Current Affairs 13 February 2021

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 13 February 2021, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2021 events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

India’s AIM & Australia inaugurated India-Australia Circular Economy (I-ACE) Hackathon, 2021i.The India-Australia Circular Economy (I-ACE) Hackathon, 2021 was inaugurated virtually on February 11, 2021 by the NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission in collaboration with Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CISRO).
ii.Under this, 80 selected applicants consisting of students and startups of both the nations will work together on innovative ways of boosting Circular Economy in priority themes.
iii.I-ACE is supported by the Australian Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (DISER), AIM Atal Incubation Centre network, and various domain experts.
About Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO):
Chief Executive– Larry Marshall
Headquarter– Canberra Australia
<<Read Full News>>

GoI launches New Scheme ‘Formation and Promotion of 10, 000 new FPOs’The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare stated that the Government of India (GoI) has launched a New Central Sector Scheme named ‘Formation and Promotion of 10, 000 new Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs)’. Under the Scheme, GoI will form and promote 10, 000 new FPOs in India with a budget of INR 6865 Crores.

• More than 86% of Farmers in India are Small, Marginal and Landless farmers, this scheme aims to integrate them under FPOs.
• It will help in Doubling of Farming Exports by 2022 and also increasing the income of farmers.

i.The FPOs will be formed based on Producer Clusters (Agriculture & Horticulture) to promote the spirit of ‘Cluster Farming’.
ii.The scheme promotes ‘One District One Product’ cluster for specialization, better processing, marketing, branding & export.
iii.9 Implementing Agencies (IAs) have been finalized for formation & promotion of FPOs
iv.The FPOs will be provided financial assistance of upto INR 18 Lakh per FPO for a period of 3 years. Additionally, GoI will also provide

• A matching equity grant upto INR 2, 000 per farmer member of FPO with a limit of INR 15 Lakh per FPO
• A Credit Guarantee Facility of upto INR 2 Crore per FPO for project loan will be provided.

v.The scheme also proposes Committees at the District & National level to ensure proper implementation and monitoring of the scheme.
About Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW):
Union Minister– Narendra Singh Tomar (Lok Sabha MP, Constituency – Morena, Madhya Pradesh)
Minister of State (MoS) – Parshottambhai Rupala (Rajya Sabha MP, Constituency – Gujarat)
<<Read Full News>>

BHEL bags order to Supply Super Rapid Gun Mounts for Indian Navy frontline ships
i.On February 11, 2021, an Indian Navy has placed an order with engineering firm BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited) under which the latter will supply two Super Rapid Gun Mounts (SRGM) to the former. These are the main guns standardised for all Warships of the Indian Navy.
ii.These guns are being manufactured with the aim of making defence industry self reliant on the lines of Atmanirbhar Abhiyan.
About Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL):
Chairman & Managing Director (CMD)– Dr. Nalin Shinghal
Headquarter– New Delhi
<<Read Full News>>

NSDC partners with HP India to facilitate skill Development of Students HP (Hewlett-Packard) India & National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) have entered into a pact for providing ‘scientifically designed worksheets, content for supporting home learning & Early Childhood Skill Development of Students’ to students across India.The content will be provided for Free of Cost.
Objective – To ensure complete skill development of children from an early age.

• NSDC will host the content from HP’s Print Learn Center (HP-PLC) on its digital skilling platform namely ‘eSkill India’.
• It will help in developing modern skills like problem solving, analytical ability, computing and leadership abilities among young students.
• It will be made available in English and 7 Indian Languages (Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Hindi, Gujarati, and Marathi).
• Each registered user will get access to 100 learning worksheets each month.

HP – Print Learn Center:
i.HP-PLC is an initiative of HP that has been designed for promoting universal learning, it will supplement the regular school curriculum.

• It is a printable learning module created with assistance from education and skilling experts.
• It was initiated by HP to overcome the gap of absence of regular teaching methods due to the pandemic.

About National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC):
Chairman – A M Naik
Headquarters – New Delhi
About HP India:
Managing Director – Ketan Patel
<<Read Full News>>

BANKING & FINANCE

EXIM Bank to provide $400 mn funding for Maldives projecti.On February 12, 2021, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has notified The Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP) of Maldives will get a $400 million funding from Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank), the agreement for the same is effective for January 28, 2021.
ii.The terminal utilisation period is 60 months after the scheduled completion date of the project
About Maldives:
President– Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
Capital– Male
Currency– Maldivian Rufiyaa
About Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank):
Establishment– 1982
Managing Director (MD)– David Rasquinha
Headquarter– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Regulated By– Reserve Bank of India
<<Read Full News>>

RBI announces Rs 20,000cr Open Market Operations on February 10i.In order to boost liquidity in the economy, On February 10, 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) purchase Rs 20,000 crore ($2.74 billion) of government securities under Open Market Operations (OMO).
ii.This purchase will also boost government’s borrowing programme worth Rs 12.06 lakh crore which will initiate in April 2021.
iii.This decision has been taken due to the increasing yields on government securities.
About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Formation– 1 April 1935
Governor– Shaktikanta Das
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Deputy Governors– 4 (Bibhu Prasad Kanungo, Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, and M Rajeswar Rao)
<<Read Full News>>

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Launched its 1st Corporate India Risk Index 2020 

i.On February 11, 2021  ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd launched its 1st ‘Corporate India Risk Index 2020’.
ii.Aim: To enable companies to understand the level of risk and current readiness their business is facing. To Help them to create successful risk mitigation plans.
iii.India’s Corporate India Risk Index stands at 57.HealthCare Sector manage the risk well among the other 14 sectors with the score of 70.

• The Corporate risk index uses a risk measurement tool that has been developed by ICICI Lombard in partnership with Frost and Sullivan, a leading management consulting firm.

About ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd:
HeadQuarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Bhargav Dasgupta
Established– 2001
<<Read Full News>>

Star Health and Allied Insurance Launched its  Arogya Sanjeevani Policy on PhonePei.On February 12, 2021 Star Health & Allied Insurance Co. Ltd launched its  Arogya Sanjeevani policy on PhonePe.
ii.This launch enables all the users of PhonePe to protect their families from financial burdens in case of any medical emergency.
iii.This policy has been designed to cover the most necessary aspects of any kind of hospitalization in the family.
Aim: To provide easy access to Star Health’s Arogya Sanjeevani health insurance policy, particularly to the millennials.
About Star Health & Allied Insurance Co. Ltd:
Commenced operations– 2006 as India’s first Standalone Health Insurance provider.
Chairman & CEO– Mr. V. Jagannathan
HeadQuarters– Chennai, TamilNadu
About PhonePe:
CEO– Sameer Nigam
Headquarters– Bengaluru, Karnataka
<<Read Full News>>    

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Union Ministers Jointly Launched 1st India Toy Fair 2021 & its Website Virtuallyi.On February 11, 2021 Union Education Minister, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Union Minister of Textiles, Smriti Zubin Irani and Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal jointly launched the website(https://theindiatoyfair.in/) for 1st India Toy Fair-2021.
ii.It is the 1st ever exhibition and platform to be accessed digitally.
iii.The fair is being organized on a virtual platform from 27th February 2021 to 2nd March 2021.
iv.The fair is the 1st of its kind initiative to bring together all stakeholders of the Indian toy industry especially children, parents and teachers on a single digital platform.
Note: India’s first toy manufacturing cluster to be situated in Kopala, Karnataka.
Constituencies:
Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’– Haridwar, Uttarakhand
Smriti Zubin Irani- Amethi, Uttar Pradesh
Piyush Goyal– Rajya Sabha, Maharashtra
<<Read Full News>>

Pakistan successfully test fires Surface-To-Surface Babur Cruise Missilei.On February 11, 2021, Pakistan successfully test-fired a short range surface-to-surface ballistic missile namely “Babur” from a state-of-the-art Multi Tube Missile Launch Vehicle. The missile is capable of hitting land and sea targets with high precision up to 490 kilometers (about 280 miles) away.
ii.Notably, this is Pakistan’s third successful missile test in three weeks.
iii.On February 3, 2021, the Pakistan Army successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile “Ghaznavi” which can strike targets up to 290 kilometres.
About Pakistan:
Prime Minister – Imran Khan
Currency – Pakistani Rupee
Capital – Islamabad
<<Read Full News>>

Aarogya Setu App Integrated with CoWIN Portal India has integrated its COVID-19 Tracing App ‘Aarogya Setu’ & COVID-19 Vaccine Registration platform ‘Co-WIN portal (COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network)’. The integration will enable Users to download Vaccination certificates after they have received at least one dose of COVID-19 Vaccination.
Aarogya Setu App:

•  It was launched by the Government of India on April 2, 2020 to track and trace COVID-19 hotspots, providing an indication to local authorities about the spread of the virus & contact tracing through Bluetooth.
• It was developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC) under the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) along with partnership of Private companies.
• The app uses Bluetooth & GPS (Global Positioning System) to trace COVID-19 infections.

CoWIN App & Portal:
In December 2020, Government of India had announced the launch of CoWIN app and Portal through which the general public can register themselves for COVID-19 Vaccine.

• It was developed by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), India Office.

About Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY):
Union Minister – Ravi Shankar Prasad (Lok Sabha MP, Constituency – Patna Sahib, Bihar)Minister of State – Sanjay Dhotre (Lok Sabha MP, Constituency – Akola, Maharashtra)
About Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW):
Union Minister – Harsh Vardhan (Lok Sabha MP, Constituency – Chandni Chowk, Delhi)
Minister of State – Ashwini Kumar Choubey (Lok Sabha MP, Constituency – Buxar, Bihar)
<<Read Full News>

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Journalist Dan Morain Authored New Book “Kamala’s Way: An American Life”, a Biography of Kamala Harris, Vice President of USAJournalist and author Dan Morain has authored his new book titled “Kamala’s way: An American Life”, a biography of Kamala Harris, the first woman vice president of the United States of America. The book is published by Simon & Schuster.
About the book:
i.The book is about the journey of Kamala Harris, the daughter of two immigrants in California and the former California Senator and Attorney General who became the first African American and Asian American vice president.
ii.Dan Morain charts the career of Kamala Harris from her appointment to the State Commission, handling Child molestation cases and homicides for Alameda county district attorney’s office, becoming the first woman Attorney General of California to Vice President of the USA.
About Dan Morain:
i.Dan Morain is a journalist with more than 40 years of experience in covering California policy, politics, and justice-related issues.
ii.He has worked with the Los Angeles Times for around 27 years.
iii.He has served as the Editorial page editor of the Sacramento Bee for around 8 years.

Susan Choi’s Book“Trust Exercise: A Novel”; Winner of 70th annual National Book Award 2019

“Trust Exercise: A Novel” authored by Susan Choi was the winner of the 70th annual National Book Award 2019 for fiction. The book was published by Henry Holt and Co. The book is about the life of the students in a competitive performing arts high school in an American suburb in the early 1980s.  The book provides an understanding about the capacities of adolescents and the power and responsibilities of adults.
Other books of Susan Choi:
i.The debut novel of Susan Choi “The Foreign Student” won the Asian American Literary Award for fiction.
ii.She won the 2014 Lammy Award for her novel “My Education”.
iii.She has authored a number of books which includes, “American Woman” the finalists of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize, “A Person of Interest” finalist for 2009 PEN/Faulkner Award,
iv.“Camp Tiger” was her first children’s book, which was published in 2019.

IMPORTANT DAYS

National Productivity Day 2021 – February 12i.The National Productivity Day is annually observed across India on 12th February to create awareness about productivity, that maximum output with optimum utilization of resources can be planned and achieved. The day is organised by the National Productivity Council(NPC). 
ii.The National Productivity day on 12 February marks the formation of the NPC, an autonomous organization under the Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.
iii.The 7 days following the National Productive day will be observed as the National Productive Week (12th February to 18th February). 
About National Productivity Council(NPC):
Chairman- Guruprasad Mohapatra
Director General- Arun Kumar Jha
Headquarters- New Delhi, Delhi
<<Read Full News>>

STATE NEWS

Central Government & Uttarakhand Government sign MoU for establishing Science City Project in DehradunUttarakhand State Council for Science & Technology (UCOST) & National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) haved signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of INR 173 Crore Science City in Jhajhra area of Dehradun.
Objective – To Advance the Scientific Culture of India

• The Central Government will provide INR 88 Crore for the project whereas Uttarakhand Government will provide INR 85 Crore for the project which will take 4 years to complete.
• The Science city will be a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Science Communication and will benefit the Students & Youths.
• The Science City will have galleries on Astronomy and Space Sciences, Robotics, Science and Technology heritage, geological life, climate change, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) & others.

National Council of Science Museums (NCSM):
It is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture and is responsible for development of Science Cities, Science Centres, Innovation Hubs and Mobile Science Exhibitions throughout India.
About National Council of Science Museums (NCSM):
Director General – A D Choudhury
Headquarters – Kolkata, West Bengal
About Uttarakhand:
RAMSAR Site – Asan Conservation Reserve
Major Tribes – Bhotias (also known as Shaukas), Tharus, Buxas, Jaunsaris
<<Read Full News>>

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Inaugurated Around 57000 Water Structures Under ‘Jal Abhishekam’ Campaign In MPi.On 11th February 2021, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually inaugurated more than 57000 water structures in Madhya Pradesh under the “Jal Abhishekam” campaign from New Delhi.
ii.The virtual program was organised in the presence of Shivraj Singh Chauhan Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
iii.These water structures under the Jal Abhishekam campaign were developed at a cost of more than Rs. 2000 crore.
About Madhya Pradesh:
Bird Sanctuary– Kharmor Bird Sanctuary (also known as Sailana Bird Sanctuary).
Forts– Gwalior Fort, Orchha Fort, Datia Fort, Chanderi Fort, Ajaigarh Fort, Raisen Fort, Deogarh Fort, Hinglajgarh Fort, Dhar Fort, Mandu Fort, Maheshwar Fort, Asirgarh Fort, Ater Fort, Bajrang Garh Fort, Chauragarh Fort.
<<Read Full News>>

4 French Companies Signs LoIs with TN Govt to Invest Rs 200 croresi.During the IFCCI Indo-French Investment Conclave 2021, french companies namely, A.Raymond Fasterners, Cryolor, Precia Molen and Timac Agro signed 4 Letter of Intents (LoIs) with the Tamil Nadu government to invest Rs 200 crore in the state.
ii.Special Focus sectors for which LoIs– Aerospace & Defence, Mobility, Electronics & Hardware and Ease of Doing Business.
About TamilNadu:
Festival– Pongal, Thiruvaiyaru Festival, Thaipusam, Tamil New Year, Chithirai Thiruvizha, Karthigai Deepam
Dance– Bharatanatyam, Mayil Attam(peacock dance), Puliyattam or Tiger Dance, Kummi, Kai Silambu Attam, Karakattam
<<Read Full News>>

Flipkart Signs MoU with Maharashtra Govt to Boost Growth of Small Scale Enterprises in Statei.On February 11, 2021 Flipkart signed  a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Maharashtra Small Scale Industries Development Corporation (MSSIDC) and Maharashtra State Khadi & Village Industries Board (MSKVIB) to bring Maharashtra’s artisans, weavers, craftsmen and Small and medium-size Businesses (SMBs) of the state into the e-commerce strata.
ii.The MoU is signed under the Flipkart Samarth initiative.
iii.This partnership helps the state’s local artisans, weavers, craftsmen and smaller industries
to display their hallmark products like Khadi, Paithani sarees, wooden toys, handmade artifacts  among others to the customers across the country.
About Maharashtra State Khadi & Village Industries Board (MSKVIB):
CEO– Dr. M. Neelima Kerketta
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
About Maharashtra Small Scale Industries Development Corporation (MSSIDC):
MD– Pravin Darade
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
<<Read Full News>>

Haryana Government signs MoUs with 3 e-commerce firms to enable Global reach for MSMEsOn February 11, 2021, Haryana’s MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) Department signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 3 e-commerce firms namely ‘eBay’, ‘Power2SME’ & ‘Tradeindia.com’ to enable Global reach for the products manufactured by Haryana’s MSMEs. It will help artisans producing traditional products to get fair prices for their crafts.
i.The MoUs were signed by Vikas Gupta, Director General of Haryana’s MSME Department & representatives of the respective companies.

•  The 3 companies will conduct training and workshops in all districts of Haryana to spread awareness among entrepreneurs about the benefits of e-commerce & listing their products online.
• The initiative will strengthen Government’s vision of ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ and will also increase the exports of our country.

ii.It will strengthen the ecosystem of more than 2 Lakh MSMEs in Haryana
iii.It will also promote inclusive & balance regional development in the state
About Haryana:
Governor – Satyadeo Narain Arya
Lakes – Badkhal Lake, Blue Bird Lake, Karna Lake
<<Read Full News>>

J&K partners with UK Space Agency to get India’s 1st Impact-based Flood Forecasting SystemThe UT of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has partnered with the United Kingdom Space Agency’s (UKSA) programme for a joint project on ‘Impact Based Flood Forecasting using Earth Observation (EO) based Information’ for getting India’s 1st Impact-based Flood Forecasting.

• The project comes under the National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP), a new programme established by the UK Space Agency for supporting joint projects between UK organisations & international partners.
• The Impact based Forecasting Project will be undertaken by HR Wallingford in collaboration with Oxford University, Sayers & Partners (SPL), and D-Orbit (UK).
• J&K Government will not have to bear any expenses on the project.

What is Impact-based Flood Forecasting?
An Impact-based Flood Forecasting mechanism predicts impacts to people, their houses, crops, livestock and transport routes which will be used by the Government for minimizing challenges faced by people during flood events.
How will it benefit J&K?
The forecast will be utilized for a planned, well organized & quick response to any eventuality in the region.

• The framework can be linked to any existing or future flood flow forecasting system.

According to a report by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), India was ranked as the 3rd Most Disaster Prone Country in the world after China & USA and Floods due to climate related hazards were ranked as the greatest risk to people.
About UT of Jammu & Kashmir:
Tribes – Brokpa, Drokpa, Dard, Shin, Changpa, Gujjar
National Parks (NP) – City Forest (Salim Ali) NP, Dachigam NP, Kishtwar NP
<<Read Full News>>

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