CURRENT EVENTS AND ANALYSIS (January 2021) SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY MISCELLANEOUS

Editor R.C. Reddy

R.C. REDDY IAS STUDY CIRCLE H.No. 3-6-275, Opp. Telangana Tourism Development Corporation, Near Telugu Academy, Himayatnagar, Hyderabad - 500 029. Phone No. : 040-23228513; 040-27668513; 040-27612673; 9346882593; 9573462587 Email : [email protected] CURRENT EVENTS AND ANALYSIS CONTENTS

JANUARY 2021 CURRENT AFFAIRS: Science & Technology and Miscellaneous Index PageNo: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Procurement of 83 Light Combat Aircrafts (LCA) 'Tejas' Approved 1

New Generation Akash Missile Successfully Test-fired 2 Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management Set up 2 Scientists Find Way to Improve Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Paddy 3

Great Green Wall Gets US $ 14 Billion Funding From France 4 Green Tax To Be Imposed on Older Vehicles 6 India Gives Approval to Two COVID Vaccines 7 NASA Approves Two Heliophysics Missions 9

40th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica Launched 10 MISCELLANEOUS National Persons 12 International Persons 14 National Awards 14 Sports 20 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Procurement of 83 Light Combat Aircrafts (LCA) 'Tejas' Approved - On January 13, 2021, the Union Government approved procurement of - 73 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk-1A fighter aircrafts, and - 10 LCA Tejas Mk-1 Trainer aircrafts. - The total cost of the aircrafts is Rs. 45,696 crore. Light Combat Aircraft Tejas Mk-1A: - Light Combat Aircraft Tejas Mk-1A variant is an indigenously designed, developed and manufactured state-of-the-art modern 4+ generation fighter aircraft. - Aircrafts are categorised into First Generation, Second Generation, etc based on technological advancements in the aircrafts. 4+ generation fighter aircraft (also called 4.5 Generation) is an improvement over Fourth Generation aircraft. A 4.5 Generation aircraft has upgraded facilities like increased level of control and improved level of performance due to introduction of stealth feature. - Tejas Mk-1A aircraft is equipped with critical operational capabilities of Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar, Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Missile, Electronic Warfare (EW) Suite, and Air to Air Refuelling (AAR) would be a potent platform to meet the operational requirements of Indian Air Force, IAF. - It is the first "Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)" category procurement of combat aircrafts with an indigenous content of 50% which will progressively reach 60% by the end of the programme. Manufactured by HAL: - These aircrafts are manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, (HAL), Bangalore. - The manufacturing of Light Combat Aircraft by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, HAL will give a further push to Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative and boost indigenisation of defence production andRC the defence REDDY industry in the IAScountry. STUDY CIRCLE - About 500 Indian companies including MSMEs in the design and manufacturing sectors will be working with HAL in this procurement. The programme would act as a catalyst for transforming the Indian aerospace manufacturing ecosystem into a vibrant Atmanirbhar-self- sustaining ecosystem. Additional Information: - What is "Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)" category? - India is spending huge sums in procurement of defence equipment.

R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 1 - To promote self reliance and indigenisation in defence industry, the Union Government introduced a new category of procurement called 'Buy -Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)' in the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP)-2016. - This category has been accorded top most priority for procurement of capital equipment. - Besides this, preference is being given to 'Buy (Indian)' and 'Buy and Make (Indian)' categories of capital acquisition over 'Buy (Global)' &'Buy & Make (Global)' categories. - The Government has preliminarily approved defence purchases of Rs 4 lakh crores 'Buy (Indian-IDDM)', 'Buy (Indian)', 'Buy and Make (Indian)', 'Buy and make', - In all the above categories, Indian Industry including Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and private sector would be engaged in defence manufacturing either directly or in collaboration with foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). - Besides, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is contributing immensely towards indigenous R&D and technology capability building and has a strong partnership with about 1800 private sector industries. New Generation Akash Missile Successfully Test-fired - On January 25, 2021, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully test fired Akash-NG (New Generation) missile. It weighs only half of the existing Akash missile and requires fewer ground systems.

- It is a surface-to-air missile for the use of Indian Air Force (IAF).

- It is meant for intercepting high manoeuvring aerial threats.

- The existing Akash missile has a range of 25 km, while the upgraded variant (NG) can strike targets at a distance of 30 km.

- The missile was launched from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, Odisha. Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management Set up

- As a part of its commitment towards conservation, restoration and management of India's wetlands,RC REDDY the Union Government IAS announced STUDY the establishment CIRCLE of a 'Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management (CWCM)'. It would be set up as a part of the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), Chennai, on February 2, 2021.

- February 2nd of every year is celebrated as World Wetlands Day.

- Ramsar Convention on Wetlands was signed on February 2, 1971 in Ramsar, Iran. Since then, February 2nd of every year is celebrated annually as World Wetlands Day.

- The year 2021 also commemorates the 50th anniversary of the signing of Ramsar Convention.

2 R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle What are Wetlands? - The Ramsar Convention uses a broad definition of wetlands. - It includes all lakes and rivers, underground aquifers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands, peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, mangroves and other coastal areas, coral reefs, and all human-made sites such as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs and salt pans. - What is the Significance of Wetlands? - Wetlands are vital for human survival. They provide range of ecosystem services to humanity, ranging from freshwater supply, food and building materials, flood control, groundwater recharge, and climate change mitigation. - They are among the world's most productive environments and cradles of biological diversity. - Countless species of plants and animals depend on wetlands for their survival. Wetlands in India: - India has nearly 4.6% of its land as wetlands, covering an area of 15.26 million hectares. - It has 42 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), with a surface area of 1.08 million hectares. Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management (CWCM): The Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management (CWCM) will - help in building partnership and networks with relevant national and international agencies, - serve as a knowledge hub and enable exchange between State/ UT Wetland Authorities, wetland users, managers, researchers, policy-makers and practitioners, and - assist the national and State/ UT Governments in the design and implementation of policy and regulatory frameworks, management planning, monitoring and targeted research for wetlands conservation. Scientists Find Way to Improve Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Paddy - Crops take only about 30 per cent of the N-fertiliser added and the rest gets washed away to waterRC bodies REDDY leading to pollution, IAS ill-health STUDYand also contributes CIRCLE to climate change. - Improving this poor 'nitrogen use efficiency' (NUE) is a major global challenge for decades, as there were no simple visual cues or genetic means to differentiate between high and low NUE cultivars in any crop. - A group of Indian scientists have found a way to reduce wastage of nitrogen fertilisers applied to them. - They were able to identify 25 phenotypes (observable characteristics, such as height, biomass, leaf shape, etc) that determine the efficiency with which cultivars (plant varieties) use nitrogen.

R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 3 - Paddy consumes the most nitrogen fertiliser in India, any improvement in its NUE will be a significant gain. Study of the Scientists: - For the study, an inter-disciplinary team led by Nandula Raghuram from New Delhi's Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, compared 3 high Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) and 3 low Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) cultivars (plant varieties) of rice with normal or low dose of nitrate or urea as the sole source of nitrogen (N). - The scientists found that Nitrogen-use-efficient (NUE) cultivars (plant varieties) a) tend to be slow in germination and flowering, b) grow tall and deep with higher biomass, and c) take longer duration to harvest but yield more with lesser Nitrogen input. - They also reported 34 genes associated with NUE for potential crop improvement. - Their findings have been published in international journal 'Frontiers in Plant Science'. - So far, most of the studies for crop improvement of yield is focused on reducing crop duration and biomass to maximise grain output. - The study concluded that unless scientists bring Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) traits together with yield traits through breeding, we may be gaining yield at the cost of NUE. Role of Nitrogen in Global Warming: - Agriculture accounts for over 70% of all nitrous oxide emission in the Indian environment, out of which 77% is contributed by fertilisers,mostly urea. - Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas (GHG) that is 300 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. - It has replaced methaneas the second largest GHG emissionfrom Indian agriculture over the last 15 years. - Cereals account for over 69% of the total consumption of Nitrogen fertilisers in India, with riceRC topping REDDY the list at 37%, followed IAS by wheatSTUDY (24%). CIRCLE - Hence, cereals are target crop for Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) in India and in many parts of the world. Great Green Wall Gets US $ 14 Billion Funding From France - At the virtual 'One Planet Summit' for biodiversity held on January 11, 2021 in Paris, France President Emmanuel Macron announced US $14 billion to scale up work of Great Green Wall in the Sahel region of Africa. The amount is nearly 42 per cent of $33 billion needed to complete the Great Green Walls initiative by 2030. - The funding will fast track efforts to restore degrading land in the Sahel region.

4 R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle About The Great Green Wall:

- The Great Green Wall Initiative was started by the African Union in 2007.

- It aims at providing solutions to multiple and complex environmental threats, such as land degradation, desertification, drought, climate change, biodiversity loss, poverty and food insecurity, simultaneously.

- The project aims at restoring 100 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 by growing an 8,000-kilometre-long and 15-km-wide mosaic of trees, grasslands, vegetation and plants.

- Restoring degraded lands also provides decent livelihoods for millions of people in the Sahel region.

- It will transform the lives of 100 million people in the Sahel region.

- It will lead to sequestering 250 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

What is Sahel Region?

- Sahel is a semi arid region of western and north-central Africa extending from Senegal eastward to Sudan.

- It forms a transitional zone between the arid Sahara (desert) to the north and the belt of humid savannas to the south.

- At least eight months of the year are dry, and rainconfined to a short season, with average rains of 100-200 mm, mostly in June, July, and August. - Only modestRC crops REDDY of millet and peanuts IAS (groundnuts) STUDY can be raised CIRCLE in many areas. Countries in the Sahel Region:

- The Sahel region stretched from Senegal in the West to Djibouti in the East and includes 11 countries.

- The 11 countries are: Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sudan.

Resources Needed for Great Green Wall:

- To complete the GGW, it is estimated that US $ 33 billion US dollars of investment will be needed.

- More than 13 years after the Great Green Wall (GGW) initiative was started, the project had faced problems due to funds crunch.

- The project aims to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.

- But only four million hectares had been restored between 2007 and 2019.

R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 5

Green Tax To Be Imposed on Older Vehicles - On January 15, 2021, the Union Government approved a proposal to levy a "Green Tax" on old vehicles which are polluting the environment.

- The older fleet, typically manufactured before the year 2000 constitute less that 1 % of the total fleet but contributes around 15% of total vehicular pollution. - These older vehicles pollute 10-25 times more than modern vehicles. - The proposal will now go to the states for consultation before it is formally notified.

Objectives of the Green Tax are - To dissuade people from using vehicles which damage the environment, and

- motivate them to switch to newer, less polluting vehicles. - Green tax will lead to reduction of the pollution level, and make the polluter pay for pollution.

Details: - Transport vehicles older than 8 years would be charged Green Tax at the time of renewal of fitnessRC certificate, REDDY at the rate of 10 toIAS 25 % of roadSTUDY tax. CIRCLE - It is estimated that commercial vehicles, which constitute about 5% of the total vehicle fleet, contribute about 65-70% of total vehicular pollution.

- Personal vehicles would be charged Green Tax at the time of renewal of Registration Certification after 15 years. - Public transport vehicles, such as city buses would be charged lower Green tax.

- Higher Green tax (50% of Road Tax) would be for vehicles being registered in highly polluted cities

6 R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle - Differential tax, depending on fuel (petrol/diesel) and type of vehicle; Exemptions: - Hybrid vehicles (vehicles that run on prtrol/dieasel as well as electric energy), electric vehicles and those running on alternate fuels like CNG, ethanol, LPG etc would be exempted. - Vehicles used in farming, such as tractor, harvester, tiller, etc will be exempted. Utilisation of Revenue: - Revenue collected from the Green Tax would be used for tackling pollution, and setting up state of-art facilities for emission monitoring in the States. Scrapping of Old vehicles: - The Union Government also approved the policy of deregistration and scrapping of vehicles owned by Government department and Public Sector Undertakings (PSU), which are above 15 years in age. It will come into effect from 1st April, 2022. India Gives Approval to Two COVID Vaccines - In the first week of January 2021, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) formally approved Bharat Biotech's 'Covaxin' and the Serum Institute of India's 'Covishield' for emergency use in the country. - The approval by the DCGI was given on the basis of recommendations submitted by a COVID- 19 Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO). Technology: - Unlike the global frontrunners, Pfizer and Moderna, which rely on an mRNA technology, both the Indian vaccines are based traditional approach. Covishield: - It makes use of a viral vector made using a weakened strain of the common cold virus (adenovirus) that causes infections in chimpanzees and contains the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein. Upon administration of the vaccine, the body's defences recogniseRC the REDDY spike protein and IASprepare antibodies STUDY to evade outCIRCLE the infection. Covaxin: - It is made using an inactive version of the virus. They contain dead virus, incapable of infecting people but still able to instruct the immune system to mount a defensive reaction against an infection. - Inactive vaccines have been used by a lot of vaccine makers and have been used for years to fight out viruses and pathogens. Example: Seasonal Influenza, Polio, Pertussis, Rabies, and Japanese Encephalitis

R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 7 Made in India Vaccines:

- Both Covishield and Covaxin are 'Made in India' vaccines.

- Covaxin is India's first fully-developed and produced COVID-19 vaccine, made by Hyderabad- based Bharat Biotech.

- It was developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Virology (NIV).

- Covishield was originally developed by Oxford University-Astrazeneca.

- Serum Institute of India (SII) has an exclusive license from AstraZeneca-Oxford University to manufacture and distribute the vaccine in India and other low- and middle-income countries.

Safety:

- The vaccines have been certified 100% safe; however, some side effects like mild fever, pain and allergy are common for every vaccine.

- Both the vaccines need to be given in two doses with a gap of 28 days.

- The vaccines can be stored at 2C to 8C.

Why Vaccines are Given in Two Doses?

- Inactivated vaccines needto be given in two doses.

- The first dose does not provide as much immunity as possible. So, more than one dose is needed to build more complete immunity.

Controversy Over Approval to Covaxin:

- Bharat Biotech's vaccine has been given approval for restricted use in emergency situations in the public interest in clinical trial mode, which means consent has to be taken from the vaccine recipient. The recipients will be monitored after receiving Covaxin shots. This permission for restricted use is because Bharat Biotech is yet to publish efficacy data from its phase-3 trials.

- On the otherRC hand, REDDY Covishield manufactured IAS by SIISTUDY produced phase CIRCLEIII trial data from Brazil and United Kingdom.

- A vaccine is given approval for general public use only after phase-3 trials which are conducted on large number of candidates, mostly in thousands, to know the safety and efficacy of the vaccine candidate. Safety data concerns with any side effects of the vaccine while efficacy is concerned with generation of antibodies which provide protection against the virus.

- Some experts questioned how a Covaxin vaccine was cleared for emergency use by millions of vulnerable people when its trials were still underway.

8 R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle - But, Bharat Biotech defended the approval, stating that Indian clinical trial laws allowed "accelerated" authorisation for use of drugs after the second phase of trials for "unmet medical needs of serious and life-threatening diseases in the country". - It stated that Covaxin has been evaluated in approximately 1,000 subjects in phase I and phase II clinical trials, with promising safety and immunogenicity (antibodies production) results, with acceptance in international peer reviewed scientific journals. - Phase-III human clinical trials of Covaxin began in mid-November 2020, and targeted 26,000 volunteers across the country. NASA Approves Two Heliophysics Missions - NASA approved two heliophysics missions to explore the Sun and the system that drives space weather near Earth on December 30, 2020.

What is Heliophysics?

- Heliophysics is the science of understanding the Sun and its interactions with Earth and the solar system, including space weather.

Two Heliophysics Missions:

- The two heliophysics missions announced by NASA are

1. Extreme Ultraviolet High-Throughput Spectroscopic Telescope Epsilon Mission (EUVST), and

2. Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer (EZIE).

Both the missions will help us understand the Sun and Earth as an interconnected system.

Details of the Missions:

Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer (EZIE).

- The Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer (EZIE) is an investigation comprising a trio of CubeSats that will study the source of and changes in the auroral electrojet, an electric current circling throughRC Earth's REDDY atmosphere around IAS 60-90 STUDY miles above the surfaceCIRCLE and extending into the Earth's magnetosphere.

- The Auroral Electrojet (AE) index is a common measure of geomagnetic activity levels, even though the details of the structure of these currents is not understood.

- EZIE will launch no earlier than June 2024.

- The total budget for the EZIE mission is $53.3 million.

- The principal investigator for the mission is Jeng-Hwa (Sam) Yee at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.

R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 9 Extreme Ultraviolet High-Throughput Spectroscopic Telescope Epsilon Mission (EUVST): - EUVST is a solar telescope that will study how the solar atmosphere releases solar wind and drives eruptions of solar material. - It is targeted for launch in 2026. - EUVST will take comprehensive Ultra Violet (UV) spectroscopy measurements of the solar atmosphere at the highest level of detail to date, which will allow scientists to tease out how different magnetic and plasma processes drive coronal heating and energy release. - The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) leads the Extreme Ultraviolet High- Throughput Spectroscopic Telescope (EUVST) Epsilon Mission (Solar-C EUVST Mission), along with other international partners. - These phenomena propagate out from the Sun and influence the space radiation environment throughout the solar system. - NASA support to this mission is in the form of hardware contributions. It will provide an intensified UV detector and support electronics, spectrograph components, a guide telescope, software, and a slit-jaw imaging system for the spectrographic measurement. - The budget for NASA contributions to EUVST is $55 million. - The principal investigator for the NASA contribution to EUVST is Harry Warren at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington. About NASA: - National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and space research. NASA was established in 1958. 40th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica Launched - On January 5, 2021, India launched the 40th scientific expedition to Antarctica. About Antarctica: - AntarcticaRC is the southernmostREDDY continent IAS of the earth.STUDY CIRCLE - It is the fifth in size among the world's continents. - Its landmass is almost wholly covered by a vast ice sheet. - It is the coldest, windiest, and driest continent. - It contains 90 percent of all of the ice on Earth in an area of around 1.5 times the size of the United States. - But there are no human settlements in Antarctica. There are only scientific bases set up by various countries. Some tourists visit Antarctica in summer.

10 R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle Details of 40th Expedition: - The 40th expedition journey was flagged off from Goa with 43 members onboard on a chartered vessel MV Vasiliy Golovnin from Russia. - The objective of the expedition is to support the ongoing scientific projects on climate change, geology, ocean observations, electric and magnetic flux measurements, environmental monitoring. - Polar regions are crucially important in answering key questions about global climate change, its contribution towards global sea-level rise, the background aerosol properties, variability in the sea ice cover and phenomena like Antarctic haze and ozone concentrations. - After leaving behind a team of 43 members, it would return to India in April 2021 and bring back 48 members who have been on the continent for 15 months. Indian Antarctic Expeditions Began in 1981: - The Indian Antarctic expeditions began in 1981. - The first trip comprised of a team of 21 scientists led by Dr SZ Qasim. - After a humble beginning, the Indian Antarctic programme has now credited to have built three permanent research base stations in Antarctica - named Dakshin Gangotri, Maitri, and Bharati. - At present, India has two operational research stations in Antarctica named Maitri and Bharati. - The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, manages the entire Indian Antarctic program.

RC REDDY IAS STUDY CIRCLE

R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 11 Miscellaneous NATIONAL PERSONS Dr. V. Shanta (93), a pioneer in cancer care in the country, and the chairperson of the Adyar Cancer Institute, passed away in Chennai on January 18, 2021. A crusader for cancer research and making cancer care affordable for all, she joined Adyar Cancer Institute in 1955, a year after it was founded by Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy, one of the first women graduates of medicine in India and a legislator. Dr. Shanta and Dr. Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy's son Dr S Krishnamurthi built the Cancer Institute in Chennai from a cottage hospital of 12 beds into a 500-plus bedded institution, offering state- of-the-art care to people across the income spectrum. Only 40% are paying beds and the remaining are general beds where patients are boarded and lodged free of cost. Shanta received several national and international awards, including the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibushan and Ramon Magsaysay awards for her contribution to the advancement in management and control of cancer. Ved Mehta (86), celebrated Indian-American author who overcame blindness and became widely known as the 20th century writer most responsible for introducing American readers to India, died in the U.S. on January 10, 2021. He worked for the 'New Yorker magazine', as a staff writer for 33 years Mehta was born in pre-Partition Lahore into a well-off Punjabi family in 1934. He lost his eyesight at the age of three from meningitis. He did not let this challenge get in the way of a flourishing career or stop him from showcasing his literary prowess to the world. Mehta went to the United States when he was 15 years old, and attended the Arkansas School for the Blindin Little Rock. After studying at Oxford University, he began to flourish in his working life as a writer. He is best known for his 12-volume memoir, which focused on the troubled modern history of India and his early struggles with blindness. Mehta brought out 24 books that included volumes of reportage on India, among them Walking the Indian StreetsRC (1960),Portrait REDDY of India (1970)IAS and STUDYMahatma Gandhi andCIRCLE His Apostles (1977), as well as explorations of philosophy, theology and linguistics. Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan (89), renowned Indian classical musician, passed away in Mumbai on January 17, 2021. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, followed by Padma Bhushan in 2006 and Padma Vibhushan in 2018. In 2003, he was honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi award, the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artistes.

12 R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle Born on March 3, 1931 in Badaun in Uttar Pradesh, Khan got his basic classical music training from his father and later studied music under his cousin, Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, followed by Padma Bhusan in 2006 and Padma Vibhushan in 2018. In 2003 he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi award, the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artistes. His father, Ustad Waris Hussain Khan was the son of celebrated musician Ustad Murred Baksh, while his mother, Sabri Begum, was the daughter of Ustad Inayat Husain Khan, credited as the founder of the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana of music. Mr. Buta Singh (86), senior Congress party leader and former Union Minister, passed away on January 2, 2021. An eight-time Lok Sabha MP, he entered Parliament in 1962 from the Moga Lok Sabha constituency in Punjab. In 1974, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi elevated him to the post of Deputy Minister for Railways. Under Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, Mr. Singh held the portfolio of Union Minister of Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution from 1995 to 1996. He was appointed the chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) in 2007. He held that post till 2010. Anil Panachooran (55), Malayalam poet and lyricist, passed away due to COVID on January 3, 2021. Panachooran is known for his famous lyrics in movies like ''Arabikadha'', ''Kadha Parayumbol'', ''Madambi'', ''Marykkundoru Kunjaadu'', ''Velipadinte Pusthakam'' among many others. Satya Paul (78), well-known fashion designer who ran a fashion brand in his own name, died on January 6, 2021. In 1980, he launched the first 'saree boutique' in India, L'Affaire, and founded the fashion clothing brand in his own name in 1986. Madhavsinh Solanki (93), veteran Congress leader who served as the Chief Minister of Gujarat four times and also as a Union Minister, passed away in Gandhinagar on January 6, 2021. He servedRC as aREDDY Union Minister in the IAS Rajiv Gandhi STUDY and the P.V. CIRCLENarsimha Rao governments at the Centre. He was External Affairs Minister from June 1991 to March 1992. In 1985, he had to resign as Chief Minister of Gujarat following the anti-reservation riots in the State. Burgula Narsing Rao (89), veteran communist leader and an active participant of Telangana Armed Struggle passed away in Hyderabad on January 18, 2021. Narsing Rao was born in a family of freedom-fighters like Burgula Ramakrishna Rao, the first Chief Minister of erstwhile Hyderabad State, who were all involved in the struggle for self-rule in Hyderabad State and the Independence struggle.

R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 13 Narendra Luther (88), well known poet, historian, author and retired bureaucrat, passed away on January 18, 2021. Narendra Luther's family moved from Rawalpindi to Hoshiarpur in Punjab in the aftermath of Partition. He studied in University College of Hoshiarpur where former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was his junior. After getting selected in the the Indian Administrative Service, he was allotted Andhra Pradesh cadre. He began his stint in Kurnool in 1956 and was later posted to Hyderabad in 1959. INTERNATIONAL PERSONS Indian-American Raj Iyer took over as the first Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the U.S. Army on January 6, 2021. Equivalent in rank to a three-star General, Mr. Iyer will supervise an annual budget of $16 billion for the US Army's IT operations. Over 15,000 civilians and military personnel posted across 100 countries work under him. Dr. Raj Iyer who holds a PhD. in Electrical Engineering is originally a native of Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu. He grew up in Bengaluru and completed his undergraduate studies at National Institute of Technology Trichy before moving to the U.S.A. Larry King (87), one of the most recognisable figures on U.S. television and iconic host of the 'Larry King Live Show', passed away on January 24, 2021. King hosted "Larry King Live" on CNN for over 25 years from 1985 to 2010, interviewing presidential candidates, celebrities, athletes, movie stars and everyday people. He retired in 2010 after taping more than 6,000 episodes of the show. NATIONAL AWARDS Padma Awards 2021: - Padma Awards, highest civilian Awards of the country, were announced on January 25, 2021. - Padma Awards are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. - The AwardsRC are givenREDDY in various disciplines/ IAS fields STUDY of activities, viz.- CIRCLEart, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. - Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; - Padma Bhushan is awarded for distinguished service of high order and - Padma Shri is awarded for distinguished service in any field. - The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. - These awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March/ April every year.

14 R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle - For 2021, President has approved conferment of 119 Padma Awards including 1 duo case (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one) as per list below. - The list comprises 7 Padma Vibhushan, 10 Padma Bhushan and 102 Padma Shri Awards. - 29 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 10 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI, 16 posthumous awardees and 1 transgender awardee. 2021 List of Padma Awardees: Padma Vibhushan (7) SN Name Field State/Country 1 Shri Shinzo Abe Public Affairs Japan 2 Shri S P Balasubramaniam Art Tamil Nadu (Posthumous) 3 Dr. Belle Monappa Hegde Medicine Karnataka 4 Shri Narinder Singh Kapany Science and United States of (Posthumous) Engineering America 5 Maulana Wahiduddin Khan Others- Spiritualism Delhi 6 Shri B. B. Lal Others- Archaeology Delhi 7 Shri Sudarshan Sahoo Art Odisha Padma Bhushan (10) 8 Ms. Krishnan Nair Art Kerala Shantakumari Chithra 9 Shri Tarun Gogoi Public Affairs Assam (Posthumous) 10 Shri Chandrashekhar Literature and Karnataka Kambara Education 11 Ms. Sumitra Mahajan Public Affairs Madhya Pradesh 12RC Shri REDDY Nripendra Misra IAS STUDY Civil Service CIRCLE Uttar Pradesh 13 Shri Ram Vilas Paswan Public Affairs Bihar (Posthumous) 14 Shri Keshubhai Patel Public Affairs Gujarat (Posthumous) 15 Shri Kalbe Sadiq Others-Spiritualism Uttar Pradesh (Posthumous) 16 Shri Rajnikant Devidas Shroff Trade and Industry Maharashtra 17 Shri Tarlochan Singh Public Affairs Haryana

R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 15 Padma Shri (102) 18 Shri Gulfam Ahmed Art Uttar Pradesh 19 Ms. P. Anitha Sports Tamil Nadu 20 Shri Rama Swamy Annavarapu Art Andhra Pradesh 21 Shri Subbu Arumugam Art Tamil Nadu 22 Shri Prakasarao Asavadi Literature and Andhra Pradesh Education 23 Ms. Bhuri Bai Art Madhya Pradesh 24 Shri Radhe Shyam Barle Art Chhattisgarh 25 Shri Dharma Narayan Barma Literature and West Bengal Education 26 Ms. Lakhimi Baruah Social Work Assam 27 Shri Biren Kumar Basak Art West Bengal 28 Ms. Rajni Bector Trade and Industry Punjab 29 Shri Peter Brook Art United Kingdom 30 Ms. Sangkhumi Bualchhuak Social Work Mizoram 31 Shri Gopiram Bargayn Art Assam Burabhakat 32 Ms. Bijoya Chakravarty Public Affairs Assam 33 Shri Sujit Chattopadhyay Literature and West Bengal Education 34 Shri Jagdish Chaudhary Social Work Uttar Pradesh (Posthumous) 35 Shri Tsultrim Chonjor Social Work Ladakh 36RC Ms. Mouma REDDY Das IASSports STUDY WestCIRCLE Bengal 37 Shri Srikant Datar Literature and United States of America Education 38 Shri Narayan Debnath Art West Bengal 39 Ms. Chutni Devi Social Work Jharkhand 40 Ms. Dulari Devi Art Bihar 41 Ms. Radhe Devi Art Manipur 42 Ms. Shanti Devi Social Work Odisha

16 R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 43 Shri Wayan Dibia Art Indonesia 44 Shri Dadudan Gadhavi Literature & Education Gujarat 45 Shri Parshuram Atmaram Art Maharashtra Gangavane 46 Shri Jai Bhagwan Goyal Literature and Education Haryana 47 Shri Jagadish Chandra Halder Literature and Education West Bengal 48 Shri Mangal Singh Hazowary Literature and Education Assam 49 Ms. Anshu Jamsenpa Sports Arunachal Pradesh 50 Ms. Purnamasi Jani Art Odisha 51 Matha B. Manjamma Jogati Art Karnataka 52 Shri Damodaran Kaithapram Art Kerala 53 Shri Namdeo C Kamble Literature and Education Maharashtra 54 Shri Maheshbhai & Shri Naresh Art Gujarat bhaiKanodia (Duo)*(Posthumous) 55 Shri Rajat Kumar Kar Literature and Education Odisha 56 Shri Rangasami Literature and Education Karnataka Lakshminarayana Kashyap 57 Ms. Prakash Kaur Social Work Punjab 58 Shri Nicholas Kazanas Literature and Greece Education 59 Shri K Kesavasamy Art Puducherry 60 Shri Ghulam Rasool Khan Art Jammu and Kashmir 61 Shri Lakha Khan Art Rajasthan 62RC Ms. REDDYSanjida Khatun IAS STUDY Art CIRCLE Bangladesh 63 Shri Vinayak Vishnu Khedekar Art Goa 64 Ms. Niru Kumar Social Work Delhi 65 Ms. Lajwanti Art Punjab 66 Shri Rattan Lal Science and United States of Engineering America 67 Shri Ali Manikfan Others-Grassroots Lakshadweep Innovation

R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 17 68 Shri Ramachandra Manjhi Art Bihar 69 Shri Dulal Manki Art Assam 70 Shri Nanadro B Marak Others- Agriculture Meghalaya 71 Shri Rewben Mashangva Art Manipur 72 Shri Chandrakant Mehta Literature and Gujarat Education 73 Dr. Rattan Lal Mittal Medicine Punjab 74 Shri Madhavan Nambiar Sports Kerala 75 Shri Shyam Sundar Paliwal Social Work Rajasthan 76 Dr. Chandrakant Sambhaji Medicine Delhi Pandav 77 Dr. J N Pande (Posthumous) Medicine Delhi 78 Shri Solomon Pappaiah Literature and Tamil Nadu Education- Journalism 79 Ms. Pappammal Others- Agriculture Tamil Nadu 80 Dr. Krishna Mohan Pathi Medicine Odisha 81 Ms. Jaswantiben Jamnadas Trade and Industry Maharashtra Popat 82 Shri Girish Prabhune Social Work Maharashtra 83 Shri Nanda Prusty Literature and Odisha Education 84 Shri K K Ramachandra Art Kerala Pulavar 85 Shri Balan Putheri Literature and Education Kerala 86 Ms. Birubala Rabha Social Work Assam 87 Shri Kanaka Raju Art Telangana 88 Ms. Bombay Jayashri Ramnath Art Tamil Nadu 89RC Shri Satyaram REDDY Reang IAS Art STUDY CIRCLE Tripura 90 Dr. Dhananjay Diwakar Sagdeo Medicine Kerala 91 Shri Ashok Kumar Sahu Medicine Uttar Pradesh 92 Dr. Bhupendra Kumar Medicine Uttarakhand Singh Sanjay 93 Ms. Sindhutai Sapkal Social Work Maharashtra 94 Shri Chaman Lal Sapru Literature and Jammu and (Posthumous) Education Kashmir

18 R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 95 Shri Roman Sarmah Literature and Assam Education- Journalism 96 Shri Imran Shah Literature and Education Assam 97 Shri Prem Chand Sharma Others- Agriculture Uttarakhand 98 Shri Arjun Singh Shekhawat Literature and Education Rajasthan 99 Shri Ram Yatna Shukla Literature and Education Uttar Pradesh 100 Shri Jitender Singh Shunty Social Work Delhi 101 Shri Kartar Paras Ram Singh Art Himachal Pradesh 102 Shri Kartar Singh Art Punjab 103 Dr. Dilip Kumar Singh Medicine Bihar 104 Shri Chandra Shekhar Singh Others-Agriculture Uttar Pradesh 105 Ms. Sudha Hari Narayan Singh Sports Uttar Pradesh 106 Shri Virender Singh Sports Haryana 107 Ms. Mridula Sinha Literature and Bihar (Posthumous) Education 108 Shri K C Sivasankar Art Tamil Nadu (Posthumous) 109 Guru Maa Kamali Soren Social Work West Bengal 110 Shri Marachi Subburaman Social Work Tamil Nadu 111 Shri P Subramanian Trade and Industry Tamil Nadu (Posthumous) 112 Ms. Nidumolu Sumathi Art Andhra Pradesh 113 Shri Kapil Tiwari Literature and Education Madhya Pradesh 114RC Father REDDY Vallés (Posthumous) IAS STUDY Literature and Education CIRCLE Spain 115 Dr. Thiruvengadam Medicine Tamil Nadu Veeraraghavan (Posthumous) 116 Shri Sridhar Vembu Trade and Industry Tamil Nadu 117 Shri K Y Venkatesh Sports Karnataka 118 Ms. Usha Yadav Literature and Uttar Pradesh Education 119 Col Quazi Sajjad Ali Zahir Public Affairs Bangladesh

R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 19 SPORTS : World Tour Final (Bangkok, January 2021) Men Singles: (Denmark) - Winner (Denmark) - Runner Women Singles: Tai Tzu-ying (Taiwan) - Winner Carolin Marin (Spain) - Runner Men Doubles: , Wang Chi-Lin (Taiwan) - Winners , (Indonesia) - Runners Women Doubles: Lee So-hee , Shin Seung-chan (South Korea) - Winners Kim So-yeong, Kong Hee-yong (South Korea) - Runners Mixed doubles: , (Thailand) - Winners Seo Seung-jae , Chae Yoo-jung (South Korea) - Runners Yonex Thailand Open (Bangkok, January 2021) Men's Singles: Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) - Winner Ang () - Runner Women's Singles: Carolina MarinRC (Spain) REDDY - Winner IAS STUDY CIRCLE Tai Tzu Ying (Taiwan) - Runner Men's Doubles: Lee Yang, Wang Chi-Lin (Taiwan) - Winners Goh V Shem, Tan Wee Kion (Malaysia) - Runners Women's Doubles: Grysia Polii, Apriani Rahayu - Winners

20 R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle , - Runners Mixed Doubles: Dechapol Puavaranukorh, Sapsiree Taerattanchai (Thailand)- Winners , (Indonesia) - Runners CRICKET: India, Australia Border-Gavaskar Trophy (Australia, January 2021) India - Winner Australia - Runner India pulled off a record run-chase in a thrilling final session that led to Australia's first defeat at Brisbane's Gabba ground since 1988 and clinch the four-Test series 2-1. Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (Ahmedabad, January 2021) Tamil Nadu - Winner Baroda- Runner

RC REDDY IAS STUDY CIRCLE

R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 21