Current Affairs - February 18, 2020 Current Affairs

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 new Kashi Mahakal Express will connect three places -- Jyotirlinga-Omkareshwar (near Indore in Madhya Pradesh), Mahakaleshwar (Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh) and Kashi Vishwanath (Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh).

Playing for the first time in the second edition of the Cairns Cup, said to be one of the toughest women's events, World rapid chess champion Koneru Humpy re-asserted her supremacy in style by winning the title with 6 points from nine rounds and bag the $45,000 winner's purse in St. Louis on February 17.

Union Minister for Environment Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar held a bilateral meeting with his Norwegian counterpart Sveinung Rotevatn at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on February 16 inaugurated India Pavilion at GulFood 2020, Dubai, and held discussions with food companies over the potential of business opportunities in India. At the event, a proposal was also mooted to explore possibility of setting up a fund to provide marketing support to launch Indian products in the Gulf nation's super markets.

Alia Bhatt won Best Actress for her performance in Gully Boy, which also fetched Ranveer Singh (who played a rapper in the film) and Zoya Akhtar the Best Actor and the Best Director awards.

Stars of the film Queen of Katwe have paid tribute to actress Nikita Pearl Waligwa who has died at the age of 15. She played a memorable role in a 2016 Disney film about a local chess prodigy has died at the age of 15. Nikita Pearl Waligwa died at a hospital near the Ugandan capital, Kampala. The cause was a brain tumor, according to the girls' secondary school she had attended since 2018.

Uganda's world 10,000m champion Joshua Cheptegei has broken the 5km road world record by 27 seconds in Monaco. The 23-year-old ran 12 minutes 51 seconds to smash the previous record, set by Kenya's Rhonex Kipruto en route to victory at January's Valencia 10k.

Zoya Akhtar's directorial 'Gully Boy' emerged as big winner of the night. The film bagged several awards including the most coveted Best Film.

Ranveer Singh won the Best Actor in A Leading Role (Male) award for his performance in Gully Boy at the 65th Filmfare Awards held on the night of February 15.

The ninth edition of joint military training exercise between India-Bangladesh -- SAMPRITI-IX was conducted at Umroi, Meghalaya from February 3 to February 16.

Ramkumar Ramanathan and Purav Raja whipped Leander Paes and Matthew Ebden 6-0, 6-3 in the double's final at the KSLTA Stadium on February 16. Ramkumar Ramanathan and Purav Raja have played second fiddle to Leander Paes and Matthew Ebden for the bulk of the $1,62,000 Bengaluru Open ATP Tennis Challenger.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the program named 'Kashi Ek Roop Anek' held at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. He interacted with artisans and craftsmen and distributed kits and financial assistance to artisans and craftsman from different crafts. The event aimed to facilitate and strengthen the traditional handicrafts workers, artisans, and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) in achieving the goal of a $5 trillion economy.

After Supreme Court rap and the government's stringent deadline, Bharti Airtel on February 17 said it has paid 10,000 crore to the telecom department towards statutory dues. The company said it will make payment of the balance amount after self-assessment exercise.

The annual All India Conference of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) was held in New Delhi on 16 February 2020. The Conference was presided over by the Union Minister for Law & Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad.

PM Modi unveiled a 63-feet tall statue of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. The 'panchaloha' statue is the tallest statue of the leader in the country, which has been created by over 200 artisans over a year. He also dedicated Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Memorial Centre to the nation which he inaugurated in Varanasi.

Telangana is all set to host the three-day Bio Asia 2020, Asia's largest Biotechnology and Life Sciences Forum with the theme of 'Today for Tomorrow' from February 17 in Hyderabad.

In a bid to keep the morale of cops high, the Punjab Police have launched 'Appreciate and Commend' scheme.Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta, who launched the scheme at Phillaur, said the move is aimed at boosting the morale of police officers who work exceptionally and diligently.

While Zoya Akhtar won the Best Director Award for 'Gully Boy', her film went on to win the greatest number of awards on the grandest stage of all. Several B-town stars like Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Kartik Aaryan, Ayushmann Khurrana and others gave scintillating performances at the 65th Amazon Filmfare Awards 2020.

As Rotary completed its one hundred years of presence in India in this Rotary Year 2019-20, coupled with the much awaited news of the choice of RIPN Shekhar Mehta being chosen to lead this great organization for the year 2021-22, it had been decided to hold Rotary India Centennial Summit 2020 in Kolkata on 14th, 15th and 16th of February, 2020 at Biswa Bangla Convention Centre, Kolkata.

On February 16, James Duckworth added another chapter to his miraculous story by winning the $1, 62,000 Bengaluru Open ATP Tennis Challenger. With a 6-4, 6-4 win over France's Benjamin Bonzi in the final, Duckworth is all set to break into the top-80 and reach his career-high ranking.

Telangana is all set to host the three-day Bio Asia 2020, Asia's largest Biotechnology and Life Sciences Forum with the theme of 'Today for Tomorrow' from February 17 in Hyderabad.