-age children across India.
•World Radio Day (WRD) is observed globally on 13th February to remember the unique power of radio that touches lives and bring people together across every corner of the globe.
Current Affairs 16th February, 2016 Current Affairs Question and Answers Round Up January. Current Affairs Round up January, 2016.
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