Daily GK Updates – 18th Feb, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Gadkari launches India’s first CNG Tractor: Union road transport and highways minister, Nitin Gadkari has launched India’s first-ever diesel tractor, converted to a much cleaner (compressed natural gas) CNG variant. With this, farmers will be able to save more than ₹1 trillion annually on fuel cost, which will help them to improve their livelihood.

About the initiative: This conversion is jointly done by Rawmatt Techno Solutions and TomasettoAchille India. The CNG tractor will help farmers to increase their income, by lowering costs and help to create job opportunities in rural India. The farmers can save up to 50 per cent on the fuel cost as the current Diesel prices are around 77 rupees per litre whereas CNG is only 42 rupees per kilogram. The conversion from diesel to CNG will be beneficial as it is a clean fuel with the lowest carbon and pollutant content. It is also economical as it has zero lead and is non-corrosive, non-dilutive and non-contaminating which helps in increasing the life of the engine.

 

2. India’s Homegrown App MapMyIndia Ties up with ISRO: India’s homegrown app MapMyIndia ties up with ISRO to build an alternative to Google Maps. The agreement between ISRO and MapmyIndia is suggested to become an alternative to Google maps and similar platforms. The collaboration with MapMyIndia will turn out to be a benefit for users because it will use digital maps of MapmyIndia and satellite imagery and earth observation data of ISRO.

According to this collaboration the mapping data along with the information regarding pollution, agricultural output, weather, land-use changes, flood and several disasters will be visible to the users. Rohan Verma, CEO of MapmyIndia, called the agreement a path-breaking milestone with the aim of fulfilling the objective of Atamanirbhar Bharat. About the app:

(1) The app will benefit the Indians because it will ensure the maps according to the true sovereignty of India while depicting the Indian borders as per the Indian government. The Department of Space signed an MoU with CE Info Systems Private Limited, a geospatial technology company owned by MapmyIndia.

(2) The most exhaustive digital map database of the country was created indigenously over the last 25 years by MapmyIndia covers 7.5 lakh Indian villages, 7500+ cities at the building and the street level which are connected through a road network of almost 63 lakh kilometres.

(3) ISRO generates earth observations and satellite imagery through its satellite constellation. ISRO will be more responsive in terms of satellite imagery needed by the Indians, required especially during crises and disasters.

Note: ISRO Chairman: K.Sivan; ISRO Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka; ISRO established: 15 August 1969.

 

3. Skill ministry launches fellowship programme in partnership with IIMs: The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has launched the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF) programme in partnership with nine Indian Institutes’ of Management (IIM) across India. Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister MahendraNath Pandey chaired the event on ‘Transforming skilling through strategic partnerships under SANKALP’ and rolled out the MGNF and other initiatives.

About the programme: The two-year government-funded programme has been launched under the World Bank loan assisted programme SANKALP (Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion). The selected fellows under the programme will be given a stipend of about Rs 50,000 per month during the first year and Rs 60,000 per month during the second year. Initially, the fellows will be imparted training by the nine top IIMs of the country and after that, the fellows will work on strengthening the District Skill Committees and the District Skill administration.

 

4. 11th Edition of ‘RashtriyaSanskritiMahotsav’ inaugurated in West Bengal: The Governor of West Bengal, Shri JagdeepDhankhar inaugurated the 11th RashtriyaSanskritiMahotsav at Cooch Behar Palace at West Bengal. The RashtriyaSanskritiMahotsav is a flagship programme of the Ministry of Culture, organised under the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Programme, since 2015, to celebrate the idea of unity in diversity. The event was inaugurated in the presence of Minister of State (I/C) for Culture and Tourism, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel.

About the RashtriyaSanskritiMahotsav: RashtriyaSanskritiMahotsav is a platform to showcase, folk and tribal art, dance, music, cuisines, and culture of one state in other states and providing an effective opportunity to the artists and artisans to support their livelihood.

Note: West Bengal Governor: JagdeepDhankhar; West Bengal Capital: Kolkata; West Bengal CM: Mamata Banerjee.

 

5. Kanchoth festival celebrated across J&K’s Chenab valley: The ancient Kanchoth festival, a symbol of ancient Nag culture, was observed with religious fervour and gaiety across the Chenab valley region of Jammu and Kashmir. The festival is celebrated by locals, mainly Nag followers who believe that on this day of Gouri Tritiya, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati got married and the latter insisted on a throne made of snow as her wedding gift.

The festival is celebrated by locals, mainly Nag followers who believe that on this day of Gouri Tritiya, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati got married and the latter insisted on a throne made of snow as her wedding gift.

Note: Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir: Manoj Sinha.

 

6. Peter Mukerjea pens memoir ‘Starstruck: Confessions of a TV Executive’: Former media baron Peter Mukerjea has come out with his memoir ‘Starstruck: Confessions of a TV executive’. The book is presented as a recollection of his experiences in the satellite television industry in India and the changes it has gone through over the years. Mukerjea is the former chief executive of Star India. Through this book, he has shared his journey, to highlight and showcase the plenty of mistakes made and the plenty of lessons learnt over almost three decades. It must be remembered that Mukerjea was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in November 2015 in connection with the Sheena Bora murder case.

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. ‘PahelaPhagun’ spring festival celebrated in Bangladesh: The first day of the spring called ‘PahelaPhagun’ was celebrated in Dhaka, Bangladesh despite the continued shadow of Corona pandemic in the country. Cultural organisations held programmes at different venues in the city to herald the beginning of the spring. Programmes were held at the SuhrawardyUdyan, NandanManch of Shilpakala Academy and several other locations.The JatiyaBasantaUtsabUdjapanParishad organized the programme at the SuhrawardyUdyan in Dhaka. Young women wearing yellow saris and youth dressed in ‘Punjabis’ took part in the festivity. The programme featured dance and musical performances. The traditional programme of ‘BasantaUtsab’ at the Fine Arts faculty in Dhaka university was cancelled since educational institutions have been closed till Feb. 28 by the government due to the Corona pandemic.

Note: Prime Minister of Bangladesh: Sheikh Hasina; Capital: Dhaka; Currency: Taka; President of Bangladesh: Abdul Hamid.

 

2. Dharmendra Pradhan Participates in 11th IEA, IEF, OPEC Symposium: The 11th IEA-IEF-OPEC Symposium on Energy Outlooks was held virtually on February 17, 2021, under the patronage of the Minister of Energy of Saudi Arabia HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud. From India, the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan, participated in the symposium. The trilateral symposium discussed the long-term outlooks of key producer and consumer countries, apart from the comparative analysis of short, medium, and long-term energy outlooks that OPEC and the IEA published in 2020.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Assam government appoints Hima Das as DSP: Star sprinter Hima Das has been appointed as a Deputy Superintendent of Police by the Assam government. The 21-year-old from Assam, known as ‘Dhing Express’ referring to the town near her native village, is currently training at the NIS-Patiala and will be aiming to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics as the athletics calendar starts in a few days. The reigning world junior 400m champion, who won a silver in women’s 400m in the 2018 Asian Games, was also part of the gold-winning women’s 400m relay and mixed 400m relay quartets in the quadrennial event in Jakarta.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Finance Ministry to infuse Rs 3,000 crore in general insurance companies this quarter: The Finance Ministry will infuse Rs 3,000 crore capital into state-owned general insurance companies during the current quarter in a bid to improve their financial health. The cabinet had also decided to increase the authorised share capital of National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) to Rs 7,500 crore and that of United India Insurance Company Limited (UIICL) and Oriental Insurance Company Limited (OICL) to Rs 5,000 crore each to give effect to the capital infusion decision. The capital infusion will enable the three public sector general insurance companies to improve their financial and solvency position, meet the insurance needs of the economy, absorb changes and enhance the capacity to raise resources and improve risk management.

 

2. Equitas Small Finance Bank launches country’s first FASTag powered truck terminal: Equitas Small Finance Bank said it has launched a FASTag powered truck terminal at Khalapur, in Maharashtra. Equitas Small Finance Bank (Equitas SFB) has partnered with Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Limited (MSRDC) and Ocean Highway Facilities and Solutions Pvt Ltd for launching country’s first FASTag powered truck terminal at Khalapur, Maharashtra on the YashwantraoChavan Mumbai – Pune Expressway. The terminal has a capacity of 160 trucks, which can be parked at any given point in time. At this juncture more than 350 trucks visit the terminal in a day.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Four Women Scientists wins SERB Women Excellence Award 2021: The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has announced the SERB Women Excellence Award for the year 2021, on the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Four young women fellows of National Science Academies have been awarded SERB Women Excellence Award 2021.

The winners include:

(1) DrShobhna Kapoor – Assistant Professor at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, working in the area of Chemical Biology with expertise in ‘Host-Pathogen Interactions and Membrane Biology, Chemical Biology and Biophysics’

(2) Dr Antara Banerjee – Scientist B National Institute For Research In Reproductive Health, Mumbai, Maharashtra from the Health Sciences area with expertise in Signal Transduction, Biology of Reproduction and Endocrinology,

(3) DrSonu Gandhi – Scientist D from National Institute Of Animal Biotechnology, Hyderabad from Bionanotechnology area focusing on Nanosensors, Design and Fabrication of Label-free Biosensors

(4) DrRitu Gupta – Assistant Professor at Indian Institute Of Technology Jodhpur, Rajasthan working on Nanotechnology with expertise in Materials Science, Nanodevices and Sensors, Health & Energy

About SERB Women Excellence Award 2021: It is a one-time award being presented by SERB to women scientists since 2013 to support basic research in the frontier areas of science and engineering. The women scientists should be below 40 years of age. She must have received recognition from any one or more of the National Academies such as Young Scientist Medal, Young Associateship, etc. The award provides a grant of Rs. 15 lakhs for a period of three years to the awardees to pursue their research ideas.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Indo-Pak War Veteran retired Major General BK Mahapatra passes away: War veteran Major General (retired) Basant Kumar Mahapatra, who had participated in major battles including the 1962 Indo-China war, and 1965 and 1971 India-Pakistan war, has passed away. Hailing from Bhubaneswar in Odisha, Mahapatra was commissioned into armoured corps (Tanks) of the Indian Army as a Combat Officer and was popularly known as ‘Tank Man’. He was conferred with the prestigious AtiVishishtSeva Medal (AVSM).