World
Today (Last Day of February) is Rare Disease Day.
This day aims to raise awareness about relatively unknown diseases and their impact.
Started as a European event, over 80 countries across the world have joined the campaign.
Note : According to the World Health Organisation, a disease found in less than 6.5-10 people per 10,000 people is defined as rare.
Theme of Rare Disease Day 2017 : research
World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva is on the official visit to India.
This is her first official visit.
During this visit, she will meet senior policy makers and inspect projects assisted by the multilateral agency.
She is scheduled to meet Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and RBI Governor Urjit Patel.
In Mumbai, she will also visit the operations of the World Bank-supported suburban rail system and a school serving low-income households.
She will be accompanied by Annette Dixon, World Bank Vice President for South Asia.
Queen Elizabeth II today hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace to launch the UK-India Year of Culture 2017
Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is representing the Indian government.
Former cricketer Kapil Dev, musician Anoushka Shankar and actors Kamal Hassan and Kunal Nayyar were also present.
US President Donald Trump's administration is considering to withdraw the country's participation from the UN Human Rights Council over its alleged inefficiencies and anti-Israel behaviour.
Hungary has started building the second fence along its border with Serbia to stop migrants from freely entering the country.
The decision has been criticised by human rights groups.
Hungary earlier built a border fence at its borders with Serbia and Croatia in 2015.
India
Today (28th February 2016) is National Science Day.
On this day, the nation pays tributes to the legacy of the great scientist, Dr C V Raman, who brought Nobel Prize in Science to Asia and India for the first time for his ground-breaking achievement of the Raman effect.
Professor Raman disclosed this discovery to the world on 28th of February, 1928 and he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930.
In 1986, The National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) had urged the Indian government to declare February 28 as National Science Day.
Theme of National Science Day 2017 : ‘Science and Technology for Specially Abled Persons’
Thiruvananthapuram has been ranked first among the 21 Indian cities that were tested on urban governance parameters, according to the latest survey by Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy.
Pune and Kolkata were respectively ranked second and third in the survey.
Mumbai bagged the fourth spot while Delhi was ninth in the list.
Chandigarh was ranked the lowest.
Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju today inaugurated India’s first integrated heliport in Rohini, New Delhi.
The ₹100-crore project, built by Pawan Hans Limited, will feature nine parking bays, and an air-conditioned passenger terminal which can hold up to 150 people.
The heliport is expected to reduce congestion at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport.
India's largest paramilitary force, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), has been rendered without a regular chief after its Director General (DG) K Durga Prasad retired without a successor being named.
However, the Home Ministry has issued an order giving CRPF Additional DG Sudeep Lakhtakia an additional charge of the post of DG till the appointment of a regular successor.
Awards & Honors
Former Indian women's cricketer Shantha Rangaswamy has become the 1st female cricketer to be nominated for the BCCI Lifetime Achievement Award.
Rangaswamy will receive the award at the BCCI Annual Awards 2016-17 on March 8.
Note : She was the first Indian women's cricket team captain and the first woman cricketer to win the Arjuna Award.
Science & Technology
INS Viraat, the second aircraft carrier in the Indian naval fleet, will be decommissioned on March 6, Vice Admiral Girish Luthra announced today.
Important Points to Note about INS Viraat :
INS Viraat holds a Guinness world record for being the oldest surviving aircraft carrier.
It was first commissioned in the Indian Navy in 1987 after serving the United Kingdom's Royal Navy for 27 years.
The Indian Air Force is preparing a security web with the Israeli SPYDER air defence missile system on the borders with Pakistan to tackle any aircraft, cruise missile or drone that tries to violate Indian airspace.
SPYDER is a low-level, quick reaction missile to neutralise hostile targets up to 15 km away and at heights between 20 and 9,000 metres.
NASA has kick-started a study to understand the feasibility of manned missions into deep space, farther than the Moon.
With an aim to launch two astronauts by mid-2019 in a 70,000-km-orbit around the Moon, the study will assess the pros and cons of adding crew to a deep space mission, giving critical insights on future manned missions to Mars.
New Appointments
The Ministry of External Affairs has appointed the 1992 batch Indian Foreign Service officer Gopal Baglay as the new MEA Spokesperson.
He has replaced Vikas Swarup, who has been appointed as the Indian High Commissioner to Canada.
The Spanish government has appointed a 'Sex Tsar' to combat Spain's falling birth rate.
Senator and demographics expert Edelmira Diz, has been appointed as, is tasked with drafting a strategy against imbalances and identifying the reason behind the declining birth rate.
Note : In 2016, Spain reported more deaths than births for the first time since World War II.
Sports Current Affairs
Indian shuttlers Tarun Kona and Alwin Francis have today won the Men's doubles title (Gold) at the 2017 Uganda International Series today.
India's Jitu Rai won the Bronze medal in the men's 10-metre air pistol event at the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup in New Delhi today.
Important Note : Earlier, Jitu had won the gold medal in the 10-metre air pistol mixed event alongside Heena Sidhu.
Indian shooter Ankur Mittal won silver in the men's Double Trap event at the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi today.
Military teams from around the globe are participating in the World Winter Games being held in the southern Russian city of Sochi.
International Military Sports Council, which is among the world's largest sporting committees, is organising the games.
Over 400 military athletes from 26 countries will compete in seven disciplines, which include the biathlon, alpine skiing and indoor climbing.
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