Current Affairs 14th and 15th February 2021| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS : DAYS

National Women’s Day in India Celebrated On Feb 13

• In India, the National Women’s Day is observed every year on 13 February.

Purpose :

• To mark the birth anniversary of Sarojini Naidu, who is also popularly known as ‘The nightingale of India.

About Sarojini Naidu :

• Born in Hyderabad, Sarojini Naidu belonged to a Bengali Brahmin family with her ancestral roots in Bangladesh.
• Aghorenath Chattopadhyay was the principal of Nizam’s College with a doctorate of Science from Edinburgh University.
• The political activist and poet was garnered with the title ‘the Nightingale of India’, or ‘Bharat Kokila’ by Mahatma Gandhi because of colour, imagery, and lyrical quality of her poetry.
• In 1925, Sarojini Naidu was appointed as the first woman President of the Indian National Congress and later the first woman to be a governor of a state.
• She was appointed as the governor of the United Provinces, known as Uttar Pradesh today.
• A proponent of civil rights, women’s emancipation, and anti-imperialistic ideas, she was an important figure in India’s struggle for independence from colonial rule.

 World Radio Day 2021 : 13 February

• Every year World Radio Day (WRD) is celebrated on 13 February.
• The day was proclaimed by the member states of UNESCO in 2011 and subsequently adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2021 as an International Day.
• The theme of World Radio Day 2021, “New World, New Radio“, will highlight the services rendered by the radio medium throughout the crisis.
• The year 2021 will see WRD being divided into three main sub-themes as well. These include:
• “Evolution: The world changes, radio evolves. This sub-theme refers to the resilience of the radio, to its sustainability.”
• “Innovation: The world changes, radio adapts and innovates. Radio has had to adapt to new technologies to remain the go-to medium of mobility, accessible everywhere and to everyone;
• “Connection: The world changes, radio connects. This sub-theme highlights radio’s services to our society—natural disasters, socio-economic crises, epidemics, etc.”

About UNESCO :

• Headquarters : Paris, France
• Head : Audrey Azoulay
• Founded : 16 November 1954, London, UK

‘Black day for India’- Observed on Feb 14

• 40 CRPF personnel were killed on February 14, 2019, when their convoy was attacked by a suicide bomber on the Srinagar-Jammu highway in J&K’s Pulwama district.
• It was said to be the worst-ever terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir since militancy erupted in 1989.
• A ‘black day’ in the history of India – February 14, 2021 marks two years of the Pulwama terror attack, when 40 Indian soldiers were martyred in one of the worst terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : NATIONAL NEWS

PM Modi addresses on ‘Samarpan Diwas’ to commemorate contributions of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing the party MPs on the occasion of ‘Samarpan Diwas’ to commemorate the contributions of his party’s founder leader Deen Dayal Upadhyay on his death anniversary.
• He is addressing BJP MPs at Ambedkar International Center, Janpath.
• Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay was a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) thinker and former leader of the political party Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the forerunner of Bharatiya Janata Party.
• Deen Dayal Ji was behind the ‘vision of building a self-reliant India’. He said that we need to build an India that is self-reliant not just in agriculture, but also in defence and weaponry.

Skills development ministry launches Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship in partnership with IIMs

• To strengthen skills training at district level, the skills development ministry launched the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF) programme nationwide in partnership with nine Indian Institutes of Management across India.
• The programme has been launched under the World Bank loan assisted programme SANKALP (Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion).
• The two-year academic programme will have an in-built component of on-ground practical experience with the district administration.
• The nine IIMs include the IIM Bangalore, IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Lucknow, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Visakhapatnam, IIM-Udaipur, IIM Nagpur, IIM Ranchi and IIM-Jammu.
• Selected fellows will be given a stipend of about Rs 50,000 per month during the first year and Rs 60,000 per month during the second year of the fellowship programme. 
• The fellows will be imparted training by the nine top IIMs of the country and in the later phase of the fellowship, the fellows will work on strengthening the District Skill Committees and the District Skill administration.

Madhya Pradesh: Mandu festival starts

• In Madhya Pradesh, the three-day Mandu Festival began at Mandu in the historic town of Dhar district.
• State culture and tourism minister Usha Thakur inaugurated the mandu festival.
• Handicrafts related to handmade art are also being displayed in the Mandu Utsav to encourage vocals for locals.
• Dino Adventure Park & Fossils Museum also inaugurated by the state culture and tourism minister.
• The State Minister informed that the Dinosaur Park is the country’s first modern fossil park which has 24 eggs and other fossils of dinosaurs on display.
• The park also provides information related to the life of dinosaurs.
• Principal Secretary Tourism and Culture Shri Sheo Shekhar Shukla said that Such events will not only familiarize people around the world with the special culture of rural Madhya Pradesh but will also help in realizing the dream of Atmanirbhar Madhya Pradesh by creating new employment opportunities.

About Madhya Pradesh:

• Capital: Bhopal
• Chief minister: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Isro tests satellites developed by private sector for the first time

• The first time in its history, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has opened its UR Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru for testing satellites developed by the private sector.
• Two satellites by Indian startups SpaceKidz India and Pixxel (incorporated as Sygyzy) were tested at the UR Rao Satellite Centre.
• Isro helped these two companies fix problems with the solar panels on their respective satellites.
• This is a first for the space agency, which so far has only taken help in manufacturing and fabrication of various parts of satellites and rockets from the Indian industry.
• Two firms will also test their engines at Sriharikota spaceport and Thiruvananthapuram rocket centre.
• A satellite designed by students from SpaceKidz had been launched by ISRO as an experiment in January 2019 using the fourth stage of the PSLV as the platform for the KalamSat.

About ISRO :

• Headquarters : Bangalore
• Founder : Vikram Sarabhai
• Director : Kailasavadivoo Sivan

FinMin to infuse Rs 3,000 cr in state-owned general insurers this quarter

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

About NICL :

• Founder : Gordhan Das Dutia
• Founded : 1906

Puducherry launches a campaign to become Covid-free by February 28

• In Puducherry, a campaign has been launched titled “Zero Covid by Feb28” to ensure that there are no COVID-19 cases by the end of February 2021.
• Under the “Zero Covid by Feb 28” campaign, all those who had come into contact with people infected with coronavirus would be identified and provided treatment, so that the further spread of the pathogen could be prevented

About Puducherry :

• CM : V. Narayanasamy

PM Modi unveils several development projects in Kerala

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled several key development projects worth 6,100 crore rupees at INS Garuda Naval Air Station at Kochi in Kerala.
• The Prime Minister said, the projects inaugurated will energize the growth trajectory of India.
• The Prime Minister said, Indians can do wonders in achieving the target of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
• The Prime Minister said, India has the ability to rise to the occasion and contribute to the global good.
• The Prime Minister also inaugurated the country’s first full-fledged international cruise terminal, Sagarika at Cochin Port and Marine Engineering Training Institute of Cochin Shipyard Ltd.
• Among the projects unveiled by the Prime Minister include the Propylene Derivative Petrochemical Project of Bharat Petroleum Corporation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveils several developmental projects at Chennai in Tamil Nadu 

• The Prime Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of several developmental projects worth over 8000 crore rupees at Chennai in Tamil Nadu.
• The Prime Minister asserted, these projects are symbols of Innovation and Indigenous development.
• The Prime Minister said, India has the ability to rise to the occasion and contribute to the global good.
• The Prime Minister also handed over the indigenously designed and manufactured Arjun Main Battle Tank (MK-1A) to the Army. 
• The Prime Minister asserted, these projects are symbols of Innovation and Indigenous development.
• He stated that the projects will further the growth of Tamil Nadu.
• Prime Minister said, Thanjavur and Pudukkottai will be specially benefited after the foundation for the extension, renovation and modernization of six hundred and thirty six kilometre long Grand Anicut Canal System was laid.
• It will improve irrigation facilities for 27 lakh acres of land in the delta districts.
• The Prime Minister lauded the farmers of Tamil Nadu for record food grain production and good use of water resources. 
• He emphasized the need to remember the mantra of Per Drop More Crop.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Pakistan test-fires surface-to-surface cruise missile

• Pakistan conducted a successful training launch of a surface-to-surface cruise missile which can strike targets up to 450 kilometres, 
• This was the country’s third missile test in three weeks.
• The Babar missile “is capable of engaging targets at land and sea with high precision.
• The Babur cruise missile IA was launched from a “state of the art Multi Tube Missile Launch Vehicle
• On January 20, the army conducted a successful test of the surface-to-surface ballistic missile Shaheen-III.
• Earlier this month, the army successfully conducted the ‘training launch’ of nuclear-capable ballistic mis­sile sile Ghaznavi as part of its annual field training exercise.
• Earlier in January this year, the army had also test-fired an indigenously developed extended-range guided Multi-Launch Rocket System (MLRS).

About Pakistan :

• Capital : Islamabad
• President : Arif Alvi
• Currency : Pakistani rupee
• PM : Imran Khan

CURRENT AFFAIRS : AGREEMENTS

Exim Bank to provide $400 million for Maldives project

• Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) will provide $400 million to Maldives to fund Greater Male Connectivity Project.
• The agreement under the line of credit is effective January 28, 2021.
• The7 km Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP) will be the largest civilian infrastructure project in Maldives, connecting Male with three neighbouring islands  Villingili, Gulhifahu and Thilafushi.
• India will fund the implementation of a major connectivity project in Maldives through a USD 400 million line of credit and USD 100 million grant.

About Exim Bank :

• CEO : David Rasquinha
• Founded : 1 January 1982
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra

About Maldives : 

• President : Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
• Capital : Male
• Currency : Maldivian Rufiyaa

World Bank Signs $100 million Project to Support Nutrition-Supportive Agriculture in Tribal-Dominated Areas of Chhattisgarh

• The Government of India, the Government of Chhattisgarh and the World Bank signed a $100 million project to develop sustainable production systems.
• That will allow tribal households in remote areas of Chhattisgarh to practice round-the-year production of diversified and nutritious food.
• CHIRAAG – Chhattisgarh Inclusive Rural and Accelerated Agriculture Growth Project will be implemented in the southern tribal-majority region of the state where a large population is undernourished and poor.
• The project will benefit over 180,000 households from about 1,000 villages in eight districts of Chhattisgarh.
• The loan agreement was signed by Dr. C S Mohapatra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance on behalf of the Government of India and Mr Junaid Kamal Ahmad, Country Director (India) on behalf of the World Bank

About World Bank :

• Headquarters : Washington DC United States
• President : David Malpass
• Founded : July 1944
• Founders : John Maynard Keynes, Harry Dexter White

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS

Aegon Life elevates Satishwar Balakrishnan as MD, CEO

• Private life insurer Aegon Life Insurance has elevated Satishwar Balakrishnan to the position of managing director and chief executive officer. 
• Balakrishnan had joined the company in July 2019 as the chief financial officer.
• Prior to joining Aegon Life, he has worked with IndiaFirst Life, Reliance Life and ICICI Prudential Life. He is a chartered accountant by qualification.

About Aegon Life Insurance :

• Headquarters : Mumbai
• Founded : 2008
• COO : Naveen Bachwani

Tata Motors appoints Marc Llistosella as new CEO & MD

• Tata Motors Limited said that it has appointed Marc Llistosella as chief executive officer and managing director effective 1 July 2021. 
• He will replace current CEO & MD of Tata Motors, Guenter Butschek, who had expressed his desire to relocate to Germany at the end of the contract for personal reasons.
• Marc Llisotsella is an experienced automotive executive with a long track record in greenfield projects, turnaround management and leading organizations as chief executive officer and managing director.
• Llistosella was most recently the president and chief executive officer of Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation where he worked on improving the profitability and sales potential of the business.
• He was earlier the managing director and chief executive officer of Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt Ltd.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : CONFERENCES

A three-day Annual Convention of Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India starts at Kevadia in Gujarat 

• The slogan of ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ by the Prime Minister has given boost to domestic tourism stated Union Minister of State (IC) for Tourism & Culture, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, while inaugurating via video conferencing Kevadia, Gujarat.
• The three-day event has been organised from February 12 to 14, 2021.
• The three day ADTOI 10th Annual Convention-cum-Exhibition at the Statue of Unity (SOU), Tent City 2 in Kevadia, is based on the theme: ‘Domestic Tourism  Hope for the revival- Dekho Apna Desh’.
• This convention has been jointly organized by the Ministry of Tourism and ADTOI with support from Gujarat Tourism. 
• It aims at building public confidence to travel for the revival of domestic tourism in the country and is being attended by around 400 delegates comprising ADTOI members from across India, hoteliers, airlines representatives, senior government officials, media-persons among other stakeholders of the tourism industry.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BOOKS & AUTHORS

M.P. Shri Jual Oram Launches book ‘Turn Around India: 2020- Surmounting Past Legacy’ Authored by R.P. Gupta

• A book titled Turn Around India: 2020- Surmounting Past Legacy’ – creating economic awareness among masses authored by R.P. Gupta was launched by Mr Jual Oram, Hon’ble M.P. & Chairperson Standing Committee on Defence, Government of India.

About the Book :

• Turn Around India: 2020’ is an intimate narrative of Gupta’s experiences and how he attained success through sheer hard work and determination. Published by Himalaya Publishing House,
• The book highlights the required modes and strategies to transform India into a vibrant economy and among the most developed nations of the world.
• The book talks about the economic history of India enabling it to identify the strengths and weaknesses and take corrective actions.
• The book provides a practical and viable option for reviving Indian economy for creating new jobs and enlarging public income and also, the structural reforms such as fiscal and monetary stimuli for overcoming economic crisis arising due to pandemic.

Peter Mukerjea pens memoir ‘Starstruck: Confessions of a TV Executive’

• Peter Mukerjea has come out with his memoir ‘Starstruck: Confessions of a TV executive’
• It is a recollection of his experiences in the satellite television industry in India and is neither intended to open a can of worms nor is a set of kiss-and-tell stories.
• Mukerjea is the former chief executive of Star India. 
• In this book, he has shared his journey, to highlight and showcase the plenty of mistakes made and the plenty of lessons learnt over almost three decades
• The book, published by Westland, also talks in detail how Amitabh Bachchan was hired as a host for “Kaun Banega Crorepati”.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : AWARDS

SERB announces Women Excellence Award 2021 in Science on the International Day of Women

• The SERB Women Excellence Award was announced on the occasion of International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2021.
• The SERB Women Excellence Award that has been conferred on them provides a grant of 15 lakhs for a period of three years to the awardees to pursue their research ideas.
• The award given by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a Statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) supporting basic research in the frontier areas of science and engineering, was launched in the year 2013.
• It is a one-time award given to women scientists below 40 years of age who have received recognition from any one or more of the National Academies such as Young Scientist Medal, Young Associateship, etc.

List of winners

• Shobhna Kapoor, Assistant Professor at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, working in the area of Chemical Biology with expertise in ‘Host-Pathogen Interactions and Membrane Biology, Chemical Biology and Biophysics’
• Antara Banerjee, Scientist B National Institute For Research In Reproductive Health, Mumbai, Maharashtra from the Health Sciences area with expertise in Signal Transduction, Biology of Reproduction and Endocrinology,
• Sonu Gandhi Scientist D from National Institute Of Animal Biotechnology, Hyderabad from Bionanotechnology area focusing on Nanosensors, Design and Fabrication of Label-free Biosensors
• Ritu Gupta, Assistant Professor at Indian Institute Of Technology Jodhpur, Rajasthan working on Nanotechnology with expertise in Materials Science, Nanodevices and Sensors, Health & Energy.

About SERB :

• Headquarters : New Delhi
• Comes Under Department of Science and Technology
• Secretary : Sandeep Verma

Daily CA On Feb 13 :

• Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari will formally launch India’s first-ever diesel tractor converted into a CNG tractor on February 12.
• Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry has informed that more than one crore two lakh MSMEs were registered in the country within five years.
• Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually inaugurated more than 57,000 water structures constructed in Madhya Pradesh under the ‘Jala Abhishekam’ campaign from New Delhi.
• Indian Army National Seminar-cum-Webinar, named as Divya-Drishti 2021 on Multi-Domain Operations: Future of Conflicts was organised by Centre for Land Warfare Studies, CLAWS. 
• The Government is organising the first ever India Toy Fair from 27th February to 2nd March. 
• The United Arab Emirates (UAE) made history as its first-ever interplanetary Hope Probe mission successfully entered orbit around Mars.
• United States President Joe Biden has revoked the national emergency order used to fund former President Donald Trump’s Mexico border wall project.
• China is celebrating Lunar New Year as it ushered into the Year of the Ox.
• The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) of Iraq has sent invitations to embassies of 52 countries to monitor the country’s elections slated to take place on 10th of October this year.
• To promote wooden toys, local artifacts, handicrafts Maharashtra Small Industries Development Corporation and Maharashtra State Khadi & Village Industries Board have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Flipkart.
• In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha inaugurated the state of the art General Bus Stand cum Shopping complex Cum Multi Level Parking constructed at the cost of Rs. 213 Crore in Jammu.
• The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has launched Swach Sarvekshan Abhiyan in Bengaluru to educate citizens about solid waste management.
• Goa has become the 6th State in the country to successfully undertake Urban Local Bodies reforms stipulated by the Department of Expenditure.
• India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) estimates India’s gross domestic product (GDP) to bounce back to 4 per cent growth in FY22.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Maritime India Summit-2021 on 2nd March.
• Steel giant ArcelorMittal announced that Aditya Mittal, the son of company founder Lakshmi Mittal, will replace him as the group’s chairman and CEO.
• New Development Bank (NDB), the multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states, has announced a commitment of $100 million into the NIIF Fund of Funds (FoF).
• Tamil film Koozhangal won the prestigious Tiger Award in the competition section of the International Film Festival of Rotterdam.
• Manasa Varanasi, an engineer from Telangana, emerged as the winner of VLCC Femina Miss India World 2020.
• From a bus conductor to a writer, Muthalankurichi Kamarasu has come a long way in his life.
• At a time when many children could not make the most of their free time during the lockdown induced by the pandemic, a 15-year-old girl from a remote village in Mysuru took it as an opportunity to try her hands at ‘gourd art’.

Daily CA On Feb 14 & 15 :

• In India, the National Women’s Day is observed every year on 13 February. To mark the birth anniversary of Sarojini Naidu, who is also popularly known as ‘The nightingale of India.
• Every year World Radio Day (WRD) is celebrated on 13 February.
• 40 CRPF personnel were killed on February 14, 2019, when their convoy was attacked by a suicide bomber on the Srinagar-Jammu highway in J&K’s Pulwama district.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing the party MPs on the occasion of ‘Samarpan Diwas’ to commemorate the contributions of his party’s founder leader Deen Dayal Upadhyay on his death anniversary.
• To strengthen skills training at district level, the skills development ministry launched the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF) programme nationwide in partnership with nine Indian Institutes of Management across India.
• The three-day famous “Mandu Festival” began at the historic town of Mandu in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh
• The first time in its history, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has opened its UR Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru for testing satellites developed by the private sector.
• The Finance Ministry will infuse Rs 3,000 crore capital into state-owned general insurance companies during the current quarter in a bid to improve their financial health.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled several key development projects worth 6,100 crore rupees at INS Garuda Naval Air Station at Kochi in Kerala.
• In Puducherry, a campaign has been launched titled “Zero Covid by Feb28” to ensure that there are no COVID-19 cases by the end of February 2021.
• Pakistan conducted a successful training launch of a surface-to-surface cruise missile which can strike targets up to 450 kilometres, 
• Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) will provide $400 million to Maldives to fund Greater Male Connectivity Project.
• The Government of India, the Government of Chhattisgarh and the World Bank signed a $100 million project to develop sustainable production systems.
• Private life insurer Aegon Life Insurance has elevated Satishwar Balakrishnan to the position of managing director and chief executive officer. 
• Tata Motors Limited said that it has appointed Marc Llistosella as chief executive officer and managing director effective 1 July 2021. 
• The slogan of ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ by the Prime Minister has given boost to domestic tourism stated Union Minister of State (IC) for Tourism & Culture, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, while inaugurating via video conferencing Kevadia, Gujarat.
• A book titled Turn Around India: 2020- Surmounting Past Legacy’ – creating economic awareness among masses authored by R.P. Gupta was launched by Mr Jual Oram, Hon’ble M.P. & Chairperson Standing Committee on Defence, Government of India.
• Peter Mukerjea has come out with his memoir ‘Starstruck: Confessions of a TV executive’
• The SERB Women Excellence Award was announced on the occasion of International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2021.