Current Affairs 22nd February 2018: Daily GK Update |

Dear Aspirants,

The General Awareness Section of Banking Exams covers numerous sections in it like Banking Awareness, Static GK, and Current Affairs. But the most important thing that you might have noticed is that both the Banking Awareness and Static Awareness questions asked in the General Awareness Section are based on Current Affairs only. The questions on Static and Banking Awareness are related to the countries, events or anything that has been in news for a while. Apart from the GA Section, an excellent knowledge of current news also helps you deal with the PI (Personal Interview) more efficiently so you do not give a mumble jumble answer to the interviewee’s simple questions. Here is the Daily GK Update to get you acquainted with the top events that made the headlines today!!

Current Affairs 22nd February 2018: Daily GK Update

National News

1. India Ranks 81st in Global Corruption Perception Index

Current Affairs 22nd February 2018: Daily GK Update |_3.1

i. India has been ranked 81st in the global corruption perception index for 2017, released by Transparency International. The index ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. In the 2016 India was in the 79th place among 176 countries.

ii. The index uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. In the latest ranking New Zealand and Denmark were placed the highest, with scores of 89 and 88, respectively. On the other hand, Syria, Sudan and Somalia were ranked lowest with scores of 14, 12 and 9, respectively.

2. Agriculture Ministry Adds 6 New Features in e-NAM Platform

Current Affairs 22nd February 2018: Daily GK Update |_4.1

i. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh launched six new features in the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) platform to make it more user-friendly.
ii. The six new features of e-NAM platform includes-

1. MIS dashboard for better analysis,

2. BHIM payment facility by traders,

3. Mobile payment facility by traders,

4. Enhanced features on mobile app such as gate entry and payment through mobile,

5. Integration of farmer’s database, and

6. e-Learning module.

3. Telangana, Taiwan Sign MoU for Better Technology Partnership

Current Affairs 22nd February 2018: Daily GK Update |_5.1

i. The Telangana Government signed an MOU with Taoyuan City of Taiwan for better technology partnership in the state. The agreement was signed after the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) 2018 in Hyderabad.

ii. IT Minister K T Rama Rao and principal secretary Jayesh Ranjan signed the agreement with Robert Huang, Director of the Board of Taiwan company at World IT Congress 2018.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Syndicate Bank PO 2018 Exam-

Taiwan Capital- Taipei, Currency- New Taiwan dollar.

4. Avani Chaturvedi Becomes 1st Indian Woman to Fly Fighter Aircraft Solo

Current Affairs 22nd February 2018: Daily GK Update |_6.1

i. Flying officer Avani Chaturvedi scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to fly a fighter aircraft solo.

ii. She flew a MiG-21 bison in her first solo flight from Jamnagar base of Indian Air Force (IAF) in Gujarat.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Syndicate Bank PO 2018 Exam-

Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa is the 25th Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force.

5. UP Government Signs Pact with Amazon India for Khadi Products Sale

Current Affairs 22nd February 2018: Daily GK Update |_7.1

i. Uttar Pradesh’s Khadi and Village Industries Board has signed a pact with Amazon India to facilitate online selling of Khadi products.

ii. As part of an MoU, Amazon India will educate, train and enable rural khadi artisans to directly sell their products to Amazon.in customers across the country under the brand of UP Khadi.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Syndicate Bank PO 2018 Exam-

Khadi and Village Industries Board CEO- Avinash Krishna Singh.

6. India Successfully Conducts Night Trial of Prithvi-II Missile

Current Affairs 22nd February 2018: Daily GK Update |_8.1

i. India successfully conducted a night trial of its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile with a strike range of 350 km, from a test range in Odisha.

ii. The surface-to-surface missile was test-fired from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Odisha.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Syndicate Bank PO 2018 Exam-

Prithvi-II missile is capable of carrying 500 to 1,000 kg of warheads and is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines.

International News

7. International Mother Language Day- 21 February

Current Affairs 22nd February 2018: Daily GK Update |_9.1

i. UNESCO has celebrated International Mother Language Day on 21 February. The 2018 theme is- “Linguistic diversity and multilingualism count for sustainable development”.

ii. It has been organised for nearly 20 years with the aim of preserving linguistic diversity and promoting mother tongue-based multilingual education.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Canara Bank 2018 Exam-

UNESCO- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
France’s Audrey Azoulay- 11th DG of UNESCO, Headquarters- Paris, France.

8. India International Textiles Expo Begins in Colombo

Current Affairs 22nd February 2018: Daily GK Update |_10.1

i. A three –day India International Textiles Expo (IITExpo) of India began in Sri Lankan capital of Colombo. It is being organized by Powerloom Development & Export Promotion Council (PDEXCIL) with the support of Union Ministry of Textiles & Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

ii. The event was inaugurated by Sri Lankan minister of Special Assignments Dr. Sarath Amunugama.

Banking/Economy News

9. EPFO Cuts Interest Rate to 8.55% for 2017-18

Current Affairs 22nd February 2018: Daily GK Update |_11.1

i. Retirement fund body Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has reduced the interest rate on deposits to 8.55% for 2017-18 from 8.65% for 2016-17 following a general decline in interest rates.
ii. The move will affect around 6 crore subscribers and leave EPFO with a surplus of Rs 586 crore against Rs 695 crore in the previous financial year.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Syndicate Bank PO 2018 Exam-

The finance ministry had recently lowered interest rate on General Provident Fund (GPF) and Public Provident Fund (PPF) to 7.6%.
EPFO Chairman- M. Sathiyavathy, Headoffice- New Delhi.
Santosh Kumar Gangwar- Minister of State (I/C) of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

10. Capital First Gets NHB Nod for Merger With IDFC Bank

Current Affairs 22nd February 2018: Daily GK Update |_12.1

i. Capital First announced that the regulator National Housing Bank (NHB) has approved the merger of the company along with Capital Home Finance and Capital First Securities Limited with IDFC Bank.

ii. The amalgamation is subject to the receipt of approval from the Reserve Bank of India and other statutory and regulatory approvals. The share swap ratio for the merger is fixed at 139:10, meaning IDFC Bank will issue 139 shares for every 10 shares of Capital First.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Syndicate Bank PO 2018 Exam-