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Daily Current Affairs of 16th February 2019

International Current Affairs

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj embarked on a 4-day visit to Bulgaria, Morocco and Spain today morning.

Mrs Swaraj will visit to Bulgaria on the 1st leg of the tour where she will meet with the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the country.
The two leaders will discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest.

She will interact with her counterpart Nasser Bourita.
She will also call on King Mohammed VI, King of Morocco, Saad Dine El Otmani, Head of Government, and Habib El Malki, President of the Chamber of Representatives.
The visit will provide an opportunity to hold in-depth discussions on various issues.
Several MoUs are also expected to be signed during the visit.

She will hold a bilateral meeting with her counterpart Josep Borrell Fontelles to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual concern.
Note : The Spanish government will also confer upon Mrs Swaraj the Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit for India's swift response through Operation Maitri in rescuing 71 Spanish nationals from Nepal in 2015 in the wake of the disastrous earthquake.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas today rejected the US' appeal to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, saying it's fundamental for security.

Adding that the goal of Britain, France, Germany and EU is an "Iran without nuclear weapons", Maas said without the deal, "the region will not be safer and would be one step closer to an open confrontation".

National Current Affairs

Delhi Police today celebrated its 72nd Raising Day with a ceremonial march at Kingsway Camp in New Delhi.

The 72nd Raising Day Parade was held at New Police Lines, Kingsway Camp, in New Delhi.
Lauding the work and contributions of Delhi Police, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal asked the citizens to appreciate their consistent selfless work so that they are encouraged and motivated to do more such works.
Note : February 16 is celebrated as the Raising Day to commemorate the day DW Mehra was appointed as Delhi's first Inspector General in 1948.

2 more districts have been notified in Telangana, taking the total number of districts in the state to 33.

The new Districts, Narayanpet (11 blocks) and Mulug (9 blocks) will come into existence from tomorrow.

Himachal Pradesh today passed Himachal Pradesh Official Language Bill, 2019 (Amendment) to make Sanskrit the 2nd official language of the state.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) today carried out Vayu Shakti exercise in Pokhran, Rajasthan, involving around 140 fighter jets and attack helicopters.

In the exercise, the IAF showcased firepower capability of indigenously-developed platforms like Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas, Advanced Light Helicopter and efficacy of Akash surface-to-air missile and Astra air-to-air missile.
Chief of the Air Staff : Birender Singh Dhanoa
Chief of Army Staff : Gen Bipin Rawat

Banking, Business & Economic Affairs

The Government today issued a set of guidelines for states and union territories to set up charging stations for electric vehicles every 25 km.

For heavy vehicles like trucks and buses, charging stations should be set up every 100 km, it added.
Note : With this, the government expects 25% of road transportation to be electric vehicles by 2030.

India today raised the basic customs duty to 200 per cent on all goods imported from Pakistan with immediate effect following withdrawal the MFN (Most Favoured Nation) status in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack.

Note : The main items which Pakistan exports to India include fresh fruits, cement, petroleum products, bulk minerals and ores and finished leather.

Recent Committees in News

A government panel headed by Anoop Satpathy (fellow of the VV Giri National Labour Institute) has recommended a National minimum wage of ₹375 per day or ₹9,750 per month plus an additional housing allowance of ₹1,430 per month for workers in cities.

The minimum wage would be "irrespective of sectors, skills, occupations and rural-urban locations". Currently, minimum wages are decided by respective state governments.
The recommendations, if accepted, will result in a wage bracket ranging from Rs 340 for Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to Rs 447 for Gujarat.
Note : The ministry of labour and employment had constituted this committee in January 2017 to review and recommend ways to calculate the national minimum wage.

MOUs & Agreements

GS1 India, a standards organisation set up by the commerce and industry ministry today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Government eMarketplace (GeM).

This MoU will enable GeM's buyers and vendors to access accurate and standardised information on attributes of thousands of products across categories, empowering them to make more informed decisions.
GeM will access product data from GS1 India's DataKart, the national repository of information on attributes of millions of retail products in the country.

Awards & Honors

Sunil Chhetri, the all-time leading scorer for India in international football, was conferred the 1st ever Football Ratna honour by Football Delhi.

New Appointments

The United Nations has appointed an Indian official Chandramouli Ramanathan as Controller, Assistant Secretary-General for Programme Planning, Budget and Finance in the management strategy, policy and compliance department.

Sports Current Affairs

World number nine Saina Nehwal became the National champion for the 4th time, defeating world number six PV Sindhu in the Women's singles final of Yonex-Sunrise 83rd Senior Nationals in Guwahati today.

Note : Ace badminton player Sourabh Verma completed a hat-trick of titles, claiming the Men's singles crown by defeating Lakshya Sen in finals.

Two-time defending Ranji champions Vidarbha today won Irani Cup against Ajinkya Rahane-led Rest of India on virtue of first-innings lead.

Note : With this, Vidarbha became the third Ranji team after Karnataka and Bombay to win the tournament two times in a row. Bombay had won two or more straight Irani Cup titles four times, while Karnataka achieved the feat once.

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