Current Affairs Today – February 29 2016

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INDIAN AFFAIRS

Union Budget 2016 – 17

On 29th February 2016, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented his third Union Budget for 2016-17 citing the acceleration of GDP growth to 7.6%. CPI inflation has come down to 5.4%.

• Union Budget comes into effect from April 1.

President inaugurates India’s first IT Park by labour cooperative & Kerala Tourism’s Muziris Heritage Project

President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated UL Cyber Park under the Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society in Kozhikode, Kerala.

• The park to come in 25 acre land and the estimated cost of 270 crore at Nellikode in Kozhikode district.
• The IT Park will provide Direct Employment to 4500 people in the first phase, indirect employment to 20,000 people, the park will export IT solutions and products to United States

Madhya Pradesh presented State budget of 2016-17

Finance minister Jayant Malaiya proposed the Madhya Pradesh state budget in legislative assembly in Bhopal on Friday. The budget estimates for 1.58 lakh crores.

• Total revenue receipts of the year 2016-17 estimates to be 14 crores which includes46500 crores as State’s own tax revenue, 43676.36 crores as share from Central taxes,11481.63 crores as Non-tax revenue and 24437.15 crores from Central Grants

Punjab Government ban the sale of Army uniform in the state

Punjab government imposed a ban on the sale of Army uniform in the state without proper identification. This announcement came following the Pathankot and Gurdaspur attacks in the state.

• It becomes mandatory to submit the Phone number and Self attested copy of identity card to the seller to buy Army uniform
• This rule came into force as some terrorists disguised themselves in Army uniform during the recent Pathankot and Gurdaspur attacks in Punjab
• The ban also includes the sale of red and blue stickers used by police vehicles
• The government also prohibited the use of plates of political parties on vehicles
• These orders would remain in force till 21^st April,2016

India-US set up space cooperation mechanism

India and United States of America has  set up bilateral mechanism for sharing information for tracking movements of satellites, avoiding collisions and identifying potential threads to space and ground assets.

• Indian and American Delegations were met here to explore an arrangement for Space Situational Awareness (SSA).
• America has so far inked 12 SSA agreements with other countries and intergovernmental organizations and 51 commercial agencies.
• In addition India is setting Sate of the Art Data reception Centre Tracking and Telemetry Station in Vietnam, which will be linked with existing similar type of Centre in Indonesia.

United State of America:

• Capital:  Washington D.C.
• Currency: United States Dollar
• President: Barack Obama

BANKING & FINANCE

BRICS Bank to provide its first loan to India on Solar project

The NDB which is likely to begin its operations in 2 months has decided to fund for green projects initially, with India and China in the priority list. India is likely to receive loan for its solar project in April from the NDB.

• The National Development Bank (NDB) set up by the BRICS nations was formed in July 2015 with V.Kamath as its president

FDI up 40% to $29.44b in April-December FY16

Foreign Direct Investment into the country has increased by 40 % to $ 29.44 billion in April- December in the current fiscal against $ 21. 04 billion in the same period of previous fiscal.

• Union government has taken several steps to attract more investors to invest in the country.
• Economic Survey 2015-16 emphasized favorable policy regime and attractive business environment have facilitated this notable increase in FDI inflows.

BUSINESS

India top source of illicit medicine in Swiss shore

A recent report released by the Swiss customs officials told that 42% of the illicit medicines supplied to Swiss are from India.

• India accounts for 42% of the illicit medicines supplied to Switzerland while the rest of Asia accounts for 24%
• Western Europe (such as UK, Germany, Portugal) was the source for 18 per cent of such products, Eastern Europe for 8 per cent, Central and South America for 4 per cent, while other regions accounted for 4 per cent
• Major product categories that were confiscated also include sleeping tablets and tranquillizers (15 per cent), slimming preparations (13 per cent), medically important, prescription-only medicines (9 per cent), while others were 12 per cent
• The report also shows 1134 cases registered against illegally imported medicinal products in 2015

Aurobindo Pharma gets US FDA nod for anti-HIV tablets

Hyderabad based Aurobindo Pharmacy Company gets US FDA nod for ritonavir tablets used for treatment of Human Immunodeficiency virus(HIV) infection.

• United States Food and Drug Administration has given approval for Ritonavir Tablets made by Aurobindo in the strength of 100mg.

Aurobindo Pharma Company:

• The pharmacy company founded in 1986 in Hyderabad has sales revenue over $ 1.8 billion.
• The Company is among the top 10 Companies in India in terms of consolidated revenues, the company products has presence over 125 countries.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

Academy Awards aka Oscar Awards 2016

The 88^th Academy Awards ceremony was held at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. It was presented by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in 24 categories.

• Mad Max: Fury Road made a big win by bagging 6 awards.
• The Oscar ceremony was produced by David Hill and Reginald Hudlin and directed by Glenn Weiss.

Oscar winner Resul Pookutty- the First Asian to get Global Reel Award

The 44 year old Oscar winner Resul pookutty made India proud by adding one more laurel of winning  the Global Reel Award for his sound design work in the film ‘India’s Daughter’.

• Resul pookutty is an Indian film sound designer, mixer and editor
• He became the first Asian to win the Global reel award in the category Best sound for the movie ‘India’s Daughter’

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

Naveen Patnaik elected as BJD president for the 7^th consecutive term

Odisha CM, Naveen patnaik has been elected as the president of Biju Janata Dhal for the seventh consecutive time.

• The announcement was made by BJD returning officer Pratap Keshari Dev at party’s headquarters in Bhubaneshwar
• The BJD party was formed in 1997 by Naveen Patnaik following the death of Biju Patnaik
• Since then he has been elected unanimously as the leader
• He is the CM of Odisha since 2000

Rozle Prezelj elected Chairman of IAAF Athletes’ Commission

Rozle Prezelj was elected as the new chairman of the International Association of Athletics Federations Athletes Commission.

• Prezelj who represented Slovenia in the High jump has set a national record of 2.32 m in 2012.He retired from the sport in 2014.
• Three time Olympian and a European will replace Nambian Frank Fredericks with immediate effect.
• Britain’s marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe was nominated vice-chairman of the board.

International Association of Athletics Federations Athletes Commission:

• The Professional Body that governs the Sport of Athletics founded in 1912, Headquartered in Monaco.

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

Jaypee Sells Cement Biz to UltraTech for Rs 16,500 crore

Debt- laden Jayaprakash Associates Cementgroup signed a binding agreement to sell its Cement Business to India’s Largest Cement maker Ultra Tech Cement.

• The cement factories in six states for an enterprise value of Rs. 16, 500 crore , once the deal is completed Ultra Tech’s cement capacity will increase up to 90.7 mtpa from the current 68.3 mtpa( Million Tons Per Annum).
• Japee Associates has already sold two Hydropower plants in Himachal Pradesh, Cement assets in Gujarat ,Jharkhand and Haryana, also wind power assets in Gujarat and Maharashtra in past.

Ultra Tech Cement:

• Inception: 1983
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Director: Puranmalka

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Sixth Doppler radar to be commissioned in Eastern coast

New Doppler radar to be commissioned in the cyclone prone eastern coast in Gopalpur district of Odisha by the Indian Meteorological Department next month. It will be the Sixth Doppler Radar commissioned in Eastern coast of India.

• Doppler radar is an observational tool for monitoring and predicting severe weather events such as thunder storms, hailstorms, cyclones and tornados within a radius of 300 km

Twitter launches Position of Strength Campaign to Empower Women

Twitter has launched a campaign for women called #position of strength to strengthen women’s role in the society also to eliminate discrimination against them.

• The campaign having been launched in Australia and Ireland seeks to bridge the gender equality online in India.
• It will inspire the next generation of women leaders to have an influential voice in the society.
• The Micro blogging major has partnered with FICCI Ladies organisation and Observer Research Foundation to engage more women to find their voices online.
• Social Networking site also launched Twitter’s Safety Centre in Hindi.

About Twitter:

• CEO: Jack Dorsey
• Founded: 2006
• Users: 236 million active users per month

SPORTS

Wawrinka won Dubai ATP Tennis Title 2016

Swiss tennis great Stan Wawrinka ranked no 4 defeated Marcos Baghdatis of Cypriotto claim Dubai ATP title of 2016, this is Second title after having won in Chennai this January 2016.

• Wawrinka battled past a spirited Marcos to clinch this championship, Beating the Cypriot 6-4 7-6 (13) in one hour 54 minutes for his 13^th.

OBITUARY

Former minister of Maharashtra-Nihal Ahmed Maulavi Mohammed Usman Died

Socialist leader Nihal Ahmed Maulavi Mohammed Usman died at the age of 90 in Nashik.

• Popularly known as Nihalbhai, he has been selected to the legislative assembly for 3 decades contesting for ten times and winning all the ten elections between 1960-1955
• He was the former Technical and Education minister of Maharashtra
• He was the first Mayor of Malegaon Municipal Corporation
• He was the founder of Janata Dal party
• He contested in 1999 for Loksabha election but he was defeated

Malayalam director Rajesh Pillai passed away

The famous Malayalam director Rajesh Pillai died at the age of 41 in hospital following treatment for Liver Cirrhosis

• He has been affected by pneumonia when he was in post production of the film ‘Vettah’
• The movie starring Manju warrier and Kunjacko babben hit theatres two days ago
• He is also known for his trend setting movies like ‘Traffic’ and ‘Mili’

Famous Tamil Comedy Actor Kumarimuthu Passed Away

Legendary Actor – comedian Kumarimuthu died at private hospital in Chennai.He was 77.He is known for his comic laugh.

• He was passed away due to some age related ailments, His debut film was Nandu in 1981, he acted in nearly 50 films spanning over three decades.
• He was also part of the Political Party Drivida MunnetraKazhagam.