World Cancer Day is observed globally on 04 February
World Cancer Day is observed every year globally on 4th February by the Union for International Cancer Control. By raising worldwide awareness, improving education and catalysing personal, collective and government action, we are all working together to reimagine a world where millions of preventable cancer deaths are saved and access to life-saving cancer treatment and care is equitable for all – no matter who you are or where you live.
So this year’s World Cancer Day’s theme, “Close the Care Gap”, is all about raising awareness of this equity gap that affects almost everyone, in high as well as low- and middle-income countries, and is costing lives.
History of the day:
The day came into existence on February 4, 2000, during the World Cancer Conference for the New Millennium in Paris, France. Every year since then, people across the world observe World Cancer Day with a different theme to improve the quality of lives of cancer patients and to continue spread awareness on cancer, its prevention and treatment.
Ravi Mittal named as new Chairman of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India
The former secretary, Department of Sports, Ravi Mittal has been appointed as the Chairman of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), as per the notification issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. He is a 1986 batch IAS officer from Bihar cadre. He will serve as the Chairman of IBBI for a term of five years or till he attains 65 years of age, whichever is early.
About the IBBI:
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India is the regulator for overseeing insolvency proceedings and entities like Insolvency Professional Agencies, Insolvency Professionals and Information Utilities in India.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India Headquarters: New Delhi;
- Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India Founded: 1 October 2016.
Winter Olympics host China welcomes Year of Tiger
China is celebrating the Spring Festival, it’s the most important annual festival as it entered the Lunar new “Year of the Tiger”. Last year was celebrated as the Lunar Year of the Ox. According to the Chinese Zodiac calendar, the Year of the Ox has ended and the Year of the Tiger has begun from February 1, 2022, and will end on January 21, 2023.
In Chinese culture, the tiger symbolizes bravery, vigor and strength and it is believed that it can lift people from adversity and usher in final auspiciousness and peace. Each year is named after one of 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac in a repeating cycle. This year, Spring Festival celebrations coincide with the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- China Capital: Beijing;
- China Currency: Renminbi;
- China President: Xi Jinping.
US regains top spot as India’s trade partner in 2021
The United States was India’s top trading partner in the calendar year 2021 with a trade of $112.3 billion. The US is followed by China on second. The value of trade between India and China was $110.4 billion. In 2020, China was India’s top trading partner and the US was in the second rank. In 2019 USA was India’s top trading partner and China was on second.
India’s list of top ten trading partners also includes:
- USA
- China
- UAE
- Saudi Arab
- Switzerland
- Hong Kong
- Singapore
- Iraq
- Indonesia
- South Korea
SBI tie-up with Ministry of Culture for Development of Atmanirbhar Bharat Centre for Design
The State Bank of India (SBI) has signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indira Gandhi Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) and National Culture Fund (NCF) of the Ministry of Culture, for Development of Atmanirbhar Bharat Centre for Design (ABCD) at L1 Barrack, Red Fort, in Delhi. The main objective of Project ABCD is to highlight, promote and celebrate the products that have the Geographical Indication sign to give a boost to Economic Value Addition to GI products from India.
The ABCD project will be implemented by IGNCA, an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Culture through the ministry’s NCF fund. SBI will sponsor the project under CSR with a contribution of Rs. 10 crores for the implementation of the ABCD Project.
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Exim Bank extends a $500 million credit line to Sri Lanka
Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) on behalf of the government of India, extended a line of credit of $500 million to the government of the socialist republic of Sri Lanka for financing the purchase of petroleum products. The fund will be used by the Island nation for the purchase of petroleum products. With the signing of this new LOC agreement, the total LOC extended by Exim Bank to Sri Lanka till date has reached 10, taking the total value of LOCs extended to USD 2.18 billion.
With the signing of this LoC agreement, Exim Bank has now in place 276 lines of credit, covering 61 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), with credit commitments of around $27.84 billion, available for financing exports from India. Besides promoting India’s exports, Exim Bank’s LoCs enable the demonstration of Indian expertise and project execution capabilities in emerging markets.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Export-Import Bank of India Founded: 1982;
- Export-Import Bank of India Headquarters: Mumbai.
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RBI cancels the licence of Nashik’s Independence Co-operative Bank Limited
The Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the license of Independence Co-operative Bank Ltd., Nashik, Maharashtra w.e.f February 03, 2022. The major reason for the cancellation of the license by RBI is that bank does not have adequate capital and earning prospects. This means that it does not comply with the provisions of Section 11(1) and Section 22 (3) (d) read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
Now, what will happen to depositors’ money?
- The bank has stopped operation from the close of business on February 3, putting depositors of the bank in trouble. They would however receive up to Rs five lakh from Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC), after the bank’s liquidation.
- RBI has told the Commissioner for Cooperation and Registrar of Cooperative Societies in Maharashtra to issue an order for winding up the bank and appoint a liquidator. As per the data submitted by the bank, more than 99 per cent of the depositors are entitled to receive the full amount of their deposits from DICGC.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- DICGC Chairperson: Michael Patra;
- DICGC Founded: 15 July 1978;
- DICGC Headquarters: Mumbai.
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IISc. commissions one of India’s most powerful supercomputers ‘Param Pravega’
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), Bengaluru, has installed and commissioned Param Pravega, one of the most powerful supercomputers in India. It is also the largest supercomputer in an Indian academic institution. Param Pravega has a total supercomputing capacity of 3.3 petaflops (1 petaflop equals a quadrillion or 1015 operations per second).
Who designed and developed Param Pravega?
The supercomputer has been designed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). It has been developed under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM), a joint initiative of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and implemented by C-DAC and IISc.
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IUCN designates Aravalli Biodiversity Park in Gurugram 2022
The Aravalli Biodiversity Park in Gurugram, Haryana, has been declared as India’s first “other effective area-based conservation measures” (OECM) site. This was informed by the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change on the occasion of World Wetlands Day. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) gives OECM tag to those areas that are not protected but support rich biodiversity. The tag designates the area as a biodiversity hotspot on the international map.
What is OECM?
OECM is a status for a place that has achieved effective in-situ conservation of biodiversity outside protected areas like forests. The park, which once was an abandoned mining pit, was transformed into a lush green forest patch in 10 years. Now, it has about 400 native species of plants.
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New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell named the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award 2021
New Zealand cricketer, Daryl Mitchell has been named the winner of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Spirit of Cricket Award 2021. This award is given to him for his gesture of refusing to take a single in the high-pressure 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Semi-Finals against England as he felt he had “obstructed” the way of bowler Adil Rashid at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. He has become the 4th New Zealand player to win the award after Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson.
About the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award:
The ICC Spirit of Cricket Award is annually awarded by the ICC to recognise the player most notable for “upholding the ‘Spirit of the Game’”.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- ICC Chairman: Greg Barclay;
- ICC CEO: Geoff Allardice;
- ICC Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates;
- ICC Founded: 15 June 1909.
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Neeraj Chopra nominated for Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award
Tokyo Olympics gold medallist, Neeraj Chopra has been nominated for the prestigious 2022 Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award. The other 5 nominees are Daniil Medvedev (Australian Open runner-up), Emma Raducanu (British tennis star), Pedri (Barcelona and Spain footballer), Yulimar Rojas (Venezuelan athlete) and Ariarne Titmus (Australian swimmer). The winners will be revealed in April following a vote by the Laureus World Sports Academy, made up of 71 sporting greats.
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‘India, That is Bharat: Coloniality, Civilisation, Constitution’ authored by J Sai Deepak
A Trilogy book series titled, ‘India, That is Bharat: Coloniality, Civilisation, Constitution’ is authored by J Sai Deepak and published by Bloomsbury India. The 1st part was released on 15th August 2021, is set to launch the 2nd part in June 2022. Whereas, the 3rd and last parts will be released in June 2023.
It is the first part of a comprehensive trilogy, which examines the impact of European ‘colonial consciousness’ (or ‘coloniality’), on Bharat (India). It highlights how colonialism changes the socio-religious culture, history, education, language and racial patterns in India.
The essence of the book:
India, That Is Bharat, the first book of a comprehensive trilogy, explores the influence of European ‘colonial consciousness’ (or ‘coloniality’), in particular its religious and racial roots, on Bharat as the successor state to the Indic civilisation and the origins of the Indian Constitution.
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Telugu short film ‘Street Student’ wins NHRC’s Short Film Award Competition
A Telugu short film ‘Street Student’ by Akula Sandeep depicting the story of a street urchin with a strong message on right to education has bagged the first prize in a competition organised by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). ‘Street Student’ by Akula Sandeep has been selected for the first prize worth Rs 2 lakh in the seventh Short Film Award Competition. It is in Telugu with subtitles in English. The film shows the story of a street urchin to send across a strong message on right to education and how society needs to support it.
The second prize worth Rs 1.5 lakh goes to, ‘Karfew’ by Romi Meitei. The film, through the story of a child in Manipur, pitches in hope for a better world, wherein people’s right to life, liberty, dignity and equality can be protected against odds including stereotyped fear psychosis. It is in the Meiteilon language with subtitles in English.
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Senior scientist GA Srinivasa Murthy appointed director of DRDL
Senior scientist GA Srinivasa Murthy has been appointed director of Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Hyderabad. He joined DRDL in the year 1987 and made significant contributions in the area of structural dynamics, ground resonance testing, electrical integration and checkout for various projects of the missile complex.
G A Srinivasa Murthy completed his BE in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Andhra University in 1986 and pursued his ME in Digital Systems from Osmania University in Hyderabad.
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Sea Trials of 1st Sea Sortie of 5th Scorpene Submarine ‘Vagir’ begins
The Indian Navy‘s brand-new submarine, the fifth of the six French-designed Scorpene-class submarines named “Vagir”, sailed out on its first sea sortie and will now undergo rigorous trials before it is delivered to the Navy later this year. The submarine-designated “Yard 11879” during its construction by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in collaboration with the Naval Group of France will be named “Vagir” after it is commissioned into service.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Chief of Naval Staff: Admiral R Hari Kumar;
- Indian Navy Founded: 26 January 1950.
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