National News
Elevated Light Rail System
- The Light Rail Transit System (LRTS) in Jammu will have one corridor (from Bantalab to Bari Brahmana) with a total length of 23 kilometres.
- The LRTS in Srinagar will have two corridors (one from Indira Nagar to HMT Junction and the second from Usmanabad to Hazuri Bagh) with a total length of 25 kilometres.
First Heli Service in Uttarakhand Launched
- The Sahastradhara-Gauchar-Chinyalisaur route has been awarded by the MoCA to Heritage Aviation under the UDAN 2 bidding process.
- The helicopter services will be operated by the Heritage Aviation from Sahastradhara to Gauchar and Chinyalisaur twice daily.
PISA 2021
- PISA is a triennial international survey (every three years) which aims to evaluate the education system worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students.
- The PISA Programme was launched in 1997 by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management
- National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM), Faridabad was set up in 1993 as a registered society under the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.
- The NIFM was instituted with the mandate to train officers of various Finance and Accounts Services recruited by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and also officers of Indian Cost Accounts Service (ICoAS).
CCI approved Mahindra, Ford Motor Joint Venture
- The combination envisaged the formation of Ardour Automotive Private Limited, a joint venture between Mahindra and Mahindra Limited (M&M) and Ford Motor Company (FMC).
- The CCI approved the venture with the transfer of the automotive business (except powertrain business at Sanand) of Ford India Private Limited (FIPL) to the joint venture.
Financial Inclusion Outreach Campaign
- The Financial Inclusion Outreach Campaign is launched with a special focus on extending banking services to all un-banked areas of the Union Territory (UT).
- It focuses on the broader economic agenda of allowing a wider range of people, access to financial services, adding to overall economic growth.
National Workshop on e-office
- CPGRAMS is the web technology platform, primarily aims to enable submission of grievances by the aggrieved citizens from anywhere and anytime (24x7) basis to Ministries/Departments/Organisations.
- The CPGRAMS provides the facility to lodge a grievance online from any geographical location.
Banking
FM Statement on Bad Loans of PSBs
- Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman said public sector banks' (PSBs) bad loans came down to Rs 7.27 lakh crore at the end of September 2019.
- The statement was given in the written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on 10th February 2020.
RBI: Lending from CRR Buffer to get 5-year Relief
- The incremental loans disbursed under this facility will have CRR exemption for the next five years.
- This means that banks will not be needed to make additional cash reserve ratio against any incremental loans disbursed to the targeted segments.
Index and Ranking
Ease of Living Index and Municipal Performance Index 2019
- The two assessment frameworks launched help assess the progress made in cities through various initiatives and empower them to use evidence to plan, implement & monitor their performance.
- The indices are designed to assess the quality of life of citizens in 100 Smart Cities and 14 other Million Plus Cities.
