Manoj Kumar felicitated by London’s World Book of Records for contribution to Indian cinema

1.Riek Machar swears in as first vice president in South Sudan

In South Sudan, rebel leader Riek Machar was sworn in as first vice president.The rebel leader returns as first vice president in a transition government which will serve for 36 months.

President Salva Kiir hailed the official ending of the war and said peace was now irreversible as the new unity government was formed after more than a year of delays.

• South Sudan Capital: Juba
• Currency: South Sudanese pound

2.US Prez Donald Trump to arrive in Ahmedabad on two-day visit to India

US President Donald Trump will arrive in Ahmedabad on a two-day visit to India.He will be accompanied by his wife Melania, daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner and top brass of his administration.

In Ahmedabad, he will visit Sabarmati Ashram and take part in a roadshow with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The two leaders will jointly address over one lakh people at the ‘Namaste Trump’ event at the Motera cricket stadium.

A cultural extravaganza will be organised at the stadium during the Namaste Trump event.

After the event in Ahmedabad, Mr Trump and his entourage will fly to Agra to visit Taj Mahal.

Mr Trump and the First Lady will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

3.Central Excise Day: 24 February

The Central Excise Day is commemorated every year across India on February 24.The Central Excise Day is celebrated every year to commemorate the Central Excise and Salt Act, which was enacted on 24 February 1944.

The department of Central Board of Excise and Customs has been established in order to make and implement policies related to the tax payable and its collection by the people all through the country.

CBIC is the nodal national agency responsible for administering Customs, GST, Central Excise, Service Tax & Narcotics in India.

4.US surpasses China to become India’s top trading partner

The United States has surpassed China to become India’s top trading partner.According to the Commerce Ministry data, the bilateral trade between the US and India stood at nearly 88 billion dollars in 2018-19 fiscal.

During the period, India’s trade with China was at 87.1 billion dollars.

America is one of the few countries with which India has a trade surplus.

The data showed that China was India’s top trading partner from 2013-14 till 2017-18.

5.PM-KISAN scheme to completes one year

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, PM-KISAN is completed one year on 24 February.The scheme was launched on 24th of February last year to provide income support to all landholding farmers’ families across the country and enable them to meet expenses related to agriculture as well as domestic needs.

Around 14 crore beneficiaries are expected to be covered under the Scheme.

Under the Scheme, an amount of six thousand rupees per year is transferred in three equal installments of two thousand rupees directly into the bank accounts of the farmers.

The Scheme initially provided income support to all Small and Marginal Farmers’ families having cultivable land up to two hectares, but later it was expanded to cover all farmer families irrespective of the size of their land holdings.

So far, the Centre has released over 50 thousand crore rupees to farmers under the scheme.

6.J&K paired with Tamil Nadu under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat campaign

Exchanges at various levels between Jammu and Kashmir and southern state of Tamil Nadu is going on under the ongoing campaign of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.Under this campaign Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has been paired with the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

A multi-level exchange of programmes is going on between the two regions and people are getting acquainted to the two distinct and rich cultures prevalent in these regions.

7.NITI Aayog to organize North East Sustainable Development Goal Conclave 2020 in Assam

NITI Aayog is organizing Sustainable Development Goals Conclave 2020: Partnerships, Cooperation and Development of North Eastern states- in Guwahati, Assam. The inaugural session will be held in all Chief Ministers of North Eastern states among others.

The three-day event will see representations from the North Eastern states, Central Ministries, academia, civil society and international development organizations.

NITI Aayog has the mandate of overseeing the adoption and monitoring of SDGs at the national and sub-national level.

Progress in the northeast region is crucial in this decade of action for the country to achieve the SDGs by 2030.

8.Rajalaxmi Deo elected as Rowing Federation of India president

Rajalaxmi Singh Deo was re-elected as the president of the Rowing Federation of India (RFI) after the successful conclusion of the elections.Rajpal Singh, G Bhasker, Souvik Ghose, and Sreekunara Kurup were elected as vice-presidents.

The winning candidates will remain at the post for four years till 2024.

The Rowing Federation of India is the central body for the game of rowing in India

9.Manoj Kumar felicitated by London’s World Book of Records for contribution to Indian cinema

Veteran actor Manoj Kumar has been felicitated by the World Book of Records, London with the WBR Golden Era of Bollywood honour for being a legendary actor and for his contribution to Indian cinema.Manoj Kumar is known for acting in and directing films with patriotic themes.

He was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1992.

He has been conferred the 47th Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2015.

10.Achanta Sharath Kamal, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran win silver at Hungarian Open

Indian men’s doubles pair of Achanta Sharath Kamal and Gnanasekaran Sathiyan settled for a silver medal at the ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open.They lost the summit clash to German combination of Benedikt Duda and Patrick Franziska at Budapest  5-11, 9-11, 11-8, 9-11.

The Indian pair had defeated top seeds Ho Kwan Kit and Wong Chun Ting of Hong Kong 3-2 in the semi-finals.

It is Sharath Kamal’s second medal from the prestigious tournament.

He also won a bronze with Manika Batra in mixed doubles.

11.India’s 13-year old Grandmaster D Gukesh wins 34th Cannes Open

India’s 13-year old Grandmaster D Gukesh emerged champion in the 34th Cannes Open in France.Gukesh defeated Harutyun Bargseghyan of the host nation in the final round to end with 7.5 points.

Gukesh, who last year became the world’s second youngest Grandmaster ever, beat the Frenchman in 50 moves to emerge clear winner.

He remained unbeaten in the tournament and posted wins over top-seeded Chongsheng Zeng of China and Bargseghyan among others.

12.Former Indian footballer Ashok Chatterjee passes away

Former India footballer Ashok Chatterjee, who was a part of the country’s bronze-medal winning teams in the Merdeka Cup in 1965 and 1966, passed away.Chatterjee, who made 30 appearances for the senior national team, made his international debut when he came on as a second-half substitute for PK Banerjee against Japan in the Merdeka Cup in 1965.

He scored 10 goals for India, including a brace against Japan in their 3-0 win at the group league stage in 1966 Merdeka Cup.

Chatterjee also represented India in the 1966 Asian Games in Bangkok, and the Asian Cup Qualifiers in 1967.

He was honoured with the Mohun Bagan Lifetime Achievement Award by the club in 2019.

He also represented Bengal in the Santosh Trophy in 1964 (runners-up), 1966, and 1967 (runners-up) and scored three goals.