RAJASTHAN

• Rajasthan can achieve more than eight per cent economic growth: CII

• In a bid to accelerate economic growth of Rajasthan, CII has identified key interventions as part of the ‘Roadmap for Rajasthan: A 10-point agenda for growth.’
• The roadmap covers various sectors like manufacturing, food processing, tourism, renewable energy, startup ecosystem, infrastructure development including skills centres for improving employability.

• The gross state domestic production of the state has growth by 6.6% in the years between financial year 2011-12 and 2017-18, but more than 8% growth is achievable if the government works in a mode to address the challenges hampering growth.

• The unemployment rate in Rajasthan hit 12.3% in November 2018, whereas the national average was 6.6% which requires the state to focus on increasing avenues for employment as well as employability.INTERNATIONAL

   

   

  • China has unveiled its ‘first female AI news anchor’

   

  • China’s state-owned TV channel Xinhua unveiled the world’s first female Artificial Intelligence(AI) news anchor.

   

  • The AI anchor has been developed by state-run news agency Xinhua in collaboration with tech firm Sogou Inc.

   

  • The AI robot anchor, Xin Xiaoment, can mimic human facial expressions and mannerisms while reading reports.

   

  • The AI anchor will make her professional debut during the upcoming two sessions Political meetings of China’s nations legislature in March.

   

  • Oscars 2019: Full list of winners

   

  • The 91st Academy Awards has been announced at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

   

  • The full list of winners are:
  • Best Picture: “Green Book”
  • Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron for “Roma”
  • Best Actress: Olivia Colman for “The Favourite”
  • Best Actor: Rami Malek for “Bohemian Rhapsody”
  • Best Supporting Actress: Regina King for “If Beale Street Could Talk”
  • Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali for “Green Book”
  • Best Foreign Language Film: “Roma” (Mexico)
  • Best Animated Feature Film: “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse”
  • Best Original Screenplay: “Green Book”
  • Best Adapted Screenplay: “BlacKkKlansman”
  • Best Original Score: “Black Panther”
  • Best Original Song: “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born”
  • Best Documentary Feature: “Free Solo”
  • Best Documentary Short Film: “Period”

   

   

  NATIONAL

   

  • PM Modi launched PM-KISAN scheme by transferring 1st installment of Rs 2,000 to farmers

   

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, PM-KISAN scheme at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh.

   

  • Mr Modi marked the launch of the PM-KISAN scheme, through press of button, to electronically transfer the first installment of 2 thousand rupees to selected farmers.

   

  • The amount will be transferred directly to the bank account of beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer.

   

  • The amount will be given in three installments of 2 thousand rupees each

   

  • The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana was announced in the interim Budget 2019-20.

   

  • Under the Scheme, Rs 6,000 will be given per year to small and marginal farmer families having combined land holding of up to 2 hectares.

   

  ·         Phase-II of Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Programme Approved

   

  • The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs Chaired by the Prime Minister,  Narendra Modi has given its approval for the Phase-II of Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Programme that aims to achieve cumulative capacity of 40,000 MWfrom Rooftop Solar (RTS) Projects by the year 2022.
  • The programme will be implemented with a total central financial support of 11,814 crore.

   

  ·         FDI during Apr-Dec 2018-19 falls 7 percent to USD 33.49 billion

   

  • Foreign direct investment(FDI) into India contracted by 7 per cent to USD 33.49 billion during April-December in the current fiscal.
  • Foreign fund inflows during April-December 2017-18 stood at USD 35.94 billion.
  • Singapore was the largest source of FDIduring April-December 2018-19 with USD 12.97 billion inflow, followed by Mauritius (USD 6 billion), the Netherlands (USD 2.95 billion), Japan (USD 2.21 billion), US (USD 2.34 billion), and the UK (USD 1.05 billion).

   

   

  • Govt launches Rail Drishti Dashboard

   

  • Railway Minister Piyush Goyal launched Rail Drishti Dashboard in New Delhi.

   

  • The Dashboard has been launched to keep people informed about the work going on in the Railways across the country.

   

  • The customer or railway passenger will get an exposure through this dashboard to the multifaceted transformation underway in Indian Railways across the country.

   

  • This dashboard can be accessed using a desktop/laptop or a mobile device such as a phone or tablet and the url of the dashboard is “raildrishti.cris.org.in”.

   

   

   

  • President presented Gandhi Peace Prize

   

  The recipients of the award are as follows:

   

  • Vivekananda Kendra for the year 2015.

   

  • Akshaya Patra foundation and Sulabh International for 2016.

   

  • Ekal Abhiyan Trust for 2017.

   

  • Yohei Sasakawa for 2018