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Showing posts with label
February 2015 Current Affairs updates.
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Showing posts with label
February 2015 Current Affairs updates.
Show all posts
Business & Economy
- Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented NDA Government's first full fledged Union Budget in the Lok Sabha today.
- Corporate tax to be reduced from 30 to 25 per cent over the next four years; No change in individual income tax.
- Wealth tax abolished; two per cent additional surcharge on super-rich with above one crore rupee annual income.
- Proposes to introduce bills to curb black money.
- Goods and Services Tax to be in place by April 1, 2016.
- Two crore houses in urban areas by 2022 and four crore in rural areas.
- Two lakh rupees insurance for poor people under Jan Dhan Yojana on premium of one rupee per month.
- AIIMS to be established in five states.
- Three-pronged approach to use Jan Dhan, Aadhar and mobile technology to check pilferage of subsidies.
- Proposes over 11 per cent hike to defence sector.
- Fiscal deficit to be reduced to three per cent in the next three years.
- In order to provide convenient online shopping experience to customers, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has tied up with Amazon.in to sell various products.
- Under the agreement, IRCTC will leverage the huge traffic it generates being a virtual monopoly for train e-ticketing to sell products such as consumer electronic, books, shoes, apparel etc.
- It has added a “shop on Amazon” tab on its homepage which redirects to a separate landing page on Amazon.in.
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International Affairs
- The World Health Organization lauded India's tobacco control mechanisms, calling the country a "champion" for curbing "tobacco marketing in films".
- Chinese President Xi Jinping has unveiled his new political theory "four comprehensives", calling for deeper reforms and rule of law, asserting his authority on the ruling Communist Party and emerging as its strongest leader.
- 1st Indo Nepal Friendship Motor Rally 2015 was Flagged Off by Minister of State (Ind. Charge) Tourism & Culture, Ashok Chandra Panda at Hotel Mayfair Waves, Puri (Odisha) today.
- This is the first ever Indo-Nepal Friendship Motor Rally.
- This rally is being jointly organized by kalinga Motor Sports Club, Bhubaneswar and Nepal Automobile Sports Association (NASA).
- About 24 Teams and 120 participants from INDIA & NEPAL took
off on an exciting journey of 3060 kms spanning 10 days and touching
Kathmandu would conclude at the India Gate, New Delhi on the 8th of
March 2015.
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International Affairs
- In accordance with the prime minister's directives, Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will be undertaking the first phase of the SAARC Yatra as per the following schedule
- March 1 - Bhutan
- March 2 - Bangladesh
- March 3 - Pakistan
- March 4 - Afghanistan
- He will begin his “SAARC yatra” with a visit to Thimphu on March 1st and Dhaka on March 2nd, followed by a visit to Islamabad, where he will resume India-Pakistan foreign secretary-level talks that were cancelled last year.
- Later in the month, he would visit Nepal, and also Sri Lanka and the Maldives, and the dates for those “are being worked out”.
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National Affairs
- Delhi government has slashed power tariff by 50% for consumption up to 400 units per month.
- This decision will benefit around 90 percent
of Delhiites.
- Government has also decided to supply free water up to 20,000 litres for every household in a month.
- Both these decisions will be effective from March 1st, 2015.
- The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave approval for establishing the New Development Bank (NDB) and the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA).
- Heads of the five nation BRICS group — Brazil, Russia, India,
China and South Africa — decided at their sixth summit in Fortaleza in
July last year to create a development bank as well as a reserve fund to
finance infrastructure projects and other sustainable development
projects.
- The cabinet also approved state-run power producer NTPC Ltd's plans to set up
15,000 megawatt of grid-connected solar projects, which would be
completed in three tranches.
- Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav presented a Rs 3.02 lakh crore annual budget for 2015-16, 10.2 per cent more than last fiscal.
- This is his fourth budget.
- This budget shows a deficit of 2.96 per cent, Yadav earmarked Rs 9,388.79 crore for new schemes apparently with an eye on the Assembly elections due in 2017.
- Mobile subscribers from 3rd May, will be able to port their numbers anywhere in the country while changing service providers.
- Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, TRAI has amended the regulation on it.
- Mobile Number Portability (MNP) currently allows consumers to
change their service provider while retaining the same number only
within a telecom circle, which in most cases, is limited to a State.
- In a statement TRAI said that it has issued sixth amendment to
the Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability Regulation, 2009, which
will facilitate full Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in the country.
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International Affairs
- India announced that the country is ready for talks with Pakistan on all issues including Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the Simla Agreement.
- Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar will travel to Pakistan next week, seven months after India cancelled foreign secretary-level talks.
National Affairs
- The government today introduced the Land Acquisition amendment bill in the Lok Sabha amid uproar by the Opposition.
- The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill 2015 will replace an ordinance which had been promulgated by the NDA government on December 30 last year.
- The Opposition parties, led by the Congress, vociferously opposed the bill on the floor of the house.
- Civil society activists, led by Anna Hazare, are protesting the issue at Jantar Mantar, a short distance away from parliament.
- Rural Development Minister - Birender Singh
- BJP chief Amit Shah announced today that his party will partner with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to form government in Jammu and Kashmir, two months after election results were declared.
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International Affairs
- India and Nepal today began 8th 'Surya Kiran' exercise, a battalion-level combined military training exercise in Kathmandu, focusing on counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations in the mountainous and jungle terrain.
- The Nepalese contingent was represented by a battalion from an Infantry Division of Nepalese Army.
- The Indian side was represented by an equivalent strength from a Mountain Brigade.
- The focus of the ongoing exercise is to carry out counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations in the mountainous and jungle terrain and to practice facets of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, including actions to be taken during pandemic, epidemic and various other humanitarian assistance situations.
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National Affairs
- Nine months after he stepped down, the JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar was today sworn-in as the Bihar Chief Minister, ending days of political drama following a bitter power struggle with Jitan Ram Manjhi.
- Besides Kumar, 22 ministers, including three women, were also administered the oath of office.
- The ministers are : Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Vijendra Prasad Yadav, Ramai Ram, Damodar Raut, Narendra Narayan Yadav, P.K. Shahi, Shyam Rajak, Awadesh Kushwaha, Lesie Singh, Dulal Chand Goswami, Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lallan Singh, Shrawan Kumar, Ramlashan Ram Raman, Ramdhani Singh, Jai Kumar Singh, Manoj Kumar Singh, Javed Iqbal Ansari, Bima Bharti, Ranju Geeta, Baidyanath Sahni, Vinod Singh Yadav and Naushad Alam.
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National Affairs
- The government has raised about 8.33 crore Rupees from the three-day auction of the items gifted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi .
- The administration has received 1,852 valid bids for the items, including Modi's monogrammed suit, which went under the hammer for 4.31 crores and the money will be used to finance the Clean Ganga Mission.
- External Affairs Minister SushmaSwaraj launches web portal "MADAD" (Because You Are Us) to address grievances of Indians residing abroad
- Indian citizens living abroad will now be able to file consular grievances online with this e-portal.
- This portal will address such complaints promptly with a high degree of "accountability".
- Among the chief characteristics of ‘Madad’ are to speed up forwarding and handling of complaints, improve tracking and redressal and escalate unresolved cases.
- India’s high air pollution, ranked by the World Health Organisation (WHO) among the worst in the world, is adversely impacting the lifespans of its citizens, reducing most Indian lives by over three years, a new study has said.
- Over half of India’s population — 660 million people — live in areas where fine particulate matter pollution is above India’s standards for what is considered safe, said the study by economists from the University of Chicago, Harvard and Yale published in Economic & Political Weekly.
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International Affairs
- Thailand has passed a law banning foreigners from paying Thai women to be surrogates, after two high-profile cases sparked debate last year.
- The issue of surrogacy was in the spotlight last year after a Western Australian couple were accused of leaving a twin boy, known as Baby Gammy, with his surrogate mother after they discovered he had Down syndrome.
- A group of 158 women and children abducted by BokoHaram militants in December, have been reunited with their families today.
- They were kidnapped during a raid on Katarko village in Yobe state.
- Turkey and the United States signed an agreement to train and arm Syrian rebels fighting the Islamic State group.
- The deal was signed by U.S Ambassador John Bass and Turkish Foreign Ministry undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu.
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National Affairs
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched "Soil Health Card" scheme, under which the Centre plans to target over 14 crore farmers in the next three years to check the excess use of fertilizers.
- The card, which will carry crop-wise recommendation of fertilizers required for farm lands, will help farmers identify health of soil and judiciously use soil nutrients.
- Rajasthan Agriculture Minister Prabhu Lal Saini said the card will contain all basic information and recommendations for the farmers which will help in improving productivity by using appropriate inputs.
- The Prime Minister presented the Krishi Karman Awards to State Government functionaries led by Chief Ministers of States and progressive farmers, to the states of Punjab, Odisha, Meghalaya, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Gujarat.
- He presented Commendation Awards to State Government functionaries led by Agriculture Ministers of States to Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Karnataka.
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International Affairs
- External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is on her first official visit to oil-rich Oman.
- Today she met Omani Foreign Minister Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah and reviewed bilateral political, economic, defence and security issues as well as the regional situation.
- Both the leaders discussed strategic aspects of relations as maritime neighbours.
- She also met Oman's Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said.
- Later she met Indian community in Oman and praised them for their achievements.
- Robert Bentley, the Governor of the American state of Alabama has apologized for the brutal police assault on a 57-year-old Sureshbhai Patel, who was hurt in a confrontation with Madison police while visiting relatives earlier this month.
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International Affairs
- External Affairs and Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is on Two Day Visit to Oman.
- She has arrived in Muscat and will meet top leadership in Oman and hold talks on security and defence.
- In her first public engagement, she will interact with expatriate Indian community at the Indian Embassy in Muscat today.
- Tomorrow she will meet her Omani counterpart, Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Deputy Prime Minister of Oman and the Royal court.
- India and Oman enjoy excellent ties and have worked together in anti-piracy operations and cyber-crime.
- Joint military exercises have been held recently by the two countries.
- India - Oman bilateral trade is on the upswing and crossed $5.7 billion in 2013-2014.
- Egypt's military carried out a series of airstrikes against ISIS militants in Libya yesterday in retaliation for the slaughter of 21 Egyptian Christians by the jihadist group.
- The bombing raids pulled Egypt deeper into the widening international fight against ISIS and highlighted the extremists' growing presence in North Africa.
- At least 64 IS militants killed in these Egyptian airstrikes.
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People in News
- Croatia's first woman president, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, was sworn in today and pledged to help kickstart the EU member's ailing economy.
- The 46-year-old conservative former foreign minister and NATO official narrowly defeated her left-wing predecessor Ivo Josipovic in an election run-off in January.
National Affairs
- The Patna High Court restrained the Jitan Ram Manjhi Government in Bihar from taking any policy decisions involving financial implications till 19th of this month.
- While restraining the Jitan Ram Manjhi government, the HC said that the CM can only work on routine matters till majority is proved on the floor of the House.
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International Affairs
- SriLanka President Maithripala Sirisena is on 4 day maiden visit to India.
- This is his maiden foreign trip after assuming charge.
- During this trip, he will hold talks with the Indian leadership on entire gamut of
bilateral ties including ways to further enhance cooperation and the
peace and reconciliation process in the island nation.
- He has already indicated that he wants to have a closer relationship with India and chose it for his first foreign visit.
- Pakistan released 172 Indian fishermen today, as a goodwill gesture, two days after the Prime Ministers of both countries decided to resume high-level talks.
- The fishermen had been held at the Malir and Landhi District Jails in Karachi for allegedly violating territorial waters in the Arabian Sea.
- China has opened a new embassy in Pakistan (Islamabad), its "largest overseas" diplomatic mission, which Foreign Minister Wang Yi described as a symbol of friendship between the "all weather" allies.
- The opening of this new embassy came as China and Pakistan deepen their all weather relations with the construction of the multi-billion Economic Corridor through the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK).
- China also set to construct two 1,100 nuclear reactors with $6.5 billion in addition to the four medium size reactors.
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International Affairs
- The United States has welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to send Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar to Islamabad, a move seen as an effort to revive the suspended Indo-Pak talks.
- India today signed a loan agreement worth USD 8 million with World Bank for sustainable livelihoods and adaption to climate change.
- The agreement was signed by Joint Secretary (MI) in Ministry of Finance Tarun Bajaj and World Bank's India Country Director Onno Ruhl.
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National Affairs
- The Union Home Ministry has announced a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) for re-investigation of the 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases, mainly in Delhi and other States.
- The SIT will look into all serious criminal cases relating to the riots, examine evidence and even re-open cases and file charge sheets in the courts concerned.
- It has been given six months to complete its work, including filing of charge sheets in nearly three-decade old cases.
- Headed by : Pramod Asthana, an IPS officer of 1986 batch.
- Members :
- Rakesh Kapoor, a retired district and sessions judge
- Kumar Gyanesh, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police in Delhi Police.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif to wish him on Cricket World Cup in Australia.
- In a tweet, Mr. Modi said that he had spoken to Mr Sharif and the heads of other SAARC countries whose teams are playing in the ICC World Cup to wish them luck.
- Mr. Modi spoke to Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, President of Sri Lanka Maithiripala Sirisena and conveyed his wishes.
- President Pranab Mukherjee opened the annual "Udyanotsav" of Rashtrapati Bhavan today.
- The Mughal Gardens will remain open for general public from February 14 to March 15, 2015 between 9:30 am to 4:00 pm.
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International Affairs
- U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew met Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi for the fifth India-U.S. Economic and Financial Partnership Dialogue.
- The dialogue will focus on capital market reforms and economic policies between the two countries.
- Lew, who is on a two-day visit to India, met leading business heads in Mumbai yesterday at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and US-India Business Council Roundtable.
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People in News
- Prime
Minister Narendra Modi has crossed the 10 million mark in terms of
number of followers on the popular social media platform Twitter.
- Modi, who made his Twitter debut in January 2009, is the second
most followed politician on Twitter, behind US President Barack Obama
and ahead of Mitt Romney (USA).
- Besides, he is also the third most followed world leader behind Obama and the Pope.
- The Emmy and Golden Globe winning comedian Jerry Seinfeld is
set to perform in India next month, marking his first ever performance
in Asia.
- The man whose influential show Seinfeld was named “the greatest
television show of all time”, will perform in Mumbai on March 14 and 15
at the Sardar Vallabhai Patel Stadium, NSCI, as a part of the ongoing
Stage42 festival which is a showcase of talent and experiences in
comedy, music, theatre and food.
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National Affairs
- The Union health minister Jagat Prakash Nadda along with state health minister Rajendra Rathore declared February 10 as the National Deworming Day.
- The day will be observed in 11 states and Union Territories including Assam, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, and Haryana among others in the first phase on February 10 to treat 140 million children initially at risk of parasitic worms infection in schools and Anganwadi centres.
- Medicines would be given to children aged between 1-19 years.
- Around 65% children were covered under the programme today (on February 10) and the remaining will be covered between February 11 and 14.
- The medicines were given to children up to the age of 5 years at Anganwadi centres, while children aged between 6 to 19 years were provided medication at all government schools.
- Aam Admi Party (AAP) sweeps Delhi polls
- Wins 67 seats in 70- member assembly
- Decimates BJP and Congress in elections
- AAP gets 54.3% popular votes cast compared to 32% of BJP.
- Aam Aadmi Party Convenor Arvind Kejriwal has been elected the leader of legislature party.
- All the newly elected 67 MLAs unanimously took the decision in this regard.
- PMO India Narendra Modi congratulates Arvind Kejriwal on the win.
- He assured him Centre's complete support in the development of Delhi.
- BJP Chief Ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi loses election in Krishna Nagar Constituency.
- Kejriwal is going to sworn in as Delhi Chief Minister on 14th February 2015 at Ramlila Maidan.
- Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off 3 new trains.
- The trains are Mumbai-Gorakhpur Jansadharan Express, Pune-Lucknow Weekly Express and Bidar-Mumbai Weekly Express.
- All the three trains are part of the Budget announcements.
MOUs
- For the establishment of solar power plants generating 10,000 megawatt in the state, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Rajasthan government and Adani Enterprises Limited.
- As per the MoU, Adani group will invest nearly Rs 40,000 crore in the state and install solar plants of 10,000 MW in a phased manner.
- The first 5,000 MW plant will be developed in first five years and the rest in subsequent years.
- The MoU was signed in the presence of chief minister Vasundhara Raje and Rajesh Adani, managing director of Adani group at the chief minister's residence.
- Out of the total capacity, 5,000 MW will set up by the Adani group while the rest is likely to be in collaboration with Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation (RREC).
- Along with it, Adani Enterprises will also set up a manufacturing unit of solar equipment and panels. The group has also showed interest in developing power transmission system in the state.
New Appointments
- Vodafone India has announced that Naveen Chopra, Director –Vodafone Business Services (VBS) will succeed Sunil Sood as Chief Operating Officer for Vodafone India with effect from April 1, 2015.
- This follows the earlier announcement of Sunil Sood to succeed Marten Pieters as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer with effect from April 1, 2015.
- M Ravindran was appointed as the Chairman of Indraprastha Gas Ltd, the firm that sells CNG in New Delhi.
- He replaces K K Gupta, Director (Marketing), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), who has relinquished the charge upon completion of his two-year tenure
Deaths
- U.S. President Barack Obama confirmed the death of Kayla Mueller, a U.S. aid worker who had been held hostage by Islamic State militants, saying the United States would "find and bring to justice the terrorists who are responsible."
Awards & Honors
- Indian economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has been awarded the inaugural Charleston-EFG John Maynard Keynes Prize.
- Sen is regarded as one of the world's foremost thinkers in the field of famine, poverty, social choice and welfare economics, and his ground-breaking work has not only been academically influential, but has also had a profound impact on the formation of development policy worldwide, an official statement said.
- Currently a Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University, Sen has been a Professor at the London School of Economics and until 2004 was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages.
Science & Technology
- The world's first hotel staffed entirely by robots is set to open in Japan later this year, promoted with the slogan "a commitment for evolution".
- The Henn-na Hotel will open in the Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Nagasaki Prefecture in July 2015 with the hope that by employing "actroid androids" - robots that mimic humans - it will be able to significantly reduce costs.
- 10 robots will staff the 72-room hotel, capable of cleaning rooms, transporting luggage and greeting guests at the hotel's reception.
Business & Economy
- Jan Dhan Yojna started at Dhanbad Jail today.
- Dhanbad divisional jail has taken the first step to bring the benefits of the central government's Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana to its inmates.
- The prison authorities, acting on the instruction of Dhanbad deputy commissioner Prashant Kumar, have roped in the State Bank of India (SBI) to open accounts for 1,100 jailbirds, including 45 women and a majority being undertrials, to ensure their financial inclusion that is being harped upon by the Narendra Modi-led government.
- United Bank of India is now free to recruit again as Reserve Bank of India has removed the ban imposed on it 14 months back, but the curbs on branch expansion and lending is still limiting growth, the bank's new managing director and chief executive P Srinivas said today after announcing Rs 42 crore net profit for the quarter to December 31, 2014.
- ICICI Bank today announced the launch of ‘Pockets’, India’s first digital bank for the youth.
- Anyone, including those who are not customers of ICICI Bank, can download the e-wallet from Google Playstore, fund it from any bank account in the country and start transacting immediately.
- This wallet uses a virtual VISA card which enables the users to transact on any website or mobile application in India. Customers can also request for a physical card to use it at any retail outlet.
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International Affairs
- Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam has begun a four-day state visit to India, as the two countries mark 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
- This is President Tan's first state visit to India.
- During his visit he will inaugurate the opening of the Peranakan Exhibition themed "The Peranakan World: Cross-Cultural Art from Singapore and the Malacca Straits", which is the main commemorative event celebrating the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations, at the National Museum in New Delhi.
- He will also launch the Singapore-India Commemorative Book published by the Institute of South Asian Studies, and attend the "Flavours of Singapore" hosted for the Singaporean community in New Delhi.
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