Current Affairs 17th February 2016

Important Points : 

• Name the former UN Secretary-General who has passed away - Boutros Boutros-Ghali
• Which missile has been successfully test-fired by India - Prithvi II missile
• Which two states collaborated on technology and development - Haryana and South Korean state of Chungcheongbuk
• Where did the First Silk Road train arrived in - Tehran from China
• Which city has been declared as the cleanest city in India - Mysuru 
• Who has been conferred with Knight of the Legion of Honour, France’s highest honour - Fashion designer Manish Arora
• Who has won 36th National Chess Team Championship - Indian Railways 
• 58th Annual Grammy Awards announced
• Which government launched Utkarsh Bangla Scheme for school-dropouts - West Bengal government
• 2016 South Asian Games concluded

Details : 

Name the former UN Secretary-General who has passed away - Boutros Boutros-Ghali

On 16th February 2016, The former United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali passed away in Cairo, Egypt at the age of 93.

From January 1992 to December 1996, he served as UN Chief.

About Boutros Boutros-Ghali

• He was the sixth Secretary-General of the UN.
• He oversaw the UN at a time when it was dealing with the several world crises, including the break-up of the Rwandan Genocide and Yugoslavia.
• From November 1997 to December 2002, he was the first Secretary-General of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.
• He also published two memoirs, Unvanquished: A US-U.N. Saga and Egypt's road to Jerusalem: A diplomat's story of the struggle for peace in the Middle East.

 Which missile has been successfully test-fired by India - Prithvi II missile

Among the important Defence Current Affairs, On 16th February 2016, indigenously developed Prithvi-II missile was successfully test fired by India from the Chandipur, off Odisha coast. The missile is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines and has the capability of carrying 500 kg to 1000 kg of warheads.

The test was carried out from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR). The missile has a range of 350 km and uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target.

 Which two states collaborated on technology and development - Haryana and South Korean state of Chungcheongbuk

On 16th February 2016, South Korean state of Chungcheongbuk and Haryana entered into a sister-statehood relationship for development.

The proposal was accepted by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. Section Chief of Chungcheongbuk Government Lee Iksoo led the South Korean delegation.

 Where did the First Silk Road train arrived in - Tehran from China

On 15th February 2016, The first train connecting Iran and China packed with Chinese goods arrived in Tehran. The arrival of this train renewed the ancient Silk Road trade route.

The train, passed through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to Iran, travelling a distance of 10399 kilometres and is also referred to as Silk Road train. 

 Which city has been declared as the cleanest city in India - Mysuru 

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 15th February 2016, the results of Swachh Survekshan 2016 survey was announced by the Union Urban Development Miniser M Venkaiah Naidu.

Mysuru in Karnataka was adjudged as the cleanest city and Dhanbad in Jharkand was adjudged as the least clean city out of the 73 cities.

The cities based on their percentage of marks were divided into the following four categories :

• Leaders (> 70 %): 15 cities
• Aspiring Leaders (60 – 70 %): 20 cities
• Acceleration required (50 – 60 %): 18 cities
• Slow Movers (< 50 %): 20 cities

 Who has been conferred with Knight of the Legion of Honour, France’s highest honour - Fashion designer Manish Arora

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 16th February 2016, the Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour), France's highest civilian honour was conferred to Fashion designer Manish Arora.

He was awarded for his renowned and critically-acclaimed contribution to the fashion world by French Ambassador Francois Richier.

About National Order of the Legion of Honour

• On 19th May 1802, Napoleon Bonaparte established the French order, the National Order of the Legion of Honour (Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur). It is the is the highest decoration in Franceis the highest decoration in France.
• It is categorised into five degrees of distinction : Commandeur (Commander), Officier (Officer), Grand'Croix (Grand Cross), Chevalier (Knight) and Grand Officier (Grand Officer).
• Honour and Fatherland is the order's motto.

 Who has won 36th National Chess Team Championship - Indian Railways 

Among the important Sports Current Affairs, On 14th February 2016, the 36th National Chess team Championship was won by Indian Railways after defeating Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) team in the final. This was the first ever title of Indian Railways.

Indian Railway team was represented by the following chess players from different Zonal Railways

• Arghyadip Das
• Swapni Dhopade
• Deepan Chakkravarthy
• Karthikayan
• Rathnakaran

 58th Annual Grammy Awards announced

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 15th February 2016, The 58th Annual Grammy Awards were announced at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. 

List of Top Grammy Awards Winners 

Which government launched Utkarsh Bangla Scheme for school-dropouts - West Bengal government

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 16th February 2016, Utkarsh Bangla Scheme, a welfare scheme for school-dropouts was launched by the West Bengal government in Kolkata. 

Under the scheme, vocational training will be given ranging from 400 to 1200 hours to school dropouts. The areas in which they will be trained are : driving, beauty courses, repairing television, tailoring and other electronic equipment etc.

Apart from this, Banerjee also inaugurated a number of industrial training institute buildings and the campus of Amity University in Kolkata.

On this occasion, she gave away awards for excellence in skill development to national and state-level winners.

 2016 South Asian Games concluded

Among the important Sports Current Affairs, On 16th February 2016, 12th South Asian Games (SAG) 2016 concluded at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Sarusajai of Guwahati, Assam. 

Different bands playing were the main attraction of the closing ceremony namely Purple Fusion (Nagaland), The Soul Rebels (Arunachal Pradesh), Boomarang (Mizoram), Salvator (Manipur) and Still Waters (Sikkim).

With a record 308 medals - 188 Gold, 90 Silver and 30 Bronze, India finished at the top. 

Medals Tally