Important Daily Current Affairs: 8 February 2015

1) PM chaired first meeting of Governing Council of NITI Aayog:

--> The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, on 8 February 2015  called upon all Chief Ministers to work with the Centre to forge a model of cooperative federalism, whereby the Centre and the States TEAM INDIA - can come together to resolve differences, and chart a common course to progress and prosperity.

--> Chairing the first meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog, the Prime Minister described this meeting as one which had the potential to bring about historic changes.

--> PM used to the term “Team India” in this meeting for describing a combination of three vital teams in the structure of NITI Aayog. They were The Prime Minister and Chief Ministers, The Union Council of Ministers and the bureaucracy at the Centre and in States

--> The interaction was coordinated by Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley, and the opening remarks for the meeting were made by Shri Arvind Panagariya, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog. 

2) Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri won Malaysian Open 2015:

--> India's Anirban Lahiri claimed a maiden European Tour victory with a one-stroke victory at the Malaysian Open.

--> The 27-year-old world number 73, a five-time winner on the Asian Tour, birdied four of his first five holes in a 68 to finish on 16 under par.

--> Bernd Wiesberger was second after dropping five shots in a 74 at the Kuala Lumpur Country Club.

3) Adidas India appointed Damyant Singh as Brand Director:

--> German sportswear major Adidas Group has appointed Damyant Singh as its Brand Director in India.

--> Damyant will report directly to Dave Thomas, the Group's Managing Director in India.

--> He succeeds Tushar Goculdas, who was recently appointed as the Brand Director-Adidas Emerging Markets.

4) Bengaluru, Chennai, Surat among '100 Resilient Cities':

--> In its centenary year in 2013, the Rockefeller Foundation announced the 100 Resilient Cities project with a $100 million commitment to build urban resilience worldwide.

--> It has already selected 67 cities and from India, Chennai, Bengaluru and Surat figure in that list.

--> “The 100 Resilient Cities Project” is aimed at helping cities organise themselves around their key challenges and helping them access resources or best practices efficiently to meet those challenges.

5) First-ever World Ocean Science Congress held in Kochi:

--> The First World Ocean Science Congress (WOSC) was held in Kochi, Kerala from 5 February 2015 to 8 February 2015.

--> The focal themes of the WOSC 2015 were Protect Oceans for Posterity and Blue Economy.

--> WOSC -2015 was organised jointly by the Swadeshi Science Movement, Vijnana Bharati, Kerala chapter and the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS), Kochi.