Daily Current Affairs, 21st February 2019

1) International Mother Language Day: 21 February

•International Mother Language Day has been observed every year on 21st Februarysince February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.

•This year, International Mother Language day 2019 will be framed by the International Year of indigenous languages 2019 (IYIL19) around the theme “Indigenous languages matter for development, peace building and reconciliation”.

2) Operation Digital Board Launched By HRD Ministry

•The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry launched Operation Digital Board on the lines of Operation Blackboard to provide better digital education in school.

•The government has aimed at equipping 9 lakh classrooms in schools and colleges across the country (7 lakh classrooms of 9th, 10th and 11th standards and 2 lakh classrooms of colleges and Universities) with digital facilities for teaching by 2022.

3) 8th World CSR Congress 2019 Held in Mumbai

•World Corporate Social Responsibility Congress (World CSR Congress 2019) promotes Entrepreneurship, Social Responsibility, Sustainability and Social Development. The 8th World CSR Congress was held in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

•The theme of the year 2019 is ‘Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)’ to focus on corporate strategies, innovation, and strategic alliances. Dr. Soumitro Chakraborty won ‘CEO of the year’ award

4) ‘Festival of India’ Begins In Kathmandu

•A month-long ‘Festival of India’ began in Kathmandu, Nepal, to familiarise the new generation of the country about the similarities between the two countries. Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri jointly inaugurated the event.

5) 4th India-ASEAN Expo Summit Begins in New Delhi

•The 4th India-ASEAN Expo and Summit started in New Delhi. This is a flagship event of Department of Commerce, being organized with FICCI to carry forward the momentum and to further strengthen India-ASEAN relations under the Act-East Policy.

•The Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) comprises of Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Myanmar, Malaysia, Lao PDR, Indonesia, Cambodia and Brunei. India’s relationship with ASEAN is a key pillar of our foreign policy and the foundation of our Act-East Policy.

6) MoU Between Environment Ministry and University of British Columbia on Forestry Science

•An MoU was signed between Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada for next 10 years in New Delhi. Both institutions shall explore opportunities for future collaborations in the field of forestry science through their respective organizations.

•The MoU will help in exchange of students, researchers, and faculty, developing research projects, livelihood opportunities and augment income of the forest-based communities and also assist the industries to optimize the utilization of forest-based resources with access of technology to different stakeholders by the respective organizations.

7) Government To Infuse Rs 48,239 crore in 12 Public Sector Banks

•The government has approved recapitalization of Rs 48,239 crore in 12 public sector banks in this fiscal to help them maintain regulatory capital requirements and finance growth plans.

•The government will infuse over nine thousand crore rupees in Corporation Bank and six thousand 896 crore rupees in Allahabad Bank. Besides, four thousand 638 crore rupees will be provided Bank of India and 205 crore rupees to Bank of Maharashtra. These banks have recently come out of the regulatory supervisory framework PCA of the RBI.

•Punjab National Bank will get over 5,900 crore rupees, Union Bank of India 4,112 crore rupees, Andhra Bank 3,256 crore and Syndicate Bank will get over 1,600 crore rupees. The government will also pump in 12,535 crore rupees in Central Bank of India, United Bank, UCO Bank and Indian Overseas Bank.

8) List of MoUs Signed During Visit of Prince of Saudi Arabia to India

•Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was on a one-day state visit to India. He met PM and President of India. Breaking protocol, Prime Minister Narendra Modi received Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the airport, signifying the importance India attaches to this visit by one of the most powerful leaders in the Arab world.

•Here is the List of MoUs/Agreements signed during State Visit of Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia to India:

S. No.	Name of Agreement/ MoUs	Exchanged on Indian side by	Exchanged on Saudi Arabia side by
1.	MoU on investing in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia	Smt. Sushma Swaraj, Minister of External Affairs	H.E. Khalid Al Falih, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources
2.	MoU on Cooperation in the field of Tourism between the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of India and the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia	Shri T S Tirumurti, Secretary(ER)	H.E. Mr. Adel Al-Jubeir, MOS for Foreign Affairs
3.	MoU between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Saudi Arabia for Cooperation in the Field of Housing	Shri Ahmad Javed, Ambassador of India to Saudi Arabia	H.E. Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi, Minister of Commerce & Investment
4.	Framework Cooperation Program between Invest India of the Republic of India and Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Enhancing Bilateral Investment Relations	Shri Ahmad Javed, Ambassador of India to Saudi Arabia	H.E. Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, Minister of Commerce & Investment
5.	MoU for Cooperation on Broadcasting between Prasar Bharati, New Delhi, India and Saudi Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), Saudi Arabia for Exchange of Audio Visual Programme.	Shri Ahmad Javed, Ambassador of India to Saudi Arabia	H.E. Dr. Turki Abdullah Al-Shabanah, Minister of Media