February 2nd Week 2021 Current Affairs Online Test in English

Explanation

• The Kaliveli Lake is a coastal lake and a wet land, situated in Villupuram District of Tamil Nadu.
• The lake is near the Bay of Bengal and is the second–largest brackish water lake in Southern India after the lake Pulicat. The district administration has recently issued the 1st declaration under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, to declare the wetlands as a bird sanctuary.

Explanation

• World Wetlands Day is observed every year on 2nd February to create awareness on the importance of wetlands and its role played in the planet. This year, the theme of the World Wetlands Day is ‘Wetlands and Water’. This year’s theme highlights the importance of wetlands as a source of freshwater.

Explanation

• The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative is an independent and international non–governmental organisation which works towards the realisation of human rights in the Commonwealth countries.
• The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative has recently issued a statement calling for the withdrawal of sedition cases file against journalists in India. It also sought the repealing of sedition and criminal defamation laws.

Explanation

• India’s first Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management has been set up in Chennai. It aims to strengthen research for conservation and management of the wetlands. This has been set up as a part of the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, Chennai. The Centre would also serve as a knowledge hub and facilitate exchanges between state wetland authorities.

Explanation

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Siddhartha Mohanty as the new Managing Director of the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India.
• He is currently serving as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of LIC Housing Finance. Siddhartha Mohanty has replaced TC Suseel Kumar, who retired on January 31, 2021. LIC has four Managing Directors and one Chairman.

Explanation

• The Oxford group has selected ‘Aatmanirbharta’ as the Oxford Hindi word of 2020. In Hindi language, it means self–reliance. Previous Hindi words of the year selected by Oxford are ‘Aadhar’ (2017), ‘Nari Shakti’ (2018) and ‘Samvidhaan’ (2019).
• Following the prime minister’s address, there was a significant increase in the usage of ‘aatmanirbharta’ following the Prime minister’s address.

Explanation

• ‘The Little Book of Encouragement’ is a book authored by the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama recently. The book includes quotes and words of wisdom to the people, to face the realities of the world posed by the pandemic. It also discusses how to combat extremism, polarity and climate change and his views on Tibet in his new book.

Explanation

• National Safety Council (NSC) was set up by the Ministry of Labour in 1966 as a not–for–profit body on Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) at the national level. As per a press statement by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, S.N. Subrahmanyan, CEO and Managing Director of L&T Ltd, has been recently appointed as Chairman of the National Safety Council, for a period of three years.

Explanation

• Indian–American Bhavya Lal has been appointed as the acting chief of staff of the US space agency, NASA. She was earlier serving as a member of the research staff at the Institute for Defence Analyses– Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI). She had served in several important positions related to space sector.

Explanation

• American digital payments major, PayPal Inc. announced that it will shut down its payment operations in the country.
• PayPal, which was offering its payment gateway to Indian brands and online merchants, will shut down its domestic payment services in India, from April 1. It was also providing international remittance services for small and medium enterprises.

Explanation

• The Additional Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Praveen Sinha has been appointed as the acting chief of CBI.
• After Rishi Kumar Shukla who retired recently, the acting Chief has been appointed till a decision on a New Director is taken. This is the third time in last five years that an interim chief will head CBI.

Explanation

• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has announced that the country’s first thunderstorm research testbed is to be set up in Balasore, Odisha.
• The testbed will be established in a collaboration between the Ministry of Earth Sciences, IMD, DRDO and ISRO. It aims to reduce human fatalities and loss of property due to lightning strikes.

Explanation

• Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana is a scheme under Ministry of Women and Child Development. It was launched in the year 2016.
• Under this scheme, pregnant women and lactating mothers receive Rs 5,000 on the birth of their first child in three instalments. The Ministry recently announced that the scheme has crossed over 1.75 crore beneficiary women till 2020.

Explanation

• Fishing Cat is a special cat species that is found in wetland and mangrove ecosystems.
• The cat species is classified as ‘Vulnerable’ as per IUCN Red list. A team named Fishing Cat Conservation Alliance has been formed that comprise of conservationists, researchers and enthusiasts across the world working to conserve and protect Fishing Cat species.

Explanation

• Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal recently launched two schemes named ‘Pragyan Bharati’ and ‘Bhasha Gourab’.
• Under Pragyan Bharati scheme, funds are provided to college students for purchasing text books while under the Bhasha Gourab scheme, the state government provides financial assistance to 21 Sahitya Sabhas (literary bodies).

Explanation

• The Union Jal Shakti Ministry has recently launched a unified portal on the ‘Gobardhan’ scheme. The portal aims to monitor the progress made under the scheme. The ‘Gobardhan’ scheme was launched by the Government of India to manage cattle and biodegradable waste and also help enhance farmers’ income. It is being implemented under the Swachch Bharat Mission Grameen–Phase 2.

Explanation

• Barbados is an island country located in the Caribbean region of North America. It is an independent British Commonwealth nation with Bridgetown as its capital.
• Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has thanked the Indian government for donation of COVID–19 vaccine doses. The country has a population of over 2.87 lakhs with 1641 coronavirus cases.

Explanation

• As per the third round of the serological survey by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) finds that nearly one in five Indians were infected by the SARS–CoV–2 coronavirus.
• This nation–wide survey found the affected cases till December 2020. A serological test detects whether a person has antibodies to the Sars–Cov–2, which indicates the occurrence of past infection.

Explanation

• India held its first High Level Dialogue on Trade and Investment with the European Union. The dialogue was co–chaired by the Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal.
• During the 15th India–EU Leader’s Summit held in July 2020, the leaders from both the sides committed to establish this dialogue. It aims to provide ministerial–level guidance for promoting the bilateral trade and investment relations.

Explanation

• As the Union Commerce and Industry, the Central Government is working on establishing a Single Window System for clearances and approvals of industries in the country.
• A centralized Investment Clearance Cell was proposed last year, to prevent the investors from visiting various IT platforms and offices to obtain clearances. This one–stop digital platform will enable them receive all central and state clearances and approvals required.

Explanation

• The Central government has given its approval for the creation of Srivilliputhur – Megamalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu.
• This is the fifth tiger reserve in Tamil Nadu and will include the Meghamalai and Srivilliputhur Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuaries. The State government will notify its fifth tiger reserve, after the notification from the Centre.

Explanation

• The England Cricket Team Captain Joe Root has become the first cricket player to score a double century in the 100th test match. Joe Root achieved this feat during the test match against India at Chennai. He scored fifth double century of his career.

Explanation

• A unit called ‘Thozhi’ has been set up at the Chennai Police to provide direct and psychological assistance and counseling to children, women and their families affected by sexual offenses in their place of residence.

Explanation

• In 2019, the United Nations General Assembly announced 10 February as the World Pulses Day. This was followed by the celebration of the year 2016 as the International Year of Pulses (IYP), across the world, led by the Food and Agriculture Organization.
• The day is celebrated to raise awareness about the nutritional values of pulses and ways to tackle malnutrition through pulses. In this year 2021, World Pulses Day was celebrated on social media with the hash tag #Love_Pulses.

Explanation

• After the Glacier burst occurred in the state of Uttarakhand, over hundred persons are missing in the massive flash flood.
• The flood washed away two hydel power projects namely the Rishiganga small hydro project and National Thermal Power Corporation’s (NTPC) Tapovan project. The projects are located on the banks of the Dhauliganga river in the state.

Explanation

• Russia defeated Italy to clinch the ATP Cup tennis tournament, held recently in Melbourne. Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev won their singles matches in straight sets. With this win, the two Russian players head into the Australian Open.
• Ashleigh Barty also enters the Australian Open by winning her ninth WTA singles title by wiining the Yarra Valley Classic final.

Explanation

• “Al–Amal” (‘Hope’ in Arabic), is the unmanned space probe of the United Arab Emirates. The ambitious space programme is the first interplanetary mission of the Arab countries.
• It is expected to reach the orbit of Mars and study on its weather. UAE launched the probe from Japan last year. It also has plans to launch an unmanned rover to the moon by 2024.

Explanation

• The Business Confidence Index (BCI) is developed by the Delhi–based economic think tank National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER). As per the recent edition, the index increased 29.6 percent between second and third quarter of the current financial year. The survey findings are based on the responses from 500 companies.

Explanation

• An Indian documentary film titled “Writing with Fire”, won the audience award in the World Cinema Documentary category at the Sundance Film Festival 2021. The film narrates the rise of India’s only newspaper run by Dalit women, the ‘Khabar Lahariya’.
• The festival is presented by US–based Sundance non–profit institute, which has been recognising independent artists across the world.

Explanation

• India’s first–ever geothermal field development project is to be established in Leh, Union Territory of Ladakh.
• A tripartite agreement regarding the project has been signed between Union Territory Administration Ladakh, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).

Explanation

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a programme in the state of Assam named ‘Asom Mala’. It aims to improve state highways and major district roads.
• The programme also aims to provide quality inter–linking roads between the National Highways and the Rural roads. Another objective of the scheme is to promote ‘Multi–modal transportation’ in the state.

Explanation

• The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi dedicated the 348 km Dobhi – Durgapur Natural Gas Pipeline section. The LPG import terminal is a part of the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga project.
• He also laid the foundation stone of the 2nd Catalytic–Isodewaxing unit of Haldia Refinery in the state.

Explanation

• Former Vice President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari has authored a book titled ‘By Many a Happy Accident: Recollections of a Life’. It describes the unplanned happenings that took place in the life of Mohammad Hamid Ansari. Mohammad Hamid Ansari has twice served as the Vice President of India.

Explanation

• A 5–day National horticulture fair is to be held here by the Indian Council for Agricultural Research – Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bangalore from Feb.8. The national fair would be organised under the theme “Horticulture for Startup & Standup India”.

Explanation

• In accordance with the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) “India Energy Outlook 2021”, India will surpass European Union as the world’s third–biggest energy consumer by 2030.
• In this regard, India energy demand growth share will be maximum at 25% in the next two decades.  India needs to spend an additional $1.4 trillion, to adopt clean energy technologies over the next 20 years.

Explanation

• The Government of India has launched the ‘The India Toy Fair 2021’, to promote domestic manufacturing of toys. It is to be held as a digitally accessible exhibition and platform to connect various stakeholders of Toy industry. The programme is scheduled from 27th February to 2nd March 2021. Webinars by State Governments, Knowledge sessions and Competitions are being planned.

Explanation

• India fast bowler Ishant Sharma became the sixth Indian bowler to take 300 wickets in Test cricket. He achieved this feat in his 98th test against England at Chennai. Previously, Anil Kumble, Kapil Dev, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan are the other Indian bowlers who had taken over 300 wickets in tests.

Explanation

• ‘World Sustainable Development Summit’ is the flagship event of The Energy and Resources Institute’s (TERI). The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the Ministry of Earth Sciences are key partners of the summit.

TERI is a New Delhi–based non–profit research institute. The 20th edition of the summit is to be inaugurated by the PM. The theme of the summit is ‘Redefining Our Common Future: Safe and Secure Environment for All’

Explanation

• The Bangalore International Airport Limited’s (BIAL) has won the World’s ‘Voice of the Customer’ award from the Airports Council International. The award recognises airports which continued to prioritise the customers during the COVID–19 pandemic in 2020. As per the council, the airport showed significant efforts in collecting passenger feedback.

Explanation

• International Day of Women and Girls in Science’ is observed every year on February 11, across the world. This year, the day will mark the sixth International Day of Women and Girls in Science Assembly. United Nations leads the observance of the day. This year, the theme is ‘Women Scientists at the forefront of the fight against COVID–19’.

Explanation

• In this year’s Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das won the Business reformer of the year. The jury was led by the Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.
• Lifetime Achievement Award was won by former HDFC Bank MD Aditya Puri. Entrepreneur of the year award was won by Adar Poonawalla.

Explanation

• India recently signed an agreement with Afghanistan for building Lalandar or Shatoot dam. The MoU was signed by Union External affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Afghan counterpart.
• The dam is expected to provide water supply to almost two million people in Kabul city. The dam would also provide irrigation water to nearby areas. This is the second major dam being built by India in Afghanistan, after the ‘Friendship Dam’ or Salma dam.

Explanation

• Soyuz–2 is a flagship 3 stage launch vehicle of Russia, which places satellites in the low Earth orbit. It is the modernised form of the Soyuz rocket. Recently, it was announced that the country has planned to launch around 40 satellites from over 12 countries using the Soyuz–2 rocket. It includes the CAS500–1 (Compact Advanced Satellite 500) of South Korea.

Explanation

• The International Energy Agency (IEA) released the ‘India Energy Outlook 2021’ recently. As per the report, India is the world’s fourth–largest energy consuming country.
• The report also highlighted that India will have the biggest share of energy demand growth at 25% over the next two decades. It will overtake EU as the third largest energy consumer by 2030. India’s energy consumption could touch USD 8.6 trillion by 2040.

Explanation

• ‘SVAMITVA’ is a new scheme launched under the Panchayati Raj Ministry in 2020. It aims to provide the property cards to the property owners through drone survey by Survey of India.
• Out of the total budget allocation to the Ministry, a provision of Rs.200 crores has been made for the ‘SVAMITVA’ scheme. The pilot phase of the scheme was approved with Budget outlay of Rs.79.65 crore, to be implemented in 9 States.

Explanation

• The NITI Aayog has constituted a sub–group to prepare the ‘National Action Plan for Migrant Workers’, as per the recent announcement of Union Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar. The sub–group includes members from various ministries, experts, NGOs and other organisations. The Labour Bureau under the Labour Ministry will also begin to conduct an All–India Survey on Migrant workers.

Explanation

• The number of registered births in 2020 was 10.04 million, which is over 15 percent down from the number of registered births of the last year. 
• As per the data, this is the fourth consecutive year to register a decline in birth rate. China launched the one–child policy in the late 1970s to slow rapid population growth. It was reversed only in the year 2016.

Explanation

• Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL) is a state–owned pharmaceutical, bulk drug manufacturing and drug discovery company headquartered in Gurgaon. Recently, it was announced that IDPL and Rajasthan Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd (RDPL) would be closed.
• The Government is to disinvest Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd (HAL), Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BCPL), and Karnataka Antibiotics & Pharmaceutical Ltd (KAPL).

Explanation

• The Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) announced that 247 central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) earned profit of Rs 1.78 lakh crore during 2018–19. Out of the total profit, 73% was contributed by 63 companies in the fields of petroleum, coal and lignite and power.
• It also revealed that 189 CPSEs had suffered losses of Rs 1.4 lakh crore as on March 31, 2019.

Explanation

• Foreign grants received by NGOs are regulated by the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 or FCRA.
• After registering with the Home Affairs Ministry, the NGO would be provided a unique FCRA registration number, to be renewed every five years. As per the recent Government data, the FCRA licences of over 20,600 NGOs were cancelled in the last 10 years, on violation of the provisions of FCRA act.