Monthly Current Affairs

February 2021
 IMPORTANT DAYS
World Wetlands Day observed on 2nd February
 2 February is celebrated as World Wetlands Day every year. It raises global awareness about the vital role
of wetlands for people and our planet. Wetlands are land areas that are saturated or flooded with water
either permanently or seasonally.
 This day also marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the
Iranian city of Ramsar.
 The theme for World Wetlands Day 2021 is 'Wetlands and Water'.

World Cancer Day observed on 4th February

 World Cancer Day is observed on 4th February every year. The aim to observe World Cancer Day is to
reduce misconceptions about cancer and to help people in getting the right information about it.
 The top cancers that affect the Indian population are lung, breast, cervical, head and neck and colorectal
cancer (CRC).
 The theme of the day for the year 2021 is 'I Am and I Will.'

First-ever International Day of Human Fraternity observed on 4th February

 The International Day of Human Fraternity was celebrated on February 4, by the United Nations.
International Day of Human Fraternity aims to underline the importance of raising awareness about different
cultures and religions, or beliefs, and the promotion of tolerance.
 In December, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to declare 4 February as International Day of
Human Fraternity.
 The theme of the day for the year 2021 is ‗A Pathway to the Future.‘

International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation observed on 6th February
 The International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is observed on Feb 6 every
year. About 120 to 140 million women have been subject to FGM and 3 million girls are at risk each year,
according to Word Health Organisation.
 FGM relates to all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other
injuries to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
 The theme of the day for the year 2021 is ―No Time for Global Inaction, Unite, Fund, and Act to End
Female Genital Mutilation.‖

Safer Internet Day observed on 9th February

 Safer Internet Day is observed every year on the second day of the second week of February with an aim to
provide safer and better internet, where every user gets to use the internet responsibly and without getting
their data leaked.
 This year marks the 18th edition of Safer Internet Day with actions taking place right across the globe.
 This year theme of the day for the year 2021 is ―Together for a better internet‖.

2 February 2021
International Day of Women and Girls in Science observed on 11th February
 The world celebrates the International Day of Women and Girls in Science every year on the 11th day of
February. The year 2021 marked the 6th International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
 According to a UN study from 14 countries, the probability for female students graduating with a Bachelor‘s
degree in science is 18%, while the male equivalent is 37%.
 The theme of the day for the year 2021 is ―Women Scientists at the forefront of the fight against COVID-
19″.

National Women’s Day observed on 13th February

 National Women's Day in India is celebrated on 13 February every year. It is celebrated to mark the birth
anniversary of the nightingale of India, Sarojini Naidu. She is one of the most recognised persons in the Indian
freedom movement.
 She made history by becoming the first woman Governor in India. In 1947, she became the Governor of the
United Province, which is now known as Uttar Pradesh.

World Day of Social Justice observed on 20th February

 World Day of Social Justice is observed every year on February 20. It is a global observance to raise voice
against social injustice. The UN General Assembly declared February 20 as the annual World Day of Social
Injustice in 2007. It was in 2009 that the day was first observed.
 The theme of the day for the year 2021 is "A Call for Social Justice in the Digital Economy".

International Mother Language Day observed on 21st February

 The United Nations‘ (UN) International Mother Language Day annually celebrates language diversity and
variety worldwide on February 21.
 It also remembers events such as the killing of four students on February 21, 1952, because they campaigned
to officially use their mother language, Bengali, in Bangladesh.
 The theme of International Mother Language Day 2021 is ―fostering multilingualism for inclusion in education
and society.‖

World NGO Day observed on 27th February

 World NGO Day is celebrated every year on 27th February globally. World NGO Day aims to inspire people
to become more actively involved within NGOs (Charities, NPOs, CSOs) and encourage a greater symbiosis
between NGOs and both the public and private sector.
 The universal concept of World NGO Day is Celebrate, Commemorate and Collaborate the various NGOs
around the world, and the people behind them.

3 February 2021
 INDIAN AFFAIRS
India became the 1st country in world to identify need for action for Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
 India has become the first country in the world to identify the need for action for Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver
Disease.
 Dr Harsh Vardhan launched the operational guidelines for integration of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
with the National Program for Prevention & Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and
Stroke.

Uttar Pradesh became 1st state to table paperless budget

 Uttar Pradesh has become the first state in the country to table a paperless budget. The state's first
paperless budget was presented in the state assembly by UP State Finance Minister Suresh Khanna.
 All members of the State Legislature were provided iPads to view the budget highlights, which were also
displayed on two big screens, put up in the House.

Chief Minister of Assam laid foundation of 1st skill university of eastern India
 The Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal has laid the foundation of the first Skill University of
Eastern India in Darrang district in Assam. The state-of-the-art skill university would be built with a financial
outlay of Rs 1,000 crore.
 It will impart training to over 10,000 students in 12 disciplines. The university is expected to be completed
by 2026. It will have ―understandings‖ with countries like Germany, Taiwan, South Korea, Israel, Japan, and
England.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan launched Mission Indradhanush 3.0

 The Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan launched the Intensified Mission
Indradhanush 3.0, (IMI 3.0) to expand immunization coverage across the country.
 The focus of IMI 3.0 will be on children and pregnant women who missed their vaccine doses during the
COVID-19 pandemic. The IMI 3.0 will have two rounds, of 15 days each.

Government of Rajasthan launched health insurance scheme

 Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot launched Ayushman Bharat Mahatma Gandhi Rajasthan Swasthya
Bima Yojana to provide free treatment to the poor of the state at government as well as private hospitals.
 The scheme is aimed to benefit 1.10 crore families in the state and the beneficiary family will be able to get
free treatment of up to ₹5 lakh every year.

8th India International Silk Fair inaugurated by Smriti Irani

 The Textiles Minister of India, Smriti Irani, inaugurated the 8th India International Silk Fair on the Virtual
Portal. This fair is the biggest silk fair of India. The fair is being held under one roof of the virtual platform of
Indian Silk Export Promotion Council.

4 February 2021
 Further, around 200 overseas representatives in India will interact with more than 100 renowned and big
Indian companies who are engaged in manufacturing and trading the silk and silk blended products.

Varanasi received 2nd cruise boat under PRASAD scheme

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi's parliamentary constituency, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, received the second
cruise boat under the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) scheme of the
Central Government.
 This two-tier cruise boat will run in waters of Ganga River and show the tourists the spectacular view of 84
ghats of Kashi. The cruise named Uttar Pradesh tourism ferry reached through waterways from Goa to
Varanasi.

Finance Minister announced PM AtmaNirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana and Mission Poshan 2.0
 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced a new centrally sponsored scheme PM AatmaNirbhar
Swasth Bharat Yojana and Poshan 2.0 Mission during the Budget 2021.
 A new centrally sponsored scheme PM AatmaNirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana will be launched. In addition to
the National Health Mission an outlay of Rs. 64,180 crore over 6 years has been announced for PM
AatmaNirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana.

Union Education Minister launched ASEAN-INDIA Hackathon

 The Union Education Minister has addressed the inaugural ceremony of the ASEAN India Hackathon 2021.
The Ministry of Education has launched the ASEAN India Hackathon 2021.
 This unique Hackathon presents opportunities for India and all the 10 ASEAN countries to improve and
strengthen their economic and cultural ties through cooperation in science and technology and education.

Uttarakhand gets garden to conserve Shivalik range's 210 tree species

 In Nainital district of Uttarakhand, a first of its kind botanical garden named ‗Shivalik Arboretum‘ has been
inaugurated, for conserving over 210 species of trees found in the Shivalik range of Himalayas.
 Shivalik Arboretum aims to spread nature education among people so that they are able to feel an emotional
connect with the trees, and make them more active towards conservation.

NITI Aayog proposed a plan for 680 sq. km Little Andaman Island
 NITI Aayog has recently proposed a plan for the development of the 680 sq. km Little Andaman Island in the
Andaman and Nicobar group. This plan has raised the alarm and concerns among conservationists.
 NITI Aayog proposed this plan of Little Andaman Island through a document- ‗Sustainable Development of
Little Andaman Island – Vision Document.‘ As per the document, the new little Andaman will be built
through a new Greenfield coastal city.

25-year-old Ayesha Aziz from Kashmir became India's youngest female pilot
 Ayesha Aziz had become the youngest student pilot to get a flying licence at the age of 15 years in 2011. She
underwent training to fly a MIG-29 jet at Russia's Sokol airbase the following year.
 She later graduated in aviation from the Bombay Flying Club (BFC) and got a commercial license in 2017.
The 25 -year-old from Kashmir is a source of inspiration and a beacon of empowerment for numerous
Kashmiri women.

5 February 2021
India's 1st amputee clinic launched by PGIMER Chandigarh
 India's first amputee clinic has been launched by the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and
Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh. This was informed by the institute's Director Jagat Ram.
 The main aim of the clinic is to unify all diverse sections in the hospital with some upgrades where needed
and to provide appropriate management to the amputees to help them rehabilitate in the society.

India gets its 1st Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management
 A dedicated Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management (CWCM) has been established at the
National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), Chennai, and an institution under the
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
 This was announced by Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Babul Supriyo on the
occasion of the World Wetland Day

Andaman & Nicobar Islands became 1st UT to be COVID-19 free

 Andaman and Nicobar Islands has become the first Union Territory in the country to become Covid-19 free
with active cases falling to zero in the islands.
 The last four infected persons in Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been declared cured. The UT had
reported a total of 4,932 cases and 62 deaths from the virus.

Government of Maharashtra launched scheme for start-ups to help file IT patents

 Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray launched a financial assistance scheme for start-ups. The
government will reimburse up to 80% amount of patent registration and product testing and certification
cost.
 Reimbursement of up to Rs10 lakh will be given for filing international intellectual property rights
applications. Quality testing certificate cost will also be reimbursed.

Prime Minister inaugurated Chauri Chaura centenary celebrations

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated ‗Chauri Chaura‘ Centenary Celebrations at Chauri Chaura,
Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. The day marks 100 years of the ‗Chauri Chaura‘ incident, a landmark event in
the country‘s fight for independence.
 Prime Minister also released a postal stamp dedicated to mark the beginning of centenary celebrations of
the Chauri Chaura incident.

Chief Minister of Delhi launched 'Switch Delhi' campaign to promote electric vehicles
 Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched the ‗Switch Delhi‘ campaign to promote electric vehicles and
appealed to people to buy such vehicles to combat pollution in the city. The government will hire only
electric vehicles for various purposes in the next six weeks.
 He asked delivery chains and big companies, resident welfare associations, market associations, malls and
cinema halls to promote electric vehicles and set up charging stations at their premises.

Civil Aviation Minister announced next Republic Day parade to be on Central Vista Avenue
 Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced that the next Republic Day parade will be on Central Vista
Avenue and that it will be a 'symbol of modern India'.

6 February 2021
 The Minister had performed the 'bhoomi poojan' ceremony for Central Vista Avenue earlier in the day at
India Gate. With the Bhoomi poojan, the work has officially begun for the development and redevelopment
of Central Vista Avenue.

Union Cabinet approved 100% divestment in Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited

 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).
 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.

Web portal launched for monitoring progress of GOBARDHAN activities

 A web portal for monitoring the progress of Gobardhan scheme was launched. Gobardhan is an important
component of Swachh Bharat Mission Phase-2 for organic solid waste management.
 Through the scheme, the country will get ethanol, bio-diesel and compressed bio-fuel in the coming years. It
aims at supporting villages effectively to manage their cattle dung and organic waste.

India approved export of 156 defence equipment, including Brahmos, Tejas, and Astra missile
 The Central Government gave its approval for the export of artillery guns, indigenous Light Combat Aircraft,
tanks and missiles, explosive, anti-tank mines, and others.
 In total 156 Defence equipment‘s have been approved for export by the government in order to boost its
arms export to the friendly nations. The list of the items was released by the Defence Research
Development Organisation.

Odisha's Balasore to get country’s 1st thunderstorm research test-bed

 India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced Odisha‘s Balasore will get the country‘s first
thunderstorm research testbed. It will be established in collaboration with the Ministry of Earth Sciences,
IMD, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and (ISRO).
 The objective of setting up the thunderstorm testbed is to minimalize human fatalities and loss of property
due to lightning strikes. Observatories will be set up to cater to nearby areas and studies on thunderstorms
will be conducted on the testbed

Health Minister of Kerala inaugurated state’s 1st Human Milk Bank

 The Health Minister of Kerala, KK Shailaja inaugurated the state‘s first Human Milk Bank, a state-of-art
facility, at the Ernakulam General Hospital.
 The bank will consist of refrigerators, pasteurization units, RO plants, deep freezers, computers, and
sterilizing equipment.

India-Bahrain 1st Joint Working Group Meeting held in the field of Renewable Energy
 The 1st meeting of the Joint Working Group in the field of Renewable Energy between India and Bahrain was
held. Dr Abdul Hussain bin Ali Mirza, President of Sustainable Energy Authority led the Bahraini delegation.
 The Indian delegation was led by Dinesh Dayanand Jagdale, Joint Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable
Energy.

7 February 2021
45th Kolkata International Book Fair to be held in July 2021
 The 45th Kolkata International Book Fair will be held in July this year at the Central Park Ground of Salt Lake.
125th Birth year of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and the Birth Centenary of Satyajit Ray will also be
celebrated at the Book Fair.
 This year the focal theme country is Bangladesh to mark the country‘s Golden Jubilee Year of Independence
and the Centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Chief Minister of Assam inaugurated 1st heliport of Assam in Majuli district

 Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the first heliport of the state in the Majuli district.
The heliport has a facility for the simultaneous landing of three helicopters was constructed at an
expenditure of Rs 50 lakh.
 The heliport was built with an aim to boost tourism in Majuli, which has a distinct identity as the world‘s
largest river island.

Pfizer withdrew its vaccine's emergency use application from India

 US pharma giant Pfizer has withdrawn its application for emergency use authorization of its COVID-19
vaccine in India. Pfizer had participated in the Subject Expert Committee meeting of the Drug Regulatory
Authority of India in pursuance of Emergency Use Authorisation of its Covid-19 vaccine.
 The company has decided to withdraw its application at this time based on the deliberations at the subject
expert committee meeting and their understanding of additional information that the regulator may need.

1st women team inducted into CRPF's CoBRA commando unit

 A maiden contingent of 34 CRPF women personnel was inducted into its specialised jungle warfare
commando force CoBRA, which will soon be deployed in the anti-Naxal operations grid of the country.
 The Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) was raised under the CRPF in 2009 for undertaking
intelligence-based jungle warfare operations. It has been an all-male affair for this unit till now.

Himachal Pradesh became 1st state to implement E-Cabinet

 Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Jai Ram Thakur inaugurated first e-cabinet at Shimla. The entire process
from initiation of a cabinet memo to the approval of the cabinet memo has been made online.
 Himachal Pradesh has become the first state in the country to make the end to end processing of the cabinet
paperless by implementing the e-cabinet application.

IRCTC launched online bus ticket booking services

 The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) have launched its online bus
booking services. IRCTC has tied up with more than 50,000 state road transport as well as private bus
operators for it.
 The integration of this service over IRCTC mobile app is expected to be completed in March 2021, which
will enable the public to book bus tickets through mobile too.

Government of Uttar Pradesh announced unique 16-digit Unicode to identify landholdings

 Uttar Pradesh government has introduced a system of issuing a unique 16-digit Unicode to mark all kinds of
landholdings in the state. Every piece of land in the state will have its own unique identity.

8 February 2021
 The main purpose of the system is to check the cases of land disputes, put an end to fake registries of the
disputed land and save people from falling into the trap of fraudsters. The Unicode would be issued by the
state revenue department for marking all kinds of agricultural, residential and commercial land.

1st High Level Dialogue held between India-EU on Trade and Investment
 The 1st High-Level Dialogue was a major outcome of the 15th India-EU Leader‘s Summit held in July 2020;
with an objective for Ministerial level guidance towards the bilateral trade and investment relations.
 The dialogue was co-chaired by the Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal and the European
Union Executive Vice-President & Trade Commissioner Mr Valdis Dombrovskis.

Glacier burst occurred in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district

 The glacier burst took place at the Rishiganga power project after a portion of Nanda Devi glacier broke off
in Tapovan area of Joshimath in Uttarakhand‘s Chamoli district and damaged the Rishiganga dam on
Alaknanda River.
 National Thermal Power Corporation‘s (NTPC) Tapovan Vishnugad project on Dhauliganga River and Rishi
Ganga Power Corporation Limited‘s project, with a planned capacity of 520 MW and 13.2 MW, respectively,
have been nearly washed away.

Ministry of Education decided to rename 1,063 residential schools after Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
 The Ministry of Education has decided to name residential schools and hostels funded under Samagra
Shiksha of the Ministry as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose residential schools or hostels.
 The association of these schools with Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose will act as an inspiration to the children
and also motivate the teachers, staff and administration to enable them to achieve high standards of
excellence.

ONGC to develop India’s 1st Geothermal Field Development Project in Ladakh

 India's first geothermal power project will be set up at eastern Ladakh's Puga village. The village has been
identified as the hotspot of geothermal energy in the country by the scientists.
 A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between ONGC Energy, LAHDC, Leh and
the Power Department of UT Ladakh for the establishment and implementation of the first phase.

India-US joint military exercise ‘Yudh Abhyas 20’ commenced in Rajasthan

 The India-US joint military exercise ―Yudh Abhyas 20‖ commenced in Mahajan Field Firing Range of Bikaner
district in Rajasthan. This is the 16th edition of annual bilateral joint exercise of both the armies.
 About 250 US and 250 Indian army soldiers are participating in the exercise. Both the armies will share their
war-related techniques, skills and experience with each other during this exercise.

Haryana & Switzerland agreed to share expertise in skill training, tourism

 Haryana and Switzerland have agreed to share their expertise in fields of tourism, dairying and skill
development training, a state government statement said after Swiss Ambassador Ralf Heckner called on
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
 Besides exploring the possibilities of signing MoU for the teacher-student and cultural exchange programmes
to further strengthen the bilateral ties between Switzerland and India, particularly with Haryana.

9 February 2021
First Tibetan Village Dungti near LAC in Ladakh electrified by GHE
 In eastern Ladakh, on the Line of Actual Control bordering India and China, the lesser-known Tibetan village
of Dungti is electrified now. In 1962, Tibetan families migrated to Ladakh and settled in Dungti to form a TR
(Tibetan refuge) village of Ladakh.
 Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE), which has electrified more than 100 hamlets in Ladakh for over 8 years,
brought Solar based DC electricity to the village of Dungti through the help of their CSR Supporters.

Government of Madhya Pradesh launched ‘SAANS’ campaign to reduce infant mortality

 The health department in Madhya Pradesh has launched the Social Awareness and Action to Neutralise
Pneumonia Successfully (‗SAANS‘) campaign. Around 4,000 Health and Wellness Centres have been set up
in Madhya Pradesh for this purpose.
 The main purpose of the campaign is to reduce the death rate due to pneumonia among infants a strategy is
being chalked out under the Social awareness campaign in which medical staff is being trained.

India to overtake EU as world’s 3rd largest energy consumer by 2030

 According to International Energy Agency (IEA)'s India Energy Outlook 2021 report, India will overtake the
European Union as the world‘s third-largest energy consumer behind China and the US by 2030.
 IEA forecast India accounting for the biggest share of energy demand growth over the next two decades.
India at present is the fourth-largest global energy consumer behind China, the United States and the
European Union.

Government of India cancelled FCRA licence of over 20,600 NGOs in 10 years

 The government presented the data that it has cancelled the FCRA licences of over 20,600 NGOs in the last
10 years. Most of these cancellations were done on account of non-filing of annual returns which is a
mandatory requirement under the law.
 The NGOs were found to have violated various provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act
(FCRA), 2010. As per the amended law, providing Aadhaar numbers of the office bearers of the NGOs has
been made mandatory for registration of NGOs under the FCRA.

National Commission for Women held 1st ever Mahila Jan Sunwai at Jammu
 The National Commission for Women (NCW) in collaboration with the Social Welfare Department held the
1st ever Mahila Jan Sunwai Programme in Jammu.
 It was held under the chairmanship of NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma. During the program, complainants
of 40 cases related to women from all sections of the society were present and the Chairperson disposed of
7 cases on the spot.

FSSAI restricted Trans fatty acids to 2% in food products from January 2022
 The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) have restricted the permissible amount of
industrial Trans Fatty Acid (TFA) in food products to 2%.
 The latest amendment will come into effect from January 01, 2022. Currently, the permissible limit for Trans
fats in food products in 2021 is 3%, cut down from the previous limit of 5%.

Indian Army trained indigenous dog breed chippiparai, cocker spaniels to detect Covid-19
 Indian Army has, for the first time ever, started using its dogs for quick detection of Covid-19. Two dogs
have been trained to detect Covid19 by sniffing samples of sweat & urine.

10 February 2021
 The use of canines will assist in quick & real-time detection of the disease. Countries like the UK, Finland,
France, Russia, Germany, Lebanon, UAE & the US have already trained dogs for detection of Covid-19.

Prime Minister inaugurated World Sustainable Development Summit 2021

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the World Sustainable Development Summit 2021 through
video conferencing.
 2021 WSD Summit is the 20th edition of the flagship event organised by ‗The Energy and Resources Institute
(TERI)‘. The theme of the Summit is ‗Redefining our common future: Safe and secure environment for all‘.

India and China held bilateral consultations on issues on agenda of UNSC

 India and China held bilateral consultations on 9 Feb'21 on issues on the agenda of the UN Security Council.
Prakash Gupta, Joint Secretary (UNP and Summits) led the Indian delegation.
 The Chinese delegation was led by Yang Tao, Director General of the Department of International
Organizations and Conferences, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.

Fossil of world’s ‘oldest animal’ discovered in Madhya Pradesh

 Dickinsonia, India's only fossil of world's oldest animal, has been discovered in Madhya Pradesh's Bhimbetka
rock shelters. Researchers have found Dickinsonia that dates back 570 million years.
 Dickinsonia is an extinct genus of a basal animal that lived during the late Ediacaran period. The study has
been published in the Gondwana Research, an international journal.

Government of Odisha launched citizen-centric on-line services of State Transport department

 Odisha launched various citizen-centric online services of the State Transport department. The digital
initiative will allow freedom to the vehicle owners to choose any transport office of the state for vehicle-
related services.
 Odisha is the first state in the country to introduce document upload through digital signature. It launched 9
online services.

India’s 1st CNG tractor launched by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari

 Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari launched the country‘s first CNG tractor that
will be able to save about Rs. 1 lakh annually on fuel costs. It is a clean fuel that has the lowest content of
caron and other pollutants.
 The conversion, carried out jointly by Rawmatt Techno Solutions and Tomasetto Achille India will help
farmers increase their income, by lowering costs. Farmers will be to save more than Rs 1 lakh annually on
fuel costs.

Government of India launched official website of India Toy Fair 2021

 The Government of India will organise the first-ever ‗The India Toy Fair, 2021′ from February 27, 2021, to
March 02, 2021, on a virtual platform. This initiative is in line with the Prime Minister‘s vision of making India
a global hub for the Toy Industry.
 The website and online registration were inaugurated jointly by the Union Education Minister, Dr Ramesh
Pokhriyal ‗Nishank‘, Union Minister of Textiles, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani and Union Minister of Commerce
and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal.

11 February 2021
Jammu & Kashmir-UK Space Agency- joined hands for Flood Forecasting
 The Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and a United Kingdom based space agency have joined hands to
work on a collaborative project on the impact-based flood forecasting.
 The project is supported by the national space innovation programme (NSIP). The NSIP programme is
undertaken by HR Wallingford in association with the Oxford University, D-orbit and Sayers & Partners
(SPL).

India's 1st Museum of Illusions opened in Delhi

 Museum of Illusions has opened to the public, a mind-bending ―edutainment‖ experience where guests enter
the fascinating world of mental deception. With over 50 intriguing exhibits, MUSEUM OF ILLUSIONS, offers
more eye-fooling fun than any other destination in New Delhi.
 Situated on Connaught Place, New Delhi, this is the first India outpost and 30th location for the rapidly
expanding Museum of Illusions brand that started in Zagreb, Croatia in 2015.

Home Minister announced new CAPF battalion to be named after Cooch Behar's Narayani Sena
 Union Home Minister Amit Shah has announced a new CAPF battalion that will be named after Narayani
Sena, the warriors of the erstwhile princely state of Cooch Behar.
 The name of CAPF training centre for the eastern zone will be linked with Chila Roy, who was the younger
brother of King Nara Narayan of the Koch Dynasty. A memorial at the birthplace of Panchanan Thakur will
also be built.

Prime Minister handed over indigenous Arjun Mk-1A tank to Army

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed over the state-of-the-art indigenous Main Battle Tank Arjun Mk1A to
the Army. Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Mukund Naravane received the tank.
 The Arjun Mk-1A has been indigenously designed, developed and manufactured by Chennai-based Combat
Vehicles Research & Development Establishment (CVRDE).

India’s 1st dolphin research centre to be set up in Patna University by October

 Patna will soon get India‘s first dolphin research centre. The society for the long-awaited National Dolphin
Research Centre (NDRC) is likely to be formed within a month of February 2021.
 Bihar accounts for 50% of the world‘s river dolphin population, a highly endangered species under Schedule
I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Muskan 21 years old became Himachal Pradesh’s youngest Zila Parishad Chairperson
 Muskan, 21, is the youngest person to be elected as Zila Parishad Chairperson from Bilaspur district,
Himachal Pradesh. Over 32% of these are in the age group of 21 to 30 years, out of which Muskan is
youngest to head top post.
 In Panchayati Raj Institution polls held in hilly state, over 68% of the representatives elected to Zila
Parishads, Panchayats & Urban bodies are below the age of 40 years.

Prime Minister inaugurated Chennai Metro Phase-I extension, limited free ride to all
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Chennai Metro Rail Phase-I extension project, which has
been completed at a cost of Rs 3,770 crore. The 9.05 km long extension will link north Chennai with the
Airport and Central Railway Station.

12 February 2021
 He also inaugurated the fourth Railway line between Chennai Beach and Attipattu. This 22.1 km section, laid
at a cost of Rs 293.40 crore, traverses through Chennai and Thiruvallur districts.

Ministry of Science and Technology announced changes in mapping policy

 The Ministry of Science and Technology announced major changes to the country‘s mapping policy. The
changes have been bought by the government specifically for the Indian companies.
 It will enable them to create significant advances in mapping and ultimately promoting and empowering small
businesses. The Ministry of Science and Technology informed that the corporations and innovators of India
are no longer subjected to the restrictions.

Chief Minister of West Bengal launched 'Maa' scheme to provide meal at Rs 5 to poor people
 The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee launched the ‗Maa‘ scheme under which her
government would provide a meal at a nominal cost of Rs 5 to poor people.
 They will get a platter of rice, dal, a vegetable and egg curry for Rs 5. The state government will bear a
subsidy of Rs 15 per plate. Self-help groups will operate the kitchens from 1 pm to 3 pm every day and such
kitchens will be set up everywhere in the state gradually.

Health Minister of Bihar informed Aadhar Card mandatory for COVID vaccination
 Aadhar Card has been made compulsory to receive the Coronavirus vaccination in Bihar. Beneficiaries in the
state will have to certify their Aadhar Card number during the vaccine registration.
 Mangal Pandey, the Health Minister informed that the step has been taken for checking the testing fraud of
the vaccination and transparency. District administration has already been instructed in this regard.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched e-Chhawani portal

 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched eChhawani portal. It aims to provide online municipal services to
more than 20 lakh citizens across 62 Cantonment Boards through a multi-tenancy central platform.
 Residents of Cantonment areas can register their complaints regarding civic issues and resolve them while
sitting at home, through this portal.

Indian Navy received 3rd Scorpene Submarine, to be commissioned as INS Karanj

 The Indian Navy got its third Scorpene Submarine, which will be commissioned as INS Karanj in March, of
Project P-75. With the delivery of INS Karanj, India has been able to cement its position as a submarine-
building nation.
 A total of 6 submarines are being developed under Project 75, of which, 3 submarines are already delivered
by Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) including Karanj, are Khanderi and Kalvari.

11th World PetroCoal Congress and World Future Fuel Summit organised in Delhi
 The joint conferences of the 11th World PetroCoal Congress and World Future Fuel Summit was organised
in New Delhi. Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan highlighted the increase in LPG
coverage from 56% to nearly 99.5% in less than seven years.
 He also mentioned that to reduce vehicular pollution, the country leapfrogged from BS-4 to BS-6 emission
standards from April 2020.

13 February 2021
Chief Minister of Kerala inaugurated first route of Water Metro project
 The Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, has inaugurated the first route and terminal buildings of Kochi
Water Metro. This project connects the islands across the city with the help of state-of-the-art boats.
 The first phase of the Kochi Water Metro project is 520 km long. Commercial operations of the metro will
start in March 2021 after it gets the statutory clearance certificate.

Union Cabinet approved amendments to Juvenile Justice Act

 The Union Cabinet has approved the amendments to the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection of Children
Act, 2015. The amendment proposes that, the DMs, ADMs will monitor the functioning of agencies which
are implementing this act in each district.
 After this amendment, the Child Protection Unit of districts will function under the District Magistrate
(DMs). Now, the DMs can independently evaluate Child Welfare Committee, and the Specialised Juvenile
Police Unit.

3rd edition of Indian Sign Language Dictionary released with 10,000 terms
 The ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment released the third edition of the Indian Sign Language (ISL)
Dictionary. The new edition will comprise of 10,000 terms of daily. The Dictionary has been brought out by
the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC).
 It will also include the academic, legal, medical technical, administrative and agricultural terms in it. The
second edition of the Indian Sign language was released in the year 2019. It comprised of 6,000 terms while
its first edition was released in the year 2018 with 3,000 terms.

Prime Minister inaugurated oil & gas sector projects in Tamil Nadu
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of oil, gas sector projects in Tamil Nadu via video
conferencing. He dedicated the Gasoline Desulphurisation Unit and Ramanathapuram-Thoothukudi gas
pipeline to the nation.
 Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of the Cauvery Basin Refinery at Nagapattinam. These projects
will facilitate socio-economic benefits and will help in boosting India‘s mission towards ‗Urja Atmanirbharata‘.

Government of Rajasthan amended 'Rajasthan Prisons Rules 1951'

 The Rajasthan government has amended Rajasthan Prison Rules to do away with a caste-based assignment of
labour. The state government has made three amendments to these rules.
 Earlier, Rule 67 on ―Cooking of Food‖ under Section 2 had said, ―any Brahmin or sufficiently high caste
Hindu prisoner from this class is eligible for appointment as a cook‖. Now, this line is among those removed.

Hyderabad became only city to be recognized as 2020 Tree City of the World
 The Arbor Day Foundation and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation- FAO have
recognised Hyderabad as the 2020 Tree City of the World. Hyderabad has been chosen for this recognition
for its commitment towards maintaining and growing the urban forest.
 Hyderabad earned the recognition of the Tree City of the World in the second year of the programme of
Arbor Day Foundation. The city has been recognised along with 51 cities of the world (during 2020 and
cumulative 120 cities from 63 countries).

14 February 2021
Union Minister launched ‘Go Electric Campaign’ to boost electric mobility across country
 The Union Minister of Road, Transport, and Highways Nitin Gadkari launched the ‗Go Electric Campaign‘ in
order to spread awareness regarding the benefits of EV Charging Infrastructure and e-mobility as well as
electric cooking in India.
 The campaign is an important initiative that will help in reducing India's fossil fuel import dependence in the
coming years and will also be a step forward towards a greener and cleaner future.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari launched ‘Go Electric’ campaign to push e-mobility in India
 Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways launched the ―Go Electric‖ Campaign to
spread awareness on the benefits of e-mobility and EV Charging Infrastructure as well as electric cooking in
India.
 Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), under the aegis of the Ministry of Power has been mandated to
undertake an awareness drive for promoting Public Charging, e-mobility & its ecosystem.

Uttarakhand became 1st State to give co-ownership rights to women in husband’s property
 The Uttarakhand government has brought an ordinance giving co-ownership rights to women in their
husband‘s ancestral property. The ordinance has been brought keeping in view large-scale migration of men
from the hill areas of the state in search of livelihood.
 The ordinance aims to provide economic independence to women who are left behind and have to depend
on agriculture to sustain them.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs launched 'DigiLocker' for MEA's 'Passport Seva'
 DigiLocker platform was launched for MEA's Passport Seva Programme by Union Minister V Muraleedharan.
DigiLocker is a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and IT under the Digital India Corporation.
 It would enable citizens to submit the documents required for passport services in a paperless mode and
they would not be required to carry the original documents.

Patanjali's Coronil received Ayush Ministry certification as per WHO scheme

 Patanjali Ayurved's Coronil tablet has received certification from the Ayush Ministry as a medicine supporting
COVID-19 treatment as per the World Health Organization's certification scheme.
 Patanjali has also released research work supporting Coronil's efficacy in COVID-19 treatment. The Union
Ayush Ministry had earlier categorized Ayurvedic Coronil tablets as an 'immuno-booster'.

Governor of Kerala inaugurated India’s 1st Digital University

 Kerala‘s Governor Arif Mohammaed Khan inaugurated India‘s first digital University. India‘s first Digital
University will focus on postgraduate programmes and research along with building strong industry-
academic and academic-academic linkages with leading institutions in India and abroad.
 Developed on a 10-acre campus in Technocity, the university will provide education to 12,000 residential
scholars on the campus and many technology-linked learners outside.

National anthem played in Nagaland assembly for first time in almost 6 decades
 The National Anthem was played in the Nagaland Assembly Session before Nagaland Governor RN Ravi
addressed the 7th Session of the 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly.

15 February 2021
 The move is historic for a state that has been ravaged by decades of secessionist violence and protracted
peace talks that still hang fire. Nagaland attained statehood on December 1, 1963, and was the 16th state of
the Union.

External Affairs Minister launched BRICS-2021 website

 External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar launched the BRICS-2021 website. The website will provide a
comprehensive snapshot of the strong BRICS engagement and the exhaustive calendar of events during
BRICS under the Chairship of India.
 Mr. Jaishankar also soft-launched the upgraded facilities at Sushma Swaraj Bhavan that will serve as the
Secretariat for BRICS Summit.

Tripura gets 1st of its kind road constructed using plastic waste
 Tripura, in a first-ever initiative, has started using plastic waste for the construction of roads. Tripura Chief
Minister Biplab Kumar Deb announced that the main aim is to reduce plastic waste and make the
environment plastic-free.
 The Chief Minister of Tripura stated that this is for the first time in Tripura that waste plastic was collected
and recycled, and used in constructing a 680 meter long road in front of the Women's College near BK Road.

Government of Uttar Pradesh decided to develop Jewar Airport as Asia’s biggest airport
 Government of Uttar Pradesh government decided to develop Jewar Airport as Asia‘s biggest airport with
six runways. The state government has to set aside 2,000 crore for Jewar Airport in its budget for 2021-22
presenting in the Assembly.
 The state government has also increased the number of runways of the Jewar Airport to six, from two
proposed earlier. The under construction airport in Ayodhya will be named as Maryada Purushottam Sriram
Airport.

China becomes India’s top Trade Partner in Year 2020

 China regained its position as India‘s top trade partner in 2020. Two-way trade between both nations stood
at $77.7 billion in 2020, according to provisional data from India‘s Commerce Ministry.
 Total imports from China at $58.7 billion were more than India‘s combined purchases from the U.S. and the
U.A.E, which are its second and third-largest trade partners, respectively.

IRDAI formed panel to review security guidelines to deal with cyber-attacks

 The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) have formed a working group
committee to relook its information and security guidelines amid the exponential increase in cyber-attacks
across the globe in the wake of covid-19.
 The committee will review whether to extend the applicability of guidelines for insurers to other entities,
with or without modification.

Governor of Assam declared entire state of Assam as ‘disturbed area’ up to six months
 Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi declared the entire state as a ‗disturbed area‘ for 6 months beginning
February 27, 2021. Besides Assam, AFSPA is in force in Nagaland and parts of Manipur and Arunachal
Pradesh.
 Assam is declared as a ‗disturbed area‘ under the powers conferred in Section 3 of the Armed Forces
(Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958.

16 February 2021
Government of Delhi introduced contactless tickets on all DTC buses
 The Delhi government on 24 Feb 2021, for the first time since its inception, expanded its ambitious
contactless ticketing service to all its Delhi transport corporation (DTC) buses.
 The ticketless scheme was introduced by the government in May-June, 2020 during the lockdown. The
scheme is aimed at reducing physical human interaction that increased the chances of the spread of Covid-
19.

Union Fisheries Minister announced to develop Goa into country’s first fisheries hub
 Union Fisheries Minister Giriraj Singh announced that Goa will be developed into the first fisheries hub of the
country, and that the Centre is investing Rs 400 crore in the project.
 Singh also said that of this investment, Rs 41 crore has already been approved for Goa under the Pradhan
Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana. Besides, there are also plans to set up seaweed and ornamental fish
complex in the state, as seaweed is a 15 million dollar business across the world.

Union Minister of Jal Shakti inaugurated International Commission on Large Dams Symposium
 Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has inaugurated the International Commission on
Large Dams (ICOLD) Symposium in New Delhi.
 The theme of the symposium is ―Sustainable Development of Dams & River Basins‖. More than 300
delegates from across the country and abroad will participate in the Symposium.

Government of Tamil Nadu increased retirement age of government employees to 60 years

 Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palananiswami has announced that the retirement age of state
government employees has been increased from 59 to 60 years.
 The order would be applicable to employees of government-aided schools, legal and constitutional bodies,
etc. All those who were in service and those who would retire on 31 May 2021 would be covered under the
announcement.

India and Pakistan agreed for Ceasefire agreement

 India and Pakistan armies have agreed to cease firing along the Line of Control (LoC). Amid heightened
tensions along the LoC and LAC in 2020, this is the first such contract between India and Pakistan.
 The Director Generals of Military Operations of the two countries agreed to observe a ceasefire to maintain
peace along LoC.

WHO Chief lauded India for sharing COVID-19 vaccine and supporting vaccine equity
 The Director-General of World Health Organisation Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus thanked India and
Prime Minister Modi for supporting the COVID-19 vaccine equity as well as sharing the vaccine worldwide.
 The Chief of the global health body also hoped that other countries will also the example set by India. Earlier
in January 2021, WHO Chief had expressed gratitude to India and Prime Minister Modi for the continued
support to the global response against the pandemic.

Uttarakhand became 4th state with women’s police commando unit

 Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Trivendra Singh Rawat inaugurated the Women's Commando Force and
Smart Cheetah Police of Uttarakhand. He also honoured Commando Instructor Shifu Shaurya Bhardwaj and
Military Officer Rubina Korky.

17 February 2021
 Uttarakhand has become the fourth state in the country where a squad of women commandos has been
added to the police department.

Jal Shakti Ministry announced 12 iconic sites for transforming into Swachh Tourist Destinations
 Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti has announced the selection of 12 iconic
sites under Phase IV of Swachh Iconic Places.
 These sites include Ajanta Caves, Sanchi Stupa, Kumbhalgarh Fort, Jaisalmer Fort, Ramdevra, Golconda Fort,
Konark Sun Temple, etc. The initiative aims at improving the sanitation and cleanliness standards at and
around the sites.

Government of Madhya Pradesh approved the ‚Penal Law Bill, 2021‛

 Madhya Pradesh Cabinet has approved the ―Penal Law (Madhya Pradesh Amendment) Bill, 2021‖. This bill
was approved in order to give life imprisonment to food adulterers in states.
 In the month of December 2019, an awareness rally organised in Bhopal to fight against the adulteration.
The rally witnessed the participation of people from all age groups. It was held from Roshanpura to Lal
Parade in Bhopal.

18 February 2021
 INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Military seized power in Myanmar, announces 1 year emergency
 The Myanmar Military Tatmadaw has announced a one year state of emergency in the country. Vice
President Myint Swe has been made the acting President and all powers have been transferred to the
Commander in Chief Min Aung Hlaing.
 The Military informed that the leaders have been detained for committing fraud in the national elections held
on 8 Nov 2020.

U.K. Government announced to join Asia-Pacific free trade pact CPTPP

 The UK is applying to join a free trade area made up of 11 Asia and Pacific nations, under its post-Brexit
plans. The pact is named the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership
(CPTPP).
 The trade agreement was formed in 2018 which includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia,
Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.

Aatmanirbharta named Oxford Hindi Word of the Year 2020

 Aatmanirbharta has been named by Oxford Languages as its Hindi word of the year 2020. The word was
chosen by an advisory panel of language experts comprising Imogen Foxell, Poonam Nigam Sahay and Kritika
Agrawal.
 The word 'aatmanirbharta' was chosen as it gives a voice to the strength displayed by young and old alike in
dealing with extended periods of crisis through sheer determination and self-reliance.

Archaeologists in Egypt discovered Mummy with Gold Tongue

 Archaeologists have found a 2,000-year-old mummy with a gold tongue at an ancient Egyptian site called
Taposiris Magna.
 The archaeologists, led by Kathleen Martinez, from the Dominican Republic, discovered the mummy in one
of 16 burials at Taposiris Magna, which has temples dedicated to Osiris and Isis, a goddess who was both the
wife and sister of Osiris.

World's tallest swing ride now opened in Dubai

 The world's tallest swing ride 'Bollywood Skyflyer' has opened at Bollywood Parks Dubai. It stands at an
exhilarating height of 460 feet - the same height as the Great Pyramid of Giza.
 It set a new world record for the tallest swing ride, knocking the 450-ft-tall Orlando Starflyer in Florida out
of the top spot. It is made up of 421 tons of steel, took 720 days to build and installation.

NYU Langone Health performed World’s 1st successful face & double hand transplant

19 February 2021
 Joe DiMeo from New Jersey who suffered horrific injuries in a car accident has become the world's first
person to undergo a successful face and double hand transplant.
 The surgery was carried out on 12 Aug 2020 and lasted approximately 23 hours. It involved a team of 96
health care personnel, led by surgeon Eduardo Rodriguez, Director of the Face Transplant Program at NYU
Langone.

Denmark to build world’s 1st energy island in the North Sea

 The Government of Denmark has approved a project to build the world‘s first energy island, in the North
Sea that will produce and store enough green energy to meet the electricity needs of three million
households in European countries.
 The hub will strengthen the integration of Europe‘s power grids and increase renewable electricity
production necessary for a climate-neutral Europe.

China announced to set up Public Platform to track Polluters

 The Environment Ministry of China recently announced to set up a new Public Information Platform that will
allow the public to track emissions from the polluting enterprises. The platform will come into effect from
March 1, 2021.
 Under the plan, around 2.36 million companies, industrial facilities and institutions in the nation will require
to obtain permits so as to emit pollutants including the Sulphur dioxide or wastewater.

Canada formally declared 'Proud Boys' as terrorist group

 Canada has formally designated the Proud Boys, a white nationalist group, as a terrorist entity under its
criminal law. Canada is the first nation to label the Proud Boys a terrorist group.
 The Government of Canada has placed 13 new groups on the Criminal Code list of terrorist entities,
including four ideologically motivated violent extremist groups: Atomwaffen Division, the Base, etc.

New Zealand suspended Political and Military ties with Myanmar after coup
 New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the suspension of ties with Myanmar. Ardern said
that the government will suspend all high-level political and military contact with Myanmar.
 New Zealand will also impose a travel ban on the military leaders of Myanmar and ensure its aid programme
to the country will not include projects that benefit the military government.

United State government moved to re-join United Nations Human Rights Council
 The United States President Joe Biden has moved to re-join the United Nations Human Rights Council-
UNHRC three years after the former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the global body.
 The Trump administration had withdrawn from the world‘s most significant human rights body in 2018 over
what Trump and his allies called unfair targeting of Israel.
 Reversing other decisions, Joe Biden has also joined the World Health Organisation and Paris Climate
Accord which the Trump administration withdrew from while he was in office.

WHO dismissed lab leak theory post its COVID-19 origin investigation in China
 The World Health Organisation (WHO) dismissed the theory of ‗lab leak‘ of the novel Coronavirus after
concluding its investigation on the origin of COVID-19 in China.

20 February 2021
 Head of the WHO-led team, Dr. Peter Ben Embarek informed about the assessment and mentioned that
the initial findings suggest that the interaction to humans through an intermediary host species is the most
likely pathway.

WHO & EU decided to launch vaccine rollout program in 6 ex-Soviet states

 WHO and the European Union will launch a 40-million euro ($48.5 million) program. It will help deploy
COVID-19 vaccines in six former Soviet republics. The program will involve Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus,
Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova.
 AstraZeneca‘s vaccine will become a key part of the rollout of vaccines. Recommended dosage is two doses
administered over an interval of 8-12 weeks.

China banned BBC World News from broadcasting in the country

 China banned BBC World News from broadcasting in the country. The announcement comes one week
after British media regulator Ofcom withdrew broadcasting license for state-owned China Global Television
Network (CGTN) in the United Kingdom.
 The National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) stated BBC World News was found to have
seriously violated regulations on radio and television management and on overseas satellite television channel
management in its China-related reports, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

US Senate acquitted former President Donald Trump in impeachment trial

 Former U.S. President Donald Trump was acquitted by the U.S. Senate in the impeachment trial of inciting
an insurrection with regard to the January 6 attack on the Capitol by a mob of his supporters seeking to stop
the certification of the Electoral College results.
 The vote to convict was 57 to 43, 10 short of the necessary threshold. It came after a long day of arguments
over whether to allow witnesses at the trial and following closing arguments from both sides.

China overtook US as European Union’s biggest trading partner in 2020

 According to European Union‘s statistics agency Eurostat, In 2020 China overtook the United States as the
EU‘s biggest trading partner. Eurostat stated that the trade volume with China reached 586 billion euros
($711 billion) in 2020, compared to 555 billion euros ($673 billion) for the US.
 European Union exports rose by 2.2% to 202.5 billion euros while at the same time, imports from the
People‘s Republic of China increased by 5.6% to 383.5 billion euros.

India joined Iran and Russia dubbed as ‘Iran-Russia Maritime Security Belt 2021’
 India has joined a two-day navy exercise of Iran and Russia dubbed as ‗Iran-Russia Maritime Security Belt
2021‘. The naval exercise is taking place in the northern part of the Indian Ocean.
 The forces and vessels from the navy divisions of both the Iranian Army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps- IRGC participated in a drill, which started alongside several vessels from the Russian army.

International Solar Alliance (ISA) decided to launch the World Solar Bank (WSB)
 The International Solar Alliance (ISA) has planned to launch the World Solar Bank (WSB) at the United
Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow that is scheduled for November 2021.
 The development of the World Solar Bank will support India‘s attempt to secure its leadership in the climate
arena. The development of the bank is significance because the green finance will be one of the priority
themes at the climate meet called COP-26.

21 February 2021
World Food Program informed 12.4 million Syrians face food insecurity in year 2021
 The World Food Program informed that an additional 4.5 million people in Syria have become food insecure
over the past year. This addition has brought the total number of people on the brink of hunger to 12.4
million.
 The Syrian families have exhausted their savings after the 10 years of conflict as they face an economic crisis.
The UN agency further warned that an additional 1.8 million more Syrians will become severely food
insecure unless urgent action is taken.

United States officially re-joined the Paris Climate Deal

 The United States has officially re-joined the Paris climate accord. It has joined the deal again after 107 days
it left. With the rejoining of US, the world leaders expects that now the country will prove its seriousness as
it was mostly absent for four years.
 The countries are also waiting for the announcement from Washington on the US‘s goal to cut emissions of
heat-trapping gases by 2030.

Russian Scientists detected world’s first case of transmission of H5N8 Bird flu to human
 Russian scientists had detected the first case of transmission of the H5N8 strain of avian flu to humans and
had alerted the World Health Organization. Other strains H5N1, H7N9 and H9N2 have been known to
spread to humans.
 Outbreaks of the H5N8 strain have been reported in Russia, Europe, China, the Middle East and North
Africa since December ‗20 but so far only in poultry.

Saudi Arabia opened up Armed Forces for Women

 Saudi Arabia has opened up the armed forces for Women. Following the order, the female recruits can now
trade their abayas for military uniforms. This move aims to increase the rights of women in the country.
 Women will now be recruited as soldiers, lance corporals, corporals, sergeants, and staff sergeants. The
government has also added some additional criteria for female applicants.

India signed 50 million dollar Defence line of Credit agreement with Maldives
 Reaffirming its commitment for overall development and security of its maritime neighbour, India has signed
a 50 million dollar Line of Credit agreement in defence sector with the Maldives.
 The agreement will facilitate capability building in the maritime domain. India also extended a new line of
credit of US dollar 40 million for the development of new sports infrastructure in the Maldives.

India signed defence and trade agreements with Mauritius

 India and Mauritius have signed a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement
(CECPA). This was first ever trade agreement with any African country. As per this limited agreement, India
will be given preferential access to the markets in Mauritius and vice versa.
 India will get access to 310 products on the other hand; Mauritius will get access to 615 products. India will
also get access to 115 sub-sectors in the 11 broad services sectors.

Australia passed ‚News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code‛
 The parliament of Australia has passed the landmark legislation called the ―News Media and Digital Platforms
Mandatory Bargaining Code‖. The legislation mainly targets Facebook and Google.

22 February 2021
 This legislation mandates the global digital platforms to pay for publishing the Australian news content on
their respective platforms. The law easily passed the tech giants (Facebook and Google) signed agreements
with the government to pay Australian news organisations.

President of China declared complete victory in eradicating poverty in China

 President of China Xi Jinping declared that China has scored a ―complete victory‖ in its fight against poverty
by lifting over 770 million people out of it in the last four decades.
 China has a population of around 1.4 billion. China has achieved the United Nation goal of poverty
eradication 10 years ahead of the 2030 deadline.

US President Joe Biden revoked Trump's ban on many Green Card Applicants
 US President Joe Biden revoked former President Trump's decision to freeze green card applications and
certain types of visas. Trump had blocked many green card applicants from entering the United States.
 Former President Donald Trump had issued the green card ban last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic,
saying that it was necessary to protect the US workers amid high unemployment.

Financial Action Task Force kept Pakistan on grey list, adds 4 new countries
 The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) kept North Korea and Iran as the only two countries on its blacklist
but added four new countries to its grey list for increased monitoring.
 Morocco, Burkina Faso, Senegal and the Cayman Islands have been added to the grey list. Pakistan continues
to be on the grey list. With the four additions, the grey list now has 19 countries.

South Korea began mass immunization drive against coronavirus

 South Korea began a mass immunization drive by giving coronavirus shots from AstraZeneca to staff and
residents at nursing homes.
 Authorities plan to inoculate 70% of the population of 52 million by November 2021. Inoculations with
another vaccine, developed by BioNTech-Pfizer began on 27 February 2021.

23 February 2021
 BANKING & FINANCE
Finance Minister proposed increase in FDI cap in insurance sector to 74%
 The government has raised the foreign direct investment limit in insurance from 49% to 74% while
announcing the union budget 2021.
 The step is expected to help private insurers get access to more foreign capital, which is expected to
accelerate their growth and improve insurance penetration in India.


World Bank & Bangladesh signed deal USD 500 million to improve Road and Digital Connectivity
 The Bangladesh government signed an agreement with the World Bank for the up-gradation of rural roads
and connectivity in the western region.
 The project is expected to benefit over 20 million people in the western region of Bangladesh. The project
will further finance the installation of fiber-optic cables along the highway to ensure fast and reliable internet
service.

RBI unveiled risk-based internal audit guidelines for select NBFCs, urban co-op banks
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) unveiled the risk-based internal audit (RBIA) system for select non-bank
lenders and urban co-operative banks, with a view to enhance the quality and effectiveness of their internal
audit system.
 All the deposit-taking non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and the ones with an asset size of over Rs
5,000 crore, and urban co-operatives banks (UCBs) with assets of over Rs 500 crore will have to migrate to
the new system.

PayPal announced to shut domestic business in India from April 1

 California-based fintech platform PayPal has announced to closing down its domestic business in India from
April 1, 2021. Less than four years after the American fintech giant entered the Indian market.
 PayPal had previously partnered with various online services as a payments option including BookMyShow,
MakeMyTrip and Swiggy.

Reserve Bank of India proposed ‘One Nation One Ombudsman’ approach for grievance redressal
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that it will integrate the consumer grievances redressal
under a single ombudsman as opposed to the three grievance redressal schemes working at present.
 Currently, there are dedicated ombudsman schemes for the consumer grievance redressal in the banking,
non-bank finance companies and digital transactions. RBI will adopt the ‗One Nation One Ombudsman‘
approach to make the alternate dispute redress mechanism simple and more responsive to the users.

IDFC Mutual Fund launched Floating Rate Fund

24 February 2021
 IDFC Mutual Fund has announced the launch of IDFC Floating Rate Fund. It is an open-ended debt scheme
predominantly investing in floating rate instruments.
 IDFC Floating Rate Fund aims to invest a minimum of 65% of its corpus in floating rate securities issued by
corporates or the government.

PhonePe announced partnership with Axis Bank on UPI multi-bank model

 PhonePe has partnered with India‘s third largest bank, Axis Bank on UPI multi-bank model. It will offer its
users the chance to create and use multiple UPI IDs with Axis Bank‘s ―@axl‖ handle.
 The platform enables the users to choose between multiple handles for their UPI transactions on the multi-
bank model.

MasterCard launched priceless India to showcase country's rich heritage to travellers

 MasterCard launches Priceless India to showcase rich heritage to domestic, global travellers. The program
will roll out in 2 phases.
 In 1st phase, it will launch 16 short films that will introduce several unique aspects of India's most iconic cities
destinations for tourists. In 2nd phase, cardholders will get a chance to partake in these experiences in real-
time through curated packages.

All digital Insurance Policies to be issued via Digilocker app

 The Insurance sector regulator Insurance Regulatory Authority of India (IRDAI) has advised all the Insurance
companies to issue digital insurance policies using the government‘s Digilocker app.
 This app will also reduce the disputes and reduction in fraud. To promote the adoption of Digilocker in the
insurance sector, IRDAI have advised all the insurers to enable their IT systems so as to interact with
Digilocker facility.

ICICI Lombard launched Corporate India Risk Index

 Private General Insurer ICICI Lombard has launched the ‗Corporate India Risk Index‘. This is intended to be
a unified, standardised corporate risk index that spans industries and companies.
 This will help companies understand the level of risk that their business is facing and also assist in developing
a successful risk aversion plan. It has worked with consulting firm Frost and Sullivan to develop the risk
measurement tool.

Equitas Small Finance Bank launched FASTag powered truck terminal

 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 Yashwantrao Chavan 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.

Kotak Mahindra Bank announced launch of Kotak Remit on mobile

 Kotak Mahindra Bank launched its outward forex remittance service, Kotak Remit, hence allowing its users
to directly send money abroad from their phones. The feature is already live on the Kotak Mobile Banking
App.

25 February 2021
 For the first time, Kotak customers can conveniently transfer money internationally to their beneficiaries
straight from their mobile.

ADB & Medanta signed debt financing to support Covid-19 response

 Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed Rs 100 crore debt financing agreement with Global Health
Private Ltd (Medanta) to provide essential health care services and medical equipment to help combat the
coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
 The project will support the purchase of personal protective equipment, basic hygiene products and patient
care equipment like ventilators and beds. It will also support staff training programmes on infection
prevention and control.

Reserve Bank of India permitted residents to make remittances to IFSCs under LRS
 The Reserve Bank of India has permitted resident individuals to make remittances under the Liberalised
Remittance Scheme (LRS) to International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs) in the country.
 The decision of the RBI is aimed at deepening the financial markets in the IFSCs and providing an
opportunity for resident individuals to diversify their portfolios.

Bank of Maharashtra partnered with Vayana Network to offer helps MSMEs

 Bank of Maharashtra has entered into a strategic partnership with Vayana Network, India‘s largest Supply
Chain Financing (SCF) platform to offer financial support to MSME sector.
 Through this association, Bank of Maharashtra will provide short term credit to meet funding requirements
of dealers/ vendors of reputed corporates through ―Mahabank Channel Financing Scheme‖ launched by the
bank, through Vayana Network‘s expertise in this segment.

Governor of Reserve Bank of India projected growth rate of 10.5% for next financial year
 Reserve Bank of India‘s Governor Shaktikanta Das has reiterated that the central bank has projected the
country‘s growth forecast of 10.5% for the next year.
 Mr. Das stated that the liquidity will continue to be sufficient and the central bank will make available
liquidity at the appropriate times.

State Bank of India joined JPMorgan's block chain-based payment network

 State Bank of India has partnered with JPMorgan to use the US bank‘s block chain technology to speed up
overseas transactions. This will help cross-border payments reach beneficiaries faster and using limited
steps.
 The tie up is expected to reduce SBI customers‘ transaction costs and time taken for payments. Time taken
to resolve cross-border payments-related inquiries can be reduced to a few hours from up to a fortnight.

NPCI announced UPI AutoPay live on music streaming platform ‘Gaana’

 National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced that UPI AutoPay has now gone live on
Gaana. Its integration with UPI AutoPay has made Gaana the 1st player in the Media & Entertainment
industry to roll out the innovative e-mandate feature on UPI.
 The introduction of UPI AutoPay will empower Gaana‘s users to experience a smooth and seamless
mechanism of renewing their subscriptions.

26 February 2021
 BUSINESS & ECONOMY
India to emerge as most resilient economy after Germany in 2021
 According to a report released by industry body PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI), India
will emerge as the most resilient economy after Germany in 2021.
 Germany ranks first in the PHDCCI International Economic Resilience (IER) Rank followed by India and
South Korea at second and third positions, respectively.

Air India divestment to be concluded next fiscal

 The privatization of Air India Limited will be completed during the upcoming financial year 2021-22. The
government plans to sell its entire 100% stake in Air India, which has not made profits since its merger with
Indian Airlines in 2007.
 The winning bidder will also get 100% stake in the national carriers low-cost arm Air India Express and 50%
stake in Air India SATS (AISATS).

Ford Motor Co & Google joined hands to offer cloud-based data services
 Ford Motor Co will tap into software, artificial intelligence and cloud computing offered by Alphabet Inc‘s
Google to develop new consumer services and modernize internal operations.
 As part of a six-year partnership, the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker will incorporate the tech giant‘s
Android operating system into its Ford and Lincoln vehicles starting in 2023.

Ministry Defence awarded HAL contract to manufacture 83 Tejas fighter jets to HAL
 The Defence Ministry has awarded a contract to manufacture 83 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas fighters
to the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at the Aero India international air show.
 The Indian Air Force had issued a tender for 83 LCAs about two years ago and the project was stuck over
the pricing issue as both IAF and the centre had felt that the price offered by HAL was slightly high.

In a first, Tata to build military aircraft in India

 The Tata Group will develop and manufacture a military aircraft in India. The plan is to integrate indigenous
sensors and payloads to convert it into an intelligence gathering asset.
 This would be the first time that an Indian private entity is looking at making a full military-grade aircraft,
which until now has been the domain of Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL).

Reliance gets world's 1st 'carbon-neutral' oil from US

 Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd has sourced the world's first consignment of 'carbon-neutral oil'
from the US as it aims to become a net zero-carbon company by 2035.
 Reliance got 2 million barrels of consignment Permian basin. Oxy Low Carbon Ventures (OLCV), a division
of US oil Major Occidental, delivered carbon neutral oil to Reliance.

27 February 2021
UNICEF and SII entered into an agreement into long term supply for COVID-19 vaccines
 The Serum Institute of India (SII) and the UNICEF entered into an agreement for long-term supply of
Novavax and AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccines.
 Oxford-AstraZeneca's vaccine Covishield is being manufactured by the SII and Novavax vaccine is being
produced by US-based Novavax Inc. The UNICEF will have access to about 1.1 billion vaccine doses for 100
countries.

Zomato joined hands with Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to deliver street food
 As a part of Prime Minister Street Vendor‘s AtmaNibhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme, Ministry of Housing
and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has entered into MoU with Zomato.
 This will give street food vendors online access to thousands of consumers and help these vendors grow
their businesses. MoHUA has also launched the mobile app for PM SVANidhi se Samriddhi- Socio-economic
profiling of PM SVANidhi beneficiaries.

HAL signed a MoU with Rolls Royce to expand partnership in India

 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has signed a MoU with British automobile manufacturing company
Rolls Royce. They will establish an authorised maintenance centre for Adour Mk81 engines at HAL to
support international military customers and operators.
 They also signed a ‗Letter of Intent‘ to work towards making Adour Mk871 engine parts in India for several
international customers.

Triton Electric Vehicle signed MoU with BEL for development of Electric Vehicle
 US-based Triton Electric Vehicle has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bharat
Electronics Limited (BEL) for developing electric vehicles and energy storage systems.
 As per the MoU, BEL will be the exclusive manufacturing partner to Triton in India for identified products,
while Triton will provide the know-how and technical documentation required for the manufacturing of
these products.

Government of India decided to shut 2 pharma PSUs, disinvest other 3

 The government has decided to close two pharma public sector undertakings and disinvest the other three.
The Department of Pharmaceuticals has five public sector undertakings (PSUs).
 Out of the five PSUs, the government will close two pharma PSUs, namely Indian Drugs & Pharmaceuticals
Ltd (IDPL) and Rajasthan Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd (RDPL).
 While the government will strategically disinvest the other three — Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd (HAL), Bengal
Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BCPL), and Karnataka Antibiotics & Pharmaceutical Ltd (KAPL).

Apple partnered with TSMC to develop micro OLED displays for AR devices
 Apple Inc has partnered with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to develop micro OLED
displays, which it plans to use in its upcoming augmented reality (AR) devices.
 TSMC is the sole supplier of iPhone processors. Micro OLED displays are thinner, smaller, and use less
power, making them more suitable for use in wearable AR devices.

Tesla invested $1.5 billion in bitcoin crypto currency

28 February 2021
 Tesla has invested $1.5 billion in bitcoin, making it the biggest investment by a mainstream corporation into
the most popular crypto currency.
 In addition, the company plans to start accepting digital currency as a payment option for its products. Soon
after Tesla‘s announcement, the rate of bitcoin skyrocketed to an all-time high, breaching the $44,000-mark
for the first time.

HAL, Wipro 3D collaborated to manufacture metal 3D printed aircraft engine component

 Wipro 3D and Engine Division of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) have collaborated for the development,
manufacturing and air worthiness certification of a critical aero-engine component operating in the hot zone,
using metal 3D printing.
 The Nozzle Guide Vane, 3D printed in a high temperature resilient steel A286, has been awarded
Airworthiness certification by Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC), the regulatory
body of Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO).

HCL Technologies signed agreement with IIT Kanpur to boost capabilities in cyber security
 HCL Technologies has inked an agreement with IIT Kanpur to collaborate in the area of cyber security. As
part of the pact, HCL will work with C3iHub, a specialized cyber security research center at IIT Kanpur.
 The teams will develop a security framework and solutions for cyber security challenges in current and
future operational technologies as one of the first areas of interest.

Amazon announced to setting up its first device manufacturing line in India

 Amazon is setting up its first device manufacturing line in India to make Fire TV sticks locally and has
partnered with Cloud Network Technology, a subsidiary of Foxconn, to begin producing the device at its
Chennai plant later this year.
 The e-commerce giant claimed that the production line will have an annual capacity of ―hundreds of
thousands‖ of units, and will also continuously evaluate manufacturing capacity based on domestic demand
for its devices.

Indian Oil signed pact with Greenstat Norway for hydrogen fuel
 The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and the Greenstat Norway signed an agreement to set up the Centre of
Excellence on Hydrogen. This agreement was signed some days after India unveiled its national hydrogen
mission.
 The National Hydrogen Mission was unveiled by the Indian government to accelerate their plans to generate
the carbon-free fuel from renewable sources. The government has also pledged in the Union Budget for
2021-22 to focus on generating hydrogen from the green power sources.

NTPC Limited decided to start 1st Hydrogen fuel bus service on Delhi-Jaipur route
 India's largest energy conglomerate, NTPC Limited (National Thermal Power Corporation Limited) is
planning to start a premium hydrogen fuel bus service on Delhi to Jaipur route.
 It is going to be the first FCEV bus service in India to be used for intercity commute. The new service is
going to be a pilot project to test the viability of fuel cell buses for the intercity commute.

Flipkart signed MoU with Government of Tamil Nadu to boost small-scale businesses
 E-commerce marketplace Flipkart has signed a MoU with Tamil Nadu MSME Trade and Investment
Promotion Bureau to bring local artisans, weavers, & SMBs into e-commerce fold.

29 February 2021
 The MoU will provide these societies with new vigour & link them to a national market for their products.
The Tamil Nadu government also has announced MSME Policy 2021 with a target to attract new
investments worth ₹2 lakh crore by 2025.

Airbus, FlyBlade India signed agreement for on-demand helicopter services in South Asia
 European aviation major Airbus has signed an initial pact with FlyBlade India to help develop the on-demand
helicopter services market in South Asia.
 The collaboration will create awareness about on demand helicopter services, among helicopter operators,
customers & other stakeholders in the region. The 2 partners will also work to identify ways to increase
BLADE's fleet size in South Asia.

Airtel partnered with Qualcomm for accelerating 5G services in India

 Bharti Airtel has partnered with Qualcomm Technologies for accelerating 5G services in India. Airtel will
utilize the Qualcomm SG RAN Platforms to roll-out virtualized and Open RAN-based 5G networks.
 In addition, Airtel and Qualcomm Technologies will collaborate to enable a wide array of use cases, including
5G Fixed Wireless Accesses (FWA).

Amazon India partnered with Mahindra Electric to include EVs in delivery fleet
 Amazon India has partnered with Mahindra Electric to strengthen its commitment to electric mobility in the
country. It is looking to add 10,000 electric vehicles in its local delivery fleet by 2025.
 Mahindra‘s Treo Zor vehicles have been deployed in 7 cities--Bengaluru, New Delhi, Hyderabad,
Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Indore, and Lucknow, with Amazon India‘s network of delivery service partners.

IWAI signed MoU with MOL for transportation of LPG through inland waterways
 A MoU was signed between the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and the MOL (Asia Oceania)
Ltd for transportation of Liquefied Natural Gas through barges on National Waterways-1 and 2.
 IWAI will provide support for, facilitating the handling of LPG cargo on IWAI terminals or Multimodal
Terminals at Haldia, Sahibganj and Varanasi. MOL Group is the world's largest gas carrier company.

IRCTC partnered with e-ticketing platform AbhiBus to offer bus ticket booking facility
 Online e-ticketing platform AbhiBus announced its partnership with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism
Corporation (IRCTC) to provide bus ticket facility to the latter‘s customers.
 The move will enable IRCTC get the bus inventory across 1, 00,000 bus routes and its customers the option
to book AC/ non-AC tickets/ buses as per their requirement.

Facebook signed pay deals with 3 Australian news publishers

 Facebook has announced preliminary agreements with three Australian publishers. Letters of intent had
been signed with independent news organizations Private Media, Schwartz Media and Solstice Media.
 These agreements will bring a new slate of premium journalism; including some previously pay walled
content, to Facebook.

30 February 2021
 MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Uber announced to acquired Alcohol delivery start-up Drizly for $1.1 billion
 Uber Technologies Inc. has agreed to acquire Drizly Inc for $1.1 billion. Drizly is an alcohol e-commerce
platform that facilitates the delivery of alcohol.
 The deal is Uber‘s biggest since July 2020 when it bought Postmates, a food delivery app. The Drizly
purchase primarily consists of Uber stock, with less than 10% in cash.

CCI approved BOI's 49% stake-buy in BOI AXA Investment Managers, BOI AXA Trust
 Competition Commission of India has approved Bank of India's acquisition of 49% stake each in BOI AXA
Investment Managers (BAIM) and BOI AXA Trustee Services (BATS).
 The total asset under management (AUM) of BOI AXA Mutual Fund was ₹2,426 crore as of 30 November
2020. Following the transaction, both the entities BAIM and BATS will become Bank of India's fully-owned
subsidiaries.

GAIL acquired Indian Energy Exchange's 5% stake in Indian Gas Exchange

 The Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) said state-owned GAIL (India) Ltd has acquired 5 per cent stake of the
IEX in its arm Indian Gas Exchange (IGX).
 However, the company did not divulge the details about the value of the transaction. Adani Total Gas and
Torrent Gas had acquired five per cent stake each in the IGX. GAIL is the third strategic investor in IGX.

Tatas acquired 68% stake in Bigbasket for ₹9,500 crore

 Salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group has signed a deal to acquire a 68% stake in BigBasket, an online
grocery platform. The stake worth ₹9,500 crore is being acquired through Tata Digital, a subsidiary of Tata
Sons.
 The agreement puts BigBasket's enterprise value at more than ₹13,500 crore. Founded in 2011, BigBasket
operates in 25 Indian cities.

DLF Cyber City Developers Limited acquired 51.8% stake in Fairleaf Real Estate
 DLF Group's rental arm DLF Cyber City Developers Limited (DCCDL) has acquired 51.8% stake in Fairleaf
Real Estate Private Limited for ₹780 crore. Fairleaf has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of DCCDL.
 In December 2020, DCCDL had entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with funds managed by
Hines (Hines) for the acquisition of their stake in Fairleaf.

Ashok Leyland announced to acquire 38% Nissan's stake in Hinduja Tech

 Hinduja Group flagship firm Ashok Leyland has entered an agreement with Nissan International Holding BV
to acquire 38% stake in Hinduja Tech for ₹70.20 crore.

31 February 2021
 It will acquire 58,500,000 shares for a total consideration of ₹70.20 crore constituting 38% in the paid-up
share capital of Hinduja Tech Ltd. Prior to the stake sale; Hinduja Tech Ltd was wholly-owned unlisted
subsidiary of Ashok Leyland.

Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail acquired 33.5% stake in Goodview Properties Non-public Restricted
 Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail (ABFRL) has acquired 33.5% stake in Goodview Properties Private Limited
(GPPL). GPPL was founded by fashion designer Tarun Tahiliani, for Rs 67 crore.
 Under this partnership, ABFRL and Tahiliani will also form a new entity. ABFRL will hold 80% stake in the
new entity while Tahiliani will hold the remaining 20%.

IIFL Securities and Axis Securities won bids to acquire Karvy accounts
 Brokerage firms IIFL Securities and Axis Securities will acquire the accounts of Karvy Stock Broking after
winning the bids conducted by exchanges and depositories.
 While IIFL will get the demat accounts of Karvy with depositories NSDL and CDSL, Axis Securities will
obtain the trading or broking accounts. IIFL Securities will get more than 1.1 million demat accounts.

32 February 2021
 APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS
Lt Gen Chandi Prasad Mohanty took charge as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff
 Lt Gen Chandi Prasad Mohanty took charge as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff, succeeding Lt Gen SK Saini.
Lt Gen Mohanty was heading the Army‘s Southern Command prior to this appointment.
 An alumnus of the Indian Military College, Dehradun and National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, Lt Gen
CP Mohanty was commissioned into the Rajput Regiment on 12 Jun 1982.

Anish Shah appointed as Chairman of Mahindra Finance

 Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services has announced the appointment of Anish Shah as the Chairman of
the board, effective April 2, 2021. Shah is already a director of the company.
 He is the Deputy Managing Director and group Chief Financial Officer of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. Shah
takes over from Dhananjay Mungale. Mungale shall continue to be an Independent Director on the Board of
MMFSL.

NASA appointed Indian-American Bhavya Lal as acting Chief of Staff

 Indian-American Bhavya Lal has been appointed as the new Acting Chief of Staff of the US space agency
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Dr Lal will also serve as the senior advisor for
budget and finance at NASA.
 Lal also served as a member of the Biden Presidential Transition Agency Review Team for the agency and
oversaw the agency‘s transition under the administration of President Joe Biden.

Amazon announced Jeff Bezos to step down as Amazon Chief Executive Officer
 Amazon announced that founder Jeff Bezos will step down as Chief Executive Officer of the company during
the third quarter of 2021. Jeff Bezos is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Amazon and currently the
second-richest person in the world, after Elon Musk.
 Bezos will transition to the role of Executive Chair of Amazon's board, while Amazon Web Services Chief
Executive Officer Andy Jassy will succeed him as the new Amazon CEO in Q3.

Additional Director Praveen Sinha appointed Acting Chief of CBI

 Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Additional Director Praveen Sinha, a 1988-batch Gujarat cadre IPS, has
been appointed Acting Chief of the agency till a decision on a new Director is taken to succeed Rishi Kumar
Shukla.
 The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose Sinha. The
CBI director is chosen by a high-powered committee of the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and
Chief Justice of India.

33 February 2021
S N Subrahmanyan appointed as Chairman of National Safety Council
 S. N. Subrahmanyan, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of L&T Ltd, has been appointed as
Chairman of the National Safety Council.
 "Subrahmanyan‘s experience will guide the National Safety Council which has a major role to play to ensure
safety in workplaces under new Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (OSH
Code, 2020).

Air Marshal Manavendra Singh took charge as Chief of IAF's Southern Command
 Air Marshal Manavendra Singh has been appointed the Air Officer Commanding in Chief of the IAF's
Southern Air Command. He takes over from Air Marshal Amit Tiwari who has been posted as Chief of the
Central Air Command.
 Mr. Singh has held a number of command and staff positions. He has commanded various frontline airbases
besides heading the IAF peacekeeping contingent in Bukavu in Congo.

NASA appointed Gavin Schmidt as 1st ever Climate Advisor

 NASA has appointed its first-ever senior Climate Advisor. Gavin Schmidt, the director of NASA‘s Goddard
Institute for Space Science (GISS), will hold the position until the agency makes a more permanent
appointment.
 Schmidt‘s job will involve communicating and coordinating with the wider scientific community, as well as
promoting NASA‘s climate-related research.

United Nations reappointed American billionaire Michael Bloomberg as a Special Envoy

 The United Nations has informed that American billionaire Michael Bloomberg has been reappointed as a
special envoy to engage governments in tackling the threat of global warming. He was first tapped for the
position in 2018.
 He will engage government officials and members of the private sector and civil society to finalize and
implement plans to vastly accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy.

Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala poised to become 1st woman to lead WTO

 Nigeria‘s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was poised to become the first African and first woman to lead the
embattled World Trade Organization (WTO) after a South Korean rival withdrew and the United States
reversed its previous opposition.
 Okonjo-Iweala, an economist and former finance minister of Nigeria, already enjoyed broad support from
WTO members, including the European Union, China, Japan and Australia.

Wipro Limited appointed Tomoaki Takeuchi as Country Head and Managing Director for Japan
 Wipro Limited has appointed Tomoaki Takeuchi as the Country Head and Managing Director for Japan.
Prior to joining Wipro, he headed the Japan operations for Cognizant.
 Wipro also announced the appointment of Michael Seiger as the country head and MD for Germany and
Austria. Prior to joining Wipro, Seiger was the global head of application management at Atos SE.

Softbank's Vision Fund appointed Nagraj Kashyap as Managing Partner

 SoftBank Group Corp.‘s Vision Fund is hiring Nagraj Kashyap as its Managing Partner. Nagraj Kashyap is the
outgoing global head of Microsoft‘s M12 fund.

34 February 2021
 He was previously head of ventures at Qualcomm Inc. before joining Microsoft in 2016. Managing Partner
Colin Fan is leaving his role to become an adviser to SoftBank Investment Advisers.

Tata Starbucks appointed Sushant Dash as Chief Executive Officer in India

 Tata Starbucks has appointed Sushant Dash as its new Chief Executive Officer in India effective. He will join
Tata Starbucks as Chief Executive Officer Designate effective April 1, 2021.
 Dash replaces current Chief Executive Officer Navin Gurney, who is stepping down to pursue an
opportunity outside of the company. Starbucks started operating in India from 2012 onwards.

IndiGo appointed Jiten Chopra as new Chief Financial Officer

 IndiGo has appointed Jiten Chopra as its Chief Financial Officer, effective from February 21, 2021. Formerly
he was an Executive at BSR & Co (KPMG).
 He will succeed Aditya Pande, who is leaving the airline to pursue other interests. He joined the airline in
February 2020 as head of governance, risk, and compliance.

Mahima Kaul resigned as Twitter India’s Public Policy Head

 Mahima Kaul has resigned from the post of Director, Public Policy, India and South Asia at Twitter. She
served at Twitter India for five years.
 Mahima Kaul will continue in her role till the end of March 2021. Ankhi Das had also quit as the Twitter
India's policy head earlier in October 2020.

Government of Assam appointed sprinter Hima Das as Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)
 Assam Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonwal announced that the state government has decided to appoint
sprinter Hima Das as a Deputy Superintendent of Police.
 The Assam cabinet also amended the integrated sports policy of the state for the appointment of medal
winners of Olympics, Asian Games, CWG (Class 1) and medal winners of World Championships senior
(Class 2) officers in different departments of the state government.

Yoshiro Mori resigned as Chief Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics organising committee
 The Head of the Tokyo Olympics resigned after a scandal over sexist remarks he made about women
threatened to overshadow preparations for the pandemic-hit games.
 Yoshiro Mori has come under increasing pressure after he said last week that women "have difficulty"
speaking concisely. The Japan Olympic Committee board has 25 members, among whom five are women.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce appointed Suzanne Clark as 1st woman Chief Executive Officer
 The US Chamber of Commerce will soon see Suzanne Clark as its next CEO, the first woman to lead the
group. Clark, who's currently the President of the US Chamber, will succeed Thomas J. Donohue.
 She was named as the President in June 2019. She serves on the boards of agricultural equipment maker
AGCO and TransUnion.

Tata Motors appointed Marc Llistosella as new Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director
 Tata Motors Ltd, India's largest vehicle maker appointed Marc Llistosella as the Managing Director and Chief
Executive Officer (MD and CEO) of its India business. He will take a charge from July 1, 2021.
 Previously he was serving as President and CEO of Fuso Truck Bus Corporation and Head of Daimler
Trucks in Asia. He will replace Guenter Butschek, who will work with Tata Motors till June.

35 February 2021
Aditya Mittal named as Chief Executive Officer of ArcelorMittal
 ArcelorMittal, one of the world's biggest steel producers, has announced that Aditya Mittal would take over
as the Chief Executive Officer from his father, Lakshmi Mittal.
 Lakshmi Mittal who would take on the mantle of Executive Chairman. Aditya Mittal was previously the
President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the company, and Chief Executive Officer of its European
arm.

Ajay Mathur set to become next Director General of the International Solar Alliance (ISA)
 Ajay Mathur, who heads the Energy and Research Institute, is set to become the next Director General (DG)
of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
 ISA, co-founded by India and France, is the first treaty-based international government organization to be
based in India. Mathur is also a member of the PM's Council on Climate Change and was earlier the DG of
the Bureau of Energy Efficiency.

CEAT Tyre appointed Rana Daggubati as brand ambassador for new range of bike tyres
 Tyre maker CEAT has roped in Rana Daggubati as its brand ambassador for promoting the 'Puncture Safe'
range of bike tyres. As part of the campaign across all 5 southern states, he will feature in the new
commercial for these tyres to be aired across TV and digital platforms.
 The company has launched the tyres for motorcycles in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu
and Kerala.

Mario Draghi sworn-in as Italy's next Prime Minister

 The former European Central Bank Chief Mario Draghi has been sworn in as the new Prime Minister of
Italy. The 73-year-old had served as President of the European Central Bank from 2011 until 2019.
 He replaces Giuseppe Conte, who resigned recently after losing majority support from his coalition
government over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Here Italy goes again, with its 67 th government
since World War-II.

United Nations Capital Development Fund appointed Preeti Sinha as Executive Secretary
 The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) has appointed Indian-origin investment and
development banker Preeti Sinha as its Executive Secretary. She is an Indian-origin investment and
development banker.
 The Executive Secretary will work with her focus on providing the micro-finance assistance to women,
youth, small and medium-sized enterprises belonging to the underserved communities.

Kiran Bedi removed as Puducherry’s Lieutenant Governor amid political crisis in Union territory
 The President has directed that Dr. Kiran Bedi shall cease to hold the office of the Lieutenant-Governor of
Puducherry and has given additonal charge to Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, Governor of Telangana.
 Dr. Bedi is country‘s first woman IPS officer and BJP‘s Chief Ministerial candidate in Delhi in 2015. She was
appointed LG on May 28, 2016.

Ajai Malhotra became 1st Indian Chairperson of Advisory Committee at Human Rights Council

36 February 2021
 Ajay Malhotra has become the first Indian to be elected as Chairperson of Advisory Committee of the
Human Right Council (HRC). He has served as the Ambassador of India to the Russian Federation till his
retirement in 2013.
 After retirement, he served from 2015 to 2019 as Independent Director Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
(ONGC), as also of ONGC Videsh (2017-2019).

Ajay H Patel elected as the Chief of Asian Zone of All India Chess Federation
 Ajay H Patel was elected as the Chief of Asian Zone during the Annual General Body meeting of All India
Chess Federation held. Patel is the President of Gujrat State Chess Association as well as the Chairman of
Gujarat State Co-operative Bank.
 The Annual General Body has also decided to nominate AICF secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan as FIDE
Delegate to represent India in the world body

Usha Rao-Monari appointed as the Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of UNDP

 India's Usha Rao-Monari has been appointed by UN Chief Antonio Guterres as Under-Secretary-General
and Associate Administrator of the UNDP. The United Nations Development Programme is the United
Nations' global development network.
 Rao-Monari previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Global Water Development Partners, a
Blackstone portfolio company, and held several senior positions, including Director of the Sustainable
Business Advisory Group at the International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group.

Honda Motor Company announced CEO to step down

 Honda Motor Co announced that Chief Executive Officer Takahiro Hachigo would step down, handing over
the reins to the head of the automaker's research and development arm, Toshihiro Mibe, on April 1.
 Hachigo will remain on the board, Japan's second-biggest automaker. Mibe, 59, joined Honda in 1987, with
stints in engine development and the drivetrain business.

N. Venudhar Reddy took over as Principal Director General of All India Radio News
 Indian Information Service officer N. Venudhar Reddy took over as Principal Director General of All India
Radio News.
 Prior to this, he was working as Joint Secretary in the Department of Investment and Public Asset
Management under the Finance Ministry. He has earlier served as Additional Director General in the Bureau
of Outreach and Communication.

K. Sailendra appointed as Executive Director (Regional Services), Indian Oil Corporation Limited.
 K. Sailendra has taken over as the executive director (Regional Services), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.,
southern region, comprising Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala and
Lakshadweep.
 Besides being the regional in-charge for key areas, he will be the regional-level coordinator for the States
and the Union Territories.

Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah elected as interim Prime Minister of Libya

 Libyan delegates at UN-led talks outside Geneva made the surprise choice of Abdul Hamid Dbeibah as
prime minister of a transitional unity government to take the war-ravaged country through to elections in
December.

37 February 2021
 He was chosen along with a three-member presidency council to head a unity administration and steer the
North African state towards the ballot box on December 24.

Lt Gen B S Raju to be new Director General of Military Operations of army

 Lt Gen B S Raju, the General-Officer-Commanding of the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps, will be the new
Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of the Indian Army.
 Lt Gen Raju, who has extensive experience in counter-terror operations, will succeed Lt Gen Paramjit Singh
who has taken charge as Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (strategy).

Suzuki Motor Corp Chairman Osamu Suzuki announced retirement

 Suzuki Motor Corp's 91-year old chairman, Osamu Suzuki, announced he will retire in June 2021. However,
he will remain active as an adviser. He headed the company for more than four decades.
 His son Toshihiro Suzuki is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the company. Osamu Suzuki, who
joined Suzuki Motor in 1958, became President in 1978 and was also appointed as Chairman in 2000.

Dushyant Chautala re-elected as President of President of Table Tennis Federation of India

 Haryana‖s Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala was re-elected as President of Table Tennis Federation
of India for a four-year term.
 Mr. Dhanraj Choudhary was named the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), M. P. Singh takes over from
Choudhary as Advisor and V. K. Bawa will be the Chief Financial Officer.

Indian economist Ligia Noronha appointed as Assistant Secretary-General of United Nations

 United Nations appointed Ligia Noronha of India as Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the New York
Office of the United Nations Environment Programme.
 Noronha is an economist and has worked since 2014 as Director of UNEP‘s Economy Division based in
Nairobi, leading UNEP‘s work on climate mitigation and energy transitions on inclusive green economies,
sustainable consumption and production as well as on trade and sustainable finance.

OLX Autos appointed Gautam Thakar as Global Chief Executive Officer

 OLX Group has appointed Gautam Thakar as the global Chief Executive Officer of its pre-owned car
marketplace OLX Autos, to manage the company‘s offline and online presence across Asia, Africa, Latin
America and the United States.
 Thakar, who will take up the role starting March 15, will manage the global operations of OLX Autos based
out of India. Gautam Thakar has worked with Star Sports as President and Chief Executive.

ADB appointed Bruno Carrasco as Director General for sustainable development, climate change
 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has appointed Bruno Carrasco as Director General and concurrently
Chief Compliance Officer of its sustainable development and climate change department.
 Carrasco has worked at ADB for more than 23 years. He was most recently Chief of ADB's governance
thematic group. Carrasco has also worked at the United Nations Office for Project Services.

38 February 2021
 RANKINGS
Democracy Index report 2020, released
 The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released its report titled ―Democracy in sickness and in health?‖ and
also published the Democracy Index 2020. India‘s rank has degraded by two places from the previous year
ranking. This year India has been ranked at 53rd place.
 In the Democracy Index, Norway has topped. The 2nd, 3rd 4th and 5th ranks have been secured by Iceland,
Sweden, New Zealand and Canada respectively in the index. The Democracy Index report 2020 by the
covers the 167 countries.

Virat Kohli retained India's top celebrity endorser for fourth consecutive year
 Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli retained the top celebrity endorser rank for the fourth consecutive
year in the 2020 Duff & Phelps celebrity brand valuation report. His brand value stands at $237.7 million.
 Akshay Kumar retained the second position with a brand value of $118.9 million, registering a 13.8% jump.
Ranveer Singh maintained the third position with a brand value of $102.9 million.

UP’s Shrawasti topped NITI Aayog aspirational district ranking in December

 Shrawasti in Uttar Pradesh has topped in the ranking of aspirational districts by government think tank NITI
Aayog in December 2020.
 Dhalai (Tripura) and Garhwa (Jharkhand) have been placed at the second and the third positions,
respectively, Niti Aayog said. Baksa (Assam) and Bokaro (Jharkhand) have been ranked fourth and fifth,
respectively.

Bumble’s 31-year-old Chief Executive Officer became rare female billionaire

 Bumble, a company catering to women and led by women has made its Chief Executive Officer Whitney
Wolfe Herd a billionaire.
 Bumble Inc. sold shares in its upcoming trading debut at $43, valuing Whitney‘s stake at more than $900
million and lifting her overall fortune above $1 billion. Wolfe Herd founded the Bumble, a Texas based
company in 2014 following her departure from Tinder.

Jeff Bezos overtook Elon Musk to become the world's richest person again
 Amazon Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos reclaimed as the world‘s richest person after he knocked Tesla‘s
Chief Elon Musk from the top spot on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index ranking with a net wealth of $191.2
billion, or $955 million more than Elon Musk.
 Tesla shares fell 2.4%, wiping out $4.6 billion from Musk‘s fortune. Musk had briefly taken over the Amazon
chief in January as the world‘s richest person in Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

39 February 2021
 AWARDS & HONOURS
AR Rahman, activist won awards for being Good Samaritan work
 AR Rahman and social activist from Saidapet Hari Krishnan were among the 14 people who were presented
the fourth edition of the Alert Being Awards 2020 by the NGO ALERT for their Good Samaritan work.
 ALERT had been doing a brilliant job in empowering a common man to save lives. The Alert Being Icon
Award for an organisation was presented to the Biocon Foundation's founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.

Jindal Steel and Power Limited conferred with Mahatma Award 2020
 Chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL), Naveen Jindal has been conferred with the Mahatma
Award 2020. The Mahatma Award was founded and constituted by Amit Sachdeva, more famously known
as 'The CSR Man of India'.
 He has been awarded for his humanitarian effort to support the communities and local administration in
fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

UN Chief and Moroccan-French activist won Zayed Award for Human Fraternity
 United Nation‘s Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and French-Moroccan activist Latifa Ibn Ziaten are the
co-recipients of the 2021 Zayed Award for Human Fraternity.
 The award was inspired by the Document on Human Fraternity, which was signed by Grand Imam Al-Tayeb
and Pope Francis on February 2019, in the UAE‘s capital. The award carries a cash prize of $500,000.

Indian documentary won award at Sundance Film Festival in United State

 ‗Writing with Fire‘, an Indian documentary film chronicling the rise of Khabar Lahariya, has won the audience
award in the World Cinema Documentary category at Sundance Film Festival 2021.
 It is India‘s only newspaper run by Dalit women. The festival was organised from January 28 to February 3,
20201 by US-based Sundance Organisation.

Bengaluru airport bagged 'Voice of the Customer' global recognition

 The Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) has won the Airports Council International World's
'Voice of the Customer' award.
 The 'Voice of the Customer' initiative recognises airports that continued to prioritise their customers during
the novel coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Under the #WeAreHereForYou umbrella of BIAL, various
campaigns were launched to rebuild passenger confidence.

Film Karavan launched ‘Bandra Film Festival’ in partnership with YouTube

 Online content distribution company Film Karavan has collaborated with YouTube to launch ‗Bandra Film
Festival‘, a digital film festival.

40 February 2021
 The festival will show more than 50 films from filmmakers across the country & across multiple genres,
languages & formats. The festival will also allow viewers to donate funds to support the films and filmmakers
of their choice.

Indian short film 'Bittu' shortlisted for the 93rd Academy Awards in Live Action Category
 Indian short film 'Bittu' has been shortlisted for the 93rd Academy Awards in Live Action Category. India‘s
official Oscar entry Jallikattu has failed to make it to the International Feature Film shortlist.
 Bittu has emerged amongst the Top 10 candidates after the first round of voting, competing amongst 174
films from across the globe. The film has been inspired by the infamous school poisoning of 2013 and
explores the close friendship between two school girls on a seemingly normal day at school.

Odisha Forest Officer Susmita Lenka received United Nations Award

 In a first for India, a female forest officer from Odisha, Sasmita Lenka has been felicitated with United
Nation's Asia Environmental Enforcement Award.
 Lanka, who is a divisional forest officer in Athgarh, Cuttack, received the award under the 'Gender
Leadership and Impact' category. Lenka has helped in busting an international network of pangolin in Athgarh
and Khunnpunni.

Australian's Robert Irwin won Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021

 Robert Irwin, an Australian wildlife photographer has won the first prize in the Wildlife Photographer of the
Year People‘s Choice Award Contest. Irwin‘s image was chosen from a shortlist of 25 finalists that received
a total of 55,486 votes.
 Robert won the award for the image titled ‗bushfire‘, which is the picture of the devastating Australian
Bushfire in 2020; he captured using a drone, near the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve in Cape York,
Queensland.

Telangana’s Manasa Varanasi emerged as the winner of VLCC Femina Miss India World 2020.
 Telangana's Manasa Varanasi was crowned VLCC Femina Miss India World 2020. It was the 57th edition of
the Femina Miss India beauty pageant.
 Haryana‘s Manika Sheokand was declared VLCC Femina Miss Grand India 2020, while Uttar Pradesh‘s
Manya Singh was crowned VLCC Femina Miss India 2020 - runner-up.

SERB announced Women Excellence Award 2021 in Science

 Four young women fellows of National Science Academies have been awarded for excelling in science and
engineering. The SERB Women Excellence Award that has been conferred on them provides a grant of Rs.
15 lakhs for a period of three years to the awardees to pursue their research ideas.
 The for women scientists selected for the awards are Dr. Shobhna Kapoor, Dr. Antara Banerjee, Dr. Sonu
Gandhi and Dr. Ritu Gupta. Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) is a statutory body of the
Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Delhi Police received Best Marching Contingent Trophy-2021

 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presented the trophies of best marching contingents of the Republic Day
Parade 2021. Sh. Robin Hibu, Spl. CP/Armed Police received the trophy on behalf of Delhi Police.

41 February 2021
 Jat Regimental Centre bagged the trophy of best marching contingent among the Tri-Services while Delhi
Police was adjudged as the best marching contingent among the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and
other auxiliary services.

Theodore Baskaran won Sanctuary Lifetime Service Award 2020

 S. Theodore Baskaran who is a writer, a historian, a naturalist and an activist has won the Sanctuary Lifetime
Service Award, 2020. The award was instituted by the Sanctuary Nature Foundation.
 Theodore Baskaran was chosen for the award in the light of his dedication to the wildlife conservation. He
won the award for his writing prowess in English and Tamil contributing towards the conservation discourse.
He was also chosen for the award in the backdrop of inspiring the young naturalists.

‘Meesha’ won best novel at Kerala Sahitya Akademi Awards

 The Kerala Sahitya Akademi awards for the year 2019 were announced, and author S. Hareesh‘s Meesha
(Moustache) has won the best novel prize. The awards carry prize money of Rs 25,000, a citation and a
certificate.
 Rathri Pandrandarayk oru Tharattu (A Lullaby at 12:30 in the Night) written by P. Raman, won the award for
the best poetry. Ramachi by Vinoy Thomas has bagged the award for the best short story.

Manipur doctor won high Japanese honour for promoting ties between 2 nations
 Japan has conferred the "Order of the Rising Sun" on Manipur physician and former President of state
tourism forum, Dr Thangjam Dhabali Singh.
 The honour is given to felicitate his contribution to strengthening ties between Japan and India, and Japan
and Manipur. It is one of the highest orders conferred by Japan govt. to non-military and apolitical
personalities, constituted in 1875.

Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh conferred SKOCH Chief Minister of the Year Award
 Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has been conferred the Skoch Chief Minister of the Year award. The
award selection was based on a study of project-level outcomes in various states.
 The award was presented to him by the Chairman, Skoch Group, Sameer Kochhar, at the CM‘s camp office.

Kay Kay Menon honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award for most versatile actor
 Kay Kay Menon has been honoured with the award for 'Most Versatile Actor' at Dadasaheb Phalke
International Film Festival 2021. DPIFF is one of India's most prestigious awards ceremony which honours
actors and artists who have contributed to the Indian cinema.
 It is India‘s only independent award function with a mission to celebrate the legacy of Dadasaheb Phalke,
Father of Indian Cinema.

Jasmine Harrison became youngest woman to row solo across the ocean
 A 21-year-old swimming teacher, Jasmine Harrison from North Yorkshire in the UK has become the
youngest woman to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
 She reached Antigua in the Caribbean after 70 days, three hours and 48 minutes after covering 3,000 miles.
The previous youngest female solo ocean rower was 22-year-old Katie Spots from the USA who rowed the
Atlantic east-to-west in 2010.

Late Sushant Singh Rajput honoured with 'Critic's Best Actor' award

42 February 2021
 Late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in the 'Critic's
Best Actor' category during the prestigious award ceremony held.
 The official of Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival announced the same through social media post.
The actor died under mysterious circumstances in June 2020.

Ayodhya district administration received Skoch Gold Award for COVID-19 Management
 The Ayodhya district administration has been felicitated with Skoch Gold Award for the measures taken to
contain COVID-19. The city had participated in the esteemed 68th SKOCH awards, which were organised
through the digital mode.
 Skoch Award was started in 2003 to facilitate people, projects and institutions for their contributions to
society and make India a better nation.

Dadasaheb Phalke Awards 2020, announced

 Deepika Padukone and Akshay Kumar bagged Dadasaheb Phalke Awards for 'Best Actor' on 20 Feb 2021.
They won the award for their movies 'Chhapaak' and 'Laxmii', respectively.
 Kiara Advani won the 'Critic's Best Actress' award and Sushmita Sen won 'Best Actress Web Series'.

Uttar Pradesh received award for fastest implementation of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana
 Uttar Pradesh received award for fastest implementation of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana in
the category of fastest take off in year 2020-21. Nearly 1.53 crore farmers were registered during the
period of December 2018 to March 2019 in state.
 Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi state government is committed for the welfare of
farmers of state.

Biden administration named Anjali Bharadwaj for anti-corruption award

 Anjali Bharadwaj, an Indian social activist working on issues of transparency and accountability, is one of the
12 ―courageous‖ individuals named by the Biden administration for the newly-instituted International Anti-
Corruption Champions Award.
 The 48-year-old Bhardwaj has served as an active member of the Right to Information Movement in India for
over two decades. She is the founder of the Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SNS), a citizens‘ group which
promotes transparency and accountability in government and encourage the active participation of citizens.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals received 'India Pharma Innovation of the Year' Award

 Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical company, received the 'India Pharma Innovation of the Year'
award, as part of the India Pharma and India Medical Device Awards 2021.
 The prestigious award was conferred by the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), Ministry of Chemicals
and Fertilizers. This is the fourth time Glenmark has won an award from the Government of India.

43 February 2021
 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Next SpaceX commercial crew mission announced to launch in April
 The 2nd operational SpaceX commercial crew mission to the International Space Station will be launched on
20 April 2021. It will be carrying astronauts from ESA (Europe), JAXA (Japan) and NASA (US).
 The four astronauts will replace the Crew-1 astronauts who flew to the station in Nov 2020 on the 1st
operational Crew Dragon mission.

BluShift Aerospace launched its first rocket powered by biofuels

 Maine-based rocket start-up bluShift Aerospace launched the world's 1st commercial booster powered by
biofuel. The biofuel prototype, called Stardust 1.0, took off despite freezing temperatures and 2 false starts.
 The company's rocket engine called the Modular Adaptable Rocket Engine for Vehicle Launch (MAREVL)
uses a proprietary solid biofuel which is eco-friendly.

Wikipedia launched new code of conduct to address harassment, fake news

 Wikipedia Foundation launched its first global code of conduct on 2 Feb 2021, seeking to address criticism
that it has failed to combat harassment and suffers from a lack of diversity.
 The new code of conduct bans harassment on and off the site, barring behaviours like hate speech, the use
of slurs, stereotypes or attacks based on personal characteristics, etc.

Google announced shut down in-house Stadia game development studio

 Google‘s parent Alphabet has announced that it will shut down its internal game development studio that
develops video games for its cloud-based game-streaming service, Stadia.
 The development arm was set up together with Stadia in 2019. The service is currently limited to Canada,
Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, US, UK and a few more. It is currently not available in India.

Iran launched country's newest satellite-carrying rocket

 Iran's Defence Ministry launched a new satellite carrier with its "most powerful" solid fuel engine. It was the
first launch of the Zoljanah hybrid satellite carrier for sub-orbital testing.
 Zoljanah can put satellites in a 500 KM altitude orbit and carry a 220-KG payload. The rocket can be
launched from a "mobile platform", which provides it with "special capabilities".

NASA informed planning to launch a robotic Mars ice mapping mission

 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) planning to launch a robotic Mars ice mapping
mission in collaboration with three international partners. The mission could help the agency identify
potential science objectives for initial human missions to Mars.

44 February 2021
 NASA has signed a statement of intent with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Japan Aerospace Exploration
Agency (JAXA) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) for collaboration in the mission.

Indian Navy received three Mk III Advanced Light Helicopters from HAL
 The Indian Navy received three made in India Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) from Hindustan
Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). The helicopters are customised for coastal security.
 Out of 16 Mk-III helicopters ordered, three have been delivered. The naval version of ALH is fitted with an
array of advanced sensors that can detect Mumbai terror attacks like intrusions on Indian waters.

India’s PUB-G alternative FAU-G released globally

 Online multiplayer action game 'FAU-G: Fearless and United Guards', which is the Indian alternative for
PUB-G, has now been released globally. On the occasion of Republic Day, Akshay Kumar launched the
mobile action game 'Fearless and United Guards (FAU-G).
 The initial episode of is based in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh and the rest of the episodes will be set in other
Indian battlegrounds.

Russia announced to launch around 40 satellites from 18 countries in March 2021

 Russia is set to put into orbit around 40 satellites from over a dozen different countries all over the world
using the Soyuz-2 carrier rocket in March 2021.
 A Soyuz-2.1, a carrier rocket with the Fregat booster will blast off with the South Korean CAS500-1
(Compact Advanced Satellite 500) space vehicle from the Baikonur space centre on March 20, 2021.

UAE, US and Chinese prepare to land missions on the Red Planet

 Three separate missions launched by the United States, United Arab Emirates and China are scheduled to
enter Mars orbit this month. All three missions had taken flight within just 11 days of each other in 2020.
 All three missions have different aims and capabilities. While the US and Chinese missions plan to land
exploratory rovers on Mars, the UAE is focused on surveying it from above through an orbiter.

Skyroot & Bellatrix signed MoU to use latter's orbital transfer vehicle
 Skyroot Aerospace and Bellatrix Aerospace have signed a MoU to use the Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV)
being developed by Bellatrix Aerospace.
 An Orbital Transfer Vehicle is a spacecraft that can perform various in-orbit operations, allowing a launch
vehicle to deliver satellites to more orbits. Skyroot and Bellatrix plan to have the first mission of a Vikram
launcher with an OTV by 2023.

Turkey announced space program including 2023 moon mission

 The President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan unveiled an ambitious 10-year space program that includes
missions to the moon, developing internationally viable satellite systems, and sending Turkish astronauts into
space.
 The program announced by the President, during a live televised event laced with special effects, can be
seen as part of his vision for placing Turkey in the expanded global and regional role.

ISRO opened satellite testing centre for private sector

 Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has opened its UR Rao Satellite Centre for testing satellites
developed by the private sector for the first time in its history.

45 February 2021
 Two satellites, developed by the Indian start-ups SpaceKidz India and Pixxel (incorporated as Sygyzy) were
tested at the UR Rao Satellite Centre. ISRO also helped these two companies in fixing problems with the
solar panels on their respective satellites.

ISRO unveiled draft ‚humans in space policy 2021‛

 The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to tap start-ups and the local industry to build
technologies for its human space programme.
 It unveiled a draft ―humans in space policy 2021‖ that would look at facilitating participation of non-
traditional players in undertaking space activities.

Indian astronomers detected huge optical flare from super massive black hole
 Indian astronomers have reported one of the strongest flares from a feeding super massive black hole or
blazar called BL Lacertae, analysis of which can help trace the mass of the black hole and the source of this
emission. Such analysis can provide a lead to probe mysteries and trace events at different stages of
evolution of the Universe
 Blazars or feeding super massive black holes in the heart of distant galaxies receive a lot of attention from
the astronomical community because of their complicated emission mechanism.

ISRO announced ‘Bhuvan’, a desi alternative to Google Maps

 ISRO has signed a MoU with geospatial technology company CE Info Systems Pvt Ltd, which owns
MapmyIndia to create an indigenous mapping portal and geospatial service.
 Collaboration will identify and build a holistic geospatial portal utilizing earth observation datasets, 'NavIC',
Web Services & APIs available in MapmyIndia. The geospatial portals will be called 'BHUVAN', 'VEDAS' &
'MOSDAC'.

Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM) designed and developed by DRDO

 Long Range Surface to Air Missiles (LRSAM) was jointly developed by DRDO and IAI Israel to equip the
latest ships of the Indian Navy. The missile system can provide point and area defences against various air
targets (including fighter jets, subsonic and supersonic cruise missiles).
 The missile is powered by an indigenously developed dual pulse rocket engine and dual control system to
give the required manoeuvrability in the terminal phase.

Russia launched cargo ship heading for International Space Station

 Russia has launched a new progress cargo ship into orbit. The cargo ship was launched in order to deliver
the cargo to the seven crew members in the International Space Station (ISS).
 The space agency of Russia, Roscosmos, launched the Progress MS-16 cargo ship. It is also called Progress
77. The cargo ship was launched using the Soyuz rocket from Site 31 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in
Kazakhstan.

Fossils of world’s oldest animal discovered in Bhimbetka

 Researchers have discovered the fossils of the World‘s oldest and the earliest known living animal,
Dickinsonia. The fossils have been found on the roof of the Bhimbetka rock shelters which are about 40 km
from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.

46 February 2021
 They were lying hidden in plain sight and were founded by the researchers of the GSI- Geological Survey of
India who had gone to Bhimbetka before the 36th International Geological Congress. Dickinsonia dates back
to 550 million years.

Facebook blocked Australian users from viewing or sharing news

 Australian users have been blocked on Facebook from sharing or viewing any form of news content on the
platform. The sudden move caused alarm over the public access to the key information.
 The step by Facebook was in a response to Australia‘s proposed law which aims at making tech giants pay
for the news content. Companies such as Facebook and Google have argued that the law doesn‘t reflect
how the internet works and also unfairly penalizes the platforms.

The National Informatics Centre has launched an instant messaging platform 'Sandes'
 The National Informatics Centre (NIC), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, has
launched an instant messaging platform called ―Sandes‖
 Similar to WhatsApp, the new government instant messaging systems (GIMS) platform can be used for all
kinds of communications by anyone using a mobile number or email address.

NASA's Perseverance rover successfully landed on Mars in historic mission

 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Perseverance rover landed successfully at
Mars' Jezero Crater after surviving a blazing seven-minute plunge through the Martian atmosphere, nearly
seven months after its take-off.
 Perseverance rover has become NASA's fifth rover to touch down on Mars after Sojourner, twin rovers
Spirit and Opportunity and Curiosity. NASA's Perseverance rover was launched on July 30, 2020.

CSIR inked MoU with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to promote health research
 The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the development, conduct and promotion of health
research in India.
 Gates Foundation and CSIR will work together to identify opportunities to initiate scientific and technological
collaborations.

Launch of Chandrayaan-3 delayed further to 2022 due to COVID-19 pandemic

 The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chief K Sivan informed that India‘s third mission to the
moon, Chandrayaan-3, is likely to be launched in the year 2022. The orbiter launched during Chandrayaan-2
will be used for Chandrayaan-3.
 The COVID-19 lockdown has hit several projects of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
including Chandrayaan-3, which was scheduled to be launched in late 2020, and Gaganyaan, the country's
first manned space mission.

India successfully test-fired Helina, Dhruvastra anti-tank guided missiles

 Defence Research and Development Organisation has successfully carried out joint user trials of indigenously
developed Helina and Dhruvastra Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) from the Advanced Light Helicopter at
the Pokhran deserts in Rajasthan.

47 February 2021
 Helena is the Army version and Dhruvastra is the Air Force version of the ALH. The missile systems have
been designed and developed indigenously by the Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO).

DRDO successfully launched VL-SRSAM missile system

 The Defence Research and Development Organisation- DRDO conducted two successful launches of
indigenously designed and developed Vertical Launch Short Range Surface to Air Missile (VL-SRSAM).
 The two launches of VL-SRSAM were monitored by the senior scientists from the labs which were involved
in developing and designing the system such as R&D Engineers, Pune and DRDL, RCI, Hyderabad.

NASA released first audio from Mars, video of Perseverance rover landing
 The United States space agency, NASA, released the first audio from Mars. It was a faint crackling recording
of the wind that was captured by Perseverance rover. NASA has also released the first video of landing of
the rover.
 The rover is on a mission to search if there is any sign of past life on the MARS (RED Planet). The rover sent
a high-definition video clip of about three minutes and 25 seconds. Video shows deployment of a red-and-
white parachute having 70.5-foot-wide canopy.

Facebook banned Myanmar military from its platforms with immediate effect
 Facebook announced ban on the Myanmar military from using its Facebook and Instagram platforms with
immediate effect, as weeks of mass demonstrations continue in the Southeast Asian country after the
military seized power.
 Decision to ban the Myanmar army came due to exceptionally severe human rights abuses and the clear risk
of future military-initiated violence in Myanmar as well as the army‘s repeated history of violating Facebook‘s
rules, including since the coup.

Chandigarh became 1st Union Territory in India to launch Carbon Watch

 Chandigarh became the first state or Union Territory in India to launch Carbon Watch, a mobile application
to assess the carbon footprint of an individual.
 Although the app can be accessed by everyone, it has specific options for the residents of Chandigarh to
compile a detail study. Carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gases-especially carbon dioxide-
released into the atmosphere by a particular human activity.

48 February 2021
 SPORTS
India topped medals tally at first Asian Online Shooting Championship
 The Indian shooting contingent has topped the medals tally in the first-ever Asian Online Shooting
Championship, organised by Kuwait Shooting Federation.
 The 24-member Indian shooting contingent won total 11 medals, which included four gold medals, two
silver and five bronze medals. 274 shooters from 22 Asian countries took part in the competition.

Rishabh Pant & Joe Root nominated for ICC Men's Player of the Month
 The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the nominees for the inaugural ICC Player of the
Month Awards that recognise and celebrate the best performances across all forms of international cricket
throughout the year.
 The nominees for Men's Player of the Month (January) are Rishabh Pant (India), Joe Root (England) and Paul
Stirling (Ireland). The nominees for the Women's Player of the Month include Diana Baig (Pakistan),
Marizanne Kapp and Shabnim Ismail from South Africa.

Former pacer Merv Hughes inducted into Australian Cricket Hall of Fame
 Former right-arm fast bowler Merv Hughes has been inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame. In
2005, Hughes became a selector for the Australian cricket team, a role he would hold through until 2010.
 The 59-year-old played 53 Tests and 33 ODIs for Australia in a career spanning from 1985 to 1994, during
which he captured 212 Test wickets and 38 ODI wickets.

Joe Root became 1st player to score 200 in 100th Test

 England's Joe Root became the first cricketer to score 200 in his 100th Test, touching the milestone on the
second day of the first Test against India.
 Former Pakistan skipper Inzamam ul Haq, who hit 184 against India in Bengaluru in 2005, held the previous
best score in the 100th Test.

ICC announced BYJU'S as global partner until 2023

 The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced edu-tech Company BYJU'S as its global partner from
2021 to 2023. In August 2019, the company became the official jersey partners of the Indian cricket team.
 The three-year agreement will see BYJU'S partner all ICC events over the period, including the forthcoming
men's T20 World Cup in India and the women's World Cup in New Zealand.

Government of India permitted BCCI to use drones for aerial filming of cricket matches
 Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ave granted a
conditional exemption to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the deployment of drones for
live aerial cinematography of the India Cricket Season in 2021.

49 February 2021
 The Drone Rules 2021 are in the final stages of discussion with the Law Ministry and approval is expected by
March 2021.

Germany’s Bayern Munich won 2020 FIFA Club World Cup football tournament
 Germany‘s Bayern Munich defeated Mexico‘s Tigers 1-0 in the final played at Doha to win the 2020 FIFA
Club World Cup football tournament.
 Benjamin Pavard scored for Bayern Munich. Six continental confederations and the host nation‘s league
champions participate in the tournament every year.

Ravichandran Ashwin became 1st bowler to dismiss left-handers 200 times in Tests
 Team India‘s off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin became the 1st player in the 143-year history of Test cricket
to take 200 wickets against left-handed batsmen. Fast bowler Stuart Broad was the 200th left-hander to be
dismissed by Ashwin.
 He achieved the feat during the second day of India's second Test against England here at the MA
Chidambaram Stadium, his home ground.

Chief Minister of Odisha laid foundation stone of India's largest hockey stadium in Rourkela
 Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik laid the foundation stone of India's biggest international hockey stadium at
Rourkela in Sundergarh district. The new hockey stadium will be named after freedom fighter 'Birsa Munda'
and will have a seating capacity of more than 20,000.
 The state government has set a target to complete the construction of stadium ahead of the men's FIH
Hockey World Cup 2023.

South Africa's Chris Morris became most expensive player in auction history
 Chris Morris became the costliest ever player at an IPL auction for Rajasthan Royal. Krishnappa Gowtham
became the costliest Indian uncapped player for Chennai Super Kings at the IPL 2021 auction.
 Prior to Chris Morris, Yuvraj Singh was the costliest-ever buy in auction history as he was bought for Rs 16
crore by Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2015. A total of 292 players were enlisted for the auctions- 164 of them
Indian and 125 overseas.

Kings XI Punjab renamed as Punjab Kings ahead of IPL auction

 The IPL Franchise, Kings XI Punjab has formally been renamed as Punjab Kings ahead of the Indian Premier
League auction. The new brand name and logo of the team was officially released by the management.
 The Punjab-based IPL franchise ‗Punjab Kings‗is co-owned by Bollywood actress Preity Zinta, along with
businessman Ness Wadia, Mohit Burman and Karn Paul.

IPL governing council confirmed that VIVO is back as Title Sponsor for IPL 2021
 The Indian Premier League (IPL) has made an announcement that smartphone manufacturer VIVO will be
returning as the title sponsor for 2021. Brijesh Patel, the Chairman of the Indian Premier League made this
announcement.
 Under the IPL "mini-auction" for 2021, 291 players will be listed. The cricketers have been shortlisted by the
eight franchises.

Japan’s Naomi Osaka won Australian Open tennis women’s singles title

50 February 2021
 Japan‘s Naomi Osaka won her second Australian Open and her fourth title in her past eight appearances at a
Grand Slam tennis women‘s singles title by beating American Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-3 in the final in
Melbourne.
 Before this, Osaka had won the 2019 Australian Open and 2018 and 2020 US Open titles. The 2020 AP
Female Athlete of the Year is also on a 21-match winning streak that dates to last season.

Serbian Tennis player Novak Djokovic won 9th Australian Open Title
 Novak Djokovic, the world-number one Serbian Tennis player defeated Daniil Medvedev of Russia 7-5, 6-2,
6-2 in the finals of the Australian Open 2021 at Rod Laver Arena in Australia to win his 9th Australian Title.
 This is also the 18th Grand Slam win for Djokovic, just two behind from Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Earlier, the Serbian Player had defeated Aslan Karatsev in the semi-finals, while Daniil Medvedev had
outclassed the Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Union Sports Minister announced Karnataka to host 2nd Khelo India Games
 Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has announced that the 2nd Khelo India University Games will be hosted
by Karnataka. It will be held in partnership with the Association of Indian Universities.
 Over 4,000 sportsmen under the age of 25 will compete. The 1st edition was held in Bhubaneswar in 2020.
In the 2nd edition of the games, Yogasana and Mallakhamb have also been added.

Tech Mahindra announced to launch Global Chess League

 With an aim to revolutionize and popularise chess across the world, Tech Mahindra has announced the
launch of the Global Chess League. It will be a first-of-its-kind phygital (physical and digital) format league.
 Tech Mahindra has also roped in five-time world chess champion and Indian chess grandmaster Viswanathan
Anand as mentor and partner for the league.

Prime Minister inaugurated 2nd Khelo India National Winter Games

 Prime Minister Modi virtually inaugurated and delivered the inaugural address at the 2nd Khelo India National
Winter Games. In total, 27 states, boards, and Union Territories will be sending their teams to participate in
the games.
 The 2nd Khelo India National Winter Games are being organized by the Youth Affairs and Sports ministry in
collaboration with the Winter Games Association of Jammu and Kashmir and J&K Sports Council.

51 February 2021
 BOOKS & AUTHORS
The book titled ‘Yes Man: The Untold Story of Rana Kapoor’ released
 The book titled ‗Yes Man: The Untold Story of Rana Kapoor‘ by Pavan C. Lall has been released. Yes Man is the
story of Rana Kapoor, and his Icarus-like flight that eventually led to the Yes Bank crisis.
 In this hard-hitting book, Pavan C. Lall details not only Rana Kapoor‘s journey, but also asks tough questions
about the banking system, its regulators and even the business environment that led to a point of no return for
Yes Bank.

Spiritual Leader Dalai Lama launched a book 'The Little Book of Encouragement'
 Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama has come up with his new book "The Little Book of Encouragement". It
has 130 quotes and is edited by Renuka Singh and published by Penguin Random House.
 He has praised India's rich civilizational heritage in his book, saying it is rooted in the long-standing traditions
of karuna and ahimsa: compassion and non-violence.

Former Vice-President Hamid Ansari released new book

 Former Vice President Hamid Ansari has come up with his new autobiography called 'By Many a Happy
Accident'. It is on Ansari‘s life as a diplomat, and then Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman for two
terms.
 It also contains several accounts of Ansari‘s interactions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, one of them
being when he had just become Vice President.

Sangeet Paul Choudary’s Book ‘Platform Scale: For a Post-Pandemic World’ released
 A Book titled ‗Platform Scale: For a Post-Pandemic World‘ has been authored by Sangeet Paul Choudhary. It
is published by Penguin Random House India.
 It explains the importance of inner workings of platform business models and their ability to scale rapidly.
The 1st edition of Platform Scale was published in 2015.

Jual Oram launched book on economic awareness in India

 Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Defence and MP Jual Oram has launched ‗Turn around India:
2020- Surmounting Past Legacy‘, a book on creating economic awareness among masses.
 The book is authored by RP Gupta. ‗Turn Around India: 2020‘ is an intimate narrative of Gupta‘s experiences
and how he attained success through sheer hard work and determination.

Actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ memoir named ‘Unfinished’, released

 Actor-producer Priyanka Chopra Jonas officially turned author with the release of her first book,
―Unfinished: A Memoir‖. The book covers her dual-continent 20-year-long career as an actor and producer
and her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

52 February 2021
 The memoir promises to offer insights into Priyanka Chopra Jonas‘ childhood in India, her formative teenage
years in the US.

Union Home minister Amit Shah released book on CRPF's history

 Home Minister Amit Shah released a book chronicling the history of CRPF since its raising in 1939 and it will
become a source of inspiration for personnel joining the force.
 The minister stated that it is a matter of pride that all proud moments in the history of CRPF in the last 82
years have been recorded in the book. No institution can inspire its warriors without conveying history and
sacrifice and bravery of its personnel.

Vice President releases ‘Maverick Messiah’, a political biography on NTR

 ‗Maverick Messiah‘ is political biography of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, late Shri N T Rama Rao.
The book is authored by senior journalist, Ramesh Kandula.
 NTR was ranked among the top pioneers of 'alternative politics'. The actor-leader was a phenomenon that
had made stellar contributions to cinema and politics.

Srikanth Ram's book ‘Leadership Lessons from 22 Yards’ released

 The book titled ‗Leadership Lessons from 22 Yards‘ by Srikanth Ram has been released recently. Leadership
Lessons from 22 Yards is a book that every aspiring, young manager and entrepreneur can relate with.
 The book is a unique blend of Cricket and Leadership values that offers insightful advice to build effective
teams and weave an organization high on values.

Book by Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk announced to be translated into English

 The latest book by Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk to be translated into English is a departure for the
celebrated Polish author. The book has many meanings, also inspired by its nostalgic, meditative drawings by
Polish artist Joanna Concejo.
 ‗The Lost Soul‘, which comes out this week in the US, is a poetic story of a man who loses his soul in the
daily rush and can only regain it in a very special way.

Penguin Random House India announced new book on India’s scam culture
 Penguin Random House India announced the acquisition of a new book by award-winning journalist and
author Snigdha Poonam that gives an insight into the subculture of scams, cons and frauds in the country.
 The book, titled ―India: A Scamster Born Every Minute‖, will be released under Penguin‘s Viking imprint in
2022, the publishing house. It proposes to navigate the sociocultural landscape of India and maps the
evolution of corruption in the country.

53 February 2021