NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Kerala Governor launches ‘One School One IAS’ scheme: Kerala
Governor Arif Mohammad Khan has inaugurated the ‘OneSchool One IAS’ scheme
which has been rolled out under the Vedhik Erudite Foundations Scholarship
Programme. According to a notification released an institution considered by
top academics and retired IAS and IPS officers in the state is conducting the
programme which seeks to refute the general notion that the civil service is
for the elite class only.
About the programme: The programme will be providing free training to the
students who are economically backward but are academically brilliant aspirants
of civil service and other competitive exams. The scheme is supported by
sponsors, which expects an enrollment of 10,000 boys and girls across the
state. The beneficiaries of the programme will be selected by a panel which
will be headed by the heads of the respective educational institutions.
Note: Kerala CM: Pinarayi Vijayan; Kerala Governor: Arif
Mohammad Khan.
2. Petroleum Ministry launches ‘SAKSHAM’ campaign: The
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has launched a month-long mass awareness
campaign titled ‘SAKSHAM’ to spread awareness about green and clean energy. The
campaign has been organised by the Petroleum Conservation Research Association
(PCRA), to motivate consumers to switch to cleaner fuels and bring in
behavioural change to use fossil fuel intelligently. The campaign will spread
awareness about seven key drivers that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had
recently mentioned.
About SAKSHAM: SAKSHAM stands for Sanrakshan Kshamata Mahotsav. The
pan-India campaign would include various activities such as cyclotron, farmer
workshops, seminars, painting competition, CNG vehicle driving contest, etc to
spread awareness among masses about the advantages of using clean fuels. They
include moving towards a gas-based economy, cleaner use of fossil fuels,
greater reliance on domestic sources to drive biofuels and increased use of
electric vehicles.
Note: Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas: Dharmendra
Pradhan.
3. Nitin Gadkari inaugurates National Road Safety Month
2021: The first-ever National Road Safety Month was inaugurated by Union
Minister for Defence Shri Rajnath Singh and Union Minister for Road Transport
and Highways & MSME Nitin Gadkari. It is the inaugural edition of the
National Road Safety Month and is being held in place of National Road Safety
Week, which was being observed since the past few years. The objective of the
month-long programme is to build awareness about road safety and reduce road
accidents in India. It will be held till 17 February 2021.
About National Road Safety Month: During this period, nation-wide activities would be
conducted throughout the country in association with State Govt./Union
Territory administrations, NHAI, NHIDCL, OEMs and NGOs. The centre is also
taking several measures to reduce road accidents by Restructuring and
Strengthening 4E’s of Road safety, which are: Engineering, Education,
Enforcement and Emergency care Services.
4. Ramchandra Guha’s latest book ‘The Commonwealth of
Cricket’: Ramchandra Guha’s latest book ‘The Commonwealth of Cricket’ would be
launching virtually in the Tata Literature Live (The Mumbai Lit fest) this
month. His latest book juxtaposes his life with his abiding love for the game
& this conversation could not come at a better time with India and
Australia in the midst of an enthralling test series.
The essence of the book: In his upcoming book, ‘The
commonwealth of cricket: The most subtle and sophisticated game known to
mankind’, Guha has penned down his personal account of being intimately
involved with the game starting from the time he was a child growing up in
Dehradun to his days in college, from his encounters with the best Indian and
foreign cricket players to becoming part of the BCCI. As he traces his
multifaceted encounters with the game through anecdotes, memoirs and evocative
portraits of cricketing legends, he charts the extraordinary social and
historical changes that cricket underwent in India and the world.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. US designates UAE, Bahrain as ‘Major Strategic Partners’:
The United States has recently designated the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United
Arab Emirates (UAE) as the “major strategic partners” of the country. This has
been announced before the formal transition of the president’s office from
Donald Trump to Joe Biden. This announcement of “major strategic partners” was
done by Kayleigh McEnany, the White House Press Secretary. Important Points:
(1) Designation as strategic partners will strengthen the
existing partnership between the United States, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the
United Arab Emirates.
(2) Both the countries have been designated for their
commitment to countering violent extremism across the region, exceptional
security partnership, and exemplified by their hosting thousands of United
States airmen, soldiers, marines, and sailors.
(3) Also, both the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Arab
Emirates have been a part of various United States-led coalitions in the last
30 years. It also represents the commitment to the security and economic
cooperation of the countries.
(4) The designation also reflects their determination,
extraordinary courage, and leadership in entering into the Abraham Accords.
(5) The Jebel Ali port of UAE is the busiest port of call
for US warships outside of the U.S. Kingdom of Bahrain also hosts around 5,000
American troops and is home to the 5th Fleet of the U.S. Navy.
Note: President of UAE: Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan;
Capital of UAE: Abu Dhabi; Currency: United Arab Emirates dirham.
King of Bahrain: Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa; Capital of
Bahrain: Manama; Currency of Bahrain: Bahraini Dinar.
2. Pakistan Permits Dubai Royals to Hunt ‘Houbara bustard’: Pakistan
has issued special permission to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the
Dubai Ruler; the crown prince, and 5 members of the royal family for hunting houbara
bustard during the 2020-21 hunting season. After the permission, 11 members of
the United Arab Emirates’ royal family reached the Panjgur district in
Balochistan, Pakistan for hunting the highly vulnerable and internationally
protected houbara bustard under Pakistan’s foreign ministry license.
This is not the 1st time that Pakistan has allowed royals
from the Gulf for hunting houbara bustard. Such hunting expeditions have been
for four decades and have continued even the Supreme Court of Pakistan imposed
a blanket ban on the killing of the houbara bustard in the year 2015.
What is the houbara bustard? The houbara bustard is a
terrestrial bird found in parts of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. The Asian
houbara (Chlamydotis macqueenii) and North African houbara (Chlamydotis
undulata) are separate species. After breeding in central Asia during spring,
the Houbara bustards migrate south to spend the winter in Pakistan.
Note: President of Pakistan: Arif Alvi; Prime Minister of
Pakistan: Imran Khan.
3. NASA targets final test of ‘world’s most powerful
rocket’: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is looking to
carry out the eighth and final test in its “Green Run” test series. This eighth
stage termed “hot fire,” will bring to an end a series of tests which, NASA
says, will gradually bring together the core stage of the Space Launch System
(SLS) to life for the very first time. The core stage of the SLS will form the
backbone of what NASA says will be the “most powerful rocket in the world” and
will power its next-generation human Moon Missions.
The stage will then be assembled with the other parts of the
rocket and NASA’s Orion spacecraft for Artemis I, which will be the first
integrated flight of Orion-SLS and the first under the Artemis programme, under
which NASA will take the first woman and the next man to Moon, by 2024.
About the “Green Run”: The 212-foot-tall SLS core stage includes the liquid
hydrogen tank and liquid oxygen tank can hold 733,000 gallons of propellant to
power the RS-25 engines. It is the rocket that NASA projects will be carrying a
new generation of astronauts to the moon and handle missions beyond the scope
of existing commercial crew vehicles. This rocket is a little shorter than the
Saturn V rockets but is more powerful. This new rocket will be producing 15%
greater thrust during liftoff in comparison to Saturn V. When the engines are
fired up, 1.6 million pounds of thrust will be generated. When the 4 RS-25
engines at the bottom of the SLS be ignited, the period of testing for the
rocket will close. This core includes oxygen and liquid hydrogen tanks, 4
engines and computers, and avionics of the rocket. All these will be turned on
as 2.6 million litres of supercooled propellant will be loaded into the rocket
and ignited. However, the rocket will remain fixed at the Stennis Space Center
of NASA.
Note: The administrator of the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration: Jim Bridenstine; Headquarters of NASA: Washington D.C.,
United States.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. Carolina Marin wins Yonex Thailand Open badminton
tournament 2021: Reigning Olympic champion Carolina Marin bolstered her chances
of defending her title in Tokyo later this year after claiming the Thailand
Open in Bangkok over top seed Tai Tzu-Ying. The Yonex Thailand Open Super 1000
badminton tournament was held from 12 January 2021 to 17 January 2021. It was
the first badminton tournament of 2021 by Badminton World Federation (BWF).
Winners of Singles Title:
Men’s Category: Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) defeated Angus Long
(Hong Kong) to clinch the Men’s Singles Title.
Women’s Category: Carolina Marin (Spain) defeated Tai
Tzu-Ying (Taiwan) to bag the Women’s Singles Title.
Winners of Doubles Title:
In the Men’s Doubles, Taiwan’s Lee Yang & Wang Chi-Lin
beat Malaysia’s Goh V Shem & Tan Wee Kiong to bag the Doubles Title.
In the Women’s Doubles, Indonesia’s Greysia Polii &
Apriyani Rahayu defeated Thailand’s Jongkolphan Kititharakul & Rawinda
Prajongjai to clinch the Doubles Title.
Winners of Mixed Doubles:
Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree
Taerattanachai defeated Indonesia’s Praveen Jordan & Melati Daeva
Oktavianti to clinch the mixed doubles title.
Note: Badminton World Federation President: Poul-Erik Hoyer
Larsen; Badminton World Federation Headquarters: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1. CARE lowers Centre’s fiscal deficit projection to 7.8% of
GDP: CARE Ratings has revised downwards its projection of the Centre’s fiscal
deficit to 7.8 % of GDP during FY21 against its earlier estimate of 9-9.5 %.
The combined effect of lower revenues & higher expenditure is likely to
push the fiscal deficit to 7.8% of GDP.
Note: Care Ratings HQ: Mumbai; CEO:Ajay Mahajan.
2. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw selected as one of USIBC vice-chair: The
US-India Business Council (USIBC) has selected three top corporate leaders as
the Vice-Chairs of 2021 Global Board of Directors of USIBC with immediate
effect. The three new appointees will now work with USIBC President Nisha
Biswal and the Council’s policy directors, for strengthening US-India
commercial relationship for the future. The three newly appointed VCs are:
(1) Biocon Executive Chairperson: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.
(2) Amway CEO: Milind Pant.
(3) Vice-chair at Nasdaq: Edward Knight.
USIBC has strengthened its leadership team as it plans to
work with the new Joe Biden-led US administration. The Council advocates for
strengthening US-India commercial relationship for the future. The vice-chairs
will work to amplify the voice of the industry on international trade and
investment issues and emphasise the key role that businesses can play in
strengthening democratic institutions and combatting the global pandemic.
Note: US-India Business Council Founded: 1975; US-India
Business Council Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States.
OBITUARIES
1. Former Union Minister and Industrialist Kamal Morarka passes away: Former Union minister and noted industrialist Kamal Morarka has passed away. He served as the Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office under Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar from 1990 to 1991. The 74-year-old leader, a businessman who was also a former BCCI vice president. He was incumbent president of Samajwadi Janata Party (Chandra Shekhar). He was elected to Rajya Sabha in 1988.
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