26th February 2015 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• In accordance with the prime minister's directives, Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will be undertaking the first phase of the SAARC Yatra as per the following schedule
• March 1 - Bhutan
• March 2 - Bangladesh
• March 3 - Pakistan
• March 4 - Afghanistan 
• He will begin his “SAARC yatra” with a visit to Thimphu on March 1st and Dhaka on March 2nd, followed by a visit to Islamabad, where he will resume India-Pakistan foreign secretary-level talks that were cancelled last year.
• Later in the month, he would visit Nepal, and also Sri Lanka and the Maldives, and the dates for those “are being worked out”.
• Russia and Cyprus have signed an agreement that would give Russian military ships access to the EU member state's ports in the Mediterranean Sea.
• The deal comes amid heightened tensions between the Kremlin and the West over Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea territory a pro-Moscow insurgency fighting Kyiv's forces in eastern Ukraine.
• Russian President : Vladimir Putin
• Cypriot President : Nicos Anastasiades
• Jamaica has decriminalised the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use.
• The country's parliament passed a much-debated law allowing the possession of up to 2oz (57g) of marijuana.
• It will also allow for a licensing authority to oversee the medical and scientific uses of the plant.

National Affairs

• Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has presented the Rail Budget in Parliament today.
• Some of the Highlights of Railway Budget 2015 are
• No hike in passenger fares
• Advance ticket booking period to be four months
• Railway helpline number 138 to be functional 24x7
• Nirbhaya fund to be used for women safety
• SMS alert service for arrivals and departures
• Download Pdf Version of Rail Budget 2015-16 from here
• PDP Chief Mufti Mohammad Sayeed will meet PM Narendra Modi tomorrow in New Delhi to give a final touch to the common minimum programme for government formation in Jammu and Kashmir.
• Mr. Sayeed is likely to take oath this Sunday as the next chief minister of J&K under a PDP-BJP alliance.
• Delhi Government announces compensation of 1 crore rupees to the next of the kin of a CRPF personnel Narottam Das who was killed in a landmine blast in Gaya, Bihar earlier this week.
• Chhattisgarh government lifts ban on participation of its employees in the activities of RSS.
• The Chhattisgarh Civil Services (Conduct) Rules 1965 prohibit a government servant from taking part in politics.
• “No government servant shall be member of, or be otherwise associated with, any political party or any organisation which takes part in politics nor shall he take part in, subscribe in aid of, or assist in any other manner, any political movement or activity,” states Rule 5(1).
• However, the state government, in it's recently released notification with the subject line “regarding participation of government servants in activities of RSS”, said that “as far as Rule 5(1) of Chhattisgarh Civil Services (Conduct) Rules 1965 is concerned, its restriction does not apply to RSS”.
• Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal writes to Haryana CM Manohar LAL Khattar on the issue of release of water from Munak canal.
• Delhi Chief Minister has said that the shortage of water can lead to major disruptions in production of drinking water in the national capital. 
• Mr Kejriwal has also sought time from the Haryana Chief Minister for a meeting with his officials at Chandigarh to discuss and resolve the issue.

Awards & Honors

• Six Indian women CEOs and Managing Directors, including State Bank of India head Arundhati Bhattacharya and ICICI CEO Chanda Kochchar, have been named by Forbes magazine in its 50 'Power Businesswomen' from Asia who are "knocking down" walls in the traditional male bastions. 
• Apart from Bhattacharya and Kochchar, the Indian executives on the list are 
• Akhila Srinivasan - MD/Non-Executive Director of Shriram Life Insurance/Shriram Capital
• Kiran Mazumdar Shaw - Founding Chairman and MD of Biocon 
• Shikha Sharma - CEO and MD of Axis Bank 
• Usha Sangwan - MD of LIC

Science & Technology

• Australian researchers from Monash University, aided by staff from the CSIRO and Deakin University, have created the world’s first 3D-printed jet engines, a breakthrough that could change the way aircraft are constructed.
• They have printed two engines and put one of them on display at the International Air Show in Avalon, Victoria.

People in News

• The masked Islamic State militant known as "Jihadi John", who has been pictured in the videos of the beheadings of Western hostages, has been named.
• He is Mohammed Emwazi, a Kuwaiti-born British man in his mid-20s from west London, who was previously known to British security services.

Sports

• World Cup 2015
• Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by 92 runs
• Afghanistan beat Scotland in a closely contested match.

Read more Daily Current Affairs updates from here

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