Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2019

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has recently approved establishment of a unified authority for regulating all financial services in International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs) in India through IFSCs Authority Bill of 2019. The establishment of a unified financial regulator for IFSCs will result in providing world-class regulatory environment to market participants from an ease of doing business perspective. This will provide a stimulus for further development of IFSCs in India. Currently, the banking, capital markets and insurance sectors in IFSC are regulated by multiple regulators — the RBI, SEBI and IRDAI, respectively. An IFSC caters to customers outside the jurisdiction of the domestic economy. Such centres deal with flows of finance, financial products and services across borders. It provides business and regulatory environment that is comparable to other leading international financial centres in the world like London and Singapore. IFSC provides Indian companies easier access to global financial markets. The first IFSC in India was set up at GIFT City in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

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 Meghalaya Cabinet has recently decided to rename the Dikkibandi stadium in Tura town after former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno A Sangma. The state Cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma approved the recommendations received from the state naming authority tasked with the job to name roads, and institutions after personalities. PA Sangma is also a former chief minister ofMeghalaya. He was elected from the Tura Lok Sabha seat a number of times. Conrad K Sangma and James K Sangma are sons of Purno A Sangma. Formerly, Dikkibandi stadium was known as the MP stadium. The state Cabinet has also decided to name a road leading from Mawlai-Mawroh to Madan in honour of Saint Teressa.

Notes:
On 13th February 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed over 3000 young Real Estate developers at the CREDAI YouthCon -19 at the Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi. The 2-day conference was organized by Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI). The annual conference will bring together the next generation of real estate builders and developers to enlighten their young minds and share their thinking and approach. Established in 1999, CREDAI is the apex body representing real-estate developers from over 200 cities in the country.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) has recently signed a letter of intent with the Norwegian government to launch the India-Norway Marine Pollution Initiative. In partnership, both the countries will share experiences and competence, and collaborate on efforts to develop clean and healthy oceans, sustainable use of ocean resources and growth in the blue economy. The first Joint initiative of both the governments will combat marine pollution, which is one of the fastest growing environmental concerns. The initiative will seek to support local governments in implementing sustainable waste management practices, develop systems for collecting and analyzing information about sources and scope of marine pollution and improve private sector investment. The Indian and Norwegian governments will also work towards beach clean-up efforts, awareness raising campaigns and pilot project using plastic waste as fuel substitution for coal in cement production and developing frameworks for deposit schemes.

Notes:
Siddhartha Lal, MD & CEO of Eicher Motors Ltd, was named the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 at the 20th edition of the EOY Awards in India. He is recognised for engineering the operational and financial turnaround of the company and reviving the Royal Enfield brand. Lal will now represent India at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award (WEOY) in Monte Carlo from 6 – 8 June 2019. The Entrepreneur Of The Year awards aims to honour entrepreneurs who with their creative ideas and exceptional enterprises have emerged as “Builders of a better India. In addition, Chairman of Wipro group Azim Premji was honoured with the lifetime achievement award for leading Wipro’s transformation from a vegetable oil business into a multi-business technology organization & for putting the Indian information technology industry on the global map.

Notes:
On 13th Feb, the 3rd Indo-German Environment Forum was held in New Delhi with the theme “Cleaner Air, Greener Economy”. The one-day event focuses on challenges, solutions and necessary framework conditions of air pollution control, waste management and circular economy as well as implementation of NDCs and SDGs based on Paris Agreement and Agenda 2030 of UN respectively. Around 250 representatives of ministries, business and science as well as non-governmental organizations participated in the forum, which is organized by the two environment ministries in cooperation with the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business and the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The Forum provided a platform for the bilateral exchange of high-level policy-makers and other key players on international environmental and climate policy and cooperation between the two countries.