Introduction
The article Current Affairs One-Liners February 2020 includes One-Liners with an explanation, analysis, and issues of current events, including political or industrial controversy or public policy issues in the month of February.
Feb 2020
1. International News
- The World Health Organization raised its global risk assessment of the new coronavirus to its highest level after the epidemic spread to sub-Saharan Africa and caused financial markets to plunge.
- US President Donald Trump announced Republican lawmaker John Ratcliffe as his intelligence chief, sparking fresh controversy over a crucial position that has lacked a permanent office holder for months.
- Luxembourg will become the first country in the world to offer a free public transport system as the government tries to reduce particularly dense car traffic.
- The United States will sign an agreement with the Taliban as part of its efforts to bring lasting peace in war-torn Afghanistan, President Donald Trump announced.
- The phrase “38% of Americans” was trending on Twitter following a survey showing that proportion of beer drinkers “would not buy Corona under any circumstances now,” according to public relations firm 5W.
- The National Health Commission also tallied 427 new cases, an increase from the previous day, bringing the total number of infections to 79,251.
- The campaign represents possibly the first time a Republican presidential candidate has spent a large amount of money on ads tailored for Indian American voters.
- The twin setbacks for the Trump administration may prove temporary if it appeals to the US Supreme Court, which has consistently sided with the president on immigration and border security policies.
- Mainland China reported 327 new cases, the lowest since Jan. 23, taking its tally to more than 78,800 cases with almost 2,800 deaths. But as the outbreak eases in China, it is surging elsewhere.
- The new coronavirus has infected 83,670 people and killed 2,865 around the world, according to an AFP toll based on official sources as of 1000 GMT
- UK’s review of its foreign policy, billed as the largest such exercise since the Cold War, is expected to “cover all aspects of the UK’s place in the world”, officials said.
- Speaking at an earlier news conference in California, Governor Gavin Newsom said California was monitoring 8,400 people for possible novel coronavirus infection.
- An additional 143 cases have been detected over the past 24 hours, raising the total number of confirmed novel coronavirus infections to 388, health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said.
- The quarantined Diamond Princess, off Japan’s Yokohama port has seen hundreds of coronavirus infections. If confirmed, it would be the fifth death from the coronavirus on the vessel.
- Chinese Hubei province, two in Beijing and one in the remote Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), the national health commission (NHC) said.
- Ravi Shankar Prasad’s had lashed out at the grand old party for trying to teach it raj dharma or duty after Congress president Sonia Gandhi met President Ramnath Kovind along with a delegation.
- Former Union Minister P Chidambaram said the Delhi Government is no less ill-informed than the central government in its understanding of sedition law.
- Presenting a Rs 1.54 lakh crore budget, Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal made a raft of announcements, including free education for all up to class 12.
- First to draw blood in the special CBI court hearing the case against Asthana was former IO AK Bassi, who accused the current IO Satish Dagar of shielding “big names” in the case.
- NCAER Land Records and Services Index (N-LRSI 2019-20) released by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), Madhya Pradesh (MP) emerged as the best-performing state in terms of digitizing land records with the score of 74.9.
- Government approved a total of 32 projects under the ‘unit’ scheme of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY)
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch 10,000 Farmers Producer Organisations (FPOs) all over the country in Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh.
- The Indian Penal Code, 1860, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, Representation Of People Act, 1950, Census Act 1948 and Prevention Of Corruption Act, 1988
- Reducing government employees’ retirement age from 60 to 58, free education for all students up to Class 12 and a debt waiver for landless farmers were some of the major announcements made by Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal in the 2020-21 budget.
- Indian health ministry officials did not offer a comment on the assessment, but some officials, while asking not to be named, said India was prepared to deal with any emergency.
- SC lamented that despite various judgments by the top court holding strikes by lawyers to be illegal, bar associations were still resorting to strikes which the court said amounted to contempt of court.
- India has been keeping a close eye on developments related to the US-Taliban deal, expected to be signed in Doha, especially because of the terror group’s close links with Pakistan.
- Bhadauria said the use of airpower was considered taboo in sub-conventional conflict until the government took the “tough and bold call” to strike at the very heart of terrorist training infrastructure located deep across the LoC.
- Income Tax officials raided the home of deputy secretary in the chief minister’s office, Saumaya Chaurasia, in Bhilai, alleging tax evasion. Chaurasia is a Chhattisgarh Administrative Service official.
- Chief minister Conrad Sangma said the government was taking all precautionary measures to contain the situation.
- MHT CET 2020 application process will end. The number of candidates who have registered for the exam has risen to 4,07,073 and those who have completed the application process has risen to 3,87,692 students.
- National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has invited online applications for the recruitment of manager (technical) and deputy general manager (technician). There are a total of 170 vacancies including 46 for manager posts and 124 for DGM posts.
- Online application process for IGNOU OPENMAT 2020 has begun. NTA will conduct the OPENMAT XLVII for admission to management (MBA) programme on April 29.
- JICA officials recently visited the IIT Hyderabad campus for the terminal evaluation of the FRIENDSHIP project of IITH with JICA, which is ending in March 2020. They expressed happiness with the outcome of the project.
- India’s second-largest credit card issuer, SBI Cards is coming up with an initial public offering (IPO) which will be open for subscription for four days from March 2 to March 5.
- India’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.7 percent in the Q3FY20, according to data released on February 28.
- SBI deputy managing director P N Prasad said the bank is witnessing fresh enquiries on project finance in several sectors like road, city gas distribution and renewable energy.
- The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth was registered at 5.6 percent in the corresponding quarter of 2018-19, as per the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
- Foreign currency assets, a major component of the overall reserves, fell by $490 million to $441.458 billion in the reporting week, ending a multi-week surge.
- India’s champion wrestler-turned-Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Ritu Phogat continued to dominate at the ONE Championship as she notched up a win by unanimous decision against debutante Wu Chiao Chen of China at the ONE
- The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has decided to pull out the Indian team from the March 4-13 International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Shotgun World Cup in Nicosia, Cyprus, due to novel coronavirus scare.
- Stefanos Tsitsipas won his eighth match in a row, defeating Briton Dan Evans 6-2, 6-3 to reach the final at the Dubai Championships.
- Tottenham striker Harry Kane is ahead of schedule in his recovery from hamstring surgery, with boss Jose Mourinho banking on him being fit to take part in the club’s push for a Champions League spot.
- The Asian Olympic Qualifiers for wrestling that was to be held from March 27 to 29 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan has been postponed indefinitely so as to fight the spread of coronavirus.
- Diplomat Abhishek Singh has been appointed India’s next Ambassador to Venezuela, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
- Private sector lender IndusInd Bank said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of Sumant Kathpalia as the chief executive for three years.
1. International News
- US authorities charged a professor at a university in Tennessee with fraud and false statements, saying he hid his link to a Chinese institution while taking funding from NASA.
- President Donald Trump declared that a widespread U.S. outbreak of the new respiratory virus sweeping the globe isn’t inevitable even as top health authorities at his side warned Americans that more infections are coming.
- Nigeria announced the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus in sub-Saharan Africa.
- A Chinese scientist was sentenced to two years in prison for stealing next-generation battery technology from the American petroleum company where he worked.
- The Collin County jury deliberated for about eight hours before returning the death sentence for Brandon McCall, 28, for shooting his friend, Rene Gamez II, and Richardson police officer David Sherrard in what police described as an ambush.
- While they have yet to receive a request for aid, the institutions “have now developed contingency plans. We have various financial instruments that could be used,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said at a press conference.
- The full extradition hearing of the WikiLeaks founder is then set to resume for three weeks in mid-May, when witnesses will be called and cross-examined, with an eventual ruling expected by August at the latest.
- Dozens more soldiers were injured and taken to Turkey for treatment, Rahmi Dogan, governor of Turkish Hatay bordering Syria, said.
- Bristol Youth Strike 4 Climate group, part of a global movement of school students who stage protests in school time over what they say is the lack of government action on climate change.
- US Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg’s campaign started paying popular meme accounts on Facebook-owned Instagram to post content as part of its social media offensive ahead of the 2020 election.
- The senator had earlier criticized the $3 billion defence deal announced by India and the United States during Trump’s visit, saying the two countries should instead work together to combat climate change.
- Disease Control confirms that the latest U.S. case doesn’t involve travel or contact with an infected person, it would be a first in this country and a sign that efforts to contain the virus’ spread haven’t been enough.
- The agency chief, Angelo Borrelli, had earlier told reporters that officials were still seeking confirmation that coronavirus was responsible for the latest two deaths.
- The clip of nine-year-old Quaden Bayles showed him crying and repeatedly saying he wanted to die after being bullied at school, sparking an outpouring of support from around the world.
- The closure will apply to all elementary, junior and senior high schools nationwide, Abe said at a meeting of a government task force.
- The Government of India announced 1st Artificial intelligence summit, RAISE 2020- ‘Responsible Artificial intelligence (AI) for Social Empowerment’, a ‘First-of-its-kind’ summit organized by the Government of India.
- There’s little central banks can do, and while more government spending would help, the priority should be on convincing companies and households that the virus is under control.
- The order came after central government’s counsel Hiten Venegaonkar pointed that plea was primarily against RBI, but the central bank was not a party to the litigation.
- Tahir Hussain has been booked for murder and abduction of the 26-year-old Ankit Sharma during the violence in north-east Delhi’s Chand Bagh.
- NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation Limited) signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) to provide financial support for installation & commissioning of Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS).
- The Union Cabinet approved 3 MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) for cooperation between India and Myanmar on combating timber trafficking, conservation of tigers & other wildlife, and in the fields of petroleum products and communications.
- India asked Pakistan to stop its active support to terrorist groups and devote more attention to the well being of its own people, particularly the persecuted religious minorities in the “failed state”.
- The Raj Thackeray-led MNS said in the posters that anyone providing information about alleged infiltrators from Pakistan and Bangladesh will receive Rs 5000. The MNS refers to Aurangabad as Sambhaji Nagar.
- India recorded a 33% increase in tiger numbers in the span of four years between 2014 and 2018, according to the All India Tiger Estimation Results released last year.
- The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has announced the preliminary recruitment exam result for Office Attendant post.
- With an imperative to empower the youngest minds of the country with the latest technologies, an AI-based Module was launched for students in Indian schools here.
- Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) has released a revised date sheet for Higher Secondary Examination (Class 11) for the Jammu division.
- At-least 31 written answer sheets along with roll numbers, mobiles and some cash was recovered from the accused who were taking the copies to submit them at the examination centre.
- The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has released the preliminary recruitment result for Office Attendant in subordinate service.
- JPSC Notification 2020: Download JPSC PDF notification here. Check details of posts, education qualification and how to apply online.
- CRR to be exempted for incremental lending to three specified retail loans, the Reserve Bank has said that the deduction is available only on the equivalent incremental credit to these segments.
- The Indian rupee slipped in the early trade on February 28, opening lower by 38 paise at 71.93 per dollar versus the previous day’s close of 71.55.
- Investors who had been confident the disease that emerged in China was under control have been jolted by outbreaks in Italy, South Korea and Iran.
- Global markets are on track for the worst week since the global financial crisis in 2008 as virus-related disruptions to international travel and supply chains fuelled fears of a recession in the US and the Euro Zone
- RBI is worried that further tariff hikes, as demanded by telecom operators, could be inflationary, a concern that it had also raised in December when telcos raised tariffs for the first time in more than a decade.
- The broader NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.4% to 11,633.30, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex declined 0.4% to 39,732.93. Both the indexes have shed more than 3.5% so far this week.
- World number one and Australian Open champion Ashleigh Barty set up a ninth career meeting with two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova at the Qatar Open.
- Novak Djokovic won his 16th match of an undefeated season, hammering Russia’s Karen Khachanov 6-2, 6-2 for a place in the Dubai Championships semi-finals.
- Youssef El-Arabi scored in the last minute of extra-time as Olympiacos knocked Arsenal out of the Europa League when four former European champions were eliminated.
- Sahitya Akademi’s Translation Prize for 2019 in the category of translation into English has been awarded to Kannada novel Kusumabale by Devanur Mahadeva, translated into English by Susan Daniel.
- Axis Bank announced the appointment of Puneet Sharma as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) with effect from March 6.
1. International News
- China reported 29 more deaths from the new coronavirus epidemic, the lowest daily figure in almost a month, and the number of fresh infections rose slightly.
- Saudi Arabia suspended visas for pilgrims wishing to visit Mecca over coronavirus fears, the foreign ministry said.
- The US Supreme Court refused to back stricter deadlines for workers to sue retirement plans over alleged mismanagement, ruling Intel Corp cannot avoid a suit accusing it of unlawfully making high-risk investments that cost retirement plan beneficiaries hundreds of millions of dollars.
- Senator Elizabeth Warren dominated a key debate for the seven Democrats in fray for the presidential nomination ahead of the pivotal South Carolina primary
- For the first time, the coronavirus has caused more new cases outside China, the epicenter of the outbreak, than inside the country.
- Citizenship (Amendment) Act in northeast Delhi killed at least 34 people and leftover 200 injured till as police struggled to check the rioters who ran amok on streets, burning and looting shops, pelting stones and thrashing people.
- Newly hatched ducklings from eastern China’s Zhejiang province will be the frontline weapons in this assault on the insects, billions of which have spread from East Africa to several parts of Pakistan, laying to waste thousands of hectares of farmland.
- Global watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said last week that Pakistan would remain on the list, expressing concern it had not completed an agreed-upon action plan, and giving it until June to do so.
- The extraordinary decision by Saudi Arabia stops foreigners from reaching the holy city of Mecca and the Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims pray toward five times a day.
- California officials said the person is a resident of Solano County, northeast of San Francisco, and is getting medical care in Sacramento County.
- China reported 433 new cases along with 29 additional deaths. updates bring mainland China’s totals to 78,497 cases and 2,744 deaths.
- The Brazilian man spent two weeks in northern Italy’s Lombardy region on a work trip, where he contracted the contagious Covid-19, the health ministry said.
- Online healthcare has long been seen as a promising sector in China, where there is a dearth of doctors and patients often have to travel hundreds of miles to see a specialist.
- The incident occurred at a heritage hotel called Laxmi Vilas under the Mathura Gate police station.
- Union minister Prakash Javadekar said that he is surprised over the selective silence of these two parties.
- The court had termed Lohia’s escape with his daughter on a Dominican Passport and refusal to subject himself to the jurisdiction of the Indian legal system as a contempt of court.
- The court had directed the police to “take a conscious decision” by today on registration of FIR in respect of inflammatory speeches allegedly made by politicians.
- The BJP is attempting to corner the Sena over the Savarkar issue after it formed the government with Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party.
- Justice Muralidhar’s transfer order came in the midst of hearing in a case on inflammatory speeches made by leaders of different political parties.
- Delhi Police have registered 18 FIRs and 106 people have been arrested in connection with the violence in North-East Delhi, reported news agency ANI.
- Trump said his habit of frequent hand-washing is exactly what’s needed for protecting against the easily spread and potentially fatal coronavirus.
- Donald Trump, during his India trip, was accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump daughter Ivanka Trump, son-in-law Jared Kushner and the top brass of his administration, including National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien.
- Sanders is the second Democratic presidential nominee after Senator Elizabeth Warren to speak against the violence over the Citizenship Amendment Act in New Delhi.
- Kishor, who was recently sacked from Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), launched the ‘Baat Bihar Ki’ campaign last week to connect with youths in the state.
- The HC verdict has evoked sharp reactions from many student outfits and political parties which they said would affect students’ rights and their plan to carry out peaceful protests.
- The people brought back are expected to undergo a 14-day quarantine in India like their previous batches to ensure that they are cleared of the COVID-19 virus.
- A stampede-like situation happened when people started running helter-skelter at the Laxmi Nagar market around 5 pm after rumors spread that a “mob with torches was approaching from the Khureji side”.
- Sridhar kicking the girl’s father who was squatting on the road preventing the cops from taking her daughter’s body to the mortuary for post-mortem went viral on social media.
- UPSC Medical Officer 2020 final merit list has been released on the official website at upsc.gov.in.
- Indo- Tibetan Boder Police (ITBP) has postponed the recruitment exam for constable tradesmen due to administrative reasons.
- TNPSC has released the answer key for both the sections – Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science and General Studies. The Exam was held on February 23.
- Maharashtra State Security Corporation (MSSC) has released a notification for security guard recruitment waiting list 2020 under Maharashtra Security Force. There a total of 7000 vacancies for the post of security guard.
- The authenticity of the paper was ascertained after the question paper bearing code 117-316 (YB) on top and code number J28746 at the bottom of the question paper, matched that present with the centre superintendents.
- NTA will declare the ARPIT 2020 result has been delayed. The result was expected to be announced on February 26. The NTA ARPIT 2020 exam was conducted on February 16, 2020 in two sessions.
- The West Bengal secondary education board’s life science question papers were ‘leaked’ on social media in the Farakka community block area of Bengal’s Murshidabad district on Wednesday afternoon.
- Top losers in the Sensex pack included HCL Tech, HDFC Bank, TCS, M&M, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries.
- “The coronavirus has been a body blow to the Chinese economy, which now threatens to take out the entire global economy,” Chief Economist at Moody’s Analytics Mark Zandi said.
- India’s oldest operating port has hired property consultant JLL India to survey and digitize records of its land bank, Chairman Vinit Kumar said in an interview at his office in Kolkata.
- Mary Pierce holds three passports—US and Canada being the others—but she wears the tag of French with pride.
- The Olympic Games are scheduled to be held in July-August this year but a senior IOC member Dick Pound has said that the event might have to be canceled if the deadly coronavirus outbreak is not brought under control by May.
- Pep Guardiola warned his Manchester City players that Real Madrid is more than capable of a Champions League fightback after a historic 2-1 last 16, first-leg win for the English champions at the Santiago Bernabeu.
- Cristiano Ronaldo drew a blank as a Lucas Tousart goal handed Lyon a surprise 1-0 win over Juventus in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie in France.
- Adline Castelino from Mangalore, Karnataka has won LIVA Miss Diva Universe 2020 title and was crowned by Vartika Singh, the winner of previous edition, at an event held in YRF (Yash Raj Films) Studios, Mumbai, Maharashtra.
1. International News
- Ministers from the EU have approved their mandate for post-Brexit trade talks with the UK.
- US President Donald Trump has invited Southeast Asian leaders to meet next month in Las Vegas, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday, after a summit, last year was scrapped.
- New Delhi: India raised the issue of H-1B visa with the United States during President Donald Trump’s visit, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said, adding that New Delhi highlighted the contribution of Indian professionals in the high-tech sectors in the US.
- Switzerland reported its first case of new coronavirus on Tuesday after outbreaks were identified in its main neighbors Austria, France, Germany and Italy.
- Bangladesh and Myanmar have already signed a repatriation deal to send back some Rohingya to their homeland but safety fears mean very few have agreed to return.
- The man died overnight after being rushed to a Paris hospital in serious condition on Tuesday evening, bringing the total death toll in the country to two, said the ministry’s deputy head Jerome Salomon
- The head of France’s national health service, Jerome Salomon, made the announcement Wednesday but didn’t say where the man contracted the virus or provide other details.
- the United States, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also urged Americans to prepare, saying that while the immediate risk there was low, the global situation suggested a pandemic was likely
- The Maldivian government said Wednesday it will formally join the mainly Muslim African state of The Gambia in challenging Myanmar’s 2017 military crackdown that sent around 740,000 Rohingya fleeing into neighboring Bangladesh.
- Markle will then join Queen Elizabeth II on March 9 for a Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey, which is expected to be their last official appearance as working royals.
- Sharif was granted bail on humanitarian grounds on November 4 last year by the Lahore High Court in the case.
- US President Donald Trump said he had discussed his country’s planned peace deal with the Afghan Taliban with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and “India would like to see it happen”.
- Six Supreme Court (SC) judges have contracted the influenza A (H1N1) virus — commonly known as swine flu — over the past two weeks, justice DY Chandrachud said in open court.
- Indian Air Force (IAF) chief, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, will on Wednesday visit a front-line base in Kashmir that launched fighter planes last February to engage Pakistan Air Force aircraft a day after Indian Mirage-2000s
- Chhattisgarh was awarded with National MSME Award for promoting start-ups, providing Ease Of Doing Business, socio-economic development and creating employment opportunities at a function held at Pravasiya Bhartiya Kendra at New Delhi.
- All the evacuees will be kept at the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) quarantine facility at Chhawla, New Delhi, which has been kept ready for the purpose.
- Aam Aadmi Party government led by Arvind Kejriwal either and said it was equally responsible for letting the situation worsen in the capital.
- The CM dwelt on the subject while replying to a discussion on the motion of thanks on the Governor’s address to the joint session of state legislature on February 24, 2020.
- The minister also said that the process of merger of public sector banks was underway as per the schedule. The government has announced to merge 10 state-run banks to create four big lenders.
- CAG said 25 INSAS rifles and 12,061 cartridges were missing from the armoury of the Special Armed Police (SAP) battalion in Thiruvananthapuram.
- The president and his team returned home after a whirlwind 36-hour trip to India, which was the first by Trump after his election.
- The temple board said Padmanabhan was dedicated to the temple in 1954 as a 14-year-old pachyderm and he started carrying the ‘Thidambu’ of the Lord in 1962. The board said he was ailing for the last two months due to age-related ailments.
- The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) postponed the board exams of classes 12 scheduled in riot-hit areas of north-east Delhi. The board is yet to announce a new date for the exam.
- The direction by the court came after the CBSE said the exams in 86 schools in the violence-hit northeast Delhi have been postponed.
- Working with a mission to make India a self-reliant nation in developing new technologies and acclaimed top position in global innovation index, Chandigarh University Gharuan has emerged as the leading university of the country which has filed maximum number of patents in 2018-19.
- The RSCIT exam was held in on January 19. Candidates who have appeared for RSCIT January 2020 Examination can check their result on the official website at rkcl.vmou.ac.in
- The central board of secondary education (CBSE) class 10 examination for English concluded. Check what students of Lucknow and Chandigarh said after the exam.
- Banks have started dispensing more of Rs 500 notes instead of Rs 2,000 denomination notes, a move seen as gradual phasing out of the high denomination currency.
- A mega-auction of over a thousand open plots, commercial, residential and industrial properties will be conducted by the State Bank of India (SBI) on February 26.
- Rafael Nadal marked his return to action with a straight-sets victory over Pablo Andujar as he launched his bid to reclaim the world number one ranking at the Mexico Open in Acapulco.
- Adline Castelino from Mangalore, Karnataka has won LIVA Miss Diva Universe 2020 title and was crowned by Vartika Singh, the winner of previous edition, at an event held in YRF (Yash Raj Films) Studios, Mumbai, Maharashtra.
- Abhay Kumar Singh, 57 years old, was appointed as CMD (Chairman & Managing Director) of State-run hydro power giant NHPC (National Hydroelectric Power Corporation) till (August 31, 2022). He is the successor of Ratish Kumar.
- Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, at 94 the world’s oldest leader, submitted his resignation to the king Monday after a bid by his allies to bring down the government and block the succession of leader-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim
1. International News
- The Islamic Jihad militant group in the Gaza Strip announced a unilateral cease-fire to end two days of heavy fighting with Israel.
- China’s bold actions in the coronavirus epidemic epicenter of Hubei and Wuhan have probably prevented hundreds of thousands of cases, Bruce Aylward, leader of the WHO
- New Zealand has extended for eight days a ban on arrivals from mainland China, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, carrying into its fourth week an effort to block exposure to the coronavirus.
- The G20 Finance Ministers & Central Bank Governors Meeting was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 22-23 February 2020 on the theme “Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century for All”.
- Iran’s Health Ministry said the total number of infections has risen to 61 while deaths stood at 12. But a lawmaker from Qom, Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani, was quoted by the semi-official ILNA news agency as saying that the death toll was 50.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Gaza’s Hamas rulers with a “war” if the new round of rocket fire continued, ramping up his rhetoric amid the final stretch of his campaign.
- US President Trump’s arrival in Ahmedabad with first lady Melania Trump, daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, being received by PM Modi, the visit to Sabarmati Ashram and the massive rally at the Motera cricket stadium were reported by US media outlets as they happened,
- More than 80 women, including famous actresses, had accused him of sexual misconduct stretching back decades. He had denied the allegations and said any sexual encounters were consensual.
- Milan is the capital of the Lombardy region at the center of Europe’s biggest outbreak of the coronavirus that has killed nearly 2,600 people worldwide.
- The Goa government is drafting India’s first-ever policy on heritage structures to preserve, conserve and promote the state’s 100 odd heritage sites. The policy is expected to be ready by the end of 2020.
- Several Chinese cities, including Beijing, have dramatically improved their air quality in recent years, while Indian metropolises remain some of the world’s worst polluted, according to a new report.
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah has convened a meeting at 12 noon violence in Northeast Delhi. Five people, including a Delhi Police head constable, were killed in yesterday’s violence.
- IndiGo banned comedian Kunal Kamra from flying in its planes for six months after he allegedly heckled television anchor Arnab Goswami on a flight last month.
- The judge said Chief Justice of India Sharad Arvind Bobde had held one meeting in this context to figure out the steps that may be taken to check the virus from spreading any more.
- A head constable was among seven people killed and at least 50 others, including several paramilitary and Delhi Police personnel, were injured as violence spiraled over the amended citizenship law in northeast Delhi.
- Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia had earlier welcomed the US first lady on Twitter.
- Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier held an emergency meeting of MLAs and officials from the affected areas and appealed the protesters to maintain peace.
- BSF SI, Head Constable Recruitment 2020: Directorate General Boarder Security Force (BSF) has invited online applications for recruitment of sub- inspector and constable.
- Staff Selection Commission (SSC) is expected to declare the combined higher secondary level (CHSL) tier 2 exam result today on February 25. Candidates will be able to check their result online at ssc.nic.in
- LIC Recruitment 2020: Application process begins for 218 assistant engineer (AE), assistant administrative officer (AAO) and assistant architect posts. Check eligibility and other details here.
- Earlier, the last date to apply for KEAM 2020 was February 25. All interested candidates who want to apply for KEAM entrance examination can register themselves on the official website at cee.kerala.gov.in
- AIIMS PG 2020 Exam Date: AIIMS PG 2020 exam will be conducted on May 3. All India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is conducting the exam for July session admission.
- Shares of HDFC Life Insurance Company, Bandhan Bank and Info Edge rallied around 4 percent each intraday on February 25 after inclusion in NSE futures & options segment.
- InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) fell over 2 percent on BSE in morning trade on February 25 after global brokerage firm Credit Suisse cut the target price on the stock from Rs 1,850 from Rs 1,900.
- The Supreme Court had on February 14 pulled up telcos and government officials for failing to comply with its October 2019 verdict ordering telcos to pay up their dues to the government after a prolonged wrangle over the definition of AGR.
- Sharing his vision for the future at the Future Decoded summit in Mumbai, Nadella said that businesses can now utilise cloud to offer better learning and re-skilling opportunities.
- New Zealand’s crushing first Test win over India was lauded as one of the best in Black Caps’ history, with pundits saying Virat Kohli’s men failed to adapt to local conditions.
- Liverpool earned a record-equalling 18th consecutive Premier League win as the runaway leaders came from behind to beat West Ham 3-2 thanks to Sadio Mane’s late strike.
- Adline Castelino from Mangalore, Karnataka has won LIVA Miss Diva Universe 2020 title and was crowned by Vartika Singh, the winner of previous edition, at an event held in YRF (Yash Raj Films) Studios, Mumbai, Maharashtra.
- Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ awarded 23 student teams with Chhatra Vishwakarma Awards for their innovations.
- Rajalaxmi Singh Deo was re-elected as the President of RFI (Rowing Federation of India) and M V Shriram elected as the Secretary General of RFI, after the successful completion of election held in Hyderabad, Telangana.
1. International News
- Armenia will close its border with Iran and suspend flights, Prime Minister Nikol Pachinian announced, as fears over a deadly outbreak of the new coronavirus in Iran sent neighbouring countries scrambling to contain the outbreak.
- Eight people were killed in Turkey in a magnitude 5.7 earthquake that struck western Iran early, Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu said.
- The United States will begin enforcing a regulation that could deny green cards or legal permanent residency to legal immigrants who seek public benefits like food stamps.
- The surge in the number of new coronavirus cases in Italy hit sporting events, notably top flight football with four Serie A matches postponed.
- South Korea reported 161 more coronavirus cases, taking the nationwide total to 763 and making it the world’s largest total outside China.
- 152 people had now tested positive for the virus, including the three deceased, said head of Italy’s civil protection department, Angelo Borrelli.
- Next up is South Carolina, a state that is predominantly African American, and which has been nursed by Biden as his firewall.
- Democratic pack with 46 percent of the vote, followed far behind by former vice president Joe Biden at 19.6 percent and Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, at 15.3 percent.
- Trump’s remarks came a day after the US and the Afghan Taliban started a seven-day partial truce ahead of a possible peace deal to end more than 18-year-long war, raising hopes for a resolution to America’s longest war.
- Over 50,000 residents in eleven towns 10 in Lombardy and one in the neighbouring region of Veneto -- now face what Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said could be weeks of lockdown.
- The outbreak in Iran has centered mostly on the city of Qom, but spread rapidly over the past few days to people in fourother cities, including the capital, Tehran.
- Iran ordered the closure of schools, universities and cultural centres across 14 provinces from Sunday following five deaths in the Islamic Republic.
- The Maharashtra government has constituted a five-member committee to study the Andhra Pradesh Disha Act, which enables death penalty for rape and reduces the judgment period in such cases to 21 working days.
- Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the National Register for Citizens (NRC) would not be implemented in Bihar and only the National Population Register (NPR) would be updated the way it was done in 2010.
- Former US President Barack Obama had once said at a talk show that the limo is “a Caddy basically on a tank frame”.
- Ajit Pai shared the passport of his maternal grandfather which was issued in 1937 to work as a clerk in Bahrain, where his mother was born in 1945.
- Donald Trump’s India Visit: While leaving for India, the US president said he is going to discuss business with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which makes it clear that his trip is aimed at boosting US trade, the Sena said.
- Karnataka Agriculture Minister BC Patil ‘s comment came days after a young woman was arrested on charges of sedition after she raises Pakistan Zindabad's slogan at a rally against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Bengaluru.
- Ravi Pujari, who was arrested in South Africa last week, has 39 cases registered against him in Mangaluru and 37 cases in Bengaluru alone, apart from several other cases across the country including in Mumbai.
- Taj Mahal, the 17th-century monument to love, built over a period of nearly 20 years by Shah Jahan in memory of his wife after her death in 1631, is being refurbished to welcome the American leader and US First Lady Melania Trump.
- Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the construction of a temple. It also ruled that an alternative five-acre plot must be found for a mosque within Ayodhya.
- PM on his ‘Mann ki Baat’ talked about the Indian Space Research Organisation which facilitates the viewing of rocket launches at Sriharikota.
- Indian Coast Guard has invited online applications from Indian male candidates for recruitment to the post of Yantrik (02/2020 batch) in the Indian Coast Guard.
- The UGC NET June 2020 exam registration will begin on March 16. The last date to register is April 16. The Admit card will be released on May 15.
- National Testing Agency (NTA) has released the official notification for UGC- NET June 2020 examination.
- The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has announced jobs in Ministry of Jal Shakti for which engineers are eligible.
- Market benchmark Sensex plummeted over 450 points in opening session tracking intense selloff in global equities amid rising concerns over Chinese coronavirus epidemic.
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das as he delivers the keynote address at the 13th Mint Annual Banking Conclave (ABC) on Monday and sets the tone for monetary policy in 2020-21.
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang boosted Arsenal’s hopes of gate-crashing the race to reach the Champions League as his double clinched a 3-2 win against Everton.
- Triple H, who is currently the Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events and Creative for WWE. has made it a habit to have a marquee match at Wrestlemania every year.
1. International News
- Bernie Sanders has cemented his status as the Democratic front-runner to take on Donald Trump in November’s US presidential election.
- Italy effectively went into lockdown after the deaths of two people infected with the new virus from China and a growing cluster of cases with no direct links to the origin of the outbreak abroad.
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would hold a summit with the leaders of Russia, France and Germany on March 5 to discuss the situation in Syria’s last rebel enclave of Idlib.
- The World Health Organisation warned that African health systems would be ill-equipped to respond to the deadly coronavirus outbreak should cases start to proliferate on the continent.
- The number of new cases outside of Hubei stood at 18, the lowest since the commission started publishing nationwide data a month ago.
- The move might affect a number of Indians who are on H-1B visas and are in long ques to get permanent legal residency.
- Nationwide, the number of new cases rose to 648 as of Saturday, from 397, the previous day, National Health Commission said.
- Sanders has emerged as the front-runner in the party’s national race, even as establishment-minded Democrats raise concerns about the self-described democratic socialist’s ability to defeat President Donald Trump this fall.
- The museum, which bought the statue in a London auction in 1967, informed the Indian high commission in December that new research questioned its provenance. Indian officials thanked the museum for alerting the mission.
- U.S. prosecutors have charged the 48-year-old Australian computer expert with espionage over WikiLeaks’ publication of hundreds of thousands of confidential government documents. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to up to 175 years in prison.
- The new study contradicts the sequence of events – and pushes back the timeline of the outbreak significantly. It says that the coronavirus was introduced to the seafood market from another location – by a human – and then rapidly spread in the city.
- The novel coronavirus outbreak which began in December has already killed more than 2,200 people and infected more than 75,500 in China.
- Prince Andrew has stepped back from royal duties following a catastrophic BBC interview in which he categorically denied having sex with a teenager who says she was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein.
- The novel coronavirus outbreak which began in December has already killed more than 2,200 people and infected more than 75,500 in China
- The blue passports are ironically being made in Poland after the contract was controversially awarded to French multinational Thales.
- The affidavit listed the concerns and the views of the women who reaffirmed that they are proud citizens of the country and conveyed their anguish at being labeled as anti-national and Pakistanis.
- The Indian embassy said that the Japanese authorities have confirmed that samples from all passengers on board the ship collected for the test are being processed.
- Tharoor was the latest to take a jibe at authorities who have been deflecting criticism over the wall, saying the decision to construct the boundary wall and Trump’s visit are not connected.
- The United States president, First Lady Melania Trump and a high-level delegation will fly into the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad before noon.
- The protest at Jaffrabad caught the police unaware when about 500 people, mostly women, gathered there to protest against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and blocked a major road.
- Modi gave the example of 12-year-old Kamya Karthikeyan, who has set a record for being the youngest mountaineer to conquer Mount Aconcagua.
- The Prime Minister mentioned the Class 7 student Kamya Karthikeyan, who has set a record for being the youngest mountaineer to conquer Mount Aconcagua, in his monthly radio programme “Mann Ki Baat”.
- The Prime Minister talked about his memorable visit to Hunar Haat and said it showcases India’s diversity and dynamism, in his address to the nation on the 62nd edition of ‘Mann Ki Baat’.
- The National Investigation Agency (NIA) will probe the recovery of 14 Pakistan-made bullets from Kulathupuzha, a police officer who did not wish to be named, said.
- Nusrutullah Warsi, who belonged to a land owning family, owned several pieces of lands in Gorakhpur and outside and was fighting cases on illegal possession on many of them.
- India and the US are expected to finalise at least five memoranda of understanding (MoUs) on issues ranging from trade facilitation to homeland security during Trump’s visit during February 24-25 alongside some defence deals.
- National Testing Agency (NTA) will soon release the official notification for UGC- NET June 2020 examination. Candidates can expect the release of official notification by the first week of March.
- Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot directed officials to make important information related to preventive healthcare part of school curriculums under the government’s ‘Nirogi Rajasthan’ campaign.
- NTA UGC NET June 2020 notification will be release. Check expected dates and exam pattern here. Here’s everything you need to know.
- The scholarships are open for applications for undergraduate and postgraduate offer holders in courses like Engineering, Natural Science and Computer Science and Statistics.
- London-based Hinduja group is looking to partner with private equity firm Cerberus Capital to buy a stake in Yes Bank Ltd, two people aware of the discussions said.
- The Reserve Bank of India is reviewing the retail inflation targeting framework behind monetary policy decision as well as its effectiveness and also plans to hold stakeholders consultations including with the government in June, Governor Shaktikanta Das said.
- The government is keen to sell its stake in THDC India and North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) to state-owned NTPC in the current fiscal, according to a source. The acquisition is expected to fetch around Rs 10,000 crore to the exchequer.
- The Reserve Bank of India is reviewing the retail inflation targeting framework behind monetary policy decision as well as its effectiveness and also plans to hold stakeholders consultations including with the government in June, Governor Shaktikanta Das said.
- Their confidence on a high after the impressive win over title holders Australia, India will look to carry forward the momentum against a plucky Bangladesh in their second Group A match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Perth.
- Prithvi Shaw, playing his first Test since doping ban, failed in both the innings of the ongoing first Test against New Zealand at Basin Reserve in Wellington.
- New Delhi BRICS Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCI) organised the 2nd edition of Annual Direct Tax Summit & Awards 2020 in union with Achromic Point an international consulting firm.
- US-India Business Council (USBIC) appointed Vijay Advani as a new chairman of its Global board of directors. USBIC represents the top global companies across the United States,India and Indo-Pacific.
1. International News
- The Kremlin dismissed claims that Russia is interfering in the 2020 US presidential election as a paranoid falsehood.
- Britain will issue blue passports next month for the first time in almost three decades following its departure from the European Union, the government said.
- Global watchdog gives Islamabad a stern warning to comply with terror finance action by June 2020.
- The giant digital billboard is just two miles (three kilometers) down the Strip from Trump’s own hotel, where the president is staying while in Las Vegas.
- The warning came as Italy moved to close public spaces in ten towns, in a move with echoes of China’s lockdown of entire cities in the province at the centre of the outbreak.
- Trump will have bilateral meetings with Modi, meet with Kovind and attend the State Dinner, which is usually held with a lot of ceremony.
- In a statement issued after a meeting in Paris, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said it was rescinding a suspension of the measures, granted in 2016, to give Tehran time to work on reforms.
- The United States is preparing to sign a deal with the Taliban on February 29, building on an agreement on reducing violence across Afghanistan, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
- The death toll has gone up to 2,236 while the overall confirmed infection cases have climbed to 75,567, the country’s health officials said amidst mounting concern over its spread to prisons in different provinces.
- The new cases represented the first infections in Italy acquired through secondary contagion and tripled the country’s total to nine.
- Giselle Klapper, Sikh Coalition staff attorney, said “No Sikh-American should have to choose between their religious beliefs and their career ambitions.”
- More than 620 passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise liner have been infected with the coronavirus, the most outside mainland China.
- China said it stands ready to work with relevant parties to offer more assistance to Pakistan in its efforts against terrorism.
- Trump administration officials acknowledged that US President Donald Trump’s visit to India next week will not result in even a limited trade deal, saying they still have major concerns over India’s trade barriers.
- The University of Hyderabad has fined three students Rs 5,000 each for organizing a ”Shaheen Bagh Night” event against the Citizenship Amendment Act
- IIT Kharagpur in West Bengal has been ranked second among higher educational institutes of India in the ‘Times Higher Education Emerging Economies Ranking 2020’.
- The data by the World Gold Council shows India currently has 626 tonnes of gold reserves. The new reserves are almost five times that amount and estimated to be worth nearly Rs 12 lakh crore.
- The Union minister for textiles also talked about her victory in Amethi, her parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh, in the last Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
- Taj Mahal in Agra by the US President and the First Lady will afford them the opportunity to view the historical monument suitably and no official engagements or presence of senior dignitaries from the Indian side is envisaged there.
- India has persistently spurned Trump’s offers to mediate on the Kashmir issue, saying the region is an integral part of the country and any issues with Pakistan can only be handled bilaterally according to the Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration.
- Mohammed Anssarudeen Ahmed Jalaludeen was caught around 7.30 pm when he arrived at the airport’s terminal 3 and headed for a security check to board his flight to Bangkok.
- Trump will be in India for a jam-packed and intense two-day visit, along with First Lady Melania Trump, and will be in three cities in 36 hours.
- Staff Selection Commission (SSC) has released the official notification for Selection Post Phase VIII/2020 on its official website ssc.nic.in.
- The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has extended the last date for submitting online application for Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) 2020.
- Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia informed the media that preparations are underway in some school of the national capital for the visit of the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump to attend a happiness class.
- BPSSC Bihar Police Sub- Inspector main exam will be conducted on April 26. Over 50 thousand candidates who have cleared the preliminary exam will have to appear for the main exam.
- SBI Cards and Payment Services, the country’s second-largest credit card issuer, is expected to be the superstar IPO of 2020, as per experts.
- Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das has said the central bank has already initiated discussions with some institutions and efforts are on for inclusion of government bonds in global indices as quickly as possible.
- Left-arm spinner Ashton Agar took a hat-trick as Australia crushed South Africa by 107 runs in the first Twenty20 international at the Wanderers Stadium.
- Tokyo 2020 Olympics organisers postponed training for their army of volunteers due to the coronavirus outbreak but reiterated that there was “no consideration” of cancelling the Games.
- Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu presented the Ideal Legislative Assembly Speaker/ Ideal Legislative Council Chairman Award 2019 to the Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly Shri P.
- Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson and Managing Director (MD) of Bengaluru based biopharmaceutical company Biocon, won Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the year 2019
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed Sunil Gurbaxani as MD (Managing Director) and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Dhanlaxmi Bank for a period of 3 years. Sunil was the successor of T.Latha.
1. International News
- External Affairs Minister (EAM), Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has attended the 3-day long Munich Security Conference 2020
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was reviving a plan for the construction of 3,000 new settler homes near East Jerusalem, a project effectively frozen after international opposition.
- Greta Thunberg is using her prize money from an award known as the alternative Nobel to help set up a non-profit organization in her name “to promote ecological and social sustainability”.
- President Trump’s longtime confidant Roger Stone was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for lying to Congress and witness tampering, after a tumultuous two weeks in which Mr. Trump
- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s lawyers noted the request for asylum was “not an ordinary demand” because Assange is not on French soil.
- Pakistan had last returned to the FATF ‘grey list’ in June 2018 when the global anti-terror funding watchdog found deficiencies in Islamabad’s money laundering and anti-terror funding laws and their implementation.
- The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity, said Trump’s Republican allies on the Democratic-led House Intelligence Committee questioned the assessment presented by officials of the Office of National Intelligence.
- The 28-year-old was given a non-parole period of 17 years for strangling Grace Millane in December 2018 in a case that shocked New Zealand, which is usually regarded as a safe place to travel.
- Donald Trump, whose presidency has been built on a nationalist “America First” slogan, said it was time to bring back classics from Hollywood’s golden age.
- Trump repeated his offer to “help” resolve the Kashmir issue during his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. India maintains that there is no scope for any third-party mediation.
- Straight off the bat, Senator Bernie Sanders, who leads the pack in polls, brought up discriminatory policing methods during Bloomberg’s stint at the mayor of New York calling them “outrageous”.
- BioAsia 2020 was held at the life science capital of India i.e. Hyderabad , Telangana from 17th- 19th February, 2020 on the theme “Today for Tomorrow”.
- India to switch to World’s cleanest petrol and diesel from April 1, 2020, when it proceeds to Bharat Stage (BS-VI) from BS-IV grades at present.
- Highlighting the importance of preserving, protecting and promoting Indian languages, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu spoke in 22 languages at an event held in New Delhi to mark the International Mother Language Day.
- Union ministers are likely to visit Jammu and Kashmir in April to get first-hand information about various development schemes initiated thereby both the central government and the Union Territory administration, officials said.
- The chief minister’s son Aditya Thackeray, who is a minister in his cabinet, also accompanied him. The Shiv Sena chief will also meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi, veteran BJP leader L K Advani, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
- Indian army retaliated by firing at the Pakistani posts in the Neelam sector. “There is a possibility that Pakistani bunkers suffered damages,” an official statement said.
- Wadhawan had moved for bail earlier this month on the ground that he had no connection with the transaction of Mirchi’s properties.
- Holding the placard with the slogans, the woman was spotted sitting among the participants of the protest organized by the Hindu Jagaran Vedike against the woman who had shouted “Pakistan Zindabad”
- Highlighting the need for such legislation, the Union Minister said “when our forefathers were fighting for Independence from British rule, Jinnah was pushing for the creation of an Islamic state”.
- The Indian embassy said in a tweet that no additional Indian national onboard the Diamond Princess has tested positive for the virus since Thursday (Feb 20th).
- US President Donald Trump will arrive in Ahmedabad on February 24 for a little less than 36-hour India trip. From Ahmedabad, he will travel to Agra before arriving at the national capital for the main leg of the visit.
- The alleged incident took place in the Surat Municipal Institute of Medical Education and Research (SMIMER) hospital, run by the SMC, on February 20.
- Uddhav Thackeray’s first official meeting with all three leaders since he took charge as the chief minister of Maharashtra in November.
- The flight was originally scheduled to fly out and the Indian foreign affairs ministry cited the absence of approval from the Chinese authorities for it not taking off.
- Staff Selection Commission (SSC) Junior Hindi Translator (JHT), junior translator, senior Hindi translator and Hindi Pradhyapak 2018 exam result has been declared.
- Purported images of last year’s geography question paper with 2020 typed on it surfaced on WhatsApp soon after the class 10 West Bengal board examination of the subject began, an official said.
- Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad has released the official notification for Telangana State Engineering, Agriculture and Medical Common Entrance Test (TS EAMCET 2020) on its official website.
- The Madras High Court has ordered an interim stay on the recruitments for 8,000 posts by the TNUSRB on a plea of 15 people seeking a CBI probe into the alleged malpractices in the selection process.
- Andhra Pradesh Intermediate admit card 2020 has been released at bie.ap.gov.in. Here’s the direct link to download.
- Asia after Wall Street recovered to record highs, with the Shanghai benchmark jumping nearly 2 per cent after China’s central bank cut interest rates to help ease credit for companies stricken by the virus outbreak centered on the city of Wuhan.
- Axis Bank is in talks to acquire more than 20% stake in Max Life Insurance through fresh issue of equity, the Economic Times reported, citing multiple sources.
- The Indian women’s T20 World Cup squad begin their quest for elusive ICC silverware with possibly one of the toughest matches of their campaign when they take on powerful hosts Australia in the first match in Sydney.
- Anthony Martial struck a crucial away goal as Manchester United ground out a 1-1 draw against Club Brugge in Belgium in the first leg of their Europa League last 32 tie.
- The Government of India has approved the appointment of Rajendra Singh (former Director General of the Indian coast guard), Syed Ata Hasnain (former Lt. General of Army) and Krishna Vatsa (Policy and Recovery Advisory, Climate change and disaster risk reduction, United nations Development Program) as the members of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
- Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar resigned, but stayed on as interim leader while the country’s three main parties battle out coalition talks after an inconclusive election.
- Velagapudi Lakshmana Dutt, former FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry) President & Executive Chairman of KCP Group passed away at the age of 82 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
1. International News
- Rising White House hopeful Michael Bloomberg has been taking heavy fire from fellow Democratic rivals hours ahead of a live TV debate.
- EU leaders are meeting in Brussels this week to discuss the bloc’s future budget plans.
- The number of new cases reported is sharply lower than the daily updates of recent weeks.
- According to the report, which includes an index of 180 countries, the poorest nations need to do more to support their children’s ability to live healthier lives.
- In China, a small number of steelmakers use electric arc furnaces, or EAFs, that remelt piles of scrap from old cars or torn-down buildings and turn it into fresh steel products. Those can be shut down quickly.
- Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, 78, a well-known philanthropist who also has a global news outlet by the same name, quickly became centre of the night’s debate.
- Shajarizadeh became a dissident in 2018 when she was arrested for repeatedly removing her headscarf in public and waving it on the end of a stick.
- Assange’s lawyer Jennifer Robinson said in a document that Trump relayed the offer through former US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, the UK’s domestic Press Association news agency reported.
- The new post-Brexit policy is pitched as a “firm and fair” mechanism that will treat all migrants equally as the free movement of people from within the European Union (EU) comes to an end from January 1 next year.
- Sri Srinivasan, who was born in Chandigarh, is widely expected to be named to the apex court at some stage, possibly by a Democratic president — he was named to the DC circuit by Obama.
- The president, who will be accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, will begin his two-day India tour in Ahmedabad with a visit to Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram.
- The Supreme Court ruled that a person, who is in judicial service, will not be eligible for appointment as a district judge by way of direct recruitment, citing Article 233 (2) of the Constitution.
- The decision of the Supreme Court Collegium to transfer Delhi high court judge, Justice S Muralidhar, to the Punjab & Haryana high court was condemned by the legal community, with the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA)
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan along with Norway’s Minister for Climate and Environment,
- The Central Government has renamed Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses (IDSA) as Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses in order to “honor the commitment and legacy” of late Manohar Parrikar.
- The incident took place in Karnu village when the victims, one 18 years old and another 26, were allegedly caught stealing Rs 50,000. Five people have been arrested and seven booked in connection with the crime, police said.
- The Uphaar theatre in the posh Green Park area was screening Bollywood film “Border” and several families were there to catch the movie featuring Sunny Deol on its release day - June 13, 1997 - but the 3 pm show turned into mayhem after a massive blaze broke out.
- Donald Trump’s India visit: High-level exchanges between the world’s largest and the oldest democracies began when India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru visited the United States in 1949.
- The two mediators began the process for dialogue by reading the SC order on the matter, and insisting they were present to “hear the protesters” and not for making any “decision.”
- FATF said that while Pakistan was desperately trying to mislead its own public through misleading, wrong and selective media leaks, the fact is that the onus is on Islamabad to act on FATF parameters to avoid being blacklisted.
- Bihar Combined Entrance Competitive Exam Board (BCECEB) will begin the registration process for its combined competitive exam 2020 for pharmacy, medical and agriculture courses today. The last date to register is March 18.
- Rajasthan Subordinate and Ministerial Service Selection Board has extended the last date to apply for Patwari recruitment 2019.
- Prerna Sandhir from Sacred Heart School, Sector 26, who scored 98.4% in class 10, from talks about how she aced the board exams with ease.
- Most students want to pay attention to mathematics, science or even humanities in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) class 10 and 12 examinations, often not realising that paying attention to languages will push up their scores too.
- Question papers of Physics, Chemistry, Maths, Biology and Manipuri were leaked, Council of Higher Secondary Education Manipur (COHSEM) secretary Ch Biren Singh told PTI.
- BTSC Bihar Recruitment 2020: 6437 vacancies of general medical officers and special medical officers have been notified. Application process will end on February 28. Check full details here.
- BCECE Board Bihar will begin the registration process for entrance exam today. Check full details, eligibility, important dates and steps to register for the exam here.
- The Maharashtra government has sanctioned Rs 152.24 crore for the development of roads in Aurangabad city, a senior official said.
- Federal Bank share price rose more than 2 percent intraday on February 20 after research house Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to equal-weight from underweight rating.
- India will join the select league of nations using petrol and diesel containing just 10 parts per million of sulphur as it looks to cut vehicular emissions that are said to be one of the reasons for the choking pollution in major cities.
- Bharti Airtel, following the Supreme Court’s adverse verdict on the AGR (adjusted gross revenue) case, has paid Rs 100 billion on an ad-hoc basis.
- Manchester City cruised to a 2-0 win over West Ham as Pep Guardiola’s side returned to action for the first time following the club’s shock two-year ban from European competitions.
- Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini hailed a performance his club will “remember forever” after the Italian side crushed Valencia 4-1 to take a giant step closer to reaching the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time.
- Jose Mourinho fears his side’s season is running out of gas after an injury-hit Spurs slumped to a 1-0 defeat at home to RB Leipzig in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 ties.
- RB Leipzig marked their first appearance in the Champions League knockout round with a deserved 1-0 victory at last season’s runners-up Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday as their impressive campaign continued.
- Greco-Roman wrestlers in India are introduced to the style as kids. Most of them make a switch from freestyle. Ashu, however, took up Greco-Roman straightaway and the virtues of his early start show in his grasp of its nuances.
- High powered selection committee headed by Narendra Modi has selected Sanjay Kothari, current Secretary to the President as the new Chief Vigilance Commissioner(CVC)
- Supratim Bandyopadhay was appointed as chairman of the PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority).
1. International News
- Billionaire Michael Bloomberg will make his first appearance in a Democratic presidential debate amidst accusations from rivals candidates that he has used his vast personal wealth to “buy” his way into the race.
- Germany is sending a second shipment of medical aid supplies to China to help the Asian giant fight the coronavirus epidemic that has infected over 73,000 people.
- Israel’s opposition leader Benny Gantz said that if he becomes Prime Minister after the country’s third national elections next month, he would work to mend ties with America’s Democratic Party.
- UK Home Secretary Priti Patel today announced the launch of Britain’s new points-based visa system, aimed at attracting the “brightest and the best” from the world, including from India, and cutting down numbers of cheap, low-skilled workers coming to the country.
- The 2010 US support for India’s claim to permanent membership of the UN Security Council was not irreversibly final till 10-15 minutes before President Barack Obama and his delegation set out for Parliament in New Delhi where he announced it, overturning a long-running US policy.
- Zhang Ming, China’s ambassador to the European Union, said: “With business activity deferred and demand for services reduced there is some impact on the Chinese economy but it is limited, short term and manageable.”
- Bloomberg has spent upwards of $300 million on ads and has run an unorthodox campaign in which he skipped the first four states to hold caucuses and primaries, including Iowa and New Hampshire.
- UN officials said relief agencies were overwhelmed by the humanitarian crisis as nearly one million civilians, most of them women and children, had fled towards the Turkish border in bitter winter conditions.
- Earlier this month, the BBC reported that China had expressed concern to Boris Johnson’s father that the Prime Minister had not sent a personal message of support to Beijing over the outbreak of coronavirus.
- Jammu and Kashmir scheduled to be held next month have been postponed, the Chief Electoral Officer said, with the government citing the law and order situation in a move contrary to its claims of normalcy returning in the area.
- The much-awaited bus service to connect Imphal with Mandalay in Myanmar will begin in April, Manipur’s Chief Minister N Biren Singh said.
- The Union government began a review of the economic consequences facing India due to the coronavirus outbreak and is likely to announce some measures soon to tackle disruptions feared to hit several industries that depend on raw materials from China.
- India’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat has proposed Peninsular Command by merging Western and the Eastern Command of the Indian Navy
- Uttar Pradesh (UP) State Government led by its Chief Minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath has implemented the Performance Regulation Act 2019 for the electricity department.
- 4th National Conference on Review of Implementation of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) held in Udaipur, Rajasthan.
- The ministry communicated this to senior ECI officials during deliberations held with Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and election commissioners, Sushil Chandra and Ashok Lavasa.
- Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury did not object to the names and did not have any formal dissent note but objected to the procedural formalities.
- The Gauhati High Court held that electoral photo identity card is not proof of citizenship while a magistrate’s court in Mumbai ruled that it is proof of citizenship unless proved otherwise.
- A trial run of the Imphal-Mandalay bus service was carried out in December 2015 wherein a 27-member team of officials from both State and Central Governments had studied the condition of the 579-km long route.
- Naidu’s 45-day “Praja Chaitanya Yatra” (tour to enlighten the masses) will begin from Martur town of Parchur assembly constituency in Prakasam district and will cover all the 13 districts in the state.
- India is home to over 200 million Dalits, formerly known as “untouchables,” who have historically occupied the bottom rung of the Hindu caste hierarchy.
- India and the US have raised the Dawood issue at the Asia-Pacific joint group meetings, Islamabad has consistently denied the presence of the terrorist and mafia don on its soil, and asserts that he is not a Pakistani national.
- Da Cui Yun had been detained by Indian customs officials at Deendayal Port, formerly known as Kandla Port, for allegedly carrying an autoclave, and also is-declaring it.
- The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) will be conducting the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) Class 10 exams from February 27 to March 30.
- JNU vice-chancellor (VC) M Jagadesh Kumar appealed to the university alumni to contribute to the JNU Alumni Endowment Fund to help the institution achieve “financial self-sufficiency”.
- Staff Selection Commission (SSC) will declare the final results of Junior Hindi Translator (JHT), junior translator, senior Hindi translator and Hindi Pradhyapak examination 2018 tomorrow, on February 20.
- Staff Selection Commission (SSC) has released the tentative schedule for result declaration of various exams. According to the latest status report, the SSC CHSL exam result will be declared next week.
- Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) will be conducting the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) Class 10 exams from February 27 to March 30.Here are some tips that might come in handy for students for the English exam
- JNU vice-chancellor (VC) M Jagadesh Kumar appealed to the university alumni to contribute to the JNU Alumni Endowment Fund to help the institution achieve “financial self-sufficiency”.
- Shares of State Bank of India gained 2 percent in morning trade on February 19 after reports emerged that SBI Cards will launch its IPO in the first week of March.
- Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank rallied 2.9 percent intraday on February 19 following approval from the RBI for promoter’s shareholding dilution plan.
- Tata Motors said the complexity of its supply chains means that even though parts may be available, the big challenge is getting them out of the region of Wuhan – the epicenter of the virus, which remains inaccessible.
- Railway Protection Force (RPF) Director-General Arun Kumar said that this cleansing operation would make Tatkal tickets available for passengers for hours.
- India buys about 80% of its solar modules from China, which has shut down some factories, restricted transport and implemented other measures to combat the spread of the virus that has killed 1,868 people in China and infected 72,436 others.
- Liverpool were the victims of an old-fashioned Atletico Madrid masterclass as Diego Simeone’s side ground out a 1-0 win in Madrid to give themselves hope of reaching the Champions League quarter-finals.
- Champions League holders Liverpool will need to summon another famous European comeback at Anfield next month after they were beaten 1-0 away to Atletico Madrid in their last-16 first leg.
- Kylian Mbappe teed up Neymar to cancel out Haaland’s opener in the second half of their Champions League last 16, first leg at the Signal Iduna Park, it looked like PSG would leave Germany with the upper hand in the tie.
- Ritu Phogat, who initially followed her father and two elder sisters into wrestling, is now charting a new path after making an explosive MMA debut in November.
- Laureus World Sports Awards to take place in Berlin, following the 2016 ceremony which took place at the Messe Berlin.
- Sri Srinivasan, a prominent Indian-American judge, has created history by becoming the first person of South Asian descent to lead a powerful federal circuit court considered next only to the US Supreme Court.
1. International News
- Listing the personal details of more than 3,000 individuals from the far western region of Xinjiang, it sets out in intricate detail the most intimate aspects of their daily lives.
- EU states have agreed to launch a new military mission off the Libyan coast to enforce a shaky UN arms embargo.
- The death toll from China’s new coronavirus epidemic jumped past 1,800 on Tuesday after 93 more people died in Hubei province, the hard-hit epicentre of the outbreak.
- Britain’s trade negotiator warned that his government would not accept EU supervision of its economy in exchange for close trade ties.
- World Health Organization (WHO) warned against “blanket measures” over the novel coronavirus outbreak, pointing out the epidemic outside of China was only affecting a “tiny” proportion of the population.
- More than 72,000 people have been infected by the outbreak of the new COVID-19 strain in China, which has claimed the lives of over 1,800 people.
- With the coronavirus still spreading, there’s no telling when these women might be able to return to the families and households that rely on them.
- UN Secretary-General, Prime Minister Khan highlighted the “dire human rights and humanitarian situation” in Jammu and Kashmir following India’s August 5 decision to end the special status of the region.
- Hubei’s health commission also reported 1,807 new cases, a decline on the number of new cases reported.
- Britain’s trade negotiator David Frost, adding detail to the position championed by British prime minister Boris Johnson, said London wanted a typical trade deal of the kind Brussels signed with Canada.
- The outbreak, which has infected some 70,500 people in China and killed over 1,700, has battered manufacturing and tourism across the region and led to multiple travel restrictions including for flights and cruises.
- Plasma from patients who have recovered from coronavirus contains antibodies that can help reduce the virus load in critically ill patients, an official from China’s National Health Commission told a press briefing.
- The outbreak, which has infected some 70,500 people in China and killed over 1,700, has battered manufacturing and tourism across the region and led to multiple travel restrictions including for flights and cruises.
- President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit shouldn’t despair at the lack of progress lately, because India-US deals
- Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani visited the Motera stadium to inspect the security arrangements regarding US President Donald Trump’s visit to the state.
- The Odisha assembly passed the Odisha State Backward Classes (Amendment) Bill to enable its newly constituted Backward Class Commission to conduct a survey for identifying socially and economically backward classes on the basis of their socio-educational status.
- India lodged a strong protest with Turkey over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent remarks on Kashmir, with people familiar with developments saying New Delhi is eyeing other measures to register its displeasure.
- The NCP chief also wanted the government to find out how details of the meeting held by the deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and home minister Anil Deshmukh reached the Centre.
- Internet services will remain suspended for three and a half hours in about 50 community blocks in nine districts on exam days to stop a leak of question papers for the state secondary board’s class 10 Madhyamik examination.
- Prashant Kishor, who was last month expelled from Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal-United, prefaced the announcement about his campaign with an explanation about his exit from the Janata Dal-United and his abiding respect for the JDU chief.
- Ambika Singh Yadav launched a scathing attack on RJD’s Bihar chief Jagadanand Singh and said he was forced to quit the party after Singh decided to allot ticket to a man (his son) who had contested against the party candidate and used objectionable words for Rabri Devi in 2010.
- An analysis of reports on the council of ministers compiled by the election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) shows that the state with the highest representation of women in the council of ministers is Punjab (20%).
- The former legislator, who was elected to the Lower House from Krishnanagar constituency in 2009 and 2014, suffered a heart attack on February 2 and had been admitted in the hospital since then.
- The matriculation examination of the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) began with a total of 15.29 lakh students undertaking the scientific paper in the midst of contractual teachers’ strike.
- Indo Tibetan Border Police has released the Admit Card for Constable tradesman. The exam will be conducted on March 1. Candidates can download their admit card online at recruitment.itbpolice.nic.in
- HT spent over two hours in the school where it was shocking to see children, especially from standard I to V, braving the cold wave and the plaster of one of the ceilings in the two classrooms hanging precariously even as the classes were underway.
- The UPPSC ACF, RFO main examination will be held from February 23 to March 6, 2020, in two shifts i.e, from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm and 2 pm to 5 pm.
- The matriculation examination of the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) began with a total of 15.29 lakh students undertaking the scientific paper in the midst of contractual teachers’ strike.
- The officials have been asked to identify remote examination centers with help of the district inspector of schools where there was no transport facility and provide special buses to these remote exam centers and to publicize about the same to the students.
- IndiGo will start flights to Europe, London on a single-aisle Airbus 321XLR (extralong range) aircraft .IndiGo will dedicate about 20 of these aircraft, with two-class configuration, for international operations
- Parent company Avenue Supermarts Ltd has taken about 50,000 sq ft of space for its first outlet in Delhi.DMart opened seven outlets in the quarter ended December
- India has emerged as the fifth-largest world economy in 2019, overtaking the UK and France, as per a report by US-based think tank World Population Review.
- India’s annual electricity generation from coal-fired utilities fell in 2019 for the first time in a decade, government data showed, amid a broader economic slowdown and increased use of renewable energy.
- Manchester United moved to within three points of fourth-placed Chelsea with a smash and grab 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge thanks to goals from Anthony Martial and Harry Maguire.
- Four-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters lost her first match in her second tennis comeback following a 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) defeat to Garbine Muguruza in the opening round of the WTA event in Dubai.
- Australia’s Ash Barty remains at the top of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings released, despite going down in the semi-finals of the Australian Open last month.
- The return of Neymar from a rib injury in time for Champions League last 16 clashes at Borussia Dortmund “changes almost everything and brings a lot of confidence” to his Paris Saint-Germain team-mates, coach Thomas Tuchel said.
- Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has said Harry Maguire should not have been on the pitch when he scored his side’s second goal in a 2-0 Premier League win after the Manchester United defender escaped a red card for kicking Michy Batshuayi.
- Mayu Mukaida and Takuto Otoguro have caused enough heartache for Indian wrestling fans. The two Japanese have often stopped India’s top stars Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia on their tracks.
- Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton and football superstar Lionel Messi shared the Laureus sportsman of the year award at ceremony in Berlin.
- World rapid champion Koneru Humpy claimed her second title in the last two months by emerging triumphant at the Cairns Cup chess tournament following a draw against compatriot Dronavalli Harika in the ninth and final round here.
1. International News
- France has warned Britain to expect a bruising battle with the EU in post-Brexit trade negotiations.
- US President Donald Trump took a loop around the Daytona 500 racetrack in his presidential limousine, drawing cheers from fans at NASCAR’s most prestigious race not long after completing a dramatic flyby on Air Force One.
- The Asia Internet Coalition has urged the Pakistan government to revoke its newly-approved social media rules, warning that such regulations to control cyberspace will make it extremely difficult for companies to operate and cripple the country’s economy.
- UK consumers will face higher prices on goods coming from the European Union after Brexit, whether Boris Johnson signs a free trade agreement with the bloc or not, according to a major business group.
- Shiv Sena also took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s (AMC) move to build a wall on a plot to “hide the slums” on the route through which Trump’s convoy would pass.
- Washington has been pressing allies to ban Huawei, one of the world’s largest tech firms, from next-generation 5G mobile data networks, saying it is a security risk.
- Products imported from the EU after January 1, 2021 will require customs declarations, which cost between 16 pounds ($21) and 56 pounds per product line.
- The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf government last week announced a new set of rules to regulate social media activity and has given all digital companies and social media platforms three months to adhere to the new rules.
- Trump’s limousine nicknamed “The Beast” exited Daytona International Speedway, and the sky opened for a brief shower that forced drivers back to pit road.
- The publication of the Feb. 3 speech was an apparent attempt to demonstrate that the Communist Party leadership had acted decisively from the beginning.
- US President Donald Trump was delivering the keynote address at the two-day Global Women’s Forum held in an opulent resort overlooking the city’s Persian Gulf coastline.
- Previous presidents who have attended NASCAR events at the speedway include Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.
- Two other males and two females were wounded, with two of them in surgery Sunday morning and two in stable condition, he said. None of their names was released.
- The Telangana government led by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao appealed to the Centre to abrogate the Citizenship Amendment Act to prevent discrimination of people on the basis of religion.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the United Nations (UN) Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) through video conferencing.
- US are “unshakeable”, a top American diplomat has said, asserting that the Trump administration looks forward to an even warmer relationship as Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosts President Donald Trump later this month.
- AAP will launch a campaign from February 23 to March 23 in all states to connect with one crore people, senior party leader Gopal Rai said.
- Election Commission has collaborated with IIT Madras to work on a new technology which will allow electors to vote from far away cities without going to the designated polling station of their respective constituencies, a senior poll panel official has said.
- Deora had praised Arvind Kejriwal and his AAP government for doubling Delhi’s revenue. Maken hit back, saying Deora was presenting half-baked facts.
- The court noted that despite its own policy of 2019, the Centre had submitted a note to the court which perpetuates gender stereotypes.
- The Supreme Court dismissed the Centre’s submission against a 2010 Delhi high court order which had approved permanent commission for women officers.
- Despite policy decision, the Centre submitted a note to the Supreme Court which perpetuates sex stereotypes, said the Supreme Court.
- The Centre submitted a written note in the apex court that points out “physical prowess” and “physiological limitations” as challenges for women officers.
- Two-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and also comprising Justice KM Joseph issued notices to the Centre, the Delhi government and the police over the protest.
- The growing schism between the tribal communities and the BJP has also been flagged by the party’s ideological mentor, the RSS.
- The parents of the 2012 Delhi gangrape case victim, through their lawyer, had told the court during the hearing that patience of the society is being tested by this case.
- The Congress drew blank in the February 8 polls - its second consecutive duck in Delhi polls.
- Ajaz Patel has been recalled for his first test since the tour of Sri Lanka last August, while Auckland paceman Kyle Jamieson has been included in place of the injured Lockie Ferguson.
- The UN CMS being organized in Gandhinagar, Gujarat begins today and will conclude on February 22.
- Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) has invited application for the recruitment of Project Manager in District Industry Centres under department of industries, government of Bihar on its official website.
- The online application process for the CBSE Central Teacher’s Eligibility Test (CTET) 2020 will be ending on February 24, 2020.
- The admit card will be available on the BSEB website till February 21. If candidates find any error in the dummy admit card they can make corrections in it now.
- AACSB accreditation would strengthen the international linkages and provide newer collaborative opportunities globally.
- Those who want to apply for recounting or revaluation of their JNTUH results can send in the application till February 24.
- The Jharkhand combined civil services main examination was conducted from January 28 to February 1, 2019, at various centres spread across the state.
- The Indian rupee opened lower by 7 paise at 71.43 per dollar against Friday’s close of 71.36.
- HDFC Bank CEO Aditya Puri has sold nearly one-fifth of his stake, worth Rs 156 crore, in the company.
- Global Macro Outlook, Moody’s said India’s economy has decelerated rapidly over the last two years and expects economic recovery to begin in the current quarter.
- Bajaj Finance has market capitalization of ₹2.87 trillion.State Bank of India has a market cap of ₹2.81 trillion
- Immediately after that, the MCA had moved the National Company Law Tribunal to take over the management of IL&FS, which had a debt exposure of over Rs 91,000 crore.
- New Zealand’s premier fast bowler Trent Boult is set for a return to action when the Test series against India kicks off on February 21.
- Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi gave warning his side are ready to fight for their first Serie A title since 2000 after moving into second in Serie A
- Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei lowered the 5km world record with a time of 12 minutes 51 seconds and revealed he had set out to “really go for” breaking the sub 13 minutes barrier.
- The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said it has not sanctioned any kabaddi team’s visit to Pakistan for a world level tournament.
- Till a week before the national selection trials for the Tokyo Olympics qualifier, Sonam Mallik was not even a starter.
1. International News
- China has announced a drop in new cases from the coronavirus outbreak for a third consecutive day.
- US embassy in Iraq’s capital early, an American military source said, the 19th attack against US assets in the country since late October.
- China and it is impossible to tell where the epidemic will spread, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization
- NATO dismissed French President Emmanuel Macron’s call for a European “strategic dialogue” about the role of France’s nuclear weapons, saying a “tried and tested” deterrent was already in place.
- Vice President Joe Biden seized on reports that Sanders’ supporters insulted and made online threats against leaders of an influential union that declined to endorse any of the eight candidates still in the Democratic race.
- The kingdom’s ambitious de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has rolled out an array of economic and social innovations to project a moderate, business-friendly image.
- At least 1,662 people have now died from the outbreak that first emerged in Hubei’s capital, Wuhan, in December and spiraled into a nationwide epidemic.
- Preliminary field reports indicate that on 15 February as many as 31 civilians were killed and 12 others injured in strikes that hit Al-Hayjah area, United Nations said.
- Caroline Flack’s career, though, blossomed after she won the BBC show “Strictly Come Dancing” in 2014, the British version of “Dancing With The Stars.” Fellow TV presenters expressed shock over her death.
- China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), has also pumped in billions in new notes in the worst-hit central Chinese province of Hubei for the safety of citizens and bank staff dealing with cash.
- The Trump administration’s justification for the killing came under close scrutiny since the claim of “imminent” threat to American forces and assets--including four embassies-- was not backed with evidence.
- The special flight flew for Wuhan at 4 p.m. (local time), nearly two hours late than previously announced time of 2:15 p.m. (local time).
- Tedros told the Munich Security Conference in Germany he was encouraged by actions China had taken to slow the spread of the virus but was still concerned about the increasing number of cases.
- Karnataka Congress leaders, including its president Dinesh Gundu Rao and leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah, were detained by the police here, as they marched to besiege chief minister BS Yediyurappa’s
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil a 63-feet tall statue of Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya in Varanasi.
- Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa today said his country fully supported India’s bid for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
- Modi flagged off the third IRCTC operated train Kashi Mahakal Express via video conferencing from Varanasi, where he is all set to launch 36 projects worth Rs 1,057 crore.
- The song was performed at the annual Lui Ngai Ni festival expresses solidarity with coronavirus affected China.
- The district forest officer (DFO), Mercy Bela, said the department took cognizance of the video and suspended the three responsible workers.
- Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad’s Bharat Bandh call is against a Supreme Court ruling that states are not bound to provide reservation in promotion and appointments in public employment and that quota is not a fundamental right.
- A total of 138 Indians, including 132 crew and 6 passengers, were among the 3,711 people on board the ship, Diamond Princess, that arrived at the Japanese coast earlier this month.
- Prime Minister said his government was unlocking the heritage tourism potential in India through the development of the Ganga ghats in Varanasi and Kashi Vishwanath Dham project.
- The BJP which emerged as the single largest party in Maharashtra after the Assembly polls in October last year failed to form the government after Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena ended it alliance over the issue of rotating chief ministership.
- The video has sparked a fresh row with the Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra demanding action against the policemen and accusing the home minister and the Delhi Police of falsely exonerating the cops.
- Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra demanding action against the policemen and accusing the home minister and the Delhi Police of falsely exonerating the cops.
- Avyaan, over a year-old, was pictured all dressed up in signature Kejriwal sweater, spectacles, AAP cap, sketched moustache and a muffler outside Aam Aadmi Party headquarters on February 11, when the votes polled in the February 8 Delhi Assembly elections
- Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) will begin the class 10th board exam from tomorrow, February 17, 2020. The class 10th board exam will continue till February 24, 2020.
- Delhi High Court has released an official notification regarding the recruitment of Junior Judicial Assistants on its official website.
- The recruitment drive is being conducted to fill 21 vacancies of trade apprentices Data Entry Operator at IOCL-Southern Region.
- The charge sheet was filed in a court of law against Mohammad Ashraf Malik (now expired) and his son Shahnawaz Malik, a spokesman of the Crime Branch said.
- A total of 1,998 migrant labourers had appeared for the literacy exam in the second phase of the scheme “Changathi” across the state on January 19.
- The recruitment drive is being conducted to fill 132 vacancies of Junior Judicial Assistant at Delhi High court. Out of which, 36 vacancies are for General category, 21 for EWS, 33 for OBC-NCL, 26 for SC, and 16 for ST.
- The Centre is targeting the resolution of all 483,000 income tax-related legacy disputes worth Rs 9.32 lakh crore that are pending in various tribunals, and expects to unlock about 50% of the amount through its proposed one-time amnesty scheme Vivad se Vishwas (no dispute but trust), two officials said.
- Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das said transmission of rate cuts is expected to improve further in the coming days and that momentum is gathering pace on credit growth.
- Jurgen Klopp described his team’s 25-point lead at the top of the Premier League as “insane” after Sadio Mane struck to give Liverpool a 1-0 win at storm-hit Norwich.
- A slick Antoine Griezmann strike set Barcelona on their way against Getafe in La Liga before they survived a late onslaught from the gritty visitors to win 2-1.
- Veteran Leander Paes’ final ATP Tour match on home soil ended on a disappointing note as he and his partner Matthew Ebden lost to Indian pair of Purav Raja and Ramkumar Ramanathan in the men’s doubles final of the Bengaluru Open.
- Supermarket chain DMart’s Founder Radhakishan Damani becomes India’s 2nd richest person after Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries Limited. According to Forbes ‘Real Time Billionaires’ Index, Damani has a net worth of $17.8 billion.
- Vinay Dube was appointed as the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of GoAir. He was the successor of Cornelis Vrieswijk who resigned in February 2019.
- The 51-year-old chief minister and six of his ministers were sworn-in by Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal in front of a massive cheering crowd at the Ramlila Maidan in the national capital.
1. International News
- US President Donald Trump in accusing Washington, China and Russia of stoking global mistrust and insecurity with a “great powers” competition” that could threaten a new nuclear arms race.
- The United States said it would refuse entry to Sri Lanka’s army chief over “credible” evidence of human rights violations in the bloody 2009 finale to the civil war.
- The US will begin testing people identified by local health authorities as having flu-like symptoms for the novel coronavirus, a senior official said Friday, a significant expansion of the government’s response to the epidemic.
- Egypt confirmed its first coronavirus case and said the affected person was a foreigner who had been put into isolation at hospital.
- Beijing authorities announced the new rule late as the city attempts to cope with a staggering return of millions after the extended Chinese New Year (CNY) holidays amid the outbreak.
- The deal was struck in protracted negotiations in the Qatari capital Doha and was announced after a meeting between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
- The US military, which has between 12,000 and 13,000 troops in Afghanistan, will monitor the reduction in violence to ensure the Taliban upholds its commitments, the official said at the Munich Security Conference.
- Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said “the US miscalculated,” noting that since the killing, thousands of Iraqis have taken to the streets to protest against the presence of foreign troops in the country.
- The novel coronavirus that originated in the Wuhan area of China in December 2019 has spread to over 25 countries, raising safety concerns and impacting businesses in many parts of the world.
- Khan also slammed the media for attacking his government’s policies, saying he had to face embarrassment in China due to false reports published by some news outlets.
- Democrat-led House of Representatives initiated an impeachment inquiry against Trump last September based on concerns raised by a whistleblower who had reported being concerned about what the person had heard about the president’s call with Ukrainian president.
- Covid-19 has caused 1,380 deaths, has infected 63,851 people and spread across 28 countries. In the middle of rumors and reports, here is what you need to know about the virus.
- The reading was taken at Seymour Island, part of a chain of the peninsula that curves out from the northern tip of Antarctica.
- The puzzling lack of a clear acknowledgment from Beijing, and sending out a mixed message instead, comes in the backdrop of a letter written by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to President Xi Jinping where the Indian leader offered assistance to China.
- The protestors said they would not allow the wedding reception at the venue and also demanded that the couple be ousted from the apartment in which they were living.
- The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had in 2009 allocated Rs 7266 crore for the development of the Bundelkhand region in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
- US Trade Representative (USTR) had issued a notice earlier this week removing India and 24 other nations, including China, from the list of developing countries and listing it as a developed economy, making it ineligible for benefits given by Washington to developing countries.
- The IIT team found in some of the water samples the levels of pesticides such as atrazine and malathion were at least 46 times higher than the permissible limits prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which is 0.9 mg per liter of water.
- Public Safety Act (PSA) allows authorities to detain a person for up to two years without trial. The administration has also booked former chief ministers Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti of the Peoples Democratic Party leader (PDP) and one each of their party colleagues under the PSA
- The terse message from the Ministry of External Affairs came after Erdogan on Friday once again raked up the Kashmir issue and vowed that Ankara would support Pakistan’s stand as it is a matter of concern to both the countries.
- China said that it appreciates Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s offer to provide support and help in its fight against the deadly coronavirus outbreak in the country that has killed nearly 1,400 people.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi, where he will launch over 30 projects, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
- President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to India will be a “delightful spectacle” and “utterly successful” by many measures, eminent American experts on South Asia issues have said.
- Tripura will collect data as part of the National Population Register from May this year through mobile application only, even as the country has been witnessing several protests against NPR, as well as the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), a senior official of the directorate of census operations said.
- Industry analysts will be keeping a close watch on a likely trade deal between India and the US during President Trump’s visit.
- India, Tellis, however, noted that at the moment, he was unsure whether the trade disputes between the two countries will be resolved.
- Amid the cooking process, the Congress workers ranted the air with anti-government slogans, ruing “the skyrocketing prices” of various essential commodities.
- Various NDA ministers and BJP functionaries have targeted urban Naxals in the past. The Prime Minister himself has said in some rallies that urban Naxals, from the comfort of their air-conditioned homes, remotely control locals, especially tribals
- The circular also says attendance will be compiled at the entry gates of the Ramlila Maidan, where CM-designate Arvind Kejriwal and his council of ministers will take oath on February 16.
- The class 10th board exams will conclude on March 20 while class 12th board exams will conclude on March 30. Around 18 lakh students will take the class 10th board exams while the class 12th board exam will be taken by 12 lakh candidates.
- The CBSE Class 10 and Class 12 Board exams will begin on February 15. While the Class 10 exams will end on March 20, the Class 12 ones will conclude on March 30.
- Students of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya complained of vomiting, stomach pain, and loose motion after having dinner. 106 students were admitted to hospital, 62 were serious.
- Chandigarh Administration, Department of Personnel has declared the results of the recruitment exams for the posts of Clerks and Steno-Typist posts on its official website Here are the direct link to check results.
- While the People’s Bank of China has provided liquidity and counterparts in the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia have cut interest rates, most major central banks have signaled an alertness to the virus yet not signaled an intention to ease.
- The European planemaker said it would continue discussions with its US customers to “mitigate effects of tariffs insofar as possible” and hoped the US Trade Representative’s office would change its position.
- National Company Law Tribunals (NCLTs) for resolution, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has suggested that they should only refer cases to a tribunal where the loan amount is at least ₹200 crore.
- The RBI will seek to mop up a whopping ₹2.25-lakh crore via a 14-day variable rate reverse repo auction under its revised Liquidity Management Framework, which was unveiled on February 6.
- Manchester City have been banned from European competitions for the next two seasons for “serious financial fair-play breaches”, UEFA announced, with the verdict immediately contested by Pep Guardiola’s English champions.
- Tom Curran took wickets with the last two balls of the match as England turned the tables on South Africa in a thrilling second Twenty20 international at Kingsmead.
- Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah combined to dismiss five batsmen as New Zealand XI were bowled out for 235, giving India a slender 28-run first innings lead.
- Manchester City announced they were appealing the suspension to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) "at the earliest opportunity".
- American immunologist and oncologist Dr. Carl H June and Novartis CEO Dr. Vasant Narsimhan will be presented the Genome Valley Excellence Award of BioAsia 2020.
- Gita Sen , an Indian feminist scholar, activist has won the prestigious Dan David Prize 2020 under “present” category for her path-breaking work in the fields of population policies,
- Shri Ramnath Kovind, President of India & Supreme Commander of IAF (Indian Armed Forces), awarded President’s colour (highest military honour) to INS (Indian Naval Station) Shivaji, Lonavala, Maharashtra.
- Rajendra Indraman Singh, Founder & Chairperson of Priyadarshini Group of Schools & Colleges has been awarded the Indian Achievers Award (IAA) in recognition of his “Outstanding Contribution to Indian Education”.
- Government of India appointed Rajiv Bansal as CMD (Chairman & Managing Director) of Air India. He was the successor of Ashwani Lohani, who didn’t agree to extend his 1 year contract, which expired on february 11, 2020.
- Budget carrier GoAir’s Board has appointed former Jet Airways’ CEO Vinay Dube as the airline’s Chief Executive Officer.
- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed a dedicated government minister to lead the UN climate talks in Glasgow later this year, after warnings that planning for the event is “miles off track”.
1. International News
- An Australian court has ordered Google to identify the person behind an anonymous bad review of a dentist.
- The US Senate voted to rein in President Donald Trump from attacking Iran, sharply rebuking his foreign policy despite a week earlier acquitting him in his impeachment trial.
- The United States has secured a seven-day reduction in violence in Afghanistan that it hopes will allow it to strike a deal with the Taliban, officials said.
- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced the UN release of a list of companies involved with Israeli settlements, saying it proved the world body was biased against the Jewish state.
- Massimiliano Martigli Jiang also cheered the people of Wuhan, the Chinese city at the epicenter of coronavirus outbreak.
- Finance Ministry sources, the issue of discord between the IMF and financial authorities is the former’s insistence to cut down heavily of Pakistan’s reliance on trade and commerce ties with China and contract FTAs with other international partners.
- The World Health Organization had said that a sharp rise in reported COVID-19, (official name for coronavirus) cases in China was due to a change in counting methods and it did not represent a big shift in the epidemic.
- Pentagon officials said the money would be used to build about 177 miles (285 kilometers) of the concrete and steel barrier Trump wants to deter migrants from entering the country illegally.
- The case was unsealed as the Trump administration is raising national security and surveillance concerns about Huawei, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer.
- The quip came a day after Francis published a text urging Catholics to “feel outraged” over the exploitation of indigenous people and devastation caused by mining and deforestation in the Amazon.
- US-based companies with fines of four million rubles each (about $63,000) for failing to move their servers containing data of Russian users into Russia.
- The US President and the First Lady are scheduled to arrive in India on February 24 for a two-day visit, for the first US presidential visit in five years.
- Passengers have spent almost two weeks at sea as Guam, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand refused to let cruise ship MS Westerdam dock.
- India urgently needs more ambitious structural and financial sector reform measures and a medium-term fiscal consolidation strategy due to the rising debt levels while ensuring a more accommodative fiscal stance in the budget, the IMF has said.
- Sanskrit in Uttarakhand, the Railways ministry decided to rename the name of its stations in the state.
- India has offered to partially open up its poultry and dairy markets to win a limited trade deal during US President Donald Trump’s first official visit to the country this month, people familiar with the protracted talks say.
- National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam is likely to ask the centre to launch an independent probe into suspected cases of “wilful deletion” of data and important emails, people with direct knowledge of the matter have told NDTV.
- The Bengaluru-based musician traveled more than 61,000km across the country to meet families of the 40 troopers, who lost their lives in the Pulwama attack last year.
- Sajjan Kumar is the main accused in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and is serving a life term in a case relating to the killing of five members of a family in Raj Nagar following the assassination of Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984.
- Donald Trump’s visit On February 24, the two countries are eyeing to finalize a raft of mega defence deals including procurement of a batch of military helicopters by Indian Navy from American defence major Lockheed Martin at a cost of USD 2.6 billion.
- Invoking his power as the chancellor of all state-run universities, Dhankhar wrote to Debkumar Mukhopadhyay, the VC of Panchanan Barma University in Cooch Behar district, that he has initiated the process of removing him from the post.
- CRPF jawans were killed after the convoy of 78 buses, in which around 2,500 personnel were traveling from Jammu to Srinagar, came under attack in February last year.
- A suicide bomber of Pakistan-backed Jaish-e-Mohammad had rammed a vehicle carrying explosives into the CPRF convoy on February 14, 2019, on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway killing the 40 men in Pulwama district.
- 40 CRPF personnel were killed when their convoy was targeted by the suicide bomber of Pakistan-backed Jaish-e-Mohammad in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on February 14, 2019,
- India, the world’s largest milk-producing nation, has traditionally restricted dairy imports to protect the livelihoods of 80 million rural households involved in the industry.
- The government on the eve of her birthday decided to name two key institutions linked to India’s foreign policy after Sushma Swaraj.
- Sharad Pawar said it was crystal clear before the Delhi polls that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will retain power and the BJP will be rejected by the voters of the national capital.
- Staff from non-teaching background will look after the non-technical works during Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) starting from February 17, BSEB chairman Anand Kishor said.
- UPSRLM Recruitment: Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission (UPSRLM) has invited online applications for recruitment on various posts in state, district and block levels.
- Staff Selection Commission (SSC) is expected to declare the results of CPO paper 1 exam. According to the recent status report released by SSC, the tentative date of result of SSC CPO paper 1 is February 14.
- More than 4.5 lakh contractual teachers, owing allegiance to the Bihar Rajya Shikshak Sangharsh Samanvay Samiti (BRSSSS), have decided to go on an indefinite strike from February 17, to press their long-standing demand for ‘equal work, equal pay’.
- Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) has released the Second Tier (Tier 2) admit card for various recruitment exams Lower Division clerk (1/17), Grade IV DASS (2/17), Lower Division clerk (8/19), Junior Clerk (19/15), Grade IV DASS/Junior Assistant (20/18) .
- The central bank’s recent measures to lower interest rates for consumers and small businesses are unlikely to benefit them and instead deliver some collateral gains to corporate borrowers,
- Banks credit and deposits grew at 7.13 percent and 9.91 percent to Rs 101.02 lakh crore and Rs 133.24 lakh crore, respectively, in the fortnight ended January 31, according to the Reserve Bank data.
- India’s chances of sending a gymnast to the Tokyo Olympics, starting July 24, is all but over, with top athlete Dipa Karmakar yet to recover from her injuries as the Olympic qualification process heads towards its conclusion.
- Britain’s Tyson Fury vowed to deliver a career-best performance in his upcoming heavyweight title rematch with American Deontay Wilder, expecting a “war” in their February 22 showdown at Las Vegas.
- Milan paid for Theo Hernandez’s 71st-minute red card as they failed to close out a game they had dominated for long periods and led through Ante Rebic.
- Sarfaraz Khan’s 177 took Mumbai to 427 runs on day 2 of their Group B match against Madhya Pradesh here.
- Cristiano Ronaldo’s injury-time penalty grabbed Juventus a 1-1 draw at AC Milan in their Italian Cup semi-final, first leg as his incredible scoring run continued.
- Sharma has also been appointed as the minister-in-charge of United Kingdom’s COP26 climate change summit.
- Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) party leader Shri Arvind Kejriwal, 51 years old, to be sworn as Chief Minister (CM) of New Delhi on February 16, 2020 at Ramlila Maidan, Delhi, with his cabinet members.
- Former India all-rounder Robindra Ramnarine Singh, 56 years old, appointed Director of Cricket of the UAE(United Arab Emirates).
1. International News
- The British government has suspended its funding of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the body that runs the international organization from London, the BBC has learned.
- Former Vice-President Joe Biden, who entered the race as a front-runner and continues to lead in polls, finished a poor fifth amidst growing talk of fading prospects.
- Nepal has suspended the license of a mountainous resort for three months due to poor security management and managerial weakness at the hotel where eight Indian tourists, including four minors, died of possible asphyxiation, according to media reports.
- Alice Wells was referring to Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant group that both Washington and New Delhi hold responsible for the siege of the Indian financial capital that killed 166 people.
- Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan have tested positive for the new coronavirus, authorities said, as thousands more steel themselves for a second week in quarantine.
- The removals are the latest in a purge that saw Hubei’s two most senior health officials fired earlier this week as criticism grows over the way the outbreak has been handled, with claims of under-reporting.
- The 1,455 passengers and 802 crew members of the Westerdam really rejoiced after learning Cambodia had given permission for the cruise liner to dock at Sihanoukville, on its southern coast.
- Most of the deaths and majority of cases have been in central Hubei province, whose capital, Wuhan, is the epicenter of the outbreak. Some 56 million have been placed under lockdown in the province.
- Aside from the cruise ship, Japan has identified 28 cases including at least nine from evacuation flights that brought Japanese citizens out of the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus originated.
- Justice Irwin and Justice Elisabeth Laing began a three-day appeal hearing against the magistrate's court’s ruling that confirmed that there is a case for Mallya to answer in relation to multi-crore rupee loans taken from IDBI in 2009.
- Countries spy on each other and this is not the first time US intelligence has been found snooping on India.
- As many as 42744 were infected while an additional 21675 suspected to have the disease, latest figures said.
- Britain's Big Ben tower at the Houses of Parliament was more badly damaged by German bombs during World War Two than originally thought, experts said on Thursday, as the bill for its restoration rose by nearly 20 million pounds.
- Uttarakhand government empowered district magistrates to permit commercial mining on private land in the state. Earlier, the permission was given by the state government itself.
- The Supreme Court asked all the political parties to give details of candidates with a criminal background on their websites.
- Kejriwal will take oath as Delhi chief minister at a grand ceremony at the Ramlila Maidan. This will be his third stint as chief minister.
- The top court directed that the ability of a candidate to win elections should not be a ruse for fielding a candidate with criminal cases against him.
- The tribal community constitutes six percent of West Bengal’s total population. Mamata Banerjee is trying to woo the community which had overwhelmingly voted for BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
- NIA court in Mohali issued non-bailable warrants against Pakistan-based chief of Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) Ranjeet Singh Neeta.
- Calcutta high court, on whether children of a Parsi woman married to a non-Parsi can pray in a Parsi fire temple is set to become the first case in the country to be live-streamed, lawyers said.
- India prepares to receive Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, US defence major Boeing indicated that it was considering to offer its F-15EX Eagle fighter jets to Indian Air Force.
- Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella is planning to visit India later this month, multiple sources familiar with the plans told Reuters, a test for the Indian-born head who recently criticized Indian immigration policy.
- US President Donald Trump’s India visit later this month, four top US senators have written to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, expressing concern about the internet curbs in Kashmir more than six months after Jammu and Kashmir’s special status was scrapped under Article 370, as well the preventive detentions of political leaders.
- The performance is also all the more remarkable when one compares it to its poor showing in the last general election.
- The database includes the details of 31.12 million people who were identified as verified Indian citizens living in Assam and 1.9 million who were rejected.
- The Centre mandated that all lanes of toll plazas along national highways be declared FASTag lanes by December 15 to reduce bottlenecks along the national highways.
- Sana has claimed to have delivered the money to Sunil Mittal, father-in-law of Dubai-based Someshwar Srivastava, also known as Somesh Prasad in the CBI case.
- IIT Delhi, the organizing authority for GATE 2020, released candidate’s response sheet yesterday. It is yet to release the tentative answer key for GATE 2020 exam.
- Defence establishments of many countries have been working on heat dissipation issues, which pose a major hurdle to aero-dynamic stability of missiles upon re-entry.
- TANCET 2020 admit card has been released. Candidates can download the hall ticket online at tancet.annauniv.edu/tancet. The exam will be held on February 29 and March 1
- Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) has advertised the first recruitment notification in the year 2020 for 1137 vacancies of various posts in various departments of Haryana govt.
- IIM Calcutta has completed placements for its students of MBA class of 2020 with a record average salary of Rs 28 lakh per annum.
- All the private schools have to submit the details of fee structure during the academic session 2019-20 and 2020-21 to the district education officer.
- IBPS SO main score card 2020: IBPS released the scores of candidates of the online main exam to recruit Specialist Officers (CRP SPL IX). The IBPS SO main exam scores can be viewed until February 29
- Banks must take prudential measures to ensure that the public’s trust is not betrayed, says Ram Nath Kovind.
- Private lender YES Bank, which is engaged in fundraising exercise, said it has received non-binding expressions of interest from investors including JC Flowers, Tilden Park Capital, OHA UK and Silver Point Capital.
- City Union Bank posted 8.04 per cent rise in net profit at ₹192.43 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2019.
- Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi took three wickets in his last two overs as South Africa snatched a thrilling one-run win in the first Twenty20 international against England at Buffalo Park.
- FC Goa thumped Mumbai City FC 5-2 to go three points clear at the top of the Indian Super League (ISL) table after a feisty encounter at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Panaji.
- Indian Bank Association’s 15th Annual Banking Technology Conference, Expo and Awards 2020 held in Mumbai
- IKEA has named Jon Abrahamsson Ring, a former assistant to furniture giant IKEA’s Founder Ingvar Kamprad, as the new CEO.
- Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi accepted the resignation of Delhi Congress chief Subhash Chopra and Delhi Congress Incharge PC Chacko and appointed Shakti Sinh Gohil as the interim AICC Incharge of Delhi.
- Fashion designer Wendell Rodricks passed away at his home in Goa aged 59, a member of the family has confirmed to Indian Express.
1. International News
- The World Health Organization says the official name for the disease caused by the new coronavirus is Covid-19.
- The number of fatalities from China’s new coronavirus epidemic jumped to 1,110 nationwide on Wednesday after hard-hit Hubei province reported 94 new deaths.
- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of honing its ballistic missile skills through a satellite launch and vowed to exert more pressure.
- Sudan has agreed to hand over those wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, a top Sudanese official and spokesman said, although he did not mention by name ousted leader Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the ICC for genocide.
- China’s coronavirus outbreak poses a “very grave threat for the rest of the world” and should be viewed as “Public Enemy Number 1”, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
- Justice Irwin and Justice Elisabeth Laing began a three-day appeal hearing against the magistrates' court’s ruling that confirmed that there is a case for Mallya to answer in relation to multi-crore rupee loans taken from IDBI in 2009.
- As many as 42744 were infected while an additional 21675 suspected to have the disease, latest figures said.
- The virus, which is thought to have originated in bats and reached humans via another animal such as snakes or pangolins, causes respiratory failure and has no effective vaccination.
- The infant’s first nucleic acid test associated with the novel coronavirus was negative. The baby is receiving intensive care and will be tested again in the next few days to confirm the absence of the virus.
- China’s leaders seem eager to strike a balance between protecting an already-slowing economy and stamping out an epidemic that has killed more than 1,000 people.
- The map updates every few hours with data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization (WHO), Chinese and other government agencies.
- Duterte, who has openly disapproved of the two countries’ military alliance, made the decision after a close ally said his visa for the United States had been rescinded, in an issue related to the president’s war on drugs.
- Democrats said Trump’s proposal upended his promise in last week’s State of the Union speech to “always protect” the popular Social Security pension plan and the Medicare health plan for seniors.
- The intrusion damaged Equifax’s reputation and underscored China’s increasingly aggressive and sophisticated intelligence-gathering methods.
- Many companies are hurting from business disruptions after local governments ordered an extension to Lunar New Year holidays and urged would-be customers to stay home to prevent the virus from spreading.
- The agency had yesterday told the court that its former special director Rakesh Asthana and DSP Devender Kumar were found to be in the clear during investigations.
- Omar Abdullah, who has been in custody for six months, was detained hours before the Centre approached Parliament on August 5 last year to scrap Article 370 of the Constitution that granted special status to the erstwhile state, now split into two union territories.
- The data of the final citizens’ list in Assam, published last August, has vanished from the website of the state National Register of Citizens (NRC)
- The Assam government has decided to ‘tweak’ its ambitious plans of an ‘extensive’ socio-economic survey of its ‘indigenous’ Muslim population that many believe is aimed to ‘segregate’ the ‘Bhumiputra’ Muslims of Assam
- The credibility of India’s official statistics has hit rock-bottom in recent years.” This is the conclusion reached by Milan’s guest on the show this week, Pramit Bhattacharya.
- The ruling Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has made a clean sweep in the Delhi Assembly polls 2020, winning 62 seats in the 70-member House.
- Acknowledging the mandate from Delhi, Kejriwal gave a big “I love you” shout-out to the city and thanked it for reposing its faith in its son. He further added that AAP’s victory will give birth to “kaam ki rajneeti (politics of work)”.
- Data on details included in the NRC final list, which excluded 19 lakh applicants, was released online on September last year following a Supreme Court order.
- A trade deal was seen as the chief goal for the trip when the two sides began planning the presidential trip. But a sense of uncertainty has set in now.
- Trump said that he spoke to Modi over the weekend and during the conversation, the prime minister told him that millions and millions of people would welcome him from the airport to the cricket stadium.
- Indian market follow safety and quality standards, the Union health ministry through a notification, stated that all equipment intended for treating humans and animals will be regulated as a “drug”.
- The Bharatiya Janata Party leader had allocated on Monday the portfolios to 10 of the 11 turncoat MLAs who had defected from the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) to contest elections on the BJP slate.
- The driver, Rohit Gour, was suspended by the cab aggregator as it had set up an inquiry after he reported his passenger, poet-activist Bappadittya Sarkar, to the Mumbai Police after overhearing his conversation on anti-Citizenship (Amendment)
- The government managed to introduce three legislations apart from the all-important Finance Bill 2020.
- The first is the limited appeal and credibility of both its national and local leadership. It is now clear that Rahul Gandhi is not able to inspire confidence among the electorate.
- sbi.co.in(SBI) has released the admit card for the preliminary examination to recruit clerks on February 11, 2020.
- Bihar School Examination Board has declared the results of Physical Education and Health Instructor Eligibility Test 2019.
- Eight visually-impaired students are appearing in the class 10 board examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC), which started.
- IGNOU will be conducting the B.Ed examination for the Jammu and Srinagar region on February 14 and 15, 2020, at various centres spread across the regions.
- The University of Delhi has begun online application process for foreign nationals seeking admission to the undergraduate/postgraduate courses for the academic year 2020-2021.
- The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is expected to release the notification for the civil services preliminary examination 2020 on Wednesday, February 12.
- IndusInd Bank: Ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service revised its outlook for the private lender to negative from stable due to concerns over decline in asset quality.
- India has received foreign direct investment (FDI) of $463.44 million in the food processing sector in the first half of the current fiscal, the government informed Parliament.
- The finance minister was referring to the remarks made by P Chidambaram who had earlier said that economy was collapsing and it was being “attended by incompetent doctors.”
- Google workplace has been disrupted by employee opposition to top-level decisions ranging from forging contracts with the US military to tailoring a version of the search engine for China.
- Custodian of cricket laws, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), will play one 50-over game and three T20 matches during their upcoming tour of Pakistan, beginning.
- Aizawl FC registered a solid 2-0 win against Tiddim Road Athletic Union (TRAU) FC at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.
- The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) was left shell-shocked after a kabaddi team from India landed in Pakistan via Wagah border to take part in the so called ‘World Championship’.
- World football administrators unveiled plans to help players left in difficulty by clubs who fail to pay their wages.
- Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik remains hopeful of getting another opportunity to contest for a Tokyo Olympics berth, as she continues her preparation for the Asian Wrestling Championships (AWC), to be held from February 18-23.
- Kidambi Srikanth spearheaded India’s 4-1 mauling of Kazakhstan in their opening group match to brighten their chances of reaching the quarterfinals of the Asia Team Badminton Championships in Manila.
- Indian professional hockey player Lalremsiami (19) from Mizoram was voted the best FIH(International Hockey Federation) Women’s Rising Star of the Year 2019.
- ESPNcricinfo (sports news website) announced the 13th edition of the Annual ESPNcricinfo Awards 2019. Eoin Joseph Gerard Morgan was named as the ‘captain of the year’ for leading England to win the World Cup Title against New Zealand.
1. International News
- The US has charged four Chinese military officers over the huge cyber-attack on credit rating giant Equifax.
- The chances of Ireland Prime Minister Leo Varadkar heading the next government receded as Sinn Fein – long considered the political wing of the Irish Republic Army – won the largest of the first-preference votes following the February 8 election.
- UK-registered company whose sole director is Mumbai-based entrepreneur Shadab Shaikh has been wound up in British courts following allegations that it sold vitamin and healthcare supplements to vulnerable people using high pressure sales tactics.
- World Health Organization team of medical experts arrived in China to help investigate the coronavirus outbreak, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva.
- Duterte, who has openly disapproved of the two countries’ military alliance, made the decision after a close ally said his visa for the United States had been rescinded, in an issue related to the president’s war on drugs.
- Many companies are hurting from business disruptions after local governments ordered an extension to Lunar New Year holidays and urged would-be customers to stay home to prevent the virus from spreading.
- There were 2,478 new confirmed cases on the mainland on Feb. 10, down from 3,062 on the previous day, bringing the total to 42,638.
- The SARS-like pathogen has infected 40,000 people since its emergence in China late last year, while the United States has seen 12 confirmed cases of varying severity.
- The government-to-government sale cleared by the US State Department was announced by a US defence department agency after a notification was issued to the US Congress.
- The freeports are expected to attract new businesses, create jobs and spread investment and opportunity to towns and cities across the UK.
- Indian Embassy stepped up efforts to locate hundreds of Indians, mainly students, residing hundreds of kilometres apart in Hubei province and Wuhan - the epicentre of the virus outbreak, Misri said.
- Meteo-France noted wind speeds of 130 kilometres per hour along the coast and predicted highs of 200 kph (120 miles).
- Sri Lanka’s tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said the signing of agreements could be delayed due to outbreak of coronavirus in China.
- National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), Chinese health regulatory body, approved a kit developed by SunSure Biotech, which cut the screening time to 30 minutes.
- Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) raced ahead of the BJP in the counting of votes for the Delhi election, his deputy Manish Sisodia said his party’s victory would mean that “real nationalism is to work for the people”.
- Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has issued a warning about twin invasion of desert locusts coming to India starting in May, but an official said that the country is prepared to meet the challenge.
- US President Donald Trump will visit India on February 24-25, the White House announced.
- The Supreme Court held that its 5-judge bench can refer questions of law to a larger bench while exercising its limited power under review jurisdiction in the Sabarimala temple case.
- Resorting to populism and giving a fresh impetus to employment generation, the West Bengal government announced the setting up of 100 business parks for small and medium enterprises in the state in the next three years and proposed free electricity to those with quarterly consumption of up to 75 units in its budget for 2020-21.
- The AAP has so far contested six elections in the national capital - two Lok Sabha polls, three assembly polls, and one municipal election.
- Delhi election result: While Manish Sisodia led by 74 votes at 10.45 am in Patparganj, Gahlot from Najafgarh and Jain from Shakur Basti trailed by 621 and 51 votes respectively.
- Tiwari who had projected 55 seats for his party minutes before election officials sat down to count the 9 million votes that had been cast on February 8.
- The Okhla assembly seat, one of the 70 constituencies in Delhi, a Muslim majority area with Shaheen Bagh and Jamia Nagar was thrust into the national spotlight after protesters blocked a major road demanding the repeal of the contentious citizenship act.
- Scientists working on the program managed to incubate eggs and hatch nine GIB hatchlings last monsoon which, the scientists said, are developing well.
- The first citizen of India, President Ram Nath Kovind, will likely be the first to be enrolled in the National Population Register (NPR) on April 1 when the exercise starts across the country.
- The State Bank of India (SBI) is expected to release on Tuesday, February 11, the admit card for the preliminary examination to recruit clerks.
- CSBC will conduct the constable written exam on March 8, 2020. The exam was earlier scheduled to be held on January 20 which was then postponed. The fresh admit card will be released on February 20.
- The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) was launched by Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood and Planning Ministry’s Deputy Chairman Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan at a ceremony here on Monday, reports Dawn news.
- Insisting that information and communication technology (ICT) was a means to achieve competency, director NCERT Hrushikesh Senapaty on Monday stressed on the need to integrate it with pedagogy (teaching methodology).
- National Testing Agency (NTA) is conducting JEE Main April 2020 exam on April 5, 7, 8, 9 and 11. Candidates interested in pursuing BE/BTech, BArch and BPlanning can appear for the JEE Main Examination.
- West Bengal Public Service Commission (WBPSC) has released the answer key for West Bengal Civil Service (Executive) etc.
- AIIMS has revised the schedule for edit option of Basic Registration for AIIMS PG July 2020. Earlier the edit option for candidates who have completed the Basic Registration process was to commence on February 12 and close on February 14.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) published draft framework for authorisation of a new pan-India umbrella organisation for retail payment systems.
- Domestic stock markets are likely to start Tuesday’s session on a positive note following two days of losses amid gains in Asian peers.
- Amazon asks to question Trump and top Pentagon leaders about their role in the Pentagon’s Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI, cloud contract that was awarded to Microsoft Corp.
- Bad loans fall to ₹7.27 lakh crore at the end of September 2019, down from ₹8.96 lakh crore at the end of March 2018.
- Union Bank reports four times jump in Q3 net profit to ₹575 crore
- RBI offers banks CRR exemption for auto, home and MSME loans
- Follow the New Zealand vs India, 2020 live cricket score on Sports.NDTV.com. After 38.1 overs, India are 210/4.
- Front-foot no ball technology will be used for the first time in a global cricket tournament later this month at the women’s T20 World Cup in Australia, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced.
- The World Kabaddi Federation added new fuel to fire by saying that the World Championship in Pakistan is “unauthorised” and “no institution will officially recognise the certificate” of the meet where a kabaddi team from India is also taking part without the consent of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
- LeBron James is considering a return to the Olympics. James a two-time gold medallist and three-time Olympian — is among 44 players announced by USA Basketball as finalists for the team that will play in the Tokyo Games this summer.
- National Conference on e-Governance 2020 based on the theme “India 2020: Digital Transformation” with 6-sub themes was held at Mumbai, Maharashtra from February 7-8 2020.
- Kaamya Karthikeyan, 12 years old, a class 7 student of Navy Children School (NCS) in Mumbai, Maharashtra, became the youngest girl in the world to climb Mt. Aconcagua, Argentina, (highest peak in South America).
- Google confirmed that head of human resources Eileen Naughton was stepping away from her job as “vice president of people operations” at the internet company.
1. International News
- The death toll from the novel coronavirus surged past 900 in mainland China, overtaking global fatalities in the 2002-03 SARS epidemic, even as the World Health Organization said the outbreak appeared to be stabilizing.
- Switzerland voted strongly in favor of a new law against homophobia in a referendum in the face of strong opposition from the populist rightwing Swiss People’s Party (SVP).
- A US envoy warned Israel not to declare sovereignty over West Bank land without Washington’s consent, pushing back against calls for immediate action by ultra-nationalists within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition.
- The White House will unveil a budget proposal that drops the Republicans’ long-term goal of eliminating the federal deficit over the next 10 years, US media said.
- National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), Chinese health regulatory body, approved a kit developed by SunSure Biotech, which cut the screening time to 30 minutes.
- Pakistan came under criticism after it said that Pakistani students should not be evacuated from Wuhan as medical facilities back home do not meet the standards required to treat a patient diagnosed with coronavirus.
- With results in from all of Switzerland’s cantons, the figures showed that the highest approval rate was in Geneva with 76 percent, while the rural cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden, Schwyz and Uri voted against.
- Iran’s state television said the Raad-500, or thunder in Farsi, was half the weight of a similar missile, but its range was about 200 km (120 miles) more and it could be powered by a new generation of engines designed to put satellites into orbit.
- Final results of Ireland poll will be known later in the week when talks between contending parties are expected to last days or weeks before a coalition government is formed.
- Britain sent out “do not travel” warnings, and nearly 20 others told passengers to expect delays.
- The ministry will deploy the funds to ensure that members of the public can afford diagnosis and treatment, it said in a statement on its website.
- The 77-year-old moderate is being eclipsed on the campaign trail by mostly younger candidates with sharper stump speeches, more hustle, and telegenic debate performances.
- Dhaka Tribune, the minister said that the government has spent a lot of time for those intending to return. “However, it is still not possible (to bring them back).
- The presidency hit a low in the 1970s after Congress wrested authority away following Richard Nixon’s Watergate abuses.
- The new virus has spread rapidly since emerging late last year in China, killing more than 800 people in the mainland and infecting over 37,000. Cases have been reported in two dozen other countries.
- On average, coronavirus survives for four to five days, according to the study published in the Journal of Hospital Infection.
- Internet was snapped in Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 last year when the Centre abrogated Article 370 and split the erstwhile state into two union territories.
- An official said that government and Opposition have reached an agreement to skip the Question Hour and Zero Hour - which take place from 11 am to 1 pm.
- Parliament had, by an amendment to the SC/ST Act, introduced section 18A in 2018. The government had resorted to this step to undo the March 2018 judgment of the Supreme Court in Dr. Subhash Kashinath Mahajan vs The State of Maharashtra.
- The court had said that it would hear the petitions seeking removal of anti-CAA protesters from Shaheen Bagh on February 10.
- The dog was operated on December 15 and the pacemaker was implanted after a one-and-a-half hour-long surgery.
- During the state Assembly elections held in October, Devendra Fadnavis had repeatedly used ‘mi punha yein’ (I will come again) slogan as part of his poll campaign.
- Asserting that steps will be taken to enact a separate law to confer the protected status to the delta districts, he said here that only agro-based industries will be encouraged on a need basis in the river Cauvery fed regions.
- Our love for pesticides has, of course, annihilated several creatures and frankly, we don’t even care about the forests.
- The Andhra Pradesh government suspended a senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Director-General of Police (DGP)
- The statue, at Kumhar Toli in the city, was found lying on its platform, while its right arm was found detached from the statue.
- Xi, Modi expressed solidarity with the President and people of China, while also expressing his appreciation for facilitating the evacuation of over 650 Indian citizens from China’s Wuhan city, the epicenter of the outbreak.
- Gen Rawat is learned to be in favor of increasing the retirement age of certain classes of non-combatants and medical staff to 58 years from 39 to cut the bill.
- Owaisi called on K Chandrasekhar Rao and submitted a memorandum seeking 10 crores to develop Simhavauhini Mahankali temple in the old city.
- Union Cabinet announced the formation of the trust, meeting a three-month deadline set by the SC, which in November awarded a disputed plot of land in the holy city to Hindu claimants who believe the site marks the birthplace of the revered.
- Dangulupadu village was on its way to attend an engagement ceremony in Sikharada village of Ganjam’s Golanthara area when the bus came in contact with the sagging overhead transmission line near Melpaturu village.
- About 7,000 elementary teachers across Maharashtra are set to lose their jobs for failing to comply with the additional requirement of clearing teachers eligibility test (TET) in time.
- Jharkhand Parliamentary Affairs Minister Alamgir Alam has assured the para-teachers that the state government would initiate steps, as per guidelines, to meet their demands.
- Several major platforms such as NEETprep, BYJU’s, ICA Edu skills and Youth4works have started offering online programmes for medical aspirants.
- “Rozgar Mela” in Gorakhpur, the Chief Minister said that the internship period would be six months or one year after which the government would help in their placement.
- The recruitment drive is being conducted to fill 12 vacancies of the Professor, Associate Professor, and Assistant Professor at the institute.
- Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is considering buying a minority stake in Mahindra Electric Mobility, according to a report in the Business Standard.
- This exercise will create six global sized banks, effective April, and will bring down the number of public sector banks to 12 from 27 in 2017.
- Under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) law, states are guaranteed compensation for revenue loss for 5 years if their revenue does not increase 14 per cent on the base year of 2015-16.
- GSTIN is a 15-digit PAN-based unique identification number allotted to every registered person under GST.
- The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation monitors infrastructure projects worth Rs 150 crore and above.
- India skipper Priyam Garg termed the three-wicket Under-19 World Cup final defeat to Bangladesh as “it not being their day”.
- Inter Milan moved top of Serie A after storming back from two goals down to snatch a 4-2 win over AC Milan in a pulsating derby at the San Siro.
- ‘Indian team’ in Pakistan for the World Kabaddi Championship has kicked up a controversy with the sports ministry and the national federation claiming that they have not given clearance to any athlete for competing in the neighboring country.
- Inter Milan moved top of Serie A after storming back from two goals down to snatch a 4-2 win over AC Milan in a pulsating derby at the San Siro.
- Lionel Messi gave a hat-trick of assists as Barcelona ended their turbulent week with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Real Betis to stay in touch with Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.
- Michelle Li is well on her way to qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics. Her preparations will include not just those punishing hours on court, but also intense brainstorming sessions off it—to arrange over $150,000 she would need to fund herself along with a traveling coach and physio for the crucial year.
- South Korean movie 'Parasite' has created history as the first foreign language film to win the Best Picture award at Oscars 2020.
- Laura Dern won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in the film 'Marriage Story' at the 92nd Academy Awards being held. This is her first Oscar win and third nomination.
- Joaquin Phoenix was named Best Actor in a Leading Role for 'Joker', while Renée Zellweger won Best Actress Oscar for 'Judy' at 92nd Academy Awards
1. International News
- China’s National Health Commission called for the “reasonable use” of protective suits in a statement and cautioned against “excessive and disorderly” use of the clothing that would waste resources and could also increase infection.
- A second evacuation flight is bringing back another 174 Singaporeans and their family members from virus-hit Wuhan in China to the city-state on Sunday morning, Singapore’s foreign ministry said.
- The head of a World Health Organization-led international team investigating the coronavirus outbreak will leave for China, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
- The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party led by Prime Minister Imran Khan has suspended the general secretary of its Lahore chapter over posters that featured an insulting slogan targeting the minority Hindus after public backlash, a media report said.
- Dhaka Tribune, the minister said that the government has spent a lot of time for those intending to return.
- The new virus has spread rapidly since emerging late last year in China, killing more than 800 people in the mainland and infecting over 37,000. Cases have been reported in two dozen other countries.
- The incident, which took place in Nangarhar province, occurred after a combined U.S. and Afghan force completed a “key-leader engagement,” Colonel Sonny Leggett, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said in a statement.
- Colonel Sonny Leggett, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said a combined U.S. and Afghan force conducting an operation in Nangarhar province was engaged by direct fire.
- Asian Americans, including Indian-Americans normally support Democratic party candidates, but she hopes to turn the tide in the November Congressional elections by defeating six-term incumbent Congressman Gerry Connolly.
- Dr. Mike Ryan, WHO’s top emergency expert, said there had been a stabilization in the number of new cases reported from Hubei province, the epicenter of the virus, over the past four days.
- The toll is now higher than the global number of deaths caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus, which killed 774 people in 2002-2003.
- The death toll in mainland China rose to 723 on Saturday, the WHO said, looking likely to pass the 774 deaths recorded globally during the 2002-2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
- SITE monitoring group Friday, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) said Sheikh Khalid Haqqani, who served on the group’s consultative council and had been a deputy leader, had been killed January 31.
- Britons who have tested positive for the virus, six other Britons staying in the same chalet in late January were also hospitalized for observation, France’s health minister said.
- The Teacher Foundation, in association Wipro Applying Thought in Schools (WATIS), found that 42 percent of kids in India are bullied in schools.
- The Economic Offences Wing of Goa Police claims to have busted a Ponzi scheme that duped around 400 people by promising high returns and prizes to investors, offering to use their money to gamble in Goa-based casinos and return them the winnings.
- A case has been registered against the organizers and around 300 women protesters who are protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and NRC in Nagpada area since January 26, the police said.
- Quotas and reservations for promotions for government jobs is not a fundamental right, the Supreme Court said in a potentially key judgment delivered.
- Mahinda Rajapaksa had arrived in New Delhi on a five-day visit and held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to explore ways to further boost bilateral ties.
- Police said that while a Swift Dzire was heading towards Kolkata, a Scorpio was heading north. The two collided head-on as the driver of one of the vehicles lost control. There was no fog when the accident happened.
- Parameswaran was attracted to Sangh ideology at a young age and later became a ‘pracharak,’ full-time worker of the RSS in 1951 and devoted his life to it.
- Iron scaffoldings came up around the temple in 1992 so that experts of the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) could climb up and study the structure. The entire structure was covered with scaffoldings by 2011.
- The agents, who collect the hair from across the country, aren’t aware of the situation and are still collecting them from remote villages and cities.
- Archbishop Filipe Néri Ferrão flagged the Citizenship Amendment Act, the National Register of Citizens and the National Population Register because these could ” victimize underprivileged classes”.
- Joshi is in Goa to speak at a two-day conclave on ‘Vishwaguru Bharat - An RSS perspective, which is advertised as an effort to disseminate RSS’ vision for the nation.
- Five exit polls predicted a comfortable victory for chief minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), showing it to be winning anything between 47 seats (Times Now-Ipsos poll) to 68 seats (India Today-Axis poll) in the assembly of 70 members.
- Special public prosecutor Saroj Kumari said the charge sheet has been filed against Yadav, who represents Sandesh assembly seat, under IPC sections relating to human trafficking and sexual assault besides those of Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, POCSO
- Sainik School Chhingchhip, Mizoram has invited applications for the recruitment of various teaching and non-teaching vacancies on its official website.
- IRCON International Limited has invited offline applications for the Graduate and Technician (Diploma) Apprentice posts on its official website.
- The Governor said the Preamble contained the Constitution’s basic spirit while the Fundamental Duties were its main pillar.
- UPSC Recruitment 2020: UPSC has invited online applications for recruitment against 52 vacancies on different posts. Last date to apply is February 27.
- The Bihar School Examination Board will conduct the English paper on February 20. It will be conducted in two phases
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had a complex situation of rising inflation, sub-par growth and transmission lagging.
- “The Economic Survey forecast the growth rate in the range of 6-6.5 percent, and the RBI also expects the GDP growth rate at 6 percent for FY21.
- The petrol now costs Rs 72.23 a litre in Delhi, Rs 77.89 a litre in Mumbai, Rs 74.92 a litre in Kolkata and Rs 75.04 a litre in Chennai.
- The Reliance Group indicated that it plans to appeal against the ruling, which will involve a process of seeking permission to appeal.
- Jon Jones showed his championship pedigree as he overcame Dominick Reyes in a tough 5-round fight to retain his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
- Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko defeated newly crowned Australian Open champ Sofia Kenin 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 to keep Latvia alive in their Fed Cup qualifying tie against the United States.
- Leon Bailey scored one late goal and made another as Bayer Leverkusen earned a stunning 4-3 win over Borussia Dortmund to deny the visitors the chance to move level on points with Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.
- India will be looking for their fifth Under-19 World Cup trophy when they take on Bangladesh in the final at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom.
- India’s chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand has been given an honourable mention at the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Coaches Lifetime Achievement Awards 2019.
1. International News
- Hong Kong has begun a mandatory two-week quarantine for anyone arriving from mainland China, in a fresh effort to contain the new coronavirus.
- US President Donald Trump has dismissed two senior officials who testified against him at his impeachment trial.
- A man who had traveled to Wuhan the central city at the heart of China’s coronavirus crisis was surprised when police showed up at his door after he returned home, asking to check his temperature.
- The United States stands ready to spend up to $100 million to assist China and other countries impacted by a coronavirus, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced.
- “We can confirm that a 60-year-old US citizen diagnosed with coronavirus died at a hospital in Wuhan, China, on February 6,” an embassy spokesman told AFP.
- The Indian-origin prime minister of Ireland who played a key role in Brexit talks and oversaw a radical change in the Catholic country’s abortion law in 2018, is facing a stiff challenge in Saturday’s election, with his party finishing third in opinion polls.
- Through the intervening night between, news about Li’s critical state of illness and then his death was the top-read topic on China’s twitter-like microblogging site, Weibo.
- Nearly 6,000 identical-dressed couples from 64 countries many of whom met for the first time in recent weeks married in Gapyeong, a festive mood filling the venue as newlyweds took group photos and were congratulated by friends and relatives.
- Xi told Trump on the phone that China was “fully confident and capable of defeating the epidemic”, and that “the long-term trend of China’s economic development for the better will not change”, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
- The newly diagnosed infections mean at least 61 people from the ship have contracted the virus, which has killed hundreds of people, most of them in China, and infected more than 30,000 on the mainland.
- Police first received a telephoned warning via a media outlet on January 31 that there was a bomb in a lorry in Belfast docks which was due to go by ferry to Scotland from British-run Northern Ireland, but they could not find the vehicle.
- Tencent, on its webpage titled “Epidemic Situation Tracker,” showed confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in China as standing at 154,023 over 10 times the official figure given to the world on February 1.
- The ATC indicted Hafiz Saeed and others on December 11 in terror financing cases in day to day hearing. He has already recorded his statement before the court in two terror financing cases against him in which he pleaded “not guilty”.
- Shaheen Bagh, the centre stage of the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) for almost three months now, as they turned out to cast their vote for the Delhi assembly elections.
- Dewas district collector in Madhya Pradesh has issued notices to a sand mining company asking why a fine of Rs 300 crore should not be imposed on it for illegally transporting sand, officials said.
- Calling the ongoing DefExpo-2020 a ‘historic success’, defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday announced the signing of over 200 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and transfer of technology agreements at the expo.
- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) suggested the name of senior counsel and former additional solicitor general Maninder Singh to take over as special public prosecutor (SPP)
- Mahinda Rajapaksa, elder brother of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, arrived in New Delhi on Friday on a five-day visit, his first overseas tour after being appointed as prime minister of the island nation in November last year.
- Police said the four accused are from Suryapet and Nalgonda in Telangana and Hosur in Tamil Nadu who were earlier real estate agents.
- Union women and child development minister Smriti Irani questioned his intentions in making such a comment on Twitter earlier.
- The government said the emergency makeshift hospitals would be set up soon at Haridwar and Haldwani but did not give a timeline of how long the construction would take.
- Kejriwal, who leads the AAP, had offered prayers at the famous Hanuman Temple in Connaught Place along with his wife Sunita on Friday. Tiwari had also visited the Chhatarpur and Kalkaji temples.
- The former Test skipper, who ended his international career in the 2004 home series against India, lamented that the quality of batsmen and bowlers had gone down compared to the 1980’s and 90s era.
- More than 14.7 million voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the Delhi assembly election for the 672 candidates in the fray in the keenly-watched battle for the national capital.
- Tamil Nadu Teachers Recruitment Board (TN TRB) has released the admit card for the recruitment exam of block education officer (BEO) on its official website.
- Bihar Technical Service Commission (BTSC) has invited online applications for the recruitment of junior engineers against advertisement number 01/2019.
- TN TRB BEO Admit Card 2019 has been released on the official website at trb.tn.nic.in. Check schedule of exam and direct link to download admit card here.
- The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) has uploaded the marks of candidates who had appeared in paper 1 of Junior Hindi Translator, Junior Translator, Senior Hindi Translator and Hindi Pradhyapak Examination 2019.A total of 1977 candidates are qualified to appear for paper 2 exam.
- West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) will release the class 10th admit card for the board examination on February 8. Candidates will be able to get the admit cards between 11 am and 5 pm.
- Clearing of bank cheques is set to become faster. In its sixth bi-monthly monetary policy statement, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it would implement the Cheque Truncation System (CTS) across the country by September 2020.
- The Cup & Handle (C&H) pattern is believed to be one of the most reliable and popular patterns among the trader community.
- The Reliance Group indicated that it plans to appeal against the ruling, which will involve a process of seeking permission to appeal.
- The new scheme gives taxpayers a significantly lower rate than the old one, but does away with 70 of 120 “deductions”.
- Peggy Dulany Rockefeller is chair of Synergos. She will host a talk on ‘The need for individual participation in philanthropy’.
- Follow the New Zealand vs India, 2020 live cricket score on Sports.NDTV.com. After 50.0 overs, New Zealand are 273/8.
- Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal attracted what organisers said was a world record crowd for a tennis match when they played an exhibition event in the Cape Town Stadium.
- Goldberg’s return to the WWE was heavily advertised by the company for SmackDown. No one was clear on why Goldberg is returning to WWE shortly after Royal Rumble. There were several reports on his possible opponent for Super ShowDown.
- Famous Odia and English writer Manoj Das, 85 years old, will receive Mystic Kalinga Literary award– Indian and Global languages, during the 4th edition of the 2 day Mystic Kalinga Festival (MSF) which commences in Swosti Premium, Odisha, Bhubaneswar on February 8 & 9, 2020.
- The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) of Great Britain announced that it has appointed Philip Robert Barton KCMG OBE (Knight Commander order of British Empire) as its new high commissioner of Great Britain to India,
1. International News
- US President Donald Trump has taken a victory lap one day after his impeachment acquittal, in a White House tirade against his political enemies.
- India’s Ambassador-Designate to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu presented his credential to President Donald Trump in his Oval Office of the White House.
- The official Chinese death toll from the coronavirus outbreak rose on Friday to 636, with the government saying total infections had climbed past 30,000.
- The US International Trade Commission said it was launching a patent investigation into certain audio players and controllers sold by Alphabet’s Google based on a complaint by rival smart speaker maker Sonos.
- Tencent, on its webpage titled “Epidemic Situation Tracker,” showed confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in China as standing at 154,023 -- over 10 times the official figure given to the world on February 1.
- NASA’s Christina Koch touched down at 0912 GMT on the Kazakh steppe after 328 days in space, along with Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency and Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian space agency.
- Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces, said Trump.
- There are an estimated 1.4 million Hindus in Pakistan and they have been targeted by terrorists and violent extremists, and discriminated against societally.
- The Chinese tech security company 360 Security Technology told the nationalistic tabloid Global Times that they have evidence that India-based hackers attacked medical organisations.
- The acquittals protect President Trump from being removed from office, as sought by Democrats, but do not overturn his impeachment in the House of Representatives.
- Official data showed that an additional 20,629 people in Wuhan, Hubei’s locked down capital city, are in quarantine at home amid the outbreak. The city has recorded 8,351 confirmed cases, accounting for about 50 percent of the total confirmed cases in Hubei.
- The conclusion of Trump’s trial offered a sharp contrast to previous impeachment trials, which all have led to acquittal but left little doubt about what the president did or why.
- The acquittals protect President Trump from being removed from office, as sought by Democrats, but do not overturn his impeachment in the House of Representatives.
- Donald Trump of sexual harassment or sexual assault accusations the president has denied.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Assam today to participate in an event to celebrate the signing of the Bodo peace deal, an accord between the government and the banned militant group National Democratic Front of Bodoland, last month.
- Congress MP Manish Tewari attacked the center and said the country’s economy was affected with “coronavirus but the government was giving medication for common-cold.”
- The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) said it is ready to provide $3 billion to the Andhra Pradesh Government for development projects in the state, in a meeting of its representatives with Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
- Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said that the two regions should examine the viability of establishing air corridors between them to boost trade and economic engagement.
- NCRB’s report said Odisha recorded the maximum cases of child pornography in the country in 2018 with 333 cases followed by 177 in Bihar.
- India, the world’s biggest buyer of edible oils, last month imposed curbs on refined palm oil imports and informally asked traders to stop buying from Malaysia, the world’s biggest producer and exporter of the commodity after Indonesia.
- Prime Minister chose to hit out at Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury who had been rising from his seat to object to his speech during the discussion on President Ram Nath Kovind’s address to Parliament.
- Kalitara Mandal, 110, a resident of C R Park in South Delhi’s Greater Kailash constituency, is the oldest voter in Delhi.
- The plea stated that the road closure at Shaheen bagh causes great inconvenience to the public at large. The road closure and the consequent traffic diversion have led to the wastage of precious time, energy and fuel besides overburdening the DND, Akshardham and Ashram routes.
- BJP president J P Nadda also accused Kejriwal and the Congress of misleading Muslims and fuelling violence under the garb of the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests.
- The AAP had won 67 of the 70 seats in the last Delhi assembly elections held in 2015. The BJP got the other three and the Congress, despite governing Delhi for 15 years, drew a zero in the last Delhi assembly polls.
- The arrest of senior Delhi, Andaman Nicobar Island Civil Services (DANICS) officer, Gopal Krishna Madhav, came just two days before the Delhi assembly elections on February 8.
- The investigating squad submitted its interim report recently revealing how the fraud was perpetrated by giving a go by to the prevailing procedure – to seek approval of the finance department to every proposal involving financial implications – and how excess amounts have been drawn from the state exchequer.
- The former Union finance minister tweeted to express his shock against the arrest of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and National Conference (NC) leaders along with two others.
- News agency Reuters reported on Wednesday that Kia was in preliminary negotiations with the Tamil Nadu government for moving its $1.1 billion manufacturing plant from Anantapur.
- The final recruitment process saw participation from 108 recruiters with 362 domestic and international offers, inclusive of 24 new final recruiters
- Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) Clerk exam result has been declared on the official website at hssc.gov.in. Candidates can download the merit list online.
- Arunachal Pradesh Staff Selection Board (APSSB) will open the online application window for recruitment of 944 constable and forester posts today, February 7. 10th pass can apply.
- Of the expelled candidates, six cases were booked in Nalanda, three in Gopalganj, two each in Saran, Madhepura and Jamui and one each in Bhojpur and Gaya districts. The impersonators were caught in Muzaffarpur, Banka and Nawada districts.
- JNU registrar Pramod Kumar, in a statement, said the academic council took the decision after hearing all recommendations and will submit its response to the Delhi High Court by Friday.
- Clearing of bank cheques is set to become faster. In its sixth bi-monthly monetary policy statement, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it would implement the Cheque Truncation System (CTS) across the country by September 2020.
- Domestic stock markets started Friday’s session on a lacklustre note amid weakness in Asian peers, after a four-day rally in which benchmark indices climbed 4 per cent.
- We expect recovery in private consumption as well as investment and deceleration of government consumption.
- Mumbai City FC gave their hunt for an Indian Super League (ISL) play-off spot a massive boost after a dramatic 2-1 win over Jamshedpur FC at the Mumbai Football Arena in Mumbai.
- Premier League clubs voted to push the closing date of the summer transfer window back to bring it into line with the rest of Europe.
- Barcelona and Real Madrid both crashed out of the Copa del Rey as Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad pulled off a shock Basque double to reach the semi-finals.
- Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling will miss Premier League clash against West Ham and could face a race to be fit for their Champions League showdown with Real Madrid after suffering a hamstring injury.
- Duff & Phelps published the celebrity brand evaluation report for 2019. Indian Captain Virat Kohli has retained the top position for the third consecutive time.
- Maharashtra Chief Minister (CM) Uddhav Bal Thackeray presented an award to senior journalist Dinkar Keshav Raikar for his contribution to journalism at Mumbai, Maharashtra.
- India, JSW steel has appointed Indian cricketer Rishabh Rajendra Pant as its brand ambassador.
- Jeff Weiner became the Executive Chairman (EC) of Linkedin. He was the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Linkedin for the past 11 years.
- A German state premier elected with the help of the far-right AfD says he is resigning to pave the way for fresh elections.
- American Greek economist and Chief Economist of the World Bank(WB) Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg (57-years) announced her resignation.
- Issur Danielovitch Demsky named Kirk Douglas was born on December 9, 1916 in Amsterdam, New York, U.S.
1. International News
- President Donald Trump has been cleared in his impeachment trial, ending a congressional bid to oust him from an office that bitterly divided the US.
- Nancy Pelosi ripped up her copy of Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, in a pointed political gesture after listening tight-lipped to the president tout his achievements to Congress.
- Abu Dhabi’s long-troubled Etihad Airways said it would sell 38 aircraft to an investment firm and a leasing company in a deal valued at USD 1 billion, the latest cost-cutting measure by the United Arab Emirates’ national carrier.
- Researchers from a key Chinese lab have applied to patent a US-made drug they found to be effective in pre-clinical tests in treating the novel Coronavirus.
- The lavish ring, which has a pizza slice on top of it made out of ‘cheese’ and ‘pepperoni’ rubies, was designed by Domino’s and is expected to be placed on one woman’s finger come to Valentine’s Day.
- The outcome followed months of remarkable impeachment proceedings, from Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s House to Mitch McConnell’s Senate, reflecting the nation’s unrelenting partisan divide three years into the Trump presidency.
- Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya said earlier that the plane was carrying 177 passengers and six crew from the western province of Izmir. He said the wounded were being treated at 18 hospitals in the area.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that people frequently wash hands, cover mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing, and avoid close contact with those who are sick.
- A Chinese TV report said researchers at Zhejiang University had found an effective drug for the virus, while Britain’s Sky News said researchers had made a “significant breakthrough” in developing a vaccine.
- The infant is the youngest person recorded as being infected by the virus, which has killed nearly 500 people since emerging late last year.
- The Trump-Pelosi exchange will remain likely the most enduring impression of the 2020 State of the Union address, which was also Trump’s third.
- Italy sees itself as an alternative entry point to European markets for Indian firms following Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU)
- BJP president Amit Shah met BJP corporators in the capital ahead of the February 8 polls following reports that some corporators were not following the party’s instruction on campaigning and supporting the local candidate.
- Kerala told the Supreme Court that it has initiated the process for drafting a law exclusively for Sabarimala Temple’s management and sought more four weeks to complete the process in consultation with Attorney General for India, KK Venugopal.
- The Bharatiya Janata Party’s spokesperson Premanand Mhambrey had accused Khaunte of grabbing him by the hand and threatening after he accused Khaunte of several irregularities at a press conference.
- Hundreds of people, mostly women and children, have been protesting since December 15 last year at Shaheen Bagh against the CAA and possibility of NRC.
- The BJP had won 18 of West Bengal’s 42 seats in Lok Sabha polls. The TMC’s tally came down from 34 in 2014 to 22 in 2019 even though its vote share increased by 3.5 percentage points.
- Seventeen members of a legislative assembly, including 14 from the Congress and three from the Janata Dal (Secular), had resigned in July last year to help topple the 14-month-old coalition government headed by HD Kumaraswamy.
- The BJP, which is pulling out all the stops to wrest Delhi from the Aam Aadmi Party, is ensuring there is no room for intra-party wrangling. According to a person aware of the details, corporators were warned there will be consequences for not following the party line.
- Muzaffarnagar City Kotwali’s senior sub-inspector Manoj Yadav said the arrested accused Nayab (21) and Parvez(22) were painters who white-wash houses.
- Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) has declared the result and released the final merit list of post- graduate teachers (PGT) recruitment exam and interview. Candidates can check the merit list online at navodaya.gov.in.
- Western Railway Apprentice Recruitment 2020: Today is the last date to apply for Western Railway for engagement of Apprentices. Candidates who have passed class 10th and hold ITI certificate can apply for the posts
- NBE declared the NEET PG results on January 31, 2020. In which, 1,67,102 candidates had registered for the exam and 1,60,888 candidates appeared for the exam.
- The centenarian -- Bhageerathi Amma, had appeared for the examination, conducted by the state literacy mission, at Kollam last year and the result was announced by the literacy mission.
- The recruitment drive is being conducted to fill 61 vacancies of specialist officers. Out of which, 54 vacancies are for Manager (Grade B), 5 for AGM (Grade C), and 2 for DGM (Grade D).
- Kerala Pareeksha Bhavan will be conducting the KTET 2020 examination on February 15-16, 2020, at various centres spread across the state.
- According to traders, investors are bullish ahead of outcome of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) sixth bi-monthly monetary policy statement for 2019-20.
- Domestic stock markets started on a positive note, ahead of the outcome of the Reserve Bank of India’s sixth bi-monthly policy review of the current fiscal year.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will release its sixth bi-monthly policy statement of current fiscal year at 11:45 am today, following a three-day meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee.
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das-led Monetary Policy Committee will release its sixth bi-monthly policy statement of 2019-20 after the end of a three-day review meeting which started on February 4.
- Shakti Khujoor, a player with the Gangpur-Odisha junior team, and his friends from the sports hostel looked yearningly at the Naval Tata Hockey Academy (NTHA) girls train on the second pitch of the Kalinga Stadium complex here.
- Pakistani horserider Usman Khan qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics — marking his country’s maiden appearance in equestrian’s individual eventing.
- Bayern Munich’s insatiable striker Robert Lewandowski scored twice as they saw off fellow Bundesliga side Hoffenheim 4-3 at home to reach the quarter-finals of the German Cup.
- Big Bang Boom Solutions Pvt Ltd (BBBS), start-up company in the defence sector was awarded the prestigious SKOCH Award for “Boron Nitrate Based Personal Hybrid Combat Armour ” at New Delhi, India.
- Former BCCI president late Jagmohan Dalmiya’s son Avishek became the youngest president of Cricket Association Bengal at the age of 38 after being elected unopposed.
- The LinkedIn professional networking service is getting a new CEO. Jeff Weiner will become executive chairman after 11 years as chief of the Microsoft-owned business.
- Former Karnataka Minister D. Manjunath, 92 years old passed away in Karnataka, Bengaluru due to age-related ailments.
1. International News
- President Donald Trump has hailed the “great American comeback” in a speech to Congress on the eve of his expected acquittal in his impeachment trial.
- January on record globally, while in Europe temperatures were a balmy three degrees Celsius above the average January from 1981 to 2010, the European Union’s climate monitoring system reported.
- China had similarly threatened execution and long jail sentences during the 2002-03 SARS epidemic for anyone avoiding quarantine and spreading the disease.
- In one of his few foreign-policy points in a highly partisan State of the Union address to Congress, Trump offered his blessing for ongoing negotiations with Taliban militants.
- Dozens of major airlines have stopped flying to the Chinese mainland in a bid to slow the spread of the virus, which has been detected among a small number of people in more than 20 countries.
- The tension between Trump and his Democratic nemesis was palpable from the outset, as Pelosi extended her hand for a handshake and the president failed to return the favor.
- The state-owned Chinese airline wants to start flying a Beijing-Los Angeles-San Francisco route and the same cities in reverse order. It also wants to fly a Beijing-New York-Washington route and the reverse.
- Apartment administrations Beijing has thousands of apartments have geared up in different ways to contain the infection from spreading.
- Japan quarantined the vessel carrying 3,711 people and was testing those onboard for the virus after a former passenger was diagnosed with the illness after disembarking in Hong Kong.
- Texas A&M University has cancelled classes until Thursday and says counsellors are available for students.
- Rajinikanth also said that the central government has assured that Indians will have no issues in view of the citizenship act.
- The government said in Parliament that no decision has been taken as of now to prepare a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC).
- Andhra Pradesh assembly abolishing the state legislative council, the YSR Congress Party-led government has refused to acknowledge the constitution of select committees of the Upper House to look into the two bills related to the creation of three capitals.
- The trust, to be called ‘Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra’, will be empowered to make all decisions related to building a grand temple at Lord Ram’s birthplace and related matters.
- Kapil Gujjar was detained by the police following the firing incident and booked him for opening fire in the air at Shaheen Bagh, where protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) are going on since December last year.
- PM Modi underlined that his government was guided by ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’ and was working for the welfare of every Indian.
- India’s potential as a global defence manufacturing hub, the biennial DefExpo will kickstart in Lucknow.
- Pramod Sawant, who holds the mining portfolio, said he was eager to ensure the resumption of mining but at the same time said he would be firm in ensuring every rupee due to the state would be recovered.
- The Direct Tax Vivid Se Vishwas Bill, 2020, will be introduced in the Lok Sabha around 12 noon after the Question Hour.
- Indian Right-Wing Thought, examines the contribution conservative ideas have made—and could make in the future—to the economy, politics, culture, society, and aesthetics of India
- CBSE Class 12 Chemistry exam will be conducted on March 7. With just one month left for the exam, students should now focus on revising the notes and chapters.
- APPSC has declared the results of Group 2 mains exam. Candidates who had appeared in the exam can check their results online at psc.ap.gov.in
- The Board is conducting the recruitment drive to fill 4421 vacancies of Patwari. Out of which, 3815 vacancies are for the Non-TSP region and 606 for the TSP region.
- TISS-NET MA Result 2020 has been declared. The examination was conducted on January 4, 2020, in the afternoon shift from 2pm to 3.40 pm, at various centres spread across the country. Read on to know more.
- TNUSRB has released the final selection list of Grade II police constables, jail warders, firemen 2019. Candidates can download the enrolment wise merit list and roster wise merit list online at tnusrbonline.org
- The Reserve Bank of India has challenged in the Supreme Court a Bombay High Court order, which allowed the sale of assets of bankrupt Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd
- Sensex jumped over 100 points in opening session tracking gains in index-heavyweights Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank amid firm recovery in global equities.
- The measures are aimed at narrowing the trade deficit with China, which has flooded the Indian market with items such as toys, firecrackers and solar power equipment.
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had made the announcement regarding increasing insurance cover to Rs 5 lakh in her Budget Speech on Feb 1.
- After 50.0 overs, India are 347/4. Get live score, ball by ball commentary and much more. Keep track of New Zealand vs India, 2020 today match between New Zealand and India.
- Shreyas Iyer scored his maiden century for India during the first One-day International of the three-match series against New Zealand at Seddon Park.
- The Banker magazine, a British English-language monthly financial affairs publication owned by The Financial Times Ltd, has named Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das.
- Bollywood actor Waheeda Rehman was selected for the National Kishore Kumar Samman of the Madhya Pradesh(MP) government for the year 2018.
- Delhi govt’s public transport Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has been awarded with Transport Minister’s Road Safety Award 2018-19 at an event in New Delhi.
- Former rebel leader Albin Kurti (44 years) has been appointed as the new and 4th Prime Minister (PM) of the Republic of Kosovo by its parliament.
1. International News
- Malawi’s constitutional court has annulled last year’s controversial election, which saw President Peter Mutharika narrowly re-elected.
- White House lawyers concluded their defense of President Donald Trump at his historic Senate impeachment trial with a call for his acquittal of charges of abuse of power.
- The US said a ban on travelers from China meant to contain the deadly coronavirus outbreak was based on the best science, adding there would be more evacuations of Americans.
- Kyiv accused Tehran of knowing from the start that an Iranian missile had downed a Ukrainian airliner last month after leaked recordings emerged from Iranian air traffic control.
- Pakistan bought 1.1 million tonnes of palm oil from Malaysia last year, while India bought 4.4 million tonnes, according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Council.
- The CPC politburo’s standing committee issued a statement late talking about “shortcomings and deficiencies” in the response as the outbreak death toll reached 425 and the total number of infected shot up to more than 20,000 in China.
- China’s elite Politburo Standing Committee called for improvements to the “national emergency management system” following “shortcoming and difficulties exposed in the response to the epidemic,” according to the official Xinhua news agency.
- Despite being a small and mostly white state, Iowa caucuses are critical to the race. Democrats who won the Iowa caucuses in recent decades went on to also win the party nomination — Al Gore in 2000, John Kerry in 2004, Barack Obama in 2008 and Hillary Clinton in 2016.
- The hashtag “save the pets left behind in Wuhan” became the third-most searched term on the Twitter-like Weibo platform, receiving millions of views from those unable to return to the city.
- Since emerging out of Wuhan late last year, the new coronavirus has infected nearly 14,500 people across China and reached 24 nations.
- The former Union minister created a controversy during an event in Bengaluru when he said that the freedom movement led by Mahatma Gandhi was a “drama”.
- “The term ‘Love Jihad’ is not defined under the extant laws. No such case of ‘Love Jihad’ has been reported by any of the central agencies,” junior home minister G Kishan Reddy said in the reply.
- The bullet train project, which is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project, has faced stiff opposition from farmers and tribals whose land is going to be acquired.
- The Rajya Sabha chairman said the convicts had been given an available legal opportunity and they had exhausted all of them. Now they were delaying execution of the penalty decided by the courts on one excuse or the other.
- The hoardings in Panvel, near Mumbai, have come up in the context of MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s planned rally on February 9 against illegal immigrants.
- A division bench of justice Ranjit More and justice Surendra Tavade on January 29 dismissed public interest litigation challenging the constitutional validity of the notification that introduced the additional bail conditions.
- The Kerala government has declared the lethal disease caused by the Novel Coronavirus as a “state calamity” after three people from the southern state tested positive for the virus, which originated from China’s populated Wuhan city.
- Sanadhara Gand, a daily wage laborer from Odisha’s Nabarangpur district, was shocked when he received a notice from the Income Tax (I-T) Department for carrying out bank transactions of Rs 1.47 crore.
- The Goa legislative assembly adopted a resolution congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah for having passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)
- The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on Monday drew attention to a worrying shortage of essential gear, clothing and rations being faced by soldiers deployed in high altitude areas like Siachen and Ladakh.
- Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) has released the answer key for Assistant Main re exam conducted under recruitment 08/2018. The exam was conducted on February 1.
- The Council of Architecture has started the online application process for the National Aptitude Test in Architecture (NATA) 2020.
- Ashoka University’s Ashoka Centre for Well-Being (ACWB) in collaboration with Red Balloon’s Young People for Change put together a week-long residential workshop to initiate conversations around mental health among the youth.
- IGNOU January session admission 2020 deadline has been extended till February 15, 2020. Check full details here.
- From surveys of more than 2,500 working adults in a variety of industries, the researchers analysed two types of emotion regulation people use at work.
- Students had launched their protest in front of the VC’s office since, demanding that the repair works in three of the five wards of 130-year-old Hindu Hostel be completed without delay.
- Banks credit and deposits grew 7.21 per cent and 9.51 per cent to Rs 100.05 lakh crore and Rs 131.26 lakh crore, respectively, in the fortnight ended January 17, according to the latest Reserve Bank data.
- The market benchmark Sensex surged over 400 points in morning session led by gains in index-heavyweights Reliance Industries, HDFC twins and ITC amid firm global cues.
- The list of exemptions that will be carried over to the new scheme includes 50 items from the close to 120 exemptions available to those who pay tax through the old system.
- Mayank Agarwal has been named Rohit Sharma’s replacement for the ODI series in New Zealand after the latter was ruled out of both the ODIs and Tests due to a “left calf muscle strain” that he sustained during the final T20I
- Madhya Pradesh (MP) state won the 1st position for its implementation of Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY).
1. International News
- Sri Lanka drops Tamil national anthem from Independence Day celebrations The then Sri Lankan government in 2015 started including the Tamil national anthem as a means of achieving reconciliation with the Tamil minority community.
- Donald Trump congratulates the wrong state for super bowl football championship win
- Coronavirus forces the world’s largest work-from-home experiment While factories, shops, hotels, and restaurants are warning about plunging foot traffic that is transforming city centers into ghost towns,
- Seventy-seven percent of people surveyed by Nanos Research, for CTV, believe the Candian taxpayer does not have to pay for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex because they are not in Canada as representatives of the Queen.
- The six Indians were not allowed by Chinese authorities to board the special Air India flight, which flew out of Wuhan early with 324 of their compatriots on board.
- The events added to deepening concern about the potential for the virus to spread, as governments around the world closed their borders to people from China.
- Islamist-related’ terror incident, which had similarities with the November 29 attack on London Bridge
- The number of confirmed cases of novel coronavirus rose to 14,380 in the Chinese mainland as of, including 304 deaths, according to the National Health Commission.
- Witnesses spoke of three gunshots being fired and a man lying on the ground. Police helicopters and ambulances were quickly on the scene after the incident unfolded around 2 pm UK time.
- Trump administration admits emails reveal President’s Ukraine intentions It was not immediately clear if these new revelations will have any impact on the Senate trial
- The worst-hit Hubei province recorded more than 2100 cases on Sunday, bringing the total number of cases in the central Chinese province to over 16,600.
- ED attaches Rs 70 crore assets of 3 firms in Rose Valley scam, including one linked to Shah Rukh Khan
- Delhi are to choose a new government on February 8, senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar joined a host of his colleagues criticizing Arvind Kejriwal.
- Allahabad High Court grants bail to Chinmayanand in the alleged rape case of a law student.
- BJP leader Anantkumar Hegde, known for his controversial statements, had described the freedom struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi as “drama” and also questioned as to how “such people” come to be called ‘Mahatma’ in India.
- It is a clear message to all the voters in Bihar that NDA is united under the leadership of Nitish Kumar, said a JD(U) leader.
- Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut had said that a senior BJP leader had sounded him about his phone getting tapped.
- Khan, a resident of Abul Fazal Enclave near Jamia Nagar, said in his complaint that he was returning home with his wife after dinner when the firing took place. 3. Education News
- Nobel a byproduct, India’s aim should be to create a culture for first-rate science, says Ramakrishnan
- JIPMER Group B and C hall ticket 2020 released at jipmer.edu.in, here’s direct link to download
- ICAI CA Foundation, intermediate result 2019 on the official website of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, after it is released.
- Swift is a robust and intuitive programming language created by Apple for building apps for iOS, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch.
- The government said the Non Performing Assets (NPAs) of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) stood at Rs 7.27 lakh crore as on September 30, 2019.
- Inflationary pressures in the Eurozone are slowly building and the deflationary drag from the shift to a digital economy is unlikely to be permanent, European Central Bank chief economist Philip Lane told
- The Rs 6,950 crore recapitalization of three state-owned general insurers National Insurance, Oriental Insurance, and United Insurance may be inadequate for the companies.
- Yes Bank is a likely candidate for exclusion from Nifty50 while Shree Cement may make an entry in the key index during the next review of the Nifty 50 Index which will be carried out on March 31, 2020,
- Ansu Fati became the youngest player ever to score a brace in La Liga by capitalising on two brilliant Lionel Messi assists to give Barcelona a 2-1 victory over Levante.
- Steven Bergwijn’s debut goal helped Tottenham to a remarkable 2-0 win over 10-man Manchester City to breathe new life into their challenge for a top-four finish in the Premier League.
- Sweeping World War I odyssey 1917 won big at BAFTA awards, landing the Best Film prize and Best Director trophy for Sam Mendes, and putting it in line for potential Oscars glory next weekend.
- Softbank-backed office sharing firm WeWork named real estate industry veteran Sandeep Mathrani as its new chief executive.
1. International News
- Former European Council president Donald Tusk says Brussels feels “empathy” towards an independent Scotland joining the European Union.
- US officials have cited presidential privilege in withholding details of 24 emails related to President Donald Trump’s hold on military assistance to Ukraine, US media reported.
- Russia’s government halted visa-free tourism for Chinese nationals and stopped issuing them with work visas over the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
- The Philippines has reported the first death outside China from the coronavirus that has killed over 300 and spread to other countries, the World Health Organization said.
- India airlifted the second batch of 323 stranded Indians and seven Maldivian citizens from coronavirus-hit Wuhan city, taking the total number of people evacuated to 654.
- Despite Twitter attempting to ban scammers and impersonators on its platform, one impersonator broke into Musk’s official account with a fake lookalike verified account, promising his 22.5 million followers free Bitcoin and ethereum cryptocurrencies.
- China’s death toll from the raging novel coronavirus outbreak has risen to 304, health officials said with the total number of persons sickened from the virus crossing the 14300-mark.
- Lu, a farmer from a village on the Hubei province side of the bridge, was trying to gain passage for her daughter, 26-year-old Hu Ping, who has leukemia.
- The anonymous poster under the heading ‘Happy Brexit Day’ was quickly removed but its image has been widely shared on social media.
- The 323 will be screened for symptoms of coronavirus at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the Capital and then taken to the two quarantine facilities set up by the Indian Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in Delhi and neighboring Haryana’s Manesar.
- Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a new scheme, “Vivid se Vishwas” (no dispute but trust) to resolve 483,000 direct tax disputes pending in various tribunals.
- One of the proposals of the union budget presented is to do away with tax exemptions that election commissioners enjoy.
- Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a reduction in basic customs duty on imports of newsprint and lightweight coated paper from 10% to 5%.
- Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, and Smriti Irani will address rallies in Delhi ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled for next week.
- Some 1,400 military medics will treat patients at the 1,000-bed hospital, dubbed “Fire God Mountain”, which will receive its first patients just 10 days after construction began, according to state media.
- The Election Commission had banned Adityanath for 72 hours in April last year from campaigning in the Lok Sabha election after two poll code violations in his speeches.
- The NC’s Abdul Majeed Larmi, Ghulam Nabi Bhat and Mohd Shafi were released from the MLA Hostel in Srinagar by the Jammu and Kashmir administration. Another PDP leader Mohd Yusuf Bhat has also been released,
- Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said in her budget speech that the government plans to sell a partial stake in LIC through an initial public offering (IPO).
- Rahul Gandhi had criticized the budget on Saturday, saying it contained no strategic idea or anything concrete and it showed the “hollow” approach of the government that was “all talk and nothing happening”.
- More than 300 people have died from the novel coronavirus in mainland China and although more than 100 people have been infected outside the country, Mexico has not reported a confirmed case.
- National Institute of Technology, Agartala has invited online applications for the recruitment of Assistant Professors (Grade 1, and 2) in various departments on its official website.
- The admit card is a mandatory document and candidates are advised to bring a copy of their hall tickets to their allotted examination centres or else they won’t be entertained.
- The Bihar B.Ed CET exam 2020 is scheduled to be conducted on March 29, 2020, at various centres. The admit card for which is tentatively scheduled to be released from March 23 to 29, 2020.
- The professor with experience of conducting academic and administrative audit (AAA) in more than 160 colleges addressed the delegates of the seminar through webcast.
- People favoured the government’s decision to establish hospitals and medical colleges in every districts through PPP model.
- Finance Minister presented Budget 2020 speech we have a panel of experts comprising Manas Chakravarty (Consulting Editor, Moneycontrol) and Gaurav Kapur (Chief Economist & SVP, IndusInd Bank) joining Ravi Krishnan (Deputy Executive Editor, Moneycontrol) to talk about the idea behind the FM’s budget 2020.
- Welcoming the budget, the US-India Business Council (USIBC) said that abolition of the dividend distribution tax (DDT) removes a major disincentive to foreign companies seeking to set up operations in India.
- According to Budget documents, Rs 109 crore has been earmarked for setting up the museums and an additional Rs 180 crore for the development of the existing ones.
- The move has the potential to give a breath of fresh air for the youth of the country, who have been stuck in the vicious cycle of recruitment exams and an indefinite wait for jobs.
- Erling Braut Haaland insisted he needs to get fitter despite making it seven goals in three games for Borussia Dortmund with another double in 5-0 Bundesliga thrashing of Union Berlin, while Bayern Munich usurped RB Leipzig at the top of the table.
- Shubman Gill is expected to retain his place in India’s Test squad after scoring an unbeaten 204 for the A team in the drawn four-day game against New Zealand A in Christchurch.
- India vs New Zealand: India beat New Zealand by 7 runs to script a historic 5-0 series win against New Zealand.
- The Ministry of External Affairs appointed Gopal Baglay as India’s next High Commissioner to Sri Lanka.
1. International News
- The UK has officially left the European Union after 47 years of membership – and more than three years after it voted to do so in a referendum.
- US President Donald Trump is set to be acquitted in his impeachment trial after senators voted against calling witnesses or admitting new evidence.
- The US has announced it is expanding its curbs on immigration to include six more countries, including Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation.
- Pakistan due to terrorism, the US on Friday issued the highest level travel alert for the provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa along with the Line of Control.
- An Indian who was on the India bound flight told HT that one of the excluded passengers had a temperature of around 38 degrees C and the other passenger’s temperature was fluctuating.
- The modeling study, shared with HT, suggested that multiple major Chinese cities might have already imported dozens of cases of 2019-nCoV infection from Wuhan, in numbers sufficient to initiate ‘local epidemics’
- Britain officially departs the EU at 11 p.m. local time, midnight in Brussels. The departure comes 3½ years after the country voted by a margin of 52%-48% to walk away from the club that it had joined in 1973.
- China informed the WHO about the coronavirus cases in late December. The death toll in China’s novel coronavirus outbreak climbed to 213 with the number of confirmed cases totaling to 9,692.
- The clarification was issued on in response to the media reports alleging that Khan’s gross salary was being increased to 800,000 Pakistani rupees ($5,179), reports Dawn news.
- Philippe Klein is head of the International SOS Hospital in Wuhan, the first city to be locked down by Chinese authorities as they battle the spread of the virus.
- Harry, Queen Elizabeth’s grandson, posted the pictures he had taken of African wildlife on his Instagram account, which then had 5.6 million followers, to mark Earth Day and highlight conservation efforts.
- Budget 2020: Sitharaman recited the original lines from the poem and then translated it in Hindi as she presented her Budget 2020 speech in Parliament.
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP national president JP Nadda will address two public rallies each in New Delhi to campaign for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.
- The declaration, a resolution of the United Nations for gender equality, was passed in 1995 with 189 initial signatories.
- All eyes are on Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is expected to increase spending on infrastructure and cut taxes to revive a sagging economy and boost consumer demand.
- The Supreme Court issued notice to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in a plea by former Indian Forest Service officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi seeking details of black money recovered from overseas locations since June 2014.
- The Indian economy, which has been caught in a six-quarter deceleration, is already in a revival phase and GDP growth will increase to 6-6.5% from the current level in the next fiscal year, according to the Economic Survey for 2019-2020,
- Staff Selection Commission (SSC) has notified Physical Standard Test (PST) and Physical Efficiency Test (PET) for 19,101 candidates out of the 19,734 additional candidates who were declared qualified for PST process for Constable (GD) recruitment.
- The CA exam regulator, ICAI, will allow candidates to edit their application forms after submission.
- FM Sitharaman has arrived at the North Block where the Ministry of Finance is housed. Minister of State for Finance, Anurag Thakur, was earlier seen offering prayers at his residence.
- State Bank of India expects better profitability in Q4 as well, led by better asset-quality trend, one-off gains from SBI Cards and lower tax.
- Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is presenting the annual Budget in Parliament.
- India’s top badminton doubles specialist Chirag Shetty has been closely following news of the novel coronavirus, because it can directly affect his playing plans over the next few months.
- Midnight, somewhere in Asia. Roman Weidenfeller and his Borussia Dortmund teammates have got off a long flight and into their hotel when coach Juergen Klopp says, “we will go for a run now.”
- Senior journalist Yusuf Jameel from Jammu & kashmir (J&K) won the 2019-20 PEN Gauri Lankesh Award for Democratic Idealism for his outstanding contribution in journalism.
- Government of India (GoI), Shri Vinay Mohan Kwatra, a 1988 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Nepal.
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