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February 20 | Daily Current Affairs 2021

IMPORTANT DAYS

1. 35th Statehood day of which state is observed on February 20?
A) Maharashtra
B) Nagaland
C) Andhra Pradesh
D) Arunachal Pradesh
E) Mizoram
Answer: D) Arunachal Pradesh

• Arunachal Pradesh is celebrating its 35th Statehood day February 20.
• The state became a full-fledged State on February 20, 1987.
• Wide range of programme was organized across the state to celebrate the day.
• On the occasion, Governor Brig. (RtD) Dr. BD Mishra flagged of 20 emergency Ambulances for various districts and also released a book on Nyishi Fables and Flok tales titled “Dojang Napong”.

Mizoram Statehood Day:

• Mizoram became the 23rd state of India on February 20, 1987, with the Fifty-Third Amendment of the Indian Constitution, 1986

World Day of Social Justice:

History:

• The day was declared as the World Day of Social Justice by the UN General Assembly on November 26, 2007.
• On its 63rd session, it was decided that February 20 will be celebrating social justice, the good it brings about all around the world, and areas that need this more than ever.

Significance:

• This day’s significance holds true even more this time.
• The global pandemic, COVID-19, brought the world to a standstill.
• While the world was grappling with the new reality it posed towards us, several countries’ healthcare systems were at work from treating the affected to scientists coming up with the much-needed vaccine

Theme:

• This year’s theme is “A call for social justice in the Digital Economy.”
• With the steady rise in the usage of the internet, the global economy is becoming increasingly dependent on the digital medium.
• More specifically, due to the COVID-19 lockdown in several countries, people resorted to remote working areas.
• With the expanding broadband, the internet was consumed all the more from homes around the world.

35th Statehood day of Arunachal Pradesh – February 20.
Mizoram Statehood Day – February 20.
World Day of Social Justice – February 20.

SPORTS

2. Naomi Osaka won Australian Open title by beating American Jennifer Brady in the women’s singles. This title is ____ Grand Slam title?
A) 5
B) 4
C) 3
D) 2
E) 1
Answer: B) 4

• Japanese tennis sensation, Naomi Osaka won her second Australian Open title by beating American Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-3 in the women’s singles final for her fourth Grand Slam title.
• Before this, Osaka had won the 2019 Australian Open and 2018 and 2020 US Open crowns.
• The 23-year-old from Japan faced challenge from her American challenger in the first set with the two holding serve till the ninth game which Osaka had to fight for and take on advantage.
• However, Osaka broke the 25-year-old Brady’s serve in the 10th game and clinched it after being 30-40 down.
• The second set was a much easier ride for the Japanese as she raced to a 4-0 lead. Brady broke back in the fifth game and held her serve in the sixth game.
• From thereon, Osaka held her serve to win the second set and the title.
• This was Osaka’s 21st consecutive match victory.

Naomi Osaka – Beat Jennifer Brady to win 2nd Australian Open title.

3. Alfiya Pathan is related to which sports?
A) Athlete
B) Wrestling
C) Tennis
D) Boxing
E) Shooting
Answer: D) Boxing

• Alfiya Pathan (81 kg) claimed the country’s first gold medal even as five others stormed into the finals of the 30th Adriatic Pearl Tournament in Budva, Montenegro.
  Babyrojisana Chanu (51kg), Vinka (60kg), Arundhati (69kg) and Sanamacha Chanu (75kg) have made the finals in their respective categories.
• Other women boxer playing in the final on Saturday night is Gitika (48kg) who will be competing for the gold medal against Uzbekistan’s Farzona Fozilova while Preeti (57kg) and Lucky Rana (64kg) will play their semi-final bouts.
• Two male boxers — Priyanshu Dabas (49kg) and Jugnoo (91 kg) — will also be competing in the semi-final laster in the day.
• The Indian contingent has so far assured itself of 12 medals with five women eyeing gold.

Alfiya Pathan – India’s first gold at Montenegro boxing meet.

BANKING AND FINANCE

4. Which Bank Payments will launch YONO Merchant App to provide low-cost digital payments infrastructure to merchants?
A) Bank of India
B) Indian Overseas Bank
C) Indian Bank
D) Bank of Baroda
E) State Bank of India
Answer: E) State Bank of India

• SBI Payments, a subsidiary of India’s largest lender State Bank of India, will launch YONO Merchant App to provide low-cost digital payments infrastructure to merchants.
• YONO Merchant App will expand digitization of merchant payments in the country.
• Aiming to enable millions of merchants through mobile-led technology to accept digital payments, SBI plan to deploy low-cost acceptance infrastructure across India over the next two years targeting 20 million potential merchants across India in retail and enterprise segment.
• This will help boost digital payments acceptance infrastructure in tier 3, 4 as well as north eastern cities.
• YONO SBI Merchant will act as a soft PoS (point of salE) solution for which it has partnered with global payments technology major Visa to enable Tap to Phone feature.

State Bank of India:
Capital: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Head: Dinesh Kumar Khara
Tagline: With You all the way, Pure Banking Nothing Else, The Nation Bank on Us, The
Banker to Every Indian, A Bank of the Common Man

SBI Payments – Launch YONO Merchant app for low-cost payments.

5. RBI has imposed a withdrawal cap of how much amount on customers of Deccan Urban Cooperative Bank and barred the Karnataka-based lender from granting fresh loans or accepting deposits?
A) Rs 2,000
B) Rs 3,000
C) Rs 4,000
D) Rs 5,000
E) Rs 1,000
Answer: E) Rs 1,000

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a withdrawal cap of Rs 1,000 on customers of Deccan Urban Cooperative Bank and barred the Karnataka-based lender from granting fresh loans or accepting deposits.
• The bank cannot undertake any fresh business, including giving new loans and taking fresh deposits, said the RBI adding that the directions will remain in force for six months from the close of business on February 19 and are subject to review.
• However, 99.58 per cent of the depositors are fully covered by the DICGC insurance scheme, said the RBI.
• The Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) , a wholly-owned subsidiary of RBI, provides insurance cover up to Rs 5 lakh on bank deposits.

Reserve Bank of India:
Act: Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Governor– Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors– 4 (Bibhu Prasad Kanungo, Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, M. Rajeshwar Rao)

RBI – Rs 1,000 withdrawal cap on Deccan Urban Cooperative Bank.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS

6. Which Minister released a book ‘Rashtra Pratham – 82 varshon ki Swarnim Gatha’ in New Delhi?
A) Petroleum Minister
B) Agriculture Minister
C) Home Minister
D) Women & Child Development Minister
E) Health Minister
Answer: C) Home Minister

• Home minister Amit Shah released a book that chronicles the history, evolution and achievements of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) from its raising in 1939 to the present day, and hoped that it would inspire the newly-inducted personnel of the force in the years to come.
• The book –‘Rashtra Pratham – 82 Varshon Ki Swarnim Gatha’ (Nation First – The Golden Story of 82 Years), compiled by Delhi University historian Dr Bhuwan Kumar Jha was described by CRPF as a symbolic tribute to the force veterans on the first-ever CRPF Veterans Day, which, starting this year, shall be celebrated on the third Friday of February each year.

Home Affairs:
Minister: Amit Shah
Constituency: Gandhinagar, Gujarat

Home Minister – Book ‘Rashtra Pratham – 82 varshon ki Swarnim Gatha’.

AWARDS

7. Prabha Varma has bagged Mahakavi Kunchan Nambiar Award 2021 for his outstanding contributions to which language and literature?
A) Marathi
B) Gujarati
C) Kannada
D) Tamil
E) Malayalam
Answer: E) Malayalam

• Renowned poet Prabha Varma has bagged this year’s Mahakavi Kunchan Nambiar Award for his outstanding contributions to Malayalam language and literature.
• The award comprises a purse of Rs 25,001, a citation and a plaque, jury chairman Indra Babu said here in a statement.
• The honour was instituted by the Kunchan Nambiar Memorial Trust, which works to retain the legacy of the 18th century legendary poet-performer Nambiar.
• The award would be presented to Varma, who is also the media advisor to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in a function here in the first week of April, adhering to COVID-19 protocols.

Renowned poet Prabha Varma – Kunchan Nambiar Award.

8. How many personalities have been named for receiving the Kalaimamani Award for 2019?
A) 35
B) 59
C) 64
D) 45
E) 20
Answer: B) 59

• Veteran cine actors B. Saroja Devi and Sowcar Janaki, noted playback singers P. Susheela and Jamuna Rani and Bharatanatyam artistes Ambika Kameshwar and Parvathi Ravi Ghantasala have been named for the Puratchi Thalaivi Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Special Kalaimamani Awards for 2019 and 2020 by the Tamil Nadu government.
• Noted artistes Vani Jayaram and S. Rajeswari have been named for receiving the all-India award — the M.S. Subbulakshmi Award (Music) for 2019 and 2020 respectively.
• Artistes Alarmel Valli and Chandra Dhandayuthapani, too, are to receive the all-India award — the Balasaraswathi Award (Dance) for 2019.
• A total of 59 personalities have been named for receiving the Kalaimamani Award for 2019 and another 65 for 2020, according to a G.O. issued in this regard by the State government on February 17.
• Former Minister Vaigaichelvan, pianist Anil Srinivasan, vocalists Krishnakumar and his wife Binni Krishnakumar, Sikkil C. Gurucharan and theatre artistes M.V. Muthu of Thanjavur, T. Rajendran of Velachery and K. Ramesh, alias Appa Ramesh, of Chennai are among those in the list for 2019.
• The ‘Akkarai Sisters’ — S. Subhalakshmi and S. Sornalatha — Nagaswaram artiste Achalpuram S. Chinnathambi, singer Jolly Abraham, actors Ramarajan, Yogi Babu and Devadarshini, cinema producer Kalaipuli S. Thanu, cine editor Antony and
  K.N. Ramaswamy of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan will also receive the Kalaimamani Award for 2019.
• Actors Sivakarthikeyan and Aishwarya Rajesh, music director D. Imman and film director Gautham Vasudev Menon were among those selected for the award for 2020.
• Pollachi Tamil Isai Sangam and Tamil Isai Sangam at the Raja Muthiah Mandram in Madurai will receive shields for best cultural organisations.
• Sabari Nadaka Kuzhu in Tiruvannamalai will receive the rolling shield for the best drama troupe. It has also named nine senior Kalaimamani artistes for receiving the Porkizhi (cash award).

Tamil Nadu:
Capital: Chennai
CM: Edappadi K. Palaniswami
Governor: Banwarilal Purohit

Tamil Nadu – Kalaimamani awards for 2019, 2020.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

9. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar offered a how much amount Line of Credit to the Maldives in a bid to boost the sports infrastructure of the country?
A) USD 30 million
B) USD 20 million
C) USD 10 million
D) USD 40 million
E) USD 60 million
Answer: D) USD 40 million

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar offered a USD 40 million Line of Credit to the Maldives in a bid to boost the sports infrastructure of the country.
• Jaishankar, who arrived here on the first leg of his two-nation tour that will also take him to Mauritius, handed over 100,000 additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine to the Foreign Minister and Health Minister Kerafa Naseem.
• Earlier, he held talks with his Maldivian counterpart Abdulla Shahid and discussed the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation, saying India’s time-tested relationship with the Maldives is poised to take a quantum jump.

Agreement:

• India and Maldives signed agreements on wide range of domains including fish processing, public broadcasting, sustainable urban development, road infrastructure and housing.
• The agreements were exchanged after the talks between External Affairs Minister
  Dr. S. Jaishankar and his Maldivian counterpart Abdulla Shahid in Male.
• The agreement in the field of broadcasting is for cooperation between Prasar Bharati and PSM, the official State Media of Maldives.
• The MoU intends to facilitate collaboration and capacity building in the field of public broadcasting.

Hand over one lakh additional doses of COVID vaccine:

• Dr Jaishankar also handed over one lakh additional doses of COVID vaccine to Mr Shahid and Maldivian Health Minister Ahmed Naseem. Dr Jaishankar reached Male today on the first leg of his two- nation visit to Maldives and Mauritius.
• During the visit, the External Affairs Minister will call on President of Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and have substantive discussions with the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Defence, Finance, Economic Development and Planning and Infrastructure.
• He will also call on Speaker Mohamed Nasheed and meet with other political leaders.

Maldives:
Capital: Malé
Currency: Maldivian rufiyaa

India – $40 million Line of Credit to boost sports infrastructure in Maldives.

10. India and which country signed two agreements related to visa facilitation and leather technology?
A) Russia
B) Myanmar
C) Iraq
D) Iran
E) Ethiopia
Answer: E) Ethiopia

• India and Ethiopia signed two agreements related to visa facilitation and leather technology.
• The agreements were signed in the presence of Ethiopia Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Demeke Mekonnen Hassen and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
• Hassen is on a 4-day visit to India, from February 16. S. Jaishankar twitted that, he had useful and productive discussions with Hassen on a range of bilateral and regional issues.
• The two ministers agreed to expand India and Ethiopia bilateral agenda especially defence, economic, S&T, digital and cultural cooperation.

Ethiopia:
Capital: Addis Ababa
Currency: Ethiopian birr
President: Sahle-Work Zewde
Prime minister: Abiy Ahmed

India + Ethiopia – Agreements on visa facilitation & leather technology.

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

11. Which Minister launched Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 3.0 with a focus on children and pregnant women who missed their vaccine doses during the COVID-19 pandemic?
A) Petroleum Minister
B) Agriculture Minister
C) Home Minister
D) Women & Child Development Minister
E) Health Minister
Answer: E) Health Minister

• Health Minister Harsh Vardhan launched Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 3.0 with a focus on children and pregnant women who missed their vaccine doses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• IMI 3.0 will have two rounds starting from February 22 and March 22 and will be conducted in 250 pre-identified districts and urban areas across 29 states and Union territories.
• Focus of IMI 3.0 will be the children and pregnant women who have missed their vaccine doses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• They will be identified and vaccinated during the two rounds of IMI 3.0.
• Each round will be for 15 days.
• Beneficiaries from migration areas and hard-to-reach areas will be targeted as they may have missed their vaccine doses during COVID-19.
• Mission Indradhanush was launched in 2014 to provide affordable and accessible healthcare to all citizens of the country.
• According to the guidelines released for IMI 3.0, there are 313 low-risk, 152 medium-risk and 250 high-risk districts.
• Every year, the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) caters to the vaccination needs of 2.65 crore children and 2.9 crore pregnant women against 12 vaccine preventable diseases.
• Despite these efforts by all the states and Union territories, some children and pregnant women get missed out from this network.
• Mission Indradhanush aims to reach out to every dropped out and left out child and pregnant woman.
• There has been remarkable improvement in the immunisation coverage, which is also evident in the NFHS-5 data as available for 22 states.
• IMI 3.0 aims to reach the unreached population with all the available vaccines under the UIP and thereby, accelerate the full immunisation coverage of children and pregnant women

Health and Family Welfare, Science and Technology; and Earth Sciences:
Minister: Dr Harsh Vardhan
Constituency: Chandni Chowk, Delhi

Health Minister – Mission Indradhanush 3.0 to focus on children.

12. Which Minister launched India’s website for five-nation grouping BRICS?
A) External Affairs Minister
B) Agriculture Minister
C) Home Minister
D) Women & Child Development Minister
E) Health Minister
Answer: A) External Affairs Minister

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar launched India’s website for five-nation grouping BRICS.
• India assumed chairmanship of BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South AfricA) this year when the bloc is celebrating its 15th anniversary.
• BRICS is known as an influential bloc that represents over 3.6 billion people, or half of the world’s population. Its member countries have a combined GDP of USD 16.6 trillion.
• Under the theme BRICS@15: Intra-BRICS Cooperation, India’s approach is focused on strengthening collaboration through continuity, consolidation and consensus.
• The dedicated website will maintain an updated and dynamic information repository and will display all relevant information for BRICS, along with documents, press releases and media gallery, and a registration platform for events planned over the year

External Affairs:
Minister: Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
Constituency: Rajya Sabha MP, Gujarat

External Affairs Minister – Unveils India’s BRICS website.

13. Who inaugurates the “DigiLocker” platform for the “Passport Seva Programme”?
A) S Jaishankar
B) Rajnath Singh
C) V Muraleedharan
D) Ramnath Kovind
E) Narendra Modi
Answer: C) V Muraleedharan

• Inaugurating the “DigiLocker” platform for the “Passport Seva Programme” of the Ministry of External Affairs, Union minister V Muraleedharan would enable citizens to submit the documents required for passport services in a paperless mode and they would not be required to carry the original documents.
• In the upcoming Passport Seva Programme V2.0, the use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, chatbot, analytics, robotic process automation (RPA) will further ease the experience of the citizens and lead to expeditious service delivery.

V Muraleedharan – ‘DigiLocker’ for MEA’s ‘Passport Seva’ launched.

14. Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Prakash Javadekar inaugurated the Atal Paryavaran Bhavan at which UT?
A) Puducherry
B) Ladakh
C) Jammu & Kashmir
D) Delhi
E) Lakshadweep
Answer: E) Lakshadweep

• Union Minister for Forests, Environment, Climate Change and Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar’s four day visit to Lakshadweep is in progress.
• He inaugurated Lakshadweep forest department’s headquarters, Atal Paryavaran Bhavan and added that while maintaining the natural beauty and security of Lakshadweep, environmental permits have been issued for different tourism projects as part of NITI AYOG’S scheme in the three islands.
• He expressed confidence that this will ensure more growth and create more employment opportunities in the island.
• The central minister promised that the comprehensive development of the country will be realised by ensuring nature’s security as desired by the people.

Union Minister Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Information and Broadcasting:
Minister: Prakash Javadekar
Constituency: Rajya Sabha MP, Maharashtra

Prakash Javadekar – Atal Paryavaran Bhavan in Lakshadweep.

15. The seven-day 47th Khajuraho Dance Festival is celebrated in which state?
A) Madhya Pradesh
B) Nagaland
C) Andhra Pradesh
D) Arunachal Pradesh
E) Mizoram
Answer: A) Madhya Pradesh

• In Madhya Pradesh, the seven-day 47th Khajuraho Dance Festival is being organized from the 20th to the 26th of February, 2021 at the world-famous tourist destination Khajuraho.
• The Minister of Culture and Tourism of Madhya Pradesh Ms Usha Thakur will inaugurate the globally acclaimed ‘Khajuraho Dance Festival.
• Significantly, this ceremony will be held once again in the temple complex after a gap of 44 years.
• This will give the audience a chance to watch the performance amid the aura of the temple.
• The Khajuraho dance ceremony will start at 7 pm daily. Admission to this will be free.
• The event will begin with Bharatanatyam by Geeta Chandran and her troupe and Kathak by Deepak Maharaj.
• Principal Secretary Culture and Tourism Mr Sheo Shekhar Shukla informed that art lovers will be able to take part in adventure activities also.
• He informed that the department has made all the necessary arrangements for social distancing as per COVID protocol.

Madhya Pradesh
Capital: Bhopal
CM: Shivraj Singh Chouhan
Governor: Anandiben Patel

Madhya Pradesh – Khajuraho Dance Festival.

16. Country’s first Digital Varsity comes up in which state?
A) Madhya Pradesh
B) Kerala
C) Andhra Pradesh
D) Arunachal Pradesh
E) Mizoram
Answer: B) Kerala

• Kerala took a major step forward in its progress towards a knowledge society with the inauguration of the country”s first Digital University, based in Technocity at Mangalapuram near here.
• Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan presided overthe function, where Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who is also the Chancellor of theKerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology (KUDSIT), unveiled the varsity plaque.

Kerala:
Capital: Thiruvananthapuram
CM: Pinarayi Vijayan
Governor: Arif Mohammed Khan

Kerala – India’s first Digital Varsity.

17. Nitin Gadkari Approved development work of 6 Lane Korlam-Kantakapalle section of NH-130-CD worth how much amount?
A) Rs. 272.70 Crore
B) Rs. 372.70 Crore
C) Rs. 472.70 Crore
D) Rs. 772.70 Crore
E) Rs. 672.70 Crore
Answer: D) Rs. 772.70 Crore

• Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari approved five infrastructure projects worth crores of Rupees of Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
• The Union Minister approved a proposal to construct a 6 Lane Kantakapalle-Sabbavaram section of NH-130-CD worth ₹824.29 crores and the development of a 6 Lane Korlam-Kantakapalle section of NH-130-CD worth ₹772.70 crores.
• He also approved work of widening and strengthening to 4 Lane of urban Link of NH-42 in Ananthapur town worth Rs. 311.93 Crore in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
• The Minister gave approval to 2/4 Laning of Raebareli-Jagdishpur section of NH-330A worth ₹720.812 crores in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
• Other projects that were approved include Muzaffarnagar to Miranpur section of NH-709AD worth ₹928.55 crores and Bijnor to Kotawali section of NH-709AD worth ₹300.59 crores both in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Road Transport and Highways and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises:
Minister: Nitin Gadkari
Constituency: Nagpur. Maharashtra

Andhra Pradesh:
Capital: Visakhapatnam (executive), Amaravati (legislative), Kurnool (judicial)
CM: Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy
Governor: Biswa Bhushan Harichandan

Uttar Pradesh:
Capital: Lucknow
CM: Yogi Adityanath
Governor: Anandiben Patel

Nitin Gadkari – 6 Lane Korlam-Kantakapalle section of NH-130-CD worth
Rs. 772.70 Crore.

18. Which edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) which will be held on February 19-28 2021?
A) 12th
B) 13th
C) 14th
D) 15th
E) 16th
Answer: C) 14th

February 19-28 2021 – 14th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF).

19. Which centre launched Rural e-Mobility Programme whereby it is urging people to switch to electric vehicles (EVs)?
A) GSL
B) NMDC
C) NHAI
D) NTPC
E) CSC
Answer: E) CSC

• To promote the use of electric vehicles across India, Common Service Centre (CSC) launched Rural e-Mobility Programme whereby it is urging people to switch to electric vehicles (EVs).
• It has tied up with Hero Electric, Okinawa and Avon for the EVs, and for finance it has partnered with HDFC Bank.

CSC – Campaign to promote the use of electric vehicles in rural areas.

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