Current Affairs - February 8, 2018 Current Affairs

Business magazine Forbes released its first-ever Crypto Rich List, comprising 20 wealthiest people in the cryptocurrency space. The list was topped by Ripple Co-founder Chris Larsen, who is estimated to have a crypto net worth of $7.5-8 billion. He is followed by Ethereum Co-founder Joseph Lubin ($1-5 billion) and Founder of cryptocurrency exchange Binance Changpeng Zhao ($1.1-2 billion).

India test-fired surface-to-surface ballistic missile Prithvi-II off the Odisha coast. The missile, that can dive at an angle of 80 degrees and is capable of carrying up to a 500-kg warhead, is powered by liquid propulsion. The ballistic missile is the first missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under its most ambitious Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme.

India successfully test-fired its home-grown long range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Agni-IV from the Abdul Kalam Wheeler Island off Odisha coast. The test was aimed at revalidating new technologies incorporated in Agni-IV system and checking the readiness of armed forces to launch the missile on its own.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu laid the foundation stone for Rhododendron Park in Tawang. He also carried out plantation drive of different varieties of Rhodos. Tawang is home to 50+ different varieties of Rhodos.

The Fifth edition of South Asia Region Public Procurement Conference was held in New Delhi. It was hosted by Public Procurement Division (PPD) of Ministry of Finance and All India Management Association (AIMA). It was held under auspices of South Asia Region Public Procurement Network (SARPPN), which is sponsored and facilitated by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Islamic Development Bank. The theme this edition of the conference was "Public Procurement and Service Delivery".

Indian women's cricket team pacer Jhulan Goswami become 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. Goswami had become the leading wicket-taker in women's ODI in May 2017, overtaking former Australian pacer Cathryn Fitzpatrick's record of 180 wickets.

The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited developed the first flight of Hawk-i with indigenous Real Time Operating System (RTOS). Hawk-i is the first indigenous RTOS developed in India from scratch and certified by Center for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC). The RTOS is the system software which provides a standard run-time environment for real-time applications execution in a safe and reliable manner.

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) under its "Development of Solar Cities" scheme sanctioned the development of 60 Solar Cities including 13 Pilot and 5 Model Cities up to 12th Five-year Plan period (2012-2017). So far, master plans of 49 Solar Cities have been prepared. Under it, local Governments are motivated for adopting renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency measures. Solar City developed under this scheme will have all types of renewable energy based projects like solar, wind, biomass, small hydro, waste to energy.

The World Wetlands Day (WWD) is observed every year on February 2 to mark the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands in the city of Ramsar in Iran in 1971. The 2018 theme is "Wetlands for a Sustainable Urban Future". It highlights the value of wetlands in securing local livelihoods through activities as fishing, rice farming, tourism and water provision. The day is observed to promote, create awareness and ensure positive and affirmative action for conservation of wetlands.

In the 6th Bi-monthly Monetary policy statement for 2017-18, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kept the key interest rate "repo rate" unchanged at 6% and reverse repo at 5.75%. Also, the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate kept at 6.25%. The decision of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is consistent with the neutral stance of monetary policy in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4% within a band of +/- 2%, while supporting growth.

Bermuda becomes the first country to legalize and then repeal same-sex marriage. Bermuda's governor John Rankin approved a bill reversing the right of gay couples to marry, despite a supreme court ruling last year authorizing same-sex marriage.

The 5th edition of the South Asia Region Public Procurement Conference (SARPPC-2018) was inaugurated by Arun Jaitley, the Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, in New Delhi on February 5, 2018. The theme of the conference is "Public Procurement and Service Delivery". The purpose of the 3-day Conference was to enable the Heads of Public Procurement and other key stakeholders in the eight South Asian countries to meet and learn from one another and from experts in the field of public procurement. The 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.

Anil Ambani group led Reliance Defence and Engineering Limited (RDEL) has signed a Master Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA) with the US Navy to provide repair and alteration services for ships of the Seventh Fleet. With this, RDEL became first Indian company (either public or private) to provide logistical support to the US military within Indian territory.

The joint military exercise Al-Nagah-II 2017 between India and Oman began in the Dhauladhar Ranges in Bakloh belt of Himachal Pradesh to strengthen the military ties between the two countries. This is the second edition of the exercise in continuation of a series of joint exercises between the armies of the two countries. The first edition of the exercise was held at Muscat, Oman in 2015.

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.