1) Soil Health Card Day being observed on 19th February
•The scheme has been introduced to assist State Governments to issue Soil Health Cards to all farmers in the country. It provides information to farmers on nutrient status of their soil along with recommendations on the appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for improving soil health and its fertility.
•During Cycle-I (2015 to 17), 10.74 crores Soil Health Cards and during Cycle-II (2017 to 19), 11.74 crores Soil Health Cards have been distributed to farmers. The Government has spent more than 700 crore rupees on the SHC scheme.
2) Bangladesh will sign Free Trade Agreement with Nepal
•Bangladesh and Nepal have agreed to sign a Free Trade Agreement to enhance trade between the two countries. Bangladesh has also agreed to allow Nepal to use it Saidpur airport located in its northernmost district of Nilphamari close to Nepal. Bangladesh exports commodities worth $38 million to Nepal and imports goods worth around 18 million dollars. Nepal will be able to provide 500 MW of hydroelectric power to Bangladesh once the Indian Company GMR completes its project in Nepal.
3) EAM will inaugurate Indian Pavilion at 70th Berlin International Film Festival
•This year for the festival, three Indian feature films, as well as one short documentary film, have been selected. These are Pushpendra Singh’s Laipla Aur Satt Geet, Prateek Vats’ Eeb Allay Ooo!, Akshay Indikar’s – Sthalpuran and Ekta Mittal’s short documentary – Gumnaam Din. Information and Broadcasting Ministry in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry, CII is participating in the event.
4) Moody’s cuts India’s 2020 GDP growth forecast to 5.4%
•Moody’s also estimates that G20 economies will grow at a rate of 2.4 % in 2020, a sluggish move from 2019. China’s GDP growth estimated at 5.2 % in 2020 & expected to achieve GDP growth at a rate of 5.7 % in 2021.
5) Difficult Dialogues 2020 began in Goa
•The conference will bring together lawyers, some eminent Chief Justices, civil society, media, academic experts, activists, and people working at the community level [in law, education, health, labour,] with government and non-governmental organisations DD 2019 Summit focused on “Education: Illuminating the myriad facets”. The same was held in partnership with Oxford University, Goa University, ICG, Brookings India, PLAN India, CBPS, NIPFP.
6) India overtakes UK and France to become 5th largest economy
•In purchasing power parity (PPP), India’s GDP 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). India’s real GDP growth is expected to weaken for the third straight year from 7.5% to 5%.
•According to the report, India’s service sector is the fast-growing sector in the world accounting for 60% of the economy and 28% of employment. The manufacturing and agriculture are two other significant sectors of the economy.
•The report observed that India’s economic liberalisation began in the early 1990s and included industrial deregulation, reduced control on foreign trade and investment, and privatisation of state-owned enterprises.
7) NCLAT’s allows JSW Steel to acquire Bhushan Power
•This comes after the government recently amended Section 32A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, providing immunity to the bidders and the insolvent company’s assets from the investigation.
8) Delhi host Asian Wrestling Championship 2020
•Team India will be represented by a 30 member squad with Deepak Punia, Dahiya, Bajrang, and Vinesh leading the pack. India last hosted the championships in 2017. The 2018 edition was held at Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and in 2019, Xi’an province of China.
•Asian Wrestling Championship organized by Asian Associated Wrestling Committee (AAWC). In 1979 men’s tournament began and in 1996 women’s tournament was first staged, after that, it is held every year.
9) ‘United by Emotion’ chosen as Tokyo 2020 Olympics motto
•The official Olympic motto is “Citius, Altius, Fortius” or “Faster, Higher, Stronger”, but each host city chooses its own motto to accompany that edition of the Games. The Games will bring together athletes from more than 200 National Olympic Committees and the Refugee Olympic Team, as well as millions of spectators & media representatives.
10) India will host junior men’s Hockey World Cup 2021
•The junior men’s World Cup will see 16 teams compete for the title, out of which six will be from Europe, four from Asia, including hosts India, two from Africa, two from Oceania and two from Pan America. Out of the 16 teams, the six European teams, who have already qualified for the event in India, are Germany, England, Netherlands, Spain, Belgium and France, as they secured their berths through the European Continental Championships which were held in 2019.
•Reigning champions India had defeated Belgium 2-1 in the final match of the 2016 edition at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in Lucknow, which saw them lift their second-ever FIH Junior Men’s World Cup. India had also hosted the FIH senior men’s Hockey World Cup in 2018 at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium, Bhubaneswar.
