NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Union Government to set up a BGRL to understand earthquake mechanism in Koyna
region: Dr. Harshvardhan, the Union Minister for Science,
Technology and Earth Sciences inaugurated the construction work of Borehole
Geophysics Research Laboratory (BGRL) at Hazarmachi, Karad of Maharashtra. It
is being developed to understand and address the challenges of the seismological
problems of societal relevance in the Koyna Region through drilling
investigation.
2.
NIIF signed MoU with Rusnano OJSC to set-up Russia-India High Technology
Private Equity Fund: National Investment and Infrastructure
Fund (NIIF) Ltd signed a MoU with RUSNANO OJSC of Russia to set up this fund
for joint implementation of investments into projects in India.
3. Union Government set up two panels to
reform tax policies: The Union Government set up two new
committees in order to bring coherence and streamline the direct and indirect
tax policy and administration. These panels are Tax Policy Research Unit (TPRU)
and Tax Policy Council (TPC).
4. Maharashtra announced Babasaheb
Ambedkar Special Collective Incentive Scheme: Under
this scheme, special facilities would be given to Dalit entrepreneurs besides
the present Collective Incentive Scheme 2013. Businessmen in Commodities and
Service sector would be able to avail the benefits of this scheme.
5. SC appointed Lodha Committee to sell
PACL’s assets: The Supreme Court appointed a committee
headed by former CJI RM Lodha to sell assets of Pearls Agrotech Corporation Ltd
(PACL) and refund 49 thousand crore rupees to the investors.
6. Odisha Government extended Aahar
Cheap meal scheme to 29 districts.
7. CCEA approved REIL to delink from IL
and become an independent CPSE: The Cabinet Committee
on Economic Affairs approved Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Ltd of
Jaipur to delink from its parent company Instrumentation Limited (IL) and turn
into an independent Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under Department of
Heavy Industry.
8. World Bank’s Water and Sanitation
specialist, Parmeshwaran Iyer appointed as the new Secretary of the Drinking
Water and Sanitation Department to lead Swachh Bharat Mission.
9. Aruna Sethi appointed as first women
head of Indian Cost Accounting Service.
10. India to participate in Cobra Gold
2016 military exercise in Thailand.
11. D J Pandian appointed as Vice
President of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
12. Dhirubhai Ambani Centre of
Innovation and Research in Aerosapace proposed to be built at Whitefield in
Bengaluru.
13. Central Institute of Plastic
Engineering and Technology (CIPET) signed a MoU with Karnataka Government to
set up Advanced Polymer Laboratory in Bengalurus.
14. Union Government granted Miniratna
Category-I status to Hospital Services Consultancy Corporation (I) Ltd (HSCC).
15. India and China held inaugural talks
on Maritime Cooperation.
16. India’s first Ayurvedic
anti-diabetic drug, BGR-34, launched by Council of Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR).
17. Bharat Biotech developed world’s
first, two promising candidates ZikaVac vaccines for Zika virus infection.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
EU Commission, United States agreed on framework for transatlantic data flows: The
framework that will be known as the EU-US Privacy Shield will enable the government
agencies to transfer data relied on by Facebook and Google across the Atlantic.
2.
Mobile messaging app WhatsApp crossed the one billion user milestone globally
with the addition of 100 million users in last five months.
3.
WHO recommended to rate movies with smoking scenes to protect children from
tobacco addiction.
4.
European Union approved 3.3 billion euros funding to Turkey to cope with Syrian
refugee crisis.
5.
World Cancer Day observed across the world on 4th February 2016 with
a theme ‘We can. I can’.
OTHER UPDATES:
FINANCE/BANKING:
1. RBI keeps key rates unchanged in the
6th bi-monthly monetary policy: The repo rate or
short term lending rates remains unchanged at 6.75% and the reverse repo rate
at 7.75%. CRR is also unchanged at 4% while the MSF and Bank rate are kept at
7.5%.
2. SBI and Thomas Cook team up for
‘inflation-proof’ holidays: SBI has tied up with
Thomas Cook to offer online customers a recurring deposit that help them save
towards an ‘inflation proof’ holiday.
AWARDS:
3.
Manipuri documentary film Phum-Shang won Golden Conch Award at 14TH
Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Animation and Short Films
(MIFF 2016).
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