1) PM Modi inaugurates the Saryu Nahar National Project in UP
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Saryu Nahar National Project in Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh. The project will provide assured water for irrigation to over 14 lakh hectares of land and benefit about 29 lakh farmers, mainly in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya were among those present at the project inauguration programme.
2) Centre grants GI Tag to Bihar’s Mithila Makhana
•The Geographical Indications Registry (GIR) under the Central Ministry of Commerce has accepted the petition to rename Bihar Makhana as Mithila Makhana and has also suggested further changes to the brand logo to better reflect its origins. It also suggested amendments in the brand logo to highlight its origins and protect the product’s Geographical Indications (GI) rights.
•The Sabour based Bihar Agriculture University (BAU) initiated an application on behalf of the Mithilanchal Makhana Utpadak Sangh (MMUS) to name their produce as Mithila Makhana for the welfare of fox nut growers in the Mithila region.
3) Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana : Maharashtra topped the list
•Maharashtra has topped the list of states with the maximum number of beneficiaries under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY), followed by Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. As many as 6,49,560 beneficiaries were recorded in Maharashtra, followed by Tamil Nadu (5,35,615), Gujarat (4,44,741) and Karnataka (3,07,164). In Maharashtra, the beneficiaries have been provided with a total of Rs 409.72 crore under the scheme to new employees of 17,524 establishments.
4) India successfully tests long-range Supersonic Missile Assisted Torpedo
•India has successfully test-fired a long-range Supersonic Missile Assisted Torpedo (SMART) off the Balasore coast in Odisha. The weapon system is being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian Navy. The system has been designed to enhance anti-submarine warfare capability far beyond the conventional range of the torpedo.
5) Dubai 1st in World to go 100% Paperless
•Dubai became the world’s first government to turn 100% paperless, the announcement was made by the United Arab Emirate (UAE) Crown Prince, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. It will save around 3 billion Dirham (USD 350 million) and 14-million-man hours. The digitization will provide all the govt. services to customers & reduce paper consumption by more than 336 million papers. All the exceptional digital services can be accessed by the Citizens through the “Dubai Now application’’.
6) IAF-DRDO flight-tested Helicopter-launched SANT Missile
•Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully flight-tested the indigenously designed and developed Helicopter launched (air-launched) Stand-off Anti-tank (SANT) Missile from the Pokhran range in Rajasthan. For the first time that this was launched from a Russian origin Mi-35 helicopter gunship.
7) BPCL tie-up with BARC for Green Hydrogen production
•Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has tied up with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to scale-up Alkaline Electrolyze technology for Green Hydrogen production. This is a first of its kind initiative to support India’s commitment to achieve renewable energy targets and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Electrolyser plants are presently imported and the collaboration is to “scale-up Alkaline Electrolyser technology for Green Hydrogen production”.
•India has set a target to reach net zero emissions by 2070 and towards that objective it is looking to raise the share of renewables in its energy mix to 50 per cent by 2030 from 38 per cent currently. This is a first of its kind initiative to support the country’s commitment to achieve renewable energy targets and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
8) China launches “Shijian-6 05” satellites for Space Exploration
•China successfully launched a new group of satellites Shijian-6 05 into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China for space exploration and new technology tests. The satellites were launched by a Long March-4B rocket which marked the 400th mission of Long March series carrier rockets. The information about the number of satellites has not been specified. As the message reads, they will be used for space exploration and new technology tests.
9) Bank of Baroda launches bob World Wave
•Bank of Baroda (BoB) has launched a solution for digital banking payments, named bob World Wave. Wearable technology is witnessing the rise of tremendous interest across the world and lenders are using this opportunity to adopt the more convenient and cashless digital payments systems. This is an innovative solution, intended to perfectly deliver preventive health actions as well as easier payment transactions.
•Bank’s on the go wearable payment solution, bob World Wave is designed to ensure convenient and seamless digital payments by our customers. It is anticipated that 10% of the small ticket payments will be made via wearable devices in the next two years.”
10) TIME Magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’ for 2021: Elon Musk
•The prestigious TIME magazine has named Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, as the “2021 Person of the Year. In 2021, US-based electric-vehicle startup Tesla became $1 trillion company as Musk became the world’s richest person with an estimated net worth of around US $255 billion. Musk is also the founder and CEO of rocket company SpaceX, and leads brain-chip start-up Neuralink and infrastructure firm The Boring Company.
