Important Current Affairs 1st March 2020

National News

World Productivity Congress 2020 to be held in Bengaluru in May:

• The 19th edition of the World Productivity Congress (WPC) is scheduled to be held in Bengaluru from May 6 to May 8, 2020.

• World Productivity Congress is the world’s largest convention for productivity development that shape future productivity growth.

• The theme of 19th World Productivity Congress is “Industry 4.0 – Innovation and Productivity”.

Maharashtra government’s “Smart gram yojana” to be named after ex-minister R R Patil:

• The Maharashtra government’s “smart gram yojana” will be named after former Deputy Chief Minister the late R R Patil.

• Since November 2016, the ‘smart gram yojana’ (smart village) is being implemented in the state where awards are given to gram panchayats at taluka and district level for their performance on certain parameters.

Haryana CM unveils Rs 1,42,343-crore budget for 2020-21:

• Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who also holds the finance portfolio, announced a Rs 1,42,343-crore budget in the state assembly.

• The debt is set to increase to Rs 1.98 lakh crore in 2020-21 as against Rs 1.76 lakh crore in the previous fiscal.The expenditure will increase to Rs 1,42,343 crore, a rise by 7.7 per cent.

Central Consumer Protection Authority to be established in 2020 April:

• Union Minister of Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan announced that the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) will be set up by the first week of April 2020.

• The CCPA will be established under the Consumer Protection Act 2019.

• The authority will address issues related to consumer rights, unfair trade practices, misleading advertisements. CCPA will be empowered to impose penalties for selling spurious and adulterated products.

Maharashtra to become single-use plastic-free by 1 May:

• Maharashtra State government is set to become single-use plastic-free by 1 May 2020.

• The announcement was made by the State environment minister Aaditya Thackeray.

President presented awards to 21 winners on National Science day:

• President Ram Nath Kovind conferred national awards to 21 winners for science communication and popularization including women excellence awards for meritorious women scientists on the occasion of National Science Day.

• The awards included Augmenting Writing Skills for Articulating Research (AWSAR) Awards, National Science and Technology Communication Awards, SERB Women Excellence Awards, and National Award for Young Woman Showing Excellence through Application of Technology for Societal Benefits.

• On the occasion, President announced three key initiatives for Gender Advancement and Equality in Academic and Research Institutions.

1) Vigyan Jyoti:

• Vigyan Jyoti is an initiative that will create a level-playing field for the meritorious girls in high school to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in their higher education.

2) GATI:

• The Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions (GATI) initiative will develop a comprehensive Charter and a framework for assessing the Gender Equality in STEM.

3) Online portal for S&T resources for women:

• An online portal for science and technology resources for women will provide e-resources related to all women-specific government schemes, scholarships, fellowships, career counseling with details of subject area experts from various disciplines in science and technology.

Banking and Economy

ONGC, HPCL buy 34.56% of bankers’ stake in Petronet MHB for Rs 371 cr:

• State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and its subsidiary Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) have bought out lenders in Petronet MHB Ltd, the firm that owns a petroleum product pipeline in Mangalore, for about Rs 371 crore.

• A consortium of eight public sector banks held 34.56 per cent stake in Petronet MHB Ltd, where ONGC and HPCL held 32.72 per cent apiece.

• The two firms paid Rs 185.38 crore each for acquiring 17.28 per cent more share in Petronet MHB Ltd.

Obituary

Former India hockey player and Olympic medallist Balbir Singh Kullar passes away at 77:

• Former India hockey player and a two-time Olympic medallist, Balbir Singh Kullar has passed away.

• He was 77.Kullar was a member of the Indian team that won the Asian Games gold in 1966 (Bangkok) and also won the Olympic Bronze in 1968 (Mexico).

Sports

Rafael Nadal Clinches 2020 Mexican Open:

• The 2020 Mexican Open professional tennis tournament was held between 24 and 29 February 2020.

• The World Number 2 Rafael Nadal won the ATP Mexico Open 2020, defeating unseeded Taylor Fritz in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, in the final.

Winners List

Men’s Single – Rafael Nadal (Spain) defeated Taylor Fritz (USA)

Women’s Single – Heather Watson (UK) defeated Leylah Annie Fernandez (Canada)

Men’s Double – Łukasz Kubot / Marcelo Melo defeated Juan Sebastián Cabal / Robert Farah

Women’s Double –  Desirae Krawczyk / Giuliana Olmos defeated Kateryna Bondarenko / Sharon Fichman.

Important Days

Zero Discrimination Day: 1 March:

• The Zero Discrimination Day is held every year on 1 March to celebrate the right of everyone to live a full and productive life and live it with dignity.

• The Day was launched by UNAIDS in 2014

• Theme of Zero Discrimination Day 2020: Zero Discrimination Against Women And Girls.