Notes:
Vinod Kumar Jain, the former Professor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), has been appointed as the new Vice Chancellor of the Tezpur University. He will serve as the vice-chancellor for a period of five years from the date he takes charge until he attains the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier. Prof Jain was conferred D Phil from the Sussex University, Brighton UK in 1982. He served as a scientist, class I (1983-1985) in the Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) New Delhi before joining JNU’s School of Environmental Sciences as an associate professor in 1985. Prof Jain has been actively involved in research activities for the past 36 years.

Notes:
The third-edition of international conference and exhibition on pharmaceuticals industry and medical devices- India Pharma 2018 and India Medical Device 2018 – has started in Bengaluru, Karnataka on February 15, 2018. It was inaugurated by Ananth Kumar, Union Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, with the theme – ‘Affordable & Quality Healthcare’. The key highlight of the conference is a workshop by World Health Organization (WHO) on “Regulatory System Strengthening and Prequalification updated by WHO”. The 3-day event is being organized by Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, in collaboration with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). More than 20 international drug and device regulators will participate in a meet with Indian regulators.

Notes:
The world’s tallest hotel ‘Gevora’ has opened in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on February 11, 2018. The gleaming gold 75-storey Gevora Hotel stands 356 metres, or nearly a quarter of a mile, tall. The hotel has 528 guest rooms and suites and four restaurants. It has 232 Deluxe Rooms, 265 one-bed room deluxe and 31 two-bedroom suites. It also have a pool, jacuzzi and health club as well as a luxury spa. Dubai is also home to the world’s tallest building “Burj Khalifa”, which pierces the city skyline at 828 metres (half a mile) high.

Notes:
Haruhiko Kuroda has been reappointed as the governor of Bank of Japan (BOJ) for second five-year term by the Government of Japan. His second term will come into force when the current one ends in April 2018. Kuroda will be first governor to serve two terms since 1954. The Bank of Japan is the central bank of Japan and it is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

Notes:
The 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO-2018) will be hosted by China in the city of Qingdao in June, 2018. China had taken over the rotating chair of SCO after the17th SCO summit 2017, which was held in Astana, Kazakhstan in June 2017. The SCO is consists of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan. The SCO focuses on security- related issues of the region especially on counter terrorism cooperation.

Notes:
The World Sustainable Development Summit – 2018 has inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on February 16, which has been organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) to discuss frameworks to resolve climate change crises in developing countries. The theme of the 2018 Summit is – Partnerships for a Resilient Planet – which seeks to create action frameworks to resolve some of the most urgent challenges facing developing economies in the backdrop of climate change. The 3-day summit will see participation from over 41 countries, bringing together different stakeholders in the fields of sustainable development, energy and environment sectors. The conference will address a wide variety of issues, including combating land degradation and air pollution, effective waste management and create financial mechanisms to enable effective climate change mitigation.

Notes:
Cyril Ramaphosa, head of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), has been sworn-in as the new President of South Africa on 15 February 2018. He was elected as the fifth president of South Africa by the ruling party politicians after the resignation of Jacob Zuma. Ramaphosa, who is an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader and businessman, served as the Deputy President of South Africa from 2014 to 2018.

Notes:
Sanjiv Bajaj, managing director of Bajaj Finserv, has been named the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 for solutions in lending, life and general insurance and wealth advisory. He will represent India at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award (WEOY) in Monte Carlo from June 13, 2018. Dr. E Sreedharan was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for transforming the face of public transportation in India.

Notes:
Khwaja Haleem (78), the former Uttar Pradesh minister and senior Samajwadi Party leader, has passed away in New Delhi on February 16, 2018. Haleem, who belongs to a family of freedom fighters, completed his masters’ degree from the Aligarh Muslim University in 1969. He started his political career with the Youth Congress in the early 1970s.He later joined the Lok Dal and was elected to the Vidhan Sabha from Aligarh Assembly constituency in 1980. He remained a Mulayam Singh loyalist ever since, and was elected twice for the Vidhan Parishad. In 1990, Haleem was appointed as the chairman of Uttar Pradesh Minority Commission and was the member of the Samajwadi Party Central Committee for nearly two decades. In 2014, he was appointed as advisor in tourism department by then chief minister Akhilesh Singh Yadav.

Notes:
The Bheemgarh dam is built across the Wainganga river in Chhapara tehsil of Seoni district of Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The dam is also known as Sanjay Sarovar Bandh and Upper Wainganga dam. It is known as the biggest Mud / Earthen dam of Asia. It is bounded by mountains from all sides