19th February 2020 Current affairs

1. Sachin Tendulkar recently won the Laureus Sporting Moment Award (2000-2020). Tendulkar won this prize for a picture that shows team India carrying him on shoulders after winning 2011 ICC World Cup.  

2. India observes Soil Health Card Day every year on February 19 because Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched first Soil Health Card same day on February 19, 2015. Farmers get detailed information about the health of their farm soil. 

3. The State of India’s Birds 2020 Report highlights that numbers of House Sparrow have declined in urban areas while it is stable almost everywhere in the country. The report also informed that declining of suitable nesting points and lack of insects (food) are major reasons for its decline.  

4. Pakistan has successfully test-fired conducted nuclear-capable cruise missile Ra’ad-II. This missile can hit a target in 600 km of range. Pakistan claimed that this missile can boost the military’s capability on land and at the sea. 

5. The Government of India has decided to rename Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) as the ‘Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses’. Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra in New Delhi has been also renamed as Sushma Swaraj Bhawan and Foreign Service Institute. 

6. Ashraf Ghani has been elected as the President of Afghanistan for the second time. According to the Election Commission of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani has secured 50.64 percent of the votes as a presidential candidate. On the other hand, Abdullah got just 39.52 percent votes against Ashraf Ghani. 

7. India is hosting FIFA U-17 Women’s Football World Cup 2020. The event will kick off on November 02, 2020. The five Indian cities that will host the event are – Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bhubneshwar and Guwahati. 

8. Sunil Kumar is India’s Greco Roman wrestler. He recently won the Gold Medal in Asian Wrestling Championships in the 87-kg category. He defeated Kyrgyzstan’s Azat Salidinov in the final round. 

9. Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan recently announced that the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) would be set up by first week of April 2020 under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

 10. The World Day of Social Justice is observed globally on 20th February 2020 with an aim to promote gender equality and rights of the indigenous peoples and migrants.