Teaching By A Shepherd WORLD 1. WORLD’S FIRST ‘ENERGY ISLAND’ IN DENMARK The Government of Denmark has approved a project to build the world’s first energy island, in the North Sea. It will produce and store green energy to meet the electricity needs of about three million households in European countries. 2. US-RUSSIA’S NEW START ARMS REDUCTION TREATY The United States has extended the “New START (i.e. Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty)” nuclear disarmament treaty with Russia for a period of five years. It is a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation. 3. CHINA: LARGEST TRADING PARTNER OF EUROPEAN UNION The People’s Republic of China has overtaken the United States (US) as the biggest trading partner of the European Union (EU) in 2020, according to the data by the European Union statistics agency, Eurostat. 4. IRAN-RUSSIA MARITIME SECURITY BELT 2020 India joined Iran and Russia in the naval exercise dubbed as “Iran-Russia Maritime Security Belt 2021”, which kicked-off in the northern part of the Indian Ocean. The Chinese navy will also join the exercise. The purpose of the drill is to enhance the security of international maritime trade, confront maritime piracy and terrorism, and exchange information. 5. UN RIGHTS BODY ELECTS FIJI IN FIRST-EVER PRESIDENTIAL VOTE The UN Human Rights Council elected Fiji’s ambassador, Nazhat Shameem Khan, who has also served as the council’s vice president in 2020, as its 2021 president in an unprecedented secret ballot after a diplomatic stand-off blocked the usual consensus decision. 6. UAE’S NEW CITIZENSHIP POLICY The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has planned to offer citizenship to a select group of foreigners with the aim of attracting the talent to the UAE in order to boost the growth. The UAE has thus become the first Gulf Arab nation that formalized the process of giving expatriates a bigger stake in the economy. 7. RUSSIA WITHDRAWS FROM OPEN SKIES TREATY Russia recently announced that it is withdrawing from the “Open Skies Treaty” signed in 1992. The treaty was signed between NATO (Non-Atlantic Treaty Organization) members and the former Warsaw Pact countries. In 2002, more than 35 countries had signed the treaty. This included US and Russia as well but India is not a signatory of the Open Skies Treaty. The treaty allows the signatories to carry out unarmed surveillance flights over each other’s territories. 8. UNITED STATES RE-JOINS PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT The United States has officially rejoined the Paris Agreement, under the Presidency of US President Joe Biden. Earlier, in November 2020, the US had officially exited the agreement on the order of then-President Donald Trump. The goals of the global pact are to limit global warming to well below 2°C and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. 9. ISRAEL: “GREEN PASS” FOR PEOPLE WITH VACCINATION CERTIFICATE Israel has launched a coronavirus “green pass” system, which allows people who have been vaccinated to access public facilities that would otherwise be off-limits. The pass allows entry to gyms, swimming pools, VEDIC G.K. SOLUTIONS (SCO-22, Sector 15 C, Chandigarh) 89680-63311, 89680-73311 Teaching By A Shepherd hotels, entertainment venues and sporting events. Green Pass privileges and restrictions are raising legal and moral questions. 10. UAE “HOPE” PROBE SUCCESSFULLY ENTERS MARS’ ORBIT UAE has become the fifth country to launch the spacecraft into the orbit of MARS after United States, Soviet Union, Europe and India. With the successful launch of spacecraft in orbit, UAE scientists can now study the planet’s atmosphere. 11. 2020 IS WORST YEAR ON RECORD: UN-WTO In accordance with the latest United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN-WTO) “World Tourism Barometer”, the year 2020 was the “worst year on record” as global tourism suffered adversely due to international travel bans implemented to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. 12. WORLD’S LARGEST OFFSHORE WIND FARM AT SOUTH KOREA South Korea Government has approved a plan to build the world’s largest wind power plant in the country by 2030. Currently, the world’s largest offshore wind farm is Hornsea 1 in Britain, which has 1.12 GW capacity. VEDIC G.K. SOLUTIONS (SCO-22, Sector 15 C, Chandigarh) 89680-63311, 89680-73311 Teaching By A Shepherd NATIONAL 1. NATIONAL TRIBAL FESTIVAL “AADI MAHOTSAV” The Aadi Mahotsav – A Celebration of the Spirit of Tribal Culture, Crafts, Cuisine and Commerce – is an annual initiative being organized by TRIFED, Ministry of Tribal Affairs since 2017. The Aadi Mahotsav 2021 is being organized from February 1-15, 2021. The festival aims to familiarise the people with the rich and diverse craft, the culture of the tribal communities across the country, in one place. 2. 8TH INDIA INTERNATIONAL SILK FAIR 8th India International Silk Fair was inaugurated by the Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani on 31st January 2021. The five days event is being held on the Indian Silk Export Promotion Council’s virtual platform due to COVID-19 pandemic. The fair is considered to be India’s biggest silk fair. 3. ASEAN INDIA HACKATHON 2021 An initiative by PM Modi and being launched by the Ministry of Education, The ASEAN India Hackathon 2021 is being conducted virtually from February 1 to 3, 2021. This unique hackathon presents opportunities for India and all the 10 ASEAN countries to improve and strengthen their economic and cultural ties through cooperation in science and technology and education. 4. FIRST CENTRE FOR WETLAND CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT A dedicated Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management (CWCM) has been established at the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), Chennai. Centre would address specific research needs and knowledge gaps, give a fillip to capacity development and cutting-edge research on wetlands of India, as well as aid in the application of integrated approaches for conservation, management and wise use of the wetlands. 5. DEDICATED WEB PORTAL FOR GOBARDHAN ACTIVITIES Government jointly launched a unified web portal for monitoring the progress of GOBARDHAN activities across the nation. Gobardhan aims to positively impact village cleanliness and generate wealth and energy from cattle and organic waste. It focuses on managing and converting cattle dung and solid waste in farms to useful compost, biogas and bio-CNG. 6. INDIA’S FIRST AMPUTEE CLINIC LAUNCHED IN CHANDIGARH The first of its kind ‘amputee clinic’ in India, has been launched by the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh. The basic intent of this initiative is to bring an Amputee as a near-normal functional human being in society. ‘It has been set up with the aim of improving amputation patient care by providing a collection of services under one roof with significant coordination. 7. PM MODI INAUGURATES CHAURI CHAURA CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS To mark 100 years of the ‘Chauri Chaura’ incident, PM Modi has inaugurated the centenary celebrations of the Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. 8. INDIA & BAHRAIN JOIN HANDS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY In the 1st India-Bahrain Joint Working Group meeting in the field of Renewable Energy, both sides also agreed to forge deeper engagement in capacity building and focused cooperation between concerned agencies as well as the private sector of the two countries in this sector, particularly in the field of solar, wind and clean hydrogen. VEDIC G.K. SOLUTIONS (SCO-22, Sector 15 C, Chandigarh) 89680-63311, 89680-73311 Teaching By A Shepherd 9. PAYPAL TO SHUT DOMESTIC PAYMENTS SERVICE IN INDIA The California-based global digital payment platform PayPal has announced that the company has decided to wind down its domestic payment services in India with effect from April 01, 2021. The decision has been taken because the company wants to shift its focus on cross-border payments business. 10. 4 MORE STATES COMPLETE ‘EASE OF DOING BUSINESS’ REFORMS Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab have completed the reforms in the ‘Ease of Doing Business’, as stipulated by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, as per the recent data by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). These states have become eligible to mobilise additional financial resources to the tune of Rs 5,034 crore through open market borrowings. 11. NATIONAL HORTICULTURE FAIR 2021 The Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, Kailash Choudhry has inaugurated five-day- long the National Horticulture Fair (NHF) 2021 on February 08, 2021, in Bengaluru via virtual mode. The theme of NHF 2021 is ‘Horticulture for Start-Up and Stand-Up India’. 12. INDIA-AFGHANISTAN TO CONSTRUCT LALANDAR “SHATOOT” DAM India and Afghanistan have signed a MoU for the construction of the Shahtoot Dam (Lalander Dam) on a tributary of the Kabul River in Afghanistan. The project costs nearly $ 300 million and it is a part of the New Development Partnership between India and Afghanistan. 13. EXIM BANK’S USD 400 MN FUNDING FOR THE MALDIVES The Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) will provide USD 400 million to the Maldives through Line of Credit (LoC) to fund the Greater Male Connectivity Project. The agreement under the LoC will be effective from January 28, 2021. The 6.7 km Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP) will be the largest civilian infrastructure project in the Maldives, connecting Male with three neighbouring islands – Villingili, Gulhifahu and Thilafushi. 14. PILOT PEY JAL SURVEKSHAN The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has launched the Pilot Pey Jal Survekshan under Jal Jeevan Mission- Urban. The Pilot Pey Jal Survekshan has been launched in 10 cities with the motive 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.