Daily Current Affairs February 13 & 14 2022

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

World Radio Day -13^th February:

• World Radio Day is an international day celebrated on 13 February each year.
• The Day was decided by UNESCO on 3 November 2011 during its 36th conference
• The objective of World Radio Day is to raise public awareness of the importance of radio and to encourage decision makers to use it to provide access to information, and to improve international co-operation among broadcasters.
• Proclaimed in 2011 by the Member States of UNESCO and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 as an International Day, World Radio Day is celebrated on February 13 every year.
• In the late 19th century, a miracle happened by an Italian inventor and electric engineer Guglielmo Marconi.

National Productivity Day – 12th February:

• On February 12, India celebrates National Productivity Day.
• The objective of the National Productivity Council is to stimulate and promote productivity and quality consciousness across all sectors in the country.
• The main observance of the day is to encourage all stakeholders in the implementation of productivity tools and techniques with contemporary relevant themes.
• The day is celebrated by the National Productivity Council (NPC) to promote productivity culture in India and under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Government of India is a premier institution for propagating productivity movement in India.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated 14.5 km long rail-cum-road-bridge over Ganga River in Bihar:

• Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has inaugurated the 14.5 km long rail-cum-road-bridge over the Ganga River at Munger in Bihar through video conferencing.
• The bridge has been constructed on NH 333B at the cost of 696 crore rupees.
• the construction of this bridge, the distance from Munger to Khagaria will be less than 100 km and the distance from Munger to Begusarai will be less than 20 km.
• There will be a saving of three hours in traveling from Munger to Khagaria – Saharsa and 45 minutes in traveling from Munger to Begusarai – Samastipur.

Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry launches ‘SamajikAdhikaritaShivir’:

• A ‘SamajikAdhikaritaShivir’ for distribution of aids and assistive devices to ‘Divyangjan’ under the ADIP Scheme and Senior citizens under ‘RashtriyaVayoshri Yojana’ (RVY Scheme) of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• Government of India will be organized by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) in association with ALIMCO and District Administration Chhatarpur in Madhya Pradesh.
• A total of 5286 aids and assistive devices valued at Rs. 2.33 crore will be distributed free of cost to 1391 Divyangjan and 553 Senior Citizens at Block/Panchayat levels by following the SOP prepared by the Department in view of COVID-19 Pandemic.

Union Agriculture Minister addresses 60th Convocation of ICAR-IARI, New Delhi:

• Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar handed over awards and degrees to the 284 students, which includes 8 foreign students, of the Post Graduate School of ICAR-Indian Agriculture Research Institute, New Delhi.
• Tomar also dedicated 6 varieties of fruits and vegetables to the nation viz., two varieties of mango Pusa Lalima, Pusa Shresth, brinjal variety Pusa Vaibhav, palak variety PusaVilayati palak, cucumber variety Pusa Gynoecious Cucumber Hybrid-18 and Pusa Alpana variety of rose.
• The bio-fertilizer ‘PUSA Sampoorn’ developed by the division of Microbiology was also released.

Power Minister chairs virtual meeting with States & UTs to discuss Energy Transition Goals of India:

• Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy, K. Singh, chaired a virtual meeting with the officers of Ministry of Power and MNRE, Addl. Chief Secretaries and Principal Secretaries of Power/Energy Departments of States & UTs to discuss the role of States and UTs towards Energy Transition Goals of India.
• This meeting was organised in line with the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s commitment at COP26, towards reducing the carbon intensity of our country.
• The objective of this meeting was to ensure the state’s participation in fulfilling the India’s climate commitments and each State and UT can be assigned energy saving targets.
• India will replace diesel with renewables to achieve target of zero diesel use in agricultural sector by 2024.

Railways to provide a World Class Wrestling academy in Delhi at an approximate cost of Rs. 30.76 crores:

• Minister of Railways had committed Indian Railways wrestlers to provide the state-of-art wrestling academy at Kishanganj, Delhi at an approximate cost of Rs. 30.76 crores and will be another feather in the Cap of Railways.
• Indian Railways have played a paramount role in promoting wrestling in India and most of the elite wrestlers are from Railways.
• Most of the medals won by India in wrestling in Olympics were from Indian Railways i.e. Sushil (2008 & 2012), Ms. Sakshi Malik (2016), Sh. Ravi Kumar & Sh. Bajrang (2020).
• In recently concluded Tokyo Olympic 2020, the performance of Indian Railways (IR) sportspersons have been phenomenal and out of 7 medals won by India 3 Individual medals by Ms. Mirabai Chanu (Silver in weightlifting), Sh. Ravi Kumar (Silver in Wrestling), Sh. Bajrang (Bronze in wrestling) and in Bronze medallist Indian Hockey Men team, two players were from IR.

Coal Ministry successfully auctions 10 Coal Mines of Five States:

• The Coal Ministry has successfully auctioned ten Coal Mines of Five States in the latest effort.
• Combined Coal Reserves are likely to be over one thousand 716 Million Tonnes.
• Forty-two Mines have been auctioned So far Under commercial coal mine auctioning.
• Ministry of Coal had launched the auction of coal mines for commercial mining under the 13th Tranche of Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act CMSP Act and 3rd Tranche of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act MMDR Act on October 12 last year.
• During the e-auction, cumulatively 10 coal mines were put up for auction of which six coal mines were CMSP coal mines and remaining four were MMDR coal mines.
• Nine coal mines are fully explored and one mine is partially explored.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : STATE NEWS

J&K Governor Manoj Sinha launches QR Code based mechanism certification

• Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha launched QR Code based mechanism, which is first of its kind in the country, for certification and labeling of handmade carpets of J&K.
• With this, customers can check & verify authenticity and other requisite details of carpets produced in Jammu Kashmir UT.
• J&K Handicrafts is a repository of India’s creative traditions that has served as a cultural expression for centuries.
• The QR-code based label will capture vital parameters of the carpet such as GI user, manufacturer, artisan, knots per square inch, the material used, among others.
• With the help of modern technology, the government will be able to standardize the uniqueness of handmade carpets & boost exports of J&K’s carpet industry in the international market.
• Under this scheme, incentive of 10% of the total volume of GI certified Handicrafts and Handloom products exported to any country, with maximum reimbursement upto 5 crores, shall be provided to eligible exporters registered with Department of Handicrafts and Handloom.
• The Lt Governor further observed that presently carpets are being exported from Jammu and Kashmir to at least 25 countries.
• In 2020-21, carpets worth Rs 115 crore were exported to Germany, Rs 34 crore worth to USA, Rs 36 Crore to UAE and Rs 22 crore to Netherlands.

About J&K :

• Capital : Srinagar, Jammu
• Governor : Manoj Sinha
• National Parks : Dachigam National Park (Dachi), Kishtwar National Park (Kisht), City Forest National Park (CFO), Hemis National Park (Hemis)
• Wildlife Sanctuaries : Surinsar Mansar Wildlife Sanctuary(Suri), Nandini Wildlife Sanctuary(Nandini), Overa Wildlife Sanctuary(Over), RamNagar Wildlife Sanctuary (Ram), Hirpora Wildlife Sanctuary(Hir)

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING & FINANCE

NABARD Introduces ‘JIVA’ to Promote Natural Farming

• The 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.

About JIVA :

Aim :

• 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.
• JIVA is a culmination of several projects under the watershed programme and will be implemented on our existing completed (or near completed) watersheds.
• The JIVA programme will be implemented on a pilot basis in 25 projects across 11 states covering five agro ecological zones.
• Under this programme Rs 50,000 per hectare will be invested & the best practices will be implemented on 200 hectares in each project & these 200 hectares will be a learning and proselytising platform to the whole village.

About NABARD :

• Founded: 12 July 1982
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Chairman : Govinda Rajulu Chintala
• National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is an apex regulatory body for overall regulation of regional rural banks and apex cooperative banks in India.
• It is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

Aditya Birla Health Insurance inks bancassurance partnership with Utkarsh SFB

• Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Limited. (ABHICL) 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 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.
• The partnership will help further strengthen our distribution and unlock growth opportunities through the Bank’s wide network. This tie-up will help us reach the tier II and tier III markets with insurance solutions thereby increasing insurance penetration in the country.
• With this new partnership, Aditya Birla Health now has 12 bancassurance partners with over 51,120+ direct selling agents all over India.

About Aditya Birla Health Insurance :

• Founded: 2015
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Chief Executive Officer : Mayank Bathwal
• It has 175 branches in India and has a diversified presence in 2,800 cities spread across the length and breadth of the country.

‘SEBI’ Revamps Advisory Committee on Investor Protection and Education Fund

• Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has restructured its advisory committee on Investor Protection and Education Fund (IPEF).
• The panel is mandated to recommend investor education and protection activities that may be undertaken directly by the markets regulator, or through any other agency, for utilisation of the SEBI Investor Protection and Education Fund.
• The eight-member committee will now be chaired by G Mahalingam, former Whole Time Member of SEBI.
• The panel was earlier headed by Abraham Koshy, former professor of IIM-Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
• SEBI has listed Vijay Kumar Venkataraman, chief-trade services at Nurture.farm and former MD and CEO of NCDEX and Mrin Agarwal, founder of Finsafe India among the new inductees.
• Balasubramanian, MD and CEO at Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, and M G Parameswaran, founder of brand-building.com, will continue as a member of the committee.
• The committee also comprises three SEBI officials, executive director GP Garg and chief general managers N Hariharan and Jayanta Jash.
• In 2013, the regulator had set up a committee to find out ways and means to best utilise the investor protection and education fund.

About ‘SEBI’  :

• Founded: 12 April 1992
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Chairperson : Ajay Tyagi
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is the regulatory body for securities and commodity markets in India under the ownership of the Ministry of Finance , Government of India.
• It given Statutory Powers on 30 January 1992 through the SEBI Act, 1992.

RBI emerged as the second largest buyer of Gold

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) emerged as the second largest buyer of Gold among the world’s Central Banks in 2021.
• The Central Bank of Thailand (Bank of Thailand) was the highest buyer of Gold in 2021 and bought 90 metric tonnes of gold.
• While RBI bought 5 metric tonnes taking its total gold reserve to 754.1 tonnes at the end of December 2021.
• According to Goldhub, India’s official gold reserves is ninth largest in the world.
• In 2009, India bought 200 tonnes of gold from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
• At the end of December 2021, RBI gold reserves stood at 754.1 tonnes, which amounts to 6.22 per cent of India’s forex reserves. As per RBI data, India’s total reserves at the end of December 31, 2021 stood at $633.61 billion, including gold reserves worth $39.405 billion.

About RBI:

• Governor: Shaktikanta Das
• Deputy Governors: Mahesh Kumar Jain, M. Rajeshwar Rao, Michael Patra, T. Rabi Shankar.
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Founder: British Raj
• Founded: 1 April 1935

About Goldhub :

• Goldhub is the official website of World Gold Council that maintains all the data regarding precious metal

About World Gold Council :

• CEO: David Tait
• Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
• Founded: 1987
• President: Kelvin Dushnisky
• The World Gold Council is the market development organization for the gold industry.

RBI increases e-RUPI Voucher Limit to Rs 1,00,000

• The Reserve Bank of India increased the cap on the e-RUPI prepaid digital vouchers to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 10,000.

Purpose :

• To facilitate digital delivery of various government schemes to the beneficiaries & allow the use of the e-RUPI voucher multiple times (until the amount of the voucher is completely redeemed).
• Currently, each voucher can be redeemed only once.
• The RBI will issue necessary instructions in this regard to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

About e-RUPI prepaid digital voucher :

• The e-RUPI pre-paid digital voucher developed by the NPCI was launched in August 2021.
• Earlier, the single-use cashless payment voucher had a cap of ₹10,000.
• It will play a huge role in making DBT (direct benefit transfer) more effective in digital transactions in the country.
• e-RUPI vouchers are presently being used largely for Covid-19 vaccination purposes.

SBI partners with NSE Academy to offer five online courses

• The State Bank of India (SBI) has announced partnership with NSE Academy to launch five online courses that promote financial literacy as a necessary life skill.
• Learners can start to enroll for the five inaugural MOOCs of SBI on the NSE Knowledge Hub platform as a part of this association.
• The courses, curated by the SBI, are a good blend of theory and operational aspects enabling learners to have a deeper understanding of fundamentals of banking, compliance, lending norms and a host of other topics.
• These courses have been designed and developed by practising bankers possessing rich experience and excellent academic credentials.
• It is suitably enriched with real-life case studies and scenarios, thus offering experiential learning for working professionals and learners.

List of Five Online Courses :

1.  “Banking Fundamentals” provides basic banking knowledge.
2. “MSME Lending in a Nutshell” is designed especially for SME entrepreneurs, Banking professionals, and will also be of interest to students.
3. “Electronic Payment System in India” offers basic information on electronic and digital payment systems.
4. The course” Priority Sector Lending Norms” provides insights into the significance of Priority sector lending and guidelines
5. The course “NRI Business & Compliance” empowers learners with knowledge of rules and regulations governing NRI Business and compliance.

About SBI :

• Founded: 1 July 1955
• Chairperson: Dinesh Kumar Khara
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Ruchir Sharma appointed as Rockefeller International’s MD, Chairman

• Ruchir Sharma, the former chief global strategist for Morgan Stanley Investment Management, will join Rockefeller Capital Management as Managing Director and Chairman effective from Feb. 14, 2022.

About Ruchir Sharma :

• Ruchir Sharma was born in Wellington, Tamil Nadu, India.
• He will also act as an advisor to the firm, be a resource to Rockefeller’s global family office, its advisors and clients, and serve as the firm’s global brand ambassador.
• He joined Morgan Stanley Investment Management in 1996 and worked at the firm for 25 years and till recently as the firm’s head of emerging markets and chief global strategist.
• He also oversaw a 40-person team based in New York, Singapore, Hong Kong and Mumbai.
• He is an author and also a contributor with The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
• He is also a contributing editor at The Financial Times, where he writes a bi-weekly column.
• Sharma is the author of The 10 Rules of Successful Nations (W. W. Norton & Company, March 2020), The Rise and Fall of Nations: Forces of Change in a Post-Crisis World and Breakout Nations.

Note :

• Rockefeller Capital Management President & CEO : Gregory Fleming

Bollywood actor Pankaj Tripathi appointed as Brand Ambassador of Krishi Network 

• Agritech platform Krishi Network appointed Bollywood actor Pankaj Tripathi as its brand ambassador.
• The association with the actor marks the startup’s efforts to reach out to the masses and help connect with farmers at the grassroot level.
• With this investment, the company will focus on expanding its AI-based technology platform across India and grow rapidly.
• Earlier, Krishi Network has raised funds from angels such as Sanjiv Rangrass (ITC); Sunil Khairnar (Indigram labs); Venkat Tadanki (Anvaya ventures); Rushank Vora (ICICI ventures); Aneesh Reddy (Capillary); Abhishek Goyal (Tracxn); Agam Khare (Absolute Foods); Suraj Saharan (Delhivery); Rohit Razdan (ClearTax); Kanav Hasija (Innovaccer) among others.

About Krishi Network :

• Founded by IIT Kharagpur alumni Ashish Mishra and Siddhant Bhomia.
• Founded : 2018
• Krishi Network leverages the growing rural internet penetration to create a platform that eases information accessibility for Indian farmers and enables them to generate higher profits from their land.
• At present, the platform is connected with 3 million farmers and is planning to grow its network further.
• It also offers ‘15-minute answers’ for questions around any agricultural service, which is made possible through 8000+ experts registered on their platform.

Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari appointed as the Chief Justice of Madras High Court

• Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari, who had been appointed as the Acting Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, has been made the Chief Justice of the High Court.
• He had taken over this position after the transfer of Justice Sanjib Banerjee to the Meghalaya High Court in November 2021.
• A communication to this effect was signed by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind.
• The Law Ministry also notified the appointment of a total of 13 advocates and three judicial officers as judges of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh High Courts

About Munishwar Nath Bhandari :

• Munishwar Nath Bhandari was Born on September 30, 1960, who hails from Rajasthan.
• He was appointed as a Judge of Rajasthan High Court in July, 2007 and transferred to the Allahabad High Court in March, 2019.
• He was transferred and posted as the ACJ of the Madras High Court in November 2021.

Tata Sons reappoints N Chandrasekaran as Executive Chairman for second 5 year term

• Tata Sons Pvt Ltd board approved the re-appointment of its executive chairman N Chandrasekaran for next five years 2022-2027.
• His reappointment was backed by Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts, the majority owners of Tata Sons.

About N Chandrasekaran :

• Chandrasekaran joined the board of Tata Sons in October 2016 and was appointed Chairman in January 2017.
• He was Chief operating officer (COO) and executive director of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), where in 2009, he became Chief executive officer (CEO).
• He was the chairman of Tata Motors and Tata Global Beverages (TGB).
• He became the first non-Parsi and professional executive to head the Tata Group.
• He also chairs the Boards of several group operating companies, including Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power.

About Tata Sons :

• Founded: 1868
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Chairman : Natarajan Chandrasekaran
• Founders: Tata Group, Jamsetji Tata

CURRENT AFFAIRS : RANKING & INDEX

Odisha’s Malkangiri Tops in NITI Aayog Delta Ranking in Agriculture & Water Resources                 

• Odisha’s Malkangiri has topped NITI Aayog’s list of ‘Most Improved Aspirational Districts in Agriculture & Water Resources Sector’ of December 2021.

Top 5 in NITI Aayog Delta Rankings :

Rank	District	State
1	Malkangiri	Odisha
2	Chhatarpur	Madhya Pradesh
3	Baramulla	J&K
4	Ramgarh	Jharkhand
5	Begusarai	Bihar

About the Ranking :

• According to NITI Aayog’s website, “launched by PM Narendra Modi in January 2018, the Aspirational Districts programme aims to quickly and effectively transform 112 most under-developed districts across the country.
• The ranking is based on incremental progress made across 49 key performance indicators (KPIs) under five broad socio-economic themes – health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion and skill development and infrastructure.
• The broad contours of the programme are ‘convergence’ (of Central and State schemes), ‘collaboration’ (of Central, State level ‘Prabhari’ officers and district collectors), and ‘competition’ among districts through monthly Delta ranking; all driven by a mass movement.

About NITI Aayog :

• NITI Aayog – National Institution for Transforming India
• Formed: 1 January 2015
• Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi, India
• Chairperson: Narendra Modi
• Vice Chairperson : Rajiv Kumar
• CEO : Amitabh Kant

About Odisha :

• Governor: Ganeshi Lal
• Capital: Bhubaneswar
• Chief minister: Naveen Patnaik
• National Parks : Bhitarkanika National Park, Simlipal National Park
• Wildlife Sanctuaries : Badrama Wildlife Sanctuary, Baisipalli  Wildlife Sanctuary, Balukhand Konark  Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhitarkanika  Wildlife Sanctuary, Chandaka Dampara  Wildlife Sanctuary, Chilika (Nalaban)  Wildlife Sanctuary, Debrigarh  Wildlife Sanctuary, Gahirmatha (Marine)  Wildlife Sanctuary, Hadgarh  Wildlife Sanctuary, Karlapat  Wildlife Sanctuary, Khalasuni WLS, Kotagarh WLS, Kuldiha WLS, Lakhari Valley WLS, Nandankanan WLS, Satkosia Gorge WLS, Simlipal WLS, Sunabeda WLS, Kapilash WLS.

India ranks 3rd globally in LEED certified green buildings; China Tops : USGBC

• India has ranked third in the world for LEED certified green buildings in 2021 in the US Green Building Council (USGBC) annual list.
• 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 certified a total of 146 buildings and spaces to LEED, representing nearly8 million gross area square meters (GSM) of space.
• This marks a nearly 10 per cent increase in LEED certified space in India from 2020.

Top 10 Countries & Regions for LEED in 2021 :

Rank	Country/Region	Project count	Square Feet	Square meters
1	Mainland China	1,077	152,325,125.75	14,151,480.95
2	Canada	205	34,530,920.95	3,208,030.63
3	India	146	30,337,364.12	2,818,436.08
4	Republic of Korea	42	16,768,269.12	1,557,824.68
5	Spain	100	16,107,100.54	1,496,400.05
6	United Arab Emirates	73	13,733,832.33	1,275,916.01
7	Brazil	89	13,366,776.03	1,241,815.33
8	Italy	106	12,543,738.44	1,165,352.56
9	Mexico	47	10,285,729.57	955,576.47
10	Taiwan, China	31	9,619,570.52	893,688.21

Among the many projects in India that adopted LEED in 2021:

• CESC House in Kolkata, the First Heritage Building in India received a LEED Gold rating, was recertified to LEED Platinum in 2021.
• Ankit Gems Diamond Factory was awarded with a LEED Platinum certification for its diamond manufacturing facility in Surat.
• DLF achieved LEED Platinum for both its Cyber City project as well as for their Retail projects Avenue Mall and The Chanakya under the LEED O+M rating system.
• ITC Hotels was the first hotel in the world to achieve LEED Zero Carbon Certifications for their two properties in South – ITC Windsor at Bangalore and ITC Grand Chola, Chennai.
• The Connaught by IHCL SeleQtions in Delhi earned Gold certification under LEED v4.1 for Building Design and Construction with a total of 67 points.
• Ela Green School in Tamil Nadu is the first school in the world to achieve Platinum certification under LEED v4.1 Operations and Maintenance Interiors.
• The analysis used to develop the list ranks countries in terms of LEED-certified GSM space as of December 31, 2021.
• The United States is not included in the list but remains the world’s largest market for LEED with more than 26 million GSM certified during 2021.

About USGBC :

• Founded: 1993
• Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
• Founders: Rick Fedrizzi, Mike Italiano, David Gottfried
• President and CEO : Peter Templeton

About LEED :

• It is a set of rating systems for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of green buildings, homes, and neighborhoods.
• Available for virtually all building types, LEED provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings.
• In India, LEED is administered by Green Business Certification Inc (GBCI) which has been working relentlessly towards accelerating the adoption of green buildings across the country.

EIU’s Democracy Index 2021: Norway tops, India ranks 46th

• According to the EIU’s Democracy Index 2021, India is placed at 46th position with an overall score of 6.91 on a scale of 0-10 across 165 independent countries and two territories.
• India was ranked at 53rd spot in 2020.
• Norway has topped the index with a score of 9.75.

Top 10 countries in the EIU’s Democracy Index 2021 :

Rank	Country	Score
1	Norway	9.75
2	New Zealand	9.37
3	Finland	9.27
4	Sweden	9.26
5	Iceland	9.18
6	Denmark	9.09
7	Ireland	9.00
8	Taiwan	8.99
9	Australia	8.90
10	Switzerland	8.90

Bottom 3 countries in the EIU’s Democracy Index 2021 :

Rank	Country	Score
165	North Korea	1.08
166	Myanmar	1.02
167	Afghanistan	0.32

India’s neighboring countries Ranking :

• Authoritarian category : China (148), Myanmar (166), and Afghanistan (167)
• Hybrid Regime : Bangladesh (75), Bhutan (81), Nepal (101), Pakistan (104)
• Flawed Democracy category : Sri Lanka (67)
• The index is based on 5 parameters :

1. Electoral process and pluralism
2. Functioning of government
3. Political participation
4. Political culture
5. Civil liberties.

• Based on the score of 60 indicators , the countries are classified as one of four following types of regime:

1. Full democracy – scores greater than 8
2. Flawed democracy – scores greater than 6 and less than or equal to 8
3. Hybrid regime – scores greater than 4 and less than or equal to 6
4. Authoritarian regime – scores less than or equal to 4

About EIU :

• Founded: 1946
• Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
• MD : Robin Bew

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHOR

A New book titled “India-Africa Relations: Changing Horizons”: Rajiv Bhatia

• Ambassador Rajiv Kumar Bhatia, a Distinguished Fellow at Gateway House’s Foreign Policy Studies Program, has written a new book titled “India-Africa Relations: Changing Horizons,”
• It examines Africa’s emergence as a significant actor and stakeholder in global affairs, as well as the transformation of India-Africa relations.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES

Nobel prize winner Co-Discoverer of H.I.V Luc Montagnier passed away:

• Luc Montagnier, the French virologist and Nobel laureate whose co-discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus sparked a global search for an AIDS cure, has passes away.
• He was 89.
• Born in 1932 in the central French town of Chabris, Montagnier began working at Paris’s Faculty of Sciences in 1955.
• Montagnier was jointly awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize for his work in isolating the virus that causes Aids.
• He was lauded for this work, but later criticised for unscientific claims about autism and Covid-19.
• The discovery of H.I.V. began in Paris on Jan. 3, 1983.
• That was the day that Montagnier (pronounced mon-tan-YAY), who directed the Viral Oncology Unit at the Pasteur Institute, received a piece of the lymph node that had been removed from a 33-year-old man with AIDS.

Daily CA On Feb 13 :

• World Radio Day is an international day celebrated on 13 February each year.
• On February 12, India celebrates National Productivity Day.
• Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has inaugurated the 5 km long rail-cum-road-bridge over the Ganga River at Munger in Bihar through video conferencing.
• A ‘SamajikAdhikaritaShivir’ for distribution of aids and assistive devices to ‘Divyangjan’ under the ADIP Scheme and Senior citizens under ‘RashtriyaVayoshri Yojana’ (RVY Scheme) of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar handed over awards and degrees to the 284 students, which includes 8 foreign students, of the Post Graduate School of ICAR-Indian Agriculture Research Institute, New Delhi.
• Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy, K. Singh, chaired a virtual meeting with the officers of Ministry of Power and MNRE, Addl. Chief Secretaries and Principal Secretaries of Power/Energy Departments of States & UTs to discuss the role of States and UTs towards Energy Transition Goals of India.
• Minister of Railways had committed Indian Railways wrestlers to provide the state-of-art wrestling academy at Kishanganj, Delhi at an approximate cost of Rs. 30.76 crores and will be another feather in the Cap of Railways.
• The Coal Ministry has successfully auctioned ten Coal Mines of Five States in the latest effort.
• Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha launched QR Code based mechanism, which is first of its kind in the country, for certification and labeling of handmade carpets of J&K.
• The 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.
• Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Limited. (ABHICL) 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.

• Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has restructured its advisory committee on Investor Protection and Education Fund (IPEF).
• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) emerged as the second largest buyer of Gold among the world’s Central Banks in 2021 & the Central Bank of Thailand (Bank of Thailand) was the highest buyer of Gold in 2021 and bought 90 metric tonnes of gold, while RBI bought 77.5 metric tonnes taking its total gold reserve to 754.1 tonnes at the end of December 2021.
• The Reserve Bank of India increased the cap on the e-RUPI prepaid digital vouchers to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 10,000.
• The State Bank of India (SBI) has announced partnership with NSE Academy to launch five online courses that promote financial literacy as a necessary life skill.
• Ruchir Sharma, the former chief global strategist for Morgan Stanley Investment Management, will join Rockefeller Capital Management as Managing Director and Chairman effective from Feb. 14, 2022.
• Agritech platform Krishi Network appointed Bollywood actor Pankaj Tripathi as its brand ambassador.
• Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari, who had been appointed as the Acting Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, has been made the Chief Justice of the High Court & he had taken over this position after the transfer of Justice Sanjib Banerjee to the Meghalaya High Court in November 2021.
• Tata Sons Pvt Ltd board approved the re-appointment of its executive chairman N Chandrasekaran for next five years 2022-2027.
• Odisha’s Malkangiri has topped NITI Aayog’s list of ‘Most Improved Aspirational Districts in Agriculture & Water Resources Sector’ of December 2021.
• India has ranked third in the world for LEED certified green buildings in 2021 in the US Green Building Council (USGBC) annual list.
• According to the EIU’s Democracy Index 2021, India is placed at 46th position with an overall score of 6.91 on a scale of 0-10 across 165 independent countries and two territories & Norway has topped the index with a score of 9.75.

• Ambassador Rajiv Kumar Bhatia, a Distinguished Fellow at Gateway House’s Foreign Policy Studies Program, has written a new book titled “India-Africa Relations: Changing Horizons,”
• Luc Montagnier, the French virologist and Nobel laureate whose co-discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus sparked a global search for an AIDS cure, has passes away.