CURRENT AFFAIRS DAILY DIGEST

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1. Amjad Hussain B Sial assumes charge of new Secretary-General of SAARC

Pakistan’s seasoned diplomat Amjad Hussain B Sial as assumed office as the new Secretary General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Sial has assumed charge of the office of Secretary General of SAARC from March 1, 2017. He has succeeded Nepal’s Arjun Bahadur Thapa, who was appointed the Secretary-General in 2014.

2. MTNL appoints P K Purwar as Chairman and Managing Director

P K Purwar was  appointed Chairman and Managing Director of state-run telecom major Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL).  The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment to the post for five years. Purwar is currently working as Director (Finance) in MTNL, which has been without a full-time CMD since May 31, 2014, following superannuation of A K Garg.

3. GAIL signs 1st time-swap deal for US LNG with Gunvor

State-run gas company GAIL   (India) Ltd has signed a time-swap deal with Swiss trader Gunvor to sell some of its US liquefied natural gas (LNG), sources said, as the Indian firm tries to ease the burden of its costly foreign LNG supplies. It is the first time-swap agreement by GAIL, which is trying to juggle its LNG portfolio to cut costs for price-sensitive Indian customers after a sharp fall in Asian spot prices made its US gas unattractive.

4. World Wildlife Day – 3rd March

• World Wildlife Day will be celebrated on March 2017 under the theme “Listen to the Young Voices.”
• Given that almost one quarter of the world’s population is aged between 10 and 24, vigorous efforts need to be made to encourage young people, as the future leaders and decision makers of the world, to act at both local and global levels to protect endangered wildlife.
• World Wildlife Day 2017 encourages youth around the world to rally together to address ongoing major threats to wildlife including habitat change, over-exploitation or illicit trafficking. Youth are the agents of change.
• In fact, we are already seeing the positive impacts on conservation issues made by some young conservation leaders around the world.

5. Dharamshala approved as Himachal Pradesh’s 2nd capital

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh has announced Dharamsala as the second capital of the tiny hill state with a population of about 70 lakh.Dharamsala already figured prominently in national and international map due to its significance owing to many reasons including religious, natural and adventurous tourism and also being abode of Tibetan Spiritual head Dalai Lama.

6. Delhi govt ties up with private hospitals for free surgeries

The AAP government has tied with 41 private hospitals in Delhi to facilitate 30 surgeries free of charge for patients referred by government hospitals in the Capital. It will reimburse these National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers-accredited hospitals at Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) rates for the complete treatment.

7. India to participate in meet on Indus Water Treaty in Lahore

India has accepted an invitation to attend a meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) to be held in Lahore in March to talk with Pakistan on the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). The move came after two months of diplomatic negotiations, with World Bank officials playing the mediator in encouraging Pakistan to extend an invitation and for India to accept it.

Indus Waters Treaty: The Indus Waters Treaty is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank (then the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development). The treaty was signed in Karachi on September 19, 1960 by Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru and President of Pakistan Ayub Khan.

8. Pakistan Government approves merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The federal cabinet of Pakistan has accorded approval to the recommendations of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) reforms committee, which includes the merger of the tribal areas with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and repeal of the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR). Chairing the cabinet, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said the people of Fata, Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir will be given their due rights.

9. Name changing of Tirupati Airport as Sri Venkateswara Airport got approval from Andhra Cabinet

The Vijayawada Airport will be renamed Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Amaravati International Airport and the one at Renigunta near Tirupati as Sri Venkateswara International Airport. The Cabinet which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu approved a proposal to this effect. The state government will convey to the Centre the decision and request for the change in names.

10. Banks insisted by RBI to initiate special camps to literate about digital payments

• The Reserve Bank of India has advised bank-operated Financial Literacy Centres to conduct special camps for one year beginning April 1, 2017 on “going digital” through Unified Payments Interface and the *99# service, in view of the government’s emphasis on increasing digital transactions post-demonetisation.
• Besides these camps, FLCs will continue to conduct ailored camps for five target groups — farmers, small entrepreneurs, school children, senior citizens and Self Help Groups.
• The RBI said the tailored content for each target group is being prepared and will be shared with banks/FLCs in due time.

11. Artificial mouse embryo created from stem cells for First time

• Scientists in Britain have for the first time created a structure that resembles a mouse embryo using a 3D scaffold and two types of stem cells – research which deepens understanding of the earliest stages of mammalian development.
• The team based at Cambridge University said that while the artificial embryo closely resembled the real thing, it would be unlikely to develop further into a healthy mouse foetus.
• For research purposes, however, the scientists were able to show how the artificial embryo followed the same pattern of development as a normal embryo – with the stem cells organising themselves in the same way.

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