14-20 February, 2021

14-20 Feb, 2021 Weekly Current Affairs (English)

14-20 February, 2021


NATIONAL NEWS

1.PM Modi visited Tamil Nadu to inaugurate and lay foundation stone of

multiple projects

Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate the Chennai Metro Rail Phase-I

extension, completed at a cost of Rs 3770 crore, and commission the

passenger services from Washermenpet to Wimco Nagar.

PM Modi will inaugurate the fourth Railway line between Chennai Beach

and Attipattu.

Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Railway Electrification of single

line section in Villupuram - Cuddalore - Mayiladuthurai - Thanjavur and

Mayiladuthurai-Thiruvarur. Completed at a cost of Rs. 423 crore, the

electrification of this 228 km route will enable free flow of traffic without

the need for a change of traction between Chennai Egmore and

Kanyakumari and would result in saving of Rs.14.61 lakh per day on fuel

cost.

2.Puducherry launches a campaign to become COVID-free by February 28

In Puducherry, a campaign has been launched titled “Zero COVID by Feb

28” to ensure that there is no COVID-19 cases by the end of February 2021,

in the union territory.

Under the "Zero COVID by Feb 28" campaign, all those who had come into

contact with people infected with coronavirus would be identified and

provided treatment, so that the further spread of the pathogen could be

prevented, Health and Family Welfare Director S Mohan Kumar said.

Kumar said only eight new cases of infection were reported in the last 24

hours ending 10 a.m. on Sunday after testing 1,930 samples.

3.Mandu festival started at Mandu in Dhar district of MP

In Madhya Pradesh, the three-day Mandu Festival begun at Mandu in the

historic town of Dhar district.

State culture and tourism minister Usha Thakur inaugurated the mandu

festival.

Handicrafts related to handmade art are also being displayed in the Mandu

Utsav to encourage vocal for locals.

The State Minister informed that the Dinosaur Park is the country's first

modern fossil park which has 24 eggs and other fossils of dinosaurs on

display.

4.Minority Affairs Ministry organising 26th Hunar Haat in New Delhi from

20th February to 01st March 2021


Minority Affairs Ministry is organising 26th Hunar Haat of indigenous

artisans and craftsmen from across the country at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium

in New Delhi.

More than 600 artisans and craftsmen, including a large number of women

artisans, from more than 31 States and Union Territories will participate in

the event.

The Hunar Haat will be organised with the theme of Vocal for Local from

20th February to 1st March this year.

Hunar Haat will also be available at virtual and online platform

www.hunarhaat.org and on GeM Portal where the people of the country and

abroad can buy Hunar Haat products digital and online also.

5.UP govt started training programme for aspirants of various competitive

exams under 'Abhyudaya Yojana'

In Uttar Pradesh, the State Government had started a training programme

for aspirants of various competitive examinations under 'Abhyudaya

Yojana'.

Under the scheme, free of cost training will be provided to the candidates

who are preparing for various competitive examinations.

More than five lakh candidates had done their registration and 50 thousand

aspirants had been selected for training in the first phase.

Under the Abhyudaya Coaching Scheme, candidates will get high-level

guidance regarding examination and interview by skilled mentors including

IAS, IPS, IFS, PCS, PPS and other state-level officers.

Retired officers would also be called for the training of aspirants for better

management.

6.PM Modi laid foundation stone of Maharaja Suheldev Memorial in UP's

Bahraich

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16th

February laid the foundation stone of

Maharaja Suheldev Memorial and development work of Chittaura Lake in

Uttar Pradesh, via video conferencing.

The event in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh marks the birth anniversary of

Maharaja Suheldev. Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath was

also present on the occasion.

The complete project will include installation of an equestrian statue of

Maharaja Suheldev and development of various tourist amenities like

cafeteria, guest house and a children's park, a government statement said.

7.Kerala launched fibre optic network to provide free internet to 20 lakh

families


To bridge the digital divide by providing high-speed, affordable internet

connectivity to every household, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on

Monday launched the KFON (Kerala Fibre Optic Network) in the state.

Speaking at the launch event, the Chief Minister said that KFON will

revolutionise the digital space.

With KFON, free internet connectivity will be provided to 20 lakh BPL

families. It will also cover villages in all 14 districts.

Earlier only 10% of government offices had high-speed Internet, with the

launch of KFON, 30,000 government institutions will have high brand

width connectivity.

KFON is a joint venture of Kerala State IT Infrastructure Limited and

Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB). A consortium led by Bharat

Electronics Limited (BEL) was selected to implement the project in March

2019.

8.PM Modi launched ‘Mahabahu-Brahmaputra’ initiative and several

development projects in Assam

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Mahabahu-Brahmaputra, lay

the foundation stone of Dhubri-Phulbari Bridge and perform Bhoomi

Poojan for construction of Majuli Bridge Assam.

The launch of Mahabahu-Brahmaputra will be marked by the inauguration

of the Ro-Pax vessel operations between Neamatighat and Majuli, North

and South Guwahati and Dhubri-Hatsingimari .

The Ro-Pax services will help in reducing the travel time by providing

connectivity between banks and thus reducing the distance to be travelled

by road.

The Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of the longest river bridge

of the country over the Brahmaputra between Dhubri in Assam and Phulbari

in Meghalaya.

The 19 kilometer long 4 lane bridge will reduce the distance of 205

kilometer to be travelled by road to 19 kilometer only.

9.4th edition of PM’s Interaction Programme 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' to be

held next month

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has announced that

the fourth edition of Prime Minister’s Interaction Programme 'Pariksha Pe

Charcha' will be held next month. Through this programme Prime Minister

Narendra Modi holds a brainstorming session with school students, teachers

and parents in connection with the upcoming examinations.

The registration process for the forthcoming 'Pariksha Pe Charcha'

programme has begun which will be open till 14th of March. This time the

programme will be held virtually. The first edition of ‘Pariksha pe Charcha’

was held in 2018.


10.Odisha CM announced Rs 200-cr package for Samaleswari shrine

development

Naveen Patnaik announced a Rs 200-crore package for the development of

the 16th-century shrine of Maa Samaleswari, the presiding deity of western

Odisha.

The SAMALEI (Samaleswari Temple Area Management and Local

Economy Initiatives) project will be implemented during the 2021-22 fiscal.

It envisages construction of a km-long walkway for 'parikrama', separate

entry and exit gates, emergency facilities for the temple office,

interpretation centre and preservation of Gopalji Math besides

accommodation, parking facilities, toilets, information kiosks and donation

centres.

11.Hyderabad got recognition as Tree City of the World

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the Arbor Day

Foundation had recognized Hyderabad as a 2020 Tree City of World, for its

commitment to growing and maintaining urban forests.

In another feather in the cap of the city, Greater Hyderabad has been

recognized as a 2020 Tree City of the World by the Arbor Day Foundation

and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Telangana's capital is the only city from India to have been recognized as a

Tree City. The city was chosen for this recognition for its commitment

towards growing and maintaining the urban forest

INTERNATIONAL NEWS & FOREIGN AFFAIRS

1.China banned BBC World News from broadcasting

China had criticised the BBC for its reporting on coronavirus and the

persecution of ethnic minority Uighurs.

It follows British media regulator Ofcom revoking state broadcaster China

Global Television Network's (CGTN) licence to broadcast in the UK.


Separately, the broadcaster Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) said it

would stop relaying BBC World Service programming in the region,

prompting condemnation from the BBC.

2.‘Pahela Phagun’ spring festival celebrated in Bangladesh

The first day of the spring called ‘Pahela Phagun’ was celebrated in Dhaka

despite the continued shadow of Corona pandemic in the country. Cultural

organisations held programmes at different venues in the city to herald the

beginning of the spring.

The Jatiya Basanta Utsab Udjapan Parishad organized the programme at the

Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka. Young women wearing yellow saris and

youth dressed in ‘Punjabis’ took part in the festivity. The programme

featured dance and musical performances.

The traditional programme of ‘Basanta Utsab’ at the Fine Arts faculty in

Dhaka University was cancelled since educational institutions have been

closed till Feb. 28 by the government due to the Corona pandemic.

3.China overtakes US as EU's biggest trading partner

China bucked a wider trend, as trade with most of Europe's major partners

dipped due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Trade between China and the EU was worth $709bn (€586bn, £511bn) last

year, compared with $671bn worth of imports and exports from the US.

Although China's economy cratered in the first quarter due to the pandemic,

its economic recovery later in the year fuelled demand for EU goods.

China was the only major global economy to see growth in 2020, stoking

demand for European cars and luxury goods.

4.Facebook blocked Australian users from viewing or sharing news

Facebook had blocked Australian users from sharing or viewing news

content on the platform, causing much alarm over public access to key

information.

It comes in response to a proposed law which would make tech giants pay

for news content on their platforms.

Australians woke up to find that Facebook pages of all local and global

news sites were unavailable.

Several government health and emergency pages were also blocked -

something Facebook later asserted was a mistake.

Those outside of the country are also unable to read or access any

Australian news publications on the platform.

5.Foreign Ministers of India, Australia, Japan and US to meet to discuss free,

open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region


The Third India-Australia-Japan-USA QUAD Foreign Minister's Meeting

will be held with participation of the respective Foreign Ministers. The

QUAD meeting will provide an opportunity to continue the useful exchange

of views from their last meeting in Tokyo in October last year.

The Ministers will exchange views on regional and global issues especially

practical areas of cooperation towards maintaining a free, open and

inclusive Indo-Pacific region. They will also discuss ongoing efforts to

combat the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing global climate change and

other issues of mutual interest.

Talking exclusively to AIR News, former diplomat Ashok Sajjanhar termed

the meeting very important as it will give strong impulse to the cooperation

and collaboration among these four countries.

NEW APPOINTMENTS AND PERSON IN NEWS

1.Indian woman “Rashmi Samant” from Karnataka elected as Oxford

Student Union President

Rashmi Samant won the prestigious position of Oxford Student Union

Presidency. An alumna of Manipal Institute of Technology, MAHE is the

first Indian woman to occupy the position of Oxford Student Union

President after she received more than the combined votes of the other three

candidates for the post.

According to the official data present on the web portal of Oxford Student

Union, the election saw 4,881 students cast 36,405 votes. Samant received

1966 of the 3708 casts for the position of President, more than all the other

candidates combined.

Samant contested the election with four main goals that include

decolonization and inclusivity, COVID-19 interventions for all, access to

quality mental health resources and decarbonizing the university.

2.Mario Draghi sworn in as Prime Minister of Italy

The former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi had been sworn in

as Italy’s prime minister at the head of a unity government called on to

confront the coronavirus crisis and economic slump.

Draghi, a respected figure at home and internationally, managed to convince

almost all of the country’s main parties to support his government, with

leaders from the far-right League and populist Five Star Movement (M5S)

adopting more moderate, pro-European tones in recent days.

Draghi’s appointment ends weeks of political turmoil triggered after Matteo

Renzi withdrew his Italia Viva from a ruling coalition made up of M5S and

the centre-left Democratic party because of clashes over how the

government was planning to spend the €200bn-plus that Italy is poised to


receive from the EU’s Covid-19 recovery fund. Renzi’s move led to

Giuseppe Conte stepping down as prime minister.

3.Justice Puligoru Venkata Sanjay Kumar sworn-in as Chief Justice of

Manipur HC

Justice Puligoru Venkata Sanjay Kumar had been sworn-in as the Chief

Justice of Manipur High Court at Raj Bhavan, Imphal.

Manipur Governor Dr. Najma A. Heptulla administered the oath of office to

the new Chief Justice with strict adherence of COVID-19 SOPs.

Justice PV Sanjay Kumar was appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court

of Manipur by the President of India on 12th February, 2021. Prior to this,

he served as a Judge in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

4.Tribal painter Bhuri Bai of MP invited as Chief Guest at Foundation Day

celebrations of Bharat Bhavan

The tribal painter Bhuri Bai of Madhya Pradesh was invited as the Chief

Guest at the Foundation Day celebrations of Bharat Bhavan.

The motivational thing is that when the construction of this building started,

she used to work here as a labourer on a daily wage of Rs six. She never

expected that she would become the Chief Guest in this Bharat Bhavan.

Bhuri Bai, also awarded Padma Shri, is a Master of Tribal Painting Art.

Bharat Bhavan is an autonomous multi-arts complex and museum in

Bhopal.

5.Kiran Bedi removed as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry

Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi was removed from her post

night amid a political crisis in the Union territory after the resignation of

several Congress leaders from the V Narayanasamy government and just

ahead of the assembly elections in April-May this year.

President Ram Nath Kovind said, according to a brief communique issued

by Rashtrapati Bhavan late in the evening, that Bedi "shall cease to hold the

office of the Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry" and gave the additional

charge of the Union territory to Telengana Governor Tamilisai

Soundararajan.

6.Indian-origin Preeti Sinha to lead United Nations Capital Development

Fund

The UN Capital Development Fund had appointed Indian-origin investment

and development banker Preeti Sinha as its Executive Secretary, whose

focus will be on providing micro-finance assistance to women, youth, small

and medium-sized enterprises in under-served communities.


Sinha commenced her tenure as UNCDF Executive Secretary, the highest

leadership rank in the institution.

Established in 1966, the New York-headquarted organisation provides

micro-finance access to Least Developed Countries (LDCs), with the

mandate to unlock the full potential of public and private finance.

7.Garibashvili Named Georgian PM Post After Gakharia Resigns

Georgia’s ruling party had nominated Irakli Garibashvili took over as prime

minister hours after Giorgi Gakharia handed in his resignation following a

court ruling that ordered the arrest of the head of the Caucasus country's

main opposition force.

The governing Georgia Dream party named the Paris-educated Garibashvili,

39, who was serving as defense minister in Gakharia's cabinet before the

prime minister stepped down on February 18.

Garibashvili’s appointment needs to be confirmed by parliament, which is

boycotted by the opposition

BANKING

1.India Tunisia Business Council launched with collaboration of Ministry,

Trade and Academia

The India Tunisia Economic Forum held recently gave impetus to the

growing possibilities between India and Tunisia.

Indian Economic Trade Organization organized this event which was

attended by representation from the Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of

India, Ministry of Foreign Affairs based in Tunis, business owners,

Academia, and industrialists.

An MOU was signed between Tunisia Africa Business Council and Indian

Economic Trade Organization by Anis Jaziri, President, Tunisia Africa

Business Council and Dr Asif Iqbal, President of the IETO. At the event, Dr

Srikar Reddy IFS, Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Govt of

India, spoke about the Tunisia India fertilizer joint venture.

2.Production of Khadi records 29 % growth in country: KVIC Chairman

Chairman of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission Vinai Kumar

Saxena said that the production of Khadi has recorded 29 per cent growth in

the country. Talking to news persons in Guwahati, Mr. Saxena said that

KVIC has approached various educational institutes and departments to

adopt khadi products. He said that 94 million square metres of Khadi has

been produced during the last six years.

The Chairman mentioned that MoU was signed with Tribal Affairs Ministry

to supply six lakh metres of Khadi clothes to school by March this year. He


also said that North Eastern states have tremendous potentiality to promote

the indigenous products.

3.Finance Ministry to infuse Rs 3,000 cr in state-owned General Insurers this

quarter

The Finance Ministry will infuse Rs 3,000 crore capital into state-owned

general insurance companies during the current quarter in a bid to improve

their financial health.

Last year, the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

cleared proposal to provide capital support to National Insurance, Oriental

Insurance and United India Insurance.

The cabinet had also decided to increase the authorised share capital of

National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) to Rs 7,500 crore and that of

United India Insurance Company Limited (UIICL) and Oriental Insurance

Company Limited (OICL) to Rs 5,000 crore each to give effect to the

capital infusion decision.

4.RBI constituted expert committee on Urban Co-operative Banks

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) constituted an eight-member expert

committee on Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) that is tasked with

examining existing issues and provide a road map for strengthening the

sector. The panel will function under the chairmanship of former RBI

Governor N S Vishwanathan.

The committee will take stock of the regulatory measures taken by the

central bank and other authorities related to UCBs and assess their impact

over the last five years. The objective will be to identify key constraints and

enablers.

The primary job of the committee will be to “consider the need for

differential regulations and examine prospects to allow more leeway in

permissible activities for UCBs with a view to enhance their resilience”. It

will also have to draw up a vision document to achieve a vibrant and

resilient urban co-operative banking sector that will prioritise the “principles

of cooperation as well as depositors’ interest and systemic issues”.

5.ICICI Lombard partnered with Flipkart to offer Hospicash insurance


Flipkart had partnered with ICICI Lombard General Insurance to offer

Hospicash insurance, which allows consumers to avail a fixed amount for

each day of hospitalisation.

“The fixed daily amount enables consumers to pay for incidental medical or

emergency expenses. The insurance is affordable price, paperless, and

flexible, covering both accidental hospitalisations or planned surgeries or

treatment,” the two companies said in a statement on Wednesday.

6.Union Cabinet approved Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and

Partnership between India, Mauritius

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the

signing of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership

Agreement (CECPA) between India and Mauritius on February 17, 2021.

This will be the first trade agreement to be signed by India with an African

country. The Agreement is a limited agreement, which will cover trade in

Goods, Trade in Services, Telecom, Rules of Origin,Technical Barriers to

Trade (TBT), Dispute Settlement, Financial services, Sanitary and

Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, Movement of Natural Persons, Customs

Procedures and Cooperation in other Areas.

7.Oxford Economics ups India growth forecast to 10.2% for 2021

Global forecasting firm Oxford Economics revised India's economic growth

projection for 2021 to 10.2 per cent from the earlier 8.8 per cent, citing

receding COVID-19 risks and the shift in the monetary policy outlook.

The forecasting firm also noted that India's latest Union Budget has raised

hopes that fiscal policy will finally pick up the growth baton and ease

pressure on the RBI to continue to lead the pandemic policy response.

SCIENCE TECH & DEFENCE

1.Skills Development Ministry launched Mahatma Gandhi National

Fellowship in partnership with IIMs

The Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship had

launched the nationwide Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF)

programme to strengthen skills training at district level.

The two-year government-funded programme had been launched under the

World Bank loan assisted programme SANKALP (Skills Acquisition and

Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion).

To implement this programme, the Ministry had partnered with the top nine

Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) across India.

The selected fellows under the programme will be given a stipend of about

Rs 50,000 per month during the first year and Rs 60,000 per month during

the second year. Tata Motors Names Marc Llistosella as New MD, CEO


2.Tata Motors had appointed Marc Llistosella as its managing director and

chief executive officer.

He is the former president and CEO of Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. and head

of Daimler Trucks in Asia.

Llistosella, whose appointment will be with effect from July 1, 2021, will

succeed Guenter Butschek, who has expressed his desire to relocate to

Germany at the end of the contract for personal reasons, Tata Motors said in

a regulatory filing.

Llistosella is currently on the board of Swedish transport company Einride

and prior to that, he was associated for a long time with Daimler Trucks.

He was the President and CEO of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp.

during 2015-2018, where he worked on improving the profitability and sales

potential of the business.

3.‘Robotic Spa’ facility inaugurated at Visakhapatnam railway station

Waltair Division, in its efforts to enhance the passenger amenities

at Railway stations, has commissioned another innovative facility called

Robotic Spa under Non-fare revenue here at Visakhapatnam railway

station. The first of its kind facility at Railway station in East Coast

Railway was inaugurated by Divisional Railway Manager, Waltair Chetan

Kumar Shrivastava.

The Robotic Spa comprising Relaxing Chair, Foot massager and Fish

pedicure spa gives a pleasant experience to the Rail Customers waiting at

Visakhapatnam railway station.

The motto behind such an innovative model is to facilitate the esteemed rail

customers to spend quality time while waiting for trains.

4.ISRO to launch Brazil’s Amazonia-1 by month-end

In its first dedicated commercial mission of the newly-formed New Space

India Limited (NSIL), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will

launch the PSLV-C51/ Amazonia-1 Mission at the end of the month.

Amazonia-1 is an optical earth observation satellite developed by National

Institute for Space Research (INPE), Brazil. This will be the first launch of a

Brazilian satellite from India.

5.PM handed over indigenously designed and manufactured Arjun Main

Battle Tank to the Army

India has undertaken massive effort to become self-reliant in the defence

sector. The Prime Minister also handed over the indigenously designed and

manufactured Arjun Main Battle Tank (MK-1A) to the Army.


It has been indigenously designed and manufactured by the Combat

Vehicles Research and Development Establishment of Defence Research

and Development Organisation.

A tank made in Tamil Nadu will be used in northern borders to keep the

nation safe. This showcases India's unity- Bharat's Ekta Darshan.

Among the projects, the Prime Minister inaugurated the Chennai Metro Rail

Phase-I extension, completed at a cost of 3770 crore rupees, and flagged off

the passenger services from Washermenpet to Wimco Nagar.

6.ISRO, MapMyIndia Join Hands to Take on Google Maps/Earth With

Made-in-India Alternative

Indian Space Research Organisation and location and navigation technology

solutions provider MapmyIndia announced an initiative to partner together

to offer India's best, and fully indigenous, mapping portal and geospatial

services.

It combines the power of MapmyIndia's digital maps and technologies with

ISRO's catalogue of satellite imagery and earth observation data, according

to MapmyIndia's CEO and Executive Director, Rohan Verma.

MapmyIndia is an Indian technology company that creates digital maps in

India.

The new indigenously-developed alternative app will be known as

‘Bhuvan’, to provide mapping and other location-based services in India.

The collaboration will use ISRO’s database of satellite images and

MapmyIndia’s digital map platform to develop the new app.

7.International Solar Alliance Special Assembly Elected Dr Ajay Mathur As

New Director General

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) announces Dr. Ajay Mathur as its

new Director General following his election at the first special assembly,

held virtually.

A coalition of 73 member countries, ISA was established at the end of 2015

to accelerate the demand for and use of safe, sustainable, and affordable

solar energy for all.

It aims to mobilize over $1 trillion USD of investment into solar projects by

2030 through focused advocacy, policy and regulatory support, capacity

building, and by overcoming perceived investment barriers.

Dr. Mathur replaces Mr. Upendra Tripathy, who has served as Director

General since the ISA was founded in 2015.

8.Third Scorpene class submarine delivered to Indian Navy

The Mazagaon Dock Limited (MDL) delivered the third Scorpene-class

submarine to the navy after two years of sea trials. The submarine was


launched in January 2018 for sea trials and will be commissioned as INS

Karanj.

MDL chairman and managing director Vice Admiral Narayan Prasad

(retired) and Rear Admiral B Sivakumar, Western Naval Command’s chief

of staff officer (technical), signed the acceptance document.

INS Karanj is India’s third of the six Scorpene-class submarines with

superior stealth and combat capabilities. The diesel-electric attack

submarine has been built under MDL’s Project-75 in collaboration with a

French firm.

9.Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launches e-Chhawani portal for online

civic services to Cantt Boards

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh recently launched an online portal ‘e-

Chhawani’ and mobile app, to facilitate ‘ease of living’ and ‘ease of doing’

for the residents of the Cantonment Boards across the country.

The ‘e-Chhawani’ portal will provide online municipal services to more

than 20 lakh citizens across all 62 Cantonment Boards of India while sitting

at home.

The residents of cantonment areas can register their complaints regarding

civic issues and even get their documents like trade licence, sewerage

connectivity applications through the portal.

10.Amazon India to start manufacturing electronic products in India

Amazon India will start manufacturing electronics products in India. To

begin with, it is going to start manufacturing Amazon Fire TV sticks from

India. The announcement came after Electronics and IT Minister Ravi

Shankar Prasad's virtual meeting with Amazon’s Global Senior Vice

President and Country Head for India Amit Agarwal.

The Minister welcomed Amazon’s decision to set up a manufacturing line

in Chennai, as it will enhance domestic production capacities, and create

jobs as well. He added that it will further our mission of creating an Atma

Nirbhar Bharat which is digitally empowered.


11.Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched Pilot Pey Jal Survekshan

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has launched a Pilot Pey Jal

Survekshan under Jal Jeevan Mission- Urban, JJM-U. Secretary Housing

and Urban Affairs Durga Shanker Mishra informed that it will be

conducted in cities to ascertain equitable distribution of water, reuse of

wastewater and mapping of water bodies with respect to quantity and

quality of water through a challenge process.

As a first step, the Ministry had decided to launch the Survekshan in 10

cities- Agra, Badlapur, Bhubaneswar, Churu, Kochi, Madurai, Patiala,

Rohtak, Surat and Tumkur.

Jal Jeevan Mission Urban is designed to provide universal coverage of

water supply to all households through functional taps in all 4,378 statutory

towns in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal - 6.

12.Union Cabinet approved PLI scheme for telecom sector worth Rs 12,195

crore

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a Rs 12,195-crore Production

Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for domestic manufacturing of telecom and

networking products such as switches, routers, radio access network,

wireless equipment and other internet of things (IoT) access devices.

With the inclusion of telecom equipment manufacturing under the ambit of

PLI schemes, the total number of sectors under such programmes stands at

13. All the sectors included under the various PLI schemes are mostly

labour intensive and aim to attract global manufacturing giants into the

Indian manufacturing space.

13.'Snakepedia' mobile app launched in Kerala to help people, doctors treat

snake bites

A team of scientists, nature lovers and doctors have come up with a mobile

application 'Snakepedia' on snakes in Kerala to help the public as well as

doctors to treat snake bites.

Snakepedia is a comprehensive android mobile application that documents

information on snakes with the help of pictures, infographics and podcasts

and analyses its first aid, treatment, myths and superstitions.

Sandeep Das, the EDGE fellow, Zoological Society of London said, "We

have a habit of bringing snakes to the hospital along with the bitten patient.

Even if it is not necessary, if snakes are identified, the treatment will be

better. WhatsApp groups for helping doctors identifying snakes are working

with the help of research. This app will help doctors as well as the public."


BOOKS AND AWARDS

1.Four Women Scientists won SERB Women Excellence Award 2021

The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a statutory body of

the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has announced the SERB

Women Excellence Award for the year 2021, on the occasion of the

International Day of Women and Girls in Science on 11 February.

Four young women fellows of National Science Academies had been

awarded SERB Women Excellence Award 2021. The winners include: Dr.

Shobhna Kapoor, Dr. Antara Banerjee, Dr. Sonu Gandhi, Dr. Ritu Gupta

It is a one-time award being presented by SERB to women scientists since

2013 to support basic research in the frontier areas of science and

engineering.

2.Peter Mukerjea pens memoir ‘Starstruck: Confessions of a TV Executive’

Former media baron Peter Mukerjea has come out with his memoir

‘Starstruck: Confessions of a TV executive’.

The book is presented as a recollection of his experiences in the satellite

television industry in India and the changes it has gone through over the

years.

Mukerjea is the former chief executive of Star India. Through this book, he

has shared his journey, to highlight and showcase the plenty of mistakes

made and the plenty of lessons learnt over almost three decades

It must be remembered that Mukerjea was arrested by the Central Bureau of

Investigation (CBI) in November 2015 in connection with the Sheena Bora

murder case.

3.Meghna Pant Pens her new novel ‘The Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad Good

News’

Meghna Pant had penned a new novel named ‘The Terrible, Horrible, Very

Bad Good News’. Meghna is a writer, journalist and speaker and has won

awards for her contribution to literature, gender issues and journalism.

Penguin Random House India has published the novel and will be released

in April 2021.

4.S. Theodore Baskaran won Sanctuary Lifetime Service Award 2020

S. Theodore Baskaran who is a writer, a historian, a naturalist and an

activist had won the Sanctuary Lifetime Service Award, 2020. The award

was instituted by the Sanctuary Nature Foundation.

Theodore Baskaran was chosen for the award in the light of his dedication

to the wildlife conservation. He won the award for his writing prowess in


English and Tamil contributing towards the conservation discourse. He was

also chosen for the award in the backdrop of inspiring the young naturalists.

5.Thaawarchand Gehlot Virtually Released Third Edition of Indian Sign

Language Dictionary

The Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri

Thaawarchand Gehlot released the “third edition of the Indian Sign

Language (ISL) Dictionary, in a virtual event on February 17, 2021.

The 3rd edition of the ISL dictionary contains total 10,000 terms. These

includes the 6000 terms of the first and second edition of the dictionary.

The terms are of everyday use from academic terms, legal & administrative

terms, medical terms, technical terms and agricultural terms.

6.The National Informatics Centre had launched an instant messaging

platform called Sandes on the lines of WhatsApp.

Like WhatsApp, the new NIC platform can be used for all kinds of

communications by anyone with a mobile number or email id.

The instant messaging app, called Sandes, has an interface similar to many

other apps currently available in the market.

Although there is no option to transfer the chat history between two

platforms, the chats on government instant messaging systems (GIMS) can

be backed up to a users’ email.

GIMS, like other instant messaging apps in the market, uses a valid mobile

number or email id to register the user for the first time. It also offers

features such as group making, broadcast message, message forwarding and

emojis.

7.Award-winning author Irwin Allan Sealy's new novel ‘ASOCA’ to be

published by Penguin

Penguin Random House India proudly announces the acquisition and

publication of a stunning new novel, titled ASOCA: A Sutra, by

prizewinning writer Irwin Allan Sealy. Earlier, Penguin had published the

30th anniversary edition of Sealy’s critically acclaimed debut novel ‘The

Trotter-Nama’ and this is the second book by the author to be published by

PRH. This book will be released under Penguin’s Viking imprint in July

2021.

The novel will be presented as an imagined memoir of ‘Ashoka-The Great’,

the emperor who ruled most of the Indian Subcontinent and played a pivotal

role in the spread of Buddhism from India to other parts of Asia in the 3rd

century BC.

8. WCCB received Asia Environmental Enforcement Award-2020


The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) had received the Asia

Environmental Enforcement Award-2020 awarded by the United Nations

Environment Programme (UNEP).

Sharing the information, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar

said that WCCB getting the award twice in three years is a testimony of

India's commitment towards ending wildlife crime. Wildlife Crime Control

Bureau (WCCB) has been awarded this year under the Innovation category.

Earlier, the Bureau had received the award in 2018 under the same category.

SPORTS

1.Ravichandran Ashwin Became First-ever Bowler To Dismiss Left-handers

200 Times In Test Cricket

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin became the first-ever bowler to dismiss

left-handed batsmen 200 times in Test cricket. The 34-year-old achieved the

feat on the second day of the second Test against England in Chennai.

He dismissed Stuart Broad with the fifth ball of the 60th over to complete

his 29th five-wicket haul and also reached the milestone of dismissing 200

left-handers in the longest format of the game.

In the process, Ashwin also broke James Anderson's (22 in 89 Tests) record

of most fifers in home Test. Ashwin has now 23 such hauls in 45 home

Tests. Muttiah Muralitharan (45), Ragana Herath (26) and Anil Kumble

(25) have taken more fifers at home.

2.Naman Ojha announced retirement from all forms of cricket

India wicketkeeper-batsman Naman Ojha had announced his retirement

from all forms of cricket on February 15, 2021. He played one Test, one

ODI, and two T20Is for India across all formats from 2010-2015. Both his

T20Is and only ODI came in 2010 and his only Test came in 2015 against

Sri Lanka.

Making his first-class debut for Madhya Pradesh in the 2000-01 season,

Nama Ojha played 146 first-class games, scoring 9753 runs at an average of

41.67, scoring 22 centuries, 55 fifties, and a highest of 219*. He also

featured in 143 List A games and 182 T20s.

3.VIVO Back As Title Sponsor For Indian Premier League 2021 season

Indian Premier League Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel revealed

at the IPL 2021 Auction that VIVO is back as the title sponsor of the league.

Brijesh Patel spoke ahead of the auction in Chennai on February 18 and

announced that VIVO is back as the title sponsor of the T20 league after

Dream 11 had been roped in as sponsor for the 2020 season. Last year, the


IPL signed up Dream 11 for Rs 222 crore for one season whereas they had

been getting Rs 440 crore per year from VIVO.

In August 2020, VIVO had pulled out as sponsor of the Indian Premier

League following a backlash on social media. In 2018, VIVO had signed a

five-year deal worth Rs 2199 crore.

4.Former South Africa's Faf du Plessis retired from Test cricket

Former South African captain Faf du Plessis announced his retirement from

cricket's longest format, Tests, but said that he will continue to play white-

ball cricket for his country.

The 36-year-old player said that he "strongly" believes that he has a lot to

offer to South Africa in this format.

The cricketer also clarified that his retirement does not mean that ODI

cricket was "no longer in the plans" adding that he is "just making T20

cricket the priority in the short-term".

OBITUARIES

1. Home Minister Amit Shah paid tributes to Pulwama martyrs

Nation was remembering the martyrs of Pulwama attack who made the

supreme sacrifice in a dastardly terrorist attack in 2019. Forty Central

Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were martyred when their convoy

on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was attacked by a vehicle-borne

suicide bomber at Lethpora in Pulwama.

Home Minister Amit Shah had said that India will never forget their

exceptional courage and supreme sacrifice. In a tweet, Mr Shah said, he

bowed down to the brave martyrs who lost their lives in the gruesome

Pulwama attack on this day in 2019.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also paid homage to those brave CRPF

personnel who sacrificed their lives in Pulwama terror attack. He said, India

will never forget their service to the nation and their supreme sacrifice. Mr

Singh said, we continue to stand with their families, who had to suffer due

to this attack.

2.Retired Supreme Court judge Justice P B Sawant passed away At 91

Retired Supreme Court (SC) Justice P B Sawant passed away in Pune. He

was 91.

He passed away due to age related issues. He was 91 and had not been

keeping well from more than the last one month. His death has caused an

irreparable damage to legal and social fraternity. He is survived by his wife

and three children and their families,” said former Judge of Bombay High

Court, BG Kolse Patil, who has had a long association with Justice Sawant.


3.Former Governor and noted jurist M Rama Jois passed away at 88

Former Bihar-Jharkhand governor and noted jurist Justice (Retd.)

Mandagadde Rama Jois passed away at 88 after a period of prolonged

illness, according to his family.

M Rama Jois, a former Rajya Sabha MP, had also served as the Chief

Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court. He was suffering from age-

related ailments, family members were quoted as saying in a PTI report.

Born on July 27, 1932, at Shivamogga, M Rama Jois did his BA and Law

degree. He was associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)

from the beginning.

He was associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh from the

beginning.

4.Congress leader and Gandhi loyalist Capt Satish Sharma died at 73

Congress leader and former union minister Captain Satish Sharma died in

Goa after a brief illness. He was 73.

Sharma was suffering from cancer and was ailing for some time.

A close aide of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, Sharma was Union

Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas from 1993 to 1996 in the Narasimha

Rao government.

Born on October 11, 1947 in Andhra Pradesh's Secunderabad, Sharma was

a professional commercial pilot.

He first became a member of Rajya Sabha in June 1986 and was later

elected to the Lok Sabha from Amethi in 1991 after the death of Rajiv

Gandhi

IMPORTANT DAYS

1. Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav being held from 14th to 28th Feb

The 11th Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav is being held between 14th to 28th

February at Cooch Behar, Darjeeling and Murshidabad in West Bengal. The

inaugural programme is going to take place this evening at Coochbehar.

Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and Union Minister of State for Culture and

Tourism Prahlad Singh Patel will be present in the inauguration.

The Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav is a flagship programme of the Ministry

of Culture, organised under the “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” programme,

since 2015, to celebrate the idea of unity in diversity.

In 2021, the 11th edition of the festival is being celebrated and West Bengal

has been chosen as the focus destination.



Documents

14-20 February, 2021