Daily Current Affairs: February 4, 2021

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Important Days

World Cancer Day- February 4

• World Cancer Day is observed annually on February 4. The aim is to inform and encourage people on its prevention, early detection, and treatment. This initiative was taken by the Union for International Cancer Control to campaign and advocate for the targets of the World Cancer Declaration, penned in 2008.
• 2021 Theme: ‘I Am And I Will’

International Day of Human Fraternity- February 4

• The First-ever International Day of Human Fraternity is celebrated on February 4. The day aims to underline the importance of raising awareness about different cultures and religions, or beliefs, and the promotion of tolerance. In December 2020, UNGA adopted a resolution to declare 4 February as International Day of Human Fraternity.

National News

India to host Indian Ocean Region Defence Ministers’ Conclave

• India will host the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) Defence Ministers’ Conclave on the sidelines of Aero India 2021. The broad theme of the conclave is ‘Enhanced Peace, Security, and Cooperation in the Indian Ocean’.
• The event will commence with a welcome address by the Defence Secretary and addresses by Defence Ministers of different Indian Ocean Region Countries. 

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurates second LCA Tejas plant in Bengaluru

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s second LCA-Tejas production plant in Bengaluru. India cannot remain dependent on other countries for its defence and that the indigenously developed Tejas was better than its foreign equivalents on several parameters and comparatively cheaper at the inauguration event. 
• Under the ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’, India is looking forward to increasing its defence manufacturing capabilities, he added.

Karnataka

• Capital: Bengaluru
• Chief Minister: B. S. Yeddyurappa
• Governor: VajubhaiVala
• National Park: Anshi NP, Kudremukh NP, Bandipur NP, Bannerghatta NP, Rajiv Gandhi (Nagarahole) NP.

Chiefs of Air Staff conclave at Bengaluru to promote Defence cooperation

• The Indian Air Force hosted a Chiefs of Air Staff (CAS) Conclave at Air Force Station Yelahanka. The Conclave will be a unique one where Chiefs of Air Staff from around 75 countries would brainstorm and synergize their thoughts on current issues related to aerospace power strategy and technological developments.

India’s first amputee clinic launched in Chandigarh

• An ‘amputee clinic’, the first of its kind in India to improve amputation patient care by providing a collection of services under one roof with significant coordination was launched in Chandigarh.
• The clinic was formally inaugurated by the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) Director Prof Jagat Ram.

Punjab’s first central water treatment plant starts drinking water supply

• Punjab government, with the help of the World Bank, has set up this plant at village Daudhar of Moga. Under this project, 21.52 cusecs of water per second (50 MLD) is being treated from the Abohar Canal Branch, which is being supplied further to the people of 85 villages through underground pipes.
• The Project was developed by Larsen & Toubro (L&T), which will be responsible for the operation & maintenance of the project for the next 10 years.

Punjab

• Capital: Chandigarh
• Chief Minister: Captain Amarinder Singh
• Governor: V P Singh Badnore.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates ‘Chauri Chaura’ centenary celebrations in Uttar Pradesh

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Chauri Chaura Centenary Celebrations at Chauri Chaura, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. The day marks 100 years of the ‘Chauri Chaura’ incident, a landmark event in the country’s fight for independence.
• Prime Minister will also release a postal stamp dedicated to the Chauri Chaura centenary during the event.

Uttar Pradesh

• Capital: Lucknow
• Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath
• Governor: Anandiben Patel
• National Park: Dudhwa National Park (Tiger Reserve)

• Zoological park: Shaheed Ashfaq Ullah Khan Prani Udyan (Gorakhpur), Kanpur Zoological Park, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Garden.

Union Ministers jointly launch a unified web portal for monitoring the progress of GOBARDHAN activities

• Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Animal Husbandry Minister Giriraj Singh, Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, and Minister of State for Jal Shakti Rattan Lal Kataria jointly launched a unified web portal for monitoring the progress of GOBARDHAN activities across the nation. 
• Gobardhan is an important component of Swachh Bharat Mission Phase-2 for organic solid waste management. This pilot project will prove to be an important and useful step in cleanliness and able to get wealth from waste in a true sense.

IRDAI issues guidelines on India’s first standardised medical insurance policy for vector-borne diseases

• India’s first standardised medical insurance policy Mashak Rakshak for vector-borne diseases is set to be a fixed-benefit one set to offer a maximum sum assured between Rs 10000 and Rs 2 lakh on diagnosis and hospitalization for diseases such as dengue, malaria, chikungunya, and Zika fever.
• Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) announced the guidelines and has asked all general and health insurance companies to offer the Mashak Rakshak to customers starting 1st April 2021.

IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority):

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

Uttar Pradesh’s Shrawasti tops NITI Aayog aspirational district ranking in December 2020

• Shrawasti district of Uttar Pradesh has topped in the ranking of aspirational districts by government think tank NITI Aayog in December 2020. Followed by Dhalai (Tripura) and Garhwa (Jharkhand) have been placed at the second and the third positions, respectively.
• The delta rankings took into account incremental progress made by over 112 aspirational districts across six developmental areas in December 2020.

Uttar Pradesh

• Capital: Lucknow
• Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath
• Governor: Anandiben Patel
• National Park: Dudhwa National Park (Tiger Reserve)
• Zoological park: Shaheed Ashfaq Ullah Khan Prani Udyan (Gorakhpur), Kanpur Zoological Park, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Garden.

International News

World Bank approves USD 500 million to Bangladesh for improving road and digital connectivity in the western region

• The government of Bangladesh signed a $500 million financing agreement to help Upgrade the Jashore-Jhenaidah highway and improve the connecting rural roads and markets that will benefit over 20 million people living in the western region.
• The Western Economic Corridor and Regional Enhancement (WeCARE) Program Phase I project will help upgrade the 48 KM two-lane Jashore-Jhenaidah road to a modern 4-lane highway.

World Bank:

• Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
• President: David Malpass.

Bangladesh:

• Capital: Dhaka
• Currency: Taka
• Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina
• President: Abdul Hamid.

Banking and Economy

RBI directs select NBFCs and UCBs to implement a risk-based internal audit system

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued guidelines on risk-based internal audit (RBIA) system for select Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) to strengthen the quality and effectiveness of the internal audit system.
• The new framework will be for all deposit and non-deposit taking NBFCs (including core investment companies) with an asset size of 5,000 crore and also for all UCBs, having an asset size of 500 crore and above will have to implement the system by March 2022.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI):

• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Formation: 1 April 1935
• Governor: Shaktikanta Das
• Deputy Governors: 4 (Bibhu Prasad Kanungo, Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, M. Rajeshwar Rao)
• Subsidiaries: Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC), Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran (BRBNM).

Federal Bank launches ‘FedFirst’ special savings account for children 

• Federal Bank has announced the launch of “FedFirst”, a special savings account scheme for children below 18 years of age. The account helps children develop healthy saving and spending habits, thereby giving them the freedom to save, spend and earn.
• The account holder is provided with a FedFirst contactless Debit Card with a daily cash withdrawal limit of ₹ 2,500 and POS/eCom limit of ₹ 10,000, in addition to free online facilities including access to internet banking, mobile alerts, and e-mail alerts.

Federal Bank

• Headquarters: Aluva, Kerala.
• Tagline: “Your Perfect Banking Partner”
• MD & CEO: Shyam Srinivasan.

Acquisitions and Mergers

Edelweiss General Insurance partners with Okinawa Autotech for two-wheeler policy coverage

• Edelweiss General Insurance (EGI) has entered into a partnership with electric two-wheeler manufacturer Okinawa Autotech to provide a comprehensive insurance policy to auto customers. 
• Under this partnership, customers can now avail of a comprehensive insurance policy and will have the option to choose from multiple add-ons to suit their individual coverage requirements.

ISRO partners with Skyroot Aerospace to boost private rocket development

• Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Department of Space has signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with space tech startup Skyroot Aerospace to boost private rocket development.
• The collaboration will provide the startup, which was founded in 2018 by former ISRO scientists Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, resources to develop, test, and launch private satellite launch vehicles.

Appointments

Andy Jassy to replace Jeff Bezos as Amazon CEO in July 2021

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) chief Andy Jassy will replace billionaire founder Jeff Bezos as Amazon’s next chief executive officer (CEO). Jeff Bezos, who founded Amazon as an online bookstore and built it into a shopping and entertainment behemoth, will step down later this year as CEO, a role he has had for nearly 30 years, to become executive chairman.

Ajay Singh re-elected as president of the Boxing Federation of India

• Ajay Singh has been re-elected as president of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) after defeating former Maharashtra sports minister Ashish Shelar in the polls.
• Tokyo Olympics-bound Indian boxer Amit Panghal stated the experience of Singh will help India win medals in the upcoming games.

Manoj Shenoy appointed new CEO of IIFL Asset Management

• IIFL Asset Management has appointed Manoj Shenoy as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He joined the IIFL Wealth group in April 2020 as Executive Director, following its acquisition of L&T Capital Markets, a wholly-owned subsidiary of L&T Finance Holdings.
• Shenoy has close to three decades of experience in the financial services industry. He also had a stint as CEO of EFG Wealth Management India, a subsidiary of ETG Bank, and was also Executive Director at Anand Rathi Financial Services.

Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi appointed co-chair of an immigration task force of CAPAC

• Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has been appointed as co-chair of the crucial Immigration Task Force of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC). 
• Raja Krishnamoorthi represents Illinois’s 8th congressional district in the House of Representatives. Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, the 55-year-old first Indian-American woman to be elected to the House of Representatives, is the chair of the task force.

Rankings

India ranks 53rd in Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index 2020; Norway tops

• According to the Economist Intelligence Unit index, India slipped two places to 53rd position out of 167 countries in the 2020 Democracy Index’s global ranking. 
• Norway topped the Index followed by Iceland (2nd), Sweden (3rd), New Zealand (4th), and Canada (5th).
• The EIU report uses five criteria electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture.

Sports News

Indian pace bowler Ashoke Dinda announces retirement from all forms of cricket

• Veteran India and Bengal pacer Ashoke Dinda announced his retirement from all formats of cricket. The 36-year-old Dinda retires as one of India’s biggest veteran domestic fast bowlers having picked up over 400 First-Class wickets. He played 13 ODIs and nine T20I matches for India between 2010 and 2013.

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Daily Current Affairs Quiz – February 4, 2021