11th & 12th Feb 2021 Current Affairs Headlines

Latest Current Affairs Daily Update

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Important Days 

World Unani Day: 11 February

World Unani Day has observed every year on 11th February.  The main objective of World Unani Day is to spread awareness about health care delivery through the Unani system of medicine through its preventive and curative philosophy.

This day is celebrated every year to mark the birth anniversary of great Unani scholar and social reformer Hakim Ajmal Khan. The first Unani Day was celebrated in 2017 at Central Research Institute of Unani Medicine (CRIUM), Hyderabad.

Hakim Ajmal Khan was an eminent Indian Unani physician who was a versatile genius, a great scholar, a social reformer, a noted freedom fighter, an Unani medical educationist and founder of scientific research in Unani System of Medicine. He was one of the founders of the Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi.

International Day of Women and Girls in Science

International Day of Women and Girls in Science is observed globally on 11 February. International Day of Women and Girls in Science to recognize the critical role of women and girls play in science and technology.

In December 2015, the United Nations adopted a resolution to celebrate February 11 as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

The Day is implemented by UNESCO and UN-Women in collaboration with institutions and civil society partners that aim to promote women and girls in science.

The 2021 theme of the Day is “Women Scientists at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19”.

In 2016 is the first time it was celebrated. The idea behind this day is to ensure equal participation and involvement of women and girls in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

International Epilepsy Day 2021

The International Epilepsy Day is observed on the second Monday of February every year across the world. In 2021, the International Epilepsy Day was observed on February 08.

The day is organised jointly by the International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE) and the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) to raise awareness about epilepsy and highlight the kinds of problems faced by victims, their friends and family.

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder which makes a person go through sudden and recurrent episodes of sensory disturbances.


National Headlines

Vijayanagara officially declared as 31st District of Karnataka

The Karnataka government issued an official gazette notification to declare Vijayanagara as the 31st district of the state. The new district has been carved out of Ballari and named after the Vijayanagara empire that ruled from this region.

The Vijayanagara district will have six taluks and its headquarter will be at Hosapete. The other taluks in the new district are Kudligi, Hagaribommana Halli, Kotturu, Hoovina Hadagali, and Harapanahalli.

The iconic cluster of monuments at Hampi or Hampe, a UNESCO world heritage site, will be part of the Vijaynagara.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

  • Chief Minister of Karnataka: B.S. Yediyurappa; Governor: Vajubhai Vala.

International Headlines

UAE Hope Probe successfully enters Mars orbit

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has put a probe called Hope in the orbit around the MARS.

UAE has become the fifth country to launch the spacecraft into the orbit of MARS after United States, Soviet Union, Europe and India. With the successful launch of spacecraft in orbit, UAE scientists can now study the planet’s atmosphere.

The space mission will carry the study on daily and seasonal weather cycles and weather events such as dust storm in the lower atmosphere. It will study how the weather varies in different regions on the MARS.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

  • President of UAE: Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
  • Capital of UAE: Abu Dhabi; Currency: United Arab Emirates dirham.

Banking News

RBI to conduct bond purchases for Rs 20,000 crore

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that it will purchase four government securities (G-Secs) that amount to ₹20,000 crores.

The central bank will purchase it on February 10, 2021, under the open market operations (OMOs).

This move was announced in aftermath of the yields that were moving up to touch the intra-day high of 6.1634 per cent recently. The RBI was concerned about the higher government borrowing.

After the announcement of the OMO purchase was made, the yield on the benchmark 10-year G-Sec slowed down by 3-4 basis points. It now carries a coupon rate of 5.77 per cent as opposed to its previous closing yield of 6.1283 per cent.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

  • RBI 25th Governor: Shaktikant Das; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata.

Economy News

SBI revises India’s GDP estimates to -7.0 percent for FY21

The State Bank of India’s (SBI) Economic Research Department has revised GDP estimates of India for FY21 to contract 7.0%. Earlier this was estimated GDP at -7.4%. The SBI Research Report has retained its GDP forecast for FY22 at 11 per cent.

India Ratings: India will grow 10.4% in FY22

India’s growth would bounce back to 10.4% in the upcoming fiscal according to India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra). FY22 would broadly be covering the lost ground of FY21.

Regarding this reduced allocation to the rural employment guarantee scheme. The rating agency expects GDP growth to turn positive at 0.3 per cent in the January-March quarter of FY21 after shrinking in the first nine months of the year.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

  • MD & CEO of India Ratings and Research: Rohit Karan Sawhney.
  • India Ratings and Research Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Agreements News

PhonePe partners with Axis Bank on UPI multi-bank model

Digital payments platform, PhonePe has announced that it has partnered with Axis Bank on a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) multi-bank model. The partnership will provide PhonePe users with the option to create and use multiple UPI IDs with Axis Bank’s “@axl” handle.

This collaboration with PhonePe strengthens our commitment towards digitisation of the Indian payment ecosystem. It will help expand our reach to customers and the merchant community while offering secure and seamless payment experiences.

PhonePe had emerged as the top UPI app in January, processing 968.72 million transactions worth ₹1.92 trillion, according to data by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

  • CEO of Phonepe: Sameer Nigam
  • Headquarters location of Phonepe: Bengaluru, Karnataka.

Summits and Conferences

PM Modi inaugurates World Sustainable Development Summit 2021

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the World Sustainable Development Summit 2021 through video conferencing.

The theme of the Summit is ‘Redefining our common future: Safe and secure environment for all’.

2021 WSD Summit is the 20th edition of the flagship event organised by ‘The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)’.

The Summit will bring together a wide number of governments, business leaders, academicians, climate scientists, youth, and the civil society in the fight against climate change. The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Ministry of Earth Sciences are key partners of the Summit.


Awards News

Robert Irwin wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021

Robert Irwin, an Australian wildlife photographer, has won the first prize in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award Contest.

Robert won the award for the image titled ‘bushfire’, which is the picture of the devastating Australian Bushfire in 2020, he captured using a drone, near the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve in Cape York, Queensland. The image shows a line of fire burning in between the bushes, dividing it into parts.

Irwin’s image was chosen from a shortlist of 25 finalists that received a total of 55,486 votes. The Wildlife Photographer of the Year is the largest wildlife photography competition in the world, organised by the Natural History Museum.

Bengaluru Airport Bags ACI World’s “Voice Of The Customer” Award

The Bangalore International Airport Limited’s (BIAL) or Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru has bagged global recognition from the Airports Council International World’s ‘Voice of the Customer’ award.

The ‘Voice of the Customer’ recognises airports that continued to prioritise their customers and remained committed to ensuring that their voice was heard during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

BLR Airport has made significant efforts in gathering passenger feedback through ACI’s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) programme and this helped better understand the customers and demonstrate BIAL’s commitment towards delivering a superior customer experience under trying circumstances.

Under the #WeAreHereForYou umbrella of BIAL, various campaigns were launched to spread the message and rebuild passenger confidence in air travel following the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020.