NATIONAL NEWS
Jammu and Kashmir government signs pact with New Zealand for transforming sheep farming sectorThe Jammu and Kashmir government signed a pact with New Zealand for the transformation of the sheep farming sector in the Union territory, officials said.
- According to the agreement, the overarching objective is to improve farmers' remuneration, transfer of technology in research and development as well as marketing and value addition of sheep products of Jammu and Kashmir.
- This year marks the 70th anniversary of the commencement of bilateral relations between the two countries.
The government of Telangana and the British Council have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to facilitate greater research between institutions and assist in the internationalisation of higher education to create greater global opportunities for the youth of Telangana.
- As per the agreement signed between the Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad (RICH) and the British Council, both organisations will aim at working closely to engineer new partnerships between universities, research institutions and centres of excellence in the United Kingdom and in Telangana.
A first-of-its kind two-day global summit on 'Reimagining Museums in India' will be organised by the Ministry of Culture on February 15-16.
- The virtual summit is being organized under the aegis of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the flagship programme to mark the 75th anniversary of India's independence and celebrate the glorious history of its people, culture and achievements.
- It will bring together leading luminaries, domain experts and practitioners in the field of museum development and management from India and around the world to discuss best practices and strategies.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Mumbai 5th most-congested city in the world, Delhi 11th: ReportDelhi has emerged as the 11th most congested global city in 2021 despite the pandemic-induced lockdown and restrictions in the city. Istanbul topped the list, while Moscow came in second.
- The 11th edition of the TomTom Traffic Index’s global top 25 list has the names of four Indian cities, with Mumbai at the fifth position and Bengaluru at tenth. Pune ranked 21st among 404 cities across 58 countries, the report said.
- The TomTom Traffic Index looks at the traffic congestion situation in various cities across the globe. It provides data on real-time traffic management and historical traffic congestion data.India's congestion level in 2021 was 23% lower than pre-Covid times, as per the report.
India is among the top five easiest places to start a new business, a global consortium of over 500 researchers said in its latest report, putting the country on top amongst low-income economies on different entrepreneurial framework conditions.
- The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2021/2022 report, unveiled at the Dubai Expo, gathered data via a survey of at least 2,000 respondents across each of 47 high, medium and low-income economies.
- The survey of Indian respondents, who answered questions on their entrepreneurial activity, attitudes to enterprise and view of their local entrepreneurial ecosystem, found that 82 per cent think it is easy to start a business, placing India fourth globally.
India has ranked third in the world for LEED certified green buildings in 2021 in the US Green Building Council (USGBC) annual list.
- China and Canada are at the first two positions. The United States is not included in the list but remains the world's largest market for LEED.
- LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. Available for virtually all building types, LEED provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings.
- The ranking highlights countries and regions outside the United States that are making significant strides in healthy, sustainable, and resilient building design, construction, and operations.
India has ranked in 46 out of 167 countries surveyed in the latest iteration of the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) 'Democracy Index 2021',which pertains to the year 2021, scoring 6.91 out of a possible 10. This is an improvement of seven places and 0.3 points when compared to its score last year.
- With this score, India maintains its classification as a 'flawed democracy'. India continues to score and rank the highest among its neighbours.
- Norway maintains its top spot in this year's index with a near perfect score of 9.75. This is followed by New Zealand (9.37), Finland (9.27), Sweden (9.26) and Iceland (9.18).
- Afghanistan with a score of 0.32, and Myanmar at 1.02, occupy the last and second to last position respectively. They have displaced North Korea, which was last in the previous report.
- Zambia, Indonesia, Qatar, Moldova, India, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Montenegro, Guyana, Uruguay, and, in joint tenth place, the UAE and Singapore are the ten most improved countries in the index.
BANKING & FINANCE
NABARD launches JIVA to promote natural farming under its existing watershed, wadi programmesThe National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) launched an agroecology-based programme JIVA that will promote natural farming under its existing watershed and wadi programmes in 11 states.
- JIVA aims to ensure using the principles of agroecology long-term sustainability and transform the pre-existing social and natural capital, and nudge the farming community towards natural farming as commercial farming cannot work in these regions.
- The JIVA programme will be implemented on a pilot basis in 25 projects across 11 states covering five agroecological zones.
- For JIVA, NABARD will collaborate with national and multilateral agencies as this is a knowledge and skill-intensive programme.
State Bank of India (SBI) said that through its Strategic Training Unit it has partnered NSE Academy that promotes financial literacy as a necessary life skill.
- Learners can start to enrol for these courses on the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) Knowledge Hub platform from , February 9.
- The five courses are namely, ‘Banking Fundamentals’, ‘MSME Lending in a Nutshell’, ‘Electronic Payment System in India’, ‘Priority Sector Lending Norms’ and ‘NRI Business & Compliance’.
- The course duration ranges from 3-6 weeks, and learners are expected to spend 2-3 hours each week on the course.Through these courses, SBI will enable professionals to gain knowledge in various areas of banking and bring unique learning opportunities to benefit professionals aspiring to build careers in banking services
Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Limited. (ABHICL) said it has signed a bancassurance agreement with Utkarsh Small Finance Bank for distribution of health insurance products through the lender's network of branches across India.
- Through this alliance with Utkarsh Small Finance Bank, Aditya Birla Health Insurance’s comprehensive suite of health insurance plans, including protection health plans, will be available for purchase to 2.7 million+ customers of the Bank across 642 branches in 214 districts spread across 19 states and 2 Union Territories in the country.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
BSE gets SEBI nod for trading in electronic gold receiptsCapital markets regulator Sebi has given in-principle approval to BSE for introducing Electronic Gold Receipt (EGR) on the stock exchange's platform.
- For final approval for the introduction of EGR segment, the exchange has been advised to submit additional information, according to a regulatory filing.
- Under the rules, the entire transaction has been divided into three tranches -- creation of EGR, trading of EGR on stock exchange and conversion of EGR into physical gold.
- The bourses can launch contracts with different denomination for trading or conversion of EGR into gold.
SPORTS
Gujarat Titans unveiled as name for new Ahmedabad franchiseThe Ahmedabad-based IPL franchise, bought by CVC Capital, will be officially known as the Gujarat Titans.Pandya will also lead Titans in IPL.
- Titans picked allrounder Hardik Pandya (Rs 15 crore), legspinner Rashid Khan (Rs 15 crore), and top order batter Shubman Gill (Rs 8 crore) as their three picks ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction set to be held on February 12 and 13.
APPOINTMENTS
Kishore appointed as new SSC ChairmanSenior bureaucrat S. Kishore has been appointed as Chairman, Staff Selection Commission (SSC).
- Presently, he is serving as Special Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Lieutenant General GAV Reddy, SC was appointed as the new head of the Defence Intelligence Agency.
- He would be succeeding Lieutenant General KJS Dhillon who superannuated recently.
- Lt Gen KJS Dhillon was awarded Param Vishisht Seva Medal on the 73rd Republic Day.
AWARDS
19-Year-Old Woman Completes Around-the-World Solo FlightAt age 19, Zara Rutherford became the youngest female pilot to circumvent the globe, traveling across five continents in five months while flying in a single-seater sport plane.
- It took her 155 days, but 19-year-old Zara Rutherford accomplished her goal: to become the youngest woman to fly solo around the world.
- Rutherford departed Belgium on August 18 in a Shark UL plane, a two-seat ultralight plane equipped with extra fuel tanks, two radios and a parachute. Along the way, she landed in 41 countries, staying in some for weeks at a time while waiting for flying conditions to improve or for entry approval at her next destination.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
INSAT-4B decommissioned after 11 manoeuvres in spaceAmid the growing concern over junk in outer space, the Indian Space & Research Organisation (Isro) successfully disposed of one of its satellites after it completed its operational life in orbit. The INSAT-4B underwent Post Mission Disposal (PMD) at the end of its service, followed by decommissioning on January 24, Isro said.
- INSAT-4B is the 21st Indian Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite to undergo post-mission disposal, the required propellant for such re-orbiting was included in the initial fuel budget as a part of standard practice followed in ISRO's GEO mission planning.
- The development is in compliance with the UN and the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) recommended space debris mitigation guidelines. The IADC guidelines provide guidance for limiting the generation of orbital debris both during and after space operations.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
“Atal Bihari Vajpayee” book authored by Sagarika GhoseThe book titled “Atal Bihari Vajpayee” written by Sagarika Ghose has been released recently.
- It is a biography of the former Prime Minister of India. Sagarika Ghose is a jounalist.
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