Daily GK Update 01st Feb

Daily GK Update 01st Feb , 2017
Basant Panchami is being celebrated today (01st February 2017)

i.Basant Panchami is being celebrated today (1 February 2017). The festival marks the beginning
of the spring season. The festival is celebrated every year on the fifth day of the month of
'Magha'. Basant means spring and Panchami means "the fifth day".
ii.On this day, Hindus wearing yellow clothes visit temples and pray to Goddess Saraswati the
goddess of knowledge, and celebrate the day as Saraswati Puja. Schools and educational
institutes celebrate Saraswati Puja. Kite flying competitions will also be held. iii.The festival is
mostly celebrated mostly in northern states of Punjab and Bihar.In Allahabad, Basant Panchami
bathing is taking place at the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna and other Ghats of holy rivers
from this morning. Besides elaborate arrangements for the bathing, security has been tightened at
the Sangam area. Police and paramilitary forces are keeping vigil and drones and CCTV cameras
have been put into service in the area.
Fiscal deficit reaches 94% of the budget estimate

i.Fiscal deficit in the first nine months of 2016-17 touched 93(point)9 per cent of the Budget
estimate. The fiscal deficit had stood at 87.9% in the corresponding nine months a year ago. The
fiscal deficit is the gap between expenditure and revenue.
ii.According to data released by the Controller General of Accounts, tax revenue was 71.4% of
the full-year budget estimate. Total expenditure, Plan and Non-Plan, was 74.3% of the
government's full-year estimate. The revenue deficit during April-December 2016 stood at
100.1% of the budget estimate.
Rajasthan, Telangana bag eGov awards

i.This year (2017), under the State category, Rajasthan and Telangana emerged Winners of
Excellence while the Award of Recognition went to Odisha and Nagaland.
ii.Instituted by the Computer Society of India’s (CSI) Special Interest Group with sponsorship
from Nihilent Technologies, these awards help recognise the efforts of eGovernance practitioners
from across central and state departments, projects and in district administrative units as well.
Railway Ministry Requests Separate Fund for Rashtriya Rail Safety Fund
i.The Ministry of Railway has proposed the Finance Ministry to create a non-lapsable safety fund
named ‘Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh’ over five years with initial corpus of Rs. 20000 crore
and contribute a portion to fund it in the Budget 2017 .
ii.The decision to set up the safety fund is based on the recommendation of a high-level safety
review committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Anil Kakodkar, former chairman of Atomic
Energy Commission.
SAARC programming committee meeting begins in Kathmandu

i.The programming committee meeting of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC) has began at Kathmandu.Senior officials of all eight member countries are
participating in the meeting.
ii.Indian delegation is lead by Shri Prashant Agarwal, Joint Secretary (SAARC).During the two
day meeting number of issues including budget of SAARC secretariat and its 5 regional centres
and regular activities of the Associtation will be discussed.
iii.This is the first senior level meeting of Association since postponement of 19th SAARC
Summit in November last year. Nepal, the current chair of SAARC had postpone the summit
after Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh and India had decided to boycott SAARC summit
scheduled in Islamabad last year.
Ministry of Defence to Set up Rs 1500 cr Defence Unit in Madhya Pradesh

i.The Union Minister for Panchayati Raj and Rural Development, Narendra Singh Tomar stated
that the Ministry of Defence is set to open its Defence Unit in Morena district of Madhya
Pradesh.
ii.The unit would be set up in Kailaras and Sabalgarh tehsil areas and span over 969.735 hectare
of land at a cost of Rs. 1500 crore.
E-Paathsala Launches Unique Technology-Backed Services for Educational Institutions in

India
Bangalore based Start-up firm E-paathsala has launched an integrated accreditation and ERP
technology solution for the colleges and universities to enable them better manage their multiple
accreditation standards in an easy, efficient and fast manner and bridge the gap identified for
specific accreditations.
Income Tax Department (ITD) launches Operation Clean Money

i.Income Tax Department (ITD) lead by Sushil Chandra has launched Operation Clean Money
to verify the cash deposited in the banks during November 9th to December 30th 2016.
ii.An online Verification process will be carried out by comparing the demonetisation data
CBDT with information in ITD databases. This information will be available at the
portal https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in.
iii.The PAN holder can view the information using the link ‘Cash Transactions 2016’ under
‘Compliance’ section of the portal.
Textile Ministry Inaugurates Meghalaya’s First Ever Apparel and Garment Centre at
Ampati
i.Meghalaya’s first ever Apparel and Garment Making Centre was inaugurated on January 30,
2017 jointly by Union Textiles Minister Smriti Zubin Irani and Chief Minister of Meghalaya Dr.
Mukul Sangma near Ampati in South West Garo Hills.
ii.The centre would enable to create job opportunity for both men and women of the region and
make them economically empowered.The facility has been set up in an area of 45,000 sq feet at
an approximate cost of Rs 14.26 crore. It has been set up under North East Region Textiles
Promotion Scheme (NERTPS).
Lakshmi Vilas Bank Partners with Fisdom for Mission FINFIT

i.The private sector lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank in partnership with Bangalore based fin-tech
startup firm Fisdom, has launched a mobile application Mission FINFIT to offer the customers of
the bank financial planning and personal wealth management services based on Robo advisory.
ii.The mobile app would enable the customer of the bank to plan their finances in an effective
manner using the online platform for wealth management thus encouraging them to invest
smarter.
ICRA Estimates Banks Credit Growth to Remain Subdued at 5-6% in FY17

i.As per the report of the rating agency, ICRA, the bank credit growth rate is likely to float
between 5-6% in the current fiscal year (2017).
ii.The reason cited includes weak loan demand as the rate of return offered by debt market is
better in comparison to banks.Besides, the deposit rate was also projected to drop to 12% from
the current 14.7% this fiscal ending March 2017 due to better cash flow in the system and cut in
the deposit rate by the banks.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh Presents 2016 National Entrepreneurship Awards
i.The First ever National Entrepreneurship Awards 2016 was presented by the Union Home
Minister Shri Rajnath Singh at Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi on January 30, 2017.
ii.Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Minister of State (I/C) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
was the guest of honour on the occasion.The National Entrepreneurship Awards was instituted
by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MoSDE) to recognize and honor the
entrepreneurial spirit of India’s youth and encourage more and more young Indians to become
entrepreneur.
iii.The awards were given in 11 different categories divided into two groups: Award Track and
Recognition Track.
UNICEF launches 3.3 bln USD to aid millions of children

i.UN children's agency UNICEF has launched an appeal for 3.3 billion US Dollar to help 48
million children caught up in crises worldwide amid fears of a funding cut from top donor the
United States. This year's appeal represents a 18% increase from the initial request for funding in
2016.
ii. Donors contribute to the appeals on a voluntary basis. The United States is by far the top
donor to UNICEF, followed by Germany, Britain and the European Commission. According to
UNICEF, Almost one in four of the world's children now lives in a country affected by conflict
or disaster.
Alok Verma takes charge as new CBI Director

i.Former Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Verma today took charge as the new CBI Director.
He will hold the charge of the premier investigating agency for a period of two years.
ii. A 1979-batch IPS officer, Mr Verma was selected by a three-member committee comprising
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice J S?Khehar and Senior Congress leader
Mallikarjun Kharge.
Moussa Faki Mahamat appointed as new African Union AU head

Chadian foreign affairs minister Moussa Faki Mahamat has been elected as the head of AU
Head the African Union Commission. He will replace Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
US House of Representatives Introduces H-1B Visa Reform Bill

i.The US House of Representatives has introduced a legislation on January 30, 2017 making it
mandatory to raise the minimum salary of the H-1B visa holders to more than double at USD
1,30,000 from the previous USD 60,000.
ii.If the legislation is passed, it would highly impact American companies as they may face
difficulty in replacing the American employees with foreign workers including IT professionals
from India.
iii.The High-Skilled Integrity and Fairness Act of 2017 introduced by California Congressman
Zoe Lofgren prioritises
Ireland became the world’s first country to stop investing in fossil fuels
Ireland has become the first country in the world to divest coal, oil and gas investments from
Ireland Strategic Investment Fund.The bill was passed in the Irish parliament by gaining 53 votes
out of 90. It was introduced by Deputy Thomas Pringle.
Former Minister E Ahamed Dies After Suffering Cardiac Arrest

Former Union Minister E Ahamed, who collapsed in parliament, has died. He was 78. Mr
Ahamed was admitted at Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital after he suffered a cardiac
arrest while both houses of parliament were being jointly addressed by President Pranab
Mukherjee
Daily GK Update 02nd February , 2017

Govt to launch TIES to fund export infrastructure
i. A new scheme will be introduced by Govt of India to create infrastructure for exports, a move
aimed at reducing transaction costs for traders. A new and restructured central scheme with a
focus on export infrastructure namely Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) will be
launched in 2017-18.
ii. Indian exporters face huge challenges in terms of infrastructure, particularly in
states.Inadequate infrastructure pushes their transactions costs, impacting competitiveness of
Indian goods in the global markets.Exporters body Federation of Indian Export Organisations
(FIEO) said the scheme will help create modern infrastructure like last mile connectivity to ports,
testing labs and certification centres.
Agri credit raised to record Rs 10 lakh crore in Financial Year 2018

i. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced a whopping Rs 1 lakh crore hike in the credit target
for the next financial year to Rs 10 lakh crore as part of the government's efforts to double farm
incomes in the next five years.
ii. The target for agricultural credit in 2017-18 has been fixed at a record level of Rs 10 lakh
crore, Jaitley stated in his Budget speech.The government provides short-term crop loans up to
Rs 3 lakh at subsidised interest rate of 7% per annum.
iii. An additional incentive of 3% is provided to farmers for prompt repayment of loans within
due date, making an effective interest rate for them at 4%. The Finance Minister noted that the
agriculture sector is expected to grow at 4.1% during the current financial year on good
monsoon. Sowing of both kharif and rabi crops has been higher.
iv. Jaitley said the allocation for new crop insurance scheme 'Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima
Yojana', which was launched in 2016, has been increased to Rs 13,240 crore this financial year
from budgeted Rs 5,500 crore. The allocation for the next financial year has been earmarked at
Rs 9,000 crore.
Govt to set up dairy development fund with corpus of Rs 8,000 cr

i.To augment income of farmers budget has proposed setting-up of a Dairy Processing and
Infrastructure Development Fund with a corpus of Rs 8,000 crores over three years.
ii.Dairy is an important source of additional income for the farmers. A Dairy Processing and
Infrastructure Development Fund would be set-up in NABARD with a corpus of Rs 8,000 crores
over 3 years stated Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during his budget speech, 2017.
Rs. 10,000 cr allocated for PSB recapitalisation

i.The Union Budget has allocated Rs. 10,000 crore towards recapitalisation of public sector
banks in FY2017-18.
ii.Under Indradhanush roadmap announced in 2015, the government stated to infuse Rs. 70,000
crore in state banks over four years while they will have to raise a further Rs. 1.1 lakh crore from
the markets to meet their capital requirement in line with global risk norms, known as Basel III.
iii.In line with the blueprint, public sector banks has been given Rs. 25,000 crore in each fiscal,
2015-16 and 2016-17. Besides, Rs. 10,000 crore each would be infused in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
Govt proposes Payments Regulatory Board in RBI
i. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has proposed creation of a six-member Payments Regulatory
Board in the RBI, headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel as part of bringing about structural
reforms in the payment eco-system.
ii. For the purpose, necessary amendments are proposed in the Finance Bill 2017 to create a
Payments Regulatory Board in the Reserve Bank of India by replacing the existing Board for
Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems.
iii.In his Budget Speech, Jaitley stated a Committee on Digital Payments constituted by
Department of Economic Affairs has recommended structural reforms in the payment eco
system, including amendments to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
Air India to get Rs. 1,800 cr from govt in 2017-2018

i. National carrier Air India will receive Rs 1,800 crore as equity infusion in 2017-18 under the
government’s ongoing financial assistance and the amount is slightly higher than the allocation
for 2016-2017.
ii. The allocation has been made in the Union Budget for 2017-18, which was presented by
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.For 2016-17, the government had allocated Rs 1,713 crore to the
airline against a demand of Rs 3,911 crore.The government-owned airline has been allocated Rs
1,800 crore as part of the Rs 30,0231 crore financial bailout package.
Budget 2017 pushes Nifty above 8,700 for 1st time since October 25, 2016
i. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced in his Budget 2017 speech with Nifty50 reclaiming
its crucial 8,700 mark for the first time since October 25, 2016, while S&P BSE Sensex ended
comfortably above its key 28,000 level.
ii. To the relief of investors, Jaitley made no reference to long-term capital gains tax on equities
and also set a comfortable fiscal deficit target of 3.2% for the fiscal year 2017-18. The Sensex
closed the day at 28,141 up 486 points while Nifty50 settled at 8,716 up 155 points.
Arun jaitley unveils education reforms, to set up National Testing Agency
i. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley unleashed measures to revamp the country's education system,
including setting up of a National Testing Agency to conduct all entrance examinations for
higher education institutions.
ii. Unveiling the budgetary proposals for 2017-18 in Parliament, Jaitley stated that government
proposes to establish a National Testing Agency as an autonomous and self-sustained premier
testing organisation to conduct all entrance examinations for higher education institutions.
iii.This would free CBSE, AICTE and other premier institutions from these administrative
responsibilities so that they can focus more on academics.The government proposes to leverage
information technology and launch the SWAYAM platform with at least 350 online courses.
Surajkund International Crafts Mela Kicked off in Faridabad, 20 countries to participate

i. The 31st edition of Surajkund International Crafts Mela started with amid tight security.To be
inaugurated by Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, the carnival is a 15-day affair in
faridabad, Haryana.
ii. Over 20 countries are participating in the event with Egypt as a partner country this year, 2017
and Jharkhand as the theme state. Every year, one country becomes the partner country ands an
Indian state is selected to set the theme of the mela.
British PM Theresa May receives UK Parliament's approval to begin Brexit process

i.UK Prime Minister Theresa May has received Parliament's first stage approval to begin the
process of Britain's exit from the European Union (EU) after winning a crucial vote in the House
of Commons last night.
ii. British MPs voted in favour of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill.498 MPs
voted in favour of Brexit Bill, while 114 voted against it.
Researchers Discover Oldest Human Ancestor

i. Researchers have discovered microscopic sea animal Saccorhytus, the earliest known ancestor
of humans along with a vast range of other species.
ii. The exquisitely well preserved fossilised traces of this 540-million-year-old creature were
discovered.
iii. This balloon-like sea is the earliest known step on the evolutionary path that led to fish and
eventually to humans
Daily GK Update 03rd February, 2017

Rs 10,000 penalty for late filing of income tax returns
i. As with the presentation of the Union Budget 2017, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has made it
easier for the small tax-payers, the budget has however proposed a fee for delayed filing of
income tax return. If the income tax return is furnished after the due date but on or before the
December 31 of the assessment year, there will be a fine of Rs 5,000 imposed. In other cases,
there will be an imposition of a fine of Rs 10,000.
ii. However, in a case where the total income does not exceed Rs 5 lakh, the Budget proposed
that the fee amount shall not exceed Rs 1,000.
Sanjeev Sanyal appointed Principal Economic Adviser

i. Sanjeev Sanyal, former global strategist and Managing Director of Deutshe Bank, was today
appointed as Principal Economic Adviser. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has
approved Sanyal’s appointment for three years on contract basis, an order issued by Personnel
Minister said. Sanyal will work under the Department of Economic Affairs.
Lakshya Sen becomes World No.1 Junior Badminton player

i. India's Lakshya Sen has become the World No 1 Junior Badminton player. He achieved the
distinction in the latest rankings of the Badminton World Federation (BWF). Fifteen-year-old is
the first shuttler from Uttarakhand to attain the numero uno spot at the international level.
ii. Lakshya, who is considered as the shining future star of Indian badminton, moved ahead of
Chia Hao Lee of the Chinese Taipei, to attain the top spot. According to BWF current rankings,
Lakshya has 16,903 points in eight tournaments he has played in the season. Chia Hao, who is at
the second spot, has 16,091 points.
Apple to start manufacturing in India

i. Tech giant Apple has reached an agreement with the Karnataka government to set up a
manufacturing plant in Bengaluru, Karnataka. "Apple’s decision on initial manufacturing in
Bengaluru has further enhanced the reputation of Bengaluru as the most preferred destination for
foreign investment," the Karnataka government said. Apple is reportedly expected to start
production for the Indian market in April.
Tata Motors launches TAMO; to unveil first sportscar on March 7

i. As a core element of its transformation journey 'FutuReady', Tata Motors presented on 02nd
February 2017 its new Passenger Vehicle strategy and introduced its new sub-brand - TAMO.
ii. TAMO will act as an incubating centre of innovation towards new technologies, business
models and partnerships in order to define future mobility solutions. The first product developed
by TAMO will premiere at the upcoming 87th Geneva International Motor Show on March 7,
2017.
GDP growth likely at 7.1% in 2017-18: HSBC

i. India is expected to clock GDP growth of 7.1 per cent in 2017—18 as the country gets
sufficiently remonetised and the schemes in the Budget play a supportive role, says an HSBC
report.
ii. The uptick in the growth numbers would be largely driven by the remonetisation process,
which is expected by April-end, as this in turn would boost the consumption levels in the
country. HSBC expect GDP to grow at 7.1 per cent year-on-year in 2017-18, up from 6.3 percent
in 2016-17, as the country gets sufficiently remonetised (by April-end), and consumption moves
back to pre-demonetisation levels.
Budget 2017-18 allocation to WCD hiked by nearly 26 pc

i. The Women and Child Development Ministry has received a nearly 26 per cent increase in
budget allocation this year with the total money set aside climbing to Rs 22,095 crore from Rs
17,640 crore last year.
ii. The amount budgeted for 'Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana' saw a four times jump with
Rs 2,700 crore being set aside this year as compared to Rs 634 crore in 2016-17. As per this
scheme Rs 6,000 will be provided for mothers who seek institutionalised delivery and
vaccination.
Sula Fest begins in Maharashtra

i. The tenth edition of Sula Fest has began on 03rd February at the Sula Vineyards in Nashik,
Maharashtra. The line-up for the three-day festival, which will also feature professional wine
tastings and grape stomping, includes artists Infected Mushroom and Nucleya. Tickets for Sula
Fest, which is offering a camping stay facility, range from RS. 1500 to Rs. 4900.
India recorded highest domestic air passenger growth in 2016

i. Emerging as a stand-out performer, India witnessed the highest growth of 23.3 per cent in
domestic air travel demand worldwide in 2016 twice that of neighbouring China, according to
International Air Transport Association (IATA).
ii. The global airlines’ grouping has stated that domestic India market topped the growth chart
for the second year in a row with passenger volumes surging twice as that of China. “Domestic
air travel rose 5.7 per cent in 2016. Capacity rose 5.1 per cent and load factor was 82.2 per cent,
up 0.5 percentage points over 2015.
Survival of India-Pakistan Indus water treaty appears ‘weak’: UN report

i. The 40-year-old Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan has been an outstanding
example of conflict resolution but scarcity of water in the basin states since the early 1990s has
brought the agreement under strain and its “survival appears weak”, according to a UN report.
“The treaty fails to address two issues: the division of shortages in dry years between India and
Pakistan, when flows are almost half as compared to wet years, and the cumulative impact of
storages on the flows of the River Chenab into Pakistan,” said the UNDP report titled
‘Development Advocate Pakistan’.
ii. Wular Barrage and Kishenganga project on the Jhelum and Neelum rivers present a similar
problem whereby water storage during the Rabi season is critical as flows are almost one-fifth of
the Kharif season, according the report, which was released on 01st February 2017.
World's most expensive saree was sold for Rs 40 lakh

i. The most expensive silk saree was made by Chennai Silks and was sold for around Rs.40 lakh
in January 2008, according to Guinness World Records. The saree featured reproductions of 11
paintings by Indian artist Raja Ravi Varma and took about 4,760 man-hours to produce. The
saree, studded with gold, diamond, emerald, and other precious stones, weighed around 8
kilograms.
Sports Ministry budget hiked by Rs 350 crore

i.The Sports Ministry budget got a substantial hike of Rs 350 crore in the union budget for 2017-
18, presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Parliament. Jaitley allocated a total of Rs
1943 crore, compared to Rs 1592 crore earmarked last year.
ii. The steep increase in the budgetary allocation comes at a time when Indian athletes are
preparing for the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games in 2018. The hike also comes in the
wake of India’s dismal showing at the Rio Olympics where it won just two medals – a silver and
bronze.
Daily GK Update 04th February, 2017

04th February: The World Cancer Day 2017
i. A truly global event taking place every year on 4 February, World Cancer Day unites the
world’s population in the fight against cancer. Taking place under the tagline ‘We can. I can.’,
World Cancer Day 2016-2018 will explore how everyone – as a collective or as individuals – can
do their part to reduce the global burden of cancer.
ii. It aims to save millions of preventable deaths each year by raising awareness and education
about the disease, pressing governments and individuals across the world to take action.
HDFC Bank increases cash transaction fees on savings a/cs

i. In a bid to discourage cash transactions, the country’s second-largest private sector lender
HDFC Bank has decided to steeply increase the fees for savings account holders on a slew of
activities involving cash. HDFC Bank has decided to steeply raise the charges on certain
transactions, capping cash component in others and also introducing charges on certain
transactions from 01st March 2017.
ii. The bank has capped the third-party transactions at Rs. 25,000 a day, reduced the number of
free cash transactions at branches to four from five earlier and also raised the fee for non-free
transactions by a steep 50 per cent to Rs.150.
Earlier, it used to allow Rs. 50,000 cash transactions, both withdrawals and deposits per day, the
official said, adding the review is only for salary and savings accounts.
Rail Museum celebrates 40th anniversary

i. The National Rail Museum in New Delhi celebrated its 40th anniversary on 01st February
2017. The museum, which houses a large collection of life-size rail exhibits, allows visitors to
take a tour on a toy train. Its attractions include the saloons of the Maharajas of Indore and
Mysore and Fairy Queen, the oldest working steam locomotive still in operation.
Former CBI chief Joginder Singh passes away

i. Former CBI chief Joginder Singh, who oversaw investigation of several high-profile cases
including Bofors scam and Bihar's fodder scam, has passed away at aged 77 years.
ii. Family sources said he breathed his last on 04th February 2017 after the prolonged illness.The
1961 batch IPS officer of Karnataka cadre was chosen to head the premier investigative agency
when H D Deve Gowda was the Prime Minister.
IDFC MD Vikram Limaye the new CEO, MD of NSE
i. Leading stock exchange National Stock Exchange (NSE) on 03rd February 2017 has selected
IDFC chief Vikram Limaye as its new CEO and Managing Director, two months after the sudden
exit of Chitra Ramkrishna from the top post.
ii. NSE's board approved Limaye's name for the top position but a formal announcement would
be made later as some formalities need to be completed from his side. The approval of the board,
chaired by Ashok Chawla, comes after a four-member search panel suggested Limaye's name
from amongst the shortlisted candidates.
Pankaj Advani pockets the National Snooker Championship title

i. Champion cueist Pankaj Advani has won the Indian National Snooker Championship with a 6-
0 win over Pandurangaiah of Railways in a one-sided final on 03rd February 2017.
ii. Apart from clinching his 29th national title overall, Advani broke several other records. He
became the only Indian men’s cueist to be the holder of all national billiards and snooker titles at
the same time – Billiards, 6-red Snooker and 15-red Snooker. After marching into the finals of
the snooker nationals with a 5-2 victory over Sundeep Gulati of New Delhi, Advani put on a
flawless show of precision in the summit clash, leaving the spectators at the PYC Hindu
Gymkhana mesmerised.
UIDAI clamps down on 50 fraud sites offering Aadhaar services

i. In a massive crackdown on unauthorised agencies offering Aadhaar-related services illegally
and charging excessive money from the public, UIDAI has got shut down 12 such websites and
12 mobile apps available on the Google Playstore.
ii. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has further directed authorities for
closure of another 26 such fraudulent and illegal websites and mobile applications. “Some
websites and mobile apps were luring citizens to share their basic information and Aadhaar
number under the pretext of getting them Aadhaar card or offering other Aadhaar related
services. We have taken strict action against them,” UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey told.

Govt forms panel to improve Haj policy, look into subsidy issue
i. The Centre has formed a six-member committee to give a report on ways to improve India's
Haj policy and also look into the issue of subsidy to the pilgrimage in light of 2012 Supreme
Court order on gradually reducing and abolishing it by 2022.
i. Former Consulate General of India (CGI), Jeddah, Afzal Amanullah has been appointed as
convener of the high-level panel, Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs (Independent
Charge) Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters in New Delhi that the committee will submit its
report in a month or two on how India's Haj policy can be improved and how the pilgrims can
get maximum concessions.
‘President Pranab’ to bloom at Delhi’s Mughal Gardens by March first week
i. As the Mughal Gardens at Rashtrapati Bhavan has reopened on 05th February 2017, visitors
will for the first time see roses named after the Indian President and his wife, growing next to ‘
Abraham Lincoln’, ‘Christian Dior’ and ‘Queen Elizabeth’ . ‘President Pranab’, a crossbred
variety of rose which was planted last month along with another variety of rose named ‘Suvra
Mukherjee’, will blossom in spring. The President’s wife passed away in August 2015.
ii. The entire complex comprising spiritual garden, herbal garden, bonsai garden and musical
garden will remain open from February 5-March 12 (except on Mondays which are maintenance
days) between 9.30am to 4.00pm.
BCCI opposes ICC's proposals on financial model, governance structure

i. Despite the change of guard at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Indian
board continued to oppose the International Cricket Council's (ICC) new changes to the financial
model and governance structure on 04th February 2017.
ii. The changes that the BCCI, represented by Vikram Limaye, a member of the new Committee
of Administrators, is currently opposing are amongst the same changes that were recommended
in 2014 with respect to a larger share of ICC's revenue to be given to India.
Startup acquires Google's satellite imaging business

i. American startup Planet Labs, that launches small satellites into orbit and sells the imagery,
has announced its acquisition of Google's 'Terra Bella' satellite business. As part of the
agreement, 60 Google employees will join the startup founded by ex-NASA scientists. Terra
Bella, formerly Skybox, was acquired by Google in 2014 for $500 million.
Alastair Cook awarded Order of the British Empire

i. England Test captain AlastairCook has been honoured with Commander of the Most Excellent
Order of the British Empire (CBE). He was awarded the CBE at the Buckingham Palace by
Prince Charles.
ii. Cook is the only England player to have scored over 10,000 runs in Tests and has also led
England in the most number of Tests. Cook said, receiving the CBE was a very proud moment
for him, his family and friends.
Alibaba-made app helps find 611 missing Chinese children

i. A mobile app developed by Alibaba helped Chinese authorities recover 611 missing children
last year. The 'Tuanyuan' app, which means 'reunion' in Chinese, sends push notifications with
photos and descriptions to users who are close to the location of a child's disappearance. The
notifications are sent to users farther from the location of the disappearance till the child is
found.
Arun Kumar succeeds Richard Rekhy as KPMG India chairman

i. KPMG India board has elected Arun M Kumar as chairman and CEO to lead the India
operations of the consulting and accounting major. He succeeds Richard Rekhy, who stepped
down in November last year following a large-scale exodus of key people from the advisory
team.
ii. Earlier in January 2016, Rekhy had been re-elected for a four-year term. Kumar, who spent
the majority of his career with KPMG in the US, will take charge from 05th February 2017 for a
five-year term.

Health Ministry launches Measles Rubella vaccination campaign
i. Health Ministry launched Measles Rubella vaccination campaign in the country at a function in
Bengaluru.
ii. The campaign against these two diseases Measles and Rubella will start from Karnataka,
Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Goa and Lakshadweep, covering nearly 3.6 crore children.
iii. Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Faggan Singh Kulaste launched this
initiative at a function in Bengaluru, Speaking on the occasion, Mr Kulaste stated that the centre
is committed to eradicating Measles and Rubella from the country.
Vijay Goel lays foundation stone of 1st centre of excellence for differently abled sportsmen
i. The Union Minister for Sports Vijay Goel laid the foundation stone of the country's first centre
of excellence for differently abled sportsmen at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
ii. The centre is proposed with an estimate of 50 crores rupees and will provide World class
facilities such as indoor halls, dedicated tracks and 100 bedded hostel where para athletes will be
trained for various international competitions including Paralympics.
iii. The Minister also inaugurated a sports training centre at Sports Authority of India campus in
Gandhinagar. Around 50 differently abled sportspersons between age group 8-12 will be
imparted training in Athletics, Swimming and power lifting at the training centre.
Sasikala Natarajan to take over as Tamil Nadu's next CM
i.AIADMK chief Sasikala Natarajan will take over as the next Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
from O Panneerselvam, the party announced.
ii. The AIADMK MLAs also elected Sasikala Natarajan as the Legislative party leader. Notably,
the party said in a tweet that current Chief Minister Panneerselvam had himself proposed
Sasikala's name as the leader of AIADMK Legislature Party.
Nagaland cabinet to submit memorandum to PM to exempt it from Part IX A of

Constitution
i. Nagaland cabinet has decided to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister to issue an
ordinance to exempt the state from the provision of Part IX A of the Constitution which deals
with the municipalities.
ii. According to a communique issued by the media cell of Chief Minister's Office, the decision
was taken in an emergency meeting of the state Cabinet, was attended by special
invitees comprising legislators from all tribes.
Sarbananda Sonowal launches CMSGUY in Guwahati
i. In a move to bring about paradigm shift towards holistic development of villages, Assam Chief
Minister Sarbananda Sonowal launched the Chief Minister Samagra Gramya Unnayan
Yojana, CMSGUY in Guwahati this evening.
ii. This scheme is a mega mission with a financial outlay of 30,000 crore rupees and it will be
implemented in all the villages of the state. It will culminate in 2021-22.
Corp Bank pact with Religare
i. Corporation Bank has signed an agreement with Religare Health Insurance Co Ltd to market
its products and services through the distribution network of the bank across India. A press
release said that Corporation Bank holds around 5 per cent stake in Religare Health Insurance.
ii. The Executive Directors of the bank Sunil Mehta and Gopal Murli Bhagat, and Managing
Director & CEO of Religare Health Anuj Gulati were present at an event to sign the agreement
in Mangaluru
Telangana launches India's first social innovation hub in Nizamabad

i. The Telangana government has launched India's first social innovation centre The ‘Kakatiya
Hub For Social Innovation’ in Nizamabad, Telangana.
ii. Telangana IT Secretary Jayesh Ranjan made this announcement at the one-day Development
Dialogue, an international social entrepreneurship ecosystem conference hosted by Kakatiya
Sandbox.
iii. Jayesh Ranjan said the ‘Kakatiya Hub For Social Innovation’ funded by the Telangana
government and implemented through Kakatiya Sandbox will function like a rural incubator to
encourage entrepreneurship at the grassroots level.
2% reservation to sports persons in govt jobs: CM Raghubar Das
i. Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das stated that state will give two per cent reservation to
sports persons in government jobs and nutritious food to them.
ii. He said efforts were also being taken to give nutritious food to the sports persons, an official
release in Ranchi.
Bureau of Civil Aviation Security suspends IndiGo's security training centre licence
i. Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, BCAS has suspended the licence of budget carrier IndiGo's
aviation security training facility.
ii. The regulatory authority took the decision after several lapses were detected in the
examination procedure that it was following. PTI quoting sources stated, the orders issued by the
apex aviation security agency BCAS the Gurgaon-based airline from conducting security
training programme for its employees any further.
iii. The training academy is run by IndiGo's parent company, InterGlobe Aviation.
Uber launches taxi hiring service UberHIRE
i. Global taxi-hailing platform Uber announced it has launched a new category UberHIRE that
allows customers to hire a taxi for the day, to cover several destinations, and is targetting senior
citizens, business travellers and tourists.
ii. Currently, UberHIRE works only on cash payments.After a pilot run in Kochi,UberHIRE will
go live in New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Vizag and Nagpur, with
more cities slated for launch in the weeks to come, it added.
CESC wins Bikaner power distribution franchise
i. CESC Ltd, a part of the Rs. 19,000-crore RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, has received a letter of
intent for appointment as a power distribution franchisee to supply electricity in Bikaner,
Rajasthan.
ii. This is the group’s third distribution operation in Rajasthan, the other two being in Kota and
Bharatpur
World’s longest flight lands in New Zealand
i. The world’s longest commercial flight landed in New Zealand on 6 February 2017 with the
arrival of Qatar Airways’s 14,535km (9,032-mile) Doha-Auckland service.
ii. The long-range Boeing 777-200LR crossed 10 time zones on its marathon flight.
iii. There were four pilots on board as well as 15 cabin crew who served 1,100 cups of tea and
coffee, 2,000 cold drinks and 1,036 meals during the flight.
Renowned Urdu author Bano Qudsia passes away
Renowned Pakistani Urdu novelist and playwright Bano Qudsia has passed away here. She was
88. She was awarded Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 2003 and Hilal-i-Imtiaz in 2010.
India to host FIBA Women's Asia Cup basketball tournament
i. India to host FIBA Women's Asia Cup basketball tournament at Bengaluru in July, 2017.
Basketball Federation of India (BFI) President KGovindaraj stated that continental flagship
tournament for women will be hled from July 23 to 29, 2017.
ii. India has also been given another continental level tournament-the FIBA U-16 Women's
Asian Championship - which will be held from October 22 to 28, 2017 in Hyderabad.
iii. This will be the first time since 2009 that India will host a major FIBA (International
Basketball Federation) event.
Virat Kohli features in latest cover star of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
i. Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who led his side to victory against England in all three formats of
the game recently, has featured in the latest cover star of the bible of cricket - Wisden Cricketers'
Almanack.
ii. Kohli becomes only the third Asian origin player after Tendulkar and England all-rounder
Moeen Ali to be featured on the cover of the magazine.

HRD Ministry to set up NTA to Conduct Exams for Higher & Secondary Education
i. The Union Human Resource Development Ministry led by under Prakash Javadekar is set to
constitute a National Testing Agency (NTA) which will be responsible for conducting
examinations for higher and secondary education.
ii. The announcement was made in the Union Budget 2017-18 by the Finance Minister who
proposed to set up NTA as an autonomous and self-sustained premier testing agency to conduct
all entrance exams to higher education.
iii. The main aim of setting NTA is to ease the work of the bodies like CBSE, AICTE, from the
responsibilities of conducting exams, and eventually enable them to focus more on academics.
5.8 magnitude earthquake hits Uttarakhand, tremors also felt in Delhi-NCR
i. A moderate intensity earthquake measuring 5.8 on Richter scale hit Uttarakhand last night (06
February 2017), with tremors also felt in Delhi and other parts of northern India.
ii. Operations head at National Seismological Bureau JL Gautam said, the epicentre of the quake
was Rudraprayag district in Uttarakhand.
Andhra Pradesh: First Smart Police Station inaugurated
i. In Andhra Pradesh, the first Smart Police Station, having look and feel of a corporate-style
office, started functioning.
ii. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated the first model police station at
Nagarampalem in the capital region Amaravati.He also inaugurated the second model police
station in old Guntur town.
Railways Approves Rail Project in Andaman and Nicobar
i. The Railway Ministry is set to develop the first ever railway line in Andaman and Nicobar
Island that currently has no rail network.
ii. The Ministry of Railway is set to approve the project that will construct 240-km broad gauge
railway line connecting Port Blair with Diglipur, the largest town on Andaman Island. It will
connect the two islands with bridges and stations along the coast.
Tripartite MoU signed among M/o of Tourism, M/s NPCC & NBCC and Govt of J&K for
Implementation of Tourism Projects In J&K
i. A Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed among the Ministry of

Tourism, M/s NPCC & NBCC and Government of J&K on for the implementation of Tourism
projects in Jammu and Kashmir.
ii. As a part of the new initiative, Development of Tourism in the State New Projects, the
Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned two projects, one each to NPCC and NBCC in the J&K
which will be implemented by September 2017.
iii. The first project sanctioned to M/s NBCC includes Integrated Development of Tourist
facilities at Gulmarg Baramulla Kupwara Leh. The total outlay of the project is Rs. 96.62 Crore.
iv. The project under M/s NPCC includes Integrated Development of Tourist facilities at
Mantalai Sudhmahadev Patnitop in Jammu & Kashmir. The total outlay of the project is Rs.
97.82 Crore.
Bank of Maharashtra ties up with Cigna TTK
i. Public sector lender Bank of Maharashtra has partnered with insurance company Cigna TTK
Health to market the insurer’s products in the bank’s branches across the entire country.
ii. Under the agreement, the bank will offer the all of Cigna TTK’s superior health insurance
products to its 2 crore customers through its network of over 1,896 branches, its 14,000 bank
employees across the country as well as through its digital platforms.
Axis Bank ties up with Earthport
i. India’s third largest private bank, Axis Bank has tied up with Earthport Plc, a cross-border
payment network, to enable faster outbound cross-border payments for its customers through
Earthport’s state-of-the-art global payments network.
ii. Axis Bank has become the first bank in India to connect with Earthport’s global payments
network, which spans over 60 countries.
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Starts Pilot Operation in Bengaluru
i. The Ujjivan Small Finance Bank officially started its operation with 5 pilot branches in
Bengaluru. Samit Ghosh is the MD and CEO of the Ujjivan Small Finance Bank.
ii. The five pilot branches of the Ujjivan SFB would offer full services to its customers. The
Ujjivan Small Finance BankSmall Finance Bank will test its technology, channels, people and
processes for a period of one month as a part of its pilot launch.
iii. The Bank aims to launch about 14 branches by March 2017 and extend services across 457
branches in 24 states in a planned and phased manner over the next few months.
Indian Coast Guard to have Joint Exercise with UAE Coast Guard
i. In an effort to strengthen the bilateral relations between India and UAE, the Indian Coast
Guard Ship (ICGS) Samudra Pavak made a goodwill visit at the Mina Al Rashid (Dubai Port)
from February 4 to 7, 2017.
ii. The Indian Ambassador in UAE Navdeep Suri visited the Indian Navy ship on February 5,
2017. During the stay at port Rashid, a series of activities is scheduled to take place between
Indian and UAE coast guard.
iii. As a part of the visit, a joint exercise is scheduled to take place between Indian coast guard
and UAE coast guard to enhance co-operation and exchange of operational expertise.
Indian-Origin British Sculptor Anish Kapoor Wins $ 1 Million Israeli Prize
i. Renowned Indian-origin British sculptor Anish Kapoor was honored with the prestigious $1
million 2017 Genesis Prize by Israel for his utmost contribution for Jewish community.
ii. However, the money received by the innovative artist would be contributed by him to help the
Syrian refugees and expand Jewish engagement in the global effort to reduce the refugee crisis.
iii. The 62-year-old Anish was chosen by the prize committee headed by Jewish Agency
Chairman Natan Sharansky.
Queen Elizabeth II marks Sapphire Jubilee
i. Queen Elizabeth II, the world’s longest reigning sovereign, has became the first British
monarch to reach her Sapphire Jubilee, with 65 years on the throne.
ii. The 90-year-old monarch is marking the landmark as a day of private contemplation at her
Sandringham estate in Norfolk as it also coincides with the day her father, George V who has
died
UN Agency Calls for International Collaboration on Wheat Rust to Curb Threat to Global
Supplies
i. According to a new study conducted by scientists in collaboration with the UN Food and
Agricultural Organization (FAO), two new groups of wheat rust have been identified that posed
threat to wheat produced in Africa, Asia and Europe in 2016.
ii. As per the data, the two new groups have been identified as yellow rust and stem rust. The
finding calls for the need for early detection and rapid action to keep the fungus under control.
India to host World Billiards Championship for next four years
i. The Billiards and Snoooker Federation of India (BSFI)informed that India will host the World
Billiards Championship for the next four years.
ii. In 2016, the World Billiards Championship was held in Bengaluru.In the prestigious
tournament, Pankaj Advani won in the 150-UP format beating Peter Gilchrist of Singapore.
iii.The Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI) is the central authority that deals with
the growth and development of cue sports in India.
Alastair Cook resigns as England Test captain
i. Alastair Cook has resigned as England Test captain after a record 59 matches in the role. Cook
tendered his resignation to England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Colin Graves, but
intends to continue playing Test cricket.
ii. Cook, England's leading scorer in Tests with 11,057 runs, became captain in August 2012.He
has led England in a record 69 one-day internationals between 2010 and 2014. He has been the
country's most capped Test skipper and has scored more Test centuries than any previous
captain.
Iran Lifts Ban on American Wrestling Team
i. Iran lifted up the ban it had imposed on United States Wrestlers, thus allowing them to
participate in the Freestyle World Cup to be held in Iran in February 2017.
ii. Iran had banned the American team on February 3, 2017 after the decision of US President
Donald Trump to temporarily suspend Visas to seven Muslim majority countries including Iran.
iii. However, the United States Federal Judge suspended the ban imposed by US Government on
Iranian Nationals travelling to the U.S. But the Trump administration is again appealing to
reinstate the travel ban.The Freestyle World Cup is to be held in the Iranian city of Kermanshah
from February 16 to February 17, 2017.
RBI's Monetory Policy February 2017 : Keeps repo rate unchanged at 6.25%
i. RBI governor Urjit Patel led Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept the key repo rate
unchanged at 6.25% in the first monetary policy review of 2017 and after Budget 2017.
ii. Limit on cash withdrawal from savings banks accounts to be relaxed in 2 stages. From 20
February, 2017 limit to be increased from Rs 24k to Rs 50K. From 13 March, 2017 there will be
no limit on cash withdrawal from savings bank accounts.
iii. 9.92 lakh crore new notes infused into market as on January 27, 2017.Inflation seen at 4-4.5%
for April-September,2017. For January-March, 2017 CPI stay below 5%
Policy rates:
Repo Rate- 6.25%
Reverse Repo Rate- 5.75%
Marginal Standing Facility Rate- 6.75%
Bank Rate- 6.75%
Reserve Ratio:
CRR- 4%
SLR-20.50%
3-day global conference on Nuclear Terrorism to begin in New Delhi

i. The Implementation and Assessment Group Meeting of the Global Initiative to Combat
Nuclear Terrorism begins in New Delhi. Nearly 150 delegates from various partner countries and
international organisations will take part in the three-day event.
ii. Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar will inaugurate the meet organised by the Ministry of External
Affairs and the Department of Atomic Energy.
iii. The meeting highlights India’s commitment to global nuclear non-proliferation and peaceful
uses of nuclear energy.
.
SC clears plan to verify mobile phone users through Aadhaar
i. The Supreme Court has approved the government‘s plan to record the identification details of
mobile subscribers through an e-KYC (Know Your Customer) mechanism linked to Aadhaar in a
bid to enhance national security and prevent fake users.
ii. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar asked the government, represented by
Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi, to put in place the mechanism within a year.
iii. The mechanism would cover at least 100 crore mobile phone subscribers, 90% of whom use
pre-paid cards.
International Conference & Exhibition on Terrestrial & Satellite Broadcasting held in New
Delhi
i. The 23rd edition of International Conference and Exhibition on Terrestrial & Satellite
Broadcasting was held in New Delhi. The 3-day conference was organized by the Broadcast
Engineering Society (India).
ii. The theme of the conference is 'Hybrid Technologies in Broadcasting New Opportunities'. In
this EXPO, nearly 300 companies from 25 countries displayed their products directly or
through their dealers and distributors in India.
Over 13,000 Divyangs have been given jobs by Centre
i. Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh stated that 13 thousand Divyangs
have been given jobs in various central government departments.
ii. Talking to media in New Delhi yesterday,Dr Singh said efforts are on to fill all the 15,694
vacancies in the central government. He said till now nearly 84% of vacant posts meant for
Divyangs have been filled.
No cash withdrawal limit from March 13,2017:RBI
i. The Reserve Bank of India announced that the cash withdrawal limit on savings accounts will
be scrapped from March 13, 2017 .
ii. Further, the current limit of withdrawal fixed at ₹24,000 per week will be raised to ₹50,000
per week from February 20,2017 the RBI added. The limits on bank withdrawals were placed
after demonetization
Federal Bank ties up with data portal for loans against warehouse receipts
i. Federal Bank has partnered with leading online data and information portal Commodity Online
for the distribution of loans against warehouse receipts and collateral management services
across the country.
ii. Commodity Online will roll out an agri commodity financing platform through its flagship
portal www.commodityonline.com where farmers and traders can track commodity markets and
warehouses online and get financing for their commodities quickly.
iii. According to Mohan K, Deputy General Manager (SME & Agri), Federal Bank, the bank’s
partnership with Commodity Online enables it to aggressively get into the online space to
provide financing for agri commodities with collateral management across India.
Bank of Baroda, IFFCO launch co-branded debit card for farmers
i. In a novel initiative that would push digitalisation and cashless economy, Bank of Baroda
(BOB) has tied up with IFFCO, a cooperative, to provide co-branded debit cards with inbuilt
overdraft facilities to the farmers.
ii. In this regard, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between G.B.Panda,
General Manager (government relationship) BOB and Yogendra Kumar, General Manager
(Marketing) IFFCO.
iii. Under this MOU, two lakh co-branded debit cards will be issued to the farmers beginning
with the state of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Subsequently more cards
will be issued across rest of India.These co-branded debit cards will be exclusively used for the
purchase of IFFCO products only.
iv. BOB has agreed to issue the co-branded debit cards to the farmers with an overdraft limit of
Rs. 2,500 per cardholder.BOB will also provide 2500 PoS machines initially at the various
locations across India recommended by IFFCO at mutually agreed terms and conditions.
ICICI Securities partners with Saxo Bank
i. ICICI Securities, a subsidiary of ICICI Bank, has entered into a strategic partnership with Saxo
Bank, an online multi-asset trading and investment specialist.
ii. This partnership will offer Saxo's trading and investment capabilities via a digital platform to
Indian investors.
iii. It will enable ICICI Securities' 4 million clients of ICICIdirect.com to diversify their
investments outside of the domestic Indian market and access multi-asset investment
opportunities on 36 stock exchanges across 24 countries, through SaxoTraderGo.
iv. Clients opting for these services to invest outside India will gain access to third party research
with Tradingfloor.com.
HDFC Bank, KMB go live with Bharat Bill Payment System
i. Private sector lenders HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank are live with the Bharat Bill
Payment System (BBPS) that is aimed at easing utility and other repetitive bill payments for
consumers.
ii. The BBPS is a centralised system created by the National Payments Corporation, involving
banks and non-banks and allows agents to access bill payments services in an interoperable
manner, HDFC Bank stated.
iii. A customer can pay multiple bills from a single platform without the hassle of visiting
multiple websites or issuing individual cheques, or also registering billers with her bank for
standard instructions for debit.
Adani appoints Purdie as CEO for renewable energy unit in Australia
i. The Adani Group has appointed Jennifer Purdie as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for its
renewable energy business unit in Australia in a bid to drive its plans to become the largest
renewable energy player in the country.
ii. Adani’s aim is to become the largest renewable energy industry participant in Australia with a
total capacity of 1,500 MW in the near term.
HDIL to launch budget homes in Mumbai Metropolitan Region
i. Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd will soon launching its new budget homes brand
in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
ii. Through this brand, HDIL aims at making quality housing at affordable prices accessible to a
wider section of people.
iii. Under this brand, HDIL will provide affordable homes within Rs. 50 lakh inclusive of stamp
duty and registration in Mumbai’s suburbs and within Rs. 20 lakh, including stamp duty and
registration charges, in the Vasai–Virar region.
Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos wins Senate confirmation vote

i. In United States, Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump's controversial nominee for
Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, by the slenderest possible margin.
ii. US Vice-President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote to secure her cabinet role, splitting
the chamber 50-50.
Foreign direct investment zooms 60 pc to USD 4.68 bn in Nov 2016

i.With the government taking steps to improve ease of doing business and relax regulations,
foreign direct investment into the country surged by 60% to USD 4.68 billion in November
2016.
ii. The FDI stood at USD 2.93 billion in November 2015.During the period, India received
maximum FDI from Singapore, Mauritius, the UK, the US, the Netherlands and Japan, an
official stated.
National Badminton Championship: Sourabh Verma clinches Men’s Singles title

i. Sourabh Verma clinched the Men’s Singles title defeating Lakshya Sen in the 81 st Senior
National Badminton Championships tournament played in Patna. Sourabh beat Lakshya Sen 21-
13, 21-12.
ii. Rituparna Das claimed the Women's Singles title defeating Reshma Karthik in the tournament.
Second seed Rituparna defeated 9th seed Reshma 21-12, 21-14.
iii. In Women's doubles event, the pair of Aparna Balan and Prajakta Sawant clinched the title
defeating the pair of Shikha Gautam and Sanyogita Ghorpade 21-9, 21-11.
iv. In the mixed doubles, the duo of Satwik Sai Raj and Maneesha K defeated Venkat Gaurav
Prasad and Juhi Dewangan 21-14, 21-18 to claim the title.In Men's doubles event, the duo of
Satwik Sai Raj and Chirag Shetty clinched the title defeating Nand Gopal K and Sanyam Shukla
21-17, 16-21 and 21-16.

Cabinet approves 'PM Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan' for digital education
i. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved 'Pradhan
Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan' (PMGDISHA) to make 6 crore rural households
digitally literate. The outlay for this project is Rs.2,351.38 crore to usher in digital literacy in
rural India by March 2019. This is in line with the announcement made by Finance Minister in
the Union Budget 2016-17.
ii. PMGDISHA is expected to be one of the largest digital literacy programmes in the world.
Under the scheme, 25 lakh candidates will be trained in the FY 2016-17; 275 lakh in the FY
2017-18; and 300 lakh in the FY 2018-19. To ensure equitable geographical reach, each of the
250,000 Gram Panchayats would be expected to register an average of 200-300 candidates.
India & US agree to sustain momentum on defence efforts
i. India and US have agreed to sustain the momentum on key bilateral defence efforts. US
Defence Secretary James Mattis telephoned Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and expressed
commitment to building upon the tremendous progress made in bilateral defence cooperation.
US Senate votes to confirm Jeff Sessions as next US Attorney General

i. In the US, Senate voted to confirm Republican Senator Jeff Sessions as the next Attorney
General of the United States. The Alabama senator is known for his tough stance on immigration
enforcement and his early support of President Donald Trump who nominated him for the job.
The session was confirmed by a 52-47 vote.
Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Presents Rs 2,350 crore Deficit Budget
2017-18
i. The Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma presented the state Budget for the session
2017-18 on February 7, 2017 in the state assembly. The budget was based on the theme
“Resurgent Assam”.
ii. As per the Minister the state Budget, 2017-18 was Rs. 2,349.79 crore deficit Budget. The
budget presented merged Plan and Non-Plan expenditures.The Government has redefined the
role of Planning & Development Department. The department has been rechristened to the
Department for Development and Transformation of Assam (DDTA).
India & Austria Signs Protocol to Amend Bilateral Taxation Treaty
i. India and Austria signed a protocol to amend the existing bilateral taxation treaty for
Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion.The protocol was signed
between Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Sushil Chandra on behalf of India and
Embassy of Austria Charge d’ Affaires Georg Zehetner behalf of Austria.
ii. The protocol will broaden the scope of the existing framework of the exchange of tax related
information. This will help to curb tax evasion and tax avoidance between the two nations as
well as enable mutual assistance in relation to collecting taxes.
RBI to set up panel on strengthening cyber security
i. In a bid to strengthen cyber security system, the Reserve Bank (RBI) decided to set up an inter-
disciplinary panel on cyber security to examine various threats and suggest measures to deal with
it. The panel will review the threats inherent in the existing or emerging technology on an
ongoing basis. Besides, it will also study the adoption of various security standards/protocols and
also act as the interface with stakeholders.
ii. The committee will suggest appropriate policy interventions strengthen cyber security and
resilience.The decision has been taken based on the recommendations of the expert panel on
information technology examination and cyber security headed by Meena Hemachandra.
Arunachal Becomes First NE State to Implement e-Cabinet Solution
i. Arunachal Pradesh has become the first state in the northeast to implement e-cabinet solution
for the state cabinet members.Using this system, the cabinet members can access the cabinet
notes before the meeting. The entire business of the Cabinet can be conducted using the e-
Cabinet solution. e-Cabinet is a powerful tool that the Arunachal Pradesh government plans to
use to streamline its decision-making process.
04th BIMSTEC Summit to be Held in Nepal in 2017
i. The 17th session of the senior officials’ meeting of the BIMSTEC in Kathmandu. The Prime
Minister of Nepal, Pushpa Kamal Dahal informed during the 17th BIMSTEC-SOM meeting in
Kathmandu that the 4th BIMSTEC Summit would be hosted by Nepal in 2017. Earlier in 2016,
the 4th Summit was scheduled to be held in Nepal, but due to some political reasons, Kathmandu
was unable to host the event last year.
ii. Besides, being the head of the group, its Nepal turn to host the summit .As per the statement
by the PM’s Secretariat, the agenda for the summit would include connectivity, energy and
economic development.Presently, the BIMSTEC is chaired by Nepal. It was founded in 1997 to
bring together Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Thailand and Sri Lanka.
China becomes world’s largest producer of solar power
i. China has surpassed Germany to become the world’s largest producer of solar energy after
nearly doubling its installed photovoltaic capacity in 2016.
ii. With the increased capacity, China generated 66.2 billion kilowatt-hours of energy last year,
which however accounted for only 1% of its electrical output. The country further plans to
double its current solar energy capacity by 2020.
PNB Housing Finance limited & CREDAI-West Bengal Signs MoU to train construction
workers in West Bengal
i. Addressing the need of pacing up constructions with skilled labour that would result in quicker
delivery and hand over, PNB Housing Finance Limited (PNBHFL) has signed an MOU with
CREDAI West Bengal to train 1000 construction workers in Kolkata and nearby villages.
ii. CREDAI-Bengal would also be setting up permanent (off-site) skill development centres in
Medinipur and Murshidabad - places with the huge concentration of construction labour.

IDFC Bank, IndiaLends tie-up for loan services to 1st timers
i. Private sector lender IDFC Bank has collaborated with fintech startup IndiaLends to enable
first-time borrowers who do not have a credit history to take loans. Loan requests by salaried
applicants without credit history will now be processed on a real time basis. The unique solution
is being offered through a tie-up with IndiaLends, a financial technology startup.
CBDT signs four more Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs)
i. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance has
entered into four more unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) on 08th February 2017.
The four APAs signed pertain to the Manufacturing, Financial and Information Technology
sectors of the economy. The international transactions covered in these agreements include
Contract Manufacturing, IT Enabled Services and Software Development Services.
ii. With this, the total number of APAs entered into by the CBDT has reached 130. This includes
8 bilateral APAs and 122 Unilateral APAs. In the current financial year, a total of 66 APAs (5
bilateral APAs and 61 unilateral APAs) have already been entered into. The CBDT expects more
APAs to be concluded and signed before the end of the current fiscal.
IAAF Bans Russia From 2017 London World Athletics Championships
i. Russia will miss August's World Athletics Championships in London after their doping ban
was extended, the world governing body president Sebastien Coe said.
ii. Russia has been barred from international competition since November 2015 following a
damaging report alleging that state-sponsored doping was rife in the country. The ban had
already been extended in March and then June 2016, preventing Russia's athletes from
competing at the Rio Olympics.
Freedom fighter Racharla Samrajyam Dies at 98
i. Racharla Samrajyam, a veteran freedom fighter, passed away following age-related illness at
Vishakhapatnam. She was 98.
She was inspired by the Quit India Movement at the time when she was undergoing Hindi
Pracharak training at Anantapur in 1942. It was at this point of time, she had quit the training
programme and joined the Quit India Movement.
Col Nizamuddin who drove around Netaji has passed away
i. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s driver and INA veteran ‘Colonel’ Nizamuddin has passed
away in his native village of Dhakwa in Azamgarh after a prolonged illness.
ii. Born in 1901, Nizamuddin was over 116 years old. He is survived by his wife Ajbul Nisha,
three sons and two daughters. His youngest son Sheikh Akram. ‘Colonel’ Nizamuddin, who had
served in the Indian National Army from 1943-45, had proclaimed himself as one of the most
trusted lieutenants of Netaji.
Govt sells 2% stake in ITC, raises Rs 6.7k cr
i. The government has sold two per cent stake in ITC to Life Insurance Corporation of India
(LIC) and earned Rs 6,690 crore (around $1 billion) as part of its divestment plan for 2016-17.
The stake, held under the so-called Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI),
was sold at Rs 275.85 per share through block deals. According to stock exchange data, the stake
was picked up by LIC, LIC (Scheme 5) and LIC Allocation Contra Fund.
ii. This is the second SUUTI divestment this financial year. In November 2016, the Centre had
divested 1.63 per cent stake in engineering major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) to raise Rs 2,100
crore. State Bank of India (SBI) had picked up shares worth Rs 800 crore in the share sale.
Govt appoints 3 directors on RBI Central Board
i. The Government has appointed three part-time Non-Official Directors on the all-powerful
Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India for a four-year term. The Appointments Committee
of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Ashok Gulati, Manish Sabharwal and Rajiv Kumar as part-
time Non-Official Directors on the Central Board.
ii. Stating this, the Department of Personnel and Training said the appointments are for a period
of four years. Further, the ACC has also approved the proposal of Department of Financial
Services for the appointment of three Members of the Local Board of RBI. Prasanna Kumar
Mohanty (Southern Local Board), Vallabh Roopchand Bhanshali (Western Local Board) and
Sunil Mitra (Eastern Local Board) have been appointed for four years. The RBI’s affairs are
governed by the Central Board of Directors. The board is appointed by the government.

Gujarat establishes cashless system for PDS
i. Gujarat has become the first state in the country for establishing the cashless system in its
public distribution system (PDS) of food grains. The beneficiaries who are eligible for subsidised
food grains under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) will now need to carry only Aadhaar
cards for getting their food grains in Gujarat.
ii. According to the Food ministry, there are over 81 crore beneficiaries under NSAI in the
country.
Govt to open 56 Post Office Passport Seva Kendra facilities
i. Enthused by the success of two pilot projects on utilising the head post offices as Passport Seva
Kendra, the government has now decided to scale up this programme by opening 56 such
facilities across the country. The ministry of external affairs and the department of posts had
earlier decided to join hands to deliver passport- related services to the citizens.
ii. MEA and department of posts are working closely for the early commencement of passport-
related services at such Kendras located in various states including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar,
Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
Hemant Bhargava appointed as LIC's MD
i. Hemant Bhargava has appointed as Managing Director of state-owned Life Insurance

Corporation (LIC) of India. He is at present LIC's zonal manager, Delhi.
ii. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has approved Bhargava's appointment to the post till
his superannuation, ie, July 31, 2019, an order issued by Personnel Ministry said. The top LIC
management consists of the chairman and three managing directors.
BoB to finance small units in diamond sector at concessional rates
i. To give a leg up to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in the diamond industry,
Bank of Baroda is planning to launch a supply chain financing product for the industry on a pilot
basis in Surat. Cutting and polishing units, which procure roughs from large companies and
supply finished products back, will be provided finance at a competitive rate of interest.
ii. This move is expected to give a boost to MSMEs as well as the corporate segment within the
diamond industry, said Rajneesh Sharma, General Manager, Bank of Baroda. The product will
be launched in the next 10-20 days.
Official mascot of FIFA U-17 World Cup 'Kheleao' unveiled
i. With just 238 days remaining for the start of FIFA Under-17 World Cup India 2017, the
official mascot of the tournament 'Kheleao' was unveiled at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in
New Delhi on 10th February 2017. A clouded leopard called Kheleao was introduced to
hundreds of football fans in a ceremony attended by Sports Minister Vijay Goel and All India
Football Federation President Praful Patel.
ii. The clouded leopard is an endangered wild cat whose habitat extends from the Himalayan
foothills to mainland Southeast Asia. Kheleo will participate in numerous activities in the run-up
to the first-ever FIFA tournament to be hosted by India, which will be played from October 06th
to 28th this year.
Kohli record for most Test 150s by an Indian captain
i. Virat Kohli recorded his sixth Test 150, against Bangladesh at Hyderabad on 10th February
2017, to set the record for most 150-plus scores by an Indian captain in Tests. Kohli went past
Sunil Gavaskar and Mohammad Azharuddin, who both have five 150-plus Test scores each as
captain. Notably, all of Kohli's last five Test centuries have been of 150+ runs.
Hyderabad Test: Cheteshwar Pujara breaks 52-year-old record on Day 1
i. India’s top-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara added another feather to his cap on the first day
of the Hyderabad Test at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium against Bangladesh. During his
knock of 83 runs, Pujara surpassed the 52-year long-standing record of former Indian cricketer
Chandu Borde of highest first-class runs in a single cricketing season.
ii. Borde had scored 1604 runs in the 1964-65 season that included runs in Tests as well as first-
class matches. When Pujara scored his 83rd run, he eventually surpassed Borde’s record by a run
and now has 1605 runs in the season with India still to play 4 more Test matches to play against
Australia at home.

Govt clears single exam for engineering and architecture across India from 2018
i. Admission to all engineering colleges in the country will be done through a single entrance
examination from next year (2018), the government stated doing away with multiple tests
conducted by central agencies, state governments and private institutions.
ii. A single test for engineering, as well as architecture courses, will be on lines of the National
Eligibility-Cum-Entrance Test (NEET), a single, all-India test for entry to medical and dental
colleges launched in 2016.
iii. However, students seeking admission to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) will have
to clear the JEE-Advanced after taking the engineering entrance exam.The human resource
development ministry cleared a proposal by the All India Council for Technical Education
(AICTE), the country’s top body which frames rules and regulations for engineering and
technical institutes.
By June, 2017 govt aims to link 5.58 lakh ration shops with Aadhaar
i. The government stated that it would make 5.58 lakh ration shops Aadhaar-enabled by June 30,
2017 adding that it would not force it on the people and request those who chose to stay out, to
come and join the platform.
ii. This follows a Food Ministry notification making Aadhaar mandatory for food subsidies from
February 8, and asking those not enrolled to do so by June 30, 2017.
Ananth Kumar Inaugurates Orientation Programme for Launching of 1000 PMBJKs
i. The Union Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Ananthkumar
inaugurated the Orientation Programme for the district heads of National Yuva Cooperative
Society (NYCS) in New Delhi to launch the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras
(PMBJKs) in the country.
ii. The workshop was organized based upon the MoU signed earlier between Bureau of Pharma
PSUs of India (BPPI) and NYCS for establishing 1000 PMBJKs in the country.
iii. The basic details regarding the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP)
were laid down during the workshop for the effectiveness of the scheme.
Andhra Pradesh Government constitutes 33 member committee for Sagarmala Project
i. A 33 member committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Andhra Pradesh’s
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for the speedy implementation of the Sagarmala Project in
Andhra Pradesh.
ii. Sagarmala project aims to improve the state’s coastline and inland waterways.The committee
will be responsible for overseeing the entire project and will bring together all the concerned
departments and review their work on a daily basis for timely completion of the project. A nodal
officer has also been appointed from every department who would represent the department.
Piyush Goyal Launches TAMRA Portal and Mobile Application for Transparency in
Statutory Clearances for Mining Operations
i. The Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, Shri
Piyush Goyal launched the TAMRA (Transparency, Auction Monitoring and Resource
Augmentation) portal and Mobile Application in New Delhi.
ii. TAMRA Portal and Mobile Application aims to enhance the transparency and Piyush Goyal
accountability in the mining sector as a part of the Ease of Doing Business.
iii. The initiative will speed up mining activity in India and enable all the stakeholders to track
the status of the statutory clearances associated with mining blocks for getting mines to reach till
operationalization for the same.
World’s first Braille Atlas for visually impaired persons Launched by NATMO in New
Delhi
i. The Union Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Harsh Vardhan released
the world’s first comprehensive Braille atlas for nearly 50 lakh visually challenged people in
New Delhi, India.
ii. This is for the first time that such atlas has been prepared for physically challenged with such
minute details. The Braille Atlas has been prepared by National Atlas and Thematic Mapping
Organisation (NATMO) under Department of Science & Technology.
iii. The Braille atlas has 20 maps on different themes like physical, socio-economic, river
system, crops pattern, natural vegetation, cultural, metropolitan areas, roads and railways, soil
types and crops.
Industrial production contracts 0.4% in December, 2016 following demonetization

Industrial output fell 0.4% in the month of December, 2016 from a year 2015, driven down by a
contraction in consumer and capital goods production. It fell 0.4% in December, 2016 as per the
data release by the government.
Task force set up to check tax evasion by deviant shell firms
i. In the latest move to curb tax evasion, the government has set up a task force to monitor
actions of deviant shell companies.
ii. The setting up of the task force, under the co-chairmanship of revenue secretary Hasmukh
Adhia and corporate affairs secretary Tapan Ray, followed a meeting held in Prime Minister’s
Office to review the functioning of shell companies to prevent their misuse for money laundering
and tax-evasion, especially post-demonetisation.
GMR Hyderabad Airport bags CAPA award
i. GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd, which operates Rajiv Gandhi International Airport,
has won the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) Chairman’s Order of Merit for its focus on
environmental sustainability and becoming the first airport in Asia Pacific to become carbon
neutral.
ii. Airports Council International (ACI) has certified Hyderabad International Airport with Level
3+ Neutrality under its Airport Carbon Accreditation programme.
Govt. appoints IAS officer Ajay Tyagi as SEBI chief for 5 years
i. Senior Finance Ministry official Ajay Tyagi has appointed as chairman of Securities and
Exchange Board of India (SEBI). He will succeed U K Sinha, whose extended tenure ends on
01st March 2017.
ii. Tyagi, a 1984 batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre, is at present Additional Secretary
(Investment) in the Department of Economic Affairs and handles capital market, among others.
iii. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has
approved Tyagi's appointment for a period not exceeding five years or till the age of 65 years.
India Proposes Global Services Accord Pact to WTO Chief Azevedo
i. India presented the proposed Trade Facilitation in Services (TFS) Agreement to the World
Trade Organisation (WTO) Director General Roberto Azevedo and India Inc. in an event
organized by Confederation of Indian Industry in New Delhi.
ii. The global pact proposed by India to boost services trade at the WTO-level aims to ease
norms including those relating to movement of foreign skilled workers and professionals across
borders for short-term work.
China releases theme for BRICS Summit 2017
i. 2017 BRICS association of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to be held in Xiamen,
China in September 2017.
ii. The summit will be held under the theme “BRICS: Stronger Partnership for a Brighter
Future,” state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
iii.It will also feature five key priorities such as deepening cooperation, strengthening global
governance, carrying out people-to-people exchanges, making institutional improvements and
building broader partnerships.
iv. The BRICS comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
UNO ropes in Satinder Sartaaj for campaign against trafficking
i. Folk singer from Punjab Satinder Sartaaj has been selected for the awareness project against
human trafficking 'Blue Heart Campaign' by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC).
ii. The 34-year-old artist has collaborated with other celebrated Indian musicians like AR
Rahman and Sonu Nigam in this drive to spread awareness about the illegal practice through
'Music to Inspire' album.
Nokia to acquire Finnish telecom software company Comptel for $371 million
i. Finland multinational communications and information technology company Nokia announced

to buy telecoms software firm Comptel for 347 million euros ($371 million).
ii. The aim of the acquisition to help phone carriers manage their networks as mobile andmore
and more rely on software to improve their networks.
Sudarsan Pattnaik creates Guinness World Record by creating 48.8 feet tall sand castle
i. Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has created a Guinness World Record by creating a 48.8 feet tall
sand castle at Puri beach in Odisha.
ii. The record-breaking sculpture was built with a message of world peace, and featured
sculptures of Mahatma Gandhi, Gautama Buddha and Nelson Mandela.
iii. Patnaik achieved the rare feat in four days. The previous record holder, an American, had
completed his art of 45.10 feet in seven days.
MRI pioneer and Nobel laureate Sir Peter Mansfield passes away at 83
i. UK physicist and Nobel laureate Sir Peter Mansfield has died. He was 83. Peter led a team of
experts who revolutionised science and worked on MRI scans.
ii. He had won the Nobel prize for Physiology or Medicine for developing magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI) in 2003.
Sports Ministry Launches Mission XI Million in New Delhi
i. The Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Vijay Goyal launched the
Mission XI Million, the biggest school sport outreach programme, in New Delhi in the presence
of President of AIFF Shri Praful Patel.
ii. The programme has been launched with an aim to make football a sport of choice in India and
encourage children to play the football games on regular basis.
I&B Team win inter-ministry Hockey tournament 2016-17
i. The inter-ministry Hockey tournament 2016 - 17 was held at Central Secretariat Ground Vinay
Marg, New Delhi. The final match played between I & B Ministry and Ministry of Health. I&B
Team won the final match by three goals to Nil.
ii. All the Ministry teams participated in the race for the cup. M.L. Sharma, Chandan Singh,
Kuldeep Singh were the scrorer.
iii. Most entertaining player Chandan Singh was declared Player of the match.

Neelu Rohmetra is the first woman to be appointed director of an IIM at Sirmaur
i. The government recently appointed heads of 10 Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs),

including the first woman to head one of the 20 premier B-schools in the country.
ii. The IIMs that got new directors are in Bodhgaya (Bihar), Sirmaur (Himachal Pradesh),
Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Trichy (Tamil Nadu), Nagpur (Maharashtra), Sambalpur
(Odisha), Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Rohtak (Haryana), Ranchi (Jharkhand) and Bangalore.
iii. Prof Neelu Rohmetra of Jammu University is the first woman to be appointed director of an
IIM at Sirmaur. She specialises in HRD and cross-culture management.
NPCI launches BHIM App on iOS platform

i. After its successful launch on Android, the Bharat Interface for Money, or BHIM, an app, has
been finally launched on the iOS platform.
ii. With its debut on iOS, it is currently supporting over 35 banks and is currently available in
Hindi and English, unlike the Android version which supports other regional languages as well.
iii. BHIM app on iOS also has a limit of Rs10,000 per transaction and Rs20,000 in a day for
transfers through the bank account.
US, Japan successfully intercept missile in space
i. The US and Japanese military have successfully tested the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block
IIA missile defence system by intercepting a medium-range ballistic missile target in space for
the first time.
ii. The missile was launched from a ship off the west coast of Hawaii, US.
iii. The US Missile Defence Agency said that the defence system met each of its primary
objectives.
Grammy Awards to include first-ever transgender ‘trophy girl’
i. The three trophy handlers at the ceremony are transgender model Martina Robledo; model and
actor Derek Marrocco, and model and actress Hollin Haley.
ii. The ceremony host is James Corden.
iii. The 59th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony will be held on February 12, 2017.
ISRO set to launch record 104 satellites on 15 February

i. The PSLV, in its 39th flight (PSLV-C37), will launch the 714kg Cartosat-2 series satellite for
earth observation along with 103 co-passenger satellites, together weighing about 664kg at lift-
off.
ii. PSLV-C37/Cartosat-2 Series Satellite Mission is scheduled to be launched on February
15, 2017 at 9.28 hours IST from SDSC SHAR Sriharikota.
iii. The co-passenger satellites comprise 101 nano- satellites, one each from Israel, Kazakhstan,
the Netherlands, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and 96 from United States of
America (USA), as well as two from India. The two Indian nano-satellites are Isro’s INS-1A and
INS-1B.
National productivity week celebrations to begin from 12th February

i. Every year 12th to 18th of February is celebrated as the National Productivity Week. This year
the theme of week is 'From Waste to Profits-through Reduce, Recycle and Reuse.'
ii. National Productivity Council, an autonomous body under Department of Industrial Policy
and Promotion was established on 12th February in 1958.
iii. The objective of Council is to stimulate and promote productivity and quality consciousness
across all sectors in the country.
Jiro Taniguchi, legend in Japan's comic art of manga, dies at 69
i. Jiro Taniguchi, a legend in Japan's comic art of manga, died at the age of 69.
ii. Taniguchi achieved an international following with works such as The Walking Man, The
Summit of the Gods and The Magic Mountain, hailed for exquisite line drawing and intricately-
constructed landscapes.
India beat Pakistan by 9 wickets to win T20 Blind World Cup 2017
i. India beat Pakistan by 9-wickets to win T20 Blind World Cup at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy
Stadium.
ii. Successfully defending their title in the T20 Blind World Cup, India achieved the victory
target of 198-runs in the 18th over in the final of the tournament.
iii. Man-of-the-match was Prakash Jayaramaiah. Man-of-the-series Badar Munir was the top-
scorer for Pakistan.

PM Narendra Modi extends greetings on World Radio Day 2017
i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his greetings on the World Radio Day on 13 February
2017. Terming radio as “a wonderful way to interact, learn & communicate”, the PM stated. The
theme for the 2017 edition of World Radio Day is 'Radio is You'.
ii. World Radio Day is observed every year on February 13 to celebrate radio as a forum for
entertainment and information, as a bridge of communication for remote communities and its
role in empowering people.
iii. In 2011, the Unesco General Conference had proclaimed February 13 as World Radio Day,
the day United Nations Radio was established in 1946. Radio is the most prevalent mass
medium, with the ability to reach up to 95 percent of the world’s population.
National Women’s Parliament begins in Andhra Pradesh
i. The three-day National Women’s Parliament, being organised by Andhra Pradesh Legislative
Assembly with the theme of ‘Empowering Women - Strengthening Democracy’, began in the
state capital region Amaravati.
ii. The vision of NWP is to enable and encourage social, political and economic empowerment of
women in all strata of the society.
iii. One of the objectives of NWP is to generate new ideas, concepts, theories and ideologies for
women empowerment.An ‘International Woman Icon of the World’ award and 12 best young
achievers awards for women in different fields will be presented at the NWP.
MRPL launches skill development centre
i. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) launched a skill development centre
(Kaushal Vikas Kendra) in Mangaluru. Speaking at the alunch programme, H Kumar, Managing
Director of MRPL stated that the centre will train 60 youths in areas such as ‘industrial
electrician’ and ‘CNC operator-turning’.
ii. He also stated that all expenses, including food, lodging, tutorial expenses, will be borne by
MRPL Kaushal Vikas Kendra. MRPL has got the approval to launch a start-up fund of ₹10
crore, which will be used to support the new ventures and start-ups.
iii. At another function, Nalin Kumar Kateel, MP from Dakshina Kannada, launched the smoke-
free village campaign of MRPL. As a part of oil and gas conservation month, MRPL has
identified villages under four panchayats in its surroundings to make them smoke-free.
iv. Under this campaign, families in the below poverty level category are identified and given
free LPG kits and gas stoves. MRPL will bear the cost of the gas kit and the gas stove provided
to these beneficiaries. In the first phase, the company distributed free LPG kits to nearly 200
families from Soorinje and Chelaru village panchayats.
Second edition of International Spice Conference Begins at Thiruvanantapuram
i. The second edition of the International Spice Conference began at Kovalam in

Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala from February 12, 2017.
ii. The three days conference has been hosted by All India Spices Exporters Forum (AISEF) in
association with the Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The conference was
inaugurated by the Nestle India Limited Chairman and Managing director Suresh Narayanan.
iii. The theme of the conference is '21st Century Spic Industry-Disrupt or be Disrupted' the main
aim of the event is to deliberate on effective strategies and innovative technologies to improve
the livelihood of spice farmers, address spice industry challenges, food safety concern, demand
supply disparity and foster sustainable growth.
Government Approves Setting Rs. 6,831 crore Electronics Development Fund
i. The centre has approved setting up the Electronic Development Fund Tele communication
Ministerwith a total corpus of Rs. 6,831 crore to support entrepreneurship and innovation in
electronics and IT.
ii. The Minister of Law and IT, Ravi Shankar Prasad approved a seed capital of Rs 681 crore on
the basis of which more venture capital will be raised.The Electronic Development Fund will
help to contribute to various other funds under it forthose who invest the money in companies for
creation of intellectual property rights in the field of electronics and IT.
FSSAI sets up panel to finalise laws on food fortification
i. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has set up a 11 member scientific
panel to frame final regulations on fortification of foods and prepare strategies to address
malnutrition problem.
ii. Fortification means deliberately adding or increasing the content of essential micro nutrients
in food items to improve quality.The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has
already issued the draft guidelines on fortification for five food items including salt, milk, wheat
flour, rice and edible oil to boost production and consumption of fortified foods.
Sandeep Jajodia appointed Assocham president
i. Monnet Ispat & Energy Ltd. CMD Sandeep Jajodia has been appointed the new president of
industry chamber Assocham. Balkrishan Goenka, Chairman, Welspun Group and Kiran Kumar
Grandhi, vice-chairman of GMR Infrastructure Ltd, have taken over as senior vice-president and
vice-president respectively.
ii. Assocham will continue to play a transformational role both nationally and globally and the
chamber will empower Indian enterprises by focusing on the most critical and relevant issues in
a highly impact-oriented manner stated Jajodia who took over from Sunil Kanoria former
President of ASSOCHAM
Narinder Chauhan appointed as Ambassador of India to the Republic of Philippines
i. Former IFS officer Narinder Chauhan has been appointed as the next Ambassador of lndia to
the Republic of the Philippines .
ii. Currently Narinder is working as the Ambassador of lndia to the Republic of Serbia.
Diego Maradona Gets Ambassador Role at FIFA.
i. The FIFA governing body has named Argentina’s former soccer player Diego Maradona as the
new Ambassador of the FIFA .The 56 year old will have major role in FIFA’s activities to
promote the game across the globe and will also be be involved in relevant development
projects.
ii. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association is the international governing body of
association football, futsal, and beach soccer. President is Gianni Infantino and Headquarters in
Zurich, Switzerland
Yo-Yo Ma and his ensemble win Best World Music Grammy
i. Cello virtuoso Yo-Yo Ma won a Grammy with his Silk Road Ensemble for Sing Me Home, an
exploration of the musical connections across Eurasia.
ii. The French-born Chinese American cellist had previously won an impressive 17 Grammys,
but his latest is his first for Best World Music Album.
iii. Ma set up The Silk Road Ensemble to bring together musicians from the historic route that
connected the Middle East and Asia, in hopes both of finding artistic commonalities and
furthering the cause of intercultural understanding.
BAFTA 2017: La La Land takes 5 trophies, Dev Patel wins for Lion
i. Director Damien Chazelle’s musical 'La La Land' continued its award dominance by taking
five trophies, including the best film and best actress for Emma Stone, at the British Academy of
Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards , which also recognised British-Indian star Dev Patel
in the best supporting actor category for 'Lion'.
ii. 'La La Land', which also won Chazelle a best director Bafta, is expected to sustain its
momentum at the Oscars on February 26 where it has scored a record 14 nominations.
Eminent journalist and Laughter Persona Pandit Dharmsheel Chaturvedi Dies
i. The eminent thinker, writer and journalist Pandit Dharmsheel Chaturvedi passed away.
ii. The Hindi Kavi Pt. Dharmsheel Chaturvedi was considered ‘Swayam Mein Benaras’ means
‘Banaras in Himslef’ in elite circle.
Jiro Taniguchi, a Japanese manga legend Dies at 69
i. Jiro Taniguchi, a Japanese manga writer died in Tokyo on February 11, 2017. He was 69.
Taniguchi began his career as an assistant to the artist Kyota Ishikawa.
ii. His own first piece of manga was published in the year 1970 named 'A Desiccated Summer'.
iii. Taniguchi first shot to fame in Japan at the end of the 1980s with the first volume of 'The
Times of Botchan'
Ravichandran Ashwin Becomes Fastest Bowler To Claim 250 Wickets
i. Indian off-spin specialist Ravichandran Ashwin became the fastest cricketer to take 250
wickets in Test matches.
ii. He achieved this feat in his 45th test match against Bangladesh on 12 February 2017, when he
dismissed captain of Bangladesh team Mushfiqur Rahim at the Rajiv Gandhi International
stadium in Hyderabad.
iii. Ashwin surpassed Australian fast bowler Dennis Keith Lillee, who played 48 matches to
reach the milestone of 250 Test wicket.
NBA & Take Two to Launch NBA 2K E-League
i. The National Basketball Association (NBA), an American professional basketball league is

creating a brand new e-sports league called NBA 2K e-League in partnership with Take-Two
Interactive Software Inc., the developers of the popular NBA 2K video games.
ii. This is the first time that a professional sports organization will operate an e-sports league.
The competitive gaming league will be launched in 2018.
11th International Aero India 2017 to begin at Yelahanka in Bengaluru
i. The 11th International Aerospace and Defence Exhibition - Aero India 2017 will begin at the Air Force
Station, Yelahanka in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
ii. The five-day biennial event is being organized by Defence Exhibition Organisation (DEO). Nearly 270
Indian and 279 foreign companies will take part in the expo.
iii. Surya Kiran Aerobatics team of the Indian Air Force will display 500th public show since its
formation in 1996. Aircraft from different parts of the world and India could be seen at the base, waiting
to enthral the crowds.
iv. Fighter aircraft manufacturers like Lockheed Martin, SAAB, Dassault Aviation, BAE and others are
setting up stalls where they will showcase their products. 72 aircraft will participate in airshow.
I-T dept issues refunds of Rs 1.42 cr this fiscal; 41.5% higher than last year, 2016
i. The income tax department has issued refunds of 1.42 lakh crore rupees so far this fiscal. It is 41.5 per
cent higher than last year, 2016.
ii. The centralised processing centre of the tax department has already processed over 4.19 crore income
tax returns and issued over 1.62 crore refunds during the current financial year.
iii. Finance Ministry in a release stated that, 92% of the refunds issued are below 50 thousand rupees, due
to the high priority given to expeditious issue of refunds to small taxpayers. It stated that, only 2% of
refunds less than 50 thousand rupees remain to be issued. The Ministry said that 92% of all I-T returns
were processed within 60 days.
Thailand seeks India’s partnership in pharma, bio-tech
i. Thailand is seeking India’s cooperation in a number of sectors, such as aerospace, automation, medical
devices, pharmaceutical, bio-technology and IT/ITes, as it strives to transform into a value-based
economy.
ii. The Thailand Board of Investment, which has invited 2,500 investors from across countries to its mega
seminar Opportunity Thailand 2017 this week, is especially interested in investments from India, an
official from the thai government has stated.
iii. The India-Thailand Free Trade Agreement being considered by the two countries could play a big role
in boosting trade and investments.
India’s first floating elementary school inaugurated on Manipur’s Loktak Lake
i. India’s first floating elementary school particularly for drop outs has been inaugurated on Loktak lake at
Langolsabi Leikai of Champu Khangpok floating village in Manipur on the occasion of World Wetlands
Day on February 2, 2017.
ii. The school named as Loktak Elementary Floating School has been opened under an floating
elementary schoolinitiative of All Loktak Lake Fishermen’s Union, Manipur (ALLAFUM) with the
support of NGO, People’s Resources Development Association (PRDA) under a programme of Action
Aid India.
Bill Passed in Karnataka Assembly to allow ‘Kambala’
i. The Karnataka assembly unanimously passed the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Karnataka
Amendment) Bill, 2017 to legalize the conduct of 'Kambala' and bullock cart races in Karnataka.
ii. The Bill seeks to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, (Central Act 59 of 1960) and
exempt the two sports from the ambit of the Act keeping in mind their traditional nature and also to
protect native breeds of buffaloes.
iii. The bill states that the traditional sports events of 'Kambala' and 'Bulls race or Bullock cart race' plays
significant role in preserving and promoting traditions and culture among the people in the state.
Be friends with condom: AHF on International Condoms Day
i. AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) celebrated its annual International Condoms Day on 13 February
2017 in a unique style to raise awareness about HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
ii. The event themed 'Always in Fashion' gave it a sartorial prominence and promoted the idea that
condoms were not some alien rubber, but crucial for safety during sex.A 40-feet inflatable condom-
shaped balloon was also installed at Central Park in Connaught Place, on which public was encouraged to
sign and endorse condom use
National Career Services (NCS) and Jeevan Praman Facility for EPFO Pensioners Launched in
Hyderabad Post Office
i. The Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya launched the National
Career Service (NCS) for youths and Jeevan Praman facility to EPFO pensioners through Post Offices at
DakSadan in Hyderabad.
ii. The Post Offices will serve as an Employment Registration Centres for Unemployed rural youth on
behalf of the 'National Career Service' Portal where youths can register themselves for employment in
1,55,000 post offices established across the country for over 3000 occupations offered under 52 sectors in
NCS
MEA & Gateway House Co-Hosts 2nd Gateway of India Geoeconomic Dialogue
i. The Ministry of External Affairs and Gateway House are co-hosting the Second Gateway of India
Geoeconomic Dialogue from February 13-14, 2017 in Mumbai.
ii. The theme of the conference is 'Where Geopolitics meets Business'.This is India’s premier geo-
economics conference with the focus on building synergies between business and foreign policy
Sachin Tendulkar adopts another village for transformation
i. After transforming the lives of villagers in Puttamraju Kandriga in Andhra Pradesh, Indian cricket icon
and Rajya Sabha MP Sachin Tendulkar is now set to adopt Donja in Osmanabad (Maharashtra) under the
Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna.
ii. Tendulkar has sanctioned over Rs 4 crore from his MPLAD fund for development of Donja.
GNFC township becomes India’s first cashless Township
i. India’s first cashless township “Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers and Chemicals (GNFC)
township”was inaugurated by Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani.
ii. Nearly 10,000 residents in GNFC have embraced various digital mode of payments instead of cash.In
the township, residents are making cashless payments at shopping centres, schools, colleges, hospital,
stadium, laundry and even at tea stalls.
Government to launch Indradhanush 2.0 for Recapitalization of PSBs
i. Union Government has decided to launch ‘Indradhanush 2.0’ for recapitalisation of public sector
lenders so that the banks remain solvent and fully comply with the global capital adequacy norms namely
Basel-III.
ii. The Indradhanush 2.0 programme will be finalised by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) after completion
of Asset Quality Review (AQR) being undertaken and is likely to be completed by end of March
2017.Asset Quality Review is being undertaken to recognize the top defaulting accounts as Non-
Performing Assets (NPA) and make adequate provisions for them as they have negative impact on banks
and their stocks.
iii. Post AQR, revised programme of capitalisation will be also issued as part of ‘Indradhanush 2.0.Earlier
in 2015, under Indradhanush roadmap, the government had announced to infuse Rs 70,000 crore for
recapitalization in state-run banks over four years while the banks had to raise a further Rs 1.1 lakh crore
from the markets to meet their capital requirement in line with global risk norms known as Basel-III.
INS Sarvekshak Becomes India’s First Ship to be Installed with Solar Power System
i. Indian Navy’s survey class vessel INS Sarvekshak has become the first ship in India to be fitted with
solar power system on board.
ii. The ship has been equipped with 18 sheets of solar panel of 300 Watt which is capable of generating
5.4 kW power.
Reliance Defence Signs Master Ship Repair Agreement with US Navy
i. The Reliance Defence and Engineering Ltd (RDEL) has signed a Master Ship Repair Agreement
(MSRA) with US Navy to perform repair and alteration services for US Navy’s Seventh Fleet
vessels.The Reliance Infrastructure Ltd (RInfra) controlled RDEL will perform complex repair and
alternation services for the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet vessels operating in the Western Pacific and Indian
Ocean.
ii. The Reliance Shipyard was qualified by US Navy as an approved contractor to perform complex repair
for the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet vessels in January 2017.Reliance Shipyard at Pipavav, Gujarat is the
first shipyard in India to have received MSRA Certification to undertake servicing and repairing works
for the vessels of Seventh Fleet.
L&T and MBDA Missile Systems Forms JV to Develop Missiles in India
i. Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T), an Engineering and construction major has entered into a Joint
Venture with European defence major MBDA Missile Systems.
ii. The main aim of the JV is development of missiles in India under the Make in India initiative while
procuring the missile systems from abroad.As per the agreement, L&T will own 51 percent stake in the
JV named L&T MBDA Missile Systems while the rest 49% the European partner.L&T is targeting an
annual turnover of Rs 10,000 crore from the JV by 2021.
Ruchi Soya ties up with Patanjali
i. India's leading agri and FMCG company Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd has signed an agreement with Baba
Ramdev-promoted Patanjali Ayurved Ltd for physical refining and packaging of edible oils.
ii. The agreement is valid initially for three years. As per the agreement, Ruchi Soya Industries would
process the crude oil provided by Patanjali Ayurved and pack the refined oil as per their specifications.
New bird species found in Nepal
i. A Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush has been spotted in the high mountainous region of Nepal by Friends of
Nature (FoN) reasearchers and then confirmed by the bird experts Carol Inskipp and Hem Sagar Baral.
ii. Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush is considered an autumn passage migrant bird species in Pakistan and
India.With this the total number of avian species in the Himalayan country to 866.
Longest elevated cycle path in the world opens in China
i. The world’s longest elevated cycle path has been opened in Xiamen, China which can handle about
2,023 cyclists with a speed limit of 15 miles per hour.
ii. The path is five miles long and 16 feet wide having 11 entrances and connects to 11 bus stops and two
underground rail stations.
iii. The architecture firm responsible is Copenhagen-based firm Dissing + Weitling, known for the
creation of the Danish Bicycle Snake cycle route.
Frank Walter Steinmeier Elected New President of Germany
i. Germany’s former Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been elected as the new President of
Germany.The 61-year old won by 931 votes out of 1,239 valid votes cast by the members of the Federal
Assembly.
ii. He is due to take office as the 12th Federal President of Germany on 19 March 2017.Steinmeier, a
member of the Social Democratic party will succeed incumbent President Joachim Gauck who will step
down on March 18, 2017 at the age of 77.
US National Security Adviser Michael Flynn resigns over his contacts with Russia
In the United States, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has resigned over his contacts with Russia.
Mr Flynn is alleged to have discussed US sanctions with the Russian Ambassador before President
Donald Trump took office.
Maiden ITTF World Tour event in India to kick of in New Delhi
i. The first ever ITTF World Tour event in India will begin at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex in New
Delhi. The 1.5 lakh US dollar India Open also happens to be the biggest ever ITTF event in terms of prize
money.
ii. But despite the rewards on offer, a majority of the top international table tennis stars have given the
competition a miss. Overall, 80 players have confirmed their participation, 52 in the men's section and 28
in the women's section.
Dutch Women Germaine De Randamie crowned first UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion
i. Netherland native Germaine de Randamie defeated Holly Holm (7-3) to claim the UFC Women’s
Featherweight Champion at the UFC 208 in Brooklyn, New York .
ii. The featherweight division was newly introduced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in
2016.
Joe Root Becomes New Test Captain of England
i. The England and Wales Cricket Board named Joe Root as England’s Test captain who will take over
Alastair Cook.
ii. Durham all-rounder Ben Stokes has been named as the vice-captain.Alastair Cook resigned on
February 6, 2017 after captaining England for four and a half years in 59 Tests.

PSLV-C37 carrying CARTOSAT-2 series earth observation satellite lifts off from Sriharikota:
ISRO
i. PSLV-C37 carrying CARTOSAT-2 series earth observation satellite and 103 nano satellites has
lifted off from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
ii. PSLV-C37 successfully placed in orbit India’s CARTOSAT-2 series satellite and two other
satellites.India successfully launched record 104 satellites, including CARTOSAT-2 series
weather observation satellite, in a single mission onboard PSLV-C37 rocket.
Haryana govt imposes curbs on liquor consumption
i. Haryana government has notified that no person will be allowed to consume liquor at a
place which is not licensed or authorized under the Punjab Excise Act, 1914 except his
dwelling unit.
ii. Giving this information, Excise and Taxation Minister, Capt. Abhimanyu stated at
Chandigarh that the consumption of liquor in a vehicle running or parked, along the road or in
a park/garden/market or a river side etc. shall be an offence.
Harsh Vardhan to inaugurate International Conference on NexGen Technologies for

Mining, Fuel Industries
i. Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan will inaugurate the International
Conference on NexGen Technologies for Mining and Fuel Industries in New Delhi .
ii. The three day conference will cover areas like Innovative ming technology for sustainable
development and advances in mine design mine planning recent advancement in drilling and
blasting. The conference, organized by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry will take
place at Vigyan Bhawan.
International Coin Fair Begins in Thiruvananthapuram

i. The International Coin Fair was inaugurated at Kanakakunnu Palace in Thiruvananthapuram,
Kerala by the Kerala state Minister for Tourism, Cooperation and Devaswoms Kadakampally
Surendran.
ii. The three day exhibiton 13-15 February, 2017 has been organized by the District Tourism
Promotion Council (DTPC).The exhibition has been organized to showcase more than 2,500
coins from around 500 regions including those from the time of empires and princely states.It
would also feature the collection of Justin Gilbert Lopez who holds a Guinness world record
for the largest coin collection of nearly 310 countries.
Centre Allocates Rs. 500 crore to India Post Payments Bank for FY18
i. Government has allocated an amount of Rs 500 crore to India Post Payments Bank for the
financial year 2017-18 to help it in setting up 650 branches across country by September 2017.
ii. As per Output-Outcome Framework for Schemes 2017-18 for the Department of Posts
released that out of the allocated amount, Rs. 125 crore has been allocated as capital
infusion into corporate entity for India Post Payments Bank” and Rs 375 crore as grant in aid
to India Post Payments Bank (IPPB).
ii. Besides, Rs 110.83 crore has been allocated for establishing e-commerce, parcel booking,
international business centres, Rs 73.5 crore for estates management, Rs 32 crore for mail
operations and Rs 17.7 crore for equipments and IT infrastructure in rural post offices.Apart
from this, government has allocated Rs 3.8 crore for setting up 246 offices and 200 outlets for
providing better access to communication and financial services.
Nomura Projects India’s GDP at 5.7 % in January-March quarter, 2017
i. According to the global financial services major Nomura, the GDP growth of India is
estimated to remain low at 5.7% in the January-March quarter due to the effect of
demonetization of high value currency.
ii. Nomura expects the economic growth to slow from 7.3% GDP growth in the July-September
2016 to 6% in the October-December 2016 quarter and further to 5.7% in the first quarter of
2017 ending March 2017. However, the growth is also expected to recover after the first
quarter of 2017 due to remonetization and wealth redistribution.
UNESCOs Nature Fest held in Himachal Pradesh
i. France based UNESCO organised the two-day Nature Fest at the World Heritage Site Great
Himalayan National Park (GNHP) at Sairopa in Kullu district in the state of Himachal Pradesh.
ii. The festival was organised in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and
would be attended by prominent conservationists.A media workshop held on the sidelines and
Discussion on nature conservation to discuss various aspects of environmental journalism.
Catholic Syrian Bank’s ‘name and shame’ campaign starts paying dividends
i. The ‘name and shame campaign’ initiated by Catholic Syrian Bank Employees and Retirees
against wilful defaulters in Kerala seems to have started paying dividends.
ii. Of the 30 defaulters identified by the bank with dues of more than Rs50 lakh each, 10
borrowers have already approached the bank with settlement proposals, following dharnas
organised at 20 locations in the State.
iii. According to EJ Kurien, DGM in charge of Asset Recovery, the bank has already received
firm assurance for payments worth Rs25 crore from defaulters.The bank is now looking at
getting these accounts closed before March.
iv. However, non-availability of adequate cash with the borrowers post demonetisation is
posing a challenge, he stated.The benefit derived from the campaign is that the bank has
succeeded in sending a strong message to defaulters not to avoid loan repayments.
IDFC Asset Management Company launches Open-Ended Fixed Income Fund
i. IDFC Asset Management Company launched an open-ended fixed income fund named Credit
Opportunities Fund in Mumbai which is expected to raise the revenue of the company in the
range of Rs 300 crore-500 crore within the NFO period itself.
ii. A new fund offer (NFO) is the first time subscription offer for a new scheme launched by
the asset management companies (AMCs).
iii. A new fund offer is launched in the market to raise capital from the public in order to buy
securities like shares, govt. bonds etc. from the market.The Credit Opportunities Fund will
open for subscription on February 14, 2017 and close on February 27, 2017.
iv. It will reopen for continuous sale and repurchase from March 6, 2017.The new fund
scheme aims to optimise the higher risk associated with the credit fund category.
World Bank Group to conduct training programmes for NBFCs
i. International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, has teamed up with
Finance Industry Development Council (FIDC) to conduct training programmes for Non Banking
Finance Companies (NBFCs).
ii. The training programmes will be on 'movable asset financing' and 'commercial credit
reporting'. For this purpose, two engagement letters have been signed between IFC and FIDC,
a representative body for NBFCs, especially those engaged in asset financing.
iii. Such programmes are expected to enhance the awareness, expertise and professionalism
of NBFCs, especially the large number of small and medium sized NBFCs catering to the credit
needs in rural and semi-urban areas.
iv. These training programmes would be conducted at various centres across the country
under the guidance of leading consultants from the World Bank Group.
Nilesh Shivji Vikamsey appointed new President of ICAI
i. Nilesh Shivji Vikamsey was elected as the new President of the Institute of Chartered
Accountants of India (ICAI) for the year 2017-18.The 40-member Central Council of the
Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) also elected Naveen N D Gupta as the Vice-
President for the year 2017-18.
ii. Prior to this, Vikamsey served as vice-president and has been the member of ICAI since
1985 while Gupta was Chartered Accountant of ICAI for more than 20 years. The Institute of
Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) was established under the Chartered Accountants Act,
1949 passed by the Parliament of India with the objective of regulating accountancy
profession in India.The council has 32 elected members and eight are nominated by the
Central government
Tehmina Janjua Appointed First Women Foreign Secretary of Pakistan
i. Pakistani Career diplomat Tehmina Janjua was appointed as the Foreign Secretary of
Pakistan by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.She is the first women to be appointed on the post
and will serve as the 29th Foreign Secretary of Pakistan.
ii. Tehmina Janjua will replace outgoing foreign secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry and assume
office in the first week of March 2017.Presently, she was serving as Ambassador and
Permanent Representative to Tehmina Janjua Athe United Nations in Geneva since October
2015.
Veteran Journalist T V Parasuram Passed Away
i. Former correspondent of the Press Trust of India, T V Parasuram passed away. He was 93.
ii. Parasuram has won a Harvard Niemen Fellowship in journalism. He had served as the
correspondent for The Indian Express for two decades.
iii. He has authored two books -‘ A Medal for Kashmir’, and ‘Jewish Heritage in India‘
Winning Legendary Jazz Singer Al Jarreau Dies at 76
i. Legendary American jazz singer Al Jarreau passed away in Los Angeles. He was 76.
ii. Al Jarreau was nicknamed as 'Acrobat of Scat' for his unique singing style and was best
known for his 1981 album 'Breakin’ Away and singing the theme song to the popular 1980’s TV
show Moonlighting.
Australia’s Adam Voges Announces Retirement from International Cricket
i. Australian cricketer Adam Voges has decided to retire from all formats of international
cricket after playing his last match as captain of the team Prime Minister’s XI against Sri
Lanka in Canberra.
ii. Voges has played only 20 Tests for Australia after debuting at the age of 35 in 2015 and
became the oldest debut centurion when he scored an unbeaten 130 against West Indies in
Dominica.
Jehan Daruvala wins New Zealand GP, finishes fifth in Toyota series
i. Jehan Daruvala became the first ever Indian to claim the New Zealand Grand Prix at Jehan
Daruvalathe Chris Amon Circuit in Manfeild, New Zealand.
ii. With this win, Jehan, a Force India F1 team racing driver, scored 781 points in the Toyota
Racing Series having 15-race held in January-February and was placed in fifth position.
iii. Australia’s Thomas Randle became the first Australian to win the Toyota Racing Series
with 855 points followed by Brazilian Pedro Piquet (850 pts) at second and Dutch driver
Richard Verschoor (843) at third.
Mumbai Boy Kush Bhagat Awarded CM Title by World Chess Federation
i. Mumbai based Kush Bhagat has been awarded the Candidate Master (CM) title by the World
Chess Federation body, FIDE on February 14, 2017 for his outstanding performance in Western
Asian Youth Chess championship 2016 at UAE.
ii. Kush, a second grade student from Hill Spring International School has presented
tremendous performances in the past 6 months
Daily GK Update 16th February , 2017

Cabinet approves merger of five subsidiary banks with SBI
i. Cabinet has approved merger of five subsidiary banks with State Bank of India. Briefing
reporters in New Delhi , Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has stated that, the merger is likely to
result in recurring saving, which is estimated at more than one thousand crore rupees in first
year.
ii. He said, SBI will acquire State bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State
Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Travancore. Mr Jaitley also said,
existing customers of these subsidiary banks will benefit from access to SBI's global network.
He said, the move is excepted to strengthen banking sector and improve its efficiency and
profitability.
Tamil Nadu Governor appoints Edappadi K Palaniswami as chief minister
i. Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao appointed Edappadi K Palaniswami as chief minister
after replacing of o panneerselvam .
ii. The governor requested the chief minister designate to seek the vote confidence of the
assembly within 15 days.His appointment is in acceptance of the letter of submitted by
Palaniswami that he was elected as the leader of the AIADMK legislature party at a
meeting of the party MLAs held.
2-day Global Investor Summit 'Momentum Jharkhand' begins in Ranchi
i. A two-day mega event of Global Investor Summit, branded as "Momentum Jharkhand" is

kicked off at Khelgaon of Ranchi.
ii. More than one thousands delegates, including many leading industrialists, both Indian and
from other countries, will take part in this. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the
Submit through viedo-conferencing. A number of Central Ministers will also be present at the
occasion.
India, Croatia signs agreement to boost bilateral trade & enhance economic cooperation
i. Union Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Martina Dalic, Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of the Economy,Republic of Croatia have signed an agreement to boost
bilateral trade and enhance economic cooperation in Zagreb, Croati.
ii. To promote and develop bilateral trade and economic relations. This Agreement would be
a step in continuity of the previous agreemebt which expired in November, 2009. India’s
bilateral trade with Croatia during 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 stood at USD 148.86 million,
USD 205.04 million and USD 148.44 million respectively.
Kerala: A group launches helpline number for waste management
i. In Kerala, Thanal, a city-based group in Thiruvananthapuram has launched a helpline for

providing technical support in treating organic waste and managing non-biodegradable solid
wastes.
ii. The helpline 94001 47150 will provide information and guidance for composting kitchen
waste, terrace farming, organic farming, and pest/fungi control by organic means.Free
demonstration and technical guidance on treating organic waste will be provided. In the case
of organic farming, technical demonstration will be organised for groups.
5-day Indian Panaroma Film Festival organised in Port Blair
i. The five-day ‘Indian Panorama Film Festival’ being organised by the Directorate of
Information and Publicity, Andaman & Nicobar Administration, in association with the Ministry
of Information & Broadcasting and Directorate of Film Festivals/IFFI, New Delhi, Govt. of
India got underway in Port Blair.
ii. The Directorate of Film Festivals in India is an organisation that initiates and presents the
International Film Festival of India, the National Film Awards and the Indian Panorama.
AP signs MoUs for 12 textile units
i. During the recent CII partnership summit in AP 12 MoUs were signed by the State
Government with different companies for setting up 12 apparel units in the State entailing
investment of Rs. 963 crores in all and generating 46,000 jobs. These 12 projects will come up
in the next one to one-and-a-half years.
ii. Four of the units will come up in the Brandix apparel park , including two by
Chinese companies, five units in Anantapur district and the remaining in Chittoor district.
The Andhra Pradesh Government is encouraging the textile sector in a big way and
entrepreneurs should make use of the benefits being offered by the State as well as the
special package given by the Union Government in the Budget to set up more units, according
to K. Srikanth Prabhakar, the Joint Director in the office of the Commissioner of Handlooms
and Textiles, AP Government.
J&K govt launches e-Prison project
i. The Jammu and Kashmir government launched the e-Prison project to enumerate jail
inmates in the State, where numbers of detainees keep swelling during unrest.State Minister
for Information Technology Molvi Imran Raza Ansari, who inaugurated the project in Jammu
stated that The information about jail inmates is currently being maintained manually.
ii. To avoid delays in processing the information and manage all the jails efficiently, the
automation of prison department has been started.The government has already digitised
records of 500 inmates. The project will digitise 25 district jails, two Central jails and one
sub-jail in the State. The second phase of the project will focus on videoconferencing
between jails and prison headquarters, e-court, tele-medication in jails.
Mamata Banerjee declares Kalimpong as separate district
i. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee declared Kalimpong as 21st district of West Bengal
Kalimpong as separate district of West Bengal .
ii. The new district is from Darjeeling. On the same day Banerjee announced two projects for
the development of newly created Kalimpong Rs 220 crore road link project to connect
Kalimpong with Sikkim via the old Silk Route.Rs 50 crore water supply project to address
Kalimpong’s water scarcity problem.
Madhya Pradesh government to set up Tourism Board
i. The state government of MP decided to set up a tourism board. The decision was reached at
a meeting of the tourism cabinet in Pachmarhi.The chief minister Shivraj singh chauhan will
be the chairman of the board.
ii. According to the state government, the decision to constitute the Tourism Board has been
taken to encourage and promote Madhya Pradesh tourism nationally and internationally.
iii. The main work of the board would be implementation of the state's tourism policy, attract
private sector participation, facilitate investors and extend benefits to them as is permissible
under the tourism policy. The Board would also have to formulate new policies, monitor new
tourism projects, select and increase land banks and organise fairs, food festivals, cultural
programmes, cottage industry carnivals.
India Joins UN Network to Prevent Maternal, Newborn and Child Deaths by 2030.
i. India has become one of the nine members of the new ‘Network for Improving Quality of
Care for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health’ that aims to improve the quality of care for
new mothers and babies.
ii. The global health network is supported by World Health Organisation (WHO), UN
International Children’s Fund (Unicef) and other partners.Besides India the other member
nations of the network includes, Bangladesh, A Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi,
Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda.
iii.The main aim of the network is to strengthen national efforts to improve the quality of
care for new mothers and babies so that countries can achieve the Sustainable Development
Goals targets to end preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths by 2030.
2017 Cobra Gold Exercise Begins in Thailand
i. The 2017 Cobra Gold Military Exercise kicked off at the Sattahip Royal Thai Marine Corps
Base in Chonburi Province, Thailand .Cobra Gold 2017 is the 36th edition of the multinational
drill and is co-organized by Cobra GoldUnited States and Thailand. It will expand regional
cooperation and collaboration for disaster relief.
ii. The ten day exercise would continue till February 24, 2017 and the closing ceremony of the
event will take place in Phu Lamyai Training area in Nakhon Ratchasima Province. As many as
30 nations are participating in the drill including China, India, Singapore, South Korea and
Malaysia, who are either involved in or are observing the exercises.
Suguna Foods, Tata DoCoMo tie up
i. Suguna Foods has, with deployment of Tata DoCoMo data connectivity solutions managed to
achieve operational efficiency across its offices in rural areas. The company, according to a
release faced typical connectivity challenge as its offices are located in remote areas.
ii. Tata DoCoMo provided domestic Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) to Suguna Foods in
Coimbatore and 42 sites with traditional MPLS and 7 sites of Xpress Virtual Private Network
(VPN).
SoftBank to buy Fortress Investment for $3.3 billion
i. Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp has agreed to buy Fortress Investment Group LLC for about
$3.3 billion, looking to add investment expertise as it prepares to launch the world’s largest
private equity fund.
ii. The all-cash deal is SoftBank’s first major investment in an asset manager and represents
yet another unpredictable gambit for a group that has to date focussed on telecoms and
technology.
IMF Launches South Asia Training and Technical Assistance Center in New Delhi
i. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) launched its first fully integrated capacity
development centre, South Asia Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC) in New
Delhi.The SARTTAC was inaugurated by Shaktikanta Das, Secretary of India’s Ministry of IMF's
SARTTAC Finance.
ii. SARTTAC will help to assist the local member countries of South Asia including Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.It has been financed jointly by the IMF, the
member countries, and development partners (Australia, South Korea the EU and the UK).The
main objective of SARTTAC is to help its member countries strengthen their institutional and
human capacity to design and implement macroeconomic and financial policies that promote
growth and reduce poverty.
HDFC Life Launches ‘Pragati’ Plan For Low Income Group
i. Life insurance firm, HDFC life launched a traditional life insurance plan 'Pragati' for low
income group people.The plan has been designed especially to empower low income families
by making the plan available at affordable rate to every person who has the desire to secure
his family.
ii. Pragati will offer dual benefit. Firstly a systematic savings with guaranteed premium
returns and secondly a wholesome life protection making it an ideal financial product for
every Indian household.
Airbus signs MoU for setting up centre of excellence in Hyderabad
i. The multinational Airbus Group division Airbus joined hand with Telangana government,
National Skill Development Corporation Airbus signs MoU for setting up centre of excellence
in Hyderabad.
ii. India and AEROCAMPUS France for establishing a Centre of Excellence at at Begumpet
Airport for aerospace skill development in Hyderabad.To enhance the employability of young
aspirants by imparting the required skills to them.
First Ever Indian Genomics Beacon Launched in UK
i. The Global Gene Corp and Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) launched an
Indian Beacon for Indian genomics data to enable the scientists in developing more effective
drug delivery systems.
ii. It was launched by the Indian deputy high commissioner to the UK, Dinesh Patnaik at the
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Hinxton, Cambridgeshire. A beacon is an online web
service that allows researchers to determine whether an institution has particular genomic
data in its data set. Genomics is the science that will define healthcare in our lifetime.
Usain Bolt honored with ‘Sportsman of the Year’
i. Usain Bolt honored with ‘Sportsman of the Year ’Jamaica’s sprinter Usain Bolt won the
‘Sportsman of the Year’ award at the Laureus World Awards or the ‘Oscar of Sports’ held in
Monaco .
ii. Usain Bolt received his award from legendary Michael Johnson. This is the fourth time that
the world’s greatest sprinter has won the honor. Earlier in 2009, 2010 and 2013 too he won
the award.
Sandeep Singh Indian International Hockey Player Receives Honorary Doctorate
i. Indian professional hockey player Sandeep Singh has been honored with an Honorary
Doctorate Degree by Desh Bhagat University, a private educational institution in Amloh,
Fatehgarh Sahib District of Punjab.
ii. He is the second Indian hockey player to receive this award. The only first player was
Dileep Tirkey, former captain and sitting Member of Parliament, to receive an honorary
degree for sporting excellence from Sambalpur University in 2010.
Pakistani Batsman Jamshed Suspended from all forms of Cricket
i. The Left-handed opening batsman of Pakistan Nasir Jamshed on February 13 has been
provisionally suspended from all forms of cricket by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for
violating its anti-corruption code.
ii. PCB is investigating into the corruption scandal that hit the Pakistan Super League.

Cabinet Approvals on 17 February 2017
i. The Union Government chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved setting up of
Food Legumes Research Platform (FLRP) at Amlaha, Sehore in Madhya Pradesh for meeting
the emerging food security challenges.
ii. The Cabinet approved the signing of Air Services Agreement between India and Rwanda
which will enable the airlines of the two countries to operate services in each others’
territory.
iii. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its approval to award contract in 31
contract areas under Discovered Small Fields Policy 2016 undertaken last year
iv. The Union Cabinet approved the merger of the State Bank of India with its 5 subsidiary
banks namely State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur; State Bank of Hyderabad; State Bank of
Mysore; State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Travancore.
India Ranked 143 in the 2017 Index of Economic Freedom Index
i. India has been ranked 143 out of 186 economies in the annual Index of Economic Freedom
2017 released by top US based Think Tank, The Heritage Foundation.The Index measures the
degree of economic freedom in the countries of the world.
ii. Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand are the top three nations in the Index respectively.
iii. India has been placed in the category of “Mostly Unfree” Economies in which the points
ranges from 50.0-59.9.
Science Express Climate Action Special to be flagged off
i. Science Express Climate Action Special (SECAS II) will be flagged off today (17 February,
2017) from Safdarjung Railway station in Delhi. The train will be open for public viewing at
Delhi Cantonment Railway Station tomorrow (18 February 2017) and the day after (19
February 2017). The train will later embark upon its journey across the country.
ii. The SECAS II will run till 8th September and culminate its journey at Gandhinagar.During its
journey, the Science Express will cover over 19,000 kilometres, and will be exhibited at 68
stations across 20 states.
iii. SECAS will roll into Tripura for the first time. Science Express, redesigned as SECAS,
intends to contribute towards increasing understanding of the science of climate change, the
observed and anticipated impacts, and different possible responses.
iv. The exhibition will convey a message about Climate Change and will also be a good
opportunity to generate a dialogue and discussion. It aims to create awareness among various
sections of society, as to how climate change can be combated through mitigation and
adaptation.
Axiscades partners Slovakian firm
i. Axiscades, a aerospace and defence technologies company and Virtual Reality Media a
Slovakian firm have signed an industrial cooperation agreement (ICA) at the Aero India 2017.
ii. Sudhakar Gande, Vice-Chairman of Axiscades, stated in a statement that Under the ICA,
both companies will evaluate opportunities for full flight simulator for the aerospace and
defence sector and to address therequirements for Russian platforms such as the Dornier 228
aircraft and other platforms.
Vetiver Network launched
i. India Vetiver Network (INVN) has been launched at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. INVN
is a not-for-profit scientific network to promote vetiver in India.
ii. Vetiver has worldwide application to tackle many environmental issues like soil erosion,
mitigation of soil and water pollution.
iii. The mission of INVN is environmental protection using vetiver. Promotion of research in
vetiver identification of varieties, improved production technologies and distillation
techniques.
BEL launches communication radio
i. PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has unveiled a new communication radio for the Indian
armed forces, called STARS-V Mk III, at the Aero India 2017 show.
ii. MV Gowtama, CMD of BEL stated that The radio is completely designed, developed and
made in BEL. It is a multi brand, high data rate, software intensive IP radio with mobile ad
hoc networking (MANET) functions supporting up to 64 notes, stated the firm in a statement.
Shah Rukh Khan to host Hindi version of Ted Talks
i. Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan will soon host the Hindi version of popular
international show TED Talks. Star India will air the Indian version TED Talks India Nayi Soch,
a global first Hindi TV talk show created in partnership with TED, the non-profit devoted to
ideas worth spreading .
ii. This is the first time TED is collaborating with a network and mega-star to produce a TV
series featuring original TED Talks in a language other than English.Uday Shankar, Chairman &
CEO, Star India, stated that, In an age of high volatility, the role of ideas to fuel positive
change cannot be overstated. We are delighted to have Shah Rukh Khan share our vision and
lend his charisma to this exciting endeavour.
Vikas Swarup appointed High Commisioner to Canada
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Vikas Swarup has been appointed the new High
Commissioner to Canada.Mr. Swarup, a well-known author became the MEA spokesperson in
April 2015. He is expected to join his new post in Ottawa by mid-March, 2017.
Himachal Pradesh Governor Inaugurates Campaign against Drug Addiction
i. The Himachal Pradesh Governor Acharya Devvrat inaugurated a Campaign against Drug
Addiction organized by Shimla Press Club in Shimla.
ii. The campaign aims to make the state drug free.The Governor has announced to grant Rs 1
lakh to the Press Club Shimla for organising the campaign against drugs.Through the
campaign, the state will make effort to eradicate drugs that not only affect the physical and
mental health of the addict but also lead them towards increase in crime.
Kerala cabinet Gives In-Principle Approval for Greenfield Airport at Sabarimala
i. The Kerala cabinet gave its in-principle approval for setting up a Greenfield Airport at
pilgrim centre Sabarimala located at the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Western Ghat mountain
ranges of Pathanamthitta District, Kerala.
ii. The state government has also directed Kerala State Industrial Development Corp (KSIDC)
to conduct a study on the proposed airport.
Five new Supreme Court judges take oath, apex court now has 28 justices
i. Five Supreme Court judges took oath of office with the swearing in of Justice Sanjay K Kaul,
Justice Mohan Shantanagoudar, Justice S A Nazeer, Justice Navin Sinha and Justice Deepak
Gupta, the total strength of the Supreme Court now stands at 28, three short of its sanctioned
strength of 31.
ii. Justice Kaul was the Chief Justice of Madras High Court, Justice Sinha was the Chief Justice
of Rajasthan High Court, Justice Shantanagouder was the Chief Justice of Kerala High Court,
Justice Gupta was the Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court and Justice Nazeer was a
judge in the Karnataka High Court.
Shri Radha Mohan Singh Inaugurated 2017 Indian Seed Congress in Kolkata
i. The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Radha Mohan Singh inaugurated
the Indian Seed Congress 2017 in Kolkata.The theme of Seed Congress is “Seed of Joy”.2017
Indian Seed Congress in Kolkataiii.
ii. The theme is in line with vision of PM Modi government to bring happiness and prosperity in
the lives of farmers by doubling their farm income by 2022.
Sunil Mehta appointed non-executive Chairman of PNB
i. Punjab National Bank (PNB) has a new non-executive Chairman in Sunil Mehta.The
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of the Department
of Financial Services (DFS) for the appointment of Mehta as non-executive Chairman of PNB.
ii. He has been appointed for a period of three years. The only condition is that he would be
required to resign from the board of State Bank of India before joining the board of Punjab
National Bank.
Neelam Damodaran is Bank of India new ED
i. The Government has appointed Neelam Damodaran as Executive Director of Bank of India.
His tenor is up to November 30, 2019.Prior to his elevation as ED, Damodaran was General
Manager with Bank of Baroda.
ii. He took charge on February 16,2017 .With this appointment, Bank of India now has two
EDs. R A Sankara Narayanan has been ED of the bank since May 15, 2015.
UNICEF Makes $110 Million Appeal for Sudan Children

i. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has launched a $110 million appeal to help
two million acutely malnourished children across Sudan including hundreds of thousands living
in conflict areas.
ii. Sudan is home to around 13 percent of all children suffering from acute malnutrition across
Africa. Two million children under five in Sudan are acutely malnourished.
RBI will Reimburse Banks MDR Charges Effective January 1, 2017
i. The Reserve Bank will start reimbursing MDR charges to banks for payments made since
January 1 through debit cards by citizens, in line with the government's move to further
digital solutions.
ii. In December 2016, the government had decided to absorb the merchant discount rate
(MDR) charges in respect of debit card transactions for making payments to it. The move was
aimed to encourage people to use digital payments post demonetisation.
Citi Bank launches instant chat service for customers
i. Mumbai based Citi Bank has launched instant chat services for customers named Citibank
Online (CBOL) on February 16, 2017. With this India become the first country in Asia Pacific
within the Citi network to have this kind of service.
ii. CBOL will focuses on resolving queries instantly regarding cards,loans, domestic and non-
resident accounts, and online transactions Citi Bank.It will features a regular chat facility for
generic query resolutions. It does not require additional verification for the customer once
logged in and authenticated.
RBI Doubles Gold Loan Limit for Regional Rural Banks to Rs. 2 lakhs
i. The Reserve Bank of India increased the gold loan limit for RRBs (Regional Rural Banks) to
Rs 2 lakh from the current Rs 1 lakh to help the farmers and artisans have access to credit
who are willing to pledge gold as collateral.The limit has been doubled for the loans not
exceeding 12 months from the date of sanction.
ii. Besides, the facility will be available with bullet repayment scheme. Under the scheme,
while interest will be charged on a monthly basis on the total outstanding, it will become due
for payment along with principal only at the end of 12 months from the date of
sanction.However, RBI has also directed that the gold loans should not exceed 75% of the
value of the gold pledged for taking the loan.
Tata Motors Signs Strategic Technological Agreement with Microsoft
i. Tata Motors Ltd and Microsoft India entered into strategic agreement to collaborate on the
technology front for making driving a more personalized experiences for the customers. As
per the agreement, Microsoft will make use of its IoT (internet of things), AI (artificial
intelligence) and machine learning technologies to develop a highly personalized, smart
vehicle for the customers.
ii. The first vehicle showcasing such technological advancements will be unveiled at the
Geneva International Motor show on March 7, 2017. The tie-up will act as a new revenue
opportunity for the company as car buyers increasingly look for value-added services.
NASA Scientists Record January 2017 as Third Warmest January in 137 years
i. According to the Monthly Analysis of Global Temperatures report published by the NASA
scientists at Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), New York, January 2017 has been
recorded as the third warmest January in 137 years of modern record-keeping.
ii. As per the report, January 2016 was the hottest month with a temperature of 1.12 degree
Celsius warmer than the mean January temperature from 1951-1980.This was followed by
January 2007 at 0.96 degree Celsius and finally January 2017 with a temperature of 0.92
degree Celsius warmer than mean January temperature.
Indian-origin Shand Panesar Wins UK’s Bravery Award
An Indian-origin Scotland Yard officer Shand Panesar along with his colleague Craig Nicholson
was honored with the 2017 Outstanding Bravery of the Year Award in central London during a
special award ceremony of the Total Excellence in Policing Awards.
AIIMS, New Delhi Wins First Prize for Sanitation & Hygiene under Kayakalp Awards
i. India’s premier health institute the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New
Delhi was awarded the first prize of the Government’s Kayakalp Award under the Central
Government Hospitals category in New Delhi for maintaining high standards of sanitation and
hygiene.
ii. The award was presented by the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Shri J P
Nadda and the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi received a cash prize of
Rs. 5 crore.
FIBA Appoints Norman Isaac as its First Indian Technical Delegate
i. The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has promoted Norman Isaac as the Technical
Delegate (TD) of the sport’s worldwide governing body. He has become the first Indian to be
ever appointed to the post.
ii. In 2006, FIBA appointed him as the FIBA Commissioner at Muscat, Oman.

Aadhaar card to be mandatory for College & University students availing benefits under
Central Scholarships scheme
i. Union Human Resource Development Ministry has stated that to avail benefit under the
Central Sector Scholarship Scheme for College and University students, applicants will now
have to furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar card or undergo Aadhaar authentication.
ii. HRD ministry notification issued in New Delhi stated that those who are receiving these
scholarships but don't have an Aadhar card will have to apply for enrolment by June
30th,2017. It is, however, not applicable in Jammu and Kashmir
Banks Board Bureau Appoints Eight Executive Directors in Various Banks
Eight Executive Directors (EDs) have been appointed in various public sector banks on the
recommendations of Banks Board Bureau Initially, they have been appointments for a three-
year period.
List of Appointed Executive Directors
i.Neelam Damodharan and Atanu Kumar Das have been appointed as EDs in Bank of India.
Presently, Damodharan serves as the General Manager in Bank of Baroda and Das is General
Manager in Vijaya Bank.
ii. K Swaminathan, the General Manager in Indian Overseas Bank, has been appointed as ED in
Indian Overseas Bank.
iii. Ashok Kumar Pradhan has been appointed as the ED in United Bank of India. Presently he
serves as the Chief General Manager with State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur.
iv .P Ramana Murthy will be Executive Director of Central Bank of India. He is GM of

Allahabad Bank.
v. Fareed Ahmed Khan, General Manager of Corporation Bank, has been appointed as the ED
in Punjab and Sind Bank.
vi. M K Bhattacharya, Chief General Managers of State Bank of Mysore has been appointed as
the EDs of Indian Bank
vii. S Harishankar who serves as Chief General Managers of State Bank of Travancore has been
appointed EDs of Allahabad Bank.
UDAN scheme to increase number of airports by 50
i. The implementation of the regional air-connectivity scheme, UDAN, will see the number of
operational airports in the country shoot up by over 50, while the cost of travelling will come
down to as low as ₹2,500 for up to an hour of air journey.
ii. According to Sinha, there are 75 small operational airports in the country, and this number
will increase to over 125 with the successful implementation of UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam
Nagrik) — the new scheme through which the government hopes to make flying viable to Tier
II and III cities.
Sumitra Mahajan to inaugurate 2-day South Asian Speaker’s summit at Indore in Madhya
Pradesh
i. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan will inaugurate the two-day South Asian Speaker’s
summit at Indore in Madhya Pradesh.Speakers of six countries will deliberate on ways to
achieve sustainable development goals.
ii. Summit is organized by the Indian Parlianment and Inter-Parliamentary Union which is
focused on Achieving Sustainable Development Goals in member countries. Representive from
Afganistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri lanka are attending the
summit. Representatives from Pakistan and Myanmar are not attending the sumit due to their
personal reasons.
Aero India 2017 begins at Yelahanka in Bengaluru
i. 11th biennial edition of the International Aerospace and Defence exhibition Aero India
begans at the Air Force Station, Yelahanka in Bengaluru. The five-day event was inaugurated
by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.
ii. On the first three days number of MOUs was signed under manufacturing sector. HAL, the
premier Aeronautics giant received several crore rupees worth contracts for manufacturing
sub-parts of aircrafts.
iii. Boeing and Rolls Royce have signed MOUs to set up manufacturing base in India and Airbus
will set up Centre of Excellence for Aerospace skills development in Hyderabad.
Madhya Pradesh launches 'Mil Banche' programme in all govt schools
i. In Madhya Pradesh 'Mil Banche’ programme was held in all the primary and middle
government schools. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, his minister colleagues, public
representatives and other dignitaries took classes in these schools to motivate children.
ii. After taking class, they urged students to adopt good virtues and set a big target for the
life. He also shared his memories and experiences with students.
Government Increases the Cash Credit Limit For MSMEs To 30 %
i. The Union government has increased the Cash Credit (CC) limit for Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSMEs) to 30% of turnover from the existing 20% to encourage them to conduct
businesses digitally.
ii. Through digital means of conducting the business, the balance sheet of companies would
be clean and this would help MSMEs to get loans from banks and promote Ease of Doing
Business.Presently the taxes for MSMes are calculated at 8% for revenue of up to Rs 2 crore.
With digital transaction, tax liability will be reduced from 8% to 6%.
Karnataka Bank Launches National Pension System in Mangaluru
i. Mangaluru based private sector lender Karnataka Bank Ltd launched National Pension
System (NPS) at its corporate office in Mangaluru. To provide financial security at old age by
giving regular income in the form of pension.
ii. Under the scheme, one can contribute to NPS while earning and eventually start receiving
pension on his/her attaining the age of 60 years to meet their financial needs.
iii. To avail the benefit, any individual between the ages 18-60 years can register their name
with the bank branch to contribute and to get pension benefit.
Canara Bank Inks MoU with HRD Ministry to Start Higher Education Financing Agency
i. Bangalore based Public sector Canara Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) with the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry to operationalize the Higher
Education Financing Agency (HEFA).
ii. The establishment of the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) was approved by the
Union Cabinet in September 2016.Through this MoU, HRD Ministry and Canara Bank will jointly
promote the HEFA with an authorised capital of Rs. 2,000 crore.
Mastercard to Provide Payments Processing Solution for Airtel Payment Bank
i. Leading global payments and technology firm, Mastercard is set to provide payments
processing solution to Airtel Payments Bank.
ii. The payment processing platform will enable the Airtel Payment Bank in providing various
payment services like switching, card management along with support for reconciliation and
dispute management processes
AirAsia signs MoU with Odisha Government for two-ways Direct Flights
i. Malaysia-based low-cost airline AirAsia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

with the Odisha government to start two-way direct international flights from Bhubaneswar to
Kuala Lumpur.
ii. The agreement was signed between Nitin Bhanudas Jawale, Director of Tourism AirAsia
signs MoU with Odisha Government for two-ways Direct FlightsDepartment in Odisha and
AirAsia Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Aireen Omar.The airline will begin its flight service from
the Biju Patnaik International Airport by end of March 2017.
South Indian Bank bags award for tech security practices
i. South Indian Bank has been awarded with ISO 27001: 2013 certification for its Information
Security Management System (ISMS).
ii. V.G. Mathew, MD and CEO of the bank received the certificate from Venkataram Arabolu,
Managing Director, BSI Group India at an official ceremony.
Corporation Bank Bags 2017 National MSME Excellence Award
i. Mangalore based public sector lender Corporation Bank was awarded the 2017 National
MSME Excellence Award at a function in New Delhi.
ii. D V Subramanya Varma, General Manager of Corporation Bank received the award from
Union Minister of State for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, Haribhai P Choudhary. The
award is instituted by the Federation of Industry, Trade and Services (FITS).
ISRO successfully tests its indigenously developed Cryogenic Upper Stage engine for GSLV
Mark III rocket
i. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully ground tested its indigenously
developed Cryogenic Upper Stage engine for GSLV Mark III at its Liquid Propulsion Complex at
Mahendragiri in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.
ii. The C25 stage is the most powerful upper stage developed by ISRO and uses Liquid Oxygen
and Liquid Hydrogen propellant combination. The development of C25 cryogenic stage will
provide ISRO capability to launch four ton class satellites in Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit.
Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar honoured with 'Legendary Award ' 2017
i. Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar has been honoured with the 'Legendary Award ' 2017 by
Brand Laureate. The Brand Laureate Awards recognise world-class achievement in branding
amongst individuals and companies.
ii. Lata expressed her heartfelt thanks to the Brand Laureate on twitter for honouring her. In
2012, actor Shah Rukh Khan was honoured with the Brand Laureate Legendary Award for his
unmatched contribution to Indian Cinema.
President Mukherjee greets on eve of Independence Day of Gambia
i. President Dr. Pranab Mukherjee has extended his greetings and felicitations to the
Government and people of the Islamic Republic of The Gambia on the occasion of their
Independence Day (18 February 2017).
ii. On the 18th February of each year which marks the day when Gambia gained full
independence from colonial Britain in 1965. It is normally celebrated in Banjul at McCarthy
Square with a march pass by school children, civil servants, the army, teachers and others in
front of the President and other dignitaries.
Veteran Hindi Scholar and Novelist Surendra Verma Selected for 2016 Vyas Samman
i. Renowned Hindi litterateur and playwright Surendra Verma has been selected for 2016 Vyas
Samman for his novel Kaatna Shami Ka Vriksha Padma Pankhuri Ki Dhar Se.
ii. This novel was published in the year 2010. Mr Verma would be presented a cash prize of Rs.
3.50 lakh a citation and a logo for the prestigious award instituted by K K Birla Foundation.
NRAI gets highest WHO ratings for vaccine regulations
i. National Regulatory Authority of India (NRAI) has been given the maximum ratings by the
World Health Organisation for vaccine regulations.
ii. An official statement stated that in New Delhi WHO completed the assessment of the
status of the Indian vaccine regulatory system against WHO NRA Global Benchmarking Tool
and measured the maturity of the system in India. India is one of the main players in the
pharmaceutical industry worldwide.
iii. India, as a large vaccine producing country, is currently supplying several vaccines to the
UN agencies (UNICEF, WHO and PAHO)
Aero India copy 5HAL signs MoU with CPWD to build helicopter facility at
Tumakuru,Karnataka
i. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with

Central Public Works Department (CPWD) for execution of infrastructure development works
at HAL’s new Greenfield helicopter facility at Tumakuru.
ii. The MoU was signed at Aero India 2017
Muthoot Exim, Divine Solitaires tie up

i. Muthoot Exim has tied with Divine Solitaires Pratham to retail Swarnavarsham diamond
jewellery. To start with, the company will offer 18-karat gold rings studded with 0.14 cents
diamond of EF colour and VVS clarity.
ii. The ring is being offered in three sizes of 12mm, 14mm and 16mm with weight of gold as
2gm, 2.2gm and 2.4gm. One year free insurance is also offered on diamonds.
Raytheon signs MoU with TASL for co-production of Stinger missile components
i. Raytheon Company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU)with Tata Advanced

Systems Ltd (TASL) to engage in the co-production of Stinger air defence missile components.
ii. Agreement with Tata Advanced Systems deepens industrial partnership in India with a
global technology leader and will expand the range of options and capabilities for US and
coalition forces to achieve their missions
Maini Precision ties up with Marshall Aerospace for aircraft machined parts
i. Maini Precision Products (MPP) and Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group, Cambridge, UK,
have entered into a multimillion dollar contract for structural machined parts and sub-
assemblies for a major aircraft programme.
ii. With this contract, MPP is now positioned as the single source from India to support
Marshall for their manufacturing requirements for the duration of this program.
NALCO signs MoU with TERI for sustainable rehabilitation
i. Odisha based National Aluminium Company Limited(NALCO) has signed Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in New Delhi.
ii. Objective of the agreement is to Scientific, technological and educational activities in the
area of mining rehabilitation.The agreement will further strengthen initiatives being
undertaken under Sustainable Development Framework (SDF).
JLL Named to FORTUNE’s 2017 World’s Most Admired Companies List
i. Leading professional services firm JLL has once again been named to FORTUNE magazine’s
World’s Most Admired Companies list of 2017 based on their reputation for innovation, top
talent and global competitiveness.
ii. JLL is an American professional services and investment management company specializing
in real estate and investment management and helps real estate owners, occupiers and
investors achieve their business ambitions.
Havells India to buy Lloyd Electric’s consumer business for Rs 1500 crore
i. An electrical equipment company, Havells India has announced to acquire Lloyd Electric &
Engineering for its consumer durables business for around Rs 1200 -1500 crore.
ii. Lloyd’s other business divisions includes heat exchangers, original equipment
manufacturing and packaged AC business.
Former MP Jambuvantrao Dhote passes away
i. Former MP Jambuvantrao Dhote died this morning in Yavatmal of Maharashtra due to heart
attack. The 83 year old leader was known for his demands of a separate state for Vidarbha.
ii. Mr Dhote won his first election to Lok Sabha in 1971 from Nagpur as a Forward Bloc
nominee. Later in 1980, he joined Congress and won the Nagpur seat on the Congress ticket.
PV Sindhu Attains Career-Best Rank at No. 5 in BWF Rankings, Saina Placed at No. 9
i. Indian ace shuttler PV Sindhu achieved her career best Badminton World Federation (BWF)
women’s single ranking by being placed at 5th spot Previously the top seeded player was
placed at sixth position.
ii. The only second Indian to be placed among the top 10 spots is Saina Nehwal who has PV
Sindhubeen placed at No. 9.
iii. The BWF women’s single ranking has been topped by Tai Tzu Ying of the Chinese Taipei.

Jharkhand signs MoU with Microsoft in ‘Momentum Jharkhand’
i. Jharkhand government and Microsoft India has inked an MoU for the state government to
explore cloud, machine learning and mobile based solutions to improve citizen services and
provide better facilities in the fields of education and agriculture.
ii. The MoU was signed at the ‘Momentum Jharkhand: Global Investors’ Summit & Trade
Exhibition’.
India win silver at Asian Women's Rugby Sevens Trophy

i. The Indian Women's team won a silver after getting defeated by South Kores, at the Asian
Rugby Sevens Trophy tournament at Vientiane, Laos.
ii. The team participated under the aegis of the Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU), the
governing body for the sport of Rugby in India and supported by Societe Generale, the
financial partner of Rugby India.
Haryana's Sandeep Kumar breaks his own national record in 50km race walk
i. Sandeep Kumar of Haryana won the gruelling men's 50-kilometre event of the National Race
Walking Championships held in New Delhi.
ii. Sandeep smashed his own national record in a brilliant performance to win the race and
qualify for the London World Championships in August.
Indian Navy inducts first all-women global circumnavigation vessel 'Tarini'
i. The Indian Navy's second sailboat 'Tarini' was inducted into service at a ceremony in Goa.
ii. The vessel is slated to be the platform for the first Indian all-women global
circumnavigation by the Indian Navy to begin in August.
iii. The Indian Navy is operating four sailing vessels capable of open ocean deployments -
Tarangini, Sudarshini, Mhadei and Tarini, all four of which have been built in shipyards at
Goa.
BCCI General Manager RP Shah resigns from his post
i. RP Shah, one of the three General Managers of BCCI, resigned from his post citing his age as
a “reason”.
ii. Shah was the General Manager (Commercial) and was considered to be one of the big
decision makers in board’s commercial interest.
Cash withdrawal limit for savings account increases to Rs 50,000 per week
i. Savings accounts holders will now be able to withdraw up to Rs 50,000 per week. An RBI
notification, issued on January 30,2017 announced that from February 20, 2017 the cash
withdrawal limit for savings accounts will be raised to Rs 50,000 from Rs 24,000 a week. ii.
The limits on cash withdrawals from savings bank account will be withdrawn completely from
March 13, 2017. Till now, there is no limit on current account and there is a cap of Rs 50,000
for farmers a week and Rs 2.5 lakh for marriage.
31st state hood day of Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram: 20 February
i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has greeted people of Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram on
their 31st statehood day (20 February 2017) Conveying his best wishes to people of Mizoram
and Arunachal Pradesh.
ii. Prime Minister prayed for the state's progresses immensely in the years to come. Union
Minister of Home Affairs Rajnath Singh also greeted both the states.
T.R. Zeliang steps down as Nagaland chief minister
i. Ending more than two weeks of standoff with Nagaland Tribes Action Committee (NTAC),
Nagaland chief minister TR Zeliang resigned from his post.
ii. T. R. Zeliang is an Indian politician who has been Chief Minister of Nagaland, a state in
northeast India, since 2014. Zeliang previously served as a Member of Parliament,
representing Nagaland in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament.
India sanctions soft loan USD 340 million to Nepal
i. India has sanctioned a soft loan of 340 million US dollar to Nepal for various infrastructure
development programmes.
ii. Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae handed over the approval papers to Physical
Infrastructure and Transport Minister of Nepal Ramesh Lekhak in the presence of Railways
Minister Suresh Prabhu.Under this programme Mahalaki bridge and 15 roads will be
constructed in various parts of Nepal.
Oriental Bank launches mobile wallet ‘Batuaa’
i. On the occasion of the 75th Foundation Day, Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) has come up
with several digital offerings including launch of mobile wallet ‘Oriental Batuaa’.
ii. Besides introducing a new version of mobile banking, OBC has also launched two new
cards.While the Oriental Premium card is a RuPay based Platinum international debit card
with airport lounge access, the other card-Oriental Prepaid Card is a RuPay card for
individuals and corporates.
iii. Besides it has also launched two MSME schemes The two MSME schemes that have been
launched are ‘Oriental Sanjeevani’ and ‘Oriental Budget Hotels and Restaurants’.Oriental
Sanjeevani is a specialised scheme for doctors for setting up new hospitals and clinics. The
other scheme is for individuals, proprietors, companies etc for setting up new hotels,
restaurants, lodges, motels etc.
Karnataka Bank inks pact with Daimler India
i. Karnataka Bank Ltd has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Daimler
India Commercial Vehicles Pvt Ltd (DICV) for extending finance to customers for the purchase
of commercial vehicles manufactured by the company.
ii. DICV has nominated Karnataka Bank as a preferred financier for the purchase of
commercial vehicles manufactured by the company.
ICAI’s Accounting Research Foundation signs pact with Railways
i. The CA Institute’s Accounting Research Foundation (ARF) has signed an agreement with
Indian Railways for the national rollout of accrual accounting in Railways.
ii. According to the agreement accrual accounting will be introduced at 17 Railway zones and
8 production units across the country.
IRB InvIT Fund gets SEBI approval to launch IPO
i. IRB InvIT Fund, an investment trust sponsored by IRB Infrastructure Developers, has
received markets regulator SEBI’s approval to raise Rs. 4,300 crore through initial public
offering.
ii. However, the Securities and Exchange Board of India has asked for clarification from India
Grid Trust and Reliance Infra InvIT Fund regarding their proposed IPOs
Fabindia removes ‘Khadi’ brand name from its products
i. Fabindia has started removing the brand name ‘Khadi’ it uses to promote its cotton
products after a legal notice by Khadi India that the use of the word amounted to unfair trade
practice and misusing its trade name.
ii. The Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC) had sent a legal notice to Fabindia
Overseas Pvt Ltd, a chain of ethnic wear retail outlet, asking it to immediately stop using the
word Khadi from all its cotton products and remove display banners from its showrooms.
Srinagar Airport Gets Its First Foreign Airline Service

i. AirAsia became the first foreign airline to begin its operations from Srinagar international
airport in Jammu and Kashmir.
ii. Srinagar has The Sheikh-ul-Alam International Airport since last five years, but no Air
Asiaforeign airlines had yet operated services from there.The flight operation by AirAsia is
expected to give a boost to tourism in the valley.
Microsoft, Flipkart announce strategic cloud partnership
i. Information technology giant Microsoft announced a strategic partnership with Flipkart,

wherein as a first step, the online retailer will adopt Microsoft Azure as its exclusive public
cloud platform.
ii. The strategic partnership was aimed at providing consumers in the country the best online
shopping service.Microsoft chief executive officer (CEO) Satya Nadella and Flipkart Group CEO
Binny Bansal announced the partnership at an event in Bengaluru.
Ranganathan, Mehta appointed Non-Official Director in IOB, PNB
i. T C A Ranganathan and Sunil Mehta were appointed as Non-Official Directors in Indian

Overseas Bank and Punjab National Bank by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet. Both
appointed for a period of three years.
ii. It is announced by Personnel Ministry. Prior to this, T C A Ranganathan has worked as the
CMD of Exim Bank while Mehta is currently Chairman & Managing Director at SPM Capital
Advisors Pvt Ltd.
Indian Movie Newton Wins top Honour at Berlin Film Festival
i. Indian Cinema movie Newton directed by Amit Masurkar was honored with the Art Cinema
Award in the Forum Segment at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival held from February
9-18, 2017 in Berlin, Germany.
ii. Over 43 films were screened in the Forum segment out of which 29 had their world
premiere.The film is produced by Manish Mundra of Drishyam Films, company best known for
bankrolling critically-acclaimed projects such as Masaan, Ankhon Dekhi and Umrika.
Apple acquires Israeli start-up RealFace
i. In a bid to boost its prospects in the world of artificial intelligence (AI), Apple has acquired
Israel-based start-up RealFace that develops deep learning-based face authentication
technology.
ii. The terms of the deal are not public, but it is estimated at several million dollars. Apple
would mainly be interested in the promise of the technology than pure resources.
Hema Malini: Beyond the Dream Girl penned by Ram Kamal Mukherjee
i. An actor turned politician Hema Malini’s journey from an actor and filmmaker to a
politician being chronicled as an authorised biography titled ‘Hema Malini: Beyond the Dream
Girl‘ .
ii. The biography is written by author-columnist Ram Kamal Mukherjee.
Former Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir Passes Away
i. Former Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir passed away at a city hospital, recently. He was
68. He was suffering from a kidney ailment and related complications.
ii. He was appointed as the Chief Justice of India on September 29, 2012. He retired on July
19, 2013.
Virat Kohli first Indian sportsperson to ink Rs 100-cr deal with Puma
i. Virat Kohli became the first Indian sports personality to strike a Rs 100-crore endorsement
deal with a single brand. Kohli signed an eight-year deal with sports apparel brand Puma
worth Rs 110 crore.
ii. The Indian cricket captain is now set to join the likes of Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and
Thierry Henry, among others, as a global ambassador for the brand.
India to Host Next Davis Cup tie in Bangalore in April, 2017
i. Bangalore has been chosen to host the next Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Zone group-1 tie against
Uzbekistan from April 7 to 9, 2017.
ii. As per the announcement made by the All India Tennis Association (AITA) the tie clash will
be held on the hard courts of Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) in Bangalore.
Akhil and Jitender Kumar Signs Deal to Turn Professional Boxers
i. Following the path of Indian boxing sensation Vijender Singh, Olympic quarterfinalists
boxers Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar are also stepping up to enter professional boxing.
ii. The former Melbourne Commonwealth Games gold medalist boxer Akhil Kumar and Asian
medallist Jitender Kumar signed a multi-year deal with IOS Boxing Promotions confirming
turning professional boxers.
Afghan players Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan create IPL history
i. Afghanistan cricket broke a new barrier when Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan became the
first from the war-torn nation to be picked in the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction.
ii. Both Nabi and Khan players were bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad, for Rs. 30 lakh and Rs. 4
crore respectively. Five cricketers from Afghanistan were included in the auction for the first
time.
Shahid Afridi retires from international cricket
i. Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has announced his retirement from international cricket,
but stated that he wants to play in his country’s domestic league for two more years.
ii. The flamboyant allrounder, who played the last of his 27 tests in 2010 and retired from
one-day internationals in 2015, quit as Pakistan’s 20-overs captain after the team’s poor
World Twenty20 campaign in India last year.
Daily GK Update 21st February, 2017
Bharat QR code launched to push less-cash economy
i. Bharat QR code the world's first inter-operable payment acceptance solution, was launched
as part of efforts to move towards less-cash economy at an insignificant cost, according to
RBI.
ii. Payment networks such as MasterCard and Visa have joined hands with NPCI to launch
Bharat QR, a common Quick Response(QR) code that would enable seamless digital payments
without card swiping machines.
iii. Built under the direction of the Reserve Bank of India in September 2016 . This Bharat QR
code is expected to be convenient for those who are into mobile banking and do not want to
use debit or credit cards for small ticket payments. Bharat QR code is seen as a better
alternative to physical Point-of-Sale (PoS) machines which involves capital costs.
International Mother Language Day
i. UNESCO celebrates International Mother Language Day (IMLD) on February 21, 2017 under
the theme "Towards Sustainable Futures through Multilingual Education".
ii. To foster sustainable development, learners must have access to education in their mother
tongue and in other languages.
iii. It is through the mastery of the first language or mother tongue that the basic skills of
reading, writing and numeracy are acquired. Local languages, especially minority and
indigenous, transmit cultures, values and traditional knowledge, thus playing an important
role in promoting sustainable futures.
BHIM downloads at over 17 mn, a world record
i. Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM), a mobile app pushed by the government to make digital
payments a mass movement in India, has seen over 17 million installs (downloads), a world
record, Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, has stated.
ii. The Centre will also soon roll out a cash-back scheme to give a further boost to the use of
BHIM
Buying jewellery over Rs 2 lakh in cash will attract 1% tax from April 1, 2017
i. Cash purchases of jewellery will attract 1% TCS (Tax Collected at Source) from April 1, 2017
if the amount exceeds Rs 2 lakh,as against the current threshold of Rs 5 lakh.
ii. Once the Finance Bill 2017 is passed, jewellery will be treated on par with generalgoods
which attract 1% TCS on cash purchase of above Rs 2 lakh. The Bill seeks to do away with the
threshold of Rs 5 lakh on jewellery purchases for applicability of TCS because the Union
Budget 2017-18 has proposed to ban cash dealings of over Rs 3 lakh andmake violations
punishable with a penalty of an equivalent amount to be paid by person receiving the cash.
India as the World’s Largest Arms Importer in the Last Four Years
i. According to a report released by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
India emerged as the world’s largest importer of major arms during 2012–16.As per the
report, India accounted for 13% of the global total sales.
ii. The total volume of international transfers of major weapons has grown continuously since
2004 and increased by 8.4 per cent between 2007–11 and 2012–16 According to the data in
Asia,India increased its arms imports by 43 percent between 2007–11 and 2012–16 which is far
greater than the imports by its rivals China and Pakistan.
iii. Between 2007 and 2011, India accounted for 9.7% of global imports which is still more
than any other country.Major arm suppliers to India include Russia, USA, European states,
Israel and South Korea.
State Bank of India website gets a new avatar
i. Country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has rebranded its corporate website as
"bank.sbi" from the earlier sbi.co.in. Bank.sbi is the highest domain protocol, known as
generic top level domain (gTLD).
ii. The adoption of gTLD enables an organisation to use its corporate name .sbi as their
website’s top-level identifier instead of using a more traditional ".com" or ".co.in" domains
iii. The existing web address will remain active till customers become familiar with operating
through the new address.With this, SBI has become the first banking organisation in India to
use a gTLD for its internet presence. This is expected to provide enhanced security to its
customers.
Apollo Hospitals Foundation signs agreement with WWF-India
i. Apollo Hospitals Foundation will provide medical support to forest department employees
and local communities in the areas where WWF-India operates for conservation.
ii. The two organisations have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this
regard.The medicare will be available to over 27,000 staff and people in about 17 states of
WWF-India operations.
iii. They will be provided with medical treatment, including air ambulance services in critical
and emergency conditions.
Shurhozelie Liezeitsu elected new Nagaland CM
i. Nagaland People’s Front (NPF) president Shurhozelie Liezeitsu will be sworn in as the
state’s eleventh Chief Minister.
ii. As Nagaland Former Chief Minister T R Zeliang stepped down from the post on February 19,
2017 facing revolt from his party MLAs against the decision to reserve 33% seats for women in
urban local bodies.
EDII wins International Mercury Award 2016-17
The Ahmedabad-based Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), an

acknowledged national resource institute for entrepreneurship education, research, training
and institution-building, has received the prestigious International Mercury Awards (IMA) for
the year 2016-17 for the best overall presentation of its 2015-2016 annual report.
Tata Steel's Katamati Mine wins Best Green Award
i. Tata Steel's Katamati iron mine has been honoured with the the Best Green Organisation of
the Year Award at the Global Green Future Leadership Awards in recognition of its
environmental protection measures.
ii. The award was presented at a function organised by World CSR Day on February 18, 2017 in
Mumbai.
Britannia Industries signs non-binding MoU with Chipita
i. FMCG major Britannia Industries has signed an MoU with Greece’s cakes and confectionery
major Chipita and is in advance stage of discussion to finalise definitive agreements, including
a joint venture.
ii. Chipita is already operating in India. The company has been operating outside Greece since
1995 by setting up manufacturing plants in Bulgaria, Portugal and Egypt, followed by Poland,
Romania, Russia and Saudi Arabia and more recently India, and Turkey.
V Ramakrishnan appointed as TCS CFO, N Chandrasekaran named TCS Chairman too
i. Tata Sons Chairman designate Natarajan Chandrasekaran will also hold the chairmanship of
the group's crown jewel Tata Consultancy Services .
ii. The country's largest software services provider has also named V Ramakrishnan as its Chief
Financial Officer to succeed Rajesh Gopinathan, who will take over as the CEO and MD of the
Tata Group company.
Russia to begin military helicopters deliveries to India in 2018
i. Russia will start initial deliveries of military helicopters to India in 2018, with assembly and
manufacturing to follow in Asia's fastest growing economy.India and Russia signed an
agreement in October, 2016 to jointly manufacture 200 of the KA-226T helicopters for the
Indian Armed Forces.
ii. Both countries have agreed to cooperate in energy and defence as India seeks to modernise
its armed forces and build a nuclear industry and sanctions-hit Russia looks for investment and
new markets.
US President appoints Lt. Gen. Herbert Raymond McMaster as new National Security
Advisor
i. US President Donald Trump has appointed Lt Gen Herbert Raymond McMaster as his new
National Security Advisor following the ouster of Michael Flynn last week.
ii. Making the announcement at his residence in Florida, Mr Trump described McMaster,
currently Director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center, as a man of tremendous talent
and experience.
SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Successfully Launches From NASA launch Pad
The California-based SpaceX onboard its Falcon 9 rocket launched a robotic Dragon cargo ship
with about 5,500 pounds (2,500 kg) of supplies and science experiments toward the
International Space Station on February 19, 2017 from Launch Complex 39A of NASA’s
Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Noted bureaucrat V. K. Srinivasan passes away
i. V. K. Srinivasan, noted bureaucrat, columnist and director of the Institute of Economic

Studies passed away after a prolonged illness in Hyderabad.
ii. He was 76 and is survived by a son and a daughter.
Hindi novelist Ved Prakash Sharma passes away
i. Famous Hindi novelist Ved Prakash Sharma was passed away in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh on
February 18, 2017 . He was 62. He has written nearly 176 novels includes “Qaidi No 100” and
“Vardi Wala Gunda“.
ii. He had also written scripts for about half-a-dozen Hindi movies.

Daily GK Update 01st Feb

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Daily GK Update 01st Feb , 2017

Basant Panchami is being celebrated today (01st February 2017)

Fiscal deficit reaches 94% of the budget estimate

Rajasthan, Telangana bag eGov awards

SAARC programming committee meeting begins in Kathmandu

Ministry of Defence to Set up Rs 1500 cr Defence Unit in Madhya Pradesh

E-Paathsala Launches Unique Technology-Backed Services for Educational Institutions in

Income Tax Department (ITD) launches Operation Clean Money

Lakshmi Vilas Bank Partners with Fisdom for Mission FINFIT

ICRA Estimates Banks Credit Growth to Remain Subdued at 5-6% in FY17

UNICEF launches 3.3 bln USD to aid millions of children

Alok Verma takes charge as new CBI Director

Moussa Faki Mahamat appointed as new African Union AU head

US House of Representatives Introduces H-1B Visa Reform Bill

Former Minister E Ahamed Dies After Suffering Cardiac Arrest

Daily GK Update 02nd February , 2017

Agri credit raised to record Rs 10 lakh crore in Financial Year 2018

Govt to set up dairy development fund with corpus of Rs 8,000 cr

Rs. 10,000 cr allocated for PSB recapitalisation

Air India to get Rs. 1,800 cr from govt in 2017-2018

Surajkund International Crafts Mela Kicked off in Faridabad, 20 countries to participate

British PM Theresa May receives UK Parliament's approval to begin Brexit process

Researchers Discover Oldest Human Ancestor

Daily GK Update 03rd February, 2017

Sanjeev Sanyal appointed Principal Economic Adviser

Lakshya Sen becomes World No.1 Junior Badminton player

Apple to start manufacturing in India

Tata Motors launches TAMO; to unveil first sportscar on March 7

GDP growth likely at 7.1% in 2017-18: HSBC

Budget 2017-18 allocation to WCD hiked by nearly 26 pc

Sula Fest begins in Maharashtra

India recorded highest domestic air passenger growth in 2016

Survival of India-Pakistan Indus water treaty appears ‘weak’: UN report

World's most expensive saree was sold for Rs 40 lakh

Sports Ministry budget hiked by Rs 350 crore

Daily GK Update 04th February, 2017

HDFC Bank increases cash transaction fees on savings a/cs

Rail Museum celebrates 40th anniversary

Former CBI chief Joginder Singh passes away

Pankaj Advani pockets the National Snooker Championship title

UIDAI clamps down on 50 fraud sites offering Aadhaar services

Daily GK Update 05th February, 2017

BCCI opposes ICC's proposals on financial model, governance structure

Startup acquires Google's satellite imaging business

Alastair Cook awarded Order of the British Empire

Alibaba-made app helps find 611 missing Chinese children

Arun Kumar succeeds Richard Rekhy as KPMG India chairman

Daily GK Update 06th February, 2017

Sasikala Natarajan to take over as Tamil Nadu's next CM

Nagaland cabinet to submit memorandum to PM to exempt it from Part IX A of

Sarbananda Sonowal launches CMSGUY in Guwahati

Corp Bank pact with Religare

Telangana launches India's first social innovation hub in Nizamabad

2% reservation to sports persons in govt jobs: CM Raghubar Das

Uber launches taxi hiring service UberHIRE

CESC wins Bikaner power distribution franchise

World’s longest flight lands in New Zealand

India to host FIBA Women's Asia Cup basketball tournament

Virat Kohli features in latest cover star of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack

Daily GK Update 07th February, 2017

5.8 magnitude earthquake hits Uttarakhand, tremors also felt in Delhi-NCR

Andhra Pradesh: First Smart Police Station inaugurated