67th MONTHLY ISSUE JANUARY 2021 EDITION

Vanik’s Current Affairs Banking | Railway | Insurance | SSC | UPSC | OPSC | PSU FARM BILL 2020 ALL ABOUT THE AGRICULTURAL BILL Contents

Topics of the Month ------1 Economy ------11 RBI in News ------11 SBI in News ------11 Other Banks in News ------12 Financial News ------17 MOU and Agreement ------18 Rating and Survey ------20 Fund and Financial Allocation ------21 Corporate Business and E-Business ------23 Committee and Its Head ------23 State News ------24 National ------35 International ------42 International and National Summits ------44 Ranking and Index ------47 Bilateral ------49 Award ------50 Person in News/Newly Appointed ------54 Sports ------56 Science and Technology ------59 Defence ------61 Important Days ------63 Book and Author ------65 Obituary ------66 Miscellaneous ------67 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

MAJOR ISSUES OF THE MONTH

Page | 1 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

INDIAN FARMERS’ 1 PROTEST The 2020 Indian farmers' protest is an ongoing protest against the three farm acts which were passed by the Parliament of India in September 2020. The acts have been described as "anti-farmer laws" by many farmer unions and politicians from the opposition also say it would leave farmers at the "mercy of corporates". The government, however, maintains that they will make it effortless for farmers to sell their produce directly to big buyers, and stated that the protests are based on misinformation

What are the Newly Passed Agriculture Ordinance in 2020? Bill-1  Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 – this was introduced by the Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar. This farm bill 2020 let the intra and interstate farmers produce even outside the premises of APMC markets without paying any extra market free, cess or levy as State governments are prohibited from levying any of those. Bill-2  Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill 2020 – this was also introduced by the Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar. This farmers bill 2020 aims for framing contractual farming between a buyer and farmer, through an agreement. This should be done before the production of any agro product. Three-tier dispute settlement framework is provided here – Sub-Divisional Magistrate, the conciliation board and Appellate Authority. Bill-3  The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill – this was introduced by Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Shri Raosaheb Patil Danve. This agriculture ordinance 2020 empowers the Government of India to control the supply of particular agro-food products under unusual situations like war. In case of a steep hike of price, stock limits can be applied on farm products.

Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 How does it help?  Removal of barriers for Intra/ inter-state business of agricultural products.  Farmers can sell their product to anyone coming from anywhere.  Seamless electronic trade is supported here.  Encourages ending the monopoly of traders.  Increased competition among consumers or buyers.  Farmers get better and return thus increasing income rate.  Free movement of agro products from surplus to deficit regions.  This farm bill 2020 creates a national market.  End consumer gets better items at cheaper prices.

Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill 2020 How does it help?  This agriculture reform bill opens the window for farmers to enter into agreements with large buyers, retailers and exporters.

2 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 Farmers get to know the price before starting sowing.  The market risk gets transferred to sponsor from farmers.  High-quality seeds, pesticides and fertilisers can be availed by the farmers.  Private investors will be interested in farming.  A door to the global market.

The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill How does it help?  Many agro foods like pulses, onion, potatoes, oilseeds, cereals, and edible oils are removed from the essential commodities list by this farm bill 2020.  Except under unusual circumstances, this newly passed agriculture bill does away with the imposition of stock limit.  Business and traders get rid of harassment.  With the improvement of storage facilities, the wastage rate is likely to get reduced.  This latest agriculture policy aims for a stable price which will eventually help in raising farm incomes.

Reasons behind Protest against Agriculture Bill 2020 What are the major concerns of farmers and how is government negotiating it? 1. Fear of erosion of MSP  The core demand of farmer groups protesting is to safeguard the mechanism of MSP which they fear will be weakened by new farm bills. They are demanding for a legal right to MSP  The government has repeatedly assured that the laws would make no changes to the MSP system, but the farmers fear these will effectively lead to abolition of the prevailing arrangement, which offers them a modicum of security.  Government Offer: The Central government has agreed to give a written assurance regarding the existing MSP-based procurement system. However, it is not clear whether the written assurance will be provided through an amendment or an executive order. 2. Taxation in Trade Areas  Presently, all purchases of paddy and wheat undertaken through government-regulated mandis in Punjab currently attract 3 per cent APMC market fee and 3 per cent rural development cess. In Haryana, the same levies amount to 2 per cent each.  Section 6 of the FPTC Act, 2020, prohibits State governments from collecting market fee, cess or levy for trade outside the APMC market  The farmers have been saying that the absence of such a fee would encourage trade outside mandis, eventually rendering APMC Mandis insignificant.  Government Offer: By amending the new Act, it can be provided that the state government can implement the system of registration of private mandis. Also, the state government can fix the rate of cess / fee, to be collected from such trade areas, up to the rate of cess / fee applicable to the existing APMC mandis 3. Court process  The new Farm Acts put a bar on jurisdiction of civil courts and say disputes have to be referred to conciliation boards and appellate authorities, appointed by the local sub-divisional magistrates and district collectors.  Government Offer: If any dispute arises under the new farm laws, farmers can be allowed to approach civil court 4. Other Issues  Farmers also withdrawal of the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020; withdrawal of cases registered against activists and protesters; and implementation of Swaminathan Commission report to fix MSP with C2+50 percent formulae.  Other assurances made by the Centre include resolution of grievances related to a new air quality management ordinance, which calls for steep penalty in case of stubble burning. Union Government has also said that the existing arrangement on subsidy on electricity usage by farmers will not be modified

To secure future of agriculture and to improve livelihood of half of India’s population, adequate attention needs to be given to improve the welfare of farmers and raise agricultural income. It is essential to mobilize States and UTs to own and achieve the goal of doubling farmers’ income with active focus on capacity building (technology adoption and awareness) of farmers that will be the catalyst to boost farmers income.

Page | 3 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Since India is a diverse country where majority of agriculture is monsoon dependent therefore interventions are needed which includes research, technology promotion, extension, post harvest management, processing and marketing, in consonance with comparative advantage of each State/region and its diverse agro-climatic features; and then the Country can indeed achieve the goal of doubling farmers’ income by the year 2022. DEFENCE MINISTER HANDED OVER DRDO SYSTEMS TO 2 ARMED FORCES CHIEFS

 Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh handed over three indigenously developed Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) systems to Army, Navy and Air Force at a function held in DRDO Bhawan.  Shri Rajnath Singh handed over the Indian Maritime Situational Awareness System (IMSAS) to the Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh, ASTRA Mk-I Missile to Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauriaand Border Surveillance System (BOSS) to the Chief of Army Staff General MM Naravane.  The awards include DRDO Lifetime Achievement Award – 2018 to Shri N V Kadam for his contributions for developing control and guidance schemes for missiles. Excellence awards were given to academia and industry for technology absorption. Besides, individual awards, team awards, technology spin-off awards, techno managerial awards and awards in other categories were also given.  Among the systems handed over was BOSS. An all-weather electronic surveillance system successfully designed and developed by Instruments Research & Development Establishment (IRDE), Dehradun. The system has been deployed at Ladakh border area for day and night surveillance.The system facilitates monitoring and surveillance by automatically detecting the intrusions in harsh high-altitude sub-zero temperature areas with remote operation capability. The system is being produced by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Machlipatnam.  The IMSAS is state-of-the-art, fully indigenous, high performance intelligent software system that provide Global Maritime Situational Picture, Marine planning tools and Analytical capabilities to Indian Navy. The system provides Maritime Operational Picture from Naval HQ to each individual ship in sea to enable Naval Command and control (C2). Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics (CAIR), Bengaluru and Indian Navy has jointly conceptualised and developed the product and the BEL, Bengaluru has implemented it.  The ASTRA Mk-I is the indigenously developed first Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Missile, which can be launched from Sukhoi-30, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Mig-29 and Mig-29K. Globally, very few countries have expertise and capabilities to design and produce this class of weapon system.

WORLD BANK APPROVES 4 DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN 3 INDIA WORTH $800 MN  The projects support a range of development initiatives – strengthening India’s social protection architecture, promoting nutrition-supportive agriculture for tribal households in Chhattisgarh, enhancing

4 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

quality education in Nagaland and improving the safety and performance of existing dams across various states in India.  The projects approved are:  Chhattisgarh Inclusive Rural and Accelerated Agriculture Growth Project (CHIRAAG): The $100 million project will develop sustainable production systems that allow tribal households in remote areas of Chhattisgarh to practice round-the-year production of diversified and nutritious food. It will be implemented in the southern tribal-majority region of the state where a large population is undernourished and poor. The project will benefit over 180,000 households from about 1,000 villages in eight districts of Chhattisgarh.  Nagaland: Enhancing Classroom Teaching and Resources Project: The $68 million project will improve classroom instruction; create opportunities for the professional development of teachers; and build technology systems to provide students and teachers with more access to blended and online learning as well as allow better monitoring of policies and programs. Such an integrated approach will complement conventional delivery models and help mitigate the challenges posed by COVID-19.  Second Accelerating India's COVID-19 Social Protection Response Program: The $400 million project will support India’s efforts at providing social assistance to the poor and vulnerable households, severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the second operation in a programmatic series of two. The first operation of $750 million was approved in May 2020. It enabled immediate cash transfers to about 320 million individual bank accounts identified through pre-existing national social protection schemes under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) and additional food rations for about 800 million individuals.  The second operation will complement the expansion of India’s safety net programs to create a portable social protection platform ensuring food and cash support for poor households, urban migrants, and unorganized sector workers across state boundaries.  Second Dam Improvement and Rehabilitation Project (DRIP-2): The $250 million project will improve the safety and performance of existing dams across various states of India. It will strengthen dam safety by building dam safety guidelines; bring in global experience; and introduce newer technologies. The project will help sustain the livelihoods and food security of millions of Indians who depend on irrigated agriculture and enable farmers to shift out of pumping groundwater, thereby, reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

INDIA AND BANGLADESH 4 SIGN 7 MOUS AGREEMENTS  India and Bangladesh signed seven MoUs and agreements during the virtual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.  The agreements and MoUs were signed in Dhaka by the High Commissioner of India Vikram Doraiswami on behalf of India and officials of Bangladesh.  The agreements include a framework of understanding in Hydrocarbon sector, framework agreement on High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP), protocol on transborder elephant conservation, an MoU on the supply of equipment and improvement of Garbage and solid waste disposal, MoU in the field of agriculture, an MoU between National Museum Delhi and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial museum, Dhaka and terms of reference for India Bangladesh CEO forum.  The two leaders jointly inaugurated the restored Chilahati – Haldibari rail route re-linking Bangladesh with North Bengal in India. This is the fifth of the six cross-border rail routes. Severed in 1965 by the then Pakistani Government, to be restored.  The Framework agreement on HICDP is a ten year agreement allowing for projects amounting to 500 million Taka. It is double the amount of what was previously admitted. Projects in the field of education, health and sanitation, water-treatment, cultural heritage aimed at increased socio-economic development of local communities are taken up under this agreement.

Page | 5 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 In the field of energy, both the countries agreed to promote two-way investment, technology transfer, joint studies and capacity building in hydrocarbons. The India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline currently being built to supply High-speed diesel from Siliguri in India to Parbatipur in Bangladesh will add to this.  India and Bangladesh also agreed to set up a high level CEO forum between the top CEOs of both the countries to provide policy level inputs for enhancing bilateral trade and investment as well as export to third countries. Textiles, Pharmaceuticals, Leather, Agriculture and Food processing value chains, Automobiles, Services sector will be the major focus areas.  A digital exhibition on the life of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Mahatma Gandhi was also commissioned during the virtual summit. The travelling exhibition will be jointly showcased in India, Bangladesh and in various countries including the UN. Prime MInister Narendra Modi in his introductory speech said that the exhibition also includes a section on Bangomata and Kasturba.  India also released a postal stamp to commemorate Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the occasion.  Prime Minister Modi also assured Prime Minister Hasina that India would support effective and timely delivery of COVID 19 vaccines being produced and developed in India.  During the discussion, Prime Minister Modi appreciated the generosity of Bangladesh in hosting a large number of displaced persons from Rakhine state in Myanmar. PM Modi reiterated the need for safe, speedy and sustainable repatriation of displaced persons to their homes in the Rakhine State of Myanmar.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated India’s commitment to complete the Interim Water Sharing arrangement for the Teesta river.  The two leaders underscored the need for early conclusion of Frameworks for Interim Agreement on sharing the waters of six other joint rivers, namely, Manu, Muhuri, Khowai, Gumti, Dharla and Dudhkumar. In this regard, the two leaders agreed to schedule the Joint River Commission meetings at the earliest.  Stressing that border management is a shared responsibility, both Leaders emphasized the need for coordinated and joint patrols to create a crime-free border.

INDIA, VIETNAM SIGN SEVEN AGREEMENTS DURING 5 VIRTUAL SUMMIT Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, jointly addressed the India-Vietnam Virtual Summit,through video conferencing. India and Vietnam have signed agreements in varied areas such as defence, scientific research, renewable energy, nuclear energy, petro-chemicals, and cancer treatment demonstrating the expanding ties and existing potential for increased cooperation between the two nations with Indian ‘Grant-in-Aid’ Assistance of US$ 1.5 million Seven agreements :  Implementing Arrangement on Defence Industry Cooperation between Dept. of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence, India and General Dept. of Defence Industry, Ministry of National Defence, Vietnam.  Agreement for US$ 5 million Indian Grant Assistance for Army Software Park at National Telecommunications University, Nha Trang, Vietnam between Embassy of India, Hanoi and Telecommunications University, Ministry of National Defence, Vietnam.  Implementing Arrangement between Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, India and Vietnam Dept. of Peacekeeping Operations for Cooperation in United Nation Peacekeeping.  MOU between India’s Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and Vietnam Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety (VARANS).  MOU between CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum and Vietnam Petroleum Institute.  MOU between Tata Memorial Centre of India and Vietnam National Cancer Hospital.  MOU between National Solar Federation of India and Vietnam Clean Energy Association.

6 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

JAPAN TO JOIN FIVE EYES 6 NETWORK The Five Eyes network comprises of five nations namely Australia, Canada, Britain, US and New Zealand. Japan is now to join the Five Eyes network to become the sixth eye. About Five Eyes The Five Eyes network collaborated to respond against the increasing threats by China and North Korea. The Five Eyes countries are parties to multilateral UK-USA Agreement. It was a treaty of joint cooperation in signals intelligence. It is an intelligence alliance. The origins of Five Eyes alliance can be tracked to the Atlantic Charter that was issued in August 1941. It laid out the goals for the post-war world. Five Eyes Economic Pact In June 2020, the Five Eyes countries signed an Economic Agreement to isolate China. This will increase the supply chain among these countries. China not only manufactures, distributes but has its own market. For instance, the US is dependent on China in sixteen categories, across five sectors. Not only the Five Eyes network, India is also dependent on China, especially in Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) imports. India obtains 68% of its API from China. Of the Five Eyes countries, New Zealand is the second most dependent country on China fot 513 different goods. New Zealand is followed by United States with 414 goods, Canada with 367 goods and UK with 229 goods. Therefore, it is essential for these countries to increase their supply chain to protect their domestic products and also to boost exports. India in Five Eyes The United States has sought to add three democratic countries India, South Korea and Japan in Five Eyes Network. According to the US, their intelligence shall be used for both economic and strategic purposes. NEW STRAIN OF CORONA VIRUS IN 8 EUROPEAN 7 COUNTRIES The World Health Organisation Director recently announced that a new strain of Corona Virus has been detected in eight European countries. The new strain is spreading rapidly among the younger groups unlike the previous strain. New COVID-19 mutants Recently, this mutant was first discovered in UK. According to experts, this mutant transmitted at faster rates as compared to the normal COVID-19 virus. India too faced super spreading COVID-19 variants between March and May. It was named the “A4 variant”. It began in South East Asia. However, the mutant died on its own. In other words, the intensity of spread to the mutant began to decrease after a while. About the mutant The new COVID-19 virus has been named Variant of Concern, VOC-2020 12/01. Previously it was called as Variant Under Investigation. The mutant has variations in its spike protein. The mutation has occured in N501Y.

Page | 7 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

What is N501Y? N501Y means that the amino acid represented by letter N and present at position 501 in the COVID-19 genetic structure has been replaced by another amino acid, that is represented by Y. the mutation has basically increased the binding affinity of the virus. About COVID-19 mutations There are two major types of mutations that are occurring in COVID-19. They are synonymous mutation and non-synonymous mutation. Synonymous mutations are those that cause no alteration in the structure of proteins. They eventually translate in to the same amino acids. The non-synonymous mutation occurs as a result of amino acid change. According to the World Health Organization, the other mutations that may influence the transmissibility of COVID-19 virus in humans are P681H and HV 69/70. The P681H mutation is capable of promoting entry into respiratory epithelial cells and transmission in animal models. P681H means that the amino acid represented by letter P and present at position 681 in the COVID-19 genetic structure has been replaced by another amino acid, that is represented by H. The HV 69/70 was created due to deletion of amino acids at positions 69 and 70. These positions are in the spike protein. These mutations were found in France and South Africa.

ICC AWARDS OF THE DECADE 8 2020 ANNOUNCED The winners of the prestigious ICC Awards of the Decade were announced on 28th December 2020. The ICC Awards of The Decade recognise the best players across Cricket over the past 10 years.

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

ICC Men’s Awards Sir Garfield Sobers Award for ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade: Virat Kohli (India) ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade: Virat Kohli (India) ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade: Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Decade: Steve Smith(Australia) ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Decade: Kyle Coetzer (Scotland)

ICC Women’s Award Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award for ICC Female Cricketer of the Decade: Ellyse Perry (Australia) ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade: Ellyse Perry(Australia) ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade: Ellyse Perry (Australia) ICC Women’s Associate Cricketer of the Decade: Kathryn Bryce (Scotland)

8 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Page | 9 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

10 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021 ECONOMY RBI IN NEWS RBI allowed Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) to access LAF and MSF RBI allowed regional rural banks (RRBs) to access the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF), marginal standing facility (MSF) and call or notice money market, aimed at facilitating better liquidity management for these lenders.At present, RRBs are not permitted to access the liquidity windows of the RBI as well as the call or notice market RBI increases limit for contactless card transactions to Rs 5,000 from January 1 RBI announced that the central bank has proposed to increase the limit for contactless card transactions to Rs 5,000 from Rs 2,000 per transaction from January 1, 2021. This announcement was part of the RBI's bi-monetary policy announcement held on December 4, 2020. 24x7 RTGS transaction facility has started  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said Real Time Gross Settlement(RTGS) facility in the country became operational from 12.30 am on Monday (December 14), making India one of the few countries in the world to operate the system 24X7.  RTGS on 24x7x365 facility comes within a year of RBI operationalising NEFT 24x7. NEFT is a popular mode for small-value transactions.  RTGS, which began its operations on March 26, 2004 with a soft launch involving four banks,presently handles 6.35 lakh transactions daily for a value of Rs 4.17 lakh crore across 237 participant banks.  RTGS is meant for large-value instantaneous fund transfers, while NEFT is used for fund transfers of up to Rs 2 lakh. RBI to set up Automated Banknote Processing Centre in Jaipur  With a view to effectively deal with increasing circulation of banknotes, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to set up an Automated Banknote Processing Centre (ABPC) in Jaipur for receipt, storage and dispatch of currency notes. The functions of the ABPC will also include processing of banknotes received from currency chests (CCs) and bank branches, and destruction of soiled banknotes in an automated manner.  The volume of banknotes in circulation has increased three-fold from March 2001 to March 2019, and is expected to rise further in the years to come.  Besides, supply of banknotes by the presses has increased about four times from March 2001 to March 2019 and is expected to increase manifolds.

SBI IN NEWS SBI along with NPCI & Japan’s JCB launched “SBI RuPay JCB Platinum Contactless Debit Card”  State Bank of India (SBI) in collaboration with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Japan’s JCB (formerly Japan Credit Bureau) International Co. Ltd. unveiled “SBI RuPay JCB Platinum Contactless Debit Card” with a unique dual interface feature.  The card has been launched on the RuPay network by SBI in partnership with JCB.  It enables the customers to use it for both contact and contactless transactions as well as for domestic and overseas transactions. NABARD Signs MoU with SBI to Take up Joint Intervention Projects in Karnataka  NABARD( National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development), Karnataka Regional Office Bengaluru, Karnataka has signed MoU(Memorandum of Understanding) with SBI(State Bank of India), LHO, Bengaluru to provide concessional refinance facility to the beneficiaries of watershed development and tribal development projects.  This consequently aids the beneficiaries of Tribal Development Fund (TDF), Watershed Development Fund (WDF), Farmer Producer Organisation (FPOs), Self-Help Group (SHGs), Joint Liability Groups (JLGs), etc.  This MoU enables SBI to act as an Implementing Agency for digitizing NABARD’s SHGs and to on board NABARD’s E-Shakti portal across Karnataka.This facilitates the availability of credit to the SHGs to promote livelihood.  NABARD will extend the support at the rate of 60% of Rs 5,000 to conduct the financial literacy programmes in the rural/semi-urban branches and through the FLCs of SBI. SBI General Insurance ties up with Mahindra Insurance to make deeper inroads into tier-2, 3 cities  SBI General Insurance has partnered with Mahindra Insurance Brokers Ltd (MIBL) to raise its penetration in tier-II and III cities.

Page | 11 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 This association will enable the company to provide health insurance cover to a significant number of people in tier-II and III cities and generate employment.  Under this ‘Sajhedaari programme’, the insurer said it hopes to make a significant milestone in realising its vision to be the most-trusted general insurer. CREDAI-MCHI Partners with SBI, Google & BookMyShow for India’s Biggest Real-Estate Expo  CREDAI-MCHI partnered with State Bank of India, Google and BookMyShow for the first virtual edition of India’s largest real-estate expo.  As a part of the collaboration, SBI will ease the transaction between the developers and homebuyers and offer competitive home loan rates and quick processing of loan applications.  The association of CREDAI-MCHI with Google as its digital partner will enable a more strategic and targeted approach to ensure the presence of genuine homebuyers at the virtual expo. SBI General Insurance partners with IntrCity RailYatri to provide domestic travel insurance to bus travelers  SBI General Insurance has partnered with IntrCity RailYatri, a multi-modal intercity mobility platform, to offer domestic travel insurance.  The insurance would be offered to bus travelers opting to commute through IntrCity RailYatri, it would be a complimentary travel cover worth Rs 5 lakh which will come along with the travel ticket. SBI Card, BPCL jointly launch credit card offering benefits to high fuel spending customers  SBI Card announced launch of ‘BPCL SBI Card Octane‘ in association with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), offering maximum savings to consumers who spend a significant amount on fuel.  The credit card has been designed to offer maximum savings to the well-heeled consumer segment which spends a significant amount on fuel.  The card offers 7.25 per cent value back (including 1 per cent surcharge waiver) on fuel and lubricant spends at BPCL fuel stations and 6.25 per cent value back on Bharat Gas spends. SBI Life Insurance acquires 8.99% stake in Paisalo Digital SBI Life Insurance said it had acquired 8.99 per cent stake in Paisalo Digital. The transaction was for cash consideration of about ₹186.20 crore. It has purchased 38 lakh equity shares of the company at ₹489.99 apiece.

OTHER BANKS IN NEWS YES Bank Relaunches ‘YES Premia’ with Premium Banking Services to Customers YES Bank relaunched ‘YES Premia’ with a premium banking program.YES Premia has been designed to provide customized banking solutions that fits the lifestyle and expectations of different consumer groups. ICICI Bank launches iMobile Pay app  ICICI Bank has launched ‘iMobile Pay’ – a mobile banking app that provides payments and banking services to customers of any bank.  ‘iMobile Pay’ app offers a unique combination of facilities of a payment app – such as enabling customers to pay to any UPI (Unified Payments Interface) ID or merchants, pay bills and do online recharges among others – with instant banking services namely savings account, investments, loans, credit cards, gift cards, travel cards and much more.  ‘iMobile Pay’ users can also transfer money to any bank account, payment app and digital wallet. HDFC Life stands with Dabbawalas of Mumbai with ‘PromiseWalaDabba’ Campaign  In support of Mumbai’s Dabbawalas, HDFC Life in association with Ketto India has initiated #PromisewalaDabba, a nationwide crowdfunding campaign.  #PromiseWalaDabba has been initiated by the insurance company for supporting the community, with an aim to help the Dabbawalas of Mumbai stand on their feet once again with a month’s supply of ration, delivered to their homes.  Ketto, India’s foremost crowdfunding platform has also partnered with HDFC Life as part of the campaign in order to serve as a platform to raise money for this cause. Axis Bank launches ‘Axis Bank Rupi Business Credit Card’ for MSMEs  Axis Bank Ltd in partnership with Rupifi and Visa launched ‘Axis Bank Rupifi Business Credit Card’ for MSMEs(Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises).  This Contactless Co-Branded credit card, powered by Visa is applicable only to the MSMEs businesses that transact on the aggregator platforms partnered with Rupifi PAN (Permanent Account Number) India for their business purchases.  The average credit limit offered will be in the range of Rs 1 and 2 lakh per month and will be decided based on business data of the MSME’s transactions with the aggregator platforms, GMV (Gross Monthly Volume) of last six months and overall revenue among other factors.

12 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

RBI ask HDFC Bank to stop new digital launches The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed India’s largest private sector lender, HDFC Bank, to stop issuing new credit cards as well as halt the launch of new digital businesses, according to a company filing with the stock exchanges. Kotak MF launches REIT Funds of Funds scheme Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company has launched of Kotak International REIT Fund of Funds, which is India’s first diversified Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT) Mutual Fund.The open -ended scheme will invest in units of SMAM Asia REIT Sub Trust Fund. This MF scheme will have a diversified investment portfolio comprising of listed REITs which will invest in real estate projects such as residential, office, data centres, warehousing, retail and hospitality. PNB Launched Loan Management Solution, ”PNB LenS-The Lending Solution”  Punjab National Bank (PNB) developed and launched ‘PNB LenS -The Lending Solution’, an IT(Information Technology) based lending solution for loan management.This is effective from December 1, 2020.  PNB also launched OTP(One Time Password) based cash withdrawals, effective from 1st December 2020.PNB account holders if withdraws Rs 10,000 and above from PNB ATMs(Automated Teller Machines), at a time between 8 pm and 8 am, will require a OTP.At the process of withdrawal at ATMs, an OTP will be sent to the account holders registered mobile number. Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank (KVGB) launched an overdraft (OD) facility for farmers.  The Dharwad-headquartered regional rural bank, Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank (KVGB), has launched an overdraft (OD) facility for farmers.  The farmers are provided with an OD facility based on the value of the land. The limit is capped to a maximum of ₹1.5 lakh per acre to irrigated lands and ₹1 lakh per acre to dry land. RBI cancels license of Karad Janata Sahakari Bank due to lack of adequate capital  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has canceled the licence of Karad Janata Sahakari Bank to conduct banking business citing that the bank does not have adequate finance. This means that the bank is prohibited from taking any deposit or making any repayment. The RBI stated it cancelled the licence of the bank as it does not have adequate capital and earning prospects. As such, it does not comply with the relevant provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.  More than 99 per cent of the depositors of the bank will get full payment of their deposits from Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC), the Reserve Bank stated.  On liquidation, every depositor is entitled to repayment of his/her deposits up to a monetary ceiling of Rs 5 lakh only from the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) as per usual terms and conditions. Ujjivan SFB launches neighbourhood banking channel – Money Mitra  Ujjivan Small Finance Bank said it has introduced a new channel to make banking services accessible to customers in their neighbourhood.  The channel – Money Mitra – will facilitate entrepreneurs running local businesses like Kirana, medical stores and insurance agencies to offer retail banking solutions to the bank”s customers exclusively.  In these outlets, the lender”s customers can make a deposit, withdraw money, pay loan EMI and perform fund transfer without having to travel to branches. Bank of Baroda (BoB) launched Atmanirbhar Women Gold Scheme  Bank of Baroda (BoB) has recently launched the Atmanirbhar Women Scheme as part of its Baroda Gold Loan. This scheme aims to target the self-reliant woman in India. Under the scheme, the bank is offering loans at 0.50 per cent concession for women. The bank under the gold loan scheme is offering agri-gold loan at 0.25 per cent concession and for a retail loan at 0.50 per cent concession.  The scheme was launched at BOB’s Ramamurthy Nagar branch in Bengaluru and simultaneously in 18 branches coming under 18 zones in the country. ICICI Bank to be designated bank for all financial transactions under National Health Mission in West Bengal  ICICI Bank has won the mandate to be the designated bank for all financial transactions under National Health Mission (NHM) in West Bengal, outbidding State Bank of India and other public sector lenders despite their bigger presence in the state.  The West Bengal government has decided to implement a single bank account system for NHM. Under this, all financial transactions will be conducted through online software, integrated with bank accounts. FININ and SBM Bank India, Together Launch India’s 1st Hyper-Personalized LIVE Neobanking platform  Bringing a new approach to the banking experience, Finin – India's first LIVE Neobank - has announced its launch in the country.  Founded in 2019 by Suman Gandham and Sudheer Maram, the Bengaluru-based startup aims to provide a transparent, delightful, and hassle-free neobanking experience focussed on enabling a user to manage, save and invest their money in a smarter and simpler way.

Page | 13 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 Finin is bringing to the country a consumer-facing savings-driven neobank that will marry various concepts of wealth management apps in the fintech landscape today.  Finin has partnered with SBM India as their banking partner to issue a savings account that can be opened in under 2 minutes and a VISA powered debit card equipped with smart card management features BSE Launches e- agricultural spot market platform  BSE (earlier known as Bombay Stock Exchange) has launched an electronic spot platform for agricultural commodities through its subsidiary BSE Investments Ltd.  BSE E-Agricultural Markets Ltd (BEAM) will function as a national level, institutionalised, electronic, transparent commodity spot trading platform in line with the Prime Minister’s vision to create a single market, BSE stated.  Importance of BEAM : With the help of BEAM, farmers in one state will be able to reach out tomarkets in other states and auction their produce.  BEAM has leveraged on modern technology to offer customised solutions to farmers, traders, and stakeholders to facilitate risk-free and hassle-free purchase and sale of various agri commodities. Max Life Insurance launches critical illness rider and a wellness app  Max Life Insurance Company Ltd. announced the launch of ‘Max Life Critical Illness and Disability Rider’ along with ‘Max Fit’ — a comprehensive wellness programme.  Max Life’s newly launched ‘Max Life Critical Illness and Disability Rider’ provides comprehensive financial protection against a range of critical illnesses and disability. With many critical illnesses linked to lifestyle related habits, Max Life wants customers to stay fit, active and maximise their personal health and wellbeing.  Max Fit is a wellness app designed to lead customers on a path of protection through holistic fitness and wellness. In line with the company’s brand philosophy of “#YouAreTheDifference”, the app promises to provide patrons with a unique and exciting opportunity to work towards a healthier lifestyle with the ultimate aim of helping them realise that health is their biggest asset. RBL Bank, ICICI Prudential join hands for Bancassurance partnership  RBL Bank and ICICI Prudential have joined hands under a bancassurance partnership. 398 RBL Bank branches across 28 states will distribute ICICI Prudential Life’s protection and savings products.  The protection products of ICICI Prudential Life will help the bank’s customers to develop a strong financial plan and its long-term savings products will help the customers of the bank to achieve their financial goals. Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance launches digital campaign heroesofmycity  Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance has launched its new digital campaign- ‘heroes of my city’ celebrating real life heroes and their acts of generosity during the ongoing pandemic.  This two month long campaign is an extension to the initiative ‘me for my city’ which was launched in 2018 by Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance.  The campaign is all about fulfilling promises to the society at large and making a difference to the cities.  The campaign starts with actress Bhumi Pednekar lending a strong voice to the idea of recognising these real- life heroes that exist in every city. Equitas Small Finance Bank launches 3-in-1 account for saving, trading & demat Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd, (SFB) has launched a 3-in-1 account, which allows its customers to invest in wide variety of financial product using a single platform. A 3-in1 account (savings +trading+ demat) will help the customers to keep all their banking and financial investments under one umbrella entity. DBS Bank India partners with Haqdarshak to aid MSME recovery DBS Bank India has joined hands with social enterprise Haqdarshak to enable recovery of Indian businesses through its newly launched platform, which offers access to MSME-focused government-assisted schemes across the country. ICICI Bank launches online portal ‘Infinite India’  ICICI Bank has launched an online platform ‘Infinite India’ to support foreign companies to establish or expand business in India.  The one-stop portal will offer banking solutions as well as value-added services such as the incorporation of a business entity, corporate filings, licences and registrations, HR services, compliances and taxation among others.  Through this initiative, ICICI bank aims to strengthen its position in the multinational corporations (MNC) segment. BoB signs MoU with defence forces named “Baroda Military Salary package” Bank of Baroda (BoB) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard under which the bank would offer customised services along with a host of facilities to account holders. The bank has also renewed its existing MoU with the Indian Army to offer specially customised banking services through ”Baroda Military Salary Package”.

14 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Canara Bank unveils “FX 4 U” for forex remittance via Internet Banking  Canara Bank has launched FX 4 U that enables its entire internet banking users to handle forex transactions hasslefree.  FX 4 U is used for forex remittance through internet banking. With this development, eligible customers will be able to undertake a remittance facility in adherence to the FEMA regulations 1999.  Once the letter of credit (LC) module is activated, the corporate customers can make and submit LC applications with documents through internet banking. Dept of Posts & IPPB unveil new digital payment app ‘DakPay'  Department of Posts and India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) unveiled a new digital payment app "DakPay" on 15 December 2020.  The app was launched by Union Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Law & Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad.  The App is launched as part of its ongoing efforts to provide Digital Financial inclusion at the last mile across India.  Along with digital payment, the DakPay will also work as a suite of digital financial and assisted banking services provided by India Post and IPPB. Ewire Softtech ties up with YES Bank for prepaid card  Ewire Softtech, under Kerala Startup Mission, has launched a prepaid card in association with YES Bank, enabling the next-generation payment platform provider chart an all-India presence.  The co-branded digital banking mobile application will help the public and corporate houses with loans, insurance and CASA account through its channel partners. This can be done via its dedicated RuPay prepaid cards platform. BSE EBIX Beta Launches Term Insurance for ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company  BSE Ebix Insurance Broking, a joint venture of BSE and Ebix Fincorp Exchange, announced the beta launch of term insurance products on its platform.For this, BSE Ebix Insurance Broking has tied up with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co.  With this launch, BSE Ebix now has the ability to handle insurance sales across both term and endowment policy in the life insurance segment using its omni-channel digital presence supplemented by the physical presence of BSE Ebix’s thousands of Point of sale Persons (POSPs). HDFC Bank bags top rank among 100 BFSI Firms in India  HDFC Bank bags top rank among 100 Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) companies in the country for its customer service, monetary management, and innovative offerings  The ranking has been released by Wizikey’s BFSI Movers and Shakers 2020 report  Overall, HDFC, ICICI, SBI, Yes Bank, PNB, HSBC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bank of Baroda, Deutsche Bank, and IDBI emerged as the top 10 banks of 2020, as per Wizikey’s BFSI Movers and Shakers report.  The ICICI Bank became the most preferred bank in terms of moratorium rules, new loan policy, as well as discounts, offers on credit cards. It became the first in India to use satellite data to assess farmer loans.  In the wallet and UPI segment, Google Pay emerged as the number one mover and shaker, followed by Phone Pe. While Whatsapp stayed behind all other players like Paytm (3) and Amazon Pay (4).  Neo Banks was another category that witnessed a lot of buzz in the year riding the trend owing to the digitisation. YONO emerged as the number one followed by Niyo and Kotak 811 at ranks 2 and 3 respectively in the category.  In the payments bank category, the Airtel Payments Bank emerged as the leader, followed by Paytm Payments Bank and Jio Payments Bank. RBI cancels the Licence of Subhadra Local Area Bank, Maharashtra  RBI has cancelled banking license of Subhadra Local Area Bank, Kolhapur, Maharashtra with effect from December 24, 2020.  Subhadra Local Area Bank’s license has been cancelled as it had breached the minimum net worth requirement for 2 quarters in 2019-20 Edelweiss General Insurance launches India’s first Open API Gateway for Insurance products  Edelweiss General Insurance (EGI), India’s first cloud-native insurer, has launched a first of its kind, Open API (Application Programming Interface) Gateway, to facilitate complete digital collaboration with its business partners.  It is a first of its kind, to facilitate complete digital collaboration with its business partners.With this gateway, EGI’s authorised partners can integrate their systems with the company’s robust technology platform. Central Bank of India launches RuPay Select contactless debit card  In association with the National Payments Corporation of India, Central Bank of India has launched a variant of a contactless debit card – ‘RuPay Select’. The RuPay Debit Select Card will focus on customers’ lifestyle, fitness, rejuvenation, nutrition and personal care.

Page | 15 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 Central Bank RuPay Select Debit cardholders will be able to avail complimentary membership and concessional access to golf courses, gyms, spas and restaurants. Additionally, they would be entitled to discounted health check-ups with this National Common Mobility Debit Card (NCMC). These cards also come with features such as facilitating offline transactions in both transits as well as retail purchases.  The Central Bank RuPay Debit Select Card comes up with features such as airport lounge access to more than 20 domestic and 500 international lounges along with accidental and permanent disability insurance cover up to 10 lakh. ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund launches Business Cycle Fund ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has launched a open-ended equity scheme Business Cycle Fund, which will invest in equity and equity-related securities, with a focus on riding business cycles through dynamic allocation across sectors and stocks.The fund will follow a top down approach right from monitoring macro indicators (global and domestic), identifying business cycle followed by determining suitable sectors, and selecting the stocks within these sectors. Paytm launches 24×7 RTGS money transfer for merchants  Digital financial services platform Paytm has launched a 24×7 RTGS facility to support the companies that make high-value transactions.  It also enables businesses to make bulk and instant money transfers to their employees, vendors & partners. Customers can instantly make bulk payments to Bank Accounts, UPI addresses, and Paytm Wallets through Paytm Payouts’ APIs and Paytm for Business Dashboard.  Paytm Payout is the only service provider that offers seamless round the clock money transfers through Wallet, UPI, IMPS, NEFT & RTGS. RBI imposes Rs 50 lakh fine on Urban Co-operative Bank in Kerala  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 50.00 lakh on The Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd in Kerala.  This fine is imposed for non-compliance with directions issued on Income Recognition and Asset Classification (IRAC) norms and on Management of Advances-UCBs.  Statutory inspection of the bank with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2019, conducted by RBI, revealed that the bank had not complied with the directions, the central bank said in a statement. Cashaa, United Multistate Cooperative Society launch crypto bank ‘Unicas’  Fintech firm Cashaa and United Multistate Credit Cooperative Society launched a crypto bank that allows users to transact in cryptocurrency and fiat from one account.  The partnership will enable Cashaa to access United’s regulatory licenses, its physical branches, and overall banking infrastructure.  The bank named as Unicas is initially opening its services online and through 14 branches across NCR, Rajasthan, and Gujarat by January 2021, and plans to expand to 100 branches by the end of 2022. DBS Bank India introduces one-stop integrated travel marketplace ‘Travel Now’  DBS Bank India announced that it has introduced ‘Travel Now’, a one-stop travel marketplace within the digibank app.  The new feature enables customers to browse and book flights, bus tickets and hotels across hundreds of destinations within and outside of India.  Customers can also opt for travel insurance, offered by Bharti AXA General Insurance, with an automated claims process for flight cancellation, and flight departure and arrival delays of over 60 minutes. YES BANK joins hand with Salesforce to boost retail growth  YES BANK said it has entered into collaboration with Salesforce, a leader in customer relationship management, to build a next generation technology platform to power the retail lending business, in line with the bank’s strategy to further scale up its retails assets portfolio.  The private lender aims to deliver intelligent personalised customer experiences through the Salesforce platform.  The lender claimed that it is among the first banks in India to move to Salesforce for loan origination and processing.  The bank said the deployment of the Salesforce loan origination system for retail banking will enable it to provide personalised solutions and connected banking experiences for consumers across segments. Punjab National Bank introduces PNB e-Credit Card  Nation’s leading public sector bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB), introduced PNB e-Credit Card, a digital replica of a physical Credit Card.  It will allow PNB customers to use PNB e-credit card at any e-commerce platform or merchant website, without the need of carrying the physical card.  Customers can view PNB e-Credit Cards details by clicking on e-Credit Card facility in PNB Genie Mobile app. Existing PNB customers will need to update their PNB Genie with the latest app available on Google play store and Apple’s app store to use the new feature.

16 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Central Bank of India to exit housing finance business; to sell JV stake for Rs 160 crore  State-owned Central Bank of India will exit housing finance joint venture by selling its entire stake of over 64 per cent to Centrum Housing Finance for Rs 160 crore.  This is to inform that the bank has entered into a binding agreement to divest its entire equity stake of 64.40 per cent i.e. 1,61,00,000 shares of face value of Rs 10 each in Cent Bank Home Finance Ltd (CBHFL), to Centrum Housing Finance, subject to approvals from regulatory authorities.  According to a separate filing by Centrum Capital, the parent of Centrum Housing, the cost of acquisition is about Rs 160 crore on cash basis.  CBHFL is a financing and mortgage company jointly promoted by four public sector institutions -- Central Bank of India, National Housing Bank, Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (SUTTI) and Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO). Suryoday Small Finance Bank Gets SEBI Nod To Float IPO  Markets regulator Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) has granted the go -ahead to small lender Suryoday Small Finance Bank to float its Initial Public Offering (IPO).  This IPO comprises fresh issuance of 1,15,95,000 equity shares and an offer for sale of up to 84,66,796 equity scrips by existing shareholders, according to the draft papers filed with the regulator.  Those offering shares through the Offer for sale (OFS) route include International Financial Corporation (IFC), Gaja Capital, HDFC Holdings, IDFC First Bank, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company, DWM (International) Mauritius Ltd and Americorp Ventures.

FINANCIAL NEWS DigiBoxx: India's first indigenous digital asset management platform launched  CEO of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant virtually launched India's first digital asset management platform DigiBoxx.  Kant also signed up for an account, making him the first user of an Indian digital file storage, sharing and management SaaS product that provides storage options for business as well as individual users.  The platform provides an easy and secure way to store all the files in one centralised location.  DigiBoxx has free 2GB storage space and the file shared stays for 45 days. QRMP Scheme Launched For GST Payers With Turnover Up To Rs 5 Crore The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) introduced Quarterly Return Filing and Monthly Payment of Taxes (QRMP) scheme under Goods and Services Tax (GST) to help small taxpayers whose turnover is less than Rs.5 crores. The QRMP scheme allows the taxpayers to file GSTR-3B on a quarterly basis and pay tax every month. About QRMP Scheme  The GST Council in its meeting held on Oct. 5, had said that registered person having aggregate turnover up to Rs 5 crore may be allowed to furnish return on quarterly basis along with monthly payment of tax, with effect from Jan. 1, 2021.  With the launch of the QRMP scheme on Dec. 5, taxpayers up to Rs 5 croreturnover have the option to file their GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B returns quarterly beginning January-March period.  Taxpayers can make GST payments through challan every month either by self-assessment of monthly liability or 35% of net cash liability of the previous filed GSTR-3B of the quarter. Quarterly GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B can also be filed through an SMS. NPCI allows payment banks and fintechs to be shareholders  Retail payments body National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) said that it has completed private placement of 4.63% of its equity shares worth ₹81.64 crores, allowing small finance and payment banks, as well as fintechs to be shareholders in the organisation.  NPCI had made an offer for the private placement to 131 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulated entities, of which 19 showed interest and were allotted shares in NPCI.  Each firm can hold upto 0.44% share of the NPCI. Mumbai-based fintech start-up has decided to deploy 12 lakh wireless Bharat ATMs by March 2021  Mahagram is all set to deploy 12 lakh wireless ATMs that will empower kirana shops and other retail stores to disburse cash to people, as banks are finding it increasingly unviable to operate and maintain ATMs across the country.  Bharat ATM already has 1.5 lakh touch points across the country which comprises 20,000 handheld terminals (wireless ATMs) for card payments run on Aadhaar and RuPay card, and the rest are all Android mobiles with the Bharat ATM app installed, which can be used along with a finger print scanner for Aadhaar authentication to dispense cash. U.S. second biggest FDI source for India during April-September 2020,Singapore continued to be the top source of FDI for India

Page | 17 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 The U.S. has emerged as the second biggest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into India after Singapore, replacing Mauritius, during the first half of the current financial year, according to data of the Commerce and Industry Ministry.  During April-September 2020, India attracted FDI worth $7.12 billion from the U.S. and $2 billion from Mauritius, which slipped to fourth position, the DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) data showed.  Singapore with $8.30 billion foreign inflows continued to be the top source of FDI for India in April-September 2020-21. The country has received $2.1 billion inflows from Cayman Isands. SEBI forms new department to check promoter frauds  Market regulator SEBI has set up a specialised department to tackle cases of diversion of funds, bank loans and resources by company promoters.  The new department will be known as the Corporation Finance Investigation Department (CFID).  The new department will even check if resources like company land, guest houses or vehicles are misused by promoters. Fiscal deficit for Apr-Oct at 119.7% of budget target  The fiscal deficit for April-October touched a massive Rs 9.53 lakh crore, accounting for 119.7% of the full year’s budgeted target as tax collections remained under pressure because of the Covid-19 crisis.  Revenue receipts were Rs 6.71 lakh crore, or 34.2% of the budgeted target during the period, compared with 46.2% last year. Total expenditure was Rs 16.61 lakh crore, or 54.6% of the budgeted estimate, less than the 59.4% a year ago, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts.  The Centre has retained this year’s fiscal deficit target at 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) but experts believe it will be a much higher 7.5-9.25%. IFSCA gets membership of International Association of Insurance Supervisors Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City regulator International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has obtained membership of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).With this membership IFSCA would have access to IAIS’s global network and would be able to exchange ideas and information with other global regulators. About International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS): Established in 1994, it is a voluntary membership organization of insurance supervisors and regulators from more than 200 jurisdictions, constituting 97% of the world’s insurance premiums. • It is the international standard-setting body responsible for developing and assisting in the supervision of the insurance sector. • Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is also a member of IAIS. • Headquarters– Switzerland India to Become 5th Largest Economy in 2025, 3rd Largest by 2030  India, which appears to have been pushed back to being the world’s sixth biggest economy in 2020, will again overtake the UK to become the fifth largest in 2025 and race to the third spot by 2030, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said in an annual report.  India had overtaken the UK in 2019 to become the fifth largest economy in the world but has been relegated to 6th spot in 2020.  The UK-based think tank forecast that China will in 2028 overtake the US to become the world’s biggest economy, five years earlier than previously estimated due to the contrasting recoveries of the two countries from the COVID-19 pandemic. Japan would remain the world’s third-biggest economy, in dollar terms, until the early 2030s when it would be overtaken by India, pushing Germany down from fourth to fifth.  The CEBR forecasts that the Indian economy will expand by 9 per cent in 2021 and by 7 per cent in 2022.

MOU AND AGREEMENT WHO, IFRC sign memorandum of understanding on emergency medical teams WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and IFRC Secretary-General Mr Jagan Chapagain signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on implementing the Emergency Medical Team (EMT) initiative. The MoU, also known as the Red Channel Agreement, is the culmination of years of collaboration between IFRC and the WHO Emergency Medical Team Initiative. ICICI Lombard and PLUM partner to provide technologically powered group health insurance products ICICI Lombard General Insurance, India’s leading private sector non-life insurance company has partnered with Plum, India’s fastest growing employee health insurance startup, to re-imagine and co-create India’s first technologically backed group health insurance products. With the use of latest technologies, ICICI Lombard and Plum intend to solve four major areas of group health insurance – real time pricing, onboarding, policy management and claims.

18 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

CII, Amazon India join hands to boost MSME business  Apex industry chamber Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has announced a strategic partnership with Mastercard and National Institute for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (ni-msme), an organistion of Ministry of MSME to launch the Digital Saksham Initiative - an expansive program designed to strengthen the competitiveness of MSMEs through digital knowhow and acceptance.  CII launched this Digital Saksham initiative along with Mastercard’s Centre for Inclusive Growth and the National Institute for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (ni-msme) to enable over 3 lakh MSMEs across India with digital know-how and acceptance. Federal Bank ties up with OrbitRemit Limited, New Zealand to offer money transfer facility  Federal Bank has entered into a tie-up with OrbitRemit Limited to facilitate money transfer from New Zealand to India.  NRIs and small businesses in New Zealand will now enjoy a modern, low cost, fast, easy and more reliable way of transferring money to India.Federal Bank currently processes more than 17 per cent of the personal inward remittances into India. CERT-In, Kasperksy in Strategic Pact to Improve Mutual Cybersecurity Capabilities Kaspersky(a cyber security firm) and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) announced a strategic partnership for improving mutual cybersecurity capabilities by working together in order to create a safe and secure cyberspace in India. HexGn and AFC India Ltd Partnered to promote over 1,000 Agritech Start-Ups in India HexGn and AFC India Ltd(formerly Agricultural Finance Corporation Ltd) signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) for collaboratively promoting more than 1000 Agritech(Agricultural Technology) Startups in India in the next 5 year.AFC, India anticipates to develop a united system to nurture, coach and develop agri- entrepreneurs to make a new self-reliant India. Citibank and NCPA partner to offer Hindustani music scholarships to young musicians  To support young and emerging talent in Hindustani music, National Centre for the Performing Arts, in partnership with Citi India, is back with their scholarship program for advanced training in vocal and instrumental fields.  The CITI–NCPA Scholarship for Young Musicians 2021-22 will be offered for training in khayal and dhrupad under vocals and for tabla or pakhawaj in percussion. HDFC signs MoU with CII’s IGBC to promote green building initiatives HDFC has signed an MoU with the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) to promote green buildings in the country.Under the MOU, HDFC and IGBC will promote green housing by jointly organising training and awareness programmes to facilitate capacity building across the country. Yes Bank partners VISA, introduces new line of E-series debit cards  In partnership with VISA as a payment processor, YES BANK has launched a new line of debit cards – E- series. It will enhance payments efficiency for salaried and YES FIRST account holders.  The Bank has also introduced a new line of vertical Debit cards under the E-series across Mastercard and VISA cards.  With the new design, the card number and CVV details have been discreetly placed at the back, thereby improving security by making it less easy to capture these details while using it at ATMs or POS terminals. AU Small Finance, ICICI Pru Life tie up to offer life insurance solutions AU Small Finance Bank has announced a strategic partnership with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance to offer life insurance solutions. The tie-up aims to deliver “paperless, secure, and hassle-free life insurance”. PayNearby partners NPCI and Yes Bank to launch retailer shopping card PayNearby, India’s largest hyperlocal fintech startup has partnered with YES Bank and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to launch PayNearby Shopping Card, enabling its retail partners to derive maximum benefits of digital commerce in the mass market category.The new service will allow PayNearby retailers to avail a range of digital services in a secure, risk-free mode. The retailers can avail of services such as e-learning, e- commerce, online gaming, monthly recharges and utility payments, online music, and videos. Razorpay partners with PayPal to facilitate global transactions for small businesses, freelancers Financial solutions provider Razorpay said it has partnered with global digital payments platform PayPal to facilitate international payments for small businesses and freelancers. The company’s partner businesses can now integrate with PayPal and accept payments from international customers from across 200 markets in a convenient, fast and secure manner. Paytm Partners with Suryoday Small Finance Bank to Offer Instant Digital Loans to MSMEs Paytm partnered with Suryoday Small Finance Bank(SFB) Ltd to offer collateral-free instant digital loans to MSMEs(Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises). This will empower the MSMEs. This is the 1st lending partnership for Paytm with a small finance bank to help merchants to avail loans seamlessly.

Page | 19 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

APEDA and NABARD signed MoU to Cooperate in Agriculture Activities & Implementing Agriculture Export Policy Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to address the key interests of Agriculture and allied sectors for bringing better value to the stakeholders and Implementing Agriculture Export Policy (AEP). Agriculture Export Policy(AEP) was implemented in 2018, aimed at doubling the farmers’ income by 2022. SIDBI in Partnership with ISARC Launches ARM-MSME, an Asset Restructuring Web Module for MSMEs  Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) in partnership with India SME Asset Reconstruction Company (ISARC) has launched Asset Restructuring Module for MSMEs-Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises(ARM-MSMEs) in other words Do-It-Yourself (DIY) web module.  Indian Bank has signed a MoU(Memorandum of Understanding) with SIDBI to enable MSME borrowers to use the web module. UNDP and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation to co-create India’s first Social Impact Bond Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC),Pune recently signed an MoU with UNDP India to co-create India’s first Social Impact Bond (SIB). This SIB will support the PCMC in improving healthcare services for its citizens, especially with respect to the pandemic while incurring minimum investment risks. ICICI Bank and Google Pay collaborate to bring digital registration of FASTag  ICICI Bank has announced that it is collaborating with Google to issue FASTag. It has become the first bank to join hands with Google Pay for the issuance of FASTag.  Customers will now be able to order, track and recharge ICICI Bank FASTag via the Google Pay app.  Currently, Google Pay users could recharge their FASTag on the app, but purchasing one directly from the Google app was not possible. IIFL Home, ICICI Bank join hands for affordable housing, MSME loans  IIFL Finance said its home loan subsidiary IIFL Home Finance Ltd has tied up with ICICI Bank to provide affordable housing and MSME loans.  Under the tie-up, IFL Home will originate and service customers through the entire loan life-cycle including sourcing, documentation, collection and loan servicing and in turn, ICICI Bank will provide funding to these customers. FADA, ASDC join hands with Google India to bridge digital skills gap in auto dealerships  The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said it along with Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC) has tied up with Google India to bridge the digital skills gap in the country’s auto dealerships and build their capacity in this critical growth driver.  ASDC and FADA in partnership Google India aims to prepare over 20,000 auto dealerships to engage with customers in the ongoing and post pandemic era. DGT inks pact with MICROSOFT and NASSCOM for digital skilling Directorate General of Training (DGT) under Skill Development Ministry has partnered with Microsoft and NASSCOM Foundation to provide a digital content for ITI students. This will benefit 1,20,000 students in around 3000 ITIs across India via Bharatskills portal. PayU ties up with Google Pay to introduce tokenised payments  PayU with Google Pay has introduced tokenised payments flow for Indian merchants. With the digital token linked to the phone and card information tokenised, Google Pay users can make repeat payments seamlessly and securely.  Through the option of one-click payment, one doesn’t need to re-enter the payment data, as the OTP is read automatically and the payment is processed instantaneously.  Tokenised payments offer a highly convenient, safe, and friction-free payment experience, and we are excited to partner with Google Pay to make this available for our merchants. SIDBI inks MoU with Assam government to develop MSME ecosystem  Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Assam government to develop the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) ecosystem in the State.  The MoU was signed by the commissioner and secretary of industries and commerce department, K K Dwivedi and SIDBI general manager RK Singh in the presence of minister Chandra Mohan Patowary.

RATING AND SURVEY S&P retains India’s GDP forecast at 9% contraction in current fiscal Year S&P Global Ratings retained its forecast of 9 per cent contraction in the Indian economy for the current fiscal. OECD Revised India’s FY21 GDP Forecast to -9.9% from -10.2%

20 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in its December 2020 Economic Outlook titled “A Brighter Outlook But Recovery Will Be Gradual” has revised the India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate upwards to -9.9% from -10.2% projected in September for FY21.  It also projected that the Indian economy will rebound to 8% in FY22 and 5% in FY23 on the condition that GDP loss would be substantial. CRISIL revises India’s GDP forecast to -7.7% for fiscal 2021  Rating agency CRISIL has lowered the contraction rate of India’s GDP and forecasted growth rate of Indian economy to contract 7.7% in the ongoing fiscal 2020-21 due to ‘faster-than-expected’ recovery in the second quarter  CRISIL in its September release, estimated India’s GDP to be around 9% forecast in September 2020.  CRISIL expects the growth to bounce back to 10% for the fiscal 2021-22 (FY22).  CRISIL HQs: Mumbai. Fitch Ratings Revises India GDP Forecast, Sees Contraction at 9.4 Per cent Fitch Ratings raised India’s GDP forecast to -9.4 per cent in the current fiscal year to March 2021 from a previously projected contraction of 10.5 per cent after the economy staged a sharper rebound in the second quarter. RBI projects 6.8% retail inflation in December quarter The Reserve Bank of India said retail inflation is likely to remain elevated and pegged it at 6.8 per cent for the third quarter of the current fiscal. However, retail inflation is projected to be 5.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020-21. ADB estimated Indian economy to contract at a slower pace of 8% in 2020 Asian Development Bank (ADB) in its latest Asian Development Outlook report has estimated India’s economy to contract 8% in 2020, against its earlier estimate of (-)9.0 %. ADB also expects India’s GDP to bounce back with growth of 8.0% in 2021 SBI Ecowrap Report Projects India GDP to contract 7.4% in FY21 The State Bank of India, in its research report ‘Ecowrap’ has revised the GDP growth of India at (-) 7.4 per cent in FY21.The SBI research report has also forecast India’s GDP growth in FY22 at 11 per cent. S&P revises India’s GDP contraction forecast in FY21 to -7.7% S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor’s) has raised India’s GDP growth projection for the FY21 (2020- 21) to – 7.7 per cent from – 9 per cent estimated earlier.The US-based S&P rating agency has projected India’s growth to rebound to 10 per cent in the next fiscal, i.e. 2021-22 (FY22). Ind-Ra revises India’s GDP contraction to 7.8% for FY21 India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has revised India’s GDP estimate for the current financial year 2020-21 (FY21) to -7.8 per cent from -11.8 per cent estimated earlier.Ind-Ra has also estimated the GDP to grow by 9.6% in 2021-22 (FY22). ICRA Projects Indian economy to contract 7.8% in FY21 The domestic rating agency, ICRA Ratings expects the technical recession in the country’s economy to end in the fourth quarter of the current fiscal, limiting the contraction in the GDP to 7.8 per cent in the financial year 2021. NCAER projects India’s GDP to contract 7.3% in FY21 The National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has projected the Indian economy to contract 7.3 per cent in FY21, compared to -12.6% forecast in September 2020.

FUND AND FINANCIAL ALLOCATION ADB, India sign 132.8 million loan to strengthen Meghalaya’s power distribution Sector The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $132.8 million loan to strengthen and modernize the distribution network and improve the quality of power supplied to households, industries, and businesses in India’s northeastern state of Meghalaya. ADB Approved a $430 Million Multitranche Financing Facility for UP Power Distribution Network Rehabilitation Project The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $430 million (about Rs 4,143 crore) Multitranche Financing Facility(MFF) for Uttar Pradesh(UP) Power Distribution Network Rehabilitation Project. ADB approves $190 mn loan for upgradation of Bengaluru power distribution system Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD 190 million (over Rs 1,400 crore) loan for modernisation and upgradation of power distribution system in Karnataka’s capital city of Bengaluru.The funding for the Bengaluru Smart Energy Efficient Power Distribution Project by ADB includes a USD 100 million sovereign loan and a USD 90 million without sovereign guarantee loan to Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM). ADB launches $9 bn “APVAX” for Developing Countries The Asian Development Bank (ADB) launched a $9 billion initiative that will help its developing member economies to procure and deliver coronavirus vaccines. Called the Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX), it will offer "rapid and equitable support" to its developing members as they procure and deliver effective and safe coronavirus vaccines

Page | 21 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

India provides US$ 2 million to UNRWA for Palestinian Refugees India contributed another USD 2 million to the UN Palestine refugee agency, fulfilling its commitment of USD five million in aid annually to support its programmes and services, including education, health care, relief and social services for Palestinian refugees. ADB approves USD 2.5 mn technical assistance for advanced biofuel development in India The Manila Bades Multilateral lending agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) stated it has approved a USD 2.5 million (about Rs 18 crore) technical assistance to support advanced biofuel development in India. The grant is funded from the Asia Clean Energy Fund, financed by the Government of Japan under the Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility, and the Republic of Korea’s e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund. India contributes $1 million to WADA to support Clean Sport India has pledged to contribute $1 million to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), for its scientific research budget, to ensure an atmosphere of Clean Sport globally.It is the highest contributions made by any governments of the world, including China, Saudi Arabia and Egypt WADA Headquarters: Montreal, Canada ADB, India sign $300 million loan to upgrade power distribution network in Uttar Pradesh  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Indian government signed a $300 million loan to upgrade rural power distribution networks to provide reliable electricity supply to consumers in the state of Uttar Pradesh.  This is the first tranche of the loan for the Uttar Pradesh Power Distribution Network Rehabilitation Project.  Overall, the $430 million multi-tranche financing facility (MFF) has been approved for the project constituting two tranches.  he project envisages conversion of 65,000 kilometres (km) of rural low -voltage distribution lines from bare conductors to aerial bundled conductors (ABC) to create a robust distribution network that will benefit an estimated 70 million people in 46,000 villages. ADB grants $40-million loan to Northern Arc Capital to help small borrowers The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it has signed a $40 million loan to Northern Arc Capital Limited (NACL) to support the livelihoods of microfinance borrowers and MSMEs in India. DFC to invest USD 54 million in India to support critical infrastructure projects  The United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has announced to invest $54 million in India to support the development of critical infrastructure projects in the country in the wake of the COVID- 19 pandemic.  The DFC will invest this $54 million in equity for the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) in India. India, ADB sign 4.21 million dollar PRF facility for preparation of infrastructure development projects  The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a 4.21 million dollar project readiness financing (PRF) facility for the preparation of infrastructure development projects to improve urban amenities and develop tourism infrastructure in Tripura.  This is ADB’s first PRF facility for a state in the northeastern region of India.  The facility will support Tripura Government’s priorities of improving urban services and tourism infrastructure that will help boost economic development. ADB approves loan of $231m to construct LKHEP plant in India  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has sanctioned a $231m loan for the construction of the Lower Kopili Hydroelectric Power (LKHEP) plant in Central Assam, India.  The LKHEP plant is expected to double the hydropower generation capacity of the Assam Power Generation Corporation (APGCL).  The plant will produce a total capacity of 120MW of electricity to harness water from the Kopili River, to address power requirements during peak demand periods.  The loan provided by the ADB is the third and largest tranche of the $300m Assam Power Sector Investment Program approved by the bank in 2014. US financial body announces $54 million investment to support India’s infra projects  An American financial corporation has announced to invest $54 million in India to support the development of critical infrastructure projects in the country in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The financing is part of NIIF’s final round of fund-raising for the fund. NIIF will work to mobilise capital to support economic growth and address critical development challenges in the country World Bank signs $500mn project to develop highways in India  The Government of India and the World Bank signed a $500 million project to build safe and green national highway corridors in the states of Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.  The project will also enhance the capacity of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in mainstreaming safety and green technologies.

22 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 The $500 million loans from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development a lending arm of World Bank Group, has a maturity of 18.5 years including a grace period of five years.  The Green National Highways Corridors Project will support MoRTH construct 783 km of highways in various geographies by integrating safe and green technology designs such as local and marginal materials, industrial byproducts, and other bioengineering solutions GoI inks $1-bn loan pact with NDB to support Indian Economy  The Government of India and the New Development Bank (NDB) have signed a loan agreement worth $1,000 million for ‘supporting India’s economic recovery from COVID-19’. The loan has a tenor of 30 years, including a 5-year grace period.  The loan will support expenditures on rural infrastructure related to natural resource management (NRM) and rural employment generation under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). India and World Bank sign $400 million project to protect India’s poor  The Government of India and the World Bank have signed a $400 million project to protect vulnerable groups in urban and peri-urban areas across the country impacted by COVID-19.  This is the second such assistance in the series of two ‘Accelerating India’s COVID-19 Social Protection Response Programme’. Under the first operation, $750 million was approved by World Bank in May 2020. ADB announces Rs 2100 crore loan to Tripura  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced to provide Rs 2,100 crore loan to the Tripura government for the development of urban areas and tourism in the northeastern state.  From the total fund of Rs 2,100 crore, Rs 1600 crore will be for urban development and Rs 500 crore for the tourism sector.  Under this, all 20 urban local bodies in Tripura would be covered and in the tourism sector, all tourism destinations, roads leading to them and tourist facilities would be covered.

CORPORATE BUSINESS AND E-BUSINESS Businesses with monthly turnover of over Rs 50 lakh to pay at least 1% GST liability in cash  Businesses with monthly turnover of over Rs 50 lakh wil have to mandatorily pay at least 1% of their Goods and Services Tax liability in cash, the Finance Ministry said as it moved to curb evasion by fake invoicing.  The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has introduced Rule 86B in Goods and Services Tax rules which restricts use of input tax credit for discharging GST liability to 99%.  While calculating the turnover threshold, sales from GST exempt goods and zero rates supply would not be included.  However, this restriction will not apply where the managing director or any partner have paid more than Rs 1 lakh as income tax or the registered person has received a refund amount of more than Rs 1 lakh in the preceding financial year on account of unutilised input tax credit. Aceware Fintech launches service for doorstep withdrawal of money  Aimed at enabling withdrawal of money from a bank account from the comfort of home, Aceware, a fintech company based in Infopark, has launched Ace Money Micro ATM service in Kochi.  Initially, the service will be available in Kochi city, and the company has already recruited delivery executives for rolling out the service. The company is planning to expand the service to all the municipalities in the State by January 2021.  Aceware is rolling out the service in association with ICICI Bank. Customers can place an order for money on Ace Money app, which can be downloaded from Google Play Store and App Store. The money will be delivered at the doorstep within 30-40 minutes after placing the order. Sequoia India launched ‘Sequoia Spark’ in association with WEP to Promote Women Entrepreneurs Equity financing firm Sequoia India partnered with NITI Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), to promote women entrepreneurship in India.In line with this partnership, Sequoia India, launched a year long Programme, ‘Sequoia Spark’, in association with WEP for women entrepreneurs in India and Southeast Asia. COMMITTEE AND ITS HEAD Mr.Rameshwar Prasad Gupta  Government of India (GoI) has constituted a 17 members committee namely “Apex Committee for Implementation of Paris Agreement (AIPA)” under the chairperson of secretary, Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)

Page | 23 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 The Paris Agreement (Article 4, paragraph 2) mandated each of its countries to prepare, communicate and maintain post-2020 climate actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the impacts of anthropogenic climate change. These are known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs). NDCs of India: A 33-35% reduction in the gross domestic product emissions intensity by 2030 from 2005 levels • A 40% share of non-fossil fuel based electricity by 2030 • Creating a carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide through afforestation programmes About Paris Agreement: Signed in 2016, it is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It was negotiated in 2015 by representatives of 196 state parties at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC in Le Bourget, near Paris, France. • It’s long-term temperature goal is to keep the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 °C (3.6 °F) above pre-industrial levels; and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F). • Therefore, each country has to implement NCDs to reduce greenhouse emissions. Central Govt Forms 5-Member Panel to Oversee Construction of New Parliament Building  The central government has formed a 5 member committee to oversee the construction of the new Parliament house.  The committee will comprise joint secretaries from the Lok Sabha Secretariat, CPWD(Central Public Works Department), and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs(MoHUA).  The construction of a new Parliament is a part of redevelopment of the entire 3-km Central Vista from Rashtrapati Bhavan till India Gate.  It is constructed under the Central Vista redevelopment project.  The estimated cost of the project is around Rs 971 crore  The construction is expected to be completed by November 2022. Amit Shah to lead the panel on Netaji’s 125th birth anniversary event  The Union Government has decided to constitute a High-Level Committee (HLC) to commemorate the 125th Birth Anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. The High-Level Committee will be headed by the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah.  This HLC will decide on the activities for a one-year-long commemoration beginning 23 January 2021, as a tribute and mark of gratitude to the contribution made by Netaji in India’s freedom struggle. Amit Khare  In an effort to bring major changes in technical education, the Ministry of Education under the leadership of Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ has set up a task force for preparing a roadmap on imparting technical education in Mother Tongue.  As per updates, the task force set up under the chairmanship of Amit Khare, Secretary of Higher Education Department, will take into consideration the suggestions made by various stakeholders and will submit a report in a month. STATE NEWS ANDHRA PRADESH Andhra Pradesh signs MoU with Survey of India for historic land survey Andhra Pradesh government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Survey of India in the presence of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for the implementation of the ‘YSR Jagananna Saswatha Bhoomi Hakku-Bhoomi Rakshana’, scheduled for launch on December 21.The State government in partnership with Survey of India will be conducting a comprehensive survey which will go down in history with the golden letters, as such a large scale survey is being conducted for the first time in the country after almost 100 years. AP CM virtually launches ‘Jagananna Jeeva Kranthi’ scheme  Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy virtually launched ‘Jagananna Jeeva Kranthi’ scheme, under which 2.49 lakh units of sheep and goats will be distributed to women in a phased manner at a cost of ₹1,869 crore.  The scheme aims at improving the living standards of women with less investment.  Under the scheme, women belonging to the Backward Classes, the Scheduled Castes (SCs), and the Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the age group of 45-60 years would get 2.49 lakh sheep and goat units. Each unit consists of 15 sheep or goats (with one ram or billy) in each unit. The State would facilitate and provide suggestions, in case the women want to buy the sheep and goats on their own.

24 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Andhra Pradesh rolls out free crop insurance scheme  Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched ‘YSR Free Crop Insurance’ scheme.  He credited ₹1,252 crores into the bank accounts of 9.48 lakh farmers in insurance claims for the agricultural season 2019.  Chief Minister Reddy said that 10,641 Rythu Bharosa Kendrams are set up, integrated with village secretariats to support the farmers. The government has initiated e-cropping, where details of all crops are uploaded in a database, including the crop loss numbers. All this information, crop loss compensations would be displayed at the RBKs for social audit. Andhra CM Jagan launches housing programme ‘Pedalandariki Illu’  Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the flagship programme of Navaratnalu ‘Pedalandariki Illu,’ (housing for poor) at Komaragiri layout of Pithapuram Assembly constituency in East Godavari district.  The scheme is expected to provide low-cost housing for an estimated 30.6 lakh people in Andhra Pradesh.  Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy hoped the housing project will help generate jobs in the construction sector and will be a boost for the state economy. MPEDA launches India’s first aquaframers call centre at Vijayawada In a first of its kind initiative,the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), headquartered in Kochi, has launched a multilingual call centre for aquafarmers at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, which will address their technical issues and impart knowledge about efficient farming methods round the clock.The call centre primarily caters to aqua farmers of Andhra Pradesh, the state that contributes more than 60 per cent of the country’s marine products export basket.

ASSAM Assam govt launches ‘Orunodoi’ scheme  Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowalon launched the biggest-ever Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme called ‘Orunodoi’, aiming to cover 22 lakh families in the state.  The scheme will provide financial assistance of Rs.830/month as Directly Benefit Transfer(DBT) to the bank accounts of Women under the Jan Dhan Yojana.  Women with family income less than 2 lakhs per annum can avail the benefits of this scheme. Assam set to get its sixth national park  Assam will get the sixth national park — Raimona National Park in Kokrajhar.  The proposal has been submitted to Assam governor of Assam for upgrading an area of 422 sq km of notified Ripu Reserved Forest under Manas National Park and Tiger Reserve as the proposed Raimona National Park.  The existing five national parks are Kaziranga National Park, Manas National Park, Nameri National Park, Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and Orang National Park. Lachit Divas The Lachit Divas is annually celebrated across the state of Assam in India on 24th November to remember the valor of Chao Lachit Borphukan, an army general of Ahom Kingdom (now Guwahati, Assam).Lachit Divas is celebrated across India since 2017. The day is celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of the state Hero Lachit Borphukan. Kaziranga national park organized Elephant health camp  Kaziranga national park authority has organized an elephant health camp for the routine health care of departmental elephants of the park.  Currently, KNP have 63 numbers of camp for elephants in various ranges of both Eastern Assam wildlife division and Western Assam wildlife division and Laokhowa Burhachapori wildlife sanctuary. Assam cabinet approves Bill to make Bodo associate official language of state The Assam cabinet approved the Assam Official Language Amendment Bill for making Bodo (in Devanagari script) an associate official language of the state. Assam Assembly passes bill to abolish all state-run Madrasas  Assam Assembly has passed ‘The Assam Repealing Bill 2020' to abolish all state-run Madrasas by converting them to general schools.  The bill will convert all madrasas being run under govt into regular educational institute with effect from 1st April, 2021  Assam has decided to make education secular, converting 198 high madrasas and 542 other madrasas in the state to operate as any other general educational institute Nitin Gadkari announces Multi-Model Logistics Park in Assam’s Silchar  Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari has announced that a multi-modal logistics park in Assam.  It will be constructed in Silchar and the Balacherra-Harengajao section of the Silchar-Saurashtra Highway will be completed in March 2022.

Page | 25 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

BIHAR Union Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurates Koilwar bridge in Bihar  The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated the 1.5 km long Koilwar bridge over Sone river in Bihar through Video Conferencing.  This newly inaugurated bridge is a part of the six-lane bridge being made in place of the existing two-lane bridge, for both rail and road traffic, which is 138 years old.  The total cost of setting up this three-lane bridge is estimated at Rs 266 crore. The bridge is a major road for transport between Bihar and UP. Bihar wins Digital India award for transferring money in COVID time  The Chief Minister Secretariat of Bihar, the Disaster Management Department besides the National Informatics Centre (NIC) of the state have jointly been chosen as winners in the “pandemic category” Digital India Awards 2020.Bihar government’s initiative to transfer financial assistance directly to the accounts of beneficiaries during the COVID-19 pandemic has made its departments winners of the Digital India Awards, instituted by the central government, this year for innovative steps in e-governance.

CHHATTISGARH Chhattisgarh signs MoU to set up India’s 1st ethanol plant under PPP model  Chhattisgarh government signed a contract execution (MoU) for the country’s first ethanol plant to be set up in the state under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.  The contract was signed by Bhoramdev Cooperative Sugar Factory Kawardha and Chhattisgarh Distillery Limited’s subsidiary NKJ Biofuel for a period of 30 years.

DELHI PM Modi flagged off India’s first driverless train on Delhi Metro  Prime Minister Narendra Modi has flagged off the country’s first-ever fully-automated driverless train service on the Magenta Line of the Delhi Metro.  Apart from this, PM also launched fully operational National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) on the Airport Express Line of Delhi Metro, to connect DMRC with the NCMC service.  NCMC, also known as ‘One Nation One Card’, is an inter-operable transport card that allows the holders all in one service to pay for their travel, toll taxes, parking charges, retail shopping and even withdraw money.

GOA Goa CM Pramod Sawant, launches One Time Settlement Scheme Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has launched a One Time Settlement(OTS) Scheme 2020 a state welfare scheme from the Department of Electricity to provide waivers for the pending electricity bill payments.

GUJARAT PM Modi inaugurates world’s largest renewable energy park in Gujarat  Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the 30,000 megawatts (MW) capacity hybrid renewable energy park in Kutch district of Gujarat.  It will be the largest renewable energy park of its kind in the world. It is expected to play a major role in fulfilling India’s vision of generating 450 GW (4,50,000 MW) of power by 2030.  The park is being constructed between Khawda and Vighakhot villages near India-Pakistan border  The renewable park will have two dedicated zones, one each for the wind energy and solar energy.  The first zone will be a hybrid park on 49,600 hectares of land, which means it will use sunlight and wind to generate electricity. The second zone will be spread over 23,000 hectares of land and will be wind power based only.  The energy project in PM Modi’s home state will account for a large chunk of India’s ambitious target of generating 175 GW in renewable energy by 2022 and 450 GW by 2030.  PM Modi also laid the foundation stone for the Rs 129-crore fully automated dairy plant under the Centre’s Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana in Kutch. As the then CM, Modi had set up the district’s first dairy plant with 2 lakh litre processing capacity in 2013-14.  He will also interact with Kutchi artisans, and review a memorial park being built in Bhuj in memory of the 2001 earthquake victims. Gujarat gets new online fire safety approval system, first state to do so  A new mechanism for approval and renewal of fire safety certifications for buildings has been put in place in Gujarat by bringing the entire process online through a portal called Fire Safety COP.

26 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 The system, which will be implemented from January 26 next year, comes after recent incidents of fire in COVID-19 facilities in which several patients died, including in Rajkot on November 27.  As part of the new system, the government has approved the process of training and empaneling private ”fire safety officers (FSOs)” to carry out periodic inspection, testing and maintenance of fire safety systems in buildings and renewal of certificates. Gujarat Govt to set up Special Education Region at Dholera The Gujarat government signed a pact with Cerestra Managers Pvt Ltd to set up the Gujarat-Special Education Region (G-SER) at the Dholera Special Investment Region.The G-SER will be developed as an education hub spread over 1,000 acres that can be expanded up to 5,000 acres to develop university district, school district and innovation district. India’s first Lithium refinery to be set up in Gujarat  India’s first Lithium refinery is soon going to be set up in Gujarat. Manikaran Power Limited, one of the country’s largest power trading and renewable energy company will invest around Rs 1,000 crore to set up this refinery.  The refinery will process Lithium ore to produce battery-grade material. Lithium is a rare element and is usually not found in India. PM lays foundation stone of AIIMS at Rajkot in Gujarat Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Rajkot in Gujarat through video conferencing.201 acres of land has been allotted near Rajkot for the AIIMS project. It will be built at an estimated cost of one thousand one hundred 95 crore rupees and is expected to be completed by mid of 2022. The state-of-the-art 750-bed hospital will also have a 30-bed AAYUSH block.

HARYANA Haryana Government Signs MoU with India Accelerator to build Startup Ecosystem  Department of Information Technology, Electronics and Communication and Government of Haryana has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India Accelerator (IA) to build a strong startup ecosystem in Haryana.  India Accelerator will provide support to the startups through Knowledge sharing & free of cost services to high potential startups.

HIMACHAL PRADESH Himachal CM unveils 18-feet statue of Vajpayee in Shimla  Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has unveiled an 18-feet tall statue of late former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the occasion of his 96th birth anniversary at the historic Ridge in the state capital.  The statue has been built at a cost of Rs 1.08 crore. The Ridge Maidan also houses statues of Mahatma Gandhi and former prime minister Indira Gandhi. Himachal Pradesh govt to frame integrated Drug Prevention Policy  Himachal Pradesh govt has decided to frame an integrated Drug Prevention Policy that comprises of Drug Prevention, Treatment, Management and Rehabilitation Programme.  The policy demands better coordination between Police, Media and Nasha Nivaran Board for curbing drug abuse.  State-wise Drug Awareness Campaign and 6 drug de-addiction centers will also be started soon.

JAMMU AND KASHMIR World's tallest rail bridge on Chenab in J&K likely to be completed by 2021  Touted as the next man-made wonder, the world's tallest rail bridge on the Chenab in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory is expected to be completed by next year.  This was stated by General Manager Northern Railways, Ashutosh Gangal.  The 1,315-metre-long bridge between Bakkal and Kauri villages of Reasi is coming up at a height of 359 metres.  The arched structure will connect Baramulla to Jammu via Udhampur, Katra and Qazigund with a travel time of six and a half hours. Prime Minister launched SEHAT, health insurance scheme for Jammu-Kashmir  Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the PMJAY – SEHAT scheme on December 26 for Jammu and Kashmir.  The scheme will cover the remaining population which has not been covered under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme.

Page | 27 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 Under Ayushman Bharat PM Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) eligible beneficiaries were covered under Health cover of Rs 5 lakhs.  According to the Department of Information and Public Relations, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, SEHAT scheme stands for Social, Endeavour for Health and Telemedicine, a health insurance scheme for the Union Territory.  Under PMJAY scheme, 30 lakh people are being covered in J&K. With the launch of ‘SEHAT’ Scheme by the Prime Minister on December 26, J&K will be among the first in the country to achieve Universal Health Coverage.

KARNATAKA Karnataka Assembly adopts Bill against cow slaughter  The Karnataka Legislative Assembly passed the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill-2020.  The new act defines “cattle” as including cows, calves, bulls, bullocks, and male and female buffalos below 13 years. “Beef” is defined as the flesh of cattle in any form.  Slaughter of cattle as per the new Bill will be a cognisable offence and will attract three to seven years imprisonment and a fine that shall not be less than 50,000 extendable to 5 lakh. Karnataka unveils “FRUITS” portal for farmers  Karnataka government has unveiled the Farmer Registration and Unified beneficiary Information System (FRUITS), an e-governance portal, to create a repository of farmland information and farm loan details on a single platform.  All farmers will be registered and given an identification number on the portal. The FRUITS Portal is integrated into the BHOOMI Package of the Karnataka State for fetching and validating the land details.  Canara Bank has agreed to run FRUITS on a pilot basis. Nitin Gadkari to inaugurate and lay foundation stone for 33 highway projects in Karnataka  Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for 33 highway projects in Karnataka.  The project worth 11 thousand crore rupees, has a road length of nearly 1200 kilometers.  Paving the way for development of Karnataka, these roads will enhance better connectivity, convenience and economic growth in the State.

KERALA Kerala’s Gender Park to host international meet in Feb 2021  Kerala government said the Gender Park in partnership with UN Women will organise the second edition of the International Conference on Gender Equality (ICGE-II) at Kozhikode in February 2021.  The focal theme is ‘Gender in Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Social Business: The Mediating Role of Empowerment’, seeking to throw light on the critical linkages between entrepreneurship, economic growth, and poverty reduction. UN Women and Kerala govt tie-up for India’s 1st Gender Data Hub The UN Women and Kerala government have collaborated to establish India’s first Gender Data Hub. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in this regard in the presence of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

LADAKH Ladakh LG virtually inaugurates second Ladakh Literature Festival 2020 Ladakh LG R K Mathur virtually inaugurated the second edition of Ladakh Literature Festival, 2020, in Leh. The three Day festival will host a series of talks, importance of the region, ancient knowledge of Ladakh, Folk music, cultural Dance, geology and wildlife of Himalayas and several interesting topics on YouTube and Facebook streaming.

LAKSHADWEEP Lakshadweep becomes India’s 1st UT to be declared 100% Organic  The Ministry of Agriculture has declared Lakshadweep as India’s first Union Territory to become 100 per cent organic.  All farming activity in the UT is carried out without the use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, which provides access to safer food choices and making agriculture a more environment-friendly activity.

28 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 Lakshadweep is second only to Sikkim, which was India’s first state to be declared completely organic. This comes after the UT received proper certifications and declarations under the Centre’s Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (organic farming improvement programme). Ladakh celebrates New Year ‘Losar’ People in Ladakh region are celebrating Ladakhi New Year, Losar. Losar’ is celebrated to mark the beginning of the new year of the Buddhist community. Union Minister of Earth Sciences Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurates country’s highest Meteorological Centre at Leh  Union Minister of Earth Sciences, Dr Harsh Vardhan, virtually inaugurated India’s highest Meteorological Centre in Leh.  After Itanagar Centre in Arunachal Pradesh, Leh Met centre at 3500 meters highest from mean sea level is the highest in the Himalayan region.  With four Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) a Meteorological Department centre for Ladakh region started working. Despite Covid pandemic, within Nine months of time the new centre is established to cater the arid cold desert and geo politically all important Ladakh weather requirements. India adds Tso Kar Wetland Complex in Ladakh as its 42nd Ramsar site  India has added Tso Kar Wetland Complex situated in the Changthang region of Ladakh as 42nd Ramsar site of the country  Tso Kar Basin: High-altitude wetland complex, consisting of Startsapuk Tso (freshwater lake of about 438 hectares) and Tso Kar (hypersaline lake of 1800 hectares)  Tso Kar means white lake as white salt efflorescence is found on its margins due to the evaporation of highly saline water.  Tso Moriri or Lake Moriri or ‘Mountain Lake’ is another Ramsar site

MADHYA PRADESH India’s 1st hot air balloon wildlife safari launched in Madhya Pradesh  India’s first hot air balloon wildlife safari in a tiger reserve was launched in the world-famous Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve by Madhya Pradesh forest minister Vijay Shah.  Now like Africa’s forests, tourists in India will also enjoy hot air balloon wildlife safari. The state was planning to introduce this service in Pench, Kanha and Panna tiger reserves as well. Madhya Pradesh Aims to completely eliminate AIDS by 2030 Madhya Pradesh government aims to completely eliminate AIDS by 2030.Madhya Pradesh did not see a significant increase in the number of HIV patients in the last two years. Tribal Affairs Minister, Arjun Munda launched the 1st virtual Aadi Mahotsav in Madhya Pradesh  Cabinet Minister of Tribal Affairs, Arjun Munda launched the first ever virtual edition of Aadi Mahotsav, at Madhya Pradesh. Aadi Mahotsav also known as National Tribal festival is conducted to promote the tribal, products, culture thereby increasing Tribal income.  This festival is Jointly organised by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India and Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED). The 2020 virtual edition of the festival is organised virtually across India • 1-10 December focusing on Madhya Pradesh • 11-20 December focus shifts to Gujarat • 21-30 December, planned to focus on West Bengal Gwalior & Orchha included in list of World Heritage City by UNESCO The historical fort cities of Gwalior and Orchha of Madhya Pradesh have been included in the list of World Heritage City by UNESCO under its urban landscape city programme. Madhya Pradesh cabinet approves Dharma Swatantrya (Religious Freedom) Bill 2020  Madhya Pradesh cabinet approved the Dharma Swatantrya (Religious Freedom) Bill 2020. The controversial ordinance outlaws marriages with an aim of religious conversions.  Under the new Bill, forcing religious conversion on someone will attract 1-5 years of imprisonment and a minimum Rs 25,000 fine.  This approval comes after Uttar Pradesh’s governor’s assent to the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, against forcible or fraudulent religious conversions last month.

MAHARASHTRA “Child-friendly” police station launched in Pune The city’s first “child-friendly” police station was inaugurated at the cantonment police station in Pune, premises by Abhay Karandikar, director, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).This police station will work towards character building among children and will also work in changing the notion that police are not enemies but friends of people.

Page | 29 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Ministry of AYUSH to develop Nisarg Gram campus at Pune  The Ministry of AYUSH announced to develop a new campus of National Institute of Naturopathy (NIN) campus in Pune.  The upcoming campus will be known as ‘Nisarg Gram’. It will be located 15 km from the present NIN campus at Bapu Bhavan.  The new curriculum of this campus will be prepared as per the National Education Policy, 2020. Bachelors and Masters in Naturopathy will be the major programmes offered at the campus. Maharashtra govt all set to launch ‘MahaSharad’ platform Maharashtra’s Department of Social Justice is all set to launch an ambitious scheme for distribution of assistive devices to lakhs of persons with disabilities through MahaSharad Digital Platform to coincide with NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s 80th birthday. It will be available on Play Store by March 2021. World class incubation centre in offing in Maharashtra  In a bid to provide basic amenities and conducive atmosphere to new entrepreneurs, a world class incubation centre is in the offing in Maharashtra.  The state government would sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Co rnell University from New York, USA for setting up the incubation centre.  With this, Maharashtra will become the first state in the country to come up with such a centre and also to sign an MoU with an international university. The incubation centre will cater to new entrepreneurs and innovative startups. Maharashtra Cabinet clears draft bill for proposed ‘Shakti Act’  The Maharashtra Cabinet approved the introduction of two draft bills pertaining to the prevention of incidents of violence and atrocities against women and children in the state.  The “Maharashtra Shakti Criminal Law (Maharashtra Amendment) Bill, 2020” has been drafted along the lines of the Andhra Pradesh Disha Act Criminal Law (AP Amendment) Act, 2019. Once passed by the state legislature it will be called the “Shakti Act”.  The second draft bill, which is meant for the implementation of the Shakti legislation, has been named as Special Court and Machinery for Implementation of Maharashtra Criminal Law, 2020. Maharashtra to implement uniform building development rules across state  In a bid to boost the ailing real estate sector, the Uddhav Thackeray-led state government is all set to implement uniform land and building development rules across Maharashtra. The unified development control rules policy will apply to all municipal corporations, councils and nagar panchayats in the state, excluding Mumbai and a few surrounding areas.  The state’s urban development department (UDD) has already finalised the rules and the rules will soon to be formally notified.  The new development rules will bring uniformity in the width of roads, size of rooms, etc. Under the rules, the height of buildings will vary depending on the plot size and its FSI potential. Braille Version of Constitution Unveiled in Mumbai Maharashtra Social Justice Minister Dhananjay Munde unveiled a Braille version of the Indian Constitution at an event in Mumbai.The Braille version of the Constitution has been prepared on behalf of Thane-based NGO Astitva Foundation.

MANIPUR Manipur’s Nongpok Sekmai police station selected as best police station in country  Nongpok Sekmai police station in Manipur’s Thoubal district has been chosen as best performing Police Station in the country.  AWPS-Suramangalam police station in Tamil Nadu’s Salem district and Kharsang in Arunachal Pradesh’s Changlang district have been adjudged as the second and third best performing police stations.

MIZORAM Mizoram Govt Launches Initiative To Help Migrant Workers Find Employment Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga launched a Rs 3.3 crores project under Mizoram Youth Commission (MYC) to assist migrant workers, who lost their jobs outside the state due to the ongoing pandemic. The project christened “Livelihood Generation for Returned Migrant Workers” will be funded by the North Eastern Council (NEC) and cover more than 2,600 people.

MEGHALAYA Meghalaya CM Unveils State Disability Logo, Launches Meghalaya Sign Bank App

30 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 In Meghalaya, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities was observed with a formal function held at Yojna Bhawan Auditorium, Shillong. The theme this year is building back better towards a disability inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-Covid 19 world.  During the function the Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma,unveiled the State Disability Logo. The second edition of the Meghalaya  Sign Bank App was also launched by the Chief Minister. The app is available for both ios and android users.

NAGALAND 21st edition of Hornbill festival 2020 celebrated virtually First time in Nagaland  Nagaland started celebrating the 21st edition of Hornbill festival 2020 from 1st-5th of December organised virtually for the first time due to the pandemic.  Hornbill festival known as “Festival of Festivals” is organised by the state tourism of arts and culture department of Nagaland at the Naga Heritage Village of Kisama, Kohima.  Started in 2000, the festival is conducted every year from December 1-10 in line with the Nagaland State Foundation day on 1st December. Nitin Gadkari to inaugurate & lay foundation stones of 15 National Highway projects of Nagaland  Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Nitin Gadkari along with Chief Minister of Nagaland Neiphiu Rio will inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of 15 National Highway projects of Nagaland through video conference.  The projects having the total length of 270 kms worth over 4,127 crores rupees in Nagaland will benefit the state by generating employment and self employment opportunities, easy access for availing health care and emergency services, boost the socio- economic progress and also enhance economic relations with other neighbouring states.

ODISHA 9 th edition of International Sand Art Festival begins in Odisha’s Puri The five days event has been organised from 01 December 2020 to 05 December 2020. Sudarsan Pattnaik, world-renowned sand artist and Padmashree Awardee, has been appointed as Chief Curator of the festival. This year, the main themes of the sculptures are ‘Environment’ and ‘Covid-19’. Odisha Launches Career Portal For Students In Collaboration With UNICEF  The Odisha government in collaboration with UNICEF has launched a ‘Career Portal’ for secondary and higher secondary students.  The portal will provide easy access to information on different careers and will give students an opportunity to interact with teachers.  Students will also be able to access career guidance services through a mobile friendly app created specifically for the portal. Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launched ‘Pareshram’ Portal  Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik through a video conference, launched ‘Pareshram’ Portal along with 22 online services of Labour and Employees State Insurance Department.  The Portal and the Online Services shall be helpful in “Ease of Doing Business” and contribute significantly to the industrial development of the State.The Portal will provide 52 types of services in the coming days. India’s largest hockey stadium to be set up at Rourkela in Odisha  Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has announced the establishment of India’s largest hockey stadium in Rourkela, Odisha  It will be constructed in Biju Patnaik University of Technology campus, Rourkela.  It will have sitting capacity of around 20,000 people and will spread over 15 acres of land.  Odisha will be hosting FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup in 2023.

PUNJAB Punjab Govt launches mobile app and web portal ‘PR Insight’  Punjab Chief Minister Captain, Amarinder Singh has launched Mobile Application and web portal called ‘PR Insight’, to improve the delivery of citizen-centric services, based upon the feedback of its citizens on government policies.  The basic objective of PR Insight is to re-orient the existing schemes and programmes of the state government to the people’s satisfaction after meticulously monitoring their feedback.

RAJASTHAN India gets first organ donor memorial in Rajasthan

Page | 31 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has inaugurated the country’s first memorial for organ donors in Jaipur on the Indian Organ Donation Day.  This exclusive memorial has been established jointly by Mohan Foundation Jaipur Citizen Forum (MFJCF) and the Jaipur Municipal Corporation, near the city’s SMS Hospital, in honour of those who have given life to others in need. Rajasthan govt signs MoU with IIT-Madras for tech solution to road safety Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and Rajasthan government have signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create a data-driven system approach to road safety.

TAMIL NADU Select cardholders in Tamil Nadu to get 5 kg of ‘chana’ free as COVID-19 relief  Ration cardholders belonging to weaker sections in Tamil Nadu will get 5 kg of ‘chana’ (complete) and the remaining 1 kg of ‘tur dal’ freed from price in December as a part of COVID-19 reduction measures.  The beneficiaries of the Nationwide Meals Safety Act (NFSA), as coated underneath the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and the precedence family (PHH) playing cards, totalling round one crore playing cards, will probably be given 5 kg of ‘chana’. Those that are a part of the 97.9 lakh non-priority family (NPHH) playing cards will obtain 1 kg of ‘tur dal’.  The provision of ‘chana’ to the NFSA beneficiaries is being made attainable underneath the Central authorities’s Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), whereas the availability of ‘tur dal’ is a State authorities initiative. Ola to invest Rs 2,400 corer for world’s largest e-scooter factory in Tamil Nadu  The SoftBank-backed firm Ola Electric has announced a Rs 2,400-crore ($320 million) investment plan to set up, what it calls, the ‘world’s largest’ electric scooter (e -scooter) manufacturing plant in Hosur, Tamil Nadu (TN).  It aims to make India a manufacturing hub for electric vehicles (EVs). Ola has signed a memorandum of understanding with the TN government for this facility.  It will initially have an annual capacity of 2 million units. TN Chief Minister Palaniswami Inaugurates Mayiladuthurai District Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami inaugurated the newly-formed Mayiladuthurai district through video conferencing from the Secretariat in Chennai. The 38th district in the state has been carved out of Nagapattinam district.

TELANGANA IBM, Telangana govt join hands for skilling 30,000 students in emerging technologies  Tech major IBM and the Telangana government have entered into a collaboration to provide curated online courses for the states students that will enhance their technical and professional skills.  IBM will work with Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge (TASK) to offer Open P-TECH, a free digital education platform focused on emerging technologies and professional development skil.  A total of 30,000 students of engineering, degree and polytechnic courses would benefit from the initiative over a period of one year. Nehru Zoological Park Hyderabad gets ISO certifications  Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad, with its standard working procedures, has acquired ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Standards Certification from ASCB, UK.  The Hyderabad Zoo has become the first zoo in the country to receive ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Standards Certificate. This was presented to Telangana Forests Minister A. Indra Karan Reddy.

TRIPURA Centre approves Rs 90.60 Cr for new ICP in Tripura’s Sabroom  Nine months after the central government sanctioned Rs 365 crore for setting up an integrated check post (ICP) at Sabroom in the South district of Tripura, the Ministry of Home Affairs has approved Rs 90.60 crore for land acquisition by the land port authority of India (LPAI).  The ICP will have a common boundary with the Sabroom railway goods yard for seamless transportation of goods from both ends.

UTTAR PRADESH ‘Ramayan Cruise Service,’ Becomes India’s 1st Luxury Cruise Service on Saryu River in Ayodhya, UP

32 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

The ‘Ramayan Cruise Service’ is to be launched on Saryu river (Ghagra/National Waterways-40) in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. It is India’s 1st luxury Cruise service on the Saryu river. It aims to give an attractive experience to devotees with one-of-its-kind spiritual journeys while cruising through the famous ghats of the holy river Saryu. UP’s Dandupur railway station renamed as Maa Barahi Devi Dham The Dandupur railway station situated between Pratapgarh and Badshahpur on Lucknow-Varanasi rail section will now be named Maa Barahi Devi Dham. Yogi launches Mera Covid Kendra in UP  Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched COVID-19 testing centre detection app named the Mera Covid Kendra app which will help people get information about nearby testing labs.‘Mera COVID Kendra’ app which will help people in accessing public and private COVID testing labs available within 5 km of their location.  Kanhargaon becomes 50th wildlife sanctuary of Maharashtra  Kanhalgaon, spread over 270sqkm in Chandrapur district, is the latest to be declared a wildlife sanctuary. It will be the 50th wildlife sanctuary of Maharashtra. UP govt launches scheme for Tharu tribe Uttar Pradesh government has recently launched a scheme to take the unique culture of the Tharu tribes across the world.The state government is working to connect Tharu villages in the districts of Balrampur, Bahraich, Lakhimpur and Pilibhit bordering Nepal, with the home stay scheme of the UP Forest Department. UP Chief Minister approves name, design of Noida’s Jewar Airport  Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath approved the design, name and logo of the international airport to be constructed in Noida’s Jewar.  It will be named Noida International Greenfield Airport while a picture of stork-the state bird will used in its logo.  It will be designed on the lines of world-famous airports in London, Moscow and Milan.  This airport will become the pride of India and will be one of the best in the world. UP launches ‘Varasat’ campaign to curb property & land-related disputes  Uttar Pradesh govt has launched special campaign titled as ‘Varasat’ (natural s uccession) to curb property & land-related disputes in rural areas.  This is a first of its kind campaign in UP which aims to end the land-related issues in the rural areas and eradicate the exploitation of the villagers over succession rights by land mafias, who generally target disputed properties.  It is a 2-month-long special drive and will continue till 15th February 2020. UP launches P2P trading platform for rooftop solar power in Lucknow  Uttar Pradesh has become the first in India and South Asia to launch the block chain-enabled peer to peer (P2P) trading platform for rooftop solar power producers.  The Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) and Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) are hosting the first-of-its-kind pilot project involving energy generated from solar rooftop systems installed on buildings in Lucknow.  The Project is being implemented by Indian Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) Mega Leather Park with Rs. 5850 crore investment to come up in kanpur : to create 50,000 Jobs  A mega leather park will come up in Ramaipur village of Kanpur with an investment of Rs 5,850 crores.  The park which is part of the mega leather cluster project is likely to create 50,000 jobs, for 5 lakh people.  Recently, the project has received approval from the Union Commerce Ministry.  The mega leather cluster project will attract an investment of about Rs 13,000 crores. UP govt to launch ‘Kisan Kalyan Mission’ to double the income of farmers  Uttar Pradesh government will launch a special program to double the income of farmers. The program named as Kisan Kalyan Mission will cover all assembly constituencies of the state.  Under the Kisan Kalyan mission various programs will be organised across the state. Exhibitions of agriculture and Associate sectors will be organised which will include the products of MSME sector units and livelihood missions. PM virtually inaugurates construction of Agra Metro project in UP  Prime Minister NarendraModi is set to inaugurate the phase one construction of the Agra metro project via videoconferencing on 7 th Dec.  Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandi Ben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath marked their virtual presence on the occasion.  The Agra metro project comprises two corridors with a total length of 29.4 km and will connect major tourist attractions like TajMahal, Agra Fort, Sikandra with railway stations and bus stands.  The estimated cost of the construction of the project is Rs 8,379.62 crore and it will be completed in five years, an official stated.

Page | 33 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

UTTARAKHAND Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat inaugurates Suryadhar Lake Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat inaugurated the Suryadhar lake at Doiwala in Dehradun. Suryadhar lake has been built at a cost of Rs 50.25 crore.It is 550 metres long, 28 metres wide and 10 metres deep with a capacity of 77,000 cubic metres. Five-star village postal scheme launched in Uttarakhand  The Union Minister of State for Communication Sanjay Dhotre launched five star village postal scheme to ensure the universal coverage of flagship postal schemes in Dehradun for rural areas of Uttarakhand.  He also distributed Sukanya Samridhi Yojana passbooks, checkbooks, ATM Cards and saving bank passbooks to the beneficiaries of senior citizens welfare fund schemes. Uttarakhand gets its first eco-bridge for small animals  The Ramnagar Forest Division inNainital District, ofUttarakhandhas constructed the state’s first eco-bridge across KaladhungiNainital Highway.  This is 90-feet-long and 5-feet-wide bridge is Uttarakhand’s first eco-bridge.It is mainly for small animals and reptiles such as squirrels, snakes, monitor lizards. Ministry of AYUSH approves 200 AYUSH Health and Wellness Centres in Almora district of Uttarakhand  The Ministry of AYUSH has approved 200 AYUSH Health and Wellness Centres in almora district of Uttarakhand under centrally sponsored scheme of National AYUSH Mission.  In this regard, Arvind Lal Vandana Lal (ALVL) Foundation, New Delhi is providing support to the department of AYUSH, Uttarakhand, in operationalization of AYUSH HWCs in Almora district of Uttarakhand. The Central Government will provide necessary technical support. The ALVL Foundation will support in Population Enumeration, creation of Health Cards in the catchment population of the HWCs and help in training and capacity building of HWC team.  The Central Government has decided to operationalise 12,500 AYUSH Health and Wellness Centres in phased manner by the year 2023-2024 throughout the country. India’s first pollinator park opens in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani  The Uttarakhand forest department dedicated the newly built Pollinator Park to the public, claiming it to be the country’s first such park, spread over 4 acres in Haldwani in Nainital district.  The park has more than 40 pollinator species with displays on the mechanism of pollination of plant species by various species of butterflies, honeybees, birds, insects, moths, beetles, wasps, and small mammals.

WEST BENGAL Stadium in West Bengal’s Barasat named after Late Diego Maradona  A Stadium near Barasat, Kolkata, West Bengal has been named after Late Argentinian Footballer, Diego Maradona.  It was at this stadium that Diego Maradona had conducted a Football clinic for school students in December, 2017. West Bengal CM announces ‘Swasthya Sathi’ health scheme  West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recently extended the Swasthya Sathi health insurance scheme to cover the entire population of the state, starting December 1, 2020. While that may benefit many citizens not included earlier, some experts and activists remained lukewarm to the idea.  The scheme was launched by Banerjee in 2016. It is a basic health cover for secondary and tertiary care up to Rs five lakh per annum per family. It is quite popular among rural and economically deprived sections of the state’s population. West Bengal govt launches ‘Duare Sarkar’ programme for doorstep delivery of govt schemes According to reports, “Duare Sarkar” aims to bring 11 schemes of the state government, including Swastha Sathi (health scheme), Khadya Sathi (public food distribution scheme), Jai Johar and Kanyashree (a cash transfer scheme aimed at retaining girls in schools and preventing their early marriage) to the doorsteps of the people. It is a 2 month long Programme Launched ahead of 2021, It will be held from Dec 1 2020 to Jan 2021, in 4 Phases. Slogan for this Programme is Jar jekhane darkar, asche apnar duare sarkar. Majerhat Bridge named “Jai Hind” to Mark Netaji’s 125th Birth Anniversary  West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee named the newly built “Majerhat bridge” in Kolkata as ‘Jai Hind’ bridge to commemorate the 125th Birth Anniversary of Subash Chandra Bose.  It is 650-metres long and connects the Central part of Kolkata to the Southwestern suburbs of Behala and others. West Bengal cabinet approves construction of ‘state’s first deep sea port in Tajpur’  West Bengal Chief Miniter Mamata Banerjee announced that the state cabinet has approved the construction of a deep sea port in Tajpur.

34 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 Tajpur Deep Sea Port will be built at a cost of Rs 15,000 crore and will generate employment for 25,000 people. It will be the state’s first deep seaport. Centre to dedicate a Museum on Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in Kolkata  Central Govt has proposed to set up a museum dedicated to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, in Kolkata on his 125th birth anniversary celebrations (23rd January)  Govt has also decided to expand current museum of Netaji at Red Fort, Delhi.  Centre is also considering reprinting books written by Subhash Chandra Bose, along with fellowships for students. Dharmendra Pradhan dedicates Bengal’s 1st oil and gas reserve ‘Bengal Basin’  Union Petroleum & Natural Gas Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan has dedicated West Bengal’s first oil and gas reserve, ‘Bengal Basin’, to the nation.  The Bengal Basin is explored and owned by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). It is the eight producing basins of India by ONGC.  The others are Krishna-Godavari (KG), Mumbai Offshore, Assam Shelf, Rajasthan, Cauvery, Assam-Arakan Fold Belt and Cambay.  Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Limited commenced the production of crude oil from the Asokenagar-1 well, Bengal Basin in 24 Paragana district of the state on 20 December 2020. NATIONAL NEWS Govt. announces Rs 900 crore package for COVID-19 Vaccine Development Mission  The Centre has announced the third stimulus package of Rs 900 crore for the Mission COVID Suraksha- The Indian COVID-19 Vaccine Development Mission.This grant will be provided to the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) for Research and Development of Indian COVID-19 vaccines with end-to-end focus from preclinical development through clinical development and manufacturing and regulatory facilitation for deployment.  Led by Department of Biotechnology and implemented by a dedicated Mission Implementation Unit at Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC),the existing activities under National Bio Pharma Mission (NBM) and India- Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Ind-CEPI) Mission will provide complementary strengths to this Mission.  Phase-I of the COVID Suraksha Mission has been allotted Rs.900 Crore for a period of 12 months.  The government has launched 'Mission Covid Suraksha' to help accelerate the development of approximately 5- 6 vaccine and ensure that these are brought closer to licensure and introduction in the market. Dharmendra Pradhan launched India’s first 100 Octane Petrol also known as XP 100 manufactured by Indian Oil Corporation(IOC).  Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOP&NG) Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the India’s first 100 Octane Petrol also known as XP 100 manufactured by Indian Oil Corporation(IOC).  XP 100, the premium grade petrol is manufactured at IOC’s Mathura refinery in Uttar Pradesh, and will be rolled out in two Phases at selected Petrol stations.  Phase1(10 cities)– Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Agra, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad Phase2– Planned to roll out in Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi and Kolkata  Octane ratings are provided based on the measure of fuel stability, indicating the superior quality of fuel & it is the measures of fuel’s ability to avoid Knock.  On 1st April, 2020 India moved from Bharat stage IV or BS-IV to BS-VI, an initiative to reduce the level of emission from vehicles. Center launchd ‘Green Charcoal Hackathon’ to focus on technology to convert Farm Residue into Green Charcoal Minister of State (MoS) (Independent Charge) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Raj Kumar Singh virtually launched ‘Green Charcoal Hackathon’ to deliberate on technology to convert Farm Residue into Green Charcoal. The hackathon has been organised by Energy Efficiency Service Limited (EESL) & NVVN (NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation Limited) Vidyut Vyapar Nigam. Next two editions of ‘Hunar Haat’ to be held in UP’s Rampur and Lucknow  HunarHaat will be organised at Numaish Ground, Rampur from 18th to 27th of this month and Shilp Gram, Lucknow from 23rd to 31st January next year.  The theme will be Vocal for Local with focus on indigenous Indian toys (Swadeshi toys). Artisans and craftsmen from 27 States and UTs will bring their indigenous exquisite handmade products for display and sale at these HunarHaats.

Page | 35 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 Hunar Haat’, the flagship programme of the Minority Affairs Ministry to create employment opportunities for artisans across India. Vice President releases postal stamp in honour of late IK Gujral  Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu virtually released a commemorative postage stamp in honour of late Prime Minister IK Gujral to mark his 101st birth anniversary.  I K Gujral was the 12th Prime Minister of India, he served as the Prime Minister from April 1997-March 1998. Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Launched ‘Sahakar Pragya’ to Train Farmers in Primary Cooperatives in Rural Areas Narendra Singh Tomar, Union minister for agriculture and farmers welfare launched ‘Sahakar Pragya’, an initiative of National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC). The 45 new training modules of Sahakar Pragya of NCDC will impart training to primary cooperative societies in rural areas of India along with Lakshmanrao Inamdar National Cooperative Research and Development Academy(LINAC). NTPC inks MoU with IIFM-Bhopal for Narmada Landscape Restoration Project  NTPC inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopa to implement the Narmada Landscape Restoration project(NLDP).  The programme is in partnership with a grant in aid from NTPC and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in equal proportions. PwC, UNICEF and YuWaah partner to redefine education  Consulting firm PwC India has collaborated with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and YuWaah (Generation Unlimited in India) to upskill 300 million young Indians over the next 10 years.  This collaboration is part of PwC’s global multi-sector partnership with UNICEF and Generation Unlimited to upskill and provide about 1.8 billion youngsters with socio-economic opportunities from school to work by 2030.  This partnership will focus on three facets to India’s digital empowerment for youngsters, which are education, skilling and entrepreneurship. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), India is staring at a 29 million skill deficit by 2030. Centre releases Rs 6,195 cr to 14 states as instalment of post devolution revenue deficit grant  The Centre released Rs 6,195 crore to 14 states as monthly instalment of post devolution revenue deficit grant.  Based on the 15th Finance Commission interim recommendations, the Govt released Rs 6,195.08 crore on 9th December 2020 to 14 States on account of the 9th equated monthly installment of Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant  Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand and West Bengal are the states to whom the amount has been released. Govt approves Rs 22,810 crore outlay for 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana'  The Union Cabinet approved the Rs 22,810-crore Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana, an employment scheme that aims to encourage businesses to do fresh hiring amid the coronavirus crisis.  Cabinet has approved an expenditure of Rs 1,584 crore for the current financial year and Rs 22,810 crore for the entire scheme period i.e. 2020-’23. Government announces CO-WIN mobile app for COVID-19 vaccine delivery  The central government has introduced a new digital platform called CO-WIN for COVID-19 vaccine delivery.  There will be a new mobile app that will allow people to register for the vaccine.  CO-WIN app is set to be available for smartphone users and will be publicly available as soon as possible. SJVN signs MoU with IREDA for green energy projects  State-run power producer SJVNL(Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam ) has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) for green energy projects.  MoU to assist in developing an action plan to create and acquire Renewable Energy projects for the next 5 years.  The MoU was signed by NandLal Sharma, CMD, SJVNL and Pradip Kumar Das, CMD, IREDA through virtual mode. New School Bag Policy 2020 Proposed By Union Education Ministry  The Union Education Minister proposed a new School Bag Policy 2020 and recommends that weight of the school bag needs to be monitored on a regular basis as per NCERT recommendation.  As per the new School Bag Policy 2020 proposed by the Education Ministry, the maximum weight of the school bags has been not more than 10% of the student’s weight.  In addition to this, the new policy also proposed that students below Class 2 will not be given any homework as per the proposal of the new policy.  The NEP 2020 proposes that the weight of the school bag should be in the ratio of 1:10 with the body weight and in accordance with this the New School Bag Policy caps the max weight to 10% of the student’s weight.

36 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

National Centre for Divyang Empowerment inaugurated in Hyderabad  Union Minister G Kishan Reddy has inaugurated National Centre for Divyang Empowerment (NCDE) at CRPF Centre in Hyderabad, Telangana  It is first of its kind establishment to re-skill and rehabilitate the Divyang Warriors of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) who suffered life threatening injuries in line of duty. Govt exempts handicraft and GI Toys from Quality Control Order  Govt has exempted handicraft and GI Toys from Quality Control Order for sale and export of toys  Quality Control order: Issued by Dept for standardization and quality adherence of Toys.  The order will come to effect from 1st January 2021  DPIIT has released Toys (Quality Control) Second Amendment Order, 2020 to exempts goods manufactured and sold by artisans registered with Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), from use of Standard Mark under licence from BIS. Govt launches program for socio-economic profiling of PM SVANidhi beneficiaries  The Centre launched a programme for socio-economic profiling of the beneficiaries of the PM Street Vendor’s Atmanirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) and their families. Based on the socio-economic profiling of PM SVANidhi beneficiaries and their families, various other central schemes will be extended to them according to their eligibility.  Quality Council of India (QCI) has been appointed as the implementing partner for the programme. Before the programme is rolled out in all 125 cities a test program will be conducted in six select cities of Gaya, Indore, Kakching, Nizamabad, Rajkot and Varanasi.  The PM SVANidhi scheme was promulgated on June 1, 2020, to empower street vendors who were reeling under losses incurred during the coronavirus pandemic.  It intends to facilitate collateral-free working capital loans of up to Rs 10,000 for one year to approximately 50 lakh street vendors.  The PM SVANidhi scheme offers loans at a subsidised rate of interest of 7%, which is applicable only when the borrower repays the loan either early or on a timely basis. The loans can be repaid as monthly instalments over a period of one year.  Food delivery app Swiggy has partnered with the housing and urban affairs ministry to on-board street vendors in the cities of Ahmedabad, Varanasi, Chennai, Delhi and Indore with some 300 vendors.Swiggy extended the partnership to 125 cities. Finance Ministry notifies updated viability gap funding scheme  The finance ministry, notified the updated Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme which gives a push to the social infrastructure sector in India along with extending the existing scheme to continue support to core sector infrastructure.  The new scheme, applicable with immediate effect, allows for funding up to Rs 200 crore to be sanctioned by an Empowered Committee (EC) headed by the economic affairs secretary, while projects requiring over Rs 200 crore would be approved by the EC with the approval of the finance minister.  Members of the EC include NITI Aayog CEO, expenditure secretary, secretary of the line ministry dealing with the subject and joint secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs as member secretary  The VGF scheme will be known as the ‘Scheme for Financial Support to PPPs’ (Public-Private Partnerships) in the infrastructure sector.This will be a central sector scheme and administered by the Finance Ministry.  In November, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the scheme till 2024-25 with a total outlay of Rs 8,100 crore.  While the Centre will continue to fund 20% of the total project cost (TPC) for economic infrastructure, as in the existing scheme since 2006, it will also provide 30% of TPC for social infrastructure in the waste water treatment, water supply, solid waste management, health and education sectors. All States except Tamil Nadu availed special capital expenditure scheme: Centre  The Centre said that all states except Tamil Nadu have availed benefits of “Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure”.  The scheme is aimed at boosting capital expenditure by the state governments, who are facing a difficult financial environment this year due to the shortfall in tax revenue arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.  According to the Ministry of Finance, capital expenditure has a higher multiplier effect, enhancing the future productive capacity of the economy, and results in a higher rate of economy growth.  Therefore, despite the adverse financial position of the central government, it was decided to extend a special assistance to the state governments in respect of capital expenditure, in financial year 2020-21.  The scheme has got very warm response from the state governments. So far capital expenditure proposals of Rs 9,879.61 crore of 27 States have been approved by the Ministry of Finance.  So far, capital expenditure proposals of over 9,879 crore rupees of 27 States have been approved by the Finance Ministry.

Page | 37 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

NITI Aayog releases a white paper '' Vision 2035 - Public Health Surveillance in India''  NITI Aayog released a white paper Vision 2035 - Public Health Surveillance in India. The white paper lays out India’s vision for public health surveillance through the integration of the three-tiered public health system into Ayushman Bharat. It also spells out the need for expanded referral networks and enhanced laboratory capacity. The building blocks for this vision are an interdependent federated system of governance between the Centre and states.  The white paper was released by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar, Member (Health) Dr Vinod K Paul and CEO Amitabh Kant. Indian Railways launches Hospital Management Information System  Indian Railways has rolled out major IT initiative titled as ‘Hospital Management Information System (HMIS)’ for the well-being of its work force.  The HMIS Trial Project has been launched over South Central Railway.  The HMIS has been developed by Indian Railways in coordination with RailTel Corporation Limited.  Presently, three modules of HMIS – Registration, OPD doctor desk, and pharmacy – are being taken up implemented.  The objective of the HMIS is to provide a single-window of clearance of hospital administration activity such as clinical, diagnostics, pharmacy, examinations, industrial health etc. Union Cabinet approves historic PM-WANI Scheme  The Union Cabinet approved a proposal for setting up public WiFi hotspots across the country via public data offices or PDOs, which could even be a kirana shop or a paan shop. The move, aimed at helping accelerate the uptake of broadband Internet services, will not require the PDOs to get a license or pay a fee.  The public Wi-Fi Access Network Interface, which will be called ‘PM-WANI’, was first recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in 2017. This will involve multiple players, including PDOs, Public Data Office Aggregators (PDOA), app providers, and a central registry.  PDOs — comparable to a PCO or a cybercafe — will establish, maintain, and operate Wi-Fi access points and deliver broadband services to subscribers, while the PDOAs will be aggregators of PDOs and perform functions such as authorisation and accounting. Cabinet approves Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana; to cost Rs 1,584 crore this year  Union Cabinet approved employment generation scheme Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana at an expenditure of Rs 1,584 crores for the current financial year and Rs 22,810 crores for the entire scheme period i.e. 2020- 2023.  The Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana scheme, which aims to create more formal jobs, to benefit around 58.5 lakh employees.  The registration for the scheme will be effective from October 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021.  Under the programme, the Centre will reimburse 24 per cent, 12 cent each for employees and employers, for two years for all new formal jobs created in enterprises having up to 1000 employees between October 1 and till June 30 next year.  In organisation where employee strength is more than 1000 workers, the reimbursement will be restricted to 12 per cent of the employees contribution.  An employee drawing monthly wage of less than Rs 15,000 who was not working in any establishment registered with the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) before October 1, 2020 and did not have a Universal Account Number or EPF Member account number prior to October 1, 2020 will be eligible for the benefit.  The EPFO will credit the contribution in Aadhaar seeded account of members in electronic manner, and is also planning to develop a software for the scheme and also develop a procedure which is transparent and accountable at their end.  Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had on November 12 announced Rs 2.65 lakh crore worth economic stimulus package, termed as Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0, comprising 12 big measures to revive the economy marred by coronavirus pandemic. These measures included the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana to generate employment IFSCA notifies International Financial Services Centres Authority (Bullion Exchange) Regulations, 2020  In the Union Budget 2020, Union Minister of Finance Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman had made an announcement for setting up an International Bullion Exchange at the International Financial Services Centre in GIFT City, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.  Subsequently, the Government of India had notified the bullion spot delivery contract and bullion depository receipt (with bullion as underlying) as Financial Products and related services as Financial Services under the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) Act, 2019.  IFSCA has been entrusted with the responsibility of operationalization of this Exchange. In this regard, International Financial Services Centres Authority (Bullion Exchange) Regulations 2020 were approved by the

38 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Authority in its meeting held on October 27,2020. The said regulations have been notified and published in the Gazette of India on December 11, 2020. AICTE to release Rs. 20,000/- as maintenance allowance under PMSSS for J&K  Extending support to J&K and Ladakh students, AICTE has decided to release the instalment of Rs. 20,000/- as maintenance allowance under Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme (PMSSS). The decision has been taken to support & empower students for completing their online studies.  Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme (PMSSS)  An Expert Group was constituted by the Prime Minister for enhancing employment opportunity among youths of J&K and Ladakh and to formulate job opportunities in public and private sectors.  Implemented by: J&K Cell of All India Council for Technical Education(AICTE), New Delhi.  The scheme helps J&K Students to pursue undergraduate studies outside the Union Territory.  Aim: To build the capacities of the youths of J&K and Ladakh by Educating, Enabling and empowering them to compete in the normal course.  The youths are supported by way of scholarship in two parts – academic fee and maintenance allowance.  Main objectives: (1) Evolving guidelines for proper implementation; (2) To Conduct Awareness Workshops about the Scheme; (3) To Conduct Counselling for admission of candidates to different programs/courses; (4) Disbursal of Scholarship for the eligible Candidates; (5) Redressal of Grievances of PMSSS Candidates. Cabinet approves revised cost of Rs 6.7k crore for NERPSIP  Union Cabinet has approved Rs. 6,700 crore Revised Cost Estimate (RCE) of North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project (NERPSIP).  It is being implemented through POWERGRID in association with 6 beneficiary North Eastern States of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura.  It is targeted to be commissioned by December 2021 Cabinet approves assistance of Rs 3,500 crore for sugarcane farmers  The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved assistance of about Rs. 3,500 crore (US$ 476.10 million) for sugarcane farmers (Ganna Kisan).  This subsidy aims at covering expenses on marketing costs including handling, upgrading and other processing costs and costs of international and internal transport and freight charges on export of up to 60 LMT of sugar limited to Maximum Admissible Export Quota (MAEQ) allocated to sugar mills for sugar season 2020-21. Projects worth Rs 44 lakh crore under implementation under National Infra Pipeline  India holds huge investment opportunities especially in its vibrant infrastructure sector where projects worth Rs 44 lakh crore are under implementation as part of the Rs 111 lakh crore National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP).  National Infrastructure Pipeline envisages Rs 111 lakh crore investment on infrastructure projects by 2024-25. Of the Rs 111 lakh crore, projects worth Rs 44 lakh crore accounting for 40 per cent are under implementation and projects worth Rs 22 lakh crore that account for 20 per cent of NIP are under development stages.  Framework of NIP includes 39 per cent investment by the Centre, 40 per cent by states and 21 per cent by the private sector.  Under the programme, 25 lakh crore worth of investments are envisaged in the energy sector, 20 lakh crore in the highways sector, Rs 16 lakh crore in irrigation, rural agriculture and food processing, Rs 16 lakh crore each in mobility and railways and Rs 14 lakh crore on digital infra among others. Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri launches E-Sampada web portal and mobile app on Good Governance Day  Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri launched E-Sampada, a new web portal and mobile app on Good Governance Day December 25.  E-Sampada aims to provide ‘One Nation, One System’, the four websites (eawas.nic.in, grpa.nic.in, holidayhomes.nic.in and states.gov.in) and the two mobile apps (m-Awas and m-Ashoka5) of the Directorate of Estates have been integrated into one paving the way for all the services on the same platform.  The new application will be providing a single window for all the services which includes office space allotment to government organizations in 45 office complexes in 28 cities, allotment for over one lakh government residential accommodations, booking of 5, Ashoka Road, and 1,176-holiday homes for the social functions, etc. PM Modi to release Rs. 18,000 crore under PM-Kisan scheme to more than 9 crore farmers  Prime Minister Modi will release Rs. 18,000 crore for the next instalment of financial benefit under the PM- Kisan scheme to more than 9 crore farmers through video conference.  Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will also be present during the programme.  Under the PM-KISAN Scheme, a financial benefit of Rs. 6,000 per year is provided to small and marginal farmers, payable in three equal 4-monthly installments of Rs. 2,000 each.

Page | 39 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Cabinet approves post matric scholarship scheme for more than four crore SC students  The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has also approved 59,048 Crore post matric scholarship scheme for more than 4 Crore Scheduled Castes students in 5 years.  Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawarchand Gehlot stated, the Central Government will spend Rs. 35,534 Crore for it which is 60 percent and the balance 40 per cent will be spent by the State Governments.  It is estimated that 1.36 Crore such poorest students, who are currently not continuing their education beyond 10th standard would be brought into the higher education system in the next 5 years. Government Announces Assistance Of About Rs 3500 Crore For Sugarcane Farmers The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved assistance of about Rs. 3,500 crore for sugarcane farmers (Ganna Kisan). 278 lakh households provided tap water connections under Jal Jeevan Mission  Around 278 lakh households have been provided tap water connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission which was announced on August 15 last year, the Jal Shakti Ministry.  At present 6.01 crore rural households in the country are getting potable water through taps.  The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in partnership with states aims to provide potable water in adequate quantity of prescribed quality on a regular and long-term basis through tap connections to every rural home in the country by 2024.  In 2020-21, a sum of Rs. 23,500 crore has been allocated for the implementation of the mission. Union Minister launches Swachhata Abhiyan mobile app  Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot has rolled out mobile app 'Swachhata Abhiyan' to identify and geotag insanitary latrines and manual scavengers  The app will provide the authorities with insanitary latrine or manual scavenger. This will help in rehabilitating all manual scavengers and replace insanitary latrines with sanitary ones.  As per the 2011 census, insanitary latrines is the main reason for manual scavenging. FASTag to be mandatory for all vehicles in country from January 1, 2021  Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has made announcement for all vehicles to have mandatory FASTag from January 1,2021.  FASTag will be enforced from 1st of January, 2021 and it will be useful for the commuters as they will not need to stop at toll plazas for cash payments.  The FASTags were launched in 2016, and four banks together issued nearly a lakh of them. By 2017, their numbers went up to seven lakh.  As per the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, since December 1, 2017, FASTag has been made mandatory for registration of new four-wheelers.  It was also mandated that the renewal of fitness certificate of a transport vehicle will be done only after the vehicle concerned has a FASTag.  For National Permit vehicles, the fitment of FASTag has been mandated since October 1, 2019.  A valid FASTag would be made compulsory for getting a new third-party insurance. This will come into force from April 1, 2021. PM Modi to be chief guest at virtual centenary celebrations of Aligarh Muslim University  In Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the chief guest at the virtual centenary celebrations of Aligarh Muslim University .  This is for the first time in over five decades that any Prime Minister of India will attend a function at Aligarh Muslim University.  Earlier to this Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri attended an event at AMU in 1964. Before Lal Bahadur Shastri, then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had visited AMU four times. He visited the AMU campus first time in 1948 and lastly in 1963. Cabinet approves 100% FDI in DTH services The Union Cabinet approved revised guidelines for Direct-to-Home (DTH) broadcasting services, allowing 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) as well as increasing the licence period to 20 years. Cabinet approves the merger of four Govt film media units The Cabinet approved the merger of four government-run film and media units — the Films Division, the Directorate of Film Festivals, the National Film Archives of India and the autonomous body Children’s Film Society, with the National Film Development Corporation. India becomes sixth country to manufacture high power electric locos indigenously  The Indian Railways has operationalised its first 12,000 hp electric locomotive manufactured locally by French rolling stock manufacturer Alstom.  The locomotive made its maiden commercial run between Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Station to Shivpur  India has become the 6th country in the world to join the club of countries producing high horsepower locomotives indigenously with these powerful e-locos being manufactured within the nation.

40 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Environment minister rolls out ‘Firefly bird diverter’ initiative Ministry of Environment along with Wildlife Conservation Society, India, has launched a unique initiative ‘firefly bird diverter’ for overhead power lines in areas where Great Indian Bustard (GIB) populations are found in the wild.Firefly bird diverters are flaps installed on power lines that can be spotted by birds from a distance of about 50 metres. Union Minister releases ‘Status of Leopards in India 2018’ report  Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has released ‘Status of Leopards in India 2018’ report.  The report shows an increase of 60% leopards in 4 years using camera trapping method.  Leopards population increased from 7910 in 2014 to 12,852 leopards in 2018  Highest concentration of leopard in India: Madhya Pradesh (3,421) followed by Karnataka (1,783) and Maharashtra (1,690).  Report shows 48–67% leopard range loss for African species and 83–87% in Asia. New electricity rules give consumers across India the right to 24×7 supply  Government Notifies New Electricity Rights of Consumers Rules, 2020 to give consumers the right to 24×7 supply.  These rules provide for rights of consumers and obligations of distribution licensees, release of new connection and modification in existing connection, metering arrangement, billing and payment.  The distribution licensee shall supply 24×7 power to all consumers. However, the commission may specify lower hours of supply for some categories of consumers like agriculture. Skill India establishes first Centre of Excellence for Skill Development in Power Sector Skill India has established first Centre of Excellence for Skill Development in Power Sector in the campus of National Institute of Solar Energy, Gurugram, Haryana. The centre was inaugurated by Minister of State for Skill Development Raj Kumar Singh. The Centre of Excellence is an outcome of collaboration between the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, along with the Ministry of National Education and Youth, Government of France and Schneider Electric. India’s first Maritime Theatre Command to take shape next year  The country’s first Maritime Theatre Command (MTC) is set to take concrete shape b y next year, with its commander-in-chief having full operational control over western and eastern naval fleets, maritime strike fighter jets and transport aircraft, two amphibious infantry brigades and coastal patrol vessels.  The MTC will be the first new “geographical” theatre command to be created as part of the biggest-ever military restructuring plan. Maritime theatre command’s HQ to be at Karwar.  The Maritime Theatre Command to be created as part of the biggest-ever military restructuring plan to build an integrated land-airsea war-fighting machinery for greater combat punch in a more cost-effective manner. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flags off 100th ‘Kisan Rail’  Prime Minister Narendra Modi has flagged off the 100th ‘Kisan Rail’ on 28th December 2020. The 100th run of the Kisan Rail was flagged off from Sangola in Maharashtra to Shalimar in West Bengal virtually.  Kisan Rail is a mobile cold storage to move perishable things like fruits, vegetables, milk, fish, etc., with complete security.  The first Kisan Rail was introduced from Devlali in Maharashtra to Danapur in Bihar on August 7, 2020, which was further extended up to Muzaffarpur.  Currently, of only a handful of trains plying across the India connecting states like Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Nagpur, there are nine Kisan Rail running on nine routes. East Coast Railway becomes first zone to adopt EOTT system in Indian Railways  The East Coast Railway (ECoR) has commissioned End of Train Telemetry (EOTT) system to run trains without guards. It is the first railway zone in the country to use the cutting edge technology for operation of trains without brake van and guards.  The field trial for Indian Railways was conducted between Talcher and Paradip section recently when a freight train successfully reached destination with EOTT system in place. Electric Loco Shed, Angul has commissioned and tested the technology. INCOIS launches “Digital Ocean” app for information sharing  The Union Minister of Earth Sciences, Science & Technology, Dr Harsh Vardhan virtually inaugurated the web-based application “Digital Ocean”.  It has been developed by Hyderabad-based Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) an autonomous organization under M/o Earth sciences. Digital Ocean is a first of its kind digital platform for Ocean Data Management.  Digital Ocean is a step towards Prime Minister’s vision of Digital India, to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy  Digital Ocean will serve as a one-stop-solution for all the data related to the ocean.

Page | 41 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Harsh Vardhan launches India’s 1st indigenous pneumonia vaccine ‘Pneumosil’  The Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan launched India’s first indigenously developed vaccine against pneumonia.  The Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) named ‘Pneumosil’ has been developed by Pune -based Serum Institute of India (SII) in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and PATH, an international, nonprofit global health organization based in Seattle. Indian Railways’ new Vistadome coach successfully completes 180 kmph speed trial  Indian Railways successfully completed the 180 km per hour speed trial of its new design Vistadome tourist coaches.  The luxurious tourist’s coaches have been manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai.  Currently, 13 Vistadome coaches are being operated on select routes including the Nilgiri Mountain Railway line, Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Kalka-Shimla Railway, Kangra Valley Railway, Matheran Hill Railway, between Dadar in Mumbai and Madgoan in Araku Valley as well as in the Kashmir Valley. BARC Develops India’s First Ruthenium 106 Plaque For Effective Eye Cancer Treatment  Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)-developed eye cancer therapy has been successfully used for the first time for the treatment of patients with ocular tumours in AIIMS-Delhi and the results of using Ruthenium 106 plaque for treatment of a patient with choroidal hemangioma (benign tumour in blood vessels) have been found to be satisfactory.  Ruthenium plaque therapy involves placing a radioactive source like Ruthenium-106 (a radioisotope) in contact with the surface of the eyeball for cancer therapy.  Ru-106 is recovered from radioactive waste and has a simple and slim design. One plaque can treat about 50 patients and its usable life is one year. India launches first remote monitoring system for oil refineries  Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the country’s largest fuel retailer, announced it has launched the country’s first remote monitoring system for oil refineries’ turbines. The project, located in Hyderabad, was inaugurated by oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan.  The Remote Monitoring & Operation Centre for Tracking of IndianOil’s Refinery Gas Turbines was implemented by BHEL-GE Gas Turbine Services (BGGTS), a joint venture of BHEL and General Electric.  The technology — called Proactive Predictive Analytics-based Automated Anomaly Detection, will allow Gas Turbune Operational Data flowing in digitally from 27 turbines of the eight IndianOil refineries to be analysed round-the-clock in Hyderabad. INTERNATIONAL NEWS PowerChina, Hydropower Company of China Plans the First Downstream Dam on River Brahmaputra China is set to construct the first downstream dam on Yarlung Zangbo River (known as river Brahmaputra in India) in Tibet.The authorities approved the proposal of PowerChina, a state owned hydropower company to construct the dam. India Recorded Largest Reductions in Malaria cases in South-East Asia between 2000-2019: WHO  In accordance with the “World Malaria Report 2020” released by World Health Organisation (WHO), India recorded the largest reduction of malaria cases in South-East Asia from 20 million in 2000 to about 5.6 million in 2019.  India showed a reduction in cases and deaths of 18% and 20%, respectively, over the last 2 years.  –India also recorded a decrease in the number of deaths from malaria between 2000 and 2019 i.e. it declined from about 29,500 in 2000 to about 7700 in 2019.  –Instead of the above mentioned decline, India still accounted for 88% of malaria cases and 86% of malaria deaths in the WHO South-East Asia Region in 2019.  On the global front, there were about 229 million malaria cases in 2019 and claimed about 409,000 lives, compared to 411,000 in 2018. China becomes second nation to plant flag on the Moon  Over 50 years after the United States planted the first human flag on the moon, China has become the second country to leave a flag on the lunar surface.  Images of the flag, which were taken by a camera fitted to Chang’e 5, were shared by China’s National Space Administration. The flag, representing China, is 2 m wide and 90 cm tall.  China’s ambitious lunar mission Chang’e 5 successfully landed on the Moon, marking the third time that the country has placed a robotic spacecraft on the lunar surface

42 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Bangladesh signs maiden Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Bhutan  Bangladesh has signed its first Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Bhutan, which will allow duty-free access to a range of goods between the two countries and hence boost bilateral trade between them.  Under the PTA, 100 Bangladeshi products will get duty free access to Bhutan, while 34 items from Bhutan will get duty free access into Bangladesh.  This is the first PTA signed by Bangladesh with any country in the world since its independence in 1971.  The PTA was signed on 6th December 2020, to mark 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Bhutan. Britain became the First Country to recognise Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine The Government of Britain has become the first country to recognise Pfizer-bioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine, after recommendations by Independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for its use. Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has been proven to have 95% effectiveness against COVID-19 in the final phase trials. Mount Everest is 8,848.86 metres tall, says Nepal and China after remeasurement  The world’s highest peak is now taller by 86 centimetres, Nepal and China jointly announced after they remeasured Mt. Everest at 8,848.86 metres, over six decades after India conducted the previous measurement in 1954.  The new height is 86 cms more than the previous measurement. According to the measurement done in 1954 by Survey of India, the height of Mount Everest is 8,848 metres. USFDA nod for AurobindoPharma’s generic sedative  AurobindoPharma has received final approval from the US health regulator for the generic of Precedex injection, used for sedation of patients.  The company has received final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Dexmedetomidine Hydrochloride in9% sodium chloride injection, 200 µg/50 mL and 400 µg/100 mL single dose flexible containers.  The company stated the product will be launched in January 2021. China’s new space carrier rocket successfully launches five satellites on its maiden flight  China’s new medium-lift carrier rocket Long March-8 made its maiden flight sending five satellites successfully into planned orbit from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan.  The five experimental satellites will carry out the in-orbit verification of microwave imaging and other technologies. They will conduct experiments in space science, remote sensing and communication technologies.  The Long March-8 rocket which has a total length of 50.3 meters, and a take-off mass of 356 tonnes can carry a payload of at least 4.5 tonnes to a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 700 km. Singapore’s ‘Hawker’ Culture gets UNESCO recognition  Hawker Culture of street food in Singapore has been inducted in UNESCO's ‘Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’.  It is a popular Singaporean style of street dining and culinary practices in a multicultural urban environment that are naturally-ventilated premises with stalls selling food from various cultures  Hawkers of Singapore are known to master a variety of cuisines which they serve at the ‘community dining rooms’. Russia launches 36 UK telecom satellites into space  Bharti Global and UK government said their joint venture OneWeb, a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications operator launched 36 satellites from the Vostochny cosmodrome in Russia. The launch was the first and only one to take place from the cosmodrome this year.  This takes the total in-orbit constellation to 110 satellites, part of OneWeb’s 648 LEO satellite fleet that will deliver high-speed, low-latency global connectivity. OneWeb plans for its global commercial internet service to be operational by 2022, supported by some 650 satellites. France Joins IORA as 23rd Member State France was accepted as 23rd member state of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).In the 20th IORA Council of Ministers virtual meeting, held in the UAE, France’s application was approved through consensus. China Launches Remote Sensing Satellite ‘Yoagan-33’  China has successfully launched a new remote sensing satellite into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China.  The satellite, Yaogan-33, was launched aboard a Long March-4C rocket and entered the planned orbit successfully. It was the 357th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series, the report said.  The mission also sent a micro and nano technology experiment satellite into orbit. The two satellites will be used for scientific experiments, land resources survey, crop yield estimation and disaster prevention and reduction.

Page | 43 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

US plans to set up a Nuclear Reactor on Moon  USA’s plan to set up the first nuclear reactor on the moon by the end of 2026. In early 2021, the US Department of Energy in collaboration with NASA intends to solicit industry design proposals. It also got an impetus with a recent White House directive.  The outgoing President Donald Trump, issued the “National Strategy for Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion” on 16 December.  Under it, he asked Nasa to “initiate fission surface power project for lunar surface demonstration by 2027 with scalability to a power range of 40 kilowatt-electric and higher to support a sustained lunar presence and exploration of Mars”.  The objective of NASA behind this was to establish a flight hardware system that is ready for integrating with the lunar lander by 2026 end. The nuclear reactor is known as the fission power system that will benefit future robotic and human expedition missions to the moon as well as Mars. INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL SUMMIT 19th session of the SCO CHG hosted vitually by india.  India virtually hosted the 19th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of Government (SCO CHG) which was chaired by Vice President of India Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu from New Delhi.  This was the first Summit-level Meeting held under India’s Chairmanship, since it gained full -membership of the organization in Turkmenistan has been invited as a Special Guest of India.  During the period of chairmanship, India focused on creating three new pillars of cooperation:Startups and Innovation, Science and Technology and Traditional Medicine.  India has also organized the virtual format of the first-ever SCO Young Scientists Conclave (YSC) on Nov 24- 28, 2020.  YSC held on the theme “Shaping SCO-STI Partnership: Young Scientists Perspectives”. India has also proposed to host the SCO Food Festival in 2021 in Delhi to commemorate the 20th anniversary of SCO. 10th National Science Film Festival 2020 Organised by VigyanPrasar Virtually  The 10th National Science Film Festival 2020 was jointly organised by VigyanPrasar, an autonomous agency under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India and the Tripura State Council of Science and Technology, Government of Tripura.  10 Jury members under the chairmanship of Girish Kasaravalli shortlisted 115 films from 372 films & these 115 shortlisted films were screened during the virtual event of the 10th National Science Film festival. PM Modi to deliver keynote address at IIT-2020 Global Summit Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be delivering a keynote address at the IIT-2020 Global Summit, organised by PanIIT USA. The theme of this year’s summit is ‘The Future is Now’. The Summit will focus on issues like global economy, technology, innovation, health, habitat conservation and universal education. 6th BRICS Youth Summit 2020 Opening Ceremony held in Ulyanovsk, Russia  6th BRICS Youth Summit 2020 opening ceremony and a meeting of BRICS Ministers was held in Ulyanovsk, Russia. Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Kiren Rijiju virtually addressed the 6th BRICS Youth Summit 2020 on behalf of India.  Theme for 6th BRICS Youth Summit 2020- “BRICS: Challenges of the Time for young People”.  On the occasion of India’s annual sports competitions along with the Khelo India Games, BRICS member countries will be invited to showcase their traditional indigenous games in the inaugural or closing ceremony of Khelo India 2021, at Panchkula, Haryana. Inaugural Meeting of US-India Counternarcotics Working Group held Virtually  The inaugural meeting of the United States (US)-India Counternarcotics Working Group (CNWG) was held virtually.  India was represented by Sachin Jain, Deputy Director General, Narcotics Control Board (NCB), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).  Narcotics Control Board (NCB): Director General– Rakesh Asthana Headquarter– New Delhi MoPNG Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan virtually represents India at 7th IEF-IGU Ministerial Gas Forum 2020

44 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan represented India at the Virtual Ministerial Roundtable of 7th IEF-IGU (International Energy Forum-International Gas Union) Ministerial Gas Forum held from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Forum was hosted by the Government of Malaysia.  It was inaugurated by Muhyiddin Yassin, Prime Minister of Malaysia.  The Theme of the Forum – “Towards Recovery and Shared Prosperity: Natural Gas Opportunities for a Sustainable World”. India hosts the 1st SCO-YSC 2020;Minister of Science & Technology, Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the conclave Union Minister for Science & Technology, Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the 5 day 1st SCO-YSC 2020 (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation – Young Scientists Conclave) held virtually from November 24-28, 2020 as an integral part of SCO Young Scientists Forum (SCO YSF). India is the Host and Organizer of the Forum. The Theme of the conclave was “Shaping SCO-STI (Science, Technology and Innovation) Partnership:Young Scientists Perspectives”. The Second Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) 2020 Conference Inaugurated In New Delhi The Minister of Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan held the second TCGA-Cancer Genome Atlas 2020 conference in New Delhi. The conference brought together scientists and clinicians from all over the world to jointly establish the Indian Cancer Genome Atlas (ICGA). PM Modi to give inaugural address at virtual IMC 2020  Prime Minister NarendraModi will deliver the inaugural address at the virtual India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2020, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) stated.  IMC 2020 is being organised by the department of telecommunications (DoT) and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) and will be held from December 8-10.  The title theme for IMC 2020 is Inclusive Innovation – Smart, Secure, Sustainable World Economic Forum 2021 to be held in Singapore  The World Economic Forum (WEF) has decided to host its 2021 annual meeting in Singapore, which earlier was scheduled to take place in Lucerne-Burgenstock, Switzerland from 13-16 May 2021.  This would be the second time since its inception in 1971 that the forum will be held outside Switzerland. In 2002, the forum was held in New York to show solidarity with the American people in the aftermath of 9/11. PM Modi address International Bharati Festival 2020  Prime Minister Narendra Modi address the International Bharati Festival via video conferencing.The festival is being organised by Vanavil Cultural Centre to celebrate the 138th birth anniversary of MahakaviSubramanyaBharati.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi also conferred the 2020 Bharathi Award to the noted writer Seeni Viswanathan, who is credited with compiling the voluminous works of Bharathi in chronological order. PM Modi to inaugurate PravasiBharatiya Divas Convention on 9th of Jan’21  Prime Minister NarendraModi will inaugurate the PravasiBharatiya Divas Convention on 9th of Jan 2021 in virtual format.  The website for the 16th PravasiBharatiya Divas 2021 was inaugurated by the Minister of State for External Affairs, V. Muraleedharan.  Theme – Contributing to Atmanirbhar Bharat. Raksha Mantri addresses ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus online  Raksha mantri Shri Rajnath Singh, attended the 14th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus organized online at Hanoi, Vietnam on 10 December 2020 that marked the 10th anniversary of ADMM Plus.  ADMM Plus is an annual meeting of Defence Ministers of 10 ASEAN Countries and eight partner countries. This year marks the 10th year of inception of ADMM Plus forum. A special commemorative 10th Anniversary Celebration was conducted which was attended by the Prime Minister of Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Mr Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Raksha mantri was extended the privilege to address the celebratory session as a special gesture reflecting India’s recognition by the forum. 5th India Water Impact Summit begins  The 5th India Water Impact Summit (IWIS) kicked off on 10th December 2020 virtually. The event was inaugurated by Ratan Lal Kataria, Minister of State for Jal Shakti. The objective of IWIS 2020 is Comprehensive Analysis and Holistic Management of Rivers and Water Bodies.  IWIS 2020 has been organised by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga) to discuss water-related issues and steps taken to save the planet’s most precious resource.  The theme of IWIS 2020 is Arth Ganga: River Conservation Synchronised Development. Ninth edition of Sustainable Mountain Development Summit begins  The 9th edition of Sustainable Mountain Development Summit (SMDS) has begun in Dehradun  It is a 4-day summit to deliberate on issues like migration, water security, climate resilience and disaster risk reduction in Indian Himalayas.

Page | 45 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 It has been organized by Indian Mountain Initiative (IMI)  Theme 2020: Emerging Pathways for Building a Resilient Post COVID-19 Mountain Economy, Adaptation, Innovation and Acceleration. PM Modi delivers inaugural address at FICCI’s 93rd Annual General Meeting  Prime Minister Narendra Modi has delivered the inaugural address at FICCI’s 93rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Annual Convention via video conferencing.  Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has organised the convention from December 11 to 14, 2020.  The theme for the FICCI 93rd AGM is ‘Inspired India’. The Prime Minister also inaugurated the virtual FICCI Annual Expo 2020. It was started from 11 December 2020 and will continue for a period of a whole year. Climate Ambition Summit 2020 held virtually  United Nations, United Kingdom and France virtually co-hosted Climate Ambition Summit 2020  The Summit marked 5 years of the adoption of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.  Summit is a major step to the next UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), which will be hosted by UK in 2021. 6th edition of India International Science Festival (IISF) begins  The 6th edition of India International Science Festival (IISF) has been inaugurated on the virtual platform marking the birth anniversary of Srinivasa Ramanujan  It is a 4-day program that will be held from 22 to 25 December  It is jointly organised by CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources, Ministry of Earth Sciences and Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA)  Theme 2020: Science for Self-Reliant India and Global Welfare  It was 1st organised in 2015 12th GRIHA Summit of TERI Concludes  The 12th GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) Summit was held virtually. It was inaugurated by Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu virtually.  The theme of the Summit was “Rejuvenating Resilient Habitats”.  It is the annual flagship event organized by GRIHA Council in association with ‘key stakeholders in the construction industry’ to discuss and deliberate on the furtherance of Sustainable Habitat Development in India. 20th IORA Council of Ministers Meeting Held in UAE  The 20th edition of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Council of Ministers (COM) Meeting via video conferencing under the Chairmanship of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).  The 20th Council of Ministers was inaugurated by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates.  The theme of the meeting was “Promoting a Shared Destiny and Path to Prosperity in the Indian Ocean”.  The Indian delegation was led by V. Muraleedharan, MoS, Ministry of External Affairs. Sri Lanka has assumed the charge of Vice-Chair of IORA for the period 2021-23. S. Jaishankar addresses 5th Annual Global Technology Summit  External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar addressed 5th edition of the annual Global Technology Summit (GTS)  GTS 2020 was organised virtually from December 14 to 18, 2020, by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India in collaboration with Carnegie India (CI).  Theme of 2020 GTS: The Geopolitics of Technology Global Indian Scientists & Technocrats (GIST) meet begins at IISF 2020  Union Minister Harsh Vardhan has inaugurated Global Indian Scientists & Technocrats (GIST) meet as a part of the Indian International Science Festival (IISF) 2020.  The meet will enable developing long term linkages for creating and effectively applying S&T tools for sustainable development particularly in rural sector  Participating Nation: USA, UK, Qatar, Angola, Anguilla, Australia, Switzerland and India. India to host Global Media and Film Summit in 2021  The Union Information and Broadcasting Minister, Prakash Javadekar announced that India will hold a Global Media and Film Summit in 2021.  He said that the year 2022 will mark 75 years of independence and 75 years of Cannes Film Festival, and the occasion will be celebrated in a different scale with a special pavilion at the International Film Festival. 8th North East Festival 2020 Held in Guwahati  On Dec 19 to 20, 2020, The 8th North East Festival (NEF) was held at Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati, Assam.  This is the first time that Guwahati hosted this annual two day event.  This festival mainly focuses on the Growth Agenda for North East Post COVID-19.

46 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Prakash Javadekar  Union Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Forest Minister (MoEFCC), Prakash Javadekar represented India at the 2020 Industry Transition Leadership Summit organized by Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT). The Summit was held in Virtual Mode due to Covid-19 Pandemic.  The Meeting was held ahead of the 5th Anniversary of the signing of the 2015 Paris Agreement. RANKING AND INDEX Human Development Index 2020  According to the report released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), India has been dropped two spots to 131 among 189 countries in the 2020 Human Development Index.  Norway topped the index, followed by Ireland, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Iceland, the report showed.  Niger is the lowest-ranked country at 189, placed among Low human development category, with a score of 0.394. Forbes’ list of highest-paid celebrities of 2020  American media personality and reality TV star, Kylie Jenner with net worth $590 million has been crowned the highest-paid celebrity of 2020 by Forbes.  Kylie Jenner was followed in the list by Kanye West, Kim Kardashian’s husband and her brother-in-law. He came second in the top-earning stars of 2020 list.  Roger Federer, who was listed number 3 on the list with earning of USD 106.3 million, is the first tennis player to earn the top spot. Federer was followed by Cristiano Ronaldo, at number 4 with USD 105 million.  Other celebrities who were featured by Forbes and rounded-up the top 10 list were Lionel Messi (USD 104 million), Tyler Perry (USD 97 million), Neymar (USD 95.5 million), Howard Stern (USD 90 million), LeBron James (USD 88.2 million) and Dwayne Johnson (USD 87.5 million). World Bank Comes Out with Corrected Doing Business Rankings  Coming out with corrected Doing Business rankings following review of data irregularities, the World Bank has announced that China’s ranking would have been lower by seven notches in the index for 2018.  The World Bank has corrected the Doing Business rankings of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan.  The ranking of Azerbaijan has been improved to 28 from 34.  As per the ‘Doing Business’ 2020 report, India had jumped 14 places to the 63rd position on the ease of doing business ranking.  India has improved its rank by 79 positions in five years (2014-19). India ranks 111 out of 162 countries on personal freedom index  A global ranking of personal, civil and economic freedom released placed India at 111 out of 162 The index put China at 129 rank, Bangladesh at 139 and Pakistan at 140.  India was ranked 110 in terms of personal freedom and 105 on economic freedom, with an overall score of 6.43 out of 10.  New Zealand was ranked one in the index, followed by Switzerland and Hong Kong. The three least-free countries in descending order are Venezuela, Sudan, and Syria.  The Human Freedom Index 2020, which uses data from 2008 to 2018, by the Cato Institute in the United States and Fraser Institute in Canada, noted a decrease in personal freedoms since 2008 globally. The index covered 76 indicators of personal, civic and economic freedom. IFCN(International Farm Comparison Network) Dairy Processors Report 2020  According to The International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN) Dairy Processors Report 2020 (Biennial), Amul (Anand Milk Union Limited) a brand of dairy cooperative major Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) emerged as the 8th Largest Milk Processor globally in the list of Top 20.  Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) of (USA) ranked at top position. 8th Edition of Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2020  According to the 8th Edition of ‘Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2020: Measuring the Impact of Terrorism’ released by Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), India with a score of 7.353 is the 8th Most Affected Country in the World due to Terrorism in 2019.  Afghanistan (9.592), Iraq (8.682) & Nigeria (8.314) are top 3 countries which are the most affected by Terrorism. Lahore tops list of World’s Most Polluted Cities According to Air Pollution Data released by United States (US) Air Quality Index 2020, Lahore city of Pakistan topped the list of World’s most Polluted Cities. It reported a Particulate Matter ( PM) rating of 423 (Hazardous).

Page | 47 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

New Delhi with a PM of 229 (very unhealthy) came Second followed by Nepal’s Kathmandu with a PM of 178 (unhealthy). QS Asia University Rankings 2021  The global higher education think-tank, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) has released the QS Asia University Rankings 2021 in association with King Abdulaziz University (KAU) , Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) for the Asia’s best higher education institutions in 2021.  The ranking has been topped by National University of Singapore (NUS) for the 3rd consecutive year.  On Indian front, three Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have made it to the top 50 viz. IIT-Bombay (37), IIT-Delhi (47) and IIT-Madras (50) but no Indian university got placed in top-10 list. “Global Corruption Barometer (GCB)-Asia 2020”  In accordance with the 10th edition of the report titled “Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) -Asia 2020” by corruption watchdog Transparency International, India has the highest bribery rate of 39% in Asia and the highest rate of people (46%) who use personal connections to access public services.  Japan have the lowest overall bribery rate (2%), followed by South Korea (10%) and Nepal (12%). RIL Tops 2020 Fortune 500 Ranking List of Indian Companies  Fortune India announced the 2020 Fortune 500 Ranking List of Indian companies . The list is topped by Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) with revenue of Rs 615,854.00 crore.  Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.(IOCL) secured 2nd rank with revenue of Rs 493,932.99 crore followed by Oil & Natural Gas Corporation with revenue of Rs 405,243.31 crore.  State Bank of India-SBI is ranked in 4th spot with revenue of Rs 368,010.65 crore, followed by Bharat Petroleum Corporation(Rs 288,974.97 crore revenue) and Tata Motors(Rs 261,875.55 crore revenue). IIT Bombay Releases Urban Quality of Life Index  IIT-Bombay researchers have come up with an urban quality of life index tailored to the reality of life in India.  The first time, they have factored in gender parity  Chennai, it turns out, is the most women-friendly and Patna the least.  Overall, Mumbai tops the list of 14, followed closely by Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai.  The study found that Jaipur has the highest crime rate against women, Chennai has the lowest World’s 100 most powerful women by Forbes  German Chancellor Angela Merkel tops the Forbes 2020 list, followed by European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde and US Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris, who has made her debut on the list at No.3.  Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is ranked 41st on the list, Nadar Malhotra comes in at the 55th spot, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw — described as “India”s richest self-made woman” — is ranked 68th and chairwoman of Landmark Group Renuka Jagtiani is ranked 98th. India ranked 10th in Climate Change Performance Index  India has been ranked in the top 10 for the second year in a row in this year’s global Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), which was released in Germany.  India is ranked at the 10th position on the Climate Change Performance Index 2021.  None of the countries is on the path compatible with the Paris climate targets, to implement strategies to limit global warming below 2 or even 1.5°C. Sweden (4th) United Kingdom (5th), Denmark (6th), Morocco (7th), Norway (8th), Chile (9th) were among the top 10 rankers in the index.  The CCPI 2021, covering the year 2020, shows that only two G20 countries – the UK and India – are among the high rankers while six others – the USA, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Australia, South Korea and Russia (52nd) – are at the bottom of the index. India drops to 9th spot in global spam call tally, Gujarat gets max calls: Truecaller  Indian mobile users saw a 34% decline in spam calls received in 2020, helping the country move lower to the ninth position in the tally of most spammed countries , according to a report by Truecaller. Brazil continues to stay on top position.  Within India, Gujarat received the most spam calls in 2020.While India was at the fifth position in terms of number of spam calls received by users in 2019.  Other countries in the top 10 tally are the US, Hungary, Polen (Poland), Spain, Indonesia, the UK, Ukraine and Chile. Sonu Sood Tops UK’s ’50 Asian Celebrities in The World’ list 2020  Bollywood star Sonu Sood (47 year) has topped ’50 Asian Celebrities In The World’ 2020 list, published by UK Eastern Eye newspaper for those who made positive impact, broke boundaries  He has been honored for his inspiring philanthropic work throughout Covid-19, especially helping migrant workers to reach their hometowns.  Indian singer Armaan Malik came in fifth for his immense musical output that included barrier-breaking English language songs. Sixth-placed Priyanka Chopra Jonas remains the most famous Indian star in the world, while the rest of the top 10 includes pan-Indian star Prabhas (7).

48 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

NE states, UP, Bihar top in pandemic management: Report  North-eastern states have topped the list of states in managing Covid-19 followed by Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, according to a study conducted by SBI Research. Northeast was combined into one.  Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh, on the other hand, are at the bottom of the list.  As far as the entire country is concerned, the estimated number of infections is 9,929,000 which is 466,000 higher than the 9,463,000 confirmed cases. This indicated that India has done a fairly good job on controlling the spread of the virus.  The state's ranking is based on the performance on pandemic management, macro parameters (fiscal parameters and retail price inflation) and their performance on the various central schemes.  The northeast topped the list in the macro economic parameters as well, followed by Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal were at the bottom.  Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra were at the top on performance in the Centre’s schemes, while Goa, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh were the most laggard. Joe Biden, Kamala Harris jointly named Time’s ‘Person of the Year’ 2020  US President-elect, Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have been jointly named Time magazine’s 2020 “Person of the Year”.  Apart from this, Time magazine has named the Korean pop group BTS as its Entertainer of the Year, and basketball star LeBron James as Athlete of the Year.  Zoom founder Eric Yuan was aptly named Businessperson Of The Year, as the video communications company has come to define the way millions have connected with each other during the pandemic. India Drops To Second Position In BNEF’s 2020 Climatescope Ranking; Chile Bags Top Spot India has dropped to the second position in Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s (BNEF) 2020 Climatescope survey ranking from first last year.Chile has bagged the top spot in the survey reflective of its strong clean energy policies while, Brazil remained at the third position. BILATERAL PM Modi addressed India-Japan Samvad Conference  Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the India-Japan Samvad Conference on December 21.  This Samvad Conference revolves around the need to build the future of Asia on the positive influence of traditions of non-violence and democracy in Asia.  First India-Japan conference, Samvad-I in 2015 at Bodh Gaya. India and Bangladesh to reopen Chilahati-Haldibari rail link after nearly 55 years India and Bangladesh reopened the 55 years old Chilahati-Haldibari rail link between the two nations. The inauguration took place during a virtual bilateral summit between PM Modi and PM Sheikh Hasina. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla inaugurated three schools in his Nepal visit Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla inaugurated Three schools built under Indian assistance in Nepal’s Gorkha district. He also inaugurated a Buddhist renovated Tashop (Tare) Gompa Monastery in the Manang district with India’s assistance, in Manang district during his visit to Nepal. India, Suriname hold 7th Joint Commission Meeting virtually  The 7th India-Suriname Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) was held virtually. The meeting was Co-Chaired by the Minister of State for External Affairs, V. Muraleedharan & Albert R. Ramdin, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation of the Republic of Suriname.  Both Countries agreed to give importance to the Business & Investment sector to improve the Bilateral Relations and also to strengthen people to people ties.  They also agreed to enhance cooperation for the establishment of creative industries, Health, Traditional System of Medicine, Agriculture, Mining, Energy, Defense, Culture & Education, Consular Cooperation and Development Partnership.  The Two Ministers emphasized the importance of undertaking developmental projects under concessional conditions (including Lines of Credits) to improve the spirit of South-South Cooperation. India and Uzbekistan inks 9 Agreements to strengthen strategic partnership  Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to participate in virtual summit.This was the first bilateral ‘Virtual Summit’ meeting between India and a central Asian country.The Indian side confirmed the approval of a 448 million US dollar Line of Credit to be extended by India for four developmental projects in Uzbekistan in the fields of road construction, sewerage treatment and information technology.

Page | 49 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank), on behalf of the Government of India, has extended a Line of Credit (LOC) of $448 million to the Government of Republic of Uzbekistan. India and Austria inks MoU on Technology Cooperation in Road Infrastructure  Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has signs MoU with Federal Ministry of Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology of Austria on Technology Cooperation in Road Infrastructure Sector.  MoU will create bilateral cooperation in the field of Road Transportation, Road/Highways infrastructure development, management and administration, Road safety and Intelligent Transport Systems. 5th India – Myanmar bilateral meeting on Drug Control Cooperation  The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), India and the Central Committee on Drug Abuse Control, Myanmar conducted the 5th edition of the India- Myanmar Bilateral Meeting on Drug Control Cooperation.  The Indian delegation was led by the Director-General Narcotics Control Bureau, Shri Rakesh Asthana. The Myanmar delegation was led by Pol. Brig. Gen. Win Naing. the Commander of the Drug Enforcement Division (DED) cum Joint Secretary of the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control. 1st TWG Meeting between India, Iran, Uzbekistan on joint use of Chabahar Port held virtually  The first Trilateral Working Group Meeting between India, Iran and Uzbekistan on the joint use of Chabahar Port was held virtually On Dec 14.  The Meeting was jointly chaired by Secretary (Shipping), Sanjeev Ranjan, Government of India, Deputy Minister of Transport, Uzbekistan D. Dehkanov and Deputy Transport Minister of Iran, Shahram Adamnejad.  This Meeting Mainly Focus Joint Use of Chabahar Port trade and transit purposes along with enhancing regional connectivity. Norway Research Institute signs an MoU with Clean Ganga Mission for development of sludge management framework  Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO) has signed an MoU with cGanga, a think-tank of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) for development of sludge management framework in India.  The MoU was signed at the 5th India Water Impact Summit which is a five-day-long summit, hosting experts and academicians from all over the world to discuss and debate issues related to water conservation, water security and river rejuvenation. The event is co-organised by NMCG and cGanga. Bangladesh-India Cotton Fest held in Dhaka  The second Bangladesh-India Cotton Fest 2020 was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh.  Bangladesh Cotton Association (BCA) jointly organized the festival, in cooperation with Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), Indian Cotton Association Ltd. (ICAL), India -Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI). ‘Swadhinata Sarak’ between India and Bangladesh to be opened on March 26, 2021 The Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, Dr. A K Abdul Momen has informed that ‘Swadhinata Sarak’ between Bangladesh and India will be opened on March 26, 2021. He added that the road remains functional in India while it will be connecting through Meherpur, Mujibnagar district in Bangladesh. Dr Harsh Vardhan Chaired “Health Talks”, Annual Conference under Sweden India Nobel Memorial Week  As a part of 13th Sweden India Nobel Memorial Week 2020 Union Minister Harsh Vardhan, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) chaired the inaugural session of “Health Talks”, an annual conference of the India Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre.  During the conference it was announced that the Innovation Centre is also in the process of setting up a Centre of Excellence at AIIMS Jodhpur on Cancer Care to help patients to better understand and manage their disease.  The India-Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre is a tripartite collaboration between the Swedish Trade Commissioner’s Office, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (AIIMS Delhi), and All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur (AIIMS Jodhpur) for developing innovative solutions for healthcare problems in India.  In another event of Sweden India Nobel Memorial Week , titled “SHE STEM: Women Leading the Way”, is being organised in partnership with the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM). It focuses on the importance of encouraging girls and young women to study science. About Sweden India Nobel Memorial Week: The Sweden India Nobel Memorial Week was instituted in the memory of Swedish inventor and philanthropist Alfred Nobel and celebrates his biggest contributions viz. innovations, entrepreneurship and creativity. AWARD British Indian author Anita Anand’s Jallianwala Bagh story wins history prize

50 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 British Indian journalist and author Anita Anand’s book that tells the story of a young man caught up in the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar has won a prestigious history-literary prize in the UK.  ‘The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge and the Raj’ beat six other titles for the PEN Hessell- Tiltman Prize for History 2020, awarded annually for a non-fiction book of specifically historical content. No Dorai and Fagun Haway win Bangladesh best films award of 2019  Films ‘No Dorai’ and ‘Fagun Haway’ jointly won the best film award.  Best Director award:-Taneem Rahman Anghshu who directed the film ‘No Dorai’.  Best actor:-Tarique Anam Khan for ‘Abar Basanta’  Best actress:-Sunehra Binte Kamal for ‘No Dorai’  Nari Jibon got the best short film award while Ja Chilo Ondhokare was selected for the best documentary film of 2019. HCL’s Roshni Nadar tops Kotak Wealth-Hurun wealthy women list 2020  Chairperson of HCL Technologies, Roshni Nadar Malhotra has topped the list of wealthiest women in India, according to the second edition of ‘Kotak Wealth Hurun–Leading Wealthy Women’ report.  The report is compiled by Kotak Wealth Management, a division of Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Hurun India.  Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon and Leena Gandhi Tewari of USV are at the second and third rank respectively in the Kotak Wealth Hurun wealthy women list 2020. Gitanjali Rao becomes 1st-ever TIME’s “Kid Of The Year”  The Indian-American young scientist and inventor, Gitanjali Rao, has been named as the first-ever ‘Kid of the Year’ by the iconic TIME magazine.The 15-year-old Gitanjali Rao was chosen from among more than 5,000 nominees, for her “astonishing work” using technology to tackle issues ranging from contaminated drinking water to opioid addiction and cyberbullying.  Last year, climate activist Greta Thunberg became the youngest ever Person Of The Year when she was given the honour at age 16. Ranjitsinh Disale becomes 1st Indian to win 2020 Global Teacher Prize  Ranjitsinh Disale, a government teacher from Zilla Parishad Primary School, in Paritewadi village, Solapur district of Maharashtra, has won the 2020 Global Teacher Prize.  The 32-year-old has won the annual Global Teacher Prize 2020 in recognition of his efforts to promote girls’ education in his village and trigger a quick-response (QR) coded textbook revolution in India.  He made efforts and added QR codes to textbooks of primary classes to provide links to audio poems, video lectures, stories and assignments.  He also worked towards education for girls and teaching people about the ill-effects of teenage marriage and even helped to achieve 100% attendance of girls.  The Global Teacher Prize is an annual prize founded by the Varkey Foundation in 2014 to recognise an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession. The award is given in partnership with UNESCO. Adar Poonawalla of Serum Institute Among 6 Named ‘Asians of the Year’ by Singapore Daily  Adar Poonawalla, the chief executive of the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India, is among six people named ”Asians of the Year” by Singapore’s leading daily, The Straits Times for their work in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.  The other five named in the list are Chinese researcher Zhang Yongzhen, who led the team that mapped and published online the first complete genome of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that sparked the pandemic, China’s Major- General Chen Wei, Japan’s Dr Ryuichi Morishita and Singapore’s Professor Ooi Eng Eong, who are among those at the forefront of developing vaccines against the virus, and South Korean businessman Seo Jung-jin whose company will enable the making and dispensing of the vaccines and other Covid-19 treatments to the world.  The ICAR Wins King Bhumibol World Soil Day Award 2020  The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), has bagged the prestigious International King Bhumibol World Soil Day Award conferred by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Rome.  The announcement to this effect was made on a virtual function by the FAO on the World Soil Day 5th December 2020 Through Video Conferencing.  ICAR organised “Soil Health Awareness Week” during 1-7 December 2019 with participation of more than 13 000 people, including scientists, government institutions, officials, students, farmers and the general public, in the social media campaign “SOIL – Our Mother Earth” on 5 December 2019. Invest India wins United Nations Investment Promotion Award for 2020 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has declared ‘Invest India’ as winner of the 2020 United Nations Investment Promotion Award.The award ceremony took place at UNCTAD Headquarters in Geneva.

Page | 51 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Raj Kamal Jha wins Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize  Journalist-author, Raj Kamal Jha has won the 3rd Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize for his novel, “The City and The Sea”.  Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the winner of the $5,000 prize was announced online in Copenhagen, Denmark. Paul Sein Twa, co-founder of KESAN and Salween Peace Park in Myanmar, receives Goldman Environmental Prize 2020  The co-founder of KESAN and Salween Peace Park in Myanmar, Paul Sein Twa has won the Goldman Environmental Prize 2020 for Asia, in recognition of his efforts in promoting the self-determination of the Karen people in managing their natural resources.  Sein Twa received the prestigious prize along with five other grassroots environmental activists from the Bahamas, Ghana, Ecuador, Mexico and France.  Dubbed the “Green Nobel Prize,” this award is given annually to environmental heroes from each of the world’s six inhabited continents. Bajrang Punia, Elavenil Valarivan bag top honours at FICCI India Sports Awards  Tokyo Olympics-bound athletes, wrestler Bajrang Punia and shooter Elavenil Valarivan bagged the top honours at the FICCI India Sports Awards 2020 held virtually this year on the back of the prestigious 10th Global Sports Summit: FICCI TURF 2020.  The two athletes, who have had an impressive 2019-20, won the Sports Person of the Year Awards in their respective categories.  Wrestling Federation of India and Paralympic Committee of India were jointly named as the best national sports federation, while the best para-athlete award was won jointly by Sundar Singh Gurjar and Simran Sharma.  The coach of the year award was bagged by Radhakrishnan Nair of athletics.  Cricket legend Anil Kumble received the ‘Best Company Promoting Sports (Private Sector)’ award on behalf of his enterprise – Tenvic Sports.  Best State Promoting Sports Award:-Madhya Pradesh Punjab agricultural scientist declines award  Varinderpal Singh, an agricultural scientist with the Punjab agricultural University, refused to accept an award being presented to him by a Union Minister to express his solidarity with the farmers agitating against the Centre’s farm laws.  Singh, a principal soil chemist on the PAU in Ludhiana, Punjab, was chosen for the ‘FAI Golden Jubilee Award for Excellence’ for finest work executed in plant vitamins. Myanmar’s Paul Sein Twa receives Goldman Environmental Prize 2020  International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Asia Regional Office awarded Paul Sein Twa, for Goldman Environmental Prize 2020 for Asia.  This award is given to him for his efforts in promoting the self-determination of the Karen people in managing their natural resources.  Paul is the co-founder of the Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN), established in 2001. UNESCO launches Bangabandhu award on the creative economy  UNESCO has launched an international award named after Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman following Bangladesh’s proposal.  The UN agency’s executive board unanimously adopted the proposal on UNESCO-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize for the “Creative Economy” in its 210th session. This is the first time a UN agency launched an award named after Bangabandhu. Ashraf Patel named Social Entrepreneur of the year  Founder member and Board member of Pravah and ComMutiny – The Youth Collective (CYC), Ashraf Patel has been declared as the winner of the Social Entrepreneur of the Year (SEOY) Award – India 2020.  It is the 11th edition of the annual award, instituted by the Schwab Foundation and Jubilant Bhartia Foundation in 2010.  The award was presented by Union Minister of Women & Child Development & Textiles, Smriti Zubin Irani.  Ashraf Patel is the co-founder of Pravah and ComMutiny Youth Collective. In partnership with UNICEF ROSA, they developed an appreciative enquiry tool to assess the impact of COVID 19 on the lives of adolescents in 8 South Asian countries. Carolina Araujo awarded 2020 Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians The year 2020 Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians was awarded to Dr Carolina Araujo, Mathematician from the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Her work area focuses on birational geometry, which aims to classify and describe the structure of algebraic varieties.

52 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Jairam Ramesh’s new book to uncover story of ‘The Light of Asia’ poem Former Union minister Jairam Ramesh’s new book will uncover and narrate the story of phenomenal poem The Light of Asia that has shaped people’s thinking of the Buddha and his teachings, announced publishing house Penguin.The book, titled “The Light of Asia: The Poem that Defined the Buddha”, will be published under Penguin’s ‘Viking’ imprint in May next year. UNEP announces 2020 Champions of the Earth Award  The 2020 Champions of the Earth Award has been bestowed upon 6 individuals. The list of winners is given below.  Policy Leadership:Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama of Fiji, honoured in the Policy Leadership category for his global climate action work and his commitment to climate-responsive national development  Inspiration and Action: Yacouba Sawadogo (Burkina Faso), also honoured in the Inspiration and Action category for teaching farmers his traditional nature-based solution to regenerate their soil and turn barren land into arable land and forest across Africa  Inspiration and Action: Nemonte Nenquimo (Ecuador), awarded in the Inspiration and Action category for her leadership and unifying work with indigenous communities that halted drilling in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest  Science and Innovation: Dr Fabian Leendertz (Germany), honoured in the Science and Innovation category for his discoveries in zoonotic and his work in One Health  Entrepreneur Vision: Mindy Lubber (USA), recognized in the Entrepreneurial Vision category for her commitment to turning capital markets green by mobilizing top investors and companies and making the business case for climate action and sustainability  Lifetime Achievement Award:Professor Robert D. Bullard (USA) who was awarded the Champion of the Earth Lifetime Achievement award for his commitment and service to environmental justice. SAIL gets the Golden Peacock Environment Management Award 2020  Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has been awarded the prestigious Golden Peacock Environment Management Award for the year 2020 in the Steel Sector by the Institute of Directors.  The company has been the winner of this award for successive two years and this bears testimony to the efforts made by it for sustainable and environmentally responsible steel making. Ratan Tata won the 'Global Visionary of Sustainable Business & Peace Award  The chairman emeritus of the Tata group Ratan Tata will be honoured with 'Global Visionary of Sustainable Business and Peace'.  He will be honoured by the Indo-Israel Chambers of Commerce for promoting innovation that supports sustainability and peace in the region, including with the Palestinians.  He will be awarded during the launch of the Federation of Indo-Israel Chamber of Commerce's international chapter in Dubai. HelpAge India Gets 2020 UN Population Award  NGO HelpAge India has been awarded the UN Population Award for 2020 in the institutional category.  This award for its contribution towards serving disadvantaged elderly people and raising awareness on their cause.  The UN Population Award, established by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 1981, recognises contributions in the fields of population and reproductive health.  The fund is transferred directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. Musician Shankar Mahadevan, Designer Raghavendra Rathore Winners Of UK’s Icon Awards  Musician Shankar Mahadevan and fashion designer Raghavendra Rathore have been named among 15 winners of the annual 21st Century Icon Awards, unveiled virtually from London.  Mahadevan, awarded the 2020 Magnificent Performing Arts Award and Rathore, the recipient of the Exquisite Art & Fashion Award.  Among some of the other 2020 winners included the Dedicated Stalwart Award for Mohit Burman, Vice- Chairman of Dabur India Ltd, and Competitive Sports Awards for Jamaican cricketer Chris Gayle and Argentinian polo player Adolfo Cambiaso. Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Telecom Skill Excellence Awards presented  Union Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad along with Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre presented ‘Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Telecom Skill Excellence Awards’ for the year 2018 Winners:  First Prize: Sreenivas Karanam of Bangalore (Rs 50,000)  Second Prize: Subrat Kar of New Delhi (Rs 30,000)  This Award scheme was launched in 2017 by DoT to reward the successful telecom skilled people for their special contributions in the areas of Telecom Skilling, Services, Manufacturing, etc.

Page | 53 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Amar Singh College Srinagar bags 2020-UNESCO Asia-Pacific award  Amar Singh College Srinagar has bagged a prestigious award of merit in the 2020 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Asia-Pacific awards for cultural heritage conservation.  The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) chapter in the union territory has been administering the conservation work at the 80-year-old building. Donald Trump Honours PM Modi With Top US Honour ‘Legion Of Merit’  US President Donald Trump has presented America’s highest military decoration, ‘The Legion of Merit’, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  The award was accepted by India’s Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu on behalf of the prime minister from the US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien at the White House on 21 December 2020. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay-NIF book prize announced  The winners of the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay New India Foundation Book Prize 2020 for the best non-fiction book on contemporary/ modern India were announced.  The Prize was given jointly to Amit Ahuja for his Mobilizing the Marginalized: Ethnic Parties without Ethnic Movements (Oxford University Press) and to former Union minister Jairam Ramesh for his A Chequered Brilliance: The Many Lives of VK Krishna Menon (Penguin Random House), a biography of politician and diplomat VK Krishna Menon. NTPC wins the prestigious CII-ITC Sustainability Awards 2020  Country’s largest power producer, National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) has been conferred “Excellence” in the prestigious CII-ITC Sustainability Awards 2020 in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Domain.  NTPC MD & CEO: Gurdeep Singh. NTPC Headquarters: New Delhi, India. Hemant Kumar Pandey gets DRDO’s “Scientist of the Year” award Senior scientist Hemant Kumar Pandey has been honoured with DRDO’s ”Scientist of the Year Award” for his contribution in developing several herbal medicines, including the popular drug Lukoskin meant for the treatment of leucoderma. K. Veeramani honoured with Dr. Narendra Dabholkar Memorial Award  The Dr. Narendra Dabholkar Memorial Award for this year has been conferred upon Dravidar Kazhagam's president K. Veeramani.  The award was instituted in the memory of the Maharashtra-based rationalist Dabholkar, who was killed some years ago. Cristiano Ronaldo wins 'Player of the Century' at Globe Soccer Awards  Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo has won the 'Player of the Century' award at the Globe Soccer Awards.  Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski won the Player of the Year award.  Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola won the Coach of the Century award.  Spanish giants Real Madrid won the Club of the Century award during the event. V.K. Yadav, chairman of railway board conferred with Eminent Engineer Award Shri V.K. Yadav, Chairman & CEO, Railway Board, Ministry of Railways has been conferred with the prestigious “Eminent Engineer Award for the Year 2020’ by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) for his outstanding contribution towards modernization and reforms over Indian Railways. PERSON IN NEWS/NEWLY APPOINTED WORLD Debendranath Sarangi Debendranath Sarangi, President Squash Rackets Federation of India, was elected as one of the three vice presidents of the World Squash Federation and its annual general body meeting Dr Vivek Murthy US President-elect Joe Biden has selected his key Covid-19 advisor Dr Vivek Murthy as the next Surgeon General, a role for which he was appointed during the Obama administration, according to a media report. Shrikant Madhav Vaidya Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) was appointed as the first Vice President of the World Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (WLPGA).

54 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Anil Soni World Health Organisation has appointed Indian-origin Anil Soni as the Chief Executive Officer for the WHO Foundation. Zena Wooldridge Zena Wooldridge has been elected as the new World Squash Federation (WSF) President following the WSF’s 2020 Annual General Meeting. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al- Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah has reappointed Sheikh Hamad Al-Sabah Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah as prime minister Ludovic Orban Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban announced his resignation, after the ruling National Liberal Party (PNL) he leads failed to achieve its goal of scoring the best in parliamentary election. Annika Sorenstam Swedish Professional Golfer, Annika Sorenstam (50 years) has been elected as the new President of International Golf Federation ( IGF) with effect from 1st January 2020 Nana Akufo-Addo Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo has been re-elected after a tightly contested election. Florin Citu Florin Citu to be Romania’s next prime minister

NATIONAL Utpal Kumar Singh Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla appointed senior IAS officer Utpal Kumar Singh as Secretary General of the Lok Sabha.He will succeed incumbent Snehlata Shrivastava. Varsha Joshi The Government of India appointed Varsha Joshi as the new Chairperson of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). Sandeep Kataria International footwear company Bata Brands has elevated Sandeep Kataria to the post of global CEO. Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhary Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhary took charge as the director general of Border Roads Organisation (BRO). AR Rahman BAFTA(British Academy of Film and Television Arts) announced AR Rahman as the ambassador for BAFTA Breakthrough India 2020-21. Uday Shankar Media executive Uday Shankar has been named as the president-elect of industry chamber FICCI for 2020-21. Kuldeep Handoo Srinagar born Wushu coach and the first Dronacharya Awardee from the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Kuldeep Handoo is appointed as the Ambassador of Fit India movement. Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) appointed Bollywood actor, Akshay Akshay Kumar Kumar as the brand ambassador of its relaunched adult nutrition brand, Horlicks Protein Plus. Uday Kotak RBI has approved the re-appointment of Uday Kotak as managing director of the bank for a further period of three years. Shashi Shekhar Vempati The CEO of Prasar Bharati, Shashi Shekhar Vempati has been elected as the Vice President of Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) for a period of three years.The Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia–based Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), is one of the largest broadcasting associations in the world. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu Sukhbir Singh Sandhu has been given six months extension as the chairman of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Vineet Agarwal Managing Director of logistics major Transport Corporation of India Limited, Vineet Agarwal has taken over as the new President of The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham). Sumant Sinha Sumant Sinha, Chairman and Managing Director of ReNew Power, is the new Senior Vice-President of Assocham. Satyendra Garg Senior IPS officer, Satyendra Garg has assumed Andaman and Nicobar DGP charge. Prasanth Prabhakaran YES Securities, the wholly owned investment banking, merchant banking, wealth broking & investment advisory subsidiary of YES Bank, announced the elevation of Prasanth Prabhakaran as its managing director and chief executive officer with immediate effect. Niranjan Banodkar Niranjan Banodkar has been appointed as the new Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Yes Bank. Arya Rajendran Kerala’s Arya Rajendran becomes India’s youngest mayor from

Page | 55 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Thiruvananthapuram Harsh Vardhan Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Harsh Vardhan has been nominated as the board member of Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI). Sabrina Filzmoser and Flavio Canto appointed IJF Climate Ambassadors Austria’s Sabrina Filzmoser and Brazil’s Flavio Canto have been appointed as International Judo Federation (IJF) climate ambassadors by IJF President Marius Vizer, in a bid to spread the message of environmentalism. Shantanu Narayen, Ajay Banga named among Fortune Businessperson of the Year 2020 Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen and Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga have been named by Fortune among the Businessperson of the Year 2020, a list topped by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Shantanu Narayen, ranked 8th on the list, while Ajay Banga, ranked 9th on the list. British PM Boris Johnson to be Chief Guest at Republic Day Of India The United Kingdom has confirmed that Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be the chief guest at Republic Day Parade in January 2021. British PM invites Prime Minister Modi to attend UK hosted G-7 summit next year British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has invited India to attend the G7 Summit next year. The G7 (or Group of Seven) is an organisation made up of the world’s seven largest so-called advanced economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. SPORTS

Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton has won the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain. Corey Anderson New Zealand all-rounder, Corey Anderson(29), has called time on his international career and signed a three-year Major League Cricket (MLC) T20 in the United States of America (USA). Dawid Malan Dawid Malan of England has attained the highest-ever rating points for batsmen in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings. Virat Kohli Virat Kohli became the Quickest Batsman to reach 12, 000 runs in ODIs.He has taken 242 innings to achieve this record. Sergio Perez Sergio Perez Mexico-Racing Point-BWT Mercedes , Sergio Perez , won the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix,, at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. JehanDaruvala JehanDaruvala creates history, becomes first Indian to win F2 race at Sakhir. JehanDaruvala emerged on top in the support race of the season-ending Formula 1 Grand Prix after a thrilling battle against F2 champion Mick Schumacher and Daniel Ticktum. Parthiv Patel India’s wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. The 35-year-old left-hander, who made his international debut in 2002, played 25 Tests, 38 ODIS and two T20Is for India. Max Verstappen Max Verstappen (Red Bull – Netherlands) won the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2020, held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Yash Vardhan Junior Asian champion Yash Vardhan of India won the 10m air rifle event at the 6th edition of the International Online Shooting Championship (IOSC). Ankita Raina Indian Tennis player, Ankita Raina clinched her third doubles title of the season after she won the 2020 Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge jointly with her Georgian partner Ekaterine Gorgodze in Dubai. Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh Former Tamil Nadu and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) seamer Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

FIFA extends 7-team Club World Cup to 2021; Japan to host  Japan was chosen to host a traditional, seven-team Club World Cup in December 2021.  FIFA wanted a December 2020 edition in Qatar to be the last with seven teams, six continental champions and the host nation’s domestic league winner.

56 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 The format often attracts little interest and is routinely won by the European club. Australian Cricket Team won the 2020 Dettol ODI series against India held in Australia  The Australian Cricket Team won the 3-match Dettol ODI series 2020 against India by 2-1.  Australian Batsman Steve Smith was chosen as the Player of the Series  With the Series win, Australia jumped to No. 1 spot in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League with 40 Points, India which won the last ODI are placed at No.6 position with 9 points Yulimar Rojas and Mondo Duplantis crowned 2020 World Athletes of the Year Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis and Venezuelan triple jumper Yulimar Rojas are the 2020 Male and Female World Athletes of the Year. Sri Lanka to host Asia Cup in 2021, Pakistan in 2022 The Asia Cup 2020 had to postpone due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Pakistan was scheduled to host the Asia Cup but the PCB CEO Wasim Khan said the tournament will be hosted by Sri Lanka in 2021 while Pakistan will play host of it in 2022. Sports Minister KirenRijiju launches 2nd edition of Fit India Cyclothon  Sports Minister KirenRijiju has launched the second edition of Fit India Cyclothon via social media.  The event will be held across the country in each district and citizens can participate by registering on Fit India website  The Participants can cycle daily a distance of their choice, and share their images and videos on social media.  They may also tag @FitIndiaOff and use the hashtag- FitIndiaCyclothon and #NewIndiaFitIndia. Madagascar replaces the Maldives as host of 2023 Indian Ocean Island Games  Madagascar has replaced the Maldives as the host of the 2023 Indian Ocean Island Games due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.  The event had been awarded to the Maldives last year, but members of the Indian Ocean Island Games Federation voted to move the Games to Madagascar. Olympics adds breakdancing as official sport for Paris 2024 games  The International Olympic Committee has decided to take breakdancing out for a spin with its upcoming Paris 2024 games.The Olympics also announced that the Paris 2024 games will feature a historic 100% gender equality in its athlete quotas. There will be exactly 50% female and male participation in the next installment of summer events, surpassing that of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.  It must be remembered that three new sports, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing, will make their Olympic debuts at the Tokyo Games 2021 (earlier 2020 Summer Olympics). Odisha to host 2023 FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup  International Hockey Federation (FIH) had announced Odisha to be the host for 2023 FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup for a second consecutive time.  The 2023 tournament will be held at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar and Biju Patnaik Hockey Stadium in Rourkela.  FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2018 was also hosted by Odisha.  FIH 2023 tournament will be 15th edition of the Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup. ICC Announces Womens World Cup Schedule The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the schedule for the 2022 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand with 31 matches to be played acoss 31 days from March 4 to April 3, 2022. Sports Ministry includes 4 indigenous games in Khelo India Youth Games 2021 Sports Ministry has approved the insertion of 4 Indigenous Games into Khelo India Youth Games 2021, scheduled to take place in Haryana. These 4 Games includes:  Kalaripayattu has its origin from Kerala  Mallakhamba: Traditional sport of India that denotes a wrestler and khamba (pole)  Gatka: It originated in Punjab and this traditional fighting style of Nihang Sikh Warriors is used both as self- defense as well as a sport.  Thang-Ta: Manipur marital art Anshu Malik wins silver at Individual Wrestling World Cup in Serbia  Indian wrestler, Anshu Malik has become the first wrestler of the country to finish on the podium position at the Individual Wrestling World Cup in Belgrade, Serbia.  The 19-year-old won a silver medal in the women’s 57kg category to claim first international medal of the tournament for the country. BWF bans Russian badminton player Nikita Khakimov for 5 years  The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has imposed a 5-year ban on Russian shuttler Nikita Khakimov for charges of “betting, wagering and irregular match results.

Page | 57 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 Khakimov was part of the Russian men’s team that won the bronze medal at the 2020 European Team Championships. MS Dhoni named captain of ICC Men’s ODI and T20I Teams of the Decade  The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the ICC Teams of the Decade based on the performances, consistency of players over the period of last 10 years.  Former Indian captain and wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been named as the captain of the ICC ODI Team of the Decade.  Dhoni has also been named the skipper of the ICC T20I Team of the Decade. Similarly, Virat Kohli has been named the captain of the ICC Test Team of the Decade. Ravi Ashwin is the only other Indian in this list. FIFA cancels next year’s U-20, U-17 World Cups  FIFA has cancelled men’s U-20 and U-17 World Cup tournaments in 2021 for the novel coronavirus.  As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bureau of the FIFA Council has decided to cancel the 2021 editions of the men’s FIFA U-20 World Cup and FIFA U-17 World Cup, and to appoint Indonesia and Peru respectively, who were due to host the tournaments in 2021.  So Peru will host the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2023. In the same year, the FIFA U-20 World Cup will be held by Indonesia. Qatar to host 2030 Asian Games, 2034 edition in Saudi Arabia  The 2030 Asian Games were awarded to Doha, Qatar and the 2034 event went to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  Doha beat Riyadh for the 2030 Games in the vote at the Olympic Council of Asia’s (OCA) general assembly.Olympic Council of Asia Headquarters: Kuwait City, Kuwait.  2030 Asian Games will be the 21st edition of the multi-sports event, held after every four years. It is also known as Asiad.  Qatar will also host the 2022 Football World Cup. Zimbabwe to Host Qualifiers of ICC World Cup 2023 to Be Held in India Zimbabwe will host the qualifiers of the 2023 ODI World Cup between June 18 and July 9, according to a revised scheduled announced by the ICC due to the postponements caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. India, the hosts of the rescheduled 2023 ODI World Cup. AIFF announces candidature to host AFC Asian Cup 2027  All India Football Federation (AIFF) has formally announced its host for the AFC Asian Cup 2027 that will be held in India  India hosted FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017 and is due to host the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup and AFC Women’s Asian Cup in 2022.  India 2027 campaign's powerful logo, revealed at the launch, represents the ambition, commitment, focus and spirit of the bid, epitomized by the royal tiger.  Slogan: Brighter Future Together. Yogasana gets formal recognition as a competitive sport The Ministry of AYUSH and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports announced the formal recognition of Yogasana as a competitive sport at a joint press conference held by the Union Minister of State (IC) for AYUSH Shri Shripad Naik, and the Union Minister of State (IC) for Youth Affairs & Sports Shri Kiren Rijjju in New Delhi. Djokovic, Federer, Nadal bags ATP awards for 2020 Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) 2020 Awards were announced with Novak Djokovic (Serbia) as the ATP Player of the Year 2020 award for the record 6th time Other ATP winners of the Year:  Doubles Team: Mate Pavic, Bruno Soares  Coach: Fernando Vicente (coached Andrey Rublev)  Most Improved Player: Andrey Rublev (Russia)  Newcomer: Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)  ATP.com Fans’ Favourite: Roger Federer (Switzerland)  Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award: Rafael Nadal (Spain) Robert Lewandowski and Lucy Bronze win FIFA player of the year awards  Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski was named FIFA men's player of the year 2020.  Robert Lewandowski is a Poland professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and is the captain of the Poland national team.  England defender Lucy Bronze named as FIFA Women's player of the year 2020. Lewis Hamilton wins BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2020 award Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton of UK has been conferred with BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2020. Other award winners of BBC Sports Personality 2020

58 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 Helen Rollason Award: Captain Sir Tom Moore(Popularly known as "Captain Tom", is a former British Army officer and centenarian, known for his achievements raising money for charity in the run-up to his 100th birthday during the COVID-19 pandemic.)  Expert Special Panel Award: Marcus Rashford(English professional footballer )  Coach of the Year: Jurgen Klopp(German professional football manager and manager of Premier League club Liverpool)  Team of the Year: Liverpool FC  Unsung Hero: Sgt Matt Ratana  Captain Tom Young Unsung Hero: Tobias Weller  Young Sports Personality of the Year: Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix Indian pugilists bag nine medals including 3 golds in Cologne, Boxing World Cup championship  Indian pugilists bagged nine medals including three gold, two silver and four bronze at the Cologne Boxing World Cup held in Cologne, Germany.  Amit Panghal won gold in men’s category while Manisha Moun and Simranjit Kaur won gold in Women’s category.  Sakshi Choudhary ended her campaign with a silver.India’s super heavyweight (91kg) boxer Satish Kumar (+91kg) had to settle for a silver after an injury forced him to withdraw from the finals.  Sonia Lather (57kg), Pooja Rani (75kg) Gaurav Solanki (57kg) and Mohamed Hussamudin (57kg) won bronze medals in their respective categories. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Advance Hypersonic Wind Tunnel test facility inaugurated in Hyderabad  Defence minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated advanced Hypersonic Wind Tunnel test facility in Hyderabad.  It is a pressure vaccum driven enclosed free jet facility with nozzle exit of one-meter diameter.  This will simulate Mach 5 to 12 (Mach represent the multiplication factor to the speed of sound), making India the 3rd country after the US and Russia to have such a facility. 5G connection to reach 3.5B globally, 350M in India by 2026: Report  5G connections across the globe are estimated to be 3.5 billion and India will account for 350 million subscriptions by 2026, according to a report by telecom company Ericsson.  Globally, more than one billion people, 15 percent of the world's population, are expected to live in an area that has 5G coverage rolled out, according to the 'Ericsson Mobility Report 2020'  According to the report, India has the highest average traffic per smartphone user per month at 15.7 GB per month. India’s GMRT accorded ‘Milestone’ facility status by IEEE  The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) Observatory situated at Khodad, Pune, Maharashtra has been accorded ‘Milestone’ facility status by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).  It is the 3rd Indian Project in 125 years to get such a recognition. Pixxel Partners With NSIL to Launch India’s First Private Remote-Sensing Satellite  The Bengaluru-based space-technology start-up Pixxel has signed an agreement with state-run NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) to launch the country’s first private remote-sensing satellite on an ISRO PSLV rocket in early 2021.The agreement is one of its kind after the establishment of IN-SPACe, the authorisation and regulatory body under the Department of Space for enabling private players to undertake space activities in India.  Earlier, the startup had planned to launch this satellite towards the end of 2020 and on a Russian Soyuz rocket.  Pixxel aims to put a constellation of 30 earth observation micro-satellites into a sun-synchronous orbit by mid- 2023. DRDO merges 2 labs to create new one for focused research along borders with China, Pakistan  Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) created a New Laboratory named ‘Defence Geo Informatics Research Establishment’ for focused research on terrain and avalanches along the borders with China and Pakistan  It has made by merging 2 DRDO labs – Manali based Centre for Snow and Avalanche Studies Establishment (SASE) & Delhi based Defence Terrain Research Laboratory (DTRL).  The merger took place after Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in a detailed review meeting with Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy, DRDO Chairman and General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Defence Staff and other Union Ministers.  The main aim of DTRL is to provide real time data for terrain evaluation to Indian Army.

Page | 59 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 The main aim of the SASE lab is to do research in the field of snow and avalanches to provide avalanche control measures and forecasting support to Indian Armed Forces. 5-Member Committee under Prof V. Ramagopal Rao: In August 2020, DRDO Chairman, Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy constituted a 5-member committee headed by Professor V. Ramagopal Rao, Director of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi to review the charter of duties for laboratories of DRDO. The committee was constituted with the aim of making DRDO a lean and result-oriented organization. IIT Kanpur Researchers Develop “Damaru” Inspired Lattice for Vibration Isolation in High Speed Trains and Stealth Submarines  Under the SPARC project of Ministry of Education, IIT Kanpur researchers develop a ‘Dambaru’ or ‘Damaru’ inspired lattice, which shows tremendous application in vibration isolation in high speed trains, Stealth submarines and Helicopters rotors.  The hour-glass shaped meta-structure provides superior absorption of electromagnetic and sonic waves.  In this application, IIT Kanpur researchers have shown the nature of stiffness of a vibrating medium could be altered drastically by controlling the lattice micro-structure from regular honeycomb to auxtetic honeycomb structure.  This work is sponsored by a SPARC(Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration) project of Ministry of Education. Dept of Space inked a non-disclosure agreement with small satellite launch vehicle maker Agnikul  The Department of Space (DoS) on Thursday entered into a non -disclosure agreement (NDA) with Agnikul Cosmos Pvt Ltd, which is building a small satellite launch vehicle. Under the NDA, the company will be allowed to access the facilities and technical expertise available at the centers of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) to proceed with its launch vehicle development programme.  Agnikul is a Chennai-based start-up located in the National Centre for combustion R&D at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.  The agreement is the first of its kind that the department has signed after the setting up of IN-SPACe, the authorisation and regulatory body under DoS to enable private players to undertake space activities in India. BSNL ties-up with Skylotech India for satellite-based NB-IoT  BSNL partnered with Skylotech India to launch breakthrough satellite-based NB-IoT (Narrow Band-Internet of Things)  It is indigenously developed by Skylo, and will connect with BSNLs satellite ground infrastructure to provide PAN-India coverage, including Indian seas.  This is the world’s first satellite-based NB-IoT network, whose coverage speed will not leave any dark patch within India NSDC partners with Byju”s to support skilling of teachers, trainers Edtech major Byju’s said it has inked an agreement with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to support the skilling of teachers and trainers. Sharing a vision to accelerate Skill India Mission, the partners aim at empowering teachers and trainers with the key skills and digital tools to make learning engaging, effective and personalised for children and youth. HAL-IISc Skill Development Centre in launches its first training programme  HAL-IISc Skill Development Centre in Challakere of Chitradurga district in Karnataka launched its first training programme offering five courses in virtual mode.  The programmes offered are in the niche engineering areas of aerospace, mechanical, electrical and electronic sectors, and in line with the “Make in India” mission.  Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had formally inaugurated the Skill Development Centre in Challakere on August 13th this year. ISRO to launch communication satellite CMS-01 Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched a communication satellite CMS-01, formerly named GSAT- 12R, using its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket’s XL variant numbered as PSLV-C50.CMS-01 is a communication satellite envisaged for providing services in Extended-C Band of the frequency spectrum, which will include the Indian mainland, Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands. ISRO to open Regional Academic Centre for Space at IIT BHU The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will establish a Regional Academic Centre for Space at IIT (BHU) to facilitate short and long term projects at the institute.ISRO and the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and the move can help propel the culture of research and development among students. ISRO sets up a dedicated control centre ‘NETRA’ for Space Situational Awareness (SSA)  The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has set up a dedicated Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Control Centre named “NETRA”, at its ISTRAC campus at Peenya, Bengaluru.

60 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 The ISRO SSA Control Centre ‘NETRA’ was formally inaugurated by ISRO Chairman K Sivan.  The “NEtwork for space object TRacking and Analysis (NETRA)” will monitor, track and protect India’s space assets. It will function as a hub of all SSA activities within India.  It has been set up as a ‘Directorate of Space Situational Awareness and Management (DSSAM)’ aiming to protect high valued space assets from space debris close approaches and collisions.  Only the US, Russia, and Europe have similar facilities in place to track space objects and share collision warnings. NASA selects Raja Chari as commander of SpaceX Crew-3 mission  NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have selected Indian-American Raja Chari to be the Commander of the SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station.  He will be the commander of SpaceX Crew-3 mission, while Nasa’s Tom Marshburn will be pilot and ESA’s Matthias Maurer will serve as a mission specialist. CSC partners IIT Delhi to set up innovation lab in rural area  The Common Services Centers (CSCs), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) under the Ministry of Electronics and IT, has partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT-D) to establish a Design and Innovation Lab for conducting research on design-led innovations related to leveraging livelihood and enhancing their all- round entrepreneurial outlook.  Called the ‘Design and Innovation in VLE’s Indigenous Network Ecosystem’ or ‘DIVINE’ Lab, it will promote design and innovation among the Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) managing around 3.75 lakh CSCs across the country which will help in leveraging livelihood and enhancing their all-round entrepreneurial outlook. DEFENCE HAL delivers Biggest Ever Cryogenic Propellant Tank ‘C32-LH2’ to ISRO  Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) delivered ‘C32-LH2’ Cryogenic Propellant Tank to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It is Biggest ever cryogenic propellant tank fabricated by HAL.  C32-LH2 is made of aluminium alloy and has been designed to improve the payload capability of GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) MK-III launching vehicle. India Test-Fires Anti-ship version of BrahMos Missile in A&N Islands  India successfully Test Fired the Anti-Ship version of the BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile from the Indian Navy’s INS Ranvijay in Andaman & Nicobar Islands Territory.The Missile had a strike range of 300 Kms.  Previouly Indian Army successfully test-fired the land-attack version of BrahMos supersonic cruise Missile from the Andaman and Nicobar (A & N) Island Territory. Basin Trials of IAC successfully conducted at CSL  Basin Trials of Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) was conducted successfully at the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL). The basin trials marked the entry of the warship building project into the final phase.  Basin Trial is a stage before the sea trials where the Ship Machinery and Equipment are tested in floating conditions. PASSEX Exercise The Indian Navy (IN) and the Russian Federation Navy (RuFN) are undertaking Passage Exercise (PASSEX) in the Eastern Indian Ocean Region (IOR).This exercise is being conducted on the occasion of ‘Navy Day’ of the IN on 4th December, which emphasizes the strong bonds of friendship shared between the two friendly militaries. IAF Carries out Firing of Surface-to-Air Missiles Akash and Russian-origin Short-Range Igla Missile  The Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out the Firing of Indigenously Developed Akash Missile System (Surface - to-Air Missile) & Russian-origin Short-Range Igla Missile (Surface-to-Air Missile) as part of a drill which took place at Air Force Station in Suryalanka, Andhra Pradesh.  Both the Akash Missile System & Short Range Igla Missiles were fired and they engaged the Maneuverable Expendable Aerial Targets (MEAT) successfully.  About Indian Air Force: Chief of the Air Staff – Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria Headquarters – New Delhi Indian Army to get `Made in India’ carbines designed by DRDO  The 5.56×30 mm Protective Carbine, which has been designed by the Defence, Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) cleared the final phase of user trials earlier this week. According to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), during the trials all the GSQR parameters were met with, thus, clearing the way for the Joint Venture Protective Carbine (JVPC) to be inducted into the services.  The range of the carbine is more than 100 m, weighing about 3.0 kg.

Page | 61 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

 It has features high reliability, low recoil, retractable Butt, ergonomic design, single hand firing capability, and multiple Picatinny rails etc. GRSE Kolkata launches ‘Himgiri’, its 1st Ship of Project 17A  Himgiri, which is the first of the three Project 17A ships being built at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), Kolkata was launched.  The launch of ‘Himgiri’ has showcased GRSE’s commitment towards the building of three state-of-the-art warships of P17A for Indian Navy.  Under the Project 17A program, a total of seven ships, four at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) and three ships at GRSE are being built with enhanced stealth features, advanced indigenous weapon and sensor fit along with several other improvements. India looks at integrating 3 more countries into coastal radar network  As part of India’s efforts to further expand the coastal radar chain network meant to enable real-time monitoring of the high seas for threats, efforts are in advanced stages to set up coastal radar stations in the Indian Ocean littoral states of Maldives, Myanmar and Bangladesh.  Mauritius, Seychelles and Sri Lanka have already been integrated into the country’s coastal radar chain network. Similar plans are in the pipeline with Maldives and Myanmar and discussions are ongoing with Bangladesh and Thailand. India, Indonesia navies conducted 35th coordinated patrol  The 35th edition of India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (IND-INDO CORPAT) between the Indian Navy and the Indonesian Navy was conducted from 17-18 Dec.  As part of Government of India’s vision of SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region), the Indian Navy has been proactively engaging with countries in the Indian Ocean Region. Russia successfully test-launches Angara-5 space rocket  Russia successfully test-launched its heavy lift Angara A5 space rocket for the second time, from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northwest Russia.  First test-launched in 2014, it is being developed to replace the Proton M as Russia’s heavy lift rocket, capable of carrying payloads bigger than 20 tonnes into orbit. A launch pad for the new rocket is due to open in 2021. GSL Launches Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Vessel ‘Saksham’ Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) launched the fifth and final Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) out of an order of five such vessels it is constructing for the Indian Coast Guard (ICG). The vessel has been named ICGS Saksham. Indian Coast Guard’s (ICG) Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) ‘Sujeet’ was commissioned at Goa  Indian Coast Guard’s (ICG) Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) ‘Sujeet’, which is second in the series of 5 OPVs was commissioned at the Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) in Vasco Town, Goa by Raj Kumar, Secretary (Defence Production).  The vessel has been designed and built indigenously by GSL. The 1st ship in series – ICGS (ICG Ship) Sachet was commissioned by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in May 2020. Indian Coast Guard Interceptor Boat C-454 commissioned at Hazira  Indian Coast Guard Interceptor Boat C-454 got commissioned at Hazira in Gujarat.  This Interceptor boat C-454 is built indigenously by M/s L&T Jetty, Hazira.This Interceptor Boat will operate from Gujarat under the administrative and operational control of the Commander Coast Guard Region. DRDO successfully test-fires surface-to air missile ‘MRSAM’  India has successfully test-fired medium range surface-to-air missile ‘MRSAM’ from Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the Odisha coast  MRSAM hit the target named ‘Banshee’, which was an unmanned air vehicle (UAV)  MRSAM missile has been jointly developed by DRDO in collaboration with Israel Aerospace Industries and has been manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Ltd. Indian Navy, INCOIS sign MoU to share ocean services data  Indian Navy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) for sharing ocean services data.  This MoU is focused on sharing ocean services, data, and expertise in the field of operational oceanography and the same will benefit both Indian Navy and INCOIS in furthering meaningful interactions and professional exchanges in future. DRDO & Indian Navy conduct successful maiden test trial of SAHAYAK-NG  DRDO, Indian Navy has successfully conducted maiden test trial of SAHAYAK-NG from IL 38SD aircraft of Indian Navy off the Goa coast  It is India’s first indigenously designed and developed Air Dropped Container that has the capability to carry 50 kg payload  It is developed by DRDO laboratories: NSTL, Visakhapatnam and ADRDE, Agra

62 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Cabinet approves export of Akash Missile System  Govt has approved the export of Akash Missile System and has created Committee for faster Approval of Defence Exports  Akash is a Surface to Air Missile with a range of 25 Kms. It was inducted in 2014 in Indian Air Force and in 2015 in Indian Army. It can target fighter jets, cruise missiles, drones and aerial assets India-Vietnamese Navy conducts PASSEX-2020 in South China Sea  The Indian Navy and Vietnamese Navy undertook the naval passage exercise PASSEX in the South China Sea.  The two-day exercise was conducted s part of efforts to boost maritime cooperation between the two countries. The Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kiltan took part in the exercise.  INS Kiltan, reached Vietnam’s Nha Rong Port in Ho Chi Minh City, carrying humanitarian assistance to deliver 15 tonnes of relief material for flood-affected people under Mission Sagar-III.  This mission of INS Kiltan is part of India’s Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) assistance to Friendly Foreign Countries during the ongoing pandemic. Myanmar Navy formally commissions INS Sindhuvir submarine  The Myanmar Navy has officially inducted the submarine INS Sindhuvir, which was handed over by the Indian Navy to the country in October 2020. This is the first submarine in the Myanmar Navy’s arsenal.  The submarine has been refurbished for the Myanmar Navy by state-run defence shipbuilder, Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) in Visakhapatnam.  INS Sindhuvir was commissioned on 25th December 2020, which marked the 73rd anniversary of the Myanmar Navy.  INS Sindhuvir has been renamed as UMS Minye Theinkhathu by the Myanmar Navy. IMPORTANT DAYS December 1 56th BSF raising Day December 1 World AIDS Day The theme of World AIDS Day, to be observed on December 1 is ‘Ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic: resilience and impact.’ The aim is to make U=U or undetectable = Untransmittable a reality. December 2 International Day For The Theme: “Confronting Slavery’s Legacy of Racism Abolition Of Slavery Together”.

December 2 National Pollution Control Theme: “raise awareness about the importance of Day pollution control and educate people on how to prevent pollution”. National Pollution Control Day is annually observed across India on 2nd December to honour the people who lost their lives in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy in 1984. The accidental gas leak at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL), a pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh released methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas. December 2 World Computer Literacy Day December 3 International Day of Persons with Disabilities December 4 Indian Navy Day Theme:-Indian Navy Combat Ready, Credible & Cohesive December 4 Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is celebrating its 63rd Founding Day on 4th of December, 2020. December 4 International Day of Banks December 5 International Volunteer Day Theme:- ‘Together We Can Through Volunteering’

Page | 63 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

December 5 World Soil Day The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) campaign “Keep soil alive, protect soil biodiversity” aims to raise awareness of the importance of sustaining healthy ecosystems and human well- being. December 5 International volunteer day for economic and social development December 7 Armed Forces Flag Day December 7 International Civil Aviation Theme:-“Advancing Innovation for Global Aviation Day Development”.The council has decided to keep the same theme until the year 2023. December 9 International Day of THEME: “Recover with Integrity”. Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime 2020 December 9 International Anti-Corruption Theme – United Against Corruption Day December 10 World Human Rights Day Theme – Recover Better – Stand Up for Human Rights. December 11 UNICEF Day

December 11 International Mountain Day Theme 2020: 'Mountain biodiversity'.

December 12 International Day of Aim :To raise public awareness of the value of Neutrality neutrality in international relations.

December 12 International Universal Theme: ‘Health For All: PROTECT EVERYONE’. Health Coverage Day December 14 National Energy Conservation Day December 15 International Tea Day Theme of 2020 : Harnessing Benefits for all From Field to Cup December 16 Vijay Diwas 49th Vijay Diwas Observed on 16 December 2020 Vijay Diwas also called Victory Day is celebrated in India every year on December 16. The day is also observed in Bangladesh as Bijoy Dibos that marks the country’s formal independence from Pakistan. December 17 Minorities Day December 18 The Minorities Rights Day is observed in India every year on December 18 December 18 UN Arabic Language Day December 18 International Migrants Day Theme: ‘Reimagining Human Mobility’. December 19 Goa Liberation Day Goa Liberation Day is observed on 19 December every year in India and it marks the day Indian armed forces freed Goa in 1961 following 450 years of Portuguese rule. December 20 International Human Solidarity Day December 22 National Mathematics Day National Mathematics Day is celebrated every year on December 22 across the nation to recognise and celebrate the works of Srinivasa Ramanujan. December 23 National Farmer’s Day y also marked the birth anniversary of former Prime Minster Chaudhary Charan Singh, who served as PM from 28 July 1979 to 14 January 1980.

64 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

December 24 National Consumer Rights Theme 2020: The Sustainable Consumer Day On this day in 1986, the Consumer Protection Act 1986 received the Presidential assent and thus came into force. December 25 Good Governance Day Good Governance Day (Sushasan Divas) in India is observed every year on December 25 to commemorate the birth anniversary of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Good Governance Day was introduced in 2014 by the newly elected administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to foster awareness among the Indian people of accountability in government. December 27 International Day of Epidemic Preparedness

December 29 International Bio-diversity day BOOK AND AUTHOR “Indian Icon: A Cult Called Royal Enfield” Amrit Raj

“40 Years with Abdul Kalam- Untold Stories” by Dr A.Sivathanu Pillai “Vahana Masterclass” Alfredo Covelli, Italian Writer “Dharma: Decoding the Epics for A Meaningful Life” Amish Tripathi ‘Covid-19: Sabhyata ka Sankat aur Samadhan’ Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi ‘Ayodhya’ Madhav Bhandari ‘Reporting India’ ANI Chairman Prem Prakash “Element of Quantitative Genetics” Dr. Stuti Sharma “In Pursuit Of Justice: An Autobiography” of Late Justice Rajindar written by Late Justice Sachar Rajindar Sachar

A Konkani book “Sutranivednachi sutra- ek anbav” Dr Roopa Chari

“PM Modi And His Government’s Special Relationship With Sikhs” Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting(I&B) along with Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State(MoS) for Civil Aviation and Housing & Urban Affairs released the booklet titled “PM Modi and His Government’s Special Relationship with Sikhs”.The booklet was released on the occasion of Guru Nanak Jayanthi, the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev ji. Education Minister presents first copy of his inspirational book on Maharishi Arvind to President Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank presented the first copy of his inspirational book “Pioneer of Humanity: Maharishi Arvind” to President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The book is in Hindi with the title ‘Manavta ke Praneta Maharishi Arvind’. PM Narendra Modi releases book on Atal Bihari Vajpayee Prime Minister Narendra Modi had released a book called ‘Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Parliament: A Commemorative Volume’, to mark the 96th birth anniversary of the former prime minister. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla releases book on 19th anniversary of Parliament attack  Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has released a book on the occasion of the 19th anniversary of the Parliament attack on 13 December.  He released the book ‘The Shaurya Unbound’ (English Version) and ‘Samundar Samawe Boond Mein’ (Hindi Version) was released on the 2001 incident. VP M. Venkaiah Naidu releases book ‘Oh Mizoram’, a collection of English poems by Governor of Mizoram Vice-President of India Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu had virtually released Governor of Mizoram, Shri P S Sreedharan Pillai’s 125th book titled ‘Oh, Mizoram’ – a collection of English poems.‘OH, Mizoram’ is his first poetry collection in English.

Page | 65 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Manav Kaul Presents Debut Novel ‘Antima’ To Ruskin Bond Manav Kaul presented his first novel Antima to Ruskin Bond and the iconic author said he hopes the book earns the actor “lots of royalties and readers”. OBITUARY Abhay Bhardwaj Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat, Abhay Bhardwaj died due to Covid19 in a Chennai hospital. Papa Bouba Diop Former Senegal midfielder Papa Bouba Diop has died Mahashay Dharampal Gulati MDH(Mahashian Di Hatti) Masala owner Mahashay Dharampal Gulati passes away.Popularly called ‘King of Spices,’ was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the country’s third-highest civilian award, in 2019. Zafarullah Jamali Former Pakistan prime minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali passed away at a hospital in Rawalpindi at the age of 76. S Ramakrishnan Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre’s former director S Ramakrishnan died in Thiruvananthapuram. Ravi Patwardhan Veteran actor Ravi Patwardhan, known for his powerful character roles in over 250 Marathi and Hindi theatre plays, TV shows and films, passed away. Manu Mukherjee Veteran Bengali actor Manu Mukherjee died in Kolkata Rafer Johnson American legend Rafer Johnson, who won the gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics for the decathlon event, and was considered by many to be the ‘World’s Greatest Athlete’, died at the age of 86 Dineshwar Sharma Lakshadweep Administrator, Dineshwar Sharma passed away. Narinder Singh Kapany Narinder Singh Kapany, also known as the father of fibre optics, passed away. Valéry Giscard d’Estaing Valéry Giscard d’Estaing the former President of France who served from 1974 to 1981 passed away. Dennis Ralston American player Dennis Ralston, a five-time Grand Slam doubles champion who was one of the initial players signed to the professional World Championship Tennis tour in the 1960s and a member of the sport’s Hall of Fame has passed away. Tabare Vazquez Former Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez died in Montevideo at the age of 80 after suffering from lung cancer. Madhukar Gangadhar Veteran Hindi writer Madhukar Gangadhar passed away in a hospital in the National Capital. Divya Bhatnagar Popular face in Indian TV Divya Bhatnagar passed away following Covid 19 complications. Astad Deboo Astad Deboo, the pioneer of contemporary dance in India, and a recipient of the prestigious Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi awards, passed away. Chuck Yeager US Air Force officer and test pilot Chuck Yeager, who in 1947 became the first pilot in history to have exceeded the speed of sound in level flight, has passed away. Vidyavachaspati Renowned Sanskrit scholar, Vidyavachaspati Bannanje Govindacharya Govindacharya has passed away. Ambrose Dlamini Prime Minister of Eswatini, Ambrose Dlamini (52 years) passed away due to COVID-10 complications in South Africa. Roddam Narasimha Well-known aerospace scientist and former Director of National Aerospace Laboratories, Roddam Narasimha (87 years) passed away. Narendra Bhide Veteran Marathi music composer Narendra Bhide (47 years) passed away in Pune.He had composed music for several award winning Marathi films as well as TV shows. Sripati Khanchanale Noted Indian wrestler, Sripati Khanchanale, who had won the prestigious ‘Hind Kesari’ title in 1959, passed away. John Edrich Former English first-class batsman John Edrich has passed away. Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan Classical music maestro Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan passed away in Delhi

66 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Satyadev Singh Senior-most leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party and former Gonda MP Satya Dev Singh (75 years) passed away . MG Vaidya Senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue MG Vaidya (97 years) passed away after a brief illness. Firdous Begum Firdous Begum, the famous Pakistani veteran actress who shot to fame for her iconic role in 1970’s movie ‘Heer Ranjah’, passed away. Hariram Dhaka Hariram Dhaka, a 105-year-old freedom fighter from Churu district in Rajasthan, passed away. Radhika Ranjan Pramanik Veteran politician and five-time MP Radhika Ranjan Pramanik died of age-related ailments. Mahboobullah Mohebi A bomb attack in Afghanistan’s capital city killed the deputy governor of Kabul Mahboobullah Mohebi Gerard Houllier Former Liverpool, France coach Gerard Houllier passes away Motilal Vora Veteran Congress leader Motilal Vora (93 years) passed away in Delhi following post-COVID-19 complications Sugathakumari Renowned Malayalam poet and activist, Sugathakumari passed away, after testing positive for the coronavirus. Shantanu Mohapatra Legendary Odia music director Shantanu Mohapatra died. Mir Sajjad Ali Former India football international Mir Sajjad Ali passed away. Shamsur Rahman Faruqi Renowned Urdu poet and critic Shamsur Rahman Faruqi passes away ‘Luke Harper’ Former professional wrestler Jon Huber, who was popularly known by his ring name ‘Luke Harper’ in the WWE has passed away, due to a non-COVID-19 related lung illness. Sunil Kothari Padma Shri awardee dance historian and critic, Sunil Kothari has passed away. MISCELLANEOUS Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com select “Pandemic” as Word of the Year Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com two of the most popular dictionary companies for the first time have chosen a common word “Pandemic” as Word of the Year. Researchers Discovered New Frog Species: Sphaerotheca Bengaluru, Named After Bengaluru City  Team of researchers discovered a new species of Frog – Sphaerotheca Bengaluru, a type of burrowing frog, outside its natural habitat in a barren tract of land near Rajankunte, outskirts of Bengaluru. The new species is a part of the team’s effort in documenting the “Amphibians in the Deccan Plateau parts of Karnataka”.  The new species Sphaerotheca Bengaluru was named after the city of Bengaluru. Southern India & Eastern India recorded a higher rate of increase in pollution levels  According to a survey conducted by CPCB-IITD (Central Pollution Control Board-Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi), Southern India & Eastern India recorded a higher rate of increase in pollution levels than the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP).  They survey has also found that Air Pollution in Rural India has increased at par with Urban India.  The states of Kerala (Urban 24.2%, Rural 21.9%), Goa (Urban 36.4%, Rural 37.3%), Andhra Pradesh (Urban 20.15, Rural 18.9%) recorded the highest levels of pollution during the period.  On PM2.5 levels cutting across the urban-rural divide, the study cites the example of Delhi, where PM2.5 increased by 10.9 per cent between 2001 to 2015. During the same period, it notes, PM2.5 exposure in rural India rose by 11.9 per cent.  The study has been commissioned by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).  The study was conducted based on Satellite Data from 2000-2019, which is the First-of-its Kind survey to look at air pollution spatially.  The author of the study is Professor Sagnik Dey of IIT, Delhi. 12-year-old Indian in Guinness World Record for Identifying Most Aeroplane Tails in UAE A 12-year-old Indian boy in the UAE has entered into the Guinness Book of World Records by identifying the most aeroplane tails in a minute.Siddhant Gumber, an Abu Dhabi-based homeschooled boy who identified 39 aeroplane tails in 60 seconds, is also the youngest Indian to identify top 100 tallest buildings.

Page | 67 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

68 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Page | 69 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

70 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Page | 71 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

72 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Page | 73 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

74 | Page MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

Page | 75 MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY – 2021

76 | Page Saheed Nagar CRP Acharya Vihar Cuttack Berhampur Sambalpur Kolkata B-61, A & B, Saheed Nagar Plot-1441, Opp. IOCL Petrol Pump, Near Pani Tanki, Acharya Vihar, Near Yamaha Showroom, OSRTC Depo, Infornt of SBR Women’s Plot-266, Unit-7, Modipada Sealdah Big Bazar Complex, 6th Floor, Bhubaneswar CRP Square, Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar Link Road, Cuttack College, Near Khalikot College Sambalpur-768001 Beliaghata Main Road, Kolkata 7205556677, 9040091102 8093556677, 9040456677 8093083565, 9937436677 8984556677, 9040656677 7992556677, 8018036677 7377556677 7449556677, 6293556677

VANIK Publications is a unit of VANIK Group. We publish books for competitive examinations like Bank-PO/Clerk, Railway, SSC (Technical and Non-Technical) & Civil Services (UPSC & OPSC) with latest updates which is highly supported by VANIK Team. The books are available at leading book stalls across India. Corporate Office : 1441, Opp. IOCL Petrol Pump, CRPF Square, Bhubaneswar-751015 Price : `60 Contact : 8093083550 | E-mail : [email protected] | Visit us at : www.vanikpublications.com