Daily Current Affairs 31st January, 2021

Daily Current Affairs 31 January 2021 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

New scheme initiated in Rajasthan to make people aware about importance of nourishment of pregnant women
A new scheme has been initiated in Sirohi district, Rajasthan to make people aware about importance of nourishment of pregnant women and children. 

• The scheme called Ek Paudha Suposhit Beti Ke Naam or A plant on the name of well nourished daughter’ has been started under Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme of the union government.
• Under this Scheme on the birth of a girl child a drumstick plant is being distributed by district administration this nutritional plant is taken care of by family members of girl child. 

UP govt to set up India’s first leather park in Kanpur
Uttar Pradesh government will establish the first leather park of the country in Kanpur district. The park will be established in 268 area of land in Ramaipur village of Kanpur district and is expected to attract an investment of more than 5850 crores.

• He said that the leather park will also have an effluent treatment plant of 20 million litre per day capacity so that it will not pollute the Ganga river. 
• The leather park will have all the facilities for production as well as exhibition of leather products. It will also have  fooding and lodging arrangements for the  investors who will come here from all over the world. 

Karnataka puts pension payments on auto-pilot
Karnataka govt launched a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country to automatically select beneficiaries for old-age pensions that will be paid through the direct benefit transfer (DBT) mode.

• This model was piloted in Udupi and Ballari districts where officials enrolled beneficiaries for old-age pensions using the ‘Navodaya’ app. 
• All persons above 60 years will be automatically selected as beneficiaries of old-age pension based on their annual income. The government will make use of the Aadhaar and income certificates database in selecting beneficiaries

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India ranks 10th in Asia-Pacific Personalised Health Index
India ranked 10th out of 11 Asia Pacific countries in a newly-launched health index to measure the progress towards personalised healthcare.

• Overall, Singapore has topped the index. It is followed by Taiwan (2nd), Japan (3rd) and Australia (4th) while Indonesia was the last ranked country at 11th in the index
• The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report ‘Asia-Pacific Personalised Health Index’ measures the readiness of 11 health systems across the region — Australia, China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and New Zealand — in adopting personalised healthcare, enabling the right care to be tailored to the right person at the right time.
• The ‘Personalised Health Index’ measures performance against 27 different indicators of personalised health across four categories called ‘Vital Signs’. These include Policy Context, Health Information, Personalised Technologies and Health Services. 

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Microsoft launches Taj Mahal inspired engineering hub in Noida
Technology giant Microsoft announced the launch of its new India Development Center (IDC) facility in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, which will serve as a premier center of engineering and innovation. The workspace architecture of the centre is inspired by the Taj Mahal.

• The new IDC is Microsoft’s third development centre in India after Bengaluru and Hyderabad. 
• The centre will build on Microsoft’s commitment to tap India’s world-class engineering talent and create solutions for a global impact. 

Bharti Airtel announces 5G ready network in Hyderabad
Bharti Airtel said its network is now 5G ready and successfully demonstrating live 5G service over a commercial network in Hyderabad.

• The company will be able to switch on 5G at any point using the existing spectrum like they have done in Hyderabad once the government approvals are received.
• Airtel said its 5G network is capable of delivering 10x speeds, 10x latency and 100x concurrency when compared to existing technologies.

APPOINTMENTS

Mongolia PM Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh resigns amid COVID-19 scandal
Mongolia’s prime minister Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh has resigned following a protest over a hospital’s treatment of a new mother who tested positive for the coronavirus.

• Prime Minister Khurelsukh Ukhnaa submitted his resignation and a proposal to dissolve his government after hundreds gathered outside the parliament building to demonstrate against the policies. 
• Parliament, which is controlled by Khurelsukh’s Mongolian People’s Party, voted overwhelmingly to accept his resignation.

UP Singh assumes charge of secretary in Textiles Ministry
Upendra Prasad Singh, a 1985 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Officer of Odisha Cadre has taken over as Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India.

• Prior to his appointment, Singh held the post of Secretary in the Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, from December 1, 2017.
• The post of Secretary, Textiles is vacant since Ravi Capoor’s Central deputation ended on December 31, 2020. In between, AK Sharma and Pradip Kumar Tripathi were temporarily given additional charge as Secretary, Ministry of Textiles

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

IT minister launches ‘Work from Anywhere’ portal, Tejas Virtual Intelligence tool 
IT and Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad launched virtual intelligence tool Tejas and ”Work from Anywhere” portal at an event. 

• The National Informatics Centre Services Inc (NICSI), a public sector enterprise under the National Informatics Centre (NIC), celebrated 25 years of its establishment at an event.
• Tejas, a virtual intelligence tool that extracts critical information from data to make its meaningful information for policy decisions and improving efficiency in government services and citizen delivery. 
• “Work from Anywhere” portal, a virtual environment that enables employees to “access routine applications like e-office, calendar, mail, and other departmental applications and communicate across through VC ensuring safety during this pandemic with social distancing and work assurance from anywhere. 

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