Current Affairs of March 1st 2017 for SBI PO/MT,SSC MTS,IBPS CLERK,PO/MT,SO,SSC CGL,CHSL,JE EXAMS

• The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD) forecast 7.3% growth for India in 2017-18 and 7.7% growth in 2018-19.
• The Indian Meteorological Department(IMD) has forecast ''above normal'' temperatures across most of the country.The predicted temperatures,on average,likely to be above 1 degree Centigrade above their normal summer temperatures.
• The Archaeological Survey of India(ASI) excavated six copper axes and some pieces of pottery dating back to 2,000 BC in Sakatpur of Saharanpur district in Uttar Pradesh.The excavation may throw light on a 4,000-year-old Ganga-Yamuna culture.
• Assam to host the five-day(March 31 to April 4,2017) river festival 'Namami Brahmaputra' to showcase the art,heritage and culture of Assam.
• Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials(ARCI) in Hyderabad organised National Science Day lectures as a part of its 20 years' celebrations.
• 'Lipstick Under My Burkha' has won the audience award at the Glasgow Film Festival.The film stars Ratna Pathak Shah and Konkana Sensharma in key roles and directed by Alankrita Shrivastava.
•  The strike called under the aegis of the United Forum of Bank Unions(UFBU) and All India Bank Employees' Association(AIBEA) hits bank services hard as staffers and officers go ahead with their day-long strike for various demands.
• The Supreme Court directed the Sahara Group(SG) to deposit 5,092.64 crore INR in the SEBI-Sahara refund account by April 13,2017.The deposit is meant to raise the amount it owes to investors.
• The Enforcement Directorate(ED) attaches 80 crore INR in the Antrix-Devas Multimedia case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act(PMLA).
• India has asked the U.K to deport liquor baron Vijay Mallya.The issue was raised during the meetings held between Finance Mnister Arun Jaitley and the British Prime Minister Theresa May and other senior cabinet members in the U.K.
• The armies of India and Oman schedule the second bilateral exercise,'Al Nagah-II 2017' in March with a focus on counter-terrorism.The Chief of the Naval Staff,Admiral Sunil Lamba is on a tour of Oman and the United Arab Emirates(UAE) to explore new avenues for naval cooperation.
• Larsen&Toubro Hydrocarbon Engineering(LTHE) signed a five-year Enterprise Framework Agreement with Shell Global Solutions for providing engineering,procurement and construction management services for all Shell projects in Middle East,South-East Asia and India.
• Peter Moore,chief competition officer at Electronic Arts(EA) appointed as chief executive of the Premier League club 'Liverpool',to replace the departing Ian Ayre.

Current Affairs of February 22nd 2017 for SBI PO/MT,SSC MTS,CHSL,CGL,IBPS CLERK,PO/MT,SO EXAMS

• The National Payments Corporation of India(NPCI),an umbrella institution for retail payment systems promoted by the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) and Indian Banks' Association(IBA),would set up its data centre in Hyderabad.
• V.K.Srinivasan(76),noted bureaucrat and director of Institute of Economic Studies(IES) passed away after a prolonged illness in Hyderabad.
• Foreign Secretary S.Jaishankar began a high-profile visit to China to discuss ban on Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar and India's membership of the elite Nuclear Supplier's Group(NSG).
• India signs aviation and visa deals with Rwanda during Vice-President Hamid Ansari's visit to the African nation.Rwandan Airways to begin direct flights between Kigali(Capital of Rwanda) and Mumbai(India) in April.
• The government has appointed Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre of Supreme Court as chairman of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal(CWDT).The post fell vacant after the resignation of Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan.
• The Defence Acquisition Council(DAC),chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar approved the establishment of 38 additional RADAR(RAdio Detection and Ranging) stations at a cost of approximately 800 crore INR,to strengthen surveillance of over 7,500-km coastline of the country.
• India signed an agreement with Japan on enhancing railway safety in Indian Railways.The Memorandum of Cooperation(MOC) was signed between Railway Board Chairman A.K.Mittal and Hiroshi Tabata,Japan Vice-Minister of Transport and Tourism.
• Viral Acharya appointed as deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India(RBI).He will be joining Vishwanathan,S S Mundra,R Gandhi as one of the deputy governors serving under RBI Governor Urjit Patel.
• Indigenous Digital-Payments(Digi-Pay) app BHIM(Bharat Interface for Money) has recorded 17 million downloads so far.
• M.S.Dhoni will lead Jharkhand in the Vijay Hazare one day tournament Group-D mathes to be played in Kolkata.
• India beat South Africa in the final of the ICC 2017 Women's World Cup qualifiers at the P.Sara Oval(Sri Lanka). 

Current Affairs of February 21st 2017 for SBI PO/MT,SSC MTS,CHSL,CGL,IBPS CLERK,PO/MT.SO EXAMS

• Apollo Hospitals Foundation collaborates with World Wildlife Fund(WWF) to provide primary healthcare facilities in the remotest forest areas of the country,through health camps.
• The Kacheguda(Hyderabad) railway station becomes the first to be completely Digital Payments(Digi-Pay) enabled station in the entire South Central Railways(SCR) zone.
• The Central Information Commission(CIC) has directed the National Archives of India(NAI) to place the index of records available to them on the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi on their official website.
• Indian agencies sought help of U.K.authorities in securing the custody of businessman Vijay Mallya under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty(MLAT) for his prosecution in a money laundering case against him.
• Foreign Secretary S.Jaishankar asks the leadership of the Tamil National Alliance(TNA) in Sri Lanka to go easy on its demands and think in terms of alternatives.
• President Pranab Mukherjee has returned an amendment Bill cleared by the Delhi Assembly on the time-bound delivery of services by government departments.The Law proposed a cut in salaries of officials in case of delays.
• Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak promised an objective probe into the killing of the North Korean leader's half brother,Kim Jong-nam.Jong-nam was attacked at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
• Centre starts Initial Public Offering(IPO) process for three rail Public Sector Undertakings(PSUs)-IRCTC,IRFC and IRCON to divest a portion of the paid-up equity share capital.
• The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation(ONGC) has agreed to pay 8,392 crore INR to the Gujarat government,settling a long-pending dispute regarding royalty fee for crude production in the state.
• The board of Tata Consultancy Services(TCS) approved a buy-back of shares worth 16,000 crore INR to improve returns to its shareholders.Recently,Cognizant Technology okayed a $3.4-billion plan.
• M.K.Bhattacharya takes over as Indian Bank Executive Director(ED) with immediate effect.
• Pakistani all-rounder,Shahid Afridi(36),announces retirement from international cricket.Afridi represented Pakistan in 27 Tests,398 ODIs and 98 Twenty20 international matches respectively.
• Ben Stokes became the most expensive overseas player at an Indian Premier League(IPL) auction when he was signed for 14.5 crore INR by Rising Pune Supergiants(RPS).
• Kaci Kullmann Five(65),the chairwoman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee,which selects the Peace Prize laureates has passed away after a long illness.

Current Affairs of February 20th 2017 for SBI PO/MT,SSC MTS,CHSL,CGL,IBPS CLERK,PO/MT,SO EXAMS

• The Anthropological Survey of India(AnSI) sets up a new museum in Kolkata which tells the tale of how modern humans in the Indian subcontinent evolved from ancestors who arrived about 12.3 million years ago from africa.
• The four day(February 16th-19th 2017) World Congress of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy(ENDO 2017) comes to an end in Hyderabad(Telangana State).This is the First World Congress of GI Endoscopy by the World Endoscopy Organization(WEO).
• Telangana State Public Service Commission(TSPSC) Chairman Ghanta Chakrapani was elected chairman of standing committee of national conference of state public service commissions on the second day of the conference at Kutch(Gujarat).
• The Kacheguda railway station becomes the first to be completely Digital Payments(Digi-Pay) enabled station in the entire South Central Railways(SCR) zone.
• Sudha Murthy,Infosys Foundation Chairperson was sworn in as a member of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams(TTD) Trust Board which governs the famous Lord Venkateswara temple.
• Former Chief Justice of India(CJI) Altamas kabir(68) passes away in Kolkata.Mr Kabir was the 39th CJI.
• Nagaland Chief Minister T.R.Zeliang(INC) resigns against the backdrop of widespread protests in the state against government decision to reserve 33 percent of the seats in urban local bodies for women.
• The U.K.'s Vodafone and Aditya Birla group firm Idea Cellular are likely to merge and the merger will create India's largest telecom firm.The merger will create a revenue of about 77,500-80,000 crore INR.
• Mobile wallet firm and e-commerce platform Paytm will be investing 600 crore INR in 2017 to expand the network of its QR code-based payment solution.
• Capgemini India's chief executive Srinivas Kandula said that 60-65% of the IT staff are not retrainable.
• Australian Test skipper Steve Smith to lead Rising Pune Supergiants(RPS) in the 10th season of Indian Premier League(IPL).Former Indian captain M.S.Dhoni led the team in the 9th season of IPL.
• A rare,black and white photograph of the Titanic,which sank during its maiden voyage in 1912,has been sold for 360 Pound Sterling at an auction in the U.K.
• A Mexican woman,born without arms,sets a new Guinness World Record for lighting 11 candles without her feet in just one minute.

Current Affairs of February 14th 2017 for IBPS CLERK,PO/MT,SO,SBI PO,SSC CGL,CHSL,MTS EXAMS

• Anil Ambani group firm Reliance Defence and Engineering Ltd(RDEL) had signed a Master Ship Repair Agreement(MSRA) with the U.S. Navy to maintain its Seventh Fleet involving 100 vessels operating in the Indian Ocean.
• Hyderabad origin doctor Vidya Kora elected as the chair of The American Medical Association Political Action Committee(AMPAC),a bipartisan political action committee based in Washington D.C.
• IndiaSoft 2017,a two-day exibition and conference of the electronics and computer software Export Promotion Council(ESC) gets underway in Hyderabad.As many as 200 companies and 50 start-ups are participating in the expo.
• I-Hub inaugurated at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics(ICRISAT),Hyderabad to extend better services to farmers.
• The National Thermal Power Corporation(NTPC) Limited Ramagundam secured the second position in the NTPC Business Excellence Model 2016-17 among all the NTPC power stations in the country.Minister for Power and Coal Piyush Goyal presented the award to NTPC Ramagundam Executive Director(ED) D.K.Dubey at NTPC's international operation and maintenance conferenceIPS-2017 in New Delhi.
• The Karnataka Legislative Assembly passed the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Karnataka Amendment Bill to the Act of 1960) Bill 2017,paving the way for the conduct of Kambala which is the Karnataka traditional buffalo race.The High Court stayed the sport following a petition by the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals(PETA).
• The 11th edition of 'Aero India 2017',India's largest aerospace and defence expo to kick start at the Indian Air Force base in Yelahanka(Bengaluru) from Tuesday.
• Engineering giant Larsen&Toubro(L&T) ties up with European defence major MBDA Missile Systems for development of missiles in India.
• Online market places offering discounts after inflating Maximum Retail Price(MRP),a new survey revealed.
• Associated Press photographer Burhan Ozbilici(Turkey) won the 2017 World Press Photo Competition.
• UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for urgent meet over North Korea's ballistic missile test.
• India beat Bangladesh by 208 runs in the test match at Hyderabad to clinch the one match test series 1-0.Virat Kohli named Man-of-the-Match.
• Jehan Daruvala becomes the first Indian to win a motorsports Grand Prix(GP) event by winning the Toyota Racing Series's New Zealand(GP).
• A docu-feature on master blaster Sachin Tendulkar titled sachin:A Billion Dreams is set to release on May 26.
• Dev Patel won the Bafta award in the best supporting actor category for Lion.
• Adele becomes the first artist to sweep the top three categories(album,record,song of the year) twice twice at Grammys.

Current Affairs of February 13th 2017 for IBPS CLERK,PO/MT,SO,SBI PO,SSC CGL,CHSL,MTS EXAMS

• The Government of India is keen on appointing a single-point military adviser to promote synergy(cooperation) among the armed forces(Army,Navy,Airforce).
• A proposal to increase the salary of the President from the current 1.5 lakh INR to 5 lakh INR per month has been gathering dust(remain unmoved) in the Prime Minister's Office(PMO).The Home Ministry had also proposed to increase the salary of the Vice-President from 1.1 lakh INR to 3.5 lakh INR per month.
• Post offices in Telangana will now aid pensioners avail life certificates and the unemployed find jobs through tie-ups with the Ministry of Labour.Union Minister of State for Labour Bandaru Dattatreya launched the intitiative in Hyderabad on sunday.
•  The three-day(February 10th-12th 2017) National Women's Parliament(NWP) comes to an end in Amaravati(Andhra Pradesh).The patron of NWP is Ela Bhatt,Founder of Self-Employed Women's Association of India(SEWA).
• Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL) will reveal IAF Surya Kiran,India's first indigenous multi-role helicopter Aero India expo,beginning in Bengaluru next week.
• Frank-Walter Steinmeier(61) elected as the 12th president of the Federal Republic of Germany.Mr Steinmeier succeeded Joachim Gauck.
• Pakistan's Senate Deputy-chairman,Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri denied a U.s.visa to attend a meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union at the UN headquarters(New York).
• The Centre is planning to invest about 2,200 crore INR by 2019 in start-ups working on new technologies in electronic sector under the Electronics Development Fund(EDF).
• Jiro Taniguchi(69),a legend in Japan's comic art of Manga died in Tokyo.Mr Jiro had an international following for his exquisite line drawing of scenes from everyday life.
• Ace Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin became the quickest to bag 250 wickets in test cricket.Ashwin surpassed Dennis Lillee,
• India retains the T20 World Cup for blind with an emphatic 9 wicket win over Pakistan at the final in Bengaluru.

current affairs of January 20th 2017 for IBPS CLERK,PO/MT,SO,SSC CGL,CHSL,MTS EXAMS

• The Bengaluru Bench of the Debt Recovery Tribunal(DRT) allowed a consortium of 15 banks led by the State Bank of India(SBI) to initiate proceedings for recovering dues of 6,203.35 crore INR from Kingfisher Airlines Limited(KAL) and its guarantors Vijay Mallya,United Breweries(Holdings) and Kingfisher Finvest(India) Ltd.
• Alok Kumar Verma has been appointed as the director of the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) succeeding Anil Sinha.Mr Verma is an Indian Police Service(IPS) officer of the 1979 batch and is currently Delhi's Police Commissioner.
• Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi said that the Tamil Nadu government has the power to enact a law to treat 'Jallikattu' as a traditional sport.
• The two-day(January 18th-19th,2017) Digi Dhan Mela organised by National Institution for Transforming India(Niti Aayog) at People's Plaza,Hyderabad concludes.
• Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh announced that 'Dharamsala' would be the second capital of Himachal Pradesh.'Shimla' is the first and the present capital the state.
• The National Investigation Agency(NIA) likely to summon controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik to quiz him on his 78 bank accounts and real estate investments worth 100 crore INR in and around Mumbai.
• The British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has sought Indian assistance in resolving 'Chagos Archipelago' dispute.The Chagos Archipelago is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 individual islands in the Indian Ocean.
• Nandan Nilekani,ex-chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India(UIDAI) hopeful of significant push towards digital transactions,with technologies like BHIM(Bharat Interface for Money).Retired IAS officer J Satyanarayana is the present chairman of the UIDAI headquartered in New Delhi.
• The Centre has so far awarded 60.9 crore INR as prize money under two lucky draw schemes 'Lucky Grahak Yojana' and 'Digi-Dhan Vyapar Yojana'.These schemes were announced to boost digital payments post demonetisation.