Current Affairs Daily Digest – February 20 2019
1. DPIIT launches second edition of States’ ranking on Startup initiatives
After the successful first edition of States’ Startup Ranking in 2018, where 27 States and 3 Union Territories participated, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) released second edition of Startup Ranking for 2019.
The Startup Ranking framework aims to rank the States/UTs for establishing a robust ecosystem for supporting Startups. The framework also encourages States and UTs to identify, learn and replicate good practices from each other.
The Ranking Framework 2019 comprises of 7 pillars and 30 action points. The pillars will assess States’/UTs efforts acrossinstitutional support, simplifying regulations, easing public procurement, incubation support, seed funding support, venture funding support and awareness and outreach related activities. The ranking exercise aims to evaluate measures taken by States/UTs during the assessment period from May 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019.
2. 4TH India-Asean Expo Summit on 21 – 23 February 2019 in New Delhi
The 4th India-ASEAN Expo and Summit will be held on 21-23 February, 2019 in New Delhi. This is a flagship event of Department of Commerce, being organised with FICCI to carry forward the momentum and to further strengthen India-ASEAN relations under the Act-East Policy. The 4th India-ASEAN Expo and Summit, 2019 will build upon the success of the previous edition of ASEAN-India Business and Investment Meet and Expo which was held in 2018 as a precursor to India-ASEAN Commemorative Summit.
The Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) comprises of Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Myanmar, Malaysia, Lao PDR, Indonesia, Cambodia and Brunei.
Trade Ministers of ASEAN Countries, Secretary General of ASEAN and business delegations will participate in the New Delhi Expo and Summit.
3. Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad to Inaugurate VIVID 2019
“VIVID-Vision Insight and Voices as India goes Digital”- the District Informatics Officer (DIO) meet, is being organised by National Informatics Centre (NIC) on 21st and 22nd February, 2019. The meet is held as an initiative to interact with the DIO’s and to share their experiences as well as contribution, as digital change-makers at the grass-root level in the States.
VIVID started in 2017, as an annual event, with the objective to empower NIC officials in the field of technology. Continuing its tradition from previous years, VIVID 2019 will be a landmark event for NIC. VIVID this year would once again provide a cohesive and extensive platform for interaction and knowledge sharing,
4. MoU between Environment Ministry and University of British Columbia on forestry science
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada for next 10 years in New Delhi. Both the institutions shall explore opportunities for future collaborations in the field of forestry science through their respective organizations namely Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Wildlife Institute of India, Forest Survey of India, Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy and Directorate of Forest Education, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India and University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
The MoU will help in exchange of students, researchers and faculty, developing research projects, livelihood opportunities and augment income of the forest based communities and also assist the industries to optimize the utilization of forest based resources with access of technology to different stakeholders by the respective organizations.
5. HRD Minister launches Operation Digital Board
The Minister of Human Resource Development, Shri Prakash Javadekar launched Operation Digital Board to leverage technology in order to boost quality education in the country. Operation Digital Board is a revolutionary step which will make the learning as well as the teaching process interactive and popularize flipped learning as a pedagogical approach.
the digital board will be introduced all over the country in government and government aided schools from class 9th onwards as well as in higher education institutions. The process will begin from the coming session of 2019 itself .
Shri Javadekar also stated that the launching of e-Pathshala, DIKSHA, NROER,NPTEL, e-pgpathshala SWAYAM and SWAYAM-Prabha DTH Channels etc. by MHRD have provided adequate content of high quality which can be taken to every classroom, and thereby facilitating blended learning and flip class learning.
Implementation in Higher Education Institutions(HEIs)
UGC will be the implementing agency for ODB in HEIs. UGC in its Commission meeting held on 29th Jan 2019, has passed a resolution for extending digital education to every classroom in the country by 2022.
6. Cabinet Approves New Solar Energy Scheme For Farmers
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,approved the launch of Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan with the objective of providing financial and water security to farmers. The proposed scheme consists of three components. All three components combined, the scheme aims to add a solar capacity of 25,750 MW by 2022 . The total central financial support provided under the scheme would be Rs. 34,422 crore .
Component-A is 10,000 MW of decentralized ground mounted grid connected renewable power plants, Component-B is installation of 17.50 lakh standalone solar-powered agriculture pumps and Component-C is solarisation of 10 lakh grid-connected solar powered agriculture pumps.
Under Component A, renewable power plants of capacity 500 KW to 2 MW will be set up by individual farmers/cooperatives/panchayats/farmer producer organisations on their barren or cultivable lands.
Under Component B, individual farmers will be supported to install standalone solar pumps of capacity up to 7.5 HP. Solar PV capacity in kW equal to the pump capacity in HP is allowed under the scheme.
Under Component C of the scheme, individual farmers will be supported to solarise pumps of capacity up to 7.5 HP. Solar PV capacity up to two times of pump capacity in kW is allowed under the scheme.
7. PayU India names Anirban Mukherjee as CEO
Naspers-owned PayU, a leading online payments service provider, has a new Chief Executive for its Indian operations in Anirban Mukherjee. Besides leading PayU’s Indian business, Anirban will join PayU’s global leadership team to support its ambitious plans to unlock innovative credit and financial services for under-served populations in high-growth markets.
Mukherjee was co-CEO of Reliance Payments Solutions Ltd and was part of the leadership team of Jio, where he drove payments, merchant services, and digital financial services, Mukherjee will now report to Laurent Le Moal, CEO, PayU Global.
In his new role, Mukherjee will be responsible for all the operations and business lines of PayU India.
8. LIC launches ‘Micro Bachat’
The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) introduced ‘Micro Bachat’, a non- linked, participating endowment micro- insurance plan, which offers a combination of protection and savings. the first time a micro insurance plan has been launched providing coverage up to `2 lakh.
This plan provides financial support for the family in case of the unfortunate death of the policyholder during the policy term, and a lump sum amount at the time of maturity for the surviving policyholders.
It will be available in case of maturity, death or surrender if the policy has completed five years and five full years’ premium has been paid under the policy. It is available for standard healthy lives in the age group of 18 to 55 years. The policyholder need not undergo any medical examination.
9. 3 Day International Conference and Exhibition On Energy and Environment to be inaugurated by President of India
The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the International Conference and Exhibition on Energy and Environment in New Delhi. The 3 day conference organized by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR) aims to deliberate and identify the R&D needs to innovate new techniques, technologies and applications for clean, safe, symbiotic sustenance of society, environment, energy and industries in post-2020 era.
The President said that India is committed to provide power to all citizens at affordable cost as well as boost the national economy through an industrial revolution in tune with Industry 4.0.
During the 3 day Conference, an industrial exhibition is also organized in the Vigyan Bhawan lawn which was inaugurated by Union Science & Technology Minister.
10. PM Modi inaugurates supercomputer ‘Param Shivay’ at IIT-BHU
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated ‘Param Shivay’ Supercomputer of 833 teraflop capacity built at the cost of Rs 32.5 crore under the National Super Computing Mission at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Banaras Hindu University (BHU). A postal stamp and postal stamp album were also released by the PM on the centenary year of the institute.
The ‘Param Shivay’ will include 1 peta byte secondary storage and appropriate open source system and application software suite using 223 processor nodes, 384 GB per node DDR4 RAM, parallel file system, including CPU and GPU.
India’s first supercomputer called PARAM 8000 was launched in 1991.
11. Kerala: Thiruvananthapuram to host Attukal Pongala, world’s largest religious congregation of women
In Kerala, the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram is all prepared to host the Attaukal Ponkala festival which is considered as one of the world’s largest religious gathering of women on a single day. lakhs of women will prepare ‘Pongala’- the offering in makeshift brick stoves to worship the presiding deity of Attukal Bhagavathy temple.
The women, who reached Thiruvananthapuram from all over the state and outside, will prepare ‘pongala’ which is mix of rice, jaggery and scraped coconut for about two hours in fresh earthen or metal pots by lining up on either side of the roads around the shrine.
12. Nikhat, Meena win gold medals at Strandja Memorial Boxing
Nikhat Zareen and Meena Kumari Devi became the first Indian women boxers to win gold medals at the Strandja Memorial Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria .
Zareen, a multiple-time national medallist, claimed a 5-0 win in the 51kg category finals against Filipino Irish Magno. Devi defeated another Filipino Aira Villegas 3-2, in the bantamweight (54kg) summit clash. However, Manju Rani (48kg) settled for a silver after a defeat from Filipine’s Josie Gabuco in a split 2-3 verdict.
Pwilao Basumatari (64kg), Neeraj (60kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) had settled for bronze medals after losing their semifinal bouts .
13. Noted Hindi writer Namvar Singh dies at 92
Noted Hindi writer Namvar Singh passed away in New Delhi . He was 92. Prof. Namvar Singh was ill for some time and was being treated at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. His last rites will be performed in Delhi .
Born on 28th July, 1926 in a village in Varanasi, Singh was the first chairman of JNU’s Centre of Indian Languages. He had authored over a dozen books including ‘Kavita Ke Naye Pratiman’, ‘Chhayavad’ and ‘Dusri Parampara Ki Khoj’ among others.
He received Sahitya Academy Award for literary criticism in 1971 for ‘Kavita Ke Naye Pratiman’. He had unsuccessfully contested Lok Sabha election as a candidate of Communist Party of India in 1957 from Chandauli in Uttar Pradesh.
14. Rajnath Singh inaugurates cyber crime fighting facility
Boosting country’s efforts in tackling cyber crimes, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a state-of-the-art national cyber forensic lab (NCFL) and the Delhi Police’s cyber crime unit ‘CyPAD’. Both the cyber crime fighting units are based in a complex at Dwarka, Sector 16C.
With this initiative, law enforcers will be able to proactively address cyber threats in coordination with other law-enforcement agencies, national & international cyber security organisation and various online intermediaries.
15.India’s first fulldome 3D Digital theatre inaugurated in Kolkata
India’s first ‘fulldome 3D Digital Theatre’ at the Science City Kolkata was inaugurated by Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma . The ‘fulldome 3D Digital Theatre’ at the Science city was the first of its kind in India having a 23 metre titled dome to offer a fully immersive experience to the visitors.
The new system is capable of screening high resolution, full dome, and digital 2D/3D content by utilising six, high-end projectors in a 23-meter diameter dome using Ulteria Seam technology.
16. Laureus Sports awards: Djokovic, Biles win Sportspersons of the Year awards
Tennis world No. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia won his fourth Laureus World Sportsman of the Year , and American record-holding gymnast Simone Biles bagged the World Sportswoman of the Year Award thanks to her dominant world championship performance last year.
Djokovic triumphed in tough competition against football star duo of Kylian Mbappe and Luka Modric, Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton, Kenyan marathon world record-breaker Eliud Kipchoge and NBA superstar LeBron James.
17. Mahatma Gandhi Scholarships awarded to 150 Sri Lankan students
Sri Lanka’s 150 students from all 25 districts were awarded the prestigious Mahatma Gandhi scholarships for study in India. Sri Lankan Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam and Indian High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu gave the scholarships at a special ceremony in Colombo .
This is the twelfth year in continuum that India has provided Mahatma Gandhi scholarships to bright students across Sri Lanka.
18. Govt. announces Ra48,239 cr recapitalisation plan for 12 public sector banks
The Finance Ministry announced to pump in Rs 48,239 crore in 12 public sector banks (PSBs) in this fiscal to help them maintain regulatory capital requirements and finance growth plans.
Government will infuse Rs9,086 crore in Corporation Bank and Rs6,896 crore in Allahabad Bank — the two “better-performing” banks currently under the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) supervision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Further, Rs4,638 crore and Rs205 crore will be provided to Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra. These banks have recently come out of the regulatory supervisory framework PCA of the RBI. Punjab National Bank will get Rs 5,908 crore, Union Bank of India Rs4,112 crore, Andhra Bank Rs3,256 crore and Syndicate Bank Rs1,603 crore.
19. ICC bans coach Irfan Ansari for 10 years
The International Cricket Council (ICC) banned UAE-based coach Irfan Ansari for 10 years after he was found guilty of making a “corrupt approach” to Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed in 2017.
The ban came after the ICC Anti-Corruption Tribunal found him guilty of breaching three counts of the Anti-Corruption Code during a hearing here, the world body said in a statement.
20. Nasscom ends annual growth forecast
The apex software industry lobby Nasscom ended the practice of forecasting annual growth and said it was cautiously optimistic about 2019, citing rising global economic uncertainties arising out of trade wars and protectionism. In 2018 also, the association had first delayed the announcement in February and later issued the projections in May, pegging it at 7-9%.
Nasscom chairman Rishad Premji said they were discontinuing with the annual growth forecast from this year. “Rather than collating a number, we feel having a perspective would be better. We are not sharing the number as a philosophical decision,” he said.
