Daily Current Affairs: February 26, 2021

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National News

Prime Minister Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of various development projects in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the 1000 MW Neyveli New Thermal Power Project and 709 MW Solar Power Project of NLC India Limited to the nation.
• He also laid the foundation stone for the design, supply, installation, and commissioning of a 5 MW grid-connected ground-based solar power plant at O. Chidambaranar Port and for the extension, renovation, and modernisation of the Lower Bhavani Project System.
• He inaugurated the 8-laning of Korampallam Bridge and Rail Over Bridge (ROB) at V.O. Chidambaranar Port and the tenements constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban)

Tamil Nadu                      

• Capital: Chennai
• Chief Minister: Edappadi K. Palaniswami
• Governor: Banwarilal Purohit.
• National Park: Mukurthi NP, Guindy NP, Gulf of Mannar Marine NP, Indira Gandhi (Annamalai) NP, Mudumalai NP.

Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the 2^nd Khelo India National Winter Games virtually

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered the inaugural address at the 2^nd Khelo India National Winter Games
• The Games will be held from 26 February 2021 to 2 March 2021. The event has been organised by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in collaboration with the J&K Sports Council and the Winter Games Association of J&K.
• The sports activities will include alpine skiing, nordic ski, snowboarding, ski mountaineering, ice hockey, ice skating, ice stock, etc.

Prime Minister Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of various development projects in Puducherry

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the 4-laning of NH45-A covering Karaikal district and Medical College Building at Karaikal New Campus – Phase I, Karaikal district (JIPMER).
• He also laid the foundation stone for the development of Minor Port at Puducherry under the Sagarmala Scheme and Synthetic Athletic Track, Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, Puducherry.
• He inaugurated the Blood Centre at Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, and a 100-bed girls’ hostel at Lawspet, Puducherry for female athletes. He also inaugurated the reconstructed Heritage Marie Building.

Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar addressed the inaugural session of ‘National Consultation on Opportunities and Challenges for Bamboo in India’

• Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar virtually addressed the inaugural session of the ‘National Consultation on Opportunities and Challenges for Bamboo in India.’ The 2-day long Manthan on Bamboo sector is jointly organized by the National Bamboo Mission, NITI Aayog, and Invest India.
• He stated that the Union government is putting in due diligence in developing the bamboo sector since it is evident that it can be a key crop to double farmers’ income, increase employment opportunities and improve the livelihood of the people, especially in the North East region.
• He also emphasized the formation of Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) to encourage small and marginal farmers to take up bamboo plantations as it will ensure hand-holding of the groups for providing correct procedures for raising nurseries and plantations.

Union Chemicals & Fertilizers Minister inaugurated a four-day Global Investors meet

• Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister DV Sadananda Gowda inaugurated a four-day Global Investors meet, ‘India Pharma 2021 & India Medical Devices 2021’ organised by FICCI along with the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Union Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Government of India, and Invest India.
• EY-FICCI report titled ‘Indian Pharmaceutical Industry 2021: future is now’ was also launched during the event.
• Gowda stated that as the pandemic exposed the global vulnerabilities of the supply chains in the pharmaceuticals sector, the Department of Pharmaceuticals launched the Production Linked Incentive Scheme for bulk drugs, with a financial outlay of 6,940 crores across 53 APIs over 6 years.
• For medical devices, another PLI scheme was announced with an outlay of 3,420.

Piyush Goyal addressed the 6^th International Conference on Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Sector

• Union Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry, and Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution Piyush Goyal called upon the Indian pharmaceutical and health care sector to adopt best practices in terms of quality, facility, and commitment to maintaining high standards.
• He addressed the 6^th International Conference on Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices Sector and stated that the entire health ecosystem should provide confidence to the world that India is the place you should look at for anything to do with health and is the one-stop solution.

Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated the latest technology Integrated Bamboo Treatment Plant near Guwahati

• Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Jitendra Singh inaugurated the latest technology Integrated Bamboo Treatment Plant in the premises of North East Cane and Bamboo Development Council (NECBDC).

Assam     

• Capital: Dispur
• Chief Minister: SarbanandaSonowal
• Governor: Jagdish Mukhi
• National Parks: Orang National Park, Manas National Park or Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, Kaziranga National Park, Nameri National Park, Dehing Patkai Wls.

Union Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ addressed the 16^th FICCI Higher Education Summit 2021

• Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ delivered the inaugural address at the 16^th FICCI Higher Education Summit 2021. The summit was organised virtually by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Education and the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• The theme of the summit is ‘‘Higher Education @ 2030: R.I.S.E. – Resilience. Innovation. Sustainability. Enterprise.’ 

Ministry of Jal Shakti announced the selection of 12 sites for transforming into ‘Swachh Tourist Destinations’

• Taking forward the vision for transforming iconic heritage, spiritual and cultural places in the country as ‘Swachh Tourist Destinations’ under the Swachh Iconic Places (SIP) initiative of Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G), the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Union Ministry of Jal Shakti has announced the selection of twelve (12) iconic sites under Phase IV of SIP.
• Ajanta Caves (Maharashtra), 2. Sanchi Stupa (Madhya Pradesh), 3. Kumbhalgarh Fort (Rajasthan), 4. Jaisalmer Fort (Rajasthan), 5. Golconda Fort (Hyderabad, Telangana), 6. Sun Temple (Konark, Odisha), 7. Rock Garden (Chandigarh), 8. Dal Lake (Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir), 9. Banke Bihari Temple (Mathura, Uttar Pradesh), 10. Agra Fort (Agra, Uttar Pradesh), 11. Kalighat Temple (West Bengal), 12. Ramdevra (Jaisalmer, Rajasthan),

The second edition of Global Bio-India to be held virtually

• The second edition of Global Bio-India aimed at showcasing the strength and opportunities of India’s biotechnology sector at the national level and to the global community will be organised from 1 – 3 March 2021 digitally.
• The theme for this year is “Transforming Lives” with the tagline “Biosciences to Bioeconomy.”

LPG can be transported through Inland Waterways now

• The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and the MOL have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the transportation of LPG through inland waterways.
• National Waterways – 1 and National Waterways – 2, in the presence of Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Mansukh Mandaviya.
• MOL Group is the world’s largest gas carrier company and will invest in the construction and operation of dedicated LPG barges under the Make-in-India initiative of the Government of India.

International News

India, Australia, and France hold trilateral dialogue with a focus on Indo-Pacific

• India, France, and Australia held a trilateral meet with a focus on better coordination in Indo-Pacific. Other key focus areas were greater maritime domain awareness of Indo-Pacific countries, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations, oil spill management and disaster resilience of small island states.
• The Indian side was led by Joint Secretary (Europe-West) in MEA, Sandeep Chakravorty, while the French side was led by Bertrand Lortholary, Director (Asia and Oceania) and the Australian side was led by Gary Cowan, First Assistant Secretary (North and South Asia Division) and John Geering, First Assistant Secretary (Europe and Latin America Division).

Australia:

• Capital: Canberra
• Currency: Australian dollar
• Prime Minister: Scott Morrison

France:

• Capital: Paris
• Currency: Euro
• President: Emmanuel Macron.
• Prime Minister: Jean Castex.

India-USA ESG Meeting held on Army-to-Army engagement

• The 24^th edition of the India-USA Executive Steering Group (ESG) meeting was held in New Delhi. The meeting was attended by a 12-member delegation from the US Army in person and virtually by 40 officers from different locations from the US.
• The forum is an Army-to-Army engagement that meets every year alternately in India and the US to discuss Army to Army

Indian And Brazilian S&T ministers discuss collaborations in a range of areas

• Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan discussed a wide range of scientific and technical issues and possible bilateral and multilateral collaborations such as BRICS with a high-level delegation led by the Brazilian Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation Marcos Cesar Pontes.
• The deliberations focused on India-Brazil collaboration in thematic areas such as health, drugs, and vaccine for COVID-19, medicines and vaccines, biotechnology, energy, nanotechnology, ICT, artificial intelligence (AI), and cybersecurity.

Banking and Economy

Moody’s raises FY22 growth estimate to 13.7% and expects -7% for FY21

• Global rating agency Moody forecasts India’s economy will shrink by 7 percent in FY21 and revised India’s growth estimate for the next financial year FY22 (2021-22) to 7 percent from 10.08 percent earlier. The agency, in its earlier estimates, had predicted India’s GDP to shrink 10.6 percent in the current financial year.

State Bank of India joins JPMorgan’s blockchain payments network Liink

• The State Bank of India (SBI) is joining Liink, J.P. Morgan’s peer-to-peer blockchain-based data network. The partnership will help SBI increase the speed of customer transactions, including cross-border payments, and lower the costs.
• By integrating Liink into its operations, SBI will be able to exchange payments-related information with the other financial institutions (FIs) on the platform.

ICICI Bank partners with Greater Chennai Corporation and Chennai Smart City Limited to launch ‘Namma Chennai Smart Card’

• ICICI Bank, in partnership with the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and Chennai Smart City Limited (CSCL) announced the launch of a Common Payment Card System (CPCS) named ‘Namma Chennai Smart Card’ to provide citizens a one-stop solution for making various kind of payments within the city and beyond.
• The RuPay-powered co-branded contactless prepaid card will facilitate various digital payments like tax and utility bill payments at the GCC centres.

Acquisitions and Mergers

Dairy tech startup Stellapps signs an agreement with India Post Payments Bank

• Dairy-tech startup and World Economic Forum’s technology pioneer Stellapps has signed an agreement with India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) to digitise the dairy milk procurement value chain and promote banking facilities at milk collection centres.
• As part of the MoU, a pilot project has been launched in 4 villages with 200 farmers at a greenfield dairy in the Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu.

Appointments

IRDAI sets up a panel headed by Janakiram to relook guidelines on information and cybersecurity

• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has formed a working group committee to relook its information and security guidelines amid the exponential increase in cyberattacks across the globe in the wake of COVID-19.
• The 14-member committee will be headed by Janakiram, Chairman of the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT).

IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority):

• Headquarters: Hyderabad, Telangana.
• Chairman: Subhash Chandra Khuntia.

Sharad Goklani appointed as the President and CTO of AU Small Finance Bank

• Sharad Goklani has been appointed as the President & Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of AU Small Finance Bank. He joins from the Equitas Small Finance Bank, where he served as the EVP & CTO. Earlier, he was associated with esteemed organizations like Bharti Airtel and NIIT, among others.

AU Small Finance Bank

• Headquarters: Jaipur, Rajasthan
• Founder: Sanjay Agarwal
• Founded: 2017

UK’s Inmarsat appoints former Nokia boss Rajeev Suri CEO

• British satellite company Inmarsat had appointed former Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri. He replaces Rupert Pearce as the Chief Executive on 1 March 2021.
• Rajeev Suri was the President and CEO of Nokia, a position he held for six years. Before that, he was the CEO of Nokia Siemens Networks for five years, a joint venture company that merged Nokia’s and Siemens’ networks businesses.

Haryana Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala re-elected as the TTFI president

• Haryana’s Deputy Chief Minister, Dushyant Chautala, was re-elected as the President of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) for a four-year term. He was elected unanimously during the 84^th annual meeting of the TTFI.
• The 32-year-old was first elected as the President of the TTFI in January 2017, becoming the youngest President in the history of TTFI.

Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI)

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• President: Dushyant Chautala

Books and Authors

Actor Kabir Bedi’s autobiography ‘Stories I Must Tell: The Emotional Journey of an Actor’ to be released in April

• Veteran actor Kabir Bedi’s memoir ‘Stories I Must Tell: The Emotional Journey of an Actor’ is set to be released in April 2021. The book will be published by Westland Publications.
• The memoir is the story of a middle-class boy from Delhi who met with extraordinary successes as well as heart-wrenching setbacks and a man who holds nothing back, in love or in storytelling.

Obituary

Veteran CPI leader D Pandian passed away at 88

• Veteran leader of the Communist Party of India (CPI), D Pandian passed away in Chennai. He was the Tamil Nadu State Secretary of the CPI for nearly six years till 2015. He was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989 from the North Madras constituency.

Sports News

Ravichandran Ashwin becomes fastest Indian to take 400 test wickets

• India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin became the fastest Indian bowler to 400 Test wickets in 77 test matches. He becomes the second-fastest bowler to pick up 400 Test wickets behind Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan in the list of fastest players to 400 wickets in Tests.
• Muralitharan got there in 72 matches. Other Indians who have picked more than 400 wickets are Anil Kumble (619), Kapil Dev (434), and Harbhajan Singh (417).

India-England day-night pink ball test becomes the shortest completed test match since the Second World War

• The third Test match between India and England at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium took just a little over four sessions to produce a result. India defeated England within two days to make sure that it became the shortest completed Test since the Second World War (1939 to 1945).
• 2 overs were bowled in the New Zealand-Australia Test match at Wellington in 1946 to produce a result and now the India-England day-night Test saw just 140.2 overs bowled as India chased a paltry target of 49 in just 7.4 overs.

Meghalaya’s Shillong to host National table tennis championship 2022

• Shillong, Meghalaya will host the next edition of the National Table Tennis Championship. The decision was taken by the TTFI following the election of its office-bearers for a four-year term at Panchkula, Haryana.
• The list of events and approved host affiliates are National championship (Meghalaya), National junior and youth (Karnataka), National cadet, and sub-junior (Andhra Pradesh).
• National-ranking events are North (Haryana), East (West Bengal), West (Gujarat), South (Pondicherry) and Central (Madhya Pradesh).

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Daily Current Affairs Quiz – February 26, 2021