Latest Current Affairs – February 16 2018
- Archaeologist Arvind Jamkhedkar to head ICHR
Archaeologist and historian Arvind P. Jamkhedkar will be the next Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR).
He will replace Prof. K. Sudershan Rao, whose term as ICHR chief was mired in controversy. The post fell vacant after Prof. Rao’s retirement.
Prof. Jamkhedkar is at present Chancellor of Deccan College, Pune, known in academic circles for its archaeology department.
- Haruhiko kuroda re-appointed as Bank of Japan Chief
Japan reappointed central bank chief Haruhiko Kuroda for another term, and chose an advocate of bolder monetary easing as one of his deputies in a strong signal to investors that policymakers are in no rush to turn off a sweeping stimulus programme.
The selection of the new BOJ leadership comes amid heightened anxiety in Japanese and global financial markets, fueled partly by speculation over how quickly major central banks will wind down their crisis-era policies.
- Ajay Singh named EY entrepreneur for biz transformation
SpiceJet’s Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh has been named as ‘Indian Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 for Business Transformation’ by leading consultancy EY.
Singh turned around the fortunes of the budget airline, which was on the verge of shutting down in December 2014.
- Bitdefender gets title of being the ‘Best Product of the Year’ 2017
AV-Comparatives – an Austrian independent organization test lab providing a rigorous test of security software products, subjected 21 different security products for Windows to the investigation wherein Bitdefender, one of the leading computer security system manufacturers has won the Product of the year award.
Bitdefender is now acknowledged with the Gold Award for the Real-World Protection Test. Along with that, a Silver Award for the Malware Protection Test and Removal test, it is awarded the Bronze Product for the Performance test as well.
As far as the Malware Removal Test is concerned, Bitdefender scored over 90 points and have had scored Advanced+ ranking in 7 Tests.
- LS Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to inaugurate C’wealth meet
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan will inaugurate the two-day 6th conference of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) India Region, which is likely to be attended by about 100 delegates from across the country and abroad.
The conference will feature discussions on Parliament’s role in development agenda and legislature and judiciary – two important pillars of democracy
- J-K to have Law University on lines of NLSIU Bangalore
Jammu and Kashmir would have a law varsity on the lines of the Bangalore-based National Law School of India University (NLSIU) and the process to establish it will begin this year.
The state legislature had passed a Bill to establish a national law university in Jammu and Kashmir. The process to establish it would be started this year to improve the quality of professional legal education in the state.
- MoU Signed between Botanical Survey of India and Natural History Museum, UK
Botanical Survey of India (BSI) and Natural History Museum (NHM), UK signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in the field of genetic/taxonomic studies, research and training, conservation in India, including species and habitat conservation assessment
The MoU will pave the way for BSI staff to work in Natural History Museum, London and vice-versa and they will share fairly and equitably the benefits that may arise from the collection, study and conservation of the plant materials such as seeds, herbarium specimens and tissue samples and exchange associated data and images. NHM will help BSI in capacity building in areas of systematic botany and long-term conservation of plant genetic resources in India.
- WhatsApp gets NPCI nod for BHIM UPI launch
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has accorded its consent to roll out WhatsApp BHIM UPI beta launch with limited user base of one million and low per transaction limit.
Four banks will join the multi-bank BHIM UPI model in the coming weeks and full feature product shall be released after the beta test is successful
Set up in 2009 as the central infrastructure for various retail payment systems in the country and envisaged by the Reserve Bank of India as a payment utility, NPCI has been working to facilitate digital payments in the country with globally recognised products like Bharat Interface for Money BHIM-Unified Payments Interface (BHIM UPI).
- Virat Kohli becomes fastest to 17,000 international runs
Indian skipper Virat Kohli has achieved the feat during the sixth and final ODI of the series against South Africa.
In the process, Kohli also broke several records as he became fastest to 17000 international runs. Kohli also overtook South African batsman AB de Villiers to reach 9500 runs in ODI cricket in fewer innings (200). De Villiers had taken 215 innings to reach the landmark.
- Dhoni becomes 3rd keeper to take 600 international catches
Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has became the third wicketkeeper to take 600 catches in international cricket.
Dhoni achieved the feat by taking the catch of Hashim Amla off pacer Shardul Thakur’s bowling during the sixth India-South Africa ODI.
Dhoni has taken 256 catches in Tests, 297 in ODIs and 47 in T20Is as a wicketkeeper so far.
- The Yoga Institute president Jayadeva Yogendra dies
Yoga guru Jayadeva Yogendra died in Mumbai. He was 88. He was the president of the institute located in suburban Santacruz. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) invited him to design the first standardised yoga syllabus for schools in the country
