1. Andhra Pradesh Government Signs Agreement With USTDA
i. The US Trade and Development Agency has signed MoU with the Department Of Municipal
Administration of Andhra Pradesh on funding for drawing up the master plan for Visakhapatnam Smart City and a consortium of three US companies, comprising AECOM, KPMG and IBM.
ii. The MoU was signed by Principal Secretary (Municipal Administration) Karikal Velavan and Country Manager of USTDA Heather K Lanigan in the presence of Chief Minister and Director of USTDA Leocadila I Zak.
2. 3 MoU Worth Rs. 21,000 Crore Signed On 1st Day Of Make In India Week
i. On the first day of the ‘Make in India’ week in Mumbai, the three MoUs between Maharashtra government bodies and various companies for total investment worth Rs. 21,000 crore have been signed.
ii. Twinstar Display Technologies, Raymond Industries and Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages were among the companies that signed the MoUs for setting up manufacturing plants in India.
iii. The First MoU: TwinStar Display Technologies has inked MoU with Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC).
iv. Second MoU: Raymond Industries and MIDC have inked MoU as part of ‘Farm to Fabric’ initiative.
v. Third MoU: Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages, Jain Irrigation Pvt Ltd and Department of Agriculture and Marketing of Maharashtra have inked MoU for setting up a juice manufacturing facility.
3. BAFTA Awards : 69th British Academy Film Awards
i. The 69th British Academy Film Awards held on 14 February 2016 in London.
ii. It has taken place in Central London at the Royal Opera House.
iii. The British Academy Film Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).
iv. The Revenant’ scooped the best film, best actor and best director awards at the 69th edition of the biggest film awards outside the U.S.
v. The other award of BAFTA’s are as follow : Outstanding British Film: Brooklyn. Best Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu (The Revenant). Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant). Best Actress: Brie Larson (Room). Most awards: The Revenant (5 wins). Most nominations: Bridge of Spies and Carol (9 nominations each).
4. Biraja Prasad : Indian Ambassador To Tajikistan Passes Away
i. Biraja Prasad, India’s Ambassador to Tajikistan passed away following a massive cardiac arrest.
ii. He was the youngest Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer to be appointed as India’s Ambassador to any country.
iii. Mr. Biraja Prasad , who belonged to Odisha started his career as diplomat.
5. Bollywood Actress Vidya Balan Awarded With The Pride Of Kerala Award
i. Bollywood actress Vidya Balan has been awarded the ‘Pride of Kerala’ award by the World Malaya lee Council and Kairali TV.
ii. National Award-winning actress Vidya Balan, who hails from Kerala, is 38 year old.
iii. National award winner had made her debut in Bollywood in 2005 in Parineeta.
iv. The Bollywood actress has already received many awards and honors like National Film Award for Best Actress – for The Dirty Picture (2011). Padma Shri Award in 2014. She also has won five Filmfare Awards in Best Female Debut for Parineeta (2005), Best Actress for Paa (2009), The Dirty Picture (2011) and Kahaani (2012) and Critics Award for Best Actress for Ishqiya (2010).
6. Dr. Vilas A. Tonapi Appointed As New Director Of IIMR
i. Dr. Vilas A. Tonapi has been appointed as Director of Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR), Rajendranagar.
ii. Prior to this appointment, he was working as the Principal Scientist at Seed Science and Technology of the IIMR.
iii. Earlier Dr. Vilas A. Tonapi had served as Head, Division of Seed Science and Technology at New Delhi based Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI).
7. Facebook India’s Managing Director Kirthiga Reddy Steps Down
i. A day after closing down its controversy ridden free basics programme in India, Facebook India Managing Director Kirthiga Reddy has stepped down from her current role and will relocate to the
United States.
ii. She would be moving to Facebook’s headquarters in the US in the next 6 to 12 months. Facebook started looking for her successor in India.
iii. Facebook has shut down ‘ Free Basics’ in India, days after telecom regulator TRAI barred operators from charging discriminatory rates for internet access based on content.
iv. Free Basics was offered in India in partnership with Reliance Communications and was earlier known as Internet.org.
8. Devaraja Reddy elected as the new ICAI President
i. The CA Institute has a new President in M Devaraja Reddy.Devraja Reddy
ii. He belongs to Hyderabad and is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) with more than 28 years of professional standing.
iii. He was the Vice-President of ICAI for the council year 2015-16.
iv. Nilesh S Vikamsey is the new Vice President of the CA Institute for the term 2016-17.
9. RBI announces liquidity measures for March 2016
i. Reserve Bank of India will inject adequate additional liquidity using a combination of appropriate instruments while continuing with its normal liquidity adjustment facility operations.
ii. This will be done with a view to addressing the expected tightening of liquidity conditions next month on account of advance tax payments by corporate and in order to provide flexibility to the banking system in its liquidity management towards March-end 2016.
10. Indian, Israeli firms join hands for defence cooperation
i. Around 25 Indian and 100 Israeli firms will come together for a unique business seminar on defence and security in Israel.
ii. The seminar will be organised jointly by SIBAT, the Israeli defence ministry, the International Defence Cooperation Directorate and Ficci will take place on 21-25 February 2016.
iii. It will mainly focus on increasing collaborations and JVs between the MSME ministries on both sides.
iv. The seminar will highlight the huge potential to cooperate under PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative and will deal with the new expected defence procurement procedure 2016.
v. This will be the fourth joint seminar for SIBAT and Ficci in recent years.
11. R D Mathur promoted to the rank of Air Marshal
i. Air vice Marshal Rajiv Dayal Mathur, promoted to the rank of Air Marshal on 15 Feb 16.
ii. Perior to this, He had been Assistant Chief of Air Staff in charge of the Indian Air Force’s Air Warfare Strategy Cell besides its space, cyber, Air Traffic Services and Media & Public Relations Directorates.
iii. He had earlier served as Air Defence commander at Ho Eastern Air Command and commanded a frontline Air Force Station and a Fighter aircraft squadron.
12. Tata Steel wins TIME’s best in class for manufacturing award
i. American publishing company, Time Inc has announced the winners of the inaugural TIME India awards, honouring leaders for manufacturing excellence in India.
ii. McKinsey & Company is the knowledge partner for the awards.
iii. The awards encompassed three categories:Best in class manufacturing,manufacturing innovator of the year andYoung maker of the year.
iv. Tata Steel won the award for best in class for manufacturing, while Hero MotoCorp was named the manufacturing innovator of the year and Yogesh and Rajesh Agrawal of Ajanta Pharma Limited were declared winners of the TIME India Young Maker of the Year.
v. The finalists were announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
13. Chad appoints Albert Pahimi Padacke as its new prime minister
i. President Idriss Deby has appointed MP Albert Pahimi Padacke as new Prime Minister of the Central African country Chad.
ii.His appointment came after the resignation of his predecessor, just two months ahead of presidential elections.
iii. No reason was given for the departure of Kalzeube Pahimi Deubet earl. He had served as Prime Minister for more than two years.
14. Indian Government to distribute 14 crore Soil Health cards by March 2017
i. India Government will distribute 14 crore Soil Health card in the country by March 2017.
ii. The steps have been taken by the government to achieve the target.
iii. The foundation stone of Agriculture Technology Application Research Institute was laid Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.The new institute will help the farmers.
iv.The institute will work as the nodal agency of all Krishi Vigyan Kendras for three states.
v. Assam has 25 Krishi Vigyan Kendras which are working in the field of providing training to farmers and skill development activities.
15. DIAL launches mobile application ‘DIAL Cargo’
i. Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) has launched a mobile application ‘DIAL Cargo’ for cargo operations to reduce paperwork and track movement of shipments on real time basis.
ii. DIAL runs the international airport in the national capital.
iii. The mobile application would aid in electronic clearance of cargo through the customs Department.
iv. Delhi airport handled 7 lakh tonnes of cargo in 2014-15.
16. Under 19 World Cup : West Indies Beat India To Win First Title
i. The West Indies won the Under-19 World Cup for the first time in their history after beating India by five wickets in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
ii. It was the eleventh edition of the Under-19 Cricket World Cup, and the second to be held in Bangladesh, after the 2004 event.
17. MIRZA-HINGIS WIN ST PETERSBURG TITLE
i. Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis extended their winning streak to 40 after clinching the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
ii. The top-seeded pair continued their imperious form as they swept aside the Russian-Czech pair of Vera Dushevina and Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 6-1 in the finals of the women’s double event that lasted for an hour.
iii. With the win, the Indo-Swiss pair bagged their 13th women’s double titles. Earlier this year, the Indo-Swiss duo won their third consecutive women’s doubles Grand Slam title by lifting the Australian Open trophy.
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