Current Affairs - February 17, 2020 Current Affairs

Saurav Ghosal won in Men's category bagging 13th title.

The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to replace Yash Bharti Awards with State Cultural Award. Yash Bharti Award is the highest Award of Government of Uttar Pradesh. The development came after Culture and Tourism Minister Neelkanth Tiwari held a meeting with the state officials.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Prahlad Singh Patel inaugurate the Cha-Chai, installation of the art-work of Joana Vasconcelos at the National Museum. The installation represents the five o'clock tradition of serving tea in Portugal originated in the 17th century.

In 2019 global defence spending rose by some 4% over 2018 - the highest year-on-year increase in a decade.The figures are included in this year's Military Balance - the annual publication of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Madhya Pradesh forest department radio-tagged an Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) for the first time to know its ecology and develop an effective conservation plan for it. The team successfully rehabilitated two Indian pangolins in the wild. This is the first-ever case of successful rehabilitation effort of the species where the released individuals are monitored in the wild using telemetry to ensure a better success rate.

The Income Tax department says your PAN will become inoperative if you don't link it with Aadhaar by March 31, 2020, according to a PTI report.The deadline for PAN-Aadhaar linking has been extended eight times. The previous deadline was December 31, 2019.

India and Portugal signed 14 agreements to boost cooperation in a range of areas, including defense, investment, transport, ports, culture, and industrial and intellectual property rights and yoga. The agreements were signed after extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in New Delhi.

Bhawna Jat became the second Indian race walker to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after setting a new national record in 20km race walk at the National Championships in Ranchi on February 15. The athlete from Rajasthan clocked 1:29.54, which is inside the Olympic qualification time of 1:31.00.

Union Government clears investments of over 540 crore rupees in some stuck residential properties that will benefit 1,800 home buyers. The union government announced a 25,000 crore rupees fund to help complete over 1,500 stalled housing projects.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari launched India's first inter-city electric bus service between Mumbai and Pune. Planning to extend these services in other parts of Maharashtra and adjoining states in the near future. The 43-seater capacity luxury electric bus is capable of operating within a range of 300 kilometers on a single charge and would be administered twice daily between the two cities.

India's squash ace Joshna Chinappa has clinched 77th Senior National Championship in woman's category at the ISA courts in Chennai on February 15. With the win, she claimed her 18th title in the career. Saurav Ghosal won in Men's category bagging 13th titles to his kitty.

The unofficial holiday of World Pangolin Day falls on third Saturday of February which was on February 15 this year and comes at an interesting as the animal has been linked to the ongoing coronavirus.

Difficult Dialogues (DD) is an annual forum examining issues of contemporary relevance in South Asia. Difficult Dialogues 2020 will focus on the "State of Law".Difficult Dialogues, an annual forum examining issues of contemporary relevance in South Asia, being organised in Panaji, Goa on February 14-15.

Indian Men's team settled for a bronze at the Badminton Asia Team Championships after losing to two-time defending champions Indonesia 2-3 in the semifinals at Manila on February 15. World No. 31 Lakshya notched up a sensational 21-18 22-20 win over world no.7 Asian Games champion, Jonatan Christie in the second singles encounter. Earlier, B Sai Praneeth retired following a 6-21 thrashing by Anthony Ginting in the opening game of the first singles.

The 'CredaiAwaas' app was launched in Raipur by Mohammad Akbar, Minister of Transport, Housing and Environment, Forest and Law, Chhattisgarh government. Chhattisgarh RERA Chief Vivek Dhand was also present. The app will facilitate ease of purchase of residential properties by homebuyers.

'Yodhavu' (Warrior), a mobile app through which the public can inform police about drug abuse and its distribution, was launched by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on February 15 as part of efforts to curb the growing menace in Kerala.

The Ambala city bus stand on February 15 was renamed after late external affairs minister and BJP veteran Sushma Swaraj. She was born in Ambala Cantt and was elected MLA twice from Ambala.Swaraj, who brought a rare empathy and a human approach to India's foreign diplomacy, passed away last year at the age of 67.

The founding member and lead guitarist of acclaimed band Parikrama, Sonam Sherpa died in Kurseong at the age of 48. According to reports, the musician, who was in Kurseong to record music for an upcoming movie, suffered a massive cardiac arrest.

Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh performed Bhoomi pooja ceremony of AIIMS building. Jammu and Kashmir allocated two AIIMS - one in Jammu and another in Kashmir. The nine medical colleges had been sanctioned in Jammu and Kashmir in addition to the two AIIMS.