February 2021:

1st February:
1. The Union Government said that the country’s V-Shaped Economic Recovery
happened due to Mega Vaccination Drive, Robust Recovery in the Services Sector
and Robust Growth in Consumption and Investment. Chief Economic Adviser K.
Subramanian said, V-Shaped Recovery is due to Resurgence in High Frequency
Indicators Such as Power Demand, Rail Freight, E-Way Bills, GST Collection and
Steel Consumption. The Economic Survey said, India is to become the Fastest
Growing Economy in next two years as per the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
2. Music composer AR Rahman and social activist from Saidapet Hari Krishnan were
among the 14 people who were presented the fourth edition of the Alert Being
Awards 2020 by the NGO ALERT, for their Good Samaritan work.
3. Fondly known as ‘Nanda Mastre’, centenarian Nanda Prusty of Kantira in Sukinda
block had never imagined he would be bestowed the coveted Padma Shri award for
his service to the society. A class VII pass-out, Prusty who turned 100 this year, has
been teaching children as well as senior citizens of his village for the last seven
decades.
4. Purnamasi Jani has over a lakh poems and devotional songs to her credit,
but Purnamasi Jani has never been to a school.  And the 76-year-old tribal poetess,
popularly known as Tadisaru Bai in the region, has never repeated any of her poems
or songs.
5. India ranked 10th out of 11 Asia Pacific countries in a newly-launched health index to
measure the progress towards personalised healthcare. Overall, Singapore has topped
the index. It is followed by Taiwan (2nd), Japan (3rd) and Australia (4th).
6. The man most responsible for that moniker, Nobel Prize-winning chemist Paul
Crutzen, died. He was 87. Crutzen was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1995 together with
American chemist F. Sherwood Rowland and Mexican chemist Mario J. Molina for
discovering the risk to the ozone layer
7. The US and India held discussions on F-15EX fighter jets and the two respective air
forces have exchanged information about it. The aerospace major has received
approval from the American govt to offer its latest multirole combat aircraft to the
Indian Air Force.
8. Indian Coast Guard Day is celebrated on 1st February every year. The interim Indian
Coast guard was established on 1 February 1977 to prevent sea-borne smuggling of
goods which were hampering India's domestic economy. ICG is celebrating its 45th
Raising Day on 1 Feb 2021.
9. The Tamil Nadu government appointed senior IAS officer Rajeev Ranjan as Chief
Secretary on 30 Jan 2021. He has held various positions in his 35-yearlong service.
He began his career as Sub-Collector in Tiruvannamalai (1987-89) and became
 Tiruchi Collector in April 1995, the post he occupied till August 1997. Mr Ranjan is
set to superannuate in September 2021.

2nd February:
1. Textiles Minister Smriti Irani inaugurated the 8th India International Silk Fair on
Virtual Portal. India has long history of silk production and is the 2nd largest producer
of Silk. India is the only country in the world which produces all the four major
varieties of silk – Mulberry, Eri, Tassar, and Muga.
2. Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong, 76, has been re-elected
for a rare third five-year term.
3. SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd (SBI Card) appointed Rama Mohan Rao
Amara as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer for a period of two
years.
4. India’s 24-member shooting contingent topped the medals tally in the first Asian
Online Shooting Championship. The squad won four out of the eight gold medals on
offer, besides two silver and five bronze medals, for a total of 11 podium finishes.
5. In Cricket, Tamil Nadu lifted the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy after defeating
Baroda by seven wickets in the final at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad on 31
Jan 2021.
6. Lieutenant General Chandi Prasad Mohanty took over as the Vice Chief of the Army
Staff on 1 Feb 2021. Lt Gen CP Mohanty was commissioned into the Rajput
Regiment in 1982.
7. Hindi writer and storyteller Ranendra bagged the ‘Shrilal Shukla Smriti IFFCO
Sahitya Samman-2020’ award by Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited
(IFFCO). He made his debut in the literary world in 2008 with his novel ‘Global
Gaon ke Devta’ in which he talked about a tribal community called ‘Asura’. The
award had earlier been conferred on Vidyasagar Nautiyal, Shekhar Joshi, etc.
8. The National Health Authority (NHA) has appointed RS Sharma as the new Chief
Executive to head its health insurance scheme – Ayushman Bharat or Pradhan Mantri
Jan Arogya Yojana. He will be replacing Indu Bhushan whose three years terms
came to an end. Sharma is the former Chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India (TRAI), and a member, National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration.

3rd February:
1. Babul Supriyo announced the establishment of a Centre for Wetland Conservation
and Management (CWCM), as a part of the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal
Management (NCSCM), Chennai, an institution under the Ministry. On the occasion
of the World Wetland Day and as a part of its commitment towards conservation,
 restoration and management of India’s wetlands, the Minister of State for
Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
2. According to the  global travel and tourism report ‘World Tourism
Barometer’ released by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the year 2020
was the “worst year on record. Global tourism suffered its worst year on record in
2020, with international arrivals dropping by -74% year-on-year according to the
latest data from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
3. NASA appointed Indian-American Bhavya Lal as its acting chief of staff. Previously,
as the senior White House appointee at NASA, Lal served as a member of the Biden
Presidential Transition Agency Review Team for the agency and oversaw the
agency’s transition under the administration of President Joe Biden.
4. Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has come out with his new book titled  ‘The
Little Book of Encouragement’, in which he has shared quotes and words of wisdom
to promote human happiness. “The Little Book of Encouragement”, which has 130
quotes, is edited by Renuka Singh and published by Penguin Random House.
5. Shinjini Kumar, Paytm Payments Bank’s 1st CEO, Aditi Sholapurkar, a member of its
founding team, along with Chaitra Chidanand, co-founder of Simpl, will launch Salt,
a financial services venture for women.
6. US actor Dustin Diamond, best known for playing the nerdy Screech on the hit TV
series Saved By The Bell passed away in Feb 2021. He started his career with Good
Morning, Miss Bliss, a series about junior high students that only lasted one season,
but which spawned Saved By The Bell. In 2009, his tell-all book" Behind The Bell
was published.
7. Iran's defence ministry launched a new satellite carrier with its "most powerful"
solidfuel engine on 01 Feb 2021. It was the first launch of the Zoljanah hybrid
satellite carrier for sub-orbital testing. Zoljanah can put satellites in a 500 KM
altitude orbit and carry a 220-KG payload. The rocket can be launched from a
"mobile platform", which provides it with "special capabilities".
8. Chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL), Naveen Jindal has been
conferred with the Mahatma Award 2020. He has been awarded for his humanitarian
effort to support the communities and local administration in fighting the COVID-19
pandemic. The Mahatma Award was founded and constituted by Amit Sachdeva,
more famously known as 'The CSR Man of India'.

4th February:
1. In December, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to declare 4 February as
International Day of Human Fraternity. International Day of Human Fraternity aims
to underline the importance of raising awareness about different cultures and
religions, or beliefs, and the promotion of tolerance. It also aims to educate people
that tolerance,  pluralistic tradition,  mutual respect, and the diversity of religions and
beliefs promote human fraternity. Theme of 2021 is A Pathway to the future
 2. An ‘amputee clinic’, the first of its kind in India, with the aim of improving
amputation patient care by providing a collection of services under one roof with
significant coordination was launched in Chandigarh. The clinic was formally
inaugurated by the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research
(PGIMER) Director Prof Jagat Ram.
3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushed for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India) an
Oxford panel has now chosen ‘Atmanirbharta’ in Hindi word of 2020.
4. In a first, the 13th edition will see an Indian Ocean Region (IOR) defence minister’s
conclave as India seeks a bigger role in this volatile hub of global geopolitical rivalry.
It can be seen that the conclave is an initiative that promotes dialogue in an
institutional, economic and cooperative environment that can foster development of
peace and stability. It can be seen that Bengaluru has hosted all 13 editions of the
show. Since 1996, Aero India has come a long way to become Asia’s largest defence
and aerospace air show over the years.
5. Amazon Web Services (AWS) chief Andy Jassy will replace billionaire founder Jeff
Bezos as com’s next chief executive officer. Bezos started the company 27 years ago,
on 5 July 1994, as an internet bookseller. He will assume the role of Executive
Chairman of Amazon. Meanwhile, it has also been announced that the head of
Amazon’s cloud services, Andy Jassy will take over as the company’s new CEO.
6. Germany ranks first in the PHDCCI International Economic Resilience (IER)
Rank followed by India and South Korea at second and third positions, respectively,
according to the report released by industry body PHDCCI.
7. Hero MotoCorp Ltd has appointed Ravi Avalur as the Head of its new business unit
that will be responsible for Harley-Davidson Inc.’s motorcycle business in India.
Avalur was the former managing director of Italian motorcycle maker, Ducati, in
India. Prior to Hero, Avalur was the Head of Strategy and International business
divisions at Michigan-based auto parts maker Cooper.
8. Google Cloud has announced the appointment of Bikram Singh Bedi as the Managing
Director for its India business. With the current appointment, Bedi will succeed
Karan Bajwa, who was recently elevated as the Vice President of Google's Asia
Pacific Cloud.
9. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has won its first round of best training
institute award for Gazetted Officers. The awards have been declared by the Ministry
of Home Affairs (MHA) for a span of four consecutive years, starting from 2016 to
2020.

5th February:
1. Ayesha Aziz, the 25-year-old from Kashmir who is the youngest female pilot in the
country, acts as a source of inspiration and a beacon of empowerment for numerous
Kashmiri women. In the year 2011, Aziz became the youngest student pilot to get a
 license at the age of 15 and underwent training to fly a MIG-29 jet at Russia’s Sokol
airbase the following year.
2. The government has appointed 1998 Gujarat cadre IPS officer Praveen
Sinha as interim director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Sinha, who is
currently an additional director at the investigating agency, will take charge of the
CBI temporarily as the government failed to appoint a new director by the end of the
incumbent chief RK Shukla’s tenure.
3. Air Marshal GS Bedi Ati Vishisht Sewa Medal, Vayusena Medal, Vishisht Sewa
Medal took over as Director General (Inspection & Safety) at Air HeadQuarters on 01
Feb 21.  An alumnus of Defence Services Staff College and National Defence
College, the Air Marshal was commissioned in the flying branch of Indian Air Force
in 1984.
4. Ajay Singh has been re-elected as President of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI).
5. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited
(MIDHANI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for development
and production of composite raw materials during the Aero India 2021 in Bengaluru
on February 04, 2021. This is the first time that such an MoU has been signed for
composite raw materials. The MoU was signed by Chairman and Managing Director,
HAL Shri R Madhavan and Chairman and Managing Director, MIDHANI Dr S K Jha
in the presence of other senior officials.
6. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd has sourced the world’s first
consignment of ‘carbon-neutral oil’ from the US as it looks to become a net zero-
carbon company by 2035. The Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) Sea Pearl
containing the carbon-neutral oil unloaded the cargo at Jamnagar on January 28.
7. India slipped two places to 53rd position in the 2020 Democracy Index’s global
ranking, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit. India is ranked higher than
most of its neighbouring countries. India’s overall score fell from 6.9 in 2019 to61 in
the Index that provides a snapshot of the current state of democracy worldwide for
167 countries. Norway has topped the Index.Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand and
Canada are the top five countries in the list.
8. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan presented the 2019 Kerala State Film Awards and the
J C Daniel Award at a function here. Pinarayi Vijayan released the stamp published in
connection with the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK).
9. Boeing’s Indian subsidiary has announced a new production line at its joint venture,
Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited (TBAL), in Telangana. The line will manufacture
complex vertical fin structures for 737 families of aeroplanes. The Boeing-Tata
facility in Telangana is spread over 14,000 square meters and currently manufactures
aero-structures for Boeing’s AH-64 Apache helicopter.
10. Air Marshal Manavendra Singh has been appointed the Air Officer Commanding-
inChief of the IAF's Southern Air Command. He takes over from Air Marshal Amit
Tiwari who has been posted as Chief of the Central Air Command.
 11. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and French-Moroccan activist Latifa Ibn
Ziaten are the co-recipients of the 2021 Zayed Award for Human Fraternity. The
award was inspired by the Document on Human Fraternity, which was signed by
Grand Imam Al-Tayeb and Pope Francis on Feb. 4, 2019, in the UAE’s capital. The
award carries a cash prize of $500,000.

6th February:
1. British media regulator Ofcom has revoked the broadcasting licence of China Global
Television Network (CGTN). CGTN is operated by China Central Television
(CCTV), under the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party. It did not
meet the legal requirements for a broadcasting license under UK law.
2. The Indian Navy received three made in India Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH)
from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) on 5 Feb 2021. The helicopters are
customised for coastal security. Out of 16 Mk-III helicopters ordered, three have been
delivered.
3. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman attended the 3rd phase of Chah Bagicha Dhan
Puraskar Mela in Guwahati on 6 February 2021. At the event, the Assam govt
distributed financial assistance of Rs 3,000 each to nearly 7.5 lakh people belonging
to tea garden areas under the Chah Bagicha Dhan Puraskar scheme.
4. Former Australia captain Lisa Sthalekar has become only the fourth female cricketer
inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame. She was the first woman to achieve
the career double of 1,000 runs & 100 wickets in ODIs. Sthalekar is also one of just
two women to have scored at least one century and taken at least one 5-for in both
Tests and ODIs, the other being Ellyse Perry.

7th February:
1. The Indian Army has laid the foundation stone of the tallest 'Iconic National Flag' at
the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir. The flag will be on a 100
feet-high pole, the highest Tricolour in the valley. The Indian Army in collaboration
with the Solar Industry India will install the flag.
2. UK Secretary of State for International Trade Mary Elizabeth Truss met Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi on 5 Feb 2021. Mrs. Sitharaman
highlighted the reforms brought in through the Budget and suggested areas of closer
cooperation with the UK, including investments in infrastructure, the insurance sector,
integrating small and medium enterprises in the global value chain.
3. President Ram Nath Kovind was the Chief Guest at the 23rd annual convocation of
the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences in Bengaluru on 7 Feb 2021. The
university conferred the Doctor of Science degree on renowned neurosurgeon Dr
Alangar Satya Ranjan Das Hegde. As part of a three-day tour of the state, the
President also inaugurated the General Thimayya Museum in Madikeri on 6 Feb'21.
4. Iqbal Singh Chahal, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Commissioner, has been
conferred the 'Covid Crusader Award2020'. He has been awarded by the Indo
 American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) in the Indian Bureaucrats Category. He
has become the first Indian bureaucrat to be recognized and receive global
acknowledgment for his contribution in controlling Covid in Mumbai.
5. The 13th CEC Ice Hockey Cup 2021, organized by the Department of Youth Services
and Sports, Kargil concluded at Ice Hockey Rink Biamathang, in Ladakh on 7 Feb
2021. In the final of the men’s category, Drass Red won over Chiktan Ice Hockey
Club with a margin of 3-2 goals.
6. The India-US joint military exercise "Yudh Abhyas 20" commenced on 8 Feb 2021 in
Mahajan Field Firing Range of Bikaner, Rajasthan.
7. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), added four
more states have completed the reforms in the ‘Ease of Doing Business’, as stipulated
by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance as per recent data. Four more
States are  Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab .
8. South Korea unveiled a5 trillion won ($43.2 billion) plan to build the world’s largest
wind power plant by 2030 as part of efforts to foster an environmentally-friendly
recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
9. A new intergovernmental organisation called Square Kilometre Array Observatory
(SKAO) Council has been formed with the intention of building the world’s largest
radio telescope.The council held its first-ever meeting to approve the plans and start a
new journey in space exploration. Though it is headquartered in the UK, SKAO
has members from Australia, Canada, China, India, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa,
Sweden and the Netherlands. French-born Dr Catherine Cesarsky has been appointed
as the first Chair of the SKAO Council.
10. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, an economist and former finance minister of Nigeria, appears
set to become the next director general of the World Trade Organization. She would
be the first woman and the first African national to lead the organization. Okonjo-
Iweala served twice as Nigeria’s finance minister, spent 25 years at the World Bank
as a development economist and now is the chairwoman of the Center for Global
Development, according to the center’s website.
11. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres re-appointed Michael Bloomberg
as his Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions.
12. Google Cloud has announced the appointment of Bikram Singh Bedi as the Managing
Director for its India business.
13. Aakashvani Sangeet Sammelan will henceforth be called Bharat Ratna Pt.Bhimsen
Joshi Akashvani Sangeet Sammelan. Shri Prakash Javadekar made this
announcement at a Pt.Bhimsen Joshi Centenary Commemorative function at pune.
GOI decides to celebrate year long birth centenary of Pt. Bhimsen Joshi from 4th
February, 2021 to 2022. He was conferred the Bharat Ratna award in 2009.
14. NASA has picked SpaceX to launch a telescope into orbit for a two-year astrophysics
mission starting 2024. The mission, called SPHEREx, will cost NASA about $98.8
million. SPHEREx is a space telescope that would survey the sky in near-infrared
 light, which the human eye can't see. The data that it collects would help astronomers
understand the evolution of the universe.
15. The Health Minister of Kerala, KK Shailaja inaugurated the state’s first Human Milk
Bank at the Ernakulam General Hospital on February 5, 2021. It will ensure the
breast milk for the newborn babies in the hospital, who are not being breastfed by
their own mothers who may be deceased or sick. It has been set up with the support
of the Rotary Club of Cochin Global.
8th February:
1. The 45th Kolkata International Book Fair will be held in July this year at the Central
Park Ground of Salt Lake. This year the focal theme country is Bangladesh to mark
the country’s Golden Jubilee Year of Independence and the Centenary of
Bangabondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The 125th Birth year of Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose and Birth Centenary of Satyajit Ray will also be celebrated in the Book
Fair. Earlier, the Kolkata International Book Fair was deferred due to the pandemic
situation.
2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the World Sustainable Development
Summit 2021 on 10th of February via video conferencing. The theme of the summit
is ‘Redefining Our Common Future: Safe and Secure Environment for All’. The 20th
edition of The Energy and Resources Institute’s (TERI) flagship event- the World
Sustainable Development Summit, will be held online from 10th to 12th February.
3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of various development
projects at Dhekiajuli in Sonitpur district in Assam. The Prime Minister will
launch ‘Asom Mala’, aimed at helping improve state highways and major district
roads networks in the state.
4. Himachal Pradesh has become the first State in the country to make the end to end
processing of the cabinet paperless by implementing e-cabinet application. Chief
Minister Jai Ram Thakur inaugurated the first e-cabinet at Shimla.
5. The India-US joint military exercise “Yudh Abhyas 20” commenced in Mahajan Field
Firing Range of Bikaner district in Rajasthan. This is the 16th edition of annual
bilateral joint exercise of both the armies.
6. Wipro Limited has appointed Tomoaki Takeuchi as the country head and Managing
Director for Japan. Prior to joining Wipro, he headed the Japan operations for
Cognizant. Wipro also announced the appointment of Michael Seiger as the country
head and MD for Germany and Austria. Prior to joining Wipro, Seiger was the global
head of application management at Atos SE.
7. India will experience the largest increase in energy demand among countries
worldwide over the next 20 years as its economy continues to develop. This was
stated by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in the report - "The India Energy
Outlook 2021".
 8. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the World Sustainable Development
Summit 2021 on 10 Feb 2021. The theme of the summit is ‘Redefining Our Common
Future: Safe and Secure Environment for All’.
9. Denmark has approved a plan to build the world's first energy island in the North Sea.
It will produce and store enough green energy to cover the electricity needs of 3
million European households.

9th February:
1. The 45th Kolkata International Book Fair will be held in July this year at the Central
Park Ground of Salt Lake.  The Publishers and Booksellers Guild announced that the
decision has been taken in view of the Board exams and the ensuing Assembly
Elections in West Bengal. This year the focal theme country is Bangladesh to mark
the country’s Golden Jubilee Year of Independence and the Centenary of
Bangabondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The 125th Birth year of Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose and Birth Centenary of Satyajit Ray will also be celebrated in the Book
Fair. Earlier, the Kolkata International Book Fair was deferred due to the pandemic
situation.
2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the World Sustainable Development
Summit 2021 on 10th of February via video conferencing. The theme of the summit
is ‘Redefining Our Common Future: Safe and Secure Environment for All’. The 20th
edition of The Energy and Resources Institute’s (TERI) flagship event- the World
Sustainable Development Summit, will be held online from 10th to 12th February.
3. India’s first geothermal power project will be established at Puga village of eastern
Ladakh. Puga has been identified as the hotspot of geothermal energy in the country
by the scientists. In the first phase of the pilot project, one megawatt (MW) power
generation capacity will be generated. A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) for establishment and implementation of the first phase was signed. India’s
first ever geothermal power project, known as Geothermal Field Development Project
is planned to commission by the end of 2022. The tripartite MOU was signed
between ONGC Energy, LAHDC, Leh and the Power Department of UT Ladakh.
4. Himachal Pradesh has become the first State in the country to make the end to end
processing of the cabinet paperless by implementing e-cabinet application. Chief
Minister Jai Ram Thakur inaugurated the first e-cabinet at Shimla.
5. The India-US joint military exercise “Yudh Abhyas 20” commenced in Mahajan Field
Firing Range of Bikaner district in Rajasthan. This is the 16th edition of annual
bilateral joint exercise of both the armies.
6. Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has been appointed to the reconstituted National
Security Advisory Board (NSAB) led by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit
Doval. Vembu is one of the Padma Shri awardees announced by the government of
India this year. He is currently based in Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, working from the
company’s office in the village.
 7. Joe Root, the England captain, sent India on a leather hunt, becoming the first player
in history to score a double century in his 100th Test match.
8. Former US Secretary of State, George Shultz who significantly shaped foreign policy
in the late 20th Century, has died at the age of 100. He served three former Presidents
– Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan – in various roles.

10th February:
1. Apple Inc has partnered with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to
develop micro OLED displays, which it plans to use in its upcoming augmented
reality (AR) devices. TSMC is the sole supplier of iPhone processors. Micro OLED
displays are thinner, smaller, and use less power, making them more suitable for use
in wearable AR devices.
2. Rajasthan has become the 12th state in the country to successfully undertake 'One
Nation, One Ration Card' system reform stipulated by the Department of Expenditure,
Ministry of Finance. Now, the state has become eligible to mobilize additional
financial resources of Rs 2,731 crore through Open Market Borrowings, and
permission in this regard has been issued.
3. Under the Arab world's first interplanetary mission, the UAE's 'Hope' probe
successfully entered Mars' orbit on 8 Feb 2021. 'Hope' will orbit the Red planet for at
least one Martian year, or 687 days. The probe is designed to reveal the secrets of
Martian weather. "Hope" was launched successfully from the Tanegashima Space
Center near Minamitane, Japan, on July 19, 2020.
4. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has entered into an agreement with Elbit Systems
ElectroOptics Elop Ltd., Israel. It will supply Digital Overhead Head-Up Display
Systems (DOHS). The DOHS' will be initially manufactured in the existing facility
of HAL's Division at Korwa.
5. In a first for India, a female forest officer from Odisha, Sasmita Lenka has been
felicitated with United Nation's Asia Environmental Enforcement Award. Lanka,
who is a divisional forest officer in Athgarh, Cuttack, received the award under the
'Gender Leadership and Impact' category. Lenka has helped in busting an
international network of pangolin in Athgarh and Khunnpunni.
6. Odisha’s Balasore will get the country’s first thunderstorm research testbed, the India
Meteorological Department (IMD). The objective of setting up the thunderstorm
testbed is to minimize human fatalities and loss of property due to lightning strikes.
The thunderstorm testbed will be established in a collaboration between the Ministry
of Earth Sciences, IMD, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
7. Skyroot Aerospace and Bellatrix Aerospace have signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) to use the Orbital Transfer Vehicle being developed
by Bellatrix Aerospace in the upper stage of Vikram series of launch vehicles being
 developed by Skyroot. Skyroot and Bellatrix plan to have the first mission of a
Vikram launcher with an Orbital Transfer Vehicle by 2023.
8. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) inducted women commandos in its anti-Naxal
Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) unit which will undergo training
and then will be sent to Naxal-hit areas. These 34 women personnel were inducted in
the elite CoBRA wing during the 35th Raising Day of the force’s 88th Mahila
Battalion, the first all-women battalion in the world.
9. CBI Additional Director Praveen Sinha took charge as the acting chief of the
agency after the superannuation of incumbent Rishi Kumar Shukla.
10. Former captain Steve Smith claimed his third Allan Border Medal while Beth
Mooney bagged her maiden Belinda Clarke Award, the top two honours of the
Australian Cricket Awards.
11. The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the winners of the inaugural ICC
Player of the Month Awards which recognise and celebrate the best performances
from both male and female cricketers across all forms of international cricket
throughout the year. India’s Rishabh Pant won the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for
January 2021 for his performances in the two Tests against Australia where he scored
a 97 at Sydney and an unbeaten 89 at Brisbane that led India to a historic series win
against arch-rivals Australia.

11th February:
1. National Inventors Day honors Thomas Edison and all inventors, recognizing the
enormous impact inventions have on technology industry and society worldwide.
On February 11, the United States recognizes National Inventors’ Day, a day to salute
past and present great inventors.
2. Packaged food companies said the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s
(FSSAI) move to reduce trans-fat in food items which use edible oil as an ingredient
to 2% from 2022. An FSSAI notification dated February 2 said the latest amendment
of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulations,
2011 will come into effect from January 1, 2022.
3. The five-day National Horticulture Fair 2021 has started in Bengaluru on 8 February.
The fair is organized by the Indian Institute of Horticulture Research (IIHR) at the
Institute’s Hessarghatta campus on the outskirts of Bengaluru city. This is the first
time when the Horticulture Fair is organized in both physical and virtual ways.
Cutting edge technologies, crop varieties, pest and disease management practices, and
processing methods will be demonstrated. The theme of NHF 2021 is ‘Horticulture
for Start-Up and Stand-Up India’.
4. The Karnataka government issued an official notification announcing Vijayanagara as
the state’s 31st district, which was carved out of the ore-rich Ballari district.
Vijayanagara will have six taluks namely Hosapete, Kudligi, Hagaribommanahalli,
 Kotturu, Hoovina Hadagali and Harapanahalli. Hosapete is the headquarters of the
new Vijayanagara district.
5. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the Annual Report of the Ombudsman
Schemes for the year 2019-20. There was an increase of around 65 per cent in the
receipt of complaints out of which almost 92 per cent have been disposed of. RBI
has three Ombudsman- Banking, Non-Banking Finance Company (i.e. NBFC) and
digital transactions. A common man can approach these Ombudsman for their
grievances.
6. Airline IndiGo appointed Jiten Chopra as its chief financial officer (CFO), effective
February 21, 2021. He will succeed Aditya Pande, who is leaving the company to
pursue other interests. Chopra will report to IndiGo’s whole-time director and CEO
Ronojoy Dutta.
7. The US Chamber of Commerce will soon see Suzanne Clark as its next CEO, the first
woman to lead the group. Clark, who's currently the President of the US Chamber,
will succeed Thomas J. Donohue. The position is effective on 11 March 2021. She
was named as the President in June 2019. She serves on the boards of agricultural
equipment maker AGCO and TransUnion.
8. The 25th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala ,(IFFK) began on 10 Feb
2020. Around 80 feature films from over 30 countries will be screened. Bosnian film
‘Quo Vadis, Aida?’ was the inaugural film of the festival. The festival will be held
from February 17 to 21, 2021 in Ernakulam, February 23rd to 27th, 2021 at
Thalassery and from March 1st to 5th, 2021 at Palakkad.
9. Dickinsonia, India's only fossil of world's oldest animal, has been discovered in
Madhya Pradesh's Bhimbetka rock shelters. Researchers have found Dickinsonia that
dates back 570 million years. Dickinsonia is an extinct genus of a basal animal that
lived during the late Ediacaran period. The study has been published in the
Gondwana Research, an international journal.
10. The Navy’s largest war game, the biennial Theatre Level Operational Readiness
Exercise (TROPEX-21), has completed the weapon work-up phase on Feb 10, 2021.
The exercise is currently underway with participation of all its operational units as
well as units of the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Coast Guard.
11. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), has
announced the re-appointment of Sanjog Gupta, head- sports, Star India, as the
chairperson to FICCI’s Sports Committee in 2021. FICCI is the first national
chamber of commerce to establish a dedicated sports vertical under the aegis of the
sports committee. Chanakya Chaudhary will co-chair the committee.
12. Rishabh Pant has been named the winner of ICC's inaugural Player of the Month
Award.

12th February:
1. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the World Sustainable Development
Summit 2021 via video conferencing. The theme of the Summit is ‘Redefining our
 common future: Safe and secure environment for all’. The 20th edition of The Energy
and Resources Institute’s (TERI) flagship event, the World Sustainable Development
Summit, will be held online from February 10 to February 12 and will bring together
a wide number of governments, business leaders, academicians, climate scientists,
youth, and the civil society in the fight against climate change.
2. The state government has launched Kerala Knowledge Mission which aims to
transform the state to a knowledge economy. Chief Minister Pinarayi
Vijayan inaugurated the project at an event held at Mascot
Hotel, Thiruvananthapuram.
3. Reserve Bank of India, Delhi is observing Financial Literacy Week from February 8-
12, 2021, to propagate financial education. The Reserve Bank of India has launched
the Financial Literacy Week on the theme of ‘Credit Discipline and Credit from
Formal Institutions’. This theme is one of the strategic objectives of the National
Strategy for Financial Education 2020-2025. Focus will be on responsible borrowing;
borrowing from formal institutions and timely repayments.
4. The Indian Army has laid the foundation stone of the tallest ‘Iconic National Flag’ at
the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir. The flag will be on a 100
feet-high pole, the highest Tricolour in the Valley. The Indian Army in collaboration
with the Solar Industry India will install the ‘Iconic National Flag’ at Gulmarg.
5. Additional Chief Secretary VP Joy will succeed Vishwas Mehta as the state’s Chief
Secretary. The cabinet took a decision in this regard. Mehta will retire on February
28 and is expected to take over as the Chief Information Commissioner.
6. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal chaired a meeting of his cabinet where a
decision was taken to appoint World Championship sprinter Hima Das as a Deputy
Superintendent of Police in the state.  Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Kiren
Rijiju said that sprinter Hima Das will continue running for the country even after
the Assam government decided to appoint her as a Deputy Superintendent of Policein
the state.The 21-year-old is currently preparing for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics
qualification at Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, Patiala.
7. Australia Zoo’s Robert Irwin has won the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife
Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award. Robert won the award for the
image titled ‘bushfire’, which is the picture of the devastating Australian Bushfire in
2020, he captured using a drone, near the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve in Cape York,
Queensland.
8. Bumble, a company catering to women and led by women has made its CEO Whitney
Wolfe Herd a billionaire.
9. India’s first-ever diesel tractor converted to CNG was formally launched by the Union
Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on 12 Feb 2021.
10. President Ram Nath Kovind opened the annual Udyanotsav of Rashtrapati Bhavan on
12 Feb 2021. The Mughal Gardens will remain open for the general public from 13th
February to 21st March 2021 between 10 AM to 5 PM except on Mondays.
 11. Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal has appointed athlete Hima Das as a Deputy
Superintendent of Police in the state. The cabinet also decided to amend the
integrated sports policy of the state by appointing sportspersons as Class-I and Class-
II officers in different departments of the state. Medal winners in Olympics, Asian
Games and Commonwealth Games will be appointed as Class- I officers.
12. Additional Chief Secretary VP Joy will succeed Vishwas Mehta as Kerala's Chief
Secretary.
13. The US is rejoining the United Nations Human Rights Council. Former President
Donald Trump pulled the US out of the international body in 2018. In the immediate
term, the US would engage as an observer. The United Nations Human Rights
Council is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human
rights around the world.

13th February:
1. National Women's Day in India is celebrated on 13 Feb every year. It is celebrated to
mark the birth anniversary of the nightingale of India, Sarojini Naidu. She is one of
the most recognised persons in the Indian freedom movement. She made history by
becoming the first woman Governor in India. In 1947, she became the Governor of
the United Province, which is now known as Uttar Pradesh.
2. Volvo Cars India has appointed Jyoti Malhotra as the new Managing Director of the
company. The new appointment will come in to effect from 1 March 2021. With the
appointment of Jyoti Malhotra, Volvo Cars India has chosen the first Indian to lead
the company in India.
3. Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari will formally
launch India’s first-ever diesel tractor converted into a CNG tractor on February 12.
This conversion is jointly done by Rawmatt Techno Solutions and Tomasetto Achille
India.
4. China is celebrating Lunar New Year as it ushered into the Year of the Ox. It is one of
the most important Chinese festivals, also known as the Chinese New Year or Spring
Festival.
5. Goa has become the 6th State in the country to successfully undertake Urban Local
Bodies reforms stipulated by the Department of Expenditure. Finance Ministry said,
the state has now become eligible to mobilise additional financial resources of 223
crore rupees through Open Market Borrowings. Goa has joined five other states
– Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Rajasthan and Telangana, who have
completed Urban Local Bodies reforms.
6. Steel giant ArcelorMittal announced that Aditya Mittal, the son of company
founder Lakshmi Mittal, will replace him as the group’s chairman and CEO.
7. Tamil film Koozhangal won the prestigious Tiger Award in the competition section of
the International Film Festival of Rotterdam. This is the first Tamil film to win the
honour and This is the second Indian film to win this international award. Prior to that
 The first Indian film was “Durga” directed by the Malayalam director Shashidharan
won this International award. The Tiger award is the top honour of the festival, given
for best film.
8. Manasa Varanasi, an engineer from Telangana, emerged as the winner of VLCC
Femina Miss India World 2020. The winners were announced on 11 February. Miss
India 2019, Suman Ratan Singh Rao from Rajasthan crowned her successor.
Haryana’s Manika Sheokand was declared VLCC Femina Miss Grand India 2020
while Uttar Pradesh’s Manya Singh crowned VLCC Femina Miss India 2020 Runner
Up.
9. From a bus conductor to a writer, Muthalankurichi Kamarasu has come a long way in
his life. Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami handed over Tamil Semmal award to
Kamarasu during a function held at the secretariat in Chennai on February 1. A native
of Muthala Kurichi village, Kamarasu has penned 53 books including two novels.
10. At a time when many children could not make the most of their free time during the
lockdown induced by the pandemic, a 15-year-old girl from a remote village in
Mysuru took it as an opportunity to try her hands at ‘gourd art’.
11. Ajay Mathur, who heads the Energy and Research Institute, is set to become the next
Director General (DG) of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). ISA, co-founded by
India and France, is the first treaty-based international government organization to be
based in India. Mathur is also a member of the PM's Council on Climate Change and
was earlier the DG of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency.
12. Indian short film Bittu has been shortlisted in top 10 films under Live Action Short
film category for the 93rd Oscar Awards. Indian filmmakers Shreya and Karishma
dev Dube are producer and directors of this film. For the short film category, it had
received 174 films out of which 10 films were shortlisted including Bittu.
13. President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed Justice Puligoru Venkata Sanjay Kumar as
the Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court. Justice Puligoru Venkata Sanjay Kumar
is presently Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The President has also
appointed Pushpa Virendra Ganediwala as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High
Court.
14. A Bodo film, “Sijou” has bagged four awards at the Golden Sparrow International
Film Festival 2021 in Tamil Nadu. It is written and directed by Vishal P. Chaliha,
and produced by national award-winning filmmakers Preeyam Kherkatary Chaliha
and Omprakash Kherkatary. It won “Best Director”, “Best Debut Filmmaker”, “Best
Screenplay Writer”, and “Special Jury Award".

14th February:
1. 40 CRPF personnel were killed on February 14, 2019, when their convoy was
attacked by a suicide bomber on the Srinagar-Jammu highway in J&K’s Pulwama
district. It was said to be the worst-ever terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir since
 militancy erupted in 1989. A ‘black day’ in the history of India – February 14, 2021
marks two years of the Pulwama terror attack, when 40 Indian soldiers were martyred
in one of the worst terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.
2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing the party MPs on the occasion
of ‘Samarpan Diwas’ to commemorate the contributions of his party’s founder leader
Deen Dayal Upadhyay on his death anniversary. He is addressing BJP MPs at
Ambedkar International Center, Janpath. Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay was a Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) thinker and former leader of the political party Bharatiya
Jana Sangh, the forerunner of Bharatiya Janata Party.
3. The first time in its history, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has
opened its UR Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru for testing satellites developed by
the private sector. Two satellites by Indian startups SpaceKidz India and Pixxel
(incorporated as Sygyzy) were tested at the UR Rao Satellite Centre. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi unveiled several key development projects worth 6,100 crore rupees
at INS Garuda Naval Air Station at Kochi in Kerala. The Prime Minister also
inaugurated the country’s first full-fledged international cruise terminal, Sagarika at
Cochin Port and Marine Engineering Training Institute of Cochin Shipyard Ltd.
4. Patna will soon get India’s first dolphin research centre. The society for the long-
awaited National Dolphin Research Centre (NDRC) is likely to be formed within a
month of February 2021.
5. Rashmi Samant is the first Indian woman to occupy the prestigious position of
President of the Oxford Student's Union. She is a student of MSc in energy systems
at Linacre College, also an alumna of Karnataka's Manipal Institute of Technology.
6. Britain's Karim Khan is elected as a Chief Prosecutor at International Criminal Court.
He is elected for a nine-year term, starting on 16 June 2021, and will replace lead
prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. British barrister Karim is best known for heading the
United Nations' special investigative team looking into Islamic State crimes in Iraq.
7. Former Chief of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi is formally sworn in as
Italy's new Prime Minister on 13 February 2021. He succeeded Ex-PM Giuseppe
Conte who has resigned in January'21 due to the collapse of a coalition government.
8. Muskan, 21, is the youngest person to be elected as Zila Parishad Chairperson from
Bilaspur dist, Himachal Pradesh.

15th February:
1. The Prime Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of several
developmental projects worth over 8000 crore rupees at Chennai in Tamil Nadu. The
Prime Minister also handed over the indigenously designed and manufactured Arjun
Main Battle Tank (MK-1A) to the Army. Prime Minister said, Thanjavur and
Pudukkottai will be specially benefited after the foundation for the extension,
 renovation and modernization of six hundred and thirty six kilometre long Grand
Anicut Canal System was laid. It will improve irrigation facilities for 27 lakh acres of
land in the delta districts. The Prime Minister lauded the farmers of Tamil Nadu for
record food grain production and good use of water resources.  He emphasized the
need to remember the mantra of Per Drop More Crop.
2. Private life insurer Aegon Life Insurance has elevated Satishwar Balakrishnan to the
position of managing director and chief executive officer. 
3. Tata Motors Limited said that it has appointed Marc Llistosella as chief executive
officer and managing director effective 1 July 2021. 
4. A book titled Turn Around India: 2020- Surmounting Past Legacy’ – creating
economic awareness among masses authored by R.P. Gupta was launched by Mr Jual
Oram, Hon’ble M.P. & Chairperson Standing Committee on Defence, Government of
India.
5. The SERB Women Excellence Award was announced on the occasion of
International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2021. The award given by
the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a Statutory body of
the Department of Science and Technology (DST) supporting basic research in the
frontier areas of science and engineering, was launched in the year 2013.
 Shobhna Kapoor, Assistant Professor at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay,
working in the area of Chemical Biology with expertise in ‘Host-Pathogen
Interactions and Membrane Biology, Chemical Biology and Biophysics’
 Antara Banerjee, Scientist B National Institute For Research In Reproductive
Health, Mumbai, Maharashtra from the Health Sciences area with expertise in
Signal Transduction, Biology of Reproduction and Endocrinology,
 Sonu Gandhi Scientist D from National Institute Of Animal Biotechnology,
Hyderabad from Bionanotechnology area focusing on Nanosensors, Design and
Fabrication of Label-free Biosensors
 Ritu Gupta, Assistant Professor at Indian Institute Of Technology Jodhpur,
Rajasthan working on Nanotechnology with expertise in Materials Science,
Nanodevices and Sensors, Health & Energy.
6. In Australian Open Tennis, 35-year-old Hsieh SuWei has become the oldest first-time
quarterfinalist in a Grand Slam. Hsieh is the current doubles world number one but
ranked 71 in singles. She made her Grand Slam debut in 2005 but had never gone
beyond the fourth round before in 37 previous attempts.
7. In cricket, Ravichandran Ashwin has become the first player in the 143-year history
of Test cricket to take 200 wickets against left-handed batsmen. He achieved the feat
during India’s second Test against England at the MA Chidambaram Stadium,
Chennai. Stuart Broad was the 200th left-hander to be dismissed by Ashwin. Ashwin
has picked 391 wickets in his career so far.
8. PM Modi handed over the indigenously developed Arjun Main Battle Tank (Mark
1A) to Army Chief General MM Naravane in Chennai on 14 Feb 2021. PM Modi
was in Chennai to launch various government programs in Tamil Nadu.
 9. PM Modi will lay the foundation stone of Maharaja Suheldev Memorial and
development work of Chittaura Lake in Bahraich, UP on 16 Feb 2021. The event
marks the birth anniversary of Maharaja Suheldev.

16th February:
1. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on 15 February 2021, presented the Best Marching
Contingent award of Republic Day Parade 2021. Best marching contingent among the
three services' was presented to Jat Regimental Centre. Best marching contingent
among CAPF and other auxiliary forces' was won by Delhi Police.
2. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala becomes the first woman and first African Director-General of
the World Trade Organization (WTO). Her term will start on 1 March 2021. She is a
development economist and formerly worked as a Finance Minister of Nigeria. She
will replace former Director-General, Roberto Azevêdo.
3. The Lok Sabha passed the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 by
voice vote. The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on February 4, 2021 by Law
Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. It is already in force by way of an Ordinance
promulgation. It seeks to amend the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 so as to (i)
enable automatic stay on awards in certain cases and (ii) specify by regulation.
4. Punjab has become the 13th State in the country to successfully undertake “One
Nation One Ration Card system” reform. The State has become eligible to mobilise
additional financial resources of one thousand five hundred and sixteen crore rupees
through Open Market Borrowings. 12 other States which have completed this reform
are Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh. The implementation of
One Nation One Ration Card System ensures availability of ration to beneficiaries
under National Food Security Act and other welfare schemes at any Fair Price Shop
across the country.
5. The former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi has been sworn in as Italy’s
prime minister at the head of a unity government Draghi,73 year old who formerly
served as the head of the European Central Bank. Draghi's predecessor, Giuseppe
Conte, resigned only weeks ago after infighting among political groups over his
handling of the pandemic.
6. Former Miss World and actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas created ripples when she
announced her memoir titled Unfinished. Published by Penguin Random House, the
unconventional title hints at the fact that Chopra has many more story-worthy years to
live. Unfinished looks back on Chopra Jonas’ childhood and teenage years in India
and the United States respectively, her return to her homeland where she won a
national beauty contest, a pageant, she explains in her book, her acting career, her
American TV acting debut on the ABC-TV hit drama Quantico, among other things.
She also executive produced the film based on the Man Booker Prize-winning book.
7. S Hareesh’s novel ‘Meesha’, which mixes magic, myth and metaphor into a tale set in
Kuttanad, was named the best novel for the year 2019 by Kerala Sahitya Akademi.
 Writer P Valsala and writer-academician N V P Unithiri were selected for the
Akademi fellowships, which comprise a cheque of Rs 50,000, a gold plaque and a
citation. P Raman’s ‘Rathri Pandhradarakku Oru Tharattu’ was selected for the best
poem award while Vinoy Thomas’s ‘Ramachi’ received Akademy’s award for the
best short story for 2019. Sajitha Madathil’s ‘Arangile Matsyagandhikal’ and Jisha
Abhinaya’s ‘Eli Eli Lama Sabaktani’ shared the award for the best play.

17th Februrary:
1. The UN Capital Development Fund has appointed Indian-origin investment &
development banker Preeti Sinha as its Executive Secretary. Sinha succeeded Judith
Karl & commenced her tenure as UNCDF Executive Secretary, the highest leadership
rank in institution, on 15 Feb'21. She will oversee the UN agency with special
emphasis on supporting sustainable development in under-served communities.
2. Kiran Bedi was removed as Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry by the central
government on 16 Feb'21. Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has been
given the additional charge of Puducherry. The decision to relieve Bedi is the
culmination of a long-running feud between her and CM Narayanasamy.
3. Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis announced his retirement from Test
cricket on 17 February 2021. Faf du Plessis played 69 Tests, scoring 4163 runs at an
average of 40.02. He stepped down as South Africa's Test and T20I captain in 2020.
He desires to focus on his career in the shorter formats with T20 being the priority.
4. Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik laid the foundation stone of India's biggest international
hockey stadium at Rourkela in Sundergarh district on 16 Feb'21. The new hockey
stadium will be named after freedom fighter 'Birsa Munda' and will have a seating
capacity of more than 20k. The state govt has set a target to complete the construction
of stadium ahead of the men's FIH Hockey World Cup 2023.
5. Ajay Malhotra has become the first Indian to be elected as Chairperson of Advisory
Committee of the Human Right Council (HRC). He has served as the Ambassador of
India to the Russian Federation till his retirement in 2013. After retirement, he served
from 2015 to 2019 as Independent Director Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
(ONGC), as also of ONGC Videsh (2017-2019).
6. Former India wicketkeeper-batsman Naman Ojha has announced his retirement from
all forms of cricket on 15 Feb'21. He holds the record for the most dismissals by a
wicketkeeper in the Ranji Trophy, has featured in one Test, one ODI & two T20
Internationals. Ojha made his international debut in 2010 in his only ODI against Sri
Lanka, followed by his first T20I match in Zimbabwe.
7. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and MapmyIndia, the navigation
solutions provider, have joined hands to offer an indigenous mapping solution to take
on Google Maps. According to MapmyIndia CEO and Executive Director, Rohan
Verma, the services will combine the power of the company’s digital maps and
technologies with ISRO's catalogue of satellite imagery and earth observation data.
The collaboration will enable them to jointly identify and build a holistic geospatial
portal utilising earth observation datasets, 'NavIC', Web Services and APIs
(application programming interface) available in MapmyIndia, ISRO said in a
statement adding that the geospatial portals will be called 'Bhuvan', 'VEDAS' and
 'MOSDAC'. Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System also known as NavIC
(Navigation with Indian Constellation), is an indigenous navigation system,
developed by ISRO. Bhuvan is the national geo-portal developed and hosted by ISRO
comprising geospatial data, services, and tools for analysis. The collaboration will use
ISRO’s database of satellite images and MapmyIndia’s digital map platform to
develop the new app.
8. Justice Puligoru Venkata Sanjay Kumar has been sworn-in as the Chief Justice of
Manipur High Court today at Raj Bhavan, Imphal. Justice Puligoru Venkata Sanjay
Kumar has been sworn-in as the Chief Justice of Manipur High Court today at Raj
Bhavan, Imphal. He was appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court of Manipur by
the President of India on 12th February, 2021. Prior to this, he served as a Judge in the
Punjab and Haryana High Court.

18th Februrary:
1. The National Informatics Centre has launched an instant messaging platform called
Sandes on the lines of WhatsApp. Like WhatsApp, the new NIC platform can be used
for all kinds of communications by anyone with a mobile number or email id. Further,
as an additional safety feature, it allows a user to mark a message as confidential.
2. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has inaugurated the first route and terminal
buildings of Kochi Water Metro. The project aims to connect the islands around the
city using state-of-the-art boats. The route from Vyttila, one of the busiest traffic hubs
in the city, to Kakkanad, the IT hub, was inaugurated by the Chief Minister on 16 Feb
2021.
3. China last year overtook the United States as the EU's biggest trading partner, the EU
statistics agency Eurostat. The European Union, was the third-largest trading partner
for the bloc, behind China and the United States. Eurostat said the trade volume with
China reached 586 billion euros ($711 billion) in 2020, compared to 555 billion euros
($673 billion) for the US. The agency said EU exports rose by 2.2 percent to 202.5
billion euros while at the same time, imports from the People's Republic of China
increased by 5.6 percent to 383.5 billion euros.
4. Sinha will oversee UNCDF’s ‘last mile’ finance models to reduce poverty and support
local economic development. The UN Capital Development Fund has appointed
Indian-origin investment and development banker Preeti Sinha as its Executive
Secretary, whose focus will be on providing micro-finance assistance to women,
youth, small and medium-sized enterprises in under-served communities. Sinha
commenced her tenure as UNCDF Executive Secretary, the highest leadership rank in
the institution.
5. The CA Institute appointed its new President Nihar N Jambusaria. He has been
elected as President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) for
2021-22. Debhashis Mitra has been elected as Vice President.
6. The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has been conferred the
Skoch Chief Minister of the Year Award. The Award has been presented to the CM
by Chairman, Skoch group, Sameer Kochhar personally at Tadepalli in Andhra
Pradesh. SKOCH Group Chairman Sameer Kochhar called on the Chief Minister at
his camp office at Tadepalli and presented the award to him.
 7. Bharat Biotech is being presented the Genome Valley Excellence Award for 2021 for
its “breakthrough, pioneering research, development and commercialisation of
vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin,” a release said. BioAsia, organised
by the Government of Telangana, has announced that the Genome Valley Excellence
Award for the year 2021 will be bestowed upon Bharat Biotech International for
research, development and commercialisation of vaccines including COVAXIN
(COVID-19 Vaccine), Rabies vaccine, Rotavirus vaccine, Japanese Encephalitis
vaccine, Polio vaccine and Typhoid Conjugate vaccines, among others. Dr Krishna M
Ella, Chairman & MD, and Suchitra Ella, Joint MD, Bharat Biotech International will
receive the award on February 22, 2021, during the inaugural event of BioAsia 2021.

19th February:
1. Chris Morris became the costliest ever player at an IPL auction for Rajasthan Royal.
Krishnappa Gowtham became the costliest Indian uncapped player for Chennai Super
Kings at the IPL 2021 auction. Cheteshwar Pujara was also sold to Chennai Super
Kings. A total of 292 players were enlisted for the auctions- 164 of them Indian and
125 overseas.
2. The Bangladesh Supreme Court on 19 Feb 2021 launched the Artificial Intelligence
(AI) based translation software ‘Amar Vasha’ through a virtual event. The software
will translate orders and judgements of the Supreme Court from English to Bangla.
The Software has been developed with ‘EkStep’ foundation of India. It is based on
their ‘Anuvaad’ translation software used in India.
3. The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) has received the Asia Environmental
Enforcement Award-2020 awarded by the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP). Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) has been awarded this year under
the Innovation category. Earlier, the Bureau had received the award in 2018 under the
same category.
4. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the Arbor Day
Foundation have recognized Hyderabad as a 2020 Tree City of the World. It has been
recognized for its commitment to growing and maintaining urban forests. It is the only
city in India to earn the title. Most of the other cities were from the United States,
United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.
5. Kay Kay Menon has been honoured with the award for 'Most Versatile Actor' at
Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival 2021. DPIFF is one of India's most
prestigious awards ceremony which honours actors and artists who have contributed
to the Indian cinema. It is India’s only independent award function with a mission to
celebrate the legacy of Dadasaheb Phalke, Father of Indian Cinema.
6. The Indian Premier League (IPL) has made an announcement that smartphone
manufacturer VIVO will be returning as the title sponsor for 2021. Brijesh Patel, the
Chairman of the Indian Premier League made this announcement. Under the IPL
"mini-auction" for 2021, 291 players will be listed. The cricketers have been
shortlisted by the eight franchises.
7. The International Solar Alliance (ISA) plans to launch the World Solar Bank (WSB)
at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November 2021.
The ISA is the first treaty-based international government organization headquartered
 in India. The ISA was co-founded by India at the 2015 climate change conference in
Paris.
8. Russia will register CoviVac, its third vaccine against the novel coronavirus
pandemic, on 20 February 2021. Human trials of the Russian vaccine Sputnik have
also been ongoing in India, conducted by India's Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd and
supported by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). 26 other countries have
also approved the inoculation for use.
9. E-commerce giant Amazon has announced its plans to begin manufacturing devices in
India. This is the first Amazon manufacturing line in India and reiterates the firm’s
commitment to the government’s “Make in India'' for an Atma Nirbhar Bharat.
Amazon will commence manufacturing with contract manufacturer Cloud Network
Technology, a subsidiary of Foxconn, in Chennai, and start production later this year.
The programme will churn out hundreds of thousands of Fire TV Stick devices every
year. Amazon will evaluate scaling capacity to additional marketplaces and cities,
depending on the domestic demand.
10. The Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Gakharia has announced his resignation
Gakharia said in a statement he was stepping down because of disagreements within
his own team over the decision to arrest Nika Melia, chairman of the United National
Movement opposition party. Gakharia served as the Prime Minister from 8 September
2019 to 18 February 2021.
11. Facebook has blocked Australian users from sharing or viewing news content on the
platform, causing alarm over public access to key information. Australians woke up
this morning to find the Facebook pages of all local and global news sites were
unavailable. Several government health, emergency and other pages were also
blocked. Later the tech giant asserted it was a mistake. Those outside of Australia are
also unable to read or access any Australian news publications on the platform.
Facebook's move is in response to a proposed law in Australia which would make
tech giants pay for news content.
12. In its first mission in 2021, India’s space agency ISRO planned to launch on February
28 Brazilian satellite Amazonia-1 and three Indian payloads, including one built by a
home-grown start-up. The satellites are slated to be launched on board the Polar
Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C-51 at 10.28 am from the Sriharikota spaceport,
over 100 kms from Chennai. PSLV – C51/Amazonia – 1 is the first dedicated
commercial mission of NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a Government of India
company under the Department of Space. Secretary in the Department of Space and
Chairman of Bengaluru-headquartered ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) K
Sivan confirmed the PSLV-C51 schedule to PTI. Amazonia – 1 is the primary
payload on board ISRO’s PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) rocket. ‘Anand’ is
built by Indian space startup, Pixxel, and ‘Satish Dhawan Satellite’ by Chennai-based
Space Kidz India. UNITYsat is a combination of three satellites designed and built as
a joint development by Jeppiaar Institute of Technology, Sriperumbudur (JITsat),
G.H.Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur (GHRCEsat) and Sri Shakthi Institute of
Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore (Sri Shakthi Sat).
13. Mibe, who is already a director at Honda, would replace Takahiro Hachigo, who has
held the CEO post for six years. Executive Vice President and Chief Operating
Officer Seiji Kuraishi will remain in his post to support Mibe, the sources said.
20th February:
1. Sir M Visvesvaraya Railway Terminal in Bengaluru, which will be India's first
centralized AC railway terminal, would be available by the end of Feb'21. The
upcoming Terminal is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. The 4200 sq metre
station building, which has cost ₹314 crores, will serve to a daily footfall of 50,000.
Fifty trains can be operated from the terminal on a daily basis.
2. The Tokyo 2020 Executive Board has appointed seven-time Olympian Hashimoto
Seiko as the new President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee. She was the
Minister for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, Minister in charge of
Women's Empowerment, and Minister of State for Gender Equality in the
Government of Japan.
3. World Day of Social Justice is observed on February 20 every year. It is a global
observance to raise voice against social injustice. The theme for 2021 is "A Call for
Social Justice in the Digital Economy". The UN General Assembly declared February
20 as the annual World Day of Social Injustice in 2007. It was in 2009 that the day
was first observed.
4. The French Parliament has approved an Anti-radicalism Bill in a bid to fight the
Islamic radicalism. The bill would strengthen oversight of mosques, schools and
sports clubs to safeguard France from radical Islamists and ensure respect for French
values, one of President Emmanuel Macron’s landmark projects. The vote in the
lower house was the first critical hurdle for the legislation that has been long in the
making after two weeks of intense debate. The bill passed 347 to 151 with 65
abstentions. To adapt to the changes, the bill amends the French law of 1905
guaranteeing the separation of Church and State.
5. The Mohali-based IPL franchise formally known as Kings XI Punjab were renamed
as Punjab Kings, ahead of the 2021 auctions due to be held in Chennai on February
18. The new logo honors the liveliness and vibrancy of the brand and provides
modern elements, while we stand out from the rest of the teams. The franchise, jointly
owned by Mohit Burman, Ness Wadia, Preity Zinta and Karan Paul, is yet to win an
IPL title since the event's inaugural edition in 2008.

21st February:
1. Nomi Osaka won her fourth Grand Slam title by pulling away to beat Jennifer Brady
6-4, 6-3 in the Australian Open final. Osaka has won her past 21 matches at all
tournaments dating to last season. She also won the U.S. Open in 2018, and the
Australian Open in 2019. Osaka's victory at a floodlit Rod Laver Arena gave the
Japanese her fourth major crown.
2. In 1999, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization,
(UNESCO) had declared 21st February as International Mother Language Day. The
theme for the year 2021 is "Fostering multilingualism for inclusion in education and
society". This year Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture and IGNCA are
organizing a four-day virtual event to mark the day.
 3. The scheme to provide free menstrual products for the next three years comes after a
six-month pilot program launched last year in 15 schools in the Waikato region where
3,200 young people were provided with period products. Every school in New
Zealand will be stocked with free period products for female students from June, the
prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has confirmed. Principals and poverty groups have
been calling for the move for years, saying period poverty meant some girls ended up
skipping school during their periods because they could not afford the sanitary
products to manage them hygienically.
4. India's Ankita Raina On February 19 won her maiden WTA title as she and her
Russian partner Kamilla Rakhimova clinched the doubles event in the Phillip Island
Trophy in Melbourne. The Ankita-Kamilla pair beat Russia's Anna Blinkova and
Anastasia Potapova 2-6 6-4 10-7 in the final. The win will propel the 28-year-old
Ankita to top-100 in the WTA rankings in doubles. She will be the second Indian
woman player to be in top-100 after Sania Mirza. Ankita had won the ITF doubles
title and WTA 125k series title before Friday's win.

22nd February:
1. Star paddler Manika Batra clinched her second title by defeating Reeth Rishya 4-2 in
the women's singles final of the Senior National Table Tennis Championship. Manika
Batra ,in action during final of women's singles final at the 82nd Senior National
Table Tennis Championship 2020 at Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex in Panchkula. She
ranked 63rd in world ranking. She had just beaten Reeth Rishya 8-11, 10-12, 11-1,
11-9, 11-5, 11-6 at the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex in Panchkula to win the 82nd
Senior National Table Tennis Championship. She represented the Petroleum Sports
Promotion Board (PSPB) had won her maiden title in 2015 at Hyderabad.
2. Japan’s Naomi Osaka Has won the Women’s single title in the Australian open 2021.
She defeated Jennifer Brady in straight sets to clinch the women’s singles final of the
2021 Australian Open. This is Osaka's second Australian Open title, she had earlier
conquered the Melbourne Grand Slam in 2019. Naomi Osaka won her fourth Grand
Slam title as she defeated Jennifer Brady in straight sets to clinch the women’s singles
final of the 2021 Australian Open. Osaka, the first Japanese player to win a major,
extended her winning streak to 21 matches with this victory. She won the US Open in
2018 and 2020.
3. Uttar Pradesh govt plans to develop Jewar Airport as Asia's biggest airport. The state
govt has proposed to set aside ₹2,000 crores for Jewar Airport. This was announced
by Finance Minister Suresh Khanna while presenting ₹5,50,270.78 crore budget for
2021-22 in the State Assembly. The state govt has also increased the number of
runways of the Jewar Aiport to six, from two proposed earlier.
4. A 21-year-old swimming teacher, Jasmine Harrison from North Yorkshire in the UK
has become the youngest woman to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She reached
Antigua in the Caribbean after 70 days, three hours and 48 minutes after covering
3,000 miles. The previous youngest female solo ocean rower was 22-year-old Katie
Spotz from the USA who rowed the Atlantic east-to-west in 2010.
23rd February:
1. Chandigarh has become the first in India to launch Carbon Watch, a mobile
application to assess the carbon footprint of an individual. The application can be
downloaded through a QR code in Android supported smart cell phones. Carbon
footprint is the amount of greenhouse gases especially carbon dioxide, released into
the atmosphere by a particular human activity.
2. Former CM of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti has been re-elected as President
of Peoples’ Democratic Party. Ms Mehbooba Mufti was unanimously reelected as JK-
PDP President for a period of three years. She has been elected for the seventh
consecutive term. She was first elected to the post in 2003 after her father Mufti
Mohammad Sayeed became the CM of the erstwhile state of J&K.
3. The Ayodhya district administration has been felicitated with Skoch Gold Award for
the measures taken to contain COVID-19. Skoch Award was started in 2003 to
facilitate people, projects and institutions for their contributions to society and make
India a better nation. The city had participated in the esteemed 68th SKOCH awards,
which were organised through the digital mode on 20 Feb 2021.
4. Deepika Padukone and Akshay Kumar bagged Dadasaheb Phalke Awards for 'Best
Actor' on 20 Feb 2021. They won the award for their movies 'Chhapaak' and 'Laxmii',
respectively. 'Chhapaak' is based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal.
Kiara Advani won the 'Critic's Best Actress' award and Sushmita Sen won 'Best
ActressWeb Series
5. Pakistan has decided to register Himalayan pink salt as Geographical Indications (GI)
to prevent its unauthorised use by other countries. A GI tag is a sign used on products
that have a specific geographical origin and possess origin-based qualities and
reputation in the region. The salt is extracted from the Salt Range in Punjab which
extends along the south of the Potohar Plateau.
6. MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced that Hoshangabad city in the state
would be renamed as Narmadapuram. A proposal to that effect would be sent to the
Centre. He made the announcement during the Narmada Jayanti programme held in
Hoshangabad on 19 Feb 2021. Hoshangabad was named after Hoshang Shah, who
was the first formally appointed Sultan of the Malwa Sultanate of Central India.
7. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal laid the foundation of the first skill
university of eastern India in Darrang district, aimed at imparting training to over
10,000 students in 12 disciplines. The varsity would be built with a financial outlay of
Rs.1,000 crore. It is expected to be completed by 2026, and will have understandings
with countries like Germany, Taiwan, South Korea, Israel, Japan, England. Skill,
Employment and Entrepreneurship Development Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary
termed the day as historic, as the process has been initiated for setting up the third
skill university in India.
8. The United States officially rejoined the Paris Agreement on climate change designed
to limit global warming and avoid its potentially catastrophic impacts. Nearly 200
nations have signed on to the landmark accord and committed to limit their
greenhouse gas emissions in an attempt to keep global warming below 2 degrees
Celsius preferably below 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial temperatures.
Earlier, in November 2020, the US had officially exited the agreement on the order of
the then President Donald Trump. The landmark Paris climate agreement was signed
 in 2015, as per which countries are expected to enhance their commitments to curb
greenhouse gas emissions every five years.
9. The first paperless budget will be presented in Uttar Pradesh Assembly. UP will be
the first state in the country to table a paperless budget. The State Finance Minister
Suresh Khanna will present the first paperless budget in the history of the State. All
members of the State Legislature have been provided iPads to view the budget
highlights which will also be available on two big screens put up in the House. The
2021-2022 budgets will also be available on an App which can be downloaded from
Google Play Store with the name 'Uttar Pradesh Sarkar Ka Budget'

24th February:
1. Levi's has appointed Deepika Padukone as its global brand ambassador. The
association will help attract a new generation of women consumers as it looks to
expand the women's wear category. Deepika is the first female celebrity to become
the face of the brand in India. She will be seen spearheading the new campaign
focused on a new range of fashion fits from Levi’s.
2. India faced the second-highest number of cyberattacks in the Asia Pacific in 2020
after Japan, accounting for 7% of all attacks in the region. Finance and insurance were
the most targeted sectors. According to IBM s 2021 X-Force Threat Intelligence
Index, published on 24 February 2021, ransomware was the most widely used attack,
accounting for roughly 40% of all attacks detected in India.
3. The Supreme Court of Nepal reinstated the dissolved House of Representatives on 24
Feb 2021. A five-member constitutional bench led by Chief Justice Cholendra
Shumsher Rana annulled the government's decision to dissolve the House of
Representatives on the 20th of December 2020. Nepal President Bidhya Devi
Bhandari had dissolved Parliament and announced midterm elections in April-May
2021.
4. President Ram Nath Kovind formally inaugurated the world's largest stadium Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel Cricket Stadium at Motera in Ahmedabad Gujarat on 24 Feb 2021.
The newly built stadium is equipped with all modern technologies and facilities
necessary for present-day cricket. It has four dressing rooms, which are necessary to
host back to back twenty twenty matches.
5. The Uttarakhand govt has passed an ordinance that gives co-ownership rights to
women in their husband’s ancestral property. The ordinance aims to facilitate the
women who are working in fields owned by their husbands or fathers, especially in
the hilly areas of the state. By amending the Uttarakhand Zamindari Abolition and
Land Reforms Act, they will get access to ownership of the land.
6. Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy, has submitted the letter of his resignation
and his council of ministers on February 22, 2021 to the Lieutenant Governor
Tamilisai Soundararajan. The decision was taken as the Congress-led Government in
the UT lost its majority in the House, which is 14. Following a series of resignations,
the ruling government was reduced to a strength of 12. Two MLA resigned in January
2021 while 2 resigned in February 2021. Lt. Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has
forwarded the resignation letter of Mr. Narayanasamy and a report on the Assembly
proceedings to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for its consideration.
 7. Israel has launched a coronavirus ‘green pass’ system,and that allows people who
have been vaccinated to access public facilities. Israelis who have gotten both Pfizer
vaccine shots and those who have recovered from the virus get a "Green Pass"
certificate in the form of a QR code or printout for people without smartphones. Pass-
holders could prove their status by presenting a vaccination certificate or downloading
a health ministry app linked to their medical files. The pass allows entry to gyms,
swimming pools, hotels, entertainment venues and sporting events. Restaurants and
bars will be added to the list in March. Meanwhile, Israel has faced international
criticism for largely excluding Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip from its
highly successful vaccination campaign, widening the persistent inequality with
Israelis that began long before the pandemic.
8. OLX Group appoints Gautam Thakar as global CEO of OLX Autos. Thakar will lead
a worldwide organisation with a workforce of more than 4,000 employees across
Asia, Africa, Latam, and the United States. OLX Group announced the appointment
of Gautam Thakar as global CEO of OLX Autos effective March 15, 2021.
9. The Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has bagged six awards for its efforts in
the field of communication at the PRSI National Awards-2020 conferred upon by the
Public Relations Society of India. The awards were presented by Union Education
Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya
during a virtual ceremony on February 21. "SAIL has been awarded in House Journal
(English), Best Communication Campaign (External Publics), Communications
Campaign of the Year - COVID-19, Special/Prestige Publication, E-newsletter, and
Corporate Website categories," according to an official statement.
25th February:
1. The western African country Ghana has become the 1st country to receive
Coronavirus vaccines through the Covax vaccine-sharing initiative. Around 6 lakhs
doses of the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and produced
by the Serum Institute of India arrived in Ghana on 24 Feb 2021. Covax is aiming to
deliver about 2 bn doses of COVID-19 vaccines globally by the end of 2021.
2. US President Joe Biden has nominated Indian-American lawyer Kiran Ahuja to head
the Office of Personnel Management. She will be the first Indian-American to head
this department. She had served as Chief of Staff to Director of US Office of
Personnel Management from 2015 to 2017. The United States Office of Personnel
Management is a federal agency that manages US civilian services.
3. Suzuki Motor Corp's 91-year old chairman, Osamu Suzuki, announced he will retire
in June 2021. However, he will remain active as an adviser. He headed the company
for more than four decades. His son Toshihiro Suzuki is the President and CEO of the
company. Osamu Suzuki, who joined Suzuki Motor in 1958, became President in
1978 and was also appointed as Chairman in 2000.
4. The world's largest cricket arena - the refurbished Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera,
Gujarat has been renamed 'Narendra Modi Stadium' after the Prime Minister. The
venue is hosting the third Test match between India and England from 24 Feb 2021.
President Ram Nath Kovind on 24 Feb 2021 laid the foundation stone of the Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave.
 5. DigiBoxx, India’s first digital asset management platform has launched its services in
the Tamil Nadu market. State Industries Minister MC Sampath inaugurated the
service. Digiboxx is an Indian digital file storage, sharing and management SaaS
(Software as a Service) product that provides storage options for businesses as well as
individual users to store all files in one centralised location. As part of the
Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, NITI Aayog first launched the indigenously developed
platform on December 22, 2020, to provide affordable storage services to individuals
and businesses and most importantly to store user data within India.
6. The 11th India-EU Macroeconomic dialogue was held through video conferencing.
Secretary Economic Affairs Tarun Bajaj led the Indian delegation. The delegation
from European Union was led by Director General of Economic and Financial Affairs
ECFIN in European Commission Maarten Verwey. The dialogue today covered
sharing of their experiences to enable both sides on various aspects including
collaboration in the G20 on finance track matters. It covers all dimensions-political,
economic, security, trade and investment, environment, research and innovation. The
EU is one of India's largest trading partners, one of the largest investors in India and
an important source for technology, innovation and best practices.
7. The Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2021, has honoured late
actor Sushant Singh Rajput with the Critic's Best Actor accolade in the award
ceremony. The Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards was introduced
by the Government of India in 1969, to commemorate ‘the father of Indian cinema’,
Dadasaheb Phalke.
26th February:
1. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has decided to keep Pakistan on its
terrorism financing Greylist. The FATF is an inter-governmental body set up in 1989
to combat money laundering, terror financing, and other related threats to the
international financial system. Currently, it has 39 members. Pakistan has been on the
Grey list since June 2018.
2. Australia has passed a world-first law aimed at making Google and Facebook pay for
news content on their platforms. The amended legislation - the News Media
Bargaining Code - was passed by Australia's House of Representatives on 25 Feb
2021 after going through the Senate. The news code encourages tech giants and news
organizations to negotiate payment deals between themselves.
3. The Centre has announced guidelines and digital media ethics code for Over The Top
(OTT), online streaming, and social media platforms. The social media platforms
have to appoint a Chief Compliance Officer of complaints, Nodal Contact person, and
a Resident Grievance officer. Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash
Javadekar announced a three-tier mechanism for their regulation.
4. India’s first Toy Fair will be held virtually from February 27 to March 2, 2021. It is
the first-ever digitally accessible exhibition. It will provide an opportunity to explore
and buy a variety of toys from over 1,000 exhibitors across states and union
territories. Toy Fair is a visionary initiative that will reduce the dependence of toys on
foreign markets.
5. Mumbai will be home to India’s first undersea tunnel by 2023. The twin tunnels,
which have a length of 2.07 km of which a kilometre will be under the sea, are being
 built as part of the Mumbai Coastal Road Project. The project is a 10.58-km stretch
starting from the Marine Drive promenade to the Worli-end of the Bandra-Worli Sea
Link.
6. In a bid to tackle the rise in suicide rates, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga
has appointed Tetsushi Sakamoto as its first-ever Minister for Loneliness. Besides
this, Sakamoto is also in charge of managing the nation's falling birth rate and
strengthening regional economies. The Japanese government has also created an
isolation/ loneliness countermeasures office.

27th February:
1. In Kerala, Attukal pongala festival was held on 27 Feb'21. Pongala is the annual ritual
of the Attukal Bhagavathy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram and holds the Guinness
world record as the largest gathering of women. Every year nearly 20 lakh devotees
take part in the festival. Pongala, which means 'to boil over’, is the ritual in which
women prepare sweet payasam and offer it to the Goddess.
2. Sprinter Hima Das was inducted as Deputy Superintendent of Assam Police in the
presence of CM Sarbananda Sonowal on 26 Feb'21. She had won a silver in women’s
400m in the 2018 Asian Games and was also part of the gold-winning women’s 400m
relay and mixed 400m relay quartets in the quadrennial event in Jakarta. She is also
known as ‘Dhing Express’.
3. India's all-rounder Yusuf Pathan announced his retirement from all formats of the
game on 26 February 2021. He played 57 ODIs and 22 T20Is for India between 2007
and 2012. He was part of the 2007 T20 World Cup as well as the 2011 ODI World
Cup, both of which were won by the Indian team.
4. Papua New Guinea’s first Prime Minister, Michael Somare passed away in Feb 2021.
Known as the “father of the nation”, Somare led the nation to independence from
Australia in 1975 and served four times as the Prime Minister. Prior to independence,
he was the CM of the Australian-administered territory of Papua New Guinea. He
most recently served as the country’s leader briefly in 2011.
5. Indian Railways has decided to reactivate the facility of UTS ON MOBILE App in
zones where unreserved train services are reintroduced. To decongest ticket booking
counters and to ensure smooth compliance of social distancing norms, the facility to
book unreserved tickets through UTS ON MOBILE app is being reactivated by Indian
Railways. The Railways Ministry said, it has been decided that in addition to UTS ON
MOBILE App facility available on suburban sections, this facility may also be
reintroduced on non-suburban sections of zonal Railways.
6. China is celebrating its traditional Lantern festival. Celebrated on the 15th day of the
first Chinese lunar month, the Lantern Festival traditionally marks the end of the
Chinese New Year also known as the ‘Spring Festival’ period. In 2021, China ushered
into Lunar New Year - the ‘Year of the Ox’ on 12th February. The Lantern Festival is
also the first full moon night in the Chinese calendar, marking the return of spring and
symbolizing the reunion of family. According to China's various folk customs, people
get together on the night of the Lantern Festival to celebrate with different activities.
7. Digital University has been set up in Kerala’s Technocity, Mangalapuram. The
Governor of Kerala Arif Mohammed Khan has inaugurated the country’s first Digital
 University in the state. Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and
Technology (Digital University) is established by upgrading the two-decade old state
government’s Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management Kerala
(IIITM-K). The university is formed with a vision of creating a futuristic institution of
higher learning, aspiring to set a global benchmark in Digital technologies and its
management.
8. Haryana’s Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala was unanimously re-elected as
the president of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) for another four-year
term at Panchkula Chautala was elected unanimously during the 84th annual meeting
of the TTFI. The 32-year-old was first elected as President of the TTFI in January
2017, becoming the youngest President in the history of TTFI.

28th February:
1. National Science Day day is celebrated every year on 28th of February to
commemorate the discovery of the ‘Raman Effect’. The theme for National Science
Day 2021 is ‘Future of Science and Technology and Innovation: Impact on Education
Skills and Work'. Physicist CV Raman was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930 for
discovery of "Raman Effect".
2. Rare Disease Day is held on the last day of February every year to raise awareness of
rare diseases. Rare Disease Day was first launched by EURORDIS and its Council of
National Alliances in 2008. The main objective of Rare Disease Day is to raise
awareness amongst the general public and decision-makers about rare diseases and
their impact on patients' lives.
3. Chenab bridge, the world’s tallest railway bridge over Chenab River in Kouri area,
will achieve another engineering milestone. The Konkan Railway Corporation
Limited (KRCL) is building the Chenab bridge over a challenging 111 kmstretch
under the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project. It will connect
the Valley with the rest of the country through railways. The Chenab bridge is being
constructed 359 metres above Chenab’s river bed and will be 35 metres taller than the
Eiffel Tower (which has a height of 324 metre). The length of the Chenab bridge will
be 1,315 metres with 17 spans, of which the span of the main arch across Chenab
river will be 467 metres. The viaduct portion comprises a straight and curved portion.
The curvilinear portion is located on a 2.74-degree sharp curve.
4. Directorate General of Civil Aviation, DGCA has allowed domestic flight operators to
give concessions in ticket prices to travellers who carry no baggage or only cabin
baggage. At present, a traveller can carry up to 7 kilograms of cabin baggage and 15
kilograms of check-in baggage without having to pay any additional cost. The new
rule will allow airline operators to provide tickets at lesser prices to those who opt to
travel with no baggage or only with cabin baggage within the permissible weight
limit. As part of the new airline baggage policy, scheduled airlines will be allowed to
offer free baggage allowance as well as zero baggage or no check in baggage fares.
The airlines will however have to prominently display the additional charges
applicable in case the passenger turns up with extra baggage.
5. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has directed
all general and health insurance companies to mandatorily offer a standard personal
 accident insurance policy by 1 April, 2021. The policy will be named Saral Suraksha
Bima, succeeded by the name of the insurance company. It will be offered with a
tenure of one year. As per the final guidelines issued by the Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority of India (IRDA), the minimum sum insured will be Rs.2.5
lakh and maximum sum insured Rs.1 crore.
6. Pacer Vinay Kumar announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. Davangere
Express" after running for 25 years and passing so many stations of cricketing life,
has finally arrived at a station called "retirement". An intelligent pacer and a capable
batsman, Vinay played one Test (against Australia in Perth in 2012), 31 ODIs and
nine T20Is. The 37-year-old last featured for India in the limited-overs leg of a home
series against Australia in 2013. Vinay was an outstanding performer in his 17-year
domestic career. He scalped 504 wickets in 139 first-class matches and is the highest
wicket-taker among fast bowlers in Ranji Trophy history.