ShortCuts
20th February 2019 Current Affairs
4th Agri Leadership Summit 2019 held at Sonipat, Haryana

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare, Radha Mohan Singh, inaugurated the 4th Agri Leadership Summit 2019 at the India International Horticulture Market (IIHM) in Ganaur, Sonipat district, Haryana.

The theme of the Summit was "Entrepreneurship & Agri-Business; Agri Allied - A Promising Sector and Agri Service-Direct Marketing".

President Ram Nath Kovind address the closing ceremony of the 3-day summit. He launched Digital Kisan Platform. He also conferred Krishi Ratna Puraskar on Vice Chancellor K.P. Singh for Haryana Agriculture University, Hisa and honoured 9 farmers with Kisan Ratna Puraskar. 

 

India's 1st 'Fulldome 3D Digital Theatre' inaugurated in Kolkata, West Bengal

 

India's very first 'Fulldome 3D Digital Theatre' at the Science City in Kolkata, West Bengal was inaugurated by Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma.

It is fully funded by the Ministry of Culture at a cost of Rs 20 crore.

The 'Fulldome 3D Digital theatre' was the first of its kind in India having a 23 metre titled dome to offer a fully immersive experience to the visitors.

 

Union Home Minister launched Pan-India Number 112 for Women Safety

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi launched a range of citizen safety initiatives in New Delhi. It includes the Emergency Response Support System, ERSS, for women safety in 16 states and Union territories.

Persons in distress can dial a pan-India number: 112. Under this system, all the states have to set up a dedicated Emergency Response centre, ERC.

A citizen may Press the power button on a smartphone thrice quickly to activate a panic call to ERC.

In case of a feature phone, long press on number 5 or 9 on the phone keypad will activate the panic call.

 

Israel to launch its First Moon Mission

 

Israel is to launch its first Moon Mission, sending an unmanned spacecraft to collect data to be shared with NASA.

Israel's non-profit SpaceIL launched its spacecraft from Florida's Cape Canaveral on board a Falcon 9 rocket, in a bid to become the fourth country to make a soft landing on the moon.

The spacecraft called "Beresheet' a reference to the first words of the Bible in Hebrew: "In the beginning...,"

According to a report, the 585-kilogram Beresheet (Genesis) spacecraft is to lift off atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Mission control will be in Yehud, near Tel Aviv.

 

AntBot, The 1st Walking Robot to Navigate without GPS

 

AntBot is the first walking robot to have navigational capabilities without GPS or Mapping.

It has been designed by French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and Aix-Marseille University researchers at ISM, on lines similar to desert ants who use polarised lights and UV radiation to navigate in space.

It consists of an optical compass which determines its movements by the help of polarised light.

It is lightweight, weighing only around 2.3 kgs.

This robot has six feet for increased mobility and facilities movements in complex environments. It provides a precision of up to 1 cm after covering a total distance of 14 metres.

 

Elise Mertens beats Simona Halep to win Qatar Open

 

Elise Merten, world number 21 from Belgium beat world number 3, Simona Halep to win the Qatar Open held in Doha Qatar.

Qatar is the fifth title of her career and first WTA Premier-level crown.

This was her third victory over a top ten player in Doha.

She won 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, braving an eight-minute medical timeout for back pain in the second set which made her lose 18 points in a row at one stage.

 

Dhanya became the 1st woman to climb Kerala's Agasthyarkoodam peak

 

Bureaucrat Dhanya Sanal K. became the first woman to climb Agasthyarkoodam peak in Kerala.

There was an unofficial ban for women to trek the peak which was swept aside by Kerala High Court.

Agasthyarkoodam peak is a 1868 metre high mountain peak within Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala. It lies on Kerala and Tamil Nadu border.

 

K.J. Alphons inaugurated 'Eco Circuit' Project in Kerala

 

K.J. Alphons, Union Minister for Tourism inaugurated the project 'Development of Eco Circuit: Pathanamthitta-Gavi-Vagamon-Thekkady' under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Ministry of Tourism at Vagamon, Kerala.

The Eco Circuit project was sanctioned for Rs 76.55 crores in December 2015.

Major works carried out under the project includes Eco-Adventure Tourism Park at Vagamon, Cultural Centre at 

 

India's 1st Hi-Tech Forensic Lab NCFL and CyPAD inaugurated in New Delhi

 

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Lieutenant Governor(LG) Anil Baijal inaugurated Cyber Prevention Awareness and Detection (CyPAD) Centre and the National Cyber Forensic Lab (NCFL) in Dwarka, New Delhi.

CyPAD is Delhi Police's cybercrime unit. It will deal with crypto-currency frauds and international tech-supported frauds.

NCFL is a part of Home Ministry's Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), which will monitor social media profiles of suspects to identify them.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has started a popular Twitter handle @CyberDost to spread awareness among school students and teachers.

 

World Day of Social Justice: 20 February

 

World Day of Social Justice is observed on 20th February every year all over the world.

The Theme for World Day of Social Justice 2019 IS "If You Want Peace & Development, Work for Social Justice".

 

Click Here to Read Daily Current Affairs

Click Here to Attempt Daily Current Affairs Quiz


Recent Post
prepsutra-app-download android ios

Download the PrepSutra app

Download the app for Android devices and prepare on the go - anytime, anywhere!