We are here for you to provide the important Current Affairs February 26 2019, which have unique updates of all daily events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.
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INDIAN AFFAIRS
Overview of the 12th Aero-India 2019 held in Bangalore
Defence Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the 12th biennial edition of International Aerospace and Defence Exhibition, the Aero India 2019 on 24th February 2019 at the Air Force Station Yelahanka in Bengaluru. The theme of the event was “‘Runway to a Billion Opportunities”
- India and Singapore sign agreement for skilling Indians in aviation
- Cyient-BlueBird JV launches new unmanned aerial system
- PV Sindhu became the first woman to co-pilot Tejas
- Aero India 2019 observed “Technology Day” on the third day.
- Maiden Drone Olympics Competition held at Aero India 2019
- BEL Launched Atmospheric Water Generator safe Drinking Water, Straight From the Air
- HAL signed an MoU with CPWD……………………………..Click here to Read more
PM Modi launched Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme in Gorakhpur
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme in Gorakhpur,Uttar Pradesh.
i. The scheme will provide Rs 6,000 per year to small and marginal farmer families having combined land holding/ownership of upto 2 hectares.
ii. The amount will be given in three installments of Rs 2,000 each and will be transferred directly to the bank account of the beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer, ensuring transparency in the entire process and saving time for the farmers.
33rd GST Council meeting chaired by Arun Jaitley in New Delhi
Union Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley, chaired the 33rd Goods & Services Tax (GST) Council held in New Delhi which was attended by the Finance Ministers of various States and Union Territories.
Recommendations of the 33rd GST Council
Although real estate sector is one of the largest contributors to the national GDP and provides employment opportunity to large numbers of people, there are reports of slowdown in the sector and low off-take of under-construction houses which needed to be addressed. In order to boost the residential segment of the real estate sector, following recommendations were made:
i. GST rate:
- GST shall be levied at effective GST rate of 5% without Input Tax Credit (ITC) on residential properties outside affordable segment.
- GST shall be levied at effective GST of 1% without ITC on affordable housing properties.
- The new rate will come into force from 1st of April, 2019.
ii. Affordable Housing Definition:
- A residential house/flat of carpet area of upto 90 sqm in non-metropolitan cities/towns and 60 sqm in metropolitan cities having value upto Rs. 45 lacs (both for metropolitan and non-metropolitan cities).
- Metropolitan Cities are Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi NCR (limited to Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Faridabad), Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai (whole of Mumbai Metropolitan Region).
iii. GST exemption on intermediate tax:
- Intermediate tax on development right, such as Transfer of Development Rights (TDR), Joint Development Agreements (JDA), lease (premium), Floor Space Index (FSI)will be exempted on properties on which GST is payable.
- A committee of officers will work on the details of the scheme and submit them for the approval of the GST Council.
Advantages of the recommendations
- The buyer of house gets a fair price and affordable housing gets very attractive with GST @ 1%.
- Interest of the buyer/consumer gets protected
- Cash flow problem for the sector is addressed by exemption of GST on TDR, long term lease (premium), FSI etc.
- Unutilized ITC, which used to become cost at the end of the project gets removed and should lead to better pricing.
- Tax structure and tax compliance becomes simpler for builders.
Ashwini Kumar Choubey launched National Programme to Eliminate Viral Hepatitis
Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Ashwini Kumar Choubey in the presence of Amitabh Bachchan, the goodwill ambassador for hepatitis, WHO South-East Asia Region, launched the “National Action Plan – Viral Hepatitis” in Mumbai.
i. Recognized as an important public health problem across the world Viral Hepatitis has caused 1.34 million deaths globally in 2015 according to World Health Organisation (WHO).
ii. In India, it is estimated that there are 4 crore people suffering from Hepatitis B and 0.6-1.2 crore people suffering from Hepatitis C.
iii. The aim of the programme is to combat hepatitis and achieve countrywide elimination of Hepatitis C by 2030 and is also in line with the country’s global commitment towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.3 made at the 69th World Health Assembly.
iv. India is one of the few countries in the world to roll out management of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C in a public health approach and offer free diagnostics and drugs lifelong to its beneficiaries.
Madhya Pradesh Government launched 100-day employment scheme for youths
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath launched the State Government’s flagship scheme ‘Mukhyamantri Yuva Swabhiman Yojana’ that guarantees 100 days of employment every year to urban youth from Economically Weaker Sections(EWS).
i. Under the scheme, Rs 4,000 stipend per month during 100 days of period, would be given to the youth and they will also be given skill development training in order to become independent.
ii. Each youth enrolled under the scheme will get total Rs 13,500 for the 100 days period.
iii. Only those youths, whose family’s annual income is less than Rs 2 lakh and who are in the age group of 21-30 years, are eligible for the scheme.
iv. 1.5 lakh urban youths have so far registered themselves for this scheme.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Overview Of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Two Day Visit To South Korea
On February 21 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a 2-day visit to South Korea or Republic of Korea(ROK) on the invitation of President Moon Jae-in.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the India-South Korea Business Symposium in Seoul and he launched the India-Korea Startup Hub.
- Indian Chamber of Commerce in Korea(ICCK) and India Forum organizes joint seminar in Seoul
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with Seoul peace prize in the 14th Edition of Seoul Peace Prize Ceremony.
- India and South Korea signed 6 MoU’s in South Korea………………..Click here to Read more
2019 Passport Index: India at 67th & UAE in Top
The Passport Index of 2019, which ranks almost 199 countries in the world based on their Visa-Free Scores and their ranking according to the UNDP human development index, showed that Indian passport has steadily strengthened in a period of 5 years from rank 77 in 2015 to 67 in 2019.
i. 25 countries allow visa-free entry to Indian passport holders, whereas 39 countries offer visa-on-arrival.
ii. The Tourism Ministry for India is also offering e-tourist visa facilities to 166 countries, by making several amendments in the e-visa regime of the country in order to make this process more tourist friendly.
- UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
- GERMANY
- DENMARK
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Government released draft e-commerce policy
The Government of India released a new 41-page draft National E-Commerce Policy that provides setting up a legal and technological framework for restrictions on cross-border data flow and also laid out conditions for businesses regarding collection or processing of sensitive data locally and storing it abroad.Title of draft e-commerce policy is “Draft National e-Commerce PolicyIndia’s Data for India’s Development”.It has been released by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
i. The framework would be created to provide the basis for imposing restrictions on cross-border data flow from specified sources including data collected by Internet of Things (IoT) devices installed in public space, and data generated by users in India by various sources, including e-commerce platforms, social media, search engines.
ii. 6 broad issues of the e-commerce ecosystem are addressed in the draft:
- Data
- Infrastructure Development
- E-Commerce Marketplaces
- Regulatory Issues
- Stimulating Domestic Digital Economy
- Export Promotion Through E-Commerce.
iii. According to the draft:
- All e-commerce sites/apps available for download in India must have a registered business entity in India as the importer on record or as the entity through which all sales in India are transacted.
- Companies will be mandated to disclose seller details such as their name, address and contact numbers and sellers will also be required to provide an undertaking to the platform on the genuineness of their products.
- The trade mark (TM) owners will be given the option to register themselves with e-commerce platforms.
- In case a complaint is received about a product being fake it will be conveyed within 12 hours to the owner of the trade mark. If the seller thereafter is unable to provide evidence that the product is genuine, the marketplace shall take down its listing and notify the trade mark owner the same.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Overview Of The 91st Academy Awards (Oscars 2019)
The 91st Academy Awards (commonly known as Oscars), presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2018, on February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.The ceremony was produced by Donna Gigliotti and Glenn Weiss.
- Bohemian Rhapsody won the most awards in total with 4, while Roma, Green Book, and Black Panther won 3 awards each.
- India-set short film, “Period. End of Sentence.”, a short documentary film based on mensuration won the Oscar for “Best Documentary Short” category. It is directed by Iranian-American film director, Rayka Zehtabchi.
- ”Black Panther” became the first superhero film to win “Best Original Score”.
- ”Roma” created history by becoming the first Mexican feature to win “Best Foreign Film” Oscar.
- Hannah Beachler and Jay Hart became the first African-Americans to win Oscar in Product Design category for Black Panther……………………….Click here to Read more
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Scientists discovered exo planet named ‘hot Earth’ that orbits its star in just 11 hours
A Team of Scientists from Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics had discovered a exo planet named ‘hot Earth’ that orbit’s its dwarf star in eleven hours by using the data of NASA’s planet-hunting satellite Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).
Exoplanet ‘hot Earth’ is rocky in composition and only about fifty light-years away from its star.The planet has a radius of about 1.3 Earth-radii.
ENVIRONMENT
Himachal Pradesh government declared Monkeys as vermin
Monkey’s are declared as vermin by the Himachal Pradesh government again,in 11 districts,91 tehsils and sub-tehsils for the next one year.Previously,monkeys were declared as vermin in 38 tehsils and sub-tehsils of 10 districts in the year 2016 and which was further extended to next year on December 20, 2017.
About Vermin:
Vermin are pests or wild animals that are believed to be harmful to crops, farm animals, or game, or which carry disease.
SPORTS
Sri Lanka became the first ever Asian team to win Test Series in South Africa
Sri Lanka cricket team became the first Asian side to win a Test series in South Africa after winning the series by 8 wickets with a score of 2-0 at Port Elizabeth. This was Sri Lanka’s sixth series in South Africa and their first win.
i. Kusal Perera of Srilanka was given the Man of the Series award.
ii. Before Sri Lanka, only Australia and England have defeated South Africa in a Test series at home.
About Sri Lanka
♦ Capital – Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (Administrative) & Colombo (Commercial)
♦ Currency – Sri Lankan Rupee
♦ President – Maithripala Sirisena
About South Africa
♦ Capital –Pretoria (executive), Bloemfontein (judicial) and Cape Town (legislative)
♦ Currency – South African Rand
♦ President – Cyril Ramaphosa
FIFA banned Chelsea for breaching transfer rules
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)’s disciplinary committee has banned the English Premier League club Chelsea from signing players in the next two transfer windows, after the club was found to have breached FIFArules relating to international transfer and registration of players under the age of 18.
i.It fined Chelsea with USD 599,535 and gave 90 days to regularise the situation of the minor players concerned.
About FIFA
♦ President – Gianni Infantino
♦ Headquarters – Zurich, Switzerland
Rashid Khan became first bowler in T20I history to pick 4 wickets in 4 balls
Afghanistan cricket team’s leg spinner, Rashid Khan, became the first bowler to take out 4 wickets in 4 balls in Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) during the third and final T20I against Ireland in Dehradun.
i. He also became the seventh bowler to pick up a hat-trick in T20Is.
ii. Afghanistan won T20I series by a margin of 3-0 against Ireland.
About Afghanistan
♦ Capital – Kabul
♦ Currency – Afghan Afghani
♦ President – Ashraf Ghani
STATE NEWS
Tamil Nadu CM launched the Virtual learning portal for rural students
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami launched a virtual learning portal (www.tamilnaducareerservices.gov.in) to offer guidance to rural students preparing for competitive exams.
i. He also inaugurated a State Career Guidance Centre at Guindy, which has been established at a cost of Rs 1.31 crore, with an aim to offer proper guidance to job seekers.
About Tamil Nadu
♦ Capital – Chennai
♦ Chief Minister – Edappadi K. Palaniswami
♦ Governor – Banwarilal Purohit
