1. India stands 17th on a list of countries at risk of importing coronavirus.

• According to a mathematical model for the expected global spread of the coronavirus developed by the researchers at Germany’s Humboldt University and Robert Koch Institute, India is at number 17 on the list of countries at risk of importing novel coronavirus (nCoV) that originated in China’s Wuhan area in December 2019.
• The top 5 countries at risk of importing coronavirus cases include: Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, USA (United States of America).
• The “relative import risk” for India was found to be 0.219 %, while for Thailand it is 2.1 %. So far 3 coronavirus infections have been reported in India. All three patients are in Kerala. In terms of Indian airports, the status of Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi is the most dangerous. It is followed by number of airports such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi.

2. PFRDA doubles minimum net worth for pension fund managers to Rs 50 cr from Rs 25 cr.

• The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), the regulator of the National Pension System (NPS), has doubled the minimum net worth criterion for pension fund managers to 50 crore from the 25 crore stipulated earlier. Now, pension funds are on par with mutual funds which have to meet a minimum net worth requirement of ₹50 crores, under SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) rules.
• Provision has also been made for licenses to have indefinite validity. Earlier, the licenses of pension fund managers were granted for a period of 5 years. But now, the license will remain valid until cancelled by the regulator.
• A pension fund or its sponsor cannot acquire equity stake in another pension fund. Existing pension funds that have such cross holdings can continue with the same but cannot increase them without the permission of the regulator.

Foot Notes:
About PFRDA
It is a pension regulator of India.
Establishment: 23 August 2003
Headquarters: New Delhi
Chairperson: Pankaj Jain

3. Indian hockey players Lalremsiami & Vivek sagar wins FIH women and men’s rising star of year 2019.

• Indian professional hockey player Lalremsiami (19) from  Mizoram was voted the best FIH(International Hockey Federation) Women’s Rising Star of the Year 2019. At the same time, Indian team’s midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad (19) was selected as the best FIH Men’s Rising Star of the Year 2019.
• Lalremsiami defeated Argentina’s Julieta Jankunas and the Netherlands’ Frederique Matla, who finished second and third respectively & received 40 % of the vote. She made her debut in 2017 in a test series against Belarus.
• Prasad won the award, beating Argentina’s Maico Casella and Blake Govers of Australia, who finished second and third respectively. Sagar garnered a total of 34.5 % of the vote. Sagar became the 2nd youngest player to represent the country during the four-nation invitational tournament at the age of 17 in January 2018. He was also part of the silver medal winning team in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in 2019.

Foot Notes:
About FIH/ International Hockey Federation
Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland
President: Narinder Batra
Founded: 7 January 1924

4. Haryana Government launched ‘Reading Mission’ to promote reading habits among students.

• Kanwar Pal, Haryana education minister, launched ‘Reading Mission- Haryana’ to inculcate reading habits among students.
• The mission has been launched based on the Central Government’s “Reading Mission -2022” & aims to address the lost glory of reading books.
• Book review sessions will be organized by students once a month in educational institutions & 45 minute mass- reading programme will be held on 4th saturday of every month.

Foot Notes:
About Haryana
Capital: Chandigarh.
Chief Minister(CM): Manohar Lal Khattar.
Governor: Satyadev Narayan Arya.

5. Vice President releases the book ‘A Child of Destiny’.

• The Vice President of India Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu released a book titled ‘A Child of Destiny’ an autobiography penned by Prof. K. Ramakrishna Rao.
• K. Ramakrishna Rao was an Eminent Scholar, Author, Researcher, Scientist and Gandhian, He was born in the coastal region in Vishakapatnam, Andh

6. NIFM Faridabad to be renamed as Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management.

• National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM), Faridabad will be renamed as Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management (AJNIFM).
• The renaming of the institution is decided by the Government of India to align the vision and aspiration of the Institute for the future with the vision and contribution of Late Shri Arun Jaitley. Late Shri Arun Jaitley was the former Union Finance Minister of India.
•  The National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM), Faridabad was established in 1993.

7. Uttar Pradesh Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath approved Ground Water Act-2020.

• Uttar Pradesh Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath approved Ground Water Act-2020. The act aims to improve ground water level.
• The act makes the registration of submersible pumps mandatory. The farmers and domestic users need not pay fees to use the pumps. The act makes rain water harvesting mandatory in all private schools, colleges.
• It also penalizes persons polluting ground water through boring pipes. Also, it is mandatory for the boring companies to register under the act. The companies have to update their information every three months.

Foot Notes:
About Uttar Pardesh
Chief minister: Yogi Adityanath
Governor: Anandiben Patel
Capital: Lucknow

8. National Productivity Day is observed on 12 February.

• National Productivity Day is observed on 12 February. The day is celebrated by the National Productivity Council (NPC) to promote productivity culture in India. Also, National Productivity Week is celebrated from 12-18 February 2020. The day aims to propagate productivity, quality, competitiveness, and efficiency.
• NPCI aims to bring forth innovative enterprises in different sectors. The main objective is to raise consciousness towards innovation and productivity. It encourages shareholders and database that helps in decision-making, improving system and procedures.

9. Rear Admiral Sanjay Vatsyayan took over as Eastern Fleet Commander.

• The command of the Eastern Fleet was handed over to Rear Admiral Sanjay Vatsyayan by Rear Admiral Suraj Berry at a ceremony at Visakhapatnam. He previously served as the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Policy and Plans) at New Delhi.
• Rear Admiral Suraj Berry will take over as Chief of Staff of the tri-services Andaman and Nicobar Command shortly.

10. WHO names the new Corona Virus: “COVID-19”.

• World Health Organization announced a new name for the Corona Virus, “COVID-19”. Today more than 42,000 are infected with the virus according to the organization.
• WHO has chosen the name with no reference to geographical location. According to WHO, the name was chosen in such away that it does not affect normal lives of a country.

Foot Notes:
About WHO
Head: Tedros Adhanom
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland

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Current Affairs 11 February, 2020

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