Daily GK Updates – 10th Feb, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. National Horticulture Fair 2021 begins: The Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, Kailash Choudhry has inaugurated the National Horticulture Fair (NHF) 2021 on February 08, 2021, in Bengaluru via virtual mode. The five-day-long event has been organised by the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), from February 8 to February 12 at its IIHR campus situated in Hesaraghatta, Bengaluru. The theme of NHF 2021 is ‘Horticulture for Start-Up and Stand-Up India’.

For the first time, the event is being held in hybrid mode, i.e., the participants are allowed to attend the event online as well as offline. The NHF will showcase cutting edge technologies, crop varieties, pest and disease management practices and processing methods among others. The IIHR is a subsidiary of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).

Note: ICAR Director: Trilochan Mohapatra; Headquarters of ICAR: New Delhi; ICAR founded: 16 July 1929.

 

2. Punjab’s first central water treatment plant starts drinking water supply to 85 Moga villages: Set up with the assistance of the World Bank for Rs 232 crore, Punjab’s first ‘Central Water Treatment Plant’ has started supply of clean drinking water in 85 villages of Moga district. The plant was setup at village Daudhar of Moga. Under this project, 21.52 cusecs of water per second (50 MLD) is being treated from Abohar Canal Branch, which is being supplied further to the people of 85 villages through underground pipes. These 85 villages include one village of Moga-1, 47 villages of Baghapurana and 37 villages of Nihal Singh Wala. The project has been developed by the company Larsen & Toubro (L&T). The company is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the project for the next 10 years.

 

3. Gujarat govt to set up Indian Institute of Skills in Gandhinagar: In Gujarat, the State Government has asked the Tata group to start the work on setting up Indian Institute of Skills- IIS. This was conveyed during a meeting between the high powered team from Tata Group and senior officials of Gujarat Government held in Gandhinagar. IIS is being set up by the Labour and Employment Department of Gujarat along with Tata Group at Nasmed village of Gandhinagar. The State Government has allotted around 20 acres of land for Tatas to start Indian Institute of Skills. The institute is being developed on a Not-for-profit Public Private Partnership mode by the Tata Group along with the state’s Labour and Employment Department.

 

4. Cabinet gives in-principle approval for 100% divestment in RINL: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave in-principle approval for 100 percent divestment of Centre’s stake in Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) said. As per the decision finalised by the Cabinet, the Centre would completely divest its stake from the loss-making public sector unit (PSU). The government has budgeted Rs 1.75 lakh crore from disinvestment in 2021-22 fiscal beginning April 1.Strategic disinvestment of BPCL, Air India, Shipping Corporation of India, Container Corporation of India, IDBI Bank, BEML, Pawan Hans, Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd, among others, is scheduled to be completed in 2021-22.

 

5. ‘Govt to give ₹ 1 Lakh Crore additional income to farmers’: Union Minister Pradhan: The government will provide ₹ 1 lakh crore additional income to farmers that will be generated by converting waste into energy, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told Rajya Sabha. The government has started the Gobar Dhan scheme. Cow dung, agriculture waste, city waste, forest waste, the carbon in biomass, everything will be converted into energy. In a few days, the heap of waste at Ghazipur will be cleaned up. The energy that will make from that is going to give additional income of ₹1 lakh crore in the accounts of farmers. He said the government has come up with a scheme to procure ethanol worth ₹20,000 crore which will help increase farmer’s income.

 

6. Andhra SEC launches ‘e – watch’ app designed to receive gram panchayat elections related complaints: State Election Commissioner N. Ramesh Kumar launched ‘e-Watch’, a mobile application and a call centre to help curb malpractices during the gram panchayat elections. The App will be available on Google PlayStore from February 4 for lodging complaints of enticements and other objectionable actions. It was intended to ensure transparency in the gram panchayat election process, thereby instilling confidence in the public that the commission was wary of the scope for malpractices and it would take necessary action on those vitiating the elections.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India, EU hold high-level dialogue: The first India-European Union High-Level Dialogue was co-chaired by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal from India side and the European Union Executive Vice-President & Trade Commissioner Mr Valdis Dombrovskis, from the EU side. This Dialogue was organised in line with the commitment made at the 15th India-EU Leader’s Summit held in July 2020.

The outcome of HLD: Ministers agreed for further deepening of bilateral trade and investment relationship through a series of regular engagements, aiming at quick deliverable for the businesses in these tough times. They also agreed to meet within the next three months, to reach consensus on a host of bilateral trade & investment cooperation issues like bilateral Regulatory Dialogue; an India-EU Multilateral Dialogue to explore further possibilities of cooperation.

Note: European Union (EU) Headquarters location: Brussels, Belgium; European Union (EU) Founded: 1 November 1993; European Parliament President: David-Maria Sassoli.

 

2. Square Kilometre Array Observatory launched: The newly constituted Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) Council has approved for the establishment of the world’s largest radio telescope. The telescope will enable astronomers to monitor the sky in unprecedented detail and survey the entire sky much faster than any system currently in existence.  To look into some of the unexplored areas of the universe and seek answers about its history and evolution, study fundamental physics in extreme environments and know about galaxies over cosmic time.

What are radio telescopes: Radio telescopes, unlike optical telescopes, can detect invisible gas and can reveal areas of space that may be obscured by cosmic dust.

Where will be the world’s largest radio telescope located: The SKAO telescope will be an array of antennas located in two continents, i.e. Africa and Australia. The operation, maintenance and construction of the telescope will be overseen by SKAO. The development of the telescope is expected to take nearly a decade at a cost of over £1.8 billion.

What is SKAO: SKAO is a new intergovernmental organisation dedicated to radio astronomy. The headquartered of SKAO is based in the United Kingdom Currently organisations from ten countries are a part of the SKAO, which include Australia, Canada, China, India, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK. French-born Dr Catherine Cesarsky has been appointed as the first Chair of the SKAO Council. The Indian contingent of over 20 institutions will be lead by Pune-based National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) of TIFR.

 

3. Pakistan test fires Ghaznavi Ballistic Missile: Pakistan successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile named Ghaznavi which can strike targets up to 290 kilometres.  The launch of Ghaznavi missile was “culmination of Annual Field Training Exercise of Army Strategic Forces Command. The training launch was witnessed by Commander Army Strategic Forces Command Lt Gen Muhammad Ali, senior officers from Strategic Plans Division, Army Strategic Forces Command, Scientists and Engineers of the strategic organizations.

 

4. International Epilepsy Day 2021: 8th February: The International Epilepsy Day is observed on the second Monday of February every year across the world. In 2021, the International Epilepsy Day was observed on February 08. The day is organised jointly by the International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE) and the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) to raise awareness about epilepsy and highlight the kinds of problems faced by victims, their friends and family. Epilepsy is a neurological disorder which makes a person go through sudden and recurrent episodes of sensory disturbances.

 

5. World Pulses Day: 10th February: The United Nations designated World Pulses Day is observed every year on 10 February. The day has been established by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to recognize the importance of pulses (dry beans, lentils, dry peas, chickpeas, lupins) as a global food. The theme, “Nutritious Seeds for a Sustainable Future,” was decided back in 2016 when the year was nominated to be celebrated as International Year of Pulses. Since then, the theme has remained the same from 2019 to 2021.

History of the day: In 2018, the UN General Assembly decided to mark 10 February as World Pulses Day. The first WPD was held on February 10, 2019.  On 20 December 2013, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/68/231) proclaiming 2016 as the International Year of Pulses (IYP). The celebration of the year, led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), increased the public awareness of the nutritional and environmental benefits of pulses as part of sustainable food production.

Note: Food and Agriculture Organization Head: Qu Dongyu; Food and Agriculture Organization Headquarters: Rome, Italy; Food and Agriculture Organization Established: 16 October 1945.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Rishabh Pant wins inaugural ICC Player of the Month January 2021: The Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has won the inaugural ICC Player of the Month award 2021. Pant has been honoured for his superlative performances in the two Tests against Australia in January 2021, wherein he scored a 97 at Sydney and an unbeaten 89 at Brisbane, leading India to an incredible series win. Apart from this, Shabnim Ismail of South Africa has been named the ICC Women’s Player of the Month following her performances across three ODIs and two T20Is in January 2021. A fast bowler, Ismail took seven wickets in ODI series against Pakistan to gain victory and five wickets in the second T20 International against the same opposition.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. India’s Near-term Fiscal Deficit Target Higher Than Expected: Fitch: India’s fiscal deficit target in the near-term is higher than expected and medium-term consolidation is at a more gradual pace than anticipated, said Fitch Ratings in its comments on the just unveiled Union Budget for the financial year beginning April 1. India, which has often complained its sovereign credit ratings by agencies such as Fitch not reflecting the economy’s fundamentals, put the fiscal deficit – the excess of government expenditure over its revenues – at 9.5 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the current fiscal ending March 31, against a planned 3.5 per cent.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Indian Documentary ‘Writing With Fire’ Wins Audience Award At Sundance Film Festival: “Writing with Fire”, an Indian film chronicling the rise of Khabar Lahariya, India’s only newspaper run by Dalit women, has won the audience award in the World Cinema Documentary category at the Sundance Film Festival 2021. Writing with Fire premiered in the World Cinema Documentary Competition segment, which celebrates 10 non-fiction feature films from emerging talent around the world. The festival, which started from January 28 and will close on February 3, is presented by Sundance Organisation, a nonprofit that discovers and supports independent artists, and introduces audiences to their work.Fire in the Mountains, directed by debutant Ajitpal Singh, was another Indian title to be screened at the festival.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Bollywood actor Rajiv Kapoor passes away: Bollywood actor and Raj Kapoor’s son Rajiv Kapoor passed away. He made his acting debut with 1983 movie Ek Jaan Hain Hum. He gained recognition with his father’s last directorial Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985). Some of his other memorable films include Aasmaan (1984), Lover Boy (1985), Zabardast (1985) and Hum To Chale Pardes (1988). But soon Rajiv also addressed as Chimpu, moved to film direction and production. In 1996, Rajiv directed Prem Granth which featured his elder brother Rishi Kapoor in the lead role along with Madhuri Dixit. He ventured into production with brother Randhir Kapoor’s directorial Henna in 1991 and also produced Aa Ab Laut Chalen (1999).