3rd FEBRUARY CURRENT AFFAIRS

1. India joins Ashgabat agreement

India has joined the Ashgabat agreement which envisages setting up of an international transport and transit corridor linking central Asia with the Persian Gulf to significantly ramp up trade and investment.

• Turkmenistan, as depository State of Ashgabat Agreement, informed on February 1 that all the four founding members have consented to the Accession of India.
• Turkmenistan, Iran, Oman and Uzbekistan signed the agreement on April 25, 2011.
• In October 2016, Pakistan had formally joined the project. Kazakhstan is also a part to this agreement.

2. PM to address the inaugural session of Advantage Assam - Global Investors Summit

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, will address the inaugural session of Advantage Assam - Global Investors Summit 2018, in Guwahati on February 3, 2018.

• The two-day Summit will be the largest ever investment promotion and facilitation initiative by the Government of Assam.
• The Summit aims at highlighting the geo-strategic advantages offered to investors by Assam.

3. Yogi Adityanath inaugurates Surajkund Mela in Haryana

 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the Surajkund Mela on 2 February, in the presence of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

• The 17-day-long event, which is in its 32nd edition, showcases India’s rich cultural diversity, crafts and handiworks.
• The Mela this year has the culture of Uttar Pradesh as its theme and focuses upon child rights violations across India.
• All of India’s states and 20 countries are participating in the festival.
• Surajkund is located in Faridabad in Haryana.

4. Centre sanctions Rs 1,500 cr for organic farming in Uttarakhand

The Centre has sanctioned Rs 1,500 crore for three years to promote organic farming in Uttarakhand.

• The amount was sanctioned by Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh when Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat met him in New Delhi.
• The Union minister also cleared a proposal worth Rs 2,600 crore for the co-operative sector in the state. Of which, Rs 200 crore is meant for the reorganisation of sugar mills.

5. Inland Waterways Authority of India signs agreement with World Bank

Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) signed a project agreement with the World Bank, even as the latter entered into a US $ 375 million loan agreement with the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance for Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP).

• The signing of the Agreement follows the approval of  the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, for the implementation of the US $ 800 million JMVP for capacity augmentation of navigation on National Waterway-1(River Ganga) from Varanasi to Haldia.
• Out of the remaining amount, US $ 380 million is to be sourced through the Government of India counterpart funds from budgetary allocation and proceeds from the bond issue.
• Another US $ 45 million will come from private sector participation under the PPP mode.
• The JMVP, which is expected to be completed by March, 2023, is being implemented with the financial and technical support of the World Bank.
• The project will enable commercial navigation of vessels with the capacity of 1500-2,000 tons on NW-I.

6. Cochin Shipyard Limited signs MoU with Russian firm

Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) and  Joint Stock Company United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), Russia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate and engage in Design, Development and Execution of contemporary, State-of-Art vessels for Inland and Coastal Waterways.

• CSL and USC will collaborate for development of High-Speed Vessels, River-Sea Cargo Vessels, Passenger Vessels, Dredgers, and other watercrafts for inland waterways and coastal shipping.
• The MoU will give a push to the Government’s Make-in-India programme, as also  its plans to develop eco-friendly and economic transportation along India’s inland waterways and coastal shipping routes under SAGARMALA.

7. Government nominates two directors to RBI central board

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said that the Centre has nominated two directors to its central board.

• The central government has nominated Prasanna Kumar Mohanty and Dilip S. Shanghvi as directors to the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India for a period upto February 8, 2021 and March 10, 2021 respectively.

8. Thanglura Darlong appointed Ambassador of India to the Romania

Shri Thanglura Darlong (IFS: 1988) has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Romania.

• He is expected to take up his assignment shortly. He is presently CLO, South Asian University, New Delhi.

9. Shabnam Asthana wins Times Power Woman 2017 award

The Times Group recently celebrated the invaluable contribution of women by introducing The Times Power Woman 2017 (Pune) awards.

• Shabnam Asthana was awarded the 'Times Power Women of the Year 2017'- for Global PR.
• The award was conferred on her by Dilip Kamble, Minister of State for Social Justice and Special Assistance in the Government of Maharashtra.

10. India Open Boxing: Mary Kom Clinches Gold

M C Mary Kom claimed a gold but the Indian men's juggernaut was denied a complete sweep by traditional powerhouses Cuba and Uzbekistan on an exciting final day of the India Open boxing tournament in New Delhi.

• Mary Kom won against Filipino Josie Gabuco 4-1 en route to her gold in the 48kg class among women.
• She had also claimed a gold medal at the 2015 Nation's Cup in Serbia.

11. Vidarbha claims U-19 Cooch Behar Trophy

Vidarbha Under-19 cricket team once again proved their excellence as they clinched their maiden Cooch Behar trophy after claiming the maiden Ranji Trophy title earlier this season.

• The U-19 team defeated Madhya Pradesh on the basis of first innings lead in the final held at Nagpur.
• Captain and opener Atharva Taide led from the front as he struck 320 runs to power Vidarbha to a massive 614 for the loss of ten wickets.
• Earlier Madhya Pradesh scored 289 in their first innings.

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2nd FEBRUARY CURRENT AFFAIRS

1. Union Budget 2018: Key takeaways and sector-wise highlights

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley delivered the current government's fifth and last full financial budget (Budget 2018 for the fiscal year 2018-19) amid subdued economic growth, challenging fiscal situation and farm distress. 

Here are the key highlights from the Union Budget 2018:

Economic Health

• Economy firmly on course to achieve high growth of 8%
• GDP growth at 6.3% in the second quarter of 2017-18 signals turnaround of the economy
• Growth in the second half likely to remain between 7.2% to 7.5%  

Agriculture and Rural Economy

• MSP for all unannounced Kharif crops increased to 150%
• Institutional credit for agri-sector increased to Rs.10 lakh crore in 2017-18
• Fisheries, aquaculture and animal husbandry corpus at Rs.10,000 crore
• New scheme Operation Greens with an outlay of Rs 500 Crore
• Govt to develop and upgrade existing 22,000 rural haats
• Agri-Market Infrastructure Fund with a corpus of Rs.2000 crore
• Allocation for Ministry of Food Processing doubled to Rs.1400 crore
• Loans to Self Help Groups (SHG) of women to increase to Rs.75,000 crore by March 2019.
• Increased allocation of National Rural Livelihood Mission to Rs 5750 crore
• Under Ujjwala Scheme distribution of free LPG connections will be given to 8 crore poor women
• Housing for All by 2022 - more than one crore houses to be built by 2019 in rural areas

Education, Health, and Social Protection

• Estimated budgetary expenditure on health, education and social protection at Rs.1.38 lakh crore
• Ekalavya Model Residential School to be set up for tribal children
• Investments for research & infra in premier educational institutions at Rs.1 lakh crore in next 4 years
• Allocation on National Social Assistance Programme at Rs. 9975 crore
• NHPS to cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries)
• NHPS to provide coverage up to 5 lakh rupees per family per year for hospitalisation
• Rs 1200 crore for the National Health Policy, 2017 - additional Rs.600 crore for TB patients
• 24 new Government Medical Colleges and Hospitals

Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) and Employment

• Major thrust for Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) – allocation at Rs. 3794 crore
• Target of Rs.3 lakh crore for lending under MUDRA Yojana
• 70 lakh formal jobs to be created this year
• Govt to make 12% contribution of new employees in the EPF for all the sectors for 3 years
• Outlay of Rs.7148 crore for the textile sector
• Increase budgetary allocation on infrastructure for at Rs.5.97 lakh crore
• To develop 10 prominent tourist sites into Iconic Tourism destinations
• 35000 kms road construction in Phase-I at an estimated cost of Rs.5,35,000 crore  

Railways

• Railways Capital Expenditure pegged at Rs.1,48,528 crore
• 4000 kilometers of electrified railway network slated for commissioning
• Work on Eastern and Western, dedicated freight corridors
• Over 3600 km of track renewal targeted in current fiscal
• Redevelopment of 600 major railway stations
• Mumbai’s local train network to have 90 kilometers of double line tracks at Rs.11,000 crore cost
• 150 km of additional suburban network planned for Mumbai
• Suburban network of 160 km at for Bengaluru metropolis

Air Transport

• To expand airport capacity more than five times to handle a billion trips a year
• Regional connectivity - 56 unserved airports and 31 unserved helipads to be connected
• To establish unified authority for regulating all financial services

Digital Economy

• NITI Aayog to initiate a national program to direct efforts in artificial intelligence
• Department of Science & Technology to launch Mission on Cyber-Physical Systems
• Allocation doubled on Digital India programme to Rs 3073 crore
• To set up 5 lakh wifi hotspots to provide net-connectivity to five crore rural citizens
• Rs. 10000 crore for creation and augmentation of telecom infrastructure

Defence

• Development of two defence industrial production corridors.
• Allocation of Rs 2.95 lakh crore to defence sector.

Emoluments

• To revise emoluments to Rs.5 lakh for the President
• Rs 4 lakhs for the Vice President
• Rs.3.5 lakh per month to Governor
• Pay for Members of Parliament - law for automatic revision of emoluments every 5 years
• 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi- Rs.150 crore for commemoration programme

Fiscal Management

• Budget Revised Estimates for Expenditure at Rs.21.57 lakh crore
• Revised Fiscal Deficit estimates at 3.5% of GDP
• To bring down Central Government’s Debt to GDP ratio to 40% 

2. Jaitley announces ‘world’s largest healthcare programme’

 

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced two new initiatives under the Ayushman Bharat Programme in the Union Budget 2018.

• Under the programme, Mr. Jaitley announced a new flagship National Health Protection Scheme, providing a health insurance cover of ₹5 lakh a family per annum.
• The scheme will cover 10 crore vulnerable families, with approximately 50 crore beneficiaries.
• Mr. Jaitley also announced the creation of health and wellness centres, which will “bring healthcare closer to home”.
• These centres, 1.5 lakh in number, will provide free essential drugs and diagnostic services. A sum of Rs. 1200 crore had been allocated for this.

3. Wi-Fi hotspots for rural areas proposed

The government has proposed to set up five lakh Wi-Fi hotspots which will provide broadband access to five crore rural citizens.

• Allocation of Rs 10,000 crore has been provided in 2018-19 for creation and augmentation of telecom infrastructure.

4. Rs 2.04 lakh crore to be allocated for 99 cities under Smart City programme

The Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, while presenting the Union Budget 2018-19,  said that as many as 99 cities were selected under the ambitious Smart City Mission at an outlay of Rs 2.04 lakh crore.

• In the Smart City Mission that aims at 100 cities, 99 smart cities have been selected and will be allocated Rs 2.04 lakh crore, Jaitley informed Parliament.
• The Ministry has so far launched 99 smart cities in two years.  

5. 7th India Energy Congress begins

7th India Energy Congress has been kicked off in New Delhi on February 1, 2018.

• More than 400 experts will meet on February 1 and 2 to discuss and debate the energy transition being witnessed.
• The theme of the 7th edition of India Energy Congress is 'Energy 4.0: Energy Transition Towards 2030'.
• The India Energy Congress is the flagship event of World Energy Council India (WEC India) and joint event of ministries of power, coal, new & renewable energy, petroleum & natural gas, external affairs and Department of Atomic Energy.

6. Axis Bank launches 4th edition of “Evolve”

Private sector Axis Bank launched the fourth edition of ‘Evolve’, an annual multi-city knowledge series for Bank’s SME customers in Coimbatore.

• This edition will span across 30 cities including Nagpur, Surat, Rajkot, Pune, Vishakhapatnam, Trichy, Kanpur, Ludhiana and Jamshedpur.
• The series aims to equip the participating SMEs with new-age strategies, live case studies, operational know-how, regulatory and Government related knowledge skills.

7. Govt to merge three general insurance companies

As part of divestment of public sector entities, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government will merge three general insurance firms into one and subsequently list the entity on stock exchanges.

• Three public sector general insurance companies - National Insurance Co Ltd, United India Assurance Co Ltd and Oriental India Insurance Company - will be merged into a single insurance.
• The minister said the government has begun strategic disinvestment in 24 public sector units (PSUs), including national carrier Air India.

8. Neelam Kapur appointed as Sports Authority of India DG

Senior-most Indian Information Service officer Neelam Kapur, who had served as UPA government’s spokesperson, was appointed director general (DG) of Sports Authority of India (SAI).

• The 1982 batch IIS officer is at present the Principal Director General of the Directorate of Field Publicity (DFP).
• Kapur was appointed the Principal Director General of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) by the then UPA government in 2009.

9. Magadhi writer Madhukar awarded Sahitya Akademi's Bhasha Samman

Magadhi writer Shesh Anand Madhukar, who has been working extensively for the development of the language, was honoured with this year's Sahitya Akademi Bhasha Samman award.

• The second writer of Magadhi language to be given the award, Madhurkar was conferred the award, comprising a Rs 1 lakh cheque and a memento, by Sahitya Akademi President Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari.

10. PM Narendra Modi writes a book titled ‘Exam Warriors’ for students

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written a book for students who battle stress and anxiety during examinations.

• The book, slated to be released on February 3, talks about the ways in which students can tackle the stress.
• The book has been titled ‘Exam Warriors’ and mentions various means such as practicing yoga.

PERCENTAGE - PART 2- BY OUR STAR FACULTY - SHIVAM SIR - PINNACLE COACHIN...

1st FEBRUARY CURRENT AFFAIRS

1. India slips to 42nd place on EIU Democracy Index

India has slipped to 42nd place on the Economist Intelligence Unit's annual Global Democracy Index amid the “rise of conservative religious ideologies” and increase in vigilantism and violence against minorities as well as other dissenting voices.

• While Norway has again topped the list, followed by Iceland and Sweden, India has moved down from 32nd place last year and remains classified among “flawed democracies”.
• The index ranks 165 independent states and two territories on the basis of five categories:

2. Third Scorpene submarine ‘Karanj’ Launched at Mazagon Docks

The third Scorpene class submarine constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited for the Indian Navy, was launched on 31 January 2018 by Mrs Reena Lanba, President Navy Wives Welfare Association after the recitation of Sanskrit shlokas from the Atharva Veda and traditional ceremonies associated with the launch of naval platforms.

• She also named this submarine as ‘Karanj’ and wished her good fortune.
• Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of the Naval Staff was the chief guest on the occasion.
• Karanj will now undergo rigorous trials and tests, both in harbour and at sea before it is commissioned into the Navy.

3. Railways to Set up a Coach Factory in Marathwada, Maharashtra

A high level meeting was held between Union Minister for Railways and Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal and Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai, to discuss the setting up of a massive rail coach factory in Latur, Maharashtra by Indian Railways.

• This plant would manufacture Electric Multiple Units for suburban trains and coaches for metros.
• Work on this project will be done on high priority with fast track processing of all approvals.
• Maharashtra Government has offered several concessions including in land, taxes and etc.

4. Uttar Pradesh India’s most polluted state: Greenpeace report

With 15 of its cities among 30 cities with highest levels of toxic air in the country, Uttar Pradesh is India’s most polluted state, says a Greenpeace India report.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency Varanasi turned out to be the worst polluted city of UP.
• New Delhi topped list while Lucknow was 18th among the 30 most polluted cities and towns of the country.
• The report reveals that none of the 280 cities with 630 million people comply with the PM10 levels in the air as fixed by WHO at 20.
• Hassan in Karnataka has the cleanest air in the country.

5. Axis Bank Deputy VP inaugurates 19th Samaya Bharati 2018

The 19th India International Watch and Clock Fair "Samaya Bharati 2018" was inaugurated by Amruta Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Vice President of Axis Bank at the Nehru Centre, Worli, Mumbai.

• The fair, a grand horological event, was organised by India's leading watch and clock magazine "Trade Post" under the auspices of Watch Trade Federation.

6. Ireda and Rumsl Signs Agreement for Large-Scale Solar Parks in MP

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) and Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL) signed an agreement for financing the shared infrastructure of two large Solar Parks in Madhya Pradesh.

• Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), World Bank & IREDA have been able to work out a proposal to channelize US$ 100 Million for creating common infrastructure for ultra-mega solar parks in India to achieve the 100 GW solar capacity addition target by 2022, set by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
• Under the World Bank Line of Credit, IREDA has sanctioned its first loan of Rs. 210.62 Cr. to RUMSL to finance two such solar parks in the state of Madhya Pradesh. 

7. India becomes third largest producer of crude steel

India's crude steel production grew by 6.2 per cent to 101.4 million tonnes (MT) in 2017 compared to 95.5 MT in the previous year, a report by World Steel Association said.

• India has overtaken the US to become the world's third largest steel producer and the country is now looking to bag the second spot from Japan.
• China remained the world leader by producing 831.7 MT in 2017.
• Japan, the second largest global steel producer, witnessed a negative growth as steel output declined by 0.1 per cent.

8. Table Tennis: Sharath Kamal lifts National Men’s singles title for the eighth time

Sharath Kamal has lifted the National men’s singles title for the eighth time, equalling the feat of Kamlesh Mehta.

• In the final at the Senior Table Tennis Nationals in Ranchi, he defeated top-seed Anthony Amalraj 4-1.
• Suthirta Mukherjee from West Bengal emerged the new women champion, beating Hyderabad Nationals winner Manika Batra 4-3.