Dear Champions, as you all know that a lot of competitive exams have been notified consequently. Candidates have to prepare themselves according to the level of competition and expectation of  the Recruitment board. Regarding that one of the most important topic is Daily Current Affairs. Current Affairs in the form of contemporary events of national & international play a crucial role in almost every competitive exams like Banking, Insurance, SSC, UPSC, TNPSC, Railway etc.

Current affairs are the most dynamic yet scoring among all sections and need to be prepared from the right source. Here, we cafunsta team, providing  Daily GK Updates, Current Affairs Questions, and Monthly  current affairs pdf.

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February 8 | Daily Current Affairs 2021

SPORTS

1. International Cricket Council announces BYJU’S as global partner until which year?
A) 2025
B) 2024
C) 2023
D) 2022
E) 2021
Answer: C) 2023

• The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced BYJU’S, India’s largest EdTech company as their global partner from 2021 to 2023.
• The three-year agreement will see BYJU’S partner all ICC events over the period, including the forthcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India, and the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.
• As a global partner, BYJU’S will have extensive in-venue, broadcast, and digital rights across all ICC events.
• In addition to the integrated brand presence at some of the world’s biggest sporting events, BYJU’S will work closely with the ICC to deepen engagement with fans through the creation of innovative campaigns.
• In August 2019, the company became the official jersey partner of the Indian cricket team.

The International Cricket Council
Founded: 15 June 1909
Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Chairperson: Greg Barclay

Byju’s
Founded: 2011
Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka
CEO: Byju Raveendran

International Cricket Council – Announce BYJU’S as global partner until 2023.

2. Ishant Sharma is related to which sports?
A) Weightlifting
B) Hockey
C) Volleyball
D) Football
E) Cricket
Answer: E) Cricket

• Veteran fast bowler Ishant Sharma became the sixth Indian and third pacer from the country to take 300 wickets in Test cricket, joining legends such as Kapil Dev and Anil Kumble.
• Ashwin was the fastest to get there, taking only 54 matches, followed by Kumble (66), Harbhajan (72), Kapil (83) and Zaheer (89).
• Ishant made his Test debut back in 2007 against Bangladesh.

Ishant Sharma – 3rd Indian pacer to take 300 Test wickets.

RANKING

3. What is the rank of the Indian School of Business (ISB) in the latest Financial Times (FT) Global MBA Rankings 2021?
A) 23
B) 25
C) 29
D) 28
E) 13
Answer: A) 23

• Last year’s top Indian B-school IIM Bangalore fell from 27th spot to 35th this year in the rankings, followed by IIM Calcutta which fell two places from 42nd last year to 44th in 2021.
• The fourth top Indian B-school in the FT Global MBA Rankings 2021, IIM Ahmedabad improved its rankings by 13 positions to be ranked at 48th place, up from 61st last year.
• Meanwhile, three of last year’s top five B-schools — Harvard, Wharton and Stanford.

BANKING AND FINANCE

4. Which payment app partners with Axis Bank on UPI multi-bank model?
A) Amazon Pay
B) BharatPe
C) Paytm
D) GooglePay
E) PhonePe
Answer: E) PhonePe

• Digital payments platform PhonePe announced that it has partnered with Axis Bank on a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) multi-bank model.
• The partnership will provide PhonePe users with the option to create and use multiple UPI IDs with Axis Bank’s “@axl” handle.
• PhonePe will also start acquiring merchants with Axis Bank in addition to its partnership with YES Bank.
• PhonePe had emerged as the top UPI app in January, processing 968.72 million transactions worth ₹1.92 trillion, according to data by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

PhonePe:
Founded: December 2015
CEO: Sameer Nigam
Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka

Axis Bank:
HQ: Mumbai, Maharashtra
CEO: Mr Amitabh Chaudhary
Tagline: Badhti Ka Naam Zindagi

PhonePe + Axis Bank – UPI multi-bank model.

5. Which Insurance launched a hyper-personalised term plan ABSLI DigiShield Plan, to cater to the unique protection needs of customers?
A) Bharti AXA Life Insurance
B) Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance
C) HDFC Life Insurance
D) Edelweiss tokio life insurance
E) Shriram Life Insurance
Answer: B) Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance

• Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance (ABSLI) has launched a hyper-personalised term plan, ABSLI DigiShield Plan, to cater to the unique protection needs of customers.
  1. Sum assured reduction option with whole life cover: This option offers life coverage until 100 years age and also allows customer to reduce the sum assured by 50% or 25% at pre-determined retirement age.
  2. Survival income on attaining age 60 years: This option provides monthly income to the subscriber on attaining age 60 years and takes care of retirement income needs.
  3. Income benefit option: This option provides support to the dependent members of the customer in his/her absence by replacing lost income with a 1.25% sum assured as fixed monthly income or increasing monthly income at 5% (simple) per annum for 10/15/20 years, as chosen by the customer at the inception of the policy.
  4. Level cover option: The nominee is paid the absolute amount equal to the sum assured on death, in a lump sum
  5. Customised plan: DigiShield plan offers 10 plan options with a variety of benefits to suit every individual’s requirements.
• Type of cover (level & reducing)
  • Type of cover (level & reducing)
  • Tenure of the policy (To Age 85 & Whole Life)
  • Premium payment term (Single, Limited & Regular)
  • Death benefit pay-outs (Lump sum, Monthly income and Lump sum plus Monthly income)

Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance:
HQ: Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD & CEO: Mr. Kamlesh Rao

Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance – Hyper-personalised term plan, ABSLI DigiShield Plan.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

6. According to National Payments Corporation of India, which App emerged the top Unified Payment Interface (UPI) app in January?
A) Amazon Pay
B) BharatPe
C) Paytm
D) Google Pay
E) PhonePe
Answer: E) PhonePe

• In December, PhonePe saw 902.03 million transactions, worth Rs 1.82 trillion, happening on its platform.
• PhonePe is followed by Google Pay with 853.53 million transactions amounting to Rs 1.77 trillion, accounting for almost 37 per cent of the UPI market in terms of volumes.
• Together, these apps control 79.13 per cent market share in terms of volumes and more than 85 per cent market share in terms of value.
• In December, they accounted for more than 78 per cent in volumes, and 86 per cent by value.
• They were more than 82 per cent by volumes and more than 86 per cent by value in November.

PhonePe:
Founded: December 2015
CEO: Sameer Nigam
Headquarters : Bengaluru, Karnataka

NPCIL:
Abbreviation: National Payments Corporation of India
Founded: 2008
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD & CEO: Dilip Asbe

PhonePe – Top position with 42% UPI market share in January.

ACQUISITIONS AND MERGERS

7. Adani Group has completed the purchase of how much per cent stake in Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) for a consideration of Rs 1,685 crore?
A) 63.5
B) 13.5
C) 23.5
D) 33.5
E) 43.5
Answer: C) 23.5

• Adani Group has completed the purchase of 23.5 per cent stake in Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) from two South African entities, marking the first step towards acquiring a majority control in the country’s second-busiest airport.
• In a stock exchange notification on Saturday, Adani Enterprises said that its airports division had acquired 13.5 per cent stake of Bidvest and 10 per cent stake of Airport Company of South Africa, for a consideration of Rs 1,685 crore.
• The deal marks a culmination of Adani Group’s two-year quest to acquire a stake and gain control of the Mumbai airport.
• It also marks the exit of foreign investors from the airport.
• The group has already taken over six Airport Authority of India (AAI) airports under the privatization exercise.
• Last August, it had signed an agreement with GVK Group to acquire its 50.5 per cent stake in Mumbai airport.
• The deal also included acquisition of 23.5 per cent stake held by the two South African companies.
• As a part of the deal, Adani Group will take over Rs 2,500 crore of debt owed by GVK Airport Developers, the holding company of MIAL.
• Adani will get controlling stake in MIAL upon conversion of the debt into equity.
• Last month, the AAI had granted its nod to Adani Group for acquiring GVK Group’s 50.5 per cent stake in MIAL.
• A few other government approvals are pending.
• In March 2019, Bidvest had signed an agreement to sell its stake to Adani Group for Rs 1,248 crore.
• GVK Group exercised the ‘right of first refusal’ but was unable to conclude the deal.
• The acquisition battle then moved to courts, as GVK Group tried to block Adani Group’s entry.
• In October 2019, GVK had announced the sale of 79 per cent stake in its airport’s holding company to a clutch of foreign investors for Rs 7,614 crore, but the deal fell through.
• The group had hoped to use the proceeds to retire debt and buy out South African investors in MIAL.
• Finally, under pressure from lenders, GVK agreed to sell its stake in MIAL to the Adani Group. A money laundering probe by the CBI against GVK Group had made fundraising even more difficult.

Adani – Complete purchase of 23.5% stake in Mumbai International Airport

AWARDS

8. Who won ET Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award?
A) Varun Dhawan
B) Sandeep Bakshi
C) Sathish Reddy
D) Amit Shah
E) Aditya Puri
Answer: E) Aditya Puri

ET Awards:
Entrepreneur of the year : Adar Poonawalla ,Chief Executive Officer, Serum Institute of India.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Aditya Puri, Former MD, HDFC Bank.
Emerging company of the year: ICICI Lombard General Insurance.
Business reformer of the year : Shaktikanta Das , Governor of Reserve Bank of India.
Business Leader Of The Year: Pawan Munjal, Chairman, Hero MotoCorp.

ET Awards Lifetime Achievement Award – Aditya Puri, Former MD, HDFC Bank

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

9. Which country scientists have developed a molecular surveillance tool called CovRadar for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that can help epidemiologists and virologists to understand the pathogen better?
A) USA
B) Myanmar
C) Israel
D) Iran
E) Germany
Answer: E) Germany

• German scientists have developed a molecular surveillance tool called CovRadar for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that can help epidemiologists and virologists to understand the pathogen better.
• The findings, published in the preprint server bioRxiv, noted that the tool has an analysis pipeline and a web application.
• CovRadar is flexible and can handle large amounts of data, and users can customise it based on their needs.
• Both the pipeline and the app can be installed and run on local systems so that access-restricted sequences can be included, and all functionalities are offered at covradar.net.

Germany – Develop surveillance tool to study SARS-CoV-2.

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

10. Rajya Sabha passes Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill 2021 merged the Jammu and Kashmir cadre of the Indian Administrative Service with AGMUT cadre. What is an expansion of AMGUT?
A) Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, and Union Territory
B) Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, and Union Territory
C) Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Meghalaya, and Union Territory
D) Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, and Union Territory
E) Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, and Union Territory
Answer: A) Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, and Union Territory

• The Rajya Sabha cleared The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 that seeks to replace the ordinance to merge the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) cadre of civil services officer with the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre.
• The bill was introduced in the Upper House of the Parliament last week.
• Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy said the Constitution of India is now fully applicable on Jammu and Kashmir, and that the bill will enable availability of officers in Jammu and Kashmir who have experience of running union territory administration.
• He said around 170 central laws are being implemented in Jammu and Kashmir.
• He said the bill will increase the strength of officers in the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Leh.

Jammu and Kashmir:
Capital: Srinagar(summer), Jammu(winter)
Governor: Manoj Sinha

Rajya Sabha – Pass Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill.

11. India’s first geothermal power project will be established at Puga village in which state/UT?
A) Chandigarh
B) Delhi
C) Nagaland
D) Jammu & Kashmir
E) Ladakh
Answer: E) Ladakh

• India’s first geothermal power project will be established at Puga village of eastern Ladakh.
• Puga has been identified as the hotspot of geothermal energy in the country by the scientists.
• A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for establishment and implementation of the first phase was signed.
• The country’s largest oil and gas producer ONGC has signed an MoU with the Union Territory of Ladakh and Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh, to develop the country’s first Geothermal Field Development Project.
• India’s first ever geothermal power project, known as Geothermal Field Development Project is planned to commission by the end of 2022.
• The tripartite MOU was signed between ONGC Energy, LAHDC, Leh and the Power Department of UT Ladakh.
• In the first phase, the pilot project implemented by the ONGC-OEC will explore within the depth of 500 metres and it is planned to supply 24 hours free power to 10 neighbouring villages which are not connected with the northern grid for power supply.
• The second Phase is proposed for deeper and lateral exploration of geothermal reservoirs by drilling optimal number of wells and setting up of a higher capacity demo plant in Ladakh.
• The second phase will be the Research and Development stage or demonstration of the project.
• In the third phase, it is planned to promote joint ventures and commercial projects. Puga is a place where it is uncovered with a potential of more than 100 mw of geothermal energies.

Ladakh:
Capital: Leh, Kargil
Lt Governor: Radha Krishna Mathur

Puga village of eastern Ladakh – India’s first geothermal power project.

12. Mandu Festival is celebrated in which state?
A) Mizoram
B) Arunachal Pradesh
C) Maharashtra
D) Andhra Pradesh
E) Madhya Pradesh
Answer: E) Madhya Pradesh

• The historical city Mandu in Madhya Pradesh is all set to welcome tourists to the
  Mandu Festival of 2021 on February 13th and 14th.
• The two-day Mandu festival organised by Madhya Pradesh Tourism will have heritage walks, cycling tours, photo contests, yoga workshops, musical performances and much more.
• Wearing of Mask will be mandatory for all tourists and arrangements are being made by administration to ensure social distancing during the festival.

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

Madhya Pradesh – Mandu festival.

13. Five-day National Horticulture Fair begins in which place?
A) Varanasi
B) Chennai
C) Bhopal
D) Pune
E) Bengaluru
Answer: E) Bengaluru

• This year’s edition of the five-day national horticulture fair being organized by the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) will be begin at the Institute’s Hessarghatta campus on the outskirts of Bengaluru city.
• The country’s premier horticulture fair, which is being held both in physical and virtual formats for the first time, will showcase cutting edge technologies, crop varieties, pest and disease management practices and processing methods among others.
• The fair, which is being held under the theme ‘For start-up and stand-up India’ aims to increase farmers’ incomes by turning horticulture into a business enterprise especially in the wake of the recent trend of educated youth taking to farming.
• IIHR develops new water-conserving irrigation method.
• Scientists at the Hesaraghatta-based Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) have developed a new irrigation method, which conserves even more water than drip irrigation.
• The new method, developed on a small experimental plot at the institute, uses only one-tenth of the water used in drip irrigation, according to C. Aswath, principal scientist and head of IIHR’s Division of Floriculture and Medicinal Plants.

Karnataka:
Capital: Bengaluru
CM: B. S. Yeddyurappa
Governor: Vajubhai Vala

Bengaluru, Karnataka – Five-day national horticulture fair.

14. The Indian Army has laid the foundation stone of the tallest ‘Iconic National Flag’ at height of ____ at the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir?
A) 200 feet
B) 300 feet
C) 400 feet
D) 500 feet
E) 100 feet
Answer: E) 100 feet

• The Indian Army has laid the foundation stone of the tallest ‘Iconic National Flag’ at the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir.
• The flag will be on a 100 feet-high pole, the highest Tricolour in the Valley.
• This project is sponsored by Solar Industries India Ltd.
• The Indian Army along with this solar company aims to promote Atmanirbhar Bharat and has placed an order for 1 million multi-mode hand grenades at Gulmarg.

The Indian Army:
Founded: 1895
Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi
Commander-in-Chief: President Ram Nath Kovind
Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) : General Manoj Mukund Naravane, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC
Vice Chief of the Army Staff (VCOAS) : Lieutenant General Satinder Kumar Saini, AVSM, YSM, VSM

Jammu and Kashmir:
Capital: Srinagar(summer), Jammu(winter)
Governor: Manoj Sinha

Indian Army – Foundation of 100-foot-high national flag in J-K’s Gulmarg.

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