FEBRUARY 2016 CURRENT AFFAIRS (PART-6)

• Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) of Union Government have given its final approval to set up India’s first Defence Industrial Park at Ottappalam in Kerala. The proposed defence park will be established as part of Union Government’s flagship Make in India programme and state government’s Make in Kerala project. It will have modern common infrastructure facilities aimed at attracting component manufacturers in the defence industry. Union government also has agreed to bring the park under the Modified Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (MIIUS).
• World Radio Day is observed globally on 13th February to remember the unique power of radio that touches lives and bring people together across every corner of the globe. The Theme for the year 2016 is “Radio in Times of Emergency and Disaster”. 13th February was proclaimed as World Radio Day by UNESCO at its 36th General Assembly in 2011. On this day in 1946, United Nations Radio had transmitted its first call sign. The first World Radio Day was officially celebrated in 2012.
• Union Government has sanctioned about 580 crore rupees for Agartala-Akhaura railway link Project to connect Kolkata with Tripura via Bangladesh. It is 15 km long strategic railway route that would connect the Indian Railways with the Bangladesh Railways. The work on this project is expected to complete by 2017. Of the 15 km strategic railway track, 10 km falls in the Bangladesh side and the rest 5 km falls in India. This project will play important role in India’s ‘Act East Policy’ and is expected to improve connectivity and boost trade between the two countries. It will also reduce the current 1700 km road distance between Kolkata to Agartala via narrow Chicken Neck Siliguri corridor to just 350 km by railway.
• Tiruchirapalli city in Tamil Nadu has won best city performer in Behavioral change Communication Award. The award was bestowed upon Trichy city commissioner Vijayalakshmi from Union Minister of urban Development Venkaiah Naiadu in the Swach Sarvekshan function.
• President Pranab Mukherjee has formally declared Kerala as the country’s first digital state. It was announced by President after launching a digital empowerment campaign of state at a function to be held in Kozhikkode. The campaign aims at bridging the digital divide by 2020. This declaration was made considering the rapid digital strides of the state which has achieved 100 percent mobile connectivity, 75 percent e-literacy, maximum digital banking, broadband connectivity upto the Panchayat level, linking bank accounts with Aadhar cards and e-district plan in all districts.
• All 12 Pacific Rim countries have signed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement in Auckland, New Zealand making it one of the biggest trade deals in history. These 12 countries are Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam, Japan, Canada, United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Australia and New Zealand. TPP is Free Trade Area and these member countries across the Pacific Rim account for 40% of global trade.
• India officially became the Associate Member State of European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO). In this regard, Union Ministry of Science and Technology has signed an agreement to acquire the status of Associate Member of EMBO. India is second country outside the European region to be an Associate Member State of EMBO after Singapore which had signed such agreement in 2015.
• Border troops of India and China have held their first joint tactical exercise codenamed Sino-India Cooperation 2016 in Chushul-Moldo in Jammu and Kashmir. This exercise is complement to the Hand-in-Hand series of India-China Joint Exercises.
• India’s largest lender State Bank of India has launched ‘Japan Desk’, a single window for inbound Japanese investments in India and vice-versa. This is a first-of-its-kind initiative that seeks to facilitate Japanese corporates looking to invest in India with banking and advisory services.
• Birdwatchers for first time have sighted Falcated Duck in Goa which is considered as rare vagrant migrant bird species to the south India. Earlier the bird was sighted two times in southern parts of India away from its natural migratory habitat in North India. For first time it was sighted in Tamil Nadu in 2012 and second time in Akola (Maharashtra) in January 2015. Falcated Duck is a migratory bird, breeding in Russia and north China in summers and in winter migrate towards north of India. It is classified as near threatened by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). World population of this species is about 89,000 individuals as per the recent estimates. Loss of habitat and hunting is a cause for concern.
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