Current Affairs February 9, 2018

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Current Affairs February 9, 2018 World News Egypt Army launches major operation in Nile Delta, Sinai Peninsula The Egyptian army announced the launch of a major operation in the Nile Delta and the

1 Current Affairs February 9, 2018 World News Egypt Army launches major operation in Nile Delta, Sinai Peninsula The Egyptian army announced the launch of a major operation in the Nile Delta and the northern Sinai Peninsula, heart of a persistent Islamic State group insurgency. Police and troops have been put on maximum alert for the duration of Operation Sinai The goal is to tighten control of border districts and clean up areas where there are terrorist hotbeds. Most of the violence has been in North Sinai province, but there have also been attacks on the military, police and even churches elsewhere, including Cairo. Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia gets 5 years jail in corruption case Bangladesh s ex-premier and opposition BNP Chief Khaleda Zia was sentenced to five years in jail in a corruption case. Zia, 72, was sentenced by the Special Court-5 in Dhaka in connection with embezzlement of 21 million takas ($252,000) in foreign donations meant for the Zia Orphanage Trust. In the same case, her son Tarique Rahman and four others have been sentenced to 10 years in jail.

2 India ranks 44th in Global Intellectual Property Index, US tops India increased substantially its score in the International Intellectual Property (IP) Index, ranking 44th among 50 nations, according to the US Chambers of Commerce report. India s overall score has increased substantially from 25% in the 5th edition of the Index to 30% in the 6th edition, according to the annual report prepared by the Global Innovation Policy Centre (GIPC) of the US Chambers of Commerce. Last year, India ranked 43rd out of 45 countries in the Index. The top 3 countries a. The USA. b. The United Kingdom. c. Sweden. US Democrat gives record 8-hour-long speech US Democrat Nancy Pelosi gave an eight-hour-long speech, demanding a vote on an immigration bill to give protection to Dreamers, the immigrants who were brought illegally to the US as children. The address is the longest speech ever delivered in the US House of Representatives. Pelosi delivered the speech wearing four-inch-heels, forgoing any breaks, and only sipping water. National News Government redefines MSMEs based on annual revenue The Cabinet approved a proposal to redefine micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), based on their annual turnover. The move, which replaces earlier classification based on investment in plant and machinery, is expected to improve ease of doing business. Notably, the government announced a cut in the tax rate for MSMEs from 30% to 25% in the Budget.

3 Kerala tops Health Index, Uttar Pradesh worst performer Kerala has topped the Health Index report prepared by NITI Aayog while Uttar Pradesh appeared at the bottom among larger states, though it has shown improvement in the recent past. As per the index report for large states, Kerala was followed by Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. Besides Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Odisha are among the states that performed poorly in the health index. According to the index, among large states, Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh are the top three ranking states in terms of annual incremental performance. Among small states, Mizoram ranked first, followed by Manipur and Goa. RK Singh Launches ASH TRACK Mobile App for Better Management of Fly Ash Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Shri R.K Singh, launched a Web-based monitoring System and a Fly Ash mobile application named ASH TRACK. These platforms will enable better management of the ash produced by thermal power plants by providing an interface between fly ash producers (Thermal Power Plants) and potential ash users such as road contractors, cement plants. U.P. govt to provide Taj protection plan: SC Supreme Court directed the UP government to place before it a vision document on protection and preservation of the Taj Mahal. The TTZ is an area of about 10,400 sq. km spread over the districts of Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Hathras and Etah in U.P. and Rajasthan. A Bench of justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta asked why there was a sudden flurry of activity in the Taj Trapezium Zone. State News Haryana to name projects after Captain Kundu Afer two days of cremation of 22-year-old Captain Kapil Kundu, in his native village, Ransika, the government school will be named after him. The road leading towards the area and the Khod village bus stop, located nearby, will be named after him.

4 Kundu was martyred in Jammu and Kashmir s Rajouri district on Sunday, as a result of shelling from Pakistani forces across the border. Goa to launch bike ambulances in the state Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is planning to launch 20 bike ambulances to deal with casualties in the state s tourism belt. The ambulances will be equipped with basic life-saving equipment and two oxygen cylinders to serve as rapid service at places where four-wheeler ambulances cannot reach. A total of 100 bike ambulances will be introduced in the next six months. Banking & Economy CCI Slaps Rs 136 crore Fine on Google for Unfair Business Practices The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a fine of around Rs. 136 crores on search engine major Google for unfair business practices in the Indian market for online search. The penalty is being imposed on Google for infringing anti-trust conduct. It was alleged that Google is indulging in abuse of dominant position in the market for online search through practices leading to search bias and search manipulation, among others. Moody s raises IOB, Central Bank of India outlook to positive Moody s Investors Service has changed the outlook of Central Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank (IoB) to positive from stable. The positive outlook reflects the possible upward pressure on these banks long-term ratings if their capital positions continue to improve over the next months due to fund infusion by the government. The positive outlook also reflects Moody s view on the expected evolution of their balance sheets, including a stabilisation in asset quality, moderate improvement in profitability metrics, and stable funding and liquidity positions.

5 Sports Guinness World Record attempted for playing Ice Hockey at highest altitude To set a record in the Guinness book for ice hockey on the world s highest altitude, an international level tournament was organized at recently built international standards open ice hockey rink at an altitude of 4371 meters above the sea level at Chiba Kargyam in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. Five international teams from USA, Germany, Canada, Slovakia and Russia and a local team participated in the tournament. It was jointly organized by the Hockey Foundation, USA, Ladakh Winter Sports Club and Lalok Winter Sports Association. Jhulan Goswami becomes 1st female cricketer to take 200 wickets in ODI India s veteran pacer, Jhulan Goswami has become the first female cricketer in the world to take 200 wickets in One-Day Internationals (ODI) cricket. She achieved the feat when she bagged the wicket of South Africa opener Laura Wolvaardt during the 2nd ODI of the 3-match series at the Diamond Oval in Kimberley. Australia s Cathryn Fitzpatrick is at 2nd spot with 180 wickets followed by compatriot Lisa Sthalekar on 146. Khelo India School Games concludes; Haryana tops overall medal tally with 38 gold medals The first Khelo India School Games concluded in New Delhi with sports powerhouse Haryana topped the overall medal tally. The state won 102 medals which include 38 gold and 26 silver. Maharashtra with 111 medals finished second while Delhi with 94 medals came third. Khelo India School Games was a part of the Khelo India programme which has been introduced by the Sports Ministry to revive the sports culture in the country at the grassroots level and make India a sporting nation. Appointments & Resignations HDFC Bank hires Rakesh Singh as private banking head HDFC Bank announced Rakesh Singh as the newly appointed head of Private Banking. He will continue to head the Bank s Investment Banking, Capital Markets and Financial Institutions businesses.

6 As of December 31, 2017, the Private Banking business had assets under advice of over Rs. 93,000 crore across over 16,000 families in India and Overseas. For this role, Singh will report to Abhay Aima, Country Head Global Consumer Business, Private Banking and Distribution, Direct and Digital Banking and Retail Liabilities, HDFC Bank. Books & Authors Sachin Tendulkar, his wife launch book on child health care Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and his wife Anjali Tendulkar launched a book on child health care titled Even When There Is A Doctor. Penned down by Dr Yashwant Amdekar along with Dr Rajesh Chokhani and Krishnan Sivaramakrishnan, the book describes the role of an individual or parents in improving their child s health. Obituaries John Mahoney of Frasier fame dies at 77 John Mahoney, a veteran character actor best known for playing the curmudgeonly dogloving father of the title character in TV s Frasier, has died at the age of 77. Mahoney was born in Blackpool, England, according to his biography on the online Broadway database Playbill. He worked as a college professor and a medical orderly also.

TNPSC BITS NATIONAL. Minamata Convention ratification

TNPSC BITS NATIONAL. Minamata Convention ratification February - 10 TNPSC BITS Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh released a book titled Mere Sapnonka Bharat. It is a compilation of interviews of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee by Tarun Vijay, an