Daily Current Affairs 1 February 2019: We have collected the latest current affairs for 1 February 2019 that are important for all competitive exams like bank, ssc, ibps, sbi exams. The GK current affairs will help you score more in these competitive exams. Improve your general knowledge with our daily online current affairs. You can also read the current affairs on our mobile app.
Current Affairs 1 February 2019
Interim Budget 2019-20 – Highlight
- The present finance minister Piyush Goyal presented the Interim Budget for 2019-20 on February 01, 2019. The major points are:
- Fiscal Deficit for the year 2019-20 pegged at 3.4%.
- Pradhan Mantri KIsan SAmman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme launched for direct income support of farmers.
- Pradhan Mantri Shram-Yogi Maandhan launched as Pension Scheme for unorganized sector workers
- No Income Tax for individuals with taxable income upto Rs 5 lakh. i.e Income upto Rs 5 lakh is not tax free. This will give a tax benefit of Rs 6.5 lakh when proper investment is done.
- “Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog”will be setup for cows.
- Interest Subvention for farmers and MSME loans.
- Railway Budget for 2019-20: Rs 64,587 crore.
- For the first time the defence budget will cross Rs 3,00,000 crore. It will be more than Rs 3 lakh Crore for 2019-20.
- Click Here to Read the Complete Budget
DAC Approves Construction of 6 Submarines for Navy at Rs. 40,000 crore
- The Defence Acquisitions Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has approved indigenous construction of six submarines worth Rs 40,000 crore for the Indian Navy.
- The project will be implemented under the strategic partnership model.
- It will rope in private firm to build the submarines in India in partnership with foreign defence manufacturers.
- This is the second project to be implemented under the strategic partnership model. The first project being the acquisition of 111 utility helicopters for the Navy at a cost of over Rs. 21,000 crore.
- Additionally, DAC has also approved acquisition of approximately 5,000 Milan anti-tank guided missiles for the Army.
Unemployment Rate in India Hits Four Decades High at 6.1% in 2017-18: NSSO survey
- According to a recent survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, India’s unemployment rate stood 45-year-high of 6.1 percent in 2017-18.
- The periodic labour force survey (PLFS) of NSSO was conducted between July 2017-June 2018.
- This rate of unemployment is highest since 1972-73.
- As per the report, the unemployment was higher in urban areas (7.8%) as compared to 5.3% in rural areas of the country.
- The report is yet to be made public.
Punjab Approves Smart Village Campaign for Rural Development
- The state government of Punjab has approved the launch of “Smart Village Campaign” with an outlay of Rs 384.40 crore to boost infrastructure and facilities in rural areas.
- The scheme would be financed with funds from the 14th Financial Commission and MGNREGA works.
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Launches Kisan Suvidha Loan for Small and Marginal Farmers
- Bengaluru based Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (SFB) has launched Ujjivan Bank Kisan Suvidha loan for small and marginal farmers.
- It is the first bank in this category to offer collateral free loans service. The product will be custom made to fit requirements of small and marginal farmers.
- It will offer collateral free loans to individuals with amount ranging from Rs 60, 000 – Rs 2 lakhs.
- Farmers can take the loan for both agriculture and allied activities such as dairy purchase and maintenance, post-harvest transportation, farm implements purchase, fishery, sheep rearing, among others
- The bank has launched the product across four states namely, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Karnataka and Odisha.
Paytm Acquires Noida-Based Hotel Booking Platform NightStay
- One97 Communications owned Indian payments conglomerate Paytm has forayed into hotel bookings business by acquiring Noida based NightStay, a luxury hotel-booking platform that offers deals on last-minute bookings.
- Paytm is set to invest Rs. 500 crores to scale up its operations and expand the hotel-booking portfolio.
- NightStay co-founder and CEO Nasr Khan will be leading the newly launched hotel-booking category at Paytm.
- NightStay is an app only hotel booking platform that was launched in December 2014. Paytm has acquired it for Rs 142 crore.
33rd Annual Surajkund International Crafts Mela Kicks Off in Haryana
- The 33rd edition of the Surajkund International Crafts (Fair) Mela-2019, kicked off at Surajkund in Faridabad, Haryana.
- The International Fair is organised during the first fortnight of each February annually. It will be held from 1st-17th February 2019.
- The event has been organized by the Surajkund Mela Authority & Haryana Tourism in collaboration with Union Ministries of Tourism, Textiles, Culture and External Affairs.
- Maharashtra has been chosen to be the Theme State.
- About 20 countries & all the states of India will take part in the Mela.
- It is a platform to celebrate Indian folk traditions and cultural heritage.
34th International Leather Fair Begins in Tamil Nadu
- The 34th edition of India International Leather Fair (IILF) started off in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on January 31, 2019. It was inaugurated by Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Paneerselvam.
- The 3 days event will display export prowess of the Indian leather entrepreneurs, feature their achievements, advancements in technology, innovations all based on environment-friendly norms.
- The event will project India as an investment destination and a manufacturing hub for finished leather product design.
- The annual event has been organised by the Council for Leather Exports (CLE), in association with the Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), the Indian Shoe Federation, the Indian Finished Leather Manufacturers & Exporters Association and the Indian Footwear Component Manufacturers’ Association.
G V Krishna Rao Assumes Charge as Chief Commissioner of CGST
- G V Krishna Rao took over as the Chief Commissioner of CGST, Central Excise & Customs, Guwahati Zone on January 31, 2019.
- Guwahati Zone has jurisdiction over all the North Eastern States. So, Rao’s work jurisdiction will be Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura.
- Krishna Rao is an officer of the 1987 batch of the Indian Revenue Service (Indirect Taxes & Customs). He is a senior officer of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC).
- Before this, he was holding charge as Principal Commissioner of CGST, Mysuru.
Indian Cricketer Mithali Raj Becomes 1st Women to Play 200 ODIs
- Indian Women’s Cricket Team One-day International (ODI) and Tests captain Mithali Raj became the first female cricketer to play 200 ODIs on 1 February 2019.
- The 36-year-old achieved the milestone during the third ODI against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton.
- Mithali made her ODI debut in 1999 and out of the 263 ODIs that Indian Women Team have played, Mithali has featured in 200 games.
- In addition to this record, she is also the highest run-getter in ODIs with 6622 runs at an average of 51.33, including seven hundreds.
- Jodhpur based Mithali Raj has also played 10 Tests matches and 85 T20s.
India to Host ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2023
- The 13th edition of International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Cricket World Cup will be played in India in 2023.
- This was announced by ICC CEO and former South Africa cricketer David Richardson on January 31, 2019.
- India will also host ICC T20 World Cup in 2021.
UN Proclaims 2019 as International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements
- The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed to observe 2019 as the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements (IYPT 2019).
- The Periodic Table was discovered by the Russian scientist Dmitri Mendeleev and was first published in the year 1869.
- The year 2019 commemorates the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements.
- The International Year will recognize the importance of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements as one of the most important and influential achievements in modern science.
- The International Year of the Periodic Table of the Chemical Elements 2019 will also coincide with the Centenary of IUPAC (IUPAC100)