AWARDS AND HONOURS

APPOINTMENTS

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

• Telecom giant Bharti Airtel Ltd. has received an approval for the acquisition of Tigo Rwanda Limited (Tigo Rwanda), a subsidiary of Millicom International Cellular S.A. (Millicom) from the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA).
• India has moved up on a global index of talent competitiveness to the 81st position, but remains a laggard among the BRICS nations, an annual study showed.
• The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), India’s first sovereign wealth fund, and Dubai-based ports operator DP World Pvt. Ltd, have announced the creation of an investment platform to invest up to $3 billion in ports, terminals, transportation and logistics businesses in India.
• The World Economic Forum (WEF) in partnership with India’s most valued firm Reliance Industries (RIL) has agreed to set up a new Centre for Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) in Mumbai to promote Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India and Startup India programmes to promote young entrepreneurs.
• A new green index has ranked India the fourth worst country worldwide in curbing environmental pollution.
• NHIDCL and IL&FS transportation signed an MoU for construction of Zojila tunnel at an estimated cost of Rs 6,808.69 crore. The tunnel will provide all weather connectivity between Srinagar, Kargil and Leh.
• Rakesh Srivastava, Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development, has launched the beneficiary module of the Rapid Reporting System (RRS) for the Scheme for Adolescent Girls – a web based on line monitoring for the Scheme for Adolescent Girls in New Delhi.

NEWS IN STATES

• Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has inaugurated the World War II Memorial Museum in the state’s Changlang district bordering Myanmar.
• The 16th International Energy Forum (IEF) Ministerial meeting will be held in New Delhi on April 10 to 12.
• The Andhra Pradesh Government and the Canton of Zurich have signed a letter of intent, to promote mutual prosperity and development.
• The third edition of international spice conference will be held at Jaipur from February 4 to 7. The central theme of the 2018 conference would be ‘Managing Disruptions through Transformation and Collaboration‘.
• India’s first floating market is now open in Kolkata’s Patuli area in West Bengal. The market houses over 200 shops.
• A three-day international bird festival will be held at the Dudhwa National Park. The purpose behind the international bird festival is to promote eco-tourism in Dudhwa and to give it a distinct international identity besides highlighting its traditional Tharu arts, culture and heritage.
• Ramthal Marola project, the largest drip irrigation project in Asia, has been commissioned. The project, which has been executed by Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd, is in Bhagalkot district of Karnataka.
• Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) have launched the first ever ‘Khadi Haat’ in the country.
• The Telangana Government would introduce a separate budget for agriculture from the next financial year.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the first Khelo India School Games at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Delhi.

BANKING AND FINANCE

• The government has announced Rs. 88,139 crore capital infusion in 20 public sector banks (PSBs) during the current fiscal, with IDBI Bank getting the most — Rs. 10,610 crore.
• The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), India’s first sovereign wealth fund, and Dubai-based ports operator DP World Pvt. Ltd, have announced the creation of an investment platform to invest up to $3 billion in ports, terminals, transportation and logistics businesses in India.
• Banking finance company AU Small Finance Bank has signed an MoU with LIC to offer Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY).
• India’s most-valued lender HDFC Bank Ltd was crossed Rs5 trillion market capitalisation for the first time, making it only the third Indian company to achieve this milestone.
• State Bank of India (SBI), the largest commercial bank in India, has  announced tie-up with Transfast Remittance LLC

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

• The U.S. State Department said that it had created a Cuba Internet Task Force to promote “the free and unregulated flow of information” on the Communist-run island, an action denounced by Cuban state media as subversive.
• The United States announced it was lifting its ban on refugees from 11 “high-risk” countries, but said those seeking to enter the US would come under much tougher scrutiny than in the past.
• Jack Ma-led Alibaba Group’s cloud computing division has launched Malaysia City Brain, an artificial intelligence-based smart city solution, to manage traffic at Kuala Lumpur.
• FOREIGN RELATIONS
• India and Vietnam have released first ever set of commemorative postage stamps to mark the long term friendly bilateral relationships between the two countries.
• Leaders of Southeast Asia agreed with India to boost their maritime ties at a summit in New Delhi, as they seek to balance the increasing weight of China across the region.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Alphabet Inc launched a new business unit would sell cyber security software to Fortune 500 companies, the latest move by the parent of Google to become a big player in corporate computing.
• In a bid to safeguard the world from hackers and growing data breaches — especially from nation-states — the World Economic Forum (WEF) was announced a new Global Centre for Cybersecurity.

DEFENCE NEWS

• For the first time, armies of India and Vietnam have began a six day-long military exercise in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, reflecting growing defence ties between the two countries.

SPORTS

• Football legend David Beckham now has a team of his own after he recently announced the official launch of Major League Soccer (MLS) team in Miami, Florida.

OBITUARY

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