Source: Cick Here

• World Day of Social Justice is observed every year on [latex]20^{th}[/latex] February to encourage people to see how social justice affects poverty eradication.


• The main aim of this day is to achieve full employment and support for social integration. This day basically tackle the issues like poverty, exclusion and unemployment.

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• Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in India for a two-day visit to the country following his visit to Pakistan.


• He was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister General VK Singh at the airport in Delhi. The Crown Prince had reached Pakistan on [latex]17^{th}[/latex] at the start of his South Asian tour.

Source: Cick Here

• China is keeping foreign travellers out of Tibet during sensitive political anniversaries.


• Travel agencies contacted on [latex]20^{th}[/latex] February said foreign tourists would not be allowed into the Himalayan region until April 1.

Source: Cick Here

• Shamima Begum, a teenager who left London when she was aged 15 to join Islamic State in Syria, has had her British citizenship revoked, according to a letter sent to her family published by ITV News.


• Begum, who gave birth to a son at the weekend, was discovered in a refugee camp in Syria by a London Times journalist earlier this month. Now aged 19, she has told reporters she wants to return to Britain.

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• Russian President Vladimir Putin will deliver his annual state of the nation address as he faces an unprecedented fall in his approval ratings.


• It will be the 66-year-old leader's first address to both houses of parliament since he was elected to a fourth presidential term a year ago, extending his long rule until 2024.

Source: Cick Here

• Pan India number 112 was launched by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi in New Delhi.


• It comes under the Emergency Response Support System, ERSS which has been introduced for women safety in 16 states and Union Territories including Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir and was launched in Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland earlier. All the states are required to set up an Emergency Response Centre, ERC.


• In the hour of need, the person seeking can help can Dial 112, In smartphones, press power button of the phone thrice without any delay to activate a panic call to the Emergency Response Centre.


• In feature phones, long press on the number 5 or 9 on the keypad to activate the panic call.


• Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences (ITSSO), Safe City Implementation Monitoring (SCIM) portal were also launched in the event.

Source: Cick Here

• Union Textiles Minister, Smriti Irani, laid foundation stone of Hastshilp Complex in New Delhi which is to be built in a period of 18 months by NBCC (formerly known as National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd) and at a cost of Rs.113.56 crores.


• She announced that it will be called “Deen Dayal Antarashtriya Hastshilp Bhawan” and awardee artisans will be allocated space for marketing their products, on rotation basis, with a preference to Divyang (disabled) artisans.


• It will have 23 shops meant for artisans, 1 showroom for artisans from SAARC countries, 1 kiosk, 5 galleries and 1 conventional hall and will also have dormitory facilities for handicrafts artisans.

• In an attempt to encourage cultural ties between Russia and India, the Russian Association for International Cooperation (RAIC) signed a trilateral agreement with Friendship Society of India and the India-Russia Foundation.


• The RAIC and Indian friendship groups had a meeting with President of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, and the RAIC also held a meeting with the members of India-Russia Foundation at Russian Embassy, before signing the agreement.

Source: Cick Here

• A Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, which has favoured 3% on the affordable housing category, down from 8%, has submitted its report to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council for taking it up and decide on it in the meeting to be held on 20th February 2019.


• The Council might also consider reducing tax on cement from 28%to 18% to boost the realty sector in the meeting.


• GST is currently levied at 12%on premium housing and 8% on affordable housing on payments made for under-construction properties, where completion certificate has not been issued at the time of sale. No GST is charged if a property is bought after the issue of completion certificate.

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• According to the National Sample Survey Office’s (NSSO) first periodic labour force survey, levels of unemployment were observed to be much higher among educated people than ones with lower level of education in 2017-18.


• Despite lesser number of people receiving vocational training during this period, the number of skilled people nearly doubled in 2017-18 than in 2011-12.


• The literacy levels increased in 2017-18, specifically in rural areas where young women received more formal education than men.


• The rate of education among rural men increased from a mere 6 percent in 2011-12 to 10.5 percent in 2017-18. As many as 9.2 percent urban men were educated in 2017-18, more than double of the 2011-12 levels.


• Twice the number of educated women as compared to men were unemployed.


• The gross secondary enrolment rate in the 15-16 age group went up to 90 percent in 2016 from 58 percent in 2010.

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• A report “Magnitude of Substance Use in India” by National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi sponsored by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment was submitted to the Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot in Delhi.


• A “National Survey on Extent and Pattern of Substance Use in India” was conducted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment through the NDDTC of AIIMS, New Delhi in both the national and stated levels.


• Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot stated that in order to deal with the issue of drug abuse and to formulate guidelines and prepare an action plan, the State governments and all other stake holders including NGOs and drug de-addiction centres will be consulted.

Source: Cick Here

• The first-of-its kind ‘Trip Protector’ insurance policy was launched by HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company which is the third-largest non-life insurance provider in the private sector in India.


• The Policy states that In case a flight or a hotel booking is cancelled, travellers will be safeguarded financially against the cost of cancellation levied on them by the respective hotels or airlines for both domestic and international travel.


• In instances wherein travellers are refused accommodation on arriving at the hotel due to overbooking, the policy will provide cover against cancellation of a pre-booked room.


• Initially, this policy is being offered to customers of HDFC Bank on the purchase of Airline tickets or Hotel Bookings done using their HDFC Bank credit cards.


• The policy will allow customers to choose between refundable and non-refundable tickets. Refundable tickets shall be paid for in case of cancellation.

Source: Cick Here

• A New micro insurance plan ‘Micro Bachat’ was launched by the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India.


• It provides a coverage of up to 2 lakhs and is the first micro-insurance plan to do so.


• It provides both protection and savings and is a regular premium, non-linked, participating endowment micro insurance plan.


• In case a policyholder dies, this plan would provide financial assistance to the family. For surviving policyholders, a lump sum amount at the time of maturity shall be provided.


• It can be availed only by standard healthy citizens in the age group of 18-55 years without undergoing any medical examination.


• This plan will be eligible for loyalty additions after 5 years, the decision of which will lie with the organisation.


• People can also avail loans from this plan provided that premiums have been paid for three full years.

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• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to transfer Rs. 28,000 crore as interim dividend to the Government of India in the current Financial Year (FY) 2018-19, in order to enable the Centre to meet its revised fiscal deficit target of 3.4% of the GDP for FY19.


• It is the 2nd successive year that RBI has transferred an interim surplus to the Government. In FY 2017 – 18, RBI handed out an interim dividend of Rs 10,000 crore in March 2018 and in August 2018, it transferred Rs 40,000 crore taking the total dividend pay-out to Rs 50,000 crore.


• The accounting year of RBI is from July to June. With the Rs 40,000 crore dividend for FY 2017-18, the Centre has earned a total of Rs 68,000 crore as dividend for the 2018-19 fiscal.


• The RBI Act, 1934 requires RBI to pay the Government its surplus after making provisions for bad and doubtful debts, depreciation in assets and contribution to staff and superannuation.

• State budget of Rs. 48,663.90 crore was presented by Finance Minister Prakash Pant who described it as a balanced budget by prioritising education, health, agriculture, employment generation in rural areas, infrastructure, housing and urban development.


• It is said to be a surplus budget with the total expenditure for the Financial Year 2019-20 standing around 48,663.90 crore and total earnings for the period around Rs 48,679.43 crore.


• Interest-free loans of up to Rs 1 lakh shall be provided to poor and small farmers.


• Interest free loans amounting to Rs 5 lakh shall be given to self-help groups involved in agro-related activities.


• Rs 1,341 crore have been allocated to agriculture and horticulture in the budget while Rs 3,141.34 crore have been allocated to rural development and Panchayati Raj department.


• Rs 2,545.40 crore have been allocated for medical health, family welfare and medical education while Rs 1,073 crore for the education sector.


• Rs 100 crore have been allocated through the cooperative sector in the budget in order to reduce migration by generating employment in rural areas and doubling the income of farmers.

Source: Cick Here

• Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal presented the state budget for Financial Year (FY) 2019-20 with a total outlay of Rs 1,58,493 crore with no new taxes.


• The budget proposed hikes in the range of 9-36 percent in the allocation of funds for agriculture, health, education and rural and urban infrastructure sectors.


• Total outstanding debt of the state has been projected at Rs 2,29,612 crore for 2019-20 as against Rs 2,12,276 crore for 2018-19.


• An allocation of Rs 3,000 crore for farm debt waiver was proposed for the year 2019-20 in order to waive off the loans of landless farm labourers and the families of farmers who have been forced to commit suicides.


• The total revenue receipts have been estimated at Rs 78,510 crore for the next financial year as against Rs 70,399 crore for 2018-19. The total receipts of the state have been pegged at Rs 1,54,170 crore.

Source: Cick Here

• Malaysian squash queen, 35-year-old and 8-time world champion, Nicol David, announced that she will be retiring at the end of the 2018-19 Professional Squash Association (PSA) season in June 2019.


• She had a successful career with 81 PSA titles from 102 finals and held the World no. 1 spot for a record 109 months consecutively from 2006 to 2015.

Source: Cick Here

• The schedule for the first two weeks of IPL 2019 has been announced, with 17 matches to be held during the period. Defending champions Chennai Super Kings will face Royal Challengers Bangalore in the season opener on March 23.


• IPL said in a statement that the schedule is still subject to announcement of the Lok Sabha 2019 election dates.

Source: Cick Here

• The 34-year-old, Sunil Chhetri, was awarded India’s first-ever “Football Ratna” by Football Delhi president Shaji Prabhakaran, former player and administrator at the All India Football Federation(AIFF) and FIFA(Fédération Internationale de Football Association).Football Delhi is the state association governing the sport in Delhi. He was also named as the 6th Indian Footballer in the elite Padma Shri list.


• Shubham Sarangi, youth player from Delhi who is currently the player of Delhi Dynamos team for Indian Super League (ISL), was also honoured by Football Delhi on this occasion. He was part of the AIFF Youth Academy for 12 years, and has represented India in Under-14 and Under-17 National Teams.

Source: Cick Here

• Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was given the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Monaco.


• The former Monaco manager, who left Arsenal after 22 years last summer, helped Arsenal win three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups. Wenger's former rival Jose Mourinho said that Wenger is one of the best football managers in football's history.

Source: Cick Here

• The Astronomical Society of India will be presided over by a woman, GC Anupama for the first time in its history.


• She will succeed RK Tyagi and has been elected to this post for a tenure of 3 years.
She currently holds the position of dean and senior professor at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bangalore.

• She is a part of the team involved in the ‘Thirty Meter Telescope’ (TMT) project in Hawaii.

Source: Cick Here

• A.K. Sharma has been reappointed as the Director (Finance) of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) for a period of 3 months.


• He was appointed Director (Finance) of IOC in October 2014 and superannuated on January 31, 2019.


• This is the first time under Prime Minister Narendra Modi when a PSU director has been reappointed in the same position after attainment of superannuation age of 60 years.

Source: Cick Here

• Lieutenant General Depinder Singh Ahuja, awardee of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal,has taken charge as the new Chief of Staff at the headquarters of the Southern Command in Pune, Maharashtra.


• He is an alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College,Wellington and the National Defence College, New Delhi and a member of the Indian Institute of Engineers.


• The position was earlier held by Lt. Gen. Manoj Pande, who has taken over the command of Army’s frontier Gajraj Corps.

Source: Cick Here

• Bandicoot, a drainage-cleaning robot, has been introduced for the first time in India at the Kumbakonam city corporation as part of efforts to rid of manual scavenging at the cost of Rs 18 lakh in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Kadambur Raju, member of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, inaugurated the operation of the robot.


• It is a semi-automatic robot can enter manholes for cleaning sewage lines with its robotic arm and is equipped with 5 night-vision cameras to relay the scenario underneath.

A. Narendra Modi B. Ram Nath Kovind C. Sushma Swaraj D. Harsh Vardhan Answer: D

A. Ram Nath Kovind B. Sushma Swaraj C. Rajnath Singh D. Narendra Modi Answer: C

A. 144 B. 122 C. 131 D. 136 Answer: B

A. Mallikarjun Kharge B. Shanta Kumar C. Nitin Patel D. Murli Manohar Joshi Answer: C

A. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare B. Ministry of Science and Technology C. Ministry of Human Resource Development D. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Answer: D

A. 75 percent B. 80 percent C. 90 percent D. 66 percent Answer: C

A. Swadeshi Darshan scheme B. Pooled Finance Development Fund Scheme C. Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana D. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana Answer: A

A. Madhya Pradesh B. Himachal Pradesh C. Maharashtra D. NewDelhi Answer: B

A. Rs 3 lakh B. Rs 1 lakh C. Rs 2 lakh D. Rs 5 lakh Answer: D

A. Rs 3,000 crore B. Rs 2,000 crore C. Rs 4,000 crore D. Rs 5,000 crore Answer: A

A. Rs 25 crore B. Rs 30 crore C. Rs 35 crore D. Rs 40 crore Answer: A

A. Department of Textiles B. Department of Fisheries C. Department of Tribes D. Department of Animal Husbandry Answer: B

A. United Nations B. World Bank C. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development D. Organisation for Rural Economic Transformation Answer: C

A. 2020 B. 2021 C. 2022 D. 2023 Answer: C

A. Digital education B. E-Commerce C. Ease of doing business D. Online transactions Answer: A

A. 5 years B. 10 years C. 15 years D. Life ban Answer: B

A. NITI Aayog B. Atal Tinkering Labs C. Government e Marketplace D. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade Answer: C

A. Mumbai B. Pune C. Varanasi D. New Delhi Answer: D

A. Varanasi B. Mumbai C. Lucknow D. Kanpur Answer: A

A. Mumbai B. Bengaluru C. Pune D. Nashik Answer: B

A. JDU B. TMC C. AAP D. AIADMK Answer: D

A. Kerala B. Odisha C. Karnataka D. Telangana Answer: D

A. West Bengal B. Uttar Pradesh C. NewDelhi D. Haryana Answer: D

A. Haryana B. Maharashtra C. Odisha D. Kerala Answer: C

A. Pat Cummins B. C Pujara C. Virat Kohli D. Kane Williamson Answer: C

A. Chris Gayle B. Darren Sammy C. Shivnarayan Chandrapaul D. Dwayne Bravo Answer: A

A. Leander Paes B. Rafael Nadal C. Roger Federer D. Novak Djokovic Answer: D

A. Gujarat B. Maharashtra C. Kerala D. Haryana Answer: B

A. Rome B. Geneva C. Paris D. Dubai Answer: D

A. Peso B. Dollar C. Pound Sterling D. Euro Answer: C