Current Affairs: 23 February 2017

UK Names Cressida Dick As London's First Female Police Chief

• Britain appointed experienced counter-terrorism officer Cressida Dick as London's new police chief, the first woman to hold the job. 
• She is best known for heading an operation which led to the killing of an innocent Brazilian. 
• Ms Dick, 56, who left the Metropolitan Police in 2015 to work for Britain's Foreign Office, becomes the most senior officer in the country, heading a force of some 43,000 officers and staff
• Highly respected and popular with ordinary officers, Ms Dick joined the London force in 1983 as a constable and made her way up the ranks including a spell back in charge of her hometown of Oxford.
• In July 2005, she was in charge of the operation that led to Jean Charles de Menezes, 27, being shot seven times in the head on a Tube train at Stockwell station in south London after he was mistaken for a would-be suicide bomber.

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Sebi Eases Norms For Debt Mutual Fund Investment In Housing Finance Firms

• Debt mutual funds can now invest up to 15 per cent of their total net assets in housing finance companies with Sebi easing the regulations in this regard.
• The norms have been relaxed as part of efforts to channelise more funds towards affordable housing activities.
• Debt mutual funds were allowed to have an exposure of only up to 10 per cent to housing finance companies. This has been increased to 15 per cent with the immediate effect subject to certain conditions.
• According to the regulator, the guidelines for sectoral exposure in debt oriented mutual fund schemes put a limit of 25 per cent at the sector level and an additional exposure not exceeding 10 per cent (over and above the limit of 25 per cent) in financial services sector only to HFCs (Housing Finance Companies).

Vodafone Offers 'Private Recharge Mode' Without Disclosing Number

• In a step to maintain secrecy of one's mobile phone number getting exposed to retailers for possible misuse, Vodafone on Wednesday introduced its Private Recharge Mode for its subscribers in West Bengal.
• Vodafone Private Recharge Mode (PRM)- a free of cost service for West Bengal subscribers, enables users to recharge their mobile phones, without sharing their mobile numbers with retailers.
• To avail the Vodafone PRM option, a customer needs to send a toll free SMS - 'Private' - to 12604 and would be provided with an OTP, which can be used for subsequent recharges till midnight of the same day at any multi-brand outlets.
• The customer simply needs to share the OTP, instead of the mobile number with the retailer

Netanyahu is first Israeli prime minister to visit Australia

• Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Sydney on Wednesday on the first visit to Australia by a serving Israeli prime minister.
• Netanyahu will start his four-day visit with talks with his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull at his official Sydney address.
• High on the list of discussion topics is likely to be whether Israel remains committed to a two-state solution to resolve the Palestinian conflict and whether Netanyahu will heed President Donald Trump’s call to “pull back” on settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
• Netanyahu and Turnbull will sign agreements on technology and air services as well as discuss expanding co-operation in areas including cyber-security, innovation and science.

India win 'Handball-on-skates' World Championship

• short by Abhishek Bansal / 10:25 pm on 22 Feb 2017,Wednesday
• India won the men's Roll Ball World Cup Championship as they beat Iran 8-7 in the final on Wednesday. 
• India also won the tournament in the women's category, defeating Iran 6-4 in the final. 
• Roll Ball is a combination of roller-skating, handball, and basketball, and it was invented by an Indian sports teacher Raju Dabhade in 2003.

Punjab bans manufacture of gutkha, pan masala

• Punjab government has prohibited the manufacture, storage, sale or distribution of food products containing tobacco or nicotine like gutkha and pan masala in the state for one year.
• The ban also applies on processed, flavoured, scented, chewing tobacco, whether they are packaged or unpackaged or sold as one or separate products, an official spokesperson said.
• The decision has been taken in view of the orders of the Supreme Court wherein it observed that to circumvent ban of sale of gutkha, the manufacturers are selling pan masala (without tobacco) with flavored chewing tobacco in separate sachet

Namma Metro enters into a 'First in India' strategic partnership with Ola

• Ola, India's most popular mobile app for transportation, has entered into a first of its kind partnership with Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited.
• The association will enable easy and affordable mobility experience for commuters as key stations on the metro route get equipped with dedicated Ola kiosks.
• With this association, Ola aims to provide a consistent mobility experience to hundreds of thousands of passengers, who use the Bangalore Metro service for their daily commute.
• Consumers will have access to Ola's wide range of mobility solutions including, Micro, Mini, Share, Prime and Lux. Ola representatives will also be available at the kiosks to help commuters get a reliable ride with ease. The Ola Kiosks will be operational from March 2017 in Trinity, Cubbon Park, City Railway Station, Peenya, Goraguntepalya, Yeshwanthpur and Mahalaxmi metro stations.

First Gramin Khel Mahotsav to be held next month in Delhi

• Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel announced that the first Gramin Khel Mahotsav will be held from 25th to 31st of next month in New Delhi.
• Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Goel said the games will be held in five sports disciplines Athletics, Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Volley Ball and Wrestling. He said a need has been felt to deepen the sports culture among the rural youth.
• The Sports Minister said this festival will help participation of rural youth in large numbers in popular sports and encourage them to achieve excellence and adopt healthy life style.
• These games are intended to act as a catalyst to promote sports in rural areas across the country and will be replicated in other states and union territories as well.
• In order to capture the popular imagination and encourage the youth of Delhi to take keen interest in sports, renowned wrestlers Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt and Geeta Phogat are being invited to participate in demonstration matches.

Abhijit Sarkar appointed Vice President of Asian Hockey Federation

• The Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of Abhijit Sarkar as it’s new Vice Chairman and also the Chairman of the AHF Commercial and TV Committee with immediate effect.
• Abhijit Sarkar has been associated with the Sahara India Pariwar for last 24 years, where he led the group in promoting various sports in India by sponsoring both the Indian National Cricket Team as well as the Indian National Hockey Team. 
• Sarkar has served as the Head of Corporate Communications, Corporate Affairs and Relations, and the Sports Division at Sahara India Pariwar. His ability to form and execute strategies relating to the promotion of sports in India has played a major role in his appointment as the Vice President of AHF.
• Abhijit Sarkar has also been deeply involved in the development of Indian hockey in recent times, as under his leadership Sahara India bought the Uttar Pradesh Wizards’ franchise in the ongoing Hockey India League (HIL). Earlier this year, Sahara had also renewed its sponsorship with Hockey India until 2021 which includes promoting both the men’s and women’s senior and junior teams

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