18 February 2020 - Daily Current Affairs
1. DMart’s Noronha wealthiest CEO in India
- As per the report published by Economic Times, Ignatius Navil Noronha, the chief executive of DMart operator Avenue Supermarts, is the wealthiest non-promoter professional in India.
- He has a net worth of Rs 3,128 crore calculated on the basis of the stocks they own in the companies.
- MD of HDFC Bank Aditya Puri and Ramakant Baheti, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) - Avenue Supermarts are at second and third place in the list respectively.
Sports
2. Asian Wrestling Championship begins in New Delhi
- Asian Wrestling Championship has begun in New Delhi today.
- 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.
National Affairs
3. ISRO plans to launch 10 surveillance satellites in 2020-21
- The Department of Space has published its annual report.
- As per the report, the Indian Space Research Organisation is planning to launch 10 earth observation satellites with space surveillance feature during 2020-21.
- It includes the first Geo Imaging Satellite, GISAT-1.
- The Earth Observation satellites to be launched includes RISAT-2BR2.
- The RISAT-2BR2 with its fleet of predecessors RISAT-2B and RISAT-2B1 will be placed 120 degrees apart.
State Affairs
4. Maharashtra Govt. renamed Latur Medical College after Vilasrao Deshmukh
- Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has approved the renaming of the Latur Medical College as Vilasrao Deshmukh Institute of Medical Sciences.
- The late Vilasrao Deshmukh had served as the former CM of Maharashtra.
- His son, Amit V Deshmukh is serving in the Maharashtra Cabinet as the Minister for Medical Education and Culture in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
- Amit is also the sitting MLA from the Latur City constituency.
National Affairs
5. 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.
Summits & Conferences
6. 4th National Conference on PMFBY inaugurated in Udaipur
- The 4th National Conference on Review of Implementation of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) inaugurated in Udaipur, Rajasthan by Sanjay Agarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.
- Around 140 members representing different states, banks, insurance companies, RBI, NABARD have participated in it.
- The Ministry of Agriculture had previously organised first three editions Conference in Lucknow, Bangalore, and Guwahati.
Honours & Awards
7. 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.
Agreement
8. New World Bank Project to Improve Groundwater Management in India
- The Government of India and the World Bank has signed a $450 million loan agreement to support the national programme to arrest the country’s depleting groundwater levels.
- The World Bank-supported Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY) – National Groundwater Management Improvement Programme will be implemented in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh and cover 78 districts.
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State Affairs
9. Punjab to honour cops under 'Appreciate and Commend' scheme
- In a bid to keep the morale of cops high, the Punjab Police have launched 'Appreciate and Commend' scheme.
- Nominations will be sought from police chiefs of various districts by the 25th of every month, and these will be screened by a committee comprising senior Police Officers.
- The names would be announced by the 5th of every month.
- The initiative was launched during a high-level meeting of the top brass of the Police in Phillaur.
State Affairs
10. Ambala city bus stand renamed after late Sushma Swaraj
- The Ambala city bus stand was renamed after late external affairs minister and BJP veteran Sushma Swaraj.
- Swaraj was born in Ambala Cantt and was elected MLA twice from here.
- The veteran BJP leader, who brought a rare empathy and a human approach to India's foreign diplomacy, passed away last year at the age of 67.
Books & Authors
11. "Chanakya Niti: Verses on Life and Living" Published by Penguin India
- The famous aphorisms of the ancient master of statecraft Chanakya were translated in the form of a book by AND Haksar.
- The book titled "Chanakya Niti: Verses on Life and Living" is published by Penguin India.
- These sayings are mainly about everyday life and living called Chanakya Niti as a whole, these epigrammatic verses of observation and advice have frequently been quoted in later Sanskrit works and anthologies and many are still remembered.
Sports
12. "United by Emotion" to be 2020 Tokyo Olympics Motto
- 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.
- The Tokyo 2020 Olympics will take place from July 24 to August 9
National Affairs
13. Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses Renamed after Manohar Parrikar
- The Government of India has decided to rename 'The Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses' (IDSA) as ‘Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses’.
- The decision has been taken to honour the commitment and legacy of late Manohar Parrikar.
- It will align the vision and aspiration of the premier defence Institute with the contribution of the former Raksha Mantri and Padma Bhushan awardee.
Sports
14. India's Koneru Humpy wins Cairns Cup chess tournament
- World Rapid Champion, Koneru Humpy has won the 2nd edition of Cairns Cup chess tournament.
- Humpy won the title after winning six points off nine rounds.
- Reigning world champion Ju Wenjun finished at the second spot while Russia's Alexandra Kosteniuk came third.
- Last year, Koneru managed to win the 2019 women's world rapid chess championship.
Banking & Finance
15. Moody’s cuts India’s 2020 GDP growth forecast to 5.4%
- Moody’s Investors Service has slashed its 2020 growth projection for India from 6.6% earlier to 5.4%.
- The agency expects a shallower recovery in Asia’s third-largest economy, considering that global growth will likely take a hit following the virus outbreak in China.
- Also, Mody has revised its growth forecasts to 5.8% for 2021, down from previous projections of 6.7%.
- Moody’s also estimates that G20 economies will grow at a rate of 2.4 % in 2020.
