Daily Current Affairs 18 February 2020: We have collected the latest current affairs for 18 February 2020 that are important for all competitive exams like Bank, SSC, IBPS, SBI exams. The GK current affairs will help you score more in these competitive exams. Improve your general knowledge with our daily online current affairs. You can also read the daily current affairs on our mobile app.
Current Affairs 18 February 2020
Centre renames IDSA as ‘Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses’
- Central Government has renamed the ‘Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses’ (IDSA) located in New Delhi as ‘Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses’ to “honour the legacy” of late Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar.
- Manohar Parrikar served as the Defence Minister of India from November 9, 2014 -March 14, 2017.
- IDSA was established as a registered society in New Delhi in 1965 as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Defence.
Mobile App ”Yodhavu” Launched in Kerala to Combat Drug Menace
- Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched a mobile app named ”Yodhavu” (Warrior), through which the public can inform police about drug abuse and its distribution
- The app has been introduced by the Kochi city police, as part of efforts to curb the growing menace in the State.
- The special feature of the application is that the informer’s identity could be kept secret.
India becomes 5th largest economy: World Population Review report
- As per a report by a US-based think tank World Population Review, India’s economy is the fifth-largest in the world with a GDP of $2.94 trillion, overtaking the UK and France in 2019 to take the fifth spot.
- The size of the UK economy is $2.83 trillion and that of France is $2.71 trillion.
- The report further said that in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, India’s GDP (PPP) is $10.51 trillion, exceeding that of Japan and Germany. Due to India’s high population, India’s GDP per capita is $2,170 (for comparison, the US is $62,794).
DMart’s Radhakishan Damani Becomes India’s Second Richest Person, Mukesh Ambani Tops: Forbes
- Veteran Mumbai investor and founder of Avenue Supermarts Ltd. (ASL) Radhakishan Damani, has become the second richest Indian with a total net wealth of $17.9 billion, according to Forbes’ Real Time Billionaires’ Index, released on 15 February 2020.
- ASL is a chain of hypermarkets in India, doing business under the name DMart.
- On the other hand, Reliance Industries Ltd. chairman Mukesh Ambani, is not only India’s but Asia’s richest man with total net worth of $57.9 billion.
India, World Bank sign $ 450 mn loan agreement to support Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY) to improve groundwater management
- The World Bank has signed a USD 450 million loan agreement with India on February 17, 2020 to support the Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY) – National Groundwater Management Improvement Programme.
- The loan will support the national programme to arrest the country’s depleting groundwater levels and strengthen groundwater institutions.
- The Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY) will be implemented in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh and cover 78 districts.
ISRO Plans to Launch 10 Earth Observation (EO) Satellites in 2020-21
- As per the annual data released by the Department of Space, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has planned to launch an unprecedented 10 earth observation (EO) satellites with space surveillance feature during 2020-21.
- Apart from this, three communication satellites and two navigation satellites are also scheduled to be launched in the next fiscal.
- The annual plan includes total 36 missions, comprising of both satellites and their launchers.
- The EO scheduled for 2020-21 includes new categories such as the first Geo Imaging Satellite, GISAT-1, new series of high resolution HRSATs as a threesome on a single PSLV launcher, radar imaging satellites RISAT-2BR2, RISAT- 1A and 2A; Oceansat-3 and Resourcesat-3/3S.
- For the fiscal 2019-20, ISRO had proposed launching six EO satellites, while for 2021-22, the plan is to add eight EO satellites.
Vinay Dube Takes Charge as CEO of GoAir
- The Board of Directors of GoAir has appointed Vinay Dube as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
- Mr. Dube was the former CEO of Jet Airways.
- He joined GoAir in an advisory role in October 2019.
Lewis Hamilton and Lionel Messi win Laureus World Sportsman Of The Year; Sachin Tendulkar wins Laureus Sporting Moment Of The Year award
- 2020 Laureus World Sports Awards has been announced. The winners of the award are:
- Laureus World Sportsman Of The Year 2020: Lewis Hamilton (F1 racer) and Lionel Messi (Football)
- Laureus World Sportswoman Of The Year: Simone Biles (Gymnastics- US)
- Laureus Sporting Moment Of The Year- Sachin Tendulkar (Cricketer- India)
- Laureus World Team Of The Year: South Africa Rugby Union Team
- Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award 2020: Dirk Nowitzki (Basketball- Germany)
“UNITED BY EMOTION” Chosen as Motto of Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games
- ‘United by Emotion’ is the official motto for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics Games.
- The Motto encapsulates the Games vision, capturing the essence of the ideas and concepts that the host city wishes to share with the world.
- About 10,000 athletes from over 200 countries will participate in Tokyo Olympics which will run from July 24 to August 9.
Politician and Bengali actor Tapas Pal passes away at 61
- Former Politician and Bengali actor, Tapas Pal has passed away at the age of 61 years.
- He was former Trinamool Congress MP. He started his acting career with the film ‘Dadar Kirti’ in 1980. He was awarded the Filmfare Award for his role in a movie ‘Saheb’ (1981).
- He made his Bollywood debut in ‘Abodh’ in 1984.