DAILY CURRENT
AFFAIRS: 8 FEB 2018
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)
SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN
1.
IMPORTANT CABINET APPROVALS- 07TH FEBRUARY 2018
i. The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Shri Narendra Modi has given the
following set of approvals. The important Cabinet Approvals are given as
follows-
ii. The Cabinet has approved- 1. Signing of India-Australia MoU for
Secondment Programme.
2. Signing of a MoU with United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland on Cooperation in the Field of Skill Development, Vocational Education
and Training.
3. Signing and ratification of protocol amending the Agreement between
India and China for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of
Fiscal Evasion.
4. Signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between India and USA on Law
Enforcement Training.
5. Ratification of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
6. Discovered Small Fields Policy Bid Round-11 for 60 un-monetised
discoveries of ONGC and OIL under Nomination and Relinquished Discoveries under
PSC Regime.
7. Placing the new Instrument adopted by International Labour
Organization Recommendation concerning “The Employment and Decent Work for
Peace and Resilience” before the Parliament.
8. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2017 to replace the
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017.
9. Implementation of ‘Prime Minister Research Fellows’.
10. Rationalization of Autonomous Bodies under Department of Health
& Family Welfare.
11. Proposal for Amendment to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Development Act, 2006 to change the criteria of classification and to withdraw
the MSMED (Amendment) Bill, 2015 – pending in Lok Sabha.
12. Changes in the Major Port Authorities Bill 2016.
13. Cabinet apprised of an MoU signed between India and Tunisia for
cooperation on Youth matters.
2.
ARUNACHAL PRADESH CM LAYS FOUNDATION STONE FOR RHODODENDRON PARK
i. Arunachal Pradesh CM Prema Khandu laid the foundation stone for
Rhododendron Park in Tawang.
ii. He also carried out plantation drive of different varieties of
Rhodos. Tawang is home to 50+ different varieties of Rhodos.
3.
5TH SOUTH ASIA REGION PUBLIC PROCUREMENT CONFERENCE HELD IN NEW
DELHI
i. The 5th edition of South Asia Region Public Procurement
Conference was held in New Delhi. It was hosted by Public Procurement Division
of Ministry of Finance and All India Management Association.
ii. It was held under auspices of South Asia Region Public Procurement
Network, which is sponsored and facilitated by the World Bank, Asian
Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank. The theme this edition of the
conference was “Public Procurement and
Service Delivery”.
4.
HAL DEVELOPS FIRST HAWK-I FLIGHT
i. The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has developed the first flight of
Hawk-i with indigenous Real Time Operating System. Hawk-i is the first
indigenous RTOS developed in India from scratch and certified by Center for
Military Airworthiness and Certification.
ii. The RTOS is the system software which provides a standard run-time
environment for real-time applications execution in a safe and reliable manner.
5.
DUBAI RETAINS RANK AS WORLD’S BUSIEST INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IN
2017
i. Dubai International Airport has held on to its No 1 ranking as the
world’s busiest airport for international travel, after seeing around 88.2
million passengers in 2017.
ii. Dubai International Airport first surpassed London Heathrow as the
world’s busiest airport for international traffic in 2014.
6.
FIRST EVER CHAT BASED JOB SEARCH APP 'EMPZILLA' LAUNCHED
i. The 1st ever of its kind in the country chat-based job search mobile
app 'Empzilla' is being launched that will do away with existing limitations of
employers and job seekers making selection process quick and cost-effective.
ii. The mobile app gets the conversation between employers and job
seekers going in seconds and the latter can chat with the potential employers.
7.
FORBES RELEASES ITS FIRST-EVER CRYPTOCURRENCY RICH LIST
i. Business magazine Forbes has released its 1st-ever Crypto Rich List,
comprising 20 wealthiest people in the cryptocurrency space. The list was
topped by Ripple Co-founder Chris Larsen, who is estimated to have a crypto net
worth of $7.5-8 billion.
ii. He is followed by Ethereum Co-founder Joseph Lubin ($1-5 billion)
and Founder of cryptocurrency exchange Binance Changpeng Zhao ($1.1-2 billion).
8.
BERMUDA BECOMES 1ST COUNTRY IN WORLD TO ABOLISH SAME-SEX
MARRIAGE
i. Bermuda has become the first country to legalise and then repeal
same-sex marriage.
ii. Bermuda’s governor John Rankin approved a bill reversing the right
of gay couples to marry, despite a supreme court ruling last year authorising
same-sex marriage.
9.
RBI TO SET UP OMBUDSMAN FOR NON-BANKING FINANCE COMPANIES
i. The Reserve Bank of India announced setting up ombudsman for
addressing customer grievances in the non-banking finance companies. The rules
will be laid out by the end of February 2018.
ii. RBI will start with deposit-taking NBFCs and widen the scope to
cover NBFCs with asset size of Rs 100 cr. There are around 20 banking ombudsmen
have been appointed with offices mostly in state capitals.
10. RBI TO
LINK BASE RATE WITH MCLR
i. The Reserve Bank of India will link the base rate with the MCLR from
1st of April 2018 to ensure expeditious transmission of its policy rate to
borrowers. The RBI had introduced the Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending
Rates system with effect from 1st April 2016, the Central bank observed that a
large proportion of bank loans continue to be linked to Base Rate.
ii. According to the RBI Deputy Governor NS Vishwanathan, it has been
decided to harmonize the methodology of determining benchmark rates by linking
base rate to MCLR as it is more sensitive to policy rate signals.
11. REAR
ADMIRAL MUKUL ASTHANA TAKES OVER AS ASSISTANT CHIEF OF NAVAL STAFF
i. Rear Admiral Mukul Asthana, has been appointed as the Assistant Chief
of Naval Staff (Air) at New Delhi. He was commissioned in 1986 in the Executive
Branch of the Indian Navy.
ii. He is a recipient of the prestigious Nausena Medal. He was also
conferred with the Tenzing Norgay National Award by HE the President of India
in 2006.
12. ACTOR
JOHN MAHONEY PASSES AWAY
i. Actor John Mahoney passed away after a brief illness in Chicago, the
USA. He was 77 years old. He was well-known for playing the title character in
the “Frasier” show.
ii. He worked in films for nearly 35 years. His important works are “The
American President,” “Moonstruck,” “In the Line of Fire,” and “Say Anything”.
OBJECTIVE
QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS
Q1. FOR
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING INSTITUTIONS RESERVE BANK OF INDIA HAS ANNOUNCED TO
SETTING UP AN
OMBUDSMAN?
a) NBFCs
b) NHB
c) NABARD
d) SIDBI
Q2. WHICH
CITY IS HOSTING THE 5TH EDITION OF SOUTH ASIA REGION PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
CONFERENCE-2018?
a) Kathmandu
b) New Delhi
c) Colombo
d) Dhaka
Q3. WHO
HAS BEEN APPOINTED AS THE ASSISTANT CHIEF OF NAVAL STAFF (AIR)?
a) Admiral A. K. Chawla,
b) Admiral Sunil Lanba
c) Admiral Mukul Asthana
d) Admiral Robin K. Dhowan
Q4. WHICH
ORGANISATION RELEASED THE FIRST-EVER CRYPTO RICH LIST?
a) Business Today
b) Times Group
c) Moody's
d) Forbes
Q5. WHICH
COUNTRY HAS BECOME THE WORLD’S FIRST COUNTRY TO REPEAL SAME-SEX MARRIAGE?
a) Portugal
b) Greece
c) Bermuda
d) South Africa
ANSWERS:
1 - A 2 - B 3
- C 4 - D 5 - C
