National & International Affairs
1. India, S Africa sign MoUs in four areas of co-operation
- India and South Africa have signed Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) and agreements in four areas of bilateral co-operation.
- These MoUs were signed in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Jacob Juma in Pretoria, South Africa.
- Earlier,PM Narendra Modi Modi had arrived in South Africa from Mozambique on the second leg of his four-nation tour of Africa.
- The MoUs are in the area of Information and Communication technology, Tourism, Grass root innovation and ‘art and culture’.
2. Film festival on wildlife has begun in Shimla
- A three-day Woodpecker Environment and Wildlife Film Festival has begun at historic Gaiety Theatre in Shimla.
- The festival is being organized by WWF-India in collaboration with CMSR foundation, Delhi with the support of the Himachal Pradesh’s Department of Language, Art and culture and Department of Forest.
- The focus of the festival is the critical environment and wildlife conservation issues like climate change, forest conservation, biodiversity and man-animal conflict and success stories will also be showcased in it.
- As many as 45 films, including several national award-winning movies and five films from Himachal Pradesh, will be screened at the festival, which is aimed at highlighting the environmental concerns.
3. India-Mozambique ink three agreements
- In the first leg of his four-nation tour of African countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reached Maputo, the capital of Mozambique .
- This is the first official visit of the Prime Minister to Mainland Africa.
- India and Mozambique have signed three Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) in areas of drug trafficking, pulse trading and sports.
- These MoUs were signed between two countries at Maputo, Mozambique in the presence of PM Narendra Modi and President of Mozambique Filipe Nyusi.
Signed Agreements:
- MoU on long term agreement for purchase of pulses.
- MoU on cooperation in the field of youth affairs and sports.
- MoU on reduction of drug trafficking and psychotropic substances and related materials.
4. Google buys France-based startup Moodstocks
- Search giant Google has acquired a French startup called Moodstock.
- The Moodstock is a Paris-based startup that develops image recognition technology for smartphones whose APIs for developers have been described as “Shazam for images”.
5. India sets up apparel training centre in Nigeria
- India has set up an apparel training centre in Nigeria to support textiles industry of the west African country.
- This is a first of its kind centre in Nigeria, set up in partnership with their government.
- The centre has been established in Kaduna, Nigeria under the Cotton Technical Assistance Programme for Africa.
- The bilateral trade between the two countries stood at 12.17 billion dollars last year as against 16.36 billion dollars in the previous fiscal.
- Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer, and its major export to India is crude.
- There are over 100 Indian companies present in Nigeria mainly in telecom, hydrocarbons, textiles, chemicals, electrical equipment, pharmaceuticals, plastics, IT and auto sectors.
National & International Appointment
6. S K Kohli appointed as the chief defence accounts auditor
- Senior bureaucrat S K Kohli has been appointed as the Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA).
- His appointment has been approved by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet as the Kohli’s empanelment for promotion to the post of CGDA.
- He is an Indian Defence Accounts Service officer.
Note:-
- The CGDA is mandated to audit, payment and accounting of all charges pertaining to the armed forces, including bills for supplies and services rendered and for construction and repair works, pay and allowances and pensions.
7. Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar re-elected as Maharashtra Council Chairman
- Current Chairman of Maharashtra Legislative Council and NCP leader Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar has been re-elected as the chairman of Maharashtra Legislative Council.
- The session was called especially for electing chairman in the Upper House as the term of Nimbalkar .
- He was last month re-elected unopposed to the Upper House.
- Nimbalkar’s candidature was supported by Nationalist Congress Party’s long-time ally Congress.
8. Maharashtra CM expands Council of Ministers
- Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has expanded his council of ministers, inducting 11 ministers, including 10 new faces.
- The six cabinet ministers include five BJP legislators and one from ally Rashtriya Samaj Paksha while the five Ministers of State include two of BJP, two of Shiv Sena and one of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatna.
- With this the total ministers in state cabinet is 39 now.
Obituaries
9. Noted Music director Omi passes away
- Noted music director Om Prakash Sonik (77-year) passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
- He was composer part of the Sonik-Omi duo consisting of Master Sonik and his nephew Omi.
- He was born in Sialkot (now in Pakistan) and his family had moved to India after Partition in 1947
- The Sonik-Omi team had given music to nearly 125 Bollywood movies in the 1950-1980s.
- Some of their best-known works are Bhakti Mein Shakti, Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya (1966), Dharma, Sawan Bhadon, Aabroo, and Raftaar.
Honours & Awards
10. South African writer Lidudumalingani Mqombothi wins 2016 Caine Prize
- South African writer Lidudumalingani Mqombothi has won the ‘2016 The Caine Prize’ for African Writing for his story ‘Memories we Lost’.
- The prize, launched in 2000, is awarded annually to an African writer of a short story published in English.
- Lidudumalingani wins $13,152 and a month at Georgetown University in the US as a writer-in-residence.
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