Daily Current Affairs

Capsule 1st March 2019

1. US, N Korea fail to strike a deal at Hanoi Summit

The United States and North Korea have failed to reach a formal deal at the Hanoi Summit.

The talk has ended with no agreement after the US refused North Korean demand to lift all international

sanctions.

The two-day meeting in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi had come eight months after their historic summit

in Singapore in June last year.

2. AIIB and India sign a US$ 455 Million loan agreement

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Government of India signed a USD 455 million loan

to finance the Andhra Pradesh Rural Roads Project.

This project will connect some 3,300 habitations with a population of more than 250, and benefit around

two Million people.

The objective of the Project is to improve road transport connectivity by providing all-weather rural

roads in all 13 Districts of the State of Andhra Pradesh.

Andhra Pradesh Rural Roads is the Third Project being signed by the AIIB in the State of Andhra

Pradesh, the other two being in Power Sector and Water Sector.

3. AYUSH Minister laid the foundation stone for National Institute of Unani Medicine

AYUSH Minister Shripad Yesso Naik laid the foundation stone of National Institute of Unani Medicine, NIUM

at Ghaziabad.

The 200-bedded hospital will be one of the largest institutes of Unani Medicine in North India.

The institute is an extension of the existing NIUM at Bengaluru.

NIUM, Ghaziabad will be developed in a 10-acre area, costing about 300 crore rupees.

Besides providing healthcare services, it will have facilities for quality research and education at the

postgraduate and PhD levels.

4. Government increases MSP for 50 minor forests produces

Union minister Jual Oram announced that tribal forest produce gatherers will get minimum support price for 50

items under a new scheme.

Under the "Scheme of Minimum Support Price and Value Addition", the MSP for 50 items will be hiked

by 30 to 40 per cent.

It will benefit 5.5 crore tribals who depend on forest produce for livelihood.

Oram also said the government's flagship Van Dhan scheme for increasing incomes of tribal population

is ready to be extended to all tribal districts in phases.

The ministry will also set up around 6,000 Van Dan Vikas Kendras, each comprising 300 tribal

gatherers, in the country.

5. India suspends Samjhauta Express on its end

The Railways has decided to suspend operations of the Indo-Pak Samjhauta Express on its side due to the

drastic decline in occupancy especially after the Pulwama terror attack

The Railway Board has decided to cancel all operations from the train's next scheduled run.

Pakistan has already suspended services on its end in the aftermath of the February 14 terror attack on

CRPF personnel in Pulwama.

Points to Remember

The train service was started on July 22, 1976, under the Shimla Agreement that settled the 1971 war

between the two nations.

This train comprises six sleeper coaches and an AC 3-tier coach.

This is a bi-weekly train runs on Wednesday and Sunday between Delhi and Lahore.

6. RBI, Bank of Japan sign Bilateral Swap Arrangement

Reserve Bank of India and Bank of Japan have signed a Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA).

It was negotiated between India and Japan during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Tokyo in

October 2018.

The BSA provides for India to access 75 billion US dollars whereas the earlier BSA had provided for 50

billion dollars.

The BSA was approved by the Union Cabinet in January 2019.

7. India and Brunei signed TIEA agreement

The Government of India and the Government of Brunei Darussalam signed an Agreement for the Exchange of

Information and Assistance in Collection with respect to Taxes (TIEA) in New Delhi.

The Agreement enables the exchange of information, including banking and ownership information

between the two countries for tax purposes.

It is based on international standards of tax transparency and exchange of information and enables

sharing of information on request as well as on an automatic basis.

The Agreement also provides for mutual assistance in collection of tax revenue claims between both

countries.

8. Prime Minister confers Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prizes for Science and Technology

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi conferred the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar prizes for 2016, 2017 and

2018, at an event in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, named after the founder Director of the Council of Scientific &

Industrial Research.

It is given annually to recognize outstanding Indian work in various disciplines of Science and

Technology.

The awards were presented for the years 2016, 2017, and 2018, with a total of 34 winners.

9. India wins one gold, five silver medals at Makran Cup

National champion Deepak Singh was the lone Indian boxer to notch up gold while five others claimed silver

medals in the Makran Cup in Chabahar, Iran.

Deepak (49-kilogram) defeated Jaafar Naseri in the finals.

Silver medal winners were P Lalitha Prasad (52kg), Manish Kaushik (60kg), Duryodhan Singh Negi

(69kg), Sanjeet (91kg) and Satish Kumar (91kg).

Rohit Tokas (64kg) and Manjeet Singh Panghal (75kg) lost in the semifinals to sign off with bronze

medals.