Daily Current Affairs 23rd February, 2021

Daily Current Affairs 23 February 2021 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Centre reconstitutes NITI Aayog governing council with PM as head
The Centre has reconstituted the governing council of the NITI Aayog with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its chairperson.

• According to a notification of the Cabinet Secretariat, chief ministers of all states and those of the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Puducherry are full time members of the council.
• The Lieutenant Governors of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Ladakh, and the administrators of Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Lakshadweep will be special invitees of governing council.

Assam CM Sonowal lays foundation of first skill university of eastern India
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal laid the foundation of the first skill university of eastern India in Darrang district, aimed at imparting training to over 10,000 students in 12 disciplines.

• The varsity would be built with a financial outlay of ₹1,000 crore.
• It is expected to be completed by 2026, and will have understandings with countries like Germany, Taiwan, South Korea, Israel, Japan, England.

Union Defence Minister inaugurates skill development centre for fire safety training
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated Skill Development Centre (SDC) for Fire Safety Training at Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at Pilkhuwa in Uttar Pradesh through virtual mode.

• The facility, created by the Delhi-based DRDO laboratory Centre for Fire, Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES), is aimed at developing trained human resources, fire safety technology and products to save precious human lives and valued assets.

India’s first digital university comes up in Kerala 
Kerala took a major step forward in its progress towards a knowledge society with the inauguration of the country’s first Digital University, based in Technocity at Mangalapuram near.

• The Digital University is set up by upgrading two-decade old Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management Kerala (IIITM-K), a center of excellence in information technologies established by Government of Kerala.
• It is formed with a vision of creating a futuristic institution of higher learning, aspiring to set a global benchmark in Digital technologies and its management.

BANKING & FINANCE

LIC launches new plan Bima Jyoti
Amid the fall in interest rates offered by banks, the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has launched a non-linked, non-participating, individual savings plan called Bima Jyoti.

• The plan offers a combination of protections and savings. While it will provide life cover in case of unfortunate death of the policyholder, it also provides guaranteed lumpsump payment at maturity.
• The plan offers guaranteed addition at the rate of Rs 50 per 1,000 basic sum assured (or 5 per cent) at the end of each policy year. The minimum sum assured is Rs 1 lakh, with no upper limit.
• The plan term can be for 15-20 years, while premium paying term will be 5 years less than the plan term. The minimum entry age for Bima Jyoti is 90 days, while the maximum is 60 years.

State Bank of Sikkim under Reserve Bank of India’s regulatory purview
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has brought State Bank of Sikkim under its regulatory purview.  

• The bank, established five years before Sikkim acceded to India in 1973, provides treasury operations for the state government.
• It only operates within Sikkim and is wholly-owned by the state government. The bank currently has 42 branch offices and operates three revenue counters for government works.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Indian Oil signs pact with Greenstat Norway for hydrogen fuel
Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) has signed a Statement of Intent with Greenstat Hydrogen India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of Greenstat Norway, to set up a Centre of Excellence on Hydrogen.

• This association aims to develop a Centre of Excellence on Hydrogen (CoE-H) including CCUS and Fuel Cells by IndianOil and M/s Greenstat for clean energy in cooperation with Indo-Norwegian Hydrogen Cluster companies/organizations.
• The CoE-H will facilitate the transfer and sharing of technology, know-how and experience through the green hydrogen value chain and other relevant technologies including hydrogen storage and fuel cells.

HSBC ups India’s FY22 GDP forecast to 11.2%
A choose up in enterprise exercise coupled with a gentle fall in COVID circumstances ought to assist a sooner financial restoration throughout Asia, says a current report by HSBC. It expects virtually all economies in Asia to attain their pre-pandemic stage by the top of 2021, in the event that they haven’t already.

• The only exceptions are Japan and Thailand (next year), and the Philippines (beyond 2022). Encouragingly,  expect the rebound to have legs: growth in 2022 is likely to remain robust, still exceeding its pace in 2019, in all Asian markets, except for mainland China, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
• As regards India HSBC has raised their development forecasts from 9 per cent to 11.2 per cent for the approaching fiscal 12 months 2021-22 (FY22).

IKEA signs MoU with UP, to invest 5,500 crore in Uttar Pradesh
Paving way for international furniture and home goods store IKEA to set up its first store in the state, and the largest in the country, UP Government signed an MoU with the company for a Rs 5,500 crore investment.

• IKEA will shell out Rs 850 crores for the land purchase, which will accrue Rs 56 crore revenue in the form of stamp duty, in Noida.
• The opening of IKEA stores in the state is expected to help farmers, artisans and artists with opportunities. The UP government has allotted 47,833 square metre land in Noida for the IKEA outlet.

SPORTS

Naomi Osaka wins Australian Open 2021

Naomi Osaka won her fourth Grand Slam title by pulling away to beat Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-3 in the Australian Open final.

• Osaka has won her past 21 matches at all tournaments dating to last season. That includes a championship at last year’s U.S. Open. She also won the U.S. Open in 2018, and the Australian Open in 2019.

APPOINTMENTS

Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy resigns
Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy resigned ahead of a floor test to prove his majority weeks before assembly elections are due in the Union Territory.

• The decision was taken as the Congress-led Government in the UT lost its majority in the House, which is 14.
• Following a series of resignations, the ruling government was reduced to a strength of 12. Two MLA resigned in January 2021 while 2 resigned in February 2021.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 

Indian Coast Guard receives 17th indigenously made Interceptor Boat
Indian Coast Guard has got a new interceptor boat ICGS C-453. It was commissioned in Chennai.

•  It is the 17th of the 18 Interceptor Boat (IBs) project indigenously constructed by Larsen & Toubro Ltd.
• The 27.80m-long interceptor boat with a displacement of 105 tons and maximum speed of 45 knots has advanced navigation and communication equipment and will be used for surveillance, interdiction, close coast patrol and search and rescue.

EAM S Jaishankar launches BRICS-2021 website
The External Affairs Minister of India S. Jaishankar unveiled India’s BRICS 2021 website www.brics2021.gov.in in New Delhi.

• BRICS- Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa is a five-nation grouping and India has assumed the Chairmanship of the bloc in 2021 when the group will be celebrating its 15th anniversary.
• The newly launched website will be maintaining a dynamic and updated information repository and will be displaying all the relevant information for BRICS, along with the press releases, documents, a media gallery, and a registration platform for the events that have been planned over the year.

Israel begins developing advanced anti-missile Arrow-4 system with US
Israel has begun developing a long-range ballistic missile interceptor, named Arrow-4, together with the US.

• Arrow-4 will be “the next generation” of Israel’s multi-layered defence doctrine to intercept missiles in the atmosphere and space.
• Arrow-4 will be an advanced and innovative anti-missile system with enhanced capabilities to “address a wide range of evolving threats in the region and will replace the Arrow-2 interceptors over the next decades.

BOOKS & AUTHORS 

Book ‘Agriculture Acts 2020’ written by former Madras HC judge A.K. Rajan
Dravidar Kazhagam president K. Veeramani released a book, Agriculture Acts 2020, written by Justice A.K. Rajan, former judge of the Madras High Court.

• The book is about the three controversial Central farm laws, which triggered massive protests by farmers in New Delhi.
• The book was a concise work on the farm laws and batted for federalism.

Book ‘Leadership Lessons from 22 Yards’ by Srikanth Ram
The book titled  ‘Leadership Lessons from 22 Yards’ by Srikanth Ram has been released recently.

• Leadership Lessons from 22 Yards is a book that every aspiring, young manager and entrepreneur can relate with.
• The book is a unique blend of Cricket and Leadership values that offers insightful advice to build effective teams and weave an organization high on values.

Home Minister releases book ‘Rashtra Pratham – 82 varshon ki Swarnim Gatha’
Home Minister Amit Shah released a book ‘Rashtra Pratham – 82 varshon ki Swarnim Gatha‘ in New Delhi.

• The book chronicles the glorious history of CRPF since its raising in 1939 and it has detailed and thoroughly researched account of CRPF’s journey, challenges, successes, and sacrifices.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Thinking Day
World Thinking Day is celebrated each year by the Girl Guides and Girl Scouts across the world on the 22nd February.

• The day is observed to think about fellow brothers and sisters around the world, address their concerns and understand the true meaning of guiding.
• This year’s Thinking Day theme was “Stand together for Peace”. 

World Day of Social Justice
The United Nations’ (UN) World Day of Social Justice is annually observed on February 20 to encourage people to look at how social justice affects poverty eradication. It also focuses on the goal of achieving full employment and support for social integration.

• This year, the theme for World Day Of Social Justice is “A Call for Social Justice in the Digital Economy”.

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