Appointments 1. AK Sikri appointed as Executive Chairman of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).

2. Amitabh Chaudhry took charge as Managing Director and CEO of Axis Bank.

3. Andry Rajoelina has been appointed as President of Madagascar (East Africa).

4. Christophe Joseph Marie Dabire has been new Prime Minister of West African country Burkina Faso.

5. Dilip Sadarangani has been appointed as part-time Chairman of Federal Bank.

6. G Ashok Kumar appointed as Vice Chief of Indian Navy. While, MS Pawar appointed as Deputy Chief of Indian Navy.

7. Gopal Krishna Dwivedi has been appointed as Chief Electoral Officer of Andhra Pradesh.

8. Government appointed Kumar Rajesh Chandra as Director General in Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).

9. Hemant Bhargava is appointed as Acting Chairman of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

10. India's Pranav R Mehta appointed as president of Global Solar Council (GSC), becoming first Indian to hold this post.

11. India's Raja Krishnamoorthi has been appointed as a member of a Congressional committee on intelligence, becoming first

South Asian to serve in the powerful body tasked to strengthen U.S.‟s national security.

12. International Cricket Council (ICC) appointed India's Manu Sawhney as its new Chief Executive Officer. He will replace

current CEO Dave Richardson in July after ICC men‟s World Cup.

13. Jaideep Govind has been appointed as New Secretary General of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Also, Prabhat

Singh is appointed as as Director General (Investigation) in National Human Rights Commission.

14. Jair Bolsonaro appointedas new President of South American Nation Brazil.

15. Lingappa Narayana Swamy has been appointed as Acting Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court.

16. Mohammed Ali Qamar appointed as India's chief coach for female boxers. He had won India‟s first Commonwealth Games

gold medal in boxing, in 2002 (Manchester) Commonwealth Games.

17. Narasimhan Ram appointed as President of Alliance for Media Freedom (AFMF), a cross-media advocacy and action group of

media organization, promoters, and journalists.

18. Nicolas Maduro started his second term as President of economically troubled south american nation Venezuela.

19. Nitin Wakankar appointed as new Chief Information Officer and spokesperson of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

20. PK Purwar appointed as New CMD of BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited).

21. Pakistan appointed Suman Kumari as Its first ever Hindu female civil judge, after she passed an exam for the same.

1. Pakistan also declared sugarcane juice as „national drink‟ of the country.

22. Poonam Khetrapal Singh appointed as Regional Director for World Health Organization South-East Asia, for 2nd five-year

term.

23. Private Bank Yes Bank appointed Brahm Dutt as its non-executive part-time chairman.

24. RBI approved appointment of V Vaidyanathan as MD and CEO of IDFC First Bank, created recently after merger of Capital

First with IDFC Bank.

25. Railways Minister Piyush Goyal appointed interim finance minister, due to Arun Jaitley undergoing surgery. Mr. Goyal will

present the Interim budget on Feb 1.

26. Rajeev Chopra appointed as Director General of National Cadet Corps (NCC).

27. Saurabh Kumar has been appointed as Director General of Ordnance Factories (DGOF) and chairman of Ordnance Factory

Board (OFB). Indian Ordnance Factories organisation is a family of 41 Ordnance Factories, under Ministry of Defence.

28. Stefan Lofven Has been re-elected as Prime Minister of Sweden for his second four-year term.

29. Su Tseng-chang has been appointed as new Prime Minister of Taiwan (East asian nation officially known as Republic of

China.

30. Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah elected as Malaysia's new king. He replaced Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan, who

stepped down recently, making it first abdication in Malaysia's history.

31. Supreme court Collegium recommended appointment of Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna as judges of Supreme Court.

It will take number of sitting supreme court judges to 28, out of maximum strength of 31.

32. Thottathil Bhaskaran Nair Radhakrishnan appointed as first Chief Justice of Telangana High Court. Also, Praveen Kumar

appointed as acting Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court.

33. Vinod Kumar Yadav appointed as Chairman of Railway Board, after Ashwani Lohani retired from post.

Latest Current Affairs - January 2019

34. YES Bank appointed Ravneet Singh Gill as its MD and CEO, who will succeed Rana Kapoor. Ravneet Singh Gill is currently

CEO of Deutsche Bank‟s India operations. Mr Gill will take over the role on Mar 1, 2019. Till then, Ajai Kumar will hold the

post of MD & CEO of Yes Bank.

Awards 1. 10th Edition of Sansad Ratna Awards -

1. 12 MPs honoured as top performers of 16th Lok Sabha.

2. Bhartruhari Mahtab, N. K. Premachandran, Anurag Thakur, Nishikant Dubey, Supriya Sule, Shrirang Barne, Rajiv

Satav, Dhananjay Mahadik, Dr Heena Gavit, were honoured. Anurag Thakur became first MP from BJP to receive this

honour.

3. Rajni Patil and Rapolu Ananda Bhaskar were honoured with Sansad Ratna Awards under Rajya Sabha category.

4. Finance Committee was selected as outstanding committee under Parliamentary Standing Committee category.

2. 2018 ICC Awards -

1. Cricketer of the Year - Virat Kohli (India)

2. Test Player of the Year - Virat Kohli (India)

3. ODI Player of the Year - Virat Kohli (India)

4. Twenty20 International Performance of the Year - Aaron Finch (Australia)

5. Emerging Player of the Year - Rishabh Pant (India)

6. Associate Player of the Year - Calum MacLeod (Scotland)

7. Umpire of the Year - Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka)

8. Women's Cricketer of the Year - Smriti Mandhana (India)

9. Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year - Smriti Mandhana (India)

10. Women's T20I Cricketer of the Year - Alyssa Healy (Australia)

11. Spirit of Cricket : Kane Williamson (New Zealand)

12. Virat Kohli become first player ever to win Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year, ICC Men‟s Test

Player of the Year and ICC ODI Player of the Year awards in same year.

3. 3 Indian-origin women scientists among 60 Superstars of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) awards

given by Australian government. 3 scientists are Onisha Patel, Devika Kamath and Asha Rao.

4. 3 Journalists from Tamil Nadu in named for Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award 2018, Including M

Gunasekaran, Sandhya Ravishankar and Vijay Kumar S.

5. 3rd National Entrepreneurship Awards -

1. Award includes trophy, certificate and cash prize of IRN 5 to 10 lakhs.

2. This year, total 43 awards presented, including 39 awards for Young Entrepreneurs in different sectors and 4 awards for

Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Builders.

3. To be eligible for these awards, nominee age must be under 40 years, must be a first-generation entrepreneur and must

hold 51% or more equity of business.

6. 76th Golden Globe Awards -

1. Best Motion Picture - Bohemian Rhapsody (Drama), Green Book (Musical or Comedy)

2. Best Performance in a Motion Picture (Drama) -

1. Actor - Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody

2. Actress - Glenn Close – The Wife

3. Best Performance in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) -

1. Actor - Christian Bale in Vice

2. Actress - Olivia Colman in The Favourite

4. Best Supporting Performance in a Motion Picture -

1. Supporting Actor - Mahershala Ali in Green Book

2. Supporting Actress - Regina King in If Beale Street Could Talk

5. Best Director - Alfonso Cuarón for Roma

6. Best Foreign Language Film - Roma (Mexico)

7. Best Animated Feature Film - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

8. Best Television Series -

1. Drama - The Americans

2. Musical or Comedy - The Kominsky Method

7. Deen Dayal Veterinary University in Uttar Pradesh will set up first goat fertility lab in state under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas

Yojna at the cost of Rs 22 crores.

8. Detained Chinese rights lawyer Yu Wensheng won a Franco-German human rights award for his „exceptional contribution‟ to

the protection and promotion of human rights.

9. Dharwad-based paediatrician Rajan Deshpande received Shankar Vaidya Shree Award of Dr. P.S. Shankar Pratishtan.

10. First Sheikh Saud International Prize for Materials Research has been awarded to Noted Indian Chemistry Scientist C N R

Rao. Award will be presented to Mr. Rao by Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi ruler of Ras Al Khaimah emirate during

International Workshop on Advanced Materials at Ras Al Khaimah.

11. Gandhi Peace Prize for years 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 -

1. 2015 - Vivekananda Kendra (Kanyakumari), for their contribution in Rural Development, Education , Development of

natural resources.

2. 2016 - Jointly to Akshaya Patra Foundation (for its contribution in providing mid-day meals to millions of children

across India) and Sulabh International (for its contribution in improving condition of sanitation in India).

3. 2017 - Ekal Abhiyan Trust, for their contribution in providing Education for Rural and Tribal Children in remote areas

pan India, Rural Empowerment, Gender and Social Equality

4. 2018 - Yohei Sasakawa (Japan), for his contribution in Leprosy Eradication in India and across the world.

5. About -

1. This award was instituted by Government of India in 1995 during commemoration of 125th Birth anniversary

of M K Gandhi. It carries an amount of 1 Crore, a Citation in a scroll, a plaque as well as an exquisite

traditional handicraft/handloom item.

12. Hindu Literary Prize 2018 awarded during The Hindu Lit for Life 2019 -

1. Fiction - Neelum Saran Gour for Requiem in Raga Janki

2. Non-fiction - Manoranjan Byapari for Interrogating my Chandal Life: An Autobiography of a Dalit

3. Young World-Goodbooks Award for Best Book Fiction - Venita Coelho for Boy No: 32.

4. Young World-Goodbooks Award for Best Book Non-Fiction - Mamta Nainy for A Brush with Indian Art.

5. Young World-Goodbooks Award for Best Picture Book (Story) - Vinayak Varma for Angry Akku.

6. Young World-Goodbooks Award for Best Picture Book (Illustration) - Rajiv Eipe for Ammachi‟s Amazing Machines

13. Indian-American Sikh Gurinder Singh Khalsan has been was presented with 2019 Rosa Park Trailblazer award, after being

selected for champions of the diversity by the Indiana Minority Business Magazine.

14. Industrial Awards (January 2019) -

1. IIT Roorkee professor Jayanta Kumar Ghoshhas been conferred National Geospatial Award for Excellence-2017

(Lifetime Achievement Award) at Space Application Centre in Ahmedabad.

2. Andhra Pradesh government won Central Board of Irrigation and Power (CBIP) award for speedy execution of

Polavaram multipurpose project on Godavari river.

1. The Polavaram project also placed in Guinness book of world record, by pouring 32,315.5 cubic meters of

concrete non-stop in 24 hours. It surpassed record of 21,580 cubic metres which was achieved by Abdul

Wahed Bin Shabib project.

3. Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej conferred the ICSIs Lifetime Achievement Award.

4. India received Award of Excellence for „Best in Show‟ at New York Times Travel Show 2019 (USA). Yogendra

Tripathi, Secretary in Ministry of Tourism received Award.

5. Tamil Nadu won Best State Award for its active participation in Swasth Bharat Yatra, a pan-India cyclothon.

15. Japan Prize Foundation announced India born professor Dr. Rattan Lal (University Professor at Ohio State University in Ohio

(USA)), as recipient of 2019 Japan Prize for his contributions in the field of „Biological Production, Ecology‟. Another Winner

of 2019 Japan Prize is Japanese Scientist Yoshio Okamoto.

16. Kerala Sahitya Akademi Awards 2017 -

1. Best novel - Nireeshwaran by Malayalam Novelist VJ James.

2. Best poetry - Mindaprani, written by Veerankutty.

3. Best short story - Ethara Characharangalude Charitra Pusthakam written by Aymanam John.

4. Biography – Ente Jail Jeevitham written by Jayachandran Mokeri.

17. Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at University of Pennsylvania School of Design (USA) presented 4th annual Carnot Prize

Indian Railways and Coal Minister (Formerly Power Mionister), Piyush Goyal. Mr. Goyal was previously been unable to accept

the award, due to to the unfortunate train tragedy that took place in Amritsar. It recognises spathbreaking transformations in

India‟s energy sector.

1. Mr. Goyal stated that award money he will receive as part of 2018 Carnot Prize, will be donated to International Solar

Alliance to institute the Diwakar Award. The Diwakar award will recognise, every year, an outstanding organisation

that has been working for special children and maximising the use of solar energy.

18. National award-winning filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta conferred Lifetime Achievement Award, in name of Satyajit Ray, by

West Bengal Film Journalists Association (WBFJA).

19. Noted Odia Writer Manoj Das received Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja National Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature.

20. Noted journalist Dinu Randive conferred with lifetime achievement award by Mantralaya and Vidhimandal Vartahar Sangh,

an association of journalists covering Maharashtra legislature and secretariat.

21. Novel No Presents Please, written in Kannada by Indian author Jayant Kaikini and translated into English by Tejaswini

Niranjana has been announced as winner of USD 25000 Prize DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2018.

22. Padma Awards 2019 -

1. Number of Awardees - 112 (Padma Vibhushan - 4, Padma Bhushan – 14 and Padma - 94). It Inlcudes 1 duo case (in a

duo case, Award is counted as one).

2. 3 Bharat Ratna Awardees were also announced -

1. Nanaji Deshmukh (posthumously) - Social Activist.

2. Bhupen Hazarika (posthumously) - Noted playback singer, lyricist, musician, singer, poet and film-maker from

Assam, widely known as Sudhakantha

3. Pranab Mukherjee - Former President of India, served as 13th President of India between 2012 - 2017.

3. PADMA VIBHUSHAN (4)

S.No Name Field State

1. Ms. Teejan Bai

Art-Vocals-Folk Chhattisgarh

2. Ismail Omar Guelleh (Foreigner) Public Affairs Djibouti

3. Anilkumar Manibhai Naik

Trade & Industry-Infrastructure Maharashtra

4. Balwant Moreshwar Purandare Art-Acting-Theatre Maharashtra

4.

5. PADMA BHUSHAN- (14)

S.No Name Field State

5. John Chambers

(Foreigner) Trade & Industry-Technology USA

6. Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa

Public Affairs Punjab

7. Pravin Gordhan

(Foreigner) Public Affairs South Africa

8. Mahashay Dharam Pal Gulati Trade & Industry-Food Processing Delhi

9. Darshan Lal Jain Social Work Haryana

10. Ashok Laxmanrao Kukade Medicine-Affordable Healthcare Maharashtra

11. Kariya Munda Public Affairs Jharkhand

12. Budhaditya Mukherjee Art-Music-Sitar West Bengal

13. Mohanlal Viswanathan Nair Art-Acting-Film Kerala

14. S Nambi Narayan Science & Engineering-Space Kerala

15. Kuldip Nayar

(Posthumous) Literature & Education (Journalism) Delhi

16. Ms. Bachendri Pal Sports-Mountaineering Uttarakhand

17. V K Shunglu Civil Service Delhi

18. Hukumdev Narayan Yadav Public Affairs Bihar

6.

7. PADMA SHRI - (94)

S.No Name Field State

19. Rajeshwar Acharya

Art-Vocal-Hindustani Uttar Pradesh

20. Bangaru Adigalar Others-Spiritualism Tamil Nadu

21. Illias Ali Medicine-Surgery Assam

22. Manoj Bajpayee Art-Acting-Films Maharashtra

23. Uddhab Kumar Bharali Science & Engineering-Grassroots

Innovation Assam

24. Omesh Kumar Bharti Medicine-Rabies Himachal

Pradesh

25. Pritam Bhartwan Art-Vocals-Folk Uttarakhand

26. Jyoti Bhatt Art-Painting Gujarat

27. Dilip Chakravarty Others-Archaeology Delhi

28. Mammen Chandy Medicine-Hematology West Bengal

29. Swapan Chaudhuri Art-Music-Tabla West Bengal

30. Kanwal Singh Chauhan Others-Agriculture Haryana

31. Sunil Chhetri Sports-Football Telangana

32. Dinyar Contractor Art-Acting-Theatre Maharashtra

33. Ms. Muktaben Pankajkumar

Dagli Social Work-Divyang Welfare Gujarat

34. Babulal Dahiya Others-Agriculture Madhya Pradesh

35. Thanga Darlong

Art-Music-Flute Tripura

36. Prabhu Deva

Art-Dance Karnataka

37. Ms. Rajkumari Devi Others-Agriculture Bihar

38. Ms. Bhagirathi Devi Public Affairs Bihar

39. Baldev Singh Dhillon Science & Engineering-Agriculture Punjab

40. Ms. Harika Dronavalli Sports-Chess Andhra Pradesh

41. Ms. Godawari Dutta Art-Painting Bihar

42. Gautam Gambhir

Sports-Cricket Delhi

43. Ms. Draupadi Ghimiray Social Work-Divyang Welfare Sikkim

44. Ms. Rohini Godbole Science & Engineering-Nuclear Karnataka

45. Sandeep Guleria Medicine-Surgery Delhi

46. Pratap Singh Hardia Medicine- Ophthmology Madhya Pradesh

47. Bulu Imam Social Work-Culture Jharkhand

48. Ms. Friederike Irina

(Foreigner) Social Work-Animal Welfare Germany

49. Joravarsinh Jadav Art-Dance Folk Gujarat

50. S Jaishankar Civil Service Delhi

51. Narsingh Dev Jamwal Literature & Education Jammu &

Kashmir

52. Fayaz Ahmad Jan Art-Craft-Papier Mache Jammu &

Kashmir

53. K G Jayan Art-Music-Bhakti Kerala

54. Subhash Kak

(Foreigner) Science & Engineering-Technology USA

55. Sharath Kamal Sports-Table Tennis Tamil Nadu

56. Rajani Kant Social Work Uttar Pradesh

57. Sudam Kate Medicine-Sickle Cell Maharashtra

58. Waman Kendre Art-Acting-Theatre Maharashtra

59. Kader Khan

(Posthumous-Foreigner) Art-Acting-Films Canada

60. Abdul Gafur Khatri Art-Painting Gujarat

61. Ravindra Kolhe (Duo)* Medicine-Affordable Healthcare Maharashtra

Ms. Smita Kolhe (Duo)* Medicine-Affordable Healthcare Maharashtra

62. Ms. Bombayla Devi Laishram Sports-Archery Manipur

63. Kailash Madbaiya Literature & Education Madhya Pradesh

64. Ramesh Babaji Maharaj Social Work-Animal Welfare Uttar Pradesh

65. Vallabhbhai Vasrambhai

Marvaniya Others-Agriculture Gujarat

66. Ms. Gita Mehta

(Foreigner) Literature & Education USA

67. Shadab Mohammad Medicine-Dentistry Uttar Pradesh

68. K K Muhammed Others-Archaeology Kerala

69. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Medicine-Affordable Healthcare Jharkhand

70. Daitari Naik

Social Work Odisha

71. Shankar Mahadevan Narayan Art-Vocals-Films Maharashtra

72. Shantanu Narayen

(Foreigner) Trade & Industry-Technology USA

73. Nartaki Natraj Art-Dance-Bharatnatyam Tamil Nadu

74. Tsering Norboo Medicine-Surgery Jammu &

Kashmir

75. Anup Ranjan Pandey Art-Music Chhattisgarh

76. Jagdish Prasad Parikh Others-Agriculture Rajasthan

77. Ganpatbhai Patel

(Foreigner) Literature & Education USA

78. Bimal Patel Others-Architecture Gujarat

79. Hukumchand Patidar Others-Agriculture Rajasthan

80. Harvinder Singh Phoolka Public Affairs Punjab

81. Ms. Madurai Chinna Pillai Social Work-Microfinance Tamil Nadu

82. Ms. Tao Porchon-Lynch

(Foreigner) Others-Yoga USA

83. Ms. Kamala Pujhari Others-Agriculture Odisha

84. Bajrang Punia

Sports-Wrestling Haryana

85. Jagat Ram Medicine-Ophthalmology Chandigarh

86. R V Ramani Medicine-Ophthalmology Tamil Nadu

87. Devarapalli Prakash Rao Social Work-Affordable Education Odisha

88. Anup Sah Art-Photography Uttarakhand

89. Ms. Milena Salvini

(Foreigner) Art-Dance-Kathakali France

90. Nagindas Sanghavi Literature & Education-Journalism Maharashtra

91. Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry Art-Lyrics Telangana

92. Shabbir Sayyad Social Work-Animal Welfare Maharashtra

93. Mahesh Sharma Social Work-Tribal Welfare Madhya Pradesh

94. Mohammad Hanif Khan

Shastri Literature & Education Delhi

95. Brijesh Kumar Shukla Literature & Education Uttar Pradesh

96. Narendra Singh Others-Animal Husbandry Haryana

97. Ms. Prashanti Singh Sports-Basketball Uttar Pradesh

98. Sultan Singh Others-Animal Husbandry Haryana

99. Jyoti Kumar Sinha Social Work-Affordable Education Bihar

100. Anandan Sivamani Art-Music Tamil Nadu

101. Ms. Sharada Srinivasan Others-Archaeology Karnataka

102. Devendra Swarup

(Posthumous) Literature & Education-Journalism Uttar Pradesh

103. Ajay Thakur Sports-Kabaddi Himachal

Pradesh

104. Rajeev Tharanath Art-Music-Sarod Karnataka

105. Ms. Saalumarada Thimmakka Social Work-Environment Karnataka

106. Ms. Jamuna Tudu Social Work-Environment Jharkhand

107. Bharat Bhushan Tyagi Others-Agriculture Uttar Pradesh

108. Ramaswami Venkataswami Medicine-Surgery Tamil Nadu

109. Ram Saran Verma Others-Agriculture Uttar Pradesh

110. Swami Vishudhananda Others-Spiritualism Kerala

111. Hiralal Yadav Art-Vocals-Folk Uttar Pradesh

112. Venkateswara Rao Yadlapalli Others-Agriculture Andhra Pradesh

23. President Ram Nath Kovind conferred Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2019 to 26 awardees.

0. These awards are given in two categories - Bal Shakti Puraskar (erstwhile known as National Child Award) AND Bal

Kalyan Puraskar(erstwhile known as National Child Welfare Award).

112. Bal Shakti Puraskar is given in fields of Innovation, Social Service, Scholastic, Sports, Art & Culture, and

Bravery. It carries cash prize of Rs 100000, book vouchers worth 10000, a certificate and a citation.

113. Bal Kalyan Puraskar is given in categories of Individual and Institution. Award for Individual category

consists of a cash prize of Rs 100000 and award for Institution category consists of a prize of Rs 500000 each.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been awarded first ever Philip Kotler Presidential Award by World Marketing Summit.

WMS previously gave awards to recognise achievements in advertising and marketing. It has been named after noted marketing

and management guru Philip Kotler, who is also founder of World Marketing Summit (WMS) Group.

Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards 2019 Winners -

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role - Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role - Glenn Close, “The Wife”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role - Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role - Emily Blunt, “A Quiet Place”

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture - “Black Panther”

Tableaux of Tripura, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) won the

first prize for the Republic Day Parade 2019.

ICAR Tableau was named „Kisan Gandhi‟. CISF's float was based on the theme 'Securing National Assets - 50 Glorious Years'.

Total 22 tableaux showcased during 70th RDP 2019, with 16 tableaux from states / UTs and 6 from central ministries /

departments.

Under States / UTs, first prize went to Tripura for its float based on theme of 'Empowering Rural Economy in Gandhian Way'.

US Based Indian poet Ranjani Murali has been awarded “Woman‟s Voice Award” at Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival

(AKLF).

US-based Kathak dancer Anindita Neogy Anaam honoured with National Nritya Shiromani award for promoting Kathak

dance form across the world.

Writer Namita Gokhale won Sushila Devi Literature Award for her novel „Things to Leave Behind‟, in „Best Book of Fiction

Written by a Woman Author‟ category at inaugural edition of Bhopal Literature and Art Festival (BLF).

Books 1. Book titled We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World, written by Pakistani Nobel

Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai has been released.

2. Manohar Manoj‟s book A Crusade against corruption has been released.

3. Noted actor-producer Sanjay Khan released his second book Assalamalaikum Watan.

Committees 1. 7-Member Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted for boosting Real Estate Sector under GST regime, as suggested in recent

32nd Meeting of GST Council. It will be headed by Nitin Patel (Deputy CM of Gujarat).

2. Central government constituted a GST ministerial panel on lotteries, to study current GST provisions related to lotteries.

1. As per current system, state-organised lottery attracts 12 % GST while a state-authorised lottery attracts 28 % tax. Panel

will look into disparity in tax structure on lottery.

2. Panel is headed by Maharashtra finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar.

3. Committee under chairmanship of Umesh Sinha (Deputy Election Commissioner) to suggest modifications in provisions of the

Section 126 and other sections of Representation of PeopleS Act 1951, provisions of Model Code of Conduct and any other ECI

instruction in this regard has submitted its report.

1. Committee recommendations will help in minimizing possible interference of activities which aim at indirectly

influencing voters during valuable silence period of 48 hours provided to them.

4. GST Council has set up a seven-member committee to look into revenue shortfall being faced by states after the GST roll-out,

and suggest steps for augmenting collections. It would be headed by Deputy CM of Bihar Sushil Modi.

5. Government constituted Standing Committee on Affordable Medicines and Health Products, headed by NITI Aayog Member

(Health). It will oversee drug pricing regime and will look to curb powers of National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority

(NPPA) for regulating prices of medicines in country.

6. Government formed a High Level Committee (HLC) for implementation of Clause 6 of Assam Accord, to be headed by M.P.

Bezbarauah. Committee will submit its report within 6 months.

1. Govt. rceently Approved setting up a High Level Committee for implementation of Clause 6 of Assam Accord and

measures envisaged in Memorandum of Settlement 2003 and other issues related to Bodo community.

1. After Assam agitation of 1979-1985 (a popular movement against illegal immigrants in Assam), Assam

Accord was signed on 15th August, 1985. Clause 6 of Assam Accord said that appropriate safeguards shall be

provided to protect culture and heritage of Assamese people. However, it has been felt that Clause 6 of Assam

Accord has not been fully implemented yet.

2. The Committee shall examine the effectiveness of actions since 1985 to implement Clause 6 of Assam Accord.

7. IRDAI has set up a panel to identity domestically systemically important insurers (SII) and put in place an enhanced

regulatory framework for them. It will be headed by Pravin Kutumbe.

8. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India has set up a committee under former SEBI Chairman UK Sinha, to facilitate

insolvency resolution and liquidation of debtors in a corporate group within Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

9. Madras High Court has set up a committee to find a solution to root out invasive species of plants from Western Ghats. It will

be headed by Cherukuri Raghavendra Babu.

10. Ministry of Human Resource Development constituted a Task Force under Chairmanship of Jitendra Nagpal, to inquire

reasons of suicides reported in Javahar Navodaya Vidyalayas.

11. Panel headed by IIT-Hyderabad chairman B V R Mohan Reddy suggested All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)

not to allow setting up of new Engineering colleges from 2020.

1. It also Recommended to review creation of new capacity every two years.

2. No additional seats should be approved in traditional engineering areas such as mechanical, electrical, civil and

electronics and suggests that institutes should be encouraged to convert current capacity in traditional disciplines to

emerging new technologies.

3. Panel was formed after over 50 % B.TECH. seats remaining vacant in engineering colleges across coutry for past few

years.

12. RBI constituted a high-level committee under former Infosys CEO and Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani to suggest

measures to strengthen the safety and security of digital payments in country.

13. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) constituted a Committee under chairmanship of U.K. Sinha (former Chairman of Securities and

Exchange Board of India (SEBI)), with an aim to understand the structural bottlenecks and factors affecting the performance of

the MSMEs.

14. Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) constituted a Research Advisory committee which will assist in formulating

policy to undertake research relevant for development and regulation of capital markets. It will be headed by Sankar De.

15. Supreme Court suggested setting up of a three-member panel comprising of Nandan Nilekani (Infosys Co founder) and Vijay

P Bhatkar to suggest reforms for conducting of competitive examinations fairly by government bodies.

Days 1. Jan 04, 2019 - UN 1st World Braille Day. Day was proclaimed by UN General Assembly in November 2018, as a means of

realizing human rights of visually-impaired and partially-sighted people.

2. Jan 10 - World Hindi Day. It marks first World Hindi Conference which held in 1975. It has been observed on Jan 10 since

2006.

1. Note That similar Sounding National Hindi Diwas is celebrated every year on September 14, marking adoption of Hindi

as Official Language of India, in 1949.

3. Jan 12 - National Youth Day in India, marking birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. It was declared by Government in

1984.

1. Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs and Sports Rajyavardhan Rathore launched National Youth Parliament

Festival 2019, as 2nd edition of same, with theme “Be The Voice of New India” and “Find solutions and contribute to

policy”.

2. Youth in age bracket of 18-25 years are invited to participate in District Youth Parliaments. This is done to hear youth

in this age bracket who are allowed to vote but cannot contest in elections.

3. National Youth Parliament Festival 2019 will be conducted at District, State and National Levels.

1. Upto 50 speakers from Digital screening and 50 best speakers from Walk-in process, will participate in District

Youth Parliaments. Best 3 speakers from each District Youth Parliament will participate at State Level. 2 best

speakers selected from each State Youth Parliament will participate as speakers in National Youth Parliament.

2. Process will continue up to 24th February.

3. Best 3 speakers at National Youth Parliament will be awarded 2 Lakhs, 1.50 Lakhs and 1 Lakh respectively.

4. Jan 14 - Armed Force Veterans Day, observed to honour legends of Army, Navy and Air Force.

5. Jan 15 - Indian Army day. It is in recognition of Kodandera M. Cariappa taking over as first Commander-in-Chief of Indian

Army from Francis Butcher, last British Commander-in-Chief of India.

6. Jan 21 - Statehood Day for North Eastern States of Meghalaya, Tripura and Manipur.

7. Jan 23 is Birth Anniversary of Great Freedom Fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose (Born 1897).

1. On this occasion, Govt . instituted an annual award titled „Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar‟. It will

recognise efforts of organisations / individuals in alleviating suffering of affected people by any disaster. Award carries

cash prize of 51 lakh.

2. PM Modi inaugurated Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose museum at Red Fort in Delhi, showcasing various artefacts related

to Subhash Chandra Bose and Indian National Army. Mr. Modi also Inaugurated 3 More Museums -

1. Yaad-e-Jallian Museum - Provides an authentic account of Jallianwala Bagh massacre happened on April 13,

1919.

2. Museum on 1857- India‟s first war of Independence

3. Drishyakala-Museum on Indian Art - Showcases Indian art works from 16th century till India‟s independence.

8. Jan 24 - International Day of Education.

9. Jan 24 - National Girl Child Day (NGCD), with 2019 theme Empowering Girls for a Brighter Tomorrow. Jan 24 is also

foundation day of Uttar Pradesh (Formed on Jan 24, 1950).

10. Jan 25 - National Voters Day in India, being observed since 2011. On this day in 1950, Election Commission of India was

constituted. 2019 Theme is „No Voter to be left behind‟. Jan 25 is also Statehood day of Himachal Pradesh (Established in

1971).

1. On this occasion, Mizoram Govt.launched Voters Helpline Number – 1950 and mobile app for people with disabilities.

2. On this occasion, International Conference on „Making our Elections Inclusive and Accessible was organized in New

Delhi.

11. Jan 26 - International Customs Day.

12. Jan 26, 2019 - 70th Republic Day of India. It marks enactment of Indian constitution on Jan 26, 1950.

1. South Africa‟s President Cyril Ramaphosa was Chief Guest at 70th Republic Day Parade. Visting South African

President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered first IBSA Gandhi-Mandela Memorial Freedom Lecture. IBSA is an international

tripartite grouping for promoting international cooperation among India, Brazil and South Africa.

2. Gallantry Awards 2019, announced on eve of 70th Republic Day.

1. 40 people named for Prime Minister‟s Shram Awards 2017, including 3 women.

1. Shram Ratna Award - No awardees.

2. Shram Bhushan - 3.

3. Shram Vir/Shram Veerangana Award - 12.

4. Shram Shree/Shram Devi Award - 16 (Total 25 Awardees)

2. 48 Persons honored by Jeevan Raksha Padak Awards 2018.

3. 20 Children named as winners of National Bravery Awards.

4. 86 Fire Service Medals and 58 Home Guard & Civil Defence Medals have been announced.

5. President approved 411 Gallantry and other Defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel. This includes 1

Ashoka Chakra (LANCE NAIK NAZIR AHMAD WANI (First Ashok Chakra from J & K)), 4 Kirti Chakras

(Maj. TUSHAR GAUBA, SOWAR VIJAY KUMAR, RAJENDRA KUMAR NAIN & PRADIP KUMAR

PANDA), 11 Shaurya Chakras and Other Awards -

1. 28 Param Vishisht Seva Medals

2. 03 UttamYudh Seva Medals

3. 51 AtiVishisht Seva Medals

4. 1 Bar to Yudh Seva Medal

5. 9 YudhSeva Medals

6. 2 Bar to Vishisht Seva Medals

7. 120 Vishisht Seva Medals

8. 6 Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry)

9. 103 Sena Medals (Gallantry)

10. 7 Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry)

11. 2 Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry)

12. 5 Bar to Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty)

13. 35 Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty)

14. 9 Nao Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty)

15. 14 Vayu Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty).

16. President‟s Tatrakshak Medal (Distinguished Service) was conferred upon IG Paramesh Sivamani.

3. On this occasion, India donated 30 ambulances and six buses to Nepal and extended its support to Nepal in achieving

prosperity.

4. Republic Day Journalism Award 2019 will be conferred upon Dhirendra Nath Chakraborty, Noted Assamese Journalist.

5. The Beating Retreat Ceremony marks conclusion of Republic Day celebrations. Through this, defence forces which had

come to national capital to be a part of Republic Day celebrations are sent back to their barracks by President. Beating

Retreat Ceremony is held every year on January 29th at Vijay Chowk.

6. All-women Assam Rifles contingent participated for first time in a Republic Day parade.

13. Jan 27 - International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It marks anniversary of the Allied liberation of the Auschwitz death camp

in Nazi-occupied Poland, where an estimated 1.1 million people died, including 1 million Jews.

14. Jan 30 - World Leprosy Eradication Day. It is also named as Martyrs Day (Shaheed Diwas or Sarvodaya Day in India). It

marks death anniversary of M K Gandhi. On January 30, 1948, he was assassinated by Nathuram Godse. On this occasion, PM

Narendra Modi dedicated National Salt Satyagraha Memorial at Dandi in Navsari district, Gujarat to nation today on Mahatma

Gandhi‟s death anniversary.

1. Mar 23 is also observed as Shaheed Diwas, on which date in 1931, Legendary Freedom Fighters Bhagat Singh,

Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru were executed.

15. Jan 9 - Non Resident Day or Bharatiya Pravasi Day in India, celebrated since 2015. It commemorates return of M K Gandhi

from South Africa to Mumbai on 9 January 1915.

Defence 1. 2nd edition of India-Myanmar bilateral army exercise IMBEX 2018-19 begun at Chandimandir Military Station (Haryana).

Objectives of IMBEX 2018-19 are to Train Myanmar delegation for participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations

under UN flag.

2. Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved indigenous construction of six submarines for the Indian Navy at a cost of over

Rs. 40,000 crores. This is 2nd project under MoD‟s Strategic Partnership (SP) model that aims to further „Make in India‟

programme. 1st project was production of 111 Naval Utility Helicopters that was approved in August 2018.

3. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor, as India's 2nd Defence Industrial

Corridor. It will link leading military manufacturing units in five cities of South India, including Chennai, Hosur, Coimbatore,

Salem and Tiruchirappalli. Investments worth around Rs 3,038 crore were announced for this defence corridor during its

inauguration itself

1. First Defence Industrial Corridor was launched at Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh) in August 2018.

2. Also, Nashik in Maharashtra will be site of the country‟s second defence innovation hub after Coimbatore in Tamil

Nadu.

4. For the first time, Antonov-32 AN-32 transport aircraft of Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out a successful landing at Sikkim‟s

Pakyong, one of the highest airfields in country at 4500 feet above sea level. Pakyong Airport is a Greenfield airport near

Gangtok, capital of Sikkim.

5. Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) signed contract with Ministry of Defence for construction of 02 Project 1135.6 Advanced

Missile Frigates for Indian Navy. The ships would be equipped to operate in littoral and blue waters; both as a single unit and as

consorts of a naval task force.

6. Government decided to induct women in military police, to enhance their representation in armed forces. Women will be

inducted in a graded manner to eventually comprise 20 % of total Corps of Military Police. Their role would range from probing

rape and molestation cases to assisting Army wherever required.

7. India successfully flight tested Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM), jointly developed by DRDO and Israel

Aerospace Industries (IAI) for Indian Navy. LRSAM has an operational range of 75 km and it can destroy airborne threats.

8. Indian Africa Field Training Exercise (IAFTX)-2019 will be conducted at Aundh Military Station and College of Military

Engineering, (Pune) in March 2019. It will be conducted with over 12 African countries.

9. Indian Navy held largest coastal defence exercise off Indian coast, called Exercise SEA VIGIL. Its being undertaken along

entire 7516.6 km coastline of India, involving all 13 coastal States and UTs. It is being held after 10 years of Infamous Mumbai

Terror Attacks 2008 by Pakistani Terrorists, known as 26/11.

10. Indian and Japanese Coast Guards started disaster, search and rescue exercises off the coast of Yokohama in Japan,

participated by ICGS Shaunak on India's behalf.

11. Indigenously developed HAL Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) successfully carried out air-to-air missile firing, as first time in

India that a helicopter had carried out air to air missile engagement.

1. LCH is only attack helicopter in world which is capable of operating at altitudes as high as location of Siachen glacier.

2. Its advance sighting system enables pilot to launch a missile onto any target without having to turn the helicopter.

12. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) signed agreements worth $93 million with Indian Navy and Cochin Shipyard, for providing

Naval Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) systems to India.

13. Military certification agency Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) approved use of indigenously

produced bio-fuel for use in military aircraft, after various tests conducted on bio-jet fuel.

1. For use of bio-jet fuel on all military and civilian aircraft, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), in collaboration with

the Indian Air Force brought out a new standard for Aviation Turbine Fuels.

2. Biojet fuel is produced from non-conventional source that is non-edible vegetable or tree borne oil. The bio-jet fuel has

been produced from seeds of Jatropha plant sourced from Chhattisgarh and processed at CSIR-IIP‟s lab at Dehradun.

3. Increased demand of bio-jet fuel would increase collection of tree-borne non-edible oil seeds, which will help generate

additional income for tribal and marginal farmers. This will also reduce carbon emissions and help India become a

green fuel production hub.

14. Naval Air Station (NAS) Shibpur has been commissioned as INS Kohassa, aimed to enhance operational capability of

Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC). NAS Shibpur was established in 2010. INS Kohassa has been named after a White-

Bellied Sea Eagle, which is a large bird of prey endemic to Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

15. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Armoured Systems Complex (ASC), developed by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) at Hazira near

Surat in Gujarat. Its India‟s first private facility where K9 Vajra self-propelled Howitzer guns will be manufactured.

Economy 1. Finance Ministry asked public sector banks to gradually reduce government‟s equity to 52 %, to increase productivity through

more participation of Private sector.

2. 32nd GST Council Meeting held in New Delhi, under Chairmanship of Finance & Corporate AffairsMinister Arun Jaitley -

1. To give relief to MSME (including Small Traders), Increase in Turnover Limit for the existing Composition Scheme to

INR 1.5 crores.

2. Higher Exemption Threshold Limit for Supplier of Goods - There would be two Threshold Limits for exemption from

Registration and Payment of GST for suppliers of Goods i.e. Rs 40 lakhs and Rs 20 lakhs. States will decide about one

of the limits within a week.

3. A Composition Scheme shall be made available for Suppliers of Services (or Mixed Suppliers) with a Tax Rate of 6%

(3% CGST +3% SGST) having an Annual Turnover in the preceding Financial Year up to Rs 50 lakhs.

4. Revenue Mobilization for Natural Calamities - Levy of Cess on Intra-State Supply of Goods and Services within Kerala

at a rate not exceeding 1% for upto 2 years. It was suggested by Group of States‟ Finance Ministers (GoFM) led by

Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi.

3. According to RBI Report, number of complaints registered at banking ombudsman offices has increased to 25% owing to

increased awareness and poor internal redressal mechanisms of banks. Also, jump of 159 % (almost 110 crores) was witnessed

in volume of cyber fraud at banks in 2017-18.

4. As per First Advance Estimates of National Income 2018-19, released by Central Statistics Office (CSO) of Ministry of

Statistics and Programme Implementation -

1. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at Constant Prices (2011-12) in 2018-19 is likely to become INR 139.52 lakh crores, up

from GDP for 2017-18 of 130.11 lakh crores, showingh GDP Growth OF 7.2 % in 2018-19 as compared to the growth

of 6.7 % in 2017-18.

2. Real GVA (GVA at Basic Constant Prices (2011-12)) is anticipated to increase from 119.76 lakh crore in 2017-18 to

128.09 lakh crore in 2018-19. Anticipated growth of real GVA at Basic Prices in 2018-19 is 7 % as against 6.5 % in

2017-18.

3. Per Capita Income in real terms (at 2011-12 prices) during 2018-19 is likely to become 91,921 as compared to 86,668

in 2017-18, with increase of 6.1 %.

4. Per Capita Net National Income during 2018-19 is estimated to be 1,25,397, showing rise of 11.1 %.

5. Bihar topped in terms of GDP (Gross State Domestic Product) growth in financial year 2017-18, according to Crisil. Bihar had

11.3 % GDP growth in 2017-18, up from 8th rank in 2016-17 with 9.9 % GSDP growth. Second spot is held by Andhra Pradesh

(11.2 %) and Gujarat third (11.1 %).

6. CAG report on Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management presented. Highlights are -

1. CAG recommended government to put in place a policy framework for off-budget financing which would specify

objective, quantum nd sources of off-budget financing. As Off-budget financial arrangements create future liability and

increase cost of subsidy due to interest payment.

7. Central Statistics Office ( Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation) released First Revised Estimates of National

Income, Consumption Expenditure, Saving and Capital Formation for FY 2017-18, along with 2nd Revised Estimates for FY

2016-17 and 3rd Revised Estimates for FY 2015-16 (with Base Year 2011-12).

1. Gross Domestic Product (GDP Growth) -

1. Nominal GDP (or GDP at current prices for 2017-18) is estimated as 170.95 lakh crores, showing growth of

11.3 % cent during 2017-18 as against 11.5 % during 2016-17.

2. Real GDP (or GDP at constant (2011-12) prices) for 2017-18 stood at 131.80 lakh crores, showing growth of

7.2 % during 2017-18 and 8.2 % during 2016-17.

2. Nominal Net National Income (NNI) at current prices for 2017-18 stands at 151.28 lakh crores as against 135.95 lakh

crore in 2016-17, showing increase of 11.3 % during 2017-18 as against increase of 11.8 % in 2016-17.

3. Per Capita Net National Income at current prices is estimated as 1,04,659 and 1,14,958 for 2016-17 and 2017-18

respectively.

8. Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved merger deal between GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH

India) and Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) via an all-equity deal.

9. Competition commission of India approved Amazon and Witzig Advisory services deal to acquire Aditya Birla, operated with

Name More. Amazon acquired 49% and Witzig got 51% of shares in Aditya Birla Retail.

10. Department of Agriculture released 2017-18 (Final) and 2018-19(1st Advance Est.) of Area and Production of Horticulture

Crops.

Total Horticulture 2016-17 2017-18 (Final) 2018-19

(First Adv. Est.)

Area

(Million Ha) 24.85 25.43 25.87

Production

(Million Tonnes) 300.64 311.71 314.67

11. Finance Ministry started „Know Your Budget‟ series to educate people on Twitter about importance of Union Budget and its

making. Government on February 1, 2019 will unveil interim Budget for 2019-20.

12. Government amalgamated 3 Regional Rural Banks from Punjab into one - Punjab Gramin Bank, Malwa Gramin Bank and

Sutlej Gramin Bank.

13. Government made an additional allocation of Over INR 6000 crores to rural employment scheme MGNREGA, taking total

allocation to Rs 61,084 crores, which is highest ever in a financial year.

14. Govt. reduced GST on Haj from 18% to 5%, to lower airfare and save over 100 Crores for Haj pilgrims.

15. HDFC Mutual Fund went past ICICI Prudential MF to become India's largest asset management company, with HDFC MF

managing assets to the tune of Rs 3.35 lakh crore, ahead of ICICI Prudential MF's 3.08 lakh crores.

16. HDFC Standard Life Insurance changed its name to HDFC Life Insurance, after receiving relevant approvals.

17. ICICI Bank launched a new premium savings account for upwardly-mobile male customers, named „The ONE‟, available in

two variants – Magnum and Titanium.

18. ICICI Bank signed MoU with NBFC Small Business FinCredit India, to jointly provide credit worth up to Rs 1 crore to

MSMEs for a tenure of 15 years.

19. IRDAI has put penalty of INR 5 lakh on United India Insurance Co for violating norms regarding settlement of motor claims.

20. India Manufacturing Barometer 2019 Report prepared by Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) -

1. Report is prepared based on survey of companies which contribute 12 % to manufacturing Gross Domestic Product

(GDP) of countryF

2. India would witness faster growth in next 12 months driven by expanding domestic market, technology and increased

spending.

3. India‟s economy is projected to grow between 7.3 - 7.7 % and domestic market would be a major demand driver for

India.

4. Business Groups asked India to concentrate on improving at logistics front, as Logistics cost is about 15 % of overall

cost, while it should ideally be under 10 %.

21. India allowed an Iranian bank, Pasargad Bank, to open a branch in Mumbai. Alongside, India‟s UCO Bank will open a branch

in Iran.

22. India and Japan-India Cooperative Actions (JICA) signed loan agreements under Japanese Official Development Assistance

Loan Program.

1. Project for Construction of Chennai Peripheral Ring Road (Phase 1) for Japanese Yen 40.074 billion (around Rs 2470

Crore).

2. Program for Japan-India Cooperative Actions towards Sustainable Development Goals in India for Japanese Yen

15.000 billion (around Rs 950 Crore).

23. Indian GDP Growth Projections (January 2019) -

1. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) stated that India will remain fastest growing major economy with GDP growth

estimated to be 7.5% in FY19.

2. Fitch Group Company India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) estimated India‟s GDP growth will become 7.5 % in 2019-

20, against 7.2 % during 2018-19.

3. World Economic Outlook of International Monetary Fund (IMF) retained its growth projection for India at 7.5 % for

2019-20 and likely to accelerate to 7.7 per cent in 2020-21. India will remain the fastest-growing economy in the world,

at least for next 2 years.

1. IMF cut its estimate for global growth in 2019, at 3.5% in 2019 and 3.6% in 2020.

2. IMF predicted growth slowdown from 2.3% in 2018 to 2% in 2019 and 1.7% in 2020 for advanced economies.

24. Jana Small Finance Bank launched a new Current Account with Auto-Sweep facility that will enable bank‟s customers to auto

sweep-in and sweep-out idle funds in current account to Sweep Fixed Deposit and earn high interest. Customers will be able to

earn interest of 8.5 percent for a tenor of 365 days on sweep deposit.

25. Japanese Investment Major SoftBank will invest $400 million for over 40 % stake in BrainBees Solutions, which operates

maternity care products retailer FirstCry.

26. Life insurance firm IndiaFirst accquired 9% stake in CSC e-Governance services India Limited, bringing personal risk

protection to all sections of society in 4 year association with Common Services Centre (CSC).

1. IndiaFirst life insurance is a joint venture between Bank of Baroda, Andra Bank and Legal and General (UK).

2. CSC is an integral part of Digital India initiative of government. CSC e-Governance services India Limited is a special

purpose vehicle (CSCSPV), to monitor implementation of common services centers scheme (CSCs).

27. MSME Ministry established an Export Promotion Cell to create a sustainable ecosystem for micro, small and medium

enterprises (MSMEs). Value of MSME-related export products was USD 148 Billion in 2017-18. Export Promotion Cell will aid

MSME sector through several measures.

28. MoU signed between Indian Army and Punjab National Bank on Defence Salary Package. Salient features of improved MoU

are free „RAKSHAK PLUS‟ Scheme for serving pers and veterans, overdraft facility range from Rs 0.75 to 3.0 lakhs etc.

29. NABARD incorporated venture capital entity called NABVENTURES Ltd, to launch its early stage capital fund offer to

agriculture and rural enterprises. It aims to support agriculture and rural enterprises and fill gap of adequate institutional support

to them.

30. New External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) Framework has been released by RBI, To promote ease of doing business.

1. RBI rationalised overseas borrowing norms allowing a uniform borrowing limit of Rs 750 million a year across tenors.

List of eligible borrowers has been expanded to enable all entities eligible to receive foreign direct investment under

ECB framework.

2. Minimum average maturity period (MAMP) has been kept at 3 years for all ECBs, irrespective of amount of borrowing,

except borrowers specifically permitted in the circular to borrow for a shorter period.

3. A late submission fee for delay in prescribed reporting under the ECB framework have been introduced.

4. Tracks I (medium term ECB of 3 - 5 years)and Track II (long term ECB of upto 10 years ) under existing framework

have been merged as “Foreign Currency denominated ECB” and Track III and Rupee Denominated Bonds framework

are combined as “Rupee Denominated ECB” to replace current four-tiered structure, making the framework instrument-

neutral.

31. RBI allowed Paytm Payments Bank to restart opening new accounts for its consumers after almost 6 months of ban. Paytm

Payments Bank stopped enrolling new customers in June 2018, after an audit by RBI.

32. RBI granted NBFC – P2P (Non-Banking Financial Company – Peer to Peer) Certificate to IndiaMoneyMart, enabling it to

expand operations. IndiaMoneyMart offers loans between 10 thousands to 10 Lakhs for tenure between 3 - 36 months.

33. RBI imposed penalty of INR 3 crores on Citibank India for not complying with directions regarding the „fit-and-proper

criteria‟ for directors of bank.

34. RBI imposed Rs 1-crore penalty on Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) for non-compliance of Know Your Customer

(KYC)guidelines and fraud-classification norms.

35. RBI initiated 2 quarterly surveys namely Industrial Outlook Survey (IOS) and Services and Infrastructure Outlook Survey

(SIOS). These Surveys aim to examine current situation including job scenario in India‟s manufacturing, services and

infrastructure sectors.

1. Industrial Outlook Survey (IOS) is based on qualitative responses on a set of indicators pertaining to demand

conditions, financial conditions, employment conditions and the price situation. IOS would provide insight into

performance of manufacturing sector.

2. Services and Infrastructure Outlook Survey (SIOS) will assess business situation for current quarter (January-March

2019) from selected companies in services and infrastructure sectors in India, and their outlook for the ensuing quarter

(April-June 2019).

36. RBI made changes with Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) to allow charitable institutions, central government entities and

state government entities to deposit gold under GMS. It aims to bring out unaccounted gold with charitable institutions. Also,

government will issue new series of sovereign gold bonds between January 14 - 18, 2019 at INR 3214 per gram.

37. RBI proposed a one-time loan restructuring scheme for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), to relief troubled

small businesses. It is applicable to stressed accounts provided total exposure does not surpass Rs 25 crores. Restructuring has to

be implemented by March 31, 2020.

38. RBI raised concerns on spike in non-performing assets (NPAs) under government‟s flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Mudra

Yojana, which supports micro-enterprises by providing them capital betwen INR 50000 - 1000000.

1. Total disbursements under the scheme stood at Rs 2.46 trillion, benefitting over 4.8 Crores Small businesses. Bad loans

under scheme have increased to Rs 11,000 crores.

39. RBI released 18th issue of Financial Stability Report (FSRM), stipulating Global and domestic macro-financial risks and

current economic scenario. It says global growth outlook for 2018 and 2019 remains steady although underlying downside risks

have risen.

1. Asset quality of banks showed an improvement with gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio of SCBs declining

from 11.5% in March 2018 to 10.8% in September 2018.

40. RBI released a data on “Census on Foreign Liabilities and Assets of Indian Direct Investment Companies, 2017-18”, which

shows that FDI increased 18% to Rs. 28.25 lakh crore in FY18. FDI increased by Rs 4,33,300 crore, during 2017-18 to reach

28,24,600 crore in March 2018.

41. RBI removed Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Oriental Bank of Commerce from Prompt Corrective Action framework,

lifting several Business and hiring related restrictions that were put on them as part Inlcusion in PCA Framework.

1. It was decided after these banks seemed to meet regulatory norms including Capital Conservation Buffer (CCB) and

Net NPA (non-performing assets) of under 6 % as per third quarter results.

42. SBI Card and Etihad Guest (loyalty programme of Etihad Airways) partnered to launch a travel specific Visa credit card for

members and Indian travellers. This is first international co-brand partnership of SBI Card.

43. SBI Ecowrap report recommended to opt for unconditional cash transfer to farmers to alleviate agrarian distress rather than

Universal Basic Income (UBI) scheme.

1. Currently, it is not feasible to implement Rythu Bandhu Scheme at national level because land data is yet to be digitized

in several states. Hence, unconditional cash transfer scheme is a best available option as it will be more equitable (on a

per farmer basis).

1. Rythu Bandhu, also called Farmers‟ Investment Support Scheme (FISS) is a welfare program to support

farmer‟s investment for two crops a year by Telangana state Government. Government is providing INR 4000

per acre per season to farmers, twice a year, for rabi and kharif seasons.This is a first direct farmer investment

support scheme in India, where cash is paid directly.

2. Report predicts that government would require providing cash support between 10,000-12,000 per annum to make it

completely cash neutral and annual cost of such a scheme is Rs 1.2 lakh crore per annum.

44. SBI Life Insurance signed bancassurance pacts with Syndicate Bank and Allahabad Bank, to offer a its insurance solutions to

customers of these Banks.

45. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) allowed custodial services in commodity derivatives market, enabling

participation of institutional investors such as mutual funds and portfolio managers in commodity derivatives market. Existing

custodians will be permitted to add commodities as an asset class and provide physical delivery of both securities and

commodities.

46. Securities and Exchange Board of india (SEBI) proposed a new set of framework for REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts)

and InvITs (Infrastructure Investments Trusts) in order to provide flexibility to issuers in terms of fund raising and increasing the

access of these investment vehicles to investors.

47. Supreme Court upheld constitutional validity of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

1. Currently, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill 2018 is pending for its passage in the

parliament. It Bill seeks to replace the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance 2018. Prior to this

legislation, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 was applicable for resolution of bankrupt companies and

individuals.

2. Features of IBC (Amendment) Ordinance 2018 -

1. Committee of creditors‟s voting rights of resolution plans will be limited to 66 % from earlier threshold of 75

%, to speed up resolution process.

2. To facilitate corporate debtor to continue as a going concern during CIRP, voting threshold for routine

decisions has been reduced to 51 %.

3. Withdrawal of an insolvency application will be allowed, if 90 percent % of the creditors agree.

4. Section 29(A) of IBC 2016 has been amended to exempt pure play financial entities from being disqualified on

account of non-performing assets (NPA).

5. Promoters of companies with turnover of up to Rs 250 crore will be allowed to bid. Earlier, they were barred

from bidding as the government feared that they will walk away with the stressed assets at a discount.

6. It provides a year time to the Resolution Applicant to obtain necessary statutory clearances from central, state

and other authorities.

48. Telecom operator Vodafone Idea approved rights issue of 25000 crores to existing eligible equity shareholders, amid need to

raise resources to compete in disrupted and highly competitive telecom market.

49. United Bank of India (UBI) and Srei Equipment Finance signed agreement for financing Micro, Small and Medium

enterprises (MSME) and agriculture sector. UBI plans to leverage co-lending model to offer credit at blended interest rate of 11-

12 %.

International 1. 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer report by Edelman Intelligence -

1. Its an international study based on opinions of elites that focuses on principles of trust in business, government, media

and NGOs.

2. Global Trust Index witnessed a marginal increase of 3 points to 52.

3. India is among most trusted nations globally when it comes to government, business, NGOs and media but Indian

companies are among least-trusted.

4. Index has been topped by China in both informed public and the general population segments.

2. 9th edition of Vibrant Gujarat Summit held at Gandhinagar (Gujarat) -

1. The three-day Vibrant Gujarat Summit witnessd participation of heads of five countries - Uzbekistan (Shavkat

Mirziyoyev), Rwanda (Olivier Nduhungirehe (Minister of State )), Denmark (Lars Løkke Rasmussen), Czech Republic

(Andrej Babis) and Malta (Joseph Muscat), along with over 30,000 delegates.

2. India signed a long-term contract with Uzbekistan for supply of uranium ore concentrates to widen its source base for

the nuclear fuel. Uzbekistan is seventh largest exporter of uranium in world. Exim Bank of India signed an agreement

with Uzbekistan to extend a 200-million US dollar line of credit for financing housing and social infrastructure projects.

3. An International Conference on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) was organized during the

summit.

4. Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani announced that Reliance Retail and Reliance Jio Infocomm would jointly launch a

new e-commerce platform in India.

3. Africa Centre for Climate and Sustainable Development inaugurated in Rome (Italy), opened by Italian government in

association with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).

1. Its origin can be traced to declaration endorsed at G7 Environment Ministers meet in 2017. It would facilitate

coordination among G7 and African countries on common initiatives in Africa to achieve goals set by Paris Agreement

and 2030 Agenda.

4. Air India resumied its services from New Delhi to holy city of Najaf in Iraq after 25 years. Najaf is an important pilgrimage

place considered sacred by Shia Muslims.

5. As per CISCO Report on GDPR Readiness -

1. Nearly 65% of Indian organizations are better prepared for the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation

(GDPR), making India 6th leading nation globally in GDPR readiness index.

6. As per PwC‟s Global Economy Watch report, with GDP Growth Rate of 7.6%, India in 2019 will surpass United Kingdom as

world‟s largest economy.

7. BSNL partnered with French Firm Be-Bound to offer data connectivity through SMS in areas with no / low Internet

connectivity. SMS based data connectivity will work with help of a technology embedded in a mobile App, which will detect if

user‟s area has poor network connectivity.

8. Bengaluru-based Bharat Fritz Werner Ltd (BFW) partnered with Danish Robots Maker Universal Robots, to co-create robots

for MSME sector.

9. Bloomberg Innovation Index 2019, ranking 60 most innovative countries -

1. Top 10 - South Korea (sixth time in a row), Germany, Finland, Switzerland, Israel, Singapore, Sweden, U.S., Japan and

France.

2. India ranked 54th, with China at 16th. India scored 47.93 out of 100.

3. India ranked at 47th place in research & development intensity, 54th in manufacturing value-added, 58th in

productivity, 29th in high-tech density, 51st in tertiary efficiency, 59th in researcher concentration and 36th in patent

activity.

10. Britain parliament rejected BREXIT withdrawal deal negotiated between Prime Minister Theresa May and her European

counterparts. This raised questions about how Britain will leave E.U. as promised to happen on March 29, 2019.

11. British government announced South Asian Nitrogen Hub research project, to study nitrogen pollution in India and South

Asia, partnered by several Indian Institutions. It aims to study impact of different forms of nitrogen pollution, particularly

looking at nitrogen in agriculture in eight countries of South Asia.

12. Central banks of UAE and Saudi Arabia launched common digital currency called „Aber „. UAE central bank will establish an

additional means for the central financial transfer systems of the two countries and enable bankers to directly deal with each

other.

13. China passed a new law to regulate Islam and make it more compatible with socialism by Sinicizing (Informally called

Chinification) Islam.

1. China has around 2 crore Muslims and indifference of China towards Islam was garnering it criticism.

2. Many heavy-handed measures like confiscating copies of Quran, issuing diktats to Muslims not to grow beards, and not

choose names for their wards which sound “too Islamic” have been witnessed in China.

3. To address the criticism, China brought in a law to Sinicise Islam.

14. China‟s economy grew at 6.6% in 2018, its slowest rate in almost 3 decades. World‟s 2nd biggest economy, China, is

grappling with current trade war with US and declining exports.

15. Civil War torn Syria signed long-term economic cooperation deal with Iran, covering industrial, agricultural, service,

infrastructure and energy sectors among others.

16. Council of Europe launched a Data Protection Day to be celebrated each year on 28 January, the date on which the Council of

Europe‟s data protection convention, known as “Convention 108”, was opened to the signature. Its called Data Privacy Day

outside Europe.

17. Dubai International airport named world‟s busiest airport for international passengers for 5th consecutive year, welcoming

over 8.9 Crore passengers in 2018.

18. Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released Democracy Index, which ranks 167 countries by 60 indicators across five

categories -

1. Index classifies countries among full democracy, flawed democracy, hybrid regime or authoritarian.

2. Index notes that threats to democracy around world have become increasingly obvious.

3. Australia and New Zealand are only full democracies in Asia-Pacific region. Only 4.5% of world‟s people live in a full

democracy.

4. 8 countries - Algeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Timor-Leste, Ethiopia, North Korea, Laos, Nepal and Sri Lanka

which have word democratic in full titles are not fully democratic.

5. India ranked 41st and placed in flawed democracies category.

19. Egypt opened West Asia‟s largest cathedral near its Capital Cairo, on eve of Coptic Christmas on Jan 07. Unlike December 25,

Coptic Christians celebrate birth of Jesus Christ on January 7, following Coptic calendar.

20. Facebook will set up an Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in collaboration with Technical University of Munich

(TUM) in Germany, with approved cost of $7.5 million. Institute will help to advance growing field of ethical research on new

technology and will explore fundamental issues affecting the use and impact of AI.

21. Five nations - Belgium, Dominican Republic, Germany, Indonesia and South Africa assumed charge as Non-Permanent

Members of United Nations Security Council (UNSC), for 2 year terms. It is Dominican Republic‟s first time on UNSC.

1. UNSC has 5 Permanent and 10 Non-permanent members. 5 UNSC Permanent members are - China, France, Russia,

UK and USA.

22. France introduced its own tax on large internet and technology companies, calling it GAFA tax, (named after Google, Apple,

Facebook and Amazon), to ensure these firms pay fair share of taxes on their massive business operations in Europe.

23. Global Risks Report 2019 of World Economic Forum (WEF) -

1. Top-five risk trends - changing climate; rising cyber dependency; increasing polarisation of societies; rising income and

wealth disparity; and increasing national sentiment.

2. Top-five risks by impact - weapons of mass destruction; failure of climate-change mitigation and adaptation; extreme

weather events; water crises; and major natural disasters.

3. Rising geopolitical and geo-economic tensions are the most urgent risk in 2019.

4. Rapidly evolving cyber and technological threats are the most significant potential blind spots.

24. Guatemala asked UN to terminate the agreement which established International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala

(CICIG), which had mandate till 3rd September 2019.

1. Guatemala Govt reasoned that CICIG has put at risk the nation‟s security, governance, and sovereignty at risk.

2. CICIG was set up as an international body to investigate serious crime in Guatemala, established in response to a

request for assistance from Guatemala to investigate illegal security groups and clandestine security organizations there.

25. Henley Passport Index (covering 199 passports and 227 travel destinations).

1. Japan retained top spot as world‟s most travel-friendly passport due to its access to 190 jurisdictions.

2. India bettered from 81st in 2018 to 79th in 2019

3. Top 5 - Japan (190 countries), Singapore, South Korea (189), France, Germany (188), Denmark, Finland, Italy, Sweden

(187), and Luxembourg, Spain (186)

4. Bottom 5 - Eritrea (38), Yemen (37), Pakistan (33), Somalia, Syria (32)and Afghanistan, Iraq (30).

26. Home Ministry stated that Aadhaar cards are now valid travel documents for Indians under 15 and over 65 years travelling to

Nepal and Bhutan. Indians other than those in the two age brackets will not be able to use Aadhaar to travel to these countries,

for which no visas are needed.

1. Indian citizens going to Nepal and Bhutan don‟t need a visa if they have a valid passport, a govt issued photo identity

card.

27. India and OECD signed Agreement for India‟s participation in Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2021.

Participation in PISA 2021 would indicate health of the education system and would motivate other schools /states in subsequent

cycles.

1. PISA is a triennial international survey which aims to evaluate education system worldwide by testing skills of 15-year-

old students. From India, Schools run by Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS)

and schools in UT of Chandigarh will participate.

2. PISA is a competency based assessment which unlike content-based assessment, measures extent to which students

have acquired key competencies that are essential for full participation in modern societies.

3. It will help to introduce competency based examination reforms in the school system and help move away from rote

learning. The CBSE and NCERT will be part of the process and activities leading to the actual test.

28. India and China signed the protocol for exports of Indian tobacco leaves to China.

29. India and Sri Lanka signed MoU to provide modern infrastructural facilities to Swami Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic

Studies of Eastern University in Batticaloa district of Sri Lanka, with an approved grant of over 27 crore Sri Lankan rupees from

India.

30. India replaced Japan as the world‟s second-largest steel producing country, only behind China. China accounts for over 51 %

of Global Steel production, as per the latest report by World Steel Association. India‟s crude steel production in 2018 was at

106.5 MT, up by 4.9 % from 2017.

31. India signed 11 MoUs with Afghanistan for 26 projects worth 9.5 million USD, to be developed in 7 provinces of

Afghanistan-- Balkh, Ghor, Herat, Kabul, Bamyan, Badghis and Kapisa. These projects are part of 577 development projects

being funded by India from 2005-2021 worth $120 million.

32. India will purchase $5 billion worth of oil and gas from the US per annum and $18 billion worth of defence equipment. In last

2 years, bilateral trade increased from $119 billion to $140 billion.

33. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch a satellite exclusively for strengthening its Border Management

practices with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It will be utilised for using space resources for security, operational planning and border

infrastructure development.

34. International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) signed MoU with Korea Intelligent Automotive Parts and Promotion

Institute (KIAPI), South Korea to support Korean Automotive Industry for Indian Certification of safety critical components as

well as vehicles.

1. ICAT will also collaborate with KIAPI in field of future technologies like autonomous driving, electric vehicles,

connected transportation, fuel cell vehicles and advanced driver-assistance systems.

2. ICAT Manesar is one of the independent Testing Agencies under Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) notified by

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).

35. JLL City Momentum Index, ranking momentum for 131 of world‟s most commercially active cities over 3 year period.

1. Top 10 cities are - Bengaluru (India), Hyderabad (India), Hanoi (Vietnam), Delhi (4th), Pune (5th)

2. Other Indian cities featured in top 20 list are Chennai (7th) and Kolkata (20th).

36. Japanese Investment firm SoftBank Group renamed its subsisdiary SoftBank Ventures Korea as SoftBank Ventures Asia, to

focus on finding artificial intelligence-related startups globally, with an emphasis on Asia.

37. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincial government of Pakistan declared ancient Hindu religious site of Panj Tirath in Peshawar

of North Western Pakistan as national heritage.

1. Site Panj Tirath derives its name from five pools of water in site which also has a temple. According to epic of

Mahabharat, king Pandu belonged to this area and Hindus used to come to these pools for bathing during auspicious

month of Karteek.

38. Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) aSked Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to legalize Indian currency notes of denominations higher than

INR 100 in Nepal, through a written declaration. Nepal Economy holds Indian currency denominations of 500 and 1000 worth

INR 4.8 crores.

1. Before demonetisation of INR 500 and 1000 bank notes in November 2016, RBI issued a FEMA notification allowing

Nepali citizens to carry Rs 25,000 worth of such bank notes.

2. After demonetisation, circulation of new bank notes of denominations 200, 500 and 2000 was started by Indian

government but they were not legalized in Nepal which led to government of Nepal to ban usage of notes of higher

denominations.

39. Nepal‟s central bank (Nepal Rastra Bank ) banned Indian currency notes of Rs 2,000, Rs 500 and Rs 200 denominations. That

could affect Indian tourists visiting Nepal.

40. Outbreak Readiness and Business Impact white paper released by World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Harvard

Global Health Institute. It states that world has witnessed 200 epidemic events per year since 2011. Pandemics will be cause of

average annual economic losses of 0.7 % of global GDP i.e. $ 570 billion.

41. Pakistan decided to withdraw facility of on-arrival visas for Afghan nationals, citing suspected security risks. Now Afghan

Nationals are required to apply for a visa from Pakistan embassy in Afghanistan.

42. Palestine assumed chairmanship of largest bloc of countries at United Nations, known as Group of 77. Chairmanship will be

for 1 year.

43. Parliament of Macedonia has passed resolution to amend constitution of country to rename it as Republic of Northern

Macedonia. Renaming is in line with a landmark agreement with Greece to end decades-long naming dispute.

1. Use of name Macedonia was disputed between Greece and Republic of Macedonia. After independence of Macedonia

from Yugoslavia, country named it as Republic of Macedonia.

2. Dispute was due to ambiguity in nomenclature between Republic of Macedonia, adjacent Greek region of Macedonia

and ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia. Greece opposed use of name “Macedonia” by Republic of Macedonia.

3. Due to conflict over name, Greece vetoed Macedonia‟s attempt to join Nato in 2008 and even blocked its EU

membership ambitions. Even UN was forced to refer Macedonia as former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

4. Finally, an agreement was reached between Greece and Macedonia, referred to as Prespa Agreement. As per agreement,

Republic of Macedonia would be renamed as Republic of North Macedonia.

44. PwC Global Economy Watch Report -

1. India and France are likely to surpass UK in world‟s largest economy rankings in 2019, pushing UK to 7th place from

5th currently.

2. UK and France have regularly switched places owing to similar levels of development and roughly equal populations.

3. Report mentions that India is fastest growing large economy in world, with favourable demographics and high catch-up

potential.

4. Report projects real GDP growth of 7.6 per cent for India in 2019.

45. Report by London-based consultancy Brand Finance -

1. At $19.5 billion, Tata group is India's most valuable brand. TATA Group is only Indian Brand in top-100 brands

globally, ranked 86th. India has 9 Brands in the list.

2. Top 3 Brands - Amazon ($188 Billion), Apple ($154 Billion), Google ($143 Billion)

46. Sino-Indian Digital Collaboration Plaza (SIDCOP), an initiative to bring Indian and Chinese enterprises closer to each other

on a single AI enabled platform has been launched. Its a partnership between India's NASSCOM with Municipal Governments

of Guiyang and Dalian in China.

1. This platform could be useful to connect with top providers from India and help Chinese enterprises source the right

solution providers for their projects.

2. SIDCOP Dalian is accessible at http://www.sidcop-dalian.com/Dalian/index.html

3. SIDCOP Guiyang is accessible at http://www.sidcop-guiyang.com/Guiyang/index.html

47. Sri Lanka Central Bank stated that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) agreed to provide USD 400 million under a swap arrangement

to boost Sri Lanka's reserves.

48. Standard Chartered Plc Global Economic forecasts -

1. China would become largest economy by 2020, based on purchasing power parity exchange rates and nominal GDP.

2. Indonesia will break into the top 5 economies by 2020.

3. India‟s growth would accelerate to 7.8% by 2020s. China‟s growth would moderate to 5% by 2030 reflecting a natural

slowdown given size of the economy.

4. Share of Asia in global GDP which is about 28% would further increase to 35% by 2030.

5. According to a UN report titled United Nations’ World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2019, Indian

economy is expected to accelerate at a rate of 7.6% in 2019-20.

49. Swedish aerospace and defence company (SAAB) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) signed MoU to explore air traffic

management (ATM) solutions for airports operating under regional connectivity scheme, UDAN.

1. AAI will benefit from portfolio of Saab ranging from Advanced-Surface Movement Guidance & Control System (A-

SMGCS) and Surface Movement Radar (SR- 3) to Remote Towers which can be deployed at all types of airports.

50. Times Higher Education (THE) Emerging Economies University Rankings 2019, ranking 450 universities from 43 countries -

1. Top 5 - Tsinghua University (China), Peking University (China), Zhejian University (China), University of Science and

Technology of China (China), Lomonosov Moscow State University (Russia).

2. Indian Universities in List -

1. Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru (14th)

2. Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (27th)

3. IIT Roorkee (35th)

4. IIT Indore (61st) and JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research are at joint 64th position.

5. Banaras Hindu University, Amrita University, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune and

IIT Hyderabad also features among the 150 in the rankings.

6. Chinese Universities topped with 72 institutions in total.

51. Transparency International Global Corruption Index 2018 (180 Nations) -

1. India ranked 78th.

2. Top 5 - Denmark , New Zealand, Finland, Singapore and Sweden.

3. Bottom 3 - Somalia (180), Syria (179), South Sudan (178).

4. Neighbours -China (87), Pakistan (117), Nepal (124), Bangladesh (149), Sri Lanka (89)

52. Tropical Storm Usman hit Philippines‟ Bicol region in Manila, causing huge losses.

53. Typhoon Storm Pabuk struck Southeast asian nations Thailand, with impact in vietnam and malaysia too.

54. U.K., France and Germany formed a plan to help companies trading to Iran to defy US sanctions on Iran.

1. US had walked out of Joint comprehensive plan of action (JCPOA) agreement and reimposed sanctions on Iran. Under

JCPOA, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear activities in return for the lifting of sanctions that had been imposed by UN, US

and EU.

2. New plan proposes a special purpose vehicle to accept payments from companies that want to trade with Iran. This plan

would shield European companies keen to do business with Iran from U.S. sanctions that could result from dollar-based

transactions.

55. USA Firm SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket carrying 10 Iridium Communications satellites , as 8th and final payload of

Iridium satellites, meant to replace its entire globe-circling fleet with next-generation orbiters.

56. USA and Israel officially quit United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) amid concerns

that UNESCO fosters anti-Israel bias..

57. USA approved „Asia Reassurance Initiative Act‟, that aims at countering encroaching influence and growing threat from

China, and to reinvigorate U.S. leadership in Asia.

1. It aims to establish a multifaceted U.S. strategy to increase U.S. security, economic interests, and values in Indo-Pacific

region.

2. It authorises spending of $1.5 billion over 5 years to enhance cooperation with America‟s strategic regional allies in

region.

3. It reiterates US commitment to all bilateral agreements with India.

58. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) named Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro as

World Capital of Architecture for 2020. Rio will be the first city to receive the title under a programme launched together by

UNESCO and International Union of Architects (UIA) in November 2018.

1. It underscores common commitment of UNESCO and UIA to preserve architectural heritage in the urban context. It is

intended to become an international forum for debates about pressing global challenges from the perspectives of

culture, cultural heritage, urban planning and architecture.

59. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2018.

1. Human trafficking has become horrific as terrorists are using it to spread fear and gain victims to offer as incentives to

recruit new fighters. There has been steady increase in number of victims since 2010.

2. Trafficking for sexual exploitation is most prevalent in European countries and in sub-Saharan Africa and Middle East.

60. United Nations announced 2019 as International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements to highlight its first

publication in 1869.

61. Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro announced breaking off diplomatic ties with USA after USA recognized Opposition

leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela‟s interim President.

62. World Bank Global Economic Prospects report 2019 titled “Darkening Skies” -

1. Growth among advanced economies expected to drop to 2 % in 2019 , amid Slowing external demand, rising borrowing

costs and persistent policy uncertainties.

2. South Asia expected to grow at 7.1 per cent in 2019 driven by strengthening investment and robust consumption. Much

of contribution would come from India.

3. GDP Growth prjections for Neighbours in 2018-19 - Pakistan (3.7 %), Bangladesh (7 %), Sri Lanka (4 %) and Nepal

(5.9 %).

4. Report warns sharper-than-expected tightening of global financing conditions, or a renewed rapid appreciation of US

dollar, could exert further downward pressure on activity in EMDEs (Emerging Market and Developing Economies).

5. About India -

1. India‟s GDP is expected to grow at 7.3 % 2018-19, and 7.5 per cent in the following two years.

2. India would continue to be the fastest growing major economy in the world.

3. China‟s growth will slow down to 6.2 % each in 2019 and 2020 and 6 % in 2021.

4. Domestic demand has strengthened as benefits of structural reforms such as GST harmonisation and bank

recapitalisation take effect. Strong domestic demand may further widen the current account deficit to 2.6 % of

GDP in 2020.

5. Inflation is projected to be above the midpoint of the Reserve Bank of India‟s target range of 2 to 6 %.

6. Public sector banks in India, which represent 70% of banking sector assets, still report low profitability and

high non-performing assets.

63. World Bank released Global Economic Prospects report 2019, titled “Darkening Skies” -

1. South Asia is expected to grow at 7.1 % in 2019, Much of which would come from India. Projections for Neighbours -

1. Pakistan - 3.7 %

2. Bangladesh - 7 %

3. Sri Lanka - 4 %

4. Nepal - 5.9 %

2. Report warns that if a trade war between the US and China may lead to a global slowdown.

3. Global growth is expected to remain steady at 3% in 2019 and 2020, after an expansion of 3.1% in 2018. Growth in

USA is projected to decelerate to 2.5% in 2019 and 2% in 2020. European Union will grow at steady rate of 2%.

4. China‟s growth is expected to moderate from 6.6% in 2018 to 6.3% in 2019.

5. About India -

1. India‟s GDP growth is expected to accelerate to 7.6 per cent in 2019-20, from estimated 7.4 per cent in 2018-

19.

2. India‟s growth is driven by robust private consumption, a more expansionary fiscal stance and benefits from

previous reforms and robust and sustained recovery.

64. World Economic Forum recognised Tata Steel‟s plant at IJmuiden in Netherlands as Manufacturing Lighthouse with state-of-

the-art production facilities, which will successfully adopt and integrate cutting-edge technologies of future.

1. WEF organizes a network of leading intelligent production companies as Manufacturing Lighthouses under its „Shaping

the Future of Production‟ initiative, to allow exchange of knowledge in area of „Fourth Industrial Revolution‟ in

production.

65. World Economic Forum released report „Future of Consumption in Fast-Growth Consumer Market – India‟. Highlights -

1. India would become the world‟s third largest consumer market behind only USA and China by 2030.

2. Consumer spending in India will grow from USD 1.5 trillion at present to nearly USD 6 trillion by 2030.

3. India‟s top 40 cities will form a USD 1.5 trillion opportunities by 2030 and thousands of small towns will also drive

equally large spend.

4. There will also be an opportunity to unlock nearly USD 1.2 trillion of spending in developed rural areas by improving

infrastructure.

66. World Health Organisation (WHO) issued list of 10 global health threats in 2019. They are -

1. Air pollution and climate change

2. Noncommunicable diseases (such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease)

3. Global influenza pandemic

4. Fragile and vulnerable settings

5. Antimicrobial resistance

6. Ebola and other high-threat pathogens

7. Weak Primary Health Care

8. Vaccine hesitancy

9. Dengue

10. HIV

67. World‟s first television channel dedicated to human rights launched in London by International Observatory of Human Rights

(IOHR). Broadcasts can be viewed via Netgem. It would focus on issues like refugees, press freedom and the incarceration of

journalists, extremism, women‟s rights, LGBT+ issues and the plight of the world‟s stateless people.

Meetings

1. 106th Session of Indian Science Congress held at Lovely Professional University in Phagwara (Punjab). The theme of 5 day

ISC 2019 is Future India: Science and Technology. It included Children‟s Science Congressm 2 day Science Communicators‟

Meet, „Women‟s Science Congress‟ on 5th January. Nobel Laureates who participated included -

1. German-American biochemist Thomas Sudoph, who was awarded 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology / Medicine.

2. Hungarian-born Israeli biochemist and Nobel laureate in Chemistry Avram Hershko (awarded in 2004).

3. British born physicist Frederick Duncan Michael Haldane who was awarded 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics.

4. DRDO pavilion received „Exhibitor of the Year Award‟ at the conference.

2. 2nd World Integrated Medicine Forum 2019 held in Goa, organized by Central Council for Research in Homeopathy (Ministry

of AYUSH).

3. 6th „Women of India Organic Festival‟ held in Chandigarh, organized by Ministry of Women and Child Development, to

promote women farmers and entrepreneurs in organic sector from remote parts of India.

4. Global Aviation Summit 2019 held in Mumbai, with theme “Flying for all”, organised by Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA)

and FICCI.

1. During the Summit, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu released Vision 2040 document. As per the report, India

will need 200 airports and investment of $40-50 billion to handle at least 1.1 billion passengers, 6 times the 187 million

air traffic in FY 2018. Airline fleet will rise from 622 to 2360 till March 2040.

5. India will host 14th session of Conference of Parties to United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD),

aimed to address issue of land degradation and desertification.

6. Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) and Commerce ministry organized a mega food international event named Indus

Food Meet 2019, at India Exposition Mart of Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh). Odisha participated as „Partner State‟.

7. World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meet 2019 held in Davos (Switzerland), with theme Globalization 4.0: Shaping a

Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

1. Global Talent Competitive Index prepared by INSEAD business school in partnership with Tata Communications and

Adecco Group was released on first day of WEF Annual Meeting 2019.

1. It measures how countries and cities grow, attract and retain talent, ranking 125 countries and 114 cities.

2. India moved up one position to rank 80th, still remaining last among BRICS nations.

3. Switzerland is at top, followed by Singapore, US, Norway and Denmark as top 5.

4. China‟s ranking fell by two places to 45, stil being best among BRICS Nations.

5. Top-ranked city in index is Washington DC (USA), followed by Copenhagen (Denmark), Oslo (Norway),

Vienna (Austria) and Zurich (Switzerland).

2. Oxfam Annual Wealth Check report 2019 was released during WEF meet in Davos.

1. Wealth of over 2,200 billionaires across globe had increased by $900 billion in 2018. Wealth of the world‟s

richest man, Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon, saw an increase to $112 billion.

2. About India -

1. Top 1% of India‟s richest got richer by 39%, with just 3% increase in wealth for bottom half of

population.

2. 6 Crore Indians who make up the poorest 10 % Indians, continued to remain in debt since 2004. Top

10% of richest Indias holds 77.4% of national wealth.

3. International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its World Economic Outlook Update in WEF Meet in Davos. It stated that

India‟s GDP will grow by 7.5% in 2019-20 fiscal and 7.7% in 2020-2021.

4. Report by London-based consultancy Brand Finance was released at WEF Meet 2019 -

1. At $19.5 billion, Tata group is India's most valuable brand. TATA Group is only Indian Brand in top-100

brands globally, ranked 86th. India has 9 Brands in the list. India's Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is named

fastest growing brand in IT Services sector over past decade.

2. Top 3 Brands - Amazon ($188 Billion), Apple ($154 Billion), Google ($143 Billion)

National 1. General Conferences (Jan 1 - 10, 2019)

1. Indian Panorama Film Festival held at Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi, organized by Directorate of Film Festivals

(Ministry of Information and Broadcasting).

2. 4th edition of Raisina Dialogue held in New Delhi, with theme A World Reorder: New Geometries; Fluid Partnerships;

Uncertain Outcomes". Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) of United States Chamber of Commerce has launched a

new innovation initiative Fair Value for Innovation at Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi.

3. Rail Kumbh Seva Mobile App launched by North Central Railway (NCR) to help devotees arriving in Allahabad for

Ongoing Kumbh Mela 2019. It will provide valuable information to devotees and will assist them navigate through city.

4. National Conclave on Accomplishments and Way Forward for Textiles Sector held in New Delhi, during which 17

persons were honored for contribution in different fields of textiles sector.

5. Women & Child Development Minister Maneka Sanjay Gandhi conferred National Awards to 97 Anganwadi

Workers(AWWs) for Exceptional Achievements for 2017-18, under Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) in

New Delhi.

6. 4th Australia-India Education Council Meeting (AIEC) held at Adelaide (Australia), with 7 agreements/MoUs signed

between Indian and Australian Institutions.

7. 27th edition of New Delhi World Book Fair 2019 held at Pragati Maidan (New Delhi) with theme Readers with special

needs. UAE‟s third largest emirate Sharjah is guest of honour.

8. First national workshop on agri export policy held in New Delhi.

9. First „National Consultation on Child Protection‟ 2019 held at India Habitat Centre (New Delhi).

10. Around 30 lakh women in Kerala formed Vanitha Mathil (women‟s wall) that ran across state, spanning 620 Kms. It

aimed to uphold values of Kerala‟s renaissance, ensure gender justice, and counter moves to turn state into a lunatic

asylum.

11. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Gangajal Project in Agra (Uttar Pradesh), aiming to improve supply of drinking water.

It aims to bring 140 cusecs of Ganga water to Agra to help in meeting drinking water demands in city. Project was

launched in 2005 in collaboration with Japan International Cooperation Agency and was scheduled to be completed by

March 2012. It has missed several deadlines.

12. Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) city traffic police launched a mobile application „Police-E-Eye‟ for public to report on traffic

violations to police and to keep a check on the same.

13. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched a new platform called „Samwad with Students‟, to constantly

engage youngsters across India in activities concerning space science to capture their scientific temperament. ISRO also

announced Young Scientist Programme to inculcate and nurture space research fervour in young minds.

1. It would be a one month programme. Mostly 8th standard passed out students will be given lecturers and

access to research laboratories.3 students from each of the 29 States and 7 Union Territories will be selected

for Young Scientist program.

2. Government launched National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), to tackle Air pollution in 102 selected highly affected cities -

1. Tentative national target of 20%–30% reduction of PM2.5 and PM10 concentration by 2024 is proposed under NCAP,

taking 2017 as base year for comparison of concentration.

2. NCAP will be a mid-term, five-year action plan with 2019 as first year. It may be extended as significant outcomes will

be visible only in long-term.

3. There will be use of Smart Cities program to launch NCAP in 43 smart cities falling in list of 102 non-attainment cities.

3. 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention 2019 held in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh). Theme of the 3 day event is Role of Indian

Diaspora in building New India.

1. Chief Guest of the event was Mr. Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Prime Minister of Mauritius.

2. India celebrates Pravasi Bhartiya Divas on 9 January, marking return of M K Gandhi from South Africa to Mumbai in

1915. Decision to celebrate PBD was taken based on recommendations of Committee on Indian Diaspora under

chairmanship of L. M. Singhvi. First PBD was celebrated in 2002.

3. President Ram Nath Kovind conferred Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards 2019 to 30 awardees. Pravasi Bharatiya

Samman Awards is highest honour conferred on overseas Indians.

4. Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana was launched on the occasion. Under it, group of Indian diaspora will be taken on a

government-sponsored tour of religious places in India twice a year. People of Indian-origin aged 45 to 65 can apply

can avail its benefits.

4. 1st one day Turtle Festival held in Puri (Odisha). It aimed to create awareness and promote ideas on conservation of olive

ridley turtles.

5. 2 Commemorative coins in denomination of Rs 100 and Rs 5 were released to mark 102nd Birth Anniversary of late Tamil

Nadu Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran.

6. 25 states achieved 100 percent household electrification under Centre‟s „Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana‟

(Saubhagya), upto end of 2018. Only about 10 Lakh households are left to be electrified in 4 States viz., Assam, Rajasthan,

Meghalaya and Chhattisgarh.

7. 2nd World Orange Festival held in Nagpur (Maharashtra).

8. 3 day Flamingo Festival held in Pulicat Lake and Nelapattu in Sullurpeta mandal (Andhra Pradesh). Flamingo Festival is a 12-

year-long tradition of the region. Highlight of this fest is sight of colourful migratory birds from Siberia that visit the region for

nesting and breeding.

9. 30th Edition of nine-day long international kite festival inaugurated ahead of Uttarayan or Makar Sankranti (day when winter

season starts changing to summer and farmers welcome the approaching harvest season) in Ahmedabad (Gujarat).

10. Agreement signed between 6 states for Renukaji Dam Multipurpose Project. Included states are Uttar Pradesh, Haryana,

Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.

1. Renukaji Dam project has will be a storage project on Giri River (tributary of river Yamuna) in Sirmour District of

Himachal Pradesh. The project envisages construction of 148 M high rock filled dam for supply of 23 cumec water to

Delhi and other basin states. It will also generate 40 MW of power during peak flow.

2. Three storage projects are proposed to be constructed on Yamuna and two of its tributaries - Tons and Giri in

Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh of Upper Yamuna Basin. These include Lakhwar project on river Yamuna in

Uttarakhand , Kishau on river Tons in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and Renukaji on river Giri in Himachal

Pradesh.

3. Cost of project on Price Level 2015 is 4596 Crores. 90% cost of irrigation/drinking water component will

be provided by Central Govt. and 10% to be provided by States of Haryana, UP/UK, HP, Rajasthan & Delhi.

11. Tourism Minister K.J. Alphons inaugurated project Development of North East Circuit: Rangpo– Rorathang- Aritar-

Phadamchen- Nathang-Sherathang- Tsongmo- Gangtok-Phodong- Mangan- Lachung-Yumthang- Lachen- Thangu-

Gurudongmer- Mangan- Gangtok-Tuminlingee- Singtam, as First Project in Sikkim State, under Swadesh Darshan Scheme of

Ministry of Tourism.

12. According to study The Potential Benefits of Indias War Against Pollution — Longer Lives, by Air Quality Life Index

(SAQLI), life expectancy of people in Delhi can go up by nearly three years if the air pollution is reduced by 25%.

13. Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh released recombinant Enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay

(ELISA) kits for Glanders and other Equine Infectious Anaemia. Glanders is a fatal infectious and notifiable disease of equines

including horses, donkeys and mules. ELISA technology will prove to be a milestone in the control and eradication of glanders

from India.

14. Airports Authority of India (AAI) signed MoU with Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research

(SAMEER) for joint research in Communication Navigation and Surveillance (CNS). It will enable transfer of skill by SAMEER

in areas of Radio Frequency, Millimetre Wave and Antenna-related solutions to AAI domain experts.

15. An MoU for sale of FASTags through petrol pumps of leading Oil Marketing Companies signed between Indian Highways

Management Company Limited and Oil Marketing Companies BPCL, HPCL and IOCL. It will expand FASTag program‟s

distribution network which is presently active at selected bank branches. Its a bank-neutral FASTag which can be linked to

customers‟ choice of bank accounts.

16. Andhra Pradesh Govt unveiled various welfare scheme for marginalized and economically backward Brahmins through state

Brahmin Welfare Corporation such as distribution of Cars to Unemployed Brahmin youths, loans and subsidies.

17. Andhra Pradesh government earmarked 5% reservation for upper caste Kapus out of the 10% quota for economically weaker

sections provided by Central Govt. recently, through passage of 103rd Constitution Amendment Act 2018 (124th Constitutional

Amendment bill).

18. Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) declared 6 monuments as Monuments of national importance in 2018 These are -

1. Old High Court Building in Nagpur (Maharashtra)

2. Haveli of Agha Khan in Agra (UP)

3. Haveli of Hathi Khana in Agra (UP)

4. Neemrana Baori in Rajasthan‟s Alwar district

5. Group of Temples at Ranipur Jharail in Odisha‟s Bolangir district

6. Vishnu Temple in Kotali (Pithoragarh - Uttarkhand)

19. Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu inaugurated India‟s longest single-lane steel cable suspension bridge over Siang River

in Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. Bridge is 300-metre-long and is known as byorung bridge. It will reduce distance

between Yingkiong and Tuting in Arunachal Pradesh by almost 40 km.

20. Arunachal Pradesh Govt. declared Pakke Paga Hornbill Festival (PPHF) as State Festival. PPHF is only conservation festival

of Arunachal Pradesh.

21. As per Govt. Data, Tamil Nadu topped states in implementation of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation

(AMRUT) Yojana, by completing 378 projects.

1. With only a year to the deadline, only 20 % of total projects were completed, utilising 3 % of funds approved under

AMRUT.

2. West Bengal is 2nd with Gujarat at 3rd position. While Bihar and Assam were not able to complete even a single

project.

3. AMRUT was launched in 2015, aiming to establish an infrastructure that could ensure adequate robust sewage

networks and water supply for urban transformation. Mission period is up to March 2020.

22. Asia competitiveness institute (ACI) released Ease of Doing Business Rankings for Indian states.

1. Andhra Pradesh topped the list, with Maharashtra and Delhi at 2nd and 3rd places respectively.

23. Atal Tinkering Lab Handbook Nayee Dishayen, Naye Nirman, Naya Bharat released by NITI Aayog‟s Atal Innovation

Mission, During announcement of 10 Month Student Entrepreneurship Programme to help top six innovations across six crucial

theme.

1. Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is Government‟s flagship initiative to promote a culture of innovation and

entrepreneurship in the country.

2. Atal Tinkering Laboratories under AIM are aimed at creating innovators and Atal Incubation Centres would provide

support to these innovations to scale up to market and helps to create enterprises around these innovations.

24. Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) and Central Public Works Department (CPWD) signed MoU to cooperate in promoting

construction of Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) compliant new buildings, star rating of CPWD managed buildings

with no registration or renewal fee, awareness on energy efficiency in building sector and support for capacity building of

CPWD officials in ECBC.

1. Recently, ECO Niwas Samhita 2018 an Energy Conservation Building Code for residential buildings, to push for

energy efficiency in residential sector was launched on December 14, 2018. It aims for promoting design and

construction of homes including apartments and townships to give benefits of energy efficiency to the occupants.

25. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) brought out a new standard for Aviation Turbine Fuels, to align Indian standards with

current international standards and enable use of bio-jet fuel on all military and civilian aircrafts.

1. After several deliberations, Indian Standard IS 17081:2019 Aviation Turbine Fuel (Kerosene Type, Jet A-1) containing

Synthesised Hydrocarbons, has been formulated This would enable oil companies to manufacture bio-jet fuel for the

Indian aviation industry.

2. Given advent of Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) by International Civil

Aviation Organisation (ICAO) by 2027, this is a significant development which could reduce carbon emissions.

26. Cabinet Approvals -

1. General -

1. Approved setting up of National Bench of Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal, to be situated in New

Delhi. It will serve as a forum for second appeal in GST laws and first common forum for dispute resolution

between Centre and States. It will ensure uniformity in redressal of disputes arising under GST.

2. Approved amendments to framework on currency swap arrangement for SAARC member countries,

incorporating a standby facility of USD 400 million. This will enable India to provide a prompt response to the

current request from SAARC member countries for availing the swap amount exceeding the present limit

prescribed under the SAARC Swap Framework.

1. Currency Swap Arrangement for SAARC Nations was formulated to provide a line of funding for

short term foreign exchange requirements or to meet the balance of payments crises till longer-term

arrangements are made. It was approved by India in March 2012.

2. Under the framework RBI offers swaps of varying sizes to each SAARC Member countries

depending on their two months import requirement, not exceeding US$ 2 billion USD in total.

3. Approved extension of Delhi Metro corridor from Dilshad Garden to New Bus Adda Ghaziabad, with total

distance 9.41 km and cost 1781 crores.

4. Approved amendment to Article 280 of Constitution, to increase powers of the Autonomous Councils in Sixth

Schedule areas of North East, to benefit approx About 1 crore tribal people in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and

Mizoram.

1. As per the approval, State Finance Commissions will be set up in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram,

Tripura, Karbi Anglong Autonomous Territorial Council and Dima Hasao Autonomous Territorial

Council.

2. Autonomous councils till now had to depend on grants from Central / State governments for specific

projects. They would now get financial resources upon recommendation of newly constituted Finance

Commission.

3. Village and municipal councils will have to reserve at least one third of the seats for women.

4. Proposed amendments enhances funds available to local government institutions for undertaking

development works in tribal areas.

2. MOU -

1. With and Japan in field of food processing sector.

2. With Kuwait for cooperation on Recruitment of Domestic Workers.

27. Cabinet Approvals (Jan 02, 2019) -

1. MOUs -

1. Morocco - Cooperation in Cyber Security.

2. General Approvals -

1. Approved introduction of a Bill named The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill 2018 in

Parliament for certain amendments in Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order 1950, to modify list of Scheduled

Tribes (STs) of Arunachal Pradesh.

2. Approved continuation of Rastriya Yuva Sashaktikaran Karyakram Scheme for 2017-18 to 2019-2020 with

budget outlay of 1160 crores. During 12th FYP, 8 schemes were brought under umbrella scheme of Rashtriya

Yuva Sashaktikaran Karyakram, to achieve better synergies between Schemes and improve their effectiveness.

Subschemes of RYSK -

1. Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan(NYKS)

2. National Youth Corps (NYC)

3. National Programme for Youth & Adolescent Development (NPYAD)

4. International Cooperation

5. Youth Hostels (YH)

6. Assistance to Scouting & Guiding Organizations

7. National Discipline Scheme (NDS)

8. National Young Leaders Programme (NYLP)

3. Approved restructuring of existing National Health Agency as "National Health Authority" for better

implementation of Pradhan Mantri - Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).

1. Existing society National Health Agency has been dissolved and will be replaced by National Health

Authority as an attached office to Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

4. Approved Amendment to Trade Unions Act 1926 to make provisions regarding Recognition of Trade Unions.

It will facilitate

1. Recognition of Trade Unions at Central and State level.

2. Ensure true representation of workers in tripartite bodies.

3. Check on arbitrary nomination of workers‟ representatives by the Government.

5. Approved setting up of a High Level Committee for implementation of Clause 6 of Assam Accord and

measures envisaged in Memorandum of Settlement 2003 and other issues related to Bodo community.

1. After Assam agitation of 1979-1985 (a popular movement against illegal immigrants in Assam),

Assam Accord was signed on 15th August, 1985. Clause 6 of Assam Accord said that appropriate

safeguards shall be provided to protect culture and heritage of Assamese people. However, it has been

felt that Clause 6 of Assam Accord has not been fully implemented yet.

2. The Committee shall examine the effectiveness of actions since 1985 to implement Clause 6 of

Assam Accord.

3. Composition and Terms of Reference of Committee will be issued separately by Ministry of Home

Affairs.

6. Approved amalgamation of Bank of Baroda, Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank, with Bank of Baroda as transferee

bank and Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank as transferor banks. It is first-ever three-way consolidation of banks in

India, leading to formation of India's second largest Public Sector Bank after SBI.

1. The scheme shall come into force on Apr 01, 2019.

2. No impact would be on wages or ranks of employees of included banks.

3. Strengths of individual banks - such as Dena Bank's relatively higher access to low-cost CASA

deposits, Vijaya Bank's profitability and availability of capital for growth, and extensive and global

network and offerings of BoB will translate into advantages for Amalgamated bank.

7. Approved Uttar Pradesh government‟s proposal to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj

3. CCEA Approvals -

1. Approved continuation of 5 schemes under Umbrella Scheme for Family Welfare and Other Health

Interventions during 14 th Finance Commission period 2017-18 to 2019-20, with outlay of 2381 crores. All the

five schemes are Central Sector Schemes with 100% funding from Central Government. These are as follows

-

1. Swastha Nagrik Abhiyan(SNA) - For dissemination of information on health issues to create

awareness among citizens.

2. Free Supply of Contraceptives.

3. MIS Scheme now proposed as Health Surveys and Health Research (HSHR).

4. Social Marketing of Contraceptives.

5. Population Research Centres (PRCs)

2. Approved proposal of the Department of Commerce for including merchant exporters under Interest

Equalisation Scheme (IES) for Pre and Post Shipment Rupee Export Credit by allowing them interest

equalisation rate of 3% on such credit for export of products covered under 416 tariff lines identified under

scheme. The proposal will entail benefits of around Rs 600 crore to exporters on interest equalisation, for the

remaining period of the scheme.

28. Cabinet Approvals (Jan 10, 2019) -

1. MOUs -

1. Denmark - Maritime issues

2. Japan - development of „Advanced Model Single Window‟ and its operationalization in Central and State

Governments in India for taking administrative procedures necessary for business operations, to promote Ease

of Doing Business.

3. Swaziland (now known as Eswatini) - Approved Terms of Reference (TOR) for engagement of designated

Indian Expert to provide tax assistance to Tax Inspectors Without Borders Programme between India and

Eswatini.

4. France - technical cooperation in new and renewable energy.

5. Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA) with Japan, for maximum amount of USD 75 billion.

2. General Approvals -

1. Approved Establishment of new AIIMS at Vijaynagar (Jammu) at cost of INR 1661 crores, Awantipura

(Kashmir) at cost INR 1828 crores and Rajkot (Gujarat) at cost of INR 1195 crores. These AIIMS will be set

up under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).

2. Approved re-issuance of an ordinance making instant triple talaq a criminal offence. The earlier ordinance is to

expire on January 22. Bill named The Muslim Women (Protection Of Rights on Marriage) bill 2017 was

passed by Lok Sabha in December 2017. An ordinance has a vaildity of six months. Accordingly, instant triple

talaq (talaq-e-biddat) will be illegal and void and will attract a jail term of 3 years for husband.

3. CCEA Approvals -

1. Interim budget for 2019 will be presented on 1 February during budget session of parliament, to be held from

31 January to 13 February.

29. Cabinet Approvals (Jan 16, 2019) -

1. MOUs -

1. With Queensland Provincial Government (Australia) for Safety in Mines, Testing and Research Station

(SIMTARS).

2. Approved Agreement on facilitation of visa arrangements signed with Maldives, to further deepen people to

people exchanges between two countries.

2. General Approvals -

1. Approved regularisation of Pay Scales of below Board Level Executives in Hydro CPSEs - NHPC, NEEPCO,

THDC India and SJVN. Over 5254 Executives of Hydro CPSEs enrolled before 01.01.2007 will be benefitted.

2. Approved Revised Cost of Estimates (RCE) for 13 new Central Universities in States of Bihar, Gujarat,

Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir (Two), Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Punjab,

Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

1. These cental universities will be set up under Central Universities Act 2009.

2. Cabinet approved expenditure of INR 3639 cores for 13 new Central Universities.

3. Approved sanction of INR 4242 crores for Integrated E-filing &Centralized Processing Center 2.0 Project of

Income Tax Department. It also approved expenditure sanction of 1482 crores of existing CPC-ITR 1.0 project

upto FY 2018-19. It will benefit Department and taxpayers through various means, including faster refunds.

4. Approved recapitalization of EXIM Bank. Details -

1. Issuance of Government Recapitalization Bonds worth 6,000 crores - 4,500 crore in FY 2018-19 and

Rs.1,500 crore in FY 2019-20.

2. Cabinet also approved an increase in authorized capital of Exim Bank from Rs. 10,000 crore to Rs.

20,000 crores.

3. CCEA Approvals -

1. Approved capacity expansion of Numaligarh Refinery from 3 MMTPA (Million Metric Tonne Per Annum) to

9 MMTPA. It involves setting up of crude oil pipeline from Paradip to Numaligarh and product pipeline from

Numaligarh to Siliguri at a cost of 22,594 crores.

30. Chhattisgarh government withdrawn general consent accorded to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe cases in state,

under Section 6 of Delhi Special Police Establishment Act 1946.

1. Section 6 of Delhi Special Police Establishment Act 1946 makes consent of states mandatory for CBI to exercise its

powers in states.

2. Chhattisgarh joined West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh that have earlier withdrawn general consent for CBI to undertake

investigations.

31. Civil Aviation Ministry stated that islands in Andaman will soon be connected by airplanes that can land on or take-off from

water. Government approved flight operations on 13 water aerodrome routes under Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme.

32. Civil Aviation ministry launched India‟s first Geographical Indication (GI) store at Dabolim International Airport in Goa. It

will promote local products made by artisans and handicrafts.

33. Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu announced UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik ) 3.0 results, Handling over

letters of award to successful Airlines for serving 16 unserved and 17 underserved airports, 6 water aerodromes and 50 served

airports. Total 89 airports to be connected 235 routes comprising 189 RCS Routes and 46 Tourism Routes.

34. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated 426.60 metres long Pre Stressed Concrete Box Girder type Diffo bridge

over Diffo river on Roing – Koronu- Paya road in Arunachal Pradesh. Construction of Bridge was undertaken by Project Udayak

of Border Roads Organisation.

35. Delhi High Court allowed release of movie „72 Hours – Martyr who never died‟, based on 1962 war hero Rifleman Jaswant

Singh Rawat.

1. He was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra for gallantry during 1962 war. Family members of the Rifleman

Jaswant Singh Rawat had sought a stay on the release citing it intrudes their privacy.

36. Delhi government will introduce Minimum Support Price (MSP) for farmers based on the recommendations of the National

Commission on Farmers (NCF) headed by MS Swaminathan, constituted in November 2004. Committee recommendations

included providing farmers with a minimum support price at 50 % profit above cost of production classified as C2 by

Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).

37. Delhi government will open six World-Class Skill centres (WCSCs), to prepare students to acquire different professional

skills. These centres would be opened at Institute of Basic Business Studies (Pusa), Integrated Institute of Technology Dwarka,

Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research University, Society for Self Employment (SSE) Wazirpur, SSE Jhandewalan, and

RIT Rajokari.

38. Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) signed MoU to increase emphasis

on multi-disciplinary research and development activities and nurturing innovations in agricultural biotechnology research and

education.

39. Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Doordarshan (DD) launched 2 science communication initiatives - DD

Science and India Science. DD Science is an one-hour slot on Doordarshan National channel, to be telecast Monday to Saturday

from 5 - 6pm. India Science is a internet-based channel, and will offer live, scheduled play and video-on-demand services.

40. From January 2019, Government enhanced fellowship of Ph.D students and other research personnel enrolled in any area of

science and technology. Hike in fellowship will benefit over 60,000 Research Fellows and also encourage States to consider

increase in their fellowship rates.

1. Fellowship of Junior Research Fellows in first two years of Ph.D programme is increased from 25000 to 31000.

2. Similarly, in remaining tenure of Ph.D, Senior Research Fellow will 35,000 per month, up from 28000 presently.

3. There is substantial 30-35% enhancement infinancial rewards for scientists involved in R&D projects as Research

Associates. Top bracket of Research Associateship is fixed at 54000.

41. General Conferences (Jan 11 - 20, 2019)

1. A 2+2 Inter-Sessional meeting between USA and India held in New Delhi, focusing on the progress of defence and

foreign policy issues.

2. 29th biennial Indian Paint Conference held in Agra (Uttar Pradesh) with theme Paints Pe Charcha – Naye Aayaam.

3. 27th edition of New Delhi World Book Fair 2019 held at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, with theme Books for Readers

with Special Needs'. Ahmad bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Chairman of Sharjah Book Authority was Guest of Honour.

4. Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation organized 9th International Micro Irrigation

Conference on Modern Agriculture at Aurangabad in Maharashtra.

5. 25th edition of Partnership Summit 2019, a global platform for dialogue, debate, deliberation and engagement among

Indian and global leaders on economic policy and growth trends in India, held in Mumbai.

6. 64th National Symposium (Sarva Bhasha Kavi Sammelan) organized by All India Radio for first time in Chennai

(Tamil Nadu).

42. General Conferences (Jan 11 - 20, 2019)

1. 2-day Agri Vision 2019 Conference on envisioning Agro solutions for Smart and Sustainable Agriculture held in

Hyderabad (Telangana).

2. 10th edition of the India Rubber Expo – 2019 held in Mumbai.

3. 25th International conference and exhibition on terrestrial and satellite broadcasting, BES EXPO 2019 held in New

Delhi, with theme Next Gen Broadcasting in the IT World.

4. Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is organising a fortnight of events named Shehri Samridhi Utsav all over

country with an aim to extend outreach of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-

NULM) to the poorest of poor and the most vulnerable.

5. Mongolia and International Chamber of Media and Entertainment Industry (ICMEI) signed MoU in the field of art and

culture.

6. Arab Economic and Social Development Summit 2019 held in Lebanon‟s capital Beirut.

7. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi (Minister of Women and Child Development ) inaugurated Regional Centre of National Institute

of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) at Mohali (Punjab).

8. First Annual Disarmament and International Security Affairs Fellowship Programme organised by Ministry of External

Affairs in New Delhi.

43. Genral Conferences (Jan 21 - 31, 2019) -

1. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) launched National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) to

attract talent and strengthen higher agricultural education in country. It was announced during Agrivision-2019

conference in Pusa (New Delhi).

2. First ever National Conference on Prison Design held in Visakhapatnam(Andhra Pradesh).

3. 3rd Stock Taking Conference on Tiger Conservation held in New Delhi.

4. Ministry of Textiles held National Conclave on Technical Textiles in Mumbai.

5. Symposium of International Automotive Technology 2019 held in Pune. Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari announced

that Government will make Euro 6 Emission standards necessary for initial launch of vehicles from 1 April 2020.

6. Lokpal Search Committee headed by Ranjana Prakash Desai held its first meeting in New Delhi. Supreme Court has Set

a Deadline of February-end deadline for search committee to send a panel of names who could be considered for

appointment as chairman and members of Lokpal.

7. Common Services Centres (CSCs) launched First Cash and Carry Store at Kanth in Muradabad (Uttar Pradesh). CSC

will now promote Cash and Carry store one in every block across country under Digital India mission. Each cash and

carry store will provide employment minimum 4 persons directly and indirectly.

8. South India MSME Summit 2019 held in Bengaluru (Karnataka).

9. Tamil nadu Government organised 2nd edition of Global Investor summit in Chennai.

10. A dedicated RPF Women Squad named as „JOYMATI BAHINI‟, comprising women sub-inspector and constables of

Railway Protection Force (RPF) launched at Kamkhaya Railway Station in Assam.

11. Uttarakhand‟s First and Country's 2nd Tulip Garden will come up near Chandak hilltop in Pithoragarh.

12. National Conference on Self Reliance in Defence Manufacturing organised at Hyderabad (Telangana).

13. Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated a 1210-meter span-bridge over river Ravi in Kathua district

of J & K. It will be of great help to over 2 lakh people living on two sides Kathua in Jammu, and Pathankot in Punjab.

14. India Steel 2019 Exhibition and Conference held in Mumbai (Maharashtra). Ministry of Steel organises the India Steel

Exhibition and Conference once in two years.

15. Ministry of Textiles launched Artisan Speak at Elephanta Caves (UNESCO heritage site in Maharashtra) to strengthen

the handlooms and textiles sector of India.

16. 9th Hyderabad literary festival(HLF) held in Hyderabad (Telangana). China was focus country at the event with

Gujarati as language in focus.

17. Word Nari Shakti is chosen as word of the Year 2018 by Oxford dictionaries it was announced during Jaipur Literature

Festival 2019. Also, Romain Rolland Book Prize for literary translation won by Tamil translation of Andrei Makine‟s

“La vie d‟un homme inconnu” (The Life of an Unknown Man). Award includes an invitation to Paris Book Fair 2019.

India will attend Paris Book Fair as Guest of Honor.

44. Goa CM Manohar Parrikar inaugurated “Atal Setu” on the Mandovi river in Goa, as 4 lane 5.1-km long cable-stayed bridge

connects state capital Panaji with north Goa.

45. Government launched Project Titled Green – Ag: Transforming Indian Agriculture for global environmental benefits and the

conservation of critical biodiversity and forest landscapes in association with Global Environment Facility (GEF).

1. It would be implemented in collaboration with Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Chambal Landscape

(Madhya Pradesh), Dampa Landscape (Mizoram), Similipal Landscape (Odisha), Desert National Park Landscape

(Rajasthan) and Corbett-Rajaji Landscape (Uttarakhand).

2. Green-Ag project seeks to integrate biodiversity, climate change and sustainable land management objectives and

practices into Indian agriculture.

46. Government launched „Womaniya on Government e Marketplace (GeM)‟ initiative to enable women entrepreneurs and

Women Self-Help Groups (WSHGs) to sell handicrafts, handloom, accessories, and other products directly to Government

entities, to develop women entrepreneurship on the margins of society to achieve gender-inclusive economic growth.

47. Government proposed renaming Indian Forest Service as Indian Forest and Tribal Service, after Department of Personnel and

Training (DoPT) initiated an inter-ministerial consultation note to rename the service.

48. Government's commenced inter-State trade between mandis of two different States, on Flagship Program e-NAM. Earlier

trade used to happen either within the APMC or between two APMCs situated within same state. Very first Inter State

transactions carried out between e-NAM APMC of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

1. This will helps farmers get better market access, more buyers/ traders & realise better prices for their produce.

2. E-NAM (National Agriculture Market) is a pan-India e-trading portal which seeks to network existing physical

regulated wholesale market (known as APMC market) through a virtual platform to create a unified national market for

agricultural commodities.

3. e-NAM promotes better marketing opportunities for farmers to sell their produce through online competitive and

transparent price discovery system and online payment facility.

49. Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Satya Pal Malik gave his assent to Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill

2014, providing reservation in government jobs for Pahari community.

1. Pahari Community also called as Pahadi and Parbati belongs to Indo-Aryan ethnic group inhabiting Himalayan regions

of Nepal and India.

50. Govt. reconstituted a tribunal to adjudicate matters related to extension of ban imposed on eight insurgent groups in Manipur

for five more years, over continued involvement in unlawful and violent activities. It will be headed by Delhi HC judge G S

Sistani.

51. Govt. renamed Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) as Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal

Trade, with a mandate to deal with matters related to start-ups, facilitating ease of doing business etc. With this new mandate,

both internal and external trade has been brought under a single Ministry (Ministry of commerce and industry).

52. Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Limited (GCMMF), which opeartes Dairy Prducts Brand Amul, has

launched Amul Camel Milk in selected markets of Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad and Kutch in Gujarat.

1. Camel milk assists healthy bacteria growth in the gut making it easy to digest and it also improves gastrointestinal

health and systemic immunity. Rich in Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) Camel Milk can provide 70% of the recommended daily

value per serving.

53. HRD Ministry launched 70-Point Grading Index to assess quality of school education in states -

1. It will assess areas of deficiency in each state‟s school education system so that targeted interventions can be made at

every level.

2. Iw will help states understand where they may be lagging and prioritise areas for intervention.

3. The index will assess states on a 1,000 point grading system with 10-20 points per parameter.

54. Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar announced Shaurya awards for students in name of 71 state police martyrs, with prize

money of Rs 11000. Award would be given to a student for courageous deeds every year in a village block where a martyr

studied during his childhood.

55. Haryana Govt. launched 11 projects aimed at revival of mythical Saraswati River and ensure regular flow of fresh water into

it.

56. Housing and Urban affairs Ministry launched Global Housing Technology Challenge under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

Urban (PMAY-U). GHTC aims to fast-track construction of affordable housing and meet the target of constructing 1.2 crore

houses by 2022.

1. GHTC focuses on identifying and mainstreaming proven demonstrable technologies for lighthouse projects and spotting

potential future technologies for incubation and acceleration support through ASHA (Affordable Sustainable Housing

Accelerators) - India.

57. Human Resource Development Ministry approved increase of 5000 seats in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) for

Academic Year 2019-20., taking total seats to 51000.

58. IIT Hyderabad launched a bachelor‟s programme in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, becoming first institute in India to

launch full-fledged Bachelor‟s programme in AI technology. IIT Hyderabad is third institute to globally to offer B.Tech course

in AI, after US-based Carnegie Mellon University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

59. IIT Madras launched a startup to prepare Indian workforce for advent of Artificial Intelligence age by training students at

nominal costs. Their startup One Fourth Labs has an online school „PadhAI‟ that offers affordable India-specific courses on AI.

60. IIT Ropar developed app named Roshni, to help Visually Impaired to recognise currency notes. It can recognise both old and

new notes and gives audio information as to which note is being held in hands.

61. India's largest startup ecosystem inauguarated in Kerala with launch of a 1.8-lakh-square-feet facility housing incubation set-

ups across a string of segments in modern technology.

62. Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) released a bulletin highlighting important features about climatic conditions of

2018.

1. Annual mean surface air temperature averaged over in 2018 was +0.41 degree Celsius above (1981-2010 period)

average.

2. 2018 was sixth warmest year on record since nationwide records commenced in 1901, with 2016 being Warmest (+0.72

degree Celsius).

63. Indian Oil Corp (IOC) commissioned its INR 5151 crores worth Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import terminal in Ennore

(Tamil Nadu), as first LNG import terminal IOC has built on its own.

64. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will offer insurance of up to 50 lakh for free for air passengers

who book their tickets through IRCTC portal, in tie up with Bharti-Axa. IRCTC‟s service charge of INR 59 is cheapest

compared with other travel aggregators.

65. Indian Railways will replace conventional coaches with modern LHB (Linke Hofmann Busch) design coaches in all long

distance trains. Railways decided to stop manufacturing of ICF conventional coaches from 2018-19 and production of LHB

coaches will be expedited from 2017-18.

1. LHB coaches are equipped with modern technology to prevent capsizing of coaches during derailments, which caused

more damage to life and property.

2. LHB coaches provide advantages like anti-telescopic feature which do not penetrate into adjacent coaches in case of

accidents. LHB coaches also wont climb on adjacent coaches, due to use of Center Buffer Coupling (CBC).

66. Jammu and Kashmir Law Department set up a State law commission for three years, under chairmanship of M K Hanjura.

67. Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) became India's only airport to be listed amongst top 30 container ports globally, as per

latest Lloyds Report. JNPT notched up five spots, to be 28th on the list.

68. Kallakurichi created as 33rd district of Tamilnadu, made by bifurcating Villupuram district.

69. Kerala Forest Department allowed women to trek Agasthyarkoodam, a pilgrimage centre within Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary

which had an unofficial ban on women entry until Kerala High Court in November 2018 ruled out gender-based restriction.

70. Kerala High Court has set a seven-day notice period for political parties and individuals to call for hartal and general strike in

State, to enable courts to examine legality of hartal call on request of citizens.

71. Kerala government will soon launch a „Pravasi Dividend Pension Scheme‟ to provide regular pension to Non Resident

Keralites on a one-time payment of Rs 5 lakh.

72. Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath launched INR 50,000 crores farm debt-waiver scheme named „Jai Kisan Rin Mukti Yojana‟.

It would benefit 55 lakh small and marginal farmers.

73. Madhya Pradesh government announced Yuva Swabhiman Yojana to provide employment for unemployed youth from

economically weaker sections. It aims to provide 100 days of employment to youngsters from economically weaker sections of

society in urban areas.

1. To enhance job opportunities, government changed in industrial policy with a clause under which industries would be

eligible to get state government incentives only if they hire 70 % staff from Madhya Pradesh.

2. With this, government aims to cover urban employed who are left out from Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), which provides employment to Rural people.

74. Maharashtra Government launched Atal Solar Krishi Pump Yojana, to reduce losses to farmers due to non-payment of

electricity bills and also promote solar energy. Government would provide solar pumps at subsidised rates for farmers.

1. Farmers with less than 5 acres will have to pay 5 % of cost of a 3 HP solar pump while farmers with over 5 acres will

get a 5 HP solar pump for 30000.

75. Maharashtra government launched a special scheme to curb infant deaths, by distributing baby-care kits to the children born in

primary health centres and government hospitals. Total cost of each kit is around Rs 2,000.

76. Maharashtra government partnered with YES Bank under its e-PDS State programme, to onboard fair price shops (FPS) as

Business Correspondent Agents. YES Bank will onboard approx 40 % of all fair price shops in Maharashtra, spanning 12

districts.

77. Meghalaya CM Conrad K Sangma inaugurated project Development of North East Circuit: Umiam (Lake View) - U Lum

Sohpetbneng- Mawdiangdiang - Orchid Lake Resort implemented under Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Ministry of Tourism, as

Swadesh Darshan project in Meghalaya.

78. Microsoft India launched a new e-commerce platform „re-weave.in‟, to aid handloom weavers. It would connect artisans to the

buyers directly enabling them to expand to newer customers and markets.

1. Project ReWeave was initiated by Microsoft India in 2016 as part of its Philanthropies efforts, to revive the handloom

weaving ecosystem in India.

79. Minister for Electronics and IT (MeitY) Ravi Shankar Prasad launched National Informatics Centre (NIC)‟s Command and

Control Centre (CCC) and its Centre for Excellence in Artificial Intelligence. CCC will increase agility of NIC‟s nationwide ICT

infrastructure, which hosts over 100000 Govt. websites.

1. Centre for Excellence in Artificial Intelligence has been established with motto „Inclusive AI‟ for responsive

governance, to work towards improving Govt. service delivery to citizens.

80. Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forests & Climate Change, Harsh Vardhan launched 3

centres set up at IIT Madras by Department of Science and Technology (DST).

1. First is DST –IITM Solar Energy Harnessing Centre. The Centre will focus on a wide range of research and technology

development activities such as silicon solar cells that promise high efficiency and are suited for Indian conditions.

2. Second is DST-IITM Water –IC for SUTRAM of EASY WATER (DST- IITM Water Innovation Centre for

Sustainable Treatment, Reuse and Management for Efficient, Affordable and Synergistic Solutions).

3. Third is Test bed on Solar thermal desalination solutions - It aims to deliver customized technological solutions to

address prevalent water challenges in the arid coastal village located on the shores of the Bay of Bengal.

81. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change approved Sita Rama Lift Irrigation Project of Telangana, to be

completed in 3 years and would lead to submergence of about 1,930-hectare area and 157 villages. It aims to divert Godavari

river water to irrigate 2.72 lakh hectares in three districts of Bhadradri Kothagudem, Khammam and Mahabubabad districts of

Telangana. It would cost approx INR 13384 Crores.

82. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notified 2019 Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms, replacing CRZ

norms of 2011. The new CRZ norms aim to promote sustainable development based on scientific principles taking into account

natural hazards. Features Include -

1. Two separate categories for CRZ-III (Rural) areas - CRZ-III A (densely populated rural areas with a population density

of 2161 per square kilometre) and CRZ-III B (rural areas with population density of below 2161 per square kilometre).

2. Floor Space Index Norms eased

3. Tourism infrastructure permitted in coastal areas

4. Streamlining of CRZ Clearances - Now, only projects located in CRZ-I (Ecologically Sensitive Areas) and CRZ IV

(area covered between Low Tide Line and 12 Nautical Miles seaward) will be dealt with for CRZ clearance by the

Ministry. The powers for clearances with respect to CRZ-II and III have been delegated at State level.

5. No Development Zone of 20 meters for all Islands

6. To address pollution in Coastal areas, the treatment facilities have been made permissible in CRZ-I B area subject to

necessary safeguards.

7. Critically Vulnerable Coastal Areas (CVCA) have been identified, to keep special emphasis on.

83. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched 4th edition of Swachh Survekshan 2019, claimed as largest cleanliness

survey. It aims to assess cities of India on their cleanliness quotient. Swachh Survekshan 2019 will continue till January 31,

results of which will be announced in March 2019. Survey will be conducted across 4,237 towns and cities and 62 Cantonment

Boards, impacting around 40 crore people.

84. Ministry of Human Resource Development approved establishment of a Centre for Classical Language at Thunchath

Ezhuthachan Malayalam University at Tirur (Kerala).

85. Ministry of Information & Broadcasting hiked advertisement rates for print media by 25% above existing rate structure for

advertisement in print media by Bureau of Outreach and Communication (erstwhile DAVP). Last such revision was in 2013

when an increase of 19% was announced over and above rates of 2010.

86. Ministry of Information & Broadcasting launched sharing of All India Radio News with private FM broadcasters, on free of

cost basisn and on trial basis till 31st May, 2019. Private FM broadcaster will first have to register with News Services Division :

All India Radio.

87. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting released draft amendment bill to amend Indian Cinematograph Act 1952, to counter

piracy.

1. Piracy would be a punishable offence with imprisonment of three years and fines of up to Rs 10 lakh or both.

88. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment drafted National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (2018-2023) for

addressing drug abuse in country, dumping a long-pending draft policy on the same. It focuses on preventive education,

awareness generation, counselling, treatment and rehabilitation of drug-dependent people, besides training and capacity-building

of service providers.

1. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in collaboration with the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre

(NDDTC) under the AIIMS, is conducting a national survey on the extent and pattern of substance abuse.

89. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) and National Council of Applied Economic Research

(NCAER) signed a MoU to use new data technologies, knowledge generation and knowledge sharing, and capacity building in

field of Official Statistics. It would lead to better monitoring of data quality and timeliness of various statistical products and

services generated by Ministry.

90. Ministry of Steel will set up a Safety Directorate, recognising the need to prevent injuries and accidents and provide a healthy

working environment and also guard against all possible hazards and risks. Directorate will oversee safety standards in steel

industry.

91. Ministry of Women and Child Development launched online campaign #www : Web- WonderWomen’, aiming to discover and

celebrate exceptional achievements of women, who have been driving positive agenda of social change via social media.

92. MoU signed between IIT Bombay and PSU Oil Companies and EIL, for setting up Centre of Excellence in Oil, Gas and

Energy, to meet needs of Mission Green by encouraging Research in sector and capacity building.

93. National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA) launched second phase of the Web Campaign

„SĀNJHI –MUJH MEIN KALĀKĀR‟. It aims to promote direct public-participation in the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH)

and diverse cultural traditions of the country.

94. National Green Tribunal (NGT) asked for a performance guarantee of Rs 10 crore each from governments of Delhi, Haryana

and Uttar Pradesh expressing dissatisfaction over the cleaning of river Yamuna, after interim report filed by a monitoring

committee.

95. National Green Tribunal imposed fine of INR 100 crores on Meghalaya government for its failure to curb illegal coal mining

in the state, after a committee report found that majority of mines in state were operating without a lease / licence.

96. National Wildlife Board approved Trishna Gas project of ONGC, which falls in the Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary in Gomati

district of Tripura.

1. ONGC discovered 10-12 gas bearing wells in Trishna Wildlife sanctuary. Tripura unit of ONGC has also committed to

provide Rs 25 crore to state government for carrying out Swacch Bharat Abhiyan.

97. New Political Party named National Women‟s Party (NWP) has been launched in Mumbai, formed with motto of women

empowerment. It has been founded by Dr Swetha Shetty.

98. Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik announced extension of free health services under Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana(BSKY) to all

medical colleges and hospitals of Odisha from 1st February 2019. Earlier, free health services were available at sub-centres in

villages and district headquarters hospitals.

1. All patients irrespective of APL or BPL category will be eligible to avail the free health services at government medical

colleges and hospitals.

2. Over 70 lakh families will continue to avail of cashless care up to Rs.5 lakh per annum per family, and Rs.7 lakh for

women members.

3. BSKY was launched on 15th August 2018 by Odisha Government.

99. Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik announced interest-free loans of up to Rs. 3 lakh for approx 6 lakh women self-help groups

(WSHGs) operating in state. He also launched a scheme to distribute INR 15,000 seed money per group to 3 lakh new self-help

groups. These Provisions are made under Mission Shakti.

100. Odisha Govt. announced „Jiban Sampark‟ project in partnership with UNICEF India to generate awareness about the

development and welfare initiatives of state government among the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups of state.

101. Odisha Govt. launched INR 10180 crores scheme,for overall development of small, marginal and landless farmers, dubbed as

„The Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA)‟ scheme.

1. It consists of a life insurance of Rs.2 lakh for 57 lakh farmers and would grant them crop loans at zero percent interest.

2. Assistance of INR 10000 per family per annum to around 30 lakh small and marginal farmers‟ families.

3. INR 5000 would be given to farmers for Rabi cultivation and equal amount will be given for Kharif Cultivation.

4. It will be implemented in three phases. In first phase, 5000 would be disbursed to farmers between January 22 and

January 25, 2019. 2nd second phase will be completed by February 15.

102. Odisha government announced hike of INR 200 per month in social security pension under Madhu Babu Pension Yojana

(MBPY).

1. Scheme was instituted by merging two pension schemes i.e. namely, Revised Old Age Pension Rules 1989 and

Disability Pension Rules 1985.

103. Odisha government launched Ama Ghare LED scheme to provide LED bulbs at free of cost to about 95 lakh families in state,

those who have registered under National Food Security Act (NFSA) and State Food Security Scheme (SFSC).

104. Omega Healthcare Management Services signed pact with IIIT-Bangalore for advanced use of the latest technology in

providing healthcare solutions.

105. PM Narendra Modi Inaugurated Integrated Refinery Expansion Complex at BPCL Kochi Refinery, Making Kochi refinery as

largest PSU Refinery in India. It will double production of LPG & diesel and commence production of feedstock for

petrochemical projects in this plant. PM Also laid foundation stone for new AIIMS at Madurai, (Tamil Nadu).

106. PM Narendra Modi dedicated Kollam Bypass (Kerala) on National Highway-66 to the nation. This is first National Highway

project in country taken up on a 50:50 Centre-State partnership.

107. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC) in Mumbai. Development of Museum was

guided by Museum Advisory Committee headed by Shyam Benegal.

1. Built at cost of Rs 140.61 crores, it depicts the journey of over a century of Indian cinema.

2. It is housed in two buildings - sNew Museum Building and 19th century historic palace Gulshan Mahal. Gulshan Mahal

is an ASI Grade-II Heritage Structure which has been restored as part of the NMIC project.

108. PM Narendra Modi laid foundation stone for the Mandal Dam Project on North Koel River, to help over one lakh eleven

thousand hectares of agricultural land in Jharkhand and Bihar to get irrigation facilities.

1. 24 MW of electricity will also be produced.

2. It is to be completed in 30 months at estimated cost of Rs. 1622 crores. 60 % would be financed by central government

as a grant from Long-Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF) under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) and 40% to

be borne by States through loan financed by NABARD.

3. Construction of Mandal Dam began in 1972 and continued till 1993. It was stalled over concerns that it threatens to

submerge portions of Palamau Tiger Reserve and Betla National Park. Central government has now approved diversion

of forest under Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR) for construction of Mandal Dam.

109. PM Narendra Modi release a commemorative coin on Guru Gobind Singh ji, on occasion of His 352nd birth anniversary

celebrations.

110. Polavaram project of Andhra pradesh placed in Guinness book of world record, by pouring 32,315.5 cubic meters of concrete

non-stop in 24 hours. It surpassed record of 21,580 cubic metres which was achieved by Abdul Wahed Bin Shabib project.

111. Pongal harvest festival held in Tamil Nadu, as 4 day event. Pongal means to boil. Rice is boiled in milk and offered firstly to

the sun and then cows and then to the family and friends.

1. Bull Taming sport Jallikattu is Held as part of Pongal Festival. In 2019 Jallikattu Event, Guinness world record was

made with participation of record number of Bulls, over 1300.

112. Prayagraj Ardh Kumbh Mela 2019, a 55 days cultural event inaugurated in Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh). It is one of oldest

traditions globally. Kumbh Mela has been named by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural heritage for humanity.

1. North Central Railway launched a mobile application named Rail Kumbh Seva Mobile App to help navigate attendees of

Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj city from January 15- March 4, 2019.

113. President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to 124th constitutional Amendment Bill (which is now Constitution 103rd

amendment Act), to provide 10 % reservation in Government jobs and educational institutions to economically backward section

in general category, which are deprived of benefits of reservation due to not belonging to reserved categories.

1. Government has decided 14th January 2019 as Date on Which Provisions of Constitution (One Hundred and Third

Amendment) Act 2019 shall come in to force.

2. Gujarat became first state to implement 10% reservation for economically weaker sections of general category,

mandated as per Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Act 2019.

114. Puducherry UT government will ban single-use plastic products from March, due to its harmful environmental effects.

115. Pune Traffic Police will introduce robot named „Roadeo‟ which would move around city roads, functioning as a quasi-traffic

policeman and cautioning commuters about traffic rules and offences. Its developed by SP Robotics Maker Lab, a Pune based

laboratory.

116. Railways Minister Piyush Goyal announced Vande Bharat Express as name for Train 18, acknowledging its made-in-India

status. This train set has been manufactured by Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in just 18 months.

1. It can achieve high speeds (max speed of 160 kmph) due to faster acceleration & deceleration and will reduced journey

time by 25% to 45%.

2. Vande Bharat Express incorporates many modern features which debut for the very first time on Indian Railways. It

will have 16 coaches with Chair Car type configuration with 2 Executive Class Chair Cars and 14 Chair Cars.

117. Railways Minister Piyush Goyal launched International Energy Agency (IEA)‟s Report The Future of Rail, as a first-of-a-kind

report analyses the current and future importance of rail around the world through perspective of its energy and environmental

implications. The report reviews the impact of existing plans and regulations on the future of rail, and explores the key policies

that could help to realise an enhanced future rail.

118. SBI along with others banks agreed to provide finance for Nagpur-Mumbai „Samruddhi Corridor‟ expressway project. SBI

will be providing the highest amount which is Rs. 8,500 crore. Other parties include Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda,

Bank of Maharashtra and LIC. estimated cost of the project is around 50,000 crores.

119. Sanrakshan Kshmata Mahotsav (SAKSHAM) Vans flagged off by Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan

to promote awareness on need of oil and gas conservation for future and methods to do it. It will cover 30 districts.

1. SAKSHAM is an annual flagship event of Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) under Ministry of

Petroleum & Natural Gas.

120. Sikkim CM Pawan Kumar Chamling announced One family one job scheme, which entitles one government job for every

family in state. Sikkim is first state to launch such programme which entitles every family in state with a government job.

121. Sikkim Government assured implementation of universal basic income in Sikkim by 2022, making Sikkim first state to

implement UBI.

1. Under UBI, people will be provided with a fixed amount of money irrespective of their income, resources or

employment status. Revenue Resources Include Power Surplus generated by Sikkim as it produces 2200 MW and

requirement of state is only 200-300 MW.

2. 2017 Economic Survey had proposed UBI as a conceptually appealing idea which could be a possible alternative to

social welfare programmes targeted at reducing poverty.

122. Skill development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced reforms to be implemented for Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS), to

enhance skill ecosystem and entrepreneurship in remotest areas, under Skill India Programme.

1. Ministry also launched portal at URL www.jss.gov.in; which will furnish information on action plans, database of

beneficiaries and stakeholders, details of finance and expenditure and other ongoing developments along with a public

log-in access.

123. Solar Energy Corporation of India invited solar power developers to construct 7.5 GW grid connected projects in Leh and

Kargil Districts in the Jammu & Kashmir. Out of 7.5 GW, 2.5 GW will be constructed in Kargil district and 5 GW in Leh

district.

124. Supreme Court formed a 5-Judge Constitution Bench to hear Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid Case, headed by Chief Justice

Ranjan Gogoi.

1. In Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid Case 14 appeals were filed against 2010 Allahabad High Court judgment.

2. Verdict of Allahabad HC partitioned 2.77-acre land equally among Sunni Waqf Board, Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.

125. Supreme Court has given its nod to Chardham Development Plan which connects holy places of Yamunotri, Gangotri,

Kedarnath and Badrinath by all-weather roads.

1. Construction of all weather roads in environmentally critical zone of Himalayas was questioned in National Green

Tribunal (NGT). NGT cleared Chardham Project and formed an oversight committee to monitor environmental

safeguards during construction. This NGT order was questioned in Supreme Court, which refused to stay order of NGT.

126. TRAI released Tele-density data of India, with notable observations being -

1. Number of mobile phone subscribers in India by end of November was 117.18 crores .

2. Private telcos held 89.99 % market share of wireless subscribers, where PSUs BSNL and MTNL held only 10.01 %

share.

3. Reliance Jio tops in numberof new subscriptions, followed by Airtel by a huge margin.

127. Tamil Nadu government released Startup and Innovation policy 2018-2023, aiming at Creation of over 5000 tech startups of

which at least 10 global high growth startups in social impact sectors.

1. It aims to collaborate with educational institutions to promote entrepreneurial spirit and enhance their productivity.

2. Tamil Nadu Startup Seed Grant Fund (TNSSGF) of Rs 50 crore with allotment of Rs 5 crore in first year in partnership

with financial institutions for supporting early-stage financing requirements of startups.

3. Definition of Start-up includes -

1. Registration under Tamil Nadu Startup and InnovaTN Mission (TANSIM).

2. Date of incorporation under 7 years (under 10 years in case of biotechnology, AI and ML startups).

3. Turnover less than Rs 25 crore in any of the financial years.

128. Telangana government will form a 'State Tiger Protection Force' to save Tiger population in State. State and Central

government will share cost on 40:60 basis.

129. Tourism Ministry sanctioned projects worth INR 85 crores for development of Spiritual Circuit III for Kerala under Swadesh

Darshan Scheme. Sites identified under circuit are across all 14 districts of state, covering 133 religious places.

130. Tripura CM Biplab Kumar Deb launched Sustainable Catchment Forest Management (SCATFORM) project, under assistance

of JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency). SCATFORM aims to address issues such as forest cover loss and forest

degradation have been mainly caused by shifting cultivation. 80 % of cost is contributed by JICA and rest would be funded by

the state and central governments.

131. Tripura Govt. unveiled official logo of Tripura Tea, featuring iconic landmark of Tripura, Neermahal. Neermahal was built by

then Tripura King Bir Bikram Kishore Debbarman Manikya in middle of Rudrasagar Lake. It is located in Melaghar, around 53

km west of Agartala.

132. University Grants Commission (UGC) approved list of journals for “The Consortium for Academic and Research Ethics

(CARE) Reference List of Quality Journals”. CARE is tasked to scrutinise and compile list of journals for social sciences,

humanities, language, arts, culture, Indian Knowledge system etc. It would be headed by headed by the UGC Vice Chairman.

1. UGC formed the Consortium as A research paper led by Professor Bhushan Patwardhan found that 88% of 1009

journals recommended by universities and included in white list were dubious and only 112 journals met criteria set by

UGC to be included in list. This had adversely impacted image of UGC and India at international stage.

133. Uttar Pradesh cabinet approved 0.5% cow welfare cess or „gau kalyan‟ cess, to earn additional Rs 34 crore for constructing

and maintaining cattle shelters to accommodate at least 1,000 stray cattle per district.

134. Uttar Pradesh government approved construction of Ganga Expressway, as longest expressway in world. It will enable better

connectivity of Prayagraj (Allahabad) to Western Pradesh.

1. Expressways are controlled-access highways, being highest-grade type of highway.

2. 600 km Ganga Expressway would be constructed at an approximate cost of Rs 36,000 crores over 6,556 hectares of

land.

3. It will start from Meerut and will pass through Amroha, Bulandshahr, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Farrukhabad, Hardoi,

Kannauj, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh before reaching Prayagraj.

135. Veer Savarkar International Airport in Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Islands) declared as authorized Immigration Check

post for entry into/exit from India with valid travel documents for all classes of passengers.

136. Web-based single-window system Parivesh (Pro-Active and Responsive facilitation by Interactive, Virtuous and

Environmental Single-window Hub) for environmental clearances has been rolled-out at state levels.

1. Parivesh provides for an automated system for submission, clearance and monitoring, ending clearance issues faced by

entrepreneurs.

2. Parivesh has already been implemented at the Central level. It speeds up the clearance process by huge margin.

137. West Bengal government announced Krishak Bandhu scheme to address distressed farmers in state. State govt. will give

annual assistance of INR 5000 per acre, with a life insurance cover of INR 200000. The scheme would cost approx INR 3000

Crores.

138. West Bengal government decided to exit from Central Government's Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.

State Govt. stated that letters sent to beneficiaries has photos of PM Narendra Modi, which is violation of MOU as State and

Centre have 60:40 partnership in scheme and state government should get similar space on documents.

1. WB Govt. chose to keep its own Swasthyasathi scheme, instad of PMJAY.

2. Earlier, 5 states had chosen to not implement PMJAuY. States are - Telangana, Odisha, Delhi, Kerala and Punjab.

139. Winter Session 2018 - 19 (January 2019) concluded -

1. Session Summary -

1. Productivity of Lok Sabha was approx 47% and that of Rajya Sabha was approx 27% during the current

session. 17 Bills (12 in Lok Sabha and 05 in Rajya Sabha) were introduced. The Lok Sabha passed 14 Bills

and while Rajya Sabha passed 04 Bills. 05 Bills were passed by both Houses of Parliament.

2. It was planned to end on Jan 08, 2019 but was extended by one day to enable passage of 124th Constitutional

amendment bill by Rajya Sabha.

2. Bills Passed by Lok Sabha -

1. Lok Sabha passed DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill 2019, recognizing need for

regulation of use of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) technology, for establishing identity of missing persons,

victims, offenders, under trials and unknown deceased persons.

1. Bill aims to expand application of DNA-based forensic technologies to strengthen justice delivery

system of country.

2. Bill includes establishment of DNA Regulatory Board, accreditation of DNA laboratories undertaking

DNA testing etc.

3. Bill also envisages establishment of National and Regional DNA Data Banks. Every Data Bank is

required to maintain - crime scene index, suspects‟ or undertrials‟ index, offenders‟ index, missing

persons‟ index AND unknown deceased persons‟ index.

2. Lok Sabha passed Companies (Amendment) Bill 2018, to amend Companies Act 2013 and replace ordinance

promulgated in November 2018. Features Include -

1. It re-categorises 16 offences including issuance of shares at a discount, and failure to file an annual

return as a civil offence. It provides for a penalty equal to amount raised by issue of shares at a

discount or 5 lakh rupees (whichever is lower).

2. Bill increases ceiling up to which regional director can compound (settle) offences with a penalty of

up to 25 lakhs from 5 lakh rupees.

3. Lok Sabha passed New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Bill to set up a revamped International

Arbitration Centre at New Delhi, aiing to make India an arbitration hub. New Delhi International Arbitration

Centre will take over undertakings of International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ICADR). Chief

justice of India is ex-officio chairperson of ICADR.

1. New Delhi International Arbitration Centre is being set up as per the recommendation of the Justice B

N Srikrishna committee formed to identify roadblocks in the development of institutional arbitration

in India.

4. Lok Sabha passed Personal Laws (Amendment) Bill 2018, that seeks to remove leprosy as a ground for divorce

in five personal laws – Hindu Marriage Act, Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, Divorce Act (for

Christians), Special Marriage Act and the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act.

5. Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 has been passed by Lok Sabha, which makes minority immigrants from

Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who have entered India before December 31, 2014 eligible for Indian

citizenship.

6. Lok Sabha passed Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill 2018, which will allow a panel of eminent

professionals to run scam-tainted Medical Council of India (MCI) so that medical education can be regulated

in best manner.

1. Bill will vest powers of council in a Board of Governors (BoG), which will have eminent medical

personalities.

2. Bill seeks to replace an ordinance issued in September 2018. A separate Bill to replace MCI with

National Medical Commission is pending in Parliament.

7. Lok Sabha passed Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, known as Triple Talaq Bill. It

would replace the ordinance passed in September 2018. It makes all types of declaration of triple talaq to be

void and illegal. Declaration of Triple Talaq would be a cognizable offence, attracting up to three years‟

imprisonment with a fine.

1. Cognizable offence is one for which a police officer may arrest an accused person without a warrant.

2. A Muslim Women against whom the triple talaq is pronounced is entitled to seek subsistence

allowance from her husband for herself and for her dependent children and the amount of the

allowance will be determined by Magistrate.

8. Lok Sabha passed Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2016, banning commercial surrogacy and allowing only

altruistic surrogacy. It protects rights of the surrogate mother and child born from surrogacy and promotes

ethical surrogacy.

1. Surrogacy is defined as an agreement between a couple who cannot conceive and a surrogate mother

to carry their child.

2. The bill is applicable to all Indian states, except Jammu and Kashmir.

3. Bill provides for constitution of National Surrogacy board and State Surrogacy board for regulation of

surrogacy process.

4. It bars couple who already have children, to go for surrogacy.

5. Women can only surrogate once in her lifetime and her age should be in between 25 to 35 years.

6. Couple who intend for surrogacy should be aged between 23 to 50 years and married for at least 5

years.

9. Lok Sabha passed Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2016, which seeks to empower the

transgender community in the country by providing them a separate identity.

10. Lok Sabha passed Consumer Protection Bill 2018 -

1. It aims to protect consumers' interests through a redressal mechanism that would ensure timely and

effective settlement of disputes.

2. It seeks to establish a Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to protect consumer rights and

look into the issues related to false or misleading ads. It calls for strict punishment and fines for

misleading advertisements and food adulteration.

3. District Commissions will have mandate to hear complaints having claim worth one crore rupees. In

the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 this limit was 20 lakh rupees. Limit of Commissions‟ at State

level enhanced from 1 to 15 crore rupees. Complaints above 15 crore rupees worth of claim will be

settled by National Commission.

11. Lok Sabha Passed National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Central Palsy, Mental Retardation

and Multiple (Disabilities) Amendment Bill 2018.

12. The Appropriation (No. 6) Bill 2018.

13. Lok Sabha passed Aadhaar amendment bill, which aims to provide legal backing for voluntary seeding of

biometric Aadhaar ID for mobile SIM card and bank account authentication purposes.

1. It seeks to amend Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and

Services) Act 2016, Indian Telegraph Act 1885 and Prevention of Money-laundering Act 2002.

2. It permits children, who would turn 18 years old, to opt out of the system.

3. It makes sharing of Aadhaar details voluntary for opening bank accounts, school admissions and

procuring mobile SIM cards.

4. It bans storing of core biometric information as well as Aadhaar number by service providers.

14. 124th Constitutional Amendment Bill 2019.

3. Bills Passed by Rajya Sabha -

1. Rajya Sabha Passed National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Central Palsy, Mental Retardation

and Multiple (Disabilities) Amendment Bill 2018.

2. Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2019

3. National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill 2019

4. 124th Constitutional Amendment Bill 2019.

4. Bills passed by Parliament (Both Houses - Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha) -

1. Parliament Passed National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Central Palsy, Mental Retardation

and Multiple (Disabilities) Amendment Bill 2018.

2. Parliament passed National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill 2018, after approval by Rajya

Sabha. It seeks to amend National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) Act 1993.

1. It aims to grant retrospective recognition to Central and State institutions which had conducted

teacher education courses without approval by Council. This will ensure that the future of about 17

thousand students having degrees from such institutions is secured.

2. All institutions running teacher education courses (B.Ed etc) have to obtain recognition from Council.

Around 23 State and Central universities and colleges offering B.Ed courses were found not

recognised by Council.

3. Parliament passed Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill 2018, that seeks to

remove no-detention policy in schools and bring accountability in elementary education system. Under current

provisions, no student can be detained up to class VIII.

4. One Hundred And Twenty-Fourth Amendment Bill 2019 -

1. It seeks to provide 10 % reservation in jobs and educational institutions to economically backward

section in general category, which are deprived of benefits of reservation due to not belonging to

reserved categories.

2. 10 % reservation will be in addition to existing cap of 50 % reservation for SC / ST / OBCs, taking

total reservation to 60%. Thus It triggers need for a Constitution amendment Bill.

3. New clauses would be added to Articles 15 and 16 of Constitution which presently allow State to

make reservation for only SC / ST / OBCs.

4. Proposed amendment Bill will define Economically Weaker Section (EWS) as one having -

1. Annual household income below Rs 8 lakh

2. Agriculture land below 5 acres

3. Residential house below 1000 sqft

4. Residential plot below 100 yards in notified municipality

5. Residential plot below 200 yards in non-notified municipality area

5. An amendment of Constitution can only be initiated when bill is passed in both houses of parliament.

Since this bill has been passed by both houses, it will now be presented to the President who shall

give his assent to the Bill.

6. If amendment seeks to make any change in any of provisions mentioned in provison to article 368, it

must be ratified by Legislatures of not less than one-half of the States.

7. Although Winter Session of Parliament was supposed to end on Jan 08, 2019, it was extended by a

day, to enable passage of this bill by Rajya sabha.

8. Previously -

1. In 1991, P V Narasimha Rao government proposed 10 % reservation for poor among the

forward castes. But in 1992, while upholding reservation for OBCs as per Mandal

Commission recommendation, Supreme Court, in Indra Sawhney & Others vs Union of

India case, directed that reservation be restricted to maximum 50 %.

2. SC also said that separate reservation for economically poor among forward class was

invalid as Article 15(4) provided for only socially and educationally backward classes and

not economically backward classes.

5. Bills Introduced and Pending -

1. Bill titled Women's Sexual, Reproductive and Menstrual Rights Bill 2018 has been introduced in Lok Sabha -

1. It proposes to make marital rape a crime and gives more decisional autonomy to women in

termination of pregnancy.

2. It proposes deletion of exception 2 to Section 375 of Indian Penal Code, which states that sexual

intercourse by a man with his own wife is not rape.

3. Bill proposes amendments to Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971, renaming act to 'Legal

Termination of Pregnancy Act'. Section 312 punishes anyone who causes a voluntary miscarriage

including the woman herself.

4. Bill grants women right to terminate pregnancy merely by request until 12th week of pregnancy,

along with conditional right to terminate pregnancy until 20th week. Bill also grants a limited right of

abortion until 24th week of pregnancy.

2. Government proposed a bill to amend Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order 1950to amend list of Scheduled

Tribes in Karnataka and Assam. In Karnataka, it aims to grant ST status to communities namely Parivara and

Talawara. In Assam, it aims to grant ST status to communities, namely Matak, Moran, Koch Rajbongshi,

Chutiya, Tai Ahom and states‟ 36 tea tribes.

3. A private members bill named Right to Disconnect Bill introduced in Lok Sabha by MP Supriya Sule.

1. Bill empowers employee with right to not respond to employers‟ calls, texts or emails after office

hours. It aims to reduce work-related stress and strive for a better work-life balance. It applies to

companies with over 10 employees.

2. It stipulates that no disciplinary action can be taken against you if you choose to not respond to your

employer after stipulated work hours.

3. France has already provided Right to disconnect since 2017 in companies with more than 50

employees with an aim to re-build boundary between professional and personal life. Spain also has

similar law which provides Right to Disconnect without any minimum employee criterion.

6. Bills Withdrawn -

1. Nalanda University (Amendment) Bill, 2013

2. Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Bill 2005

3. Homeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill 2005

4. Homeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill 2015

Persons 1. 96 years old Karthiyani Amma from Kerala became Commonwealth Learning Goodwill Ambassador. She has been given this

honour for becomimg oldest ever candidate to appear for Kerala Literacy Mission‟s Akshara Laksham (Million Letters) literacy

exam. She secured top position with 98% marks in Kerala Literacy Mission‟s Akshara Laksham (million letters) literacy exam

for Grade 4.

2. Aparna Kumar become first woman IPS and ITBP officer to conquer South Pole, the southernmost point of Earth, situated in

Antarctica continent. The temperature there ranges from - 37 to - 48 degrees.

3. French sailor Jean-Luc Van Den Heede won round-the-world yacht race after 212 days alone at sea without modern

instruments. He completed his 6th circumnavigation of the globe, became oldest to complete 30,000-mile Golden Globe race.

4. Indian Mountaineer Satyarup Siddhanta conquered Antarctica‟s highest point, Mount Sidley. With this, he became first Indian

and youngest man to climb 7 highest peaks and volcanic summits across all continents.

5. Indian mountaineer Arunima Sinha became world‟s first woman amputee to climb Mountain Vinson Massif (highest peak of

Antarctica with Height 4892 Metres). In 2013, she became first woman amputee to climb Mount Everest.

6. Misc. Appointments (January 2019) -

1. Cholendra Shumsher J B Rana appointed as new Chief Justice of Nepal.

2. Asif Saeed Khosa appointed as Chief Justice of Pakistan.

3. P K Singh appointed as secretary in Competition Commission of India (CCI).

4. President of Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF), Birendra Prasad Baishya, named by government as Chef de

Mission for 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Its first time that Weightlifting has been accorded with honor of Chef de Mission

for Olympics.

5. ICICI Bank appointed B Sriram and Rama Bijapurkar as independent directors.

6. TCA Anant appointed as Member in Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Arvind Saxena is current Chairman of

UPSC.

7. Sanjay Jain & K M Nataraj as Additional Solicitor Generals of India.

1. Rcently, Madhavi Divan was also Appointed as an ASG.

2. Solicitor General of India is subordinate to Attorney General of India. He is 2nd law officer of country and

assists Attorney General.

3. Solicitor General is assisted by 4 Additional Solicitors Generals.

4. Current solicitor general of India is Tushar Mehta. Current Attorney General of India is K. K. Venugopal.

8. IndiGo Airlines appointed Ronojoy Dutta as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

9. Private Bank Lakshmi Vilas Bank re-appointed Parthasarathi Mukherjee as its MD for 2 years.

10. Scott Thomas appointed as president of French Academy‟s most prestigious ceremony, The Cesar Awards. The post

was lying vacant for past 2 years.

11. Council for Leather Exports (CLE) appointed Aqeel Ahmed as its new chairperson.

12. Government approved additional charge of post of Secretary (Ministry of Civil Aviation) to Ramesh Abhishek, who is

currently Secretary in Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion.

13. Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC India) elected Punit Goenka (MD and CEO of Zee

Entertainment Enterprises Limited) as Chairman. BARC India is a collaborative Industry Company founded in 2010 by

stakeholder bodies that represent Broadcasters, Advertisers, and Advertising and Media Agencies.

14. Sunjay Sudhir has been appointed as India‟s Ambassador to Maldives.

15. Rajiv Nayan Choubey has been appointed as a member of UPSC.

7. Obituaries (Jan 2019) -

1. Kader Khan - Noted Afghan-born Indian-Canadian Actor.

2. C H Loknath - Noted Veteran Kannada.

3. Ramakant Achrekar - Noted cricket coach who trained Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli.

4. Dibyendu Palit - Noted Bengali writer and Sahitya Akademi awardee.

5. Michael Atiyah - Noted British mathematician who received 1966 Fields Medal, also known as „Nobel for

Mathematics‟.

6. Kishore Pradhan - Hindi and Marathi Actor.

7. Rajesh Ghodge - Cricketer (Former Goa Ranji player).

8. Mohammed Zulfiqar - Indian footballer. He was part of Indian football team that finished 4th in 1956 Melbourne

Olympics.

9. Lenin Rajendran - Noted Malayalam director and screenwriter.

10. John C. Bogle - Founder of Noted USA Investment Firm Vanguard Group.

11. Mary Oliver - Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet.

12. Atin Bandyopadhyay - Noted Bengali writer.

13. Krishna Sobti - Noted Hindi author and essayist.

14. Russell Baker - Pulitzer winning American Journalist, known for his columns in The New York Times.

15. Atin Bandyopadhyay - Sahitya Akademi award winning Bengali writer.

16. Raghbir Singh Bhola - Former Indian hockey player and 2 two-time Olympic medallist.

17. George Fernandes - Former Union Minister, had served as Minister of Defence (1998 - 2004) and Railways (1989 -

1990).

18. Amrik Singh Nagra - Former Punjab Ranji cricketer.

19. Michel Legrand - Oscar-winning French composer.

8. Persons Resigned / Retired (January 2019) -

1. Malaysia‟s monarch Sultan Muhammad V resigned, as 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong. He resigned before completing his

five-year tenure for first time in Malaysia‟s history.

2. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim will step down from his position on February 1, much before end of his term in

2022.

3. Former CBI chief Alok Verma resigned from service -

1. Govt. decided to remove him after an adverse report by Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). Govt.

appointed him head of Fire Services, Civil Defence & Home Guards till January 31 but he refused to take the

role.

2. Govt. appointed M. Nageswara Rao as interim CBI Director till further notice.

4. Kevin Sweeney resigned as chief of staff of the US Department of Defence.

5. Ashok Chawla resigned as chairman of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE).

6. South African Cricketer Albie Morkel retired from all forms of cricket.

7. Ananth Narayanan resigned CEO of Flipkart owned Myntra and Jabong. Amar Nagaram will now head Myntra and

Jabong.

8. Indian football team head coach Stephen Constantine Resigned.

9. Harendra Singh removed by Hockey India as Indian men's hockey coach, offering him task of helming junior hockey

squad.

10. Pierre Nanterme resigend as CEO of Noted IT Firm Accenture.

11. Czech Republic Footballer Petr Cech announced his retirement.

12. British tennis player Andy Murray announced his retirement.

13. South AfricaN Cricketer Johan Botha announced his retirement from all forms of Cricket.

14. South Korean Footballer Ki Sung-yueng announced his retirement.

15. England Female Cricketer Danielle Hazell announced her retirement.

16. Former New Zealand Cricketer Ewen Chatfield retired from all forms of cricket, at age of 68.

9. Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has been featured in Top „Global Thinkers 2019′ranking released by Foreign

Policy publishing.

10. Vijay Mallya became first person to be named as a Fugitive Economic Offender, after being charged under a new anti-fraud

law.

11. Visits From India (Jan 21 - 31, 2019) -

1. Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan visited China. During the visit, India and China also signed protocol for exports

of Indian tobacco leaves to China.

12. Visits To India (Jan 01 - 10,2019) -

1. Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Member of Malaysian Parliament, and Leader of Parti Keadilan Rakyat Party of Malaysia

Visited India.

2. Christophe Prazuck, Chief of French Navy Visited India.

3. Taro Kono, Foreign Minister of Japan Visited India.

4. Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway Visited India.

1. India and Norway agreed to collaborate closely on the ocean economy and achieve global Sustainable

Development Goals (SDGs)., with an MOU signed MoU on India – Norway Ocean Dialogue.

5. Stephen Harper,Former Prime Minister of Canada vsisited India.

13. Visits from India (Jan 11 - 20, 2019)

1. 1st India-Central Asia Dialogue held in Samarkand (Uzbekistan), attended by External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma

Swaraj on India'a Behalf. Foreign Minister of Afghanistan participated in dialogue as a special invitee. Five Central

Asian nations are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

14. Visits from India (Jan 11 - 20, 2019) -

1. Tourism Minister K. J. Alphons visited Vietnam, to attend 7th Meeting of Tourism Ministers of ASEAN-India, held in

Ha Long City.

15. Visits to India (Jan 11 - 20, 2019) -

1. Purna Chandra Thapa, Chief of Nepal Army visited India. Based on an age old tradition between India and Nepal

armies, Mr. Thapa was conferred with Honorary Rank of „General of Indian Army‟.

16. Visits to India (Jan 11 - 20, 2019) -

1. Chief Executive of UK Research and Innovation, Mark Walportc Visited India.

2. Matt Bevin, Governor of US State Kentucky Visited India.

3. John Chambers, Chairman of US-India Strategic Partnership Forum visited India.

17. Visits to India (Jan 21 - 31, 2019) -

1. Abdelkader Messahel, Foreign Minister of Algeria (North Africa) Visited India.

2. Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth Visited India. He was chief Guest at 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.

3. President of South Africa, Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa Visited India. He was chief Guest at 70th Republic Day Parade

2019.

Science 1. 2 New species of Portulaca plant discovered from Badami hills in Bagalkot district of Karnataka by botanists from Shivaji

University in Kolhapur (Maharashtra). The species have been named Portulaca badamica and Portulaca lakshminarasimhan iana.

2. A study at National Chemical Laboratory Pune indicated levels of free albumin and albumin attached to glucose molecules in

blood can be a better diagnostic test for diabetes. Most tests at present, use levels of glycated (or glucose-bound) haemoglobin in

blood for diagnosis of diabetes. This is subject to large variations due to factors like stress levels, time of collection, diet and

medications taken previous day etc.

3. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and Libcoin will form a world-class consortium to initially build 1GWh lithium-ion

battery plant in India. Its capacity will be scaled up to 30GWh in due course. It will boost production and use of electric cars in

India.

4. China‟s Chang‟e 4 probe become first spacecraft to land on far side of moon, touching down on Von Kármán crater. Landers

will aid in characterising the region‟s geology and the composition of rock and soil. Chang‟e-4‟s instruments would examine

whether impact which created South Pole Aitken Basin has punched through crust down to the Moon‟s mantle layer. China

named the lunar rover as „Yutu 2‟.

5. First extinction of 2019 came up with death of 14-year-old Hawaiian tree snail named George, being last known member of

his species. He belonged to “Achatinella apexfulva” species.

6. IIT Guwahati Researchers developed a paper kit to test freshness of milk and determine how well milk has been pasteurized.

Filter paper is impregnated with chemical probes that preferentially react with Alkaline Phosphatase, which is an indicator of

quality of milk.

7. IIT Madras Researchers recreated space fuel by simulating interstellar conditions in laboratory, as a big breakthrough in

exploration of cleaner and sustainable alternatives to fossil fuel.

1. The discovery has potential to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into a next-generation energy source to curb

greenhouse gases and global warming.

2. Team created methane-containing clathrate hydrates in ultra-high vacuum (1000 billion times below atmospheric

pressure) and at a temperature close to -263oC. i.e. conditions at deep space. This discovery of hydrates at extremely

low pressures and ultra-cold temperatures is highly unexpected.

8. ISRO Launched Microsat-R and Kalamsat-V2 satellites, onboard Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C44), from Satish

Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh).

1. Kalamsat-V2, a student payload, first to use PS4 as an orbital platform, named after former president and noted scientist

Dr Abdul Kalam. It is lightest satellite to be ever built and launched into orbit and it is also Isro‟s first launch of a

satellite built by a private firm. It is a communications satellite for ham radio transmission, a form of wireless

communication used by amateurs for non-commercial activities

2. Mirsosat-R is 750 KG Primary satellite, to be used to Military Purposes.

3. It was 46th Flight of PSLV. In its previous flight in Nov 2019, PSLV had launched India‟s HysIS as well as 30 abroad

satellites.

9. ISRO selected 10 companies for Lithium-ion cell technology Transfer, from among 15 firms shortlisted earlier. Lithium-ion

technology has been developed by Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).

1. After successful deployment of indigenous lithium-ion batteries in various missions of ISRO, VSSC will now transfer

technology to the industries to establish production facilities for producing lithium-ion cells to cover entire spectrum of

power storage requirements of country.

10. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched UNNATI (UNispace Nano-satellite Assembly and Training by ISRO)

programme at U R Rao Satellite Centre (Bengaluru), as a capacity building programme on nanosatellite development.

1. UNNATI Programme commemorates 50th anniversary of first United Nations Conference on the Exploration and

Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE+50).

2. It is planned to be conducted by U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) of ISRO for 3 years in 3 batches and will target to

benefit 90 officials from 45 countries. Each batch will be for 8-week duration.

11. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launched Tokyo-based startup Star-ALE‟s mini-satellite aimed to deliver world‟s first

artificial meteor shower. It carries 400 tiny balls, which will be enough for 20-30 events.

12. NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) discovered its 3rd new planet, named HD 21749b. Its outside our solar

system and orbits a dwarf star 53 light years away, in constellation Reticulum. Its surface is around 300 degrees Fahrenheit,

which is relatively cool. Other planet discovered by TESS are Pi Mensae b and LHS 3844b.

13. Russia‟s space agency Roscosmos lost control of its only radio telescope satellite Spektr-R. The satellite, used to study radio

sources within and outside Earth‟s galaxy, was launched into space in 2011.

14. Scientists from Washington University (USA) launched a telescope (X-Calibur instrument) from McMurdo Station in

Antarctica that will analyze X-rays arriving from distant neutron stars, black holes and other exotic celestial bodies.

1. Neutron stars are object of very small radius around 30 km and a very high density composed of closely packed

neutrons.

15. Scientists have developed an 'artificial pancreas' smartphone app, that can interface wirelessly with glucose monitors and

insulin pump devices, to regulate blood sugar levels in diabetes patients. Artificial pancreas system (iAPS) app is safe and

effective in regulating glucose levels under challenging conditions and is suitable for use in unconstrained environments.

16. Sikkim Researchers rediscovered butterfly species from Bakhim in Khanchendzonga National Park after a span of 120 years,

first discovered in 1887 by de Nicéville.

17. World‟s longest 3D printed concrete bridge opened in china, on Wenzaobang River in Shanghai, designed at Tsinghua

University in China. Its 26.3 metre long and 3.6 metre-wide and is made out of 44 hollowed-out 3D printed concrete blocks.

Sports 1. 2019 Maharashtra Open Men's Tennis (Pune) -

1. Singles - Kevin Anderson (South Africa), defeated Ivo Karlović (Croatia)

2. Doubles - India's Rohan Bopanna AND India Divij Sharan (They Defeated British pair of Luke Bambridge and Jonny

O‟Maara)

2. 2nd Khelo India Youth Games 2019 Held in Pune (Maharashtra), earlier known as Khelo India School Games.

1. Maharashtra emerged as champion state with total 228 medals. Top 5 States are - Maharashtra, Haryana, Delhi,

Karnataka, Tamil Nadu.

3. Australian Open Tennis 2019 -

1. Men's Singles - Novak Djokovic (Serbia), defeating Spain's Rafael Nadal. It was Djokovic's 15th grand slam and 7th

Australian Open Title.

2. Women's Singles - Naomi Osaka (Japan), defeating Petra Kvitová (Czech Republic)

3. Men's Doubles - France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert AND Nicolas Mahut

4. Women's Doubles - Samantha Stosur (Australia) AND Zhang Shuai (China)

5. Mixed Doubles - Barbora Krejčíková (Czech Republic) AND Rajeev Ram (USA)

6. Facts -

1. Croatian tennis player Ivo Karlovic became oldest man to win a match at Australian Open, at age of 40 years.

He defeated Poland‟s Hubert Hurkacz.

4. Bengaluru Bulls beat Gujarat Fortune Giants in Pro Kabaddi Season 6 final in Mumbai, to win their 1st PKL trophy.

5. Bengaluru Raptors won their first Premier Badminton League title, defeating Mumbai Rockets.

6. Brisbane Heat Australian cricket Franchise team won their first Women‟s Big Bash League (WBBL) title, by defeating

Sydney Sixers.

7. Brisbane International Tennis 2019 (Australia)-

1. Men's Singles - Kei Nishikori (Japan)

2. Women's Singles - Karolína Plíšková (Czech Republic)

3. Men's Doubles - Marcus Daniell (New Zealand) AND Wesley Koolhof (Netherlands)

4. Women's Doubles - Nicole Melichar (USA) AND Květa Peschke (Czech Republic)

8. Egyptian Footballer Mohamed Salah conferred with 2018 Confederation of African Football Player of Year award for second

time.

9. Indonesia Masters Badminton 2019 -

1. Men's Singles - Anders Antonsen (Denmark)

2. Women's Singles - Saina Nehwal (India). She won after another finalist Carolina Marin (Spain) limped out of final due

to a leg injury.

3. Men's Doubles -Indonesia's Marcus Fernaldi Gideon AND Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo

4. Women's Doubles - Japan'S Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi

5. Mixed Doubles - China's Zheng Siwei AND Huang Yaqiong

10. International Cricket Council (ICC) announced USA Cricket as its 105th member. USA Cricket came into existence after

USACA was expelled in June 2017 for poor administration of sport in USA. USA Cricket became 93rd Associate member of

ICC.

11. Khelo India Youth games 2019 (Previously called Khelo India School Games) began at Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports

Complex in Pune (Maharashtra).

1. The games are held in two categories- under-17 years school students and under-21 college students.

2. These are part of Khelo India programme, which was introduced to revive sports culture in India at grass-root level.

3. Khelo India programme has been divided into 12 verticals. Selected atheltes will be provided annual assistance of INR

5 lakh per annum for 8 years.

12. Misc. Sports Events (January 2019) -

1. Indian cricketer Virat Kohli became fastest batsman to score 19000 international runs, getting past Sachin Tendulkar.

2. Senior National Women's Judo Championship 2019 held at Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh).

3. 80th National Table Tennis Championships held Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack (Odisha).

4. Sri Lanka Cricketer Thisara Perera hit 13 sixes to set up new record of most sixes in an ODI Innings, getting past

Sanath Jayasuriya's record of 11 sixes. Thisara Perera has set this record against New Zealand.

5. Australian cities Sydney and Brisbane announced as first two host locations for newest team event in men‟s tennis for

ATP Cup from 2020. Third Australian city for the tournament is yet to be determined.

6. Egypt won hosting rights for 2019 edition of African Cup of Nations Football Tournament.

7. Noted Indian Boxer MC Mary Kom became World No 1 Boxer in 45-48 kg category in International Boxing

Association (AIBA) Rankings.

8. Indian cricketer Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri received honorary membership of Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).

9. 1st National Level Sports Meet for students of Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) held at G.M.C Balayogi

Stadium (Hyderabad).

10. Shakil Ahmed has set up a world record in indoor rowing by completing 1 lakh metres of simulated distance in 10

hours, in above-40 years category, in Kolkata.

11. India‟s 8-year-old Kartik Singh has won under-8 category at Kids' Golf World Championship organized by US kids

Golf in Malaysia, which makes him youngest Indian to win the title.

12. MS Dhoni became 5th batsman to score 10000 runs in ODI cricket for India.

13. Australia became first nation to have 1000 Victories across all formats of Cricket (ODI, Test, T20I), playing 1852

international matches. Australia's 1000th victory came as an ODI Victory against India. England are second with 774

wins in 1833.

14. Tamil Nadu‟s D Gukesh became India‟s youngest and world‟s second youngest Grandmaster, after achieving his 3rd

and final GM norm at 17th Delhi International Open Chess tournament.

15. India‟s Ankita Raina has won International Tennis Federation‟s 25,000-dollar Women‟s tournament in Singapore. She

defeated Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands.

16. Mohammed Shami became fastest Indian Bowler to claim 100 wickets in One-day Internationals, in 56th games.

17. 3rd edition of women's national boxing championships held in Vijayanagar, Bellary (Karnataka).

18. Indian Golfer Kartik Sharma won New South Wales Men‟s Amateur Golf Championship in Australia.

19. ICC suspended Indian Cricketer Ambati Rayudu from bowling in international cricket, after being reported for

suspected Bowling action.

20. Nepal Cricketer Rohit Paudel became youngest male cricketer to score an international fifty, at age of 16 years and 146

days, breaking Sachin Tendulkar's previous record.

21. Jason Holder became first West Indies Cricketer in 45 years to top list of all-rounders in International Cricket Council

Test Player Rankings.

22. Kerala Govt.Launched programme named Operation Olympics, to train 123 athletes in 11 disciplines for 2020 Tokyo

Olympics.

23. Norway's Magnus Carlsen won his 7th Tata Steel Chess title after setting for a draw against Anish Giri in final round.

India‟s Viswanathan Anand settled for joint third place. Tournament was held in Wijk aan Zee (The Netherlands).

24. Malaysia removed from right to host world Para swimming championship 2019, as Malaysia refused to allow Israeli

athletes to take part in the games.

13. Switzerland‟s Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic won Hopman Cup Tennis for 2nd year in a row, defeating Germany‟s

Angelique Kerber and Alexander Zverev. It hosted in Perth (Australia). Federer became first player to win Hopman Cup thrice.

14. Tata Mumbai Marathon 2019 -

1. Cosmas Lagat of Kenya and Worknesh Alemu of Ethiopia won in men's and women's races respectively. Prize money

of event was USD 405000.

2. 6 time women‟s world boxing champion and Olympic medallist M C Mary Kom was named as event ambassador for

16th Tata Mumbai Marathon 2019.