20 February 2020 - Daily Current Affairs
1. World Day of Social Justice being observed today
- The United Nations' (UN) World Day of Social Justice is annually observed on 20th February to encourage people to look at how social justice affects poverty eradication.
- It also focuses on the goal of achieving full employment and support for social integration.
- The theme for 2020 is "Closing the Inequalities Gap to Achieve Social Justice”.
- The united nation has approved on 26th November 2007 as the World Day of Social Justice.
International Affairs
2. S Jaishankar inaugurates Indian pavilion at Berlin International Film Fest.
- External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has inaugurated the Indian pavilion at the Berlin International Film Festival.
- Information and Broadcasting ministry in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is participating in the 70th edition of the festival.
- The External Affairs Minister is preparing the ground for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned visit for the India-EU summit in Brussels next month.
National Affairs
3. Kashi Mahakal Express to begin commercial run from Varanasi today
- The Kashi Mahakal Express (the third private train of IRCTC) has been started from Varanasi.
- The train service will link the three Jyotirlinga - Omkareshwar near Indore, Mahakaleshwar, in Ujjain and Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi.
- The train will cover 1,131 km between Varanasi and Indore via Lucknow and a distance of 1,102 km between Varanasi and Indore via Prayagraj in approximately 19 hours.
National Affairs
4. Govt to set up Central Consumer Protection Authority by first week of April
- According to Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) will be set up by the first week of April 2020.
- It will address issues related to consumer rights, unfair trade practices, misleading advertisements and impose penalties for selling spurious and adulterated products.
- The investigative wing will carry out inquiries in matters related to unfair trade practices and misleading advertisements.
State Affairs
5. Arunachal Pradesh celebrates 34th Statehood Day today
- Today, Arunachal Pradesh is celebrating its 34th Statehood Day (February 20, 1987).
- Home Minister Amit Shah will attend the celebrations at Itanagar and launch a slew of projects on the occasion.
- Mr. Shah will launch the Arunachal Pradesh Industrial and Investment Policy, 2020.
- He also inaugurates the Joram-Koloriang Road constructed by BRO, lay the foundation stone of the new headquarters of the state police and along with other projects.
National & International Appointments
6. Cabinet approves constitution of 22nd Law Commission of India
- Union Cabinet approved the constitution of the 22nd Law Commission of India for a period of three years from its date of official constitution.
- Law Commission of India is a non-statutory body constituted by the Government from time to time.
- The Commission was originally constituted in 1955 and is re-constituted every three years.
- The Commission will give recommendations on different aspects of law which are entrusted to it.
Arts & Culture
7. Ministry of Textile Organises KALA KUMBH –Handicrafts Exhibitions
- The Ministry of Textiles is organising Kala Kumbh – Handicrafts Thematic Exhibition in various parts of the country to promote Geographical Indication (GI) crafts and heritage of India.(from 14 to 23 February 2020).
- The exhibition is being sponsored by the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH).
- It has been organized in Bengaluru and Mumbai (from 14 Feb to 23 Feb) while in Kolkata and Chennai in March 2020.
National & International Appointments
8. Ashraf Ghani wins the Presidential elections of Afghanistan
- Ashraf Ghani has won the Presidential elections of Afghanistan for the 2nd time.
- Mr. Ghani has won the Presidential elections by winning 9,23,592 votes or 50.64% of the total votes.
- He defeated his closest opponent Abdullah Abdullah who received 7,20,841 votes or 39.52% of votes.
- The Election Commission stated that only 1.8 million Afghan citizens voted in the election out of total of 9.6 million eligible voters in the country.
Obituaries
9. Computer scientist Larry Tesler passes away
- An icon of early computing ‘Larry Tesler’ (invented 'cut, copy and paste') passed away.
- Mr Tesler was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1945, and studied at Stanford University in California.
- Mr Tesler (74-years) started working in Silicon Valley in the early 1960s, at a time when computers were inaccessible to the vast majority of people.
Sports
10. Sindhu wins ESPN's Female Sportsperson of the Year award
- 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.
- Sprinter Dutee Chand became the first winners of the 'Courage' award for being inspirational both on and off the field.
National Affairs
11. V Prez inaugurates four-day Indian Students’ Parliament in New Delhi
- Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has inaugurated the four-day Indian Students’ Parliament in New Delhi.
- Mr Naidu expressed happiness that thousands of youngsters are taking active interest in politics and various issues concerning the nation.
- Mr Naidu said, politics is a vehicle for serving the people and bringing about the desired socio-economic change.
