15th February 2016 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• The Seventh Joint Military Training Exercise between the Indian Army and the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces (SPDF) - LAMITYE 2016, started today at Seychelles Defence Academy (SDA), Victoria, Seychelles.
• This exercise will be held from today (15th February) to 28 February 2016. 
• The SPDF will be represented by 20 personnel from Tazar (Special Forces Unit) and 32 from Seychelles Infantry. 
• The Indian contingent will comprise of an Infantry platoon and representatives from the Special Forces. 
• Important Note : India and Seychelles have been conducting joint exercises since 2001 & ‘Exercise Lamitye’, which means friendship in Creole (local dialect), is conducted biennially with the aim of enhancing military cooperation and interoperability between the two countries. 
• Russia has decided to deliver S-300 air defense missile systems to Iran. 
• The Islamic Republic reportedly wants to buy more advanced missile systems like the S-400 system, but negotiations for their sale are currently not taking place. 
• Following international sanctions, the $800-million missile contract, signed in 2007, had been frozen since 2010.

National Affairs

• According to a government survey by the Quality Council of India, Mysuru has retained its
  
  position as the cleanest city in India, followed by Chandigarh, Tiruchirappalli, New Delhi, and Visakhapatnam. 
• Dhanbad was last in the list, while other cities in the bottom-10 include Varanasi, Patna, and Meerut. 
• The survey ranked 73 cities on the basis of cleanliness and sanitation.
• Top 10 Clean Cities in India
  
  1. Mysuru (Karnataka)
  2. Chandigarh (UT)
  3. Tiruchirapalli (Tamil Nadu)
  4. New Delhi
  5. Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh)
  6. Surat (Gujarat)
  7. Rajkot (Gujarat)
  8. Gangtok (Sikkim)
  9. Pimpri chinchwad (Maharashtra)
  10. Greater Mumbai (Maharashtra)
• The Department of Telecom (DoT) is planning to come out with a regulation in the next three months that will make it mandatory for mobile phones to support English, Hindi and one regional language. 
• The Punjab Government today banned the playing of "vulgar songs" and "provocative music" in the state-run buses with immediate effect following complaints in this regard. 
• State Transport Minister Ajit Singh Kohar warned that any bus-driver found violating the directive will face strict action.
• The National Green Tribunal (NGT) gave its approval to the controversial railway link between the Hubbali-Ankola in Karanataka, and asked the railways to approach the state Government for moving further.
• The order assumes significance as Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) last year had disapproved the 168-km rail link project, conceived in 1998 primarily to transport iron ore from the Bellary-Hospet mines, and said that it would have “huge and irreparable” ecological impact on the forests, wildlife and biodiversity of the Western Ghats

Business & Economy

• The Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has ordered the amalgamation of the crisis-hit National Spot Exchange (NSEL) with its cash-rich parent Financial Technologies (FTIL) to enable early settlement for the victims of a Rs 5,574-crore payment crisis.
• Under the government’s 'Make in India' campaign, Oracle will open its first India campus in Bengaluru.
•  Spread over 2.8 million square feet, the campus will be the largest outside Oracle’s headquarters in California, US, and will include collaboration centers, workstations, entertainment lounges, gyms and cafes. 
• Note : The company will also launch nine incubation centers in the country.
• According to a report by Monster Salary Index, the Information Technology (IT) sector is the highest paying sector in India, with average hourly salary of ₹346.42. 
• Banking, Financial services and Insurance sector emerged as the second most paying sector with ₹300.23 average hourly salary. 
• It identified manufacturing sector as the least paying sector with average hourly salary of ₹254.04.
• Japan's economy has shrunk an annualized 1.4% in the quarter ended December, following a revised 1.3% gain in the previous quarter, the Japanese government announced today. 
• Note : Japan's central bank has adopted negative interest rates last month.
• The government will soon lower its stake in state-owned banks to 51%, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced today. 
• Note : This move comes after public sector banks posted their highest-ever quarterly loss of over ₹12,867 crore for the last quarter. 

Awards & Honors

• The 69th edition of British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, was held at the Royal Opera House in London, to honour the best British and international contributions to film for the year 2015.  
• Leonardo DiCaprio was named the Best Actor for his role in 'The Revenant'. 
• Brie Larson won the 'Best Actress' award for her role in 'Room'. 
• Alejandro Iñárritu directorial 'The Revenant' won five awards including those for the 'Best Film' and 'Best Direction'.
• Check complete list of BAFTA Awards Winners List 2016 from here
• A film on conservation efforts by villagers titled 'Nagaland is changing, But...', has won the Golden Beaver Best Film Award in the institutional category at this year's 6th National Science Film Festival in Mumbai.
• This film was Directed by : Gurmeet Sapal
• Produced by : Nagaland State Forest Department

New Appointments

• Piruz Khambatta, Chairman and Managing Director of Rasna, has been appointed as the ambassador of the "Make in India" initiative by the Government of India.

People in News

• India's first transgender sub inspector Prithika Hasini‬ along with 21 other members of the community today received appointment orders.

Science & Technology

• The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is launching a 132-foot unmanned ocean drone on April 7, 2016. 
• The 140-tonne drone named Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) will help US to track down secret submarines in the ocean. 
• One of the most silent drone, the ACTUV will remain in the sea for months without any crew.

Deaths

• Noted music director Rajamani passes away in Chennai.
• He gave music for successful Malayalam films like “Ekalavyan”, “Commissioner”, “The King”, “Aram Thampuran” and “Narasimham”. 
• His last film as a composer was 2012 Malayalam romantic-drama “Hide n’ Seek”. 

Sports

• In a PSL match between Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi, Grant Elliott and Zulfiqar Babar set a new world record for the highest 10th wicket partnership in a T20 game as they scored 63 runs in 32 balls. T
• he previous best was 59 runs made by Heath Streak and James Anyon playing for Warwickshire on 1st July 2005.
• Latest Medals Tally of ‎South Asian Games2016
• India
• Gold - 181
• Silver - 87
• Bronze - 30
• Total -  298
• Sri Lanka
• Gold - 25
• Silver - 60
• Bronze - 96
• Total -  181
• Pakistan
• Gold - 10
• Silver - 35
• Bronze - 55
• Total - 100

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