February 01, 2019
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Current Affairs: February 01, 2019 February 01, 2019 New India Youth Conclave held in Surat Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the New India Youth Conclave in Surat. In a Town Hall like interactive session, Prime Minister shared New India's journey since 2014 and set out the agenda ahead. He contrasted the spirit of negativity that existed before 2014 with the surging New India that is leaving its mark globally. Finance Minister to present Interim Budget today Finance Minister Piyush Goyal will present the Interim Budget in Parliament on 1st February. The government is likely to announce several welfare measures for various sections of society. https://examprep.talentsprint.com 1 Current Affairs: February 01, 2019 RBI launches ombudsman scheme for digital payments The Reserve Bank of India has launched the ombudsman scheme for digital payments, the banking regulator announced in a release today. It had first spoken about the scheme in the December 5 monetary policy statement promising to create a separate ombudsman for digital payments. Laying out the jurisdiction of the functioning, the RBI said that the new ombudsman will start working from the 21 existing offices of the Banking Ombudsman and work within the existing territorial jurisdictions. GST collections cross Rs 1 lakh crore in January: Finance Ministry GST collections have jumped to Rs 1 lakh crore in January this year from the Rs 94,726 crore collected in December last year, Finance Ministry said today. This has been a significant improvement over collection of Rs 94,725 crore during last month and Rs 89,825 crore during the same month last year. Final figures and details of collections for the entire month will be intimated on February 2, the ministry said in a statement. This is only the second time when the collections have crossed Rs 1 lakh crore in this fiscal after April. https://examprep.talentsprint.com 2 Current Affairs: February 01, 2019 Govt renames DIPP as Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has been renamed as the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade with a mandate to deal with matters related to start-ups, facilitating ease of doing business among others, an official order said. The newly-named department is under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Republic Day Parade: Gorkha Brigade wins best marching contingent award On January 30, 2019, Gorkha Brigade received the best marching contingent trophy of the Republic Day parade whereas, The CRPF won the best marching contingent prize for the para-military forces. https://examprep.talentsprint.com 3 Current Affairs: February 01, 2019 Lt Gen Rajeev Chopra takes over as NCC Director General On January 31, 2019 Lt Gen Rajeev Chopra took charge as the Director General of NCC (DGNCC) in New Delhi. He has been awarded Ati Vishisht Seva Medal for his distinguished service in January 2018. India to host 2021 Champions Trophy and 2023 World T20 India are in no danger of losing out on the 2021 Champions Trophy and 2023 ICC World T20 hosting rights after tax exemption issues presented a threat on the same. ICC CEO Dave Richardson has confirmed that India will host both the events and that cricket's international body is looking to sort out the speculation. The International Cricket Council recently appointed media professional Manu Sawhney as its new chief executive officer, replacing incumbent David Richardson, who will step down after the World Cup. ICC HQ: Dubai Chairman: Shashank Manohar https://examprep.talentsprint.com 4 Current Affairs: February 01, 2019 Haryana Hammers beat Punjab Royals to win Pro Wrestling League season 4 title Haryana Hammers beat Punjab Royals 6-3 in the summit clash to win the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) season 4 title on 31st January. Riding on Aleksander Khotsianivski, Ali Shabanov, Kiran, Ravi Kumar and Anastasia Nichita’s dominating performance, Haryana Hammers, the runners-up in the last three editions, against defending champions Punjab Royals, won the first five bouts to clinch the title. UNESCO names International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements 2019 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. https://examprep.talentsprint.com 5 Current Affairs: February 02, 2019 February 02, 2019 Highlights of Interim Budget 2019-20 Finance Minister Piyush Goyal presented the Interim Budget for 2019-20 in Parliament on 1st February. Here are the 10 key highlights Finance Minister Piyush Goyal’s announced in Interim budgets 2019. 1. Taxation: Tax rebate raised for income up to Rs 5 lakhs Benefit of rollover of capital tax gains increased from one residential house to two houses This roll over on capital gains up to Rs 2 crore can be exercised once in a lifetime Income Tax returns to be processed within 24 hours and returns will be paid immediately in next 2 years 2. Agriculture: Rs 6,000 per year assured income for small and marginal farmers holding upto two hectares of land under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) in 3 equal installments. Govt to allocate Rs 75,000 crore for the scheme 2% interest subvention for farmers affected by natural disasters, additional 3% if they repay loans on time https://examprep.talentsprint.com 1 Current Affairs: February 02, 2019 2% interest subvention for farmers pursuing animal husbandry, fisheries 3. Rural sector: Budgetary allocation of Rs 19,000 crore for construction of rural roads under Gram Sadak yojana in 2019/20 Government to allocate Rs 60,000 crore for a MNREGA scheme 4. Employment: New social security coverage scheme for unorganised sector workers Assured monthly pension of Rs 3,000 rupees per month, with contribution of 100 rupees per month, for workers in unorganized sector after 60 years of age Scheme to benefit 10 crore workers in unorganized sector, may become the world's biggest pension scheme for unorganized sector in 5 years 5. GST: Group of Ministers to suggest ways to reduce GST for house buyers Small and medium-sized businesses registered under the GST to get 2% interest subvention on loan of Rs 1 crore 6. Economy: Average monthly tax collection at Rs 97,100 crore per month so far this year Gross market borrowing seen at Rs 7.04 lakh crore in 2019/20 Goyal says expects other banks on the central bank's Prompt Corrective Action list to be removed soon 7. Fiscal maths: Fiscal deficit for 2018-19 seen at 3.4% of GDP Fiscal deficit for 2019-20 estimated at 3.4% of GDP Fiscal deficit for 2020-21 seen at 3% of GDP https://examprep.talentsprint.com 2 Current Affairs: February 02, 2019 Government's stated commitment earlier was to bring down the fiscal deficit to 3.1% of GDP by the end of March 2020, and to 3% by March 2021 India's current account deficit for 2018-19 seen at 2.5 pct of GDP Debt to GDP ratio to be brought down to 40% by 2024-25 8. Railways: Railways operating ratio seen 96.2% in FY19 Vs 95% FY20 Railway capex for FY20 set at record Rs 1.6 lakh crore Today there is not a single unmanned railway crossing on the broad gauge in India 9. Defence Budget: Govt increases defence budget to over Rs 3 lakh crore. Govt will provide additional funds for Defence, if needed Govt disbursed Rs 35,000 crore under OROP scheme in the last few years 10. Film Industry: A single window clearance for filmmakers Kala Ghoda Arts Festival all set to begin from 2nd February The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival - KGAF, India’s largest multi-cultural street festival, is all set to begin from Saturday. Commemorating 20 years of its inception, KGAF 2019 will celebrate two glorious decades of art and culture through cinema, theatre, dance, literature and sculpture through various spots on Mumbai’s map. https://examprep.talentsprint.com 3 Current Affairs: February 02, 2019 International conference on 8th century sage Guru Padmasambhava held in New Delhi to mark 50 years of India-Bhutan ties Celebrating 50-years of formalization of diplomatic ties between India and Bhutan, a two-day international conference on 8th century Himalayan sage Guru Padmasambhava was held in New Delhi that saw the participation of distinguished scholars from both countries. The conference, organized by the Centre for Escalation of Peace (CEP) and titled 'Life and Legacy of Guru Padmasambhava', was held on January 29-30. Government revises GDP growth rate to 7.2% for 2017-18 from 6.7% estimated earlier 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%. https://examprep.talentsprint.com 4 Current Affairs: February 02, 2019 RBI Lifted up the restrictions on BoI, Bank of Maharashtra, Oriental Bank of Commerce On 1st February, RBI has eased out the operational curbs on 3 banks, Bank of India (BoI), Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) and Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) and also allowed them to have a exit from the Prompt Corrective Action ( PCA) framework fully. These three banks were part of 11 government-owned banks that were put under the Prompt Corrective Action framework in 2017 and 2018. And the government gave a capital infusion of Rs 10,000 crore for Bank of India, Rs 5,500 crore for Oriental Bank of Commerce and Rs 4,500 crore for Bank of Maharashtra, which helped the banks to come out of the framework.