20 February 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

20 February 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. Asia's premier Air show 'Aero-India' begins in Bengaluru

• Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has inaugurated the five-day long biennial 'Aero-India-2019' (12th edition) at Yelahanka air force station in Bengaluru.
• 61 aircraft, including HAL's indigenous products LCA Tejas are all set to roar in the city skies.
• The tagline for Aero India 2019 is “The Runway to a Billion Opportunities”.
• Aero India 2019 will provide a significant platform in bolstering business opportunities in the International aviation sector.
• The event will see participation from countries like Israel, US, UK, Germany, Russia and France to name a few.

2. Suresh Prabhu launches ‘SWAYATT’ on GeM

• The Union Minister Suresh Prabhu has launched SWAYATT initiative and Start-up Runway in New Delhi.
• SWAYATT is an initiative to promote Start-ups, Women and Youth Advantage using e-Transactions on Government e Marketplace (GeM).
• This will bring together the key stakeholders within the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem to Government e-Marketplace the national procurement portal.
• GeM Start-up Runway will address goals and objectives under United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.

3. Telangana gets two new districts

• The Telangana state government has announced to create two more districts (Narayanpet and Mulugu) in the state.
• Now the number of districts in the State is 33.
• Narayanpet has been carved out of Mahbubnagar district and Mulugu from Jayashankar Bhupalpally.
• When Telangana was carved out of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh (on June 2, 2014), it had just 10 districts.

4. Union Cabinet approves the continuation of PMAY to build nearly 2 crore houses for rural poor

• The Union Cabinet has approved the implementation of Phase-2 of the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana - Gramin beyond March 2019.
• Under this, the government has set a target to construct one crore 95 lakh houses by 2022.
• In Phase-2, the scheme will continue as per the existing norms of PMAY-G Phase-1, with a target of 60 lakh houses till 2019-20 involving financial implication of 76,500 crore rupees.
• The left out rural households who are houseless will be provided pucca houses by 2022.

5. Himachal Assembly passes Bill to make Sanskrit the 2nd official language

• Himachal Pradesh states assembly passed Official Language (Amendment) Bill 2019 to make Sanskrit as the second official language of the state (first - Hindi).
• The state assembly also passed the Himachal Pradesh University of Health Sciences (Amendment) Bill, 2019 to rename as ‘Atal Medical and Research University, Himachal Pradesh’.

6. President of India inaugurated International Conference ENCO-2019 in New Delhi

• President Ram Nath Kovind has inaugurated the International conference and Exhibition on Energy and Environment Challenges and Opportunities (ENCO-2019) in New Delhi (20th to 22nd Feb 2019).
• Around 1000 delegates from India and abroad are participating in the conference.
• The conference aims to deliberate and identify the R&D needs to innovate new techniques, technologies and applications for clean, safe, symbiotic sustenance of society, environment, energy and industries in the post-2020 era.
• During the Conference, an industrial exhibition is also organized in the Vigyan Bhawan lawns, which will run in parallel with the technical sessions.

7. Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia arrived in New Delhi

• Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad Bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud arrived in New Delhi on a two-day official visit to India.
• The Crown Prince is accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Ministers, senior officials and leading Saudi businessmen.
• India and Saudi Arabia have historically enjoyed close and friendly relation anchored in mutually beneficial partnership and extensive people to people contacts.
• The bilateral trade was 27.48 billion dollars during the last financial year 2017-18, making Saudi Arabia India’s 4th largest trading partner.
• About2.7 million strong and vibrant Indian community forms the largest expatriate group in Saudi Arabia.

8. International annual desert festival held in Jaisalmer

• The three-day International Annual Desert Festival (40th) held in Jaisalmer with thousands of tourists participating in the colourful event.
• The festival exhibits the rich cultural heritage of the desert state, commenced with a colourful procession from Gadsisar lake fort.
• It had interesting events like Mr Desert and Ms Moomal competitions, mustache competitions, turban tying, musical and cultural performances, among others.

9. IBBI organises two-day Workshop on “Committee of Creditors: An Institution of Public Faith”

• The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has organised a two-day workshop on “Committee of Creditors: An Institution of Public Faith” in Mumbai.
• The workshop was jointly organised with the State Bank of India (SBI) and the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA).
• The Workshop was unique and the First of its kind for the benefit of Financial Creditors who comprise Committee of Creditors (CoC) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
• 28 Senior Officers (General Managers and Executive Directors) of the major Scheduled Commercial Banks participated in the Workshop.

Important Dates

10. World Day of Social Justice being observed today

• The United Nations' (UN) World Day of Social Justice is annually observed on 20th February to encourage people to look at how social justice affects poverty eradication.
• It also focuses on the goal of achieving full employment and support for social integration.
• The theme for 2019 is " If You Want Peace & Development, Work for Social Justice”.

Note:

• The united nation has approved on 26th November 2007 and starting in 2009, as the World Day of Social Justice.

Obituaries

11. Noted Hindi writer Namvar Singh passes away

• Noted Hindi Writer Prof. Namvar Singh (92-years) passed away at All India Institute of Medical Science in New Delhi.
• Mr. Singh was the first Chairman of JNU’s Centre of Indian Languages.
• He has authored over dozen books including 'Kavita Ke Naye Pratiman', 'Chhayavad' and 'Dusri Parampara Ki Khoj' among others.
• He received Sahitya Academy Award for literary criticism in 1971 for 'Kavita Ke Naye Pratiman'.

Honours & Awards

11. 7th National Photography awards announced

• Union Minister Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore presented the 7th National Photography Awards in New Delhi.
• The theme for the Professional category was “Women-led Development”, while the theme for Amateur category was “Fairs and Festivals of India”.

The list of the Award winners is as under:

S. No.	Awards	Names	Prize Money
1.	Lifetime Achievement Award	Ashok Dilwali	Rs.3,00,000
2.	Professional Photographer of the Year	S L Shanth Kumar	Rs.1,00,000
3.	Amateur Photographer of the Year	Gurdeep Dhiman	Rs.75,000
4.	Special Mention Awards (Professional)	Arun Sreedhar P.V. Sunderrao Kailash Mittal Mihir Singh Ms. Ranita Roy	Rs.50,000 (each)
5.	Special Mention Awards (Amateur)	V Ravi Kumar Ms. S Neelima Manish Jaisi Mahesh Balasaheb Lonkar Avijit Datta	Rs.30,000 (each)

Sports

13. Nikhat, Meena win gold medals at Strandja Memorial Boxing

• Nikhat Zareen and Meena Kumari Devi have become the first Indian women boxers to win gold medals at the Strandja Memorial Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria.
• Zareen claimed a 5-0 win in the 51kg category finals against Filipino Irish Magno.
• Devi defeated another Filipino Aira Villegas 3-2 in the bantamweight (54kg) summit clash.
• Manju Rani (48kg) settled for a silver after a defeat from Filipine's Josie Gabuco in a split 2-3 verdict.  

19 February 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

19 February 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. Hina Jaiswal becomes India's first woman flight engineer

• Flight Lieutenant Hina Jaiswal has become the first Indian women flight Engineer of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
• She completed the 6 months flight engineer course from the 112 Helicopter Unit attached to the Air Force station in Yelahanka in Bengaluru.
• The Flight Engineer branch was opened to women officers in 2018 (earlier restricted to men).
• Now, Hina will be posted to a helicopter squadron where she will monitor and operate IAF’s complex aircraft in various conditions.

Note:

• Hina was born in Chandigarh, completed her Bachelor of Engineering degree from Punjab University, commissioned in the engineering batch of the IAF on 5^th January 2015.
• Earlier, Jaiswal has served as the chief of firing team and the battery commander in a frontline surface to Air Missile Squadron.

Honours & Awards

2. Abdul Aziz Muhamat wins International Human Rights Prize

• As per the UN refugee agency UNHCR, Abdul Aziz Muhamat (Sudanese refugee) has won the Martin Ennals Award 2019 in Geneva (Switzerland) for exposing “the very cruel asylum seeker policy of the Australian Government”.
• Mr. Muhamat spent five years in the Australian detention centre on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.
• It is sometimes referred to as the ‘Nobel Prize for human rights’.

Note:

• The annual Martin Ennals Awards are named after a Nobel Peace Prize-winning British human rights activist.

3. President Kovind presents Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony

• The President of India Ram Nath Kovind presented the Tagore Award for the years 2014, 2015 & 2016 for Cultural Harmony at Pravasi Bhartiya Kendra, New Delhi.
• This annual award is given to individuals, associations, institutions or organizations for their outstanding contribution towards promoting values of Cultural Harmony.
• The exponent of Manipuri dance Rajkumar Singhajit Singh was given the award for the year 2014.
• Chhayanaut (cultural organization of Bangladesh) was given the award for 2015 for its role in the promotion of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore's works and Bangla arts.
• Renowned sculptor and scholar Ram Vanji Sutar has been given the award for 2016.

Note:

• Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony was instituted by the Government from 2012 recognizing the contributions made by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore to humanity.
• It is awarded annually and carries an amount of One Crore rupees, a citation in a Scroll, a Plaque as well as an exquisite traditional handicraft or handloom item.

Obituaries

4. Best-selling British Author ‘Andrea Levy’ passed away

• Bestselling British Author Andrea Levy (62-years) passed away due to cancer.
• She was known for penning books ‘The Long Song’ and ‘Small Island’(story of Jamaican migrants in Britain).
• ‘Small Island’ won the Whitbread prize, the Orange Prize for Fiction and the Commonwealth Writers’ prize.
• Levy's last novel, "The Long Song," was published in 2010 and was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize.

Important Dates

5. Shivaji Jayanti being celebrated in Maharashtra

• Today, the birth anniversary of Maratha Warrior King ‘Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’ is being celebrated in all over Maharashtra.
• Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu paid tributes to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on his birth anniversary.

Note:

• Shivaji Bhonsle was an Indian warrior king and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan.
• Shivaji carved out an enclave from the declining Adilshahi sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the Maratha Empire.
• In 1674, he was formally crowned as the Chhatrapati (Monarch) of his realm at Raigad.

6. Guru Ravidas Jayanti being celebrated across the country today

• Today, the birth anniversary of Sant Ravidas (the founder of Bhakti movement) is being celebrated across the country.
• As per the Hindu calendar, it is celebrated on full moon day of the Magh month (Magh Purnima).
• On the day, people who follow the Ravidas religion, take out a Nagar Kirtan procession with the saint’s portrait while chanting special prayers.
• Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Sant Ravidas Temple at Sier Govardhan where he took part in foundation stone laying of Ravidas Birth place development projects.

Note:

• Ravidas was born in the village of Seer Goverdhanpur, near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
• Guru Ravidas was a North Indian mystic poet-Sant of the bhakti movement during the 15th to 16th century CE.

International Affairs

7. Iran launches new locally-made submarine capable of firing cruise missiles

• Iran President Hassan Rouhani has launched a new locally-made submarine ‘capable of firing cruise missiles.
• The submarine, named the Fateh, Persian for 'conqueror', is Iran's first in the semi-heavy category.

National Affairs

8. Rajnath Singh launches Single emergency helpline '112' for 16 states, UTs

• The Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has launched single emergency helpline number '112' in 16 States and UT (Union Territories).
• The 16 states and UTs are Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Andaman, Dadar Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Jammu and Kashmir.
• People can also log onto the ERSS' website for the state and lodge emergency Email or send SOS alert to state ERC.
• The ERSS is an integration of police (100), fire (101), health (108) and women (1090) helpline numbers to provide emergency services through the single number '112'.

Note:

• To access the emergency services, a person can dial 112 on a phone or press the power button of a smartphone three times quickly to send a panic call to the Emergency Response Centre (ERC).
• They can use '112' India mobile app, which is available free on Google Play store and Apple store.
• In case of a normal phone, a long press of the '5' or '9' key will activate the panic call function.

9. PM flags off 1st ever diesel to electric converted locomotive twin engine at Varanasi

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the world’s first electric engine converted from diesel locomotive at the Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW) in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
• Under Make in India initiative, The 10,000 HP freight locomotive has been converted from two units of old diesel locomotives of 2,600HP each with indigenous technology
• The converted locos will result in less greenhouse gas emissions and better efficient locomotives for the Indian Railways.
• The feat was achieved with the help of engineers from Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW), and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL).

10. Andhra Pradesh farmers will get benefit under ‘Annadata Sukhibhava scheme’

• Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has announced Annadata Sukhibhava scheme 2019.
• Under Annadata Sukhibhava scheme 2019, an amount of Rs 9,000 will be given to the farmers having land less than 5 acres.
• This will be in addition to the Rs 6,000 announced by the Central government.
• Farmers having land more than 5 acres, will be given Rs 10,000.

Banking and Finance

11. RBI to give Rs 28,000 cr to Centre as interim dividend

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBi) will transfer an interim surplus of 28,000 crore rupees to the central government for the half-year (ended 31st December 2018).
• The decision has been based on a limited audit review and after applying the extent economic capital framework.
• This is the second straight year that the RBI has announced an advance payment to the government.
• It will help the union government partly bridge a budget gap and could be key to funding an income support programme for farmers.

Note:

• In the interim Budget 2019-20, the government has projected a fiscal deficit target of 3.4% for the financial year 2019-20.
• Dividend payments from RBI will help the government in bridging some of the gaps to boost the economy.

Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) Syllabus & Exam Pattern 2019 (All Posts)

South Indian Bank Interview Call letter 2019 Out: Download Here!!

South Indian Bank Interview Call letter 2019 Out: Download Here!!

South Indian Bank (SIB) has released the Interview Call letters for the Probationary Clerk Recruitment 2019 today. The online exam was conducted on  29th of January 2019. The candidates who have qualified the online exam of SIB Probationary Clerk can now download their South Indian Bank Interview Call letters from the direct link given below.

South Indian Bank Interview Call letter 2019, Click here to download!

The successful candidates will require their application form. If not saved, you can reprint your application form through the link shared below -

Download Application Re-Print Here

South Indian Bank Interview Call Letter: Important Dates

Event Name	Important Date
Start date to download South Indian Bank Interview Call letter	15th February 2019
Last date for download of South Indian Bank Interview Call letter	27th February 2019

How to download your South Indian Bank Interview Call letter

• Click on the direct official link provide above or visit the official website of South Indian Bank in order to download your SIB Clerk Interview Call letter.
• Enter your Roll number or the registration number along with the password or the date of birth.
• Cross check the details that you have entered and then enter the text provided in the image.
• Click on Login and your South Indian Bank Clerk Interview Call letter will be displayed on the screen.

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17-18 February 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

17-18 February 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. Pramod Chandra Mody appointed as New CBDT Chairman

• Shri Pramod Chandra Mody (Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax cadre)- 1982-batch) has been appointed as the new chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes.
• Mr Mody succeeds Sushil Chandra, who was named as Election Commissioner of India.
• Mody has been working as the Member (Administration) in the CBDT.
• The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is the policy-making body of the Income Tax Department.

Note:

• The CBDT Chairperson is ex-officio special secretary and is under the direct charge of the revenue secretary of India.

National Affairs

2. PM Modi hold talks with Argentinian President Mauricio Macri

• Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds talks with Argentinian President Mauricio Macri in New Delhi.
• Earlier, Mr Macri arrived in India on a three-day visit.
• Mr Macri's visit comes at a time when India and Argentina are celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

3. World Sustainable Development Summit 2019 held in New Delhi

• Vice President Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has inaugurated the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) 2019 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
• The World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) is The Energy and Resources Institute's (TERI) annual flagship event.
• The theme of the 2019 edition of the Summit is 'Attaining the 2030 Agenda: Delivering on Our Promise'.
• Frank Bainimarama (Prime Minister of Fiji) has been honoured with the Sustainable Development Leadership Award 2019 for his outstanding contributions towards sustainable development in Fiji.

Books & Authors

4. Pranab Mukherjee releases a book of Venkaiah Naidu's speeches

• Former President Pranab Mukherjee has released the book containing selected speeches (92 speeches) of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu at a function in New Delhi.
• The book titled “Selected Speeches: Volume-1”.
• The book is categorised into six broad sections - ‘Functioning of Legislatures’, ‘Nation and Nationalism’, ‘Polity and Governance’, ‘Economic Development’, ‘Media’ and ‘India and the World’.
• The Publications Division of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has brought out the compilation.

Banking and Finance

5. FPIs pour Rs 5,300 cr into equities in Feb so far

• According to the latest data available with depositories, Foreign investors have put in over 5300 Crore rupees into the Indian equity market in the first half of this month.
• The infusion into the equity market comes following a pull-out of 5,264 crore rupees by foreign portfolio investors (FPI) in January.
• However, FPIs pulled out a net amount of 248 rupees crore from the bond market during the period.
• This has translated into a net investment of 5,074 crore rupees in the country's capital markets (equity and debt together).

Note:

• A foreign portfolio investment is a grouping of assets such as stocks, bonds, and cash equivalents.
• Portfolio investments are held directly by an investor or managed by financial professionals.

6. India raises customs duty to 200% on all goods imported from Pakistan

• According to the Finance minister Arun Jaitley, India has raised the basic customs duty to 200% on all goods imported from Pakistan with immediate effect.
• Earlier, India withdraws the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack.
• The main items which Pakistan exports to India include fresh fruits, cement, petroleum products, bulk minerals and ores and finished leather.

Note:

• Customs duty is a tariff or tax on the importation (usually) or exportation (unusually) of goods.
• All authorized ports are recognized customs areas.

7. RBI imposes Rs 3.5 cr penalty on 3 PSU banks

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed Rs 3.5 crore penalties on three public sector banks for violation of various banking norms.
• A penalty of Rs 1.5 crore has been imposed on Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) and Rs 1 crore each on Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Bank of India.
• The monetary penalty on the banks has been imposed for non-compliance with various directions issued by the RBI on monitoring of end-use of funds, exchange of information with other banks, and on a restructuring of accounts.

Honours & Awards

8. Sunil Chhetri has given first ever Football Ratna Award

• Indian professional footballer Sunil Chhetri (34-year) has been conferred the first ever Football Ratna honour at Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.
• He is popularly known as ‘Captain Fantastic’.
• He has scored the 2nd highest number of goals in international matches among active players after Cristiano Ronaldo.
• Chhetri has also been named AIFF Player of the Year five times in 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2017.

Sports

9. Saina Nehwal wins women’s 83rd Singles Senior Badminton Title

• Saina Nehwal won her fourth title at the Yonex-Sunrise 83rd Senior Nationals.
• She defended PV Sindhu in the finals in Guwahati by 21-18, 21-15.
• Sourabh Verma claiming the men’s singles crown after defeating young Lakshya Sen in straight games of 21-18, 21-13.
• Pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Chirag Shetty defeated Arjun M.R and Shlok Ramachandran in straight games to clinch the Men’s Doubles title.

10. Chris Gayle announces retirement from One-day Internationals

• West Indian left-hander batsman Chris Gayle (39-year) has announced that he will retire from One-day Internationals after the forthcoming World Cup.
• Gayle has scored 9,727 ODI runs, second only to the legendary Brian Lara among West Indians in 284 matches.
• Gayle has scored a Windies record of 23 ODI hundreds, including the first-ever World Cup double century against Zimbabwe.
• The World Cup will be held in England and Wales from 30th May till 14th July 2019.

11. Vidarbha beat Rest of India to retain Irani Cup

• Vidarbha (Ranji Trophy champions) successfully defended their title and defeated Rest of India on the first-innings basis to win the tournament in Nagpur.
• Now, Vidarbha has become the third team after Mumbai and Karnataka to clinch two Irani Cup titles in a row.
• According to Vidarbha captain Faiz Fazal, the entire prize money will be donated to the families of the CRPF personnel martyred in Pulwama terror attack.
• Hanuma Vihari became the first player to score 3 consecutive centuries in Irani Cup.

 Final Score:

• Rest of India: 330 (89.4 overs) & 374/3d (107 overs)
• Vidarbha: 425 (142.1 overs) & 269/5 (103.1 overs)
• Player of the Match: Akshay Karnewar (Vidarbha).

12. Elise Mertens wins Qatar Open title beating Simona Halep

• Belgium’s Elise Mertens (23-years) beat top seed Simona Halep (Romania) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to win the Qatar Open 2019.
• This is world number 21 Mertens' first-ever WTA Premier-level crown, and the fifth title of her career overall.
• The Qatar Open is a professional Tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts.
• Currently, it is a part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour.

S. No.	Champion	Runner-up	Score
1.Men’s Singles	Roberto Bautista Agut (Spain)	Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic)	6–4, 3–6, 6–3
2.Women’s Singles	Elise Mertens (Belgium)	Simona Halep (Romania)	3-6, 6-4, 6-3
3. Men’s Doubles	David Goffin(Belgium) & Pierre-Hugues Herbert (France)	Robin Haase (Netherlands) & Matwe Middelkoop(Netherlands)	5–7, 6–4, [10–4]

16 February 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

16 February 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. Ashwani Lohani appointed as Air India CMD

• Former Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani (1980-batch IRSME) has been appointed as the Chairman and managing director (CMD) of Air India.
• Lohani will take over from Pradeep Singh Kharola.
• Earlier, Pradeep Singh Kharola (IAS officer -1985 batch- Karnataka cadre) has been appointed as the Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
• In December 2018, Mr Lohani retired as the Railway Board chairman.

Note:

• Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, owned by Air India Limited and operates a fleet of Airbus & Boeing aircraft serving 90 domestic and international destinations.
• Air India's mascot is the Maharajah (Emperor) and the logo consists of a flying swan with the wheel of Konark inside it.

2. BP Sharma re-employed as Pawan Hans CMD

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved re-employment of B P Sharma as the chairman and managing director (CMD) of Pawan Hans Limited for a period of five months
• Sharma took over as the CMD of Pawan Hans in March 2015.
• Pawan Hans has a fleet of more than 50 helicopters.

Note:

• Pawan Hans Limited is a helicopter service company (Mini Ratna-I category PSU) based in New Delhi, India.
• The objective of PHL is to provide helicopter support services to the oil sector for its off-shore exploration operations, services in remote areas and charter services for promotion of tourism.

3. President Kovind directs that Finance and Corporate Affairs portfolios be assigned to Jaitley

• President Ram Nath Kovind has directed that the Finance and Corporate Affairs portfolios be assigned to Union Minister Arun Jaitley.
• Mr Jaitley, who left for New York last month, returned home last week after undergoing medical treatment.
• On 23rd of January, the charge of the Finance Ministry and Corporate Affairs was given to Union Minister Piyush Goyal on a temporary basis.

National Affairs

4. PM Narendra Modi flags-off Vande Bharat Express

• PM Narendra Modi flags off India's first semi-high-speed train ‘Vande Bharat Express’ (codenamed Train 18) without any flower decorations.
• A two-minute silence observed before the launch in memory of at least 37 CRPF soldiers who lost their lives in one of the deadliest attacks in J&K.
• The Vande Bharat Express will run between Delhi and Varanasi at a maximum speed of 130 km/hr and is expected to cover a distance of 750 kilometres in eight hours.
• The fares of Vande Bharat Express have been kept higher than the Shatabdi Express.
• Vande Bharat Express runs between the aforesaid destination for five days in a week except for Monday and Thursday.

Note:

• The Vande Bharat Express (Train 18) has been manufactured in ICF, Chennai at a reported cost of Rs 97 crore.
• The train is equipped with all modern facilities like infotainment systems, Wi-Fi, modern toilets and better seating arrangements.

5. Challachitram National film festival to begin from 1^st March

• Challachitram National Film Festival will be held at Guwahati in March 2019, with a special award for entries from the north-eastern region.
• The theme of this three-day film festival is 'Our Heritage, Our Pride'.
• Chalachitram is a Guwahati-based organisation working for showcasing the heritage and culture of the northeast to a national and international audience through films.
• The first prize winner in the competitive section would get Rs one lakh, the special prize for participants from the region would be Rs 50,000.

International Affairs

6. India withdraws most favoured nation status to Pakistan

• India has announced withdrawal of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status for Pakistan, following the Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir.
• The decision was taken during the Cabinet Committee on Security meeting (CCS) in New Delhi.
• India had granted the status to Pakistan in 1996, a year after WTO’s formation.

Note:

• In the World Trade Organization (WTO), this status means non-discrimination treating virtually everyone equally.

Books & Authors

7. New book ‘What Marx Left Unsaid’ released by Manish Tewari

• Indian Politician Manish Tewari has released ‘What Marx Left Unsaid’ ‘Production of Skills by Means of Skills’ at Indian International Centre, New Delhi.
• The book has been authored jointly authors by 3 generations of the same family Dr. Malay Chaudhari, Dr. Arindam Chaudhari and Che Kabir Chaudhari.
• The book speaks about why human beings must earn as per their skills, which will in turn determine their ability to contribute to society.
• The book is published by Times Group.

Obituaries

8. England’s Legendary Goalkeeper Gardon Banks passed away

• Famous goalkeeper Gordon Banks (81-years) passed away in England.
• He was widely considered as one of the greatest Goalkeeper of his generation.
• Gordon Banks was named as FIFA (The Federation Internationale de Football) Goalkeeper of the year six times and earned 73 caps for England between 1963 to 1972.
• Banks was suffering from kidney cancer for the second time since 2016.

9. Eminent writer, ex-Goa deputy speaker Vishnu Wagh pass away

• Veteran writer and former deputy speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly Vishnu Wagh passed away in South Africa.
• Wagh was a member of the Goa Legislative Assembly from St Andre constituency between 2012 and 2017.
• He was the chairman of the state-run Goa Kala Academy.
• Wagh has written over 20 plays in Marathi, three sangeet nataks, 18 Konkani play and 16 one-act plays.
• He has directed over 50 plays in Konkani and Marathi.

Sports

10. Sportstar Aces Lifetime Achievement Award for Prakash Padukone

• Badminton legend Prakash Padukone has been honoured for the Lifetime Achievement at the Taj Mahal Palace Mumbai.
• In the Sportsman of the Year (Cricket) category, India skipper Virat Kohli and pacer Jasprit Bumrah were declared as joint winners.
• Indian women's cricket team opener Smriti Mandhana bagged the Sportswoman of the Year (Cricket) award.

Note:

• The awards jury consisted of Sunil Gavaskar, M M Somaiya, Anju Bobby George, Anjali Bhagwat and journalist N Ram.