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77Weekly Current Affairs

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12-18 Feb. 2018For Private Circulation Only

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Features Page No.National 2International 2Economy 3Bilateral 3Mensuration 4,5Budget -2018, TS & A.P. 6Science & Technology 7Environment 7Sports 7Persons in News 7Dairy of Events 8

Do You Know? 8

CONTENTSCONTENTS

Exclusive Prelims Batch

Name of the report: Healthy States,

Progressive India

Nature: Health Index

Prepared By: NITI Aayog, with technical

assistance from the World Bank, and in

consultation with the Ministry of Health

and Family Welfare(MoHFW)thNITI Aayog released on the 9 of February

a comprehensive Health Index report

titled, "Healthy States, Progressive India"

which has highlighted that Kerala, Punjab

and Tamil Nadu ranked on top in terms of

overall performance. The report ranks

states and Union territories innovatively

on their year-on-year incremental change

in health outcomes, as well as, their overall

performance with respect to each other.

It is the first attempt to establish an

annual systematic tool to measure

and understand the heterogeneity

and complexity of the nation's

performance in Health.

States and UTs have been ranked in

three categories namely, Larger

States(21), Smaller States (8), and

Union Territories (UTs)(7), to ensure

comparison among similar entities. The Health Index is a weighted

composite Index, which for the larger States, is based on indicators in three domains: (a) Health Outcomes (70%); (b) Governance and Information

Health Index: AP and TG @ 8 and 11Health Index: AP and TG @ 8 and 11

(12%); and (c) Key Inputs and Processes (18%), w i t h e a c h d o m a i n assigned a weight based on its importance.

The first category is health outcomes, which i n c l u d e s n e o n a t a l mortality rate, under-five mortality rate, and sex ratio.

The second category is Governance, which includes immunization, average out-of-pocket payment in public hospitals, and the proportion of institutional deliveries.

The third category is key inputs, which includes the proportion of vacant health care providers in public hospitals, and the proportion of facilities that operate 24x7.

Linking this Index to incentives under the National Health Mission by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare underlines the importance of such an exercise.

Larger States: Among the Larger States, Kerala, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu ranked on top in terms of overall performance, while Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir, and Uttar Pradesh are the top three ranking States in terms of annual incremental performance. Smaller States: Among Smaller States, Mizoram ranked first followed by Manipur on overall performance, while Manipur followed by Goa were the top ranked States in terms of annual incremental performance.

x

Andhra Pradesh has stood at the eighth place while Telangana stands at 11th position in Health Index among the 21 large states in the country.

Last year, Telangana was ranked 10th in the health index, and AP was ranked ninth. States have been given incremental ranks on the basis of their performance in 2015-16

with respect to the base year 2014-15. While Andhra Pradesh saw an increment in indicators of health by 2.41 units, Telangana only saw an increment of 0.45 units.

In reducing low weight children Telangana stands in the first place while Andhra Pradesh rdis at the 3 place

st th In registration of Births, Andhra Pradesh stands at 1 place, and Telangana is at the 12 place. In child sex ratio, both states stood at eighth place.

Performance of Telugu States


12 - 18 Feb. 20182

By Classmate AcademyBy Classmate Academy

InternationalInternationalNorth Korea earned $200 MILLIONin nine months from bannedexports:North Korea’s complete disregardfor United Nations sanctions earnedthe country nearly $200 million byexporting banned commodities in justnine months in 2017. A UN reportissued accused Pyongyang of working

with Syria to develop chemical andballistic weapons, along withMyanmar.

The report found there was more than40 previously unreported North Koreashipments between 2012 and 2017 to

Syria’sSc ient i f i cStudiesandResearchCentre -the body

which is responsible for the country’schemical weapons program.

It also found North Korea continuedto make money through exportingcoal, iron, steel and othercommodities which are banned underthe UN sanctions between Januaryand September 2017.

Coal shipments were delivered to anumber of countries, including China,Malaysia, South Korea, Russia andVietnam by ship using ‘a combinationof multiple evasion techniques, routesand deceptive tactics,’ the report found.

Last year, the UN Security councilvoted to impose a number of strictersanctions and expand exports bannedwith the aim of cutting of NorthKorea’s military programs.

Crisis in Maldives: MaldivesPresident Abdulla Yameen on the 5th

of February declared a state ofemergency, ordered security forcesinto the Supreme Court and arresteda former president, in moves theopposition called a “purge” in theIndian Ocean island nation.

Back ground : In an unexpectedmove in the first week of February,the Maldives Supreme Court ordered

the release of several imprisonedopposition lawmakers, ruling thattheir trials were politically motivated.President Abdulla Yameen refused tocomply with the decision and insteadimposed a state of emergency for aperiod of 15 days. This afforded himsweeping powers to send securityforces into the Supreme Courtbuilding in the capital city of Male.Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed andJudge Ali Hameed were both arrested.

The Maldives is made up of 26 coralatolls and 1,192 islands. AmnestyInternational said that the 15-dayemergency declaration must notbecome a licence for furtherrepression.

The Maldives has experiencedpolitical unrest since Nasheed,the island’s first democraticallyelected leader, was forced to quitamid a mutiny by police in 2012.

The following year, Yameendefeated Nasheed in an electionthat Nasheed’s supporters saywas rigged. Nasheed was jailed onterrorism charges but was allowedto go to Britain for medicaltreatment in January 2016. He haslived in exile since and is currentlyin Sri Lanka.

Bermuda abolished Same-SexMarriage: Bermuda becomes the firstcountry to legalize and then repealsame-sex marriage. Bermuda’s governorJohn Rankin approved a bill reversingthe right of gay couples to marry,despite a supreme court ruling last yearauthorizing same-sex marriage.

NationalNationalFirst Ever International Kala MelaInaugurated In New Delhi: The Firstever International Kala Mela was

inauguratedby the VicePresidentof India, M.VenkaiahNaidu in

New Delhi. The International KalaMela has been organized by the LalitKala Akademi in partnership withIGNCA of the Ministry of Culture.With a total of 325 exhibition stalls,it has more than 800 participantsfrom across the globe. Theseparticipants are from countries suchas China, Venezuela, Peru, Portugal,Srilanka, Poland, Tunisia, Mexico,Bangladesh, Trinidad, Tobago, Fiji,France, Papua New Guinea, Czechia,

UK, Spain and Brazil. The Festival isbeing organized from February 4th,2018 to February 17th, 2018

Railways Ministry signs MoU withMinistry of Ayush : Railways

Ministry on 6th February signed an

MoU with Ministry of Ayush in New

Delhi to augment Ayush services in

Railway hospitals. According to the

Minister of State for Railways Manoj

Sinha, the traditional knowledge of

AYUSH systems can be harnessed to

help a vast majority of railway staff

who are required to put in stressful

field duties on site.

Ayush Systems of Medicine offer safe,

ef fective and complete holistic

treatment in many diseases. The

proposed collaboration will play a

pivotal role in offering healthcare

needs to the people serving the

railway sector. Presently Railways is

running 126 Homeopathic Clinics and

40 Ayurvedic Clinics.

Committee for modernization ofArmy: Defence Minister NirmalaSitharaman has constituted a 13-member advisory committee tomonitor and expedite capitalacquisition projects for themodernisation of the armed forces.

The committee will undertake anindependent review and check thestatus of ongoing critical projectsworth more than 500 crore rupees.The panel will suggest measures toimprove the capital acquisitionprocess. The committee, headed byVinay Sheel Oberoi, will have topresent an initial status report onidentified projects to the DefenceMinister by March 31.

Google and NCERT agreed To TeachStudents Digital Safety: Google

and National Council of Educational

Research and Training (NCERT) signed

a pact to integrate a course on ‘Digital

Citizenship and Safety’ in information

and communication technology

curriculum. It was signed on the

occasion of Safer Internet Day (06th

February). 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. The curriculum is

spread into four themes - being smart,

being safe, being a digital citizen and

being future ready.


12 - 18 Feb. 20183


EconomyEconomyLaunch of Startup India RankingFramework: Three new tools forStates and Union Territories forranking of startups in the countrywas launched by Union Minister ofCommerce and Industry at a functionon the 6th of February in New Delhi.

The Stateand UnionTerritoryStartupRankingFrameworkis a Compendium of Good Practicesfor Promoting Startups in India andthe Startup India Kit. These will actas catalysts to help the Startup Indiainitiative to drive Indias economicgrowth.

India is a home to about 20,000startups, with about 1,400 beginningoperations every year. They are notonly driving economic growth but alsoleading to technological innovationsand employment generation in everystate. To encourage and help statrupsthe Govt of India has taken the leadin creating policies and a framework.

The key objective of the StartupStates and UTs Ranking Frameworkis to encourage States and UTs totake proactive steps towards

strengthening the Startupecosystems at the local level.

The Ranking Framework will measurethe impact of each step initiated atthe local level for building a strongStartup ecosystem. The RankingFramework wil l also enablecontnuous learning through thedissemination of good practices

Cabinet approves implementationof PMRF scheme: Union Cabinet hasapproved implementation of PrimeMinister’s Research Fellows (PMRF)scheme at a total cost of 1,650 crorerupees for a period of seven yearsbeginning 2018-19. The scheme wasannounced in the Union Budget for2018-19.

Under this scheme, the best studentswho have completed or are in the finalyear of B. Tech or Integrated M.Techor M.Sc. in Science and Technologystreams from IISc or IITs or NITs orIISERs or IIITs will be offered directadmission in PhD programme in theIITs or IISc.

Such students, who fulfill the eligibilitycriteria, and are shortlisted through aselection process, as laid down in thePMRF Guidelines, will be offered afellowship of 70 thousand rupees permonth for the first two years, 75thousand rupees per month for the 3rdyear and 80 thousand rupees permonth in the 4th and 5th years.

Apart from this, a research grant of 2lakh rupees will be provided to eachof the Fellows for a period of 5 yearsto cover their foreign travel expensesfor presenting research papers ininternational conferences andseminars. A maximum of 3000Fellows will be selected in a threeyear period beginning 2018-19.

Mumbai Airport Becomes WorldsBusiest Single-Runway Airport:Chhatrapati Shivaji MaharajInternational airport of Mumbai setsrecord with 980 flights in 24 hours oralmost one flight every minute. Withthis, the Mumbai Chhatrapati ShivajiMaharaj International airport betteredits own feat of 974 flights in 24 hours,recorded in December 2017. WhileGatwick, the U.K.’s second-largestairport, remains the most efficientsingle-runway airport in the world.

ONGC acquires 10 pc stake in UAEsoil offshore concession: India andthe UAE on the 10th of February signeda concessional agreement awarding aconsortium of Indian oil companies,led by the ONGC, a 10 per cent stakein Abu Dhabis offshore oil concession,the first such deal for the Indian oiland gas companies in the Gulf nation.

The MoU between Indian consortium(OVL, BPRL and IOCL) and state-runAbu Dhabi National Oil Company(ADNOC) was signed for acquisitionof 10 per cent participating interestin the of fshore Lower ZakumConcession. The concession will be

for 40 years from 2018 to 2057.

BilateralBilateralIndia contributes $1 million to UNDevelopment Partnership Fund:India contributed add it ional $1million to India-UN DevelopmentPartnership Fund. The contributionaims to intensify its partnershipswith other developing countries. Indiahas pledged a multi-year contributionof $100 mill ion to the fundestablishment in June 2017. The fundwas set up on 9 June 2017 on theoccasion of the World Oceans Day asa partnership between India andUnited Nations Office for South-South Cooperation.

India, EU to step up co-operationto counter terrorism: India and theEuropean Union have vowed to stepup cooperation to counter terrorismas both sides seek to exchangeinformation on terrorist ’sorganizations and their safe havens.Ambassador of the European Unionto India Tomasz Kozlowskihighlighted that cooperation incombating terrorism that was agreedupon during the last India-EU Summitthat was held in October.

Both sides agreed to strengthencooperation to take decisive andconcerted actions against globallyproscribed terrorists and terrorentities

India, Palestine sign sixagreements: In keeping with India’srole as a major development aidpartner for Palestine, the two sideson the 10th of February signed sixmemorandums of understanding(MoUs), including in the areas ofhealth and education, following abilateral meeting between PrimeMinister Narendra Modi and PalestinePresident Mahmoud Abbas.

A MoU was signed for setting up ofan India-Palestine super-specialityhospital at Beit Sahour in Bethlehemgovernorate at a cost of $30 million.

A second MoU was signed forconstruction of the India-Palestinecentre for empowering women called“Turathi” at a cost of $5 million.

Another MoU was signed for settingup of a new National Printing Pressat Ramallah at a cost of $5 million.

Two MoUs worth $1.1 million and $1million envisage construction of twoschools at Tamoon village in Tubasgovernorate and Muthalth Al Shuhadavillage respectively.

A sixth MoU was signed for theconstruction of an additional floor atJawahar Lal Nehru School for Boysat Abu Dees.


12 - 18 Feb. 20184


For ONE StudentArithmetic + Reasoning + English 9000 + 18% GST = 10620/-

Arithmetic + English + Reasoning + General Studies 12000 + 18% GST = 14160/-

For TWO or THREE StudentsArithmetic + Reasoning + English 7500 + 18% GST = 8850/- (for each student)

Arithmetic + English + Reasoning + General Studies 10000 + 18% GST = 11800/- (for each student)

For FOUR and Above StudentsArithmetic + Reasoning + English 6000 + 18% GST = 7080/- (for each student)

Arithmetic + English + Reasoning + General Studies 8000 + 18% GST = 9440/- (for each student)

For ONE StudentArithmetic + Reasoning + General Studies 9000 + 18% GST = 10620/-

For TWO or THREE StudentsArithmetic + Reasoning + General Studies 7500 + 18% GST = 8850/- (for each student)

For FOUR and Above StudentsArithmetic + Reasoning + General Studies 6000 + 18% GST = 7080/- (for each student)

RRB (Telugu Medium)...... Fee Structure

S.I / Constable (Telugu Medium) ... Fee Structure

Mensura onti• Units of length, area and volume:

Length:

mm cm dm km1 1 1m m m 1000m

1000 100 10Area:

2 2

4 2 2 2 2

cm dm hectare10 m 10 m 10000m

Volume:3 3

6 2 9 3

cm dm lit10 m 10 m

1 lit 1000 c.c or cm3

1 m31000 litAreas and Perimeter:

• Triangles:

Let the ABC with angles A, B, C andsides a,b,c has the area

CB

A

bc

a

(i) 1 2 31 1 1

ah bh ch2 2 2

[h1, h2, h3 are corresponding heights

with bases a, b, c respectively](ii)

1 1 1ab sinC bc sin A ca sin B2 2 2

(iii) s s a s b s c ,

where a b cs2

(semi-perimeter)

(iv) a b c

4 M M m M m M m3

where a b cm m mM2

and

a b cm , m , m are lengths of the medians.

(v) rs , where r is the inradius.

(vi) abc4R

, where R is the

circumradius

(vii) 1 2 31 1 1h : h : h : :a b c

Example 1:The sides of a triangle are 50 cm,78 cm and 112 cm. The smallest altitudeis(A) 20 cm (B) 30 cm

(C) 40 cm (D) 50 cmSolution : (B)

Area of the triangle,

s s a s b s c smal lestaltitude when the base is largest.

‘h’ smallest altitude corresponds tolargest side 112 cm.

1 112 h s s a s b s c2

a b c 50 78 112s 1202 2

1 112 h2

120 120 50 120 78 120 112

1 112 h 16802

h 30 cm• Sine rule and cosine rule in a triangle:

• Sine rule:a b c 2R

sin A sin B sin C

• Cosine rule:2 2 2a b 2abcosC c 2 2 2b c 2bccosA a 2 2 2c a 2ca cosB b

Equilateral Triangle:(All sides are equal)

h

A B

C

a a

a

3ah2

; 23 a4

;

ar2 3

; median 3a2

aR3

; R : r = 2 : 1(R- Circumradius, r- inradius)

• If P is any point with in an equilateraltriangle. The sum of the distances of Pfrom the three sides of the triangle isequal to height.

B

A

CQ

PS

R

a

3PQ PR PS a2

• Square:

A B

D C

da a

a

aArea = a2;Diagonal, d 2a ;Perimeter, P = 4a.

Example 2:A square is of area 200 sq m. A newsquare is formed in such a way that thelength of its diagonal is 2 times ofthe diagonal of the given square. Thenthe area of the new square formed is(A) 200 2 sq m (B) 400 2 sq m(C) 400 sq m (D) 800 sq m


12 - 18 Feb. 20185


SSC-CGL-2018 New BatchesCall: 8008968071 / 8008968072

Solution : (C)Let the side of square a

2a 200 a 200 10 2 mdiagonal, d 2a 10 2 20m Diagonal of the new square

2d 20 2 Side of new square 20 Area of new square 202

400 sq.m

• Rectangle:

d

l

b

Area l b;

Diagonal, 2 2 d l b ;Perimeter, P 2(l + b)

Example 3:The perimeter of a rectangular plot is48m and area is 108 m2. The dimensionsof the plot are(A) 36 m and 3m (B) 12 m and 9m(C) 27 m and 4m (D) 18 m and 6m

Solution : (D)Perimeter, 2(l + b) 48Area, lb 108 l + b 24, lb 18 6 l 18 and b 6

• Parallelogram:

h

b

a

Base b;Distance between parallel sides hArea bh

Example 4:A parallelogram has sides 15 cm and 7cm long. The length of one of thediagonals is 20 cm. The area of theparallelogram is(A) 42 cm2 (B) 60 cm2

(C) 84 cm2 (D) 96 cm2

Solution : (C)Area of the parallelogram sum of theareas of the two triangles formed bythe diagonal of 20cm.Area of parallelogram 2 (area oftriangle of sides 15, 7 and 20)

Triangle area s s a s b s c

15 7 20s , a 15, b 7, c 20

2

Parallelogram area

= 2 21 6 14 1

2 7 3 2 84

• Rhombus:

d2

d1

C

B D

a

O

A

Diagonals are 1 2d ,d and sides are equalto a.

1 2d dArea2

and 2 2 21 2d d 4a

Example 5:The diagonals of a rhombus are 12 cmand 16 cm respectively. The length ofone side is(A) 8 cm (B) 6 cm(C) 10 cm (D) 12 cm

Solution : (C)2 2 2

1 2 1 2d =12, d =16 & d + d = 4a2 2 212 + 16 = 4a

2 22 2 212 16a 6 8

2 2

2 2a 10 a 10 • Trapezium:

h

a

bLengths of parallel sides are a, b anddistance between parallel sides is h.

Area 1 a b h2

Example 6:The ratio of the length of the parallelsides of a trapezium is 3:2. The shortestdistance between them is 15 cm. If thearea of the trapezium is 450 cm2, thensum of lengths of the parallel sides is(A) 15 cm (B) 36 cm(C) 42 cm (D) 60 cm

Solution : (D)

h 15cm, Area 1 a b h 4502

1 a b 15 4502

a + b = 60 cm

• Cyclic quadrilateral:

xy

d1

a

dc

b

Area s a s b s c s d

where a, b, c, d are sides of cyclic

quadrilateral and a b c ds

2

11Area d x y2

d1 is one of the diagonal,x + y is sum of perpendiculars to d1from opposite vertices.

• Regular Hexagon:

a

aa

2 236 a4

3 3Area a2

• Circle:

r

Radius r

Area 2r ;Perimeter or circumference 2 r

Example 7:The circumference of a circle is equal tothe perimeter of a square of side 22 cm.The area of the circle is

(A) 49 cm2 (B) 494cm2

(C) 28 cm2 (D) 196 cm2

Solution : (D)Let side of a square a, andradius of the circle ra 22 4a 422Given, 2 r 4a 4 22

22 r 2 22 r 147

Area of circle 2 2r 14 196 cm2


12 - 18 Feb. 20186


ANDHRA PRADESHAllocations for A.P. in BudgetInstitution Allocations (in crores)Central University 10Tribal University 10I IT 50IIM 42NIT 54IISCR 49Triple IT 30Indian Institute of Petroleum Energy 32Indian Institute of Foreign Trade 5Indian Institute of Packaging 5Industrial subsidies 50Other allocations: Almost 3.5 crore people in Andhra Pradesh will come under Ayushman Bhava

scheme announced in Budget. Under UJWALA scheme 30lakh people from Andhra Pradesh will get benefit. The Share of State in 2018-19, in Union Taxes is Rs. 33, 929.84 crore.

TELANGANAAllocations for Telangana in BudgetInstitution Allocations (in crores)IIT (Hyderabad) 75Tribal University 10Singareni Coal Mines 2000Atomic Mineral Directorate (Hyd) 310.22ECIL 15NAIPER 135Industrial interest subsidy 50INCOIS 25NIOT 32Other Allocations: This year, Union Government has decided to complete 74 railway lines, in

Telangana. Two railway lines were allocated. They are-Peddapalli-L ingampeta(83km), Nalgonda-Lingamgunta (129km).

It is estimated that the share of Telangana in Taxes is Rs. 19,000 crore.Additionally Telangana is to get Rs 8000 crore as a part of Centrally sponsoredschemes and Rs. 2500 crore as per the recommendation of the 14 th FinanceCommission.

TELANGANATELANGANAK Chandrasekhar Rao announcesRs. 1,000 pension for filaria-hit:Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Raoon the 9th of February announcedRs. 1,000 pension per month to peoplesuffering from lymphatic filariasis

(filaria). The CMsaid 47,000patients will begiven pensionsfrom April 1 andallocation will be made in the Budget2018-19 for the purpose.

TS sets up Cabinet Sub-Committeeto promote food processing sector:The State government constituted aCabinet Sub-Committee to makerecommendations for promotion offood processing industry against thebackdrop of a big increase in ayacutarea in a majority of districts.Constituted under the Chairmanshipof Agriculture Minister PocharamSrinivas Reddy, the sub-committee willexplore various options in developingfood processing sector in the State.

The other members of the committeeinclude Etela Rajender, KT Rama Rao,Jupally Krishna Rao and T Harish Rao.Principal Secretary, Agriculture CPartha Sarathi was appointed asconvener for the committee.

ANDHRA PRADESHANDHRA PRADESHEmirates to support Andhra inaviation infrastructure: Gulf-based Emirates Group has signed aninitial agreement with the AndhraPradesh Government to support the

development of aviation infrastructurein the state . The internationalaviation company has signed the pactalong with its affiliated entities. Underthe agreement, the Group will shareindustry expertise and identifydevelopment and investmentopportunities in Andhra Pradesh

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham tocome up in Andhra: Andhra PradeshChief Minister N Chandrababu Naidulaid the foundation stone for AmritaVishwaVidyapeetham’scampus atNowluru villagenearAmaravathi. TheMata Amritanandamayi Math, acharitable group, is setting up theVidyapeetham, a deemed-to-beuniversity, with an investment of Rs2,500 crore. It will be spread over 200acres. This is the third majoreducational institute, after SRM andthe Vellore Institute of Technology, tocome up in Amaravati, the new capitalof Andhra Pradesh.

LOW PRIORITY FOR TELUGU STATES IN BUDGETThe Telugu States have not got much benefit in the Union Budget introduced by Arun Jaitley on the 1 st of December. Telangana State demanded an amount of Rs. 40,000 crore.However allocations were only around Rs. 2000 crore. In case of Andhra Pradesh there was no mention in budget regarding assurances in Bifurcation act.


12 - 18 Feb. 20187


Science & TechnologyScience & Technology

India successfully test-fires

nuclear capable Agni-1 missile:

India on the 6th of February success-

fully test-fired its short-range nuclear

capable ballistic missile Agni-1 with

a strike range of over 700 km from a

test range off the Odisha coast. The

indigenously developed surface-to-

surface missile was launched as a

part of a periodic training activity by

the Strategic Forces Command of the

Army to consolidate operational

readiness.

The missile was launched from a

mobile launcher of the Integrated Test

Range at Dr. Abdul Kalam Island.

Describing the trial a complete suc-

cess, they said that all the mission

objectives were met during the test.

The missile, which has already been

inducted into the armed forces, has

proved its performance in terms of

range, accuracy and lethality. Weigh-

ing around 12 tonnes, the 15-metre-

long Agni-I can carry payloads up to

1,000 kg and is capable of hitting a

target beyond 700 km. The missile is

also capable of carrying nuclear war-

heads.

Japan Launches Smallest Rocket

Ever To Carry Tiny Satellite Into

Orbit: The Japan Aerospace Explora-

tion Agency (JAXA) launched the

world’s smallest rocket with the abil-

ity to put a tiny satellite into orbit.

The rocket l ifted off from the

Uchinoura Space Center. It carried a

microsatellite TRICOM-1R, a three-

unit CubeSat weighing about 3 kilo-

grams.

EnvironmentEnvironmentSouth Central Railway Becomes 1st

Rail Zone With 100% LED Lighting

At Stations: The South Central

Railway (SCR) becomes the first

railway zone in the country to

complete 100% LED lighting at all the

stations under its jurisdiction.The

SCR has been on the forefront of

adopting energy conservation

measures. It has attained the status

of becoming the first zone in the

Indian Railways to complete 100%

LED lighting in all the 733 stations

under its jurisdiction.

SportsSportsIndia wins U-19 World Cup : India

defeated Australia to lift the Under 19

World cup for the fourth time. In the

final India defeated the three-time

champions Australia at Bay Oval,

New Zealand. Manjot Kalra was the

Hero of the match with his brilliant

century.

Shubhankar Sharma Becomes Best

Indian Golfer In The World:

Shubhankar Sharma emerged as the

best Indian golfer in the world, grab-

bing the 72nd position in the Official

World Golf Ranking (OWGR). He has

won the Maybank Championship in

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sharma has

enjoyed a golden run over the past

few months on the international

stage, clinching his first European

Tour win at the Joburg Open.

Jhulan Goswami 1st Woman In

The World To Take 200 ODI

Wickets: Indian women’s cricket

team pacer Jhulan Goswami becomes

the first woman in the world to take

200 wickets in ODI cricket. Goswami

achieved the feat playing in her 166th

ODI against South Africa.

Modi: Exam Warriors, a book written

by Indian Prime Minister

NarendraModi was released by Exter-

nal Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

The book has been written to inspire

youths to face the difficult moments

of examinations and life, with fresh

and new energy. ‘Exam Warriors’ is

published by Penguin India, which

runs into 208 pages.

Nicos Anatasiades: Cyprus Presi-

dent Nicos Anastasiades won re-elec-

tion for a second term. The official

final result after a second round run-

off put the conservative incumbent on

55.99 per cent of the vote, ahead of

Communist-backed Stavros Malas on

44 per cent.

Amitabh Kant : Niti Aayog CEO

Amitabh Kant was given an extension

till June 30, 2019. Kant, a 1980 batch

IAS officer of Kerala cadre, was ap-

pointed the Chief Executive Officer of

NITI Aayog on February 17, 2016 for a

two-year term. His extension order

was issued by the Department of Per-

sonnel and Training (DoPT)

Indra Nooyi: PepsiCo Chairman and

CEO Indra Nooyi has been appointed

to the International Cricket Council

(ICC) Board as the governing body’s

first independent female director. An

ICC release said, Nooyi will join the

Board in June this year to align with

the term of the ICC Independent

Chairman.


12 - 18 Feb. 20188


1. Context: Niti Aayog CEO AmitabhKant was given an extension tillJune 30, 2019. Kant, a 1980 batchIAS officer of Kerala cadre, wasappointed the Chief ExecutiveOfficer of NITI Aayog on February17, 2016 for a two-year termThe National Institution forTransforming India, also calledNITI Aayog, was formed via aresolution of the Union Cabinet onJanuary 1, 2015. NITI Aayog is thepremier policy ‘Think Tank’ of theGovernment of India, providingboth directional and policy inputs.While designing strategic and longterm policies and programmes forthe Government of India, NITIAayog also provides relevanttechnical advice to the Centre andStates. The Government of India,in keeping with its reform agenda,constituted the NITI Aayog toreplace the Planning Commissioninstituted in 1950.At the core of NITI Aayog’screation are two hubs – TeamIndia Hub and the Knowledgeand Innovation Hub. The TeamIndia Hub leads the engagementof states with the Centralgovernment, while the Knowledgeand Innovation Hub builds NITI’sthink-tank capabilities. These hubsreflect the two key tasks of theAayog.

2. India contributed additional $1million to India-UN DevelopmentPartnership Fund, earmarked forSouth-South cooperation.The United Nations Office forSouth-South Co-operation(UNOSSC) is a knowledge hubproviding advisory and consultingservices to all stakeholders onSouth-South and triangularcooperation. It enablesdeveloping countries to effectivelyface their development challengesand harness opportunities toaddress them. UNOSSC engageswith Member States globally andregionally, as well as within theUN system to facilitate practicalexpressions of Southern solidaritytowards the achievement ofinternationally agreeddevelopment goals. South–SouthCooperation is a term historicallyused by policymakers andacademics to describe theexchange of resources,technology, and knowledgebetween developing countries,also known as countries of theGlobal South.

3. India and the European Unionhave vowed to step upcooperation to counter terrorismas both sides seek to exchangeinformation on terroristsorganisations and their safehavens.

The European Union is a unifiedtrade and monetary body of 28member countries. Its purpose isto be more competitive in theglobal marketplace. At the sametime, it must balance the needs ofits independent fiscal and politicalmembers.

4. India on the 6 th of Februarysuccessfully test-fired its short-range nuclear capable ballisticmissile Agni-1 with a strike rangeof over 700 km from a test rangeoff the Odisha coastAgni-1 Missile is an IntermediateRange Ballistic Missile. Agni-I usedsolid propulsion booster and aliquid propulsion upper stage,derived from Prithvi, essentially toprove the re-entry structure,control and guidance. The strap-down inertial navigation systemadopts explicit guidance, whichhas attempted for the first time inthe world. It uses all carboncomposite structure for protectingpayload during its re-entry phase.The first flight conducted in May1989, established the re-entrytechnology and precise guidanceto reach the specific target. Agni-Iflight trials having proved thelong-range technologies, anoperational version of agni withsolid-solid propulsion system wastest fired in April 1999, which isAgni-II with mobile capability.

5. Bermuda becomes the firstcountry to legalize and thenrepeal same-sex marriage.Same-sex marriage is also knownas gay marriage or a homosexualmarriage. This kind of marriage isa ceremonial union of two peopleof the same sex; a marriage ormarriage-like relationshipbetween two women or two men

6. Uttar Pradesh State governmentin association with UNICEFlaunched massive door to doorcampaign DASTAK to eradicatedeadly Acute EncephalitisSyndrome (AES) and JapaniseEncephalitis (JE) disease in thestate.UNICEF was established on the11th of December 1946 by theUnited Nations to meet theemergency needs of children inpost-war Europe and China. Itsfull name was the United NationsInternational Children’sEmergency Fund. In 1950, itsmandate was broadened toaddress the long-term needs ofchildren and women in developingcountries everywhere. UNICEFbecame a permanent part of theUnited Nations system in 1953,when its name was shortened tothe United Nations Children’sFund. However, UNICEF retainedits original acronym.

February 5: Maldives President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency, orderedsecurity forces into the Supreme Court and arrested a former president, in moves theopposition called a “purge” in the Indian Ocean island nation.February 6: Railways Ministry on signed an MoU with Ministry of Ayush in New Delhito augment Ayush services in Railway hospitalsFebruary 7: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has constituted a 13-memberadvisory committee to monitor and expedite capital acquisition projects for themodernisation of the armed forces.February 8: Union government informed the Lok Sabha that 11 states and unionterritories have been declared open defecation free (ODF) so far under the Centre’sflagship programme,Swachh Bharat MissionFebruary 9: Kerala topped the list of larger states on overall health performance in‘performance in health outcome index’ released by Niti AayogFebruary 10: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on 10thFebryary conferredthe ‘Grand Collar of the State of Palestine’ by President Mahmoud Abbas, recognisinghis key contribution to promote relations between India and Palestine. Mr. Modi isthe first Indian Prime Minister to make an official visit to Palestine.February 11: India and Oman have signed eight Memoranda of Understanding indifferent areas during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s maiden visit to the Gulf nation.The fields in which the agreements were inked include defence, health and tourism.

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