Current Affairs Today 21th February 2020-Download in PDF

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Current Affairs Today – 21th February 2020

NEWS AT A GLANCE

1. International Mother Language Day has been observed globally on 21 february since February 2000.
2. The 4th Anniversary of the launch of Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM) being observed today.
3. The Northeast Frontier Railway Construction Organisation has built India’s tallest railway pier bridge 100 m tall equivalent to a 33-storey building, across Makru river in the Tamenglong district of Manipur.
4. Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav launched HRMS Mobile App on 20 February.
5. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) signed up with several government agencies to effectively utilize the groundwater.
6. India’s first private gold mine operation will begin in the last quarter of 2021 at Jonnagiri in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh.
7. Myanmar President Win Myint, along with his wife, the First Lady, Daw Cho Cho, is to visit to India next from 26-29 February.
8. Haryana government will open Atal Kisan – Majdoor canteens across the state.
9. The 1st-ever Bharat-Bangla Paryatan Utsav-Tourism festival begins in Agartala, Tripura.
10. The Chitra Bharati Film Festival will be held at Gujarat University in Ahmedabad, Gujarat and will be organised by Bharatiya Chitra Sadhana.
11. The first-ever Khelo India University Games will begin in Odisha at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Cuttack on 22 February 2020.
12. In Tripura, a two-day long first-ever Bharat-Bangla Paryatan Utsav-Tourism festival began with spectacular cultural events this evening at Ujjayanta Palace compound in Agartala.
13. Union Minister of Food Processing Industries (FPI) Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Union Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani jointly inaugurated National Organic Food Festival on 21 February in New Delhi.
14. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) published Worldwide Educating for the Future Index (WEFFI) 2019. India jumped five ranks and secured 35th rank in the list.
15. India secured 77th rank on the Sustainability Index and 131st on the Flourishing Index in the UN report that was commissioned by a Commission of World Health Organization (WHO), UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and The Lancet.
16. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) topped the Nature Ranking Index 2020.
17. HDFC Bank, Mastercard and SAP Concur have joined hands for spending management services for the corporate sector.
18. India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) Ltd signed an MoU Tourism Corporation of Gujarat on 20 February 2020.
19. India and Sri Lanka have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for up-gradation of infrastructure in plantation schools for estate workers of Indian origin.
20. Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with RailTel for the maintenance, development, and marketing of the existing and upcoming telecom infrastructure comprising of Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) network.
21. Rear Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh AVSM, NM took charge as the Commandant of the Naval War College, Goa on 18 February 2020.
22. Indian left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha announced retirement from international and first-class cricket.
23. Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) Women’s Committee has announced that India will host the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
24. India finished Brazil Para Badminton International Championships with 11 medals in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Among the total are 11 medals, 4 gold, 5 silver, and 2 bronze medals.
25. SK Barua, Chairman, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) North East Council & Managing Director, Numaligarh Refinery Ltd was conferred with the seventh PSU Leadership Award on 19 February.
26. The ESPN India Awards 2019 was announced.
27. Researchers from the University of Texas have developed the first 3D atomic-scale map of the part of the virus, called the spike protein, that attaches to and infects human cells.
28. Twitter has acquired California-based Chromo Labs for an undisclosed amount. Chromo Labs develop tools for short-form video & photo creation and was founded by 7 Facebook and instagram workers in 2018.
29. Larry Tesler, the computer scientist who introduced the cut, copy and paste commands passed away.
30. Former Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) president V L Dutt passed away.

NEWS IN DETAILS

IMPORTANT DAYS AND THEMES

International Mother Language Day observed globally on 21st February

• International Mother Language Day has been observed globally on 21 february since February 2000.
• The main purpose of celebrating this day is to promote the awareness of language, cultural diversity and multilingualism all across the world.
• UNESCO is celebrating International Mother Language Day 2020 under the theme “Languages without borders.”
• The idea to celebrate International Mother Language Day was the initiative of Bangladesh.
• In Bangladesh 21 February is the anniversary of the day when Bangladeshis fought for recognition for the Bangla language.

Extra Shots:

UNESCO: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations based in Paris, France.

• Headquarters: Paris, France
• Head: Audrey Azoulay
• Founded: 16 November 1945, London, United Kingdom
• Formation: 4 November 1946; 73 years ago
• Parent organization: United Nations Economic and Social Council

NATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS

Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission 4th Anniversary being observed

• The 4th Anniversary of the launch of Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM) being observed today.
• On 21st February 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Mission with the vision to deliver catalytic interventions to rural areas on the threshold of growth.
• The Mission aims at transforming these Rurban clusters by stimulating local economic development, enhancing basic services and creating well planned Rurban clusters.
• This will lead to the holistic development of the region and encourage integrated and inclusive rural development.
• Under the mission, 300 Rurban clusters are envisaged to be developed in a time-bound manner.
• Spurred by the success of Rurban clusters, NITI Aayog has recently proposed a new and extended programme for over 1,000 clusters in the next three years.

Northeast Frontier Railway builds India’s tallest pier bridge in Manipur

• The Northeast Frontier Railway Construction Organisation has built India’s tallest railway pier bridge 100 m tall equivalent to a 33-storey building, across Makru river in the Tamenglong district of Manipur.
• The Rs 283.5-crore bridge with a span of 555 m is part of the 111-km Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal new broad gauge line. It has 47 tunnels, the longest being 10.28 km.
• A bridge pier is a type of structure that extends to the ground below or into the water.
• It is used to support bridge superstructure and transfer the loads to the foundation.
• The bridge piers can be constructed to be substantially attractive and strong in order to withstand both vertical and horizontal loads.

Extra Shots:

Manipur:

• Capital: Imphal
• Chief Minister: N. Biren Singh
• Governor: Najma Heptulla
• Literacy Rate: 74.04%.

Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav launched HRMS Mobile App

• Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav launched HRMS Mobile App on 20 February.
• The app was designed and developed by Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS).
• The aim is to bring transparency between Railway employees and Administration.

HRMS Employee Mobile App for Indian Railways:

♦ All employees of Indian Railways can see the data related to their service and communicate with the administration for any changes if required.

♦ A railway employee can view his historical data since his date of joining in Railways including details related to his Promotions, Increments, Awards, Transfers, Postings, Leave, Training, the composition of Family, and Nominations for retirement benefits.

♦ They can see e-Service Record which is compiled based on an entry made in the Human Resources Management System (HRMS) Application.

♦ The mobile app “HRMS Employee Mobile App (HEMA) for Indian Railways” is available on Google Play Store.

♦ The employees should register by entering IPAS No./ PF No. An OTP will be sent to their registered Mobile No. By entering the OTP, the registration process will be completed.

Extra Shots:

Indian Railways is India’s national railway system operated by the Ministry of Railways. It manages the fourth largest railway network in the world by size, with a route length of 67,368-kilometre as of March 2017.

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Founded: 16 April 1853, India

DMRC signs with several government agencies to effectively utilize the groundwater

• The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) signed up with several government agencies to effectively utilize the groundwater.
• DMRC will dewater during the construction of five of its underground stations in phase 4.

Agreement provisions:

♦ The groundwater will be used to revive a dried lake in North Delhi among others.

♦ DMRC started its work on the RK Ashram-Janakpuri corridor under phase-4 in December 2019. Five underground stations namely R.K Ashram, Nabi Karim, Sadar Bazar, Pul Bangash and Ghanta Ghar will be built on the line where the groundwater level is high.

♦ Water preservation is the major focus area for DMRC during the construction of phase 4 corridors.

Extra Shots:

DMRC: The Delhi Metro is a rapid transit system serving Delhi and its satellite cities of Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Noida, Bahadurgarh and Ballabhgarh, in the National Capital Region of India. It is by far the largest and busiest metro in India, and second oldest after the Kolkata Metro.

• Opened: 24 December 2002
• Began operation: 24 December 2002
• Owner: Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
• Number of lines: 12

India’s first private gold mine to be set up in Jonnagiri, Andhra Pradesh

• India’s first private gold mine operation will begin in the last quarter of 2021 at Jonnagiri in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh.
• The land acquisition for the mining project is expected to be completed in the next six months.
• Geomysore Services India Pvt Ltd is in the process of acquiring the land by negotiating with farmers and completing exploratory mining.

Extra Shots:

Andhra Pradesh:

• Capital: Amravati
• Chief Minister: Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy
• Governor: Biswabhusan Harichandan
• State Formed in: 1 November 1956
• Literacy Rate: 67.4 %
• National Park: Sri Venkateswara National Park, Sri Venkateswara National Park, Papikonda National Park

Myanmar President Win Myint to visit India

• Myanmar President Win Myint, along with his wife, the First Lady, Daw Cho Cho, is to visit to India next from 26-29 February.
• President Myint’s visit after the invitation extended by President Ram Nath Kovind.
• The information was passed by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Agenda:

♦ The Myanmar President will hold several official meetings will high-level delegations in New Delhi.

♦ Win Myint will also be expected to visit Agra and Bodh Gaya.

♦ President Myint had visited India in 2019 to attend Narendra Modi’s second swearing-in ceremony as the Prime Minister.

Extra Shots:

Myanmar (Capital/Currency): Naypyitaw/ Burmese kyat

• President: Win Myint

STATE CURRENT AFFAIRS

Govt of Haryana to open 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.

1st Bharat-Bangla Paryatan Utsav begins in Agartala

• The 1st-ever Bharat-Bangla Paryatan Utsav-Tourism festival begins in Agartala, Tripura.
• 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.
• The State Tourism Department has organized the festival in memories of the contribution of Tripura in 1971 Bangladesh liberation war as well as giving a fillip to the Tripura tourism sector.
• The states through cultural tourism, health tourism particularly tightening the relationship between two nations.

Ahmedabad to host Chitra Bharati Film Festival

• The Chitra Bharati Film Festival will be held at Gujarat University in Ahmedabad, Gujarat and will be organised by Bharatiya Chitra Sadhana.
• This is the 3rd edition of the film festival having an objective of establishing a ‘Bharatiya’ narrative in Indian cinema.
• The Chitra Bharati Film Festival will be inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani and Bollywood filmmaker Subhash Ghai which will feature 140 films to be screened at the festival.
• The films to be screened at the festival will be categorised as short film, documentary, animation and campus film.

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Gujarat:

• Capital: Gandhinagar
• Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani
• Governor: Acharya Devvrat
• State formed on: 1 May 1960
• Literacy Rate: 79.31%
• National Park: Vansda NP, Blackbuck NP, Gir Forest NP, Marine NP, Gulf of Kutch

Khelo India University Games to begin in Odisha

• The first-ever Khelo India University Games will begin in Odisha at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Cuttack on 22 February 2020.
• The multi-disciplinary sporting event will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The Games will be held from 22 February to 1 March 2020 at Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
• Launching Team:The Khelo India University Games will be launched by the Government of India in partnership with the Government of the State of Odisha.
• Aim:The aim of the move is to make the Khelo India University Games an aspirational competition for India’s youngsters to help them find a balance between sport and education.

Khelo India University Games:

♦ Khelo India University Games will be the largest ever competition held at the university level in India.

♦ Over 3500 athletes from over 150 universities across India will be participating in the games.

♦ A total of 17 sports namely swimming, weightlifting, wrestling, badminton, archery, athletics, boxing, fencing, judo, basketball, football, hockey, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, rugby, and kabaddi.

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Khelo India Programme:

Khelo India Programme was launched to revive the sports culture in India at the grass-root level. The programme is aimed to build a strong framework for all sports played in the country and establish India as a great sporting nation. GoI successfully conducted the Khelo India School Games in 2018 and the National Youth Games in 2019 and 2020.

Odisha:

• Capital: Bhubaneswar
• Chief Minister: Naveen Patnaik
• Governor: Ganeshi Lal
• National Park: Bhitarkanika NP, Simlipal NP

Bharat-Bangla Tourism festival begans in Agartala

• In Tripura, a two-day long first-ever Bharat-Bangla Paryatan Utsav-Tourism festival began with spectacular cultural events this evening at Ujjayanta Palace compound in Agartala.
• The State Tourism Department has organized the festival in memories of the contribution of Tripura in 1971 Bangladesh liberation war as well as giving a fillip to the Tripura tourism sector.

Extra Shots:

Tripura:

• Capital: Agartala
• Governor: Ramesh Bais
• Chief Minister: Biplab Kumar Deb
• Literacy: 87.75%

SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES

Union Ministers Harsimrat, Smriti Irani inaugurated National Organic Food Festival

• Union Minister of Food Processing Industries (FPI) Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Union Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani jointly inaugurated National Organic Food Festival on 21 February in New Delhi.
• The festival is organized by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI).
• Aim:The three-day festival aims to strengthen the organic market and encourage women entrepreneurs engaged in the manufacturing of organic produce.
• It focuses to empower women and promote organic produce.
• Theme:The theme of the 2020 National Organic Food Festival is “Unleashing India’s Organic Market Potential”. It will boost the organic products and promote women entrepreneurship in the area of production and processing of organic products.
• The festival will witness more than 150 women Entrepreneurs and Self Help Groups (SHGs) from 24 states across the country.

National Organic Festival:

♦ The festival will witness the exhibition of their organic products of women Entrepreneurs and SHGs in various segments such as fruit & vegetables, ready to eat Products, Spices, and condiments, Honey, cereals, dry fruits, etc.

♦ The exhibition will include, display of organic food quiz, live culinary sessions, Chef speaks, cultural events, nukkad natak, etc.

♦ It facilitates business linkages and empowering women entrepreneurs through pre-arranged B2B and B2G meetings.

♦ It will enhance the Skill development capacity building training programs for women entrepreneurs and SHGs to facilitate post-harvest management.

RANKS AND INDICES

India ranks 35th in 2019 WEFFI list

• The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) published Worldwide Educating for the Future Index (WEFFI) 2019. India jumped five ranks and secured 35th rank in the list.

Worldwide Educating for the Future Index (WEFFI) 2019:

♦ WEFFI ranked countries that are based on their abilities to equip students with skill-based education.

♦ It analyzed the education system from the perspective of skill-based education in areas like problem-solving, critical thinking, collaboration, leadership, creativity and entrepreneurship, and digital and technical skills.

♦ India scored 53, based on three categories namely policy environment (56.3), teaching environment (52.2) and overall socio-economic environment (32.2). In 2018, India scored 41.2 and secured 40th rank.

♦ The report highlighted that the decentralized education system is another shortcoming of India’s education policy.

India ranked 77th on the Sustainability Index as per UN report

• India secured 77th rank on the Sustainability Index and 131st on the Flourishing Index in the UN report that was commissioned by a Commission of World Health Organization (WHO), UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and The Lancet.
• The report was released by over 40 child and adolescent health experts from around the world.

Report Highlights:

♦ The report considered per capita carbon emissions and the ability of children in a nation to live healthy lives.

♦ The flourishing index measured the best chance at survival and well-being for children.

♦ The report assessed 180 countries capacity to ensure that their youngsters can survive and thrive.

♦ The domains that were considered are educational achievement, growth and nutrition, reproductive freedom, and protection from violence.

♦ The Sustainability Index ranked the selected countries on excess carbon emissions compared with the 2030 target.

♦ The report highlighted that the world’s survival is depended on the well being of the children, and their ability to flourish.

Extra Shots:

WHO: The World Health Organization is a specialised agency of the United Nations that is concerned with world public health. It was established on 7 April 1948, and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The WHO is a member of the United Nations Development Group.

• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
• Head: Tedros Adhanom
• Founded: 7 April 1948

UNICEF: The United Nations Children’s Fund is a United Nations agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide.

• Headquarters: New York, New York, United States
• Head: Henrietta H. Fore
• Founded: 11 December 1946, New York, New York, United States
• Founders: United Nations General Assembly, Ludwik Rajchman

CSIR tops the 2020 Nature Ranking Index

• The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) topped the Nature Ranking Index 2020.
• The rankings are based on the output of the total research that was carried out from 1 December 2018 to 30 November 2019 in all the institutions.

Report highlights:

♦ The total research output indicated:

counts which mean total citations in numbers

shares which mean the sharing percentage per article

♦ The top subjects associated with the research work include Chemistry, Physical Science, Earth and Environmental Sciences, and Life Sciences.

♦ CSIR, New Delhi scored 142 counts and a share of 87.74%.

♦ Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, has ranked second. It scored 211 counts and a share of 83.61% in share percentage.

♦ Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR-Mumbai) secured the third position with a research count of 232 and a share percentage of 62.18.

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Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR):

• Established in: September 1942
• Established by: GoI
• President: Prime Minister Narendra Modi
• Vice President, CSIR: Cabinet Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Health & Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan
• Director General: Shekhar C. Mande

AGREEMENTS AND MOU SIGNED

HDFC Bank, Mastercard & SAP concur associate for T&E Tech

• HDFC Bank, Mastercard and SAP Concur have joined hands for spending management services for the corporate sector.
• HDFC Bank will offer a corporate credit card for business travellers, providing a one-stop solution for payment and expense management during business trips.
• The corporate credit card will enable the seamless integration of all business-related to spend into SAP Concur offerings, enhancing the employee experience, increasing visibility, saving money, and improving corporate efficiency.
• The card is supported by Mastercard. SAP Concur is a travel, expense, and invoice management solutions provider.

Extra Shots:

HDFC(Housing Development Finance Corporation):

• Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Founded- 1994
• Managing Director- Aditya Puri
• Tagline- We Understand your World

SAP Concur India:

• Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Founded- 1999
• Managing Director (MD)- Mankiran Chowhan
• Mastercard south Asia
• President- Porush Singh

Gujarat signed MoU with ITDC to promote tourism

• India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) Ltd signed an MoU Tourism Corporation of Gujarat on 20 February 2020.
• The move is an attempt to enhance the tourism growth in India.
• The MoU was signed by G Kamala Vardhana Rao, C&MD, ITDC, Jenu Devan, Commissioner of Tourism and Managing Director, Tourism Corporation of Gujarat in an event held at Dhordo, Kutch.

MoU Provisions:

♦ The MoU will provide consultancy services for innovative or decorative lighting and the illumination of important monuments and sound and light shows at important places in Gujarat.

♦ The Gujarat state government has developed many focussed sights to attract tourism.

♦ The state government aims to work with ITDC to promote and develop tourism through innovative and creative steps.

♦ Both sides discussed the importance of Destination Management and Community Participation in the tourism sector.

♦ The MoU will help them to understand the concepts and frameworks, approaches, challenges faced in implementation and impact generated by such initiatives on the society and the overall economy.

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Gujarat:

• Capital: Gandhinagar
• Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani
• Governor: Acharya Devvrat
• State formed on: 1 May 1960
• Literacy Rate: 79.31%
• National Park: Vansda NP, Blackbuck NP, Gir Forest NP, Marine NP, Gulf of Kutch

India, Sri Lanka sign MoU for up-gradation of infrastructure in plantation schools for estate workers of Indian origin

• India and Sri Lanka have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for up-gradation of infrastructure in plantation schools for estate workers of Indian origin.
• The MoU was signed by acting High Commissioner Mr. Vinod. K. Jacob and Secretary, Ministry of Education of Sri Lanka Mr. N.H.M. Chithrananda in Colombo.
• The government of India has been implementing several projects in the field of education, deepening India-Sri Lanka cooperation in the education sector.
• Construction and renovation of many school buildings in Northern Province is also being undertaken under Indian grant assistance.

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Sri Lanka(Capitals/Currency): Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte/Sri Lankan rupee.

• Prime minister: Ranil Wickremesinghe
• President: Maithripala Sirisena

DFCCIL signs MoU with RailTel for maintenance of OFC network

• Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with RailTel for the maintenance, development, and marketing of the existing and upcoming telecom infrastructure comprising of Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) network.
• The MoU was signed by Anurag Sachan MD and Puneet Chawla Chairman & Managing Director Railtel.

MoU:

♦ Under the telecom infrastructure along the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) alignment consisting of Towers, Telecom Network, OFC, and associated equipment will be leased by RailTel to third parties.

♦ Revenue raised from the sale and marketing of the spare OFC capacity will be shared by DFCCIL and Railtel.

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RailTel:

RailTel Corporation, a Mini Ratna (Category-I), is one of the largest neutral telecom infrastructure providers in India. The Public sector undertakings (PSU) owns a pan-India OFC network on exclusive Right of Way (ROW) along the Railway track. RailTel provides nationwide Broadband Telecom & Multimedia Network connections in all parts of the country. This facility has been provided in addition to the modernization of Train operations and administration network systems.

DFCCIL: The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited is a Public Sector Undertaking corporation run by government of India’s Ministry of Railways to undertake planning, development, and mobilisation of financial resources and construction, maintenance and operation of the Dedicated Freight Corridors.

• Parent organization: Indian Railways
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Key person: Vinod Kumar Yadav
• Founded: 2006

APPOINTMENT

Rear Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh takes charge as the Commandant of the Naval War College, Goa

• Rear Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh AVSM, NM took charge as the Commandant of the Naval War College, Goa on 18 February 2020.

Extra Shots:

Sanjay Jasjit Singh:

Sanjay Jasjit Singh has held a wide range of operational, training and staff appointments over the past three decades. He served as the Flag Officer Commanding, Western Fleet prior to the appointment. In 2009, he was the lead drafter of the Indian Navy’s Maritime Doctrine. In 2015, he served as the Strategic Guidance to Transformation and the Indian Maritime Security Strategy.

SPORTS CURRENT AFFAIRS

Pragyan Ojha announces retirement from all forms of cricket

• Indian left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha announced retirement from international and first-class cricket.
• He played his last match for India in 2013 during Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell Test against the West Indies in Mumbai.
• He played 24 Tests between 2009 and 2013 in which he took 113 wickets.
• From 18 ODIs, he grabbed 21 wickets. He also played six T20 Internationals.

AFC chooses India to host the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup

• Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) Women’s Committee has announced that India will host the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
• The tournament was awarded to India with an aim to maximize the promotion of the game.
• Asian Football Confederation’s Women’s Committee was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. China, Taiwan, and Uzbekistan were the other competing candidates.

India as a host:

India has proposed venues namely DY Patil Stadium, Trans Stadia Arena and Fatorda Stadium for the tournament. India was offered to host the tournament as it is committed to developing the women’s game.

India has hosted the AFC U-16 Championships in 2016 and the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017. The Asian Football Confederation’s Women’s committee also agreed that India will continue raising the standards of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup.

Extra Shots:

The Central Asian Football Association is an association of the football playing nations in Central Asia. In June 2014, the association was in principle approved by the Asian Football Confederation and approved at the Extraordinary Congress in January 2015 during the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

• President: Rustam Emomali
• Founded: 9 January 2015
• Headquarters: Dushanbe, Tajikistan
• Type of business: Sports organization

India won 11 medals at the Brazil Para Badminton International Championships

• India finished Brazil Para Badminton International Championships with 11 medals in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Among the total are 11 medals, 4 gold, 5 silver, and 2 bronze medals.
• Indian shuttler Pramod Bhagat claimed two gold medals in men’s singles SL3 and men’s doubles SL3-SL4 categories.
• With this win, he was qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
• Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj won gold in men’s singles SL4.

Extra Shots:

Brazil Para Badminton International Championships:

Brazil Para-Badminton International Championships was held at Sau Paulo, Brazil. It was held from 10-15 February 2020. The championship was organized by Badminton World Federation (BWF). The games included events namely Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Singles, Women’s Doubles & Mixed Doubles.

AWARDS

SK Barua was conferred the PSU Leadership Award

• SK Barua, Chairman, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) North East Council & Managing Director, Numaligarh Refinery Ltd was conferred with the seventh PSU Leadership Award on 19 February.
• The award was conferred by the Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries, Arjun Ram Meghwal.

Extra Shots:

SK Barua:

Barua is a Cost & Management Accountant has decades of rich experience in Finance & Business Development with disciplines in Oil & Gas Industry. Prior to his appointment as Managing Director of Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL), he served as the Director (Finance) in NRL.

ESPN India Awards 2019

• The ESPN India Awards 2019 was announced.
• The ESPN.in Awards recognise the best individual and team performances in Indian sport on a calendar-year basis.
• Cricket is already covered by ESPNcricinfo’s annual awards, and so is not included in these awards.
• ESPN Multi-Sport Awards recognised achievements across 10 categories.

List of Awardees:

Serial No	Category	Winner	Sports
01.	Sportsperson of the Year (Female)	PV Sindhu	Badminton
02.	Sportsperson of the Year (Male)	Saurabh Chaudhary	Shooter
03.	Emerging Sportsperson of the Year	Deepak Punia	Freestyle wrestler
04.	Coach of the Year	Pullela Gopichand	Badminton
05.	Team of the Year	Manu Bhaker-Saurabh Chaudhary	10m air pistol
06.	Lifetime Achievement award	Balbir Singh Sr	Hockey
07.	Comeback of the Year	Koneru Humpy	Chess player
08.	Differently-abled Athlete of the Year	Manasi Joshi	Badminton
09.	Moment of the Year	PV Sindhu’s World Championships final win
10.	The Courage award	Dutee Chand	Athlete

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Researchers develop the first 3D map of novel coronavirus, leading way to vaccine

• Researchers from the University of Texas have developed the first 3D atomic-scale map of the part of the virus, called the spike protein, that attaches to and infects human cells.
• This will lead to developing a vaccine for the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Spike protein:

♦ Mapping the spike protein is an essential step that can lead to developing vaccines and antiviral drugs to combat the virus. The scientists are working on a related viable vaccine candidate stemming from the research.

♦ The research revealed that coronaviruses invade cells through spike proteins.

♦ These proteins take on different shapes in different coronaviruses.

♦ Figuring out the shape of the spike protein is the key to figuring out how to target the virus.

♦ The coronavirus uses many different proteins to invade cells. But Spike protein is the major surface protein that it uses to bind to a receptor.

♦ Once the surface protein binds with the human cell receptor, it fuses with the human cell membrane. It will allow the genome of the virus to enter human cells and begin infection. By preventing fusion, the entry of the virus into the human body can be prevented.

Twitter acquired Chroma Labs founded by Facebook veterans

• Twitter has acquired California-based Chromo Labs for an undisclosed amount. Chromo Labs develop tools for short-form video & photo creation and was founded by 7 Facebook and instagram workers in 2018.
• The Chroma Stories app let users fill in stylish layout templates and frames for posting collages and Instagram stories, Snapchat etc.,
• In 2019, Chroma Labs has enabled creators and businesses around the world to create millions of stories with the Chroma stories app.
• Nearly 6,15,000 people have installed chroma stories app according to Sensor Tower report.

Extra Shots:

Twitter:

• Founded: 21 March 2006.
• Headquarters: United States (US).
• CEO : Jack Dorsey.

OBITUARIES

Computer scientist, Larry Tesler passes away

• Larry Tesler, the computer scientist who introduced the cut, copy and paste commands passed away.
• The scientist was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1945, and worked in the genesis stage of computers in the 1960s, aiming to make them more accessible and intuitive.
• In 1973, Tesler joined Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) and this is where he developed to cut, copy and paste.
• These concepts were instrumental in the development of text editors and early computer operating systems.

Former FICCI president V L Dutt passes away

• Former Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) president V L Dutt passed away.
• He headed FICCI in 1991-92.
• He was the chairman of the India Vietnam Joint Business Council of FICCI.
• He graduated from the Business Institute of Management, London.
• He served as the chairman of The KCP Group of companies.

Extra Shots:

FICCI: The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry is an association of business organisations in India. Established in 1927, on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi by GD Birla and Purushottam Das Thakurdas, it is the largest, oldest and the apex business organization in India.

• Headquarters location: New Delhi
• Founded: 1927
• Members: over 250,000 companies
• Number of employees: 500
• Founders: Ghanshyam Das Birla, Purshottamdas Thakurdas

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