Daily Current Affairs: February 20, 2020

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Important Days

World Day of Social Justice 20 February

• General Assembly declared that, starting from the 63rd session of the General Assembly, 20 February will be celebrated annually as the World Day of Social Justice.
• 2020 Theme: “Closing the Inequalities Gap to Achieve Social Justice”.

Nepal celebrates 70th National Democracy Day

• Nepal is celebrating its 70th National Democracy Day. A special ceremony was held at the Nepal Army Pavilion Tudikhel in Kathmandu to mark the occasion. 
• President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram celebrates 34th Statehood Day 

• Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram are celebrating its 34th Statehood Day. Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram attained statehood on February 20, 1987. 
• Home Minister Amit Shah will attend the celebrations at Itanagar.

National News

Cabinet approves formation of 22nd Law Commission, PMFBY reforms, and Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill

• Cabinet has approved of the formation of the 22nd Law Commission. Now farmers can enrol in the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) on a voluntary basis. 
• Cabinet also approved the Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill 2020.
• Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani.

Delhi’s IGI Airport has become the first single-use plastic-free airport of India  

• “Indira Gandhi International Airport” of Delhi has been declared by the Delhi International Airport Ltd as India’s first single-use plastic-free airport. 
• The airport is also certified as single-use plastic-free airport by the CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development.

Union Cabinet approves constitution of 12-member ‘Technology Group’

• The Union Cabinet has approved the formation of an empowered “Technology Group”. 
• Cabinet-approved group will consist of 12 members with the Principal Scientific Adviser to Government of India serving as its Chair.
• Professor K. VijayRaghavan is the Principal Scientific Adviser.

NITI Aayog organizes North East Sustainable Development Goal Conclave 2020 in Assam

• NITI Aayog is to organize North East Sustainable Development Goal Conclave 2020 in Assam between February 24, 2020 and February 26, 2020. 
• The Conclave is to be held in the state capital Guwahati.

Lithium reserve found in Mandya near Bengaluru

• Researchers of India’s Atomic Energy Commission have found lithium reserves of 14,100 tonnes in Mandya, Bengaluru, Karnataka. 
• Lithium is a rare metal used for manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles.

Govt approves Rs 4,558cr scheme for the dairy sector

• Government approved a Rs 4,558-crore scheme to promote the dairy sector which will benefit about 95 Lakhs farmers. 
• Cabinet has also decided to raise the benefit under the interest subvention scheme from 2 per cent to 2.5 per cent.
• Information and Broadcasting Minister: Prakash Javadekar.

India’s foodgrain production hits record high 291.95 million tonnes for 2019-20 crop year

• India is set to harvest a record wheat production of 106.21 million tonne in 2019-20 crop year on the back of good rains. Wheat production has been rising year-on-year (YoY) and the previous record of 103.60 million tonne.
• Wheat is the main rabi (winter) crop.

Govt to formulate a national action plan on business and human rights

• Corporate Affairs Ministry is undertaking “rigorous consultations” with stakeholders for formulating a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights.
• Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman.

International News

India ranks 131 on “child flourishing index”

• India stands at 131 in terms of flourishing and at 77 on sustainability index in a report released by a Commission of World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and The Lancet.
• The top three countries are Norway, South Korea, and The Netherlands.
• Central African Republic, Chad, Somalia, and Niger are at the bottom.

India to switch to the world’s cleanest petrol, diesel from April 1

• India will join the league of nations using petrol and diesel containing just 10 parts per million of sulphur. 
• India will switch to the world’s cleanest petrol & diesel from April 1 as it leapfrogs straight to Euro-VI emission compliant fuels from Euro-IV.
• Bharat Stage (BS)-IV had a sulphur content of 50 ppm.

India ranked 35th in Worldwide Education for The Future Index (WEFFI) 2019, Finland tops

• Worldwide Education for The Future Index (WEFFI) 2019 ranked India in 35th position, whereas in 2018 it was ranked 40th position. 
• WEFFI report is created by Economist Intelligence unit and commissioned by Yidan Prize foundation. 
• The index is topped by Finland, followed by Sweden in second place and New Zealand in third place.

Banking and Technology

HDFC Bank, Mastercard, SAP Concur join hands to manage spending in corporate sector

• HDFC Bank, Mastercard and SAP Concur have joined hands for spending management services for the corporate sector. The 
• Corporate credit card will enable seamless integration of all business-related spend into SAP Concur offerings.
• SAP Concur, a travel, expense, invoice management solution provider.

IDBI Bank, UCO Bank, Central Bank seek RBI nod to exit PCA framework

• IDBI Bank, UCO Bank, and Central Bank of India have approached the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), seeking permission to exit the prompt corrective action (PCA) framework. 
• The LIC-owned IDBI Bank has met all but one of the criteria for coming out of PCA.
• IDBI Bank MD & CEO Rakesh Sharma.

Gujarat govt signs MoU with SBI to facilitate MSME loans

• State Government of Gujarat has signed an MoU (memorandum of understanding) with State Bank of India (SBI), through which the bank will provide working capital to entrepreneurs aims to start new MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) within 15 days of making an application.

Kotak Mahindra Bank promoters get RBI nod to cap voting rights, pare stake

• Private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank informed stock exchanges that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given its final approval to the bank’s proposal on stake reduction in the bank and capping the promoters’ voting rights.

Appointments

Sanjay Kothari named new Central Vigilance Commissioner of India

• Sanjay Kothari, the Secretary to the President, has been selected as the new Central Vigilance Commissioner by a high-powered committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 
• Bimal Julka has been chosen as the new Chief Information Commissioner. The selection panel also included Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Supratim Bandyopadhyay appointed as PFRDA Chairman

• Supratim Bandyopadhay was appointed as chairman of the PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority). 
• Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved Supratim appointment for a period of 5 years from the date of assumption or till attaining the age of 65 years. 
• He was the successor of Shri Pankaj Jain.

Mahant Nritya Gopal Das elected as President of Ram Mandir Trust

• First meeting of the Ram Mandir Trust to oversee the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya was held in New Delhi.
•  The trust has decided that a Committee will be formed to decide on the construction of the temple. Nripendra Misra, former principal secretary of Prime Minister Modi.

L&T Infotech board evaluates CEO and MD Sanjay Jalona’s extension

• L&T Infotech’s CEO & MD Sanjay Jalona is likely to get another term to lead the IT services firm after his tenure is comes to an end in August.

Awards and Recognitions

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw wins EY Entrepreneur of the Year award for 2019

• Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairperson and managing director, Biocon, was named the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 at the 21st edition of the awards. She will now represent India at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award (WEOY) in Monte Carlo

Obituary News

Famous journalist M.S. Mani passed away at 79

• Former Chief-editor of Kerala Kaumudi (Malayalam daily) and kala kaumudi (magazine) chief editor M.S. Mani passed away at the age of 79 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

Veteran Kannada actor Kishori Ballal passed away at 82

• Veteran Kannada actor Kishori Ballal passed away at the age of 82 in Bengaluru, due to her age-related illness. She hailed from Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka.

Sports News

Indian wrestlers win three bronze medals in Greco-Roman events

• Aditya Kundu and Hardeep have won a bronze medal each in their respective weight categories as Indian wrestlers bagged five medals in Greco-Roman events of the Asian Wrestling Championships in New Delhi.
• Ashu won a bronze in 67kg category, Aditya and Hardeep also bagged the medals of same colour in the 72kg and 97kg.

India to host AFC Women’s Asian Cup in 2022

• India will host the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup. The Women’s Committee of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced this in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• AFC Women’s Committee Chairperson Mahfuza Akhter Kiron

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Daily Current Affairs Quiz – February 20 , 2020

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