Important Current Affairs 22nd February 2017 with PDF

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We bring you the Latest  (Gk)General Knowledge, Daily Current Affairs news, Events, General awareness Today  22nd February 2017 Section in FREE PDF (English & Hindi), a section which outlines the latest important news, Events headlines which are hardly covered elsewhere.

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INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

India, China hold Upgraded Strategic Dialogue

India and China on 22 February 2017 held their first upgraded strategy dialogue in Beijing to sustain their bilateral ties.
●    The talk happened amidst rising tensions between the two countries over Beijing’s reluctance to support India’s bid to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group and blocking UN ban on JeM chief Masood Azhar.
●    The dialogue was opened by the remarks of the Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar who said that the relations between the two countries have really acquired a steady momentum over the years.
●    He further said that not only have both the countries been engaging in leadership level meetings regularly but their economic engagement is also growing steadily. 
●    He also acknowledged how the border areas of both the countries have managed to maintain peace and tranquillity 
●    Referring to the differences shared by both the countries, Jaishankar said there are natural issues which neighbours have and it is the responsibility of both the countries to address them.
●    The Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, while welcoming Jaishankar spoke about how India and China have become two major developing countries and emerging markets in the world.  

PERSONS

FreeCharge CEO Govind Rajan Resigns

FreeCharge chief executive Govind Rajan has resigned from the company within nine months of his appointment as the payments subsidiary of online marketplace Snapdeal has failed to raise fresh funds. 
●    Snapdeal, run by Jasper Infotech Pvt Ltd, has been trying to independently raise funds for FreeCharge but the company has struggled to attract investors in the past six to 10 months.
●    FreeCharge, which provides digital payments services, was acquired by Snapdeal for $450 million in April 2015 and appointed Rajan as the chief executive in May 2016.
●    Rajan was initially hired as the chief strategy officer of Snapdeal, prior to which he was at Bharti Airtel Ltd as its chief marketing officer and chief executive of Airtel Money. 
●    He also worked at Hindustan Unilever Ltd for over 15 years.
●    Backed by Japan’s Softbank Group, which holds close to 33% in the company, Snapdeal has also received funding from Kalaari Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, eBay Inc., Foxconn Technology Group and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal now have a stake of less than 6.5% in the company, which has raised around $2 billion since its inception.

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NATIONAL NEWS

 Cyber Swachhta Kendra Launched by CERT-In 

At a time when cyber-attacks are increasing by day, the government through its Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-in) launched Cyber Swachhta Kendra - a new desktop and mobile security solution for a secure cyber space in the country.
●    The new solution will notify, enable cleaning and secure systems of end-users to prevent further infections.
●    USB Pratirodh is a desktop security solution that controls the usage of removable storage media like pen drives, external hard drives and other USB-supported mass storage devices.
●    M-Kavach tool offers a comprehensive mobile device security solution for Android devices addressing threats related to mobile phones.
●    The move comes at a time when over 50,300 cyber-security incidents like phishing, website intrusions and defacements, virus and denial of service attacks have been observed in the country during 2016.
●    The Cyber Swachhta Kendra is part of the government of India's Digital India initiative under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

NATIONAL NEWS

Corbett Gets Nod to Kill Poachers

The Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) issued shoot-at-sight orders against poachers. 
●    But the orders were to be carried out only for “self-protection against poachers carrying arms,” CTR director Parag Madhukar Dhakate said.
●    A five-day anti-poaching operation was initiated on Tuesday following information about suspected movement of poachers.
●    According to the tiger census data released in 2015, Uttarakhand, with 340 tigers, has the second highest tiger population in the country after Karnataka. 
●    According to wildlife experts, the tiger population has gone up in the past two years.
●    Such orders were given by the State Chief Secretary in the past too for the protection of forest department workers.
●    Sharp shooters have been placed at vantage points and 388 camera traps set up across the reserve. 
●    Two drones, night vision equipment and 150 forest department workers would be used in the operation.
●    According to the data provided by the Uttarakhand forest department, 112 tigers have died between November 2000 and November 2016. 
●    This includes 56 natural deaths, 19 due to fights between the animals, 17 in accidents and six deaths in poaching incidents. 

GLOBAL NEWS

Trump Revises Travel Ban

"The new order is going to be very much tailored to what I consider to be a very bad decision," Trump said during his White House news conference, referring to the courts' blocking of its implementation.
●    It was also likely to address religious discrimination issues by modifying or removing one section of the original order. 
●    That section, 5 (b), said that the Secretary of Homeland Security, "is further directed to make changes, to the extent permitted by law, to prioritize refugee claims made by individuals on the basis of religious-based persecution, provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual's country of nationality.’
●    One sticking point remained whether existing non-immigrant visas would be revoked. 
●    The Justice Department preferred to not revoke existing non-immigrant visas, while the White House and Department of Homeland Security were considering doing so.

NATIONAL NEWS

AYUSH Minister to inaugurate the World Integrated Medicine Forum on Regulation of Homeopathic Medicine 

Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik will inaugurate the World Integrated Medicine  Forum on Regulation of Homeopathic Medicinal Products: National and Global strategies in New Delhi  tomorrow. This is the first-of-its-kind forum considering the increased perception of the international world towards India as a key player in the progress of the homoeopathy drug industry,. 
●    Drug lawmakers, regulators, manufacturers and pharmacopeial experts from various regulatory authorities, eminent scientific organisations and pharmaceutical industries  from 25 countries, are participating in the two days forum to strategize the  actionable aspects in the homoeopathic drug industry, which, in turn, will promote global harmonisation in the sector.
●    The event is organised by Ministry of AYUSH and  Central Council for Research in Homeopathy (CCRH) and supported by Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIMH) & Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO).
●     Major points of discussion will include current regulatory status in different countries; practices and possible trade opportunities in key countries worldwide; possible solutions to regulatory challenges; building knowledge and network to deal more efficiently with challenges at national and global level and a strategic perspective on the possibilities and limitations of what can be achieved at a national level via further international collaboration and harmonization. 
●    One of the highlights of the forum will be exchange of Memorandum of Understanding among Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia Convention of the United States (HPCUS) and Indian bodies – Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H) and Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH) on cooperation in the field of Homoeopathic Medicine. 

NATIONAL NEWS

Gujarat Assembly passes Aadhaar Bill, 2017

The Gujarat Assembly on 20 February 2017 passed the Gujarat Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2017.
●    Bill was passed in the absence of nearly 48 MLAs of the Congress who were suspended from the House by the Speaker for creating ruckus.
●    The Bill empowers the state government to use Aadhaar number as the sole identifier for the delivery of various subsidies and benefits in an effective and targeted manner.
●    The government plan to link the Aadhaar number with various schemes which will help the government create a credible system to authenticate the identity of actual beneficiaries.
●    As of now, the Gujarat Government provides various subsidies and financial assistance to the citizens under 119 schemes, which is paid via RTGS or through cheques. 
●    Now with the passing of the bill, the government can ensure more accurate, targeted and efficient delivery of such disbursements using Aadhaar number.

AWARDS

Haryana’s highest sports award given to 42 sportspersons

The Haryana government on 19 February 2017 conferred the Bhim awards to 42 sportspersons of the state, recognising them for their outstanding performance at the national and international level between the years 2013 and 2017.
●    The awards were given by the state’s Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki at a function held at Haryana Raj Bhawan.
●    The state’s highest sports award carries a cash prize of ₹5 lakh, an idol of Bhim, a blazer, a scroll of honour and a scarf or a tie.
●    In total, the cash conferred to Bhim awardees during the function amounted to about 2.10 Cr.
●    The awards acknowledged the exceptional performance of 42 sportspersons at both national and international level during the years, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17.