Current Affairs: Feb 25, 2014

Current Affairs: Feb 25, 2014

International Affairs

1. Egypt's Interim Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi resigns with his cabinet.  

He, an Army appointee, had come to power after ex-president Mohamed Morsi’s government was deposed by the Army amidst escalating mass protests against his rule last July. The country has been in constant state of political flux since the outbreak of Arab Spring.

National Affairs

2. Bihar to get 1320 MW (2 X 660 MW) Thermal Power Project at Kajra (Lakhisarai). It will be a joint collaboration between NTPC (74% stake) and Bihar State Power Generation Company Limited (26% stake).

3. 7200 km of state highways to be elevated to National Highways by the union government. The present length of the National Highways in the country is about 80000 km.

4. National Centre for Good Governance Inaugurated in Mussorrie.  

It will serve as an apex think tank to advise government on good governance.

The institute is just the upgradation of erstwhile National Institute of Administrative Research (NIAR).

5. India’s 1st on Site Net Zero Building (green technology building) “Indira Paryavaran Bhawan” comes up in Delhi. The building fulfils the highest green standard of GRIHA 5-Star and LEED India Platinum.

6. Indira Paryavaran Bhawan inaugurated by Prime Minister

i. Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India on 25 February 2014 inaugurated Indira Paryavaran Bhawan on Jorbagh Road, New Delhi.

ii. This Bhawan will house the Ministry of Environment and Forest and has a provision to accommodate its 600 officials.

iii. The Bhawan is India’s first on site Net Zero Building built by the adoption of Solar Passive design and energy efficient building material.

iv. This has been designed as the highest-green rated building i.e., GRIHA 5-Star and LEED India Platinum.

Note: This project has been developed at an expense of about 209 crore rupees. 

The Indira Paryavaran Bhavan building has already received the following awards:
i. February 2013: The Project received an award from Adarsh/GRIHA of MNRE for exemplary demonstration of Integration of Renewable Energy Technologies
ii. January 2014: The Project was accorded 5-Star Green Building Certification by GRIHA under MNRE

7. FNCCI & CII agree to organize Nepal-India Economic Summit every year

i. Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and industry (FNCCI) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) have agreed to organize Nepal-India Economic Summit every year alternatively in the two countries.

ii. The Summit would be an effective platform to discuss the promotion of bilateral economic and trade relations between the two countries.

iii. The two business organizations have also agreed to play a strategic role for developing hydropower projects that have been long pending in Nepal. 

iv. The private sector has also principally agreed to make a joint study to find out various areas for improvement for new trade treaty between the two countries.

8. Jayant Vishnu Narlikar to receive Y Nayudamma memorial award 2013 for his notable contributions in astronomy and astrophysics.  

The annual honour is awarded to scientist and technologist for their worthy contributions. 

Its named after acclaimed leather technologist and scientist Nayudamma.

9. NTPC signed MoU to Develop Kajra Thermal Project

i. NTPC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bihar State Power Generation Company Limited (BSPGCL) and Lakhisarai Bijlee Company Private Limited (LBCPL) to develop a 1320 MW (2 X 660 MW) Thermal Power Project at Kajra in Lakhisarai district of Bihar.

ii. 9200 crore rupees will be invested on development of the project thaqt will gave two units of 660 MW each.

iiii. The MoU between the three institutions was signed at Patna in Bihar in presence of Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar and Arup Roy Chaudhary, the CMD of NTPC and Energy Minister of Bihar.
iv. As per the MoU signed between the three institutions, the project will be developed through a joint venture in which 74 percent stake will rest with NTPC and the rest with BSPGCL.

10. Eminent painter Prokash Karmakar died

i. Prokash Karmakar, an eminent painter died on 24 February 2014 following age-related illness.

ii. He was 81. His paintings reflected the degenerating society and the confusion that prevails in modern India.

iii. Karmakar was influenced by the works of Picasso and other impressionists of the 19th century Impressionism movement.

About Prokash Karmakar
i. His works are a part of famous galleries like Lalit Kala Akademi in Lucknow and Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art, Academy of fine Arts in Kolkata
ii. He started holding street exhibitions in 1956, which brought him into the limelight his and his first exhibition was held in 1959 on the railings of Indian Museum, Calcutta
iii. He was born in 1933, Kolkata (then Calcutta).

Business and Economy

11. Wipro wins 10-year deal from British IT firm

i. Indian IT bellwether Wipro Ltd Tuesday announced it had won a 10-year multi-million dollar contract from the Britain-based leading integrated support services firm Carillion Plc.

ii. As a global strategic partner, Wipro will provide integrated IT and back-office services to Carillion, which operates across industry verticals in Britain, West Asia and Canada, providing a range of solutions, including project finance, design, construction and support services.

iii. Carillion also handles public-private partnership projects.

iv. We will work with Wipro to develop this strategic partnership for delivering IT services to our global customers and explore new opportunities for both of us," Carillion group finance director Richard Adam said in the statement.

12. Panel on new bank licences submits report

i. The Bimal Jalan panel which was scrutinising applications for new bank licences has submited its report to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday.

ii. “We have submitted report (on new bank licences) to RBI,” Mr. Jalan, a former Reserve Bank Governor, said after a four-hour meeting here.

iii. The report contains names of entities eligible for bank licences. It was not immediately known how many applicants have been shortlisted by the high-level advisory panel.

iv. Other members of the committee are former RBI Deputy Governor Usha Thorat, former Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairman C B Bhave and Nachiket M Mor, Director of the Central Board of Directors of the RBI.

v. Public sector units India Post and IFCI and private sector Anil Ambani group and Aditya Birla group are among the 25 players in the fray for bank licences. Bajaj Finance, Muthoot Finance, Religare Enterprises and Shriram Capital have also applied.

vi. In the past 20 years, the RBI has licensed 12 banks in the private sector in two phases. Ten banks were licensed on the basis of guidelines issued in January 1993.

Note: i. Kotak Mahindra Bank and Yes Bank were the last two entities to get banking licences from the RBI in 2003—04.

ii. India has 27 public sector banks, 22 private sector banks and 56 regional rural banks.

iii. In the 2001 round of guidelines for new licences, the committee members were C G Somiah, former government auditor CAG, I G Patel, former RBI Governor, and Dipankar Basu, former head of State Bank of India.

Science and technology

13. Moon meet Venus on February 26 is one of the best celestial events of 2014

i. Skygazers are in for a treat as the thin crescent moon will pair closely with Venus on Wednesday, February 26, morning.  The event is one of the best celestial events of 2014.

ii. This celestial event is known the ‘Lunar Occultation of Venus’

iii. South Asia, China and Korea, along with the Australian and African continents, will see the occultation occur in the dawn sky before sunrise.

iv. In India also it is possible to watch this Lunar Occultation during the daylight hours on February 26.

14. A 12-year-old Indian American boy Shubham Banerjee developes a low cost Braille Printer named 'Braigo'. They convert regular data from computer devices into information in Braille on the print-out. They, usually slower and noisier, tend to consume more papers for the same amount of output.

15. WhatsApp to offer voice service in Q2

On Monday said Within a week of being acquired by Facebook, instant messaging  app WhatsApp it will offer voice service by June this year.

Speaking at the Mobile World Congress 2014 here, WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum said the voice service will be deployed first for Android and iPhones, followed later by Blackberry, Microsoft and Nokia phones.

Koum said ,”We are going to introduce voice in WhatsApp in the second quarter of this year…I think we have the best voice product out there.  We use the least amount of bandwidth,“

Facebook, last week, acquired WhatsApp for USD 19 billion in a deal that is considered to be one of the largest since that of AOL-Time Warner.

16. Mauritius President to be chief guest at Global Ayurveda Fest in Kerala 

i. A five-day Global Ayurveda Festival will be held from 20th February in Kerala to highlight the state's emergence as the global destination in which Mauritius President Rajkeswar Puryaag will be the chief guest. 

ii. Described as the biggest summit on Ayurveda, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will inaugurate the second edition, in which 4000 delegates from 35 countries are expected to participate. 

iii. A 50-member German delegation and delegates from countries such as France, Argentina, U.K., Italy, Singapore have confirmed participation. At least 350 delegates will be participating. 

iv. An International Business Meet, being organised by the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation will be inaugurated on 21st Feb by state Home minister Ramesh Chennithala.
v. The Centre for Innovation in Science and Social Action (CISSA), Kerala Government and the Ayurveda fraternity of Kerala represented by various associations are organising the event. 

Sports

17. Somdev Devvarman captures his 3rd ATP men's singles tennis title demolishing  Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-3, 6-1 in the final held in Delhi.  

It was his fourth Challenger level final.

1st Title: Lexington (US) in 2008

2nd Title: Izmir (Turkey) in 2010

18. Rafael Nadal proves his form with masterful Rio win:

World number one Rafael Nadal shrugged off the injury concerns that wrecked his Australian Open bid as he dismantled Ukraine`s Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 7-6 to win the Rio Open on Sunday.

 The 13-time Grand Slam winner showed no evidence of the back injury that hampered him in Melbourne.

 He wrapped up his 48th ATP title against an opponent with no answer to the relentless pressure exerted by theSpanish clay-court legend

19. Jason Day had heard all the criticism, that a player of his undoubted talent should have won a lot more than just one PGA Tour title even though he is just 26.

On Sunday at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, the Australian secured his second victory on the U. S. circuit by beating Frenchman Victor Dubuisson after 23 holes.

20. Susie Wolff will become the first woman driver in 22 years to take part in a Formula One Grand Prix weekend this season

The team said on Monday the 31-year-old wife of Mercedes motorsport head

Toto Wolff, a former Williams executive director, would remain their development driver in an expanded role that will include two Friday outings.

21. Asia Cup: Sri Lanka set 297-run target for Pakistan

i. Opener Lahiru Thirimanne notched up his second ODI hundred to power Sri Lanka to a challenging 296 for six against Pakistan in the opening one-dayer of the Asia Cup cricket tournament on Tuesday.

ii. Thirimanne hit 11 fours and a six in his 110-ball 102-run innings and starred in a 161-run stand with Kumar Sangakkara (67) for the second wicket to lay the foundation for a huge score at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium.

iii. Pakistan tried to make a comeback in the middle overs as they picked up a few wickets, before skipper Angelo Matthews provided the late charge, cracking a 50-ball 55, to take Sri Lanka close to the 300-mark.

22. ICC U-19 cricket WC: Pak enter final beating England

i. In the ICC Under 19 cricket World Cup, Pakistan beat England by 3 wickets to enter the final in Dubai. 

ii. Chasing a victory target of 205 in the first semi-final, Pakistan yesterday romped home with five balls to spare. England made 204 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 50 overs.

iii. Earlier, India defeated Sri Lanka by 76 runs for the fifth place in the tournament.

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