Current Affairs Daily Digest – February 22 2020
1. International Judicial Conference was held in New Delhi
International Judicial Conference was held in New Delhi on 22 February. The conference was addressed by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Distinguished Judges of the Supreme Court and various High Courts, Eminent lawyers and delegates from overseas also took part in the Conference.
2. Sreeramakrishnan was conferred the Ideal Legislative Assembly Speaker Award
The Ideal Legislative Assembly Speaker/Ideal Legislative Council Chairman Award was presented to the Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, Shri P. Ramakrishnan. It was conferred by the Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu at the 10th edition of Bharatiya Chhatra Sansad in New Delhi on 20 February 2020.
3. India, Maldives agree to combat terrorism, radicalization
Union Home Minister Amit Shah met his Maldivian counterpart, Sheikh Imran Abdulla, on 21 February 2020. The Ministers agreed to combat terrorism, radicalization in both the countries.
4. RBI unveiled a 2019-24 National Strategy for Financial Inclusion
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) unveiled a National Strategy for Financial Inclusion 2019-24. The RBI’s Strategy is aimed at providing access to formal financial services in an affordable manner. It aims to promote financial literacy among customers.
5. Bhaskar Khulbe, Amarjeet Sinha appointed as Advisors to PM Narendra Modi
Retired IAS officers Bhaskar Khulbe and Amarjeet Sinha has appointed as Advisors to Prime Minister Narendra Modi 21 February 2020. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointments in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in the rank and scale of Secretary.
The appointments were made on a contractual basis initially for a period of two years, or until further orders. General terms and conditions that are applicable in the case of re-employed officers of Secretary-level in the government are applicable to them.
6. Khelo India University Games to begin in Odisha
The first-ever Khelo India University Games will begin in Odisha at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Cuttack on 22 February 2020. The multi-disciplinary sporting event will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Games will be held from 22 February to 1 March 2020 at Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The Khelo India University Games will be launched by the Government of India in partnership with the Government of the State of Odisha.
7. Lewis Hamilton, Lionel Messi jointly won the Laureus World Sportsman of the year award
British racing driver Lewis Hamilton and footballer Lionel Messi were declared the joint winners of the Laureus World Sportsman of the year award. The two received the same number of votes. For the first in the 20-year history, the award was split.
Other awardees:
- American gymnast Simone Bile received the World Sportswoman of the year award. This is her third in four years after winning it in 2017 and in 2019. She has won five gold medals at the 2019 World Championships.
- Chloe Kim won the World Action Sportsperson honour. It is her second straight in the same category.
- Oksana Masters won the Sportsperson of the year with a disability category. She has won five gold medals and a silver at the World Para Nordic Skiing Championships.
- The World Team of the Year Award was clinched by the South Africa Rugby team.
- Egan Bernal won the World Breakthrough of the Year award. He became the youngest rider to win the Tour de France at 22.
- German basketball player Dirk Nowitzki won the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the sport of basketball.
- Spanish Basketball Federation got the Exceptional Achievement Award.
8. GSI discovers gold deposits of over 3,000 tonnes in Sonbhadra
The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has discovered gold deposits to the tune of around 3,000 tonnes in Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh, almost five times India’s current reserve of the yellow metal.
District Mining Officer K.K. Rai said the gold deposits were found in Son Pahadi and Hardi areas. Work on finding gold reserves in Sonbhadra was started almost two decades back in 1992-93 by the GSI, he said, adding that auctioning of these blocks through e-tendering would start soon.
9. Department of Telecommunications launches ‘5G Hackathon’
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has launched ‘5G Hackathon’ in association with government, academia and industry stakeholders. Aimed at shortlisting India’s focused cutting edge ideas that can be converted into workable 5G products and solutions, the Hackathon that began yesterday will be spread across three phases.
The event will culminate in a grand felicitation ceremony at India Mobile Congress on the 16th of October this year. Winners of the various phases will share a total prize pool of 2.5 crore rupees.
10. Railway customers can now converse in Hindi through ‘ASKDISHA’ chatbot
Ministry of Railways upgraded services of Artificial Intelligence (AI) based ASKDISHA chatbot to converse with Railway customers in the Hindi language. It aims to resolve queries of railway passengers over the internet pertaining to various services offered.
