ASSAM

 

• Assam CM demands new industrial policy for NE

 

• With the state’s first global investors’ summit just four months away and no central policy to attract business to the region, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal  called on Union finance minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi for immediate help. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to open the two-day summit here on February 3.
• The North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIPP), that was in place earlier, was launched in 1997 to boost industrialization in the region with a 10-year term and revised in 2007 for another 10 years. It was suspended by the NDA government in December, 2014.

INTERNATIONAL

 

·       Burundi becomes first country to leave International Criminal Court

 

• African country Burundi has withdrawn fromInternational Criminal Court (ICC)with effect has thus become the first nation.
• International Criminal Court is an international tribunal (located in Hague, Netherlands) having authority to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
• In recent years, governments of three African countries, South Africa, Gambia and Burundi expressed their intent to leave ICC citing the reason that it focuses too much on African nations.

·       Jeff Bezos Replaces Gates as World’s Richest Person with $90.6-bn Fortune

 

• According to Forbes magazine, Jeff Bezos surpassed Bill Gates as the richest person in the world.
• The fortune of Amazon’s founder reached some$90.6 billion,compared with the $90.1 billion that the online edition of the magazine attributes to Gates.
• This is not the first time that Bezos has outpaced Gates it previously happened in the month of July 2017.

 

NATIONAL 

 

·       Reliance Industries Limited is First Indian Company to Cross Rs 6 Trillion Market Capital

 

• Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) became the first Indian company to cross Rs 6 trillion market capitalization after its shares surged over 75% so far this year and hit a fresh lifetime high.
• Currently, its market cap is at Rs 6.02 trillion.
• The recent rally in the stock was due to tariff hike by its telecom arm Reliance Jio which, analysts expect, will improve the company’s profitability. Jio increased its tariff by 15% for its popular 84-day plan at Rs 459, under which subscribers get 1GB 4G data at high speed per day.

 

·       India and US to implement HOSTAC to strengthen maritime security

 

• India and the United States have agreed to implement the programme for Helicopter Operations from Ships otherThan Aircraft Carriers (HOSTAC). 
  
• This decision was taken during a meeting between Indian Defense Minister, Ms. Nirmala Sitharama and US Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis.
• The meeting between Ms. Sitharaman and Mr. Mattis was held on October 25, 2017, in the Philippines on sidelines of ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting – Plus.

 

·       Prime Minister Narendra Modi Inaugurates International Conference on Consumer Protection

 

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated two-day International Conference on Consumer Protection for east, south and Southeast Asian countries in New Delhi.
• This conference is being hosted by the Department of Consumer Affairs under Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

 

• National Games to held next year from November 4-17 in Goa

 

• After a lot of delay, Sports Authority of Goa finalised the dates of the 36th National Games, to be held in Goa in 2018 from November 4 to 17.
• There was uncertainly over the dates of the 30-discipline event ever since the Games were awarded to the State in 2011.
• The delays to the 34th and 35th editions of the Games, which were hosted by Jharkhand and Kerala respectively, affected Goa’s plan to hold the mega-event.