Current Affairs in Short: 19 February 2018

1. India, Indonesia joint military drill begins in Bandung

• The Indian and Indonesian armies on February 19, 2018 began the sixth edition of their annual military exercises in the West Java province of the archipelago country.

• The opening ceremony of the two-week Garuda Shakti military drill between the Special Forces of the Indian Army and the Indonesian Army was held at Bandung.

• The exercises will include experience sharing in counter-terrorism operations, close quarter combat and other areas of special operations.

• The joint exercise highlights the increasing trust and cooperation between the two armies and their renewed commitment to deepen defence and security exchanges.

2. UP unveils new tourism policy to woo tourists and investors

• The Uttar Pradesh government on February 19, 2018 announced a new tourism policy to increase footfalls as well as investment in the state.

• The state government aims to encourage at least 4-5 persons from each of the 6.5 lakh villages in the country to come and participate in the Kumbh Mela at Allahabad in 2019.

• The Department of Tourism envisages an annual increase in the number of foreign tourists by 10 per cent and domestic arrivals by 15 per cent.
• The state government has also accorded tourism the status of an industry.

• It has also offered investment opportunities, fiscal incentives and benefits under its new tourism policy, on making investments within a 20-km radius of all tourist sites of the 10 tourist circuits in the state.

• These circuits include the Ramayana circuit, the Braj circuit, the Buddhist circuit, wildlife and eco-tourism circuit, Bundelkhand circuit, Mahabharata circuit, Shakti Peeth circuit, Adhyatmik circuit, Sufi circuit and the Jain circuit.

3. Delhi Metro travellers can pay bus fare, parking charges with smart cards now

• Delhi Metro commuters can now pay the fares of feeder buses and a number of parking lots at metro stations through their smart cards.

• Delhi Metro currently has more than 200 feeder buses plying on over 40 routes to ferry commuters to the nearest metro network.

• The commuters can now use their metro smart cards to pay parking charges at 13 metro station parking lots including Vishwavidyalaya, Saket, Karkardooma, Dilshad Garden, Akshardham, Patel Chowk, Kashmere Gate and Mewala Maharajpur.

• Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has said the facility will be expanded across all Metro parking lots in the future.

4. Students in Bihar asked to wear slippers during board exams

• In a bid to stop cheating, the Bihar School Examination Board on February 18, 2018 ordered students sitting for the board examinations to not wear shoes and socks during the examination.

• The board stated in an official circular that the students will have to wear slippers on the exam day.

• The Bihar School Examination Board's President stated that this rule will also be implemented in the annual Secondary Examinations.

• The instructions have been issued to all district education officers, candidates and parents in this regard.

• The board examinations are scheduled to commence in Bihar from February 21, 2018.

• The new rule comes after 985 students were expelled on February 17 for cheating during the intermediate examination conducted by the Bihar School Examination Board.

• A total of 25 people were caught writing the exam on behalf of another candidate.

5. Reliance to invest 60,000 cr in Maharashtra

• The Chairman and MD of Reliance Industries Limited, Mukesh Ambani announced on February 18, 2018 that his company would be investing around Rs 60,000 crores in a collaborative initiative in the state of Maharashtra, over the next 10 years.

• Reliance would be establishing India's first-ever integrated industrial area for the fourth Industrial Revolution in the state of Maharashtra.

• More than 20 global companies, including Nokia, Dell, HP, Cisco, Siemens have already agreed to co-invest with Reliance.

• The fourth Industrial Revolution is expected to help Maharashtra and India solve difficult problems including education, healthcare, water security and also boost agriculture.

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