Dear Readers, Here we have given the list of Important Weekly Current Affairs 3rd week of February 2019. Candidates those who are preparing for Upcoming Bank Exams and other competitive exams can make use of it.
Current Affairs: Important Days
| Date | Important days | Theme |
| February 20 | World Day of Social Justice | If You Want Peace & Development, Work for Social Justice |
| February 21 | International Mother Language Day | Indigenous languages matter for development, peace building and reconciliation |
Current Affairs: National
- Government implemented new pension scheme PradhanMantriShram Yogi Maan-Dhan (PMSYM)Under the scheme workers of the unorganised sector will receive a minimum assured pension of Rs. 3000 per month after attaining the age of 60 years
- The Centre designated Dera Baba Nanak land Check post in Gurdaspur district of Punjab as an authorised immigration checkpoint
- Expert committee headed by AnoopSatpathy recommends Rs. 9,750 monthly national minimum wage
- The government has raised Rs. 10,000 crore by additional offering of Bharat-22 Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)
- Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma inaugurated the India’s first ‘fulldome 3D Digital Theatre’ at the Science City in Kolkata, West Bengal
- Home Minister Rajnath Singh launched pan-India number 112 for women safety
- Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the national cyber forensic lab (NCFL) and the Delhi Police’s cyber crime unit Cyber Prevention, Awareness & Detection Centre (CyPAD).
- Union Minister for Agriculture and Animal Welfare Radha Mohan Singh inaugurated the 14th Agricultural Science Congress in New Delhi
- The 79th Indian History Congress (IHC) will be held at Barkatullah University in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh from February 26
- Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu launched ‘SWAYATT’ on GeM in New Delhi
11. Textiles Minister Smriti Zubin Irani launched four projects in North East for the development of Silk Sector
- PM Modi flags off world’s first diesel to electric converted locomotive in Varanasi
Current Affairs: International
1. J.P. Morgan becomes first U.S. Bank with a Cryptocurrency
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| JPMorgan Chase Headquarters | New York, United States |
| JPMorgan Chase CEO | Jamie Dimon |
- Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has unveiled the first Iranian made semi-heavy submarine.
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| Iran Capital | Tehran |
| Iran Currency | Iranian rial |
| Iran President | Hassan Rouhani |
- Saudi Arabia becomes 73rd nation to join international solar alliance
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| International Solar Alliance (ISA)Headquarters | Gurugram, Haryana |
| International Solar Alliance (ISA) Head | UpendraTripathy |
- A month-long ‘Festival of India’ began in Kathmandu, Nepal
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| Nepal Capital | Kathmandu |
| Nepal Currency | Nepalese Rupee |
| Nepal President | Bidya Devi Bhandari |
Current Affairs: State
1. India’s first agromet forecast center inaugurated in Dharwad, Karnataka
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| Karnataka Capital | Bangalore |
| Karnataka Chief Minister | Kumarasamy |
| Karnataka Governor | Vajubai Rudubai Wala |
2. India’s first district cooling system to be built in Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh
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| Andhra Pradesh Capital | Hyderabad, Amaravathi |
| Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister | Chandrababu Naidu |
| Andhra Pradesh Governor | ESL Narashiman |
- Drainage cleaning robot introduced in Chennai, Tamil Nadu
2. NGT imposed Rs. 100 crore fine on Tamil Nadu governmentfor its failure to prevent pollution of the Adyar and Cooum rivers and the Buckingham Canal.
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| Tamil Nadu Capital | Chennai |
| Tamil Nadu Chief Minister | E. Palanisamy |
| Tamil Nadu Governor | Banwarilal Purohit |
| NGT Chairman | Adarsh Kumar Goel |
3. International annual Desert festival held in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan
- Rajasthan Legislative Assembly passed Rajasthan Municipalities (Amendment) Bill, 2019, and The Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2019 to remove the minimum education criterion for panchayat and civic polls candidates.
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| Rajasthan Capital | Jaipur |
| Rajasthan Chief Minister | Ashok Gehlot |
| Rajasthan Governor | Kalyan Singh |
- Union Tourism Minister K.J. Alphons inaugurated the ‘Eco Circuit’ Project in Kerala
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| Kerala Capital | Thiruvananthapuram |
| Kerala Chief Minister | Pinarayi Vijayan |
| Kerala Governor | P. Sadasivam |
6. Odisha government launched KALIA ChhatraBruti scholarship scheme for the children of farmers
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| Odisha Capital | Bhubaneswar |
| Odisha Chief Minister | Naveen Patnaik |
| Odisha Governor | Ganeshi Lal |
Current Affairs: Banking and Finance
- The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a monetary penalty of 1.50 crore on Oriental Bank of Commerce and Rs. 1 crore each on Bank of India and Punjab National Bank
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lifted the 20% limit on investments by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in corporate bonds
- RBI to give Rs. 28,000 crore to Government as interim dividend
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| RBI Headquarters | Mumbai |
| RBI Governor | Shaktikanta Das |
| RBI Deputy Governor | BP Kanungo, N S Vishwanathan, Viral Acharya and Mahesh Kumar Jain |
- HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Launched the first-of-its-kind ‘Trip Protector’ Policy
| USEFUL INFO |
| HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company |
| HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Headquarters | Mumbai |
| HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company MD & CEO | Ritesh Kumar |
CABINET APPROVAL
- MoU between India and Morocco for setting up of a Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism
- MoU between India and Finland on Cooperation in the field of peaceful uses of outer space
- Proposal for leasing out of 1.61 acres of land at Alipur, Delhi, owned by Delhi Milk Scheme to Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium for setting up of KisanMandi
- Proposal for allotment of land measuring 30 acres to Pasteur Institute of India for establishment of New Viral Vaccine Manufacturing Unit at Coonoor, Tamil Nadu
- Extension of tenure of the National Commission for SafaiKarmacharis beyond 31.3.2019 for three years
- Introduction of Registration of Marriage of NRI Bill 2019
- Signing of Memorandum of Understanding between India and Argentine in tourism
- Revision in the list of Scheduled Tribes of Chhattisgarh
- Signing of Memorandum of Understanding between India and Saudi Arabia on establishing a mechanism for Investment Infrastructure in India
- Memorandum of Understanding between India and Saudi Arabia on cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs matters
- Signing of Memorandum of Understanding between India and Saudi Arabia in the field of tourism
- Continuation of Credit Linked Capital Subsidy and Technology Up-gradation Scheme (CLCS-TUS) beyond 12th Plan for three years from 2017-18 to 2019-20
- Minimum Support Price for Raw Jute for 2019-20 season hiked to Rs.3950/- from Rs.3700/- per quintal by the Cabinet
Current Affairs: Appointments
| William Barr | US Attorney General |
| Sushil Chandra | Election Commissioner |
| SN Ghormade | Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command |
| Ashwani Lohani | Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Air India |
| Derrick Pereira | Head coach of the Indian Under-23 football team |
| Pramod Chandra Mody | Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) |
| Sandeep Mohan Bhatnagar and Ashok Kumar Pandey | CBIC members |
| Anirban Mukherjee | PayU India CEO |
Current Affairs: Resignation
| Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) CEO | Harshil Mehta |
Current Affairs: Awards and Honours
- Abdul Aziz Muhamat a Sudanese refugee wins international human rights award
- India and Bengaluru FC skipper Sunil Chhetri was conferred the first ever Football Ratna honour by Football Delhi,
- Jharkhand based NGO Yuwa won the Laureus Sport for Good award
2018 International Hockey Federation’s award
- Netherlands’ Eva de Goede and Arthur Van Doren of Belgium were named as the International Hockey Federation’s (FIH) Players of the Year for 2018.
- De Goede, 29, was named the Female Player of the Year, world champions Belgium’s Van Doren, 24, was picked up as the Male Player of the Year for a second consecutive time.
Other Awards
| Person | Category |
| Vincent Vanash(Belgium) | Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year |
| MaddieHinch (England) | Female Goalkeeper of the Year |
| Arthur de Sloover (Belgium) | Male Rising Star of the Year |
| Shane McLeod (Belgium) | Male Coach of the Year |
| Alyson Annan (Netherland) | Female Coach of the Year |
| Michelle Meister (Germany) | Female Umpire of the Year |
| MarcinGrochal (Poland) | Male Umpire of the Year |
| Luciana Von Der (Argentine) | Emerging women player |
Laureus World Sports Awards 2019 Monaco
- The Laureus World Sports Awardsis an annual award ceremony honouring individuals and teams from the world of sports along with sporting achievements throughout the year.
| Category | Winner | Country | Sports |
| Sportsman of the year | Novak Djokovic | Serbia | Tennis |
| Sportswoman of the year | Simone Biles | USA | Gymnastics |
| Comeback of the year | Tiger Woods | USA | Golf |
| Breakthrough of the year | Naomi Osaka | Japan | Tennis |
| Action sportsperson of the year | Chloe Kim | USA | Snowboarding |
| Team of the year | France World Cup Team | France | Football |
| Academy exceptional achievement award | Eliud Kipchoge | Kenya | Running |
| Lifetime achievement award | Arsene Wenger | France | Football (Manager) |
| Spirit for sport award | Lindsey Vonn | USA | Skiing |
| Sportsperson of the year with a disability | HenrietaFarkkasova | Slovakia | Skiing |
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 ShriVinaySahasrabuddhe.
- Exponent of Manipuri dance RajkumarSinghajit 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 VanjiSutar was given the award for 2016
Current Affairs: Summit and Conference
- ASCEND Kerala 2019 conference held in Kochi, Kerala
- The World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) was inaugurated, by vice president Venkaiah Naidu with the Theme of ‘Attaining the 2030 Agenda: delivering on our promise’, at New Delhi
3. Asia’s largest early Childhood Conference – Early Ed Asia 2019 held in Jaipur
4. 4th Agri Leadership Summit held at Sonipat in Haryana with the theme of “Entrepreneurship &Agri Business; Agri Allied – A Promising Sector and Agri Service- Direct Marketing
- President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the International Conference and Exhibition on Energy and Environment – Challenges and Opportunities (ENCO-2019) in New Delhi
- Union Science & Technology Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, inaugurated the One Health India Conference 2019 in New Delhi
- 4th India-ASEAN Expo and Summit inaugurated in New Delhi
- Eighth World Corporate Social Responsibility Congress 2019 held in Mumbai
- International Vision Zero Conference held in Mumbai
Current Affairs: Ranking
- According to WorldEmploymentandSocialOutlookTrends2019report releasedby The InternationalLabourOrganization, unemployment rates will fall to 4.9% in 2019 and remains steady in 2020
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| International Labour Organization Headquarters | Geneva, Switzerland |
| International Labour Organization Director General | Guy Ryder |
Current Affairs: MOU
- The Government of India, Government of Himachal Pradesh and the World Bank signed a $40 Million Loan Agreement to help bring clean and reliable drinking water to the citizens of the Greater Shimla
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| World Bank Headquarters | Washington D.C, United States |
| World Bank CEO | Kristalina Georgieva |
- GeM and GS1 India Sign MoU to Empower Buyers to Make Informed Choice
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| GeM CEO | Radhachauhan |
- Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has signed an annual deal worth USD 1.5 billion to import 3 million tonnes of crude oil in the fiscal year beginning April 1
Current Affairs: Defence
- Air Force’s major exercise Vayushakti 2019 held in Pokharan, Rajasthan
- HinaJaiswal from Chandigarh, became the first Indian Woman Flight Engineer of the Indian Air Force
- The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has received clearance from the Indian Army and the Ministry of Defence for production of 114 ‘Dhanush’ long range artillery guns
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| Ordnance Factories Board Headquarters | Kolkata |
| Ordnance Factories Board Chairman | Shri Saurabh Kumar |
- 12th edition of Asia’s premier Air show ‘Aero India-2019’ begins at Yelahanka air force station, Bengaluru
Current Affairs: Science and Technology
- Israel is to launch its first moon mission, sending an unmanned spacecraft to collect data to be shared with NASA
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| Israel Capital | Jerusalem |
| Israel Currency | Israeli new shekel |
| Israel President | Benjamin Netanyahu |
Current Affairs: Mobile Application and Portal
- Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep S Puri launched the PMAY (U) Mobile Application
- Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) launched a new portal LADIS (Least Available Depth Information System) for real-time information
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| Inland Waterways Authority of India Headquarters | Noida, Uttar Pradesh |
| Inland Waterways Authority of India Chairman | JalajSrivastava |
- Infosys launched learning app ‘InfyTQ’ for engineering students
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| Infosys Headquarters | Bengaluru |
| Infosys CEO | Salil Parekh |
- 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 NyayaBandhu.
Current Affairs: Sports
1. PrajneshGunneswaran 3rd Indian to reach top-100 in ATP rankingswith a jump of six places to 97th Rank
- Ranji champions Vidarbha beat Rest of India at the Jamtha Stadium in Nagpur to retain the Irani Cup
3. Elise Mertens beats SimonaHalep to win the Qatar Open
4. 83rd Senior Badminton Nationals:Saina wins Women’s singles Title, SourabhVerma bags Men’s singles Title
- West Indian batsman Chris Gayle has announced retirement from One-day Internationals after the ICC World Cup 2019
- Six-time world women boxing champion MC Mary Kom was named as a brand ambassador for global sportswear giant PUMA for a two-year period
- NikhatZareen and MeenaKumari Devi became the first Indian women boxers to win gold medals at the Strandja Memorial Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria
- Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore inaugurated the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup in New Delhi
Current Affairs: Books
- Indian Politician and author, Manish Tewari launched “What Marx Left Unsaid” – Production of Skills by Means of Skills, authored by Dr. Malay Chaudhuri, Dr.ArindamChaudhuri and CheKabirChaudhuri at the India International Centre, New Delhi
Current Affairs: Obituaries
| Person | Field |
| Francis D’Souza | Former deputy chief minister of Goa and BJP MLA |
| Andrea Levy | British author |
| Bruno Ganz | Swiss actor |
| SibghatullahMojaddedi | Former Afghan interim president and ex-Jihadi leader |
| Namvar Singh | Hindi writer |
| William E. Butterworth III | American military veteran and novelist |
| Wallace Smith Broecker | Climate scientist |