Current Affairs 7 February 2018

National Current Affairs 1. President to inaugurate the Mahamastakabhisheka Mahotsav 2018 The President of India, Shri Ram Nat...

National Current Affairs

1. President to inaugurate the Mahamastakabhisheka Mahotsav 2018

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, will be in Karnataka to inaugurate the Mahamastakabhisheka Mahotsav 2018 of Gommateshwara Bhagwan Sri Bahubali Swami at Shravanabelagola February 7, 2018.

• The Mahamastakabhisheka Mahotsav is celebrated once every 12 years.
• It has been celebrated for about a 1,000  years.

2. 60 Solar Cities to be developed across country

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy under its scheme “Development of Solar Cities” has approved/sanctioned 60 Cities including 13 Pilot and 5 Model Cities up to 12th Five-year Plan period.

• In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State (IC) for Power & New and Renewable Energy, Shri R K Singh informed that the master plans of 49 Solar Cities have been prepared. 
• The Stake-holders Committees have been constituted in 21 Cities and Solar City Cells have been created in 37 Solar Cities.
• Solar PV projects with aggregate capacity of 8069.16 kWP and Solar Water Heating System with aggregate capacity of 7894 meter square collector area have been sanctioned under the programme.
• While Rs. 101.64 crore has been sanctioned, Rs. 25.92 crore has been released under scheme “Development of Solar Cities” so far.

3. India-UAE to ink 12 pacts during PM Modi's visit

As many as 12 agreements will be signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the UAE later this week as India and the oil-rich Gulf nation look to intensify economic cooperation.

• The agreements will include areas like finance and skills development.
• Modi will start his visit to three West Asian countries - Palestine, the UAE and Oman - on February 9 with focus on cooperation in key areas of defence, security and counter- terrorism.
• The Prime Minister will participate in the 6th World Government Summit in Dubai on February 10-11 in which India is a partner country.
• This will be PM Modi's second visit to the UAE. He first visited the country in August 2015.

4. Haryana launches 'Gobardhan Yojana' to support farmers

The Haryana government has launched the 'Gobardhan Yojana' to provide for the sale of organic manure and cow urine with an aim to benefit farmers.

• A provision of Rs 11 crore has been made to provide benefits of various projects under this scheme, Khattar said while addressing villagers at a 'Kisan Samman Samaroh' in Nizampur village of Sonipat district.

5. Mumbai airport becomes world’s busiest single-runway airport

On January 20, Mumbai airport created a new world record for single-runway operations by handling 980 arrivals and take-offs in 24 hours.

• With this, the Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International airport bettered its own feat of 974 flights in 24 hours, recorded on December 6, 2017.
• Gatwick, the U.K.’s second largest airport, remains the most efficient single-runway airport in the world.

Business

6. Uber, transport ministry partner to push road safety awareness

As part of its ongoing efforts to encourage road safety awareness, ride-sharing company Uber has joined hands with union ministry of road transport and highways to push for the cause in the country which witnesses around five lakh accidents every year.

• Uber will jointly promote road safety messaging on its mobile application and the social media through co-branded materials and mediums.
• The ministry and Uber will jointly be preparing the learning materials which will be shared and utilised by over 200 driving schools.

7. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank approve JFC Finance's bid to acquire Palogix Infrastructure

ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank have approved JFC Finance (India) Ltd's bid to acquire the insolvent Palogix Infrastructure, a 20-year old firm in railways logistics.

• JFC Finance, the Delhi-based non banking firm, has proposed to acquire close to 80% in Palogix for Rs 100-crore.
• The logistics firm owes Rs 150 crore to creditors.

Appointments

8. Hardayal Prasad appointed as SBI Card MD & CEO

SBI Card, the country's second largest credit card issuer, has a new Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer in Hardayal Prasad.

• Prasad has taken over from Vijay Jasuja, who superannuated on January 31.
• Prior to this appointment, Prasad was with State Bank of India, holding multiple leadership positions in the bank.
• He had joined SBI as a probationary officer in 1983.

Sports

9. Shubhankar Sharma becomes highest ranked Indian golfer

In-form young golfer Shubhankar Sharma was elevated from 193 to 72, a gain of 121 spots, in the world rankings making him the highest-ranked Indian in the world.

• Sharma has enjoyed a golden run over the past few months on the international stage.
• When Shubhankar entered the event in South Africa he was ranked 462 in the world.

Deths

10. Kathakali maestro Madavoor Vasudevan Nair passes away

Kathakali maestro Madavoor Vasudevan Nair collapsed on stage and died while performing at Agasthyacodu Mahadeva Temple, Anchal. He was 89.

• A recipient of several awards, including Padma Bhushan, he was the follower of the Kaplingattu School, the particular style of south Kerala.