February 19 Current Affairs

State :

Tamilnadu :

Experts from IIT(M)-incubated firm test stability of school building

• Experts from Chennai-based Concrete Quality Concepts Limited, a company incubated by the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, have launched tests to assess the stability of the recently constructed ground plus two-storey building at Thinaikulam Government Higher Secondary School in the district  apprehensions that the building was unsafe for students.

Reduce demand with water-saving techniques

•  “All the Cauvery Basin States should reduce the demand for water by introducing cropping patterns requiring less water and by adopting drip irrigation and other water-saving techniques,” Agriculture expert M.S. Swaminathan said said .

NHAI mulls kiosks near toll plazas

• Toll plazas in Tamil Nadu, which are run by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), will have kiosks where people can halt and refresh themselves. Called ‘Highway Nest – Mini’ — these kiosks will sell packed food, beverages and water.Called Highway Nest Mini, these outlets will sell packaged food, water, coffee and tea .

Kerala :

Kuthiran left tunnel ready

• The construction of one of the two tunnels to avert traffic congestion in the Kuthiran hill region of the busy National Highway 544 stretch between Palakkad and Thrissur is almost complete and it will be opened for road users soon after the mandatory safety inspections.Work on right tunnel will be completed by April end .

Nitish’s JD(U) not to be part of NDA in State

•  the JD(U) Kerala unit did not agree with the polices raised by the BJP leadership in the State.“Our party is a product of the socialist movement. We cannot accept the decisions of the BJP in Kerala,” Chief general secretary and national spokesperson K.C. Tyagi  said .

2 CPI(M) workers arrested for Shuhaib murder

•  The police team probing the murder of Youth Congress worker S.V. Shuhaib at Edayannur here on February 12 said that two Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] workers suspected to have links with the murder were arrested .
• The two were captured after a massive combing operation conducted by the police in suspected hideouts in the area. The two were being questioned in detail, District Police Chief Shiva Vikram G said.

 

Andhra pradesh :

 Warning signals from an insider

• The claims and counter-claims on the implementation of the A.P. Reorganisation Act has apparently blanketed the saner voices within the establishment . Bloated growth rate will have serious consequences’

• The officer said it was going to be a waterloo for the government, which had been basically ill-advised to choose Amaravati as the location for the construction of the capital city.

Roadshows in metros to promote Partnership Summit

• The Industries Department will organise roadshows at all metro cities in the country to galvanise support of entrepreneurs for the Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam from February 24 to 26. Industries and Commerce Commissioner Siddharth Jain will take part in the roadshows, which will be conducted from February 19 to 22.

Karnataka :

Farmers’ leader Puttannaiah dead

• Farmers’ leader K.S. Puttannaiah, MLA, died of a massive cardiac arrest here late night . He was 68.

AnantKumar Hegde kicks up another row

• Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship AnantKumar Hegde has kicked up another row. This time, by making a controversial remark on the way people speak Kannada.His remark on the way people speak Kannada draws flak .

Assault of youth in Bengaluru

• Assaulting a youth at a restaurant in UB City, Bengaluru, Mohammed Nalapad Haris, son of MLA N.A. Haris, surrendered to the Cubbon Park police on february 19 .Mohammad Nalapad and his friends allegedly attacked Vidvat, son of a businessman in the city, for not “sitting properly” at a restaurant on the second floor of UB City with his friend.

INDIA :

Rotomac owner's 'wilful loan default' pegged at ₹3,695 crore

• The CBI has registered a case of 3,695-crore wilful bank loan defaults involving Rotomac owner Vikram Kothari and others.Vikram Kothari, wife and son are being questioned in Kanpur

• The loans in question were availed from several public sector banks, including Bank of India, Allahabad Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of Baroda and Union Bank of India.

Submit action plan on use of fly ash, says NGT

• The National Green Tribunal has directed all States and Union Territories to submit an action plan on the usage of fly ash that is generated from thermal power plants. we direct the Ministry to expedite the matter and collect the action plan from the States immediately,” the Bench said

New Zealand defence chief raises India’s role in IOR

As India expands its influence in southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean Region, New Zealand’s Chief of DefenceForce Lt. Gen. Tim Keating has sought clarity on a probable military component to New Delhi’s ‘Act East’ policy.Lt. Gen. Keating to meet Defence Minister, security officials .

Foreign Secretary, Army chief, NSA visited Bhutan

• Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, General Bipin Rawat and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval visited Bhutan in the first fortnight of this month for bilateral discussions, sources said.
• The high-level meeting, a first since the Doklam standoff between India and China last year, yielded a “positive” outcome.

WORLD :

Pakistan PM reluctant to take stern action against JuD

• Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi reversed his decision to take stern action against Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD)and Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation (FiF) fearing that any such move could trigger a political crisis, a media report said .Abbasi says Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal has opined that a ban now will invite a crisis similar to the one in November.

Crisis deepens as another Afghan Governor refuses to resign

• A Governor in northern Afghanistan became the second in the region to defy an order by President Ashraf Ghani to step down, deepening a political crisis facing the government in Kabul. Jamiat in a statement on February 19 said his removal was “unjustified and yet another step toward increasing tension in the country”.

Sampanthan slams Rajapaksa for Tamil Eelam remarks

• Leader of Opposition and senior Tamil politician R. Sampanthan said he was “alarmed” at former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s recent pre-poll campaign in which he told the Sinhalese electorate that “a Tamil Eelam would bloom following the local authority elections”.Emphasises that contrary to what the former President claims, his party seeks solution within the framework of ‘a single, undivided country’.

 Buissness :

Gitanjali Gems officials quit

• Two key officials of Gitanjali Gems Ltd. have quit. The company informed stock exchanges that CFO Chadrakant Karkare and vice-president (compliance) and company secretary Pankhuri Warange had resigned.Company secretary concerned over absence of disclosures’.

Bhushan Steel soars 20% on takeover bids by Tata Steel, others

• Shares of Bhushan Steel on Monday soared nearly 20% after the company said Tata Steel, JSW Living Pvt Ltd and a consortium of the company’s own employees have submitted bids to take over its assets.
• The company, in a filing to the BSE, said, as part of the resolution process, “the resolution professional (RP) has received resolution plans from Tata Steel, JSW Living Private Ltd and Employees of Bhushan Steel Ltd. JSW Living Pvt Ltd is a joint venture between JSW and Piramal Enterprises .

Science :

Physicists gather to analyse solar cycles

• “One of the oldest modern observatories was first set up in Madras by William Petrie. Known as the Madras Observatory, it was what gave birth to the Kodaikanal Solar Observatory (KSO) which has been collecting images of the sun for over a hundred years,” said professor Siraj Hasan, former director of Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru .

Sports :

Real Madrid wins eight-goal thriller

• Man of the moment Marco Asensio scored twice and Cristiano Ronaldo was also on target as Real Madrid kept up the feel-good factor with a thrilling 5-3 victory at Real Betis in La Liga  night .Asensio, Ramos, Ronaldo and Benzema come to the party against Real Betis .

Managed short-pitched balls pretty well

• The impressive performance in the ongoing South Africa tour has helped improve Indian batsmen’s reputation of not being good players of short-pitched balls, pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar has said .

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