11 February 2018 Current Affairs: Today’s Current Affairs for Competitive Exams – Bank, SSC, Vyapam, PSC

PM Modi lays foundation stone for first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday officially launched the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the first Hindu temple in the capital of the UAE.
“I believe this temple will not be only unique in terms of architecture and splendour, but will also give a message of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ to people across the world,” he said.
PM Modi thanked Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on behalf of 125 crore Indians for the construction of the grand temple.

Mumbai 12th richest city globally

India’s financial capital Mumbai, with a total wealth of $950 billion, has been named among the top 15 wealthiest cities globally, while New York topped the list.
According to a report by New World Wealth, Mumbai is the 12th wealthiest city, followed by Toronto with a total wealth of $944 billion, Frankfurt (14th, $912 billion) and Paris (15th, $860 billion).

India, UAE sign five agreements

India and the UAE signed five agreements, including in the areas of energy and transportation.
Two MoUs were signed on cooperation in the fields of manpower and transportation. A separate MoU was signed between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Jammu & Kashmir government. An agreement was also signed between ONGC and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) on offshore oil concessions.

Government launches ASH TRACK app

To promote better management of thermal power plants’ by-product fly ash, which creates air pollution Union power minister R K Singh launched web-based monitoring system and a mobile application named “ASH TRACK” in Delhi on Friday.
These two platforms will enable better management of the ash produced by thermal power plants by providing an interface between them and potential ash users such as road contractors, cement plants etc.

ONGC, partners acquire 10% stake in Abu Dhabi oilfield for $600 million

ONGC Videsh Ltd and its partners have acquired a 10 per cent in a large offshore oilfield in Abu Dhabi for $600 million, the first time any Indian company has set foot in oil-rich Emirates.
The contract for the concession was signed in Abu Dhabi last evening in presence of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

NPCI appoints Biswamohan Mahapatra as non-executive chairman

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) appointed Biswamohan Mahapatra as non-executive chairman for two years.
He will succeed B Sambamurthy who was the interim chairman.

Imp Note : Managing director and CEO of NPCI – Dilip Asbe

Redmond Gerard wins first US gold in Snowboarding in Winter Olympics

American Redmond Gerard claimed the United States’ first gold medal of the Pyeongchang Winter Games on Sunday with his victory in the snowboarding slope style competition.
Gerard scored a run of 87.16 to hold off Canadians Max Parrot and Mark McMorris, who finished second and third respectively.
The 17-year-old Gerard, the youngest in the competition.

Fed Cup 2018

Ashleigh Barty won both her singles and combined with Casey Dellacqua to win Sunday’s doubles and lead Australia to a 3-2 win over Ukraine in their Fed Cup World Group II tennis tie.
Barty and Dellacqua beat twin sisters Nadiia and Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-3 6-4 in the doubles decider.

Iconic UAE buildings light up in Indian tricolour

From Abu Dhabi to Dubai, some of the UAE’s iconic buildings lit up in colours of India’s flag ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the country.
Burj Khalifa, Dubai Frame & ADNOC headquarters are lit up in Indian flag coloursahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit.

PM Modi conferred the Grand Collar of the State of Palestine

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was today conferred the ‘Grand Collar of the State of Palestine’ by President Mahmoud Abbas, recognising his key contribution to promote relations between India and Palestine.
PM Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to make an official visit to Palestine.
The Grand Collar is highest order given to foreign dignitaries – Kings, Heads of State/Government and persons of similar rank.

NASA probe makes history by snapping the most distant photos taken away from Earth

The Nasa spacecraft that made close-ups of Pluto has set a record for the farthest photos ever taken.
In December – while 3.79 billion miles (6.12 billion kilometres) from Earth – the New Horizons spacecraft snapped a picture of a star cluster.
The photo surpassed the “Pale Blue Dot” images of Earth taken in 1990 by NASA’s Voyager 1.

Justice Abhilasha Kumari is Manipur HC’s first woman Chief Justice

Justice Abhilasha Kumari on Friday became first woman to become the chief justice of the Manipur high court.
Governor Najma Heptulla administered the oath of office to Justice Kumari at a ceremony in the banquet hall of Raj Bhavan in Imphal.
Justice Kumari is the daughter of former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh.
She has served as a Gujarat high court judge and chief justice of Tripura high court.
She is the third full-time chief justice of Manipur high court.