Enhancement of BISAG as BISAG(N) under MEITY.

NATIONAL NEWS

North East SDG Conclave 2020 organised by NITI Aayog.

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Conclave 2020 is being organised by NITI Aayog from 24^th February to 26^th February in Assam Administrative Staff College Guwahati, Assam.
• The main focus of this conclave is to maintain partnership and cooperation, and development among the North Eastern countries.

Tilhan Mission to boost oilseed production.

• The Government of India is to launch a mission called “Tilhan Mission” to elevate the production of oil seeds making our country self-sufficient.
• The announcement was made by the Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar during the occasion of Soil Health Card Day.

Cabinet approves the Constitution of Technology Group.

• The Constitution of delegate “Technology Group” was approved by the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The Technology Group is a 12-member committee with the Principal Scientific Adviser to Government of India as its Chairperson.

Enhancement of BISAG as BISAG(N) under MEITY.

• The union cabinet has approved the upgrading of Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Applications and GeoInformatics (BISAG) as Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics-BISAG(N).
• The cabinet approved this advancement under the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MEITY), Government of India.

India 2020 yearbook was released by Prakash Javadekar.

• The Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Mr. Prakash Javadekar unveiled Annual Reference India/Bharat 2020.
• The Reference Annual – India / Bharat -2020, includes thorough, complete and in-depth information about India and the activities, development and achievements made by various Government Ministries during the year.
• The Union Minister also released the e-version of the book during the event.

'Run for India Tea' event in Tripura.

• Tea Board of India in connection with Tripura Tea Development Corporation (TTDC) has organised “Run for India Tea” event in Tripura.
• To enhance and market Tripura tea all over the country.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Nepal observes 70th National Democracy Day.

• Nepal celebrates its 70^th National Democracy Day, on the outskirts of this special day a ceremony was organised at the Nepal Army Pavilion Tudikhel in Kathmandu.
• The day was observed to recognize the day when Nepalese were released from the hold of 104-year-long Rana autocracy.

Points-based Visa System launched by UK.

• United Kingdom has announced the launch of the new Points-based Visa system with the aim of attracting “brightest and the Best” from all over the world.
• The announcement was made by UK Home Secretary, Priti Patel the senior-most Indian-origin Cabinet minister.

Locust outburst in East Africa.

• The very worst outburst of locust from East Africa now enters South Sudan.
• Agriculture Minister Onyoti Adigo of South Sudan reported that more than 2000 locusts were seen inside the country.
• US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the US would donate $8 million to control the situation.

ECONOMIC AFFAIRS.

BBB recommends Chintala as next Nabard chief.

• The Banks Board Bureau(BBB) recommends G.R. Chintala as the next chairman for National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development(Nabard).
• G.R. Chintala is currently the MD of Nabfins (subsidiary of Nabard).

EY Entrepreneur of the year award 2020.

• The Ernst & Young(EY) Entrepreneur of the Year (2019) Award was given to Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw the CMD of Biocon.
• She was recognized for being the lead for the innovation in the field of bio-technology and contributing towards research and development.
• EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards is an award sponsored by Ernst & Young in recognition of entrepreneurship and also recognises the business persons who touched the lives of many.

Novartis launches Biome India in Hyderabad.

• A digital innovation hub Biome India was launched by Global Pharma major Novartis in Hyderabad.
• This will be the first centre of Novartis in Asia and fourth one across the world.
• The other digital hubs of Novartis are in London, San Francisco and Paris.
• Biome India will act as a connecting bridge to the external ecosystem.
• The announcement was made by Novartis CEO Vasant Narasimhan who received the Genome Valley Excellence Award at the BioAsia summit 2020.