Daily Current Affairs 17th February, 2021

Daily Current Affairs 17 February 2021 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Ethiopian Deputy PM arrives in New Delhi on 4-day visit to India
Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Demeke Mekonnen Hassen arrived in New Delhi on a four-day official visit to India.

  • Mr Hassen inaugurated the new Chancery and Residence at Ethiopian Embassy in New Delhi along with External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar.
  • He is scheduled to meet Dr Jaishankar at Hyderabad House

PM Modi addresses on ‘Samarpan Diwas’ to commemorate contributions of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the party MPs on the occasion of ‘Samarpan Diwas’ to commemorate the contributions of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya on his death anniversary.

  • Pandit Deendayal Upadhyayay was an Indian politician who was the co-founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the forerunner of BJP and was the President of BJS from 1967 to 1968.
  • Deen Dayal Ji was behind the ‘vision of building a self-reliant India’.

UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath launches Abhyudaya scheme
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the Abhyudaya scheme via video conferencing.

  • Under the Abhyudaya scheme, free of cost coaching centres for the preparation of competitive government exams will be provided by the UP government.
  • The coaching institutions are especially aimed at providing assistance to those candidates who are not able to take coaching for the exams due to their financial problems.


INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India has 1% of world’s vehicles, accounts for 11% accidents: World Bank
With only 1 per cent of the world’s vehicles, India accounts for 11 per cent of the global death in road accidents, the highest in the world, according to a report by the World Bank.

  • The country accounts for about 4.5 lakh road crashes per annum, in which 1.5 lakh people die.In the last decade, 13 lakh people died and another 50 lakh got injured on Indian roads.
  • The 2019 World Bank report, titled ‘Guide for Road Safety Opportunities and Challenges: Low- and Middle-Income Countries Country Profiles’, puts the road crash and serious injury cost estimate at 7.5 per cent of India’s GDP or Rs 12.9 lakh crore for 2016. It is more than twice the figure cited by the government at 3 per cent of GDP or Rs 4.3 lakh crore.


BANKING & FINANCE

Kotak Mahindra Bank launches Kotak Remit on mobile to send money abroad directly from phone
Kotak Mahindra Bank launched its outward forex remittance service, Kotak Remit, hence allowing its users to directly send money abroad from their phones. The feature is already live on the Kotak Mobile Banking App.

  • For the first time, Kotak customers can conveniently transfer money internationally to their beneficiaries straight from their mobile.
  • It is an industry-first move, and customers will not have to furnish any physical documents for transactions up to $25,000 or equivalent seamlessly to permissible geographies across the world.

Mastercard Launches Priceless India To Showcase Rich Heritage To Domestic, Global Travellers
Mastercard announced the launch of its flagship Priceless program in India. The program – known as Priceless India – will enable domestic and global travellers who are Mastercard cardholders to attain unique insights and exclusive access to several unparalleled experiences in the country.

  • The program will roll out in two phases. In the first phase, Mastercard will launch 16 short films that will introduce several unique aspects of India’s most iconic cities and destinations for tourists.
  • In the second phase Mastercard cardholders will get a chance to partake in these experiences in real-time through curated packages that can be purchased online.
  • The multi-phase campaign aims to rekindle Indian consumers’ desire for the most unique travel and entertainment experiences


BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Amazon to start device manufacturing line in India
Amazon is setting up its first device manufacturing line in India to make Fire TV sticks locally and has partnered with Cloud Network Technology, a subsidiary of Foxconn, to begin producing the device at its Chennai plant later this year.

  • The e-commerce giant claimed that the production line will have an annual capacity of “hundreds of thousands” of units, and will also continuously evaluate manufacturing capacity based on domestic demand for its devices.
  • It reiterated its commitment to invest $1 billion into the country to digitise 10 million small and medium businesses by 2025 and create 1 million additional jobs by then.


SPORTS

Ravichandran Ashwin becomes first bowler to dismiss left-handers 200 times in Tests
In Cricket, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has become the first player in the 143-year history of Test cricket to take 200 wickets against left-handed batsmen.

  • He achieved the feat during the second day of India’s second Test against England at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, his home ground.
  • Fast bowler Stuart Broad was the 200th left-hander to be dismissed by Ashwin. Ashwin has picked 391 wickets in his career so far and 51.2 per cent of his scalps have come against left-handers.


APPOINTMENTS

Gallantry Award Recipient Siddharth Chatterjee Takes Over as Top UN Diplomat in China
Senior UN official Siddharth Chatterjee of India has formally taken over as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in China, a key posting of overseeing the work of 27 agencies, funds and programmes of the global organisation in the world’s most populous country.

  • He will be UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s senior-most UN Representative in China as the UN Resident Coordinator.
  • Chatterjee, whose early career was in the Indian Army, was decorated for gallantry by the President of India in 1995.

Hima Das appointed as DSP in Assam Police
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has appointed ace sprinter Hima Das as a Deputy Superintendent of Police in the state.

  • The cabinet also amended the integrated sports policy of the state for the appointment of sportspersons as Class-I and Class-II officers in different departments of the state government.

Dr Kiran Bedi removed from post of Puducherry Lieutenant Governor
Dr. Kiran Bedi has been removed from the post of Puducherry Lieutenant Governor.

  • Rashtrapati Bhawan said, Telangana Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan has been given additional charge as Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.


AWARDS

Meesha’ Wins Best Novel at Kerala Sahitya Akademi Awards
The Kerala Sahitya Akademi awards for the year 2019 were announced, and author S. Hareesh’s Meesha (Moustache) has won the best novel prize. The awards carry prize money of Rs 25,000, a citation and a certificate.

  • Rathri Pandrandarayk oru Tharattu (A Lullaby at 12:30 in the Night), written by P. Raman, won the award for the best poetry.
  • Ramachi by Vinoy Thomas has bagged the award for the best short story.
  • Noted actress Sajitha Madathil bagged the Akademi award for her contribution in the drama Arangile Matsyagandhikal.
  • The Akademi announced that fellowships have been awarded to writers P. Valsala and N.V.P. Unnithiri. The fellowships carry a cash award of Rs 50,000, a two sovereign gold locket, a citation and a certificate.

Ministry of Tribal Affairs bags Award of Appreciation in the 18th CSI SIG E-Governance Awards 2020
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs bags the prestigious Award of Appreciation in the Project Category-Central Government Entity – in the 18th CSI SIG eGov Awards 2020 for their ‘Performance Dashboard Empowering Tribals Transforming India through various ICT initiatives.

  • The award was received by the joint secretary of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Dr. Navaljit Kapoor from the honorable Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri Yogi Adityanath Ji in Lucknow.
  • These awards have been conducted by CSI-SIGegov. The awards are given for recognizing the efforts made in the e-Governance area at the State, Department, District and Project level.

Andhra Pradesh CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy conferred Skoch Chief Minister of the Year Award 
The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has been conferred the Skoch Chief Minister of the Year Award.

  • The Award has been presented to the CM by Chairman, Skoch group, Sameer Kochhar personally at Tadepalli in Andhra Pradesh.


ENVIRONMENT

As per latest census, Kaziranga National Park records 93 thousand 491 birds
In Assam, the Kaziranga national park  has recorded a total of 93 thousand 491 birds as per the latest census.

  • There are 112 bird species and 22 families found during the enumeration. The recent bird census has witnessed an increase of over 59 thousand birds in the Kaziranga national park.
  • Last year, the figure stood at 34 thousand 284. The park authority has recently conducted a 2 day census where 35 teams were involved.


OBITUARIES

Carlos Menem, former President of Argentina, passed away
Argentina’s former President Carlos Menem has died at age 90 in Buenos Aires.

  • Menem, who served two terms as president from 1989 to 1999 during which he pursued an aggressive privatisation policy.
  • He served as governor of La Rioja from 1973 to 1976 before being arrested following a 1976 military coup and imprisoned for five years.

Former Governor of Bihar and Jharkhand M Rama Jois passes away
Former Governor of Bihar and Jharkhand M Rama Jois who had served as the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court has passed away after prolonged illness in Bengaluru. He was 89 years old.

  • Retired Justice Rama Jois had also served as a Rajya Sabha member. During the Emergency he was imprisoned at Bengaluru along with Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
  • A noted jurist, he wrote several books on ancient Indian law, Habeas Corpus law, Raja Dharma and Bharathiya way to lead purposeful life.


BOOKS & AUTHORS

“Tipane Kashmirchi (notes on Kashmir), untold stories”, authored by Arun Karmarkar
Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha has released the book, titled “Tipane Kashmirchi (notes on Kashmir), untold stories“, authored by Arun Karmarkar, in Mumbai.



IMPORTANT DAYS

National Inventors Day
On February 11th, National Inventors’ Day celebrates the genius behind design. It also dives into the history behind some of our most unusual inventions.

  • National Inventors’ Day honors inventors of the past, the creators of the present, and encourages the architects of the future.

Safer Internet Day
Safer Internet Day is observed every year on the second day of the second week of February with an aim to provide safer and better internet, where every user gets to use the internet responsibly and without getting their data leaked. This year’s SID celebration took place on 9 February 2021.

  • This year, the theme is “Together for a better internet”. Safer Internet Day helps us to remind that Internet security is something that demands constant vigilance.


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