NATIONAL NEWS

India’s Top Trade Partner in 2021

• The United States was India’s top trading partner in the calendar year 2021 with a trade of $112.3 billion.
• The US is followed by China on second.The value of trade between India and China was $110.4 billion.
• In 2020, China was India’s top trading partner and the US was in the second rank. In 2019 USA was India’s top trading partner and China was on second.

Towns of Export Excellence (TEE)

• Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Smt. Anupriya Patel stated that Thirty-Nine (39) Towns have been recognized as Towns of Export Excellence (TEE) under the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 extended to 2022.
• Towns producing goods of Rs. 750 Crore or more can be recognized as Towns of Export Excellence (TEE) based on potential for growth in exports.

The Best Tableau at Republic Day Parade -2022

• Among 12 States and UTs which participated in the Republic Day parade 2022, Uttar Pradesh has been selected as the best state tableau.
• The tableau of Uttar Pradesh was based on the theme ‘One District One Product and Kashi Vishwanath Dham.
• Defence Ministry said, the second place went to Karnataka for its tableau based on Cradle of Traditional Handicrafts.
• The third position went to Meghalaya for its tableau on Meghalaya’s 50 years of Statehood and its tribute to women-led cooperative societies and Self-Help Groups.
• For the first time, the general public was invited to vote for the best tableaux in the popular choice category through the MyGov platform.
• Maharashtra was voted as the best Tableau among the States and UTs in the popular choice category based on the theme Biodiversity and State Bio-symbols of Maharashtra.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Exim Bank Extends LOC of $500 million to Sri Lanka

• The Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) announced that it has extended a US$ 500 million line of credit to Sri Lanka to help finance the purchase of petroleum products.
• With the signature of the US$ 500 million LOC deal, the total LOC extended by EXIM Bank to Sri Lanka till date has reached ten, bringing the total value of LOCs extended to US$ 2.18 billion.
• The provision of petroleum products, railway projects, defence, and infrastructure projects are among the projects covered by the LOCs issued to Sri Lanka.

SPORTS

ICC Spirit of Cricket Award 2021

• New Zealand cricketer, Daryl Mitchell has been named the winner of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Spirit of Cricket Award 2021.
• Mitchell won the award for refusing to take a single in the Men’s T20 World Cup semi-finals against England.
• Mitchell has become the fourth New Zealand cricketer to win the award after Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum and skipper Kane Williamson.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Director of DRDL – G A Srinivasa Murthy

• G A Srinivasa Murthy has been appointed director of Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Hyderabad.
• He joined DRDL in the year 1987 and made significant contributions in the area of structural dynamics, ground resonance testing, electrical integration and checkout for various projects of the missile complex.
• G A Srinivasa Murthy completed his BE in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Andhra University in 1986 and pursued his ME in Digital Systems from Osmania University in Hyderabad.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Cancer Day

• World Cancer Day is observed on 4th February every year by the Union for International Cancer Control to spread awareness among people, educate them about cancer, how to fight it, and reduce the global impact of cancer.
• The theme of World Cancer Day 2022-2024 is “Close the Care Gap”.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS

India that is Bharat: Coloniality, Civilisation, Constitution

• A Trilogy book series titled, India that is Bharat: Coloniality, Civilisation, Constitution is authored by J Sai Deepak and published by Bloomsbury India. The first part was released on 15th August 2021, is set to launch the 2 nd part in June 2022.
• It examines the far-reaching impact of European ‘colonial consciousness’ on Bharat (India).

DEFENCE

Submarine - Vagir

• The Indian Navy has announced the commencement of sea trials of the fifth of its six Kalvari class attack submarines named “Vagir”, sailed out on its first sea sortie and will now undergo rigorous trials before it is delivered to the Navy later.
• It is constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in collaboration with the Naval group of France. Aerospace Safety Council Meet
• On 04 February 22, Western Air Command Annual Aerospace Safety Council Meet (AASCM) 2022 was held at its headquarters in Delhi.
• The meeting was held in hybrid mode through Video Tele-conferencing. AASCM was chaired by Air Officer Commanding in Chief, WAC Air Marshal Amit Dev.
• The aim of the meeting was to address the areas of concern that affect Aerospace Safety and strengthen mechanisms for accident prevention strategy of WAC.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Powerful Supercomputer- Param Pravega

• Under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM), the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has installed and commissioned Param Pravega, in Bengaluru.
• It is one of the most powerful supercomputers in the country. It is also the largest supercomputer in an Indian academic institution.
• It has a total supercomputing capacity of 3.3 petaflops.
• It has been designed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).
• National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) is a joint initiative of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and implemented by C-DAC and IISc.

Facts:

• 1 Petaflop = Quadrillion (10¹⁵) operations per second.