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February 21, 2017

21st February 2017 Important Daily Current Affairs

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Dear Great Ambitionists, here are today's (21st February 2017) Important Current Affairs updates. Happy Reading :)

Daily Current Affairs of 21st February 2017

International Current Affairs
  • Today (21st February) is International Mother Language Day.
    • This day is observed to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.
    • First announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999, it was formally recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution establishing 2008 as the International Year of Languages.
    • February 21 was specifically chosen to mark the day in 1952 when students demonstrated for recognition of their language, Bangla as a national language in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
    • Theme of International Mother Language Day 2017 : "Towards Sustainable Futures through Multilingual Education"
  • According to a latest report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India has been the world's largest importer of major arms in the last five years.
    • India, which received most of its arms from Russia, accounted for 13% of the total global arms import between 2012-16. 
    • Note : SIPRI also revealed that the US was the top arms exporter.
  • China has appointed 1.6 metre-tall self-driving robot police officers with electric riot control tool to patrol the streets. 
    • One of the robots appointed at a Chinese railway station can facially recognise the staff with their work passes. 
    • Besides fighting crime, the robots are also capable of monitoring air quality, temperature, and track potential safety hazards, fires, and criminal activities.
  • A famine (extreme scarcity of food) has been declared in parts of South Sudan with over 1 lakh people facing starvation as a result of the country's three-year-long civil war. 
    • UN agencies have warned that an additional 10 lakh people were on the brink of famine. 
    • Note : This is the first famine to be declared since 2011 in Somalia, wherein over 25 lakh people died.
MOUs & Agreements
  • India and Rwanda today signed 3 MoUs for promoting innovation, easing visa requirements and boosting air connectivity between the two countries.
    • India-Rwanda Innovation Growth Programme was launched to expand ties in science, technology and innovation, Vice President Hamid Ansari said. 
    • India also offers fellowships and scholarships to Rwandan students to pursue higher studies in India.
National Current Affairs
  • The Kerala government is going to make a six-day anti-corruption induction training mandatory for government service officials in the state. 
    • Claimed to be the first of its kind in India, the training will be launched next week by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau. 
    • The syllabus would include lessons on good governance, anti-corruption laws and perils of corruption.
  • The government is going to set up 7 Research parks at IITs, IISc for startups to propel innovation. 
    • IIT Kharagpur already has a functional Park and the remaining will be created by Ministry of Human Resource Development at IIT Guwahati, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Kanpur, IIT Delhi and IISc Bangalore.
    • IIT Gandhinagar’s Research park is being set up by DST.
  • The Raj Bhawan in Goa has turned cashless with all their transactions including household expenses and tour expenditures shifting from regular to plastic money. 
    • Governor Mridula Sinha made the first transaction to mark the occasion. 
  • The 44th edition of world famous Khajuraho Dance Festival was held at in the backdrop of the famous Khajuraho temples in Chhatrapur district, Madhya Pradesh
    • In this edition of festival, eminent Indian classical dancers had performed. 
    • Important Points to Note :
      • Khajuraho Temples is a group of Hindu and Jain Temples in Madhya Pradesh build by Chandela Dynasty between 950 and 1050 AD. 
      • They are listed as UNESCO World heritage Site.
New Appointments
  • N Chandrasekaran today took over as Chairman of Tata Sons, the principal investment holding company for over 100 Tata firms. 
    • Important Note : Chandrasekaran will be the first non-Parsi chairman of the near 150-year-old Tata group.
  • Tata Consultancy Services today announced the appointment of V Ramakrishnan as its Chief Financial Officer effective February 21. 
    • He is going to replace Rajesh Gopinathan, who has been appointed as the CEO and MD of TCS. 
  • US President Donald Trump has named Lt Gen HR McMaster as the US National Security Adviser.
    • McMaster earlier served in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he worked on a government anti-corruption drive.
Business & Economic Affairs
  • On the occasion of its 75th Foundation Day, the Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) has launched of mobile wallet ‘Oriental Batuaa’. 
    • The bank also launched two new cards, RuPay based Platinum international debit card with airport lounge access and Oriental Prepaid Card, a RuPay card for individuals and corporates. 
    • It also launched two MSME schemes, ‘Oriental Sanjeevani’ for doctors for setting up new hospitals and clinics and ‘Oriental Budget Hotels and Restaurants’ for individuals, proprietors, companies etc for setting up new hotels, restaurants, lodges, motels etc.
  • The GST Council has approved a law to compensate states for any loss of revenue from the implementation of the new nationwide indirect taxation regime
    • The meeting was held in Udaipur, Rajasthan first time outside national capital. 
    • It was headed by Union Finance Minister and attended by representatives from all states.
Deaths
  • Noted Bengali singer Banasree Sengupta (71) passed away.
    • She had recorded a large number of evergreen romantic songs since 1966. 
    • She also had lent her voice to Hindi, Bengali, Assamese and Odia films. 
    • In recognition of her contribution to music, West Bengal government had bestowed Sangeet Samman (2012) and the Mahasangeet Samman (2013) on Sengupta.
  • Popular Hindi novelist Ved Prakash Sharma (62) passed away.
    • He was one of the highest-selling Hindi writers in the country and was famous for novels with unique titles like Dahej Mein Revolver (Revolver as Dowry), Dulhan Maange Dahej (Bride Asks For Dowry) and Widhva Ka Pati (Husband of a Widow). 
People in News
  • Justine Clark became the first Australian woman in a wheelchair to compete in the Miss World Australia contest today. 
Sports Current Affairs
  • VIVO IPL 2017 List of Most Expensive Players
    • Ben Stokes – Rising Pune Supergiants – Rs 14.5 crore
    • Tymal Mills – Royal Challengers Bangalore – Rs 12 crore
    • Trent Boult – Kolkata Knight Riders – Rs 5 crore
    • Kagiso Rabada – Delhi Daredevils – Rs 5 crore
    • Pat Cummins – Delhi Daredevils – Rs 4.5 crore
    • Rashid Khan – Sunrisers Hyderabad – Rs 4 crores
  • Indian Women’s team has won Silver medal at the Asian Rugby Sevens Trophy tournament held at Vientiane, Laos. 
  • French’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has won the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament (also known as Rotterdam tennis) title.
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