Notes:
The 2nd ASEAN-India Youth Summit 2019 was held in Guwahati, Assam on the theme “Connectivity is the pathway to shared prosperity” from 03-06 February 2019. It is organized by India Foundation in collaboration with Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Government of Assam. Over 100 youth delegates the ten ASEAN countries – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam took part in the summit. The purpose of the summit was to strengthen the mutual cooperation among the youth leaders from India and the ASEAN countries. Hence, the 2019 summit is a step to facilitate Socio-cultural exchanges between the countries to further strengthen the values of tolerance, pluralism and diversity.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India has exercised its powers conferred under Section 47A of the Banking Regulation Act of 1949 & imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore on the State Bank of India (SBI) for not monitoring the end use of funds in respect of one of its borrowers. However, SBI did not share details of the borrower and the loan amount given to the borrower.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently raised the limit for collateral-free agriculture loans to Rs 1.6 lakh from Rs. 1 lakh to enhance coverage of small and marginal farmers in the formal credit system. Currently, the banks are mandated to extend collateral-free agricultural loans up to Rs. 1 lakh. This limit was fixed in the year 2010. The RBI also proposed to set up an internal working group to review various issues plaguing farm credit, such as regional disparity, extent of coverage and limited capital formation from such credit. As per interim Budget of 2019, the Government of India (GoI) will also launch the ‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) programme to provide assured income support to small and marginal farmers. Under this, vulnerable landholding farmer-families, having cultivable land up to two hectares, will be provided direct income support at the rate of Rs. 6,000 per year. This income support will be transferred directly into the bank accounts of beneficiary farmers in three equal instalments of Rs. 2,000 each. The programme will be funded by the Government of India (GoI).

Notes:
The first-ever World Pulses Day (WPD) is observed on 10th February to raise awareness about the multiple benefits of eating pulses. Pulses are a type of leguminous crop that are harvested solely for the dry seed. Dried beans, lentils and peas are the most commonly known and consumed types of pulses. Pulses do not include crops that are harvested green (e.g. green peas, green beans)—these are classified as vegetable crops. In 2018, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) designated 10 February as World Pulses Day (WPD) to keep alive the positive momentum surrounding these healthy, nutritious, protein-rich, nitrogen-fixing legumes after FAO’s successful 2016 International Year of Pulses (IYP) Campaign.

Notes:
The book titled “Law, Justice and Judicial Power – Justice P N Bhagwati’s Approach” has been authored by Professor (Dr.) Mool Chand Sharma. It was formally released by Chief Justice of India, Justice Ranjan Gogoi at a function held in New Delhi. The first edition of the book was received by President Ramnath Govind. Justice Bhagwati has been called the father of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in India. The book is a collection of 24 essays written in honour of Justice Bhagwati, celebrating his judicial work and landmark judgments as well as his work towards introducing PIL in India.