Current Affairs – February 22, 2021

 

INDIA

10^th round of India-China Corps Commander Level Meeting concludes

The 10^th round of India – China Corps Commander Level Meeting was held on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control in Moldo. Two sides positively appraised the smooth completion of disengagement of frontline troops in the Pangong Lake area.

Indo-U.S. exercise ‘Yudh Abhyas’ comes to an end in Rajasthan

The closing ceremony of the joint military exercise between the Indian and U.S. Army, ‘Exercise Yudh Abhyas-20’ was held at Mahajan Field Firing Range on February 21, 2021. This was the 16^th edition of the joint exercise and it began on February 8. The aim of the exercise was to focus on counter terrorism operations under the mandate of the United Nations.

India to provide USD 50 million credit to Maldives for maritime capability building

India has signed a USD 50 million line of credit (LoC) agreement with the Maldives to facilitate maritime capability building of the island nation. According to a joint India-Maldives joint statement, the agreement was signed between the Government of Maldives and EXIM Bank India. The agreement was signed during the visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to the island nation.

National anthem played in Nagaland assembly for first time in almost 6 decades

Almost 60 years after Nagaland attained statehood, the national anthem was played inside its assembly for the first time this February. The move is historic for a state that has been ravaged by decades of secessionist violence and protracted peace talks that still hang fire. Nagaland attained statehood on December 1, 1963, and was the 16^th state of the Union.

Economy & Corporate

88 Railway projects dedicated to nation worth over Rs 1000 cr by Piyush Goyal

Railways Minister Piyush Goyal on February 21, 2021 inaugurated and dedicated a host of infrastructure projects and projects related to passenger amenities at various railway stations in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka through video conferencing. 88 Railway projects were dedicated to the nation worth over Rs. 1000 crores making Indian Railways future ready.

Centre plans to permit sale of 50% of coal/lignite produced by captive blocks

The Centre plans to permit sale of 50 per cent of coal/lignite produced by captive blocks, a move aimed at augmenting the production and increasing the availability of dry fuel. The government plans to do so through incorporation of a provision in the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR).

World

International Mother Language Day celebrated on Feb 21

International Mother Language Day was celebrated on February 21, 2021. In 1999, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO had declared 21^st February as International Mother Language Day. The theme for this year is “Fostering multilingualism for inclusion in education and society”. In India, Union Education Ministry has been celebrating the day as Matribhasha Diwas since 2015.

Russia reports world’s 1^st case of bird flu strain H5N8 being passed to humans

Russia has registered the first case of a strain of bird flu virus named A(H5N8) being passed to humans from birds and has reported the matter to the World Health Organization (WHO). Seven workers at a poultry plant in Russia’s south had been infected with the H5N8 strain in an outbreak at the plant in December.

Sports

Novak Djokovic wins Australian Open tennis men’s singles title

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic won his ninth men’s singles title at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne by defeating Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the final 7–5, 6–2, 6–2 played on February 21, 2021. Men’s Doubles title was won by Croatia’s Ivan Dodig & Slovakia’s Filip Polášek. Women’s Doubles title was won by Belgium’s Elise Mertens & Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka. Mixed Doubles was won by Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejčíková & Rajeev Ram of US.

India’s Ankita Raina wins women’s doubles title at Phillip Island Trophy tennis

India’s Ankita Raina on February 19, 2021 won her maiden WTA title as she and her Russian partner Kamilla Rakhimova clinched the doubles event in the Phillip Island Trophy in Melbourne. The Ankita-Kamilla pair beat Russia’s Anna Blinkova and Anastasia Potapova 2-6, 6-4, 10-7 in the final. The win will propel the 28-year-old Ankita to top-100 in the WTA rankings in doubles. She will be the second Indian woman player to be in top-100 after Sania Mirza.

TISSNET 2021: Check paper analysis, selection process details

 TISSNET 2021: The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) conducted the TISSNET 2021 on February 20. TISSNET is the National Entrance Test (NET) for admission to MA, M.Sc and integrated degree programmes of the institute. As per memory-based reports from candidates who took the test, the overall level of difficulty of the question paper was moderate.

The unofficial answer key is available now. The entrance exam was conducted as a computer based test, where candidates were required to solve 100 MCQ type questions in 100 minutes. Tata Institute of Social Sciences evaluates candidates on the basis of English proficiency, mathematical skills, logical reasoning and general awareness.

The level of difficulty of the English and mathematics/ logical reasoning sections were between easy to moderate in the TISSNET exam analysis. Questions from general awareness were moderate to difficult in terms of the level of difficulty.

The overall number of good attempts is anticipated to be at 70 out of 100. The number of good attempts is deemed to be the highest in the general awareness section as reported by the candidates. Next, TISS will publish the TISSNET result. On the basis of which, candidates will have to appear for next rounds.

The TISSNET selection process is a bit unconventional. The entrance exam is only the first step of the stairway to the final merit list. Candidates have to take the TISSPAT in the second stage while those who prefer HR and LR and ODCL programmes, have to take the TISSMAT exam.

Only after qualifying for these exams, can a candidate appear in the final online personal interview. In the overall selection process, the TISSNET exam carries only 30 per cent marks weightage while TISSPAT/ TISSMAT carries 40 per cent marks weightage. The rest of the marks (30 per cent) are carried by the online personal interview.

Once the merit lists are out, candidates can check their score at the official website i.e. tiss.edu. Since the scorecard is issued through individual candidate login, one must have the registered email ID and password. Those who qualify in the first stage by securing the TISSNET cut-offs, will have to appear in the subsequent TISS PAT or MAT exam depending on the programme they choose.

Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) has not revealed any official dates on which the result is releasing. However, once the result releases, candidates must get ready to appear in the PAT or MAT exam. The details of these exams are on the official website which is why candidates are being advised to keepOnce the second stage selection exams are over, the merit lists are again released to indicate qualifiers of the exam. Based on the score, candidates are called to appear in the online personal interview, which is the final selection stage.

TISS PAT is a 45 minutes long test which is expected to notify the complete scheme and pattern of the exam very soon. Similarly, those who appear in the TISS MAT exam may note that it is also conducted as a 45 minutes long test carrying 50 marks. The question paper carries only objective type questions in the MAT exam. a regular tab of the website tiss.edu.

Source: Indian Express, 21/02/21

Providing migrant workers a political voice

 The economy has been opening up and many migrant workers have started going back to their jobs, but this issue must not be relegated to the margins. It’s time migrant workers get the respect, protection and rights they are entitled to as citizens.

Niti Aayog has formulated a draft national policy on migrant workers. According to a report in The Indian Express, the policy, prepared in consultation with seven ministries, civil society organisations, and international institutions, proposes instituting mechanisms to “enable voting” for migrant workers because their political inclusion will enhance political accountability. It also suggests setting up inter-state coordination mechanisms between states to facilitate migrant movement; making migrant wings a part of labour departments; and getting source states and destination states to work with each other.

The migrant crisis, triggered by the lockdown imposed to curb the spread of the pandemic, saw, according to official figures, over 10 million migrant workers returning home. The pandemic also revealed the fact that the Indian State doesn’t have adequate data and information about this large pool of citizens. This was quite astonishing since migration has been an integral component of India’s political economy, and the presence of migrant workers routinely places additional demands on basic infrastructure in destination towns and cities.

The Niti Aayog draft, which will now be sent to the labour ministry, en route to Cabinet and Parliament, has several excellent workable ideas. A key issue is creating political incentives — the fact that migrants are spread out, and may not end up voting in either source or destination states, means that they have often been underestimated as a political constituency. Enabling their political voice will be key to making them effective stakeholders and forcing the system to take their interests on board. The economy has been opening up and many migrant workers have started going back to their jobs, but this issue must not be relegated to the margins. It’s time migrant workers get the respect, protection and rights they are entitled to as citizens.

Source: Hindustan Times, 21/02/21

Quote of the Day February 19, 2021

 

“Pursue your goals even in the face of difficulties, and convert adversities into opportunities.”
Dheerubhai Ambani

“कठिनाइयों में भी अपने लक्ष्यों का पीछा करते रहें, और विपत्तियों को अवसरों में बदल दें।”
धीरूभाई अंबानी

Sandes- India’s new instant messaging platform

 The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has launched an app called Sandes. This instant messaging platform is similar to WhatsApp. It can be used for any type of communications by anyone. It requires a mobile number or an email id to get registered with the app.

Highlights

• The need to launch the app was felt to ensure a secure communication between the employees because the “Work from Home” culture has gained the momentum in the backdrop of nationwide lockdown that was imposed in March 2020 amid the spread of Covid-19.
• NIC released the first version of the app in August 2020.
• The app can be used by central and state government officials for intra-organisational and inter-organisational communication.
• This app was initially launched for Android users and mainly for government officers.
• Later, the service was also extended to iOS users and it is now available for the common public as well.
• This app is a part of the government strategy to push the use of India-made software.
• It will help in building an ecosystem of indigenously developed software and products.

Background

The ministry of home affairs in the year 2020 had issued the advisory for the government employees to not use the platforms like Zoom for official communications because of security concerns. Before that, the Computer Emergency Response Team (Cert-In) had also issued an advisory against Zoom with respect to the safety and privacy concerns.

Features

The interface of the application is similar to other applications that are available in the arena. This app has no option to transfer chat history between two platforms. However, the chats on the government instant messaging systems (GIMS) or the Sandes App can be backed up with a users’ email. The app requires a valid mobile number or email id to register the user. It comprises of the features like broadcast message, group making, message forwarding and emojis. It also has an additional safety feature. The platform allows the user to mark the message as confidential. Thus, it makes the recipient aware that the message should not be forwarded to other users.

Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship Programme- Key Facts

 The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship recently rolled out the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF) programme in all the districts India.

Highlights

• The programme was earlier working across 69 districts.
• Fellows under the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship will acquire the academic expertise and technical competency.
• The expertise will help them to understand the overall skill ecosystem.
• It will also help the fellows to get attached to District Skill Committees.
• The ministry of skill development has also joined hands with Kerala Institute of Local Administration so as to conduct the capacity building programmes for district officials from the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and Lakshadweep.
• The partnership between the two will be more focused towards strengthening the overall quality of skill training.
• The ministry highlighted that, this fellowship programme along with the recent launch of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 3.0 and other academic partnerships with IITs, IIMs, KILA and GIZ-IGVET under the SANKALP scheme will help in empowering the districts and ensure the demand-driven skilling.

About SANKALP Scheme

The SANKALP scheme stands for the “Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion”. This programme is assisted by the World Bank loan. The scheme was launched with the objective of strengthening the district skill administration and the District Skill Committees (DSCs).

Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF) programme

MGNF is a two-year fellowship programme. It was launched with the objective of boosting the skill development at the district level. It has been designed under the SANKALP scheme. The scheme was launched with the aim of addressing the challenge of non-availability of personnel in order to implement the programmes at district, state and national levels. Under the programme, the fellows should be aged between 21 to 30 years to get enrolled.

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.