1. PM's Arunachal Pradesh visit
i.He was addressing a large gathering in Itanagar, after dedicating to the nation the Harmuti-Naharlagun Rail Line. The Prime Minister flagged off an AC Express between Naharlagun and New Delhi; and the Inter-City Express between Naharlagun and Guwahati.
ii.The Prime Minister inaugurated the Festival of Arunachal 2015, and released a souvenir to mark the 29th Statehood Day of Arunachal Pradesh.
iii.He inaugurated a Water Supply Scheme for Itanagar and laid the Foundation Stone of a 132 KV Transmission Line.
iv.The Governor of Arunachal Pradesh Lt. Gen. Nirbhay Sharma (Retd.), the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Shri Nabam Tuki, the Union Minister for Railways Shri Suresh Prabhu, the Union MoS for Railways Shri Manoj Sinha, and the Union MoS for Home Shri Kiren Rijiju were present on the occasion.
2. Vishnu Prakash appointed High Commissioner to Canada
ii.A 1981-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, Prakash is currently posted as India's Ambassador to South Korea.
3. Ajit Kumar appointed as India's Ambassador and permanent representative to the UN
4. McCullum hits World Cup’s fastest fifty
i.New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum on Friday smashed his way into the record books after posting the World Cup’s fastest half century, off a mere 18 balls, in a Pool A match of the ongoing World Cup against England in Wellington.
ii.McCullum, beat his own World Cup record when he hit fast bowler Steven Finn for six, having made a fifty off 20 balls against Canada in the 2007 edition in the West Indies.
5. Godrej Properties joins hands with Snapdeal
i.Realty firm Godrej Properties on Thursday said it has tied up with Snapdeal to offer online booking of its real estate projects.
ii.The tie-up with Snapdeal will offer customers increased flexibility and unique offers at the time of booking.
6. Samsung buys startup LoopPay
Samsung Electronics Co has bought U.S. mobile wallet startup LoopPay, signalling its intention to launch a smartphone payments service to compete with a recent offering from rival Apple Inc.
7. EC presents 'India Votes' to President Pranab Mukhjerjee
i.The Election Commission has come out with its latest publication on Indian polls, 'India Votes', encapsulating a comprehensive and fact-filled review of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
ii.Chief election commissioner H S Brahma and election commissioner S Nasim Zaidi on Thursday presented the first copy of the book to President Pranab Mukhjerjee.
8. Manjhi resigns as Bihar CM ahead of trust vote
i.Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Friday resigned ahead of the trust vote, saying that he decided to step down as his supporters were issued death threats and he did not want the legislators to lose their assembly membership.
ii.Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi had asked the speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary to choose between lobby division and secret ballot for the trust vote.
iii. Nitish Kumar will sworn in as the CM of Bihar on 22nd February in Patna.
iii. Nitish Kumar will sworn in as the CM of Bihar on 22nd February in Patna.
9. 'Calamity' warning as cyclones hit Australia coastline
i.A powerful cyclone has hit the coast of central Queensland in Australia.Cyclone Marcia made landfall near the tourist town of Yeppoon, where it tore roofs off houses.
ii.Another tropical Cyclone Lam hit the Northern Territory, effectively "sandwiching" the country.
10. Sikorsky(USA) to Make Naval Helicopters in India
i.The S-70B Seahawk helicopters may be built either with the Tata Group or through a new partnership.
ii.The Indian Navy variant of the S-70B will include advanced sonar and 360-degree-search radar, air-to-surface missiles and torpedoes for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare. It will also have the capability to fold up its blades and tail for easy storage on warships.
11. Tapan Misra assumes office as SAC Director
i.Senior Scientist and Deputy Director, Microwave Remote Sensing Area of ISRO's Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad, Tapan Misra has assumed office as the Director, SAC.
ii.Misra has been responsible for system design, planning and development of Microwave Remote Sensing Payloads of ISRO.
ii. eBiz, which is a G2B portal has been launched with eleven government services.
iii. the aim of the portal is to eliminate needless procedures and integrate use of technology. It will make India an extremely easy place to do business.
iv. There will be a radical shift in government's service delivery approach from department-centric to customer-centric.
ii. In comparison Mukesh Ambani holds only 45% holdings in his two companies – RIL and Reliance industries Infrastructure which is worth only Rs 1.32 lakh crore ($21.2 billion).
iii. If the 23% stake in the wind energy major Suzlon – that Shanghvi and his family is in the process of acquiring – is added then his wealth would almost come close to Rs 1.48 lakh crore ($23.7 billion). iv.If the global indexes are to be noted then according to Bloomberg Billionaire Index Mukesh Ambani is still the richest Indian (33rd globally) with a net worth of $21.9 billion and Shanghvi stands at the second position (39th globally) with a net worth of $19.7 billion.
ii. This decision was taken by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Decisions taken by CCEA
Uttar Pradesh- Approved six-laning of the Handia-Varanasi section of National Highway. This project’s cost is estimated to be Rs 2378.59 crore and total length of the road will be approximately 72.4 kms.
Odisha- Approved six-laning of Baleshwar-Chandikhole section of National Highway. The project cost is estimated to be Rs 2296.82 crore and total length of the road will be approximately 137 kms.
Chhattisgarh- approved development of four to six laning of the Raipur-Bilaspur section of National Highway. The cost is estimated to be Rs 1,963.88 crore and total length of the road will be approximately 127 kms.
12. Government launches eBiz portal
i. With an aim of improving India's ranking on 'Ease of doing business' index, government launched an eBiz portal (www.ebiz.gov.in).iii. the aim of the portal is to eliminate needless procedures and integrate use of technology. It will make India an extremely easy place to do business.
iv. There will be a radical shift in government's service delivery approach from department-centric to customer-centric.
13.Shanghvi, The richest Indian according to BSE
i. 59-year old Gujarat born Shanghvi, by virtue of his over 63% holding in three group companies — Sun Pharma, Sun Pharma Advanced Research and Ranbaxy Labs — is worth about Rs 1.46 lakh crore ($23.42 billion at an exchange rate of 62.34 to the dollar).iii. If the 23% stake in the wind energy major Suzlon – that Shanghvi and his family is in the process of acquiring – is added then his wealth would almost come close to Rs 1.48 lakh crore ($23.7 billion). iv.If the global indexes are to be noted then according to Bloomberg Billionaire Index Mukesh Ambani is still the richest Indian (33rd globally) with a net worth of $21.9 billion and Shanghvi stands at the second position (39th globally) with a net worth of $19.7 billion.
14.Union Government approves various highway projects worth Rs 8,600 crore
i. The Union Government today approved over Rs 8,600 crore of highway projects in Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.ii. This decision was taken by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Decisions taken by CCEA
Uttar Pradesh- Approved six-laning of the Handia-Varanasi section of National Highway. This project’s cost is estimated to be Rs 2378.59 crore and total length of the road will be approximately 72.4 kms.
Odisha- Approved six-laning of Baleshwar-Chandikhole section of National Highway. The project cost is estimated to be Rs 2296.82 crore and total length of the road will be approximately 137 kms.
Chhattisgarh- approved development of four to six laning of the Raipur-Bilaspur section of National Highway. The cost is estimated to be Rs 1,963.88 crore and total length of the road will be approximately 127 kms.