Daily GK Updates - 20th February, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Suresh Prabhu launches ‘SWAYATT’ on GeM : The Union Minister Suresh Prabhu has launched SWAYATT initiativeand Start-up Runway in New Delhi. SWAYATT is an initiative to promote Start-ups, Women and Youth Advantage using e-Transactions on Government e Marketplace (GeM). This will bring together the key stakeholders within the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem to Government e-Marketplace the national procurement portal. GeM Start-up Runway will address goals and objectives under United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.

2. Telangana gets two new districts : The Telangana state government has announced to create two more districts (Narayanpet and Mulugu) in the state.Now the number of districts in the State is 33. Narayanpet has been carved out of Mahbubnagar district and Mulugu from Jayashankar Bhupalpally. When Telangana was carved out of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh (on June 2, 2014), it had just 10 districts.

3. Himachal Assembly passes Bill to make Sanskrit the 2nd official language : Himachal Pradesh states assembly passed Official Language (Amendment) Bill 2019 to make Sanskrit as the second official language of the state (first - Hindi). The state assembly also passed the Himachal Pradesh University of Health Sciences (Amendment) Bill, 2019 to rename as ‘Atal Medical and Research University, Himachal Pradesh’.

4. President of India inaugurated International Conference ENCO-2019 in New Delhi :  President Ram Nath Kovind has inaugurated the International conference and Exhibition on Energy and Environment Challenges and Opportunities (ENCO-2019) in New Delhi (20th to 22nd Feb 2019). Around 1000 delegates from India and abroad are participating in the conference. The conference aims to deliberate and identify the R&D needs to innovate new techniques, technologies and applications for clean, safe, symbiotic sustenance of society, environment, energy and industries in the post-2020 era.

5. 7th National Photography awards announced : Union Minister Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore presented the 7th National Photography Awards in New Delhi. The theme for the Professional category was “Women-led Development”, while the theme for Amateur category was “Fairs and Festivals of India”.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.Asia's premier Air show 'Aero-India' begins in Bengaluru : Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has inaugurated the five-daylong biennial 'Aero-India-2019' (12th edition) at Yelahanka air force station in Bengaluru. 61 aircraft, including HAL's indigenous products LCA Tejas are all set to roar in the city skies. The tagline for Aero India 2019 is “The Runway to a Billion Opportunities”. Aero India 2019 will provide a significant platform in bolstering business opportunities in the International aviation sector.

2.  Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia arrived in New Delhi : Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad Bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud arrived in New Delhi on a two-day official visit to India. The Crown Prince is accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Ministers, senior officials and leading Saudi businessmen. India and Saudi Arabia have historically enjoyed close and friendly relation anchored in mutually beneficial partnership and extensive people to people contacts. The bilateral trade was 27.48 billion dollars during the last financial year 2017-18, making Saudi Arabia India’s 4th largest trading partner.

3. International annual desert festival held in Jaisalmer  : The three-day International Annual Desert Festival (40th) held in Jaisalmer with thousands of tourists participating in the colourful event. The festival exhibits the rich cultural heritage of the desert state, commenced with a colourful procession from Gadsisar lake fort. It had interesting events like Mr Desert and Ms Moomal competitions, mustache competitions, turban tying, musical and cultural performances, among others.

4. World Day of Social Justice being observed : The United Nations' (UN) World Day of Social Justice is annually observed on 20th February to encourage people to look at how social justice affects poverty eradication. It also focuses on the goal of achieving full employment and support for social integration. The theme for 2019 is " If You Want Peace & Development, Work for Social Justice”.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS :

1. Nikhat, Meena win gold medals at Strandja Memorial Boxing : Nikhat Zareen and Meena Kumari Devi have become the first Indian women boxers to win gold medals at the Strandja Memorial Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria.Zareen claimed a 5-0 win in the 51kg category finals against Filipino Irish Magno. Devi defeated another Filipino Aira Villegas 3-2 in the bantamweight (54kg) summit clash.Manju Rani (48kg) settled for a silver after a defeat from Filipine's Josie Gabuco in a split 2-3 verdict.  

OBITUARIES:

1. Noted Hindi writer Namvar Singh passes away : Noted Hindi Writer Prof. Namvar Singh (92-years) passed away at All India Institute of Medical Science in New Delhi.Mr. Singh was the first Chairman of JNU’s Centre of Indian Languages. He has authored over dozen books including 'Kavita Ke Naye Pratiman', 'Chhayavad' and 'Dusri Parampara Ki Khoj' among others. He received Sahitya Academy Award for literary criticism in 1971 for 'Kavita Ke Naye Pratiman'.