26 February 2016 Current Affairs
E-Tourist Visa Facility Extended To 37 More Countries
The central government announced the extension of e-Tourist Visa (e-TV) facility to 37 more countries on 26 February 2016. With this the total count of countries under the scheme will reach 150. The 37 more countries included in the e-TV scheme are Albania, Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Comoros, Cote d’lvoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Iceland, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Moldova, Namibia, Romania, San Marino, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Trinidad & Tobago, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The facility was launched on 27 November 2014. Sixteen Indian airports have been designated for providing e-TV service. An e tourist is a visa issued electronically, which allows tourists and short-term travelers to get an Indian visa quickly and easily on-line. Before travelling to India, visitors must have a valid Indian visa. Since the launch of the service more than 7.50 lakh visas have been issued under the scheme. At present on an average 3,500 e-TVs are being granted daily to foreign nationals.
Govt’s LED drive to save over Rs 45,000 crore
According to the Economic Survey 2015-16,Government’s plan to change 77 crore conventional bulbs and 3.5 crore conventional street lights with LED range would save Rs 45,500 crore by reducing 21,500 MW electricity demand. National LED programme will also facilitate India’s commitment towards reducing its emission intensity per unit of GDP by 33-35 per cent by 2030 under its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC). It is estimated that the national LED programme will result in annual electricity saving of about 109 billion units. By March 2019, the government is planning to replace 77 crore incandescent bulbs with LED under Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP) and 3.5 crore conventional streetlights with energy-efficient LED lights under the Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP).
India has 3rd largest base of start-up firms
According to the Economic Survey 2015-16,within a year, the number of technology start ups in the country has grown by 40 per cent to over 4,200, making India the third largest base of technology start-ups in the world.This has further helped create about 80,000-85,000 jobs during 2015. The survey added no less than 2000 of the start-ups have been backed by venture capital/angel investors since 2010, of which 1005 were created in 2015 alone.Indian start-ups raised USD 3.5 billion in funding in the first half of 2015, and the number of active investors in India increased from 220 in 2014 to 490 in 2015.
Garudachar passed away
B.K. Garudachar, the legendary pre-independence cricketer and skipper of Mysore passed away on 26 February 2016. He was 99. Born on 13 January 1917 in Chikmagalur .His full name was Bindiganavile Krishnaswamy Iyengar Garudachar. He was India’s oldest living first-class cricketer. He was all-rounder, he played a crucial part in Mysore’s first ever win in Ranji Trophy against Hyderabad in 1941-42 accounting for a match-haul of 11 wickets and 62 runs.In the next match against Madras, which Mysore won by 22 runs, he scalped 14 wickets in all. Garudachar ended with a career tally of 1,126 runs at 29.53, with one century and seven fifties, and 100 wickets at 26.20.
Gianni Infantino of Switzerland won FIFA presidential election
Gianni Infantino of Switzerland won FIFA presidential election with 115 votes on 26 February 2016. Infantino, the general secretary of European governing body UEFA, is the second straight FIFA president from the Valais region in the Swiss Alps. Infantino is from Brig and replaces the 79-year-old Blatter, who was born in neighbouring Visp. Infantino will be president through May 2019, completing the remainder of Blatter’s term. Blatter was forced out by the pressure of American and Swiss investigations of corruption that hit FIFA two days before the previous election in May.