- Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy launched Nadu Nedu (meaning ‘then and now’ in Telugu) scheme in all government hospitals to help improve the health conditions of the people of the state.
- Union Government will facilitate doubling of milk processing capacity from over 53 million tonne to 108 million tonne by 2025.
- In an important step towards granting women the right to serve in the military on equal terms with men, the Supreme Court granted women the right to “permanent commission” (PC), and the right to command.
- Indian Railways has launched a special tourist train — Shri Ramayana Express — from New Delhi, which will start plying from March 28.
- The Union Cabinet has has approved the revamping of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) to address the existing challenges in the implementation of Crop Insurance Schemes.
- The Ministry of Textiles organized “Kala Kumbh” exhibition in New Delhi. It is an exhibition to promote Geographical Indication (GI) craft and heritage of India.
- The Centre approved the second phase of Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural), Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project focussed on sustainability of ODF and management of solid and liquid waste.
- India jumped five ranks to 35th with a total score of 53 in the Worldwide Educating for the Future Index (WEFFI) 2019, as per a report published by The Economist Intelligence Unit. The theme of the index is “From Policy to Practice”.
- Hindi is the 3rd most spoken language of the world in 2019 with 615 million speakers. The 22nd edition of the world language database Ethnologue stated English at the top of the list with 1,132 million speakers. Chinese Mandarin is at the second position with 1,117 million speakers.
- The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has ranked 16th in the top 100 Times Higher Education’s (THE) Emerging Economies University Rankings 2020. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) emerged as India’s top-ranked institution followed by the Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs)
- Supratim Bandopadhyay was appointed as chairman of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority, the regulator for promotion and development of an organised pension system to serve the old age income needs of people on a sustainable basis.
- Sanjay Kothari, the Secretary to the President, has been selected as the new Chief Vigilance Commissioner by a high-powered committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- Pakistan conducted a successful flight test of the air launched nuclear-capable cruise missile Ra’ad-II with a range of 600 km, significantly boosting the military’s “deterrence capability” on land and at sea.
- The United Nations’ (UN) World Day of Social Justice is annually observed on February 20 to encourage people to look at how social justice affects poverty eradication. It also focuses on the goal of achieving full employment and support for social integration. The theme of World Day of Social Justice 2020 is “Closing the Inequalities Gap to Achieve Social Justice”.
