21st February 2016 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

Today (21st February) is International Mother Language Day.
- This day is observed to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.
- First announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999, it was formally recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution establishing 2008 as the International Year of Languages.
- February 21 was specifically chosen to mark the day in 1952 when students demonstrated for recognition of their language, Bangla as a national language in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
- Theme of 2016 : Quality education, language(s) of instruction and learning outcomes.

National Affairs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban (Rural-Urban) mission in Chhattisgarh.
- The initiative is aimed at bringing civic and infrastructural facilities to villages to bridge the rural-urban divide.
- Note : The project, announced by the BJP last year, replaces the UPA government’s Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) initiative.
Indian Railways has decided to introduce Train Hostesses in the Delhi-Agra ‘Gatiman Express’, which is expected to launch next month.
- The train which is the first Indian train to run at 160 kmph will include Television service and GPS-based passenger information system among other features.
- The fare for the train have been fixed at a starting price of ₹690.

Recent Committees in News

The Union government today formed a Committee to look into the demand of the Jat community for reservation in central government jobs.
- This committee will be headed by : Venkaiah Naidu (Union Minister)

Science & Technology

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) today launched a new space observatory called ASTRO-H.
- The observatory is designed to study celestial objects that emit X-rays like black holes, dying stars and galaxy clusters.
- The sixth in a series of JAXA’s X-ray astronomy satellites, ASTRO-H is capable of detecting X-rays more than 10 times fainter than its telescope predecessor, Suzaku.
NASA is developing a new space telescope called Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), with a field of view 100 times larger than that of the Hubble Space Telescope.
- This telescope will also block the glare of individual stars, making it easier to determine the chemical makeup of exoplanets.
- WFIRST is slated for launch in mid-2020.

New Appointments

IT major Infosys has appointed Michael Pesch as Chief Executive Officer of Infosys Consulting Holding AG (formerly Infosys Lodestone), effective from April 1.
Faustin Archange Touadera has won the 2016 Presidential election of Central African Republic (CAR) held on 14 February 2016.
- He had contested as an independent candidate in this election and secured 62.7 percent or 695,000 valid votes.
- He defeated Georges Anicet Dologuele of Union for Central African Renewal Party who had obtained just over or 37.3 percent or 413,000 votes.

Business & Economy

The Public Investment Board under the Finance Ministry has approved the ₹800 crore proposal from India Post for setting up a payments bank.
- The proposal will now be placed before the Cabinet for final approval.
- The pilot of the payments bank is set to start from January 2017 and full-fledged operations may start by March 2017.
United States International Trade Commission (USITC) has decided to initiate anti-dumping investigations into a certain category of tyres imported from India and Sri Lanka.
- Decision in this regard was taken after USITC commissioners after they found that certain category of tyres imported from both countries is damaging domestic industry.
- Note : This is for the first time that anti-dumping investigations from US have launched probe into tyres coming from India, while Chinese tyres already have faced a similar probe in the past.
The World Bank has decided to lend support to the Rajasthan government on energy reforms.
- The decision was taken at a meeting between World Bank’s country director in India, Onno Ruhl and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje at her official residence.

Awards & Honors

Malayali director Jayaraj’s film ‘Ottaal’ (2015), an adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s short story ‘Vanka', won the Crystal Bear award at the International Berlin Film Festival today.
- The film featuring Ashanth K Sha and Kumarakom Vasudevan, won the award for the ‘Best Film for Children’.
- Note : The film has also won the National Award for Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation.
The first-ever Electronic Music Awards (EMA) has announced its nominees which include artists like Calvin Harris, DJ Snake, Diplo and Skrillex.
- With categories including Single of the Year and Best New Artist, the awards will also recognise Best Club of the Year and Festival of the Year.
- The award ceremony will be held on April 14 in Las Vegas.

Deaths

Army officer Captain Pawan Kumar Singh attained martyrdom in Jammu and Kashmir during an encounter at Pampore with militants.
- "I had one child, I gave him to the Army and to the nation, no father can be prouder", said the martyred Captain's father Rajbir Singh.
Italian author Umberto Eco passed away.
- He was the author of best-selling historical novel “The Name of the Rose”.

Sports

Maharashtra Cricketer Pritam Patil Created history by scores First Triple Hundred in 50 Over Cricket.
- He Scored 306 runs off just 134 Balls.
Triple jumper Renjith Maheswary won a silver medal on the third day of the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships.
Mayookha Johny won the silver medal in women's triple jump at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships.
Indian sprinter Dutee Chand set a new national record while winning the 60m dash heats at the 7th Asian Indoor Athletics Championships.
- Dutee clocked 7.28 secs, the best by an Indian to date, that also bettered the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships record.
- Note : She was the fastest qualifier for the final at the Aspire Dome .
Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) has launched ‘Swachh Himachal – Padhai bhi, Safai bhi’ campaign in Dharamsala.
- With this unique campaign, HPCA became the first cricket association in the country to work towards Swatch Bharat Abhiyan initiated by the Union Government.