Daily GK Updates - 18th February, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India, World Bank sign $ 450 mn loan agreement to improve groundwater management: The World Bank has signed a USD 450 million loan agreement with India on February 17, 2020 to support the Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY) – National Groundwater Management Improvement Programme. The loan will support the national programme to arrest the country’s depleting groundwater levels and strengthen groundwater institutions. The Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY) will be implemented in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh and cover 78 districts.

Note: President of World Bank: David Robert Malpass.

2. Ambala City Bus Stand Renamed after Late Sushma Swaraj: The Haryana Transport Ministry has renamed the newly reconstructed Ambala City bus stand after the late Sushma Swaraj, a former Union Minister. The bus stand will now be called ‘Sushma Swaraj Bus Stand’. It is a mark of tribute to Swaraj, launched on 14 February, the birth anniversary of the leader, who was born in Ambala Cantt. The Ambala City bus stand has been reconstructed at a cost of Rs 18 crore after it was demolished in 2007.

Note: Governor of Haryana: Satyadeo Narayan Arya; Chief Ministera: Manohar Lal Khattar.

3. Centre renames IDSA as ‘Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses’: Central Government has renamed the ‘Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses’ (IDSA) located in New Delhi as ‘Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses’. The decision has been taken to honour late Manohar Parrikar, former defence minister and Padma Bhushan awardee. Manohar Parrikar served as the Defence Minister of India from November 9, 2014 -March 14, 2017.

Note: IDSA was established as a registered society in New Delhi in 1965 as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Defence.

4. Difficult Dialogues 2020 began in Goa: The 5th edition of Difficult Dialogues began in Panji, Goa. Difficult Dialogues (DD) is an annual forum examining issues of contemporary relevance in South Asia. Difficult Dialogues 2020 will focus on the “State of Law”. The conference will bring together lawyers, some eminent Chief Justices, civil society, media, academic experts, activists, and people working at the community level [in law, education, health, labour,] with government and non-governmental organisations.

Note: CM of Goa: Pramod Sawant; Governor: Satya Pal Malik

5. ISRO Plans to Launch 10 Earth Observation (EO) Satellites in 2020-21: As per the annual data released by the Department of Space, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has planned to launch an unprecedented 10 earth observation (EO) satellites with space surveillance feature during 2020-21. Apart from this, three communication satellites and two navigation satellites are also scheduled to be launched in the next fiscal. The annual plan includes total 36 missions, comprising of both satellites and their launchers.

The EO scheduled for 2020-21 includes new categories such as the first Geo Imaging Satellite, GISAT-1, new series of high resolution HRSATs as a threesome on a single PSLV launcher, radar imaging satellites RISAT-2BR2, RISAT- 1A and 2A; Oceansat-3 and Resourcesat-3/3S. For the fiscal 2019-20, ISRO had proposed launching six EO satellites, while for 2021-22, the plan is to add eight EO satellites.

Note: ISRO Director: K. Sivan, Headquarters: Bengaluru; Established: 1969.

6. Finance Commission constitutes High Level Expert Group on Agri Exports: The 15th Finance Commission has decided to constitute a High-Level Expert Group on Agriculture Exports. The group will be headed by ITC chairman and managing director Sanjiv Puri. The committee will recommend measurable performance incentives for states to encourage agri exports. The members of the committee include Radha Singh, Paban K. Borthakur, Suresh Narayanan, Jay Shroff, Sanjay Sacheti and Sachin Chaturvedi.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety to be held in Stockholm: The third edition of the Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety will be held in Stockholm, Sweden on February 19-20, 2020. The theme of the two-day conference is ‘Achieving Global Goals 2030’. The event is being co-sponsored by the Government of Sweden with support from World Health Organization. Minister-led delegations from more than 80 countries are expected to attend the conference. Indian delegation will be led by Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Mr. Nitin Gadkari. Objective: Share successes and lessons from implementation of the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011–2020. Chart future strategic directions for global road safety up to 2030 and beyond

Note: Capital of Sweden: Stockholm; Currency of Sweden: Swedish krona.

World Defence Spending Rose by 4% in 2019, Highest in 10 Years: IISS Report: The global Defense spending rose by 4% in 2019 compared to the previous year, as per a new report titled “Military Balance” published by the London-based think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). As per the international think tank, this global rise is the highest annual increase in 10 years. US and China both increased their spending by 6.6 percent to $684.6 billion and $181.1 billion respectively. In Europe, defence spending stepped up by 4.2 percent.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. NADA bans Haryana’s javelin thrower Amit Dahiya for 4 years: The National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) has imposed a ban of 4 years on Haryana’s javelin thrower Amit Dahiya. He has been banned for avoiding sample collection and for his attempt of trying to cheat officials during the 2nd National Javelin Throw Open Championship 2019 held at SAI Centre in Sonipat. The Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP) of the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) took the landmark decision of banning the player for 4 years.

2. Asian Wrestling Championship begins in New Delhi: Asian Wrestling Championship 2020 starts in New Delhi. It will be held at the KD Jadhav Hall of Indira Gandhi Stadium till 23rd Feb. The event will have a total of 30 weight classes, 10 each in Freestyle Men, Women, and Greco Roman. The Championship will begin with Greco-Roman events, followed by women wrestling and men's freestyle. On day 1 of the tournament, 55, 63, 77, 87 and 130 kg wrestlers will take to the mat to prove their mettle.

3. “United by Emotion” Chosen as Motto of Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games: The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic Games revealed the official motto, "United by Emotion" for the 2020 Olympics. The Motto emphasises the power of sport to bring together people from diverse backgrounds to connect and celebrate in a way that reaches beyond their differences. The Games motto will be displayed - in English only.  About 10,000 athletes from over 200 countries will participate in Tokyo Olympics which will run from July 24 to August 9.

Note: International Olympic Committee Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland; International Olympic Committee President: Thomas Bach.

4. Koneru Humpy wins 2020 Cairns Cup Chess Tournament: World rapid champion Koneru Humpy claimed the first place in the 2nd edition of Cairns Cup Chess Tournament to takes home $45,000. The tournament was held at the Saint Louis Chess Club in USA from 7-16 February 2020. Koneru won the championship following a draw against fellow grandmaster Dronavalli Harika in the ninth and final round, to finish the tournament with 6 points. Reigning world champion Ju Wenjun finished at the second spot with 5.5 points while Russia’s Alexandra Kosteniuk came third with 5 points followed by Ukranian Mariya Muzychek with 5 points and India’s Harika Dronavalli secured 5th with 4.5 points.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Election Commission gets Silver award for Excellence in Government Process: The Election Commission of India has been awarded ‘Silver’ for Excellence in Government Process re-engineering for digital transformation for the year 2019-20. The award seeks to recognize the projects that involved analysis and re-design of the workflow.  The award was presented during the 23rd National Conference on e-Governance by Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances.

2. 20th Laureus Awards 2020 announced in Berlin: The Laureus World Sports Awards is an annual award ceremony honouring individuals and teams from the world of sports along with sporting achievements throughout the year. It was established in 1999 by Laureus Sport for Good Foundation founding patrons Daimler and Richemont. This is the 20th anniversary of the prestigious Laureus Award which celebrates the best in the world of sport. The event was held in Berlin, Germany.

Below is the complete list of winners of Laureus World Sports Awards:

Sr. No.	Award	Name Winner
1	Laureus World Sportsman of the Year:	Lewis Hamilton and Lionel Messi
2	Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year	Simone Biles
3	Laureus World Team of the Year	South Africa Men’s Rugby Team
4	Laureus Best Sporting Moment	Carried on the shoulders of a nation’ – Sachin Tendulkar
5	Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year	Egan Bernal
6	Laureus World Comeback of the Year	Sophia Flörsch
7	Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability	Oksana Masters
8	Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year:	Chloe Kim
9	Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award:	Dirk Nowitzki
10	Laureus Academy Exceptional Achievement Award	Spanish Basketball Federation
11	Laureus Sport for Good Award	South Bronx United

DEFENCE

1. India to have 1st “Integrated Tri-services Command” by year 2020: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat has targeted to establish the 1st integrated tri-service command called “Air Defence Command (ADC)” by June 2020, headed by a 3 star officer of the Indian Air Force (IAF) to be responsible for handing the air defence of the entire country.

(1) The ADC formation, by combining the resources of the three services under one command under the mandate given to the Department of Military Affairs, will help to protect the air space of the country. (2) The ADC will unify the air defence and assets of the Army, Air Force and Navy and jointly provide air defence cover to the nation. (3) General Rawat is also working on the creation of a Joint Peninsula Command and a Logistics Command in addition to the theater command.

OBITUARIES

1. Politician and Bengali actor Tapas Pal passes away: Former Politician and Bengali actor, Tapas Pal has passed away at the age of 61 years at a private hospital in Mumbai. He was former Trinamool Congress MP. He started his acting career with the film ‘Dadar Kirti’ in 1980. He was awarded the Filmfare Award for his role in a movie ‘Saheb’ (1981). He made his Bollywood debut in ‘Abodh’ in 1984.