Current Affairs February 23 & 24 2020

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 23 & 24 February 2020, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2020 events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.

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Click here for Current Affairs February 22 2020

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Centre paid Rs 50,850 crore to farmers under Pradhan Mantri Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme
On February 24, 2020 the centre has stated that it has paid Rs 50,850 crore to farmers under Pradhan Mantri Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme from the total budget of Rs.75,000 crore allocated for current Financial Year for the PM-KISAN scheme. The date also marked the 1st Anniversary of PM- KISAN scheme, which was launched on February 24,2019 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. The scheme is under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.  The objective of the scheme is to enable farmers to meet farm input cost and domestic expenses. The Prime Minister has set the target of doubling farmers’ income by the year 2022.
Key Points:
i.PM KISAN mobile App launched: Union Ministry of Agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar launched PM KISAN mobile application,which  is aimed at broadening the reach of the scheme. By using this app farmers can know their payment status, correct their name besides knowing their eligibility for the scheme and other information.
ii.Under the scheme, Rs 6000 annually is transferred by the centre in 3 equal instalments to the farmers directly into their bank accounts.
iii.About 14 crore beneficiaries are covered in the scheme, based on Agriculture Census 2015-16 estimates. 8.46 crore families are benefited as on February 20, 2020.
iv.Initially the scheme was applicable to the families holding cultivable land up to 2 hectares, later the scheme covered all farmer families.
v.Instalments are paid on the basis of Aadhar authenticated bank data from December 1, 2019.

PM Modi addressed the International Judicial Conference 2020, “Judiciary and The Changing World” held in New Delhi
On February 22, 2020, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the International Judicial Conference – “Judiciary and The Changing World” in New Delhi. The theme of the conference was “Gender Just World” . Chief Justice of India Sharad Arvind Bobde, Attorney General Kottayan Katankot Venugopal, and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also addressed the gathering. The aim of the conference was to facilitate cross fertilisation of ideas between judges of India and those from abroad.
Key Points:
i.The Conference discussed the changes being introduced by the Government of India to bring Gender Equality in recruiting women.
ii.The Conference also focused on the need for technology for timely justice like “E-Court Integrated Mission Mode Project” and establishment of “National Judicial Data Grid”.
iii.The Conference introduced the “Just World” concept in the Judicial System of India which aims to take the judicial system of the country to every citizen irrespective of their gender.

Shyama Prasad Mukherji National Rurban Mission completes 4 years on Feb 21, 2020
On February 21, 2020, the 4^th anniversary of the launch of Shyama Prasad Mukherji National Rurban Mission (SPMRM) has been celebrated. The mission was launched by  Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on 21 February 2016.
Key Points:
i.About Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission:
Launched by the Union Ministry of Rural Development,it focuses on cluster-based integrated development through location planning.
Under this, rural clusters are identified in rural areas across India, where increasing signs of urbanization such as increasing urban density, high levels of non-agricultural employment, increasing economic activity and other socio-economic scale are being received.
The mission envisages development of 300 rural clusters in a timely and holistic manner.
Aim: The mission aims to boost the economic development at the local level, as well as to bring about a comprehensive transformation of these rural clusters by increasing basic services and creating well-organized rural clusters. This will lead to overall development of the region and will promote integrated and inclusive rural development.

Mumbai airport gets world’s largest ‘Export Cold Zone’ to Store Agro, Pharma Products
On February 22, 2020, Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), a joint venture (JV) of the GVK led consortium and Airports Authority of India (AAI) ,has unveiled the world’s largest airport-based temperature-controlled facility, the ‘Export Cold Zone’ for processing and storage of agro and pharma products, for which Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport will be the largest export gateway.
Key Points:
i.The Export Cold Zone facility with over 700 tonnes of such cargo at one time with a combined annual capacity of 5.25 lakh tones, will be operated by cargo handling service provider and MIAL’s business partner, Cargo Service Centre.
ii.The facility also installed with 12 truck docks with dock- levellers, spacious acceptance and examination area, automated workstations, X-Ray machines, unit load device (ULD) storage, ballmat system for ULD transfer and cold rooms.
iii.Mumbai airport,which connects to over 500 cargo destinations across 175 countries through 60 airlines, is the first airport in India and the 3^rd in Asia to receive the IATA CEIV ( International Air Transport Association-Center of Excellence for Independent Validators) Pharma accreditation, a global industry recognition helping the air transport industry.
iv.The airport has also launched an air cargo community portal, GMAX, which enables stakeholders to access mobile applications that offer real-time tracking of shipment, which helps in delivering customised handling solutions.

Overview of 13th COP on Conservation of Migratory Species of wild animals held in Gandhinagar, GujaratThe week long Thirteenth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP13) together with the associated meetings of the Standing Committee was held at Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India from February 15-22. Its theme was “Migratory species connect the planet and together we welcome them home”. The summit was inaugurated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi through video conferencing and was attended by Union Minister of Environment, Prakash Javadekar, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Minister of State (MoS)  for Environment and Forests Babul Supriyo, among others.

• Logo: It was inspired by “Kolam”, a traditional art form from southern India. The Kolam art form was used to depict key migratory species in India like Amur falcon, humpback whale and marine turtles.
• Mascot: The CMS COP 13 mascot was “Gibi – The Great Indian Bustard”. It is a critically endangered species accorded the highest protection status under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

-COP13 kicks off “Super Year for Environment” i.e. 2020
-India assumes presidency of UN body on Migratory Species for 3 years
-10 species to be added to protected list; 3 are Indian, among them
-PM Modi announces institutional research on migratory birds
-Giraffe extinct in 7 countries
-Animal Culture Linked to Conservation for the first time at UN Wildlife Conference in India
-Govt proposes 10-year (2020-2030) comprehensive plan for conservation of birds, their habitats
-India and Norway to work jointly towards mitigating marine plastic litter and microplastics; Issue Joint statement
-India proposed names of 10 more wetlands for recognition under Ramsar Convention
-Red Throated Thrush and Plumbeous Water Redstart: Two new bird species found in Ladakh
-Union Minister Javadekar meets Secretary-General of Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
-Report Titled ‘State of India’s Birds, 2020: Range, trends and conservation status released….Click here to Read More

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Saudi Arabia,1st Arab Nation that hosts G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting 2020 from Feb 22-23The G20 Finance Ministers & Central Bank Governors Meeting was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 22-23 February 2020 on the theme “Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century for All”. The meet was chaired by the Saudi Arabia’s finance minister Mohammed al-Jadaan and central bank governor Ahmed al-Kholifey.
Key Points:
i.The objective of the meet was to enhance economic growth through financial mechanisms and to discuss the risks from the coronavirus epidemic.
ii.It should be noted that Saudi Arabia is the first Arab nation to hold the G20 presidency and will hold the fifteenth meeting of Group of Twenty (G20) i.e. G20 Leaders Summit 2020 from 21-22 November 2020, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
About G20 countries:

• The G20 is made up of 19 countries and the EU.
• The 19 countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK and the US.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS        

Hrithik Roshan awarded as the Best Actor in Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival 2020
On February 20, 2020 The Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2020 was held in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Hrithik Roshan bagged the Best Actor award for film “Super 30”.
Key Points:
i.Divyanka Tripathi was honoured as the Best Actress for television.
ii.Actor Ravi Dubey served as the host & many celebrities attended the event from the film and television industry.
iii.Stars including Hrithik Roshan, Malaika Arora, Divya Tripathi, Rashami Desai and Dia Mirza attended the event.
List of Awards at the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival 2020:
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Mangalore’s Adline Castelino won LIVA Miss Diva Universe 2020 title[/su_table]

On February 23, 2020 Adline Castelino from Mangalore, Karnataka has won LIVA Miss Diva Universe 2020 title and was crowned by Vartika Singh, the winner of previous edition, at an event held in YRF (Yash Raj Films) Studios, Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Key Points:
i.Adline Castelino will be representing India at Miss Universe pageant 2020.
ii.LIVA Miss Diva Supranational 2020: Aavriti Choudhary of Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh (MP) crowned as LIVA Miss Diva Supranational 2020 and was crowned by his predecessor Shefali Sood.
iii.Aavriti will represent India at Miss Supranational 2020.
iv.Runner-up: Neha Jaiswal of Pune, Maharashtra was declared as LIVA Miss Diva 2020, Runner-up.
v.The participants underwent training and grooming under the able mentorship and guidance of Lara Dutta, Bollywood actor & former Miss Universe.
vi.The judges panel included Lara Dutta, Anntonia Porsild, Asha Bhat, designers Shivan Bhatiya, Narresh Kukreja, Nikhil Mehra and actors Yami Gautam, Aditya Roy Kapur and Anil Kapoor. 

CDRI’s scientist Dr. Niti kumar to get SERB women excellence award-2020
Dr Niti Kumar,a Senior Scientist from Division of Molecular Parasitology and Immunology, CSIR-CDRI (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Central Drug Research Institute), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) to be honoured with SERB (Science and Engineering Research Board )Women Excellence Award-2020 by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind during National Science Day Celebrations on February 28, 2020, in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
Key Points:
i.She will be awarded for her research on understanding the protein quality control machinery in human malaria parasite for exploration of alternative drug targets for malaria intervention.
ii.Niti received various honors for her name Innovative Young Biotechnologist Award (DBT-IYBA, 2015), INSA Medal for Young Scientist (2010) by Indian National Science Academy, Ramalingaswami Fellowship (2013-2018), etc.
About SERB Women Excellence Award:
It is given to women scientists under the age of 40, who have received honors from various national academies.Women researchers will be supported by SERB of the Department of Science and Technology(DST), Government of India(GoI), with a grant of Rs 5 lakh per year for 3 years.
About SERB (Science and Engineering Research Board):
Headquarters– New Delhi
Secretary– Prof Sandeep Verma

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS          

Rajlaxmi Singh Deo re-elected as President of Rowing Federation of India 
On February 22, 2020 Rajlaxmi Singh Deo was re-elected as the President of RFI (Rowing Federation of India) and M V Shriram elected as the Secretary General of RFI, after the successful completion of election held in Hyderabad, Telangana. The election was conducted under the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) observer K Govindraj.
Key Points:
i.Rajpal Singh, G Bhasker, Souvik Ghose and Sreekunura Kurup were elected as 4 Vice-Presidents (VP) and Nababudin Ahmed as treasurer.
ii.Krishna Kumar Singh and Chirajit Phukan were elected as the 2 joint secretaries.
iii.The executive members of RFI consists of 5 members: Jasbir Singh, Venkateshwara Rao, Ismail Baig, Jacob and Manjunatha.
iv.The winning candidates will remain at the post for 4 years till 2024.
About RFI (Rowing Federation of India):
Founded- August 30, 1976.
Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Ms. Padmaja has been concurrently accredited as the next High Commissioner to Vanuatu
On February 21, 2020 Ms. Padmaja, presently High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Fiji, has been concurrently accredited as the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Vanuatu, with the residence in suva.
Key Points:
i.About Padmaja: Padmaja was the Post Graduate in History from the University of Allahabad and joined the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in 1986 and her first posting abroad was in Bangladesh.
ii.She worked in Indian Council of World Affairs before proceeding to London in 2010, and dealt with Media & Information and Public Diplomacy.
iii.She handled the work related to Global Estate Management, Consular matters and field expertise in Passport and Visa matters.
About Vanuatu:
Capital- Port Vila.
Currency- Vanuatu vatu.

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS      

GOVT approves merger of Indus Towers with Bharti Infratel 
On February 21, 2020, The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) of India has given Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) approval for the merger of India’s largest mobile tower company Indus Towers with Bharti Infratel. After the merger, the new Entity will become the world’s second largest Tower company after China tower Corporation Ltd,Beijing in China.
Key points:
i.The combined Entity will be the Pan-India Tower company with over 163,000 towers and it will operate across all 22 telecom service areas.
ii.Bharti Infratel the tower infrastructure arm of Bharti Airtel has own 42% stake in Indus Towers and the United Kingdom based Vodafone holds 42%, Vodafone Idea holds 11.15% and remaining 4.85% by a private equity firm.
iii.Bharti Airtel which currently owns a 53.5% stake in Bharti Infratel will own the stakes between 33.8% to 37.2% in the new Entity which is formed under the proposed merger and the Vodafone will own between 26.7%-29.4% stakes in the merged tower entity.
About Bharti Infratel:
Headquarters- Gurugram, Haryana
Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Devender Singh Rawat
Parent Organization- Bharti Airtel
About Indus Towers:
Headquarters- Gurugram, Haryana
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Bimal Dayal

  SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Scientists discover breathable oxygen in galaxy outside of Milky Way for 1st time
A team of astronomers at China’s Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, led by Junzhi Wang has identified molecular oxygen in a galaxy outside the Milky Way.The team identified the presence of molecular oxygen by analyzing light waves that had reached Earth from Markarian 231, a galaxy around 581 million light years away. The discovery  has been published in Astrophysical Journal.
Key Points:
i.The light wave readings were taken at two different locations: the IRAM ( Institute for Radio Astronomy in the Millimeter Range) 30-meter telescope in Granada, Spain, and the Northern Extended Millimeter Array telescope in the French Alps.
ii.The team estimates there could be 100 times more oxygen in Markarian 231 than Miky Way. Over the last 20 years, molecular oxygen has been detected on two other locations in the Milky Way: the Rho Ophiuchi cloud and the Orion nebula.

HPF validated its 1^st exoplanet called G 9-40b
On February 20, 2020, Habitable-Zone Planet Finder (HPF) ,an astronomical spectrograph installed on the 10-meter Hobby-Eberly Telescope at McDonald Observatory in Texas, Unites States(US) & built by Penn State University scientists, has validated its 1^st planet (exoplanet ) called G 9-40b.
Key Points:
i.The planet G 9-40b, is about twice the size of the Earth, but likely closer in size to Neptune, orbiting a nearby low mass bright M-dwarf star (100 light years from Earth) with an orbital period of 6 Earth-days.
ii.Other observations using 3.5m telescope at Apache Point Observatory and the 3m Shane Telescope at Lick Observatory, helped to confirm the identification.
iii.Earlier, US space agency NASA’s ( National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Kepler mission had observed a dip in the host star’s light in 2019, suggesting that the planet was crossing in front of the star during its orbit.In order to confirm this, scientists used the HPF.
iv.The details of the findings were published in the Astronomical Journal.
About National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA):
Founded– 29 July 1958.
Headquarters– Washington, D.C., United States(US).
Administrator– Jim Bridenstine

SPORTS

Young Indian Grand Master D.Gukesh wins title at 34^th Cannes open 2020 chessOn February 22, 2020, The 13-year old Young Indian Grandmaster (Youngest GM of India) Dommaraju Gukesh emerged as champion in the 34^th Cannes Open 2020 chess tournament held at Cannes, France by beating Harutyun Bargeshyan from France in the Final round and secured a total of 7.5 points.
Key points:
i.Tamil Nadu based Gukesh became the world’s second youngest Grandmaster in 2019 and he beat Bargeshyan in 50 moves.
ii.Chongsheng Zeng from china took 2nd place, after Gukesh other Indian players Siva Mahadevan and G B Harshavardhan holds 10^th place and 18^th place respectively in the cannes open.
iii.Gukesh also won the title in the Hillerod 110^th Anniversary Open event 2020 in Denmark and it was his 1^st Open Tournament title.

PM Modi inaugurated first-ever Khelo India University Games at Cuttack, OdishaOn February 22, 2020 Prime Minister (PM) Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the first-ever Khelo India University Games at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack, Odisha through video conferencing. Nearly 3,400 athletes from 159 universities across the country will participate in 17 disciplines including rugby which is among the 6 team events.
Key Points:
i.Khelo India was started in 2018 in order to attract youth towards sports & recognising young talents in every part of the country.
ii.The games will be staged across 10 venues in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack from february 21, 2020 to March 1, 2020. The Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) will be the main center for sporting extravaganza.
iii.Ace sprinter Dutee Chand, national record-holder in 100m & student of KIIT, will also be part of the University games.
iv.Odisha Chief Minister (CM) Naveen Patnaik, Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju and Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural gas (MoP&NG) participated in the occasion.
About Odisha:
Capital- Bhubaneswar.
Governor- Ganeshi Lal.

Overview of Asian Wrestling Championship 2020 held in New DelhiThe 2020 Asian Wrestling Championships, organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and United World Wrestling (UWW) , an international governing body for the sport of amateur wrestling, was held at the KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium in Indira Gandhi Arena, New Delhi from February 18 – 23, 2020.
The event had a total of 30 weight classes in action under 3 events: Men’s freestyle, Men’s Greco-Roman and Women’s freestyle.
Medal tally: Japan topped the medal tally with 16 medals( 8 Gold, 4 Silver, 4 Bronze).While India finished 3^rd rank with  20 medals( 5 Gold, 6 Silver, 9 Bronze).
Indian Gold Medal winners:

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OBITUARY

Former Karnataka Minister C Chennigappa passed away at 76On February 22, 2020 Former Karnataka Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader C Chennigappa passed away at the age of 70, in Bengaluru, Karnataka. He hailed from Byranayakanahalli, Nelamangala taluk, Karnataka.
Key Points:
i.Forest Minister: Chennigappa was Forest Minister in the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in 2006.
ii.He was 3 times MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) from Koratagere Assembly constituency, Karnataka.
iii.Chennigappa served in the Police Department before entering politics.

Former Indian Footballer Ashok Chatterjee passed away at 78On February 22, 2020, The former Indian Footballer Ashok Chatterjee who was a part of India’s bronze-medal winning teams in the Merdeka Cup in 1965 and 1966, passed away at the age of 78 in Kolkata due to age related issues.
Key points:
i.Ashok was Born and brought up at Halder Para Lane, Howrah in Kolkata. He made his International debut in the Merdeka Cup in 1965 against Japan.
ii.Chatterjee also represented India in the 1966 Asian Games, Bangkok and the Asian cup Qualifiers in 1967
iii.Ashok Chatterjee captained the Mohun Bagan club in 1969 and he was honoured with the Mohun Bagan Lifetime Achievement Award by the club in 2019.

Three-time MP, Netaji kin Krishna Bose passed away at 89On February 22, 2020  Krishna Bose, former Lok Sabha MP (Member of Parliament) and wife of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s nephew Sisir Kumar Bose, passed away at the age of 89 in Kolkata, West Bengal due to heart-related ailments. She was the Chairperson of the Netaji Research Bureau.
She was born on 26th December 1930 in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Key Points:
i.Krishna Bose joined politics in the mid-1990’s. She was elected as MP from the Jadavpur, West Bengal constituency in 1998 and 1999 as TMC (All India Trinamool Congress) candidate and in 1996 as a Congress candidate.
ii.During her term she served as Chairperson of the Committee on External Affairs & also member of other important committees.
iii.Krishna Bose was a noted educationist taught English for 40 years at Sivanath Sastri College where she was also principal for 8 years and an accomplished classical musician.
iv.She authored a number of books in English and Bengali including “An Outsider in Politics”. Itihaser Sandhane, Charanarekha Taba, Prasanga Subhaschandra, Smriti-Bismriti, Netaji: A Biography for the Young, are the notable publications.‘A True Love Story — Emilie and Subhas’, that throws light on the little-known facts about Netaji’s life. Her memoirs, ‘Lost Addresses’, portrays the story of her childhood, adolescence and young adulthood. The book vividly describes Calcutta (now Kolkata), Bengal and India in the 1930s and 1940s and the early years after Independence.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Manmohan singh released “Yaaru Bharat Maate”, the Kanada version of the book “who is bharat mata ” translated by K E Radhakrishna
On February 23, 2020, The Former Prime Minister of India Mr. Manmohan Singh has released  the Kannada version of the book “who is bharat mata” translated by Professor K E Radhakrishna and titled as “Yaaru Bharat Maate” and the English version of the book is penned by professor Purushottam Agarwal, and the book was Published  by the Swapna Book House, Bengaluru in association with Delhi Karnataka Sangha.
Key points:
i.The book contains gatherings of speeches and writings of the 1st Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, including information from his books like “An Autobiography”, “Glimpses of World History”, “The Discovery of India” and etc.
ii.The book also contains achievements of freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Moulana Azad, Arun Asaf Ali, Sheikh Abdullah, Subhash Chandra Bose, Mohammed Aris Singh, Ali Sardar and others.
iii.And the book also gives complete information about India’s Freedom Movement.

Vice President Venkaiah naidu released Sadhguru’s book ‘Death-An Inside Story’On February 21 ,2020, Vice-President President Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu,who was the chief guest at the 26^th Maha Sivaratri celebrations at Isha Yoga Centre in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu (TN), has launched a book titled  “Death; An Inside Story: A book for all those who shall die” penned by Jaggi Vasudev, (generally referred to as Sadhguru),an Indian yogi ,author & founder of Isha Foundation.
Key Points:
i.The book has been Published by Penguin Ananda & talks about the author’s  inner experience as he explains the more profound aspects of death that are rarely spoken about.
ii.He also talks about the preparations , which one can take for his/her death & how best they can support someone who is dying and their journey even after death.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Central Excise Day was observed on feb 24, 2020
Central Excise Day was celebrated every year on February 24 across India to encourage the employees of the excise department to carry out the central excise duty in a better way and to prevent corruption.
The Central Excise Day is celebrated to commemorate the Central Excise and Salt Act, which was enacted on February 24, 1944.
Key Points:
i.Numerous programs, seminars, workshops were conducted to spread awareness among the buyers and the sellers regarding the new exercise rules and regulations for easy implementations & maximum benefit.
ii.In India, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) is responsible for administering Customs, Central Excise, Service Tax, Goods and Service Tax (GST), and Narcotics in India.
iii.Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) was renamed as Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), which functions under the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance.

STATE NEWS

Dial 112: Kerala gets integrated number for police, medical and fire emergencies
On February 22, 2020, The Kerala Police have operationalised Dial 112, the pan-India number of the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS), introduced by the Ministry of Home Affairs, for citizens in emergencies.
The state launched the integrated emergency number in all 19 police districts for police, medical and fire emergencies, and also the women’s helpline.
Key Points:
i.The emergency number,brought by the ERSS, is a consolidation of police (100), fire (101), health (108) helpline numbers.
ii.With the new system in place ,the State control unit of the ERSS operates at the headquarters of the Kerala Police and its activities are monitored by an official of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police / Assistant Commandant.
iii.More than 100 personnel are deployed to the unit which gets calls from the public and initiates steps for emergency support. The centre also oversee the action taken by district coordination centres, which will monitor calls transferred from the response centre.
About Kerala:
Capital– Thiruvananthapuram
Governor– Arif Mohammad Khan
Chief Minister– Pinarayi Vijayan
Fruit– Jackfruit
Tree– Coconut tree

AP CM Jagan Mohan launches ‘Jagananna Vasthi Deevena’ scheme for Students
On February 24, 2020, Andhra Pradesh  (AP) Chief Minister (CM) Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy has launched an educational scheme called ‘Jagananna Vasthi Deevena (JVD)’ in Vizianagaram district. Under the scheme, a financial assistance of Rs 2,300 crore will be provided to the students pursuing ITI, polytechnic, under-graduate and post-graduate education courses to handle hostel and mess expenditure.
Key Points:
i.This scheme will benefit 11,87,904 students,where the ITI (Industrial Training Institute) students would get Rs 10,000 each, polytechnic students would get Rs 15,000 and under-graduates (UG) and post-graduates (PG) Rs 20,000 each in 2 instalments, in February and July every year. Funds will be added to the account of the beneficiary students’ mothers.
ii.Beneficiary students’ will be provided with a unique bar-coded smart card, which contains complete details of the student to get the complete benefits.
iii.The scheme aims to improve the gross enrolment ratio in higher education (post-Intermediate), which was only 23% in AP now.
About Andhra Pradesh:
Capital City– Amaravati
Governor– Biswabhushan Harichandan
State Tree- Neem tree
State Flower- Water lilies
State Animal- Blackbuck

AC GAZE

Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas sets new indoor women’s triple jump world record
Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas has set a new indoor women’s triple jump world record of 15.43m at a meeting in Madrid.Prior to this, The World record of 15.36m in triple jump was set by Russia’s Tatyana Lebedeva in Budapest in March 2004.

GSI estimates 160 Kg Gold Deposits in Uttar Pradesh’s Sonbhadra district,not 3,000 Tonnes
Geological Survey Of India(GSI) has denied the discovery of  gold deposits of over 3,000 tonnes and  mentioned that the mineralised zone having an average grade of 3.03 grams per tonne of gold is tentative in nature and the total gold which can be extracted from the total resource of 52,806.25 tonnes of ore is approximately 160 kg and not 3,350 tonnes in Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh.

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