• The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP)has been renamed as the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade with a mandate to deal with matters related to start-ups, facilitating ease of doing business among others.

• The Punjab government approved a rural development scheme, named ‘Smart Village Campaign’, worth Rs.384.40 crore to supplement the ongoing works to build village infrastructure and provide essential amenities. Note: Punjab CM: Amarinder Singh, Governor: VP Singh Badnore.

• The United Nations announced 2019 as ‘the International Year of the Periodic Table’ of the Chemical Elements to highlight its first publication in 1869. The periodic table was first designed by the Russian scientist Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev. 

• Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra and Oriental Bank of Commerce have been allowed to exit the PCA framework fully. The three lenders were part of 11 government-owned banks put under the framework in 2017 and 2018.

• India captain Mithali Raj has become the first woman cricketer to play 200 ODIs. The 36-year-old is also the highest run-getter in ODIs with 6622 runs at an average of 51.33, including 7 hundreds.

• Qatar defeated four-time champions Japan in the final to win their first ever Asian Cup. Qatar forward Almoez Ali broke the record of most goals in a single Asian Cup after netting his ninth goal.

• Golfer Vani Kapoor has become the first Indian to grab Australian Ladies PGA Tour (LPGA) after securing 12th Rank tied with three others in the first-ever qualifying tournament at the Ballarat Golf Club in Australia.

• The INS Dronacharya team won the Regatta trophy in the Kochi Area Pulling Regatta 2019 of the Southern Naval Command (SNC) held in the Ernakulam The Boat Pulling Regatta is one of the most prestigious and traditional naval sporting activities conducted by the Navy. Note: Admiral Sunil Lanba is the present Chief of Naval Staff. Navy Day in India is celebrated on 4th December.

• World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year on the 2nd of February to raise global awareness on the value of wetlands for humanity and the planet. The theme of World Wetlands Day 2019 is ‘Wetlands and Climate Change’.

• Minister of Railways, Piyush Goyal launched “The Future of Rail” report of the International Energy Agency (IEA). The Future of Rail is the first-of-a-kind report that analyses the current and future importance of rail around the world through the perspective of its energy and environmental implications. Note: John Mathai was the first Railways Minister of Independent India. 

• India’s new e-commerce policy came into effect From February 1, 2019. A new set of policy rules had been formed for the e-commerce companies.

• Rishi Kumar Shukla was appointed as the new chief of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).He will be serving for a fixed term of two years. Shukla’s appointment to the post was approved by a high-level committee chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

• World Cancer Day was observed globally on 4th February. This year, Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), which organizes World Cancer Day, launched a new 3-year (2019-2021) campaign with the theme: “I Am and I Will.”

• Haryana Hammers won the fourth edition of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL)as they outclassed Punjab Royals 6-3 in the summit clash at the Gautam Buddha University indoor stadium, Greater Noida.

• Indian women’s cricket team opener Smriti Mandhana has become the top-ranked batter in women’s ODI cricket, as per the latest rankings released by the ICC.

• The Kala Ghoda festival,India’s largest multi-cultural street festival began in Mumbai to celebrate its 20 years of art and culture through cinema, theatre, dance, literature, and sculpture. Maneck Davar is Chairman of Kala Ghoda Association. The theme for this year is ‘A Measure of Time’.

• Kerala has become the first State to set up a Price Monitoring and Research Unit (PMRU) to track violation of prices of essential drugs and medical devices under the Drugs Price Control Order (DPCO). Note: Kerala CM: Pinarayi Vijayan, Governor: Palaniswamy Sathasivam.

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)unveiled its Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) at ISRO Headquarter campus in Bengaluru, Karnataka for its maiden manned space mission ‘Gaganyaan’.  ISRO is gearing up for its maiden manned mission Gaganyaan, which is planned for 2021-end. Note: ISRO Director: Sivan, Headquarters: Bengaluru, Established in: 1969.

• Two regional rural banks (RRBs)-Pallavan Grama Bank and Pandyan Grama Bank- will be merged to form the Tamil Nadu Grama Bank as per the Finance Ministry notification. The integration will be effective from April 1. The new Tamil Nadu Grama Bank will be under the sponsorship of Indian Bank with head office in Salem.

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB)has bought a 14% stake in micro-financier Annapurna Finance for Rs 137 crore. Note: Asian Development Bank Headquarters: Manila, Philippines, President: Takehiko Nakao.

• Assam occupied the top slotin the ranking of best practices followed by states in the Budget formulation, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, as per a survey by Transparency International.

• P V Bharathi assumed charge as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Corporation Bank. P V Bharati became the first woman CEO of the bank. Note: Corporation Bank Headquarters – Mangalore, Tagline – A Premier Public Sector Bank, Prosperity for all.

• Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) App has been launched on Google play store. Ayushman Bharat Yojana or Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) is a centrally sponsored scheme; which was launched in the year 2018, under the Ayushman Bharat Mission in the country.

• The Reserve Bank of India has slapped an Rs.1-crore penalty on Syndicate Bank and Rs.20 lakh on Axis Bank for violating norms. The penalty on Syndicate Bank is due to non-compliance with the directions regarding frauds and risk management systems. Axis Bank was fined for contravention of the directions on detection and impounding of counterfeit notes and installation of note sorting machines.

• Indian squash player Ramit Tandon defeated Egyptian Mohamed El Sherbini in the finals to win the Seattle Open, a PSA challenger squash Tour event.

• India and Germany have joined hands for cooperation on Water and Waste Management.

• ‘Darwaza Band-Part 2’campaign, launched by Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen, focuses on sustaining the open defecation free status of villages across the country. Earlier Darwaza Band campaign was launched in 2017.

• Macedonia signed an accord to join NATO to become the 30th member of the US-led alliance.

• Indian Banking Association has issued advisory requesting banks to waive off the processing, documentation, inspection and all other service charges for Kisan Credit Card and crop loans up to 3 lakh rupees.

• RBI has released 6th Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)decided to reduce the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points from 6.5% to 6.25% with immediate effect. Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 6.0%, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.5%.

• The State Bank of India’s UK chief Sanjiv Chadha has been honored with the ‘Freedom of the City Of London’ by the city of London Corporation in recognition of his contribution to promoting the bilateral relations. Note: SBI Headquarter: Mumbai, Chairman: Shri Rajnish Kumar.

• Indian opener Smriti Mandhana hammered the fastest fifty for India in Women’s T20Is. The left-handed batswoman struck a half-century in just 24 balls. New Zealand’s Sophie Devine holds the record of the quickest half-century in women’s T20Is. She set the record in 2005 against India when she hammered an 18-ball fifty.

• India has jumped eight places to 36th position on the International Intellectual Property (IP) Index. The US, the UK, Sweden, France and Germany remained the top five economies on the intellectual property index in 2019.

• World champion Indian weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu notched up a gold medal at the EGAT Cup in Thailand. Chanu won the 48 kg category gold.

• India and Bangladesh have signed an MOU for training 1800 Bangladesh Civil Servants at the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), over the next 6 years.

• The State Government of Jammu and Kashmir issued a notification of creation of Ladakh as 3rd Division in the state.

• Union Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani launched the India Size project in Mumbai. A first-of-its-kind project in the history of the country, India Size aims to arrive at a standard Indian Size for the ready-to-wear clothing industry, on the lines of the standardized sizes available in countries such as the USA and the UK.

• RBI in the exercise of powers conferred under Section 47 A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 has levied a penalty of Rupees one crore on the State Bank of India (SBI) for not monitoring the end use of funds in respect of one of its borrowers.

• The Reserve Bank of India raised the limit of collateral-free agricultural loans to Rs.1.6 lakh from the current Rs.1 lakh.

• A Himalayan Cloud Observatory is set up in Tehri district of Uttarakhand with a motive to forecast and monitor cloudburst incidents in the Himalayan region.

• Union Environment Minister,  Harsh Vardhan,announced the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) as the mascot for the 13th Conference of Parties (COP) of the UN Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) to be held in Gujarat in 2020. He also revealed that the bird has been fondly named by the ministry as ‘Gibi’.

• Abu Dhabi has decided to include Hindi as the third official language used in its courts, alongside Arabic and English. Note: Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

• Aegis Graham Bell Award 2018 announced Yes Bank as the winner in ‘Innovation in Data Science’ category for their industry-first project ‘Yes EEE (Engage Enrich Excel)’ at Panaji, Goa. 

• Netflix drama ‘Roma’ won the top prize at the 72nd edition of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts or BAFTA awards.

• Acclaimed Indo-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta will be given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. Mehta is best known for her Elements Trilogy – ‘Fire’, ‘Earth’ and ‘Water’.

• Reserve Bank of India decided to treat deposits to over 2 crore as ‘bulk’ as they doubled the limit for the same from the earlier Rs.1 crore.

• In Tennis, France’s Corentin Moutet has clinched the Chennai Open ATP Challenger tournament title after beating Andrew Harris of Australia in the singles final.