Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat campaign starts

1.National De-Worming Day: 10 February

National De-Worming Day is conducted on February 10 each year.It is an initiative of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India to make every child in the country worm free.

According to the World Health Organization 241 million children between the ages of 1 and 14 years are at risk of parasitic intestinal worms in India, also known as Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH).

Helminths (worms) which are transmitted through soil contaminated with faecal matter are called soil-transmitted helminths (Intestinal parasitic worms).

2.Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat campaign starts

An 18 day long focused Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Campaign gets underway from 10 February across the country.The campaign, being organised by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, will continue till 28th of this month.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had mooted the idea of a cultural connection between different regions during the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas held in 2015.

The broad objectives of Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat include celebrating the Unity in Diversity of our nation and promoting the spirit of national integration through engagement between all states and union territories.

Every State and union territory in the country is paired with another state or union territory.

During this period, they carry out a structured engagement with one another in the spheres of language, literature, cuisine, festivals, cultural events, and tourism.

3.Mega industrial exhibition ‘Engiexpo 2020’ in Vadodara

In a bid to promote ‘Made in India’ products, the Federation of Small Scale Industries (FSSI) will organise a mega industrial exhibition ‘Engiexpo 2020’ in Vadodara, Gujarat from February 15.Over 10,000 industrial products will be showcased in more than 300 stalls at the sixth edition of the exhibition.

The exhibition will showcase various products, including weighing, welding and cutting tools, products related to construction work, electronic and solar items, and packaging material.

Several companies from Uzbekistan have also shown their interest in participating in the exhibition.

4.MP Governor Lalji Tandon inaugurates Hunar Haat in Indore

Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon inaugurated Hunar Haat in Indore.Hunar Haat is being organised till 16th February.

Hunar Haat is an exhibition of handicrafts and traditional products made by artisans from the Minority communities.

It is organized by the Ministry of Minority Affairs.

Hunar Haat is organized under USTTAD-Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development scheme.

5.After Nagaland, Tripura holds Hornbill Festival to boost eco-tourism

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb inaugurated the two-day Hornbill Festival at Baramura Eco-Park, 35 kilometres west of Agartala.Organised for the first time in the state, the festival has been organised with twin goals in sight- conservation of Hornbill and to boost the livelihood of the people through tourism.

Nagaland celebrates Hornbill Festival in December every year to mark their conservation efforts for the species.

While Nagaland’s Kisama village is known for conserving hornbill birds, the local community of Tripura’s Baramura Hills also has a traditional culture of conserving these birds.

6.Meeting of BBIN Motor Vehicle Act held in New Delhi

A meeting of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal on the BBIN MVA (Motor Vehicle Act) was held in New Delhi.The Indian delegation was led by Vikram Doraiswami, Additional Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs.

The meeting was held to discuss the passenger and cargo Protocols that are to give effect to the Motor Vehicles Agreement for the Regulation of Passenger, Personal and Cargo Vehicular Traffic between the four countries signed in 2015.

7.Lt Governor of J&K to head reconstituted Science Technology and Innovation Council

Lieutenant Governor G C Murmu will head 24 members reconstituted Jammu and Kashmir Science Technology and Innovation Council (STIC).Members of the council include five representatives from the Jammu and Kashmir government, 10 from universities and research and development institutions and eight from the Science and Technology Department of the Central Government.

Chief Secretary J&K B V R Subrahmanyam has been nominated as the chairman of the six-member executive committee of STIC.

Through the operation of various schemes, the council conducts science popularization programmes like Children’s Science Congress and Science Talent Promotion Tests, confers awards to young scientists, and provides fellowships or assistance to scientists, sponsors research projects for the development of scientific temper and overall development of UT of J&K.

8.Armand Duplantis breaks the Pole Vault World Record

Armand Duplantis broke the world record in the pole vault with a jump of 20 feet 2 ¾ inches, or 6.17 meters.At an indoor meet in Torun, Poland, Duplantis edged by a centimeter the previous record set in 2014 by Renaud Lavillenie of France, the 2012 Olympic champion.

Duplantis, known widely as Mondo, has already been selected to compete at the Tokyo Games.

He will represent Sweden, his mother’s home country, instead of the United States at the Olympics.

9.Haryana thrashes SAI 6-0 to win 10th Hockey Senior Women National Championship

Haryana thrashed Sports Authority of India (SAI) 6-0 to win the 10th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship 2020 (A Division) title at Kollam.Manisha was the first to get on the score sheet for Haryana in the 19th minute.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy beat Hockey Maharashtra 2-1 in the third-fourth place play-off match.

10.Bangladesh beat India to win maiden U19 Cricket World Cup title

Bangladesh beat India by three wickets to win maiden ICC U-19 World Cup title in Potchefstroom, South Africa by the Duckworth-Lewis method.Batting first, India were all out for 177 in 47.2 overs.

India are unbeaten in the tournament so far, winning all five matches.

In the semifinal, India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan by 10 wickets. 

First time finalists Bangladesh, beat South Africa and New Zealand in their journey to the finals.

11.Ladakh Scouts Regimental Centre Red wins first Khelo India Ice Hockey tournament

The Ladakh Scouts Regimental Centre (LSRC) Red won the first Men’s section Khelo India Ice Hockey tournament 2020 by defeating Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) team.13 teams participated in the Khelo India Ice Hockey Championship.

The third edition of the Khelo India Youth Games was successfully concluded in Assam last month.

Around 6,800 athletes across 37 (states and union territories) teams competed in a total of 20 sports events.

Khelo India is an initiative taken by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to aware people about the importance of sports and fitness.

The ultimate goal of the program is to develop India as a sporting nation and to promote sports in the country.

12.Padma Shri awardee Giriraj Kishore passes away

Well-known Hindi novelist and Padma Shri awardee Giriraj Kishore passed away.Giriraj Kishore was best known for his novel ”Pehla Girmitiya” that was based on Mahatma Gandhi”s stay in South Africa.

He was awarded the Padma Shri by the President of India and was the recipient of the Sahitya Akademi award.

He was also conferred the Vyas Samman in 2000, and an honorary Ph.D. by Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj University in 2002.