Notes:
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.

Notes:
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.

Notes:
Chandrasekhar Rath (89), the doyen of Odia literature, has passed away in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on February 10, 2018. Rath was conferred with several awards, including Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award and Atibadi Jagannath Das Samman for his contribution in the field of literature. The writer was nominated for the prestigious Padma Shri award this year.

Notes:
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.

Notes:
R.K Singh, the Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, has launched a web-based monitoring System and a Fly Ash mobile application “ASH TRACK” in New Delhi on February 8, 2018. These platforms will enable better management of the ash produced by thermal power plants by providing an interface between fly ash producers (Thermal Power Plants) and potential ash users such as – road contractors, cement plants etc. The app will show coal based power plants situated within the radius of 100 km and 300 km from the user’s location. Therefore, any app user can select power station from where he wants to take fly ash. Ash availability, distance from user’s location, details of contact person will be displayed in the app.

Notes:
The South Central Railway (SCR) has become the first railway zone in India to complete 100% LED lighting at all the 733 stations under its jurisdiction. Division wise details of LED stations includes Secunderabad -162, Hyderabad -100,Vijayawada -158, Guntakal -157, Guntur -76and Nanded -80 Stations. This provision of LED lighting is expected to save 32 lakh units of electrical energy worth Rs 2.7 crore per year.

Notes:
Biswamohan Mahapatra has been appointed as non-executive chairman of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for a period of two years, with effect from February 8, 2018. He succeeded B Sambamurthy, who was the interim chairman of the NPCI board. Apart from him, Dilip Asbe is the Managing Director & CEO of the organisation.

Notes:
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”.

Notes:
Hardayal Prasad has been appointed as the new Managing Director & CEO of the SBI Card with effect from February 1, 2018. He succeeded Vijay Jasuja, who retired on January 31, 2018. SBI Card has a customer base of over 5.7 million and a market share of 16%.

Notes:
The Almatti Dam is a hydroelectric project on the Krishna River in North Karnataka, which was completed in July 2005. Geographically, it is located in the Bijapur district. The target annual electric output of the dam is 560 MU. The dam holds a gross water storage capacity of 123.08 TMC at 519 meters MSL.