February 2020 Current Affairs for SSB Interview - The Hindu

February 2020 Current Affairs - The Hindu review:

Latest Current Affairs 2020 for competitive exams UPSC, AFCAT, TNPSC, IAS, RRB and Latest Affairs 2020 for banking exams IBPS PO Clerk, SBI, RBI and more. Read daily affairs, this beneficial Affairs 2020 resource yields the facts about the events of International affairs, National, Sports, Business, Banking Current Affairs of 2020 and more which are betterment for the Government & Private Job aspirants.

February 2020 current affairs 

National Current Affairs 2020 :

.  Governor of Madhya Pradesh Lalji Tandon has inaugurated Hunar Haat in Indore.

.  Under the Regional Connectivity Scheme “Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN)” of Government of India, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has operationalized the first ever helicopter services in the state of Uttarakhand.

.  The Uttarakhand Government has approved the design of a glass floor suspension bridge, the first of its kind in the country to have a floor made of toughened transparent glass. This bridge will be built across the River Ganga in Rishikesh.

.  The 1st-ever Hornbill festival of Tripura was celebrated in Agartala.

.  The Uttar Pradesh government has given its approval to the Ground Water Act-2020. The Ground Water Act-2020 has been approved with an objective of improving the falling groundwater level in the state.

.  The state government of Haryana has launched an initiative called ‘Reading Mission- Haryana’. The initiative was launched to encourage reading habit among the young students of the state. The scheme is on the lines of the ‘Reading Mission 2022’, launched by the central government.

.  The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has approved the setting up of an air quality monitoring network of 90 stations in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

.  The state government of Haryana has launched an initiative called ‘Reading Mission- Haryana’.

.  Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh launched ‘Anganphou Hunba’ (Early Paddy Crop) programme at Arapti Mayai Leikai in Imphal East.

.  Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal inaugurated the first phase of “East-West Metro line” which is Kolkata’s second metro line.

.  Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami inaugurated the Salem Cricket Foundation (SCF) cricket ground in Valapadi, Salem in Tamil Nadu.

.  Haryana government decided to open Atal Kisan – Majdoor canteens across the state to provide affordable and cheap meals to farmers and labourers at a concessional rate of 10 rupees per plate.

.  “Run for India Tea” has been organized in collaboration by Tripura Tea Development Corporation (TTDC) and Tea Board of India in Tripura to further promote and popularise Tripura tea alongside India tea and to boost the tea industry in the state.

.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 50 development projects worth over 1,200 crore rupees at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

.  Kerala government has launched “Yodhav” (Warrior) mobile app (application) at Kochi, Kerala through which the public can inform police about drug abuse and its distribution.

.  ‘Pyaar ka Paudha’ (a plant of love) campaign has been launched by the Bihar government’s Department of Environment and Forest in Patna to encourage the practice of planting trees in the state.

.  Uttarakhand Chief Minister has launched the web portal of Shri Badrinath and Shri Kedarnath temple committee. The web portal has been developed by Uttarakhand state National Informatics Centre.

.  The Maharashtra government has announced 5-day working week for state government employees.

.  Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched a scheme named ‘Jagananna Vasthi Deevena’. This scheme is for students pursuing various post-Intermediate courses to meet hostel and mess expenses.

.  Madhya Pradesh has become the 1st state in the country to introduce the unified registration card and the 2nd state to launch the unified driving license after Uttar Pradesh.

.  Losar festival was celebrated at Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. The festival is celebrated on the 1st day of the lunisolar Tibetan calendar also called Tibetan New Year. Losar is a festival in Tibetan Buddhism.

.  The department of Youth and cultural Affairs, Government of Gujarat has organised cultural festival called “Vasantotsav”. The cultural festival “Vasantotsav” was held with the theme of “Ek Bhaart Shreshth Bharat”.

.  Maharashtra government has decided to undertake the genetic study for the conservation of the native species of domesticated animals. The genetic study aims to conserve the native species of domesticated animals in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra.

.  Union Communications-Electronics IT Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad inaugurated BSNL FTTH and WiFi services at Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun.

.  The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has approved a proposal to change the name of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Urdu, Arabi-Farsi University in Lucknow. The Cabinet has decided to rename the university as Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Languages University.

.  The Kerala High Court recently passed an order and banned all types of political movements in the college and school premises. Banning various forms agitations like gherao and sit-in in the campuses, the High Court also said no one can be persuaded to participate in such protests.

·         The Supreme Court has directed the states to establish Gram Nyayalayas within four weeks under Gram Nyayalayas Act,2008, to provide speedy and inexpensive justice to people in rural areas at their doorsteps.

·         Jaipur “The Pink City” has been certified by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as the World Heritage site.

·         Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog has begin a series of innovation demo days which aims to unite the stakeholders of the food processing and agriculture sector in India. The first innovation demo day was held in New Delhi.

·         The Union Cabinet has approved to bestow the status of Institution of National Importance to the five Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs).

·         The Union Cabinet has given its in-principle approval to set up a new Major Port at Vadhavan near Dahanu in Maharashtra on the basis of land lord model.

·         India’s biggest rural technical festival titled ‘Antahpragnya 2020’ was held in Basar, Nirmal District of Telangana with the theme “Spot and encourage rural tech innovators”.

·         Ministry of Coal (MoC) has launched a web portal for star rating of coal mines to promote the green, safe and sustainable mining practices with the help of technology.

·          The Government of India has decided to consider all medical devices including implants and contraceptives as “Drugs”. The notification regarding the re-categorization was issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. With the implementation, all the medical devices will come under the purview of the Central Drugs and Standard Control Organization (CDSCO). The re-categorization will be implemented from 1st April 2020 in the phase manner.

·         BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise 2020 has been started in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is organizing the BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise 2020 on behalf of the Government of India.

·         National Workshop on e-office was inaugurated in New Delhi by Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Dr Jitendra Singh.

• India is switching to the world’s cleanest petrol and diesel i.e. from Bharat stage-IV (BS-IV) to Bharat stage-VI (BS-VI) from April 1, 2020.
• The Northeast Frontier Railway Construction Organisation has built India’s tallest railway pier bridge which is 100 metres tall equivalent to a 33-storey building, across Makru river in the Tamenglong district of Manipur.
• The 4th Anniversary of the launch of Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM) was being observed which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 21st February 2016.
• Symposium on "Emerging Opportunities for Indian Textiles and Crafts" which was chaired by Union Minister of Textiles and Women and Child Development Smriti Zubin Irani, was held in New Delhi. The symposium was organized by Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts under the aegis of Ministry of Textiles, Government of India.
• Government of India will set up Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) by the first week of April 2020 under the Consumer Protection Act 2019.
• Union Cabinet has approved the 2nd Phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen till 2024-25 to ensure that no one is left behind and everyone uses a toilet.
• Union Cabinet has approved the constitution of the 22nd Law Commission of India which will give recommendations on different aspects of law which are entrusted to it.
• The Delhi International Airport Ltd has declared “Indira Gandhi International Airport” of Delhi as India’s first single-use plastic-free airport.
• The Ministry of Textiles has organized “Kala Kumbh” exhibition in New Delhi to promote Geographical Indication (GI) craft and heritage of India.
• The Indian Railways' South Central Railways (SCR) zone has become the 1st zonal railway in the country to have functional “energy neutral” railway stations on the network.
• Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar released the Reference Annual Bharat 2020 & India 2020 in New Delhi.

·         The Indian Railways has launched the Hindi Version of Artificial Intelligence-based chatbot called “ASKDISHA”. The hindi version has been launched to further enhance the customer services rendered and to further strengthen the services of the chatbot.

·         The first anniversary of the iconic National War Memorial is being observed on 25th February. The memorial is a fitting tribute to those heroes who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty during various wars and internal security challenges since Independence.

·         The Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) between India and Australia was held in New Delhi. This was the 16th edition of the session.

·         Union Minister of Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal has launched the– Market Intelligence and Early Warning System (MIEWS) Web Portal. The portal can be accessed at http://miews.nafed-india.com.

·         A Programme for Capacity Building of Scheduled Tribe Representatives in Local Self Governments has been launched in Bhubhaneswar, Odisha. The programme was launched by the Union Tribal Affairs Minister Shri Arjun Munda.

·         The 91st Annual General Meeting of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Society was held in Delhi. The Annual General Meeting was chaired by the Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar.

·         The 24th Meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council will be held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The Meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council will be chaired by the Union Minister for Home Affairs, Shri Amit Shah.

·         The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), in collaboration with Niti Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), launched an artificial intelligence (AI) based module for students of Indian schools.

·         Ministry of Corporate Affairs has been launched ‘SPICe+’ Web Form (pronounced ‘SPICe Plus’) to offer 10 services by 3 Central Government Ministries/ Departments and of State Government of Maharashtra in a single web form.

·         The Ministry of Food Processing Industries(MoFPI) has approved Rs 162 crore under Operation Green scheme which has an outlay of Rs 500 crore to stabilize the supply of tomato, onion and potato (TOP) crops and to ensure their availability round the year without price volatility.

International Current Affairs 2020 :

·         Katy Perry has become the ambassador of the British Asian Trust’s Children’s Protection Fund for India, recently unveiled by Britain’s Prince Charles.

·         Romania’s pro-European government led by Prime Minister Ludovic Orban has collapsed in a parliamentary no-confidence vote after only 3 months in office.

·         The United States President Donald Trump has been acquitted of all impeachment charges.

·         Sri Lanka celebrated its 72nd Independence Day on 4th February 2020. The major change in the celebration ceremony was the National Anthem of Sri Lanka as it was sung only in Sinhala and not in Tamil language.

·         Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi was appointed as Iraq’s new Prime Minister by President Barhim Salih. Former PM Adil Abdul-Mahdi resigned in November 2019 due to anti-government protests.

·         Maldives has returned to Commonwealth after its exit in 2016 and hence, has become the 54th member of the global body.

·         Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has declared a national emergency in the country to battle locust swarms.

·         The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved the funding of USD 2 million to combat the spread of novel coronavirus (nCoV). The funds will also help in boosting the supply of diagnostic and laboratory equipment for rapid testing to help in fight against the outbreak.

·         The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially named the disease caused by the new coronavirus as “Covid-2019“. The new name “Covid-2019” has been taken from the words “corona”, “virus” and “disease”, with 2019 representing the year in which it emerged. The virus was also designated as SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses.

·         The Mobile World Congress, the annual telecoms industry gathering that draws more than one lakh visitors to Barcelona, was cancelled over coronavirus fears.

·         The UK-based OneWeb company has sent 34 satellites into orbit on a single Soyuz rocket, from Baikonur port, Kazakhstan.

·         Rishi Sunak has been appointed as the Finance Minister of the United Kingdom. He will replace Pakistani Chancellor Sajid Javid

·         Bangladesh has observed the “Shaheed Dibash” which is also known as ‘Amar Ekushey‘ to commemorate and to pay tribute to the martyrs of language movement.

·         Prime Minister of Ireland Leo Varadkar has resigned.

·         The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has decided to keep Pakistan on the FATF Grey List till June 2020.

·         Pakistan has successfully completed the flight test of the air-launched cruise missile Ra’ad-II.

·         Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has announced the launch of “Bezos Earth Fund” to combat Climate Change with a contribution of $10 billion.

·         The government of Nepal has observed the 70th National Democracy Day on 19th February.

·         Ashraf Ghani has won the Presidential elections of Afghanistan and will become the President of Afghanistan for the 2nd time.

·         Bangladesh and Nepal have agreed to sign a Free Trade Agreement to enhance trade between the two countries.

·         External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will inaugurate Indian Pavilion at 70th Berlin International Film Festival in Germany.

·         Indian-origin Alok Sharma has been named the new UK Minister in charge of the crunch UN climate talks to be hosted by Britain.

·         South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar has been sworn in as first vice president. He is formally rejoining the government in the latest effort to bring peace to a nation ravaged by war.

·         Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has announced his resignation over political issues. He will act as an interim PM.

·         Sri Lankan Government formally notified the United Nations that it will withdraw from the UNHRC (United Nations Human Rights Council) resolution for investigating alleged war crimes. The case was dealing with a decade-old clash with Tamil separatists.

Defense Current Affairs :

·         Indian Army Major Anoop Mishra has developed first bulletproof helmet of the world under the Indian Army’s project "Abhedya". The helmet can stop an AK-47 bullet round fired from a distance of 10 meters.

·         Union government has set a defense export target of 5 billion dollars in the upcoming five years (approx 35,000 crore rupees).

·         Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has signed a partnership pact with Israel Aerospace Industries to manufacture advanced Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs) in India.

·         India hosted the Ministerial-level Defence dialogue between India and South Korea in New Delhi to deepen bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries.

·         The Indian Navy conducts a coastal security exercise named ‘Malta Abhiyan’ in Kolkata, West Bengal.

·         The 11th edition of the mega defence exhibition, DefExpo 2020 begins at Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. The theme of DefExpo India-2020 is “India: the emerging defence manufacturing hub”.

·         India and the United Kingdom will conduct their 5th edition of joint military exercise ‘Ajeya Warrior-2020’ at Salisbury Plains, the United Kingdom from February 13-26.

·         Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has started developing a 200-km strike range tactical ballistic missile ‘Pranash’.

·         Seminar on Indian Defence Equipment was organized in Dhaka by the High Commission of India in Bangladesh to pursue further cooperation between India and Bangladesh in the field of defence technologies.

·         The Chief of the Defence staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat has announced the plan of establishing the first Integrated Tri-Services Command which will be responsible for handling the air defence of the entire country.

·         The 5th edition of the Exercise Indra Dhanush 2020 commenced on 24th February. It is a joint air force exercise between Indian Air Force (IAF) and British Royal Air Forces (RAF) has commenced at Air Force Station Hindan in Uttar Pradesh (UP).

·         Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the new Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Production Hangar at Helicopter Division in Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Complex at Bengaluru, Karnataka.

·         The 6th Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) “VAJRA” has been launched in Chennai. The Coast Guard’s Offshore Patrol Vessel is expected to strengthen the efforts Indian Coast Guard in securing the vast coastline of over 7500 km, including an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of over 20 lakh sq kms.