FEBRUARY

NATIONAL

Ø  Andaman & Nicobar Command To Host Milan 2018

Ø  The second week of March will witness Andaman & Nicobar Command 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. The theme of this year’s MILAN International Maritime Seminar is ‘In Pursuit of Maritime Good Order – Need for Comprehensive Information Sharing Apparatus’. With the underlying theme of ‘Friendship Across the Seas’, MILAN 2018 will witness a diverse mix of professional exercises and seminars, social events and sporting fixtures.

Ø  PM Modi Flags Off ‘Run For New India’ Marathon In Surat

Ø  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. The Marathon is divided into 4 categories. Around 1.50 lakh runners participated in the ‘Run for New India’ marathon which was organized by the Surat Nagrik Samiti.

Ø  CBI arrests Rotomac Pens’ owner Vikram Kothari

Ø  The CBI arrested Rotomac Pens’ owner Vikram Kothari and his son Rahul for allegedly defrauding banks of Rs3,700 crore. Kothari’s company had submitted forged documents to get loans and created shell firms to carry out illegal activities. Earlier, authorities had notified all land, sea, and air ports to prevent Kothari and his family members from leaving India.

Ø  Union Government Clears Private Commercial Mining In Coal

Ø  In a major reform in the coal sector since its nationalization in 1973, the government allowed private companies to mine the fossil fuel for commercial use. This move ended the monopoly of state-owned Coal India Ltd. The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) under the Chairmanship of PM Narendra Modi. Currently, the private sector is allowed coal mining for captive use only. The reform will bring efficiency into the coal sector by moving away from the era of monopoly to competition and lower power tariffs.

Ø  India Successfully Test-Fires Agni-II Missile

Ø  India successfully test-fired Agni II medium-range nuclear-capable missile from APJ Abdul Kalam island off the Odisha coast. The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) fired Agni-II from a mobile launcher at launch complex 4 of the Integrated Test Range. Agni-II, which has a length of 20 meters, weighs 17 tonnes and can carry a payload of 1000 kgs over a distance of 2000 km. It is a part of the Agni series of missiles developed by the DRDO.

Ø  UN names India as Global Host for the World Environment Day 2018

Ø  Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan announced that India will host the World Environment Day 2018. The theme for the World Environment Day-2018, held every year on June 5, is “Beat Plastic Pollution”. Harsh Vardhan also launched the first electric charging facility at the Lodhi Road UN office – the first ever in a UN office in India.

Ø  42 Indian languages heading towards extinction

Ø  42 languages or dialects in India are considered to be endangered and are believed to be heading towards extinction as only few thousand people speak them. According to report of Census Directorate, there are 22 scheduled languages and 100 non-scheduled languages in country, which are spoken by large number of people – one lakh or more. There 42 languages are spoken by fewer than 10,000 people. A list prepared by UNESCO also has mentioned them as critically endangered languages. The Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysore is working for protection and preservation of these languages under central scheme Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages of India.

Ø  Vice President inaugurates 8th International Theatre Olympics

Ø  The Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the 8th International Theatre Olympics 2018 at the Red Fort in New Delhi. He also released the festival logo. The 51-day-long theatrical extravaganza is being hosted in India by the National School of Drama under the aegis of Ministry of Culture. The theme is “Flag of Friendship” that aims to bridge borders and bring people of different cultures, beliefs and ideologies together through the medium of theatrical art. The festival will conclude on April 8, 2018 with a grand ceremony at the iconic Gateway of India in Mumbai.

Ø  India’s first radio festival being held in New Delhi

Ø  India’s first radio festival is being held in New Delhi to mark World Radio Day. The festival is being organized by International Association of Women in Radio and Television, in collaboration with UNESCO. The festival includes live performances, an exhibition, and slotted panel discussions. Apart from touching on the theme for World Radio Day 2018 – radio and sports – the festival is also examining the potential of the medium as a platform for social change, ways to make it more creative and will trace the journey of music on the radio.

Ø  Paschim Lehar: Tri-service maritime exercise held off western coast

Ø  Tri-service maritime exercise ‘Paschim Lehar’ was held off India’s western coast with an aim to build interoperability between Indian Navy, Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Coast Guard. This exercise includes participation of large number of ships, submarines and aircraft from Western Naval Command of Indian Navy and units from Eastern Naval Command, Indian Army, Air Force and Coast Guard.

Ø  India’s first online radio station ‘Radio Umang’ launched

Ø  Radio Umang, India’s first online radio station that allows the listener to just download and tune in, has been launched. Listeners can tune in to this online radio station through web streaming or download the app. With 24 hours programming, it has found listeners in Hindi speaking regions of India and in over 60 countries worldwide.

Ø  India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2017 released by MoEFCC

Ø  The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has released India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2017. It has revealed that total forest and tree cover in India has increased of over 8,021 sq km (about 80.20 million hectare) which is one percent increase from 2015. 15 states/UTs have above 33% of geographical area under forest cover. About 40% of country’s forest cover is present in 9 large contiguous patches of the size of 10, 000 sq.km, or more.

Ø  NITI Aayog unveils Health Index for states

Ø  NITI Aayog on 9 February, 2019 released a comprehensive ‘Healthy States, Progressive India’ report in New Delhi. The health index ranks the states on the basis of their performance on measurable indicators such as infant mortality rate, sex ratio at birth and functional 24×7 public health centres. The healthy state progressive report ranked Kerala, Punjab and Tamil Nadu at the top among the larger states in terms of overall performance. The report was released by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant in New Delhi. The index has been evolved through comprehensive study and inputs from World Bank India and Ministry of Health.

Ø  India’s 1st defence industrial corridor

The first of the two defense industrial production corridors, as announced in the Union Budget, will link Chennai & Bengaluru and will pass through Coimbatore and several other industrial clusters. The corridor shall provide impetus to the defence production industry in the country and in the region. The announcement on the second corridor would be made soon