1) Indian Coast Guard celebrates its 46th Raising Day 2022
•Indian Coast Guard is celebrating its 46th Raising Day on 01 Feb 2022. As the fourth largest Coast Guard in the world, the Indian Coast Guard has played a significant role in securing the Indian Coasts and enforcing regulations in the Maritime Zones of India. The ICG was formally established on February 1, 1977, by the Coast Guard Act, 1978 of the Parliament of India. It operates under the Ministry of Defence.
•From a modest beginning with just 07 surface platforms in 1978, ICG has grown into a formidable force with 158 ships and 70 aircraft in its inventory and is likely to achieve targeted force levels of 200 surface platforms and 80 aircraft by 2025. One of the primary duties of the Indian Coast Guard is prevention of smuggling through maritime routes in its area of responsibility. In the last one year, it has seized drugs and contraband worth nearly four thousand crore rupees.
2) PM Modi addresses 30th National Commission for Women Foundation Day
•Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has addressed 30th National Commission for Women Foundation Day programme on January 31, 2022, via video conference. The event was organised to celebrate the achievements of women in different fields. The theme of the programme was ‘She The Change Maker’.
•The Prime Minister remarked that today, in changing India, the role of women is continuously expanding. Therefore, he said, the expansion of the role of the National Commission for Women is also the need of the hour. All the women’s commissions of the country will also have to increase their scope and give a new direction to the women of their states.
3) Ministry of Defence begins Home Delivery of medicines under SeHAT scheme
•Ministry of Defence had launched the Services e-Health Assistance and Teleconsultation (SeHAT) medical teleconsultation service for all entitled armed forces personnel and their families in May 2021. To add further to this initiative, the Home Delivery or Self Pickup of Medicines to patients seeking consultation on SeHAT will be started w.e.f February 01, 2022.
4) Xiomara Castro sworn in as first female President of Honduras
•In Honduras, the Freedom and Refoundation Party (Libre) member Xiomara Castro has been sworn in as the first female President of the country. The 62-year-old Castro replaces President Juan Orlando Hernández, as 56th President of Honduras. Hernández has held the position for eight years from 27 January 2014 to 27 January 2022. Castro announced part of her cabinet Thursday, with her son Hector Zelaya as private secretary and Jose Manuel Zelaya — her husband’s nephew — as defence minister.
•The oath was sworn before Judge Karla Romero, flanked by Castro’s choice of Congress president, Luis Redondo, who draped the presidential sash over his new boss before a crowd of some 29,000. The guests included US Vice President Kamala Harris, King Felipe VI of Spain and Taiwan Vice President William Lai.
5) Tata group acquires Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd for Rs 12,100 crore
•Tata Group company, Tata Steel Long Products Ltd’s (TSLP) has acquired Odisha-based Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL) for Rs 12,100 crore. Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL) is a steel plant located in Kalinganagar in Odisha and was shut in March 2020 due to continued losses. It has a capacity of 1.1 million tonnes a year. This is the 1st instance of privatisation of a public sector steel manufacturing enterprise in India.
•NINL is a joint venture of four central public sector companies — Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation (MMTC), National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and MECON — and Odisha government entities OMC and IPICOL. NINL’s plant has been shut since March 2020. The Odisha government has 32.47 per cent stake in NINL through IPICOL and OMC, whereas the MMTC holds the 49.78 per cent share.
6) A book titled ‘Operation Khatma’ authored by R C Ganjoo & Ashwini Bhatnagar
•A book titled ‘Operation Khatma’ has been released which is authored by journalists RC Ganjoo and Ashwini Bhatnagar. The book is based upon the operation by the Special Operations Group of Jammu & Kashmir Police which led to the killing of 22 terrorists of the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). It is a graphic first-hand thriller on terrorism in Kashmir. The blood-splattered rivalry between JKLF and HM, and the short, sharp surgical strike -OPERATION KHATMA- that broke the back of terrorism in the Valley.
7) Unnati Hooda and Kiran George wins 2022 Odisha Open
•Indian teenager Unnati Hooda beat compatriot Smit Toshniwal, 21-18, 21-11, to claim the women’s singles title at the 2022 Odisha Open badminton tournament. The 14-year old Unnati is the youngest Indian to win the tournament. In men’s singles, India’s 21-year-old Kiran George beat Priyanshu Rajawat 21-15, 14-21, 21-18 to emerge as the winner. The 2022 Odisha Open is a BWF Super 100 tournament, organized at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Cuttack, Odisha.
8) Chennai Super Kings becomes India’s First Unicorn Sports Enterprise
•Chennai Super Kings (CSK), has become the country’s first sports Unicorn with its market cap having touched a high of Rs 7,600 crores and its share in the grey market trading in the Rs 210-225 price band. The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led CSK, which won its fourth IPL title in Dubai last year, now has a market cap more than its parent entity, India Cements. India Cements’ market cap stood at Rs 6,869 crores.
•Two key reasons which have led CSK’s market cap to go past its parent entity are the team winning its fourth IPL title in Dubai, and two new franchises being added to the upcoming season at record prices.
9) Prime Minister Modi launches Pandit Jasraj Cultural Foundation
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the Pandit Jasraj Cultural Foundation on the occasion of the 92nd birth anniversary of the Indian classical vocalist. Prime Minister Modi said that the World is entitled to benefit from Indian music like they have from Yoga. Durga Jasraj and Pandit Shaarang Dev keep alive the glorious legacy of the maestro. Yoga, Indian music has the capacity to stir the depth of the human mind and the world is entitled to be benefited from it.
10) PR Sreejesh wins World Games Athlete of the Year award 2021
•Indian men’s hockey player PR Sreejesh has won the World Games Athlete of the Year award for 2021. He is the second Indian after Rani Rampal to win this award. In 2020, Indian women’s hockey captain Rani Rampal became the first Indian to win the honour for her performances in 2019.
•A total of 24 athletes from 17 countries were nominated for the annual awards based on individual or team performance. Alberto Ginés López of Spain and wushu player Michele Giordano of Italy are the runner-ups. In the FIH Stars Awards in October, Sreejesh was named the goalkeeper of the year for 2021.
