Daily GK Updates - 28th February, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.National Science Day being observed : India celebrates National Science Day on 28th February of every yearto commemorate the discovery of the Raman effect (in 1928) byIndian physicist Sir C.V. Raman. The objective of the day is to spread the message of the importance of science and its application among the people. The theme of National Science Day 2019 was "Science for the People and the People for Science". Prime Minister Narendra Modi conferred the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018 to the awardees at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. The prize comprises a citation, a plaque, and a cash award of Rs 5 lakhs, recipients also get Rs. 15,000 per month up to the age of 65 years.

2. NBT appoints Govind Prasad Sharma as Chairman : The National Book Trust (NBT) has appointed educationist and author Govind Prasad Sharma as its new Chairman.Sharma has served as the Principal of Government P.G. College, Madhya Pradesh. Sharma also served as Vice Chairman of Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education. He is the author of more than six academic books and several research papers and has edited a few collected works.

3. Assam CM inaugurates PRANAM Commission :  Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has inaugurated the Assam Employees Parents Responsibility and Norms for Accountability and Monitoring (PRANAM) Commission. PRANAM bill is an effort from the state government to protect the old parents and divyang siblings in their times of need and give them financial security. It will benefit 8 lakh parents of 4 lakh state government employees. PRANAM bill makes mandatory for the employees of the State government to look after their parents and unmarried divyang siblings who do not have their own source of income.

4. Railways start displaying vacant seats online : The Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal has launched the ‘Online Platform for Display and Booking’ of vacant berths after chart preparation in New Delhi.It will enhance travel experience and bring greater transparency for Indian Railway passengers. The user-friendly interface will give a graphical representation of the train coaches and berth-wise accommodation status on www.irctc.co.in. The new feature in the ticketing system is a dynamic system which will keep upgrading itself as the train proceeds for the destination and passengers can see the real-time availability of berths.

5. Jual Oram launches MSP for Minor Forest Produce, Value Addition Component of Van Dhan scheme : The Union Trible Affairs Minister Jual Oram has launched ‘Minimum Support Price’ (MSP) for Minor Forest Produce and Value Addition Component of Van Dhan Scheme at Dr Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi.Now, The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is scaling up the “Van Dhan Scheme” and extend it to all tribal Districts of the Country in phases starting with the Aspirational Districts with substantial tribal population. The Ministry also expanded the coverage of the Minimum Support Price for Minor Forest Produce Scheme to 50 Minor Forest Produce. The MSP has also been raised between 30% and 40% in case of each of the Commodities

6. Rail Minister announces “South Coast Railway (SCoR)” a new Zone of Indian Railways :  According to Railways Minister Piyush Goyal, Southern Coast Railway ((SCoR)will be a new zone of the Indian Railways. This new 18th railway zone of the country will be headquartered at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The new zone will comprise the existing Guntakal, Guntur and Vijayawada divisions that currently fall under the South-Central Railway. The South-Central Railway will then consist of the Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Nanded divisions.

7. Mahesh Elkunchwar to be honoured with META lifetime achievement award :Eminent Indian playwright Mahesh Elkunchwar has been chosen for this year’s META Lifetime Achievement Award. The playwright will be conferred upon with the award on 12th March, along with the winners of the 14th Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) festival. Elkunchwar is critically-acclaimed and widely-known for having experimented with a wide range of drama and is considered a powerful force in both Indian and Marathi theatre scene.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. RBI removes Allahabad Bank, Corporation Bank, Dhanlaxmi Bank from PCA : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has taken off Allahabad Bank, Corporation Bank and Dhanlaxmi Bank from the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework allowing them to resume their normal lending activities. The Board for Financial Supervision (BFS) met to review the performance of banks under PCA and noted that the government has infused fresh capital into various banks including some of the banks currently under the PCA framework.

SPORTS:

1.  ISSF World Cup: Manu, Saurabh clinch 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team gold :  Indian duo Saurabh Chaudhary and Manu Bhaker won the Gold medal in 10-metre air pistol mixed team event at the ISSF world cup Shooting in New Delhi. They shot a total of 483.5 points to finish on top of the podium. The Chinese duo of Ranxin Jiang and Bowen Zhang won the Silver with 477.7 points. While the bronze went to the Korean pair of Minjung Kim and Daehun Park who scored 418.8 points.The tournament offered 14 quota places for the 2020 Tokyo Games.

OBITUARIES:

1. Nepal’s Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari passes away :  Nepal’s Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Rabindra Adhikari and six others were killed in helicopter crash in Taplejung district of Nepal. The team had gone for a feasibility study for an airstrip in Chuhandanda in neighbouring Tehrathum. Nepal has some of the world's most remote and tricky runways, flanked by snow-capped peaks with approaches that pose a challenge for even accomplished pilots.