Monthly Current Affairs February 2021

FINANCE AND BANKING

• RBI to integrate consumer grievance redressal scheme
  • RBI recently said that it will be integrating consumer grievances redressal under a single ombudsman as against three schemes working at present.

• RBI appoints firm to audit IT infra of HDFC Bank
  • RBI has appointed an external professional information technology (IT) firm to carry out a special audit of the entire IT infrastructure of HDFC Bank.

• All bank branches to be covered under Cheque Truncation System by September 2021
  • The RBI has decided to enable the participation of all bank branches in the Cheque Truncation System.

ECONOMY

• RBI Organises Financial Literacy Week from February 8-12
  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched the Financial Literacy Week (FLW) from February 8-12, 2021, to propagate financial education.

• UP Shrawasti tops Niti Aayog aspirational district ranking in December
  • Shrawasti in Uttar Pradesh has topped in the ranking of aspirational districts by government think tank Niti Aayog in December 2020.

• World Bank Signs $100 million Project with Chhattisgarh
  • Indian Govt and Chhattisgarh Govt has signed a $100 million for CHIRAAG (Chhattisgarh Inclusive Rural and Accelerated Agriculture Growth) project with the World bank.

NATIONAL

• 2nd CCTNS Hackathon and Cyber Challenge 2020-21 of NCRB inaugurated
  • The 2nd Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) Hackathon and Cyber Challenge 2020-21 of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) was inaugurated in New Delhi.

• India's 1st Wetland Conservation Centre to be set up at Chennai
  • Ministry of State for Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC) announced the establishment of India's 1st Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management (CWCM) at Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

• Unified Portal of Gobardhan to Promote GOBAR-DHAN Scheme launched
  • The Jal Shakti Ministry launched a 'Unified Portal of Gobardhan' to promote 'Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan' (GOBAR-DHAN) scheme, an initiative that aims to manage cattle and biodegradable waste and also help enhance farmers' income.

INTERNATIONAL

• UNGA adopts resolution to safeguard religious sites across the world
  • The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution to promote a culture of peace and tolerance to safeguard religious sites all across the world.

• First-ever treaty to ban nuclear
  • The first-ever treaty to ban nuclear weapons entered into force, hailed as a historic step to rid the world of its deadliest weapons but strongly opposed by the world's nuclear-armed nations. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is now part of international law.

• Mario Draghi Sworn In As Italy's New Prime Minister
  • Former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi was formally sworn in as Italy's new prime minister.

STATES

• Kerala to gets its first human milk bank
  • Kerala will get its first human milk bank. The state-of-the-art facility will be inaugurated by health minister K K Shailaja at state-owned Ernakulam general hospital in Kochi.

• Punjab CM launched 'Har Ghar Pani, Har Ghar Safai' Mission
  • Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh virtually launched 'Har Ghar Pani, Har Ghar Safai' mission, aimed at providing 100% potable water supply to all rural households of the state by March, 2022.

• PGIMER, Chandigarh launches India’s first ‘amputee clinic’
  • The Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh launched its ‘PGI Amputee Clinic’, the first in India.

REPORTS AND INDEXES

• Global Climate Litigation Report: 2020 Status Review
  • The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) released a report titled "Global Climate Litigation Report: 2020 Status Review".

• COVID Performance Index: Deconstructing Pandemic Responses
  • 'COVID Performance Index: Deconstructing Pandemic Responses' is released by Australia based Lowy Institute.

• Democracy Index 2020: EIU
  • The Economist Intelligence Unit published the report- Democracy Index.
  • India slipped two places to 53rd position in the 2020 Democracy Index’s global ranking.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• HAL inks deal with MIDHANI to develop, manufacture composite raw materials
  • Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited (MIDHANI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for development and production of composite raw materials during the Aero India 2021 in Bengaluru.

• NASA’s landed its Perseverance rover on Mars
  • The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) landed its largest and most advanced rover, Perseverance, in a deep crater near the Mars’ equator called Jezero Crater.

• NASA picks Elon Musk's SpaceX to help with a mission that will map the creation of the universe
  • NASA has picked Elon Musk's SpaceX to launch a telescope into orbit for a two-year astrophysics mission starting 2024.

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

• Agri ministry gets DGCA nod for taking drone-based crop images under PMFBY
  • The agriculture ministry has got approval from aviation regulator DGCA for flying drones to capture images of rice and wheat fields in 100 districts to assess crop yields at gram panchayat level under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

• Manipur chief minister launches organic products
  • Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh launched a new range of packaged organic products and Loumi Connect App apart from distributing Bolero Camper vehicles and nurseries to seven Farmers Producer Companies (FPCs).

• Team TRIFED bags the award for excellence in PSU for Investment in Start-ups
  • Team TRIFED has won 4 awards in the 19th Global edition and the 4th India Edition of World Leadership Congress and Awards.

DEFENCE

• Navy's fast attack craft T-81 decommissioned
  • Indian Naval Fast Attack Craft (IN FAC) T-81 of Super Dvora MK II class was decommissioned after serving the nation successfully for over 20 years.
  • The vessel was decommissioned at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai.

• 16th edition of ‘Yudh Abhyas’
  • The India-US joint military exercise "Yudh Abhyas 20" commenced in Mahajan Field Firing Range of Bikaner district in Rajasthan.

• PM Modi hands over indigenous Arjun tank to Army
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed over to the Army the home made Arjun Main Battle Tank (MK-1A).

EVENTS

• Highlights of WEF's Virtual 'The Davos Agenda 2021'
  • The 51st Edition of 2021 World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting called 'The Davos Agenda 2021' took place virtually. The theme for the same was- - 'A Crucial Year to Rebuild Trust'.
  • WEF launched the Global AI (Artificial Intelligence) Action Alliance (GAIA).

• PM Modi to address 125th anniversary celebrations of ‘Prabuddha Bharata’ journal
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 125th anniversary celebrations of ‘Prabuddha Bharata’, a monthly journal of the Ramakrishna Order, started by Swami Vivekananda.

• Textile Minister Smriti Irani virtually Inaugurates 8th India International Silk Fair
  • Union Minister for Women & Child Development and Textiles, Smriti Zubin Irani virtually addressed the inaugural session of India's Biggest Silk Fair, the 8th India International Silk Fair.

AWARDS AND REWARDS

• Bengaluru airport achieves ACI World's 'Voice of the Customer' recognition
  • The Bangalore International Airport Limited's (BIAL) has bagged global recognition from the Airports Council International World's 'Voice of the Customer' award.

• Best Marching Contingent Trophy-2021
  • Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh, honoured Delhi Police with the Best Marching Contingent Trophy during Republic Day 2021.

• 18th CSI SIG e-Governance Awards 2020
  • The Ministry of Tribes (MoTA) Receives Prestigious Appreciation Award in Project Category-Central Government Agency at the 18th CSI SIG eGov Awards 2020 for Performance Dashboards Empowering Tribes to Transform India Through Various ICT Initiatives.

SPORTS

• Asian Online Shooting Championship
  • India's 24-member shooting contingent topped the medals tally in the first Asian Online Shooting Championship.
  • The squad won four out of the eight gold medals, two silver and five bronze medals.

• National Table Tennis Championship
  • Star paddler Manika Batra won the women's singles final of the Senior National Table Tennis Championship her second title by defeating Reeth Rishya 4-2.

• Australian Cricket Awards 2021
  • Australian Cricket Awards 2021 were decided by a voting process for the period 2020-21.
  • Steve Smith and Beth Mooney have won the Allan Border Medal and the Belinda Clark Award respectively.