FEBRUARY 2019 CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE FEBRUARY CURRENT AFFAIRS 2019 MP CURRENT AFFAIRS Madhya Pradesh Government launched 100-day employment scheme for youths Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath launched the State Government’s flagship scheme ‘Mukhyamantri Yuva Swabhiman Yojana’ that guarantees 100 days of employment every year to urban youth from Economically Weaker Sections(EWS). a) Under the scheme, Rs 4,000 stipend per month during 100 days of period, would be given to the youth and they will also be given skill development training in order to become independent. b) Each youth enrolled under the scheme will get total Rs 13,500 for the 100 days period. c) Only those youths, whose family’s annual income is less than Rs 2 lakh and who are in the age group of 21-30 years, are eligible for the scheme. d) 1.5 lakh urban youths have so far registered themselves for this scheme. 2 new NIDs inaugurated at Bhopal and Jorhat by Suresh Prabhu National Institutes of Design (NID) at Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh and Jorhat in Assam were inaugurated by Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, through video conference from New Delhi. a) They are autonomous institutions and under the Department for Promotion of Industry and InternalTrade (DPIIT),Ministry of Commerce and Industry. b) NID Jorhat (Assam) is the first Design Institution at the national level in the North Eastern Region of India. c) The recommendation for setting up design institutes, on the lines of NID Ahmedabad, in other parts of India, in order to promote design programs, was given by National Design Policy (2007). d) 4 new NIDs have been set up in Andhra Pradesh (Amaravati), Assam (Jorhat), Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal) andHaryana (Kurukshetra) with a total outlay of Rs. 434 crore. e) The project has been executed and implemented by NBCC (India) Ltd. (formerly known as National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd.). Railways win Senior National Men’s Hockey Title by defeating Punjab The Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) won the 9th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2019 (A Div),defeating Punjab by 3-2 at Gwalior, Madhya Website: mppscadda.com Telegram: t.me/mppscadda WhatsApp: 7982862964 Call : 8368182233 , 9711733833 FEBRUARY 2019 CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE Pradesh. RSPB’s Harsahib Singh scored two goals in the 35th and 45th minute while Dilpreet Singh scored in the 57thminute. Punjab’s Rupinder Pal Singh scored in the 23rdminute and Ramandeep Singh scored in 60th minute. NATIONAL Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Visit to Surat Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visited Surat and Dandi in Gujarat, where he dedicated National Salt Satyagraha Memorial in Dandi to the nation. Government approves 4 lakh houses under PMAY(U) Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry approves construction of 4 lakh houses under the Pradhan MantriAwasYojana (Urban). It makes the total numbers of houses to about 71.5 lakh. Implementation models under the Pradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana The Pradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana (PMJAY) proposes three models through which the states can implement the scheme. The models are 1. insurance model 2. trust-based model and 3. hybrid model. India’s unemployment rate hit 4 decade high of 6.1%in 2017-18 As per National Sample Survey Office’s (NSSO’s) periodic labour force survey (PLFS), India’s unemployment rate hit a 45 year high of 6.1% in 2017-18. It is the first comprehensive survey on employment conducted by a government agency after demonetization. Government renames DIPP as Department for promotion Of Industry and Internal Trade Centre has renamed the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) as Department of promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). DPIIT will work under the aegis of Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Union Minister Prakash Javadekarinaugurates new campus of National Museum Institute at Noida Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Prakash Javadekar inaugurated new Campus of the National Museum Institute in Noida. Punjab govt gave approval for ‘Smart Village Campaign’ worth of Rs 385 crores Punjab government approved a rural development scheme, “Smart Village Campaign” worth Rs 384.40 crore to build village infrastructure and provide essential amenities. Website: mppscadda.com Telegram: t.me/mppscadda WhatsApp: 7982862964 Call : 8368182233 , 9711733833 FEBRUARY 2019 CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE INTERIM BUDGET 2019 HIGHLIGHTS • Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal presented an Interim Budget for 2019 in Parliament on February 1 2019. • India to become a USD 5-trillion economy in the next five years and aspires to become a USD 10-trillioneconomy in the next 8 years 1. Fiscal deficit for 2018/19 seen at 3.4% of GDP 2. FY20 total expenditure seen at 27.84 trillion rupees 3. FY20 capital expenditure seen at 3,36,292 crore 4. Central schemes to get 3,27,679 crore FY20 5. Recovered 3 lakh crore via bankruptcy code 6. Current account deficit for 2018/19 seen at 2.5% of GDP 7. Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra and Oriental Bank no more under RBI’s prompt corrective action • Direct Tax proposals 1. No income tax for earnings up to Rs5 lakh - Individuals with gross income of up to 6.5 lakh need not pay any tax if they make investments in provident funds and prescribed equities. 2. More than Rs. 23,000 crore tax relief to 3 crore middle class taxpayers 3. Standard tax deduction for salaried persons raised from 40,000 to 50,000 4. Tax Deducted at Source(TDS) threshold to be raised from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 40,000 on interest earned on bank/post office deposits 5. I-T processing of returns to be done in 24 hours 6. Within the next 2 years, all verification of tax returns to be done electronically without any interface with the taxpayer 7. Existing rates of income tax to continue 8. Tax exempted on notional rent on a second self-occupied house 9. Housing and real estate sector to get boost- • TDS threshold on rental income increased from Rs1.8 lakh to Rs 2.4 lakh. • Benefit of rollover of capital gains increased from investment in one residential house to two residential houses for capital gains up to Rs. 2 crores. • Tax benefits for affordable housing extended till 31st March, 2020 under Section 80-IBA of Income Tax Act • Tax exemption period on notional rent, on unsold inventories, extended from one year to two years • Direct tax collections from 6.38 lakh crore rupees in 2013-14 to almost 12 lakh crore rupees; tax base up from Rs 3.79 crore to Rs 6.85 crore. 99.54% returns have been accepted without any scrutiny. In January 2019, GST collections has crossed 1 lakh crore rupees. Website: mppscadda.com Telegram: t.me/mppscadda WhatsApp: 7982862964 Call : 8368182233 , 9711733833 FEBRUARY 2019 CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE • Farmers 1. Under Pradhan MantriKisanSamman Nidhi(PM-KISAN), 6000 rupees per year for each farmer, in three installments, to be transferred directly to farmers’ bank accounts, for farmers with less than 2 hectaresland holding.This initiative is likely to benefit 12 crore small and marginal farmers, at an estimated cost of Rs 75,000 crore for FY 2019-20 with additional Rs. 20,000 crores in RE 2018- 19. 2. Outlay for RashtriyaGokul mission increased to Rs 750 crore. 3. RashtriyaKamdhenuAyog to be setup for sustainable genetic up-gradation of the Cow resources. 4. New separate Department of Fisheries for welfare of 1.5 crore fishermen. 5. 2% interest subvention to Farmers for Animal husbandry and Fisheries activities; additional 3% in case of timely repayment. 6. Interest subvention of 2% during disaster will now be provided for the entire period of reschedulement of loan. 7. Decision taken to increase MSP (minimum support price) by 1.5 times the production cost for all 22 crops. • Labour 1. Pradhan MantriShram Yogi Mandhan scheme to provide assured monthly pension of 3000 rupees permonth, with contribution of only Rs 100/55 per month, for workers in unorganised sector after 60 years of age.This will benefit 10 crore workers in unorganized sector & become the world’s biggest pension scheme for unorganized sector in five years. 2. New Pension Scheme (NPS) had been increased 10% to 14% with effect from April 1, 2019. 3. Gratuity limit payment increased from Rs. 10 lakhs to Rs. 20 lakhs 4. ESI Cover limit increased to Rs 21,000. Minimum pension also increased to Rs 1000. • Health 1. 22nd AIIMS to be setup in Haryana 2. National Health Mission budget estimates were hiked from Rs 30,634 crore to Rs 32,251 crore from the previous fiscal. • North East 1. Allocation to be increased by 21% to Rs. 58,166 crores in 2019-20 BE(Budget Estimates) over 2018-19 BE 2. Arunachal Pradesh came on the air map recently 3. Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram came on India’s rail map for the first time 4. Container cargo movement through improved navigation capacity of the Brahmaputra • Defence - Defence budget hiked to over Rs 3 lakh crore for first time ever Website: mppscadda.com Telegram: t.me/mppscadda WhatsApp: 7982862964 Call : 8368182233 , 9711733833 FEBRUARY 2019 CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE • Railways 1. Capital support of Rs.64,587 crore proposed in 2019-20 (BE) from the budget 2. Overall capital expenditure programme to be of Rs. 1,58,658 crores 3. Operating Ratio expected to improve from 98.4% in 2017-18to 96.2% in 2018- 19 (RE) and to 95% in 2019- 20 (BE) 4. Safest year’ for railways in its history 5. All Unmanned Level Crossings on broad gauge network eliminated. 6. Semi high-speed “Vande Bharat Express” introduced – first indigenously developed and manufactured.