SM Current Affairs FEBRUARY 2021 Set 01

PREFACE

It gives us great pleasure to release the monthly edition of the PRAVAHINI - Monthly e-Compendium & Weekly e-Periodicals of Current Affairs. The magazine’s members have shown considerable cooperation as well as devotion. We at successmantra.in work tirelessly to create this magazine and bring it to you with a great sense of gratitude.

The PRAVAHINI February-2021 eBook covers the current events that happened in the month of October. Current Affairs is a crucial component of any competitive exams including CLAT, AILET, DU-LLB, HM, CAT, IAS, PCS, SSC, Banking, MBA and various other competitive examinations.

Current Affairs play the bigger role in many competitive and government exams. It holds the power of making or breaking your chance of success. Therefore, the candidates should cover the Current Affairs thoroughly and smartly.

The PRAVAHINI February-2021 eBook is divided into different sections keeping in mind the need of various exams. The sections covered namely International, National, Economy, Ecology and Environment, Science & Technology, Legal Affairs, Sports, States News Makers and few others.

We would also be pleased to receive any suggestion that could assist us with the upcoming editions.

Success Mantra (GTB Nagar, Delhi)

Website: www.successmantra.in

Mail Id: [email protected]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. National Affairs
2. International Affairs
3. Economic Affairs
4. Appointments
5. Awards And Honors
6. Important Dates & Sports
7. Reports And Indexes
8. Science & Tech
9. Miscellaneous

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

PM AATMA NIRBHAR SWASTH BHARAT YOJANA

• Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced two new central sponsorship plans, namely Prime Minister Aatma Nirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana and Mission Poshan 2.0 while announcing the alliance budget for 2021.
• According to the announcement, a new central sponsorship program will be launched called PM Aatma Nirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana
• PM Aatma Nirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana: In addition, the expenditure of Rs. Prime Minister Aatma Nirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana announced Rs 661.8 billion, which is more than 6 years old.
• This was announced in addition to the National Health Mission (NHM). PM Aatma Nirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana includes the following interventions:
• Mission Pushan 2.0 will be launched, with the goal of improving nutrient content, provision, extension and results. The plan will merge the slope mountain Abidjan and the supplementary nutrition plan.
• The mission is to improve nutritional outcomes in 112 Aspirational Districts. Aspirational Districts are those areas that are affected by poor socioeconomic indicators in India.
• These areas are ambitious, because if any improvement is made in these areas, it may lead to an overall improvement in human development in India.

NATIONAL TRIBAL FESTIVAL 'AADI MAHOTSAV'

• The Vice President of India Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the National Tribal Festival “Aadi Mahotsav” at Dilli Haat, INA, New Delhi.
• The Aadi Mahotsav 2021 is being organized from February 1-15, 2021. The festival aims to familiarise the people with the rich and diverse craft, the culture of the tribal communities across the country, in one place.
• The Aadi Mahotsav – A Celebration of the Spirit of Tribal Culture, Crafts, Cuisine and Commerce – is an annual initiative being organized by TRIFED, Ministry of Tribal Affairs since 2017.

INDIA'S FIRST CENTRE FOR WETLAND CONSERVATION

• A dedicated Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management (CWCM) has been established at the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), Chennai, 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 on 2nd February 2021.
• The dedicated CWCM Centre would address specific research needs and knowledge gaps, give a fillip to capacity development and cutting-edge research on wetlands of India, as well as aid in the application of integrated approaches for conservation, management and wise use of the wetlands.

EDUCATION MINISTER LAUNCHED ASEAN-INDIA HACKATHON

• The Union Education Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ has addressed the inaugural ceremony of the ASEAN India Hackathon 2021 on February 1. The Ministry of Education has launched the ASEAN India Hackathon 2021.
• The ASEAN India Hackathon 2021 is being conducted virtually from February 1 to 3, 2021. The 10 ASEAN countries are- Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Brunei, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.
• The ASEAN-INDIA Hackathon is an initiative by PM Modi and is launched by the Ministry of Education. 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.

ARVIND KEJRIWAL LAUNCHED 'SWITCH DELH'I CAMPAIGN

• Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal has launched the ‘Switch Delhi’ campaign to promote electric vehicles and appealed to people to buy such vehicles to combat pollution in the city.
• Kejriwal said his government will hire only electric vehicles for various purposes in the next six weeks. In the ‘Switch Delhi’ campaign, awareness will be created about the benefits of electric vehicles and how it can contribute to making Delhi clean and pollution-free.

• Under its electric vehicle policy, the Delhi government has planned extensive subsidies on purchase of electric two-wheelers and four-wheelers, besides waiving road tax and registration charges.

KAPILA CAMPAIGN FOR PATENT AWARENESS

• The Government initiated a campaign, namely the “Kalam Program for Intellectual Property Literacy and Awareness Campaign (KAPILA) for Intellectual Property Literacy aimed at raising patent awareness.
• KAPILA was launched in October 2020. Scheme objectives: Build awareness of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) among Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)
• Provide intellectual property protection for inventions originating from faculty and students from HEIs. Develop intellectual property right Credit Courses. Provide intellectual property training programs for faculty and students in HEIs. Sensitization and development of IP archiving system.

COMMENCEMENT OF MILITARY EXERCISE 'YUDH ABHYAS'

• 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 an annual bilateral joint exercise of both the armies. It will continue till the 21st of this month.
• The previous version of the joint exercise was held at Seattle in the United States. This exercise is another step in the growing military cooperation between the two countries, which shows the growth in Indo-US relations. The exercise is one of the largest military training and defence cooperation efforts between India and the United States.

PM MODI LAUNCHES ASOM MALA IN ASSAM

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the ‘Asom Mala’ programme in Dhekiajuli of Sonitpur district, Assam. As per the PMO, this initiative will boost the state’s road infrastructure and contribute to Assam’s economic progress and improve connectivity.
• The programme is unique for its emphasis on effective maintenance through continuous field data collection and its linkage with the Road Asset Management System. PM Modi also laid the foundation stones of medical colleges and hospitals in Biswanath and Charaideo with an aim to boost Assam’s health infrastructure.
• The two medical colleges and hospitals are being set up at Biswanath and Charaideo at a total estimated project cost of over Rs 1,100 crores. Each hospital will have a 500-bed capacity and 100 MBBS seat capacity.

GLACIAL BURST TAKES PLACE IN UTTARAKHAND

• 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 on 7th February morning 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 Ltd’s project, with a planned capacity of 520 MW and 13.2 MW, respectively, have been nearly washed away.
• Many villages were evacuated as floods swept away five bridges, damaged homes and the nearby NTPC power plant, and washed away a small hydropower project near Rishiganga.
• National and state disaster response teams have been deployed, as have teams from the ITBP. The Army has sent six columns and the Navy seven diving teams.

UP INTRODUCED UNIQUE 16-DIGIT UNICODE

• Uttar Pradesh government has introduced a system of issuing a unique 16-digit Unicode to mark all kinds of landholdings in the state.
• 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.
• Every piece of land in the state will have its own unique identity. The Unicode would be issued by the state revenue department for marking all kinds of agricultural, residential and commercial land.

INDIA & AFGHANISTAN AGREEMENT ON SHATOOT DAM

• India and Afghanistan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding MoU over video-teleconferencing (VTC), for the construction of the Shahtoot Dam (Lalander Dam) on a tributary of the Kabul river in Afghanistan.
• The project, which costs nearly $ 300 million, is a part of the New Development Partnership between India and Afghanistan.
• The MoU was signed between External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar and Afghanistan Foreign Minister Mr Hanif Atmar, in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Afghanistan President Dr Mohammad Ashraf Ghani.
• The Lalander [Shatoot] Dam would meet the safe drinking water needs of Kabul City, provide irrigation water to nearby areas, rehabilitate the existing irrigation and drainage network, aid in flood protection and management efforts in the area, and also provide electricity to the region.

WOMEN INDUCTED INTO SPECIALIZED COBRA UNIT

• A maiden contingent of 34 CRPF women personnel has been inducted into its specialized jungle warfare commando force CoBRA.
• The contingent will soon be deployed in the anti-Naxal operations grid of the country. This women’s contingent will undergo pre-induction training for 3 months and then deployed with the units in Naxal violence-affected districts of Chhattisgarh like Dantewada, Sukma, and Bijapur.

• The members of the 34 CRPF women personnel contingent have been chosen from the 6 all-women battalions of CRPF. The first battalion of CRPF numbered 88, was raised this day in 1986 at a CRPF base in Delhi. An all-women brass band of CRPF was also commissioned during the ceremony that was held to mark the 35th Raising Day anniversary of the first women’s battalion of CRPF.
• The Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) was raised under the CRPF in the year 2009 for undertaking intelligence-based jungle warfare operations. Till now, the force was an all-male unit and it is for the first time that a contingent of women personnel has been inducted into it.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

AUNG SAN SUU KYI DETAINED AS ARMY GRABS POWER

• In Myanmar, a military coup was put in place on 1st February 2021, after the country’s military detained State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi along with President Win Myint and other members of the ruling party.
• Myanmar military (also known as the Tatmadaw), took this step because they declared the November 2020 Myanmar general election results fraudulent, in which Aung San Suu Kyi won a landslide victory in Parliamentary election 2020 to form next Government.
• The military has handed over the power to military chief Min Aung Hlaing and declared a state of emergency for one year.

ROHINGYAS MUSLIMS IN BHASHAN CHAR ISLAND

• The Bangladesh Authorities recently moved about 1,750 Rohingya Muslims to a disputed island in the Bay of Bengal called "Bhashan Char Island”. This move-in Bangladesh was opposed by refugees already living on the island.
• The island is also called Char Piya. It is in Hatiya Upazila, Bangladesh. The island is located in the Bay of Bengal, about 6 kilometres from Sandwip Island and 60 kilometres from the mainland. Its area is 40 square kilometres.
• Bhahan Char island was formed in 2006 by Himalayan silt. Cox’s Bazar is a city, fishing port, tourist centre and regional headquarters in southern Bangladesh. The city is famous for its long natural sandy beaches. It is also called Panowa.

UK SPECIAL VISA SCHEME FOR HONG KONG RESIDENTS

• The UK is opening a special visa scheme that will allow lakhs of Hong Kong residents the opportunity to immigrate and eventually apply for British citizenship.
• Visas will be issued to Hong Kong citizens and their immediate family members holding British National (Overseas) passports, and provide fast-track access to UK citizenship.
• Applicants who have obtained a visa can live and work in the UK for 5 years, after which they can apply for settlement. After twelve months, they can apply for citizenship. This move is considered the UK’s most generous welcoming of foreign workers since the entry of new EU citizens in 2004.

ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

RBI PROJECTED INDIA'S GDP GROWTH

• In the last bi-monthly monetary policy meet for the current, the Reserve Bank of India projected India’s GDP growth rate at 10.5 per cent for the fiscal year 2021-22.
• The growth outlook has improved significantly, and the vaccination drive will further boost the economic rebound.
• The apex bank expects the Indian economy to grow in the range of 3 per cent to 26.2 per cent in the first half of FY22, followed by a 6 per cent growth in Q3FY22. The central bank’s projection is lower than that of the Economic Survey that projected India to grow at a rate of 11 per cent in the coming fiscal.

WORLD'S FIRST 'CARBON NEUTRAL OIL' FROM US

• Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries Ltd has received the world’s first consignment of ‘carbon-neutral oil’ from Oxy Low Carbon Ventures (OLCV), a division of United State oil major Occidental.
• This feat will further help the oil major to accomplish its target of becoming a net zero-carbon company by 2035.
• This transaction is the first major petroleum shipment of Reliance, for which greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the entire crude lifecycle, including oil extraction, transport, storage, shipping, refining, subsequent use, and combustion, have been offset.

RBI COMMITTEE FOR URBAN CO-OPERATIVE BANKS

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will set up an expert committee on Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs).
• The committee, involving all stakeholders, will provide a medium-term road map for strengthening the sector, enable faster resolution/rehabilitation of UCBs.
• Along with enabling faster resolution of UCBs, the committee will also examine critical aspects related to the urban co-op banks. The provisions of the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2020 have become applicable to Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs) from June 26, 2020.

PAYPAL TO SHUT ITS PAYMENT SERVICES IN INDIA

• The California-based global digital payment platform PayPal has announced that the company has decided to wind down its domestic payment services in India with effect from April 01, 2021.
• The decision has been taken because the company wants to shift its focus on cross-border payments business.
• However, the global customer will be able to pay Indian merchants using Paypal. PayPal was a payments options on many Indian online apps such as travel and ticketing service MakeMyTrip, online film booking app BookMyShow, and food delivery app Swiggy.

APPOINTMENTS

RS SHARMA AS NEW CEO OF AYUSHMAN BHARAT

• The National Health Authority (NHA) has appointed RS Sharma as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of country’s flagship public health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat, also called Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.
• He would replace Indu Bhushan, who is serving as the Chief Executive of the Ayushman scheme since its inception in 2018.
• RS Sharma, a former chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), who would take charge of the NHA from February 1. Ayushman Bharat, a flagship scheme of Government of India, was launched as recommended by the National Health Policy 2017, to achieve the vision of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

JAY SHAH APPOINTED AS PRESIDENT OF ACC

• Jay Shah, the incumbent Secretary of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been appointed as the new President of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
• He is the youngest person ever to be appointed to the office. He replaces Nazmul Hussain, Chief of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) who was the previous chief of the ACC.
• The ACC is Asia’s regional administrative body and it currently consists of 24 member associations. ACC is responsible for organizing the Asia Cup tournaments.

PRAVEEN SINHA AS THE INTERIM DIRECTOR OF CBI

• Department of Personnel and Training, under Personnel Ministry, has appointed Praveen Sinha, as the interim director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), with immediate effect on 03 February 2021.
• He has been appointed in place of the incumbent chief RK Shukla, whose tenure came to an end on February 03, 2021.
• Sinha, a 1988-batch Gujarat cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, is currently an additional director at CBI, the premier investigating agency of India.
• Central Bureau of Investigation Headquarters: New Delhi.
• Central Bureau of Investigation Founded: 1 April 1963.

AYESHA AZIZ: INDIA'S YOUNGEST FEMALE PILOT

• A 25-year-old Kashmiri woman, Ayesha Aziz, has become the youngest female pilot in the country. She became the youngest student pilot to get a license at the age of 15 in 2011.
• The 25 -year-old from Kashmir who is the youngest female pilot in the country acts is a source of inspiration and a beacon of empowerment for numerous Kashmiri women.
• In the year 2011, Aziz became the youngest student pilot to get a license at the age of 15 and 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 obtained a commercial license in 2017.

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG AS UN CLIMATE ENVOY

• The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres re-appointed Michael Bloomberg as his Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions.
• Bloomberg is the founder and owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News. He was previously appointed as the U.N. special envoy for climate action between March 2018 and November 2019.
• Bloomberg will work to strengthen the group of governments, companies, cities and financial institutions that are working to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

AWARDS & HONOURS

AR RAHMAN PRESENTED ALERT BEING AWARDS 20207

• Music composer 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.
• In his video message, Mr Rahman said ALERT had been doing a brilliant job in empowering a common man to save lives.
• Hari Krishnan had been appointed by the Greater Chennai Corporation as a district volunteer head for Covid-19 relief work. The Alert Being Icon Award for an organisation was presented to the Biocon Foundation founded by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.

14TH INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN'S FILM FESTIVAL

• The 14th International Children’s Film Festival of Bangladesh (ICFFB) came to an end in Dhaka. A total of 12 awards were presented to the winners at the concluding ceremony.
• 179 films from 37 countries were shown at various venues during the 7-day long festival organised by the Children’s Film Society (CFS) of Bangladesh.
• Apart from Bangladesh, films from India, Armenia, US, UK, Ireland, Japan and China among others were shown in the course of the festival.

SPORTS

BCCI CANCELS RANJI TROPHY FOR THE FIRST TIME

• The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided not to conduct the Ranji Trophy in 2020-21.
• This will be the first time in 87 years since its inception in 1934-35, that India’s premier first-class cricket national championship will not be held in 2020-21 domestic season.
• Instead on Ranji Trophy, BCCI has decided to conduct the Vijay Hazare Trophy 50-over tournament and Senior Women’s One Day tournament after the completion of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament.

TAMIL NADU WONS SYED MUSHTAQ ALI T20 TROPHY

• Tamil Nadu beat Baroda in the final to win the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy 2020-21. The tournament was the twelfth edition of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and was played at Sardar Patel Stadium (Motera Stadium), Ahmedabad.
• The Player of the match title was won by Manimaran Siddharth (Tamil Nadu) who picked 4 wickets, conceding 20 runs. They needed 121 runs to win, which they achieved in 18 overs with 7 wickets.
• Tamil Nadu team was lead by Dinesh Karthik (captain). This is the second Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) title for Tamil Nadu and their first title in 13 years. The team claimed their first SMAT title in 2006-07, that too under Karthik’s captaincy.
• Syed Mushtaq Ali was an Indian cricketer, a right-handed opening batsman who holds the distinction of scoring the first overseas Test century by an Indian player when he scored 112 against England at Old Trafford in 1936.

RISHABH PANT WON INAUGURAL ICC PLAYER

• The Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has won the inaugural ICC Player of the Month award 2021.
• Pant has been honoured for his superlative performances in the two Tests against Australia in January 2021, wherein he scored a 97 at Sydney and an unbeaten 89 at Brisbane, leading India to an incredible series win.
• Apart from this, Shabnim Ismail of South Africa has been named the ICC Women’s Player of the Month following her performances across three ODIs and two T20Is in January 2021.

STEVE SMITH CLAIMS ALLAN BORDER MEDAL

• Former Australian captain Steve Smith won the third Allan Border Medal of his career at the Australian Cricket Awards for the period 2020-21.
• The Allan Border Medal recognises the most outstanding male Australian cricketer of the past season as voted by his peers, the media and umpires.
• Apart from this, Beth Mooney bagged Belinda Clarke Award, the top honour for a female player at the Australian Cricket Awards. This is the maiden Belinda Clarke Award for Mooney.

IMPORTANT DAYS AND DATES

WORLD LEPROSY DAY: 31ST JANUARY

• World Leprosy Day is observed around the world on the last Sunday of January every year. This year World Leprosy Day held on 31 January.
• The day is celebrated to raise global awareness of this deadly ancient disease and call attention to the fact that it can be prevented, treated and cured.
• This year theme of World Leprosy Day 2021 is “Beat Leprosy, End Stigma and advocate for Mental Wellbeing”.
• The day was initiated in 1954 by French philanthropist and writer, Raoul Follereau, as a tribute to the life of the Mahatma Gandhi who had compassion for people afflicted with leprosy.

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ZERO TOLERANCE FOR FEMALE

• International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female is observed globally on 6 February.
• This day is sponsored by the United Nations for their efforts to eradicate female genital mutilation. It was first introduced in 2003.
• This year theme of International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female: No Time for Global Inaction: Unite, Fund, and Act to End Female Genital Mutilation.
• Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons and is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights, the health and the integrity of girls and women. .

WORLD WETLANDS DAY OBSERVED GLOBALLY

• World Wetlands Day is observed every year on February 2 globally. The day aims to raise awareness about the crucial role played by wetlands for people and our planet.
• The international theme for World Wetlands Day 2021 is ‘Wetlands and Water’. 2021 marks 50 years of the Convention on Wetlands.
• The day is celebrated to mark the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on February 2, 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. World Wetlands Day was first celebrated in 1997.

45TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDIAN COAST GUARD

• The 45th Anniversary of the Indian Coast Guard was observed on February 01, 2021. February 1st is the anniversary of the Indian Coast Guard.
• The Indian Coast Guard is a maritime law enforcement agency and a search and rescue agency designed to protect India’s long coastline and maritime interests.
• It was established in 1977. Currently, there are 156 ships and 62 aircraft in the army's inventory. As the fourth largest coast guard in the world, the Indian Coast Guard plays an important role in ensuring the safety of India’s coast and enforcing Indian maritime regulations. Its motto is "Vayam Rakshamah", which means "We Protect".

WORLD CANCER DAY OBSERVED ON 4TH FEBRUARY

• World Cancer Day is observed every year on 4 February by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC).
• The day is celebrated to raise awareness and education about cancer, and pressing governments and individuals across the world to take action against the disease. World Cancer Day 2019-21 theme: ‘I Am And I Will’.
• Created in 2000, World Cancer Day has grown into a positive movement for everyone, everywhere to unite under one voice to face one of our greatest challenges in history.
• Union for International Cancer Control Headquarters in: Geneva, Switzerland
• Founded: 1933

WORLD PULSES DAY OBSERVED ON 10TH FEBRUARY

• The United Nations designated World Pulses Day is observed every year on 10 February. The day has been established by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to recognize the importance of pulses (dry beans, lentils, dry peas, chickpeas, lupins) as a global food.
• The theme, “Nutritious Seeds for a Sustainable Future,” was decided back in 2016 when the year was nominated to be celebrated as International Year of Pulses.
• Since then, the theme has remained the same from 2019 to 2021. In 2018, the UN General Assembly decided to mark 10 February as World Pulses Day. The first WPD was held on February 10, 2019.

REPORTS AND INDEXES

2020 WORST YEAR ON RECORD: UNWTO

• The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) emphasized that 2020 is the worst year on record.
• The United Nations World Tourism Organization issued this statement because the international travel ban implemented to curb the COVID-19 outbreak has dealt a heavy blow to the global tourism industry.
• According to the report, the number of international arrivals fell by 74%. In addition, compared with 2019, the number of international arrivals allowed to global destinations has decreased by 1 billion.

INDIA RANKED 53RD IN EIU'S DEMOCRACY INDEX

• India’s position has slipped by two places to be placed at 53rd spot in the 2020 Democracy Index, from among 167 countries. The overall score of India is 6.61 in the Index, on a scale of 0-10. India has been classified as a ‘flawed democracy’.
• Democracy Index is the global ranking released by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) that provides a snapshot of the current state of democracy worldwide. Norway has topped the Index. Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand and Canada are the top five countries on the list.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

HAL'S SECOND LIGHT COMBAT AIRCRAFT TEJAS

• Defence minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) second Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Tejas production line in Bengaluru, ahead of the upcoming Aero India 2021.
• The deal to be signed in the next few days with HAL would strengthen the Indian Air Force’s fleet of homegrown fighter jet ‘LCA-Tejas’ and overall combat capability.
• Last month, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had approved the largest indigenous defence procurement deal worth about Rs 48,000 crores to buy 83 LCA Tejas Mark1A fighter jets.

AERO INDIA 2021 BEGINS IN BENGALURU

• The Aero India 2021 event, country’s premier aerospace and defence exhibition, kick-started at Air Force Station Yelahanka in Bengaluru.
• The 13th edition of the international event touted as the world’s first-ever hybrid aero and defence show will see several aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF), Army, Navy, Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), and the Coast Guard participating in the show.
• This 13th edition will see a combination of both physical and virtual exhibition with 601 exhibitors, including 523 from India and 78 from 14 foreign countries. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited would exhibit its Aatmanirbhar Formation Flight.

HAL DEVELOPS HIGH ALTITUDE PSEUDO SATELLITE

• The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is developing a futuristic high altitude pseudo satellite with a start-up company, to strengthen the country’s military strike capabilities.
• It is a first of its kind project in the world, where a manned aircraft will operate within the boundary and the unmanned aircraft will enter the enemy zone and can carry out strikes deep inside the enemy territory.
• Capable of autonomous functions, these unmanned aerial vehicles will also have all the manoeuvring capabilities. “It can straightway hit the target at a distance of 700 kilometres or can go to 350 kilometres and come back.

MISCELLANEOUS

WORLD'S FIRST ENERGY ISLAND IN DENMARK

• 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.
• The energy hub will serve as an offshore power plant gathering and distributing green electricity from hundreds of wind turbines surrounding the island directly to consumers in countries surrounding the North Sea.
• It is the long-term ambition to be able to store green electricity on the island, convert it to liquid green fuel, and send it via subsea cables to Denmark and neighbouring countries.

HUNTER BIDEN TO RELEASE A MEMOIR

• United States President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, is publishing his memoir titled “Beautiful Things”, which narrates about his struggles with addiction and drug abuse.
• The book is scheduled to be published in the United States on April 6 by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
• The 51-year-old Hunter Biden has narrated his personal story about how he was a drug addict- from his first sips of alcohol as a child, when he was dealing with the aftermath of a family tragedy, to his crack-cocaine use and how he fixed that problem.

FORMER VICE- PRESIDENT RELEASES HIS BOOK

• A book titled ‘By Many a Happy Accident: Recollections of a Life’ has been authored by M Hamid Ansari. Mohammad Hamid Ansari was the vice president of India and chairman of the Rajya Sabha for two consecutive terms from 2007 to 2017.
• A former diplomat, he served as ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, as high commissioner to Australia and as permanent representative to the United Nations in New York.
• The book is an account of a life of unplanned happenings that took M. Hamid Ansari away from his preferred fancy for academia to professional diplomacy and then be co-opted in public life and catapulted to the second-highest office in the land for two consecutive terms.

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