India joins Iran-Russia’s two-day navy exercise
India joined Iran and Russia in the naval exercise dubbed as “Iran-Russia Maritime Security Belt 2021”, which kicked-off in the northern part of the Indian Ocean. The Chinese navy will also join the exercise. The purpose of the drill is to enhance the security of international maritime trade, confront maritime piracy and terrorism, and exchange information.
About the drill:
- The drill will cover an area of 17,000 square kilometres (6,500 square miles).
- It will include shooting at sea and air targets and liberating hijacked ships, as well as search and rescue and anti-piracy operations.
- The exercise ‘Iran-Russia Maritime Security Belt’ is so flexible that any country could join if they wish to do so.
Dharmendra Pradhan Participates in 11th IEA, IEF, OPEC Symposium
The 11th IEA-IEF-OPEC Symposium on Energy Outlooks was held virtually on February 17, 2021, under the patronage of the Minister of Energy of Saudi Arabia HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud. From India, the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan, participated in the symposium.
The trilateral symposium discussed the long-term outlooks of key producer and consumer countries, apart from the comparative analysis of short, medium, and long-term energy outlooks that OPEC and the IEA published in 2020.
IIT Madras-incubated Pi Beam launches PiMo e-bike
An IIT Madras-Incubated start-up Pi Beam Electric has recently launched a sustainable electric two-wheeler, dubbed as PiMo. The utility e-bike has been developed for personal and commercial use. It does not require a licence or registration.
Key Features
- The cost of the electric two-wheeler has been fixed at Rs. 30, 000.
- It eliminates fuel costs as it runs on battery. The electric vehicle offers ‘Battery Swapping’, meaning that the drained battery can be exchanged for a fully charged one at designated locations.
- The battery can charge faster than a smartphone and comes with a range of 50 km.
- Pi Beam aims to sell 10,000 vehicles by the end of the financial year 2021-22.
Centre Launches new Instant Messaging platform ‘Sandes’
The National Informatics Centre (NIC), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, has launched an instant messaging platform called “Sandes”. Similar to WhatsApp, the new government instant messaging systems (GIMS) platform can be used for all kinds of communications by anyone using a mobile number or email id.
About the app:
- The need to build a home-grown messaging platform was felt by the government to ensure secure communication between people as they worked from home, following the nationwide lockdown imposed to contain the spread of Covid-19.
- The Sandes app is also a part of the government strategy to encourage the use of India-made software so as to build an ecosystem of indigenously developed products.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- National Informatics Centre Founded: 1976.
- National Informatics Centre Director-General: Neeta Verma.
- National Informatics Centre Headquarters: New Delhi.
Kiran Bedi Removed As Puducherry Lt Governor
Kiran Bedi, the Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry, has been removed from the top position. Tamilisai Soundararajan, the Governor of Telangana, has been given additional charge as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry till a permanent replacement will be announced. The development comes in the backdrop of a major shake-up in the Puducherry Assembly after several Congress legislators resigned ahead of the Assembly elections due this year.
Thaawarchand Gehlot Releases 3rd Edition of Indian Sign Language Dictionary
The Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot released the “3rd edition of the Indian Sign Language (ISL) Dictionary, in a virtual event. The 3rd edition of the ISL dictionary contains a total of 10,000 terms. These include the 6000 terms of the first and second edition of the dictionary.
About the Dictionary:
- The terms are of everyday use from academic terms, legal & administrative terms, medical terms, technical terms and agricultural terms.
- The Dictionary has been developed 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 1st edition of the ISL Dictionary was launched on 23 March 2018 with 3000 terms.
- The 2nd edition was launched on 27th February 2019, with 6000 terms (including earlier 3000 terms).
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launches Pilot Pey Jal Survekshan
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has launched the Pilot Pey Jal Survekshan under Jal Jeevan Mission- Urban. The Pilot Pey Jal Survekshan has been launched in 10 cities, which are Agra, Badlapur, Bhubaneswar, Churu, Kochi, Madurai, Patiala, Rohtak, Surat and Tumkur. The motive of the Jal Jeevan Mission Urban is to provide universal coverage of water supply to all households through functional taps in all 4,378 statutory towns in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal – 6.
Objective:
To ascertain the equitable distribution of water, reuse of wastewater and mapping of water bodies with respect to quantity and quality of water through a challenging process.
Outlay:
The Government has proposed a total outlay of Rs 2.87 lakh crore for JJM (U) in fiscal 2021-22, which includes Rs. 10,000 crore for continuing financial support to AMRUT Mission.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Minister of State (IC) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs: Hardeep Singh Puri.
YS Jagan Mohan Reddy conferred SKOCH Chief Minister of the Year Award
The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has been conferred the Skoch Chief Minister of the Year Award. The Award has been presented to the CM by Chairman, Skoch Group, Sameer Kochhar personally at Tadepalli in Andhra Pradesh. The award selection was based on a study of project-level outcomes in various States.
Similarly, initiatives have been taken across the government to respond to COVID-19 and have shown desirable outcomes. All the above and more is evident in a year-long study of 123 projects from across sectors in Andhra Pradesh. The State has taken several revolutionary measures in the past two years to make governance more efficient and transparent. Innovative measures have been taken across sectors, the credit for which goes to the Chief Minister.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh: YS Jagan Mohan Reddy; Governor: Biswa Bhusan Harichandan.
Mamata Banerjee launches ‘Maa’ scheme to provide meals at Rs 5
West Bengal government launched “Maa” canteens for providing subsidised cooked meals for the poor and the destitute at a nominal cost of ₹5. The govt will give a subsidy of ₹15 and people have to pay ₹5. The kitchen will run by Self-Help Groups (SHG). The government allocated ₹ 100 crores for this project.
About the canteens:
The canteens will be open from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. every day. People will get a plate of rice, dal, a vegetable and egg curry. This new initiative is for common people. Though we give free rations there is still a huge demand for cooked food. Therefore, we are starting these community kitchens.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Chief Minister of West Bengal: Mamata Banerjee; Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar.
HCL Tech inks pact with IIT Kanpur to build up competence in cybersecurity
HCL Technologies has inked an agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) to collaborate in the area of cybersecurity. As part of the pact, the IT company will work with C3iHub, a specialised cybersecurity research centre at IITK. This collaboration will bring together the country’s brightest minds, advanced research capabilities and global resources to develop advanced solutions in the area of cybersecurity.
About the collaboration:
- HCL and IITK will bring in real-world industry exposure to carry out joint initiatives and research.
- The teams will develop a security framework and solutions for cybersecurity challenges in current and future operational technologies as one of the first areas of interest.
- They will also work together to discover and manage cyber threats, vulnerabilities, and risks for critical infrastructure.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- HCL Technologies CEO: C Vijayakumar.
- HCL Technologies Founded: 11 August 1976.
- HCL Technologies Headquarters: Noida.
Award winning Author Irwin Allan Sealy’s new novel ‘ASOCA’
Prizewinning writer Irwin Allan Sealy’s new novel ‘ASOCA: A Sutra’, an imagined memoir of Ashoka The Great. The novel will be presented as an imagined memoir of Ashoka The Great, the emperor who ruled most of the Indian Subcontinent and played a pivotal role in the spread of Buddhism from India to other parts of Asia in the 3rd century BC. It will be published by Penguin Random House India.
Earlier, Penguin had published the thirtieth-anniversary edition of Sealy’s critically acclaimed debut novel The Trotter-Nama and this is the second book by the author to be published by PRH. This book will be released under Penguin’s Viking imprint in July 2021.
