perfection january-2021 index

January-2021PERFECTIONIAS

Ÿ Bihar Special ..... 01-25Ÿ National ..... 26-28Ÿ International ..... 29-30Ÿ State Special ..... 31-33Ÿ Appointment ..... 34-35Ÿ Death ..... 36-38Ÿ Awards & Rewards ..... 39-43Ÿ Science & Tech ..... 44-45Ÿ Defence ..... 46-48Ÿ Important Days ..... 49-53Ÿ Sport ..... 54-57Ÿ Others ..... 58-61

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Bihar Special Current AffairsJanuary -2021

January - 2021

BIHAR SPECIALCurrent Affairs

1. Inauguration of the longest elevated path of Bihar

§ Chief Minister Nitish Kumar inaugurated the country's first railway over bridge ROB in Patna on 29

November 2020. With the construction of a 12-km elevated road from Patna AIIMS to Digha, people going

from Ara to Chhapra will be able to get relief. People will also get rid of jam to a large extent.

§ Built at a cost of Rs 1289.25 crore, the 12.27 km long road is the longest elevated road in Bihar. The 106-

meter long railway over bridge (ROB) above the Patna-Delhi railline is a unique piece of engineering.

§ The elevated path has a height of about 25 meters due to the pre-built ROB on the Nehru Path, which was

quite challenging in its construction.

Elevated Road from Danapur to Bihta

§ After the commissioning of AIIMS-Digha elevated road, elevated road from Danapur to Bihata is also

proposed. This road is to be constructed by NHAI. It is believed that this elevated road will be the longest in

Bihar. There is also a proposal to construct ramps at several places in the elevated road, which is about 30

kilometers, so that vehicles can climb and descend on the elevated road in the middle.

2. Bihar Assembly Elections, 2020: An Analysis

§ Bihar assembly elections were held in three phases in the entire state. The results of 243 member assembly

seats were announced on November 10, 2020. In this election, the ruling NDA once again got the mandate

to form the government.

§ A majority of 122 seats is needed to form a government in Bihar and the NDA has crossed this crucial figure

by winning 125 seats.

§ The Grand Alliance, which gave a thump to the NDA, was chased down by a majority figure. The Grand

Alliance has got 110 seats.

§ Out of 243 seats, NDA has got 125 seats, Mahagathbandhan has got 110 seats and AIMIM, BSP and other

parties have got 8 seats. In Bihar, the ruling NDA has won 72 seats, JDU has won 42 seats, Vikas Insan

Party has won 4 seats and Hindustani Awam Morcha has won 4 seats.

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Growing population has accentuated the need to step up production in the state to meet the needs of food and nutritional security.

ALLIANCE NDA MGB LJP OTH

WIN 125 WIN 11 WIN 1 WIN 7 WIN

+/- 2015 0 0 -1 0

STRIKE RATE* 51% (125/243) 45% (110/243) 0% (1/243) -

PARTY BJP RJD JDU LJP INC

WIN 74 75 43 1 19

+/- 2015 21 -5 -28 -1 -8

STRIKE RATE* 67% (74/110) 52% (75/144) 37% (43/115) 1% (1/135) 27% (19/70)

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BIHAR ELECTION RESULT

243/243 SEATS

(122 SEATS FOR MAJORITY)

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Bihar Election Dates:

First Stage Voting - 28 October (71seats)

ü Notification - October 1

ü Enrollment - until 8 October

ü Withdrawal - until 12 October

Second Phase Voting - 3 November (94 seats)

ü Notification - 9 October

ü Nomination - till 16 October

ü Withdrawal - until 19 October

Third Phase Voting - 7 November (78 seats)

ü Notification - October 13

ü Nomination - till 20 October

ü Nomination - until 23 October

Election Results - 10 November

The biggest reason for the NDA's victory in the election:

§ The NDA has got a fourth success in the state. BJP general secretary and state in-charge Bhupendra Yadav

said, "The main reason for the NDA's victory in the state was Modi's leadership and his credibility."

§ There were also some local issues in the state due to which the NDA got a small number of seats, but the

coalition managed to get a clear majority in the state.

3. Studio court starts in Patna High Court for the first time in the

country

§ For the first time in the country, the Patna High Court started a studio court, which will have a judge's sitting

room on one side and a lawyers' sitting room on the other side. .

§ After that, the judge will hear the case and give its verdict on it. Beginning with this a bench headed by the Chief

Justice has been constituted and two single benches have also been formed. The entire system has been named

Studio Court. This facility has been provided for the advocates who wanted to come and debate in the court

premises instead of presenting their case through video conferencing. Video conferencing will continue as well.

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§ In the time of Corona crisis, there was talk of starting a physical court by some young advocates, due to

which the Patna High Court has started a studio court, in which all the cases will be listed on the mutual

consent of the lawyers and the entry of the advocates Will be through e-pass.

4. Kabartal Wetland of Begusarai included in theRamsar list

§ Kabartal Wetland in Begusarai, Bihar has been included in the Ramsar list. Many migratory species come

here from Central Asia.

§ In the year 2019, the central government also included Kabartal in 100 lakes of the country under the

Aquatic Eco System Conservation Central Plan. But now the Kabartal lake has been declared a wetland of

international importance by including it in the Ramsar site.

§ Kabartal has become the first in Bihar and the 39th Ramsar site in India. This lake was given the status of

bird sanctuary by the Bihar government in 1987. The lake is spread over an area of 4 2 square kilometers

(6311 ha). In this bird century, 59 kinds of exotic birds and 107 types of native birds were seen in the winter

season, which are no longer seen.

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§ The initiative was launched last year to develop it as a tourist center in collaboration with the central

government and the state government.

What is Ramsar site

§ An international institution was formed in 1971 in Ramsar, Iran to conserve the various lakes of the world.

India also became its member in 1971.

5. Patna's transgender Monica Das was appointed as the presiding

officer in the Bihar assembly elections.

§ Patna's transgender Monica Das was appointed as the presiding officer in the Bihar assembly elections.

For the first time in the country, a transgender has been appointed as the presiding officer for the polling

work. Monica Das, as the presiding officer, will take full responsibility of a booth.

§ Monika Das is a resident of Patna. She is currently employed with Canara Bank. Prior to this, Monica has

also become the country's first transgender banker.

6. Sub Lieutenant Shivangi included in the first batch of three women

pilots

§ The Indian Navy has prepared a batch of three

women pilots for the first time. These pilots will

complete maritime reconnaissance missions with

Dornier aircraft. This batch consists of Lt Divya

Sharma, Lt Shubhangi Swaroop and Lt Shivangi.

§ The three women pilots were among the six pilots

taking part in the 27th Dornier Operational Flying

Training (DOFT) course. He graduated as a fully

operational Marine Reconnaissance Pilot (MR

Pilot) in the Passing Out program held on 22 October 2020 at INS Garuda.

§ Sub Lieutenant Shivangi has also become the first woman pilot of the Indian Navy. On December,2019, he

joined operational duty at Kochi Naval Base.

§ Flying Dronier 228 aircraft, manufactured by Shivangi Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). This plane

is sent on short-range maritime missions. It has many great features like advance surveillance radar,

electronic sensor and networking.

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7. Sanju Yadav honored with 'Player of the Year' award.

§ Indian women's football team midfielder Sanju Yadav was awarded All India Football Federation (AIFF)

Best Footballer of the Year award for the 2019-20 season on September 25, 2020

§ 22-year-old midfielder Sanju Yadav had a great season, which includes the 2019 SAFF Women's

Championship and the Indian Women's League (IWL) title victory.

List of award winners in Indian football:1. 2019-20 AIFF Male Footballer of the Year: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu

2. 2019-20 AIFF Women's Player of the Year: Sanju Yadav

3. 2019-20 AIFF Men's Emerging Footballer of the Year: Anirudh Thapa

4. 2019-20 AIFF Emerging Women's Footballer of the Year: Ratanbala Devi

5. 2019-20 AIFF Best Assistant Referee: P. Vairamuthu

6. 2019-20 AIFF Best Referee: L Ajit Kumar Mitei

7. 2019-20 AIFF Best Grassroots Development Program: West Bengal

8. Patna's jump in cleanliness ranking, reached to 105th rank in the

country

§ The 'Sanitation Survey 2020०' was released by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Development in

August 2020, in which the capital of Bihar, Patna, jumped up to 105th among 4242 cities in the country.

Patna was ranked 318th last year.

§ Patna ranks first in the state. The capital has the 47th rank in the category of clean cities with a population of

more than one million in eastern India.

§ In the state cleanliness category, Chhattisgarh ranks first and Bihar ranks last, while Danapur Cantonment

ranks 62nd in the cantonment.

§ Actually, the Union Urban Ministry had given four points this time in the parameters of clean cities. And

for this, 6 thousand marks were prescribed. 1500 for certification, 1500 for direct supervision, 1500 for

progress of facilities level, and 1500 for feedback. The city that gets the highest number of marks in these

6000 marks gets the first place.

§ According to Patna Municipal Corporation, for the year 2019-20, it received 70 crores from the Finance

Commission and the state government for cleaning only. In the year 2016, Patna's ranking was 70th i.e. in

the case of clean cities, it was ranked 70th.

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9. Bihar ranks first in ethnic violence and 5th in political violence

§ The National Crime Records Bureau released the data related to ethnic and political violence (conflict)

across the country in October 2020.According to the data for the year 2019, Bihar ranks at number 1 in

ethnic violence.

§ There were 131 incidents of ethnic violence in Bihar in a year in which 269 people were affected. There

were 70 incidents in Tamil Nadu and 108 people were affected.

§ Maharashtra stood at number 3 with 71 incidents in which 94 people were affected.

§ Bihar is at the fifth position in terms of political violence. There were 62 incidents of political violence in

Bihar in a year in which 133 people were affected.

§ The first number is Kerala, where 495 incidents occurred in a year in which 584 people were affected.

Telangana was followed by 118 incidents in a year. There were 1209 cases of political violence across the

country, while there were 492 incidents of caste violence.

§ Dispute over land and property is also the highest in Bihar. In the year 2019, there were 3707 land and

property related incidents in Bihar in which 5227 people were affected. There were 1105 incidents in

Karnataka at number two, 938 in Maharashtra at number three and 540 in Uttar Pradesh at number four.

9.8% increase in female violence in Bihar

§ According to NCRB data, female violence in Bihar has increased over the years. There has been an increase

of 9.8 percent in violence against women in the year 2019 as compared to the year 2018. There were 16920

incidents of female violence in the year 2018 which increased to 18587 in the year 2019.

10. 18 bed palliative care ward in Patna AIIMS

§ A18-bed palliative care ward has been built in Patna AIIMS. It was inaugurated on October, 2020 by Dr.

Prabhat Kumar Singh, Director of the Institute.

§ This ward is named "Suswendana". It has been arranged on the second floor of Ayush Block.

§ This facility is being provided in a government hospital for the first time in the state. Palliative care is

needed for patients with no treatment left.

§ Especially in the last stages of cancer, renal failure, motor neurone, etc., the patient needs it. If the patient is

in pain, he is given medicine. If the patient is unable to eat, then food is given through pipes. It is helped

when there is trouble going to the washroom.

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11. '9 highway project' and 'home to fiber' scheme launched in Bihar

§ Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 9 highway projects and 'Ghar Tak Fiber' scheme in Bihar on 21

September 2020. Under the 'Home to Fiber' scheme, optical fiber services will be provided in homes.

About highway projects

§ 350 km of road will be constructed in highway projects. Roads will be built at a cost of Rs. 14,250 crore.

§ These roads will improve connectivity between the people of Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, as well

as road projects will enhance convenience and economic development in and around the state.

Optical Fiber Services in Bihar

§ The project is to be implemented by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology under the

'Ghar Tak Fiber' scheme. It will connect 45,945 villages in the state. Thus, this project can also spread the

digital revolution to remote areas of Bihar.

§ The scheme has been launched to provide optical fiber enabled internet connection in every household to

focus on village and rural areas.

§ In the 74th Independence Day speech, PM Modi said that more than 1.5 lakh gram panchayats have got

optical fiber connections since 2014 under this scheme. The scheme ensures digital connectivity under the

Bharat Net program.

12. Jal Jeevan mission in Bihar

§ The central government has allocated Rs. 1,832.66 crore to Bihar and Rs.1,407 crore to Assam under the Jal

Jeevan Mission.

§ With the help of allocated funds, the Bihar government will provide tap connections to more than 50 lakh

households. The government is focusing on aspirational districts and SC and ST villages.

Water life mission

§ The mission aims to provide good quality drinking water to all households in the country by 2024. To

achieve this, the Government of India has allocated 3.6 lakh crore rupees.

13. Abdul Bari Siddiqui becomes president of Bihar Olympic Association

§ The election of Bihar Olympic Association was held on October 18, 2020. In this election Abdul Bari

Siddiqui has been unanimously elected as the President of Bihar Olympic Association. Abdul Bari

Siddiqui has been the former Sports Minister of the Bihar government.

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§ The outgoing president of Hockey India, Mohammad Mushtaq Ahmed, was also unanimously elected to

the post of unpaid secretary in the election.

§ Officials of State Sports Association and District Olympic Association participated in the election process

conducted by Election Officer Jai Prakash Singh Principal District Judge (Retd.) Under the supervision of

Dr. Madhu Kant Pathak, Supervisor of Indian Olympic Association.

14. Bollywood actor Sanjay Mishra becomesbrand ambassador of Patna

Municipal Corporation

§ Patna Municipal Corporation has appointed

actor Sanjay Mishra as brand ambassador for

the 2021 cleanliness survey. Sanjay Mishra

has joined hands with Patna Municipal

Corporation to convey the message of

cleanliness among the people of Patna to

make the people of Patna aware of

cleanliness. Sanjay Mishra will now be seen

appealing to people for cleanliness.

§ Sanjay Mishra held a meeting with Patna

Municipal Corporation officials and councilors on October 18, 2020. In this meeting he discussed in detail

the awareness campaign with the officials. It is notable that he hails from Patna. He lived with family in

Rajendra Nagar, Patna.

15. Ram Vilas Paswan passed away

§ Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public

Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan died on 8 October 2020

at the age of 74 in New Delhi. His health was poor for a

long time.

§ He was born on 5 July 1946 in Khagaria, Bihar.

§ He won the assembly elections for the first time in 1969.

He then became an MP in 1977. Since then he has been

elected nine times to the Lok Sabha and once to the

Rajya Sabha MP.

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§ He won the assembly elections for the first time in 1969. He then became an MP in 1977. Since then he has

been elected nine times Lok Sabha and once Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar's Hajipur Lok Sabha seat.

§ He joined the cabinet of six Prime Ministers, including Vishwanath Pratap Singh, HD Deve Gowda, IK

Gujral, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi.

§ Ramvilas Paswan broke from the Janata Dal (United) in 2000 and formed a party called Lok Janshakti

Party (LJP).

16. Former Bihar Advocate General Rambalak Mahato passed away

§ Former Bihar Advocate General Rambalak Mahato died

of cardiac arrest. He was 90 years old.

§ He was a noted legalist and a man of versatility. He made

a distinct identity in the field of law. During his tenure,

he led the state government to legal victory in many

important matters.

§ He became the Advocate General of the state six times.

He held this position the most number of times.

17. Bihar holds second position in Inspire Award Standard Scheme

§ Bihar finished second in the recently released Inspire Award Standard Scheme. While Rajasthan was

successful in getting the first place. Bihar's Vaishali district topped in inspiring innovation.

§ The Inspire Award Standard Scheme is a unique campaign run by the country under which the Ministry of

Science and Technology, Government of India attempts to find young scientists under this scheme.

§ The Inspire Award Standard Scheme has been launched to promote a culture of creativity and creative

thinking among students, which is an innovative scheme for innovative encouragement of students. Under

this, along with the award, the model of the selected participants for the national level is displayed in the

national level competition under the technical support and guidance of prestigious institutions like IITs and

NTAs.

§ This program provides a national level platform to the creative thinking students of schools, which includes

children from class 6 to 10.

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18. Bharatvanshi Wavell Ramkalavan elected as president of Seychelles

§ Bharatvanshi Wavell Ramkalavan has become the President of the

Indian Ocean island of Seychelles.

§ On October 25, 2020, Seychelles Election Commission chief

Danny Lucas said Ramkalavan had received 54 percent of the vote.

They have defeated Danny Foury.

§ Seychelles President-elect Wavell Ramkalavan's ancestors were

residents of Nonia Toli of Parsauni village in Barauli block

ofGopalganj, Bihar. 130 years ago, Ramkalavan's ancestors had gone to the Seychelles.

19. Inauguration of 12 projects including Kosi Rail Mahasetu in Bihar

§ Prime Minister Narendra Modi (PM Modi) inaugurated nearly 12

projects along the historic Kosi Rail Mahasetu in Bihar on 18

September 2020, including a rail bridge over the Kiul River, two new

rail lines, five related to electrification, an electric locomotive shed

and flooding and the third line project in Bakhtiyarpur is also

included.

§ The Kosi Mahasetu project was approved in 2003-04. The foundation stone of Rail Mahasetu on the

Kosi River between Saraigad-Nirmali was laid by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The

bridge has a length of 1.9 km and its construction has cost more than 500 crores.

Importance of Kosi Rail Mahasetu

§ To go between Saraigarh-Nirmali first one had to go to Nirmali via Saharsa-Mansi-Khagadia- Samastipur-

Darbhanga, which was 298 km. Due to the construction of this rail Mahasetu, its distance has been reduced

to just 22 km.

§ After the inauguration by the Prime Minister, only the passenger train running from Saharsa will go to

Asanpur Kupa via Supaul-Saraigarh and then from there back to Sahaigarh to Raghopur.

§ The running of this train will directly benefit those living in Supaul-Araria and Saharsa districts. It will also

become easier for people of this region to take connecting trains to reach Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

Earlier, PM Modi had also dedicated three petroleum projects in Bihar to the nation.

20. Prime Minister Modi launched 7 projects in Bihar

§ Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of various 541 crore projects

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related to water supply and sewer of Bihar on 15 September 2020. Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation

stone for seven projects in Bihar through video conferencing.

§ Of these, four are related to water supply, two to sewerage treatment and one to river front development.

These projects are linked to the Namami Gange and Amarut Yojana of the Center. These include projects

related to Siwan, Chhapra, Munger, Jamalpur, Muzaffarpur apart from Beur and Karmali chak Sewer

Treatment Plants in Patna.

§ Referring to the river front development schemes under the Namami Gange Mission, the Prime Minister

said that the Akhara Ghat, Ladder Ghat and Chandwara Ghat of Muzaffarpur will develop as a tourist

destination. Projects worth Rs 6054 crore are proposed in Bihar under Namami Gange.

§ Prime Minister inaugurated the Water Supply Scheme of Karmalichak Sewage Treatment Plant,

Municipal Council Siwan and Chapra Municipal Corporation. At the same time, he also laid the foundation

for developing river front in Muzaffarpur and water supply schemes of Munger Municipal Corporation and

Jamalpur Municipal Council.

21. Bihar government launches 'Sanjeevani' app

§ The Bihar government launched the Sanjeevani app in view of increasing cases of corona infection. It has

provided all facilities related to Corona rescue. This app can be downloaded from the Health Department

and the State Health Committee website and also from the Google Play Store.

§ Sanjeevani app will allow for information about the nearest testing center, Covid center, availability of

beds in isolation, control room number and corona safety measures. In this, facility of chat bot is also being

provided so that people will be able to know the solution to the questions related to corona.

§ In addition, the process of corona examination has also been simplified through the Sanjeevani app.

Registration facility has been provided from the app itself for corona examination. Also, after

investigation, the report can be seen on the app itself.

§ Emergency facility to call ambulance toll free number 102 and 104 directly for doctor's advice through the

app can be availed. All types of facilities are available on this app.

22. Approval for the establishment of a new AIIMS in Darbhanga

§ The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the establishment of a new All

India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Darbhanga, Bihar.

§ It will be set up under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).

§ The Cabinet has also approved the creation of a Director post for the above AIIMS.

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23. 15 important decisions approved in Bihar cabinet meeting

§ A second cabinet meeting was called by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on December 15, 2020, after the

formation of the new government in Bihar. In this meeting, a total of 15 important decisions like free

immunization of corona infection and 20 lakh employment generation, self-reliant Bihar as well as

Nishchay-2has been approved.

Free vaccination of corona infection approved

§ The announcement of giving Corona vaccine free in the state has been promised during the Bihar

Legislative Assembly elections. The Bihar government has taken this decision in the cabinet meeting,

fulfilling the promises made during elections in the area of C orona infection. That the corona vaccine will

be given in Bihar for free. For this, the state government is preparing an action plan.

§ A team of doctors and nurses is being prepared by the government at the block level and places are being

selected to keep the corona vaccine. Like polling booths, booths will be made for corona vaccination across

the country.

§ At least 100 people will be given a vaccine against corona daily at each booth. Preparation for corona

vaccination is being done through district administration in Bihar.

§ First of all, it has been said to provide vaccines to health workers, doctors and Corona Warriors, after which

the common man will received the vaccine.

§ In the meeting of the State Council of Ministers, it has been decided to implement the BalHridayYojana for

the free treatment of children born with a hole in the heart. Under which there will be free treatment of those

children who are suffering from heart hole disease since birth.

§ Apart from this, the state government has decided to open a medical university and an engineering

university under the program of good governance, which will benefit medical and engineering students in

the state.

Cabinet Seal on giving employment to 20 lakh people of Bihar

§ During the VidhanSabha elections, the announcement made by the NDA government of employment

generation in Bihar has now started to be implemented. In the cabinet meeting, it has been decided to give

50 percent grant to connect the youth with business.

§ Apart from this, a grant of 25 thousand rupees will be given to the unmarried women for passing the inter

and 50 thousand rupees for the graduation for the unmarried women, as well as various institutions will be

created in Bihar for the next 5 years and 20 lakh jobs will be created.

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§ Technical education in Bihar will be linked to Hindi language. The youth will get a grant of 50 thousand

rupees in Bihar for business, on which there will be 50 percent subsidy. There will be multi-storey

accommodation for the elderly living in all cities.

The ambitious SaatNischay Part 2 got approval

§ Approval to ensure the implementation of Saat Nischay-2 under the Good Governance Program 2020 -

2025. In the last assembly election 2015, JDU had announced SaatNischay, taking it forward on the same

lines, this time also SaatNischay Part-2 was announced before the assembly elections.

Program under SaatNischay Part-2 Scheme

§ Progress of Yuva Shakti-Bihar (Yuva Shakti- Bihar Ki pragati): Nitish Kumar has given first priority

to the progress of Yuva Shakti-Bihar in theSaatNischay Part-2. Under this, a student credit card scheme for

higher education, computer training, communication skills and behavioral skills have been promised.

Also, there is a plan to create a high-level Center of Excellence to enhance the quality of training in each ITI

and polytechnic institutes.

§ Strong Women-Capable Women (SashaktMahila-SakshamMahila): In the SaatNischayPart-2, the

second importance is given to the strong women-capable woman. Under this, there are plans to empower

and enable women. A special scheme will be introduced to increase entrepreneurship among women.

Interest free loans will be given up to 50 percent of the project cost or up to a maximum of Rs5 lakh. Also,

with the aim of motivating women for higher education, financial assistance of 25 thousand rupees will be

given on passing the inter and 50 thousand rupees after graduation.

§ Irrigation water up to every field (HarKhetKoPaani): In his ambitious SaatNischayPart-2, Nitish

Kumar has given the third place to agriculture and irrigation. Under this, it has been promised that water

will be provided for irrigation to every farm in the next five years.

§ Clean Village-Prosperous Village (SwachhGaon- SamriddhGaon): The number four is aimed at Clean

Village and Prosperous Village. Under this, there is a plan to develop solar and street lights in all villages,

solid and liquid waste management and development of animal and fishery resources. With this, the tap

water scheme of every house will be continued further.

§ Clean city-developed city (“SwachhShahar – ViksitShahar”): Clean city-developed city is planned at

number 5 in the SaatNischayPart-2. This includes construction of shelter and shelter for the elderly, multi-

storey housing for the urban poor, solid and liquid waste management, electric crematorium and moksha

dham.

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§ SulabhSamparkta: The target of SulabhSamparkta has been set at number six in the SaatNischay Part-2.

Under this, there are plans to connect villages to major roads, bypass roads and flyovers for the

convenience of the people.

§ Health facilities for all: At number seven, there is a plan for additional health facilities for all. Under this,

there is a plan to improve the health facilities from village to village and to prepare basic system for better

health management. It promises door step service with the help of call centers and mobile apps. Apart from

this, through telemedicine, there has been talk of connecting PHC, CHC as well as subdivision and district

hospitals and also to improve and expand the facilities of existing hospitals.

24. Darbhanga-Amas Green Field Expressway

§ Bihar's Road Construction Minister Mangal Pandey reiterated the commitment to start work soon of the

Amas-Darbhanga Green Field Expressway project connecting the proposed East-West Corridor in

December 2020.

§ It is estimated that the expenditure of seven and a half thousand crore rupees on the construction of this

expressway passing through seven districts of Bihar.

§ The Minister of Road Construction told that this road, will be around 212 kilometers long, will pass through

Gaya, Jehanabad, Nalanda, Patna, Vaishali, Samastipur and Darbhanga. Under this four-lane green field

path, 1382 hectare land acquisition action has been initiated in 233 revenue villages of seven districts.

25. Bird festival organized in Bhagalpur

§ A three-day bird festival was organized by the Department of Environment and Forests in Bhagalpur, Bihar

from 11 to 13 December 2020.

§ The main objective of this bird festival is to protect the birds and make people aware of their natural and

geographical environment

§ The festival is being jointly organised by the state forest department, the Bombay Natural History Society

(BNHS), a wildlife research organization promoting the cause of nature conservation across the country,

and the Mandar Nature Club, a Bhagalpur-based conservation organization.

Focus on conservation of Gangetic dolphins

§ Some of the major migratory birds which came to Bhagalpur include the bar-headed Goose, Steppie Eagle,

Eurasian Curlew, White Waget, Great Crested Grab, Common Greenshank and Eurasian Code.

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26. Statue of Gautam Buddha found during excavation of drain in Bhagalpur

§ An idol of 6 and a half feet long of Buddha, having

historical significance has been found during the

excavation of a drain on 11 December 2020 in

Bhagalpur, Bihar. Locals are considering the idol

as a statue of Lord Buddha, although whose and

when the idol belonged is still unclear.

§ The sculpture found during the excavation

contains several features like statue has a necklace,

worn by warriorsand a velvet at the waist.

§ It is noteworthy that the ancient Vikramshila Buddhist Mahavihara is located at Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur

district, which is a major center of Tantrayana. Recently two ancient sculptures were found there which are

preserved by the villagers.

27. Inauguration of Koilwar Bridge built on Son River

§ Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways NitinGadkari inaugurated the three-lane 1.5-km Koilwar

bridge (Vashishtha Narayan Singh bridge) over the Son River in Bihar on 10 December 2020 through video

conferencing. An amount of Rs266crore has been spent on the construction of this bridge.

§ The existing two-lane bridge for rail and road traffic is 138 years old. A six-lane bridge is being constructed

in place of this old bridge. As part of that, the three-lane structure is still ready.

Benefit of new bridge construction

§ Due to the construction of new bridge, traffic will be liberated from the old Koilwar bridge. Traffic from

Patna to Bhojpur, Buxar, Chhapra, Mohania and Ballia will become smooth from NH-30 corridor. It will

connect directly to other parts of the country through the Golden Quadrilateral road and Purvanchal

Expressway.

Bridge length is around1.528 km

§ The length of the bridge is 1.528 km. The bridge's deck is 16.0 meters in width and also has 1.5 meters of

pavement at the top. The bridge has 74 spans. The length of each span is 41.3 meters. The peer has 432 piles.

158 years old oldKoilwar Bridge

§ There is a 158-year-old Koilwar bridge lifeline for traffic coming from Patna to Ara and Ara to Patna. Its

construction began in 1856 and was inaugurated in 1858 by Viceroy Lord Elgin. Filmmaker Richard

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Attenborough shot his film Gandhi on this bridge.

28. Bihar is in the first group to receive vaccination

§ According to the study of National Population

Commission, by 2021, the number of people

over 60 years of age in the country will increase

to about 14 crore 32 lakhs. There will be

approximately 7.06 crore men and 7.26 crore

women in it.

§ Bihar also has a large share in the elderly

population. In Bihar, in the year 2021, the

elderly will become 10.70 percent of the total

population. This will be a large population, whose health care will be very important.

§ Only 15% of the population in Uttar Pradesh is above 50 years of age, but the population there is so much

that it will have the most vaccine supply.

§ This is followed by Maharashtra, West Bengal and Bihar among the states with the largest population of 50

plus population i.e. people above 50 years of age. It is noteworthy that these things will also be kept in mind

while preparing the allotment list of the vaccine. In such a situation, Bihar is expected to get enough

vaccine in the first phase according to population.

§ According to the government's vaccination program, the Covid vaccine will first be given to health

workers. This will include doctors, nurses, paramedics.

§ The second group is of frontline workers. These will include people from the army, police, municipal

corporation and essential services. The third group is of people older than 50 years.

§ There will be people in the fourth group whose age is less than 50 years. These four priority groups for

Covid vaccination have been created keeping them in view of the risk of Covid.

29. Vijay Kumar Sinha elected new Speaker of Bihar Legislative Assembly

§ BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha was elected as the new Speaker of Bihar Legislative Assembly. NDA

candidate Vijay Sinha got 126 votes in the polling held on November 25, 2020, while Mahagathbandhan

candidate AwadhBihari Chaudhary got 114 votes. It was announced by Protem Speaker JeetanramManjhi.

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30. The remains of a Buddhist carpet building found in Banka

§ A remnant of old buildings made of bricks up to

a distance of about fifty feet has been found in

the Chandanriver near Bhadariya village under

Amarpur block in Banka district.

§ This remains is found nearChandan river

ground, where the size of the brick has been

found to be 18 inches in length, 9 feet in width

and about 2 inches in thickness. This relic made

of bricks is said to date back to the 6th century.

Pots have also been found in the surrounding

areas in the east.

§ On this occasion, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced to develop the historic site located on the banks

of the Chandanriver in Banka district as a tourist center.

§ According to him, the Chandan river stream before the year 1995 will be revived so that the excavation and

research of this area can be done properly. The excavation will provide important information not only to

the state but to the world.

§ It is a historical site. Lord Buddha also came here. Initial studies have found 2600 years old pottery and

other archaeological remains. Scrapers including toys, butts, pottery of Vedic era have also been collected

in this area.

§ Archaeologist Satish Kumar is of the opinion that from the kind of brick found, it is clear that this brick is

made by hand by hand and it has been cooked with paddy stalks.

§ Visakha was the chief female lay disciple of Gautama Buddha. She was also popularly known as

Migaramata.

§ Visakha belonged to Bhadai village, where Buddha came hundreds of years ago. Buddhist scholars have

described Bhadaria village as Bhadai village based on the evidence found in the area.

31. Formation of newly elected Bihar Government's cabinet

§ On 16 November 2020, portfolios were divided among the ministers of the newly elected Nitish

government. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has Home, General Administration, Cabinet Secretariat,

Election and Monitoring Department. Apart from this, there are also those departments which have not

been given to anyone till now.

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§ Deputy CM Tarkishore Prasad has been given the responsibility of Finance, Commercial-Tax,

Environment, Forest and Climate Change, IT, Disaster and Urban Development Department. While the

other deputy CM Renu Devi has got the industries, panchayati raj and backward welfare department.

List of departments alloted to Ministers:1. Vijay Kumar Choudhary: Water Resources, Rural Development, Rural Affairs, Parliamentary Affairs,

Information and Public Relations Department

2. Bijendra Prasad Yadav: Energy, Alcohol Prohibition, Products and Registration, Planning and

Development, Food and Consumer Protection

3. AmarendraPratap Singh: Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Sugarcane Industries

4. MukeshSahni: Animal and Fisheries Resources Department

5. Ashok Chaudhary after Mevalal Chaudhary resignation: Education Department

6. Mangal Pandey: Health, Road Building, Arts, Culture and Youth Department

7. Ashok Chaudhary: Building Construction, Science & Technology, Social Welfare, Minority Welfare

8. SheelaKumari: Transport Department

9. RampreetPaswan: PHED

10. Jeevesh Kumar: Tourism, Labor Resources, Mines and Geology Department

11. Ram Surat Kumar: Revenue and Land Reforms, Law Department

12. Santosh Kumar Suman: Small Water Resources, SC, ST Welfare Department

32. Many project announced to Bihar by central government

§ On September, 2020, Prime Minister NarendraModi announced several projects in Bihar through video

conferencing, including optical fiber, 9 National Highway (NH) projects, etc.

§ According to Prime Minister NarendraModi, a major step is being taken to make the country's villages the

mainstay of self-reliant India. This program is for the whole country, but it is starting from Bihar.

§ Under the scheme, six lakh villages of the country will be connected with optical fiber in 1000 days. When

optical fiber reaches fast internet in villages, it will be easy to study. Through telemedicine it will be

possible to provide cheap and effective treatment even in remote villages.

§ By March 2021, optical fiber will start providing Internet facility in every village of Bihar. The central

government will spend 640 crore to connect all 45,945 villages with this facility.

§ Besides, the foundation stone for nine National Highway (NH) projects of 350 km costing Rs14,260crore

was also laid.

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§ NH projects include four and six lanes of highways and the construction of three large bridges over rivers.

§ Bridges on rivers: A four-lane bridge will be built parallel to Mahatma Gandhi Setu (NH 19). Its length is

14 kilometers and the cost is 2927 crores. The four-lane bridge parallel to VikramashilaSetu (NH 131) has a

length of five kilometers and costs 1110 crores. A new four-lane bridge (NH 106) will be constructed on the

Kosiriver. Its length is 29 kilometers and the cost is 1478 crores.

§ These roads will be constructed: Six-lane Patna Ring Road Ramnagar-Kanhauli (NH 131G, length 39

km), four-lane Narenpur-Purnia Road (NH 131A, length 49 km), four-lane Parria-Mohanian Road ( NH

30, length 61 km), four-lane Ara-Pararia road (NH 30, length 55 km), four-lane Bakhtiyarpur-Razouli

road, Package 3 (NH 31, length 51 km), four-lane Bakhtiyarpur-Rajauli road , Package 2 (NH 31, length 47

km).

33. IIT Patna to become Startup Hub of Eastern India

§ Sushil Kumar Modi inaugurated the building

of the Incubation Center in the IIT Patna

campus at Bihta in September 2020 through

video conferencing. The cost of an incubation

center built in 30 thousand square feet is

around४७crores.

§ IIT Patna will grow as an incubation hub in

eastern India for startups. For this, the state

government is providing all possible help.

§ The state government is providing technical

assistance to more than ४०startups related to medical, electronics, design and manufacturing and funding

10-10 lakh each.

§ More than 100 startups can be accommodated in the newly constructed building.

§ These startups will develop apps, software and electronic tools to combat natural disasters..

34. Kukri Bigha will be country's first nutritional village

§ Kukri Bigha village in Bihar will be the country's first model nutritional village. It was started by

Agriculture Minister Dr. Prem Kumar on September 20 in Kukri Bigha village by cultivating biofortified

variety of crops in an organic manner.

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§ This village is in UllarSorangpurPanchayat

under Dulhin Bazar Block of Patna District.

1800 families live in this village. In

collaboration with Harvest Plus, the Rural

Development Council will help farmers in this

task.

§ All crops will be cultivated in this village in a

completely organic way. Scientists have

prepared such a variety of biofortified crops,

which contain a greater amount of micronutrients than normal crops. This effort will reduce the problem of

malnutrition in the state and will benefit the farmers financially.

§ The farmers of Bemeti village will be trained in biofortified farming. Mahindra & Mahindra Company will

help in the plowing of the farm. Biofortified seeds will also be made available to farmers.

35. Inauguration of three projects including KrishiBhavan

§ Chief Minister Nitish Kumar inaugurated three

projects, including a 23.80-acre state-level

KrishiBhavan, at Mithapur in September 2020.

The cost of the agricultural building is 125.23

crore. On this occasion, Bihaan app was

released and Bihar Agri Investment Promotion

Handbook was also released.

§ The foundation stone of the state level

KrishiBhavan was laid on 14 February 2014.

The design of all the buildings constructed in

the campus is based on the green building concept. Water released from sewerage treatment will be used in

horticulture. Green area has been given special priority throughout the campus.

§ Pataliputra Bus Terminal: Pataliputra Bus Terminal inaugurated on the Patna-Gaya route. On this

occasion, the Chief Minister also inaugurated the bus stations of Ara, Aurangabad, Nawada and

Jhajha via remote.

§ All facilities and safety have been taken care of in the terminal. The bus terminal's executive agency

is BUIDCO. The terminal has been constructed on २५.०२ acres. About ३,००० buses will operate from

here to Bihar and other states.

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§ JayaprabhaMedanta Hospital: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar inaugurated JayaprabhaMedanta

Super Specialty Hospital at Kankarbagh on PPP model. Dr. NareshTrehan was also connected

through video conferencing. Dr. PankajSahni, CEO of JayaprabhaMedantahonored the CM.

§ The work of JayaprabhaMedanta Super Specialty Hospital started in May 2016. Internal medicine,

nephrology and cardiology consultation service has started in OPD. Services of senior doctors of

MedantaGurugram will also be available through telemedicine.

36. NamamiGange projects inaugurated in Bihar

§ In Sep tember 2020 , Pr ime Min is te r

NarendraModi inaugurated and laid the

foundation stone of seven projects related to

NamamiGange and AmritYojana in Bihar

through video conferencing. Of these, four

projects are related to water supply, two

sewerage treatment and one river front

development. The cost of the projects is 541

crores.

§ The Prime Minister inaugurated sewerage treatment plants at Beur and Karmalichak in Patna at a cost of

151 crore, water supply schemes at Siwan and Chapra and also laid the foundation stone of water supply

schemes in Munger and Jamalpur.

§ The foundation stone of Muzaffarpur River Front Development Scheme was laid under the Namami Gange

scheme. Under this, three ghats (Akhara Ghat, Ladder Ghat, Chandwara Ghat) of Muzaffarpur city will be

developed at a cost of 11 crores. Essential facilities will be available on the river front.

§ Keeping in mind the cleanliness of the Ganges river, more than ५० projects worth more than Rs.6000

crore have been approved in Bihar. The government is setting up several water treatment plants in

cities situated along the Ganges to prevent the drainage water from directly falling into the river.

§ Millions of people will benefit from the opening of sewerage treatment plants at Beur and Karamlichak in

Patna. Villages along the Ganges are also being developed as Ganga villages.

37. Three petroleum projects launched in Bihar

§ In September 2020, Prime Minister NarendraModi launched three major petroleum sector projects in Bihar

through video conferencing. The project includes expansion of Paradip-Haldia-Durgapur pipeline up to

Banka, two LPG bottling plants at Banka and East Champaran (Motihari).

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§ The LPG bottling plants are at Madhusudanpur in

Barahat block in Banka district and Kobeya in Harsiddhi

block in East Champaran. The projects have been

commissioned from Indian Oil and HPCL. The Ministry

of Petroleum and Gas has spent 901 crore on all three

projects.

§ The cost of the 193 km Durgapur-Banka section pipeline

is 634 crores. The cost of LPG bottling plant is 131

crores in Banka district and 136 crores in East Champaran. Both the plants will supply 40–40 thousand gas

cylinders per day.

§ All three projects will provide employment to local people. In the special package given for Bihar, there

were 10 big projects worth Rs 21 thousand crore related to petroleum and gas. Of these, this is the seventh

project, which is being handed over to the people of Bihar. The development of gas based industries was a

major challenge in Bihar due to being a land-bound state and lack of resources.

§ The Paradip-Haldia pipeline will now be extended to Patna and Muzaffarpur. The pipeline coming from

Kandla which has reached Gorakhpur will also be connected to it. When the entire project is ready, it will

become one of the longest pipeline projects in the world.

§ The Banka and Champaran bottling plants have a capacity to fill more than 125 million cylinders annually.

These plants will cater to LPG needs in Santhal Parganas of Jharkhand and some areas of Uttar Pradesh.

After the construction of the gas pipeline, Barauni fertilizer factory in Bihar, work will start soon.

§ Free gas connections have been provided to about 1.25 crore poor families of Bihar under the Ujjwala

scheme.

38. Fisheries and animal husbandry schemes inaugurated in Bihar

§ Prime Minister NarendraModi inaugurated various schemes of the Ministry of Fisheries and Animal

Husbandry and Dairying through video conferencing on

September 2020. Under this scheme, many facilities will

be started in Patna, Purnia, Sitamarhi, Madhepura,

Kishanganj and Samastipur.

§ Centrally approved fisheries development projects for

Bihar were also inaugurated with the launch of Pradhan

MantriMatsyaSampadaYojana. E-Gopala App for

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Farmers, Animal Semen Center in Purnia, Modern Breed Improvement Technique in Barauni and IVF Lab

at Bihar Veterinary University Patna were also inaugurated.

§ The inauguration of the semen station at Maranga in Purnia will also facilitate Bihar and the northeastern

states. For this, the State Government has provided 80 acres of land. With the introduction of the Fertility

Transplant Technical Laboratory at Bihar Veterinary University, milk production will increase and

farmers will get its benefits.

§ It is noteworthy that due to the agricultural roadmap, production of many things including meat, eggs, and

milk has increased. The annual production of eggs has increased from 106 crores to 274 crores. Meat

production has increased from 1.8 lakh MT to 3.8 lakh MT. Now only 65 thousand metric tons of fish are

coming from outside in the state. The rest is being met by the state.

39. Education Minister Mevalal Chaudhary resigns

§ MevalalChoudhary, the Education Minister of the newly

formed NDA government in Bihar, resigned from his

post on 16 November 2020. On the advice of the Chief

Minister, Governor Fagu Chauhan has accepted the

resignation. Building Construction Minister Ashok

Chaudhary has been given additional charge of

Education Department.

§ Mevalal Chaudhary was sworn in as a minister on 16

November. He is a JDU MLA from Tarapur in Munger. He is accused of making a big dent in the

appointment of Assistant Professor and Junior Scientist while being Vice Chancellor (2010-15) of Bihar

Agricultural University, Sabour.

40. Former Governor Mridula Sinha died

§ Mridula Sinha (77 years), former Governor of Goa and resident of Muzaffarpur, died in Delhi on 18

November 2020. Mridula Sinha is remembered for her

efforts towards public service. She was also a skilled

writer who also made extensive contributions to the

world of culture along with literature.

§ She was also actively associated with the JP movement.

His tenure as the Governor of Goa was unforgettable.

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NATIONALJANUARY-2021

CURRENT AFFAIRS

PERFECTIONIAS

January-2021

Current Affairs

NATIONAL

1. Union Minister Narendra Singh

Tomar launched "Sahakar Pragya"

initiative

§ Union Minister Narendra Singh

Tomar has recently unveiled a new

initiative called Sahakar Pragya

programme. Sahakar Pragya is an

initiative of the National Cooperative

Development Corporation to help

d e v e l o p t h e c a p a c i t y o f t h e

cooperative sector through training

programs in India.

2. Arjun Munda inaugurated the "Adi

Mahotsav - Madhya Pradesh"

§ The Union Tribal Affairs Minister

Arjun Munda inaugurated the rst

virtual edition of Adi Mahotsav-

Madhya Pradesh. The program will

showcase tribal traditions of various

tribal communities by showcasing

crafts and natural products.

3. PM Modi lays foundation stone of

Agra Metro Rail project through

video conferencing

§ Prime Minister Narendra Modi has

inaugurated the construction work of

Agra Metro Project in Agra, Uttar

Pradesh. The total 29.4 km Agra

metro project involves construction of

2 routes. It will connect major tourist

attractions like Taj Mahal, Agra Fort,

Sikandra with railway stations and

bus stands.

4. Cabinet approved Self-Reliant

India Employment scheme

§ The Union Cabinet has approved the

Self-Reliant India Employment

Scheme to promote employment in

the formal sector and encourage new

employment opportunities in the

Covid pandemic recovery phase. Also,

this scheme will encourage the

c r ea t i on o f new emp loyment

opportunities under the self-reliant

India(Atmanirbhar Bharat) Package

3.0.

5. National Disability Empowerment

Center inaugurated in Telangana

§ Union Minister of State for Home

A f f a i r s K i s h a n R e d d y h a s

inaugurated the National Center for

Divyang Empowerment at CRPF

G r o u p C e n t e r i n H a k i m p e t ,

Hyderabad, Telangana.

6. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari

inaugurates Koilwar bridge in Bihar

§ Union Road Transport and Highways

M i n i s t e r N i t i n G a d k a r i h a s

inaugurated the १.५ km long Koilwar

bridge over Bihar's Son River through

video conferencing. The new bridge

inaugurated is a part of a six-lane

bridge being १३८ years old, being

replaced by the existing two-lane

bridge for both rail and road trafc.

7. Union Cabinet approves historic

PM-WANI scheme

§ The Union Cabinet has approved a

scheme called Prime Minister's Wi-Fi

Access Network Interface (PM-WANI)

to improve wireless connectivity and

pave the way for free wireless internet

in public places across the country.

§ The scheme will enable anyone from a

grocery store owner to a tea shop

vendor in a residential area, to set up

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

public Wi-Fi hotspots and provide

WiFi services. It aims to promote the

development of public Wi-Fi networks

in the country.

8. NITI Aayog released 'Vision 2035:

Monitoring of Public Health in

India'

§ A white paper titled 'Vision 2035:

Public Health Surveillance in India'

has been released by NITI Aayog on 14

December 2020.

§ In Vision 2035: Monitoring of Public

Health in India, the work being done

to strengthen the health system will

continue. The main part of this vision

is the administration-dependent

federal order of administration

between the Center and the states.

9. PM Modi lays foundation stone of

world's largest renewable energy

park in Gujarat.

§ Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid

the foundation stone of a 30,000 MW

(MW) hybrid renewable energy park in

Kutch district of Gujarat. It will be the

largest renewable energy park of its

kind in the world. It is expected to play

an important role in meeting India's

target of generating 450 GW (4,50,000

MW) of power by 2030.

10. India announces $ 1 million for

WADA for dope free games

§ India has announced a grant of US $ 1

million for its scientic research

budget to the World Anti-Doping

Agency (WADA) t o c r ea t e an

environment of clean sport. The

contribution made by India is the

highest among other world countries

including China, Saudi Arabia and

Egypt. This contribution is more than

the annual contribution made by

India to the main budget of WADA.

11. Boris Johnson invited PM Modi for

G-७ summit to be hosted by Britain

§ British Prime Minister Boris Johnson

has invited Prime Minister Narendra

Modi to attend the G-7 Summit 2021

hosted by Britain.

12. India's rst center of excellence

(CoE) for ski l l development

inaugurated in Gurugram

§ M i n i s t e r o f S t a t e f o r S k i l l

Development Raj Kumar Singh

inaugurated the rst Center of

Excellence (CoE) for skill development

in the power sector in Gurugram. CoE

is established in the campus of

National Institute of Solar Energy

located in Gurugram, Haryana.

13. Government of India notied new

"Electricity (Consumers' Rights)

Rules, 2020"

§ The new 'Electricity (Consumers'

Rights) Rules, 2020' has been

implemented by the Union Ministry of

Power. RK Singh said in his statement

that these rules will empower power

consumers, as these rules have come

out of the recognition that power

s y s t e m s a r e m e a n t t o s e r v e

laborator ies and the ex ist ing

agreement has the right to get global

(new services and investment-linked

electricity).

14. World Bank signs $ 500 million

project to develop highways in

India

§ The Government of India and the

World Bank signed a US $ 500 million

project for the construction of the Safe

and Green National Highway Corridor

in the states of Rajasthan, Himachal

Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

Pradesh. The project will also

enhance the ability of the Ministry of

Road Transport and Highways

(MoRTH) to mainstream safety and

green technologies. The International

Bank for Reconstruct ion and

Development, a subsidiary of the

World Bank, will be given a $ 500

million loan for a maturity period of

18.5 years, including a grace period of

ve years.

15. Cabinet approves 100% FDI in DTH

services


revised guidelines for direct-to-home

broadcasting services, after which the

100% foreign direct investment in

DTH as well as by extending the

license period to 20 years earlier it

was for 10 years.

16. Cabinet approves merger of four

government lm media units


merger of four government-run lm

and media units - Film Division,

Directorate of Film Festivals, National

Film Archive of India, and Children's

Film Society with the National Film

Development Corporation.

§ The merger of lm media units under

a single corporation will bring

uniformity in functions and tools and

better coordination which will ensure

uniformity and efciency in each

media unit receiving mandates. This

will help reduce duplication of tasks

and directly save the treasury.

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INTERNATIONALJANUARY-2021CURRENT AFFAIRS

PERFECTIONIAS

January-2021

Current Affairs

INTERNATIONAL

1. New Zealand declares climate

emergency§ New Zealand has declared its public

sector to be carbon neutral by 2025,

along with declaring a "climate

e m e r g e n c y " , F o l l o w i n g t h i s

announcement, New Zealand has

now joined 32 other countries that

have declared a climate emergency.

These include countries Japan,

Canada, France and Britain.

2. Bangladesh signed the rst

trade cooperation agreement

(PTA)

§ Bangladesh has signed its rst trade

cooperation agreement (PTA) with

Bhutan, which will enable duty-free

access to goods to a limit between the

two countries and thereby promote

bilateral trade between the two

c o u n t r i e s . U n d e r P T A , 1 0 0

Bangladeshi products will get duty

free access in Bhutan, while 34 items

from Bhutan will get duty free access

in Bangladesh. Further items in this

list can be added later on the basis of

d i s c u s s i o n b e t w e e n t h e t w o

countries.

3. China became the second

country in the world to y the

ag on the moon§ China has become the second country

in the world to hoist its national ag

on the moon. Earlier this feat was

achieved only after the United States

planted its ag on the moon during

the Apollo mission in 1969. China

achieved this historic feat during the

'Change५' mission, which was sent to

the moon to collect soil and rock

samples, and return to Earth after

planting the national ag on the lunar

surface on 3 December 2020. If the

return trip to the moon is completed

successfully, China will become the

third country in the world to bring

samples from the moon. Until now,

this record is only the names of the

United States and the Soviet Union(

now Russia) in the 1960s and 1970.

4. Kuwait Amir reappointed

Sheikh Saba al-Khalid as

Prime Minister§ Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah has

been appointed Prime Minister of

Kuwait by Kuwait Amir Sheikh Nawaf

al-Ahmad al-Sabah. The move comes

two days after Sheikh Saba submitted

his government's resignation as part

of a procedural process following the

parliamentary elections.

5. Romania's PM LudovicOrban

resigns from his post§ Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic

Orban has resigned from his post

following the defeat of his ruling

National Liberal Party (PNL) in the

2020 par l i amentary e l ec t i on .

Subsequently, Romania's President

Claus Lohanis appointed Defense

Minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciuca (Nicolae-

Ionel Ciuca) as the country's interim

Prime Minister.

6. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris

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INTERNATIONALJANUARY-2021CURRENT AFFAIRS

J o i n t l y S e l e c t e d T i m e

Magazine's 'Person of the

Year' 2020§ Newly elected US President Joe Biden

and Vice-President Kamala Harris

have been jo int ly voted Time

magazine's "Person of the Year" for

2020. TIME magazine releases the list

annual ly f rom १९२७ dur ing the

calendar year to identify the person or

organization that, for better or worse,

affects the news or the country and

the world the most.

7. ADB launches $ 9 billion

"APVAX" i n i t i a t i v e f o r

developing countries§ The Asian Development Bank of

Manila has launched an initiative

called Asia Pacic Vaccine Access

Facility (APVAX) for its developing

member countries. The bank has

allocated US $ 9 billion for the APVAX

initiative.

About the Asia Pacic Vaccine

Access Facility:§ APVAX will play an important role in

helping developing members of ADB

to overcome these challenges,

address the epidemic and focus on

economic recovery.

8. UNESCO included Singapore's

'Hawker' culture in its list of

cultural heritage

§ Singapore's street food hawker

culture has been included by

U N E S C O i n i t s p r e s t i g i o u s

'Representative List of the Intangible

Cultural Heritage of Humanity'.

§ Hawker cu l ture i s a popular

Singaporean style of street food and

dining methods in a multicultural

urban environment.

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STATE SPECIAL JANUARY-2021CURRENT AFFAIRS

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January-2021

Current Affairs

STATE SPECIAL

1. CM Trivendra Singh Rawat of

Uttarakhand inaugurated

Suryadhar lake§ U t t a r a k h a n d C h i e f M i n i s t e r

T r i v e n d r a S i n g h R a w a t h a s

inaugurated Suryadhar Lake in

Doiwala, Dehradun. Suryadhar Lake

is 550 meters long, 28 meters wide

and 10 meters deep and has a

capacity of 77,000 cubic meters.

§ The lake, apart from meeting the

drinking water and irrigation needs of

18-20 villages in the state, will improve

the water resources in the region and

help create a healthy eco-system that

will attract migratory birds.

2. I n t e r n a t i o n a l D a y o f

Disability: 03 December§ International Day of Persons with

Disabilities: Every year on 3rd

D e c e m b e r i s c e l e b r a t e d a s

International Day of Persons with

Disabilities globally. IDPWD Day was

announced in 1992 by the United

Nations General Assembly. The theme

of IDPWD Day 2020: 'Not a l l

disabilities are Visible'.

3. ADB and India sign $ 50

million loan agreement for

West Bengal§ The Asian Development Bank and the

Government of India have signed a US

$ 50 million policy-based loan

agreement to improve nancial

m a n a g e m e n t p r o c e s s e s a n d

operational efciency in West Bengal.

§ Titled 'West Bengal Public Finance

Management Investment Program',

the project will help the state to make

more scal savings, promote accurate

decision making and improve service

delivery.

4. Karnataka's rst 11.5 MW

power plant to be set up in

Bidadi§ Karnataka Chie f Min is ter BS

Yeddyurappa laid the foundation

stone of an 11.5 MW power plant

based on municipal waste in Bidadi,

Bengaluru.

§ It is the rst of its kind power plant

being set up by Karnataka Power

Corporation Limited (KPCL), which

will help in converting 600 tonnes of

waste from the municipality into

11.5-megawatt energy.

5. Yogi Adityanath ringing the

bell to list LMC bonds in BSE§ Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi

Adityanath listed the Lucknow

Municipal Corporation (LMC) bond on

the exchange, traditionally ringing a

bell on the Bombay Stock Exchange

(BSE).

§ LMC's bonds were i ssued on

November 13, with a coupon rate of

8.5 percent and a tenure of 10 years.

The issuer received 4.5 times the

membership.

6. Mamta Banerjee renamed

"Majerhat Bridge" as "Jai

Hind" to commemorate

N e t a j i ' s 1 2 5 t h b i r t h

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anniversary§ West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata

Banerjee has renamed the newly built

"Majerhat Bridge" in Kolkata as 'Jai

Hind' bridge to commemorate the

125th birth anniversary of Subhash

Chandra Bose.

§ This new bridge is built on the site of

an old bridge which collapsed in

September 2018. The bridge is 650

meters long and connects the central

part of Kolkata to the south-western

suburbs of Behala and others.

7. Odisha to host FIH Men's

Hockey World Cup in the year

2023.§ The International Hockey Federation-

FIH has announced the handing over

the 2023 FIH Men's Hockey World Cup

to Odisha for the second time in a row.

The tournament will be held at two

venues, Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.

The 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup was

also organized by Odisha.

8. Ola to set up world's largest

scooter factory in Tamil Nadu§ Softbank-backed mobility platform,

Ola has signed a memorandum of

understanding (MoU) with the

Government of Tamil Nadu to set up

its rst factory in Tamil Nadu with an

investment of Rs 2,400 crore.

§ Once completed, the Ola factory in

Tamil Nadu will be the largest scooter

manufacturing factory in the world.

Initially, the factory will have an

annual manufacturing capacity of २

million units.

§ The factory is in line with Prime

Minister Narendra Modi's vision of

self-reliant India and will make India

a manufacturing hub for two-wheel

electric vehicles.

9. Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik

launches 'Diligram' portal§ Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik

inaugurated the 'Diligram' portal with

22 online services of the Department

of Labor and Employees State

Insurance through video conference.

§ These portals and online services will

help ease the business of "Ease of

Doing Business" and will play an

important role in the industrial

development of the state.

10. Uttar Pradesh government

s t a r t ed f a rmer we l f a re

mission§ The Uttar Pradesh government has

announced to launch a special

program to double the income of

farmers. This program named to

"Farmers Welfare Mission", will cover

all the assembly constituencies of the

state. Under the Farmers Welfare

Mission, various programs will be

organized throughout the state.

11. Goa L ibe ra t ion Day : १९

December§ Goa Liberation Day: Every year 19

December in India is celebrated as

Goa Liberation Day, which marks the

day when Goa was liberated by the

Indian Armed Forces in 1961 after

450 years of rule of Portugal.

§ Goa Liberation Day is marked by a

number of events and celebrations in

Goa, although this time the festivities

are not expected due to the pandemic.

On this day, people from three

different places of the state light the

torch and reach Azad Maidan.

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12. Mega leather park to be set up

in Kanpur with an investment

of Rs 5,850 crore§ A mega leather park will be set up at an

investment of Rs 5,850 crore in

Ramaipur village of Kanpur. The park

is part of the Mega Leather Cluster

Project, which will generate direct and

indirect employment for 50,000 people.

§ The project has recently received

approval from the Union Ministry of

Commerce. The mega leather cluster

project will attract an investment of

around Rs 13,000 crore.

13. D h a r m e n d r a P r a d h a n

dedicated Bengal's rst oil

and gas reserve to the nation§ Union Petroleum and Natural Gas

Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has

dedicated the Bengal Basin, West

Bengal's rst oil and gas reserve, to the

nation. The Bengal Basin is discovered

and owned by Oil and Natural Gas

Corporation (ONGC). It is India's eight

production basins by ONGC.

14. Karnataka unveils "FRUITS"

portal for farmers§ The Government of Karnataka has

unveiled the e-governance portal,

Farmer Registration and Unied

Beneciary Information System-

FRUITS, to collect agricultural

information and agricultural credit

statements on a single platform. In

this all the farmers will be registered

and an identication number will be

given on the portal.

15. Punjab Government launches

mobile app and web portal 'PR

Insight'

§ Chief Minister of Punjab, Captain

Amarinder Singh has launched a

mobile application and web portal

called 'PR Insight' to improve delivery

of citizen-centric services based on

the response of its citizens on

government policies.

§ The basic objective of PR Insight is to

give a new direction to the existing

schemes and programs of the state

government for public satisfaction

after carefully monitoring the public

reactions.

16. Himachal CM unveils 18 feet

statue of Vajpayee in Shimla§ Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai

Ram Thakur has unveiled an 18-feet-

tall statue of late former Prime

Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the

historic ridge in the state capital on

the occasion of his 96th birth

anniversary.

§ This statue has been built at a cost of

1.08 crore rupees. There are also

statues of Mahatma Gandhi and

former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi

in Ridge Maidan.

17. PM Modi Virtuli to inaugurate

'New Bhaupur - New Khurja'

section§ Prime Minister Narendra Modi will

inaugurate the 'New Bhaupur - New

Khurja Section' of the Eastern Dedicated

Freight Corridor (EDFC) through video

conferencing on December 29, 2020.

Also, during the inauguration program,

the Prime Minister will also inaugurate

the Operations Control Center of EDFC

in Prayagraj. This corridor was built at a

cost of Rs 5750 crore, and stretches over

351 km.

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APPOINTMENTSJANUARY-2021CURRENT AFFAIRS

PERFECTIONIAS

January-2021

Current AffairsAPPOINTMENTS

1. Utpal Kumar Singh appointed

as new General Secretary of

Lok Sabha§ Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has

appointed senior IAS ofcer Utpal

Kumar Singh as General Secretary of

L o k S a b h a a n d L o k S a b h a

Secretariat. His appointment will be

effective from December 1, 2020. He will

replace Snehlata Srivastava.

2. IAS ofcer Varsha Joshi will

be the new chairperson of

NDDB§ IAS ofcer Varsha Joshi has been

appointed as the new chairman of the

National Dairy Development Board

(NDDB) by the Government of India.

He is currently serving as Joint

Secretary (CDD) in the Department of

Animal Husbandry and Dairying,

Ministry of Fisheries, Animal

H u s b a n d r y a n d D a i r y i n g ,

Government of India.

3. Sandeep Kataria will be the

new global CEO of Bata§ Bata Shoe Organization, the agship

footwear organization, has appointed

Sandeep Kataria as its new global

chief executive ofcer.

4. Lt. General Rajiv Chaudhary

appointed as new Director

General of BRO§ Lieutenant General Rajiv Chaudhary

has been appointed as the २७th

Director General of Border Roads

Organization.

5. Kuldeep Handoo appointed

ambassador of "Fit India"

movement§ K u l d e e p H a n d o o , t h e r s t

Dronacharya awardee from Srinagar-

born Wushu Coach and Union

Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, has

been made the ambassador of the Fit

India Movement. He has won 6 gold

medals at national level and 11 at

international level, he is the current

Wushu coach of Team India. Under

his guidance, athletes have won two

g o l d m e d a l s i n t h e W o r l d

Championship and one in the World

Cup. He is also working as a police

inspector in Jammu and Kashmir.

6. Anil Soni appointed as rst

CEO of WHO Foundation§ Indian-American health expert Anil

Soni has been appointed the rst

Chief Executive Ofcer of "The World

H e a l t h O r g a n i z a t i o n ( W H O )

Foundation". Prior to this, he was

working at the global healthcare

company Viatris in the US, where he

served as the Head of Global

Infectious Diseases. He will take over

as CEO from 1 January 2021.

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APPOINTMENTSJANUARY-2021CURRENT AFFAIRS

8. Zena Wooldridge elected new

president of World Squash

Federation§ Zena Wooldridge of England has been

elected as president of the World

Squash Federation. She will be the

10th WSF President of the Federation

which was established in 1967.

9. RBI reappoints Uday Kotak as

MD of Kotak Mahindra Bank§ The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has

approved the reappointment of Uday

Kotak as Managing Director of Kotak

Mahindra Bank, which will take effect

from January 1, 2021. Kotak is the

founding managing director and

promoter of the bank.

11. Satyendra Garg takes over as

DGP of Andaman and Nicobar

§ Senior IPS ofcer Satyendra Garg has

taken over as DGP of Andaman and

Nicobar. Lt. Governor of Andman and

Nicobar is D K Joshi.

12. Vineet Aggarwal becomes the

new president of Assocham

§ Vineet Aggarwal, managing director of

logistics major Transport Corporation

of India Limited, has taken over as the

new chairman of the Associated

Chambers of Commerce and Industry

of India (Assocham). It has completed

100 years of its existence.

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DEATHSJANUARY-2021CURRENT AFFAIRS

PERFECTIONIAS

January-2021

Current Affairs

DEATHS

1. Footballer Papa BoubaDiop,

who won Senegal's World Cup,

died§ The death of Senegal's professional

footballer Papa BoubaDiop, who

played a key role in winning the

country in the 2002 FIFA World Cup

match died.

2. The owner of MDH 'Mahasaya'

Dharampal Gulati passed

away§ Dharmapala Gulati, the owner of the

MDH called the Masala King, passed

away. He was born in 1923 in Sialkot,

Pakistan.

§ He was also called 'Dalaji' and

'Mahashaji'. Dharampal Gulati, who

left school at an early age, got involved

in his father's spice business in the

early days.

§ He was awarded the Padma Bhushan,

the third largest civilian honor of the

country by the Government of India in

2019.

3. Athlete turned actor Reefer

Johnson died§ American athlete and lm actor

Reefer Johnson, who won a gold

medal in the 1960 Olympics in the

decathlon, died.

4. Former French President

Valery Giscord dies§ Former French President Valery

Giscard d'Estaing has died at the age

of 94 due to coronovirus.

§ He served as the third President of

France from 1974 to 1981. He was

born on 2 February 1926 in Koblenz,

France (now Germany), occupied by

France.

5. Lakshadweep administrator

Dineshwar Sharma passed

away§ L a k s h a d w e e p A d m i n i s t r a t o r

Dineshwar Sharma passed away. He

was earlier the head of the Intelligence

Bureau and was also an interlocutor

for Jammu and Kashmir.

6. Fiber optics father Narinder

Singh Kapany dies§ Narinder Singh Kapany, the father of

ber optics, passed away. The Indian-

born American physicist was named

by Fortune as one of the seven

"Unsung Heroes" in his November

1999 businessman issue.

§ Kapany was the rst person to

transmit images via ber optics in

1954 and lay the foundation for high-

speed Internet technology.

7. A l l I nd i a Rad i o w r i t e r

MadhukarGangadhar passes

away§ R e n o w n e d H i n d i w r i t e r

MadhukarGangadhar passed away.

He was the lead storyteller of the new

story campaign. He was an associate

of Renuji in Patna Akashvani, as well

as director of All India Radio in

Allahabad and deputy director

general in Delhi Akashvani.

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8. Italy's 1982 World Cup hero

Paolo Rossi dies§ Italy's Paolo Rossi, who scored 6 goals

in the 1982 World Cup, passed away.

He is the only male player in history to

win the World Cup, Golden Boot,

Golden Ball and Ballon d'Or in the

same year. This was Italy's rst win in

1982 after 1938.

9. Chuck Yeager, the world's

rst pilot to y the aircraft by

breaking the sound barrier,

died§ US Air Force ofcer and test pilot

Chuck Yeager, who became the rst

pilot in history in १९४७, has died.

10. Renowned Sanskrit scholar,

Vidya vachaspati Bannanje

Govind acharya§ Renowned Sanskrit scholar, Vidya

vachaspati Bannanje Govind acharya

has passed away. He was procient in

Veda Bhasya, Upanishad Bhasya,

Mahabharata , Ramayana and

Puranas and wrote commentaries on

the Vedas, Upanishads, Shata

Rudriya, Brahmasutra Bhasya and

Gita Bhasya.

§ Govind acharya was awarded the

Padma Shri in 2009. He had written

around१५० books and translated many

texts from Sanskrit to Kannada.

11. Eswatini Prime Minister

Ambrose Dlamini dies§ Ambrose Dlamini, Prime Minister of

Eswatini, a country in Southern

Africa, has died due to coronavirus

infection. He was appointed as the

tenth Prime Minister of the country in

October 2018.

12. 'Hind Kesari' winning wrestler

Shripati Khanchanale passed

away§ In 1959, the famous Indian wrestler

ShripatiKhanchanale died. In 1959,

Khanchenley won the title of 'Hind

Kesari' by defeating wrestler Rustom-

e-Punjab Batasingh at New Railway

Stadium in Delhi. The prestigious

'Hind Kesari' title is the highest honor

in the world of Indian wrestling. He

was also the recipient of the Shiva

Chhatrapati Award given by the

Government of Maharashtra.

13. Padma Vibhushan awarded

a e r o s p a c e s c i e n t i s t

RodamNarasimha dead§ Renowned aerospace scientist and

Padma Vibhushan awarded Rodam

Narasimha died. He served at the

prestigious Indian Institute of Science

(IISc), where he taught aerospace

engineering from 1962 to 1999.

14. F o r m e r A u s t r a l i a T e s t

cricketer all-rounder Eric

Freeman dies§ Former Australia Test all-rounder

Eric Freeman passed away. He made

his Test debut against India in 1968 at

the Gaba (Brisbane Cricket Ground.

15. Veteran journalist and rst

ofcial spokesman of RSS

M.G. Vaidya dies§ Senior Rashtriya Swayam sevak

Sangh (RSS) ideologue M.G. Vaidya

passed away. He was an experienced

journalist, Sanskrit scholar and the

rst ofcial spokesman of the

Rashtriya Swayam sevak Sangh. He

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became a member of the RSS in 1943.

16. Senior Congress leader Motilal

Vora passed away§ Veteran Congress leader Motilal Vora

passed away due to COVID-19

infection. He was born in Jodhpur,

Rajasthan and started his career as a

journalist.

17. Renowned Malayalam poet

SugatKumari passed away§ Famous poet and activist Sugat

Kumari died after being infected with

corono virus. She was one of the most

active campaigners of the Save Silent

Valley Movement (Kerala), taking

shape in the 1970s.

§ He wrote the poem Maratinu Stuti

(hymn to a tree), which was recited in

every other protest to save the Silent

Valley. Sugat Kumari was awarded

the Padma Shri, India's fourth largest

civilian award, in the year 2006.

18. Former England batsman

John Ederick dies§ Former English rst-class batsman

John Ederick has passed away. He

was one of the best players of his

generation during his career from

1956 to 1978.

19. Famous Urdu poet Shamsur

Rahman Farooqui dies§ A month after recovering from

COVID-19, the famous Urdu poet and

critic, Shamsur Rahman Farooqui

has passed away. He was awarded the

SaraswatiSamman in 1996 for his

work 'Sher-e Shor-Anzez', a four-

volume criticism study on the

eighteenth-century poet Mir Taqi Mir.

The Government of India honored him

with the Padma Shri, a civilian honor

in 2009.

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AWARDSJANUARY-2021CURRENT AFFAIRS

PERFECTIONIAS

January-2021

Current Affairs

AWARDS

1. Ranjitsinh Disale became the

rst Indian to win the Global

Teacher Prize§ Global Teacher Prize 2020: Ranjitsinh

Disale, a government teacher of Zilla

Parishad Primary School in Paritwadi

v i l l a g e i n S o l a p u r d i s t r i c t ,

Maharashtra, has been selected for

the Global Teacher Prize for the year

2020. He is the rst Indian to win the

award, with a prize money of $ 1

million (Rs 7.4 crore).

§ The 32-year-old teacher has won the

annual Global Teacher Award 2020

for his efforts to promote girls'

education in his village and accelerate

the quick-response QR-based

textbook revolution in India. He had

made efforts towards adding QR

codes to primary class text books to

provide links to audio poems, video

lectures, stories and assignments. He

also spoke about education for girls

and people about the ill effects of

marriage at a young age.

2. Gitanjali Rao wins Time

magazine's rst “Kid of the

Year” award§ Indian-American young scientist and

inventor Geetanjali Rao has been

selected for the rst 'Kid of the Year'

award by the prestigious Time

magazine. This is the rst time the Kid

of the Year award has been given by

TIME magazine.

3. ICAR to be honored with Kng

Bhumibol World Soil Day

Award 2020§ The Indian Council of Agricultural

Research has won the prestigious

International King Bhumibol World

Soil Day Award 2020. The award is

given annually by the Food and

Agriculture Organization (FAO). The

award was presented to ICAR on 5

December on the occasion of World

Soil Day. The award to ICAR India will

be ofcially presented by Royal

Highness Princess Maha Chakri

Siridhorn of Thailand during an event

in Bangkok in January 2021.

4. R a j K a m a l J h a w o n

Rabindranath Tagore Literary

Award§ Journalist-writer Raj Kamal Jha has

won the third Rabindranath Tagore

Literature Award for his novel “The

City and The Sea”. The US $ 5,000

prize was announced online in

Copenhagen, Denmark in the wake of

the Covid-19 pandemic.

5. I n v e s t I n d i a w i n s U N

Investment Promotion Award

2020§ The United Nations Conference on

Trade and Development, has awarded

the United Nations Investment

Promotion Award for the year 2020 to

Invest India, the National Investment

Promotion Agency of India. Invest

India has been chosen as the winner

out o f 180 g loba l investment

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promotion agencies.

6. Carolina Araujo wins 2020

Ramanujan Prize for Young

Mathematician§ Dr. Carolina Araujo of Rio de Janeiro,

Institute for Pure and Applied

Mathematics (IMPA), Brazil became

the rst non Indian to win Ramanujan

Prize for young Mathematicians 2020.

His area of w ork focuses on birational

geometry, which aims to classify and

describe the structure of algebra

types.

7. Bajrang Punia and Elavenil

Valarivan won Sportsperson

of the Year award§ Indian athletes, Bajrang Punia

(freestyle-wrestling) and Elavenil

Valarivan (shooting) were awarded

the top prize of the FICCI India Sports

Awards 2020 during the 10th Global

Sports Summit. Both the athletes

who performed brilliantly in the 2019-

20 season won the Sportsperson of

the Year award in their respective

categories.

About the award:

§ The sports award is an effort by

industrial body, Federation of Indian

Commerce and Industry (FICCI) to

mark and honor the contributions of

players and various stakeholders,

which provide outstanding results

throughout the year.

8. Ashraf Patel receives Social

Entrepreneur of the Year

Award - India 2020§ Ashraf Patel, a founding member and

board member of Pravah and Com

Mutiny – The Youth Collective (CYC),

has been awarded the Socia l

Entrepreneur of the Year (SEOY)

Award - India 2020. She was given the

award by Smriti Zubin Irani, Union

Minister for Women and Child

Development and Textiles.

§ T h e S E O Y A w a r d “ h o n o r s

entrepreneurs who implement new,

sustainable and scalable solutions to

solve India's social problems. This is

the 11th edition of the annual award

instituted in 2010 by the Schwab

Foundation and the Jubilant Indian

Foundation.

9. U N E S C O l a u n c h e s

Bangabandhu Award on

“Creative Economy”§ UNESCO has announced the

introduction of an international

award in the name of Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, following

the Bangladesh proposal. The

Executive Board of the United Nations

Agency unanimously adopted the

proposal on UNESCO-Bangladesh

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman International Award for th“Creative Economy” in its 210

session. This is the rst time the

United Nations agency has instituted

a n a w a r d i n t h e n a m e o f

Bangabandhu.

10. Myanmar's Paul Sean Twa

w o n t h e G o l d m a n

Environmental Award 2020§ The I n t e rna t i ona l Un i on f o r

Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Asia

Regional Ofce has awarded Paul

S e a n T w a t h e G o l d m a n

Environmental Award २०२० for Asia.

The award is given to him for his

e f f o r t s t o p r o m o t e t h e s e l f -

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determination of the Karen people in

managing their natural resources.

11. UNEP Announces 2020

Champions of the Earth

Awards§ The United Nations Environment

Program (UNEP) has announced six

laureates for the २०२० Champions of

the Earth Award, the UN's highest

e n v i r o n m e n t a l h o n o r . T h e

Champions have been chosen for

their transformative impact urging

the environment and their leadership

to take bold and decisive action on

behalf of Earth and its inhabitants.

The Champions of the Earth Award was

presented in ५ categories: -

§ Lifetime Achievement

§ Inspiration and Action

§ Policy Leadership

§ Entrepreneur Vision

§ Science and Innovation.

§ The 2020 Champions of the Earth

Award has been conferred on 6

individuals. The list of these winners

is given below.

Policy Leadership:

§ F i j i P r i m e M i n i s t e r F r a n k

Bainimarama was honored in the

Policy Leadership category for his

commitment in global climate action

act ions and c l imate-response

national development.

Inspiration and Action:

§ Yacouba Sawadogo, Burkina Faso,

honored in the category of motivation

and action to teach farmers their

traditional nature-based solutions to

reintroduce their soil and convert

wasteland into arable land and forest

in Africa.

Inspiration and Action:

§ Nemonte Nenquimo, Ecuador was

awarded in the Inspiration and Action

category for leadership of integrated

work with indigenous communities

that have prevented drilling in

Ecuador's Amazon rainforests.

Science and Innovation:

§ Dr. Fabian Leendertz, Germany was

awarded in the Sc i ence and

I n n o v a t i o n c a t e g o r y f o r h i s

discoveries in zoonotic and his work

in forest health.

Entrepreneur Vision:

§ Mindy Lubber, America was honored

in the Entrepreneur Vision category

for its commitment to raising top

investors and companies and coloring

the capital market environment by

making the business case for climate

action and sustainability.

Lifetime Achievement Award:

§ Professor Robert D. Bullard, America

has been awarded the Champion of

the Earth Lifetime Achievement

Award for his commitment to and

service to environmental justice.

12. SAIL wins Golden Peacock

Environment Management

Award 2020§ The Steel Authority of India Limited

(SAIL ) has been awarded the

p r e s t i g i o u s G o l d e n P e a c o c k

Environmental Management Award

for the year 2020 by the Institute of

Directors.

13. Robert Lewandowski and

Lucy Bronze won the title of

Best FIFA Player of the year

2020§ Best FIFA Player 2020: Bayern

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Munich striker Robert Lewandowski

won the title of Best FIFA Men's Player

2020, beating last year's winners

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Lewandowski, 32, is the highest

goalscorer in Europe and the winner

of the Champions League with

Bayern. Lucy Bronze took the

women's award.

14. Vidyut Mohan o f Ind ia

selected 'Young Champions of

the Earth' by UNEP§ Indian entrepreneur Vidyut Mohan

has been declared the winner of the

“Young Champions of the Earth” of

the United Nations Environment

Program.

15. Ratan Tata to be awarded the

' G l o b a l V i s i o n a r y o f

Sustainable Business and

Peace' award§ Veteran industrialist Ratan Tata will

be honored by the Indo-Israel

Chamber of Commerce for promoting

innovation that encourages stability

and peace in the region, including

with the Palestinians.

§ Tata Group President Emeritus will

be honored with the 'Global Visionary

of Sustainable Business and Peace'

award during the international

launch of the Federation of Indo-

Israel Chamber of Commerce on 21

December in Dubai.

16. Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay

Telecom Skill Excellence

Awards announced§ Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad

presented prizes to the winners of

the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay

Telecom Skill Excellence Award,

which included cash prizes of Rs.

50,000 and Rs 30,000 respectively.

For the rst time nominations were

invited in the year 2018.

First prize:

§ Sri Srinivasa Karnam of Bengaluru

was selected for the rst award for his

contribution in developing a cost-

effective customized technology

solution under the brand 'C Mobile'.

I t i s u s e d f o r d e e p s e a

communication, for work on the

K e r a l a c o a s t , t o f a c i l i t a t e

communication to shermen and to

issue weather related warnings.

§ The service enables shermen to

make voice calls, group calls, SMS,

location services and emergency

services in the event of being outside

the GSM coverage area. The service is

available in a radius of about ५०० km

from Thiruvananthapuram to Calicut

along the Kerala coast. At the same

time, equipment related to this

service has been installed in about ९००

motor boats.

Second Prize:

§ Professor Subrata Kar from New Delhi

has been selected for the second

prize. They were selected for

innova t i v e so lu t i ons f o r the

development and deployment of

large-scale sensor networks and

devices to prevent train – animal

co l l i s i ons . I t wo rks w i thou t

in t e r f e r ing w i th the na tura l

movement / behavior of animals.

This helps in wildlife conservation.

§ As part of the initial phase, the system

has been installed in the Rajaji

National Park in Uttarakhand, to

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prevent elephant deaths due to train-

elephant collisions.

17. Ratan Tata honored with

“Assocham Enterprise of the

Century Award”§ PM Modi presented the Assocham

Enterprise of the Century Award to

Mr. Ratan Tata on behalf of the Tata

Group f o r h i s d i s t i ngu i shed

contribution to the country.

§ For the last 100 years, ASSOCHAM

and the entire Tata group have

worked hard to strengthen India's

economy and help the common

Indian.

18. Donald Trump honored PM

Modi with America's highest

honor 'Legion of Merit'§ US President Donald Trump has

honored Prime Minister Narendra

Modi with America's highest military

honor 'The Legion of Merit'.

§ Prime Minister Narendra Modi was

awarded the prestigious Legion of

Merit for his leadership in enhancing

the strategic partnership of the two

countries.

§ On behalf of the Prime Minister,

India's ambassador to the US,

Taranjit Singh Sandhu, received the

award from US National Security

Advisor Robert O'Brien at the White

House on December 21, 2020.

19. Amar S ingh Co l l ege o f

Srinagar conferred with

UNESCO Award§ Amar Singh College, Srinagar has

been awarded 'Award of Merit' at the

UNESCO Asia-Pacic Awards for the

year २०२० for preserving cultural

heritage.

20. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay –

winner of NIF Book Prize 2020§ Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay has been

announced the winners of the New

India Foundation Book Prize 2020

B e s t N o n - F a n t a s y B o o k o n

Contemporary / Modern India.

21. NTPC wins prestigious CII-ITC

Sustainability Awards 2020§ National Thermal Power Corporation

Limited (NTPC), the country's largest

power producer organization, has

been awarded “Excellence” at the

prestigious CII-ITC Sustainability

Awards 2020 in the Corporate Social

Responsibility (CSR) domain. NTPC

has been awarded in the Corporate

Excellence category, which is a

commendat ion for s ign icant

achievement.

§ This is the highest award given in the

CSR domain by CII-ITC. NTPC is the

only PSU to receive this award in the

Corporate Excellence category. NTPC

has won the prestigious CII-ITC

Sustainability Awards for the second

consecutive time in the year 2019 and

2020 in the Corporate Excellence

category.

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SCIENCE & TECHJANUARY-2021CURRENT AFFAIRS

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Current Affairs

SCIENCE & TECH

1. Pixxel will launch remote

sensing satellite with ISRO

rocket§ Bangalore-based space-technology

start-up “Pixxel” has signed an

agreement with the Indian Space

Research Organization (ISRO) to

launch its rst remote-sensing

satellite on ISRO's workhorse Polar

Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)

rocket in early 2021. Earlier, the

startup planned to launch this

satellite in late 2020 and on a Russian

Soyuz rocket.

§ Pixxel aims to have a constellation of

30 Earth observation micro-satellites

in sun-synchronous orbit by mid-

2023.

§ The data available through these

satellites will help in various areas,

ranging from agriculture to urban

monitoring such as air and water

pollution levels, forest biodiversity

and health, coastal and marine

health, and changes in urban

landscape.

2. BSNL launches world's rst

satellite-based narrowband-

IoT network§ Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited

(BSNL) has partnered with global

machine connectivity solution

company Skylo tech India (Skylo) to

launch satellite-based Narrow Band-

Internet of Things (NB-IoT). This

initiative is the world's rst satellite-

based NB-IoT network.

§ The new indigenous IoT solution has

been developed by Sky Low and will be

connected to BSNL's satellite-

infrastructure to provide pan-India

coverage including Indian seas.

3. I S R O w i l l l a u n c h

Communication Satellite

CMS-01§ T h e I n d i a n S p a c e R e s e a r c h

Organization (ISRO) on 17 December

launched the communication satellite

CMS-01 (formerly GSAT-12R), using

the XL variant of its Polar Satellite

Launch Vehicle rocket as PSLV-C50.

It will have a mission life of seven

years.

4. ISRO set up dedicated control

center “NETRA” for SSA§ A dedicated Space Situational

Awareness Control Center named

“NETRA” has been set up by the

Indian Space Research Organization

(ISRO) at its ISTRAC campus in

Peenya in Bengaluru. ISRO's SSA

Control Center 'NETRA' was formally

inaugurated by ISRO Chairman K

Sivan.

What is NETRA?§ “Network for space object TRACKING

and ANALYSIS (NETRA)” will monitor,

track and protect India's space

assets. It will also act as a hub for all

SSA activities within India.

§ It has been established as the

Directorate of Space Situational

Awareness and Management, which

aims to protect high-value space

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SCIENCE & TECHJANUARY-2021CURRENT AFFAIRS

assets from near-surface approaches

to space debris and collisions.

W h a t i s S p a c e S i t u a t i o n a l

Awareness (SSA)?§ SSA is the science of tracking objects

(man-made and natural) that are in

orbit and predicting what they will be

at a given point.

§ Only the US, Russia and Europe have

the similar facility for tracking space

objects and shar ing co l l is ion

warnings.

5. Raja Chari to be commander

of NASA's SpaceX Crew-3

mission§ NASA and the European Space

Agency (ESA) have selected Indian-

A m e r i c a n R a j a C h a r i t o b e

commander of the SpaceX Crew-3

mission to the International Space

Station. Currently, Raja Chari serves

as the Colonel in the US Air Force.

§ He will be the commander of the

SpaceX Crew-3 mission, while Tom

M a r s h b u r n o f N A S A ( T o m

Marshburn) will be the pilot and

Matthias Maurer of ESA will serve as

mission specialist. The mission is

expected to be launched early next

year.

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DEFENCEJANUARY-2021CURRENT AFFAIRS

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January-2021

Current Affairs

DEFENCE

1. Indian Army successfully

tests anti-ship version of

BrahMos missile§ India has successfully tested an anti-

sh ip vers ion o f the BrahMos

supersonic cruise missile from the

Andaman and Nicobar Islands region.

The test was conducted as part of a

test being conducted by the Indian

Navy.

§ The BrahMos supersonic cruise

missile developed by DRDO was

launched from the Indian Navy's INS

Rannvijay from a range of 300 km and

successfully shot down its target ship

near the Car Nicobar Islands in the

Bay of Bengal.

2. PASSEX exercise to be carried

out between Indian and

Russian Navy§ PASSEX exe r c i s e s a r e b e ing

conducted between the Indian Navy

and the Russian Navy in the Eastern

Indian Ocean Region (IOR). This

exercise will help in narrow the gap

between the two navies, improve

synergy and assimilate best efforts.

§ It also includes advanced surface and

anti-submarine warfare exercises,

weapon rings, seamanship exercises

and helicopter operations.

3. GRSE Kolkata launches rst

ship of project 17A 'Himgiri'§ The rst of three Project 17A ships

being constructed by Kolkata-based

Garden Reach Shipbuilders and

Engineers Limited (GRSE), Himgiri

has been launched. The launch of

Himgiri reects GRSE's commitment

to the construction of three state-of-

the-art warships of the P17A for the

Indian Navy.

§ Under the Project 17A program, a

total of seven ships are to be built,

four of which at Mazgaon Dock

Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) and rest

are at GRSE with state-of-the-art

s t e a l t h f a c i l i t i e s , a d v a n c e d

indigenous weapons and sensors as

well as many other improvements.

§ The P17A ship is the rst gas turbine

operating power built at GRSE and

the largest ghter vessel ever built.

Since its inception, Project 17A has

retained India's self-respecting India

outlook.

4. Country-made interceptor

boat C-454 commissioned at

Coastguard§ The interceptor boat C-454, built at

Larsen & Toubro's Hazira plant, will

be operated by Gujarat under the

control of Coast Guard Commander

North-West, commander of the Indian

Coast Guard. It was commissioned by

Surat Police Commissioner Ajay

Tomar.

5. O P V S u j i t o f I n d i a n

Coastguard commissioned in

Goa§ Sujit', the second of 5 Offshore Patrol

Vessel (OPV) of the Indian Coast

Guard (Indian Coast Guard) OPV

series, was commissioned at Goa

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Shipyard Limited (GSL) by Raj

K u m a r , S e c r e t a r y ( D e f e n s e

Production) at Vasco Town, Goa.

6. 35th ed i t i on o f I nd i a -

Indonesia CORPAT organized§ The 35th edition of the India-

Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (IND-

INDO C ORPAT) between India and the

Indonesian Navy has been held from

17 to 18 December 2020. The 35th

IND-INDO C ORPAT will contribute to

the efforts of the Indian Navy to

improve mutual coordination in the

operation and strengthen ties in the

Indo Pacic.

7. Rajnath Singh handed over

t h e s t a t e - o f - t h e - a r t

technology system to the

three chiefs§ Defense Minister Rajnath Singh

r e c e n t l y h a n d e d o v e r t h r e e

ind i genous l y deve l oped h i gh

technology systems to the heads of

the three armed forces Indian Army,

Indian Navy and Indian Air Force.

§ Three systems named Border

Surveillance System (BOSS), Indian

Maritime Situational Awareness

System (IMSAS) and Astra Mk-I

missile have been developed by the

Defense Research and Development

Organization (DRDO).

1. Border Surveillance System

(BOSS)§ BOSS is an all-weather electronic

surveillance system. It was handed

over to Army Chief General MM

Naravane.

§ The system has already been

deployed in the Ladakh border area

for day and night monitoring.

2. Indian Maritime Situational

Awareness System (IMSAS)§ It was assigned to Naval Chief Admiral

Karambir Singh.

§ IMSAS is a state-of-the-art, fully

indigenous, high-performance

intelligent software system that

provides the Indian Navy with global

maritime situational picture, marine

planning tools, and analytical

capabilities.

3. Astra Mk-I Missile System§ It was handed over to Air Chief

Marshal R KS Bhadauria.

§ This missile is the rst indigenously

developed Beyond Visual Range (BVR)

missile to be launched from Sukhoi-

30, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), MiG-

29 and MiG-29K.

§ The ASTRA weapon system has been

developed by production by Defense

R e s e a r c h a n d D e v e l o p m e n t

Laboratory (DRDL) and Bharat

Dynamics Limited (BDL) Hyderabad.

8. Rajnath Singh inaugurates

state-of-the-art “HWT” test

facility center in Hyderabad§ Union Defense Minister Rajnath

Singh inaugurated DRDO's state-of-

the-art hypersonic wind tunnel (HWT)

test ing faci l i ty at Hyderabad,

Telangana.

§ India, after establishing the rst

state-of-the-art HWT test facility

center in the country, has become the

third country in the world after India,

USA and Russia with such a large

facility of this size and capacity.

About hypersonic wind tunnel (HWT):

§ The indigenously developed HWT test

facility is a pressure vacuum operated

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enclosed free jet facility with a nozzle

exit diameter of 1 m. It will emulate

Mach numbers 5 to 12 (indicating the

factor of the speed of Mach sound).

§ The facility has the ability to simulate

hypersonic ow over a wide spectrum

and will play a major role in the

realization of highly complex future

aerospace and defense systems.

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IMPORTANT DAYSJANUARY-2021CURRENT AFFAIRS

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January-2021

Current AffairsIMPORTANT DAYS

1. World AIDS Day: 01 December§ Every year December 1 is celebrated

worldwide as World AIDS Day. The

day provides an opportunity for

people around the world to unite in

the ght against HIV, show support

for people living with HIV, and

remember those who have lost their

lives with AIDS-related disease.

§ The theme of this year's World AIDS

Day is “Global solidarity, shared

responsibility”.

§ In the year 2020, the world's attention

is focused on the impact of COVID-19

epidemic on how the epidemic affects

life and livelihood.

§ COVID-19 once again shown how the

issue of health is associated with

other important issues such as

reducing inequality, human rights,

gender equality, social protection and

economic development.

2. I n t e r n a t i o n a l S l a v e

Eradication Day: 2 December§ International Day for the Abolition of

Slavery: To end slavery around the

world since the year 1986, the United

Nations General Assembly has

observed 2 December every year as

the International Abol i t ion of

Abolition Day.

§ The purpose of celebrating this day is

to focus on meaningful efforts to

eradicate issues related to all forms of

slavery, such as human trafcking,

sexual exploitation, the worst form of

child labor, forced marriage and

forced recruitment of children during

armed conict.

History of international slavery or

abolition of slavery:

§ On December 2, 1949, a resolution

was passed in the United Nations

General Assembly, under which the

International Day of Abolition of

Slaves was adopted. The main

objective in this was to stop human

trafcking and prevent prostitution.

Resolution 317(IV) was passed,

considering both to be the symbol of

slavery.

3. National Pollution Control

Day: 02 December§ National Pollution Control Day: Every

year on 2 December in India, National

Pollution Control Day is celebrated in

the memory of people who lost their

lives in the unfortunate incident of the

Bhopal gas tragedy that took place on

the night of 2 to 3 December 1984.

4. World Computer Literacy Day:

02 December

§ World Computer Literacy Day:

Every year December 2 is celebrated

as World Computer Literacy Day to

create awareness and promote digital

literacy in communities isolated from

digital literacy around the world.

§ The day is celebrated to promote

technical skills especially among

c h i l d r e n a n d w o m e n . W o r l d

Computer Literacy Day today controls

the advanced gap that exists in the

world.

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5. Indian Navy Day: 04 December§ Every year in India, 4 December is

celebrated as the Indian Navy Day to

mark the achievements and roles of

the Navy across the country. Theme of

Navy Day of the year 2020 “Indian

Navy Combat Ready”, Credible

6. International Bank Day: 4

December§ International Bank Day is celebrated

globally on 4 December every year.

December 4 was dec la red as

International Bank Day through the

74/245 resolution adopted on 19

December 2019 by the United Nations

General Assembly.

§ The day is celebrated to mark the

crit ical abi l i ty of mult i lateral

development banks and other

international development banks to

provide funding and knowledge of

susta inable deve lopment and

banking systems that play a key role

in improving living standards in

member countries.

7. International Volunteer Day:

05 December§ International Volunteer Day (IVD) i.e.

International Volunteer Day, also

known as International Volunteer

Day for Economic and Social

Development, ie International

Volunteer Day for Economic and

Social Development, is celebrated

globally on 05 December every year.

8. World Soil Day: 05 December§ World Soil Day: Every year 5

December is celebrated as World Soil

Day to raise awareness about the

importance of human welfare, food

security and important soil quality of

ecosystems.

§ T h e F o o d a n d A g r i c u l t u r e

Organization's campaign “Keep soil

alive, protect soil biodiversity” aims to

r a i s e a w a r e n e s s a b o u t t h e

importance of maintaining healthy

ecosystems and human welfare.

9. International Civil Aviation

Day: 07 December

§ International Civil Aviation Day:

Every year December 7 is celebrated

as International Civil Aviation Day to

mark the importance of aviation for

social and economic development

worldwide.

§ The purpose of International Civil

Aviation Day is to help to create and

strengthen worldwide awareness of

the importance of international civil

aviation for the social and economic

development of countries, and to truly

serve all mankind in global rapid

transit the network marks the unique

role of the ICAO in helping states to

collaborate and realize.

10. Armed Forces Flag Day: 7

December§ Armed Forces Flag Day (also known

as Indian Flag Day) in honor of the

soldiers, sailors and airmen of the

country who fought along the borders

to secure the country on December 7

every year from 1749 in India.

§ The three branches of the Armed

Forces of India, namely, the Indian

Army, the Indian Air Force and the

Indian Navy are remembered to this

day.

§ The Armed Forces Flag Day Fund has

been created by the Government of

I n d i a f o r t h e w e l f a r e a n d

rehabilitation of Ex-Servicemen.

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11. International Anti-Corruption

Day: ०९ December

§ Every year 9 December is celebrated

as International Anti-Corruption Day

to raise public awareness about anti-

corruption.

§ The day has been celebrated annually

since the passage of the United

N a t i o n s C o n v e n t i o n A g a i n s t

Corruption on 31 October 2003.

12. International Day of Victim of

Genocide and its Victims and

Prevention of this Crime: 9

December§ Every year on 9 December, the

International Day of Commemoration

and Dignity of the Victims of the

Crime of Genocide and of the

Prevention of this Crime i.e. marking

the dignity of the victims of genocide

and its victims and the International

Day of Prevention of this crime Is

celebrated as On 9 December 1948,

the United Nations General Assembly

began to organize a genocide

conference each year on the proposal

for the prevention and punishment of

g e n o c i d e c r i m e ( “ G e n o c i d e

Convention”). This year the 71st

anniversary of the conference is being

observed.

13. World Human Rights Day: 10

December

§ Human Rights Day: Every year 10

December is celebrated as Human

Rights Day all over the world. The day

began on December 10, 1948, when

the Universal Declaration of Human

Rights was adopted by the United

Nations.

§ This day is celebrated every year to

empower all over the world. The day

also marks supporters and protectors

of human rights around the world.

14. UNICEF Day: 11 December§ UNICEF Day is celebrated worldwide

on 11 December every year. On

December 11, 1946, UNICEF was

formed by the United Nations General

Assembly as the United Nations

International Children's Emergency

Fund to improve the health, nutrition,

education and general welfare of

casualties caused by World War II.

§ UNICEF was later renamed the

Uni ted Nat ions In ternat iona l

Children's Emergency Fund from the

United Nations Children's Fund,

however, it was popularly known by

its short name based on the previous

name.

15. International Mountain Day:

11 December§ In te rna t i ona l Mounta in Day :

International Mountain Day is

celebrated on 11 December every year

globally. The day is celebrated to

c r e a t e a w a r e n e s s a b o u t t h e

importance of mountains, highlight

opportunities and obstacles in the

development of mountains and to

cooperate which will bring positive

c h a n g e s i n t h e p e o p l e a n d

environments living in mountainous

regions across the world.

§ The theme of this year's International

Mounta in Day i s “Mounta in

biodiversity”, which focuses on

identifying their rich biodiversity as

well as addressing the threats they

face.

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16. International Universal Health

Coverage Day: 12 December§ International Universal Health

Coverage Day is an international day

declared by the United Nations, which

is observed every year on 12

December.

§ The purpose of celebrating this day is

to raise awareness among multi-

stakeholder partners about the need

for strong and exible health systems

and universal health coverage.

17. National Energy Conservation

Day: 14 December§ Every year 14 December is celebrated

as National Energy Conservation Day

nationwide by the Bureau of Energy

Efciency (BEE) under the Ministry of

Energy.

§ The day is celebrated to raise

awareness among the people about

t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f e n e r g y

conservation and energy efciency, as

well as the overall efforts required for

overall development for climate

change mitigation.

18. 49th Victory Day: 16 December§ 49th Vijay Diwas: Every year in India,

16 December is celebrated as Vijay

Diwas. This year the country is

celebrating 49th Victory Day in 2020.

§ Vic to ry Day i s ce l ebra ted to

commemorate the service, valor and

sacrice of Indian brave men in

India's victory over Pakistan in the

१९७१ war.

19. International Migrant Day: 18

December§ I n t e rna t i ona l M i g r an t s Day :

Internat iona l Migrant Day is

celebrated globally on 18 December

every year. In December 2000, the

United Nations General Assembly

d e c l a r e d D e c e m b e r 1 8 a s

International Migrant Day, given the

increasing number of migrants

worldwide.

20. International Human Unity

Day: 20 December§ International Human Solidarity Day:

Every year on 20 December ,

International Human Unity Day is

celebrated globally to mark unity in

diversity and raise awareness about

the importance o f so l idar i ty .

According to the United Nations

Millennium Declaration, solidarity is

one of the core values t hat are so

essential to international relations.

21. National Mathematics Day:

22 December§ In India, National Mathematics Day is

celebrated on 22 December every year

since 2012. This day is celebrated to

commemorate the birth anniversary

of the great mathematician Srinivasa

Ramanujan. This year, the १३३rd birth

anniversary of Ramanujan is being

celebrated across the country.

§ Ramanujan had a wealth of ideas,

which changed the mathematics of

the 20th century to a new form. These

ideas continue to shape 21st century

mathematics. The main purpose

b e h i n d c e l e b r a t i n g N a t i o n a l

Mathematics Day is to make people

a w a r e o f t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f

mathematics in the development of

humanity.

22. National Farmers Day: 23

December§ Every year 23 December in India is

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celebrated as National Farmers Day

to commemorate the role of Indian

farmers in the economy. This day is

celebrated on the birth anniversary of

former Prime Minister Chaudhary

Charan Singh. He brought farmer

friendly policies and worked for the

welfare of farmers. He was the fth

Prime Minister of India and served the

country as Prime Minister from 28

July 1979 to 14 January 1980.

23. National Consumer Rights

Day 2020: 24 December

§ Every year 24 December is celebrated

as National Consumer Rights Day

across the country. On this day in

1986, the Consumer Protection Act

1986 was approved by the President,

after which it came into force. The Act

is intended to provide consumers with

effective protection against various

forms of exploitation, such as poor

goods, reduction of services and

unfair trade practices.

24. Good Governance Day (Good

G o v e r n a n c e D a y ) : 2 5

December§ In India, Good Governance Day (Good

Governance Day) is observed every

year on 25 December. The nation

celebrates this day as the birth

anniversary of Bharat Ratna and

former Prime Minister Atal Bihari

Vajpayee. This day was established in

honor of Shri Vajpayee in the year

2014 to promote awareness among

the people of accountability in the

government. Keeping this principle in

mind, Good Governance Day has

been declared as a working day for the

government.

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SPORTSCURRENT AFFAIRS

JANUARY-2021

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January-2021

Current Affairs

1. Lewis Hamilton wins Bahrain

Grand Prix 2020 title§ Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great

Britain) has won the Race 2020

Bahrain Grand Prix held at the

Bahrain International Circuit in

Bahrain.

§ This race was the fteenth race of the

2 0 2 0 F o r m u l a O n e W o r l d

Championship. This is Hamilton's th11th win in this season and the 95 in

F1 win of his career.

2. Virat Kohli became the

fastest player to score 12000

runs in ODI cricket§ Virat Kohli has become the fastest

player to score 12000 runs in one-day

international cricket history. Kohli

did the feat in the third ODI against

Australia in Canberra.

§ He achieved this position in his 242nd

innings and before that the record

was in the name of Sachin Tendulkar,

who scored 12000 runs in his 300th

innings.

3. David Malan of England

achieved the highest rating in

T20§ England player David Malan has

made history by receiving the highest

rating of batsmen in the MRF Tires

ICC Men's T20I Player Rankings.

§ The 33-year-old Malan scored 915

points in the rankings, making him

the rst player to cross 900 points in

this format.

4. New Zealand all-rounder

Corey Anderson announced

his retirement§ New Zealand all-rounder Corey

Anderson has announced his

retirement from international cricket.

5. Jehan Daruwala becomes rst

Indian to win F2 race§ Jehan Daruwala has created history

by becoming the rst Indian to win the

Sakheer Grand Prix Formula 2 race of

the year 2020, held in Bahrain. This

was the nal race of the F2 season.

The Formula 2 Championship is a

second-level single-seater racing

championship.

§ 22 -year-old Jehan Daruwala is

currently a member of the Red Bull

Junior team and competes for Carlin

Motorsport.

6. Sri Lanka to host 2021 Asia

Cup§ Sri Lanka will host the Asia Cup to be

held in June 2021 while Pakistan has

acquired hosting rights to host the

tournament in the year 2022.

7. Sergio Perez won the Sakhiar

Grand Prix 2020 race§ Sergio Perez (Mexico-racing point-

BWT Mercedes) has won the 2020

Sakheer Grand Prix race held at the

Bahrain International Circuit in

Bahrain.

SPORTS

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JANUARY-2021

8. Kiren Rijiju launches second

edition of Fit India Cyclothon§ Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju launched

the second edition of the Fit India

c y c l o t h o n t h r o u g h v i d e o

conferencing.

§ This mega cycling event will run for २५

days, starting from December 7 to

December 31, 2020 . It wil l be

organized in every district across the

country. Citizens can participate by

registering on the website of Fit India.

9. Yulimar Rojas and Mondo

Duplantis won the World

Athlete of the Year title of

2020§ S w e d i s h p o l e W a l t e r M o n d o

Duplantis and Venezuela's triple

jumper Yulimar Rojas have been

awarded the 2020 Male and Female

World Athlete of the Year titles. He is

the rst recipient of the prestigious

Athletics Award from his country.

10. Parthiv Patel announces

retirement from all formats of

cricket§ Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv

Patel has announced his retirement

from all forms of cricket. The 35-year-

old left-handed batsman made his

international debut in 2002, playing

25 Tests, 38 ODIs and two T20Is for

India.

11. Madagascar to host 2023

Indian Ocean Island Games in

place of Maldives§ Madagascar has been assigned to

host the 2023 Indian Ocean Island

Games to be held in the Maldives in

the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

12. IOC gives Olympic Games

status to break dancing§ The International Olympic Committee

has registered 'Breakdancing' as an

ofcial Olympic sport as a new entry

to the Olympics with an aim to attract

new and younger spectators .

Breakdancing in an Olympic event

will be known as 'Breaking'.

13. Max Verstappen wins Abu

Dhabi Grand Prix 2020§ Max Ve r s tappen (Red Bu l l -

Netherlands) has won the last season

of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2020

held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab

Emirates. It was his second and his

१०th career win of the season.

14. Indian tennis player Ankita

Raina wins ITF double title in

Dubai§ Indian tennis player Ankita Raina has

won her third doubles title of the

season by winning the 2020 Al

Habtoor Tennis Challenge jointly with

her Georgian partner Ekaterin

Gorgodez in Dubai.

15. Qatar to host Asian Games in

2030 and Saudi Arabia in

2034§ Asian Games 2030 and 2034: 2030

Asian Games to be held in Doha,

Qatar, while 2034 Asian Games will

be held in Riyadh, Riyadh, after

a g r e e m e n t o n l o n g - s t a n d i n g

differences between rival countries

Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

§ Doha won the General Assembly of

the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) by

defeating Riyadh in a poll to host the

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JANUARY-2021

2030 Games.

16. Mohammad Aamir announced

h i s r e t i r e m e n t f r o m

international cricket§ � Pakistan 's s tar fast bowler

Mohammad Aamir has announced

his retirement from international

cricket, he has cited the “mental

torture” by the management as the

reason behind his decision to retire.

17. CAS bans Badminton player

Foo Kune of Mauritius for two

years§ The Court of Arbitration for Sport

(CAS ) has banned Maur i t ius

badminton player Kate Foo Kune for

two years for being found guilty of

violating doping rules.

18. Indian boxers won 3 gold

medals in Cologne Boxing

World Cup§ Indian boxers have won a total of 9

medals including three gold, two

silver and four bronze in the Cologne

Boxing World Cup 2020 held in

Cologne, Germany. India ranked 2 in

the overall medal list, and Germany

topped the list with a total of 16

medals. The Cologne Boxing World

2020 was hosted by the European

Boxing Confederation (EUBC).

Medalists List

§ Gold: For India, three gold medals

were won by Amit Panghal (52 kg),

Manisha Maun (57 kg) and Simranjit

Kaur (60 kg) in their respective

categories.

§ Silver: Sakshi Chaudhary (57 kg) and

Satish Kumar (91 kg) won silver

medals.

§ Bronze: Sonia Lather (57 kg), Pooja

Rani (75 kg) Gaurav Solanki (57 kg)

and Mohammad Hussamuddin (57

kg) captured bronze medals in their

respective categories.

19. Sports Ministry approves

inclusion of 4 indigenous

games in Khelo India Youth

Games 2021§ The Sports Ministry has approved the

inclusion of four indigenous games in

the Khelo India Youth Games 2021, to

be held in Haryana.

§ These are the four new games, Gatka,

Kalar ipayattu, Thanga-ta and

Mallakhamba. These four selected

sports will represent different parts of

the country and wi l l a lso be

recognized at the national level with

the help of Khelo India Youth Games

2021.

20. Lewis Hamilton wins 2020

BBC Sports Personality of the

Year Award§ Formula 1 world champion Lewis

Hamilton has won the BBC Sports

Personality of the Year 2020 Award.

This is the second time that 35-year-

old Hamilton has been awarded the

Sports Personality of the Year title.

Earlier, he won the award in 2014.

21. FIFA cancels next year's U-20,

U-17 World Cup§ FIFA has canceled the men's U-20 and

U-17 World Cup tournaments in 2021

due to novel coronavirus. As a result

of the COVID-19 pandemic, the

Bureau of the FIFA Council decided to

cancel the 2021 editions of the men's

FIFA U-20 World Cup and the FIFA U-

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JANUARY-2021

17 World Cup and appoint Indonesia

and Peru as hosts for the 2023

editions, respectively. Libya, who was

supposed to host the tournament in

2021.

§ Peru will host the FIFA U-17 World

Cup in 2023. In the same year, the

FIFA U-20 World Cup will be hosted

by Indonesia.

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OTHERSJANUARY-2021CURRENT AFFAIRS

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January-2021

Current Affairs

OTHERS

1. 56th Foundation Day of BSF: 1 December

§ The Border Securi ty Force is

celebrating its 56th Foundation Day

on 01 December 2020.

§ After the India-Pakistan and Indo-

China wars, the BSF was formed on 1

December 1965 as a unied central

agency to ensure the security of

Ind ia ' s borders and mat te rs

connected therewith.

2. Piyush Goyal inaugurates Dighavada-Bandikui rai l section of NWR

§ Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal

has inaugurated the newly electried

Dighavada-Bandikui rail section of

North Western Railway (NWR) in

Rajasthan.

§ At the same time, the minister also

agged off the rst train on this new

electried route. Dighavada-Bandikui

section is on the Delhi-Ajmer rail

route passing through Jaipur.

3. Ministry of Information and B r o a d c a s t i n g r e l e a s e d booklet on Guru Nanak Dev's birth anniversary

§ On the occasion of the bir th

anniversary of Shri Guru Nanak Dev

J i , a b o o k l e t t i t l e d ' S p e c i a l

relationship of PM Modi and his

government with Sikhs' was released.

§ This booklet has been prepared by the

Bureau of Outreach Communication

under the Ministry of Information and

Broadcasting and has been released

in three languages H indi, Punjabi and

English.

4. A . R . R a h m a n t o b e a m b a s s a d o r o f ' B A F T A Breakthrough' initiative in India

§ Oscar and Grammy-winning Indian

musician AR Rahman has been

chosen as the ambassador for

BAFTA's Breakthrough initiative in

India.

§ In the year 2020, BAFTA will identify

and collaborate on ve exceptional

talents working in lm, sports or

television in India.

5. IOCL Launches India's First World Class Premium Grade Petrol Octane 100

§ Union Minister of Petroleum and

Natural Gas and Steel, Dharmendra

Pradhan launched India's rst

indigenously produced world-class

premium-grade petrol '100 Octane

premium petrol' through video

conferencing.

§ Octane will provide high quality and

power to the petrol engine. This

premium grade petrol will be made

available as the brand 'XP-100'. It is

manufactured by the Indian Oil

Corporation Limited (IOCL) at the

Mathura Renery in Uttar Pradesh.

6. Cyclonic storm “Burevi” hovering over southwest Bay of Bengal

§ Deep depression has intensied into a

cyclonic storm 'Burevi' over southeast

and southwest Bay of Bengal

adjoining Bay of Bengal.

§ It is 240 km east-southeast from

Trincomalee (Sri Lanka), 470 km east-

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southeast from Pamban (Tamil Nadu)

and about 650 km east-northeast

from Kanniyakumari (Tamil Nadu).

§ Cyclone Burevi name is given by

Maldives. This is the second cyclone

within a week in the southwest region

of the Bay of Bengal. A cyclone alert

has been issued for the South Tamil

Nadu and South Kerala coasts by the

India Meteorological Department

(IMD).

7. Venka iah Na idu i s sued postage stamp in honor of former PM I.K.Gujral

§ Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has

released a commemorative postage

stamp in honor of the late Prime

Minister of India and freedom ghter

I.K.Gujral (Indra Kumar Gujral)

through video conferencing.

8. Adar Poonawala of Serum Institute selected 'Asian of the Year' along with ve other people

§ “The Straits Times Asians of the Year”

was awarded by Singapore's leading

daily 'The Straits Times' to six persons

inc lud ing Pune-based Serum

Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar

Poonawalahas been chosen.for

contributing to the ght against the

Covid-19 pandemic.

9. Nepal and China claim height of Mount Everest to be 86 cm higher

§ A joint survey by Nepal and China

claimed the height of Mount Everest,

the world's highest mountain peak, to

be 86 cm higher.

§ An attempt was made by the

government of Nepal and China to

jointly measure the world's highest

peak. The new height of Mount

Everest has been calculated to be

8,848.86 meters, which is 0.86 m

m o r e t h a n t h e p r e v i o u s

measurements made by India in

1954.

§ This new height is 29,031 feet or

about 3 feet more than the previous

claim of Nepal. In Tibetan language,

Mount Everest is known as Mount

Qomolangma while in Nepali it is

known as Sagar-Matha.

10. Gwalior and Orchha join UNESCO's l i s t o f wor ld heritage cities

§ Madhya Pradesh's historical fort

cities Gwalior and Orchha have been

included in the list of UNESCO World

Heritage Cities under its World

Heritage Cities program by UNESCO.

§ Under this plan, UNESCO will

mobi l ize the best e f forts and

resources for the development and

beautication of these locations

based on historical development

landscape recommendations. After

incorporating this, the total number

of UNESCO World Heritage cities in

India will increase to 40.

11. Lakshadweep became India's rst union territory to get 100% organic status

§ Lakshadweep has been declared as

the rst 100 percent organic union

territory of India by the Ministry of

Agriculture. All agricultural work in

this union territory is used without

synthetic fertilizers and pesticides,

which provides access to safe food

products and makes agriculture a

more environmentally fr iendly

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activity.

§ Lakshadweep is the second place in

India after Sikkim, which has been

declared fully organic, which is the

rst state in India.

§ It is created by the Center after

obtaining the appropriate certicates

a n d d e c l a r a t i o n s u n d e r t h e

traditional Agriculture Development

S c h e m e ( O r g a n i c F a r m i n g

Improvement Program) of the Central

Government.

12. India Post Payments Bank L a u n c h e s N e w D i g i t a l Payment App “DakPay”

§ India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) in

association with the Department of

Posts has launched a digital payment

application named 'DakPay' on 15

December 2020 in an effort to provide

digital nancial services to the last

corner of India.

§ The app was launched by Union

Communications, Electronics and

Information Technology and Law and

Justice Minister Ravi Shankar

Prasad.

13. NHAI chairman Sukhbir Singh Sandhu gets s ix -month extension

§ The government has extended the

term of National Highway Authority of

India (NHAI) President Sukhbir Singh

Sandhu for six months.

14. Nehru Zoological Park in H y d e r a b a d g e t s I S O certication

§ The Nehru Zoological Park in

Hyderabad has been awarded ISO

9001: 2015 Quality Management

Standards Certication by ASCB, UK

for its standard work procedures.

§ With this, Hyderabad Zoo has now

become the rst zoo in the country to

receive ISO 9001 : 2015 Quality

Management Standards Certicate..

15. World Bank approves several development projects to support India's development

§ 4 projects in India worth over US $

800 million have been approved by the

World Bank. These projects will

support a number of developmental

initiatives that will help in India's

reconstruction efforts by creating a

sustainable and resilient economy.

The projects which have been approved

are:

§ Second India COVID-19 Social

Security Response Program for $ 400

million.

§ 100 million dollar Chhattisgarh

Inclusive Rural and Accelerated

Agricultural Development Project

(Chhattisgarh Inclusive Rural and

Accelerated Agriculture Growth

Project).

§ 68 M i l l i on Do l l a r Naga l and :

Enhancing Classroom Learning and

Resource Project.

§ $ 2 5 0 m i l l i o n S e c o n d D a m

Improvement and Rehabilitation

Project (DRIP-2).

16. NitiAayog launches cloud storage service 'DigiBoxx'

§ NITI Aayog has launched India's rst

indigenously developed digital asset

management and storage platform,

called 'DigiBoxx'. This initiative will

p r o m o t e P r i m e M i n i s t e r

NarendraModi's vision of 'self-reliant

India', as India now has its own cloud

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storage platform.

§ This cloud storage and le sharing

service will be available to desktop,

iOS and Android users, including

regular users as well as businesses.

Digiboxx offers 20GB of cloud storage

space for free and 100GB of space for

30 rupees per month.

17. I nd i a ' s l a r g e s t hockey stadium will be established in Odisha

§ Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen

Patnaik has announced that India's

largest hockey stadium is being set up

in Rourkela city of Odisha. The

stadium will be constructed at Biju

Patnaik University of Technology

Campus in Rourkela.

18. India's rst lithium renery to be set up in Gujarat

§ India's rst lithium renery is going to

be set up in Gujarat soon. Manikaran

Power Limited, the country's largest

electricity trading and renewable

energy company, will invest around

Rs1,000 crore to set up this renery.

The renery will process lithium ore to

produce battery-grade material.

Lithium is a rare element and is not

commonly found in India.

§ Last year, Manikaran Power, along

with Australian rm Neometals,

exploited the Mount Marion lithium

mine in Western Australia. The

proposed project is expected to help

Gujarat secure the supply of raw

materials for domestic manufacture

of lithium batteries as it promotes

electric vehicles.

perfection january-2021 index

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