Current Affairs 16th February 2020

1. Govt renames two institutes in honour of Sushma Swaraj

• Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra was renamed Sushma Swaraj Bhavan.
• Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra, a cultural centre reflecting India’s connect with its diaspora.
• Foreign Service Institute has been renamed the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service.
• Current Minister of External Affairs : Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

2. Vinay Dube appointed as GoAir CEO

• Till now, he was serving as an advisor to the carrier,
• GoAir Managing Director : Jeh Wadia.

3. Banks’ loans rise over 7% in two weeks to January 31: RBI report

• Indian banks’ loans rose 7.1% in the two weeks to January 31 from a year earlier
• Bank deposits rose Rs 1.98 trillion rupees to Rs 133.24 trillion.
• Governor, Reserve Bank of India : Shaktikanta Das

4. Boris Johnson appoints Alok Sharma as UK’s business minister, COP26 president

• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
• Sharma, 52, was also appointed as the minister in charge of the UK’s COP26 climate change summit.
• COP26 is scheduled to be held in Glasgow, Scotland.

5. India’s wholesale inflation rises to 8-month high of 3.1% in January

• India’s Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation worsened to 3.1 per cent in January from 2.59 per cent in December,
• This is the highest inflation figure in last eight months.
• Retail inflation calculated on the basis of Consumer Price Index ·         India’s Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation worsened to 3.1 per cent in January from 2.59 per cent in December,

6. Nitin Gadkari inaugurates first inter-city electric bus service

• between Mumbai and Pune
• The 43-seater capacity luxury electric bus,
• manufactured by Mitra Mobility Solution, has a range of 300 kilometre on a single charge.
• Minister for Transport, Highways and MSMEs, Nitin Gadkari.

7. LIC Housing Finance adopts Google Cloud for newly launched App with HomY Mascot

• to host its next-generation digital mobile platform
• which is expected to better serve the needs of home loan applicants.
• It will reduce the lengthy paper-based loan application process.
• MD & CEO of LIC Housing Finance : Siddhartha Mohanty

8. Common portal for health insurance claim settlements on the cards :IRDAI

• The insurance regulator is seeking to bring all stakeholders in the health insurance space insurers,
• The aim is to standardise the claim settlement procedure and ensure payment in a time-bound manner.
• T L Alamelu, member (non-life), IRDAI.

9. India, Portugal sign 14 pacts after Modi, Kovind hold talks with Portuguese president

• key areas, including aerospace,maritime, intellectual property rights, & scientific research.
• President  Kovind received Sousa at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on his 1st state visit to India.
• Portugal was one of the founding members of NATO & OECD.

10. Tata Mutual Fund launches Tata Multi Asset Opportunities Fund

• Tata Mutual Fund launches ‘Tata Multi Asset Opportunities Fund’.
• The fund will invest in exchange traded commodity derivatives.
• The launch comes after SEBI’s nod to mutual funds to expand into commodity derivatives.
• This is the first of its kind scheme .
• It will cover Equity,commodity derivatives &debt asset classes