26 February 2020 - Daily Current Affairs
1. Kiren Rijiju inaugurates 1st Khelo India Winter Games in UT Ladakh
- The Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Shri Kiren Rijiju inaugurated the first-ever Khelo India Winter Games in the Union Territory of Ladakh.
- It is being organized to promote winters sports as well as to harness youth’s talent of India.
- Open Ice Hockey Championship, Figure Skating, Speed Skating will be the three winter sports held during the Khelo India winter games.
Agreement
2. India and US signed Defence deals worth 3 billion dollars
- India and the United States finalized Defence deals worth three billion dollars including three other agreements of health and oil sectors on 25 February 2020.
- The deals include procurement of twenty-four MH-60 Romeo helicopters by India from the US at a cost of $2.6 billion and six AH-64E Apache helicopters for $800 million from the US.
Obituaries
3. Former President of Egypt Mohammed Hosni Mubarak passes away
- Former Egypt’s President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak (91-years) who ruled the country for 30 years passed away.
- He was also air force chief of Egypt earlier.
- He was a reliable US ally, a barricade against Islamic militancy and guardian of Egypt's peace with Israel.
Arts & Culture
4. Annual Cultural Fair ‘Vasantotsav’ begins in Gandhinagar
- The Eight-day annual cultural fair called “Vasantotsav” was inaugurated on 25 February at Sanskruti Kunj in Gandhinagar by Maharaja Ranjitsinh Gaekwad Institute of Design (MRID).
- This festival is organized by the Department of Youth and Cultural Affairs to celebrate the rich diverse heritage of the country.
- Theme for Vasantotsav 2020 is Ek Bhaart Shreshth Bharat.
- Artists from across India will perform in the festival.
Science & Technology
5. ISRO to launch Geo Imaging Satellite GISAT-1 on March 5
- ISRO is all set to launch Geo Imaging Satellite (GISAT-1) from the Second Launch Pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota.
- Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F10) will be launching GISAT-1 at 17:43 hrs IST on March 05, 2020.
- GISAT-1 has a weight of 2,275 kg and is a state-of-the-art agile Earth observation satellite that will be placed in a 'geosynchronous transfer orbit'
National Affairs
6. New Zealand Deputy PM visited India for four-day visit
- Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand are on a four-day visit to India.
- Deputy PM of New Zealand will deliver speech on Indo-Pacific at the Indian Council of World Affairs followed by a meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at Hyderabad House.
International Affairs
7. BIMSTEC to work on power grid connecting Myanmar-Thailand to India
- Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is working on connecting about 3,000 km long power grid from Myanmar-Thailand to India.
- This was announced by Bangladesh PM’s Energy Advisor Dr Tawfiq-E-Elahi Chowdhury during the energy conference of BIMSTEC in Dhaka.
- BIMSTEC is a regional grouping with seven countries from South and Southeast Asia including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.
National Affairs
8. First Unified Vehicle Registration Card launched by Madhya Pradesh
- Madhya Pradesh became the first state to launch Unified Vehicle Registration Card in India.
- These cards will have exhaustive information on both sides with a unique number, emergency contact number and QR code for data verification.
- Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) issued the guidelines regarding uniformity in driving licenses and vehicle registration cards across the country in March 2019.
Summits & Conferences
9. 1st ‘National Conference on Coastal Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience
- First ‘National Conference on Coastal Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience (CDRR&R) 2020’ was organised by the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), in New Delhi.
- The aim of the conference is to enhance human capacity in terms of better understanding about coastal disaster risks and effective collaborative actions, by implementing Prime Minister’s 10-point agenda and Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
Arts & Culture
10. Losar Festival celebrated at Himachal Pradesh
- 15 Day Long Losar Festival took place at Dharamshala with 3 important days from 24 to 26 February.
- It is celebrated on the first day of the luni-solar Tibeten calendar. Prayers were offered at Dorje Drak Monastry in Shimla.
- People from the Buddhist community gathered at different temples to celebrate the Losar festival.
National Affairs
11. Union HRD Minister launches UKIERI-UGC Programme
- Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal launched ‘Higher Education Leadership Development Programme for Administrator’.
- The programme is a joint initiative of UGC and British Council under the auspices of UK India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) to deliver a leadership development programme for middle and senior level administrative functionaries in Indian Universities.
State Affairs
12. Two new bird species found during Great Backyard Bird count in Ladakh
- Two new bird species namely Red Throated Thrush and Plumbeous Water Redstart have been found during the Great Backyard Bird count in Union Territory of Ladakh.
- Great Backyard Bird count is a three-day exercise undertaken by the Wildlife Conservation and Birds Club of Ladakh.
- A record of 87 total species of birds in Ladakh have been found.
- The details will be recorded in the eBird India website for further studies.
