FEBRUARY 2016 CURRENT AFFAIRS (PART-3)

• Mysuru city from Karnataka has been ranked first in terms of cleanliness for second time in row among the 73 surveyed cities in Swachh Sarvekshan 2016. It was announced by Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu during the Swachh Survekshan 2016 award function held in New Delhi. The rankings of the Swachh Survekshan Survey 2016 were conducted by Quality Council of India as part of ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’. Top Cities are Mysore (1st rank), Chandigarh (2nd) and Tiruchirappalli (3rd). Least clean city is Dhanbad (73rd).
• As per recently released Index of Internet Readiness of Indian States (IIRIS) report, Maharashtra has topped in terms of the overall Internet readiness index. The report has been compiled and published by Internet and Mobile Association of India and Indicus Analytics. It is a composite index measures internet penetration and usage in Indian states by using four indicators (i) mobile and internet infrastructure (ii) status of the IT service sector (iii) e-participation or use of online transactions and services by citizens (iv) e-governance services offered by the states.
• Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is working to establishment of a Satellite Tracking & Data Reception Station and Data Processing Facility for ASEAN Member countries in Vietnam. ISRO will set up this satellite centre at the behest of Union Government as part of Space Cooperation between India and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
• Kalikho Pul has been sworn-in as the 9th Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh after Governor JP Rajkhowa used his discretionary powers to appoint him.
• President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated India’s first Gender Park at Kozhikode district of Kerala. It is also the first of its kind gender equality convergence centre in Asia. The park is an initiative of the Social Justice Department of the Kerala Government to promote research and other initiatives to enable total gender equality.
• Former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Rai has been appointed as the first Chairman of Banks Board Bureau (BBB). His appointment comes after Prime Minister has approved the proposal of the Department of Financial Services for the constitution of the BBB. BBB will be a super authority (Autonomous Body) of eminent professionals and officials for Public Sector Banks (PSBs). It will replace the Appointments Board of Government. The bureau was announced by the Union Government in August 2015 as part of seven point Indradhanush Mission to revamp the PSBs. It will give recommendations for appointment of full-time Directors as well as non-Executive Chairman of PSBs.
• Dinesh Sharma has been unanimously elected as the Chairperson of the Governing Council of International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) for a period of two years in its 39th Session held in Rome, Italy.
• Every year World Cancer Day is being observed on 4 February across the world to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment. The theme for year 2016 WCD is “We can. I can”.
• West Indies for the first time has won the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup by defeating three time champions India by five wickets played at Mirpur, Bangladesh.
• The first phase of the world’s largest Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant was launched in the Souss-Massa-Drâa area in Morocco. It is part of Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex which will produce enough energy for more than one million Moroccan households on completion by 2018.