Current Affairs February 22 2020

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 22 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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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya Inaugurated India’s First Floating Jetty & Immigration office in Goa
On February 21, 2020 Union Minister of State for shipping Mansukh Mandaviya, inaugurated the India’s first floating jetty on the banks of Mandovi river, Goa and also an immigration facility office at a cruise terminal in Vasco, Goa.
Key Points:
i.About floating jetty: The floating jetty is made up of cement concrete which was built on a short time, will boost inland waterways, they are environment friendly and 3 more will be built in Goa.
ii.The new floating jetty can be resized, realigned and relocated as per requirement.
iii.About Immigration office: Immigration counter at the cruise terminal in Mormugao Port, Goa, wil help foreign nationals who arrive on cruise ships.
iv.The State receives 45 international cruises annually in addition to domestic cruise boats.
v.Goa Chief Minister (CM) Pramod Sawant, Union AYUSH (Ayurvedic, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) Minister Shripad Naik and Rajya Sabha MP (Member of Parliament) Vinay Tendulkar were present on the occasion.
About Goa:
Capital- Panaji.
Governor- Satya Pal Malik.

Ministry of MSME launched national level awareness programme(NLAP) 2020
On February 21, 2020 The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) has launched a National Level Awareness Programme (NLAP) 2020 from february 17, 2020 to february 28, 2020.
Objective: The main objective of NLAP is to spread awareness about the schemes & activities undertaken by the Ministry and its attached organisations such as Office of Development Commissioner (MSME), Khadi & Village Industries Commission, Coir Board, National Small Industries Corporation Limited, National Institute of MSME, MSME Technology Centres, and Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Rural Industrialization.
Key Points:
i.About Awareness Programme: A total of 126 field offices of the Ministry & its organisations are conducting the awareness programmes across the country to spread the information among students of colleges and educational institutes.
ii.The awareness drive will be conducted in more than 600 colleges covering almost 60,000 students from all parts of the country.
iii.Audio-Video films about the activities of the Ministry & its organizations, details of the schemes implemented by the Ministry are displayed to the students.

Indian Army is Set to Get New Headquarters – the Thal Sena Bhawan in Delhi Cantonment
On February 21, 2020 Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone of the Army Headquarters new building “Thal Sena Bhawan” in Delhi Cantonment. Thal Sena Bhawan, the multi-storeyed complex adopting Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA-5 rating) norms, designed like a “rising sun” and spread over nearly 39 acres.
Key Points:
i.The Army Headquarters is currently housed in the iconic South Block at Raisina Hill, Delhi.
ii.At present, the Army headquarters is split into 8 pockets across New Delhi such as South Block, Sena Bhawan, Hutments Area, R.K.Puram, Shankar Vihar etc., and the new building accommodates Army headquarters in one place ensures that they can work under one roof.
iii.The newly created Department of Military Affairs (DMA) will be headed by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Bipin Rawat.
iv.Nearly 1,700 officers (both military & civilian) and 1,300 sub-staffs will be accommodated in the new building and the cost of the project will be in excess of Rs 700 crore and will be constructed within 5 years.
About Indian Army:
Founded- April 1, 1895.
Motto- Service before Self.
Chief of the Army Staff (COAS)- General Manoj Mukund Naravane.

Parsi population went up by 233 since the launch of Jiyo parsi scheme: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
On February 7, 2020, According to the Union Minister of Minority Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the population of Parsis (Zoroastrians), a notified minority community under National Commission of Minorities Act 1992,increased  by 233 since the year 2013, when the government launched the Jiyo Parsi scheme.
So far the central Government has spent Rs 14 crore in 7 years for this scheme.
Key Points:
i.As per the 2011 census data, the number of Parsi community in the country is around 57,264, a decrease from 1,14,000 in 1941.
ii.In order to increase the population of the Parsi community, the Minority Ministry releases budget for various programs being run under the scheme.
About Jiyo Parsi scheme:
It is run by the Ministry of Minority affairs with the aim to increase the population of the Parsi community.
It has two components: Medical Assistance and Advocacy (Counselling).
About minister of minority affairs:
Founded– 29 January 2006
Headquarters– New Delhi

Smart City Mission: Centre devises 20-20 model to help backward cities
On February 21, 2020,The central Government has come up with a 20-20 model
according to which top 20 cities will be paired with the bottom 20 cities.
This will help share the knowledge among the cities and provide a chance to the most backward cities for adapting best practices from their partner cities.
Under the smart city mission, 100 selected smart cities have identified 5151 projects worth Rs 2,05,018 crore to be executed.
i.In order to implement this mission in successful way, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has launched a 100-day challenge for the backward cities to enhance their position by June 25,2020 ,the  5^th  anniversary of Smart Cities Mission.
ii.Pairing: The top ranked Ahmedabad has been paired with Chandigarh which is ranked 81^st . Port Blair standing on 96^th spot has been given Nagpur, which is rank 2. Similarly,few other cities have been paired such as Tirupur (rank 3) with Silvassa (87), Ranchi (rank 4) with Shimla (92)and more….Click here to Read More

Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal & Union Minister of WCD Smriti Irani inaugurated National Organic Food Festival for women entrepreneurs in New DelhiOn February21, 2020 Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Union Minister of Women and Child Development (WCD) inaugurated National Organic Food Festival for women entrepreneurs at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi.It is jointly organized by both the ministries with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as the industry partner.
About National Organic Food festival

• The theme of the festival is ‘Unleashing India’s Organic Market Potential’.
• The festival is being held from February 21-23.
• More than 180 women entrepreneurs, self-help groups and cooperatives are participating.
• The festival will be conducted 6 times a year across India and is planned to make it as an International exhibition soon.

Key Highlights
i.Every year India’s organic food market is growing at 17%.
ii.Organic Food market to touch Rs 75000 crore in next 5 years.
iii.India is ranked 1st in organic producers and 9th in cultivation for organic products.
iv.Memorandum of understanding has been signed in 2019 to encourage organic products and women entrepreneurship.
v.In 2017-18 India exported certified organic products around 1.7million tonnes and exported organic products worth USD 515 million.

IRSDC installs India’s 1st squat machine at Delhi’s Anand Vihar railway station; Free platform ticket will be given for 30 squats
On February 21, 2020,In order to promote the Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi-led “Fit India” initiative, Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC) has installed a India’s 1^st squat machine at Anand Vihar Railway Station in Delhi, where a person who performs 30 squats in 3 minutes (or 180 seconds) will get a platform ticket for free.
Key Points:
i.Along with this, the railway has also opened a shop in the name of “Dawa Dost” to provide cheap generic medicines.It aims to make it easier for people to take care of their health and to provide them affordable high quality medicines.
The firm currently has 10 shops in Rajasthan and Delhi. It plans to increase their number to 100 in the next one year and 1,000 in 4 years.
ii.The railway has also started to provide mobile charging kiosk, quick service restaurant, generic medical store, massage chair, and Health ATM (Automated Teller Machine) at the station.
iii.Prime Minister Modi had started the ‘Fit India’ movement at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi on August 29, 2019 to encourage people to remain healthy and fit by including physical activities and sports in their daily routines.
About Ministry of Railways:
Formed– 16 April 1853
Headquarters– New Delhi
Union Minister– Piyush Goyal

A 2-day long first-ever Bharat-Bangla tourism festival 2020 held in Agartala, Tripura
The first-ever 2 days long Bharat-Bangla Paryatan Utsav 2020 (Tourism Festival) was held at Ujjayanta Palace in Agartala, Tripura from February 20-21, 2020 to boost the Tripura tourism sector.
Key Points:
i.It was inaugurated by Tripura Chief Minister (CM) Biplab Kumar Deb & organized by Department of Tourism, Government of Tripura in memories of the contribution of Tripura in 1971 Bangladesh liberation war.
ii.The key attraction of the festival includes Seminars, discussions, cultural events,etc.
iii.The festival saw the participation of Tourism minister Pranajit Singha Roy, Bangladesh Assistant High Commissioner to Tripura Kiriti Chakma, MP(Member of Parliament) Pratima Bhowmik, MP from Bangladesh Md. Abdus Saheed (who paid tribute to the Indians, who helped Bangladesh in the 1971 liberation war) and many other officials of Bangladesh.
About Tripura:
Capital– Agartala
Governor– Ramesh Bais
National Park– Clouded Leopard National Park, Rajbari National Park.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

India & Sri Lanka signed MoU for up-gradation of infrastructure in plantation schools in Colombo, Sri Lanka
On February 21, 2020 India and Sri Lanka have signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) for up-gradation of infrastructure in plantation schools for estate workers of Indian origin.
The MoU was signed between Mr. Vinod K. Jacob, acting High Commissioner of India and Secretary, Ministry of Education of Sri Lanka, Mr. N.H.M Chithrananda at Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Key Points:
i.About Project: The project is implemented to upgrade the infrastructure of 9 plantation schools as identified by Sri Lanka under an Indian grant assistance of Rs 30 crores.
ii.GOI (Government of India) has been implementing several projects in the field of education for deepening India-Sri Lanka cooperation in the education sector.
iii.Under Indian grant assistance, construction & renovation of many school buildings in Northern Province of Sri Lanka is also being undertaken.
iv.India’s overall commitment of development assistance to Sri Lanka stands at a total of around 3.5 billion US (United States) dollars, of which 560 million US dollars under grants.
About Sri Lanka:
Capital- Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte.
Prime Minister (PM)- Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Currency- Sri Lankan rupee.

Pakistan continues at grey list of FATF for another 4 months
On February 21, 2020,The Paris based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an organization that monitors the financing of international terrorism, gave a 4-month extension to Pakistan & warned of action for its failure to combat money laundering and terror financing.
Islamabad (Pakistan) continues to remain on grey list & If it does not curb the financing of terrorism by June 2020, it will be put on the blacklist.
The decision has been taken by FATF after the completion of its 6-day plenary session in Paris, France.
Key Points:
i.Background: Pakistan was placed on the grey list in June 2018. It was given an action plan to complete by October 2019, under which it was entrusted with 27 tasks, including stopping terrorist funding, eradicating terrorism from its land. Out of this, Pakistan was able to complete only 14 tasks till February 2020. The FATF urged Pakistan to swiftly complete the remaining 13-action plan of the list.
ii.Pakistan’s terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and the Hizbul Mujahideen are responsible for a series of attacks in India.
iii.Impacts of being Blacklisted: If Pakistan is blacklisted, it may adversely impact its imports, exports, remittances and limit its access to international lending. Currently, only Iran and North Korea are on the black list.
Grey list:
FATF grey lists a country which it considers as a safe haven for terror funding and money laundering.
About FATF:
Formation– 1989
Headquarters– Paris, France
Membership– 39
President– Xiangmin Liu

Nitin Gadkari led India to the 3rd High Level Global Conference on Road Safety in Stockholm, Sweden
The 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety with theme “Achieving Global Goals 2030” was held in Stockholm, Sweden on 19–20 February 2020. It was hosted by Government of Sweden in collaboration with World Health Organization (WHO). The aim of the meet was to chart future strategic directions for global road safety and to share successes and lessons from implementation of the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011–2020. It should be noted that United Nations (UN) has set a goal under the UN Decade of Action of reducing road crashes by 2030.

• Indian delegation was led by Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Nitin Gadkari.
• Nitin Gadkari visit to Swedish Logistics Automotive manufacturer ‘Volvo’ in Gothenburg, Sweden.
• Nitin Gadkari had a bilateral dialogue with his Swedish Minister for Infrastructure Tomas Eneroth, Minister for Foreign Trade.
• Union Minister Nitin Gadkari reaffirmed India’s commitment in reducing road accidents by 2030.
• India Needs Additional $109 Billion for Safer Roads: World Bank Report….Click here to Read More

9th Defence and Security Expert Working Group meeting of SCO held in Islamabad, Pakistan
The two day long 9th Defence and Security Expert Working Group (EWG) meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was held in Islamabad, Pakistan from February 19 to 20 to discuss different aspects of cooperation between the SCO member states and regional security. They have agreed on joint training and military exercises. The event was hosted by Pakistan as part of the ‘SCO Defence & Security Cooperation Plan – 2020’.

• India has attended this meet along with China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Belarus attended the meeting as the observer state.

Key Points:
i.It should be noted that in 2019 there was a rapid decline in Indo-Pakistan diplomatic relations when Pakistan expelled Indian High Commissioner after India abrogated Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
ii.India will host the annual meeting of council of heads of government of the SCO in 2020.
About SCO
Establishment– 19 September 2003
Led by– China
Members– 8 (India, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and Russia)
Observer States– 4 (Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia)
Dialogue partners– 6 (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey, and Sri Lanka)
Secretariat– Beijing, China
Secretary-General– Vladimir Norov

BANKING & FINANCE

RBI unveils 5 year National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI): 2019-2024
In order to promote financial literacy among customers and to provide access to formal financial services in an affordable manner, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released a National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI) 2019-24. The strategy has been prepared by Financial Inclusion Advisory Committee (FIAC) of the RBI in consultation with the Centre, Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority of India (PFRDA).

• NSFI has been finalized and approved by the Financial Stability Development Council (FSDC). The document was formally released by Mahesh Kumar Jain, Deputy Governor, RBI at the High Level Meeting on Financial Inclusion for the North East region convened at Agartala, Tripura.

Here are the key recommendations:
-There should be universal access to financial services wherein every village should have access to a formal financial services provider within a 5-km radius.
-The banking outlets of commercial banks to be increased to provide easy and hassle-free digital process….Click here to Read More

Securities market regulator SEBI redefines ‘pledge’ to protect client securities
On February 17, 2020, Securities and Exchange Board of India(SEBI) ,the regulator for the securities market in India, has amended the SEBI (Depositories and Participants) Regulations,2018  by including an extra explanation that states that ‘pledge’ would also refer to ‘re-pledge of securities for margin or settlement obligations.’
The decision was approved by the SEBI Board meet in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Key Points:
i.Changes:With this SEBI’s amendment, now the depository will have the liability of the bonafide pledge ,which is created from the margin account of a stock broker
ii.Benefit: This move will reduce the instances where stock brokers misuse client securities by pledging such shares for their own benefit in terms of meeting their margin requirements.
iii.Background: It is being seen the brokers pledge shares without telling owner.In the recent past, the Karvy Stock Broking Limited,  Hyderabad (Telangana) pledged shares of customers & took loan from firms such as Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and IndusInd Bank & owners of the share were not aware of it.
Pledged share: It means taking loan against the shares one holds. It can be done by both investors and promoters.
About Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI):
Formed– April 12, 1988
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairman– Ajay Tyagi

Sweden’s Riksbank begun testing world’s 1^st  digital version of currency, e-krona
On February 2020, Sveriges Riksbank (or simply the Riksbank), the central bank of Sweden, had begun testing its digital version of currency, e-krona. If this year-long pilot project successful, this would lead to the creation of world’s 1^st central bank digital currency(CBDC).
Key Points:
i.The pilot project, will be in operation for one year, until February 2021, will use distributed ledger technology inspired by the blockchains that operates cryptocurrencies.
ii.The digital currency e-krona will be used to simulate day-to-day banking functions like payments from a digital wallet such as a mobile phone application.
About Sveriges Riksbank:
Headquarters– Stockholm, Sweden
Established– 1668
Governor– Stefan Ingves
Currency– Swedish krona

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

India’s GDP growth to be 4.9% in 2019-20: NCAER
On February 21, 2020, National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER),a New Delhi based non-profit think tank of economics, has estimated India’s economic growth rate  to be 4.9 % for the current Financial year-FY 2019-20, which is lower than the 5 % estimation by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
Key Points:
i.At the same time, NCAER has expressed the hope that in the year 2020-21, the country’s growth rate can be up to 5.6%.
ii.In the quarterly review of the economy, the institute has predicted the growth rate could be 4.9 % in the third quarter of the current financial year (Q3: 2019-20) and it is expected to increase to 5.1 % in the fourth quarter (Q4: 2019-20).
iii.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also predicted a growth rate of 5% for 2019-20.
iv.Food inflation will come down: As per NCAER, due to monsoon and subsequent good rains, the water reserves in the major water sources of the country have increased, due to which the prospects of the agricultural sector are looking good. So,this year agricultural production is estimated to be better than in 2019.
About National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER):
Headquarters– New Delhi
Founded– 1956
President– Nandan M Nilekani

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS      

Dharampal Satyapal Limited won Best In-House direct tax Team of the Year award in BRICS CCI’s 2nd edition of Annual Direct Tax Summit & Awards 2020On February 21,2020 in New Delhi BRICS Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCI) organised the 2nd edition of Annual Direct Tax Summit & Awards 2020 in union with Achromic Point an international consulting firm.The Award aimed to resolve the issues related to direct tax and its implications. Dharampal Satyapal Limited won the award for Best In-house Direct Tax Team of the year.
Key Highlights
i.The key topics discussed includes key amendments vide Budget 2020, India’s tax litigation scenario and way forward, penalty and prosecution provisions under Income tax law, India’s take on taxation of digital economy, cross border investments, structuring and transactions (key provisions), Black Money Act, Benami Law and Money Laundering laws – Government tightening the rope.
ii.The knowledge partner of the event is Aourakii Legal, Litigation partner is Chilana & Chilana Law Offices and Corporate partners were The Corporate Partners.
About BRICS:
Headquarter– Shanghai, China
Members– Brazil, Russia, India, China, South africa
Formation– 2009 

Padma Shri awardee Manoj Kumar felicitated by London’s World Book of Records for his contribution to Indian cinemaOn February 21, 2020 Famous actor Manoj Kumar, 82 years old, has been felicitated by the World Book of Records (WBR), London, with the WBR Golden Era of Bollywood honour for highlighting patriotic, social and cultural feelings through his contribution to Indian Cinema.
Key Points:
i.The certificate of honour was presented to Manoj Kumar by Santosh Shukla, Supreme Court Advocate (President World Book of Records), Usman Khan (Vice President, World Book of Records, India) and Professor Rajeev Sharma.
ii.Awards: Manoj Kumar was the winner of 47th Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2015 and also awarded Padma Shri award by the Government of India in 1992.
iii.The hit films of Manoj Kumar are Hariyali aur Rasta, Woh Kaun Thi?, Himalay Ki Goad Mein, Upkar, Neel Kamal, Purab aur Paschim, Roti Kapada Aur Makaan and Kranti.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS     

US-India Business Council (USIBC) appoints Vijay Advani as a New chairman of Global boardOn February 21,2020 the US-India Business Council (USIBC) appointed Vijay Advani as a new chairman of its Global board of directors. USIBC represents the top global companies across the United States,India and Indo-Pacific.
Highlights
i.Prior to the current position as an Executive Chairman, Vijay Advani was the CEO of Nuveen and earlier was Co-President of Franklin Templeton Investments.
ii.The council announced 2 new members of the Global Board of Directors namely, Lockheed Martin International Senior Vice President Tim Cahill and GE South Asia president & CEO Mahesh Palashikar.
About USIBC
It is a business advocacy organisation to encourage and enlighten the private sectors of India and US to increase investment flows.
Headquarter– Washington, D.C., United States
Chairman– Nisha Desai Biswal

     SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

IRCTC ‘ASKDISHA’ upgraded to converse with Railway Customers in Hindi Language
On February 21, 2020 Indian Railways Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) upgraded ASKDISHA (Digital Interaction to Seek Help Anytime) in Hindi language by voice as well as text in order to enhance the customer services and also converse with customers in the e-ticketing site (www.irctc.co.in)
Key Points:
i.Nearly 3000 enquiries are being handled by ASKDISHA in Hindi Language on a daily basis.
ii.About ASKDISHA: In order to resolve the queries of railway passengers over the internet related to the various services offered, IRCTC introduced Artificial Intelligence based ASKDISHA chatbot in October 2018, for the benefit of the users of the ticketing website and tourism website (www.irctctourism.com).
iii.The ASKDISHA chatbot was initially launched in English language.
iv.Since its initial launch, more than 150 million passengers have been benefited with 10 billion interactions for seeking help on reservation of tickets, cancellation, enquiry of refund status, fare, PNR (Passenger Name Record) search, train running status, enquiry about retiring rooms and tourism products.

SPORTS

Great Britain Olympic hockey champion Alex Danson-Bennett announced her retirementOn February 20, 2020 Great Britain Women’s field hockey captain Alex Danson-Bennett, 34 years old, announced her retirement from the sport due to head injury.
Key Points:
i.Danson-Bennett was part of the British team that won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics where she was a joint top-scorer.
ii.She is Great Britain and England women’s all-time joint leading scorer with 115 goals in 306 appearances.

Russia will host new edition of AIBA World Cup 2020
On February 21, 2020 Russia will be the 1st country to host the new format of AIBA (Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur or International Boxing Association) Team World Cup 2020 which was approved by AIBA Executive committee members, at the meeting held at Budapest, Hungary, Europe.
Key Points:
i.The Boxing tournament will be coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the victory in World War II under the motto “Boxing for Peace”.
ii.The best national teams all over the world will take part in the tournament.
iii.Finals:The final match is scheduled in October 2020 in the city of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.
iv.The last tournament was organized in Moscow (Russia) in 2008, where Cuban teams celebrated victory.
v.The first World Cup was held at Madison Square garden, New York, US (United States) in 1979, in which US defeated Soviet Union’s team 7-3 and the World Cup was held from 1979 to 1998 and 2002 – 2006 as a team event.
About AIBA:
Founded- 1946.
Headquarters- Lausanne, Switzerland.
President- Dr Mohamed Moustahsane.

FC Goa created history by becoming the 1^st Indian club to reach 2021 AFC Champions league group stage
On February 19, 2020, FC Goa, an Indian professional football club (FC) has created new history in Indian football when it defeated Jamshedpur FC in an Indian Super League (ISL 2019-20)) match to become the 1^st Indian club to qualify for the group stage of the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Champions League 2021.
FC Goa beat Jamshedpur with 5–0 scores in a brilliant performance at the JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand.
Key Points:
i.The win ensured FC Goa their top spot in the league stage of the ISL. At the end of the league stage of the ISL, the team that was at the top was scheduled to get a place in the continent’s top club tournament 2021 AFC Champions League.
ii.This is Goa’s 12th win in 18 matches this season. With this, it has gained 39 points and has taken a six-point lead over second-placed ATK FC(33 points), an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal.
iii.FC Goa to receive the ‘League Winners Shield’ and a cash prize of Rs.50 lakh for winning the league phase.
About Asian Football Confederation (AFC):
It is the governing body of association football in Asia and Australia.
Motto– One Asia One Goal
Formation– 8 May 1954
Headquarters– Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
President– Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Thinking Day celebrated on February 22, 2020Each year on February 22 Girl Scouts and Girl Guides from 150 countries celebrate World Thinking Day. The theme of World Thinking Day 2020 is “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion”.
Key Points
i.On this day girls from every part of the world does the same activity around a shared theme.
ii.The day is observed in the memory of Scouting and Guiding Founder Lord Baden-Powell’s birth anniversary since 1926.
iii.Other Scouts observe the day as B-PDay or Founder’s Day.

STATE NEWS

Odisha government presented Rs 1.5 Lakh crore paperless budget 2020-21
On February 18,2020 Odisha Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik presented the annual budget for 2020-21 of Rs 1.5 Lakh crore whereas it was Rs 1.39 lakh crore FY 2019-20.
i.The Odisha government has switched to a paperless budget for the first time and is the second state in India after Himachal Pradesh.
ii.The budget is termed as ‘Green Budget’, an initiative under 5T action plan to reduce printing of 75Lakhs pages hence to save around 1000 trees.
Budget Allocation

• Rs 65,655 crore for administrative expenditure.
• Rs 74000 crore for Programme expenditure….Click here to Read More

Govt of Haryana to open Atal kisan – majdoor canteens to provide affordable meals to farmers
On February 20, 2020, According to the Haryana Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya, the state Government will open Atal Kisan – Majdoor canteens (named after former Prime minister (PM) late Atal Bihari Vajpayee ) in the ‘mandis’ and sugar mills across the state to provide affordable, cheap meals to farmers and labourers at concessional rate of Rs 10 per plate.
Key Points:
i.These canteens will be built by the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board, which has also decided to operate the canteens at 25 different locations in the state.
ii.The state government also decided to provide concessional free travel facility of free travel up to 150 km to 41 various categories of girl students in the ordinary buses of Haryana Roadways.
Also during the year 2020-2021, the women and girls (in the age group of 10 – 45 years) belonging to 11 lakh BPL (Below Poverty Line) families will be provided sanitary napkins free of cost, for which state government has allocated Rs.30 Crore.
iii.The state recruited a total of  5,192 constables, including 1,000 women constables to increase policing and improve security and safety in the State. Around 450 under-training Sub-Inspectors including 60 women Sub-Inspectors are also expected to join the force in March 2020.
iv.To provide better transport facilities across the state, the Governor said that under the NABARD scheme, 40 projects costing Rs 138.33 crore have been sanctioned for 296.32 km roads during the current financial year 2019-20.
About Haryana:
Capital– Chandigarh.
Chief Minister (CM)- Manohar Lal Khattar
State Tree– Pipal, Peepul or Bo tree
National Parks(NP)– Sultanpur NP, Kalesar NP.

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