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India
Winners of 67th National Film Awards announced
Delayed by the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, the 67th National Awards were finally announced by the government on March 22, 2021. Best Feature Film: ‘Marakkar Arabikadalinte Simham’ (Malayalam); Best Direction: Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan (‘Bahattar Hoorain’); Best Actress: Kangana Ranaut (‘Manikarnika’, ‘Panga’); Best Actor: Manoj Bajpayee for ‘Bhonsle’ and Dhanush for ‘Asuran’ (Tamil); Best Supporting Actress: ‘The Tashkent Files’, Pallavi Joshi; Best Supporting Actor: ‘Super Deluxe’ (Tamil), Vijaya Sethupathi; Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of Director: Helen (Malayalam); Most Film-Friendly State: Sikkim.

Lok Sabha passes Bill that seeks to clarify that ‘Govt.’ in Delhi means “LG”
A Bill that seeks to make it clear that the “government” in Delhi means the “Lieutenant Governor” was passed by Lok Sabha on March 22, 2021. Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 has become necessary as there have been ambiguity in certain issues related to the functioning of the Delhi government and several cases were also filed in courts. The Bill also makes it mandatory for the Delhi government to take the opinion of the L-G before any executive action.

Parliament passes bill to combine 7 castes in TN under one nomenclature
Rajya Sabha on March 22, 2021 passed the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill-2021 to club seven castes in poll-bound Tamil Nadu under one nomenclature of Devendrakula Vellalars. The passage in Rajya Sabha completes the parliamentary approval process. Lok Sabha had passed the bill earlier and it will now go to the President for his assent.

Delhi government reduces the drinking age to 21 from 25
Delhi government reduced the drinking age in Delhi to 21, which was earlier fixed at 25 and prompted a large number of customers to move to NCR towns for liquor. The new excise policy on liquor also includes equitable distribution of liquor because currently some areas of Delhi have higher concentration of liquor shops than others.

PM launches ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain’ campaign for conserving water
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 22, 2021 launched ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain’ campaign for conserving water and stressed that every penny of MGNREGA funds be spent on rain water conservation till the monsoon arrives. Addressing an event at the virtual launch of the campaign on the World Water Day, Modi urged that every penny of MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) funds be spent on rain water conservation till the monsoon arrives. The ‘Catch the Rain’ campaign will be undertaken across the country, in both rural and urban areas. It will be implemented from March 22 to November 30 – the pre-monsoon and monsoon period in the country.

Centre increases gap between 2 doses of Covishield between four & eight weeks
Centre has written to States and Union Territories to increase the interval between two doses of COVISHIELD to 4 to 8 weeks based on recommendation of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization, NTAGI and National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19, NEGVAC. This decision of revised time interval between two doses is applicable only to COVISHIELD and not to COVAXIN Vaccine.

Noted screenwriter-filmmaker Sagar Sarhadi dies in Mumbai at 88
Noted writer-filmmaker Sagar Sarhadi, known for writing scripts and dialogues of films like ‘Noorie’, ‘Kabhi Kabhie’, ‘Silsila’, ‘Chandni’, ‘Deewana’ and ‘Kaho Na Pyar Hai’ and directing the film ‘Bazaar’, passed away in March 21, 2021 in Mumbai at the age of 88.

Economy & Corporate
Parliament passes insurance amendment bill to raise FDI limit to 74%
The Parliament on March 22, 2021 approved a Bill to increase Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit in the insurance sector from 49 per cent to 74 per cent with the Lok Sabha passing the proposed law by a voice vote. The Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed by Rajya Sabha earlier.

Parliament passes Mines & Minerals (Development & Regulation) Amendment Bill
Parliament on March 22, 2021 passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill which will help create employment opportunities and allow the private sector with enhanced technology in mining activities. Lok Sabha passed the bill on March 19. The bill seeks to amend the Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and provides for removal of distinction between captive and merchant mines.

RBI sets up external advisory team to screen on tap bank licenses
The Reserve Bank of India announced the setting up of a standing external advisory committee (SEAC) to evaluate applications for universal banks and small finance banks. The five-member committee will be headed by former deputy governor Shyamala Gopinath. The SEAC which will have a tenure of three years, and will screen applications for universal and small finance banks after the regulator first vets the proposal.

Defence ministry seals deal with Mahindra Defence for 1,300 combat vehicles
The defence ministry has finalised a contract with Mahindra Defence Systems Ltd (MDSL) to procure 1,300 light combat vehicles for the Indian Army at a cost of Rs 1,056 crore. The induction of the vehicles is planned to be completed in four years. The light specialist vehicle is a modern fighting vehicle and will be authorised to various fighting units for carriage of medium machine guns, automatic gr***de launchers as well as anti-tank guided missiles.

NITI Aayog forms task forces on Enforcement of Contracts, Conciliation Mechanism
The Task Force for Enforcement of Contracts will give its recommendation for a policy framework for Enforcement of Contracts and the Task Force on Conciliation Mechanism will give its recommendation for an effective Conciliation Mechanism.

Govt introduces NaBFID Bill in Lok Sabha to support funding infra projects
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has introduced the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) Bill 2021 in the Lok Sabha to pave the way for setting up of a government-owned development finance institution to help fund about 7,000 infra projects under the National Infrastructure Pipeline. The government has proposed Rs 20,000 crore to capitalise the institution.

World
India supplies second shipment of equipment to Iran’s Chabahar port
India has supplied the second shipment of equipment to Chabahar port in Iran, India had supplied a consignment of two mobile harbour cranes to the Chabahar port, having a total contract value of over USD 25 million. Located in the Sistan-Balochistan province on the energy-rich Iran’s southern coast, the port is being developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan to boost trade ties.

World Water Day celebrated on March 22; theme: ‘Valuing water’
World Water Day was celebrated on March 22, 2021. Celebrated on March 21 every year since 1993, the day focuses on the importance of freshwater and raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis. ‘Valuing water’ is this year´s theme.

Sports
ISSF World Cup in New Delhi: India win mixed team gold medals
India won the mixed team gold medals in both the 10m air pistol and 10m air rifle events in the ongoing ISSF World Cup in New Delhi on March 22, 2021. Saurabh Chaudhary and Manu Bhaker notched up the 10m air pistol mixed team gold medal. This was after Divyansh Singh Panwar and Elavenil Valarivan claimed the gold medal in the 10m mixed air rifle event.

Government Schemes

1. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana: Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana is a National Mission on Financial Inclusion that provides an integrated approach to bring about a robust financial inclusion and ultimately provide banking services to all households in the country.

2. Make in India: PM Narendra Modi launched the ‘Make in India’ campaign that will facilitate investment, foster innovation, enhanced protection for intellectual property and build best in manufacturing infrastructure.

‘Make in India’ has identified 25 sectors in manufacturing, infrastructure and service activities and detailed information is being shared through interactive web-portal and professionally developed brochures.

3. Swachh Bharat Mission: Swachh Bharat Mission was launched in the entire country as a national movement. The campaign aims to achieve the vision of a ‘Clean India’ by 2nd October 2019. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is the most significant campaign with regards to sanitation by the Government of India.

4. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao: The goal of this scheme is to make girls socially and financially self-reliant through education.

5. Atal Pension Yojna: Atal Pension Yojana is a pension scheme mainly aimed at providing a universal pension scheme for those who are a part of the unorganized sector such as maids, gardeners, delivery boys, etc. This scheme replaced the previous Swavalamban Yojana which wasn’t well-received by the people.

6. Digital India Mission: The Digital India programme is a flagship programme of the Government of India with a vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.

7. Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan: It is a voluntary and contributory pension scheme, under which the subscriber would receive the following benefits:

(i) Minimum Assured Pension: Each subscriber under the PM-SYM, shall receive minimum assured pension of Rs 3000/- per month after attaining the age of 60 years.

(ii) Family Pension: During the receipt of a pension, if the subscriber dies, the spouse of the beneficiary shall be entitled to receive 50% of the pension received by the beneficiary as a family pension. Family pension is applicable only to a spouse.

(iii) If a beneficiary has given a regular contribution and died due to any cause (before age of 60 years), his/her spouse will be entitled to join and continue the scheme subsequently by payment of regular contribution or exit the scheme as per provisions of exit and withdrawal.

8. Gold Monetisation Scheme: Gold Monetisation Scheme was launched by Government of India in 2015, under this scheme one can deposit their gold in any form in a GMS account to earn interest as the price of the gold metal goes up.

9. PM CARES Fund -Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situation Fund: Is a public charitable trust initiated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This national trust is created with the objective to meet the distressed and dreadful situation like COVID-19 in times ahead. PM CARES was initiated on March 28, 2020, under the chairmanship of the Indian Prime Minister with Ministry of Home Affairs, Defence Minister and Finance Minister as the ex-officio Trustee.

10. Aarogya Setu: The Government of India took the initiative to fight the Coronavirus pandemic. It launched a mobile application to spread the awareness of COVID_19 among the citizens of India through an app called Aarogya Setu. The Aarogya Setu mobile app has been developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) that comes under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. For detailed information, visit the link of Aarogya Setu given above.

to be contd...

CURRENT AFFAIRS 16-02-2021

INDIA
Indian Navy gets third Scorpene submarine, to be commissioned as INS Karanj
The Indian Navy got its third Scorpene submarine, which commissioned as INS Karanj, of Project P-75 on February 15, 2021 in Mumbai. INS Karanj is the third Scorpene submarine constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited after Khanderi and Kalvari.

UP launches Abhyudaya scheme to provide free coaching for competitive exams
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on February 15, 2021 launched the Abhyudaya scheme to provide free coaching for competitive exams like NEET and IIT-JEE to students at the district level. He through video conference also interacted with some of the 50,192 students selected under the scheme.

‘Maa’ scheme to provide meal at Rs 5 to poor people in West Bengal launched
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on February 15, 2021 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.

Economy & Corporate
RBI forms expert panel to explore consolidation of urban cooperative banks
The Reserve Bank of India has set up an expert committee on urban co-operative banks (UCBs) to provide a road map for strengthening the sector and also evaluate the prospects for consolidating the sector. The committee will be headed by former deputy governor of RBI, N. S. Vishwanathan and has been asked to submit its report within three months.

WPI inflation at 2.03% on costlier manufactured items, food prices ease
The wholesale price-based inflation rose to 2.03 per cent in January 2021, even as food prices cooled. The WPI inflation was 1.22 per cent in December 2020 and 3.52 per cent in January 2020.

India liberalises restrictions on geospatial data for map-making
Announcing a sweeping change in India’s mapping policy, the Centre on February 15, 2021 liberalised regulations on geospatial data, making it freely available in the country for innovation and IT companies. Under the new guidelines, the sector will be deregulated and aspects like approvals have been done away with.

Final production batch of LRSAM Missiles flagged off at DRDL, Hyderabad
The final production batch of Long-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM) was flagged off at DRDL, A P J Abdul Kalam Missile Complex in Hyderabad on February 14, 2021. It has been designed and developed by DRDO M/s Israel Aerospace Industries to equip the latest ships of the Indian Navy. The LRSAM Missile system can provide point and area defence against various aerial targets including fighter aircrafts and missiles.

ADB to give Rs 100 cr loan to hospital chain Medanta to combat Covid-19
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on February 15, 2021 said it will provide Rs 100 crore loan to hospital chain Medanta for healthcare services and medical equipment to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

World
Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala appointed as new head of WTO
Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was on February 15, 2021 appointed as the new Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) by representatives of the 164 member countries. She is the first African official and the first woman to hold the job. Her predecessor, Roberto Azevedo, stepped down August 31, 2021, a year before his term expired.

US: Joe Biden reverses Trump’s designation of Yemen’s Houthis as terrorists
Joe Biden’s US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on February 12, 2021, recognizing the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen, announced the reversal of former President Trump’s designation of Ansarallah (the Houthis Movement) as a foreign terrorist organisation and specially designated global terrorist group. The decision comes into effect on 16 February.

China overtakes US as EU’s biggest trading partner in 2020
In 2020, China overtook the United States as the EU’s biggest trading partner, the EU statistics agency Eurostat said on February 15, 2021. Eurostat said the trade volume with China reached 586 billion euros ($711 billion) in 2020, compared to 555 billion euros ($673 billion) for the US. EU 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.

Sports
R. Ashwin becomes 1st bowler to dismiss left-handers 200 times in Tests
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on February 14, 2021 became the first player in the 143-year history of Test cricket to take 200 wickets against left-handed batsmen. He achieved the feat during the second day of India’s second Test against England here at the MA Chidambaram Stadiumcurrent

Current Affairs – January 28, 2021

Home Ministry extends COVID-19 guidelines till February 28
The Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order on January 27, 2021 extending the COVID-19 “guidelines for surveillance, containment and caution” till February 28. The guidelines permit opening of cinema halls and theatres at a higher capacity as opposed to 50% seating strength allowed till now. Swimming pools have also been permitted to open for all.

Statue Govind Ballabh Pant unveiled at its new location in Delhi
A statue of freedom fighter Govind Ballabh Pant that was removed from the Parliament premises recently was unveiled at its new location, a roundabout opposite Gurdwara Rakab Ganj on Pandit Pant Marg in New Delhi on January 27, 2021. Pant served as Union Home Minister from 1955 to 1961.

Economy & Corporate
International Customs Day observed on Jan 27
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) observed the International Customs Day on January 27, 2021. The theme for this year as given by World Customs Organisation (WCO) is “Customs bolstering Recovery, Renewal and Resilience for a sustainable supply chain”.

Textiles Ministry signs MoU with Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre, Japan
The Textiles Committee of the Ministry of Textiles has signed a Memorandum of Understanding- MoU with Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre, Japan to boost export of Textile and Apparel to Japanese market. The main objective of the MoU is to provide required support to textile’s trade and industry for ensuring quality as per the requirement of Japanese buyers.

India’s new farm laws have potential to raise farm income: IMF
India’s recently-enacted agri laws have the potential to increase farmers’ income, but there is a need to provide a social safety net to the vulnerable cultivators, IMF’s Chief Economist Gita Gopinath has said.

World
India inks MoU with IEA for global energy security, sustainability
India on January 27, 2021 inked a strategic partnership agreement with the International Energy Agency (IEA) to strengthen cooperation in global energy security, stability and sustainability. This partnership will lead to an extensive exchange of knowledge and would be a stepping stone towards India becoming a full member of IEA. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Power Secretary Sanjiv Nandan Sahai and IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

India pledges $150,000 for UN peacebuilding as a token of engagement
S. Tirumurti, permanent representative of India to the United Nations, on January 26, 2021 announced a pledge of USD 150,000 to activities of the UN fund this year.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day observed on Jan 27
International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust (International Holocaust Remembrance Day) was observed on January 27, 2021. The day commemorates the tragedy of the Holocaust during the Second World War. On January 27, 1945, Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest N**i concentration and death camp, was liberated by Soviet Union’s Red Army.

Russia’s lower house approves extension of arms control treaty with US
Russia’s lower house of parliament, State Duma, on January 27, 2021 approved an extension of the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) with the United States for five years. The treaty limits the numbers of strategic nuclear warheads, missiles and bombers that Russia and the United States can deploy. The Kremlin said that the two countries had reached a deal to extend the pact which was signed in 2010 and is set to expire by the end of January 2021.

Indonesia: 2,968-m Mount Merapi volcano erupts
Mount Merapi, Indonesia’s most active volcano, erupted on January 27, 2021 with a river of lava and searing gas clouds flowing down its slopes. The 2,968-meter volcano is on the densely populated island of Java and near the ancient city of Yogyakarta. Merapi’s last major eruption in 2010 killed 347 people.

Italy: PM Giuseppe Conte resigns
Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigned on January 26, 2021. He tendered his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella who invited him to stay on in a caretaker capacity. The coalition government has been fatally weakened by the withdrawal of Italia Viva party.

Antony Blinken sworn in U.S. Secretary of State
Antony Blinken was sworn in U.S. Secretary of State on January 26, 2021 after his 78 to 22 confirmation at the Senate.

Current Affairs – January 22, 2021

India
Meghalaya, Tripura and Manipur celebrate Statehood Day
On January 21, 2021, Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura celebrated their statehood day. The three states gained their statehood on January 21, 1972.

Exercise Kavach
The larges scale joint military exercise Kavach involving Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force is to be held in January 2021 under the Andaman and Nicobar Command.

HAL test fires SAAW
On January 21, 2021, the HAL successfully test fired the Smart Anti Airfield Weapon, SAAW from the Hawk aircraft.

Fire at Serum Institute of India, Vaccine works unaffected
On January 21, 2021, a major fire broke out at the building of Serum Institute of India in Pune. The Manjri facility located in the outskirts of Pune is where the COVISHILED vaccine is produced.

Election Commission allows those excluded from NRC to vote in assembly poll
On January 20, 2021, the Election Commission announced that those excluded from the National Register of Citizens will be eligible to vote in the upcoming Assam assembly poll.

Economy and Corporate
Indian Army sign MoU with SIDM
The Indian Army signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers to provide impetus to indigenization and achieve strategic independence to reduce dependence on foreign origin equipment.

MASCRADE 2021 organised
On January 21, 2021, the Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the seventh edition of “MASCRADE 2021”. MASCRADE is Movement against Smuggled and Counterfeit Trade. It is organised by FICCI.

Centre proposes suspending implementation of three new Farm Laws for 1.5 years
The Central Government recently proposed to suspend the implementation of farm laws up to a year and a half. According to the Government, this is being done to arrive at a consensus with the farmer union. The farmer union announced that they will revert on January 22, 2021.

PMAY-Urban: Centre approves construction of 168,000 houses
The Government of India recently approved the construction of 1.68 lakhs of houses in urban areas under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. This will increase the total sanctioned houses under the scheme to 1.1 crores.

SEBI nods to Reliance-Future deal
On January 20, 2021, SEBI approved the Future Group’s Scheme of arrangement. Also, SEBI approved sale of assets of Reliance.

Shyam Srinivasan named Business Standard Banker of the Year 2019-20
Shyam Srinivasan, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Federal Bank was named as the Business Standard Banker of the year for 2019-20.

Current Affairs – January 15, 2021

Foundation stone of science communication and policy research institute
On January 14, 2021, the Union Science and Technology minister Dr Harsh Vardhan laid the foundation stone of CSIR- National Institute of Science communication and policy research in New Delhi. The institute has been formed by merging CSIR-NISCAIR and CSIR-NISTADS.

Armed forces veterans day
on January 14, 2021, V armed forces veterans day was celebrated. The armed forces day marks the retirement day of Field Marshal Cariappa. Cariappa was the first Indian commander in chief of the Indian armed forces. He retired on January 14, 1953.

ASMI 9 mm machine pistol
The Indian army and the defence Research Development organisation DRDO has developed India’s first indigenous 9 mm machinie pistol called ASMI.

Centre to SC: Discriminalising adultery may cause instability in Army
On January 13, 2021, the centre urged the Supreme Court that its 2018 verdict, decriminalising adultery be not made applicable to the armed forces. According to the central government it may cause instability within the services. The verdict was pronounced under the Indian Penal Code.

75th Foundation Day of Food Corporation of India
On January 14, 2021, the 75th foundation day of the Food Corporation of India was celebrated. The Food Corporation of India is a statutory body that operates under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. It was founded on January 14, 1965. Its initial headquarters was located in Chennai and was later moved to New Delhi.

Employee welfare measures to be extended to seamen
The demand of the National Union of seafarers of India to extend the employee welfare measures such as pension and provident fund to the seamen community has been approved by the government of India. This is to benefit more than 4 lakh Indian seafarers all ranks working in India and in foreign ship.

Dushyant Dave resigned as Supreme Court bar association president
On January 14, 2021, the president of Supreme Court bar association Dushyant Dave resigned from her post.

Supreme Court asks states and union territories to reopen Anganwadis
On January 13, 2021, the Supreme Court of India ordered the state and union territories to reopen Anganwadi centres. The centre for closed during lockdown.

No Republic Day chief guest in 2021
On January 14, 2023 the ministry of external affairs announced that there will be no chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations due to global situation arising because of covid-19. The decision has been taken after the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson cancelled his visit to India to attend the Republic Day celebrations due to the pandemic.

Economy and corporate
Bhartiya Kisan union president recuses himself from Supreme Court committee
Bhartiya Kisan union president Bhupinder Singh recused himself from the four-member committee appointed by the supreme court. Committee was appointed to resolve the issues between farmers and centres over the three farm laws. The farmer unions have been raising doubts over the composition of the panel in fitting that the members are in favour of the laws.

WPI slows to 1.22%
the wholesale price-based inflation slowed down to 1.22 % in December 2020. This is the food prices. The WPI in November, 2020 was 1.55% and in December,2019 it was 2.76%.

Bharat Biotech starts supply of COVID-19 vaccine
The Bharat Biotech has begin its supplies of core vaccine. The vaccine was developed in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of virology is top the first batch has been dispatched from Hyderabad to 11 cities across the country. This was followed by the receipt of government purchase order for 55 lacs of doses.

SWITCH Drones
the Indian Army has signed a contract to procure or undisclosed quantities of high altitude variant of SWITCH unmanned aerial vehicles with ideaForge. The contract was signed at 20 million USD.

Thales and Bharat Dynamics to work in partnership on air defence system
on January 14, 2021, the European defence company Thales signed an agreement with the Public Sector Unit Bharat dynamics Limited on and add defence system. With this the Bharat dynamics Limited will become a part of the STAR Streak Missile System. The this will provide an opportunity to boost the export of Indian manufactured components.

Google remove personal loan apps
On January 14, 2021, Google reviewed hundreds of personal loan apps in India. That it giant then remove those Apps that were found to be violating uses safety policies.

World
Donald Trump impeached
On January 13, 2021, Donald Trump became the first president of United States to be impeached twice.

President elect Joe Biden names Samantha Power as USAID Chief
On January 13, 2021 the president-elect Joe Biden named the former Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power as the chief of United State agency for international development, USAID.

Snapchat bans Donald Trump
On January 13, 2021, Snapchat permanently banned the United States President Donald Trump from the platform.

WHO experts arrived in Wuhan
IT team of experts from the World Health Organisation has arrived in we want to investigate the Origins of the Deadly coronavirus pandemic.

United States Bans tomato and cotton products from china
On January 13, 2021, the United States announced a ban on the entry of tomato and cotton products from the Xinjiang region of China.

CURRENT AFFAIRS 12/01/2021

Supreme Court Slams Centre over farmers protest
On January 11, 2021, Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the controversial agricultural laws. The apex court has proposed to constitute an independent committee chaired by Chief Justice of India to resolve the standoff between the farmers and the union government.

Government of India places order of 11 million doses of COVISHIELD
On January 11, 2021, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the state governments need not pay for vaccinating the priority group of three core health and Frontline workers. The cost or to be Borne by the Central Government. The Government of India has place a purchase order of 11 million doses of COVISHIELD with the Pune based Institute of India. The cost of one dose is 210 rupees including GST.

Government of India order state governments not to shutdown poultry markets
On January 11, 2021, the central government asked the state governments not to shutdown poultry markets. According to the World Health Organisation the virus will be destroyed if the poultry products are cooked at 70 degree Celsius and above .

ISRO to adopt hundred Atal tinkering labs
On January 11, 2021, Niti Aayog, Atal innovation mission and the Indian Space Research Organization announced that the ISRO will be adopting 100 Atal tinkering lab. This is being done to promote space education and space Technology related innovations for school students.

Heritage conservation committee approves construction of new Parliament building
On January 11, 2021, the Heritage conservation committee approved the construction of new parliamentary building. The committee is headed by the secretary of housing and urban affairs ministry.

Environment Minister releases management effectiveness evaluation of 146 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries
On January 11, 2021, the minister of environment in, forest and climate change Prakash Javadekar released management effectiveness evaluation of 146 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in the country. The management effectiveness is required to assess the efficacy of protected areas in the country. Currently India has a network of 903 protected areas covering 5% of the total Geographic area of the country.

Khadi Prakritik Paint
The Khadi and Village Commission is to introduce Khadi Prakritik Paint. The paint has antifungal and antibacterial properties. The main ingredient of the paint is cow dung.

Sea-Vigil 21 exercise
The Indian Navy is to organise a mega defence exercise called Sea Vigil-21. The exercise will cover the 7516 kilometres of coastline and the Exclusive Economic Zone.

Air India operates longest non-stop Flight operated by an all women crew
Air India recently operated the longest non-stop Flight operated by an all women cockpit group. The flight recently landed at the Kempegowda international airport in Bengaluru. They flew for 17 hours.

Kerala government wave entertainment tax for Cinemas
On January 11, 2021, the Kerala government waved entertainment tax for Cinemas to help the film industries in the state.

Abhilash Tomy retires
On January 10, 2021, commander Abhilash Tomy retired from Indian Navy. He was the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe solo and unassisted in a sail yacht.

Turlapati kutumba Rao dies
On January 11, 2021, the veteran journalist and Padma Shri awardee Kutumba Rao died in Vijayawada at age of 87.

Bangladesh to be the country of focus at the 51st international film festival of india
At the 51st international film festival of India, Bangladesh should be the country of focus. The festival is to be organised from January 16 to January 24, 2021 in Goa. In paragraph economy and corporate

Single window clearance portal of coal ministry launched
On January 11, 2021, the ministry of coal launched single window clearance portal. It is a unified platform to facilitate approvals required for starting a coal mine in India.

India hands over Chinese soldiers
The Indian Army recently handed over the People’s Liberation Army Soldiers who strayed into Ladakh region.

Tenzin Lekphell appointed as new secretary general of BIMSTEC
Tenzin Lekphell has been appointed as the new secretary general of BIMSTEC. BIMSTEC initiative for multi-sectoral technical and economic cooperation .

William J Burns to Lead The Central Intelligence Agency
On January 11, 2021, the US President elect Joe Biden announced that he has nominated the former career diplomat William J Burns to lead the Central Intelligence Agency.

Ved Prakash Mehta dies
On January 9, 2021, the Indian American novelist and journalist Ved Prakash Mehta died at the age of 86.

Cheteshwar Pujara crosses 6,000 run mark in Test cricket in his 80th match played in Sydney.