Current Affairs 07th February 2020

1. Government sets target of USD 5 billion for defence exports in next 5 years

• PM said during the DefExpo 2020.

• The eleventh edition of the mega defence event is being held in Lucknow.

• Theme – India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub.

• It is a biennial exhibition of military platforms and weapons.

2. RBI Monetary Policy: MPC keeps repo rate unchanged at 5.15%

• In December also MPC kept rates unchanged when economists had forecast a cut.

• RBI pegs GDP growth for 2020-21 at 6 percent.

3. India’s position slips to 40th on International Intellectual Property Index

• According to a report of US Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Centre.

• Last year India ranked at 36th position out of 50 countries.

• US, UK, Sweden, France & Germany remained the top 5 economies.

4. India becomes second largest steel producer of Crude Steel

• India became the second largest steel producer of crude steel after China in 2018 and 2019, by replacing Japan.

• Steel production in 2018 was at 109.3 MT.

• USA & South Korea ranked 4th and 5th positions, respectively.

5. Virat Kohli retains top spot as the most valuable celebrity in 2019: Duff & Phelps

• The celebrity brand valuation rankings released by Duff & Phelps, for the third year in a row.

• Akshay Kumar bagged the second spot.

• Deepika Padukone & Ranveer Singh held the third spot.

6. Govt introduces new pension schemes for unorganised sector

• Introduced Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan Yojna, (PM-SYM)

• National Pension Scheme for the Traders and Self-Employed Persons (NPS-Traders).

• Under section 3(1) of Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, 2008 to provide old age protection.

• Minimum pension of Rs. 3000/month is given after getting 60 yrs.

7. IOCL signs first Term contract for importing Russian crude oil to India

• IOCL and Rosneft signed first-ever Term Contract for importing 2 Million Metric Tonnes of Urals grade crude oil.

• During the year 2020.

• Strategy for diversifying the country’s crude oil supplies from non-OPEC countries.

• It is also a part of the cooperation in the hydrocarbons sector.

8. Cabinet approves setting up a new Major Port at Vadhavan in Maharashtra

• Vadhavan port will be developed on ‘landlord model’.

9. Rakhi Halder from Bengal bags gold at Senior Women’s National Weightlifting Championships

• In Senior Women’s National Weightlifting Championships.

• Bagged gold in the 64 Kg category.

• She was 10 Kg ahead of her nearest rival Harjinder Kaur.

10. UNESCO DG Audrey Azoulay handed over UNESCO World Heritage Sites certificate to Jaipur

• The certificate relate to the inclusion of walled city of Jaipur in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites to the state Urban Development Minister Shanti Dhariwal.

• International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) HQ- Paris, France.