Important Cabinet Approvals on February 13, 2019

• The following Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) and proposals were approved by the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 13, 2019.
• Morocco – Setting up of a Joint Working Group (JWG) on Counter-Terrorism
• Finland – Cooperation in the field of peaceful uses of outer space
• Argentine – Cooperation in the field of Tourism.
• Saudi Arabia – Establishing a mechanism for investment Infrastructure in India; Cooperation and mutual assistance in Customs Matters and Strengthening cooperation in the field of Tourism.

World Sustainable Development Summit 2019 Held in New Delhi

• The Vice President of India Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the World Sustainable Development Summit 2019 in New Delhi. It was held from February 11 – 13, 2019.
• The theme for 2019 edition of the Summit is ‘Attaining the 2030 Agenda: Delivering on Our Promise’.
• The World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) is an annual flagship event of The Energy and Resources Institute’s (TERI) to provide a common platform to deliberate on issues related to sustainable development.
• Sustainable Development Leadership Award 2019 – TERI honoured Prime Minister of Fiji Frank Bainimarama in recognition of his outstanding contributions towards sustainable development in Fiji.

India’s First Mega Aqua Food Park Operationalised in Andhra Pradesh

• Union Minister of Food Processing Industries, Harsimrat Kaur Badal commissioned Godavari Mega Aqua Food Park at Tundurru Village in Bhimavaram Mandal, West Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh.
• It is the first Mega Aqua Food Park in India exclusively established for fish and marine products processing.
• The park is promoted by M/s Godavari Mega Aqua Food Park Pvt. Ltd. 

Clouded Leopard Chosen as Mascot for National Games 2022 in Meghalaya

• Meghalaya is set to host the 39th edition of the National Games in 2022.
• The State animal of Meghalaya, Clouded Leopard, has been chosen to be the mascot for the National Games 2022.
• 2022 will also mark the 50th year of the creation of the State.
• Clouded leopard is a wild cats living throughout the forests of Garo, Khasi and Jaintia Hills

Book titled “Undaunted: Saving the Idea of India” authored by P Chidambaram launched

• A book titled “Undaunted: Saving the Idea of India”, authored by former finance minister P Chidambaram has been launched.
• The book serves as a contemporary record of the most important events that affected the country— for better or worse—in the year gone by.

Amazon launches ‘Amazon Pay UPI’ in partnership with Axis Bank

• Amazon on February 14, 2019 launched “Amazon Pay Unified Payments Interface (UPI)” for Android users in India to issue UPI IDs to its customers.
• Amazon has partnered with Axis Bank for this.
• Amazon Pay was launched in 2007 and now UPI feature has been added to it.

CBDT chairman Sushil Chandra appointed as Election Commissioner

• Sushil Chandra has been appointed as the new Election Commissioner. He is presently the chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
• The Election Commission now has three members with: 
  • Sunil Arora as the Chief Election Commissioner
  • Sushil Chandra and Ashok Lavasa as the two Commissioners.
• The three-member Commission is expected to announce the date and the schedule for the general elections of 2019 by the end of February.

Bradley Cooper Wins PETA’s ‘Oscat’ Award for Best Director

• The animal rights group PETA’s Film and Television Division has bestowed Bradley Cooper with PETA’s “Oscat” Award for Best Director on February 12, 2019.
• This was the second annual Oscat award by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to felicitate films and stars who promoted kindness to animals through storylines and/or the use of computer-generated imagery in place of live creatures on camera.
• Bradley Cooper was awarded for his enlightened decision to cast his own dog (a labradoodle named Charlie) in “A Star Is Born” rather than using one supplied by a notorious animal exhibitor.

Russian Star Daniil Medvedev Clinches 2019 Sofia Open

• The 2019 Sofia Open tennis tournament was held in Sofia, Bulgaria, from February 5–11, 2019.
• Daniil Medvedev of Russia beat Hungary’s Márton Fucsovics 6–4, 6–3 in Men’s single event to clinch the title.
• In men’s doubles, Nikola Mektić (Croatia) and Jürgen Melzer (Austria) defeated Hsieh Cheng-peng (Chinese Taipei) and Christopher Rungkat (Indonesia), 6–2, 4–6, [10–2] to win the title.