Global software major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has bagged a spot as one of Fortune’s Best Big Companies to Work For in 2020, a new report said on Friday.

The list was made by Great Place to Work, the global authority on workplace culture. TCS is the only Indian company to be in the top 20 Great Places to Work in US alongside US mega-companies.

The 16th Commission of the Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) was held between India and Australia in New Delhi. The meeting was co-chaired by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Government of India and Senator Simon Birmingham, Minister of Trade, Tourism and Investment, Government of Australia.

The 24th meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council will be held on 28 February 2020 at Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The Council comprises the States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal. The meeting will be chaired by the Union Minister for Home Affairs, Shri Amit Shah.

The Indian pair of professional table tennis players, Achanta Sharath Kamal & Sathiyan Gnanasekaran have won the silver medal (lost to German pair in finals) of the doubles at the 2020 ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation ) World Tour Hungarian Open 2020 held in Budapest, Hungary.

Madhya Pradesh has become the first state in the country to introduce the unified registration card.
MP is the second state to launch the unified driving license after UP.
The unified smart cards for driving license and vehicle registration will each have a QR code that will help in verifying authenticity of the data printed on the cards.

The Blue Dot network is a ‘multi-stakeholder initiative’. The proposal is part of the US’s Indo-Pacific strategy. It is aimed at countering Chinese ambitious One Belt One Road Initiative. Recently US President had discussed the Blue Dot network with Indian Prime minister on his visit to India. The US has already got Australia and Japan as partners in this idea. The initiative will evaluate projects on various parameters, including transparency in funding, debt traps, level of public consultation and basic environment norms. Those projects that meet the ‘Blue Dot’ norms will get a ‘blue dot’, which will enable them to attract private funding and not have to depend on state funding alone.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch new-age geo- imaging satellite GISAT-1 from Sriharikota on 5 March 2020. This is the first satellite to be launched in 2020.

The 5th edition of the Indra Dhanush Exercise began on February 24, 2020 between the Indian Air Force and the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom. The main focus of the exercise was “Base Defence and Force Protection”. There were 36 specialized combatants from the Royal Air Force and 42 combatants of the Garud Commando Force.

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) Vice-Chancellor (VC) Dr N Kumar was awarded with ‘Lifetime Achievement Award” by ICAR- National Research Center for Banana, during the International Conference on Banana (ICB) 2020 held in Trichy, Tamil Nadu (TN).

In a first, supranational institution Asian Development Bank, has listed its 10-year ₹-850 crore Masala bond on the Global Securities Market (GSM) of the India International Exchange at GIFT City. Asian Development Bank’s Masala bonds are dual listed at both Luxembourg and India INX.

SBI Card has partnered with Landmark Group to launch retail co-branded credit cards. Lifestyle Home Centre SBI Card, Max SBI Card, and Spar SBI Card were introduced in partnership with four Landmark brands – Lifestyle, Home Centre, Max, and Spar.

Union Minister of Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi laid the foundation stone of Crusher and Conveyor System at NALCO’s Mining & Refinery (M&R) Complex in Damanjodi, Odisha.
The System will cater to feed bauxite for the 5th stream of Alumina Refinery of the company.
The project is expected to be completed by April 2022 and would cost around Rs. 483 crores.

The Bhartiya Chhatra Sansad (BCS) has recently awarded Punjab Chief Minister, Capt. Amrinder Singh with the ‘Adarsh Mukhya Mantri Puraskar’. Award was given to him by former President Pranab Mukherjee during the valedictory function of the conclave.

An algal bloom is detrimental to coastal fisheries. It can cause respiratory problems within the coastal population from time to time. It also causes ill effects on the fishery, marine life, and water quality. Four regions that have been identified as bloom hotspots are the North Eastern Arabian Sea, coastal waters of Kerala, Gulf of Mannar and coastal waters of Gopalpur.

Sri Lanka has formally announced its decision to withdraw from co-sponsoring UNHRC resolution on addressing war crimes and accountability issues.

Labour Ministry will soon launch a mobile app ‘Santusht’ with an aim to address issues of beneficiaries of Employees State Insurance (ESI) scheme. The minister informed about bringing ‘Santusht’ mobile app for the benefit of ESI beneficiaries very soon at Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) foundation day celebration function in the capital on Monday, a labour ministry statement said.

The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) celebrates Central Excise Day every year on February 24 all over the country. This occasion is dedicated to Central Excise Day and Salt Act, which was enacted on 24 February 1944.

The Central Excise Day is commemorated every year across India on February 24.

Himachal Pradesh became the 1st state in the country to have 100% LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas) coverage due to the implementation of PMUY (Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana) scheme. In addition to PMUY scheme, the state government aslo launched ‘Himachal Grihini Suvidha Yojana’ to cover the scheme to remaining households.

President of Myanmar U Win Myint will arrive in New Delhi on a four day State Visit to India.
Mr U Win Myint will be accompanied by the First Lady Daw Cho Cho.
He will visit Akshardham temple and Rajghat to pay tribute to father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi.
Mr U Win Myint will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Several agreements are expected to be signed.
Myanmar: Capital – Naypyitaw
Currency – Burmese Kyat

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reports that cash withdrawals from ATMs in India increased over the past five years
India is next only to China in terms of cash withdrawals from ATMs.
Digital transactions grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 61% by volumes and 19% by value, indicating a shift towards digitisation.
Shaktikanta Das is the governor of the Reserve Bank of India.
China: Capital – Beijing
Currency – Chinese Yuan
President – Xi Jinping

Ms. Padmaja, presently High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Fiji, has been concurrently accredited as the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Vanuatu, with the residence in suva.

Pakke Tiger Reserve is in the East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh. It is a Project Tiger reserve, which is protected by the Department of Environment and Forest of Arunachal Pradesh. It has won India Biodiversity Award 2016 for its Hornbill Nest Adoption Programme in the category of ‘Conservation of threatened species’. Khari, Nameri,  and Upper Dikorai are the main perennial streams in the area. Sessa Orchid Sanctuary and Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary on the west of Kameng River. Arunachal government has cleared plans to build a 692.7 km highway through the 862 sq km Pakke Tiger Reserve (PTR) in East Kameng district. The highway will connect Bhairabhunda in West Kameng district and Manmao in Changlang district along Arunachal Pradesh’s border with Assam.

NABARD has sanctioned an amount of Rs 400.64 cr to UT of J&K to boost the infrastructure in the rural areas.
The funding is a part of the NABARD’s ‘Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) – Trench XXV’ which aims at augmenting rural infrastructure.
The Bank has sanctioned Rs 209.87 cr for construction of 82 rural roads and 3 bridges earlier this year.

Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), a joint venture (JV) between the GVK led consortium and Airports Authority of India (AAI), has unveiled Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport as the world’s largest airport-based temperature-controlled facility, the ‘Export Cold Zone’ for processing and storage of agro and pharma products.

Six institutes were awarded the Utkrisht Santhan Vishwakarma Award (USVA) 2020. The awards were instituted for the growth of society by means of the stakeholders of its accepted institutes. The Awards are aimed to motivate younger people and inspire leaders and organizations.

India has signed defence deals worth $3 billion with the United States. India will be purchasing advanced military equipment from the US including MH-60 Romeo and Apache helicopters. India and the US are also working to finalise a comprehensive trade agreement.

A Singapore based cybersecurity firm reported that 98% of credit card data being sold on the dark web are of Indian customers and highlighted the use of JS sniffers. JS sniffers or JavaScript sniffers are specialized malwares that are used by cybercriminals for stealing sensitive credit card information. A recent report by Singapore based Group IB highlighted the growing use of these softwares by cybercriminals. The stolen information is then being sold on the dark web.

The US-India Business Council (USIBC) has appointed Vijay Advani as new Chair of its
Global Board of Directors.

In Iran, conservatives have claimed victory in a general election marked by the lowest turnout since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Interior Ministry announced results of 95 per cent of the 208 constituencies.
Conservative candidates have secured 219 seats in the 290-strong parliament, also known as the Majlis.
17 women were elected, the same number as in the outgoing 290-seat parliament.
Iran: Capital – Tehran
Currency – Iranian rial

Recently one Indian Air Force An-32’ aircraft created history when it was a 10% blend of Indian bio-jet fuel. It took off from Leh’s Kushok Bakula Rimpochee airport. This was the first time that this mix was used in both the engines of an aircraft. This Biojet fuel was made from Jatropha oil which was taken from Chattisgarh Biodiesel Development Authority (CBDA). Then jatropha oil was processed at CSIR-IIP, Dehradun. The technology to produce bio-jet fuel was also developed by CSIR-IIP in 2013.