NATIONAL NEWS
Government sets up committee to explore prepaid payments by discoms to generator companies
The government has constituted a committee under the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) to explore prepaid payments by state electricity distribution companies to power plants. The committee will study working capital cycles of power distribution companies and generation companies and identify gaps contributing to stress in the sector.
- The government is also simultaneously looking at a recommendation made by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha led panel to put in place a bill discounting mechanism.
Government announces Rs 214.20 crore hike in sports budget
The government hiked the sports budget by Rs 214.20 crore for the financial year 2019-2020, which also includes an increase of Rs 55 crore in funds for the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
- Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said the overall sports budget for 2019-2020 has been increased from Rs 2002.72 crore (2018-2019) to Rs 2,216.92 crore. While the allocation for the SAI has been hiked from Rs 395 crore to Rs 450 crore.
- Extra info.:
SAI Headquarters: Delhi
Observer Research Foundation named 'highest ranked' Indian think tank
Observer Research Foundation (ORF) has been named the "highest ranked" Indian think tank in the "2018 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report. Globally, ORF has been ranked as the top think tank in the "Best New Idea or Paradigm Developed by a Think Tank" category, said the report by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Programme (TTCSP) of the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania.
- The US-based Brookings Institution is the highest ranked think tank globally, followed by the French Institute of International Relations and the Carnegie Endowment. ORF is ranked 118th in the "Top Think Tanks Worldwide" (US and non-US) category.
- ORF, with has three centres in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. is also the highest-ranked Indian think tank for its social media outreach and the use of other such digital mediums.
NBCC to construct Ayurveda and Naturopathy hospital in Goa
State-owned NBCC said it will construct an ayurveda and naturopathy hospital in Goa at a cost of Rs 267.81 crore. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of AYUSH has been signed in this regard.
- NBCC will complete the 50-acre project in the next 24 months. NBCC is a Navratna enterprise under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
2019 Kala Ghoda Arts Festival begins in Mumbai
The Kala Ghoda Art Festival began at the iconic Kala Ghoda precinct in South Mumbai. 20 years ago Kala Ghoda Association was formed with the idea of giving back to the city and the festival was an organic extension of this idea.
- This year, Kala Ghoda Art Festival 2019 (KGAF 2019) will also pay tribute to the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, as the country celebrates his 150th birth anniversary on the festival’s opening day.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Govt revises GDP growth rate for 2017-18 to 7.2% from 6.7%
The government revised the economic growth rate upwards to 7.2 per cent for 2017-18 from the 6.7 per cent estimated earlier. "Real GDP or GDP at constant (2011-12) prices for 2017-18 and 2016-17 stand at Rs 131.80 lakh crore and Rs 122.98 lakh crore, respectively, showing growth of 7.2 per cent during 2017-18 and 8.2 per cent during 2016-17," the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said.
- Earlier, the CSO in its advance estimate had pegged the GDP growth rate for 2018-19 at 7.2 per cent.
- Extra info.:
Central Statistics Office Headquarters: New Delhi
SPORTS
Qatar beat Japan 3-1 to win their first Asian Cup Title
Qatar won its first major soccer title by beating four-time champion Japan 3-1 in the Asian Cup final, completing an improbable run to glory for the Gulf nation as it prepares to host the 2022 World Cup.
- The result confounded the gulf in the FIFA rankings, with Qatar at 93 and Japan at 50. Qatar scored 19 goals and conceded only once in winning all seven games in the UAE.
Smriti rockets to No.1 in ICC WODI rankings
After stunning performances in the first two ODIs against New Zealand, India's opening batswoman Smriti Mandhana has rocketed to the No.1 spot in the latest ODI women's batters rankings, the ICC announced recently.
- Smriti cracked her fourth ODI century and an unbeaten 90 in India's 2-1 win in the three-match rubber against New Zealand. Indian captain Mithali Raj, who moved down a spot, completes the top five.
Greg Chappell set to retire from Cricket Australia
Greg Chappell, who is considered one of Australia's most influential voices in the field of cricket, is set to exit the stage as the selector and national talent manager following the end of the Ashes later this year.
- The 70-year-old served as a selector of the formerly known Australian Cricket Board from 1984 to 1988, 2010 to 2011 and 2016 until this year.
INS Dronacharya wins Kochi Area Boat Pulling Regatta 2019
The 2019 edition of Kochi Area Boat Pulling Regatta, which is one of the most prestigious and traditional naval sporting activities conducted in Indian Navy, was held in Kochi.
- The team from INS Dronacharya won the overall regatta trophy (called The Cock) while Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) School & Diving School secured the runners up position.
Vani Kapoor becomes first Indian to grab Australian LPGA card
Vani Kapoor became the first Indian to earn a card for the Australian Ladies PGA Tour (LPGA) after coming through its first-ever Qualifying Tournament at the Ballarat Golf Club in Australia. Vani shot rounds of 71, 78 and 69 to finish at two-over 218 and was tied-12th with three others.
- Her finish also ensures Vani starts in three Ladies European Tour events to be played in Australia in February-March.
APPOINTMENTS
Former MP police chief RK Shukla appointed CBI Director
Senior IPS officer Rishi Kumar Shukla was appointed as CBI Director, just four days after he was shifted from the post of Madhya Pradesh DGP by the Kamal Nath government to the Madhya Pradesh Police Housing Corporation.
- Shukla, a 1983 batch officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, will have a fixed tenure of two years, according to a decision taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
OBITUARIES
Former IIMC director and Planning Commission member Hiten Bhaya passes away
Former Planning Commission member and ex-director of IIMC Hiten Bhaya passed away at his residence in south Delhi's Vasant Kunj. She was 98.
- Bhaya was a member of the Planning Commission in the Rajiv Gandhi government and had also served as director of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) and chairman of Hindustan Steel.
IMPORTANT DAYS
World Wetlands Day
World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year on 2 February. This day marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea.
- This year’s World Wetlands Day under the theme of “Wetlands and Climate Change” highlights the importance of healthy and intact wetlands to one of the most pressing challenges of our times: climate change.
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