ONE LINER OF THE DAY 28th FEB 2018.

1.In a bid to redevelop over 600 major railway stations across the nation, an idea competition ‘SRIJAN’ (Station Rejuvenation through Joint Action) has been launched at MyGov portal since January 26, 2018, by Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Limited (IRSDC). All stakeholders like railway passengers, architects, urban planners, engineers are allowed to send their ideas and the last date to submit the entries is March 26, 2018.The redevelopment of 600 major railway stations was announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Union Budget 2018, which was held on February 1 in the parliament.

2.At 19 years of age, Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan is set to become the youngest captain in the history of international cricket.The World’s No.1 ODI and Twenty20 International bowler, Rashid will lead Afghanistan after regular skipper Asghar Stanikzai was diagnosed with appendicitis.Rashid is also the youngest player to be ranked No.1 in the ICC’s Player Rankings across formats.

3.Karnataka beat Saurashtra by 41 runs in Vijay Hazare Trophy final. Karnataka won the tournament for the 3rd time.Karnataka put up a total of 253/10 before Saurashtra were bowled out for 212 in 16.2 overs.

4.The Indian military’s Andaman and Nicobar Command is going to host biennial multinational naval event ‘Milan-2018’ at Port Blair from March 6 to March 13 with the underlying theme of “friendship across the seas”.

5.The Reserve Bank said there would not be any extension to the February 28 deadline for mandatory KYC-compliance by prepaid wallet customers.However, customers who have balances in such wallets or prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) need not worry about their money even if they do not do the KYC (know-your- customer) norms, the central bank said.

6.The Reserve Bank raised the exposure limit under exchange traded currency derivatives (ETCD) trading for residents and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to USD 100 million across all currency pairs involving the Indian rupee.The RBI’s decision to raise the limit will help entities engaged in forex transactions to maintain their currency risks in a better manner.

7.Google announced a deeper integration with the State Bank of India (SBI) for its digital payment app “Tez” that will allow users to now create a SBI UPI Id — @oksbi and get access to exclusive offers for the SBI customers.“Tez” is built on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), allowing users make payments from their bank accounts to other accounts from over 70 UPI-enabled banks.

8.The government has categorised 9,491 non-banking financial companies in the country as “high risk” prone.These NBFCs have been categorised as high risk prone as they had not complied with a stipulated provision of the anti-money laundering law.The list of 9,491 “high risk financial institutions” has been published by Financial Intelligence Unit that functions under Finance Ministry.

9.India has been ranked 47th out of 86 countries on the Inclusive Internet Index by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which was commissioned by Facebook.Sweden took the first place, followed by Singapore and the US.

10.Eminent Odia writer Kanakalata Mohanty passed away. Mohanty is the author of 12 novels and more than a 100 short stories. Her novels Ete Andhara, Kete Jwala and Anuradha shot her into the limelight in the 1960s.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 27th FEB 2018.

1.PM distributed keys for scooters to differently-abled beneficiaries, ‘SWABHIMAN’ cards to pregnant and lactating women, ‘Badhai Kit’ to the newly born girl children under ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’.The PM also distributed permits for CNG driven public transport vehicles for a cleaner environment in Daman.

2.Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the agriculture credit flow target of Rs. 11 lakh crore for 2018-19 is achievable by the banking sector.Jaitley said that this target would contribute to the momentum towards doubling the farmers’ income by 2022.

3.A special Niti forum has been created to accelerate the government’s efforts to spur inclusive growth in the northeastern region of the country.The forum will work to identify constraints that stand in the way of achieving accelerated, inclusive and sustainable economic growth.It would recommend suitable interventions for addressing the identified constraints.

4.DRDO has successfully flown its Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle RUSTOM 2 in Karnataka.It has the capability to fly for 24 hours at a stretch at over 200 km/hr speed.

5.In a move to provide Delhi residents relief from the burgeoning air pollution crisis in the city, the central government has sanctioned schemes worth Rs 1,200 crore to keep a check on alarming pollution levels in the capital.According to NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, on account of the air quality worsening in Delhi due to burning crop residue from October to December months, the schemes will help curb pollution.

6.The Jalaput Dam is a hydroelectric dam built on the Machkund River, a tributary of the Godavari River in India which rises in the Mudugal hills of Visakhapatnam District and nearby Ondra Gadda it becomes the boundary between Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

7.Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the ‘Run for New India’ marathon in Surat, Gujarat. The Marathon is aimed at creating awareness about social causes and call upon all to resolve to build a New India.

8.The McCarran International Airport in Nevada, US has introduced 13 marijuana disposal bins to curb the smuggling of the recreational drug across state borders.The bins, which are bolted to the ground, are designed in a way to prevent tampering Colorado had also installed similar bins after that state legalized marijuana in 2012.

9.The 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics concluded with a spectacular closing ceremony.In the closing ceremony, the Olympic flag was handed over to Chinese organisers for the next Winter Games in Beijing in 2022.With the 2022 Games, Beijing will become the first city in the world to host both the summer and winter editions of the Olympic Games after hosting the Summer Games in 2008.

10.The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has started working towards developing ‘igloos’ on Moon, called the lunar habitats, for safe keeping of astronauts. The habitats will be built by sending robots and 3D printers to the Moon and using lunar soil. Although no mission plan has been prepared yet, scientists want to have the technology ready for building these structures.

Jaitley said that this target would contribute to the momentum towards doubling the farmers’ income by 2022.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 26th FEB 2018.

1.Aruna Budda has become the first Indian to win an individual medal at the Gymnastics WC in Melbourne, Australia.She won a Bronze medal in the Women’s Vault.

2.China has become the vice chair of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global body mandated to combat terror financing.The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was set up in 1989 with the primary goal of setting standards to combat money laundering, but in 2001 its mandate was expanded to include countering terror financing. It is headquartered in Paris, France.

3.The Enchantress of Florence is the ninth novel by Salman Rushdie. According to Rushdie this is his "most researched book" which required "years and years of reading.

4.The 21st national conference on e-Governance will be held in Hyderabad.The government of India and Telangana Administrative Reforms department are jointly organising the conference with the main theme around- technology for accelerating development.The two-day conference will deliberate on several aspects of the e-governance like universalization and replication.

5.TSR Subramanian, former Cabinet Secretary of the Union government has passed away due to prolonged illness.

6.Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched the subsidised scooter scheme for working women on the occasion of the 70th birth anniversary celebrations of late leader Jayalalithaa.It was launched in the presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam, among others.The scheme, with a subsidy component of 50 per cent upto Rs 25,000 for working women, was launched by Modi, who handed over the keys and registration certificate copies to five women beneficiaries.He also launched 70-lakh tree sapling planting drive to commemorate the 70th birth anniversarycelebrationszof late Jayalalithaa.The beneficiaries included women who worked in the private sector, an accountant, a salesperson and an assistant in a private store.

7.The annual flagship event of the Government of Telangana, the 15th edition of BioAsia, was held in Hyderabad. The theme of BioAsia 2018 was “Right Time, Right Now.”Ireland, Netherlands and South Africa were the International partners while Gujarat, Assam and Rajasthan were the partner states for this event.

8.Andaman & Nicobar will be hosting a multinational mega event MILAN 2018.MILAN is a congregation of littoral navies conducted biennially by Indian Navy at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

9.Indian boxer Vikas Krishan won a gold medal and was named the best boxer of the tournament at the 69th Strandja Memorial boxing tournament in Bulgaria. Amit Panghal also won a gold medal at the tournament. The Indian contingent at the tournament ended with overall 11 medals, including a silver medal for five-time world champion Mary Kom.

10.State Bank of India (SBI) is set for a major restructuring of its business in the United Kingdom from April. SBI's UK operations will transform into a subsidiary named State Bank of India UK Limited from April 1, in compliance with wider ring-fencing of capital requirements by the Bank of England.The move will mean that all retail branches of SBI in the UK will fall under a new UK-incorporated banking entity instead of their previous status as overseas branches of the Indian entity.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 25th FEB 2018.

1.The Assam government announced to observe September 22 as 'Rhino Day' to generate public awareness on the protection of the one-horned pachyderm. A State Rhino Project in line with National Rhino Project will be launched in Assam soon for protecting the pachyderms from threats of poaching.

2.Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Ltd (ABIPBL) started operations , making it the fifth payments bank to roll out operations after the RBI gave its in-principle approval to 11 applicants in August 2015.The roll-out comes at a time when the regulator has issued fresh know your customer norms for payments banks that are likely to increase operational costs for these banks.“Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Limited has commenced operations as a payments bank with effect from 22 February, 2018. The Reserve Bank has issued a licence to the bank under Section 22 (1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to carry on the business of payments bank in India,” a press release by RBI.

The other payments banks that have started operations include Airtel Payments Bank Ltd, India Post Payments Bank Ltd, Paytm Payments Bank Ltd and Fino Payments Bank Ltd.

3.The 44th edition of Khajuraho Dance Festival 2018 was held at Khajuraho temple, a UNESCO world heritage site in Madhya Pradesh. It was inaugurated by Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and was organized by culture department of state government. Khajuraho Dance Festival is an annual cultural festival that highlights the richness of various Indian classical dance styles. The 6-day festival showcased classical dances including Kathak, Odissi, Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, and Mohiniattam.

4.Cyprus, (Capital: Nicosia ,Currency: Euro) officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean and the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean. Cyprus is located south of Turkey, west of Syria and Lebanon, northwest of Israel, north of Egypt, and southeast of Greece.

5.Canada’s own first franchise-based Twenty20 league “Global T20 Canada”, was announced in New Delhi. The Global T20 Canada League will begin functioning from July 2018 at three venues in Toronto. It is conceptualized, designed, developed and managed by Mercuri Group with Cricket Canada. Global T20 Canada League has received official sanction of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Cricket Canada become the first Associate member of the ICC to start a Twenty20 franchise league in the North America market.

6.The 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 will be hosted in the West Indies from 9 to 24 November 2018, during the 2018–19 international cricket season. It will be the sixth edition of the ICC Women's World Twenty20.

7.Tilaiya Dam  was the first of the four multi-purpose dams included in the first phase of the Damodar Valley Corporation. It was constructed across the Barakar River, at Tilaiya in Koderma district in the Indian state of Jharkhand and opened in 1953.

8.Andhra Pradesh woke up welcoming over more than 2000 delegates in its Partnership Summit 2018. The 3rd edition of Partnership Summit 2018 aims to facilitate investments, foster innovations in creating business models.  Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu expressed his keenness towards Partnership Summit 2018 eager to establish partnerships aimed at collective development and hoping for great engagements with global investors at the Partnership Summit 2018, Vizag. I invite you all to be a part of Andhra Pradesh’s incredible growth story.

9.Getalsud Dam near Ranchi is constructed across the Subarnarekha river. The artificial reservoir created by Getalsud dam is famous picnic spot during Chhatt puja.

10.Chinese technology giant Huawei and telecom services provider Bharti Airtel announced to have successfully conducted 5G network trial under a test set-up in India. The trial was conducted at Airtel’s Network Experience Centre in Manesar (Gurugram). During the test trial, the speed of more than 3Gbps was achieved. This is the highest measured throughput for a mobile network in 3.5 GHz band with 100MHz bandwidth and end-to-end network latency of approximately 1 msec.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 24th FEB 2018.

1.Norway’s Marit Bjoergen (14 Olympic medals) became the most successful athlete in Winter Olympics history as she took bronze in Pyeongchang, South Korea in cross country skiing’s women’s team sprint free. However, Kikkan Randall and Jessica Diggins won the gold and the first Olympic cross country title for the United States.

Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo won the men’s title by 1.71sec ahead of the Olympic Athletes from Russia, with France finishing third.

2.Flying officer Avani Chaturvedi has scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to fly a fighter aircraft solo. An Indian Air Force official said, she flew a MiG-21 bison in her first solo sortie from IAF’s Jamnagar base in Gujarat.

3.Nearly 40 percent of over 53,000 cyber-attacks in India occurred in the financial services sector during 2017, placing it at the seventh spot in the list of targeted countries for Web Application Attacks (WAA), a new report said.The report, titled “Akamai State of the Internet Security Q4 2017,” also stated that the Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack frequency in the BFSI sector increased by 50 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017 over the last quarter.

4.The Union Government has issued order setting up the ‘Niti Forum for North-East’. The forum will be co-chaired by the Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog (Dr. Rajiv Kumar) and Minister of State (I/C), Ministry of Development of Northeastern Region (DoNER). The forum will have its Secretariat in the Ministry of DoNER. Forum to identify constraints and recommend suitable interventions for speedy and sustainable growth in NER.

5.Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated various developmental projects in Daman in Union territory of Daman and Diu.  He launched the helicopter service between Daman and Diu. Mr. Modi also launched Air Odisha flight service connecting Ahmedabad with Diu under UDAN Scheme. Besides, Mr. Modi laid the foundation stones for various local developmental projects in Daman and Diu.

6.India will host the first International Solar Alliance (ISA) summit on 11th March 2018. It will be attended by French President Emmanuel Macron and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The summit will be held in Delhi. The ISA aims to launch 121 projects during the summit. During the summit, two new programmes will be inaugurated on- Scaling Solar E-Mobility and Storage, and Rooftop Solar.

7.The Reserve Bank of India has launched Ombudsman Scheme for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) for redressal of complaints against them. The scheme will provide a cost-free and expeditious complaint redressal mechanism relating to deficiency in the services by NBFCs covered under the scheme. The scheme will cover all deposit-taking NBFCs, and based on the experience gained. The offices of the NBFC ombudsmen will function at four metro centers – New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai.

8.The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation, EPFO has declared 8.55 per cent interest rate for 2017-18 for its about 5 crore members. This was decided during the meeting of Central Board of Trustees of EPFO in New Delhi. For 2016-17 the rate was 8.65 per cent and in 2015-16 the rate was 8.8 per cent. In order to maintain the interestthis fiscal, the organisation had sold a portion of its investment in the Exchange Traded Funds.

9.A three –day India International Textiles Expo (IITExpo) of India began in Sri Lankan capital of Colombo. It is being organized by Powerloom Development & Export Promotion Council (PDEXCIL) with the support of Union Ministry of Textiles & Ministry of Commerce & Industry. Sri Lankan minister of Special Assignments Dr. Sarath Amunugama inaugurated the event.He urged Sri Lanka to make use of fully-funded training opportunities in India, under Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme, in which a number of slots is earmarked for textile related subjects.

10.The United States and Thailand will kick off the 2018 iteration of the annual Cobra Gold exercises – an engagement that began as a bilateral drill between the two allies and has now grown into Asia’s largest multinational drill. This was the 37th iteration of exercise. A U.S. Marine drinks the blood of a cobra during a jungle survival exercise as part of the “Cobra Gold 2018” (CG18) joint military exercise, at a military base in Chonburi province, Thailand.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 23rd FEB 2018.

1.“Digital Health” has a great potential towards reducing inequity in provisioning and distribution of healthcare resources and services. This was stated by Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare during his address at the Global Digital Health Partnership Symposium at Sydney, Australia.The first goal is to ensure district-level electronic database of information on health system components by 2020.The second goal is to strengthen the health surveillance system and establish registries for diseases of public health importance by 2020. The third goal pushes us to work for establishment of federated national e-health architecture; setting-up of Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) is intended to establish first health information exchanges and national Health Information Network by 2025.

2.The Indian and Indonesian armies began the sixth edition of their annual military exercises “Garuda Shakti” in the West Java province of the archipelago country. The opening ceremony of the two-week Garuda Shakti military drill was held at Bandung. Indian Ambassador to Indonesia Pradeep Kumar Rawat attended the opening ceremony along with Indonesian military officers. The two sides renewed their commitment to deepen defence and security exchanges.

3.Varanasi will host a 2-day festival Swachhagrah Bapu ko Kaaryaanjali on Feb 21 & 22 to bring focus to cleanliness by using different forms of culture.It will be held at Man Mandir Ghat & Assi Ghat in Varanasi.It will see the engagement of academia, artists, artisans on use of cultural expressions for conservation & protection of the river and the city.

4.India has been ranked 12th-worst among 52 low-middle income countries based on the number of children dying within the first month of their birth, which is 25.4 per 1,000 live births.Pakistan is the worst with 45.6 newborn deaths per 1,000 live births, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF Programme) which has, for the first time, come out with rankings based on their newborn mortality rate (the number of deaths per 1,000 live births). Japan, with an NMR of 0.9 deaths per 1,000 live births, has been ranked the world’s safest country in which to be born followed by Iceland (1) and Singapore (1.1).

5.UNICEF (The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund)was created by the United Nations General Assembly on the 11th of December 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II.It’s headquarters is in New York City.

6.The Union Cabinet has approved the creation of National Urban Housing Fund (NUHF) with Rs 60,000 crore in its kitty.The fund will be situated in Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.The Ministry has so far sanctioned 39.4 lakh houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).

7.Renowned writer and social activist Kunhiraman Panoor popularly known as K Panoor passed away due to old age ailments at a private hospital. He was 84. Panoor won the Kerala Sahithya Academy award in 2006 and Ramasramam award in 2002

8. International Mother Language Day 2018, which is celebrated every year on 21 February for the last 20 years, is an endeavour stop this disintegration of language and culture. This year it is the 18th anniversary of IMLD.Theme of 2018:  “Linguistic diversity and multilingualism count for sustainable development”.

9.RBI has set up a panel under board member Y.H. Malegam, a former president of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, to look into factors leading to increasing incidents of bank frauds.The Maelgam panel will also look into reasons for high divergence in NPA classification and provisioning by banks.The move comes a week after PNB said it has fallen victim to a Rs11,400 crore fraud.

10.World Thinking Day is a way to celebrate with girls all over the world on Feb 22nd by doing the same activities. Making an impact means having a strong effect on something or someone. Impact for the Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is all about bringing positive change.

Theme of 2018:“Impact”

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 22nd FEB 2018.

1. The Union cabinet approved extra-budgetary support for government’s flagship housing scheme Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban). Under the PMAY(U), the housing and urban affairs ministry targets construction of about 1.2 crore houses for the urban poor. The scheme got allocation at Rs.6,505 crore for Budget 2018-19 as compared to Rs. 6,042.81 crore in 2017-18.However, additional budgetary resources of Rs. 25,000 crore was also proposed for the scheme to be raised outside the general budget. In urban areas, the assistance has been sanctioned for construction of over 39.4 lakh houses so far.

2.Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval to the Cooperation Agreement b/w India & Moroccan National Railways Office.The agreement aims to develop long-term cooperation & partnership in different areas of railway sector.The Agreement will enable technical cooperation in Training and staff development & Mutual technical assistance, including exchanging of experts among others.

3.The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Raksha Mantri Smt Nirmala Sitharaman and accorded approval to Capital Acquisition Proposals of the Services valued at over Rs 1850 crore. These include procurement of essential quantity of Infantry Combat Vehicle (BMPs-2/2k) for Mechanised Infantry and other Arms and Services at an estimated cost of over Rs 1125 crore from the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).

DAC accorded approval for procurement of one Survey Training Vessel (STV) for meeting the Navy’s growing ‘Hydrographic Survey’ needs in ports, harbours, Exclusive Economic Zone, etc. The construction of the vessel is to be undertaken under Buy (Indian-IDDM) by Indian shipyards at an estimated cost of Rs 626 crore.

4.Virat Kohli has become only the second batsman in the history of the game to cross 900-point mark concurrently in Tests & ODIs.Kohli is only the 2nd batsman after AB de Villiers to attain the 900-point mark concurrently in both formats.Kohli thus moved ahead of Brian Lara in the all-timers’ list & ranks 7th in ODI list of all-time rankings that is led by Vivian Richards with 935 points.

5.The cabinet has approved amendments to the Chit Funds Act to facilitate orderly growth of the sector and provide more financial products to investors. The cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given approval to introduce the Chit Funds (Amendment) Bill, 2018 in Parliament.For the purpose, amendments would be made to the Chit Funds Act, 1982. One of the amendments is use of the words “Fraternity Fund” for chit business in the Act to signify its inherent nature, and distinguish its working from ‘Prize Chits’ which are banned under a separate legislation.

6.PM Modi has announced a defence industrial corridor in Bundelkhand region, one of the most backward regions of UP.In this year’s budget, govt. had announced that it will establish 2 defence industrial production corridors.The corridor will link Agra, Aligarh, Lucknow, Kanpur, Jhansi & Chitrakoot.The decision was taken keeping in mind the developmental requirements of Bundelkhand region.

7.The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval to the construction of 4.531 km long 2-Lane Bi-Directional Silkyara Bend – Barkot Tunnel with escape passage including approaches on Dharasu -Yamunotri section between Chainage 25.400 Km. and Chainage 51.000 Km in Uttarakhand as part of ‘Chardham Mahamarg Pariyojana’.The total project cost is Rs. 1383.78 crore. The construction period of the project is 4 years. The project will be implemented by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), through National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (NHIDCL).

8.In order to create a strong base in very initial studies, Delhi Government has joined hand with Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia announced the programme “Mission BUNIYAD”. This programme is designed on the lines of Government’s previous scheme “Chunauti”.The entire programme will run from Classes 3 to 5 in MCD schools and in Classes 6 to 8 in Delhi Government schools. Under Buniyaad, students will be divided into three categories. Those who perform at par will be taken into the ‘Ujjawal’ group; those who score medium-level marks will be placed in ‘Utkarsh’ while those who are behind their peers will be placed in ‘Udyam’.

9.Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Surajpur District, Chhattisgarh, India. It is named after the Tamor Hill and Pingla Nalla, the old and prominent features of the area.

10.Singapore said it would impose a “carbon tax” from next year to cut its greenhouse gas emissions and make companies more competitive as global agreements on climate change take effect. The carbon tax in Singapore, to be applied to all sectors, will be Sg$5.0 ($3.8) per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions from 2019 to 2023.Singapore ranks 26th out of 142 countries in terms of emissions per capita based on the latest International Energy Agency data largely due to its small size and dense population.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 21st FEB 2018.

1.Milkbasket, India’s first and largest micro-delivery platform has been recognised as ‘Startup of the Year’ 2017 at the 7th Small Business Awards.The startup of the year award is dedicated to young SMEs, aged 7 years or less, with great potential to become big in local/international markets.

2.The Centre has constitued a committee headed by the Vice Chairman of the NITI Aayog  Rajiv Kumar to study the Brahmaputra and flood control measures in Assam and neighbouring states. Assam Water Resource minister Keshab Mahanta has informed this.

3.Debashish Mukherjee & Murali Ramaswam have been appointed as the executive directors of Canara Bank & Vijaya Bank respectively.Mukherjee is at present the general manager of United Bank of India & Ramaswami is the GM of Vijaya Bank.Mukherjee’s appointment is initially for 3 yrs but it is extendable by 2 yrs after review of his performance while Ramaswami will have ​tenure till Dec 31, 2020.

4.Gomarda Wildlife Sanctuary in Chattisgarh in India located in the Raigarh district. It is situated near Sarangarh. There are a lot of hilly terrains in the region. Spread over 275 sq km it is one of the ideal destination for the adventure seekers.

5.Following the biggest scam in the country’s banking sector to the tune of Rs 11,340 crore at state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB), credit ratings agency Moody’s placed the lender under review for downgrade.The agency has a Baa3/P-3 rating on the Delhi-based lender now while it has a Baa3 rating on its foreign currency issuer rating. The bank overall has a Baa2 rating with a stable outlook now from Moody’s.Fitch has placed the bank on ‘Rating Watch Negative’ (RWN). “Fitch Ratings has placed Punjab National Bank’s (PNB) Viability Rating of ‘bb’ on Rating Watch Negative (RWN), following the large fraud reported by PNB,” the US-based agency said.

6.Jaipur’s Gandhinagar railway station has become the country’s only non-suburban railway station to be entirely run by women.The station is fully operated by 28 women employees, including ticket checkers, RPF, operations staff and reservation and booking supervisors.The station has a footfall of nearly 7000 passengers per day and of the 50 trains which pass by, 25 trains halt here.

7.Saudi Arabia will debut with its first ever Arab Fashion Week in Riyadh in March this year. The move is another example of the opening up of the country under Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s ambitious transformation programme. The Dubai-based Arab Fashion Council said the fashion week will be held in Riyadh from March 26 to March 31, with a second edition already scheduled for October.

8.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will visited Mumbai as part of his week-long visit to India.Mr Trudeau is scheduled to attend Canada – India Business Forum at Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. He will have separate meetings with business leaders as well as film personalities to explore future opportunities.To promote Canada-India cooperation on a range of issues, Mr Trudeau will be joined by a delegation of six Canadian ministers, including Canada’s Defence and Foreign Affairs Ministers.

9.Renowned cardiologist & Padma Vibhushan awardee Dr BK Goyal passed away after he suffered a cardiac arrest.In recognition of his public service & pioneering work, he was appointed as Sheriff of Bombay in 1980.

10.The UK- India Joint research projects on Water Quality Research and Energy Demand Reduction in Built Environment were launched in New Delhi.The projects were jointly launched by NITI Aayog member Dr V K Saraswat, Department of Science and Technology Secretary Ashutosh Sharma and Research Councils UK- India Director Daniel Shah.The Water Quality Research programme has eight projects and Energy Demand Reduction in Built Environment programme has four projects, with a total joint investment of up to 15 million British Pound.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 20th FEB 2018.

1.Axis Bank has announced opening of off-shore banking unit at the International Financial Services Centre at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City.The Bank will now be able to provide a more comprehensive range of products to its customers with access to International financial markets.Offshore Banking unit is capable to trade in foreign currency in overseas market & also with Indian Banks.

2.nion Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Shri R.K. Singh inaugurated the ‘International R&D Conclave’– two day conference on Emerging Opportunities and Challenges of R&D in Indian Power Sector, organised by Central Electricity Authority (CEA) in New Delhi.In his address inaugural, Shri Singh stressed upon the need of a dedicated R&D department in CEA to coordinate the research in power sector, and asked the concerned departments to make an effort to implement the ideas emerging from this Conference.

3.Sardar Singh is the captain of a 28-member Indian squad for the 27th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup to be held in Ipoh, Malaysia.He was dropped from the team including the Hockey World League Final in Bhubaneswar.

4.Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the Palace Queen Humsafar Express train at the Mysuru railway station. The train will run from Mysuru to Udaipur in Rajasthan.

The Prime Minister also dedicated a 140-km long fully electrified railway line from Mysuru to KSR Bengaluru to help the Indian Railways in achieving energy-efficient transport.The train will connect the five Western Indian states – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka.

5.PM Modi has launched Nasscom’s platform—Future Skills—for skill development in 8 varied technologies.Modi launched the platform via video conference during the inaugural session of the World Congress on Information Technology 2018.The platform offers skilling and up-skilling in Artificial Intelligence, virtual reality, Internet of Things, big data analytics, 3D printing & cloud computing.

6.Tax Haven : A tax haven is a country that offers foreign individuals and businesses a minimal tax liability in a politically and economically stable environment, with little or no financial information shared with foreign tax authorities. Tax havens do not require individuals to reside in or businesses to operate out of their countries to benefit from local tax policies. Due to the globalization of business operations, an increasing number of U.S. corporations, including Microsoft, Apple and Alphabet, are keeping cash in offshore tax havens to minimize corporate taxes.

7.The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has recognized Bhoramdeo Wildlife Sanctuary in the state of Chhattisgarh as a Tiger Reserve.

8.World Social Justice is observed every year on February 20. Social justice is an underlying principle for peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations.2018 theme: Workers on the Move: the Quest for Social Justice.

9.Govt has extended the waiver of inter-state power transmission charges & losses for solar & wind power projects commissioned till 31 March 2022.Earlier waiver was available to solar & wind power projects commissioned till 31 Dec 2019 & 31 March 2019, respectively.Order also provides that waiver would be available to only those projects which are awarded through competitive bidding process.

10.Japanese Yuzuru Hanyu became the first figure skater in 66 years to win back-to-back Winter Olympic gold medals in the men’s singles event as he won Japan’s first gold medal at PyeongChang Games.Hanyu won the title with 317.85 points, beating compatriot Shoma Uno and multiple world champion Javier Fernandez of Spain to the second and third spots.

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ONE LINER OF THE DAY 19th FEB 2018.

1.Fugdi is a Goan folk dance performed by the women in the Konkan region during Hindu religious festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi and Vrata or towards the end of other dances like Dhalo.

2.Business consultancy firm EY named Bajaj Finserv’s Sanjiv Bajaj as the entrepreneur for 2017. Sanjiv Bajaj will now represent India at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year award (WEOY) in Monte Carlo. The company also conferred E. Sreedharan, who spearheaded metro projects in Delhi, Kolkata, Kochi, and Lucknow, with the lifetime achievement award. The awardees were selected by a nine-member jury led by Sun Pharmaceuticals’ managing director Dilip Shanghvi.

3.Assam is at the bottom of the list in MMR with a figure of 300 against the national average of 167.The fund spending under National Health Mission(NHM) is just 13.58%for 2017-18.

4.Archaeologist and historian Arvind P. Jamkhedkar will be the next Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). He will replace Prof. K. Sudershan Rao. The post fell vacant after Prof. Rao’s retirement. Prof. Jamkhedkar is at present Chancellor of Deccan College, Pune, known in academic circles for its archaeology department.

5.Dumhal is a dance performed by the men folk of the Wattal tribe of Kashmir on specific occasions. The performers wear long colourful robes, tall conical caps that are studded with beads and shells.

6.The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) announced area development plans worth Rs 1,918 crore for Punjab to supplement farmers' income. Under this plan, the activities like dairy, vegetable cultivation, beekeeping, mushroom growing will be promoted in order to provide income to farmers at the sustainable basis.

7.The Maharashtra government will be setting up an institute for artificial intelligence(AI) in Mumbai which will be the first in the country.CM Devendra Fadnavis will unveil the plan for the institute during the Magnetic Maharashtra Summit and at the Global Economic Conference in Canada in March 2018. Maharashtra has already become the first state to unveil a FinTech Policy.

8.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited the Akshardham Temple in Gujarat’s Gadhinagar with his family.He also visited the Gandhi Ashram where he described it as “a beautiful place of peace, humility and truth”.

9.Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Karnataka. He is scheduled to take part in the 88th Mahamastakabhisheka Mahotsav of Bhagawan Bahubali in Shravanabelagola. Mr. Narendra Modi will also inaugurate the newly carved 630 steps on the Vindhyagiri hill that takes the disciples to the top for a darshan of the 58.8 feet tall monolithic statue of Bahubali.  Later, he will flag off the Palace Queen Humsafar Express between Mysuru and Udaipur. He will also dedicate to the nation electrification of the railway line between Mysuru and Bengaluru. He will declare Naganahalli railway station as a satellite terminal station and lay the foundation stone for the eight-lining of the Mysuru-Bengaluru highway. The Prime Minister will also inaugurate a new block of the ESI hospital in the city. He will address a public rally in Mysuru.

10.Women in Saudi Arabia can now open their own businesses without the consent of a husband or male relative. The policy change, announced by the Saudi government also marks a major step away from the strict guardianship system that has ruled the country for decades.  The Country's Ministry of Commerce and investment said on its website that women can now launch their own businesses and benefit from governmental e-services without having to prove consent from a guardian.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 18th FEB 2018.

1.India and Iran signed an Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation (DTAA) and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income. The Agreement is on similar lines as entered into by India with other countries. The Agreement will stimulate the flow of investment, technology and personnel from India to Iran & vice versa, and will prevent double taxation. It will improve transparency in tax matters and will help curb tax evasion and tax avoidance.

2.Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani launched the maiden flight of Bhubaneshwar based airline connecting Ahmedabad and Mundra.The airline has been established under the Centre’s UDAN scheme.

3.Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the ‘Magnetic Maharashtra’ Convergence Summit 2018 in Mumbai, Maharashtra.This is Maharashtra’s first Global Investors Summit and is being regarded as one of the biggest such events, especially on the lines of the ‘Make In India’ initiative launched by the Prime Minister in 2016 in Mumbai. It is being run with the tagline #MadeForBusiness.

4.Ola successfully launched 'Auto Unnati' program to assist its auto driver partners through the firm's ‘Chalo Befikar’ insurance program, family welfare initiatives. The aim is to create an inclusive environment in which driver partners can operate and thrive. ‘Auto Unnati’ is a milestone program in the same direction that will offer better financial and emotional stability for thousands of auto drivers in Bengaluru. The program is aimed to enhance business assurance plan to ensure a healthy professional ecosystem for Auto driver partners and for those hoping to target high business profits with ease.

5.The Ministry of Railways instructed all rail zones to discontinue pasting reservation charts on reserved coaches of all trains at the A1, A and B category stations as a pilot project for 6 months, starting March 1. digital charts will continue to be displayed at the platform of the train. It said, at those stations where electronic charts display plasma have been installed and are functioning properly, physical reservation charts at such platforms can be stopped.   Earlier, pasting of reservation charts on the reserved coaches of all trains was discontinued at New Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Mumbai Central, Chennai Central, Howrah and Sealdah Stations on an experimental basis for a period of three months. In 2016, Indian Railways had launched a no-reservation chart concept at Bengaluru City and Yeshwantpur railway stations, which comes under South Western Railways Bengaluru Division (SBC).

6.Former President Pranab Mukherjee will be conferred an honorary D.Litt by the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) on March 4 for his role as a public figure for many decades.Mukherjee was awarded an honorary D. Litt by Jadavpur University in December last year.

7.Russian space agency Roskosmos has successfully launched Progress MS-08, an unmanned cargo spacecraft for the International Space Station (ISS). It was launched onboard of Soyuz-2.1a rocket from Russian-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan. Soyuz-2.1a has four strap-on boosters and core engine, all fueled by a mix of kerosene and liquid oxygen.

8.Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has been made the brand ambassador of the upcoming T20 Mumbai League. The league, scheduled from March 11 to 28 is to be organised by Sports India Pvt Ltd, a consortium of IIFL Group as Lead Member and Wizcraft, with the approval and sanction of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) and under its aegis.

9.After the success of her first book The Great Indian Diet, actress cum entrepreneur, and now an author, Shilpa Shetty has released her second book. It is called The Dairy Of Domestic Diva.The Dairy of Domestic Diva is a cookbook that contains recipes of various dishes along with the calorie intake details.

10.Bardo Chham is a folk dance of Sherdukpens, a small community of West Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh, Bardo Chham depicts the victory of good over evil.