Current Affairs - February 18, 2018 Current Affairs

Russia - US relation to face another major crisis as the federal grand jury indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for alleged illegal interference in the 2016 presidential elections. The Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office has charged them with conspiracy to defraud the United States. The All the activities were a planned conspiracy as per US judicial department's statement. The Defendants traveled to the United States to conduct research, employed specialists to fine-tune social media posts so those appear authentic. Stealing identities of US citizens they used immigration, religion, and race to manipulate campaign. The indictment alleges that the Russian conspirators want to promote discord in the United States and undermine public confidence in democracy," Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general said emphasizing that US citizens must not allow them to succeed.

Roger Federer has become the oldest player in the world to hold number 1 rank in the ATP world rankings. Roger Federer achieved this feat by defeating Robin Haase 4-6 6-1 6-1 to reach semi-finals of the ABN AMRO tournament in Rotterdam on 16th February 2018. He reached number one position for the first time in 2004. He has surpassed America's Andre Agassi, who was the previous oldest player to be world number one at 33 years in 2003.

The 54th Munich Security Conference (MSC-2018) was held in Munich, Germany from February 16-18 to discuss pressing security issues, including North Korea's nuclear and missile programs and the Syrian civil war. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono attended the meet. The issue of North Korea's nuclear weapons development program was high on the agenda. The MSC is an annual conference on international security policy that has taken place since 1963.

In terms of maternal mortality rate (MMR), Assam is at the bottom of the list among all Indian States. Annual number of female deaths per 100000 live births from any cause related to pregnancy is referred to as Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR). MMR figure in Assam is 300 against the national average of 167. However, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Ashwini Kumar Choubey has stated that MMR in Assam has been declining. It was 383 fours ago and was 447 in 2002. In Assam, infant mortality rate (number of deaths per 1000 live births of children under one year of age) is also on higher side at 44 against the national figure of 37.

Ola successfully launched 'Auto Unnati' program to assist its auto driver partners through the firm's 'Chalo Befikar' insurance program, family welfare initiatives. The aim is to create an inclusive environment in which driver partners can operate and thrive. 'Auto Unnati' is a milestone program in the same direction that will offer better financial and emotional stability for thousands of auto drivers in Bengaluru. The program is aimed to enhance business assurance plan to ensure a healthy professional ecosystem for Auto driver partners and for those hoping to target high business profits with ease.

The 6th Conference of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) of India Region was inaugurated by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan in Patna, Bihar on February 16, 2018. The 2-day conference discussed subjects of 'Parliament's role in the development agenda' and 'Legislature and Judiciary'. Over 100 delegates from India and abroad, including Australia, Britain and Uganda, are participating in the conference. Speakers of State Assemblies, Chairpersons of Legislative Councils and delegates from across the country also took part. The theme of the conference is 'Role of Parliament and Parliamentarians in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)'. In the conference, Parliamentarians discuss a number of topics including Parliament's role in the development agenda and the relationship between the legislature and the judiciary.

WhatsApp will launch a "full feature" inter-bank money transfer service in India, its biggest market, after a test involving a million users. This uses customers' phone numbers linked to bank accounts to facilitate payments. 4 banks will join United Payments Interface which powers the payments service for WhatsApp. At present ICICI Bank processes the fund transfers on WhatsApp.

Setting its own records and achieving milestones, India's space research organization ISRO is set to launch Chandrayaan-2 mission around April this year. The Union Minister for Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said that Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to launch Chandrayan-2 Mission around April this year. Chandrayaan-2 is the country's second mission to the moon.

Sachin Tendulkar has been made the brand ambassador of the upcoming T20 Mumbai League. The league will be organised by Sports India Pvt Ltd, a consortium of IIFL Group as Lead Member and Wizcraft, with the approval and sanction of the Mumbai Cricket Association. 6 teams from Mumbai North, North-West, North-East, North- Central, South-Central and South will participate in the League.

India and Iran has recently signed Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income in New Delhi. The Agreement will stimulate flow of investment, technology and personnel from India to Iran & vice versa, and will prevent double taxation. The Agreement will provide for exchange of information between the two Contracting Parties as per latest International Standards. It will improve transparency in tax matters and will help curb tax evasion and tax avoidance. The Agreement also meets treaty related minimum standards under G-20 OECD Base Erosion & Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project, in which India participated on an equal footing.

The National Banana Festival (NBF-2018) has started at Kalliyoor, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala from February 17 to 21. The festival is organised by Centre for Innovation in Science and Social action (CISSA) in partnership with Kalliyoor Grama Panchayat and a host of National and State organisations. The two-day event is aimed at helping farmers from across the country get exposure to new technologies and new species in banana cultivation. The Banana Festival exhibition will showcase everything about banana. This will provide first-hand information to the farmers and general public about its multifaceted uses.

Botanical Survey of India (BSI) and Natural History Museum (NHM), United Kingdom (UK) signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in the field of genetic/taxonomic studies, research and training, conservation in India, including species and habitat conservation assessments. The MoU was signed in New Delhi by Dr Paramjit Singh - Director of BSI and Dr Sandra Knapp - Head of the Algae, Fungi and Plants Division, NHM, in presence of Union Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Dr Harsh Vardhan. As per the terms of this MoU, BSI staff will work in Natural History Museum, London and vice-versa. Staffs of both these entities will equitably share the benefits that may arise from the combined collection, joint study and conservation efforts.

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will soon launch Asia's first large scale CO2-injected project in its Gandhar oil field in Gujarat to recover an extra 20 million barrels of crude oil under the Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) programme which is being undertaken to improve India's energy security. The EOR programme is set to play a crucial role within the country for recovering up to 20% of residual oil from such ageing fields.