Current Affairs 24 February, 2020

Nancy

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4 years ago Banking and Insurance, SSC and Railways, Teaching Exams..., MBA Exams, Other Exams

1. Sweden starts testing world's first central bank digital currency.

Sweden’s Riksbank had begun testing an e-krona, taking the country a step closer to the creation of the world’s first central bank digital currency (CBDC).
If the e-krona eventually comes into circulation it will be used to simulate everyday banking activities, such as payments, deposits and withdrawals from a digital wallet such as a mobile phone app.
In January, the central banks of Britain, the euro zone, Japan, Sweden and Switzerland joined forces to assess the case for issuing CBDCs. CBDCs are traditional money, but in digital form, issued and governed by a country’s central bank.

Foot Notes:
About Sweden
Capital: Stockholm
Currency: Swedish krona

2. India attended SCO defence and security experts meeting in Pakistan.

Pakistan hosted a two-day meeting of defence and security experts of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Islamabad which was attended by India and other member states.
The 9th Defence and Security Expert Working Group meeting of the SCO discussed different aspects of cooperation between the SCO members.
The participating countries besides Pakistan included China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and India. Belarus attended the meeting as the observer state.
India attended the meeting in Pakistan assumes significance in the wake of their strained ties in recent years. For the first time, India will host the annual meeting of the council of heads of government of the SCO later this year.

Foot Notes:
About Pakistan
President: Arif Alvi
Capital: Islamabad
Currency: Pakistani rupee
Prime minister: Imran Khan

3. Rajnath Singh laid foundation stone for Indian Army’s new headquarters ‘Thal Sena Bhawan’ in Delhi Cantonment.

The Indian Army is all set to get new headquarters called “Thal Sena Bhawan” in the Delhi Cantonment area. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone for construction of a new Army headquarter building in Delhi Cantonment.
"Thal Sena Bhawan" will be spread over 39 acres, and will come up near the Manekshaw Centre in the Delhi Cantonment area in the next five years. The Thal Sena Bhawan will bring all Army headquarters offices under one roof and help in better synergy and working efficiency.

Foot Notes:

Chief of the Army Staff: General Manoj Mukund Naravane

4. Country's first floating jetty inaugurated in Goa by union minister Mansukh Mandaviya.

Union Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated the country's first floating jetty and an immigration facility at a cruise terminal in Vasco.
The jetty is located in the state port department's premises on the banks of Mandovi river.T his floating jetty is the first such facility in the country. It is made of cement concrete.
It will boost inland waterways."Jetty" refers to a walkway accessing the centre of an enclosed waterbody.

Foot Notes:
About Goa
Governor: Satya Pal Malik
Chief minister: Pramod Sawant
Capital: Panaji

5. Divya Kakran wins a gold medal at Asian Wrestling Championships.

Divya Kakran became only the second Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Asian Wrestling Championships defeating junior world champion Naruha Matsuyuki in New Delhi.
Divya won all four bouts in the five-wrestler 68 kilogram category, as the competition was fought in the round-robin format.
Navjot Kaur had become the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Asian Championships in 2018 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in 65 kilogram.

6. “Bhaskar Khulbe & Amarjeet Sinha” have been appointed as Advisers to PM.

Retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers Amarjeet Sinha and Bhaskar Khulbe have been appointed as the Advisers to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
The appointment of the retired administrative officers as the Advisers to Prime Minister will be on contractual basis.

7. National Museum hosted “Historical Gastronomica - The Indus Dining Experience” exhibition.

The National Museum in New Delhi is hosting a unique exhibition on India’s ancient food history called "Historical Gastronomica - The Indus Dining Experience.
The Indus Dining Experience till the 25th of this month that goes back to over 5000 years ago.
The exhibition demonstrates the evolution of food habits, food processing techniques and related architecture of the Harappans.
Recreation of food of the Indus-Saraswati Civilization by National Award-winning Chef Sabyasachi Gorai is one of the main attractions of this exhibition which is the first of its kind in the country. The event gives every visitor a rare opportunity to delve into a pre-historic culinary era.
The exhibition will last till Tuesday.

8. FC Goa becomes first Indian club to qualify for AFC Champions League group stage.

FC Goa on became the first team from the country to qualify for the group stage of the AFC Champions League, the continent’s top-tier club competition.
It secured this spot after beating Jamshedpur FC by 5-0 in an Indian Super League match.
The top team at the end of the league stage of ISL has been guaranteed a berth in the 2021 AFC Champions League.

Foot Notes:
About ISL
Organising body: FSDL(Football Sports Development Ltd)
Founded on: octobar 21,2013

9. Tamil Nadu Assembly passes bill to declare Cauvery Delta Region a Protected Special Agriculture Zone.

The Tamil Nadu Assembly has passed a bill declaring the Cauvery Delta Region a Protected Special Agriculture Zone. The bill provides for banning certain new industries in the region. They include hydrocarbon exploration, smeltering of copper, zinc and aluminium, iron ore processing, tanneries and ship breaking.
However, the bill also says any ongoing projects would not be disturbed. Infrastructure development projects like port development, laying of pipelines, road, telecommunication lines, power and water supply facilities will not be banned.
The whole districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam and five blocks each of Cuddalore and Pudukkottai districts are brought under the ambit of the bill.

Foot Notes:
About Tamil Nadu
Chief minister: Edappadi K. Palaniswami
Capital: Chennai
Governor : Banwarilal Purohit

10. Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh reviewed performance of OFB and four DPSUs.

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh reviewed the performance of Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and Defence Public Sector Undertakings – Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) here today. The officials of OFB, HAL, BEL, BEML and BDL who gave presentations on their ongoing and future projects to Raksha Mantri and senior officials of Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence.
While expressing satisfaction at the overall achievements of OFB and these DPSUs, Shri Rajnath Singh urged them to strive further to increase their competitiveness in the global market.
Raksha Mantri also urged the officials to explore new modes of business models, focussing on increased defence exports.

Foot Notes:
About OFB
Headquarters: Kolkata
Founded: 1712
Subsidiary: Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli
Type of business: Government

About HAL
Founded on:1964
Headquaters: Bengluru,Karnataka
Chairman and managing Director: R. Madhvan

About BEL&BEML
Headquarters: Bengaluru
Founded: 1954

About BDL
Founded: 1970
Headquarters: Hyderabad,Telangana