Latest Current Affairs – January 29 & 30 2019
1. Four National Highway Projects Inaugurate in Bikaner and Nagaur in Rajasthan
Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Nitin Gadkari will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for four NH projects in Rajasthan . These include three projects in Bikaner and one in Nagaur.
At Bikaner the first project for laying of foundation stones is the 162.46 kms , 2 lane section of NH from Raisinghnagar to Poogal. This road is being built under Bharatmala on EPC mode at a cost of Rs 687.07 crore. The second is the 4 lane/2 lane Khajuwala-Poogal and Poogal–Dantour-Jaggasar-Gokul-Godu-Ranjeetpura-Charanwala–Naukh-Bap sections of NH-911 being built under Bharatmala on HAM basis.
This 212.107 kms project is estimated to cost Rs 895 crore. The third project is the 4/2 lane Bikaner-Phalodi Section of NH-15 under NHDP-Phase IV on BOT basis. This 159.3 kms highway is estimated to cost cost Rs 844.48 crore.
2. Former Defence Minister George Fernandes Passed Away
Former Defence Minister George Fernandes passed away, at the age of 88. He had served as the defence minister in the NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee between 1998 and 2004. He stepped down from his post after the ‘coffingate’ scandal broke out. He was also a trade unionist, agriculturist, and journalist.
3. Gurgaon boy wins New South Wales men’s Amateur Golf Championship
India’s Kartik Sharma added another feather to his cap, winning the New South Wales men’s Amateur Golf Championship held at the Terrey Hills Golf and Country Club in Australia. Kartik notched up a magnificent win over Australia’s Nathan Barberie in the scheduled 36-hole final to emerge as champion.
The Gurgaon golfer has been playing for India since the age of 10 as part of the National Squad. He had been selected to represent Indian Golf Union (IGU) for three events in Australia namely Australian Masters of the Amateur Championship (Jan 8-11), Australian Amateur Championship (Jan 15-20) and NSW Amateur Championship (Jan 21-25).
4. GST reduced to 5% for Mansarovar Yatra, Haj
Pilgrimages such as Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, the Haj, and the Pashupatinath tour will become cheaper with the government exempting religious tours from service tax. According to a notification, service tax exemption has been provided to ‘services by a specified organisation in respect of a religious pilgrimage facilitated by the Government of India under bilateral arrangement”.
The Haj is undertaken only through chartered flights, and the Yatra is also done mainly through chartered flights. Journeys through chartered flights attracted 18 per cent GST. Now, GST for all religious tours has been fixed at 5 per cent. The GST for air travel in economy class is 5 per cent, and GST for business class air travel is 12 per cent.
5. Brand Finance 2018: Tata slips 3 spots; Reliance, Airtel, Infosys fall too
The country’s top corporates have slipped in ranking according to the latest study of the world’s leading 500 brands released by UK-based Brand Finance. The Tata brand has slipped three places to 104, the lowest in 11 years, though brand value has grown nine per cent to touch $14.2 billion in 2018.
Last year, Tata’s brand value was $13.1 billion, which was also the first time it went out of the top 100 list, coming in at 101, according to Brand Finance, which has been releasing the report since 2007. The top spot has been occupied by Amazon followed by Apple on second and Google on third.
6. National Conference on “Prison Design” to begin in Visakhapatnam
The first ever National Conference on “Prison Design” will begin in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The two-day conference is being hosted by the DG Prison, Andhra Pradesh on the behalf of State and is being sponsored by the Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D).
The Deputy Chief Minister (Home & Disaster Management), Andhra Pradesh, Shi N. Chinarajappa will inaugurate the National Conference. This conference aims to provide a platform to the Sr. Police officers, Prison officers and Architects from Prison Department and Police Housing Corporation to meet and deliberate upon on the various issues .
BPR&D is committed to provide synergetic platform to all Prison professionals, Police Officials and civil Architects to evolve better “Prison Designs” suiting to the safety and security needs of the prison, ease in handling the administration of the prisons on one hand and provide conducive structures for humane living conditions for the inmates as per the constitutional mandates.
7. Odisha CM Announces Jiban Samparka Project
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced Jiban Samparka Project while inaugurating the Adivasi Mela-2019 at the IDCOL Exhibition Ground . Speaking about the project, Patnaik said that the Jiban Samparka project will be implemented in the state in partnership with UNICEF, India, to generate awareness among Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups in Odisha on various development and welfare initiatives of State Government, especially on women and child welfare.
“The Jiban Samparka’s focus areas will include skill development, empowering communities, cooperation and innovation among the groups. Of 75 tribal communities in the country, 13 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups reside in remote and far-off areas of 12 districts in Odisha,” said the CM.
8. Pariksha Pe Charcha 2.0 to be organised in Delhi
Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi will be interacting with a cross section of Students, Teachers and Parents from India and abroad inan expanded edition – Pariksha Pe Charcha 2.0 at Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi tomorrow.
A lot of excitement and enthusiasm is being seen among the students, teachers and parents to not only participate in the unique event but also to receive valuable tips from the Prime Minister who is keen to ensure that the students take exams in a relaxed atmosphere and donot come under stress to ensure better results in the long run.
9. Ministry of Defence Launches ‘RDP INDIA 2019’
The Digital India campaign of the Government, Ministry of Defence had launched a mobile app ‘RDP India 2019’. with the intent of making available the highlights of the Republic Day event, not only to the spectators at Rajpath, but also to the general public all over the world.
This app contains information about the Parade on Rajpath, New Delhi, including Order of the March, details of the tableaux presented by different States and Ministries, children cultural performances, fly past and names of recipients of Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2019. It was extremely informative to the spectators witnessing the Parade and was widely appreciated. The app also had the provision for live streaming of the Parade.
10. Two Day International Stock Taking Conference on Tiger Conservation inaugurated in New Delhi
The 3rd Stock Taking Conference on Tiger Conservation was inaugurated in New Delhi . Third in a series of Stock Taking Conferences, this is the second to be held in India after 2012 and is expected to have wide ranging discussions on the status of the Global Tiger Recovery Program (GTRP) by the 13 tiger range countries besides deliberations on combating wildlife trafficking.
The conference is being hosted by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in close collaboration with the Global Tiger Forum which is an International, Intergovernmental Organization for conserving tigers in the world.
11. CSC launches First Cash and Carry Store in Kanth, Muradabad (Uttar Pradesh)
Common Services Centres (CSCs) under Digital India mission are providing Citizen Centric Services. CSCs are delivering many government and non-government services to citizens in rural India across the country. They have also launched many products: like Patanjali, i-Ball, Samsung and signed agreement with many service providers.
Common Services Centres (CSCs) are also selling IFFCO fertilizers and seeds through its vast network in the country.
In its endeavor to promote rural marketing and create employment, CSC has launched its first Cash and Carry store in Kanth Tehsil of Moradabad district, Uttar Pradesh. Efforts are on to have one cash & carry store in every block. The store currently has products of Godrej, Patanjali, JIVA, Crompton, i-Ball. The store also offers free membership benefits to other CSC VLEs and government employees.
12. RBI Appoints Dilip Sadarangani as Part Time Chairman of Federal Bank
Dilip Sadarangani has been appointed as Part Time Chairman of Federal Bank. The Bank obtained approval of Reserve Bank of India in this regard.
He has been in the board of Federal Bank since 2013. Dilip Sadarangani is a renowned banker with experience in various facets of banking, particularly technology, in different countries. He has played key roles in setting up of IT infrastructure in different banks in India, Australia and Kuwait.
He was also a Core member of the team which automated the first 50 branches of State Bank of India. He has made contributions in business-technology strategies for banks including ANZ Grindlays Bank, Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) etc. He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Management from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management, University of Bombay.
13. Dubai Airport retains Top Position As World’s Busiest in 2018
The UAE’s aviation sector continues to scale new heights, with Dubai International maintaining its position as the world’s busiest airport for international passengers for the fifth consecutive year while the sector’s contribution to the country’s economy also grows steadily.
Dubai International Airport handled 89.1 million passengers in 2018, missing its target but remaining the world’s busiest for international travellers. Passenger traffic rose 1% last year, operator Dubai Airports said, its weakest annual growth rate in at least a decade and short of its 90.3 million target.
India remained the biggest source of traffic for DXB, with maximum passengers from the Indian cities of Mumbai, Delhi and Cochin, followed by Saudi Arabia and United Kingdom respectively.
14. Odisha hikes farmers’ welfare scheme KALIA target beneficiaries five-fold
The Odisha government decided on a five-fold increase in the number of target beneficiaries for farmers’ welfare scheme KALIA for the landless agricultural household category to 5 lakh during 2019-20.
“Though earlier it was decided to restrict the number of beneficiaries under landless agricultural households to one lakh, now it has been decided to enhance it to 5 lakh during 2019-20,” said Chief Secretary A P Padhi. Each beneficiary household under the landless agricultural category will get Rs 12,500 as assistance under the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme and each beneficiary will be paid Rs 5,000 in the first tranche. The balance will be paid in two more tranches later.
15. In Global Corruption Index, India’s Rank Improves By 3 Points
President Xi Jinping’s high profile anti-graft campaign has not made much of an imapact as China’s ranking on perceived corruption has fallen to 87, below India’s 78, according to the annual index by global watchdog Transparency International.
India rose by three points to 78. Vietnam too figured high at 117 while Singapore moved up three spots to third place, behind first-placed Denmark and New Zealand, with the top spot signifying the least corrupt nation.
The US also fell, from 16th to 22nd position, tumbling out of the top 20 for the first time in recent years.
16. Reserve Bank to infuse Rs 37,500 crore through OMO
The Reserve Bank of India said it will inject Rs 37,500 crore into the system through the purchase of government securities in February to increase liquidity. it has been monitoring the evolving liquidity conditions and durable liquidity requirements of the system.
Accordingly, it has been decided to conduct the purchase of government securities under Open Market Operations (OMOs) for an aggregate amount of Rs 375 billion in the month of February 2019 through three auctions of Rs 125 billion each during the 2nd, 3rd and 4th week,” the RBI said in a release.
There will be no auction during the first week due to the scheduled MPC meeting, it added.
17. Suman Kumari is Pakistan’s first Hindu woman judge
Suman Kumari has become the first Hindu woman to be appointed as a civil judge in Pakistan. Ms. Kumari, who hails from Qambar-Shahdadkot in Sindh province, will serve in her native district. She passed her LLB examination from Hyderabad and did her Masters in Law from Karachi’s Szabist University. The country’s first judge from the Hindu community was Justice Rana Bhagwandas, who served as the acting Chief Justice for brief periods between 2005 and 2007. Last year, Mahesh Kumar Malani became the first non-Muslim to be elected on a general seat in the National Assembly while a Thari woman, Krishna Kumari, was elected in Pakistan’s Senate elections.
18. India bags the Award of Excellence for ‘Best in Show’ at New York Times Travel Show 2019
India received the Award of Excellence for ‘Best in Show’ at the recently concluded New York Times Travel Show 2019, the largest travel show in North America, held in New York, USA.
The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India participated as the ‘ Presenting Partner’ in the New York Times Travel Show (NYTTS 2019) organised at Jacob K Javits Centre, New York with a view to scale up its tourism promotional efforts in the US, enhance India’s visibility and to increase its share of US Outbound travel market.
19. Piyush Goyal to receive Carnot prize
The former power minister will be awarded by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design. The Carnot Prize is the Kleinman Center’s annual recognition of distinguished contributions to energy policy through scholarship or practice. The award in the energy sector is named after French physicist Nicolas Sadi Carnot who recognised that the power of the steam engine would “produce a great revolution“ in human development.
20. Nation pays homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his 71st death anniversary
The nation pays homage to Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi on his 71st death anniversary .The day is also observed as Martyrs’ Day. He was assassinated on this day in 1948.
President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat in New Delhi this morning. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Congress President Rahul Gandhi and leaders from different political parties also paid tributes.
21. UAE, Saudi digital currency restricted to a few banks
Central banks of the UAE and Saudi Arabia announced that a digital currency the two countries are currently working on will be restricted to a limited number of banks in the initial stage.
The two apex banks said in a statement that one of the objectives of launching the common digital currency project ‘Aber’ is for use in financial settlements between the two countries through Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. The pilot project is aimed at studying the practical application of modern technologies and determining their impact on the reduction of remittance costs and assessment of technical risks and how to deal with them.
