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.

Daily GK Updates - 27th February, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. PM Narendra Modi confers National Youth Parliament Festival 2019 awards : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given away the National Youth Parliament Festival 2019 awards in New Delhi.Earlier, Youth in the age bracket of 18-25 years were invited to participate in the District, State and National level Youth Parliaments. More than 50 thousand youth participated through Youth Parliaments at all levels.The best three speakers at the National Youth Parliament 2019 has been awarded 2 Lakh rupees, 1.5 Lakh rupees and 1 Lakh rupeesrespectively in order of merit along with a certificate. On 12th January 2019, the Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore had launched the festival to encourage the youth to engage with public issues & understand the common man's point of view.

2.  National e-Governance Awards 2019 presented in Delhi :  Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office, Dr Jitendra Singhhas presented National e-Governance Awards, 2019 in six categories at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi.The awards are given every year to recognise and promote excellence in the implementation of e-Governance initiatives. The initiative seeks to disseminate knowledge on effective methods of designing and implementing sustainable e-Governance initiatives. It also recognizes initiatives in Startups, Academic Research Institutions as well as initiatives in adopting emerging technologies

3.  Lifetime achievement award for G. R. Karthikeyan :  G.R. Karthikeyan was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award at the FMSCI annual awards function. Mr. Karthikeyan is the father of India’s first Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan, FIA president Jean Todt was the chief guest and handed over the awards.

4. Civil aviation ministry organised 'flying for all' conclave :  The Union Minister for Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu has inaugurated the Aviation Conclave 2019 with an overarching theme of “Flying for All” in New Delhi. It brings together industry leaders, government and regulators for setting the tone and propelling us to realize our Vision-2040. Over 200 delegates are taking part in the discussions.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.  Muhammadu Buhari re-elected Nigerian President : According to Electoral Commission (INEC), Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has secured a second four-year term in office. Buhari defeated his main challenger Atiku Abubakar by a margin of nearly four million votes. Mr Buhari first came to power in 2015 after defeating then-incumbent Goodluck Jonathan. Mr Buhari's All Progressives Congress (APC) won in 19 of the 36 states while the PDP was victorious in 17 states.

 2. Zimbabwe starts trading new currency RTGS dollar : Zimbabwe started to trade its new currency ‘the RTGS dollar’ after the central bank announced measures to try and resolve a chronic monetary crisis. The bank unveiled a foreign exchange trading system that effectively devalued its quasi-currency, the bond note, which was officially pegged at parity with the US dollar. The new currency replaces electronic bank savings called digital dollars and the bond notes and was named after the real-time gross settlement system that banks use to transfer money between each other.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Britannia to replace Hindustan Petroleum in Nifty 50 :  Britannia Industries will replace Hindustan Petroleum Corporation(HPCL) in the National Stock Exchange Fifty (NIFTY) 50 index (from 29th March 2019). Britannia Industries hand gained 1.43% to settle at Rs 3,056 on the bourse, on the other hand HPCL share dropped 1.54% to Rs 227.40 on NSE. The NIFTY 50 index is the National Stock Exchange of India's benchmark broad. It represents the weighted average of 50 Indian company stocks.

SPORTS :

1. Hungary's Veronika Major wins the gold medal at ISSF World Cup  : Hungary's Veronika Major has won a gold medal in 10-metre air pistol event at the ongoing ISSF World Cup at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi. She bagged the medal with 245.1 points in the tournament. Taipei's Chia Ying Wu won a silver medal, with 238.4 points Korean Bomi Kim came third, with 218.3 points.

2. Sanath Jayasuriya banned from cricket for two years :  Former Sri Lankan Cricket Captain Sanath Jayasuriya has been banned from Cricket for two years after he failed to co-operate in a corruption investigation. According to the ICC statement,  Jayasuriya admitted to breaching two counts of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code. He served as chair of the selection committee during 2016-17during which team performance dipped and has remained uneven since then. Sri Lankan cricket has been under investigation by ICC for last few years and Jayasurya was served a notice a few months back.

3.  Afghanistan Scores highest ever T20 International Score :  Afghanistan scored 278 for the loss of 3 wickets (in 20 overs) to register the highest-ever total in T20s at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. First player from Afghanistan Hazratullah Zazai scored 162 runs from just 62 balls.Earlier, in 2016 Australia’s record score of 263/3 which they achieved back against Sri Lanka. Zazai’s 236-run opening stand with Usman Ghani became the highest partnership in T20Is.

Daily GK Updates - 26th February, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal launches 'Rail Drishti Dashboard' : Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has launched a dashboard for passengers to keep track of train punctuality as well as other such information from anywhere in the country. The 'eDrishti' dashboard has been developed by the Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS) and can be accessed at ‘www.raildrishti.cris.org.in’. Now, people can now track any information related to Indian Railways in a swipe-even while on the move. The dashboard has been linked to the base kitchens of the Indian Rail Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to allow monitoring of the goings-on in IRCTC kitchens through live video.

2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends Gita Aradhana Mahotsav at ISKCON in Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the Gita Aradhana Mahotsav  at ISKCON, East of Kailash in New Delhi. At the event, Mr. Modi turns a page of the Bhagwad Gita which has been prepared by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) devotees. It is measuring over 2.8 meters and over 800 kilograms the Bhagwad Gita is one of this kind in the world. It will have the original verses of Bhagwad Gita along with commentary.

3. Skill Development Minister inaugurates Skill Saathi Youth Conclave in Odisha :The Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has inaugurated a “Skill Saathi Youth Conclave” to create awareness about various programmes under Skill India Mission in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha. The Skill Saathi model was created to impart information on vocational education and available market opportunities to the youth.Currently, Ten Counselling Implementing Organisations (CIO) are empanelled under the 'Skill Saathi' initiative in Odisha, who mobilise candidates and provide career counselling to them. All blocks and urban local bodies in Odisha have been divided among these empanelled CIOs.

4.Madhya Pradesh Government launched ‘Mukhyamantri Yuva Swabhiman Yojana’ : Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath has launched the state Government’s flagship scheme ‘Mukhyamantri Yuva Swabhiman Yojana’ to urban youths (21-30 years) from economically weaker sections.Under the scheme, Rs 4,000 stipend per month will be given for 100 days of employment every year.They will also be given skill development training in order to become independent. Only those youths, whose family’s annual income is less than Rs 2 lakh are eligible for the scheme.

5. Brij Bhushan Sharan elected as WFI President : Brijbhushan Sharan Singh has been elected unopposed as President of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). This marked the third time that Singh had assumed the post of WFI’s president. He was the chef-de-mission of the Indian contingent for the Asian Games 2018 held in Jakarta and Palembang. Mr. Sharan is also a Member of Parliament from the Kaiserganj constituency of Uttar Pradesh.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.Health Minister inaugurates 4th Global Digital Health Partnership Summit :  Union Minister of Health Minister J P Nadda along with Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad jointly inaugurated the 4th Global Digital Health Partnership Summit in New Delhi. According to Mr. Nadda, nearly 13 lakh poor people have availed the benefits of ‘Ayushman Bharat scheme’. The scheme is completely digital where all the processes from beneficiary identification to hospital empanelment and settlement of claims are done electronically. The objective of the summit is to provide an opportunity to support governments and health system reformers to improve the health and well-being of their citizens through digital technologies.

2.  Iran Foreign Minister Zarif announces the resignation :  Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (59-years) announced his resignation. His reputation in Iran's political establishment took a hit when the US withdrew from the nuclear deal in May 2018. Zarif was blamed by ultra-conservatives for negotiating a bad deal that had not gained anything meaningful for Iran. President Hassan Rouhani has not accepted the resignation so far.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1.  GST Council cuts tax on under construction residential houses to 5% : The GST Council slashed tax rates on under-construction housing properties to 5% (existing 12%). The Council also cut GST rates on affordable housing to 1% (current 8%). The council altered the definition of affordable housing, any house built on an area of 60 square metres or less in the metro cities of India will be categorised as affordable housing. The new tax rates will come into effect from 1st April 2019.

2. Indra Nooyi joins Amazon’s Board of Directors :  India-born former PepsiCo’s CEO Indra Nooyi has joined the online retail giant Amazon’s board of directors.She is the second woman of colour to be added on Amazon’s boardof Directors.Ms. Nooyi stepped down as CEO of Pepsico in October 2018. She was Pepsico CEO from October 2006 to October 2018, where she also served as the Chairman of its board of directors from May 2007 to February 2019.

SPORTS :

1.Saurabh Chaudhary clinches gold in 10m air rifle at Shooting World Cup : Saurabh Chaudhary has won the gold medal in the 10m air pistolevent at the ongoing ISSF World Cup at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi. Saurabh shot a total of 245 (World Record) to claim the top spot. He has also booked a spot in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

2. Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta lifts Cannes International Open trophy :  Indian Grandmaster ‘Abhijeet Gupta’ lifted the Cannes International Open Chess trophy. Abhijeet won the tournament with 7.5 points. Then two more wins and three draws happened on the way to his first solo International tournament victory.

Daily GK Updates - 25th February, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Smriti Irani launches Integrated Large Scale Eri Farming in Arunachal Pradesh under NERTPS : Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani has launched the Integrated Large Scale Eri Farming in Arunachal Pradesh under North East Region Textile Promotion Scheme (NERTPS) in Itanagar. The Project will cover five districts of the state (Papumpare, East Kameng, Siang, East Siang and West Siang). Around one thousand acres land will be covered for Eri Farming in the chosen districts of the state. The Union Government has decided to provide financial assistance to 4000 (four thousand) beneficiaries under NERTPS.

2. NITI Aayog hosts Conference on The Future of Indian Banking : NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar inaugurated a conference on “The Future of Indian Banking” in New Delhi.The conference was organised with the Foundation for Economic Growth and Welfare (EGROW Foundation). The objective of the conference was to increase and elevate the discourse on the banking sector in India and help develop insights to inform the continued evolution of the Indian banking sector for optimally supporting the growing credit needs of the Indian economy.

3. U’khand CM launches helpline for quick redressal of public complaints : Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat launched a helpline at the IT Park in Dehradun for quick redressal of public complaints. People can call on the helpline number 1905 to lodge their complaints. The call centre set up for the purpose will be open from 8 am to 10 pm daily to receive people’s complaints. The performance of the government departments will also be rated through the mechanism which will not only facilitate quicker redressal of public complaints but also introduce a new work culture where officials will work with more accountability.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India to attend OIC meet for the first time : External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has been invited to deliver an address at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Abu Dhabi on the 1st - 2nd March 2019. This is the first time that a leader of the non-Muslim country has been invited to the OIC conference.She will be the Guest of Honour and address the inaugural plenary of the 46th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of OIC. It is also a welcome recognition of the presence of 185 million Muslims in India and of India’s contribution to the Islamic world.

2. Ghani flags off first Afghan cargo to India through Chabahar port : Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani flagged off the first Afghan cargo from western Nimroz province that will be exported to India through Chabahar Port in Iran which was inaugurated in 2017. Addressing the event, Ghani said that the opening of Chabahar route will increase Afghanistan’s export from US $1 billion to US $2 billion in the next year. The Chabahar port which provides an alternative route for trade between India and Afghanistan is located in Southeastern Iran, on the Gulf of Oman.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. World Bank, UN, SIDBI launch Rs 300 crore Women’s Livelihood Bond :  World Bank, UN Women, and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) have joined hands to launch a new social impact bonds exclusively for women, called Women’s Livelihood Bonds (WLBs), with an initial corpus of Rs 300 crore.  The proposed bond will enable individual women entrepreneurs in sectors like food processing, agriculture, services and small units to borrow around Rs 50,000 to Rs 3 lakh at an annual interest rate of around 13-14 per cent or less.

SPORTS:

1. Manpreet Singh honoured with AHF's Player of the Year : The Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) has honoured Indian skipper Manpreet Singh with the 2018 Player of the Year award. Women team's striker Lalremsiami (18-year-old) has bagged the Rising Player of The Year prize. Manpreet led the Indian team to an unbeaten streak at the Asian Champions Trophy in Muscat, joint winners with Pakistan. He also contributed to the team's silver medal win at the FIH Champions Trophy in Breda.

2. Apurvi Chandela wins gold in women's 10m air rifle :  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. She set a new world record by registering a score of 252.9 points in the final. Silver medallist Zhao Ruozhu (China) scored 251.8 points and Xu Hong (China) settled for the bronze medal with 230.4 points.

Daily GK Updates - 24th February, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.PM Narendra Modi inaugurates National War Memorial in New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the National War Memorial near India Gate, New Delhi. The memorial is a commemoration of the sacrifices made by Indian soldiers since Independence with the names of 25,942 martyrs (scope to add more names) etched in stone forever. The main structure has been built in the form of four chakras with the eternal flame and obelisk located in the inner-most chakra (Amar Chakra). The layout of the Memorial comprises four concentric circles, Amar Chakra Circle of Immortality, the Veerta Chakra Circle of Bravery, the Tyag Chakra Circle of Sacrifice, and the Rakshak Chakra or Circle of Protection.

2. PM Modi delivered the keynote address at 'Rising India Summit 2019' in New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address at the 2nd edition ‘Rising India Summit 2019’ in New Delhi. The theme for this year's event is "Beyond Politics: Defining National Priorities". People of eminence and exceptional achievements from various walks of life come together in New Delhi to celebrate India’s successes and deliberate the future.

3. Ashwini Kumar Choubey launches a national programme to eliminate viral hepatitis : The Minister of state for health Ashwini Kumar Choubey has launched a national action plan ‘Viral Hepatitis’ aimed at eliminating viral hepatitis at Mumbai.The programme is also in line with the country's global commitment towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.3. The objective of the programme is to combat hepatitis and achieve countrywide elimination of Hepatitis C by 2030. Amitabh Bachchan is the goodwill ambassador for hepatitis, WHO South-East Asia Region.

4. PM Modi launches PM-KISAN scheme by transferring 1st instalment of Rs 2,000 to farmers : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the ‘PM-KISAN scheme’ (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana) at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh.Through press of the button, electronically transfer the first instalment of 2 thousand rupees to selected farmers. The amount will be transferred directly to the bank account of beneficiaries through Direct Benefits Transfer.  The amount will be given in three instalments of 2 thousand rupees each, which will benefit more than 12 crore farmers of the country.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.Olivia Colman wins best actress Oscar award for "The Favourite" : Olivia Colman won the best actress award for "The Favourite", at the 91st Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. The British actress got the award for her performance as Queen Anne in the period comedy-drama. Rami Malek won the best actor for a biographical film "Bohemian Rhapsody". An American biographical comedy-drama film," GreenBook" won the Best Picture. Filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron has won the Best Director Oscar for 'Roma' which is an American and Mexican drama. Pop diva LadyGaga got the Best Original Song Academy Award for "Shallow" from her feature debut "A Star is Born".

2. Afghanistan begins export to India via Chabahar port :  Afghanistan has begun exports to India through Iran’s Chabahar port, as the landlocked country turns to overseas markets to improve its economy. Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani has inaugurated the new export route ‘Chabahar route’ in Zaranj city, western Nimroz province. According to Indian ambassador, ‘Vinay Kumar’ Afghanistan’s exports to India have increased by 40% after the launch of air corridor between Kabul and New Delhi.

3. World's largest bee spotted the first time since 1981 : A team of researchers spotted the world's giant bee which is as big as a human thumb, in Indonesia.Wallace's giant bee (scientific name -Megachile pluto) is the world's largest bee species. It was first discovered in 1859 by the prominent scientist Alfred Russel Wallace and was presumed extinct.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1.Manpreet Singh honoured with AHF's Player of the Year : The Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) has honoured Indian skipper Manpreet Singh with the 2018 Player of the Year award. Women team's striker Lalremsiami (18-year-old) has bagged the Rising Player of The Year prize. Manpreet led the Indian team to an unbeaten streak at the Asian Champions Trophy in Muscat, joint winners with Pakistan. He also contributed to the team's silver medal win at the FIH Champions Trophy in Breda.

2. Apurvi Chandela wins gold in women's 10m air rifle : 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. She set a new world record by registering a score of 252.9 points in the final. Silver medallist Zhao Ruozhu (China) scored 251.8 points and Xu Hong (China) settled for the bronze medal with 230.4 points.

Daily GK Updates - 23rd February, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.Kerala police induct first ever robot ’KP-BOT’ into their force :  Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan has inaugurated India’s first Humanoid Police Robot ‘KP-BOT’ at the Police Headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The robot’s gender is declared female (ranked as Sub-Inspector) keeping in mind women empowerment and gender equality. The work on the project was started by state police Cyberdome and a Kochi based start-up, Asimov.In 2018’s Cocoon Cyber Conference it was announced that robots will be included in the police force.

2.  CCEA approves KUSUM Scheme for farmers’ welfare : The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by PM Narendra Modi approved the launch of ‘Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan’ (KUSUM Yojana). The objective of the KUSUM Yojana is to provide financial and water security to farmers. The scheme aims to add a solar capacity of 25,750 MW by 2022. The Central Government will provide total financial support of Rs 34,422 crore for the scheme.

3. West Bengal sets up Directorate to deal with tax evasions' cases : West Bengal Government has set up a separate Directorate to deal with the cases of tax evasions.The headquarters of the Directorate will be situated at Kolkata and will have seven branch offices in the Districts. The state government has estimated that evasion of commercial taxes, excise duties and taxes on the building and land registration leads to revenue losses of one thousand crore rupees in the State.

4. UP CM launches Scheme for Adolescent girls : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched ‘Scheme for Adolescent girls’ in the state. The objective of the scheme is to take care of the education of girls, aged between 11 to 14 years, till graduation, who have left studies. The state government has also decided to observe 8th of every month as Adolescent Girls Day at Anganwadi centres across the state.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.Eighth World CSR Congress 2019 held in Mumbai : The 8th World Corporate Social Responsibility Congress (World CSR Congress 2019) was held in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The theme of the year 2019 is ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs) to focus on corporate strategies, innovation, and strategic alliances. Dr. Soumitro Chakraborty won ‘CEO of the year’ award.

2. Sudan: President Bashir declares a year-long state of emergency : Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has declared a year-long state of emergency throughout the country. He also dissolved his cabinet and local governments throughout the country. Omar al-Bashir's term ends in 2020 and he has repeatedly promised over the years not to make new runs for the presidency. Since December 2018, various areas in Sudan have been witnessing popular protests over the deteriorating economic conditions and price hikes of basic commodities.

3. Climate change has officially led to the extinction of a mammal, the Australian rat : According to the Australian government, a small brown rat is the world's first mammal known to have become extinct due to ‘human-induced climate change’. The mammal ‘Bramble Cay melomys’ which had not been seen for almost 10 years was initially pronounced extinct after “exhaustive” conservation efforts failed. It was found only on a small sand island near the coast of Papua New Guinea.

OTHER UPDATES:

DEFENCE:

1. OFB gets clearance for producing 114 long-range artillery gun ‘Dhanush’ : The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has received a bulk production clearance from the Indian Army and the Defence Ministry for production of 114 'Dhanush' artillery guns. 'Dhanush' is the first long-range artillery gun to be produced in India. It is the product of efforts by the OFB and the Army with various contributions.

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:         

1. Ajay Singh appointed as the Head of AIBA Elite foundation : India's boxing chief Ajay Singh has been elected as the president of the Foundation Board for Better Boxing of AIBA (International Boxing Association) for a tenure of 4 years. Currently, Mr. Singh is the president of the Boxing Federation of India. AIBA formed the Foundation Board for Better Boxing in the last meeting of its Executive Committee to formulate an action plan for global development of the sport in future.

Daily GK Updates - 22nd February, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Month-long ‘festival of India’ begins in Kathmandu : Manjeev Singh (Indian Ambassador to Nepal) and Rabindra Adhikari(Nepal’s Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation) jointly inaugurated a month-long 'Festival of India' event in Kathmandu, Nepal.The festival organised by the   Indian Embassy and Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre. Buddhism has been established as a major religion in both the countries as Lord Buddha was born in Nepal and attained enlightenment in India.

2. KALIA Chhatra Bruti’ Scholarship launched in Odisha : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has launched ‘KALIA Chhatra Bruti’ scholarship for the children of farmers the state in Bhubaneshwar. The objective of the scheme is to provide financial assistance for technical and professional education to farmers’ children. The state government will bear all expenses involved in various levels of education.  The scholarship will be sent directly to the bank accounts of students via. DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer).

3. Justice Uma Nath Singh to take oath as first Lokayukta of Nagaland : Justice Uma Nath Singh has taken oath as the First Lokayukta of Nagaland for a term of five years or till, age of 70-years. Nagaland Governor PB Acharya administered the oath of office to Justice Singh at a ceremony at Raj Bhavan in Kohima. Justice Singh is a former Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. PM Modi receives the Seoul Peace Prize in South Korea :  Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the prestigious Seoul Peace Prize - 2018 for his contribution to international cooperation and fostering global economic growth. The award was presented to him by the Seoul Peace Prize Foundation at a grand ceremony in Seoul. PM Modi gives the prize money of Seoul Peace Prize USD 200,000 to Namami Gange fund. Earlier, PM Narendra Modi paid tributes to Korean soldiers at the National Cemetery.

2. Trump signs order to establish US space force : US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to establish its Space Force as a new armed service within the Department of Air Force.The Space Force will include both combat and combat support functions to enable prompt and sustained offensive and defensive space operations in all domains. The force will be organized, trained, and equipped to meet and protect the US national interests in the space, consistent with international laws.It will organize and train the next generation of warriors to deter aggression and defend the United States.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1.  EPFO hikes Interest rates on EPF 2018-19 by 0.1% : Employee’s Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has hiked interest rate on employee’s provident fund to 8.65% (earlier- 8.55%) for the 2018-19 fiscal year. Now, the proposal would go to the Finance Ministry for approval. The Central Board of Trustees (CBT) headed by Labour Minister is the apex decision making body of the EPFO which finalises rate of interest on PF deposits for a financial year. As many as over 6 crore subscribers of EPFO will benefit from the interest hike.

SPORTS:

1.SC appoints former Judge Justice D.K. Jain as BCCI Ombudsman : The Supreme Court (SC) has appointed Justice (retired) D K Jain as BCCI’s (Board of Control for Cricket in India) first ombudsman. The Ombudsman is expected to resolve any issue that comes with regards to the players as also financial issues. Supreme Court has appointed Lt General Ravi Thodge as a third member of Committee of Administrators in Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Thodge will join Chairman Vinod Rai and former women’s captain Diana Edulji in the panel entrusted with the job of running the BCCI by the apex court.

2. ICC bans UAE Cricket coach Irfan Ansari for 10 years :  According to the International Cricket Council (ICC) statement, United Arab Emirates (UAE) coach Irfan Ansari has been banned from all forms of cricket for ten years. The Anti-Corruption Tribunal of ICC found him guilty of breaching three counts of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code. Ansari approached Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed during Pakistan series with Sri Lanka in the UAE in October 2017.

OBITUARIES:

1. Bengali singer Pratik Choudhury passes away : Bengali singer Pratik Choudhury (55-years) passed away at a City hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest The popular singer, known for his albums on contemporary Bengali songs invluding “Mukhosh”, “Bhusandir Mathe”, “Ebar Pratik er Pallay” and so on.He has sung in numerous TV serials, Bengali movies.