JANUARY-2021

WORLD

1. SPAIN AND FRANCE TO BUILD EUROPE’S LARGEST SOLAR POWER PLANT

Iberdola of Spain and Donone of France have recently signed an agreement to build 590 MW of solar power plant at a cost of 364 million USD. This will be the largest solar power plant in Europe and is to be located in the western province of Caceres located in Spain. The solar power plant will avoid emission of 245,000 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide. It is to supply power to 375,000 people per year.

2. NUCLEAR DEAL VIOLATION BY IRAN

Iran has resumed enriching uranium up to 20% in violation of the 2015 nuclear deal and also seized a South Korean-flagged tanker near the crucial Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, the USA has decided to keep nuclear powered aircraft carrier Nimitz in the Gulf region in the wake of threats from Iran.

**In 2015, Iran with the P5+1 group of world powers - the USA, UK, France, China, Russia, and Germany agreed on a long-term deal on its nuclear programme known as Iran nuclear deal or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) . Under the deal, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear activity in return for the lifting of sanctions and access to global trade. In May 2018, the USA abandoned the deal criticizing it as flawed and reinstated and tightened its sanctions.

3. SOLIDARITY AND STABILITY DEAL: GULF COUNTRIES

Gulf States has recently signed a ‘solidarity and stability’ deal at the 41st Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit held in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia. This is to remove all the sanctions over Qatar and re-open their land, sea and air borders to Qatar. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE are the members of GCC.

4. THE GRAND RENAISSANCE DAM

The Grand Renaissance Dam is being constructed by Ethiopia on the river Nile. Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt have recently agreed to resume negotiations to resolve their decade-long complex dispute over the Grand Renaissance Dam hydropower project in the Horn of Africa. This 145-meter-tall (475-foot-tall) hydropower project, started by Ethiopia is the cause of conflict. Given the dam’s location on the Blue Nile tributary, it would allow Ethiopia to gain control of the flow of the river’s waters.

5. CALLS TO INVOKE 25TH CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT AFTER THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL PROTESTS

The 25th Constitutional amendment of U.S’ Constitution lays out how a US President or a Vice President can be replaced or succeeded. It includes provisions to resolve issues revolving around unfortunate situations like death, resignation to removal of US President and actions to be followed after a President becomes disabled to such a degree that he is unable to fulfil his responsibilities.

6. 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.

7. INDONESIAN JETLINER CRASHES INTO THE SEA AFTER TAKEOFF

A passenger plane of Indonesia’s Sriwijaya Air carrying 62 people on board crashed into waters off Jakarta. The Boeing 737-500 was on an estimated 90-minute flight from Jakarta to Pontianak, capital of West Kalimantan province on Indonesia’s Borneo Island.

8. US DESIGNATES UAE, BAHRAIN AS ‘MAJOR STRATEGIC PARTNERS’

Kayleigh McEnany, the White House Press Secretary announced that United States has recently designated the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the “major strategic partners” of the country.

Designation as strategic partners will strengthen the existing partnership between the United States, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.

9. MALALA YOUSAFZAI SCHOLARSHIP

The US Congress recently passed the Malala Yousafzai scholarship act. The act will expand the number of scholarships been awarded to the Pakistani women to receive higher education top

10. US NAMES CUBA AS STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM

The United States recently designated Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism again after being removed in 2015. The United States lists the countries that repeatedly provide support for acts of international terrorism under the State Sponsors of Terrorism. The list was first released in 1979.

The United States can place Restrictions on US foreign assistance, Ban on Defence exports and sales, Controls over exports of dual use items and Miscellaneous financial and other restrictions

11. 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.

12. WORLD’S LARGEST CURRENT ACCOUNT SURPLUS: CHINA

As per a survey by the Munich-based Ifo institute, China overtook Germany to become the country with the world’s largest current account surplus in the year 2020. The current account surplus of China more than doubled to $310 billion in 2020, while the current account surplus of Germany shrank for the fifth year in a row in 2020 to $261 billion.

The United States remained the country with the world’s largest current account deficit which rose roughly by a third to $635 billion in 2020 or 3.1% of economic output. Japan ranked third with a current account surplus of $158 billion.

13. UK AND JAPAN’s COLLABORATION FOR THE LONGOPS PROJECT

The scientists from Japan and UK will develop new and safe technologies to dismantle old nuclear facilities such as the Fukushima that were severely damaged by tsunamis and earthquakes. The project will use long-reach robotic arms and hence is called “LongOps Project”. The project will reduce the risks to human health and will speed up decommissioning of nuclear reactors that are non-operational.

14. 14 BN USD FOR GREAT GREEN WALL INITIATIVE

The Great Green Wall for Sahel and Sahara Initiative recently received 14 billion USD funds at the recent One Planet Summit for Biodiversity. The funding will be used to restore degraded land, strengthen resilience, create green jobs and protect biodiversity. It aims to transform the lives of 100 million Africans by growing 8,000 kilo metre long and fifteen kilo metre wide mosaic of trees, vegetation, grasslands, and plants. World Bank, African Development Bank and Government of France are its Investors.

15. IRAN AND 6 OTHERS LOSES VOTING RIGHTS IN UNGA

Iran along with Niger, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Congo Brazzaville, Central African Republic and Libya have lost their voting rights in the United Nations General Assembly as they had not paid their dues. On the other hand, three other countries such as Comoros, Somalia, Sao Tome and Principe will be allowed to vote despite of their missing dues. The actions of suspending the members from voting has been taken under Article 19 of the United Nations Charter.

16. 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.

NATIONAL

1. NEW TRANS-FAT LEVELS FOR INDIA

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) announced that all edible refined oils, vegetable fat spreads, Vanaspati, margarines, Bakery shortening and mixed fat spreads can contain only 3% or less Trans-fats. This is to be implemented by January 2021. By January 2022, this is to be further reduced to 2%.Consumption of Trans-fats results in heart diseases, and India has the highest burden of heart diseases due to high trans-fat in the world.

This is being introduced because the World Health Organization has called for global elimination of Trans- fat by 2023.

2. GO AHEAD FOR COVISHIELD

The expert panel sent COVISHIELD vaccine for approval by the Drugs Controller General of India. The committee also recommended COVAXIN for restricted use in an emergency situation subject to multiple regulatory conditions. The Subject Expert Committee operates under the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization

3. RODTEP SCHEME TO BE EXTENDED TO ALL GOODS

The RoDTEP Scheme (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products) launched in 2020 aims to boost exports of India. Under the scheme, a mechanism will be created for reimbursement of levies, taxes or duties at central, state and local levels. Prior to the scheme, the reimbursements were not done under any mechanism.

RoDTEP replaced Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS). The MEIS was not WTO-compliant.

4. MORE THAN 14 CRORES OF FREE OF COST CYLINDERS BEEN PROVIDED DURING COVID-19 CRISIS: MOP&NG

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoP&NG) announced that more than 14 crores of free of cost cylinders have been provided under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana to the beneficiaries of the scheme during covid-19 crisis.

5. LIGHT HOUSE PROJECTS (LHPS)

PM laid the foundation stone of Light House projects (LHPs) at six sites across six States (Indore, Rajkot, Chennai, Ranchi, Agartala and Lucknow).The Project has been conceptualised by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

The project is being constructed under the Global Housing Technology Challenge (GHTC)-India. Under the programme, over 1,000 houses would be built in each of the six cities in 12 months along with allied infrastructure facilities.

6. AGRICULTURE MINISTER INAUGURATES VIRTUAL AGRI-HACKATHON, 2020

The agriculture and farmers welfare minister Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the Virtual Agri- Hackathon, 2020 in New Delhi. The hackathon will focus on precision agriculture, farm mechanization, food technology, supply chain, green energy and waste to wealth.

7. 40TH INDIAN SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION TO ANTARCTICA

Ministry of Earth science, recently launched the 40th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica. Ice class vessel MV Vasiliy Golovin has been deployed with objective to focus on ongoing scientific projects on ocean observations, climate change, electric and magnetic flux measurements, geology, Re supplying of food, environmental monitoring, fuel, and accomplish the return of the winter crew.

8. REPEAL CONFISCATION OF CATTLE: SC TO CENTRE

The Supreme Court asked the centre to repeal its three-year-old law which allowed seizure of livestock from people even before they were found guilty of cruelty towards them. The 2017 law allowed authorities to seize cattle over suspicion of cruel treatment.

9. INDIA TO CO-CHAIR APAP

India will act as the co-chair of the IUCN-supported Asia Protected Areas Partnership (APAP) for a period of three years. As a co-chair, India would be responsible to assist other Asian countries in managing their protected areas. India will replace South Korea.

The APAP is chaired by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Asia and co-chaired by an APAP nation member on a rotational basis.

11. India-Japan MoU for Partnership in Specified Skilled Worker

The Union Cabinet recently approved the MOU between India and Japan on “Specified Skilled Worker”.

The MoU will set an institutional framework for cooperation between India and Japan for accepting skilled workers. The only condition is that the workers should have qualified in the required skill test and in Japanese language test. According to the MoU, the qualified Indian workers can work in fourteen specified sectors in Japan. The Indian workers are to be provided new status of residence of “Specified Skilled Worker” according to the agreement.

12. IRDAI TO INTRODUCE A STANDARD HOME INSURANCE POLICY

The IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India) is to introduce standard products covering the risk of fire and allied perils. The policy being introduced is to replace the Standard Fire and Special Perils Policy. It has three main components namely:

 Bharat Griha Raksha: A standard home insurance policy that will cover risk of fire and other related dangers. The policy will offer 20% of sum insured for the building subject to a maximum of 10 lacs of rupees.  Bharat Sookshma Udyam Suraksha: for enterprises for which the total risk value of up to Rs 5 crores.  Bharat Laghu Udyam Suraksha: It will cover enterprises for which the total value of risk across the insurable asset classes in the location exceeds Rs 5 crores.

13. SIX YEARS OF UJALA AND SLNP SCHEMES

The UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All) and SLNP (Street Lighting National Programme) completed six years of successful implementation. The two programmes revamped household and public

lighting system across the country. Both programmes are being implemented by EESL (Energy Efficiency Services Limited).

EESL has distributed 36.69 crore LED bulbs and installed 1.14 crore LED streetlights, resulting in cumulative energy savings of 55.32 billion kWh per year.

14. INSACOG TO ACCELERATE VIRUS SURVEILLANCE, CHARACTERIZATION AND GENOME SEQUENCING.

India launched INSACOG. The identified new covid-19 variant is sent to INSACOG (Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genetic Consortium) labs. INSACOG was launched in the backdrop of the emergence of UK variant. INSACOG aims to accelerate virus surveillance, characterization and genome sequencing.

15. BHARTIYA NIRDESHAK DRAVYA PRANALI (BND)

These are Indian reference materials (RM) developed by CSIR-NPL. It is committed to ensure the quality of products in every manufacturing and consumer sector by providing SI traceable measurements and enhancing quality life of citizens through metrology. NPL has recently released two very important certified RMs as Bharatiya Nirdeshak Dravyas (BNDs) for purity of gold and for Bituminous coal.

16. SAGARMALA SEAPLANE SERVICES

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is starting the ambitious Project of Sagarmala Seaplane Services (SSPS) with potential airline operators. The project execution and implementation would be through Sagarmala Development Company Ltd (SDCL), which is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

** Sagarmala Programme was approved in 2015 and aims at port infrastructure development along the 7,516-km long coastline through modernization, mechanization and computerization. Under this framework, the government hopes to increase its cargo traffic three-fold. It also includes the establishment of rail/road linkages with the port terminals, thus providing last-mile connectivity to ports; development of linkages with new regions, enhanced multi-modal connectivity including rail, inland water, coastal and road services.

17. TOYCATHON 2021

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal virtually launched the ‘Toyathon Challenge 2020' in association with Amazon India. This initiative is in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 to impart education to students through innovative toy technologies

18. FREIGHT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PORTAL LAUNCHED

The Ministry of Railways has launched an exclusive portal to promote and develop the railways’ freight business - Freight Business Development Portal.

This first of its kind dedicated Freight portal will ensure that all operations stay customer centric, reduce the costs for logistics providers, provide online tracking facility for suppliers and also simplify the process of goods transportation. The aim is to replace physical processes with online ones to minimize the need of human to human interaction.

19. First all women team of NDRF

An All women NDRF team was recently deployed on the banks of Ganga River for contingency duties in Uttar Pradesh. The selected female personnel are likely to hold the positions of Sub Inspector, Inspector and Sub-officer.

20. New Chief Justice Appointed for various High Courts:

• Hima Kohli: Telangana High Court (1st Woman Chief Justice of Telangana HC)

• JK Mahesh Wari: Sikkim High Court

• Sudhanshu Dhulia: Guwahati High Court

• Arup Kumar Goswami: Andhra Pradesh High Court

21. INDIA-FRANCE ANNUAL STRATEGIC DIALOGUE

India and France held their annual strategic dialogue in New Delhi. The countries mainly focused on COVID-19 vaccines, nuclear, Indo-Pacific, and Space.

22. EXAM TO “SENSITIZE AND EDUCATE” ABOUT THE COWS

Rastriya Kamdhenu Aayog announced ‘Kamdhenu Gau-Vigyan Prachar-Prasar with an aim to “create curiosity” among people about the importance of cows, and to “sensitize and educate” them about the bovine species.

Rastriya Kamdhenu Aayog work under the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying).

22. ILLEGAL TO SELL ARTICLES USING GOD’S NAME: BOMBAY HIGH COURT

The Bombay High Court under the Maharashtra prevention and eradication of human sacrifice and other human, evil and Aghori practices and black magic act declared that the advertisement of an article using the name of god and claiming that it has Supernatural qualities is illegal.

23. INDIA INVITED TO CHAIR 3 UNSC COMMITTEES

The Ambassador of India to the United Nations T S Tirumurti recently announced that India has been asked to chair three important committees of the UN Security Council (UNSC), during its tenure as a non- permanent member of the powerful 15-nation UN body.

The three highly significant committees include the Taliban Sanctions Committee, Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) and the Libyan Sanctions Committee.

India began its two-year term at UNSC from January 01, 2021. It is the eighth time that the country has joined UNSC as the non-permanent member.

24. PANEL SET UP TO LOOK INTO ISSUES OF CULTURE AND LANGUAGE IN LADAKH

The ministry of home affairs setup a panel under the chairmanship of Kishan Reddy to find solutions on the issues related to language, culture and conservation of land in the union territory of Ladakh due to developmental activities.

25. USD 646 MN LOAN BY NDB FOR ANDHRA PRADESH

The New Development Bank (NDB) has signed loan agreements worth USD 646 million with the Government of India for two road projects in Andhra Pradesh to improve mobility and connectivity to the socioeconomic centers, enhance transport efficiency, improve road safety and riding quality, and provide all-weather accessibility for the State’s road users..

26. SCHEME FOR INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT OF J&K

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs recently chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved an ambitious scheme to boost the industrial development of Jammu and Kashmir. The main objective of the scheme is to generate jobs that will lead to economic development and boost industry and service later development of the union territory. The scheme offers attractions to both large and small industrial units. The Government has allocated 28,400 crores of Rupees for the purpose. The funds are to be used to develop industrial sector of the territory till 2037.

27. REWARI-MADAR FREIGHT CORRIDOR SECTION

Prime Minister dedicated the Rewari-Madar section of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor. It is situated in Haryana and Rajasthan. It runs for 227 km in Rajasthan.

Currently, the freight traffic does not get priority over passenger trains. After completion, at least 70% of the freight trains will be transferred to the DFCCIL (Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India) network. This will help in timely movement of cargo.

28. INDIA’S FIRST DOUBLE STACK LONG-HAUL CONTAINER TRAIN

The Prime Minister recently flagged off the first double stack long-haul container train from New Ateli in Haryana to New Kishanganj in Rajasthan. The train is to be operated in the 360-km long Rewari-Madar Section of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor. The train is 1.5 kilo metres long and will be hauled by Electric traction.

29. PREETI PANT PANEL TO STUDY ADVERSE FINDINGS OF NFHS-5

The Health and Family Welfare Ministry has recently formed a technical expert group to study the adverse findings from the National Family Health Survey-5.

The Ministry has set up the technical committee of medicine and nutrition experts under the leadership of Joint Secretary Preeti Pant.

The committee will examine the findings of the National Family Health Survey-5 as well as suggest policies and courses of action to improve on indicators related to anemia, malnutrition, C-section, and stunting.

30. JAPAN COMMITS RS 2,113 CR SUPPORT FOR COVID RELIEF EFFORTS

The Government of Japan has committed Official Development Assistance loan of 30 billion Japanese Yen which is approximately Rs 2113 crore rupees for a programme loan to support India’s efforts at providing social assistance to the poor and vulnerable households, severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the last few years, the economic cooperation between India and Japan has strengthened and grown into a strategic partnership.

31. NITIN GADKARI TO LAUNCH “KHADI PRAKRITIK PAINT” DEVELOPED BY KVIC

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari will be launching an innovative new paint developed by Khadi and Village Industries Commission.

The eco-friendly, non-toxic paint, called “Khadi Prakritik Paint” is a first-of-its-kind product, with anti- fungal, anti-bacterial properties. Based on cow dung as its main ingredient, the paint is cost-effective and odorless and has been certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards.

32. CENTRE LAUNCHES PRADHAN MANTRI KAUSHAL VIKAS YOJANA 3.0

The Government of India launched the third phase of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana on 15 January 2021. The scheme has been rolled out for the current financial year, ending March 2021, and will be implemented by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

The training will be imparted through 729 Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras (PMKKs), empanelled non- PMKK training Centres and more than 200 industrial training institutes (ITIs).

Further, a five-year PMKVY will be launched in 2021-22 with an enhanced target of skilling 1.5 crore youth.

33. INDIA TO LAUNCH ‘START-UP INDIA SEED FUND SCHEME’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched ‘Startup India Seed Fund’ on 16 January 2021, while addressing the ‘Prarambh: Startup India International Summit’ 2021. Start-up India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS)

The scheme will be launched with a corpus of Rs 945 crore with the aim of providing the financial assistance to start-ups for the product trials, market-entry, and proof of concept, prototype development and commercialization. The scheme will be in mission mode for the year 2021-25.

The government has been implementing the Fund of Fund Scheme to help startups raise equity capital. Going forward, the government will also help startups in raising debt capital.

34. PETROLEUM MINISTRY LAUNCHES ‘SAKSHAM’ CAMPAIGN

One-month long SAKSHAM awareness campaign was recently launched by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas recently launched to spread awareness about green energy.

The campaign has been organized by the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA), to motivate consumers to switch to cleaner fuels and bring in behavioral change to use fossil fuel intelligently.

35. GOI DECIDES TO CELEBRATE JANUARY 23 AS PARAKRAM DIWAS

The birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, on January 23, as ‘Parakram Diwas’ every year, the Ministry of Culture announced.

The day is celebrated to honour and remember Netaji’s indomitable spirit and selfless service to the nation.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Culture held a high-level committee, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in a befitting manner.

36. NITIN GADKARI INAUGURATES NATIONAL ROAD SAFETY MONTH 2021

The first-ever National Road Safety Month was inaugurated by Union Minister for Defence Shri Rajnath Singh and Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways & MSME Nitin Gadkari. It is the inaugural edition of the National Road Safety Month and is being held in place of National Road Safety Week, which was being observed since the past few years.

The objective of the month-long programme is to build awareness about road safety and reduce road accidents in India.

37. INDIA AND JAPAN INKS MOU TO ENHANCE COOPERATION IN ICT

India and Japan have signed a MoU to enhance cooperation in the field of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT).

The MoU was signed between Union Minister for Communications, Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad and the Japanese Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications.

Both countries will enhance mutual cooperation in the field of 5G technologies, telecom security, submarine optical fibre cable system to islands of India, spectrum management, smart cities, high altitude platform for broadband in unconnected areas, disaster management and public safety etc.

38. FIRST-EVER ICE CLIMBING FESTIVAL CELEBRATED IN NUBRA VALLEY

In Leh, the first-ever Ice climbing festival was celebrated in Nubra valley. The Seven Day event was organized by Nubra Adventure Club.

Ice climbing is a popular winter sport abroad. To promote winter tourism in Nubra valley, Nubra Adventure Club, with the help of Social activist Dr Nordan Otzer, has organized the Seven Day Ice Climbing Festival.

39. TESLA SETS UP INDIA SUBSIDIARY IN BENGALURU

Elon Musk-owned electric vehicle (EV) company Tesla has registered a fully-owned subsidiary in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

40. INDIA’S 7TH TRADE POLICY REVIEW (TPR) AT WTO

7th Trade Policy Review (TPR) of India concluded at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Trade Policy Review is a key mechanism under the monitoring function of WTO.

During this trade policy review, WTO examines the trade and related policies of the member countries with an aim to improve their adherence to WTO rules and to provide constructive feedback.

The official delegation of India for the 7th TPR was headed by Anup Wadhawan, the Commerce Secretary.

41. IREDA-NHPC PARTNERSHIP IN GREEN ENERGY PROJECTS

NHPC (National Hydroelectric Power Corporation) Limited has signed an MOU with the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) for providing assistance in setting up renewable energy (RE) projects for the next 5 years. NHPC will help in the knowledge and technology transfer and provide consultancy and research services.

Under the plan, NHPC will develop 7.5 GW of renewable energy projects in the next 3 years.

42. NITI AAYOG AND FLIPKART COLLABORATE TO ENHANCE WEP

NITI Aayog and Flipkart, have come together to launch the revamped Women Entrepreneurship Platform. The Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) is a unified access portal which brings together women from different parts of India to realize their entrepreneurial aspirations.

The idea of the platform was first mooted by Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog who announced the setting- up of a Women Entrepreneurship Platform in NITI Aayog at the conclusion of the 8th Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) held in Hyderabad in 2017, with an overarching theme of ‘Women first, prosperity for all’.

43. ADB’S LOANS FOR VARIOUS PROJECT IN INDIA

 $10 million loan to support horticulture in Himachal The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India have signed a $10 million project readiness financing (PRF). This agreement aims to help finance piloting activities, and design and capacity building to expand horticulture production and farm household income in Himachal Pradesh.  $231 MN LOAN to Assam to Enlarge Its Power Generation Capacity The Asian Development Bank has sanctioned a $231 million loan to enhance electricity generation capacity in Assam. Under the project, 120 megawatts (MW) hydroelectric power plant would be constructed. The programme focuses on enhancing the capacity and efficiency of the energy generation and distribution systems in Assam to improve the availability of electricity service to end-users.  100 million USD loan to boost power supply in Bengaluru The ABD signed an agreement of 100 million USD to upgrade the power distribution in Bengaluru city. Loan will be used to enhance the quality and reliability of electricity supply in Bengaluru city under the Bengaluru Smart Energy Efficient Power Distribution Project and also to install 2,800 km of fibre optical cables.

44. India’s first Social Impact Bond (SIB)

Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, Pune has recently signed a MoU with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to co-create India’s first Social Impact Bond (SIB).This is the first time that a government body will act as the ‘outcome funder’ in a bond.

A Social Impact Bond also called pay-for-success bond or pay-for-success financing or simply social bond is basically a contract with public sector authority, where it pays for better social outcomes. This bond is a form of outcome-based contracting and aims at improving social outcomes for a specific group of citizens.

45. IFSCA BECOMES ASSOCIATE MEMBER OF IOSCO

The International Financial Services Centre’s Authority (IFSCA) of INDIA has become an Associate Member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). The IOSCO is the international organization of the world’s securities regulators, covering more than 95% of the world’s securities markets, and is also the global standard-setter for the securities sector. With this new membership, IFSCA

will get the platform to exchange information at the global level and regional level on areas of common interests and help to learn from the experiences and best practices of the regulators of other well established financial centers.

46. 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF PRABUDDHA BHARAT

The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi addressed the 125th anniversary celebration ‘Prabuddha Bharata’ organized by the Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati

Prabuddha Bharata is a monthly magazine of the Ramakrishna Order. This magazine was founded in the year 1896 by P. Aiyasami, B. R. Rajam Iyer, G. G. Narasimhacharya, and B. V. Kamesvara Iyer under the guidance of Swami Vivekananda. Prabuddha Bharata magazine was of great significance in spreading the message of the ancient spiritual wisdom of the country.

47. Chauri Chaura Centenary celebrations to be inaugurated

The PM Narendra Modi, will virtually inaugurate the Chauri Chaura Centenary celebrations on February 4, 2021 to be held in Uttar Pradesh.

On the occasion, the Prime Minister will also release a postal stamp that will be dedicated to the centenary year of the Chauri Chaura incident.

The Chauri Chaura incident took place, in British India, on February 4, 1922 at Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur district of the modern Uttar Pradesh.

In the incident a large group of protesters who were participated in the Non-cooperation movement clashed with police and the police opened fire on them. In the incident, three civilians and 22 policemen were died. Following the incident, Mahatma Gandhi halted the non-co-operation movement on February 12, 1922.

48. NEW FOREIGN TRADE POLICY

With a goal of making India a 5 trillion USD economy, The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry recently announced that the new Foreign Trade Policy (2021-26) will come into effect from April 1, 2021.

The policy will aim to boost exports, will enhance ease of doing business, will bring improvements in the operations of domestic manufacturing and services sector through infrastructure support and wiil bring changes to regulatory and operational framework and lower transactional costs. The District Export hubs are to play a major role in the new Foreign Trade Policy.

49. NATIONAL MARINE TURTLE ACTION PLAN LAUNCHED

The Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has released ‘Marine Mega Fauna Stranding Guidelines’ and ‘National Marine Turtle Action Plan’ recently to create a conservation paradigm for the marine mega fauna and marine turtles.

The document suggests for improving the coordination amongst the government, civil society and all relevant stakeholders so as to response to the cases of stranding, injury or mortality of marine mammals. It also suggests coordinated efforts for the conservation of marine turtles.

50. UNION CABINET CLEARED POLICY ON PSU PRIVATIZATION

The Union Cabinet has cleared the policy on the privatization of public sector undertakings (PSUs). The details regarding the policy was also announced in the Union Budget 2021.

The policy presents a road map for the presence of government-owned entities in strategic and non- strategic sectors. This policy was the part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package that was announced by the Finance Minister in May 2020.

51. 6TH ANNUAL DAY OF CARA

Central Adoption Resource Authority, under the Ministry of Women and Child development recently celebrated its 6th annual day on January 15, 2021. It acts as the nodal body for the adoption of Indian children. It monitors and regulate inter country and in country adoptions.

CARA has been designated as the central authority to deal with intercountry adoption according to the provisions of Hague convention on intercountry adoption, 1993. India ratified Hague convention in 2003.

52. HCC APPROVED THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW PARLIAMENT

The Heritage conservation committee (HCC) approved the construction of a new parliament. The Heritage Conservation Committee is set up under the chairmanship of Additional Secretary, Ministry of Urban Affairs. Only buildings in and around Delhi are governed by these laws. Similar conservation committees are set up at state levels as well.

The regulations of Heritage Conservation Committee applies to heritage sites such as artifacts, buildings, areas and structures that are listed in Unified Building Bye Laws for Delhi, 2016. There are 886 buildings notified in the list. The list is prepared by the National Disaster Management Committee, Delhi Development Authority.

53. FLOATING SOLAR ENERGY PROJECT

The largest floating solar energy project in the world will be constructed by The Government of at Omkareshwar Dam on Narmada River at a cost of 3000 crore rupees. Energy capacity of the project will be 600 megawatts and the project will begin its power generation by 2022 to 2023.

International Finance Corporation and World Bank will provide financial assistance for the programme

54. PNEUMOSIL: INDIA’S FIRST PNEUMONIA VACCINE

The Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan launched Pneumococcal Vaccine called Pneumosil developed by the Serum Institute of India recently unveiled the first indigenously developed.

It was developed through collaboration with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and PATH organization. It has been approved by the Drugs Controller General of India and is highly inexpensive. It is 2 USD per dose. This is 30% less than the PCV (Pneumonia Conjugate Vaccine) that is currently administered against

55. L&T BAGS CONTRACT FOR BULLET TRAIN PROJECT

The contract a contract worth Rs 1390 crore for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet corridor have been given to Larsen & Toubro (L&T) – IHI Infrastructure Systems Consortium. They have been given the contract for the procurement and fabrication of 28 steel bridges for Crossing Over Rivers, roads, railway lines, highways and other structures for the Mumbai Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor.

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor is being executed by the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL).

56. VACCINE MAITRI EXTENDED TO SRI LANKA

India has extended its “Vaccine Maitri Initiative” to Sri-Lanka now. India has dispatched 5 Lakh doses of Covishield vaccines to Sri Lanka as grant assistance. The vaccine Maitri initiative has delivered nearly five million doses to seven countries in the neighborhood, till date.

The Vaccine Maitri or the Vaccine Friendship initiative was started on January 20, 2021. Under the initiative, India will supply Made-in-India Covid-19 vaccines to its neighboring countries. Bhutan and Maldives Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles are the countries to whom vaccines have been delivered already.

57. INDIA-IEA SIGNED MOU FOR GLOBAL ENERGY SECURITY

India has signed a Framework for strategic partnership agreement with the International Energy Agency (IEA). The agreement was signed between Power Secretary Sanjiv Nandan Sahai and IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) seeks to strengthen the cooperation in global energy security, stability and sustainability. It will also help in extensive exchange of knowledge between the India and IEA.

India is not a member of IEA.

58. INDIA PLEDGES $150,000 FOR UN PEACE BUILDING

The permanent representative of India to the United Nations, TS Tirumurti, announced the pledge of USD 150,000 to fund for the activities of the UN peace building as a token for the engagement of both the countries.

The United Nations Peacekeeping operations are policing and peace building actions carried out by the United Nations to bring order and stability in the nations affected by the war. The UN Peacekeepers are known as ‘Blue Helmets’ or ‘Blue Berets’.

59. BANGLADESH FORCES IN REPUBLIC DAY EVENT

Bangladesh Army contingent marched down the Rajpath on the occasion of India 72nd Republic Day celebrations. No chief guest was invited on the republic day. It was mark the completion of 50 years of the liberation (India-Pakistan war of 1971) of Bangladesh from Pakistani rule. Thus, to mark the Golden Jubilee of the war, Bangladesh Forces marched along with the Indian Forces.

60. TREATY ON PROHIBITION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Recently, The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) had approved the “Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons” was adopted on July 7, 2017. The treaty is also called as the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty. It is the first legally binding international agreement. It prohibits the nuclear weapons and aims for the total elimination of such weapons.

India has made an announcement that it does not support the “Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons” and it is not bound by any of the obligations of the treaty. The nine countries that possess the nuclear weapons did not support it. The treaty was not supported by the NATO alliance as well.

61. PM MODI TO ATTEND G7 SUMMIT

The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has invited PM Modi to attend G7 summit. UK has also invited Australia and South Korea.

G7, originally formed in 1975 has USA, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, Italy, UK as its members.

62. INDIA-UAE SIGNED MOU FOR SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL COOPERATION

The Union Cabinet has approved India-UAE Memorandum of Understanding for Scientific and Technical Cooperation.

The MoU provides sharing of knowledge between the countries. It will also allow to share information of data from satellites, radar, tide gauges, meteorological stations. MoU also allows the countries to share knowledge of operational products for seismological and oceanic services.

63. NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES

India has joined the world and Light up Qutub Minar as a sign of unity to combat the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NDT).This was done to mark the second annual World NTD Day that was observed on January 30th. It is an awareness day that addresses the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

The NTDs are a diverse group of communicable diseases that prevail in tropical and subtropical conditions. As per the WHO major NTDs are: Buruli Ulcers, Chagas Disease, Dengue, Chikungunya, Sleeping Sickness (Human African Trypanosomiasis), Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy), Trachoma Mycetoma, chromo- blastomycosis, deep mycoses etc.

India is home to the world’s largest absolute burden of 11 of the major neglected tropical diseases.

64. INDIA-FRANCE TO LAUNCH YEAR OF ENVRIONMENT

India and France will launch the Year of Environment. It will be launched by the Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar and his French counterpart Ms. Barbara Pompeii in a bid to strengthen the ecological partnership. Initiative aim to boost the cooperation between the two countries on climate issues and jointly boost the global momentum throughout 2021. The year 2021 is a key year to fight against climate change and the erosion of biodiversity.

STATES

1. GUJARAT: DRAGON FRUIT RENAMED

Dragon fruit, a cactus variety fruit has been named “Kamalam” by the Gujarat state government. Dragon Fruits grow only during summers grow in regions where summer temperatures rise above forty degrees Celsius and blooms only at night. It occurs only once in a year.

India imports 95% of its Dragon fruit from Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.

2. KARNATAKA: AVALOKANA SOFTWARE LAUNCHED

The Karnataka CM B S Yediyurappa launched “Avalokana software”, which is a transparent e-governance tool. The software will enable the state government to access data on expenditures and sanctions incurred on 1,800 programmes and will provide Assembly constituency wise release of government grants and allocations to different government programmes

3. RAJASTHAN: 5TH STATE TO COMPLETE URBAN LOCAL BODIES REFORMS

Rajasthan is now become eligible for additional reform linked borrowing after becoming the 5th state in the country to successfully complete the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) reforms specified by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.

Thus, the State has been granted permission by the Department of Expenditure an additional financial resource of 2,731 crore rupees. The State will get this amount through Open Market Borrowings.

Other states that have completed the Urban Local Bodies Reforms include- Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana.

4. KOLKATA: FIRST YOUNG READERS’ BOAT LIBRARY

The West Bengal Transport Corporation in collaboration with a heritage book store has launched the First Young Readers’ Boat Library. The boat library was launched with the motive that one can read books while appreciating the beauty of Kolkata.

The library trip will start at Millennium Park and will provide people a three-hour-long trip.

5. RAJASTHAN: “SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH” LAUNCHED

In order to make the policy intervention to build the public health capacity and skills, Rajasthan govt has launched a new School of Public Health. It will also help in bridging the gaps between education and practices in Rajasthan

The digital health technology and evaluation of surveillance mechanisms are the significance features of the school. These features will help the policy makers to identify the challenges and to bring the changes.

6. GUJARAT: HORTICULTURE DEVELOPMENT MISSION

The Gujarat CM recently announced the “Horticulture Development Mission” also called “Bagayat Vikas Mission”. The main objective of the mission is to double the income of the farmers involved in horticulture and medicinal farming. Under the mission, the waste land of the State Government of Gujarat is to be provided on thirty year lease for farming medicinal and horticulture crops. A list of waste lands available

for allotment is to be released on I-Khedut portal. The mission is to give priority to farmers using sprinkler and drip irrigation.

7. MANIPUR: CM BIREN SINGH VIRTUALLY INAUGURATED CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL

The 4th edition of the Cherry Blossom Festival, Mao in Manipur was virtually inaugurated by Chief Minister N Biren Singh.

The Festival featured the picturesque landscape of Mao adorned with beautiful cherry trees laden with blooming flowers which have traditionally attracted visitors from across the world.

Manipur has been celebrating the festival every year since 2017.

8. NAVEEN PATNAIK INAUGURATES INDIA’S FIRST ‘FIRE PARK’ IN BHUBANESWAR

The Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik virtually inaugurated a first of its kind ‘Fire Park’, to educate and bring awareness on basic fire safety measures among the people, particularly the students. The fire park will facilitate demonstrations on use of first aid fire-fighting equipment, rescue and disaster operations, visit the exhibition hall, screening of films and distribution of leaflets on fire safety.

The ‘Fire Park’ is located inside the premises of the Odisha Fire and Disaster Academy in Bhubaneswar. The minister also launched an online portal, ‘AgnishamaSeva’ of Odisha Fire Service.

9. MAHARASHTRA: GOREWADA INTERNATIONAL ZOO RENAMED AFTER BAL THACKERAY

The Maharashtra government has renamed Gorewada International Zoo in Nagpur as ‘Balasaheb Thackeray Gorewada International Zoological Park. The zoological park will come up on nearly 2,000 hectares forest land.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will inaugurate the Indian safari at the zoo on January 26. Three special 40-seat capacity vehicles and an online ticket booking facility will be made available to the people as soon after the Indian safari is inaugurated.

10. NITISH KUMAR INAUGURATES STATE’S FIRST BIRD FESTIVAL ‘KALRAV’

The Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar has inaugurated the first-ever bird festival of the state, ‘Kalrav’, at Nagi-Nakti bird sanctuary, located in Jamui district.

The festival was organized by the state environment, forest and climate change department to create awareness among people about birds, especially the migratory birds.

The Nagi- Nakti Bird Sanctuaries have been the home of a wide variety of indigenous species of birds and of migratory birds that turn up during the winters from places like Eurasia, Central Asia, the Arctic Circle, Russia and Northern China.

11. KERALA GOVERNOR LAUNCHES ‘ONE SCHOOL ONE IAS’ SCHEME

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan has inaugurated the ‘OneSchool One IAS’ scheme which has been rolled out under the Vedhik Erudite Foundations Scholarship Programme.

The programme will be providing free training to the students who are economically backward but are academically brilliant aspirants of civil service and other competitive exams. The beneficiaries of the

programme will be selected by a panel which will be headed by the heads of the respective educational institutions.

12. INDIA’S 1ST LABOUR MOVEMENT MUSEUM TO BE SET UP IN KERALA

The first-of-its-kind Labour Movement Museum, in India, would be launched in Alappuzha in Kerala, to showcase the history of the world labour movement.

The museum will portray the growth of the world labour movement and the history of Kerala’s labour movement, through pictures, documents and other exhibits. The New Model Cooperative Society Limited, previously run by the Bombay Company, has been converted into the Labour Movement Museum.

13. DELHI GOVERNMENT THE WEIGHT OF THE SCHOOL BAGS

According to the New Delhi School Bag Policy, the weight of the school bag of students between Class 1 and Class 10 should not be more than 10% of their body weight.

The policy suggests that the schools should follow and use textbooks prescribed by NCERT, SCERT and CBSE only. The schools should also formulate thoughtful time table so that the students need not carry too many books on a single day.

14. WEST BENGAL: WORLD BANK’S 105 MILLION USD LOAN TO IMPROVE WATERWAYS

The World Bank, Government of India and Government of West Bengal recently signed a 105 million US the agreement. The fund has been allocated to the West Bengal inland water transport, logistics and special development project. Fund is to be used to improve the inland water transport infrastructure in Kolkata, West Bengal.

15. KARNATAKA: YAKSHAGANA ARTIST DIED ON STAGE

Recently a Yakshagana artist died while performing on stage. Yakshagana is a traditional theatre form of. It is a temple art form that depicts mythological stories and Puranas. It is performed with massive headgears, elaborate facial make-up and vibrant costumes and ornaments. Usually recited in Kannada, it is also performed in Malayalam as well as Tulu (the dialect of south Karnataka).

16. MADHYA PRADESH: ‘LAUNCH PAD SCHEME’ TO MAKE YOUTH SELF-RELIANT

The Women and Child Development Department of Madhya Pradesh launched the scheme with the objective to provide a platform to the boys and girls coming out of child care institutions and having completed 18 years of age. The scheme aims to make them, self-reliant by continuing their education and training.

The District Administration will provide space to these youths for the opening of coffee shops, stationery, photocopying, computer typing and DTP work. These launch pads will be operated through non- governmental organizations.

17. KARNATAKA: KRISHI SANJEEVANI VANS TO TEST SOIL, WATER

Karnataka’s State Agriculture Department with Central assistance under National Krishi Vikas Yojana launched 40 Krishi Sanjeevani vans in Bengaluru. It aims to take labs to the agriculture fields, study the

conditions and address the needs of the farmers about pest control, the fertility of the soil, weeds and suitable crops in the existing conditions.

18. PUNJAB: THE FIRST STATE IN INDIA TO FORMULATE A DATA POLICY.

The cabinet of Punjab recently approved the Punjab state data policy. The policy aims to track progress and provide citizens access to services. The Punjab state data policy will leverage data and technology to optimize Service Delivery and citizen access. It will also increase the participation of citizens through user friendly and secure e-governance systems.

19. ASSAM: EASE OF DOING BUSINESS (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2020

The Assam assembly recently passed the Assam Ease of Doing Business (Amendment) Bill, 2020. The bill makes amendments to the Assam ease of doing business act, 2016. The amendment will avail 0.25% additional borrowing from the Centre. The new bill will simplify procedures and bring transparency and efficiency in the system.

Under the new Amendment Bill, the government has committed to create an investor friendly atmosphere in the state of Assam.

20. UTTAR PRADESH: GOVERNMENT TO LAUNCH KISAN KALYAN MISSION.

Mission aims to double the farmer income covering all the Assembly constituencies of the state of Uttar Pradesh. This is to be achieved through campaigns (to reduce agricultural waste caused by using fertilizers in a balanced manner.)

The mission will also encourage farmers to time their cultivation of crops according to the demand of the market. Further, it aims to create agricultural diversification.

21. MADHYA PRADESH: TRIFOOD PARKS

TRIFOOD Parks are food processing centers. They will aim to promote value addition to the minor forest produce. It is a joint initiative of Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Ministry of food processing industry and TRIFED (Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India). It was launched under Van Dan Yojana in August 2020.

The TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs signed a memorandum of understanding with Akhil Bhartiya vanvasi Kalyan Ashram to setup TRIFOOD parks in Madhya Pradesh. The TRIFOOD Parks will procure raw materials from Van DhanKendras. They will then be processed and sold across the country through the tribes India outlets.

22. JAMMU & KASHMIR: GI TAG FOR GUCCHI MUSHROOM

The Jammu and Kashmir Government recently sought GI tag for Gucchi mushroom, a highly expensive and are full of health benefits mushroom variety. 500 grams of Gucchi mushrooms cost Rs 18,000.

Gucchi mushroom is a species of fungus belonging to the family Morchellaceae. They are pale yellow in colour with large ridges and pits on their cap. They are raised on a large white stem. The Gucchi mushrooms are locally called “Thuntoo”.

23. CSIR-LADAKH INKS MOU FOR S&T DEVELOPMENT

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the union territory of Ladakh recently signed an agreement for the development of the Union Territory through Science and Technology (S&T) interventions.

It seeks to develop the areas like exploration of natural resources, introduction of cash crops in the region and bioresource utilization which is endemic to Ladakh.

ECONOMY AND BANKING

1. PAPERLESS UNION BUDGET 2021

Union Budget 2021 presented on February 1, was completely paperless in the wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Centre has received permission for the same from both houses of parliament.

This was the first time since independence that the budget papers will not be printed.

A Mobile application “Union Budget Mobile App” for hassle-free access of Budget-related documents by Members of Parliament (MPs) and the public was also launched by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

2. INDIA’S RETAIL INFLATION DROPS TO 4.59 % IN DECEMBER

According to the data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. India’s retail inflation fell sharply to 4.59 per cent in December, mainly due to declining food prices, government data showed.

3. LICENCE OF VASANTDADA NAGARI SAHAKARI BANK CANCELLED

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the license of Maharashtra-based Vasantdada Nagari Sahakari Bank, with immediate effect after failing to comply with the requirements of Section 11(1) read with Section 56 of BR Act.

RBI has requested the Commissioner for Cooperation and Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS), Maharashtra to issue an order for winding up the bank and appoint a liquidator for the bank.

4. SIDBI AND TATA POWER OFFER ROOFTOP SOLAR FINANCING FOR MSMEs

The TATA Power and SIDBI announce their partnership to provide a finance scheme to the MSMEs in solar rooftop segment. According to TATA Power, easy financing is one of the barriers for penetration of solar energy in the MSME sector.

5. SMCB: INDIA’S 1ST URBAN CO-OPERATIVE BANK TO TRANSITION TO SFB

Uttar Pradesh-based, Shivalik Mercantile Co-operative Bank (SMCB) has become the first urban co- operative bank (UCB) in India to receive a license from RBI to operate as a Small Finance Bank (SFB).

6. BANDHAN BANK AND INDIAN ARMY’S AGREEMENT FOR SALARY ACCOUNT

Bandhan bank has got the mandate to maintain Shaurya Salary Account of the Army personnel. Bandhan Bank Shaurya Salary Account will have a zero balance facility. The Shaurya Salary Account also offers protection for self and assets.

7. RBI FORMS ACADEMIC ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR SUPERVISORY COLLEGE

The RBI formed an advisory council under former deputy governor N S Vishwanathan to advise the director of the central bank on supervisory colleges. The council will identify areas where upskilling and building are required in supervisory colleges.

Its objectives of Supervisory colleges are to improve understanding of risk profile of the banking group, to enhance information exchange and cooperation among supervisors and facilitate effective supervision of internationally active banks.

These colleges were after the PMC Bank scam. To prevent such scam scenarios in the future.

8. RBI RELEASED GUIDELINES TO PAYMENT INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT FUNDS

In an effort to give a push to digital payments across the country, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is set up a Payment Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) of Rs 500 crore in June 2020.Now, the Reserve Bank of India has announced operational guidelines for it.

The Fund will be used to ensure growth of card acceptance infrastructure such as swipe machines across the country particularly in Tier III and Tier VI cities and North-Eastern States.

RBI has constituted an advisory council under the chairmanship of B P Kanungo. The advisory council will basically govern the funds. On the other hand, the funds will be administered and managed by RBI.

9. RBI’S DIGITAL PAYMENTS INDEX

The Reserve Bank of India recently released the Digital Payments Index to measure the growth in cashless transactions in India.

The Digital Payments Index comprises of five broad parameters. The parameters of the Digital Payments Index and its penetration are as follows:

• Payment Enablers: 25% • Payment Infrastructure-Demand Side factors: 10% • Payment Infrastructure-Supply Side factors: 15% • Payment Performance: 45% • Consumer Centricity: 5%

10. NSO RELEASED REVISED ESTIMATES OF ECONOMIC GROWTH

The National Statistical Office (NSO) has released the revised estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data on January 29, 2020.

• Revised estimates figured the GDP growth at 4 percent for the fiscal year 2019-20. (This was 20 basis point lower than the provisional estimates of 4.2% growth that was released in 2020.) • Revised estimate of GPD for 2018-19 is 6.5 percent • Revised estimates of GDP growth for 2017-18 is 6.8 percent.

11. JIO IS 5TH STRONGEST BRAND GLOBALLY

As per the ranking provided by the “Brand Finance Global 500 ranking 2021” of the strongest brands, the Reliance Jio has become the fifth strongest brand globally. Jio has achieved this milestone in just four- odd-years. Jio has also become the third-largest mobile network operator in the world. The network operator has almost 400 million subscribers, as of now.

12. UNION CABINET CLEARED POLICY ON PSU PRIVATIZATION

The Union Cabinet has cleared the policy on the privatization of public sector undertakings (PSUs). The details regarding the policy was also announced in the Union Budget 2021.

The policy presents a road map for the presence of government-owned entities in strategic and non- strategic sectors. This policy was the part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package that was announced by the Finance Minister in May 2020.

13. MSP HIKE FOR COPRA

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for milling copra and ball copra.

The government has increased the MSP of copra by ₹375 from 2020. Thus, the Copra would cost ₹10,335 per quintal and contributes in boosting the farmers’ income. This hike in MSP for copra will be impacting the farmers of 12 coastal states. A total of 23 commodities are covered by the MSP

14. MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT TO IMPOSE GREEN TAX

In order to curb pollution, the Ministry of road transport has decided to impose the additional taxes i.e. “Green Tax” on old vehicles that are no more fit on road. It will make the polluter to pay for creating pollution. It will also motivate people to switch to environment-friendly alternatives to the vehicles.

Revenue collected from the green tax will be kept in a separate account. The amount will be used for tackling the problem of pollution.

15. 4-TIER REGULATION OF NBFCS

For tighter regulatory framework of the Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently proposed for a four-tier structure. It aims at protecting the financial stability and will further ensure that smaller NBFCs continue to enjoy light regulations.

The framework will provide for the registration and prudential regulation of NBFC. It will also issue the directions on acceptance and surveillance of the sector.

16. DRAFT POLICY ON “USENET”

Udyog Sahayak Enterprises Network (USENET) framework draft policy was put forward by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and Azim Premji University have put forward the USENET Framework draft policy

The Udyog Sahayak Enterprises Network (USENET) framework approach has been set on the basis of the belief that India should focus on helping the existing MSEs to grow rather than creating more nano- entrepreneurs.

17. REGULATORY COMPLIANCE PORTAL

To create a bridge between the industries, citizens and the government in minimizing burdensome compliances, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) recently launched a regulatory compliance portal. It is the first central online repository portal for all state and central level compliances.

18. RBI WORKING GROUP ON DIGITAL LENDING

To study all aspects of digital lending activities in the regulated and regulated financial sector, The Reserve Bank of India recently constituted a working group on digital lending. Group will ensure that an appropriate regulatory approach is put in the digital lending platform.

The working group is to identify risks to be faced by the unregulated digital lending and It will suggest regulatory changes to promote orderly growth of digital lending.

11. HSBC INAUGURATES INTERNATIONAL BANKING AT GIFT CITY

HSBC has inaugurated its International Banking Unit (IBU) branch at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) near Gandhinagar in Gujarat.

HSBC is one of the earliest global financial institutions setting up a branch at India’s GIFT City and was the first bank to get a license from the newly set up International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA).

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. VANADIUM RESERVES FOUND IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH

The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has found promising concentrations of Vanadium in the Tamang and Depo areas of Arunachal Pradesh. Vanadium is a by-product obtained from the processing of Vanadiferous magnetite ores. Vanadium alloys are durable, corrosion resistant and also improve tensile strength of steel and reinforce steel bars used for tunnels, buildings and bridges.

2. JAROSITE FOUND IN ANTARCTICA

Jarosite, a rare maritime mineral has been found after drilling deep into Antarctic ice. Jarosite is a mineral from mars (It was first discovered on Mars in 2004 by a rover named opportunity) which is scarcely seen on earth. It is a sulphate of potassium and iron.

3. ‘LOST GALAXY’ FOUND

The Hubble Space Telescope of NASA captured the images of the NGC 4535 which is also known as the “Lost Galaxy. The galaxy is located about 50 million light-years from Earth. It is a barred spiral galaxy that means a vast swirl of stars having a distinct bar structure at its center.

4. SPACEX LAUNCHED 143 SATELLITES ON SINGLE ROCKET

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has created a new world record by launching 143 satellites on a single rocket called Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX has broken the record of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) that has deployed 104 satellites on a single launch in February 2017.

5. WASP-107b: Giant Exoplanet has low core mass

The researchers studying about the WASP-107b have recently found that the core mass of the giant exoplanet is much lower than what was previously assumed. WASP-107b is an exoplanet and was discovered in 2017. Earlier, the scientists believed that the planet was huge in size due to its huge gas envelope that surrounded the planet. Also, the scientists believed that such huge gas envelopes are possible only with massive and dense cores. However, the recent study says that the cores of WASP-107b are not as dense as thought earlier.

6. NASA TARGETS FINAL TEST OF ‘WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL ROCKET’

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is looking to carry out the eighth and final test in its “Green Run” test series.

This eighth stage termed “hot fire,” will bring to an end a series of tests which, NASA says, will gradually bring together the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) to life for the very first time.

The core stage of the SLS will form the backbone of what NASA says will be the “most powerful rocket in the world” and will power its next-generation human Moon Missions.

7. DRDO’S BIO-DIGESTER MK II TECHNOLOGY IN METRO RAIL

The Defence Research and Development Organization recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Maha Metro. Maha Metro is Maharashtra metro rail Corporation. It is a joint venture company of the Government of India and Government of Maharashtra.

The agreement will render technical support to implement the advanced bio digester Mk II technology to treat human waste in Metro Rail Network.

The Indian Railways has already installed more than 2.4 Lakh bio-digester in its passenger coaches.

8. SWASTH VAYU VENTILATOR

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research scientists have designed and developed and non-invasive ventilator called Swasth Vayu. It has been recently approved by the Director General of Health Services

9. 40TH INDIAN SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION TO ANTARCTICA

Ministry of Earth science, recently launched the 40th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica. Ice class vessel MV Vasiliy Golovin has been deployed with objective to focus on ongoing scientific projects on ocean observations, climate change, electric and magnetic flux measurements, geology, Re supplying of food, environmental monitoring, fuel, and accomplish the return of the winter crew.

The Indian scientific expedition to Antarctica begin in1981 & Indian Research base stations in Antarctica: Bharti, Maitri.

10. WOODEN SATELLITES OF JAPAN In order to solve the problem of space debris, Japanese researchers are to launch wooden satellites by 2023. These satellites are made of wood. They will burn up without releasing harmful substances into the atmosphere when they plunge back to the earth. The wooden satellites are being designed by the Sumitomo Forestry and Kyoto University. 11. ISRO’s decade plan The Indian Space Research Organization released the plan for the decade. The plan included reusable satellite launch vehicle, heavy lift rocket and semi-cryogenic engine. ISRO is to complete its moon mission Chandrayaan-3, the solar mission Aditya-L1 and first Indian Data Relay Satellite in the decade 2021-2030. Also, the space agency will complete the first developmental flight of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle. The Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre will help to boost the Semi-Cryogenic Propulsion capability. With this, the Indian rockets will be able to carry 5.5 tonnes to the Geostationary Transfer Orbit. 12. LAUNCHER-ONE LAUNCHED BY VIRGIN ORBIT

LauncherOne, a two-stage orbital launch vehicle was recently launched by Virgin Orbit. It is an air- launched rocket. It is capable of carrying small satellite payloads up to 300 kilograms. The LauncherOne rocket is carried to the upper atmosphere on Boeing 747 called “Cosmic Girl”. This is the first successful flight of the 94 rocket. Earlier an unsuccessful launch attempt was made in May 2020.

13. COLLABCAD SOFTWARE

To provide engineering solution for students and Faculty of Engineering Graphics curriculum, the National Informatics Centre and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) jointly launched the CollabCAD software. It aims to provide a platform to students across the country to create and modify digital designs.

The software the students of Atal tinkering labs will be able to create and modify 3D designs with free flow of creativity. It will enable students to create data across the network and access the same design data for storage and visualization.

14. ISRO TO ADOPT 100 ATAL TINKERING LABS

To promote scientific temperament among students, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) recently announced that it is to adopt 100 Atal Tinkering Labs across the country. By adopting hundred Atal Tinkering Labs, ISRO is to facilitate mentoring and coaching of students in cutting edge technologies. ISRO and will encourage them for space related technologies

15. SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM: THE MOST POWERFUL ROCKET EVER BUILT

NASA recently launched “Space Launch System”. The 98 metres tall rocket is the most powerful rocket in the world. The Space Launch System is to carry the first woman and the next man to the moon. It has capacity to carry more than twenty-seven tonnes.

16. PM INAUGURATED NATIONAL ATOMIC TIME SCALE

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently inaugurated the National Atomic Scale at the National Meteorology Conclave. Atomic Time provides the exact speed at which the clock ticks. In technical words, it measures the actual length of a second. Atomic Clocks deviate only one second in up to 100 million years.

Reaching an accuracy of 2.8 Nanoseconds in atomic time is of great help to ISRO. Atomic time pay huge role in cutting edge technology. Also, accurate atomic time measurement is essential in the field of weather forecast, disaster management, telecom, Defence, Railways and Banking.

17. KRAKEN MARE IN TITAN IS 1000 FEET DEEP

Researchers recently found that the largest sea in Titan (moon of Saturn) is thousand feet deep in its Centre. It is made of ethane and methane and covers 154,000 square miles.

Kraken Mare was discovered by the space probe Cassini (developed under the collaboration of NASA, Italian Space Agency and European Space Agency)

18. GOI AND AMAZON COLLAB FOR QUANTUM COMPUTING APPLICATION LAB

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in partnership with the Amazon Web Services will establish Quantum Computing Applications Lab to identify quantum computing problems faced by Central and State Governments and also by the research institutions.

It is to be implemented by the Department of Science and Technology operating under Ministry of Science and Technology.

19. METEOROLOGICAL CENTRE IN LADAKH

To provide weather forecasts and strengthen the early warning system of weather forecasting in Ladakh, the Union Minister of Earth Science Dr Harsh Vardhan recently inaugurated a Meteorological centre in Union Territory of Ladakh.

This is the first Meteorological Centre in Ladakh and also the highest Centre in India located at a height of 3,500 metres.

SPORTS

1. ICC AWARDS OF THE DECADE

The winners of the prestigious International Cricket Council Awards of the Decade were announced on 28th December 2020. The ICC Awards of The Decade recognize the best players across Cricket over the past 10 years.

List of Winners:

 ICC Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade: MS Dhoni (India)

ICC Men’s Awards

 Sir Garfield Sobers Award for ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade: Virat Kohli (India)

 ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade: Virat Kohli (India)

 ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade: Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)

 ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Decade: Steve Smith(Australia)

 ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Decade: Kyle Coetzer (Scotland)

ICC Women’s Award

 Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award for ICC Female Cricketer of the Decade: Ellyse Perry (Australia)

 ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade: Ellyse Perry(Australia)

 ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade: Ellyse Perry (Australia)

 ICC Women’s Associate Cricketer of the Decade: Kathryn Bryce (Scotland)

2. YONEX THAILAND OPEN BADMINTON TOURNAMENT 2021

The Yonex Thailand Open Super 1000 badminton tournament was held from 12 January 2021 to 17 January 2021. It was the first badminton tournament of 2021 by Badminton World Federation (BWF).

Winners of Singles Title:

 Men’s Category: Viktor Axelsen (Denmark)  Women’s Category: Carolina Marin (Spain)

Winners of Doubles Title:

 Men’s Doubles: Taiwan’s Lee Yang & Wang Chi-Lin  Women’s Doubles: Indonesia’s Greysia Polii & Apriyani Rahayu

Winners of Mixed Doubles:

 Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai

3. INDIA’S 67TH GRANDMASTER

Leon Mendonca has become India’s 67th chess Grandmaster by winning the third and final norm at a tournament in Italy. Mendonca, who achieved the feat at 14 years, 9 months and 17 days, is the second GM from goa.

4. OLDEST LIVING OLYMPIC CHAMPION AGNES KELETI TURNS 100

Having won 10 medals, Ágnes Keleti is Hungary’s one of the most successful Olympians. Her haul included five golds. At 35, she became the oldest female gymnast to win an Olympic title.

5. KHELO INDIA ZANSKAR WINTER SPORT & YOUTH FESTIVAL 2021

The inaugural edition of the Khelo India Zanskar Winter Sport & Youth Festival 2021 kicked off on 18th January 2021 In Ladakh. The 13- Day Festival aims to open a new arena in Ladakh for adventure and Nature loving tourists and a boost for local Youth to hone up their skills in winter sports to represent India.

6. FIRST SPORTS SCHOOL UNDER KHELO INDIA PROGRAMME IN N-E REGION

The Union Minister for youth affairs and sports Kiren rijiju launched the Assam Rifles Public School in Shillong. It is the Sports School. So far nine such sports schools have been approved across the country. In the North Eastern region Assam Rifles Public School is the first Sports School under Khelo India programme.

7. KHELO INDIA ICE HOCKEY TOURNAMENT

Khelo India Ice Hockey Tournament was organised at Chiktan in Kàrgil, Ladakh. For the first time, the women team of Chiktan also participated in the Khelo India Games in Kargil district. There are 13 teams from different villages of Chiktan participating in the tournament, which include 11 men’s teams and 2 women’s teams.

8. ANSHU MALIK WINS SILVER AT INDIVIDUAL WRESTLING WORLD CUP (SERBIA)

Anshu Malik (19-year-old) has become the first wrestler of India to finish on the podium position at the Individual Wrestling World Cup in Belgrade, Serbia. She won a silver medal in the women’s 57kg category to claim first international medal of the tournament for India. She lost to Moldova’s Anastasia Nichita in the final.

DEFENCE 1. IN FAC T-81 DECOMMISSIONED After providing service for more than 20 years, the Indian Naval Fast Attack Craft, IN FAC T-81, of the Super Dvora MK II class was decommissioned on January 28 2021 at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai. The 25 meters long vessel having 60 tonnes of displacement was built at Goa Shipyard Ltd. in collaborations with M/s Ramta of Israel. It was specially designed for shallow waters. 2. DRDO SUCCESSFULLY TEST FIRES AKASH-NG MISSILE The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has successfully test-fired the New Generation Medium-range Surface-to-Air missile defense system Akash-NG Missile off the Odisha coast. The missile can intercept the aerial threats. The missile has been launched in order to boost the Indian Air Force (IAF) Defence system. The missile has the capability of targeting the aircraft up to 50-60 km away at altitudes of 18,000m. 3. AMPHEX 21 With the aim of validating India’s capabilities to safeguard the territorial integrity of the island territories, a large-scale tri-service joint amphibious exercise AMPHEX – 21 in Andaman and Nicobar group of islands was conducted by the Indian Armed forces in between 21 to 25 January 2021. Various Naval ships, amphibious troops of the Army and different types of aircraft from the Air force participated in the exercise. Exercise KAVACH for the Defence of Andaman & Nicobar Islands was also the part of AMPHEX – 21. It is also a tri service Military exercise and was conducted under the aegis of the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) which happens to be the only Joint Forces Command of India. 4. OPERATION SARD HAWA Border Security Force launched the Operation Sard Hawa in the western border of Rajasthan with the purpose to check the instances of infiltration due to dense fog in the region. Under the operation, the Jawans will patrol with advanced weapons in the police station areas near to the border. 5. SAAW: SMART ANTI-AIRFIELD WEAPON The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited recently test fired the successfully a long-range precision guided anti-airfield weapon, SAAW (Smart Anti Airfield Weapon) from Hawk aircraft. SAAW was developed by Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) and it is capable of engaging ground targets with precision up to a range of hundred kilo metres. It is a bomb. It is designed to

destroy targets such as bunkers, runways, reinforced structures and aircraft hangers. It is also the first smart weapon fired from an Indian Hawk. 6. INDIA-FRANCE AGREEMENT FOR STARSTREAK AIR DEFENCE SYSTEM Thales, a French Multinational Company has signed an agreement with the Bharat Dynamics Limited, a Government of India enterprise to jointly work on STARStreak Air Defence System The STARStreak is a short-range surface-to-air missile. The minimum range of the system is 0.3 km and the maximum range is 7 km. The range of STARStreak System II variant is more than 7 km and it travels at a speed of Mach 3 and it is currently the fastest short-range surface to air missile in the world. 7. EX-DESERT KNIGHT 21 A bilateral air exercise Ex-Desert Knight 21 is to be held between Indian Air Force and French air and Space Force in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. The main objective of the exercise is to provide operational exposure and share best practices Other Defence Exercises between India-France are as follows: 1. Exercise Shakti is held between the Armies of India and France 2. Exercise Varuna is held between Indian Navy and French Naval Forces 3. Exercise Garuda is held between the Air Forces of the two countries 8. F.LT BHAWANA KANTH: 1ST WOMAN FIGHTER PILOT TO TAKE PART IN THE REPUBLIC DAY PARADE. Bhawana Kanth became the first woman fighter pilot to take part in the Republic Day parade. She was one among the first women fighter Pilots inducted in Indian Air Force in 2016. The other fighter pilots inducted into the Indian Air Force were Avani Chaturvedi and Mohana Singh. 9. DRONE SWARMING ON ARMY DAY Recently on Army Day (January 15, 2021), the Indian Army displayed its combat drones that are part of the Swarm Technology. Swarm drones are lightweight drones that carry multiple packages to a single destination at a time. Multiple drones receive commands from a single drone. The Swarm drones of Indian Army has a range of 50 kilometers. These drones can also be used for dropping food, ammunition, medicine and other special needs for soldiers positioned in locations cut away from supply lines. 10. TWELVE HIGH PERFORMANCE PATROL BOATS FOR INDIAN ARMY The Indian Army has finalized procurement of 12 high performance patrol boats for surveillance of large water bodies. The boats are to be deployed in Pangong Tso Lake in Eastern Ladakh. To

procure these 12 fast Patrol boats the Indian Army has inked an agreement with the Goa Shipyard Limited. 11. SEA WING UNDERWATER DRONES China has recently deployed underwater drones called Sea Wing Glider in the Indian Ocean region. The Sea Wing Glider Drone is used for naval surveillance. It can operate for months under the sea. The Sea Wing Glider Drone is a type of an un-crewed underwater vehicle. It was launched in December 2019. 12. LYNX U2 GUN FIRE CONTROL SYSTEM The Ministry of Defence recently signed an agreement with the Bharat Electronics Limited to supply ten LYNX U2 GFCS. It is a Naval Gun Fire Control System. It has been designed to track and engage targets amidst sea clutter. It can accurately track air and surface targets. Also, it can generate required target data to predict weapon aiming points. The target engagement is done using Russian A190, AK176 and AK630. 13. SAHAYAK-NG: INDIA’S FIRST INDIGENOUS AIR DROPPED CONTAINER The SAHAYAK-NG, an air droppable container was tested successfully by the Defence Ministry. It is the first indigenously developed air droppable container designed by DRDO and Avantel, a private company. The SAHAYAK-NG can carry payload up to fifty kilograms. It can be dropped from heavy aircraft. It is GPS enabled. It is an advanced version of SHAYAK Mk I. The SAHAYAK-NG containers are completely water tight. 14. DRDO CELEBRATES 63RD FOUNDATION DAY The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) observed the 63rd Foundation Day of its establishment on January 01, 2021. It is tasked with designing and developing cutting edge Defence technologies for Indian Armed Forces. • Secretary & Chairman DRDO: Dr G.Satheesh Reddy. • DRDO Headquarters: New Delhi. • DRDO Established: 1958 15. DR AJAY KUMAR CO-CHAIRS 13TH INDIA-VIETNAM DEFENCE SECURITY DIALOGUE The virtual event was co-chaired by Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar along with Vietnamese Deputy Defence Minister, Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Both the sides reviewed the progress on various bilateral defense cooperation initiatives and expressed commitment to further elevate engagements between the Armed Forces under the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. 16. COASTAL DEFENCE EXERCISE “SEA VIGIL 21” The second edition of the biennial pan-India coastal Defence exercise “Sea Vigil-21” was conducted on January 12 and 13 to test military readiness at sea along the coastline of the country starts. The exercise was undertaken along the entire 7,516-km coastline and Exclusive Economic Zone of India and involved all 13 coastal states and Union Territories along with other maritime stakeholders, including the fishing and coastal communities. The Sea Vigil is a build-up towards the major theatre level exercise TROPEX that the Indian Navy conducts every two years. TROPEX i.e. Tropical Level Readiness and Operational Exercise is an inter-service military exercise that involves the participation of Indian Air Force, Indian Army and Indian Navy. The exercise is held to test the combat readiness of the Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army and Indian Coast Guard. 17. INDIA TO PROCURE 21 MIG-29 AND 12 SUKHOI-30MKI FIGHTER AIRCRAFT FROM RUSSIA The Government of India is set to procure 21 MiG-29 and 12 Sukhoi-30MKI fighter aircraft from Russia. Apart from this, the Centre will also purchase the upgrades of the existing fleets of aircraft from Russian state-run Defence export arm Rosoboronexport.

The new set of 21 MiG-29 will add to existing 59 such jets already with the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the 12 Sukhoi-30MKIs, on the other hand, will add to the existing fleet of 272 such fighter aircraft. 18. DRDO HANDS OVER MOTOR BIKE AMBULANCE RAKSHITA TO CRPF Defence Research and Development Organization has handed over Motor Bike Ambulance Rakshita to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The bike ambulance will help in overcoming the problems faced by Indian security forces and emergency health care providers. 19. PAKISTAN’S “FATAH-1” ROCKET SYSTEM The Fatah-1 is an indigenously developed Guided Multi Launch Rocket System capable of precisely delivering conventional warheads deep into “enemy territory.” Fatah-1 weapon system can hit targets up to a range of 140 km. 20. INDIA & ISRAEL SUCCESSFULLY TEST MRSAM AIR DEFENCE SYSTEM The Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) missile Defence system has been developed jointly by DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to deal with airstrikes by enemy countries.

21. NEW DEPUTY CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF: LT GEN SHANTANU DAYAL Lt Gen Dayal is the Corps Commander of the Tejpur based 4 Corps. He will take the place of Lt Gen SS Hasabnis. The other significant change is in the newly-created Department of Military Affairs (DMA). Lt Gen Taranjit Singh, becomes the 1st Army officer to join as the Additional Secretary in the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) under the Ministry of Defence. 22. HARSH VARDHAN LAUNCHES COASTAL RESEARCH VESSEL SAGAR ANVESHIKA Union Minister for Earth Sciences, Harsh Vardhan has launched Coastal Research Vehicle (CRV) ‘Sagar Anveshika’ at the Chennai Port. It will be used to carry out environment indexing and bathymetric (mapping underwater features) in both coastal and offshore waters. It has been built by Titagarh Wagons, Kolkata, and West Bengal and will be used for research purposes by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) and NIOT already has 6 Research Vessels. 23. LT GEN C P MOHANTY: NEW ARMY VICE-CHIEF Lieutenant General Chandi Prasad Mohanty has been appointed as the new Vice-chief of Army staff. He will replace Lt General SK Saini, who is superannuating on 31 January 2021. He is an alumnus of Rashtriya Indian Military College, Dehradun, and National Defence Academy. Vice- Chief of Army Staff is the deputy head and the second-highest-ranking officer of the Indian Army. 24. INDIAN ARMY TO BUY SWITCH DRONES The Indian Army has recently signed a contract with Mumbai-based drone manufacturing company, ideaForge, to procure high-altitude variant of SWITCH unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The total cost of the deal is approximately USD 20 million. 25. INDIA’S FIRST INDIGENOUSLY-DEVELOPED 9MM MACHINE PISTOL India’s first indigenous 9mm Machine Pistol “Asmi” has been jointly developed by DRDO and Indian Army. Infantry School, Mhow and DRDO’s Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune have designed and developed this weapon in a record time of four months. 26. LANDING CRAFT UTILITY SHIP FOR INDIAN NAVY Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) has delivered the Landing Craft Utility (LCU) MK IV class vessel ‘IN LCU L-58’ (Yard 2099) to the Indian Navy. LCU L-58 is the final ship in the series of 8 LCUs. The amphibious ship will be based on the strategic location of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which is close to various routes leading to the South China Sea. 27. SUPPLY OF LASER DAZZLERS

The Indian Navy has signed a contract with the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), to procure Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation Dazzlers (Laser Dazzlers).The Laser dazzler technology has been developed by Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and would be manufactured by BEL, Pune plant. This product is indigenously designed and developed for the first time. 28. DRDO’s Landing Gear System for UAV The Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment operating under DRDO recently developed the Retractable Landing Gear System for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle “TAPAS”, also known as RUSTOM-2 . It absorbs and dissipates landing impact load to safeguard the aircraft. Also, it supports the aircraft during ground maneuverings and will be used by the Indian Navy

AWARDS AND HONOURS 1. PADMA AWARDS 2021 The Ministry of Home Affairs has announced a list of 119 personalities who will be conferred the Padma Awards by President Ram Nath Kovind this year. The Padma Awards shall be formally conferred by the President in the Rashtrapati Bhawan in March or April. These awards cater to various disciplines including art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports and civil service. Padma Vibhushan: 1. Shinzo Abe, Japan 2. S P Balasubramaniam (Posthumous), Tamil Nadu 3. Belle Monappa Hegde, Karnataka 4. Narinder Singh Kapany (Posthumous), USA 5. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, Delhi 6. B. B. Lal, Delhi 7. Sudarshan Sahoo, Odisha Padma Bhushan: 1. Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra, Kerala 2. Tarun Gogoi (Posthumous), Assam 3. Chandrashekhar Kambara, Karnataka 4. Sumitra Mahajan, Madhya Pradesh 5. Nripendra Misra, Uttar Pradesh 6. Ram Vilas Paswan (Posthumous), Bihar 7. Keshubhai Patel (Posthumous), Gujarat 8. Kalbe Sadiq (Posthumous), Uttar Pradesh 9. Rajnikant Devidas Shroff, Maharashtra 10. Tarlochan Singh, Haryana 2. REPUBLIC DAY PARADE 2021 AWARDS The Union Sports Minister, Kiren Rijiju, has presented the Republic Day Awards for 2021 Parade Tableaux. 32 tableaux participated (17 States and Union Territories, 6 were from the Defence Ministry while 9 were from other ministries, departments and paramilitary forces) Best Tableau Award:

 The Uttar Pradesh tableau (Theme: Ayodhya: Cultural Heritage of Uttar Pradesh) was given the award for best tableau.

 Out of 9 tableaux of the different ministries, departments, and paramilitary forces, the Department of Biotechnology tableau (Theme: Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan: COVID vaccine development) was chosen for the top award.  The award for best cultural performance was given to student of Mount Abu Public School and Vidya Bharti School Rohini, Delhi. In their performance they had displayed the vision for Self-Reliant India- Atma Nirbhar Bharat. 3. PRADHAN MANTRI RASHTRIYA BAL PURASKAR 2021 The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (PMRBP) for the year 2021 has been conferred to 32 children. The PMRBP award is given by the Government of India to the children with exceptional abilities and outstanding accomplishments, in the fields of innovation, scholastic, sports, arts & culture, social service and bravery. 4. MOTHER TERESA MEMORIAL AWARDS FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE 2020 Harmony Foundation (an international NGO that works in the realm of Social Justice) hosted the Mother Teresa Memorial Awards for Social Justice. This is the only award endorsed by Sister Prema, the Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity, the organization started by Mother Teresa. (Theme: Celebrating Compassion in Times of Covid) Awardees:

 Dr Anthony Fauci (USA) is the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, USA. He and his task force were among the first ones to realize the seriousness of this pandemic.  Father Fabio Stevenazzi (Italy), decided to return to medical practice in order to help those infected with COVID 19.  IPS Sanjay Pandey (DG Home Guards, Maharashtra) went beyond the call of duty as a police officer to open the first relief camp in the Mumbai city suburbs for migrant workers whose livelihood were disrupted by the lockdown to contain the pandemic.  KK Shailaja (Minister of Health, Kerala), for her extraordinary efforts and pro-activeness in dealing with the pandemic by following experts and scientific.  Some others are: Dr Pradeep Kumar (Chennai), Vikas Khanna (Manhattan, USA) 5. 51ST INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA

The 51st edition of IFFI was held from 16 January to 24 January 2021 at Goa. It was held in hybrid mode with both physical and virtual screening of films. Bangladesh was a country of focus at the festival. The winners of the IFFI awards are listed below:

 Golden Peacock Award for Best Film: Into the Darkness  Silver Peacock Award for Best Actor (Male): Tzu-Chuan Liu, The Silent Forest  Silver Peacock Award for Best Actor (Female): Zofia Stafiej, I Never Cry  Silver Peacock Award for Best Director: Chen-Nien Ko, The Silent Forest

 Best Debut Director Award: Cássio Pereira dos Santos, Valentina  Special Mention Award: Kripal Kalita, Bridge  Special Jury Award: Kamin Kalev, February  ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Award: Ameen Nayfeh’s 200 Meters  Indian Personality of the Year Award: Biswajit Chatterjee  Lifetime Achievement: Vittorio Storaro (Italian cinematographer). 6. DRDO’S “SCIENTIST OF THE YEAR” AWARD: HEMANT KUMAR PANDEY Defence Minister Rajnath Singh honoured Senior scientist Hemant Kumar Pandey with DRDO’s ”Scientist of the Year Award” for his contribution in developing several herbal medicines, including the popular drug Lukoskin meant for the treatment of leucoderma. Apart from Lukoskin, Pandey has developed drugs for the treatment of eczema and toothache as well as an anti-radiation cream, most of which are already being sold in the market following the transfer of technology (ToT). 7. EMINENT ENGINEER AWARD: V.K. YADAV Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) felicitated Vinod Kumar Yadav (Chairman & CEO of Railway Board) with the prestigious “Eminent Engineer Award for the Year 2020’ for his outstanding contribution towards modernization and reforms over Indian Railways. 8. KAYAKALP AWARD: AIIMS BHUBANESWAR

The All India Institutes of Medical Sciences Bhubaneswar won Kayakalp award for the 3rd time for promoting cleanliness, hygiene and creating sustainable practices in public health. AIIMS Bhubaneswar will get an award of Rs 2 crore for the performance. 9. INDIAN PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR AWARD AT IFFI: BISWAJIT CHATTERJEE Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar announced veteran actor, director and singer Biswajit Chatterjee as the recipient of the ‘Indian Personality of the Year’ award. The 84-year-old actor is known for featuring in films like “Bees Saal Baad”, “Night In London” and “April Fool”. 10. BUSINESS STANDARD BANKER OF THE YEAR: SHYAM SRINIVASAN Shyam Srinivasan ( MD & CEO of Federal Bank), is the Business Standard Banker of the Year for 2019-20 for Federal Bank’s consistent healthy performance at a time when most banks witnessed large stress on asset quality, registered losses, or even invited regulatory actions. 11. MICHAEL AND SHEILA HELD PRIZE: NIKHIL SRIVASTAVA Nikhil Srivastava (a young Indian mathematician) along with two others has been named winner of the prestigious 2021 Michael and Sheila Held Prize for solving long-standing questions on the

Kadison-Singer problem and on Ramanujan graphs. Srivastava is currently Associate Professor of Mathematics at the University of California. 12. SUBHASH BOSE AAPDA PRABANDHAN PURASKAR: RAJENDRA KUMAR BHANDARI Government of India announces Subhash Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar every year on January 23 (the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose) to recognise and honour the invaluable contribution and selfless service rendered by individuals and organisations in India in the field of disaster management. This year has been conferred upon Dr Rajendra Kumar Bhandari in the Individual category and Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society (SEEDS) in Institutional category. 13. NATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST ELECTORAL PRACTICES 2020: MEGHALAYA Election Commission of India (ECI), choose the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer with Special Award for Information Technology applications in Elections under National Best Electoral Practices Awards-2020. President Ram Nath Kovind virtually conferred the award to Meghalaya CEO ( F.R. Kharkongor) at the National Voters’ Day Award function held in New Delhi.

SUMMITS, MEETINGS & CONFERENCES

1. NATIONAL METROLOGY CONCLAVE 2021

The Council of scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) along with National Physical Laboratory organised the National Metrology Conclave to mark its 75th year of inception in New Delhi. The PM dedicated the National Atomic Time Scale and Bhartiya Nirdeshak Dravya to the nation and also laid Foundation stone to the National Environmental Standard Laboratory during his address.

**The National Atomic Time Scale generates Indian Standard Time with an accuracy of 2.8 nanoseconds. Now Indian Standard Time is matching the International Standard Time with the accuracy range of less than 3 nanoseconds.

**CSIR-NPL (National Physical Laboratory) is the National Measurement Institute of India and authorized (by an act of Parliament) to realize and maintain the Indian Standard Time (IST).

2. INTERNATIONAL AKHAND CONFERENCE ‘EDUCON-2020’

The 2-Day International Conference was organized by the Central University of Punjab, Bathinda (CUPB) in collaboration with the Global Educational Research Association (GERA). It is the first of its kind in India where scholars across the world would be continuously having a non-stop marathon dialogue sessions for 31 hours exploring the possibilities of the use of Information and Communication Technology in the higher education to promote the equitable quality education in India. The conference was inaugurated by Union Education Minister (Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’).

Theme: Envisioning Education for Transforming Youth to Restore Global Peace.

3. 4TH ONE PLANET SUMMIT The Government of France in cooperation with the United Nations and the World Bank organized the 4TH ‘One Planet Summit’, through videoconferencing, aimed at protecting the world’s biodiversity. It was inaugurated by the Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres, French President Emmanuel Macron, and President of the World Bank Group David Malpass. Theme: Let’s act together for nature! 4. PRARAMBH: STARTUP INDIA INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT The Union Minister Piyush Goyal inaugurated the 2-day ‘Prarambh’, Startup India International Summit in New Delhi. The Summit has been organized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under M/o Commerce & Industry. The inaugural event was participated by the members of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi- Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) countries. The ‘Prarambh’ Summit will provide a platform to the startups and young minds from around the world to come together and collaborate to work collectively to come with new ideas, innovation and invention. It will focus on enhancing multilateral cooperation and engagement with countries from around the globe to collectively develop and strengthen the startup ecosystems.

5. 148TH SESSION OF WHO EXECUTIVE BOARD The 148th session of the WHO Executive Board has been organized from 18-26 January 2021. Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare digitally chaired the 148th session of WHO Executive Board, through Video Conference. The meeting provides a platform to bring together all member states to set the directions and agenda and continue striving for the objective of Health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. WHO has declared the Year 2021 as the Year of Global Solidarity and Survival. 6. 15TH INDIA DIGITAL SUMMIT 2021 Honorable Union Minister Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad inaugurated the 15th India Digital Summit, the flagship event of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) is one of the biggest conferences for the digital industry. The summit, in its year, will bring thought leadership on various digital initiatives that will cover Policies, Business, Investment, Advertising, Digital Commerce, Start-ups Ecosystem, Emerging Tech, and other Digital Trends. Theme: Aatmanirbhar Bharat – Start of New Decade in line with the government’s ‘Make for the World’ Initiatives. 7. CLIMATE ADAPTATION SUMMIT 2021 The Climate Adaptation Summit was hosted by the Netherlands government on January 25, 2021. The summit was held online and it is being called “CAS Online”. The summit was organized with the aim of realizing the transitions which is required for a climate-resilient world. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, also addressed the “CAS Online” and said that by the year 2030, India will target 450 gigawatt of renewable energy capacity. He also highlighted that, by 2030 India will restore 26 million hectares of degraded land. 8. 5TH JOINT MEETING OF INDIA-JAPAN ACT EAST FORUM The 5th joint meeting of the India-Japan Act East Forum (AEF) co-chaired by Foreign Secretary Shri Harsh Vardhan Shringla, and Suzuki Satoshi, Ambassador of Japan to India was held in New Delhi. The AEF was established in 2017 to provide a platform for India-Japan collaboration in the North Eastern Region under India’s “Act East Policy” and Japan’s vision for a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”. The AEF reviewed the progress of ongoing projects in the North Eastern Region of India in various areas including connectivity, hydropower, sustainable development, harnessing of water resources, and skill development. 9. 7TH EDITION OF MASCRADE 2021 Union Minister of Health and Family welfare Harsh Vardhan inaugurates the 7th edition of ‘MASCRADE 2021 (i.e. Movement against Smuggled & Counterfeit Trade). The two-day programme was organized by FICCI CASCADE (Committee against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy), to combat illicit trade, especially in a post COVID era.

The event provided a platform to deliberate and discuss actionable, innovative policy solutions that can reverse the rising incidences of counterfeit, smuggled and spurious products, causing significant damage to the economy of the nation, health and safety of people worldwide. 10. 35TH PRAGATI MEET To review multiple projects, grievances and programmes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chaired the 35th PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) meeting in the meeting, ten agenda items were taken for review worth Rs. 54,675 crore, related to 15 states. 11. DAVOS AGENDA SUMMIT, 2021

PM Narendra Modi and the Chinese President Xi Jing Ping are to participate in the Davos Agenda Summit organized by the World Economic Forum. The “Great Reset Initiative” of the World Economic Forum is to be launched during the Davos Agenda Summit.

Theme: Stakeholders for a cohesive and sustainable world.

REPORTS AND INDEX

1. 2020 IS WORST YEAR ON RECORD: UNWTO REPORT

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has highlighted that the year 2020 the worst year on record.

UNWTO Report stated that the global tourism suffered massively because of the international travel bans that was into force in order to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. As per the report, the international arrivals have dropped by 74 percent and the restrictions in the international travel has resulted in the loss of USD 1.3 trillion in export revenues.

**UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO): UNWTO is the United Nations specialized agency and the leading international organization in the field of tourism. The agency is involved in the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. Headquartered in Madrid, Spain.

2. ASIA-PACIFIC PERSONALISED HEALTH INDEX

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released Asia-Pacific Personalized Health Index The index measures the readiness in adopting the personalized healthcare of 11 health systems in the Asia-Pacific region. This newly launched index measured country’s performance across 27 indicators of the personalized health across the four vital signs (i.e. Policy Context, Health Information, Personalized Technologies and Health Services.)

Singapore was the best performer among all the 11 health systems followed by Taiwan, Japan, and Australia respectively.

India was ranked at 10th position out of 11 health systems and Indonesia was ranked last at 11th

3. ECONOMIC SURVEY 2021

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey 2020-21 in the Lok Sabha on January 29, 2021.

The Economic Survey of India: It is an annual document of the Ministry of Finance. It reviews the economic progress of the country and issues in the last 12 months. The document is presented in the parliament just before the Union Budget by the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. The document is prepared under the guidance of the Chief Economic Adviser of India.

Highlights of the Survey:

 The Indian economy is technically in a recession as it has witnessed a contraction in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the last two consecutive quarters.

 The survey highlights that the real growth rate for Financial Year 2021 was taken as -7.7% as per MoSPI while the real growth rate for Financial Year 2022 is assumed was taken as 11.5 % on the basis of estimates provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

 The gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by a record 23.9 per cent in April-June 2020 while it contracted by 7.5 percent in the second quarter.

 For the full fiscal, the survey projected a contraction of 7.7 per cent while a V-shaped recovery in the next. GDP growth will be expanding by 11 per cent in the 2021-22 fiscal.

4. GLOBAL FIREPOWER INDEX, 2021

Released by Global Firepower (GFP) since 2006, GFI ranks 138 countries based on their potential military strength. It is calculated using fifty individual factors from geography to logistical capability. It also includes manpower, land forces, airpower, natural resources, naval forces, logistics and financials.

The United States topped the index, followed by Russia and China respectively.

India was ranked fourth in the Global Firepower Index with 542 combat aircraft, 17 submarines, 4,730 tanks and 37 attack helicopters.

5. UN GLOBAL CLIMATE SURVEY

UN Global Climate Survey: the biggest ever opinion poll on climate change of the United Nations has has been released. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) conducted the “Peoples’ Climate Vote” for 1.2 million people from 50 countries to prepare the report.

The survey found that two-thirds of people think it is a “global emergency” and people across the world support the climate action. They also give politicians a clear mandate to take the major action so as to find solutions.

People strongly supported the renewable energy in the countries where fossil fuels are a major source of emissions. People also supported the conservation of trees in the countries where the destruction of forests is a big cause of emissions. This gets 60% support in Brazil while 57% in Indonesia.

**United Nations Development Programme (UNDP): UNDP is the global development network of United Nations (UN) headquartered in New York City. It is engaged in giving the expert advice, training and grants support to the developing countries. It works with nations to meet the global and national development challenges.

6. GLOBAL CLIMATE RISK INDEX 2021

Germanwatch-a NGO based in Bonn, Germany recently released the Global Climate Risk Index. Global Climate Risk Index indicates a level of exposure and vulnerability to extreme weather events, which countries should understand as warnings in order to be prepared for more frequent and/or more severe events in the future.

Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Bahamas were the top three most affected countries in 2019 respectively. And, India has been ranked at seventh position among the countries that are most effected by climate change in 2019.

7. UNEP GLOBAL CLIMATE LITIGATION REPORT 2021

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in cooperation with the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University recently released “Global Climate Litigation Report 2021”.

As per the report, climate cases have nearly doubled over the last three years. Increasing climates cases are increasingly compelling the governments and corporate actors to implement their climate

commitments. The litigations have made the courtroom increasingly relevant to efforts to address the climate change across the world.

Report finds that the climate litigation continues to be concentrated in high-income countries and the trend might further grow in the global south.

**United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP): UNEP, also called UN Environment, was established by Maurice Strong in June1972 following the UN conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. The primary aim of the UNEP is to help the world to meet the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. It provides the leadership, deliver science and develop the solutions on issues like climate change, management of marine & terrestrial ecosystems and green economic development. It also develops the international environmental agreement and helps in achieving the environmental targets.

8. COVID-19 RESPONSE INDEX

Sydney-based Lowy Institute, recently released the Covid-19 Response Index. The study was based on number of key indicators such as confirmed cases, cases per million people, deaths and deaths per million people.

Report highlights that, New Zealand handled the pandemic more effectively than any other country across the world. New Zealand was followed by Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand and Cyprus.

India was ranked 86th in a coronavirus performance index among the 98 countries. And, Brazil was ranked at the bottom of the list.

China was not included in the study since its testing rates are not publicly available.

9. NATIONAL NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASE MONITORING SURVEY (NNMS)

Ministry of health recently released the National Non-Communicable Disease Monitoring Survey (NNMS). The first of its kind of a comprehensive survey on NCDs was conducted for the period of 2017-18.

The report highlights that, two in five adults have three or more risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCD) in India. Further, the status of health system to respond to the disease burden is underscored.

It also states that more than one in every four adults and 6.2% adolescents were overweight or obese. Three out of ten adults had raised blood pressure.

10. WORLD ECONOMIC OUTLOOK, 2021

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released the “World Economic Outlook, 2021” report.

The report highlights that, India will witness the strongest growth among the main economies. And It will expand by 11.5 percent in 2021 as opposed to the 8.8 percent growth that was predicted in October 2020.

The report further highlights that the global growth for 2021 will be 5.5 percent as compared to 5.2 percent October 2020.

**International Monetary Fund (IMF): IMF is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C. The institution comprises of 190 countries that works together to boost the global

monetary cooperation, facilitate international trade, secure financial stability, and promote high employment and sustainable economic growth.

11. WORLD ECONOMIC SITUATION AND PROSPECTS REPORT

World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) report is released jointly by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), five United Nations Regional Economic Commissions and United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA).

The report found that the world economy is expected to recover slightly by 4.7 percent in the year 2021. The economy had declined by 4.3 percent in 2020 because of COVID-19 pandemic. The report highlights that, this loss in 2020 was more than double the impact of the global financial crisis in 2009.

As per the report, 131 million more people were pushed into poverty in the year 2020.

12. GLOBAL RISKS REPORT 2021

The World Economic Forum recently released the 16TH edition of the Global Risks Report, 2021. The report was released based on the Global Risks Perception Survey undertaken by more than 650 members of World Economic Forum.

Top Risks identified by the report:

The top 3 risks by likelihood (in the next ten years) are:

1. Climate action failure 2. Extreme weather 3. Human environmental damage.

The top three risks by impact are:

1. Climate action failures 2. Infectious diseases 3. Weapons of mass destruction

13. INDIA INNOVATION INDEX, 2020

NITI Aayog recently released the 2 nd edition of the India Innovation Index. The index demonstrates the government's continued commitment towards transforming the country into an innovation-driven economy. The States and Union Territories have been divided into 17 Major States, 10 North-East and Hill States and 9 Union Territories and Small States for effectively comparing their performance. Best Performers of the Index are as follows:

 Major States: Karnataka retained its first position in the category. Maharashtra moved one position higher and stood at 2nd spot while Tamil Nadu slid to 3rd position.  North East and Hill States: Himachal Pradesh stands at first position followed by Uttarakhand and Manipur.  Union Territories and small States: Delhi stands at the first position while Chandigarh retained its second spot in the category.

14. HENLEY PASSPORT INDEX

The International air Transport Association recently launched the Henley Passport Index. The index is released based on the number of destinations the holders can access without visa and around 227 different travel destinations were taken into consideration.

The report said that Japanese citizens can travel to 191 countries and Japan was the top performer. Singapore was in second position with a score of 190, followed by South Korea and Germany at third position with a score of 189.

The countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria were the countries with the worst passport to hold with a score of 26, 28 and 29.

India ranked 85th in the Henley Passport Index with a score of 58.

15. FOOD PRICE INDEX

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently released the Food Price Index. The Food Price Index has been released for the seventh consecutive month in December 2019.

The Food and Agriculture Organization calculates the food price index measuring the monthly changes of a basket of oilseeds, cereals, meat, dairy products and sugar.

The food price index for the month of December was 100 7.5 points and for the month of November it was 105.2

16. GLOBAL ECONOMIC PROSPECTS REPORT

The World Bank recently released the Global Economic Prospects report.

According to the report the Indian economy is to contract by 9.6% in 2020-21 and will recover by 5.4 percent in 2021-22. The contraction in Indian economy will be mainly due to sharp decline in household spending and private investment. On the other hand, the world economy is to expand by 4% in 2021.

According to World Bank India is facing its first technical recessionary phase (When the GDP growth is negative for two consecutive quarters or more than the period it is called technical recessionary phase).

17. BLOOMBERG BILLIONAIRES INDEX 2021

India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, the chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) dropped down to 12th spot in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index 2021 (as on 2nd January 2021). Zhong Shanshan, referred to as “Lone Wolf”, has replaced Ambani as Asia’s richest person. Top 3 Richest Man according to the Index are Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Bill Gates respectively.

18. THE LONGITUDINAL AGEING STUDY OF INDIA (LASI) REPORT

The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare released the Longitudinal Ageing Study of India (LASI) Wave-1 Report. It is India’s first and the World’s largest ever survey to provide a longitudinal database for designing policies and programmes for the older population in the broad domains of social, health, and economic well-being. It was commissioned in 2016.

PLACES AND PERSONALITIES IN NEWS

PERSONS:

JOE BIDEN

Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States. He swore the oath of office along with Kamala Harris, who became America’s first woman vice president. At 78, Biden is also the oldest president in US history

KAJA KALLAS

Kaja Kallas, the leader of the Reform Party will become Estonia’s first female prime minister. Estonia would thus currently become the only country in the world where both the president Kersti Kaljulaid and the prime minister are women.

MARCELO REBELO DE SOUSA

President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has won a second five-year term after winning the 2021 Portuguese presidential election with a landslide victory. The 72-year-old former leader of the Social Democratic Party won 61 per cent of the total votes. Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

KHURELSUKH UKHNAA

The Prime Minister of Mongolia, Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, has resigned along with his entire government, following protests and public outrage over the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

KP SHARMA OLI

The Prime Minister of Nepal, KP Sharma Oli, has been expelled from the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP). He was expelled from the party following his decision to dissolve the Parliament.

CLAIRE POLOSAK

Claire Polosak took up the fourth umpire role in the third test of Australia-India series starting at Sydney Cricket Ground and became the first woman to match official in men’s test.

ABHISHEK YADAV

Former India striker Abhishek Yadav, who has been serving as national team’s director since January 2018 has now been appointed as the first deputy general secretary of All India Football Federation (AIFF) after the sports body decided to create a new post in its hierarchy.

JAY SHAH

Jay Shah has been named as the official representative of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the International Cricket Council (ICC) Board meetings. Shah is the Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He will replace BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, who was currently representing India at the ICC Board.

MICHAEL KONDO

Former hockey player Michael Kondo died. He was a member of Indian hockey team that won gold in 1975 world cup.

YOWERI MUSEVENI

Uganda’s incumbent President Yoweri Museveni has been declared as the winner of the country’s presidential election for 2021. The 76-year-old leader is serving as the President of the Republic of Uganda since 1986 and is one of Africa’s longest-serving presidents.

GIUSEPPE CONTE

Italian Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte resigned after losing his Senate majority. He tendered his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella, the ultimate arbiter of Italian political crises, who invited him to stay on in a caretaker capacity pending discussions on what happens next.

R. S. SHARMA

R. S. Sharma has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Ayushman Bharat scheme or the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana which is an insurance scheme by the National Health Authority’s (NHA). He has also worked as the Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

SADYR JAPAROV

The frontrunner in Kyrgyzstan’s presidential election, Sadyr Japarov, has won by a landslide Victory. Mr. Japarov, who served time in jail for taking a rival hostage, will also have sweeping new presidential powers after voters by a similar margin opted to amend the constitution in a referendum.

MARK RUTTE

The Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte and his entire Cabinet has resigned recently over the childcare subsidies scandal, in which thousands of families were wrongly accused of child welfare fraud. However, the Rutte government will stay on in a caretaker role until parliamentary elections in March 2021.

PLACES:

MT MERAPI

The most active volcano of Indonesia, Mt Merapi, recently erupted with a river of lava and searing gas clouds. The lava and clouds flown for 1,600 meters down its slopes. It is considered as the most active volcano in Indonesia and is erupted regularly since 1548.

IMPORTANT DAYS

1ST JAN: GLOBAL FAMILY DAY

The Day aims to unite and spread a message of peace by considering and promoting the idea that Earth is one Global Family so as to make the world a better place to live for everyone.

4TH JAN: WORLD BRAILLE DAY Every year, the World Braille Day is celebrated on January 4 by United Nations and several other international organizations. The day is celebrated to create awareness of the importance of Braille as a means of communication in the realization of human rights for the blind. It is celebrated on the birthday of Louis Braille, the creator of this writing system. He was born in France in 1809. The first World Braille Day was celebrated in 2019. 6TH JAN: JOURNALIST DAY IN MAHARASHTRA

Journalist Day is observed by Maharashtra state government in the memory of late journalist Balshastri Jambhekar. He is also known as ‘The Father of Marathi Journalism’. The first newspaper in the Marathi language named ‘Darpan’, was published on January 6, 1832, the date which also marks the birth anniversary of Balshastri Jambhekar.

8TH JAN: YOUTH PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS

The Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was celebrated by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

Theme: Bringing together Young Achievers from India and Indian Diaspora.

9TH JAN: PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS OR NRI DAY

Every year the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is celebrated to mark the contribution of overseas Indian community towards the development of India. Day aims to reconnect the Non-Resident Indians with their roots. Also, it celebrates their achievements. It is celebrated on January 9 to mark the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to Mumbai on January 9, 1915. L M Singhvi Committee recommended Pravasi Bharatiya Divas and the first Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrated in the year 2000.

Theme: Contributing to Atma Nirbhar Bharat.

10TH JAN: WORLD HINDI DAY

The World Hindi Day is celebrated annually on January 10 since 2006 to promote the language at the global stage. The day marks the anniversary of first World Hindi Conference which was inaugurated on January 10, 1975, by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

It must be noted that the National Hindi Day is celebrated in India on September 14 every year. On that day in 1949, the constituent assembly adopted Hindi, written in Devanagari script, as the official language of the Union.

11TH JAN: DEATH ANNIVERSARY OF LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI

He was the second Prime Minister of Independent India. He popularized the slogan 'Jai Jawan Jai Kisan' He actively participated in India's freedom struggle. He died on 11 January, 1966 due to cardiac arrest

12TH JAN: NATIONAL YOUTH DAY:

National Youth Day is celebrated in India every year on 12 January to commemorate the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.

The main aim behind this is to make sure that the students across the country can be encouraged to learn about the life, the ideas and philosophy of Swami Vivekananda and apply them in their lives.

Theme: Channelizing Youth Power for Nation Building.

14TH JAN: ARMED FORCES VETERANS DAY

In India, the Armed Forces Veterans Day is observed each year on 14 January since 2017 to acknowledge and honour the selfless devotion and sacrifice of our veterans in the service of the nation. The day was initially called Armistice Day. 2021 marks the 5th Armed Forces Veterans Day.

The day is observed as a mark of respect and recognition of the services rendered by Field Marshal KM Cariappa OBE, the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces who retired on 14 January 1953.

15TH JAN: INDIAN ARMY DAY

The Army Day in India is celebrated on 15 January every year, to salute the valiant soldiers who sacrificed their lives to protect the country and its citizens. This year marks the 73rd Indian Army Day.

The day is marked to commemorate the day when General (later Field Marshal) KM Carriappa took over the command of Army from General Sir FRR Bucher, the last British Commander-in-Chief in 1949 and became the first Commander-in-Chief of Indian Army post Independence.

18TH JAN – 17TH FEB: NATIONAL ROAD SAFETY MONTH

The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways observes the National Road Safety Week every year in the second week of January. However, in 2021, the Government has decided to observe National Road Safety Month instead of National Road Safety Week.

During this period nation-wide various activities will be conducted throughout the country in association with the Banking News

18TH JAN: NDRF CELEBRATES ITS 16TH RAISING DAY

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) celebrated its 16th Raising Day on 18th January.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), a specialized multi-skilled, humanitarian force of the country, came into existence on January 19th, 2006 has been playing a vital role in Disaster Management and Community awareness for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in the country.

23RD JANUARY: NETAJI SUBHAS CHANDRA BOSE JAYANTI / PRAKARAM DIWAS

Birth anniversary of freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose will now be celebrated as the Parakram Diwas. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was born on 23 January, 1897 in Cuttack, Orissa. He was one of the most prominent Indian freedom fighters. His army was known as Indian National Army (INA) or Azad Hind Fauj. He also led an Indian national force from abroad against the Western powers during World War II.

24TH JAN: NATIONAL GIRL CHILD DAY

The day is celebrated to highlight the inequalities faced by a majority of the girls in India, the importance of education, nutrition, legal rights, medical care and safety of girl children, etc.

25TH JAN: NATIONAL VOTERS DAY

National Voter's Day or Rashtriya Matdata Diwas is celebrated to encourage young voters to take part in the political process. It was first celebrated in 2011 for the first time to mark Election Commission's Foundation Day.

25TH JAN: NATIONAL TOURISM DAY

The Day is celebrated in India to raise awareness and educate people about the importance of tourism and the role it plays in the Indian economy.

26TH JAN: REPUBLIC DAY

On 26 November, 1949 the Indian Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution the supreme law of the land, and replaced the Government of India Act 1935. It came into effect on 26 January 1950 with a democratic government system. This day marks the largest parade that took place at Rajpath, Delhi every year.

26TH JAN: INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMS DAY

International Customs Day (ICD) is celebrated every year on 26 January by Custom Organization to recognize the role of custom officials and agencies in maintaining border security. It also focuses on the working conditions and challenges that customs officers face in their jobs.

28TH JAN: BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF LALA LAJPAT RAI

Lala Lajpat Rai was a prominent nationalist leader who played an important role in India’s struggle for freedom. He also earned the title of 'Punjab Kesari' or 'the Lion of the Punjab'. He initiated the foundation of Punjab National Bank.

30TH JAN: MARTYRS DAY OR SHAHEED DIWAS

On 30 January Martyr's Day or Shaheed Diwas is celebrated in the memory of Mahatma Gandhi. On 30 January 1948 Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the Nation was assassinated at Gandhi Smriti in the Birla House.

30TH JAN: WORLD LEPROSY ERADICATION DAY

World Leprosy Day is observed on the last Sunday of January to focus on the target of zero cases of leprosy-related disabilities in children. As we know that disabilities do not occur overnight but happen after a prolonged period of undiagnosed disease.