Daily Current Affairs, 07th February 2019

1) 2019 Asia LPG Summit Held In New Delhi

•Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister for petroleum and natural gas, inaugurated the 2019 Asia LPG summit in New Delhi. The summit has been organized jointly by the major Indian oil marketing companies (OMCs) Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum together with the World LPG Association (WLPGA) at the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi.

•This is the second edition of the Asia LPG Summit, with the first one having been held in 2017. This two-day event will focus on ‘LPG – Energy for Life.’ India is the 2nd largest consumer of liquified natural gas (LPG) in the world.

2) ‘Darwaza Band Part 2’ Campaign Launched by Swatch Bharat Mission Grameen

•‘Darwaza Band- Part 2’ campaign launched by Swachh Bharat Mission Grameenfocuses on sustaining the open defecation free status of villages across the country. Earlier Darwaza Band campaign was launched in 2017. The campaign launched by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in Mumbai in the presence of actor Amitabh Bachchan.

3) 2nd Joint Secretary Level Meeting To Review India-Nepal Trade Treaty Begins

•The second joint secretary level meeting to review the India-Nepal Trade Treatybegun in Pokhara, Nepal. The Indian delegation is headed by Bhupinder Singh Bhalla,Joint Secretary (South Asia), Department of Commerce, while Ravi Shankar Saiju, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies is leading the Nepalese side.

•During the two day meeting, India will respond to Nepal’s proposal of updating treaty submitted in the first meeting held in August last year. Both sides will also deliberate upon various bilateral trade issues including ways to reduce Nepal’s trade deficit with India.

4) SBI UK Chief Honoured ‘Freedom of the City of London’

•The State Bank of India’s Uk chief Mr. Sanjiv Chadha has been honored with the ‘Freedom of the City Of London’ by the city of London Corporation in recognition of his contribution to promoting the bilateral relations. Sanjiv Chadha was nominated for the honor by Lord Mayor of London Peter Estlin and Sheriff Vincent Keaveny.

•Sanjiv Chadha took up the position in 2014 and he will be succeeded by Sharad Chandak. Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru was the previous Indian recipient of this award and other recipient includes author JK Rowling and actor Dame Judi Dench.

5) 6th Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement Released: Repo Rate Reduced to 6.25%

•RBI has released 6th Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement. On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation at its meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to:

1.Reduce the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points from 6.5% to 6.25% with immediate effect.

2.Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 6.0%, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.5%. 

3.On the supply side, the FAE has placed the growth of real gross value added (GVA) at 7.0% in 2018-19 as compared with 6.9% in 2017-18.

•The MPC also decided to change the monetary policy stance from calibrated tightening to neutral. These decisions are in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4% within a band of +/- 2% while supporting growth.

6) Macedonia Signs Accord To Join NATO

•Macedonia signed an accord to join NATO to become the 30th member of the US-led alliance. At a formal signing of the NATO accession protocol, Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov hailed the moment as showing that the country will never walk alone once in the alliance.

•NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated the admittance of a new member highlighted that all European nations who meet the entrance criteria could join the regional alliance. The Macedonia-NATO accord follows a deal with Greece ending a 27-year-old dispute over Macedonia’s name. The accord must now be ratified by allied governments.

7) Air India Chairperson Pradeep Singh Kharola Appointed Civil Aviation Secretary

•The government appointed Air India chief managing director and Chairperson Pradeep Singh Kharola the secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Kharola will take over from Rajiv Nayan Choubey.

•Kharola, an Indian Administrative Services officer of Karnataka cadre from the 1985 batch, was named chairperson of Air India in November 2017. He presided over a turbulent period for the national carrier, which is not doing well financially.