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CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL
Gram Samridhi Yojana for unorganised food processing sector
- India’s food processing ministry is working on a new scheme – Gram Samridhi Yojana to bolster the unorganised food processing sector concentrated in rural areas.
- The scheme will be run in Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab for a 5-year period in the initial phase and thereafter in other states of the country.
- The Rs. 3,000 crore scheme funded by the World Bank will help cottage industry, farmer producers’ organisation and individual food processors to increase capacity, upgrade technology besides skill improvement, entrepreneurship development and strengthening the farm-to market supply chain.
- NITI Aayog has given its approval to the scheme. World Bank will be giving Rs. 1,500 crore, Rs. 1,000 crore will be borne by the Centre while state governments will put in Rs. 500 crore.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Food Processing Industries Minister | Harsimrat Kaur Badal |
| Constituency | Bathinda, Punjab |
Environment Minister launched Anthem on ‘plastic-free India’ in seven languages
- Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest and Climate Change,Harsh Vardhan launched an anthem ”Plastic Waste-Free India’‘ which has been composed and produced by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Smriti Manch (PDUSM)– a non-profit organisation which works in the field of social and environmental issues.
- The anthem has been launched in seven languages – Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telegu, Malyalam and Kannada
- The anthem launched as a part of a campaign to make India plastic-free by 2022 and stressed on strengthening plastic waste management and recycling ecosystem in the country.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest and Climate Change | Harsh Vardhan |
| Constituency | Chandni Chowk, New Delhi |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE
Prayagraj Kumbha Mela 2019 makes it to the Guinness World Records
- Prayagraj Kumbh Mela 2019 organised in Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad), Uttar Pradesh has made it to the Guinness World Records in three sectors.
These sectors are:
- The largest traffic and crowd management plan.
- The biggest painting exercise of public sites under “Paint My City” scheme.
- The biggest sanitation and waste disposal mechanism.
- The festival, which began on January 14, will conclude on March 4 with the sixth and final “ShahiSnan” (royal bath) on the occasion of MahaShivratri.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Uttar PradeshCapital | Lucknow |
| Uttar PradeshCM | Yogi Adityanath |
| Uttar PradeshGovernor | Ram Naik |
Assam’s Hailakandi became the top aspirational district
- According to the Delta ranking report released by NITI Aayog, Assam’s Hailakandi has become the top aspirational district among the 112 aspirational districts of the country.
- Hailakandi in Assam has made a giant leap from 52nd position to no. 1 position on the basis of its performance during November-December 2018 and January 2019.
- Aspirational district Hailakandi will be given an additional allocation of Rs 10 crore for securing first rank
| USEFUL INFO |
| Assam Capital | Dispur |
| Assam Chief Minister | Sarbananda Sonowal |
| Assam Governor | Jagdish Mukhi |
Haryana government announced Mukhyamantri Parivar Samman Nidhi Yojana 2019
- Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced the “Mukhyamantri Parivar Samman Nidhi” scheme for farmers of the state cultivating up to five acres of land and families having income less than 15,000 per month.
- Under the scheme, each beneficiary family would be eligible for a financial assistance of Rs. 6,000 every year and each family will have to nominate a member to avail this benefit
- There will two categories in this Scheme – the beneficiary under the age group of 18 to 40 years and the beneficiary under the age group of 40 to 60 years.
- The scheme includes insurance of Rs. 2 lakh on natural death, insurance of Rs. 2 lakh for accidental death, insurance of Rs. 2 lakh for permanent disability and insurance of Rs. 1 lakh for partial disability.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Haryana Capital | Chandigarh |
| Haryana Chief Minister | Manohar lal Kathar |
| Haryana Governor | Satyadev Narayan Arya |
Karnataka Government launched ‘Jalamrutha’ scheme
- Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy launched Jalamrutha scheme in Bengaluru
- The scheme was initiated by the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department of the state
- The scheme plans to make people aware of the importance of conserving water and to prompt them to come up with ways to avoid wastage of water.
- Water conservation strategy under this scheme comprises four components of water literacy, rejuvenation of water bodies, creation of new water bodies as well as development of watersheds and afforestation activities.
- The state government has declared 2019 as the Year of Water.
- Karnataka is the second-largest drought prone state in the country after Rajasthan.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Karnataka Capital | Bangalore |
| Karnataka Chief Minister | Kumarasamy |
| Karnataka Governor | Vajubai Rudubai Wala |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE
YES Bank fined Rs. 1 Crore over software which was misused in PNB scam
- Reserve Bank of India has slapped a fine of Rs. 1 crore on the bank for non-compliance of directions on Swift messaging software
- Swift is global messaging software used for transactions by financial entities.
- Swift – Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication
| USEFUL INFO |
| Yes Bank Headquarters | Mumbai |
| Yes Bank Tagline | Experience our Expertise |
| Yes Bank CEO | Ravneet Singh Gill |
Bank of Baroda slashes lending rate by 10 basis points
- State-owned Bank of Baroda cut benchmark lending rate by 0.1 percentage points across all tenors up to one year
- The Marginal Cost of Funds Based Lending Rate (MCLR) for overnight and one-month tenors would be 8.25 per cent and 8.30 per cent, respectively.
- The MCLR for one-year tenor was slashed to 8.65 per cent from 8.75 per cent. Most of the retail loans are bench marked against one-year MCLR.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Bank of Baroda Headquarters | Vadodara, Gujarath |
| Bank of Baroda Tagline | India’s International Bank |
| Bank of Baroda MD and CEO | P S Jayakumar |
Sebi board approves lowering of fees for brokers, exchanges
- SEBI board with a view to making more cost-effective trade in Indian stock market approved lowering of fees charged from brokers, stock exchange and the companies seeking to get listed.
- SEBI also decided to reduce fees payable by the issuers for one refiling,which is done within one year of validity of observation letter.
- The fees payable to brokers is reduced by 33.33% from Rs.15 per crore of transactions to Rs.10. In case of agri-commodity derivative transactions, the fee would be reduced sharply by 93.33% from Rs.15 to just Re.1.
| USEFUL INFO |
| SEBI Headquarters | Mumbai |
| SEBI Chairman | Ajay Tyagi |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS
World Bank to provide 250 Million dollar for NRETP to boost Rural incomes in India
- World Bank to provide 250 Million dollar for the National Rural Economic Transformation Project (NRETP) to help women in rural households develop viable enterprises for farm and non-farm products.
- The Agreement was signed by Mr. Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India and Mr. Hisham Abdo, Acting Country Director, World Bank India, in New Delhi
- NRETP is an additional financing to the $500-million National Rural Livelihoods Project (NRLP) approved by the World Bank in July 2011.
- The $250 million loan has a 5-year grace period, and a final maturity of 20 years.
- The NRLP is currently being implemented across 13 states, 162 districts and 575 blocks, has so far mobilised more than 8.8 million women from poor rural households into 7.5 lakh self-help groups (SHGs).
| USEFUL INFO |
| World Bank Headquarters | Washington, D.C., United States |
| World BankCEO | Kristalina Georgieva |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS
Abhinandhan will be the first recipient of the ‘BhagwanMahavir Ahimsa Puraskar’
- Indian Air Force Wing commander Abhinandhan Varthaman will be the first recipient of the ‘Bhagwan Mahavir Ahimsa Puraskar’ instituted by the Akhil Bharatiya Digambar Jain Mahasamiti
- The award for the fighter pilot was announced in New Delhi by the organisation’s chairperson Manidra Jain, said its Maharashtra chapter convener Paras Lohade in Nashik.
- The award, instituted this year, carries a cash prize of Rs 2.51 lakh, a memento and a citation and will be presented to Varthaman on April 17, coinciding with Mahavir Jayanti.
DRDO Chairman Wins Missile Systems Award
- Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Chairman G. Satheesh Reddy is the joint winner of the 2019 Missile Systems Award given by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in the US.
- He was selected for his over three decades of national contributions to indigenous design, development and deployment of diversified strategic and tactical missile systems, guided weapons, advanced avionics and navigation technologies in India,
- The other winner of the missile award, Rondell J Wilson is the retired principal engineering fellow of Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Arizona.
| USEFUL INFO |
| DRDO Headquarters | G Satheesh Reddy |
| DRDOChairman | New Delhi |
Kylie Jenner becomes world’s youngest self-made billionaire
- America’s 21-year-old Kylie Jenner has become world’s youngest billionaire and also the youngest self-made billionaire overtaking Facebook Co-founder Mark Zucker berg, who was 23 when he took the title, according to Forbes.
- Jenner owns 100% of Kylie Cosmetics, which made an estimated $360 million in sales in 2018.
- Forbes put 2,153 billionaires on its 2019 list, down from 2,208 in 2018, and stated that their total combined net worth was $8.7 trillion, down from $9.1 trillion in 2018.
- The richest person in the world remained Amazon.com Inc Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos, whose net worth increased to $131 billion from $112 billion in 2018, according to Forbes.
Sir Alastair Cook officially receives knighthood from Queen
- Alastair Cook– formerly a skipper of the England cricket team was officially awarded the knighthood for his services to cricket.
- He was honoured by Elizabeth II, the Queen of England at the Buckingham Palace, London, England.
- He is the 11th English cricketer to be awarded knighthood for services to cricket and also the first English cricketer to get the honour after Sir Ian Botham received it in 2007.
Bharti AXA General wins ‘Assocham Non-Life Insurer of the Year Award’
- Bharti AXA General Insurance has been conferred with the ‘Non-Life Insurer of The Year Award 2019 by the Assocham, one of the apex trade associations of India.
- Bharti AXA General Insurance is a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and French insurance giant AXA.
- This award recognizes for its excellence and contribution to the non-life insurance sector during the recently-held Insurance Leaders Meet 2019 (Regulation, Disruption and Product Dynamics) and Excellence Awards in Kolkata.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Bharti AXA General Insurance Headquarters | Mumbai |
| Bharti AXA General Insurance CEO | Sanjeev Srinivasan |
Tata Steel recognised as one of World’s Most Ethical Companies
- Tata Steel has been recognised as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute, USA, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices.
- The company has got the recognition eight times in the ‘Metals, Minerals and Mining’ category.
- In 2019, 128 honourees across 21 countries and 50 industries have been recognised.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Tata Steel Headquarters | Mumbai |
| Tata Steel Chairman | V K Sharma |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION
Sanjeev Ranjan to designated as secretary at MoRTH
- Sanjeev Ranjan has been named secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH)
- Ranjan, a 1985-batch IAS officer of Tripura cadre, is at present the chairman of National Highways Authority of India
- Ranjan will take over as MoRTH secretary with effect from April 1, 2019 upon superannuation of Yudhvir Singh Malik by the end of this month
- Nagendra NathSinha will replace Ranjan as the new NHAI chief.
- Sinha is managing director, National Highways and infrastructure Development Corporation. He will continue to hold the additional charge of this post too.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Minister of Road Transport, Highways and Shipping | Nithin Jairam Gadkari |
| Constituency | Nagpur, Maharashtra |
Anil Kumble reappointed as ICC Cricket Committee chairman
- Former Indian captain Anil Kumble has been reappointed as Chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee to serve for a final three-year term, International Cricket Council.
- Kumble was appointed as chairman of ICC’s Cricket Committee by the game’s governing body in 2012, replacing West Indies’ Clive Lloyd.
- He was the fourth Indian cricketer to be inducted into ICC Hall of FameIn February 2015
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
SpaceX Dragon capsule successfully docks itself with space station
- SpaceX’s first unmanned Crew Dragon capsule, launched with 181 kg of supplies and equipment, successfully docked itself autonomously with the International Space Station (ISS).
- It approached the 400km-high station from the front and used its computers and sensors to guide itself.
- It’s a part of NASA’s $6.8-billion bet on SpaceX and Boeing to launch astronauts to the ISS
CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU
AIIB to provide USD 455 million for Andhra Pradesh rural roads project
- The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will provide a loan of USD 455 million to finance theRural Roads Project in Andhra Pradesh
- The project aims for construction and upgradation of more than 6,000 km of roads connecting around 3,300 rural habitations in Andhra
- The objective of the project is to improve road transport connectivity in previously unserved communities by providing all-weather rural roads in all 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh.
- This is a second project AIIB has financed in Andhra Pradesh. In May 2017, the China-led bank sanctioned a $160-million loan for a power project in the State
| USEFUL INFO |
| Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank HQ | Beijing, China |
| Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank President | Jin Liqun |
India signs deal with Russian firm to produce 7.5 lakh AK-203 rifles
- India has signed a deal with a Russian firm to manufacture 7.5 lakh AK-203 rifles, the latest derivative of the AK-47 rifles
- The AK-203 rifles will be produced at the Indian Ordnance Factory at Amethi’s Korwa
- AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova, is the most basic model
- The new rifles will replace the indigenous INSAS rifles in the Army, Air Force and Navy.
| SEFUL INFO |
| Russia Capital | Moscow |
| RussiaCurrency | Russian Rouble |
| RussiaPresident | Vladimir Putin |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE
US, South Korea Call off Foal Eagle and Key Resolve Exercises, Announces New Exercise
- The United States and South Korea announced the inauguration of a new exercise known as Dong Maeng (or “alliance”).
- The exercise was announced as a modification of the springtime exercises the allies have held in recent years known as Key Resolve and Foal Eagle.
- The Dong Maeng exercise will run from March 4 to March 12 and focus primarily on “strategic, operational, and tactical aspects of general military operations on the Korean Peninsula
Bilateral joint exercise between India, Oman to begin from Mar 12
- The third edition of the bilateral joint exercise between India and Oman, Al Nagah 2019 will begin from 12th of this month at Jabel Al Akhdar Mountains in Oman.
- The aim of this exercise is to enhance interoperability in counter terrorist operations in semi urban mountainous terrain.
- The exercise will enchaining understanding of capabilities and strengthening camaraderie between both the Armies
| USEFUL INFO |
| Oman Capital | Muscat |
| Oman Currency | Rial |
| Oman President | Qaboos bin Said al Said |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS
Wrestler Bajrang Punia wins gold in Bulgaria
- India’s star wrestler Bajrang Punia has won a gold medal in 65 kilogram freestyle in Bulgaria. The tournament, Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov was held in Ruse.
- This was Punia’s 10th medal in as many international tournaments since the 2017 World Championships in Paris.
- Pooja Dhanda won gold in 59 kg women’s freestyle category.
- Sakshi Malik settled for a silver medal in the 65 kg category.
- Sandeep Tomarclaimed silver medal in the Men’s 61kg category. VineshPhogat claimed silver medal in the Women’s 53kg
| USEFUL INFO |
| Bulgaria Capital | Sofia |
| Bulgaria Currency | Lev |
| Bulgaria President | Rumen Radev |