Daily Current Affairs, 04th February 2019

1) World Cancer Day: 4th February

•World Cancer Day is being observed observed globally on 4th February. This year, Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), which organizes World Cancer Day, is launching a new 3-year (2019-2021) campaign with the theme: “I Am and I Will.” 

•The Day aims to save millions of preventable deaths each year through education, raising awareness and by pressing governments and individuals across the world to take action against the deadly disease.

2) Former Law Minister of Nepal Nilambar Acharya Appointed Country’s Ambassador to India

•Former Law Minister of Nepal Nilambar Acharya has been appointed as country’s ambassador to India. President Bidya Devi Bhandari administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr Acharya in Kathmandu. He has been appointed on the recommendation of the cabinet.

•Mr Acharya served as a member of Eminent Persons Group formed by India and Nepal on bilateral relations. He was Law Minister in the interim government of 1990. The position of Nepalese ambassador to India was lying vacant after Deep Kumar Upadhyay resigned in October 2017 to join politics.

3) Railways Minister Launched IEA’s ‘The Future of Rail’ Report

•Minister of Railways, Piyush Goyal launched the “The Future of Rail” report of the International Energy Agency (IEA). The Future of Rail is the first-of-a-kind report that analyses the current and future importance of rail around the world through the perspective of its energy and environmental implications.

•The report reviews the impact of existing plans and regulations on the future of rail and explores the policies that could help to realise an enhanced future of the railways.

4) PM Laid Foundation Stone For Various Development Projects in Leh

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for various development projects, worth nearly 12,000 crore rupees, at Leh. The Prime Minister was on a day-long visit to Jammu and Kashmir. He laid the foundation stone for a 480 crore rupee Terminal Building at Leh Airport. Mr Modi inaugurated the 9-megawatt Dah hydroelectric project.

•The Prime Minister also dedicated to the nation the 220 KiloVolt Srinagar-Alusteng-Drass-Kargil-Leh transmission system. Mr Modi also launched the University of Ladakh, the first-ever in the state’s region. He also visited Jammu and Srinagar. He inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of various projects, including two new All India Institute of Medical Sciences and 624 MW Kiru Hydroelectric project in Kishtwar.

5) India-Monaco Business Forum Held in New Delhi

•Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu has inaugurated the Indo-Monaco Business Forum in New Delhi. Bilateral trade between India and Monaco in 2017-18 was USD 3.01 million, and there is immense potential to scale up the bilateral trade between the two nations. Monaco is ranked 106th among foreign direct investor in India (since April 2000 to June 2018) with USD 2.51 million FDI equity inflow.

6) India’s Tourism Sector Registers 19% Growth In 2018

•Union Minister KJ Alphons has announced that the country’s tourism sector fetched revenue of 234 billion US Dollar in 2018, registering a growth of over 19%. This revenue was contributed by 87% domestic and 13% foreign tourists.

•He made the announcement at the 2nd ASEAN-India Youth Summit in Guwahati. The country is ranked third in the tourism sector, according to the 2018 report of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).

7) Rishi Kumar Shukla Appointed As New CBI Director

•Rishi Kumar Shukla, 1983 batch IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, was appointed as the new chief of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He will be serving for a fixed term of two years.

•Shukla’s appointment to the post was approved by a high-level committee chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The IPS officer has previously served as the DGP of Madhya Pradesh.