Daily GK Updates - 21st February, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Donald Trump’s India Visit: The President of the United States (POTUS) Donald Trump is arriving on a two-day visit to India on 24th February 2020. He will be accompanied by the First Lady of the United States Melania Trump along with other US delegates. As a welcome gesture, the Government of India is hosting an event named as ‘Namaste Trump’ at Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat and is expected to be similar to the ‘Howdy Modi’ event which was held last year in Houston, US. During this official visit, POTUS will explore the Indian culture and traditions complemented with the scheduled visit to some key places including Taj Mahal at Agra, Sabarmati Ashram as well as Rashtrapati Bhavan.

2. India Will Switch To World’s Cleanest Petrol, Diesel From 1 April 2020: India is all set to switch to the world’s cleanest petrol and diesel from 1st April 2020, as it will move to Bharat Stage VI-compliant fuel from the current BS-IV grades. This will make India join the select league of nations using petrol and diesel containing just 10 parts per million (ppm) of sulphur, whose emission standards are as good as CNG. Also, India will be the first nation to achieve this feat in just three years which neither of any other large economies around the globe have done in such short time. India adopted the BS-IV equivalent fuel in 2017, that had a sulphur content of 50 ppm. Shifting from BS-IV to BS-VI, it took just three years.

Note: Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas: Dharmendra Pradhan.

3. Indian Railways Constructs Country’s Tallest Pier Bridge in Manipur: The Northeast Frontier (NF) Railway Construction Organisation is constructing India’s tallest ever Pier Bridge in Manipur. The 100 metre tall bridge is being constructed across river Makru in Tamenglong District of Manipur. The total cost of the 555 metre-long bridge is approximately Rs.283.5 Crores. The Bridge is a part of 111 km Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal new broad gauge line project of Indian Railways. The project has total 47 tunnels. The longest tunnel is Tunnel No. 12 with a length of 10.280 Km. It will be the longest railway tunnel in the Northeast.

Note: Capital of Manipur: Imphal; Governor: Najma Heptulla; Chief Minister: N. Biren Singh.

4. Bharat-Bangla Tourism Festival Begins In Agartala: The first-ever 2 days long Bharat-Bangla Paryatan Utsav (Tourism Festival) was inaugurated in Agartala, Tripura on 20 February 2020 by Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb. The aim of the festival is to promote tourism in Tripura and apprise the people of the state and neighbouring Bangladesh of the tourist destinations in this state. Seminars, discussions, cultural events, visit the important tourist spots, historical and archaeological sites are the main parts of the two-day friendship festival. The festival was organized by Department of Tourism, Government of Tripura in memories of the contribution of Tripura in 1971 Bangladesh liberation war.

Note: Chief Minister of Tripura: Biplab Kumar Deb; Governor of Tripura: Ramesh Bais.

5. Third Edition of Chitra Bharati Film Festival organised in Ahmedabad: The third edition of the Chitra Bharati Film Festival (CBFF) will be inaugurated at the Gujarat University in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on 21 February 2020 by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Bollywood filmmaker Subhash Ghai. The three day festival will conclude on 23 February 2020. Around 140 films falling under four categories, namely short film, documentary, animation and campus film, will be screened at the festival. The aim of this film festival is to establish a ‘Bharatiya’ narrative in Indian cinema. The first edition of the festival was held in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, in 2016, and the second at Delhi’s Siri Fort Auditorium in 2018.

6. Haryana Goverment to set up Atal Kisan Majdoor canteens: Haryana government will open Atal Kisan – Majdoor canteens across the state. These canteens provide affordable and cheap meals to farmers and labourers at a concessional rate of 10 rupees per plate in all mandis and sugar mills. 25 such canteens will be established this year. This was stated by Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya during his address to the Budget Session of State Assembly. Haryana government will also provide free and concessional travel facility to 41 different categories of residents in the ordinary buses of Haryana Roadways. Under a new initiative, the women and girls belonging to 11 lakh BPL families will be given sanitary napkins free of cost during the year 2020-2021.

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

7. Sanjay Kothari appointed as new Central Vigilance Commissioner: Retired IAS officer Sanjay Kothari has been selected as the new Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) by a high-powered committee headed by PM Narendra Modi. He was currently serving as the Secretary to the President. Retired IAS officer Bimal Julka has been chosen as the new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) in the Central Information Commission. The CVC is an an-corruption watchdog with autonomous status. The CIC is an independent and unconstitutional body to look after the complaints made to it.

Note: Central Vigilance Commission formed: February 1964; Central Vigilance Commission Headquarters: New Delhi.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Pakistan to Remain on the FATF Grey List: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has decided to keep Pakistan on the FATF Grey List till June 2020. The decision was taken during the group’s meeting and plenary in Paris. The anti-money laundering watchdog decided to keep Pakistan on its Grey List for failure to curb transfer of funds to terror groups Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and others.

Note: The headquarters of FATF is in Paris, France; FATF was founded in July 1989.

2. Pakistan Successfully Tested Nuclear-Capable Air-launched Cruise Missile Ra’ad-II: The Pakistan Armed Forces conducted a successful flight test of the air-launched nuclear-capable cruise missile Ra’ad-II on recently to boost the military’s “deterrence capability” on land and at sea. The Ra’ad-II weapon system is equipped with state-of-the-art guidance & navigation systems ensuring of engagement targets with high precision. Ra’ad-II missile (range of 600 km) is planned to be attached to Mirage aircraft or F-16 fighter jets of the Pakistan Air Force.

Note: Prime Minister of Pakistan: Imran Khan; President of Pakistan: Arif Alvi; Capital of Pakistan: Islamabad.

3. International Mother Language Day: 21st February: The International Mother Language Day (IMLD) is held annually on 21 February to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and to promote multilingualism. The theme of this year’s Mother Language Day is ‘Languages without borders". The day was first announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999 and was formally recognized by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2002.

Note: UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Director-General of UNESCO: Audrey Azoulay; Headquarters: Paris, France; UNESCO established: 16 November 1945.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. IPL 2020: The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League 2020 has been announced by BCCI. The tournament will commence on March 29 and will conclude on May 24 after lasting for duration of 57 days. The 8 Teams participating in IPL 2020 are: Chennai Super Kings; Delhi Capitals; Kings XI Punjab; Kolkata Knight Riders; Mumbai Indians; Rajasthan Royals; Royal Challengers Bangalore; Sunrisers Hyderabad;

Note: BCCI President: Sourav Ganguly; Headquarter of BCCI: Mumbai.

2. ESPN India Awards 2019 announced: The ESPN.in Awards are the annual award to recognise the best individual and team performances in Indian sport on a calendar-year basis expect Cricket. Cricket is already covered by ESPNcricinfo’s annual awards, and so is not included in these awards. World Champion shuttler P V Sindhu has won the ESPN’s Female Sportsperson of the Year award for a third consecutive time. Young shooter Saurabh Chaudhary bagged the honour in the male category. ESPN Multi-Sport Awards recognized achievements across 10 categories. List of Winners:

Lifetime Achievement award: Balbir Singh Sr. (Hockey)

Sportsperson of the Year (Female): PV Sindhu (Badminton)

Sportsperson of the Year (Male): Saurabh Chaudhary (Shooting)

Comeback of the Year: Koneru Humpy (Chess)

Emerging Sportsperson of the Year: Deepak Punia (Wrestler)

Coach of the Year: Pullela Gopichand (Badminton)

Team of the Year: Manu Bhaker-Saurabh Chaudhary (Shooting)

Differently-abled Athlete of the Year: Manasi Joshi (Badminton)

Moment of the Year: PV Sindhu’s World Championships final win

The Courage award: Dutee Chand (Athletics)

3. Divya Kakran wins a gold medal at Asian Wrestling Championships: Divya Kakran became only the second Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Asian Wrestling Championships defeating Naruha Matsuyuki in New Delhi. Divya won all four bouts in five-wrestler 68 kilogram category, as the competition was fought in the round-robin format. Navjot Kaur had become the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Asian Championships in 2018 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in 65 kilograms.

4. Pragyan Ojha announces retirement from all forms of cricket: Slow left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha has announced his retirement from international and domestic cricket with immediate effect on 21 February 2020. The 33-year-old has played 24 Tests, 18 ODIs and 6 T20Is for India between 2008 and 2013. He last played for India in 2013 during Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell Test against the West Indies in Mumbai.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Centre releases Rs 19,950 cr as GST compensation to states, UTs: The Central Government has released 19,950 crore rupees as GST compensation to states. With this release of GST compensation, the Central Government has released a total of over 1.20 lakh crore rupees towards GST compensation to the states during current fiscal. In the financial year 2018-19, over 69 thousand crore rupees was released to the States and Union Territories as GST compensation.

2. HDFC Bank ties up with Mastercard & SAP concur for spending management services: HDFC Bank has teamed up with Mastercard and SAP Concur for spending management services for the corporate sector. Various services like corporate credit card for business travellers, providing a one-stop solution for payment and expense management during business trips will be offered by HDFC Bank.

Note: Managing Director of Housing Development Finance Corporation HDFC: Aditya Puri.

President of Mastercard South Asia: Porush Singh.

DEFENCE

1. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Lays Foundation Stone of Thal Sena Bhawan at Delhi Cantt: The Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone of Thal Sena Bhavan at Delhi Cantonment, opposite the Manekshaw Centre, on 21 February 2020. The Thal Sena Bhavan is the new headquarter of the Indian Army and will bring all Army HQ offices under one roof, including newly created Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) office. Currently, Indian Army works from eight different locations in the Capital, such as South Block, Sena Bhawan, Hutments Area, RK Puram, Shankar Vihar and other places. Spread over an area of 39 acres, the project is likely to be constructed in five years.

OBITUARIES

1. Leading Industrialist & Former FICCI President V L Dutt Passes Away: The former chief of FICCI, leading industrialist and Executive Chairman of KCP Ltd, Dr VL Dutt, has passed away. Dr Dutt was the President of the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) during 1991-92. KCP Ltd is a Chennai-based conglomerate with major interests in heavy engineering, cement, sugar and power generation.