Test : February 2019 Weekly Current Affair - 1" - Current Affairs MCQ

As per a Global economic Research report prepared by Oxford Economics, Surat will be world’s fastest growing city in the 2019-2035 period. The report also stated that all top 10 fastest growing cities will be from India.

On 30th January 2019, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) renamed as Department of promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. The newly named department is under Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The department will look into matters related to promotion of internal trade, including retail trade, will are of traders and their employees, facilitating ease of doing business and start-ups. Matters related to internal trade were earlier under the domain of Ministry of consumer affairs and now under the promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. The decision comes amidst a demand by traders body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) for forming a separate ministry for internal trade. DIPP was responsible for formation and implementation of promotional and developmental measures for growth of the industrial sector keeping in view the national priorities and Socio economic objectives.

On 30th January 2019, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi unveiled the National Salt Satyagraha Memorial at Dandi Village which is situated on Arabian Sea coast in South Gujarat. The Statue of Mahatma Gandhi and 80 Satyagrahis who marched with Mahatma Gandhi in the historic Dandi Salt March in 1930 were also unveiled by Narendra Modi. National Salt Satyagraha Memorial has 24-narrative murals depicting various stories and events of the Dandi Salt March. To Meet energy requirements of the memorial complex, Solar trees had been installed at the venue.

On 30th January 2019, ‘Kisan Suvidha loan’ for small and marginal farmers launched by Ujjivan Small Finance Bank. The scheme will attempt to reach the bottom of the pyramid with products and services. Kisan Suvidha loan can be used by farmers for both agriculture and allied activities. The product is specially designed to cater to the needs of customers for various allied and agricultural activities. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank launched the product in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Karnataka and Odisha with an eye to expand the product offerings. It provides loans to individuals with an amount ranging from Rs. 60000 to Rs. 2 Lakh to fulfill the customized needs of the mass market segment. The loan does not require any collateral. Ujjivan becomes the 1st bank to offer loans for agriculture and allied activities.

On January 29, 2019, UNESCO launched 2019 as The International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements in Paris. The launch of International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements 2019 also recognized 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements by the Russian scientist, Dmitri Mendeleev,one of the father of Modern Chemistry.

Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal presented an Interim Budget for 2019 in Parliament on February 1 2019. An Interim Budget usually doesn’t list out new schemes or doesn’t unveil any policy measures. The government will present the vote on account for the next four-to-five months. A full-fledged Budget will be presented after the House reassembles after the general election. As per the budget, No income tax for earnings up to Rs 5 lakh. Individuals with gross income of up to Rs 6.5 lakh need not pay any tax if they make investments in provident funds and prescribed equities.

On 31st January 2019, the Central Statistical Office (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme implementation has revised the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) Growth forecast to 7.2% from earlier estimate of 6.7%.The revised GDP growth rate shows that the effect of demonetization was not as severe as predicted earlier. Hence various economists have criticized the revision of growth rates. The GDP growth rate at current prices also called Nominal GDP growth rate has been revised to 11.3% to 10% for 2017-18. The actual growth rate for 2016-17 has also been revised to 8.2% from the earlier estimate of 7.1% by the CSO.

Manika Batra became the first female paddler from India to be enlisted in top 50 list, she made herself in rank 47.

World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year on the 2nd of February to raise global awareness on the value of wetlands for humanity and the planet. Theme of World Wetlands Day 2019 is “Wetlands and Climate Change”.

On 2nd February 2019, 2nd Phase of Pasupu-Kumkuma (Turmeric-Kumkum) scheme and welfare pensions was launched by Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Shri Chandrababu Naidu. 94 Lakh DWCRA (Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas) women will be given Rs 10000 in three installments under the Pasupu-Kumkuma scheme. Under the scheme, Rs 2500 will be given on 1st February 2019, Rs 3500 will be given 8th March and Rs 4000 will be given on 5th April.

On February 2, 2019, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh declared one of the rarest mammal, Indus River Dolphin, which is only found in Beas River ,as Punjab State Aquatic Animal. The Chief Minister constituted a committee comprised eminent members of the State Board of Wildlife, including Major AP Singh, Hardit Singh Sidhu, Col. P.S. Grewal and Jaskaran Singh and officers of Wildlife Department, to examine certain issues related to formation of separate directorate of Wildlife & Wetlands of Bir Moti Bagh wildlife Sanctuary to provide a natural habitat to various wildlife species.

On February 2, 2019, Narendra Modi Government appointed Rishi K Shukla, former Madhya Pradesh DGP , as the new director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a fixed tenure of two years. After the unceremonious exit of Alok Verma , M Nageswara Rao had been working as the Interim Director.

On January 31,2019 ,RBI has approved the appointment of Ajai Kumar as the interim CEO of YES Bank, which have undergone several resignations and appointments in top leadership level. RBI approved Ajai Kumar as Interim MD and CEO of the bank from February 1, 2019, for one month or till Ravneet Gill assumes office as MD and CEO. Ravneet Gill is at present the head of the German based Deutsche Bank in India. According to the report, he will take charge on or before March 1,2019. Former MD and CEO Rana Kapoor demitted the office,leaving Yes Bank , as the fifth largest bank.

On 2nd February 2019, Iran Unveiled its Long Range Cruise Surface to Surface Missile named Hoveizeh with a Strike range of 1,300 km (800 miles) to mark the remembrance of 1979 Islamic Revolution Anniversary. The Long Range Cruise Missile is from the Soumar family of cruise missiles which was unveiled in the year 2015.

On January 31, 2019, ‘ICT Academy Bridge 2019’ the 37th edition of conference, was inaugurated by Dr.Manikandan,minister of Information and Technology,Tamil Nadu. This conference is conducted every year with a motive to develop a better education system and formulate strategic regulatory frameworkThe theme of the 37th edition of the conference “Fostering India for Industry 4.0”.

On 30th January 2019, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched the Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) which will act as the hub of ISRO’s future manned missions at the headquarters of ISRO in Bengaluru, Karnataka. S. Unnikrishnan Nair and R. Hutton was declared as the founder Director of HSFC and Project Director of Gaganyaan respectively by ISRO chairman Dr. K. Sivan.

On February 3,2019, Kerala became the first state to set up price monitoring and research unit (PMRU) to track violation of prices of essential drugs and medical devices. The new watchdog will offer technical help to the State Drug Controllers to monitor notified prices of medicines, detect violation of the provisions of the Drugs Price Control Order (DPCO). This move is taken by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA).

Under the sponsorship of Indian Bank, two regional rural bank – Pallavan Grama Bank and Pandyan Grama Bank will be amalgamated to form a single RRB i.e. Tamil Nadu Grama Bank in Tamil Nadu. The consolidation will be effective from April 1, 2019. This amalgamation has been conferred by Ministry of Finance under Regional Rural Banks Act 1976.

On 3rd February 2019, Noted Manipuri filmmaker Aribam Shyam Sharma returned his Padma Shri award, which he received in 2006, as a mark of protest against Modi government’s Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. He stated that the Bill, is a threat to the small state like Manipur which has a population less than a district of Uttar Pradesh.

On February 3,2019,Former executive director of Canara Bank ,P V Bharathi assumed charge as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the city-based Corporation Bank. P V Bharati surpassed Jai Kumar Garg, and became the first woman CEO of the bank. Despite the post of executive director of Canara Bank ,she also holded the post of non-executive director of Can Fin Homes Limited and also director board member of Canbank Venture Capital Limited.

On February 3, 2019, International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)decided to set up a World Heritage Centre housing ‘spiritual camps’ in 45 countries,one of which is to be set up in Mayapur in West Bengal. The estimated cost of this project is 3000 crores.

On February 4,2019, second edition of Words Count festival 2019 was held in Pune, Maharashtra. The Festival, was hosted by the award -winning screenwriter, author and columnist Advita Kala. This festival is held with a motive to bring together speakers from several socio-political spheres and share their insights on various issues. Pavan Kumar Verma, A career diplomat and famous writer was honored with first Word Smith Award 2019 for his contribution in Indian Literature.

The Maharashtra government has set up a committee to review various schemes implemented for the welfare of tribals in the state. The 17-member committee, headed by former MLA and Shramjeevi Sanghatna president Vivek Pandit, will undertake study of various works done for providing employment opportunities, minimum wages and proper livelihood to tribals. And it will suggest measures to ensure that children in tribal regions were not deprived of education.

On February 4,2019, P.S. Krishnan, former Secretary of Government of India,was entitled with K.Veeramani Award for Social Justice 2018 in New Delhi. Mr.V.P.Singh, former Prime Minister of India, was the first recipient of the K veeramani award. Social Exclusion and Justice in India, Empowering Dalits for Empowering India: A Road-map are some of books written by P S Krishnan.

On 6th February 2019, the “Darwaza Band- Part 2” campaign was launched by Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen focuses on sustaining the open defecation free status of villages across the country. The campaign launched by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in Mumbai in the presence of actor Amitabh Bachchan.