1st February 2016 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• The first part of the Oxford English Dictionary was published on this day (1st February) in the year 1884. 
• Published originally as 'A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles', it was called the 'Oxford English Dictionary' for the first time in 1895.
• Under the editorship of James Murray, the final and 126th part of the dictionary was published in 1928, 44 years after publication began.
• The parliamentary session that will install Myanmar's first democratically elected government in over 50 years began today, with majority members from pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party. 
• Note : Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won 80% of the total elected seats in the elections. 
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has asked all countries, including India, to introduce age-classified ratings for films and other entertainment programmes with tobacco imagery to restrict the number of new adolescent smokers.

MOUs

• India and Afghanistan today signed a MOU for Visa-Free Travel for diplomats. 
• The MOU was signed following Afghanistan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 
• Note : Abdullah is in India primarily to attend a conference on counter-terrorism to be held in Jaipur tomorrow.

National Affairs

• Today (1st February) is 39th Indian Coast Guard Day.
  
• Important Points to Note :
• The interim Indian Coast Guard came into being on 1 February 1977, equipped with two small corvettes and five patrol boats transferred from the Navy.
• The duties and functions of the service were formally defined in the Coast Guard Act, which was passed by India's parliament on 18 August 1978 and came into immediate effect.
• Rajasthan government today issued a notification setting ₹5,642 per month as minimum wage for domestic helps in the state.
• The state also limited the working hours of domestic help to 8 hours/day. 
• This rule is applicable from 1st January 2016. 
• According to a report released by by IndiaSpend, Meghalaya has emerged as India’s fastest-growing state, with a growth rate of 9.7% in 2013-14. 
• In a landmark judgement, the Delhi High Court today stated that the eldest woman of a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) can be its 'karta'. 
• The court has quoted Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act to make this landmark judgement.
• The karta of a family has superior powers in family matters including those related to property. 
• Usually, the first-born male member of an HUF becomes its karta.
• 50% of government jobs in Assam will be reserved for women, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi announced today. 
• To stop female infants from being abandoned in unsafe places, the Rajasthan Health Department has come up with an initiative called 'Ashray'. 
• Under the initiative, the government will place specifically designed cradles in 65 state hospitals. 
• The cradle comes fitted with an alarm that rings two minutes after the baby is placed in it.

Places in News

• India's first underwater restaurant, the 'Real Poseidon' opened today in Ahmedabad. 
• Created 20 feet below ground level, the restaurant spreads across 3,000 square feet and offers a view of around 4,000 fish and marine species. 
• The government is planning to establish India's first railway university at Vadodara.

People in News

• The first India-born woman in space, Kalpana Chawla, died on this day (1st February) in the year 2003, while returning to the Earth in the space shuttle Columbia along with six other astronauts on board. 
• Born in Haryana in 1962, Chawla moved to the United States in 1982 and joined NASA in 1988. 
• She was posthumously awarded NASA's Space Flight Medal and Distinguished Service Medal.

Science & Technology

• Microsoft today unveiled a new research initiative 'Project Natick'.
• Under this initiative, it is planning to build underwater datacenters. 

New Appointments

• Senior IFS officer Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi has been appointed India's next Ambassador to Mexico.
• Pardeshi, a 1991-batch IFS officer, is currently posted as Joint Secretary (Passport division) in the Ministry of External Affairs here.
• Government has also appointed P Harish, a 1990-batch IFS officer, as India's next Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
• He is currently posted as Consul General in Houston, the US.
• Archana Ramasundaram was appointed as the Sashastra Seema Bal Chief toay. 
• A 1980-batch IPS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, Ramasundaram was earlier serving as the Director of National Crime Records Bureau.
• Important Note : This is the first time in India that a woman has been appointed to head a paramilitary force.

Business & Economy

• Finance Ministry has reduced the gross budgetary support to the railways to ₹32,000 from ₹40,000 crore announced in the railway budget. 
• The support was slashed by ₹12,000 crore in November, citing low spending by Railways in first six months of the fiscal.
•  But, the reduction was reduced to ₹8,000 crore after the railways sent an explanation to the government.
• Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today tabled interim budget of over 33 thousand 687 crore rupees for the first six months of the next financial year. 
• Highlights :
• The interim budget proposed 1 thousand crore rupees package for the upliftment of tribal communities, people living in char areas and other backward communities.
• Another 1000 crore rupees have been earmarked under Assam Vikash Yojna for economic empowerment of BPL families. 
• The reservation of women in government job will be increased to 50 percent. 
• Assam Silk Outreach Mission will be taken up at the cost of 2400 crore rupees. 
• The budget also proposed to set up a youth council for the holistic development of youths of the state.

Deaths

• Well known Telugu litterateur Nayani Krishnakumari (86) passed away.
• Daughter of legendary writer Nayani Subbarao, she began writing stories with a history of Andhraites called Andhrula Katha when she was 18.
• BBC presenter Terry Wogan (77), one of British television's most familiar faces and the long-running anchor of its Eurovision coverage passed away.
• Veteran Malayalam cinema-television actor G Krishna Pillai passed away.
• He was popularly known as Kollam G K Pillai.

Sports

• After scoring a total of 199 runs in three T20Is against Australia at an average of 199.00, Virat Kohli today became the top-ranked T20I batsman in the world. 
• Note : Kohli replaced Australia's Aaron Finch at the top of the list. 
• Former Indian cricketer, Virender Sehwag today appointed as the new mentor for Indian Premier League (IPL) outfit, Kings XI Punjab for the forthcoming ninth season of the league. 
• Note : Sehwag played for the Kings XI Punjab in the 2014 and 2015 editions of the IPL.
• In their final group match of the ICC Under-19 World Cup, India U-19 defeated Nepal U-19 by seven wickets today. 
• The International Swimming Federation today named Fukuoka, Japan, to host the 2021 world aquatics championships, .
• Note : Doha, the capital of Qatar, was chosen to host the event in 2023

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