Current Affairs - February 11, 2018 Current Affairs

China has agreed to reopen the Nathu La pass for Indian pilgrims to undertake the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh informed the Lok Sabha. China had closed the route last year citing "unfavourable conditions", at a time when India and China were engaged in a military standoff at Doklam. The four-month travel period to the Kailash Mansarovar yatra starts from June.

According to a global traffic scorecard published annually by Inrix, a company that aggregates and analyzes traffic data collected from vehicles and highway infrastructure, the top 10 most congested cities in the world, 2017 are: 1. Los Angeles 2. New York City (tie) 2. Moscow (tie) 4. Sao Paulo, Brazil 5. San Francisco 6. Bogota 7. London 8. Atlanta 9. Paris 10. Miami The most congested country in the world is Thailand, with drivers spending an average of 56 hours in peak-hour congestion. The top 10 most congested countries, 2017 are: 1. Thailand 2. Indonesia 3. Colombia 4. Venezuela 5. United States (tie) 5. Russia (tie) 7. Brazil (tie) 7. South Africa (tie) 9.Turkey 10. United Kingdom

According to a report by New World Wealth, Mumbai has ranked 12th out of 15 wealthiest cities globally. With USD 950 billion total wealth, Mumbai is the only India city to feature in the list of 15 wealthiest cities. Mumbai is home to 28 billionaires (individuals with USD 1 billion or more in net assets). Mumbai is regarded as the economic hub of India. It is also home to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the 12th largest stock exchange in the world. With USD 3 trillion total wealth, New York has topped the list of 15 wealthiest cities.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been conferred with the 'Grand Collar of the State of Palestine' by President Mahmoud Abbas for his key contribution to promote relations between India and Palestine. President Abbas conferred the Grand Collar of the State of Palestine on Modi after the conclusion of the bilateral meeting between the two leaders. Mr. Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to make an official visit to Palestine. The Grand Collar is highest order given to foreign dignitaries - Kings, Heads of State/Government and persons of similar rank. It has in the past been awarded to King Salman of Saudi Arabia, King Hamad of Bahrain, President Xi Jinping of China, amongst others.

The central government has approved the construction of over 1.86 lakh more houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) scheme, taking the total number of affordable houses sanctioned to over 39.25 lakhs. The latest approvals under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, PMAY (Urban), entailed an investment of Rs 11,169 crores, with central assistance of Rs 2,797 crores. Haryana has been sanctioned the maximum number of 53,290 houses in this round of approval, followed by Tamil Nadu 40,623 houses, Karnataka 32,656 houses and Gujarat 15,584 houses. Maharashtra got 12,123 houses, Kerala 9,461, Uttarakhand 6,226 and Orissa 5,133 houses.

The 2018 International Conference on Unani Medicine has inaugurated by Dr Jitendra Singh (the Union Minister of Development of North-East Region) with theme "Integration of Unani System of Medicine in Mainstream Healthcare" in New Delhi on November 10, 2018. The purpose of the 2-day conference is to promote integration of Unani Medicine in mainstream healthcare across the globe. This year is special for Unani fraternity as it is the 150th Birth Anniversary of Hakim Ajmal Khan. To mark this day, the Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM), under the Ministry of AYUSH is organizing the conference as part of Unani Day Celebration. Besides national delegates, countries like South Africa, UK, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, China, USA, Portugal, UAE, Slovenia, Israel, Hungary, Bahrain, Tajikistan, etc is also participating in the conference. The conference will cover issues related to globalization, research, standardization, quality control, safety assessment, and industry perspective.

A consortium of the Indian oil companies and UAE-based Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) signed a concessional agreement for the acquisition of 10% participating interest in the offshore Lower Zakum Concession. This is the first time ever that an Indian Consortium has received concession in the Gulf. The concessional agreement between Indian oil companies and ADNOC is for 40 years from 2018 to 2057 and the participation fees are valued at $600 million. For this agreement, the Indian consortium is led by Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), while Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petro Resources Ltd. are the other members. A negotiated contract between a business entity/ business consortium and a government that gives the business entity/ business consortium the right to operate a specific business within the government's jurisdiction is referred to as concessional agreement.

PNB has signed an agreement for information utility with National e-Governance Services. It will enable storing of financial information that will help substantiate defaults & verify claims expeditiously. This will in turn facilitate resolution in National Company Law Tribunal in a time bound manner. The objective of the agreement is to augment the information infrastructure in India.

Integrated Automatic Aviation Meteorological System (IAAMS) was inaugurated at INS Garuda, a naval air station located in Kochi, Kerala. INS Garuda has become the fourth Naval Air Station to be the part of this integrated system.

A record was set on the second day of Rajim Kumbh Mela in Chhattisgarh after over 2,100 saints and locals blew 'shankh' (conch shells) together. Golden Book of World Records certified the record. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh had inaugurated Rajim Kumbh Mela and Ganga Aarti performance at banks of river Mahanadi in Gariyaband's Rajim.

The 4th Nepal Buildcon and Wood International Expo 2018 has started at Kathmandu on February 9, which was inaugurated by Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal Kamal Thapa. Manjeev Singh Puri, who is Indian Ambassador to Nepal, graced the event as guest of honour. The purpose of the 3 day expo is to provide a single platform to architects, engineers, builders, construction material suppliers, interior decorators, furniture, lighting, heavy machine and equipment manufacturers and other stake holders. Over 200 brands and products are being displayed through more than 150 stalls. More than 80 companies from India are also participating in the expo through an Indian Pavilion, which has been set up jointly by Ministry of Commerce, CII and Commerce Wing of Indian Embassy.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh launched Gujarat University's Centre for Spoken Sanskrit that will provide a spoken Sanskrit course. The Gujarat University has introduced a spoken Sanskrit course for a six-month duration. This course will teach people how to speak Sanskrit. This course is said to be the first of its kind in India. This course has been introduced to familiarize Sanskrit in India. The course fees is Rs.500. This course doesn't require any prior knowledge of Sanskrit. Also an advanced course on sanskrit grammar will be launched for interested students helping them to read and understand ancient scriptures.

The National Unani Day (NUD) is celebrated every year on 11th February to mark the birth anniversary of great Unani researcher Haqim Ajmal Khan. He was an eminent Indian Unani physician who was versatile genius, freedom fighter, educationist and founder of scientific research in Unani Medicine. This year (2018) is special for Unani fraternity as it is the 150th Birth Anniversary of Hakim Ajmal Khan. To mark this day, the Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM), under the Ministry of AYUSH is organizing the 2018 International Conference on Unani Medicine in New Delhi on February 10 as part of Unani Day Celebration. The theme of the 2-day conference is "Integration of Unani System of Medicine in main stream healthcare".

On 11th February 2018, International Day of Women and Girls in Science was celebrated all over the world. United Nations General Assembly declared 11th February as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science in order to gain access and participation for women and girls in science. This day also aims to work towards gender equality and empowerment of women and girls. On this day, celebrations are organized by UNESCO and UN-Women, jointly with institutions and organisations that promote women and girls' participation in science.

Rohan More, a Pune-based swimmer, has become the world's youngest and first Asian swimmer to complete the Ocean Seven Challenge. The Ocean Seven Challenge is to cross seven of the world's toughest ocean channels comprising a distance of nearly 200 km. The Ocean Seven Challenge covers the North Channel, the Cook Strait, the Molokai Channel, the English Channel, the Catalina Channel, the Tsugaru Strait and the Strait of Gibraltar. He is the ninth swimmer on the whole to complete the Ocean 7 Challenge.