Current Affairs 18 January 2018

1. 10th Global Forum for Food & Agriculture, Berlin, Germany Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Shr...

1. 10th Global Forum for Food & Agriculture, Berlin, Germany

Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is leading the Indian delegation to 10th Global Forum for Food & Agriculture from 18-20 January, 2018 which includes the 10th Berlin Agriculture Ministers’ Conference.

• The theme of this year’s event is “Shaping the future of livestock – sustainably, responsibly, efficiently”.
• The discussions will focus on sustainable and productive animal production among other issues.

Points to Remember

• The Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) is an international conference that focuses on central questions concerning the future of the global agri-food industry.
• The GFFA is organised by the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMEL) in cooperation with GFFA Berlin e.V., the Senate of Berlin and Messe Berlin GmbH.

2. China Opens 'World's Largest Air Purifier'

China has built a 100 metre high, nearly 328 feet tall air purifier, touted to be world's largest, to combat the deadly pollution in the country.

• The world's largest air purifier is built in Xian in Shaanxi province of northern China and the preliminary results have shown that smog levels have come down and there is some improvement in the air quality.

3. PM Modi, Israeli PM Netanyahu dedicate iCreate to the nation

Prime Minister Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu dedicated to the nation, the iCREATE facility located on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

• iCreate is an independent Centre created with the objective of facilitating entrepreneurship through a blend of creativity, innovation, engineering, product design and leveraging emerging technologies to deal with major issues such as food security, water, connectivity, cybersecurity, IT and electronics, energy, bio-medical equipment and devices etc.
• iCreate aims to develop an ecosystem in India to generate quality entrepreneurs.

 4. MoS, Textiles inaugurates 60th India International Garment Fair

The 60th edition of India International Garment Fair (IIGF) was inaugurated by Minister of State for Textiles, Shri Ajay Tamta, at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

• Recalling that business worth US $200 million was conducted in the previous edition, the Minister extended his best wishes to all participating buyers and exporters.
• A total of 294 exporters from 11 states are participating at the 60th IIGF.

5. 65th meeting of Central Advisory Board of Education held in New Delhi

 

The 65th Meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) was held under the Chairmanship of Union Human Resource Development Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi.

• The meeting was attended by the Union Minister for Culture and MoS(Independent Charge) Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Dr. Mahesh Sharma and Dr. Satya Pal Singh, Minister of State for HRD.
• The Education Ministers of the States, CABE Members actively participated in the discussions.

6. Afghans award Trump 'Medal of Bravery'

The residents of Afghanistan's Logar province have awarded United States President Donald Trump a 'Medal of Bravery' over his recent stance against Pakistan.

• The medal is made with funds collected by Afghans from the Logar province, 60 kilometers in the south of Kabul.
• The bravery award has been handed over to the US Embassy in Kabul.

7. Brazil football legend Ronaldinho retires

 

Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldinho has formally confirmed his retirement from football, more than two years since his last appearance as a professional.

• The 37-year-old former Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona star, a key member of the Brazil side which won the World Cup in 2002, last played in 2015.
• Ronaldinho made 97 appearances, scoring 33 goals, including two in the 2002 World Cup.
• He was awarded the Ballon D'Or in 2005.

8. Veteran actress Ava Mukherjee passes away

Veteran actress Ava Mukherjee, known for playing Shah Rukh Khan's grandmother in Devdas has passed away the age of 88.

• Ava is also the mother of filmmaker Romilla Mukherjee.
• One of her final appearances on the big screen was in the film 'Darna Zaroori Hai' directed by Ram Gopal Varma. 

9. Sanjay Manjrekar launches autobiography

Dilip Vengsarkar has released Former Indian Test player Sanjay Manjrekar’s autobiography, named “Imperfect” published by Harper Collins in Mumbai.

• Sanjay, who played 37 Tests after making his debut in the Delhi Test against the West Indies under the captaincy of Dilip Vengsarkar in 1987, scored 2,043 runs with a career-best 218 against Imran Khan’s Pakistan at Lahore in 1989.