INDIA
Glacial burst hits Chamoli district of Uttarakhand
Seven persons were killed and over 125 are missing after a “glacial burst” on Nanda Devi triggered an avalanche and caused flash floods in Rishiganga and Dhauliganga rivers in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. The flash flood in Rishiganga river washed away the Rishiganga small hydro project of 13.2 MW. It also damaged the NTPC’s 520 MW NTPC Tapovan-Vishnugad hydro project on the river Dhauliganga.
PM inaugurates, lays foundation stone infrastructure projects in West Bengal
Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Haldia, West Bengal and dedicated to the nation the LPG import terminal, 348 km Dobhi – Durgapur Natural Gas Pipeline section, which is part of the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga project. He also laid the foundation stone of the second Catalytic Dewaxing unit of Haldia Refinery and dedicated to the nation the 4 Lane ROB-cum-Flyover at Ranichak, Haldia on NH 41.
Assam: PM launches ‘Asom Mala’ to improve highways and district roads
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 7, 2021 laid the foundation stone of two medical colleges at Biswanath and Charaideo in Assam and launched ‘Asom Mala’, a programme to improve state highways and major district roads, at Dhekiajuli in Sonitpur District.
India’s 1st geothermal field development project to be set up in Leh
A tripartite agreement for establishing India’s first-ever geothermal field development project in Leh was signed between Union Territory Administration Ladakh, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC)-Leh and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Energy Centre.
Centre to induct more private sector specialists in govt departments
Centre has decided to induct more private sector specialists into different government departments at the crucial decision-making level of Joint Secretaries and Directors. Talented and motivated Indian nationals willing to contribute towards nation building are being invited to join the government at the level of Joint Secretary on contract basis in the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.
Govt to rename 1,063 residential schools, hostels after Netaji
The Education Ministry has decided to name the residential schools (383) and hostels (680) funded under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme as “Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose residential schools. Ministry of Education under Samagra Shiksha provides financial assistance to States and UTs for opening and running the residential schools and hostel to ensure the schooling facilities in areas that are sparsely populated with a low density of population (mostly tribal areas) where the opening of schools may not be viable and for children in urban areas who are in need of care and protection.
Indian documentary wins award at Sundance Film Festival in US
‘Writing with Fire’, an Indian documentary film chronicling the rise of Khabar Lahariya, has won the audience award in the World Cinema Documentary category at Sundance Film Festival 2021. It is India’s only newspaper run by Dalit women. The festival was organised from January 28 to February 3, 20201 by US-based Sundance Organisation.
Road connecting Indian border with several areas of Nepal inaugurated
With grant assistance from India, Nepal on February 2, 2021 inaugurated a road connecting the Indian border with several areas of the Himalayan nation. Indian government has provided financial assistance of NRs 44.48 million for the road, which connects the Indian border with Nepal’s Laxmipur, Balara and Gadhiaya areas.
Hindi theatre director Bansi Kaul dies at 71
Hindi theatre director Padma Shri Bansi Kaul passed away at the age of 71 in New Delhi on February 6, 2021. He founded Rang Vidushak, a theatre group and theatre institute, in Bhopal (MP) in 1984. He was awarded Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1995 and Padma Shri in 2014.
3 Assam youth launch TikTok-like video app TipTeapi
Saswati Kotoky, Amarjyoti Gautam and Himanga Madhukalya, three computer engineers from Assam, launched a video playing and sharing app called TipTeapi in Jorhat on February 6, 2021 that they hope would be India’s answer to the banned Chinese TikTok. The free app could be downloaded from Google Playstore.
Economy & Corporate
NCAER’s Business Confidence Index shows improvement
The Business Confidence Index (BCI) developed by the Delhi-based economic think tank NCAER (National Council of Applied Economic Research) rose 29.6 per cent between second and third quarter of the current financial year on the back of rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in different countries, including India.
World
UAE’s unmanned space probe “Al-Amal” nears Mars
The first Arab interplanetary mission is expected to reach Mars’ orbit on February 9, 2021. The unmanned space probe — named “Al-Amal”, Arabic for “Hope” — blasted off from Japan in 2020, marking the next step in the United Arab Emirates’ ambitious space programme.
International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation observed
International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation was observed on February 6, 2021 with its theme as: ‘No Time for Global Inaction, Unite, Fund, and Act to End Female Genital Mutilation’. UN General Assembly designated February 6th as the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation in 2012, with the aim to amplify and direct the efforts on the elimination of this practice.
Sports
Russia ATP Cup tennis tournament in Melbourne
A relentless Russia crushed Italy 2-0 in the final to win the ATP Cup at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne on February 7, 2021 with Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev winning their matches. Rublev destroyed Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-2 in just 61 minutes before Medvedev overpowered Matteo Berrettini 6-4, 6-2 in 79 minutes.
Former India Davis Cup tennis team coach Akhtar Ali dies at 81
Former India tennis coach Akhtar Ali died at the age of 81 in Kolkata. He represented India in Davis Cup between 1958 and 1964. Akhtar also won National squash championship in 1968. He was National tennis team coach from 1966 to 1993. Under his guidance, the Indian team — comprising Krishnan, Mukerjea, Premjit Lall and S.P. Misra — reached the Davis Cup final in 1966. India repeated the feat in 1974 with the team featuring Vijay and Anand Amritraj, Shashi Menon and Jasjit Singh. Akhtar was conferred the Arjuna Award in 2000 for his lifetime contribution to tennis.
Leon Spinks, former world heavyweight boxing champion, dies at 67
Leon Spinks, who won Olympic gold and then shocked the boxing world by beating Muhammad Ali to win the heavyweight boxing title in only his eighth pro fight, died in US on February 5, 2021. He was 67. Spinks beat Ali by decision in a 15-round fight in 1978 to win the title.
Ex-West Indies fast bowler Ezra Moseley dies at 63
Former West Indies fast bowler Ezra Moseley has died after his bicycle was hit by a car. He was 63 years old. Moseley played two Tests in 1990 and also nine ODIs between 1990 and 1991. He was banned following the rebel tour of South Africa in 1982-83.
