2 February 2015 Daily Current Affairs

1) Second Phase of JNNURM to be named after Vajpayee:

--> Narendra Modi government is all set to name its scheme to rejuvenate 500 cities and towns after the first BJP Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. 

--> This new avatar of JNNURM, named after first PM Jawaharlal Nehru will now be known as Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).

--> It will be a 10-year programme with total investment of about Rs 2 lakh crore.

--> The extended tenure of JNNURM-I ended last year and soon after coming to power the urban development minister M Vnekaiah Naidu had announced to launch the new scheme. 

2) IRCTC brings CoD for Online Railway Ticket Bookings:

--> You can now book a rail ticket online and get it delivered at home where the payment can be made.

--> Initiating this "cash on delivery" (CoD) system rail ticketing, IRCTC is targeting those customers who are reluctant to use their credit or debit cards as well as those who don't have net-banking facility.

--> One has to just book the ticket online and payments will be made at the time of delivery of tickets.

--> This scheme has been launched on pilot basis and the service will be available in more than 200 cities initially. Customers can book a ticket 5 days prior to commencement of journey.

--> Anduril Technologies will use its website and its app called BookMyTrain.com for providing this scheme.

3) Dr.Nandita Chatterjee took over as new Secretary(Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation):

--> Dr.Nandita Chatterjee on 2 February 2015 took over as the new Secretary in the Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA).

--> Her last assignment was as Member-Secretary, National Commission for Women.

4) MNREGA Day celebrated:

--> MNREGA Day was celebrated across the country on 2 February 2015.

--> Madhya Pradesh has been awarded the 10th national award for excellent work in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA).

5) World Wetlands Day observed:

--> World wetland day (WWD) was observed every year on 2 February.

--> The theme for the world wetland day 2015 is Wetlands for our future.

--> The day marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands also called as Ramsar Convention on 2 February 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar.

6) Nicol David sets world number one record:

--> World squash champion Nicol David (Malaysia) has set a new record for topping the world rankings when she secured top spot for the 106th month.

--> The 31-year-old Malaysian, who first headed the Women’s Squash Association (WSA) list in January 2006, overtook the 105-month record set in February 1993 by Susan Devoy, the four-time world champion from New Zealand.

7) Reliance Industries Limited teamed up with SBI for payments bank licence:

--> Reliance Industries has teamed up with state-run behemoth SBI to apply for a payments bank licence.

--> RIL and SBI put in a joint application to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to set up a payment bank that can offer services such as remittances and deposits but not loans.

--> SBI, which being a commercial bank could not apply for a payment bank license, will hold 30 per cent in the joint venture. RIL will be the promoter and hold the balance 70 per cent.

8) Deadline for applying for the payments banks ended:

--> RBI's deadline ended on 2 February 2015 for those seeking licences to set up so-called small banks and payments banks.

--> India's biggest companies including Reliance Industries, Aditya Birla Group, Future Group and Bharti Airtel along with lesser-known aspirants such as Fino Paytech and Oxigen in partnership with RBL Bank — all seeking to set up payments banks.

9) Angelina Jolie named most admired woman in the world:

--> Actress-director Angelina Jolie has been named the most admired woman in the world, leaving behind Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, Hillary Clinton, Queen Elizabeth II and even India's Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

--> This was as per a poll over 23 countries conducted by YouGov!