Daily Current Affairs and GK | 3 August 2021

Topic: Awards and Prizes

1. Cyrus Poonawalla to be honoured with Lokmanya Tilak National Award for 2021.

• Cyrus Poonawalla will be honoured with Lokmanya Tilak National Award for 2021 in an award ceremony on 13 August.
• The award ceremony usually takes place on August 1, the death anniversary of Lokmanya Tilak. This year, it will take place on August 13 due to pandemic.
• As per Deepak Tilak, the President of Lokmanya Tilak Trust, Mr.  Poonawalla will receive the award for his work during the coronavirus pandemic.

Topic: Important Days

2. World Breastfeeding Week is annually celebrated from August 1 to 7.

• World Breastfeeding Week is annually celebrated from August 1 to 7 in more than 120 countries.
• “Protect Breastfeeding: A Shared Responsibility” is the theme for World Breastfeeding Week 2021.
• World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated in commemoration of the 1990 Innocenti Declaration.
• In 1991, World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action was formed. In 1992, World Breastfeeding Week was started.
• World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action coordinates global World Breastfeeding Week campaign.
• World Breastfeeding Week campaign aims to raise awareness and galvanize action on themes related to breastfeeding.

Topic: Appointments

3. Actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas appointed as global brand ambassador of Bvlgari.

• Actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas has been appointed as the global brand ambassador of Italian luxury brand Bvlgari.
• Bvlgari is famous for its gemstone jewellery, watches, fragrances, accessories and leather goods.
• In 2020, Bvlgari had entered into a partnership with perfume and taste company Firmenich on a sustainable flower farming project known as “Flower Gems of India."
• Its goal was to create a new jasmine farming model involving 100 family-owned farms in Tamil Nadu. 
• In response to the second Covid-19 wave, Priyanka Chopra has created a fundraiser in collaboration with the non-profit organization Give India.
• Chopra Jonas is also a global UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. She is also a recipient of the prestigious Danny Kaye Humanitarian award.

Topic: National News

4. ‘National Webinar on Multidisciplinary and Holistic Education’ organized by Ministry of Education.

• ‘National Webinar on Multidisciplinary and Holistic Education’ was organized by the Ministry of Education on 2 August.   
• As part of the celebration of one year of National Education Policy 2020, Government of India is organising a series of theme-based webinars on different aspects of National Education Policy, 2020.
• Multidisciplinary and Holistic Education is one of the biggest thrust areas of NEP. So, National Webinar on Multidisciplinary and Holistic Education was organized.
• The first session of the Webinar was on the theme “Holistic Education”. Second session was on the theme of “Multidisciplinary Education”. Final session was on ‘Multiple Entry Exit through Academic Bank of Credit’.
• National Education Policy 2020 was approved by Union Cabinet in July 2020. Government has brought the first National Policy on Education in 1968. Second National Policy on Education was brought in 1986.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

5. Indian Bank signs MoU with IIT Bombay for providing credit facility to Startups and MSMEs.

• Indian Bank has signed an MoU with Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE) – an initiative of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay for providing credit facilities to Startups and MSMEs.
• Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE) supports the MSME sector by providing joint research and development arrangements. It also provides technical and financial support for incubation.
• A loan up to 50 crore rupees will be provided by Indian Bank to startups for their working capital or purchase of machinery and equipment.
• This initiative is mutually beneficial for both Bank and IIT Bombay.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

6. Parliament passed Inland Vessels Bill, 2021.

• Parliament has passed the Inland Vessels Bill, 2021. It will replace the Inland Vessels Act, 1917.
• Inland Vessels Bill, 2021 will provide a uniform regulatory framework for inland vessel navigation across the country.
• It proposed to set up a central database for recording the details about vessel, vessel registration, and crew.
• The bill also proposed a development fund for various purposes including emergency preparedness, containment of pollution, and boosting inland water navigation.
• The bill defines mechanically propelled inland vessels and provides a platform for the state governments to regulate the unregulated sector of non-mechanically propelled vessels.
• The uniform rule and regulation will ensure seamless, safe, and economical transportation by inland vessels.
• The government had started several initiatives to encourage inland water navigation and had declared 111 waterways as national waterways.

Topic: Miscellaneous

7. Culture Ministry started a unique programme to celebrate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav on Independence Day.

• Culture Ministry has launched a unique programme to celebrate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav on this year’s Independence Day.
• In this initiative, people have been invited to sing the National anthem and upload the video on the website. The compilation of the National Anthem will be shown live on 15^th August 2021.
• The initiative was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25^th July.
• Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav is being celebrated to commemorate India’s 75 years of Independence. It was started from Mahatma Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram on 12th March 2021.
• The 125^th birth anniversary of freedom fighter Pingali Venkayya was also celebrated on 2^nd August across the country. He is the designer of the Indian national flag.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Miscellaneous

8. Shehroze Kashif becomes world's youngest mountaineer to climb K2.

• Pakistani climber Shehroze Kashif has become the world's youngest mountaineer to climb K2, the second-highest peak in the world. He achieved this feat at the age of 19.
• He climbed the 8,611-metre high peak without the bottled oxygen. He is the youngest Pakistani to scale Mount Everest.
• Earlier, Sajid Sadpara was the youngest person to climb K2 at the age of 20.
• Lino Lacedelli was the first man to reach the summit of K2.
• 14 highest peaks in the world are located in Pakistan, Nepal, and China.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

9. A new frog species named after renowned Indian plant geneticist.

• Researchers named a newly discovered frog after renowned Indian plant geneticist Prof Deepak Pental.
• Recently, University of Delhi researchers have discovered a new species of frog belonging to the family Dicroglossidae from the Western Ghats. It has been named Minervarya Pentali.
• This new species of frog has been identified based on different criteria such as external morphology, DNA, and calling pattern.
• This new species of frog was found at various locations in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. According to the researchers, this new species is only found in the southern region.
• It is also one of the tiniest Minervaryan frogs. The study revealed the taxonomic status of all known members of the genus from Peninsular India.

Topic: International News

10. Min Aung Hlaing becomes Prime Minister of Myanmar.

• Min Aung Hlaing, chairman of the State Administration Council (SAC), has become Prime Minister of Myanmar after SAC was re-formed as ‘Caretaker government of Myanmar’.
• Chief of the Myanmar military Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is heading the caretaker government of Myanmar.
• Min Aung Hlaing promised to hold elections by August 2023 in a televised speech.
• He also said that his administration is willing to work with the regional envoy appointed by the ASEAN on Myanmar.
• ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting is set to take place between August 2-7 to finalize a special envoy to Myanmar to facilitate discussion between the military government and its opponents. 
• General Hlaing came to power in Myanmar in February after removing Aung San Suu Kyi headed government on February 1.  Since then, State Administration Council (SAC) is governing Myanmar.

Topic: Sports

11. Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela establishes new women’s triple jump world record in Tokyo Olympics.

• Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela has established new women’s triple jump world record in Tokyo Olympics.
• She won a gold medal in the women’s triple jump in Tokyo Olympics. She jumped 15.67 metres on her sixth and final jump in Tokyo.
• She broke the record of 15.50 m set by Inessa Kravets of Ukraine in 1995.
• She also won world titles in 2017 and 2019 as well as a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
• Patricia Mamona of Portugal has won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Ana Peleteiro of Spain won the bronze medal.

Topic: International News

12. India and Bangladesh resume freight services along Haldibari-Chilahati rail route after almost 56 years.

• India and Bangladesh have resumed freight services along the Haldibari-Chilahati rail route after almost 56 years.
• During a virtual meeting between Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh, Haldibari-Chilahati rail link was inaugurated in December 2020.
• On 1^st August, the first goods train left Dumdim station of Alipurduar division and will reach Chilahati in Bangladesh via the Haldibari-Chilahati rail route.
• Only seven rail links were operating between India and Bangladesh after independence.
• Five routes between West Bengal and Bangladesh are now functioning. They are given next.
  • Petrapole (India) - Benapole (Bangladesh)
  • Gede (India) - Darshan (Bangladesh)
  • Singhabad (India) - Rohanpur (Bangladesh)
  • Radhikapur (India) - Birol (Bangladesh) 
  • Haldibari (India) - Chilahati (Bangladesh) 
• Haldibari-Chilahati rail link was last operational till 1965. It was cut off after 1965 war. Its construction was started in 2016 and ended in 2017.