current affairs : feb (23 to 28) - 2019 1 · current affairs : feb (23 to 28) the president of...

Current Affairs : FEB (23 to 28)

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath KovindPrachar Sabha in Chennai. The Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, founded by Mahatma Gandhi, has completed 100 years. It has worked for

the promotion of Hindi in our southern states. The Union Water Resources Minister

1960, has decided to stop its share of Under the treaty signed between India and Pakistan

Beas ( Eastern Rivers) were allocated to India for exclusive use While, the waters of Western rivers

domestic , non-consumptive and agricultural use permitted to India as provided in the Treaty. Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad

Informatics Officer (DIO) meet, was organisedthe DIO’s and to share their experiences as well as contribution, as the States. VIVID started in 2017, as an annual event, with the objective to empower in the field of technology. Inaugurated the event with conferring of He also released the Digital India Compendium

Chatbot and Technology incubation and development of entrepreneursIndia Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

The document is divided in two sections The following Centres of Excellence

IOT Open lab, Software Technology Parks of India

ESDM Incubation, STPI Bhubaneswar;

Emerging Technologies, NASSCOM, Vishakapatnam. International Conference and Exhibition

President Ram Nath Kovind. The conference has been organized by(CSIR). Aims to deliberate and identify the R&D needs to innovate new techniques, technologies and applications for clean,

safe, symbiotic sustenance of society, environment The 14th Agricultural Science Congress

collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural ResearchInstitute at National Agricultural Science Complex

NITI Aayog, Vice Chairman, Dr. Rajiv Kumarhosted by NITI Aayog along with thethe Civil Services Officers’ Institute

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed theconducive environment for start-ups

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh wonders of the world at Sarai Kale Khan, It was built by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation

world, with the replicas of the Taj Mahal, theRedeemer statue of Rio de Janeiro,

Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal PuroTamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu is the first stateheadquarter is Chennai. The second headquarter have been se

operations, search and rescue missions and coastal security measures.

FEB (23 to 28) - 2019

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Shri Ram Nath Kovind, unveiled a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the

Prachar Sabha, founded by Mahatma Gandhi, has completed 100 years. It has worked for the promotion of Hindi in our southern states.

Minister, Nitin Gadkari has said that the government under the stop its share of water which earlier used to flow to Pakistan.

India and Pakistan in 1960, all the waters of three riversBeas ( Eastern Rivers) were allocated to India for exclusive use.

Western rivers - Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab were allocated to Pakistan except for specified consumptive and agricultural use permitted to India as provided in the Treaty.

Ravi Shankar Prasad inaugurated Vision Insight and Voices as India goes Digitalmeet, was organised by National Informatics Centre (NIC),

and to share their experiences as well as contribution, as digital change-makers, as an annual event, with the objective to empower in the field of technology.

naugurated the event with conferring of NIC TechGov Awards and Swachhta AwardsDigital India Compendium on Digital Bharat, Saksham Bharat and

Technology incubation and development of entrepreneurs (TIDE 2.0) scheme

The document is divided in two sections- Digital profile of India and Digital profile of States & UTsCentres of Excellence were also launched by him:

Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) Bengaluru;

Incubation, STPI Bhubaneswar; Emerging Technologies, NASSCOM, Gandhinagar;

Emerging Technologies, NASSCOM, Vishakapatnam. International Conference and Exhibition on Energy and Environment was inaugurated in

The conference has been organized by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research

to deliberate and identify the R&D needs to innovate new techniques, technologies and applications for clean, safe, symbiotic sustenance of society, environment, energy and industries.

Agricultural Science Congress was organized by National Academy of Agricultural SciencesIndian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Indian Agricultural Research

l Agricultural Science Complex (NASC) in New Delhi. Dr. Rajiv Kumar, inaugurated The “Future of Indian Banking

with the Foundation for Economic Growth and Welfare (CSOI), New Delhi.

addressed the Global Business Summit in New Delhi. The government would provide ups and promote renewable sources of energy.

inaugurated ‘Waste to Wonder Park’ which houses the replicas of Sarai Kale Khan, Delhi.

South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC)and is the first-of-its-Taj Mahal, the Great Pyramid of Giza, Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa,

of Rio de Janeiro, Rome’s Colosseum, and the Statute of Liberty. Banwarilal Purohit inaugurated the second Coast Guard district

state in India to get a second Coast Guard district headquarters. The

have been set up to deal with frequent issues faced by fishermen and provide antioperations, search and rescue missions and coastal security measures.

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at the Dakshina Bharat Hindi

Prachar Sabha, founded by Mahatma Gandhi, has completed 100 years. It has worked for

has said that the government under the Indus Water Treaty

three rivers, namely Ravi, Sutlej and

allocated to Pakistan except for specified consumptive and agricultural use permitted to India as provided in the Treaty.

ision Insight and Voices as India goes Digital (VIVID)- the District as an initiative to interact with

makers at the grass-root level in , as an annual event, with the objective to empower in the field of technology.

Swachhta Awards. and Digidhan Mitra

(TIDE 2.0) scheme at Stein Auditorium,

Digital profile of States & UTs.

Emerging Technologies, NASSCOM, Gandhinagar;

was inaugurated in New Delhi by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research

to deliberate and identify the R&D needs to innovate new techniques, technologies and applications for clean,

Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) in Indian Agricultural Research

Future of Indian Banking” conference. it was co- (EGROW Foundation) at

The government would provide

which houses the replicas of seven

-kind tourist attraction in the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Christ the

Coast Guard district headquarter at Thoothukudi, in India to get a second Coast Guard district headquarters. The first district

t up to deal with frequent issues faced by fishermen and provide anti-poaching

Current Affairs : FEB (23 to 28) - 2019

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President Ram Nath Kovind promulgated 4 Ordinances, These are: The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Second Ordinance, 2019. The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Second Ordinance, 2019. Companies (Amendment) Second Ordinance, 2019. The Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Ordinance, 2019.

Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, chaired the 5th Island Development Agency (IDA)meeting held in New Delhi, to review the progress made towards the “Holistic development of islands” program.

A regional conference on ‘Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS)’ was organised in Kolkata, West Bengal. DDRS is a scheme implemented by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment. DDRS is a Central Sector Scheme of Government of India which is being implemented since 1999 for providing

financial assistance to NGOs working for education and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities. West Bengal: Capital: Kolkata, Chief Minister: Mamata Banerjee, Governor: Keshari Nath Tripathi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the National War Memorial near India Gate in New Delhi. The layout of the National War Memorial comprises four concentric circles, namely:

Amar Chakra or Circle of Immortality; Veerta Chakra or Circle of Bravery;

Tyag Chakra or Circle of Sacrifice; Rakshak Chakra or Circle of Protection. Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated 29 infrastructure projects both residential and non-residential buildings

of Central Armed Police Forces in New Delhi. These projects have been constructed at various locations across the country at atotal cost of Rs. 1,714.97 crore.

Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey launched a national programme, aimed at eliminating viral hepatitis, recognized as an important public health problem across the world, in Mumbai. The country's global commitment towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3-Ensure healthy

lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages. The aim of the programme is to combat hepatitis and achieve countrywide elimination of Hepatitis C by 2030.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has deliver the keynote address at the Rising India Summit 2019 in New Delhi. Theme for this year's event is "Beyond Politics: Defining National Priorities".

Union Minister for Earth Sciences, Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurated Atal Bhavan, the new campus of Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE), at Puthuvype, Cochin, in Kerala.

A major fire has broken out in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve and National Park in Chamarajanagar District of Karnataka. Hundreds of acres of forest area have been destroyed in the fire and the fire has even spread to the core area. Karnataka: Capital: Bengaluru, Chief Minister: H. D. Kumaraswamy, Governor: Vajubhai Vala.

Ministry of AYUSH and WHO are jointly organized a 3 days Working Group Meeting for reviewing the WHO document “Benchmarks for Training in Yoga” from 26-28 February, 2019 at New Delhi. The meeting is coordinated by Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY). WHO is developing Benchmarks Document for Training in Yoga as part of its global strategy to strengthen the

quality, safety and effectiveness of Traditional and Complementary Medicine. Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu, held an interaction with Farmer Producers'

Organizations (FPOs) through video link in 81 locations of the country in New Delhi. Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs and Sports & Information and Broadcasting Col Rajyavardhan Rathore

(Retd) inaugurated the National Level Finals of National Youth Parliament Festival 2019 at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi. National Youth Parliament Festival 2019 was jointly organised by National Service Scheme (NSS) and Nehru Yuva

Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), under the aegis of Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi conferred the National Youth Parliament Festival 2019 awards to the

winners at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

The winners from the national level competition were Shweta Umre from Maharshtra (1st Position), M.S Anjanakshi from Karnataka (2nd position) and Mamta Kumari from Bihar (3rd position).

Prime Minister also released an App “Khelo India”, developed by Sports Authority of India, under the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports.

Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, inaugurated National Institutes of Design (NID) at Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh and Jorhat in Assam through video conference from New Delhi. Both institutes are autonomous institutions under Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade

(DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The 3rd edition of the festival “Words in the Garden” based on the life and ideology of Mahatma Gandhi was held

at India International Centre (IIC), New Delhi.


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This year’s title of the event was “Bapu Ki Dilli” as a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary and celebrated the life and ideology of Bapu the father of our nation through plays, recitals, readings, discussions and more.

The festival explored themes with contemporary relevance inspired by Bapu’s ideologies – ‘Significance of non-violence today‘ and ‘Sustainable Living’.

Union Minister for Textiles Smriti Irani inaugurated the ‘Titanwala Museum’ in Bagru (Rajasthan) that showcases the Chhipa community’s Bagru hand-block printing. Rajasthan: Capital: Jaipur, Chief Minister: Ashok Gehlot, Governor: Kalyan Singh.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, attended the Gita Aradhana Mahotsav at ISKCON-Glory of India Cultural Centre, New Delhi. The Prime Minister recalled that Lokmanya Tilak had written the “Gita Rahasya” while in jail, in which he

explained in a simple way, Lord Krishna’s message of Nishkam Karma. He also mentioned that Mahatma Gandhi wrote “Bhagwad Gita according to Gandhi.” ISKCON (The International Society for Krishna Consciousness)- is a worldwide confederation of above 400

temples and runs over 100 vegetarian restaurants and a wide variety of community-serving projects. Union Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has Inaugurating a "Skill Saathi Youth Conclave” in

Bhubaneswar, Odisha. It provides information on vocational training programs under the Skill India mission, conducts psychometric test

and provide face-to-face counselling interventions to guide aspirants to make the right choice of based on their interest and aptitude.

The Civil Aviation Ministry has organized “Aviation Conclave 2019” in association with Airport Authority of India (AAI), Cargo Logistics & Allied Services Company Limited (AAICLAS) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The theme of the Aviation Conclave 2019 was “Flying for all” in New Delhi.

The Minister for Human Resources Development, Shri Prakash Javadekar has launched the Scheme for Higher Education Youth in Apprenticeship and Skills (SHREYAS) in New Delhi for providing industry apprenticeship opportunities to the general graduates exiting in April 2019 through the National Apprenticeship Promotional Scheme (NAPS). The program aims to enhance the employability of Indian youth by providing ‘on the job work exposure’ and

earning of stipend. Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Skill development and Entrepreneurship Shri Dharmendra Pradhan handed

over the 100th Letter of Intent (LOI) to the Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) Entrepreneur (producer) under the SATAT scheme. SATAT is an initiative aimed at providing a Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation as a

developmental effort that would benefit both vehicle-users as well as farmers and entrepreneurs. Compressed Bio-Gas plants are proposed to be set up mainly through independent entrepreneurs.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to South Korea 7 agreements were signed to boost up the cooperation during the visit south korea. South Korea: Capital: Seoul, Currency: South Korean won.

An Interactive Forum between Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) of India and Russia was held in Bengaluru. It was addressed by Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu for working to address and resolve trade and investment issues to facilitate and increase private sector cooperation. India has already announced setting up of a fast track, single-window mechanism for Russian companies which

would be chaired by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary. Russia: Capital: Moscow, Currency: Russian ruble.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by India and Sri Lanka for the establishment of a business centre for ICT incubators in Jaffna, Sri Lanka through grant of 25 crore Sri Lankan rupees from India. Sri Lanka: Capital: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Currency: Sri Lankan Rupee.

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited South Korea (Republic of Korea). Prime Minister was honored with the Seoul Peace Prize during the visit. During the visit, a number of agreements were signed: MoU on the release of commemorative postal stamp on Queen Hur (Suriratna), a legendary Princess of Ayodhya,

who went to Korea in AD 48 and married King Kim-Suro. MoU was signed to continue operations of Korea Plus- an organization that facilitates investments by Korean

companies in India.

Korea Plus was operationalized in June 2016, and comprises representatives from the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Energy of South Korea, Korea Trade-Investment and Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and Invest India.


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MoU on Start-up Cooperation, Cooperation in Broadcasting, cooperation in road and transport infrastructure development and Combating Transnational Crime And Developing Police Cooperation.

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri began was inaugurated a month-long ‘Festival of India’ in Kathmandu, Nepal. It is being organised by the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre, Embassy of India.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF)condemned the Pulwama terror attack in Kashmir,which led to death of 40 CRPF jawans and decided to keep Pakistan in the ‘grey’ list owing to continued funding of terrorist groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamat-ud-Dawa.

Chinese news agency Xinhua unveiled the world’s first female AI news anchor Xin Xiaomeng. She has been developed by Xinhua in collaboration with Sogou Inc, a search engine company. She was modelled after real-life Xinhua news anchor Qu Meng. Earlier, Xinhua also developed Qiu Hao, the world’s first male AI news anchor at the World Internet

Conference in Wuzhen held in November 2018. External Affairs Ms Swaraj will be the Guest of Honour and address the inaugural plenary of the 46th Session of the

Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Abu Dhabi on the 1st and 2nd of next month. This is the first time that a leader of the non-Muslim country has been invited to the OIC conference.

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare has inaugurated the ‘4th Global Digital Health Partnership Summit’ in New Delhi. Australia was the host country for the inaugural summit in 2018. The global intergovernmental meeting on digital health is being hosted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

in collaboration with World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Digital Health Partnership (GDHP). The Global Digital Health Partnership (GDHP) is an international collaboration of governments, government

agencies and multinational organisations dedicated to improving the health and well-being of their citizens through the best use of evidence-based digital technologies.

Britain's World War II spy Noor Inayat Khan was confirmed as the first Indian-origin woman to be honoured with a Blue Plaque at her former London home.

The 2-day long session of the 20th India-Italy Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC) was held in New Delhi and co-chaired by the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu and the Deputy Minister of Economic Development (Italy), Mr. Michele Geraci.

The 16th edition of BioAsia 2019 -Asia’s largest biotechnology and life-sciences forum was conducted in Hyderabad, Telangana. It was inaugurated by the Governor of Telangana–E.S.L Narasimhan .The theme of the conference was “Life Sciences 4.0 – Disrupt the Disruption”. The Partner Country for the event is South Korea. South Africa and Spain are the international partners for the

event. Genome Valley Excellence Award 2019 was presented by the organising committee of BioAsia 2019. It was

awarded to Dr. Don W Cleveland of the University of California and Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Deputy Director General of Programmes, World Health Organization (WHO), The award felicitates his work in cancer genetics.

Telangana: Capital: Hyderabad, Chief Minister: K. Chandrashekar Rao, Governor: E.S.L Narasimhan. India ranked 47th Out of 100 Countries in the ‘Inclusive Internet Index 2019’ score while Sweden topped the chart,

followed by Singapore and the US. According to the Inclusive Internet Index (3i) prepared by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) for Facebook,

there are demonstrable benefits from comprehensive female e-inclusion policies, digital skills programmes and targets for women and girls to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The 16th meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Russia, India, and China (RIC Meeting) took place in Zhejiang, China. RIC meeting is important as Russia, India and China are countries that carry important voices in international

politics and have the potential to significantly influence world events.

STATES HIGHLIGHTS

The Minister of Textiles, Smriti Irani inaugurated two silk projects Soil to Silk Project and Eri Spun Silk Mill in Assam. Integrated Soil to Silk Project: It has been set up at a cost of Rs.55 crores. Eri Spun Silk Mill: The expected turnover from this project would be Rs.10 crores with a profit of Rs.3 crores in

the first year. The Government of Madhya Pradesh has launched the Mukhyamantri Yuva Swabhiman Yojana to provide

employment for youth. The scheme guarantees 100 days of employment every year to urban youths from economically weaker sections

(EWS), whose family’s annual income is less than Rs 2 lakh and the scheme is limited to youth in the age group 21-30 years.


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Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti inaugurated Sikaria Mega Food Park Pvt Ltd at Village Tulakona in Agartala. This is the 17th Mega Food Park in the country and first in the state of Tripura. Agartala: Capital: Agartala, Chief Minister: Biplab Kumar Deb, Governor: Prof. Kaptan Singh Solanki.

A boat ambulance service has been launched by the Odisha government. The cost of the project is Rs 5.40 crore. Odisha government, in the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, approved Khusi scheme

aimed at improving menstrual hygiene among adolescent girl students in the state, with an outlay of Rs 466.08 crore over a period of 5 years. Odisha: Capital: Bhubaneshwar, Chief Minister: Naveen Patnaik, Governor: Ganeshi Lal.

Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, inaugurated India’s first Humanoid Police Robot named KP-BOT, ranked as Sub-Inspector (SI), at the Police Headquarter in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Kerala: Capital: Thiruvananthapuram, Chief Minister: Pinarayi Vijayan Governor: P. Sathasivam.

The Prime-minister launched PM-KISAN scheme from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. Under PM-KISAN, vulnerable landholding farmer families, having cultivable land up-to 2 hectares, will be

provided direct income support at the rate of Rs. 6,000 per year. This income support will be transferred directly into the bank accounts of beneficiary farmers, in three

equal installments of Rs. 2,000 each. The Government of Gujarat has launched the 2nd edition of the water conservation scheme Sujalam Sufalam Jal

Sanchay Abhiyan. The scheme aims to deepen water bodies in the state before monsoon to increase storage of rainwater to be used

during times of scarcity. Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched Scheme for Adolescent girls (SAG). The scheme focuses on

girls aged between 11 to 14 years who have left studies and will take steps for proper nutrition and special care. for them.

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the Apollomedics Super Speciality Hospital in Lucknow. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, addressed the Swachh Kumbh, Swachh Aabhaar event in Prayagraj. Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers D V Sadananda Gowda inaugurated the centre of the Central Institute of

Plastic Engineering and Technology (CIPET) in Tripura. The CIPET in Tripura would produce 1500 skilled workers per annum.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is conducted a two-day National workshop on heat wave risk reduction. The workshop, to be held at Nagpur, has been organised in collaboration with the Maharashtra Government.

Bihar government has issued notification to provide 10 percent quota for weaker sections in general category in jobs and educational institutions. The reservation is meant for individuals whose annual earning is below 8 lakh rupees and who possess less than 5

acres of agriculture land. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had launched the PRANAM Commission (The Parents Responsibility and

Norms for Accountability and Monitoring), a panel set up to look after the issues concerning a Bill , for protection of parents of state government employees. Assam: Capital: Dispur, Chief Minister: Sarbananda Sonowal, Governor: Prof. Jagdish Mukhi.

Bihar has become the first state to deploy specially-trained dogs to check smuggling of liquor which continues to take place inspite of the total ban imposed in the state for the last 3 years. 20 liquor-tracker dogs were trained rigorously for nine months in Hyderabad, Telangana.

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and lay the foundation stone for projects worth Rs.9,726 crore rupees in Bihar. These include highway projects worth 6,900 crore rupees in Chhapra and Madhepura. In addition, the foundation stone for 14 Sewerage Infrastructure Projects worth over 2,785 crore rupees.

ECONOMY AWARENESS

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to merge three categories of Non Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) into a single category to provide greater operational flexibility to non-banking lenders. NBFCs categorized as Asset Finance Companies (AFC), Loan Companies (LCs) and Investment Companies (ICs),

will be merged into a new category called NBFC - Investment and Credit Company (NBFC-ICC). The data released from the Ministry of Commerce and Industries shows that the FDI inflows to India contracted by 7

per cent to USD 33.49 billion during April-December in the financial year 2018-19. Singapore was the largest FDI contributor during April-December 2018-19 with USD 12.97 billion inflow followed

by Mauritius (USD 6 billion), the Netherlands (USD 2.95 billion), Japan (USD 2.21 billion), US (USD 2.34 billion), and the UK (USD 1.05 billion).


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The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) formed a 4-member committee, headed by income tax commissioner Sanjeev Sharma, to look into the matter of taxation related pain points and submit its final report and recommendations by mid-March.

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has recommended to increase the interest rate on Employees’ Provident Fund for 2018-19 to 8.65% from 8.55% benefitting 6 crore EPFO subscribers.

The Karnataka High Court has quashed the order of Enforcement Directorate (ED) which froze the bank accounts of Greenpeace India. The court noted that the validity of the ED order has lost its efficacy on account of efflux of time as the period of 60 days has expired. The accounts of the Greenpeace India were frozen on the account of the alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange

Management Act (FEMA). The Reserve Bank of India has decided to remove Allahabad Bank, Corporation Bank and Dhanlaxmi Bank Ltd.

from the list of banks placed under its Prompt Corrective Action framework. The decision was taken by the Board for Financial Supervision. Allahabad Bank: Headquarter: Kolkata, CEO: Usha Ananthasubramanian, Tagline: A tradition of trust. Corporation Bank: Headquarter: Mangalore, CEO: Jai Kumar Garg, Tagline: A Premier Public

Sector Bank, Prosperity for all. Dhanlaxmi Bank: Headquarter: Thrissur (Kerala), CEO: T Latha, Tagline: Tann. Mann. Dhan

State-run Bank of Baroda has tied up with Germany’s KfW Development Bank to refinance solar projects at a cost of 113 million USD. The tie-up is part of an Indo-German Solar Energy Partnership signed in 2015. The KfW was formerly known as KfW Bankengruppe (banking group) and it is a German government-owned

development bank with headquarters in Frankfurt. The Reserve Bank of India extended the deadline for prepaid payment instrument (PPI) issuers to complete their

Know Your Customer (KYC) norms by six months. Earlier, they had been asked to complete their KYC process by the end of February, 2019.

The Reserve Bank of India will infuse Rs 12,500 crore into the system through Open Market Operations. The RBI said it has decided to conduct purchase of certain government securities under OMOs for an aggregate amount of Rs 12,500 crore on Feb. 28 through multi-security auction using the multiple price method.

The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises is organizing a programme on Technology Support and Outreach (TECH-SOP) in New Delhi. The objective of the programme is to educate MSMEs and enhance their awareness about latest technological innovation available and sensitize them on the role of technology in creating competitiveness and opportunities. TECH – SOP is an initiative of the MSME Ministry to bridge the gap between research and development institutions

and MSMEs so that they can use latest technologies and become a part of global value chain. A “India Green Tech Open Challenge” also be launched to encourage MSMEs to adopt sustainable and green

technologies so that they remain competitive in the long run. President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the amendments to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, which were

introduced in the Parliament as part of the Finance Act 2019. These amendments have been introduced to regularise the system of levying stamp duty and to help in curbing tax evasion.

CORPORATE AFFAIRS

Mr. Suresh Prabhu inaugurating Aviation Infrastructure Development Projects in 8 AAI Airports in 7 states via video link in New Delhi. the Project worth Rs. 620 crore is being spent on 8 AAI airports in the country to upgrade and revamp airports infrastructure.

The Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has unveiled the Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG) at the Aero India 2019. The new product aims to provide an innovative solution to meet the ever-increasing need for drinking water worldwide. The Atmospheric Water Generator is being manufactured by BEL in collaboration with CSIR-IICT and MAITHRI, a

start-up company based in Hyderabad. The “National Conference on Logistics Policy: Context, Issues & The Way Forward” was held in New Delhi.

He also launched the SAFAR Mobile App, on this occasion. About the app: The app is available in 8 languages.

It will help to gauge the actual issues faced by transporters on the road.

It will track the incidence of a number of parameters faced by transporters and automatically record the location of the issue.

FCI Aravali Gypsum and Minerals India Ltd (FAGMIL) will set up a white cement plant in Himachal Pradesh at a cost of Rs 605 crore. This white cement plant, which will be the fourth in the country, is expected to start operations by 2022.


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The Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, in collaboration with ASSOCHAM and ERICSSON India, has launched the second edition of ‘IPrism’, an Intellectual Property (IP) competition for students of schools, polytechnic institutes, colleges and universities. This year, entries are invitedon “IP in Daily Life” in two categories – film making and comic book making.

The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding for jointly developing infrastructure for fuels, lubricating oil, LPG, natural gas and any other related fuel and gas for meeting the requirement of national waterways.

Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Radha Mohan Singh informed that the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) is organizing a first of its kind ‘India International Cooperative Trade Fair’ in October, 2019 in New Delhi. The Cooperative Trade Fair will provide platform for sale, market, product display, conferences, buyer-seller meet,

networking, policy advocacy etc to national and international cooperatives and related institutions. Southern Coast Railway will be a new zone of the Indian Railways. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal told this to

reporters in New Delhi. This new 18th railway zone of the country will be headquartered at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The cost of creating infrastructure for a new zone, according to an internal assessment of the Railways, is more than

205 crore rupees. The Indian Railways' operations are currently divided into 17 zones, which are further sub-divided into divisions,

each having a divisional headquarter. There are a total of 73 divisions at present. Petroleum Minister Dhramendra Pradhan gave 34 crore rupees of Indian Oil Corporation for clean Ganga

movement.

DEFENCE & SECURITY

Thailand and the United States hosted the annual Cobra Gold military exercise, the biggest activity of its type in the Asia-Pacific region with 29 nations taking part as participants or observers. A part from the 2 countries, 7 countries who participated in the exercise were India,

Singapore, Japan, China, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea. Iran announced that it will be launching a 3-day annual navy drill named “Velayat 97” in the Gulf and the Indian

Ocean, including a sensitive global shipping route, with an aim to evaluate the equipment of the navy, practice launching weapons and enable the troops to gain readiness in battle. It will be held in the waters of Strait of Hormuz, Makran coast, Oman Sea and the north of the Indian ocean and will

cover an area of 2 million square kilometres for 3 days. Iran: Capital: Tehran, Currency: Iranian Rial.

Union Home Ministry has announced the hike in Risk and Hardship allowance for Central Armed Police Forces personnel deployed in Left Wing Extremism states and Jammu and Kashmir. Troops upto the rank of Inspector will now get Rs. 17,300 as against the existing Rs. 9,700, while the officers will

get Rs. 25,000 as against the existing Rs. 17,300 per month. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully test fired indigenously developed Quick

Reach Surface-to-Air missiles (QRSAM) from Chandipur, Odisha. As part of the ongoing India Bangladesh defence cooperation, a joint military exercise “Sampriti-2019” will be

conducted at Tangail, Bangladesh from 02 March to 15 March 2019. Exercise Sampriti-2019 is an important bilateral defence cooperation endeavour between India and Bangladesh and

this will be the eighth edition of the exercise which is hosted alternately by both countries.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

The Government will launch a public Domain Name Server (DNS) aimed at providing a faster and more secure browsing experience for Internet users in the country, while ensuring that citizens’ data is stored locally. The main objective of bringing country’s own public DNS is to ensure availability, particularly for smaller

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) who don’t have credible DNS. The DNS roll out will be completed in the next four to six months and it will be executed by National Informatics

Centre (NIC). The IIT-Madras has entered into an agreement with Translational Health Science and Technology Institute

(THSTI) to address public health issues and predict adverse pregnancy outcomes using technology. The aim of the pact is to bring physician-scientists, biologists, engineers and data scientists together to solve public

health problems related to maternal and child health. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal launched Rail Drishti Dashboard to keep people informed about ongoing Railway

works across the country.


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The dashboard (raildrishti.cris.org.in) brings information from various sources on a single platform and gives access to key statistics and parameters to every citizen of the country.

SPORTS

Harmanpreet Singh was awarded the 2018 Player of the Year award while women’s team striker Lalremsiami as the Rising Player of The Year, by the Asian Hockey Federation.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended all Indian applications to host future events and urged international sports federations not to stage competitions in the country after two Pakistanis were denied visas to compete in New Delhi.

Australia’s wicket keeper Alyssa Healy set a new Guinness World Record after achieving the feat for the ‘highest catch of a cricket ball’ at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

The Supreme Court appointed its former judge, Justice D K Jain as the first ombudsman for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The Asian Hockey Federation has honoured Indian skipper Manpreet Singh with the 2018 Player of the Year award.

Apurvi Chandela has won the gold medal in the women's 10-metre air rifle event at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi. This is India's first medal of the ISSF World Cup 2019.

Afghanistan has created history in its second Twenty20 International against Ireland at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Saurabh Chaudhary has clinched the country's second gold medal at the ongoing ISSF World Cup at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi.

Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta won the Cannes International Open after taking an easy draw with Pier Luigi Basso of Italy in the ninth and final round.

AWARDS &HONOURS

The Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) has been honoured with the prestigious ‘FICCI CSR Award’ for Women Empowerment. JSPL was awarded for its innovative and high impact women empowerment programmes, implemented by the company’s CSR Arm – JSPL Foundation, across its operational areas in the country.

Dr Divya Karnad, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Ashoka University has been awarded the prestigious Global Future For Nature Award 2019 for her work on marine conservation. The other recipients of the Global Future For Nature Award is awarded for the year 2019 are: Fernanda Abra

(Brazil) and Olivier Nsengimana (Rwanda). Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)’s Rajahmundry unit won the Energy and Environment Foundation Global

Clean Awards-2019 for sustained efforts in pursuit of Swachh Bharat Mission as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at a function in New Delhi. It has also received Platinum Award under Apex India Environment Excellence Award 2018 from Apex India

Foundation for excellence in environmental management in Petroleum Sector. Indian producer Guneet Monga’s film 'Period. End of Sentence' bags Oscar Best Documentary Short Subject At

the Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles. The awards are given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), to recognize excellence in

cinematic achievements as assessed by the Academy’s voting membership. The full list of winners are: Olivia Colman won the best actress award for "The Favourite. Rami Malek won the best actor for "Bohemian Rhapsody", a biographical film. "Green Book" won the Best Picture at the 91st Academy Awards. Pop diva Lady Gaga got the Best Original Song Academy Award for "Shallow" from her feature debut "A Star is

Born"

Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron for "Roma"; Best Actor: Rami Malek for "Bohemian Rhapsody"; Best Foreign Language Film: "Roma" (Mexico) Best Animated Feature Film: "Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse" Best Original Screen play: "Green Book" Best Adapted Screenplay: "BlacKkKlansman" Best Original Score: "Black Panther"

G.R. Karthikeyan was awarded the Lifetime Achievement award at the FMSCI annual awards function held in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He is the father of Narain Karthikeyan–India’s first Formula One racer.

The Central Zone Power Distribution Company, Bhopal and West Zone Power Distribution Company, Indore have been awarded the Saubhagya award under Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana at the National Conference of Energy Ministers. The award included 100 crore rupees each.

Current Affairs : FEB (23 to 28)

The Central Zone Power Distribution Company, Bhopal is the which has illuminated more than 7 lakh 85 thousand housesby the West Zone Power Distribution CompanySaubhagya.

Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office, New Delhi. The awards are given every year to recognise and promote excellence in implementation of einitiatives. He gave the award in six categories

The Minister also released two books on the subject of

PERSON

Actress Kareena Kapoor Khan has been appointed as anSwasth Immunised India campaign has been launched by

Brijbhushan Sharan Singh was elected as the Justice Uma Nath Singh took the oath as the

Meghalaya High Court. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Java Muhammadu Buhari, who is a member of

election to become the President of Africa’s Nigeria: Capital: Abuja,

PepsiCo's India-born former CEO Indra Nooyi The autonomous organization under the

appointed educationist and author Govind Prasad Sharma

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu the book titled ‘Offing in Indian Higher Education’ edited by EPSI’s Alternate President,function organized by the Education Promotion Society for India

The Government has released 2nd editionthe constitutional right to speech and opportunity of freedom of expression (Article 19) and also bringing them into the mainstream of the society. The first edition of the dictionary was launched with 3,000 words on

Kodi Ramakrishna (69), the veteran Popular Bollywood film producer Rajkumar Barjatya

22nd February 2019:- World Thinking Day. Theme:- Leadership.

24th February 2019:- Central Excise Day 27th February 2019:- World NGO Day 28th February 2019:- National Science Day

Theme:- Science for people and people for science.

FEB (23 to 28) - 2019

he Central Zone Power Distribution Company, Bhopal is the first power distribution company7 lakh 85 thousand houses while around Four lakh houses

Power Distribution Company, Indore under Pradhanmantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana

Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office, Dr Jitendra Singh presented National e-Governance Awards, 2019. The awards are given every year to recognise and promote excellence in implementation of e

six categories.

The Minister also released two books on the subject of “Excellence in e-Governance

PERSON APPOINTED /RESIGNED

has been appointed as an ambassador of Swasth Immunised India campaignSwasth Immunised India campaign has been launched by Serum Institute of India (SII) and

elected as the President of the Wrestling Federation of Indiatook the oath as the first lokayukta of Nagaland. He was formerly the

Mohammad Javad Zarif announced his resignation. who is a member of All Progressive Congress (APC) has defeated

Africa’s. Currency: Nigerian Naira.

Indra Nooyi has joined Amazon's board of directorshe autonomous organization under the Department of Higher Education, National Book Trust

Govind Prasad Sharma as its new Chairman replacing

BOOKS & AUTHORS

the book titled ‘Quality, Accreditation and Ranking edited by EPSI’s Alternate President, Dr. H Chaturvedi

Education Promotion Society for India (EPSI), BIMTECH andedition of the Indian Sign Language dictionary, which aims to give deaf people

h and opportunity of freedom of expression (Article 19) and also bringing them into the

of the dictionary was launched with 3,000 words on March 23, 2018

OBITUARY

(69), the veteran Telugu film director, has passed away in HyderabadRajkumar Barjatya passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Days|Week|Year

World Thinking Day.

Central Excise Day. World NGO Day. National Science Day.

Science for people and people for science.

10

first power distribution company in the country Four lakh houses have been electrified

, Indore under Pradhanmantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana-

Governance Awards, 2019 in . The awards are given every year to recognise and promote excellence in implementation of e-Governance

Governance”.

Swasth Immunised India campaign. The (SII) and Network 18.

Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for a third time. . He was formerly the Chief Justice of

has defeated Atiku Abubakar in the

Nigerian Naira. Amazon's board of directors.

National Book Trust (NBT) eplacing Baldeo Sharma.

Quality, Accreditation and Ranking – A Silent Revolution in the Dr. H Chaturvedi at the book launch

and Bloomsbury Pvt Ltd. , which aims to give deaf people

h and opportunity of freedom of expression (Article 19) and also bringing them into the

March 23, 2018.

in Hyderabad. Mumbai, Maharashtra.

current affairs : feb (23 to 28) - 2019 1 · current affairs : feb (23 to 28) the president of...

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