DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: FEBRUARY 6, 2018

NATIONAL

Nuclear-capable Agni-I missile test fired successfully

  • India test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Agni-I ballistic missile.
  • It has been tested as a part of user trial by the Army from a test range off the Odisha coast.
  • It is a 700 km range surface-to-surface missile and launched from pad-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Abdul Kalam Island in Balasore.

     

Assam Government, Ola Sign MoU for River Taxi Service

  • The cab-hailing company Ola has inked MOU with Government of Assam to pilot an app-based river taxi service in Northeast India’s financial hub Guwahati.
  • The MoU has been signed in the presence of Chandra Mohan Patowary, Minister for Transport Industry and Commerce(Assam) and Vijay Ghadge, Vice President Operations of Ola.
  • The river taxis will be a machine-operated boat, which is faster and safer than the conventional ones.

Assam

Capital: Dispur

Governor: Jagdish Mukhi

Chief Minister: Sarbananda Sonowal


INTERNATIONAL

Japan Launches Smallest Rocket Ever to Carry Tiny Satellite into Orbit

  • The country’s Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has successfully launched the smallest-ever rocket to carry a satellite into orbit.The rocket set off from the Uchinoura Space Center.
  • It carried the TRICOM-1R, a three-unit cubesat, into lower Earth orbit where it will observe the Earth with a set of cameras.

Japan

Capital: Tokyo

Currency: Japanese Yen

Prime Minister: Shinzo Abe


PM Modi to visit Palestine, UAE, Oman

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have a packed schedule during his four days visit to Palestine, UAE and Oman from 9th Feb.
  • Joint Secretary (West Asia and North Africa, WANA) Dr Bala Bhaskar said, India is committed to deepen its engagement with Palestine.
  • In Dubai, Prime Minister would be addressing the Sixth World Government Summit being at which India has been extended ‘Guest of Honour’ status and he will lay the foundation of a Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi.
  • Tweleve agreements will be signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UAE.

Palestine

Capital: East Jerusalem

Currency: Shekel

UAE

Capital: Abu Dhabi

Currency: Dirham

Oman

Capital: Muscat

Currency: Omani rial


Maldives President declares emergency

  • The Maldives President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency for 15 days.
  • A former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was arrested after the state of emergency was declared.
  • Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and judge Ali Hamid werem also arrested.
  • The president pitted against the Supreme Court after he refused to comply with its order to release nine political dissidents.

Maldives

Capital: Male

Currency: Maldivian rufiyaa

President: Abdulla Yameen


APPOINTMENTS

Dinesh Srivastava takes over as NFC chief executive

  • Dinesh Srivastava an eminent scientist, took over as the Chief Executive of Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), headquartered Hyderabad.
  • He has succeeded G Kalyanakrishnan who retired on superannuation.
  • Srivastava will also be the Chairman of the NFC board. Prior to this assignment, he was holding the position of Deputy Chief Executive.

     

AWARDS AND HONOURS

Four Indian athletes in Forbes India 30 Under 30 list 2018

  • The magazine has come up with a unique “30 under 30” 2018 super achievers list. The list features top 30 persons specialized in different disciplines.
  • Indian athletes Jasprit Bumrah(Cricket), Harmanpreet Kaur(Cricket), Savita Punia(Hockey Goal Keeper) and Heena Sidhu(Shooter) made it to this year’s Forbes India 30 Under 30 list.
  • Those who were under the age of 30 as on December 31, 2017 (the cutoff date for selection of the list) were considered for selection by Forbes India.

SPORTS

Cricket: BCCI announces cash rewards for chief coach Rahul Dravid

  • The BCCI has announced a cash reward of Rs 50 lakh for the Under-19 chief coach Rahul Dravid.
  • The victorious squad members will receive Rs 30 lakh each.
  • The other members of the support staff including fielding coach Abhya Sharma and bowling coach Paras Mhambrey will get Rs 20 lakh.

     

Golf: Shubhankar becomes top-ranked Indian golfer

  • A youngster 21-year-old Shubhankar Sharma became the top-ranked Indian golfer with a rank of 72 in the world golf rankings.
  • Recently he has won the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
  • He also clinched his first European Tour win at the Joburg Open in December 2017.
  • Dustin Johnson from the USA is now the World No. 1 in the World Golf Ranking.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM

  • International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation is a United Nations-sponsored annual awareness day that takes place on February 6.
  • It is UN’s efforts to eradicate female genital mutilation.

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DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ: FEBRUARY 6, 2018