DAILY GK : 19 , 20 JAN 2021
1. STARSTREAK MISSILE
SYSTEMS FOR INDIA
• India’s Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL)
under the Ministry of Defence and the United Kingdom’s Thales have signed a
‘Teaming Agreement’ to develop STARStreak Air Defence system in India under the
‘Make in India’ programme.
• This partnership will be supported by both
Governments.
• It should be noted that in 2017 both
entities inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the transfer of technology
for STARStreak.
2. INDIA’S 1ST AIR TAXI
SERVICE
• Haryana Chief Minister(CM) Manohar Lal
Khattar inaugurated India’s 1st air taxi service from Chandigarh to the newly
constructed Hisar airport in Haryana under Regional Connectivity Scheme – Ude
Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (RCS-UDAN) of Govt of India.
• The airline Aviation Connectivity &
Infrastructure Developers Pvt. Ltd (Air Taxi) will operate the air taxi
services and has become the 1st startup airline of India to assist India with
this service.
3.8 TRAINS TO STATUE OF
UNITY
• PM Narendra Modi virtually flagged off 8
trains from various parts of India to the Statue of Unity in Kevadiya, Gujarat
to boost connectivity and Tourism.
• The trains will connect Kevadiya.
• Also Kevadiya Railway Station is India’s
First Railway Station to be certified as a Green Building.
4. NATIONAL YOUTH
FESTIVAL 2021
• The 24th National Youth Festival (NYF)
2021 was held from 12th to 16th January, 2021.
• Its closing ceremony was addressed by
Union Minister of Textiles and Women and Child Development Smriti Zubin Irani
in New Delhi in the presence of Union Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs
and Sports Kiren Rijiju.
• The theme of the NYF 2021 was ‘YUVAAH –
Utsah Naye Bharat Ka’.
5. SPMCIL PAID RS
215.48 CRORE FINAL DIVIDEND TO GOI
• The Security Printing & Minting
Corporation of India Limited(SPMCIL), paid the final dividend of Rs.215.48
crore to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Government of India for the
financial year of 2019-20.
• The dividend, in compliance with DIPAM
guidelines, amounts to 5% of the net worth of the company at 31st March 2020
& 41% of Profit after tax for FY20.
6. PROTECT OCEANS BY
SUPPORTING BLUE ECONOMY
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the
European Investment Bank (EIB) initiated a Clean and Sustainable Ocean
Partnership to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the climate
goals as advised in the Paris Agreement.
• In this regard, both entities will support
the initiatives in Asia and the Pacific.
7. UN WOMEN 2020
ASIA-PACIFIC WEPS REGIONAL AWARDS
• 1st United Nations(UN) Women 2020
Asia-Pacific Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Regional award winners were
announced in a ceremonyin Bangkok,
Thailand.
• IKEA India Pvt Ltd won this award in
Gender-inclusive Workplace category. It is the only winner from India.
• Tata Power- Delhi Distribution Ltd(DDL)
became the 1st Runner Up in the Community & Industry Engagement category of
the award.
8. YOWERI MUSEVENI
RE-ELECTED AS PRESIDENT OF UGANDA
• Yoweri Museveni has been re-elected as the
president of Uganda for the 6th term.
• He has been president of the country since
29th January 1986, i.e., for about 35 years and becomes one of Africa’s
longest-serving leaders.
• He belongs to the National Resistance
Movement(NRM) political party.
9. GOI TO SELL 10% OF
ITS STAKE IN SAIL
• Government of India to sell 10% stake in
Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) through an Offer for Sale (OFS) route to
raise Rs 2,600 crore as part of its disinvestment drive.
• The Govt sells 206.5 million shares or 5%
equity with a 5% greenshoe option.
• After selling of stake the government will
hold 65% from 75%.
10. BIHAR 1ST BIRD
FESTIVAL ‘KALRAV’
• Bihar’s 1st state level bird festival
‘Kalrav’ was held in Nagi-Nakti bird Sanctuary, Jamui district, Bihar.
• It was formally inaugurated by Bihar Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar.
• Aim of the Festival– To create awareness
about birds especially migratory birds
11. 1G ETHANOL
PRODUCTION IN INDIA
• Department of Food & Public Distribution
(DoFPD) has notified a modified scheme to extend financial assistance for
producers of “1st Generation” (1G) Ethanol from feed stocks such as Cereals
(rice, wheat, barley, corn & sorghum), Sugarcane & Sugar Beet.
• The Financial Assistance will also be
extended to
• The Main Objective behind the scheme is to
achieve 20% Blending of ethanol with Fossil Fuels by 2025 from 2030.
12. ‘SAKSHAM 2021’
CAMPAIGN
• The New Delhi-based Petroleum Conservation
Research Association (PCRA) launched a month long pan-India campaign ‘SAKSHAM
2021 (Sanrakshan Kshamta Mahotsav)’ to
create awareness about the adverse impact of fossil fuels on health and
environment, and to convince the consumers of fossil fuels to switch towards
cleaner fuels.
• The tagline of the campaign is ‘Green and
Clean Energy’ (Hindi- हरित
एवं स्वच्छ
ऊर्जा).
13. MINISTRY OF
RAILWAYS ISSUED IRON- ORE POLICY 2021
• Ministry of Railways issued Iron-ore
policy 2021 that will govern the allocation of rakes (train) and transportation
of iron-ore.
• The aim of the policy is to provide
complete logistics support to iron ore customers, thereby helping the iron and
steel industry.
• The Centre for Railway Information Systems
(CRIS) will update the features of this new policy in the Rake Allotment System
module.
14. INDIA’S FIRST
LABOUR MOVEMENT MUSEUM
• India’s First Labour Movement Museum which
showcases the history of the World Labour Movement is set to be launched in
Alappuzha, Kerala.
• The museum has been constructed with a
budget of INR 9.95 crores & 97% of renovations works in the museum have
been completed.
15. MOC ON MOVEMENT OF
‘SKILLED WORKERS’
• In order to enhance cooperation in skills
development, India and Japan have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) for
operation of the ‘specified skilled worker’ (SSW) system.
• This MoC paves the way for Indian workers
with required skills and pass Japanese language tests to get employment in
Japan on a contractual basis.
• It was signed by Foreign secretary Harsh Shringla
and Japan’s ambassador Satoshi Suzuki.
16. SKOCH CHALLENGER
AWARD 2021 FOR E-GOVERNANCE
• 70th SKOCH Summit (SKOCH Public Policy
Forum) was held in New Delhi during which SKOCH Awards 2021 were presented to
different ministries.
• The SKOCH Challenger Award-Best
Performance in e-Governance was presented to Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA).
• The ministry got the SKOCH Challenger
Award for the 2nd consecutive year.
• It was received by Union Minister Arjun
Munda, (MoTA).
• The “SKOCH Challenger Award- Transparency
in Governance” was conferred to Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) for
recognizing its IT-led initiatives
17. BOOK- ‘ABDUL
KALAM-NINAIVUGALUKKU MARANAMILLAI’
• M Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India
released a tamil book titled ‘Abdul Kalam-Ninaivugalukku Maranamillai’(immortal
memories) at Raj Bhavan in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
• It is a biography of late former
President, Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.
• The book is authored by Dr APJM NazemaMaraikayar, managing trustee,
Abdul Kalam International Foundation (AIKF) and well-known space scientist, Dr
Y.S. Rajan.
