Current Affairs 23rd February 2016

Important Points : 

• Who has been appointed as Kuala Lumpur's Commissioner of Police - Indian-origin Sikh officer Amar Singh 
• Who has won silver in Asian Indoor Athletics Championships - Long jumper Prem Kumar
• Who has inaugurated Exhibition on Coin and Currency of India - Union Finance Minister
• Which state has became sixth to join discom revival scheme UDAY - Bihar 
• Who has won 2016 Sait Nagjee Trophy - Ukraine's FC Dnipro
• Name the cyclone which thrashed Fiji - Tropical Cyclone Winston
• E-Governance Vision 2020 of Election Commission of India
• Who has been appointed as MD and CEO of MSEI - Udai Kumar
• Who has been conferred with Knighthood by French Government - Indian-origin playwright Ismail Mahomed

Details : 

Who has been appointed as Kuala Lumpur's Commissioner of Police - Indian-origin Sikh officer Amar Singh 

Among the important International Current Affairs, In third week of February 2016, An Indian-origin Sikh officer Amar Singh was appointed as commissioner of police of Kuala Lumpur and became the first sikh to achieve the highest police rank in Malaysia.

He will replace Tajuddin Mohamed, who will be moved to federal headquarters as the deputy director of commercial CID.

Before this appointment, the highest police rank achieved by a Sikh was a senior assistant commissioner-I, as per the Malaysia Samachar website. 

Who has won silver in Asian Indoor Athletics Championships - Long jumper Prem Kumar

Among the important Sports Current Affairs, On 22nd February 2016, India's Kumaravel Prem Kumar clinched silver in long jump at the 7th Asian Indoor Athletics Championships by clearing a 7.92m in his final attempt.

Zhang Yaoguang of China won the gold. 

Apart from this, Om Prakash Singh Karhana won bronze in shot put by clearing 18.77m.

Who has inaugurated Exhibition on Coin and Currency of India - Union Finance Minister

On 22nd February 2016, an exhibition on the Coin and Currency of India at the Great Hall of North Block in New Delhi was inaugrated by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. 

The exhibition was organised by the Department of Expenditure (DoE) under Union Finance Ministry in coordination with the Customs and Excise Officers, CPWD, RBI, the Indian Army, CISF, Staff of DoE.

Apart from this, Mohan Joseph, Controller General of Accounts (CGA) presented a copy of two books, namely Indian Paper Money and Sentinels of Raisina Hill to the Union Finance Minister.

‘Indian Paper Money’ has been authored by Razack along with Mohan Joseph whereas ‘Sentinels of Raisina Hills’ has been authored by Mohan Joseph and Dhirendra Singh, a former Union Home Secretary.

Which state has became sixth to join discom revival scheme UDAY - Bihar 

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 22nd February 2016, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the DISCOMs of Bihar (North Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited, and South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited) under the Scheme Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) was inked by the Union Government and Bihar Government for operational and financial turnaround of the DISCOMs.

Earlier, five states have signed the MoU with Union Government for power scheme UDAY which are as follows : Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. 

About UDAY

On 20th November 2015, the Scheme UDAY was launched by the Union government to safeguard a sustainable solution to empower the distribution utilities across the country to break out of a long standing debt of almost 4.3 Lakh crore rupees.

Who has won 2016 Sait Nagjee Trophy - Ukraine's FC Dnipro

Among the important Sports Current Affairs, On 21st February 2016, the Sait Nagjee Trophy was won by European team FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk from Ukraine after defeating Atletico Paranaense from Brazil.

About Sait Nagjee Trophy

• The Kozhikode District Football Association and Mondial Sports Management LLP resumed the The Sait Nagjee Trophy after a 21-year.
• The tournament was inaugrated by the former Barcelona and AC Milan player Ronaldinho.

Name the cyclone which thrashed Fiji - Tropical Cyclone Winston

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 20th February 2016, Fiji was thrashed by the tropical cyclone Winston with winds up to 330 kilometers per hour and killed atleast 29 peoples.

Main island Viti Levu and the island of Koro suffered a considerable damage.

The Winston is considered as a category five storm and is also the biggest ever to hit the Southern Hemisphere.

Do You Know : 

Fiji is an island country in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about 1100 nautical miles (2000 km; 1300 mi) northeast of New Zealand's North Island.

E-Governance Vision 2020 of Election Commission of India

On 23rd February 2016, The term ‘E-Governance Vision 2020’ was in news because Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Dr. Nasim Zaidi during a Seminar on ‘Leveraging Technology for Transparent and Credible Elections’ said the Election Commission of India is working on it.

The 'E-Governance Vision 2020' will provide inclusive, integrated single window view of services to all stakeholders in all phases of the electoral cycle using multiple channel of delivery.

There are five strategic goals and 11 mission mode projects in the Vision 2020 wherein some of priority areas will be in knowledge and learning management, mobile apps and social media.

Who has been appointed as MD and CEO of MSEI - Udai Kumar

Among the important Appointments, On 22nd February 2016, Udai Kumar was apponted as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India Limited (MSEI). His appointment was approved by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

About Udai Kumar

• He has a rich experience of stock exchange administration, restructuring and mergers and acquisition functions, fund raising and capital markets.
• Earlier, he was the MD of Metropolitan Clearing Corporation of India Limited.
• He has also worked with Fortune Financial, JM Financial, Centrum Capital and JM Morgan Stanley.

About Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India Limited

• Formerly it was known as MCX Stock Exchange Ltd. (MCX-SX).
• It is recognized by country’s securities market regulator, SEBI.
• It offers an transparent and hi-tech platform for trading in Interest Rate Futures (IRF), Capital Market, Debt Market segments, Futures & Options and Currency Derivatives.

Who has been conferred with Knighthood by French Government - Indian-origin playwright Ismail Mahomed

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 22nd February 2016, the French government conferred Knighthood to Indian-origin art lover and playwright in South Africa, Ismail Mahomed for his lifelong devotion to the promotion of arts.

French Ambassador Elisabet Barbier bestowed him with The Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Literature) in Johannesburg.

About Ismail Mahomed

• In his 30-year career, Mahomed has received numerous other awards and is currently the Artistic Director of the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.
• The US State Department's Africa Bureau awarded him with the Merit Honour Award for consistent high cultural programming.

Do You Know : 

On 2nd May 1957, the Minister of Culture established the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) which is an Order of France. President Charles de Gaulle confirmed the supplementary status of Ordre national du Mérite in 1963.