Current Affairs highlights of the week- 7th February 2021- 13th February 2021

Talking about the major events that unfolded at both national and international level.

National Highlights of the week 

• Chamoli glacier burst at Uttarakhand lead to massive destruction. The glacier burst happened at the Rishiganga power project after a section of Nanda Dévi’s glacier broke out on February 7 at Tapovan region of Joshimath in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district and destroyed the Rishiganga dam on the Alaknanda River.

• Bikram Singh Bedi has been appointed as Google Cloud’s new Director-General for its Indian business. Bikram Singh Bedi will succeed Karan Bajwa, who is now the Asia Pacific (APAC) Vice President for Google Platform Cloud Operations. At Google, Bikram Bedi will head the sales and operating teams of Google Cloud for the established framework.

• The great tennis player Akhtar Ali, who was considered a master in Indian tennis, passed away. In the eight Davis Cup matches between 1958 and 1964, he represented India against Pakistan, Malaysia, Iran, Mexico, Japan and Monaco.

• Rajya Sabha today passed The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2021. This would replace the 2021 ordinance of Jammu and Kashmir, which brought together Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union territory framework, with the Indian Policing Service and the Indian Forest Service also known as the AGMUT framework.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Haldia, West Bengal and dedicated to the nation the LPG import terminal, 348 km Dobhi – Durgapur Natural Gas Pipeline section, which is part of the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga project. He also lays the foundations for the second Haldia Refinery Catalytic Devastation Unit and devoted the 4-lane ROB-cum-Flyover on NH 41 to the nation of Ranichak, Haldia.

• On February 7th 2021, prime minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation blocks of Biswanath and Charaideo Medical colleges in Assam. He also launched ‘Asom Mala’ in the Dhekiajuli district of Sonitpur, a programme for state roads and major district roads.

• The Union Territory Government of Ladakh, the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC)-Leh and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Energy Centre, signed a tripartite agreement to introduce the first-ever geothermal field development project in Leh, India.

• The Education Ministry has started to name 383 residential schools and 680 hostels that are sponsored under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme to be renamed as “Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Residential schools”.

• The Indian Documentary Film “Writing with Fire” has won the audience award in the Cinema Documentary Category at the Sundance Film Festival 2021.

• For Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), the central government has allocated Rupees 16,000 crores for the coming financial year 2021-22. This allocation was made to improve agricultural crop protection. The sum would also ensure that farmers gain full value from crop insurance.

• Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, will inaugurate the World Summit on Sustainable Development through a video conference on 10th February 2021. The theme of the summit is ‘Redefining Our Common Future: Safe and Secure Environment for All’.

• Ishant Sharma on February 8 2021, became the sixth Indian bowler to take 300 wickets in a Test Cricket match. He made this record in his 98th test match against England at Chennai.

• On February 7, 2021, the Fishery Minister of the Union, Giriraj Singh declared that investments of a total of ₹400 crores will be made in Goa to make this State an Indian fishery centre.

• Researchers of Indian Technology Institute Kharagpur, have created energy-efficient pesticide sprayers for small farming territories owned by marginal farmers. The system is designed to improve field capacity and accuracy in the spraying of liquids.

• Bollywood actor-director Rajiv Kapoor passed away on February 9, 2021, at the age of 58.

• The Supreme Court has suspended the recent decommissioning of the INS Viraat. This decision was taken in the light of restoring the eternal glory of the legendary Indian Navy warship.

• The 18th edition of BioAsia will be held between February 22, 2021, to February 23, 2021. It is structured with the theme: ‘Move the needle.’ This year, Covid-19, pharmaceutical, medicine and international health will be the highlight of the BioAsia case.

• The government is all set to launch the website of the India Toy Fair, 2021. The website will be launched on February 11, 2021. It will be launched in New Delhi by Smriti Irani, the Minister of Textiles, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry.

• The Financial Literacy Week (FLW) was introduced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2021. The week of literacy starts on 8 February and ends on 12 February 2021.

• On 10 February every year since 2018 the “World Pulse Day” is observed. This day is devoted to the importance of pulses. The theme for the day was “Nutritious Seeds for a Sustainable Future.”

• The TROPEX 21, the largest war in the Indian Navy, began in January 2021, the biennial theatre operational readiness exercise. The exercise starts and concludes in the third week of February 2021.

• On 12 February 2021, India will launch the first-ever diesel tractor converted to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). Nitin Gadkari, the Union Secretary for Road Transport and Highways, will officially introduce the CNG Tractor.

• Every year on 11 February, the world celebrates the International Day for Women and Girls in Science. The year 2021 marked the 6th International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The theme for the day was “Women Scientists at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19″.

• The Mandarin duck which is a colourful duck from eastern Asia was spotted in Assam recently after 118 years.

• The Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) have launched a job portal called SAKSHAM to project staff skills as demanded by MSMEs.

• India and China have agreed on disengagement in the North and South bank of Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh. The agreement mandates both sides to cease forward deployment of troops in a “phased, coordinated and verifiable” manner.

• The Assam government has named Athlete Hima Das as the Deputy Police Superintendent. At the Asian Games in 2018, she won silver in women’s 400 m, was also part of the 400-meter female relay gold-winners, and mixed 400-meter relays at the Jakarta quadrennial meet.

• The Government of Karnataka recently notified the 31st District of Karnataka as Vijayanagara officially. The district has its headquarter at Hosapete.

• The Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and an organisation based in the United Kingdom have joined forces to work on a joint flood prediction project.

• The police headquarters of Bhind, Madhya Pradesh, has opened a police museum. It is an exceptional museum that displays stories on the dacoits.

• A concentration of smaller black holes in cluster NGC 6397 has been identified among astronomers. Instead of a huge black hole in the centre of the cluster, tiny black holes were found.

• On 12 February 2020, Tajikistan experienced an earthquake of magnitude 6.3. The tremors could be felt in Delhi-NCR, in Haryana, in Punjab, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh.

• The National e-governance plan in agriculture (NeGPA) is a Centrally Funded Scheme. Initially, the scheme was launched in 7 States in 2010-11. This scheme has recently been extended to 31 March 2021. The programme was initiated to achieve fast growth in India through the use of information and communication.

• On the occasion of International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2021, the SERB Women Excellence Award was announced.

• On February 11, 2021, Vigyan Jyoti began its second phase. It began with the International Women’s and Girls in Science Day. The Vigyan Jyoti Program is going to promote science to the girls.

• The Indian Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRDAI) instructed all Insurance companies to issue digital insurance coverage through the Digilocker app of the government.

Read more: The release of unbiased leader- Nelson Mandela

International Highlights of the week

• South Korea to Build World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm. President Moon Jae-in-led, South Korea has approved to build the world’s largest wind power plant by 2030.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has selected SpaceX, as it’s spacecraft company, to launch their new mission SPHEREx.

• Nigerian economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was elected as the General Director of the World Trade Organization (WTO). She will be the first woman and the first African country to head and lead the organisation. Okonjo-Iweala is going to succeed Roberto Azevedo, who stepped down in August 2020

• Christopher Plummer, an oscar-winning actor who was renowned for his popular film, ‘Sound of Music,’ passed away. In 2010, he was awarded the Academy Award at the age of 82, becoming the oldest man to receive a performing award.

• In March 2021, Russia will launch about 40 satellites from more than 12 countries worldwide using the carrier Soyuz-2 rocket.

• Nepal unveiled the road connecting the Indian border to several regions of the Himalayan nation on February 2nd 2021 with the support from India. The Indian government issued NR 44.48 million as financial assistance for the road connecting the Indian border to the Laxmipur, Balara and Gadhiya areas of Nepal.

• International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation was observed on February 6, 2021, with its theme as: ‘No Time for Global Inaction, Unite, Fund, and Act to End Female Genital Mutilation’.

• On February 9, 2021, the first Arab spacecraft on the interplant is scheduled to enter Mars’ orbit. In 2020, the unmanned “Al-Amal” meaning in Arabic for Hope, explosions from Japan, indicating the next phase in the United Arab Emirates’ ambitious space programme.

• The proposal to build the world’s first energy island was recently accepted by Denmark. In the North Sea, the proposed energy island will be established.

• On 9 February 2021, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his country’s ambitious 10-year space programme. The Space Program involves a globally feasible moon mission, designing satellite systems and sending Turkish astronauts into space.

• To supply Kabul City with water, an agreement has been made between India and Afghanistan to build a dam called Sahtoot dam.

• On 9 February 2021, Safer Internet Day was observed. The day is observed on the second day of February’s second week every year. Safer Internet Day aims to raise awareness of emerging online problems and existing concerns every year, ranging from cyberbullying, social networking and digital identity.

• With a vote of 56-44, the Senate confirmed that Donald Trump’s impeachment was constitutional and that it will go forward. The vote came after four hours of Trump’s lawyers and Democratic prosecution officers’ consultations.

• The health and climate change countdown of the Lancet Countdown recently released its latest study in The Lancet Planetary Health Journal. The study underlines the advantages of Paris agreement to our health.

• The U.S. administration of Joe Biden is ready to join the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) again. In 2018, under Donald Trump’s leadership, the United States withdrew from the UNHRC due to the unfair focus on Israel.

• US President Joe Biden withdrew the Emergencies order issued to create the border wall between the USA and Mexico by former President Donald Trump. On 11 February 2021, the order was revoked

• World Radio Day (WRD) is being celebrated across the world on February 13, 2021. The day will be observed under the theme, “New World, New Radio”.

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