Daily Current Affairs and GK | 1 February 2021

Topic: Biotechnology and Diseases

1. First round of Pulse Polio Programme 2021 launched by President Ram Nath Kovind.

• First round of Pulse Polio Programme 2021 was launched by President Ram Nath Kovind on 30 January 2021.
• Polio vaccination day was on 31 January. It is also called National Immunisation Day or Polio Ravivar.
• Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has rescheduled the Polio vaccination day (National Immunisation Day or Polio Ravivar) to 31 January 2021.
• This was done because the COVID-19 vaccination drive was launched by PM Modi on 16 January 2021.
• Polio vaccination day (National Immunisation Day or Polio Ravivar) was earlier scheduled to start from 17 January 2021.
• World Polio Day is celebrated annually on 24 October. In March 2014, WHO certified India as a polio-free country. The last case of polio was recorded in India in January 2011.
• Government launched National Immunization Day (NID) or Pulse Polio Immunization programme in 1995. It is carried out twice in early part of each year
• Polio:
  • It is an infectious disease caused by Poliovirus.
  • The Poliovirus is a virus that affects the nervous system which can cause paralysis
  • There are mainly three kinds of wild Poliovirus and to declare a country polio-free, all three kinds of virus transmission have to be stopped.
  • It can be prevented by the inactivated poliovirus vaccine or Oral poliovirus vaccine.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Important Days

2.  Indian Coast Guard Raising Day: 01 February.

• Indian Coast Guard Raising Day is on 01 February and 44^th Indian Coast Guard Raising Day was celebrated on 01 February 2020.
• Indian Coast Guard is the world’s fourth-largest Coast Guard. Its motto is Vayam Rakshamah (We Protect).
• A committee under the chairmanship of KF Rustamji recommended establishing a Coast Guard type organization in its report of 1975. The committee was set up in 1974.
• Indian Coast Guard was established on 01 February 1977. Fourth Prime Minister Morarji Desai formally inaugurated the Indian Coast Guard on 19 August 1978.
• Its headquarters are in New Delhi. It has five regional headquarters at Mumbai, Chennai, Gandhi Nagar, Kolkata and Port Blair.
• It functions under the Ministry of Defence. Krishnaswamy Natarajan is the current Director-General of the Indian Coast Guard.

Topic: National News

3. 8^th India International Silk Fair inaugurated by Union Minister for Textiles, Smriti Irani.

• The 8^th India International Silk Fair has been inaugurated by the Union Minister for Textiles Smriti Irani.
• 8^th India International Silk Fair is being organized on the Indian Silk Export Promotion Council’s virtual platform. It will continue for five days from 31 January to 4 February 2021.
• India is the 2^nd largest producer of silk. All the four major types of silk - Mulberry, Eri, Tassar, and Muga, are produced in India. India is the only country in the world producing all four major types of silk.
• India International Silk Fair is considered to be India’s biggest silk fair. Indian Silk Export Promotion Council under the Ministry of Textiles organizes it. Department of Commerce sponsors it.
• Silk is obtained from silkworms (larvae of Bombyx mori). Cultivation of silkworms is called sericulture. 
• Karnataka, West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh produce 90% of raw silk produced in India.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: International News

4. United Kingdom made formal request for joining Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

• United Kingdom has announced that it is making a formal request for joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
• UK is the first non-founding country making a formal request for joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
• Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) or TPP-11:
  • It is a trade agreement that was signed in March 2018 and became effective in December 2018.
  • It includes 11 Asia and Pacific nations. They are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

Topic: India and its neighborhood

5. India's Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam to get contract for building of Lower Arun Hydropower Project.

• Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam, a Public Sector Enterprise under Ministry of Power, will get contract for building of Lower Arun Hydropower Project.
• Nepal has taken this decision at a meeting of its Investment Board. The ownership of project will be given to government of Nepal after 20 years from the start of operation.
• Lower Arun Hydropower Project on Arun River has capacity of 679 MW. It is located in Sankhuwasabha and Bhojpur districts of eastern Nepal.
• Lower Arun Hydropower Project is located upstream of the proposed Sapta Koshi High Dam project on Saptakoshi River of Nepal.
• The Saptakoshi River has seven major tributaries- Indrawati, Sunkoshi, Tamakoshi, Likhu, Dudhkoshi, Arun and Tamor.
• Nepal:
  • It is a landlocked nation and it shares a border with Indian states, namely Uttrakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, West Bengal, and Bihar.
  • Its capital is Kathmandu and the currency is Nepalese Rupees.
  • Bidya Devi Bhandari is the President and Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli is the Prime Minister of Nepal.

Topic: Defence

6. IN FAC T-81 of Super Dvora MK II class decommissioned from service.

• On 28 January, Indian Naval Fast Attack Craft (IN FAC) T-81 was decommissioned from service.
• IN FAC T-81 Fast Attack Craft of Super Dvora MK II class was decommissioned at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai.
• On 05 June 1999, IN FAC T-81 was commissioned into Indian Navy. It was built at Goa Shipyard Ltd with Israel. 
• It had been specially designed for shallow waters. IN FAC T-81 is 25 meters long vessel. It has maximum speed of 45 knots. It has 60 tonnes displacement.

Topic: Reports and Indices

7. India rank 10th in Asia-Pacific Personalised Health Index 2020.

• India has been ranked 10th in the Asia Pacific Personalised Health Index 2020.
• It is released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
• It measures health readiness of 11 countries- Australia, China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and New Zealand.
• This Index is based on the 27 indicators in four categories. The four categories are-
  • Policy Context
  • Health Information
  • Personalized Technologies
  • Health Services
• In the health information category, India has got a score of 41. India got 11^th rank with a score of 24 in the health services. India has got 5^th rank in the Policy Context category. India has been ranked ninth in the Personalized Technologies category with 30 points.
• Singapore has bagged top position in the Asia Pacific Personalised Health Index 2020. Taiwan and Japan are on 2^nd and 3^rd position respectively.

Asia-Pacific Personalised Health Index Ranking:

Topic: Reports and Indices

8. Maharashtra rank first in the second edition of the India Justice Report 2020.

• According to the second edition of the India Justice Report 2020, Maharashtra is on the top position in delivering justice to people.
• Tamil Nadu and Telangana are on the second and third spot in the India Justice Report 2020.
• Tamil Nadu has improved its ranking from the third position to the second position while Kerala slipped from the second to fifth in 2020.
• In small states, Tripura is on the top position. Sikkim and Goa are on the 2^nd and 3^rd position respectively.
• India Justice Report 2020 is prepared by Tata Trusts with the help of many other organizations.
• The report is based on the statistics of four pillars of Justice delivery system: Police, Judiciary, Prisons and Legal Aid.
• Key Facts of this report:
  • Rajasthan is on the top position in the Prisons category.
  • Himachal Pradesh is on the top position among small states in Prisons category.
  • Only 29 percent of Judges in India are Women.

Topic: Books and Authors

9. Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse is writing ‘Race With Me' book.

• Canadian Olympian sprinter Andre De Grasse is writing a book named "Race With Me!" for children. It is a picture book.
• Andre De Grasse and Robert Budd are co-authors and it is illustrated by Joseph Osei Bonsu.
• It will be released in July 2021 and it will be published by Scholastic Canada.
• It is a motivational book having pictures of Andre De Grasse.
• Andre De Grasse:
  • He is a Canadian sprinter.
  • He has won the silver medal in the 200 m and bronze medals in the 100 m and 4×100 m relay at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
  • He is the first Canadian sprinter to win three medals in a single Olympics.

Topic: Indian Economy

10. Government will bring law to ban cryptocurrencies.

• The Government will bring a law to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in this session of parliament.
• The Government will also introduce an official digital currency issued by the Reserve Bank of India.
• The Reserve Bank of India had banned cryptocurrency trading in India in April 2018.
• In March 2020, the Supreme Court had lifted the Ban on Cryptocurrencies and had directed the government to regulate Cryptocurrency.
• Cryptocurrency:
  • It is a specific type of virtual currency, which is decentralized and protected by cryptographic encryption techniques. It works on blockchain technology.
  • Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple are some examples of cryptocurrencies.
  • Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency.
  • Cryptocurrency is not a legal tender in India.