SH- Current Affairs Update 25th, Feb 2018

Dear Aspirants,

8th Indo- Seychelles Army exercise starts

The eighth joint military exercise between the Indian Army and Seychelles People’s Defence Forces started on February 24 and will continue till March 4 at Mahe Island, Seychelles.

• The exercise is named “Lamitye” which in the local dialect ‘Creole’, means friendship.
• This exercise is the eighth in the series of bilateral exercises being conducted in the beautiful island nation.

India International Textiles Expo begins in Colombo

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.

PM launches various  projects worth Rs.1000 crores in Daman & Diu

Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi launched various development projects worth Rs.1000 crores in Daman & Diu.

• He distributed certificates to beneficiaries of programs and addressed a public meeting at the Daman college ground.
• The Prime Minister inaugurated Air Odisha's flight connecting Ahmedabad with Diu under the UDAN scheme.
• He flagged off Pawan Hans helicopter services from Daman to Diu through a video link.

International Conference on Sustainable Biofuels 2018

A two- day International Conference on Sustainable Biofuels is jointly being organized by Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India on behalf of Mission Innovation and Biofuture Platform at the Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

• The event will bring together experts from Biofuels sector to take stock of current knowledge, share information and best practices, and build consensus on the actions most needed to move forward.
• Mission Innovation (MI) is a global initiative of 22 countries and the European Union to dramatically accelerate global clean energy innovation.

'Dhanush' ballistic missile successfully test-fired

India has successfully test-fired the nuclear-capable 'Dhanush' ballistic missile with a strike range of 350 km from a naval ship off Odisha coast, defence officials said.

• The surface-to-surface missile, a naval variant of the indigenously-developed 'Prithvi' missile, was test-fired from the ship positioned near Paradip in the Bay of Bengal.
• 'Dhanush' missile is capable of carrying a payload of 500 kg and hitting both land and sea-based targets.

India to host 1st International Solar Alliance on 11th March

India will host the first International Solar Alliance (ISA) summit on 11th March, which will be attended by French President Emmanuel Macron and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

• Efforts are underway to put together 121 projects, which can be signed in two phases - about 50 on March 11 and another 71 on April 20.
• The summit will be held in Delhi.

PM Narendra Modi launches Amma scooter scheme

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the Tamil Nadu government’s Amma scooter scheme and a massive tree plantation drive to commemorate the 70th birth anniversary of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa.

• Over one lakh working women will get scooters at subsidised rates.
• The Prime Minister highlighted the programmes rolled out by his government in the last four years for the welfare of women.

Adityanath inaugurates 2-day ‘Rasotsav’ in Mathura

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated two-day Rasotsav, jointly organised by the state tourism department, the Brij Tirth Vikas Parishad and the Brajbhumi Vikas trust.

• Local MP, actress-turned-politician Hema Malini has been instrumental in organising the event which is being held at the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Veterinary Institute.
• Adityanath earlier felicitated music maestros Pandit Jasraj and Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia.

CII partnership summit held in Visakhapatnam

The third Partnership Summit of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) begin in Visakhapatnam, with over 2,000 delegates attending the meet, 40 per cent of them being from abroad.

• Vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the three-day event.
• This summit is being jointly organised by the Andhra Pradesh State Government, the CII, and the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion under Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

EESL signs MoUs of Rs. 3,730 crore with Andhra govt

The government-run Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) has signed MoUs with Andhra Pradesh government to invest Rs 3,730 crore in the state.

• The MoUs, spanning across e-mobility, energy efficiency and renewable energy and aimed to create 15,000 jobs, were signed at CII Partnership Summit.
• Through the MoUs, EESL, a joint venture of PSUs under the Union Power Ministry, hopes to save Rs 3,185 crore.

E-way bill for interstate goods movement from April 1

The e-way bill, to be generated under the GST for all inter-state movement of goods valued at over Rs 50,000, will become mandatory from April 1.

• The recommendation of the Group of Ministers on Information Technology would be considered by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council during its March 10 meeting.
• However, the implementation date for intra-state movement of goods is not yet decided and it would be implemented in a phase-wise manner.

Bollywood actor Sridevi passes away

Bollywood actor Sridevi passed away in Dubai after a cardiac arrest. She was 54.

• Sridevi worked in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films before entering Hindi films.
• Her most remarkable films include Sadma, Chandni, Himmatwala, ChaalBaaz, Mr India, Nagina, Mawali, Tohfa and Gumrah among others.
• The government of India awarded her Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour, in 2013.