February 26: Right after the day of Railway Budget, the Economic survey has been tabled in the Indian Parliament amidst expectations.It predicts a GDP growth of 7 – 7.5% for the year 2016-17.The survery also points that only a meagre 5% of the population are tax payers, which seems to be very alarming.Also the report recommends taxing rich farmers who are currently enjoying govt subsidies & incentives.For more other news, here is the latest current affairs capsule for February 26, 2016
National News:
The Economic Survey present by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Parliament,predicted GDP growth rate for 2016-17 in the range of 7 to 7.75%
Odisha received the highest-ever allocation of 4,682 crore rupees against its demand of 5,000 crore rupees in the Railway budget presented by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu
Haryana Government has announced to give an interim or part assistance immediately for the damage caused to properties in the Jat agitation. An applicant can claim upto 25 per cent as an interim relief
Newly-appointed Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho Pul won the vote of confidence without any opposition on the first day of the state assembly session.
President Pranab Mukerjee on a two day visit to Kerala will inaugurate the bicentenary celebrations of CMS College, Kottayam & also will inaugurate the valedictory functions of the 155th anniversary of Indian Penal Code being organised by Kerala Directorate of Prosecutions at Kochi.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare decided to allow birth companions during delivery in public health facilities. The decision is aimed at reducing Maternal Mortality Ratio & Infant Mortality Rate in India.
Mumbai Police created 16 no-selfie zones around the city. The action was taken in response to several deaths of people taking selfies.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced that tribals living in shanties by occupying land will be given housing pattas.
The Lok Sabha passed Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2016. The bill seeks to amend the Delimitation Act, 2002 and the Representation of the People Act, 1950. These Acts regulate allocation of seats to the national and state legislatures, and delimitation (that is, fixing boundaries) of parliamentary and assembly constituencies.
International News:
Former Republican presidential candidate Senator Rand Paul has introduced a joint resolution in the US Congress to block the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan.
Italy’s Senate has approved a landmark bill recognizing same-sex civil unions.However, it removed a provision that would have allowed gay adoption.
Cautioning against the externally-imposed prescriptions, India has called for closely aligning United Nations’s operational activities with the national development plans.
New Appointments:
Online Fashion Retailer Jabong appointed former eBay India Country Manager B Muralikrishnan as its Chief Operating Officer (COO).
United Spirits (USL) announced the appointment of MK Sharma as its new Chairman, a day after former Chairman Vijay Mallya resigned from his position.
Japanese car manufacturer Nissan has named Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma as their new global ambassador.
The Union Government appointed Rajendra Singh as the Director General (DG) of Indian Coast Guard, the country’s coastal protection force.
India’s second largest software exporter Infosys has extended the tenure of chief executive officer & Managing Director Vishal Sikka by another two years till the year 2021
Awards & Honours:
Avinash Chander, former Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and Director General of the DRDO, has been conferred with the Aryabhata Award of the Astronautical Society of India.
India’s leading private lender Yes Bank has been awarded inaugural Green Bond Pioneer Award at a ceremony held in London, United Kingdom.
The Father Agnel School in Greater Noida has been named India’s greenest school by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) The School “weeded out polythene use”, introduced solar panels and preserved its green areas.
GVK Biosciences has bagged the Global CSR Excellence & Leadership Awards in the category of Best Environment-Friendly Project. The award has been given for its ‘Go Green, Grow Green’ plantation drive.
Science & Technology:
Kashmir witnessed the hottest day in February in 76 years as the mercury rose to 20.6 degrees Celsius in Srinagar, more than 10 degrees above normal for this time of the year.
MIT Tech Review details a new project led by Tobias Weyand, a computer vision specialist at Google. The project breaks photos down to the pixel-level and then tries to cross-reference these pixels with its massive image library to determine where they best fit.
Sports News:
Long-distance runner Lalita Babar was today named as the Sports Person of the Year in the India Sports Awards 2015. The Indian Sports Award were were given away here today at the conclusion of day one of ‘Turf 2015-16’, organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) with the support of the Sports Ministry.
Tennis star Sania Mirza, Indian batting mainstay Virat Kohli and top-seeded badminton player Saina Nehwal lead the pack of over 50 Indians in Forbes’ inaugural list of top “promising young leaders and game changers” under the age of 30 in Asia.
Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini had their bans from soccer reduced from eight years to six, two days before the sport’s ruling body tries to turn the page on years of scandals by electing a new president.
Mumbai was crowned the champions of the Ranji Trophy for the 41st time as they defeated Saurashtra in the final by an innings and 21 runs on Friday.
Banking & Economy:
World’s financial leaders will meet in Shanghai in G-20 summit to discuss ways to calm global markets and spur economic growth.
E-commerce giant Flipkart shutting down its grocery delivery app ‘Nearby’ this month less than 5 months after the company launched it as a Pilot Project.
Retirement fund body, Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has tightened norms on withdrawal of provident fund as well investment of such amount in Varishtha PensionBima Yojana for its over five crore subscribers.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced an Open Market Operation (OMO) purchase of government securities worth 12000 crore on March 3.
RBI asked banks going in for Strategic Debt Restructuring (SDR) to make sufficient provisions of close to 15% of the Loan’s value. The decision was taken to tide over possible loss in the value of the Equity they acquire in lieu of debt and residual loans.
The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), which controls close to 70% of the life insurance market, has introduced the third gender as an option in its proposal forms in line with Supreme Court 2014 verdict recognising it.