Current Affairs – February 19, 2021

 

INDIA

PM Modi launches ‘Mahabahu-Brahmaputra’ project in Assam

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 18, 2021 launched the ‘Mahabahu-Brahmaputra’ initiative in Assam. The programe is aimed at providing seamless connectivity to the eastern parts of India and includes various development activities for the people living around River Brahmaputra and River Barak. As part of ‘Mahabahu-Brahmaputra’ programe, he inaugurated the Ro-Pax vessel operations between Neamati-Majuli Island, North Guwahati-South Guwahati and Dhubri-Hatsingimari. He also laid the foundation stone of Inland Water Transport (IWT) Terminal at Jogighopa and various tourist jetties on River Brahmaputra.

PM Modi lays foundation stone of Dhubri Phulbari bridge over Brahmaputra

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 18, 2021 laid the foundation stone for Dhubri-Phulbari Bridge over Brahmaputra river. The 19 km long 4-lane bridge from Dhubri in Assam to Phulbari in Meghalaya will improve connectivity in Barak Valley and will reduce distance between Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Assam. The distance between Meghalaya and Assam is about 250 km by road now it will be reduced to just 19-20 km.

India hosts online workshop on ‘COVID-19 Management’, 10 nations participate

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a Workshop on ‘COVID-19 Management: Experience, Good Practices and Way Forward’ with nearly 10 Neighboring Countries on February 18, 2021. India hosted a Secretary-level virtual meeting on COVID-19 management with South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries. SAARC nations, including Pakistan, participated in the workshop. Modi called for making a regional air ambulance agreement among neighbouring countries for “medical contingencies”.

PM Modi speaks with Australian counterpart Scott Morrison

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 18, 2021 spoke with Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison. Modi said both the countries reiterated their commitment to consolidate Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and discussed regional issues of common interest.

Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad features in TIME magazine’s list

Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad has featured in TIME magazine’s annual list of 100 “emerging leaders who are shaping the future”. The 2021 TIME100 Next, released on February 17, 2021 also has five Indian-origin personalities: Twitter’s top lawyer Vijaya Gadde, U.K.’s Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, Instacart founder & CEO Apoorva Mehta, doctor & Executive Director of nonprofit Get Us PPE Shikha Gupta and founder of nonprofit Upsolve, Rohan Pavuluri.

Veteran Congress leader Captain Satish Sharma passes away at 73

Captain Satish Sharma, Congress leader and former Union Petroleum Minister (1993-1996) in the P.V. Narasimha Rao government, passed away on February 17, 2021 at the age of 73. Capt. Sharma, a former airline pilot, had represented the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in 1991 after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

L&T delivers 100th K9 Vajra tracked self-propelled howitzer to Army

Army Chief Gen Manoj Naravane on February 18, 2021 flagged off the 100th K9 Vajra tracked self-propelled howitzer built by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) at its armoured system complex at Hazira in Gujarat. With this, L&T had completed the delivery of all the howitzers under the contract awarded in May 2017 ahead of schedule. The 155mm, 52 calibre K9 Vajra is built by L&T with technology transfer from South Korean defence major Hanwha Defense, and is based on its K9 Thunder.

S. Jaishankar participates in virtual ministerial meeting of Quad

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar participated in a virtual ministerial meeting of the Quad along with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Foreign Ministers Marise Payne of Australia and Toshimitsu Motegi Japan on February 18, 2021.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla meets Russian Deputy Foreign Minister

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on February 17, 2021 met Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov in Moscow and held political consultations on a wide range of issues pertaining to the bilateral ties, including the schedule of the upcoming political contacts.

Economy & Corporate

Labour bureau to conduct five nationwide surveys to check job data inaccuracies

The lack of data on workers, which was evident during the COVID-19-induced lockdown in 2020, would be addressed by the five all-India labour surveys being conducted by the Labour Bureau, Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said on February 18, 2021. The surveys will be conducted in five regional languages (Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Assamese and Malayalam) along with English and Hindi. The minister released instruction manuals with questionnaires for the five pan-India surveys being conducted by the Labour Bureau. The five all India surveys being undertaken by Labour Bureau are: 1) All India Survey on Migrant workers, 2) All India Survey on Domestic Workers (DW), 3) All India Survey on Employment Generated by Professionals, 4) All India Survey on Employment Generated in Transport Sector, 5) All-India Quarterly Establishment- based Employment Survey.

Pralhad Joshi inaugurates production in two new iron ore mines of Odisha

Union Minister for Mines, Pralhad Joshi and Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik on February 18, 2021, jointly inaugurated the production in two new iron ore mines of Odisha namely Jiling-Langlota Iron ore Block and Guali Iron ore Block. Both the mines have production capacity of 15 lakh tonnes per month and they possess approx. 275 million tonnes of consolidated iron ore reserves.

RBI approves DHFL resolution plan from Piramal Capital and Housing Finance

The Reserve Bank of India has cleared the acquisition of Diwan Housing Finance Corporation by Piramal Capital And Housing Finance. DHFL was sent to bankruptcy court in December 2019 after the company defaulted to its lenders on debt worth Rs 90,000 crore. The promoters of the company are currently in jail and are facing money laundering charges. Piramal’s plan is to recover Rs 37,250 crore over the next five years for DHFL’s lenders.

World

Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting held on the Legal aspects of COVID-19

Anoop Kumar Mendiratta, Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law & Justice, on behalf of Union Minister for Law & Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad, represented India in the Commonwealth High Level Law Ministers Meeting on the Legal aspects of COVID-19. The meeting, chaired by the Law Minister of Sri Lanka, was organised in virtual mode by Commonwealth Secretariat on February 18, 2021. The event provided an opportunity to the Law Ministers to share views and experiences on solutions to key legal challenges amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Indian appointed Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of UNDP

India’s Usha Rao-Monari, a leading investment professional, has been appointed by UN chief Antonio Guterres as Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the UNDP.

US: Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh dies at 70

Rush Limbaugh, the talk radio host who was one of the most powerful voices on the American right, influencing the rightward push of conservatism and the rise of Donald Trump, died on February 18, 2021 at the age of 70.

U.S. will pay over $200 million in WHO contributions, says Antony Blinken

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that his country would pay the World Health Organization (WHO) $200 million by the end of February 2021. The announcement is significant as former U.S. President Donald Trump had begun the process of withdrawing the U.S. from the WHO.

Facebook blocks Australians from accessing news on platform

Facebook announced on February 18, 2021 that it has blocked Australians from viewing and sharing news on the platform because of proposed laws in the country to make digital giants pay for journalism. Australian publishers can continue to publish news content on Facebook, but links and posts can’t be viewed or shared by Australian audiences.

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia announces his resignation

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia announced his resignation on February 18, 2021, following a court ruling that ordered the arrest of a man who leads the ex-Soviet nation’s top opposition party. Gakharia said he was stepping down because of disagreements within his own team over the decision to arrest Nika Melia, chairman of the United National Movement opposition party.

Sports

Seiko Hashimoto (56) named President of Tokyo Olympic organising committee

Former Olympian Seiko Hashimoto (56) was named as president of the Tokyo Olympic organising committee after a meeting of its executive board. She replaces 83-year-old Yoshiro Mori, a former Japanese prime minister who was forced to resign recently after making sexist comments about women.

Here are Today’s News Headlines by GK Today for February 19, 2021

INDIA

PM Modi launches ‘Mahabahu-Brahmaputra’ project in Assam

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 18, 2021 launched the ‘Mahabahu-Brahmaputra’ initiative in Assam. The programme is aimed at providing seamless connectivity to the eastern parts of India and includes various development activities for the people living around River Brahmaputra and River Barak. As part of ‘Mahabahu-Brahmaputra’ programme, he inaugurated the Ro-Pax vessel operations between Neamati-Majuli Island, North Guwahati-South Guwahati and Dhubri-Hatsingimari. He also laid the foundation stone of Inland Water Transport (IWT) Terminal at Jogighopa and various tourist jetties on River Brahmaputra.

PM Modi lays foundation stone of Dhubri Phulbari bridge over Brahmaputra

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 18, 2021 laid the foundation stone for Dhubri-Phulbari Bridge over Brahmaputra river. The 19 km long 4-lane bridge from Dhubri in Assam to Phulbari in Meghalaya will improve connectivity in Barak Valley and will reduce distance between Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Assam. The distance between Meghalaya and Assam is about 250 km by road now it will be reduced to just 19-20 km.

India hosts online workshop on ‘COVID-19 Management’, 10 nations participate

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a Workshop on ‘COVID-19 Management: Experience, Good Practices and Way Forward’ with nearly 10 Neighboring Countries on February 18, 2021. India hosted a Secretary-level virtual meeting on COVID-19 management with South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries. SAARC nations, including Pakistan, participated in the workshop. Modi called for making a regional air ambulance agreement among neighbouring countries for “medical contingencies”.

PM Modi speaks with Australian counterpart Scott Morrison

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 18, 2021 spoke with Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison. Modi said both the countries reiterated their commitment to consolidate Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and discussed regional issues of common interest.

Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad features in TIME magazine’s list

Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad has featured in TIME magazine’s annual list of 100 “emerging leaders who are shaping the future”. The 2021 TIME100 Next, released on February 17, 2021 also has five Indian-origin personalities: Twitter’s top lawyer Vijaya Gadde, U.K.’s Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, Instacart founder & CEO Apoorva Mehta, doctor & Executive Director of nonprofit Get Us PPE Shikha Gupta and founder of nonprofit Upsolve, Rohan Pavuluri.

Veteran Congress leader Captain Satish Sharma passes away at 73

Captain Satish Sharma, Congress leader and former Union Petroleum Minister (1993-1996) in the P.V. Narasimha Rao government, passed away on February 17, 2021 at the age of 73. Capt. Sharma, a former airline pilot, had represented the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in 1991 after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

L&T delivers 100th K9 Vajra tracked self-propelled howitzer to Army

Army Chief Gen Manoj Naravane on February 18, 2021 flagged off the 100th K9 Vajra tracked self-propelled howitzer built by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) at its armoured system complex at Hazira in Gujarat. With this, L&T had completed the delivery of all the howitzers under the contract awarded in May 2017 ahead of schedule. The 155mm, 52 calibre K9 Vajra is built by L&T with technology transfer from South Korean defence major Hanwha Defense, and is based on its K9 Thunder.

S. Jaishankar participates in virtual ministerial meeting of Quad

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar participated in a virtual ministerial meeting of the Quad along with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Foreign Ministers Marise Payne of Australia and Toshimitsu Motegi Japan on February 18, 2021.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla meets Russian Deputy Foreign Minister

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on February 17, 2021 met Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov in Moscow and held political consultations on a wide range of issues pertaining to the bilateral ties, including the schedule of the upcoming political contacts.

Economy & Corporate

Labour bureau to conduct five nationwide surveys to check job data inaccuracies

The lack of data on workers, which was evident during the COVID-19-induced lockdown in 2020, would be addressed by the five all-India labour surveys being conducted by the Labour Bureau, Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said on February 18, 2021. The surveys will be conducted in five regional languages (Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Assamese and Malayalam) along with English and Hindi. The minister released instruction manuals with questionnaires for the five pan-India surveys being conducted by the Labour Bureau. The five all India surveys being undertaken by Labour Bureau are: 1) All India Survey on Migrant workers, 2) All India Survey on Domestic Workers (DW), 3) All India Survey on Employment Generated by Professionals, 4) All India Survey on Employment Generated in Transport Sector, 5) All-India Quarterly Establishment- based Employment Survey.

Pralhad Joshi inaugurates production in two new iron ore mines of Odisha

Union Minister for Mines, Pralhad Joshi and Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik on February 18, 2021, jointly inaugurated the production in two new iron ore mines of Odisha namely Jiling-Langlota Iron ore Block and Guali Iron ore Block. Both the mines have production capacity of 15 lakh tonnes per month and they possess approx. 275 million tonnes of consolidated iron ore reserves.

RBI approves DHFL resolution plan from Piramal Capital and Housing Finance

The Reserve Bank of India has cleared the acquisition of Diwan Housing Finance Corporation by Piramal Capital And Housing Finance. DHFL was sent to bankruptcy court in December 2019 after the company defaulted to its lenders on debt worth Rs 90,000 crore. The promoters of the company are currently in jail and are facing money laundering charges. Piramal’s plan is to recover Rs 37,250 crore over the next five years for DHFL’s lenders.

World

Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting held on the Legal aspects of COVID-19

Anoop Kumar Mendiratta, Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law & Justice, on behalf of Union Minister for Law & Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad, represented India in the Commonwealth High Level Law Ministers Meeting on the Legal aspects of COVID-19. The meeting, chaired by the Law Minister of Sri Lanka, was organised in virtual mode by Commonwealth Secretariat on February 18, 2021. The event provided an opportunity to the Law Ministers to share views and experiences on solutions to key legal challenges amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Indian appointed Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of UNDP

India’s Usha Rao-Monari, a leading investment professional, has been appointed by UN chief Antonio Guterres as Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the UNDP.

US: Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh dies at 70

Rush Limbaugh, the talk radio host who was one of the most powerful voices on the American right, influencing the rightward push of conservatism and the rise of Donald Trump, died on February 18, 2021 at the age of 70.

U.S. will pay over $200 million in WHO contributions, says Antony Blinken

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that his country would pay the World Health Organization (WHO) $200 million by the end of February 2021. The announcement is significant as former U.S. President Donald Trump had begun the process of withdrawing the U.S. from the WHO.

Facebook blocks Australians from accessing news on platform

Facebook announced on February 18, 2021 that it has blocked Australians from viewing and sharing news on the platform because of proposed laws in the country to make digital giants pay for journalism. Australian publishers can continue to publish news content on Facebook, but links and posts can’t be viewed or shared by Australian audiences.

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia announces his resignation

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia announced his resignation on February 18, 2021, following a court ruling that ordered the arrest of a man who leads the ex-Soviet nation’s top opposition party. Gakharia said he was stepping down because of disagreements within his own team over the decision to arrest Nika Melia, chairman of the United National Movement opposition party.

Sports

Seiko Hashimoto (56) named President of Tokyo Olympic organising committee

Former Olympian Seiko Hashimoto (56) was named as president of the Tokyo Olympic organising committee after a meeting of its executive board. She replaces 83-year-old Yoshiro Mori, a former Japanese prime minister who was forced to resign recently after making sexist comments about women.

IIT Guwahati researchers develop techniques for rapid evaporation of droplets

 IIT Guwahati researchers develop advanced techniques for rapid evaporation of droplets. According to the team, the method is aimed at controlling the life-time of droplets containing suspended nanoparticles. Suspended nanoparticles are magnetically active, thereby enabling the flexibility of being under control in a magnetic forcing environment.

The research has been published in "Soft Matter", a highly reputed journal belonging to the Royal Society of Chemistry.

"The research revealed that the mixing between two droplets can be attenuated significantly under the actuation of the magnetic field. This novel method showed a significant enhancement of around 80 per cent in the overall mixing time between the droplets in comparison to the case where no external force is applied," said Pranab Kumar Mondal, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Guwahati.

"The research outcomes could be potentially beneficial in the area of biomedical diagnostics, whereby rapid and efficient mixing between fluids is of utmost importance. In addition to that, this research also revealed that the magnetic field can be successfully used in altering the lifetime of a droplet containing suspended magnetic nanoparticles," he said.According to the team, the research has shown that the evaporation rate of the droplet can be successfully controlled by varying the applied magnetic field frequency.

"The inferences drawn from this study could have far-reaching implications ranging from biomedical engineering to surface patterning.

"With the advent of miniaturization, effective transfer of mass between species has attracted significant attention of global communities because of its wide range of industrial applicability. In particular, rapid evaporation and mixing between droplets has extensive range of engineering applications such as biological sample diagnostics, ink-jet printing, surface patterning and many more," Mondal said.

Source: Hindustan Times, 18/02/21

Large hydro projects risk Himalayan communities

 The Uttarakhand tragedy is a moment to review support for Himalayan dams and construction-based economy.The impact of the February 7 flash floods in Uttarakhand is still being estimated while rescue and relief operations remain challenged and the death toll rises. The tragedy has brought into sharp focus the environmental risks to the Himalayan people and to the region’s development. This is a moment for all our decision-makers in state governments, courts and Parliament to review their support for Himalayan dams.In recent years, the central government’s unconditional push on renewable energy (RE) has motivated the Himalayan states to seek RE status for the hydropower sector. In March 2019, the Cabinet granted this status to all hydropower projects, effectively removing the earlier policy distinction between projects up to 25 MW and larger ones. This decision came after the standing committee of the ministry of power observed that Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions of hydropower stations “is even lesser than solar projects” and that the “net effect of hydro projects has always been positive for the surrounding”.

This position signals grave risks for all Himalayan communities, as it could make this ecologically sensitive region the densest hydropower zone in the world. As the committee report shows, the reassessment of large dams as RE has been done with the sole aim of attracting energy finance for hydropower development in the Himalayan region, stated to be “abundant” in water resources.

Globally, climate policy debates now take energy transition as a given. The spatial aspects of this ongoing global energy transition, especially the participation of state governments in electricity decarbonisation, are crucial to understand. Energy transition policies and projects are creating new “clean energy” geographies and new energy politics around RE.

India’s re-engagement with large hydro is one such regional dynamic. It has drawn small, border Himalayan states into global and national climate and energy discourses. As the representative of Uttarakhand stated to the parliamentary committee, “Solar energy, wind energy or any other form of renewable energy is always going to be smaller. For us, as a state in the Himalayas, hydro is our main stake.”

The ambitions of the Indian Himalayan states to seize the energy transition narrative illustrates what climate scholars identify as a shift from “burden-sharing to opportunity-sharing” in climate policies. The parliamentary committee report details several attempts by state representatives to persuade national policymakers to recognise that India’s energy transition pathways necessarily include the politically delegitimised and ecologically damaging large hydro.

Governments anticipate a number of developmental benefits of energy transition such as cheaper, reliable energy for economic development, revenues from export of “green” fuel, access to international development finance, and increased local business opportunities. These are referred to as “co-benefits” in climate policy discourses. Co-benefits are crucial to justify the exemptions, concessions and incentives given upfront by states to attract private investments for large-scale RE projects. These discourses have been applied to policymaking in the “Himachal model” of private hydro-development. The state’s policies guarantee purchase of power, easy and cheap land transfers and exemptions from local consent.

The hydro sector is still dominated by public sector units due to their access to long-term finance and State guarantees.

Despite several policy changes, the share of the private sector has remained low as compared to private investments in the coal power sector. The committee report shows the Himalayan state representatives and the hydropower bureaucracy stating unambiguously that the RE status and accompanied incentives are needed to attract private investments to the sector. The RE tag is a means to create new investment opportunities in the hydro sector for financial elites and energy capital.

The social and environmental risks of large dams are well-documented. Although the committee’s report records that “geological surprises” resulting from weak Himalayan geology, “lack of technology or expertise, natural calamities like landslides, floods, and cloud bursts etc cause severe setbacks in construction schedules”, the committee didn’t see these as problems that require in-depth examination. Instead, the report dedicates its attention to reducing the financial risk to existing and potential dam-builders.

In an effort to attract investments from the private sector that is reluctant to venture into “remote” Himalayan locations, government agencies are willing to undertake construction of “enabling infrastructure” at public cost. Himalayan road construction, that has a serious impact, should be seen as an integral part of incentivising private hydro-development in this region.

The standing committee report is an excellent example of the opportunistic use of RE and how the development of private hydro-finance overtakes the assessment of social and environmental risks of dams.

Manju Menon and Kanchi Kohli are with the Centre for Policy Research

Source: Hindustan Times, 19/02/21

Quote of the Day February 18, 2021

 

“Riches do not consist in the possession of treasures, but in the use made of them.”
Napoleon Bonaparte

“सम्पन्नता धन के संग्रह में नहीं होती, बल्कि उसके उपयोग में होती है।”
नेपोलियन बोनापार्ट

Economic & Political Weekly: Table of Contents

 

Vol. 56, Issue No. 7, 13 Feb, 2021

Editorials

Illusion of Democracy in Financial Markets

Comment

Economic Worth of Homemakers

From the Editor's Desk

Do Normative Values Need an Address?

Gopal Guru

From 50 Years Ago

From 50 Years Ago: Baggage Allowance: Status Symbols for U-Sector

H T Parekh Finance Column

What Is Stopping the Obvious? - Regulating Renewable Energy Investment in Developing Countries

Avinash Persaud

Commentary

Framework for India’s Long-term Strategy for Curbing Climate Change

Karan Mangotra, Ritu Ahuja, Thomas Spencer, Will Hall

Reorganisation of J&K and Anxiety in Jammu - One Year After

Rekha Chowdhary

Impact of the Kerala Congress(M) on the Left Democratic Front

Dimpi V Divakaran

Need for Local Access Points for Central Administration of Identity Cards

Tarun Arora, Katie Pyle

Book Reviews

Regional Dynasties in Medieval Bihar - Unearthing New Historical Narratives

Ratnakar Tripathy

Civilisation Mongering and Right-wing Culturalism

Silva Lieberherr

The Craft and Lifeworld of Artist and Art in Society - Story of an Ethnography

Aparna Rayaprol

Perspectives

Untangling Policy Mishaps - How to Make Policies More Effective during a Pandemic

Mausumi Das, Sabyasachi Kar

Special Articles

Achieving Sustainable Healthy Food Systems - The Need for Actual Food Consumption Data for Measuring Food Insecurity and Its Consequences

Uma Lele, Sambuddha Goswami, Mesfin Mergia Mekonnen

Gendered Desire in Kerala - Affect and Assemblages as Development Indicators

Meena T Pillai

Hostile Takeovers - A Comparative Analysis of India and the United States

Mayank Kataria, Eshvar Girish

Discussion

Theory and the Possibility of ‘Dalit Studies’

Saurabh Todariya

Current Statistics

Current Statistics

Letters

Gender in Malayalam Films

Bijitha P

What Should Be the US’s Climate Strategy?

Adfer Rashid Shah

Appointments/Programmes/Announcements

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Current Affairs – February 18, 2021

 

INDIA

3^rd edition of Indian Sign Language Dictionary launched

Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot on February 17, 2021 virtually released the third edition of the Indian Sign Language Dictionary. The Dictionary has been brought out by the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC), an autonomous Institute under the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment. The new dictionary contains 10 thousand terms of everyday use including academic, legal, administrative, medical, technical and agricultural terms.

Cabinet approves Amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015

The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Women and Child Development to amend the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. The amendments include authorizing District Magistrates to issue adoption orders under Section 61 of the Juvenile Justice Act, in order to ensure speedy disposal of cases and enhance accountability.

Mallikarjun Kharge granted recognition as Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu has accorded recognition to Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge as the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha with effect from February 16. Kharge was named Congress leader in the House to succeed Ghulam Nabi Azad whose term has ended.

Ethiopian Deputy PM Demeke Mekonnen Hassen arrives on 4-day visit

Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Demeke Mekonnen Hassen arrived in New Delhi on February 16, 2021. Hassen will inaugurate the new Chancery and Residence at Ethiopian Embassy in New Delhi along with External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar.

No contempt case against Rajdeep Sardesai, says Supreme Court

The Supreme Court’s public relations department on February 16, 2021 clarified that the court had not initiated any criminal contempt proceedings against senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai. It clarified that information on the court’s website showing the case status was placed “inadvertently” and “appropriate action to rectify the same is under process”.

PM addresses first-ever virtual Nasscom India Leadership Forum

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 17, 2021 addressed the first-ever virtual Nasscom India Leadership Forum. He exhorted the country’s burgeoning startup ecosystem to move beyond focusing on the valuations and exit strategy and rather create world-class institutions.

Economy & Corporate

Cabinet approves PLI scheme for telecom and networking products

The Union Cabinet on February 17, 2021 approved a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme worth Rs 12,195 crore for telecom and networking products. The eligibility for the scheme will be subject to achievement of a minimum threshold of cumulative incremental investment and incremental sales of manufactured goods net of taxes. Financial Year 2019-20 will be treated as the Base Year for computation of cumulative incremental sales of manufactured goods net of taxes. The scheme will be operational from April 1, 2021.

Cabinet approves signing of trade agreement between India and Mauritius

The Union Cabinet has approved signing of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) between India and Mauritius which is aimed at liberalizing norms to boost two-way commerce. The India-Mauritius CECPA will be the first trade Agreement to be signed by India with a country in Africa. The Agreement is a limited agreement, which will cover Trade in Goods, Rules of Origin, Trade in Services, Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, Dispute Settlement, Movement of Natural Persons, Telecom, Financial services, Customs Procedures and Cooperation in other Areas.

PM inaugurates Ramanathapuram – Thoothukudi natural gas pipeline in Tamil Nadu

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 143-km long Ramanathapuram – Thoothukudi natural gas pipeline and Gasoline Desulphurisation Unit at Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) on February 17, 2021. CPCL is a subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation. He also laid the foundation stone of Cauvery Basin Refinery at Nagapattinam.

Govt approves proposals worth over Rs 363 cr in food processing sector

The Union Food Processing Industries Ministry on February 17, 2021 cleared 20 projects worth Rs 363.4 crore under two central government schemes. The proposed projects have been cleared for Creation of Infrastructure for Agro-Processing Cluster (APC) and the scheme for Creation/ Expansion of Food Processing and Preservation Capacities (CEFPPC) under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY). The government will provide a grant-in-aid of Rs 102.91 crore for these projects. A decision in this regard was taken in the Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee (IMAC) meeting chaired by the Food Processing Industries Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.

Armed forces: Enhanced financial powers for capital procurement approved

Cabinet on February 17, 2021 approved enhanced delegation of Financial Powers under Capital Procurement to levels below Vice-Chief of Armed Forces. Under Other Capital Procurement Procedure of Defence Acquisition Procedure-2020, financial powers up to Rs 100 crore has been delegated to General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Services Command and Regional Commanders, Indian Coast Guard. Powers up to Rs 200 crore has been delegated to Deputy Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Material, Air Officer Maintenance, Deputy Chief Integrated Defence Staff and Additional Director General Indian Coast Guard.

Ministry of Earth Sciences invites suggestions on blue economy policy

The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has rolled out the draft blue economy policy in the public domain, inviting suggestions and inputs from various stakeholders, including industry, NGOs, academia and citizens. The draft policy document outlines the vision and strategy that can be adopted by the government to utilise the oceanic resources in the country.

Sri Lanka to re-acquire Trincomalee port oil tanks leased out to Indian Oil

Sri Lanka will re-acquire the World War II-era oil storage tanks leased out to Indian Oil Corporation in the eastern port district of Trincomalee. Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila said that talks with the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo on this issue concluded on February 14. Sri Lanka in 2003 had leased out 99 oil tanks to the IOC for 30 years for an annual payment of USD 100,000. The IOC was also given one third share of the Sri Lankan government entity, Petroleum Storage Limited.

World

“Iran-Russia Maritime Security Belt 2021” exercise held in the Indian Ocean

India joined Iran and Russia in a two-day navy exercise dubbed “Iran-Russia Maritime Security Belt 2021” in the northern part of the Indian Ocean on February 16-17, 2021.

IIM-Ahmedabad launches centre for transportation and logistics research

 Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad established a Centre for Transportation and Logistics, co-chaired by Dr Debjit Roy and Dr Sandip Chakrabarti, faculty at the institute. Through the centre, the institute aims to facilitate research in transportation, logistics, and allied areas.

IIM-A Director Dr Errol D’Souza said that the goal of the centre would not only be to find ways of reducing transportation and logistics operating costs, but also to promote social inclusion and to address environmental sustainability issues.

The IIM-A Centre for Transportation and Logistics plans to organise a series of webinars, workshops and panel discussions periodically throughout the year. The centre will also have rolling opportunities for postdoctoral research and distinguished visiting scholar positions.

Speaking about the initiative, Dr Debjit Roy, faculty and one of the co-founders of CTL at IIMA said, “Our objective behind establishing the CTL is to contribute to improving the efficiency of multi-modal transportation systems and supply chain logistics, thereby promoting economic growth and fostering sustainable development. We have faculty coming in from across the institute that have joined the centre as members. A group of internationally-acclaimed professors with outstanding research accomplishments from North American, European and Asian universities have joined the centre’s research advisory committee for providing guidance in centre development and supporting a range of academic activities.”

Recently, the Centre for Transportation and Logistics organised a virtual inauguration with a panel discussion on the topic “Trends and Innovations in Transportation and Logistics” with distinguished panelists spanning academia, industry, and government.

Source: Indian Express, 17/02/21