Daily Current Affairs and GK | 24 February 2021

Topic: State News/ Puducherry

1. Narayanasamy resigns as Puducherry CM before floor test.

• V Narayanasamy has resigned as Chief Minister of Puducherry before the floor test.
• V Narayanasamy government had lost its majority in the Legislative assembly of Pondicherry after five Congress and one Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MLA have resigned.
• The Puducherry Legislative Assembly has 33 seats. At present, the Puducherry Legislative Assembly has a strength of 26 seats because seven seats are vacant.
• Recently, Tamilisai Soundararajan is appointed as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.
• Union Territory Delhi, Jammu Kashmir and Puducherry have an elected Legislative Assembly.
• Qualifications for Chief Minister:
  • He/She should be a Citizen of India.
  • He/She should be of 25 years of age or more.
  • He/She should be a member of either house of the State Legislature.

Topic: Books and Authors

2. M. Venkaiah Naidu released a book titled “Maverick Messiah - A Political Biography of N.T. Rama Rao”.

• Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu released a book titled “Maverick Messiah - A Political Biography of N.T. Rama Rao” in Hyderabad.
• It has been written by senior journalist Ramesh Kandula. It is based on the life of Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao.
• Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao:
  • He was an Indian actor, producer, director, film editor and politician. He also served as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
  • He is one of the greatest actors in Indian cinema. He had received many awards including three National Film Awards, Rashtrapati Awards, Filmfare Award for Best Actor, etc.

Topic: Sports

3. President will inaugurate the world's largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.

• The world's largest Cricket Stadium at Motera in Ahmedabad will be inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind.
• He will also lay the foundation stone of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave at newly-built Cricket Stadium.
• It is spread over 63 acres, with a seating capacity of 1.32 lakh people. It is the second-largest sports ground in the world.
• It will host a day-night pink ball test match between India and England.
• The Motera cricket stadium has all modern facilities for cricket. It has LED lights on the roof.
• The Rungrado 1^st of May Stadium (former Rungrado May Day Stadium) in North Korea is the world's largest stadium. Melbourne Cricket Ground is the second-largest cricket stadium in the world.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

4. Government launched National Urban Digital Mission.

• The National Urban Digital Mission and other initiatives have been launched by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Minister of Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad on 23 February.
• National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM):
  • The main objective of the National Urban Digital Mission is to create a digital infrastructure for cities in the country.
  • It will help cities and towns in developing digital infrastructure by working across the three pillars of people, process, and platform.
  • It aims to create citizen-centric digital infrastructure in 2022 cities by 2022, and it will cover all cities of India by 2024.
  • It will create a shared digital infrastructure for different initiatives of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, which will help in resolving the local challenges of cities.
  • It is based on the technology design principles of the National Urban Innovation Stack (NUIS).
• Other initiatives to boost digital infrastructure:
  • India Urban Data Exchange (IUDX):
    • It is jointly developed by the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru and Smart Cities Mission.
    • It is an open software platform for the exchange of data among various data platforms.
    • It is a secure and reliable medium for data producers or owners to share their data.
  • SmartCode Platform:
    • It is a platform that will work as a repository of open-source code for various solutions and applications for urban governance.
    • It will help urban local bodies in the development of digital applications.
    • It will provide the source code without any fees and licensing.
  • New Smart Cities Website ver. 2.0 and GMIS:
    • The new version of the Smart Cities Mission website has been launched.
    • It will be a one-stop solution for all Smart Cities initiatives. It will work as a gateway for the different platforms and initiatives of the Smart Cities Mission.
    • The Geospatial Management Information System has been integrated with this new version of the website.
• Smart Cities Mission was launched in 2015 to develop smart cities which are sustainable and citizen-friendly. Under the mission, 100 cities have been identified to be developed as Smart cities.

Topic: International News

5. External Affairs Minister inaugurated new building of Indian High Commission in Mauritius.

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has inaugurated the new Indian High Commission building in Mauritius. 
• He reviewed the Dagotière Social Housing Project. Under this project, 956 Housing Units are constructed with the support of the Indian government.
• Dr. S. Jaishankar inaugurated the building during his two-nation visit to Maldives and Mauritius.
• Recently, the Union Cabinet of India has approved a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement between India and Mauritius.
• Mauritius:
  • It is an island nation which is located in the Indian Ocean.
  • Its capital is Port Louis and its currency is Mauritian Rupee.
  • Pravind Kumar Jugnauth is the current Prime Minister of Mauritius.
  • Mauritius is the fourth largest contributor to India’s FDI in 2020-21.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

6. India and AIIB signed a loan agreement for Assam power transmission project.

• A $304-mn loan agreement is signed between India and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank for strengthening the power transmission network in Assam. It has a maturity period of 24 years.
• The project aims to strengthen the power transmission network in the State of Assam. It will help in constructing 10 transmission substations and laying transmission lines.
• Under this project, 15 existing substations will also be upgraded. The existing ground wire will be upgraded by optical power ground wire.
• The project will help the Assam government in providing affordable, efficient and 24-hour electricity supply.
• Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB):
  • It was established by a multilateral treaty on December 25, 2015, and began operations in January 2016.
  • It is a multilateral development bank that aims to support the construction of infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific region.
  • Its headquarters is located in Beijing, China.
  • Jin Liqun is the current President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Topic: Important Days

7. Central Excise day: 24 February

• Central Excise Day is observed every year on 24 February to commemorate the implementation of the Central Excise and Salt Act on 24 February 1944.
• Apart from this, this day is also celebrated to honour the hard work done by the employees of the excise department. It encourages the employees of the excise department to perform their duties.
• Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs celebrates this day in India.
• Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC):
  • It was established on 26 January 1944. It is headquartered in New Delhi. It is headed by Muttoli Ajit Kumar (M. Ajit Kumar).
  • It is a part of the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance.
  • It formulates and implements policies for Central GST, Central Excise Duty and Custom/Import Duty.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

8. World Bank signed 68 million dollar pact to improve the Quality of Education in Nagaland.

• The Union Government of India, Nagaland and the World Bank have signed a 68 million dollar loan project for enhancing the quality of education in Nagaland.
• The project aims to improve classroom instruction and professional development of teachers. It will also help in the development of technology for online learning.
• It will help in better monitoring and management of policies and programme related to education in the state.
• Around 1 lakh 50 thousand students and 20 thousand teachers in the government education system will get benefited from this project.
• The project has been named “Nagaland: Enhancing Classroom Teaching and Resources”. Under this project, about 15 out of 44 higher secondary schools will be developed into school complexes.
• The project will strengthen the Education Management and Information System (EMIS) of Nagaland.
• World Bank: It is one of the world’s largest finance providers aiming to end extreme poverty and promote shared growth. Its headquarters is located in Washington, D.C., and has 189 members. David Malpass is the current President of the World Bank.

Topic: Sports

9. Indian Boxers won gold medals in 30th Adriatic Pearl tournament in Montenegro.

• Arundhati Choudhary in 69 kilogram category and Naorem Babyrojisana Chanu 51 kilogram category have won gold medals in the 30^th Adriatic Pearl tournament in Budva, Montenegro.
• Indian boxing women team has won five gold, three silver and two bronze medals. Indian team is in the top position in the women category.
• Babyrosijana has defeated Sabina Bobokulova, while Arundhati beat Marina Stoiko in the finals.
• Indian male boxers have won three bronze medals in this tournament.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Appointments

10. Pravas Kumar Singh appointed as Member of Central Electricity Regulatory Commission.

• Pravas Kumar Singh has been appointed as Member (Law) of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).
• R K Singh, Minister of State for Power, administered the oath of office to him.
• He previously served as Member (legal) in Jharkhand SERC.
• Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC):
  • It is a statutory body formed on 24 July 1998 under the Electricity Regulatory Commissions Act, 1998.
  • It is the central commission functioning under section 76 of the Electricity Act 2003.
  • It consists of a Chairperson and four other members. Chairperson of Central Electricity Authority is the ex-officio member of CERC.
  • Chairperson of CERC- P K Pujari
• Functions of CERC:
  • Regulate tariff of generating companies owned or controlled by central government
  • Regulate the tariff of other generating companies having a composite scheme for generation and sale of electricity in more than one state,
  • Regulate the inter-State transmission of electricity
  • Determine tariff for inter-State transmission of electricity
  • Advice to central government for the formulation of National Electricity Policy and Tariff Policy
  • Advice for promotion of competition, efficiency and economy in electricity sector
  • Advice for promotion of investment in electricity sector

(Source: PIB)