Current Affairs Today 19th February 2020| Current Affairs News

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Daily Current Affairs PDF of 19th February 2020

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS

Soil Health Card Day being observed on 19^th Feb

• The Soil Health Card Day is being observed on 19th of February. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme on 19th February 2015 at Suratgarh in Rajasthan.
• The scheme aims at issuing soil health cards to farmers every two years so as to provide a basis to address nutritional deficiencies in soil. The scheme ensures additional income to farmers by increase in yields and it also promotes sustainable farming.
• The scheme has been introduced to assist State Governments to issue Soil Health Cards to all farmers in the country. It provides information to farmers on nutrient status of their soil along with recommendations on the appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for improving soil health and its fertility.
• During Cycle-I (2015 to 17), 10.74 crore Soil Health Cards and during Cycle-II (2017 to 19), 11.74 crore Soil Health Cards have been distributed to farmers. The Government has spent more than 700 crore rupees on the SHC scheme.
• Nagaland will be observing Soil Health Card Day in all the 11 districts of the state in coordination with Krishi Vigyan Kendras. The day is being celebrated to create awareness, importance, values and benefits of the scheme.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

Indian pharma & biotech industry expected to grow to 100 billion dollars by 2025: Piyush Goyal

• Union Minister for Commerce and Industries Piyush Goyal has stated that the Indian pharma and biotech industry is expected to grow to 100 billion dollars by 2025 from the current size of about 40 billion dollars. He predicted an annual growth rate of 10 per cent despite the global slow down and the recent Corona virus outbreak.
• The Minister assured the industry that the government will be supporting the life sciences industry to thrive further by granting patent approvals in a record period of time.
• The CEOs of various Biotech and Pharma companies discussed how to leverage on the strengths in generics, vaccines and tech industry to win the race further.
• Earlier, Genome Valley Excellence Award has been presented to Novartis CEO Dr Vas Narasimhan.

Govt to achieve 50% Gross Enrollment Ratio in higher education by 2030, says HRD Minister

• Union Government has set an ambitious target to achieve 50 per cent Gross Enrollment Ratio in higher education by 2030 to equip its working population with employable skills.
• Minister for Human Resource Development Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank stated this at the 33rd Convocation Ceremony of Indira Gandhi National Open University, IGNOU in New Delhi.
• Currently, the Gross Enrollment Ratio is around 26 per cent. Mr Nishank stated, IGNOU and similar institutes have to play an important role to achieve the target of enrollment ratio.
• The Minister further stated, government wants education to reach every citizen and IGNOU has taken education to the doorstep of every household.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL

South Africa keen to establish direct air connectivity between Mumbai & Johannesburg: Andrea Kuhn

• The newly appointed Consul General of South Africa in Mumbai Andrea Kuhn has asserted that her country is keen to establish direct air connectivity between Mumbai and
• At a meeting with Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at Mumbai’s Raj Bhavan, direct air connectivity between the two financial capitals will prove mutually beneficial for the rising number of investors as well as tourists.

About South Africa

• Currency: South African rand
• Capitals: Cape Town, Pretoria, Bloemfontein

Bangladesh to sign Free Trade Agreement with Nepal

• Bangladesh and Nepal have agreed to sign a Free Trade Agreement to enhance trade between the two countries, a committee will be formed to work out the modalities of the agreement.
• Bangladesh has also agreed to allow Nepal to use it Saidpur airport located in its norther nmost district of Nilphamari close to Nepal.
• Both the ministers discussed ways to enhance trade, investment and connectivity including use of seaports of Bangladesh. Bangladesh exports commodities worth $38 million to Nepal and imports goods worth around 18 million dollars.
• Talking to media persons The Nepal Foreign Minister expressed the hope that Nepal will be able to provide 500 MW of hydroelectric power to Bangladesh once the Indian Company GMR completes its project in Nepal.

About Bangladesh:

• Capital: Dhaka
• Currency: Bangladeshi taka
• Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina

UAE issues reactor license for first Arab nuclear power plant

• The United Arab Emirates has issued a license for a reactor at its Barakah nuclear power plant, the first in the Arab world, hailing a “historic moment.”
• The national nuclear regulator “has approved the issuance” of the operating license for the first of four reactors at the plant, stated Hamad al-Kaabi, the UAE representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
• This milestone was achieved due to the UAE’s vision and its leadership to build a peaceful nuclear energy program to cater for the future needs of energy in the country.
• The Barakah plant, located on the Gulf coast west of the UAE’s capital, had been due to come online in late 2017 but faced a number of delays that officials attributed to safety and regulatory requirements.
• The plant is being built by a consortium led by the Korea Electric Power Corporation in a deal worth over $20 billion.

About UAE

• Capital: Abu Dhabi
• Currency: United Arab Emirates dirham
• President: Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

Govt to facilitate doubling of milk processing capacity by 2025

• Union Government will facilitate doubling of milk processing capacity from over 53 million tonne to 108 million tonne by
• Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying stated, the government is continuously working towards increasing milk productivity through genetic improvement and reduction of input cost.
• In India, milk production is growing by 4 per cent during the last five years and has increased from over 146 million tonne in 2014-15 to over 187 million Tonne in 2018-19.
• The Ministry stated, about 54 per cent of milk produced is marketable surplus and remaining 46 per cent is retained in villages for local consumption.
• Out of the marketable surplus available with farmers, only 36 per cent is handled by cooperative and private sector. It stated, there is a need to bring the remaining 64 per cent surplus milk under the organized fold.
• A special programme has also been launched recently for improvement of milk quality by providing required testing facilities at village and dairy plant level for safe human consumption.

SEBI decides to permit the use of regulatory sandbox

• Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has decided to permit the use of regulatory sandbox, a system that will allow live testing of new products, services and business models by market players on select customers. The decision was taken at SEBI’s board meeting held in
• The proposed ‘regulatory sandbox’ is intended to serve as a testing ground for new business models and technologies that benefit investors, Indian markets and the economy at large.
• Under this framework, the eligible entities will be granted certain facilities and flexibilities to experiment with fintech solutions in a live environment and on real customers, while ensuring that there are necessary safeguards for  investor  protection and risk mitigation.

About SEBI:

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India is the regulator for the securities market in India owned by the Government of India. It was established in 1988 and given Statutory Powers on 30 January 1992 through the SEBI Act, 1992.
• Founded: 12 April 1992
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Chairperson: Ajay Tyagi

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Microsoft to set up engineering, innovation hub in Noida

• Tech giantMicrosoft  has set up a new development centre in Noida, its third such facility in India that will serve as an engineering and innovation hub for the company.
• The India Development Centre (IDC) represents Microsoft’s strategy of globally shared development to build products and services for driving digital innovation.
• The IDC-NCR will play a critical role inMicrosoft India’s expansion and growth story. The facility will open opportunities for thousands of engineers, with plans to expand to a full-fledged development centre, similar to IDC facilities in Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
• The IDC-NCR will be home to the company’s engineering teams across various technology groups, including Microsoft’sArtificial Intelligence (AI) and Research Group, Cloud and Enterprise Group, and Experience & Devices Group, along with Core Services Engineering and Operations.
• The IDC-NCR will also house Mixer, Microsoft’s live streaming gaming platform team, becoming the first centre to host the gaming team outside the company headquarters in Redmond, United States.

About Microsoft:

• CEO: Satya Nadella
• Founded: 4 April 1975
• Headquarters: Washington, United States
• Founders: Bill Gates, Paul Allen

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES

Police, Uber launch Himmat Plus app at IGI airport

• To ensure safety and security of people travelling in cabs, the Delhi Police along with Uber launched the Himmat Plus app at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport.
• In case of an emergency, the police headquarters will receive the real-time location of a driver or a rider through this app so that a PCR van can be assigned to provide assistance.
• Over 1,000 Himmat QR verification cards were distributed among drivers. Once a rider scans the QR card, they can access a driver’s details and vehicle information on the Himmat App and can report their journey directly to police.

About Delhi

• Chief Minister -Arvind Kejriwal
• Governor- Anil Baijal.

UP becomes first state to enforce Performance Regulation Act for power department

• Uttar Pradesh has enforced Performance Regulation Act 2019 for the power department. It is to provide timely and hassle-free service to the consumers.
• The consumers would now get financial compensation for delay in solving their complaints by the department. Around 2 crore 87 lakh people are likely to be benefitted from the new law.
• The consumer would get Rs 50 per day if there is a delay in repairing the defective meter and also non-response by call centre.In case of delay in repairing underground cable breakdown, the consumer would get Rs 100 per day.
• The UP budget is likely to focus on the allocation of funds for various infrastructure projects like Poorvanchal Expressway, Bundelkhand Expressway and Ganga Expressway.

About Uttar pradesh(UP)

• Capital– Lucknow
• Chief minister– Yogi Adityanath
• Governor– Anandiben Patel

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU

Bird ringing station to come up in Bihar; MoU inked in Gujarat

• Principal Secretary, Environment and Forests, Dipak Kumar Singh, stated a Memorandum of Understanding was exchanged by representatives of the Bihar government and the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) at
• The MoU was exchanged on the sidelines of CMS-COP 13, or the 13th Conservation of Migratory Species-Conference of Parties, held at the Gujarat capital where delegates from 130 countries are participating in discussions on preservation of migratory species.
• So far, there were three bird ringing stations – at Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and The Bihar government will spend Rs 5 crore for the new project. As per the MoU, which is for a period of five years, the new bird ringing station will be manned by trained scientists and other skilled manpower from BNHS.

About Bihar

• Capital- Patna.
• Chief Minister -Nitish Kumar.
• Governor- Phagu Chauhan.

IOC to invest Rs 500 crore for Karnataka unit

• Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Karnataka government under which the firm will invest `500 crore to set up petroleum products receiving, storage and distribution terminal at Chitradurga in Karnataka.
• It will be set up in an area of 120 acres in the district.The MoU was signed during ‘Invest Karnataka’, conference at Hubballi. The new oil terminal is expected to cater to the growing demand of petroleum products from Karnataka where IOC has nearly 50 per cent market share.
• Currently, the Devanagonthi terminal of the IOC in Bengaluru outskirts supplies 30 per cent of the petroleum demands in Karnataka, supplying 500 million tonnes of the fuel.
• The terminal receives petrol, diesel and aviation fuels from two key pipelines one of 300 kilometre (Km) from Chennai Petroleum Corporation and the second from 480 km away from the Petronet Mangalore-Hassan-Bangalore pipeline.
• A day-long Invest Karnataka conference saw investment proposals totalling `72,000 crore, mostly in north Karnataka, by 51 firms.

About IOC:

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Chairperson: Sanjiv Singh

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ACQUISITIONS AND MERGERS

NCLAT gives approval to JSW Steel to acquire Bhushan Power

• The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) approved the resolution plan put in place by JSW Steel to take over the debt-laden Bhushan Power & Steel (BPSL).
• The appellate tribunal ruled BPSL will be exempted from the ongoing criminal investigation against the former promoters of Bhushan Power after its takeover by JSW Steel, paving the way for the Sajjan Jindal-led firm to complete the process of its impending acquisition.
• However, the promoters will continue to face the probe under the money laundering act by the Enforcement Directorate.In October, NCLAT had ordered a freeze on the Rs 19,700 crore payment by JSW Steel under the resolution plan.
• Even after it was declared a winning bidder by the NCLT a year ago, JSW Steel had moved NCLAT seeking immunity from the criminal investigation affecting the asset under insolvency, contending that an absence of any such protection would jeopardise the feasibility and viability of its resolution plan.

About NCLT:

• The National Company Law Tribunal is a quasi-judicial body in India that adjudicates issues relating to Indian companies.
• Founder: Government of India
• Founded: 1 June 2016
• Headquarters: New Delhi

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION

Australia appoints Barry O’Farrell as the new high commissioner to India

• Australia has appointed former New South Wales premier Barry O’Farrell as the next high commissioner to India.
• O’Farrell will succeed Harinder Sidhu who has been in the office since 2016.
• O’Farrell served in the NSW Parliament from 1995-2015, including as the state’s 43rd premier.
• ndia is a significant trading partner, with two-way investment valued at 30.7 billion Australian dollars. The Government will continue to push an ambitious agenda to expand our trade and economic relationship.

About Australia

• Capital- Canberra
• Currency- Australian Dollar (AUD)
• Prime Minister (PM)- Scott John Morrison

Afghanistan: Ashraf Ghani secures 2nd term as President

• In Afghanistan, independent Election Commission announced that Ashraf Ghani has won a second term as President of the country. However, his closest opponent Abdullah Abdullah has refused to recognize the results and declared himself winner potentially endangering peace negotiations with the Taliban.
• Ghani and Abdullah head a fragile national unity government that was put together under the US pressure after both leaders claimed victory in Afghanistan’s 2014 elections.
• Meanwhile, the Taliban has also rejected Ghani’s win. It has posed a question to a US Peace Plan that calls for a reduction in violence after an expected agreement to be signed on 29th of this month between Washington and the Taliban. The agreement would pave the way for US troops to return home and it will end America’s longest war.

About Afghanistan:

• President: Ashraf Ghani
• Capital: Kabul
• Currency: Afghan afghani

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

Sachin Tendulkar wins the Laureus Sporting Moment Award for ICC World Cup 2011 victory lap

• Sachin Tendulkar won the Laureus World Sports Award for Laureus Sporting Moment 2000-2020. Laureus World Sports Awards 2020 was held in Berlin, Germany.
• The former Indian cricket team captain became the first Indian sportsperson to win a Laureus World Sports Award with his win at the 20th-anniversary edition of the event dubbed as the ‘Oscars of Sport.’
• The ‘Master Blaster’ received his award from Australian former skipper Steve Waugh.
• Tendulkar was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2019.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SUMMITS AND CONFERENCE

Secretary Agarwal reviews Fasal Bima in Udaipur

• Sanjay Agarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, inaugurated the 4th National Conference on Review of Implementation of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) began in Udaipur, Rajasthan.
• The conference saw the participation of around 140 members representing different states, banks, insurance companies, RBI, NABARD, among others.
• The main objectives of this conference are to understand the direction that the scheme is foraying into and individual roles thereof and to cross-learn from other institutions to resolve all the issues.

About Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

• PMFBY provides a comprehensive insurance cover to farmers against failure of the crop. Currently, the scheme has three active participants namely the state government, banking sector and the insurance sector. The scheme is being administered by the Ministry of Agriculture with an aim of supporting sustainable production in agriculture.
• Launched on 18th February 2016

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING

India becomes world’s 5th largest economy, overtakes UK, France

• India emerged as the world’s fifth largest economy by overtaking the UK and France in 2019.
• India’s economy is the fifth largest in the world with a GDP of USD 94 trillion, overtaking the UK and France in 2019 to take the fifth spot.
• The size of the UK economy is USD 2.83 trillion and that of France is USD 2.71 trillion.
• In purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, India’s GDP (PPP) is USD 10.51 trillion, exceeding that of Japan and Germany. Due to India’s high population, India’s GDP per capita is USD 2,170 (for comparison, the US is USD 62,794).
• India’s real GDP growth is expected to weaken for the third straight year from 7.5 per cent to 5 per cent.

Country	GDP
United States (US)	$21.44 trillion
China	$14.14 trillion
Japan	$5.15 trillion
Germany	$4 trillion
India	$2.94 trillion

Hindi is 3rd most spoken language in the world with 615 million speakers after English, Mandarin

• Hindi is the 3rd most spoken language of the world in 2019 with 615 million speakers. The 22nd edition of the world language database Ethnologue stated English at the top of the list with 1,132 million speakers. Chines Mandarin is at the second position with 1,117 million speakers.
• Bangla has been ranked as the 7th most spoken language of the world. Bangla has 228 million native speakers.
• Ethnologue brings out an yearly database of living languages of the world since its establishment in 1951.
• The current round of the database covers 7,111 living languages of the world. In addition to living languages, Ethnologue also contains data on languages which have gone out of use in recent history. This edition lists 348 such languages.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE

CDS Gen Bipin Rawat announces plan to create Peninsula Command

• Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat stated there are plans to create a Peninsula Command with Navy’s Eastern and Western Command under it.
• General Rawat stated India is looking at setting up two to five theatre commands. Air Defence command will be rolled out by beginning of next year and peninsula command will be rolled out soon.
• He also stated that India may have a separate Jammu and Kashmir theatre but the shape would be finalised later. He added that India is also working on separate joint commands for logistics and training.
• He informed that a study has been ordered under the Air Force Vice Chief, on the Air Defence Command, which will be helpful in avoiding fratricides and timely implementation of orders in case of aerial attacks.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS

FIFA U-17 Women’s Football World Cup to be hosted in 5 cities in November

• Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju launched an event in New Delhi to unveil the five host cities for the FIFA Under-17 Women’s Football World Cup which kicks off on2nd of November this year.
• The matches of the world cup will be held in five cities including Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Kolkata and Navi Mumbai. The finals of the tournament will be played on 21st of November at Navi Mumbai. The cities will play host to 16 teams which will compete across 32 matches to lift the coveted title. The official slogan – Kick Off The Dream – was also unveiled during the event.
• All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Praful Patel, who is also the Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee, LOC, stated that India will next seek to host the U-20 World Cup and the prestigious Club World Cup.

 Sunil Kumar wins gold in 87-kg Greco Roman category in Asian Wrestling Championships

• Greco Roman wrestler Sunil Kumar opened India’s medal account in the Asian Wrestling Championships at New Delhi by winning a Gold. The seasoned grappler beat Azat Salidinov from Kyrgyzstan in the final of the 87 kg category.
• Sunil Kumar had reached the final by a victory over Kazakh opponent Azamat Kustubayev to finish the semi-final bout 12-8.  Last year also, Kumar had made it to the final and ended with a silver medal.
• Earlier in the day, Arjun Halakurki lost his semi-final bout 7-8 against Iran’s Pouya Mohammad Naserpour in 55 kg category. He will now be up against Korea’s Donghyeok Won in the bronze medal playoff. The Indian wrestlers who crashed out were Mehar Singh, Sajan and Sachin Rana in different weight categories.

AIFF receives ‘Grassroots Charter Bronze Level’ membership of AFC

• The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has received the “Grassroots Charter Bronze Level” membership of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The Asian sports governing body has confirmed this in a letter to the AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das.
• This declaration accords AIFF the right to promote its grassroots events and activities with the support and recognition of the AFC in accordance with the applicable terms of the AFC Grassroots Charter.

India claims five silver, six bronze medals at 2020 Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships

• India claimed five silver and six bronze medals at the ongoing 2020 Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
• In 45 kilogram category, K V L Pavani Kumari won silver medals in both youth girls and junior women section, while Sidhanta Gogoi claimed silver in youth boys and junior men events in 61-kilogram category after lifting a total of 145 and 269 kilograms.
• Then, Mukund Aher in 49-kilograms then clinched a silver in youth boys category with a lift of 189 kilograms. In 45 kilogram category, Harshada Goud clinched two bronze medals with a lift of 139 kilograms in youth girls and junior women events.
• Other lifters to win bronze medals are Boni Manghkya in 55 kg, Nirmala Devi in 59 kg, S Gurunaidu in 49 kg and Golom Tinku in 55 kg.
• A total of 197 athletes from 20 Asian countries are participating in the event.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY

Bengali actor and former MP Tapas Pal passes away

• Bengali actor and former Trinamool Congress MP Tapas Pal passed away.
• In 1980, Tapas Pal made his debut in the Bengali film industry with Tarun Majumdar’s Dadar Kirti.Four years after his first film, Tapas Pal made his debut in Bollywood with Abodh in 1984 and was cast opposite Madhuri Dixit.
• Tapas Pal was a member of All India Trinamool Congress. He was an MLA from Alipore for 2 terms (2001-2006 & 2006-2009) and former MP (Member of Parliament) of Krishnanagar constituency from 2009 to 2019.

Former Manchester United goalkeeper and ‘Hero of Munich’ air disaster Harry Gregg passes away

• Former Manchester United and Northern Ireland goalkeeper Harry Gregg has passed away at the age of 87.
• He spent nine years at the club, and also won 25 caps for Northern Ireland 
• He was dubbed the ‘hero of Munich’ for his bravery during 1958 air disaster

Veteran journalist M S Mani passes away

• Veteran journalist and Chief Editor of ‘Kala Kaumudi’ daily M S Mani passed away.
• He started his career in 1961 as a staff reporter at ‘Kerala Kaumudi’ and within a year was posted in Delhi as the Parliament correspondent.
• He extensively covered Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for many years and in 1965, returned to Thiruvananthapuram and took over key editorial responsibilities of ‘Kerala Kaumudi’ along with his father Sukumaran.

Greatest woman golfer, Mickey Wright dies at 85

• Mickey Wright, often described as the greatest woman golfer of all times, died at Florida in the United States at the age of 85. Her haul of 13 major victories included four US Women’s Open titles and four US Women’s PGA Championships.
• Wright had accumulated 82 titles of Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour titles during a professional career which stretched from 1954 to 1969. She won the 1954 World Amateur Championship before turning professional the following season. Her retirement in 1969 which came at the relatively early age of 34, shocked women’s golf.

DAILY CA 18^TH FEB

• External Affairs Ministry issues travel advisory for Indians travelling to five provinces of Iraq
• EAM to inaugurate Indian Pavilion at 70th Berlin International Film Festival on Feb 20 in Germany
• Uddhav Thackeray approves renaming of Latur Medical College after former CM Vilasrao Deshmukh
• Ambala city bus stand renamed after late Sushma Swaraj
• IDSA to be renamed as Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses
• Punjab to honour cops under ‘Appreciate and Commend’ scheme
• Kerala CM launches ‘‘Yodhavu” mobile app to combat drug menace
• Uttar Pradesh government announces two new youth-centric schemes
• Filmfare 2020: ‘Gully Boy’ Bags Top Awards
• 2020 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 26)-Glasgow, UK
• J&K Global Investors Summit-2020 in Srinagar, Jammu
• Hyderabad all set to host 17th Edition of BioAsia 2020
• 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety-Stockholm, Sweden
• ISRO to launch an unprecedented 10 earth imaging satellites
• Book compiles well-known aphorisms of Chanakya
• Asian Wrestling Championship begins in New Delhi
• NADA bans javelin thrower Amit Dahiya for four years

DAILY CA 19^TH FEB

• Soil Health Card Day being observed on 19th Feb
• Indian pharma & biotech industry expected to grow to 100 billion dollars by 2025: Piyush Goyal

• Govt to achieve 50% Gross Enrollment Ratio in higher education by 2030, says HRD Minister
• South Africa keen to establish direct air connectivity between Mumbai & Johannesburg: Andrea Kuhn
• Bangladesh to sign Free Trade Agreement with Nepal
• UAE issues reactor license for first Arab nuclear power plant
• Govt to facilitate doubling of milk processing capacity by 2025
• SEBI decides to permit the use of regulatory sandbox
• Microsoft to set up engineering, innovation hub in Noida
• Police, Uber launch Himmat Plus app at IGI airport
• UP becomes first state to enforce Performance Regulation Act for power department
• Bird ringing station to come up in Bihar; MoU inked in Gujarat
• IOC to invest Rs 500 crore for Karnataka unit
• NCLAT gives approval to JSW Steel to acquire Bhushan Power
• Australia appoints Barry O’Farrell as the new high commissioner to India
• Afghanistan: Ashraf Ghani secures 2nd term as President
• Sachin Tendulkar wins the Laureus Sporting Moment Award for ICC World Cup 2011 victory lap
• Secretary Agarwal reviews Fasal Bima in Udaipur
• India becomes world’s 5th largest economy, overtakes UK, France
• Hindi is 3rd most spoken language in the world with 615 million speakers after English, Mandarin
• CDS Gen Bipin Rawat announces plan to create Peninsula Command
• FIFA U-17 Women’s Football World Cup to be hosted in 5 cities in November
• Sunil Kumar wins gold in 87-kg Greco Roman category in Asian Wrestling Championships
• AIFF receives ‘Grassroots Charter Bronze Level’ membership of AFC
• India claims five silver, six bronze medals at 2020 Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships
• Bengali actor and former MP Tapas Pal passes away
• Former Manchester United goalkeeper and ‘Hero of Munich’ air disaster Harry Gregg passes away
• Veteran journalist M S Mani passes away
• Greatest woman golfer, Mickey Wright dies at 85