Table of Contents
PMO
• Mudra Yojana has created 3 crore entrepreneurs
• Jan Dhan Yojana has brought marginalised sections of the society into banking system
• Free electricity connection to several crore families has brought them out of 18th century life that they were leading even after 70 years of Independence.
• Mr Modi called upon citizens to join hands with him in creating a new India by 2022.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, India is the hotspot of digital innovation across all sectors.
•Inaugurating the World Congress on Information Technology at Hyderabad through video-conferencing from Mysuru today, Mr Modi said, India not only possesses a growing number of innovative entrepreneurs, but it also has a growing market for tech innovation.
•He said, Digital India has not remained merely a government initiative, but has become a way of life.
President’s Secretariat
• Shri Ram Nath Kovind, graced and addressed a function organised by the Akhil Bhartiya Shivrajyabhishek Mahotsav Samiti on Shivaji Jayanti (19th Feb)
• Shivaji had worked to integrate people beyond caste and other identities.
•He used to appoint military and administrative officials on merit without any discrimination of caste and creed.
President’s Secretariat –
•He remains respected by people because of his good governance, generous and fair actions and for being engaged in public welfare.
• That is why Shivaji has a very special position in our history and folklore.
• The ideals of Shivaji’s social democracy are relevant even today.
Vice President’s Secretariat
• Education must mould a strong character and inculcate ethical and moral values among students.
• Called on parents, teachers, schools and colleges to ensure that the environment at home as well as in schools is de-stressed.
• Converting country’s vast pool of human resources into a “demographic dividend” is a big challenge before everyone.
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
• Plastic is a serious menace and this is the beginning of the end of plastic menace.
•India: Global Host of World Environment Day 2018 “not a symbolic celebration, but a mission”
• The Minister invited the people to take care of their Green Social Responsibility and urged them to take up Green Good Deeds in everyday life.
Union Communication and IT Ministry
• The proposed Data Privacy Bill will be drafted soon after the high level committee submits its report.
• World Congress on Information Technology in Hyderabad today, the minister said, wide consultations are underway in this regard.
•India is one of the largest emerging digital market in the world.
“Biggest footprint of facebook in India, the biggest number of whatsapp in India. India is a third
biggest start up movement in the world because India is a big emerging digital market and
therefore, all the digital campanies are coming to India in a big way.”
PMO
• More agriculture credit and easy access to markets will help boost farm income.
“किसानों िी आय बढाने िे विषय पर इस बजट में किसानों िो उनिी फसलों िा उचित िीमत दिलाने िे ललए एि बडे फै सले िा ऐलान किया है। इसिे अंतर्गत किसानों िो उनिी फसलों िा िम से िम लार्त िे ऊपर 50 प्रततशत यातन डढे र् ुना म ूलय्सुतनशचित किया जा ् एर्ा।”
• The Prime Minister expressed happiness that production of pulses in the country has risen to 23 million tonnes from 17 million tonnes in just one year.
PMO-
•India will rise with the rise of villages and when farmers are empowered, the country will be empowered too.
• Coating urea with neem has helped in enhancing the efficiency of fertiliser and boosting productivity as well as cost saving.
• Soil health cards have helped in curbing use of chemical fertilisers by 8 to 10 per cent and increased productivity by 5 to 6 per cent.
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)
• In a major reform in the coal sector since its nationalisation in 1973, the government today allowed private companies to mine the fossil fuel for commercial use, ending the monopoly of state-owned Coal India Ltd.
• Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said, the opening up of commercial coal mining for private sector is the most ambitious coal sector reform.
• The CCEA has also approved the methodology for auction of coal mines or blocks for sale of coal under the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.
Finance Minister
•It should be ensured that cases like Punjab National Bank fraud do not get repeated in the future.
•Government has given authority to bank managements to work with autonomy but with greater accountability.
• The management has failed in performing this responsibility.
• Banking system depends on trust between borrower and lender.
Finance Minister –
• Both internal and external auditors failed to detect the discrepancies.
• Supervising agencies need to introspect on what has to be done so as auditors perform efficiently.
“The important challenges were that supervisory agencies have now to introspect that what are the additional mechanism they have to put in place to make sure that stray cases do not occur gain and such cases are nibed in the bud. And such sad examples are never repeated
again.”
MEA
• The Maldives government today extended emergency in the country by a month, after parliament approved President Abdulla Yameen’s request.
• The state of emergency will end on March 22.
• The voting for the extension took place this evening, hours before the state of emergency was due to expire.
MEA-
•Only 38 MPs were present for the vote, despite 43 lawmakers being needed for the vote to take place as required by the constitution.
• All the MPs were from the ruling party.
•Opposition MPs boycotted the session to ensure the vote could not happen but the extension was approved anyway. Opposition MPs accused the speaker of bypassing the constitution and said the state of emergency was illegal.
Vice President’s Secretariat
• Prince Dara Shukoh’s writings can come as a refreshing source for infusing peace and harmony, whenever we are confronted by the narrow walls that tend to divide humanity and
conflicts that result in needless violence .
• The Vice President called the exhibition most timely and might help us better understand humanity’s eternal quest for peace, harmony and love.
• He further said that Prince Dara Shukoh, one of the sons of Emperor Shah Jehan grew up under the unmistakable influence of the teachings of the Sufi Saint, Shaik Muin-uddin
Chisti.
Vice President’s Secretariat –
• Principles of Sufism are highly relevant to break down narrow prejudices and bring people together, especially in today’s world of materialism, consumerism and growing religious
fundamentalism.
• He further said that all religions seek to unite people and the common strand in each of them, including Sufism, is spiritualism, tolerance and respect for others.
• There is a greater need today to put into practice some of the meaningful teachings of Sufi saints to bring harmony between all groups of society and break down divisive walls between
communities, he added.