Daily Current Affairs 20 February 2019

Daily Current Affairs 20 February 2019: Your guide for daily General Knowledge Preparation

Dear Readers,

This post contains important current affairs of 20 February 2019. It includes all Major National, International, Business and Sports related current affairs of 20 February 2019. A brief explanation of every current affair is provided to further enhance your general knowledge. Once you have gone through these current affairs we would recommend to you to try 20 February 2019 Current affairs test.

National News

1. World’s first Diesel to Electric Converted Locomotive

• PM Modi has flagged off the world’s first Diesel to Electric Converted Locomotive at Diesel Locomotive Works campus in Varanasi.
• Indian Railways is India’s national railway system operated by the Ministry of Railways. It manages the fourth-largest railway network in the world by size, with 121,407 kilometres of total track over a 67,368-kilometre route.

2. Aero India 2019

• The 12th edition of ‘Aero India 2019’ has started at Yelahanka, Bengaluru.
• The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks fourth amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflict.

3. Pan-India Number 112

• Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi has launched Pan-India Number 112 for Persons in distress.
• Under this system, all the states have to set up a dedicated Emergency Response Centre (ERC).
• 112 is the common emergency telephone number that can be dialled free of charge from most mobile telephones and, in some countries, fixed telephones in order to reach emergency services (ambulance, fire and rescue, police).

4. Madan Mohan Malviya Cancer Centre

• PM Modi has inaugurated Madan Mohan Malviya Cancer Centre at BHU, Varanasi.
• Banaras Hindu University, formerly Central Hindu College, is a public central university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. It was established in 1916 by Madan Mohan Malaviya. With over 30,000 students residing in campus, it claims the title of largest residential university in Asia.
• Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya was an Indian educationist and politician notable for his role in the Indian independence movement and as the four times president of Indian National Congress. He was respectfully addressed as Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and also addressed as ‘Mahamana’.

International News

1. International Advertising Association World Congress

• The International Advertising Association (IAA) will host IAA World Congress in Kochi.
• Chairman and World President of The International Advertising Association :- Srinivasan Swamy.
• IAA was established in 1938, the International Advertising Association is the only global association that represents all areas of the marketing and communications industry. Its membership is drawn from marketers, advertising, media, digital and public relations agencies, as well as media companies, research firms and educators.

2. Beresheet (Genesis) spacecraft

• Beresheet Spacecraft is the first Moon Mission from Israel.
• President: Reuven Rivlin || Capital: Jerusalem || Currency: Israeli new shekel || Prime Minister: Benjamin Netanyahu.

3. AntBot Robot

• AntBot is the first walking robot with navigational capabilities without GPS or mapping.
• It is inducted by Centre for Scientific Research and Aix-Marseille University researchers at ISM, France.

4. International Annual Desert Festival

• The 40th International Annual Desert Festival was held at Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
• Jaisalmer is a former medieval trading center and a princely state in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, in the heart of the Thar Desert. Known as the “Golden City,” it’s distinguished by its yellow sandstone architecture. Dominating the skyline is Jaisalmer Fort, a sprawling hilltop citadel buttressed by 99 bastions. Behind its massive walls stand the ornate Maharaja’s Palace and intricately carved Jain temples.

Business News

1. Indian History Congress

• The 79th Indian History Congress (IHC) will be held at Barkatullah University in Bhopal.
• Indian History Congress is the largest professional and academic body of Indian historians with over 10,000 members. It was established in 1935. The name of any new applicant for membership needs to be proposed and seconded by existing Ordinary or Life Members.

2. New definition for start-ups in India

• Indian Govt. has modified the definition for start-ups in India to handle the angel tax issue.
• Angel tax is a term used to refer to the income tax payable on capital raised by unlisted companies via issue of shares.
• Definition :-
• “An entity will now be considered a start up for a period of 0 years from the date of its incorporation as opposed to the earlier norm of seven years.”
• “an entity will continue to be recognised as a start-up if its turnover for any of the financial years since incorporation and registration has not exceeded Rs 100 crore in place of Rs 25 crore earlier.”

3. National Electronics Policy

• Union Cabinet has approved the National Electronics Policy 2019.
• ‘National Electronics Policy 2019’ aims to achieve a turnover of $400 billion in Electronics System Design and Manufacturing sector by 2025.

4. Ordinance to curb Ponzi schemes

• Cabinet has approved the promulgation of an ordinance to ban the Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill with a aim to protect investors from Ponzi schemes.
• A Ponzi scheme is a form of fraud which lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors by using funds obtained from more recent investors. The victims are led to believe that the profits are coming from product sales or other means, and they remain unaware that other investors are the source of profits.

Sports News

1. Laureus Sportsperson of the Year Awards

• Laureus World Sportsman of the Year :- Novak Djokovic of Serbia
• Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year :- Simone Biles of USA
• Sportsperson with Disability of the Year :- Henrieta Farkašová (Slovakia alpine skier).

2. Maharashtra Sports Award

• Shiv Chhatrapati Lifetime Achievement Award :- Mallakhamb coach Uday Deshpande
• Shiv Chhatrapati Award Winners in the players category :- Cricketer Smriti Mandhana.
• Mallakhamba/Mallakhamb is a traditional sport, originating from the Indian subcontinent, in which a gymnast performs aerial yoga postures and wrestling grips in concert with a vertical stationary or hanging wooden pole, cane, or hanging rope. The word Mallakhamb also refers to the pole used in the sport.

3. Laureus World Sports Honours

• Laureus Sport for Good award :- NGO Yuwa, a Jharkhand-based working for girl empowerment.
• Lifetime Achievement Award :- Arsene Wenger (Former Arsenal Football Club Manager)
• Team of the Year :- FIFA World Cup 2018 champions France
• Comeback of the Year :- Golfer Tiger Woods
• Breakthrough of the Year :- Naomi Osaka (Tennis Japan)

Try some Quiz Questions now: Current Affairs Quiz,20 February

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