1. The prestigious World Congress on Information Technology has started in Hyderabad on February 19, 2018. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the inaugural session of the 3-day IT summit through a video link. The World Information Technology and Services Alliance is organising Congress while the National Alliance of Software and Services Companies and the Telangana state Government are jointly hosting the prestigious event. Over 2000 delegates including heads of IT majors, visionaries, Government leaders and academia from 30 countries will take part in the Congress being held for the first time in India. Over 150 global thought leaders will share their views during the Congress.
2. Gundu Hanumantha Rao (61), the noted Telugu film comedian, has passed away in Hyderabad, Telangana on February 19, 2018. Rao, born in Vijayawada, started his film career with “Aha Na Pellanta” in 1987 and acted in around 400 films such as “Rajendrudu Gajendrudu” and “Yamaleela”. He is known for his roles in Pellaniki Premalekha Priyuraliki Subhalekha (1992), Rajendrudu Gajendrudu, Mayalodu, Jodi No.1, Nenu Seetamahalakshmi, Kedi No.1, etc. He acted in over 600 movies in Telugu and is a popular TV artist.
3. The 44th Khajuraho Dance Festival 2018 will be held at the temple town in Chhatarpur district on February 20. The fest is being organised by the culture department of the Madhya Pradesh government. The 6-day fest will showcase classical dances including Kathak, Odissi, Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali and Mohiniattam. This year, the Art Mart (which is part of the festival) would showcase paintings of international artists from Germany, France and China among other countries. During the festival, dances are performed in an open- air auditorium, usually in front of the Chitragupta Temple dedicated to the Sun God and the Vishwanatha Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temples at Khajuraho, built by the Chandela dynasty between 950 AD and 1050 AD, are world-wide known for their erotic.
4. Archaeologist and historian Arvind P. Jamkhedkar will be the new Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). He will replace Prof. K. Sudershan Rao, whose term as ICHR chief was mired in controversy. The post fell vacant after Prof. Rao’s retirement. Prof. Jamkhedkar is at present Chancellor of Deccan College, Pune, known in academic circles for its archaeology department. Prof. Jamkhedkar, who taught at Dhule, Nagpur and Mumbai, was vice-president of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai from 2007 to 2013. He is also editor of the Journal of Asiatic Society of Mumbai .
5. PhonePe, the online payment service provider, has partnered with Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) to deploy its own Point of Sale (POS) payment terminals across all IOCL retail outlets nationally. As part of the pilot program, PhonePe PoS devices have already been installed at 30 IOCL outlets. The device will allow IOCL customers to pay using UPI, credit and debit cards, PhonePe wallet, or other external wallets including JIO money and Freecharge.
6. India’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI) centre will be set up by the Maharashtra Government in Mumbai. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will launch the plan for the institute during the Magnetic Maharashtra Summit and at the Global Economic Conference in Canada in March 2018. The AI institute will give a fresh impetus to the fourth industrial revolution, and promote Mumbai as an investment destination in innovations and data analysis. The main aim of the centre is to integrate artificial intelligence in the field of social development.
7. Didier Lockwood (62), the noted French jazz violinist, has passed away in Paris on February 18, 2018. He was known for his use of electric amplification and experimentation on different sounds on the electric violin. Lockwood was a disciple of the late Stephane Grappelli.
8. The Botanical Survey of India (BSI) and UK’s Natural History Museum (NHM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in New Delhi on February 16, 2018 for cooperation in the field of genetic/taxonomic studies, research and training, conservation in India, including species and habitat conservation assessments, etc. The MoU will pave the way for BSI staff to work in Natural History Museum, London and vice-versa and they will share fairly and equitably the benefits that may arise from the collection, study and conservation of the plant materials such as seeds, herbarium specimens and tissue samples and exchange associated data and images. NHM will help BSI in capacity building in areas of systematic botany and long-term conservation of plant genetic resources in India. The headquarters of BSI is located in Kolkata, West Bengal.
9. The World Day of Social Justice is observed every year on February 20 to recognize the need to promote efforts to tackle issues such as poverty, exclusion and unemployment. It is an opportunity to recognize social and economic injustices in the world — and to find ways to help those affected. The day aims to break down the barriers created by gender, class, race, sexuality and religion to create a world that promotes health, opportunity and justice for all. The 2018 theme is “Workers on the Move: the Quest for Social Justice”.
10. The Kallanai dam is an ancient dam, which is built across the Kaveri river in Tiruchirapalli district in Tamil Nadu. It is the 4th-oldest water-diversion or water-regulator structures in the world and the oldest in India which is still in use. Originally, the dam was constructed by the Chola king Karikalan in 2nd century AD.
11. The National conference on “Agriculture 2022- Doubling Farmers’ Income” has started at National Agriculture Science Complex (NASC) in New Delhi on February 19, 2018. It is organized by the Union Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW). The 2-day conference is organized with a view to identifying various critical issues relating to agriculture and farmers’ welfare and finding appropriate solutions. The main aim of the conference is to build a consensus around appropriate recommendations that will help in shaping the vision of the government. The participants of conference comprising farmers, farmers’ associations, scientists, economists, trade industry, NGOs and policymakers. In the Budget 2018, the government has proposed fixing of the minimum support price of Kharif crops at least 1.5 times over the cost of production.
12. The Union Water Resources ministry is holding the regional conference of southern states in Hyderabad on February 20, 2018 to resolve the pending inter-state water issues. During the meeting, issues such as the implementation of the latest orders of the Supreme Court on sharing of Cauvery waters, interlinking of rivers like Godavari-Cauvery, notification of jurisdiction of Krishna and Godavari Water Management Boards, Polavaram Project are among issues scheduled to come up for discussion. Ministers and Principal Secretaries of Water Resources of Six southern states – Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana are scheduled to take part in the meeting which will be chaired by Minister of State for Water Resources Arjun Ram Meghwal.
13. The Union Government has constituted a committee headed by Rajiv Kumar, the Vice Chairman of the NITI Aayog, to study the Brahmaputra and flood control measures in Assam and neighboring states .
14. The UK – India Joint research projects on ‘Water Quality Research’ and ‘Energy Demand Reduction in Built Environment’ were launched in New Delhi on February 20, 2018. The projects were jointly launched by NITI Aayog member Dr V K Saraswat, Department of Science and Technology Secretary Ashutosh Sharma and Research Councils UK- India Director Daniel Shah. The Water Quality Research programme has 8 projects and ‘Energy Demand Reduction in Built Environment’ programme has four projects, with a total joint investment of up to 15 million British Pound. These projects aim to deliver mutual benefits and research solutions not only to the UK and India but also to address shared global sustainable development goals of clean water and clean energy.
15. Noted violinist M.S. Anantharaman (94), an exponent of Parur style of violin playing, has passed away in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on February 19, 2018. The Parur School is known for its violin recital by mixing the basic features of Carnatic and Hindustani styles.
16. Roger Federer, a Swiss professional tennis player, has won the 2018 Rotterdam Open men’s singles tennis tournament by defeating Grigor Dimitrov in the final by 6-2-6-2 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was his 97th career title. This was Federer’s 3rd title in Rotterdam following successes in 2005 and 2012. In the Open era, only American Jimmy Connors has won more titles than Federer, with 109.
17. Star India, the official broadcaster for the Indian Premier League (IPL), has got the audio-visual production rights of the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL-2018). The 2018 IPL will be held in Mumbai, Maharashtra from April 7 to May 27. The announcement was made on February 19 when the BCCI opened the bids for the audio-visual production rights for the IPL and the 2018-19 domestic cricket season.
18. Milkbasket, India’s first and largest micro-delivery platform, has been recognised as ‘Startup of the Year’ 2017 at the 7th Small Business Awards held in New Delhi. The startup of the year award is dedicated to young SMEs, aged 7 years or less, with great potential to become big in local/international markets.
19. India will be the global host of 2018 World Environment Day (WED), which is scheduled to be held on June 5, 2018. The theme “Beat Plastic Pollution” urges governments, industry, communities, and individuals to come together and explore sustainable alternatives and urgently reduce the production and excessive use of single-use plastic polluting our oceans, damaging marine life and threatening human health. The World Environment Day is a UN Environment-led global event and is the single largest celebration of our environment each year.
20. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri has won the best film award at the 71st British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England on February 18, 2018. The movie was directed by Martin McDonagh. The movie is about a woman seeking justice for her daughter’s murder.
2. Gundu Hanumantha Rao (61), the noted Telugu film comedian, has passed away in Hyderabad, Telangana on February 19, 2018. Rao, born in Vijayawada, started his film career with “Aha Na Pellanta” in 1987 and acted in around 400 films such as “Rajendrudu Gajendrudu” and “Yamaleela”. He is known for his roles in Pellaniki Premalekha Priyuraliki Subhalekha (1992), Rajendrudu Gajendrudu, Mayalodu, Jodi No.1, Nenu Seetamahalakshmi, Kedi No.1, etc. He acted in over 600 movies in Telugu and is a popular TV artist.
3. The 44th Khajuraho Dance Festival 2018 will be held at the temple town in Chhatarpur district on February 20. The fest is being organised by the culture department of the Madhya Pradesh government. The 6-day fest will showcase classical dances including Kathak, Odissi, Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali and Mohiniattam. This year, the Art Mart (which is part of the festival) would showcase paintings of international artists from Germany, France and China among other countries. During the festival, dances are performed in an open- air auditorium, usually in front of the Chitragupta Temple dedicated to the Sun God and the Vishwanatha Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temples at Khajuraho, built by the Chandela dynasty between 950 AD and 1050 AD, are world-wide known for their erotic.
4. Archaeologist and historian Arvind P. Jamkhedkar will be the new Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). He will replace Prof. K. Sudershan Rao, whose term as ICHR chief was mired in controversy. The post fell vacant after Prof. Rao’s retirement. Prof. Jamkhedkar is at present Chancellor of Deccan College, Pune, known in academic circles for its archaeology department. Prof. Jamkhedkar, who taught at Dhule, Nagpur and Mumbai, was vice-president of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai from 2007 to 2013. He is also editor of the Journal of Asiatic Society of Mumbai .
5. PhonePe, the online payment service provider, has partnered with Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) to deploy its own Point of Sale (POS) payment terminals across all IOCL retail outlets nationally. As part of the pilot program, PhonePe PoS devices have already been installed at 30 IOCL outlets. The device will allow IOCL customers to pay using UPI, credit and debit cards, PhonePe wallet, or other external wallets including JIO money and Freecharge.
6. India’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI) centre will be set up by the Maharashtra Government in Mumbai. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will launch the plan for the institute during the Magnetic Maharashtra Summit and at the Global Economic Conference in Canada in March 2018. The AI institute will give a fresh impetus to the fourth industrial revolution, and promote Mumbai as an investment destination in innovations and data analysis. The main aim of the centre is to integrate artificial intelligence in the field of social development.
7. Didier Lockwood (62), the noted French jazz violinist, has passed away in Paris on February 18, 2018. He was known for his use of electric amplification and experimentation on different sounds on the electric violin. Lockwood was a disciple of the late Stephane Grappelli.
8. The Botanical Survey of India (BSI) and UK’s Natural History Museum (NHM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in New Delhi on February 16, 2018 for cooperation in the field of genetic/taxonomic studies, research and training, conservation in India, including species and habitat conservation assessments, etc. The MoU will pave the way for BSI staff to work in Natural History Museum, London and vice-versa and they will share fairly and equitably the benefits that may arise from the collection, study and conservation of the plant materials such as seeds, herbarium specimens and tissue samples and exchange associated data and images. NHM will help BSI in capacity building in areas of systematic botany and long-term conservation of plant genetic resources in India. The headquarters of BSI is located in Kolkata, West Bengal.
9. The World Day of Social Justice is observed every year on February 20 to recognize the need to promote efforts to tackle issues such as poverty, exclusion and unemployment. It is an opportunity to recognize social and economic injustices in the world — and to find ways to help those affected. The day aims to break down the barriers created by gender, class, race, sexuality and religion to create a world that promotes health, opportunity and justice for all. The 2018 theme is “Workers on the Move: the Quest for Social Justice”.
10. The Kallanai dam is an ancient dam, which is built across the Kaveri river in Tiruchirapalli district in Tamil Nadu. It is the 4th-oldest water-diversion or water-regulator structures in the world and the oldest in India which is still in use. Originally, the dam was constructed by the Chola king Karikalan in 2nd century AD.
11. The National conference on “Agriculture 2022- Doubling Farmers’ Income” has started at National Agriculture Science Complex (NASC) in New Delhi on February 19, 2018. It is organized by the Union Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW). The 2-day conference is organized with a view to identifying various critical issues relating to agriculture and farmers’ welfare and finding appropriate solutions. The main aim of the conference is to build a consensus around appropriate recommendations that will help in shaping the vision of the government. The participants of conference comprising farmers, farmers’ associations, scientists, economists, trade industry, NGOs and policymakers. In the Budget 2018, the government has proposed fixing of the minimum support price of Kharif crops at least 1.5 times over the cost of production.
12. The Union Water Resources ministry is holding the regional conference of southern states in Hyderabad on February 20, 2018 to resolve the pending inter-state water issues. During the meeting, issues such as the implementation of the latest orders of the Supreme Court on sharing of Cauvery waters, interlinking of rivers like Godavari-Cauvery, notification of jurisdiction of Krishna and Godavari Water Management Boards, Polavaram Project are among issues scheduled to come up for discussion. Ministers and Principal Secretaries of Water Resources of Six southern states – Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana are scheduled to take part in the meeting which will be chaired by Minister of State for Water Resources Arjun Ram Meghwal.
13. The Union Government has constituted a committee headed by Rajiv Kumar, the Vice Chairman of the NITI Aayog, to study the Brahmaputra and flood control measures in Assam and neighboring states .
14. The UK – India Joint research projects on ‘Water Quality Research’ and ‘Energy Demand Reduction in Built Environment’ were launched in New Delhi on February 20, 2018. The projects were jointly launched by NITI Aayog member Dr V K Saraswat, Department of Science and Technology Secretary Ashutosh Sharma and Research Councils UK- India Director Daniel Shah. The Water Quality Research programme has 8 projects and ‘Energy Demand Reduction in Built Environment’ programme has four projects, with a total joint investment of up to 15 million British Pound. These projects aim to deliver mutual benefits and research solutions not only to the UK and India but also to address shared global sustainable development goals of clean water and clean energy.
15. Noted violinist M.S. Anantharaman (94), an exponent of Parur style of violin playing, has passed away in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on February 19, 2018. The Parur School is known for its violin recital by mixing the basic features of Carnatic and Hindustani styles.
16. Roger Federer, a Swiss professional tennis player, has won the 2018 Rotterdam Open men’s singles tennis tournament by defeating Grigor Dimitrov in the final by 6-2-6-2 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was his 97th career title. This was Federer’s 3rd title in Rotterdam following successes in 2005 and 2012. In the Open era, only American Jimmy Connors has won more titles than Federer, with 109.
17. Star India, the official broadcaster for the Indian Premier League (IPL), has got the audio-visual production rights of the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL-2018). The 2018 IPL will be held in Mumbai, Maharashtra from April 7 to May 27. The announcement was made on February 19 when the BCCI opened the bids for the audio-visual production rights for the IPL and the 2018-19 domestic cricket season.
18. Milkbasket, India’s first and largest micro-delivery platform, has been recognised as ‘Startup of the Year’ 2017 at the 7th Small Business Awards held in New Delhi. The startup of the year award is dedicated to young SMEs, aged 7 years or less, with great potential to become big in local/international markets.
19. India will be the global host of 2018 World Environment Day (WED), which is scheduled to be held on June 5, 2018. The theme “Beat Plastic Pollution” urges governments, industry, communities, and individuals to come together and explore sustainable alternatives and urgently reduce the production and excessive use of single-use plastic polluting our oceans, damaging marine life and threatening human health. The World Environment Day is a UN Environment-led global event and is the single largest celebration of our environment each year.
20. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri has won the best film award at the 71st British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England on February 18, 2018. The movie was directed by Martin McDonagh. The movie is about a woman seeking justice for her daughter’s murder.
