Current Affairs Today 21st February 2019 | Current Affairs News

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Daily Current Affairs PDF of 21st Feb 2019

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

International Mother Language Day

• International Mother Language Day (IMLD) is celebrated every year on 21 February with the overall objective to promote linguistic diversity and multilingual education.
• International Mother Language day 2019 will be framed by the International Year of indigenous languages 2019 (IYIL19) around the theme “Indigenous languages matter for development, peace building and reconciliation”.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

Textiles Minister Smriti Zubin Irani launched four projects in North East for the development of Silk Sector

• Union Minister of Textiles, Smriti Zubin Irani, launched four projects in North East for the development of silk sector through video conference in New Delhi
• Smriti Irani inaugurated Muga silk seed production centre in Tura, Meghalaya, silk printing and processing unit in Agartala, Tripura. Eri spun silk mill in Sangaipat, Imphal. Development of sericulture in Mamit, Mizoram.
• The Minister also inaugurated new office buildings of Weavers Service Centres (WSC) in Indore, Madhya Pradesh and Kannur, Kerala.

Saudi Arabia becomes 73rd nation to join international solar alliance

• Saudi Arabia signed the framework agreement of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) becoming the 73rd country to join the India-led renewable energy organisation
• International Solar Alliance (ISA) was unveiled by PM Narendra Modi and former French President Francois Hollande in 2015.

 PM Modi flags off world’s first diesel to electric converted locomotive 

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first ever diesel-to-electric converted locomotive at the Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW) in Varanasi
• The 10,000HP freight locomotive has been converted from two units of old diesel locomotives of 2600HP each with indigenous technology
• The feat was achieved in record time with the help of engineers from Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), Chittaranjan Locomotive Works(CLW), and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL).
• The work on the project began on December 22, 2017 and from concept to execution of the conversion of the diesel locomotive to electric was carried out in just 69 days

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE

Odisha government launched KALIA Chhatra Bruti scholarship scheme

• Odisha governmenthas launched the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation(KALIA) Chhatra Brutischolarship for the children of farmers, who studying in government professional colleges on merit
• The state government will bear all expenditure including course fees, hostel fees and mess fees under Kalia scholarship
• The Kalia scholarship funds would be directly sent to the bank accounts of the eligible students through DBT.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL

‘Festival of India’ begins in Nepal

• A month-long ‘Festival of India’ began in Kathmandu to familiarise the new generation of the country about the similarities between the two countries.
• Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri jointly inaugurated the event
• The festival, organised by the Indian Embassy and Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre, is being held in Kathmandu and other major cities of Nepal from February 19th to March 21st.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS

Government relaxes Angel Tax norms for Start-ups

• In a move to provide relief to and boost investments into start-ups in India, the government has decided to simplify the process for them to get exemptions under the Income Tax Act 1961
• The government has increased the age cap for start-ups from 7 to 10 years
• It will also recognize an entity as a start-up if its turnover for any of the financial years since its incorporation or registration does not exceed Rs. 100 crore instead of the existing Rs. 25 crore
• Currently the limit for tax exemption is  10 crore.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

President Kovind presents Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony

• President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony at a function in New Delhi
• The award was instituted in 2012 as part of the commemoration of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary.
• The awardees were selected by a jury headed by the Prime Minister and include Chief Justice of India Justice Ranjan Gogoi, former Chief Election Commissioner Shri N Gopalaswami and the President of Indian Council for Cultural Relations Shri Vinay Sahasrabuddhe.
• Exponent of Manipuri dance Rajkumar Singhajit Singh was given the award for the year 2014
• Chhayanaut, a cultural organization of Bangladesh was given the award for 2015 for its role in the promotion of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s works and Bangla arts
• Renowned sculptor and scholar Ram Vanji Sutar was given the award for 2016.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SUMMIT AND CONFERENCE

One Health India Conference Inaugurated in New Delhi

• Union Science & Technology Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, inaugurated the One Health India Conference 2019 in New Delhi
• The conference plans to launch India’s new One Health Initiative – an intersectoral approach to tackling the most urgent health threats in India as well as in low and middle income countries across South and South East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa
• The main objective of the conference is to formulate a roadmap for the response, preparedness, and management of current regional, national and global health challenges using a One Health collaborative approach.

4th India-ASEAN Expo summit begins in New Delhi

• The 4^th India-ASEAN Expo and Summit inaugurated 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 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.

Eighth World CSR Congress 2019 held in Mumbai

• Eighth World Corporate Social Responsibility Congress 2019 held in Mumbi
• World Corporate Social Responsibility Congress (World CSR Congress 2019) popular meeting about Entrepreneurship, Social Responsibility, Sustainability and Social Development
• Soumitro Chakraborty, Chief Executive Officer, Innovative Financial Advisors Pvt. Ltd. (Fiinovation) was honoured with ‘CEO of the year’ award
• This congress witnessed participation from 33 countries and recognized the efforts of individuals and organizations

International Vision Zero Conference held in Mumbai

• Heeralal Samariya, Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment inaugurated the three days Conference on the VISION ZERO to promote occupational safety and health in Mumbai
• The conference provides a forum for promoting safety and health at work by exchanging knowledge, practices and experience.
• The Conference has been organized by Directorate General Factory Advice and Labour Institutes (DGFASLI), Ministry of Labour and Employment, German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV) 

CURRENT AFFAIRS: PORTAL AND MOBILE APPLICATION

Department of Justice launched tele-law Mobile Application

• Union Minister for Law and Justice and IT Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad launched a tele-law mobile application that is integrated with a dashboard and an application called Nyaya Bandhu.
• The application will benefit 73,000 PLVs of National Legal Service Authority and State Legal Services Authorities (SLSA) in the country who will be associated under the tele-law service
• This mobile application is integrated with a Dashboard created to confirm and register the pre-registered cases, to enable online interface between the beneficiary and the panel lawyer through video conferencing and telephone facility

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION

Anirban Mukherjee appointed as PayU India CEO

• Anirban Mukherjee, co-chief executive of Reliance Payments has been appointed as the CEO of PayU India.
• PayU is a fintech company that provides payment technology to online merchants,
• Anirban will take over from Amrish Rau,who was one of the founders of CitrusPay, which was acquired by Naspers-backed PayU in 2016.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS

Rajyavardhan Rathore inaugurated ISSF Shooting World Cup in New Delhi

• Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore inaugurated the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup in New Delhi
• Various events in the world cup will start from February 23rd and end on the 27th.
• Hosts India is fielding a 23-member squad with 11 shooters in the non-competition Minimum Qualification Score category.
• Around 503 shooters from 58 countries will be competing for top honours with eight of the 10 events offering Olympic quota places.
• Apurvi Chandela and Anjum Moudgil already securing an Olympic quota in Women’s 10m air rifle event, the Indian contingent will compete for a maximum of 14 quota places in the event

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES

Climate scientist Wallace Smith Broecker passed away

• The climate scientist Wallace Smith Broecker who popularized the term “global warming” has passed away.
• Wallace Smith Broecker was a Columbia University professor and researcher
• Broecker brought the term “global warming” into common use with a 1975 paper that correctly predicted rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere would lead to pronounced warming.
• Broecker was also first to recognize what he called the Ocean Conveyor Belt, a global system of ocean currents circulating water and nutrients.
• He was known in science circles as the “Grandfather of Climate Science” and the “Dean of Climate Scientists.”

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