Notes:
The National conference on “Agriculture 2022- Doubling Farmers’ Income” has started at National Agriculture Science Complex (NASC) in New Delhi on February 19, 2018. It is organized by the Union Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW). The 2-day conference is organized with a view to identifying various critical issues relating to agriculture and farmers’ welfare and finding appropriate solutions. The main aim of the conference is to build a consensus around appropriate recommendations that will help in shaping the vision of the government. The participants of conference comprising farmers, farmers’ associations, scientists, economists, trade industry, NGOs and policymakers. In the Budget 2018, the government has proposed fixing of the minimum support price of Kharif crops at least 1.5 times over the cost of production.

Notes:
The Union Water Resources ministry is holding the regional conference of southern states in Hyderabad on February 20, 2018 to resolve the pending inter-state water issues. During the meeting, issues such as the implementation of the latest orders of the Supreme Court on sharing of Cauvery waters, interlinking of rivers like Godavari-Cauvery, notification of jurisdiction of Krishna and Godavari Water Management Boards, Polavaram Project are among issues scheduled to come up for discussion. Ministers and Principal Secretaries of Water Resources of Six southern states – Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana are scheduled to take part in the meeting which will be chaired by Minister of State for Water Resources Arjun Ram Meghwal.

Notes:
The Union Government has constituted a committee headed by Rajiv Kumar, the Vice Chairman of the NITI Aayog, to study the Brahmaputra and flood control measures in Assam and neighboring states .

Notes:
The UK – India Joint research projects on ‘Water Quality Research’ and ‘Energy Demand Reduction in Built Environment’ were launched in New Delhi on February 20, 2018. The projects were jointly launched by NITI Aayog member Dr V K Saraswat, Department of Science and Technology Secretary Ashutosh Sharma and Research Councils UK- India Director Daniel Shah. The Water Quality Research programme has 8 projects and ‘Energy Demand Reduction in Built Environment’ programme has four projects, with a total joint investment of up to 15 million British Pound. These projects aim to deliver mutual benefits and research solutions not only to the UK and India but also to address shared global sustainable development goals of clean water and clean energy.

Notes:
Noted violinist M.S. Anantharaman (94), an exponent of Parur style of violin playing, has passed away in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on February 19, 2018. The Parur School is known for its violin recital by mixing the basic features of Carnatic and Hindustani styles.

Notes:
Roger Federer, a Swiss professional tennis player, has won the 2018 Rotterdam Open men’s singles tennis tournament by defeating Grigor Dimitrov in the final by 6-2-6-2 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was his 97th career title. This was Federer’s 3rd title in Rotterdam following successes in 2005 and 2012. In the Open era, only American Jimmy Connors has won more titles than Federer, with 109.

Notes:
Star India, the official broadcaster for the Indian Premier League (IPL), has got the audio-visual production rights of the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL-2018). The 2018 IPL will be held in Mumbai, Maharashtra from April 7 to May 27. The announcement was made on February 19 when the BCCI opened the bids for the audio-visual production rights for the IPL and the 2018-19 domestic cricket season.

Notes:
Milkbasket, India’s first and largest micro-delivery platform, has been recognised as ‘Startup of the Year’ 2017 at the 7th Small Business Awards held in New Delhi. The startup of the year award is dedicated to young SMEs, aged 7 years or less, with great potential to become big in local/international markets.

Notes:
India will be the global host of 2018 World Environment Day (WED), which is scheduled to be held on June 5, 2018. The theme “Beat Plastic Pollution” urges governments, industry, communities, and individuals to come together and explore sustainable alternatives and urgently reduce the production and excessive use of single-use plastic polluting our oceans, damaging marine life and threatening human health. The World Environment Day is a UN Environment-led global event and is the single largest celebration of our environment each year.

Notes:
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri has won the best film award at the 71st British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England on February 18, 2018. The movie was directed by Martin McDonagh. The movie is about a woman seeking justice for her daughter’s murder.