Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2018

Notes:
The Telangana Government has signed a technology partnership agreement with the Taiwanese city of Taoyuan to facilitate learning and knowledge sharing in emerging technologies and their implementation at the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) 2018 in Hyderabad on February 21. Taoyuan is a hub for firms working in new-age technologies such as robotics and IoT (Internet of Things). Therefore, the partnership would promote knowledge sharing between various entities. It would provide insights into implementation of IoT, robotics and other emerging technologies, including VR/AR in governance and for offering government-to-citizen services. The WCIT, which was conducted in India for the first time, was a grand success with about 2,500 delegates attending it.

Notes:
The 23rd edition of the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT-2019) will be held in Yerevan, Armenia. The WCIT is the largest and the most reputable international event among worldwide IT leaders. It brings together high-level officials from different countries, heads of multinational organizations, universities and scientific research centers, non-governmental organizations’ representatives and many more. The event includes discussions of legal, political and economic trends affecting IT business processes, presentations of innovative solutions, B2B meetings and so on. The WCIT 2019 will be the first Congress being held in Europe since 2010.

Notes:
The 2018 SAARC Business Leaders’ Conclave will be held in Kathmandu, Nepal from March 16 to 18, with an objective to promote investment, innovation and entrepreneurship in the region. The bi-annual event of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SAARC-CCI) is going to be held in Nepal for the second time and the government is going to host the regional event jointly with SAARC-CCI. Former President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, has been invited to deliver a keynote speech in the conclave. Former president of Sri Lanka Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has also been invited to address the meet. Top-notch business people from the region will be addressing the conclave. India has so far conducted this event three times, and Nepal and Sri Lanka have organised it once so far.

Notes:
The 4th edition of Economic Times – Global Business Summit (ET-GBS 2018) was held in New Delhi with theme “New Economy – New Rules” on February 23-24. The GBS is a flagship initiative of the Times Group that envisions to bring together visionaries, thought leaders, heads of state, policy makers, academicians and corporate heads cohesively driving a singular agenda for Scripting Economic Change, by connecting the building blocks of Economics for India and the Globe. It is a platform with multitude of policy makers and industry leaders under one roof.

Notes:
TSR Subramanian (79), the former Cabinet secretary of India, has passed away in New Delhi on February 26, 2018. He served as the cabinet secretary from 1996 to 1998. Subramanian worked hard to protect the bureaucracy from political interference. He was part of a group of bureaucrats that filed a PIL seeking directions from the Supreme Court for insulating bureaucracy from political interference following which the Supreme Court rolled out key civil services reforms in 2013. He was a 1961 batch IAS officer from Uttar Pradesh Cadre. He also wrote several books on India and governance such as “India at Turning Point: The Road to Good Governance”, “GovernMint In India: An Inside View” and “Journeys Through Babudom and Netaland: Governance in India”.

Notes:
Bhanu Kumar Shastri (93), the founder member of Bharatiya Jana Sangh and former MP, has passed away in Udaipur, Rajasthan on February 24, 2018. He was the member of Lok Sabha from Udaipur in Rajasthan and was also chairman of Khadi Board.

Notes:
The Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Ltd (ABIPBL) has become the 5th entity to begin operations as a payments bank with effect from February 22, 2018. The ABIPBL is a joint venture between Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd (51%) and Ideal Cellular (49%). The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a licence to the bank under Section 22 (1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to carry on the business of payments bank in India. The other payments banks that have started operations include Airtel Payments Bank Ltd, India Post Payments Bank Ltd, Paytm Payments Bank Ltd and Fino Payments Bank Ltd. The other applicants that are yet to set up payments bank include Vodafone m-Pesa Ltd, Reliance Industries Ltd and National Securities Depository Ltd.

Notes:
Sagar Chaya Vanchar, director of Marathi film ‘Redu’ (Radio), has bagged the prestigious Aravindan Puraskaram for the best debutant director of 2017, instituted in memory of iconic Malayalam filmmaker late G Aravindan. The award, comprising a cash prize of Rs 25,000, a memento and a citation, is instituted by the Chalachitra Film Society. The expert panel observed that Vanchari’s film expresses the ripples and changes that resulted in the life of a rural Konkan village during the seventies after the arrival of a radio in the hamlet. The award will be presented on March 15, 2018, on the 27th death anniversary of Aravindan.

Notes:
The 15th Edition of BioAsia conference 2018 was held in Hyderabad with theme “Right Time, Right Now” from February 22-24. It is the annual flagship life sciences and pharmaceuticals conference of the Telangana Government. About 1500 delegates from 55 countries participated in the 3-day conference with focus on strategies to take on the rapid phase of change, ways to develop new models for distribution and healthcare delivery, among others. In it, Ireland, Netherlands and South Africa were the International Partners while Gujarat, Assam and Rajasthan were the partner states for this event.

Notes:
Television journalist Rahul Mahajan has been appointed as the new editor-in-chief of the television channel Rajya Sabha TV. He is currently a consulting editor in Prasar Bharati. Mahajan has been a journalist for 26 years, starting off with Hindi daily ‘Jansatta’. He later branched out to television news. He worked with leading Hindi television channels such as Aaj Tak, Zee News and Star News.