CURRENT AFFAIRS SERIES - 14 1. India, Israel ink Nine Pacts on Cyber Security, Other Sectors i. India and Israel signed nine documents to further the cooperation. These include cooperation in Cybersecurity, cooperation in the field of Petroleum and natural gas, document for the amendment to the air transport agreement, cooperation in film co-production, cooperation in the homoeopathy medicines, co-operation in the field of space science, boosting investment, cooperation in metal-air batteries and cooperation in solar thermal technology. ii. The documents were signed in the presence of the two prime ministers. The two leaders also addressed a joint press conference. 2. Rajyavardhan Rathore launches Khelo India Anthem i. Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore made the announcement during the launch of the official anthem and mascot of Khelo India School Games, beginning January 31. Now when an athlete wins a medal at Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Olympics, the coach gets incentive. ii. The video features India's eminent sports personalities such as Sardar Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Devendra Jhajharia, Baichung Bhutia, Pullela Gopichand, Leander Paes, Mary Kom, Akhil Kumar, Sakshi Malik and Saina Nehwal. 3. Digital launch of I4Fund call for proposal website at India-Israel Business Summit i. The I4Fund Call for Proposal was announced with the joint launch of the website and the unveiling of the brochure by the two PMs (Narendra Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu). The "India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F)" was announced in July, 2017.
ii. Under this, the Department of Science and Technology, India and the National Innovation Authority of Israel have established a 40 million US dollar Fund. 4. Exports rise more than 12% Riding on Engineering Goods and Petroleum Products i. The Country's exports grew by 12 point 36 percent in December 2017 to 27 point 03 billion US dollars on account of strong performance by sectors like engineering goods and petroleum products. ii. According to data released by Ministry of Commerce and Industry, exports have been on a positive trajectory since August 2016 to December 2017 with a dip of 1.1 percent in the month of October last year. Exports of engineering goods as well as petroleum products showed an increase of over 25 percent in December. 5. DIPP arm Launches Competition for College Students i. Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM), under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), has launched a competition for college and university students to foster a culture of innovation and creativity in the youth. ii. The competition - IPrism - invites students to submit films on piracy and counterfeiting under two categories of 30 and 60 seconds. Another category in the competition is for a mobile gaming app on intellectual property (IP). Cash prizes of Rs 4 lakh will be given to the winning teams along with mementos and certificates. 6. Romanian PM Mihai Tudose Resigns after Losing Party Support
i. Romania's left-wing Prime Minister Mihai Tudose resigned after losing the backing of his party due to internal power struggles, barely seven months after his predecessor suffered the same fate. ii. He handed in his resignation after senior members of the ruling Social Democrats (PSD) voted to withdraw their support at a leadership meeting. 7. PM Modi Inaugurates Project Commencement of Rajasthan's first Oil Refinery in Barmer i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the project commencement of the Rajasthan Refinery at Pachpadra in Barmer district. This is the first oil refinery in the state. The 43,000 crore rupee project is a joint venture between HPCL and the Rajasthan government. ii. The refinery is expected to be operational in 4 years and the state will have an additional income of 34,000 crore rupees from it. The project is expected to generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs. 8. Indian Oil signs LoI with 2 Israeli Firms i. Indian Oil Corporation has signed Letters of Intent (LoI) with Phinergy, an Israeli start-up company, and YEDA, a technology spin-off company from Weizmann Research Institute, Israel.
ii. The agreement with Phinergy will allow Indian Oil to work on adoption of advanced energy systems for the Indian market both for mobility and stationary industrial applications. This association could lead to the setting up of manufacturing units for these energy systems initially in India.