GK Update: 18-19th February 2018

National Appointment

1. Arvind Jamkhedkar to be next Chairman Of ICHR

• Archaeologist and historian Arvind P. Jamkhedkar (78-year) will be the next Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR).
• He will replace Prof. K. Sudershan Rao.
• Currently, Mr. Jamkhedkar is serving as the Chancellor of Deccan College, Pune.
• In 1984, Jamkhedkar was selected as National Lecturer in Archaeology by the University Grants Commission (UGC)
• Jamkhedkar had done his masters in Sanskrit from the University of Pune in 1960 and completed his doctorate in Ancient Indian Culture from Deccan College in 1966.

Note:

• The Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
• ICHR disburses funds for carrying out research to Indian as well as foreign scholars on their applications for fellowships, grants, and symposia, made to the Indian Council of Historical Research or through the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

National Affairs

2. World Congress on Information Technology begins today

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the prestigious three-dayWorld Congress on Information Technology in Hyderabad through a video link.
• The World Information Technology and Services Alliance is organizing Congress while the National Alliance of Software and Services Companies and the Telangana state Government are jointly hosting the prestigious event.
• Over two-thousand delegates including heads of IT majors, visionaries, Government leaders, and academia from thirty countries will take part in the Congress being held for the first time in India.

3. Four places in Chhattisgarh will get airports as part of the UDAN

• According to the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, four places (Ambikapur, Bilaspur, Jagdalpur & Raigarh) in Chhattisgarh will get airports as part of the UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme.
• UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) is a regional airport development and "Regional Connectivity Scheme" (RCS) of Government of India.
• At the beginning of the scheme, out of total 486 airports, 406 were participating unserved airports,27 well served airports out of 62 non-RCS airports and 12 operational out of 18 participating underserved regional operational airports with regular fixed-wing scheduled flights.

4. Delhi Metro travelers can pay bus fare

• Delhi Metro commuters can pay the fares of feeder buses and a number of parking lots at metro stations through their smart cards.
• Currently, Delhi Metro has more than 200 feeder buses plying on over 40 routes to ferry commuters to the nearest metro network.
• The commuters can pay also parking charges through their metro smart cards at 13 parking lots at the Metro stations including Vishwavidyalaya, Saket, Karkardooma, Dilshad Garden, Akshardham, Patel Chowk, Kashmere Gate and Mewala Maharajpur.

5. Shivaji Jayanti being celebrated in Maharashtra

• Today, the birth anniversary of Maratha Warrior King ‘Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’ is being celebrated all over Maharashtra.
• Maharastra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis visited the Shivneri Fort(birthplace of Shivaji) and paid tribute to the Warrior King.

Note:

• Shivaji Bhonsle was an Indian warrior king and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan.
• Shivaji carved out an enclave from the declining Adilshahi sultanate ofBijapur that formed the genesis of the Maratha Empire.
• In 1674, he was formally crowned as the Chhatrapati (Monarch) of his realm at Raigad.

6. 562 more Ekalavya schools for tribals soon: Government

• The union government will set up 562 more Ekalavya Model Residential School (EMRS) in tribal areas across the country.
• The EMRS are planned under a scheme for model residential school for Indian tribals (Scheduled Tribes) across India by 2022.
• Every block with more than 50% Scheduled Tribes population and at least 20,000 tribal persons, will have an EMRS.

Note:

• The Ekalavya Schools will be on par with the Navodaya Vidyalayas and have special facilities for preserving local art and culture besides providing training in sports and skill development.

7. Centre finalized Rs 6,000-crore “Atal Bhujal Yojana” to recharge groundwater

• The Union water resources ministry has finalized the contours of a Rs 6,000-crore “Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABY)” to tackle the country’s depleting groundwater level.
• The scheme will be launched in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, covering 78 districts, 193 blocks and more than 8,300-gram panchayats.
• The duration of the ABY will be five years.
• The scheme was announced as National Groundwater Management Improvement Scheme (NGMIS) in budget 2016-17.
• The central government will contribute 50% fund of the scheme.

International Affairs

8. Saudi Arabia allows women to start business without male permission

• The Saudi government announced, women of the country can launch their own businesses and benefit from governmental e-services without having to prove consent from a guardian.
• The policy change also marks a major step away from the strict guardianship system that has ruled the country for decades.
• Earlier, In Under Saudi Arabia's guardianship system, women are required to present proof of permission from a male guardian to do any government paperwork, travel or enroll in classes.

9. SCO summit to be held in China's Qingdao city

• This year's summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will be held in the city of Qingdao in June in China.
• It forms part of Shandong province which is the birthplace of many ancient Chinese thinkers, including Confucius.
• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic, and security organization.

Note:

• Currently, in SCO, there are 8-member states and 4 observer states (Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, Mongolian).
• The Shanghai Five grouping was created 26 April 1996 with the signing of the Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.

Sports

10. Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu retains Winter Olympic figure skating gold

• Japanese Yuzuru Hanyu (23-year) has become the first figure skater in 66 years to win back-to-back Winter Olympic gold medals in the men's singles event.
• Hanyu won the title with 317.85 points, beating compatriot Shoma Unoand multiple world champion Javier Fernandez of Spain to the second and third spots.
• He won Japan's first gold medal at PyeongChang Games.
• Hanyu emulated American Dick Button's feats of 1948 and 1952.

11. Chennai Open ATP: Yuki Bhambri finishes runner-up in Men's Singles

• India's Yuki Bhambri has finished as runner-up in the Men's Singles in the Chennai Open ATP Challenger Tennis Championships in Chennai.
• He was beaten by top-seeded Australian Jordan Thompson in three sets 7-5, 3-6, 7-5.

Note:

• The 2018 Chennai Open Challenger was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts in Chennai, India.
• It was the first edition of the tournament which was part of the 2018 ATP Challenger Tour.