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Prime Minister Visited Hubli in Karnataka
On 10th February 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Hubli in Karnataka on the final leg of one day long his tri state visit of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to initiate various development projects.
i. City Gas Distribution Project was inaugurated by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi in Dharwad.
ii. Doubling of 18 km long Chikjajur-Mayakonda Section which is a part of 190 km long Hubli-Chikjajur Doubling Project, was proposed by Narendra Modi.
Foundation Stone of IIT Dharwad and IIIT Dharwad
Prime minister has unveiled a plaque to mark the laying of foundation stone for construction of building campus for Indian Institute of Technology at a cost of Rs. 12,00 crore and Indian Institute of Information Technology at a cost of Rs. 110 Crore, both at Dharwad, Hubli.
Dedication of 1.5 MMT and 2.5 MMT SPR to the nation-
Prime Minister has also devoted 1.5 MMT Mangalore SPR (Strategic Petroleum Reserve) facilities and 2.5 MMT Padur SPR facility of ISPRL to the country. This move has been initiated to ensure energy security.
Initiation of e-Griha Pravesh
Prime Minister in keeping his commitment for ‘Housing for All’ has also witnessed the e-Griha Pravesh (house warming) of 2384 houses. These are constructed under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana at Dharwad.
Karnataka
♦ Capital- Bengaluru
♦ CM-H.D. Kumaraswamy,
♦ Governor-Vajubhai Vala
Prime Minister Visited Tirupur in Tamil Nadu
On 10th February 2019, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has addressed a rally in Tamil Nadu’s hosiery hub of Tirupur during his tri-state visit to unveil development projects. The highlights of the visit to Tamil Nadu are as follows:
i. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi unveiled the Ennore Coastal terminal of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL).
ii. Prime Minister inaugurated the Passenger service for a 10 km section of Chennai Metro from AG-DMS Metro Station to Washermenpet Metro Station.
Foundation stone laid for ESIC Multi speciality Hospital at Tirupur
Prime Minister has laid the foundation stone of ESIC (Employees’ State Insurance Corporation) Multi Speciality Hospital in Tirupur.The 100 bedded hospital will facilitate the quality treatment and medical needs of over one-lakh workers and their family members in Tirupur.
Prime Minister also unveiled a 470 bedded ESIC Hospital in Chennai.
New-integrated building at Trichy Airport
Prime Minister has also laid the foundation stone to flag off the expansion work for new consolidated building at Trichy Airport at a cost of Rs 951 crore.
i. The project which consists of construction of 61634 square meter integrated terminal, is expected to be completed by October, 2021.
ii. An Apron and an Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower will be constructed along with integrated terminal.
Inauguration of new Crude oil Pipeline
Prime Minister has also initiated the new Crude Oil Pipeline with enhanced safety features to facilitate safety and reliable supply of crude oil. This pipeline will be from Chennai Port to Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited’s (CPCL) Manali Refinery to serve the needs of Tamil Nadu and neighboring states.
Tamil Nadu
♦ Capital- Chennai
♦ CM- Edappadi K. Palaniswami,
♦ Governor- Banwarilal Purohit
Immediate steps taken for the Promotion and Protection of Maithili Language and its scripts by the HRD Ministry
The Committee, constituted by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development in 2018, for making a report for the Promotion and Protection of Maithili Language and its scripts, has submitted its report to the ministry with several recommendations.
i. After examining the report the HRD ministry has decided to take immediate action on some of the recommendations which include:
- Establishing a Script and Manuscript Centre at Darbhanga in either Kameshwar Singh Sanskrit University or Lalit Narayan Mithila University
- Early completion of the work pertaining to Unicode Scripts of Mithilakshar by Technology Development of Indian Languages (TDIL)
- Preparing audio-visual teaching materials for teaching the Mithilakshar scripts
ii. The use of the Mithila script has been on a decline since the last 100 years. Despite having been accorded a constitutional status, the Mithila language is getting developed in a composite manner, as the script is not used, affecting the culture. The HRD Ministry keeping this is mind had formed the committee and plans to take immediate action to implement the recommendations.
About Mithila Language
‘Mithilakshar’ or ‘Tirhuta’ is the script of a broader culture ‘Mithila’. The scripts of the Mithilakshar, Bangla, Assamese, Nebari, Odia and Tibetan are part of the family. The oldest form of Mithilakshar is found in the Sahodara stone inscriptions of 950 A.D.
First joint initiative signed between India and Norway to combat Marine Pollution
India signed a letter of intent with Norway to fight marine pollution on Monday, Feb. 11 2019, and establishes the India-Norway Marine Pollution Initiative.
i.Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) signed the letter establishing the initiative with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
ii. Additional Secretary, MoEFCC, Mr. Anil Kumar Jain and Norway’s Ambassador to India, Mr. Nils RagnarKamsvag signed the joint initiative.
iii. A statement from the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM)revealed that this is the first joint initiative under this partnership and India-Norway Marine Pollution will fight the fastest growing environmental concern, which is marine pollution.
Related News
In January 2019, during the Norwegian Prime Minister’s visit to India, India and Norway had signed an MoU and established the India-Norway Ocean Dialogue, in order to work more closely on oceans.
About Norway
- Prime Minister – Erna Solberg
- Capital –Oslo
- Currency – Norwegian Krone
`Exercise Rahat´ concluded in Jaipur on 12th February
On 12th February 2019, Joint Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Exercise `Exercise Rahat´ concluded in Jaipur, Rajasthan. It was demonstrated in Jaipur, Kota and Alwar in Rajasthan.
i. Indian Army was represented by Jaipur based Sapta Shakti Command. Representatives from Armed Forces, National Disaster Management Response Mechanism (NDMRM), SDMA Rajasthan and DLMAs participated in the exercise.
ii. With a view to cooperate efforts for humanitarian assistance and Disaster Relief operations NDMA coordinated the exercise.
iii. A curtain raiser was organized at Jaipur Military Station on 4th February as an introduction of the exercise.
About Rajasthan
♦ Capital- Jaipur
♦ Chief Minister – Ashok Gehlot
♦ Governor – Kalyan Singh
BPRD to organize 2nd National Conference of Micro Missions of National Police Mission in New Delhi
On february 7,2019,Bureau of Police Research and Development, (BPRD) organized the 2nd National Conference of Micro Missions of National Police Mission in New Delhi.
About the conference
i. This is a two day conference organized with a motive to discuss the issues of Skills and Competence at the grass-root level, Attitudinal Changes in Police, Gender Sensitization, harnessing technology and Community Policing.
ii. This conference was inaugurated by Former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir N. N.Vohra.
iii. National Police Mission Awards was given to 9 officers for their contribution in Micro Missions and successful preparation of the implementable projects.
About Bureau of Police Research and Development
♦ Formed-28 August 1970
♦ Headquarters-New Delhi, India
1st LAWASIA Human Rights conference 2019 was held in New Delhi
LAWASIA, in association with the Bar Association of India hosted its 1st LAWASIA Human Rights Conference in New Delhi with a motive to explore a broad range of human rights issues of relevance in the Asia Pacific region.
i. This conference was inaugurated by vice President Shri. M. Venkaiah Naidu with the theme “State Power, Business and Human Rights: Contemporary Challenges”.
ii. It provides opportunity for lawyers and associated professional members to exchange insights and expertise on topics of significance.
iii. President of LAWASIA, Mr. Christopher Leong, President Bar Association of India, Dr. Lalit Bhasin, Vice President, LAWASIA, Shri. Shyam Divan were present in the occasion.
Two day Conference on Unani Medicine for Public Health inaugurated at New Delhi
On February 11,2019,Dr. Najma Heptulla, Governor of Manipur, inaugurated the two-day National Conference on Unani Medicine organized by the Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM) in New Delhi.
i. This conference was held as a part of 3rd Unani Day celebration .
ii. Theme of the conference was ‘Unani Medicine for Public Health’.
iii. Unani Day is observed annually on 11th February to mark the birth anniversary of Hakim Ajmal Khan.
Key Awards presented during the conference
- Best Research Paper Award – Dr. Arshiya Sultana and Dr. Noman Anwar
- Young Scientist Award – Dr. Jamal Akhtar and Dr. Nasreen Jahan
- Lifetime Achievement Award – Prof. Naeem Ahmad Khan and Prof. M A Jafri.
I&B Ministry organised first annual conference of its media units in New Delhi
On February 12,2019,The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting hosted the first annual conference of media units in New Delhi with a motive to discuss on emerging areas of communication paradigm.
About the Conference
i. The opening session of the conference was chaired by Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
ii. Its is a unique platform to discuss and strengthen the synergy between the media units in order to ensure last mile delivery.
About Rajyavardhan Rathore
♦ Minister of State Youth Affairs & Sport and
♦ Minister of state Information & Broadcasting
♦ constituency – Jaipur
Institute of Advanced Virology (IAV) inaugurated in Thiruvananthapuram by Kerala CM
On February 10,2019,Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the Institute of Advanced Virology (IAV), in Bio 360 Life Sciences Park at Thonnakkal in the capital city ,Thiruvananthapuram .
About the Institute
i. This institute is affiliated to the Global Virus Network, which has 45 centres of excellence in over 29 countries.
ii. Equipped with bio-safety level-3 facilities, the institute will plan preventive measures by validating the viruses causing infectious diseases and by detecting the new ones.
iii.The institute can confirm the viruses causing infectious diseases and detect new ones without delay in order to plan preventive measures.
About Kerala
♦ Capital-Thiruvananthapuram
♦ Chief minister-Pinarayi Vijayan
♦ Districts-14
♦ Governor-P. Sathasivam
KSIDC Conducted First Investor Conference ASCEND 2019 in Kochi
On 10th February 2019, Kochi hosted the first investor conference ASCEND 2019 to showcase industry friendly initiatives. The conference displayed landmark administrative and policy reforms that improved ease of doing business in Kerala.
i. The objective of the conference was to bring into sharp focus a governance that is transparent, efficient and simplified. It facilitates business and investments by reducing bureaucratic procedures.
ii. National Council of Applied Economic Research conducted “NCAER -State Investment Potential Index 2018 (N – SIPI)” in which Kerala comes as an Achiever.
iii. The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) has conducted the conference in Kochi. It is the industrial and investment promotion agency of Kerala government.
iv. Industries department introduced an online platform KSWIFT(Kerala Single Window Interface for Fast, Transparent Clearances) which enable entrepreneurs to submit all applications online and obtain licences and approvals in a time-bound manner.
v. In the Investment Climate Index, Kerala ranked second which made the state to aim building sustainable industrial infrastructure with an eco-friendly and sustainable mode.
About Kerala
♦ Capital- Thiruvananthapuram
♦ Chief Minister – Pinarayi Vijayan
♦ Governor- P Sathasivam
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Red Cross calls for ban on nuclear weapons
On February 9,2019,The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) launched a global campaign to raise awareness about the rising nuclear threat facing the world.
i. This campaign aimed to encourage people to lobby their governments to sign and ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which has so far been signed by 70 nations and ratified by 21.
ii. The notonukes.org campaign was launched with a video depicting two friends on a beach discussing whether they would want to live or die if a nuclear bomb were to explode.
About Red Cross
♦ Headquarters-Geneva, Switzerland
♦ Founded-1863
World Government Summit’s seventh session held in Dubai
The seventh session of the World Government Summit began on Sunday, 10th February 2019, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). More than 4,000 people from 140 countries participated in the event.
About World Government Summit
The World Government Summit organization’s main objective is to shape the future generation of governments. By bringing the public and private sectors together to collaborate with world-renowned experts, it seeks to create a positive impact for citizens worldwide. It is held annually in Dubai in the month of February.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Government panel recommended reducing GST on under-construction flats from 12% to 5%
On 9th February 2019, Government panel recommended lowering GST on under-construction residential properties to 5%. The GST rate for under-construction flats earlier was 12%.
Key Points
i. The Group of Ministers headed by Nithin Patel was formed to analyse tax rates and issues or challenges being faced by the real estate sector under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.
ii. The seven member ministerial panel also favoured lowering GST on affordable housing from 8% earlier to 3%.
iii. The move will give relief to homebuyers as the tax rate had lowered sharply with no input tax credit. Any cut in GST should reduce the adverse impact on the land abatement rate also.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Sanjay Subrahmanyam wins Israel’s Million Dollar Dan David Prize
Indian Historian Sanjay Subrahmanyam won Israel’s prestigious Dan David Prize in the category ‘Past time dimension’ for his work in macro history.
i. He has been recognized for his work on ‘Inter-cultural encounters between Asians, Europeans and people of North and South America during the early modern era’.
ii. He shared the USD 1 million award in the ‘Past time dimension’ category with Prof Kenneth Pomeranz of the University of Chicago.
About Sanjay Subrahmanyam
An awardee of Infosys Prize for humanities, Sanjay Subrahmanyam is the son on strategic analyst K Subrahmanyam and brother of former foreign secretary S Jaishankar. He also holds the Irving and Jean Stone Endowed Chair in Social Sciences at the University of California.
About the Dan David Prize
It is an international prize which annually awards three prizes of US$ 1 million each for achievements having an outstanding scientific, technological, cultural or social impact on our world.
About Israel
♦ Capital – Jerusalem
♦ Currency – New Shekel
♦ Prime Minister – Benjamin Netanyahu
SPORTS
New Zealand wins the T20I series beating India by 2-1
New Zealand won the Twenty20 International (T20I) 3-match series at Seddon Park Ground, Hamilton, New Zealand after beating India in the final match by 4 runs.
Man of the Series
New Zealand’s wicket keeper-batsman, Tim Seifert, won the player of the series award. He scored 138 runs at a strike-rate of 173.75 and an average of 46.33 on the 3 matches. He also picked 3 catches as the wicketkeeper.
Records Broken in this Series:
i. Rohit Sharma, with 2,288 runs broke the record of New Zealand batsman Martin Guptill (2.272 runs) to become leading run-scorer in T20I history.
ii. With 20 fifty-plus scores, Rohit Sharma now holds the record for the highest number of fifties, going past Virat Kohli who had the record of 19.
iii. Rohit Sharma became the third cricketer to hit 100 T20I sixes after scoring 102 sixes, while Chris Gayle and Guptill both have 103. With this he also became the first Indian cricketer to smash 100 sixes in a T20I series.
iv. Rohit Sharma’s 349 sixes in international cricket (ODIs, T20I and Tests) has now made the Indian cricketer with most sixes in international cricket.
About New Zealand
♦ Capital – Wellington
♦ Currency – New Zealand Dollar
♦ Prime Minister – Jacinda Ardern
New Zealand Tour of India’s Women’s Team
The India Women’s Cricket Team toured to New Zealand to play three Women’s One Day Internationals (WODI) and three Women’s Twenty20 International (WT20I) matches on January and February 2019. There was no test series in the tour.
Mithali Raj captained the Indian team in ODIs and Harmanpreet Kaur captained the WT20Is. New Zealand Women’s Cricket Team was captained by Amy Satterthwaite.
India won the 3 match ODI series by 2-1
India’s Women Cricket Team won One Day International series with New Zealand by 2-1. 1st ODI was held on 23rd January and the last one 3rd February.
Key Points
i. Indian team captain Mithali Raj set new record in women’s cricket becoming the first women to play in 200 ODI matches.
ii. Smriti Mandhana was adjudged “Player of the Series” for scoring 196 runs in the 3 ODI‘s at an average of 98.
New Zealand women won the 3 match T20 series by 3-0
India’s women team faced a heart breaking 2 run defeat by New Zealand in the second and final matches in T20I Series. It was a clean swept by 3-0.
Key Points
i. New Zealand women cricket team scored 161 for the loss of 7 wickets. Sophie Devine scored 72 runs, the maximum runs, for New Zealand.
ii. Smriti Mandhana hit 86 runs in 62 balls for her 8th half century in the Twenty20 Internationals. It was the fastest fifty by an Indian women WT20I (24 balls).
About India’s women cricket team
♦ Captain (ODI): Mithali Raj
♦ Captain (T20I): Harmanpreet Kaur
♦ Coach: W. V. Raman
About Australia
♦ Capital: Canberra
♦ Currency: Dollar
♦ Prime Minister: Scott Morrison
BOOKS & AUTHORS
Malay and Arindam Chaudhari’s new book ‘What Marx Left Unsaid’ released by Manish Tewari
Indian Politician and author, Manish Tewari, launched ‘What Marx Left Unsaid’ – Production of Skills by Means of Skills, authored by Dr. Malay Chaudhari, Dr. Arindam Chaudhari and Che Kabir Chaudhari at Indian International Centre, New Delhi.
ii. The book is deemed special as it is written jointly by 3 generations of authors of the same family.
iii. The book is published by Times Group.
“Let’s Talk On Air: Conversations with Radio Presenters”by Rakesh Anand Bakshi released
On the occasion of World Radio Day (WRD-2019), on February 13, the book titled “Let’s Talk On Air: Conversations with Radio Presenters” has been released. It has been authored by Rakesh Anand Bakshi.
ii. This book explains the lives of 14 popular radio presenters in India – from the legendary Ameen Sayani to present-day RJs who have been entertaining us via the airwaves.
IMPORTANT DAYS
National Deworming day observed on February 8th for the year 2019
National Deworming Day(NDD) is observed bi-annually on 10th February and 10th August every year in all states. But National Deworming Day(NDD) 2019 was observed on 8th of February,two days prior to its usual date(February 10) with a motive to showcase the importance of worm free lives and maintaining sanitation to all school kids and children.
i.Since February 10 was Sunday,Ministry of Health and Family welfare notified that NDD will be observed on February 8th for the year 2019 instead of Feb.10.NDD falls under the purview of the Extended Gram Swaraj Abhiyan.
Focus areas of the Deworming Day
i. It is a single fixed-day approach to treating intestinal worm infections in all children aged 1- 19 years.
ii. It will mobilize health personnel, state governments and other stakeholders to prioritize investment in control of Soil Transmitted Helminth (STH) infections one of the most common infections.
iii. Adequate supply of Albendazole tablets at healthcare and Anganwadi centres.
iv. Spreading awareness on safe drinking water and sanitation.
National Productivity Council celebrates its Foundation Day on 12th Feb
Productivity Day is observed annually on 12th February. This year it has commemorated the 61st Foundation Day of National Productivity Council (NPC). Every year, NPC also celebrates National Productivity Week from 12th Feb to 18th Feb, 2019.
Key Points
i. The theme of this year’s Productivity Day is “Circular Economy for Productivity and Sustainability”.
ii. This is to signify a distinctive opportunity for circular business representative models for ‘Make-Use-Return’ for further economic prospects and revitalization of materials.
iii. The inauguration was organized to discuss the challenges, problems and repercussions from the execution of the circular economy which will augment productivity and create jobs.
iv. During the Productivity Week, workshops are being organized in New Delhi and seminars were organized by regional Directorate of NPC at Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Chandigarh and Bhubaneshwar.
v. National Productivity council is going to play a vital role in achieving the growth target to raise the Indian Economy to the level of USD 5 trillion by 2025 and USD 10 trillion by 2035.
