Latest Current Affairs February 2018
- Bangladesh appoints Syed Mahmud Hossain as new chief justice
Bangladesh has appointed Syed Mahmud Hossain as the new chief justice, three months after his predecessor and the country’s first Hindu chief justice was virtually forced to resign amid “grave” graft allegations.
Justice Hossain had been appointed as the 22nd chief justice of the country. Hossain’s appointment prompted acting chief justice Abdul Wahab Mian to immediately tender his resignation on an “unavoidable personal reason”.
- Environment Ministry launches ‘Green Good Deeds’ campaign
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr Harsh Vardhan has appealed to the teaching community to join the “Green Good Deeds” campaign, launched by the Ministry to sensitise the peopleand students, in particular, about climate change and global warming.
The Minister reminded the teachers of their “Green Social Responsibility” (GSR), similar to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Referring to the crucial role played by “Polio Sainiks” from municipal corporation schools in the Pulse Polio campaign, he underlined the need for “Green Sainiks” to broad-base the Green Good Deeds movement and to take it down to the grassroots level successfully.
- 2018 Kala Ghoda Arts festival organised in Mumbai
The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival is one of the most significant cultural events of Mumbai, organised by the Kala Ghoda Association.
The festival celebrates art in its diverse forms that encompass music, dance, theatre, fine art, photography, seminars, workshops, and a lot more.
This nine-day festival is an attraction for tourists and has thousands of visitors coming not just from the city or country, but from across the world.
- CBEC to be renamed CBIC by April
Rechristening of the apex indirect tax policy making body CBEC to Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) is likely to happen by April after the budgetary exercise gets Parliament nod.
With excise duty, service tax, alongside nearly a dozen other central and state levies being subsumed in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rolled out from July 1, the ambit of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has widened.
- Guwahati to be the hub for Centre’s UDAN project
The Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati will be the centre for project UDAN in the North East region and ASEAN.
Small airports will be developed in towns such as Jorhat and Tezpur in Assam under the Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) project.
| Airports Authority of India (AAI) Regional Executive Director | Dharmendra Kumar Karma |
| Minister of Civil Aviation | Ashok Gajapathi Raju |
| Minuster of state of Civil Aviation | Jayant Sinha |
- Maha to set up transgender welfare board
The Transgender Welfare Board (TWB) would finally see light of the day with the Maharashtra government making a provision of Rs 5 crore for welfare of the community. Maharashtra will be the first such state to have such a Board. The Transgender Welfare Board was first conceptualised in 2014 by the previous government.
The issue of setting up such a board for implementing welfare schemes for transgenders and protecting their rights was mentioned in the third womens policy of the state government.
- Floating ‘island’ to clean up Neknampur Lake
On the occasion of World Wetland Day, city-based NGO Dhruvansh has introduced biggest floating island of India at Neknampur Lake.
The water body is affected due to sewage. The floating island introduced close to the inlet ensures filtration of inflows passing through its different layers. Since the lake is known for aquatic life and for attracting the avians, the hope is that once cleaned it would again attract the fish and the birds.
- February 4: World Cancer Day
February 4, 2018 commemorated internationally as World Cancer Day, it was founded under the direction of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) with the aim of supporting the World Cancer Declaration goals written in 2008.
The theme for observing World Cancer Day is ‘We Can. I can.’ Under this theme, people are expected to, individually and collectively, understand and work towards lessening the impact and harmful effects of the condition globally.
- Japan launches world’s smallest rocket to carry a satellite
Japan has set a new spaceflight record the country’s Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has successfully launched the smallest-ever rocket to carry a satellite into orbit, a modest SS-520 sounding rocket modified with a third stage inside its nose cone to get its payload into orbit.
As you might guess, the key to the record was the tiny cargo — the rocket was carrying TRICOM-1R, a three-unit cubesat measuring just 13.6 inches long. You don’t need a giant vehicle when the mission hardware would fit in the backseat of your car.
- Haryana, RSPB win in Senior National women’s hockey
Hockey Haryana and Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) registered brilliant wins over their respective rivals on the fourth day of the eighth Hockey India Senior Women National Championship 2018 (A Division).
- Golfer Shubhankar Sharma Wins Maybank Championship in Malaysia
India’s Shubhankar Sharma roared back from a four-stroke deficit to claim a remarkable two-shot win at the Maybank Championship in Malaysia for his second European Tour title.
Spain’s Campillo, who missed the opportunity to capture his maiden title on the European Tour in his 196th event, was a shot ahead of New Zealand’s Ryan Fox who was tied third alongside Pablo Larrazabal at the Saujana Golf and Country Club.
- Uttar Pradesh BJP MP Hukum Singh passes away aged 79
BJP leader and Kairana MP Hukum Singh passed away. He was 79. Hukum Singh had been a seven-time member of the Uttar Pradesh state assembly.
