DAILY CURRENT
AFFAIRS: 12 FEB 2018
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)
SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN
1. NITIN GADKARI RELEASES INDIA’S 1ST EVER HIGHWAY CAPACITY MANUAL
i. The Minister of Road Transport & Highways Mr Nitin Gadkari
released India’s first ever Highway Capacity Manual in New Delhi.
ii. The manual is also known as Indo-HCM and it has been developed by
CSIR – CRRI on the basis of an extensive, country-wide study of the traffic
characteristics on different categories of roads like a single lane, two-lane,
multi-lane urban roads, and the associated intersections on these roads.
2. RAJNATH SINGH INAUGURATES FIRST OF ITS KIND SPOKEN SANSKRIT
CENTRE
i. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has launched the Centre for
learning Sanskrit language in Gujarat University, Ahmedabad.
ii. The centre will offer a six-month course for people on how to speak
the language. The coordinator of the course, Atul Unagar stated it was possibly
the first such course launched in India.
3. PM MODI 3 NATION VISIT- INDIA AND PALESTINE SIGN 6 MOUS
i. India and Palestine have signed six Memorandums of Understanding
worth USD 40 million. This was welcomed
by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
ii. During the term of this Government, the President of India made the
first ever visit to Palestine in 2015.
4. MUMBAI 12TH RICHEST CITY GLOBALLY, NEW YORK TOPS: NEW WORLD
WEALTH REPORT
i. Mumbai, India's financial capital is the 12th richest city in the
world with a total wealth of $950 billion, according to a report by New World
Wealth. The list was topped by New York as the richest city in the world.
ii. Total wealth refers to the private wealth held by all the
individuals living in each city. It includes all their assets (property, cash,
equities and business interests) less any liabilities. The top 3 richest cities
in the list are-
iii. New York ($3 trillion), London ($2.7 trillion), and Tokyo ($2.5
trillion).
5. PM MODI 3 NATION VISIT- PM MODI MEETS CEOS AT INDIA-OMAN
BUSINESS MEET
i. On the last day of PM Modi's 3 Nation visit, he addressed business
leaders at the 'India-Oman Business Meet', organised by Ministry of Commerce
and Industry of Oman, in association with Embassy of India in Muscat.
ii. This forum aims at uplifting Omani and Indian entrepreneurs to
conduct successful businesses with the other.
6. PM MODI 3 NATION VISIT- INDIA-UAE INK 5 AGREEMENTS
i. PM Narendra Modi and Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed al Nahyan
held bilateral talks at the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi, the UAE.
ii. PM Modi also laid the foundation stone of the first Hindu temple in
Abu Dhabi. The two sides inked 5 agreements related to energy & railway
sectors, manpower and financial services.
iii. The 5 MoUs signed between the two nation are as follows-
1. MoU aiming to institutionalize employment of Indian workers in UAE to
safeguard their interests was also signed.
2. MoU between a consortium led by ONGC and Abu Dhabi national oil
company for acquisition of 10% stake in offshore concession was inked.
3. MoU aiming at technical cooperation in rail sector between Ministry
of railways and Federal transport authority and maritime of UAE signed.
4. MoU between Government of Jammu and Kashmir and DP World was also
signed to establish multi-modal logistics park and hub in Jammu comprising
warehouses and specialized storage solutions.
5. In the area of financial services, MoU between BSE and Abu Dhabi
Securities exchange was also inked.
7. PM MODI 3 NATION VISIT- ONGC VIDESH, PARTNERS ACQUIRE 10% STAKE
IN ABU DHABI OILFIELD
i. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Videsh Ltd and its partners have
acquired a 10% in a large offshore oilfield Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.’s in Abu
Dhabi for $600 million. It is the 1st time any Indian company has set foot in
oil-rich Emirate.
ii. The current production of this field is about 400,000 barrels of oil
per day (20 million tonnes per annum) and Indian consortium’s annual share
shall be about 2 million tonnes. The contract for the concession was signed in
Abu Dhabi in presence of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed
al-Nahyan and PM Narendra Modi.
8. DIRECT TAX COLLECTIONS RISE 19.3% IN APRIL- JANUARY
i. Direct tax collections grew by nearly 20% between April and January
this year with strong growth in both corporate and personal income tax
receipts. According to official data released, net direct tax collections grew
by 19.3% up to January 2018 to Rs 6.95-lakh cr.
ii. While net corporate income tax grew by 19.2%, personal income tax
receipts rose by 18.6% in January this year. Gross tax collections also grew at
a robust 13.3% to Rs 8.21-lakh cr between April 2017 and January 2018.
9. SBI WROTE OFF BAD LOANS WORTH OVER RS 20,000 CR LAST FISCAL
i. The country’s largest lender SBI wrote off bad loans worth Rs 20,339
cr in 2016-17, the highest among all the public sector banks, which had a
collective write off of Rs 81,683 cr for the fiscal. The data pertains to the
period when the associate banks of SBI were not merged with it.
ii. Besides SBI, Punjab National Bank had a write-off of Rs 9,205 cr in
2016-17, followed by Bank of India (Rs 7,346 cr), Canara Bank (Rs 5,545 cr) and
Bank of Baroda (Rs 4,348 cr).
10.SHARMILA NICOLLET, 1ST
INDIAN GOLFER TO QUALIFY FOR CHINA LPGA TOUR
i. Sharmila Nicollet has become the first Indian golfer to qualify for
the China Ladies PGA Tour. The 26-year-old Bengaluru golfer fought her way back
into the tournament in the last two rounds to earn a card for the Tour.
ii. Sharmila had played on the Ladies European Tour before losing her
full card, played her three rounds in the CLPGA Tour Qualifying School.
11. PAKISTANI ACTIVIST ASMA JAHANGIR PASSES AWAY
i. Asma Jahangir, Pakistan’s renowned human rights lawyer, social
activist and an outspoken critic of the country’s powerful military
establishment, passed away of cardiac arrest. She was 66.
ii. She was the first woman to serve as the president of Supreme Court
Bar Association of Pakistan.
12. ROHAN MORE BECOMES 1ST ASIAN TO SWIM ACROSS OCEAN SEVEN
i. Pune-based swimmer, Rohan More became the first Asian as well as the
first Indian to swim across the Ocean Seven. He is the youngest to complete it.
He swam across the Cook Strait between North and South Islands of New Zealand
in 8 hours and 37 minutes.
ii. With this, More becomes only the ninth person in the world to
complete it. He has received the Tenzing Norgay Award from the Indian Ministry
of Youth Affairs and Sports. The award was presented by President Ram Nath
Kovind.
OBJECTIVE
QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS
Q1. WHICH UNION MINISTER HAS RELEASED INDIA’S FIRST-EVER HIGHWAY
CAPACITY MANUAL IN NEW DELHI?
a) Nitin Gadkari
b) Arun Jaitley
c) Narendra Modi
d) Maneka Gandhi
Q2. THE FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND CENTRE FOR LEARNING SANSKRIT LANGUAGE
HAS COME UP IN WHICH CITY?
a) Patna
b) Delhi
c) Ahmedabad
d) Chennai
Q3. PM NARENDRA MODI LAID
FOUNDATION STONE OF FIRST HINDU TEMPLE IN WHICH COUNTRY?
a) Oman
b) Palestine
c) Dubai
d) Abu Dhabi
Q4. INDIA SIGNED HOW MANY AGREEMENTS WITH PALESTINE RECENTLY?
a) 5
b) 6
c) 3
d) 4
ANSWERS:
1 - A 2 - C 3
- D 4 - B
