Thursday 16 February 2017

17TH FEBUARY REVIEW IN ENGLISH FOR TNPSC, SSC, IPPB & INSURANCE

US President Donald Trump today lifted anti-corruption rules which forced oil companies to disclose payments made to foreign governments to secure mining and drilling rights. 
The regulations were a part of financial reforms passed by the Barack Obama administration after the 2008 financial crisis. 
The oil industry had opposed the rules claiming they gave global rivals a competitive edge.

India

Delhi Police today celebrated its 70th Raising Day with a ceremonial march at Kingsway Camp in New Delhi. 
Note : February 16 is celebrated as the Raising Day to commemorate the day DW Mehra was appointed as Delhi's first Inspector General in 1948. 
The Bihar Cabinet today passed a proposed amendment to the state service rules forbidding government employees from consuming alcohol anywhere in the state. 
The service rules earlier prohibited government servants from consuming alcohol or any other intoxicant at workplace only. 
Note : This comes after the Bihar government imposed a liquor-ban policy across the state in April last year.
The Centre today launched an initiative to provide pre-loaded SIM cards to foreign tourists arriving in India on e-Visa. 
The initiative was launched along with state-run telecom company BSNL. 
The SIM cards will have ₹50 talk time and 50 MB data. 
The SIM will be activated on an immediate basis so that tourists can use the facility instantly.

New Appointments

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup has been appointed as the High Commissioner of India to Canada. 
He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1986 and had served in countries like Turkey, the US, Ethiopia, the UK, and South Africa.
Important Note : Swarup had also penned a novel, 'Q & A', which served as the inspiration for Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire.
AIADMK chief Sasikala Natarajan's choice, Edappadi K Palanisamy, was today sworn in as the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister by Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, along with 30 ministers of the state cabinet. 
He has been given 15 days to prove his majority in the Assembly. 
Note : Palanisamy previously served as the Minister for Highways and Minor Ports in the state.
Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp has hired Matt Idema, its first ever Chief Operating Officer (COO), since its initial release back in 2009. 
Until now, Idema was leading product marketing for all of Facebook's business products worldwide. 
The new judges elevated to the apex court include four chief justices of state high courts and a sitting Karnataka High Court judge. Notably, the Supreme Court has a total sanctioned strength of 31 judges.
The Newly Appointed Judges are : 
  • Sanjay Kishan Kaul - Chief Justices of the High Court of Madras
  • Dipak Gupta - Chief Justices of the High Court of Chhattisgarh
  • Mohan M. Shantanagoudar - Chief Justices of the High Court of Kerala
  • S. Abdul Nazeer - Chief Justices of the High Court of Karnataka
  • Navin Sinha - Chief Justices of the High Court of Rajasthan

Awards & Honors

Shand Panesar, an Indian-origin constable with Scotland Yard, has been awarded 2017's Outstanding Bravery of the Year Award. 
Panesar was given the award for risking his life with a colleague to rescue a couple from a burning building in London last September. 
The AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences), New Delhi has won the first prize among all central government hospitals and a ₹5 crore cash reward for maintaining high standards of sanitation and hygiene under the Centre's Kayakalp awards. 
North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences in Shillong bagged the second prize while PGIMER, Chandigarh received the third prize.
Veteran actress Rekha will hand over actor Shah Rukh Khan the 4th Yash Chopra Memorial Award during a ceremony which will be held on February 25. 
The award commemorates the late director-producer by honouring excellence in various spheres of cinema like acting and music.

Business & Economy

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today announced that the Cabinet has approved the merger of State Bank of India with its 5 subsidiary banks. 
The associate banks include State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Travancore, and State Bank of Hyderabad. 
The proposal was cleared by SBI last year.
India's foodgrain production is expected to rise by 8.1% from last year to a record high of 271.98 million tonnes. 
The rise has been attributed to good monsoon rains, which have ultimately improved yields. 
The production of wheat is likely to rise by 4.7% from last year to 96.64 million tonnes, Agriculture Ministry announced in a statement.
Tata Motors today announced a partnership with technology major Microsoft to develop India's first cloud-connected smart cars. 
The first vehicle showcasing the companies' technology will be unveiled at the Geneva International Motor Show on March 7 under the newly launched 'TAMO' brand. 
This comes after Tata Motors said it would premiere its first sports car 'Futuro' at the event.

Science & Technology

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has released a video footage from the onboard camera of the PSLV-C37, providing a ‘selfie’ view of the 104 satellite launch mission. 
Note : ISRO created history by successfully launching 104 earth-observation satellites, which were placed in their orbits within 28 minutes, on a single mission on February 15.

Question of the Day

How many foreign satellites has ISRO launched since 1999 ?
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched a total of 180 foreign satellites through its launch vehicles since 1999.
The US has been the biggest customer of the Indian space agency with 114 satellites launched while Canada comes second on the list with 11 launches. 
Important Note :  India became the sixth nation to launch its own rocket in 1980.

Click here to download 17th February Review in English

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