Top GKToday’s News Headlines-20 February 2020

INDIA

• Sanjay Kothari, Secretary to the President, selected as the new Central Vigilance Commissioner
• Information Commissioner Bimal Julka selected as the new Chief Information Commissioner in the Central Information Commission
• Phase II of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) approved; focus will be on ODF Plus (Open Defecation Free Plus), which includes ODF sustainability and SLWM (Solid and Liquid Waste Management)
• Cabinet approves Constitution of 22nd Law Commission of India for a term of three years
• Govt, to set up 12-Member Technology Group with the Principal Scientific Adviser to Government of India as its Chair
• Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirth Kshetra Trust: Mahant Nritya Gopal Das elected president; Champat Rai general secretary, Nripendra Misra (ex-bureaucrat) will be head of temple construction committee
• Govt. elevates Gujarat-based BISAG (Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Applications and Geoinformatics) to a national institute under MEITY (Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology)
• The railways to run a special tourist train — Shri Ramayana Express – from New Delhi from March 28: IRCTC
• SC directs Rajasthan government to stop rampant illegal sand mining in the state
• Tamil Nadu govt. to celebrate former CM J. Jayalalithaa’s birth anniversary on February 24 as ‘State Women Children Protection Day’
• Tamil Nadu govt. to provide 50% subsidy for ‘Ulemas’ to buy new two-wheelers; doubles their pension to Rs 3,000
• Kamal Kishore, Krishna Vatsa, Rajendra Singh, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Syed Ata Hasnain appointed new members of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), for a 5-year term

ECONOMY & CORPORATE

• Cabinet approves revamping of PMFBY (Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana) and RWBCIS (Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme) for better implementation of crop insurance schemes
• Soil Health Card Day celebrated on February 19; Govt to launch Tilhan Mission to boost oilseed production
• CCEA approves upward revision of interest subvention from “upto 2%” to “upto 2.5% p.a.” under the scheme Dairy processing and Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF)
• Govt. to set up 10,000 new farmer produce organisations (FPOs) by 2024 with budgetary support of Rs 4,500 crore
• India will stop importing thermal coal from 2023-24: Union Minister of Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi

SPORTS

• Ashu (men’s 67kg), Aditya Kundu (men’s 72 kg) and Hardeep (men’s 97 kg) win bronze medals for India in Greco-Roman at the Asian Wrestling Championships in New Delhi
• India selected as host of 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup by the Asian Football Confederation’s Women’s Committee

Month: Current Affairs - February, 2020