Daily Current Affairs and GK | 25 February 2021

Topic: Personality in News

1. Former TRAI chairman Rahul Khullar has passed away.

• Former TRAI Chairman Rahul Khullar has passed away in New Delhi.
• He served as the Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce from 2009 to 2012. He was appointed as chairman of TRAI chief in 2012. He had worked as TRAI Chairman for three years.
• He was also a former Income Tax Commissioner.
• Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI):
  • It is a statutory body established under the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997.
  • It issues directions, orders and regulations concerning tariffs, interconnection, quality of service and governance.
  • It consists of one Chairperson, two full-time members and two part-time members.
  • Its headquarters is located in New Delhi and its current chairman is P D Vaghela.

Topic: State News/ Madhya Pradesh

2. Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh will be renamed as Narmadapuram.

• Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced that Hoshangabad city will be renamed as Narmadapuram. He announced it during the Narmada Jayanti programme in Hoshangabad.
• The state government will send the proposal to the central government for changing the name of Hoshangabad.
• Hoshangabad:
  • Hoshangabad is a city in the Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh. It is located along the bank of the Narmada River.
  • It is the headquarters of Hoshangabad district and Narmadapuram division.
  • The city is named after Hoshang Shah.
  • It is famous for the ghats along the Narmada River.

Topic: Appointments

3. Vijay Sampla appointed Chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC).

• President has appointed Vijay Sampla as the Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes.
• The post was vacant since May 2020 after Ram Shankar Katheria’s term ended.
• Vijay Sampla has earlier served as the Union Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment from 2014-19.
• He also served as Chairman of Punjab Dalit Vikas Parishad, Bharat Gaurav and KVIC Board, Punjab (2009-12).
• National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC):
  • It is a constitutional body that provides safeguards against the exploitation of SCs and Anglo Indian communities.
  • The first commission for scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was formed in August 1978.
  • 89^th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003 replaced the National Commission for SCs and STs with National Commission for SCs and National Commission for STs.
  • It was formed on 19 February 2004.
  • Suraj Bhan was the Chairman of the first National Commission for Scheduled Castes set up in 2004.
  • Article 338 of the Indian Constitution is related to National Commission for SCs.
  • President of India appoints the Chairman and other members of NCSC.
  • Sixth National Commission for Scheduled Castes has been constituted in 2021 with Vijay Sampla as the Chairman and Shri Arun Halder as the Vice-Chairman.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Space and IT

4. A spacecraft named after mathematician Katherine Johnson reached International Space Station.

• A space station supply ship named after NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson has reached International Space Station with 8,000 pounds of cargo.
• The S.S. Katherine Johnson, a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft, was launched on 20 February from a NASA facility in Virginia. It is Northrop Grumman’s 15th space station supply spacecraft for NASA.
• It has reached International Space Station with supplies related to science and research, crew and vehicle hardware. It will support muscle experiments and has brought computer equipment to increase data processing speed on the space station.
• Katherine Johnson:
  • Katherine Johnson is one of the scientists behind the success of the first American human spaceflight. She had worked for various space program of NASA, including the Apollo program.
  • She is famous for calculations of orbital mechanics.
  • Her work gets more recognition after the film “Hidden Figures”.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

5. Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2021 Winners announced.

• Dadasaheb Phalke Award was started in 1969 by the government to recognize the contribution of film personalities to Indian Cinema. Devika Rani was the first recipient of this award.
• It is the most prestigious award of Indian Cinema and is given in honour of Dhundiraj Govind Phalke.
• It is being given for film, television, music and OTT.
• Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2021 Winners list:
  • Best Actor (Female) award: Deepika Padukone for her performance in Chhapaak
  • Best Actor in a supporting role: Vikrant Massey for Chhapaak
  • Best Actor (Male) award: Akshay Kumar for his film Laxmii
  • Best Actor in Web Series (Male): Bobby Deol for Aashram
  • Best actor in a Web-Series (Female): Sushmita Sen for Arya
  • Best Web Series - Scam: 1992
  • Critics’ Choice Best Actress award: Kiara Advani
  • Critic’s Best actor (Male) posthumously: Sushant Singh Rajput
  • Best Film Award: Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior
  • Best Director: Anurag Basu for Ludo
  • Best Actress in a Television Series - Surbhi Chandna
  • Best Actor in a Television Series - Dheeraj Dhoopar

Topic: Indian Polity

6. Union Cabinet approves President's Rule in Puducherry.

• The Union Cabinet has approved the President's Rule proposal in Puducherry. No party has claimed to form government in Puducherry that's why the union cabinet has approved the imposition of president rule.
• Recently, V Narayanasamy has resigned as Chief Minister after losing the majority in legislative assembly.
• The legislative assembly will get dissolved after the assent of the President.
• President rule:
  • Article 356 of the Constitution of India gives the President of India the power to impose President Rule in a state or Union territory on the advice of the Union Council of Ministers.
  • The President rule must be approved by the houses of parliament within two months.
  • President rule is imposed after considering the following conditions:
    • If the President is satisfied that the government of state government cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.
    • If no party claim to form government in the state.
    • If a state fails to comply with the direction given by the center.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

7. Union Cabinet approves PLI Scheme for Pharmaceuticals and IT Hardware.

• Cabinet approved the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for the pharmaceuticals and IT hardware sectors.
• It aims to promote domestic manufacturing and attract investment in the IT and pharmaceuticals sectors.
• PLI Scheme for IT Hardware:
  • It will start from 1 April 2021. It will promote domestic manufacturing of IT hardware including laptops, tablets, all-in-one PCs and servers.
  • The estimated cost of this scheme is around Rs 7,350 crore over four years.
  • It could generate 1.80 lakh employment in a direct and indirection manner.
  • A total of 15 companies, five global firms and 10 domestic firms, are expected to benefit from it.
  • It aims to reduce India’s dependency on foreign IT hardware. Under this scheme incentive will be given to beneficiary companies.
• PLI Scheme for Pharmaceuticals:
  • It has been approved for a period of Financial Year 2020-21 to 2028-29.
  • It aims to increase the production of high-value products and promote exports of products.
  • It has an employment generation potential of 20 thousand direct and 80 thousand indirect jobs.
  • It will promote innovation in the Pharmaceuticals sector. It could attract an investment of 1500 crore.
  • It will be part of the main scheme for the development of the Pharmaceutical Industry.
• Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme:
  • The Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme was launched by the government for enhancing India’s manufacturing capabilities and exports in 10 key sectors.
  • Under this scheme, the Automobiles and Auto Components sector have received the maximum incentive.

Topic: International News

8. Nepal's Supreme Court annulled the government's decision of dissolving the lower house of Parliament.

• In a historic verdict, the Supreme Court of Nepal has annulled the decision taken by the government to dissolve the House of Representatives on 20 December 2020. Supreme Court has reinstated the dissolved House of Representatives.
• The decision has been taken by a five-member Constitutional bench led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher.
• The constitutional bench has declared the decision of dissolution “unconstitutional" and ordered the government to summon a session within next 13 days.
• Recently, Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli was expelled from the primary membership of the Nepal Communist Party for his decision to dissolve the Parliament.  
• Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli had recommended for the dissolution of Parliament on 20 December over a tussle for power with Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda.
• Nepal Parliament: It is a bicameral legislature, which is composed of the National Assembly as the upper house and the House of Representatives as the lower house. The House of Representatives has 275 members.
• Nepal:
  • 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: Government Schemes and Initiatives 

9. PM-KISAN scheme completed two years.

• PM-Kisan scheme has completed two years on 24 February 2021.
• Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PM-KISAN):
  • It was launched on 24 February 2019.
  • It is a 100% centrally sponsored scheme. It is also known as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana. It was announced during the interim budget of 2019.
  • Under this scheme, Rs 6,000 per year is transferred by the Central Government in three equal installments of Rs 2000, to the bank accounts of the cultivable land holding farmer family having a land holding of up to 2 hectares.
  • It is being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
  • The main objective of this scheme is to increase the income of small and marginal farmers.
  • The estimated cost of this scheme is around ₹75,000 crore per annum.

Topic: Summits/ Meetings/ Conferences

10. First meeting of BRICS Finance and Central Bank Deputies hosted by India.

• India has virtually hosted the first meeting of BRICS Finance and Central Bank Deputies.
• Secretary Economic Affairs, Tarun Bajaj and Deputy Governor of RBI, Michael Patra, co-chaired this meeting.
• The meeting was attended by BRICS Finance and Central Bank Deputies of Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa.
• India is the Chair of BRICS for 2021 and will host 13^th BRICS Summit. 12^th BRICS Summit was hosted by Russia.
• BRICS is celebrating its 15^th anniversary in 2021.
• India aims to strengthen collaboration among the BRICS nations via Continuity, Consolidation and Consensus. The theme for India’s chairship is “BRICS@15: Intra-BRICS Cooperation”.
• It is the third time India will host BRICS summit after 2012 and 2016.
• BRICS: It was formalised as BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) in September 2006. First BRIC Summit was held in Russia on 16 June 2009. South Africa became full member in September 2010 and the group was renamed as BRICS. 

(Source: PIB)