Current Affairs Daily Digest – February 26 2019
1.President of India presents Gandhi Peace Prize
The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, presented the Gandhi Peace Prize for the years 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The Gandhi Peace Prize was presented to the Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari for 2015, jointly to the Akshaya Patra Foundation and the Sulabh International for 2016, to the Ekal Abhiyan Trust for 2017, and to Shri Yohei Sasakawa for 2018.
the President said that the Vivekananda Centre has promoted self-help, sustainability and development throughout our country, especially in areas populated by tribal communities.
The Akshaya Patra Foundation has advanced education and cognition by working to remove hunger and enhance nutrition. It has leveraged modern technology to provide quality meals to schoolchildren.
The Sulabh International and its founder Dr Bindeshwar Pathak were sanitation pioneers, advocating the merits of sanitation and advocating toilets in days and years when not many others were.
The Ekal Abhiyan Trust is helping 2.2 million children – 52 per cent of them girls – access education. Many of its initiatives benefit tribal communities.
2. 20th Session of India-Italy Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation Begins
The meeting of 20th India-Italy Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC) began in New Delhi . The JCEC is an institutional mechanism for bilateral trade engagement held at the level of Minister of Commerce and Industry of the two countries.
The two-day session is being co-chaired by the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu, from the Indian side and by the Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Mr. Michele Geraci from the Italian side.
Both India and Italy are looking towards the development of bilateral economic and trade relations through facilitating dialogue and enhancing cooperation in a wide range of sectors like machinery, infrastructure and engineering, ICT including digitalization, agriculture and IPR.
3. NDMA to conduct national workshop on heat wave risk reduction
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is conducting a two-day national workshop on heat wave risk reduction on 27-28 February, 2019. The workshop, to be held at Nagpur, has been organised in collaboration with the Maharashtra Government.
This workshop aims to sensitise the States to the need of preparing and implementing specific Heat Action Plans. Some of the most vulnerable States, which have done a commendable job in mitigating the impact of heat waves, will share their experiences and best practices to help other stakeholders draw lessons.
4. Col Rajyavardhan Rathore (Retd) inaugurates National Level Finals of National Youth Parliament Festival
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 at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will confer the National Youth Parliament Festival 2019 awards to the winners on 27th February, 2019 at Vigyan Bhawan.
The best three speakers at the National Youth Parliament will be awarded Rs. 2 Lakhs, Rs. 1.50 Lakhs and Rs. 1 Lakh respectively in order of merit along with a certificate by the Prime Minister .
5. Assam CM lays foundation stone of Bhogeswar Baruah Sports School
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal laid the foundation stone of Bhogeswar Baruah Sports School at Sarusajai Sports Complex in Guwahati .
The school which is the first of its kind in the state will be built at a sprawling 20 bigha of land where theoretical and practical coaching will be provided at six prescribed disciplines namely athletics, boxing, football, weightlifting, archery and taekwondo.
In the same programme, Chief Minister Sonowal also distributed Chief Minister’s Sports Award, 2019 to sixteen promising sports persons of the state who have earned distinction in their sporting disciplines.
The award carries cash worth Rs. 1.5 lakh and a citation. He also felicitated eleven sports persons of the state who have won medals in ‘Khelo India Youth Games’. Chief Minister Sonowal also handed over Best Sports organizer award to Jayanta Bodo.
6. US ambassador to India arriving in Guwahati on maiden visit
US Ambassador to India, Kenneth Juster will arrive in Guwahati on his maiden visit to the state of Assam.
the US Ambassador to India, Kenneth Juster will land at the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport at Borjhar .
The US Ambassador to India will first visit Shaktipeeth, the Kamakhya Temple after setting his foot for the first time in the State. The US Ambassador will also be meeting officials of Numaligarh Refinery Limited in Guwahati.
7. PM attending Gita Aradhana Mahotsav at ISKCON in Delhi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attending the Gita Aradhana Mahotsav at ISKCON Temple in New Delhi. Mr Modi unveiled the Bhagwad Gita prepared by ISKCON devotees.
Measuring over 2.8 meters and weighing more than 800 kilograms, the Bhagwad Gita is one of its kind in the world. It has the original verses of the Bhagwad Gita along with commentary. Earlier, Mr Modi took a metro ride from Khan Market to reach the ISKCON Temple.
8. Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif resigns
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was the lead negotiator in the 2015 nuclear deal, has resigned. The Zarif announced the resignation on Instagram yesterday. It can only take effect after President Hassan Rouhani accepts it.
Zarif has served as Rouhani’s Foreign Minister since August 2013 but he has faced severe criticism from hardliners since the US withdrew from the nuclear deal in May 2018.
9. Abhijeet Gupta lifts Cannes International Open trophy
In Chess, Indian Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta lifted the Cannes International Open trophy . He took an easy draw with Pier Luigi Basso of Italy in the ninth and final round.
Having been tied for the top spot in the previous edition, Abhijeet won the tournament with 7.5 points. It was a clear point lead over nearest rivals Nikita Maiorov of Belarus, Nasuta Grzegorz of Poland and Yuri Solodovnichecko of Ukraine. Abhijeet started well in the tournament winning the first four rounds. Then two more wins and three draws happened on the way to his first solo International tournament victory.
10. Indian women’s team beat England by 7 wickets in 2nd ODI
Indian women’s team defeated England by seven wickets in the second ODI at Mumbai to take an unassailable 2-nil lead in the three-match series. The Indian eves had bundled out England for just 161 in 43.3 overs after the visitors won the toss and opted to bat.
Pacers Jhulan Goswami and Shikha Pandey bagged 4 wickets each, while spinner Poonam Yadav took two. For England, Natalie Sciver top scored with 85.
11. Prajnesh Gunneswaran rises to career-best 94th in Tenis
In Tennis, India’s Prajnesh Gunneswaran achieved his career-best ranking, rising three places to 94th in the latest list. Ramkumar Ramanathan dropped nine spots to 137, while Yuki Bhambri further slipped to 171.
Saketh Myneni is placed at 250th and following him is Sasi Kumar Mukund, who has also jumped to a career-best 269th.In Doubles rankings, Rohan Bopanna remained at 38th and Divij Sharan at 39th, while Leander Paes rose two spots to 73rd. Following them was Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan at 75th and Purav Raja at 96th.
In the Women’s rankings, Ankita Raina continued to be the top-placed Indian at 164, followed by Karman Thandi at 207 and Pranjala Yadlapalli at 293.
12. Skill Development Min inaugurates Skill Saathi Youth Conclave in Odisha
Union Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said Odisha has the potential to soon emerge as skill capital of the country. Inaugurating a “Skill Saathi Youth Conclave in Bhubaneswar, he said the youth of Odisha has intellect, skill and courage and with these qualities, they can meet any challenges and work together to create a New Odisha. Mr Pradhan said, the Skill Saathi model was created to impart information on vocational education and available market opportunities to the youth.
Currently, 10 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.
13. India successfully test fires QRSAM missiles off Odisha coast
Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO, successfully test fired indigenously developed Quick Reach Surface-to-Air missiles, QRSAMs, from ITR Chandipur, off the Odisha Coast. The two missiles were tested for different altitude and conditions. The test flights successfully demonstrated the robust Control, aerodynamics, propulsion, structural performance and high manoeuvring capabilities thus proving the design configuration.
14. Ministry of AYUSH and WHO Working Group Meeting on Benchmarks for Training in Yoga from today
Ministry of AYUSH and WHO are jointly organizing a three 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. Development of this benchmarks document is included in the Project Collaboration Agreement signed between World Health Organization (WHO) and Ministry of AYUSH on Cooperation in the field of Traditional and Complementary Medicine under WHO strategy covering the period 2014-2023.
Total 16 experts of yoga would be reviewing the draft document. Out of 16 experts, 11 International experts are from USA, UK, Canada, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Japan, Australia and Malaysia. There would be 4 session on all 3 days. All the technical sessions would be coordinated by the experts from WHO Secretariat.
15. Civil Aviation Ministry organising ‘Aviation Conclave 2019’ with theme of “Flying for All”
The Ministry of Civil Aviation, in association with Airports Authority of India, AAICLAS and Confederation of Indian Industry, is organizing the Aviation Conclave 2019 with an overarching theme of “Flying for All” in New Delhi.
Shri Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister for Civil Aviation, stated that realizing Government’s vision of making “Flying for All” a reality underpins the government’s commitment to bring about a veritable revolution in the Indian aviation sector. This Conclave is about the future of Indian aviation – it bringing together industry leaders, government and regulators for setting the tone and propelling us to realize our Vision-2040” .
16. Allahabad Bank, Corporation Bank out of RBI’s weak-bank watchlist
The RBI on Tuesday lifted lending curbs on two more public sector banks (PSBs) – Allahabad Bank and Corporation Bank – by removing them from its weak-bank watchlist. Private sector Dhanlaxmi Bank too has been taken out of the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) Framework.
Earlier on January 31, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra and Oriental Bank of Commerce were taken out of the PCA Framework. Allahabad Bank and Corporation Bank had received ₹ 6,896 crore and ₹ 9,086 crore, respectively.
