1) State’s 1st Vulture Conservation to set up by UP Government
•In a major step to conserve the endangered vulture population, the Uttar Pradesh government will set up the state’s first vulture conservation and breeding centre in farenda area of Maharajganj district. According to Environment Minister, there has been a sharp decline in the population of vultures in the country which has come down from 40 million to 19,000 in a span of over three decades.
2) Chattisgarh declares Guru Ghasidas National Park as tiger reserve
•The Chhattisgarh government has decided to declare Guru Ghasidas National Park in the state’s Korea district as a tiger reserve. The decision was taken at a meeting of Chhattisgarh State Wildlife Board chaired by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. Presently the state has three tiger reserves, namely Indravati in Bijapur district, Udanti-Sitanadi in Gariaband and Achanakmar in Bilaspur. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had approved to declare Guru Ghasidas National Park as a tiger reserve in 2014.
3) India to host naval drill Milan 2020
•The Indian Navy will host military drill ‘Milan 2020’ in March which will witness the participation of several countries. 41 nations from South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe that share defence cooperation with India have been invited for the drill. MILAN stands for ‘Multilateral Naval Exercise’.
•The government pursues cooperation initiatives with friendly foreign countries, including in the Indian Ocean Region, through structured interactions like Staff Talks, Empowered Steering Group. The areas of cooperation include capacity building, marine domain awareness, training, hydrography, technical assistance, operational exercise.
4) ISRO Launches CARTOSAT-3
•India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C47 Launch Vehicle-XL (PSLV-XL) rocket carrying advanced earth observation satellite Cartosat-3 and 13 US nano satellites lifted off from the second launch pad of the rocket port from Sriharikota. At about 9.28 a.m. the 44.4 meters tall, weighing 320-ton rocket blasted off from the second launch pad at the country’s rocket port.
•The launch was normal despite a clouded sky. According to ISRO, the 1,625 kg Cartosat-3 is an advanced agile satellite to obtain panchromatic and multispectral imagery with an operational life of five years.
5) Manisha Kulshreshtha wins 28th Bihari Puraskar
•Noted writer from Rajasthan, Manisha Kulshreshtha, was awarded the 28th Bihari Puraskar for 2018 for her novel ‘Swapnapash’. The award is presented by the KK Birla Foundation and is for writers of Rajasthani origin. It is given annually to an outstanding work in Hindi or Rajasthani published in the past 10 years. Named after famous Hindi poet Bihari, the award carries a cash prize of 2.5 lakh, a citation, and a plaque.
6) Billie Eilish is Billboard’s 2019 ‘Woman of the Year’
•Singer Billie Eilish will be honoured as Billboard’s 2019 Woman of the Year. Pop star Taylor Swift will also be honoured at Billboard’s event, receiving the inaugural Woman of the Decade award. Billie has disrupted the entertainment industry through her music and social media platforms, leaving an indelible impact on the global cultural zeitgeist.
7) Sundram Fasteners’ Suresh Krishna gets ‘Quality Ratna’ award
•India’s first ‘Quality Ratna’ award to Suresh Krishna, Chairman, Sundram Fasteners Ltd. He has been a role model for society in embracing the principles of quality in both personal and professional life. He pioneered the constitution of the TPM Club of India in collaboration with the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance in 1998 and was its first Chairman. This award was awarded by trade body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Institute of Quality, in its 27th Quality Summit held in Bengaluru.
8) Indian journalist Neha Dixit recipients of International Press Freedom Award
•Indian journalist Neha Dixit has receipt 2019 International Press Freedom Awards. This award is awarded by Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a non-profit organization whose aim is to enable journalists to work without the fear of reprisal. Dixit received the award for her reports on sex trafficking scandals in India by Investigative reporter in Miami Herald, Julie k.Brown.
9) India-Uzbekistan sign pact on counter-terror cooperation
•India and Uzbekistan have signed a pact for further strengthening of cooperation in the fields of counter-terrorism and organised crime. The agreement was signed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and his Uzbekistan counterpart Pulat Bobojonov here to further increase cooperation between India and Uzbekistan in diverse fields including counter-terrorism, organized crime and human trafficking.
•The two sides discussed issues of mutual interest including bilateral counter-terrorism cooperation, capacity building and training for Uzbek security personnel in Indian institutions, border guarding and disaster management.
10) SBI & U GRO ink loan co-origination agreement
•NewQuest-backed U GRO Capital inked an SME loan co-origination agreement with State Bank of India to facilitate broader credit outreach and faster disbursal. The alliance to leverage U GRO Capital’s proprietary technology platform ‘GRO-Xstream’ to provide in-principle loan approval within 60 minutes. U GRO Capital, a BSE listed, technology-enabled small business lending platform entered into a loan co-origination.
11) Book titled “Hemant Karkare -A Daughter’s Memoir” by Jui Karkare Navare released
•On 11th anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, a book titled “Hemant Karkare -A Daughter’s Memoir” by his daughter Jui Karkare Navare was released in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The book has been published by The Write Place. The book portrays former Anti-Terrorism Squad(ATS) chief Hemant Karkare’s life as a father to Jui Karkare Navare. 18 security personnel lost their lives in the 26/11 terror attacks, also known as the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The attack was carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamic terrorist organisation based in Pakistan, in 8 places of Mumbai.
