• National

PM Narendra Modi flags-off Vande Bharat Express

• PM Narendra Modi flags off India’s first semi-high-speed train ‘Vande Bharat Express’ (codenamed Train 18) without any flower decorations.
• A two-minute silence observed before the launch in memory of at least 37 CRPF soldiers who lost their lives in one of the deadliest attacks in J&K.
• The Vande Bharat Express will run between Delhi and Varanasi at a maximum speed of 130 km/hr and is expected to cover a distance of 750 kilometres in eight hours.
• The fares of Vande Bharat Express have been kept higher than the Shatabdi Express.

• International

Japan to recognise indigenous Ainu people

• Japan’s government introduced a bill on 15 February 2019 to recognise the country’s ethnic Ainu minority as an ‘indigenous’ people for the first time.
• The Japanese government in the late 19th century banned them from practising their customs and using their language.
• The government will also allow the Ainu to cut down trees in nationally-owned forests for use in traditional rituals.

• Economy and Business

Amazon Launched ‘Amazon Pay UPI’ For Android Users in India

• Amazon launched “Amazon Pay Unified Payments Interface (UPI)” for Android users in partnership with Axis Bank to issue UPI IDs to its customers in India.
• With this, users would be able to use their Amazon Pay UPI ID to shop on Amazon.in, make payments for their daily purchases, including recharge and bill payments, without entering bank account or debit card credentials or going through a multi-layer process to pay from their bank account.

• Economy and Business

‘World Employment and Social Outlook Trends 2019’ Report Released By ILO

• The International Labour Organization released World Employment and Social Outlook Trends 2019 report.
• As per the report, unemployment rates will fall to 4.9% in 2019 and remains steady in 2020.
• Among the age group 15-24 the global unemployment stood at 11.8% which is much higher than it is among other age groups.
• In the global labor market, 2 billion out of 3.3 billion people worked keeping their economic security at risk in informal employment.

• Awards

President of India to present Tagore Award

• The President of India will present the Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony on 18 February 2019.
• The award will be presented to Rajkumar Singhajit Singh; Chhayanaut (a cultural organisation of Bangladesh); and Shri Ram Sutar Vanji for the years 2014, 2015 and 2016.
• The award was instituted by the Government of India in 2012.
• It is awarded annually and carries an amount of Rs. 1 Crore.

• Appointments

UN appointed Chandramouli as Controller & ASG

• The United Nations appointed Chandramouli Ramanathan as Controller and Assistant Secretary-General for Programme Planning, Budget, and Finance in the management strategy, policy and compliance department on 15 February 2019.
• He succeeded Bettina Tucci Bartsiotas.
• He also served as Assistant Auditor General (1993-1995) and Director of Accounts for the Auditor General of India (1989-1993).

• Science and Tech

NASA To Launch SPHEREx Mission to Investigate Universe

• NASA has announced a new space telescope mission dedicated to understanding the origins of life and the universe.
• It’s called the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer or SPHEREx, for short. The space agency is aiming for a 2023 launch.
• Once SPHEREx is in orbit, it will observe and collect data on over 300 million galaxies, some as far as 10 billion light-years away from Earth, and 100 million stars in our own Milky Way every six months.
• The space telescope’s main goals, though, are to search for water and organic molecules within the Milky Way.
• It will also look for those ingredients of life in regions where stars are born.

• Obituaries

England’s Legendary Goalkeeper Gardon Banks passed away

• Famous goalkeeper Gordon Banks (81-years) passed away in England.
• He was widely considered as one of the greatest Goalkeeper of his generation.
• Gordon Banks was named as FIFA (The Federation Internationale de Football) Goalkeeper of the year six times and earned 73 caps for England between 1963 to 1972.
• Banks was suffering from kidney cancer for the second time since 2016.

• Miscellaneous

IWAI launched a new portal- ‘LADIS’

• The Inland Waterways Authority of India launched a new portal named ‘Least Available Depth Information System’ (LADIS) on 15 February 2019.
• LADIS will ensure that real-time data on least available depths is disseminated for ship/barge and cargo owners.
• This will help in better planning for the movement of ships.
• It will be available for NW-1, NW-2, Indo-Bangladesh Protocol route, and NW-3.

• Miscellaneous

New book ‘What Marx Left Unsaid’ released by Manish Tewari

• Indian Politician Manish Tewari has released ‘What Marx Left Unsaid’ ‘Production of Skills by Means of Skills’ at Indian International Centre, New Delhi.
• The book has been authored jointly authors by 3 generations of the same family Dr. Malay Chaudhari, Dr. Arindam Chaudhari and Che Kabir Chaudhari.
• The book speaks about why human beings must earn as per their skills, which will in turn determine their ability to contribute to society.
• The book is published by Times Group.