Current Affairs 16th February 2017 | General Awareness 16th February 2017

1. PSLV-C37 launched successfully from Sriharikota: ISRO

• PSLV-C37 carrying CARTOSAT-2 series earth observation satellite and 103 nano satellites has lifted off from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
• PSLV-C37 successfully placed in orbit India’s CARTOSAT-2 series satellite and two other satellites.
• India successfully launched record 104 satellites, including CARTOSAT-2 series weather observation satellite, in a single mission onboard PSLV-C37 rocket.

2. Mumbai Boy Kush Bhagat Awarded CM Title by World Chess Federation

• Mumbai based Kush Bhagat has been awarded the Candidate Master (CM) title by the World Chess Federation body, FIDE on February 14, 2017 for his outstanding performance in Western Asian Youth Chess championship 2016 at UAE.
• Kush, a second grade student from Hill Spring International School has presented tremendous performances in the past 6 months.

3. Kalimpong is Bengal’s 21st district

• The Kalimpong subdivision of the Darjeeling hills became the 21st district of West Bengal on 15th Feb 2017.
• Kalimpong was once known for the Silk Route that passed through the region, connecting Nepal and Bhutan with the city.
• Rs. 220 crore will be invested in road construction.

4. India to join Moscow meet on Afghanistan

• India is among 6 nations participating in a conference on Afghanistan’s future in Moscow, 2 months after Russia hosted a similar conference with only China & Pakistan.
• After India and particularly Afghanistan objected to being cut out of the discussion, Moscow agreed to expand its ambit, announcing a six-nation conference.
• These nations are Russia, India, Iran, Pakistan, China & Afghanistan.

5. India to halve maternal, newborn deaths

• India is among 9 countries that will be part of a global health network focused on improving the quality of care for new mothers and babies and strengthen national efforts to end preventable deaths of pregnant women and newborns by 2030.
• The 9 countries are India, Bangladesh, A Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda

6. New bird species found in Nepal

• A Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush has been spotted in the high mountainous region of Nepal by Friends of Nature (FoN) reasearchers and then confirmed by the bird experts Carol Inskipp and Hem Sagar Baral.
• Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush is considered an autumn passage migrant bird species in Pakistan and India.
• With this the total number of avian species in the Himalayan country became 866.

7. Pandit Deendayal Krishi Shiksha Scheme

• Agriculture and Farmers Welfare minister, Radha Mohan Singh said that all courses upto Agricultural Graduate are being linked with employment.
• This will be a big help for the students in earning their livelihood.
• Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Unnat Krishi Shiksha Scheme launched in the year 2016 to promote agricultural education under which 100 centres is being opened with a fund of 5.35 crore.

8. Govt approves India-Rwanda Air Services Agreement

• The Government approved signing of an Air Services Agreement (ASA) between India and Rwanda to allow the airlines of the two countries to operate services in each other’s territory.
• Rwanda national carrier RwandAir has already announced its plans to launch its air services to India from the next fiscal with four flights per week to Mumbai.

9. As per the research conducted by the Solvent

As per the research conducted by the Solvnt Extractots’ Association of India, Farmers can cultivate castor seed on a reduced area and yet get higher yield by following the new cropping pattern and the use of GCH7, a new hybrid variety of castor seed, provided by the Dantiwada Agriculture University.

10. After touching a record $4.88 billion or Rs 29,299 crores

• After touching a record $4.88 billion or Rs 29,299 crores in 2013-14, India’s basmati export earnings were on a declining trend over the past three years on a decline in prices and lower purchases by Iran, a large buyer.
• To supplement domestic production of about 2 million tons, Iran imports about 1 million tons of rice every year out of which about 7 lakh tons is exported from India.

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