Current Affairs India - 26-27 February 2016

1. The Economic survey was presented by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Lok Sabha on Friday. The survey predicted GDP growth rate in the range of 7 to 7.75% for financial year 2016-17, which will be the highest in the world. It said government will meet its fiscal deficit target of 3.9% of GDP.

The survey also called for more economic reforms, subsidy cuts and fiscal consolidation in order to improve India's macro-economic condition. Overall, it presented an optimistic picture of Indian economy during global economic slowdown. As per the report, increase in wages recommended by the 7th pay commission will not destabilise prices and will have little impact on inflation.

2. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved to establish Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and Self Employment and Talent Utilisation (SETU) in NITI Aayog with appropriate manpower in order to implement of Missi
on activities in a focussed manner. The Mission would be guided by a Mission High Level Committee (MHLC) which will take all decisions relating to approval of requisite guidelines including Grand Challenge areas, prize money and implementation of various elements of AIM and SETU.

3. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved introductory steps for promotion of payments through cards and digital means. The move was taken to reduce cash transactions and promote payments through cards and digital means. This steps will also help to reduce tax avoidance and black money in the financial system.

For card/digital payments to increase, they should be easy to use, readily available and accepted, should not impose any undue financial burden on the merchant and user, and should offer an appropriate level of security.

4. Mumbai Police has recently created 16 no-selfie zones around the city after several deaths reported while taking selfies. The step was taken to stop people from putting themselves at risk while taking selfies. The spots include popular sea-fronts like Bandra Bandstand, Marine Drive and Juhu Chowpatty.

5. The Central Government has appointed three information commissioners in the Central Information Commission (CIC). They are IAS Amitava Bhattacharyya, Bimal Julka and IPS Divya Prakash Sinha. They have been appointed for a period of 5 years or till they attain age of 65 years.

6. Ashwini Nangia has been appointed as the Director of the CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune. He is an alumnus of the IIT Kanpur and currently working with the School of Chemistry at the UoH. He has contributed to the new field of cocrystals and its applications to the pharmaceutical industry.

7. Diageo-owned United Spirits USL) has appointed MK Sharma as its new chairman, after Vijay Mallya resigned from the post. The world's largest spirits maker Diageo now owns 54.78% of the Indian Liquor maker USL.

8. Online Fashion Retailer Jabonghas appointed former eBay India Country Manager B Muralikrishnan as its Chief Operating Officer (COO). Post this appointment, he will work closely with Jabong's largest shareholder Global Fashion Group (GFG)and will lead Jabong's technology and digital marketing functions.

9. Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has announced appointment of Ratan Tata as head of the Indian Railway Innovation Committee. Earlier he has announced plans to set up a dedicated cross functional team called Special Unit for Transportation Research and Analytics (Sutra) with the aim of carrying out detailed analysis leading to optimized investment decisions and operations.

10. Former Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and ex-DRDO chief Dr Avinash Chander was awarded with the prestigious Astronautical Society of India's Aryabhata Award 2013. He received the award from Dr R Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Adviser to Union Government and Dr A S Kiran Kumar, Chairman ISRO, at ASI-ISRO Awards function held at Space Applications Centre (SAC) in Ahmedabad.

11. Actor Ranveer Singh was selected for Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar award who will be awarded by Lata Mangeshkar at a function to be held in Pune. Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar award was instituted in 1999 in the memory of Dinanath Mangeshkar, father of Lata Mangeshkar. The award carries monetary award of Rs 101001 a memento and a citation.

12. India's female Long-distance runner Lalita Babar was named as the Sports Person of the Year in the India Sports Awards 2015 in a ceremony organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) along with Sports Ministry. The Indian Sports Award were given away in New Delhi at the conclusion of day one of ˜Turf 2015-16'. She is the current Indian national record holder and has already been qualified for Rio Olympics in the 3000 meter steeplechase event.

Also Gymnast Dipa Karmakar was named as the Breakthrough Sports Person of the Year and Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India was awarded with the Best National Sports Federation recognition. Hockey legend Balbir Singh was awarded with the lifetime achievement award.

13. Mumbai won the Ranji Trophy after defeating Saurashtra by an innings and 21 run in the final match. With this win, Mumbai won Ranji trophy 41 times in 45 finals. Karnataka, which won the title last year, comes at distant second in the overall Ranji titles with only eight titles. Shreyas Iyer was named man of the match for his 117 runs in Mumbai's only innings of the match.