The General Knowledge section forms an important component of many competitive exams, including IBPS, SBI, SSC, UPSC entrance examinations. We, therefore, present this Daily Update in order to take care of your current affairs preparation needs. All the Best! 

1. Prime Minister launched ‘Soil
Health Card’ scheme

i. To analyse the soil of farms scientifically,
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched
‘Soil Health Card’ scheme in the country from Sriganganagar district of
Rajasthan.

ii. The scheme aims at helping
farmers in improving productivity by appropriate use of nutrients or
fertilizers.
iii. Government will cover every farmer of the country under this scheme in the
next three years.

iv. The card
will carry crop-wise recommendation of fertilizers required for farm lands and
other inputs to increase the productivity of individual farmer.

v. The
Prime Minister said that he has directed Niti Aayog and the states to set up
high-powered expert committees on the agriculture sector.

2. IOB join
hands with Apollo Munich, to offer health, accident insurance

i. Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has
joined hands with Apollo Munich Health Insurance, to provide specialised health
and personal accident products to Indian Overseas Bank customers.

ii. According to the deal, IOB will sell Apollo
Munich’s products in over 3,350 branches across the country.

iii. IOB customers would be able to enjoy
policies without any sub limits or co pay clauses, inbuilt accidental covers,
etc

iv. Apollo Munich will offer customised products
with a sum insured ranging from Rs. 3 lakh to Rs. 10
lakhs.

v. The health policy offers double sum insured
with the same premium for claims related to listed critical illnesses up to Rs. 5
lakh and an annual health check-up benefit worth Rs. 3,500
for sum insured of Rs. 7.5
lakh to Rs. 10
lakh.

3. FM launches single window e-biz portal

i. To bring
transparency and ease of doing business in the country, the government has
launched a single window government-to-business (G2B) portal for 11 central
government services.

ii. The portal is launched by Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley today.

iii. The project will help in fostering the
business environment in the country in a holistic manner, Finance minister
said.

Note: The services, available on the portal, www.ebiz.gov.in, include those from
Corporate Affairs Ministry (MCA), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Department of
Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT),
Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and Employees’ Provident Fund
Organisation (EPFO).

4. RBI lifts ban on import of gold coins,
medallions by banks

i. RBI has
lifted the ban on imports of gold coins and medallions by banks and trading
houses.

ii. According to the notification issued by
RBI, now banks are free to grant gold metal loans and can import gold on consignment
basis.

Note: Gold imports surged by 8.13 per cent
year-on-year to 1.55 billion US Dollars in January on easing of restrictions by
the RBI. India is the largest importer of gold, which is mainly utilized to
meet the demand of jewelry industry.

5. Anil Kumble to be inducted in ICC Cricket
Hall of Fame

i. Chairman of the ICC Cricket
Committee and former India Captain  Anil
Kumble has been chosen to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame with
all times greatest cricketers.

ii. He will be felicitated and inducted into the
ICC Cricket Hall of Fame during the ICC Cricket World Cup match between India
and South Africa in Melbourne on February 22.
iii. Anil Kumble will be the  fourth Indian cricketer to be inducted into
the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. Earlier famous cricketers like Bishen Singh Bedi,
Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar who were inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of
Fame in 2009.

6. Eminent film maker Nirad Mahapatra passes
away

i. Eminent
filmmaker from Odisha Nirad Mahapatra passed away at a Mumbai hospital this
morning. He was 67.

ii. His first film Maya Miriga” in 1984 which
won a Rajat Kamal at the National Film Awards.

7. India successfully
test-fires nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile

i. India today
successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile
from a test range at Chandipur in Odisha.

ii. Prithvi –
II missile is a surface-to-surface missile with a strike range of 350 km.

iii. The missile
is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of warheads and is thrusted by liquid
propulsion twine engines.

8. Rashad Hussain appointed as US Special Envoy and
Coordinator

i. Rashad
Hussain, an Indian-American has been appointed as Special Envoy and Coordinator
for strategic Counter terrorism Communication in the US .

ii. Currently he is a Special Envoy of the US to
Organisation of Islamic Countries(OIC) and will hold both posts.

9. Rohit Sharma
awarded with best ODI batsman performance award

i. Rohit Sharma bags best ODI batsman performance
award by ESPN Cricinfo awards.

ii. His record breaking 264 against Sri Lanka
has been named as the best ODI batting performance in 2014 by ESPN Cricinfo
awards.

iii. Rohit Sharma is the first cricketer who has
scored two double centuries in ODI. He is also the third Indian batsman after
Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag to slash a double ton.

To get fresh updates about Banking Exams on your Facebook & Twitter timelines, subscribe to our pages created specifically for them. We will be posting only those exam specific links on these pages:

Bank PO:

FB: https://www.facebook.com/pagalguybankpo

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PaGaLGuYBankPO

SSC & Other Exams:

FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pagalguy-SSC-CGL-Others/879667042056262

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pagalguyssc