World
Wetlands Day: February 2
World Wetlands Day is
celebrated internationally each year on 2 February.
1) It marks the anniversary of the signing of the
Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention) in
Ramsar, Iran, on 2 February 1971.
2) World Wetlands Day was first celebrated in
1997.
Pakistan
declares national emergency to battle locusts
Pakistan, which is
facing its worst locust attack in decades, has declared a national emergency to
tackle the insects destroying crops on a large scale in Punjab province, the
country's main region for agricultural production.
1) The decision was taken at a meeting convened
by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
2) The meeting, attended by federal ministers and
senior officials of the four provinces, also approved a National Action Plan
(NAP) that requires a sum of ₹7.3 billion to overcome the crisis.
3) The prime minister directed the authorities
concerned to make immediate measures on the basis of damage of ripened crops.
India,
Maldives sign five MoUs for establishing Addu Tourism zone
India and Maldives
signed five MoUs for establishing the Addu Tourism zone in five islands of Addu
atoll at a cost of 2.49 million dollars.
1) A 6th MoU to set up a bottled water plant in
Hoarafushi was also signed.
2) All six projects are grant projects falling
under India’s High Impact Community Development Scheme (HICDP).
3) These projects are driven by the needs of
communities on the islands.
First
Coronavirus death outside China reported from Philippines
The death toll in
novel coronavirus in China has risen to 304.
1) Around 14,380 people have been infected with
the virus in mainland China and 160 in other countries.
2) The number of suspected cases has also gone up
to 19,544 in China.
3) The Philippines has also confirmed its first
novel coronavirus death, the first one outside China. It was the second
confirmed case in the country.
4) Recently, India's second case of coronavirus
has been reported in Kerala, three days after a student from the state was
tested positive.
Madhya
Pradesh bags first position for implementation of PMMVY
Madhya Pradesh has
bagged the first position for the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Matru
Vandana Yojana.
1) Union Minister of Women and Child Development
Smriti Irani will present this award to Madhya Pradesh at a function in New
Delhi.
2) Indore district has also bagged the first
place for better performance of the scheme.
3) The main objective of the Matru Vandana Yojana
is to provide incentives of five thousand rupees for the loss of wages of
working women and to ensure their proper rest and nutrition during pregnancy.
4) In Madhya Pradesh, more than 14 lakh 55
thousand beneficiaries have been registered under the Pradhan Mantri Matra
Vandana Yojana.
Andhra
govt launches doorstep pension distribution scheme
The Andhra Pradesh
Government has initiated a doorstep pension delivery scheme across the state,
under which, various welfare pensions are being delivered at the doorstep of
the pensioners.
1) The "YSR Pension Kanuka" initiative
to end the struggles of old people who find it difficult to go to the pension
office.
2) Also, the age for old age pensioners (OAP) has
been reduced from 65 to 60 years.
3) With the increase in the pensioners, the list
of beneficiaries has gone up to 54.64 lakh this year.
Ajay
Bisaria appointed India's next High Commissioner to Canada
India's High
Commissioner to Pakistan, Ajay Bisaria has been appointed as the next High
Commissioner of India to Canada.
1) An IFS officer of the 1987 batch, Bisaria is
expected to take up the assignment shortly.
2) From February 2017 to November 2019, Vikas
Swarup served as India's High Commissioner to Canada.
3) Swaroop is now secretary (West) at the
Ministry of external affairs.
BAFTA
Awards 2020
The British Academy of
Film and Television Awards (BAFTA) ceremony was held at the Royal Albert Hall
in London, Britain.
1) 1917 was the big winner of the night with
seven awards, including the coveted Best Film and Director
2) Best Film: 1917
3) Outstanding British Film: 1917
4) Leading Actress: Renée Zellweger – Judy
5) Leading Actor: Joaquin Phoenix – Joker
6) Director: Sam Mendes – 1917
7) Film Not In The English Language: Parasite
8) Supporting Actress: Laura Dern – Marriage
Story
9) Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt – Once Upon A
Time… In Hollywood
10) Original Screenplay: Parasite – Han Jin Won,
Bong Joon-Ho
11) Adapted Screenplay: Jojo Rabbit – Taika
Waititi
12) Cinematography: 1917 – Roger Deakins
13) Editing: Le Mans ’66 – Andrew Buckland,
Michael Mccusker
14) Production Design: 1917 – Dennis Gassner, Lee
Sandales
15) Original Score: Joker – Hildur Guđnadóttir
16) Costume Design: Little Women – Jacqueline
Durran
17) Sound: 1917 – Scott Millan, Oliver Tarney,
Rachael Tate, Mark Taylor, Stuart Wilson
18) Special Visual Effects: 1917 – Greg Butler,
Guillaume Rocheron, Dominic Tuohy
19) Rising Star Award: Micheal Ward
Waheeda
Rehman to be conferred MP govt's Kishore Kumar Samman
Noted actor Waheeda
Rehman will be conferred the Madhya Pradesh government's National Kishore Kumar
Samman.
1) The award, for the year 2018, will be given to
Rehman at her Bandra residence in Mumbai by Madhya Pradesh Culture Minister
Vijaylaxmi Sadho.
2) Rehman, one of Hindi film industry's most
successful leading ladies with a string of box office hits and several awards.
3) The award, which carries a Rs 2 lakh cash
prize and citation, could not be given to Rehman during a function held in
October last year as the actor was unwell.
4) The function was held on October 13 coinciding
with the death anniversary of singing legend Kishore Kumar.
Vinod
Shukla bags first Mathrubhumi Book of the Year award
Noted Hindi
poet-novelist and Sahitya Akademi honouree Vinod Kumar Shukla has bagged the
inaugural Mathrubhumi Book of the Year award for his translated book "Blue
Is Like Blue".
1) The stories in "Blue Is Like Blue",
translated into English by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra and Sara Rai.
2) The award, given to the best fictional work
released in the previous year, carries a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh, a plaque
designed by Riyas Komu and a certificate.
3) The award was presented at the Mathrubhumi
International Festival of Letters 2020.
Australian
Open: Novak Djokovic wins his record 8th Men's singles title
In tennis, Serbia's
Novak Djokovic won his record 8th Men's singles title in Australian Open at Rod
Laver Arena in Melbourne.
1) He beat first-time Australian Open finalist
Dominic Thiem of Austria.
2) The men's doubles title was clinched by Joe
Salisbury of the UK and American Rajeev Ram who beat Australia's Luke Saville
and Max Purcell.
World
Cancer Day: 04 February
World Cancer Day is
observed every year on 04 February.
1) It is observed to create awareness about
cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment.
2) Cancer is the second leading cause of death
globally.
3) World Health Organization (WHO) has warned
that cancer cases will rise by 81 percent in low and middle-income countries by
2040 because of a lack of investment in prevention and care.
Somalia
declares national emergency following locust infestation sweeping Horn of
Africa
Somalia has declared a
national emergency following locust infestation sweeping the Horn of Africa, as
insects devastate food supplies in one of the poorest and most vulnerable
regions in the world.
1) The Agriculture Ministry said food sources for
people and their livestock are at risk.
2) Experts say the locust swarms are the result
of extreme weather swings.
3) Somalia's declaration - the first country in
the region to do so - is aimed at boosting national efforts in tackling the
hungry insects.
New
natural gas field containing 80 trillion cubic feet of gas discovered in UAE
The United Arab
Emirates announced the discovery of a new natural gas field containing 80
trillion standard cubic feet of gas in the cross-border area of the Emirates of
Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
1) The discovery of the Jebel Ali gas field will
contribute to achieving gas self-sufficiency for the nation and support the
next phase of its major development projects in line with the nation’s
strategic development plan for the coming 50 years.
2) This new gas field, spanning an area of 5,000
square kilometres in the cross-border area of the two emirates, represents one
of the largest natural gas discoveries in the UAE.
3) The discovery strengthens the UAE’s position
among countries with the world’s largest natural gas reserves.
4) This discovery will help UAE in transiting the
gulf nation from a net importer of gas to a potential net exporter of gas in
coming times.
PM
Modi presided over inaugural Ceremony of DefExpo 2020 at Lucknow
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi presided over the inaugural Ceremony of the DefExpo 2020 at
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
1) The aim of this Defence Expo is to bring the
leading technologies in the defence sector under one roof and provide a myriad
of opportunities for the government, private manufacturers, and startups.
2) The 5-day event will cover the entire spectrum
of the country's aerospace, defence and security interests.
3) After the invocation ceremony, the Prime
Minister will visit the India and UP Pavilions.
4) The Uttar Pradesh Pavilion will be displaying
industrial prowess and the huge potential of the State for the investors in the
identified Defence Corridor in the state.
Prez
Kovind inaugurates annual Udyanotsav at Rashtrapati Bhavan
President Ram Nath
Kovind opened the annual Udyanotsav of Rashtrapati Bhavan.
1) The Mughal Gardens at Rashtrapati Bhavan will
be opened for the general public from 05 February.
2) The main attraction of this year’s Udyanotsav,
beside Tulips and Exotic flowers, are bulbous flowers.
3) Around 10 thousand Tulips are specially
cultivated in Mughal Gardens and they are in vivid colours of red, white,
orange and yellow.
4) Flower Carpets in magnificent designs will
also be on display in the Central Lawns revealing the skill and craft of the
gardeners of Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Ninth
edition of India-Bangladesh joint military exercise begins in Meghalaya
The ninth edition of
Indo-Bangladesh Joint Military Exercise SAMPRITI-IX commenced at Umroi,
Meghalaya.
1) The main focus of this edition of the fourteen
days joint exercise is on Counter-Terrorism Operations in mountainous and
jungle terrain.
2) The Defence Ministry has said that a
delegation consisting of 31 officers and 138 other ranks of Bangladesh Army and
a company group of Indian Army will participate in the joint military exercise.
Navy
conducts coastal security exercise 'Matla Abhiyaan'
The Indian Navy
carried out a five-day coastal security exercise, 'Matla Abhiyaan', with
personnel of two naval boats.
1) The exercise, named after Matla River, aimed
to interact with coastal communities to spread awareness on coastal security
and understand the navigational complexities in the Sunderban delta waters.
2) During the exercise, the two boats undertook
patrol in the Sunderban delta, and along the Indo-Bangladesh protocol route.
3) The personnel of the naval boats interacted
with the crew of fishing boats, tankers and launches operating in the Matla and
Hooghly rivers and the narrow creeks of Sunderbans.
Union
govt sets target of 30km of highways a day in current fiscal
The Union Government
has set the target for construction of highways about 30 kilometres per day in
the current fiscal.
1) In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Road
Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said, the average construction of
Highways is 25.23 kilometres per day till December in 2019-20 whereas it was
24.37 kilometres per day during the corresponding period in 2018-19.
2) A total of two thousand one hundred 55
kilometres length of roads have been built in the first three months of the
current financial year as compared to two thousand three hundred 51 kilometres
in the corresponding period last year.
India’s
Ambassador to UAE assumes responsibility of India’s Co-Chair of Expo-2020 Dubai
Committee
Navdeep Singh Suri,
who was until very recently India’s Ambassador to the UAE, has assumed the
responsibility of India’s Co-Chair of the Expo-2020 Dubai Committee.
Mr Suri was also a
recipient of the UAE's Order of Zayed II honour.
1) FICCI is the industry partner of the Indian
Government for its participation in Expo-2020 Dubai.
2) India is one of the few countries which have
been awarded to create a permanent structure at the Expo-2020 and proposes to
showcase the country’s strengths in innovation and start-ups in the hi-tech
sector.
3) Expo-2020 is a World Expo to be hosted by
Dubai.
4) It is scheduled to open on 20th October this
year.
5) Theme of this year is “Connecting Minds,
Creating the Future”.
Indian
boxers bag six gold at Golden Girl Championship in Sweden
In Boxing, India's
junior youth dominated the ring at the Golden Girl Championship in Boras,
Sweden, claiming
