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IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF FEBRUARY 6^th, 2019

              IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF FEBRUARY 6^th, 2019

1.     (6th February) is International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation.

a.      This day is an UN-sponsored awareness day.

b.      This day is observed to make the world aware of female genital mutilation (also called FGM) and to promote its eradication.

2.     The President of United States, Donald Trump has confirmed that he'll hold his 2nd summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Vietnam during 27th & 28th February 2019.

3.     Pope Francis reached the UAE for the 1st-ever visit by a head of the Catholic Church to the Arabian Peninsula. 

a.      Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Egypt's Al-Azhar mosque, signed a 'Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together'.

4.     India and New Zealand held 2nd Foreign office consultations in New Delhi. 

a.      The consultations between the two sides provided an opportunity to review the entire range of bilateral relations, including political, trade and economic ties.

b.      Both countries have exchanged views on regional and multilateral issues, including cooperation at UN and other International Organizations. 

c.      India also reaffirmed its commitment to working closely with New Zealand in these areas.

d.      India side was led by : Vijay Thakur Singh (Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs)

e.      New Zealand side was led by : Ben King (Deputy Secretary Americas and Asia Group, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)

5.     The Uttar Pradesh government today constituted a 4-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the circumstances that led to 1984 anti-Sikh riotsin Kanpur, following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

a.      The SIT, which will have a 6-month tenure, will examine FIRs lodged during the riots and cases wherein the accused had got relief from the court. 

b.      At least 125 people were killed in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Kanpur.

6.     The Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari today laid the foundation stone for three highway projects, entailing an investment of Rs 2,345 crore, in Odisha.

a.      The projects will ensure better connectivity of the mineral-rich Angul and Dhenkanal districts of Odisha with the rest of the state.

7.     A disaster relief exercise titled 'Exercise Rahat' will be demonstrated in Jaipur, Kota and Alwar in Rajasthan on Feb 11-12.

a.      Jaipur based Sapta Shakti Command will conduct the Joint Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Exercise on behalf of the Indian Army. 

b.      The joint exercise in coordination with NDMA is being conducted to synergise efforts for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

c.      Representatives from Armed Forces, National Disaster Management Response Mechanism (NDMRM), SDMA Rajasthan and DLMAs will be participating in the exercise.

d.      The exercise will be conducted simultaneously in three places, beginning at Jaipur in the form of a tabletop exercise and at Kota and Alwar.

8.     US President Donald Trump is going to pick senior Treasury official David Malpass as the US nominee to lead the World Bank. 

a.      Note : World Bank's former President Jim Yong Kim stepped down on February 1 to join private equity firm Global Infrastructure Partners.

9.     India today successfully launched its 40th communication satellite, GSAT-31 onboard European launch services provider Arianespace's rocket from French Guiana. 

a.      The satellite, weighing around 2,536 kg, is designed to last around 15 years and will provide continuity to operational services on some of the in-orbit satellites.

b.      GSAT-31 will provide transponder capacity for DTH television and connectivity to services like VSATs for ATMs, stock-exchanges, Digital Satellite News Gathering DSNG and e-governance applications. 

c.      ISRO Chairman : Dr Sivan

10.The Facebook Messenger has globally rolled out "Remove for everyone" feature to delete messages within 10 minutes of sending. 

11.The State Bank of India (SBI)’s UK head Sanjiv Chadha has been honoured with the ‘Freedom of the City of London’ Award in recognition of his contribution to promoting the bilateral relations.

12.The Chairman of Wipro Ltd, Azim Premji, will be felicitated with the Ernst & Young (EY) Lifetime Achievement Award. 

13.President Ram Nath Kovind gave away the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards 2017 at Rashtrapati Bhawan today. 

a.      The award carries a cash prize of one lakh rupees, a Tamrapatra and Angavastram. 

b.      42 artists from the fields including Music, Dance, Theatre, Traditional, Folk, and Tribal music were awarded.  

c.      11 eminent artists were selected in the field of Music. They include Lalith J Rao, Umakant and Ramakant Gundecha in the field of Hindustani Vocal music and MS Sheela in Carnatic music.

d.      9 artists were awarded in Dance category including Ramakrishna Talukdar for Sattriya and Rama Vaidyanathan for Bharatnatyam. 

e.      9 artists were chosen for the award in Theatre.

f.        10 artists were awarded in the category of Traditional, Folk and Tribal Music. 

g.      Vijay Verma and Sandhya Purecha were awarded for their overall contribution to the Performing Arts.

h.      Established in 1952, the Award not only symbolizes the highest standards of excellence and achievements but also recognizes sustained individual work and contribution.

14.'The Avengers' actor Chris Evans and singer Jennifer Lopez are going to present awards at the upcoming Oscars 2019 ceremony. 

15.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a total penalty of ₹2.2 crore on private lender Axis Bank in two separate cases. 

a.      The RBI also imposed a penalty of ₹2 crore on UCO Bank and ₹1 crore on Syndicate Bank for violation of norms. 

16.The government has asked the RBI to transfer its entire surplus for the last two yearsas it seeks to meet revised budget goals for FY19 and FY20.

a.      It has asked RBI to pay ₹13,190 crore for the Financial Year 2017 and ₹14,190 crore for the Financial Year 2018. 

b.      Note : This comes before the RBI reserves surplus committee, headed by Bimal Jalan (former Governor), submits its report.

17.The Madhya Pradesh government today made it mandatory for industries seeking various incentives from the state government to provide 70% employment to locals. 

18.The Indian government has decided to conduct a survey of all agricultural households in the country covering the period from July 2018 to June 2019. 

a.      It will focus on their income, expenditure and indebtedness. 

b.      Nodal Agency : National Sample Survey Office 

19.The International Hockey Federation (FIH) today announced that India is among the group of six countries that have presented bids to host the next edition of the Hockey World Cup. 

a.      India has proposed to conduct the event for either men or women in the January 13 to 29, 2023 window. 

b.      Note : India has hosted the men's World Cup thrice, the latest being last year in Bhubaneswar, but has never hosted the women's World Cup.

20.The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed Sarfaraz Ahmed will remain Pakistan's captain till World Cup 2019, which will be staged in England and Wales from May 30 to July 14.