GK Update: 17th February 2018

National Affairs

1. Vice President inaugurates 8th edition of Theatre Olympics

• Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has inaugurated the 8th edition of the Theatre Olympics at Lal Quila in Delhi.
• It is for the first time that India is hosting the event and more than 25 thousand foreign artists will participate.
• The 51-day long nationwide theatre extravaganza will be held in 17 cities, including Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Patna, Kolkata, Mumbai, Guwahati and Jammu.
• The theme of the festival is - "Flag of Friendship".

Hosting Countries

City / Country	Year
New Delhi, India	2018
Wrocław, Poland	2016
Beijing, China	2014

2. CPA conference of India region to begin in Patna

• Today, the 6th conference of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association(CPA) of India Region has been inaugurated by the Loke Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan in Patna.
• Over one hundred delegates from across the country and abroad including Australia, Britain, Uganda, and Tonga have arrived to participate this conference.
• The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association(CPA) exists to develop, promote, and support Parliamentarians and their staff to identify benchmarks of good governance and to implement the enduring values of the commonwealth.

3. Canadian PM arrives on a seven-day visit to India

• Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau arrived in India on a seven-dayState visit.
• The visit, which includes stops in Agra, Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and New Delhi.
• The objective of the Mr. Trudeau India’s visit would be to expand overall ties between the two countries with a focus on defense and security, counter-terror cooperation, trade and investment and tackling climate change.
• India and Canada share a strategic partnership underpinned by the values of democracy, pluralism, equality for all and rule of law.
• Trudeau will also participate in several business roundtables to promote further trade and investment between Canada and India.

Science & Defence

4. India's second lunar mission Chandrayan-2 to be launched in April

• According to the Minister of Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh, the country will send its second mission to the moon “Chandrayan-2” in April this year.
• The mission will cost around 800 crore rupees which include the cost of orbiter, lander, and rover.
• India is using the technology for peaceful purposes and its applications have been diversified in various fields including electricity generation, agriculture and health sectors.
• Nuclear plants are now being installed in other parts of the country as earlier these are concentrated in southern and western parts.

International Affairs

5. Security conference begins in Munich

• The annual Munich Security Conference opened at Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich, Germany.
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the reconciliatory mood being created between North and South Korea through exchanges at the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games.
• World leaders and Ministers will discuss pressing security issues, including North Korea's nuclear, missile programs and the Syrian civil war.
• Each year it brings together about 350 senior figures from more than 70 countries around the world to engage in an intensive debate on current and future security challenges.
  Note:
• The Munich Security Conference is an annual conference on the international security policy that has taken place since 1963.

6. World Anti-Doping Agency suspends Romanian laboratory

• The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has suspended Romania's drug-testing laboratory for six months.
• WADA imposed the sanction on the lab in Bucharest due to a number of non-conformities with regulations.
• WADA has stepped up checks on laboratories around the world ever since uncovering evidence of wide-ranging doping and cover-ups at the Moscow laboratory.

Honours & Awards

7. Indian engineer awarded Sci-Tech Oscar Award

• Indian engineer Vikas Sathaye has won the Scientific and Engineering Academy Award at the Oscars Scientific and Technical Awards 2018 at Beverly Hills in Los Angeles, California.
• Mr. Sathaye received the award along with his team for their contribution towards the conceptualization, design, engineering and the implementation of the 'Shotover K1 Camera System' during his stint at Shotover Camera Systems in Queenstown, New Zealand.

Sports

8. Yuki Bhambri meets No.1 seed Jordan Thompson in Chennai Open final

• India's second-seeded Yuki Bhambri will meet number one seed Jordan Thompson of Australia in the final of the Chennai Open ATP Challenger tennis tournament in Chennai.
• Bhambri got the better of the third seed Duckhee Lee (Korea) 7-5, 6-2 while Thompson beat unseeded Spaniard Pedro Martinez 6-1, 7-6.

Note:

• Tennis player Yuki Bhambri is the winner of the 2009 Australian Open Junior Championship.
• He represents India in the Davis Cup.

9. Roger Federer becomes oldest No. 1 in tennis history

• 20-time Grand Slam champion Swiss Roger Federer (36-year) has become the oldest world number one in Tennis history.
• Federer surpassed Andre Agassi (USA), who held the top spot aged 33, in 2003.
• Federer has won a record eight Wimbledon titles, Australian Open titles (6), a record five consecutive US Open titles, and French Open title (1).

10. India beat South Africa by eight wickets; clinches series by 5-1

• India beat South Africa by 8 wickets in the sixth and final One-Day International (ODI) match at Centurion, South Africa.
• South Africa was all-out for 204 in 46.5 overs.
• India made 206 runs for the loss of 2 wickets in the 33rd over.
• India has won the six-match series by 5-1.

Note:

• RSA: 204 (46.5 Ovs)
• IND: 206/2 (32.1 Ovs)

• Player of the match: Virat Kohli.
• Player of the Series: Virat Kohli.