The Daily Brief – 8th February, 2017

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• The 23rd session of the International Conference & Exhibition on Terrestrial & Satellite Broadcasting was held in New Delhi from February 2- February 4, 2017. The event was organized by the Broadcast Engineering Society (India). The theme of the event was ‘Hybrid Technologies in Broadcasting – New Opportunities’.
• Arunachal Pradesh became the first state in the northeastto implement e-Cabinet solution for the state cabinet members. Using this system, the cabinet members can access the cabinet notes before the meeting. The entire business of the Cabinet can be conducted using the e-Cabinet solution.
• The 17th session of the senior officials’ meeting of the BIMSTEC was held on February 7, 2017 in Kathmandu. The delegates of the seven member nations attended the meeting to review the progress made by the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). Presently, the BIMSTEC is chaired by Nepal. It was founded in 1997 to bring together Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Thailand and Sri Lanka. 4th BIMSTEC Summit to be held in Nepal in 2017.
• Israel passed a controversial law retroactively on February 6, 2017 to legalize about 4,000 settler homes built on privately owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank.
• China has surpassed Germany to become the world’s largest producer of solar energy after nearly doubling its installed photovoltaic capacity in 2016.
• Private sector lender IDFC Bank has collaborated with fintech startup IndiaLends to enable first time borrowers who do not have a credit history to take loans.
• The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)under the Department of Revenue entered into four more unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) on February 6, 2017 with the tax payers so as to provide them a certainty regarding transfer pricing. The four APAs signed belong to the Manufacturing, Financial and Information Technology sectors of the economy.
• Union Cabinet today approved Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan, PMGDISHA which will cover six crore rural households to make them digitally literate. It is expected to be the world’s largest digital literacy programme. It would empower citizens by providing them access to information, knowledge and skill.
• The Supreme Court today issued contempt notice to Calcutta High Court Judge CS Karnam and asked him to appear in person before it on the coming Monday to explain why contempt proceedings be not initiated against him. The apex court turned the alleged contemptuous letters written by Justice Karnan against the Madras High Court Chief Justice which were addressed to the Chief Justice of India, Prime Minister and others, into contempt proceedings against him.
• Cabinet today approved MoU between India and Senegal in the field of Health and Medicine. The Medical Research, Emergency Relief, Traditional Medicine and AIDS Control are the main areas of cooperation under the MoU.

• Replying to questions in the Lok Sabha, Mr Naidu said in the recent past, the government had set up Expert Committee under the chairmanship of Sam Pitroda in 2013 to review the functioning of Prasar Bharati. He said the committee had submitted its report on January 24th, 2014 and recommended framing a long term vision and strategy for Prasar Bharati.
• Pakistan’s Punjab province Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has imposed a complete ban on Basant, a seasonal festival celebrated by Punjabis of all faiths to mark the commencement of the spring season. Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah had said that the provincial government could not permit a “throat-cutting kite flying festival”.
• Congress today released its manifesto for the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh promising 50 per cent reservation for women in panchayats if voted to power. It also promises free bicycles to girls from class 9th to 12th. The manifesto was released by Congress General Secretary in Charge of Uttar Pradesh, Ghulam Nabi Azad and State unit President Raj Babbar in Lucknow. In the ensuing assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Congress has joined hands with ruling Samajwadi Party led by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
• Sourabh Verma clinched the Men’s Singles title defeating Lakshya Sen in the 81st Senior National Badminton Championships tournament played in Patna. Sourabh beat Lakshya Sen 21-13, 21-12.
• Russia will miss this summer’s World Athletics Championships after its governing body – IAAF voted to extend their suspension from international competition for state-sponsored doping. However, some Russians may be able to compete under a neutral banner, if they can satisfy testing criteria. Russia was suspended by the IAAF in November 2015, meaning athletes missed the Rio Olympics last year. The country is now not expected to be fully reinstated until November.