08 February 2018 Current Affairs

1. SpaceX launches Falcon Heavy, the world's most powerful rocket lifts Off Towards Mars.

• SpaceX monster rocket, the Falcon Heavy, was launched  from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, USA.
• The red car along with a dummy in the driver's seat named "Starman" — were targeting an elliptical, or egg-shaped, orbit around the sun that would at times get close to Mars.

Space X

SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets.

Founded : 2002

Founder : Elon Musk

Head Quarter : Hawthorne, California, United States

2. India successfully test-fires nuclear capable Prithvi-II from Wheeler's Island in Odisha.

• India  successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile as part of a user trial by the Army from a test range in Odisha.
• The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) conducted user trial of surface-to-surface medium-range ballistic missile Prithvi-II from launch complex-3 of Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Odisha. 
• The Prithvi-II missile is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of warheads.
• The first missile to be developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under India's Integrated Guided Missile Development Program, Prithvi-II was inducted into India's armed forces in 2003.

Defence Research & Development Organisation(DRDO)

DRDO, the premier R&D organization of the country, works on various areas of military technology to qualitatively address needs of Indian defense system to serve the society.

Founded : 1958

Chairman : S Christopher

Head Quarter : New Delhi

Motto : Strength's Origin is in Science.

3. 

Railways, AYUSH sign MoU to augment services in 5 hospitals

• The Railway ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) to augment the existing system of Ayush in Railway Hospitals.
• The AYUSH health services would be scaled up in five Railway Hospitals at New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Guwahati. 
• Ministry of Railways will arrange for providing logistics and infrastructure in the form of land and building, equipments, furniture, AYUSH medicines and consumables as well as manpower.

Railway Minister : Piyush Goyal(Maharashtra Rajya Sabha)

Minister of AYUSH : Shripad Yesso Naik(North Goa Lok Sabha)

AYUSH stands For Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy .

4. DIPP under Commerce Ministry Announces Its 7-Pillar Framework To Rank States on Startup Development.

• Suresh Prabhu, the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, has launched the Start-up-India ranking framework in New Delhi to help the Startup India initiative to drive economic growth of the country.
• The tools are: the State and Union Territory Startup Ranking Framework, the Compendium of Good Practices for Promoting Startups in India and the Startup India Kit. 
• The key objective of the Startup States and Union Territories ranking framework is to encourage States and Union Territories to take pro-active steps towards strengthening the Startup ecosystems at the local level.

Union Commerce Minister : Suresh Prabhu(Andhra Pradesh Rajya Sabha)

Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion(DIPP)

The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP)is responsible for formulation and implementation of promotional and developmental measures for growth of the industrial sector, keeping in view the national priorities and socio-economic objectives. It is responsible for the overall Industrial Policy. It monitors the industrial growth and production, in general, and selected industrial sectors.

Founded : 1995

5. Arunachal Pradesh CM lays foundation stone of Rhodendron Park in Tawang

• Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu laid foundation stone for Rhodendron Park in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh.
• The Park is in two patches of area – 0.28 ha and 0.83 ha. Patch one was planted with 16 different species of Rhododendrons in first phase including Arboreum, Nerifolium, Hodgsonii, Keysii species of Rhododendrons.
• Over 30 species of rhododendron will be planted and conserved in the park. It will also have a modern nursery, an information centre, resting sheds, and a parking facility, among other things.

Arunachal Pradesh

Capital : Itanagar

CM : Pema Khandu

Governor : Brigadier B D Mishra

National Park & Sanctuary : Kane National Park, Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary

6. RBI Monetary Policy kept Repo Rate Unchanged At 6% released in 6th bi-monthly policy

• The central bank kept the repo rate - the key rate at which the RBI lends to other banks - unchanged at 6 per cent.
• Consumer inflation rose to a 17-month high of 5.21 per cent in December - well above the RBI's 4 per cent target in the medium term. 
• The reverse repo rate under the LAF (liquidity adjustment facility) remains at 5.75 per cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the bank rate at 6.25 per cent.

Finance Minister : Arun Jaitley(Gujarat Rajya Sabha)

Reserve Bank of India(RBI)

Its aim to regulate the issue of Bank notes and keeping of reserves with a view to securing monetary stability in India and generally to operate the currency and credit system of the country to its advantage; to have a modern monetary policy framework to meet the challenge of an increasingly complex economy

Founded : 1 April 1935(RBI Act 1934)

Governor : Dr. Urjit Patel

Head Quarter : Mumbai

7.  5th South Asia Region Public Procurement Conference held

 in New Delhi.

• The 5th edition of the South Asia Region Public ProcurementConference (SARPPC-2018) was inaugurated by Arun Jaitley, the Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, in New Delhi.
• The theme of the conference is “Public Procurement and Service Delivery”. 
• he conference was hosted by Government of India (GOI), through the Public Procurement Division (PPD) of the Ministry of Finance and All India Management Association (AIMA).
• It is held under the auspices of the South Asia Region Public Procurement Network (SARPPN), which is sponsored and facilitated by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank.

8. RBI to set up ombudsman for non-banking finance companies

• The Reserve Bank of India  announced setting up ombudsman for addressing customer grievances in the non-banking finance companies. 
• RBI will start with deposit taking NBFCs and widen the scope to cover NBFCs with asset size of Rs 100 crore. 
• The rules will be laid out by the end of February 2018. 

Banking Ombudsman

Banking ombudsman is a quasi judicial authority, created to resolve customer complaints against banks relating to certain services provided by them. The Banking Ombudsman Scheme is operational from 1995. 

Number of Banking Ombudsman : 20

Reserve Bank of India(RBI)

Its aim to regulate the issue of Bank notes and keeping of reserves with a view to securing monetary stability in India and generally to operate the currency and credit system of the country to its advantage; to have a modern monetary policy framework to meet the challenge of an increasingly complex economy

Founded : 1 April 1935(RBI Act 1934)

Governor : Dr. Urjit Patel

Head Quarter : Mumbai

9. Google and NCERT join hands to teach students digital safety.

• Google and NCERT signed a pact to integrate a course on 'Digital Citizenship and Safety' in information and communication technology curriculum.
• The curriculum developed by NCERT in collaboration with Google will be used to train students from class I - class XII across 1.4 million schools in India where they will learn how to become good and responsible digital citizens.
• This curriculum has four themes – being smart, being safe, being a digital citizen and being future ready. No fee is charged by Google for this training.

Union Minister of Human Resource & Development : Prakash Javedkar(Madhya Pradesh Rajya Sabha)

National Council of Educational Research & Training(NCERT)

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India that was established on 1 September 1961 as a literary, scientific and charitable Society under the Societies' Registration Act (Act XXI of 1860).

Founded : 1961

Director : Dr. Hrushikesh Senapaty

Head Quarter : New Delhi

10. Centre has allocated Rs 5,252 crore in the Union Budget 2018 for different railway projects in Odisha.

•  It is the highest ever budgetary allocation to the Odisha. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik had demanded Rs 6,500 crore from the Centre this year for development of railway infrastructure in the state.
• Union government had allocated Rs 5,102 crore for railway sector of Odisha against the state demand of Rs 5,870 crore in Union Budget 2017.

Odisha

Capital : Bhubaneshwar

CM : Naveen Patnaik

Governor : S C Jamir

National Park & Sanctuary : Similipal National Park, Bhitarkanika National Park.

Airport : Biju Patnaik International Airport.

Important River : Mahanadi

Dam : Hirakud Dam

11. Maharashtra becomes first state to clear Fintech policy.

• Maharashtra has become the first state in the country to adopt a comprehensive fintech policy that aims to foster an environment for fintech startups. 
• The state government has provided Rs 200 crore in financial assistance for Fintech policy.
• The government is determined to provide the infrastructure and financial support to facilitate 300 startups in the next three years. 
• Government also plans to turn cities like Nagpur and Pune into fintech hubs.

Maharashtra

Capital : Mumbai

CM : Devender Fadnavis

Governor : C Vidyasagar Rao

National Park & Sanctuary : Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Navegaon National Park

Airport : Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport

Thermal Plant : Mauda Super Thermal Power Plant

12. UK Announces Double Health Surcharge For Visitors, Students from countries outside the European Union

• The UK government has announced plans to double a so-called "health surcharge" paid by long-term visitors and students from countries outside the European Union including India to 400 pounds per year.
• The surcharge, introduced in April 2015, will rise from 200 pounds to 400 pounds per year, with the discounted rate for students increasing from 150 pounds to 300 pounds.

United Kingdom(UK)

Currency : Pound

PM : Theresa May(Conservative Party)

13.  Bihar Government launches Student Credit Card(SCC) Scheme 

• Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi announced that the state government would set up a corporation to disburse loans for Students Credit Card (SCC) scheme in view of the banks reluctance in doing it.
• Bihar government launched the SCC scheme on October 3, 2016. Under the scheme, students are able to get education loan of upto Rs 4 lakh for pursuing higher education after completing 10+2.

Bihar

Capital : Patna

CM : Nitish Kumar

Governor : Satya Pal Malik

National Park & Sanctuary : Valmiki National Park

Airport : Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport

Important River : Koshi(Sorrow of Bihar)

14. First ever chat based job search app 'Empzilla' launched.

• PM Narendra Modi's Digital India initiative forward, a chat based job search mobile app 'Empzilla', first ever of its kind in the country, launched that will do away with existing limitations of employers and job seekers making selection process quick and cost effective.

Empzilla

Chairman – Akash Attray

Purpose – chat based job search mobile app

15. Pioneer of Children’s Theatre, Sudha Karmarkar passes away

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