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  • Current Affairs 7th February 2018

    Updated : 07-Feb-2018

    Current Affairs 7th February 2018 - Important Points

    • Jerome H Powell sworn in as 16th Chairman of Federal Reserve on - 5th February 2018
    • Maratha Light Infantry celebrates 250th anniversary on - 4th February 2018
    • Sudeep Lakhtakia takes charge as new chief of NSG on - 1st February 2018
    • Plastic or PVC Aadhaar Smart Card is not usable stated by - UIDAI
    • Google launches ‘#SecurityCheckKiya’ campaign on - 6th February 2018

    Current Affairs 7th February 2018 - Details

    Jerome H Powell sworn in as 16th Chairman of Federal Reserve on - 5th February 2018

    Jerome H Powell on February 5th, 2018 took sworn in as the 16th Chairman of the Federal Reserve for a 4 years term. Powell took the pledge of office from Randal Quarles, the Fed's Vice-Chairman for supervision.

    He took oath to support present economic growth and a healthy job place while remaining cautious towards emerging economic dangers.

    His designation as the Fed Chairman was passed by the United States Senate in January 2018. Powell was recommended for the position in November 2017 by President Donald Trump.
    Powell succeeds Janet Yellen, the 1st woman to head the United States central bank in its 100 years history. 

    About Jerome H Powell
    Powell has been working on the Federal Reserve's board from 2012. His term as a Fed board member will finish on January 31st, 2028.

    He also works as Chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee, the System's principal monetary policy-making entity.

    Prior to joining Fed in 2012, he worked as a visiting scholar at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington think tank. 

    Earlier to joining the US Administration, he served as a lawyer and investment banker in New Yor.

    He has also worked on the boards of charitable and educational organizations including the Bendheim Centre for Finance at Princeton University and The Nature Conservancy of Washington, D.C., and Maryland.

    He was born in February 1953 in Washington, D.C and got degree in politics from Princeton University in 1975 and received a law degree from Georgetown University in 1979.

    Sudeep Lakhtakia takes charge as new chief of NSG on - 1st February 2018

    Sudeep Lakhtakia on February 1st, 2018 was appointed as the Director General of National Security Guard.

    He would be succeeding S P Singh, who got retired on January 31st, 2018. Lakhtakia was working as a Special DG in the Central Reserve Police Force headquarters in New Delhi.

    He was designated after an order released by the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    More about Sudeep Lakhtakia

    • Before being appointed as the Additional DG in the CRPF, the 1984 batch IPS officer Sudeep Lakhtakia was working as the Additional Director-General of Law and Order in Telangana.
    • Between other positions, Lakhtakia in his long career consist of SP in Warangal, DCP Traffic and in Hyderabad-West Zone, Commissioner in Vijayawada and DIG of Security.
    • He earlier also worked as the IG in the elite Special Protection Group for approximately 8 years before coming back to his home cadre as ADG Law and Order.

    More about NSG

    • The National Security Guard is an Indian Special Forces unit under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
    • It was formed in 1984, after Operation Blue Star and the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for fighting against terrorist activities with a view to protect states against internal problems.
    • As a specialised counter terrorism force, the National Security Guard is intended for utilise only in exceptional situations and not meant to take over the functions of the State Police Forces or various Para Military Forces.
    • The National Security Guard is specially instructed to conduct counter terrorist operations consisting counter hijacking operation in sea, land and air, bomb disposal, Post-Blast Investigation and Hostage-Rescue missions.
    • The National Security Guard’s commandos are referred as the Black Cats because of the black cat insignia worn on their black uniform.
    • They National Security Guard commandos are established in 5 hubs apart from their main garrison in Gurugram’s Manesar.

    Maratha Light Infantry celebrates 250th anniversary on - 4th February 2018

    The Maratha Light Infantry observed 250 years of its existence on 4th February 2018. The 1st battalion of regiment was elevated as Second Battalion Bombay Sepoys on this day in year 1768.

    Maratha Light Infantry Day

    • February 4th is celebrated as Maratha Light Infantry Day across the regiment throughout the nation.
    • The historic importance of the day is that on the same day in 1670, Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji conquered famous Kondana Fort near Pune, Maharashtra.

    Maratha Light Infantry

    • The Maratha Light Infantry is infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It was built in 1768, making it most senior light infantry regiment of the Army.
    • Presently, it has about 21 regular battalions, 4 Rashtriya Rifles battalions, and 2 Territorial Army battalions.
    • It is the only regiment which has given 2 battalions of special forces to Indian Army.

    The regiment also has an incorporation with ten Mechanised Infantry regiments, 2 artillery regiments and an air defence regiment in the Army. It also has inter-service incorporation with Indian Naval Ship Mumbai, Indian Coast Guard air station in Daman and Diu and 20th Squadron Air Force.

    Awards and Honours

    • The Maratha Light Infantry was granted with remarkable delight by winning 2 Victoria crosses to their 2 soldiers, Sepoy Namdev Jadhav and N.K. Yeshwant Ghadge.
    • It was also 1st infantry regiment of the Army to be prized the title of Light Infantry during the 1st Afghan War in 1841.
    • It also has honour history of bravery as it was respected with 15 battle honours in the 1st World War.

    Plastic or PVC Aadhaar Smart Card is not usable stated by - UIDAI

    The Unique Identification Authority of India- UIDAI on February 6th, 2018 made it clear that the plastic/PVC Aadhaar Cards are not usable because the QR code printed on them usually gets dysfunctional during printing. 
    Moreover, there could be a chance that with such plastic cards, the Aadhaar data might be shared easily with nontrusted elements without being user’s consent.
    Directions given by UIDAI

    • Unique Identification Authority of India also clarified that Aadhaar paper or its cut-away section or downloaded versions of Aadhaar on an ordinary white paper or mAadhaar are ideally valid.
    • Citizens should not look-out for PVC smart Aadhaar card because it's just a trick of some unethical elements to print Aadhaar on a plastic or PVC card and also charge between Rupees 50 to Rupees 300 or extra. Actually, there is no idea behind smart or plastic Aadhaar card.
    • Even the downloaded Aadhaar card printouts, in black and white form, is also authentic as the original Aadhaar letter issued by Unique Identification Authority of India.
    • Unique Identification Authority of India also alert the unauthorized organizations to stop the operations of gatherings Aadhaar information from local public for printing of Aadhaar card because gathering such information counts as a punishable crime under IPC, 1860 and Aadhaar Act, 2016.

    Google launches ‘#SecurityCheckKiya’ campaign on - 6th February 2018

    Giant Search engine Google has released #SecurityCheckKiya campaign in India to spread awareness
    around Internet safety. It was released on the occasion of Safer Internet Day on 6th February.
    The campaign focuses to safeguard 1st-time web subscribers from account-hijacking, protecting Android gadgets from malicious applications and assure all their personal information if they lose their device.
    Key Points

    • In this campaign, Google has advised 3 simple steps for Internet safety. It consists reviewing security settings and Google account activity with 1-click for all Android gadgets and Gmail subscribers.
    • The campaign is aimed at youth and 1st-time subscribers to safeguard themselves from account-hijacking.
    • It is also focused at shielding Android mobile gadgets from malicious applications.
    • Google Security check facilitates subscribers to automatically scan for any vulnerability and advises them to maintain their account safe in a small fraction of time. Moreover Google-Play- Protect service scans and inspects Android gadgets for any injurious apps.
    • Find My Device application from Google aids any subscriber to easily discover a lost Android gadget and keeps the gadget and information secure, as per the firm.