Feb 21' | Issue :01

Current Affairs TOPICS with COVERED National Static gk International State January - 2021 Banking Economy Defence Your Schedule Science-Tech Our Assistance Appointments Agreements Awards Recognitions Ranks Important Days Books & Authors For more update and free materials Obituaries Join our social media handles Selfxpert_Official Most Important Selfxpert Current Affairs

FOR ALL COMPETITIVE EXAMS special focous on west Bengal Civil Service Current Affairs Jan| 2021

NATIONAL 8. India has been chosen as the co-chair of the IUCN- 1. PM Modi lays foundation stone of LIGHT HOUSE supported ASIA PROTECTED AREAS PARTNERSHIP (APAP) . PROJECTS (LHPS). ● Implemented at Indore (Madhya Pradesh), ● for a period of three years till November Rajkot (Gujarat), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), 2023. Ranchi (Jharkhand), Agartala (Tripura) and ● India will replace South Korea, which held the Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh). post for 3 years until November 2020 ● Conceptualised by the Union Ministry of 9. The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has Housing and Urban Affairs. formally announced the final approval for Oxford- ● Constructed under the Global Housing AstraZeneca “COVISHIELD” and bharat Technology Challenge (GHTC)-India. biotech “COVAXIN” vaccines against the coronavirus ● Under the programm, over 1,000 disease (Covid-19) for emergency use. houses would be built in each of the six cities in 12 months along with allied infrastructure ● Oxford-AstraZeneca’s vaccine, is being facilities. manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) as Covishield, for emergency use and 2. ADB to provide $231 mn loan to enhance POWER Covaxin for restricted use. GENERATION CAPACITY IN ASSAM. ● Covaxin is the indigenous vaccine being ● Under the project, 120 megawatts (MW) developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration hydroelectric power plant would be with the Indian Council of Medical Research constructed. (ICMR). SERUM INSTITUTE OF INDIA 3. Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, ● Founded: 1966. Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the VIRTUAL AGRI- ● Headquarters : Pune. HACKATHON 2020. ● CEO: Adar Poonawalla. ● Founder: Cyrus S. Poonawalla. ● organised by the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare in 10. Delhi government Department of Art, Culture, and association with IARI, Pusa, New Delhi. Language has set-up a TAMIL ACADEMY to promote the ● Narendra Singh Tomar said that Agri India language and culture of the southern state of Tamil Hackathon is the largest virtual gathering to Nadu. create dialogues and accelerate innovations. DELHI ● CM of Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal; 4. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced plans to ● Governor : Anil Baijal. build a MEMORIAL IN THE STATE CAPITAL FOR THE C-19 ● Minister of Art, Culture, and Language: Manish warriors who laid their lives in the line of duty. Sisodia.

5. India has started EXPORTS OF MORINGA POWDER, 11. The 51st International Film Festival of India keeping in mind its rising global demand and nutritional (IFFI) will open on 16th January, with the Indian properties, the commerce ministry announced that. premiere of the movie ‘Another Round’ by Thomas Vinterberg. 6. POLLUTION LEVELS IN DELHI this December were the lowest in the last four years, according to the Central 12. Home Minister Amit Shah has released the inaugural Pollution Control Board (CPCB). issue of the NATIONAL POLICE K-9 JOURNAL in New Delhi. ● The average air quality index (AQI) for December stood at 308. ● It is the first such publication in the country ● Delhi recorded four "severe" air quality days on the subject of Police Service K9s, Police this December as compared to eight each in Dogs. 2019 and 2018 and one in 2017. ● The journal comprises different sections ● There were 10 "poor" air days this December in Hindi and English. as against seven (2019), four (2018) and nine (2017) 13. PM Shri Narendra Modi has addressed the NATIONAL METROLOGY CONCLAVE, via video conferencing on 7. The Union Cabinet approved the construction of a January 04, 2021. MULTI-MODAL LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORT HUB in Uttar Pradesh’s Greater Noida. NATIONAL METROLOGY CONCLAVE 2021 ● organised by the Council of Scientific and ● Estimated cost of Rs3,883.80 crore. Industrial Research-National Physical ● The multi-modal logistics hub project will Laboratory (CSIR-NPL), New Delhi. provide standard container handling activities ● organized to mark its 75th year of inception. and value-added services to reduce logistics ● Theme: ‘Metrology for the Inclusive Growth costs with improved efficiency of operations. of the Nation’. selfxpert©2021 P a g e 1 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

● organized by the Central University of Punjab, Bathinda (CUPB) in collaboration with 14. The International Jury for 51st edition of the Global Educational Research Association INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA has been (GERA). announced with eminent filmmakers from across the ● Theme: “Envisioning Education for world. Transforming Youth to Restore Global According to the Information and Broadcasting Peace”. Ministry, the Jury will comprises of ● This conference is the first of its kind in India ● Pablo Cesar of Argentina as Chairman, where scholars across the world would be ● Prasanna Vithanage of Sri Lanka, continuously having non-stop marathon ● Abu Bakr Shawky of Austria, dialogue sessions for 31 hours exploring the ● Priyadarshan of India and possibilities of the use of ICT in higher ● Rubaiyat Hossain of Bangladesh. education to promote the equitable quality education in India. 15. The Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 21. Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha Nishank and Union Minister WCD and Textiles Smt. Smriti launches Mobile Application ‘SATARK NAGRIK’ Zubin Irani jointly launched TOYCATHON-2021 and and DEPARTMENTAL VIGILANCE OFFICERS PORTAL of the TOYCATHON PORTAL. Jammu & Kashmir Anti Corruption Bureau.

● Toycathon is being organized to develop India ● ‘SATARK NAGRIK’ launched with Purpose to as the global Toy manufacturing hub. facilitate seamless flow of information about corruption and enable citizens to submit their 16. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dedicated the 306- grievances with ease and mobility. KM NEW REWARI-NEW MADAR SECTION of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) to the nation. ● (DVO) Portal has been designed to enable an online communication channel with the DVOs 17. Through video-conferencing, Modi also flagged off of various departments. the WORLD’S FIRST DOUBLE-STACK LONG-HAUL 1.5-KM- LONG CONTAINER TRAIN hauled by electric traction 22. The Health and Family Welfare Ministry has recently from New Ateli-New Kishangarh. formed a technical expert group to study the adverse findings from the NATIONAL FAMILY HEALTH SURVEY-5. 18. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has capped the AMOUNT OF TRANS FATTY ACIDS ● The Ministry has set up the technical (TFA) IN OILS AND FATS through an amendment in FSSAI. committee of medicine and nutrition experts under the leadership of Joint Secretary Preeti ● 3% for 2021 and 2% by 2022. Pant with state programme officers ● current permissible limit : 5% from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and FSSAI Karnataka. ● Founded: August 2011. ● The committee will examine the findings of ● Headquarters: New Delhi. the National Family Health Survey-5 as well as ● Chairperson: Rita Teaotia. suggest policies and courses of action to ● Chief Executive Officer: Arun Singhal. improve on indicators related to anaemia, malnutrition, C-section, and stunting. 19. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated 23. The Government of Japan has committed an Official the 450-KM KOCHI-MANGALURU NATURAL GAS PIPELINE . Development Assistance loan of 30 billion Japanese Yen (apprx. Rs 2113 crore rupees) SUPPORT FOR COVID relief ● Building cost : Rs 3,000 crore . efforts. ● It has been built by GAIL (India) Limited. ● The event marks an important milestone JAPAN towards the creation of One Nation One Gas  Capital: Tokyo. Grid.  Currency: Japanese yen. ● Aim: Natural gas pipeline network will be doubled in 5-6 years and CNG stations will be  PM: Yoshihide Suga. raised to 10,000 from current 1,500. 24. The second session of the 7TH TRADE POLICY REVIEW ● The pipeline will carry natural gas from Kochi (TPR) OF INDIA concluded at the World Trade in Kerala through Ernakulam, Thrissur, Organization (WTO). Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasargod districts to Mangaluru in ● This was the final session of the 7th trade Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. policy review. ● Trade Policy Review is a key mechanism under 20. Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal the monitoring function of WTO. inaugurates International Akhand Conference ‘EDUCON-

2020’

●

selfxpert©2021 P a g e 2 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

● to examine the availability of health ● During this trade policy review, WTO examines insurance products in the country, considering the trade and related policies of the member the need of the Indian society and recommend countries with an aim to improve their suitable products and processes. adherence to WTO rules and to provide IRDAI constructive feedback.  Founded: 1999 ● The official delegation of India for the 7th TPR  Headquarters: Hyderabad, Telangana. was headed by Anup Wadhawan, the Commerce Secretary. 30. NO foreign leader as CHIEF GUEST ON REPUBLIC DAY this year. 25. Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari to launch “KHADI PRAKRITIK PAINT” developed ● According to External Affairs by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC). Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava, due to the global COVID-19 situation, it has been ● The eco-friendly, non-toxic paint, decided that this year there will not be called “Khadi Prakritik Paint” is a first-of-its- a foreign Head of State or Head of kind product, with antifungal, antibacterial Government as the Chief Guest for the properties. Based on cow dung as its main Republic Day event. President Ramnath ingredient. Kovind will take the salute at the parade this ● the paint is cost-effective and odourless and time. has been certified by the Bureau of Indian ● This will be the first time in over five decades Standards. that India will not have a chief guest at the ● Khadi Prakritik Paint is available in two forms Republic Day parade. – distemper paint and plastic emulsion paint. ● This comes days after United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Boris Johnson cancelled his 26. In Leh, the FIRST-EVER ICE CLIMBING FESTIVAL was visit to India. Boris Jonhson was scheduled to celebrated in Nubra valley. be the chief guest at India’s Republic Day parade on January 26. ● The Seven Day event was organized by Nubra Adventure Club. 31. The Government of India launches PRADHAN MANTRI ● Ice climbing is a popular winter sport abroad. KAUSHAL VIKAS YOJANA 3.0 ● To promote winter tourism in Nubra valley, ● The scheme has been rolled out for the Nubra Adventure Club, with the help of Social current financial year, ending March 2021, and activist Dr Nordan Otzer, has organized the will be implemented by the Ministry of Skill Seven Day Ice Climbing Festival. Development and Entrepreneurship. 27. Indian-origin President of the Republic of ● Under this, skills training would be provided Suriname, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, will be the CHIEF in 600 districts across all states, (except four GUEST AT INDIA’S REPUBLIC DAY PARADE on January 26. states including Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal) to 8 ● India had initially invited Boris Johnson to be lakh candidates over next three months with the chief guest but the British PM had to an outlay of Rs 948.90 crore with a focus on cancel his visit in view of the grim coronavirus Covid-related skills. situation back home. ● a five-year PMKVY will be launched in 2021-22 ● Earlier this week, Santokhi was the chief guest with an enhanced target of skilling 1.5 crore at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas youth. Convention, held by the Ministry of External Affairs and he delivered the keynote address. 32. The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, SURINAME Consumer Affairs and Food and Public  Continent: South America. Distribution, Piyush Goyal has inaugurated the two-  President: Chandrikapersad Santokhi (July day ‘PRARAMBH’, Startup India International Summit in 2020, party: the Progressive Reform Party) New Delhi on 15 January 2021.  Capital: Paramarib. ● organized by the Department for Promotion  Currency: Suriname Dollar. of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under 28. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up a working M/o Commerce & Industry. group to study digital lending activities of the regulated ● The inaugural event was participated by the and unregulated players, due to the growing instances of members of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative frauds in digital lending space. for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) countries. 29. Insurance regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) has set up a panel of experts called ‘HEALTH INSURANCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE’ ●

selfxpert©2021 P a g e 3 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

● WHO has declared the Year 2021 as the Year ● Focus of the Summit will be on enhancing of Global Solidarity and Survival. multilateral cooperation and engagement with WHO countries from around the globe to  Headquarters : Geneva, Switzerland. collectively develop and strengthen the  Director-general : Tedros Adhanom. startup ecosystems. ● The Summit marks the fifth anniversary of 39. The 15TH INDIA DIGITAL SUMMIT, the flagship event the Startup India initiative, launched by the of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) Prime Minister on 16 January 2016. inaugurated by Ravi Shankar Prasad.

33. Union Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh has unveiled ● It is one of the biggest conferences for the India’s first ‘DRIVERLESS METRO CAR’ on 15 January digital industry. 2021 during a function held at BEML’s Bangalore ● Chief guest: Honourable Union Minister for Complex. Communications, Electronics & IT and Law & Justice, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, will ● manufactured at BEML Bangaluru deliver the inaugural address at the Summit. manufacturing facility, for Mumbai ● Theme for this year’s summit, which is being Metropolitan Region Development Authority held virtually is ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat – Start (MMRDA). of New Decade’ in line with the government’s ‘Make for the World’ 34. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched Rs 1,000- Initiatives. crore ‘Startup India Seed Fund’ on 16 January 2021, while addressing the ‘PRARAMBH: STARTUP INDIA 40. INDIA’S 1ST LABOUR MOVEMENT MUSEUM, in India, INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT’ 2021. would be launched in Alappuzha in Kerala, to showcase the history of the world labour movement. ● This initiative will help in setting up new startups and promote their growth. ● The New Model Cooperative Society Limited, previously run by the Bombay 35. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has flagged off EIGHT Company, has been converted into TRAINS connecting the Statue of Unity in Kevadiya, the Labour Movement Museum. Gujarat with different regions of the country through ● It will portray, through pictures, documents video conferencing. and other exhibits, the growth of the world ● PM Modi informed that it was the first time in labour movement and the history of Keralas history that so many trains from different labour movement. locations were flagged off for a common KERALA destination.The eight trains flagged off will  CM: Pinarayi Vijayan.Kerala connect Kevadiya with Varanasi, Dadar,  Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan. Ahmedabad, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Rewa, 41. Flight lieutenant Bhawana Kanth will become the 1ST Chennai, and Pratapnagar. WOMAN FIGHTER PILOT to take part in the REPUBLIC DAY 36. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has PARADE. launched a month-long mass awareness campaign ● She will be a part of the Indian Air Force’s titled ‘SAKSHAM’ (SANRAKSHAN KSHAMATA tableau in the 2021 Republic Day Parade that MAHOTSAV) to spread awareness about green and clean will showcase mock-ups of the light combat energy. helicopter, light combat aircraft, and the ● organised by the Petroleum Conservation Sukhoi-30 fighter plane. Research Association (PCRA), to motivate 42. The 5th edition of the Defence Ministers’ Dialogue consumers to switch to cleaner fuels and bring (DMD) between India and Singapore ‘IMPLEMENTING in behavioural change to use fossil fuel AGREEMENT ON SUBMARINE RESCUE SUPPORT AND intelligently. COOPERATION’ was signed between the two Navies. 37. MANISH KUMAR, a sanitation worker in Delhi, became ● The agreement was signed between Defence the FIRST PERSON TO RECEIVE THE COVID-19 VACCINE IN Minister Rajnath Singh and his Singaporean INDIA after PM Modi flagged off the nationwide counterpart Dr Ng Eng Hen. vaccination drive on 16 January 2021. SINGAPORE ● Manish Kumar was given the injection at AIIMS  Currency : Singapore dollar. in Delhi while Union Health Minister Dr Harsh  Capital : Singapore. Vardhan was also present.  PM : Lee Hsien Loong.

38. Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and 43. One of the oldest trains of Indian Railways, Family Welfare digitally chaired the 148th SESSION OF the HOWRAH-KALKA MAIL has been renamed as WHO EXECUTIVE BOARD, through Video Conference (has the ‘NETAJI EXPRESS’. been organised from 18-26 January 2021) selfxpert©2021 P a g e 4 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

● Indian Railways have renamed the train just a 49. The Kerala government is all set to launch India’s few days before the birth anniversary FIRST ‘GENDER PARK’ in Kerala’s Kozhikode. of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on January The park will become functional on the 23. ● occasion of the second edition of ● It is believed that Netaji took this train from the International Conference on Gender Bihar’s Gomoh after escaping from his house Equality (ICGE-II). in Kolkata in the year 1941. ● The gender park was established by the 44. Cabinet approves Rs 5,282-cr investment for 850 MW government of Kerala in 2013. It is an RATLE PROJECT on Chenab river initiative that works towards gender equality and empowerment in Kerala. The ● The Union Cabinet has approved 850 headquartered for the initiative is in the megawatts (MW) Ratle hydropower project capital of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram. worth an Rs. 5281.94 crore on Chenab Kerala river in Kishtwar district of Jammu and ● CM: Pinarayi Vijayan. Kashmir. ● Kerala Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan. ● The project will be developed by a new joint venture company between state-run National 50. The Central Government has approved the Rs 945- Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) crore ‘START-UP INDIA SEED FUND SCHEME’ (SISFS), Ltd and Jammu & Kashmir State Power which aims to provide financial assistance to start-ups for Development Corporation Ltd the product trials, market-entry, proof of concept, (JKSPDC), where NHPC will have a 51% prototype development and commercialization. stake in the JV firm, while the balance will be held by JKSPDC. ● The Rs 945 crore Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) will become operational from 45. Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah has inaugurated April 1 of this year till 2025 and this will be the new 4-LANE THALTEJ-SHILAJ-RANCHARDA RAILWAY disbursed through selected incubators across OVERBRIDGE in Ahmedabad city of Gujarat India, according to a gazette notification by the government. ● The new overbridge has been built at a cost ● The scheme will be implemented by of Rs 55 crore. the Department for Promotion of Industry 46. The 7th edition of ‘MASCRADE 2021 – MOVEMENT and Internal Trade (DIIT). The funds under AGAINST SMUGGLED & COUNTERFEIT TRADE’ was the scheme will be disbursed through the inaugurated by Dr Harsh Vardhan, the Union Minister of selected incubators across the country. The Health and Family welfare. startup will receive seed support only once.

● The two-day programme was organized 51. Union Minister for Finance and Corporate by FICCI CASCADE (Committee Against Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman has virtually inaugurated the Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Chennai Bench of the NATIONAL COMPANY LAW Destroying the Economy), to combat illicit APPELLATE TRIBUNAL (NCLAT). This will be the second trade, especially in a post COVID era. NCLAT Bench in the country, after the Principal Bench in New Delhi. 47. The South-East Central Railways (SECR) zone in Chhattisgarh breaks its own previous record by ● The NCLAT has jurisdiction over matters under successfully operating the LONGEST EVER FREIGHT TRAIN the Companies Act, the Insolvency and named as ‘VASUKI’. Bankruptcy Code and the Competition Commission of India. ● It covered the distance of 224 km between ● Fresh appeals against the orders of the the railway stations of Bhilai and Korba and Benches of the tribunal having jurisdiction took about seven hours. in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra ● The ‘Vasuki’, comprising of 300 wagons of Pradesh and Telangana and the Union long haul rake of five goods trains, ran with Territories of Lakshadweep and the help of one pilot, one assistant loco pilot Puducherry will have to be filed before the and a guard Chennai Bench.

48. VACCINE MAITRI Initiative is an initiative launched 52. Election Commission rolls out DIGITAL VOTER ID by India to gift COVID-19 vaccines to neighbouring CARDS “E-EPIC” countries. Recently, Sri Lanka and Bahrain have received the COVID-19 vaccines from India under the initiative. ● Chief Election Commissioner of India: Sunil Arora.  The Vaccine Maitri initiative was launched by ● Election Commission Formed: 25 January India on January 20 to gift COVID-19 vaccines 1950. to neighbouring countries.

selfxpert©2021 P a g e 5 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

● Chief Election Commission Headquarters: New 58. Kerala has declared ‘bird flu’ as a state disaster. Delhi.  Two districts of Kerala Kottayam and 53. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chaired the 35th Alappuzha are in high alert due to risk of PRAGATI meeting to review multiple projects, grievances Avian Influenza. and programmes. In the meeting, ten agenda items were Kerala: taken for review worth Rs. 54,675 crore, related to 15  Statehood- 1956 states.  Capital- Thiruvananthapuram  Governor- Arif Mohammad Khan ● These included nine projects and one  CM- Pinarayi Vijayan (CPIM) programme. Prime Minister also reviewed  High court- Kerala HC (Kerala and the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Lakshadweep) Pariyojana. ● PRAGATI stands for Pro-Active Governance 59. Odisha state govt has decided to give 2.5 lakh rupees and Timely Implementation. to a normal person to marry a disabled person. ● Of the total 9 projects, 3 projects were from  Capital - Bhubaneshwar the Ministry of Railways, 3 from Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and 1 project  Governor- Ganeshi Lal each from Department of Promotion of ● CM- Naveen Patnaik Industry and Internal Trade, Power Ministry 60. India has launched a new airline called ‘Flybig’. and Ministry of External Affairs. ● The States are Odisha, Karnataka, Andhra  Flybig will begin its operations officially on Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, 3rd January. Jharkhand, Bihar, Telangana, Rajasthan,  The first flight will take off from Indore, the Gujarat, West Bengal, Haryana, airline’s base, at 2.30 in the afternoon to Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. Ahmedabad.  The airline was founded by Sanjay Mandavia, a 54. Bharti Airtel took an edge by becoming the FIRST pilot-turned-aviator entrepreneur. telecom operator in india to demonstrate 5G SERVICES successfully. 61. Recently with Sonu Sood Mi India has launched the ‘Shiksha Har Haath’ initiative. ● Bharti Airtel announced that it orchestrated live fifth-generation (5G) service over a  The movement will look at helping commercial network in Hyderabad. underprivileged kids across the country who ● Bharti Airtel explained that it used state of are unable to access online education due to the art dynamic spectrum sharing so as to the unavailability of smartphones. operate both 4G and 5G networks in the same spectrum block. 62. The public awareness campaign program on Ayurveda Bharti Airtel ‘Ayu Samvad’ organised by the All-India Institute of ● CEO: Gopal Vittal. Ayurveda. ● Bharti Airtel Founder: Sunil Bharti Mittal. 63. Ministry of Defence has launched an e-magazine ● Bharti Airtel Founded: 7 July 1995. named ‘Shauryawaan’.

55. NATIONAL MARINE TURTLE ACTION PLAN has been  Defence Minister: Rajnath Singh. recently released by the Ministry of Environment Forest  It provides : nformation about gallantry and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in New Delhi. awards in India and their recipients since Independence along with it he also launched ● The Ministry also released the ‘Marine Mega a gallantry award quiz competition and an e- Fauna Stranding Guidelines’ along with the magazine. Marine Turtle Action Plan. ● Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate 64. Ministry of Tourism. organises the ‘Bharat Parv’ Change: Prakash Javadekar. event every year on the occasion of Republic Day celebration. 56. Recently Union Ministry of Health has launched CoWin (Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network) app for  The event aims to showcase the rich cultural vaccination of Corona virus vaccine. diversity of the country. 57. Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren  States and UTs will display their tourism Rijiju launched the Assam Rifles Public School as a Khelo destinations, cuisine, handicrafts and unique India Sports School in Shillong, Meghalaya. features.  Inaugurated by : LS Speaker Om Birla.  In the North-east region, it is the first sports school announced under khelo India initiative.

selfxpert©2021 P a g e 6 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

 The bill requires the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to award 65. India to host AFC Women’s Football Asia Cup in the at least 50% of scholarships under a Pakistan- year 2022. based higher education scholarship  For the first time the event will feature 12 teams programme to Pakistani women, from 2020 to from across Asia. 2022, across a range of academic disciplines and in accordance with existing eligibility  The event will act as a qualifier to the 2023 FIFA criteria. Women’s World Cup that is to be held in Australia and New Zealand. 2. President-elect Joe Biden will nominate federal appeals judge Merrick Garland to be the next U.S. 66. R K S Bhadouria inaugurated the IAF e-governance (e- office) portal. ATTORNEY GENERAL.  The launch of the portal is part of Digital  He serves as a judge on the U.S. Court of India and e-governance initiative that Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, will transform the entire Indian Air Force one of 13 federal appeals courts. Vanita into a paperless office workflow. 67. The Prime Minister inaugurated the National Atomic Gupta, the head of the Leadership Conference Scale at National Metrology Conclave 2021 organised on Civil and Human Rights, will be nominated bythe Council of Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR). by Biden as the Associate Attorney General, the No. 3 people in the department. CSIR 3. Indian-American Dr Raj Iyer has taken over as the  Founded: 26 September 1942 , National Physical FIRST CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER OF THE US Laboratory, New Delhi. ARMY, after the Pentagon created the position in July  Head: Shekhar C. Mande 2020. 68. Amit Shah launches ‘Single Window Clearance  Dr Raj Iyer is one of the highest-ranking System’ for Coal Sector. Indian-American civilians in the US Ministry of Coal: Department of Defence.  Union Minister : Pralhad Joshi 4. Alex Ellis appointed new BRITISH HIGH COMMISSIONER  Headquarters : New DeDelhi TO INDIA . 24.‘Euphranta Siruvani’-New Species of Fruit Fly named 5. Faustin-Archange Touadera was re-elected as the after Siruvani in Western Ghats. PRESIDENT OF THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC with 25. India Finds Its First Ever Lithium Reserves In more than 53% votes. Karnataka's Mandya.  The 63-year-old president has been in power  The discovery has been made in the preliminary since 2016 but has struggled to seize control survey of Atomic Minerals Directorate for of vast parts of the nation from armed Exploration and Research (AMD), which is an arm militias. of Centre's Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).  The Central African Republic, a producer Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) of gold and diamonds, has a population of 4.7  Formed :- 3 August 1954 million.  Jurisdiction :- Republic of India Central African Republic  Headquarters :- Mumbai, Maharashtra,  Capital: Bangui;  Currency: Central African CFA Franc.

6. US President-elect Joe Biden named Indian- American Sumona Guha as senior director for South Asia and Tarun Chhabra as senior director for Technology INTERNATIONAL and National Security. 7. TWITTER INC has DELETED new tweets posted by U.S. 1. The U.S. Congress has passed the ‘MALALA YOUSAFZAI PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP ON OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT SCHOLARSHIP ACT’ to increase the number of ACCOUNT @POTUS and suspended the account of his scholarships for Pakistani women in higher education presidential campaign, after booting his personal account under merit and needs-based programme. of the platform permanently.  The bill was passed by the United States 8. BANGLADESH has been chosen as the ‘COUNTRY IN Senate by a voice vote on January 1. The bill FOCUS’ for the 51st International Film Festival of now heads to the White House for U.S. India (IFFI). President Donald Trump to sign into law.

selfxpert©2021 P a g e 7 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

 The festival will be held at Goa from January 12. Elon Musk-owned electric vehicle (EV) 16 to January 24, 2021. The Country in Focus company TESLA has registered a FULLY-OWNED is a special segment that recognizes the SUBSIDIARY IN BENGALURU, KARNATAKA. cinematic excellence and contributions of the Tesla country.  Founded: 1 July 2003.  This section at the 51st IFFI will showcase four  Headquarters: California, United States. films from Bangladesh.  The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), 13. DONALD TRUMP BECOMES THE FIRST U.S. PRESIDENT has been held annually since 1952, in Goa. TO BE IMPEACHED TWICE.  The event is organised jointly by the Directorate of Film Festivals (under Ministry of  President Donald Trump was impeached by Information and Broadcasting) and the state the U.S. House for a historic second time on Government of Goa. January 13, charged with “incitement of Bangladesh insurrection” over the deadly mob siege of  PM : Sheikh Hasina; the Capitol in a swift and stunning collapse of  Capital: Dhaka; his final days in office.  Currency: Taka.  He was first impeached in 2019 over his  President: Abdul Hamid. Ukraine dealings.  The proceedings moved at lightning speed, 9. The oldest surviving Olympic champion, Ágnes with lawmakers voting just one week after Keleti, celebrates her 100th birthday. She is one of her violent pro-Mr. Trump loyalists stormed the country’s most successful Olympians, having won 10 medals U.S. Capitol, urged on by the President’s calls for Hungary in gymnastics, at the Olympic Games Helsinki for them to “fight like hell” against the 1952 and Melbourne 1956. election results.

 Her haul included five golds. Keleti won the 14. Incoming First Lady, Jill Biden has named Indian- floor event in Finland before producing an American Garima Verma as her digital director astonishing display in Australia, winning four and Michael LaRosa press secretary. golds – in the uneven bars, balance beam, floor, and team event. At 35, she became  Garima Verma served as audience the oldest female gymnast to win an development and content strategist on Olympic title. the Biden-Harris campaign.

10. The Government of France organised the 15. The United States has recently designated FOURTH ‘ONE PLANET SUMMIT’, through the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates videoconferencing, which aimed at protecting the (UAE) as the “MAJOR STRATEGIC PARTNERS” of the world’s biodiversity. country.

 The Summit was organised in cooperation with  This has been announced before the formal the United Nations and the World Bank. transition of the president’s office  Theme of the Summit : “Let’s act together from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. This for nature!”. announcement of “major strategic  It was inaugurated by the Secretary-General partners” was done by Kayleigh of the United Nations António Guterres, McEnany, the White House Press Secretary. French President Emmanuel Macron, and UAE President of the World Bank Group David  President of UAE: Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Malpass. Nahyan. France  Capital of UAE: Abu Dhabi; Currency: United  Capital: Paris. Arab Emirates dirham.  President: Emmanuel Macron. Bahrain  Prime minister: Jean Castex  King : Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.  Currency: Euro.  Capital : Manama; Currency : Bahraini Dinar.

11. The frontrunner in KYRGYZSTAN’S PRESIDENTIAL 16. Pakistan has issued special permission to Sheikh ELECTION, Sadyr Japarov, has won by a landslide. Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the Dubai Ruler; the According to the Central Election Commission, Mr crown prince, and 5 members of the royal family for Japarov had won 79% of votes cast. HUNTING HOUBARA BUSTARD during the 2020-21 hunting season. ● Kyrgyzstan Capital: Bishkek; Currency: Pakistan Kyrgyzstani som.  President : Arif Alvi.  Prime Minister : Imran Khan.

selfxpert©2021 P a g e 8 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

Portugal ● Capital: Lisbon; 17. Uganda’s incumbent President Yoweri Museveni has ● Currency: Euro. been declared as the winner of the country’s presidential election for 2021. 23. KAJA KALLAS, the leader of the Reform Party will become ESTONIA’S FIRST FEMALE PRIME MINISTER. Uganda  Capital: Kampala; Currency: Ugandan shilling.  Estonia would thus currently become the only country in the world where both the 18. Netherlands (The Dutch) Prime Minister, Mark president Kersti Kaljulaid and the prime Rutte and his ENTIRE CABINET HAS RESIGNED recently minister are women. over the childcare subsidies scandal, in which thousands Estonia of families were wrongly accused of child welfare fraud.  Capital: Tallinn. Netherlands  Currency: Euro.  Capital: Amsterdam; 24. ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER, GIUSEPPE CONTE RESIGNED  Currency: Euro after losing his Senate majority, plunging the country 19. JOE BIDEN became the 46TH PRESIDENT OF into political uncertainty just as it’s battling the THE UNITED STATES. pandemic and a recession.

 He swore the oath of office moments  Italy was the first European country to face after Kamala Harris, who became America’s the full force of the Covid-19 pandemic and first woman vice president, turning the page has since suffered badly, with the economy on Donald Trump’s tumultuous four years. plunged into recession and deaths still rising  At 78, Biden is the oldest president in US by around 400 a day. history and only the second Roman Catholic Italy president.  President : Sergio Mattarella.  Biden, who was vice president under Barack  Capital : Rome; Obama and first ran for president  Currency : Euro. in 1987, plans to kick off his tenure with a 25. “Street food and drinks shops” has been found in an flurry of 17 orders. Archaeological site named Pompeii, located in Italy. 20. china overtook Germany to become the country with  It out that there were. the world’s LARGEST CURRENT ACCOUNT SURPLUS IN THE YEAR 2020, as per a survey by the Munich-based Ifo  This is a 2000-year-old site. institute. 26. In Dominican Republic of Estonia, Paraguay Union China Cabinet approved the opening of Indian Missions 2021?  Capital: Beijing. 27. Britain has generated more than 50% of its electricity  Currency: Renminbi. due to the recent storm ‘Bella’.  President: Xi Jinping. 28. Tesla recently launched its largest supercharger 21. The Prime Minister of Mongolia, Khurelsukh facility in the city of Zhongshan, China. Ukhnaa, has RESIGNED ALONG WITH HIS ENTIRE GOVERNMENT, following protests and public outrage over  The supercharger station has 72 charging stalls the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. with the hope of attracting a growing number of electric vehicles.  Parliament, which is controlled by Khurelsukh’s Mongolian People’s 29. USA has recently allowed people to fly small drones Party, voted overwhelmingly to accept his at night. resignation. 30. Google has recently announced the launch of ‘Insight Mongolia tool’ for the tourism industry.  Capital: Ulaanbaatar.  President: Khaltmaagiin Battulga.  It will provide ‘demand trends to sector  Currency: Mongolian Togrog. participants’ in India. This includes hotels, travel start-ups and booking agents, among 22. The incumbent PRESIDENT OF PORTUGAL, MARCELO other players in the industry. REBELO DE SOUSA has won a second five-year term after winning the 2021 Portuguese presidential election with a 31. Argentina has recently passed a bill making abortion landslide victory. valid.

 The 72-year-old former leader of the Social Democratic Party won 61 per cent of the total votes.

selfxpert©2021 P a g e 9 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

 Balshastri Jambhekar is also known as ‘The Father of Marathi Journalism’, for his efforts 32. India and Bangladesh sign MoU for launching ‘Pupil in starting journalism in the Marathi Satellite’ to be developed by Students from both the language, in the form of first Marathi countries. newspaper and first Marathi monthly.

 In order to celebrate the 50 years of India- 4. The 40TH INDIAN SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION TO Bangladesh friendship and the 100th Birth ANTARCTICA was flagged off on January 05, 2021, Anniversary of Sheikh Mujibar Rahman, both from Mormugao Port, GOA. the countries signed the MoU.  The chartered ice-class vessel MV Vasiliy

Golovnin has been chosen for the prestigious 40th Indian Scientific Expedition STATE to Antarctica (ISEA) mission journey and will reach Antarctica in 30 days. India’s major fuel supplier, Indian Oil 1. The government of MADHYA PRADESH has launched  Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) has supplied Jet A1 a ‘LAUNCH PAD SCHEME’ for the boys and girls coming fuel, lubes and Marine Gas Oil (MGO) for the out of child care institutions and having completed 18 mission. years of age. Goa  Launched by : the Women and Child  Capital: Panaji. Development Department of the state .  Governor : Bhagat Singh Koshyari.  Objectives : to provide a platform to these  Chief Minister : Pramod Sawant youth, through which they will be able to become self-reliant by continuing their 5. Arup Kumar Goswami was sworn in as the Chief education and training. Justice (CJ) of ANDHRA PRADESH HIGH COURT by Governor Biswab Bushan Harichandan in the presence of  The District Administration will provide space to these youths for the opening of coffee Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. shops, stationery, photocopying, computer 6. The Chief Minister of Karnataka, B.S. typing and DTP work. Yediyurappa flagged off 40 KRISHI SANJEEVANI VANS in  All the 52 districts of the state have been BENGALURU to test soil, water. divided into 5 clusters with headquarters at Indore, Sagar, Gwalior, Jabalpur and  These vans have been launched by the state Bhopal. Agriculture Department with Central assistance under National Krishi Vikas 2. The World Bank has signed a $105 million project with Yojana to take up this novel programme. the Government of India and the Government of West Bengal to improve the INLAND WATER TRANSPORT 7. ODISHA CM Naveen Patnaik inaugurates INFRASTRUCTURE in Kolkata, WEST BENGAL. RAMALINGESWARA PARK in Berhampur of Ganjam district in Odisha.  The West Bengal Inland Water Transport, Logistics and Spatial Development  The park has added glitter to the Silk City. ∙ Project will improve passenger and freight  Beautification of the park is a 5T initiative by movement across the Hooghly river as well as the Government of Odisha. improve accessibility in the Kolkata 8. The senior-most judge of Delhi High Court, Justice Metropolitan Area, enhance the quality of life Hima Kohli has been appointed as the new Chief Justice of its residents and contribute to the growth of Telangana High Court. of the state’s logistics sector.  The project will cover the five most populous  She is the first woman to be sworn in as CJ of districts of southern West Bengal, including its Telangana HC. urban agglomeration — the Kolkata  Justice Kohli was administered the oath of Metropolitan Area (KMA) where around 30 office by Telangana Governor Dr Tamilisai million people or one-third of West Bengal’s Soundararajan. population live.  She replaces CJ Raghvendra Singh Chauhan, who has been appointed as the CJ of 3. THE JOURNALIST DAY is observed by MAHARASHTRA Uttarakhand HC. state government on 6th January every year in the memory of late journalist Balshastri Jambhekar. 9. WEST BENGAL CM, Mamata Banerjee has inaugurated the 26TH KOLKATA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL  The first newspaper in the Marathi language (KIFF). named ‘Darpan’, was published on January 6, 1832, the date which also marks the birth anniversary of Balshastri Jambhekar.

selfxpert©2021 P a g e 10 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

 The inaugural ceremony was also virtually  The scheme is supported by sponsors, which attended by Bollywood superstar and West expects an enrollment of 10,000 boys and Bengal’s brand ambassador Shah Rukh girls across the state. Khan from Mumbai. Kerala  Legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s  CM: Pinarayi Vijayan. classic ‘Apur Sansar’ will be the inaugural  Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan. film of the festival in which 131 movies from 45 countries will be screened till January 13. 15. The Maharashtra government has renamed Gorewada  Films will be screened at Rabindra Sadan, International Zoo in Nagpur as ‘BALASAHEB THACKERAY Nandan, Sisir Mancha and Rabindra Okakura GOREWADA INTERNATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK’ (will Bhavan in Salt Lake. come up on nearly 2,000 hectares forest land).  Six films by Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini Maharashtra and movies on sitarist Ravi Shankar, singer  Chief Minister : Uddhav Thackeray; Hemanta Mukherjee and flicks of comedian  Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari. Bhanu Bandyopadhyay will be screened. West Bengal 16. The Chief Minister of BIHAR Nitish Kumar has  Chief Minister of West Bengal: Mamata inaugurated the first-ever bird festival of the Banerjee; state, ‘KALRAV’, AT NAGI-NAKTI BIRD  Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar. SANCTUARY, located in Jamui district.

11. The 4TH EDITION OF THE CHERRY BLOSSOM Bihar FESTIVAL, Mao in MANIPUR was virtually inaugurated by  Chief Minister: Nitish Kumar; Chief Minister N Biren Singh.  Governor: Phagu Chauhan.

 Cherry Blossom, a plant which is popularly 17. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has known as Sakura in Japan. launched HIMACHAL PRADESH’S first online youth radio  Chief Minister of Manipur: N. Biren Singh; station ”RADIO HILLS-YOUNGISTAN KA DIL”. Governor: Najma Heptulla.  Chief Minister : Jairam Thakur; 12. The Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik  Governor : Bandaru Dattatraya. inaugurates INDIA’S FIRST ‘FIRE PARK’ inside the premises of the ODISHA Fire and Disaster 18. The GUJARAT state government has RENAMED Academy in BHUBANESWAR. DRAGON FRUIT AS ‘KAMALAM’. The move has kept the internet in splits and many criticized it using the  The minister also launched an online hashtag #SanskariFruitSabzi. portal, ‘AgnishamaSeva’ of Odisha Fire Service.  Gujarat Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani. Odisha Governor: Acharya Devvrat.  Chief Minister : Naveen Patnaik. 19. UTTARAKHAND Chief Minister, Trivendra Singh  Capital: Bhubaneswar. Governor: Ganeshi Lal. Rawat will inaugurate the fIRST CHILD-FRIENDLY POLICE 13. KERALA has become the 8th State in the country to STATION has been set up in the Dalanwala police station successfully undertake “EASE OF DOING of Uttarakhand. BUSINESS” reform stipulated by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.  to provide a friendly environment to children associated with crimes.  Kerala has now joined the seven other States Uttarakhand namely, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya  Chief Minister: Trivendra Singh Rawat. Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and  Governor : Baby Rani Maurya. Telangana, who have completed this reform. Kerala 20. The KARNATAKA Chief Minister, BS  CM: Pinarayi Vijayan. Yediyurappa recently launched AVALOKANA SOFTWARE.  Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan.  The software provides aeye view on 14. KERALA Governor Arif Mohammad Khan has Sustainable Development goals, Scheduled inaugurated the ‘ONESCHOOL ONE IAS’ scheme which has Caste Sub-Plan, Tribal Sub-plan and Centrally been rolled out under the Vedhik Erudite Foundations Sponsored Schemes. Scholarship Programme.  It is a transparent e-governance tool that will provide Assembly constituency-wise release of  The programme will be providing free training government grants and allocations to different to the students who are economically government programmes. backward but are academically brilliant Karnataka aspirants of civil service and other  Chief Minister : B.S. Yediyurappa; competitive exams.  Governor: Vajubhai Vala selfxpert©2021 P a g e 11 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

26. In MADHYA PRADESH, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh 21. ODISHA Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has Chouhan has launched a new scheme ‘PANKH inaugurated the annual TOSHALI NATIONAL CRAFTS ABHIYAN’ on 24 January, to mark the occasion MELA in Bhubaneswar. of National Girl Child Day.

Odisha  The scheme has been launched under  Chief Minister : Naveen Patnaik. the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ scheme for the  Capital: Bhubaneswar. empowerment and growth of the girchild.ld  Governor: Ganeshi Lal.  ‘PANKH Abhiyan’ is a year-long programme. The letter in the PANKH scheme stands for: 22. The Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Shri Arjun ‘P’ – protection Munda has launched a National Migration Support ‘A’ – awareness of their rights Portal “SHRAMSHAKTI”, during a virtual programme ‘N’ – nutrition organised at Panjim, GOA. ‘K’ – knowledge ‘H’ – health.  The portal will help the government in smooth Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj formulation of state and national level  Singh Chouhan; Governor: Anandiben Patel. programs for migrant workers.

23. MEGHALAYA Chief Minister, Conrad K. Sangma has 27. Uttar Pradesh becomes first Indian State to have 2 inaugurated India’s longest road arch bridge “WAHREW EXPRESSWAY AIRSTRIPS. BRIDGE” at Sohbar in East Khasi Hills district  In Uttar Pradesh, a new 3,300-metre-long of Meghalaya. airstrip has been constructed near Kurebhar Meghalaya on Purvanchal Expressway.  Capital: Shillong.  With this new airstrip, Uttar Pradesh has become the first state in India having two  Governor: Satya Pal Malik. airstrips on expressways.  Chief minister: Conrad Sangma.  Uttar Pradesh also has an airstrip on Lucknow- 24. UTTAR PRADESH Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath has Agra Expressway. launched the ‘UDYAM SARATHI APP’ on the occasion of  Airstrips on expressways are designed to the 71st Foundation Day of the state, on 24 January facilitate emergency landing and take-off of 2021. fighter planes.  The Uttar Pradesh government is trying to  The app will enable the youths to get every connect the entire northern part of the information related to self-employment and country with expressways. the job industry, across the state.  The Hindon and Agra airbases of the Indian  The theme of Uttar Pradesh Day 2021 Air Force will be able to use the runway of all is ‘Respect for self-reliant Uttar Pradesh, three expressways if needed. women young farmers, development of all’.  Also, these airstrips of Uttar Pradesh can  Udyam Sarathi App has been launched under serve the Air Force to respond against China the One District One Product (ODOP) and Pakistan in case of any war. scheme. Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh  Capital: Lucknow.  Capital: Lucknow.  Governor: Anandiben Patel. Chief  Governor: Anandiben Patel. minister: Yogi Adityanath.  Chief minister: Yogi Adityanath. 28. The Prison Department of MAHARASHTRA has launched its JAIL TOURISM INITIATIVE starting with more 25. Shristi Goswami, a nineteen-year-old Haridwar-based than 150-year-old Yerawada Central Prison in Pune. student, become the CHIEF MINISTER OF UTTARAKHAND FOR ONE DAY on National Girl Child  Yerawada jail is 150 years old where several Day. freedom fighters, including Mahatma Gandhi, Lokmanya Tilak were imprisoned, Pune-pact  She is a student of BSc Agriculture, lives in was signed within the premises etc. Daulatpur village in Roorkee, Haridwar. The  The visitors will also get to see the faasi move has received the nod of Chief yard, the area where the death sentence is Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat. executed.  Uttarakhand Chief Minister: Trivendra Singh  This is the place where Chapekar brothers Rawat. were executed in 1899 for the assassination  Governor of Uttarakhand: Baby Rani Maurya. of British Plague Commissioner of Pune WC Rand.

selfxpert©2021 P a g e 12 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021  North-Eastern Area (reorganisation) Act 1971)  The last execution that the faasi yard  Capital- Shilong witnessed was in November 2012 of Ajmal  Governor – Satya Pal Malik Kasab, a convict of 26/11 attacks, who was  CM- Conrad Sangma (National People’s Party) buried inside the prison premises.  Chief Minister of Maharashtra: Uddhav 34. ‘Dzukou valley’, which recorded a massive wild-fire, Thackeray; Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari is located on Manipur-Nagaland border.

29. The river cruise ‘Brahmaputra’r Mukuta’ has been  popular tourist spot and is mostly famous for inaugurated in Assam In order to promote river tourism its seasonal flowers and bio-diversity. in Assam. 35. Chennai has topped the world in CCTV surveillance  Inaugurated by : CM recently.  Location: at the bank of Brahmaputra near Chennai has the maximum CCTV coverage per Bogibeel bridge in Dibrugarh.  square KM and per 1000 population among the Assam 130 cities studied worldwide, according to a  Statehood- 26 january, 1950 recent report published in South Asia Journal.  Capital- Dispur  Governor- Jagdish Mukhi 36. Maharashtra state govt has unveiled a Braille version  CM- Sarbanand Sonowal of the Indian Constitution.

30. ‘Jawhar’ tribal city of Maharashtra has recently  Capita: Mumbai, Nagpur(winter) earned the tag of ‘Mini Mahabaleshwar’.  Formed :1960. The state of Bombay split in Maharashtra and Gujarat in 1960. 31. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has recently  Governor : Bhagat Singh Koshyari inaugurated ‘Thoubal Multipurpose Project’ has been CM: Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena) inaugurated on Thoubal Dam in Imphal, Manipur.   Areawise rank : 3rd Manipur:  Population wise rank : 2nd  Formation- 1972 (before that it was a Union Territory) 37. Ramgarh in Jharkhand has topped the list of aspirational districts ranked by the government think  Capital – Imphal tank Niti Aayog.  Governor- Najma Heptulla  CM- N. Biren Singh  Ramgarh district is one of the 24 districts in the Indian state of Jharkhand. 32. Madhya Pradesh has launched a campaign called ‘Ek It was also a military district during the British Zila Ek Shilp’.  Regime, referred to then as Ramgahr district.  Under this initiative, the state govt is focussing on local traditional art of each 38. Arunachal Pradesh is likely to become India’s prime district in the state and making efforts to producer of Vanadium As per the Geological Survey of promote it. India (GSI).  The first of such kind of exhibition Vanadium is a high-value metal used in called Raag-Bhopali is being organized to promote Zari-Zardozi crafts of strengthening steel and titanium. Bhopal. Geological Survey of India (GSI) :  MP govt hopes to revive the fading art of Zari-  Founder : Thomas Oldham Zardozi.  Founded : 4 March 1851 Madhya Pradesh:  Parent Government agency :- Ministry of Mines  Formation- 1956  Headquarters : Kolkata, West Bengal, India  Capital- Bhopal Arunachal Pradesh :  Largest city- Indore  CM : Pema Khandu  Governor- Anandiben Patel  Governor : B. D. Mishra  CM- Shivraj Singh Chouhan  Area rank- 2nd 33. 1st ‘Ginger Processing Plant’ of North East has been built in Meghalaya.

 Established in Ri-Bhoui district in Meghalaya.  The plant was established around the year

2004 but remained non-functional for many years. Meghalaya  Formation- 1972 (received the status of full- fledged state in 1971 by

selfxpert©2021 P a g e 13 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

BANKING & ECONOMY 6. WORLD BANK Projects Indian Economy to Contract By 1. RESERVE BANK OF INDIA has launched a DIGITAL 9.6% in 2020-21. PAYMENTS INDEX (DPI) to capture the extent of digitization of digital/electronic payments across the 7. WORLD BANK has projected the Indian economy to country. contract by 9.6 per cent in the fiscal year 2020-21, in its Global Economic Prospects report. World Bank estimates  This RBI-Digital Payments Index (DPI) has 5 Growth to recover to 5.4 per cent in 2021. broad parameters that will be used for the measurement of deepening and penetration of  the global economy is estimated to expand digital payments. by 4 per cent in 2021 by the World Bank.  RBI 25th Governor: Shaktikant Das;  global growth is projected to moderate to 3.8  Headquarters: Mumbai; per cent in 2022.  Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata. 8. THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA (RBI) has set up an 2. IDBI BANK launches VIDEO KYC FACILITY for opening academic advisory council called ‘COLLEGE OF savings bank accounts. SUPERVISORS (COS)’. ● to further strengthen supervision over IDBI Bank regulated entities.  CEO: Rakesh Sharma. ● The Cos will be headed by former deputy  Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra. governor N S Viswanathan and will have five 3. Indian multinational two-wheeler and three-wheeler other members. manufacturing company, BAJAJ AUTO has become the ● Other 5 members include: MOST VALUABLE TWO-WHEELER COMPANY IN THE ○ Arijit Basu, State Bank of India Managing WORLD, after it crossed a market capitalization of more Director than Rs. 1 lakh crore, on January 01, 2021. ○ Paresh Sukhankar, former HDFC Bank Deputy Managing Director  Bajaj Auto is not only the most valued ○ S Raghunath of Banglore IIM company in the two-wheeler segment but also ○ Tadhagatha Bandyophyay of Ahemadabad the first-ever two-wheeler company in the IIM and world to have reached this market cap ○ Subrata Sarkar of IGIDR, Mumbai. milestone.  Headquarter of Bajaj Auto: Pune, 9. IDFC MUTUAL FUND unveils new investor awareness Maharashtra. campaign #PAISONKOROKOMAT.  Managing Director of Bajaj Auto: Rajiv Bajaj. IDFC 4. THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA has introduced Legal ● First CEO: V. Vaidyanathan. Entity Identifier (LEI) for all payment transactions of ● IDFC First Bank Headquarters: Mumbai. value Rs 50 crore and above undertaken by entities (non- ● IDFC First Bank Founded: October 2015. individuals) via Real Time Gross Settlement 10. The GDP of India is expected to contract by 7.7 per (RTGS) and National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT). cent in the current fiscal year 2020-21, as per the first advanced estimates released by the National Statistical  Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and Office (NSO), under the Ministry of Statistics and National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) are Programme Implementation (MOSPI) on January 07, the Centralised Payment Systems operated by 2021. RBI.  This instruction shall come into effect ● The first advance estimates of GDP of a from April 01, 2021. financial year are released before the Union  The Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) is a 20-digit Budget. number used to uniquely identify parties to ● Minister of State IC of the Ministry of Statistics financial transactions worldwide. and Programme Implementation: Rao Inderjit  LEI can be obtained from Legal Entity Singh. Identifier India Ltd. (LEIL) which is wholly owned subsidiary of Clearing Corporation of 11. Punjab National Bank(PNB) has partnered with IIT India Ltd (CCIL). Kanpur and the Foundation for Innovation & Research in RBI Science & Technology (FIRST) to set up a ‘Fintech  25th Governor: Shaktikant Das; Innovation Centre (FIC)’ at the institute’s campus.  Headquarters: Mumbai; ● Punjab National Bank  Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata. ● Headquarters: New Delhi. 5. Uttar Pradesh-based, SHIVALIK MERCANTILE CO- ● CEO: S. S. Mallikarjuna Rao. OPERATIVE BANK (SMCB) has become the first urban co- ● Founded: 19 May 1894, Lahore, Pakistan. operative bank (UCB) in India to receive a licence ● Founders: Lala Lajpat Rai, Dyal Singh Majithia. from RBI to operate as a Small Finance Bank (SFB). selfxpert©2021 P a g e 14 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

● Deputy Governors: 4 (Bibhu Prasad Kanungo, 12. London-based financial services company IHS Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, Markit has projected the Indian economy to rebound and M Rajeswar Rao). by 8.9 per cent in the fiscal year 2021-22, beginning April 2021. 16. THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA has imposed a PENALTY of Rs 2 crore on DEUTSCHE BANK AG for non-compliance ● IHS Markit CEO: Lance Uggla. with certain provisions of directions concerning interest ● IHS Markit Headquarters: London, United rate on deposits. Kingdom. ● IHS Markit Founded: 1959. Deutsche Bank ● CEO: Christian Sewing. 13. Private lender Bandhan Bank unveils “Bank Shaurya ● Headquarters: Frankfurt, Germany. Salary account’ for army personnel to provide banking ● Founded: 10 March 1870. services. 17. INDIA’S RETAIL INFLATION (based on the Consumer ● Bandhan Bank MD & CEO: Chandra Shekhar Price Index) DROPS TO 4.59 % IN DECEMBER (6.93 per Ghosh. cent in November) mainly due to declining food prices, ● Bandhan Bank HQ: Kolkata, West Bengal. government data showed. ● Bandhan Bank Founded: 2001. ● Food inflation declined to 3.41 per cent in 14. Domestic rating agency ICRA Ratings expects the December in 2020, compared to 9.5 per real gross domestic product (GDP) of India to grow cent in the previous month, according to the by 10.1% in the financial year 2021-22 (FY2022). (earlier data released by the Ministry of Statistics and projected a contraction of 7.8% for the ongoing fiscal Programme Implementation. 2020-21). ● The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) factors in retail inflation while arriving at its monetary ● ICRA Headquarters: Gurgaon, Haryana policy. ● ICRA Non-Executive Chairman and Director: Arun Duggal. 18. The BofA Securities Projects GDP growth of India to Contract by 6.7% in for the current financial year 2020- 15. The reserve bank of india (rbi) has CANCELLED THE 21. LICENCE of Maharashtra-based VASANTDADA NAGARI SAHAKARI BANK. 19. Swiss brokerage major UBS Investment Bank has projected the Indian economy to contract 7.5 per cent in ● Vasantdada Nagari Sahakari Bank Ltd will now the current fiscal FY21, ending March 2021. not be allowed to conduct the business of ‘banking’, including acceptance of deposits ● UBS further expects the economy to rebound and repayment of deposits, with effect from at 11.5 per cent in FY22. the close of business on January 11, 2021. ● For the FY23, GDP growth is expected to ● With the cancellation of licence and stabilise at 6 per cent. commencement of liquidation proceedings, the process of paying the depositors of 20. The Japanese brokerage Nomura has revised upward, Vasantdada Nagari Sahakari Bank Ltd., the GDP forecast for India in 2020-21 and now expects it Osmanabad, Maharashtra as per the DICGC to contract to 6.7 per cent. Act, 1961 will be set in motion. ● Every depositor is entitled to repayment of ● Nomura has further projected the GDP of India his/her deposits up to Rs 5,00,000 from the to rise to 13.5 per cent in FY22 (2021-22). DICGC. More than 99% of the depositors of the 21. The Fitch Ratings expect the gross domestic product bank will get full repayment of their deposits (GDP) of India to contract by 9.4 per cent in FY21 (April from DICGC. 2020 to March 2021). Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) ● Fitch further projects the GDP to expand by 11 per cent in FY22 (April 2021 to March ● Establishment: 1978. 2022). ● Chairman: Michael Debabrata Patra (Deputy Governor, RBI). 22. YES BANK has announced its partnership with Aditya ● Headquarter: Mumbai, Maharashtra. Birla Wellness Private Limited to launch the ‘YES BANK WELLNESS’ AND ‘YES BANK WELLNESS PLUS’ CREDIT Reserve Bank of India (RBI) CARDS – aimed at the holistic health, self-care and wellness of consumers. ● Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra. ● Establishment: 1 April 1935. YES bank ● Governor: Shaktikanta Das. ● Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra. ● ● MD & CEO: Prashant Kumar.

selfxpert©2021 P a g e 15 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

29. Axis Bank launches Aura Credit Card with health, 23. ICICI BANK, a leading Indian private sector bank, wellness benefits. and Niyo, a new age fintech company announced a tie-up to issue prepaid cards to Micro, Small and Medium ● Axis Bank has unveiled a Enterprises (MSMEs) workers. credit ‘AURA’ exclusively loaded with several health and wellness benefits for its users at an ● MSMEs will now be able to get ‘ICICI Bank affordable price. Niyo Bharat Payroll Card’ powered by Visa, Axis Bank for their blue-collar workers. ● Commenced operations: 1994. ● Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra. ICICI Bank ● Tagline: Badhti Ka Naam Zindagi Managing. ● Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra. ● MD and CEO: Amitabh Chaudhry. ● MD & CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi. ● Bank Tagline: Hum Hai Na, Khayal Apka 30. Global financial services major HSBC has inaugurated it’s INTERNATIONAL BANKING UNIT (IBU) branch at GIFT 24. CARE Ratings has revised downwards its projection of City near Gandhinagar city in Gujarat. the Centre’s fiscal deficit to 7.8 % of GDP during FY21 against its earlier estimate of 9-9.5 %. HSBC Bank India ● CEO : Surendra Rosha. ● Care Ratings HQ: Mumbai; CEO:Ajay Mahajan. ● Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra

25. ICICI BANK has launched a new mobile 31. FICCI survey forecasts 8% GDP contraction in application ‘INSTAFX’ for authorised money changers to Financial Year 2021. help customers of any bank get ‘ICICI Bank Forex Prepaid Card’ swiftly. ● Apart from this, FICCI expects the economy to perform much better in the financial year ● ICICI is the first in the country to offer such 2021-22 with a GDP growth rate of 9.6 facility to money changers. percent in FY22. ● A money changer is a person or organization Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce whose business is the exchange of coins or & Industry (FICCI) currency of one country, for that of another. ● Founded: 1927. ICICI Bank ● Headquarters : New Delhi. ● Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra. ● MD & CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi. 32. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has pegged ● Tagline: Hum Hai Na, Khayal Apka. the Indian economy to contract by 8 per cent in the current financial year 2020-21, in its latest World 26. AIRTEL PAYMENTS BANK has launched ‘AIRTEL SAFE Economic Outlook, released on 26 January 2021. PAY’, a safe way to pay digitally. ● The IMF expects GDP of India to rise to 11.5 ● An India-First innovation, ‘Airtel Safe Pay’ per cent in the next financial year i.e. 2021- leverages Airtel’s ‘telco exclusive’ strength 22. of network intelligence to provide an IMF additional layer of payment validation, ● Headquarters: Washington, D.C. U.S. compared to the industry norm of two-factor ● Managing Director and Chairman: Kristalina authentication. Georgieva. Airtel Payments Bank ● Chief Economist: Gita Gopinath. ● CEO: Anubrata Biswas. ● Headquarters: New Delhi. 33. UN's (United Nations Department of Economic and ● Founded: 2017. Social Affairs (UNDESA)) projects Indian economy to grow ● Parent organization: Bharti Airtel. at 7.3% in Calendar Year 2021.

27. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a 34. Bharti AXA General Insurance launches ‘KRISHI MONETARY PENALTY of Rs 2 crore on Standard SAKHA’ App for farmers. CHARTERED BANK–INDIA for delays in reporting of frauds. ● The farmers through this app will also have Standard Chartered Bank access to the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima ● CEO: Bill Winters. Yojana (PMFBY) portal for crop insurance- ● Headquarters: London, United Kingdom. related information. ● Founded: 1969. Bharti AXA General Insurance 28. The RBI state-owned SBI, along with private-sector ● Established: 2008. lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank continue to ● Bharti AXA General Insurance Headquarters: be Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) or Mumbai, Maharashtra. institutions which are ‘too big to fail’. ● Bharti AXA General Insurance MD and CEO: Sanjeev Srinivasan.

selfxpert©2021 P a g e 16 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

NASA ● Bharti AXA General Insurance Tagline: ● The administrator of the National Aeronautics Suraksha ka Naya Nazariya. and Space Administration: Jim Bridenstine. ● Headquarters : Washington D.C., United 35. China was the largest recipient of foreign direct States. investment (FDI) in 2020, according to a report released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and 4. Infosys receives Google Cloud Partner Status. Development (UNCTAD). Infosys ● China overtook the United States to gain the ● Founded: 7 July 1981. top position in 2020. The country ● CEO: Salil Parekh. attracted $163 billion inflows in 2020, ● Headquarters: Bengaluru. compared to $134 billion attracted by the United States. 5. The Ministry of Electronics and Information UNCTAD Technology (MeitY) has announced the establishment of a ● Headquarters : Geneva, Switzerland. Quantum Computing Applications Lab in partnership ● Head: Mukhisa Kituyi. with Amazon Web Services (AWS). ● Founder: United Nations General Assembly. ● The move will give select researchers, ● Founded: 30 December 1964. scientists access to Amazon’s Bracket cloud- 36. Bank of Baroda has launched WhatsApp banking based quantum computing service. recently. ● It is to be implemented by the Department of Science and Technology operating under  The services will be balance enquiry, cheque the Ministry of Science and Technology. book request, blocking of debit card, ● The Union Budget 2020-21 had proposed to information on Bank’s product etc. spend Rs 8,000 crores on the National  Mission on Quantum Technologies and Applications. ● Minister of Electronics and Information SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Technology: Ravi Shankar Prasad

1. Japan’s Sumitomo Forestry company and Kyoto Amazon Web Services (AWS) University aims to launch the world’s first wood-based ● CEO: Andy Jassy. space satellite by 2023 to combat the problem of space ● Founded: 2006. junk. ● Headquarters: Seattle, Washington, United 2. The Pakistan Army successfully conducted the test States. flight of an indigenously developed Guided Multi Launch 6. SpaceX breaks ISRO’s Record by launching 143 Rocket System, 'Fatah-1'. Satellites.

● The Fatah-1 weapon system is capable of ● SpaceX successfully launched its ambitious precisely delivering conventional warheads rideshare mission called Transporter- deep into “enemy territory.” 1, carrying 143 small satellites, and created a ● According to Director General of Army, Media new record of launching many satellites from Wing, Major General Babar Iftikhar, Fatah-1 a single rocket. weapon system can hit targets up to a range ● With this, SpaceX broke the record set of 140 km. by ISRO in February 2017 for 3. NASA targets final test of ‘world’s most powerful deploying 104 satellites onboard PSLV in a rocket’. single mission. ● The SpaceX used two-stage Falcon 9 ● The National Aeronautics and Space rocket for the mission, from the Space Launch Administration (NASA) is looking to carry out Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force the eighth and final test in its “Green Station in Florida. Run” test series. ● The 143 satellites included 133 commercial ● This eighth stage termed “hot fire,” will bring and government satellites and 10 Starlink to an end a series of tests which, NASA says, satellites of SpaceX. will gradually bring together the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) to life for the Space-X very first time. ● Founder & CEO: Elon Musk. ● The core stage of the SLS will form the ● President & COO: Gwynne Shotwell. backbone of what NASA says will be the “most ● Founded: 2002. powerful rocket in the world” and will power ● Headquarters: California, United States of its next-generation human Moon Missions. America.

selfxpert©2021 P a g e 17 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

GRSE 7. Tech major Microsoft has launched its new India Development Center (IDC) facility in Noida, Uttar ● Chairman & Managing Director: Rear Admiral V K Pradesh. Saxena. ● Headquarters: Kolkata, West Bengal. ● The workspace architecture is inspired by the Taj Mahal. 3. The Indian Navy has signed a contract with the Bharat ● IDC NCR is the third development centre of Electronics Limited (BEL), to procure Light Amplification Microsoft in India after Bengaluru and by Stimulated Emission of Radiation Dazzlers (Laser Hyderabad. The IDC NCR, one of the seven Dazzlers). wonders of the world. ● The Laser dazzler technology has been developed Microsoft by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and would be manufactured ● CEO: Satya Nadella. by BEL, Pune plant. ● Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, United ● It is the first time that this unique product is States. indigenously designed and developed for the Armed Forces. 8. ISRO chairman K Sivan is likely to inaugurate the ‘SriShakthiSat’ ground station at Sri Shakthi Institute Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) of Engineering and Technology in Coimbatore. ● Chairman & Managing Director: M V Gowtama. ● The station will help monitor the satellite ● Headquarters: Bengaluru. developed by the institute, which is set to be ● Foundedsystem . launched by the ISRO. A satellite ● Chief of Naval Staff: Admiral Karambir Singh. communication lab was established in the ● Indian Navy Founded: 26 January 1950. college in 2010. 4. Indian Army has inked a contract with Goa Shipyard ● The satellite can detect fire and leaks on Limited (GSL) to procure 12 Fast Patrol Boats for underground pipelines and collect info on surveillance and patrolling of large water bodies, bank thefts. including those in high altitude areas like Pangong Tso ● ISRO is expected to launch this satellite, along lake in Ladakh. with two other satellites built by JPR Institute, Chennai & GH Raisoni College of ● Chief of Army Staff: General Manoj Mukund Engineering, Maharashtra. Naravane.

ISRO 5. India(DRDO) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) successfully tested a Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile ● Chairman: K.Sivan. (MRSAM) defence system to deal with airstrikes by ● Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka. enemy countries. ● Established: 15 August 1969. ● Secretary Department of Defence Research and

Development & Chairman DRDO: Dr G Satheesh Reddy. ● DRDO Headquarters: New Delhi. ● DRDO Established: 1958. DEFENCE ● President and CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries: Boaz Levy. 1. INDIAN AIR FORCE LAUNCHES E-GOVERNANCE (E- OFFICE) PAN IAF. 6. Union Minister for Earth Sciences, Harsh Vardhan has launched Coastal Research Vessels (CRV) ‘Sagar ● The implementation undertaken as part of Digital Anveshika’ at the Chennai Port. India and e-governance initiative will transition the entire Indian Air Force to a ‘paperless office’ ● It will be used for research purposes by workflow. the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT). 2. Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and ● It has been built by Titagarh Wagons, Kolkata, Engineers (GRSE) has delivered the Landing Craft Utility West Bengal. (LCU) MK IV class vessel ‘IN LCU L-58’ (Yard 2099) to ● NIOT already has 6 Research Vessels – Sagar Kanya, the Indian Navy. Sagar Sampada, Sagar Nidhi, Sagar Manusha, & Sagar Tara. ● The amphibious ships, to be based in the strategic location of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which is National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) close to various routes leading to the South China Sea. ● Director : Dr G A Ramadass. ● Headquarters : Chennai, Tamil Nadu. selfxpert©2021 P a g e 18 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

● The bike ambulance will help in overcoming the problems faced by Indian security forces and 7. A major Coastal Defence Exercise“Sea Vigil-21” emergency health care providers. conducted to test military readiness at sea along the coastline of the country on January 12 and 13. 12. The Government of India is set to procure 21 MiG- 29 and 12 Sukhoi-30MKI fighter aircraft from Russia. ● The two-day exercise involving all stakeholders, states and Central government agencies will set ● The new set of 21 MiG-29 will add to existing 59 the tempo of operations, including “transition such jets already with the Indian Air Force (IAF) from peace to conflict”. and the 12 Sukhoi-30MKIs, on the other hand, will ● The exercise, will be undertaken along the add to the existing fleet of 272 such fighter entire 7,516-km coastline and Exclusive aircraft. Economic Zone (EEZ) of India. ● Exercise ‘Sea Vigil-21’ is expected to provide a 13. Indian Air Force and French Air and Space Force are realistic assessment of our strengths and conducting a bilateral Air exercise, Ex Desert Knight- weaknesses and thus will help in further 21 in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. strengthening maritime and national security. France ● The exercise is being coordinated by the Indian Navy. ● President: Emmanuel Macron. ● The entire coastal security set up was reorganised ● Capital: Paris. after the 26/11 terror attack at Mumbai which ● Currency: Euro. was launched using the sea route. ● Assets of the Indian Navy, Coast Guard, 14. The Indian Army is to conduct a large scale joint Customs and other maritime agencies will military exercise 'Kavach' in the Andaman Sea and Bay of participate in the exercise. Bengal.

8. Dr Ajay Kumar co-chairs 13th India-Vietnam Defence ● The exercise is to be held under the Andaman and Security Dialogue. Nicobar Command. The Joint Military Exercise Kavach will Vietnam ● involve Indian Navy, Indian Army, Indian Air ● Capital: Hanoi. Force and Indian Coast Guard. ● Currency: Vietnamese dong. 15. The DRDO successfully conducted captive and release ● Prime Minister: Nguyen Xuan Phuc. trial of indigenously developed Smart Anti-Airfield 9. The Indian Army has recently signed a contract with Weapon ("SAAW") from Hawk-I aircraft of Hindustan Mumbai-based drone manufacturing Aeronautics Limited (HAL) off the Odisha coast. company, ideaForge, to procure high-altitude variant of 'SWITCH' drones unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). ● Weight : 125kg ; Range: 100 km. 16. The Border Security Force (BSF) has ● The total cost of the deal is approximately USD 20 launched “Operation Sard Hawa” on the western million. international border of Rajasthan. 10. India’s first indigenous 9mm Machine Pistol has been ● The Operations aims to check the instances of jointly developed by DRDO and Indian Army. infiltration due to the dense fog cover in the ● The weapon has been developed in a record time region and increase security on the border areas in of four months. Jaisalmer. ● The weapon is aptly ● The week-long operation has been launched on 21 named “Asmi” meaning “Pride”, “Self-Respect” January 2021 and will continue till 27 January & “Hard Work”. 2021, keeping in view Republic Day of India.

DRDO BSF

● Director-General of CRPF: Dr A P Maheshwari. ● Director General: Rakesh Asthana. ● Secretary Department of Defence Research and ● Headquarters: New Delhi. Development & Chairman DRDO: Dr G Satheesh 17. Indian Navy conducts a tri-service joint amphibious Reddy. exercise "AMPHEX – 21" with Indian Army and Air Force ● DRDO Headquarters: New Delhi. was held in Andaman & Nicobar group of islands. ● DRDO Established: 1958. 18. The Defence Research and Development Organisation 11. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted successful maiden launch of new (DRDO) has handed over MotorBike generation Surface-to-Air Missile "Akash-NG" (NG- New Ambulance Rakshita to the Central Reserve Police Force Generation) from Integrated Test Range off the coast of (CRPF). Odisha. ● selfxpert©2021 P a g e 19 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

All India Chess Federation ● Akash-NG is a for use by Indian Air Force (IAF) with an aim of intercepting high manoeuvring ● Headquarters: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium; aerial threats. Chennai. ● Founded: 1951. 19. Indian Army will deploy the first batch of women helicopter pilots by 2022 after their induction into the 7. Lt Gen Shantanu Dayal has been named the Aviation Corps of the Indian Army. new Deputy Chief of Army Staff (DCOAS).

The President of India is the Supreme ● Lt Gen Taranjit Singh, the first Army officer to Commander of the Indian Army. join as the Additional Secretary in the Department  Headquarters :- Integrated Defence of Military Affairs (DMA) under the Ministry of Headquarters, Ministry of Defence, New Delhi Defence.  Founded :- 1 April 1895 8. Alexander Ellis has been appointed British high  Chief of Defence Staff (CDS):- General Bipin commissioner to India and will take up the key role later Rawat this month.  Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) :- General Manoj Mukund Naravane 9. Google Cloud has announced the elevation of Karan Bajwa as its new leader for the Asia Pacific.

● Presently, Bajwa leads Google Cloud in India. APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS ● He will lead all regional revenue and go-to-market operations for Google Cloud, including on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Google Workspace. 1. ISRO Chairman K Sivan gets one year extension up to ● At present, Bajwa is based in Gurgaon but will January 14, 2022. relocate to Singapore in 2021. ISRO Google ● Chairman: K.Sivan. ● CEO of Google: Sundar Pichai; ● Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka. ● Headquarters: California, United States. ● Established: 15 August 1969 10. The senior-most judge of Delhi High Court, 2. Umesh Sinha has been named as the deputy election Justice Hima Kohli has been appointed as the new Chief commissioner in the Election Commission of India (ECI). Justice of Telangana High Court. ● Chief Election Commissioner of India: Sunil Arora. ● She is the first woman to be sworn in as CJ of ECI Telangana HC. ● Chief Minister of Telangana: K Chandrasekhar Rao; ● Formed: 25 January 1950. ● Governor: Tamilisai Soundararajan. ● Headquarters: New DelhI. 11. Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari was sworn in as 3. Soma Mondal has taken over as the the new Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court. new Chairman of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) with effect from January 01, 2021. ● Chief Minister of Sikkim: PS Golay. ● Governor of Sikkim: Ganga Prasad. SAIL 12. Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia appointed as Chief Justice ● Headquarters: New Delhi. of Gauhati High Court. ● Founded: 19 January 1954 ● Chief Minister of Assam: Sarbananda Sonowal; 4. Suneet Sharma takes over as new Chairman & CEO of ● Governor: Prof. Jagdish Mukhi. Railway Board. 13. Former India striker Abhishek Yadav has been ● Railway Board Founded: March 1905. appointed as the first deputy general secretary of All ● Headquarters of Railway Board: New Delhi. India Football Federation (AIFF) .

5. Justice Pankaj Mithal has been appointed as the All India Football Federation new Chief Justice (CJ) of the Common High Court for the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and Union Territory ● President: Praful Patel. of Ladakh in Jammu on January 04, 2021. ● Vice-President: Subrata Dutta. ● Founded: 23 June 1937. 6. Sanjay Kapoor was elected president of the All India ● Headquarters: Dwarka, Delhi. Chess Federation (AICF) while Bharat Singh Chauhan retained the secretary’s post.

selfxpert©2021 P a g e 20 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

● RBL Bank Ltd 14. The Union government has appointed RS ● Incorporated: 1943, under the Indian Companies Sharma, former Trai chief, as the chairperson of an Act, 1913 empowered committee for the administration of Covid- ● Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra. 19 vaccine. ● Tagline: Apno Ka Bank.

15. Supreme Court Bar Association 22. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was appointed the (SCBA) president, Dushyant Dave has resigned from his new chairman of the trust which manages the world- post with immediate effect. famous Somnath Temple at Prabhas Patan town in Gujarat’s Gir-Somnath district, becoming the second PM ● The SCBA is an Indian bar association, comprising to hold the post after Morarji Desai. the practising lawyers of the Supreme Court of India. 23. Ministry for Sports and Youth Affairs, Kiren Rijiju has ● Supreme Court Bar Association Headquarters: New been given the additional charge of the 'Ministry of Delhi, India Ayush'.

16. Intel has appointed Pat Gelsinger as its new Chief 24. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has Executive Officer, effective on Feb. 15, 2021. appointed Siddhartha Mohanty as the managing director of India’s largest insurer Life Insurance Corporation ● Gelsinger will also join the Intel board of (LIC) from February 1 onwards. directors upon Life Insurance Corporation Intel ● Founded: 1 September 1956. Founded: 18 July 1968. ● ● Headquarters: Mumbai. ● Headquarters: Santa Clara, California, United States. 25. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet ● Founders: Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce. (ACC) has approved the appointment of Sanjeev Kumar as the new Chairman & Managing Director 17. UN Human Rights Council elects Fiji's ambassador (CMD) of Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (Fiji’s ambassador in Geneva, Nazhat Shameem Khan) in (TCIL). the First-Ever Presidential Vote in 2021. Telecommunications Consultants India Limited UN Human Rights Council ● Founded: 1978. ● Founded: 15 March 2006. ● Headquarters: New Delhi. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland. 18. Lieutenant General Chandi Prasad Mohanty has been 26. Sundaram Finance names Rajiv Lochan as Managing appointed as the new Vice-chief of Army staff. Director.

● 28th Chief of Army Staff: General Manoj Mukund ● Sundaram Finance Ltd Naravane. ● Founded: 1954. ● The motto of Indian Army: “Service Before Self”. ● Founder: T.S.Santhanam. Headquarters: Chennai, ● Headquarters of Indian Army: New Delhi. Tamil Nadu.

19. The Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council (TEPC) has appointed Sandeep 27. Dhanlaxmi Bank Board approves appointment of J K Aggarwal as the new Chairman. Shivan as Managing Director and CEO.

20. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw selected as one of three of ● Dhanlaxmi Bank Headquarters: Thrissur, Kerala. US-India Business Council (USIBC) Vice-Chair. ● Dhanlaxmi Bank Founded: 1927. The three newly appointed VCs are 28. The appointments committee (ACC) of the Cabinet ● Biocon Executive Chairperson: Kiran Mazumdar- has approved the appointment of Swaminathan Shaw. Janakiraman and Ashwini Kumar Tewari as new Managing ● Amway CEO: Milind Pant. Directors (MDs) of State Bank of India (SBI) for a period of ● Vice-chair at Nasdaq: Edward Knight. three years.

US-India Business Council ● State Bank of India Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 July 1955 ● Founded: 1975. ● Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States. 29. A 21-year-old girl Reshma Mariam Roy of Kerala has become the youngest president of Aruvappulam grama 21. Vishwavir Ahuja re-appointed as Managing Director panchayat. and CEO of RBL Bank.

selfxpert©2021 P a g e 21 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

New Development Bank 30. Pankaj Mithal has been appointed as the Chief ● Headquarters Location: Shanghai, China. Justice of High Court of Jammu and Kashmir ● President: Marcos Prado Troyjo. and Ladakh. ● Founder: BRICS. ● Founded: 15 July 2014. 6. ADB and India Govt. signs $10 million loan to support horticulture in Himachal Pradesh. AGREEMENTS 7. Trifed Signs MoU with Akhil Bhartiya Vanvasi Kalyan 1. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a $231 Ashram for Setting up of TRIFOOD Parks in Madhya million loan with the Government of India to Pradesh . augment electricity generation capacity in the state of Assam. ● Continuing its mission to improve the livelihoods of the tribals(both forest dwellers and artisans) and ● Under the project, 120 megawatts (MW) work towards tribal empowerment, on January 3, hydroelectric power plant would be constructed. 2021 to work together for setting up of TRIFOOD Parks in 5 districts in Madhya Pradesh. Assam 8. NHPC Limited has signed an MOU with the Indian ● Chief Minister of Assam: Sarbananda Sonowal; Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) for ● Governor: Prof. Jagdish Mukhi providing assistance in setting up renewable energy (RE) projects for the next 5 years. 2. Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, Pune has signed an MoU with United Nations Development 9. Bharat Biotech has announced that it has signed an Programme (UNDP) India to co-create India’s first Social agreement with Precisa Medicamentos for the supply of Impact Bond (SIB). its indigenously manufactured Covid-19 vaccine ‘Covaxin’ to Brazil. UNDP ● Bharat Biotech ● Headquarters: New York, New York, United States. ● Founded: 1996. ● Head: Achim Steiner. ● Headquarters location: Hyderabad. ● Founded: 22 November 1965. ● Executive director: Dr V Krishna Mohan. 3. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a USD 10. NITI Aayog and Flipkart, collaborate to launch the 100 million (around Rs 730 crore) loan to modernise and revamped Women Entrepreneurship Platform. upgrade the power distribution system in Bengaluru city.

● Chief Minister of Karnataka: B.S. Yediyurappa; ● The Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) is Governor: Vajubhai Vala. a unified access portal which brings together ● President of ADB: Masatsugu Asakawa; women from different parts of India to realise Headquarters: Manila, Philippines. their entrepreneurial aspirations. ● ADB Established: 9 December 1966. ● The idea of the platform was first mooted 4. Tata Power, India’s largest integrated power company, by Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog who announced its partnership with SIDBI (Small Industries announced the setting-up of a Women Development Bank of India) to offer easy and affordable Entrepreneurship Platform in NITI Aayog at the financing scheme for MSME customers in the rooftop conclusion of the 8th Global Entrepreneurship solar segment. Summit (GES) held in Hyderabad in 2017, with an overarching theme of ‘Women first, prosperity Small Industries Development Bank of India for all’. (SIDBI) NITI Aayog ● Set up on : 2nd April 1990. ● Headquarters: Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. ● Formed: 1 January 2015. ● Chairman & MD: Devendra Kumar Singh. ● Headquarters: New Delhi. ● Chairperson: PM Narendra Modi. Tata Power Flipkart ● CEO: Praveer Sinha. ● Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra. ● Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka. ● CEO: Kalyan Krishnamurthy. 5. 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. Each project costs USD 323 million.

selfxpert©2021 P a g e 22 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

11. Financial Software and Systems (FSS), has partnered 1. Pandit Satish Vyas honoured with Tansen Award at the with India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) to promote World Music Festival. financial inclusion among underserved and unbanked segments. ● The award is given for Hindustani classical music. ● Padma Shri Vyas is a renowned Santoor player. ● IPPB will use FSS’ Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) to deliver interoperable and 2. The chairman and CEO of Railway Board, Vinod Kumar affordable doorstep banking services to customers Yadav has been conferred with the prestigious ‘Eminent across India. Engineer Award for the year 2020’.

India Post Payment Bank (IPPB) ● This award is given by the Institution of Engineering and Technology for his outstanding ● MD and CEO : J Venkatramu. contribution towards modernizing and reforms ● Headquarters: New Delhi. over Indian Railways.

12. India and Japan have signed an MoU to enhance 3. The All India Institutes of Medical Sciences cooperation in the field of Information and (AIIMS) in Bhubaneswar receives Kayakalp Award for 3rd Communications Technologies (ICT) via video time. conferencing. 4. IFFI 2021 to celebrate the work of legendary ● The MoU was signed between Union Minister for filmmaker Satyajit Ray. Communications, Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad and the Japanese Minister for Internal ● The 51st International Film Festival of India Affairs and Communications Takeda Ryota. (IFFI) will be celebrating the work of legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray by screening five of his Japan classics.

● Capital: Tokyo. As part of the tribute, the festival will showcase. ● Currency: Japanese yen. ● Prime minister: Yoshihide Suga. ● Ray’s acclaimed “Pather Panchali”, the first film ● 1964 romantic drama “Charulata”, “Sonar Kella”, 13. India and Japan signed a Memorandum of ● 1977 Hindi directorial debut “Shatranj Ke Khilari” Cooperation (MoC) a Basic Framework for Partnership for and “Ghare Baire” (1984). Proper Operation of the System Pertaining to Specified ● 12 films for Festival Kaleidoscope & 50 films for Skilled Worker (SSW), to promote the movement of the World Panorama section were unveiled too. skilled workers from India to Japan. 5. Union Minister for Information and ● The MoC was signed between Foreign Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar announced veteran Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and Ambassador actor, director and singer Biswajit Chatterjee as the of Japan to India Suzuki Satoshi. recipient of the ‘Indian Personality of the Year’ award at ● The MoC covers 14 categories of specific skills. IFFI.

14. India has inked a strategic partnership agreement ● The 84-year-old actor is known for featuring in with the International Energy Agency (IEA), the world’s films like “Bees Saal Baad”, “Night In London” and premier energy monitor, on 27 January 2021. “April Fool”.

● This deal will help India to gain full membership of 6. Nikhil Srivastava, a young Indian mathematician, has IEA. been named winner of the prestigious 2021 Michael and Sheila Held Prize along with two others for solving long- International Energy Agency standing questions on the Kadison-Singer problem and on Ramanujan graphs. ● Headquarters: Paris, France. ● Member Countries: 30. ● Srivastava is currently Associate Professor of ● Establishment: November 1974. Mathematics at the University of California. ● Srivastava from the University of California, 15. The Union Minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Berkeley, Change Prakash Javadekar has launched the Indo-French ● Adam Marcus, the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Year of the Environment, along with Barbara Pompili, the de Lausanne (EPFL) and French Minister for Ecological Transition in New Delhi. ● Daniel Alan Spielman from Yale University France will receive the 2021 Michael and Sheila Held ● Capital: Paris. Prize. ● President: Emmanuel Macron.

● Prime minister: Jean Castex. ● Currency: Euro. selfxpert©2021 P a g e 23 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021 and Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society (SEEDS) in Institutional category. 7. Shyam Srinivasan, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Federal Bank, is the Business ● The award carries a cash prize of Rs 51 lakh and a Standard Banker of the Year for 2019-20. certificate for an institution and Rs 5 lakh and a certificate in case of an individual. Federal Bank ● The Government of India announces the award ● Founder: K.P Hormis. every year on January 23, the birth anniversary ● Founded: 23 April 1931. of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, to recognise and 8. The Ministry of Home Affairs has announced a list honour the invaluable contribution and selfless of 119 personalities who will be conferred the Padma service rendered by individuals and organisations Awards by President Ram Nath Kovind this year. in India in the field of disaster management.

● These awards cater to various disciplines including 11. The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, art, social work, public affairs, science and Meghalaya was selected for a Special Award for engineering, trade and industry, medicine, Information Technology applications in Elections by literature and education, sports and civil service. the Election Commission of India (ECI), in the National ● While ‘Padma Shri’ is awarded for distinguished Best Electoral Practices Awards-2020. service in any field, ‘Padma Bhushan’ is awarded ● President Ram Nath Kovind virtually conferred the for distinguished service of a high order. award to Meghalaya CEO F.R. Kharkongor at the ● On the other hand, ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded National Voters’ Day Award function held in New for exceptional and distinguished service. Delhi. ● Among the 2021 awardees, 29 are women, one is a transgender,10 are foreigners/NRIs/OCI and 16 Meghalaya have passed away. ● Capital: Shillong. ● There will be no recipient of the Bharat Ratna in ● Governor: Satya Pal Malik. 2021. The Padma Awards shall be formally ● Chief minister: Conrad Sangma. conferred by the President in the Rashtrapati Bhawan in March or April. 12. The Ram Temple tableau of Uttar Pradesh that was on display during the Republic Day 2021 has bagged 9. The 51st edition of International Film Festival of India the first prize among all tableaux. (IFFI) was held from 16 January to 24 January 2021 at Shyamaprasad Stadium near Panaji in Goa. ● The theme of Uttar Pradesh’s tableau was ‘Ayodhya: Cultural Heritage of Uttar ● Bangladesh was a country of focus at the festival. Pradesh’. Four films of Bangladesh was included in ‘country ● The Tripura tableau won the second prize for the of focus’ section. Republic Day parade. Uttarakhand’s tableau on The winners of the IFFI awards are listed below: the theme ‘Dev Bhoomi — The Land of the Gods’ was adjudged third among the states and ● Golden Peacock Award for Best Film: Into the union territories. Darkness ● The tableau of Central Public Works Department ● Silver Peacock Award for Best Actor (Male): Tzu- (CPWD), with the theme ‘Amar Jawan’, bagged a Chuan Liu, The Silent Forest special prize for paying tribute to the fallen heroes ● Silver Peacock Award for Best Actor of the armed force. (Female): Zofia Stafiej, I Never Cry ● WB ● Silver Peacock Award for Best Director: Chen-Nien Ko, The Silent Forest 13. Indian Entrepreneur Vidyut Mohan is among the ● Best Debut Director Award: Cássio Pereira dos seven winners of the prestigious ‘Young Champions of Santos, Valentina the Earth’ 2020 prize given by UNEP. ● Special Mention Award: Kripal Kalita, Bridge 14. Amresh Kumar Chaudhary has been awarded ● Special Jury Award: Kamin Kalev, February prestigious 'Chief of Army Staff Commendation', for his ● ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Award: Ameen Nayfeh’s 200 outstanding contribution to Armed Forces during the Meters critical period of the Covid-19 pandemic and its various ● Indian Personality of the Year Award: Biswajit operations. Chatterjee ● Lifetime Achievement: Vittorio Storaro (Italian cinematographer).

10. The Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2021 has been conferred upon Dr Rajendra Kumar Bhandari in the Individual category

selfxpert©2021 P a g e 24 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

RANKS ● China ranked 1st. ● Indonesia ranked 3rd. 1. India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, the chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) 5. NITI Aayog Releases India Innovation Index 2.0 on 20 dropped down to 12th spot in the Bloomberg Billionaires January 2021, along with the Institute for Index 2021 (as on 2nd January 2021). Competitiveness.

● The net worth of Ambani dropped from 90 billion ● In the ‘Major States’ category, USD (around Rs. 6.62 lakh crore) (in early 2020) to Karnataka occupied the top position, followed by 76.7 billion USD (around Rs. 5.6 lakh crore). Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu respectively. ● Zhong Shanshan, referred to as “Lone Wolf”, has ● In UT and city-states category, Delhi topped replaced Ambani as Asia’s richest person, he is one followed by Chandigarh. of the fastest in the history to achieve the feat. ● Under the ‘North-Eastern/Hill States’ category, Himachal Pradesh emerged as the top state. Top 3 in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index: ● The innovation index ranking is based on five enabler parameters (‘Human Capital’, Rank Personality Net worth ‘Investment’, ‘Knowledge Workers’, ‘Business Environment’, ‘Safety and Legal Environment’), and two performance parameters (‘Knowledge 1 Jeff Bezos 190 Billion USD Output’ and ‘Knowledge Diffusion’).

6. The World Economic Forum (WEF) has released 2 Elon R Musk 170 Billion USD the Global Risks Report 2021, 16th Edition.

● The findings of the report are based on the Global 3 Bill Gates 132 Billion USD Risks Perception Survey (GRPS) undertaken by over 650 members of WEF’s diverse leadership communities. ● The main objective behind the publishing of the 2. Elon Musk overtakes Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to become report is to enable better preparation by the world’s richest person. Government & other International Communities during the times of crisis. 3. India Ranks 85 in Henley Passport Index 2021 based on the exclusive data from the International Air Transport World Economic Forum Association (IATA). ● Founder and Executive Chairman: Klaus Schwab. ● As per the latest report, India has been Headquarters: Cologny, Switzerland. ranked 85th among 110 countries, in the Henley 7. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been ranked third Passport Index for 2021, with a visa-free score most-valued IT services brand globally, of 58. after Accenture and IBM, according to a report by Brand ● Japan has once again topped the list of being the Finance. most powerful passport in the world, for the third consecutive year. Japanese citizens can travel to Four Indian IT services companies have secured as many as 191 countries visa-free. spots in the top-10 globally, namely, ● Singapore is in second place (190). ● TCS (3), ● South Korea ties with Germany in third place ● Infosys (4), (189). ● HCL (7) and International Air Transport Association ● Wipro (9). Accenture has retained the title of world’s most ● Headquarters: Montreal, Canada. valuable and strongest IT services brand with a ● Founded: 19 April 1945. brand value of $26 billion. ● Leader: William M. Walsh. Tata Consultancy Services Henley & Partners ● CEO: Rajesh Gopinathan. ● Headquarters location: London, United Kingdom. ● Founded: 1 April 1968. ● Founded: 1997. ● Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra. ● Chairman: Christian Kalin. ● CEO: Juerg Steffen. 8. India has been ranked at 86th position among 98 countries in the new Coronavirus Performance 4. India ranked 4th in “Break Out Economies” in Index released by Australia-based Lowy Institute. the third edition of the Digital Evolution Scorecard developed by Tufts University’s Fletcher ● New Zealand, Vietnam and Taiwan are the top School in partnership with Mastercard. three countries respectively in the index. ● selfxpert©2021 P a g e 25 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

● For the first time, the women team of Chiktan also ● Brazil was ranked at the bottom of the list for participated in the Khelo India Games in Kargil worst handling of the pandemic than any other district. country. ● There are 13 teams from different villages of ● China was excluded from the list due to lack of Chiktan participating in the tournament, which publicly available data. include 11 men’s teams and 2 women’s teams. ● The tournament was inaugurated by SDM Shakar 9. India has been ranked 86th among 180 countries in Chiktan and the Chief Guest of the event Kacho the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2020, released Asgar Ali khan in the presence of ZPEO Chiktan by Transparency International. Ghulam Rasool along with in-charge police post- ● The CPI score for India in 2020 is 40. Chiktan. ● New Zealand and Denmark have jointly secured ● Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports: Kiren the first position with scores of 88. Rijiju. ● Somalia and South Sudan rank lowest at 179th ● Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh: Radha Krishna position with scores of 12. Mathur.

Transparency International 5. Jigmet Dolma from India secured the fourth position in the Dhaka Marathon 2021. ● Headquarters : Berlin, Germany. ● Chairperson: Delia Ferreira Rubio. ● Jigmet Dolma is an SPO of Ladakh police. ● Founded: 4 May 1993. ● In the marathon, Hicham Lakohi of Morocco came first in the elite competition of the marathon in 10. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s four-year-old telecom men’s category while Angela Jim Asunde from venture Reliance Jio ranked 5th strongest brand globally. Kenya won the women’s category in the same event. 11. India ranked 10th out of 11 Asia Pacific countries in a ● In the full marathon, among the SAARC and local newly-launched health index to measure the progress runners, Bahadur Singh of India became the towards personalised healthcare. champion in the men’s category and Pushpa Bhandari of Nepal became the champion in the ● Singapore(1st), women’s category. ● Taiwan (2nd), ● The marathon was organized to commemorate the ● Japan (3rd), return of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur ● Australia (4th). Rahman from Pakistan jail to Bangladesh in 1972. 12. India Ranks 7th in 16th edition of Global Climate Risk 6. Jay Shah has been named as the official Index 2021 published by the Bonn-based environmental representative of Board of Control for Cricket in India think tank Germanwatch. (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. SPORTS BCCI 1. Cristiano Ronaldo won the Player of the Century ● President of BCCI: Sourav Ganguly. award at the Global Soccer Awards. ● Headquarters of BCCI: Mumbai, Maharashtra; 2. Goa’s 14-year-old Leon Mendonca has become India’s ● Founded: December 1928. 67th chess Grandmaster by winning the third and final 7. In Ladakh, the inaugural edition of the Khelo India norm at a tournament in Italy. Zanskar Winter Sport & Youth Festival 2021 kicked off on 3. Australia’s Claire Polosak is set to become the first 18th January 2021. female match official in a men’s Test match when she ● Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh: Radha Krishna takes up the fourth umpire’s role in the third Test Mathur. between India and Australia. 8. Carolina Marin wins Yonex Thailand Open badminton ICC tournament 2021 in Bangkok over top speed Tai Tzu- ● Chairman : Greg Barclay. Ying. ● CEO : Manu Sawhney. Winners of Singles Title: ● Headquarters : Dubai, United Arab Emirates. ● Men’s Category: Viktor Axelsen 4. The Khelo India Ice Hockey Tournament begins in (Denmark) defeated Angus Long (Hong Kong) to Chiktan, Kargil, Ladakh. clinch the Men’s Singles Title. ● selfxpert©2021 P a g e 26 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

● Women’s Category: Carolina Marin (Spain) defeated Tai Tzu-Ying (Taiwan) to bag the 4. A book titled “Vahana Masterclass” launched by Italian Women’s Singles Title. Writer Alfredo Covelli.

Winners of Doubles Title: 5. A coffee table book named “Modi India Calling – 2021” has been released on the occasion of 16th Pravasi ● In the Men’s Doubles, Taiwan’s Lee Yang & Wang Bharatiya Divas. Chi-Lin beat Malaysia’s Goh V Shem & Tan Wee Kiong to bag the Doubles Title. ● The book contains various photographs of Prime ● In the Women’s Doubles, Indonesia’s Greysia Polii Minister Narendra Modi captured during his “107 & Apriyani Rahayu defeated Thailand’s overseas and bilateral visits”. Jongkolphan Kititharakul & Rawinda Prajongjai to ● The book is the idea of BJP leader Vijay Jolly and clinch the Doubles Title. it was released by Adesh Gupta, the Delhi BJP president. Winners of Mixed Doubles: ● The book has been published by Maneesh Media and has 450 pages containing thousands of ● Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree photographs of the PM Modi. Taerattanachai defeated Indonesia’s Praveen ● Jolly has also said that he wishes to form a similar Jordan & Melati Daeva Oktavianti to clinch the book on Rahul Gandhi and Delhi CM Arvind mixed doubles title. Kejriwal.

Badminton World Federation 6. Manipur Governor, Dr Najma Heptulla has virtually released a book titled “Making of a General-A Himalayan ● President: Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen. Echo” authored by (Retd) Lt General Konsam Himalaya ● Headquarters: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Singh at Durbar Hall, Raj Bhavan, Imphal. 9. JSW Sports signed cricketer Rishabh Pant to manage commercial interests. ● The book highlighted about Manipur, the “Land of Emeralds”. 10. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has won the Ice Hockey Association of India (IHAI) 10th National Ice 7. Former chief election commissioner (CEC) S Y Hockey Championship trophy after a win over Ladakh in Quraishi has come out with his book titled “The the finals in Gulmarg. Population Myth: Islam, Family Planning and Politics in India”. ● The match was held at Gulmarg Ice Rink. Ladakh has been considered as the capital of ice hockey in 8. Ramchandra Guha’s latest book ‘The Commonwealth India where local men and women play this game of Cricket’ with great enthusiasm. 9. Goa CM Pramod Sawant releases book ‘Manohar ITBP Parrikar – Off the Record’

● Founded: 24 October 1962. ● The book has been written by senior ● Headquarters: New Delhi, India. journalist Waman Subha Prabhu. ● DG: S S Deswal.

Ice Hockey Association of India

● President: K. L. Kumar. IMPORTANT DATES ● Ice Hockey Association of India membership: 27 April 1989. 1. ‘Global Family Day’ : 1st January.

 The day is celebrated annually to promote peace BOOKS & AUTHORS and sharing.  The purpose of this day is to make all the families gather as one single society on the first day of every yar to welcome the New Year. 1. Alfredo Covelli, an Italy based author has launched his new book Vahana Masterclass for children and Young 2. The Defence Research and Development Organisation Audience. (DRDO) observed the 63rd Foundation Day of its establishment on January 01, 2021. 2. A book titled ‘India’s 71-Year Test: The Journey to Triumph in Australia’ and one which reflects on India’s 3. World Braille Day: 4 January ∙ World Braille Day is previous 12 tours Down Under, was launched. observed globally on 4th January since 2019.

3. A general manager at RBI, R Giridharan has authored ● The day is celebrated to raise awareness of the his debut book ”Right Under our Nose”. importance of Braille as a means of communication in the full realization of the human

rights for blind and partially sighted people. selfxpert©2021 P a g e 27 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

● 28th Chief of Army Staff: General Manoj Mukund 4. Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrated on 9th January in Naravane. New Delhi. 10. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s, 125th birth ● The theme of 16th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas anniversary on 23 January 2021 is observed as Parakram Convention 2021 is “Contributing to Atma Nirbhar Diwas. Bharat”. ● The day is celebrated to honour and remember The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is celebrated Netaji’s indomitable spirit and selfless service to on January 9, as Mahatma Gandhi returned from the nation. South Africa on the day in 1915. In 2015, the day ● Netaji’ was born on January 23, 1897, in Cuttack was declared biennial. In 2018, the day was widely in Odisha. celebrated in Singapore. In 2019, the event was ● He graduated from Kolkata and proved his mettle celebrated in Varanasi. by becoming an Indian Civil Services (ICS) officer. But he left the comfort and amenities that came 5. “World Hindi Day” is celebrated globally on 10th with his job and decided to be part of the freedom January. struggle. ● The World Hindi Day is celebrated annually ● With the slogan “Give me blood and I will give on January 10 since 2006 to promote the you freedom”, he awakened the country towards language at the global stage. fighting against the British. ● The day marks the anniversary of first World Hindi ● Netaji built a force known as the Azad Hind Fauj Conference which was inaugurated on January (Indian National Army) giving the slogan of “Dilli 10, 1975, by the then prime minister Indira Chalo”. Gandhi. 11. The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 24 ● National Hindi Day is celebrated in India January as International Day of Education, in celebration on September 14 every year. ( On that day in of the role of education for peace and development. 1949, the constituent assembly adopted Hindi, written in Devanagari script, as the official ● Theme ‘Recover and Revitalize Education for the language of the Union). COVID-19 Generation’.

6. National Youth Day is celebrated in India every year 12. National Girl Child Day: January 24. on 12 January to commemorate the 158th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. ● Minister of Women and Child Development: Smriti Zubin Irani. ● The theme for National Youth Day 2021 is ‘Channelizing Youth Power for Nation 13. National Voters’ Day observed on 25 January. Building‘. ● India observes “National Voters’ Day” every year ● Swami Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math on January 25 to encourage more young voters to and Mission on 1 May 1897. take part in the political process. ● In 1898, he established Belur Math. ● 2021 marks the 11th National Voters’ Day (NVD). 7. The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways observes the National Road Safety Week every year in the second ● The theme of NVD 2021 is, ‘Making Our Voters week of January : 18th January to 17th February. Empowered, Vigilant, Safe and Informed’. ● The day has been started from January 25, 2011, ● Nitin Gadkari inaugurates National Road Safety to mark the Foundation day of Election Month 2021 Commission of India (ECI), which was established on 25th January 1950. 8. The Armed Forces Veterans Day is observed each year ● 1st Chief Election Commissioner of Independent on 14 January in India. India- Sukumar Sen. ● The day was initially called Armistice Day. ● Sunil Arora is the current 23rd Chief Election ● 2021 marks the 5th Armed Forces Veterans Day. Commissioner. ● The day is observed as a mark of respect and 13. National Tourism Day of India: January 25. recognition of the services rendered by Field Marshal KM Cariappa OBE, the first Indian 14. International Customs Day: 26 January. Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces who retired on 14 January 1953. ● Theme: “Customs bolstering Recovery, Renewal and Resilience”. 9. The Army Day in India (73rd) is celebrated on 15 January every year, to salute the valiant soldiers who World Customs Organization sacrificed their lives to protect the country and its ● Headquarter: Brussels, Belgium. citizens. ● Membership: 182 countries. Secretary-General: ● Kunio Mikuriya. selfxpert©2021 P a g e 28 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

● Alan Burgess was a tank driver for New Zealand’s forces in England during the Second World War. 15. Martyr’s Day or Shaheed Diwas is observed every ● Following his death, India’s Raghunath year on January 30 in the memory of Mahatma Chandorkar is now the oldest first-class cricketer Gandhi, who was assassinated at Gandhi Smriti in the alive. Birla House by Nathuram Godse in 1948. 7. Uliyin Osai director Ilavenil passed away in Chennai. ● Martyrs’ Day is also observed in India on March 23 to pay respect to Bhagat Singh, Shivaram ● Tamil director and writer Ilavenil passed away Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar, who was hanged yesterday in Chennai. death on this day in 1931. ● He was in his 70s. He suffered a heart attack.

8. Hollywood director Joan Micklin Silver dies at 85 ∙ OBITUARIES ● Joan Micklin Silver, who forged a path for female 1. Legendary Odia musician, Shantanu Mohapatra passed directors and independent filmmakers with movies away. including Hester Street and Crossing Delancey, has died. She was 85. ● He was the first Odia music composer to work with legends like Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey and Md 9. Veteran Indian Fashion Designer Satya Paul passes Rafi and also the first to work in Hindi, Bengali, away. Assamese and Telugu film industries. 10. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s niece and eminent 2. Former Union Minister and senior Rajasthan Congress academician Chitra Ghosh has passed away. leader Buta Singh passed away. ● She made pioneering contributions to academics ● He served as the Chairperson of the National and community services and dedicated her life in Commission For Scheduled Cast from 2007 to serving the people, teaching & inspiring the youth. 2010. ● Professor Bose was the former head of the political science department at Lady Brabourne College in 3. Ace mountaineer Colonel Narendra ‘Bull’ Kumar, who Kolkata. helped India secure the Siachen Glacier, passed away. 11. Former Gujarat Chief Minister Madhavsinh Solanki ● He was responsible for the success of Operation passes away. Meghdoot in 1984. He was the first Indian to climb Mount Nanda Devi. 12. Padma Shri Awardee Telugu Journalist Turlapati ● He climbed Mount Everest in 1965, Mount Blanc ( Kutumba Rao passes away. highest peak in the Alps), and later Mount ● Rao has received a number of honour for his field Kanchenjunga. of work, including the fourth highest Indian civilian ● He earned the nickname ‘Bull’ for relentlessly award of Padma Shri, in 2002, making him the charging into everything he did. first journalist from the state of Andhra Pradesh to 4. Former Maharashtra cabinet minister and seven-time receive the award. Congress MLA Vilas Patil Undalkar has passed away. 13. Pulitzer Prize-winning author & journalist Neil ● The veteran Congressman, Undalkar, who was Sheehan passes away. popularly known as ‘kaka’, was elected seven 14. Indian American writer Ved Mehta passes away. times from Karad-South Assembly constituency for a record 35 consecutive years, from 1980 to 2014. 15. Social Activist and Padma Shri Awardee D Prakash Rao passes away. 5. Olympic bronze and World Cup-winning hockey player Michael Kindo passed away. He played 3 Men’s ● He was basically a tea seller based in Cuttack, who Hockey World Cup in 1971,1973 & 1975 where India spent his entire earning to educate slum children, bagged bronze, silver & gold medals. through the school ‘Asha O Ashwasana’, which he started in 2000. ● He also represented in 1972 Olympic ● He was conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri Games where India secured a bronze medal. Kindo award in 2019 for his contribution towards received the Arjuna Award in 1972. boosting the value of education among slum kids in 6. The world’s oldest living first-class cricketer Alan Cuttack. Apart from this, Rao was also a well- Burgess has passed away at the age of 100. known blood donor.

● A right-hand batsman and slow left-arm bowler, Alan appeared in 11 first-class matches

for Canterbury from 1940/41 to 1951/52 and also for New Zealand Services in England in 1945. ● selfxpert©2021 P a g e 29 | 30

Current Affairs Jan| 2021

16. Legendary classical musician Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan passes away.

● He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, the Padma Bhusan in 2006, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2018. ● In 2003, he was also awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, which is the highest recognition given to practising Indian artists by the Sangeet Natak Akademi.

17. Former Union Minister and Industrialist Kamal Morarka passes away.

18. Padma Award winning Renowned Oncologist Dr V Shanta passes away.

● Dr V Shanta was a recipient of the prestigious Padma Shri (1986) and Padma Bhushan (2006) for her efforts for making quality and affordable cancer treatment accessible to everyone. ● She was also awarded the Padma Vibhushan and the Ramon Magsaysay awards.

19. Former Arunachal Governor Mata Prasad has passed away at the age of 95.

20. Malayalam actor Unnikrishnan Namboothiri passed away.

21. The iconic Indian Bhajan singer Narendra Chanchal, who specialized in religious songs and hymns, has passed away.

● He sang a Bollywood song Beshak Mandir Masjid for the 1973 film Bobby and won Filmfare Best Male Playback Award.

22. Veteran Bureaucrat, poet and Hyderabad historian Narendra Luther passes away.

23. Legendary American talk-show host Larry King passes away.

24. Former India and Mohun Bagan goalkeeper Prasanta Dora passes away.

25. Oscar winning-actor Cloris Leachman passes away.

selfxpert©2021 P a g e 30 | 30