Daily Current Affairs, 16th February 2018

1)  India’s Aadhaar And Umang App Win Award In Dubai

•India’s Umang App was named winner of the Best M-Government Service award in the Accessible Government category while Aadhar won the best emerging technology award at the recently concluded World Government Summit 2018 in Dubai, where India had the status of ‘Guest of Honour’ country.

•The Summit acknowledged technology pioneers for providing global solutions to global challenges. The mobile application Umang App provides users a unified platform that combines government departments and services, facilitating transactions for citizens. The award acknowledged Government of India’s efforts to provide convenient services to its citizens.

2)  India’s Biggest Global Pharma Conference Begins In Bengaluru

•India’s biggest Global Conference on Pharma Industry and Medical Devices began in Bengaluru With the theme, ‘Driving NextGen Pharmaceuticals. Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilisers Ananth Kumar inaugurated the three-day event.

•The event is being organised by the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, along with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI). 

3)  Cyril Ramaphosa Sworn In As New President Of South Africa

•Cyril Ramaphosa, head of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) has been sworn in as South Africa's new President. He was elected as the new president of South Africa by the ruling party politicians after the resignation of Jacob Zuma. 

•The country's 400-member parliament, dominated by the ruling African National Congress Party (ANC), elected Ramaphosa  to finish his predecessor's term, which ends with elections in 2019. The ANC has finished first in every national vote since the end of white-minority rule in 1994.

4)  Haruhiko Kuroda Reappointed As Bank Of Japan Chief

•Japan's government has reappointed Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda for another term and chose an advocate of bolder monetary easing as one of his deputies, a sign the central bank will be in no rush to dial back its massive stimulus program.

•The government also submitted to parliament its nomination of Masazumi Wakatabe, a professor at Waseda University and an advocate of aggressive monetary easing, as deputy governor.

5)  Ethiopia's Prime Minister Resigns To Smooth Path For Political Reform

•Ethiopia's Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn suddenly resigned in what he described as a bid to smooth reforms, following years of violent unrest that threatened the ruling party's hold on Africa's second most populous nation.

•The resignation has unprecedented in Ethiopia's history - followed a wave of strikes this week in towns near the capital and demonstrations successfully demanding the release of more opposition leaders.

6)  Yes Bank Lists Country’s First $600m MTN Bond On IndiaINX

•Private sector lender, Yes Bank has announced the listing of the Bank’s debut US $600 million bond issue under its maiden US $1 billion medium-term note (MTN) bond on country’s first international exchange BSE’s IndiaINX at the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City in Gandhinagar.

•The Yes Bank’s MTN programme— a debt note that matures or has a payback period of 5 years on Global Securities Market (GSM) became the country’s first capital raising platform for international investors in any currency.