SUPER 6 CURRENT AFFAIRS- 17th Feb 2017

NATIONAL:

1. SC introduces scheme to provide legal services to middle income group

• Now, it is easier for the middle and relatively lower income group to avail and enjoy the legal services of the country. The Supreme Court has introduced the Middle Income Group Scheme.

• It is a self-supporting scheme which provides legal services to the middle income group whose gross income is not exceeding Rs. 60,000 per month.

• Under the scheme, middle class people who can`t afford the expensive litigation in the Supreme Court can avail the services of the society for a nominal amount.

• The person desirous of availing the benefit of the Scheme shall have to fill up the form prescribed and accept all the terms and conditions contained therein.

2. India ranks 143rd in 2017 Economic Freedom Index

• India was ranked 143rd, a slip from its previous 123rd position last year. It has been put in the category of “mostly unfree” economies

• Nepal (125), Sri Lanka (112), Pakistan (141), Bhutan (107), and Bangladesh (128) surpassed India in economic freedom.

• Among South Asian countries, only Afghanistan (163) and Maldives (157) were ranked below India.

• Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand topped the index.

• Despite annual growth of 7 per cent , the number is not deeply rooted in policies that preserve economic freedom.

• However, the think group credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with “reinvigorating” India’s foreign policy.

• The annual index was released by a conservative US political thinktank, the Heritage Foundation.

3. Vetiver Network launched at Tamilnadu

• India Vetiver Network (INVN) has been launched at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University here.

• Sources said that INVN is a not-for-profit scientific network to promote vetiver in India. Vetiver has worldwide application to tackle many environmental issues like soil erosion, mitigation of soil and water pollution.

• The mission of INVN is environmental protection using vetiver. Promotion of research in vetiver — identification of varieties, improved production technologies and distillation techniques.

4. Sunil Mehta appointed non-executive Chairman of PNB

• Punjab National Bank (PNB) has a new non-executive Chairman in Sunil Mehta.

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of the Department of Financial Services (DFS) for the appointment of Mehta as non-executive Chairman of PNB, official sources said.

• He has been appointed for a period of three years. The only condition is that he would be required to resign from the board of State Bank of India before joining the board of Punjab National Bank.

• A Fellow Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and an alumni of the Wharton School of Management, USA, Mehta is currently Chairman & Managing Director at SPM Capital Advisors Pvt Ltd.

INTERNATIONAL:

5. UNICEF launches $110 million appeal for Sudan children

• The UN children’s agency on Wednesday launched a $110 million appeal to help two million acutely malnourished children across Sudan, including hundreds of thousands living in conflict areas.

• UNICEF said Sudan is home to around 13 percent of all children suffering from acute malnutrition across Africa.

• Their situation is exacerbated by conflict-related displacements, El Nino, epidemics, floods and droughts.

SPORTS:

6. Pune to host India’s maiden sports literature festival ‘SporTale’

• Pune will play host to India’s maiden sports literature festival ‘SporTale’,

• A two-day event which will feature as many as 38 luminaries from the field of sports, media, cinema, books and photography.

• Sharing the inside stories of their journeys and trade will be 15 sports stars, nine sports journalists, five novelists and four cine stars.