Daily Current Affairs, 11th February 2020

1) International Day of Women and Girls in Science observed globally on 11 February

•International Day of Women and Girls in Science is observed globally on 11 February. International Day of Women and Girls in Science to recognize the critical role of women and girls play in science and technology. In December 2015, the United Nations adopted a resolution to celebrate February 11 as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

•In 2016 is the first time it was celebrated. The idea behind this day is to ensure equal participation and involvement of women and girls in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

2) India’s 1st glass floor suspension bridge to be built in Rishikesh

•The Uttarakhand Government has approved the design of a glass floor suspension bridge, the first of its kind in the country to have a floor made of toughened transparent glass. This bridge will be built across the River Ganga in Rishikesh. The bridge is as an alternative to the iconic Lakshman Jhula, almost 94 years old, which was closed in 2019 due to safety reasons. The bridge design has been prepared by the Public Works Department (PWD).

3) Coal Ministry launches Web Portal for Star Rating of Mines in India

Ministry of Coal (MoC) has launched a web portal for star rating of coal mines to promote the green, safe and sustainable mining practices with the help of technology. The web portal for star rating of coal mines enables all operational coal mines across India for self-rating, their subsequent validation by Coal Controller’s Organization (CCO), further evaluation and finally award of star rating.

The mines scoring the highest score in the country will be awarded in a public ceremony on the basis of the star ratings obtained on this web portal.

Coal Controller’s Organization will also issue an official certificate to all the mines mentioning their star rating. The Star Rating Policy for Coal Mines in India are:

•The mines that score from 91 to 100% will get 5 star
•The mines that score from 81 to 90% will get 4 star
•The mines that score from 71 to 80% will get 3 star
•The mines that score from 61 to 70% will get 2 star
•The mines that score from 41 to 60% will get 1 star
•The mines that score from 0 to 40% will get no star

The Star Rating Policy for Coal Mines in India is formulated by the Ministry of Coal. This policy assess the Mines on 50 evaluation parameters (in case of Opencast Mines) and 47 evaluation parameters (in case of Underground Mines) under 7 modules namely:

•Environment related parameters
•Economic performance
•Worker related Compliance
•Mining Operations Related Parameters
•Safety and security related parameters
•Rehabilitation & Resettlement related parameters
•Adoption of Technologies: Best Mining Practices

4) Tripura organises its 1st-ever “Hornbill Festival”

•The 1st-ever Hornbill festival of Tripura was celebrated in Agartala. The aim to conserve the striking forest bird “Hornbill” and to boost the livelihood of the people through tourism. Chief Minister (CM) Biplab Kumar Dev inaugurated the festival at Baramura hill (in western Tripura).

•The “Hornbill” festival, named after the Indian Hornbill, the large and colourful forest bird which is displayed in the folklore of most of the tribals in northeast India, usually takes place in the first week of December every year since 2000 at Naga Heritage village Kisama, about 12 km from Nagaland capital Kohima.

5) India and UK to hold joint military drill ‘Ajeya Warrior’

•India and the United Kingdom will conduct their 5th edition of joint military exercise ‘Ajeya Warrior-2020’ at Salisbury Plains, the United Kingdom from February 13-26. The exercise is being held from 2005.

•The exercise will comprise of 120 soldiers each from Indian and United Kingdom Army who would be sharing their experiences gained during conduct of various counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations in the past. e. The participants have also been trained in combat shooting, rock craft training, Jungle survival and martial arts for unarmed combat.

6) Kerala to host global meet on climate change, ocean health

•ClimFishCon 2020, an international conference on the impact of climate change on ‘hydrological cycle, ecosystem, fisheries and food security’ will begin in Kerala on 12 February.

•More than 300 delegates from 12 countries including scientists, researchers, administrators, policymakers, academicians, and entrepreneurs will participate in the event. Fishers, aqua farmers, students and other stakeholders will also attend. The conference is organised jointly by the CUSAT School of Industrial Fisheries and the Department of Fisheries, Kerala.

7) Mumbai hosts National Conference on E-Governance

•National Conference on e-Governance 2020 was held in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The Mumbai Declaration was adopted on the concluding day of the National Conference on e-Governance. The theme of the conference is: India 2020: Digital Transformation. The National e-Governance Awards 2020 were also presented during the conference.

•The National Conference on E-Governance was organised jointly by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India and Department of Information Technology, Government of Maharashtra.

•In the National Conference on e-Governance 2020, use of digital technologies in transforming the governance was discussed along the issues, opportunities and challenges faced during this transformation process. During the conference, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh stated that the e-Governance is very essential to achieve good governance.

8) ‘Engiexpo 2020’ to be held in Vadodara, Gujarat

•The 6th edition of the mega industrial exhibition ‘Engiexpo 2020’ is being organised in Vadodara, Gujarat from February 15 to 17, 2020. The three-day mega exhibition will be organised by the Federation of Small Scale Industries (FSSI), to promote ‘Made in India’ products. Over 10,000 industrial products will be showcased in more than 300 stalls. Several companies from Uzbekistan are also participating in the exhibition.

9) Pullela Gopichand honoured with lifetime achievement award by IOC

•The Chief National coach for the Indian Badminton team Pullela Gopichand honour with Coaches lifetime achievement award by International Olympic Committee’s (IOC). He is the 1st Indian coach to be Honoured with this Lifetime award by the Olympics Committee.

•Gopichand is a former Indian Badminton player, he founded the Gopichand Badminton Academy in 2008 where he trained, players like Saina Nehwal (Bronze medalist in 2012 summer Olympics), P.V. Sindhu, Parupalli Kashyap, Srikanth Kidambi and etc. Gopichand had received Government of India’s Arjuna award (1999), Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (2001), Padma Shri (2005), Dronacharya award (2009) and Padma Bhushan (2014).

10) Vice President releases the book ‘A Child of Destiny’

•The Vice President of India Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu released a book titled ‘A Child of Destiny’ an autobiography penned by Prof. K. Ramakrishna Rao. K. Ramakrishna Rao was an Eminent Scholar, Author, Researcher, Scientist and Gandhian, He was born in the coastal region in Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The Government of India awarded him “The Civilian Honour of Padma Shri in 2011”.