07 February 2020 - Daily Current Affairs
1. 22nd International Seafood Show begins in Kochi
- The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), under Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in association with the Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI), is organizing the 22nd edition of India International Seafood Show (IISS) 2020 in Kochi.
- The theme of this year’s show is “Blue Revolution- Beyond Production to Value Addition”.
- Over 200 exhibitors, 350 stalls and more than 5000 delegates are to attend the event.
Summits & Conferences
2. 5th India-Russia Military Industrial Conference in Lucknow
- The fifth India-Russia Military Industrial Conference was held on the sidelines of the ongoing Def Expo 2020 in Lucknow.
- Over 100 Russian and over 200 Indian industry leaders participated in the conference.
- 14 MoUs were signed between Indian and Russian companies under the Make in India initiative.
- The MoUs were signed to produce different defence equipment like parts of T-72, T-90, ASW Rocket launchers, radar systems and 3D modelling.
National Affairs
3. India becomes second largest steel producer of Crude Steel
- As per World Steel Association data, India has surpassed Japan in terms of annual steel production, becoming the second-largest producer of crude steel in the world, after China.
- India produced 111.2 million tonnes of crude steel in 2019.
- In 2019, Japan (99.3), the United States (87.9) and Russia (71.6) rank third, fourth and fifth respectively.
- Steel is a deregulated sector, the Government does not set any annual targets for steel production.
State Affairs
4. Gujarat: New academic year in schools to start from April instead of Jun
- Gujarat Government has announced to start the new academic year in schools from 20th April 2020 instead of June first week.
- The new academic year will start from 20th April and Schools will remain open till 3rd May.
- As per the new schedule, the summer vacation will be from 4th May to 7th June.
- Following this decision, the students will need to go to school for 13 days after annual examinations, followed by summer vacation.
Banking & Finance
5. Flipkart shuts down fashion portal Jabong, to focus fully on Myntra
- E-commerce marketplace Flipkart is downing shutters on Jabong and the portal is now redirecting the users to the Myntra website.
- Flipkart (Walmart-owned) had acquired Jabong for USD 70 million (in 2016) and acquired fashion e-commerce platform Myntra (in May 2014).
- In November 2018, Walmart acquisition, Flipkart merged both Myntra and Jabong.
State Affairs
6. Telangana CM to inaugurate 11-km stretch of elevated Hyderabad Metro Rai
- Today, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will inaugurate the 11-km stretch of corridor-II of elevated Hyderabad Metro Rail.
- The stretch will join Secunderabad and Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station in Hyderabad facilitating bus commuters with two major Railway Stations in the State Capital.
- Hyderabad Metro is the second-largest metro service after Delhi in the country and the largest one in the world under PPP mode.
National & International Appointments
7. LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner steps down after 11 years
- LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner is stepping down after 11 years at the helm of the popular professional social networking company owned by Microsoft.
- Ryan Roslansky, currently senior vice president of product, will become CEO effective June 1.
- During Weiner’s tenure, LinkedIn’s revenue increased to more than USD 7.5 billion in the trailing 12 months from USD 78 million.
- Microsoft acquired LinkedIn for $26 billion in 2016.
Schemes
8. Janasevaka scheme launched by Karnataka Government
- Karnataka Government has launched a scheme “Janasevaka" to provide government services at doorsteps.
- The scheme aims to ensure the timely delivery of government services to the people of Karnataka with the help of innovative and efficient management systems.
- The services include senior citizen identity and health cards, and ration cards and other 53 services.
- The scheme will be successfully implemented with the help of 11 departments.
International Affairs
9. Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa on 5–day visit to India
- Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived in New Delhi on a five-day state visit to India.
- During the visit, Mr Rajapaksa will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and call on President Ram Nath Kovind.
- He will be accorded a ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan tomorrow.
- Prime Minister Rajapaksa is also scheduled to visit Varanasi, Sarnath, Gaya and Tirupati.
Sports
10. Weightlifting Championship: Sambo Lapung sets national record
- Service lifter Sambo Lapung set a new national record of 188 kg here in Khudiram Anusilan Kendra on without a mistake on his way to the gold medal in the men’s 89 kg at the National Weightlifting Championships.
- Lapung (who won the 81 kg silver medal last year) increased to 145 kg and took a lead of 1 kg over R.V. Rahul in snatch.
- He later broke the 187 kg record on his last attempt to add 333 kg.
International Affairs
11. NASA astronaut Christina Koch returns to Earth after record-setting sta
- NASA's astronaut Christina Koch returned from space to Earth safely.
- Koch returned after an 11-month mission, breaking the world record for the most time spent by a woman in space.
- Koch has spent 328 days on International Space Station ISS, surpassing the previous record of 289 days held by fellow American Peggy Whitson.
Honours & Awards
12. Prez Ram Nath Kovind presents International Gandhi Awards for Leprosy
- President Ram Nath Kovind has presented the International Gandhi Awards 2019 for Leprosy to Dr N.S. Dharmashaktu and the Leprosy Mission Trust in New Delhi
- The award has been launched to commemorate the compassion that Gandhiji possessed and service he rendered towards people afflicted with leprosy.
- The award has been instituted by Gandhi Memorial Leprosy Foundation.
