Current Affairs -06 March 2021
1.DRDO successfully tests SFDR technology in a bid to develop long-range missiles
- The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Friday said it has successfully tested a flight demonstration based on Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) technology from the Integrated Test Range in Odisha's Chandipur. The SFDR technology will help DRDO with the technological advantage to develop long-range air-to-air missiles (AAMs).
- The performance of the missile was monitored using the data captured by Electro Optical, Radar and Telemetry instruments deployed by ITR and confirmed successful demonstration of the mission objectives. The launch was monitored by senior scientists of various DRDO labs, including Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL), Research Centre Imarat (RCI) and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory(HEMRL).
Foot Notes:
About DRDO:
Founded: 1958
Headquarters: DRDO Bhavan, New Delhi
Chairman: G. Satheesh Reddy
2.Canada approves use of Johnson & Johnson's single-shot Covid-19 vaccine
- Canada announced its approval of the use of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine, making it the fourth vaccine that can be administered in the country.
- The approval is expected to provide a significant boost to Canada's vaccine rollout. Johnson & Johnson's vaccine is widely seen as one of the easiest to administer because it requires only one dose and can be stored for long periods of time at regular refrigerator temperatures.
- The US healthcare giant's vaccine is the fourth to be approved in Canada. Earlier, Canada approved the use of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines.
Foot Notes:
About Canada:
Capital: Ottawa
Currency: Canadian dollar
Prime Minister: Justin Trudeau
3.SBI Payments, NPCI launch solution to enable contactless transactions
- SBI Payments and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) have joined hands to launch RuPay SoftPoS that will enable merchants to make contactless transactions of up to Rs 5,000 through their smart phones. The solution has the capability to transform NFC (near field communication) enabled smartphones into merchant Point-of-Sale (PoS) terminals for retailers, SBI and NPCI said in a joint release on Friday.
- Merchants will now be able to accept contactless payments of up to Rs 5,000 through a simple tap and pay mechanism on their smart phones.
- RuPay SoftPoS will provide cost-effective acceptance infrastructure to retailers at nominal cost.
- Smart phones of merchants will act as a payment terminal once they download a supported app.
Foot Notes:
About SBI:
Chairperson: Dinesh Kumar Khara
Headquarters: Mumbai
Founded: 1 July 1955
About NPCI:
Headquarters location: Mumbai
Founded: 2008
Founders: Reserve Bank of India, Indian Banks' Association
4.Kotak Mahindra Bank to handle salary account of Indian army personnel
- Private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank will handle the salary account of the Indian army personnel, the bank said on Thursday. The bank has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Army here for salary account.
- The MoU enables Kotak to offer its salary account proposition, combined with exclusive benefits for the Indian Army, to all army personnel - both active and retired.
Foot Notes:
About Kotak Mahindra Bank:
CEO: Uday Kotak
Headquarters: Mumbai
Founder: Uday Kotak
Founded: February 2003
5.India downgraded from ‘free’ to ‘partly free’ in democracy report
- India’s status as a democracy and free society has been downgraded to “partly free” in the latest annual report on global political rights and liberties by Freedom House, a US government-funded NGO that studies political freedom around the world.
- The report titled “Freedom in the World 2021 - Democracy under Siege” said India “appears to have abandoned its potential to serve as a global democratic leader”.
- India had been rated as “free” in Freedom House’s reports for 2018, 2019 and 2020, though its scores on a scale of 100 had declined during this period from 77 to 71. In the latest report, India had a score of 67 out of 100.
6.Digital platform 'Jagrut Tripura' launched to boost e-governance
- The Tripura government has come up with a digital platform to help people get benefits from various schemes of the Centre and the state government, an official said on Wednesday.
- At least 102 schemes of various departments of both the governments are available on the platform, he said.
- Launched by Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, the 'Jagrut Tripura' will empower citizens of the northeastern state, the official said.
- The digital platform is one of the many proactive initiatives undertaken by the state government to spur a technology-led innovation ecosystem to make 'Atmanirbhar' (self-reliant) Tripura.
7.PM Modi pays tribute to former Odisha CM Biju Patnaik on his birth anniversary
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to former Odisha Chief Minister Bijayananda Patnaik, popularly known as Biju Patnaik, on his 105th birth anniversary on Friday.
- Biju Patnaik served twice as the Chief Minister of Odisha. He died on April 17, 1997. His son Naveen Patnaik is the current Chief Minister of Odisha.
- His futuristic vision for India, emphasis on human empowerment as well as social justice inspires us all.
- Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik also paid tribute to his father.
Foot Notes:
About Odisha:
Capital: Bhubaneswar
Governor: Ganeshi Lal
Chief Minister: Naveen Patnaik
8.Bihari Puraskar 2020 to be awarded to Mohankrishna Bohara
- The 30th Bihari Puraskar for 2020 will be given to Mohankrishna Bohara for his Hindi book of Criticism, titled ‘Taslima: Sangharsh aur Sahitya’. The K.K. Birla Foundation announced this in New Delhi today. The book was published in 2016.
- Bihari Puraskar carries an award money of two lakh 50 thousand rupees, a Citation and a Plaque. The award is one of the three literary awards instituted by the K.K. Birla Foundation in 1991.
- Named after famous Hindi poet Bihari, the award is given every year for an outstanding work in Hindi or Rajasthani published in the last 10 years by a Rajasthani writer.
9.Women's Trap Team wins silver as India finish tournament with 2 medals
- India's Women's Trap team trio of Kirti Gupta, Manisha Keer and Rajeshwari Kumari won a silver medal on the concluding day of the year's first International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Shotgun stage, in Cairo, Egypt, going down 4-6 to Russia in the final.
- The trio engineered a fantastic comeback in the match, coming back from 0-4 down to tie the final at 4-4. However, they could not hold on in the last series of 15-shot per team and had to be content with the second-best.
10.MG George Muthoot, Chairman of Muthoot Group, passes away
- MG George Muthoot, the Chairman of Muthoot Group of Companies, died in New Delhi on Friday night. He was 71.
- He became the Managing Director of the Muthoot Group in 1979 and its Chairman in 1993. Muthoot Finance is India's largest gold loan company with over 5,000 branches.
- He is survived by his wife Sarah George Muthoot, and sons George M.George (executive director), Alexander George (Group Director).
- He was the third generation of his family to be the Chairman of Muthoot Group.
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