Important Daily Current Affairs: 10 February 2015

1) National Games mascot entered Limca Book of Records:

--> National Games mascot Ammu, the Great Hornbill, has immortalised itself by finding a mention in the Limca Book of Records.

--> The mascot found a place in the record books owing to a play, Kalikkunna Kuttikalkkayi Bharatham Kathirikkunnu (India Awaits Children Who Play) in which Ammu is featured.

--> According to the Limca Book’s 2015 Special Literature Edition, it is a play about a mascot which had been staged in most number of schools.

--> “By April 9, 2014 the drama starring Ammu, the Great Indian Hornbill, had been staged in 147 schools across seven districts of Kerala. It encourages students to participate in sports,” it says. 

2) Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) scored a landslide victory in the Delhi Assembly elections:

--> Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on 10 February 2015 scored a landslide victory in the Delhi Assembly elections by winning as many as 67 of the 70 seats leaving BJP with only three and completely decimating Congress which drew a blank.

--> In an election that was billed as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the AAP tornado threw veterans of both BJP and Congress into the electoral dustbin in their traditional bastions.

--> Former Revenue Service officer Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP mascot who spearheaded the party's victory march, himself won the prestigious New Delhi seat by a margin of over 31,500 votes defeating the nearest BJP rival Nupur Sharma.

--> BJP's humiliation was complete with its Chief Ministerial face Kiran Bedi losing in the traditional stronghold of Krishna Nagar which was long held by party veteran Harsh Vardhan. She lost by more than 2,000 votes.

--> Vijender Gupta, Jagdish Pradhan and Om Prakash Sharma are the just three members who could win in BJP ticket.

3) Facebook launched Internet.org in India to give free connectivity:

--> Facebook on 10 February 2015 announced a tie-up with Reliance Communications to launch Internet.org in India, that will allow users access to basic mobile internet services.

--> India now becomes the sixth destination for Internet.org, a Facebook-led initiative envisaged about a year-and-a-half back with six other founding partners, including Samsung and Qualcomm.

--> The service has already been launched in Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Colombia and Ghana.

--> For the time being, the service has gone live in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. The pan-India launch is planned in three months.

4) AAP's victory in Delhi is the second biggest sweep in an Assembly Election:

--> Aam Aadmi Party’s landslide victory on 10 February 2015 is among the most comprehensive victories in the history of Indian elections.

--> Only Sikkim has seen bigger sweeps, with one party having won all seats in the Assembly sometimes.

--> The AAP won 67 of the 70 seats, or nearly 96 per cent. Its performance is by far the best in the State.

--> Only once in 1989, the Sikkim Sangram Parishad had won all the 32 seats in the assembly.

5) World's biggest solar telescope being built in Hawaii:

--> To be launched in 2019, the world’s biggest solar telescope based in Maui, Hawaii, would significantly improve the forecasting of space weather hazards, say researchers from the University of Sheffield in Britain.

6) ICICI Bank launched 'Pockets' digital banking service:

--> ICICI Bank on 10 February 2015 launched 'Pockets', a digital banking service, enabling users to instantly send money to any e-mail id, mobile number, friends on Facebook and bank account.

--> Anyone, including those who are not customers of ICICI Bank, can easily download the e-wallet from Google Playstore, fund it from any bank account in the country and start transacting immediately, ICICI Bank said in a statement.

--> This wallet uses a virtual Visa card, which enables the users to transact on any website or mobile application in India.

--> The limit for transaction is of worth Rs.10,000, if it is not linked to a savings account of ICICI Bank.

7) First National Deworming Day observed on 10 February:

--> First National Deworming Day was observed on 10 February.

--> On the eve of the National Deworming Day, Union Ministry for Health & Family Welfare launched the National Deworming initiative.

--> National Deworming initiative is aimed at protecting more than 24 crore children in India between the age of 1 to 19 years from intestinal worms.

8) BigTree Entertainment bought majority stake in Eventifier:

--> BigTree Entertainment, which owns online entertainment ticketing portal BookMyShow, bought a majority stake in Bengaluru-based Eventifier.

--> Eventifier, is a over 2-year-old social media analytics start-up. The firm helps consolidate, track and analyse content feed on social media platforms during a targeted social media campaign.

9) Cabinet increased authorised share capital of NMDFC:

--> Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has given its approval for increasing the Authorised Share Capital of the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation, a Central Sector Public Enterprise under Government of India in the Ministry of Minority Affairs from 1500 crore rupees to 3000 crore rupees.

10) Amartya Sen won John Maynard Keynes Prize:

--> Economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has won the newly instituted Charleston-EFG John Maynard Keynes Prize.

--> He was chosen for this award for his ground-breaking work that has profound impact on the formation of development policy worldwide and outstanding contribution to society.