Daily Current Affairs and GK | 8 February 2022

Topic: State News/ Madhya Pradesh

1. Government approved a proposal to rename three places in Madhya Pradesh.

• The Central government has recently approved the proposal to rename three places in Madhya Pradesh.
• Government changed the name of Hoshangabad Nagar as "Narmadapuram", Shivpuri as "Kundeshwar Dham" and Babai as "Makhan Nagar".
• Hoshangabad was named after Hoshang Shah and it is located on the bank of the Narmada River.
• Babai has been renamed after the Makhanlal Chaturvedi. He was a freedom fighter and a renowned Hindi poet. Babai is the birthplace of Makhanlal.
• For renaming railway stations, villages, towns, and cities, the state government has to obtain no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Union Home Ministry.
• Home Ministry issues NOC on the report from field units of Intelligence Bureau (IB), Geographical Survey of India (GSI), and Department of Post and Ministry of Earth Sciences.
• The change in the name of a state can be done through the amendment in Constitution with a simple majority in Parliament.

Topic: Sports

2. India becomes first team to play 1000 ODIs.

• India has become the first team to play 1000 One-Day Internationals.
• India played its 1000^th ODI against West Indies at the Narendra Modi stadium.
• Out of 1000 ODIs, India has won 519 matches while suffering 431 defeats and 41 matches had no result.
• Australia has played the second-most ODIs (958) while Pakistan has played 936 ODIs.
• India played its first ODI match against England on 13 July 1974 at Headingley, Leeds.
• Kapil Dev was the captain in India’s 100^th ODI while Saurav Ganguly had led the team in 500^th ODI.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

3. ASEAN-India High-Level Conference on Renewable Energy commenced on 7 February.

• The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the Ministry of External Affairs organised the ASEAN-India High-Level Conference on Renewable Energy on 7 and 8 February.
• The High-Level Conference is focused on the theme of "Experience and Innovations for the Integrated Renewables Market."
• The ASEAN-India High-Level Conference will have five technical sessions that will facilitate specialists from India and ASEAN to explore topics of mutual interest.
• Policymakers, professionals, academia and students from around the world will participate in this conference.

Topic: Appointments

4. Dinesh Prasad Saklani named new director of NCERT.

• The government has appointed Dinesh Prasad Saklani as the new director of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). 
• His tenure will be for a period of five years or till he attains the age of 65 years.
• He succeeded Hrushikesh Senapaty, who finished his term a year ago.
• Saklani is a Professor in the Department of History, Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archeology at HNB Garhwal University, Uttarakhand.
• NCERT:
  • National Council of Educational Research and Training is a self-governing body of the Government of India.
  • It was founded in 1961 under the Societies Registration Act as a literary, scientific, and charitable society.
  • It is headquartered in New Delhi.

Topic: Reports and Indices

5. Rights and Risks Analysis Group released India Press Freedom Report 2021.

• India Press Freedom Report 2021 has been recently released by the Rights and Risks Analysis Group.
• According to this report, J&K, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Tripura topped the list of States and Union Territories where journalists and media houses were targeted in 2021.
• According to the India Press Freedom Report 2021, at least 6 journalists have been killed, 108 have been attacked, and 13 media houses or newspapers have been targeted across the country.
• J&K recorded the highest number of attacks by state actors while Tripura recorded the highest number of attacks by non-state actors.
• Uttar Pradesh reported the highest registration of FIRs against journalists, followed by Delhi.
• 24 journalists were allegedly physically assaulted, threatened, harassed, and prevented from carrying out their professional work in 2021.

Topic: Important Days

6. Safer Internet Day 2022: 8 February

• Every year on February 8, the world commemorates Safer Internet Day.
• This year was celebrated as the 19^th edition of Safer Internet Day with the theme "Together for a Better Internet."
• The day is organised by the Insafe/INHOPE network of European Safer Internet Centres (SICs) in collaboration with the European Commission.
• Safer Internet Day was started in 2004 as an initiative of the EU SafeBorders project.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

7. Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 4.0 launched by Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya.

• Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 4.0 has been launched by Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya.
• Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 4.0 is a special drive to make sure full immunization coverage among children.
• Intensified Mission Indradhanush 4.0 will be conducted in 416 districts across 33 States/UTs in the country.
• It will have three rounds. The first round will be from February 2022 to April 2022 in 11 states. The others (22 states) will carry out the rounds from April to May 2022.
• 12 vaccines will be administered to the children under Mission Indradhanush 4.0.
• The immunization coverage among children has currently increased to over 76%.
• Mission Indradhanush:
  • Mission Indradhanush was launched in December 2014 to expand immunization coverage in the country.
  • Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) was launched by PM Modi on October 8, 2017.

Topic: Personality in News

8. Pandit Damodar Hota passes away.

• Odissi classical singer Pandit Damodar Hota passed away at the age of 87.
• Hota received training under Pandit Omkarnath Thakur. Hota carried out research on ancient musical traditions under Guru Nrusinghanath Khuntia.
• Hota was an exponent of Odissi classical music and of Hindustani classical music.
• He had command over eight elements (ashtanga) of khayal gayaki of Gwalior gharana.
• Odissi classical music originated from Odisha. Gwalior gharana is one of the oldest Khayal gharana. Nathu Khan and Vishnu Palushkar are their famous expounders.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

9. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurated NITI Aayog’s Fintech Open Summit.

• Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has inaugurated NITI Aayog’s Fintech Open Summit.
• This virtual summit will be organized by NITI Aayog in association with PhonePe, AWS, and EY from 7-28 February.
• This Fintech Open Summit will be the first-of-its-kind initiative to bring regulators, fintech professionals, and enthusiasts, industry leaders, etc, at one platform.
• Fintech Open’s main objective is to encourage open ecosystem across the fintech industry and to promote new models in Fintech Industry.
• In-depth conversations, deep-dives, webinars, round-table discussions, etc. will be organized during the summit.
• India's biggest-ever FinTech Hackathon will be the key highlight of the summit.
• FinTech is an emerging industry that uses technology for the delivery of financial services.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Appointments

10. Santishree Pandit appointed as first woman vice chancellor of JNU.

• Ministry of Education appointed Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit as new the vice-chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
• She will be the first woman vice-chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
• She has been appointed for a period of five years. She has also been a member of the University Grants Commission.
• She is currently serving as a professor of political science at Savitribai Phule University in Maharashtra.
• Recently, former Vice-Chancellor of JNU Jagadesh Kumar has been appointed as the Chairman of University Grants Commission UGC.
• Jawaharlal Nehru University:
  • It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru.
  • It is one of the best universities in India and is a world-renowned centre for teaching and research.
  • It is located in New Delhi.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Biotechnology and Diseases

11. DGCA granted emergency use permission to single-dose Sputnik Covid vaccine.

• The Drugs Controller General of India has granted emergency use permission to single-dose Sputnik Light COVID vaccine.
• It is the ninth COVID vaccine to receive restricted-use approval for adults in India.
• Sputnik Light COVID vaccine is developed by Russia’s Gamaleya Center and is built on a human adenovirus vector platform.
• Sputnik Light and Sputnik V have the same component. So far, around 12 lakh doses of Sputnik V have been administered in India.
• Sputnik Light has 70% efficacy against the Delta variant of Covid-19.
• Drug Controller General of India (DCGI):
  • It is responsible for setting the standards for manufacturing, import, sales, and distribution of drugs in India.
  • It approves licenses of specified categories of drugs, including blood products, vaccines, sera, etc.
  • V G Somani is the current head of the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).

Topic: National News

12. Government announced ‘Swachhta Saarthi Fellowship 2022' under its 'Waste to Wealth' mission.

• The office of the principal scientific adviser to the government of India has announced ‘Swachhta Saarthi Fellowship 2022' under the 'Waste to Wealth' mission.
• This fellowship is given to young innovators involved in the work of waste management, waste awareness campaigns, waste surveys, etc.
• In 2021, Swachhta Saarthi Fellowship was launched to recognize people involved in tackling the challenge of waste management scientifically and sustainably.
• Swachhta Saarthi Fellowships invites applications from students, researchers and community workers.
• Waste to Wealth Mission:
  • It is one of the nine national missions of the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC).
  • Its main objective is to identify, test, and validate technologies that recover value from waste, and are commercially viable.
  • It is spearheaded by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA).

Topic: Personality in News

13. Queen Elizabeth II becomes first British monarch to rule for 70 years.

• Queen Elizabeth II has become the first British monarch to rule for 70 years.
• She surpassed Louis XIV of France as the longest-reigning monarch of a sovereign state.
• She became the longest-lived British monarch on 21 December 2007. In 2017, she became the first British monarch to commemorate a Sapphire Jubilee.
• Elizabeth II is the Queen of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms.
• On 6 February 1952, Elizabeth became queen after the death of her father King George VI.

Topic: Personality in News

14. Veteran leader Chandupatla Janga Reddy passed away in Hyderabad.

• Senior politician Chandupatla Janga Reddy died in Hyderabad at the age of 86.
• He was one of the two BJP MPs elected to the Lok Sabha in 1984 and a former MLA in Andhra Pradesh.
• He had dedicated his life to the ideology of the Jan Sangh and later the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
• He had defeated former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao from the Hanumakonda Lok Sabha constituency in the 1984 general elections.
• He represented the Parkal constituency from 1967 to 1972.