PM ADDRESSED 2ND KHELO INDIA WINTER GAMES
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has delivered the inaugural address at the 2nd Khelo India National Winter Games through a video conference.
The second edition of the Khelo India-Winter Games has been organised at the world-famous ski-resort Gulmarg in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir.
The event has been organised by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council and the Winter Games Association of J&K.
The sports activities at the games will include alpine skiing, nordic ski, snowboarding, ski mountaineering, ice hockey, ice skating, ice stock etc.
Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports: Kiren Rijiju.
CSE RELEASED STATE OF ENVIRONMENT REPORT, 2021
The Center for Science and Environment (CSE) released the “State of Environment Report, 2021. India will usher in a “pandemic generation”, 375 million children (from newborns to 14 years old) may suffer long-term effects.
Challenges can range from underweight, stunting and rising child mortality, to a decline in education and work efficiency.
More than 500 million children are forced to drop out of school globally, and India accounts for more than half of them.
In terms of sustainable development, India ranks 117th out of 192 countries, this is currently second only to all South Asian countries except Pakistan.
State of environment: Between 2009 and 2018, India’s air, water and land pollution became more serious.
Among the country’s 88 major industrial clusters, 35 showed deterioration in the overall environment, 33 showed deterioration in air quality, 45 had serious water pollution, and in 17 had land pollution worsened.
Performance of various states: When ranking based on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: The best performing States are Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. The worst performing states are Bihar, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Uttar Pradesh.
DELHI TO SWITCH ALL ITS HIRED VEHICLES TO EV
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced that all branches of the Delhi government will now only use electric vehicles. The transition to electric vehicles will be completed within 6 months.
The Delhi government has used more than 2,000 cars. The minister believes that this decision will inspire the country and other cities in the world.
It is a key decision to solve problems such as pollution and climate change. This announcement was made after the government launched the “Switch Delhi” campaign.
The transition from diesel or gasoline vehicles to electric vehicles will be monitored by the Delhi Ministry of Transport.
In addition, government departments need to generate action reports on the transition of electric vehicles to node departments every month.
YUSUF PATHAN RETIRES FROM ALL FORMS OF CRICKET
Former India all-rounder, Yusuf Pathan has announced his retirement from all formats of cricket.
He played 57 ODIs and 22 T20Is for India since making his international debut in 2007. He was part of the Indian team that won the ICC T20 World Cup 2007 and ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.
He scored 810 ODI runs and 236 T20I runs for India. He also picked up 46 wickets in limited-overs international cricket.
Yusuf played 100 first-class matches, scoring 4825 runs and picking up 201 wickets. In List A cricket, the right-handed batsman accumulated 4797 runs and got 124 wickets from 199 matches.
He last played for India in an ODI against South Africa at Johannesburg in March 2012.
DState Bank of India has tied up with JPMorgan to use the US bank’s blockchain technology to speed up overseas transactions. The tie-up is expected to reduce SBI customers’ transaction costs and time taken for payments.
SBI has joined Liink, a new blockchain-based interbank data network developed by JPMorgan. By integrating the technology, the bank expects to reduce transaction costs and improve cross-border payments for its customers.
Liink is a peer-to-peer network and ecosystem operating under the umbrella of JPMorgan’s blockchain- and digital-currency-focused business, dubbed Onyx.
Piloted in 2017, the product was originally referred to as Interbank Information Network and rebranded as Liink in October 2020.
The Liink solution has enlisted more than 400 financial institutions and corporations in 78 countries, including 27 of the world’s top 50 banks. The network has around 100 live banks on the network, including both state-owned and private institutions.
JPMorgan CEO: Jamie Dimon.
JPMorgan Headquarters: New York, United States
SBI Chairperson: Dinesh Kumar Khara.
SBI Headquarters: Mumbai.
ANJALI BHARADWAJ NAMED FOR ANTI-CORRUPTION AWARD
Anjali Bharadwaj, an Indian social activist working on issues of transparency and accountability, is one of the 12 “courageous” individuals named by the Biden administration for the newly-instituted International Anti-Corruption Champions Award.
The 48-year-old Bhardwaj has served as an active member of the Right to Information Movement in India for over two decades.
She is the founder of the Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SNS), a citizens’ group which promotes transparency and accountability in government and encourage the active participation of citizens.
The Biden administration has announced this International Anti-Corruption Champions Award, to recognise individuals who have worked tirelessly, often in the face of adversity, to defend transparency, combat corruption, and ensure accountability in their own countries, so as to combat such issues.
WORLD NGO DAY OBSERVED ON 27TH FEBRUARY
World NGO Day is celebrated every year on 27th February globally.
World NGO Day aims to inspire people to become more actively involved within NGOs (Charities, NPOs, CSOs) and encourage a greater symbiosis between NGOs and both the public and private sector.
The universal concept of World NGO Day is Celebrate, Commemorate and Collaborate the various NGOs around the world, and the people behind them.
World NGO Day is a day for NGOs around the globe to share knowledge and experiences with one another.
The Day was officially recognised and declared by the 12 member countries (Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Norway and Sweden).
It was marked for the first time by the UN, EU leaders and international organisations in 2014.