THE HINDU REVIEW: FEBRUARY 2017 For SBI PO & NIACL Assistant

                 

THE HINDU REVIEW: FEBRUARY 2017

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  The Ministry of Railway has proposed the Finance Ministry to create a non-lapsable safety fund named ‘Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh’ over five years with initial corpus of Rs. 20000 crore and contribute a portion to fund it in the Budget 2017. It is based on the recommendation of a high-level safety review committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Anil Kakodkar.

 The programming committee meeting of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) held at Kathmandu.

    Ministry of Defence is set to open its Defence Unit in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh.

       Meghalaya’s first ever Apparel and Garment Making Centre was inaugurated by Union Textiles Minister Smriti Zubin Irani and Chief Minister of Meghalaya Dr. Mukul Sangma near Ampati in South West Garo Hills.

       Private sector lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank in partnership with Bangalore based fin-tech startup firm Fisdom, has launched a mobile application Mission FINFIT to offer the customers of the bank financial planning and personal wealth management services based.

       According to ICRA, the bank credit growth rate is likely to float between 5-6% in the current fiscal year (2017).

       UN children's agency UNICEF has launched an appeal for 3.3 billion US Dollar to help 48 million children caught up in crises worldwide amid fears of a funding cut from top donor the United States.

       Former Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Verma took charge as the new CBI Director.

       Moussa Faki Mahamat has been elected as the head of AU Head, the African Union Commission. He will replace Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

       US House of Representatives has introduced a legislation, making it mandatory to raise the minimum salary of the H-1B visa holders to more than double at USD 1,30,000 from the previous USD 60,000.

       Ireland has become the first country in the world to divest coal, oil and gas investments from Ireland Strategic Investment Fund.

       Former Union Minister E Ahamed died at the age of 78.

       A new scheme will be introduced by Govt of India to create infrastructure for exports, a move aimed at reducing transaction costs for traders. A new and restructured central scheme with a focus on export infrastructure namely Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) will be launched in 2017-18.

       Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced a whopping Rs 1 lakh crore hike in the credit target for the next financial year to Rs 10 lakh crore as part of the government's efforts to double farm incomes in the next five years. The government provides short-term crop loans up to Rs 3 lakh at subsidised interest rate of 7% per annum. An additional incentive of 3% is provided to farmers for prompt repayment of loans within due date, making an effective interest rate for them at 4%.

       Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has proposed creation of a six-member Payments Regulatory Board in the RBI, headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel as part of bringing about structural reforms in the payment eco-system.

       Sanjeev Sanyal, former global strategist and Managing Director of Deutshe Bank, was appointed as Principal Economic Adviser.

       India's Lakshya Sen has become the World No 1 Junior Badminton player.

       Tech giant Apple has reached an agreement with the Karnataka government to set up a manufacturing plant in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

       India is expected to clock GDP growth of 7.1 per cent in 2017—18 as the country gets sufficiently remonetised and the schemes in the Budget play a supportive role, says an HSBC report.

       The Sports Ministry budget got a substantial hike of Rs 350 crore in the union budget for 2017-18, presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Parliament. Jaitley allocated a total of Rs 1943 crores.

       A truly global event taking place every year on 4 February, World Cancer Day unites the world’s population in the fight against cancer. Taking place under the tagline ‘We can. I can.’

       In a bid to discourage cash transactions, the country’s second-largest private sector lender HDFC Bank has decided to steeply increase the fees for savings account holders on a slew of activities involving cash.

       Former CBI chief Joginder Singh, who oversaw investigation of several high-profile cases has passed away at aged 77 years.

       Leading stock exchange National Stock Exchange (NSE) selected IDFC chief Vikram Limaye as its new CEO and Managing Director

       Champion cueist Pankaj Advani has won the Indian National Snooker Championship with a 6-0 win over Pandurangaiah of Railways in a one-sided final.

       The Centre has formed a six-member committee to give a report on ways to improve India's Haj policy and also look into the issue of subsidy to the pilgrimage in light of 2012 Supreme Court order on gradually reducing and abolishing it by 2022. Former Consulate General of India (CGI), Jeddah, Afzal Amanullah has been appointed as convener of the high-level panel.

       American startup Planet Labs, that launches small satellites into orbit and sells the imagery, has announced its acquisition of Google's 'Terra Bella' satellite business.

       England Test captain Alastair Cook has been honoured with Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE).

       KPMG India board has elected Arun M Kumar as chairman and CEO to lead the India operations of the consulting and accounting major. He succeeds Richard Rekhy.

       Health Ministry launched Measles Rubella vaccination campaign in the country at a function in Bengaluru.

       The Union Minister for Sports Vijay Goel laid the foundation stone of the country's first centre of excellence for differently abled sportsmen at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

       In a move to bring about paradigm shift towards holistic development of villages, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal launched the Chief Minister Samagra Gramya Unnayan Yojana, CMSGUY in Guwahati .

       Corporation Bank has signed an agreement with Religare Health Insurance Co Ltd to market its products and services through the distribution network of the bank across India.

       The Telangana government has launched India's first social innovation centre The ‘Kakatiya Hub For Social Innovation’ in Nizamabad, Telangana.

       Renowned Pakistani Urdu novelist and playwright Bano Qudsia has passed away here. She was 88.

       The Union Human Resource Development Ministry led by ‎under Prakash Javadekar is set to constitute a National Testing Agency (NTA) which will be responsible for conducting examinations for higher and secondary education.

       The Railway Ministry is set to develop the first ever railway line in Andaman and Nicobar Island that currently has no rail network. It is set to approve the project that will construct 240-km broad gauge railway line connecting Port Blair with Diglipur, the largest town on Andaman Island.

       Public sector lender Bank of Maharashtra has partnered with insurance company Cigna TTK Health to market the insurer’s products in the bank’s branches across the entire country.

       India’s third largest private bank, Axis Bank has tied up with Earthport Plc, a cross-border payment network, to enable faster outbound cross-border payments for its customers.

       The Ujjivan Small Finance Bank officially started its operation with 5 pilot branches in Bengaluru. Samit Ghosh is the MD and CEO of the Ujjivan Small Finance Bank.

       The Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Samudra Pavak made a goodwill visit at the Mina Al Rashid (Dubai Port).

       Renowned Indian-origin British sculptor Anish Kapoor was honored with the prestigious $1 million 2017 Genesis Prize by Israel for his utmost contribution for Jewish community.

       Queen Elizabeth II, the world’s longest reigning sovereign, became the first British monarch to reach her Sapphire Jubilee, with 65 years on the throne.

       The Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI) informed that India will host the World Billiards Championship for the next four years.

       Alastair Cook has resigned as England Test captain after a record 59 matches in the role.

       Iran lifted up the ban which it had imposed on United States Wrestlers, thus allowing them to participate in the Freestyle World Cup to be held in Iran in February 2017.

       RBI governor Urjit Patel led Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept the key repo rate unchanged at 6.25% in the first monetary policy review of 2017 and after Budget 2017.  Limit on cash withdrawal from savings banks accounts to be relaxed in 2 stages. From 20 February, 2017 limit to be increased from Rs 24k to Rs 50K. From 13 March, 2017 there will be no limit on cash withdrawal from savings bank accounts.

       Policy rates:             

Repo Rate- 6.25%                   

Reverse Repo Rate- 5.75%

Marginal Standing Facility Rate- 6.75%         

Bank Rate-  6.75%

       The Implementation and Assessment Group Meeting of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism held in New Delhi.

       The 23rd edition of International Conference and Exhibition on Terrestrial & Satellite Broadcasting was held in New Delhi. The theme of the conference is 'Hybrid Technologies in Broadcasting New Opportunities'.

      Bank of Baroda (BOB) has tied up with IFFCO, a cooperative, to provide co-branded debit cards with inbuilt overdraft facilities to the farmers.

       ICICI Securities, a subsidiary of ICICI Bank, has entered into a strategic partnership with Saxo Bank, an online multi-asset trading and investment specialist. It will enable ICICI Securities' clients to diversify their investments outside of the domestic Indian market.

       Private sector lenders HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank are live with the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) that is aimed at easing utility and other repetitive bill payments for consumers. BBPS is a centralised system created by the National Payments Corporation.

       In United States, Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump's controversial nominee for Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos.

       Sourabh Verma clinched the Men’s Singles title defeating Lakshya Sen in the 81^st Senior National Badminton Championships tournament played in Patna. Rituparna Das claimed the Women's Singles title defeating Reshma Karthik in the tournament.

       Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved 'Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan' (PMGDISHA) to make 6 crore rural households digitally literate. The outlay for this project is Rs.2,351.38 crore to usher in digital literacy in rural India by March 2019.

       US Senate voted to confirm Republican Senator Jeff Sessions as the next Attorney General of the United States.

       India and Austria signed a protocol to amend the existing bilateral taxation treaty for Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion.

       In a bid to strengthen cyber security system, the Reserve Bank (RBI) decided to set up an inter-disciplinary panel on cyber security to examine various threats and suggest measures to deal with it.

 

      Arunachal Pradesh has become the first state in the northeast to implement e-cabinet solution for the state cabinet members. Using this system, the cabinet members can access the cabinet notes before the meeting.

 

      The 17th session of the senior officials’ meeting of the BIMSTEC held in Kathmandu. During the meeting, Prime Minister of Nepal, Pushpa Kamal Dahal announced that the 4th BIMSTEC Summit would be hosted by Nepal in 2017.

      

 China has surpassed Germany to become the world’s largest producer of solar energy after nearly doubling its installed photovoltaic capacity in 2016.

      

 Private sector lender IDFC Bank has collaborated with fintech startup IndiaLends to enable first-time borrowers who do not have a credit history to take loans.

      

 Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has entered into four more unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs). With this, the total number of APAs entered into by the CBDT has reached 130.

      

 Russia will miss August's World Athletics Championships in London after their doping ban was extended.

     

  Racharla Samrajyam, a veteran freedom fighter, passed away following age-related illness at Vishakhapatnam. She was 98.

      

 Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s driver and INA veteran ‘Colonel’ Nizamuddin has passed away in his native village of Dhakwa in Azamgarh after a prolonged illness.

     

  The government has sold two per cent stake in ITC to Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and earned Rs 6,690 crore (around $1 billion) as part of its divestment plan for 2016-17.

      

 The Government has appointed three part-time Non-Official Directors on the all-powerful Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India for a four-year term. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Ashok Gulati, Manish Sabharwal and Rajiv Kumar as part-time Non-Official Directors on the Central Board.

     

  Gujarat has become the first state in the country for establishing the cashless system in its public distribution system (PDS) of food grains.

     

  Hemant Bhargava has appointed as Managing Director of state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India.

     

  To give a leg up to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in the diamond industry, Bank of Baroda is planning to launch a supply chain financing product for the industry on a pilot basis in Surat.

     

  With just 238 days remaining for the start of FIFA Under-17 World Cup India 2017, the official mascot of the tournament 'Kheleao' was unveiled at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. A clouded leopard called Kheleao was introduced to hundreds of football fans in a ceremony attended by Sports Minister Vijay Goel and All India Football Federation President Praful Patel.

     

  Virat Kohli recorded his sixth Test 150, against Bangladesh at Hyderabad to set the record for most 150-plus scores by an Indian captain in Tests.

      

 India’s top-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara added another feather to his cap. Pujara surpassed the 52-year long-standing record of former Indian cricketer Chandu Borde of highest first-class runs in a single cricketing season.

      

 The government stated that it would make 5.58 lakh ration shops Aadhaar-enabled by June 30, 2017 adding that it would not force it on the people and request those who chose to stay out, to come and join the platform.

     

  The Union Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Ananth Kumar inaugurated the Orientation Programme for the district heads of National Yuva Cooperative Society (NYCS) in New Delhi to launch the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs) in the country.

     

  A 33 member committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Andhra Pradesh’s Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for the speedy implementation of the Sagarmala Project in Andhra Pradesh. Sagarmala project aims to improve the state’s coastline and inland waterways.

    

   The Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, Shri Piyush Goyal launched the TAMRA (Transparency, Auction Monitoring and Resource Augmentation) portal and Mobile Application in New Delhi. It aims to enhance the transparency accountability in the mining sector.

      

 Industrial output fell 0.4% in the month of December, 2016 from a year 2015, driven down by a contraction in consumer and capital goods production.

      

 In the latest move to curb tax evasion, the government has set up a task force to monitor actions of deviant shell companies. Committee formed under the co-chairmanship of Hasmukh Adhia and Tapan Ray to review the functioning of shell companies to prevent their misuse for money laundering and tax-evasion.

      

 Senior Finance Ministry official Ajay Tyagi has appointed as chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).  He will succeed U K Sinha.

     

  2017 BRICS association of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to be held in Xiamen, China in 2017. The summit will be held under the theme “BRICS: Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future.

    

   Folk singer from Punjab Satinder Sartaaj has been selected for the awareness project against human trafficking 'Blue Heart Campaign' by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

      

 Finland multinational communications and information technology company Nokia announced to buy telecoms software firm Comptel for 347 million euros ($371 million).

       

Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has created a Guinness World Record by creating a 48.8 feet tall sand castle at Puri beach in Odisha.

       

UK physicist and Nobel laureate Sir Peter Mansfield has died. He was 83.

    

   Prof Neelu Rohmetra of Jammu University is the first woman to be appointed director of an IIM at Sirmaur (HP).

  

     US and Japanese military have successfully tested the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA missile defence system by intercepting a medium-range ballistic missile target in space for the first time. The missile was launched from a ship off the west coast of Hawaii, US.

   

    Every year 12th to 18th of February is celebrated as the National Productivity Week. This year the theme of week is 'From Waste to Profits-through Reduce, Recycle and Reuse.'

     

  Jiro Taniguchi, a legend in Japan's comic art of manga, died at the age of 69.

   

    India beat Pakistan by 9-wickets to win T20 Blind World Cup at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Man-of-the-match was Prakash Jayaramaiah. Man-of-the-series Badar Munir was the top-scorer for Pakistan.

      

 The World Radio Day observed on 13 February 2017. The theme for the 2017 edition of World Radio Day is 'Radio is You'.

   

    The three-day National Women’s Parliament, being organised by Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly with the theme of ‘Empowering Women - Strengthening Democracy’, began in the state capital region Amaravati.

      

 The 2^nd edition of the International Spice Conference began at Kovalam in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala. The theme of the conference is '21st Century Spic Industry-Disrupt or be Disrupted'.

    

   The centre has approved setting up the Electronic Development Fund Tele communication with a total corpus of Rs. 6,831 crores to support entrepreneurship and innovation in electronics and IT.

  

     Monnet Ispat & Energy Ltd. CMD Sandeep Jajodia has been appointed the new president of industry chamber Assocham.

    

   Former IFS officer Narinder Chauhan has been appointed as the next Ambassador of lndia to the Republic of the Philippines.

   

    The FIFA governing body has named Argentina’s former soccer player Diego Maradona as the new Ambassador of the FIFA.

   

    Cello virtuoso Yo-Yo Ma won a Grammy with his Silk Road Ensemble for Sing Me Home.

  

     The eminent thinker, writer and journalist Pandit Dharmsheel Chaturvedi passed away.

     

  Jiro Taniguchi, a Japanese manga writer died in Tokyo. He was 69.

    

   Indian off-spin specialist Ravichandran Ashwin became the fastest cricketer to take 250 wickets in Test matches.

     

  The 11th International Aerospace and Defence Exhibition - Aero India 2017 held at the Air Force Station, Yelahanka in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

      

 Thailand is seeking India’s cooperation in a number of sectors, such as aerospace, automation, medical devices, pharmaceutical, bio-technology and IT/ITes, as it strives to transform into a value-based economy.

  

     India’s first floating elementary school particularly for drop outs has been inaugurated on Loktak lake at Langolsabi Leikai of Champu Khangpok floating village in Manipur.

    

   The Karnataka assembly unanimously passed the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2017 to legalize the conduct of 'Kambala' and bullock cart races in Karnataka.

      

 The Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya launched the National Career Service (NCS) for youths and Jeevan Praman facility to EPFO pensioners through Post Offices at DakSadan in Hyderabad.

      

 After transforming the lives of villagers in Puttamraju Kandriga in Andhra Pradesh, Indian cricket icon and Rajya Sabha MP Sachin Tendulkar is now set to adopt Donja in Osmanabad (Maharashtra) under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna.

      

 India’s first cashless township “Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers and Chemicals (GNFC) township”was inaugurated by Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani.

       

Union Government has decided to launch ‘Indradhanush 2.0’ for recapitalisation of public sector lenders so that the banks remain solvent and fully comply with the global capital adequacy norms namely Basel-III.

     

  Indian Navy’s survey class vessel INS Sarvekshak has become the first ship in India to be fitted with solar power system on board.

    

   The Reliance Defence and Engineering Ltd (RDEL) has signed a Master Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA) with US Navy to perform repair and alteration services for US Navy’s Seventh Fleet vessels.

   

    India's leading agri and FMCG company Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd has signed an agreement with Baba Ramdev-promoted Patanjali Ayurved Ltd for physical refining and packaging of edible oils.

     

  The world’s longest elevated cycle path has been opened in Xiamen, China which can handle about 2,023 cyclists with a speed limit of 15 miles per hour.

     

  Germany’s former Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been elected as the new President of Germany.He will succeed incumbent President Joachim Gauck who will step down on March 18, 2017 at the age of 77.

      

 US, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has resigned over his contacts with Russia. Mr Flynn is alleged to have discussed US sanctions with the Russian Ambassador before President Donald Trump took office.

       

Netherland native Germaine de Randamie defeated Holly Holm (7-3) to claim the UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion at the UFC 208 in Brooklyn, New York .

      

 The England and Wales Cricket Board named Joe Root as England’s Test captain who will take over Alastair Cook.

      

 PSLV-C37 carrying CARTOSAT-2 series earth observation satellite and 103 nano satellites has lifted off from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. India successfully launched record 104 satellites, including CARTOSAT-2 series weather observation satellite, in a single mission onboard PSLV-C37 rocket.

       

Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan will inaugurate the International Conference on NexGen Technologies for Mining and Fuel Industries in New Delhi .

       

The International Coin Fair was inaugurated at Kanakakunnu Palace in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

       

Government has allocated an amount of Rs 500 crore to India Post Payments Bank for the financial year 2017-18 to help it in setting up 650 branches across country by September 2017.

     

  According to the global financial services major Nomura, the GDP growth of India is estimated to remain low at 5.7% in the January-March quarter due to the effect of demonetization of high value currency.

  

     The ‘name and shame campaign’ initiated by Catholic Syrian Bank Employees and Retirees against willful defaulters in Kerala.

       International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, has teamed up with Finance Industry Development Council (FIDC) to conduct training programmes for Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs).

       Nilesh Shivji Vikamsey was elected as the new President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) for the year 2017-18.

       

Pakistani Career diplomat Tehmina Janjua was appointed as the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. She is the first women to be appointed on the post.

    

   Former correspondent of the Press Trust of India, T V Parasuram passed away. He was 93.

     

  Legendary American jazz singer Al Jarreau passed away in Los Angeles. He was 76.

      

 Australian cricketer Adam Voges has decided to retire from all formats of international cricket after playing his last match as captain of the team Prime Minister’s XI against Sri Lanka in Canberra.

     

  Jehan Daruvala became the first ever Indian to claim the New Zealand Grand Prix in New Zealand.

   

    Mumbai based Kush Bhagat has been awarded the Candidate Master (CM) title by the World Chess Federation body, FIDE for his outstanding performance in Western Asian Youth Chess championship 2016 at UAE.

       

Cabinet has approved merger of five subsidiary banks with State Bank of India. FM said, SBI will acquire State bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Travancore.

     

  Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao appointed Edappadi K Palaniswami as chief minister after replacing of O panneerselvam.

    

   A two-day mega event of Global Investor Summit, branded as "Momentum Jharkhand" is kicked off at Khelgaon of Ranchi. 

      

 Union Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Martina Dalic, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy, Republic of Croatia have signed an agreement to boost bilateral trade and enhance economic cooperation in Zagreb, Croatia. 

     

  The five-day ‘Indian Panorama Film Festival’ being organised in Port Blair.

   

    During the recent CII partnership summit in AP, 12 MoUs were signed by the State Government with different companies for setting up 12 apparel units in the State entailing investment of Rs. 963 crores in all and generating 46,000 jobs.

    

   Jammu and Kashmir government launched the e-Prison project to enumerate jail inmates in the State, where numbers of detainees keep swelling during unrest.

       

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee declared Kalimpong as the 21st district of West Bengal  Kalimpong as separate district of West Bengal. The new district is from Darjeeling.

     

  The state government of MP decided to set up a tourism board. The decision to constitute the Tourism Board has been taken to encourage and promote Madhya Pradesh tourism nationally and internationally. 

       

India has become one of the nine members of the new ‘Network for Improving Quality of Care for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health’ that aims to improve the quality of care for new mothers and babies. The global health network is supported by World Health Organisation (WHO), UN International Children’s Fund (Unicef) and other partners. Other member nations include, Bangladesh, A Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda. 

      

 The 2017 Cobra Gold Military Exercise kicked off at the Sattahip Royal Thai Marine Corps Base in Chonburi Province, Thailand. It is co-organized by Cobra Gold United States and Thailand.

      

 Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp has agreed to buy Fortress Investment Group LLC for about $3.3 billion, looking to add investment expertise as it prepares to launch the world’s largest private equity fund.

      

 International Monetary Fund (IMF) launched its first fully integrated capacity development centre, South Asia Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC) in New Delhi. It will help to assist the local member countries of South Asia including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

      

 HDFC life launched a traditional life insurance plan 'Pragati' for low income group people. The plan has been designed especially to empower low income families by making the plan available at affordable rate to every person who has the desire to secure his family.

      

 Usain Bolt honored with ‘Sportsman of the Year ’Jamaica’s sprinter Usain Bolt won the ‘Sportsman of the Year’ award at the Laureus World Awards or the ‘Oscar of Sports’ held in Monaco .

      

 Indian professional hockey player Sandeep Singh has been honored with an Honorary Doctorate Degree by Desh Bhagat University, a private educational institution in Amloh, Fatehgarh Sahib District of Punjab.

      

 The Left-handed opening batsman of Pakistan Nasir Jamshed has been provisionally suspended from all forms of cricket by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for violating its anti-corruption code.

      

 The Cabinet approved the signing of Air Services Agreement between India and Rwanda which will enable the airlines of the two countries to operate services in each others’ territory.

      

 India has been ranked 143 out of 186 economies in the annual Index of Economic Freedom 2017 released by top US based Think Tank, The Heritage Foundation. Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand are the top three nations in the Index respectively.

       

Science Express Climate Action Special (SECAS II) flagged off from Safdarjung Railway station in Delhi. The SECAS II will run till 8th September and culminate its journey at Gandhinagar. During its journey, the Science Express will cover over 19,000 kilometres, and will be exhibited at 68 stations across 20 states. 

      

 Axiscades, an aerospace and defence technologies company and Virtual Reality Media, a Slovakian firm have signed an industrial cooperation agreement (ICA) at the Aero India 2017. Under the ICA, both companies will evaluate opportunities for full flight simulator for the aerospace and defence sector and to address the requirements for Russian platforms.

     

  India Vetiver Network (INVN) has been launched at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. INVN is a not-for-profit scientific network to promote vetiver in India. Vetiver has worldwide application to tackle many environmental issues like soil erosion, mitigation of soil and water pollution.

      

 PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has unveiled a new communication radio for the Indian armed forces, called STARS-V Mk III, at the Aero India 2017 show.

      

 Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Vikas Swarup has been appointed the new High Commissioner to Canada.

      

 Kerala cabinet gave its in-principle approval for setting up a Greenfield Airport at pilgrim centre Sabarimala located at the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Western Ghat mountain ranges of Pathanamthitta District, Kerala.

     

  Five Supreme Court judges took oath of office. With the swearing in of Justice Sanjay K Kaul, Justice Mohan Shantanagoudar, Justice S A Nazeer, Justice Navin Sinha and Justice Deepak Gupta, the total strength of the Supreme Court now stands at 28.

       

The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Radha Mohan Singh inaugurated the Indian Seed Congress 2017 in Kolkata. The theme of Seed Congress is “Seed of Joy”.

      

 Punjab National Bank (PNB) has a new non-executive Chairman in Sunil Mehta.

       

The Government has appointed Neelam Damodaran as Executive Director of Bank of India.

     

  United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has launched a $110 million appeal to help two million acutely malnourished children across Sudan including hundreds of thousands living in conflict areas. 

     

  The Reserve Bank will start reimbursing MDR  (Merchant Discount Rate) charges to banks for payments made since January 1 through debit cards by citizens, in line with the government's move to further digital solutions.

 

      Mumbai based Citi Bank has launched instant chat services for customers named Citibank Online (CBOL). With this India become the first country in Asia Pacific within the Citi network to have this kind of service.

     

  RBI increased the gold loan limit for RRBs (Regional Rural Banks) to Rs. 2 lakh from the current Rs 1 lakh to help the farmers and artisans have access to credit who are willing to pledge gold as collateral. The limit has been doubled for the loans not exceeding 12 months from the date of sanction.

     

  Tata Motors Ltd and Microsoft India entered into strategic agreement to collaborate on the technology front for making driving a more personalized experience for the customers. As per the agreement, Microsoft will make use of its IoT (internet of things), AI (artificial intelligence) and machine learning technologies to develop a highly personalized, smart vehicle for the customers.

   

    An Indian-origin Scotland Yard officer Shand Panesar along with his colleague Craig Nicholson was honored with the 2017 Outstanding Bravery of the Year Award in central London.

    

   India’s premier health institute the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi was awarded the first prize of the Government’s Kayakalp Award under the Central Government Hospitals category in New Delhi for maintaining high standards of sanitation and hygiene.

    

   International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has promoted Norman Isaac as the Technical Delegate (TD) of the sport’s worldwide governing body. He has become the first Indian to be ever appointed to the post.

  

     Union Human Resource Development Ministry has stated that to avail benefit under the Central Sector Scholarship Scheme for College and University students, applicants will now have to furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar card or undergo Aadhaar authentication. 

     

  Eight Executive Directors (EDs) have been appointed in various public sector banks on the recommendations of Banks Board Bureau.

   

    Neelam Damodharan and Atanu Kumar Das have been appointed as EDs in Bank of India.

  

     K Swaminathan, has been appointed as ED in Indian Overseas Bank.

   

    Ashok Kumar Pradhan has been appointed as the ED in United Bank of India.

   

    P Ramana Murthy will be Executive Director of Central Bank of India.

  

     Fareed Ahmed Khan appointed as the ED in Punjab and Sind Bank.

 

      M K Bhattacharya appointed as the EDs of Indian Bank.

      

 S Harishankar has been appointed EDs of Allahabad Bank.

      

 The implementation of the regional air-connectivity scheme, UDAN, will see the number of operational airports in the country shoot up by over 50, while the cost of travelling will come down to as low as ₹2,500 for up to an hour of air journey. According to Sinha, there are 75 small operational airports in the country, and this number will increase to over 125 with the successful implementation of UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik).

   

    Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan inaugurated the two-day South Asian Speaker’s summit at Indore in Madhya Pradesh. Speakers of six countries will deliberate on ways to achieve sustainable development goals.

       

11th biennial edition of the International Aerospace and Defence exhibition Aero India held at the Air Force Station, Yelahanka in Bengaluru.

       

In Madhya Pradesh, 'Mil Banche’ programme was held in all the primary and middle government schools. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, his minister colleagues, public representatives and other dignitaries took classes in these schools to motivate children.

       

Union government has increased the Cash Credit (CC) limit for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to 30% of turnover from the existing 20% to encourage them to conduct businesses digitally.

       

Mangaluru based private sector lender Karnataka Bank Ltd launched National Pension System (NPS) at its corporate office in Mangaluru. To provide financial security at old age by giving regular income in the form of pension. Under the scheme, one can contribute to NPS while earning and eventually start receiving pension on his/her attaining the age of 60 years to meet their financial needs.

      

 Bangalore based Public sector Canara Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry to operationalize the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA). 

      

 Leading global payments and technology firm, Mastercard is set to provide payments processing solution to Airtel Payments Bank.

     

  Malaysia-based low-cost airline AirAsia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Odisha government to start two-way direct international flights from Bhubaneswar to Kuala Lumpur.

      

 South Indian Bank has been awarded with ISO 27001: 2013 certification for its Information Security Management System (ISMS). 

     

  Mangalore based public sector lender Corporation Bank was awarded the 2017 National MSME Excellence Award at a function in New Delhi. 

      

 Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully ground tested its indigenously developed Cryogenic Upper Stage engine for GSLV Mark III at its Liquid Propulsion Complex at Mahendragiri in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. The C25 stage is the most powerful upper stage developed by ISRO and uses Liquid Oxygen and Liquid Hydrogen propellant combination.

      

 Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar has been honoured with the 'Legendary Award ' 2017 by Brand Laureate. The Brand Laureate Awards recognise world-class achievement in branding amongst individuals and companies. 

   

    President Dr. Pranab Mukherjee has extended his greetings and felicitations to the Government and people of the Islamic Republic of The Gambia on the occasion of their Independence Day (18 February 2017). 

      

 Renowned Hindi litterateur and playwright Surendra Verma has been selected for 2016 Vyas Samman for his novel Kaatna Shami Ka Vriksha Padma Pankhuri Ki Dhar Se. 

    

   National Regulatory Authority of India (NRAI) has been given the maximum ratings by the World Health Organisation for vaccine regulations. India, as a large vaccine producing country, is currently supplying several vaccines to the UN agencies (UNICEF, WHO and PAHO)

    

   Raytheon Company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) to engage in the co-production of Stinger air defence missile components.

      

 Odisha based National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in New Delhi. Objective of the agreement is to Scientific, technological and educational activities in the area of mining rehabilitation.

    

   Leading professional services firm JLL has once again been named to FORTUNE magazine’s World’s Most Admired Companies list of 2017 based on their reputation for innovation, top talent and global competitiveness.

     

  Havells India has announced to acquire Lloyd Electric & Engineering for its consumer durables business for around Rs 1200 -1500 crore.

 

      Former MP Jambuvantrao Dhote died this morning in Yavatmal of Maharashtra due to heart attack. The 83 year old leader was known for his demands of a separate state for Vidarbha. 

  

     Indian ace shuttler PV Sindhu achieved her career best Badminton World Federation (BWF) women’s single ranking by being placed at 5th spot. The only second Indian to be placed among the top 10 spots is Saina Nehwal who has placed at No. 9. Topped by Tai Tzu Ying of the Chinese Taipei.

    

   Jharkhand government and Microsoft India has inked an MoU for the state government to explore cloud, machine learning and mobile based solutions to improve citizen services and provide better facilities in the fields of education and agriculture.

    

   The Indian Women's team won a silver after getting defeated by South Kores, at the Asian Rugby Sevens Trophy tournament at Vientiane, Laos.

    

   The Indian Navy's second sailboat 'Tarini' was inducted into service at a ceremony in Goa. 

     

  RP Shah, one of the three General Managers of BCCI, resigned from his post citing his age as a “reason”. 

     

  Savings accounts holders will now be able to withdraw up to Rs. 50,000 per week. The limits on cash withdrawals from savings bank account will be withdrawn completely from March 13, 2017.

   

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi has greeted people of Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram on their 31st statehood day (20 February 2017) .

     

  Ending more than two weeks of standoff with Nagaland Tribes Action Committee (NTAC), Nagaland chief minister TR Zeliang resigned from his post. 

   

    India has sanctioned a soft loan of 340 million US dollar to Nepal for various infrastructure development programmes.

    

   On the occasion of the 75th Foundation Day, Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) has come up with several digital offerings including launch of mobile wallet ‘Oriental Batuaa’. It has also launched two MSME schemes which are ‘Oriental Sanjeevani’ and ‘Oriental Budget Hotels and Restaurants’.

     

  Karnataka Bank Ltd has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt Ltd (DICV) for extending finance to customers for the purchase of commercial vehicles manufactured by the company. 

  

     IRB InvIT Fund, an investment trust sponsored by IRB Infrastructure Developers, has received markets regulator SEBI’s approval to raise Rs. 4,300 crore through initial public offering.

    

   AirAsia became the first foreign airline to begin its operations from Srinagar international airport in Jammu and Kashmir. 

    

   Microsoft announced a strategic partnership with Flipkart, wherein as a first step, the online retailer will adopt Microsoft Azure as its exclusive public cloud platform. The strategic partnership was aimed at providing consumers in the country the best online shopping service.

     

  T C A Ranganathan and Sunil Mehta were appointed as Non-Official Directors in Indian Overseas Bank and Punjab National Bank by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet. Both appointed for a period of three years. 

    

   Indian Cinema movie Newton directed by Amit Masurkar was honored with the Art Cinema Award in the Forum Segment at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival held in Berlin, Germany. 

     

  In a bid to boost its prospects in the world of artificial intelligence (AI), Apple has acquired Israel-based start-up RealFace that develops deep learning-based face authentication technology.

    

   An actor turned politician Hema Malini’s journey from an actor and filmmaker to a politician being chronicled as an authorised biography titled ‘Hema Malini: Beyond the Dream Girl‘. The biography is written by author-columnist Ram Kamal Mukherjee.

   

    Former Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir passed away at a city hospital, recently. He was 68.

     

  Virat Kohli became the first Indian sports personality to strike a Rs 100-crore endorsement deal with a single brand. Kohli signed an eight-year deal with sports apparel brand Puma worth Rs 110 crore. 

     

  Following the path of Indian boxing sensation Vijender Singh, Olympic quarterfinalists boxers Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar are also stepping up to enter professional boxing. They signed a multi-year deal with IOS Boxing Promotions confirming turning professional boxers.

     

  Afghanistan cricket broke a new barrier when Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan became the first from the war-torn nation to be picked in the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction.

    

   Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has announced his retirement from international cricket.

    

   Bharat QR code, the world's first inter-operable payment acceptance solution, was launched as part of efforts to move towards less-cash economy at an insignificant cost, according to RBI. Payment networks such as MasterCard and Visa have joined hands with NPCI to launch Bharat QR, a common Quick Response(QR) code that would enable seamless digital payments without card swiping machines. 

     

  UNESCO celebrates International Mother Language Day (IMLD) on February 21, 2017 under the theme "Towards Sustainable Futures through Multilingual Education". 

      

 Cash purchases of jewellery will attract 1% TCS (Tax Collected at Source) from April 1, 2017 if the amount exceeds Rs 2 lakh, as against the current threshold of Rs 5 lakh. 

     

  According to a report released by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) India emerged as the world’s largest importer of major arms during 2012–16.

    

   Country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has rebranded its corporate website as "bank.sbi" from the earlier sbi.co.in. Bank.sbi is the highest domain protocol, known as generic top level domain (gTLD).

      

 Nagaland People’s Front (NPF) president Shurhozelie Liezeitsu will be sworn in as the state’s eleventh Chief Minister. 

      

 The Ahmedabad-based Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), an acknowledged national resource institute for entrepreneurship education, research, training and institution-building, has received the prestigious International Mercury Awards (IMA) for the year 2016-17 .

    

   Tata Steel's Katamati iron mine has been honoured with the Best Green Organisation of the Year Award at the Global Green Future Leadership Awards in recognition of its environmental protection measures. 

      

 Tata Sons Chairman designate Natarajan Chandrasekaran will also hold the chairmanship of the group's crown jewel Tata Consultancy Services. The country's largest software services provider has also named V Ramakrishnan as its Chief Financial Officer to succeed Rajesh Gopinathan, who will take over as the CEO and MD of the Tata Group company.     

       Russia will start initial deliveries of military helicopters to India in 2018, with assembly and manufacturing to follow in Asia's fastest growing economy.

   

    US President Donald Trump has appointed Lt Gen Herbert Raymond McMaster as his new National Security Advisor following the ouster of Michael Flynn.

    

   The California-based SpaceX onboard its Falcon 9 rocket launched a robotic Dragon cargo ship with about 5,500 pounds (2,500 kg) of supplies and science experiments toward the International Space Station.

   

    V. K. Srinivasan, noted bureaucrat, columnist and director of the Institute of Economic Studies passed away after a prolonged illness in Hyderabad. 

   

    Famous Hindi novelist Ved Prakash Sharma was passed away in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. He was 62.

    

   Union Health Secretary C.K. Mishra has launched “Saathiya Resource Kits” that will provide information on adolescent related issues such as puberty and mental health, among others.

   

    The first heliport in India will be inaugurated by Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju in North Delhi. The heliport, built by state-owned Pawan Hans.

   

    At a time when cyber-attacks are increasing, Union Minister of Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad launched Cyber Swachhta Kendra in New Delhi for Botnet cleaning and Malware analysis as a part of digital India initiative. He also launched two mobile apps. Mkavach to protect smart phones and tablets from hackers. Samvid to protect Desktops from suspicious applications from running.

    

   India and China will hold their first Strategic Dialogue in Beijing. The two sides are expected to discuss all issues of mutual concern and interest including friction points. 

    

   The Gujarat Assembly passed Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2017 to empower 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.

     

  Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu in the presence of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju inaugurated the Composite Regional Centre at Itanagar Banquet Hall, Arunachal Pradesh. The center is formed to create resources and infrastructure required for developing services for persons with disabilities with an outlay of Rs.20 Crore.

     

  Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, CCEA has approved investment proposal for generation component of Arun-3 Hydro Electric Project in Nepal by SJVN Limited.  

   

    J & K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has declared 2017 as ‘Year of Apple’ to promote the famed Kashmiri apples in domestic and foreign markets.

    

   Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Vijaya Bank for providing concessional finance to micro and small enterprises (MSEs). The MoU aims at promoting and strengthening units in the MSE segment through concessional funding.

    

   Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu commissioned the fourth ship of Indian Coast Guard named ‘Shaunak’, in the series of six offshore patrol vessels (OPV) in Vasco, located in South Goa. 

    

   Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev appointed his wife Mehriban Aliyev as the First Vice President of the country. 

   

    Direct-to-home operator Dish TV joined hands with India’s largest private sector lender ICICI bank for digital payments. 

    

   For the first time, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has signed a Technology Partnership MoU with two Singapore agencies International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) to promote expertise in expanding businesses.

   

    Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre has been appointed the chairman of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT). 

     

  A zip line connecting Spain and Portugal, is known to be the first cross-border zip line in the world. The 720-metre-long zip line joins the two countries, allowing people to reach Portugal within a minute.

     

  American professional golfer Dustin Hunter Johnson  has claimed No 1 Position in  Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in his career.

     

  Cabinet approves MoU between India and Australia for promotion and development of cooperation in civil aviation security.

     

  Cabinet approves signing of an Agreement between India and Poland on cooperation in the field of agriculture and allied sectors.

    

   India's growth is projected to slow to 6.6% in 2016-17 fiscal due to the strains that have emerged in the economy as a result of temporary disruptions caused by demonetization.

  

     The government has allowed women working in industries to take six months maternity leave pre-empting parliamentary approval on the maternity benefit amendment bill that is pending in the Lok Sabha.

    

   Third National Biodiversity Congress (NBC) 2017 held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Theme of National Biodiversity Congress 2017 is “Mainstreaming Biodiversity for Sustainable Development”.

     

  The economy based on the gross value added (GVA) is set to slip to 6.2% in the December quarter and GDP growth will decline to 6.5% from 7.2%, stated by domestic rating agency information and credit rating agency (ICRA).

     

  The country's largest telecom services provider, Bharti Airtel (Airtel) has officially announced that it will acquire Telenor India.

     

  Karnataka Bank has bagged two ‘IBA-Banking Technology’ awards. The bank was the winner in ‘Best financial inclusion initiatives (small bank)’ category, and was runner-up in ‘Best use of digital and channels technology (small bank)’ category. 

    

   Hyderabad based non-banking finance company Microfinance institution Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd launched an instant loan approval at a village near Bassi in Jaipur district, Rajasthan. The objective of this initiative to help rural areas embrace cashless transactions.

    

   The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with the IoT Acceleration Consortium (ITAC) Japan. To collaborate to address digital technology shifts and accelerate IoT (Internet of Things) adoption at a global level across the industry.

     

  Airports Authority of India, along with International Air Transport Association (IATA) launched its e-billing solution, SKYREV360 for airport operators and air navigation services providers across the world.

    

   N Chandrasekaran elected chairman of Indian Hotels

    

   The chief executive officer of Jasper Infotech-owned digital payments platform FreeCharge, Govind Rajan has submitted his resigned.

     

  Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu unveiled Antyodaya Express for common man Equipped with cushioned seats, aluminium composite panels, and LED lights. The first Antyodaya Express will be launched between Mumbai and Tatanagar.

     

  Astronomers of NASA have discovered seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a star called TRAPPIST-1.

    

   Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin has died in New York City. He was 64.

     

  India’s one day captain Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur were placed 2nd and 10th in the ICC batswomen’s rankings released after the World Cup qualifier that ended recently. Meg Lanning of Australia leads the charts.

     

  German Sportswear giant Adidas announced its ties up with FIFA U-17 World Cup Local Organizing Committee for the Mission XI Million programme. 

     

  The National Rifle Association of India(NRAI) announced that India will be hosting the Combined World Cup for shooting in 2019 during the meeting held in New Delhi.

     

  The ninth BRICS Summit will be held in China's Xiamen city from September 3 to 5, 2017. The theme of this year's event is 'BRICS: Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future'.
India signed an agreement with Japan on enhancing railway safety in the Indian Railways with focus on railway track and rolling stock safety.

      

 The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) celebrated 74th Central Excise Day on 24th February in New Delhi. 

     

  The Center and state of Sikkim has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) for operational improvement of the state’s power distribution department. With the signing of the MoU, the total number of states covered under UDAY has reached 22. 

      

 Global payments network Visa signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh government to help transform Vishakhapatnam into India's first 'less cash' city. 

     

  Kerala government will launch the country’s first sex offenders’ registry which will contain all identification details of sex offenders and would be kept in public domain.

     

  Haryana based Oriental Bank of Commerce has signed a corporate agency agreement with Chennai based general insurance provider Cholamandalam General Insurance Company for distribution of insurance products.

     

  Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd has synchronised its 15 MW solar plant at Bellampally in Telangana, thereby taking the Tata Power's total installed operating capacity past 10,500 MW mark.

    

   China for the first time became Germany’s most important trading partner in 2016, overtaking the United States, which fell back to third place behind France in the data shown recently. 

    

   Nobel-winning economist, mathematician Kenneth J Arrow has died in USA . He was 95.

     

  Premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, broked Kapil Dev's Indian record of most Test wickets in a domestic season.

    

   India and ADB have signed USD 375 million pact for loans and grants to develop 800 km Visakhapatnam—Chennai Industrial Corridor, which is the first phase of a planned 2,500-km East Coast Economic Corridor. 

    

   A Rs. 17,000 crores deal has been cleared by the government for jointly developing with Israel a medium-range surface-to-air missile (MR-SAM) for the Indian army.

    

   India and Bangladesh signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the sustainable development of Sylhet city with financial aid from India. Under the MoU, three projects are considered i.e construction of a five-storeyed Kindergarten & High School Building, a six-storeyed Cleaner Colony Building and Development of Dhupa Dighipar area -will be implemented with Taka 24.28 crore.

     

  Rajasthan has become the second largest crude oil producer in the country after the offshore field Bombay High.

    

   Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH, Shripad Yesso Naik inaugurated the World Integrated Medicine Forum on Regulation of Homeopathic Medicinal Products- National and Global strategies in New Delhi.

     

  Dena Bank has introduced Radio Frequency Identification Card (RFID) enabled banking cards whereby a branch manager can identify a valued client entering a branch with the card. 

   

    Food technology company Gorb has partnered with cab aggregator Ola to offer food to consumers at discounted rates in Mumbai. 

     

  Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India grew 18% during 2016 to touch $46 billion, data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

    

   The government has roped in actress Shilpa Shetty as a brand ambassador for the Indian government's cleanliness initiative Swachh Bharat Mission.

     

  Former Nagaland Chief Minister T R Zeliang was appointed as Finance Advisor to the state government in the rank of a cabinet minister. 

    

   Vivek Chaand Sehgal of Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd (MSSL) has been awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year 2016 award by assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services firm Ernest Young (EY).

     

  In International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), Indian shooter Pooja Ghatkar secured India’s first medal in New Delhi. She finished third in the 10-meter Air Rifle event & clinched bronze.

      

 Chandra Shekhar Azad's 86th Martyrdom Day observed on 27th February. 

     

  India and Germany have ratified the Social Security Agreement (SSA), which will come into force from 1st May 2017, to help promote more investment flows between the two countries.

     

  Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje inaugurated a medical project Rajasthan Heart Attack Treatment programme (RAHAT) at the Eternal Heart Care Center Hospital in Jaipur. The programme aims to provide people in remote and rural areas with timely treatment during heart attacks.

     

  According to the New World Wealth report Mumbai, the financial capital of India has been named as the Richest Indian city with a total wealth of $ 820 billion. 

     

  Japan's SoftBank Group Corp and Taiwan's Foxconn have agreed to form a joint venture, as the two large Asian technology companies expand their ties.

     

  India’s largest software services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been rated as one of the top three 'most-valuable brands' in the Information Technology (IT) service sector by Brand Finance, the leading global brand valuation firm. As IBM and Accenture are on the top two positions.

   

    The world's first robot table tennis tutor FORPHEUS (Future Omron Robotics Technology for Exploring Possibility of Harmonised Automation with Sinic Theoretics) in Japan has set a new Guinness World Record for its uncanny ability of being able to play the game better than most humans. 

      

 Star Indian badminton player Saina Nehwal was appointed as a member of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Athletes' Commission (AC) in 2016, will represent the panel in the Badminton World Federation (BWF). 

      

 FIH (International Hockey Federation) Hockey Stars Awards were conferred in Chandigarh. This was first time in the history of Hockey that the ceremony was held to honor best players, rising stars, goalkeepers, umpires and coaches. Belgium captain John-John Dohmen and Netherlands' Naomi Van were named as male and female International Hockey Federation's player of the year, 2016 awards respectively.

     

  Second-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Frenchman Lucas Pouille to win the 2017 Open 13.

    

   National Science Day is celebrated all over India with great enthusiasm on 28th of February every year in order to commemorate the invention of the Raman Effect in India by the Indian physicist, Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman on the same day in the year 1928. 

     

  Minister for Information & Broadcasting M Venkaiah Naidu and Member of the Parliament of Ukraine and Chairman of the National Council of Television Ukraine Mr. Iurii Artemenko have agreed to strengthen the bilateral cooperation between the two countries through the medium of Cinema in New Delhi. 

   

    Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation (AEOI) stated that Russia and Iran have reached an agreement to jointly produce nuclear fuel. 

    

   The Government of India launched the 7th tranche of the Sovereign Gold Bonds and it will be the last offering for 2016-17. The Sovereign Gold Bonds 2016-17–Series IV will be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on behalf of Government of India.

    

   Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off the first Antyodaya Express a long distance, fully unreserved, superfast train service between Kochi's Ernakulam Junction and Howrah Junction through video conferencing from Rail Bhavan. 

   

    The Haryana government has set up an online system for Panipat to monitor the sex-ratio in the district as part of the 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' programme. The system, called the sex ratio monitoring dashboard, will have the data of child sex-ratio collected from all villages by the Health and Women and Child Welfare Departments every month.

      

 Standalone health insurer Apollo Munich Health Insurance expanding its footprint across the country with bancassurance tie-up with state-owned Dena Bank. 

    

   An expert committee Venture Capital Investment Committee (VCIC) set up by SIDBI has sanctioned Rs 300 crore to fund managers who would invest in startups, taking the total sanctions so far this fiscal (2017) to over Rs 1,100 crore. 

  

     Paytm E-Commerce, the online marketplace arm of One97 Communications Pvt. Ltd, launched Paytm Mall, a mobile app and online shopping portal.

       

Tata Communications is partnering with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to support the roll-out of the former's Internet of Things platform, the LoRa network.

       

India’s most famous international actor Kabir Bedi was appointed as the honourary brand ambassador of Sight-savers India to prevent avoidable blindness.

       

Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment company ZTE made an announcement that it has launched a next generation 5G IT baseband unit (BBU) partnered with Intel Corporation for this technology.

      

 Former Union Minister P. Shiv Shankar passed away after a prolonged illness. He was 89

      

 Indian international cricketer Virat Kohli has named as the ‘Captain of the Year‘ at the 10th annual ESPNcricinfo Awards.

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