DAILY GK: 5, 6 FEB 2021

 DAILY GK: 5, 6 FEB 2021

1. MCA AMENDS ONE PERSON COMPANIES (OPCS) RULES

•      Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has amended the ‘Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014’ to make changes in the definition of One Person Companies (OPCs) Rules.

•      The new changes will be called as ‘Companies (Incorporation) Second Amendment Rules, 2021’

•      The Changes allow Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to incorporate one person companies (OPCs) in India.

•      Previously, NRI’s were not allowed to incorporate OPCs in India.

•      The residency period for being considered as a Resident in India  has been reduced to 120 days from 182 days for NRIs.

 

2. CABINET COMMITTEE APPROVED FOR 100% DISINVESTMENT IN RINL

•      The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave in-principle approval for 100% strategic divestment of Indian Government’s shareholding in Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL).

•      In addition to this it also gave approval for management control of RINL by way of privatization.

•      Reason of Privatization: RINL has been incurring losses for a few years.

 

3. SCIENTIFIC UP-GRADATION OF INDIAN ROADS

•      Indian Institute of Technology – Banaras Hindu University (IIT-BHU) signed an MoU with Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) as a move to up-grade road construction in India, through scientific research.

•      Founded in 1919 as the Banaras Engineering College, later became the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University in 1968.

 

4. MUI & ‘NEPTUNE DECLARATION’

•      Maritime Union of India (MUI) urged the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways of India to take note of “Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change” while preparing the ‘Maritime India Vision 2030’.

•      The Neptune declaration initiated by Global Maritime Forum focuses on Recognition of seafarers as key workers by Governments of all countries in line with UN General Assembly resolution adopted on December 1, 2020.

 

5. IRDAI GUIDELINES ON STANDARD VECTOR BORNE DISEASE

•      Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) issued guidelines on Standard Vector Borne Disease Health Policy to encourage all general and health insurers to offer this product.

•      They will offer this product by 1st April, 2021.

•      The product will offer a policy tenure of a year (12 Months).

•      The nomenclature of the product should be in the name of the insurance company followed by “Mashak Rakshak”

 

6. NEW PRESIDENT OF ASIAN CRICKET COUNCIL

•      Jay Shah, secretary of Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI) was elected  as new President of Asian Cricket Council (ACC) at the Annual General Meeting of ACC which was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

•      He is the youngest administrator to be appointed as the President of ACC.

 

7. AJAY SINGH RE-ELECTED AS PRESIDENT OF BFI

•      Ajay Singh has been re-elected as the president of Boxing Federation of India(BFI) for the second term at Gurugram,Haryana.

•      The election was held in the presence of International Boxing Association (AIBA) observer Yury Zaystsev.

 

8. UNIFIED PORTAL OF GOBAR-DHAN SCHEME

•      Union Ministers jointly launched a ‘Unified Portal of Gobardhan’ to promote  ‘Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan’ (GOBAR-DHAN) scheme, an initiative that aims to manage cattle and biodegradable waste and also help enhance farmers’ income.

•      The portal also helps to track real time progress of the scheme.

 

9. ‘COMBAT KH35E’ ANTI-SHIP MISSILES TESTED

•      Indian Navy’s Ilyushin 38SD successfully fired ‘Combat Kh35E’ anti-ship missile during the Theatre level Readiness and Operational Exercise 2021 (TROPEX-21) being carried out in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

•      The IL38SD is a maritime patrol & anti-submarine aircraft developed by Soviet Union.

•      TROPEX-21: It is  a Biennial exercise which aims to test the combat readiness of the Navy with the assets of the Air Force, Army & Coast Guard.

 

10. PAKISTAN SUCCESSFULLY TESTED ‘GHAZNAVI’

•      Pakistan’s Army Strategic Forces Command (ASFC) successfully Test Fired the Nuclear-Capable Surface-to-Surface Ballistic Missile ‘Ghaznavi (Hatf-III)’.

•      Ghaznavi has a range of 290 Kms & can carry both Nuclear & Conventional Warheads

 

11. WORLD CANCER DAY 2021 – FEBRUARY 4

•      World Cancer Day is annually observed across the globe on 4th February to create awareness and educate the general public about the stigma around cancer and  to reduce the preventable deaths.

•      The theme of the World Cancer Day for 2019 to 2021 is “I Am and I Will”.

 

12. “SWITCH DELHI” CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE ELECTRIC VEHICLES

•      Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, launched “Switch Delhi” a campaign to promote the use of Electric Vehicles and to encourage people to buy electric vehicles to reduce the pollution in Delhi.

•      The government of Delhi has set a target of 25% of electric vehicles in the total registration in Delhi by 2024.

 

13. POSTAGE STAMP ON CHAURI CHAURA INCIDENT

•      PM Narendra Modi released the postage stamp to mark the beginning of the centenary celebrations of the Chauri Chaura Incident in Uttar Pradesh(UP) over a virtual platform.

•      The stamp was released during the event organised to inaugurate the Centenary celebration of the Chauri Chaura incident.

•      The state government has planned various events through 4th February 2022 at all the 75 districts of the state to mark the centenary celebration of Chauri Chaura.

 

14.  ‘NINOX 40’ MICRO-TACTICAL UAV IN INDIA

•      During the Aero India Show 2021, Spear UAV of Israel & Paras Aerospace of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to introduce ‘Ninox 40’ Micro-tactical UAV System (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) into the Indian market.

•      The Ninox 40 drone system consists of a Drone & a control unit and is intended for use by Military Forces, Paramilitary, Internal Security & Law Enforcement agencies.

•      It has been designed especially for single-user operations.

•      It is also equipped with ‘ISTAR’ capabilities, automatic tracking and can be launched on the move & from under cover.

 

15. INDIA’S TEA OUTPUT DROPS 9.7% IN 2020

•      The production of tea in India dropped by 9.7% in 2020 due to the flood and movement restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

•      The reduction in the tea production increased the price of tea by 31% from the price of 2019, to a record price of Rs.184.69 per Kg.

•      India has produced around 1255.60 million kilogram of tea in 2020, which is around 9.7% lesser than the production in 2019.

 

16. NEW CHAIRMAN OF NSC

•      The Ministry of Labour and Employment has appointed SN Subrahmanyan, the CEO and Managing Director of Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T Ltd) as the new Chairman of National Safety Council(NSC).

•      The major role of NSC is to ensure safety in workplaces under the new Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (OSH Code, 2020).

 

17.JHUMPA LAHIRI’S NEW BOOK “WHEREABOUTS”

•      Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri is set to release her new novel titled “Whereabouts”.

•      The book is published by Penguin Random House India is about a woman protagonist and her journey through life.

•      The book will be released in April.

•      She published her debut book “The Interpreter of Maladies”, the collection of short stories in 1999.

 

18. ASSAM’S FIRST HELIPORT AT MAJULI

•      Sarbananda Sonowal, Chief Minister of Assam, inaugurated the first Heliport of Assam in Majuli district.

•      The heliport was constructed at a cost of Rs.50 lakh.

•      This heliport is aimed to boost the tourism of Majuli, the World’s largest river island.