IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS
OF FEBRUARY 25th, 2019
IMPORTANT
CURRENT AFFAIRS OF FEBRUARY 25th, 2019
1.
US President Donald Trump will
reach Hanoi (Capital city of Vietnam) tomorrow for his 2nd
summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
a. The summit is
due to take place on Wednesday and Thursday but details of the talks have not
been released.
b. The North
Korean President, Kim Jong-Un is going to reach Hanoi by train from Pyongyang.
c. Note : The Vietnam
summit is a follow-up to a meeting in Singapore last June.
2.
Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, a Hindu
parliamentarian from Pakistan, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union
Minister Sushma Swaraj at an event in Delhi.
a. The MP
assured the ministers that Pakistan had no involvement in the Pulwama
attack.
b. Note : Vankwani was
part of a foreign delegation invited to India to attend the Kumbh Mela by the
Indian Council for Cultural Relations.
3.
A ceremony was held in Tokyo (Japan) to
celebrate 30 years of Emperor Akihito's reign.
a. Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe, the Speaker and President of both chambers of the Diet and
foreign ambassadors to Japan also attended the event on Sunday.
b. Note : Emperor
Akihito is schedule to abdicate on April 30 and Crown Prince
Naruhito's accession is set on May 1.
4.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has declared
a year-long state of emergency, dissolving his cabinet and local governments
throughout the country.
a. His
announcement followed months of nearly daily protests against his rule, with
thousands of people taking to the streets across the country since December 19
to call for him to stand down after nearly three decades in office.
5.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the National War
Memorial near India Gate in New Delhi today.
a. The memorial
honours soldiers who have laid down their lives in the service for the country
since Independence.
b. Spread over
40 acres, the project has been executed at a cost of Rs 176 crore.
c. The layout of
the Memorial comprises 4 concentric circles :
i) Amar Chakra - Circle of
Immortality
ii) Veerta
Chakra - Circle of Bravery
iii) Tyag
Chakra - Circle of Sacrifice
iv) Rakshak
Chakra - Circle of Protection.
b) The complex
includes a central obelisk, an eternal flame and six bronze murals depicting
famous battles fought by Indian Army, Air Force and Navy.
c) Busts of the
21 awardees of Param Veer Chakra have been installed at Param
Yoddha Sthal.
6.
Railways Minister Piyush Goyal today
launched the 'Rail Drishti Dashboard (e-Drishti)', an online portal
containing information related to passenger and freight trains and links to
live feeds of IRCTC kitchens.
a. The Dashboard
has been launched to keep people informed about the work going on in the
Railways across the country.
7.
The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the
Empowerment of Women has praised Odisha government
for proposing 33% reservation for women in Parliament and
Assemblies.
a. Note : Andhra
Pradesh had also passed a proposal for women's reservation in
2016.
8.
The Ministry of Home Affairs increased the Risk and
Hardship Allowance for CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces)
personnel from ₹9,700 to ₹17,300 per month for those up to the Inspector rank.
a. For those
above Inspector rank, allowance was increased from ₹16,900 to ₹25,000.
b. Note : Over 88,000
CRPF personnel in the LWE states and J&K will benefit from this move.
9.
Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey launched a national
programme aimed at eliminating viral hepatitis, recognized as
an important public health problem.
a. The minister
of state for health launched the National Action Plan - Viral
Hepatitis at Mumbai in presence of Amitabh Bachchan,
the goodwill ambassador for hepatitis, WHO South-East Asia Region.
b. Aim of this
Programme : To combat hepatitis and achieve countrywide
elimination of Hepatitis C by 2030.
10. The
government of Himachal Pradesh today announced Monkey as Vermin for
the period of one year in 11 districts of the state.
a. Meaning of
Vermin = Wild animals that are believed to be harmful to crops,
farm animals, or game, or which carry disease
11. Gujarat government
has launched the 2nd edition of the water conservation scheme Sujalam
Sufalam Jal Sanchay Abhiyan.
a. Aim of this
Scheme : To deepen water bodies in the state before monsoon to increase
storage of rainwater to be used during times of scarcity.
12. The Indian
government today declared that the Printing presses and mints as
public utility service under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
a. The units
declared as public utility services include the following :
i) India
Security Press (Nashik)
ii) India
Government Mints (Kolkata, Noida, Mumbai, Hyderabad)
iii) Security
Printing Press (Hyderabad)
b) Note : The
notification is valid for six months and can be reissued after expiry.
13. The new draft
e-commerce policy has proposed a ban on all gifts shipped to India via
e-commerce route to prevent misuse of 'gifting' provision.
a. Indian
customs law allows up to ₹5,000-tax
exemptions on gifts sent to India from abroad.
b. Several
Chinese e-tailers including SheIn and AliExpress reportedly
misused this rule to ship cheaper products to Indian users.
14. The GST
Council announced under construction properties priced
over ₹45 lakh will
invite 5% GST, instead of 12%.
a. A residential
property priced at ₹45 lakh or below will
now be defined as "affordable" and taxed at 1%, from 8%
earlier.
b. Further, a
property of 60 square metres in metro cities and 90 square metres in non-metros
will be considered "affordable".
15. Afghanistan has begun
exports to India through Iran’s Chabahar port, as the landlocked
country turns to overseas markets to improve its economy.
a. At the
inauguration of the new export route in Zaranj city in western Nimroz
province, President Ashraf Ghani said Chabahar port is the result of
healthy cooperation between India, Iran and Afghanistan.
16. Haryana
Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu presented
the Rs. 1,32,165.99 crore tax free budget for 2019-20 in
the State Assembly today.
a. It is 14.73
percent over Budget Estimates and 9.79 percent over revised estimates of
2018-19.
b. Over
Rs. 46, 000 crore have been allocated to 15 Sustainable Development Goals being
implemented in the state.
c. Although no
new tax is imposed, Finance Minister has proposed to raise revenue receipts of
Rs 82,219.41 crore in 2019-20 through efficient realisation of tax and non-tax
receipts over revised estimates of 2018-19 receipts of Rs 76, 828.11 crore.
17. Multinational
professional services network, Deloitte has announced the launch
of its global initiative ‘WorldClass’ in India for the
empowerment of women.
a. The
initiative was launched by Deloitte’s Global CEO, Punit
Renjen in the presence of Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister
of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
18. NITI
Aayog co-hosted a conference on “The Future of Indian Banking”,
with the Foundation for Economic Growth and Welfare (EGROW
Foundation).
a. The
conference was inaugurated by Dr Rajiv Kumar (Vice
Chairman, NITI Aayog).
b. Aim of this
Conference : Increasing and elevating the discourse on the banking sector
in India and help in developing insights to inform the continued evolution of
the Indian banking sector for optimally supporting the growing credit needs of
the Indian economy.
19. 'Green
Book' was named Best Picture at Oscars 2019, while
'Roma' director Alfonso Cuarón was named Best
Director.
a. India-based 'Period.
End of Sentence.' has won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject.
b. Oscar 2019
Winners
i) Best
Picture — Green Book
ii) Best
Director — Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
iii) Best Actress
in a Leading Role — Olivia Colman, The Favourite
iv) Best Actor in
a Leading Role — Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
v) Original
Song — Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, and Andrew Wyatt,
“Shallow,” A Star Is Born
vi) Original
Score — Ludwig Goransson, Black Panther
vii) Best Adapted
Screenplay — Spike Lee, Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Raymond Mansfield,
Jordan Peele, BlacKkKlansman
viii)
Best Original Screenplay — Nick Vallelonga, Brian
Currie, Peter Farrelly, Green Book
ix) Live Action
Short Film — Guy Nattiv and Jamie Ray Newman, Skin
x) Visual
Effects — Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J.D. Schwalm,
First Man
xi) Documentary
Short Subject — Rayka Zehtabchi and Melissa Berton, Period. End of Sentence.
xii) Documentary
(Feature) — Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Free Solo
xiii)
Animated Short Film — Domee Shi, Bao
xiv)
Animated Feature Film — Spider-Man: Into the
Spider-Verse, Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
xv) Actor in a
Supporting Role — Mahershala Ali, Green Book
xvi)
Actress in a Supporting Role — Regina
King, If Beale Street Could Talk
xvii)
Film Editing — John Ottman, Bohemian Rhapsody
xviii)
Foreign Language Film — Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
xix)Cinematography — Alfonso
Cuarón, Roma
xx) Sound
Mixing — Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin, and John Casali, Bohemian Rhapsody
xxi)Sound
Editing — John Warhurst, Bohemian Rhapsody
xxii)
Production Design — Hannah Beachler and Jay Hart, Black Panther
xxiii)
Costume Design — Ruth E. Carter, Black Panther
xxiv)
Makeup and Hairstyling — Greg Cannom, Kate
Biscoe, and Patricia Dehaney, Vice
No comments:
Post a Comment