12th February 2017 Important Daily Current Affairs

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Dear Great Ambitionists, here are today's (12th February 2017) Important Current Affairs updates. Happy Reading :)

Daily Current Affairs of 12th February 2017

International Current Affairs

• Today (12th February) is Darwin Day.
• This day is a celebration to commemorate the 207th birth anniversary of Charles Darwin (12 February 1809).
• Note : Charles Darwin is best known for his contributions to evolutionary theory.
• Queen Elizabeth II will host a spectacular UK-India Year of Culture launch at Buckingham Palace at the end of this month to strengthen the special cultural partnership between the two countries.
• Note : Queen Elizabeth II, 90, is the world's longest reigning sovereign and has become the first British monarch to reach a Sapphire Jubilee, with 65 years on the throne.
  

National Current Affairs

• National productivity week (12th to 18th February 2017) celebrations to begin today.
• National Productivity Council, an autonomous body under Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India was established on this day (12th February) in the year 1958, with the objective of stimulating and promoting productivity and quality consciousness across all sectors in the country. 
• 12th-18th February is celebrated as the ‘National Productivity Week’ every year. 
• Theme of National Productivity Week 2017 : “From Waste to Profits-through Reduce, Recycle and Reuse”
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked the Ministry of Defence to initiate theatre commands for the military, which would put the troops and resources of the three forces under one officer. 
• New initiatives, including the appointment of a four-star general to look after the issues of the armed forces, would also be taken by the end of the year.
• To enhance passenger security and curb criminal activities onboard, trains will soon be fitted with automatic door locking mechanism, railway officials announced today.
• Note : As a pilot project, two Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains would be equipped with the system this year".
• The world's oldest working steam locomotive in regular operation, 162-year-old Fairy Queen, has been re-inducted into service by the Indian Railways. 
• The train took its first journey in five years on Saturday, travelling from Delhi Cantonment to Haryana's Rewari. 
• Constructed in 1855 by Kitson, Thompson, and Hewitson in England, the Fairy Queen was brought to Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1855.
• The 2nd edition of the International Spice Conference was began today at Kovalam in Thiruvananthapuram district. 
• Over 800 delegates, including 250 delegates from foreign countries will take part in this conference.
• The three-day meet, would deliberate on effective strategies and innovative technologies to improve the livelihood of spice farmers, address spice industry challenges, food safety concern, demand supply disparity and foster sustainable growth.
• Theme of International Spice Conference 2017 : "21st Century Spic Industry-Disrupt or be Disrupted"

New Appointments

• The 16th Federal Convention elected Frank-Walter Steinmeier as the 12th President of the Federal Republic of Germany. 
• The President-elect will enter office on 18 March 2017, the first day after the end of Gauck's term, and will be sworn in later in a joint session of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat.
• The government has appointed Professor Neelu Rohmetra as the Director of Indian Institute of Management, Sirmaur.
• With this, she became the first female to head one of India's 20 premier business schools. 
• The Centre also appointed directors of nine other IIMs, including IIM Bangalore. 
• Note : Professor G Raghuram, who has been an IIM Ahmedabad faculty member since 1985, was appointed IIM Bangalore's Director.

Science & Technology

• Space exploration startup SpaceX's next rocket launch will take place from Launch Complex 39A — the same launch pad used for the first Moon mission. 
• In 1969, the launch pad was used by the Saturn V rocket that first took people to the Moon. 
• The US and Japanese military have successfully tested the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA missile defence system by intercepting a medium-range ballistic missile target in space for the first time. 
• The missile was launched from a ship off the west coast of Hawaii, US. 
• The 1st indigenous Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&C) in IOC configuration shall be handed over to the Indian Air Force (IAF), on 14th February during Aero India 2017 at Yelahanka Air base in Bengaluru. 

Awards & Honors

• England pacer Stuart Broad was awarded the Order of British Empire by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace today.

Sports Current Affairs

• Defending champions India defeated Pakistan by nine wickets to win the T20 Blind Cricket World Cup in Bangalore today. 
• Sports Minister Vijay Goel has revealed the government is going to launch a talent hunt website for emerging sportspersons. 
• The website will allow sportspersons to upload videos, after which the Ministry will select them on merit for training at Sports Authority of India centres. 
• Athletes will also be given a scholarship of ₹5 lakh rupees per annum for eight years.
• The Olympic torch for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics was unveiled by the Games' organising committee in PyeongChang, South Korea, one year before the opening ceremony. 
• The white and gold torch, measuring around two feet, has been specifically designed for all weather conditions with an air tunnel and a pentagon-shaped hole to drain out any water.

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