Important Days
“World Hindi Day” celebrated globally on 10th January
The World Hindi Day is celebrated annually on January 10 since 2006 to promote the language at the global stage.
The day marks the anniversary of first World Hindi Conference which was inaugurated on January 10, 1975, by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi.
However, the celebration of first World Hindi Day was commenced on 10 January 2006 by former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. It must be noted that the National Hindi Day is celebrated in India on September 14 every year. On that day in 1949, the constituent assembly adopted Hindi, written in Devanagari script, as the official language of the Union.
National Headlines
West Bengal CM Inaugurates 26th Kolkata International Film Festival
West Bengal CM, Mamata Banerjee has inaugurated the 26th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF).
The inaugural ceremony was also virtually attended by Bollywood superstar and West Bengal’s brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan from Mumbai.
Legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s classic ‘Apur Sansar’ will be the inaugural film of the festival in which 131 movies from 45 countries will be screened till January 13.
Films will be screened at Rabindra Sadan, Nandan, Sisir Mancha and Rabindra Okakura Bhavan in Salt Lake.
Six films by Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini and movies on sitarist Ravi Shankar, singer Hemanta Mukherjee and flicks of comedian Bhanu Bandyopadhyay will be screened.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Chief Minister of West Bengal: Mamata Banerjee; Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar.
India to chair 3 key subsidiary bodies of UN Security Council
The Permanent Representative of India to the UN, T S Tirumurti has announced that India has been asked to chair three important committees of the UN Security Council (UNSC), during its tenure as a non-permanent member of the powerful 15-nation UN body.
The three highly significant committees include the Taliban Sanctions Committee, Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) and the Libyan Sanctions Committee.
Among these, India will chair the Counter-Terrorism Committee of UNSC in 2022, which coincides with the 75th anniversary of India’s independence.
India began its two-year term at UNSC from January 01, 2021. It is the eighth time that the country has joined UNSC as the non-permanent member. In 2021, along with India, Norway, Kenya, Ireland and Mexico joined as non-permanent members in the Council.
Preeti Pant Panel to study adverse findings of NFHS-5
The Health and Family Welfare Ministry has recently formed a technical expert group to study the adverse findings from the National Family Health Survey-5.
The Ministry has set up the technical committee of medicine and nutrition experts under the leadership of Joint Secretary Preeti Pant.
The expert group also includes State programme officers from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Karnataka.
The committee will examine the findings of the National Family Health Survey-5 as well as suggest policies and courses of action to improve on indicators related to anaemia, malnutrition, C-section, and stunting.
The newly formed technical expert group will conduct meetings regularly and will provide its recommendations soon.
As of now, no meeting has been held and no date has been finalized for the first meeting.
J&K LG, Manoj Sinha launches Mobile Application ‘Satark Nagrik’
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha has launched Mobile Application ‘Satark Nagrik’ and Departmental Vigilance Officers Portal of J&K Anti Corruption Bureau.
The Lt Governor observed that the UT Government is taking comprehensive measures for ensuring transparent, accountable, and responsive governance.
The mobile application launched today has been developed with a purpose to facilitate seamless flow of information about corruption and enable citizens to submit their grievances with ease and mobility.
The Departmental Vigilance Officers (DVO) Portal has been designed to enable an online communication channel with the DVOs of various departments.
Japan commits Rs 2,113 cr support for COVID relief efforts
The Government of Japan has committed Official Development Assistance loan of 30 billion Japanese Yen which is approximately Rs 2113 crore rupees for a programme loan to support India’s efforts at providing social assistance to the poor and vulnerable households, severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
India and Japan have had a long and fruitful history of bilateral development cooperation since 1958.
In the last few years, the economic cooperation between India and Japan has strengthened and grown into a strategic partnership.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Japan Capital: Tokyo.
- Japan Currency: Japanese yen.
- Japan Prime minister: Yoshihide Suga.
International Headlines
Pakistan successfully test-fires “Fatah-1” Rocket System
The Pakistan Army successfully conducted the test flight of an indigenously developed Guided Multi Launch Rocket System, Fatah-1.
The Fatah-1 weapon system is capable of precisely delivering conventional warheads deep into “enemy territory.”
According to Director General of Army, Media Wing, Major General Babar Iftikhar, Fatah-1 weapon system can hit targets up to a range of 140 km.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- President of Pakistan: Arif Alvi.
- Prime Minister of Pakistan: Imran Khan.
Central African Republic president Touadera wins reelection
Faustin-Archange Touadera was re-elected as the president of the Central African Republic with more than 53% votes.
The 63-year-old president has been in power since 2016 but has struggled to seize control of vast parts of the nation from armed militias.
The Central African Republic, a producer of gold and diamonds, has a population of 4.7 million.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Central African Republic Capital: Bangui;
- Central African Republic Currency: Central African CFA Franc.
Joe Biden names two Indian-Americans in US National Security Council
US President-elect Joe Biden named Indian-American Sumona Guha as senior director for South Asia and Tarun Chhabra as senior director for Technology and National Security.
Guha was co-chair of the South Asia foreign policy working group on the Biden-Harris campaign and serves on the transition’s State Department Agency Review Team.
During the Obama-Biden Administration, Chhabra served on the National Security Council staff as director for Strategic Planning and director for Human Rights and National Security Issues, and at the Pentagon as a speechwriter to the Secretary of Defence.
Indonesian Jetliner crashes into the sea after takeoff
A passenger plane of Indonesia’s Sriwijaya Air carrying 62 people on board crashed into waters off Jakarta. The Boeing 737-500 was on an estimated 90-minute flight from Jakarta to Pontianak, capital of West Kalimantan province on Indonesia’s Borneo island.
The Sriwijaya Air disappeared from radars four minutes into its journey to Pontianak in West Kalimantan province. It is thought to have dropped more than 3,000m (10,000ft) in less than a minute.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Capital of Indonesia: Jakarta.
- The currency of Indonesia: Indonesian rupiah.
- President of Indonesia: Joko Widodo.
Twitter deletes new Trump tweets on @POTUS, suspends campaign account
Twitter Inc has deleted new tweets posted by U.S. President Donald Trump on official government account @POTUS and suspended the account of his presidential campaign, after booting his personal account of the platform permanently.
@POTUS Twitter account is an official Twitter account of US President Donald Trump. The Account is named President Trump.
The POTUS Twitter account is in the news because President Trump used the account to tweet against “Twitter” after the company permanently banned and suspended the @realDonaldTrump of Trump.
Trump tweeted that Twitter has conspired with his rivals and suspended his account to silence him. Earlier, Twitter released an official statement about the permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump Twitter account.
After the tweets by Trump through the @POTUS account, Twitter deleted his tweets.
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Economy News
IHS Markit: Indian economy to rebound with 8.9% growth in FY22
London-based financial services company IHS Markit has projected the Indian economy to rebound by 8.9 per cent in the fiscal year 2021-22, beginning April 2021.
This upward estimate is based on the backdrop of the significant improvement in domestic economic activity in the fourth quarter of 2020 by India.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- IHS Markit CEO: Lance Uggla.
- IHS Markit Headquarters: London, United Kingdom.
- IHS Markit Founded: 1959.
Defence News
Harsh Vardhan launches Coastal Research Vessel Sagar Anveshika
Union Minister for Earth Sciences, Harsh Vardhan has launched Coastal Research Vehicle (CRV) ‘Sagar Anveshika’ at the Chennai Port.
The vehicle will be used to carry out environment indexing and bathymetric (mapping underwater features) in both coastal and offshore waters.
It will be used for research purposes by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) and has been built by Titagarh Wagons, Kolkata, West Bengal.
NIOT already has 6 Research Vessels – Sagar Kanya, Sagar Sampada, Sagar Nidhi, Sagar Manusha, & Sagar Tara.
Anveshika has been built under the Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass) and is a DP (Dynamic Positioning)-Capable vessel.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- National Institute of Ocean Technology Director: Dr G A Ramadass.
- National Institute of Ocean Technology HQ: Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Banking News
Bandhan Bank unveils account for army personnel
Private lender Bandhan Bank has signed an agreement with the Indian Army to provide banking services to the personnel of the force.
The bank got the mandate to maintain and a Bank Shaurya Salary Account of the Army personnel. Bandhan Bank Shaurya Salary Account will have a zero balance facility. The Shaurya Salary Account also offers protection for self and assets.
They will be offered other preferential services such as six per cent interest on balance over Rs one lakh, unlimited free ATM transactions across ATMs, waiver of issuance and annual charge on Shaurya Visa Platinum Debit Card and unlimited free NEFT/RTGS/IMPS/DD transactions.
This includes free personal accident insurance of Rs 30 lakh, air accident cover of Rs 1 crore and free educational benefit of up to Rs 1 lakh per year for four years to a dependent child in case of accidental death of the account holder.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Bandhan Bank MD & CEO: Chandra Shekhar Ghosh.
- Bandhan Bank HQ: Kolkata, West Bengal.
- Bandhan Bank Founded: 2001.
Appointments News
Abhishek Yadav appointed as AIFF’s first Deputy General Secretary
Former India striker Abhishek Yadav has been appointed as the first deputy general secretary of All India Football Federation (AIFF) after the sports body decided to create a new post in its hierarchy.
The 40-year-old former international, who has played with the likes of Bhaichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri, Mahesh Gawli and Climax Lawrence, has been serving as national team’s director since January 2018.
Yadav has also served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the 2017 U17 Indian World Cup team, collaborating closely with Luis Norton de Maros, the head coach.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- All India Football Federation President: Praful Patel.
- All India Football Federation Vice-President: Subrata Dutta.
- All India Football Federation Founded: 23 June 1937.
- All India Football Federation Headquarters: Dwarka, Delhi.
Agreements News
IREDA-NHPC Partnership in Green Energy Projects
NHPC Limited has signed an MOU with the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) for providing assistance in setting up renewable energy (RE) projects for the next 5 years.
The agreement was signed in the presence of Abhay Kumar Singh, NHPC CMD, and IREDA, CMD, Pradip Kumar Das. NHPC will help in the knowledge and technology transfer and provide consultancy and research services.
NHPC has undertaken an ambitious plan to make a significant impact on the renewable energy landscape of the country. Under the plan, NHPC will develop 7.5 GW of renewable energy projects in the next 3 years.
NHPC has already successfully commissioned a renewable capacity of 102.5 MW on an ownership basis and has contracted 2000 MW as an intermediary procurer basis.
Summits and Conference News
Ramesh Pokhriyal inaugurates International Akhand Conference ‘EDUCON-2020’
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ has inaugurated the two-day Virtual International Akhand Conference ‘EDUCON 2020’ through video conferencing.
This two-day International Conference is being organized by the Central University of Punjab, Bathinda (CUPB) in collaboration with the Global Educational Research Association (GERA).
The focal theme of EDUCON-2020 is Envisioning Education for Transforming Youth to Restore Global Peace.
This conference is the first of its kind in India where scholars across the world would be continuously having a non-stop marathon dialogue sessions for 31 hours exploring the possibilities of the use of ICT in the higher education to promote the equitable quality education in India.
Ranks and Reports
Elon Musk overtakes Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to become the world’s richest person
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Tesla CEO Elon Musk overtakes Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to become the world’s richest person. Elon Musk had a net worth of more than $188.5 billion.
A 6% rise in Tesla (TSLA) shares early Thursday lifted the value of its CEO’s stock holdings and options by $10 billion, taking his net worth to about $188.5 billion.
A more modest rise of less than 2% lifted Bezos’ Amazon (AMZN) shares by about $3 billion, putting his net worth at $187 billion. Bill Gates is now a distant third at $132 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Tesla Founded: 1 July 2003.
- Tesla Headquarters: California, United States.
Obituary
Former Gujarat Chief Minister Madhavsinh Solanki passes away
Veteran Congress leader Madhavsinh Solanki, who served as former External Affairs Minister of India and the Chief Minister of Gujarat, has passed away.
He had served as External Affairs Minister of India from June 1991 to March 1992.
He had been the Chief Minister of Gujarat for three times between 1976 to 1990. He was the longest-serving chief minister of the state before Narendra Modi.
Veteran Indian Fashion Designer Satya Paul passes away
Veteran Fashion designer Satya Paul, best known for reinventing the Indian saree for contemporary women, has passed away.
Satya Paul launched the first saree boutique in India, L’Affaire, in 1980. In 1986, he launched India’s first designer label, under the brand ‘Satya Paul’, which has now become one of the premier brands in the country.
Veteran Professor Chitra Ghosh passes away
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s niece and eminent academician Chitra Ghosh has passed away. She made pioneering contributions to academics and community services and dedicated her life in serving the people, teaching & inspiring the youth.
Professor Bose was the former head of the political science department at Lady Brabourne College in Kolkata.